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Cannabis Conference and Cannabis Business Times Launch Cannabis Leadership Awards

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LAS VEGAS, NV – April 6, 2021 – Cannabis Business Times, the leading B2B publication dedicated to the cultivator/grower segment of the cannabis industry, and Cannabis Conference, the leading educational event and expo for professionals at plant-touching cannabis businesses, is pleased to announce the launch of its inaugural Cannabis Leadership Awards (C-LAS).

With the support of FOHSE – Future of Horticultural Science + Engineering, the C-LAS will recognize five cannabis industry professionals who exemplify the leadership qualities needed to inspire and empower those around them and who work toward the betterment of the entire industry.

Cannabis Leadership Awards recipients will have made significant contributions to the cannabis industry, such as:

  • Contributing to the industry’s advancement through their innovation and expertise;
  • Enhancing the lives of employees, customers, communities and the industry at large through their leadership, generosity, charitable giving;
  • Excelling in environmental stewardship;
  • Working with legislators and regulators in crafting and updating cannabis laws and regulations in a productive way; and/or
  • Otherwise making a positive impact on the industry.

Cannabis Leadership Awards recipients will be recognized at a special awards reception at the Cannabis Conference 2021 (Aug. 24-26 at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino) and featured in Cannabis Business Times magazine.

“We are thrilled to launch the Cannabis Leadership Awards,” Noelle Skodzinski, editorial director for GIE Media’s Cannabis Group said. “Many awards recognize corporate achievements, but we want to celebrate truly amazing people in the cannabis industry—those who inspire others and have a positive impact on their colleagues, the cannabis industry and the world around them.”

Cannabis Group Publisher Jim Gilbride said, “In any industry, there are people who just stand out as exceptional in all they do. People who make the workday better for their colleagues and make their communities and the industry better by their actions. They deserve to be recognized, and we are pleased to launch the Cannabis Leadership Awards to give those leaders in the cannabis industry the recognition they deserve.”

James Bradley, Chief Marketing Officer, FOHSE – Future of Horticultural Science + Engineering, added, “As the cannabis industry solidifies its foothold in regions around the world, I believe it’s crucial to laude those who are truly raising the bar. The industry continues to face an uphill battle with some of the cultural stigmas surrounding it, which is a big reason why FOHSE has partnered with Cannabis Business Times and their annual Cannabis Leadership Awards ceremony. This is a prime opportunity to elevate the best of the best as a beacon for all entrepreneurs, as well as to show the world how the industry is maturing.”

The Cannabis Leadership Awards recipients will be professionals who work at cannabis cultivation and/or vertically integrated dispensary businesses (with cultivation and retail operations) in North America.  

Nominees to the C-LAS must be employed by and involved in an operation that has an active licensed cannabis cultivation or vertically integrated (cultivation and retail) operation in North America.

The deadline for nominations is May 20, 2021. Nominations for the Cannabis Leadership Awards may be submitted at: www.cannabisconference.com/form/CannabisLeadershipAwards.

 

About Cannabis Conference
Cannabis Conference 2021, presented by Cannabis Business Times, Cannabis Dispensary, and Hemp Grower, is the leading educational provider for plant-touching businesses in the legal cannabis and hemp markets. The three-day event will be held at Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nev., on August 24-26, 2021.

The Cannabis Conference exhibition hall will feature industry-leading technologies, solutions and services for the professional cannabis cultivator and retail businesses.

For more information, visit www.cannabisconference.com.

New Coalition Launches to End Cannabis Prohibition, Bridge Across Ideological, Party Lines

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Buckeye Relief | buckeyerelief.com

The Buckeye Relief infused-foods team, including Kitchen Manager Emily Rollo (front left), Executive Chef Marc London (front right), Kitchen Tech Lupe Rivera (back row, from left), Kitchen Tech Ricardo Yepez and Assistant Kitchen Manager Ryan Fatica, carefully craft a line of cannabis edibles with a focus on taste and effectiveness.

The first time Marc London received a complaint about the taste of his chocolate, there was only one response he deemed appropriate.

“Thank you,” said London, the executive chef at Buckeye Relief, a medical cannabis cultivator and processor in Eastlake, Ohio, about 15 miles northeast of Cleveland, where he and Kitchen Manager Emily Rollo carefully craft infused foods with a focus on taste and effectiveness. Their line of edibles includes chocolates; locally sourced honey; Wana gummies; and Keef Brands, an infused beverage available in lemonade and strawberry kiwi.

Tony Lange | cannabisbusinesstimes.com

Buckeye Relief’s 25,000-square-foot indoor grow facility became operational in July 2018 in Eastlake, Ohio. 

Buckeye Relief, which has a 25,000-square-foot indoor grow facility that became operational in July 2018, launched its kitchen operation shortly after getting an extraction license in the spring of 2019. While Ohio legalized medical cannabis in 2016, statewide sales didn’t begin until early 2019.

An executive chef by trade, London always worked with chocolate when he owned a prepared-foods store and a catering business in the mid-80s, he said. Since London believes chocolate is one of the most complex food products on the planet to work with, he made it his mission to search high and low for the best commodity on the globe to infuse, he said.

Buckeye Relief co-founders Andy Rayburn, CEO, and Scott Halloran, chief operating officer, began the planning phases of their company in 2016, shortly before Ohio’s passage of medical cannabis House Bill 523—two years before Buckeye Relief became operational—which provided London ample time to track down the right chocolate for the operation.

“I was even down in Ecuador looking at chocolates down there, because I think Ecuador is one of the best producers of chocolate in the world, even though most of our chocolate comes from South Africa,” London said. “And I just happened to be in Ecuador, so … I just started doing some research down there and brought some back here.”

Tony Lange | cannabisbusinesstimes.com

Buckeye Relief offers a 72% cacao dark chocolate, a smooth and creamy milk chocolate and a 1-to-1 ratio marble chocolate year-round. 

While his prospects from Ecuador showed promise, London and his team at Buckeye Relief eventually decided on a Belgian chocolate to infuse in their kitchen. They now offer a 72% cacao dark chocolate, a smooth and creamy milk chocolate and a 1-to-1 ratio marble chocolate, as well as seasonal flavors, like a white-minted chocolate with sprinkles during December holidays.

