Cannabis Equipment News: Recent Episodes
David Mantey
Cannabis Equipment News is an interview series with growers, processors, manufacturers, distributors and other professionals who work within the legal cannabis industry. We provide answers to the challenges cannabis professionals face every day and discuss the industry as it continues to develop.
This week, Sarah Strickler, co-founder of Grown Rogue joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how she resists the temptation to chase trends, her company's focus on growing high quality, low cost cannabis, and her evolution into a top cannabis executive.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Obie Strickler, CEO of Grown Rogue, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how his company has been able to scale its craft grows in multiple states; how he keeps production costs low while keeping quality high; and whether or not craft cannabis stands to suffer a fate similar to the one causing the craft beer downturn.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
cannabis #weed #marijuana #420 #cannabiscommunity #cannabisculture #thc #cbd #weedlife #cannabisgrow #homegrow #weedgrower #cannabiseducation #cannabisindustry #medicalcannabis #cannabislifestyle #cannabisphotography #cannabisreview #dispensary #highlife #maryjane #ganja #kush #sativa #indica #weedstagram #smoke #stonerlife #hightimes
This week, Jon Marshall, COO of Deep Roots Harvest joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss why he stopped fighting forest fires as a smoke jumper and forecasting avalanches to become a cannabis industry executive.
Also:
- The transition after Deep Roots acquired The Source in 2024.
- The state of the Nevada cannabis market.
- Why you must do no harm, stay flexible and keep an open mind after an acquisition.
- The marketing tactics and promotions that win business and new cannabis customers.
- Expectations for real regulatory change.
- The benefits of a "one plant solution" for the marijuana and hemp markets.
- The tech stack that makes his life easier
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
cannabis #weed #marijuana #420 #cannabiscommunity #cannabisculture #thc #cbd #weedlife #cannabisgrow #homegrow #weedgrower #cannabiseducation #cannabisindustry #medicalcannabis #cannabislifestyle #cannabisphotography #cannabisreview #dispensary #highlife #maryjane #ganja #kush #sativa #indica #weedstagram #smoke #stonerlife #hightimes
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This week, George Jage, co-founder and CEO of Jage Media, the company behind MJ Unpacked and The Hemp Beverage Expo, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss:
- Why successful tradeshows are built around experience.
- His time as the former president of MJBizCon and CEO of Dope Media--and what he plans to do different with Jage Media.
- How he built MJ Unpacked to make cannabis industry events fun again.
- What the health of market tradeshows says about the health of the cannabis industry.
- Why stakeholders must do a better job supporting cannabis media.
- Challenges and opportunities facing the industry going forward--and potential expansion efforts.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Dr. Allison Justice, founder and CEO of the Cannabis Research Center (CRC) and The Hemp Mine, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss:
- Her unplanned journey to the cannabis industry—and when she fell in love with the plant.
- How her work advances cultivation and post-harvest processing.
- The challenges growers face every day—and the ongoing myths about the plant.
- Recent projects, including studies addressing air quality issues for AAF International and cannabinoid sustainability for Calyx Containers.
- The Universities and faculty putting out good research, like Dr. Bruce Bugbee’s work at Utah State, and Dr. Jose Franco Da Cunha Leme Filho at Southern Illinois University.
- The lack of industry research and an emerging lack of faith in independent research.
- The state of cannabis testing.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Brian Adams, founder and CEO of Hudson Botanical Processing and founder of Nimbus Cannabis, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss his proprietary ethanol extraction process, his upstart craft grow, life as a contract manufacturer, his approach to making quality vapes that people want to buy and the state of cannabis testing—including how companies can protect themselves from curious COAs.
We also discuss how strong brands can boost dispensary sales (and whether or not strong dispensaries can return the favor), the importance of keeping budtenders happy and expectations for the upcoming MJ Unpacked show in Atlantic City.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Jon Spadafora, CEO of Flower Union Brands, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss efforts to find a larger edible audience, successes following last year's launch in New Jersey, and a mysterious and exciting new launch in a third market that remains unannounced but "very, very easy to get to from New Jersey."
Spadafora also discusses how Flower Union uses Azuca's fast-acting technology to create more consistent edibles.
Flower Union is currently in an R&D phase, prepping for a launch into the beverage market.
Finally, Spadafora discusses his expectations for MJ Unpacked, an upcoming B2B cannabis conference held May 5-7 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
This week, Jason Pickle, founder and president of Volunteer Botanicals joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss why the best is yet to come for cannabis beverages
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Caroline Riggs, executive vice president of retail and marketing at Copper State Farms, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss the company's ability to skip the red tape and make quick decisions to meet evolving demand and market conditions.
Riggs has helped Copper State, which is based in Snowflake, Arizona, improve customer retention and loyalty programs and increase transaction size, driving top line revenue.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Download the audio version below and click here to subscribe to our newsletter.
This week, Ryan Hunter, chief revenue officer at Spherex, Colorado’s leading cannabis brand, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week Jack Blaeser, founder and CEO of Mosaic, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how cannabis operators are already using AI; how to leverage equipment automation and integrated systems to reduce cost; how Google's AI shopping updates will impact dispensaries, and the aspects of AI that are "downright terrifying."
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Jace Goodrow, vice president of growth at Deep Roots Harvest, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss his tactics to drive revenue and customer engagement in dispensaries, best practices on SKU rationalization and vendor pricing, training up budtenders and making sure you have the right product mix on the shelves.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Joe Gerrity, CEO of Crescent Canna joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss the existential threat facing the hemp industry, why he believes Senator Mitch McConnell is on a "warpath" to undo the Farm Bill's accidental cannabis legalization, how it's hard to keep your foot on the gas (and people/media/the world interested in your plight) when you face constant attacks, and the sheer amount of money that goes into lobbying—as well as why it's time for the $40 billion to $50 billion industry to spend more than 0.01% on those efforts.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Download the audio version below and click here to subscribe to our newsletter.
This week, Vince Ning, co-founder and CEO of Nabis (think can-Nabis), joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss the regulations that could fix the cannabis supply chain, his thoughts on interstate commerce, how he secured Y Combinator backing, the state of the legal and illicit markets in California and how he is improving commerce for operators by building a cannabis wholesaling platform with the largest portfolio of cannabis brands in the world.
Nabis has a significant presence in California (30% of market), Nevada (50%) and New York (15%) and does more than $1 billion in wholesale transactions (about 5% of the U.S. market) each year, according to Ning.
We also discuss the threatened excise tax in California and Michigan's 24% wholesale tax set to begin January 1, 2026.
This week, Bethany Breitland, founder of Green Mountain High joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss why she traded Vermont's artisanal cheese industry for cannabis, why she only works with Tier 1 cultivators, the equipment she uses to make pre-rolls and gummies, and how she carefully curates her brand to compete in a competitive market.
We also talk about the complications she faces over the confusion with Green Mountain High Growers, an unrelated company, that was recently suspended by Vermont's Cannabis Control Board.
As she says on the company's website, "We are in good standing with our license (#Manu0121). We are not associated with Green Mountain High Growers."
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Download the audio version below and click here to subscribe to our newsletter.
This week, David Frasier, CEO of Muskegon Ventures, which owns Michigrown, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss why he stresses quality over everything, the equipment he can't live without, and the qualities he looks for in potential partners.
We also talk about the state of the Michigan cannabis market following the new (and additional) 24% wholesale cannabis tax Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed into law to pay for her plan to "fix the damn roads."
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Cullen Raichart, CEO of GreenBroz, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how to reduce labor while improving quality and output, machine whisperers, and his new M1 GBZ fully-automated trimming machines engineered for modern cannabis processors.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Download the audio version below and click here to subscribe to our newsletter.
This week, Barron Lutz, founder of Nasha Hash, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how he makes premium cold-water hash, the equipment he can't live without, what it takes to become a Nasha Hash partner farm, the current state of California cannabis, and how he stays in business by "doing it the right way."
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Will Breakell, CEO of Blazy Susan, joins the Cannabis Equipment News (CEN) podcast to discuss how he set out to clean up coffee tables with a novel smoking accessory and wound up launching one of the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S.—and it all started with a little product placement on CNN during the New Year's Eve Ball drop.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, John Shute, CEO of PufCreative, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how he creates marketing programs that move the needle for cannabis operators and the disruptive marketing tactics the industry can use to stand above the fray.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Aundre Speciale, owner of Cannabis Buyer's Club Berkley (CBCB), joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss her legacy in the industry, which spans some 35 years of advocacy, retail, research and community building.
Speciale was turned on to the cannabis industry by Jack Herer, author of "The Emperor Wears No Clothes." Herer was Speciale's neighbor, and she began her advocacy aboard Herer's H.E.M.P. (Help End Marijuana Prohibition) Bus. She has spent decades in the industry, building community-based dispensaries, working on the Marijuana Policy Project's board of directors, launching businesses with Montel Williams, and finally settling into her role as owner of Cannabis Buyer's Club Berkeley, America's oldest dispensary—which her children now run as Speciale slides into semi-retirement.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Charlie Weiler, banking sales manager at LeafLink joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss his journey from slinging shaved ice at Taylor Swift concerts (and pretty much every major event in the greater Kansas City area) to becoming a cannabis finance pro at Dama Finanancial, which LeafLink acquired in July 2024.
This week, Ryan Dohm and Dustin Dohm, co-founders of GrowDefender, join the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss their patented antimicrobial solution and how it can help prevent operators for failing testing.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, David Loos, co-founder of Frontline Bud Foundation and the founder of Farmer Dave's Consulting joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss the birth of Minnesota's cannabis market, why cannabis is a good industry to build a career and whether or not state cultivators can survive an open market. Oh, and why operators can't skimp on capital expenditures—that's a big one too.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Marvina Thomas, founder and CEO of Fourtwenty Collections, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss her dispensary and consumption lounge retail location in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Kyle Sheridan, owner of Sunny Gardens VT joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss why he makes seeds, his role in the wholesale market, and the current state of Vermont's cannabis industry.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Kelly Burke, COO and co-founder of Kifcure and CEO of Emerald Acres, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how she helped build the largest industrial hemp grower in Illinois.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Dan Mahon, founding member of Canna Capable joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss his efforts to help people with physical disabilities grow cannabis.
Follow Canna Capable on Instagram.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Mike Forenza, managing partner of AE Global, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss the crisis in cannabis packaging, sustainability without greenwashing, and the industry's new top priority.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Scott Jordan, founder of Alternative Finance Network joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Jonathan Spadafora, CEO of Flower Union, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast.
Spadafora's journey into cannabis began when his daughter was dealing with health issues and the family decided CBD could help. But that was before it was widely available, so it meant having to move to Colorado to be near medical professionals that had access to CBD.
This week, Will Read, founder and CEO of CannaPlanners, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss his efforts to normalize cannabis branding by bringing mainstream marketing and branding strategies into an industry still fighting stigma.
This week, Shane Breen, CEO of Silly Nice joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss the wild road that brought him into the industry, one fraught with betrayal and fraud.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
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This week, Joseph Edwards, chief science officer of Yofumo Technologies joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss his unique approach to decontamination with a system that doesn't damage the valuable parts of the plant.
This week, Rocco Del Priore, co-founder of Sweed, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how he built a platform to address unique dispensary challenges and set the table for the AI renaissance.
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Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Elizabeth Corbett, president of enterprise sales at AE Global, joins the podcast to discuss all things packaging and why the industry needs to stop focusing on bargain hunters looking for high-potency products if it wants to grow.
This week, Luna Stower, head of impact at Ispire Technology joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss why we need to stop overregulating, overtaxing, and overcontrolling cannabis.
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Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Louis Samuel, CEO of Golden State Canna, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss why he has loved the delivery side of the industry ever since he sold his first sack.
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Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at david@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Tyler Beuerlein, chief strategic business development officer at Safe Harbor Financial, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss why he expects many banking programs to start bailing on the industry, and why the new administration might be the best thing that's happened to the industry from a legislative standpoint
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Dina Rollman, CEO of StrainBrain, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how StrainBrain's artificial budtender intelligence is drastically increasing average order values for dispensaries and solving problems managing inventory and cart abandonment.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, David Sandelman, founder and CTO of Cannatrol, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how his groundbreaking dry, cure and store technology is preserving trichomes and delivering higher terpene levels.
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Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.*
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This week, Ari Raptis, CEO and founder of Talaria Transportation joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how he built a trusted cannabis logistics provider by investing in tech and hiring a highly skilled team that includes retired police officers and military veterans.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Matthew Shifrin, CEO and owner of Pioneer Interests, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how he built one of the largest cannabis businesses in Colorado, and his plans to double down in the state.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Sorry this episode is late, still getting caught up from MJBizCon, but it was great to see everyone last week.This week, Lilach Mazor Power, founder and CEO of Giving Tree Dispensary joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss why an industry born on passion and innovation needs to get back to basics and stop racing to create the highest THC products for the lowest price.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Mitchel Chargo, partner at Hinshaw & Culbertson, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss why Minnesota's cannabis program could be great once it finds its footing and incredible potential of tribal cannabis.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, John Hartsell, co-founder of Dizpot joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss his company's patented new packaging and why operators need to stop imitating other products and start focusing on having a damn good product.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Shauntel Ludwig, CEO of Synergy Innovation joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss what to do when M&A goes bad, the early red flags, and how to rebuild your brand's reputation, even when customers hate your guts.
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Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Tyler Vaughan, channel sales manager at PreRoll-Er, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss why the industry needs equipment that can evolve with consumer demand and provide access to make any size pre-roll, in any shape, without having to spend more money.
Tyler Vaughan started his professional career as a middle school Spanish teacher, but times changed and he transitioned into business, including the launch of a company that specialized in manufacturing goalkeeper gloves. For the past five years, he has worked on the automation side of the cannabis industry, specifically packaging and pre-roll automation equipment.
