The Green Rush

Welcome to the Green Rush, a weekly conversation at the intersection of cannabis, psychedelics, the capital markets, and culture, produced by KCSA Strategic Communications.

This week, we sat down with Luna Stower, Head of Impact at Ispire Technology. Luna is an industry veteran who has passionately advocated for cannabis legalization and social equity. At Ispire, she is at the forefront of efforts to drive positive social change through the development and distribution of cutting-edge vaping technologies. Luna’s leadership in advocacy, education, and technology has made her a prominent voice in the industry, and we’re thrilled to have her join Green Rush.

So don’t sit back, lean forward and enjoy!

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This episode was hosted by Anne Donohoe and Phil Carlson of KCSA Strategic Communications.

Special thanks to our Program Director, Shea Gunther and Executive Producer, Maria Petsanas.

You can learn more about how KCSA can help your cannabis and psychedelic companies by visiting www.kcsa.com or emailing [email protected]. You can also connect with us via our social channels:

The Green Rush team is revisiting our extensive archives, curating a selection of over 300 past episodes. This collection will feature memorable moments, insightful interviews, and some of the team’s favorite episodes, providing both new listeners and long-time fans an opportunity to explore or rediscover the best of Green Rush. 

Back in 2020, we sat down with Javier Hasse, one of the leading voices in the cannabis industry about the cannabis news of the day including how cannabis companies are responding to the Black Lives Matter movement against police brutality, the launch of his Spanish language news site El Planteo, the role of women in the industry and his favorite stories to tell about his time working in the cannabis industry.

With a well-earned reputation as one of the most dutiful and diligent reporters covering the cannabis space, Javier is in the elite tier of media that is a must-follow for anyone interested in the cannabis industry.

So don’t sit back, lean forward and enjoy!

Links and Mentions:

This episode was hosted by Anne Donohoe of KCSA Strategic Communications.

Special thanks to our Program Director, Shea Gunther and Executive Producer, Maria Petsanas.

You can learn more about how KCSA can help your cannabis and psychedelic companies by visiting www.kcsa.com or emailing [email protected]. You can also connect with us via our social channels:

X: @KCSAPodcastLabs

Welcome to the Green Rush, a weekly conversation at the intersection of cannabis, psychedelics, the capital markets, and culture, produced by KCSA Podcast Labs.

This week, we sat down with Hirsh Jain, Founder of Ananda Strategy. Ananda Strategy is a strategy consultancy advising leading cannabis brands, retailers, technology businesses, and venture capital funds across the United States, Canada, and Western Europe.

Ananda Strategy represents many of California’s leading cannabis retailers, helping lead their expansion strategy, competitive licensing efforts, and M&A activity. Ananda also serves operators in the Arizona, Colorado, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New York, Ohio, and Oregon markets, as well as operators in Canada and Western Europe.

Hirsh is Vice Chair of the Cannabis Chamber of Commerce and serves on the boards of NORML California as well as SC Labs, a leading cannabis testing company. He previously held leadership roles at Caliva and MedMen, and worked as the Global Policy Lead at Airbnb, managing public policy in key markets worldwide. Before that, Hirsh was with McKinsey & Company in their Public Sector Practice.

Hirsh holds a B.A. in Philosophy from UC Berkeley and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He has a deep commitment to cannabis law reform, having studied the impacts of the War on Drugs.

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Show Credits:

This episode was hosted by Phil Carlson and Anne Donohoe of KCSA Strategic Communications. 

Special thanks to our Program Director, Shea Gunther, and Executive Producer, Maria Petsanas.

Check out our new podcast Alternatively Speaking where our hosts dive into the advancements and challenges surrounding the pursuit of living longer, healthier lives in our first 10-episode series. Visit https://altspeaking.com.