Key to Buckeye Relief’s line of infused foods is the kitchen’s focus on producing edibles that don’t have the flowery or grassy taste of the cannabis plant, and that goes for all of the edibles, not just the chocolate, London said. “I wanted products that tasted just like the ingredients that went into it with the exception of the extraction ingredients,” he said.

In turn, London steered clear from compound chocolate, which can be melted down and deposited into molds without being tempered, and put his attention on “real” chocolate, which requires the breaking down of fats and waxes before being tempered back to its original state with the cannabis extract infused, he said. The end product retrieves a nice, glossy finish, he said.

“When you look at really good chocolate, you’re like, ‘Wow, that is beautiful,’” London said.

He and his team—which, along with Rollo, also includes Assistant Kitchen Manager Ryan Fatica and kitchen techs Lupe Rivera and Ricardo Yepez—were not just after an infused chocolate that had good health benefits, but a product that both presented itself well and had great taste, he said.

So, when Buckeye Relief Communications and Marketing Director Leslie Brandon notified London that she received a complaint about the taste of his chocolate, specifically regarding how one consumer “could not taste the cannabis” in the product, there was only one response he deemed appropriate: “Thank you.”

“And that’s literally happened numerous times where I’ll get emails from Leslie, ‘Marc, we just got a complaint. They can’t taste anything in the chocolate,’” London said. “And the first time she ever sent that to me, I just emailed her back, ‘OK, I’m going to take that as the ultimate compliment, because that’s what I set out to achieve from day one.’”

London also attributed the taste of Buckeye Relief’s chocolate to the extraction team’s understanding of how to process a cleaner and redefined end product from the plant to infuse into the edibles, he said.

Planting Their Roots

Still in its infancy, Ohio’s medical cannabis program has more than 176,000 registered patients as of Feb. 28, 2021, according to the Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program. On the retail front, Ohio averaged $5.7 million in total product sales per week through the first 10 weeks of 2021, compared to an average of $2.5 million per week during the same timeframe in 2020, according to the control program.

But London and Rollo’s connection to cannabis and to the kitchen extends beyond Buckeye Relief. Friends with Rayburn for more than 30 years, London’s first customer for his catering business in the ‘80s was Rayburn’s ex-wife, he said.

“That’s how I met Andy, and what bonded us was our love of music, live music, and our love for sports,” London said. “I’ve seen over 250 [Grateful] Dead shows in my life. A hundred of them were probably with Andy. And we haven’t stopped yet. So, when we had that jam-band connection, that carried us through all these years. We’ve gone all over the place. It’s great.”

On Dec. 5, 2018, the night before Buckeye Relief’s first harvest and the plants’ last night in the flower room, Rayburn gave the crop a special treatment. He played the Grateful Dead’s legendary 1977 concert at Cornell University’s Barton Hall over the PA system, making sure the plants had a “good last evening,” Rayburn said.

RELATED ARTICLE: Buckeye Relief’s First Harvest in Ohio’s Medical Marijuana Market

After his prepared-foods store and catering business, which he transitioned into a smoothie juice bar operation, London went on to extend his expertise in the publishing industry, where he built a Cleveland-based magazine called Fine Lifestyles that shared editorial about the people, cultures and businesses that make up Northeast Ohio.

London said he’d still be running that magazine if it were not for Rayburn.

“I’d still be in that business if Mr. Andy Rayburn hadn’t said, ‘Marc, I think I’m going into the cannabis business,’” London said. “And I heard that and said, ‘OK, well, if he’s going in the cannabis business, then I’m going into the cannabis business—just let me know when and where.”

Once Buckeye Relief built its facility and started its grow, it was just a matter of time before the company received its extraction license and opened a kitchen for infused foods. Until then, London sometimes helped out in other facets of the operation, including trimming plants. That’s where he first crossed paths with Rollo.

Intern to Kitchen Manager

Tony Lange | cannabisbusinesstimes.com

Buckeye Relief Kitchen Manager Emily Rollo got her start as an intern in the trim department in 2018. 

Rollo first started working at Buckeye Relief as an intern in the trim department in 2018, an entry-level, yet important phase of cannabis cultivation.

Working in the restaurant industry for five years to help put herself through college, Rollo graduated with a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts and earned a certificate in non-profit leadership, before starting a short career in the advertising industry, where she worked sales and marketing.

During that time, Rollo had a grandmother who struggled with opioids and being able to control her doses, she said. That was around the same time Ohio passed its medical cannabis bill, which sparked Rollo’s interest in researching related opportunities before networking and eventually getting her foot in the door at Buckeye Relief, she said.

“I came from working in the advertising industry, which I really loved my job,” Rollo said. “I really enjoyed it. But I wasn’t feeling fulfilled, you know, I wanted to help people and I wanted to feel like I had that purpose.”

Once in the door, Rollo’s journey shifted toward making herself standout among 30-some interns in the trim department, she said.

“I had to create a system for myself and a strategy for myself to kind of set myself apart and start networking with people,” Rollo said. “I spotted Marc in the trim room and just started talking to him, chatting with him. Over conversation, I was able to figure out his history—I didn’t know at that point that he was in charge of the kitchen. I didn’t know at that point that he was hired in. I just knew that he was back there helping us trim.”

Diving deeper into conversation with London and picking his brain about his expertise and his soon-to-be kitchen operation, Rollo quickly went from intern to kitchen manager in roughly a year. Through her desire to be on a team that provides edibles for patients in Ohio, Rollo travelled out to Colorado with London in July 2019 to train under experts from Wana Brands, a U.S. leading infused-products company known for its gummies.

Gummy Trends

Shelby | Adobe Stock

Cannabis-infused gummies are the most popular edible in the U.S. 

According to cannabis market research expert BDSA, a consumer insights data report from September 2020 revealed that infused gummies made up 84% of candy ingestible sales at that point in the year across Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada and Oregon. In addition, 60% of U.S. edible users reported consumption of infused gummies, while baked goods were the second most popular ingestible product at 46%. And 33% of U.S. ingestible consumers cited gummies as their preferred type of edible, with a 15-point margin over baked goods as the next most popular preferred ingestible product.

“Seeing how the sales trends go, as legalization spreads throughout the United States, I saw this big opportunity that this is going to be the future of the industry,” Rollo said. “This is going to be the future of dosing. People, especially the older generations, love how convenient it is. You don’t have to smoke it. It’s something you can keep in your pocket and dose throughout the day. So that is kind of what really, really sparked my interest in that part of the industry, [where] I really saw myself thriving.”