Vaughan, now a channel sales manager at PreRoll-Er, is inspired by an industry filled with exceptional individuals, who often end up working multiple roles because cannabis companies are growing exponentially.
This week, Brendan McKee, co-founder, CFO and COO of Silver Therapeutics, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how he continues to open successful adult-use dispensaries while maintaining a 90% employee retention rate and nearly 1,200% revenue growth on private-label products.
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Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.*
Editor's Note: Download the audio version below and click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Marc Rodriguez, co-founder and CEO of Green Leaf Payroll and Business Solutions, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how he helps cannabis operators succeed by getting back to basics, like making sure employees get paid accurately and on time.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Chris Parrington, founder of Cannapliant Consulting and general counsel of Boustead Securities, joins the Cannabis Equipment Podcast to discuss progress in the Minnesota market, industrywide compliance problems and how to fix broken social equity programs.
This week, Matt Hutchinson, chief product officer at LeafLink, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss why he is creating a healthier ecosystem for cannabis buyers and sellers.
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Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Nancy Weber, cannabis sales manager at nVenia, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how she found cannabis more-or-less by accident and why the company invented a high-accuracy multihead weighing scale designed for the industry.
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Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Mark Beginin, founder and CEO of Prodigy Processing Solutions joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss hostile takeovers, "woefully underregulated" extraction and the "alarmingly commonplace" lack of GMP implementation.
This week, Jordan River, host of the GrowCast podcast, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss why everyone should grow their own cannabis plant at least once.
Jordan River started using medical cannabis as a teenager to treat grand mal seizures. Cannabis was the only treatment that helped him recover after a seizure, and he realized that it was a stigmatized plant medicine. The experience set him on a path toward a career in the cannabis industry.
This week, Dan Mondello, co-founder and CEO of Rank Really High joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss advertising that works, AI budtenders, and the astounding lack of professionalism in the industry.
This week, Kevin Schultz, the new vice president of national sales at Sun Theory joins the Cannabis Equipment New podcast to discuss his plans to grow the company's gummy brand into a global juggernaut.
This week, Pete Sahani, CEO of The Blinc Group joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss why the company won't just rely on paperwork, and visits suppliers regularly to test raw materials.
This week, Kevin McKernan, CSO and founder of Medicinal Genomics, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss unique ways to protect against strain theft, the state of cannabis science and how cultivators can grow their way out of yeast and mold failures.
This week, Kristian Andreassen, VP of Product Development at Conception Nurseries, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss why breeders should be paid royalties, how he is reverse engineering legacy genetics and the best strain he's ever seen.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Harrison Bard, co-founder and CEO of Custom Cones USA and DaySavers, is back on the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss where pre-roll manufacturers still need help and why his company joined the new Science of Smokability study.
This week, Jill Ellsworth, founder and CEO of Willow Industries, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss why consumers should not be sold moldy products, full stop.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Gibran Washington, CEO of Ethos Cannabis joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss craft cannabis at MSO scale, inclusion initiative that work and why we should never forget the contributions of the legacy market.
This week, Arthur De Cordova, president and CEO of Ziel and Ketch DeGabrielle, former director of operations at Los Sueños Farms, join the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how they created a consistent, repeatable and predictable way to treat microbial pathogens with radio frequency—but not without setting a few samples on fire first.
This week, Wendy Bronfein and Rebecca Raphael of Curio Wellness join the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how they've built Curio into a resource for consumers looking for cannabis products tailored to specific needs — and less of a generic experience.
This week, Nate Russell, CEO of The Lab and VP of AE Global Midwest joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how he has survived (and thrived) in the cannabis industry despite taking some hits along the way, like robbery, litigation and a mountain lion attack.
This week, Joe Lustberg, managing partner of Upwise Capital, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how he helps greenlight construction projects and equipment purchases, the realities of the "cannabis tax," and his new perspective as an operator in New York.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
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This week, Meg Sanders, CEO of Canna Provisions, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss why it might be time to loosen regulations and take our hands off the wheel a little bit.
Meg Sanders got her start in the cannabis industry in 2009. It was an exciting new industry and Sanders is an entrepreneur at heart who loves a new challenge.
In 2010, she got into the consulting side of the business because she saw a huge need for expertise in the industry, particularly when new states came online. She sold the company in 2017 and moved to the east coast with her partner, Erik Williams. As they consulted for new companies in the Massachusetts market, a client came to them and asked them to come onboard as operators. Canna Provisions was born. The company started on the retail side, opening the second adult-use dispensary in the state, but has since become vertically integrated.
Working with a brand new regulatory body in the state was difficult, with seasoned operators engaging with brand new regulators who didn't really understand the plant or the process. While the state is maturing, it is still rife with inefficiencies that need to be addressed.
It's also expensive from a compliance standpoint and Sanders suggests that it might be time to take the regulatory hands off the wheel a little bit. She says most people in cannabis are struggling against a thriving legacy market because states and municipalities are too greedy when it comes to cannabis. The only ones winning in cannabis are the states.
Jump around:
- Transitioning from consulting to becoming an operator. (3:34)
- Trying to work with new regulators. (5:14)
- Inefficient state regulations. (7:44)
- Problems staffing regulator positions. (17:31)
- Issues with intoxicating hemp products. (21:42)
- What it's like to be a woman in cannabis. (34:24)
- Cultivation strategy with living legend Chemdog. (41:45)
- Why they switched to an employee-owned company. (46:24)
This week, Michael Wang, co-CEO of Ispire Technology, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how he helped build a multi-million-dollar vaping empire by solving pain points for cannabis brands and operators.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
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This week, Drew Nowak, founder of Freedom Green, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how his NFL career prepared him for the competitive Michigan cannabis market.
Before Drew Nowak started his cannabis career, he was a professional athlete, playing in the NFL for nearly five seasons. Nowak spent time as a lineman with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Seattle Seahawks and Kansas City Chiefs.
Nowak founded Freedom Green in Kalkaska, Michigan, to grow high-quality medical and recreational cannabis.
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This week, A.C. Moon, founder of Indica Innovations International, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss why it is imperative for cannabis operators to learn about cannabis licensing and IP management.
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This week, Hirsh Jain, founder of Ananda Strategy, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss Florida's potential, why we can't overlook smaller states and why cannabis operators need help with pretty much everything.
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To email the podcast ,email David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com. To sponsor the podcast, email Tom Lynch at Tom@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Download the audio version below and click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Jake Goodyear, president, and Sarah McLaughlin, director of product R&D at Melt-to-Make, join the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how they are making it faster and easier to make high-quality edibles.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Phoebe DePree, CEO of Goddess Growers joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss her pursuit to make the perfect edible.
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This week, Darren Gleeman, managing partner at MBO Ventures, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) solve the 280E riddle for cannabis operators while increasing employee retention and productivity.
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This week, Kyle Neathery, CEO of Samson Extracts, joins the Cannabis Equipment News Podcast to discuss how he moved from a cannabis operation in Michigan to running a massive hemp processing system in Alabama and all the challenges he encountered along the way.
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This week, Graham Farrar, co-founder, president and chief cannabis officer of Glass House joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how he growing a lot of weed and selling it faster than he can grow it.
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This week, Leslie Bocskor, CEO and chairman of Indoor Harvest joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss the tremendous potential for the cannabis and hemp industries to disrupt multiple markets.
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This week, Jason Haley, owner of Care Waialua and Justin Lehmann from PSGX World join the Cannabis Equipment News podcast from Hawaii to discuss last year's raid on the farm, problems with legalization and why the plant should be free for all.
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This week, Ngaio Bealum, comedian, musician, writer and cannabis advocate, joins the Cannabis Equipment News to talk about how the industry has changed since he became a part of it and how his role within it has evolved as well.
Ngaio Bealum, like many people in the cannabis industry, started out as a stoner. As his love for cannabis grew, so did his knowledge of the legal and social hurdles facing it, and that drove him to become a cannabis activist.
"I mean, I was always an activist, but that became my cause," he said.
Bealum has a lot of irons in the fire. He's a comedian, musician, writer, and cannabis advocate. He credits weed and coffee with his ability to handle such a large and varied workload. He initially resisted the label of cannabis comedian due to the bias it often elicited but eventually decided to just lean into it and embrace the community.
Bealum has been a part of the cannabis community for decades and has watched the industry evolve. He's frustrated with the pace of legalization but encouraged by some recent developments like Germany's recent decision to liberalize cannabis. Despite some similarities, he warned against regulating cannabis like the tobacco industry, stressing that consumers should be able to interact with and smell the cannabis they're buying. He said the cannabis buying process should be more "deli style."
He hopes the future of cannabis consumption looks more like a fancy wine shop that functions more like a cannabis club and social program.
This week, Owen Papworth, co-founder of Oregonix Farms, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss why efficiency per foot is paramount in finding early success as a craft grower with limited canopy feet in a young Illinois market.
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This week, Nick Recht and Scott Fabian from Teklynx join the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how they are eliminating room for error in cannabis labeling.
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This week, Alex Burnett, co-founder of Canna Innovations, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how lean manufacturing principles can have a profound impact on cannabis operators.
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This week, Harrison Bard, CEO and co-founder of Custom Cones USA, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how he built a customer-centric pre-rolled cone and packaging business focused on compliance.
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This week, Casey Creaney, vice president of product integration at Advanced Vapor Devices joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how we are on the tip of the iceberg in terms of advancements in technology, compared to other industries.
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This week, Brett Gelfand, managing partner of Cannabiz Collects, joins the podcast to discuss the cannabis industry's nationwide problems with paying debts and his efforts to fix them.
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This week, Anthony Coniglio, president and CEO of New Lake Capital Partners joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast.
NewLake Capital Partners is an internally managed real estate investment trust that helps cannabis operators fund build-to-suit projects. The company owns some 31 cultivation facilities and dispensaries that are leased to single tenants.
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This week, Noah Novello, founder and CEO of Friday Ventures, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss his tireless work to give people better access to the medicine they need while making more consistent, safe and affordable products.
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We're back and this week, LeafyPack CEO Alain Vo and Director of Market Development and Finance Jonathan Ballard visit the Cannabis Equipment News podcast studio to discuss why automation is a requirement in the volatile cannabis market.
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Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.*
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Kevin Hart, founder and CEO of Green Check joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how he supports the legal cannabis industry by connecting cannabis businesses with the financial and business services they need to grow.
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This week, Carl Saling III, co-founder and CEO of HighDay, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss why he built an AI-powered, all-in-one marketing command center for the industry after countless accounts and campaigns were shut down and banned.
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This week, Jordan Smith, owner of Royal River Botanicals joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss the state of the medical cannabis industry in Maine.
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This week, Harold Bouchard, president of Procepack and PreRoll-ER joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how the industry is using automation, IoT and artificial intelligence. Oh, and how his company is finding success in the European market, including one French manufacturer that is making a million CBD joints per month.
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This week, Jess Tyler, chief revenue officer of MJBiz, joins a bonus episode of the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how MJBizCon has changed this year, expectations for the future and how the show promotes diversity in an evolving industry.
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This week, Dr. Mike McCormick, VP of strategy at FloraWorks, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss why you need to consider plant patents, especially if you are working in cannabis plant genetics or a grower who does extensive work on strains.
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This week, Eddie Celaya, a reporter with the Arizona Daily Star and host of the Here Weed Go! podcast, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss the state of Arizona's cannabis industry, including how the recreational business is looking good while things are cratering in the medical program.Click here to subscribe to our newsletter for cannabis professionals.
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This week, Kyle Loucks, founder of RollPros, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss the process behind building a better automated cannabis pre-roll machine.
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This week, Harley Smith, a professional with nearly 30 years of hydroponics research and education under his belt, and the head of Harley Smith Hydroponics, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss the difficulty unlearning industry myths and why, if you can grow really good tomatoes, you can probably grow really good weed.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Chris Shar, president of One Supply and vice president of business development at ATG Pharma, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss the importance of sticking to what you're good at — and being the best in the market.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
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Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Lindsay Martwick, director of retail at Higher Love, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how the company is growing the best cannabis in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
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Editor's Note: Download the audio version below and click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Nicolas Guarino, founder and CEO of Naturae joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss his challenges as a New York operator and how his company became the largest producer of CO2-extracted cannabis oils in the state.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Christopher Altomare, CEO of Nova Analytic Lab, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss Maine's inadequate testing regulations and what it will take to change the law.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Socrates Rosenfeld, CEO and cofounder of Jane Technologies, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss his plans to organize an entire industry's wealth of information before Google and Amazon.
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Editor's Note: Download the audio version below and click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Zechariah Corcimiglia, CEO of Puffsy, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss the lack of innovation in the cannabis industry and how he created an entirely new product category for brands.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Aaron Ranka, chief revenue officer at Dama Financial, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss the state of the SAFE Banking Act, the bill's flaws and Dama's move to be more than a cannabis banking services company.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Sundie Seefried, CEO of Safe Harbor Financial, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how she wrote the book on cannabis banking, literally.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Onell Crawford, host of the Cannabis Related podcast and industry consultant, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss why he isn’t hungry for every opportunity and chooses to do good business with good people.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Jonathan Bohun, founder and CEO of loyalty and distribution platform Weedar, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss the importance of having a dialogue between company and customer to build a stronger brand loyalty.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Marion Mariathasan, CEO of Simplifya, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how his company does all the compliance heavy lifting for cannabis operators big and small.
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This week, Kim Rael, co-founder and CEO of Azuca, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how the "odd couple of cannabis" perfected edible manufacturing.
