Conscientious Capitalism Through Cannabis - Branding Bud Live Episode 6

THE SUMMARY

Featuring an interview with Tyme Ferris, co-host of the "Queer in Cannabis" podcast, and founder and CEO of the Pantheon Collective, a cannabis lifestyle brand forging the way for conscientious capitalism through cannabis. David and Adriana unpack social equity programs across the US, budtender education and we play another round of everyone's favorite game - "Puff or Pass."

THE CO-HOSTS

David Paleschuck, Adriana Hemans

THE SPECIAL GUEST

Tyme Ferris, Founder, The Pantheon Collective

THE FULL 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, a Marketing executive with over 8 years in the cannabis business and we’re here to talk cannabis branding. 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. What makes our show unique is that we focus on building a 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 in a minute, we’ll share them too.

David Paleschuck 

Our guest today is Tyme Ferris, co-host of the ”Queer in Cannabis” podcast, and the founder and CEO of The Pantheon Collective, a cannabis lifestyle brand forging the way for conscientious capitalism through cannabis.

Tyme has been a leader in cannabis and LGBTQ+ activism, and the regulated cannabis market for nearly two decades. Having made the jump from fashion to cannabis, Tyme has owned, partnered, and consulted with both the medical and adult-use markets in Colorado, Massachusetts, Vermont, and California. Now, Tyme looks forward to adding his home state of New York to this list as he prepares to roll out The Pantheon Collective.

Adriana Hemans 

Hi, Tyme.

Tyme Ferris 

Hey guys, thanks for having me. Super excited to be here.

Adriana Hemans 

Thanks for joining us despite the 16 degree weather in New York. I hope you're staying warm out there. And just to kick us off, I would love to hear a little bit about you that you can share with our audience.

Tell us about yourself and what you're passionate about.

Tyme Ferris 

My biggest passion is cannabis; and I’m building businesses and doing. I've been in the fashion retail world for years, and in the cannabis space for almost two decades. Started off in the first of two medical programs out in Colorado, and since then went through the more regulated version that had was there for Amendment 64,which I still say we beat Washington by about three minutes in being the first one to have full adult use legalization. I've really found my home in all of this in cannabis and, and this community, this industry and feel that there's a lot still to be done. And looking forward to being a part of that here in my home state.

David Paleschuck 

You've been an activist you've been involved in cannabis activism and entrepreneurship, as well as the LGBTQIA+ community. You know, can you tell us how those are intertwined and, or if they're intertwined at all?

Tyme Ferris 

They're intertwined 420%! Largely, because both of these, we're talking about fringes of society, we're talking about marginalized groups, whether it's LGBTQIA+, or any other minority based group and what we have to do and being supportive of all each other. It's about unity of both, that our success is super intertwined. That one can't grow without the other. And I know we're going to be talking about social equity in a little bit, but that is, is one of the points that I think is super important in all of that is all of our different marginalized groups, whether it's cannabis smokers, versus others, or LGBT or whatever it is, that we've all been in these fights for so long to keep our heads above water and competitive with everyone else. And obviously, I'm low man on the totem pole as a white dude. But as an LGBTQIA+ person, I definitely still exist in there. As not always being held as a an equal to my peers, especially in this space, especially as early as I came into the cannabis industry. You know, it's we're finally raising above those, those brand norms of the dude/bro culture. And when it was those beginning times, it was it was not pleasant being the only gay guy in the room of, of everybody else. So I've really found that rising up both is important that both of these using cannabis, whether it be for a recreational purpose, or whether it's for a medicinal reason, the fact that we have this natural elements that we can all be benefiting from internally in our bodies as well as economically and as a society we can be benefiting from ends up being just as equally as important that we're breaking down these stigmas of all marginalized groups and especially again, the stuff that I do with LGBTQIA+ activism. Right now, again, it's both the same battles. New York State has our new social equity program again, it's  something I just keep coming back to. I know it has a special part later on. But I'm so you know, we're going through and we're doing this, we're saying the names of the individuals that have been wronged by cannabis prohibition. And so, I've been working with Park strategies had a lot of help getting our voice out from arena PR, and working with Senator Cooney and trying to get to bill pass to make sure that if we're going to say the names, if we're going to do it, you know, we've got 19 Different states with some form of social equity program. Only three of those bother naming groups that were wrong. The rest of them kind of take a very calm, backdoor approach to it and just meander around the edges of, of, you know, economic disparity. Instead of saying that we had rules and laws that were put in place in a federal level to specifically attack marginal people. So making sure that we get named with that, sorry, all my stories are a lot longer winded than I ever intended when I start.

