CANNABIS IN AFRICA | DARIN HICKMAN [economic development]
On this episode of Let’s be Blunt, Montel talks with entrepreneur, investment banking and strategic business development executive Darin Hickman. Having decades of experience doing business in Africa, Darin is on a mission to build the foremost vertically integrated cannabis company on the African Continent. His company, AphriHelios Global, was awarded its initial license in 2019 from the Kingdom of Lesotho’s Ministry of Health to cultivate, process, package and export cannabis products from the capital Maseru. Africa has the ideal climate for cannabis cultivation and is poised to become the largest exporter of cannabis around the globe.
VICE VENTURES | CATHARINE DOCKERY [Investing in Cannabis]
On this episode of Let’s Be Blunt, Montel talks with Catharine Dockery, a founding partner at Vice Ventures, a venture capital fund investIng in early-stage vice companies. She founded Vice Ventures at just 26 years old after repeatedly brushing against vice clauses at investment pitches which prohibited investments in traditionally “bad for you” sectors such as cannabis, alcohol, sex-tech, CBD, and more, culminatIng in the idea for the fund which exclusively invests in these sectors. Formerly an investment banker and a chief of staff for Bonobo’s co-founder Andy Dunn, she has raised $25 million from family offices and high-profile investors like Marc Andreessen and Bradley Tusk. She was featured on Forbes 30-under-30 list and has appeared on Bloomberg, CSQ, Ganjapreneur, and many more.
ADDICTION-PRISON-RECOVERY | JESSICA KENT [prison reform]
Montel chats with Jessica Kent on this episode of Let’s Be Blunt. Jessica is a prison reform, addiction and recovery advocate. She is a recovering addict who has been sober for over 9 years! She served time in New York and Arkansas penitentiaries and stepped out of prison for the last time in 2013. Jessica has become a full-time YouTuber with 445k subscribers, and she received her bachelor’s degree in correctional program support services. She uses her platform to help people better understand addiction and the US prison system. She recently revealed on her YouTube Channel that she uses medical marijuana to manage her insomnia, depression, anxiety, and PTSD and has received overwhelming support from her audience.
Awesome to feature something about cannabis. @mclaughlin , here is a cool short story about african cannabis if you would like to know more. Its mainly from a South African view point but also includes its connection with the continent.
Montel Williams sits down with Jessica Gonzales aka the Mommy Jane On this Let’s Be Blunt Short. Like millions out there, Jessica was suffering with anxiety and depression. She decided to trade in her alcohol and prescription medication for medical cannabis and something incredible happened. Not only did she feel better and become more productive, but she also lost almost 100 lbs! The mother, wife, and full-time cannabis influencer and educator talks about her website, https://www.themommyjane.com where you can find her blog where she shares lifestyle tips and brands that work best for her wellness routine, resources and discounts for those who want to save money on their medicine, and 1-on-1 consulting for personal growth.
26 YEARS IN PRISON FOR A NON-VIOLENT CRIME | MICHAEL THOMPSON [cannabis injustice]
Montel talks with Michael Thompson on this episode of Let’s Be Blunt. Michael never committed a violent crime, but yet he is the longest serving non-violent offender in Michigan State history. He was sentenced for 40 to 60 years and has spent the last 26 years in a Michigan prison for a cannabis-related charge even though recreational cannabis was legalized in Michigan in 2018. By the end of 2021 recreational weed is projected to be a $1.5 billion industry in Michigan. He has spent almost half of his life in prison for selling weed. It cost the state of Michigan over a million dollars to keep him there. And it was one of the single most egregious cases of injustice going on in the entire country. Fortunately, with the hard work of the Last Prisoner Project, The Grassroots Law Project, and the support of hundreds of thousands of people who signed petitions and helped raise awareness, he was granted clemency and released from prison on January 28, 2021.
INHALE MD | DR JORDAN TISHLER [cannabis best practices]
On this episode of Let’s be Blunt, Montel speaks with Dr. Jordan Tishler about the importance of patient safety not being lost in the process of adult use legalization. Dr Tishler graduated from both Harvard College and Harvard Medical School, trained at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and is currently faculty at both the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He has spent many years working with the underserved, particularly providing care for veterans. Having treated countless patients harmed by alcohol and drugs, his observation that he had never seen a cannabis overdose led him to delve deeply into the science of cannabis safety and treatment. He is a frequent speaker and author on a variety of topics related to the medical applications of cannabis, and he is the President of the Association of Cannabis Specialists, which aims to educate clinicians, lawmakers, and the industry about best practices and necessary tools for proper patient care.
