Cannabis and Communities Of Color - Branding Bud Live Episode 42
THE SUMMARY
Listen in to our next episode titled "Cannabis & Communities of Color," as we embark on an exploration of the disconcerting interplay between cannabis and communities of color. Come along as we uncover the stark truths, supported by historical context and concerning data, illuminating the imbalances and systemic injustices that have affected individuals from diverse racial backgrounds within the cannabis realm.
THE CO-HOSTS
David Paleschuck, Adriana Hemans
THE SPECIAL GUESTS
Roz McCarthy, Founder of Black Buddha Cannabis and Minorities for Marijuana
THE TRANSCRIPT
DAVID PALESCHUCK
Welcome to Branding Bud Live, the live stream that’s 100% THC and 0% WTF. Every week we speak with business people about the business of cannabis. I’m David Paleschuck, founder of Branding Bud Consulting Group and author of the first book on cannabis branding. I’m joined by my co-host Adriana Hemans, Director of Marketing at Green Meadows and my BCF (Best Cannabis Friend). Hi Adriana!
ADRIANA HEMANS
Hi David. Thank you for that intro. I’m so excited to co-host the show with you. We’re bringing amazing guests from across the cannabis ecosystem to share their perspectives. My favorite thing about Branding Bud Live is that we focus on building community - and we encourage audience participation. It’s not just about us talking, it’s about all of us building something together. So feel free to drop your questions and/or opinions in the chat, and we’ll share them too.
DAVID PALESCHUCK
We’re here to build community, educate and entertain … so let’s jump into today’s show. I’m super excited today for a number of reasons:
I'm excited to announce our show sponsor - High Hopes - A creative agency that specializes in the cannabis industry. With over a decade of cannabis experience, HIGHOPES understands the unique challenges of the industry and helps its clients with better branding, packaging, website design, SEO, and marketing. Be sure to set up a call today at www.ivegothigherhopes.com
Secondly, we just launched this week two amazing online courses on cannabis branding and brand development. The first is “The 14 Cannabis Brand Archetypes” and the second course is titled, “Creating A Meaningful Cannabis Brand”. Please check them out and more at cannabis’s best-kept secret www.brandingbud.com/edu
Thirdly, we have Roz McCarthy, Founder of Black Buddha Cannabis and Minorities for Marijuana. Some of the topics we’ll chat about include:
How can allies support initiatives aimed at promoting racial equity in the cannabis industry?
How can consumers make choices to support businesses that prioritize social equity and justice?
What steps can individuals and communities take to advocate for fair and equitable cannabis policies?
I’m super excited to chat with Roz today.
ADRIANA HEMANS
Me too!
DAVID PALESCHUCK
Let’s welcome, Roz McCarthy, Founder of Black Buddha Cannabis and Minorities for Marijuana.
ADRIANA HEMANS
We have some serious topics, but we're going to have some fun too. So, let's bring out Ross.
DAVID PALESCHUCK
Welcome, Roz!
ADRIANA HEMANS
Welcome.
ROZ McCARTHY
Thank you for having me.
ADRIANA HEMANS
Hi Roz.
Tell us about yourself, Roz. What are you passionate about?
ROZ McCARTHY
Yeah, well, first and foremost, I'm Ross McCarthy. I'm the founder and the CEO of minorities for medical marijuana, as well as black Buddha cannabis. I am mom of two to young adults. I'm an empty nester. Yay for empty nesters. I live in Orlando, Florida, I have my beautiful baby Callie my nine year old shiatzu. She goes with me everywhere. I'm just so passionate and bullish about our industry. I never thought in a million years, if you would have said, what industry you're going to be in, when after you turn 50 years old, cannabis would have been like 20,500 type of like, it wouldn't be so low on the list, right? But I wake up every morning grateful for life, grateful to do what I do. And so passionate about this industry and this planet.
ADRIANA HEMANS
I love that I can feel the passion radiating off the screen.
DAVID PALESCHUCK
Roz, before we jump in the deep end, would you share a little about Minorities for Marijuana? What is its purpose and objectives? When did you start it and why?
