WEBVTT - Cannabis Regulation and Food w/ Chef Andrea Drummer 0:00:00.200 --> 0:00:03.520 Citizen Chef is a production of I Heart Radio. You 0:00:03.560 --> 0:00:08.879 can sell marijuana, you can sell edibles. Can you do infusions? 0:00:09.000 --> 0:00:12.639 Or we couldn't do infusions. All edibles had to be prepackaged. God, 0:00:12.680 --> 0:00:15.520 everything has to be prepackaged. How do you six? You 0:00:15.520 --> 0:00:18.800 can because it's a measured dose, right. Yes, it sounds 0:00:18.800 --> 0:00:22.440 to be pretty stramped like a normal restaurant, except you can, guy, 0:00:22.760 --> 0:00:26.159 it was absolutely a normal setting. You know. It was 0:00:26.239 --> 0:00:33.879 beautiful to be honest with you. Hey, everyone, welcome back 0:00:33.920 --> 0:00:37.960 to Citizen Chef. Today's episode is so exciting because we 0:00:38.000 --> 0:00:42.040 are talking about a new frontier in fine dining. Not 0:00:42.120 --> 0:00:45.360 only does today's topic inspired creative new interpretations in the 0:00:45.400 --> 0:00:49.000 restaurant and hospitality industry along with a totally different way 0:00:49.040 --> 0:00:52.320 to experience your food with the side helping of social justice, 0:00:52.760 --> 0:00:54.720 the pioneers in this field are making sure that there 0:00:54.760 --> 0:00:57.560 are new pathways to capital, not just for the entrepreneurs, 0:00:57.600 --> 0:00:59.920 but for all of those who have been wrong by 0:01:00.120 --> 0:01:04.160 overregulation in the past. I am talking, of course, about cannabis, 0:01:04.560 --> 0:01:06.080 and so today we get to talk to two of 0:01:06.080 --> 0:01:09.080 those pioneers. Jeff Andrea Drummer is the woman behind the 0:01:09.080 --> 0:01:12.399 original Cannabis cafe in West Hollywood, which is the first 0:01:12.440 --> 0:01:15.800 cafe that to say license to serve cannabis along with 0:01:15.840 --> 0:01:17.440 its menu. And we're going to talk to her about 0:01:17.440 --> 0:01:19.399 the process of getting that license and the hurdles that 0:01:19.440 --> 0:01:22.759 she had to jump through, and how exactly orchestrate pairings 0:01:23.000 --> 0:01:24.880 so that I feel it's more like ordering from a 0:01:24.920 --> 0:01:28.160 soma is opposed to a liquor store. We're also going 0:01:28.200 --> 0:01:31.040 to talk to Senator Kim Jackson of Georgia, who was 0:01:31.080 --> 0:01:33.720 elected to the state Senate this year. She co sponsored 0:01:33.760 --> 0:01:36.039 the bill to a men the States Constitution to legalize 0:01:36.120 --> 0:01:40.560 recreational consumption all under the larger mission of criminal justice reform. 0:01:40.720 --> 0:01:43.160 She helps to remind us that this is about more 0:01:43.200 --> 0:01:46.080 than just enjoying a nice buzz with our burgers and nachos. 0:01:46.080 --> 0:01:48.320 So please join me as we get in the weeds. 0:01:48.560 --> 0:01:52.000 U pun absolutely intended of cannabis and its new role 0:01:52.280 --> 0:02:02.240 in the restaurant industry. Andrea, how you doing. I've got 0:02:02.360 --> 0:02:04.600 so many questions to ask you. This is crazy. So 0:02:05.400 --> 0:02:08.440 you may know New York State legalized cannabis and the 0:02:08.440 --> 0:02:10.600 first thing that came to mind was they're allowing cafes. 0:02:10.639 --> 0:02:11.880 I was like, I gotta figure how to get one 0:02:11.880 --> 0:02:14.160 of these. This is like, gotta do this and call 0:02:14.240 --> 0:02:16.600 them some people. You know, it's gonna take a few years. 0:02:16.880 --> 0:02:18.760 I just kind of started kicking around and seeing what 0:02:18.840 --> 0:02:20.840 was going on out there. And it was really funny 0:02:20.880 --> 0:02:25.400 because I was shooting season seventeen of Top twelve in 0:02:25.480 --> 0:02:28.920 Los Angeles, and looking back on it now, it dawned 0:02:28.960 --> 0:02:32.160 at me that opening night I drove by. I looked 0:02:32.160 --> 0:02:33.919 to my left and I was like, what is going 0:02:34.040 --> 0:02:36.480 on there? What are they giving away at that place? 