Karma Koala Podcast

Karma Koala Podcast 261: Prof. Tshepo Madlingozi Full-time Commissioner of the South African Human Rights Commission – The Cannabis For Personal Consumption In Private Act Is Signed Into The Law… Where Are The Regulations?

I speak with Prof. Tshepo Madlingozi about South Africa’s “Cannabis For Personal Consumption In Private Act”

Prof Madlingozi is full-time commissioner of the South African Human Rights Commission and explains how the act although signed almost a year ago has not spun through the machinations of departmental politics and the promised regulations are currently sitting in the vortex.

Will the commission be forced to litigate to speed the process up?

We also talk about the experience of the Rastafarian community in South Africa and the discrimination they experience under current rules

We also discuss the role of licensing as it currently exists in perpetuating a system that excludes small and rural cannabis producers and is a pan-african approach the way forward.

learn more at

Jessica’s business sends legally compliant seeds throughout the US and she talks about the move towards democratizing homegrow.

We dig into some of the details of what homegrow means in the US with regard to regulations and rules and return to the same word time after time, “Patchwork”

Dig in with us and learn about homegrow and what the future could be with a little more commonsense and less interference from established players in the market.

Learn more at

In this episode we speak to Dr Z (Ryan Zaklin) a MD with a medical cannabis practice based in Massachusetts and ask what is medical cannabis in the US as it currently stand.

How has it changed from the early California days and what does a patchwork or regulation and legislation around the country actually mean for medical professionals working with cannabis and cannabis products.

An insightful look at where we are today.

Dr. Ryan Zaklin is a board-certified Internal Medicine physician and a Harvard-trained expert in Integrative and Functional Medicine. He brings deep experience from his work at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Spaulding Rehabilitation Network. As founder of ECS Wellness, Dr. Zaklin leads the clinical strategy with a focus on the endocannabinoid system, mind-body medicine, and plant-based therapies. He regularly educates medical professionals and the public on cannabis therapeutics and continues to advance research and innovation in integrative care.

ECS Wellness is Massachusetts’ premier Medical Cannabis Certification Center specializing in endocannabinoid system optimization. 

Great conversation with Max about water usage in the cannabis agri-sector., Not only does he highlight where we are going wrong and need to grow the knowledge base for solutions but he also highlights that we need to ensure that legislators & regulators understand cannabis in the context of all agricultural products in terms of water usage.

We also digress somewhat to talk about Metrc whose drive for profits via compliance enforcement increasingly formulated for regulators from their head office mean that important issues such as water & power consumption are being left in the dust both literally and figuratively

At Cannabis Wise Guys, we don’t rely on theories—we rely on experience. And that experience is the difference between a struggling facility and a thriving one.

Article: When Automation Tries to Kill Your Crop: Why Irrigation Monitoring Matters More Than You Think

After our chat a couple of weeks back with Chelsea Haskins about the failure of the equity cannabis program in Sacramento I speak with lawyer Jordan Ash who has more than a few equity clients. The summation? The situation is dire statewide with regard to equity and not much can be done to improve things.

Have a listen to what Jordan has to say..

This is what he wrote on Linked In a few weeks back

Dr Howell sat on a panel this week on the topic of Global Cannabis Law & Regulation from the perspective of how South Africa as a country is trying to tackle the move from unregulated to regulated cannabis ( it is already legal to consume cannabis in a private space due to a court case that went to the highest court in the land) but in a country with 40% youth unemployment, crime on the rise and a poverty trap that many have yet to escape how does this play out with regard to interaction with the forces of law and order for the majority of the population.

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Nathanial has been in the cannabis industry for the past decade and you may recognize his name from his company Fincann who have helped businesses create relationships with financial institutions around the US.

He writes

As CEO of FINCANN®, I have steered the company to be a trailblazer in providing comprehensive banking and financial solutions within the high-risk sectors, including cannabis and cryptocurrency. Our services extend beyond basic banking, encompassing everything from commercial real estate and inventory financing to complex legal and tax advisory, ensuring our clients navigate the intricate financial landscape with ease. Our commitment to innovation is demonstrated through our proprietary CANNABIS BANKING FINANCIAL NETWORK®, connecting clients with a network of over 300 federally-insured financial institutions and 50+ financial service vendors.

