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AnnaRae Grabstein and economist Andrew Livingston explore the economic impact of cannabis legalization across America and examines the complex regulatory challenges facing both cannabis and hemp businesses in today's market. Through analysis of state markets, policy trends, and business dynamics, Andrew reveals why some markets thrive while others struggle to compete with illicit alternatives.

• Over $24.7 billion in cannabis tax revenue generated since adult-use legalization began
• For cannabis markets to succeed, they need the "three A's": accessibility, affordability, and assortment of products
• Texas attempting modest medical cannabis expansion while simultaneously banning hemp-derived THC products
• The "alcoholization" of hemp beverages would integrate products into alcohol distribution systems but limit direct-to-consumer sales
• Court cases like Canna Provisions vs. Garland may create a judicial path to cannabis reform alongside legislative efforts
• The Farm Bill remains in continuing resolution, creating ongoing regulatory uncertainty for hemp businesses
• Indigenous tribal governments represent an overlooked laboratory of democracy with over 100 cannabis and hemp programs

Look out for Andrew Livingston's forthcoming report on indigenous cannabis programs across the United States. Indigenous communities have significant experience regulating products like tobacco, gaming and alcohol, providing valuable insights for cannabis regulation.

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

Your hosts are Ben Larson and AnnaRae Grabstein.

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

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Cannabis industry experts discuss the stark contrast between Texas's recent ban on hemp-derived THC products and New York's efforts to strengthen its regulatory framework through a new track and trace program. Mark Hauser shares insights on market maturity, regulatory challenges, and the uncertain future facing both hemp and cannabis businesses.

• Texas just passed SB3, banning hemp THC products despite an estimated $8 billion marketplace
• Lieutenant Governor leveraged teacher wages and school funding to push prohibition against public opinion
• Texas Compassionate Use Program remains woefully inadequate with only about 8,000 patients served statewide
• New York implementing track and trace starting in August to address product diversion concerns
• Industry faces fundamental challenge of parallel regulatory structures for "hemp" and "non-hemp" cannabis
• Successful operators focus on tight margins, compliance excellence, and clear market positioning
• Mark predicts more debt restructuring for cannabis companies and a potential Farm Bill passage
• The cannabis industry may evolve into an "hourglass shape" with large players at top, craft producers at bottom
• Regulatory chaos at state level may be necessary to eventually drive rational federal policy
• Yiddish wisdom: "Trying to understand the cannabis industry logically is like trying to pick up a dead body with cups"

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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.

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Convenience stores are positioned to introduce cannabis to a new wave of consumers with their unmatched retail footprint of 150,000 locations nationwide and accessibility to 90% of Americans within a 10-minute drive.

• Convenience stores have evolved from selling "gas, cokes, and smokes" to embracing new categories as tobacco sales decline
• Lower-dose (5mg) THC products outperform higher-dose options in convenience, indicating these stores attract cannabis newcomers
• The National Association of Convenience Stores now allows hemp-derived THC beverage companies to join as supplier partners
• Convenience retailers process more ID checks daily than the TSA, with strong age-verification technology to ensure compliance
• C-stores sell mostly single-serve beverages (over 60% of cold vault purchases), creating perfect entry points for cannabis trial
• Nielsen data tracking THC beverage sales in convenience shows 345% growth as the category establishes itself
• Brands succeeding in convenience demonstrate both brand leadership and category leadership with educational merchandising
• Legislative challenges remain with some states attempting to exclude convenience from hemp retail
• The convenience channel could become the largest retailer of hemp-derived cannabinoids with its established infrastructure
• Industry experts predict major convenience retailers will fully embrace THC products within the next six months

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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

Jesse Redmond, Head of Investor Relations and Business Development at Leaf Brands, brings his unique perspective as a former Wall Street investor and cannabis dispensary owner to discuss the challenging landscape of public cannabis companies. His insights reveal why certain companies are weathering the storm better than others and how innovative strategies like Bitcoin treasury reserves and strategic farm investments are positioning some for future growth despite industry headwinds.

