Send us a text

We trace how a headline-grabbing CBD moment collided with the realities of cannabis policy, then dive into Levia’s rare founder buyback to unpack brand trust, dual-channel strategy, and what it takes to build consistent, safe, and truly approachable THC beverages. The conversation blends practical deal lessons, product innovation, and senior-focused education with a call for higher standards across hemp and regulated markets.

• CBD spotlight from a US president and stock whiplash
• Schedule III signaling and partisan calculus
• Why hemp access reframed consumer entry points
• Levia’s effects-led positioning and clear seltzer choice
• Vertical control, CO2 extraction, and consistency
• Deal timeline, regulatory gauntlet, and post-exit roles
• Hemp’s shift from loophole to long-term strategy
• Mechanics and patience behind the buyback from a public company
• Innovation pipeline: flavorless high-dose drops and minors
• Seniors, harm reduction, and physician-backed education
• Dual-channel plan: regulated and hemp together
• Raising standards: batch testing, responsible placement, COAs
• Brand trust as the true moat in beverages
• Advocacy on incarceration, equity, and consumer safety

Like it, subscribe it, share it, do all the things
Stay curious, stay informed, and keep your spirits high

--
High Spirits is brought to you by Vertosa and Wolf Meyer.

Your hosts are Ben Larson and AnnaRae Grabstein.

Follow High Spirits on LinkedIn.

We'd love to hear your thoughts. Who would you like to see on the show? What topics would you like to have us cover?

Visit our website www.highspirits.media and listen to all of our past shows.

THANK YOU to our audience. Your engagement encourages us to keep bringing you these thought-provoking conversations.

Remember to always stay curious, stay informed, and most importantly, keep your spirits high.

Send us a text

Elliot Lewis, CEO of Catalyst Cannabis and famously dubbed "the angriest weed CEO in California," pulls no punches in this revealing conversation about the state of California's cannabis industry. Having built Catalyst into one of California's largest retail chains with over 25 stores, Lewis speaks from experience when he describes the maddening reality of operating under excessive regulation and taxation.

The conversation begins with Lewis reflecting on his journey from Berkeley student during the Prop 215 era to cannabis entrepreneur, acknowledging the unexpected path that led him to become California's second-largest cannabis retailer. "I only just wanted to get the one store," Lewis admits, "Somehow becoming the second largest retailer in the state wasn't really part of the plan."

Lewis delivers a scathing critique of how cannabis tax dollars are allocated, claiming the money flows to nonprofits that don't truly serve their stated causes. "The money that is going to the nonprofits doesn't really get down to the causes they claim to be for, but they have really nice fancy words that everybody likes and makes them feel virtuous to support these causes. But really it's just a bunch of grifting," he explains. According to Lewis, this creates "a closed-loop system of money laundering that keeps the current power brokers in power."

The discussion takes a fascinating turn when the conversation shifts to hemp, which Lewis characterizes as "untaxed weed" operating through regulatory loopholes. This sparks a spirited debate about consumer access, testing standards, and whether the hemp market represents genuine progress or simply another way to circumvent proper regulation. Lewis argues that hemp's success demonstrates how powerful the free market could be if cannabis wasn't burdened by excessive taxation and regulation.

Looking to the future, Lewis predicts that major alcohol and tobacco companies will eventually enter the space and reshape the industry with their lobbying power. Despite his frustrations, he continues to advocate for "weed for the people" while navigating the challenging realities of California's cannabis landscape.

Whether you're a cannabis operator, investor, or simply interested in understanding the complex dynamics of America's largest cannabis market, this episode offers unfiltered insights from someone fighting on the front lines of California's cannabis experiment.

--
High Spirits is brought to you by Vertosa and Wolf Meyer.

Your hosts are Ben Larson and AnnaRae Grabstein.

Follow High Spirits on LinkedIn.

We'd love to hear your thoughts. Who would you like to see on the show? What topics would you like to have us cover?

Visit our website www.highspirits.media and listen to all of our past shows.

THANK YOU to our audience. Your engagement encourages us to keep bringing you these thought-provoking conversations.

Remember to always stay curious, stay informed, and most importantly, keep your spirits high.

Send us a text

Marianne Cursetjee shares how she transformed from cancer patient to cannabis entrepreneur, building Alibi into a premium brand now expanding from Oregon to New York through strategic licensing partnerships.