Nathanial is now applying his skills learnt to move New Hampshire toward a fully regulated adult use environment.

We talk in detail about the development of the medical program in NH and how he and allies hope to move towards adult use.

He has also penned the following article on the topic

The Definitive Insider’s Guide to New Hampshire Cannabis Legalization 

History 2013 – 2025

Read at

The Cannabis Opportunity Reinvestment and Equity (CORE) program, created by the City of Sacramento, is dedicated to assisting individuals and communities who are facing barriers in starting cannabis businesses due to the historical disparate enforcement of cannabis crimes. The program supports community members seeking opportunity and growth by offering training, technical and financial assistance and other guidance.

Our participants are ambitious entrepreneurs focused on a vision of change. Each has a unique story of challenges, aspirations, and achievements.

Cannabis is a growing sector of business that should not be exclusive to big players. CORE is paving the way for inclusion in the cannabis sector, calling for local ownership. We can provide a number of benefits for individuals and communities who are looking to start a business in cannabis.

In this latest episode of the Karma Koala podcast I talk with Edvin Brnčić about the next round of scams about to hit the cannabis industry.

First we back track to Juicy Fields the almost a billion $ scam that got Edvin interested in the topic of cannabis scams initially and how the shadowy figures behind these scams used willing collaborators and facilitators connected to the “legal”  cannabis industry including legal professionals, conference producers, hollywood types and others to tout the fiction(s) that made some facilitators some quick cash and the scammers huge sums of money that disappeared from “investors” bank accounts into the ether and never to be seen again.

Edvin & I talk about  2 new scams that he thinks may even out do Juicy Fields in their efficiency to disappear huge sums of money into murky places that even financial authorities will struggle to identify never mind prosecute the perpetrators.

Edvin has sent me some supporting documents to supplement our conversation and after only a couple of hours of even the most cursory online searching it isn’t that hard to join the dots to identify that both these operations are wrong’uns.

What is, of course, a tad more difficult is proving where the money is ending up and who’s actually handling it.

Edvin first talks about

CGB  is fronted by Dutch cannabis “entrepreneur” Ronald Fields who i gather is big in the “legal” synthetic drugs game, a warning sign in itself.

The set up is eerily similar to the Juicy Fields approach.

Capital Grow Box

Learn more at

I recently noticed Victoria raise the topic on Linked In and nobody is really talking about the issues with regard to cannabis and psychedelics medical treatments and therapies in a public forum so I thought it more than worthwhile to hear her thoughts and especially so with regard to HIPAA

Every US citizen has HIPAA ingrained in their brain but those of us outside the US might be a little less aware (see information below)

Victoria explains the intersections and protections individuals availing themselves of psychedelic and cannabis tratments may or may not have.

HIPAA, or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, is a US federal law designed to protect the privacy and security of patients’ health information. It establishes standards for how covered entities, including healthcare providers and health plans, handle and protect patient information. HIPAA also mandates that business associates, who work with covered entities and their PHI, also comply with the act

What HIPAA Covers:

Protected Health Information (PHI):This includes any individually identifiable health information, such as medical records, billing details, and even information about a patient’s family history. 

Covered Entities:These are healthcare providers, health plans, and healthcare clearinghouses. 

Business Associates:Individuals or organizations that work with covered entities and access PHI on their behalf, such as billing services or IT vendors. 

Learn more at

I’m currently working with Trenton on a conference to be held in Johannesburg end May 2025 as part of the annual SA Cannabis Expo.

See information at the link

Trenton is a cannabis educator and consultant and has built a permanent campus in South Africa to educate people across all aspects of cannabis and hemp. As far as I’m aware he’s the only person on the planet who has done this.

We talk about Cheeba Africa both the education and consultancy arms of the business and then a wider chat about the state of play of cannabis in South Africa and across the continent as a whole

A milestone, the 250th episode of the Karma Koala podcast!

