Cannabis Advocate Podcast

I reconnected with Erick Engelhardt at the Midwest Cannabis Forum last month. We first met at Southern Illinois University and quickly fell into a deep conversation on growing cannabis and the importance of living soil. In this episode, Erick and I chatted about his soil company Buttheadz Living Soil which uses cotton burr compost and rice hulls from local farms. The upcycled waste is aged for thr...

Missouri Microbusiness Community #160 Guests are Samantha Bloom and Tony Lafitra, founders of Budwizard and a new cannabis community. As leaders in the Missouri Microbusiness community, they mentor disadvantaged cannabis growers. They also support the state's efforts to prioritize small-scale marijuana facility licenses for disabled veterans, individuals with lower incomes, and those with non-viol...

Vessel Brand Innovation for Canna Consumption #159 I know some people are skeptical, but I  believe in love at first sight. I had this very experience at MJUnpacked when I visited the Vessel Brand booth. It was there I spied a finely crafted pipe, made of anodized aluminum with a finely machined brass bowl. When I picked it up, felt the heft in my hand, and discern the details of the machining, I...

Innovations in Pre-Roll Technology #158 At MJUnpacked last month. I met Mae, the tradeshow manager for DaySavers who introduced me to some innovative technologies when it came to the production of cannabis smoke products. One product was so innovative, I bought one. In this conversation, Mae walks us through all the products. Companies like Daysavers symbolize  innovation, ingenuity, and the power...

Help Finding Cannabis Consumers Jobs with Phynally #157   This month I attended the Benzinga Capital conference and was able to meet a number of entrepreneurs and leaders in the cannabis industry. At the trade show, I had the good fortune to chat with Damian Jorden, founder of Phynally, a job recruiting site for employers who are cannabis friendly.  Cannabis Advocate Podcast The Cannabis Advocate...

Emerging Trends in New York Dispensary #156 Some say that New York is the wild west of cannabis with non-regulated rogue dispensaries popping up like weeds. But what about the legal shops? Having been awarded the 100th Conditional Adult-Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) license last April by New York State's Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), TRENDS, a family-owned dispensary, has quickly become a c...

Blue Sage Cannabis Deli at MJUnpacked #155   Cannabis Advocate Podcast The Cannabis Advocate podcast advocates for businesses in the cannabis industry and explores the unique challenges they face. Despite hurdles in legislation, regulation, and culture, there are tremendous opportunities for growers, manufacturers, and retail sellers of cannabis products. Many of these issues are unique to the can...

Blazy Susan at the Benzinga Capital Conference #154 Blazy Susan is the manufacturer and distributor of world-famous, extra functional Rolling Trays and Smoking Accessories. They're best known for their Blazy Susan Spinning Rolling Tray (a fully functional spinning rolling tray designed to organize your smoke space and take back your coffee table) as well as their one of a kind Pink Rolling Papers....

Thoughts On Regrets and Next Steps #153   The Cannabis Advocate podcast advocates for businesses in the cannabis industry and explores the unique challenges they face. Despite hurdles in legislation, regulation, and culture, there are tremendous opportunities for growers, manufacturers, and retail sellers of cannabis products. Many of these issues are unique to the cannabis industry. This podcast...

Northern Illinois Hemp Hub Day 2   Cannabis Advocate Podcast The Cannabis Advocate podcast advocates for businesses in the cannabis industry and explores the unique challenges they face. Despite hurdles in legislation, regulation, and culture, there are tremendous opportunities for growers, manufacturers, and retail sellers of cannabis products. Many of these issues are unique to the cannabis indu...

Northern Illinois Hemp Hub Workshop Day 1 I had the good fortune to explore the world of sustainable construction with a two-day hemp building workshop.  The event was hosted by Kifcure and the Northern Illinois Hemp Hub in Maple Park Illinois from June 20th through 21st.   Cannabis Advocate Podcast The Cannabis Advocate podcast advocates for businesses in the cannabis industry and explores the un...

Due to death of my son Tim Helmers, I'm pausing the podcast.

Cannabis DNA Testing with Josh Wahba #149 Since the mapping of the human genome, significant advancements in DNA analysis have been made. One area of expanding research now includes the exploration of cannabis usage, aiming to identify optimal dosing, strains, cannabinoids, and terpenes tailored to individual needs. Today, we are joined by Josh Wahba from Dynamic DNA Labs, a leading provider of Ca...

