CBD OIL

Earlier this summer in July, Senators Chuck Schumer, Ron Wyden and Cory Booker held a press conference where they introduced the first draft of the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA). During the press conference, the Senators laid out the foundation for their comprehensive cannabis legalization measure, emphasizing the need to address social equity and social justice matters, while also asking for support in revising the draft bill.

In response to that call for input on the draft legislation, a number of nonprofits and trade organizations last week submitted comments. Among the organizations to submit comments on the new legislative proposal to end federal cannabis prohibition were a lot of cannabis advocacy organizations: The National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA), the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), the Minority Cannabis Business Association (MCBA) and the Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education, and Regulation (CPEAR). To refresh your memory, CPEAR is a controversial trade organization founded in March of this year by corporate interests in big alcohol and tobacco.

Regardless of the interests behind the organizations, all of them seemed to have comments that aligned with one another. All of the comments submitted by those organizations had a common theme: social equity. Even CPEAR submitted comments highlighting the importance of “providing substantial opportunities for small and minority-owned businesses.”

The NCIA’s comments are perhaps the most comprehensive of the group, outlining an equitable, state-centric and small business-focused plan for federal cannabis reform. The MCBA’s comments reflect its mission and focus on things like restorative justice, minority participation, equitable access and inclusion.

The MPP’s comments are noteworthy because of their concerns regarding a number of regulations. Karen O’Keefe, state policies director at the MPP, says certain aspects of the regulatory scheme need clarification. “Our two major areas of concern are: the possible upending of state licensing and regulatory systems — driving sales underground — and the impact on medical cannabis access, including for those under the age of 21,” says O’Keefe.

NORML’s feedback is also particularly poignant. They ask to leave medical cannabis markets exempted from the federal excise tax proposed and for the federal government to balance roles shared between the FDA, TTB and ATF to ensure that individual state markets won’t be adversely affected by federal regulation.

To learn more, take a look at the draft legislation in its entirety here.

Illinois will conduct a corrective lottery to award additional adult-use cannabis retail licenses, state officials announced Sept. 3.

The decision aims to rectify a “clerical oversight” slipup on data entry that wrongfully excluded applicants from a three-part lottery process that awarded 185 retail licenses—110 social equity licenses were allocated between a pair of lotteries held July 29 and Aug. 5, while 75 licenses for businesses with the top application scores was held Aug. 19.

Unless nullified in court, the results from those original three lotteries are final, according to a statement the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) released Sept. 3.

“Any such licenses [from a corrective lottery] will be in addition to any licenses awarded based on the original lotteries,” the IDFPR release stated. “Thus, unless a court rules otherwise, the department does not intend to alter or change the results of the original lotteries when it conducts the corrective lotteries, but instead intends to award additional licenses where necessary to redress errors that resulted in the improper exclusion of applicant entries in the three original lotteries.”

Nonetheless, IDFPR cannot issue those 185 licenses unless Cook County Circuit Judge Moshe Jacobius lifts a standing court order blocking the rollout. During an Aug. 16 hearing, Jacobius said there was a possibility the state would have to redo its entire lottery process.

Also in that hearing, Jacobius ruled that WAH Group LLC was one of the unfairly excluded applicants from the first lottery held July 29. WAH Group originally filed a suit with HAAAYY LCC, but those two applicants now intend to file amended complaints that represent their separate allegations against the lottery process, according to the Chicago Sun Times.

WAH Group and HAAAYY are expected in court again on Sept. 23, while other applicants who filed suits are set to appear in court Oct. 5, the newspaper reported.

Overall, IDFPR’s corrective lottery is focused on amending the wrongful exclusion of six applicant groups. The IDFPR determined the lotteries for certain metropolitan and nonmetropolitan regions defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics—in connection with the July 29 lottery—did not include the correct number of qualified entries based on the application fees paid.

Per IDFPR, applicants were permitted to either submit a single application but pay multiple application fees to obtain multiple application entries in the same lottery or to submit different applications and obtain multiple application entries. Overall, there were roughly 2,000 applicants among the three lotteries. 

When IDFPR posted the list of participants for the Qualifying Applicant Lottery held July 29, which included 626 finalists, some participants erroneously received an extra entry, while some others did not receive an entry they paid for and identified on their applications, according to the department.

No extra entry that was erroneously included received a winning lottery slot, but the applicants who had an entry that was erroneously excluded have been notified by the IDFPR.

“The department is committed to ensuring a fair process by which all applicants that were properly qualified to participate in a lottery but were erroneously excluded from that lottery receive a fair opportunity to obtain a conditional license,” the IDFPR release stated. “Accordingly, the department intends to conduct supplemental corrective lotteries that will address application entries that were erroneously excluded from a lottery.”

