Here Weed Go!

How’s it growing folks?! Welcome back to the latest and greatest episode of Here Weed Go! I'm your host, Eddie Celaya, cannabis reporter at TucsonMarijuanaGuide.com.

As a journalist who covers the cannabis space, I always try to look out for other reporters, writers and authors who are working in the industry, as well. It helps me keep up to date on what’s happening in this ever changing business, and it keeps me off my phone and from streaming too much HBO and YouTube.

Still, a lot of times, coverage of any kind of news can be a little bit negative, and sometimes, you just want an inspiring story and not a deep dive on what local zoning ordinances could mean for potential pot shops.

Enter Dr. Bridget Cole Williams, a board certified physician who has one hell of an inspiring story herself, which we get into in our conversation.

Williams, who once had a traditional medical practice at the world-renowned Cleveland Clinic, decided to leave the field of traditional medicine behind when she realized that for some of her patients, plant-based medicines, including cannabis, might be more beneficial.

Eventually, she found her way into publishing and is now the author and driving force behind Courage in Cannabis a two-volume collection of testimonials and short stories from everyday people and celebrities that aims to be the Chicken Soup for the Soul of cannabis.

In our interview, Williams and I touch on her personal journey with cannabis and how it has informed both her medical and literary careers within the industry, how she came up with the idea for a series like Courage in Cannabis, and what’s next for Williams and the community she’s created around her books…

In talking with Dr. Bridget, I realized that a lot of what we do is similar: We’re both writers telling stories, obviously, but we’re both ultimately trying to tell people's stories about their experiences with a plant (or derivatives of that plant) that have been life-changing or life shaping for them in some way.

And because that plant has been stigmatized and criminalized for so long, it’s tough to talk about those experiences sometimes, and even tougher to put those experiences to paper for nearly anyone to read.

So I’m proud to be able to tell another storytellers tale, and I hope any of you out there with an inspiring story, or any story with anything that might be less than mainstreamed in society, know you have a safe place to talk about it here.

If you'd like to learn more about Dr. Bridget, Courage in Cannabis or Here Weed Go!, check out these links below:

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For more info on Dr. Bridget Cole Williams: https://www.drbridgetmd.com/

For more on Courage in Cannabis: https://www.courageincannabis.com/

For more Here Weed Go! episodes and content, including links to the Here Weed Go! twice-weekly newsletter and social media pages: https://linktr.ee/hereweedgo

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How’s it growing folks! Welcome to a new episode of Here Weed Go! I'm your host Eddie Celaya, cannabis writer for TucsonMarijuanaGuide.com!

In today’s episode, I'll be looking into a new line of products I haven't covered yet – ingestibles.

Although closely related to edibles both in how they work within the body and how they are consumed, "ingestibles" refers to the segment of products that include cannabinoid-specific or full-spectrum pills and tinctures that have become popular in recent years, particularly with more elderly consumers and patients and those approaching cannabis from a more wholistic, health-and-wellness adjacent path.

To help me get learn more about ingestibles, I invited Dr. Chuck Johnson, the chief scientific officer at Ally Biotech onto the show.

Based out of Payson, Arizona, Ally Biotech bills itself as a cannabis-science company, with its focus on producing highly bio-available products for consumption by recreational customers and medical marijuana patients alike.

As Dr. Chuck says, “How you present a cannabinoid to the body is very important and there are ways to do it that are more effective than others.”

The company has been at the cutting edge of developing liposomal absorption technology, basically a delivery system for cannabinoids that helps deliver them into the bloodstream, and recently acquired another Arizona-based favorite, Chill Pill.

Together, Dr. Chuck and I explore the technology behind Ally Biotech and Chill Pill, what makes ingestibles and pills different from edibles, and how Ally’s liposomal technology can be implemented in products to appeal to a customer base focused on health and wellness.

Our conversation begins with Dr. Chuck explaining what sort of effect his first experience with cannabis had on him…

MORE INFO

Ally Biotech: https://allybiotech.com/

Chill Pills: https://chillpillsaz.com/

Here Weed Go! linktree (for access to more Here Weed Go! podcast episodes, TucsonMarijuanaGuide.com content, social media pages and to sign-up for the twice-monthly Here Weed Go! newsletter): https://linktr.ee/hereweedgo

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Here Weed Go! is back! After a few weeks in the wilderness, the podcast that puts the flame to flower when it comes to seed to sale coverage of America’s fastest growing cash crop: cannabis!

I’m your host Eddie Celaya, cannabis, travel and food reporter for TucsonMarijuanaGuide.com!

Before I get this joint lit, I wanted to remind everyone that it really helps the podcast, and I truly do appreciate, when you subscribe, share and comment on Here Weed Go!, wherever you’re streaming or downloading it from.