0:02:37.120 --> 0:02:38.960 And I had no idea what it was. A few 0:02:39.000 --> 0:02:41.720 days later I asked someone. They told me that, oh, yeah, 0:02:41.720 --> 0:02:44.200 it's a canapis restaurant cafe that just opened up. So 0:02:44.320 --> 0:02:47.320 I guess I was driving by opening day and and 0:02:47.400 --> 0:02:49.080 so you know, it's one of these things where it 0:02:49.200 --> 0:02:51.080 happens and you file it away, and then you know 0:02:51.120 --> 0:02:54.399 two years later it's like, oh, that's what was, Yeah, 0:02:54.480 --> 0:02:56.679 that's what that was. What is that thing that you're 0:02:56.720 --> 0:02:58.760 doing there? This is a place where you can go 0:02:59.040 --> 0:03:03.639 and unwind, smoker and jest, eat great food, have a coffee, 0:03:03.680 --> 0:03:06.800 relaxed and just chill. And yet I guess it's a 0:03:06.840 --> 0:03:09.800 hard path for this to happen. Yeah, so that the 0:03:09.840 --> 0:03:11.760 first question like why did you want to do this? 0:03:11.880 --> 0:03:13.359 And how long did it take it? What were the 0:03:13.400 --> 0:03:15.600 hooks and licensees to jump through? I want to learn 0:03:15.600 --> 0:03:18.720 all that, partly because I'm thinking of doing it. You 0:03:18.720 --> 0:03:25.200 should as you should. Interestingly enough, some years ago I 0:03:25.280 --> 0:03:29.280 did a consultancy with the James Nomad in Manhattan and 0:03:29.639 --> 0:03:32.560 I got them through a CBD menu for an in 0:03:32.680 --> 0:03:36.400 room dining experience, and it was going really well, and 0:03:36.440 --> 0:03:38.840 that got shut down. And this was probably about three 0:03:38.920 --> 0:03:41.560 or four years ago. Fast forward, and here we are 0:03:41.560 --> 0:03:44.600 in West Hollywood, and what we did was lobby the 0:03:44.600 --> 0:03:48.680 city of West Hollywood to you know, permit these licensings 0:03:48.680 --> 0:03:51.360 for on site consumption. It was a wild go, but 0:03:51.480 --> 0:03:55.400 they were very open for that experience for so many reasons, 0:03:55.400 --> 0:04:01.240 including tourism, attraction and just you know, normalizing conversation about 0:04:01.360 --> 0:04:05.680 cannabis consumption and thereby changing other laws. So we did that, 0:04:05.800 --> 0:04:08.600 lobb beat them, and then once they agreed to do it, 0:04:08.640 --> 0:04:11.800 there was a process of submitting application. There are only 0:04:11.840 --> 0:04:16.200 eight licenses permitted. All those eight licenses, right, most of 0:04:16.200 --> 0:04:21.760 them also offering a high end dining series. Yeah, already 0:04:21.800 --> 0:04:24.760 these open already of these actually functioning right now beside yours. 0:04:25.040 --> 0:04:27.719 Unfortunately none of them were able to come to bear 0:04:27.800 --> 0:04:30.719 because of COVID. They were set to come online. I 0:04:30.760 --> 0:04:33.120 was absolutely looking forward to it, as we all were. 0:04:33.560 --> 0:04:38.359 Any entity participating in this. This thing is helpful to 0:04:38.600 --> 0:04:41.480 the community. So hopefully we'll be able to see those 0:04:41.920 --> 0:04:44.720 happened come through in the future. So you had to 0:04:44.800 --> 0:04:47.480 jump through some hoops just to get open. You're allowed 0:04:47.520 --> 0:04:49.960 to consume on premise, but she couldn't serve food and 0:04:50.320 --> 0:04:53.240 alcohol where you're consuming, And how did you work around that? 0:04:53.360 --> 0:04:58.600 It is absolutely work around being the operative words. So 0:04:58.640 --> 0:05:01.760 we kind of had to split the cafe into two entities, 0:05:01.839 --> 0:05:04.520 one being a food service component and the other being 0:05:04.920 --> 0:05:07.560 essentially a dispensary. And the way that the cafe was 0:05:07.600 --> 0:05:10.480 set up it worked out in our favor. I think 0:05:10.520 --> 0:05:14.520 in the future as we delve into these conversations and 0:05:14.560 --> 0:05:18.240 we get the right people having the conversations, yourself included 0:05:18.279 --> 0:05:21.560 to understand one. You know, we were the first to 0:05:21.640 --> 0:05:23.960 bring it to bear, and so no one really knew 0:05:24.000 --> 0:05:26.039 what that