This week we’re joined by previous guests Spiros Malandrakis & Shane MacGuill from Euromonitor International - the world's leading independent provider of strategic market research.

We examine the impact of the emergence of the cannabis industry on the legacy tobacco, nicotine, and alcohol markets, and how the sector may continue to disrupt these established global markets in the future.

The Cannabis Conversation is sponsored by Lumino - a boutique HR and Recruitment Agency specialising in building high performance teams for the European Cannabis Industry. They work in three main verticals: Commercial, Medical and Plant Facing.

Get in touch at www.luminorecruit.com/

📚 VIEW SHOW NOTES AND EXTRAS:

https://www.canverse.global/shownotes/e152

About Shane MacGuill - Global Lead, Nicotine and Cannabis

Shane MacGuill conducts research and provides strategic analysis on all aspects of the global tobacco, nicotine and cannabis industries - working with a range of stakeholders to map the potential evolution and intersection of these industries. Collaborating with a broad spectrum of industry players including international manufacturers and companies in the supply chain, he leads conversations on consumer and industry trends and strategic development. A frequent contributor to the mainstream and business media including CNBC, Reuters, the Economist, Bloomberg, the Financial Times, the Sunday Times and the Times of London.

About Spiros Malandrakis - Head of Research, Alcoholic Drinks and Cannabis

Spiros Malandrakis has been providing pioneering insights on the evolution, branding and innovation within the global alcoholic drinks industry for the past decade. One of the first analysts to highlight the parallels, opportunities and pitfalls for the nascent cannabis market and its intersection with other FMCG industries.

A key author in trade magazines and a frequent contributor to high profile business media such as Bloomberg, the BBC, the Financial Times, Reuters, the WSJ, Spiros is regular keynote speaker in some of the industry’s most sought after conferences, and a firm believer in irreverent, opinionated and independent analysis.

Resources

Euromonitor’s Website: https://www.euromonitor.com/

Connect with Spiros on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/spiros-malandrakis-36830446/

Connect with Shane on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shanemacguill/

This week, we are joined by Saul Kaye, pharmacist, angel investor, cannabis expert and founder of iCAN. iCAN, based in Israel, creates advanced pharmaceutical medical cannabis brands and products. They own a portfolio of innovative companies across the entire global cannabis ecosystem and are behind CannaTech, the world's leading Cannabis conference.

Saul provides us with some amazing insights into entrepreneurship within the Cannabis Space, we speak about: what you need to become a successful entrepreneur, how to win over investors, the importance of founding teams, and more.

We really enjoyed this discussion with Saul. If you’d like to find out more about Israel Cannabis and for resources mentioned within the episode, click through to our show notes here: https://www.canverse.global/shownotes/episode-27-entrepreneurship-in-the-cannabis-space-with-saul-kaye-founder-of-ican⠀
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Episode Summary

• Saul comes from a science background, having worked as a retail pharmacist for many years before switching over to cannabis.
• Israel has the highest rate of cannabis patients in relation to the population and is currently experiencing a bottleneck in patient access.
• iCAN operates across the value chain in areas including genetics, research, growing, extracting, formulating products, image processing and AI for applications in cannabis.
• Saul became interested in the Cannabis industry when his business partner and friend Jason needed medical cannabis. As a pharmacist, Saul found this incredibly interesting and opened up Saul’s eyes and he realised that the plant had huge medical potential.
• Israel has had a medical cannabis program since 1996 and now have over 50,000 patients within it.
• When starting a cannabis business, it is fundamental that you know your numbers - you need to be able to demonstrate to investors that you have a firm grip and understanding of profit and loss.
• You also need to have an incredibly clear vision to win over investors. You will need a clear idea of where the business wants to go in the future, actionable points about how to get there, and a solid team to execute on the vision.
• If you are starting a business in order to solve a problem, make sure the problem actually exists. Afterall - nobody will buy your products or services if they don’t need them.
• There is nothing wrong with working across the value chain and becoming a vertically integrated company as long as you have the skills and expertise to pull it off. Often, business who operate this way will be able to make more profits and therefore impress investors.
• 50% or more of founders teams will break up. It is important to make sure that your founder's agreements are thorough and that each member of the team is pulling their weight so to speak.
• Israel is an incredibly forward-thinking country and there are a plethora of Israeli businesses who are leading within the Cannabis space. THC, CBD and the endocannabinoid system was discovered in Israel, and there have been many clinical trials and studies within the country.
• In Israel, all political parties support Cannabis, whether they

This week, we welcome Gary Roberts, firefighter, CEO of Promises Recovery, Inc. and Host of Good Dudes Grow Podcast.

