The Cole Memo

In this episode, I am joined by several guests for a lively conversation about delta-8 and other hemp-derived cannabinoids.

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this is the Cole memo I am your host Cole Preston every episode is released
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this episode I hosted what became a heated debate around Delta a and hemp derived cannaboids enjoy this episode of
the Cole memo
today I’m welcoming mini faces and names onto the Cole memo we’re going to start
with Richard Park Richard why don’t you go and go ahead and introduce yourself to the audience of the Cole memo um sure
thanks Cole my name’s uh Richard Park I’ve been working in cannabis since
1999 um I’m one of the owners and and founder of dispensary 33 here in Chicago
I was uh senior vice president at cookies um I was Chief product development officer at Bano uh for a
while um and currently we have a couple of licenses uh two craft girl licenses
um and an infuser license and a transporter license um under the names
you know Public Square and um our transporter license is run by our nonprofit uh South and West Side
Coalition for change all right thank you very much Richard for joining us John Murray go
ahead and introduce yourself John Murray I’m out of Rockford Illinois uh I’m I’m a vertically
integrated cannabis operator so we have uh craft grow infuser transport and a
couple of dispensaries as well as I’m vertically integrated in hemp uh and
have multiple uh bakeries and different uh shops uh that we’re opening up around
the state so super excited to be here thank you for joining Jason Knight why
don’t you go ahead and introduce yourself thanks Cole I appreciate it my name is Jason as he said I am the owner
uh and managing member of Jane and Mary’s cannabis infused ice cream we make cannabis infused ice cream and
sorbet uh I’ve been um making ice cream since 2008 we’ve been in the Cannabis
industry since 2016 uh starting off in uh
Washington the state of Washington uh I currently live here in Illinois and um
because Frozen products aren’t currently allowed in the um legal side of the
Cannabis business we pivoted and uh we Infuse our ice creams with uh CBD and a
hemp derived D9 and uh we do well we um
uh been doing us since May of 2022 awesome Jason thank you for join joining Kareem kinat go ahead and
introduce yourself to the audience of the Cole memo Cole thanks for having me on uh
Karem kinat partner at uh starbuds uh have locations in Burbank and recently
opened a location out in Riverside um in addition to that um I’m a managing partner at the majority minority group
who works with applicants to guide them through the actual cannabis process the
application process and obviously lend advice on uh current practical and
operational issues now as well so happy to be on and look forward to this discussion yeah and we’re having a few
folks join us right now uh Rebecca and Mike we’re doing intros so I’ll call you call on you here in a moment to
introduce yourself say your name and how we can find you online next up we’ll have Josh introduce himself
Josh hey everybody I’m Josh mcginness with uh River Bluff CBD um I am one of
the owners of the CBD part of our company we also have a vertically
integrated uh cannabis business on the rec side with a dispensary in Rosel and
a cultivation coming to Rockford uh here in the next year awesome Charles woo go ahead and
introduce yourself to the audience of the Cole memo hey guys uh
sorry hey guys so my name is Charles W uh I’m the founder and CEO of nexum our
retail brand is called cha we got started in 2016 after the
20 and oh pardon oh someone else was saying something yeah we got started in
2016 after the 2014 farm bill pass in 2018 after uh Delta hem products became
legalized in Illinois we applied for and received uh Del to have grow and
processing licenses in the spring of 2019 and then going into 2020 uh we
applied for and through a variety of Partnerships acquired some uh cannabis
licenses also um today we operate primarily in What’s called the Delta
hemp space um that’s where most of our operations are because of a variety of
reasons of things that we uh like about that and we’ve been vigorously pushing for a stronger regulatory legal
structure in the Delta he space in 2021 including age limitations testing standards and labor
standards because we believe businesses that those are required for the indry to suceed thank you Charles Rebecca go
ahead and introduce yourself and tell us where you can find where we can find you online hey I’m Rebecca Abraham I’m a
registered nurse I’m a former critical care nurse certified cannabis nurse I am the CEO and founder of acute on chronic
we launched in 2020 but we officially were founded in 2019 you can find us at
acute on chronic www at acute on chronic um our socials are cute on chronic
Facebook Twitter uh Instagram is acute on chronic rn42 and tiktock is a cute RN
uh and that is us so we help guide patients on what products they should
use at what doses safety measures we collaborate with their Physicians finding them rate dose we have anywhere
from a 75% to 90% success rate thank you Rebecca Mike how’s it going welcome to
the show you’re on the Cole memo thank you Cole it’s a honor to be
here for your first episode you know um again uh and uh yeah so my name is
Michael Malcolm I am the CMO Chief marketing officer of Crona I’m also a
bulk and wholesale account executive at our uh distri dist bution our tier one
social Equity distribution um in La um and we have over aund we’re in over I’m
sorry over 170 Stores um across California awesome and last but not
least ail Parnell please introduce yourself to the Cole memo hey Cole appreciate that
um uh my name is Ay Parnell I’m CEO of II farms uh vertically integrated
cannabis company in based in Chicago we have graft Pro license um a dispensary
license we’re going to be opening in Lincoln Park um and the Transportation license um you been in the industry for
a while um worked at Lantern worked at GTI for a little bit yeah that’s
it thank you so much aill and thank you everybody for joining us tonight I am
gonna just read a short introduction and then I’m going to open up the floor for conversation because that’s what that’s
what’s going to make the memo great over the past few weeks and legislative
sessions the de the debate around Delta 8 and hemp derived cannabinoids has heated up almost to a level that you
could decarbox any sort of cannabis that you wanted uh forgive my lame pun um but
from my perspective all parties in this debate are making the case that their businesses are at stake and potentially
livelihoods I think that’s fair uh I will be guiding today’s convers ation as
I mentioned before we got on air today however I do want to be clear that I’m not playing the role of what you would
call a moderator I want to acknowledge my biases in this conversation uh I will be playing the
role of a consumer in this conversation but I will interject from time to time to keep this conversation structured so
I can say with confidence that the co memo is a place that allows for nuance discussions for change so again as such
I will open the floor for discussion and plan to keep my interjections at a minimum before I turn it over to all of
you for what is sure to be an intriguing conversation I want to Simply start with a show of hands presidential debate
Style with this issue I believe there are three areas of thought now if you do not feel you fall into the three areas
that I’m about to identify you’ll have the opportunity to make the case in a more nuanced fashion in a bit because
again that’s what makes the Cole memo better than a debate in a television time slot but here are the three areas
of thought I think and I’ll I’ll have you show your hands in a moment the first area of thought is Delta a and
hemp and other hemp derived cannaboids should not be allowed at all I think that’s probably the most
popular form of thought the second thought or Camp is that Delta a or other
hemp derived canabo should only be allowed in dispensaries and the third form of
thought which has recently come to light in form of a proposal by lesea Ford is
the idea that Delta a and other hemp derived cannabinoids should Simply Be subject to taxing testing labeling and
ID requirements such as those requirements uh required under the crta
I think those are the three forms of Camp again though if you if you disagree I’ll let you make the case but just
curious by a show of hands who on our virtual stage believes there should be a complete ban on Delta a and hemp derived
cannabinoids any hands wow no hands I I can’t I’m I’m guessing
Achilles and no um who’s in the second Camp Delta a and other hemp derived
canabo should only be allowed in dispensaries no
nobody okay maybe there’s a case maybe there’s a case for another camp but I’ll ask I’ll ask lastly who do you who is in
the camp that thinks that what’s that this is going to be boring
now I know I’m like what what nobody disagrees I think it’s gonna be boring I
so so who thinks that people like Charles and and people like Josh and
Jason should Simply Be subject to the same testing
standards what like Lesean Ford’s proposal yeah I’m more in that camp I
would say for sure I would say in that camp but with additional uh
requirements okay what what um same camp same camp same requirements I think this
should be treated like regular wheat Fair um so Kareem you said more
requirements what are you thinking in with regard to that I mean yeah without
boring everyone with all the application process zoning issues and everything
else that you know licensed operators have to go through um you know when we
think about just the timeline of of cannabis operators and let’s just rewind
you know Illinois only opened up uh the Cannabis program for medical patients
initially and it was always a very highly regulated Industry Illinois is one of the most highly regulated places
in the country um and coming in under the adult use program you know that same
high regulatory standard was passed along and it didn’t matter if you were social Equity if you didn’t have any
experience doing this these were the requirements that the state set forth for anyone who wanted to sell any
intoxicating product and it just so happens that THC obviously is captured in cannabis and the state decided that
in order to regulate cannabis properly you know you have to follow all these requirements which is everyone on this
call knows and everyone on this show knows it’s very expensive I mean that’s that’s no secret and so you know without
getting into debate about how thca is made or Delta 8 I mean it it really
boils down to this is a regulatory issue and in the regulatory World anyone the
only fairness you have is if everyone is treated equally and the fact that our
customers um and by our customers I mean licensed cannabis dispensaries are being
poached by you know a lot of these vape shops I mean it’s a real Challenge and
it’s a real threat and I find it hard to believe and you know I believe everyone on here uh Charles Josh everyone you are
sophisticated businessmen and they understand this and John too sorry I mean to exclude you John or or Jason but
you know I just think you know there’s a place where you know you look at a place like Colorado where there was a decision
that you know sure these products exist but you know they’re capped at a certain amount and they’re regulated so that you
know Regulators can see what is actually being sold these stores and I think you know if you ask ail or Mike you know no
one’s saying we understand the plight of entrepreneurs I mean we we understand more than anybody because we’ve been
through it we’ve been through it all litigation coid you name it and so you know no one’s saying hey you know don’t
pursue your dream all we’re saying is let’s make it a Level Playing Field and let’s protect the communities that we’re
selling this stuff in because that’s the whole goal of the crta and everything else is to give back to the community
and protect those in the community that ingest these products so I’m sorry I don’t want to take up too much time so I’ll will pass that along to whoever you
got next Cole thank you sure well I guess just because as I mentioned before the call you and Charles did Inspire
this entire conversation Charles would you like a opportunity to
respond sure um in many ways I agree with uh you
kareim um you know if you go back and you just the correct from the history perspective in 2020 rep Morgan
introduced something called the CBD safy act which went through a few amendments uh that going into 2021 had a regulatory
structure put in place for um hemp derived can avonoids that had very strict labeling testing and uh all those
sorts of guidelines and I think the reality is anybody who’s a responsible
hemp business um I don’t know everyone on here but I know John I know Jason um
you know Josh has ever met but I think I’ve met one of your partners over at libert BL we all agree that these are
things that uh need to be done now uh in response to certain things then
kareim while we agree that we definitely need to be regulated there are certain aspects and this is due to the fact that
marijuana is a schedule one uh narcotics and uh hemp products are federally legal
and subject to interstate commerce there are just certain things that cannabis has to do that we aren’t capable of
handling because dormant Commerce Clauses and you know Federal supermacy
Clauses come into play and those are some of the nuances I feel that create
uh one might say differences of opinion on that side you know one of the big challenges is cannabis guys because
they’re schedule one they have to they suffer from 28 and hemp guys because
we’re federally legal we don’t have to deal with 28 and we can except except credit cards so while I definitely am
sympathetic that is something that’s out of the state control so I’m not sure how
to solve for those problems you know to level the playing field when the fact is any cannabis
person can also do a hemp derive canabo
business and one of the things that we’ve been pushing hard is we want opportunity and access to all
so that competition and consumer Choice becomes available and you see you know just from your death poll I mean I’d say
70% of your hemp companies are also cannabis companies and cannabis companies are also hemp companies and
this is the same whether they’re small social Equity people or
even okay um I John had raised his hand and
Rebecca has raised uh her hand and I see Mike you’re raising your hand um sorry I
just want to be as it’s is cha it’s chaotic so I want to have as much order as we can John you want to go ahead yeah
no I I’m I uh obviously closely agree with what uh Charles position uh first
to back up I I didn’t say my my company’s sustainable Innovations on the Cannabis side and on the hemp side we’re
buckby weed company with our bakeries called baked um so we’re going to be
opening one in Burbank here it’s supposed to be opening tomorrow uh but we’re pushing off till next week to do a
last a few last minute uh you know tweaks to make sure again we want to make sure that that everyone’s trained
that that consumers are protected and as as uh Charles was mentioning there’s and
I and I know there’s several people on the call as well on this call that actually are responsible where we take
the time to go through uh very uh the testing labeling uh similar processes to
cannabis wherever it makes sense and probably everyone agrees cannabis in the state is over regulated and that’s
partly because it’s still a schedule one but and you know and I think we all probably agree that that hemp is
underregulation and needs some sort of regulatory guidelines some certainty on
that to be able to grow as a as a scalable business you know at some point
so I I I I think there’s going to be a lot of valid points here but at the end of the day uh I I know that Charles and
I and others have been pushing for a long time uh for various iterations of
CBD safety act whether it’s Castro Morgan you know now it’s lesea so we’ve been trying for years to to get safety
to to get labeling to get it even 21 right we want adult this should be
adults only CU I have kids and I don’t want my you know 16y olds you know
grabbing someone my products accidentally right so I think there is a concern here um but I don’t know if the
playing field can ever really be leveled because we’re dealing with federally legal versus not federally legal and
until that gets resolved in a federal standpoint I’m not sure how to balance
everything the way that Kareem was suggesting but I I do think there needs to be some some regulation and and I
think everyone’s willing to come to the table and and make that happen yeah Rebecca and then
Mike yeah so my answer is a little more nuanced with the kind of bucket of three
um Delta ‘s a little more unique um I do
have un perhaps in this on this panel unpopular opinions I think hemp drive cannabinoids like hhc and thco should be
