1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:05,000 Speaker 1: Hey, young America, we need to talk about something called grass. 2 00:00:06,040 --> 00:00:06,920 Speaker 2: Not that grass. 3 00:00:07,520 --> 00:00:11,080 Speaker 1: I'm talking about marijuana. 4 00:00:11,760 --> 00:00:18,319 Speaker 2: It's stimulating, mind expanding, safer to use that alcohol. It's 5 00:00:18,360 --> 00:00:22,000 Speaker 2: the ind thing, the hula hoop of the jet generation, 6 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:25,520 Speaker 2: and as much a part of growing up as smoking 7 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:31,840 Speaker 2: cornsilk behind the back fence. Such are the myths concerning marijuana, 8 00:00:32,320 --> 00:00:36,120 Speaker 2: myths that low thousands of young people into experimenting with 9 00:00:36,200 --> 00:00:42,840 Speaker 2: a noxious weed. The facts are otherwise. Marijuana is an intoxicating, 10 00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:47,519 Speaker 2: mind muddling drug. Every case history tells the same story, 11 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:50,960 Speaker 2: a story that's a tragic pattern of men and women's 12 00:00:51,040 --> 00:00:56,680 Speaker 2: lives cause marijuana. This harmless looking cigarette is cloaked in 13 00:00:56,760 --> 00:01:01,120 Speaker 2: many innocent disguises, but like the man sho inhale the 14 00:01:01,200 --> 00:01:04,800 Speaker 2: smoke and it becomes an invitation to your own murder. 15 00:01:05,280 --> 00:01:07,600 Speaker 2: This killer and the man who sells it has no 16 00:01:07,760 --> 00:01:08,959 Speaker 2: respect for anybody. 17 00:01:10,560 --> 00:01:14,160 Speaker 1: That's how the US has largely campaigned against marijuana, from 18 00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:17,600 Speaker 1: the regular television ads to PSAs straight from the American 19 00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:21,360 Speaker 1: Medical Association, and even movies. That last clip you heard 20 00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:24,039 Speaker 1: is from the nineteen forty nine movie She Should Have 21 00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:27,920 Speaker 1: Said No. Also known as wild weed. It's one of 22 00:01:27,959 --> 00:01:31,000 Speaker 1: those movies that's filled with messages about how bad drugs 23 00:01:31,040 --> 00:01:35,520 Speaker 1: and especially marijuana really are, watching morality tales like she 24 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:39,240 Speaker 1: should have said. No, they're not very subtle in their messaging. 25 00:01:39,440 --> 00:01:41,959 Speaker 3: No they're not a lot of the messaging around weed 26 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:43,959 Speaker 3: has been about how bad it is for your health, 27 00:01:44,360 --> 00:01:48,840 Speaker 3: your youth, your overall life direction, and that has perpetuated 28 00:01:48,880 --> 00:01:51,760 Speaker 3: the notion that those who deal in the industry are 29 00:01:51,920 --> 00:01:55,760 Speaker 3: basically criminals and terrible people. And it's kind of crazy 30 00:01:55,840 --> 00:02:00,920 Speaker 3: to contrast those movies with what's happening now. So what's 31 00:02:00,960 --> 00:02:02,440 Speaker 3: it like running a weed truck. 32 00:02:03,320 --> 00:02:05,760 Speaker 4: Well, you know, it's pretty fun. You got some free 33 00:02:05,760 --> 00:02:07,920 Speaker 4: samples from it, that's for sure. We've had a couple 34 00:02:07,920 --> 00:02:10,880 Speaker 4: of customers come up and they're like, can I smoke this? 35 00:02:11,080 --> 00:02:14,280 Speaker 4: Like is this okay to do? And it's like they're 36 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:16,680 Speaker 4: not used to it, and they think it's still, you know, 37 00:02:17,000 --> 00:02:20,320 Speaker 4: this forbidden thing. But then we have customers who are like, oh, yeah, 38 00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:22,360 Speaker 4: this is great to see that it's finally stortying to 39 00:02:22,360 --> 00:02:22,840 Speaker 4: open up. 40 00:02:23,040 --> 00:02:25,760 Speaker 3: That's a bud tender. Get it at a local weed 41 00:02:25,800 --> 00:02:29,120 Speaker 3: truck in New York and those have become as ubiquitous 42 00:02:29,160 --> 00:02:32,680 Speaker 3: on Manhattan streets as hot dog carts or ice cream vendors, 43 00:02:33,000 --> 00:02:36,079 Speaker 3: and she says attitudes towards pot have changed a lot. 44 00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:38,840 Speaker 3: You still have people who can't believe that this is legal, 45 00:02:39,160 --> 00:02:41,720 Speaker 3: but she says she sees all types of people coming 46 00:02:41,720 --> 00:02:45,359 Speaker 3: to buy weed nowadays, even parents with their adult children. 47 00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:51,840 Speaker 1: Welcome back to pot lots. We've talked about the illicit 48 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:54,120 Speaker 1: market in New York and the business of legal weed, 49 00:02:54,480 --> 00:02:56,720 Speaker 1: and in this episode, we're going to be speaking about 50 00:02:56,720 --> 00:02:59,680 Speaker 1: one of the things that makes New York unique because 51 00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:02,119 Speaker 1: not all is the state trying to use legalized lead 52 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:04,960 Speaker 1: to raise tax revenue and create a new industry with 53 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:07,679 Speaker 1: lots of jobs. It's also trying to use the program 54 00:03:07,840 --> 00:03:09,680 Speaker 1: to rectify some of the wrongs of the past. 55 00:03:10,320 --> 00:03:15,519 Speaker 5: Two historical policies were particularly damaging to black and brown 56 00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:18,480 Speaker 5: communities across the state. The first is the Rockefeller drug laws, 57 00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:20,920 Speaker 5: and Governor Rockefeller at the time, you know, there was 58 00:03:21,040 --> 00:03:24,239 Speaker 5: a big panic across the country about drugs and drug use, 59 00:03:24,480 --> 00:03:27,519 Speaker 5: and you know, those drug laws really created these insanely 60 00:03:27,639 --> 00:03:31,200 Speaker 5: harmful mandatory minimum sentences for minor possession in the sale 61 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:33,519 Speaker 5: of elicit drugs. And the second thing was stop and 62 00:03:33,600 --> 00:03:35,200 Speaker 5: frisk that Stamian Fagan. 63 00:03:35,520 --> 00:03:38,320 Speaker 3: He probably has one of the most interesting government jobs 64 00:03:38,360 --> 00:03:41,120 Speaker 3: in the world right now. He's Chief Equity Officer at 65 00:03:41,120 --> 00:03:44,200 Speaker 3: New York's Office of Cannabis Management, so he thinks about 66 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:47,440 Speaker 3: this idea of social justice a lot, as well as 67 00:03:47,480 --> 00:03:51,160 Speaker 3: the legacy of previous drug policies. Former New York Governor 68 00:03:51,280 --> 00:03:54,520 Speaker 3: Nelson Rockefeller toughened up punishment for drug offenses in the 69 00:03:54,600 --> 00:03:57,800 Speaker 3: nineteen seventies in response to a crime wave in the city, 70 00:03:58,200 --> 00:04:01,280 Speaker 3: and stop in frisk, which allowed New York police officers 71 00:04:01,280 --> 00:04:05,240 Speaker 3: to temporarily detain people and check them for contraband, was 72 00:04:05,280 --> 00:04:09,160 Speaker 3: practiced for many years, including under Mike Bloomberg's tenure as mayor. 73 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:12,440 Speaker 3: Bloomberg is of course the founder and majority owner of 74 00:04:12,440 --> 00:04:13,240 Speaker 3: Bloomberg LP. 75 00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:16,040 Speaker 5: And so the combination of the Rockfeller drug laws and 76 00:04:16,040 --> 00:04:19,919 Speaker 5: stop in frisk led to people spending years in prison 77 00:04:20,160 --> 00:04:24,359 Speaker 5: for minor cannabis possession and predominantly, you know, with the 78 00:04:24,360 --> 00:04:26,640 Speaker 5: implementation of stop and frisk, you know, we have all 79 00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:29,800 Speaker 5: the numbers now, one point two million individual arrests over 80 00:04:29,839 --> 00:04:32,799 Speaker 5: forty years. Almost close to sixty percent of those arrested 81 00:04:32,800 --> 00:04:35,640 Speaker 5: were black in a state that is fifteen percent black. 