Insights into National and International Market Trends with Kelly Nielsen today on NCIA's Cannabis Industry Voice only on Cannabis Radio. Kelly is the Vice President of Insights and Analytics with BDSA. She leads the Insights and Analytics team and engages with clients to generate insights from a vast quantity of data to make informed business decisions and drive results. Together with her team, she works with manufacturers, retailers, and investors to deliver unmatched insights and analytics...

Harnessing Terpenes, Sensory Effects + Replacing Opioids with Eybna, Nadav Eyal today on NCIA's Cannabis Industry Voice with Bethany Moore only on Cannabis Radio. Nadav Eyal is the CEO and Co-Founder of Eybna, a pioneering cannabis technology company, and terpene manufacturer headquartered in California and R&D Center in both Colorado and Israel. Nadav's professional background is rooted in the field of data science. Nadav has long been passionate about botanical medicine and how it can...

The Future of Social Equity and Interstate Commerce with Mark Slaugh from NCIA’s DEI Committee today on NCIA’s Cannabis Industry Voice. CEO and owner of iComply, Mark works in the specialist sector of compliance for the medical, retail, and hemp industries and has over 13 years of experience in cannabis industry development, consulting, and operational compliance and over 22 years experience in regulations and risk management. He is a qualified expert witness on cannabis compliance and...

Emerging Markets and Data Compliance with Chad Bronstein of Fyllo today on NCIA's Cannabis Industry Voice with Bethany Moore only on Cannabis Radio. Chad Bronstein is the founder of Fyllo and brings expertise gained during a career leading the sales and marketing teams of some of the largest businesses in advertising, media, and technology. His experience leading large-scale acquisitions, venture fundraising, strategic partnerships, and corporate exits has resulted in the scaling of several...

Mr. Black is an accomplished and results-driven analytical chemist, Material Scientist, and Quality Manager/Engineer. With over 35 years of experience practicing quality engineering and management, working in manufacturing, R&D, working as a food safety scientist and Preventive Control Qualified Individual (PCQI), practicing as a cGMP consultant in Cannabis, and Quality/Process Consultant for the sports equipment PPE industry.  He is the Principal Consultant for CK Black Group providing...

Justin M. Brandt is Founding Partner at Bianchi & Brandt. He blends nearly a decade of business litigation experience with business-development savvy, setting the course for Bianchi & Brandt’s top-down, holistic support of licensed cannabis operators. In addition to overseeing the firm’s litigation practice and daily operations, he excels in proactive risk management and business transaction strategy.  He has been named Top 40 Under 40 Rising Stars by Marijuana Venture and Top 40...

Isaac Bock has served as a member management/ executive team of AlphaRoot for the last 2+ years. Prior to helping spin AlphaRoot, Isaac was a leading member of the Customer Success (renewal/client advisory) team of Founder Shield, which is the company AlphaRoot was initially founded. He brings 6+ years of cannabis-specific experience and 8 years of client advisory work.  Isaac earned his Master’s in Medical Cannabis Science and Therapeutics from the University of Maryland and graduated with...

Melinda Yoo designs innovative, profitable, and award-winning cannabis retail dispensaries across North America. Her work is inspiring, her clients are notable and her vision for the cannabis industry is unparalleled. She leads her team thoughtfully through the creative and technical processes of creating unique retail experiences that are both jaw-dropping and profitable.  After over a decade at a traditional, residential interior design firm in Chicago, Melinda followed her curiosity to...

On this Cannabis Minority Report with Mike Lomuto: Chris Jackson, NCIA Board of Directors Vice Chair. Each week on the show, we highlight the journeys, successes, and challenges of Global Majority (aka Minority) leaders in our industry. Mike interviews a leader who has had to navigate innovatively and who believes in the potential that cannabis brings to the reshaping of our nation and communities. We also provide our take on select news stories, in particular how these stories impact diverse...

Chris Chiari is a driven entrepreneur and award-winning film producer with a wealth of experience in corporate strategy and regional politics. Skilled in marketing and messaging, he has engaged exclusively with the cannabis industry since 2011 and is a tireless advocate for cannabis policy reform and fostering industry growth.  Chris is a former Deputy Director of Colorado NORML, serving for over eight years. When not working on The 420 Hotels portfolio, Chris likes to stay involved with...

Justin Battles is a passionate advocate for service-disabled veterans in the cannabis industry. After serving in the Army for 8 years, including time as an airborne infantryman and quartermaster chemical repairer, he was medically discharged due to knee injuries from his airborne service. This led Justin to pursue his interest in horticulture business management and cannabis studies. His journey in the cannabis industry began with growing his own cannabis for pain management, anxiety, and...

Ricardo Baca is a 20-year veteran journalist and cannabis futurist, widely respected in both modern media and drug-policy circles. He was appointed The Denver Post’s first-ever cannabis editor in 2013 and founded the news vertical The Cannabist, where he extensively covered the advent of the U.S. adult-use cannabis market and related issues around the world, as seen in the feature documentary Rolling Papers. Ricardo launched Grasslands: A Journalism-Minded Agency in 2016 to work directly with...

