The Green Repeal - A Guide to Cannabis Marketing Advertising

The potential health benefits of cannabis are not strictly limited to humans. In fact, animals of all kinds have seen positive results from all sorts of different kinds of cannabis use, including dogs, pigs, and other species as well.

Few people know this as well as holistic pet and medical cannabis expert Angela Ardolino. She's the founder of CBD Dog Health and host of the It's a Dog's Life Podcast. She's also the co-owner of Beautify the Beast, a pet grooming and boarding house, and the CEO of House of Alchemy, where she's working to cultivate and process the purest medical cannabis products with the lowest environmental impact.

Today, Angela joins the podcast to share the story of how she entered the world of medical cannabis. She dispels some of the common myths around giving animals THC, shares some of the stories from her breakthrough work, and when you might be able to get her products from vets in the future.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• How Angela became an advocate for using cannabis as a form of cancer treatment for dogs.
• Why THC isn't actually toxic or unsafe for dogs and other animals–but they are much more sensitive to it than humans.
• Why people don't understand the difference between CBD extracted from hemp and marijuana plants–and why this is more important than it may initially seem.
• What makes the pet industry so crazy when it comes to quality products and regulation.

Show Notes

For complete show notes, including transcripts, takeaways, and links to all the resources mentioned, visit SoHoExp.com/43

To learn more about the podcast and get access to all episodes, visit: SoHoExp.com/GreenRepeal

If you bought cannabis products in the mid-2010s, you probably remember just how profoundly bro-y all of the emerging brands were–design was lowbrow and often covered in naked girls and aggressive guys.

This is why when Christina DiPaci launched her brand, she did things differently. She's the founder and CEO of Paradiso Gardens–one of California's largest, independent, and women-owned craft cannabis farms. With over 10 years of experience in the industry, Christina brings a wealth of knowledge in compliance and finance, as well as the art of strain selection, package design, and brand development.

Today, Christina joins the podcast to talk about her journey into the cannabis industry, how she created a brand that celebrates vacations and fun, and why she thinks we won't be sending cannabis via FedEx for at least another 30 years.

Before we get into the interview with Christina, Jeff and I dig into an article titled "The Top Seven Cannabis Industry Marketing Challenges" and share our thoughts on some of the top challenges, namely the issues with advertising and marketing restrictions on social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook. Enjoy!

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• How Christina created a brand that clearly differentiates itself–and why her packaging and branding is so colorful without being "stoner-ish."
• What Paradiso Gardens is doing to make their operations as sustainable as possible.
• The importance of having non-cannabis merchandise to help build a cannabis brand.
• The one thing Christina legally can't do now that she wishes she could.
• How Christina learned to grow her own plants.

Show Notes

For complete show notes, including transcripts, takeaways, and links to all the resources mentioned, visit SoHoExp.com/42

To learn more about the podcast and get access to all episodes, visit: SoHoExp.com/GreenRepeal

What does social equity look like in the cannabis industry? How can companies work to repair damage caused by the war on drugs and address challenges pertaining to diversity, education, community, and sustainability?

Rabbi James Kahn is the executive director of Liberty Cannabis Cares. LCC is the social impact and corporate responsibility team at Holistic Industries, which is currently the largest privately-held cannabis company in the United States. He joined the company in 2017 and helped them open their first dispensary, Liberty Cannabis, in Rockville, MD, and then served as their National Director of Community Outreach. We saw him speak at the MJ Unpacked Conference last month, and his presentation was by far the one that left us most inspired.

Today, Rabbi James joins the podcast to share the remarkable story of how his family became cannabis advocates, why cannabis is a justice issue in religious communities, and the pillars of social justice that inform the transformative work that he's doing.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• How Rabbi James's grandfather's MS diagnosis exposed him to medicinal cannabis at an early age, transformed his parents' perception of cannabis, and led him to his current career.
• The rules surrounding kosher cannabis consumption–and the history of cannabis in religious rituals.
• What Rabbi James's work looks like in practice–and the importance of raising up communities.
• The organizations LCC is partnering with to create opportunities and careers for people hurt most by the war on drugs.
• How Rabbi James is talking to his kids about sex and drugs, why these are two separate conversations, and why he's a fan of an organization called Weed Can Wait.

Show Notes

For complete show notes, including transcripts, takeaways, and links to all the resources mentioned, visit SoHoExp.com/41

To learn more about the podcast and get access to all episodes, visit: SoHoExp.com/GreenRepeal

Welcome to part two of our MJ Unpacked experience! In this episode, we take some time to reflect and share some final thoughts on our trip to the MJ Unpacked conference. We'll discuss our biggest takeaways and highlight some of our favorite moments and products.