Adriana Hemans 

So going back to what you were saying and having a need to really be specific and legislation and regulation. And too often, a lot is lost in in its being really vague. One example, of course, is like those laws about packaging, like what's appealing to children, if you don't define it and say what it is, then it's a meaningless guideline. And it sounds like that similar things are happening on the social equity side, too.

Tyme Ferris 

I see more momentum coming up with it. I see more states backpedaling and realizing, Oh, crap, I need to do something here that is being brought to light and it's turning into a real sticking point as it should be 100 And again, 420%. So I'm glad to see the momentum come with it. But yeah, to closing that that loop on your very, my very long winded answer. That's how LGBTQIA+ and cannabis are my intertwined.

David Paleschuck 

You know, thank you for that. You know what's interesting, too, I mean, there's, I think there are big steps and small steps. And one of the things that just comes to mind really quickly is recently, over the course of the last year and a half, two years, we were having the conversation both online and in the real world about the words cannabis versus marijuana. And what was interesting is we had called out on one of our shows that Washington state as well as many other states were using the word marijuana in their warning label. And Washington state actually changed the warning label to remove the word marijuana and use the word cannabis. And even though on some levels, that's a very small step, the acknowledgement and the understanding of a state regulating body to change those small words, to make those little differences that I think that leads to the, you know, the larger discussion of, of how cannabis leads back to equity and leads back to race and leads back to all the other things that that it touches.

Tyme Ferris 

But words matter tremendously, you know, it matters what words that we use, when we talk to each other, it matters, what words we choose to use frequently based on historical reference. You know, as soon as something comes out of your mouth or goes down on paper, or digitally, it matters that it exists and has been put out there for something other than just within your own headspace. And we need to all be remembering that I think a little bit more is the power of those words and the importance of saying the right ones and moving forward with that.

Adriana Hemans 

So speaking about the power of words, could you define for us? Conscientious capitalism?

Tyme Ferris 

Um, simply put, it's just do the right thing, folks. You know, it's about the fact capitalism has turned into this almost a dirty word for a lot of people right now, although it's also a, a foundation of which the United States is built on, right. And so why it's a dirty word is that we've allowed it to instead of turning into something that encourages competition, and helps rise up and pushes forward that it's going through and just breaking it all down. So instead, with conscientious Canvas, we can still be profitable, we can still say that we're, we're winning on that board game of capitalism to the top, but we don't have to have it happen at the expense of others. And that goes from everything from wage disparagement. The fact that a company can be worth millions of dollars have a CEO that's making you know millions of dollars, but it's still when you look at the company as a whole, you're you feel of good conscious that there's that much of a difference hundreds of 1000s of percentages from what your base level employees that you're still using an archaic system like minimum wage, to be just your or start all and not taking a look at what putting back into them. It's that continuation of the Reaganomics era and the trickle down that we all know does not work anymore yet so many of us are still pounding, trying to say that we need to be doing that we need to care about protecting Elon Musk's ability to pay taxes or what have you. So we need to bring it back down to those basics. We need to think about our communities first. Instead of investing more in the stock market, if you are a profitable company, how about investing in a local business that's that somewhere in your town, that your dollar actually technically stretches further for you on your investment? And you still have a level of oversight with it? Because it's there in your community? And how much do you see sales come up, especially when you're dealing in retail environments, when you change the conversation to being like, if I can bring more traffic to Billy's thrift store over here and the restaurant over there, whatever it is, it's in my general geographic vicinity, that's all added foot traffic back into your own pocket and start thinking of profitability. As far as how it comes as a result of doing good. I think that's a real core of, of conscientious capitalism. I think cannabis is the perfect spot to really start to develop that we're  the baby industry as industries go, I think maybe the only one that's toddler size compared to us would maybe be renewable energy sources. You know, in these, these mega lists of other industries that have existed some since the dawn of time. And we are coming out of this huge social stigma that we're building from now that we'd have this opportunity that says we're already going to be regulated, let's start taking those regulations to the next level. And that's something that I'm really proud to call myself a New Yorker, in seeing the amount of focus that New York State has put into that this is a social justice issue, opening up this industry. And that we have to do the right things. And I want us to take that further. I encourage all of us, we're not both anyone that is an entrepreneur or any sort of employee, if you're involved in the cannabis industry, directly with sales or in an ancillary level. You have a part of this, and we can all be doing it better together. And if we succeed at that in the cannabis space while we're under these 8 million microscopes and everything else, how wonderful would it be if we can start pushing some of those points, when we say that it is as important to have a safety regulation and OSHA regulation, as it is important to have safety guards to make sure that monopolies aren't dominating our industry, and literally raping our people to find that that happy ground in the middle to do right by the businesses that we're creating.