We examine PTSD and traumatic stress, along with the evidence of how cannabis can help in a therapeutic way. Gary also shares his personal journey through grief, which ultimately led him to found a non profit recovery centre for those in need.

📚 VIEW SHOW NOTES AND EXTRAS:

www.canverse.global/shownotes/e168

The Cannabis Conversation is sponsored by Lumino - a boutique HR and Recruitment Agency specialising in building high performance teams for the European Cannabis Industry. They work in three main verticals: Commercial, Medical and Plant Facing.

Get in touch at www.luminorecruit.com/

About Gary Roberts

18-year active duty firefighter. Gary also has over 30 years of experience in the fitness industry, focusing on athlete coaching, physical recovery programs, and mental training for athletic performance. Given his background and ability to learn and overcome psychological and physical trauma, medical training, and understanding how the body can be adaptive to proper prevention and post-recovery protocols. Gary has founded Promises Innovative Recovery to become a mental and physical health leader using innovative therapeutics like plant-based medicine and psychedelics. PIR focuses continuously on moving the needle forward with new and successful programs to benefit those in need.

Timestamps

0:00 Welcome to The Cannabis Conversation

0:46 Gary’s personal background, work as a firefighter, and why he became involved in recovery

5:15 Gary’s entrepreneurial journey and starting his CBD brand Pure Body Zen

14:13 Gary’s motivations for starting his CBD brand, and the challenges faced using CBD as a firefighter

16:00 Introduction to traumatic stress, PTSD, and Gary’s experiences of this

19:38 Are there different types of PTSD?

22:21 How do first line responders and firefighters usually treat alcohol?

25:15 How can cannabis help with traumatic stress?

27:33 The balance of THC and CBD for therapeutic use

31:45 The use of MDMA for post traumatic stress

Resources

Connect with Gary on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/good-dudes-grow/

Follow Good Dudes Grow Podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gooddudesgrowpodcast/

Follow Promises Innovative Recovery on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/promises-innovative-recovery/

Promises Recovery Centers’Website: www.promisesrecoverycenters.com

Promises Innovative Recovery’s Website: www.promisesinnovativerecovery.com

This week we’re joined by Will Muecke, Co-founder and Managing Member at Artemis Growth Partners - ESG and impact-oriented private equity platform dedicated to investing in the worldwide cannabis industry.

Join us as we discuss the recent acquisition of Bridge Farm Group, what impact investing is, and why now is a great time to invest in cannabis.

This episode is sponsored by Central European Cannabis Forum who are holding an online virtual conference on the 9th and 10th June 2020 on the topic of Medical Cannabis in Central and Eastern Europe. If you are interested in attending, you can grab a 20% discount on your tickets via this link: http://cecf.eu/CC