banned uh and here’s why so we know plant-based cannabis and hemp is safe on
the human body we have 30,000 studies that show it and we have thousands of years of human consumption to prove it
when you take something and you make it a synthetic like most most producers of
delta8 like hhc for sure and THC Delta o you are creating a very very very
different molecular structure it’s like going from methanol to alcohol um it’s going from opium to
fentanyl like these are big jumps and it’s like if a pharmaceutical company said like we have a new lipor we
slightly changed the molecular compound we haven’t tested it but we’re pretty sure it works trust us and that’s how I
feel about hhc the problem is with synthetics is they behave very very differently on the
human body than your plant-based Botanicals do so from a patient safety
point of view um I don’t believe in full out bands of most things especially
being in the Cannabis World We Know that that prohibition fails overall and hhc
and THC o THC Delta 10 these are these are products of prohibition they would
not exist if plant cannabis was legal everywhere even Delta you didn’t have
these loopholes in the hemp fill and so much regulation on the Cannabis side of of state regulations I don’t even think
we’d have Delta eight so these molecules were created as a loop around um but
they have not been tested and tried in the same way plant-based cannabis that being said so with Delta 8
it’s a little more nuanced for me because it’s in the market it does technically exist on a very small amount
in plant-based cannabis however it all depends on who’s synthesizing it and with what and how and that’s part of the
thing that scares me so we try to not recommend delta8
however there are situations and in places where patients don’t have access
to regulated you know cannabis Delta 9
THC um and in which case if we have to where there’s a benefit of THC we will
substitute in Delta 8 but we need really clear you know
coas chemistry we need to know what your solvent is we need to know what your combustible is um to know what people
are injecting into their bodies I not injecting I’m sorry consuming I worry
even more when we vaporize these things and I could go into it you know we have a liver and a GI system to protect us um
when we inhale there’s a lot more that could go wrong uh and just to be clear
doctors Health Care Providers they’re still talking about K2 and Spice from 2000 um they do not know the difference
between hemp derive cannabinoids and they do not know the difference between plant-based cannabis so if somebody
comes in with the vaping lung inflammation from thco they’re assuming
all cannabis is bad and they are going to call for this never to be used so I I
think proper labeling and proper consumer education is really really
really really really important here um and I feel like that is not transparent
to the consumer in any way um particularly with V shops and other
entities the consumer doesn’t know what’s regulated and what’s not all right after Mike and Jason I’m going to
have Todd and Glenn introduce themselves and really quick Mike before you go I’m not necessarily asking you to answer
this question but I’m just putting this out there for the group I’ve still not heard exactly what’s being proposed in
response to lesea Ford’s proposal so if we could get that clearly stated uh Kareem I know you mentioned not wanting
to get into the mud on it but I want to get in the mud on it I’m not asking you either uh but just all of us have not
heard a answer so Mike go ahead yeah just I just wanted to say a
couple of things uh one I want to say for full disclosure um that Charles woo
um was gracious enough to uh tour me through his facility in 20121 um to this
date uh that’s the only cultivation facility that I’ve visited in the state of Illinois I’ve seen hundreds in all
over the country um but I but Charles is the only one I’ve seen in Illinois um
any type of cannabis cultivation so I just wanted to put out put that out there um but one um one thing I would
say is that I think where a lot of the anti- sentiments coming towards the
Delta 8 uh businesses is just like um Kareem and Rebecca has been saying is
that I think there’s a lot of misinformation out there about the uh
about it being the same thing as a THC uh product that you will buy from a licensed dispensary Cole and you and I
were even having some back and forth about this on social media because um I I also teach cannabis marketing and
branding for city colleges of Chicago I’ve been teaching for over two years uh remotely uh as an adjunct and um one
thing I am very um passionate about is uh not only student education but uh
customer SLP patient safety and I’m very protective of the patients uh just even
as crja as as a as a owner of crja you know we’re very very protective about the products that we uh put in our in
our in our bags and what we sell to the customers so you know I get very um I
get very upset sometimes when I go back to Chicago and I see where I’m from um for those who didn’t know I grew born
and raised I’ve only been out in California for almost two years now uh but when I go home and I see um
CBD Delta 8 shops um with the big neon signs cannabis you know know um with the
big with the green leaf and everything um not only is it taking away from
license dispensaries that are disadvantage in the way they can Market their businesses on the outside but I
also think it’s very dangerous to um to act like that is the exact same
product even though um they have some similarities um at their core um and so
that’s all I want to say uh at the moment is I think that’s kind of at least where I think you were a little surprised that everybody wasn’t like
super like ban uh Delta 8 and CBD um or um sorry delta8 or hemp products um I
think that’s where a lot of that comes from and one other thing I will say also is that out here in La around California
you do not see any um Delta 8 or any um hemp based stores because there’s so
much if you really can’t study the plant I’m sure there’s more people on here I’m not scientist or I’ve never grown so I’m
sure there’s more people who can speak more eloquently on this than I could but one thing I will say is that um I really
do believe it’s really about the full spectrum experience when you’re talking about cannabis so it’s not like oh I
just want an isolated um cannaboid that’s going to like oh like Delta eight
is the thing you know um the better uh of a real well-rounded um product that
you have talking about on the spectrum of cannaboids the better um so that’s all I have right now thank you Mike uh
Jason and then I would like to have Todd and Glenn introduced themselves and John I saw you raise your hand earlier so if
you and I think I saw you Josh as well so you know feel free to jump in after that um Jason cool I I I first wanted to
take some time you know you led off with three options Cole you said um ban you
know all the him deriv Cano or um regulated and what was the third one uh
or only have it in dispensaries or only have it in dispensaries yeah so ban it only in dispensar or let everybody do it
but be subject to the same testing correct and so that’s that’s a starting point that we’re operating in from the
start of the conversation but if you if you take in uh consumers and the people
of Illinois that spectrum is much broader you know there’s a lot of people who feel like uh the you know let’s keep
it as is the laws are what they say right so I I definitely support
regulation right um because the word that John used earlier or someone used it was scalability you know as a
business owner um I’m investing a lot and I’m trying to build my business and
when the laws are set it allows me to be willing to be compliant and do as to but
when everything is up in the air it makes it really scary and difficult but that’s my personal perspective but but
there are a lot of people who are not for the regulation of the plant right
because a we don’t necessarily always trust the government and that the government has our best interest in mind
but B you know we have a uh a very deep relationship with the plant and
sometimes the state can get in the way so some people are not for uh regulation okay um I personally
feel like another thing that creem said earlier um he said that our customers
are are dispensary owners or the people who own dispensaries and you know from a
from a person who’s a product you know my customer is directly the consumer the person so what’s best for people is
access uh people need to have access to this plant and they need to have Choice there are a lot of different benefits I
agree with literally everything you guys said uh as far as you know the the pros and cons of synthetics and all that
stuff but you know what the market determines when I first started off I started off using a Delta a product um
and through through through a year I realized that uh the him derive D9 was
just a a a a better oil first of all d8 and D you
know just d8s aren’t the same you can get one batch of d8 is you know the it’s
same thing with THC and the different strains so with the D9 I use a premium D9 oil that I love uh and it’s even
better than some of the uh pure THC distillate that I’ve used in the past in Seattle in dispensaries so uh the market
really determine everything but you know just to make my uh Point Clear I really
want my business to thrive in Illinois I’m definitely up for regulation so I can be compliant um you know uh I’m
really disappointed in the scare tactics that the media takes by um you know
really showing you know the worst of the products and you know people going to the hospital and things like that I I
strong strongly feel that’s not it’s an issue but it’s not as big of it as it does when it’s when it comes across on
evening news uh so um you know I also my business is also located in Minnesota
and they have very clear regulations and it is easy to scale in Minnesota so uh I
definitely appreciate Charles and um and a group for pushing for regulation uh
but we got to understand too that everything we’re doing right now is legal and I really love the hint process
I really love uh there’s a lot of things that the um the you know the uh the
licensed uh uh Market here you know in Illinois have done well and there’s a
lot of things that we can critique you know but me being an African-American man really trying to pursue a business
creating a great edible a great product and still having a hard time to get in uh because they got to operate around
the state it’s really tough so uh I’m looking I’m looking to be compliant I’m looking to do it the right way and I’m
looking to do what’s best for the customer and everybody I know is doing the same thing yeah so as promised I
want to give Todd and Glenn a chance to introduce themselves but again I want to just put back out there that I don’t
feel I’ve gotten an answer on on what what is the middle ground um is the
middle ground that you have to be licensed under the crta head shake or thumbs up thumbs down is that the is
that what you’re saying um you know I think Rebecca hit
it on the head I mean when we talk about the natural process versus the synthetic process you know I think that’s where
despite all the misinformation that out there I think we can all agree on that and I think the point is if you have
hemp in its natural state the same way you have cannabis in its natural state because history has shown us when we
synthetically modify any drug look at what happens let’s take the cocoa Leaf ASC used it for medicinal purposes and
guess what get synthetically altered shifted it to cocaine get synthetically
altered again shifted it to crack and everyone on this this show knows the
impact both cocaine and crack especially crack has had on communities of color
and so I just think when we look at a standard and you talk about Cole how we need to regulate this is let’s regulate
the plants in their natural state because we already have regulation for JC products that would be my point K I
would say that’s that’s a brilliant you know analogy the challenges can you introduce yourself too please I’m sorry
I will I will um brilliant analogy cream challenges the the people who got
criminalized and that are the people who are black brown and underrepresented so it doesn’t matter if it’s synthetic or
natural the the same people get criminalized so um with that being said I’m Todd Harris I am the founder and CEO
of PFT I’m the co-founder and chief growth officer of perfectly dose which does which provides water soluble food
safe hemp derive cannaboids for products um I’ll just start by saying I to answer
your question spot on Cole I think there is a a a model where um yes responsible
hemp oper operators would love to be regulated in in a meaningful manner the challenge is is that the the medre
licens market has decided to over
reggulator for for their choice of overregulation um I am in full support of what Jason
said you know as a black man who tried to launch his beverage business in the
licensed Market um the same operators the same corporate cannabis
companies the same people who promise everyone on this call Equity funny how they get to promise what’s
Equitable uh they said that they couldn’t find black um cannabis Brands
to support and help incubate when asked well hey come come back to us with when
you have some sales they said come back to us when you have sales it’s like well how do we how do you expect us to get
sales when you own the grow you own the processing and you own the retail I have
to kiss your ass to get on your shelves that is not equable and by Nature that
is not accessible a a limited lure in any business doesn’t provide
accessibility it provides those who have the most money and the most Capital to move the the the the industry into their
favor and so an analogy that I I always share is if you and I Kareem both wanted
to open a restaurant and you applied for a liquor license and they granted you a liquor license
fantastic you got your liquor license if I wanted to open a competing restaurant across the street you wouldn’t have the
ability to dictate whether or not I got a liquor license but in this Marketplace
that we’re seeing play out right now in Illinois and several other states we are seeing those who have the federally
illegal position looking to limit and T down on those who have the federally
legal position on what they can do and that’s simply unconstitutional and not fair so to answer your question Cole the
two to the two products can definitely coexist how does that look in my mind to
use what Jason said we’re licensed or we’re operating in Minnesota we’ve applied for a manufacturer’s license
there for hemp drive canabo there is a space where low potency hemp derived
canono from um low potency from hemp Drive consumables should be readily
available and sold anywhere where 21 and up products are sold I mean liquor stores in Minnesota Glen standing in one
right now liquor stores in Min where we just did a sampling liquor stores in Minnesota and places that ID by Nature
they are the best suited to check for um the safety the compliance of who the who
the consumer is this that and the other so why would we not allow them to participate and then if there’s a need
for high higher potency products I.E dabs rosins higher potency gummies
liquids all flour all those other things that’s a perfect place for dispensary
it’s no different than liquor stores it’s you know and how you know in Texas there’s a beer store and there’s a
liquor store one sells beer one sells one sells liquor and so there’s an opportunity for all of us that’s
actually a live look at a cooler with low potency hemp Drive beverages in Minnesota and so take a look at what
else is everywhere alcohol these people know how to sell things safely and to otherwise
would be an insult to them Todd I don’t mean I I want to I just I want to give you the opportunity to wrap up and I
want to give Kareem since he directly call you know said his name I want to give him a chance to respond and I apologize to others that I had given the
affirmative to go after no I just I and I mean I I I’m a firm believer that
there is a place and space for both I think that you know as a black man in
this industry who’s who’s Triple testing my products who’s making sure we’re safe
every long every step of the way who’s using hem drive cannabinoids with a food
safe extraction and emulsification process that it can surely be done safely and and the part that that the
marijuana industry doesn’t love to talk about is the way you extract THC from marijuana and THC from hemp is the exact
same process it has to be turned into an oil in order for it to be infused and to turn into an Emulsion to infuse into a
product and so how can how can you extract marijuana you know th from marijuana safely but you can’t do it
from hemp here’s what go ahead go ahead Glenn uh I was just gonna say that you