In this episode, Rael also discusses:
- Becoming accustomed to the "insanity" of the cannabis business. (13:11)
- How Activator works and serves the cannabis industry, particularly edible manufacturers. (17:42)
- Why the industry is misusing the term "nanoemulsion." (21:03)
- Making an entirely different product for chocolate edible manufacturers. (27:15)
- How to identify products made using Azuca's Activators. (32:46)
- The potential for strain-flavored gummies. (36:16)
- How the product helps promote social cannabis consumption. (38:03)
- The challenges of bringing a new cannabis product to market. (42:15)
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Download the audio version below and click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Shawn Deggans, owner of Green Nanny, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss why no one wants a fully-automated garden.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Deborah Saneman, CEO of Würk, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss why she stepped up after watching multiple HR service providers kick cannabis to the curb and how gamification can improve employee retention.In this episode, Saneman also discusses:
- How to address the unique needs of cannabis companies, like 280E reporting and access to banking. (6:00)
- What happened when Paychex bailed on cannabis operators. (7:10)
- Her all-hands-on-deck approach to onboard a flood of clients and some 3,000 employees in a 30-day window. (10:23)
- How to vet banking partners. (12:14)
- The importance of ethical and supportive workplaces. (19:31)
- How to use wages on demand as an employee retention tool. (23:38)
- What companies can do to be more competitive and bring better talent in house. (32:19)
- How to attract and retain younger workers and the new generation’s desire to increase and gamify the performance review process. (36:56)
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Nick Taraborelli, vice president of Paxiom Automation, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how his company found success by building good quality machines while listening to and supporting clients.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.When it comes to growing any business, balance and scale are key. This week, Robert Beasley, CEO of Fluent, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how he saved the company from "imminent collapse."
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Shea Coakley, co-founder and CEO of High Tide, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how he navigated the very early stages of the cannabis beverage market to carve out a niche by making thoughtful cannabis beverages that prioritize the social experience and help with the de-stigmatization of cannabis. Coakley believes cannabis beverages could be as ubiquitous as alcohol in the next 10 to 20 years.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Dan Grim, CEO and janitor of Good Stuff Manufacturing, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss his success building an award-winning cannabis beverage company and how he plans to shake up the co-packing industry with his coast-to-coast mobile contract manufacturing operation.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Josh Wurzer, chief compliance officer at SC Labs, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss his efforts to legitimize cannabis lab testing and flush out the small number of labs cooking the books.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Jim Glimco, Teamsters Local 777 president, Christopher Smith, business agent at Teamsters Local 777 and Alex Suarez, cannabis agent at Ascend Wellness in Chicago, join the Cannabis Equipment News Podcast to discuss how unions are helping cannabis workers turn their day jobs into careers.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Dr. Bruce Bugbee, President of Apogee Instruments and Professor of Physiology at Utah State University, joins the podcast to discuss his work studying a new crop full of very strange claims, like the importance of planting during a full moon.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Alex Boone, managing director of Botani, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how he started making paper products out of hemp flower, why brand owners are switching to hemp-based paper and problems working with an inexperienced supply chain.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Brian Fitzpatrick, CEO of Qredible joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how he helped tame the wild west mortgage industry and how plans to do the same in cannabis.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Chirag Sheth, global business unit manager at Videojet joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss problems with manual labeling and how new technology, like edible ink, stands to make a big impact for cannabis manufacturers.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Matte Namer, CEO, and Daniel Kahn, VP of Real Estate, from Cannabeta join the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss difficulties with crony capitalism and shady operators as they help cannabis companies find compliant real estate on the East Coast.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Jacob Saboo, co-founder of Cloud Cannabis and Mitten Distro joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss his company's evolution from a small medical vape startup to largest cannabis company in Michigan.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Michael Drozd, CEO of ACT Laboratories joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss his efforts to establish trust in cannabis lab testing.
In this episode, Drozd discusses:
- How ACT Labs became one of the largest cannabis testing networks in the U.S.
- Why it's important to have quality systems that go beyond industry requirements.
- Problems with current industry lab data.
- Conflicts of interest and why individuals with a stake in any part of the cannabis industry shouldn't be able to be involved with labs.
- His efforts, in partnership with SC Labs, to establish Trust in Testing Certification for cannabis labs.
- The importance of unifying cannabis testing protocols state to state.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Carl Joachim, chief marketing officer of ePac Flexible Packaging, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss why digital printing is perfect for an industry that is always changing the rules.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Download the audio version below and click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Bohb Blair, chief marketing officer of Jones Soda and chief brand officer of Mary Jones, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how the independent beverage maker is tapping into 26 years of experience, and some 150 flavors, to become the dominant player in cannabis beverages.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.Today, Jonathan Swope, chief marketing officer at Solis, discusses how his company survived a catastrophic industry-wide scandal and remade itself as a sun-grown cannabis company nearly shut down by an endangered salamander.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Wade Woods, founder and owner of Honeybee Cannabis Company, discusses his upstart business that pairs beekeeping with small-batch edibles, pre-rolls and beverages.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Download the audio version below and click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Brandy Keen, co-founder and senior technical advisor of Surna, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss her nearly 17 years of industry experience helping some 800 cultivators.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Jim Strain, director of cultivation and master grower at Dycar Pharmaceuticals, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to share his wisdom curated over more than 30 years using aeroponics to grow cannabis. He tells us why you take care of the roots, so they'll take care of the fruits.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Jessica Tonani, CEO of Verda Bio, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how she changed cannabis research laws, her work trying to stabilize the plant's genetics, her struggles with state labs and why she launched a commercial side of the business because of a colleague's mother.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Download the audio version below and click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Chris Milan, VP of Sales at CannaBusinessERP joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how cultivators, processors, and finance departments are using new business software to streamline operations and free them from cell tyranny.
On this episode, Editor-in-Chief David Mantey and Milan discuss:
- The number of cannabis operators using ERP software;
- Average integration timelines and pain points;
- Required human and capital investment, as well as ROI;
- Metrc integrations;
- And how a single ERP system can switch operators off of everything else.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week Donald Naugler, director of technology, and Mark Clemons, general manager with VJ Scientific, join the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how to beat cannabis bioburden and the emergence of post-harvest remediation as a significant industry movement in 2023.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Nick Zimmer, CEO and biosecurity specialist at Plantsman, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how cultivators can use "good bugs" for organic, pesticide-free cannabis production.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Francis Descoteaux and Jonathan Bosse, co-founders of Sumo Cannabis in Canada, join the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss why they left their careers as a psychologist and a social worker to create a new cannabis company with a grow operation unlike anything the industry has ever seen.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Daniel Blackburn, senior chemist at Entexs, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss why the industry needs to make complicated extraction equipment easier to use.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Bryan Gerber, CEO of Hara Supply joins the podcast to discuss how he built his cone-making empire on a foundation of cannabis paraphernalia innovation.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Nishant Reddy, CEO and co-founder of A Golden State and Satya Capital, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss why he left the 100-hour workweek grind on Wall Street only to work longer days running multiple successful cannabis businesses that honor the environment.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David@cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Maur Stringer, co-owner of Shakti Green Lit, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss why he moved to the legal side of the industry to try and build a legacy for his family.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week on the podcast, George Mancheril, co-founder and CEO of Bespoke Financial, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss the state of lending in cannabis and why he remains bullish on the industry despite recent economic challenges.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Charles Warner and Alex Morton from STM Canna join the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how cannabis operators may not be able to control the weather or the price of cannabis, but they can control the amount of labor that goes into making pre-rolls
Editor's Note: Download the audio version below and click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Ben Britton, vice president of innovation at Agrify, joins the podcast to discuss why clean and simple solventless extraction will always have a place in the cannabis industry. Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Download the audio version below and click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Nohtal Partansky, co-founder and CEO of Sorting Robotics, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss why he left his job as a NASA engineer to create a robot that can make the perfectly engineered pre-roll.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
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This week, Adam Temple, CEO and CTO of Evolved Extraction Solutions, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss his company's new patented process that allows cannabis operators to provide true just-in-time manufacturing on the fulfillment side of the business while taking advantage of upstream markets as they shift.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Harold Bouchard, president and CEO of PreRoll-ER and Procepack, is back to discuss two new machines for small-batch pre-roll production. He made these machines for smaller cannabis operators who need to make pre-rolls but don't have the capital to automate the process.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Download the audio version below and click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Marcus Tillson, sales director, and Steven Brewster, director of products and R&D at Root Sciences, discuss how the company builds state-of-the-art cannabis processing facilities and why operators are looking for higher-quality equipment.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Download the audio version below and click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Vlad Valme from Thompson Duke Industrial, joins the podcast to discuss why he left a successful career in IT and switched coasts to start a new life in the cannabis industry.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Download the audio version below and click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Jason Sigman, founder and CEO of HighTek USA, joins the podcast to discuss cannabis operators who want a machine to work, be easy to use and look cool.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Download the audio version below and click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Nathaniel Pennington, founder and CEO of Humboldt Seed Company, joins the podcast to discuss how he created the largest licensed seed company in California.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
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This week, Kim Eastman, vice president of manufacturing with Jushi Holdings, discusses the challenges and successes in running a multi-state operator like a small, almost craft operation.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
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This week, Jason Vegotsky, CEO of Petalfast, joins the podcast to discuss his journey from jerky to cannabis and why he built a powerful sales organization to help brands scale.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, American Extractions President John Goepfert joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss his proprietary process that achieves 100% cannabis extraction .
This week, Harold Bouchard, President & CEO of PreRoll-Er, joins the podcast to discuss his award-winning pre-roll machines.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Michael Johnson, CEO of Metrc, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to talk about his first month on the job and how his platform became a tool the industry can't live without.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Matt Hawkins, founder of Entourage Effect Capital, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss the surprising lack of capital in the cannabis industry and what he looks for in a potential partner.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Lance Lambert, CMO of Grove Bags joins the podcast to discuss his transition from digital media and marketing to cannabis industry advocate and executive.
Lambert last month joined Grove Bags, which has focused on leveling up the technology around bags for curing and storage of biomass to promote long-term consistency from post-cultivation to consumption.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Travis Steffen, chief revenue officer of Dama Financial, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss how he helped build GrowFlow, a compliance platform used by cannabis cultivators, distributors, processors and retailers across the United States.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Eric Paulin and Eric Shedlarski, co-founders of Cultivation Warehouse, join the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss the competitive commercial cannabis cultivation landscape and how they stand ahead of the pack. Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Paul McLean, founder and executive director of the Virginia Minority Cannabis Coalition, discusses his efforts to empower black and brown communities to become cannabis shareholders while educating politicians who still believe the plant is nothing more than the "devil's hay."
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Cullen Raichart, founder and CEO of GreenBroz, joins the podcast to discuss the equipment manufacturer's move to Vegas and his efforts to clean up shop operationally without sacrificing company culture.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Charles Pyfrom, CMO with CannGen Insurance Services, joins the podcast to discuss how his company insures the livelihoods of cannabis operators.
Fire damage, theft and even repetitive injuries, cannabis operators face many risks, and industry-specific insurance presents an opportunity to protect companies from unforeseen events.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Jason Reposa, Founder and CEO of Good Feels, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss why he built a bottling machine in his basement after getting laid off.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Jeff Luciano, CEO of High End Group and High End Multi Processing, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to talk about how he rallied a community to open its doors to cannabis after the village board banned dispensaries. Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
In July 2018, Thomas Winstanley joined Theory Wellness. The company was medical-use only at the time with a pair of stores, but Winstanley wanted to work for a small, independent operation that was still cutting its teeth. It has been a fast and sometimes challenging four years.
The company has evolved a lot since Winstanley came onboard.
As Theory moved into recreational sales, its store in Great Barrington, MA, was just the sixth recreational dispensary on the east coast and the closest to New York City. The company transformed overnight and has been playing catchup ever since.
Initially, Winstanley and the rest of the Theory team had their apprehensions as the store approached its opening. What if nobody showed up? The store became an overnight sensation.
Now, Theory operates six stores, three medical in Massachusetts, two recreational in the state, and three recreational dispensaries in Maine – some of the stores are co-located. And the company has plans to continue to grow.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Brandon Bahr, co-founder and CEO of Simple Solvents joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcasts to discuss his evolution to a supplier of premium solvents for botanical extraction.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Ginger Sloan, founder of Zliderz, discusses how she came to believe in cannabis when it helped her mother kick the narcotics she had been taking for 30 years. Now, she sees big opportunities on the horizon.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
Editor's Note: Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Narbé Alexandrian, president and CEO of RIV Capital, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss his move from venture capital in the tech industry to the head of a cannabis investment and acquisition firm that recently made a strategic shift to the U.S. market.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
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This week, David Kessler, Chief Science Officer of Agrify discusses how intentional production will solve one of cannabis producers’ biggest challenges: making a consistent product.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.*
This week, Steve Gutterman, CEO of Falcon Brands, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss life at the helm of California's largest cannabis company.Steve Gutterman spent most of his career in financial services, but the cannabis industry enticed him because it was the first industry that reminded him of the early days of online financial services. Although he says cannabis is no different from any other industry, you have to run a good business to be successful.
To remain California's largest cannabis company, Gutterman says Falcon Brands blends an "authentic OG street cred" with world-class professionalism. The company consists of professionals from Pepsi, Coke, Ford, E-Trade and Black & Decker, as well as industry pioneers. He says it combines precision and professionalism with a passion, and it's proven to be a good pairing.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Haitham Al-Beik, CEO and Founder of Wings, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss his efforts to remove the biggest pain points in cannabis retail with automation.
Editor’s note: While we have continued to do the podcast weekly, it has jumped around a bit as we have scaled up our newsletter. Next week, it will return to its traditional slot on Thursdays. Thank you for your patience, and thank you for continuing to support the podcast.Click here to subscribe to our newsletter.