• Breast cancer diagnosis in 2015 led to discovering cannabis's healing potential
• Built Alibi Cannabis in Oregon with a focus on premium indoor flower and adventure-focused branding
• Butterfly imagery represents breaking down walls for true connection and community
• Took five years of relationship-building before entering the New York market
• Chose licensing partnerships over owning supply chain for efficient expansion
• Reached cashflow positive in New York within five months, beating six-month projection
• Field marketing and authentic community engagement drive brand recognition
• Previous expansion attempts in Massachusetts and Arizona provided valuable lessons
• Maintaining financial discipline with "no debt" philosophy critical for survival
• Hand-trimming flower despite representing 20% of costs aligns with quality values
• New York cannabis market reached $2 billion in sales, with favorable energy compared to mature markets
• Looking at New Jersey and potentially European markets for future growth

Visit alibico.com or follow @alibiny on Instagram to learn more about their products and expansion journey.

--
High Spirits is brought to you by Vertosa and Wolf Meyer.

Your hosts are Ben Larson and AnnaRae Grabstein.

Follow High Spirits on LinkedIn.

We'd love to hear your thoughts. Who would you like to see on the show? What topics would you like to have us cover?

Visit our website www.highspirits.media and listen to all of our past shows.

THANK YOU to our audience. Your engagement encourages us to keep bringing you these thought-provoking conversations.

Remember to always stay curious, stay informed, and most importantly, keep your spirits high.

Send us a text

Cameron Clarke, CEO of Sunderstorm and the Kanha brand, shares his journey of building a global cannabis wellness brand and navigating the complexities of international markets.

• Started in California in 2015, believing that success there would translate to success anywhere
• Expanded nationally in 2019-2020 after becoming a top 10 brand in California
• Entered Thailand in 2022, becoming one of the first Western cannabis brands in Asia
• Pioneered nanotechnology in cannabis products ten years ago to create fast-acting effects
• Different markets show varying preferences between nano and classic gummies
• Australia operates as "a recreational market masquerading as a medical market"
• The UK cannabis patient count could reach 100,000 by year-end from current 50,000-60,000
• Thailand, Canada, and South Africa are emerging as key global suppliers of cannabis flower
• Cannabis tourism is growing rapidly, particularly in Thailand and the Netherlands
• Partnered with Beach Samui resort in Thailand to create an integrated cannabis wellness experience
• Preparing to open EU GMP manufacturing in North Macedonia to serve European markets
• Focuses all business decisions on how they contribute to building the Kanha brand

Enter our 10-year anniversary sweepstakes for a chance to win a free trip to Thailand and stay at the Beach Samui Resort, where you can consume cannabis and have a great time. Visit kanhabliss.com to enter before the drawing in early January 2026.

--
High Spirits is brought to you by Vertosa and Wolf Meyer.

Your hosts are Ben Larson and AnnaRae Grabstein.

Follow High Spirits on LinkedIn.

We'd love to hear your thoughts. Who would you like to see on the show? What topics would you like to have us cover?

Visit our website www.highspirits.media and listen to all of our past shows.

THANK YOU to our audience. Your engagement encourages us to keep bringing you these thought-provoking conversations.

Remember to always stay curious, stay informed, and most importantly, keep your spirits high.

Send us a text

Lulu Tsui, co-founder of On the Revel, shares her journey from Bloomberg to becoming the "Queen of New York Cannabis" and how she's building authentic community in the East Coast market. She reveals how New York's cannabis industry has developed its own unique business culture focused on directness, accountability, and community standards.

• Raised in Eugene, Oregon by cannabis-friendly "aunties and uncles" after moving from communist China in 1979
• Started in tech in 1994, worked with Bloomberg and other major companies before entering cannabis
• Co-founded On the Revel with Jacoby Holland to create inclusive cannabis industry events
• New York cannabis market has over 450 licensed retailers with approximately 80% being social equity operators
• East Coast business culture emphasizes direct communication and face-to-face relationships
• Different consumption patterns in New York with higher demand for discrete products like vapes and edibles
• Community boards play crucial role in local licensing and neighborhood acceptance
• Maintains a "clean pool" philosophy by only working with respectful industry partners
• Building diverse team with varied expertise including legal, scientific, and marketing backgrounds
• Revelry event coming September 12th with 200+ brands and 400+ retail buyers
• Planning to launch psychedelics conference in 2026

Join us at Revelry in New York to experience the East Coast cannabis industry firsthand and witness the incredible community that's been built.

--
High Spirits is brought to you by Vertosa and Wolf Meyer.

Your hosts are Ben Larson and AnnaRae Grabstein.

Follow High Spirits on LinkedIn.

We'd love to hear your thoughts. Who would you like to see on the show? What topics would you like to have us cover?

Visit our website www.highspirits.media and listen to all of our past shows.

THANK YOU to our audience. Your engagement encourages us to keep bringing you these thought-provoking conversations.

