CEO of Freedom Grow & Co-Founder of Beard Bros Pharms & Beard Bros Media

How can America celebrate a legal cannabis market worth billions while people remain behind bars for the same plant?

This week, Bill Levers jumps into The Rotation to confront one of the cannabis industry’s ugliest contradictions. Bill is the CEO of Freedom Grow and co-founder of Beard Bros Pharms and Beard Bros Media, working at the intersection of cannabis business, advocacy, independent media, and criminal justice reform.

We discuss why legalization cannot be measured only by licenses issued, products sold, or money generated. If people harmed by prohibition are forgotten while a new industry profits, the work remains unfinished.

Bill also shares the mission behind Freedom Grow, the importance of supporting people incarcerated for cannabis, and what businesses, advocates, lawmakers, and everyday consumers can do to keep justice at the center of legalization.

Watch or listen to The Rotation by Suncoast NORML:

Can Hillsborough County employees lose their jobs despite being lawful medical cannabis patients?

Dr. Neil Manimala joins The Rotation to discuss cannabis employment policies, patient protections and what county government can do differently.

Dr. Manimala is a Hillsborough County physician and Democratic nominee for County Commission, At-Large District 5. The entire county votes in this race on November 3.

Dr. Neil Manimala is a physician and surgeon, a lifelong Hillsborough County resident, and the Democratic nominee for Hillsborough County Commission, At-Large District 5. It is a countywide seat, which means every voter in Hillsborough County, including the city of Tampa, votes in this race on November 3.

A proud USF graduate for both college and medical school, Neil practices as a urologist in communities across the county, from Plant City to Brandon to South County. He is the 123rd President of the Hillsborough County Medical Association, where he serves as the voice of physicians across our county, and he has served on the county’s Health Care Advisory Board, which oversees our local healthcare safety net.

He is running to build a county that is more affordable, healthier, and less congested. Neil is honored to be endorsed by many leaders and groups, including Congresswoman Kathy Castor, House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell, the West Central Florida Labor Council of the AFL-CIO, Florida Rising, and the SPLC Action Fund.

He and his wife, Rachel, are parishioners at Sacred Heart Catholic Church and live with their daughter Mariam and rescue dog Benji.

CEO of Invasion Digital Media and Executive Director of the Tampa Bay Young Republicans

Born in Palm Beach County Florida, Jake Hoffman moved to Tampa, FL in 2009 to attend University of South Florida. He gained two bachelors degrees in Political Science and another in Communication and then attended graduate school earning a Master's in Entrepreneurship from USF as well.

Jake Hoffman is the CEO of Invasion Digital Media and Executive Director of the Tampa Bay Young Republicans. During the day Jake works remotely to create digital training courses for professional athletes. Most recently he has worked with players in the NFL and fighters in the UFC, to build out untapped revenue streams in their markets utilizing digital marketing. In his spare time he works to enhance the National and Florida State Young Republican organization as the Florida YR State Committeeman and National Co-Chair of the International Politics Committee.

He hosts a young conservatives podcast called, "Moderately Outraged" available on social media. In his space time he works with Junior Achievement to mentor kids around Tampa Bay in entrepreneurship. Additionally, Jake is the Hillsborough DOGE Committee Chairman and frequent commenter on all things Florida Politics. Jake was also the Political Director for the Yes on 3 ballot amendment in Florida in 2024.

Candidate for United States Senate

Angie Nixon is a Democratic State Representative, union organizer, mother, and lifelong Jacksonville native whose fight for Florida's families has always been personal. She watched her mother work two jobs to keep food on the table, was bused across town because her neighborhood school lacked basic resources, and lost her favorite cousin to gun violence. Those experiences built the leader she is today. In the State House, she has championed expanded childcare access for thousands of families, taken on corporate price gouging, and led the fight against DeSantis's gerrymandered voting maps. As Executive Director of Florida for All, she helped build a statewide coalition that has registered tens of thousands of new voters and strengthened organizing across the state, and back home in Jacksonville she runs a bookstore and community hub dedicated to bringing healthy food and educational resources to local families. Now she's running for U.S. Senate to deliver what Floridians have always deserved: better opportunities for our children, lower costs and higher wages, and a government that stands up to billionaires and corporate greed while opening its doors to the people.

Candidate for Fl Senate (D-16)

Civil rights and social justice attorney Michele Rayner made history in 2020 when she was elected as the first openly queer Black member of the Florida legislature and immediately established herself as one of the strongest advocates for underserved communities. In her first term, Rep. Rayner has brought back resources to communities in the Tampa Bay Area by making legislative alliances across the aisle while challenging the Governor and her colleagues in the Florida Legislature. Now, she’s ready to do more for her constituents by bringing their fight back to Tallahassee.

Michele was raised by a family of changemakers in Pinellas County. Her parents both integrated the University of South Florida in the early 1960s, with her mother going on to become one of the first Black social workers in St. Petersburg and her father successfully putting himself through engineering school while working in a warehouse. Her parents established themselves as community leaders and set an example for Michele with their dedication to service.