looked like. And now that we have a 0:05:26.080 --> 0:05:28.800 broader scope of what that should look like and how 0:05:28.920 --> 0:05:31.680 to integrate it into just regular day to day life, 0:05:31.680 --> 0:05:34.279 which is no different than ordering a bottle of wine. 0:05:34.480 --> 0:05:37.560 I think we could very well communicate that and get 0:05:37.640 --> 0:05:41.920 these policies and these ideals changed about you know, having 0:05:41.960 --> 0:05:45.840 to separate the entities in etcetera, etcetera, because it's really 0:05:45.960 --> 0:05:51.000 just an everyday experience. It's just life. So obviously you're 0:05:51.000 --> 0:05:54.039 an advocate for cannabis. Were you always aving for cannabis? 0:05:54.160 --> 0:05:58.000 Absolutely not? Okay, absolutely Sometimes I feel like epigrite, but 0:05:59.320 --> 0:06:02.320 I like to ouch it under the guise of being reformed. 0:06:03.320 --> 0:06:06.560 I was once a prevention counselor was the first part 0:06:06.560 --> 0:06:09.679 of my career, and worked in on profit for many years. 0:06:09.720 --> 0:06:12.920 And my whole spield was cannabis as the gateway drug 0:06:12.960 --> 0:06:15.680 and therefore you should not consume. You will either end 0:06:15.720 --> 0:06:20.840 up in prison or on skid rock. It was moving 0:06:20.960 --> 0:06:25.680 to California and kind of educating myself and learning more 0:06:25.680 --> 0:06:29.160 about cannabis and you know, not judging it is. Was 0:06:29.200 --> 0:06:32.719 there one specific, Aham and it was a series of things. 0:06:32.760 --> 0:06:35.800 At one point I worked for an advocate who was 0:06:35.839 --> 0:06:40.800 an attorney and he was also a consumer and I thought, oh, 0:06:40.960 --> 0:06:44.280 this this man is brilliant. We have great conversations. He's 0:06:44.560 --> 0:06:46.840 going to court and winning his cases, so it can't 0:06:46.839 --> 0:06:50.120 be that bad, right, And again there was the educational component, 0:06:50.360 --> 0:06:54.360 understanding the propaganda and how myself I was used to 0:06:54.440 --> 0:06:58.080 push that agenda, understanding how the war on drugs led 0:06:58.120 --> 0:07:02.000 to mass incarceration, and so there was a paradigm shift there, 0:07:02.120 --> 0:07:04.400 and so I was just kind of open and everything 0:07:04.480 --> 0:07:08.800 was ripe. And then switching gears and getting into the 0:07:08.839 --> 0:07:12.600 culinary industry and how that took a toll on my 0:07:12.680 --> 0:07:17.280 body and deciding for myself to become a patient of 0:07:17.640 --> 0:07:20.760 medical marijuana. Did you start advocating before you became a chef? 0:07:20.760 --> 0:07:22.920 Where you were you advocating for cannabis rights? And when 0:07:23.200 --> 0:07:25.080 I mean you touch a little bit on and car 0:07:25.120 --> 0:07:28.360 sharrace rates for small fraction like marijuana. Was that something 0:07:28.360 --> 0:07:32.320 that you were advocated for before you started cooking? Or 0:07:33.160 --> 0:07:36.160 coincide in a small capacity, but more or less it 0:07:36.200 --> 0:07:40.600 did coincide with the transition of careers again, going into 0:07:40.680 --> 0:07:43.760 the culinary industry and having this having an impact on 0:07:43.800 --> 0:07:48.680 my body and making the decision for myself to medicate 0:07:48.840 --> 0:07:52.520 using medicinal cannabis and then understanding that you know, I 0:07:52.560 --> 0:07:55.880 live in a state. That's twenty two plus years out 0:07:55.920 --> 0:08:00.200 in legalization for medical marijuana, look no less and I 0:08:00.240 --> 0:08:03.600 could still lose my livelihood, you know, And it did 0:08:03.720 --> 0:08:06.119 make sense to me. So that's when the work began. 0:08:06.960 --> 0:08:09.600 If you work for my friend Neil Frasier, is that right? 