know and I’m going to share a variance by the Illinois Department of Agriculture this is something that happens in all states but Illinois is
one of them you can use hemp derived can cannabis to make Delta 9 Delta 8 or THC
oh sorry no those are the ones that you cannot do um you can however um sorry
I’m looking for this right now you can use hemp and hemp derivatives in your infused
products so I just wanted to say that the first place I ever tried a delta8
product was in an Illinois dispensary in 20193 I think we were the only ones who
were selling it at the time can iuce myself real quick sure go ahead
glen glen glen let me just wrap up and say one more thing about that because I know you probably but it’s also
interesting that hemp um legal licensed operators like
can also sell hemp derived THC products in Minnesota so I just don’t understand
you know they’re they’re obviously backed by GTI they they they have they have a stake in both these industries
how is it you know why would they be selling non-safe products or or or
products that are non-compliant like I I don’t understand that so that’s that’s something that’s really happening so so go ahead Glenn sorry about that yeah I
just want to introduce myself and say that you know my name is Glenn melr I’m one of the co-founders of Clift along
with Todd and then one of the co-founders of perfectly dosed also along with Todd and you know I think
that what this really is about is you know taking an opportunity to let every
one benefit from an uh a business and a
community that has a business opportunity and a community building opportunity that has historically
been uh pushed to the fringes and limited to people with significant amounts of capital and and hemp
represents the opportunity to lift people up and we got to do that safely
obviously I agree with folks like Charles and John people who you know I look at as you know mentors and
Trailblazers in this industry and you know we have this opportunity to create
a new industry and really just build off of the successes and failures that the
current licensed cannabis model has had right I don’t think that it’s safe or it’s fair to say that it’s all terrible
but there’s a lot of opportunities to improve so you know Minnesota with its a lowd do hemp edible product Market is an
amazing amazing opportunity that also has its challenges right and I think Illinois has this opportunity to just
build off of that taking Minnesota and other states as a model and turning this
into something that can really help the state help communities and help people
you know reach whatever goals that they have so you know I I really obviously support everything that Todd said and
just think that you know we should not ban these products like we know prohibition doesn’t work and we need to
just Implement sensible regulation that is obviously not regulatory capture you
know coming through the GU coming as a guys of Public Safety like I think we all can agree that that’s you know just
media spin so Kareem i’ get I told you to respond and then Mike Malcolm uh please go next Kareem I know a lot was
just throwing at you so take your time uh yeah I mean I I’ll be quick I mean I think it’s perfect that we’re talking
about liquor stores because the reason to my understand in the 1500 ft you know
the separation between dispensaries was in place is because members of the black and brown caucus said they didn’t want
things like liquor stores popping up all over their communities because what do they do they take away from the
community and don’t give back you know what I will say about legal operators
under the canvas regulation and Tax Act we have something called the R3 program and that program streamlines grants that
go directly to areas that have been disproportionately impacted by the war on drugs and you know since I’ve been
around and in Springfield there not too many statutes I’ve seen that actually address things like the war on drugs and
the impact that it’s had on so many of our communities and you know I think
what is this 2023 I mean race is still a key issue more of an issue than anyone
in my generation or others thought it would be at this point still an issue but really the importance of this guys
is safety and regulation you know we can argue all day as entrepreneurs about
what the best regulations are for us to make the most profit but as long as Rebecca and people like Alderman Hopkins
or hearing from folks in their Community look everybody on this show today may be the best operators in the business but
what about the bad operators what about the operators that as you saw in Chicago tonight are selling bags that look like
Skittles to kids that walk into stores now if you’re asking me if I would
regulation hire regulation or Banning of those prod those products should be banned there should not be anything
that’s marketed towards kids that an anyway implies I mean if you’re an adult
and you decide to take whatever you take that’s your business but whenever you as an entrepreneur and as an operator are
marketing a product that’s centered towards kids under the Guides of a storefront that’s when we’re crossing
the line and I don’t think you know people can blame the big bag cannabis industry all they want but I’ll be
honest with you this issue is uniting the adult youth operators and the
medical operators more than anything I’ve seen if we haven’t been United on on much but on this I can tell you we
speak as one with the industry and I think you know Rebecca would agree that most healthc Care Professionals feel the
same so I know that’s not responding to everything but and others want to talk so I’ll
let Charles you’re I don’t think Charles is meaning to talk so I’m muting him um
Charles were you meaning to talk Charles sorry sorry about that I
pressed the wrong thing I apologize okay Mike go ahead Cole I just want to say
something really really fast I really want to give my time to Richard I saw his hands been up for a while and um for disclosure again uh Richard is the
reason where our brand Crona is the First Independent brand in Illinois
dispensaries uh rich was with d33 and brought our uh accessories our uh crra
rolling trays into there and they’re still currently in both d33 dispensaries um since July of 2017 so I just wanted
to um acknowledge Richard the great you know what I’m saying on the phone on here with him and just say really
briefly um that um the gentleman that showed the Shelf with the um drinks on
there again I got triggered uh again it’s one of those things I think it’s a great example of what I’m talking about
as some someone that um is in the industry um selling between 12 and 1500 pounds a month and uh in bulk and having
to deal with like all the complexities of the market is that I think that again
it’s a misrepresentation of what those products actually are and it plays on
the ignorance of the consumer but because when they see that they don’t it doesn’t say that it’s hemp derived THC
it doesn’t say it doesn’t give you really any information in that if you even if you’re going dispensary well I’m
talking about what I just saw yeah but that’s that’s fundamentally not I’ll let you I’ll let you respond I’m just
talking I’m talking about what let me finish yeah I’ll let you I’ll let you
finish as as you showed it and I’m only responding to what you just showed on screen I looked very carefully at it and
what it says is THC selers that’s what it says in black and white and so again
I’m not talking about anything else well again it does not specify that it is a
hemp derived product at least on the paper at least on the paper you don’t have to stop me you
cannot stop me let Mike finish quick problem with the misinformation you’re
you let Mike finish man that’s that’s you should really yeah you should really let me finish because I really want I
really want to get my time to Richard because Richard has been doing this longer than probably most people on this uh call if I was going to be honest with
you but um I just want to say again I think that when people like me uh get upset about what we see it’s because we
feel like temp operators are riding the coat tailes of licensed operators and
they use thing flashy words like THC selters to fool people who don’t fully
understand the legal legalities of the markets that they’re in whatever state that they’re in and that’s all I got to
say Todd we’ll get back to that I want Richard I promise you we’ll get back to that uh because I Richard as to as to
what Mike was saying I think a better way or at least the way I look at at the issue is is kind of in in three
different ways number one how does it affect the consumer number two how does it affect uh Society at large right uh
the community and and number three how does it affect the industry right when we look at it in that way I think the
what Mike Mike is speaking of there are good operators there are bad operators there there are good states with decent laws and there are states um with with
poor laws and I think one of the biggest issues is we’re not we’re not dividing this in terms of the canab oids we’re
dividing this in terms of how we derive the cannaboids right is it hemp or is it cannabis it really it really doesn’t
matter in my opinion without the with with the exception of things like thco which is a which is a synthe right so
it’s it’s it’s not actually extracted from the plant right and so I don’t tend to look at this as cannabis or or hemp I
tend to look at this as Delta 8 which I believe is therapeutic uh CBD which I believe is therapeutic right Delta 9
which which I believe is therapeutic um besides their intoxic effects it’s obvious how it affects our industry
right diluting the license is not good for current license holders right um allowing other stores to um and at least
some will do this some have already have uh kind of portray themselves as dispensaries right is not good for our
industry um but but CBD is good for the industry um hemp derive CBD is very good
uh uh for the industry the the the the kind of discrepancy between Federal and local law is is a big problem I think
everybody can agree on that right and and I think what Mike and and um Todd were talking about is is
essentially how does it affect the consumer right uh which is the other aspect I look at we we can debate about
that right like so the three options that you gave I couldn’t really pick any of them because I I do want uh strenuous
regulation regulation is what prevents or what creates safety in in the marketplace right when we didn’t
regulate alcohol look at all the problems right and I would I would still say liquor stores present far more
problems than dispensaries ever have right and we have empirical evidence on stuff like that right and so I I think
we can agree on what’s good for the consumer which is a safe product right I don’t think most Delta 8 CBD guys are
advocating things like thco Delta 8 thco um things like that um but dispensary 33
we’ve been selling you know we we sold CBD since or I mean I’m sorry Delta 8 maybe 2016 2017 it’s an extraction right
that’s all it is um it’s an extraction right I think what we’re really debating here is how does it affect the
industry I I think we can we can argue back and forth on what’s good for the consumer but if it’s regulated it’ll be
good for the consumer right it’ll be safe at least if it’s heav regulated right and and for the industry one thing
that you know you look at more States like Colorado no moratorium on licenses
outside of local municipality right uh you you have a dilution in in what happened in the market when did this big
money even get get into cannabis not until Illinois came online the the strict regulations allowed for
legitimate semi-legitimate or you know how the federal government looks at it financial institutions to invest in this
industry right and and that’s when we get not only this huge boom that burst across the East Coast but then all the
problems that come with with corporations who are naturally designed to try to monopolize their Industries
right it’s the government’s job to make sure they can’t do that right but it’s it’s the business’s natural inclination to to to attempt that right um and what
we’re seeing here is a lower barrier of entry for a newer industry at least in
the Delta 8 Delta 9 space right CBD um again I consider that a different um a
different issue altogether and and I’m a huge supporter of CBD right um but
anyway I don’t want to take up all the time I just think if we if we look at it in terms of those we may find that we’re on either side of the debate in any one
of those three categories right um and and what we have is is is a natural um
natural resistance to the dilution of our licenses right if you want to talk about what’s good for social Equity uh
right now if you have a dispensary no matter how you got it um you’re going to do great you’re just gonna right um
we’re gonna to a tremendous degree right a dispensary um watch the dispensaries
well the Growers the craft Growers are having much more difficulty right I I have tons of experience in this part of it but dispensaries once they get funded
will get open and and and those are That’s lifechanging Money Man real talk
right it’s just lifechanging money and and we’re trying to protect those individuals too from having a I had
three dispensaries in Colorado right they’re I I can’t even compare them in in in value right monetary value to to
one dispensary 33 I can’t it’s not even close right um and and there’s a lot of
license holders social Equity holders true social Equity holders I’m sure there’s some charlatans out there right
um that are going to be harmed by delta8 operating as it currently does right um
and and that that that was just that was just my point let’s let’s separate hemp and cannabis they’re the same plant
right they’re the same plant they’re they’re grown to produce different things over a long period of time right
and then what’s good for the community and and what’s good for the consumer right if we look at it like that I think
we’re going to find lots of Common Ground you know I think if we look at
from the community standpoint I think that’s one of the strong suits of the
hemp uh the Delta 8 you know uh operators and retailers
because there’s the The Limited licenses are all being really really placed in a
very concentrated area and so you have these large Vats of dispensary deserts
where there’s just no access whatsoever I mean none but you got like 100 you’re
G to have 500 well okay soon as as far as when I know
we we’ve gone and addressed some of those dispensary deserts we have the social equity and economic diversity we
call them seeds where we’re planting these in in areas that are just you know
really need attention and we’ve we’ve actually seen that seed grow it’s actually producing life I mean right
down uh on the the South part of uh Rockford we’ve we’ve seen a street
quarter um Main and Morgan that was historically just I mean you wouldn’t go there even during the day save night and
now you’ve got all kinds of life there’s we we put a a retail uh hemp store there
and now there there’s life in that area other stores on both sides of the street are opening up I mean barber shops taxs
uh they’re they’re beautiful the city is actually throwing money in there fixing the streets painting the murals on the
on the buildings Etc all from that little hemp store right and and cannabis isn’t going to touch there there’s all
of the Cannabis stores save one in in Rockford in in our entire BLS area are
all conjugated along the same road in the same narrow quor right I mean it’s
serving it’s convenient for you know one 100th of the population here and it’s
not impacted by the failed War on Drugs either I would agree with you that
dispensaries shouldn’t open where they’re opening in the West Loop in these highly affluent areas uh we we
only look on the west and the South Side for locations right so I I agree with you there they’re not opening in the right places to create the impact that
they need to right but they’re balancing that against a business decision to be successful in their first year and whatnot and and I wish there were more
that decided to go into bad communities because there’s a business case to be made for that rich what are consider
they don’t go into those communities Richard because the the price to actually access the product inside boxes
people on the outside out so there’s no money in in the black community and that’s part of the challenge here I’m
going to I’m gonna address Mike’s Mike’s false statement about packaging and labeling we have to call out in
Minnesota that these are hemp dve can avonoids and so for for Mike for you to say that in front of this group of
people that’s demonstrably false and that’s part of the problem that this industry is facing is that there’s
there’s there’s a false narrative that’s being creative about what we do and don’t do we would love to have to call out that attempt Drive THC we can all