Subject to court approval, the department intends to conduct that process as follows:

• Separate corrective lotteries will be conducted for the Qualifying Applicant Lottery (July 29), the Social Equity Justice Involved Lottery (Aug. 5) and the Tied Applicant Lottery (Aug. 19) for each Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) region in which an applicant was improperly excluded from that lottery under the eligibility criteria established by law.
• Application entries that were erroneously excluded from any of the three original lotteries may be able to obtain a conditional license as the result of a corrective lottery. Eligibility will be determined by the IDFPR or a court of competent jurisdiction.
• Applicants with entries that were properly included in the original lotteries will not have another entry in a corrective lottery giving them an additional opportunity to win a conditional license.
• The Illinois lottery will conduct the corrective lotteries with the computer-based drawing system that was used for each of the previous lotteries. An applicant will be eligible for an opportunity to receive a conditional license only if its entry is drawn in a “winning” slot based on the number of available licenses in that BLS region. For example, in a BLS region with three available licenses, an eligible application entry that had been erroneously excluded must draw Nos. 1, 2 or 3 to be eligible for an opportunity to obtain a conditional license through the corrective lottery.

The IDFPR also intends to issue at least 50 additional conditional licenses in 2022.

Overall, the department can award up to 500 conditional adult-use retail licenses, pursuant to the amended Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, for its booming retail market that just pulled in $121.9 million in adult-use sales this August.

Illinois will conduct a corrective lottery to award additional adult-use cannabis retail licenses, state officials announced Sept. 3.

The decision aims to rectify a “clerical oversight” slipup on data entry that wrongfully excluded applicants from a three-part lottery process that awarded 185 retail licenses—110 social equity licenses were allocated between a pair of lotteries held July 29 and Aug. 5, while 75 licenses for businesses with the top application scores was held Aug. 19.

Unless nullified in court, the results from those original three lotteries are final, according to a statement the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) released Sept. 3.

“Any such licenses [from a corrective lottery] will be in addition to any licenses awarded based on the original lotteries,” the IDFPR release stated. “Thus, unless a court rules otherwise, the department does not intend to alter or change the results of the original lotteries when it conducts the corrective lotteries, but instead intends to award additional licenses where necessary to redress errors that resulted in the improper exclusion of applicant entries in the three original lotteries.”

Nonetheless, IDFPR cannot issue those 185 licenses unless Cook County Circuit Judge Moshe Jacobius lifts a standing court order blocking the rollout. During an Aug. 16 hearing, Jacobius said there was a possibility the state would have to redo its entire lottery process.

Also in that hearing, Jacobius ruled that WAH Group LLC was one of the unfairly excluded applicants from the first lottery held July 29. WAH Group originally filed a suit with HAAAYY LCC, but those two applicants now intend to file amended complaints that represent their separate allegations against the lottery process, according to the Chicago Sun Times.

WAH Group and HAAAYY are expected in court again on Sept. 23, while other applicants who filed suits are set to appear in court Oct. 5, the newspaper reported.

Overall, IDFPR’s corrective lottery is focused on amending the wrongful exclusion of six applicant groups. The IDFPR determined the lotteries for certain metropolitan and nonmetropolitan regions defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics—in connection with the July 29 lottery—did not include the correct number of qualified entries based on the application fees paid.

Per IDFPR, applicants were permitted to either submit a single application but pay multiple application fees to obtain multiple application entries in the same lottery or to submit different applications and obtain multiple application entries. Overall, there were roughly 2,000 applicants among the three lotteries. 

When IDFPR posted the list of participants for the Qualifying Applicant Lottery held July 29, which included 626 finalists, some participants erroneously received an extra entry, while some others did not receive an entry they paid for and identified on their applications, according to the department.

No extra entry that was erroneously included received a winning lottery slot, but the applicants who had an entry that was erroneously excluded have been notified by the IDFPR.

“The department is committed to ensuring a fair process by which all applicants that were properly qualified to participate in a lottery but were erroneously excluded from that lottery receive a fair opportunity to obtain a conditional license,” the IDFPR release stated. “Accordingly, the department intends to conduct supplemental corrective lotteries that will address application entries that were erroneously excluded from a lottery.”

Subject to court approval, the department intends to conduct that process as follows:

• Separate corrective lotteries will be conducted for the Qualifying Applicant Lottery (July 29), the Social Equity Justice Involved Lottery (Aug. 5) and the Tied Applicant Lottery (Aug. 19) for each Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) region in which an applicant was improperly excluded from that lottery under the eligibility criteria established by law.
• Application entries that were erroneously excluded from any of the three original lotteries may be able to obtain a conditional license as the result of a corrective lottery. Eligibility will be determined by the IDFPR or a court of competent jurisdiction.
• Applicants with entries that were properly included in the original lotteries will not have another entry in a corrective lottery giving them an additional opportunity to win a conditional license.
• The Illinois lottery will conduct the corrective lotteries with the computer-based drawing system that was used for each of the previous lotteries. An applicant will be eligible for an opportunity to receive a conditional license only if its entry is drawn in a “winning” slot based on the number of available licenses in that BLS region. For example, in a BLS region with three available licenses, an eligible application entry that had been erroneously excluded must draw Nos. 1, 2 or 3 to be eligible for an opportunity to obtain a conditional license through the corrective lottery.