I noticed that Dr Hofmann has published his new title with Routledge mid March so got in touch to talk about all the whys and wherefores of the book and dig into Germany’s experience of trying to legalize cannabis under European law. We also widen the discussion around European law & cannabis as well as other jurisdictions operation outside Brussels purview.

I learnt more in 20 minutes conversation with Dr Hofmann that i have reading media over the past 2-3 years.

In the run up the Australian federal election and the Nimbin Mardigrass (2-4 May 2025) we talk to Andrew Kavisilas who has been round the block with cannabis more than once in Australia.

He’s grown under license as far back as the late 1990’s, he’s done the Nimbin cafe thing, he was involved the the Cannabis party before it was the Cannabis party but is now on the outside (we koalas like that) and a lot of other things in between.

Nominally our chat was to be about driving, testing  and medicinal cannabis in Australia, yes we did discuss that , but we also yarned about a few other things too.

In old Aussie parlance Andrew is a bit of a larrikin who’s put in the hard yakka and it’s these voices we need to hear as we try to understand what cannabis could, might or should be in Australia.

Melanie Wentzel  author of Cannabis Queens suggested i get in touch with Heidi to talk about the organisation she’s created,EmpowHer, a global network of women working in the cannabis sector who are working together to counter the increasing suit led male domination of the sector.

Women are ignored in a great deal of decision making in the industry and as Heidi point out are now in the ascendancy as purchasers and consumers in the sector.

We cover a gamut of of topics and highlight just a few of the issues women are currently facing in the industry

Thanks for your time Heidi.

Singularism are a psychedelic church using Psilocybin and based in Salt Lake City, Utah.

When they opened their doors they made local authorities aware of who they were and how they practiced their religion.

A year later there was a police raid.

Tanner had been working with them prior to the raid and discusses with us what’s happened since as the case goes through the legal system

We also also talk about Utah in general.

Here’s a detailed story I published on the case about a month ago.

Thanks to Tanner for getting in touch and explaining the case in detail.

Read the article and learn more about Tanner here

They keep trying to knock it down but it won’t go away and just gets bigger and bigger.

Quite simply people in the US like a soda so it is somewhat of a no- brainer that cannabis and hemp beverages are going to sell like hot cakes.

I discuss with Zach who has over a decade of experience in the cannabis sector both in-house and in private practice about his chosen area of specialization.

We dig into what’s happening, what the challenges are and the inexorable rise of the cannabis beverage.

Soon hemp drinks will be as American as apple pie. .. I imagine you will probably be able to get a hemp drink in apple pie flavor!

I’ve been paying a lot more attention to drugs, policy and politics in New Zealand recently as a number of medical cannabis issues have come to the fore over the last month.

The recent arrest of green fairy “Gandalf”, the failure of a couple of medical cannabis outfits amongst a number of recent events brought me to  Julian @ Harm Reduction Coalition Aotearoa New Zealand  to have a general chat about prohibition, drug policy and how to effect regulation and legalization.

Thanks again Julian for talking to the Karma Koala podcast

Born & brought up in a poor but close-knit working class area of Liverpool (Anfield), one of five children. Life become even more of a struggle after my father died when I was 12yrs old. This hardship provided lived experience of poverty and a family struggle for survival.

Disengaged at school, I left aged 17 and started clerical work at Liverpool Social Services. Through employment and day release study my interest in professional and academic study was ignited. After completing my ONC & Cert. in Public Administration I completed the DipSW at Liverpool University and qualified as a social worker. I joined the Merseyside Probation Service and in the mid 1980s I worked at the ‘coalface’ as a drugs worker.

On Merseyside I worked alongside Dr John Marks at the Liverpool Drug Dependency Clinic and helped conceptualise and promote a world leading ‘risk reduction’ approach, I wrote the risk reduction drug policy for the the Merseyside Probation Service (Buchanan & Wyke 1987).

In 1986 I helped establish one of the largest multi-agency Community Drugs Teams in the UK (South Sefton Community Drugs Team). We delivered a full range of low threshold harm reduction services – including prescribing injectable methadone and heroin on a maintenance basis. At the SSCDT we decided not to use drug testing.