Adriana Hemans 

Very well said, and thank you for that perspective. It occurs to me too, that just by the very nature of how our system is currently set up, we have to be local. So that's another opportunity to redefine the way we think about profitability and recommitting to our local, our local businesses. I want to jump right into our stat. And I want to talk about the social equity program that we have going on in in LA.

As part of our show, we always encourage audience participation and today is no exception. We’d like our audience to participate in what we call, “CannaChoice”. It’s meant to interactive, so please join in. Here we go:

What percentage of the people who were granted cannabis licenses in California in 2020 were equity applicants?

A. Less than 33%

B. Less than 21%

C. Less than 13%

D. Less than 8%

Adriana: As our audience is reviewing the options, here is some background on the study. The LA Times reviewed California state data. They highlighted a lot of the issues surrounding the social equity program. One major impediment was the requirement that applicants secure the property before applying for the licenses. A lot of people had to borrow money to do that, putting themselves deeper in debt. Tyme, do you have any hope that New York can do a better job?

Tyme Ferris 

I'm going to have to say D because that's how little faith I have in our equity programs that that we have rolling out and that we're working and the amount of focus that's on that.

Adriana Hemans 

I should add to and this is some good context for our conversation that New York is planning to give 50% of their licenses to equity applicants, do you think that they'll be able to pull it off?

Tyme Ferris 

I don't doubt that the number of folks will be there. And especially some of the nice safeguards that came out with the November 21, draft regulatory packets, where they are putting some firm guardrails against the traditional MSOs, multi state operators coming in and trying to just take over too quickly. So I think that will allow for more people to jump in. But the program itself is sloshing around a little bit. But I think that we're going to see at least a start to it. And then my hope is, is that if they can continue, if we can continue to that, after the MSOs are allowed to come through?

David Paleschuck 

It's important that we, the cannabis industry, as a marginalized group don't marginalize within. We  shouldn't be a story about the marginalized, marginalizing. This should be about understanding what's going on and supporting those around us. And, as you said earlier, learning within our community and taking that knowledge and experience of working together as a community, and as an industry. And really, the truth is, many communities and many industries coming together to build something, you know, bigger, we talk about the cannabis industry, you know, which means so many different things, you know, it can be plant-touching, non-plant touching. It's truly massive. It means a lot of different things to a lot of different people.

Adriana Hemans 

So we have seven guesses, and they're all for option D. I think we can go ahead and show the answer, which it sounds like will not be super surprising to this group. It is indeed less than 8% of the licenses granted in California and 2020 were equity applicants. This is from the LA Times. Thanks for participating.

Tyme Ferris 

That says a lot about our country. That it was so that it was such an easy one that we didn't have to sit there and take a second of pause that uniformly everyone was like, Oh no, bottom of the barrel. That's where we're ranking in something that is super important.

