Let's be Blunt with Montel

On this episode of Let's Be Blunt with Montel, we’re thrilled to host Christina Betancourt Johnson, a trailblazer in the cannabis industry and the founder/CEO of Standard Wellness Maryland and The Forest. Christina’s company is the first African American and Latina majority-owned, vertically integrated cannabis company in the U.S. and Maryland’s first vertically integrated social equity licensee.

Join us as Christina shares her inspiring entrepreneurial story, the challenges and triumphs of being a minority business owner in the rapidly evolving cannabis landscape, and how she’s redefining holistic wellness through The Forest dispensary. We’ll also explore her leadership roles on national legislative efforts for cannabis legalization—an especially timely topic in today’s political climate.

Tune in to hear her insights on fostering equity in the cannabis market, the importance of community-first business models, and her advice for aspiring entrepreneurs looking to enter the space. Christina’s vision for Standard Wellness and The Forest is more than just about products—it’s about meaningful change, empowerment, and creating opportunities for all.

You won’t want to miss this one. Listen now!

Join the conversation and empower change in the cannabis industry:

On this episode of Let's Be Blunt with Montel, we’re exploring the world of cooperative cannabis farming and caregiver rights in the breathtaking islands of Hawaii. Montel sits down with Jason Hanley, a U.S. Army veteran, biologist, and the owner of Care Waialua Medical Cannabis Farm, to uncover the realities of Hawaii's cannabis landscape.

Jason brings over 22 years of cannabis-growing experience across multiple states and is a leading advocate for patients' rights and sustainable medical cannabis programs in Hawaii. He shares his firsthand experience navigating the challenges of legislative hurdles, the controversial 2023 raid on his Oahu farm, and his ongoing mission to protect caregiver rights.

We’ll also discuss the Hawaii Medical Cannabis Act of 2025 and the push for policies that empower local growers, create jobs, and ensure affordable access to medical cannabis. Whether you’re a cannabis advocate, policy enthusiast, or someone passionate about community health, this episode is one you won’t want to miss.

Tune in to hear Jason’s incredible story, his fight for equitable cannabis policies, and how he’s building a movement for patients and caregivers alike.

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Cannabis has a special responsibility when it comes to social justice, because cannabis has a special history. To quote the Leafly report on social equity -Seeds of Change: Strategies to Create an Equitable Cannabis Industry - It is disingenuous to legalize cannabis and pretend that people of all races enjoy equal access to the opportunity offered by this new industry. Eight decades of prohibition have burdened people of color with targeted policing, arrests, and criminal records. In the present, venture capitalists and other investors, who are overwhelmingly white, often ignore, shun, or dismiss pitches from entrepreneurs of color. To make progress in the future, we’ll have to examine where and how we can do better. On this episode of Let’s be Blunt Montel talks with Josiah Young, a NY & CA licensed attorney with a passion for social equity within the cannabis industry. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSupport the show

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Montel talks with Salvador Santana on this episode of Let’s Be Blunt with Montel. Salvador is a renowned producer, songwriter and musician who has attained global acclaim for founding multiple bands and headlining events around the world, adding to his list of accolades a Grammy at age 16.The son of guitarist Carlos Santana plays keyboards and his band plays a mix of hip-hop, jazz, rock, Latin and world music.Salvador Santana’s artistic chops are colored by-and a continuation of-his family’s legacy. Salvador’s maternal grandfather was an African-American blues pioneer, tenor and guitar legend Saunders King, his paternal grandfather is celebrated violinist and mariachi bandleader Jose Santana, and his father is 10-time Grammy-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Carlos Santana.Salvador grew to understand the medical and spiritual benefits of cannabis, learning about and experiencing first hand the wide range of positive, natural effects of cannabis, in all of its forms, and is a passionate advocate. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSupport the show

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Over two decades as an activist, Andrew DeAngelo worked on a variety of voter initiatives that legalized medical and adult-use cannabis in San Francisco, Washington D.C, and the State of California. As a co-founder and advisor to one of the oldest and largest cannabis retailers in the world, Harborside, Andrew has pioneered legal cannabis business processes and provided groundbreaking political engagement and thought leadership to the cannabis community — leading the design and development of gold-standard cannabis retail by innovating many “firsts” for the industry. This includes: introducing CBD medicines to heal severely epileptic children, implementing the first lab-testing program in the history of cannabis dispensing, creating child-resistant packaging for edibles, standardizing inventory tracking, initiating senior outreach, and successfully preventing the federal government from seizing Harborside in forfeiture actions against the company in 2012. Andrew began his political career as an activist while studying for his MFA in acting at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. He has starred in several films and runs an entertainment production company, DeAngelo Brothers Productions (DAB), with his brother Steve. Andrew is co-founder and Treasurer of the Board for the non-profit Last Prisoner Project (LPP) and a founding Board of Directors member of the California Cannabis Industry Association (CCIA) where he served from 2013 to 2020. https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewdeangelo/ https://www.instagram.com/andrew_deangelo/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/AndrewDeAngeloHarborsideFLRish/ https://www.medicaljane.com/directory/professional/andrew-deangelo/Support the show (https://www.youtube.com/letsbebluntwithmontel ) Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSupport the show

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