Grassroots Marketing

Drnq Budz Launches a Beverage Revolution with Joe Wallace, CEO of Drnq Budz and Dan "DanO" OBryan, Founder of ROCO plants S.A. Costa Rica.

Drnq Budz Launches a Beverage Revolution: THC Lined Drinking Straws. The radical new delivery mechanism for THC is eco-friendly, discreet, and can enhance any beverage, thanks to an exclusive patent for an “active coating” technology.

Drnq Budz launched its line of drinking straws made with an interior lining of THC for easy, portable wellness and relaxation anywhere. The L.A.-based startup has secured the master rights to the technology developed by Unistraw, the biggest straw maker in the world.

Drnq Budz will launch with 3 flavors and 25 mg, 50 mg and 100 mg dosages, with more options coming soon. Drnq Budz will be available beginning December 15, 2021 from dispensaries and delivery services throughout California.

The lining dissolves as you drink, and the user can watch the amount consumed through the outer layer of the straw. The technology allows for very precise dosage. The straws are 100% certified compostable and bio-sourced, but the environmental impact will be bigger than that.

Drnq Budz will create a massive reduction in the cannabis industry's carbon footprint, reducing shipping and storage of heavier products, and reducing the plastic and chemical waste associated with vaping products.

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Comprehensive Financial Services for the Cannabis Industry with Steve Morss Chief of Cash Operations with Dama Financial

How Dama Financial Is Offering the Cannabis Industry Comprehensive Financial Services
https://www.newcannabisventures.com/how-dama-financial-is-offering-the-cannabis-industry-comprehensive-financial-services/

Dama Financial serves the entire spectrum of the cannabis industry, including retailers, manufacturers, distributors and cultivators. The company also serves ancillary companies, such as labs, investment firms and law offices that touch the cannabis industry. Dama can serve any client who struggles to get a bank account that will have cannabis transactions flowing in and out of it.
Currently, Dama Financial serves clients in approximately 13 states.

Dama Financial is aggressively adding clients within its existing footprint and in the states it is expanding into, including Nevada, Missouri and Hawaii. The company started out by offering banking and merchant acquiring. Today, it offers those services as well as lending, secured credit cards and now payroll. Dama Financial plans to continue offering additional value to its customers, which in turn will drive more revenue.

Dama Financial recently added Dama Smart Safe to its business toolkit.

Smart safes allow business owners to authenticate and monitor their cash at every step of the handling process. With rapid advancements in counterfeit technology, the detection of fake currency with the naked eye has become nearly impossible. Smart safes are equipped with bill validators that significantly decrease the risk of fraud. At the same time, the cash is reconciled automatically, eliminating the need to spend hours doing it manually.

Dama Financial has added Dama Smart Safe to its business toolkit, allowing businesses to authenticate and monitor cash.

With Dama Smart Safe, the safe can promptly record any deposit as a credit to the customer's Premier Business account, providing access to the money the next business day. Dama Smart Safes can be configured to meet the needs of any size operation.

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Gary Hess, founder and Executive Director of Veterans Alliance for Holistic Alternatives (VAHA)


Gary Hess is a former marine and founder of VAHA (Veterans For Holistic Alternatives), an organization that seeks to educate and empower veteran’s about the efficacy of medical cannabis.

You use cannabis which he says allows him to explore his trauma and process it rather than anesthetize it—and he advocates for other veterans to have access to the plant. “I knew that I was not the only one,” he said referring to not only his trauma but the difficulty in treating it with traditional medications. “I knew that I was not going to bed the same. I was taking the pills and drinking every night before I went to bed. I literally had to lock every single door in my house, including closets and other bedrooms. It was obsessive. I was having issues. So I took the shiny brass off my shoulders, called my fellow Marines and said, ‘Hey, I'm struggling. I'm drinking. I can't figure it out. Who else is having these problems?’ Then I started digging into the science.”

Curaleaf began a partnership with VAHA. The company will donate a portion of sales to the organization during the month of November. From November 1 through 15, Curaleaf locations across the U.S. will donate $1 from every sale of select items to VAHA.