Episode Summary

• Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) refers to the three central factors in measuring the sustainability and societal impact of an investment in a company or business. These types of investments try to ‘do a little bit more than just profit’ by making the world a better place through investment.
• Will had a traditional career in investment banking and finance, working at Goldman Sachs for a number of years within Healthcare Services, and later on founding a private equity group named CoreCo Private Equity which manages investment funds that promote sustainable business development, support social impact investment opportunities, and create outsized investor returns through growth equity investments in the emerging markets.
• In 2017, he founded Artemis Growth Partners, Impact investors within the global cannabis industry. The team consist of a team of professional investors, operators, and advisors who have built and run successful, award-winning domestic and international impact funds.
• Artemis Growth Partners currently have over $200m of assets under management, and continually raise capital as a single purpose vehicle. They manage 6 funds which range in size.
• Will’s interest in cannabis came from his sister’s use of medical cannabis during cancer treatment - she was able to alleviate opioid side effects through its use.
• Artemis Growth Partners’ investments within the space focus on health and wellness, social justice, regenerative forming and exiting the opioid crisis.
• UK Cannabis horticulture company Bridge Farm, has recently been acquired by Artemis Growth Partners for £66m. The farm has 2million square feet of cultivation space and is the leading producer of ornamental plant, flowers and herbs in the UK.
• Bridge Farm hold one of 12 Research and Development licenses in the UK, alongside GW Pharma, which over time may evolve into a commercial license allowing the production of high THC buds.
• The firm also have investments in Orium Group - Europe's first independent extraction company, and a contract manufacturing company who have operating assets within the Czech Republic.
• Artemis Growth Partners’ take a multimodal approach to their investments across the health and wellness categories and have adopted a pharma based model in the UK in comparison to the CPG (Consumer packaged goods) model in the USA.
• Cannabis is a disruptor for almost every industry - the paper industry, textiles and clothing, and even plastics can use the cannabis plant to create new sustainable materials in each of these sectors.
• Will hopes that what is referred to ‘impact investing’ now, will just be called ‘business’ in the future.
  

Quotables

‘The investable category of cannabis is only growing’ 28:14

‘The industry is growing at a rate of 20-25% per year’ 28:40

Resources

Artemis Growth Partners Website: https://www.artemisgrowth.com/

Join Will on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wmuecke/

Join Artemis Growth on Twitter:

This week we’re excited to welcome Mags Houston and Dr. Anne Katrin Schlag from Drug Science - independent science led drugs charity based in London.

Together, we explore how ProjectTwenty21 is progressing, some of the initial findings from the participating patient set, alongside digging into the true value of real-world data as a form of medical evidence opposed to randomised controlled trials.

The Cannabis Conversation is sponsored by Lumino - a boutique HR and Recruitment Agency specialising in building high performance teams for the European Cannabis Industry. They work in three main verticals: Commercial, Medical and Plant Facing.

Get in touch at www.luminorecruit.com/

📚 VIEW SHOW NOTES AND EXTRAS:

https://www.canverse.global/shownotes/e149

About Dr Anne Katrin Schlag - Head of Research at Drug Science

Dr Anne Katrin Schlag is a Chartered Psychologist and Head of Research at Drug Science (https://drugscience.org.uk). She leads the research for the Drug Science Medical Cannabis Working Group, focusing on controversies surrounding medical cannabis, the improvement of patient access, and the continued development of education and stakeholder communication about medical cannabis. Dr Schlag is currently working on progressing the scientific evidence base of medical cannabis to include Patient Reported Outcomes, observational studies (such as T21) and the application of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis to assess the benefits and safety of medical cannabis.

She holds Honorary Fellowships at both Imperial College London and King’s College London, chairs the research subgroup of the Cannabis Industry Council, and is scientific advisor to the Primary Care Cannabis Network.

About Mags Houston - Head of T21 at Drug Science

As Head of Project Twenty21, Mags is the operational lead for Drug Science’s medical cannabis observational study, helping to raise awareness amongst patients and prescribers, build more evidence by attracting more patients and prescribers to actively join the project, and educate the public about the growing evidence surrounding medical cannabis for treating a range of conditions. Alongside her role on T21, she volunteers for Heroic Hearts Project UK, a not-for-profit that helps veterans suffering with PTSD by providing retreats and education in psychedelic therapy. She also curates and hosts events for The Psychedelic Society (UK) around drug policy, psychedelic science and mental health treatment. Mags’ mission is to shift the mainstream narrative around drugs by helping to provide education and challenging UK drug policy, so that therapies and medicines that are currently not accessible to patients might be made available on the NHS and prescribed to the people who desperately need them.

Resources

Drug Science’s Website: https://www.drugscience.org.uk

Project Twenty21: https://www.drugscience.org.uk/project-twenty-21/

Join Anne on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-katrin-schlag-3886a4/

Join Mags on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ACoAAAOCG4IBadL6I3LJNez4_WtaJaWoemfjZlQ/