The IDFPR also intends to issue at least 50 additional conditional licenses in 2022.

Overall, the department can award up to 500 conditional adult-use retail licenses, pursuant to the amended Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, for its booming retail market that just pulled in $121.9 million in adult-use sales this August.

A hands-on cannabis college focused on industry education, training, career placement, medical cannabis and more has expanded to central Florida.

Learn Sativa University’s (SATU) hands-on program has been in operation for roughly four years. The university started in a 1,000-square-foot building, but has recently expanded to a 5-acre cannabis farm and training facility in Apopka, Fla., said Patrick O’Brien, SATU founder and CEO.

The primary purpose of the college is pretty “straightforward,” O’Brien said. 

“We aim towards two paths, and we’re looking for two types of individuals: either ones looking to land rewarding careers in the industry, or individuals looking to start businesses. Whether it be in cultivation, dispensary, or anything along those lines, we can assist with business plans, curriculum and everything from top to bottom,” he said.

He said that the campus features an indoor climate-controlled grow and a 50,000-square-feet outdoor greenhouse where students can learn through hands-on training. The college also offers online training for those who cannot attend in person.

SATU’s hands-on and online courses include Marijuana Cookbook, Marijuana Laws, Marijuana Careers, Marijuana History, Marijuana Growing and Dispensary Management.

Each course is a one-time 8-hour class, and students receive a certificate tailored to the subject upon completion, he said.

© Courtesy of Learn Sativa University

© Courtesy of Learn Sativa University

The university also provides in-person students with lunch, books, study materials, lab equipment and much more.

“We provide everything from top to bottom to ensure that they’re prepared,” O’Brien said. “Typically, what ends up happening is a lot of people will come out here. They’ll take a vacation with their family. They’ll go ahead and complete the course, and then they can fly home. And then some of them tend to want to stay for the advanced courses, or others will come back a month or two later for those.”

“A lot of people want to test the waters at first because it’s still very crazy to hear the idea that there’s an actual cannabis college where you can come and acquire this knowledge,” he added.

SATU has had over 50,000 students enroll in either an online or hands-on course to date, and O’Brien said he’s had students from places like Brazil, Puerto Rico, Colombia and India.

While the courses prepare students for entry-level positions in the industry, O’Brien said several local companies and larger corporations have reached out to the SATU seeking qualified individuals to fulfill open positions.

“We have billion-dollar companies right now coming to us, like Curaleaf,” he said. “[These] companies are coming to us asking us for staff that are qualified, trained and have expertise in what we’re preparing them for, and it’s very exciting because now we have students in all these different management positions that only request Learn Sativa students within those facilities. That’s not all companies, but the ones especially local to us.”

“And beyond that, we’re starting to see a lot of the companies out in the [recreational] states currently requesting this,” he added. “The states themselves are requesting that you have a school backing to get the license, and they’re using our school to do that. It’s an amazing thing.”

© Courtesy of Learn Sativa University

Additionally, SATU features a dispensary that sells in-house products made by students.

“Some of the students that really take to creating incredible products, we will partner up, work with them and do a share so that they actually get a cut of products they sell through that program,” he said. “So, it’s a way for us to allow students to test out some of their products, and those change once in a while, but it just depends on who comes through the door.”

For example, an SATU student from Colombia who has a background in chemistry created a CBG oil, O’Brien shared, and the college worked alongside him to help launch that product.

“Essentially, what we’re providing to our students is a set of instructions,” he said. “They follow them; they end up with an end result. Sometimes it’s incredible. Sometimes it’s mediocre. It just depends how much they put into it.”

“The beauty I think behind this program is the networking,” he said. “If all you’re lacking is a little bump of tools, that little toolset you need, or the skills, maybe you need to just develop them; that’s what we provide you. So, long as you’re willing to swing that hammer, the sky’s the limit.”

A hands-on cannabis college focused on industry education, training, career placement, medical cannabis and more has expanded to central Florida.

Learn Sativa University’s (SATU) hands-on program has been in operation for roughly four years. The university started in a 1,000-square-foot building, but has recently expanded to a 5-acre cannabis farm and training facility in Apopka, Fla., said Patrick O’Brien, SATU founder and CEO.

The primary purpose of the college is pretty “straightforward,” O’Brien said. 

“We aim towards two paths, and we’re looking for two types of individuals: either ones looking to land rewarding careers in the industry, or individuals looking to start businesses. Whether it be in cultivation, dispensary, or anything along those lines, we can assist with business plans, curriculum and everything from top to bottom,” he said.