ROZ McCARTHY
Absolutely. So it's minorities for medical marijuana. And it is exactly what it says and what it stands for. I'm in 2016, I reside in Florida, the state of Florida was going through the process of adding the medical marijuana program on the ballot for constituents to vote, it passed overwhelmingly by 67%. But prior to that time, as I'm doing my own research about the potentiality of cannabis, in affecting different health care issues that are such as glaucoma and cancer and so many different things that cannabis can support medical patients, I really didn't want to create a that was focused on outreach, education, advocacy, specifically to communities of color. And so I just came up with the name, I started Googling around. I'm like, All right, minorities for medical marijuana, it says what it is, my son has sickle cell anemia. So I wanted to create an organization that embraced normalizing this plant from a medical perspective. And now we are seven and a half years later, we have 27 chapters throughout the country, for international chapters of the organization. We've touched over 10,000 people in the seven years that we have been in existence in running 10 programs, nationally. So we are a nonprofit community base, we believe in the holistic person and going and providing support and services at the community level. So I'm super proud. And if any of you are in for me, and folks are listening or watching, shout out to them and all the great work they do.
ADRIANA HEMANS
Twenty-seven chapters, that's really impressive! You must be like really familiar with the landscape of organizations and initiatives and individuals that are working to empower communities of color. Maybe you could tell us a little bit about like from a high level, who's out there doing what and what's going on currently, right now.
ROZ McCARTHY
I will tell you one, I was not like tidying and didn't have a background. And what I'm doing right now, my background started with the in the pharma industry. So I worked for Bristol Myers Squibb as a brand manager and as a district manager and as a as a regional manager for over 10 years. And then I also spent time in hospice in marketing and business development. So the organization and the advocacy part, I didn't know it was more so me just wanting to drive something that was hit that hit home to me and my, for me, it was hard to support the legalization and the UN the proliferation of cannabis programs and medical programs without acknowledging the disproportionate arrest rates and disproportionality of individuals and communities of color, who are getting their card who are having access who are getting access to the education and the information. So there's a number of organizations, Chicago normal is a black led organization in Chicago that does fantastic work. You have seen which is based in Chicago, you have MC of the Justice foundation. So we don't work in a silo, with info mmm, I can name you so many different organizations have focused on different areas in this industry that we need to support and provide outreach and education as it pertains to our community. And so I'm super proud to work alongside of them, work together with them to be able to do this great work.
DAVID PALESCHUCK
That's very cool. We’d like to start by show a quick slide that calls out the disparity both in the cannabis industry and related to it.
A 2020 analysis by the American Civil Liberties Union, concluded: “Black people are 3.64 times more likely than white people to be arrested for cannabis possession, notwithstanding comparable usage rates.”
The ACLU reported, “In every single state, Black people were more likely to be arrested for marijuana possession, and in some states, Black people were up to six, eight, or almost ten times more likely to be arrested. In 31 states, racial disparities were actually larger in 2018 than they were in 2010.” What are your thoughts on this?