82 00:04:35,920 --> 00:04:38,440 Speaker 1: This is the kind of injustice that New York's legalized 83 00:04:38,480 --> 00:04:41,200 Speaker 1: weed program is trying to address. So when it comes 84 00:04:41,240 --> 00:04:44,200 Speaker 1: to handing out weed licenses, priority is given to people 85 00:04:44,200 --> 00:04:47,400 Speaker 1: with prior pot related convictions or their relatives, as well 86 00:04:47,440 --> 00:04:50,400 Speaker 1: as nonprofits. Some of the taxes from legal weed sales 87 00:04:50,440 --> 00:04:53,240 Speaker 1: are also being used for reinvestment fund that's supposed to 88 00:04:53,240 --> 00:04:56,000 Speaker 1: be used to support communities that have been most affected 89 00:04:56,000 --> 00:04:57,000 Speaker 1: by the War on drugs. 90 00:04:57,120 --> 00:05:00,000 Speaker 5: The biggest social equity goal laid out in the cannabis 91 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:03,680 Speaker 5: laws fifty percent licenses going to social equity applicants. The 92 00:05:03,760 --> 00:05:07,919 Speaker 5: second biggest component of it is this community Reinvestment fund, 93 00:05:08,040 --> 00:05:11,120 Speaker 5: and so this is probably for me, the most impactful 94 00:05:11,160 --> 00:05:13,919 Speaker 5: part of the cannabis law. Forty percent of all the 95 00:05:13,920 --> 00:05:16,960 Speaker 5: tax revenue generated in perpetuity in the state of New 96 00:05:17,040 --> 00:05:21,000 Speaker 5: York from cannabis sales will get reinvested into communities disproportionally 97 00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:24,640 Speaker 5: impacted by the enforcement disapportion enforcement of cannabis. And so 98 00:05:25,120 --> 00:05:27,200 Speaker 5: that looks like three hundred million dollars a year for 99 00:05:27,400 --> 00:05:30,120 Speaker 5: you know, decades, every year being given out in grants 100 00:05:30,120 --> 00:05:34,840 Speaker 5: for re entry services, nonprofits, park projects, schools in those 101 00:05:34,839 --> 00:05:38,320 Speaker 5: communities in places like East Brooklyn, South Bronx East Buffalo, 102 00:05:38,560 --> 00:05:40,800 Speaker 5: and that is where the impact is really going to 103 00:05:40,839 --> 00:05:43,400 Speaker 5: be felt long term, that's going to create generational opportunity 104 00:05:43,400 --> 00:05:44,920 Speaker 5: for a lot of these communities. And so those are 105 00:05:44,920 --> 00:05:47,680 Speaker 5: the two pillars, the fifty percent licenses in the reinvestment. 106 00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:51,400 Speaker 5: And so these were tools that were really weaponized against 107 00:05:51,760 --> 00:05:56,559 Speaker 5: already marginalized communities for decades. And you know when things 108 00:05:56,600 --> 00:05:58,400 Speaker 5: like that happen in America and we look back and 109 00:05:58,440 --> 00:06:00,760 Speaker 5: we're like, wow, I can't believe we did that. Oh well, 110 00:06:00,839 --> 00:06:03,479 Speaker 5: let's move forward, like we couldn't do that this time. 111 00:06:03,720 --> 00:06:06,520 Speaker 5: Those people who are arrested, those people who you know, 112 00:06:06,560 --> 00:06:08,560 Speaker 5: had to see their kids through a glass because they 113 00:06:08,600 --> 00:06:10,960 Speaker 5: were smoking a plant outside of Nightja housing, you know, 114 00:06:11,200 --> 00:06:14,360 Speaker 5: they're still here. They're still their kids are here, their 115 00:06:14,400 --> 00:06:18,520 Speaker 5: families are here. They're mad. And so it's often very 116 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:21,400 Speaker 5: easy and convenient for Americans to sort of just like, oh, 117 00:06:21,440 --> 00:06:23,240 Speaker 5: it's really bad that we did that, but can't do 118 00:06:23,279 --> 00:06:26,960 Speaker 5: anything better now. But we absolutely can. This cannabis law 119 00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:29,479 Speaker 5: isn't actually going to fix a lot of the structural 120 00:06:29,520 --> 00:06:32,760 Speaker 5: issues and all the consequences of those policies, but it 121 00:06:32,760 --> 00:06:34,760 Speaker 5: can definitely make life better for a lot of these communities, 122 00:06:34,839 --> 00:06:37,120 Speaker 5: and it definitely can create a more exciting industry with 123 00:06:37,160 --> 00:06:39,400 Speaker 5: a lot more participation from everyday New Yorkers. 124 00:06:40,960 --> 00:06:43,680 Speaker 3: For New York, it means walking a fine line between 125 00:06:43,800 --> 00:06:47,240 Speaker 3: nurturing this new legal industry and making sure it can succeed, 126 00:06:47,640 --> 00:06:50,600 Speaker 3: and also avoiding going back to the injustices of the 127 00:06:50,640 --> 00:06:53,880 Speaker 3: past by cracking down too harshly on the illicit sellers. 128 00:06:53,920 --> 00:06:57,000 Speaker 1: Now Damien betting that some of this will happen naturally. 129 00:06:57,320 --> 00:07:00,159 Speaker 1: It is the legal weed business matures. Consumers will migrate 130 00:07:00,200 --> 00:07:02,000 Speaker 1: towards the regulated shops and product. 131 00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:04,880 Speaker 3: If you build the legal weed bodega, they will come. 132 00:07:05,080 --> 00:07:06,880 Speaker 5: We're never going back to a place where people go 133 00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:09,000 Speaker 5: behind bars for selling a plant. We're just we're not 134 00:07:09,080 --> 00:07:12,120 Speaker 5: doing that as a state. It's already re traumatizing people 135 00:07:12,360 --> 00:07:15,600 Speaker 5: the minimal of enforcement tactics we're doing right now. But 136 00:07:15,720 --> 00:07:17,400 Speaker 5: what we are going to do is we're going to 137 00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:20,400 Speaker 5: look at the scale of the challenge of the illicit 138 00:07:20,440 --> 00:07:23,840 Speaker 5: market very differently. So what we've seen in other states 139 00:07:24,120 --> 00:07:26,400 Speaker 5: is that as you increase the legal footprint of your 140 00:07:26,440 --> 00:07:30,520 Speaker 5: legal market and you give consumers safe, tested, affordable legal 141 00:07:30,560 --> 00:07:33,920 Speaker 5: product on their corners, the illicit market fades into the background. 142 00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:35,560 Speaker 5: At a certain point, these guys are going to look 143 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:37,800 Speaker 5: like they're selling bath to bourbon outside of a liquor store, 144 00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:39,360 Speaker 5: and consumers are just not going to go for it. 145 00:07:39,400 --> 00:07:41,160 Speaker 5: They're not going to go for a place or a 146 00:07:41,160 --> 00:07:42,680 Speaker 5: store that you know can't tell them where they got 147 00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:44,560 Speaker 5: the product from and it's in a grocery bag, when 148 00:07:44,560 --> 00:07:46,559 Speaker 5: there's a place right next door that's selling safe, tested 149 00:07:46,560 --> 00:07:49,120 Speaker 5: product from a family farm that you know upstate. And 150 00:07:49,240 --> 00:07:51,480 Speaker 5: so that's on us in a lot of ways to 151 00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:55,520 Speaker 5: step up the rollout of these legal options because New 152 00:07:55,600 --> 00:07:57,240 Speaker 5: Yorkers are going to smoke weed, and if they don't 153 00:07:57,240 --> 00:07:59,520 Speaker 5: have a legal place to buy it, these stores will proliferate. 