Adriana Hemans 

Good point, it's surprising that it's not surprising or kind of sad that it's not surprising,

David Paleschuck 

Not surprising that we're all so cynical and pessimistic. But, but on the brighter note, Tyme and The Pantheon Collective are working with the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy to develop, a program for first time cannabis users. And you know, so as we talked about, equity, I think really close or certainly tied or bridge to this conversation is education as well. Could you talk a little bit about you know, the program, and specifically how it relates to first time cannabis consumers?

Tyme Ferris 

So it's a really fun project that we're doing in the midst of trying to fundraise and prepare for an application and all that other free time. But it's great, and it's, it's great because of the story of how we got there, too. So I was speaking at a niqab event in Albany. And this young lady Ashley Lasher, who is finishing up her program in the cannabis Pharmaceutical Sciences program in Maryland. And she, she saw me speak, she really loved it, she has this, her capstone project with this, they're expanding on and it turns out that her family is from the little town of Boonville that I am from so just goes to show that fate sometimes just as meant to intertwine folks, but anyway, we're working on this great project really gearing it towards coming up with a more universal tool to be used across platforms and people in businesses and whatever specific in the cannabis industry and with a primary focus on first time. You users or at least first time entering into a dispensary and really focused because she isn't a medical program on that medical aspects. We've launched a couple of surveys, we're developing this piece that will be both digital, but also be tangible to cover the age gap to really pinpoint and make sure because like you said, Education is so critical in what we do. And one of the biggest things I would I would have to be honest about when we talk about education of cannabis, and the cannabis industry as its as its polar coasts, is there is a massive drop on the east coast, from the majority of dispensaries that I at least personally have been to, or worked with, in the amount of attention to education, the consistency of education of the individuals that are facing the consumer on a daily basis, compared to West Coast, Colorado, California, you know, there was definitely I mean, of your average budtender employer salesperson that's there was like an evangelist over the topic and could tell you anything and everything. And out here that people are excited. But they're not taking that that deep dive with that education component. And that's a whole other topic. That's easy to show, because it's our, our generational changes of these entrepreneurs. From when we started that it was, you know, the happy hippies that came in that got the first few licenses under the first few programs. And were just all about cannabis and what it was, but had no business sense, nor probably any right to be trapped in a business because that just wasn't their swim lane. Then there was the second generation folks that came through that were, you know, in the regulated market, those of us that had some form of business background, and we're ready to make that jump both into something new. And to make something right. And then the past like 10 years, we've had this big venture capital firm ownership lingering over us. That has had benefits in a few small places. But the overwhelming majority of it has bastardized our industry and stripped that education component in the interest of turn and burn dollars. And that's very evident, because our West Coast ones or Colorado or California that were established before, it's an experience to go into any one of those. And I know I'm going down a rabbit hole now I apologize yet again.

Adriana Hemans 

I'm curious to know about this, like what where do you see as the avenues for education, obviously, it's very needed. And I don't think that there's any state that's like, our whole workforce is entirely educated, we're perfect. We're never going to say the wrong thing or give out medical advice. So I think there's always room to like, you know, update our information and knowledge. So I'm curious what you see as opportunities there and how and how we can do better?

