PHOTO COURTESY: MOOD33
I first discovered mood33, a most revolutionary and tasty beverage through mutual friends who know about this marketplace of both CBD (Hemp) and THC infused liquids.
PHOTO COURTESY: MOOD33
Category: Interviews
PHOTO COURTESY: MOOD33
Why cannabis? How did you discover the plant?
I got brought into the amazing world of cannabis from Reggae on the River music festival in Humboldt County. From that festival, I was invited to come work a season up in the hills and from there I was hooked. I was educated by some of the most amazing innovators in the cannabis industry, we’re talking multiple generations of experience. I also have some legendary stories that are better shared over a bonfire then this article. The hills of Humboldt County became my backyard for 5 years and my connection with cannabis became an integral part of my life and now my career. I have never seen a molecule or set of molecules whether manmade or natural to have such wide-ranging benefits and provide something to so many people as I see with cannabis. These experiences have led me to forge a path where I get to use cannabis to help people quit using tobacco. I couldn’t be any more excited to be able to help share this plant with people across the world, and in a way they can be more comfortable with than smoking or vaping. It’s an honor and privilege when I think about how I started with quietly growing and processing cannabis in the hills of Northern California to now working exclusively with Lexaria Bioscience (LXRP) on optimizing the smokeless oral absorption of cannabinoids. It is crazy to imagine where this plant will take me over the next 10 years as well as take us a society.
KATIE ANNE PHOTOGRAPHY
Five Questions With Wendy Baker, Founder Of Space Gem Ice Water Hash/Natural Fruit And Herb Gelée
I absolutely love your stuff and give your product and your efforts my deepest appreciation. Space Gem was the first gelée I’ve truly enjoyed eating because they doesn’t come across my palate as gritty or too sticky against my fragile dental work. I cannot eat caramels or chew gum for this reason. Her flavors are so well amalgamated in their individual profiles and they really get me chilled. After each tiny nibble comes tangles of flavors. Each little gem is reminiscent of fine French confiture.
Cannabis for all Womankind Liz & Angela.
Photo credit: Jennifer Skog
International Women’s Day, a global day that celebrates the economic, cultural, social, and political achievements of women, is March 8th. In honor of this day, even if I am a day late, I’m lucky to be able to share the enthusiasm and verve of the following women in cannabis who have faced adversity during their climb to success. I don’t mean that success can be quantified only by monetary means. What I call success occurs when a person is celebrated for their kindness, their humility, and yes, their ability to be something beyond the call of duty. These following women have created something from nothing. And with their talent comes notice— the kind that can’t be bought, because it comes from deep within. May I present these eight, very intriguing, female leaders in cannabis who get it.
STEPHANIE BLUE
I was first introduced to Liesl through Benzinga, the business of doing canna-biz event held in Miami Beach. Our paths kept missing, not your fault Liesl- I know you made a massive effort on my behalf. The world is a much smaller place now that I’ve become acquainted with Liesl and her intriguing staffing agency. She possesses humility. She is forthright and richly ambitious. When you speak to her, her words flow in a cadence that shows me that she smiles when she speaks. Does anyone else do this? I doubt it. As quickly as our hour or so on the phone wooshed by, I left our call thirsty for more information to the success of her company, her future.
Photographer Emma Pratte
Ultrapreneur Doreen Sullivan has been setting creativity in motion for over three decades and is currently setting the cannabis industry on fire like a well-waxed hemp wick. The South-Carolina based marketing strategist and branding expert is already well-known and respected for her originality and detailed creativity, earning her a historic clientele that boasts such familiar names as Disney, ESPN, and the United States Olympic committee, to name a few. While Sullivan’s unique and multifaceted marketing agency, Post No Bills, continues to successfully thrive after 33 years, her entrepreneurial spirit too continues to grow, pivoting into the budding industry of cannabis. She planted the seed less than five years ago when she began transforming vases from her personal collection into water pipes (a.k.a. “bongs’). “Many of the vases were souvenirs and antiques, and they had a story to tell,” says Sullivan. So it was there, in her home in the prohibition state of South Carolina where she let her creativity soar high, cultivating her pipe-dream until it blossomed into My Bud Vase™, a sophisticated line of vases-turned-bongs marketed primarily to a feminine clientele. Her goals are clear. How clear? As clear as one of the crystal bongs in her posh collection: to normalize cannabis consumption and to make smoking more beautiful—one vahz at a time. Her strategy: “I learned very early when I started my agency in New York City that it’s all about creating a buzz. You can’t just sit in your living room and expect things to happen. You’ve got to hustle, get out there, and create a buzz,” says Sullivan; and as the cannabis industry continues to establish itself as a viable market, creating a buzz is exactly what Sullivan, the most creative woman in cannabiz, is doing.
Photographer Emma Pratte
PHOTO CREDIT: JENNA NORMANDIN
CANNACONNECTIONS
There are way more than five reasons why someone should attend CannaConnections’ CannaGrow Expo, a two day expo dedicated to the art and science of cannabis production. First of all, the depth of the experience makes the excursion worthwhile. CannaGrow is meant to celebrate our plant, the reason for healing! CannaGrow is more than just a good excuse to dig a bit deeper into cannabis, it’s a group experience. I’ve found that when groups of people get together and talk about formerly forbidden subjects, that’s when real change takes place. And why not? We all have something to learn, and to share. Cannabis is like that! Due to the importance of such an event, I took some time out of my busy travel schedule to ask CannaConnections COO Jessi Rae five bold questions about her journey and why you should attend the 10th national U.S. edition taking place April 17th and 18th, 2020, in Chicago, Illinois, at the Marriott Marquis Chicago. You’ll be convinced by the end of this interview. I wish I had more time!
Photo credit: Jenna Normandin
PHOTO: JEREMY MEEHAN
WB: Please tell me about yourself? Where are you from? Why wine? Why cannabis? Outdoor or indoor?
Josh Lizotte=JL: I’m a born and raised California guy. I grew up in Santa Barbara County and moved to Northern California in 1999. I have bounced up and down the California coast my entire life and decided to sit still for a while in LA when we launched the cannabis beverage Rebel Coast in 2018.
KIRA DERRYBERRY PHOTOGRAPHY
Kim Rivers, CEO of Trulieve
Warren Bobrow=WB: Where did you grow up? Was cannabis vilified like where I grew up in 1960’s NJ? What brought you forward into the cannabis industry?
In The Weeds with Jimmy Young finds a one of kind talent at the NCIA NE Business Conference in Boston, he’s Warren Bobrow.