0:08:09.800 --> 0:08:12.720 I did? I did? That was pretty phenomenal. How long 0:08:12.760 --> 0:08:15.080 into your chef's career where you and this happened two 0:08:15.160 --> 0:08:19.040 years in that about sciatica and I decided to go 0:08:19.120 --> 0:08:23.040 the route of infusing food and in two thousand and 0:08:23.080 --> 0:08:25.400 twelve that was That was a turn about for me 0:08:25.440 --> 0:08:27.720 and I've been on my own since that. So many 0:08:27.720 --> 0:08:31.000 people don't understand if legalized marijuana and there's there's greater access, 0:08:31.040 --> 0:08:33.360 I mean, maybe you can get people off opiates. Oh, 0:08:33.440 --> 0:08:37.040 absolutely absolutely. It's the absolute opposite of being the gateway drug. 0:08:37.559 --> 0:08:41.920 Her listeners understand this. You can sell marijuana, you can 0:08:41.920 --> 0:08:45.560 sell edibles, correct infusions? Can you do infusions? Or we 0:08:45.600 --> 0:08:48.640 couldn't do infusions? All edibles had to be prepackaged. God, 0:08:48.679 --> 0:08:51.720 everything has to be prepackaged. Um, so you couldn't use 0:08:51.720 --> 0:08:54.720 like honey sticks and things like that as it honey sticks. Yes, 0:08:55.040 --> 0:08:57.760 how do you thinks you can't because it's a measured dose, right, correct, Yeah, 0:08:58.120 --> 0:09:00.520 got it. Now we know why. So to get into 0:09:00.559 --> 0:09:03.560 how tell us more about the actual experience of visiting 0:09:03.760 --> 0:09:06.520 the original cannabis cafe. It sounds to be pretty stramped 0:09:06.520 --> 0:09:10.880 like a normal restaurant, except you can it was absolutely 0:09:10.920 --> 0:09:14.400 a normal setting, you know, and it was Yeah, it 0:09:14.440 --> 0:09:18.280 was beautiful, to be honest with you. It's an absolute 0:09:18.320 --> 0:09:21.800 stunning just you know, a cafe that you would walk 0:09:21.880 --> 0:09:25.240 into in any given city that just happens to have 0:09:25.320 --> 0:09:28.520 cannabis and had, you know, a separate cannabis menu, and 0:09:28.679 --> 0:09:32.200 when you got bud tenders, someone was bringing over buds 0:09:32.200 --> 0:09:34.480 and and so there's a lot of it's education. You know, 0:09:34.520 --> 0:09:36.840 whenever I go into a store, a part of so 0:09:36.960 --> 0:09:39.959 much part of the experience is the education part of it. Absolutely, 0:09:40.320 --> 0:09:42.240 it's more than here, take a bag and you know, 0:09:42.280 --> 0:09:44.720 going your way. Yeah, for sure, absolutely. And one of 0:09:44.760 --> 0:09:46.920 the exciting things for me was that we were creating 0:09:46.920 --> 0:09:49.880 new industry under the umbrella of this cafe. And so 0:09:50.280 --> 0:09:53.240 you know, our servers had to be versed as bud 0:09:53.240 --> 0:09:55.319 tenders as well, and then they and they as well, 0:09:55.360 --> 0:09:57.920 they had to learn to be efficient servers. So that 0:09:58.040 --> 0:10:01.120 comes with a new understanding. But yeah, us they were 0:10:01.240 --> 0:10:05.880 very efficient and understanding cannabis and had to relay this 0:10:06.040 --> 0:10:09.360 to the guests. So you have to explain the dose city, 0:10:09.360 --> 0:10:12.840 to explain the different strains and how it's going to affect. You, 0:10:13.040 --> 0:10:18.280 understand the guests and their preferences and their tolerance level, etcetera. Right, 0:10:18.400 --> 0:10:21.560 So this is all waiters is there responsibility just to again, 0:10:21.640 --> 0:10:23.520 like you would sell a menu or sell a wine. 0:10:23.840 --> 0:10:27.440 Understand th h levels, understand potency, Understand this is gonna 0:10:27.520 --> 0:10:29.319 last long, This is gonna you know, you can get 0:10:29.320 --> 0:10:31.160 sleepy from this one. This one's going to speech up. 0:10:31.280 --> 0:10:34.120 You know all of that information absolutely when you go 0:10:34.120 --> 0:10:35.719 in to a restaurant. He asked about the chicken, he 0:10:35.800 --> 0:10:40.600 said poland exactly right, right, so you you can you 0:10:40.640 --> 0:10:42.760 want to know, you know what what budger's looking, what 0:10:42.840 --> 0:10:47.280 farmers from farmers from, how it sours, how it's grown outdoor, indoor, 0:10:47.400 --> 0:10:52.320 organic or otherwise, how long the company has been in existence. Yeah, 0:10:52.400 --> 0:10:55.000 all of those great things. And it's important for the 0:10:55.040 --> 0:10:58.160 guests to fill a sense of comfort