After their weeklong training with Wana in Colorado, Rollo and London received additional hands-on instruction from Wana experts, who flew out to Ohio for detailed recipe explanations at Buckeye Relief.

And in order to meet testing standards in Ohio, Rollo said she and the Buckeye Relief team fine-tuned their gummy trials for maybe six to nine months before finally dialing in their operation. Now, a team of three to four people in the kitchen can produce anywhere from 40,000 to 70,000 gummies in a typical day, Rollo said.

In order to be more efficient, the kitchen team sometimes operates in longer shifts, working from Monday through Thursday, so that it only has to go through the time-consuming processes of setting up and cleaning up four times in a week rather than five times, Rollo said.

“I am extremely passionate in every single batch that I make, you know, my passion shows through it,” she said. “So definitely the gummies [are my passion], cause it’s kind of in my heart and soul from the beginning. I kind of had to go through a lot of testing issues, you know, to kind of get that formulation correct on it for probably six to nine months until we really dialed it in. So, yeah, it’s been a journey.”

The Buckeye Relief kitchen team produces several different cannabidiol (CBD)-to-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) ratios in gummies. For example, there’s a five-to-one pomegranate blueberry acai gummy that has 25 milligrams of CBD to 5 milligrams of THC, which is popular among people who haven’t tried edibles before and are interested in the micro-dosing market, Rollo said. And then there are strawberry lemonade and watermelon flavors that include a one-to-one ratio of 10 milligrams of CBD to 10 milligrams of THC, while more exotic flavors, like yuzu, offer a two-to-one ratio.

Meanwhile, Buckeye Relief also produces gummies that are straight THC, including 10-milligram pieces as well as a new macro line of 30-milligram gummies in raspberry-limeade and blood orange flavors, which are for the more experienced consumers, Rollo said.

The specific flavors come from proprietary blends of terpenes—aromatic compounds found in many plants, including cannabis—that are picked out by Wana, Rollo said. In addition to flavoring, terpenes also provide different effects, she said.

“So, the mango is more of the sativa, which has the uplifting effects,” she said. “Indica more for the asleep. And hybrid obviously for a little bit of both.”

Attention is in the Details

When it comes to creating products that not only land on the shelves at dispensaries, but also stay on those shelves, Rollo and London both said their efforts boil down to running a detail-oriented operation.

Tony Lange | cannabisbusinesstimes.com

Buckeye Relief’s flower room includes several cannabis varieties. 

“We operate exactly like any other [non-cannabis] medical facility in the state of Ohio,” Rollo said. “We want to make sure that we have a professional representation of how we operate. We’re trying to prove ourselves in some ways, showing that we are this legitimate business, and this is a medicine that helps people.”

On the edibles side of the industry, London said his team treats infused foods like artisanal products. For example, one batch will generate 700 gummies—only a fraction of a daily production. But rather than use a bigger cooking pot, the team at Buckeye Relief controls the quality of each gummy by simply producing more batches, London said. The same dialed-in concept applies to chocolates, he said.

“I could take a giant chocolate tank of 200 gallons of chocolate and fuse the whole thing and then start pumping it out,” he said. “I am not going to end up controlling the quality or the potency the way I can in a 15-pound run.”

Each 15-pound run will produce about 120 bars of chocolate, London said. If market demand increased beyond Buckeye Relief’s current output, then the best avenue to scale up production and maintain the quality of the brand would be to train more staff to handle more runs, he said.

Another factor pertaining to chocolate, especially the volatility of milk chocolate, is humidity, which can create a bloom, or a white, shadowy appearance that puts an eyesore on the presentation to each bar, London said.

“Up until this past summer, when I put new dehumidifiers in here, I had to produce a lot of my milk chocolate in the springtime,” he said. “There’s just too much moisture in the [summer] air. You can’t get it to cool down properly and harden properly. So, it really, it’s not as much what we produce on a daily/weekly basis, but it’s how do we control it so we can put out the highest quality year-round.”

Buckeye Relief also has a brand of locally sourced raw honey that is harvested using natural methods and then infused with a little extra buzz. While the company has its own beehives, it doesn’t have enough to keep up with demand. In turn, Buckeye Relief connected with a local beekeeper from Bainbridge Township, in neighboring Geauga County, who provides a few hundred gallons of honey any time the kitchen needs it, London said.

And then Buckeye Relief’s line of Keef—a brand in the cannabis beverage space that was originally launched in 2010 in Boulder, Colorado—includes a strawberry kiwi beverage that tastes similar to flavored water and a lemonade that tastes like a powdered-beverage mix, London said.

“I think the market is going to really, really enjoy it,” he said. “If I was making that beverage and when you drank it you were like, ‘Oh my, god. What’s that bitter, nasty plant taste?’ we would never have that product here at Buckeye Relief.

“One of the things is, we have worked really, really hard for shelf space at dispensaries. So, our commitment is, we worked so hard to get it, we can’t lose that shelf space, which means we need to be able to duplicate and produce enough to never run out. And some products just aren’t designed for that.”

2021 Cannabis Cultivation Virtual Conference

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2021 Cannabis Cultivation Virtual Conference

Click here to watch the recording

Agenda

Why CBD Companies Should Go Organic

This presentation delves into why consumers want organic products, why going organic is good for the CBD industry and what would it take to become a certified organic brand.

Rapid Potency Screening by Fourier Transform near/mid Infrared Spectroscopy – TechTalk sponsored by PerkinElmer

  • Melanie Emmanuel, Sr. Sales Specialist, PerkinElmer

A Guidance on an Integrated Lifecycle of Designing a Cultivation Operation

  • Gretchen Schimelpfenig, PE, Technical Director of Resource Innovation
  • Brandy Keen, Co-Founder & Sr. Technical Advisor, Surna, Inc.
  • Adam Chalasinski, Applications Engineer, Rough Brothers/Nexus Greenhouse Systems/Tetra
  • David Vaillencourt, Founder & CEO, The GMP Collective
  • Kyle Lisabeth, Vice President of Horticulture, Silver Bullet Water

Back by popular demand, this panel discussion is returning with the same cast of subject matter experts to foster a longer, more comprehensive dialogue on cultivation facility design. Designing a cannabis cultivation facility that can produce consistent quality cannabis, meets the demands of the business objectives (profit, time to market, scalability) and consumers and stays within budget and timelines has been a major pain point for new and seasoned business owners and growers. What appears on the surface as a simple proposition – build a structure, install HVAC and fertigation systems, hire a master grower, plant some seeds and watch the sea of green roll in — is anything but.