154 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:01,680 Speaker 5: So we have to meet that demand where it's at 155 00:08:01,720 --> 00:08:03,800 Speaker 5: a lot of people think that this is enforcement challenge, 156 00:08:03,840 --> 00:08:06,760 Speaker 5: but it's actually just a timing challenge. Eventually, these stores 157 00:08:06,880 --> 00:08:09,480 Speaker 5: will just supply and demand will remove them for us. 158 00:08:09,520 --> 00:08:11,920 Speaker 5: And then the second thing is consumer education. I don't 159 00:08:11,920 --> 00:08:15,200 Speaker 5: think people understand how expensive it is for the City 160 00:08:15,200 --> 00:08:18,720 Speaker 5: of New York or Schenectady to send five police officers 161 00:08:18,760 --> 00:08:21,400 Speaker 5: to a shop to bag and tag all the product 162 00:08:21,440 --> 00:08:23,800 Speaker 5: in there, to write it up, to issue a summons. 163 00:08:23,880 --> 00:08:26,600 Speaker 1: Sett in competition from the illicit market. Aside, there are 164 00:08:26,640 --> 00:08:29,040 Speaker 1: other impediments for people who want to open a legal 165 00:08:29,080 --> 00:08:32,120 Speaker 1: weed business, and by extension, impediments for New York social 166 00:08:32,240 --> 00:08:33,800 Speaker 1: justice ambition when it comes to weed. 167 00:08:34,320 --> 00:08:36,360 Speaker 3: We touched on this a bit in our first episode, 168 00:08:36,480 --> 00:08:38,640 Speaker 3: but getting a license and setting up a brick and 169 00:08:38,679 --> 00:08:42,160 Speaker 3: mortar business isn't cheap, and it might be especially difficult 170 00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:44,120 Speaker 3: for the people that New York is trying to give 171 00:08:44,200 --> 00:08:44,920 Speaker 3: priority to. 172 00:08:45,360 --> 00:08:49,120 Speaker 5: The cost of entering this space is central to the 173 00:08:49,559 --> 00:08:52,839 Speaker 5: lack of demographic diversity in ownership in the industry. And 174 00:08:53,080 --> 00:08:55,600 Speaker 5: so when I look at the demographics of ownership across 175 00:08:55,640 --> 00:08:58,600 Speaker 5: the state, across the country, I'm seeing the racial wealth gap. 176 00:08:58,640 --> 00:09:01,640 Speaker 5: I'm not seeing a competitive market where the best got 177 00:09:01,679 --> 00:09:03,600 Speaker 5: to the top. It's really who had access to private 178 00:09:03,640 --> 00:09:06,760 Speaker 5: capital at the time of legalization in their state respective state. 179 00:09:07,200 --> 00:09:10,320 Speaker 5: And so when we the designers of the cannabis law 180 00:09:10,360 --> 00:09:13,240 Speaker 5: in New York, were looking at other markets, one market 181 00:09:13,320 --> 00:09:16,440 Speaker 5: jumped out to them as more accessible, more stable, and 182 00:09:16,480 --> 00:09:19,560 Speaker 5: more consumer friendly than any other state, and that's Washington State. 183 00:09:19,760 --> 00:09:22,560 Speaker 5: Washington State has a two tier market, so they separated 184 00:09:22,600 --> 00:09:27,080 Speaker 5: retailers from producers, essentially banning vertical integration in the cannabis space. 185 00:09:27,280 --> 00:09:30,160 Speaker 5: Much of the reasons for doing stuff like this is 186 00:09:30,480 --> 00:09:32,760 Speaker 5: the same reasons you wouldn't want Jack Daniels opening up 187 00:09:32,760 --> 00:09:35,000 Speaker 5: a liquor store right after prohibition. You're never going to 188 00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:37,160 Speaker 5: get better whiskeys. You're just going to get Jack Daniels 189 00:09:37,160 --> 00:09:40,000 Speaker 5: because they control everything in the supply chain and eventually 190 00:09:40,000 --> 00:09:42,679 Speaker 5: would consolidate the market. And so by creating that two 191 00:09:42,760 --> 00:09:45,960 Speaker 5: tier structure, you're creating access points for small business. So 192 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:50,439 Speaker 5: now instead of having to do the grow, processing, manufacturing, distribution, 193 00:09:50,640 --> 00:09:53,640 Speaker 5: and retail in a twenty million dollar business, you can 194 00:09:53,760 --> 00:09:55,720 Speaker 5: just do the distribution facility for half a million dollars. 195 00:09:55,760 --> 00:09:57,600 Speaker 5: You can get a retail store in Schenectady for half 196 00:09:57,600 --> 00:09:59,640 Speaker 5: a million dollars. You could start a farm for one 197 00:09:59,679 --> 00:10:03,199 Speaker 5: hundred thousand dollars. There's access points for small business operators 198 00:10:03,240 --> 00:10:05,160 Speaker 5: in a two tier market that they wouldn't normally have 199 00:10:05,200 --> 00:10:07,040 Speaker 5: access to in a vertically integrated industry. 200 00:10:07,240 --> 00:10:09,160 Speaker 1: But for Damien, if New York can get it right, 201 00:10:09,480 --> 00:10:11,600 Speaker 1: if it can use the legal weed industry to try 202 00:10:11,640 --> 00:10:14,040 Speaker 1: to begin to address some of the social inequities of 203 00:10:14,080 --> 00:10:16,640 Speaker 1: the past, then that makes sense, not just from a 204 00:10:16,640 --> 00:10:19,320 Speaker 1: social justice perspective, but also from a business one. 205 00:10:19,640 --> 00:10:22,000 Speaker 3: He says New York wants to create a vibrant and 206 00:10:22,080 --> 00:10:25,720 Speaker 3: stable marijuana industry, one where there are lots of small scale, 207 00:10:25,720 --> 00:10:29,440 Speaker 3: independent operators rather than a few dominant players. Think of 208 00:10:29,480 --> 00:10:32,720 Speaker 3: a vibrant craft beer scene rather than a few big 209 00:10:32,760 --> 00:10:35,920 Speaker 3: corporate beer brands. And he's looking to Washington State as 210 00:10:35,920 --> 00:10:38,199 Speaker 3: a blueprint of how New York can achieve. 211 00:10:37,920 --> 00:10:40,360 Speaker 5: This what we want the New York market to look like. 212 00:10:40,480 --> 00:10:42,719 Speaker 5: I think that when people were drafting the MRTA and 213 00:10:42,800 --> 00:10:45,760 Speaker 5: drafting our canabis regulations and looking at Washington State, we 214 00:10:45,760 --> 00:10:48,840 Speaker 5: were also looking at the economic data from what is 215 00:10:48,920 --> 00:10:51,480 Speaker 5: now a legal market that's eight years old in Washington. 216 00:10:51,800 --> 00:10:55,480 Speaker 5: So when Washington first legalized, they had thirteen hundred farmers 217 00:10:55,520 --> 00:10:58,000 Speaker 5: growing cannabis across the state. They had growed about five 218 00:10:58,080 --> 00:11:01,760 Speaker 5: hundred retail stores. Eight years after legalization, they have eleven 219 00:11:01,800 --> 00:11:05,240 Speaker 5: hundred and fifty farmers. So that's a stable marketplace. After 220 00:11:05,400 --> 00:11:09,240 Speaker 5: almost a decade, they've barely consolidated their production footprint. Those 221 00:11:09,280 --> 00:11:12,000 Speaker 5: farmers are still making good money. Another big data point 222 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:14,360 Speaker 5: that we looked at in Washington State is skews. You 223 00:11:14,360 --> 00:11:16,439 Speaker 5: know how many products are on the shelves on average 224 00:11:16,440 --> 00:11:19,600 Speaker 5: in each dispensary, and in Washington State there's on average 225 00:11:19,640 --> 00:11:24,080 Speaker 5: seventeen hundred different products in each dispensary. We compared that 226 00:11:24,200 --> 00:11:26,120 Speaker 5: to say Florida, where you know, they have a medical 227 00:11:26,120 --> 00:11:28,959 Speaker 5: cannabis market that very much for all intensive purposes acts 228 00:11:28,960 --> 00:11:32,640 Speaker 5: like a recreational market. They have on average seventy products 229 00:11:32,679 --> 00:11:35,040 Speaker 5: per store. And that is a consequence of vertical integration 230 00:11:35,120 --> 00:11:37,920 Speaker 5: versus a two tier market. And so that's what we're 231 00:11:38,360 --> 00:11:41,640 Speaker 5: really looking for to judge our success is diversity of 232 00:11:41,800 --> 00:11:46,360 Speaker 5: consumer experiences, diversity of products, diversity of participation on the 233 00:11:46,360 --> 00:11:48,520 Speaker 5: brand side and on the production side. In terms of 234 00:11:48,520 --> 00:11:52,439 Speaker 5: business ownership, ultimately, you know, we want large operators, medium 235 00:11:52,480 --> 00:11:56,360 Speaker 5: sized operators, and thousands of small businesses to be competing 236 00:11:56,520 --> 00:11:59,560 Speaker 5: interdependently on one another in a very dynamic supply chain. 