The Plant Lady

San Diego's Cannabis Comeback: The Plant Lady Returns with Catalyst's Elliot Lewis

After a hiatus, Jackie Bryant fires up The Plant Lady again just as San Diego's cannabis scene blooms in 2025, with new consumption lounges, the first legal sales and consumption events, and the opening of marquee dispensaries. In this episode, she chats with Catalyst Cannabis Co. CEO Elliot Lewis about the brand's long-awaited San Diego debut, what it takes to run 30+ dispensaries across California, thestate's battle for clean cannabis and his role in implementing new testing standards, and why "Weed for the People" is more than just a tagline. If you've ever wondered what's actually in your vape, why the cannabis industry is still fighting for fair regulation, or you're just curious to hear from a successful businessman in the legal cannabis industry, this convo is a must-listen.

Making the Green Greener in the Cannabis Industry

When you think of Wall Street, you picture gray suits and leather briefcases strutting down a New York block at full speed with phones glued to their ears trying to close a deal in a hurry. When you think about cannabis, a laid-back attitude paired with a content smile shines through the clouds and tells you it's all going to be alright. But what if you mix the two? Combine one business with another? When medical cannabis was legalized [https://www.sandiegomagazine.com/people/the-plant-lady/jay-wexler/article_1505b444-049e-11ee-a63b-3f1481fd5f92.html] in Canada, very few were given the heads up about this investment opportunity. After all, it was slowly seeing progression on both the social and political fields across different nations. One New York pharmaceutical hedge fund manager, Jason Wild, got a call from a banker in Ontario in 2014 with news that investing in medical cannabis could change the trajectory of his place in the game. With the newly legal product making its way into the nation's market, Jason knew this was an opportunity he had to jump on. And, with that, he hit the jackpot. Jason started his first fund in 1998 with $100,000 after getting his license to practice as a pharmacist the year prior. His knowledge in medicine helped him pivot from big pharma to "a more entrepreneurial" business model, he says, which was investing in smaller pharmacy companies like Arbor Pharmaceuticals LLC [https://azurity.com/arbor/]. In this episode of The Plant Lady, the chief investment officer of JW Asset Management [https://jwfunds.com/] uses his background in the medical community to plant a seed in the cannabis industry that helped grow his total net assets to over $600 million in 20 years. When he decided to sell Arbor, he began investing in another pharmaceutical: cannabis. Like the plant, his opportunities to grow in the market began to flourish instantly and widely when he partnered with companies that eventually went public after Canada went recreational. He felt the competition was scarce and it was his time to shine. With more demand than supply, profits were booming. After joining the leading North American cannabis operator, TerrAscend [https://terrascend.com/], as their executive chairman in 2017, Jason saw the results of this prosperous market. Acquiring State Flower Cannabis [https://stateflowercannabis.com/], an apothecary dispensary chain in San Francisco, and turning toward the U.S. market through East Coast access helped get the stocks up. In fact, 2020 was their most profitable year-to-date. But when the pandemic subsided, the cannabis industry went economically flat in 2021 and TerrAscend stopped doing expansions during that time. Two years later, Jason is now positive about the future. This past June, the company was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange [https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/canopy-growth-congratulates-terrascend-on-toronto-stock-exchange-listing-301869915.html], becoming the first cannabis company to successfully trade on a major exchange as a U.S. multi-state operator. It's about staying afloat in choppy waters, Jason explains. "We're getting punched in the face every day, but we're getting to the point where it's hurting the weaker players a lot more than it's hurting the stronger players and that they should start seeing that we're getting to the other side," he says. "Especially now, there's so much distress everywhere that now there's opportunities that we're seeing in all of these states where we aren't yet and we can really sort of wait for the best opportunity," he continues. "These companies that are in 20 other different places—a lot of the very profitable states have license caps… so they wouldn't be able to go over the cap." While legislation to overturn federal regulation of cannabis [https://www.sandiegomagazine.com/people/the-plant-lady/luke-scarmazzo-weldon-angelos/article_59f60742-cce1-11ed-8e4e-c7efda40c091.html] is not likely at this point in time, people in the industry are exploring paths to go to the Supreme Court in order to make it a state-wide issue instead of a national one. With a court that is highly supportive of states rights, this isn't an impossible venture. After the overturning of Roe v. Wade, [https://www.sandiegomagazine.com/people/im-a-pro-choice-woman-of-faith/article_def5cfe6-f649-11ec-ac90-67dd1e401dbe.html] Jason believes this could be a signal that the judges would be willing to listen to this community's case. To find out more about this developing case and where the cannabis business stands today, listen to the full episode of The Plant Lady with Jackie Bryant [https://www.sandiegomagazine.com/users/profile/jackie%20bryant/] and Jason Wild.