Step 1 For Cannabis Startups, Listen with Claudia Post #148 It's no trivial thing to start a business. In the cannabis industry, it's all the more harder. This is why I invited today's guest Claudia Post. Claudia is an entrepreneur, pioneer groundbreaker, speaker, generous introducer, and power connector. Having joined the cannabis industry 13 years ago, Claudia founded MOST Consulting Group, a on...

Decorative Ruderalis Plants with Angie Moreland #147 I think Cannabis plants are beautiful. But I've never considered using them for decorating. Our guest today sees them not only as a way to brighten your home but a way to brighten your life. Angie Moreland is the founder and CEO of Growing with Intention where they grow decorative ruderalis and shape it into a bonsai style. Her customers adorn t...

Hemp Beverage Alliance with Chris Lackner #146 Have you ever tried a hemp drink? It's a unique alternative to pop and alcohol and I believe, it's the next big thing. Our guest today is Chris Lackner, president and CEO of the Hemp Beverage Alliance,  whose goal is to make the industry safe and successful. In today's episode, we learn how the alliance educates people, advocates for good practices, a...

Emerging Market of Hempcrete with Cody Ley #145 Our guest today is Cody Ley, a farmer from Michigan and the founder of Hemp 4 Humanity. With a background in Chemistry and experience in the cannabis/hemp industry, Cody started H4H with the goal of creating eco-friendly housing solutions that work with nature. Today, we'll discuss industrial hemp, hempcrete, products made from hemp, the challenges o...

Cannabis Marketing Challenges with Sam Fisher #144 So, today we're diving into the nitty-gritty of cannabis marketing. The industry's got its challenges. It's like walking through a maze while juggling. It's still federally illegal, and guess what? Tech giants like Instagram, Facebook, and Google are playing hard to get. It's like they're the cool kids at the party, and we're all just trying to ge...

Grand Opening of Your Budz CBD Bakery with Nathanial Stende Do you ever thought about starting a CBD bakery? Nathanial Bender did! He's the mastermind behind Your Budz, the new CBD bakery sensation in Chicago. This guy's juggling raising capital and battling with city licenses, all while whipping up CBD-infused goodies. And get this, during our chat, a couple of customers just stroll right in! The...

Botanical and Hemp rolling papers with Alex Boone #142 Our guest today is Alex Boone. Alex is the Managing Director of Botani. With more than 20 years of experience within SWM, Alex has led sales, marketing, and product development teams for North American and international markets. In 2018, Alex was instrumental in helping SWM International, a leading global performance materials company, break i...

Cannabis Baking Startup with Ebony Jones #141 Ever felt the urge to experiment with cannabis-infused baking? Today, we're joined by Ebony Jones, a passionate advocate for cannabis education, a skilled chef, and an ordained minister. Ebony proudly owns 8twenty8.llc in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where she specializes in crafting from scratch desserts, hosting educational workshops on infused cooking, and orga...

How To Sell In the Cannabis Industry with Jason Hadley Today you will learn how to sell in the cannabis industry. My guest is Jason Hadley from FILTR, a company that specializes in filtering microbes from the air. Jason and I talk about the issues with selling, lead gen, relationship building, referrals, and references.  Lighthouse Worldwide Solutions Jason Hadley is a Sales Engineer for FILTR, wh...

Fully Baked Startup with Molly-Ruth Visco #139 In today's episode, we return to the Fox. Build Makerspace studio in St. Charles.  Our guest is  Molly -Ruth Visco, the former Marketing and Education manager and President of Fully Baked Brands. Fully Baked is a new social equity cannabis infuser coming to the Illinois market. Her journey has been filled with challenges, successes, and invaluable ins...

Cannabis Virtual CFO Services with Guillermo Rodriguez #138   Summit Virtual CFO by Anders offers Virtual CFO services to small- to medium-sized businesses and specializes in the cannabis industry.  Guillermo Rodriguez is their lead Virtual CFO and Guillermo will be hosting a new podcast in 2024 called CannaBiz Success Show. The audience for this show is cannabis operators and I will be the first...

How To Stay on the Right Side of Cannabis Law with Jim Ickes #137 How can you ensure you're on the right side of the cannabis law? It's tough given the constant pulling and pushing of government regulation winds.  Our guest is Jim Ickes from Zuber Lawler. I met Jim at Benzinga and today we talk about areas of grey in cannabis law and Jim's CBD startup.  Cannabis Advocate Podcast The Cannabis Advoc...