In 1996 following 3yrs in a joint appointment with Liverpool University, I took up a post as Senior Lecturer at University of Central Lancashire where I established a Master Degree in Substance Use, before moving to Glyndwr University (Wales), where I established BA & MA in Criminology/Criminal Justice and a suite of modules exploring drugs, drugs and crime and drug policy. With funding secured from the Welsh Assembly I set up the Social Inclusion Research Unit. In 2011 I was appointed Professor.

In 2011 I moved to the Institute of Criminology, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand where I was Programme Director for Criminology and set up new drug modules

My research interests draw upon personal experiences of social disadvantage & poverty, alongside professional experiences of working as a probation officer/drugs worker with marginalised people. I am interested in intersectionality, stigma and the interplay between, inequality, crime, problematic drug use and drug policy/practice. I have published widely.

Recognition includes invites to speak in USA; Scandinavia; Australia; Asia; South Africa; UK & New Zealand; to be a specialist assessor for International Journals, as well as an invite to Buckingham Palace and an advisor to the UN on drug policy.

More information and links at

Welcome back to the Karma Koala podcast.

In our latest episode we speak to another Senate hopeful.

Miles Hunt is a lawyer with a background in drug law reform in Australia.

We cover all the usual topics including the current “medical” paradigm, building an Australian cannabis future not reliant on cheap imports from Canada, how to think about cannabis and education and a lot more besides

Learn more at

This podcast contains discussions and descriptions of sexual abuse, which may be distressing or triggering for some listeners. Please take care of yourself and consider skipping this episode if you feel it may be harmful to your well-being. If you or someone you know has experienced sexual abuse, there are resources available to support you. Please seek help from trusted sources or support services in your area.

A little different from the usual topics that we normally cover on the Karma Koala podcast but no less important.

Pennsylvania based Chuck Lovett got in touch after hearing one of our Karma Koala conversations with and about psychedelics lawyers that we’ve recently been having and asked if he could contribute to the conversation with his experience of what legal psilocybin treatment had done to help him after years of suffering from the result of childhood sexual abuse at the hands of a Catholic priest in the early 1970’s. Chuck requested that licensed Oregon therapist, Nitai Aleksiewicz, also join us on the show. Chuck was referred to Nitai for discussion and eventual treatment.

Most of the conversation about legal psilocybin therapy still revolves around much needed therapy for veterans and is a favourite topic for politicians who want to try and get legislation up and running.

Lost in the conversation at a public level are many other issues such as childhood trauma, sexual abuse of children, domestic abuse, and end of life care.

Chuck talks about the issues and difficulties he had raising psilocybin therapy with the Catholic church, the medical profession and others.

Also, the lengths he had to go to in order to find out about the availability of psilocybin treatments and how he  eventually  managed to access the care he needed and how it has subsequently changed his life.

A huge thankyou to Chuck for coming on the podcast and speaking to us about the issues involved and to Nitai for providing some background as to how treatments are managed and arranged in Oregon.

Both have provided their contact details below and I’ve also listed some other resources.

Thankyou again to Chuck and thankyou for listening

Bios, Resources & More At

Part 2 of my conversation with Evan where my learning curve gets even steeper than the first episode

We cover a lot of topics in 30 minutes including..

The energy use applied to processing cannabis and hemp and especially so for human consumption products. At the moment, Evan believes, it’s almost impossible to define what that usage is.

The cost of industrialized cannabis production as the leading current model

The way companies are structured can hide the realities of energy use

Indoor vs outdoor, energy use vs land use and a 1000 other things to think about

Renewables

Cannabis industry greenwashing

What doe process change mean for cannabis production

The energy use applied to growing different cultivars

That’s just the start.

In a few months time we’ll talk again about possible policy options and realistically what they can achieve

As i said at the top a very steep learning curve for all of us.

More at

Haven’t spoken to Daniel in a while so great to hear that he’s decided to launch a firm working with his colleague from Mcglinchey and back in the day Greenlight, Perry Salzhauer.

