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This week, we welcome back Dominic Day & George Kruis to the show, international Rugby players, and Co-Founders of wellness brand for athletes - fourfive CBD.
We examine the changing attitudes towards cannabis in professional sport, how CBD can be used to aid recovery from sports injuries, and how regulators view the substance.
→ View full show notes, summary, and access resources here:
https://www.canverse.global/shownotes/e132
About George Kruis
George Kruis is a professional rugby player with 12 years of experience playing International and club level rugby. His love for the sport and his exceptional skills have led him to not only gain three European titles and four Premiership trophies for English Premiership club Saracens; but also achieve over 45 caps for England during 2 World Cups and a British and Irish Lions tour.
About Dominic Day
Dom Day was a professional rugby player for 14 years. He played in the 2015 Rugby World Cup for Wales, and has over 250 top flight games to his name. His long rugby career has taken him around the globe to places including Australia and Japan, finishing his career as a proud member of the English Premiership club Saracens where he fell in love with George & CBD.
Quotables
‘Nutrition is a hard market to break into… you have to be a cut above the rest’ 09:50
‘There is a necessity to look beyond painkillers and opioids’ 17:50
Resources
Visit fourfive CBD’s Website: https://fourfive.com/
Join Dominic on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dominic-day-7a8a7770/
Join George on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-kruis-400032b9/
Follow fourfive CBD on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fourfiveuk/?hl=en
❇️ Get in touch at https://www.thecannabisconversation.co.uk
Connect with Nikita Cretu on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikita-cretu-b24b83a8/
Connect with Thomas Gray on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-c-s-gray/
🔋 The Cannabis Conversation is powered by Lumino - Europe's leading HR and Recruitment Agency specialising in building high performance teams for the legal cannabis industry. They work in three main verticals: Commercial, Medical and Plant-Facing. From HR advisory and executive search services to hiring support for full-time placements, consultants, or contract staff, Lumino has helped hundreds of companies of all sizes in the industry scale sustainably through the right people.
🌱 Need support finding the right talent to GROW your business? Book a call with our recruitment team at: https://calendly.com/d/zvg-y2d-tgc
This week, we’re joined by Sibusiso Xaba, Co-founder and CEO of Africa Cannabis Advisory Group (ACA Group) - investment, advisory, consulting, research and distribution company focusing on the African cannabis market.
Together, we take a look at the current state of the African cannabis industry, including the factors and countries accelerating its development, and how the cannabis industry can help Africa to realise its economic potential.
→ View full show notes, summary, and access resources here:
https://www.canverse.global/shownotes/e131
About Sibusiso Xaba
Sibusiso Xaba is the co-founder and CEO of Africa Cannabis Advisory Group (ACA Group), a leading services provider specialised in the medical cannabis and hemp industries. Sibusiso is a seasoned finance professional, having worked at Goldman Sachs and Investec in London for over 8 years. He has extensive experience covering Africa, specialising in capital markets, debt structuring and syndication, venture capital fundraising, hedging solutions and portfolio management. Sibusiso is a Chartered Financial Analyst and holds a Business Science Degree from the University of Cape Town. He is also an Allan Gray fellow.
Quotables
‘Once I had realised what cannabis really represented in terms of its ability to address healthcare challenges, wellness and mental health channelnges, industrialisation, and sustainability - I was sold. I became the biggest evangelist after that‘ 04:15
‘Any progress is good progress’ 12:5
❇️ Get in touch at https://www.thecannabisconversation.co.uk
Connect with Nikita Cretu on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikita-cretu-b24b83a8/
Connect with Thomas Gray on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-c-s-gray/
🔋 The Cannabis Conversation is powered by Lumino - Europe's leading HR and Recruitment Agency specialising in building high performance teams for the legal cannabis industry. They work in three main verticals: Commercial, Medical and Plant-Facing. From HR advisory and executive search services to hiring support for full-time placements, consultants, or contract staff, Lumino has helped hundreds of companies of all sizes in the industry scale sustainably through the right people.