He said that the campus features an indoor climate-controlled grow and a 50,000-square-feet outdoor greenhouse where students can learn through hands-on training. The college also offers online training for those who cannot attend in person.

SATU’s hands-on and online courses include Marijuana Cookbook, Marijuana Laws, Marijuana Careers, Marijuana History, Marijuana Growing and Dispensary Management.

Each course is a one-time 8-hour class, and students receive a certificate tailored to the subject upon completion, he said.

© Courtesy of Learn Sativa University

© Courtesy of Learn Sativa University

The university also provides in-person students with lunch, books, study materials, lab equipment and much more.

“We provide everything from top to bottom to ensure that they’re prepared,” O’Brien said. “Typically, what ends up happening is a lot of people will come out here. They’ll take a vacation with their family. They’ll go ahead and complete the course, and then they can fly home. And then some of them tend to want to stay for the advanced courses, or others will come back a month or two later for those.”

“A lot of people want to test the waters at first because it’s still very crazy to hear the idea that there’s an actual cannabis college where you can come and acquire this knowledge,” he added.

SATU has had over 50,000 students enroll in either an online or hands-on course to date, and O’Brien said he’s had students from places like Brazil, Puerto Rico, Colombia and India.

While the courses prepare students for entry-level positions in the industry, O’Brien said several local companies and larger corporations have reached out to the SATU seeking qualified individuals to fulfill open positions.

“We have billion-dollar companies right now coming to us, like Curaleaf,” he said. “[These] companies are coming to us asking us for staff that are qualified, trained and have expertise in what we’re preparing them for, and it’s very exciting because now we have students in all these different management positions that only request Learn Sativa students within those facilities. That’s not all companies, but the ones especially local to us.”

“And beyond that, we’re starting to see a lot of the companies out in the [recreational] states currently requesting this,” he added. “The states themselves are requesting that you have a school backing to get the license, and they’re using our school to do that. It’s an amazing thing.”

© Courtesy of Learn Sativa University

Additionally, SATU features a dispensary that sells in-house products made by students.

“Some of the students that really take to creating incredible products, we will partner up, work with them and do a share so that they actually get a cut of products they sell through that program,” he said. “So, it’s a way for us to allow students to test out some of their products, and those change once in a while, but it just depends on who comes through the door.”

For example, an SATU student from Colombia who has a background in chemistry created a CBG oil, O’Brien shared, and the college worked alongside him to help launch that product.

“Essentially, what we’re providing to our students is a set of instructions,” he said. “They follow them; they end up with an end result. Sometimes it’s incredible. Sometimes it’s mediocre. It just depends how much they put into it.”

“The beauty I think behind this program is the networking,” he said. “If all you’re lacking is a little bump of tools, that little toolset you need, or the skills, maybe you need to just develop them; that’s what we provide you. So, long as you’re willing to swing that hammer, the sky’s the limit.”

A hands-on cannabis college focused on industry education, training, career placement, medical cannabis and more has expanded to central Florida.

Learn Sativa University’s (SATU) hands-on program has been in operation for roughly four years. The university started in a 1,000-square-foot building, but has recently expanded to a 5-acre cannabis farm and training facility in Apopka, Fla., said Patrick O’Brien, SATU founder and CEO.

The primary purpose of the college is pretty “straightforward,” O’Brien said. 

“We aim towards two paths, and we’re looking for two types of individuals: either ones looking to land rewarding careers in the industry, or individuals looking to start businesses. Whether it be in cultivation, dispensary, or anything along those lines, we can assist with business plans, curriculum and everything from top to bottom,” he said.

He said that the campus features an indoor climate-controlled grow and a 50,000-square-feet outdoor greenhouse where students can learn through hands-on training. The college also offers online training for those who cannot attend in person.

SATU’s hands-on and online courses include Marijuana Cookbook, Marijuana Laws, Marijuana Careers, Marijuana History, Marijuana Growing and Dispensary Management.

Each course is a one-time 8-hour class, and students receive a certificate tailored to the subject upon completion, he said.

© Courtesy of Learn Sativa University

© Courtesy of Learn Sativa University

The university also provides in-person students with lunch, books, study materials, lab equipment and much more.

“We provide everything from top to bottom to ensure that they’re prepared,” O’Brien said. “Typically, what ends up happening is a lot of people will come out here. They’ll take a vacation with their family. They’ll go ahead and complete the course, and then they can fly home. And then some of them tend to want to stay for the advanced courses, or others will come back a month or two later for those.”

“A lot of people want to test the waters at first because it’s still very crazy to hear the idea that there’s an actual cannabis college where you can come and acquire this knowledge,” he added.

SATU has had over 50,000 students enroll in either an online or hands-on course to date, and O’Brien said he’s had students from places like Brazil, Puerto Rico, Colombia and India.

