Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00:00 Hello, my forward thinking and open-minded tribe and welcome to Rewo Rewriting our Kids' Education podcast. My name is Michelle Person and we are on a journey to change the face of education. We are rethinking, reexamining and reeducating ourselves and our children. On this show, we work hard to educate ourselves about all things so we can make informed, independent decisions about what is best for us and our lives and the lives of our children. We have pulled the curtain back and dug into some topics that challenge firmly held belief systems and that require a new way of thinking. We've talked about mental health, how we approach the food we eat, and even spirituality. Now, what kinda guy would I be if I didn't take time to explore one of the most controversial ideas slowly creeping across this great country of ours, the legalization of marijuana. Even though nearly two-thirds of Americans say marijuana should be legalized for at least medicinal purposes, recreational use is only legal in 19 states.
Speaker 0 00:01:03 Now, there are so many aspects of this topic to explore. Is it habit forming? Are there long lasting effects? Does it lead to harder drugs? But the one that I personally care about, and honestly, it's because I believe the answers to all those other questions is no, is how much money is there to be made off of the legalization? And the answer is a lot. In 2022 states where marijuana is legal reported a combined total of 11.2 billion in tax revenue. For me, the more important question has become, how does one enter this industry? And how do we as a people use this new industry to undo some of the harm that has been perpetrated onto our communities? Now that states are recognizing that possessing rowing, selling and using marijuana does not make one a criminal. And oh yeah, are you woke?
Speaker 0 00:02:20 According to the A C L U, despite roughly equal usage, blacks are 3.7 times more likely than whites to be arrested for marijuana. So legalization should be a good thing, right? We'll stop getting arrested and possibly be afforded an opportunity to work in an industry that we know just as much about as our white counterparts. Wrong. It can cost anywhere from 100,000 to 300,000 just to launch a store. Additionally, remember how we were arrested 3.7 more times in our white counterparts, even if we could come up with a capital, having a police record, ironically, sometimes for selling marijuana, can exclude you from getting a license. Talk about the irony. Our guest today is Nicole Ross, and she's the owner of newer labs, a minority owned woman-led licensed medical marijuana processor and manufacturer. And she knows all too well about the barriers keeping us from cashing in on this new gold rush. And she has some tips on how we can snag our piece of the pie before it's all gone. Nicole, thank you so much for joining us today. I am so excited to hear everything you know about the cannabis industry
Speaker 2 00:03:37 Of my knowledge and insight, and what the cannabis market here in Ohio.
Speaker 0 00:03:40 Awesome. Alright, we want, there are so many questions that I have, but I'm gonna start with how did you end up in, in this industry to begin with? I mean, like you are, you are like a unicorn. You are a female, you are a black woman. You are in Ohio and not, you're not where the most of the, um, where the, the almost the hub in Ohio, I think we talked a little bit off camera, is in Cleveland. You're in southern Ohio, you're down here in Dayton. Um, and so I mean like on on every level, location, gender, race, you are not supposed to be where you are. So I want, I want to, I want you to talk to people about how you got to where you are right now.
Speaker 2 00:04:20 Oh, well, you know, 10 years by consistently started in LA there was a medical program that allowed me to understand cannabis in a whole different perspective. Being from Ohio, it wasn't something that was readily around my family or my community personally. That school that, you know, got involved, but it was, was still not a part of my environment personally. Um, so when I moved California, different perspective of cannabis professionals, consumption, the use medicinal avenue just opened my eyes to why chose versus understand Carter at the time to catering medicin and all those other different things that you may see in most traditional cannabis markets. So putting collabo together and certain things, but then also operating like, ok, we're testing and learning. So, you know, that gray area is something, it really started to understand business from my father and which taught me a lot discipline and, and systems and how actually business business Ohio.
Speaker 2 00:06:47 So part entrepreneurship, um, you know, you see done in bigger city. So Dayton at the time had a lot of manufacturing that was, you know, invested in, when automotive, when I came home, they recognized the opportunities here in Ohio. It made sense to look into the manufacturing side. And that's one thing that people don't understand. They brand in the kitchen learning systems. From that, it just made sense to transition more a, um, more a production manufacturing we're the, and um, how I met all my partners who I'm working with, um, and, and seeing things from a different light. Now I involved cause being a black woman, being a minority, being in the, you know, small city that doesn't have of of business opportunities, a lot of blessings to be able to learn things together, be able to take on some challenges that we never thought could be, um, imaginable. Like you said, as a unicorn in this space, you have to kinda like a, cause you don't have no template around you. So,
Speaker 0 00:08:54 Just so I'm clear, like you, you, what I heard in that story was pivot after pivot after pivot, right? So, um, it, it's important my listeners, I want you to understand that she <laugh> she never even intended to be in this industry. Like, or she has, she has a whole, there's a whole nother podcast in here about what you would do in California with music that, um, that we can't even touch on this particular podcast, um, this episode. So you went first with something completely different in mind. You were open, you learned something, but you were learning on the, um, the edible side. You were talking like the, the side that honestly I think most people are most familiar with, when you start talking about medicinal cannabis, when you, or marijuana just in general, that people understand that they understand the edibles, they understand that what they don't understand is the, the, the whole creation part, which is where your second pivot was.