🌱 Need support finding the right talent to GROW your business? Book a call with our recruitment team at: https://calendly.com/d/zvg-y2d-tgc
This week, we’re joined by Jaspreet Grewal & Sabrina Ramkellawan, founders of Knowde Group - Canadian contract research organisation and hybrid consultancy specialising in plant-based therapeutics and psychedelics.
In this episode, we explore the complexities of clinical trials within the cannabis industry, including barriers to entry, the three phases of clinical trials, how to navigate the regulatory landscape, and access to funding.
About Jaspreet Grewal MBA, MSc, CCRP
Jaspreet Grewal is an accomplished clinician, researcher and venture partner bringing over 15 years of experience to companies focused on the Life Sciences. Throughout her career, she has held various positions with increasing responsibilities in various healthcare roles resulting in a broad skillset and robust healthcare and investment network while working in Canada, the US, the UK, the Cayman Islands, and Bermuda. Jaspreet holds a Master’s in Clinical Vision Sciences from Georgetown University, an Executive Certificate in Public Health from Harvard University and an MBA from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
She is considered an expert in Healthcare and Regulatory Strategy and is a passionate advocate for building Alberta’s Life Science ecosystem. She has successfully merged her expertise in innovation, research and finance to become a dynamic leader not only nationally but internationally.
Her current roles and affiliations include:
About Sabrina Ramkellawan
Sabrina has over 20 years of clinical research experience in pharma, medical devices, natural health products and plant-based therapeutics including cannabinoids. She has held positions at or advised some top pharmaceutical, cannabis, psychedelic, and research companies. Sabrina has conducted and supported 11 cannabis research studies to date. She has previous experience leading operations at large scale global Contract Research Organisations including INC Research (now Syneos Health) as well as building successful speciality clinics. Sabrina is also passionate about education and has helped to build and currently teaches the first Certified Cannabis Educator Program at Michener Institute of Education at UHN. She has been and continues to be a speaker in the area of research and plant-based medicine. Prior to her role at Knowde Group, she was the VP of Clinical Affairs at TerrAscend Canada which is a licensed producer. In her role as Chief Operating Officer at Knowde Group, she is focused on all aspects of conducting research specialising in plant-based therapeutics and psychedelics.
Resources
Join Sabrina on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sabrinaramkellawan/?originalSubdomain=ca
Join Jaspreet on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jkgrewal/
Follow Knowde Group on Twitter: https://twitter.com/knowdegroup
Knowde Group’s Website: https://www.knowdegroup.com/
❇️ Get in touch at https://www.thecannabisconversation.co.uk
Connect with Nikita Cretu on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikita-cretu-b24b83a8/
Connect with Thomas Gray on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-c-s-gray/
🔋 The Cannabis Conversation is powered by Lumino - Europe's leading HR and Recruitment Agency specialising in building high performance teams for the legal cannabis industry. They work in three main verticals: Commercial, Medical and Plant-Facing. From HR advisory and executive search services to hiring support for full-time placements, consultants, or contract staff, Lumino has helped hundreds of companies of all sizes in the industry scale sustainably through the right people.
🌱 Need support finding the right talent to GROW your business? Book a call with our recruitment team at: https://calendly.com/d/zvg-y2d-tgc
This week, we’re joined by Dr. Paola Cubillos - Colombian-Canadian integrative medicine physician, Medical Cannabis doctor and educator.
We investigate the existing theory and evidence base behind the concept of ‘The Entourage Effect’ as coined by Professor Raphael Mechoulam, alongside the data we need to be able to validate the hypothesis.
→ View full show notes, summary, and access resources here:
https://www.canverse.global/shownotes/e129
About Dr. Paola Cubillos
Dr. Paola Cubillos is a Colombian-Canadian physician, who specializes in integrative medicine. Dr. Cubillos is a graduate from the Universidad del Rosario in Colombia, and holds a postgraduate degree from the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine in Canada.