You can learn more about how KCSA can help your cannabis and psychedelic companies by visiting www.kcsa.com or emailing [email protected]. You can also connect with us via our social channels:

This summer, the Green Rush team is revisiting our extensive archives, curating a selection of over 300 past episodes. This collection will feature memorable moments, insightful interviews, and some of the team’s favorite episodes, providing both new listeners and long-time fans an opportunity to explore or rediscover the best of Green Rush. Stay tuned for the upcoming launch of our new podcast in the fall, “Alternatively Speaking.”

We’re revisiting our interview with Jim Belushi, actor, musician, comedian, all around entertainer as well as cannabis entrepreneur and the founder of Belushi’s Farms.

Jim has long been a household name due to his distinguished acting career but he’s also incredibly active in the cannabis community with a nearly 100 acre farm in the heart of Oregon’s beautiful banana belt, he is out there getting his hands dirty and producing some of the most-talked about cannabis in the state. With brands like Captain Jack, The Blues Brothers and Good Ugly Weed and Belushi’s Secret Stash, Jim Belushi’s cannabis products are quickly becoming the most talked about product line across the state.

Jim was gracious enough to sit down with our hot Anne Donohoe and guest host Phil Carlson to talk about his cannabis journey and venture into becoming a cannpreneur. In the discussion, Jim dishes on the role cannabis plays in his life, his work with important advocacy organizations like the Last Prisoner Project and why he loves getting into the dirt and actually taking part in the growing of his own plants.

This episode was a real treat and something that we hope all of our listeners can enjoy – we sure did!

So don’t sit back, lean forward and enjoy!

Jim Belushi, Hollywood Star and Cannabis Entrepreneur

It’s been 12 years since Jim first came to Oregon’s Rogue Valley where his dear friend John has a sprawling property along the Rogue River, one town over in Shady Cove. Their children are the same age and attended classes together in California, so the families gathered for many activities over the years. With Jim’s own family’s experience and numerous others marred by opioids and the stigmatization of cannabis, Jim was incredibly grateful to have been led to the Rogue River where he first envisioned Belushi’s Farm and his own part in the agricultural and healing gift of cannabis.

A proud Chicagoan, Jim graduated from Southern Illinois University with a degree in Speech, Education and Theatre before moving on to become a resident member of Chicago’s famed Second City for three years. In 1979, he left for Los Angeles, where he was cast on TV, launching his career as a performer. In addition to starring in a diverse and remarkable list of television and film— movies from Trading Places to Wonder Wheel, working with famed directors like Oliver Stone, Roman Polanski, David Lynch and Michael Mann—Jim wrote and appeared in Saturday Night Live for two seasons. He’s also served as an executive producer, music composer, director, book author, and Broadway star. His own television show According to Jim aired for 182 episodes during eight seasons before the family favorite launched into off-net syndication in 2007.

Locally, Jim is actively engaged in several projects benefiting the communities surrounding Belushi’s Farm in Jackson County, Oregon. In Medford, Jim is helping reconstruct the historic Holly Theater to bring the 1930s Spanish Colonial movie palace back to life as Southern Oregon’s largest indoor concert venue. In Eagle Point, Jim’s assisting with the reconstruction of The Butte Creek Mill, destroyed in a 2016 electrical fire, to preserve its heritage, build community, and improve the environment. In Los Angeles, Jim’s a benefactor of the Greater Los Angeles Veterans Administration, and Stuart House, a program of the Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center Rape Treatment Center. Jim’s also a supporter of The Joyful Heart Foundation in New York City, whose mission is transforming society’s response to sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse, supporting survivors’ healing and ending the violence forever.

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Special thanks to our Executive Producer Maria Petsanas and Program Director Shea Gunther.

You can learn more about how KCSA can help your cannabis and psychedelic companies by visiting www.kcsa.com or emailing [email protected]. You can also connect with us via our social channels:

X: @KCSAPodcastLabs

Welcome to the Green Rush, a weekly conversation at the intersection of cannabis, psychedelics, the capital markets, and culture, produced by KCSA Strategic Communications.