This week, Milan Patel, co-founder and CEO of PathogenDx, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss high-speed cannabis testing. How it works, who uses it, and what (if anything) it misses.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
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This week, Mikhail Sagal and Gary Arnold, co-founders of TSRgrow, discuss how they engineer, design and manufacture LED lighting solutions for thousands of operators in the industry.
According to Gary Arnold, TSRgrow doesn't just sell lighting, but a total grow solution, which also happens to be the name of the company's product (TOTALgrow Solution™). The company isn't looking for customers but partners in cannabis. They start each relationship by looking at the grower's business plan, figuring out what they plan to produce, how they plan to produce it, and ensuring that the company is grounded properly to achieve those goals. Without the proper preparation, operators can make many costly mistakes real quick.
The Total Grow Solution is a platform that combines LED lighting, distributed lighting power, environmental control and monitoring systems, and grow management software. According to Sagal, it's a digital platform that gives operators absolute control. He calls it Lighting as a Platform (LaaP).
Sagal has a history in thermal and mechanical product design and engineering. He started the company 13 years ago specifically to get into LED lighting product design and development. Arnold joined the company a year later to help develop a new gold standard in cannabis industry lighting.
Networked lighting enables remote or onsite monitoring, which helps TSRgrow maintain a close relationship with clients and stay involved with the configuration. They strive to give cannabis operators a guide to what they should be doing to succeed. They say the industry still has a glaring knowledge gap, but they can help improve consistency, yield and efficiency.
This industry will get more competitive, and Arnold says the businesses that will win will have a plan that can change and adapt. Costs will go up, prices of the product will come down, and that will make or break customers going forward. Survival is based on your company's ability to control costs, maximize yield and continue to grow with expansion.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
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Dan Horowitz had been in the packaging business for eight years when he wanted a change. He was looking for something new when a recruiter asked, "Have you ever thought about cannabis?"
He met with Schutte Hammermill, a company with a more than 90-year legacy making milling and shredding equipment, and decided to come aboard as the sales manager for the company's new cannabis division, KannaMill.
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This week, Brandon Barksdale, CEO of Dalwhinnie Farms, discusses his transformation from finance to leading a premium cannabis company focused on growing the cleanest product in the market.Brandon Barksdale wants to increase operational excellence and maturity in the cannabis industry.
The new CEO of Dalwhinnie Farms has spent time improving operations in various markets, from retail to manufacturing and technology, and he wants to bring best practices from each into the cannabis industry.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week on the Cannabis Equipment News podcast, Kenny Morrison, founder of VCC Brands, discusses how he was pulled out of a basement grow and into the nascent California cannabis industry, where he helped lead one of the first five dispensaries in Los Angeles County.Kenny Morrison is a risk-taker. In 2006, he was working with friends growing cannabis in a basement when he decided to try his hand in the upstart California retail market. Morrison landed a partnership helping the Farmacy in West Hollywood expand after hitting it off with the owner. It wasn't an easy ride; the store was raided during his first year.
He learned many things at the Farmacy, but perhaps the most important was that he wasn't cut out for retail. So in 2008, he founded Venice Cookie Company, driven to create tasty, safe and wellness-oriented products.
When Morrison first jumped into product manufacturing, he enlisted a cousin who was a pastry chef. He asked her to manufacture his first three products — all cookies — in her kitchen. Manufacturing products at that time was challenging; for example, cannabis product testing wasn't yet a reality, so Morrison couldn't guarantee the products' potency within a 10% variance (he says between 20%-25% was more doable). Inaccurate dosing wasn't a big problem in those days. Morrison recalls thinking that you could put cannabis in pretty much anything and it would sell. Most of his products ranged between 60 mg and 180 mg of THC. Once, in 2010, he tried a 6 mg product, and it was laughed off the shelf. It was a little ahead of its time.
As Venice Cookie Company evolved, Morrison branched into new product categories, including tea (Subtle Tea), chocolate (4.20 Bar), tinctures (ONE tincture) and beverages (Cannabis Quencher (CQ)). The company became much more than cookies, so Morrison rebranded as VCC Brands.
For a time, VCC operated a kitchen to manufacture its products. It ran from 4 p.m. through the night in an effort to work while the health department was closed. Eventually, Morrison sold the facility and pivoted to third-party manufacturers. Although his co-packing partners sometimes struggle to get the product right, things are looking up.
Morrison says he is all-in on the beverage market. With CQ as a company cornerstone, VCC has continued to expand and license products into other markets, including a low-dose beverage soon to debut in Massachusetts.
Morrison is a man of many passions. He's a surfer, jiu-jitsu practitioner, and he's held jobs as an actor, documentarian and music video director. While he may not have been cut out for retail, his brands are poised to leave a lasting legacy in the cannabis industry.
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This week, Terry Van Gelder, president at AGT Technologies, discusses why, after more than 40 years in the construction industry, he turned his attention to hybrid greenhouses for the cannabis industry.
Van Gelder's hybrid greenhouses have a dual membrane system; essentially, it's a building inside a building insulated by a constant flow of hot air. In 2019, the innovative design received an Edison Award for energy and sustainability.
Van Gelder uses a commercial building system rather than traditional greenhouse framing. He says it gives cannabis operators the ability to build indoor grow facilities of any size, in any location without traditional greenhouse limitations. For example, the sealed, cleanroom laboratory environment guarantees the purity and safety of crops. The buildings are also stronger to better stand up to the elements.
The buildings have some interesting features, like oil bath fans that eliminate airborne contaminants, a reflective coating to amplify natural daylight and the ability to mimic other climates. It sounds ambitious, but Van Gelder has come up with a way to replicate climates from anywhere around the world.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Paulo Sobral, a consultant at Drink Cannabis LLC, discusses why he left Pepsi in 2014 to join an upstart cannabis industry.
Sobral is a "cannabis beverage fanatic" focused on helping develop and market innovative products that change the way people consume cannabis. While Sobral was at the Hall of Flowers event in Palm Springs, California, he stepped away from the show to talk about why he left Pepsi's corporate environment and jumped into an industry he found more inspiring.
His interest in cannabis beverages started in 2016 when he first tried Cannabis Quencher, which turned out to be his favorite. However, some of the 100 mg drinks available seven years ago were non-homogenous, with sediment at the bottom, oil at the top and they had a tasty roulette-style experience. Coming from Pepsi, he realized the industry needed more consistency to build a sustainable brand.
Sobral believes cannabis beverages will be the largest consumer segment in the industry. They are more sessionable, which means more units are consumed. Plus, everybody drinks liquid, he says. The biggest problem right now is that the industry doesn't have enough people narrowly focused on the category.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, James Eaves, Ph.D, director of indoor agriculture at VoltServer, discusses what he calls the first innovation to electricity since the current wars between Tesla and Edison.
VoltServer produces equipment and software that drastically reduces the cost, danger and time associated with installing and maintaining power systems. They call it "Digital Electricity™."
Digital Electricity™ offers the characteristics of high-power electricity but uses the same wiring and installation methods as low-power electricity. Eaves describes the technology as high-power electricity that you can touch.
Challenging a 150-year-old institution can be difficult, and the company has received a heated response from the market as it threatens the status quo. Although the cannabis industry tends to be more open to new ideas, many stakeholders remain in disbelief.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at david(at)cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Mark Doherty, partner at Doherty Agriculture and advisor to Dual Draft Integrated Airflow discusses what he's encountered in more than 10 years in the controlled environment agriculture market.
He built his first commercial indoor farm in 2010 and made every mistake imaginable, but he learned a lot. Since then, the market has changed drastically.
Now, he works with Dual Draft to solve some of the traditional problems with racking systems in the cannabis industry, like water pooling and airflow consistency.
Dual Draft’s proprietary technology provides consistent airflow which eliminates micro climates and ensures consistent growing conditions. He says it's the only product that offers under-canopy airflow.
The product recently debuted and received an incredible response at MJBizCon 2021.
This week, Wes Reynolds, President and CEO, Green Mill Supercritical discusses his transition from a 20-year Coca-Cola vet to the head of Green Mill Supercritical, a company that specializes in CO2 extraction.
Reynolds discusses why his company is fully invested in CO2 extraction and how, by the end of 2022, ethanol-free CO2 extraction stands to become the standard for all others to meet.
Green Mill recently released its outlook for the extraction industry in 2022 and while the industry has shown promise, it wasn't without its disappointment. For example, some companies make exaggerated product claims, and they may be in for a reckoning next year.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out a lot by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com.
This week, Mitch Galton, Director of Business Development at urban-gro, discusses why he left college early to start a career in cannabis.
Galton's new cannabis path commenced in LED lighting with Fluence, but has since graduated into a role that has him working closer to the plant at urban-gro, a company that specializes in architectural, engineering and cultivation systems integration for commercial cannabis and controlled environment food facilities.
Urban-gro has worked on more than 450 indoor cultivation projects that have ranged from 10,000 square feet to 1.8 million square feet. Galton takes us through the process of building an indoor cultivation facility, including how to increase canopy while reducing energy consumption.
While Galton says that every client is different, urban-gro can work with any budget to make it happen. Galton says building a cultivation facility is a lot like building a car, most people want a Ferrari, but what they need (or can afford) is a Camry. Sticking with the car metaphor, building a cannabis facility is a lot like buying a car, after you determine your budget, you have to choose which features are most aligned with your goals.
Urban-gro is having a big year, experiencing some 119% growth year-over-year in the third quarter. The company recently announced an exclusive contract outside of the cannabis industry with Urban Health Farms to design and build approximately 20 turn-key, food-focused vertical farms throughout Europe.
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This week, Luke Costello discusses why Mach Technologies entered the cannabis business after noticing some glaring gaps in equipment and innovation.
Mach Technologies has been making highly automated equipment for more than 80 years. The company's experience ranges from the automotive to pharmaceutical industries.
Three years ago, the company looked at the cannabis industry and noticed some gaps in the equipment and support. For example, they saw companies using equipment designed for garages being used on a commercial scale.
At the beginning of the industry, margins were good, and efficiency wasn't a priority, but as margins became tighter, companies started turning to automation. Mach wanted to seize on the lack of innovation and automation and help companies produce a more affordable and consistent end product using the company's state-of-the-art automated extraction equipment.
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This week, Christian Hageseth, chief operating officer of VIST Labs, discusses how a game of golf permanently changed the trajectory of his career.
In 2009, Hageseth was an out-of-work real estate finance professional who was a casualty of the economic crisis in 2008. He was invited to play a round of golf where he met an individual opening a dispensary in the up-and-coming Colorado cannabis industry.
Hageseth started in the cannabis industry in July 2009, about six weeks before business took off in Colorado following rules that opened up the medical market. He got a little lucky with the timing, but he had his first plant in the ground by September 2009, and he has been growing and selling legal weed ever since.
While he has founded many companies in the industry and even authored a book, Big Weed, Hageseth's latest venture, VIST Labs, is his effort to clean up the cannabis industry's dirty secrets. Hageseth wants to deliver clean cannabis to the consumer with a process that makes the product much more shelf-stable. The tech means a safer product for consumers while remaining a boon for cannabis cultivators sitting on a surplus -- as well as those looking to market a more pure product.
VIST's patent-pending CryoPasteurization decontamination technology kills mold, yeast and bacteria while preserving terpene and cannabinoid levels.
The company also created AMAPS, an aseptic modified atmosphere packaging system that protects and extends product freshness.
VIST has a fleet of mobile labs that travel to facilities to provide microbial screening to identify the level of contaminants in flower or shake and treat the affected product.
When Hageseth got into the cannabis industry, he says it was made up of a bunch of cowboys, yahoos and crazies (he was a cowboy that was a little bit crazy), but as the business has evolved, his entrepreneurial spirit drove him to help make it a bit safer for consumers and businesses alike.
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This week, Jeffrey Thorn, CEO of 420 Kingdom, discusses why he sold his HR outsourcing company to start a high-end cannabis delivery service based on aeroponic cultivation.
In 2000, Jeffrey Thorn founded a human resources outsourcing company that specialized in helping cannabis companies with payroll and benefits. A few years ago, he lost his passion for the business. He’d show up at 10 a.m. and be gone by 3 p.m. What’s worse, he didn’t like his employees anymore. He sold the business and was looking for a new project. At the time, he was 53 years old and didn’t know if he had the energy to put in the time and effort to lead another successful startup.
A new cannabis venture wasn’t his first inclination. Thorn had voted against cannabis legalization in California, but he admits that he was naïve. He wasn’t a big user (he prefers mushrooms), but he realized that the community included doctors, lawyers and many other people using cannabis for medical and recreational reasons. It wasn’t just a bunch of potheads, he says.
Thorn had heard the all-too-familiar stereotype that the cannabis industry was a pot of gold and all you had to do was show up and plant weed. Like many others before him, he quickly found out that’s not true. Like any other business, it takes a lot of work — but he found that he really enjoyed it. While it’s not easy, he says he’s in it for the long haul.
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This week, Andrew Thut, chief investment officer of 4Front Ventures discusses how he moved from a career in finance to become a leader at a vertically integrated, multi-state cannabis operator.
4Front Ventures has a reputation for hitting high product quality standards with low-cost cultivation and production, but it wasn't without significant investment in automation and human capital.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out a lot by giving the podcast a positive review on Apple podcast or whatever platform you use. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com with “Email the Podcast” in the subject line.
Editor's Note: Download the audio version below and click here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Grant Schuster and Jacob Dooley from Accelerant Manufacturing discuss their Production as a Service (PaaS) business model that offers "cannabis manufacturing in a box."
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out a lot by giving the podcast a positive review on Apple podcast or whatever platform you use. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com with “Email the Podcast” in the subject line.
This week, Dave Nestoff, director of product and engineering at Simplifya, discusses how he landed at a cannabis compliance software company after two very different careers — and why he loves working for startups.
Nestoff is a self-described renaissance man, and the nature of startups allowed him to wear many hats during his career. At Simplifya, he not only works on software engineering, but he also has a chance to flex writing skills cultivated during stints as a journalist and teacher.