Remember to always stay curious, stay informed, and most importantly, keep your spirits high.

Send us a text

Former NCIA CEO Aaron Smith shares his insights after 20 years leading cannabis policy reform, reflecting on the evolution from medical advocacy to today's complex marketplace and the challenges of federal reform.

• The cannabis industry has seen remarkable progress over two decades, with support for reform growing from just two members of Congress to majorities in both chambers
• Current regulatory structures represent a compromise, not the alcohol-style regulation originally envisioned by advocates
• Complacency poses the biggest threat to cannabis reform, with a $40+ billion industry spending only about $4 million annually on federal lobbying
• Multiple competing trade associations dilute advocacy impact, though coordination is improving
• Banning hemp-derived cannabinoids doesn't advance marijuana legalization and may actually hinder progress
• Congressional dysfunction stems from primary election systems that reward partisan extremes over compromise
• The beverage segment represents one of the most promising opportunities for cannabis normalization
• Even struggling businesses should find ways to contribute to advocacy efforts

"Don't give up hope. If you're in this industry, I know it's super challenging, it's super frustrating, depressing at times. Take a breath, step back, see the progress we've made and realize the inputs that went into that progress. We have the resources to do a lot - find a way to invest in advocacy in a way that makes sense for you."

--
High Spirits is brought to you by Vertosa and Wolf Meyer.

Your hosts are Ben Larson and AnnaRae Grabstein.

Follow High Spirits on LinkedIn.

We'd love to hear your thoughts. Who would you like to see on the show? What topics would you like to have us cover?

Visit our website www.highspirits.media and listen to all of our past shows.

THANK YOU to our audience. Your engagement encourages us to keep bringing you these thought-provoking conversations.

Remember to always stay curious, stay informed, and most importantly, keep your spirits high.

Send us a text

Rama Mayo, co-founder of Hall of Flowers, shares how he transformed his experience in music, art, and fashion into creating one of cannabis's most respected trade shows focused on high-quality brand and buyer connections.

• Building successful cannabis brands requires clear mission, vision, and values as foundation
• The tension between "money people" and "cannabis operators" creates challenges that require mutual respect to overcome
• Cannabis companies need both business expertise and plant knowledge to succeed long-term
• Mentorship from industry leaders like Shep Gordon provided the confidence to become a cannabis thought leader
• Hall of Flowers expanded from California to Toronto and now to New York, adapting to each market's unique challenges
• Cannabis events need careful curation to maintain value—Hall of Flowers deliberately limits exhibitors to ensure quality
• Daily operations in cannabis are like "The Walking Dead"—new unexpected challenges arise constantly
• The East Coast cannabis market resembles California's market from 6-7 years ago
• For cannabis events to create real value, they must focus on facilitating meaningful business connections
• Perseverance is the essential quality for anyone looking to succeed in the cannabis industry

--
High Spirits is brought to you by Vertosa and Wolf Meyer.

Your hosts are Ben Larson and AnnaRae Grabstein.

Follow High Spirits on LinkedIn.

We'd love to hear your thoughts. Who would you like to see on the show? What topics would you like to have us cover?

Visit our website www.highspirits.media and listen to all of our past shows.

THANK YOU to our audience. Your engagement encourages us to keep bringing you these thought-provoking conversations.

Remember to always stay curious, stay informed, and most importantly, keep your spirits high.

Send us a text

A hundred episodes in, and the journey has only just begun. This milestone celebration of High Spirits offers a candid look into what we've learned about cannabis entrepreneurship, regulation, and the future of this evolving industry.

When we first started recording our conversations with friends in the cannabis space, we couldn't have predicted the wealth of knowledge that would emerge. Now, as industry veterans share that our show has brought them hope during challenging times, we're reminded of why we press record each week – to create a community where cannabis entrepreneurs don't have to feel alone.

Our Ask Me Anything format yielded thoughtful questions that cut to the heart of today's cannabis landscape. What would we wish for if a genie could fix cannabis regulations? For AnnaRae, it's full federal descheduling paired with a tiered retail model that honors dispensary pioneers while expanding access through conventional channels. Ben took a more incremental approach, advocating for cannabinoids to be recognized as their own unique category in federal regulations rather than trying to fit them into existing frameworks.

When discussing which states offer the best cannabis business opportunities, we acknowledged a difficult truth – none are truly set up for long-term profitability by traditional standards. Yet some markets like Maryland, New Mexico, and Illinois present better conditions with their constrained license models and tax reform momentum. We caution against markets with unrealistic valuation hype and suggest looking for indicators like wholesale pricing stability and retail density before expansion.