Speaker 0 00:09:44 Um, to go from, you know, being in the kitchen, learning the recipes to being like, you know what, oh, I'm gonna go to the warehouse side and learn about the distribution, the packing and all of that. Um, so I, I had the, the, the nugget that I'm taking is like be ready to pivot. Um, I'm finding that on like, you know, you wear the, the, um, uh, and, and as, as this is the season I've talked about on the show, uh, the, the school that I opened this, um, this year, uh, we have pivoted and changed our model this year alone probably at least three times, you know? Yes. And you have to be willing to evolve. And so I completely recognize that. So would it be, would it be a, uh, uh, um, an accurate, um, summary to say that, um, currently right now, neural labs, you work 100% in the, um, the, the the manufacturing, the the extraction side of things. And that's what, that's what you're allowed is focused on right now. Is that cause that that is where you have landed today? That's the, that's the part of your journey that we have, have met you on today.
Speaker 2 00:10:43 Yes. And that is accurate. You know, um, didn't know manufacturing when we production producing something, curve curve and not understanding how products are made, even outside of the cannabis industry, you know, minorities are zero to less than percent of any manufacturing industry That build. And the growth the roots takes from that to actually produce something of that is something that we're not a part of from a business, um, collected, um, when it comes down to who actually makes what people see as brand. Absolutely. And that's where I'm still learning. And you ask people like where people, um, what do people understand about our company? People still think we're dispensary and that's not, you knows, not a chain when it comes down to how the licenses are structured across the state. So usually when people see the brands, they buy it, but then there's the parts that's behind the, um, and that's where we're part of supply chain, meaning from everything is regulated in Ohio, can't buy from another state and produce here. I can't sell to another state. I have to everything regulated in this market here in Ohio. So when it comes, explain what we're and what we do, cause even when we the it, you know, you would think like, oh yeah, we won. It's kinda, go ahead and get it in. It's gonna be simple. It's gonna be easy. No, I had to do a lot of education and lot of learning for myself to understand criteria to laboratory.
Speaker 0 00:12:50 So I'm so glad you said all that. And I have so many questions and <laugh> and, and so the first question is like a, as I was listening to you talk about all the things that you, um, that you have learned and all the things that, like the biggest misconception is that you have to, to explain to people like what you do and that it's not the very, what everybody thinks of, which is like we just consume it, right? Like there's so many aspects of the the, of the, of the industry that, that go beyond far above and beyond just the consumption. And so my, my question is, what are the most common, um, misconceptions about the industry that you wish people understood or knew? And then you also were talking about, and I was saying this only right now because if I don't, I'll forget is, um, the, the, the lack of diversity women mm-hmm. <affirmative>
Speaker 0 00:13:36 Minorities, the fact that our communities were disproportionately affected, um, you know, by the war on drugs. And we were, uh, it's, we are, they, they criminalize us like three times more than, you know, your average white counterparts. How, how, how are you where you sit able to, um, address that piece? Like what the lack of diversity is? Is there a lack of diversity issue in the industry? And how do you see it being addressed? Is there more that can be done? All these questions I, I'm just putting 'em out there so I don't forget them. But the first one, <laugh>, was what are the common misconceptions, um, that you wish people knew, um, about the industry
Speaker 2 00:14:19 That is less than, you know, in the market that actually we, where it sells what's being grown was being produced. Uh, we wouldn't have an industry. So, um,
Speaker 0 00:14:41 So only 4% is, is focused on the consumables. The rest of the industry is, is production
Speaker 2 00:14:48 That the, that minorities own in the actual cannabis. Oh, ok. I got so only minority. Um, and then what does that mean? Cause a lot people think involved in the cannabis industry, understanding built to, you know, have the operation production, that's fine. But there's other parts of the industry that has to support that industry. So the ancillaries are equally important, but that number is consum. So ancillary, there isn't cultivation. If there isn't manufacturing or processing, there isn't retail. You don't have a product sell, you know, so in order to understand that's product for an industry to be able to become one. So when it comes down to dissecting the real numbers and understanding the real components of how the supply chain works, is that we less involved in supply chain order to create product, understanding what chain agriculture, what does manufacturing means, what does these different sciences, um, to be able to, to understand how do we open up in the federally illegal industry. Um, so we research opportunities in general in cannabis
Speaker 0 00:16:32 Industry. And once you understand that a, we only own 4%, we're only a part of 4%,
Speaker 2 00:16:38 Even own four,
Speaker 0 00:16:39 Not even, we're involved in less than 4% of the industry at that level. Um, and then the fact that, I mean, I read that it is a billion when the, the, um, the states that have legalized it, I, I mentioned this in my intro. Um, you know, those states have reported, you know, grand totals of billions of dollars in taxes being generated, um, from, from this industry. So it is a billion dollar industry, but again, not only are we not in it, um, there, there are. So, and again, the the parts, the parts of it that we we're not even recognizing that there are opportunities, like you mentioned the Angela, everybody wants to focus on just one aspect. The ancillary products are, um, are, are huge. And I love what you said, we, we are not necessarily as a people in a position to be able to be in the, the manufacturing, um, and production side.
