Throughout his career as a professional athlete, Ricky Williams was often criticized for his belief in the healing power of cannabis. In recent years, as plant-based medicine has become more of an integral part of our culture, Ricky is now viewed as a leading visionary in the movement toward a cannabis-based approach to wellness. Ricky is also becoming more well-known for his work as a holistic healer, a journey that began nearly 15 years ago after his first retirement from the NFL. Ricky has immersed himself in the study of evolutionary astrology as well as other healing modalities including Ayurvedic medicine, cranial sacral therapy, meditation, pranic healing and yoga. Ricky is currently pursuing his doctorate in Chinese medicine and continues to help clients around the world gain a deeper understanding of their lives through his evolutionary astrology practice. Ricky received his Bachelor of Arts in Education from the University of Texas.

Prior to becoming RW’s chief executive officer, Linnea maintained a nearly 15-year corporate and commercial real estate career at the global law firms of DLA Piper and Seyfarth Shaw. In recent years, it was her personal and professional partnerships with Ricky that guided her to her life’s mission: to facilitate and amplify consciousness and care for herself and others. While acting as Ricky’s business manager, Linnea was introduced to the inner workings of the multi-faceted wellness industry, which the modern cannabis movement is a significant part of. Through these experiences as well as hearing people’s diverse stories, she discovered the subtle yet powerful ways in which conscious cannabis use can enhance and optimize — in a multitude of ways — one’s sense of well-being and connection to his or her authentic self. For the past few years, Linnea and Ricky have been preparing herbal remedies for their loved ones with the goal of awakening and engaging the inner physician in all of us. Along with these herbal remedies, they provided education on usage as well as complementary holistic healing techniques. What began as an intimate passion project is now being carried into the greater public domain through RW’s thoughtfully curated product assortment. Linnea received her B.A. in Public Policy from Duke University and her J.D. from Vanderbilt University.

Dustin Robinson is the Founding Partner of Mr. Cannabis Law– a full-service law firm exclusively focused on the hemp and marijuana industries. Dustin is licensed in Florida as an Attorney, a Certified Public Accountant, and a Real Estate Agent. He focuses his practice on providing legal, accounting, financial, and business consultation to various businesses operating in the hemp and marijuana industries.

Dustin has worked at one of the largest national accounting firms – Deloitte – as well as one of the largest national law firms – Holland & Knight. After working at Holland & Knight, Dustin applied his legal and accounting background in the business world while running a multi-state manufacturing company.

Dustin is deeply involved in the cannabis industry through his law firm – Mr. Cannabis Law– and various cannabis-related organizations including ASTM D-37 Global Standards for Cannabis, the Broward County Medical Marijuana Advisory Board, Hemp Industries Association, and CannabisLAB.

Dustin is a triple gator having earned his bachelor's and masters in accounting from the University of Florida as well as his law degree from UF.

Who is Evan Bopp? Well, the only reason you’re able to see this episode (and everything else online) is because of him. Evan is part of the new wave entrepreneurs creating jobs for themselves before they graduate college - he has founded two companies while enrolled as a full-time student at the University of Miami, the most recent of which is called Potent Brands, an end-to-end digital marketing and branding agency for the cannabis industry. Evan saw an opportunity to grow his own business by helping to grow CannabisLAB and now sits on the board as our Social Media Chair. 

Enjoy today's episode as we dive into what drives him to sacrifice the traditional college experience in order to set up his future, and how cannabis is being brought into that picture.

“The New Normal” is a term that’s overused in our industry, and we won’t say by who. Unfortunately, we are currently experiencing a new normal for our country. On that note, we’ve gone 100% remote with our podcast to help contribute to flattening the curve. To keep with an industry full of puns. We interview Karen Goldstein of the OG NORML, Karen is the Executive Director of NORML of Florida (the National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws) and Vice-Chairperson of Regulate Florida. Karen stands on the front lines of the Cannabis industry leading the charge for Adult-Use Legalization in Florida. Check out her full story on our Facebook page (@cannabusinessgroup)

Back when David and Eric Rahn got involved in the Cannabis space, there weren't too many service providers in the industry. This father and son duo so a massive need for commercial business insurance in the Cannabis space and executed on it with their company S2S Insurance. Considering the nature of their business it makes these two extremely knowledgeable about Cannabis companies in every state. Check out the interview we did at the NCIA conference in Boston.