• Cannabis public markets have experienced a brutal 95% decline since February 2021, creating unprecedented challenges for companies and investors
• Successful cannabis companies focus on operational excellence rather than regulation-dependent growth strategies
• Leaf Brands is developing a 187-acre cannabis farm expected to dramatically reduce production costs from $20-40/lb to approximately $10/lb
• First cannabis company to implement a Bitcoin treasury strategy to strengthen their balance sheet against dollar devaluation
• The high cost of maintaining public company status ($80-100K monthly) is driving some cannabis companies to consider going private
• State-by-state regulatory changes create complex strategic decisions, particularly around hemp/THCA cultivation versus traditional cannabis
• Personal connection to cannabis's medical benefits keeps many professionals committed despite financial challenges
• Investors should be selective rather than taking a "buy the basket" approach, focusing on companies with strong balance sheets and clear growth catalysts

If you enjoyed this episode, please drop us a review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen. Until next time, stay curious, stay informed, and keep your spirits high.

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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

Ben and AnnaRae explore the latest cannabis market developments across multiple states and at the federal level, highlighting both progress and persistent challenges. They dissect New York's comprehensive market report showing local brands outperforming multi-state operators while California cannabis businesses organize against impending tax increases.

• Ben shares insights from Atlantic City's MJ Unpacked conference where New Jersey operators display optimism while cautious veterans observe from experience
• AnnaRae visits Coastal Sun Farm, a certified organic cannabis and blueberry farm embracing traditional agricultural techniques and environmental stewardship 
• Federal developments include DEA nominee Terrence Cole stating cannabis rescheduling would be "one of his first priorities" despite previous anti-marijuana stance
• New York's cannabis market shows improvement with 513 brands operating and top five NY-based companies capturing 21% of sales
• California cannabis businesses rally against excise tax increase from 15% to 19%, with Los Angeles dispensaries reportedly considering a tax boycott
• Canadian company Organigram acquires beverage brand Collective Projects, highlighting international opportunities unavailable to US companies
• SBA confirms hemp businesses remain eligible for federal loans while marijuana businesses are excluded regardless of state legality

Join NCIA lobby days in Washington DC on May 13-15 to engage with lawmakers and help shape cannabis policy.

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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

Kris Walker from Hoodie Analytics joins us to decode cannabis market trends following 4/20, revealing how competing holidays, demographic shifts, and pricing strategies impacted this year's sales performance. Data shows 4/20 sales dipped 12% year-over-year, highlighting the industry's need for smarter decision-making beyond reflexive discounting.

• 4/20 fell on Sunday this year, competing with Easter and Passover celebrations
• Retailers spread promotions across the entire week rather than concentrating on a single day
• Demographic differences showed younger urban areas maintained stronger 4/20 performance than suburban regions
• The 45-54 age demographic (original 4/20 celebrators) saw a 20% drop in participation
• Price compression continues to challenge industry profitability despite oversupply opportunities
• Retailers can improve profitability by maintaining consistent pricing despite lower wholesale costs
• Premium pricing strategies work when brands create emotional connections with consumers
• Effective category management helps brands become trusted retail partners
• Customer segmentation enables more strategic resource allocation and personalized engagement
• Distribution, shelving, merchandising and pricing (DSMP) are the key leading indicators of sales success

Kris Walker is the Co-Founder, President, and Chief Commercial Officer at Hoodie Analytics, where he leads customer acquisition, product strategy, and the delivery of data-driven insights to some of the cannabis industry's top operators. With a career rooted in CPG, retail, and global analytics — including leadership roles at Nielsen and Big Chalk Analytics — Kris brings a wealth of experience in turning data into action. His mission at Hoodie is clear: help brands and retailers make smarter decisions, drive growth, and maximize ROI in one of the most complex consumer landscapes today.

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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

Mitchell Osak, veteran cannabis consultant and founder of Cannabis Management Review, joins us to share insights on navigating the complex cannabis business landscape and finding success through fundamental business principles.

• Hemp and cannabis policy debates highlight the challenges of finding middle ground in an increasingly polarized environment
• Cannabis business dynamics parallel historical precedents from Renaissance trading states to modern boom-bust cycles
• Companies that focus on core fundamentals like capital efficiency and operational excellence are weathering industry challenges best
• Successful cannabis leaders like Mike DiGiulio (Village Farms) and Zach George (SNDL) demonstrate the value of understanding your business and strong governance
• Execution matters more than strategy in today's competitive cannabis market
• Pricing strategy remains a critical challenge with many companies trapped in a race-to-the-bottom dynamic
• Corporate culture suffers when profitability remains elusive
• The global cannabis market offers promising alternative models to North American approaches

Be brave. This industry is getting harder before it gets better, but when it improves, it will be amazing. Look at cannabis through clear eyes without rose-colored glasses as it becomes a real industry requiring real business fundamentals.