While the courses prepare students for entry-level positions in the industry, O’Brien said several local companies and larger corporations have reached out to the SATU seeking qualified individuals to fulfill open positions.

“We have billion-dollar companies right now coming to us, like Curaleaf,” he said. “[These] companies are coming to us asking us for staff that are qualified, trained and have expertise in what we’re preparing them for, and it’s very exciting because now we have students in all these different management positions that only request Learn Sativa students within those facilities. That’s not all companies, but the ones especially local to us.”

“And beyond that, we’re starting to see a lot of the companies out in the [recreational] states currently requesting this,” he added. “The states themselves are requesting that you have a school backing to get the license, and they’re using our school to do that. It’s an amazing thing.”

© Courtesy of Learn Sativa University

Additionally, SATU features a dispensary that sells in-house products made by students.

“Some of the students that really take to creating incredible products, we will partner up, work with them and do a share so that they actually get a cut of products they sell through that program,” he said. “So, it’s a way for us to allow students to test out some of their products, and those change once in a while, but it just depends on who comes through the door.”

For example, an SATU student from Colombia who has a background in chemistry created a CBG oil, O’Brien shared, and the college worked alongside him to help launch that product.

“Essentially, what we’re providing to our students is a set of instructions,” he said. “They follow them; they end up with an end result. Sometimes it’s incredible. Sometimes it’s mediocre. It just depends how much they put into it.”

“The beauty I think behind this program is the networking,” he said. “If all you’re lacking is a little bump of tools, that little toolset you need, or the skills, maybe you need to just develop them; that’s what we provide you. So, long as you’re willing to swing that hammer, the sky’s the limit.”

A hands-on cannabis college focused on industry education, training, career placement, medical cannabis and more has expanded to central Florida.

Learn Sativa University’s (SATU) hands-on program has been in operation for roughly four years. The university started in a 1,000-square-foot building, but has recently expanded to a 5-acre cannabis farm and training facility in Apopka, Fla., said Patrick O’Brien, SATU founder and CEO.

The primary purpose of the college is pretty “straightforward,” O’Brien said. 

“We aim towards two paths, and we’re looking for two types of individuals: either ones looking to land rewarding careers in the industry, or individuals looking to start businesses. Whether it be in cultivation, dispensary, or anything along those lines, we can assist with business plans, curriculum and everything from top to bottom,” he said.

He said that the campus features an indoor climate-controlled grow and a 50,000-square-feet outdoor greenhouse where students can learn through hands-on training. The college also offers online training for those who cannot attend in person.

SATU’s hands-on and online courses include Marijuana Cookbook, Marijuana Laws, Marijuana Careers, Marijuana History, Marijuana Growing and Dispensary Management.

Each course is a one-time 8-hour class, and students receive a certificate tailored to the subject upon completion, he said.

© Courtesy of Learn Sativa University

© Courtesy of Learn Sativa University

The university also provides in-person students with lunch, books, study materials, lab equipment and much more.

“We provide everything from top to bottom to ensure that they’re prepared,” O’Brien said. “Typically, what ends up happening is a lot of people will come out here. They’ll take a vacation with their family. They’ll go ahead and complete the course, and then they can fly home. And then some of them tend to want to stay for the advanced courses, or others will come back a month or two later for those.”

“A lot of people want to test the waters at first because it’s still very crazy to hear the idea that there’s an actual cannabis college where you can come and acquire this knowledge,” he added.

SATU has had over 50,000 students enroll in either an online or hands-on course to date, and O’Brien said he’s had students from places like Brazil, Puerto Rico, Colombia and India.

While the courses prepare students for entry-level positions in the industry, O’Brien said several local companies and larger corporations have reached out to the SATU seeking qualified individuals to fulfill open positions.

“We have billion-dollar companies right now coming to us, like Curaleaf,” he said. “[These] companies are coming to us asking us for staff that are qualified, trained and have expertise in what we’re preparing them for, and it’s very exciting because now we have students in all these different management positions that only request Learn Sativa students within those facilities. That’s not all companies, but the ones especially local to us.”

“And beyond that, we’re starting to see a lot of the companies out in the [recreational] states currently requesting this,” he added. “The states themselves are requesting that you have a school backing to get the license, and they’re using our school to do that. It’s an amazing thing.”

© Courtesy of Learn Sativa University

Additionally, SATU features a dispensary that sells in-house products made by students.

“Some of the students that really take to creating incredible products, we will partner up, work with them and do a share so that they actually get a cut of products they sell through that program,” he said. “So, it’s a way for us to allow students to test out some of their products, and those change once in a while, but it just depends on who comes through the door.”

For example, an SATU student from Colombia who has a background in chemistry created a CBG oil, O’Brien shared, and the college worked alongside him to help launch that product.