Software development wasn't the first choice for Nestoff. A few years ago, he was working at a startup marketing firm that exposed him to the business' database and front-end side. It forced him to rethink his career, and he reinvented himself at a development boot camp in Chicago. Simplifya recruited him out of the boot camp because he had a unique perspective as a developer coming from a different career, rather than a green computer science major right out of school.
Simplifya is a software as a service (SaaS) company that helps cannabis operators remain compliant with state and local regulations as well as internal best practices. The platform provides self-auditing and assessment software in four different tools:
- Self Audits: Audits tailored to each business to identify and remedy areas of non-compliance.
- Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs): Update and track internal SOPs.
- Smart Cabinet: A document storage and organization tool.
- License Tracker: Provides reminders for renewals and stores all relevant documentation needed to maintain a license.
Nestoff says Simplifya is an out-of-the-box tool used by cultivators, operators and other cannabis businesses to remain compliant. It seems simple, but the software helps ensure that companies don't lose their licenses and can maintain their businesses using best practices.
Simplifya has been in business for five years and now has more than 1,000 locations. Its customers range from small, mom-and-pop shops to large multi-state operators and ancillary companies.
Documentation and compliance are more labor-intensive in the cannabis industry, and Simplifya is designed to help companies do more with smaller compliance teams.
Nestoff says that cannabis operators can help protect their companies by doing things right from an operational standpoint from the outset. The company will be better positioned when regulators start visiting the facility, particularly in states that have recently come online with legalization.
Simplifya's audits are simple and straightforward, with a series of yes or no questions catered specifically to each operator and the licenses they hold. It takes state and local regulations and transforms them to be relevant and digestible to each operator.
The company has customers in 21 states spanning cultivation, distribution, manufacturing and more. But, as Nestoff says, every operator runs the business in a unique way, which is why it is essential for Simplifya to be configurable to each operator.
This week, Tim Vrieling and David Wolf, founders of Greenbox Builders, discuss how their pre-engineered, pre-designed and pre-specified facilities can get cannabis operators up and running faster by cutting out 85% of the design and development time.
In June, Vrieling and Wolf founded Greenbox to solve a common problem in the cannabis industry: facility construction. The pair had experience building in technical environments, working on everything from medical device and pharmaceutical labs to test kitchens and science buildings at universities.
Recently, Vrieling experienced an uptick in interest from cannabis businesses at Integrate Lab Builders Inc., an architectural design firm that he has run for the better part of five years in Southern California. He found that the design and build process in the cannabis industry was taking much longer than other markets for myriad reasons.
For example, municipalities were making it more difficult to get plans approved for conditional use permits or receive building permits. The requirements are more challenging, so Vrieling and Wolf came up with an idea to pre-package structures with a complete set of plans that are already engineered — with drawings completed and typical code issues addressed. On average, Vrieling says that it could take nine months from when a cannabis operator starts with a municipality to when construction could begin. With his new process, he says clients could be in front of the planning commission within 45 days.
Greenbox builds pre-engineered, pre-designed and pre-specified Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) facilities made of insulated concrete form structures. The company’s initial offering includes 3,360-square-foot and 4,500-square-foot analytical and extraction labs. According to Wolf, the structures are formed much like building a facility out of Lego bricks. Eventually, the company hopes to offer cultivation facilities and edibles kitchens as well.
According to Vrieling, the value of the system lies in taking months, or even years, off the timeline to get facilities up and operational. Startup cannabis companies often fail to get off the ground because of time lost during construction that quickly eats into startup capital. Vrieling said the downtime is usually more costly than the entire facility, and the lost opportunities and business can be devastating.
New customers have previously come to the company in the middle of the process looking for help retrofitting an old facility. Although they take on that work, Vrieling said the value is building a new facility from the ground up, so clients can avoid the many pitfalls between cities and retrofit projects.
While municipalities can cause hiccups during the process, the demands for the structure are similar to those in other industries: control over cross-contamination, adulteration, and odor controls, among others.
The builders stressed the importance of keeping it simple. Timeliness is critical, so they cut out as much of the design process as possible. The buildings are about 85% complete before the project begins, and then each is tweaked to suit individual municipalities and climates.
Although the company is new, Wolf and Vrieling have one new structure under contract in Oklahoma and are currently negotiating with two other cannabis companies in the U.S. The company started with analytics testing and extraction facilities because they found a significant disconnect between the number of growing and processing facilities in the U.S. compared to the number of testing facilities.
The company is green in more than just the name, but the staff of savvy architectural veterans hope to set it up for success in the fast-paced cannabis industry.
This week, Matt Cohen, founder of Lively Spirits, discusses his transformation from a college student activist to an entrepreneur trying to crack the premium cannabis cocktail code.
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Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out a lot by giving the podcast a positive review. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com with “Email the Podcast” in the subject line.*
Editor's Note: Clck here to subscribe to our newsletter.This week, Trent Woloveck, chief commercial director at Jushi Holdings, discusses his evolution from a finance guy who dabbled in product development to a leader of a multi-state cannabis operator.
llease make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out a lot by giving the podcast a positive review on Apple podcast or whatever platform you use. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com with “Email the Podcast” in the subject line.
This week, Aaron Silverstein, vice president of production and business development at the House of Saka, discusses how he became one of the world's leading experts on cannabis-infused wine by accident.
This week, Jim Higdon discusses his evolution from journalist and author to co-founder and chief communications officer of Cornbread Hemp, a company dedicated to manufacturing USDA organic-certified, whole-flower CBD products.
This week, Rob Sechrist, president of the Pelorus Equity Group, discusses his role leading one of the cannabis industry's largest commercial real estate lenders.
Sechrist has focused on the cannabis industry for more than four years, but the company has been in business for more than two decades. Since 1991, Pelorus has participated in more than $1 billion of commercial real estate investment business across 5,000 transactions.
The company is an asset-based lender that focuses on value-add transactions, which means a portion of each loan is held back to be used for property improvements.
Sechrist says that getting a cannabis business off the ground doesn't stop with buying a cannabis-use property, but rather the tenant improvements to the building to configure it for cannabis use and the equipment.
Until Pelorus came along, industry lenders were solely focused on acquisition or refinance lending. As a result, lenders weren't concerned with how they would get paid back -- or stabilizing the business for cash flow -- even though tenant improvements and equipment are typically more costly than the property value.
Sechrist sees cannabis real estate as a tremendous opportunity, with cannabis properties generating 10x to 15x more than non-cannabis tenants.
Pelorus limits its scope to experienced operators and performs a feasibility review of every element of a project before they ever get off the ground -- they want to make sure the tenant will be able to make the payments.
There are very few value-add lenders that are solely dedicated to cannabis. Federal law prevents most traditional lenders from financing these projects. Even when financing is obtained, it's a complex process with multiple stages that can take several months to complete. These financing delays are widespread and often cost businesses millions.
Since joining the industry, Sechrist has noticed that the cannabis borrowing community is different than any he has experienced. However, because every cannabis operator has fought through similar struggles, competitors have a sense of community resulting from surviving through similar issues that have created mutual respect.
Pelorus prides itself on being faster than institutional lenders. The team uses its extensive experience to understand an opportunity rapidly, structure a logical solution and execute a timely close (approved construction draws in 1-3 days).
This week, Colin Ferrian, co-founder and analyst at MJResearchCo, discusses why, as an investment analyst, he is working to generate more empathy for the cannabis industry.
Empathy in the cannabis industry is rare, especially among the investment community. According to Ferrian, the industry has two types of people: those with money — investment capital — and those with experience. Ferrian works as a hybrid that can steer capital investment in the right direction while understanding of how systems and other capital projects should be run in the cannabis industry.
With a background that includes work as both an investment analyst and in cannabis operations roles, Ferrian is uniquely suited to help investors predict the sustainability of larger companies and gain a better understanding of what's under than hood, rather than just gleaming information off filings and press releases.
Ferrian founded MJResearchCO to provide institutional analysis for cap allocators in the investment industry. Typically, these are smaller, family offices and institutional funds that want to put money to work in the cannabis industry.
Ferrian was drawn to the industry because he saw it as the secular growth industry for his generation. Secular growth happens when something fundamentally changes within an industry to create a wave of new demand. Ferrian says cannabis is a "generational opportunity" with demand proven by the illicit market for centuries. Last year's market conditions also proved that cannabis is recession-resistant.
Ferrian founded MJResearchCo about seven months ago, and he offers deep quantatative research paired with detailed operational evaluation for those looking to invest millions of dollars in the industry. To paint a full picture of operators in hyper-growth mode, he looks at everything from unit economics to turnover and organizational structure.
Cannabis investment remains a relatively small market with a need for deeper research into the industry. However, the market will grow with the de-scheduling of cannabis.
Cannabis businesses require an extensive amount of capital. Since there are less institutional folks in the industry, it makes it difficult to find the right dance partner — investor — with similar goals. Ferrian hopes to accomplish just that.
This week, Zach Pitts, CEO and founding partner of Ganja Goddess, discusses graduating during a recession and stumbling into a cannabis career that has now spanned more than 13 years.
When Pitts graduated from college, he pursued a career in urban planning, but he failed to find regular work. In 2007, developers weren’t hiring and he was at a loss. Around the same time, Tara Wells, Ganja Goddess’ co-founder, was cultivating and manufacturing edibles for the legal medical market — traditional products like brownies and gingerbread. She needed help getting the startup off the ground, and Pitts came onboard as a way to make some money and survive.
But the partnership outgrew his temp job and slowly built a career. In 2011, Pitts and Wells started a California-based delivery business in an effort to make their products available to more patients.
The decision to create a delivery startup was driven by two factors:
- Consumer demand from areas that didn't have access to dispensaries.
- Creating a safer, more comfortable experience for customers, particularly women.
At the time, Wells found medical dispensaries to be unappealing. They were dimly lit, shabby buildings with bars on the windows and security guards at the door, and they were typically staffed by young men. The experience made her uncomfortable — like a criminal. She wanted to create an experience that spoke to her and why she used cannabis. Pitts and Wells carefully crafted Goddess Delivers as a delivery business and website that was more open, accepting and feminine. They wanted to serve the non-traditional cannabis user in pop culture.
Soon after the delivery business launched, the Ganja Goddess edibles brand was unified with Goddess Delivers under a single brand. The delivery service took off and the edible business took a back seat. The duo eventually put the edibles division on hiatus to concentrate on delivery, but they continue to maintain the proper licenses and plan to resume manufacturing as soon as possible.
Although confusing and turbulent at first, the COVID-19 pandemic caused enormous growth for the company. At the beginning of 2020, the company was on pace for 30% growth. As the pandemic closed storefronts, demand for delivery exploded, and Ganja Goddess experienced more than 100% growth. The surge caused a few logistical headaches and growing pains, but Pitts and Wells were able to navigate the increase while planning for the future.
Pitts is currently working on raising investment capital and hopes to land $5 million to expand the company’s manufacturing capabilities and restart the edibles brand. The fundraising effort is a new one for Pitts, but he welcomes the challenge. The company is also interested in expanding the business model — not just in California, where it covers more than 94% of the population, but in New York and Virginia as those states join the recreational market.
Pitts and Wells emulated e-commerce strategies to make a website that is easy for consumers to navigate and create hubs that enable next-day delivery anywhere in the state.
Before the pandemic, many companies — not just in cannabis — were already being pushed into delivery by the Amazon phenomenon, but the pandemic permanently changed the mindset of the consumer.
Ganja Goddess is designed to appeal to people 35 and older, and about 45% of its customers are women. Pitts hopes to further expand the market, taking the cannabis-curious and turning them into cannabis loyalists. Some 94% of Ganja Goddess sales are from existing customers; 75% are from customers that have been with the company for six months or longer.
Ganja Goddess was uniquely positioned when the pandemic hit. While it was tough in the beginning, the company's forward thinking helped adapt to rigorous new safety protocols and set it up for a successful year.
This week, Jill Ellsworth, founder and CEO of Willow Industries, talks about her transformation from running a successful cold-pressed juice company to creating startup Willow Industries, a manufacturer and service provider dedicated to cannabis decontamination.
Ellsworth is a registered dietician with a Master’s degree in food science nutrition. About seven years ago, she started a cold press juice company in Santa Barbara, California, with another location in Denver. She pivoted the company to a beverage distributor based in Denver, which she eventually sold. An entrepreneur, Ellsworth was looking for her next move. At the same time, cannabis had become legal in Colorado and she found that many of the food safety regulations that shaped her previous venture didn't exist in the nascent industry.
While cultivators were required to test batches of flower for potential contaminants, they lacked the resources to remedy any potential problems. Ellsworth saw a need and decided the time was right to found Willow Industries and develop a system for cultivators faced with contamination. The move was also a consumer safety play. In food, the technology is called the kill step, and it’s typically the final stage in the food manufacturing process — during which potentially deadly pathogens are removed from a product before it reaches a customer. She wanted to create a kill step for cannabis.
Testing requirements have become more robust in the past five years, yet they remain very siloed and state-specific. The kill step remains optional, but Ellsworth says cultivators should expect it to become required with federal legalization.
The team at Willow created a system that uses ozone to safely clean cannabis flower and trim without sacrificing quality, flavor or effect. The technology was designed specifically for cannabis. Ellsworth could have adopted technology from other industries and tried to make it work for cannabis, but she wanted to make a system that was appropriate and applicable for cannabis. The result is an organic, gentle solution that doesn't alter terpenes, cannabinoids or structure, and extends product shelf-life.
Ellsworth sees her product as an insurance policy that protects companies against product recalls. Recalls can be a brand-killer, and Willow offers companies the ability to market “clean cannabis,” not unlike the USDA organic and Non-GMO verified labels found in the food and beverage industry.