ROZ McCARTHY
Yeah. I mean, the stats don't lie. So the information that you're providing is real. And when you live in these communities, you feel it, you see it, there's not there's very few people of color, who don't know someone or have a family member or someone close to them, that has possibly been either arrested incarcerated for simple possession paraphernalia, um, of course, you have the intent to distribute things of that nature. And so I think, the reality, things have not changed. We are seeing improvement. But I think where you see the arrest rate still going high in regard to a possession of marijuana in states where there's a legal program is because of consumption and where you consume me and in the ability of law enforcement to maybe use that as an opportunity to be able to if they are concerned or they're suspicious about an individual, if you have someone that's consuming in a place where they're not supposed to consume. And that's why it's so important for the education that we provide with the organization. I have a program called Safe Access, right? Safe Access is a medical marijuana physician education as well as card clinic program. Literally what we do is we bring a physician recommended physician, it could be a telehealth physician that will come in to low income communities with low income or patients that are low income and veterans, and we create the opportunity for them to be able to get their medical marijuana card. I think I think it's important for us and communities of color. Even when you're in an adult use state where there is medical program and adult use. We need to get our card. This plane is medicine. But we need to be even more supportive with hey, if I get stopped, I'm a medical patient. Hey, if something comes up, I'm a medical patient. I'm quick story my son was driving in his car about six months ago, got stopped because his front light was out. When they walked into the car. They don't know if they smelled marijuana or if they saw he had a truly bag with his products. He had just gone to the dispensary. And thank goodness, I'm on the phone with him. And he's telling me Mom, I got stopped by the police. And I'm like, okay, great. Make sure you have your car. And long story short, he was treated with a lot of respect, because he gave the respect. But he was very confident because I coached him on have your card. He told him I'm a medical patient. The police did ask Do you have marijuana in the car. And he said, Yes, I do, sir. So long story short, after them checking his card and checking his credentials, they let him go, there was no issue, there was no fuss, we have to be we shouldn't have to be that vigilant and we shouldn't have to go the extra mile in order to protect ourselves. But we do. And that's what's happening with information. We're encouraging people. If you can't, if you don't have the funds to get your medical card, we'll get it for you. And that way you have an extra level of protection so that if you are stopped, or if you are searched to say I'm a medical patient.
ADRIANA HEMANS
That's really interesting and totally makes sense. Like having that extra layer of legal protection would be something that you would want to look into and consider because police might be using this as like a gotcha scenario because they're doing unethical policing practices. Aside from a medical card rather, there's some other things that individuals can do either to protect themselves or to maybe advocate for protection of communities of color?
ROZ McCARTHY
Yeah, I think there's a lot of education with law enforcement. And I would love to see, law enforcement, law enforcement officers of color, who are also going to educate it to then educate their law enforcement officers that are in general, right. Because if you can be someone of color and understand and be able to understand that legalization has happened, and that, and that we want to reduce the, the opportunity of individuals being incarcerated, for cannabis, that this is, is this is medicine, I don't care what you are, who your take, or why you're taking nine times out of 10 You're taking because there is something going on with you that cannabis makes you feel better. And I just think it's time to take the stigma. And this is the reason why I started in for him of black men. In particular, if you're consuming that, that means that you're lazy that you are someone that's not obeying the law, or that you're looking to disobey the law. And this is why I started this organization, because at the time, my son was 17 years old. And as a black man, I didn't want him to ever feel like he couldn't have access to cannabis for his health care issues. But also not to get ridiculed not to get not to have someone try to enforce it in a way that you don't enforce with other people. And so I just think right now, it's critical that we have conversations in these communities. And we also speak to law enforcement, and we talk about ways to mitigate their arrest. I mean, it's so expensive to arrest people and incarcerate them for cannabis. And it makes no difference. It makes no sense.
DAVID PALESCHUCK
Are there specific challenges faced by minority-owned cannabis businesses, and if so, how can they be overcome?
ROZ McCARTHY
Yeah, so listen, in this industry, this industry is no different than any other industry. There is a gap when it comes to technology, when it comes to house and when it comes to the entertainment industry, not entertainment, but more. So technology, banking, all these different industries that you see that we that exist in our community in our country, you're going to see black owned businesses have struggle historically, right? So cannabis is no different. It just has a layer of regulation and a layer of extra things that we have to go through in order to participate. And honestly, you have people of color, who are saying, Listen, if I've been able to, if you're really willing to arrest me for this, why aren't you really willing to give me an opportunity to be in the ecosystem of this industry, and it is access to capital, it is education of understanding the regulated market is also needing mentorship, needing support, you need someone you need a big cannabis, maybe it's a CFO or someone that's in the industry to be able to come and help maybe support and mentor, a new operator, that's a social equity operator or minority business that wants to get into the industry. And there's so many different levels to this conversation that I can go on forever. But, there's two different areas you have touching the plant as a business opportunity. And you have the ancillary side, if we put more effort to make sure that we are bringing in people of color minority owned businesses to either one of those sides, and making it a real, intentional effort to make sure they're successful. We would see the diversification of this industry a lot quicker.
