Great question, Nick! And thank you. That is the reason I do long-form interviews. It always takes a moment to warm into a conversation. While i usually prepare very well for each interview ā I research and know as much as I can about the topic and person Iām interviewing in advance ā I almost NEVER pre-write questions. I found that they take me out of the conversation, or interrupt it, because Iām anticipating the next question rather than listening to the nuances of what my guests have to say. The guests are the ones who write the interview and there are always surprises that can spark a new thread more relevant to the topic than any pre-conceived questions might have been.
As for those who inspire meā¦ On the storytelling side, I was always a big fan of Vanity Fair and pubs like the Utne Reader and New Yorker in the way they delve deep into an issue. I also love the way Rachel Maddow starts her topics with something seemingly unrelated but leads to the ah-ha moment when the meat of an interview is revealed. Since cannabis was rather controversial when I started, I found easing into the topic with a story or newsworthy angle puts the audience at ease ā and when I was doing live shows, it also helped to put the guest at ease, particularly guests who werenāt cannabis pros.
Thanks, Ethan. Itās funny, Iām often surprised to know people out there hear the message ā when youāre in a studio having a one-on-one conversation, itās easy to forget there is an audience!
Will we begin to see more diversity in the grow side of the business?
Woman bring a special dimension to commercial floriculture and have made a tremendous impact. My hope with more woman is there opens to different production methods. Example for standard floriculture is https://mickysminis.org/ Michelle Heimos built the first large scale flood floor in a glasshouse in her fathers business. She has been very influential. As has Anna Caroline Ball, President and CEO of Ball Seed Company.
How do we integrate cannabis into main stream floriculture?
Thanks, @will.i.am. Absolutely yes and yes ā both.
Iām old enough to remember the TV commercials telling me that marijuana would fry my brain like an egg in a frying pan and grew up being told that hemp was strictly for hippies who liked to get high and fry their brainsā¦ It takes a week to instill a belief that could take generations to reverse. When you look at whatās happening with the admonishment of āfake newsā these days, no amount of science, logic, fact, evidence can change the minds of people who are absolutely convinced that the earth is flat. We know itās round, but a few TV networks and politicians keep feeding the message.
The same thing happened with cannabis. It took less than a year for the famed Reefer Madness campaign to convince a whole country that cannabis was the devils weed. Here we are 80 years later still trying to undo that ridiculous belief.
But, youāre right to imply that the generation of those who had Reefer Madness propaganda first hand is giving way to a new generation growing up with marijuana regulation normalized in many states and more open dialogue. the RM generation is no longer most influential, with the exception of the old guard politicians who still abide by the Nixon/Reagan drug prohibition. Younger political leaders see how damaging the War on Drugs has been ā and how cannabis has potential to transform our economy, environment, social justice system and human health. The more we talk about it with the old guard, the more some can be convinced. When peers accept it (think John Boehner) then others follow.
Iām amazed the hemp legislation passed. Although it didnāt solve everything ā they failed to remove hemp CBD from CSA Schedule 1, itās a great start and only a matter of time before we can convince the hold outs that all cannabis should be de-scheduled.
With a long style interview how do you deal with the people who answer questions for a living? I have been in horticulture for 40 years. I use to sit with the older growers in St. Louis and they would tell me stories of when. There was a real mentor culture in horticulture. There was active participation between generations.
One of my goals is to give back to floriculture in a place I can have an impact. Cannabis seems to be one of those spaces where maybe as an old guy, who doesnāt need to work, I can give back. But cannabis as an industry is suppressed by this old horticulture axioms. The old teach the young. and there are no secrets to a good grow.
How do we get Cannabis out of the mind set of clandestine into more mainstream floriculture mindset.
For example I am a member of the Royal Horticulture Society, The American Horticulture Society and the American Floriculture Society. I can do this because they give me a emeritus discount. I can keep current and contribute to the community. In Cannabis to join the professional associations it is $1000 a year instead of $50 a year. I donāt want to spend 1/60 of my disposable income on helping others. I am a member of the others be cause they give back. I only charge a pair of funny socks to growers for them to bounce an idea off me one on one. and only once. return visits are free.
When as an industry that will practice what it preaches?
OMG yes! Wile Iāve been fortunate to interview some prolific activism pioneers like NORMLās Keith Stroup, David Bronner, Michael Bowman, Bob Hoban, President Vicente Fox, Judge James Gray, Hemp Techās Greg Flavall, Montel Williams, Melissa Etheridge, Marvin Washington, to name a few. But, there are so many more Iād love to interview like Leaflyās Bruce Barcott, Dr. Raphael Maschulam (sorry I didnāt spell that right, have to look up), Willie Nelson, Woody Harrelson, Sir Richard Branson, Steve DāAngelo, Ethan Nadelmann, Senator Corey Booker, the list goes on.
Iād also love to interview recent converts like Former Atty General Eric Holder, the current Surgeon General and former Speaker John Boehnerā¦
The farm bill amazed me this year on the hemp provisions. It looks like Chicago Board of Trade will list it as a future. The university of Kentucky did field trials last year under license! We are having the first good papers on Cannabis as a plant to come out since the World War 2 Hemp for Victory campaign.