The conversation turned emotional when addressing the struggles of legacy farmers in California. These pioneers who built the industry now find themselves crushed by over-taxation and over-regulation. Our proposed solutions include tax reform, ending local control barriers, and potentially implementing programmatic canopy caps tied to market demand – controversial perhaps, but potentially necessary to protect the value of the plant.

Looking forward to the next decade, we debated whether traditional retail channels would eventually overtake dispensaries. Will normalization mean beverages and edibles in grocery stores while dispensaries remain for high-potency products? The answers might surprise you.

What questions do you have about the cannabis industry? Let us know what topics you'd like us to explore in our next hundred episodes as we continue helping you stay curious, informed, and keeping your spirits high.

--
High Spirits is brought to you by Vertosa and Wolf Meyer.

Your hosts are Ben Larson and AnnaRae Grabstein.

Follow High Spirits on LinkedIn.

We'd love to hear your thoughts. Who would you like to see on the show? What topics would you like to have us cover?

Visit our website www.highspirits.media and listen to all of our past shows.

THANK YOU to our audience. Your engagement encourages us to keep bringing you these thought-provoking conversations.

Remember to always stay curious, stay informed, and most importantly, keep your spirits high.

Send us a text

Mack Hueber from Ayrloom shares the remarkable story of how a 114-year-old apple orchard transformed into New York's leading cannabis brand while navigating the complex regulatory landscape of hemp and THC beverages.

• Ayrloom emerged from Beak & Skiff, a century-old family-run apple orchard that expanded into cider, spirits, coffee, and eventually hemp and cannabis
• Mack explains how the company leverages its beverage production expertise to create innovative cannabis products like their signature Honeycrisp THC drink
• New York's cannabis regulations recently changed, potentially impacting over 100 dispensaries due to school/church proximity rules
• The three-tier distribution model in alcohol provides insights for how the cannabis beverage market might effectively develop
• Cannabis beverages are gaining mainstream acceptance with Mack noting they've gone from receiving hate mail to thank you notes
• Mack's leadership approach involves bringing in experts from outside cannabis who bring specialized knowledge while learning about the plant
• The future of cannabis beverages includes innovations like de-alcoholized hard cider infused with THC and CBC
• Mack remains optimistic about cannabis beverages, stating "the category is here to stay" and "we're still in the first inning"

Submit your questions for our 100th episode by going to highspiritspod.com/ask - your submission might end up on the podcast!

--
High Spirits is brought to you by Vertosa and Wolf Meyer.

Your hosts are Ben Larson and AnnaRae Grabstein.

Follow High Spirits on LinkedIn.

We'd love to hear your thoughts. Who would you like to see on the show? What topics would you like to have us cover?

Visit our website www.highspirits.media and listen to all of our past shows.

THANK YOU to our audience. Your engagement encourages us to keep bringing you these thought-provoking conversations.

Remember to always stay curious, stay informed, and most importantly, keep your spirits high.

Send us a text

Kim Gomez shares how her TikTok experiment with her mother turned into Soberish, a multi-million dollar online marketplace for hemp-based and non-alcoholic social alternatives without spending on advertising. Her accidental business journey provides insights into serving cannabis-curious consumers who are intimidated by dispensaries but eager to try low-dose products.

• Building a marketplace to curate quality hemp products after discovering that half the products brands sent were "garbage"
• Creating an education-first approach for customers completely new to cannabis who are nervous about getting too high
• Developing the Soberish Sampler Box where 67% of customers return to purchase full-size products
• Growing from $1 million in first-year revenue without ads to a projected $7 million this year with paid acquisition
• Navigating the complex regulatory landscape across states while maintaining seamless customer experiences
• Implementing an API-based dropship model that connects directly with brand inventories for real-time updates
• Targeting the untapped demographic of professional women in their 40s looking for alcohol alternatives
• Advocating for appropriate dosing (2-4mg) that new consumers actually enjoy versus the 10mg+ products dominating retail

Find Kimmy Gomez on social media platforms like Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook at Kimmy Gomez, or connect with her on LinkedIn where she shares industry insights and business tips.

--
High Spirits is brought to you by Vertosa and Wolf Meyer.

Your hosts are Ben Larson and AnnaRae Grabstein.

Follow High Spirits on LinkedIn.

We'd love to hear your thoughts. Who would you like to see on the show? What topics would you like to have us cover?

Visit our website www.highspirits.media and listen to all of our past shows.

THANK YOU to our audience. Your engagement encourages us to keep bringing you these thought-provoking conversations.

Remember to always stay curious, stay informed, and most importantly, keep your spirits high.