You can also give the podcast a shout and a follow on social media on Instagram by searching for the username Here.Weed.Go. And of course, don’t forget to visit TucsonMarijuanaGuide.com to see all of my latest content, and to subscribe to the weekly Here Weed Go! newsletter.

Let me know what you think by emailing me at ecelaya- that’s [email protected] to let me know what you think!

Anyway, about this episode you’re currently listening to: it’s the start of a new season and new approach. Appropriate then to speak with someone who is using a technology that is on the cutting edge and disrupting everything it approaches.

I’m referring to AI, or artificial intelligence. While the concept and its use within everyday technology is often taken for granted (think about predictive text for texting – that’s AI), the latest offerings in the field have taken businesses in the cannabis (and media) space by storm – and with some push back.

My guest today however is an advocate for its use, at least when it comes to processing the mountains of paperwork and navigating the oftentimes contradictory levels of regulatory red-tape that comes along with establishing and running a marijuana business.  

Dustin Robinson is an attorney and founding partner of Mr. Cannabis Law, a cannabis and psychedelics-focused law firm based out of Florida. His firm is pioneering the use of AI software to help speed up and simplify a process that has become for some, an insurmountable hurdle to gaining some sort of foothold in the burgeoning industry.

Our conversation begins with Robinson explaining how he came to a career in law, by way of accounting…

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More on Mr. Cannabis Law: https://mrcannabislaw.com/

Dustin Robinson's profile: https://mrcannabislaw.com/dustin-robinson-attorney-profile/

The on-stop shop for more Here Weed Go! episodes, stories, video and audio content and more: https://linktr.ee/hereweedgo

To sign up for the Here Weed Go! Newsletter: http://tucne.ws/hereweedgo

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How’s it growing folks! Welcome to a new, picture-perfect episode of Here Weed Go! I’m your host Eddie Celaya, cannabis reporter for TucsonMarijuanaGuide.com.

In today’s episode, we’re really clearing the smoke and taking a good look at cannabis. No, I don’t mean figuratively, I mean literally!

As any stoner knows, taking the perfect photograph of that unbelievably fresh, Barney-the-dinosaur purple nugget of flower you just bought from the dispensary (or grew yourself at home) is nearly impossible.

Luckily, today I have someone on the podcast who might be able to help with documenting that dank.

My guest today is Erik Christiansen, a world-renowned cannabis photographer who is the photo-half of the team responsible for two of the most definitive works of literature in categorizing different cannabis strains.

Known best for his work with Dan Michaels on “Green: A Field Guide to Marijuana” and the recently published “Higher: The Lore, Legends and Legacy of Cannabis,” Christiansen and I dive into how he found his eye for photography, where his love for cannabis grows from, and the moment he knew he had to take a photo of his weed.

Along the way, we also recount how he ended up getting into the publishing world, what makes a perfect model nugget or flower in the cannabis world, and what strains of marijuana have so far eluded him.

It’s a fun episode chock full of advise for both photo-hobbyists and canna-connoisseur looking for that legacy strain from the 1970s.

After all, if a picture is worth a thousand words, two whole coffee table books of them must be worth at least one Here Weed Go! podcast episode!

The conversation with Erik begins with him recounting how his father passed on his love for photography to him at an early age…

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Erik Christiansen's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erik.nugshots/

Where to find his books: https://www.amazon.com/Higher-Lore-Legends-Legacy-Cannabis-ebook/dp/B0B5SSN1RL

Sign-up for the Here Weed Go! newsletter: http://tucne.ws/hereweedgo

More Here Weed Go! podcasts episodes: https://omny.fm/shows/here-weed-go

Linktree to all other Here Weed Go! content and social media pages: https://linktr.ee/hereweedgo

Podcast is produced by Pascal Albright/Arizona Daily Star

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How’s it growing folks?! Welcome to a psychedelic episode of Here Weed Go! I’m your host Eddie Celaya, cannabis reporter for TucsonMarijuanaGuide.com!

Before we trip out on today’s main interview topic, I wanna remind you all to sign up for the Here Weed Go! newsletter and to like, follow and subscribe to all of the Here Weed Go! social media pages, like Facebook and Instagram.

I’ve added links to all of those different ways to consume Here Weed Go! content in this episode's description, which you can find wherever you stream or download Here Weed Go!

Now, for today’s episode, we’re leaving the weed at home (unless you really need it) to venture up north to British Colombia, where I chat a little about psychedelics with some new friends of mine.

See, I like to travel, and many times on my travels, I like to take trips. No, not short day-trips in a car to Sedona or Bisbee (although that can also be involved in one of these "trips").

No, instead I mean I like to take some magic mushrooms or other substances that help alter my mind during my vacations.

It’s a good way for me to reset and refocus, especially now with a career and future that are seemingly always in flux and ultimately, always on the line.