agree THC is actually THC even though we’ve told he meant that the retailer wasn’t calling it out yeah Todd do you
want to show that video you I’m assuming showed that video do you want to show Glenn Glenn showed the video he was
walking the store we do you want to show it again well here can I just say that
I am I correct in yeah let’s see it uh but Mike what you’re pointing out is there was a big white sign that said
cannabis but your point Todd your point Todd is on the can it says hemp derived
canab and as far and as far as that store is operating right now it is compliant now there are things that will
likely change in the future around what they’re going they have to apply for a a hemp Retailer’s license and all these
other things but but we’re all compliant as the law is written and so that’s the thing is you know you can’t get mad and
you can’t knock and you can’t say that it’s false and this that and the other if we’re compliant as it pertains to the
the way the laws are written and Canabis language
sorry yeah and so all What Glenn is showing right now it says it says THC
shelters okay so this is again my point and I think this is the this is a great uh great opportunity to make it is that
um I think again one of the issues when you come to guys that are on the license side I mean license licensed cannabis
operators the issues what we have with the hemp operators is that again it’s
not always about uh always about compliance but also you have a responsibility to your customers to your
consumers to help them through this process because all of this stuff is new to them and that’s the point yeah maybe
and and maybe that’s what’s going to set apart uh brands that succeed I believe I
teach this in my class at lot the mo the best way to uh to earn and retain your
customer is to educate them right and so that’s just model that I go by and I think that’s an issue that a lot of
license operators have is that we feel like you guys don’t really care about the culture of cannabis and don’t really
care about necessarily um you it’s not it’s it’s a non-moral thing it’s like
I’m gonna just again just put up a THC Seltzer uh uh that’s that’s a story that
you guys are telling that’s not true a lot of us in this industry well say it does say are huge Advocates of the
actual plant we THC yeah we show him the can show it says hemp derived on the can
is my this one says cannabis which is also true it says hemp where we go it
says cannabis cannabis got phc sparkling
water but Mike your point your point is sorry go ahead I was gonna I guess what
I was gonna say is it’s just like it doesn’t matter look there’s hemp derived like I think the whole point here though
is that the consumer one doesn’t care and I think that’s a story I don’t I
don’t think you have any proof of that well I you proof true well
me there’s not a bud tender standing there to answer questions right like
even if the the product is made with Integrity the retailer may be predatory and and I think and I don’t mean to
speak for you like I I know hold on Richard I want to ask you a
specific question around something you ask do you think the msos are engaged in
um predatory and monopolistic Behavior right now on the wholesale level yeah you could you could categorize it that
way okay so so so like let’s let’s remove this but I’m saying both are wrong one being wrong doesn’t make the
other okay yeah but I’m not saying that but let’s remove this holier than thou that one is doing it right or one side’s
doing it right and the other’s doing it wrong we we again I have found in Minnesota and other places that we’re
operating that the overarching majority of the people who are engaging in hemp
Drive te TC products and low potency th products are doing all the same types of things around education and testing that
that that that the licensed operators are doing right I would argue that maybe in Minnesota but in Illinois only the
best operators operate that way but that’s okay we want to be part of the best but but we don’t like we want to be
part of the best and we’re okay with regulation but you shouldn’t be trying to regulate and eradicate people’s
businesses because you don’t like the fact that they’re doing they’re bringing a product to the market that the consumers want
by by by by that argument um all all the all the street tribes should be able to sell too I mean you’re not gonna the
regulation is not going to stop them from selling but I’m saying like we we shouldn’t we shouldn’t attempt to
regulate that or or eliminate that which is what we’re doing by creating a legal market right those kind of and I’m not
talking about I’m not saying that the access is fair right and and I’m not saying that the barrier to entry is is
not high right but like I said I look at it in in those three categories is good for the consumer is it good for society
is it good for the industry and it’s a harm to the industry at the very responsibly produced H Tove canono have
been proven to be good for the consumer mean healthwise for all that
everyone’s missing and I think this is what the the real battle comes down to and I think somebody else on the panel
said it it’s not necessarily anybody in this call it is the people who might take advantage of these loopholes in a
predatory way and not educate the consumer and I have met these people in various States and they are more than
happy to do it so there’s a there’s a loophole here and this is why regulation
and education is so important there are two kinds of hve Delta 9 two there is
the natural plant one where you’re just extracting the THC and yes it is the
same in the regulated cannabis THC Delta 9 that you get from what formerly was
known as marijuana but it’s all still cannabis and then the THC Delta 9 that
comes from the hemp plant it’s still known as marijuana Rebecca let’s be perfectly clear it’s still known Mar
that’s exact it’s it you’re right it’s the same same cannabinoid at different levels in the plant the dangerous part
when we’re just labeling everything THC Delta 9 without regulations ingredients
extraction methodology so on and so forth the folks creating Delta 9 from
CBD by tossing a very very uh
combustible solvent in there and creating THC delta9 that is where it gets dangerous
it’s a synthetic we do not know the pharmacology at all for that on the
human body not at all it is you understand how hydrocarbon extractions work right I think you’re talking about
thco which which is which is totally so there are there are some hemp companies so I no problem again with THC extracted
looping around the farmbell dry weight versus whole weight no issue it is the
same canabo we know that I have an issue with the producers and there are people
doing this with and that’s when exactly that’s when they’re calling it Delta 9 but it’s exactly thco but they’re
calling it delta9 and that is so different and so dangerous and sure the
consumer can do what they want but you have to educate them on it right you have to say like hey this is a very
different substance and synthetic that’s very far from the cannabis plant and so
I’m not saying anybody on this call is doing it but we don’t want to leave that door open for the people who are more
than happy to do that and they exist and their their excuse is like I didn’t make
I didn’t make the market I’m just being a business person and like people can do what they want but it’s it’s like an
intentional it’s a deliberate thing that people are doing with thco calling it
Delta 9 and diive and it’s so what’s what’s the answer though how do we give Todd and Jason and Charles the ability
to follow the rules that we all think I think we’re agreeing that like on some of these things like especially the
products marketed towards children like no you know I think we all agree that that’s absurd and that shouldn’t be okay
um but like how what is the answer here because I think we’re circling around
kind of you know Richard mentioned it earlier Richard you said something to the effect and feel free to correct me
if if I’m wrong if I say what you said wrong but you said something to the effect of this is this you know can hurt
the licensed participants and that sound like an endorsement of the limited license Market because you were talking
about how the value of the license can stay you know at a level that’s valuable
right we’ve learned from other states what the solution is government because the issue is is the discrepancy between
Federal and but do we let like Todd for example get a license and start selling PFT in Illinois like so that’s what I’m
saying if if you can’t go through a legal license fer right if I if I had my brothers it would be do that with all
your CBD products why would you do it with Delta 8 it’s much cheaper for us to produce delta8 delta8 is already
regulated it’s psychoactive right Delta 9 products um should be and are should be currently regulated the definition of
of just including cannabis in the crta needs to be needs to be changed right it needs to include specific cids and as
far as CBD goes man I would love to buy your CBD I don’t want to grow 100 acres of hemp I want high quality um um CBD
that I know was was extracted the right way I got some very good friends in Kentucky who are who who are who are in this industry and I think CBD doesn’t
make sense on the licensed end right I could show you a spread why why why it doesn’t make sense
for the CBD businesses either yeah why why why Force why force a business like
us who is allowed to bank and do other things into a place where we’re unbankable just because to to protect
one man’s quote unquote license not to protect one man it solves we regulate Delta 9 THC Delta 8
THC Delta 10 THC 11 hydroxy THC but I don’t think I don’t I don’t think I
don’t think at one point I said there shouldn’t be any level of regul there should there should be a level of regulation on those on those compounds
but what I’m saying is to try to force them into the same box as the licensed Market that doesn’t make sense that that
that I don’t want to force them into the same boxes I would like the business to be separated by canono not by plant not
what by which it was derived but but you’re saying then then it should only be sold into dispensary but I I disagree
with that no no no I wasn’t saying it should only be sold in a dispensary I think CBD should be sold anywhere CBD can be sold yeah but you’re
saying should be sold sorry what I’m saying is the psychoactive canabo the intent of the
law was to regulate the drug part of it so so here’s the question for you and so out of practicality in a perfect world I
would rewrite it differently but out of practicality what I would say is that the regulation if it would simply change the definition of cannabis right as it
stands in the crta to breaking down the cannabinoids that are to be regulated by
crta other saying I would vote for yeah here’s the push on that Richard liquor
stores and good bad are different we’re not going to argue whether or not liquor stores are good we I think we can all agree that alcohol is bad right that
being said uh 7-Eleven can still sell Bud Light as can a liquor store so so you’re
essentially seeing to me that 7 should beity to sell my bu
light yeah but but but a dispensary is a liquor store in this in this model no no
right so I’m saying so so I’m saying if you guys want to sell in 7-Eleven CBD should be allowed to be sold in 7-Eleven
but drive THC we’re Delta 9 THC so but I’m saying like this model that you’re suggesting that the 7-Eleven should no
longer be able to sell his Bud Light even though he makes money on it and he sells Bud Light because only dispensers should say that that’s what you’re
essentially saying is that is that a fair I’m saying like in Colorado uh on a Sunday when you go into 7-Eleven you can’t you can get a Bud Light but it’s a
3.2 it’s half alcohol right all I’m say I think CBD
should be sold as broadly as as as you can as any neutraceutical as any herbal but I think the psychoactive portions of
cannabis should be regulated right and we have a framework for that in Illinois now if I
could regulation does not mean limited access regulation means it’s properly
tested it abides by a set of rules but it doesn’t mean it has to be funneled through one set of retailers and that’s
when accessibility gets choked off if we go back if we go back we go back to John’s point of in in Rockford a black
community doesn’t have a dispensary within a ston throw a 20 minute
drive that’s a that’s a super for fair point and I’m not arguing that but the thing is limited licensing is necessar
inherently going to limit the market and limited licensing is better for the industry right I don’t know if it’s
better for the community that has yet to be seen I don’t know if it’s better for society that has it’s better for the it’s better for the license industry
it’s not better for but but look at look at gross sales look at gross sales and license versus limited license right
look at the look at the instances of of of violation in in limited license versus versus unlic when you want to
compare Illinois you can’t compare to Minnesota compare to New York you have to compare to Philadelphia or Pennsylvania Ohio Florida I completely
agree with what you’re saying on how sales should track versus Li open licensers open markets versus limited
licenses but the reality of it is is anything that’s marijuana license related is going to limit access and so
you’re never going to see what the free market would do and that’s honestly what the the licensed cannabis operators
don’t want they don’t want the people to be able to choose they want to make choices I think thee Market I would
disagree thatal follow alcohol I I promise it’s
going to get broken up into regions right those regions are gonna are are gonna um um the vertical integration is
going to be chopped up right so that Budweiser can’t control everything but they’re going to have limited uh limited
I’m sorry they’re gonna have monopolized distribution channels just like alcohol the federal government don’t make new
stuff up right they they go based on stuff that uh stuff that they’ve seen and and and all I’m saying is from a
practical standpoint if I could redraw it from Square One it would be way more Equitable it would be way more accessible but but that’s not the
reality I live in right I live in a limited licensed State those limited licensed states are outperforming the
non-limited licensed States in in in in in lots of different metrics so I’m not
saying extract in terms of corruption because that’s definitely true oh man that’s Richard if I can add on to your
beside the point bro like there’s in every state there’s corruption in Illinois in particular no one’s denying
that man but I can’t snap my fingers and make that go away no nobody here can not that I know of if you can please do it
would make all of our life so much easier it would be called a a hemp a hemp program that allows an unlimited
number of businesses to start a business you argue if you want argue
whether or not the licenses should be limited or not that’s a completely different argument in my opinion but it
it does sound to be said for both and and we’re not taking into account the state as well to Richard’s Point limited
licensing also allows the state to properly regulate what’s out there if we have a million stores selling hemp
derived product and we don’t even know what those products are because they’re not regulated what’s going to make Illinois different than any other state
where they can’t control the amount of THC and syn synthetic THC products like
we have a strong Market in Illinois and again as Richard said you can argue over whether you like limited licenses or not
but the point is the state created a limited license they created limited licenses so they could have the ability
to track from seed to sell what’s being it sold in stores and how could any of
us on this call argue that that’s a bad thing for consumers or for society in general
I cannabis wasn’t even legal at one point like I want to let you go but really quick are we it’s still not legal
what we’re saying is all intoxicating cannabinoids should be sold under
licenses by the crta correct there are right they’re already C well they’re already he said not CBD so we’re talking
about intoxicating you see right hold on intoxicating intoxicating products I
agree so so then it is an argument I think and feel free to correct me if I’m wrong and I want to give Josh chance to
go ahead because he’s not had a chance to speak all night um I think it is an argument about limited licensing then
because then you’re saying that only the folks with those limited licenses can sell those uh intoxicating canabo Josh
yeah I mean there’s there’s plenty of states that are doing it right so I mean to say that Illinois can’t I mean we’re
we’re soling ourselves short I mean I work uh we’re on the border of Iowa here
they’re very strictly regulated um you know we have to get full panel testing
