On the construction side of the cannabis industry, before the facility or dispensary opens its doors before any plants are growing before any customers walk in the front door, is an important side to the whole process. After a certain number of years here of legal cannabis in the U.S., there are certainly some best practices, as well as best practices in all even non-cannabis construction, some DOs and DON’Ts that you've seen in this process.

Andrew Halbert, a member of the firm’s Cannabis Law Practice Group, counsels clients on structuring, vetting, and closing purchases and sales of licensed cannabis businesses and provides guidance on regulatory compliance in Illinois and other states where cannabis has been legalized. He also advises clients in cannabis and other industries on a full range of corporate transactions, including debt and equity offerings and corporate governance.

Ron Williams is a seasoned construction lawyer who has advised numerous businesses, including major players in the cannabis industry, on the legal, contractual and operational aspects of major construction projects throughout the U.S. and abroad. In short, Ron helps clients structure and implement construction agreements that mitigate risk and facilitate efficient, on-time completion of projects.

 In the previous episode, we focused a lot on the customer experience, but there are other aspects to a cannabis dispensary, like how design impacts those who work there. There’s the front of the house, so to speak, where the employees interface with the customers, and then the back of the house where they maybe store their lunch and hang their jackets. I remember 20+ years ago working in restaurants and retail, and the employee “break” area could vary wildly. Some were dumpy/junky areas with very little to offer the employee, versus other places with more robust break rooms, maybe a coffee machine, soda machine, and so on. We dive into how the front-of-house design impacts employees and much more in today's episode.

Kevin Quinlan is an entrepreneur and serves as a Principal of Mintropy which specializes in Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing, and Fire Protection design consulting services in support of cannabis cultivation and retail facilities. Mintropy’s design approach strives to find ways to incorporate our technological advancements back into harmony with mother nature. 

​​Brian Anderson is a founding Partner of Anderson Porter Design, with over 25 years of experience, and focuses on Cannabis Industry projects. Brian has now designed facilities for cultivation totaling over 3 million SF, and he has designed nearly 50 retail dispensaries. He has developed a proven process of project delivery in the Cannabis Industry. Brian is an active member of the Lean Construction Institute and implements lean methods in facility design and the construction process.

Mintropy specializes in Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing, and Fire Protection design consulting services in support of cannabis cultivation and retail facilities. Mintropy’s design approach encourages cohesiveness with nature, and we strive to find ways to incorporate our technological advancements back into harmony with mother nature. 

Kevin Quinlan is an entrepreneur and Principal in the built environment and building design industries with a 16-year track record of success in quality on project design, engineering execution, and quality assurance. He currently serves as a Principal of Mintropy, which provides mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection consulting engineering services across various market sectors and industries. 

 Larina Scofield helps create welcoming and memorable experiences for many cannabis customers and employees alike. From starting on the retail ground floor in 2013 and then moving into management and operations over the past several years, Larina is now serving retailers outside of the store these days as the Director of Customer Success for Sweed POS. Sweed is an all-in-one retail cannabis solution designed for large cannabis retailers that deliver powerful POS functionality, analytics, marketing and loyalty, e-commerce, and so much more. 

Michael has been at NCIA for over 9 years, and Michelle is close to her 9-year anniversary working at the organization. That date back to when two states, Colorado and Washington state, was just rolling out their adult-use cannabis laws for the first time. So with this, we discuss the tone and temperature when it comes to pro-cannabis policy reform in the halls of Congress at that time.

Lobby Days is easily our favorite NCIA event, and we think many people share my sentiment. Pre-COVID pandemic was always encouraging to see, year after year, the number of NCIA members grow and grow, reaching over 300 in 2019. So now we see more and more Congressional offices take our group and our concerns seriously. We talk about what are our guest's reflections on that and much more!

Michelle Rutter Friberg is deputy director of government relations and has worked at NCIA since 2014. Michelle graduated from James Madison University in 2012, where during her studies, she held a year-long internship with Virginia House of Delegates member Tony Wilt (R).

Michael Correia is the director of government relations for the National Cannabis Industry Association. Prior to joining NCIA, Michael spent many years working on Capitol Hill, including working for Rep. George Radanovich (R-CA), who retired in 2010, and the House Committee on Resources, serving three different Chairmen. Previously, he was director of federal affairs for the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and senior project manager for the Committee for Responsible Federal Budget.