DAVID PALESCHUCK
Every week we have a couple of audience participation questions and this week is no different. Who’s ready? Let’s do it! Our first audience participation is a True or False question. Here goes:
Tilt Holdings, Inc. a Phoenix-based MSO recently severed ties with a number of black, women and Native American owned partnerships – something they had touted only a few months ago.
ADRIANA:
Audience: It’s your turn to shine! Jump in and put your answer in the chat.
ADRIANA HEMANS
And guess what? Our friend Charlene got it. Right. And so did Troy. Good job!
DAVID PALESCHUCK
It's true! And disappointing! Tilt Holdings abruptly cut ties with Black Buddha Cannabis, which is Roz's company, Heisman, which is owned by football legend Ricky Williams, Her Highness, and paused a partnership with the New York Shinnecock Nation of Indians, just three weeks ago. Would you mind just sharing a little bit about that, if you can?
ROZ McCARTHY
Sure. No, no problem. I mean, it was very, it was obvious about the relationship and the partnership. It started last year, and 2022, we were started out great. And wonderful. It was I felt supported, we felt like this would be a great place for us to launch the brand. And Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. We were I felt like we had dedicated people that were there to support and help us. And unfortunately, this organization, this company, took a turn in 2023 with the firing of the CEO or I shouldn't say firing, because they said he resigned but you guys can read through, read between the lines, and also the dismantling of support that was needed for us to be successful. And, let me, let me make sure I'm clear, like make sure that everybody's clear on this. I'm a business woman, and I understand business. And if there's a change in your business philosophy, your business model, and it's going to affect me as a brand or as a business owner. That's fine. I can deal with that. The issue. More importantly, is that cannabis has a business etiquette issue, our industry, we do and make decisions that we don't think about the next person, we use social media to tie up loose ends where you shouldn't, there are some business etiquette, just business one on one things that we don't do well, that I think we can improve on. And that means also, if you are going to sever a relationship or partnership is not always about you, you also have to think about how does that affect that partner? And how can you do it, so that both people or both entities walk away, you may not be happy, but you both are able to walk away, and in a way with dignity, but also that you are giving the attention and the energy that you gave me when you brought me on as a brand. We want that same attention and energy and preparation as you take us off. If it's a business decision, we get it. So it's not me crying and whining and whining. No, it's like it's business one on one. If you know this, this is what you want to do. There's a way to do it in order to make sure that all bases are covered and not just your bases. And that's just my own. That's my personal issue with, how things went down. I believe that when you talk about DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion), like you can't just talk about it and that show action, right. And I just encourage companies being if you're an MSO, if you're a mid-level, if you're a small own company, if this is important to you in making sure that we have a more inclusive industry, that actions speak louder than words you have to act on it. And you have to understand that sometimes equity operators equity brands, our launch ramp is a little longer. We're not heavily funded. We don't have access to capital, but our passion or no are willing to work 24/7 diversity is good as Coca Cola as united as delta ask Amazon. It is good in our industry. We're getting there and I think it's a priority, but the business etiquette of how we treat one another and how we do business with one another really needs to improve.
ADRIANA HEMANS
You mentioned a second ago using social media to tie up loose ends is that what happened in this case?
ROZ McCARTHY
I don't follow social media anymore in regard to like, I put, if I post something, if I share something, I share it. But I don't go and look to see what other folks are doing or comment in regard to, if I have an issue with David, right. I don't use social media as my way to error that issue with David, what I do is I call David and say, Hey, David, this is a concern, how can we figure this out together? And I just think, and this is just the proliferation of social media in general, in general, that I think that we need to do less typing on the keyboard and, and being that person behind the keyboard that says anything, and you don't care how it may affect the next person, and do more picking up a phone call, texting me asking me Hey, I got a question for you. And being able to have those type of conversations, I think, could be such a great thing and a breath of fresh air across the board.