The Beginner’s Guide to Integrated Pest Management

  • David Perkins, Founder, Floresco Consulting

This presentation goes into detail on everything you need to know to get started with integrated pest management. Learn about planning and designing your cultivation facility to minimize pest pressure, how to apply pesticides safely and lawfully and pest identification, as well as choosing the correct pesticides.

Starting from Scratch: Launching a Hemp Farm in Georgia

  • Reginald “Reggie” Reese, Founder & CEO, The Green Toad Hemp Farm
  • Dwayne Hirsch, President & Chief of Business Development, The Green Toad Hemp Farm

This presentation discusses how The Green Toad Hemp Farm started with an empty lot with no water, power or structures and turned the space into a productive vertically integrated hemp cultivation operation. Learn how to work with local and state regulations from this case study in Southeast Georgia and learn how to operate with friends, not enemies: How building partnerships with your community can ensure business success.

Click here to watch the recording

Buckeye Relief Finds Top Shelf for Carefully Crafted Edibles

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Buckeye Relief | buckeyerelief.com

The Buckeye Relief infused-foods team, including Kitchen Manager Emily Rollo (front left), Executive Chef Marc London (front right), Kitchen Tech Lupe Rivera (back row, from left), Kitchen Tech Ricardo Yepez and Assistant Kitchen Manager Ryan Fatica, carefully craft a line of cannabis edibles with a focus on taste and effectiveness.

The first time Marc London received a complaint about the taste of his chocolate, there was only one response he deemed appropriate.

“Thank you,” said London, the executive chef at Buckeye Relief, a medical cannabis cultivator and processor in Eastlake, Ohio, about 15 miles northeast of Cleveland, where he and Kitchen Manager Emily Rollo carefully craft infused foods with a focus on taste and effectiveness. Their line of edibles includes chocolates; locally sourced honey; Wana gummies; and Keef Brands, an infused beverage available in lemonade and strawberry kiwi.

Tony Lange | cannabisbusinesstimes.com

Buckeye Relief’s 25,000-square-foot indoor grow facility became operational in July 2018 in Eastlake, Ohio. 

Buckeye Relief, which has a 25,000-square-foot indoor grow facility that became operational in July 2018, launched its kitchen operation shortly after getting an extraction license in the spring of 2019. While Ohio legalized medical cannabis in 2016, statewide sales didn’t begin until early 2019.

An executive chef by trade, London always worked with chocolate when he owned a prepared-foods store and a catering business in the mid-80s, he said. Since London believes chocolate is one of the most complex food products on the planet to work with, he made it his mission to search high and low for the best commodity on the globe to infuse, he said.

Buckeye Relief co-founders Andy Rayburn, CEO, and Scott Halloran, chief operating officer, began the planning phases of their company in 2016, shortly before Ohio’s passage of medical cannabis House Bill 523—two years before Buckeye Relief became operational—which provided London ample time to track down the right chocolate for the operation.

“I was even down in Ecuador looking at chocolates down there, because I think Ecuador is one of the best producers of chocolate in the world, even though most of our chocolate comes from South Africa,” London said. “And I just happened to be in Ecuador, so … I just started doing some research down there and brought some back here.”

Tony Lange | cannabisbusinesstimes.com

Buckeye Relief offers a 72% cacao dark chocolate, a smooth and creamy milk chocolate and a 1-to-1 ratio marble chocolate year-round. 

While his prospects from Ecuador showed promise, London and his team at Buckeye Relief eventually decided on a Belgian chocolate to infuse in their kitchen. They now offer a 72% cacao dark chocolate, a smooth and creamy milk chocolate and a 1-to-1 ratio marble chocolate, as well as seasonal flavors, like a white-minted chocolate with sprinkles during December holidays.

Key to Buckeye Relief’s line of infused foods is the kitchen’s focus on producing edibles that don’t have the flowery or grassy taste of the cannabis plant, and that goes for all of the edibles, not just the chocolate, London said. “I wanted products that tasted just like the ingredients that went into it with the exception of the extraction ingredients,” he said.

In turn, London steered clear from compound chocolate, which can be melted down and deposited into molds without being tempered, and put his attention on “real” chocolate, which requires the breaking down of fats and waxes before being tempered back to its original state with the cannabis extract infused, he said. The end product retrieves a nice, glossy finish, he said.

“When you look at really good chocolate, you’re like, ‘Wow, that is beautiful,’” London said.

He and his team—which, along with Rollo, also includes Assistant Kitchen Manager Ryan Fatica and kitchen techs Lupe Rivera and Ricardo Yepez—were not just after an infused chocolate that had good health benefits, but a product that both presented itself well and had great taste, he said.

So, when Buckeye Relief Communications and Community Engagement Director Leslie Brandon notified London that she received a complaint about the taste of his chocolate, specifically regarding how one consumer “could not taste the cannabis” in the product, there was only one response he deemed appropriate: “Thank you.”

“And that’s literally happened numerous times where I’ll get emails from Leslie, ‘Marc, we just got a complaint. They can’t taste anything in the chocolate,’” London said. “And the first time she ever sent that to me, I just emailed her back, ‘OK, I’m going to take that as the ultimate compliment, because that’s what I set out to achieve from day one.’”

London also attributed the taste of Buckeye Relief’s chocolate to the extraction team’s understanding of how to process a cleaner and redefined end product from the plant to infuse into the edibles, he said.

Planting Their Roots

Still in its infancy, Ohio’s medical cannabis program has more than 176,000 registered patients as of Feb. 28, 2021, according to the Ohio Medical Marijuana Control Program. On the retail front, Ohio averaged $5.7 million in total product sales per week through the first 10 weeks of 2021, compared to an average of $2.5 million per week during the same timeframe in 2020, according to the control program.

But London and Rollo’s connection to cannabis and to the kitchen extends beyond Buckeye Relief. Friends with Rayburn for more than 30 years, London’s first customer for his catering business in the ‘80s was Rayburn’s ex-wife, he said.