237 00:11:59,600 --> 00:12:03,280 Speaker 5: We see this as a huge opportunity for New York 238 00:12:03,320 --> 00:12:06,560 Speaker 5: to put its cultural stamp on cannabis. 239 00:12:06,840 --> 00:12:09,600 Speaker 3: But this is all still very new, and Damien stresses 240 00:12:09,640 --> 00:12:12,520 Speaker 3: that the work is ongoing. If President Biden were to 241 00:12:12,559 --> 00:12:15,880 Speaker 3: decide to reschedule marijuana as a Class one drug, New 242 00:12:15,920 --> 00:12:18,760 Speaker 3: York State's entire calculus for how this is meant to 243 00:12:18,800 --> 00:12:21,559 Speaker 3: work could change, and so could its business plans. 244 00:12:22,440 --> 00:12:24,400 Speaker 5: What you've seen so far, what you will see in 245 00:12:24,440 --> 00:12:27,000 Speaker 5: the coming years from our office and from all Benny 246 00:12:27,040 --> 00:12:29,240 Speaker 5: generally about cannabis is it's the most flexible you'll ever 247 00:12:29,240 --> 00:12:32,319 Speaker 5: see government. And that is because, you know, one, because 248 00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:34,800 Speaker 5: it's a brand new industry, and we have to be 249 00:12:34,880 --> 00:12:39,400 Speaker 5: able to respond to the dramatically changing landscape of legal cannabis. 250 00:12:39,600 --> 00:12:42,760 Speaker 5: You know, President Biden could reschedule next week and it 251 00:12:42,800 --> 00:12:45,439 Speaker 5: would completely change the calculus of a lot of our programming. 252 00:12:45,480 --> 00:12:49,000 Speaker 5: You know, we could see interstate commerce before federal legalization, 253 00:12:49,080 --> 00:12:51,680 Speaker 5: and that would also completely change the dynamics of how 254 00:12:51,760 --> 00:12:54,320 Speaker 5: businesses in New York operate. And so we have to 255 00:12:54,360 --> 00:12:57,000 Speaker 5: be prepared to respond to all these changing dynamics. There's 256 00:12:57,040 --> 00:12:59,120 Speaker 5: also no blueprint for how to do this right. And 257 00:12:59,240 --> 00:13:01,000 Speaker 5: I really want to stress that is that you know, 258 00:13:01,760 --> 00:13:04,240 Speaker 5: majority of other states who have launched illegal cannabis industries, 259 00:13:04,400 --> 00:13:05,600 Speaker 5: they're not great industries. 260 00:13:05,800 --> 00:13:08,040 Speaker 1: But even if New York is successful in all these 261 00:13:08,080 --> 00:13:10,760 Speaker 1: ambitious goals, we're talking about decades of harm that were 262 00:13:10,760 --> 00:13:12,920 Speaker 1: done to minorities and marginalized communities. 263 00:13:13,160 --> 00:13:14,920 Speaker 5: So I met people up there who'd been resting five 264 00:13:15,040 --> 00:13:17,800 Speaker 5: six seven times over the course of ten years. You know, 265 00:13:17,800 --> 00:13:19,400 Speaker 5: almost every time they stepped out of their house, there 266 00:13:19,400 --> 00:13:20,800 Speaker 5: was a cop there waiting for them to pat them 267 00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:22,960 Speaker 5: down because they smelled cannabis and arrest them. And so 268 00:13:23,080 --> 00:13:24,960 Speaker 5: people looking me dead in the eye and saying, like, 269 00:13:24,960 --> 00:13:26,199 Speaker 5: you know, if you gave me a license and a 270 00:13:26,240 --> 00:13:28,000 Speaker 5: million dollars, it would not make up for like the 271 00:13:28,080 --> 00:13:30,200 Speaker 5: years I missed with my kid. What you're doing isn't enough. 272 00:13:30,320 --> 00:13:32,200 Speaker 5: And so I've had a lot of those interactions with 273 00:13:32,480 --> 00:13:34,480 Speaker 5: not you know, and these aren't young people. These are 274 00:13:34,520 --> 00:13:37,480 Speaker 5: fifty sixty year old men who are who have been 275 00:13:37,480 --> 00:13:39,920 Speaker 5: struggling to get back on track ever since some of 276 00:13:39,960 --> 00:13:42,240 Speaker 5: those arrests. I think about them a lot of my 277 00:13:42,280 --> 00:13:44,040 Speaker 5: work because it just makes me want to go harder. 278 00:13:44,559 --> 00:13:47,800 Speaker 3: This is cost Marte. When Damien talks about people who 279 00:13:47,800 --> 00:13:51,520 Speaker 3: have been repeatedly arrested for pot with police, for instance, 280 00:13:51,600 --> 00:13:55,000 Speaker 3: waiting outside their houses to catch them, this is kind 281 00:13:55,040 --> 00:13:58,240 Speaker 3: of who he's talking about. Costs was arrested multiple times 282 00:13:58,240 --> 00:14:01,359 Speaker 3: for drug dealing and even went to prison for many years. 283 00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:04,880 Speaker 6: I grew up in a neighborhood that I was being 284 00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:09,240 Speaker 6: stopped multiple times per day sometimes, you know, it was 285 00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:12,559 Speaker 6: a normalcy where I could just be walking to school 286 00:14:12,800 --> 00:14:15,480 Speaker 6: and have a bag of weed on me, and I'm 287 00:14:15,480 --> 00:14:18,480 Speaker 6: being placed on the wall, now being searched, now that 288 00:14:18,679 --> 00:14:21,800 Speaker 6: being incarcerated, now going through the system. I've been arrested 289 00:14:21,960 --> 00:14:26,320 Speaker 6: a nine times total, and it became something that I 290 00:14:26,480 --> 00:14:30,200 Speaker 6: felt normalized but also traumatized in a sense because I 291 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:33,320 Speaker 6: had to find better ways to hide my weed. If 292 00:14:33,360 --> 00:14:36,840 Speaker 6: I would have grown up probably in Scars Day in Westchester, 293 00:14:36,880 --> 00:14:39,600 Speaker 6: I would not worry where I would carry my weed at. 294 00:14:39,680 --> 00:14:39,840 Speaker 7: You know. 295 00:14:39,920 --> 00:14:43,200 Speaker 6: Sometimes I had to hide it in my underwear or 296 00:14:43,600 --> 00:14:46,040 Speaker 6: you know, stash it in different spots because I felt like, 297 00:14:46,200 --> 00:14:48,400 Speaker 6: all right, there's a cop there, I gotta be careful, 298 00:14:48,560 --> 00:14:50,880 Speaker 6: you know, or I got to walk a certain way. 299 00:14:51,200 --> 00:14:53,840 Speaker 6: I can't even smoke in the streets. Even today, when 300 00:14:53,880 --> 00:14:57,160 Speaker 6: I walk down and I see an NYPD officer, I 301 00:14:57,200 --> 00:15:01,080 Speaker 6: feel like I'm doing something wrong because I was targeted 302 00:15:01,120 --> 00:15:03,400 Speaker 6: so many times. I mean I got stopped by cops 303 00:15:03,480 --> 00:15:06,280 Speaker 6: over total hundred times. I served a total of six 304 00:15:06,360 --> 00:15:09,480 Speaker 6: years in prison for dealing drugs, for dealing in marijuana. 305 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:12,800 Speaker 6: It was troubling because I feel traumatized. This has not 306 00:15:12,840 --> 00:15:15,720 Speaker 6: only affected myself, but also if the family members that 307 00:15:15,760 --> 00:15:19,120 Speaker 6: I had to experience this by visiting me in Ryker's 308 00:15:19,160 --> 00:15:22,320 Speaker 6: Island multiple times. My son who grew up talking to 309 00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:26,720 Speaker 6: me through a payphone while I was incarcerated. It's just 310 00:15:26,720 --> 00:15:28,560 Speaker 6: a crazy system. 311 00:15:29,080 --> 00:15:31,880 Speaker 3: When COST got out of prison, the former drug kingpin 312 00:15:31,960 --> 00:15:36,280 Speaker 3: transformed his entrepreneurial experience and his newfound appreciation for working 313 00:15:36,280 --> 00:15:39,880 Speaker 3: out into a gym business called con Body. Then he 314 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:43,360 Speaker 3: watched as New York made an announcement after announcement about 315 00:15:43,360 --> 00:15:44,640 Speaker 3: its legal weed plans. 316 00:15:45,280 --> 00:15:48,240 Speaker 6: I went into prison for running a multimillion dollar drug business. 