We also have another special interview for you. Our guests today are Carrie Mapes and Patty Papas, founders of Hello Again. They have created a cannabis-powered vaginal suppository with soothing botanicals to provide relief from the physical and emotional symptoms that come with menopause. It's a highly innovative product for women who can't get relief in other ways, and it's given them the opportunity to share their wisdom and support women like never before.

For those that have never experienced menopause, imagine having your hormones change while going through puberty, but dealing with those symptoms for a period of time that can be three times as long. Increased anxiety, sweatiness, lack of sleep, body pain, headaches and memory loss, these are all symptoms that women struggle with and why this product is so unique.

In today's episode, Carrie and Patty talk about how they created a product with the medicinal benefits from cannabis, how the THC aspect works without making you feel high, and why they're focused on helping other women continue to live vibrant lives.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• How Carrie and Patty first became interested in creating their cannabis product.
• The potential use cases for cannabis suppositories.
• The symptoms that they are trying to help alleviate for women.
• Why some women might not even realize they're in menopause, and why there is a lack of awareness on this topic.
• How Hello Again is spreading awareness of their product.

Show Notes

For complete show notes, including transcripts, takeaways, and links to all the resources mentioned, visit SoHoExp.com/40

To learn more about the podcast and get access to all episodes, visit: SoHoExp.com/GreenRepeal

Welcome to our recap of the MJ Unpacked Conference from Las Vegas. MJ Unpacked is the first cannabis event connecting retailers, THC CPG brands, and investors with opportunities to connect, collaborate, and get access to capital.

We spent our time walking the floor and attending a wide array of seminars. We learned what a number of cannabis business owners are doing as ambassadors and educators facing a myriad of challenges. We also got a deeper understanding of what is and isn't working across the industry, and found new inspiration along the way.

In the first part of this episode, we dig into everything MJ Unpacked: the good, the not-so-good, and what has us most excited for the future. After that, we're talking to Thomas Winstanley, VP of Marketing at Theory Wellness, to explore the differences between the cannabis, alcohol, and pharmaceutical industries.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Why the cannabis industry still simply doesn't feel as mature as other fields we've worked in.
• The insurmountable gap that makes a cannabis trade show different from any other.
• Why marketing laws regarding cannabis are so difficult to work with (and around).
• Why Thomas believes e-commerce and delivery systems for the cannabis industry are lagging behind.

Show Notes

For complete show notes, including transcripts, takeaways, and links to all the resources mentioned, visit SoHoExp.com/39

To learn more about the podcast and get access to all episodes, visit: SoHoExp.com/GreenRepeal

These days, everyone's talking about supply chains and the challenges they're facing when it comes to sending and receiving virtually anything from one part of the world to another. As you might expect, since cannabis is still federally illegal, it comes with its own set of challenges, and relies on complex networks that aren't easy to untangle.

Fortunately, there's people like Peter Huson. A former rocket scientist, Peter is Chief of Operations at Backbone–a fully customizable supply chain management platform that tracks production compliance, cost of goods sold, yields, and audit reporting data in real-time. He provides producers with data-driven insights that help them scale their businesses and grow their teams.

Prior to joining Backbone, he co-founded the Northern Nights Music Festival, which was the first music festival with legal cannabis sales. He is also the co-founder and COO at One Log Cannabis Business Park and Compliance Officer at Mesh Ventures, as well as a holder of over 50 cannabis licenses across the supply chain.

Today, Peter joins the podcast to talk about creating new systems to solve age-old problems, the intersection between cannabis and tech, and how everything in this business can be tied back to the Grateful Dead.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The key problems unique to cannabis supply chains across states and in different countries.
• What Backbone is doing for cannabis that Oracle and SAP are doing for other industries.
• Why the cannabis industry is all but guaranteed to get simpler and tighter over time–and how cannabis plants' uniqueness challenges standardization.
• How Peter launched a music event with legal cannabis sales.
• How he foresees the cannabis industry developing in the years to come.

Show Notes

For complete show notes, including transcripts, takeaways, and links to all the resources mentioned, visit SoHoExp.com/38

To learn more about the podcast and get access to all episodes, visit: SoHoExp.com/GreenRepeal

Today, we're talking to Amy Weinstein, co-founder of Other People's Pot–a Canadian sales agency where cannabis lovers and industry vets put pot products in the hands of other people. They equip cannabis brands with the knowledge, tools, and strategy to build a better industry.

Before co-founding Other People's Pot, Amy worked in sales and marketing, where she pushed to end the stigma around cannabis while creating space for women in the industry. And now, Amy and her team of women have created a company that is making a difference in the cannabis industry.