“That’s how I met Andy, and what bonded us was our love of music, live music, and our love for sports,” London said. “I’ve seen over 250 [Grateful] Dead shows in my life. A hundred of them were probably with Andy. And we haven’t stopped yet. So, when we had that jam-band connection, that carried us through all these years. We’ve gone all over the place. It’s great.”

On Dec. 5, 2018, the night before Buckeye Relief’s first harvest and the plants’ last night in the flower room, Rayburn gave the crop a special treatment. He played the Grateful Dead’s legendary 1977 concert at Cornell University’s Barton Hall over the PA system, making sure the plants had a “good last evening,” Rayburn said.

RELATED ARTICLE: Buckeye Relief’s First Harvest in Ohio’s Medical Marijuana Market

After his prepared-foods store and catering business, which he transitioned into a smoothie juice bar operation, London went on to extend his expertise in the publishing industry, where he built a Cleveland-based magazine called Fine Lifestyles that shared editorial about the people, cultures and businesses that make up Northeast Ohio.

London said he’d still be running that magazine if it were not for Rayburn.

“I’d still be in that business if Mr. Andy Rayburn hadn’t said, ‘Marc, I think I’m going into the cannabis business,’” London said. “And I heard that and said, ‘OK, well, if he’s going in the cannabis business, then I’m going into the cannabis business—just let me know when and where.”

Once Buckeye Relief built its facility and started its grow, it was just a matter of time before the company received its extraction license and opened a kitchen for infused foods. Until then, London sometimes helped out in other facets of the operation, including trimming plants. That’s where he first crossed paths with Rollo.

Intern to Kitchen Manager

Tony Lange | cannabisbusinesstimes.com

Buckeye Relief Kitchen Manager Emily Rollo got her start as an intern in the trim department in 2018. 

Rollo first started working at Buckeye Relief as an intern in the trim department in 2018, an entry-level, yet important phase of cannabis cultivation.

Working in the restaurant industry for five years to help put herself through college, Rollo graduated with a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts and earned a certificate in non-profit leadership, before starting a short career in the advertising industry, where she worked sales and marketing.

During that time, Rollo had a grandmother who struggled with opioids and being able to control her doses, she said. That was around the same time Ohio passed its medical cannabis bill, which sparked Rollo’s interest in researching related opportunities before networking and eventually getting her foot in the door at Buckeye Relief, she said.

“I came from working in the advertising industry, which I really loved my job,” Rollo said. “I really enjoyed it. But I wasn’t feeling fulfilled, you know, I wanted to help people and I wanted to feel like I had that purpose.”

Once in the door, Rollo’s journey shifted toward making herself standout among 30-some interns in the trim department, she said.

“I had to create a system for myself and a strategy for myself to kind of set myself apart and start networking with people,” Rollo said. “I spotted Marc in the trim room and just started talking to him, chatting with him. Over conversation, I was able to figure out his history—I didn’t know at that point that he was in charge of the kitchen. I didn’t know at that point that he was hired in. I just knew that he was back there helping us trim.”

Diving deeper into conversation with London and picking his brain about his expertise and his soon-to-be kitchen operation, Rollo quickly went from intern to kitchen manager in roughly a year. Through her desire to be on a team that provides edibles for patients in Ohio, Rollo travelled out to Colorado with London in July 2019 to train under experts from Wana Brands, a U.S. leading infused-products company known for its gummies.

Gummy Trends

Shelby | Adobe Stock

Cannabis-infused gummies are the most popular edible in the U.S. 

According to cannabis market research expert BDSA, a consumer insights data report from September 2020 revealed that infused gummies made up 84% of candy ingestible sales at that point in the year across Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada and Oregon. In addition, 60% of U.S. edible users reported consumption of infused gummies, while baked goods were the second most popular ingestible product at 46%. And 33% of U.S. ingestible consumers cited gummies as their preferred type of edible, with a 15-point margin over baked goods as the next most popular preferred ingestible product.

“Seeing how the sales trends go, as legalization spreads throughout the United States, I saw this big opportunity that this is going to be the future of the industry,” Rollo said. “This is going to be the future of dosing. People, especially the older generations, love how convenient it is. You don’t have to smoke it. It’s something you can keep in your pocket and dose throughout the day. So that is kind of what really, really sparked my interest in that part of the industry, [where] I really saw myself thriving.”

After their weeklong training with Wana in Colorado, Rollo and London received additional hands-on instruction from Wana experts, who flew out to Ohio for detailed recipe explanations at Buckeye Relief.

And in order to meet testing standards in Ohio, Rollo said she and the Buckeye Relief team fine-tuned their gummy trials for maybe six to nine months before finally dialing in their operation. Now, a team of three to four people in the kitchen can produce anywhere from 40,000 to 70,000 gummies in a typical day, Rollo said.

In order to be more efficient, the kitchen team sometimes operates in longer shifts, working from Monday through Thursday, so that it only has to go through the time-consuming processes of setting up and cleaning up four times in a week rather than five times, Rollo said.

“I am extremely passionate in every single batch that I make, you know, my passion shows through it,” she said. “So definitely the gummies [are my passion], cause it’s kind of in my heart and soul from the beginning. I kind of had to go through a lot of testing issues, you know, to kind of get that formulation correct on it for probably six to nine months until we really dialed it in. So, yeah, it’s been a journey.”

The Buckeye Relief kitchen team produces several different cannabidiol (CBD)-to-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) ratios in gummies. For example, there’s a five-to-one pomegranate blueberry acai gummy that has 25 milligrams of CBD to 5 milligrams of THC, which is popular among people who haven’t tried edibles before and are interested in the micro-dosing market, Rollo said. And then there are strawberry lemonade and watermelon flavors that include a one-to-one ratio of 10 milligrams of CBD to 10 milligrams of THC, while more exotic flavors, like yuzu, offer a two-to-one ratio.

Meanwhile, Buckeye Relief also produces gummies that are straight THC, including 10-milligram pieces as well as a new macro line of 30-milligram gummies in raspberry-limeade and blood orange flavors, which are for the more experienced consumers, Rollo said.

The specific flavors come from proprietary blends of terpenes—aromatic compounds found in many plants, including cannabis—that are picked out by Wana, Rollo said. In addition to flavoring, terpenes also provide different effects, she said.

“So, the mango is more of the sativa, which has the uplifting effects,” she said. “Indica more for the asleep. And hybrid obviously for a little bit of both.”

