Page 14 - Cannabis News April 2019

Cannabis Spotlight

Robert Roundtree How can people in Florida benefit
from the company you represent?
Conscious Communications, LLC People benefit from the companies I represent in a variety of ways
such as education about the plant, how to navigate the state mmj pro-
What benefits do you see for patients gram and effectively advocate. Every company that I partner with is
throughout Florida within this space? very compassionate. We have been fortunate enough to provide free
The benefits are the ability to get relief naturally, from the mmj recommendation visits, pay the state fee for cards, and Sunshine
cannabis plant and its derivatives without going to jail as Cannabis with partner Trulieve was able to give away tens of thousands
long as they adhere to the strict guidelines set forth by the of dollars in free medicine at the brand launch and other events. Career
legislature. The biggest benefit is that patients no longer Extracts has helped many people land well-paying careers with the
have to worry about being arrested for having cannabis and state’s largest MMTCs, and those looking to get into the industry can
doing what many have been doing since they were benefit greatly from this company. Sunshine Cannabis has the largest
teenagers. Patients gain a greater level of control over their effect on the people of Florida, because it’s working to benefit every
healthcare treatment by adding this as a legal alternative. The Robert Roundtree legal adult in the Sunshine State. Sunshine Cannabis has committed to
politicians in this state often cite the need for research into donating 10% to the Regulate Florida petition gathering campaign. The
the health and safety of the cannabis plant, and so far the greatest health and safe- company founder Chris Sunshine has a vision that we intend to execute and that
ty risk has been law enforcement intervention. is helping Regulate get to Supreme Court review and eventually on to the 2020
ballot. This will allow everyone to grow their own cannabis and open a small busi-
What motivates you to be a part of the Cannabis Industry? ness if they choose among many other great protections such as the 2nd amend-
My motivation comes from years of persecution for self-medicating with the ment and a prevention of dispensary bans unless the constituents vote the ban in.
only medicine that has worked without any harmful side effects, outside of those
listed in my first answer of course. I’ve been arrested for possession and been How did you get started within the cannabis industry?
robbed at gunpoint over an ounce of flower. I am a veteran of the U.S. Navy and I got started in the cannabis industry in the beginning out of a need to pay for
was other than honorably discharged for using cannabis which nearly killed me the medicine I was consuming on the black market. This was my first entry into
because I thought my life was over. I have seen countless lives ruined, and families the space, so to speak. The way I got into the legal cannabis industry was by cre-
torn apart because of cannabis prohibition. I have a deep burning passion to con- ating a brand and building it online when it wasn’t as popular in 2013.
tinue to work in the industry and help pioneer the Florida program until everyone
has access in the form that they need. I don’t want anyone to have to face incar- Are you personally a MJ card holder?
ceration, lose a career, be denied housing or be put into a dangerous situation due I am pt2373 and one of the state’s earliest adopters prior to A2 being passed
to prohibition. when all we could get was low-thc and had to wait 90 days from the time you first
saw the doctor until the date they could put you into the registry.
What field are you in within the Cannabis space?
I am a serial entrepreneur and actually work in a few different fields from edu- Do you see Florida moving forward with recreational
cation to product development as well as non-profits. I own a marketing company, Marijuana/Cannabis and how will that affect your business?
Conscious Communications, LLC that produces The Marijuana Solution podcast Yes I do, it’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when. Regulate Florida is going to
and FloridaMarijuana.net, both educational platforms. I am a partner with be at Supreme Court review and be the first adult use petition to have ever done
Sunshine Cannabis, the first Florida brand to have a product line licensed by an so in the Sunshine State. It’s highly likely that the petitioning group will do so
MMTC. I also am a partner in a recruiting company for the industry, Career prior to the date John Morgan’s United for Care accomplished it with Amendment
Extracts LLC. I work with a few nonprofits in the space such as We are Rare Inc., 2. This is huge — it means that recreational is on schedule to get to the Supreme
a 501c3 that helps children and their families with rare neurological disorders Court faster than the MMJ amendment did. For everyone with a financial interest
such as Schizencephaly to various Norml chapters around the state. I also work in the cannabis industry, myself included, it will mean a greater opportunity to
closely with Regulate Florida to spearhead legalization efforts in the Sunshine build a thriving profitable business doing what we love while helping the entire
State. state generate more revenue and bring an already thriving market into the light so
everyone can participate.

Cresco Labs Enters Florida – Will Have Access to 65%

of the Total Addressable U.S. Cannabis Market

Cresco Labs Inc., one of the largest vertically integrated multistate cannabis opera- Palm Beach, Miami and Pensacola are currently under construction and scheduled to
tors in the United States, announced that it is entering the Florida market through the open by the end of June 2019.
signing of a letter agreement to acquire the ownership interests or assets of VidaCann • VidaCann is projected to have up to 20 dispensaries by the end of 2019, while
Ltd. and/or affiliated entities, one of the largest and most advanced providers of med- Cresco intends to further accelerate the VidaCann retail dispensary rollout.
ical cannabis in Florida (the “Transaction”). Dispensary locations are strategically located throughout the state to ensure 95% of
Key Transaction Highlights and Benefits: the population of Florida is within 50 miles of a VidaCann dispensary. Delivery is
• Vertically Integrated Florida License – Provides Cresco Labs a Medical Marijuana available statewide to all licensed patients.
Treatment Center license to grow, process, manufacture, distribute and dispense the • Operational Cultivation and Processing – A fully-operational, greenhouse culti-
Company’s house of branded products in up to, currently, 30 retail medical dispen- vation facility with a state-of-the-art cGMP-certified processing and analytical lab,
saries in the state of Florida. meeting all FDA requirements.
• Retail Dispensary Footprint & Rollout – VidaCann currently operates seven (7) • Fully operational 70,000 ft2 cultivation and processing facility is scheduled to
dispensaries in the cities of Bradenton, Deerfield Beach, Holly Hill, Orlando, Palm double in size by the end of 2019 and will allow Cresco Labs to grow and manufac-
Bay, St. Petersburg, and Tampa and expects to have 14 dispensaries open by the end ture its full suite of branded products for distribution across the state.
of June 2019. • The greenhouse maintains more than 30 premium strains and VidaCann is the
• Additional dispensary locations in Tallahassee, Bonita Springs and Port Charlotte only Florida cannabis company using custom-made Italian extractors that can
are completed and pending operational approval, and locations in Jacksonville, West process over 400 pounds a day.

Cannabis News Florida cannabisnewsflorida.com April 2019 39