The WillowPure system is a plug-and-play machine that cultivators can rent or lease; the company also provides onsite processing as a service. Ellsworth prefers a leasing model to traditional sales. As they continue to innovate at Willow, leases make it easier for customers to upgrade to keep pace with the industry. The system processes 10 to 15 pounds per run, on average, but the amount of product and treatment time depends upon the type of product and amount of contamination. For companies using WillowPure as a kill step, treatment times range from one to four hours. Serious contamination cases can take up to eight hours to process.
According to Ellsworth, the ROI turns from service to leasing at about 10,000 square feet of cultivation. At such volumes (and higher), a long-term lease agreement is ideal, but it depends on the market. For example, Oklahoma has many licensees with small batches and plant counts, so Willow’s services business does well in the state. In Michigan, Massachusetts and Florida, it makes more sense for huge cultivations to bring a WillowPure system in-house.
This week, Andrew Lange, president of Ascendant Management, discusses his work designing more than 1.5 million square feet of indoor cannabis facilities across more than 56 projects. When he started out, he primarily saw smaller projects of less than 20,000 square feet, but as the industry has evolved, he now rarely works on anything less than 50,000 square feet.
Lange started off in Washington state building fully automated aquariums that ranged from $30,000 to $80,000 installations. He made some connections with people who had medical licenses and helped install aeroponic/hydroponic setups. He found similarities between the cannabis market and high-end aquariums, including controls and LED lighting integration. However, the cannabis operators were often paying a lot of money for under-performing equipment.
In 2010, he founded Ascendant Management in Olympia, Washington, and it has grown into a boutique — but highly sought-after — firm with eight employees.
Over the past five years, Lange has noticed an uptick in the amount of equipment designed and manufactured specifically for the commercial cannabis industry. A few years ago, manufacturers were still manufacturing equipment to run on 120-V or 240-V, because that's typically what you had to work with in home grows. Only recently have OEMs started designing for industrial facilities.
Lange embraces new technology, and he is selective when it comes to new clients. He strives to increase efficiency and decrease labor costs using automation, but until recently, startups didn't want to do anything new. He’s transitioned away from $400,000 facilities operating on a shoestring budget and now works with sophisticated investors who are open to using new tech in $20 million facilities.
In 2015, Lange started working with Onyx Agronomics. Onyx set up shop in an old warehouse that was in rough shape. Lange wanted to work with Onyx because the company wanted to build an extremely efficient, aeroponically operated facility that was LED lit and 60% more energy efficient than its nearest competitors. Now, the company provides 10,000 to 12,000 pounds of the most consistent, cleanest and “greenest” Cannabis in the state of Washington every year -- and the company is currently working on a new expansion.
As the industry emerges from the pandemic, supply chain issues persist. Costs are high, lead times are long (if materials are available at all) and timelines are getting pushed out, sometimes due to availability of basic materials, like piping. Lange used to tell people to take their time buying equipment, but now he’s telling clients to order anything, particularly anything metal, as soon as possible.
Ascendant Management offers design and engineering services as well as general contracting. Lange says he is driven to show companies how to “do it right” for cannabis.
*The Cannabis Equipment News Podcast is an interview series with growers, processors, manufacturers, distributors and other professionals who work within the legal cannabis industry.
Please make sure to like, subscribe and share the podcast. You could also help us out a lot by giving the podcast a positive review on Apple podcast or whatever platform you use. Finally, to email the podcast or suggest a potential guest, you can reach David Mantey at David @cannabisequipmentnews.com with “Email the Podcast” in the subject line.*
This week, Jesse Elkins, founder of Grow Industries, discusses how he became one of the most sought-after designers of cannabis cultivation and manufacturing facilities.
Much of Elkins' story is being at the right place at the right time. When he graduated high school in Washington State, he enrolled in refrigeration school to become an HVAC professional. At the same time, the state legalized medical-use cannabis. A few of his friends started small home grows, and he helped them off with HVAC as side jobs. However, he soon began receiving referrals, and the side job snowballed into a business. In 2007, he founded ClimaGrow, a company that specialized solely on climate control for indoor cannabis gardens.
By 2015, the company grew to more than 20 employees. In 2014, when the recreational cannabis market was legalized, Elkins was perfectly positioned as the only expert in the market. He landed every job, and his business transformed from a basement grow specialist to managing industrial grows.
In 2016, Elkins founded Grow Industries. While ClimaGrow focused on climate control, Elkins wanted to design and build the entire cultivation factory. He landed some of the biggest names in the state and went on to create some of the most envied facilities in the state, including operations at Wonderbrett and Bountiful Farms.
After 20 years in the business, Elkins has seen many changes as the industry has evolved and fine-tuned his approach to facility design. Elkins wants to be the Henry Ford of the cannabis industry. While Ford didn't invent the car, he essentially created modern manufacturing and put out a better product faster, using automation.
Four years ago, nearly half of his business was retrofitting new buildings designed and built incorrectly. The jobs included complete tear-outs at dozens of facilities, mounting up to much wasted time and money because fledgling companies hired mechanical engineers without industry experience.
The other half of Elkins' business was retrofitting old buildings to suit cannabis operations. With old buildings come a legacy of problems. Elkins recalls one client who purchased an old shop from around the 1930s. His calculations were correct, and the dehumidification set, but during the last few weeks of flower, the facility experienced huge humidity spikes, and Elkins was flummoxed. He discovered that the slab under the building was only two inches thick. Side note: The slab should be six inches thick, at minimum four inches. As a result of the shotty slab, the facility pulled groundwater through the concrete and ruining the grow.
Elkins says that it is always better to build a facility from the ground up, but he understands that sometimes you have to make an old building work. For any retrofit, he advises ripping the building down to the studs, sealing the concrete floor and sanitizing the entire facility -- it's impossible to know the contaminants, insects and mold that remain from the previous owner.
While Elkins started in Washington, he now lives in Arizona. He has built facilities from Washington to Boston and around the country, including 18 months in California.
Last week, Grow Industries was acquired by GCorp, a small management and consulting services company owned by the Gilder family in New York. Elkins says the acquisition will help him grow the business by taking day-to-day business operations off of his plate. He also plans to work on cannabis-industry-specific new product development.
This week, Bryan Wilson, co-founder and president of Environmental Living Industries (E.L.I.), discusses his journey from an overseas government contractor to the driving force behind an industrial hemp fiber processing startup.
Wilson's wife, Candice, was a pediatric emergency nurse. A few years after the couple was married, Candice became incredibly ill, suffering from several autoimmune disorders. At the time, Wilson was working as a paramedic and a firefighter.
The couple consulted more than 30 physicians, but none could provide a diagnosis for his wife's condition. During this time, Candice became pregnant and had a full-term pregnancy; tragically, their son Eli was stillborn.
After nearly eight years, the couple finally found a doctor who tested Candice for a mold infection, and the family finally had some answers. The Wilsons had toxic mold in their house, which created her health problems and contributed to the tragic loss of their son.
When his wife received the diagnosis, Wilson was contracting overseas, but he decided that it was time to come home and find work stateside. He wanted to be closer to his wife and make wholesale life changes.
The toxic mold had permeated everything. The Wilsons had to sell their house, clothing and furniture, and started again from square one.
The couple moved into a modest home, and Wilson sought new business opportunities — particularly in something sustainable. As part of his wife's treatment, she switched to a diet of healthier, clean food. It was helping her heal, and Bryan started to pursue a farm-to-table food business when he stumbled upon the hemp industry.
Initially, he considered CBD processing, but the industry was overwhelmed with new CBD manufacturing startups. While he was pursuing the CBD business, he found that many in the industry boasted of the wide-ranging uses for hemp, including sustainable building materials and bioplastics. Although the industry praised the plant for its versatility, he found few companies were processing industrial hemp fiber, the raw material required to manufacture those products.
He also discovered hempcrete, a building material that is mold-free, fireproof, pest-resistant and vapor permeable. At first, he wanted to manufacture hempcrete, which he saw as a potential cure for sick building syndrome (SBS), but he ran into a massive bottleneck in hemp fiber.
SBS stems from poor indoor air quality and is caused by mold, fungus, pesticides, formaldehyde and other compounds found in construction materials or cleaning supplies. It causes a host of ailments and illnesses, and is found in some 30% of new and remodeled buildings.
Wilson hooked up with Jeremy Luciano, CEO of GHS Industries, a company that manufactures and sells industrial hemp processing equipment. Luciano told Wilson about a new piece of equipment that processes 10 tons of material per hour; it's well-engineered, highly automated and a cornerstone of E.L.I.'s business plan.
Wilson is now working with financial management firm QuantumCFO to help raise capital, and he has aggressive first-year expectations.
E.L.I. will be headquartered in Austin, Texas, and Wilson is scouting a few different locations for his first facility.
Fiber is in the immediate future, but Wilson doesn't rule out expanding into manufacturing of hemp-derived building materials or bioplastics. Either way, he hopes to provide the highest quality fiber and material from the "most versatile crop on the planet."
As Candice healed, the Wilson family has continued to grow, and the couple now has a daughter, Ellie, and a son, Jack.
This week, John Davis, CTO of Entexs, discusses his move from the oil and gas industry to the helm of an engineering and fabrication company focused on end-to-end extraction systems.
Entexs (pronounced "en-techs") was founded with the sole purpose of providing custom engineered extraction solutions for the cannabis industry. The company assembled a team of machinists, fabricators and engineers with decades of experience building breweries and food manufacturing plants — who were well-versed in sanitary processing equipment.
The company set up shop in Diamond Springs, California, outside of Sacramento, to focus on cold ethanol extraction. Davis works with ethanol not just because of his past experience, but, he says, because it's easier to scale on a system level.
The team started providing systems to companies processing 500 to 1,000 pounds of biomass per day. According to Davis, the industry was piecemeal-ing the various parts of the extraction process to make a system. Entexs sought to make one system, with each disparate subsystem integrated into one, removing inefficiencies, human error and other bottlenecks in the process.
At the same time, they noticed the opportunity in the emerging hemp industry, where companies were trying to process millions of pounds of biomass to make CBD products. The result is two different product lines: a smaller system for the cannabis industry, and a much larger one to meet hemp industry needs. Each removes manual processes with automation that yields repeatable, high-quality end products.
Davis and his team wanted to design extraction systems that were more realistic from a processing perspective. While many competitors make valid claims about throughput, when you factor in process bottlenecks, it's tough to achieve the published numbers.
With his oil and gas background, Davis had about a decade of experience designing and building systems that moved fluids, petroleum and other hard-to-move vaporizing fluids, such as carbon dioxide and propane. He found that the extraction industry was “just moving fluids."
Entexs products are designed and manufactured in-house from raw material. The team of about 12 employees works together very closely from concept to development and production to delivery. The company runs lean, but manages to deliver equipment tuned to meet each extraction processor's needs. It’s a welcome change for customers who are trying to make things work with systems that don't always work well together.
Entexs products include an easy-to-use interface that runs routines in the background using automation and controls that the company developed in-house. The idea was to make sure clients could get everything going by hitting a couple of buttons, loading the machine with raw material, and unloading the final product. According to Davis, it’s not only easier, but requires fewer labor resources.
Although the company’s roots are in cannabis, most of its business is in hemp. Last week, the company launched a new THC remediation system, the RMD-T Series, which has been under development for years. THC remediation is a common pain point for hemp-derived extract and product manufacturers. Basically, the CBD extract comes out “hot,” since it has concentrated THC. The new remediation system removes THC from hot CBD.
And as more states join the ranks of those with legal cannabis, Entexs is preparing for expansion in both industries. The company will soon move into a new, larger facility about five miles down the road from its current location.
With legalization comes more regulation, as well as a greater focus on quality, documentation, and creating a high-quality end product with full traceability — which Entexs has worked tirelessly to provide.
This week, Jeremy Luciano, founder and CEO of GHS Industries — formerly Global Hemp Solutions — tells the incredible story of his journey to the cannabis industry.
GHS conceptualizes, designs, builds and installs everything from buckers and drying systems to harvesters and extraction systems. Although the company works in the hemp sector, it is a food-grade manufacturer that also serves other industries.
Luciano founded the company about 2.5 years ago, including a manufacturing facility in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, east of Louisville. He likes to analyze situations, see a problem, and try to solve that problem.
Luciano is a veteran who was injured while on active duty. He is a Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (SERE) graduate, a training program that military personnel go through to make sure they can protect information abroad. During the training, Luciano suffered a spinal injury that caused lifelong damage to his back.
After the service, he entered the medical field and spent 10 years as an orthopedic trauma surgical assistant. Eventually, his injury caused him to lose feeling in his appendages and bladder control. He soon became addicted to pharmaceuticals and entered a dark phase of his life that led to a suicide attempt. He put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger, but he believes divine intervention saved his life that day. Luciano, an avid shooter and military-trained marksman, says his firearm had never malfunctioned except for that day in that specific moment. He found no mechanical explanation for the malfunction. He says he has lived a devout life ever since.
Luciano started using cannabis regularly when he was around 14 years old. He says it helped him control his overactive mind; about a year ago, he was diagnosed with a high-functioning form of autism. As he looks back on his time as an adolescent, he says that he wasn't a "stoner," but that cannabis helped him focus.
Through some trial-and-error as an adult, he figured out how to make cannabis work for him, and he began reaching out to other troubled veterans who could use some help.
Luciano was introduced to cannabis cultivation about 10 years ago in Washington State in an effort to grow his own medication. Eventually, he began growing for other patients, and he soon spearheaded large, licensed grows of medical marijuana for local dispensaries.
Unfortunately, his injury complications persisted, and the labor-intensive nature of cultivation can be incredibly taxing on the body — so he switched to manufacturing equipment instead.
Luciano first ventured into industrial hemp because he was drawn to the plant's sustainability. He says the industry has too much fear: farmers are scared of losing everything, and lies and misinformation can be found throughout the sector. He describes numerous run-ins during his time in the industry, including bad actors trying to make a quick buck by selling prototypes/early generation equipment as market-ready — and marking them at a premium to prey on farmers entering into unfamiliar territory.
