Innovating Cannabis Podcast

Joining the show today is Katherine Golden, a Colorado-based cannabis nurse who has been doing some of the industry's most important work behind the scenes. Katherine has been working with the Colorado Division of Workers' Compensation to help build a cannabis reimbursement framework for workers' comp — a model that other states can use to process claims and ensure patients receive proper guidance...

Joining the show today is Brad Zerman, founder of 7 Point Dispensary in Illinois. Brad was awarded one of the state's first 50 medical dispensary licenses back in 2015. Brad ultimately sold his medical store and set his sights on an adult-use license, a process that took five years to bring to life. 7 Points is located in rural Danville, Illinois, about three hours south of Chicago and just minute...

Today, our guest is Evan Eneman. Evan was an early team member at Snoop Dogg’s Casa Verde Capital and later worked closely with Snoop to launch Iconic Tonic, the beverage company behind Death Row Records’ drink line and other beverage brands. In this conversation, Evan shares how he approaches the infused beverage market, the challenges of building and scaling brands in this category, his focus on...

The American Council of Cannabis Medicine has been quietly working behind the scenes to prepare for a future where cannabis is recognized as legitimate medicine—and reimbursable through health insurance. The organization currently holds nine seats on a special committee convened by the Health Secretary’s office. They have been tasked with advising President Trump on cannabis efficacy during the re...

What started as growers gathering at the Big Sexy Brewery in Sacramento, California to talk shop and share knowledge grew into a collaboration among cultivation experts who went on to launch PowrHouse , an R&D cultivation facility designed to test the commercial viability of new genetics and nutrient lines.   PowrHouse is highly data-driven, tracking every R&D project and sharing insights with cul...

It's not uncommon for industries outside of cannabis to adapt their technology to solve challenges unique to our space. American Air Filter International is one of those companies, bringing decades of expertise in air filtration for environments with high levels of gaseous contaminants, including wastewater treatment facilities, data centers, and, now, cannabis cultivation. Our guest today is Nikk...

The cannabis industry is still operating with a patchwork financial system—full of workarounds and uncertainty. My guest today is Terry Mendez, CEO of Safe Harbor Financial, the first financial services company built specifically to support and advocate for safe banking in the cannabis industry. We discuss how Safe Harbor has evolved over the years, where today’s banking and financial infrastructu...

Joann and Michael Kudrewicz have been cultivating cannabis in the Catskills of New York for over 20 years. Early participants in the state's hemp program supplied seeds and clones to farmers across the region. They went on to launch Raven's View Genetics , which focuses on preserving and producing Landrace and heirloom cannabis strains for their proprietary collection. In this episode, we discuss...

John Keating leads the genetics program at Advanced Nutrients, a company long recognized for its cutting-edge research in plant nutrients and genetics. Keating is also the founder of Tesaro Genetics, which was acquired by Advanced Nutrients several years ago to expand the company's research efforts beyond nutrients and deeper into plant science.   Keating and his team have been working with triplo...

Today, our guest is Jason Adelstone, an attorney with Harris Sliwoski. He joins the podcast to break down the legal chaos affecting the cannabis and hemp industries. We dive into a new potential hemp loophole, the latest on 280E, Thailand's reversal of its cannabis laws, the pros and cons of pursuing a DEA license for future international trade, and the rise in product recalls—along with who ultim...

How many cannabis companies do you know that have been around for 26 years—and are still thriving? Today, we meet BigMike , founder and CEO of Advanced Nutrients . His story begins in California, where, in his twenties, he started cultivating cannabis. At the time, the big fertilizer companies were too afraid to develop products specifically for the cannabis industry—but BigMike knew that what wor...

As the cannabis industry evolves, so does the technology shaping its future. Innovations from outside sectors are being adapted and refined to meet the unique challenges of cannabis production. One of the newest breakthroughs is X-ray technology for microbial remediation. Unlike chemical or fog-based methods—which interact with terpene and cannabinoid compounds, potentially degrading flavor and ar...

Rama Mayo is the co-founder of Hall of Flowers , one of the most influential B2B trade shows in the cannabis industry, bringing brands and retailers together in California for the past eight years. The show recently made its New York debut, and Rama joins us to share how the East Coast industry received it. We also dive into the cultural and brand differences between the West and East Coasts — and...