Robin Lockett - Candidate for Florida House District 63

**Elijah Manley - Candidate for U.S. Congress (FL-20)**

Robin Lockett is a lifelong advocate for education, civic engagement, and community empowerment who believes knowledge is the foundation of meaningful change. Throughout her career, she has dedicated herself to ensuring residents have the information and resources needed to make informed decisions about the issues affecting their communities.

As Regional Director for FAIR Districts, Lockett helped lead efforts to pass a constitutional amendment aimed at ending partisan gerrymandering and creating fairer legislative representation throughout Florida.

She later served as Regional Director for NextGen Climate, where she worked to increase climate awareness within the Black community while encouraging conversations around sustainability and environmental justice.

As former Political Chair of the NAACP, Lockett organized political forums, led voter registration drives, and educated residents about civic participation, helping strengthen voter engagement across the region.

She also served as President of the Hillsborough County Democratic Black Caucus, leading efforts to recruit, endorse, and elect qualified Black Democratic candidates while expanding voter outreach and developing future community leaders.

Beyond politics, Lockett has served on the boards of the Tampa Hillsborough Action Plan (THAP) and the Zion Cemetery Preservation Board, supporting initiatives focused on community development and historic preservation.

Today, she serves as Regional Director for Florida Rising's Tampa Bay Region, where she works alongside residents to organize around local issues, expand civic participation, and build stronger communities through education and advocacy.

Robin Lockett's career reflects a steadfast commitment to empowering others, strengthening democracy, and creating opportunities for every voice to be heard.

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Born and raised in Fort Lauderdale's historic Sistrunk community, Elijah Manley understands the challenges many South Florida families continue to face. Raised by a hardworking single mother, he experienced homelessness, food insecurity, and poverty firsthand, giving him a deep understanding of the struggles working families encounter every day.

Rather than allowing hardship to define him, Manley began a small landscaping business as a teenager to help support his family and pay for school expenses. Inspired by President Barack Obama's election at age nine, he became active in public service early, writing elected officials, speaking at local government meetings, and advocating for his community.

At Fort Lauderdale High School, he participated in the criminal justice and law magnet program, joined Navy JROTC, and completed hundreds of hours of community service.

Following the Parkland school shooting, Manley launched his first campaign for the Broward County School Board at just 19 years old, earning more than 43,000 votes and becoming an active voice in the March for Our Lives movement. He later ran for the Florida House, building broad grassroots support throughout his district.

Today, Elijah Manley is running for Congress to advocate for affordable housing, economic opportunity, higher wages, and policies that support working families. Drawing on his own lived experiences, he says his campaign is rooted in the belief that government should work for everyday people and create opportunities for communities that have too often been left behind.

Candidate for US Congress (FL-2)

Florida's 2nd Congressional District is on the map this year with the retirement of Republican Congressman Neal Dunn, who recently made headlines due to Trump’s comments on his declining health. Nic has established himself as the Democratic front-runner in this race. Since announcing his candidacy last year, Nic and his team have recruited over 200 local volunteers, held 75 Meet and Greets across all 16 counties in the district, and raised over $350,000 - the most of any candidate running.

Nic has endorsements from more than 14 current and former elected officials and 25 prominent community leaders. These include Mayors, School Board Members, County Commissioners, and State Legislative leaders. You can see the full list here.

Born and raised in Tallahassee, Florida, Nic and his wife Ashley are proud parents of two young sons. Nic is the son of a social worker and public school teacher, and whose Dad was a Senior Engineer at Florida State University's nationally-renowned MagLab – the largest and highest-powered magnet lab in the world.

As an entrepreneur for over 20 years, Nic Zateslo built companies in the tech and AI sector to make technology simpler and more accessible for everyday people. He understands how social media and Artificial Intelligence-driven communication can help improve, and harm, the lives of people in our communities. He has been working on real, solutions focused AI policy to address coming job losses and the massive data center buildouts happening right now.

Nic led the fight to establish online voter registration and vote-by-mail in Florida with a Republican-majority legislature as the FL Statewide Political & Data Director for America Votes (2011-2015) to make voting more accessible and our democracy more inclusive for voters across Florida.

Nic is running because he believes our political system has failed us and that we need a new generation of leadership to protect our freedom, hold Washington politicians accountable, and put our economy back on track. From bringing down high insurance premiums, protecting and creating good-paying jobs, lowering the cost of child care, and preparing the country for the future of AI and technology, Nic will work with anyone to confront these challenges head-on.

Florida's 2nd Congressional District is on the map this year with the retirement of Republican Congressman Neal Dunn, who recently made headlines due to Trump’s comments on his declining health. Nic has established himself as the Democratic front-runner in this race. Since announcing his candidacy last year, Nic and his team have recruited over 200 local volunteers, held 65 Meet and Greets across all 16 counties in the district, and raised over $320,000 - the most of any candidate running.

Candidate for Fl Senate District 10

H. Alexander Duncan is a lifelong public servant, community advocate, and Seminole County native dedicated to protecting constitutional rights, strengthening local communities, and ensuring government works for the people—not special interests.