In addition to her clinical practice, Dr. Paola has worked in the research field, focusing on broadening the knowledge base in relation to medical cannabis evidence-based applications. She currently offers independent consulting services on research and medical affairs to medical cannabis producers.
Dr. Cubillos is a recognized national and international lecturer on issues related to the evidence-based use of medical cannabis and the ethical implications of medical cannabis use and research. She is faculty of several medical cannabis diplomas offered in several universities and independent organizations in South America, such as Universidad del Rosario in Colombia, Universidad de Rosario in Argentina, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia in Perú, Edcannamed in Ecuador and CAMEDA in Argentina. Dr. Cubillos is also part of the peer review committee of the Journal of Cannabinoid Medicine.
Dr. Paola has been president of the research ethics committee of the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, Canada and of the research ethics committee of the Clínica Las Américas in Medellín, Colombia, and is currently a member of the Research Ethics Committee of the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine. Dr. Cubillos is a founding member and member of the board of directors and the scientific leader for the Pro Cannabis Colombia Association- Procannacol, and is a member of the Board of Directors of the Asociación Médica Colombiana de Cannabis Medicinal - ASOMEDCCAM.
Quotables
“We cannot pretend that by learning or knowing the function of the endocannabinoid system, we can expect cannabis to work in the same way” 10:20
“It is the responsibility of everybody in the industry to collect as much standardised data from these products as possible so we can keep feeding [the amount of] data” 30:40
❇️ Get in touch at https://www.thecannabisconversation.co.uk
Connect with Nikita Cretu on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikita-cretu-b24b83a8/
Connect with Thomas Gray on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-c-s-gray/
🔋 The Cannabis Conversation is powered by Lumino - Europe's leading HR and Recruitment Agency specialising in building high performance teams for the legal cannabis industry. They work in three main verticals: Commercial, Medical and Plant-Facing. From HR advisory and executive search services to hiring support for full-time placements, consultants, or contract staff, Lumino has helped hundreds of companies of all sizes in the industry scale sustainably through the right people.
🌱 Need support finding the right talent to GROW your business? Book a call with our recruitment team at: https://calendly.com/d/zvg-y2d-tgc
This week, we’re joined by Shahbaaz Kara-Virani, Canadian Sales Leader for dutchie - a technology platform providing e-commerce solutions for dispensaries. Shahbaaz is also a Founding Member of the Ontario Cannabis Policy Council.
Our discussion explores the complex history of the Canadian medical cannabis market, the blurry line between recreational and medical cannabis use, and where the illicit market fits in.
→ View full show notes, summary, and access resources here:
https://www.canverse.global/shownotes/e128
About Shahbaaz Kara-Virani
Shahbaaz's mission is to help create global accessibility in the cannabis industry. He is a community builder who focuses on facilitating discussions between retailers, brands, cultivators, budtenders, and everything in between. Currently, he is the Canadian Leader at dutchie, and a founding member of the Ontario Cannabis Policy Council, helping shape cannabis legislation in Canada's most populous province. Prior to joining dutchie, Shahbaaz spent six years at Salesforce and 18 months as the Head of Sales at Lift, a key player in helping drive the early days of Canadian Cannabis. In addition, he is a co-founder/player on the Canadian Beach Soccer team, and the cannabis channel moderator for the Pavillion.
Quotables
‘The biggest gap in our industry is… accessing reliable information’ 19:45
‘[When recreational cannabis was legalised] everyone forgot about the medicinal market’ 20:00
‘There isn’t much of a difference between recreational and medical products’ 23:20
Resources
Join Shahbaaz on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shahbaaz-kara-virani-51936b30/?originalSubdomain=ca
dutchie’s Website: https://dutchie.com/
Follow dutchie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/getdutchie/
Follow dutchie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wearedutchie/
❇️ Get in touch at https://www.thecannabisconversation.co.uk
Connect with Nikita Cretu on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikita-cretu-b24b83a8/
Connect with Thomas Gray on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-c-s-gray/
🔋 The Cannabis Conversation is powered by Lumino - Europe's leading HR and Recruitment Agency specialising in building high performance teams for the legal cannabis industry. They work in three main verticals: Commercial, Medical and Plant-Facing. From HR advisory and executive search services to hiring support for full-time placements, consultants, or contract staff, Lumino has helped hundreds of companies of all sizes in the industry scale sustainably through the right people.