WRAL.com reported: "Calling on state lawmakers to legalize medical marijuana in North Carolina, you joined several veterans this past June to share stories of your own battles or those of your comrades after they returned from deployment. The committee held was believed to be the first legislative hearing ever in North Carolina on a bill to allow medical marijuana to be prescribed and used in the state.

TeleLeaf is a premier access platform to medical marijuana that connects patients in need with qualified doctors.

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Supply Chain Issues for Packaging with  John Hartsell, CEO & Co-Founder of DIZPOT

Talking points discussed in this interview include:

Why packaging branding is so important for cannabis companies and how DIZPOT is helping?
Supply Chain issues for packaging and how DIZPOT is helping
Department of Weights and Measures and how DIZPOT is helping brands to meet these requirements with their expertise in cannabis packaging.

ABOUT JOHN HARTSELL

John “Harts” Hartsell is the co-founder and CEO of DIZPOT, a leading-edge global cannabis packaging company providing customers with single source branding, packaging, and proprietary technology solution, known for bringing compliant products to market quickly in the highly competitive CPG environment.

Established in 2017 by CEO John Hartsell and COO Jeff Scrabeck, and with a reputation for extreme growth, the company now boasts a 14,000 sq. ft. facility housing Creative Services, Procurement, Logistics, and Sales Departments in addition to inventory. DIZPOT has expanded from a basic packaging business into a full service one-stop branding and design partner for some of the largest players in the industry. The cannabis packaging market was valued at $101.48 billion in 2020 and is expected to exceed $297.51 billion by 2026, according to Mordor Intelligence.

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Cannabis Packaging Trend: Biodegradable Plastics - Are They Actually That Sustainable?

In the packaging industry at large, many are beginning to use biodegradable plastics as a sustainable solution to single-use plastics. For these reasons and more, Sana Packaging — a leader in sustainable packaging — is not:

Biodegradable additives in these plastics break down into microplastics. They are not ideal for landfills because they release methane (a greenhouse gas 23x more potent than CO2). Biodegradable plastics aren’t necessarily more sustainable than traditional plastics when the whole life cycle of the material is taken into consideration.

Sana’s mission is to reduce the impact of single-use packaging by leading the cannabis industry towards a sustainable future. Accordingly, the company chooses to refrain from using biodegradable plastics in its packaging because of the overall environmental impact.

Sana Packaging designs and develops cannabis packaging for a circular economy using 100% plant-based hemp plastic, 100% reclaimed ocean plastic, and other sustainable materials. Sana Packaging is proud to be a "Made in the USA"​ company committed to supporting domestic agriculture and domestic manufacturing. At Sana Packaging, their commitment to sustainability goes beyond simply offering ecologically-conscious products. We believe that packaging should be regenerative and help heal the environment throughout its lifecycle.

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Grassroots Marketing speaks with Skip Motsenbocker, CEO of Pacific Stone,

Pacific Stone is a premier seed to sale company producing 6.5 percent of the licensed California market’s cannabis flower. Pacific Stone was founded in 2015 and is comprised of cannabis cultivators and sixth-generation Dutch greenhouse growers who built the coastal indoor greenhouses we cultivate in.

Pacific Stone has been recognized by Weedmaps, and Treez as a best selling flower brand in California and was recently recognized in the Top Selling Flower, Top Selling Pre-Roll, & Fastest Growing Pre-Roll categories in the fourth annual LeafLink List. Pacific Stone’s award-winning products include their Indica Wedding Cake, dense buds popular for their reported relaxing and euphoric effects; as well as their Indica Wedding Cake Pre-Rolls and Hybrid 805 Sour Pre-Rolls. This is the third year in a row that the brand has received honors from the LeafLink List.

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Grassroots Marketing talks with Zeyead Gharib (Founder & CEO) Zack Iszard (President & CSO) Harvest Direct about the gap between cannabis flower and all other product types and how they are filling this gap with their innovations/tech.