Jason Ambrosino, the founder of Veterans Holdings , a leading B2B cannabis manufacturer and supply partner, producing bulk distillate, rosin, crude oil, BHO, infused pre-rolls, and finished goods for licensed dispensaries, brands, and distributors across New York. Jason is also a member of the Association of New York Cannabis Processors and mentors and advises numerous operators on business strate...

Darren Gleeman is the Managing Partner of MBO Ventures , an investment firm that works exclusively with Employee Stock Ownership Plans, or ESOPS. He believes ESOPS could be the golden ticket for cannabis companies looking to boost profit margins- especially as debt comes due and financial pressures mount. While the process can be complex, the benefits are substantial: the government actively suppo...

As the cannabis industry matures, setting standards is the next critical step toward ensuring consumer safety and preparing for scalability and global trade. In this episode, I speak with Darwin Millard, Technical Director and standards development expert at Cannabis Safety and Quality (CSQ) — an accredited safety and quality management certification program that supports businesses across the ent...

Today I'm talking with Ryan Crandall, Chief Commercial Officer for MariMed, the MSO with operations in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Maryland. We discussed their operations in various states, including their plans to outfit facilities for GMP certification in Maryland, product development and R&D processes, the addition of functional ingredients to products, and their...

What does it take to ship cannabis around the world? My guest today, Yoram Eshel, is CEO of Cannabilog, a company leading the way in global cannabis transportation a. nd logistics. After a long career in the pharmaceutical industry, managing the movement of products across continents, Yoram came out of retirement to apply his expertise in the rapidly evolving cannabis industry and launched Cannabi...

Today, I’m excited to welcome Shawn Sherman, a longtime player in California’s cannabis market. Shawn began his journey as both a cultivator and a delivery service operator, and today he’s the founder of Golden Apple Cannabis—a manufacturing, distribution, and retail operation based in Paso Robles, California, the state’s second-largest wine country after Napa.  In our conversation, Shawn shares h...

Nick Tanem is a true OG in the cannabis extraction space, widely credited with coining the term "solventless" and pioneering the rosin, resin, and exotic concentrate movement that defines today's market. He's a founding council member and instructor for the Ganjier certification program, travels the world judging cannabis competitions, and shares his knowledge of hash-making with the next generati...

Today’s guest is Claudio Miranda , a longtime operator in California’s cannabis market dating back to the days before Prop 215. He co-founded Guild Extracts , one of the state’s pioneering extraction companies, and is now the co-founder of Budist —a consumer rating app often described as the Wine Spectator of cannabis for the depth of education and expertise it provides. Claudio joins me to discus...

I'm your host, Pam Chmiel. In addition to producing and hosting this podcast, I'm also a journalist—you can find links to my work and contact information in the show notes.   Today's guest is Flavia Cassani, who, along with her husband Mikey, co-founded Flow Kana in 2015 to champion sun-grown craft farmers in California's Emerald Triangle. At its peak, Flow Kana was the state's largest cannabis br...

My guest today is Todd Shapiro , CEO of Red Light Holland , a company at the forefront of cultivating and selling legal magic truffles in the Netherlands’ recreational market. Red Light Holland is taking a multi-pronged approach to advancing psilocybin legalization—both as a therapeutic tool and a recreational product. Todd shares insights into the company’s strategy in the Netherlands, their expa...

Alec Dixon is a lead judge for the Emerald Cup and co-founder of SC Testing Labs in California, Michigan, Arizona, and Colorado. For 15 years, SC Labs has tested hundreds of thousands of strains of cannabis and hemp, and learned a tremendous amount about the averages versus potentials on how the plant expresses itself. He shares insights into the characteristics of Emerald Cup-winning strains, and...

Our guest today is Kevin Jodrey , a renowned cultivator from Humboldt County, founder of Wonderland Nursery, head of the R&D lab for Cookies genetics, and co-founder of Ganjier, to name a few accomplishments.  We discuss the recent white papers from Abstrax Tech about their discovery that scientifically proves low-concentration flavorants like aldehydes, esters, alcohols, and sulfurs are responsib...