🌱 Need support finding the right talent to GROW your business? Book a call with our recruitment team at: https://calendly.com/d/zvg-y2d-tgc
This week, we’re joined by Dr. Sandra Carrillo - clinical practitioner and Professor of Medical Cannabis Research & Education at The University of Panama.
We discuss the use of medical cannabis, the conditions it has been proven to treat successfully, and the challenges involved in gathering evidence for its efficacy.
→ View full show notes, summary, and access resources here:
https://www.canverse.global/shownotes/e127
Quotables
‘If we don’t educate doctors and healthcare practitioners about the applications of cannabinoids and the endocannabinoid system… medical cannabis will not be moving forward’ 04:50
‘Through education, we can achieve the destigmatisation of the use of medical cannabis’ 05:48
‘Medical cannabis is redefining the future of medicine’ 11:20
‘There is a lot of potential we can unleash when we do proper research’ 32:05
Resources
Join Sandra on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandracarrillomd
Sandra’s Website: http://sandracarrillomd.com/
Follow Sandra on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drsandracarrillo/?hl=en
Follow Sandra on Twitter: https://twitter.com/md_carrillo?lang=en
❇️ Get in touch at https://www.thecannabisconversation.co.uk
Connect with Nikita Cretu on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikita-cretu-b24b83a8/
Connect with Thomas Gray on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-c-s-gray/
🔋 The Cannabis Conversation is powered by Lumino - Europe's leading HR and Recruitment Agency specialising in building high performance teams for the legal cannabis industry. They work in three main verticals: Commercial, Medical and Plant-Facing. From HR advisory and executive search services to hiring support for full-time placements, consultants, or contract staff, Lumino has helped hundreds of companies of all sizes in the industry scale sustainably through the right people.
🌱 Need support finding the right talent to GROW your business? Book a call with our recruitment team at: https://calendly.com/d/zvg-y2d-tgc
This week, we’re joined by Marion Mariathasan, CEO and Co-Founder of Simplifya - leading Cannabis Compliance Software provider based in the USA.
We explore the importance of being legally compliant for licensed cannabis businesses, alongside how Simplifya’s acclaimed suite of compliance solutions can take the guesswork out of complex, industry-specific regulations.
→ View full show notes, summary, and access resources here:
https://www.canverse.global/shownotes/e126
About Marion Mariathasan
Marion Mariathasan is the CEO of Simplifya, the cannabis industry’s leading regulatory and operational compliance software platform. The company’s suite of products takes the guesswork out of confusing and continually changing state and local regulations. Featuring SOPs, badge tracking, document storage, tailored reporting and employee accountability features, the company’s Custom Audit software reduces the time clients spend on compliance by up to 45 percent.
Marion is also a serial entrepreneur, who has founded, invested in or been an advisor to more than a dozen start-ups. He is a regular guest speaker at events such as Denver Start-Up Week, Colorado University's program on social entrepreneurship and the United Nations Global Accelerator Initiative. Mariathasan studied Architecture and Computer Science at the University of Kansas and Computer Information Systems and holds a minor in Business Management at Emporia State University. He enjoys time with his family, cooking spicy Sri Lankan cuisine, traveling, and connecting with people.