Attention is in the Details

When it comes to creating products that not only land on the shelves at dispensaries, but also stay on those shelves, Rollo and London both said their efforts boil down to running a detail-oriented operation.

Tony Lange | cannabisbusinesstimes.com

Buckeye Relief’s flower room includes several cannabis varieties. 

“We operate exactly like any other [non-cannabis] medical facility in the state of Ohio,” Rollo said. “We want to make sure that we have a professional representation of how we operate. We’re trying to prove ourselves in some ways, showing that we are this legitimate business, and this is a medicine that helps people.”

On the edibles side of the industry, London said his team treats infused foods like artisanal products. For example, one batch will generate 700 gummies—only a fraction of a daily production. But rather than use a bigger cooking pot, the team at Buckeye Relief controls the quality of each gummy by simply producing more batches, London said. The same dialed-in concept applies to chocolates, he said.

“I could take a giant chocolate tank of 200 gallons of chocolate and fuse the whole thing and then start pumping it out,” he said. “I am not going to end up controlling the quality or the potency the way I can in a 15-pound run.”

Each 15-pound run will produce about 120 bars of chocolate, London said. If market demand increased beyond Buckeye Relief’s current output, then the best avenue to scale up production and maintain the quality of the brand would be to train more staff to handle more runs, he said.

Another factor pertaining to chocolate, especially the volatility of milk chocolate, is humidity, which can create a bloom, or a white, shadowy appearance that puts an eyesore on the presentation to each bar, London said.

“Up until this past summer, when I put new dehumidifiers in here, I had to produce a lot of my milk chocolate in the springtime,” he said. “There’s just too much moisture in the [summer] air. You can’t get it to cool down properly and harden properly. So, it really, it’s not as much what we produce on a daily/weekly basis, but it’s how do we control it so we can put out the highest quality year-round.”

Buckeye Relief also has a brand of locally sourced raw honey that is harvested using natural methods and then infused with a little extra buzz. While the company has its own beehives, it doesn’t have enough to keep up with demand. In turn, Buckeye Relief connected with a local beekeeper from Bainbridge Township, in neighboring Geauga County, who provides a few hundred gallons of honey any time the kitchen needs it, London said.

And then Buckeye Relief’s line of Keef—a brand in the cannabis beverage space that was originally launched in 2010 in Boulder, Colorado—includes a strawberry kiwi beverage that tastes similar to flavored water and a lemonade that tastes like a powdered-beverage mix, London said.

“I think the market is going to really, really enjoy it,” he said. “If I was making that beverage and when you drank it you were like, ‘Oh my, god. What’s that bitter, nasty plant taste?’ we would never have that product here at Buckeye Relief.

“One of the things is, we have worked really, really hard for shelf space at dispensaries. So, our commitment is, we worked so hard to get it, we can’t lose that shelf space, which means we need to be able to duplicate and produce enough to never run out. And some products just aren’t designed for that.”

Political & Corporate Lobbying Influences Emerge in Cannabis

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In a press release sent out this morning, a new coalition announced their launch to “end the prohibition, criminalization, and overregulation of cannabis in the United States.” The Cannabis Freedom Alliance (CFA) says their core values include federal descheduling, criminal justice reform, “reentry and successful second chances,” promoting entrepreneurship in free markets and reasonable tax rates.

Who’s Behind the CFA?

The organizations that founded the CFA are Americans for Prosperity (AFP), Mission Green/The Weldon Project, the Reason Foundation, and the Global Alliance for Cannabis Commerce (GACC). Take a look at that list and see if you recognize the names. AFP is a well-known conservative and libertarian political lobbying group founded and funded by the Koch brothers. The Reason Foundation, another Libertarian think-tank and an advocate for prison privatization, also listed the Koch brothers as some of their largest donors in disclosures filed in 2012.

The Koch family business, Koch industries, makes hundreds of billions of dollars a year in the oil and gas industry and has held massive political influence for decades. They regularly donate hundreds of millions of dollars to Republican campaigns. Historically, they’ve played a major role in opposing climate change legislation. They’re widely known as conservative advocates for lower corporate taxes, less social services and deregulation.

Interestingly enough, prominent criminal justice reform advocate Weldon Angelos and rapper Snoop Dogg appear to have joined forces with the Koch-backed group, CFA, following a Zoom meeting where Charles Koch told them he thinks all drugs should be legalized, according to Politico. “We can’t cut with one scissor blade. We need Republicans in order to pass [a legalization bill],” Angelos told Politico. The tie between cannabis legalization and traditional Republican and Libertarian values is obvious: their free market, personal liberties and small government ideology fits well within the legalization movement.

Big Oil, Alcohol and Tobacco, Oh My!

The Coalition for Cannabis Policy, Education and Regulation (CPEAR) is a group that was founded in March 2021. Two of the founding members are Altria, the company that makes Marlboro cigarettes, and Molson Coors, a multinational alcohol company. The CPEAR website says that they want to work on responsible federal reform. “We represent a vast group of stakeholders — from public safety to social equity — focused on establishing a responsible and equitable federal regulatory framework for cannabis in the United States.”

Founding members of CPEAR also include: The Brink’s, a private security firm, the National Association of Convenience Stores, the Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers and the Convenience Distribution Association. In other words, the group is made up of large and powerful corporate interest groups that represent the alcohol, tobacco, insurance and security industries.

Both NORML and the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) have spoken out against CPEAR. Erik Altieri, executive director of NORML, says it’s a matter of corporate interests coming in and working to change laws for their companies to capitalize on legalization. “We’ve seen how big corporate money and influence have corrupted and corroded many other industries,” says Altieri. “We can’t let the legal marijuana industry become their next payday.”

The DPA also released a statement opposing CPEAR. Kassandra Frederique, executive director of the DPA, says that she urges caution to elected officials in taking counsel from these corporate powers. “We have long been concerned about the entry of large commercial interests into the legal marijuana market,” says Frederique. “Big Alcohol and Tobacco have an abysmal track record of using predatory tactics to sell their products and build their brands – often targeting low-income communities of color and fighting public health regulations that would protect people.”

While their motives and desired outcomes remain unclear, it is apparent that we’re reaching a new age in the cannabis legalization movement, one where powerful corporations outside of the cannabis space want in. Whether its oil and gas, insurance, security, tobacco or alcohol, these groups are using their power and money to influence cannabis policy reform.