SUBURBAN MOMS TO CANNABIS PROFESSIONALS [women in weed]
Montel talks with Dr Leslie Apgar and Gina Dubbe on this episode of Let’s Be Blunt. They are the co-authors of the bestselling book, High Heals: How Two Women Found Their Footing in the Medical Cannabis Industry, which chronicles their personal, medical, and entrepreneurial journey from best friends and suburban moms to vocal advocates for shifting the narrative on medical cannabis. They are the owners of Greenhouse Wellness dispensary in Maryland.
KETAMINE THERAPY | DR MICHELLE WEINER [psychedelics]
On this episode of Let’s be Blunt, Dr Michelle Weiner joins Montel again, this time to discuss how she utilizes Ketamine in her medical practice. Dr Weiner is an Interventional Pain Management Physician board certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. She completed her residency and fellowship training at the University of Miami and is known as South Florida’s Medical Cannabis and CBD expert and educator. Her specialty is focused on prevention, treatment, reversal of health deterioration, increasing function and managing pain. She’s a unique player in the wellness industry, taking an innovative approach to providing health and wellness services. Her unique approach of personalized medicine improves the quality of life and decreases pharmaceuticals while treating conditions such as pain, inflammation, anxiety, insomnia, and other neurodegenerative diseases.
On this Let’s Be Blunt Short, Montel Williams chats with Max Montrose, a cannabis sommelier, co-founder, and president of the Trichome Institute – a cannabis education company. In their interesting discussion, Montel asks Max to tell us more about his company. Max tells us about why he started the Trichome institute in the first place and how he combats the spread of misinformation with the term he coined: “interpening” - the art and science of the cannabis sommelier; evaluating flower for total quality control, psychotropic effects, and a variety type designation.
On this episode of Let’s be Blunt, Montel talks with the founder of the hardware brands Myster & Octave. Davis talks about his home and business being raiding for selling only CBD products and the legal threats that came with it when he was in his early 20’s. He has been a lifelong advocate for cannabis, and has been working to change the stigma that comes with being a cannabis enthusiast.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT PSYCHEDELICS | SHELBY HARTMAN
We’re all blind in some ways—blind to our biases, blind to our needs, blind to our habits. That’s what good journalism is for—not for reaffirming our beliefs, but for challenging us to consider new ones that are based on facts. That is the mission statement behind the magazine Double Blind. On this episode of Let’s Be Blunt, Montel talks with the Editor in Chief of DoubleBlind Magazine, Shelby Hartman
Sophie Ryan has been battling a low-grade, Optic Pathway Glioma brain tumor since she was 8 1/2 months old and she is now 8 1/2 years old. After years of chemotherapy and clinical trials, 3 major brain surgeries and one minor one brain surgery she is left with almost complete vision loss and is now disabled on her left side from a major brain surgery this past February. Unfortunately, her tumor and multiple cysts are growing AGAIN!!! The good news is that there is hope!
Her treating hospital, CHLA, doesn’t have any good therapies available for her that she’s not either extremely allergic to or are experimental, and are not curative.
BUT, after years of working with Dr. Anahid Jewett to find a cure for Soph, she has connected Sophie’s family with the Seraph Research Institute, a non-profit medical research institution for which she is a collaborator. The treatment protocol SRI has developed would greatly improve Sophie’s chances for survival. They have years of documented success with eliminating the deadliest brain tumors on the planet.
Here comes the challenge! These human trials of ONE are not covered by insurance. This is an extremely complex trial and trials like this can cost over $250k out of pocket. We need your help to raise as much as possible so we can SAVE SOPHIE and provide her with the disease free life she desperately craves, and absolutely deserves. No amount is too small, or too large. Bless you all for your love and support!!!
ABOUT THE TRIAL -
Sophie will initially receive low dose and very low side effect inducing toxic therapies to lower the protective walls around her cancer cells, and stunt her T-cells. Either my husband or I will undergo a 4-hour process called Apheresis where they will remove our blood through one arm, take our Natural Killer Cells and other powerful immune cells from our blood, and then return the blood into the other arm. Depending on who’s NK’s are best for Sophie, those cells will be “activated” and given to her. These Natural Killer Cells will then reprogram her T-cells to attack and kill the cancer cells in her brain. They will also use her live brain tissue that we have provided to create an additional tumor vaccine.
ABOUT SERAPH RESEARCH INSTITUTE -
Seraph Research Institute seeks to uncover unseen or untouched basic science and translational aspects of disease mechanisms, in order to create novel and effective treatments. They are a non-profit research institution, registered with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), that works to advance medical science in the areas of unmet need. Seraph Research Institute works in collaboration with the Seraph Medical team, along with other accomplished scientists and organizations, to eradicate chronic and terminal diseases. www.SeraphInstitute.org
Recent Publication on Full Eradication of Glioblastoma, the deadliest brain tumor in existence. The patient is now 21 months disease free, with other patients being disease free for as long as 10 years.