Quotables
‘When you stop innovating and you stop progressing, you’re not serving yourself or your clients’ 10:00
Resources
Follow Marion on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marionmariathasan/
Follow Simplifya on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/simplifya/
Simplifya’s Website: https://www.simplifya.com/
❇️ Get in touch at https://www.thecannabisconversation.co.uk
Connect with Nikita Cretu on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikita-cretu-b24b83a8/
Connect with Thomas Gray on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-c-s-gray/
🔋 The Cannabis Conversation is powered by Lumino - Europe's leading HR and Recruitment Agency specialising in building high performance teams for the legal cannabis industry. They work in three main verticals: Commercial, Medical and Plant-Facing. From HR advisory and executive search services to hiring support for full-time placements, consultants, or contract staff, Lumino has helped hundreds of companies of all sizes in the industry scale sustainably through the right people.
🌱 Need support finding the right talent to GROW your business? Book a call with our recruitment team at: https://calendly.com/d/zvg-y2d-tgc
This week, we’re joined by Sébastien Béguerie, entrepreneur and founder of Kanavape, Alpha-Cat and Golden Buds.
Together we examine the methodologies and tests involved in the quality control of cannabis, their challenges, and the barriers to achieving consistent quality. Sébastien also shares his reflections on the Kanavape case - a significant milestone for the European CBD industry.
→ View full show notes, summary, and access resources here:
https://www.canverse.global/shownotes/e125
About Sébastien Béguerie
Sebastien is one of Europe’s leading experts in medical cannabis and CBD with more than 10 years of experience in cannabis production, regulation, education, and advocacy.
Sébastien Béguerie holds an MSc in Plant Sciences, from Wageningen University Research in The Netherlands where he was kindly sponsored by Bedrocan. In 2009, he co-founded the first national medical Cannabis French patient association - "l' Union Francophone pour les Cannabinoids en Médecine” (UFCM). Together with the association, Sébastien organises the international medical Cannabis conference in Strasbourg.
In 2011 Sébastien founded his Alpha-cat in Europe, who manufacture cannabinoid testing kits and CBD products. In 2015, Sébastien created and launched the famous Kanavape brand in Europe which was the first CBD -cigarette to be sold in the region. In 2020 Sebastien started Golden Buds a new CBD brand mixing Californian CBD product innovation, with French luxury.
Resources
Follow Sébastien on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sebastienbeguerie/?originalSubdomain=fr
Follow Sébastien on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alphacat_420/?hl=en
Golden Buds Website: https://www.goldenbuds.eu/
Alpha-Cat Website: https://www.alpha-cat.org/
❇️ Get in touch at https://www.thecannabisconversation.co.uk
Connect with Nikita Cretu on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikita-cretu-b24b83a8/
Connect with Thomas Gray on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-c-s-gray/
🔋 The Cannabis Conversation is powered by Lumino - Europe's leading HR and Recruitment Agency specialising in building high performance teams for the legal cannabis industry. They work in three main verticals: Commercial, Medical and Plant-Facing. From HR advisory and executive search services to hiring support for full-time placements, consultants, or contract staff, Lumino has helped hundreds of companies of all sizes in the industry scale sustainably through the right people.
🌱 Need support finding the right talent to GROW your business? Book a call with our recruitment team at: https://calendly.com/d/zvg-y2d-tgc
This week, we’re joined by Rebekah, Hannah, Fran and Jolyn - the senior management team at cannabis consumer goods firm, South West Brands.
In this episode we explore the firm’s unique community-centric, value driven approach to brand building within consumer goods, upcoming opportunities for growth for cannabis brands in the health and wellness space, and the challenges of marketing CBD brands.
→ View full show notes, summary, and access resources here:
https://www.canverse.global/shownotes/e124
About South West Brands
South West Brands is laser focused on monetising the ‘last mile’ of the cannabis supply chain (brand, route to market and consumer engagement), whilst raising the bar – away from the fledgling early stage CBD players that currently operate in the market place, to a new level of powerful and pioneering consumer brands with a global reach and an ability to truly touch people. With a world class team of experts in cannabis / CBD, brand building, consumer goods, licensing, value creation and finance unrivalled anywhere in the CBD industry, South West Brands is at the forefront of building the next generation of cannabis consumer brands.