P.L. Light Systems Celebrates 40 Years in Business

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ORLANDO, FL – (April 5, 2021) – GIE Media Inc., the publisher of Hemp Grower magazine, announced today the launch of Hemp Grower Conference, which will take place Nov. 8-10, 2021 at Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando, Fla. The event will feature three days of education and expo, bring together hemp growers, industry experts, solutions providers, and more.

“The inaugural Hemp Grower Conference will be an opportunity for hemp industry stakeholders to come together to learn valuable market insights and discover grower-specific innovations and technology solutions that will bolster their businesses,” said Group Publisher Jim Gilbride. “GIE Media and the team behind the event have a deep history of creating successful events that bringing together industry constituents to help advance agricultural markets and the businesses in them.”

“Hemp growers—whether they’re growing hemp for grain, fiber or CBD—face many hurdles in this young industry. But they also have great opportunities,” said Editorial Director Noelle Skodzinski. “The Hemp Grower Conference will bring together industry pioneers, successful businesses, leading researchers and regulators to help all hemp growers navigate the cultivation, business and regulatory challenges they face, as well as understand the coming market trends and opportunities that can help shape the future of their businesses. Attendees will come away motivated with new tools in their toolbox that will help them find success.”

The Hemp Grower Conference education program will be created by the editors of Hemp Grower magazine and a conference advisory board of professional hemp growers and other industry leaders.

Members of the Hemp Grower Conference 2021 Advisory Board include:

  • Jeff Kostuik, Director of Operations for Hemp Production Services and Hemp Genetics International
  • Rachel Berry, Farmer and CEO of the Illinois Hemp Growers Association
  • Bear Reels, Senior Director of R&D Cultivation for Charlotte’s Web
  • Alyssa Ann Collins, Director of Penn State University Southeast Agricultural Research & Extension Center
  • Luke Zigovits, Owner and Farm manager for Higher Level Organics
  • Louis Vega, Founder and CEO of ¡WEPA! Farms
  • Marty Mahan, Farmer and President of the Heartland Hemp Co-Op
  • Maureen West, Chief Compliance Officer for Functional Remedies LLC

In addition, an expo hall will feature leading technologies and solutions providers dedicated to helping hemp growers succeed.

For more information and to sign up for email updates, visit www.HempGrowerConference.com. More details—including speakers, sessions and other conference events—will be announced in the coming months.

 

About Hemp Grower

Launched in November 2019, Hemp Grower’s mission is to support licensed hemp cultivators in the newly legal U.S. hemp industry and emerging and expanding hemp markets in North America by providing actionable intelligence in all aspects of the business—from regulatory news to analysis of industry trends and business strategy, as well as expert advice on cultivation, extraction, marketing, financial topics, and legal issues. In addition to its monthly print magazine, readers can access Hemp Grower’s content at HempGrower.com, via weekly newsletters, and on social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram). It is owned by GIE Media Inc.

 

About GIE Media Inc.

GIE Media was founded in 1980 and has grown over 36 years into a leading marketing and communications business-to-business media company serving 17 industries — including the horticulture industry through its Horticulture Group (Greenhouse Management, Produce Grower, Nursery Management, Garden Center, Cannabis Business Times, Cannabis Dispensary and Hemp Grower). The company employs nearly 100 editors, publishers, sales representatives, marketers and other professionals. For more information, visit www.GIEMedia.com.

UCANN Drops Patent Lawsuit Against Pure Hemp Collective

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ORLANDO, FL – (April 5, 2021) – GIE Media Inc., the publisher of Hemp Grower magazine, announced today the launch of Hemp Grower Conference, which will take place Nov. 8-10, 2021 at Rosen Centre Hotel in Orlando, Fla. The event will feature three days of education and expo, bring together hemp growers, industry experts, solutions providers, and more.

“The inaugural Hemp Grower Conference will be an opportunity for hemp industry stakeholders to come together to learn valuable market insights and discover grower-specific innovations and technology solutions that will bolster their businesses,” said Group Publisher Jim Gilbride. “GIE Media and the team behind the event have a deep history of creating successful events that bringing together industry constituents to help advance agricultural markets and the businesses in them.”

“Hemp growers—whether they’re growing hemp for grain, fiber or CBD—face many hurdles in this young industry. But they also have great opportunities,” said Editorial Director Noelle Skodzinski. “The Hemp Grower Conference will bring together industry pioneers, successful businesses, leading researchers and regulators to help all hemp growers navigate the cultivation, business and regulatory challenges they face, as well as understand the coming market trends and opportunities that can help shape the future of their businesses. Attendees will come away motivated with new tools in their toolbox that will help them find success.”

The Hemp Grower Conference education program will be created by the editors of Hemp Grower magazine and a conference advisory board of professional hemp growers and other industry leaders.

Members of the Hemp Grower Conference 2021 Advisory Board include:

  • Jeff Kostuik, Director of Operations for Hemp Production Services and Hemp Genetics International
  • Rachel Berry, Farmer and CEO of the Illinois Hemp Growers Association
  • Bear Reels, Senior Director of R&D Cultivation for Charlotte’s Web
  • Alyssa Ann Collins, Director of Penn State University Southeast Agricultural Research & Extension Center
  • Luke Zigovits, Owner and Farm manager for Higher Level Organics
  • Louis Vega, Founder and CEO of ¡WEPA! Farms
  • Marty Mahan, Farmer and President of the Heartland Hemp Co-Op
  • Maureen West, Chief Compliance Officer for Functional Remedies LLC

In addition, an expo hall will feature leading technologies and solutions providers dedicated to helping hemp growers succeed.

For more information and to sign up for email updates, visit www.HempGrowerConference.com. More details—including speakers, sessions and other conference events—will be announced in the coming months.

 

About Hemp Grower

Launched in November 2019, Hemp Grower’s mission is to support licensed hemp cultivators in the newly legal U.S. hemp industry and emerging and expanding hemp markets in North America by providing actionable intelligence in all aspects of the business—from regulatory news to analysis of industry trends and business strategy, as well as expert advice on cultivation, extraction, marketing, financial topics, and legal issues. In addition to its monthly print magazine, readers can access Hemp Grower’s content at HempGrower.com, via weekly newsletters, and on social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram). It is owned by GIE Media Inc.