microbials heavy metals um their program works fine um you know the one worry I
they don’t have a recreational Cannabis program no they don’t well the
problem validating the need for for for why hem can work they don’t have a reg
program the issue isn’t the issue isn’t that can’t work the issue is in Illinois we have an unregulated industry trying
to emerg and become regulated in the face of an industry that’s already highly regulated
representes Marana industry chose that route no the state chose that route the
legislature chose that route and Richard Kem and Richard state to state to state to state they have
absolutely continuously chosen to go into this highly highly highly regulated
space and now that people people are moving to say wait there’s an option that’s not as regulated that that’s what
they’re that’s what the licens industry is crying about it’s that the fact that people have found a way to to produce
products that are similar to theirs that don’t force this over overregulation so it’s actually time for the the license
Market to come back towards the hemp market so no I I would I would disagree with that one 1,00% this is actually
what I want to say the whole time and that’s just that number one um out here in California again uh if people were as
interested and hemp derived uh THC products there’ll be as many uh uh hemp
derived dis dispensaries all over the state as it is cannabis derived T and the truth is when customers actually
have access you want to talk about access when they actually have access to both they choose cannabis derived THC
over hemp derived THC and so that’s one of the things where you talk about what the actual Market is if people had the
the equal opportunity to choose they would choose cannabis derived THC products over hemp every time because
you have lowd does THC uh cannabis deriv THC products just like you can create lowd dose hemp derived THC products so
there’s no really difference in them but uh people would do that and again you can use C as a state because you can buy hemp
derived THC products out here in California thing I would just want to add one other thing I would add just to
uh about the black community not having any money to spend the black community doesn’t want to spend money on
overpriced multi uh uh corporate gr grown cannabis and by cannabis grown by
people who again do not care about the industry the culture or their own lungs
how they would like uh they how they actually treat and describe the plant you know people are conscious about that
so if they are going to spend that money that it’s going to go to the traditional Market in the same way that it does a
lot of it does in California as well because you know honestly the traditional Market is still overshadows
the uh legal Market out here and again but again the the CBD Market doesn’t
have the same type of foothold so again when people have a chance to choose they’re going to choose cannabis
100% in the state the one one problem we have you
know like I’m on both sides here I buy a kilo of hemp Drive D9 cost me
$11,000 or less now I I’m trying to get a kilo of D9 distillate I got three
prices this last week 21,000 177,000 and 14,000 for a Kila now the overregulation
that the Illinois Market has had has ruined the price of products in the
state and so if the hemp based business get rolled in there I’m afraid that the
same thing is g to happen and it’s going to be the consumer on the outside getting their prices raised hold on
Richard am I wrong in saying that those high prices correct me from wrong those are what protects as you said earlier
the participants so is that a feature or I’m sorry I me the high prices of the
license valuation right not of the product it’s the goal of the regulated industry to drive down the product too
but more retailers have to open more production has to open and it’s going to take longer than um if we just uh didn’t
regulate it and the only reason I I don’t like to have the argument of limited license versus license uh
unlimited license in Illinois right new states is different but in Illinois they’re not going to change their minds
I I promise you they’re not going to decide okay regulated cannabis no no longer is limited anyone can apply
they’re not going to do that so in the face of that reality what do we do is what I’m
saying and I feel like well I was going to say the proposal seems to be that we
allow all of these people it sounds like it is an open license approach but you
you have to comply with the same regulations that Kareem ail uh sorry Mike Mike I don’t remember
if you actually have a cultivation or anything open yet but the operators I’m trying to say you would comply with those same regulations right but if you
look at incentive right if you look at incentive and you look at the value uh of these licenses and what’s going on in
the store the reason that I believe licensed operators are going to uh as to
Mike’s Point take an extra step have an extra piece of of care for the safety of the consumer is because what is at risk
for them financially right that that that creates an incentive for them to care about that so I’m not saying that
hemp derived cannaboids any future ones to be discovered of the 110 or whatever
right um should be regulated in the same way it should be regulated as to the point of the Delta 9 uh CBD guys but I’m
saying divided by psycho activity right the licensed current licensed operators under crta especially ones that are open
have lots of experience in dealing with a product that we know is going to get people high right now I understand why
the other end that the hemp industry doesn’t want that that is a huge hit to their sales huge right they didn’t take
off with when it was just CBD it could also be argued the other way around though that that Todd selling his
product is a huge hit to their sales no that’s what I meant it’s a if you regulate it so I I if I were on
their side I would understand it too because the argument that THC is THC is true right the argument that that that a
canabo extracted from hemp is the same as a canabo extracted uh from from the cannabis plant you know given the same
process that’s the same chemical in the end that’s true but those aren’t the only risks right liquor stores have lots
of poor operators lower regulation creates a higher percentage of poor operators right the incentive just isn’t
there so all I’m saying is is is yeah their business has to be limited um to ours or flip the coin then what do you
expect to happen to the regular licensed cannabis industry all you’re saying is that we have to deregulate too and the
state will not do that right so even if that’s what I wanted it’s it’s just it’s not it’s not practical and it’s not
responsible as a business owner to assume that the state of Illinois is going to do that because they won’t that’s where I think it’s getting at
least I feel like I’m getting mixed up is like I don’t think anybody’s calling for deregulation that like it we’re calling for regulation by deregulation I
mean of the regulated cannabis space easing the regulations right everybody agrees that
both spaces should be regulated in in so far as testing and safety and and and and compliance with these laws right but
my find expens start at 20,000 man we’re hella serious about it where I
have an issue and I agree with you Richard but where I have an issue is when you take people who are operating
within the Frameworks of the laws they’re laid out today and are saying we’re willing and able to operate within
the Frameworks of the law and Regulatory body as they’ll be laid out tomorrow but but then to say but wait there’s more
you can only sell that thing in my store that’s where I have a problem because that’s when you start to choke off
access to people who want to to experience the plant you know I mean I’m
going to be be super real with you Clift to be sold in a sun you know a Sunnyside
dispensary would cost you between 12 and 14 a can I can sell it at 3.99 a can in
a yesway alip stores in rural Texas right now and guess what about tomorrow man what happens to the license holders
who want to come in after you do you then want your industry licensed in a limited way what happens no I’m not advocating for
license I want consumers I want customers to be able to choose which products are the winners but right now
all the way down the line and make it impossible to get busted for selling it on the street and then who wins but hold
on there’s there’s people that’s amazing there’s people that’s amazing if people aren busted on the street because it’s a shame that people are incarcerated no no
my question is what do you think happens to your industry I think that if we have
sensible testing and regulations for everyone to just sell everything and put
it out on the street you think that’s good for you hell no hell my point bro
that’s all I’m saying because it’s less licensed and less licensed and less licensed you’re just bring more players
into the game that’s which is great that’s okay but but not what if it was the street then it’s not okay right
because but if we can create a pathway for people like look there’s the talking about a pathway I wish we could create a
pathway too right I’m saying we can look at it under theity of the way the law
stands or we can write the thing back from the beginning and if we’re writing it back from the beginning right then I
would do it very differently man right
but Richard we’re here Richard we’re here right now no right so that’s what I’m saying so I’m not saying limited
your sales but I am saying I am saying limit your swath of products to the non psychoactive why I’m saying why should I
have yeah psychoactive part is the part
that was the part thatted to be regulated and if that was the part that was intended to be regulated then we can’t put the genie back in the bottle
and say and say do unlimited it’s it’s too late for that here okay so it is an
argument about limited and unlimited yeah and that’s that argument can’t be one right because I’m saying on a on a
philosophical level I’m G to tend to agree with Todd on a philosophical level I’m going to agree I’m going to think
that everybody on the street should be able to sell it however they feel like if they grow it in their house that’s my that’s my real opinion but the thing is
I don’t live in that reality and I’ve not seen that reality exist anywhere in the United States yet but why can’t you
push that reality through working with your legislatur because right now it feels like we’re business
owners seat at the T we’ve been trying since we’ve been trying since 20
2012 right and then I was back and I was back around here with normal in in the early 2000s right so will you
support isn’t going to work not in this country they won’t allow it cuz what do you think’s coming after will you
support all are get licenses for hemp dve canabo but whether or not Richard
does yeah I I so so so so that goes back to my original point so if the bill was
written for CBD I’m all on it man so original point so the only the 7-Eleven
shouldn’t be able to sell budlight whether it’s 32 or not that’s what you’re saying they should but we don’t
live in a state where that’s ever going to happen that way but but but Richard I’m going to what you’re proposing is
going to crush our industry how are we going to vote go ahead Rebecca I’m gonna push you on that Richard because you’re
saying we don’t live in this place no because man OPP we have an opportunity
to change it that’s all I’m saying you have an opportunity to change it at our expense right what I’m looking for is is
a win-win man right if you’re if you’re looking at how the industry is concerned
okay yeah I mean you go ahead Rebecca regulations were done completely wrong
on every level federally State it’s wrong and there’s a lot of
things that are being said that we’re finding out through science and the clinical application that aren’t
actually true and they’re being applied to regulations and they should not be so when we talk about we should just
regulate the psychoactive components um turns out I’m sorry I I
didn’t I didn’t mean it like that I both should be right but if we’re talking about where it splits between the crta that’s so
we’re all all for regulation but um I don’t the split between like this makes you high and this doesn’t is kind of
silly because we know from the clinical application that people with a high symptom burden can use a lot of
plant-based THC and they never get altered never ever they could use sure but we’re talking about the potential
CBD doesn’t even have the potential to do the same I Won’t Say Non psychoactive but doesn’t have the potential to do the same things Nuance with CBD so should it
be sold in 7-Eleven and gas stations and grocery Richard says yes for that yep
maybe but also maybe not and here’s why everybody assumes CBD is the safe
cannabinoid right that it doesn’t do anything there’s a lot of safe things about it the unsafe thing about CBD is
it interacts with a hell of a lot more meds over a 100 and like basic ones like
things for your heart antibiotics so that’s why it’s really dangerous to sell these things without labels and
education no but that would be regulation I’m not saying that you should be able to sell CBD uh uh sight
unseen and you know I’m I’m I’m certified in Canabis Therapeutics from the University of Vermont I know I I’ve taught Illinois Masonic I taught
Northwestern I taught uh Lutheran General uh neurology uh North northwestern’s uh
northwestern’s neurology I I’ve I’ve done a lot of clinics for Physicians that that’s not what I’m suggesting well
what I’m suggesting is that we know that there is a psychoactive difference between CBD and the others and the
things that CBD has the most interaction things with like antis psychotics maois um or you know MAO inhibitors and things
like that I I would assume that that’s on a on a medical professional to to to warn people of but all the warning should be on the package and whatnot we
run the risk is is way lower in CBD is all in so what people don’t know and
this is even doctors when we’ve talked to doctors they’re like oh [ _ ] really so here’s here’s the danger of just having things out itself um that are medium dose is heart medications so if you are on Plavix and you take CBD you decrease the amount of clavix you have a heart attack you die or you clot up your your stent for your stroke and that’s why so the regulations are really so everything was done very wrong um and now we’re trying to back up so I think everything should be regulated but the fact that the medical institutions have had no education on this and what they think is dangerous is not dangerous and what they think is very safe is a little more nuanced than that um and then you have really bad actors coming into the space internationally to try and compete with the Safe products on this Shelf at 7-Eleven it makes for a whole mess the way we have to start thinking about cannabis if we want it to exist outside of the pharmaceutical model because it’s just going to take one really bad story to kill every aspect of the industry um we need to think about it from a public health lens so what should have been done from the beginning is we should have essentially made dispensaries CBD shops we should have thought of them more as public health centers and more integrated into the Health Care system now it’s a little late for that but um we need regulations that at least these these products should have specific labels the QR codes that go to the coas and warnings I hate to compare it to cigarettes but like in Europe they have those very scary warnings sure you could consume them and exactly like I don’t believe we should Pro you know alcohol is very dangerous we know that I don’t believe in prohibition but we should have regulation and warning labels and if we’re going to sell things in 7-Eleven we have to be very specific about what we’re selling and when and how much and I I think that’s consumer safety because we I think we’re all hoping and thinking that consumers have time to be educated consumers but they just don’t and they don’t know the difference between thco and Delta 8 and CBD they don’t know that cannabis is this all-encompassing umbrella they don’t know the difference between a hemp plant and a higher THC plant they just don’t and if we want consumer safety we and we want the industry to survive and not become owned by the pharmaceutical industry we have to be the ones to essentially regulate ourselves in blo of regulations the pharmaceutical industry ain’t going to own this consumer packaged Goods is going to own this watch yeah most definitely yeah and I would just say I have no problem with uh with hemp products being sold in 7-Eleven uh but I just think they should be called hemp products you know and I don’t know if uh the hemp guys are so part in the pun high on it why they run away from it so much you know what I mean like why not just say it’s