“Essentially, what we’re providing to our students is a set of instructions,” he said. “They follow them; they end up with an end result. Sometimes it’s incredible. Sometimes it’s mediocre. It just depends how much they put into it.”

“The beauty I think behind this program is the networking,” he said. “If all you’re lacking is a little bump of tools, that little toolset you need, or the skills, maybe you need to just develop them; that’s what we provide you. So, long as you’re willing to swing that hammer, the sky’s the limit.”

Sleep health is a large and growing global market. According to Statista, the global market value of the sleep market was $432B in 2019 with an expected CAGR of 6.3% from 2019 to 2024. Supplements are a growing category of popular sleep health products with common ingredients including melatonin, valerian root, and more recently cannabinoids such as CBD and CBN.

RealSleep is a cannabinoid formulation company developing personalized products to improve sleep outcomes. RealSleep’s product strategy has been developed by top scientists and sleep experts, and clinically tested to aid individuals seeking to fall asleep faster, sleep deeper and cut down on sleep disturbances. Their studies have shown that 90% of people taking RealSleep have reported experiencing better sleep immediately

We spoke with Michael Kamins, co-founder and partner of OpenNest Labs and RealSleep, about RealSleep’s innovation in personalized formulations for better sleep. Kamins founded RealSleep as an incubated company under OpenNest Labs, where he is also a founding partner. Michael is the Chief Community Officer of the Wholistic Research and Education Foundation, and just led the world’s largest study on CBD and general health with Wholistic and Radicle Science, where he is also an advisor. Prior to RealSleep, Michael worked in tech where he was an early employee at Musical.ly (now TikTok) building brand partnerships.

Aaron Green: How did you get involved in the cannabis industry?

Michael Kamins: I got into the industry professionally about two and a half years ago, but my relationship with the plant goes back to high school. Prior to jumping into this space, I was working primarily in digital media. I was an early employee at Musical.ly, (eventually rebranded as TikTok), leading global music partnerships and growth. I helped grow that business by leveraging the social capital of music artists and celebrities and doing partnerships with record labels. At the end of 2018, I really saw the opportunity in the cannabis space. One of my best friends in Los Angeles, Dr. Jeff Chen, someone I did my MBA with at UCLA, became the founder and executive director of cannabis research at UCLA Medical. Seeing all the clinical research that he was doing and the objective health outcome data coming out of that research was really a huge inspiration to me. I saw a massive whitespace and opportunity to help build that bridge between the medical community and the cannabis marketplace. There’s been almost a century of cannabis prohibition setting back our scientific understanding of the plant. We know more about the rivers and plants in the Amazon than we do about the composition and compounds within the cannabis plant with regards to their wellness benefits.

I met my partners, Tyler Wakstein, Kris Bjornerud and Max Goldstein and we started a cannabis venture studio called OpenNest Labs, which is building out a diversified portfolio of cannabis consumer brands. We are focused on leveraging our collective experience at building ventures and communities and rallying those communities around a brand.

Over the last two and a half years, it’s been super exciting building brands that you see on shelves. We’re still in the early stages right now of building brand loyalty. A lot of cannabis consumers are still going into dispensaries and asking, “what is the cheapest product that I can buy with the highest potency?”

Green: Tell me about RealSleep, how did you come up with the idea and what is the basic concept for the end user?

Kamins: RealSleep comes from the passion that I had developed for medicinal aspects of the cannabis and hemp plant, thinking about not only THC and CBD – which are two major cannabinoids in the plant – but also thinking about the other 120 plus cannabinoids, each with their own unique properties.

It turns out that half the world’s population suffers from one poor night of sleep a week, and sleep issues lead to the highest rate of other comorbidities. We were thinking about the addressable sleep market, with ourselves being a part of that market, and wanting to build products that would help not only ourselves, but the countless other people around the world that suffer from poor sleep too, as it impacts their daily lives.

I’ve had issues with sleep myself. I have a genetic hearing condition called tinnitus. It’s a ringing in your ears that other people can experience environmentally from exposure to loud noises. I’ve had loud ringing in my ears my entire life even in quiet situations, like right before I go to sleep. I’ll often be lying in bed awake for an hour or two unable to sleep with the ringing. Everyone else on the team has had their own sleep issues and realized the profound negative impact of lack of sleep on other areas of health and wellness, whether it be next day energy or immunity.

We felt that by leveraging our access to the medical research community and even running clinical research on our own to validate the efficacy of the product relative to other products on the shelves, we could create a product that was safe and effective. We came across a clinical trial on insomnia and CBD by one of our research partners, the Wholistic Research and Education Foundation. What we saw from a lot of that anecdotal data was that CBD, and hemp in general, really helps to provide restful and restorative sleep.

CBD and CBN are two highly effective compounds for sleep and melatonin is by far the most widely researched and used over the counter sleep aid. We are sourcing clinical research on other ingredients such as valerian root, L-Theanine and GABA, and the list of ingredients goes on. We were interested in formulating a product that incorporates these safe and effective ingredients.

