Page 48 - SFHN March 2021

CANNABIS Cannabis
and Cancer
BUSINESS
page 43
DIRECTORY
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March 2021

2019 Cannabis Business Award’s Publication of the Year

How Hemp Is Now Taking Root

in the Cannabis Industry

A discussion with cannabis advocate Bruce Linton

BY DANIEL CASCIATO

For Bruce Linton, founder and former chief executive officer of one the largest cannabis com-
panies in the world, Canopy Growth Corp, Florida has emerged as an interesting market for the
cannabis industry in the East Coast because of its head start.
“Things are definitely accelerating there,” he says. “What's interesting to me is that it’s become
an East Coast phenomenon. On the West Coast, they've pretty much had cannabis everywhere all
the time for about 30 to 40 years. Five years ago, you couldn’t find cannabis anywhere on the East
Coast. Today, in Florida especially, not only do they have it, but you can ask questions such as: Bruce Linton Dr. Matt Ferenc
Where did you get it? What strains do you have? Access is the hallmark of success which Florida
has right now.” One Plant's
After leaving Canopy Growth, Linton started Collective Growth in 2020. He founded it as an SPAC, or special purpose acqui-
sition company. This essentially means it's a listing on the NASDAQ and Linton, who currently serves as the chairman and CEO, Dr. Matt
has $150 million in the bank which he needs to figure where to invest in.
Hemp has his attention at the moment.
“We started with a focus on putting together a combination of assets that currently use hemp,” he says. Discusses the
However, after looking at about 170 companies, Linton found it was going to be more difficult and take a little longer than he
originally thought. So he did a transaction with a driverless car company that created a technology that fits in driverless cars. Importance
“You may wonder how does hemp and this technology relate? Well, they don't really—but they kind of do,” he says. “Their
of Medical
technology is the incumbent technology in BMW. BMW's new cars should come out in the upcoming year. But the BMW i7 elec-
Continued on page 46
Directors for

Curaleaf: Committed to Being the MMTCs

Cannabis Industry’s Leading Resource BY DANIEL CASCIATO

One Plant, a medical marijuana treat-
in Education and Advancement ment center (MMTC), has a simple
focus—to provide the best possible qual-
BY DANIEL CASCIATO ity product to its customers.
That’s part of the reason why it has a
Curaleaf is a leading U.S. provider of consumer products in cannabis known for quality, expertise Medical Director. Matt Ferenc, D.O.,
and reliability. Today, it serves over 350K+ registered patients and currently operates in 23 states with FACOEP, or Dr. Matt as people fondly
102 dispensaries and over 3,700 team members across the country. call him, joined the One Plant team in
As a vertically integrated multi-state operator, the company and its brands, including Curaleaf, September 2019.
Select and Grassroots, provides industry-leading service, product selection, and accessibility across Dr. Matt’s interest in cannabis was the
medical and adult-use markets. In Florida specifically, it currently operates 37 medical dispensaries Yesenia Garcia result of dealing with different kinds of
and it will continue to expand our retail footprint throughout the state. medical issues for the first 13 years of his
“With two cultivation facilities and one processing site in the state, we offer a wide range of medical cannabis products to serve our medical career. Chronic diseases and
patient's individual needs,” says Yesenia Garcia, Vice President of Marketing of Curaleaf. dependence on medicines especially nar-
Curaleaf’s mission is to improve lives by providing our patients and customers clarity around cannabis and confidence around con- cotics were dependent on the pharma-
sumption. Garcia explains the company is inspired by its ten-year history of serving medical patients. ceutical industry. Medications such as
“Curaleaf strives to remove the stigma around cannabis consumption by providing education and creating a sense of community opiates and benzodiazepines were tragi-
and belonging,” she says. cally over prescribed leading to severe
At Curaleaf, the company strives to break down barriers and re-shapes stereotypes by providing resources, education and trans- dependence issues and deadly medica-
parency through community and physician outreach. tion overdoses. He noticed that states
“We want consumers to have clarity around cannabis and the variety of options available, and feel confidence around consumption,” such as California and Colorado started
says Garcia. “Although there is still a lot of work to be done to destigmatize the plant, Florida's medical program will continue to flour- using cannabis for many medical condi-
ish and gain acceptance as patients have increased access to high-quality medical cannabis.” tions. Pain control and anxiety issues
She adds that Curaleaf distinguishes its unique voice as a brand by providing best-in-class customer service, and offering a wide were by far the most popular medical
variety of high quality products, each developed through exhaustive research and innovation. conditions where cannabis helped
Select became the #1 oil brand in the country by endeavoring to create a superior oil cartridge that didn’t previously exist in the tremendously. Brady Cobb, is the CEO of
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