Tyme Ferris 

Well, for one, we need to expand on what's going on in the federal level. Thank You that we just finally passed federal ability for cannabis research programs. So that we'll definitely tip the hat because that is the core of a lot of the education issues for cannabis, is the fact that there aren't enough reputable sources, or at least maybe they've done you know, 10s of 1000s of different studies and written reports. But then there's so few people taking action on what is a very loaded topic with cannabis and cannabinoids and its effects everything from growing to the human body that we need to be expanding, taking those deep dives. But without more research without more peer reviews, now we can't validate those. So then we've got 10,000 reports out there. But after peer review, we would be down to just a few. So we need to get on top of that peer review first, and start creating that that singularity of truth. As far as what our facts are on cannabis, once we have that more firmly established, then it's about putting that into those that are making up the industry, those baseline people's put it into these additives, the ones that are pushing forward this as a commodities industry overall. And it's something that we all did when we were starting because we were trying to prove ourselves to these regulators to say, Oh no, we're on top of our stuff. So there was some great programs that came out or have tried to come out from different companies in the beginning. But that VC the MSO grouping has been more focused on trying to Have placeholders for licenses across the country, not caring until at least adult use hits them if they're at all profitable. So we're not putting any attention into those employees. They're not, they're not educating them and developing them into our next success of leaders in this industry. And New York is a huge eyesore for that, in the fact that we never really launched our MediCal program that went legal back in 2014, we let a bunch of people go through the application process, who immediately sold out to MSOs. And then they sat with them, majority of them didn't even start construction on their operations after like five and six years of holding that license. And then as we got closer and knew that the MRTA, the marijuana regulation, taxation act, that we just had passed here in New York last year, um, we were just not ready for that, instead of building that foundation for medical, that should have been done, we shouldn't have already been getting rid of the stigmas from people on medical, we should have already, you know, had great customer training programs that could have been rolled into the rules and regs for this adult use program. But instead, we had a stagnant medical market, we had patients that were cheated out of their medicine, and yet, we're still letting these people hold their licenses, which is criminal, but that's another story. And we they just keep cutting out the education. And that's that can be seen in Massachusetts and Vermont in every one of the states that it's not experienced their cookie cutter models. You could be in one or the other and probably not know until you looked at your bag and saw the name that was on it. It's just turned into that instead of being dispensary should be a magical place. I tell you what, like it should be a place where you can feel open and welcome that you can talk about medicinal issues, as well as your mental health and everything in between. and West Coast rules at that, and I'm hoping that East Coast starts getting a little bit better.

Adriana Hemans 

That's really interesting. It sounds like what you're saying there's a lack of focus on education because of how we've shifted our focus to be more about just holding on to licenses and preparing for some future state. And then we're not sure if the information that we have is fully accurate.

David Paleschuck 

I don't disagree with Tyme at all. In fact, I agree with it. But one of the things that that I've seen, again, being a New Yorker living in Washington for 15 years, and going to every legal state or medical state, and seeing what's happening is it brings me back to this one argument which keeps on coming up, which is intriguing. So after I wrote my book, “Branding Bud: The Commercialization of Cannabis”, many cultivators have said, “We don't need brands, brands don't sell weed. What sells weed is weed.” And what I what I've said in response is, and you used the word commodity a little while ago. So let's talk about basic economics. Basic economics is supply and demand. Back in the day, if your dealer came with one type of cannabis, you would take whatever they showed up with, or whatever was on offer. Then at a certain point, there was brown and green, and you had a choice. And then over the course of time, we've developed dispensaries, which now offer choice and convenience, whether it's their location, or their price, whether it's multiple products, or their parking. What's happened in that development are the brands trying to differentiate themselves – and that is often through education and engagement. And as the brands differentiate themselves from each other, there's more education. And in so I think that's what we're starting to see, or we have seen in the evolution of the cannabis landscape brands, education, understanding, and these ongoing conversations. And I think they will get to the states, you know, that are first leveling up, you know, we're coming online, but in I think those are the reasons to why these big MSOs hold their licenses, right? Because there's no need to, you know, there's, there's, again, there's not that much choice, as soon as there is more choice, there is more competition, they'll have to differentiate themselves. And once they do that, they do that, as part of what they do is education. So long story short, I know we'll get there. But I think there's some basic market dynamics which you know, preclude us from getting there. Right away and Yeah, and I think we'll be there. But it will take time.

Tyme Ferris 

It will take time. I'm going be like I love I read your book. And I love the Indies, the outsiders, the idealist and the traditionalists, like breaking down that that cannabis consumer overall like that, I think speaks to also how we are going through and we're organizing these larger companies, that they're, they're targeting those specifics and that we're, we're changing that that narrative and that landscape, I guess, constantly, and it's largely because of equity programs and things like that, that we're, we're not just more and more people are saying not okay with how things are. And I definitely agree. brand development, I keep telling people, there's going to be 1000 people dropping in New York with new licenses, but it's going to be your brand, it's going to be your experience, and it's about realizing that your brand is more than pretty colors, your logo and some letters. That's a nice start, but it's what is your identity? What makes you different? Why is someone going to come into your space? Now education will come.

