As this incredibly tumultuous year comes to a close, so does another year of cannabis features and b2b journalism at Cannabis Business Times. Here, the CBT editors take a look back on their favorite stories of 2020.
Eric Sandy, Digital Editor
The Case for Cannabis Biodiversity – Tomorrow in Cannabis, February 2020
Kenneth Morrow’s columns are always a joy to read. Each month, he casts a bright spotlight on some of the deepest sources of tension in the legal cannabis industry. In February, his column took up the mantle of genetic biodiversity—and what the licensed business landscape was losing in its quest to meet broad consumer demand. “Cannabis genetics follow trends and fads, but what value is lost in the genetics the industry has overlooked?” he asked. It’s a good question, and one that growers will continue to ponder as the marketplace expands (with four states legalizing adult-use cannabis in 2020!) and as consumer interests evolve (much like any other commercial space). “We must balance the need for marketable products while not losing sight of the long-term value of having genetics that might hold the key to disease or pest immunity,” Morrow writes. “Therefore, it’s up to all of us to collect, protect and preserve all available cannabis genetics of today for tomorrow.” Read more
Brian MacIver, Senior Editor
A Cultivator’s View: ‘The Wolves Have Gotten Bigger’ -- Guest Column, March 2020
Leif Abel, owner of Greatland Ganja in Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula, penned this column in the special 5-year anniversary issue of Cannabis Business Times as a follow-up to his column in the publication’s first ever issue (bit.ly/5_years_later). In this March 2020 article, Abel looks back on the “[poor], idealistic, unaware little fella working frantically like there is an end in sight” that is his younger self. He reflects on the metaphorical (and likely some very real) wolves that kept him awake as he was getting ready to launch his business. While he vanquished those wolves, bigger ones have filled the ranks, he details—such is the nature of the cannabis industry. The column is an ode to the challenges that the industry has overcome, those that lie ahead, and the perseverance it takes to make it as an independent cannabis cultivator. Read more
Patrick Williams, Senior Editor
Tropizen Finds Success in Puerto Rico’s Cannabis Market – Cover Story, July 2020
In 2017, Hurricane Maria devastated Marni and Jay Meistrell’s best-laid plans for Puerto Rico cannabis operation Tropizen, Senior Editor Brian MacIver wrote in CBT’s July 2020 cover story. Since then, the business owners have taken control of what they can. This profile offers colorful details, such as a parenthetical that Marni Meistrell was an oil painter and a description of the company’s four-pepper hot sauce. MacIver explained how Tropizen manufactures the Pique sauce in Puerto Rico, then sends it to MariMed in Massachusetts, who infuses it with cannabis oil. As Marni told him, “one of our peppers isn’t commercially grown at all. In fact, it’s spread all over the Island by birds in people’s backyards.” (CBT’s team was also glad to receive and publish a photo of Tropizen’s iguana-chasing geese—because iguanas apparently eat cannabis). Perhaps one of the most moving parts of the story comes near the end, where Marni explains to MacIver the disconnect between Puerto Rico and the rest of the U.S. and how that affects business, telling him how many people believe that “Puerto Rico isn’t part of America.” But, he writes, the company is calling out that myth. Read more
Theresa Bennett, Associate Editor
Jim Belushi’s Cannabis Mission – Cover Story, March 2020
Over the years, the cannabis industry has attracted a flood of celebrities looking to capitalize on the gold rush. In CBT’s March cover story, Senior Editor Brian MacIver profiles actor, comedian and musician Jim Belushi, who added “cannabis cultivator” to his list of titles in 2016. But Belushi’s connection with cannabis cultivation is personal: It’s what helped him overcome the tragic death of his brother John. And while some celebrities enter the industry by ways of investing, Belushi is fully engrossed in day-to-day cultivation operations. “Speaking with him feels more like an interview with a determined agrarian rather than the Midwestern slacker he played on TV,” MacIver writes. In this exclusive profile, Belushi details his life as a cannabis cultivator, from meeting patients who use his products to curating a playlist for his plants (that’s right—Belushi plays tunes for his growing cannabis). Read more
Michelle Simakis, Editor
How We Got Here – Feature Series, June, July and September 2020
2020 was a tumultuous and transformative year for the cannabis industry, as cultivators and dispensaries navigated the challenges brought on by the coronavirus pandemic in March, yet closed the year on a bright note, with five states approving legalization initiatives and the U.S. House advancing a bill that would deschedule cannabis at the federal level. But as many will attest, people who work in the cannabis industry are accustomed to turbulence. And when things get tough, which they certainly did this year, it’s important to remember how we got here. So that’s what senior editors Brian MacIver and Patrick Williams did – they spoke to more than a dozen cannabis cultivators and other stakeholders from across the country, from early markets such as Colorado, Oregon and Washington to leaders in newer industries like Oklahoma and Illinois, about the early days of legalization and how their companies – and the surrounding cannabis landscape – have evolved. They shared their biggest lessons learned, how the regulatory structures have changed, how they could be improved and the challenges that persist. They also weigh in on what may lie ahead and how they are planning for a future industry, where opportunities like interstate commerce, expanded pathways to capital and logical tax laws seem closer now. Read Part I here, Part II here and Part III here