317 00:15:48,360 --> 00:15:51,960 Speaker 6: We had a delivery service generating about five million dollars 318 00:15:51,960 --> 00:15:55,240 Speaker 6: of revenue. I was profiting about two million dollars myself 319 00:15:55,360 --> 00:15:58,640 Speaker 6: between my partner and I back then, and I was 320 00:15:58,680 --> 00:16:00,920 Speaker 6: sentenced to seven years in prison. And what we did. 321 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:05,200 Speaker 6: We had a delivery service. We had dispatchers, we had runners, 322 00:16:05,240 --> 00:16:08,160 Speaker 6: we had even texters in the visuals that we had 323 00:16:08,200 --> 00:16:12,200 Speaker 6: to hire so we could do personal text messages. Because 324 00:16:12,240 --> 00:16:15,360 Speaker 6: we didn't have these touch screen phones like today where 325 00:16:15,400 --> 00:16:17,240 Speaker 6: we could send a text message right away. We had 326 00:16:17,240 --> 00:16:21,240 Speaker 6: to literally hold on the number two to spend to 327 00:16:21,520 --> 00:16:24,480 Speaker 6: spell the letter A, and that took three seconds at 328 00:16:24,520 --> 00:16:27,280 Speaker 6: a time. But that's why I went to prison. I 329 00:16:27,320 --> 00:16:30,600 Speaker 6: believe we're in a great state right now. There's no 330 00:16:30,720 --> 00:16:34,600 Speaker 6: other state that has given an opportunity and first DIBs 331 00:16:34,600 --> 00:16:38,360 Speaker 6: for formerly incarcery individuals to be the first one to market. 332 00:16:38,440 --> 00:16:40,920 Speaker 6: We've seen this time and time again where we see 333 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:44,840 Speaker 6: other states make the decision very complicated for people that 334 00:16:44,960 --> 00:16:48,880 Speaker 6: been justice impacted to get involved with selling cannabis, and 335 00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:52,760 Speaker 6: New York State is doing the reverse. They're allowing individuals 336 00:16:52,800 --> 00:16:55,760 Speaker 6: that have been convicted also have previously ran a business 337 00:16:56,000 --> 00:16:58,720 Speaker 6: be first in line and be first in line for 338 00:16:58,760 --> 00:17:01,360 Speaker 6: a while. They're now ditting anybody else get in the 339 00:17:01,440 --> 00:17:04,720 Speaker 6: industry for a year after we get in it. So 340 00:17:05,400 --> 00:17:07,159 Speaker 6: I mean, I think it's a great opportunity for us 341 00:17:07,160 --> 00:17:09,320 Speaker 6: to jump on board. I was very excited to get 342 00:17:09,359 --> 00:17:13,360 Speaker 6: on board early. I've been talking about criminal justice reform, 343 00:17:13,520 --> 00:17:16,879 Speaker 6: marijuana reform for a very long time. I had a 344 00:17:16,920 --> 00:17:20,640 Speaker 6: particular friend that was asking me to work and run 345 00:17:20,720 --> 00:17:23,399 Speaker 6: one of his dispensaries in the state of Massachusetts, but 346 00:17:23,440 --> 00:17:25,520 Speaker 6: they were not allowing me to work there because of 347 00:17:25,560 --> 00:17:29,600 Speaker 6: my criminal record and conviction for cannabis, and so it 348 00:17:29,680 --> 00:17:31,760 Speaker 6: was like a catch twenty two. I'm an expert in 349 00:17:31,800 --> 00:17:34,359 Speaker 6: the field. You from my past experience, why can I 350 00:17:34,480 --> 00:17:38,600 Speaker 6: do this? And they changed that in Massachusetts today now 351 00:17:38,600 --> 00:17:41,560 Speaker 6: they have a social equity program over there, But back then, 352 00:17:41,720 --> 00:17:43,920 Speaker 6: I'm talking about five years ago, when they started first 353 00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:47,680 Speaker 6: rolling this out, it was just deterring, and I started 354 00:17:47,680 --> 00:17:51,080 Speaker 6: speaking on panels behind it, and I saw like I 355 00:17:51,200 --> 00:17:54,200 Speaker 6: wanted to get into this industry and advocate for people 356 00:17:54,240 --> 00:17:56,359 Speaker 6: that have been justice impacted to be in there. First, 357 00:17:56,720 --> 00:18:00,480 Speaker 6: I thought it was really unfair for these big operate 358 00:18:00,600 --> 00:18:04,040 Speaker 6: usually white men, to run the industry when they had 359 00:18:04,080 --> 00:18:06,960 Speaker 6: no experience in it and they're just looking to make 360 00:18:07,000 --> 00:18:09,560 Speaker 6: a dollar. And this was a platform where we could 361 00:18:10,160 --> 00:18:12,920 Speaker 6: be a voice for the formerly incarcerated, be a voice 362 00:18:12,920 --> 00:18:17,520 Speaker 6: for individuals that been affected, whether it was being arrested 363 00:18:17,680 --> 00:18:20,800 Speaker 6: or having a family member convicted for this and having 364 00:18:20,840 --> 00:18:24,959 Speaker 6: done a deal with the I would say collateral consequences. 365 00:18:33,560 --> 00:18:36,280 Speaker 1: So years after serving that seven year prison sentence for 366 00:18:36,400 --> 00:18:39,040 Speaker 1: dealing Costs is still in the drug business. He's still 367 00:18:39,040 --> 00:18:41,680 Speaker 1: a dealer. The difference is now it's legal and he 368 00:18:41,720 --> 00:18:44,440 Speaker 1: has a business called Kanbud and a team behind him. 369 00:18:44,600 --> 00:18:48,840 Speaker 1: Meet the Kanbud co founders, Alfredo Angueira and Junior Martinez 370 00:18:48,920 --> 00:18:51,440 Speaker 1: and together they've applied for and received a New York 371 00:18:51,480 --> 00:18:52,119 Speaker 1: City license. 372 00:18:53,160 --> 00:18:55,879 Speaker 8: My name is Alfredo Angida. I am an attorney. My 373 00:18:56,000 --> 00:19:00,280 Speaker 8: background phrenominantly was in economic development. Also assisted in mates 374 00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:03,439 Speaker 8: on Records Island doing their pro state litigation motions, did 375 00:19:03,480 --> 00:19:06,280 Speaker 8: a variety of things which ultimately led into me doing 376 00:19:06,440 --> 00:19:10,239 Speaker 8: real estate and business. Currently, we own a couple of 377 00:19:10,280 --> 00:19:12,639 Speaker 8: restaurants in the Bronx and now one of the founding 378 00:19:12,680 --> 00:19:15,840 Speaker 8: partners of Combat and hopefully we'll be opening up a 379 00:19:15,840 --> 00:19:16,840 Speaker 8: dispensary very soon. 380 00:19:17,040 --> 00:19:21,320 Speaker 9: My name is Junior Martinez. I come from the hospitality industry, 381 00:19:21,560 --> 00:19:26,320 Speaker 9: multiple restaurants throughout New York City, Bronx, Manhattan, real estate 382 00:19:26,359 --> 00:19:31,680 Speaker 9: background and born and raised in Harlem. When New York 383 00:19:31,920 --> 00:19:36,320 Speaker 9: rode out and legalized marijuana and started rolling out the guidelines, 384 00:19:36,520 --> 00:19:40,480 Speaker 9: initially it spoke right to us. And once they started 385 00:19:40,560 --> 00:19:45,119 Speaker 9: dishing out guidelines on their giving first option over to 386 00:19:45,359 --> 00:19:50,600 Speaker 9: formerly convicted individuals of marijuana couse, Alfredo and I were 387 00:19:50,680 --> 00:19:55,639 Speaker 9: sitting in a room and immediately we said, you know, 388 00:19:55,880 --> 00:19:59,639 Speaker 9: let's go for this. Let's join forces and apply for 389 00:19:59,680 --> 00:20:02,920 Speaker 9: one of the these licenses and hopefully we could get 390 00:20:02,920 --> 00:20:06,920 Speaker 9: it because our qualifications were exactly what the guidelines were 391 00:20:06,960 --> 00:20:07,639 Speaker 9: written for. 392 00:20:07,840 --> 00:20:09,320 Speaker 1: And so they teamed up with costs. 393 00:20:09,600 --> 00:20:13,199 Speaker 8: Cannabis is a billion dollar industry stop period, right, We 394 00:20:13,240 --> 00:20:16,560 Speaker 8: all know this. So to get the opportunity as a 395 00:20:16,600 --> 00:20:19,359 Speaker 8: business to get in on the ground floor on a 396 00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:22,920 Speaker 8: billion dollar industry is huge. That's the changing of generational 397 00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:27,119 Speaker 8: wealth for individuals who were impacted the most, for the 398 00:20:27,200 --> 00:20:30,480 Speaker 8: individuals and the families who suffered the most from the 399 00:20:30,520 --> 00:20:33,679 Speaker 8: War on drugs. So getting the opportunity to get in 400 00:20:33,760 --> 00:20:36,200 Speaker 8: on the ground floor on that is game changing for everyone. 