Many people rely on insurance professionals to navigate the complicated waters of protecting their businesses, and there are a lot of different types of insurance that a cannabis company should consider. We start with the basics here of the types of insurance that almost any cannabis company should immediately secure. We also dive into more nuanced insurance types that people may not think about immediately. We always think of the phrase “acts of god” which is sometimes covered in insurance, which is interesting to see in an insurance policy. 

Matthew Johnson serves as QuadScore’s Vice President of Risk Services. QuadScore has grown to become one of the largest cannabis insurers over a short four years, with a specialty in covering the considerable assets of North America’s multi-state operators and publicly traded companies. At QuadScore, Matthew’s role is to manage risks for America’s premier cannabis operators, helping protect businesses from preventable claims

David Rahn with S2S Insurance is a highly specialized insurance professional with deep cannabis industry knowledge and experience. As an All-Lines Insurance Broker with strong analytical skills, he performs detailed risk assessments for both start-up and established cannabis companies, and develops customized strategies and solutions designed to minimize risks, safeguard and grow their business.

Live from DC, Lobbying for the cannabis industry, most were talking to Congressional offices about SAFE Banking, 280E, and comprehensive reform like the CAOA. We discuss what was the focus of the hemp team during their meetings with members of Congress. As wellas, what was the guest's overall strategy? 

James Granger has built an extensive career focused on the blooming medical and recreational cannabis industry and holds a deep knowledge of cannabinoid effects, extraction, and processing, cannabis chemistry, regulation, management, consulting, politics, operations, product development, and more. In 2018, James joined The Clear (Now Clear Colorado Group) team to re-build and streamline operations, Now, as Chief Political Officer of Clientele Capital, a Denver-based venture capital firm that provides funding and strategic consulting to growth-oriented companies in emerging markets, James spearhead’s the company’s goals of staying ahead of extensive regulatory changes, challenges and nuances the company may face in the new developing cannabis industry.

Chris Hope has 20 years of experience in the cannabis industry. He founded, Sequoia Wellness (SW), a retail cannabis delivery service in 2013, serving the Los Angeles area. In 2016, he founded Sequoia Management Group (SMG), as a cannabis & hemp business development and consulting company. Today, SMG is focusing on the burgeoning industrial hemp industry with a focus on fiber, food, grain, seed, and building materials. Chris was, a founding member and Director of Member & Sponsor Relations for Angeles Emeralds (AE), a cannabis advocacy and lobbying group for Los Angeles County. As a member of the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) since 2015, and In 2020, Chris became the Committee Organizer for the Hemp Committee (HC) with NCIA for the 2020/21 term. He now serves as the Chair for the HC, as well as contributing to both the NCIA Sustainability Collaboration/Council and the Novel, Synthetic, and Minor Cannabinoid Collaboration. 

Today we talk about real estate in the cannabis industry with Bryan McLaren of Zoned Properties. Real estate is a weird topic these days in the housing market but we talk commercial real estate for cannabis. We discuss why this aspect is important in the grand scheme as we move toward federal legalization and sensible regulations. We've got about 10 years of history under our belt to look at as far as how the cannabis industry has experienced commercial real estate services. Knowing that we are highly regulated, there are very specific rules so it’s not as easy as just buying a building. We dive into if it has gotten any easier or more straightforward over the years. Currently, we have 37 states with some form of medical cannabis, and 18 with adult use, and every year it seems, we see those numbers increase as we head toward federal legalization. We talk about if there’s a difference in real estate needs and processes when it comes to medical versus adult use.

Bryan McLaren is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Zoned Properties, a leading real estate development firm for emerging and highly regulated industries, including legalized cannabis. Bryan has a strong professional background in the social, economic, and environmental development of complex business organizations. Over his professional career, he has successfully implemented large-scale projects for corporate and community organizations. Prior to his role at Zoned Properties, McLaren worked as a Sustainability Consultant for Waste Management where he led the strategic development and operational implementation of zero-waste programs for Higher Education clients. 