Changing the Conversation Around Cannabis Use

After making moves on the court for close to two decades, retired NBA power forward Al Harrington is now making moves in the cannabis industry. Harrington is the CEO and co-founder of Viola, the largest premium Black-owned, multi-national cannabis company [https://violabrands.com/] which recently opened its first brick-and-mortar space in St. Louis. But growing up in a family where some members struggled with drug and alcohol abuse, Harrington didn't become interested in marijuana until he was playing professionally in the NBA. On this episode of The Plant Lady [https://www.sandiegomagazine.com/people/the-plant-lady/], Harrington discusses his early encounters with the drug in pro sports, how it aided his grandmother, and how he's using his platform to advocate for a more equitable cannabis industry. Named after his late grandmother who used cannabis to treat her glaucoma, Viola pays homage to the drug that allowed his grandma to read her Bible for the first time in years. "For her to be open-minded enough to try cannabis, it made me realize that what we're doing is God's work," Harrington says "God put this plant here for a reason." Harrington firmly believes marijuana has the power to bring people and communities together [https://www.sandiegomagazine.com/people/the-plant-lady/happy-munkey-ceo/article_960f201c-ef53-11ed-a2d3-2b65c597680c.html], even if many people still have issues with the plant. "I think the main thing that [my grandmother's story] does to me is it humanizes the plant," Harrington says. "[That] allows people to let their guard down and have a real conversation." In his quest for a more-informed cannabis industry, Harrington has spoken with politicians across the US where the drug is legal either medically or recreationally—including Senator Chuck Schumer. Harrington also discusses his desire for others to know the hurdles that Black businessmen and women face in the cannabis industry. We still have a long way to go in order to achieve social equity [https://www.sandiegomagazine.com/people/the-plant-lady/jm-balbuena/article_e151eeea-f8e7-11ed-887a-f70aff1d51b9.html], he argues, while sharing the importance of understanding predatory investors preying on minority business owners. With so much work that still needs to be done, Harrington continues to use his platform to advocate for positive changes in the world of marijuana [https://www.sandiegomagazine.com/people/the-plant-lady/jay-wexler/article_1505b444-049e-11ee-a63b-3f1481fd5f92.html]. "Hopefully brands like mine and others that I know of as well, we can continue to make the investment back into the communities like we said we would," Harrington says.

Humboldt Family Farms: A View From the Emerald Triangle

Baking in the sun is one of our favorite pastimes here in San Diego. Find your favorite sol spot and watch your stress melt away while you enjoy a natural and organic vitamin D mood booster. Bright and warm like the city, Humboldt Family Farms [https://www.sandiegomagazine.com/features/humboldt-family-farms/article_e2716e38-b3d0-11ed-8eb4-ebd85fa46046.html] maintains the same energy up North in the Emerald Triangle with a cannabis cultivation [https://www.sandiegomagazine.com/people/the-plant-lady/happy-munkey-ceo/article_960f201c-ef53-11ed-a2d3-2b65c597680c.html] process that leads with sun-grown production and legacy farming. Scott Vasterling, co-owner of Humboldt Family Farms, chats with host Jackie Bryant on this week's episode of The Plant Lady [https://www.sandiegomagazine.com/people/the-plant-lady/] about how the farm went from a major supplier for outside brands to establishing itself as a hub for local growers through community cultivation. Joining the podcast this week is San Diego Magazine's very own Troy Johnson, CCO and co-host of the Happy Half Hour [https://www.sandiegomagazine.com/food-drink/happy-half-hour/], who just happens to be Scott's fraternity brother when the two were at Chico State. Reminiscing on uni days and first times, the trio also dive into Humboldt Family Farms' beginnings following a meet-cute at the Beachcomber Cafe where Scott met his wife, a second generation cannabis farmer and owner of the restaurant. After introducing him to the sun-grown weed industry flourishing in Humboldt County, their fate was sealed. Much like the agriculture business, Scott explained that this was an easy transition for him and was most likely going to be a part of his life as he grew up on his grandfather's farm. "I just naturally moved into it," Scott says on this week's episode. "From the wilderness and the outdoors and farming was a really smooth transition for me, especially with the sun-grown." So the duo jumped right in and grew with an intent to sell to distributors. However, 80 percent of the product was leaving the county unbranded, he continues. People didn't know where it was coming from or the care taken by local farms all around Humboldt to ensure this organic, naturally derived plant. For them, it was time to enrich their own community and connect growers directly to consumers. "Let's just have this collaboration on behalf of the community," he says. "Let's use Humboldt Family Farms as a mechanism for all of us to come together." With love, a new side of Humboldt Family Farms [https://humboldtfamilyfarms.com/] was born. The brand creates recognition for award-winning legacy growers in the local region and brings together small-batch farmers such as Amaranth Farms [https://www.amaranthfarmshumboldtcounty.com/the-farm], Full Moon Farms [https://chris-dailey-34ja.squarespace.com/], and Neukon Family Farms [https://www.simplefarms.co/neukom-family-farms]. With a richer cannabinoid profile and terpene, Humboldt Family Farms has perfected sun-grown cannabis while also syndicating the market around them. Although navigating regulation has become costly because of California legalization in 2016, the company hopes to continue nourishing its tight-knit community in the heart and soul of Humboldt County. "Let's just have this collaboration on behalf of the community," Scott says. "Let's use Humboldt Family Farms as a mechanism for all of us to come together." To learn more about Scott Vasterling and the farms, listen to this week's full episode of The Plant Lady.

