The Green Peak

Quality Management Systems in cannabis with Andrew Samann, Founder and CEO of Orion GMP Solutions. Orion is a pharmaceutical process engineering firm focusing on the implementation and auditing of internationally harmonized Good Manufacturing Practices and Quality Management Systems in the pharmaceutical, dietary supplement, cosmetic, and cannabis industries. Andrew serves on the Executive Committee of the ASTM International D37 Cannabis Standards Committee, where he is the chairman of the Quality Management Systems Committee.

Strategic advice in the cannabis space with Brian Callaci. Brian is a Managing Director at Moelis & Company where he is responsible for advisory efforts in the food, beverage and consumer product sectors. Mr. Callaci has over 26 years of investment banking experience advising corporate clients, private equity firms and family owners on a wide range of transactions including M&A, divestitures, defense, joint ventures, leveraged buyouts, initial public offerings, common equity, preferred stock, and debt financings. Prior to joining Moelis & Company, he was Co-Head of the Consumer Investment Banking Group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

CBD Data with Tim Phillips, Managing Director of ECigIntelligence. Tim is a UK-qualified attorney, having worked at the European Commission, BSkyB and Herbert Smith (an international law firm), AOL Europe, as director of public affairs at Betfair (IPO in 2010 valued at £1.5bn), and as a partner in a New York VC-funded start-up in the diamond sector. Tim holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the University of Law, London and a Masters in Geology from Oxford University.

Investing in the rapidly growing cannabis industry with Ted Ohashi from LetsToke Business. Let's Toke Business is a free, weekly newsletter that curates information and ideas related to investing in the rapidly growing cannabis industry. They review the cannabis stock market using proprietary charts that explain what we think is happening and why. Ted Ohashi has more than four decades of experience as a financial analyst, mutual fund portfolio manager, and investment commentator.

Medical cannabis And how it's tranforming patient care with Stefan Meyer from Plena Global. Medical cannabis will continue to transform patient care. In 2017, Plena Global was founded to deliver on this promise. Along the way, they have kept people at the center of their enterprise and have engaged with partners who share their core values. When Plena Global acquired Colombia-based Econnabis, they were drawn to its visionary founders. In Peru, they partnered with local agricultural leaders who have a combined 400 years of experience. Plena Global is becoming the world’s premier business-to-business medical-grade cannabis supplier. They want the people who live in the places they operate to benefit as much as the patients their plants ultimately serve around the globe.

The latest legislative developments and key trends in the industry with As a cannabis specialist focused on developing the legal European cannabis industry, Stephen is a co-founder of ECH, Europe's cannabis investment group, and Cannabis Europa, Europe’s premier medical cannabis conference. With a background in technology, digital media, and corporate finance, Stephen works with investors, entrepreneurs and regulators to identify, qualify and maximize the opportunities in this emerging frontier. Prohibition Partners was founded in 2017 with a mission to open up the international cannabis industry through reliable data and intelligence.

Expanding the adult use market even further with Codie Sanchez, Managing Director of Entourage Effect Capital. Investors are showing a distinct preference for companies focused on the adult-use market over medical. From 2017 through mid-May this year, investors poured $1.8 billion into adult-use focused companies according to data in the MGO | ELLO Cannabis Private Investment Review, powered by PitchBook Data. By comparison, the medical segment trailed markedly, with $730 million total invested over the same period. According to a recent Benzinga article, Americans will spend about $12.5 billion on adult-use cannabis this year, an increase of one-third over 2018. And the potential for growth in the years to come is significant as more states legalize adult use. Cannabis is also becoming a foundational ingredient in products such as beer and energy drinks, edibles, and balms, expanding the adult use market even further. We dive into if she thinks that investment into adult use comes with fewer challenges. As well as about the changes underway, how all of this changes the company’s value proposition as a firm, and much more. Codie Sanchez is a Managing Director and Partner at Entourage Effect Capital (formerly Cresco Capital Partners), venture capital and private equity fund in the legalized cannabis space with $100M in AUM. She previously built and lead First Trust’s ($120B) Latin America Investment business. Prior to that, she held positions in equity analysts at Goldman Sachs ($1.5T), institutional fixed income at State Street ($2.8T), and international equity at Vanguard ($5.3T). She started her career as a journalist where she won the JFK award and the Howard Buffett Foundation grant for covering human trafficking. Sanchez is a pundit and columnist on investing, macro trends, cannabis, and startups. She has been highlighted on The Today Show, Forbes, Fast Company, Entrepreneur, People en Español, Business Wire, Cheddar, etc.

How the perception of CBD changed with Martin A. Lee is the co-founder and director of Project CBD. Martin is also the author of several books, including Smoke Signals: A Social History of Marijuana–Medical, Recreational and Scientific, which received the American Botanical Council’s James A. Duke Award for Excellence in Botanical Literature. Project CBD is a California-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting and publicizing research into the medical uses of cannabidiol (CBD) and other components of the cannabis plant. Project CBD provides educational services for physicians, patients, industry professionals, and the general public. Lee said this to NowThis News: “We were the first group, actually to advocate the medical marijuana community in California about CBD. We were involved in introducing CBD, both physically, the plants, and in terms of education to emphasize that there are other options besides the THC orientation the ‘get high’ orientation for medical cannabis.” He said he’s not entirely sure how to feel about CBD’s current popularity, but he emphasizes that cannabis has far more to offer. “CBD, you can kind of think of it as kind of a medical rockstar, but when you really get down into it, it’s the combination of CBD and the other parts of the plant." We expand on what he witnessed on how the perception of CBD changed over the years. As well as What are the main contributors this shift, What other parts of the plant are powerful in combination with CBD, and much more. Named by High Times as one of the 100 most influential people in cannabis, he is the 2016 winner of the Emerald Cup’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Lee is also co-founder of the media watch group FAIR (Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting) and the author of Acid Dreams: The Complete Social History of LSD–The CIA, the Sixties and Beyond.

A New Standard In Cannabis Processing with Joel Sherlock, Co-Founder / Chairman – Vitalis Extraction Tech. Vitalis Extraction Technology produces sophisticated high-flowing, industrial-scale, supercritical CO2 extraction systems for the cannabis industry. Vitalis was founded in 2016 in British Columbia and they have scaled rapidly. Their industrial scale supercritical CO2 systems are now deployed on three continents. A New Standard In Cannabis Processing? Joel was asked about the benefits of SCO2 Extraction: It provides companies with a number of benefits. Since supercritical CO2 extraction is safer compared to some other methods, such as butane or ethanol, it’s easier for companies to comply with facility rules and regulations. It’s particularly important for companies with operations in multiple states and countries, as Joel points out. " ... Regulations vary jurisdiction to jurisdiction [and] ethanol and hydrocarbons are combustible solvents and traditionally require varying degrees of customization, explosion proof walls, floor venting and fire suppression,” he told Benzinga. In this way, using supercritical CO2 provides companies with an advantage, “as they can have the same machine in every location.” A serial entrepreneur and business leader, Joel is a born connector who has been building great teams and delivering the expertise to execute. Joel has been at the helm of 9 successful start-ups and corporate exits, including one of BC’s top private real estate brokerages, a national first action sports e-commerce company, a successful corporate consulting firm and a few private equity funds. Joel’s time is now focused on Vitalis Extraction Technologies, Spectrum Asset Leasing and Doventi Capital.