Speaker 0 00:17:27 It's an issue. But in this moment where this thing is exploding, I, I think my, my question is, well how do we get in at all on other things and make sure that there is diversity so that we are not completely set out, um, closed out of what is really being what is really right now we are in the middle of the, the, this generation's gold rush. So you being very a, a very prominent figure in the industry here in Ohio, um, the lack of diversity. How, how is it being addressed in the industry? Um, from where you sit, how much of an issue is it? Um, and, and what can we be doing? You've mentioned the activism in the industry about the rights. Is there activism to include the disenfranchised populations that have historically been kept out of things like this? Where, what's what's going on in the industry with
Speaker 2 00:18:11 Diversity? Yes. Education is key to, and I know it sounds so cliche, you know, cause you, it's also educate of economics. It's not a equity issue, it's an economics issue. Cause when you own a business, you're equitable. You know, you, that's something that you choose to give away. Be able tono, earn economics, actually grow your entity. Understand that we have build resources. You know, we shouldn't have to always sell or give it away. In order to be able to have obtain, we gotta be able to sustain. Sustainability is key. And if we're not looking at ourselves as diverse, we're,
Speaker 0 00:19:08 If we're coming in behind the eight ball, how, how is that, how was that? Um, how is that diversity issue being addressed? We know we're coming in behind the eight ball and we still wanna be a part. How, how are, how are, how, how is the industry addressing the lack of diversity? Or are they not? Are they, are they not addressing it at all?
Speaker 2 00:19:25 It's being addressed. Um, I mean there are social equity groups that are working to make sure we're equitable. But like I was saying, economic thing, we have grow ourselves capital resources to sustain. You know, if we don't have those sustainabilities, we don't have market would love to be like, yeah, invest but that I might not be the right investment for everybody or you know, the right brand. But there are other brands and black-owned businesses that can be, you know, and how do we create a network supply chain? We're I don't all types minority, a black woman that I get the same to be able to do business. Just like youre able to do it. I can do it with you, do it with me. Just like I do business with you. We go buy every piece of clothing that we see our bodies, you know, um, it's not but manufacture.
Speaker 2 00:20:30 Um, and then those are the things that I do a lot of my research on. Cause it's not against any black brands. It's amazing that we have, cause that's still part of the supply chain. We have support and that's the continue business's like, ok, well how about if there is a black manufacturer who does clothing? How about we find those as black brands to say, let's put economics into the supply chain that it goes down to the group. So then those supply chains can now have sustainability. There's black people who create packaging's. You know, how do we continue to build that and have revenues And it doesn't just have to be black to black working. You say me as an opportunity. Cause I'm a manufacturer that to be able to create your brand products. Cause I wanna able to compete markets like everybody, five of us are minority, 90 can work together. Why can't mm-hmm. <affirmative>
Speaker 0 00:21:26 Five. What I'm, what I'm hearing is like, it's like for her listeners, what I hope you heard or what I'm taking away is, um, in order for us to be able to diversify the industry, we first need to understand how how industry in general works so that we can create the foundation. Um, exactly. So that the people who are in the industry are able to flourish and, and that doesn't come. So, and that comes from understanding economics and how, and, and like understanding that we need our own banks and understanding that we need our own, uh, you know, microlending infrastructures and, and we, in order to be able to sustain so that we can compete exactly all the difference in the world. Um, my, so my my last, there are people who are like, probably who are like, I wanna get in this, I wanna know more. Like, what, what is your advice as somebody who's now a veteran in the business? Um, what is, what advice do you have for someone wanting to enter the industry?