But sometimes, I wish there was a guide when partaking with 'shrooms. Unlike cannabis, which for me is always very soothing and almost numbing to the senses, psychedelics like psilocybin and LSD can be absolutely overwhelming in both an overstimulating and under-stimulating way, depending on the experience, dosage, etc.

To find out more about what a purposefully sought out psychedelic experience can be like, I reached out to the creators of The Journeymen Collective, a personalized plant-medicine based retreat and follow-up experience founded by partners Rob Grover and Gary Logan.

In our conversation, we look into the reasons why more and more people are seeking out plant-based medicine retreats based in marijuana, psilocybin mushrooms, or other psychedelics, what sort of clientele are coming to the Journeymen Collective, and what feedback the pair has received from past retreat goers.

It’s a wide ranging conversation that begins with the personal: Rob and Gary recounting their first experiences with mushrooms and the very beginnings of their love story.

MORE INFO

The Journeymen Collective website: https://www.thejourneymencollective.com/

The Journeymen Collective Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thejourneymencollective/

Here Weed Go! one-stop linktree (for Facebook and Instagram profiles, newsletter and podcast subscription sign-up): https://linktr.ee/hereweedgo

Host Eddie Celaya's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reportereddie/

Podcast is produced by Pascal Albright/Arizona Daily Star

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How’s it growing folks? Welcome back to Here Weed Go! I'm your host, cannabis reporter Eddie Celaya.

Today we’re taking yet another sip of a topic I just can’t get enough of: Cannabis infused beverages.

I’ve dedicated at least one other episode earlier this year to the subject, but just like any good soda, seltzer or other cannabis-infused cocktail, you can’t stop at just one.

To help guide me through the ever-evolving and growing category, I turned to the head of brand for Wherehouse Beverage Co., Miguel Garcia.

Recently, Wherehouse dropped their latest brand of cannabis-infused drinks in Arizona: Countdown. Touted as a higher dosage answer to the company's more established seltzer, Wynk, Countdown is now available at dispensary locations across the state.

Garcia, who cut his chops in the beverage world outside of cannabis, helps me clear the smoke around questions I’ve had for ages, like who the average canna-beverage consumer is?

We also dive into the different sort of canna-beverage consumers: from the canna-curious who might want to try replacing their Friday WhiteClaws with something non-boozy, to the canna-connoisseur who’s looking for an experience they can’t get from anything else.

Along the way, our conversation touches on how beverages can help bridge the “social consumption” gap in ways smoking or vaping can’t and just how disruptive products in Wherehouse Beverage Co.’s arsenal can be to long-established markets like soda, juice and perhaps even alcohol.

Our conversation begins with Garcia explaining where the idea behind Warehouse Beverage Co. comes from...

Podcast is produced by Pascal Albright/Arizona Daily Star

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How’s it growing folks!? Welcome to another fun episode of Here Weed Go!, the podcast focused on finding high-end cannabis content for your national marijuana needs. I'm your host Eddie Celaya, cannabis reporter for the Arizona Daily Star and TucsonMarijuanaGuide.com.

While I might be based in Tucson, all of you regular listeners of the podcast know I love to travel and love traveling even more when there’s some top-shelf weed involved.

So for this episode, we’re taking a deep toke and getting introspective about one of the most successful independent dispensary chains in the country.

And it just so happens that its flagship shop is just north up Interstate 10 in a small Phoenix suburb known as Guadalupe, Arizona.

For anyone that’s driven pretty much anywhere in Arizona, they know I’m talking about The Mint, a chain of dispensaries in the Phoenix area (with a future presence in Tucson possible in the near future) known state-wide due to the company’s old-school approach to marketing with billboards.

The flagship shop is also the only location in Arizona to be open 24 hours (although a new Mint location in the works will also be open round the clock), feature an active marijuana grow room that customers and patients can see into, and is the only dispensary in the country with an in-house kitchen making infused made-to-order cakes, pies, pizzas and wings, as well as other cannabis-infused culinary confections.

As a quick aside, I’ve been to some enormous and impressive dispensaries in Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Seattle, and The Mint’s Guadalupe location, where this interview took place, can certainly hang with any of them.

Both in terms of products available and showmanship

I’ve done recent episodes on how things are going in Michigan and Missouri, and it just so happens that The Mint also has a presence in those states as well.

To help me get a better grasp of The Mint and how it operates, I spoke with the companies co-founder and chief operating officer, Raul Molina.

Molina, who came into cannabis from the car sales industry, is a near legendary figure in the Arizona market. During our conversation, we were interrupted no less than three times by local businessmen just looking to introduce themselves and exchange numbers with the man.

Once we got going, we touched on the origins of The Mint and how the company has grown in and out of state, how the old-school tactics marketing tactics of billboards and radio spots has worked for the company in an age of increasing online footprints, and just how successful The Mint has been.