HOW TO MAKE A BILLION DOLLARS FROM HEMP | MATTHEW HARMON [US hemp trade deficit]
Thomas Jefferson wrote, “Hemp is the health, wealth and security of this country”. During World War II, the U.S. Department of Agriculture had a “hemp for victory” campaign to encourage farmers to grow the plant. Yet illogical fears about the dangers of marijuana led to the passage of laws such as the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 and the Controlled Substance Act of 1970 that severely discouraged farmers from growing hemp.
On this episode of Let’s Be Blunt, Montel talks with Matthew Harmon, the author of “Marijuana Hater’s Guide to Making a Billion Dollars From Hemp”. Matthew is a seasoned real estate executive with a sharp eye for viable commercial and retail business ventures. When California decriminalized cannabis, business opportunities increased as prospective tenants took advantage of its new status. Researching the new industry, he was shocked to learn that hemp was classified as a Schedule One controlled substance at that time, despite the fact that it contains minimal amounts of the psychotropic ingredient in cannabis and cannot be used to get high. He educated himself on industrial hemp’s historical significance, its thousands of commercial uses, and the plant’s potential to support or replace current diminishing resources, and concluded that hemp seemed a far more impactful and sustainable business investment than cannabis. That set him on a mission to expose why industrial hemp had been criminalized for decades, and to lift the illogical and arbitrary laws that left the United States with a $78 million hemp trade deficit.
On this epsiode of Let’s be Blunt, Montel chats with Margo Vesely about being a cannabis entrereneur. Margo is a passionate cannabis advocate, researcher, and entrepreneur with almost two decades of cannabis experience. She is the Executive Director of the IL Chapter of NORML and the Founder of Margo-juana, a blog and brand that provides digestible cannabis education. Through the blog she shares her wellness journey along with tips on how to build a self-empowering mindset and how to be an entrepreneur in the cannabis landscape.
Watching this podcast tonight. Can you believe NORML is going into its 51st year of activism for the plant. We even have a local chapter in South Africa.
Could cannabis be made legal in the US under President Biden? The signs are mixed. Most Americans want it, but the federal politics of cannabis remain unclear.
In a surprise move, conservative Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas recently called into question the constitutionality of federal bans on cannabis.
Montel gets the latest updates on state and federal legalization progress on this epsiode of Let’s Be Blunt from Karen O’Keefe, director of state policies for the Marijuana Policy Project. She manages MPP’s grassroots and direct lobbying efforts in state legislatures, is responsible for updating MPP’s model legislation, which formed the basis for several laws. In 2011, she was appointed by Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley to serve on the state’s medical marijuana work group. She earned her J.D. from Loyola School of Law, New Orleans, where she received the Gillis Long Public Service award and the Crowe Scholar award. She is admitted to the Bar in the District of Columbia.
MEGA BRAND BUILDER | SMOKE WALLIN [cannabis brands]
On this episode of Let’s be Blunt, Montel speaks with MEGA Entrepreneur Smoke Wallin. He received his Bachelors of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from Cornell University and his MBA from Vanderbilt University. He serves on the board of the publicly traded cannabis investment firm, Vencanna, is Chairman of Taliera, a company he founded in 2006 to incubate and celebrate iconic brands, and is a Senior Advisor to STS Capital. He has founded and built multiple companies and brands, including National Wine & Spirits, which is now one of the largest distributors of beer, wine and spirits in the US with over $1 billion in beverage sales. He has overseen more than $1.7 billion in M&A, deals and financings, publicly and privately, for his companies and created $100s of millions in value for stakeholders. He is the the CEO of Vertical Wellness, a leading vertically integrated CBD brand company.
HOW TO BE AN ENVIRONMENTALLY FREINDLY CANNNABUSINESS | JESCE HORTON
Montel talks with Jesce Horton on this epsiode of Lets Be Blunt. Jesce is a visionary leader in the cannabis industry with a background in engineering, energy management and automation, and a passion for horticulture. In 2016, he was appointed by Oregon Governor Kate Brown to the Task Force for Cannabis Environmental Best Practice and continues this work today through the Resource Innovation Institute, an organization building the central platform for creating energy efficiency solutions and standards for the global cannabis industry. He is also on the board of directors for the Oregon Cannabis Association and he’s an advisory board member at Marijuana Business Daily and Ben’s Best, the new venture by Ben Cohen of Ben & Jerry’s fame aimed at funding Black-owned cannabis companies and further supporting the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition and Last Prisoner Project. He’s served on numerous federal, state and local cannabis regulatory advisory committees to help shape the legal cannabis markets in both Oregon and California. He is the CEO at LOUD, an award wining cannabis company in Oregon.