because this is 0:10:58.200 --> 0:11:00.760 the first thing that's the first of it's kind. And 0:11:00.880 --> 0:11:04.720 so someone who just got in from Kentucky or drove 0:11:04.760 --> 0:11:07.920 in from the Bay Area. You know, they want to 0:11:08.000 --> 0:11:10.600 have a sense of comfort and know that the servers 0:11:10.800 --> 0:11:14.080 have their back and can explain in depth what the 0:11:14.120 --> 0:11:17.880 experience maybe right, and so some of the other screens 0:11:17.880 --> 0:11:20.720 where the offering seems a little i would say, pretentious, 0:11:20.800 --> 0:11:22.960 just a little more trying to sell us upscale as 0:11:23.000 --> 0:11:26.080 opposed to food that is cravable. You know, you get 0:11:26.120 --> 0:11:28.120 cannabis induced cravings and you want to just you know, 0:11:28.200 --> 0:11:31.240 you want food that is is yummy, delicious and comfortable, 0:11:31.280 --> 0:11:33.880 but you certainly don't need a kind of crazy upscale, 0:11:33.920 --> 0:11:36.240 fancy setting. And it sounds like that's where you're providing 0:11:36.240 --> 0:11:40.160 a great experience that I think people want absolutely. You know, 0:11:40.200 --> 0:11:43.040 I wanted to create a menu that was just great food, 0:11:43.240 --> 0:11:48.200 cravable and complementary of the cannabis experience. So you know, 0:11:48.360 --> 0:11:51.960 that's a lot of innovative as well. But you know, 0:11:52.000 --> 0:11:54.120 we have vegan nachos, which was one of the most 0:11:54.160 --> 0:11:58.040 popular menu items. You're great burgers, but you know, sourced 0:11:58.080 --> 0:12:02.560 appropriately again match the experience of cannabis. You know, we 0:12:02.679 --> 0:12:06.200 use local farmers, local growers, cannabis users take care about 0:12:06.320 --> 0:12:08.319 the budget spores, but did you get a sense of 0:12:08.720 --> 0:12:11.000 at a deeper level, they care about the environment, they 0:12:11.040 --> 0:12:13.640 care about how their food has produced. Yeah. Absolutely, And 0:12:13.679 --> 0:12:15.520 we're here in California, so you have a lot of 0:12:15.520 --> 0:12:21.200 pures here with regards to their consumption of cannabis. And 0:12:21.240 --> 0:12:23.920 we'll see how that planes out accross the nation because 0:12:24.160 --> 0:12:26.840 we have had the freedom here in California to grow 0:12:26.960 --> 0:12:29.560 and what one might say appropriately or freely, you know, 0:12:29.679 --> 0:12:32.960 without harming the plant. So I think in due time 0:12:33.000 --> 0:12:37.520 will have federal legalization where we could exchange product if 0:12:37.520 --> 0:12:41.960 you will, and exactly, you know, it makes sense to me. 0:12:42.000 --> 0:12:43.920 This is this is part of the farm to table 0:12:43.960 --> 0:12:47.199 movement when when you think about it, right, oh, absolutely, 0:12:47.280 --> 0:12:51.079 I can't imagine living in a state where we don't 0:12:51.120 --> 0:12:54.840 have that level of legalization and that freedom to grow 0:12:54.960 --> 0:12:58.720 and source appropriately. And a great part of my work 0:12:58.920 --> 0:13:02.800 is to see that happen on a global scale. So 0:13:02.840 --> 0:13:05.720 you're certainly not the only one. And just a little 0:13:05.760 --> 0:13:08.160 bit we'll talk to a senator working to make that 0:13:08.240 --> 0:13:10.320 reality for many people who are not lucky enough to 0:13:10.360 --> 0:13:12.440 live in a state like California. But first I have 0:13:12.480 --> 0:13:14.840 a few more questions for Chef Andrea about what it's 0:13:14.840 --> 0:13:17.200 like to be both an advocate and a chef. Also, 0:13:17.320 --> 0:13:19.680 if you already have the munchies, don't worry. We're going 0:13:19.720 --> 0:13:21.760 to dig it to the food as well. We'll be 0:13:21.800 --> 0:13:27.560 back with more citizen chefs. Welcome back. You're listening to 0:13:27.600 --> 0:13:30.559 Citizen Chef and I'm Tom Collikio, and we are talking 0:13:30.640 --> 0:13:35.600 about cannabis regulation in restaurants. Would work are in California 0:13:35.720 --> 0:13:37.560 doing our are on a federal level right now in 