a hemp derive T product if it’s if it’s no big deal you know I mean exactly let the pl Canabis Callis it’s Canabis it’s it’s not how you how do you respond to that distinction the reason the reason why I say that it should be uh it should be some distinction between the two is because again I think it plays on the ignorance of the customer so as operators it’s not so much about what the U what is um specified by the state to actually say regulation Wise It’s again really should be more about educating the customer so that the customer is informed and knows what they’re purchasing right so product be a marijuana product because that’s what it is right yeah I wouldn’t even no I wouldn’t call it a marijuana product because that’s a derogatory term that people legal teral when never it may be a legal term but it’s also something that I would never call my products I don’t we don’t have marijuana products we have cannabis products right because I want to educate my customer and again that’s the point that I’m making about what’s legal and what the state allows versus what you have an obligation to do to your customer you know you keep on talking about oh well the state calls it marijuana what so you want to be ignorant like the state or do you want to be a part of the community and grow it and educate the people that are that are passionate about it marijuana stuff yeah if I could we all agree that it is Cannabis sativa that’s the genus and species for for our listeners that that you know have you know maybe forgot their high school biology it is Cannabis sativa it is not marijuana that is a derogatory term but to to Glenn’s point it is a legal term and hemp is also a legal term and I think I think that does contribute to your point Mike the confusion because at the end of the day they are the same plant and I think I think what your point is is if they hemp derived the Le legally right legally hemp arrived Mike is suggesting they should be labeled as such and the reason why and just real quick Glenn the reason why I think they should be labeled as such is because there is a difference in the regulations right now people can buy hemp from overseas like was mentioned and then sell it into gas stations whatever in different states you know there’s different rules and that’s kind of the point I think that as this new industry as a whole comes online in more States is it’s very important uh by operators on both sides right whether you’re on the hemp side or you’re on the licensed THC side to be very protective of their potential customers because just like Rebecca said all is going to take is you see that trying all the time to label these things and oh you know THC is driving kids crazy and I always wonder to myself what type of THC is it was it hemp derived THC product was it a canvas derive did they buy it from a license dispensary or did they buy it from a Delta 8 shop where did that product come from like where was the source of the come from that that store sold to them it’s a whole lot more than just what the headlines will show and that’s kind of the point I think that we need to have some type of variation just on the labels even though I know it might seem you know for those of us that are knowledgeable okay yeah it’s all the same plant but yeah the average customer doesn’t really understand that quite yet so it’s it’s upon you to like teach them right and Mike I just want to just say that real quick like one I don’t want anybody thinking out here that I think the term marijuana is like a a good term right that’s something I would never you know want anyone to label their product as because I agree with you that term has a derogatory background but I use it to exercise just like go through the thought exercise if you’re asking me to label my product as hemp which is a legal term and say I can’t use cannabis even though we all agree it’s a cannabis plant then you should label your product according to a legal term and and that’s the double standard part that Todd was talking about earlier that that I think we all are so angry with is that we want to provide jobs and put Safe products into the market to you know one improve our communities and give consumers the products they want and do business but like you can’t have it both ways where you can call yourself cannabis but I have to call myself hemp that’s just like you can’t do that without explaining yourself and and I haven’t heard an explanation for that I I I would explain it really quickly and I’ll let somebody else take the stage I would just say that um the one thing I would say that we are kind of regulated um under that whereas again I’ll just use California as an example they’re trying to pass the bill right now about what is allowed on the packaging even as much as like where if there’s fruits and vegetables to be shown on there um if there’s like the likeness of actual person so we are already regulated about what we can actually I’m not talking about like cartoonish I’m talking about we cannot put a picture of fruit on the bag you know it’s it has nothing to do with the cartoonishness of it um and that my point is just that we are already regulated about what we have to put on our packaging less so than a hemp company which is kind of like the whole point of all this and technically cannabis is the legal term for Cannabis sativa in the state of Illinois even though the federal government uh calls it something different the federal government used to use work like ocidental and N negro also right so in the state of Illinois cannabis is the legal term yeah but we’re talking about federal law you know and I get what you’re saying you’re very fair point it’s defined is cannabis in the crta um and on that note I just want to say real quick Co I think I see Aila is still on here full disclosure Akil Parnell is also my attorney I got a lot of full disclosures but ail Parnell is also my attorney shout out to Akil he can definitely tell you what it what the the legalities of it all is for sure I the whole yeah the whole like Federal oh it’s federally legal like the federal government never intended to legalize Delta a like as a psycho activist like did don’t want that now the DEA says they don’t it’s not what they meant but that’s DEA uh man everything I’m hearing right now they’re going to increase um the the amount of TC allow they’re gonna they’re gonna they’re gonna keep rolling with it they’re not they’re not gonna ban I’ve heard that as well we don’t know that that can change administation Administration that can change right but but re the reason they’re considering ra is is is primarily because of South America Colombia is a and I’ve worked down there planted 50,000 Acres of CBD down there a couple years ago right um Colombia’s standard is is higher I believe they allow 0.005 so to allow International Trade which we have a a trade agreement with with Colombia uh I think that’s why the federal government is consider considering uh raising the amount right because we’re going to protect on the federal level first of all let me say I don’t care what the federal government thinks right right I’m in a different situation um I understand why the hemp CBD guys guys care because of interstate commerce right but as far as we’re concerned uh on the crta kind of regulated side of it I could care less what the federal government wants right I care what the state of Illinois is going to do right that that’s kind of what affects us with with the exception of of 28e and and all this kind of crap right I think that’s what’s so weird about this is that federal law is ahead of state law in this in this instance and so what you’re saying CBD is legal because MIT go ahead go ahead K yeah not really you’re we’re like uh saying things that the federal government is not saying it’s a loophole and they didn’t if they had known about it they would have closed it from the beginning so they didn’t intend to create a Delta eight market and the other thing I’ll just say this I mean like I’m not there’s no market for it other than M representing it as regular weed in the mind of the consumer that’s just it everybody knows that like you see it in California if everybody knows they can get regular for the same price if other than low information consum it’s banned in California ke and you you have Drive canids are banned in California I apologize I apologize we have I respect everyone on this call I be clear about that name right yeah no I know hey everyone’s name is the most important can I just say saying that law bans synthetic can avonoids and anything from H so to say that it’s a consumer issue is just not entirely true okay we’re not saying this I never said that but it is true that the federal government does not mean to allow Delta eight they don’t want Delta they don’t even like a picture of Mitch I think there you go thank you Aila for clarifying they did mean to legalize hemp Mitch McConnell is proudly holding his hemp pen no man I know but to your point to your point yes thank you thank you no I was yeah I just wanted to give you a chance to clarify everybody knows that everybody knows they did not mean to create a legal loophole for a psychoactive version of him they know everybody knows this whole thread we on thread we’re on is this legal definition and that’s that’s right the problem is the crta doesn’t bother to define the individual cannabinoids as regulated or not what it does Define just like the farm bill is that canab I’m sorry cannabis derived uh canabo versus hemp derived and technically because you can derive uh Delta 8 even Delta 9 from that small percentage that is active in the hemp plant what we call the hemp plant um that’s how they’re able to extract it and and and get it right uh all they got to do is change the definition to not include CBD which is what they intended and to include the psychoactive canabo that we know of now and put some clause in for future canab noids yet to be discovered that closes the loophole if if that’s what you want I understand why that’s not what everybody wants you know what I mean but personally I think that’s the best solution given given the framework in Illinois which I also agree is the better framework compared to the unlimited license framework right but there are valid arguments on both sides of that I want to wrap up in the next uh 10 to 15 I want to give people a chance for the last word uh anything that a I know you were in the middle of kind of uh we were you know we were talking so I wanted to give you a chance to pick up where you left off yeah yeah for sure I mean yeah I don’t really have too much more to say on that other than I think everybody in the industry on both sides understand that the real market for Delta products is for consumers for the most part that don’t understand the difference and there is a difference and if there’s not a difference it should be treated the same so the logic to me is simple if it’s the same treat it the same if it’s not the same consumers need to know that can you sell enough of it to stay afloat if consumers really understand that I doubt it but some people can that’s it you know I I I want to jump in here because yeah you know I I’m on both sides and I I particularly have been taking a lot of pride in the hemp side and uh not only helping out uh areas that are dispensary deserts and helping you know communities Thrive uh but but also uh seeing the difference of what hemp can do hemp benefits the industry the Cannabis industry because it allows the consumers because that the Cannabis industry only has so many customers right now that are familiar that are willing to go into a a cannabis store which is you know almost a glorified will call with no information and it’s kind of a scary place there’s armed guards and multiple uh you know show you know there’s FOID card concerns I mean there’s all kinds of things going on there but outside of that the the the the canic Curious folks if I if I could say that are more willing to come into a bakery like mine and come where where they get shown and and they get uh and we explain the difference between cannaboids and Turpin and the and the endoc cannaboid system and how it interacts and and how the uh you know if if the cannaboids are like the car the Tarpin are like a steering wheel and and and they get more familiar with the understanding of how these things work and we create a customer that we find that they synergistically work together in fact that’s why our business model is putting bakeries next to dispensaries we will have a hemp retail store next to a cannabis store that’s happening in Burbank that’s happening in East abuke that’s happening in Rockford that’s happening and like we’re doing it all over the state and we’re we’re uh we believe that that’s going to be a model where a consumer can come in and feel comfortable on both sides of the fence it is the same plant you know cannabis if it’s regulated if we’re talking about salt cannabis is like Himalayan salt and hemp is like sea salt they’re both salt one’s from the mountains one’s from the sea and we’re like oh this one’s really regulated and this one’s under regulated well that’s not really true one is like a vicious doberman and one is like a toy poodle they’ve been genetic bred over many many generations produce VAR true I I’m a big land race fan myself and and you know we have some land race drains but outside of so so that’s really saying that’s the difference between hemp and cannabis one was created for fiber man and one was created for the cannaboid that’s just the truth of why those two things were separated they all derived from the same plant right and if I was you and I had both licenses I would open them next to each other too man what great Synergy but the other guys who have hemp licenses are not going to be able to get crta issued licenses right not now but I can tell you legislation changes there were several people saying that customers are going to pick and I think uh uh Mike uh you were saying that you want to know what I have found because we we have Delta 9 we have Delta 8 we have different uh cannab we have thcv you know we we have certain things that that customers come in and we we we offer everything we’re like a liquor store that we have everything vers is just one type of uh cannaboid and we see consumers coming in and picking intentionally picking Delta 8 intentionally picking Delta 9 intentionally picking CBC or CBD for various because they’re coming in to to get a certain result or an effect right but I think what was being what was being spoken to is that statistically we know that consumers given the choice will choose cannabis derived THC especially especially especially existing cannabis users right we’re not talking about Illinois we’re talking about existing well I mean we could [ _ ] about Illinois prices I think they’re too high too but it’s what the market will bear
yeah let’s remember where those Illinois prices where the money goes back to as much as we talk about Illinois prices I
think that gets lost I mean we are taxed but again that tax money goes back into the community and we can dismiss that as
much as we want but none of us as far as I know are doing the work these operators doing in black and brown
communities disproportion you can look up the definition of it if you like but that’s
what the whole goal of this is why are we doing this is it you keep talking about how customers are going to choose
this prodct and that’s great but at the end of the day take the products out of it like the product the the damage that
has been done by the wrong drugs is the focus that what that needs to remain the focus of this debate and what drugs has
done to this community and what I hear the hemp producer saying is hey we want to alter this plant to create more drugs
and put them in the community and listen if if that’s what you decide and it’s a synthetic way of doing it I’m sorry but
I don’t think the state of Illinois is in a position to say we’re going to allow this synthetic drug but not this
one where where where do we stop it’s easy to make uh meths from PSE Sudafed too do we allow that just because it
makes somebody a dollar I mean give me a break like Le let’s be rational about this conversation and this discussion
and I’m sorry I get so debated yeah but any of us on this call has been impacted
by some synthetic drug one way or another whether it’s an opioid or crack
or cocaine or something else and for us to act like that’s not a real part of this discussion it’s kind of disturbing
I’m sorry yeah not everyone the yeah and if I could Kem to your
point about the I know Mike you disputed it and I know why and and I’d love to give you the uh the the taxes and where
it’s going but to your point about if the taxes were truly going to you know the R3 and everything else um and really
being used the way they should my thing is like why can’t these people they want to pay these taxes and