Moving Forward with Cannabis Policy in a Post-Legislation Era

Cannabis legislation has come a long way since its initial breakthrough in 1996 when California became the first state to legalize medical marijuana [https://www.sandiegomagazine.com/people/the-plant-lady/luke-scarmazzo-weldon-angelos/article_59f60742-cce1-11ed-8e4e-c7efda40c091.html] through the Compassionate Use Act. Within two decades, 38 states followed suit where some have legalized it recreationally. While it is a state issue now, a pressing issue of how cannabis should be regulated and by who continues to trend and spark activism for federal legislation. From a quaint Airbnb in Bulgaria, Boston University law professor and author Jay Wexler [https://www.bu.edu/law/profile/jay-d-wexler/] joins this week's episode of The Plant Lady [https://www.sandiegomagazine.com/people/the-plant-lady/] to discuss national policy making, local authority over cannabis access, and his latest book, Weed Rules: Toward a Just, Joyous, and Sensible Marijuana Policy [https://amzn.to/3IZ9wzG] in a Post-Legalization Nation, which dives into the basics around these topics. His perspective on the next steps: tackling local restrictions and expanding interstate commerce. Although cannabis is recreationally legal [https://www.sandiegomagazine.com/people/the-plant-lady/happy-munkey-ceo/article_960f201c-ef53-11ed-a2d3-2b65c597680c.html] in the state of California, lawmakers have enshrined local control to cities and town ordinances that allow them to create their own rules about how to manage access to the weed industry—giving authorities the power to prohibit cannabis sales, zone and prohibit cannabis businesses within their jurisdiction, and restrict distribution. As Jay puts it during the episode, this political move only feeds into the fear and stigma of cannabis as a second or third class activity. In reality, the plant "provides millions of Americans with treatment [https://www.sandiegomagazine.com/people/dr-michelle-sexton/article_96d31cca-e3a4-11ed-bea5-4b7c37f5b523.html] for a wide range of ailments as well as happiness, joy, and euphoria," he says. Legislators presenting and instituting cannabis laws are often ill-informed and uneducated on the industry, as well as the growing national market. Thus, federal legalization is not politically viable at this time, according to Jay. However, local control is widely supported among voters because it serves as a step forward in terms of progressing as a society and accepting that cannabis is a tool for most to improve their lives [https://www.sandiegomagazine.com/people/the-plant-lady/ricky-williams-and-his-toolbox-to-higher-living/article_7b83d978-b92e-11ed-b83a-bb5e7af6597e.html]. "People can vote for cannabis legalization without worrying that it's going to affect them," he says during the episode. "There's a significant number of people who vote in these initiatives or support legalization of cannabis that believe that cannabis should not be illegal and that people should not be going to prison. But, at the same time, don't want a cannabis store next door." Currently on sabbatical, Jay visited law schools in south Asia and Europe in an expedition to explore their teachings and dabble in research for cannabis legislation among these countries—many of which have not legalized weed in any sort of capacity. The industry was almost untouched in Bhutan, one of the regions most memorable for Jay as he visited the Jigme Singye Wangchuck School of Law, and found that cannabis grew casually on the side of the road. The country's grass is more valuable than the average blade, but, even though its philosophy is "Gross National Happiness," he recalls hemp's only use is to feed farm pigs. It makes us wonder: should there be a greater push for federal legalization here in the States, or are we lucky to have made it this far? Host Jackie and Jay tackle this debate and more on his newly released book, Weed Rules: Toward a Just, Joyous, and Sensible Marijuana Policy [https://amzn.to/3IZ9wzG] in a Post-Legalization Nation in this week's episode of The Plant Lady.