About a year ago, Luciano was also challenged by a retail company with a similar name: Global Hemp. He is currently negotiating with the company, but it's also resulted in a recent name change. Luciano says the experience is a warning of things to come as larger corporations get into the industry; mom-and-pop shops could find themselves in contentious situations with companies possessing larger war chests.
The pandemic has been a challenge for Luciano, mostly because he's not the type of CEO who likes to sit behind a desk — he wants to be out in the field. His outspoken belief also presented some issues.
His spirituality even influenced the new name, he says: GHS doesn't just stand for Global Hemp Solutions, but also God Hates Sin.
This week, Ash Ganley, CEO of GrowRay Technologies, discusses his collaborative manufacturing R&D effort to create patented LED lighting solutions for cannabis cultivation.
Ganley is the former CTO of NOBO, a small, vertically integrated multi-state operator based in Boulder, Colorado. During his time at the cultivator, he observed the fractured, isolated nature of cannabis cultivation product development, particularly in lighting, and figured that he could find a better way of doing business.
Cannabis lighting lacked research and development (R&D) and efficiency, mostly because non-cannabis technology vendors were marketing to a space coming out of a pre-legal growing culture. Essentially, operators didn’t know what they didn’t know, and lighting manufacturers took advantage of the situation. It created a lack of trust and transparency that caused a lot of waste in the industry.
Early generation LEDs didn't work because they were essentially rebranded warehouse and commercial lighting fixtures. Called "shoebox fixtures" they offered a bad form factor and a non-uniform cone of light. Early LEDs generated a flashlight effect -- too much light directly underneath, and not enough on the edge, which led to conical grows. The fixtures were also being cooled by off-the-shelf computer fans, which caused them to fail thermally.
While LED technology was a hard sell two years ago, times have changed and the technology is being embraced by cultivators to increase efficiency, productivity and sustainability. Cultivators are more willing to embrace LED as well as the associated standard operating procedures (SOPs) to get results equal to or better than legacy products, with the added energy savings.
GrowRay recently received a new patent for its Triangular Extrusion Shade Bar. Specifically designed for greenhouse cannabis cultivation, the shade bar delivers a uniform footprint of light. It’s addressed traditional problems with shading profiles by using a highly polished angled aluminum surface to reflect light from the sun. Other manufacturers have attempted to fix the shading problem by shrinking fixtures, but that has only sacrificed light uniformity.
The shade bar has been under development for a couple of years, but came about as a common sense answer to a common problem: a simple sun reflector concept that they proved through R&D at their assembly shop in Colorado.
However, product manufacturing is costly and GrowRay is launching a highly engineered product as cannabis light fixture costs are racing to the bottom with companies flooding the market with poorly designed products. To remain competitive, Ganley had kept the company lean, adding strategic partnerships, and taking a grassroots style of marketing. For example, GrowRay works as a partnership with NOBO.
Ganley has recently set his sights on taking a more holistic, systems approach to cultivation. Soon, GrowRay will not just be a lighting technology, but an end-to-end technology solutions provider. The company recently ran a program to look for ag-tech startups via mentorships and proof of concept tests. The result uncovered a few candidates GrowRay hopes to pull into its portfolio, be it with full or partial ownership or strategic partnerships.
Still, Ganley looks to the future of cultivation, and believes that the next generation of cannabis cultivation technology is actionable data.
This week, Ben and Vinnie Celani, co-founders of High Life Farms, discuss their operations in California and Michigan — and continued expansion.
The brothers take a divide-and-conquer approach to operations, with Vinnie overseeing sales and marketing and Ben leading the cultivation side of the multi-state operator (MSO).
High Life primarily conducts cultivation, manufacturing and distribution in California, while its Michigan operations are more vertically integrated.
Upon founding the business, High Life grew rapidly. In Michigan, the company grows flower and produces edibles, working closely with partners at Wana and Kiva on product development. The company currently has 150 employees and plans to add more than 50 more jobs by the end of 2021.
In California, cultivation is the focus, with another 75 employees working toward the company’s white-labeling and contract manufacturing efforts.
According to Ben, most of the equipment in Michigan and California is the same, with a few differences as a result of climate variations: the weather in Chesaning, Michigan, is a bit different than in Desert Hot Springs, California.
Vinnie admits that High Life tried to expand too quickly. The company previously had operations in Colorado, but they decided to leave the already established market for better opportunities in California and Michigan. While they were selling in Colorado, they were ramping up in California and Michigan, and Ben admits that they bit off more than they could chew. However, the growing pains helped the brothers become more methodical, building the business piece-by-piece.
Many of the early challenges were solved by trial and error, and many late nights fixing problems with HVAC systems and irrigation. Cannabis leaves very little room for error.
High Life remains privately held and self-funded. Although making things work is more difficult on their own dime, it allowed the brothers to stay nimble and make quick, strategic decisions.
Ben describes the Michigan side of the business as “medium” vertically integrated as a result of a 50/50 partnership with Joyology dispensaries. High Life has big plans for the Michigan market, including 30 new dispensaries by the end of this year and 60 within the next 24 months.
The big opportunity in Michigan is edibles. The company saw seasonal trends with the flower market that haven’t translated to edibles. High Life is currently producing 80,000 gummie 10-packs every day, all hand-mixed and handmade over two shifts.
The company is also cultivating about 50-55 pounds per square foot over 250,000 sq-ft of grow space, hand trimming about 80% of the crop. So far, the record harvest has been about 290 pounds, but new greenhouses coming online in Michigan (with the first harvest scheduled for April) will reach 450 to 500 pounds per harvest, with 15 harvests expected per year.
The market opportunity will only continue to expand, particularly with the onset of federal legalization. Vinnie optimistically predicts legalization at the federal level within the next 24 months, although he admits that it faces many hurdles.
The company will also continue to expand white-labeling efforts and strategic partnerships in California. For Vinnie, it’s a point of pride to be able to walk into a dispensary and see High Life’s flower sold under five to 10 different brands.
As for the future, Ben argues that "Big Cannabis" is coming, and large operators like High Life are necessary to keep quality cannabis in the game — and make sure that consumers receive a quality product.
The Cannabis Equipment News Podcast is an interview series with growers, processors, manufacturers, distributors and other professionals who work within the legal
This week, Josh Malman, vice president of cultivation at Jushi Holdings, discusses how he fell into cannabis.
As a student, Malman studied international horticulture, and even spent a semester abroad building systems to provide cheap water to local farms in Africa.
His focus on greenhouse production horticulture eventually led him to a position with The Clinic in Colorado as it was starting up in 2009. When he first started with The Clinic, his first harvest was around 50 pounds. Over the course of 10 years, he helped grow the business into three cultivation facilities and six retail stores in Colorado.
In 2019, Jushi Holdings bought the consulting arm of The Clinic, and Malman’s expertise was an important part of the purchase. Two years ago, Jushi didn't have much of a cultivation footprint, but through acquisition, it now operates facilities in Nevada, Virginia and Pennsylvania — and each is undergoing expansion projects in 2021.
Malman stresses that while cannabis is a weed and grows very easily, it's not a very hearty plant and is susceptible to many problems. He says, “you need eyes on the crop and eyes on the facility at all times,” which can prove difficult when overseeing cultivation operations in three different states.
The expansion projects also present a challenging puzzle as Malman works with construction firms to add space without disrupting current operations. It’s also difficult to try and recreate a facility, state-to-state, without the ability to move any product across state lines.
His role keeps him on the road frequently despite the pandemic. The past two years included many planes, site visits and manager hires, along wit implementing cloud-based data collection systems and cameras at each facility. The only downside is that a camera doesn’t really allow him to monitor the plant's true health. He can see if the lights are on, but it’s tough to tell if drippers are down or if there are any signs of wilt or pest infestations.
Currently, Malman's cultivation operations are exclusively indoors. He recently made the decision to make a wholesale change to go vertical, with double- and triple-tiered cultivation. Despite his efforts, he insists that the future of sustainable cultivation is greenhouses and outdoor farms.
The move to go vertical wasn’t without its challenge; it was difficult to get the correct environmental conditions, particularly air movement across the canopy at each level.
Now, Jushi is harvesting weekly in Pennsylvania and Virginia, and monthly in Nevada. With an average of 60-65 grams per square foot, harvests have ranged from 200 pounds at the smaller facilities to up to 1,000 pounds.
The company has grown significantly in the last two years, with much more in store for 2021. According to Malman, the cultivation staff is around 50 right now, but could grow to 200 by the end of the year.
The Cannabis Equipment News Podcast is an interview series with growers, processors, manufacturers, distributors and other professionals who work within the legal cannabis industry.
This week, Donna Wamsley, Director of Research and Analytics at SōRSE Technology, discusses her role at one of the leading emulsion technologists in the industry, as well as the many difficulties in working with cannabinoids in the food and beverage industry.
Cannabinoids (like THC and CBD) offer a sensory experience that can vary. Dosage control is difficult to make reliable and repeatable, as well as onset and duration, which presents challenges for edible and infused-beverage manufacturing and labeling.
Wamsly brings an interesting perspective to the industry as she is close to becoming a certified flavorist -- there are only 200 certified flavorists in the world.
SōRSE’s technology allows products to be produced for a better, more consistent experience. It is a water-soluble formula that limits sensory properties like taste, odor, and texture, which is a major step up from the oily brown emulsions familiar in the industry.
The Cannabis Equipment News Podcast is an interview series with growers, processors, manufacturers, distributors and other professionals who work within the legal cannabis industry.
This week, Dr. David Cunic, CEO and founder of UCS Advisors, discusses his life as a medical professional and serial entrepreneur. In the industry, he's known as "Dr. David," and he's been a cannabis advocate since 2009 — "before it was cool to be in cannabis."
As a doctor of physical therapy and pain management, he is an advocate for the benefits of medical marijuana. As an entrepreneur, he has started seven cannabis businesses in five different states; overall, he's founded 13 companies in the last 18 years.
He says he decided to enter the cannabis industry due to the misinformation surrounding cannabis as a treatment. He believes that physicians are ethically bound to show patients every possible treatment — and, until recently, most doctors were not only prohibited by states from prescribing cannabis as a medicine, but they were shunned by their medical colleagues. It wasn't until the last two to three years that the medical industry became more receptive to the benefits of medicinal use, particularly when compared to opiates for pain management.
Dr. David also believes that all 50 states should legalize medical marijuana before recreational use is approved. He insists that if our culture is to truly view cannabis as a medicine, we need to focus on the that side first.
At UCS, Dr. David focuses on investment in the cannabis industry. For companies that are just starting out, his company helps secure capital investment and trains new business owners on everything from how to create a pitch deck to how to approach investors. He says many startup founders don't know how to talk to an investor.
An estimated 65% of business owners in cannabis and CBD are first-time business owners, and they have no idea where to start — not only when it comes to raising money, but how to run the business from an operational standpoint. Dr. David teaches strategy and helps map out a business plan.
Although business owners don't know how to start, even fewer have an exit strategy, he says. Many harbor vague ambitions of acquisition, but less than 13% of cannabis companies get acquired — and Dr. David says it will become even less common after federal legalization.
The other side of UCS's businesses helps individuals invest in the cannabis industry. He says the average person is "screwed by the system when it comes to investing." It's not just a cash problem, although most people don't have $150,000 sitting around to invest. Some people, due to on their profession or a criminal record, are restricted from investing in cannabis companies. He helps them get into the industry by providing return-on-investment expectations up front, with a relatively low bar to enter — many clients start with a $5,000 investment with a 30% return in 15 months or less. If anything, investment provides an easy way to learn about the cannabis industry.
Dr. David has been in the healing business his entire career, and his advocacy for medical marijuana has played an important role in educating a misinformed public.
This week, Bella McCreary, president and CEO of High Maintenance Trim Co. talks about her transition from the banking industry to leading a company that provides onsite harvesting, bucking, trimming and packaging services.
McCreary has several years experience working with cultivators of all sizes. She's overseen trimming operations for harvests as small as 12 pounds as well as clients with rolling 500-pound harvests.
Cultivators often have difficulties staffing trim teams. While some operators are harvesting every week, some operations only need help every eight to 12 weeks, which is typically when they call in Bella.
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, trimming has only become more difficult, mostly as a result of social distancing restrictions. In an effort to keep both her client's staff and her own employees safe, McCreary has had to cut down the size of each team sent to cultivation sites. For example, to harvest 500 pounds, she would typically send a team of 18 to 20 people. Now, she can only send ten.
McCreary sees her business as a service for cultivators that have had problems staffing the positions in the past. Traditionally, the part-time/seasonal work lacks a decent wage, which also results in dips in both professionalism and product quality.
McCreary has not only served as a bridge for staffing, but when a client has found a good trimmer and doesn't want to lose the employee, High Maintenance Trim will offer the worker a job in the interim. Unlike a staffing agency, McCreary's workers are full-time employees with perks that include productivity bonuses.
McCreary sees her staff not just as trimmers, but as trichome preservers. While some clients have semi-automated harvesting and bucking, many still ask for 100 percent hand trimming. There are many differences between a machine-trimmed and hand-trimmed bud and though machines pump out a lot of product, McCreary says that quality is sacrificed.
High Maintenance has stayed busy throughout the pandemic and has even had to turn down work, particularly at facilities under construction or those that don't provide a safe working environment. She often finds herself dealing with quality issues as well. A little bit of mold or a bug here and there isn't necessarily a bad thing, but her teams have run into moldy products. She’s had to leave jobs in the past because they were not only a risk to her staff, but she's had to tell some clients that they shouldn't even sell the product.
Currently, High Maintenance only trims in California, but McCreary has consulted in other territories and is looking to expand her business model into other states. She thanks that one day her trichome preservers could become a franchise, like the Molly Maids of Weed.