Podcast is produced by Pascal Albright/Arizona Daily Star

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How’s it growing folks! its me your host Eddie Celaya, cannabis reporter at the Arizona Daily Star and TucsonMarijuanaGuide.com, reporting in with another great episode of Here Weed Go! The podcast that’s always looking into new cannabis markets across the globe.

Before we get going, I’d be remiss not to remind you that you can follow both Here Weed Go! and myself on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. I’ve left links to each in this episodes description, but just search for @ReporterEddie and @Here.Weed.Go and you’ll find content ready and waiting for you to roll up and consume.

So, speaking of markets and consumption, for the last month, I’ve been thinking about Missouri. Ever since my conversation and episode with John Mueller of Greenlight Dispensary, I’ve been intrigued and wanting to find out more.

Luckily, I was reached out to by a PR team representing Hippos, a vertically integrated chain of dispensaries operating in Missouri, and run by a veteran of the alcohol industry, on the distribution side, Nick Rinella.  

Rinella, who was apart of the process of crafting the legislation voters ultimately passed in 2022 to make marijuana recreational, provides insight into the state’s lowest-in-the-nation sin tax for marijuana and the reasoning behind it, what differentiates Missouri in its approach towards equitable licensing for more retail and store front opportunities, and where Hippos (named for the Hippocratic Oath taken by healthcare professionals) fits into the newest and hottest cannabis market in the country.

Our conversation begins with Nick talking a little about his background with cannabis, and how his upbringing in distribution of alcohol, another highly regulated substance, helped shape and inform his approach to cannabis.

Podcast is produced by Pascal Albright/Arizona Daily Star

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How’s it growing folks?! Welcome back to Here Weed Go!

Don’t forget you can follow me on Instagram, Twitter and Threads at the handle @ReporterEddie. Oh, and you can follow the podcasts social media on Facebook and Instagram, just search for Here.Weed.Go

So, I’ve been doing a little thinking (and podcasting) lately on large, macro trends within the cannabis industry. I’ve touched on the rise of gummies in the edible market, and how cannabis beverages seem to be making steady growth, year-over-year, especially since the pandemic.

One method of consumption I haven’t touched on yet is pre-rolled joints and blunts. Along with vaping cartridges and edibles, the pre-roll categories completes the “Holy Trinity” of convince consumption methods and, as a category, accounts for anywhere from 10-15% of sales in most states markets in the United States.

Still, those sort of numbers only give so much perspective. I still have a lot of questions, like: How has the market for pre-rolls grown since the recreational legalization movement started really gaining steam five years ago? Where are pre-roll papers sourced from? Are their pre-roll machines?

To help shed some light on those an other topics, I turned to Harrison Bard, co-founder of Custom Cones USA, one of the largest suppliers of pre-rolled cones and rolling papers in the United States and Canada.

In our conversation, Harrison explains how a business venture originally founded on improving infused cannabis rolling papers grew into the giant in the industry that Custom Cones is today, the reasons behind the recent proliferation in pre-roll sales, and what he believes the future is for custom cones and the cannabis industry as a whole.

The interview begins with Harrison diving into the origins behind Custom Cones USA, and the story of its rise.

Podcast is produced by Pascal Albright/Arizona Daily Star

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How’s it growing folks? Welcome back to Here Weed Go! after our two week break!

My sincerest apologies, but even those of us who cover (mostly) marijuana for a living need a break. Luckily, I was in one of the best weed markets in the United States, Seattle, enjoying all of the fun sites and attractions of the emerald city.

And since I love combining my two loves of travel and cannabis, of course I hit up a few dispensaries and tried out some new weed strains and products.

As always, my vacation got me thinking of marijuana markets and legal states I still have yet to visit. And I figured for this week, I would turn the spotlight on one of the states that jumped into the adult-use recreational waters just a few months ahead of Arizona, The Wolverine State itself: Michigan.

To help me and you get a better handle on just what the market is like out there, I turned to Narmin Jarrous, Chief Development Officer for Exclusive Brands, one of the largest Michigan-only cannabis companies in the state and the first to open a recreational dispensary in the state in December 2019.

Jarrous explains how she came to be at Exclusive and how she’s grown with the company, how the company has grown with Michigan’s move from medical to recreational, and what it’s like operating in what she calls one of the most unique and interesting cannabis markets in the country.

We also touch on some of the differences between operating a cannabis company in Michigan as opposed to Arizona and other markets.

Jarrous and I start the conversation by exploring her own personal experience with cannabis, from growing up in a conservative Arab family, to discovering and struggling with an endometriosis diagnoses in her teens and journey to finally trying cannabis for the first time in her 20s and finding a new level of relief and eventually starting her own cannabis brand.

Podcast is produced by Pascal Albright/Arizona Daily Star

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.