ADRIANA HEMANS
Yeah, totally. And for colleges, or universities that are starting up these cannabis business programs include business etiquette, please!
ROZ McCARTHY
Or at least when we needed just not in our own industry, please and thank you, takes you a long way. Like, you don't have to feel like, you just got to like flame somebody, when they do something wrong. We're not perfect. And so when I see companies who, like I could have flame till I could have gone out and I could have like gone in and tried to share like dirty laundry or what have you. I made my position. I said what I said, and we moved on, right. And that's the business way to do things. Because I never know, when those same people I may see again, and one I am Michelle Obama, when you go low, I'm going to go high. And so we need to take that attitude. And sometimes we see people using the keyboard and social media, and media in general to act out in order to get what they want. And I think the way that we've handled the situation with tilt, the way that we are bouncing back from the situation that we've gotten, I've received a lot of respect. I think people respect the way because I could have done a whole, we shall overcome campaign you're doing bad by the black woman. And I do, maybe I feel that maybe I feel that way, who's to say, but instead of taking it and making it a big issue in regard to Why are you doing this to me, you guys, this is what you always do. I'm taking this as fuel. And I'm like, You won't stop me. Failure is not an option. I'm not going to stop black Buddha is bigger than me. Black Buddha is about patients about women in general, who are looking for products that are going to make them feel better, do better and get better. And when you know your mission, and you have your NorthStar, and you know what's important to you. And you understand why you're here and why you're doing what you're doing. All the background noise doesn't even matter. You just push on. And that's why the brand is going to be successful. That's why people are saying, as soon as you get back into market, let us know we want to have you on shelf. We have so many states are like hey Ross, how can we get like Buddha here? And it's because we're intentional and making sure that patients and consumers are there our top priority.
ADRIANA HEMANS
Yeah, really well said when you have that NorthStar, everything else kind of like falls into place. Yeah, yeah. In light of this withdrawal from Tilt and impacted a lot of companies, a lot of individuals, I'm sure people are kind of reeling and thinking like, Oh, what are we do next? So Roz, what, what is the next move? Like? What do you see is as how people are, rebuilding or finding new channels and avenues? Can you share some stories you've seen?
ROZ McCARTHY
Well, it took me about a week or two. At first, I was mad, but I was sad. Then I was mad again. But I was SAD and MAD. So me personally, it took me a minute. Troy Butler, who was on he's our CEO, and also my business partner. We walked through it together, and we were just like, we're not stopping. And I think it's just mentally you. One thing that we did do was that we made sure that all the retailers that we are currently working with working with and Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, we've reached out to them, we've called them we've been on Zoom. And unfortunately, some of them haven't heard from tilt yet. So they're not hearing from tilt, they're hearing from us to say, we're not going anywhere. We're still going to be around, give us a little bit of business etiquette, right? It's calling and saying, we appreciate you so much. Thank you for supporting us, we're not going anywhere, give us a little bit of time, we're going to have products back in the market. It's been really, really supported and appreciated by these retailers. And I think that's like when you sometimes something happens and you feel like it's the end of the world. My fiancé told me he goes Ross when one door closes three or four open up, and that's what's happened with this. I'm forever grateful of having the opportunity. I'm just wasn't happy in the way that the opportunity was yanked from underneath That's because we're like, we're in a, we're in a capital raise right now, we're now having to negotiate from a position of not from a position of power, but from a position of need. And so that is why, honestly, it's been a challenging time. But we've been able to work around it, we've been able to have partners who are sitting down with us, and how can we bring black Buddha to the state? What can we do to help you what can we do to support you? So it's important that folks understand that when you make this commitment, it can't be? Well, I'll do it now and wait and see what happens. Like it is a long term commitment, just like growing this industry is a long term commitment. Getting brands like black Buddha, getting black owned businesses, brown owned businesses in the industry, it's a long commitment. And we just need to know that you're not going to abandon us that you're not going to, after a year say, Well, that didn't work out. It's a process to progress. It takes time. And we want people that want to be in it, to support it, to be with us and to celebrate with us as we win.