401 00:20:36,720 --> 00:20:39,840 Speaker 8: New York State, the current state of the cannabis market 402 00:20:39,880 --> 00:20:42,119 Speaker 8: in New York State has been a little bit topsy turvy, 403 00:20:42,119 --> 00:20:43,840 Speaker 8: and that's because they're going at it fast. 404 00:20:44,520 --> 00:20:44,680 Speaker 7: Right. 405 00:20:44,720 --> 00:20:47,080 Speaker 8: They have a social justice mission. They understand what that 406 00:20:47,119 --> 00:20:49,639 Speaker 8: mission is to them, but to execute that in the 407 00:20:49,680 --> 00:20:53,119 Speaker 8: timeframe that they want to execute it, there are a 408 00:20:53,160 --> 00:20:55,760 Speaker 8: couple of loose ends, but they have a strong framework. 409 00:20:56,320 --> 00:20:58,919 Speaker 1: We asked them what the transition between a legal dealing 410 00:20:58,960 --> 00:21:01,919 Speaker 1: and legal wead selling is actually like, because on the 411 00:21:01,960 --> 00:21:04,320 Speaker 1: one hand, you can imagine guys like us have lots 412 00:21:04,320 --> 00:21:06,640 Speaker 1: of experience with their product, but on the other hand, 413 00:21:06,680 --> 00:21:08,840 Speaker 1: you have to imagine that some of the bureaucratic red 414 00:21:08,880 --> 00:21:11,480 Speaker 1: tape and things like paying taxes are brand new and plus, 415 00:21:11,560 --> 00:21:14,119 Speaker 1: of course they're still competing with the illicit sellers that 416 00:21:14,160 --> 00:21:15,639 Speaker 1: we talked about on episode one. 417 00:21:15,800 --> 00:21:18,600 Speaker 6: There's a lot of transferable skills that I'm using from 418 00:21:18,600 --> 00:21:21,440 Speaker 6: the streets to the legal game. I think the biggest 419 00:21:22,200 --> 00:21:26,199 Speaker 6: differentiation is taxes. Now I'm paying them to taxes. But 420 00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:28,239 Speaker 6: I mean I had to learn what the product was. 421 00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:30,399 Speaker 6: I had to be educated on what is going to 422 00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:32,919 Speaker 6: be doing to the consumer. I had to market it, 423 00:21:32,960 --> 00:21:35,119 Speaker 6: I had to brand it. I had to do p 424 00:21:35,280 --> 00:21:37,840 Speaker 6: and ls in a different type of way. I mean, 425 00:21:38,160 --> 00:21:40,520 Speaker 6: today I obviously know how to read a balance sheet 426 00:21:40,520 --> 00:21:43,560 Speaker 6: in a P and L and how investment works. And 427 00:21:43,640 --> 00:21:47,320 Speaker 6: in the streets, you know, it was a totally different 428 00:21:47,600 --> 00:21:50,159 Speaker 6: way of investing. You know, maybe you get a friend 429 00:21:50,520 --> 00:21:53,080 Speaker 6: who gives you some money and you pay them back 430 00:21:53,200 --> 00:21:55,880 Speaker 6: after time. It's a handshake deal. It's different when you're 431 00:21:55,880 --> 00:21:59,480 Speaker 6: dealing on the corporate side, when you have legal paperwork 432 00:21:59,760 --> 00:22:03,080 Speaker 6: to I mean, there's a lot of differences between both 433 00:22:03,080 --> 00:22:05,199 Speaker 6: of them, but a lot of similarities and a lot 434 00:22:05,280 --> 00:22:07,119 Speaker 6: of things that I could carry over from what I 435 00:22:07,200 --> 00:22:09,439 Speaker 6: learned in the streets to the legal market. 436 00:22:09,760 --> 00:22:12,280 Speaker 8: I have to pay insurance for my workers. I have 437 00:22:12,359 --> 00:22:14,199 Speaker 8: to make sure I have my workman's camp, I have 438 00:22:14,400 --> 00:22:17,199 Speaker 8: my labor overhead, I have my inventory overhead, I have 439 00:22:17,320 --> 00:22:21,400 Speaker 8: my taxes. On a business level, it is an unfair 440 00:22:21,480 --> 00:22:26,240 Speaker 8: and unbalanced scale. Aside from the business aspect I had 441 00:22:26,280 --> 00:22:29,520 Speaker 8: spoken to, it is a health issue, right, you don't 442 00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:32,600 Speaker 8: know what you're getting. I'm from the Bronx, born and raised, 443 00:22:32,880 --> 00:22:35,760 Speaker 8: my business partners from Harlem, my other business partners from 444 00:22:35,880 --> 00:22:39,119 Speaker 8: ls and we're both Afro Latino. That's how identify. We 445 00:22:39,520 --> 00:22:42,600 Speaker 8: all identify as Afro Latino, which for those who may 446 00:22:42,640 --> 00:22:46,160 Speaker 8: not know, is black and Latin. So we're from the hood. 447 00:22:46,400 --> 00:22:49,080 Speaker 8: And you know, I grew up with nutcrackers, people selling 448 00:22:49,119 --> 00:22:52,280 Speaker 8: alcohol out of a cooler on Dykeman and I never 449 00:22:52,320 --> 00:22:54,400 Speaker 8: took one because that was made in your bathtub. 450 00:22:54,600 --> 00:22:59,280 Speaker 9: I really think that one those of us that have sold, 451 00:22:59,480 --> 00:23:03,160 Speaker 9: we be for illegally. It'll be very hypocritical of us 452 00:23:03,200 --> 00:23:06,920 Speaker 9: to really knock it down. On the other side, if 453 00:23:06,960 --> 00:23:09,840 Speaker 9: the state is coming in and giving you an opportunity 454 00:23:09,920 --> 00:23:15,640 Speaker 9: to make money legitimate and giving you the resources there 455 00:23:15,720 --> 00:23:22,840 Speaker 9: to transition from a legacy black market into a legitimate business, 456 00:23:23,040 --> 00:23:26,760 Speaker 9: then it's very foolish of you to not take that 457 00:23:26,960 --> 00:23:31,919 Speaker 9: route and be able to convert quickly and rapidly into 458 00:23:31,960 --> 00:23:36,600 Speaker 9: a legal market where you could potentially build a multi million, 459 00:23:36,680 --> 00:23:39,639 Speaker 9: multi billion dollar company. And that's the route that we 460 00:23:39,720 --> 00:23:40,400 Speaker 9: have chosen. 461 00:23:40,960 --> 00:23:43,639 Speaker 3: In general, though, the combat team is excited for the 462 00:23:43,680 --> 00:23:47,399 Speaker 3: opportunity and for what the future potentially holds. We actually 463 00:23:47,440 --> 00:23:50,520 Speaker 3: spoke with them just after President Joe Biden announced a 464 00:23:50,560 --> 00:23:54,679 Speaker 3: pardon of federal convictions for simple marijuana possession offenses in 465 00:23:54,760 --> 00:23:57,600 Speaker 3: late twenty twenty two. It's a big deal for people 466 00:23:57,640 --> 00:23:58,240 Speaker 3: like costs. 467 00:23:58,480 --> 00:24:02,000 Speaker 10: Criminal records from marijuana p possession have led the needless 468 00:24:02,040 --> 00:24:06,600 Speaker 10: barriers to employment, to housing, educational opportunities. And that's before 469 00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:10,320 Speaker 10: you address the racial disparities around who suffers the consequences. 470 00:24:10,400 --> 00:24:12,959 Speaker 10: While white and black and brown people use marijuana at 471 00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:16,720 Speaker 10: similar rates, black and brown people are arrested, prosecuted, and 472 00:24:16,800 --> 00:24:21,440 Speaker 10: convicted at disproportionately higher rates. So today I'm taking three 473 00:24:21,480 --> 00:24:25,720 Speaker 10: steps to end this failed approach. First, I'm announcing a 474 00:24:25,800 --> 00:24:30,000 Speaker 10: pardon for all prior federal offense federal offenses for the 475 00:24:30,040 --> 00:24:32,400 Speaker 10: civil possession of marijuana or one thousand. 476 00:24:32,440 --> 00:24:36,000 Speaker 3: President Biden's pardon affects more than six five hundred people 477 00:24:36,080 --> 00:24:39,440 Speaker 3: who were convicted for cannabis related crimes between nineteen ninety 478 00:24:39,480 --> 00:24:40,719 Speaker 3: two and twenty twenty one. 479 00:24:41,359 --> 00:24:44,120 Speaker 6: I mean, well Biden has done. I think it's an 480 00:24:44,119 --> 00:24:46,760 Speaker 6: incredible start. Still a lot of work to be done. 481 00:24:46,880 --> 00:24:49,119 Speaker 6: He basically said he's going to release and part in 482 00:24:49,280 --> 00:24:53,600 Speaker 6: all the individuals that have minor offenses. No one in 483 00:24:53,680 --> 00:24:56,359 Speaker 6: federal prison has minor offenses. If you went to the Feds, 484 00:24:56,480 --> 00:24:58,439 Speaker 6: you probably got caught with a lot of stuff, you know, 485 00:24:58,560 --> 00:25:01,119 Speaker 6: So at first and foremost, so I don't think anybody 486 00:25:01,200 --> 00:25:04,480 Speaker 6: with any amount of marijuana should be sitting in federal prison. 