In Part 1 we covered Cannabis Consumption Lounges, what purpose they serve, as well as how the business models compare and contrast to other industries. We began to dip our toes into the liabilities and risks associated and how consumption lounges can protect themselves from something going wrong, or what to do if and when something does go wrong. We pick back up there with Jodi Green and Matt Grimes, as well as What else comes to mind about the risks associated with cannabis consumption lounges and more!

Jodi Green is a business attorney in Miller Nash LLP's Los Angeles office, focusing on cannabis and policyholder insurance recovery. Jodi is a member of NCIA's Risk Management and Insurance Committee and was named by Super Lawyers as a “Rising Star” in insurance coverage for five consecutive years. Miller Nash's 140-member law firm has nearly 30 attorneys practicing in its nationally-recognized cannabis group alone. Miller Nash's cannabis team serves cannabis companies operating in all industry verticals by providing advice in all legal practice areas, from corporate formation to employment, insurance coverage and litigation, and everything in between. 

Matt Grimes is the principal of The Grimes Law Group. He sits on the Risk Management and Insurance Committee (“RMIC”) of the National Cannabis Industry Association (since 2019), currently serves as the webinar content Chairperson for the RMIC, is a Vice Chair of the American Bar Association’s Cannabis Law & Policy Committee (since 2021), is a member of the International Cannabis Bar Association, and is involved with several state cannabis industry associations and advocacy groups.

For more NCIA's Cannabis Industry Voice go to CannabisRadio.com

NCIA is talking to Etienne Fontan, and Michael Krawitz of the Veterans Action Council. Being in D.C.s recently with NCIA for our 10th Annual Cannabis Industry Lobby Days event, lobbying for the cannabis industry, most were talking to Congressional offices about SAFE Banking, 280E, and comprehensive reform like the CAOA. We discuss what the VAC members' focus was on during their meetings with members of Congress, and how those meetings went.

Then we dive into the current bills out there that our guests are drumming up support for and how, if passed into law, would impact the lives of Veterans in the U.S. During the press conference, Etienne spoke at the podium set up in the Senate Swamp. He said shared very poetic and real sentiments about the sacrifices Veterans made with their lives and how important it is for Congress to act on their behalf.

Etienne Fontan is Vice President and Co-Owner of Berkeley Patients Group (BPG). BPG is the nation's oldest continuously operating medical cannabis dispensary, established in 1999. He has an extensive background as an engaged activist and public speaker seeking to make cannabis legal and safe. Starting in 1993, he was a director of the Cannabis Action Network. He is an Army combat veteran of Desert Storm and served in the WV Army National Guard. He now lobbies nationally and internationally on veterans' behalf for the use of cannabis and natural medicines.

Michael Krawitz is a disabled United States Air Force Veteran and serves as Executive director of Veterans For Medical Cannabis Access [VMCA] as well as other board and advisory roles. He successfully negotiated the first ever VA medical cannabis policy in 2010 and has since overseen the WHO process in Geneva and then the United Nations process on the WHO cannabis recommendations, ultimately removing cannabis and cannabis resin from the Single Convention Treaty's "most dangerous drug category”. He also serves on the Virginia Cannabis Public Health Advisory Council.

Lobbying Congress Virtually as an NCIA Evergreen Member with Khurshid Khoja is founder of Greenbridge Corporate Counsel, P.C., a California business law firm. Khurshid founded the law firm in 2012, which represents clientele from across numerous sectors in the legal cannabinoid industries, on regulatory, start‐up, corporate, intellectual property, finance, and other commercial and transactional matters. Khurshid currently serves as Chair Emeritus of the Board of Directors of the National Cannabis Industry Association, serves as co-chair of NCIA’s Policy Council, and as outside general counsel to Students for Sensible Drug Policy. He has previously served on the Board and Policy Committee of the Minority Cannabis Business Association, California State Treasurer’s Cannabis Banking Working Group, as a Founding Board member and General Counsel of the California Cannabis Industry Association, and as a mentor and member of the Selection Committee for the Arcview Investor Network. Among other honors, Khurshid was profiled in The National Law Journal’s first-ever Cannabis Law Trailblazers’ list, he’s been named to the annual Northern California Super Lawyers Rising Stars list multiple times, has received SSDP’s Unsung Hero Award multiple times, and Arcview Investor Network’s Outstanding Member Award.