Cannabis! A Viper Vaudeville is a theatrical concert exploring the history of cannabis using music, dance and spoken word. The team includes Baba Israel as writer, performer, and co-director, Grace Galu as composer/performer; and dramaturg/co-director Talvin Wilks in collaboration with Soul Inscribed and an ensemble of dancers.
Inspired by Martin A. Lee’s book Smoke Signals: A Social History of Marijuana - Medical, Recreational, and Scientific, this theatrical concert weaves the histories of icons such as Louis Armstrong and Bob Marley and grassroots activists such as Dennis Perron and Brownie Mary with personal narrative. Join us for a time-traveling tale of jubilation, injustice, and transformation.
In addition to managing operations as Bardo’s co-founder & CEO, Erik Carbone is the co-founder and lead grower at Tricolla Farms. Combining his many years of logistics and management experience in the construction industry with his passion for cannabis and horticulture, Erik dove head-first into hemp cultivation in 2017 and hasn’t looked back. His determination and intense desire to help people heal and connect through cannabis has made him a leader in the NYS hemp industry. Focusing on craft cultivation and sustainable practices, he also consults for other farmers looking to transition into hemp, providing assistance in all areas of farm operations; from sourcing genetics and equipment, to implementing irrigation systems and harvest plans, to selling the crop and responsibly bringing products to market. The quality of Bardo’s extracts are a direct reflection of the quality of Tricolla Farms’ flower and the tireless work that Erik puts in to ensure the ethos of quality, sustainability, and reverence for the cannabis plant are present from the very start.
In 1983, Seth Jacobs moved to upstate New York, in the hopes of owning and operating their own sustainable organic farm. Slack Hollow Farm was christened the same year and has provided certified organic vegetables to the capital district of New York through farmer’s markets and local groceries & co-ops ever since. In 2018 Slack Hollow pared the farm crew down to the family and a collection of part-time employees in order to participate in NYS’s Industrial Hemp Pilot Program. Now, Seth looks forward to the opportunity to finally grow cannabis for adult use.
Sloane Barbour is the Founder & CEO of engin and was previously Chief Revenue Officer at FlowerHire, a cannabis recruiting firm. Sloane brings over 12 years of experience in the Talent and Recruiting space at companies like Motion Recruitment Partners and Hired.com where he oversaw teams responsible for 10,000+ strategic hires. Sloane is also passionate about equity and inclusion and has served on Boards of several national charities, Mouse.org and Code/Interactive, that focus on educating and empowering the future generation of diverse leaders. Sloane lives in New York City with his wife and pet dog.
In our latest episode, former police Chief Brendan Cox of the Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP) and Kaelan discuss drug prohibition and the war on drugs. LEAP, formerly known as "Law Enforcement Against Prohibition", is a nonprofit organization composed of former criminal justice professionals who are dedicated to criminal justice reform and healing police-community relations. Now retired, Chief Brendan Cox began his 23-year career in law enforcement as a patrol officer with the Albany Police Department. Early on, he was promoted up through detective sergeant in the Children and Family Services Unit and eventually served as Chief of the Albany Police Department. Mr. Cox currently serves as the Director of Policing Strategies at the LEAD National Support Bureau.
Tyme Ferris (he/him) is a cannabis consultant and co-founder and CEO of The Pantheon Collective. He spent several years operating businesses in legal cannabis states and is now looking to pursue a microbusiness license in his hometown of Boonville.
He's also championed a pair of bills that would expand the definition of social equity to include the LGBTQ+ community.
Michael Hiller, the founder of Hiller PC, joins us to discuss federal legalization and the lawsuit he brought against then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions to force the US government into legalizing cannabis.
Jessica Gonzalez is an associate at cannabis law powerhouse Hiller PC and a well-known advocate in New Jersey's cannabis scene. She also serves as the outside General Counsel for Minorities for Medical Cannabis, Social Equity Co-Chair for the International Bar Association, and on the board of New Jersey NORML.
With two days left before applications are accepted in NJ, we get an in-depth and on-the-ground update on their regulatory program.
Craig Johnson is a former State Senator from Long Island and New York political guru. He joins the podcast to discuss with Kaelan the dynamic state of New York's politics and what the industry should be thinking about.
As municipalities weigh opting out of adult-use sales, one city in Western New York is taking an opposite approach. Jamestown has actively marketed itself as an ideal location for cannabis cultivators and processors. Mayor Eddie Sunquist described the many advantages the city offers to cultivators including a municipal-owned electric grid with cheaper than market rates.
Can former upstate manufacturing cities like Jamestown redevelop as cannabis hubs?
Damian Fagon is a hemp farmer, educator, and devoted activist determined to ensure the enormous opportunities in the New York cannabis industry are accessible.