0:13:37.640 --> 0:13:41.880 terms of lobbying local governments federal governments. Are you working 0:13:41.920 --> 0:13:44.040 on that as those issues as well? We have been 0:13:44.200 --> 0:13:47.760 We've tried. You know, when I first got into the industry, 0:13:47.840 --> 0:13:51.040 part of my work was aligning with Drug Policy Alliance 0:13:51.080 --> 0:13:54.320 and getting Top six before passed. We're still making a 0:13:54.360 --> 0:13:58.160 stink unfortunately, you know, we're you know, at the home 0:13:58.280 --> 0:14:03.520 of an administration that you know, spoke about legalization federally 0:14:03.559 --> 0:14:06.800 on a federal level, but I have not really addressed 0:14:06.800 --> 0:14:09.200 the issues or kind of skirted around it. So I 0:14:09.200 --> 0:14:11.720 don't know that we still have to continue to make 0:14:11.800 --> 0:14:14.080 noise and more people that we get involved in these 0:14:14.080 --> 0:14:18.240 conversations and to lobby in every city, in every place. 0:14:18.320 --> 0:14:21.160 I think the more movement, more traction we can make. 0:14:21.360 --> 0:14:23.080 I think it's coming. I mean, I think you can't 0:14:23.080 --> 0:14:25.800 ignore it. No, absolutely not. No, I mean I love it. 0:14:26.080 --> 0:14:28.480 John Bayner, who was the Speaker of the House, who 0:14:28.520 --> 0:14:30.840 was dead set against it, is now on the board 0:14:30.880 --> 0:14:35.160 of a cannabis company, and uh so, yeah, it's you 0:14:35.200 --> 0:14:39.720 can feel different ways about these things, you know, especially 0:14:39.760 --> 0:14:42.240 as a as a black woman in this industry. But 0:14:42.400 --> 0:14:45.640 you know, all of it is good movement. And when 0:14:45.640 --> 0:14:48.840 I when I started out, I was called crazy that 0:14:48.920 --> 0:14:51.720 I even considered that there could be a cannabis cafe 0:14:51.800 --> 0:14:55.080 or restaurant. The more we keep up and be more 0:14:55.160 --> 0:14:59.280 vocal about it and link arms in this movement of 0:14:59.440 --> 0:15:03.000 globally regalization and not just here in this country. But 0:15:03.280 --> 0:15:07.760 you know, the two thousand nineteen we opened the cannabis cafe, 0:15:08.000 --> 0:15:11.680 the first of its kind, so it could happen, and 0:15:11.720 --> 0:15:14.360 I have hoped that it will. Yeah. So it's interesting 0:15:14.360 --> 0:15:17.040 though it sounds like what you're actually asking for could 0:15:17.480 --> 0:15:19.760 make it where your business isn't as unique anymore. If 0:15:19.760 --> 0:15:22.000 you're able to smoke openly, you could just step out 0:15:22.000 --> 0:15:24.280 out of any restaurant and you know, take your hits 0:15:24.280 --> 0:15:27.000 and go back and tide. If it's that normalized, that 0:15:27.200 --> 0:15:33.680 normalized means prison reform, that normalized means expungement for people, 0:15:34.000 --> 0:15:37.600 the true pioneers of this industry, So that all of 0:15:37.640 --> 0:15:40.120 that is important and right, that's all part of it. 0:15:40.120 --> 0:15:42.560 It's right. So your advocacy obviously goes a lot deeper 0:15:42.560 --> 0:15:47.600 than just making sure a few restaurants can current administration 0:15:47.680 --> 0:15:50.760 has talked about it, although you know President By didn't 0:15:50.840 --> 0:15:53.080 run on it when asked, it was opposed, but it 0:15:53.120 --> 0:15:55.080 wasn't part of his platform. Do you think we have 0:15:55.120 --> 0:16:00.720 to wait till maybe President Harris are than sort of 0:16:00.720 --> 0:16:03.200 the next Democrat possibly, or do you think you can 0:16:03.240 --> 0:16:08.600 possibly get federal adaptation this administration? When this administration was 0:16:08.720 --> 0:16:11.960 ushered in, I was hopeful. Conversely, some of the conversations 0:16:12.000 --> 0:16:15.680 I've heard around it is kind of back pedaled or 0:16:16.120 --> 0:16:17.920 or to say that we're going to set this aside 0:16:18.000 --> 0:16:21.520 for an hour. We're unable to address this thing. I 0:16:21.560 --> 0:16:25.920 think it may take the next Democratic administration. I don't know. 0:16:26.080 --> 0:16:28.480 Hopefully there's a turn about that's not going to stop 0:16:28.560 --> 0:16:31.360 anyone who's who's making noise and who's doing the work. 0:16:31.440 --> 0:16:34.880 So you know, it sounds like the legalization of candadis 0:16:34.920 --> 0:16:37.920 on a federal level just needs to be more probably 0:16:37.920 --> 0:16:39.960 won't be a single voter issue, but it's got to 0:16:40.000 --> 0:16:44.200 be higher up there. Yes, absolutely, Yeah, I think you're 0:16:44.440 --> 0:16:47.560 going about the right way where economic comparative, there's also 0:16:47.680 --> 0:16:51.240 again the the justice, the social justice issue around what 0:16:51.400 --> 0:16:53.560 you're fighting for, which seems to be even probably more 0:16:53.640 --> 0:16:57.400 important than the actual cafe itself. Yes, in the restaurant, 0:16:57.600 --> 0:17:00.000 is there literature about what you're doing on the other 0:17:00.040 --> 0:17:02.240 side of it? Are you building out the community of 0:17:02.520 --> 0:17:05.520 full legalization in the restaurant? Is that part of the mission? 0:17:05.880 --> 0:17:09.320 You know, when we first started this and initiate our application, 0:17:09.560 --> 0:17:11.920 all of those things were written into that, right, But 0:17:12.280 --> 0:17:14.800 the reality is, you know, when you get into the 0:17:14.920 --> 0:17:20.040 restaurant es you got to figure out a lot of things, 0:17:20.200 --> 0:17:24.800 you know, especially especially the last year exactly. But I 0:17:24.840 --> 0:17:27.359 think now that we kind of got a handle on 0:17:27.440 --> 0:17:31.040 what it looks like, and I think there could absolutely 0:17:31.119 --> 0:17:34.800 be a focus on these very specific details, you know. 0:17:34.880 --> 0:17:38.320 I know one of our goals was hired some you know, 0:17:38.440 --> 0:17:40.960 people that had their records expunge or that we're re 0:17:41.160 --> 0:17:44.960 entering the space with non violent cannabis in fractions, if 0:17:44.960 --> 0:17:47.800 you will, so a lot of things that can be done. 0:17:48.040 --> 0:17:50.880 We just have to figure out, you know we I mean, 0:17:50.880 --> 0:17:53.960 we were talking about systems of how to order, so 0:17:54.640 --> 0:17:57.520 how to order food versus cannabis, and how to you know, 0:17:58.320 --> 0:18:00.720 you know, maintain the letter of the law. So the 0:18:00.760 --> 0:18:03.760 crazy stuff. You have to do a lot of workarounds. 0:18:03.800 --> 0:18:05.959 We were, we were creative. We were like building doors, 0:18:06.000 --> 0:18:10.080 closing doors, closing entrances, you have to go outside to 0:18:10.119 --> 0:18:13.480 go to the restauranom. Yeah, it's a lot of it was. 0:18:13.640 --> 0:18:15.439 There was a lot of things. But again, you know, 0:18:15.760 --> 0:18:17.840 we've been in the in the mix, in the thick up, 0:18:18.160 --> 0:18:21.840 so there's a greater understanding. And I also believe like 0:18:21.920 --> 0:18:24.120 the city of West Hollywood, being able to come there 0:18:24.680 --> 0:18:27.320 and see what it looks like and you're not like, 0:18:27.640 --> 0:18:31.240 you know, envisioning or imagining this thing in your head 0:18:31.400 --> 0:18:33.159 or thinking that there are people spilling out of the 0:18:33.240 --> 0:18:37.240 building high and fighting. And we had zero physical or 0:18:37.520 --> 0:18:41.520 violent incidents. That's a tame night in West Hollywood. Open 0:18:41.560 --> 0:18:45.080 a bar and and and stake that claim. Let me 0:18:45.119 --> 0:18:47.760 know how it goes, right. I drove by almost every day, 0:18:47.920 --> 0:18:49.800 the cool thing, but I kept saying, please, just looks great. 