This week we had a live discussion with Amman Weaver to talk about everything that is going on including racial justice, the protests, and the role that the emerging cannabis industry can play in giving communities more opportunities.

The Seneca Nation has been approved by the USDA to administer their hemp program ahead of the growing season. Hear from the woman behind the regulations, Hemp Compliance Administrator Jessica Crouse.

She tells us some of the difficulties of working within the strict USDA guidelines, how sustainability is central to the Nation's program, and working towards their future with cannabis by looking to the past.

How is a non-profit pushing the New York cannabis industry forward?

Zach Sarkis is the founder of NYHempLab, an incubator for hemp businesses in Rochester, NY. You may know HempLab from their conferences and roundtables that bring leaders in academia and the industry together from across the state. Zach discusses the difficulty of transitioning their physical events to Zoom calls, barriers to entry for small and medium-sized businesses in cannabis, and the mission of HempLab.

Empire State of Cannabis is a weekly show where we dive into the stories behind New York's cannabis industry leaders.

Can the experience of being a dairy farmer provide important insights for hemp producers?

This week we have Dylan Barber, a third-generation dairy farmer who last summer planted two acres of hemp. We get an on-the-ground look at the crisis facing dairy farmers across the country, how the hemp markets have drawn some surprising parallels with an oversupply, and advice from Dylan for farmers looking to diversify with cannabis.

This wide-ranging conversation from late February goes back to the start of New York's hemp program in 2015. Assemblywoman Lupardo describes her inspiration to set up New York's pilot hemp research program, the process to do so, and how the program transformed from a dozen research partners to a full-fledged statewide industry.

We also discussed the recently enacted Hemp Extract Bill and why it was so important to pre-empt the FDA in considering extract products to be dietary supplements, imposing strict quality standards on out-of-state products, and expanding access to the market for New York farmers and businesses.

This episode will give you a unique insight into New York's hemp industry and the leader behind its creation.

This week we interview Steven Phan, Co-Founder of Come Back Daily, one of the most well known CBD retail locations in NYC. We discuss how Steven's business has adapted to Covid-19 while being in the epicenter of the virus, how he came out to NYC from California and became involved in the legalization movement, and he gives some insight into his perspective of the supply chain issues in the CBD industry.

4/20 Fact: New York's first hemp farm was required to have armed guards present when they planted their seed.

Four years later, Daniel Dolgin founder of Eaton Hemp, dives into the story of that first crop, building a hemp foods brand, and the challenges of being a pioneer.

Brittany Carbone is the CEO and Founder of Tonic Vibes, a thriving cannabinoid wellness brand based in the Southern Tier. In this episode we talk about the work they’re doing to support workers on the frontlines of the fight against COVID-19, her story of moving from Long Island to Upstate in growing the brand, the challenges of growing hemp for the first time, and the future for Tonic.

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