Harvest Direct Enterprises is the first and only company in the world to make strain-specific cannabis edibles. You are the first company in the world to develop a manufacturing method: LACY ™ (Lossless Activation Chamber Y) that lets you capture an entire cannabis strain - with all of its distinct effects and medical benefits - in any product form.

"We started with decarb/activation - an extremely destructive process with respect to the full plant profile. Our patented flagship invention - Lossless Activation Chamber Y (“LACY”) - allows us to be the first in the world to create total spectrum cannabis products. Our technology creates products that are unmatched in quality, with higher yields and lower costs than the rest of the industry. These products capture the distinct effects of whatever strain of cannabis we start with. Truly leveraging the entourage effect and with no need for re-combination.

We take a less is more approach, aiming to preserve everything nature creates in the cannabis plant. Working with nature, not against it. Capturing the entourage effect of each strain in discreet, accurately-dosed, consistent, and socially/medically acceptable forms. Our lossless cannabis processing philosophy guides the development of our technology and the products it creates."

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Grassroots Marketing talks about Veterans Access to Cannabis with Gary Hess, founder and Executive Director of Veterans Alliance for Holistic Alternatives (VAHA).

Gary Hess is a former marine and founder of VAHA (Veterans For Holistic Alternatives), an organization that seeks to educate and empower veteran’s about the efficacy of medical cannabis.

You use cannabis which he says allows him to explore his trauma and process it rather than anesthetize it—and he advocates for other veterans to have access to the plant. “I knew that I was not the only one,” he said referring to not only his trauma but the difficulty in treating it with traditional medications. “I knew that I was not going to bed the same. I was taking the pills and drinking every night before I went to bed. I literally had to lock every single door in my house, including closets and other bedrooms. It was obsessive. I was having issues. So I took the shiny brass off my shoulders, called my fellow Marines and said, ‘Hey, I'm struggling. I'm drinking. I can't figure it out. Who else is having these problems?’ Then I started digging into the science.”

Curaleaf began a partnership with VAHA. The company will donate a portion of sales to the organization during the month of November. From November 1 through 15, Curaleaf locations across the U.S. will donate $1 from every sale of select items to VAHA.

VAHA also operates TeleLeaf, a premier access platform to medical marijuana that connects patients in need with qualified doctors.

Gary Hess is the founder and Executive Director of the Veterans Alliance for Holistic Alternatives (VAHA), CEO of Teleleaf, and Partner of Dynamic Growth Solutions – organizations he founded to help destigmatize and provide access to medical cannabis.

Gary served in the Marine Corps for 11 years, both enlisted and as an Infantry Officer. After serving during the heaviest levels of fighting in Irag, Gary experienced the challenges of living with PTSD, traumatic brain injury, chronic pain, and pharmaceutical dependency first-hand. He used cannabis not only to manage his conditions safely on his path to recovery, but also to catalyze and expedite Post-Traumatic Growth. He is now an advocate and activist for the use of medical cannabis in post-traumatic recovery – both for veterans and trauma survivors.

Within VAHA, Gary works with patients, medical professional, and lawmakers, leading qualitative research and advocacy efforts to provide evidence-based education on the benefits of medical cannabis and reducing the obstacles that hinder access. He has teamed with Dr. Sue Sisley and the Scottsdale Research Institute in their efforts against the DEA to successfully remove barriers that have hindered and prohibited federal research initiatives for decades. Gary continues to spearhead policy reform initiatives and has successfully testified in Congress for the legalization of cannabis for medical use in Louisiana and North Carolina. Gary became the first patient and veteran in Louisiana to receive a recommendation for medical marijuana.

Gary is also the CEO and Founder of Teleleaf, a telemedicine platform that provides affordable and convenient access to cannabis . Through his platform, Gary has connected thousands of patients with licensed physicians in 22 different states. He is also a Partner in Dynamic Growth Solutions, which provides construction and turn-key solutions for indoor cannabis cultivation via energy-efficient, high-yield growth containers. DGS was created to protect the license-holder during the most vulnerable time of growth to ensure patients in need have access to quality products in a timely manner.