David Paleschuck 

And differentiation as well, which is, again, part of part of education

Adriana Hemans 

So we've been talking about a lot of serious topics, but I think we're going to switch gears and do a little game, “Puff or Pass”, which is also a fun one for our audience to play along with. So David, I'll let you explain what the game is.

David Paleschuck 

Well, the game is pretty simple, and it happens really fast. So it's called “Puff or Pass”, Adriana is going to throw out 12 different items. If you agree, if you're vibing on it, we say puff. And if it's not our thing, if it's not our cup of tea, we say pass we might be held to the reasoning why we've made a choice, but that's up to Adrian as call and that will happen, we'll only have 10 seconds to call out why we may or may not pop or pass. But with that, Adriana take it away.

Adriana Hemans 

Yeah, let's do it. And these are all cannabis related products or concepts. Don't think just respond puffer.

David Paleschuck 

Feel free to chime into vegan edibles.

Adriana Hemans 

“Puff or Pass”. Thought that was an easy one who would say no to that. Okay. Number two, a celebrity endorsement from Paris Hilton. Pat. Did I see you laughing but I haven't heard your answer.

Adriana Hemans 

All right, number three  … shotgunning.

Tyme Ferris 

Pass now that COVID is a thing; but I loved a good shotgun back in my day.

David Paleschuck 

I’ll pass on that.

Tyme Ferris 

Pass. If it's someone you know; and you know their COVID status.

Adriana Hemans 

Number four free weed for teachers.

David Paleschuck 

Puff! Let's support our teachers. Absolutely.

Tyme Ferris 

They need a break. Everything for our teachers.

Adriana Hemans 

Right? Yeah, any kind of benefits we can pass along to them. Number five, virtual smoke session?

Tyme Ferris 

Full Pass.

David Paleschuck 

With the right person or people, anything is possible.

Tyme Ferris 

I just don't need one more reason to be in front of a screen on my day. It's just Let's just all go get together and then we'll pass the duchy on the left hand side. Agreed.

Adriana Hemans 

Zoom fatigue can apply even to smoking weed. All right, number six, the DARE program.

Tyme Ferris 

Pass. The idea had its place, but its execution was poor.

David Paleschuck 

Absolutely couldn't agree more. That's why it failed. Do we need a program to educate our youth on cannabis and other drugs? Absolutely. The way it was executed was terrible. And that's why it failed.

Adriana Hemans 

All right, number seven, ashtrays … puff or pass.

Tyme Ferris 

Actually, I have a lovely collection of mid-century modern ashtrays that I rather cherish. So I'm going to puff on that.

David Paleschuck 

Likewise, I just adore my Jonathan Adler table-top collection oops.

Adriana Hemans 

I thought I would get a pass from both of you on that one, interesting. Number eight dispensaries offering wedding registries. “Puff or Pass”

Tyme Ferris 

I have to think about this one no, I'm going to pass.

David Paleschuck 

Puff. Sure, why not? I do have one caveat, which is the individuals getting married are both over 21. Think about perhaps, how cannabis might bring a couple more together.

Adriana Hemans 

All right. We got one puff and one pass. All right. Number nine, tobacco companies investing in cannabis.

Tyme Ferris 

Pass.

David Paleschuck 

Puff. I know it's inevitable. I really don't want to say puff, but it's one step closer toward normalization and regulation and where we need to be, it's just part of it. So I'll say puff hesitantly … with a cough.

Adriana Hemans 

Interesting. divisive. Okay, um, audience chime in and let us know if you agree with this or not.

David Paleschuck 

Please don't hate me for that audience.