DAVID PALESCHUCK
Beautifully said. So how do we encourage leadership in jobs and roles within the community of color and cannabis?
ROZ McCARTHY
Well, I think in cannabis in general, we see, we've seen a proliferation of cannabis companies that are bringing on di role like di directors, and CSR, directors and officers and things of that nature, which I applaud. But also, people of color can do more than just do diversity, I think is important that from a hiring perspective, that your pool of applicants have diverse, have diverse potential employees, right. I think whoever's doing that hiring, whoever is doing that buying, you have to have it in your mind, how do we make sure that we're being more inclusive, and that we're not just giving a contract to the same business because they've been around, even if you are challenged that business, say, hey, we have a supplier diversity program that we really want to see more suppliers from diverse backgrounds a part of us, we want to encourage you to also serve out some of your businesses to diverse suppliers. If I'm someone that has a $10 million contract with you, David, and you say that that's a priority for me, in order for me to keep my contract or in my mind in order to make sure that you know, I'm committed to my contract. I'm going to go okay, well, let me see what I can do. Right. Let me do you have some suggestions? Do you guys have a network of suppliers, let me supply diversity is not foreign to industry across the country, and especially a federal government. They have strong supplier diversity programs that focus on adding more diversity in a supply chain. I think that's a tremendous opportunity for cannabis. If we're not touching the planet on the business, then work with the work with the floor wax, or who can wax your floor for you that has a business that has all this experience, work with, with a landscaping company work, those opportunities are just as important as the ones that are touching plant.
ADRIANA HEMANS
And then you're saying sounds like there's a lot of opportunities to like weave in other businesses and cooperate not just cannabis business, the cannabis business but bringing in outside influences, too.
ROZ McCARTHY
And we have we have a program with him for , it's called in procure, it's a supplier diversity program, where we're trying to help you get to where you want to be. So instead of you saying, Well, hey, I got to find the businesses. No, we go out and search and vet those businesses, we put them in the network. And all we ask for is a buyer supplier private type of maybe zoom call so they can introduce themselves, they can pitch their business, and that you can see as a buyer, I do need this. Let's talk more offline. So I think it's important, like for me with inform, that was one of one of the priorities to make sure supplier diversity was a conversation, but not just a conversation, how do we act and how do we execute?
ADRIANA HEMANS
Interesting. Yeah. So Roz, if you don't mind, do you mind if we just switch gears for one really quick second, and jump into one more audience participation. And this audience participation was really inspired by an interview of yours that I read, that I absolutely fell in love with, because you were talking about how your happy places is munching on some movie theater popcorn, and I identified with that immediately, because popcorn is definitely my snack of choice. My husband will tell you too, that sometimes we wake up in the morning and there's popcorn all over the bed. But that's another story.
So this question is what cannabis form factor is the most heavily favored by people who purchased microwave popcorn in the last three months is a flour, B gummies C pre rolls or D disposable vapes. This stat comes from Brightfield. They do survey every quarter for the past several years, where they interview 1000s of cannabis consumers to find out what other behaviors, they're exhibiting what drives their purchases even gets into like their personality, their social media habits and media in general habits. Sample size for this one, I believe was 5000. And again, the choices are a flour, B gummies C pre rolls or D disposable vapes as the form factor most heavily favored by microwave popcorn purchasers. So take your guess drop your guests in the chat. I see one yes, already for see pre rolls.
ROZ McCARTHY
That's such a cool question. I love it.
ADRIANA HEMANS
Yeah, it's fun. Because you get to really start to think like, especially as your brand and you're thinking about like, oh, how am I going to market my product? Understanding what you're competing within the market, right? So if you're sort of happy places, oh, I'm going to consume some cannabis because it makes me feel better. You might not necessarily only be competing with cannabis for that moment, you may be competing with someone says I need comfort food, I'm going to eat, I'm going to drink a cup of cola, or I'm going to go take a walk because I'm having a bad day. It's just it's a whole landscape of influences for consumers, not just like a one to one purchase decision. So I think these kinds of stats are really helpful for brand builders.