In this episode, we sit down with founder and CEO of Cannafornia, Paul King. Paul talks about his entrepreneurial path that led him to the Cannabis space, and how Cannafornia is planning to take the Florida market by storm

In any new venture, you're bound to make mistakes along the way. Unfortunately this mistake happened in the middle of an awesome podcast episode with Matt Nordgren. Matt is the founder and CEO of the Arcadian Fund and an early investor in the Cannabis space. Matt and I caught up right after his panel at the NCIA Business Expo Cannavest event in Boston.

Unfortunately being new to the podcasting world, I forgot to turn my phone (which we use to film) on airplane mode, and a call from solicitor cost us this awesome content. We will do our best to get Matt back on the show because it was a great interview that everyone should enjoy. 

Sorry Matt, we can't wait to have you back.

In our first episode, we sit down with Founder and CEO of CannabisLAB Robert Friedman to learn why he created CannabisLAB and what it's like to be a member.

After we sit down with Founder and CEO of Cannabis News Florida, Charles Felix, to get his view on the Medical side of the Cannabis industry.

Live from the Benzinga Capital Conference, we have Codie Sanchez - Partner at Entourage Effect Capital

This episode is very special to me because I get to interview someone I truly look up to in the Cannabis industry, and someone I believe I can call a real friend - Codie Sanchez. If you don't know Codie, you don't know Cannabis. Codie is a managing partner at Entourage Effect Capital (formerly Cresco Capital) and along with her team, they are truly defining the legal cannabis industry.

Not only is Codie a massive success, but she embodies the true definition of an Entrepreneur. Check out our interview. which unfortunately due to my inexperience was cut short due to issues with my phone (we'll get there eventually), and then go to the website www.codiesanchez.com to sign up for her newsletter, and follow her Instagram @codiesanchez. I promise you will not be disappointed! 

It is great when get to sit down with one of the great minds who has been a part of Cannabis LAB since inception. Recognized in 2018 by the National Law Journal as one of the country’s “Cannabis Law Trailblazers,” Ari Gerstin is a member of Akerman’s Cannabis Practice, which provides counsel to clients on the legal and business issues impacting companies with interests in the legal cannabis sector. Ari counsels clients seeking to apply for, purchase, and sell cannabis cultivation, processing, and dispensing licenses and advises investors and industry participants regarding diligence and compliance matters. In addition, he has significant experience litigating issues arising under state cannabis laws.

Ari H. Gerstin concentrates his practice on complex litigation and regulatory matters. Ari has broad experience defending class actions brought against insurance companies and other regulated entities in both state and federal courts. Ari also regularly assists businesses and individuals in their dealings with federal, state, and local authorities.

Areas of Experience

Litigation
Class Action Defense
Healthcare Fraud and Abuse and Litigation
Insurance Litigation
Cannabis
White-Collar Crime and Government Investigations
Financial Services

Education

J.D., University of Miami School of Law, 2004, cum laude, University of Miami Law Review, Articles and Comments Editor
B.B.A., University of Miami, 2001, cum laude

Notable Work

Cannabis: Representing a prospective medical marijuana treatment center in high-profile litigation challenging the State of Florida’s implementation of the Medical Marijuana Amendment (a/k/a Amendment 2), which has resulted in a determination that the implementing statute is unconstitutional.

Cannabis: Represented applicant for low-THC cannabis dispensing organization license for the Southwest Region of Florida, In re: Licensure of the low-THC Cannabis Dispensing Organization for the Southwest Region, Case No. 15-7271 (Fla. DOAH).