The firm is  working in the cannabis & psychedelics fields as well as other highly regulated substances.

We talk about the type of work he’ll be doing, how he wants to approach things.

Daniel has been a cannabis lawyer from the moment he left law school and is a true 21st century lawyer working in new and developing industries with uncertainities.

Great to chat and really looking forward to see his firm grow.

The new generation of cannabis lawyers are here and they’ll be changing things already.

Learn more about his new firm at

Here's The Full Header Title

Thought it was time to do a quick catch up with Rod.

How is hemp feeling?

Pretty good actually and now some cannabis players have decided it’s time to come to the party, some within the sector are saying what Timbuk 3 once said..

We also spend a bit of time digging into cannabis and hemp beverages. Who, where and what?

We touch on what legislators and regulators are thinking and how they still remain somewhat behind the 8 ball on most issues from consumption lounges to “impairment” and driving.

I always enjoy talking with Rod hope you enjoy listening.

Learn more about Rod here

Cannabis doom scrolling through linked in last week i came across the following post by Atlanta Georgia Lawyer Tom Church.

Our Firm Gets Charges Dismissed in Delta-8-THC Prosecution

The headline caught my eye because very little information about cannabis or hemp comes out of the state and rarely do lawyers from that part of the world pop their heads above the parapet.

I contacted Tom to talk about this particular case and fell into a wider discussion about cannabis and hemp enforcement in the state.

Put it this way, prior to my conversation with Tom my knowledge was sitting on empty battery about the state.

After half an hour with Tom on zoom i feel much more up to speed, not withstanding the fact that he’s an absolute pleasure to converse with and i look forward to more conversations in the future.

Along with my other hero of drug law reform in Australia, Michael Balderstone, Fiona has stood up for and shouted from the rooftops about sensible drug law reform with a emphasis on health and good policy for nigh on 3 decades.

As you’ll see from her bio below she’s talked about and advocated for change much longer than most of us have even thought about it.

She’s returned to the fray and brought her political knowledge, skills and expertise to try and gain a seat in the Australian Senate in the upcoming federal election for the cannabis party and they are more than lucky to have her.

Not many can engineer change, she is one of those has has done it repeatedly in the past and is probably the best opportunity that cannabis has in this generation of the ongoing campaign.

I wanted to catch this moment in time with her and she graciously agreed to appear on our rather DIY podcast to discuss the political history of cannabis in Australia since the late 60′, early 70’s, what let her to drug law reform policy and what her hopes are if she can get elected and how she intends to work in order to effect legislative change that can then allow the states to get down to brass tacks and actually create a workable system that balances medical and adult use as well as homegrow in Australia.

Imagine that!

Thankyou again to Fiona and enjoy the podcast.

FIONA PATTEN CANDIDATE FOR VICTORIA

Meet Our Lead Senate Candidate for Victoria

We are delighted to announce our lead Senate candidate for Victoria, Fiona Patten who will be known to many of you. She was first elected to Victoria’s State Parliament in 2014 and re-elected for a second term in 2018.

During those eight years she was a champion for social justice and cannabis law reform. She established a medicinal cannabis taskforce in the first major attempt to fix the ridiculous RDT laws and then was the driving force behind the Inquiry into the Use of Cannabis in Victoria.

..and she was the first political party leader to admit using cannabis regularly to relax!

“I went into parliament in 2014 as the first MP to speak about using cannabis. Cannabis reform has always been high on my to do list and is unfinished business for me. To open up law reform in the states we need to change the federal law and I intend to do just that”.  Fiona Patten 

Learn more at

I ask Karina what brought her to psychedelics in terms of developing a legal practice.

How she’s developing a practice that builds ESG, ethics and creating best practice in the world of psychedelics whether it be the corporate sector the public service or non profit sector.

How to create the values of this new area with the pressures of other forces?

As the psychedelics wave moves into new states what does the conversation look and like as discussions open about decriminalization and legalization for therapy.

Are the unspoken rules and ethics of the 70 year “underground” applicable to the new world of regulated psychedelics and treatment.

