The Real Dirt with Chip Baker

Tune in to Part 2 of the State of the Cannabis Union on The Real Dirt with Chip Baker!

In part 2, Chip talks with Matt Bickel of Bickel Consulting, and calls up his friends on the east coast to get the latest cannabis news. Tennessee and New York are on Chip's list of prank calls in this episode, and some others!

In some places, the cannabis industry is booming. Cannabis news coverage is rising, more people are getting involved and more money is flowing in to the industry. It's bee an exciting year so far, and it will only get more interesting as 2019 gets closer.

Hear what those on the frontlines are predicting and those still stuck in the private market struggle with. You can also listen to this episode on iTunes, and make sure you're caught up with Part 1 before you listen!

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John Newmerzhycky was travelling through Iowa with his friend William Davis after playing some poker at a casino when they were pulled over by a member of the Iowa state police interdiction team. With reports concerning a red vehicle, the police officer followed John and William for ten minutes before pulling them over for failing to signal when passing another car.

After being pulled aside and questioned by the officer, John began to show signs of breathing rapidly and fidgeting, which increased the officer’s suspicion. After telling John he was free to go with a warning, the officer asked if there were any drugs in the car. Without a direct response, the officer called in a K-9 unit.

John and William told the officers there were no drugs or currency in the car. This would turn out to be untrue when the officers found Davis’ $85,000 packed inside a locked briefcase. The police also found a grinder and a very small amount of cannabis, but enough to charge John with a misdemeanor. But that wasn’t the worst of it.

The state of Iowa then confiscated the money, called California authorities where the men are originally from, leading to both of their houses being searched. Despite both John and William having medical marijuana cards, the searches led to felony charges in California. Jump to today, and every charge has been dropped, and the original sum of money confiscated has been returned.

There was more of a reward for John and William than just money however. 

Hear John’s full story when he sits down with Chip on The Real Dirt Podcast.

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Matt is the founder of Bickel Consulting and oversees cultivation facilities in Alaska, Washington, Hawaii, Oregon, New York, Maryland, and Colorado. He was the Chief Operating Officer and Master Cultivator at Maggie’s Farm in Colorado Springs with responsibility for 8,000 plants (outdoor grow on 10 acres) and 40 employees, growing cannabis organically from seed. He has worked with industry-leading companies like Silverpeak Apothecary in Aspen, Natural Remedies in Denver, Green Stop in Fort Morgan, Top Hat Cannabis in Juneau, Etain in New York, and others. Matt has deep expertise in cultivating indoors, outdoors, and in greenhouses, and he has experience as a project manager in all phases of construction, equipment purchasing, permits, licensing, and operations. Matt graduated from Baylor University with a degree in education.

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