This week, we sat down with Tyler Beuerlein. Tyler is Chief Strategic Business Development Officer of Safe Harbor Financial, leveraging his extensive experience in building brands, managing key relationships, and strategic partnerships. Tyler has been at the forefront of the cannabis industry for over eight years and touches Financial Institutions, Government Officials, Regulatory Bodies, and the State Legal Cannabis industry. 

Prior to working at Safe Harbor, Tyler served as the Chief Revenue Officer and Chief Business Development Officer for Hypur Ventures and is the former Chairman of the National Cannabis Industry Association Banking and Financial Services Committee. Additionally, Tyler was appointed to serve on both the Marijuana Business Daily’s Advisory Board and ATACH Cannabis Beverage Council and is also a member of the Forbes Business Development Council. Formerly, Beuerlein founded and managed a large beverage company and was a professional athlete in the New York Mets organization.

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This episode was hosted by Anne Donohoe of KCSA Strategic Communications. 

Special thanks to our Program Director, Shea Gunther.

You can learn more about how KCSA can help your cannabis and psychedelic companies by visiting www.kcsa.com or emailing [email protected]. You can also connect with us via our social channels:

X: @KCSAPodcastLabs

Andrew has been closely following the efforts of organizations like MAPS (Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies) and Lykos Therapeutics as they pioneer the use of MDMA-assisted therapy for treating PTSD. Recently, the FDA delivered a surprising and disappointing decision, declining to approve MDMA-assisted therapy despite promising clinical data and asking the company to conduct an additional Phase 3 Study. This ruling has sent shockwaves through the field of psychedelic medicine, especially for those who had high hopes that MDMA would become the first federally regulated psychedelic treatment.

In our conversation today, Andrew will share his insights on the FDA’s decision, the implications for Lykos Therapeutics, and what this means for the future of psychedelic therapies. We’ll delve into the challenges faced by Lykos, including the FDA’s request for an additional clinical trial, which could add years and significant costs to the approval process. We’ll also explore the broader context of this decision—how it affects the momentum of the psychedelic medicine movement, the reaction from supporters and critics alike, and the potential shifts in strategy as the industry continues to navigate regulatory hurdles.

For those interested in the intersection of health, science, and business, this discussion promises to be both timely and insightful. So, without further ado, let’s dive into our conversation with Andrew Jacobs.

Link to Andrew’s New York Times bio: https://www.nytimes.com/by/andrew-jacobs

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You can learn more about how KCSA can help your cannabis and psychedelic companies by visiting www.kcsa.com or emailing [email protected]. You can also connect with us via our social channels:

X: @KCSAPodcastLabs

This summer, the Green Rush team is revisiting our extensive archives, curating a selection of over 300 past episodes. This collection will feature memorable moments, insightful interviews, and some of the team’s favorite episodes, providing both new listeners and long-time fans an opportunity to explore or rediscover the best of Green Rush. Stay tuned for the upcoming launch of our new podcast in the fall, “Alternatively Speaking.”

This week our host Anne Donohoe is joined by the incomparable Betty Aldworth, Director of Communications and Marketing for MAPS. An activist and advocate since her first anti-nukes demonstration as a pre-teen, Betty has spent the last two decades as one of the leading voices around restorative justice and drug policy reform advocating for safety, justice and education within the cannabis and psychedelics industries.

In this conversation Anne sat down with Betty to discuss why advocacy for marginalized groups is a core part of who she is, the important intersection of marketing and messaging that shapes these industries, what types of reform she would implement if she were Biden’s Drug Czar and what’s coming down the pipeline at MAPS.

And as a special treat, this discussion included our first ever surprise call-in where a special guest phoned into our recording to ask Betty some additional questions about her work!

So sit back and enjoy our conversation with Betty Aldworth, Director of Communications and Marketing at MAPS.