More information at

In our series of talking to psychedelics lawyers to try and get a deeper understanding of work they do.

I talk to Taylor about  how she came to being a psychedelics lawyer and what it means for her to be a psychedelics lawyer in her daily practice.

Her chosen speciality is working with religious and spiritual organisations so they can operate legally in the US.

We discuss the practicalities of creating systems and structures for clients that work within the US legal system.

We also discuss how law comes to understand the holistic nature of psychedelics over time.

Karma Koala Podcast 231: Darren Gleeman of MBO Ventures NY, Re-Scheduling, “It’s In Never Never Land” + Ricketts & Lankford , “To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to maintain the prohibition on allowing any deduction or credit associated with a trade or business involved in trafficking marijuana.”

Darren thinks the discussion is over on re-scheduling , time to be realistic and think of some sort of legalization process around in 2030. That means 230e remains and the bean counters will be very happy.

Add to the mix Ricketts & Lankford and their thinking

We chew over what the states may do in the meantime

Also we explore  the issue of money and cannabis & hemp politics from a state perspective

Darren’s a New Yorker so I ask him his thoughts on the market at the moment and what’s coming next.

Learn more at

Paul is pretty realistic about his chances of winning the seat but at the same time wants to raise awareness in the premier’s electorate about medicinal cannabis and hemp.

We discuss all the usual topics and his hope for the cannabis party in both West Australia and the forthcoming Australian federal electio

Paul Mavor (B Pharm MPS) is a registered Australian and UK pharmacist.

His company Health House International, was granted the first medicinal cannabis import and export licence in Australia in 2017.

Learn more at

A couple of weeks back I noticed a post on Linked In where Evan mentioned he’d just published a report that he’d worked on as private paper without funding.

I was immediately more than intrigued and after noticing the flippancy of the very few comments on Linked In about his work and the almost complete lack of interest in what he had published, made me all the more determined to find out more about the author and his work.

“Energy-intensive indoor cultivation drives the cannabis industry’s expanding carbon footprint”

Evan is a native Californian with an energy knowledge CV that would knock the socks off most all comers

Senior Scientist (retired 2018) => Affiliate (to Present) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Principal Energy Associates Energy Associates 1984 - Present 

UC Berkeley, Energy & Resources Group 2008 to Present 

Visiting Researcher Lund University

I set up a call with Evan to talk about his report and it soon became obvious that this wasn't going to be a simple 30 minutes chat but likely 4 podcasts to cover an issue that has been buried by everybody across the board.

Not just the cannabis industry itself, but investors, legislators, cannabis regulators, environmental regulators state and federal and a host of others.

And as Evan points out he's not just talking about the industrialized greenhouse & vertical regulated industry but also the illegal cannabis cultivation industry in North America that some believe to be 3/4's of current production.

Evan has also published the following papers on cannabis energy consumption.

See the researchgate link below to read his papers

July 2012 The Carbon Footprint of Indoor Cannabis Production
June 2020 Energy Use by the Indoor Cannabis Industry: Inconvenient Truths for Producers, Consumers, and Policymakers
May 2021 Comment on "Cannabis and the Environment: What Science Tells Us and What We Still Need to Know"
July 2022 Cannabis ESG Risk is a Buzzkill for Investors
July 2022 The Incompatibility of Cannabis Factory Farming with the Principles of ESG Risk Management and Impact Investment
December 2022 Contrary to Conventional Methods, Best Practices for Cannabis Cultivation Result in Less Intensive Land and Water Use for Outdoor than for Indoor Farming 

Learn More

Fantastic to connect with Sita and talk in detail about the German market.

The main takeaway from discussing what’s happening in country at the moment is think like a local and if you act like a pharamceutical life could be a lot easier for you.

We also discuss the rest of Europe and try to understand the current  thinking in Brussels on cannabis, in shorthand there’s just too much else going on.

Sita also touches on current developments with regard to medical in Ukraine, Portugal & France.

Lots of insights and as always we ran out of time before we discussed everything so we’ll be back for no.2 very soon.