Hosted by David Mantey.
This week, Mike McDonald, president of Ammonite, discusses his fascinating path to the cannabis industry following careers in cycling and outdoor adventuring, as well as stint in Taiwan, where he moved after college just to learn Mandarin.
Ammonite was spun out of Jetty Extracts, one of the largest concentrates and vapes companies in California. Jetty’s product development department had created a new device they called the “Dablicator,” an oil application product designed to replace syringes and other messier, unreliable alternatives on the market.
While it was conceived as an in-house product offering, Jetty received interest from Surterra Wellness. The large multi-state operator (MSO) wanted to white label the Dablicator, and the initial order called for more units than Jetty have ever sold. As a result, McDonald established Ammonite to focus on Jetty’s hardware and intellectual property inside the cannabis and CBD markets.
The Dablicator was initially invented for a specific cancer patient who was unable to smoke or consume edibles for treatment. While its roots are in the medical side, it is an emerging category in the adult-use/recreational space. McDonald says that the oil application category is still developing, and its trajectory could lead to disruption similar to the emergence of vapes in the industry.
Instead of simply white labeling the Dablicator, Ammonite offers a turnkey program that provides filling, packaging, manufacturing, assembly and marketing advice as well. The hardware is manufactured at the company's factory in China, and the packaging is made of recycled materials by All Packaging in Colorado.
The devices can be filled through various methods: manually with a syringe, semi-automatically with a device such as Fisnar's dispensing equipment, or with automatic cartridge fillers, like those manufactured by Thompson Duke Industrial and ATG.
Basically, if you have the equipment to fill a vape cartridge, you can fill a Dablicator, which is enticing to clients who don’t want to invest in new capital equipment to manufacture a new premium product. Typically, the products are filled with cannabis concentrate (RSO) and broad-spectrum CBD.
While interest in new markets is difficult because operators usually have trouble keeping any products on the shelves, companies in mature markets are looking for innovation and new products as a differentiator.
The company started in August 2020 and has already partnered with established brands, including 710 Labs, Neptune Wellness and Ancient Roots.
Right now, McDonald only wants to deal with established brands. The partners don’t have to be big, but he wants to deal with good people with a good reputation who are focused on scaling up the business. He’s not afraid to turn down business.
The company is about six months old now and McDonald is predicting hockey stick growth. He also believes that federal legalization is possible within the next eight years, and remains hopeful that other measures, including the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act are passed in the very near future.
This week, MCR Labs President Michael Kahn and Director of Business Development Jonathan Wani discuss how they protect cannabis consumers and help manufacturers improve — and protect — their businesses.
The company started in 2013 when Kahn left his role as a chemist in the pharmaceutical industry to create a public health-centered lab that provides accurate cannabis data.
Kahn wanted MCR to be more than a traditional lab, which often operate like a “dark box'' where samples come in and data goes out. For Kahn, it's not simply a transactional relationship with clients; they often help manufacturers contextualize data to gain a better understanding of what is happening in the facility.
As the industry continues to evolve and mature, the company's mission of public health has not wavered: create an environment in which fewer contaminants are found in cannabis products.
In samples, MCR finds everything from microbiological contaminants — bacteria and mold — to heavy metals and pesticides, as well as residual solvents and concentrates. What's encouraging, however, is that more products are passing through the lab, which saw a more consistent pass rate over the last three to four years.
MCR Labs is based in Framingham, Massachusetts, but recently opened its first lab outside of its home state. In January, the company began accepting and testing cannabis product samples for Pennsylvania-based medical marijuana licensees at its Allentown facility.
MCR was the first independent cannabis testing lab certified in Massachusetts, and the company says data accuracy and integrity will remain a top priority as it expands into additional markets.
This week, Sannel Patel, the senior vice president of engineering at Ozone Solutions, discusses how his company designs and manufactures custom products that use "lightning in a box" to sanitize cannabis operations.
The company started in odor remediation, primarily targeting hog farms — which have a pretty notorious scent. The company has since gone on to create more than 400 ozone generators, monitors and injection systems that eradicate viruses and bacteria while providing odor control, air treatment, surface and piping sanitation, and water purification.
Although the technology is popular overseas, primarily in Europe and Asia, it unfamiliar in the U.S.
In the cannabis industry, companies use ozone solutions to purify reused water and sanitize the water supply, which prevents bacteria or viruses from reaching the plant. It's the equivalent of feeding the plants high-quality bottled water, and the plants grow faster.
Cannabis businesses are also using ozonated gas treatments for odor remediation in grow rooms. It not only treats the smell, but it prevents any molds, viruses or bacteria from growing in the rooms.
Some companies also use ozonated chambers to treat buds, which leads to a better quality, cleaner and more pure product.
Ozone Solutions manufactures the systems on location, and each one is "tuned" to suit the operation.
This week, Lezli Engelking, founder of the Foundation of Cannabis Unified Standards (FOCUS) discusses why she left her successful career running a dispensary to create an organization dedicated to developing cannabis-specific good manufacturing practices.
As Bloom Dispensaries went from single-digit employees to a staff in the triple digits, Engelking realized that the Arizona company desperately needed business help. If her vertically-integrated company suffered from turnover, training and operational problems, it was very likely that her industry cohorts were experiencing the same dilemmas. In one example, the air conditioning went out in a grow room, and with no standard operating procedure (SOP) in place, no one was notified and the company lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in inventory.
Engelking sold her shares and started a nonprofit health and safety foundation in 2014. FOCUS writes standards and provides third-party certification to those standards, as well as assistance with consulting and applications. She is driven to promote integrity in the cannabis industry.
FOCUS standards cover everything in the industry, top to bottom. They build a plan for companies to protect themselves by creating a management system for documentation and processes. The standards identify risks and offer plans to mitigate them, as well as an SOP for when they happen anyway — everything from hiring and training to operations, waste, and health and safety.
Engelking says, “people are drinking out of a firehose in the industry, all the time,” moving from one emergency to the next.
Beginning in 2014, Engelking took two and a half years and worked with 300 volunteers to identify the shortcomings in quality, safety and consistency to develop the initial standards.
Engelking based the FOCUS business model on methadone clinics at the onset of the heroin epidemic in the 1990s. As clinics popped up around the country, they operated under different state, city and county regulations, without any federal oversight or GMP standards to guide the industry. In 1997, the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilitates (CARF), a not-for-profit organization, emerged to serve all organizations (local, state, and federal) and develop voluntary-consensus standards, training, and a third-party certification program for methadone clinics.
Cannabis is in a similar spot, and Engelking hopes that her unified standards will be ready to answer the call if and when federal legalization becomes a reality.
This week, Joe Barnard, chief academic officer, and Daniel Kalef, VP for higher education, discuss Green Flower's cannabis education platform that offers everything from one-off training sessions to educational programs at nine universities across the United States. The programs offer students the ability to become certified in cannabis cultivation, business, law and policy and healthcare.
The company started out as a direct-to-consumer educational portal, trying to educate people on the benefits of cannabis and remove the negative social stigma. Green Flower has since evolved into an educational hub that white labels cannabis industry business certifications for partner universities.
Each program includes three, eight-week courses that offer a mix of online learning as well as project work, including growing a plant.
The rigorous programs offer a high-quality curriculum to a previously untapped market. Since early adopters Florida Atlantic University and Northern Michigan University began offering the program, seven more have come online.
While you would expect the partner universities to be located in states where cannabis is legal, one of the most popular programs is at the University of Wisconsin - Platteville. The Platteville program has the third highest enrollment and its located in a state where cannabis remains illegal.
Student demographics vary, but since the programs launched, initial interest has come from adults looking to change career paths and industry workers looking for a leg-up in career advancement. Green Flower is building a network of businesses to help place students who complete the program.
Acceptance and buy-in has been an uphill battle for Green Flower as universities and even students push back against the stigma of being affiliated with a "weed school." However, the popularity of the programs, and the likelihood of further legalization in 2021, will continue to change their minds.
This week, Jack Naito, president of Luna Technologies, talks about why he left a career as an R&D engineer at Boeing to design and manufacture cannabis extraction equipment.
Luna specializes in hydrocarbon extraction. Its IO Extractor is a patented, automated system that can process up to 25 pounds of plant feedstock per hour to produce high-quality, craft extracts.
While many companies try to make the extraction process safer through automation, many solutions just add capabilities to the system without isolating workers from the risks. Naito wanted to give extractors the tools they need to produce safe and consistent products while taking employees out of the extraction lab.
Naito founded Luna Technologies in 2016 with grade school friend Kyler Buck, who had built a separate extraction business.
Naito was working in the research and development group at Boeing in St. Louis, with a nearly half-billion-dollar budget, when he was first approached by Buck to talk cannabis extraction. When Naito walked into Buck’s facility, it looked like Frankenstein's laboratory. He flew back to St. Louis and put in his two weeks' notice the next day.
Although cannabis can be a lucrative industry, extraction technology lagged behind. Naito and Buck initially tried to automate existing equipment — most of it repurposed from brewery parts and equipment from other industries. In the end, their products worked, but didn't create a good process, so they started over with a clean slate — and a slightly smaller budget.
The company then launched the IO Extractor, which makes it easier to load and unload the equipment and makes the recovery process more efficient. Despite his efforts to engineer human error out of the equation, Naito said he still runs into problems because people in the cannabis industry “like to tinker.”
Naito also discussed how he brought in experts from other industries, including an operations manager from the pharmaceutical sector, to help build a successful startup.
This week, Shawn Honaker, the owner of Yeti Farms, discusses life on his organic outdoor cultivation facility in Pueblo, Colorado. Honaker’s farm was the first large-scale outdoor cultivation facility licensed by the state.
Honaker has an eclectic background, with stints as a financial planner and salesman, before he started his own oil and gas business, sold it, and retired as a 30-year-old millionaire.
Honaker overcame alcohol addiction and homelessness — and used life lessons from growing up dirt poor — to fine-tune his business acumen.
He started as an indoor grower, but wanted to move his operations outdoors. In 2014, he started Yeti Farms on his own dime. It began as a 55-acre tract with 500 plants. When recreational cannabis was legalized, he increased his operations to 3,000 plants for medical use and 1,800 plants in his recreational garden. Next year, he plans to double the number of recreational plants and increase his medical business to 4,500 plants.
Although many people jumped into the cannabis industry, few are making money. Honaker attributed his success to keeping it simple: building his company gram by gram.
The company recently entered the edible side of the business with its Yeti Yummies gummies. Honaker and his staff went through more than 400 recipes before landing on one that worked; some of the mixes ended in unpalatable disasters.
Honaker also plans to open a dispensary in Colorado next year as part of an effort to be fully vertically integrated.
With Arizona, Mississippi, Montana, New Jersey and South Dakota recently legalizing cannabis in some form, Honaker also branched into consulting. Like Yeti, he keeps it simple — he said he takes the “cool factor” out of the business and provides no-frill, actionable plans that focus on necessary equipment and operational management.
In this exclusive interview, Cullen Raichart, CEO and founder of GreenBroz, discusses how he designs and manufactures equipment to help usher cannabis companies into a larger automated landscape.
Raichart started in the industry as a grower, but he quickly realized that he had “brown thumbs.” However, he was a design engineer by trade and found new opportunities to make machinery for friends and fellow growers. He built the first Alchemist Trimmer in his garage, and it was the birth of an “industry-born” company that designs and develops automation equipment specifically for cannabis operations.
Many cultivators brought in equipment from other industries and tried to shoehorn it into their operations, but it often led to damaged products. The crossover with the agricultural industry is undeniable, but companies have been lazy about using equipment that doesn't work with cannabis. Raichart is often called in to replace ill-fitting equipment. He says it leads many cannabis companies to have $500,000 worth of equipment sitting in the corner collecting dust.
When it comes to automation, Raichart says he wants to build a "Twinkie machine" for the cannabis industry — a fully automated system in which ingredients go in one end and a packaged final product comes out the other. A Twinkie machine might cost $25 million, but when Hostess sells nearly $1 billion in pre-packaged treats per year, a large investment starts to make sense.
Cannabis doesn't have a Twinkie machine yet. It’s more of a combination of disparate systems. Raichart says that he still runs into a lot of sticker shock, but companies need to understand what they will gain — as long as it is designed well and functions properly.
Issues persist with banking and tax restrictions, which causes financing problems. Many companies still can't find quality financing within the industry, and don’t have access to traditional banking support that manufacturers in other industries would receive.
Another part of the problem is that companies are still trying to figure out their business strategies. They are in the market for equipment before they’ve established branding, or know if they are making pre-rolls, extracts, flower, or all three. Once companies gain a more mature understanding of their business, they’ll understand how a single system, like a Twinkie machine, will benefit them.
When it comes to GreenBroz’s equipment, the trimmer is still king, because it’s easy to see the value of a trimmer. The same is true for a bud sorter. What’s difficult is educating people on how to solve labor problems with equipment. For example, while Raichart can easily sell a trimmer, it’s difficult to describe the value of a rise conveyor to feed multiple trimmers when companies think they can just put a laborer on it. The value is in freeing up the worker to do more high-value jobs, but most of the industry just doesn’t understand that yet.
Raichart has been in the largest facilities, with 1 million square feet processing up to 1,800 pounds of product per day. He’s also been in the smaller, more craft-oriented companies with two grow rooms. Both have the same operational problems, just at different volumes. They struggle with process management and product flow to improve operational efficiency. They also have problems with cleaning, particularly in states that require equipment to be cleaned between strains. The lack of regulation is why Raichart designs equipment to meet FDA regulations, including the use of 316 stainless steel on all contact points.
Cannabis is a young, interesting and vibrant industry, and it has helped Raichart recruit engineering and manufacturing talent who want to be involved with the industry, but suffer a similar condition: brown thumbs.