 

About GIE Media Inc.

GIE Media was founded in 1980 and has grown over 36 years into a leading marketing and communications business-to-business media company serving 17 industries — including the horticulture industry through its Horticulture Group (Greenhouse Management, Produce Grower, Nursery Management, Garden Center, Cannabis Business Times, Cannabis Dispensary and Hemp Grower). The company employs nearly 100 editors, publishers, sales representatives, marketers and other professionals. For more information, visit www.GIEMedia.com.

Thrive Agritech Releases New 600W Pinnacle LED Grow Light

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NEW YORK, March 30, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — PRESS RELEASE — Thrive Agritech, Inc. announced today the market release of the new Pinnacle LED grow light.

Energy-efficient LED technology allows the 600W Pinnacle light to effectively replace the best 1,000W double-ended high pressure sodium lights commonly found in greenhouses and high intensity indoor cannabis operations. The new light can achieve the most demanding requirements, having demonstrated canopy intensities exceeding 1,500 PPFD in indoor flower rooms. Pinnacle utilizes leading-edge LED chip technology that generates an ideal combination of power and efficiency with a spectrum optimized for plant health and crop yield.

Thrive Agritech CEO, Brian Bennett, added, "We are truly excited about this announcement. Pinnacle makes it simple for our customers to replace their legacy lighting technology with state-of-the-art LED technology. And for customers designing a new facility, they will benefit from Pinnacle’s ease of installation, low maintenance, high energy efficiency, and exceptional crop yields."

As with all Thrive Agritech products, Pinnacle is IP66 waterproof, UL8800 certified for safety, and comes with a standard 5-year warranty.

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Hemp Grower Conference Launches in Orlando November 8-10, 2021; Announces Advisory Board

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Galloway, N.J., April 1, 2021 – PRESS RELEASE – A new Cannabis and Hemp Research Institute at Stockton University (CHRIS) will provide education, research and resources for the local and national market.

The new institute builds on the Cannabis Studies academic programs at Stockton to develop research focusing on hemp cultivation practices, non-medical cannabis research, lab testing and the creation of hemp and cannabis educational materials.

“As the first university in New Jersey to offer a Cannabis Studies minor in 2019, Stockton is poised to do important research into areas that can provide opportunities for our students and emerging industries, and enhance the economy of the state,” said Professor of Biology Ekaterina Sedia, coordinator of the Cannabis Studies minor.

Robert Mejia, an adjunct professor of Cannabis Studies at Stockton, said the institute will host educational and career fairs and help set the standard for hemp and cannabis education in New Jersey and the nation.

Initially, the CHRIS testing lab’s focal point will be to provide testing services to hemp growers, processors and finished product manufacturers. Although New Jersey was the third state to institute guidelines for hemp cultivation, the state’s hemp industry is barely in the beginning stages.

Opportunities to create a whole host of environmentally friendly hemp consumer products, including building materials, food, and ethanol and plastic replacements will lead to a more sustainable future, Mejia said.

“Hemp was an important part of America’s past and we’d like to make it an important part of America’s future,” Mejia said. “We used to know how to grow and process hemp, but because of cannabis prohibition, we have to learn all over again. As we learn, we will be sharing these valuable lessons with our community and the nation.”    

In addition to hemp testing, CHRIS plans to grow hemp in Stockton fields and greenhouse and host educational events.

Another goal is working with community partners to provide education, training and employment opportunities for the post-prison population.

“We see this as a way to engage with our local community and to help those harmed by the war on drugs,” Mejia said.

The new institute’s first event will be a virtual Cannabis Curriculum Convening on April 21 and 22, which will bring together cannabis educators across the nation to exchange ideas, network and discuss strategies to enhance cannabis education in higher education.

“There is so much public confusion about cannabis and hemp and the topic affects so many different areas,” Sedia said.  “Through our research and education, we want to be a leader both in academia, and in assisting businesses and local communities as the industry grows.”

Themes for the convening include cannabis curricula in science, cultivation, law, medicine and social justice.

More information about the institute and the curriculum convening are at stockton.edu/chris.

Jushi Holdings Inc. Completes Previously Announced Acquisition of Established Nevada Operator

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BOCA RATON, Fla., April 5, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) – PRESS RELEASE – Jushi Holdings Inc. (CSE: JUSH) (OTCMKTS: JUSHF), a vertically integrated, multistate cannabis operator, announced that its subsidiary, Production Excellence, LLC, has completed the previously announced acquisition on July 25, 2019 of 100% of the equity of Franklin Bioscience NV, LLC (FBS Nevada). FBS Nevada holds medical and adult-use cannabis cultivation, processing and distribution licenses issued by the Nevada Cannabis Control Board and currently operates cultivation, production and distribution facilities in North Las Vegas. Jushi also owns the real estate associated with FBS Nevada’s facilities in North Las Vegas. The facilities acquired include two adjacent buildings with cultivation, manufacturing and distribution capabilities.

In July 2019, the Jushi’s subsidiary, Production Excellence, entered into the Nevada market under a management services agreement with FBS Nevada. FBS Nevada operates one of the two 7,500-square-foot adjacent facilities and has upgraded the facility with state-of-the-art, indoor, double-stacked cultivation that yields approximately 2,500 pounds of high-quality dry flower per year. FBS Nevada has partnered with third-party extractors to produce a suite of high-quality vape products and concentrates, under the award-winning brand The Lab, and offer pre-packaged flower and infused blunts, under the award-winning brand The Bank. Jushi has also introduced new products, including edibles, under the brand Tasteology, and fine flower and pre-rolls, under the brand Sèche.

To better serve the Nevada market, FBS Nevada plans to connect the two facilities to create a single production space for a total of approximately 16,600 square feet. The expansion is expected to more than double cultivation capacity and incorporate a CO2 and hydrocarbon extraction facility with a full kitchen to ensure a broad assortment of products across all categories.

“We are extremely pleased to complete this acquisition and solidify our presence in Nevada, particularly the Greater Las Vegas region,” said Jim Cacioppo, CEO, chairman and founder of Jushi. “We look forward to continuing to serve the Nevada wholesale market with high-quality flower and a full suite of cannabis brands including infused products. While Nevada, and specifically Las Vegas, has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, we see great opportunities with the expansion of our facility and exploring attractive M&A prospects as we look to expand our footprint in this strategic limited license market.”

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