We noticed from our research and our access that sleep is as unique to an individual as their fingerprint. Take brainwave patterns when you are sleeping as an example. No one person’s patterns are the same. You could essentially identify an individual based on those patterns. One solution, or one product, is not going to help everyone. So, we worked with UCLA and the head of their laboratory of sleep and circadian medicine, a gentleman by the name of Dr. Chris Caldwell, to understand the science of sleep. He is one of the most renowned sleep researchers in the world and is the head of our scientific advisory board for RealSleep. We’ve done clinical studies with over 900 people and 10,200 nights of sleep and used this data to develop a personalization engine in the form of a quiz that takes 90 seconds and allows us to map ingredients to specific answer selections. From these answers we deliver products that are customized to the individual consumer specific to their unique needs

We’re proud of the journey that we’ve gone on to understand the science and research behind sleep and to develop this personalization engine variations of products that work for each individual and their unique needs.

Green: Tell me how the questionnaire and personalization engine works. I understand the ingredient profile will change based on the customer’s responses?

Kamins: Sleep impacts an individual’s general health and wellness. For me, if I don’t sleep well, my next day is filled with anxiety, and that anxiety leads to worse sleep; it’s a vicious cycle. For other people, it could be a metabolic issue that leads to poor sleep or poor sleep that leads to weight issues. The list of other health issues and diseases linked to poor sleep goes on. So, while we’re looking at combating sleep to prevent other health issues down the road, one person who’s looking to get better sleep to improve one aspect of their life could be different from another person and the area of life they are looking to improve upon.

The quiz is essentially a combination of validated, reliable and flexible measures of patient reported outcomes. We use a combination of gold standard patient reported sleep questionnaires, one of which is called the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, another being the RAND MOS scale, and others. We also work with our scientific advisory board and machine learning experts to advise us on customizing these questions with logic. We then use the responses to generate the appropriate formulations for our customers.

The questions cover everything from very specific questions on sleep, like sleep latency (the time it takes to get the bed) or sleep fragmentation (the number of times you wake up in the middle of the night) sleep duration, sleep quality, and then other areas of health that you’re looking to improve upon. Examples include metabolism, cardiovascular health, skin health, anxiety and stress. So, all these things factor into the different ingredients that we layer into the formulation.

Let’s say you don’t have a problem getting to sleep, but you wake up a lot of times in the middle of the night. Your formulation might be very different from someone who has trouble getting to sleep, but they don’t wake up in the middle of the night. Overall, one of our big goals with the formulation of all these products is that they increase your next day cognitive alertness by giving you that high sleep quality and restorative sleep. We don’t want to make anyone groggy the next day. Because overall, what you’re trying to achieve with sleep is you want to be ready to go the next day and be able to perform at your peak.

Green: So, you mentioned CBD, CBN and melatonin already as ingredients. Are there any other ingredients?

Kamins: Depending on what your answer selections are for the quiz, we will layer in L-Theanine, valerian root, Ashwagandha and even some of the other novel cannabinoids like CBC (cannabichromene). We have about 24 different ingredients that we can layer in, so it just depends. When you look at all the permutations and combinations of formulations and dosages, it’s in the trillions. From a supply chain standpoint, we’ve simplified it in a way that makes it very easy to funnel people into one of many predefined combinations of ingredients and dosage levels.

Our algorithm is an unstructured machine learning algorithm. The more people that take the quiz and the more people that provide feedback on their sleep score makes our programming and our personalization engine smarter.

Green: How does your manufacturing and packaging work?

Kamins: We have a strong relationship with a pharmaceutical partner that we have been growing even before RealSleep. It is a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility underneath a regional health care provider in the state of California. Everything they do is incredible. It’s a state-of-the-art facility and focused on complete transparency and building the products with the highest efficacy and safety profiles. They’re based in LA, and they’ve been such a pleasure to build our supply chain with.

Green: What kind of trends are you looking at in the formulation space?

Kamins: From a cannabinoid side, there’s been a bit more of a look towards some of the novel cannabinoids that have traditionally catered to a niche consumer base that is educated on cannabis. From being inside the industry, it’s very easy for me to talk about all the different cannabinoids, but a lot of people still don’t even know the difference between THC and CBD.

Our goal overall is to build efficacious products and educate people on all the different formulations and the different ingredients going in. Outside of cannabis, this year we’ve seen a large boom in consumer demand for Ashwagandha. There’s just so much hype around it in terms of how it impacts stress and energy and even libido, which is interesting. It’s probably the hottest non-cannabinoid ingredient that we’ve seen. Specific to sleep, the combination of L-Theanine and GABA and how they potentiate each other is impactful. Then there’s valerian root, which has been a big one over the last few years for sleep.