--
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

Dave Daly, founder of Grav Labs, shares his 20-year journey from creating the original Gravitron in his parents' garage to building an iconic cannabis accessories brand that's now expanding into THC beverages.

• Building a differentiated product with the original all-glass gravity bong in 2004
• Growing through innovation when a simple taster product helped save the company from debt
• Navigating the evolution from a single-product company to a full accessories line
• Making the transition from founder-CEO to bringing on a 50-50 partner
• Creating legal agreements that discourage litigation through requiring neutral arbitration
• Expanding into new categories with a glass-bottled THC beverage that "tastes and feels like you smoked weed"
• Developing distribution strategies through existing smoke shop channels while exploring liquor store opportunities
• Bringing valuable product expertise to the board of a public cannabis company
• Dealing with supply chain challenges from the recent US-China tariff increases

Visit grav.com to try the new Grav cannabis spirit beverage, a full spectrum product that captures the authentic cannabis experience.

--
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

The world of cannabis isn't isolated from global economic shifts—it's deeply embedded in them. When the Trump administration announced sweeping new tariffs against major trading partners, from China to Canada, few analysts considered how these protectionist measures would impact an industry that's already entirely domestic by legal necessity.

In this deep-diving conversation, Ben and Anna Rae unpack the paradox at the heart of cannabis economics: an industry that already achieves the "domestic manufacturing" goal that tariffs supposedly promote, yet still struggles with profitability and scale. The new trade war creates a perfect storm of upward pressure on manufacturing costs while simultaneously dampening consumer confidence and purchasing power.

The ripple effects of these tariffs expose fundamental tensions in the cannabis industry. Labor costs will rise while consumers become more price-conscious. Smaller craft operations will face greater challenges than larger, more efficiently scaled businesses, likely accelerating consolidation. Value products will gain market share as premium offerings struggle to justify higher price points to budget-conscious consumers.

Most importantly, this economic moment highlights the urgent need for regulatory convergence between hemp and cannabis frameworks and the breaking down of state barriers to create true economies of scale. As the hosts note, "If you're in the business of strengthening or building walls, you might be on the wrong side of history."

Whether you're an industry operator navigating these challenging waters or simply curious about how global economic policies affect niche markets, this episode provides critical context for understanding cannabis as both a product category and a business ecosystem. The path forward requires both responding to immediate economic pressures and advocating for sensible policy reform that centers consumer needs while allowing businesses to operate efficiently.

Ready to join the conversation about the future of cannabis in this changing economic landscape? Listen now and discover why smart industry leaders are thinking globally while acting locally.

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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

🌿🎙️ Join us on High Spirits as Ben & AnnaRae dive into a hot topic that's reshaping the landscape of the cannabis beverage industry. As states begin to align hemp beverage regulations with those governing alcohol, the implications for brands, manufacturers, distributors, and consumers are significant. This episode explores the legislative shift that is integrating hemp beverages into the alcohol regulatory framework, spotlighting new challenges and opportunities within the industry, and breaking down some of the common contract language found in this environment.

🚀 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗘𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲: In this discussion, we're joined by Neil M. Willner, Counsel at Vicente LLP. Neil brings his extensive expertise in cannabis regulatory and compliance matters, focusing particularly on the evolving intersection of hemp and regulated marijuana industries. With states like Arkansas, Arizona, Illinois, and several others proposing legislation that would treat hemp beverages similarly to alcohol, Neil will unpack what these changes mean for the future of the industry.

💡 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂'𝗹𝗹 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻:

𝑳𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒔𝒍𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝑳𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒆: An overview of recent state proposals that could redefine hemp beverage regulations.

𝑰𝒎𝒑𝒂𝒄𝒕 𝒐𝒏 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔: How the new regulatory environment might affect everyone from small producers to large distributors.

𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒄 𝑨𝒅𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔: Insight into how companies can navigate and thrive under the new regulations.

𝑭𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔: Expert debate on the long-term effects of these legislative changes on the hemp and broader cannabis markets.

🌟 𝗠𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗡𝗲𝗶𝗹 𝗪𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗻𝗲𝗿: A prominent figure in cannabis law, Neil's work spans regulatory challenges, policy advocacy, and industry compliance. His insights have informed policymakers and industry leaders alike, making him a pivotal voice in discussions about cannabis legislation.

📣 Use code HIGHSPIRITS at kitprint.co to get 10% off.

#HighSpirits #CannabisRegulation #HempBeverages #drinkcannabis

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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.