they want to comply with they said that that’s what lesan Ford’s proposal is as I understand it Am I Wrong does Les
proposal put money back into the community taxes yeah the tax he said he
wants unless I’m misunderstanding it the tax because I actually said it without
taxes when I ran it by him at psychedelic science in Denver I said let’s do labeling age requirements and
testing and he said oh but Cole don’t forget we need to do taxes because
that’s the point of the crta and I said okay okay if we have to do taxes so
that’s part of The Proposal as I understand it so but it’s it’s more than the taxes existing dispensaries have to
take uh uh $250,000 and and either put and see this is what Kareem was saying earlier fair
if you want to get into that I get get there’s other stuff besides the taxes that that the current CRT crta lenses
have to do to ensure that money goes into R3 goes into communities right there there’s it’s not just the taxes
right the taxes should help on a well I don’t want to get into it but you guys know I get what you’re saying yep okay
Mike did you want to go where and we’re about to close no only thing I just wanted to say is is again um I I I
didn’t want to speak more I have opinions on licensing and open versus uh
more closed um same thing about uh um a lot of other things I just wanted to
keep it more about again the marketing and The Branding of what these products are because um that’s where I have the
big biggest issue with I just want the customer to know what they’re buying and I just feel like they it should uh him
in particular should be a little bit more transparent um since they do have
the privilege of being able to be in so so many more locations you know I think
we the responsible people a don’t really sell the synthetics the thos this kind
of stuff I mean uh maybe some isomer isomerization I mean that that’s not the
same as the the synthetics like the O like the the acetate forms oxygenated
hydrogenated hhc’s and stuff we all agree that that’s you know nonsense and shouldn’t be sold right so I and and I
know that we and I know others proudly label everything as as hemp you know I’m proud that it’s hemp drived you know
that that from local farms right I mean like we’re we’re we’re uh you know Farm to Table right I mean like I’m proud of
that you know we root our compounds and we have beehives out at our facility and
you know we we root our little baby girls bam I mean their first taste of life is from rooting compound is sucking
on honey right you guys sound like the point but you know what I’m
saying sound like an exceptional operator though uh how many of the guys that are selling your product are doing that yeah yeah you come out and visit
our our our operations no you sound honestly you sound like you got an AP on site like I’m I’m I’m about all that man
like you know at our grow we’re going to be doing uh a living soil right we’re goingon to be doing something little different right on but my point is as to
Mike’s Point is how many operators are like you and and how many that are selling these products are are are very
very different I we we agree but we’ve tried to regulate this we’ve been
pushing for for 21 and over for for three years now we’ve been pushing for
proper labeling uh standard and you want to know who’s shooting it down cannabis big cannabis not not not the little crta
guys it’s the Legacy guys uh so they’re all on everyone’s on the same page on this one though even though we fight
about everything else the thing is if you were to to to parcel out the psychoactive cannabinoids I’d be the first to jump on board with you
bro so I want to close out with with a I want to close out with a thought that I
I maybe nobody here is gonna dis nobody’s gonna agree with me on go oh go ahead sorry what sorry Hi um
so you can’t see me because I’m I to go off camera so I wanted to just comment that um I agree with a lot of what some
of the panelists said that um you know we’re I worry definitely about people
who’ve already been impacted by the War on Drugs who are already underserved in the Healthcare Community getting the Bad
actors of the H derived things and I question you know so yes there’s a lack
of dispensaries in these communities as well um but where are the like the good
hemp operators then like why I’m from the south side of Chicago I I don’t I don’t see any hemp operators there
either so if the arguments were were filling the need for a lower cost affordable product and we’re supporting
communities but I I don’t see anybody in these communities I mean I’m starting to see social Equity folks there now where
where is everybody then and then I worry about the predatory people selling a low cost bad product is doing more harm well
Rockford is also a different Market to to your point John right Rockford is much better about the social equity in
my opinion than what I’ve seen in in the city from The Operators not I don’t know the government as well but from what I
see in operators anyway I want to kind of to Rebecca’s point I’m glad Rebecca
that you joined again because I am looking for your perspective but I think everybody going to disagree with me on the point I’m about to put out there um
just to be honest even like everybody but even though like both all of you maybe have disagree uh today you’re all
going to agree that you disagree with me right now I think so but before I do that I just wanted to say I did my best
today at trying to host this and give everybody an opportunity to speak and I know it’s frustrating to have these conversations
so uh I apologize you know if if uh you know I know I can always do better so I
just wanted to recognize that but I wanted to just we had a lot of talk about safety so I feel like our conversation talked today this is going
to be to close and uh I want to make this kind of a quick round um I know I
know I kept bringing up limited licensing and stuff but really it seems like a lot of the talk is about safety today and I just want to play this clip
that again I don’t think anybody’s G to agree with me on it’s a short clip um but let’s let’s watch it
so drugs I mean one thing that worries me about the way cannabis and Cam and
psychedelics are presented is that it’s always couched in they’re safe they’re therapeutic they’re spiritual they’re
historical but that isn’t the point even if all those things are true and there’s some debate eventually someone will find
a [ _ ] in that armor someone will die maybe they’re not haven’t been used as long as you thought they were used maybe they don’t always work therapeutically so then what do you go back to Prohibition no that’s why I think you need to emphasize cognitive Liberty you need to emphasize people’s right to explore these alter alterate States Of Consciousness regardless of whether or not they’re therapeutic or safe or traditional or spiritual the point isn’t that it’s safe or any of these other things the point is that if you want to live in a free Society you have to be allowed to take a certain amount of risk issu I would completely agree with that yeah I would agree with that but I also would agree that I agree that I disagree that I would disagree now no yeah I agree with that but the fact but the fact the the politicians would never agree to something like that so it’s almost like a mute point you know what I’m saying like yeah I I agree with it but like that’s that’s not the way it’s gonna happen that’s why you should be able do it do it illegally and you just shouldn’t go to prison because you Ed the drug yeah I just say call it hemp again what’s the problem with that yeah why not hemp hemp is great let’s just call a hemp don’t pret let hemp be hemp and cannabis be cannabis but hold on so Glenn John Josh I think you agree with it being hemp where you disagree is when they talk about taking away your intoxicating hemp right is that where you disagree you want the sh you want the hemp that gets you high still right we want go through the same I think that yeah but I believe that just because that’s what you know just because the government has done something one way doesn’t mean that it hasn’t can’t be improved right like we all know that government makes mistakes and willingly admits it so think that this is exactly an opportunity to improve sorry go ahead Glenn no no no I I guess my my just my one point here that I’d like to make is that it it’s obvious to me that many of the folks on this call believe that you know their business interests are threatened and I would just love to hear are your business interests worth imprisoning more people who will continue to sell hemp or marijuana after nobody is yeah nobody fell at help on the streets no nobody wants anybody I don’t remember people getting arrested for having yeah so but my point here though guys is that what are you gonna do to me if this law if you pass a ban are you gonna tell me that I should go to jail are you gonna tell all the other people that you shouldn’t go to jail you should open another business man this is a regulatory issue not a criminal isue comp you should you should just call it his point is in Illinois at least and I know we’re talking about like we’re talking about a big issue that’s not even just about Illinois but to his point in Illinois the answer is the criminal law no talking we’re talking like black and brown people we we were the majority of people going to prison for this in the first place in jail by far so the one keep it in context we weren’t telling a bunch of Delta a just because of business also I’m an attorney if you’re uncompliant that doesn’t mean you immediately go to prison that means come shut you down you can’t do that you can’t you have to pay taxes or you get in trouble doesn’t matter if the business is legal or not whatever you can’t sell oranges half the time without some kind of license that’s just the world yeah but we also give the person that wants to sell oranges a pathway to sell that product and and it Rec prodct this way yeah but you we all know we’re all sated Michigan try to get it into a jewel or a Whole Foods it’s it’s it’s an entire sold I’ve sold meat into a grocery store before I know how challenging it can be and I’m saying that but Richard but Richard wouldn’t you say that experience that you went through of having to sell the blueberries taught you more about business I mean isn’t that the goal here don’t we want to make more sophisticated black and brown operators AB absolutely can I ask achil the I want to ask ail a question because I’ve spoken to many attorneys on my show and I understand that different attorneys have different opinions but at least two attorneys agree with me that the criminal enforcement mechanism is the primary enforcement mechanism in the law and the the example they give is I think somebody used it earlier if I get a liquor Li if I open up an establishment without a liquor license and start pouring booze and having you and Mike and everybody over and we’re having a great [ _ ] time they’ll come in and
shut me down and be like like you said earlier achil give me a a citation a business citation I think Kareem said
that earlier as well but as I understand it that’s not how it would work with cannabis if I opened up a cannabis shop
the [ __ ] would kick my door in and it would be a matter of criminal law am I wrong on that achil you’re wrong illo
well one there’s there’s a lot more to it one there’s like the discretion that law enforcement has which the racism
comes in to enforce it not enforce it which has been the issue for 20 30 40 years which is you know that’s a whole
another conversation but that well that’s the big thing is the enfor is the enforcement discretion in it but yeah I
mean theoretically at a certain point if you continue to be uncompliant if I don’t pay my parking TI eventually they’re going to come arrest me I have a
warrant if I have a million of parking tickets so what what do you mean like I don’t understand like
mean what I mean is that like you look at Illinois normals page and you just look at the criminal penalties for
simple possession of cannabis these all existed in 1978 as you probably know
from the Illinois cannabis Control Act and my question is why is the crta
dealing with these infractions and sales and trafficking it’s not these are these are criminal infractions this is like if
I’m a street why right but that doesn’t apply to licensed businesses we get fined first correct it doesn’t apply to
licensed businesses but it applies to somebody like myself or Glenn if we did anything like the licensed businesses do
is my point am I wrong I I I I think you’re wrong because a licensed business even if it’s not licensed to sell Delta
8 without a ban it makes it legal but you still need to have some kind of business license yeah and I’m just talking cannabis not
even out of your room like that out of your house then then yes because it’s it’s sales and trafficking right those
are those are legal criminal terms that and if we want want to discuss that I think those are bogus as hell and wrong
too right but you can’t at one hand advocate for a limited number of businesses to sell these licenses and
then not allow anybody who wants to participate to participate what about the person who’s born
today why can’t I want both of those we don’t let an unlimited amount of of liquor licenses exist you go before the
lior commiss in Illinois you Chicago you have to go before the Liquor Commission the LI whether or not the community
wants this whether but but for social Equity actually just
like any I would I would debate that one
clearly Pro it’s clearly it’s not even debatable because look at it is I will play a clip no no look at most
Industries who dominates most Industries when the state doesn’t control it it’s I mean rich people rich white people to be
honest rich white men they if you because they’re always going to be able to kill you on who’s dominating the
yes but there’s an opportunity for me to there was no if there was no limits on licenses then my license would be of
no value I’d be able to raise no Capital well yeah but couldn’t you you raise
value a good brand on a good story how much how much Capital right now anyway
all Street dealers should be allowed to just continue dealing them yeah why not here’s what I will say here’s what I will say if that if that’s what we’re
arguing like look I’m the first person under catr who who’s a felon who’s been to prison right as far as I know right
and for Controlled Substances all all I’m saying is if if if we’re going to pick into if we’re going to rewrite the
whole thing then we should completely democratize it and if you can grow pot in your house it’s good you should be able to sell it my point is we don’t
live in that reality man but we are closer we have an opportunity to do that now with hemp at least get closer to
that reality and I’m not saying that like we that’s gonna create a completely different hemp industry you know that bro man yeah but why doesn’t why doesn’t
this create an opportunity for you guys right to compete on making good products on taking products like mine that are
dope products that taste better we care about the the the competition the groups that are doing it now are pretty good
right the the the issue is the dilution of the market man like I said car out CBD car out CBD from the psychoactive
compounds and I’m first on board yeah I feel like for a capitalism else but they
of course of course yeah again that recreates inequality capitalism recreates inequality period we we all
know that like just rock capitalism right and as you’ve said on my show in the
past and as you just said you know when you limit the number of licenses it it it raises the intrinsic value which is
why people are proponents of the system Mike were you going to say something I was just gonna say something really quickly that Grant Glenn said is that um
there’s is nothing really stoppering you from entering the market uh um Illinois Market if you really want to um again I
teach this all the time in my class is that it really really takes a little bit of Ingenuity and um again Richard could
be could attest to this that again our brand Crona has been in Illinois dispensary since the beginning right and
it really was more about my partners understanding what that market could bear and understanding um how to uh
brand a product to get it into an Illinois dispensary and um we were able to do things outside of the state to be
able to put more products in the market but there’s nothing really stopping you from getting into the Illinois Market if you have actual plan we had an
opportunity to enter into the Illinois Market in 2021 um with white label
products but I personally turned that down because I didn’t believe that the operators had our Brand’s interest in
mind I didn’t believe in the products that they were creating so it’s not always about um like nobody stopping you
it’s really about um just seeing the opportunities and being willing to take those risks if you got a dope brand