Green: Last question. What are you most interested in learning about?

Kamins: A personal interest of mine over the last few years is understanding from a scientific perspective, each of the cannabis compounds in greater detail. I think part of it is just really the curiosity to know the unknown. We’re at a point in the industry where there are still so many unknowns on the science-side of cannabinoids.

My passion for science has led me to support medical researchers in the space, so much so that I am an advisor and chief community officer to a nonprofit medical research organization called the Wholistic Research and Education Foundation, which to date has funded over six and a half million dollars in human clinical trials with cannabinoid rich therapeutics. One we’re currently conducting at UC San Diego is studying the impact of CBD on autism and other neurological conditions. That’s given me incredible exposure to research in the space. I am also a strategic advisor to a for profit medical research organization called Radicle Science, which is a very swiftly running clinical research for CBD and other cannabis brands in the space.

All in all, I’m driven by the possibilities that come with continuing to unlock the science behind the plant. By doing so, we can innovate products with efficacy and can educate people who are uninformed about the therapeutic benefits of cannabis, which will in turn benefit the industry and society. Striving for research breakthroughs and being transparent about our findings is going to help us destigmatize cannabis and legitimize the industry. 

Green: That concludes the interview. Thanks, Michael!

Kamins: Thanks, Aaron.

A hands-on cannabis college focused on industry education, training, career placement, medical cannabis and more has expanded to central Florida.

Learn Sativa University’s (SATU) hands-on program has been in operation for roughly four years. The university started in a 1,000-square-foot building, but has recently expanded to a 5-acre cannabis farm and training facility in Apopka, Fla., said Patrick O’Brien, SATU founder and CEO.

The primary purpose of the college is pretty “straightforward,” O’Brien said. 

“We aim towards two paths, and we’re looking for two types of individuals: either ones looking to land rewarding careers in the industry, or individuals looking to start businesses. Whether it be in cultivation, dispensary, or anything along those lines, we can assist with business plans, curriculum and everything from top to bottom,” he said.

He said that the campus features an indoor climate-controlled grow and a 50,000-square-feet outdoor greenhouse where students can learn through hands-on training. The college also offers online training for those who cannot attend in person.

SATU’s hands-on and online courses include Marijuana Cookbook, Marijuana Laws, Marijuana Careers, Marijuana History, Marijuana Growing and Dispensary Management.

Each course is a one-time 8-hour class, and students receive a certificate tailored to the subject upon completion, he said.

© Courtesy of Learn Sativa University

© Courtesy of Learn Sativa University

The university also provides in-person students with lunch, books, study materials, lab equipment and much more.

“We provide everything from top to bottom to ensure that they’re prepared,” O’Brien said. “Typically, what ends up happening is a lot of people will come out here. They’ll take a vacation with their family. They’ll go ahead and complete the course, and then they can fly home. And then some of them tend to want to stay for the advanced courses, or others will come back a month or two later for those.”

“A lot of people want to test the waters at first because it’s still very crazy to hear the idea that there’s an actual cannabis college where you can come and acquire this knowledge,” he added.

SATU has had over 50,000 students enroll in either an online or hands-on course to date, and O’Brien said he’s had students from places like Brazil, Puerto Rico, Colombia and India.

While the courses prepare students for entry-level positions in the industry, O’Brien said several local companies and larger corporations have reached out to the SATU seeking qualified individuals to fulfill open positions.

“We have billion-dollar companies right now coming to us, like Curaleaf,” he said. “[These] companies are coming to us asking us for staff that are qualified, trained and have expertise in what we’re preparing them for, and it’s very exciting because now we have students in all these different management positions that only request Learn Sativa students within those facilities. That’s not all companies, but the ones especially local to us.”

“And beyond that, we’re starting to see a lot of the companies out in the [recreational] states currently requesting this,” he added. “The states themselves are requesting that you have a school backing to get the license, and they’re using our school to do that. It’s an amazing thing.”

© Courtesy of Learn Sativa University

Additionally, SATU features a dispensary that sells in-house products made by students.

“Some of the students that really take to creating incredible products, we will partner up, work with them and do a share so that they actually get a cut of products they sell through that program,” he said. “So, it’s a way for us to allow students to test out some of their products, and those change once in a while, but it just depends on who comes through the door.”

For example, an SATU student from Colombia who has a background in chemistry created a CBG oil, O’Brien shared, and the college worked alongside him to help launch that product.

“Essentially, what we’re providing to our students is a set of instructions,” he said. “They follow them; they end up with an end result. Sometimes it’s incredible. Sometimes it’s mediocre. It just depends how much they put into it.”

“The beauty I think behind this program is the networking,” he said. “If all you’re lacking is a little bump of tools, that little toolset you need, or the skills, maybe you need to just develop them; that’s what we provide you. So, long as you’re willing to swing that hammer, the sky’s the limit.”