Page 32 - SFHN718pagesFinal.qxp_SFHN 0608 Friday 5.0

VIDACANN: CANNABIS
A Personal SPOTLIGHT:
Passion for Stephanie Fair
Organic Cannabis Director of Marketing
Cultivation and Physician
Relations, DocMJ
page 27 page 28

Danna-Gracey: Physician Advocate, Education

Cultivating Insurance Solutions Key to Helping Patients Gain

for Cannabis Companies Access to Medical Cannabis

BY DANIEL CASCIATO practices. BY VANESSA ORR ditions enumerated in the
“We understand the law, but fibromyalgia, or
For Jessica Hoehn, complex landscape of Though medical phantom pain cause by
medical marijuana lia- insurance coverage for cannabis has been legal amputation, are not covered
bility insurance is not medical professionals,” in Florida for more than under these conditions,” he
just another business says Hoehn. “Our per- 1-1/2 years, there is still added. “You need to look at
expense—it has become sonalized attention and much confusion—as how the law is written to see
a necessity. command of the insur- well as concern—about if there is the same kind of
“Whether you are a ance marketplace enable who qualifies to be a classification, or a condition
medical marijuana us to effectively negotiate patient, and the legisla- that is comparable.”
physician, clinic, or dis- competitive rates.” tive hurdles that a per- Dr. Gordon gives the
pensary, the potential Since 1981, Matt son has to overcome in example of patients who
legal costs of uninsured Gracey and the team at order to find relief from have to consistently take
suits are astronomical Danna-Gracey have various conditions. steroids or benzodiazepine
and could have disas- become well known Still, the good news is for chronic pain or Ambien
trous consequences on Jessica Hoehn throughout the state as that many Floridians Dr. Barry Gordon for sleep, which results in a
someone’s practice,” strong advocates for are finding relief with high level of anxiety.
says Hoehn, an insurance agent for health care providers, as well as creators medical cannabis, and that progress is “People know that they can’t take these
Danna-Gracey, the leading independent of society and network insurance pur- being made—albeit slowly. types of drugs forever; society has shown
medical malpractice insurance agency in chasing programs. When it comes to the “The bottom line is that anybody who us the disastrous results that come from
the state of Florida and the top agency medical marijuana industry, Hoehn says wants to be a medical cannabis patient in using narcotics, including addiction or
for several of the leading insurers in that it was a no-brainer for them to con- Florida can be,” explained Barry Gordon, even death,” he said. “Patients are looking
Florida. tinue to provide the best coverages for M.D., of the Compassionate Cannabis for a natural alternative, and cannabis is
It’s a common misconception that those looking to provide alternative care Clinic. “You need to find a doctor who will not physically addictive and has never
medical marijuana coverage needs are options. advocate for you, and who knows the killed anyone.
very expensive or unattainable, but it is “This isn’t your great grandfather’s right questions to ask to work within the “People who want to be in the program
actually very reasonable priced, she insurance company,” says Hoehn. “We law. deserve to be in the program, and to have
notes. The agency works closely with always aim to be a progressive company “For example, chronic pain is not well access to a high-quality, highly tested
clients to identify insurance needs spe- that is willing to assist growing and sup- handled in Florida law because it is sup- product in the strain and specificity they
cific to their medical specialties and posed to be caused by one of the 10 con- Continued on page 26
Continued on page 30
Investors Getting in on the Green Rush. How and Why?

Did you know that and operations of this indus- and on! mately 5 live events per year. They struc-
the legal cannabis try. Investors are finding These types of ventures are currently ture it like “Shark Tank” where companies
industry is currently 9 these companies before they being funded by angel investors, accelera- pitch on stage and are rated by the
billion dollars and are acquired or go IPO, and tors, VC funds, and some through the pub- investors. This is one way investors are
expected to grow to some mergers and acquisi- lic markets. locating new companies or participating in
over 24 billion in the tions have already begun in private offerings.
next few years? There the space. Angel Investors
are over 30 states I am asked all the time by Angel investing involves capital invest- Accelerators
which have medical friends how they can be ments by accredited investors (people with Business accelerators like Canopy -
cannabis businesses, 9 involved or invest in these a net worth of $1 million or more exclud- Boulder invest in early-stage startups in
with adult use and opportunities. So, I decided ing the value of their primary residence, or the cannabis industry and provide them
additional state legal- to break down what is avail- with income of $200,000 or more per year/ with additional resources. This is similar
ization on the table in able. $300,000 for a married couple). These to how tech startups launch, validate and
the upcoming elec- New businesses are pro- investments are in startups, usually with fund their pre-seed and seed rounds. They
tions. Some predictions viding the services to the less than $1 million in revenue and less raise money through a fund and then
estimate we may see BY TOM QUIGLEY cannabis industry like trash than five years old. These startups have deploy into new companies. Since 2015
full federal legalization removal, security systems, high growth potential and angel investors CanopyBoulder specifically has helped 80
by 2019. build out, marketing, educa- look to invest in companies that have a companies go from idea to funding with
These changes in laws have created tion, testing, corporate training, payroll believable plan to be able to return 10X initial seed capital and follow-on invest-
opportunities for investors to find early processing, compliance, ancillary products their investment or more within five years. ments.
stage companies which are developing for use, analytics, branding, sales, tours, The ArcView network is a membership Continued on page 30
solutions for the scaling, management, entertainment, and media. The list goes on group of investors which hold approxi-