Here Weed Go!

How's it growing folks?! After bringing in Ric Flair for last week’s episode, I’ve been back in the lab talking with some of the country’s premier experts in Cannabidiol (better known as CBD).

To help explain the science behind the cannabinoid that is seemingly everywhere now-a-days, my first guest is Dr. John Streicher of the University of Arizona.

Streicher is part of a team of pioneering researchers looking into the pharmacological effects of cannabinoids and terpenes in pain management. As a matter of fact, you can hear a little about that research in my season one episode “It’s Pain Management.”

My second guest is Inesa Ponomariovaite is the owner and founder of Nesa’s Hemp, a nationally available line of CBD and CBDa hemp oils.

The episode focuses on explaining what makes CBD different from THC and other cannabinoids, what conditions or ailments it could help people with and what its future is when it comes to pharmaceutical applications.

We also touch on the difference between CBD derived from hemp plants as opposed to marijuana plants and if the CBD products you can find at your local grocery store are the same as the ones you’ll find at state-licensed dispensaries.

The episode begins with Streicher explaining what CBD is and where it can be derived from.

MORE INFO

More info on John Streicher: https://profiles.arizona.edu/person/jstreicher

Nesa's Hemp: https://www.nesashemp.com/

Here Weed Go! social media and links to host Eddie Celaya's work: https://linktr.ee/hereweedgo

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How’s it growing folks?! I've got a special treat for you this week!

Go into almost any dispensary in any state and you're bound to find some pre-rolls or gummies (or maybe even the dispensary chain itself) containing the name or likeness of a famed stoner like Willie Nelson, or NBA legend Shawn Kemp, or actor Seth Rogen.

Perhaps one of the biggest names to get into the industry recently is former heavyweight boxing champ Mike Tyson with his new brand Tyson 2.0. Even more recently, Tyson has been joined by the greatest professional wrestler of all-time, the Nature Boy himself, Ric Flair.

Flair, a 21-time world champion in WWE, WCW and a number of other pro-wrestling organizations, was in Phoenix promoting the rollout of his own line of cannabis and cannabis-infused products – Ric Flair Drip.

Some of the products include flower, pre-rolls, vape cartridges and edibles (called WOOOOO Chews), offered in sativa, indica or hybrid. All come in packaging with graphic designs of Flair himself or scenes and images from his nearly half-century-long career.

For now, Ric Flair Drip products can be found exclusively at the six Verano-owned and operated dispensaries (branded as Zen Leaf here in AZ) located in Arizona and Nevada, and at other partnered shops throughout California. For more info on products and locations, visit RicFlairDrip.com, or see this episode’s description for links.

Our conversation starts off with Flair explaining how he used cannabis-infused gummies to help ween him off prescription drugs and also touches on why its so hard for celebrity brands to succeed, what Flair’s goals are with this venture and what cannabis’ future will be in pro wrestling and other sports leagues as it becomes more mainstream.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How’s it growing folks? On the latest episode of Here Weed Go!, host and cannabis reporter Eddie Celaya is joined by two members of the Halo Infusions and Extractions team.

Founded and based here in Tucson, Halo is responsible for five different brands of cannabis-infused topicals and edibles (with a sixth, cannabis-for-canines focused brand in the works): Aunt Ellie's Baked Edibles, Canna Confections Candies & Confectionary, Cannabliss Medicated Snacks, Chronic Health Tinctures & Topicals, and Pure and Simple Juices.

To help explain how their ultra-full-spectrum approach to making their products works, product manager Jay Zimmerman and Halo Infusions CEO Murray Stein join for a fun conversation that touches on each of their cannabis journeys, how full-spectrum methods are different than others in infusing cannabinoids into products and where the edible/topical industry is headed at the federal level.

The conversation begins with Murray explaining how Halo originated. Spoiler alert: It used to be connected to one of Tucson’s oldest medical dispensaries, Halo Cannabis, which you can still find just south of Tucson proper.

MORE INFO

iLAVA (episode sponsor): https://ilava.com/

Halo Infusions and Extractions: https://haloinfusions.com/about-halo-infusions/

Here Weed Go! social media: https://linktr.ee/hereweedgo

Watch out for next week's episode!!!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How’s it growing folks?! After a short break, Here Weed Go! is back, and is brought to you by our local sponsor, iLAVA!

With nearly two weeks of travel on the East Coast, host and cannabis reporter Eddie Celaya is focusing this episode on what’s going on across the pond in Jolly Ole England with a look at the first publicly traded cannabis pharmaceutical company in the UK: Kanabo.

To do that, he's joined by Kanabo CEO and Executive Director Avihu Tamir and Suleman Sacranie, the founder of UK-based telehealth platform The GP Service, which was recently acquired by Kanabo.

Together the three discuss Kanabo’s birth in Israel (the first and so far only country in the world with a federal medical cannabis program), the differences between products, markets and regulations on cannabis when it comes to different EU member states (and the U.S.) and just how telehealth for cannabis works in the UK – and how it could make it’s way to a U.S. state near you.

The conversation begins with both men explaining their introductions to cannabis and how the experiences shaped their businesses. A note: Due to technical difficulties while recording this interview, the questions have been re-recorded at the Arizona Daily Star Studio.

MORE INFO

Here Weed Go! social media pages and more content: https://linktr.ee/hereweedgo

Kanabo: https://www.kanabogroup.com/

The GP Service: https://thegpservice.co.uk/

iLAVA products and information: https://ilava.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How's it growing folks?! On this episode of Here Weed Go!, host Eddie Celaya is in New York City and he's talking about just how wide-spread this marijuana movement is in the land of the free.