Speaker 2 00:22:14 Um, just be in contact with our, with with the resources that's around, you know, again, so, you know, there's so many opportunities and it's hard to focus on one. Cause when you address one, there's a whole slew of things to address around it. So really identifying what do I wanna do become in this space. I didn't, like I said, cannabis chose, so I didn't knowing, but I started learn. I understand my why. Um, so with my why, understanding what I wanted to do, it helped me create a path that allowed me to see more so I can do more, you know? And now that I understand more, I'm understand what I wanna create as impact. So as are coming board can how co-create, you know, for you, why, you know, um, cause my why may not be your why, but first, you know, in order for us to work together, we have understand where those come.
Speaker 2 00:23:16 So there's um, definitely outreach things that we're doing. We're doing communitywide, I'm doing other just general outreach, the Midwest est. Um, that was the opportunity for people to come and understand what careers are in the cannabis space. Not only labs, product, program, resources, some, you know, I had friends who came in like, I didn't even understand that there was that many products in this, in this program or in this market. I didn't even understand the variety. I didn't know there was patches and you know, capsules. And so, so it's understand what you wanna learn in it, you know? Cause I can't, I can't teach you at all in one setting, you know, <laugh> mm-hmm <affirmative>. Um, and you know, and like me, I had to just like in your industry, what before into to some degree, so on knowledge, you know, we're in the 20, you know, where we're accessible to resources. Um, so there's, there's resources out there. How much cost start, you know, point, understanding those resources, basic business and um, things to help your business. Like I, I used to get in contact with and I used to, you know, now there's, um, the, the, the Dayton.
Speaker 2 00:24:56 Yeah. So I'm not just sending on the resources that you have getting active. I'm in active engagement point in time right now. You gotta show your active, you know, you gotta show me your interests. You gotta, you know, cause that's, that's value, that's investment. That's appreci appreciate what, how I shows that investment is who, why I wanna appreciate you and invest into what you're doing. Vice versa. So I think it's just a lot of that education that we gotta take from different perspective. You know who you are, you know what you're with, you know your resource. Lot of skills can be transferable, you know, um, as well, you know, if you have one skill you can also transfer and gather other things. Help you've resources that you have available to help you learn and grow into something else. Um, so, um, and we're, now that we have products on the market, you know, let's get legal. We have billion in Ohio's industry to sude licenses coming in the dispensary market. Where for us as as manufacturers, we're able to products not just for 5s but stores, state of Ohio opportunities, opportunities are in the manufacturing space. But then also too, there's other companies that's growing with cultivation. Um, they're expanding their footprints and the agriculture on the sciences in that career space opportunity. So there's a lot going
Speaker 0 00:26:58 Research. Do your research where you trying to go? Cause just say you want in, you have to know where this is like a double, like you have to know where to jump in. So that like, I love it. So if anybody is listening, especially those in the Dayton area and they are interested in reaching out to neural labs either to learn more about the job opportunities or like they, maybe there's a, uh, someone who's like, oh I wanna partner with them cuz I have a weird face. What whatever. If anybody's out here listening, how do they get in contact you Nicole
Speaker 2 00:27:27 So they can get in contact with us a ways umw, you can come and actually, you know, look at our landing page. Just do a general context. Um, also part you, you reach or ls com then I'll be to help direct you to what we're doing. Our team who outreach those resource communications, my father, my sister, my mother, and then our team in general. Um, our partner that were working with our investors in, you know, our community. Cause you know, we, this grass raise to maintain, empower each other and help see those resources become fruit. Um, see those resources become abundant. Thank
Speaker 0 00:28:49 You so much for coming and, and talking to us about this. Very misunderstood, very mysterious hope listeners that you it. And, um, yeah,
Speaker 2 00:29:02 Partners on the market. We just launch star mkx brand. Yes, Ohio. We have products in Dayton, we have Columbus and we're working in the Cleveland market as well. So we're excited about products available that people can actually consume the medicine that we're making for brands that we believe in. So awesome,
Speaker 0 00:29:29 Awesome. So you guys check them out do com. I'm gonna put all the contact information in the, um, in the description, boxing and um, and so you guys can see and read and learn more. Thank you so much for being with us. Morning opportunity. It's been a blessing. Thank you so much, Michelle, for having today. Absolutely. Do your research, be ready to pivot and then check out the opportunities around you of which Nora Labs is one. I wanna thank my guest Nicole Ross for taking the time to speak with us today. Show notes, resources and links to the things we mentioned are available on our website at www, just like me presents.com. Make sure you hit subscribe and share this podcast with other parents and educators in your circle. And if you don't mind, leave us a review, reviews, help other people find our show and begin there. Woke journey. Thanks for listening. And remember, if our children can see it, they can achieve it.