Research that is directly available to everyone of us. Last month British Journal of plant genetics did a distribution sequence on 2 cultivars. We have real work starting to come out. That can be directly used in the grow or the QA of the grow.
When will the land grant schools be able to start do research into hemp production? That will be the key.
You have definitely interviewed some of the most notable names in cannabis. Perhaps Growers Network can help you liaison with some of those other individuals who you would like to interview. itās the beauty of having a community like this! Anyone want to do some warm introductions for @TheCannabisReporter?
I believe soā¦ Diversity is important and there are big problems that contribute to a lack of it ā first, in many states, people with felony drug possession records are not permitted to enter the industry. I think that needs to change, particularly since some offer a wealth of wisdom. If any of you know Chris Martin, heās like a walking encyclopedia but barred from touching the psychotropic variety.
A second issue that impacts diversity is the cost of entering the industry and banking regulations barring financially challenged entrepreneurs from applying for loans ā unless theyāre extremely well connected to an investor pool with deep pockets, itās nearly impossible to raise the money needed to do it right.
Iād like to see the very profitable industry giants start an investment pool that young entrepreneurs can tap on a merit/need basis if theyāre not well endowed or well-connected.
What does the future hold for The Cannabis Reporter? Where do you hope to see your show in a few years? Where do you see the cannabis industry in five years?
I think there are companies/institutions trying to do that. The problem is that cannabis has been absent from the vernacular in mainstream ag, science and medicine since the 1930s. As with policy makers who still believe the world is flat, so to speak, horticultural old-guard will warm up to cannabis as their peers warm up to it and normalize the dialogue. This takes one face-to-face conversation at a time. Slow, I know, but effective.
I hope that that is true.
How do you see quality control issues on the grow side effecting, the consumer side straighten themselves out? Are we beginning to loose the trust of the end consumer? Will boutique products start making a bigger inroad into the retail market? These are the things that keep me excided and worried.
I first hand saw what the tech bubble did to good products.
I think you are correct. I am starting to work as though I am an old grower and will be attending the Show in Seattle the end of month. I think all the Canadians, form BC will come down and try to learn more.
There once was a time when I worried that, if cannabis were ever fully legalized, there would be no need for a publication whose mission is to educate the public so as to bring cannabis out of the darkness of prohibitionā¦ Now that light has been shed and legalization is inevitable, I canāt imagine running out of topics to cover long after the mission is fulfilled.
Whereas when we began, we called attention to the falsehoods of prohibition and every scientific revelation was breaking news. Already, in the last year we have begun to craft interviews as if cannabis were the most normal subject and call out injustices less frequently because there are fewer in general. Even so, we have only scratched the surface of what people should know. Iām convinced that cannabis will save the world ā medically, the possibilities are endless and we now know that so many pharmaceuticals will be obsolete once the body of evidence grows and the medical industry accepts it as a norm. But we also have the potential to replace (yes replace) fossil fuels and end deforestation practices with hemp once we build out the infrastructure in the industry. I think the potential on the environmental side is endless. We can also use hemp to adapt to the perils of climate ā floods, fires, storms. I did an episode on why disaster zones need hemp homesā¦ All vulnerable areas, and those impacted by earthquakes, should be rebuilding with hemp.
As for The Cannabis Reporter, we hope to find a well-endowed underwriter who can take us into the major media outlets that have already accepted our show in order to tap new major market audiences and policy makers who listen to those stations. The cost is enormous for us but would be a drop in the bucket for someone with deep pockets and passion for moving this industry forwardā¦ We are here to stay and this labor of love is driven by our belief that cannabis will create a more sustainable and prosperous future for us all.
I think thereās more trust because of the state regs in place. The boutiques got us started, but the encroachment of the well-endowed, corporate financed operations have potential to squeeze out smaller ones. This drives home the importance of lobbying for laws that wonāt favor the giants at the expense of the smaller farmers. After all, cannabis has potential to revitalize farming communities oppressed by the ag giants. There is a conundrum brewing with the FDA that appears to be thwarting ā or at least trying to thwart ā the small operators in the CBD market. That keeps me up at night!
The nice thing about traditional floriculture and I see it in cannabis is that there is room for both type of growers. There will always be 20% of the growers will be boutique, but they are going to occupy the top end of the market like they do, in specialty cut flowers. The boutiques will be able to get higher prices for products they vertically market.
We are going to have the big box growers the Home Despots of the world. They will have a quality product but not anything to write home about. The McDonalds of the cannabis world. Let them it is a hard way to make money.
Snowden, thanks for being with us today and taking time out of your schedule to host this AMA. We really appreciate what you do to further the cause and normalize cannabis the world over! Keep up the great work! I canāt wait to hear the next episode of your show!
Thank you so much for the invitation, Nick. And thanks to everyone for the great questions. I really enjoyed this and I look forward to more interaction. Iād like to welcome questions from anyone in the community at any time and Iāll be checking in regularly.