Thankyou Sita

Learn more about Sita and the EUMCA at the podcast page

It was great to connect with Dr Mark Darko the CEO of the Ghana Chamber of Cannabis Industry after the news in the past week that the country's regulated low THC, medicinal & industrial hemp  markets will soon be open for business.

Mark tells us how we got here, what they are waiting on from government and the conversations Ghana are looking to have in the region, throughout the continent and internationally.

We discuss a range of topics

What the legislation allows for
Licensing
Ownership structures
Investment structures
Developing the industry
Education
The role of the AFCFTA

Thankyou Mark for taking time to speak to us

More information at

Here at the Karma Koala podcast it's great to hear from a CEO who doesn't spout the same old cannabis business platitudes.

First up, I have to thank Gibran for his patience as i was just heading into my second bout of dengue fever in two weeks and the brain was operating at limited capacity at 8.30pm on a Wednesday evening in late January.

He soon had this koala engaged though and we discussed amongst many things

His move from F&B into cannabis

The role of manufactured scent and flavor agents entering the cannabis retail market

Regulatory agencies

The challenges of being an sme mso trying to work with different legislative and compliance environments

How the change of administration in Washington DC effects business

Thoughts on the global market & international trade

and ..yes his thoughts on product / medicine vs brand

Once again thanks to Gibran for taking time with me up the eucalyptus

Learn More

On the recent annoucement of Adam Levin pleading guilty to SEC charges, see the story below, I thought it woud be a good time to get on a Zoom with California native, cannabis expert and consultant Avis Bulbulyan to get his thoughts on the High Times debacle.

It also made for a perfect lead in to a wider conversation about opportunities in California at the moment, yes there are opportunities for some, investors especially who have the pick of distressed assets. That said if you are a consultant things are running a bit tougher at the moment

We touch on the Trump effect and also Avis’ thoughts on Newsom who calls it a day in 2028, will he do anything interesting cannabis wise in the interim?

Hre’s the Levin report  for a bit of background to the podcast and we’ve published many other stories on him if you want to dig more, just pump Adam Levin or High Times into our search box and you’ll be spoilt for choice!

More at

Thankyou to Sean for taking time to talk to us high up in  the eucalyptus …

Not only is Sean a in house legal counsel for an Australian medical cannabis company prior to this role he worked at the ASX in the early days of medical cannabis listings in Australia giving him an insight into the sector that few others have.

We talk across a range of topics including

How the ASX manages cannabis listings and compliance especially with regard to “Advisors Listings”
How testing of medical product occurs in the Australian market and what role the TGA plays

The current state of play in the medical vs recreational debate.

When an all encompassing bill may get through in Canberra
Tinkering with the current medical cannabis programme
The role of associations in the Australian industry

and lots more

See More Info At

A chance Linked in connection led us to this conversation with Kirsten.

I was interested to learn what led her to authoring her Cannabis Basics Textbook and her thoughts on cannabis education generally in the US.

We speak about cannabis education,  community colleges, tertiary institutions, public libraries and education via associations and public speaking.

Kirsten has now left the freezing plains of illinois for an all together sunnier climate in Spain, we also discuss what brought her there and her new business, of which there’s more information below.

See at Link

I speak to Varin about the parlous state of the Northern Ireleand hemp industry.

It has remained too long a cottage industry and without buy in from local government, Stormont and of course Westminister that’s the way it’s going to stay.

It’s the story I hear the planet over, a complete lack of investment to develop proper processing facilities for industrial hemp.

Being part of the UK Northern Ireland has the same issues as England & Scotland a beyond useless  labour government with zero understanding  of and desire to develop hemp and don’t forget the standard UK party political nepotism which means quietly a limited number of people get to line their pockets.

Also, being Northern Irelan,  there is also an element of Irish politics at play where north and south aren’t really talking to one another in anything but the flimsiest way.

Now.. would it be great if it were hemp and cannabis that led the charge in change. Yes i know that’s somewaht naive looking at the power of the black market drugs trade in the south at the moment but it’s a nice thought.