It seems simple to say that NYS will prioritize "social equity applicants" but is that enough when so many entrepreneurs will face steep barriers to success? Kaelan and Damian dive into the challenges of developing a truly equitable industry while looking at some innovative ideas to help overcome them.
Eddie Brennan is the CEO of Central New York’s most recognizable craft cider brand, Beak & Skiff’s 1911. The family business has been in operation for over 100 years and includes hundreds of apple acres that visitors flock to during the fall where they can also enjoy food, hard cider, apple wine, and even whiskey made on site. Now, Beak & Skiff has entered the cannabis industry through the construction of a state-of-the-art extraction and finished product manufacturing facility – with their eyes on the adult-use cannabis industry.
How important is vertical integration to the success of a craft brand?
Will cannabis replace alcohol for some consumers?
How can craft brands differentiate themselves in a crowded marketplace and compete with the big brands?
Cannabis cultivation requires enormous amounts of energy despite and in New York there are fears that large-scale grow operations could threaten the State’s aggressive clean energy targets.
The Castetter Cannabis Group recently released a 27-page report developing deep into what the energy needs are of controlled environment growing and what lawmakers could do incentive efficiency. Kate Hruby, the Lead Policy Analyst at CCG and co-author of the report, describes the results and a recommendation that NYS creates a “Green Seal” signifying a product’s efficient production and qualifies the business for tax deductions.
What makes cannabis cultivation so energy-intensive?
How can existing and new technologies help play a role in minimizing negative environmental impacts?
What successes and failures have other states seen in trying to keep cannabis cultivation “green”?
Chair of the NYS Assembly Agriculture Committee, Donna Lupardo, joins us again to talk about the state of our hemp industry and the opportunities for farmer's within the adult-use cannabis supply chain. Lupardo was the original sponsor of legislation to establish a hemp pilot program in 2015 and pushed to provide nation-leading consumer protections and legitimacy for the hemp cannabinoid industry with the Hemp Extract Law in 2019. From her post as Chair of the Ag Committee, she has continued to advocate for the prioritization and inclusion of New York's diverse agricultural industry within the State's cannabis regulatory framework.
Reggie Keith, the Founder/CEO of Buffalo-based cannabis events company Canna-House, joins us to talk about a seriously complex but critical issue: transitioning legacy entrepreneurs into the newly regulated marketplace. It won't be easy, the stunning lack of diversity amongst operators in already legal states combined with evidence that the informal industry is still very much alive in places like California and Colorado - shows that many of the entrepreneurs who endured prohibition are being left behind.
Reggie and Kaelan agree: there is no way to achieve true equity without focusing on legacy market entrepreneurs. This episode will help you understand the unique and often widely varying situations legacy operators are in and some ways that the State can be intentional with bringing them into the program.
Nhi Kha is the co-founder and CEO of Sativa Remedy, a retail store that curates locally grown and produced cannabinoid hemp products right outside of Buffalo. Western New York, and in specific the Buffalo Area, has quietly become a hub of activity in the cannabis industry - but why? Nhi explains how the local culture and focus on craft-made products has led to that.
Regulatory expert Katie Neer joins us for a wide-ranging conversation that dives into some big ideas on what the New York cannabis marketplace will look like and how much influence public policy will have on the rollout.
Katie serves as a lobbyist for the NY Medical Cannabis Industry Association and is also Head of Industry Affairs for Lantern - a cannabis delivery platform.
What kind of role will delivery service play in NY?
Does equity mean independently owned operations or is there a place for multi-state operators?
Over the next year, what can New York regulators do in learning from other states to support the core missions of the MRTA?
New York lawmakers made history at the end of March by ending a decades-long prohibition of marihuana and passing the Marihuana Regulation and Taxation Act (MRTA). This bill creates a new regulatory body to establish a framework for production and sales of adult-use cannabis... but how long will this take?
We welcomed back Allan Gandelman, President of the New York Cannabis Growers & Processors, to discuss the details of MRTA, what it got right (and wrong), and what he thinks will happen over the next year as the Empire State moves to create a newly regulated marketplace
As debates rage on in Albany over legalization, home-growing has become a hot-button issue. We welcomed Gary Colmey, prominent activist and owner of Rome-based grow shop Gary's Indoor Garden Supply, to tell us who really is the average home grower and how small businesses like his benefit.
Melissa Moore, New York State Director for the Drug Policy Alliance, discusses equity as the foundation for what legalization could look like in the Empire State. What're some of the challenges minorities and informal market entrepreneurs face in a newly legalized marketplace? How does the Governor's proposal fall short as compared to the MRTA?
Join us for an informative and necessary discussion on what the Drug Policy Alliance is doing to put equity first in the efforts to legalize adult-use cannabis.