DAVID PALESCHUCK
Absolutely. And why do you think Taco Bell has nods to cannabis consumption? You know these companies totally understand. They know how things are interconnected and what those impulses are that connect them. So, absolutely.
ROZ McCARTHY
I find it so interesting, because when you purchase microwave popcorn, like, that means you'd like because I like watching. I like binge TV watching. So that'll be interesting to see if that connect. There's a connector between popcorn bench TV watching like Netflix and like your cannabis form that you prefer.
DAVID PALESCHUCK
Audience, it’s your chance to shine! Interesting. Well, we've got a number of A's.
ADRIANA HEMANS
I think he looks like the clear winner so far. I see three A's.
DAVID PALESCHUCK
Roz, what's your take on this? What do you think it is?
ROZ McCARTHY
I think just only by looking at some data about the most the favorite form of cannabis. So I'm going to say pre rolls as well see, that's pre roll, sell really, they you get you get your pre roll is ready to go. You don't have to worry about rolling and it's flower, overwhelmingly sales so popular in our industry. So yeah, I'll go with C.
ADRIANA HEMANS
That's interesting, too, because you think like, oh, microwave popcorn. That's a convenience food. What is a convenience form factor? Yeah. Well, let's reveal the answer. Let's do it.
ROZ McCARTHY
gummies, Oh.
ADRIANA HEMANS
You are with gummies by a slim margin, I might add to gummies a slightly ahead of flour, as preferred by microwave popcorn bands.
DAVID PALESCHUCK
And it's funny too, because, in that case, you would think you consume either flour or pre roll and you get the munchies and then you continue eating the popcorn. But in this case, as you alluded to it was competing. So once you're done with the with the popcorn, then you jump into a gummy. Right? Right.
ROZ McCARTHY
I would like to say that gummies are my consumption delivery of choice. And I've utilized we one of the products that we came up with first out the gate is in Ohio right now only is a gummy formulation that has functional mushrooms, minerals and vitamins in the formulation. So it's not just THC and sugar. It has all these wonderful ingredients. And it's very specifically created for your experience. So we have an energy for daytime, a balance for midday and a nighttime rest. And so maybe you have people at night, once they're done with their popcorn, they want to go to bed and sleep well.
DAVID PALESCHUCK
This is true. Roz there's so much you've shared today and I think it's amazing. I’d like to ask this last ask: Do you have done you have a book or a movie or an experience you'd recommend for the listeners? You have a strong perspective and lots of experience both in cannabis and in business. And quite frankly, there's few people like that in the industry. Is there anything you would recommend as a takeaway to the listeners?
ROZ McCARTHY
My favorite book of all times is the four hour workweek. Okay, and also how to oh gosh, I just lost me how to win friends, how to influence friends and weight How to Win Friends and Influence People. book. It is. It was a book that was presented to me in my farmer days. And it was about how do you influence people's decision in a way that is not car salesman like but more so consultative, and being able for people to like you, right? There's another book called raving fans, and raving fans is about how do you create raving fans who talk about you, and the positive and rave about you when you're not in the room. And it just gives you really key things to think about as you're interacting with people and how you treat people. One of my biggest things that I coach you on is the CEO mentality, what it takes to be a CEO, and to survive and thrive in this industry. And the biggest one that I always tell people is giving grace. And Grace is basically saying, if something happens to someone or to you, that whoever is the person that may do something towards you, or what have you been able to not make them feel bad, and being able to say, I understand I like it's just a little things. And that's being able to influence people by being understanding by giving grace, “How to Win Friends and Influence People”, it has been something that has been, I've read it at least six or seven times. And I encourage people to do it as we are migrating through this industry as we're migrating through life. It is really how we treat people. And you'll be surprised, the better you treat people and the more you're conscious of how you talk and speak and how you interact, the more things will come your way.