Quotables
[CBD] is a huge opportunity, which I think is the most exciting thing to happen to consumer products in our lifetime. 09:05
[A brand only works when] you have something which looks beautiful but it is powered by value and purpose. 29:00
Resources
South West Brands Website: http://southwestbrands.co/
Follow South West Brands on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/south-west-brands-ltd/
Follow South West Brands on LinkedIn: https://www.instagram.com/southwestbrands/?hl=en
❇️ Get in touch at https://www.thecannabisconversation.co.uk
Connect with Nikita Cretu on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikita-cretu-b24b83a8/
Connect with Thomas Gray on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-c-s-gray/
🔋 The Cannabis Conversation is powered by Lumino - Europe's leading HR and Recruitment Agency specialising in building high performance teams for the legal cannabis industry. They work in three main verticals: Commercial, Medical and Plant-Facing. From HR advisory and executive search services to hiring support for full-time placements, consultants, or contract staff, Lumino has helped hundreds of companies of all sizes in the industry scale sustainably through the right people.
🌱 Need support finding the right talent to GROW your business? Book a call with our recruitment team at: https://calendly.com/d/zvg-y2d-tgc
This week, we’re joined by Darwin Millard (aka. ‘The Spock of Cannabis’) - Cannabis Industry Consultant, thought leader, Executive Committee Member of ASTM International’s Technical Commitee.
In this episode we explore why standards are needed to regulate the cannabis industry, including how they are set, defined and contribute to consumer safety.
→ View full show notes, summary, and access resources here:
https://www.canverse.global/shownotes/e123
About Darwin Millard
Darwin Millard is an active member of ASTM International’s technical committee D37 on Cannabis which is an international group dedicated to the development of voluntary consensus standards for the global cannabis/hemp industry. Darwin is the Subcommittee Vicechair of D37.04 on Processing and Handling of Cannabis and Cannabis-derived Products, and the Co-chair of Subcommittee D37.07 on Industrial Hemp.
He has been active in cannabis policy change and an advocate of the cannabis plant for over a decade. Darwin Millard specializes in mechanical and solvent based extraction methodologies for isolating highly volatile terpenophenolic secondary metabolites from botanicals. For the past 15-years, Darwin has been focusing on the extraction and manufacture of nutraceutical products comprising of phytocannabinoids and other bioactive constituents from the cannabis plant. He works with clients to design and implement cost-effective built-for-purpose phytocannabinoid processing and herbal product manufacturing solutions.
Quotables
Cannabis is an industry that is [going to be] sticking around, whether you’re talking about the marijuana or the hemp side of the coin. It's a vibrant industry that is only going to be growing. The more we can make that legitimate by providing a foundational framework with standards, the easier it’ll be for people to take it on as a legitimate career path. 03:45
Resources
Join Darwin Millard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darwinmillard/
TSOC Consultancy: https://thespockofcannabis.com/
Follow Darwin on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thespockofcannabis/
❇️ Get in touch at https://www.thecannabisconversation.co.uk
Connect with Nikita Cretu on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikita-cretu-b24b83a8/
Connect with Thomas Gray on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-c-s-gray/
🔋 The Cannabis Conversation is powered by Lumino - Europe's leading HR and Recruitment Agency specialising in building high performance teams for the legal cannabis industry. They work in three main verticals: Commercial, Medical and Plant-Facing. From HR advisory and executive search services to hiring support for full-time placements, consultants, or contract staff, Lumino has helped hundreds of companies of all sizes in the industry scale sustainably through the right people.
🌱 Need support finding the right talent to GROW your business? Book a call with our recruitment team at: https://calendly.com/d/zvg-y2d-tgc
From the publisher's feed
The Cannabis Conversation is the leading English-speaking podcast exploring the legal cannabis industry from a European perspective.
Founded in 2019 by commercial lawyer Anuj Desai, the show…