we’re hunting you down we want to produce your get it on the shelves we do that all the time d33 we launch products
for other people all the time do you guys think that Delta 8 and hemp derived products are are a bigger uh comp like a
bigger suck of market share than if if craft Growers were to get 14,000 square feet the reason I’m asking about this is
because I’ve heard murmur on the street that maybe some craft Growers will team up with the big operators to kind of you
know clamp down on this CBD thing so that they can get their 14,000 square feet they’ve been looking for and also
clamp down on this this uh as some people call the loophole uh what do you
guys think about that I mean I think the craft grow operators you know they’re looking at the same thing they see a a
threat and you know it’s a challenge it’s already challenging for most craft operators and this is just a bigger this
is another threat that they have to face I’m sorry go ahead go no it’s okay Kareem do you think that uh that the
Delta 8 my question is do you think delta8 and hemp derived is a bigger threat than allowing craft cultivators
to get 14,000 square feet because big operators have Lobby against that in the past that’s why I’m kind of asking like
you think maybe you can get what you want because of this I I think the craft guy should be allowed to go to 14,000
like without question and I do think that you know that’s something that we just need to let this play out honestly
and it’s no offense to the guys who are trying to make a dollar here I get it but you know this is a a rare program
it’s you know as as Glenn mentioned earlier it’s still illegal federally
however like let’s give a chance like Illinois was the first state to pass this without a referendum we went
through the legislature and we talked to the black caucus and the brown caucus and it’s not perfect it’s far from
perfect but guess what you got more black and brown people in the industry now than you ever had under medical and
you know it might be a handful of owners but guess what a handful of owners create jobs they they know what it’s
like folks who grew up in the community and sometimes you know you get a job and people forget where you grew up but I
grew up in Chicago on the Southside I may not talk like it and people may think I grew up somewhere else but guess
what I got some of the same stories that other people have and I can tell you anytime we talk about these synthetic
drugs and things of that nature we just got to be really careful and if I could close and thank you Cole for having us
on and this is to your credit this has probably been the kind of longest debate any of us have had on this you know
publicly so I appreciate you giving us this opportunity and you know I applaud the guys who got up here and you know
sounds like John and and Josh and you know everybody we’ve talked to today are probably the exception to the rule when
it comes to some of these operators and I don’t mean to demean any of your colleagues but we just got to be honest
about what’s out there and there are people out on the streets selling the the products that we talked about
earlier that are labeled intentionally for kids and we got to clean that up and there has to be some type of regulation
for that so I would just end on that note at least for me I thank you for having us on Cole thanks K and great
talking to everybody yep Kareem we’ll uh we’ll connect again in the future maybe have you back on for uh you know a
one-on-one um everybody I just want to say again uh you know I appreciate your
Grace today I know that these Zoom calls and trying to jump in can be hard and I know we lost some folks um thank you all
for joining this uh panel and speaking your mind that’s important you know
thank you for taking the time to share why you believe what you believe and I hope folks you found as much value in
this conversation as I did uh I want to give everybody a chance for the last word out of respect for all of you um
Richard uh we’ll start with you uh last word oh yeah first of all thanks man you
put together a really a really unique informative informative thing here man um thank you I appreciate it and thank
you like like I said I I look at the issue in a couple of different ways H and we’re not going to be on the same
side on on each of those I think it’s about the community Society I think it’s about the consumer and I think it’s about the indust IND um I think everyone
agrees in in regulation um and if the argument is about limiting the licenses or not I think that argument was for 5
years ago six years ago you know honestly um my opinion is is you separate out the CBD and and I’m a huge
believer in everything that the hemp guys are doing on the CBD side um when it comes to the psychoactive properties
you should let the guys who have been licensed regulated and have proven that they can do it regulate those the the
industry will expand it’s just not going to expand at the pace that some of the people want right now
hey Rebecca if you want to go next and then ail yeah absolutely so I thanks Cole for
having me and um awesome podcast as usual so you have an amazing program I
did enjoy this panel and I love the debate and I I loved everybody’s opinions and yeah I think all of us at
least on this panel like I think everybody has good intentions um and that’s awesome and I just want to like
agree that yeah I think we have to be really careful when we make things illegal and throw people in jail we
should not absolutely not do that anymore um and I I just want to make a point that uh you know if we do ban
these things and make them illegal and do start you know have and we continue to kick down doors we know who that’s
actually going to affect and I I don’t think it’s going to be the male white operators in the hemp side um it’s going
to be the everybody else who tries to do the same I think there’s going to
inequity in that so you know when we are fearing criminal charges I I think
there’s going to be there’s a lot of people on this call on the Hem side that are going to be quite safe from that um
but I I don’t think we should do it at all I think there should be fees you have to pay your taxes of course um and
then I think we have to think about harm reduction and not doing harm anymore to
communities that have suffered a lot um and I agree with you Cole actually uh so
in that the clip you showed I actually agree that we should legalize and at least
decriminalize everything right because when we look at studies about why people
use substances and and I’m going to exclude cannabis because cannabis again and hemp very safe until you you know
start making synthetics and smashing it in with Pharmaceuticals um what if we’re
going to decriminalize everything we have to have you know support for people we we have to get down to the bottom of
why these substances are being used we have to increase healthare we have to increase food security you know there’s
a study in London people don’t get addicted to substances because they just want to they do it oftentimes because
they are unhappy and miserable because we have made life hard for a lot of people unnecessarily so I actually agree
we should decriminalize a lot of things and then put support in place to keep people out of prison and give them help
healthier higher quality lives so thank you for having us but yeah I I care
about public health deeply so that’s that’s what I’m doing here and no matter what happens to the industry uh we’ll be
here so whichever way it goes we’ll be here to give consumers safe and factual
scientific information thank you Rebecca uh aayy thank you for joining tonight uh go
ahead and go with your last word yeah yeah no problem thanks thanks for having me thanks for for hosting us again um
got a little uh we got fired up in there as we should but uh nothing but respect and and love to everybody was on the
call um yeah I mean I you know I hope that we can continue to have these conversations and have like transparent
conversations and like you know you know I think we gotta you know be honest
about you know sort of what this Delta eight Market is that’s really the real market and you know what they’re trying
to accomplish and come up with something that’s fair and safe for society and
gives you know Regulators enough information to like they protected I mean there’s a lot of different
stakeholders here um you know it’ be great if we could come up with our ideal uh structure for everything that’s just
not a possibility and so I got to deal with the world as it is and come up with the best uh most fair and consistent uh
way to to regulate all these things so to see again thank you so much for
joining tonight ail Mike yeah I just want to say uh excuse
me uh thanks again for having me Cole um it’s an honor to be on your new uh
Venture which you launched this new Venture with you be a part of it um and salute to everybody on the um on the
panel tonight you know against for real some Legends on there obviously because you know we got familiarity u a lot of
Legends on the panel and I just want to say again keep it really simple again I have feelings obviously about licenses
and what should be sold and everything and where it should be sold but I really want to just nail down you know how we
present it to the public you know and I think that um the more information you
give the public I’m also a licensed realtor still in Illinois the more information you give the public the
better um and so that’s always what I lead with with our brand Crona and that’s I’m going to stand on that right
now and I feel like you know something as simple as saying it’s cannabis derived and hemp derived again very soft
words nothing scary it’s not you know uh anything super super crazy right I don’t
think that’s a lot to ask and that and and so I just want to stay on that and again thank you I appreciate uh the
opportunity uh Crona culture on Instagram and I’m Mike G God on IG as
well all right and Michael Malcolm on LinkedIn you know if you really trying to get some
money thank you Cole sorry I’m muted thank you so much
Mike Glenn uh why don’t you go ahead and uh put in your last word word you better not be driving oh okay you’re good
you’re parked oh no I parked I parked yeah I mean this this is this is what entrepreneurship looks like right lot of
time no no no I parked for this I parked for this um I I again Cole thank you I
appreciate you for not shying away from conflict and I honestly I have so much respect for everyone on this panel like
again I’m I look up to all of you as people who as business owners like I respect and you know certainly wish to
emulate in in many senses and frankly I don’t fault anyone for acting how they are in the positions that everyone is in
right and and I hope that you know there is an opportunity to come together and collaborate and compromise because I
think that there’s opportunity for everyone here um you know speaking from my perspective Clift is a product to help
get people familiar and comfortable with cannabis or hemp derve canids again I’m
not trying to like hemp Drive cannaboids let’s call it and we really did this because alcoholism runs in our families
and we’re trying to make a product that is broadly distributed so that if somebody who is 21 plus says am I gonna
have this be or am I GNA have a PFT that they reach for a PFT and hopefully hopefully have one less bad thing happen
right and now not everybody has that story and not everybody cares but I care
I know Todd cares I know many other people everyone on this call Cares but all the hemp operators on this call in particular really care uh and again I’m
just talking about hemp right now and making Safe products selling them to adults over the age of 21 and making
sure that products are accurately labeled and I would love to have a conversation about how we can do that so
that the economic benefits of hemp are available to everyone and then we can
reinvest those benefits wherever we need to decide as a wherever we need to as a
as a as a state as a community or where how however this money gets allocated but I just think that
we have a once in a generation a once in A- lifetime opportunity to really improve off of some important steps that
many of you on this call took to legalize you know cannabis marijuana whatever you want to call it but we can
go so much further and this is that opportunity and I don’t think we’ll ever get it again if we you know kind of let
this pass Us by and let the greed of a handful of people not speaking anything on this call I know you guys are all
hustling as hard as I am right now but we all know that there are people in this industry that are already incredibly Rich are trying to make a lot
more money and the reality is is I think we have a lot more to gain together than we do any other way so again thank you
and so much respect to all of you um I I genuinely mean that so thank you thank
you Glenn John and then Josh closing words yeah Cole appreciate uh you having
me on this and I want to thank all the other panelists uh all the esteemed uh entrepreneurs and business owners here I
respect everyone’s position and uh you know so I appreciate it so
you know Glenn you mentioned economic uh benefits and you know starting in 2020 I
originally just applied for all the Cannabis licenses right and then I went to hell and back just like many of you
to get them right and the difference is when coid hit when the lawsuits hit when
all that hit I became a full-time Weedman so I went to what was available
and went to the hemp licenses and started understanding the plant because
I I live by two things I I I love the plant and I love people you know period
right so we started off that way
and fell in love with the pl and I’m able to you know we’ve developed 500
different products you know we only have about 220 on the shelf right now and I mean we understand we have a we have a
knowledge of this and the hemp has not only given my company the ability to
fund my cannabis projects because everyone’s saying how valuable the Illinois licenses are where’s the money
where’s the money these licenses are going down in value because no one’s funding them no one’s able to get off
the ground so I I want to believe they’re valuable because I have some but
the only person that’s funding them right now is me and I’m doing that through through the hemp business
because I was able to launch that I wasn’t able to launch my cannabis business period you know I I’m in hemp
because cannabis even though I was a winner even though I’m social Equity
even though I have all these things I didn’t have the money just like every other social Equity person so I did
something about it and I helped my community at the same time I helped myself and that’s why I believe in hemp
and that’s why it’s important and I believe that hemp 21 should be going forward Lesean Ford I mean he’s got the
whole regulation piece but if we can’t agree on all the regulation but let’s at least just say 21 for any intoxicating
whether it’s hemp derived or cannabis derived or whatever you want to call it if it’s intoxicating get it in the hands
of adults what’s wrong with that why can’t the industry agree on that so
that’s just my two cents John I want to thank you so much and uh we should you
know all of you Richard as well uh I want to you know extend the invitation
to all of you to come back on Josh go ahead and uh welcome back give you your closing
word thanks Cole appreciate the invite tonight um Everybody joining it was a
great conversation I think it’s these conversations that
normalizes the industry a little bit more we’re giving the information out we’re having these
conversations uh you know we all might be on different sides but at the end of
the day uh you know we’re we’re trying to get this plant safely to people so um
you know working both sides of the market we’re looking for regulation on both sides um to get people Safe
products um you know so uh I think you know this conversation is going to
continue and um hopefully uh we were able to uh get get this out
to more people and just um get the get the plan out and Yeah
figure out uh what to what we need to do so and the oh go ahead no I didn’t
really really appreciate the time tonight and uh you know we’ll we’ll get
together again and have this conversation and hopefully keep it going absolutely absolutely Josh
thank you so much and I’ll keep my last word very short in just saying once again that I think this is what makes
the co memo better than a debate and a television time slot boom um folks thank
you so much uh for joining and again I hope you uh enjoyed tonight’s uh
discussion um keep in touch everybody I really appreciate all of you for being willing to participate not only as long
as we did but as openly as you engaged like thank you I couldn’t have asked for a better
panel right on thank you man yep peace out bro I appreciate you take care
everybody take care love Rich bye
everybody