Adriana Hemans 

Number 10. Tourism on Murder Mountain. “Puff or Pass”? First reaction.

David Paleschuck 

Pass. Love tourism. Hate murder.

Adriana Hemans 

Next one … infused beef jerky, “Puff or Pass”?

Tyme Ferris 

Puff. Definitely. I love my cured and smoked meats more than anything in the world with a good cheese and a cracker and they're nice. I love it.

David Paleschuck 

That's awesome. Oh boy Oberto! Puff.

Adriana Hemans 

All right, we have a couple of beef jerky fans. And then last one, the word “strain”

Tyme Ferris 

I'm going to pass because I feel that the science of it and where we are genetically and what it's not really like coming back to that truth or that that facts component and strains getting a little gray.

David Paleschuck 

Pass. Let's step it up. I'll pass on the word strain and hope to use the word cultivar. Or some other more appropriate word.

Adriana Hemans 

All right, you heard it here. “Strain” is out; and “cultivar” is changing hearts and minds

David Paleschuck 

The new 2023 word for the Oxford English Dictionary! Right?

Tyme, would you recommend a book or a movie or an experience or just something that you have experienced that you feel would benefit our listeners in the cannabis industry?

Tyme Ferris 

I think that everyone should read The Cabal Alien, very ancient piece of like a cult type, but it just really, it's a nice check in on what reality is. And as far as experience I as somebody that is from a very small town like Booneville that went out and has bopped across all over the place since I can't emphasize to anybody whether you're a cannabis entrepreneur or just somebody that's working cannabis or just a human being In general, just go someplace else. Step out of your comfort zone, have those experiences go to the place that makes you want to cringe a little bit or that you think that you would never dare go to just push your comfort levels. Because everybody's uncomfortable right now. And we need to all get over it and start getting on pace together. So that's, that's my experience portion. But we read the Kellyanne it's, it's very prophetic.

Tyme Ferris 

It's based on like the hermetic principles, like ancient Egypt and ancient Greece. So it's, it's all about the focus of what is reality?

David Paleschuck 

I love that, because that touches upon a lot of what I've been thinking and talking about lately, which is the death of curiosity. Nobody is curious anymore. Even in a disagreement these days, nobody says, “Help me understand why you're thinking what you're thinking.” Instead, it's just a quick shut off. It's a quick, “no”. I think we could do better in our industry. And we could do better amongst ourselves. That said, we have run out of time for our show today. 45 minutes goes by really quick when we've got great people with great experience that we could talk about, not only cannabis, but life in general.

Adriana Hemans 

I feel like we solved all the world's problems today. We're good to go.

David Paleschuck 

Well, Tyme. Thank you for joining us. We truly appreciate your joining us, and we look forward to seeing some of the great things you're working on and continuing to stay in touch. Thanks so much.

Tyme Ferris 

Thank you so much. This was wonderful. Cheers!

David Paleschuck 

That’s our show for today. We’ll be back again next Thursday, December 22nd at 11a PST / 2p EST where we’ll be chatting with Jason McHugh, Founder of Califari, a unique cannabis company leveraging art & lifestyle into their mix of products ranging from flower to NFTs. Be sure to check it out! Find out more about Branding Bud Live on our YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@brandingbudlive), and more about our cannabis consulting services at (https://www.brandingbud.com).

Lastly, I want to shout out Arcview for throwing an amazing event last week in Miami. The Arcview Investor Summit was a great success and I urge folks to check out their next event in San Diego coming up in the new year.

Adriana Hemans 

Don’t forget to check out David’s book, “Branding Bud, The Commercialization of Cannabis”, the bestselling book in two (2) categories (“Branding & Logo Design” and “Green Business”) on Amazon. You can find out more and purchase the book here:

https://www.amazon.com/Branding-Bud-Commercialization-David-Paleschuck/dp/1936807513

If you missed any of our episodes on LinkedIn, you could find them on our Branding Bud Live YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@brandingbudlive). Find out more about our consulting services at (https://www.brandingbud.com). Thanks, everybody.

Have a great rest of your day. Bye!