DAVID PALESCHUCK
It's astounding that you after everything you've said earlier that you bring up that book. It was an important book for me too, and written by Dale Carnegie. One of the things I took away from that is “don't criticize, condemn or complain”. And, and so it's being really mindful about how you speak to people, how you interact with people. And like you said earlier, this industry can really use a dose of that.
ROZ McCARTHY
So everybody go get that book, get it from Amazon, because that will tell you how you respond. When there's when there is when there are when you're going through something and your response to a negative that's happening in your life and your business life in your personal life. The way that you respond to that can really can really, also dictate how you how you come out of it, right. And I just know that I'm a very positive person, I try to speak good things and positive into people into myself. And that's a book that I've read, it has just encouraged, being able to, like I don't complain, I'm not going to condemn you. I'm just going to go and figure out I'm going to pivot; I'm going to figure out a solution. I'm not going to stop having this attitude of, I want to push forward, I'm not going to look back. It's something that is in me. And it's been in me for years now. And it's the right time because cannabis will be an industry that has tested me. But every day that I wake up. I work seven days a week. I'm so grateful for what I'm doing. And I'm so grateful for being in this industry. And if I die tomorrow, I've lived a full life.
DAVID PALESCHUCK
Roz, thank you for joining us today. Thank you for all you do. This industry needs more folks like you and quite frankly, the world needs more folks like you. So thank you. We love what you do. We want to support what you do. That's why we had you on today. If there's anybody out there that wants to support Roz, or Black Buddha Cannabis and Minorities For Medical Marijuana, please reach out to Roz and check out what she's doing. Where can people find you, Roz?
ROZ McCARTHY
Send me a message on LinkedIn or at www.blackbuddhacannabis.co. You can find us there. And thank you, David. Thank you, Adriana, for having me on today. This has been exceptional.
ADRIANA HEMANS
Anytime, Roz. Thank you.
DAVID PALESCHUCK
I always say this is the fastest 45 minutes of my week. A couple of things to call out before we go. Adriana will be on vacation for the next two weeks. So we're going to take a two week break while she sees the rest of the world which is well deserved.
DAVID PALESCHUCK
Our next show is Thursday, October 5th when we’ll be chatting about “Cannabis and Innovation” with Carolyn Matthies, the Chief Marketing Officer at the ArcView Group.
As mentioned earlier, our two new courses - are up on www.brandingbud.com/edu. We have two courses, creating a meaningful cannabis brand and the 14 cannabis brand archetypes. And we do have a code, which is not coming up in this slide. But we do have a discount code for the listeners. So that's BBEDU 25, which will get you a 25% off on the, on the on the courses, which are pretty amazing. And we're pretty happy with them. So check them out.
If you’re jonesing for more Branding Bud Live over the next two weeks, be sure to check out our brand new online courses that we just set up on cannabis branding and brand development. The first is “The 14 Cannabis Brand Archetypes” and the second course is titled, “Creating A Meaningful Cannabis Brand”. You can find that and more at cannabis’s best-kept secret www.brandingbud.com/edu. And just for our followers and listeners, we’ve created an introductory discount of 25%. Use code: BBEDU25 to save 25% on the courses.
Again, we’d like to thank our sponsor, High Hopes – a boutique agency with over 10 years in the cannabis space specializing in branding, packaging, SEO & marketing. Be sure to check them out at www.ivegothigherhopes.com
Lastly, don't forget to follow us in LinkedIn, and check out our YouTube channel @brandingbudlive. And for those who can't watch but can listen, we’re also on all the top podcast platforms including Apple, Google, Amazon, Spotify, and Castbox.
We thank you all again for joining us today and we look forward to seeing everybody in two weeks on Thursday, October 5. Until then. Thank you and good bye.
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DAVID PALESCHUCK
And don’t forget to check out cannabis’s best-kept secret at www.brandingbud.com
Thank you everybody!
ADRIANA HEMANS
Thanks for joining everyone. Please follow us!
DAVID PALESCHUCK
Thank you everybody. We'll see you next week. And don't forget to check out cannabis is best kept secret at www.brandingbud.com. Until then!
ADRIANA HEMANS
Bye
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