In his professional career after service, Gary found early success investing in real estate, which eventually led to his award-winning Antique Lumber & Millwork Co., Southern Arch. Gary has also served as the Chief Operating Officer for an oil and gas firm as well as a nationally recognized federal contracting firm, where his leadership proved instrumental and led to explosive growth for both.

Gary holds a Bachelor of Science in Community Sociology from Wartburg College, where he competed in 4 yrs of NCAA baseball. He is pursuing a PhD in Cognitive Behavior and Brain Sciences, studying the neurological and physiological effects of trauma and the effectiveness of cannabis and other holistic alternatives in facilitating recovery.

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Grassroots Marketing speaks with Jonathan Ghiz, Co-Founder and CEO of Supurb about their On-demand Medical Marijuana Delivery Service in Arizona.

Supurb is an on-demand medical marijuana delivery service that allows medical marijuana patients safe and convenient access to medicine from our carefully selected state licensed dispensary partners legally, effortlessly, and discreetly through your mobile device.

As of January 22, 2021, many dispensaries in Arizona are selling recreational marijuana in addition to medical marijuana, which has been legal in the state since 2010. If you're 21 years or older, you can walk into a shop and buy as much as an ounce of flower or up to five grams of concentrates.

You cannot yet have recreational marijuana delivered in Arizona. It will be a few years, at least, before that is a possibility. Per state law, Arizona may adopt rules to permit and regulate the delivery of recreational marijuana on January 1, 2023, and it must adopt such rules by January 1, 2025. So: recreational delivery is coming, but it's not here yet. In the meantime, if you are a medical marijuana cardholder in Arizona, many dispensaries do offer delivery services. 

Supurb is ready for patients in Phoenix, Arizona. Patients will have access to their technology in all cities within the greater Phoenix Metropolitan area. Their objective is to become the industry leader in medical marijuana delivery technologies and expand nationwide as laws permit. Arizona collected more than $20 million in medical and adult-use marijuana tax revenue in August, data released by the state this week shows.

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In 2018, Los Angeles announced that ⅔ of all cannabis retail licenses would be set aside for Black and brown folks disproportionately targeted by the War on Drugs. And like many in South LA who qualified, a young woman from the Jungles saw it as a chance to gain economic parity and generational wealth for her family. 

But if you're lucky enough to get a license, where do you get the resources, financing, and construction knowledge to start a $1.5MM cannabis dispensary? The short answer is you don't. Making under the poverty line and knowing she couldn't do this alone, Aja Allen set out to find a trusted partner to help make this opportunity a reality.

Three years, numerous delays, and Millions later, with the help of a local black-owned startup, Aja finally opened Sixty Four & Hope (La Cienega above the 10Fwy). A dispensary concept explicitly created to build generational wealth for social equity licensees. Aja is the first LGBTQ owner in LA, and one of 21 social equity licensees to open newly "essential" Sixty Four & Hope dispensaries, all at no upfront cost to the licensee.

"I want Sixty Four & Hope to be a platform to help people from my neighborhood identify and develop their talents. I want to empower them to be their best selves. I'm ready to get this business up and running so that I'm able to be a pillar in my community," said Aja standing in the middle of the bright and cheery store with its inclusive lineup of LGBTQ, Black, Latinx, and APPI-owned brands. Aja can't believe her day has come, and she didn't spend a dime. 

Sixty Four & Hope is determined to live their ideals—driving economic parity for people of color. This, coupled with a respect for the plant and culture, opened the door to diverse collaborations that strive for authenticity— Angela Rye, Live Nation’s new Cannabis Nation, Alien Labs, and Ball Family Farms. And prominent Black investors, Troy Carter and Marlon Nichols of MaC Venture Capital and Julius “J” Erving III, Executive VP at Sony Music Entertainment, who see their support as a well-spent investment in communities of color.

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