To help give some context to just how far the country has come in the last 10-15 years when it comes to pot, today's guest is Ricardo Baca. As the original marijuana editor for the Denver Post, Baca covered the first-of-its-kind adult-use recreational roll-out in Colorado.

More recently, as the founder and CEO of Denver-based, cannabis-focused PR/ad firm Grasslands, Baca has helped companies, brands and individuals within the industry tell their stories to a larger, more mainstream audience.

The discussion touches on how much public perception on cannabis has changed, what new emerging cannabis-friendly state investors and tourists should look out for next, and just how close the industry is to producing it’s first huge (think Coca-Cola or Kleenex) mainstream brand.

MORE INFO

Grasslands website: https://mygrasslands.com/who-we-are/

More Here Weed Go! content: TucsonMarijuanaGuide.com

Here Weed Go! social media: https://linktr.ee/hereweedgo

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How’s it growing folks? Today I’m taking a look at the fastest growing seller in almost ever state’s cannabis market: edibles.

To do that, I’m joined by Christine Smith, the founder and CEO of Grön, one of the largest producers of cannabis edibles in the Northwest. 

In our chat, Smith, an architect by trade, details how she originally came to cannabis as a chocolatier and became a “recovering architect,” where the idea (and name) behind Grön came from, how a brand is able to operate in multiple states and countries despite federal prohibition, and why the edible market continues to grow in popularity.

We also attempt to clear the smoke behind the great edible debate: why are gummies so popular, especially when chocolate is technically a better vehicle for introducing cannabinoids into the body?

Our conversation begins with Smith talking about why she originally left the world of architecture for the rough-and-tumble Oregon cannabis market.

More Info

Grön: https://eatgron.com/

Here Weed Go! Social media links: https://linktr.ee/hereweedgo

Host Eddie Celaya's Instagram: @reporterEddie

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome back to Here Weed Go!, where cannabis reporter and host Eddie Celaya is joined by Adams Lee, International Trade Attorney with the Seattle-based law firm Harris Bricken.

Lee explains why prices for cannabis products have remained steady, or even fallen, in some states. He also shows how cannabis, seemingly inflation-proof at the consumer level (so far), is actually fraught with some of the same issues and problems other more established industries also face.

Together, Eddie and Adams also clear the smoke around how inflation and its impact in other parts of the economy may be behind a downward trend in sales across the country.

Our conversation kicks off with Lee helping Eddie with his Econ101 homework and explaining just what inflation is.

MORE INFO

All Here Weed Go! Content, including Instagram and Facebook pages, newsletter access and TucsonMarijuanaGuide.com, can be found here: https://linktr.ee/hereweedgo

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

If you’ve ever bought anything from any dispensary anywhere, you’ll know that on every jar or piece of packaging comes an added notice letting you know the product's potency and other testing information, sometimes with a printed state seal.

Well Robert Brodnick, co-owner and CEO of Titan Laboratories -- an Arizona Department of Health Services licensed cannabis testing facility here in Tucson, Arizona -- is one of the men behind the sort of labs that determine just how safe and potent your cannabis is.

Brodnick has an interesting background: once an officer in the military who helped oversee some of the nation’s most sophisticated labs for catching contraband users in the military, now he helps determine potency levels and if cannabis products are safe enough to hit dispensary shelves.

Our conversation touches on how Titan Laboratories came to be here in Tucson, what labs like Titan are testing for to keep consumers safe, what states like Arizona and others can do to make sure cannabis patients and customers are safe, and what federalization would mean for the cannabis testing industry.

MORE INFO

Info for Titan Laboratories: https://www.titanlab.net/

Phone: (520) 771-9990

Contact Robert Brodnick: Email: [email protected]

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How's it growing folks?! On the latest Here Weed Go! my guest is Jen Christiansen, the owner and operator of Arte Bella on 4th Avenue, a unique "consumption lounge" space here in Tucson, Arizona.

Christiansen explains how Arte Bella, which started as a mobile paint-n-puff operation after the passage of medical marijuana here in Arizona, grew into what is likely the first cannabis consumption lounge in the United States that also sports a full bar.

Oh, and it has a full-service restaurant. And a concert event space. Oh, and you can still drop in and paint. And puff.

Our conversation touches on the struggles, both in business and in life, Christiansen has overcome to make Arte Bella a success, what running such a versatile business is like and what Christiansen thinks Arte Bella’s role in fighting the stigmas that still exist against cannabis and cannabis users is.

More Info

Here Weed Go! social media pages: https://linktr.ee/hereweedgo

Arte Bella on 4th Ave: https://www.artebellaon4th.com/

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How’s it growing folks? It’s another great episode of your favorite cannabis-centric podcast, Here Weed Go! This episode is especially special because it means Here Weed Go! Is officially back and better than ever for Season 2!

I’m kicking off this new run of 12 episodes with a guest who might have the first billion dollar idea in cannabis. Her name is Lilach Mazor Power and she’s the founder and CEO of Mazor Collective, a vertically integrated cannabis company based out of Phoenix.

Its brands include The Giving Tree Dispensary in North Phoenix, Sneakers – a line of premium pre-rolled joints available throughout Arizona – and Revelry, a line of mico-dose pills containing a formula of various cannabinoids aimed at helping relieve menopause symptoms.

 If you’d like to learn more about Lilach, Mazor Collective or Revelry, links can be found below. And don’t forget to follow the Here Weed Go! Facebook page and host Eddie Celaya's Instagram as well.

And read more of Eddie's local content and reviews at TucsonMarijuanaGuide.com.

More Info

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

Mazor Collective: https://www.mazorcollective.com/

The Giving Tree Dispensary: https://givingtreedispensary.com/

Revelry: https://www.revelrycannabis.com/

Here Weed Go! Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/HereWeedGoPod

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

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.