The Story of a Cannabis Research Breakthrough

“As I’m reading through all this legal jargon, I’m getting terrified because there’s so many rules. And the rules actually make a lot of sense. But it’s just so confusing for me. And I copied this section … and the section basically says that 15 days prior to harvest, I’m going to notify the DEA, they’re going to come out and inspect the material, you know, verify the quantity, and they’re going to send me an electronic funds transfer to pay for this. And then they take possession of the cannabis and then they sell it to the scientists after. And I was so exasperated. ‘Why do they have to make this so complicated?’ Right? Like, this should be so straightforward. It seems really cumbersome. And then I had this revelation, I said, ‘Oh my, goodness. I’m selling weed to the DEA.’” –Dr. Sue Sisley, President, Scottsdale Research Institute

How Cannabis Companies Are Developing Meaningful Social Equity Priorities

“I really feel like the cannabis plant, it will at some point bring the world together [and] make this world a better place. You think about all the things it does, like we’ve always been told that it just gets us high. But that’s not the case. We’re still finding out all about the cannabinoids and different things that are beneficial. … We’re just breaking barriers slowly but surely. And it’s really cool that we’re supplying medicine, and I think we’re all going to be in the history books one day.” –Al Harrington, CEO, Viola Brands

Lessons Learned From Both Business Models

“Know your strengths and weaknesses and be honest with what your capability is, and make sure your strategy is set on accentuating and exploiting that strength. But also, investing heavily in people that are smarter than you is such a critical thing. Find the talent and give them the autonomy to do the work and get the hell out of the way—get the hell out of their way. I think as entrepreneurs, we want to do it all. And it’s very hard to scale a business with that mindset of microing people. There’s a different way to get the visibility you need to know whether they’re doing the right job or not without creating a toxic environment. I think it’s important that you spend a lot of time finding people that are better than you and not having an ego. Ego is going to be the killer of any sort of successful business.” –Michael Elias, Co-founder/CEO, Common Citizen and Michigan Pure Med