imageThe 2nd Annual Cannabis Education Forum of West Hollywood delivered what the title promised, so much education I ran out of paper in my notebook. I took lots of video, some included here. I zeroed in on Drug Alliance Policy’s California director, Lynne Lyman who broke down Prop 64, aka AUMA, Adult Use Marijuana Act, into chewable bites easily digested. So much about Prop 64 is so good and so long over due. Of course there were detractors-after all, the cannabis community tends to attract ‘mavericks’ and the few who attended made some noise. Their concern is that medical marijuana guideline/provisions/regulations will be decimated, an accusation denied emphatically by Ms. Lyman who discussed some of AUMA provisions in this video snippet.

I also had my eye out for Cannakids founder Tracy Ryan. Her little girl diagnosed with a brain tumor is doing remarkably well and, yes, cannabis oil is why. All other medicines had failed when this family turned to Mother Nature’s own. Here’s a snippet of Tracy Ryan speaking on The Future of Cannabis in the Medical Age panel.  

CTE and cannabis treatment is always on my radar. This sports enthusiast has a special place for football, American and that other kind everyone but U.S. call football; both kinds can cause CTE, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. Some NFL Players have come out and I hope more will so I was very interested to hear what Matt Bucciero of Gridiron Coalition Foundation had to say.

Women Grow did a spectacular job organizing this event. Women Grow/LA co-chair, Jackie Subeck, CEO of HeyJackpot, moderated How To Start a Legal Cannabis Business and made sure her questions allowed each panelist to deliver specific information centered on their wheelhouse of experience in this industry. I’ve admired the way MedMen’s co-founder/CEO Adam Bierman has been conducting business and was interested to hear his thoughts about this evolving industry. Bierman is one of the entrepreneurs who entered this industry back in the early/ mid 2000’s. That’s when this health/wellness writer first began noticing a shift in marijuana’s image. About that time, a company called Privateer Holdings entered the arena, its founders armed with Ivy League degrees. When Privateer Holdings entered a relationship with a relatively new Southern California start-up, Leafly, my interest piqued more. Around this time, Americans for Safe Access also caught my attention. A few years later, when I took my own tour of LA dispensaries only a few stood out; MedMen was one. Bierman spoke about opportunities in the industry today. His perspective wasn’t meant to be discouraging but the 2016 reality is what it is: Opportunities are shrinking. Dispensaries like MedMen have suppliers that fill their shelves with great products. There’s room, just not as much. Here’s a snippet on the future as Adam Bierman sees it.

The edible industry was represented well by Mike Garcia, BettyKhronic co-founder and Alysia Sofios of YummiKarma.  Both agreed, first, have a great edible to sell, 2, know the market you want to reach and 3, ditch the candy-like images

Kudos to the city of West Hollywood who sent 2 council members to welcome us, Lindsey Horvath and John Duran. Listening to two public servants who really are serving their public makes me want to move there.

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My new project EasyHomeGrow w/ MediMJMama was always on my mind as I listened to speakers,  panelists and peers at the 2nd Cannabis Education Forum. A few days later, here’s what I think: As the roots take hold, the cannabis industry will grow furiously just as the alcohol industry did after the prohibition ban was lifted and many underground bootleggers rose up to sell their spirits. If Prop 64 passes on Nov 8th, California is going to be growing a lot more cannabis.

Easy Home Grow w/ MediMJMama isn’t aimed at folks interested in growing fields of cannabis-though I sure would love to run through one before I cross over- Easy Home Grow is a primer and guide to the home gardeners among us.

EasyHomeGrow aims content and DIY products at folks who have tasted the difference between a home grown beefsteak tomato and one bought at the market. You settle for the store bought kind but if you had your druthers, you’d grown your own, wouldn’t you?

With the cannabis plant, you can learn how to home grow your own medicine you know is untainted because you grew it. This is our goal for MediMJmama’s EasyHomeGrow series.

Soon, we hope lots of changes will be taking place across the great state of California. One fact you can depend on, with or without the passage of Prop 64  (with a prescription) you are able to grow your own medicine. So why don’t you?

It’s easy, especially with the kind of guide – written, audio and visual – the EasyHomeGrow Series provides. After spending a day with cannabis industry leaders  – many urging us to learn how to grow -I left convinced EasyHomeGrow Series has legs. We already knew it had roots. You’ve seen our plants?