In this conversation, Amy shares the story of her journey into the cannabis space, how she has helped build an almost all-woman-run business in a very male-dominated field, and what OPP is doing right now to create a better industry ten years from now.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• The major differences between America and Canada's legal cannabis industries.
• How Amy works with brands to bring great product into stores, get budtenders excited to sell, and make cannabis available to consumers.
• What OPP is looking for in a prospective client.
• Where major opportunities currently lie in Canadian cannabis–and what Amy foresees coming in the next few years.
• How Amy shares important information with retailers and consumers about products in OPP's portfolio.
• Amy's advice for anyone thinking about launching or scaling a cannabis business.

Show Notes

For complete show notes, including transcripts, takeaways, and links to all the resources mentioned, visit SoHoExp.com/37

To learn more about the podcast and get access to all episodes, visit: SoHoExp.com/GreenRepeal

Media companies are finally changing their tune when it comes to cannabis. After decades of reporting from all sorts of outlets about cannabis as a problematic drug, the New York Times changed the conversation by calling for the legalization of cannabis in 2014—and one of the people to have a real conversation with the head of their editorial board about the changing times was Mary Jane Gibson.

Mary Jane (her real name!) is an actress, writer, and a former lifestyle entertainment and culture editor at High Times. She's spent years tracking the legalization of cannabis, and her work has been seen in Rolling Stone and Playboy, as well as on PBS. Complex has called her one of the 15 most powerful women in the weed industry, and she's also the host of the Weed + Grub podcast with comedian Mike Glazer.

In our conversation today, Mary Jane joins us to talk about her journey into cannabis culture, and how journalists are now writing about long-standing issues that have needed to be addressed for decades, including social justice, social equity, and how to right the wrongs of the war on drugs—among many other topics.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Why so many publications are so bad at writing about cannabis.
• The biggest issues cannabis journalists are grappling with in 2021.
• The remarkable work being done by the Last Prisoner Project, Mission Green, and 40 Tons.
• How nanotechnology is improving the edible experience.
• What Mary Jane does on the Weed + Grub podcast—and how cannabis-infused cooking has changed in the last decade.
• How cannabis cups, dinners, and other events work—and why it's entirely possible to try twelve different strains in one sitting without getting too stoned.

Show Notes

For complete show notes, including transcripts, takeaways, and links to all the resources mentioned, visit SoHoExp.com/36

To learn more about the podcast and get access to all episodes, visit: SoHoExp.com/GreenRepeal

When Julia Jacobson developed chronic migraines in her 20's, with the advice of an E.R. doctor, she started treating her migraines with cannabis, and it completely changed her life. Having been freed from the cocktails of medications that never worked, she's turned her focus to the cannabis industry.

Julia is the CEO and co-founder of Aster Farms, a sustainable cannabis company dedicated to organic growing and transparent practices. With her expertise in marketing, entrepreneurship and supply chain management, she has helped build a company that is creating craft cannabis the way it should be, outdoors.

The truth of the matter is, very few cannabis companies actually grow their own product. In fact, many brands simply sell white labeled product from mass producers, and never tell their customers. With the help of three generations of cannabis knowledge, her company is driven to create a clean product that helps others live a healthy and active lifestyle with responsible farming methods.

Today, Julia joins the podcast to share the story of how her own health challenges led her to the cannabis space, how Aster Farms is differentiating itself from many other brands emerging in this industry, and what makes cannabis supply chains so uniquely complicated.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• How Julia's family grew cannabis over the course of three generations and survived the many challenges along the way.
• How cannabis cultivation has changed over the last half-century.
• Why it takes so long to expand a cannabis brand across multiple states.
• The changing role of retail cannabis salespeople.
• Why Julia thinks interstate commerce laws will happen before full federal legalization.

Show Notes

For complete show notes, including transcripts, takeaways, and links to all the resources mentioned, visit SoHoExp.com/35

To learn more about the podcast and get access to all episodes, visit: SoHoExp.com/GreenRepeal

The cannabis industry feels like an unstoppable locomotive right now. Business is growing and scaling all over the country, and there are extraordinary opportunities to build businesses within the industry. But when a cannabis brand needs help, who can they turn to for resources and guidance?

Meet George Jage. He's a leading cannabis executive with over two decades experience launching, building, and leading media companies at Jage Media. He leads summits like MJ Unpacked, where he helps cannabis brands and retail executives foster community and thrive.

Today, George joins the podcast to share how he's successfully developed his unique events and the role they play as the industry continues to gain momentum.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• How George entered the trade show space in anticipation of the cannabis industry's massive growth.
• What early cannabis trade shows looked like.
• What George sees cannabis brands needing right now.
• Why George started Jage Media and what he's doing to make his next event so unique.
• How George is working to make structural change to criminal justice.
• Why George thinks we could see federal legalization as soon as 2022.

Show Notes

For complete show notes, including transcripts, takeaways, and links to all the resources mentioned, visit SoHoExp.com/34

To learn more about the podcast and get access to all episodes, visit: SoHoExp.com/GreenRepeal