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You can learn more about how KCSA can help your cannabis and psychedelic companies by visiting www.kcsa.com or emailing [email protected]. You can also connect with us via our social channels:

X: @KCSAPodcastLabs

Welcome to the Green Rush, a KCSA Strategic Communications Production, a weekly conversation at the intersection of cannabis, psychedelics, the capital markets, and culture.

This week, we’re back with a new special episode featuring Crista Eggers, a Nebraska Medical Cannabis Advocate and Ballot Initiative Campaign Manager, who has been passionately fighting for over five years for access to medical cannabis in Nebraska. Crista was the driving force behind the successful statewide effort to place a pair of statutory medical cannabis initiatives on the November 2024 ballot.

So don’t sit back, lean forward, and enjoy!

Social Media:

Other Links/Mentions:

Show Credits:

Special thanks to our Program Director, Shea Gunther.

You can learn more about how KCSA can help your cannabis and psychedelic companies by visiting www.kcsa.com or emailing [email protected]. You can also connect with us via our social channels:

X: @KCSAPodcastLabs

This summer, we are revisiting our extensive archives, curating a selection from over 300 past episodes. This collection will feature memorable moments, insightful interviews, and some of the team’s favorite episodes, providing new listeners and long-time fans an opportunity to explore or rediscover the best of  Green Rush. Stay tuned for the upcoming launch of our new podcast in the fall, “Alternatively Speaking.”

This week, we’re bringing back our conversation with Emmy-winning Writer, Producer, and Director Donick Cary. Well known in the television and film industry for his work on shows like The David Letterman Show, The Simpsons, Silicon Valley, and Parks and Recreation, Donick is also the writer and director of the Netflix hit, Have a Good Trip. This documentary mixes comedy with a thorough investigation of psychedelics, exploring the pros, cons, science, history, future, pop cultural impact, and cosmic possibilities of hallucinogens. It also includes some of the best psychedelic trip stories from celebrities like Sting, Sarah Silverman, Ben Stiller, A$AP Rocky, and the late greats Carrie Fisher and Anthony Bourdain.

Our host Lewis sat down with Donick to discuss his film in greater depth, including what drew his attention to psychedelics, his inspiration for developing a documentary around stories of psychedelic trips (and how he sold that idea to Netflix), his own introduction to psychedelics, and whether he’s turned to psychedelics to help deal with the anxiety caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Donick is one of the most talented writers in Hollywood, and it was a real treat to have him join us to discuss his journey. So don’t sit back, lean forward, and enjoy!

About Filmmaker and Writer Donick Cary: Emmy-winning Writer, Producer, and Director Donick Cary got his start writing for Late Night with David Letterman. He continued writing for Dave at The Academy Awards (but not the Oprah-Uma joke) and served as both Head Writer and “The Guy in the Bear Suit” on Late Show with David Letterman. After five years in late night, Cary moved to The Simpsons, where he served as a Co-Executive Producer for seasons seven through eleven, winning an Emmy and penning many memorable episodes including “D’oh-in in The Wind,” “In Marge We Trust” (Mr. Sparkle), and “Hell Toupee” (Homer gets the hair transplants of a killer).

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Special thanks to our Program Director, Shea Gunther.

You can learn more about how KCSA can help your cannabis and psychedelic companies by visiting www.kcsa.com or emailing [email protected]. You can also connect with us via our social channels:

X: @KCSAPodcastLabs

Overview:

NewLake Capital Partners (OTCQX: NLCP) is an internally managed real estate investment trust (REIT) that has invested and committed about $445 million in capital to state-licensed cannabis operators across 12 states. As co-founder of NewLake, Jarrett spearheads portfolio management, capital raising, and overall operations for the company’s 32 properties spanning 1.7 million square feet.

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You can learn more about how KCSA can help your cannabis and psychedelic companies by visiting www.kcsa.com or emailing [email protected]. You can also connect with us via our social channels:

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