487 00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:08,840 Speaker 6: Moving it from Schedule one would be a huge impact. 488 00:25:08,920 --> 00:25:11,160 Speaker 6: I mean, if they could change that, it could change 489 00:25:11,200 --> 00:25:13,240 Speaker 6: a lot of stuff. We could talk about, like Safe 490 00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:17,119 Speaker 6: Banking Act, where we'll be allowed to make transactions with 491 00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:21,400 Speaker 6: regular bank. We had to sit with multiple banks and 492 00:25:21,600 --> 00:25:25,479 Speaker 6: they're charging us a crazy amount just to hold our money. 493 00:25:25,800 --> 00:25:28,760 Speaker 6: If we open up this dispensary because it's federally illegal, 494 00:25:29,240 --> 00:25:32,560 Speaker 6: you know, so it'll be a huge move if we 495 00:25:32,560 --> 00:25:35,760 Speaker 6: can make that happen. On on the Biden side, I 496 00:25:35,800 --> 00:25:39,240 Speaker 6: feel like it's an incredible opportunity. No matter what I 497 00:25:39,280 --> 00:25:42,480 Speaker 6: feel like New York State is giving out some sort 498 00:25:42,520 --> 00:25:46,040 Speaker 6: of reparation for the wrongs that they've done to people 499 00:25:46,080 --> 00:25:49,200 Speaker 6: that have lived in these neighborhoods and people of color 500 00:25:49,520 --> 00:25:56,639 Speaker 6: who've been targeted for years. 501 00:25:57,640 --> 00:26:00,600 Speaker 3: And on Broadway in downtown New York, there's a glimpse 502 00:26:00,600 --> 00:26:03,640 Speaker 3: of the future. There's a line of people snaking outside 503 00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:07,120 Speaker 3: of Housing Works, charity dedicated to helping people affected by 504 00:26:07,280 --> 00:26:10,919 Speaker 3: HIV and homelessness. You might be asking yourself what the 505 00:26:10,960 --> 00:26:14,760 Speaker 3: connection here is with weed, and the answer is destigmatizing 506 00:26:14,840 --> 00:26:18,720 Speaker 3: drug use. It became the first legal recreational cannabis store 507 00:26:18,760 --> 00:26:21,840 Speaker 3: to open its doors in December twenty twenty two after 508 00:26:21,880 --> 00:26:23,200 Speaker 3: getting a license from the state. 509 00:26:23,640 --> 00:26:26,720 Speaker 7: It's been consistent business. I can't speak exactly to the 510 00:26:26,760 --> 00:26:30,399 Speaker 7: amount of money that we've generated, but rest assured we have. 511 00:26:30,760 --> 00:26:32,720 Speaker 7: We're about one hundred and fifty percent to our plan. 512 00:26:32,800 --> 00:26:36,840 Speaker 7: We're killing our goals daily and monthly, and I'm really 513 00:26:36,840 --> 00:26:39,440 Speaker 7: shocked by how much revenue we've generated over the past 514 00:26:39,440 --> 00:26:42,240 Speaker 7: two months. It's really impressive and I'm happy that we're 515 00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:43,320 Speaker 7: doing this for a clause. 516 00:26:44,080 --> 00:26:47,520 Speaker 3: Sasha Nugent is a retail manager and budmaster at Housing 517 00:26:47,560 --> 00:26:51,080 Speaker 3: Works Cannabis Company. The dispensary is located just blocks away 518 00:26:51,119 --> 00:26:54,320 Speaker 3: from Washington Square Park in Manhattan, where the illicit market 519 00:26:54,359 --> 00:26:57,840 Speaker 3: is thriving and sellers like Charlie from Episode one, our 520 00:26:57,920 --> 00:27:01,720 Speaker 3: selling product that's unregulated. And although business is going well 521 00:27:01,760 --> 00:27:04,840 Speaker 3: for Housing Works, Sasha says, there are still challenges. 522 00:27:05,240 --> 00:27:07,600 Speaker 7: Number One, I don't know if people know, as far 523 00:27:07,640 --> 00:27:11,560 Speaker 7: as New York regulations go, we can't do indoor grow, 524 00:27:12,080 --> 00:27:14,600 Speaker 7: and I think that many customers are looking for that 525 00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:18,840 Speaker 7: indoor grown cannabis from like a market like Los Angeles 526 00:27:18,880 --> 00:27:21,600 Speaker 7: or California, rather New York is all out or grown. 527 00:27:21,720 --> 00:27:24,840 Speaker 7: So that's kind of like eating at some of our profit. 528 00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:28,239 Speaker 7: We have people who are die hard cannabis consumers that 529 00:27:28,280 --> 00:27:31,440 Speaker 7: they love the cannabis from California, and it doesn't compare 530 00:27:31,480 --> 00:27:34,200 Speaker 7: allegedly to the New York market, So that's kind of 531 00:27:34,240 --> 00:27:37,480 Speaker 7: a challenge that we have. Also, like the price points, 532 00:27:37,520 --> 00:27:40,040 Speaker 7: we don't have it in our power to drop the 533 00:27:40,080 --> 00:27:42,760 Speaker 7: price as low as the gray market area does, but 534 00:27:42,840 --> 00:27:45,760 Speaker 7: we can guarantee that you're getting quality flower that's been 535 00:27:45,880 --> 00:27:49,399 Speaker 7: tested for mold and pesticides, and you don't have to 536 00:27:49,440 --> 00:27:52,680 Speaker 7: worry about it being tainted with anything else. So there's 537 00:27:52,920 --> 00:27:56,280 Speaker 7: an upside with us having those regulations in place, but 538 00:27:56,320 --> 00:27:59,000 Speaker 7: the downside is that we don't have as vast as 539 00:27:59,040 --> 00:28:01,240 Speaker 7: a menu as the grain market areas do. 540 00:28:01,960 --> 00:28:05,240 Speaker 1: Not only has this dispensary seen competition from the legacy 541 00:28:05,280 --> 00:28:08,760 Speaker 1: ilicit market, but meeting their own customer demand has been difficult. 542 00:28:09,080 --> 00:28:10,720 Speaker 7: There has been a struggle to meet demand, and that 543 00:28:11,240 --> 00:28:13,560 Speaker 7: is due to there being i think only six labs 544 00:28:13,560 --> 00:28:15,880 Speaker 7: that are open in New York State that are doing 545 00:28:15,920 --> 00:28:19,360 Speaker 7: the testing, and so that becomes tricky when you have 546 00:28:19,840 --> 00:28:23,359 Speaker 7: really large purchase orders to fulfill and the tests aren't 547 00:28:23,359 --> 00:28:25,720 Speaker 7: coming back on time. So that is something that we 548 00:28:25,880 --> 00:28:30,480 Speaker 7: ran into several times actually, and also another factor like 549 00:28:30,520 --> 00:28:33,280 Speaker 7: the weather. For example, we placed the purchase order for 550 00:28:33,480 --> 00:28:37,879 Speaker 7: more edibles and more vade pens, and because they're upstate 551 00:28:37,920 --> 00:28:41,080 Speaker 7: New York, there's a huge nor'easter winter storm advisory, so 552 00:28:41,120 --> 00:28:43,719 Speaker 7: that kind of creates an issue with us getting our 553 00:28:43,720 --> 00:28:46,240 Speaker 7: product on time and keeping products in stack. 554 00:28:46,800 --> 00:28:50,120 Speaker 3: Sasha says she's experienced challenges with banking. Many of the 555 00:28:50,120 --> 00:28:52,200 Speaker 3: weed trucks, like the one we were at earlier in 556 00:28:52,200 --> 00:28:55,640 Speaker 3: this episode. US creative workarounds to be able to charge 557 00:28:55,640 --> 00:29:00,240 Speaker 3: customers using payment systems like stating cookies or China needs 558 00:29:00,280 --> 00:29:02,640 Speaker 3: take out on the receipt. Because cannabis is still a 559 00:29:02,680 --> 00:29:06,360 Speaker 3: Schedule one substance, many banks just don't want to touch it. 560 00:29:06,360 --> 00:29:10,960 Speaker 7: It was difficult finding a bank that would process our transactions. Also, 561 00:29:11,200 --> 00:29:13,880 Speaker 7: we did run into an issue with our payroll provider 562 00:29:14,160 --> 00:29:17,320 Speaker 7: that we work with throughout housing Words not accepting our 563 00:29:17,400 --> 00:29:20,040 Speaker 7: payroll because of cannabis, So we had to find somebody 564 00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:23,160 Speaker 7: who would support That was actually very tricky to navigate. 