0:18:49.800 --> 0:18:51.560 I want to go in there, and you know that 0:18:51.720 --> 0:18:53.840 was working most nights, so I didn't get a chance, 0:18:53.880 --> 0:18:57.520 but I wish you had next time. I am in California, 0:18:57.960 --> 0:19:00.720 which I'm not sure I have a restaurant. I haven't 0:19:00.760 --> 0:19:02.720 been in a while because of COVID, but I will 0:19:02.760 --> 0:19:05.040 definitely check it out. I want to check out the food. 0:19:05.080 --> 0:19:06.280 Tell me about food. Tell me what are you what 0:19:06.320 --> 0:19:07.600 are you doing there? I mean I saw some of 0:19:07.640 --> 0:19:10.160 the menu. You talked about Vigano to talk about burgers, 0:19:10.160 --> 0:19:12.320 but what other credible items are there? I mean, what 0:19:12.520 --> 0:19:14.760 could people expect when they go into the restaurant. Just 0:19:14.800 --> 0:19:16.920 so our listeners can understand what they're in for when 0:19:16.960 --> 0:19:19.600 they go to it's now called the Original Cannabis Cafe. 0:19:19.800 --> 0:19:22.800 One of the draws was absolutely the brunch menu, port 0:19:22.840 --> 0:19:26.639 billion grits and chuck shuka, you know, some of some 0:19:26.720 --> 0:19:29.680 of the fun menu items. The go to a lot 0:19:29.720 --> 0:19:32.080 of shared plates, so it made it was a good time. 0:19:32.119 --> 0:19:35.040 It's a great time to be creative and to think 0:19:35.080 --> 0:19:39.639 about the farm to table on both aspects. You know, 0:19:39.680 --> 0:19:42.320 it was a kind of a separate you know, you know, 0:19:42.560 --> 0:19:44.040 we had the kitchen going and then you had the 0:19:44.080 --> 0:19:47.000 Cannabis experience, but to collaborate with the front of the 0:19:47.040 --> 0:19:49.720 house and do pairings as well. So we of course 0:19:49.720 --> 0:19:52.520 couldn't infuse the food, but I could take a menu 0:19:52.600 --> 0:19:56.199 item and pair it with a new product that was 0:19:56.240 --> 0:19:59.479 coming out of the dispensary and explain why that pairing 0:19:59.520 --> 0:20:02.960 works by the flavor profiles and the turpenes. All right, 0:20:03.200 --> 0:20:06.840 so let's get back into food. Who are some of 0:20:06.880 --> 0:20:09.680 your culinary heroes when you were in school or thinking 0:20:09.680 --> 0:20:11.480 about cooking, Who who did you look up to? You know, 0:20:11.520 --> 0:20:16.119 I have to say, for very reasons Grant Ackets hearing 0:20:16.440 --> 0:20:20.359 his story about tongue cancer and having to use all 0:20:20.400 --> 0:20:23.399 of your senses to cook. I think that kind of 0:20:23.400 --> 0:20:25.639 gets lost, you know, especially when you're culinary school or 0:20:25.760 --> 0:20:29.640 taste everything, taste everything, and sometimes you know, you get 0:20:29.640 --> 0:20:33.439 in the weeds. Maybe you can't, but for me having 0:20:33.480 --> 0:20:36.320 to really um and at one point there was like 0:20:36.560 --> 0:20:38.639 a two year period that I was completely vegan. But 0:20:38.680 --> 0:20:43.800 I'm cooking for constituents that ate lots of meat and 0:20:43.840 --> 0:20:46.280 so having to put that into practice. But just being 0:20:46.480 --> 0:20:49.040 so in tune with all of your senses when you cook, 0:20:49.119 --> 0:20:52.480 I think is so important and sometimes get lost with us. Yeah, 0:20:52.480 --> 0:20:54.760 I was talking about using your sense of hearing. Oh yeah, 0:20:54.920 --> 0:20:57.080 listening to this all you know, you can tell if 0:20:57.119 --> 0:20:59.359 something's cooking too hard, too fast, if it's doin too 0:20:59.400 --> 0:21:01.920 hard too fast. And I teach class I often talk 0:21:01.960 --> 0:21:05.080 about it. Yeah. Absolutely, So what's next? Do you see 0:21:05.160 --> 0:21:08.119 another cafe? Can you do multiple cafes and they're more 0:21:08.200 --> 0:21:10.840 licenses or granted? I mean, do you see going out 0:21:10.840 --> 0:21:13.479 of California if you can in doing more in other states? 0:21:13.480 --> 0:21:15.680 So what's the future for you. One of the things 0:21:15.720 --> 0:21:17.600 that that we were able to do is lobby. The 0:21:17.600 --> 0:21:20.720 city was Hollywood. I think there are other cities, other 0:21:20.760 --> 0:21:25.359 places that would be interested in in hearing about these ideals. 0:21:25.440 --> 0:21:28.280 And prior to COVID, I was in communication with one 0:21:28.280 --> 0:21:31.240 of those cities, Palm Springs, and they were interested in 0:21:31.280 --> 0:21:34.520 bringing something to bear. I see a limitations on where 0:21:34.560 --> 0:21:38.119