Andrew J. Kaye is a chief commercial officer at Sweet Leaf Madison Capital. He has been involved in all aspects of the financial services industry, working as a fund portfolio investment manager, investment banker, family office investor, and attorney. Kaye has worked with startups on their first raise and supported global enterprises undertaking billion-dollar stock offerings. He also has significant investment experience in the cannabis industry. Financing cannabis is a myriad of...

Axel Bernabe serves as Chief of Staff and Senior Policy Director. Axel is responsible for standing up and overseeing all aspects of the Office of Cannabis Management. Prior to this position, Axel spent 6 years as chief health counsel to Gov. Cuomo, overseeing all legal and policy deliberations in the health portfolio.  As part of his cannabis responsibilities, he led the expansion of the medical program, directed the launch of the State's cannabinoid hemp program, and drafted and negotiated...

Last year we began to emerge from the restrictions of the pandemic and we were able to return to Washington D.C., but in the interim, we hosted some VIRTUAL LOBBY DAYS to fill the gap. And then returning in person, finally, in September last year, it was just like riding a bike, but with a few limitations. Mainly the security protocols for getting into the various House and Senate buildings, but things went mostly smoothly, so we discuss our guest's experience.  Some of our goals at Lobby...

The cannabis industry certainly has a plethora of regulations to follow, so compliance is crucial. In fact, some operators like to joke that cannabis is “more heavily regulated than plutonium”. We talk about some of the complicated or challenging regulations already happening at the state level since it's currently illegal at the federal level. So that begs the question of the next stage or next step in all this, as we all look toward federal legalization. We dive into what they see happening...

Charlie Alovisetti is a partner at Vicente Sederberg and chair of the firm's Corporate Department. He is recognized by Chambers & Partners as one of the top cannabis lawyers in the United States and is the co-author of The Business of Cannabis: Understanding Law, Finance, and Governance in America’s Newest Industry (Routledge, 2020).  Prior to joining VS, Charlie worked as an associate in the New York offices of Latham & Watkins and Goodwin, where he represented public companies and...

Gary Strahle is a Technical Architect with over a decade's worth of operational cannabis industry experience. 2023 NCIA Retail Committee Chairman. Avid surfer and golfer with a passion to help others. Cannabis Cloud - Applications, Consulting & Payments. Founded in 2015, providing service to over 2,500 cannabis businesses.  Specialized as a Salesforce Partner innovating industry standard solutions from seed to sale, Cannabis Cloud’s payments integrated Retail Point of Sale hosts a robust...

Angel is a plant scientist at UC Berkeley in plant genetics and molecular biology. He is also a recognized researcher and scientist specialist in plant genomics and molecular breeding. As our CEO, he is committed to delivering the promise of revolutionizing the Industry by applying all his knowledge, time, and effort to developing innovative solutions to break the barriers that growers and breeders face. MyFloraDNA is a genomic laboratory based in Sacramento California, delivering modern...

On the construction side of the cannabis industry, before the facility or dispensary opens its doors before any plants are growing before any customers walk in the front door, is an important side to the whole process. After a certain number of years here of legal cannabis in the U.S., there are certainly some best practices, as well as best practices in all even non-cannabis construction, some DOs and DON’Ts that you've seen in this process. Andrew Halbert, a member of the firm’s Cannabis...

 In the previous episode, we focused a lot on the customer experience, but there are other aspects to a cannabis dispensary, like how design impacts those who work there. There’s the front of the house, so to speak, where the employees interface with the customers, and then the back of the house where they maybe store their lunch and hang their jackets. I remember 20+ years ago working in restaurants and retail, and the employee “break” area could vary wildly. Some were dumpy/junky areas with...

Mintropy specializes in Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing, and Fire Protection design consulting services in support of cannabis cultivation and retail facilities. Mintropy’s design approach encourages cohesiveness with nature, and we strive to find ways to incorporate our technological advancements back into harmony with mother nature.  Kevin Quinlan is an entrepreneur and Principal in the built environment and building design industries with a 16-year track record of success in quality on...

Michael has been at NCIA for over 9 years, and Michelle is close to her 9-year anniversary working at the organization. That date back to when two states, Colorado and Washington state, was just rolling out their adult-use cannabis laws for the first time. So with this, we discuss the tone and temperature when it comes to pro-cannabis policy reform in the halls of Congress at that time. Lobby Days is easily our favorite NCIA event, and we think many people share my sentiment. Pre-COVID...

Many people rely on insurance professionals to navigate the complicated waters of protecting their businesses, and there are a lot of different types of insurance that a cannabis company should consider. We start with the basics here of the types of insurance that almost any cannabis company should immediately secure. We also dive into more nuanced insurance types that people may not think about immediately. We always think of the phrase “acts of god” which is sometimes covered in insurance,...