565 00:29:23,240 --> 00:29:25,680 Speaker 7: That's another thing that you know, if it's betterly legal, 566 00:29:25,840 --> 00:29:27,960 Speaker 7: we wouldn't have to deal with. I mean, that would 567 00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:31,600 Speaker 7: be incredible because then we would be able to expand 568 00:29:31,760 --> 00:29:37,240 Speaker 7: our menu, expand our partnerships with vendors and cultivators. Aside 569 00:29:37,240 --> 00:29:40,280 Speaker 7: from generating a lot of revenue, it would just be 570 00:29:40,480 --> 00:29:41,920 Speaker 7: an overall positive thing. 571 00:29:42,120 --> 00:29:44,360 Speaker 1: I think it may be that New Yorkers have to 572 00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:47,520 Speaker 1: sacrifice California grown weed in the name of both social 573 00:29:47,680 --> 00:29:50,240 Speaker 1: justice and tax revenue, but for many that may be 574 00:29:50,280 --> 00:29:52,720 Speaker 1: a reasonable price to pay in return for a safe 575 00:29:52,720 --> 00:29:53,760 Speaker 1: and regulated market. 576 00:29:57,680 --> 00:29:59,640 Speaker 3: So, Joe, we have reached the end. 577 00:29:59,720 --> 00:30:02,600 Speaker 1: Of I'm really glad we did that. I found out 578 00:30:02,640 --> 00:30:06,480 Speaker 1: to be a very fascinating conversation. It's you know, it's 579 00:30:06,520 --> 00:30:09,520 Speaker 1: one of those things where I think people can imagine. 580 00:30:09,600 --> 00:30:11,560 Speaker 1: It's like, yeah, we're going to open this new industry. 581 00:30:11,680 --> 00:30:12,520 Speaker 1: There's lots of demand. 582 00:30:12,600 --> 00:30:13,800 Speaker 3: It's going to be worth billions. 583 00:30:13,880 --> 00:30:15,760 Speaker 1: It's going to be worth a lot of money. It's 584 00:30:15,760 --> 00:30:18,160 Speaker 1: going to create jobs, it's going to create tax revenue. 585 00:30:18,160 --> 00:30:21,600 Speaker 1: We're going to have an opportunity to redress the wrongs 586 00:30:21,600 --> 00:30:25,160 Speaker 1: of the past. And it's I guess my big takeaway 587 00:30:25,200 --> 00:30:26,880 Speaker 1: is that's way easier said than done. 588 00:30:26,920 --> 00:30:30,800 Speaker 3: Absolutely. I also think there's an interesting tension here between 589 00:30:30,960 --> 00:30:34,160 Speaker 3: some of these social equity ambitions that New York has 590 00:30:34,200 --> 00:30:38,080 Speaker 3: stated and actually letting some of those smaller scale dealers 591 00:30:38,120 --> 00:30:40,680 Speaker 3: out in the open. This is something that the weed 592 00:30:40,800 --> 00:30:43,680 Speaker 3: seller we spoke to in Washington Square Park actually brought 593 00:30:43,760 --> 00:30:47,160 Speaker 3: up this idea that, Hey, like, if you're talking about 594 00:30:47,160 --> 00:30:51,160 Speaker 3: true social justice, letting this guy who was in jail, 595 00:30:51,480 --> 00:30:54,160 Speaker 3: who used to be in shelters sell openly on the 596 00:30:54,200 --> 00:30:57,600 Speaker 3: street and basically make a living, that's one way of 597 00:30:57,640 --> 00:30:58,040 Speaker 3: doing it. 598 00:30:58,400 --> 00:31:00,800 Speaker 1: Yeah, And then the other hand is if they're going 599 00:31:00,880 --> 00:31:03,479 Speaker 1: to I guess the way I'm thinking about it is 600 00:31:03,600 --> 00:31:08,560 Speaker 1: they clearly want the sort of the new legal licensed 601 00:31:08,680 --> 00:31:11,480 Speaker 1: dealers to succeed and I think it's really important for 602 00:31:11,640 --> 00:31:14,200 Speaker 1: the state and for the ambitions that they do succeed 603 00:31:14,640 --> 00:31:17,080 Speaker 1: because I mean, think about how perverse it would be 604 00:31:17,160 --> 00:31:19,800 Speaker 1: to imagine you have people who have come out of 605 00:31:19,800 --> 00:31:23,080 Speaker 1: marginalized communities, many have spent time in prison. Then they 606 00:31:23,080 --> 00:31:27,200 Speaker 1: go through this long process of trying to get a license, 607 00:31:27,240 --> 00:31:30,040 Speaker 1: trying to get a place, significant legal costs, et cetera. 608 00:31:30,520 --> 00:31:34,160 Speaker 1: It's pretty important for this state to just put them 609 00:31:34,200 --> 00:31:37,120 Speaker 1: in an opportunity to succeed so that they're not further 610 00:31:37,200 --> 00:31:40,000 Speaker 1: falling back or not further like you know, massive personal 611 00:31:40,040 --> 00:31:40,760 Speaker 1: cost they're facing. 612 00:31:40,840 --> 00:31:44,000 Speaker 3: My other big takeaway, probably the biggest takeaway from talking 613 00:31:44,000 --> 00:31:47,880 Speaker 3: to everyone here, is that this is still all developing 614 00:31:47,960 --> 00:31:50,760 Speaker 3: out in the open, and tomorrow we could wake up 615 00:31:50,920 --> 00:31:53,400 Speaker 3: and maybe there is that big change on a federal 616 00:31:53,480 --> 00:31:56,200 Speaker 3: level which immediately changes everything. 617 00:31:56,640 --> 00:31:59,440 Speaker 1: To my mind, like that's still the huge sort of 618 00:31:59,480 --> 00:32:02,040 Speaker 1: like mark structure game changer. And I think back to 619 00:32:02,080 --> 00:32:03,920 Speaker 1: some of the things we talked about with Craig Wiggins 620 00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:06,360 Speaker 1: and some of the investors, like we're nowhere close to 621 00:32:06,440 --> 00:32:09,680 Speaker 1: having a Coca Cola of cannabis for better or worse, 622 00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:13,560 Speaker 1: because every state is basically has to be within state 623 00:32:13,640 --> 00:32:16,960 Speaker 1: and there's no national brands, and all kinds of issues 624 00:32:17,280 --> 00:32:21,040 Speaker 1: that arise with payments, cross state imports and exports. You know, 625 00:32:21,080 --> 00:32:23,080 Speaker 1: there's still the whole challenge of the fact that the 626 00:32:23,160 --> 00:32:27,440 Speaker 1: unlicensed shops have access to California product that the license don't, 627 00:32:27,600 --> 00:32:30,920 Speaker 1: all kinds of like very interesting, tricky market structure issues, 628 00:32:31,440 --> 00:32:35,400 Speaker 1: and the lack of federal legalization still just seems like 629 00:32:35,440 --> 00:32:38,240 Speaker 1: this huge problem, even if in a scenario in which 630 00:32:38,280 --> 00:32:40,400 Speaker 1: all fifty states eventually legalized. 631 00:32:40,000 --> 00:32:43,520 Speaker 3: It absolutely well. On that note, shall we leave it there. 632 00:32:43,680 --> 00:32:44,440 Speaker 5: Let's leave it there. 633 00:32:49,240 --> 00:32:52,560 Speaker 3: Potlots is a special limited run mini series presented to 634 00:32:52,600 --> 00:32:55,400 Speaker 3: you by All Lots. I'm your host Tracy Alloway. You 635 00:32:55,400 --> 00:32:57,800 Speaker 3: can follow me on Twitter at Tracy Alloway, and. 636 00:32:57,760 --> 00:33:00,800 Speaker 1: I'm your other host, Jill Wysenthal. Follow me on Twitter 637 00:33:00,880 --> 00:33:03,280 Speaker 1: at the Stalwart. And for more Bloomberg coverage of the 638 00:33:03,360 --> 00:33:06,440 Speaker 1: legal marijuana industry, you should check out The Dose Tiffany 639 00:33:06,480 --> 00:33:09,920 Speaker 1: carries weekly newsletter about the business of cannabis and psychedelics. 640 00:33:10,080 --> 00:33:11,800 Speaker 1: Subscribe at Bloomberg dot com. 641 00:33:11,960 --> 00:33:16,080 Speaker 3: Potlots is written and reported by me, Tracy Alloway, Carmen Rodriguez, 642 00:33:16,120 --> 00:33:17,680 Speaker 3: and Joe Wisenthal. 643 00:33:17,320 --> 00:33:19,680 Speaker 1: And it was produced by Carmen. She is found on 644 00:33:19,760 --> 00:33:23,440 Speaker 1: Twitter at Carmen Arman. Our associate producers are Dashel Bennett 645 00:33:23,480 --> 00:33:27,000 Speaker 1: you can follow him at dashbod and Moses Adnan. The 646 00:33:27,040 --> 00:33:30,960 Speaker 1: awesome intro in soundscaping was engineered by Blake Maples. Special 647 00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:34,120 Speaker 1: thanks to Sage Bauman are Head of Podcasts, Jilda de Carly, 648 00:33:34,320 --> 00:33:37,040 Speaker 1: Jacqueline Kessler, Carly Snyder, and Molly Nugent. 649 00:33:37,240 --> 00:33:38,080 Speaker 3: Thanks for listening.