His commitment to public service began long before he entered politics. Alexander comes from a family deeply rooted in Central Florida history. His great-grandfather, Joseph King, was a pioneering Civil Rights leader whose advocacy nearly cost him his life when he survived an attempted lynching in 1936. Although years of violence and intimidation forced much of the family to leave Central Florida, the King family never abandoned its commitment to serving the community. That legacy of courage, perseverance, and public service continues to shape Alexander’s life and leadership today.

That same spirit of resilience became deeply personal during high school when a devastating football injury left Alexander temporarily paralyzed. Forced to relearn how to walk, write, and use his right arm, he refused to let tragedy define his future. The experience strengthened his faith, forged an unwavering determination, and gave him a lasting appreciation for the challenges faced by individuals living with disabilities.

Those experiences naturally led Alexander into a career centered on stewardship and service. Since 2019, he has served as Property Estate Manager for the King Estate, overseeing a diverse portfolio of residential and commercial properties across Seminole and Orange Counties. In that role, he manages daily operations, budgeting, capital improvements, contractor and vendor relationships, regulatory compliance, and long-term planning—ensuring responsible management of investments that directly impact the surrounding communities.

Today, Alexander is bringing that same commitment to public service to the Florida Senate. He believes government should protect constitutional liberties, promote responsible growth, create economic opportunity, and remain accountable to the people it serves. Guided by the values passed down through generations of his family—service, integrity, courage, and faith—he is running to ensure Florida’s future is built on opportunity, transparency, and leadership that puts people first.

Candidate for Fl House District 64

John Rodriguez, has been raised, educated, and worked in Tampa for over 50 years. A graduate of the University of Florida and a U.S. Army Veteran, John is a member of the American Legion Post 248 in West Tampa. He has served as chief of staff to multiple state legislators for over 15 years and 5 years as the Government Affairs Director for the City of Saint Petersburg. Civically active as a member of both the West Tampa Chamber of Commerce and the West Tampa Community Development Corporation, Mr. Rodriguez is experienced, motivated, and ready to serve on day one.

Let's talk weed and guns!!!!!

Nikki Fried, Florida’s 12th Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services, is a lifelong Floridian, attorney and passionate activist. Born and raised in Miami, Commissioner Fried graduated from the University of Florida, where she received her bachelor’s, master’s in political campaigning and juris doctor degrees. While at the University of Florida, she served as student body president – the first woman to hold the position in nearly two decades.

When Nikki won her election, she became Florida’s only statewide elected Democrat, first democrat elected to the Cabinet in nearly 2 decades, and the first female ever elected to serve as Commissioner. Since taking office as Florida’s Agriculture Commissioner, she has helped build the state hemp industry, stood up for LGBTQ+ equality, and fought for clean water, improved the gun licensing process, and much more.

Prior to being elected, Fried was the head of the Felony Division at the Alachua County Public Defender’s Office and worked in private practice in South Florida, defending homeowners against foreclosure during the 2007-2008 housing crisis. She also worked at law firms as a government consultant, advocating on behalf of clients before the Florida Legislature. In 2017, she formed her own firm to advocate in Tallahassee for at-risk children, the Broward County School Board, and for the expansion of patient access to medical marijuana.

Throughout her career she has served with numerous organizations including the Young Lawyers Board of Governors, Chair of the Broward Days Board of Directors, Legal Needs of Children Bar Committee, LeRoy Collins Institute, Girl Scouts of Southeast Florida, University of Florida Governmental Relations Advisory Committee, University of Florida Board of Trustees, Florida’s Children First, and others.

Joseph Bondy, NORML's Board Chair, was named one of America’s Top 100 Attorneys and one of the Top 100 Criminal Trial Lawyers by the American College of Trial Lawyers, Joseph Bondy is an internationally-recognized expert in criminal litigation. With over 25 years of superlative trial and federal sentencing experience, Bondy has advised thousands of clients in complex criminal defense, cannabis business and advocacy, and crisis management matters. The New York Times has described him as “eloquent and armed with the serene demeanor of a surgeon,” saying that “his oratorical intensity hovers at the evangelical.” High Times dubbed Bondy “one of the nation’s preeminent cannabis attorneys,” and his outstanding talent for defense strategy has been hailed by such outlets as CNN, Politico, and New York Law Journal, as well as legal analysts from around the world. Bondy’s unique approach to criminal defense and public media strategies were particularly praised on a global level while he represented Lev Parnas, a Guiliani associate connected to the Ukraine scandal leading to Donald Trump’s first impeachment. Bondy and Parnas’s interview on The Rachel Maddow Show (MSNBC) was its highest audience-drawing episode of all time, earning an Emmy nomination; and a subsequent feature on Anderson Cooper 360 was one of that program’s most-viewed episodes of the year.

Bondy is a Vice President and Board Member of the Cannabis Cultural Association (CCA). A graduate of Columbia University and Brooklyn Law School, Bondy was a leading member of a team of attorneys on the seminal case Washington v Barr (2019), originally Washington v Sessions (2017), which took action against the Department of Justice with the aim to legalize cannabis federally. He is the founder of In The Know 420, a well-known podcast on cannabis law, policy and industry. Bondy is also a lifetime member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and serves on the faculty of Cardozo Law School’s Intensive Trial Advocacy Program (ITAP).