Thankyou Varin for talking to the Karma Koalas but also finding positives in a landscape that isn’t offering too many at the moment.

Learn More At

Karma Koala hasn’t spoken to Peter Homberg for a while so I thought I quick catch-up would be in hand as he and his team have moved to UK firm Gunnercooke (he will remain based in Berlin) ......and also, since the collapse of the coalition government late last year and an election forthcoming in February which many guess will be another coalition but this time led by conservatives …

I ask what’s the outlook for cannabis.

We discuss

Politics
Germany aiming to avoid boom bust medical cannabis market
Germany’s ever growing medical cannabis import market and opportunities
Adult use cannabis clubs and homegrow
What role, if any, do the courts play in the country’s cannabis market
When is Pillar 2 coming into play?
Opportunities in other EU jurisdictions

BIO

Peter Homberg specialises in life sciences, IP and corporate law, and M&A transactions.

He particularly advises companies in the pharmaceutical, diagnostics, medical device and biotechnology sectors on research and development contracts, collaboration agreements, cross-border IP licensing and IP strategies. He also has extensive experience in advising on compliance issues and advises companies extensively in the field of medical cannabis.

Peter is a frequent speaker at seminars and conferences and is the author of numerous articles and other publications on corporate or IP law in the areas of life sciences and medical cannabis. In addition, he has extensive transaction experience in Southeast Asia.

Learn more at

Thankyou to Matt for taking time out to discuss the new psychedelics program in Colorado and how it compares to Oregon’s program.

We also discuss what being a psychedelics lawyer means in terms of the practicalities of day to day work and also what it means in terms of how as a lawyer he now operates.

He also highlights how the Psychedelic Bar Association looks at the way way law is practised and how the body aims to use education to look at different ways of doing things

In short psychedelics law is more than just putting programs into effect and servicing clients but also a tool to looking at law itself and how it can change the status quo.

Read more about Matt at

Bethany has worked in the cannabis sector for the last decade and has amongst other things been the Manager of Regulatory Permitting, USA  @Canopy Growth Corporation, the Chief Compliance Consultant  at the American Cannabis Company Inc and also the President at the Industrial Hemp Research Foundation from Nov 2023 – Nov 2024. 

She has now launched her own mediation company and we discuss what she hopes to do with the business, why private mediation is better than the courts ( it’s cheaper and quicker) and what types of dsputes she is dealing with. We also discuss forthcoming devlopments and changes in the US cannabis and hemp sectors.

Bethany writes..

With a deep and diverse background in cannabis compliance and conflict resolution, I bring clarity and confidence to an industry often characterized by complexity.

As the founder of Axial Resolutions, I specialize in mediation and conflict resolution for the cannabis sector, helping businesses navigate disputes while preserving relationships and fostering collaboration. My approach combines industry knowledge, professionalism, and a commitment to practical solutions that empower companies to focus on growth and innovation.

Previously, I founded Axial Compliance Consulting, where I guided cannabis businesses through the intricate and often overwhelming maze of regulatory requirements. From securing licensure to creating Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), I worked with cultivators, dispensaries, consulting firms, and law offices across states like Colorado, California, Oregon, Washington, and Massachusetts. My meticulous attention to detail, legal expertise, and vast industry network earned me a reputation as a trusted resource for navigating even the most challenging compliance issues.

Throughout my career, I’ve not only tackled the nitty-gritty details of compliance but also educated and empowered clients to make informed decisions. Whether it’s ensuring safe cultivation practices, training employees on regulations, or navigating the gray areas of marketing, I offer actionable insights to keep businesses compliant and thriving.

Today, I continue to serve the cannabis industry as both a mediator and a resource for solving regulatory, operational, and interpersonal challenges. Let’s work together to resolve conflicts, build stronger partnerships, and ensure long-term success in this dynamic and evolving market.

Karma Koala starts the year with a wide ranging conversation about psychedelics, writing & communication in the digital age.

Recorded on the last day of 2024 I thought it might be interesting to talk to Adam about communicating psychedelic(s) ideas both from an academic and business standpoint as the Colorado program flaps its baby wings in January 2025.

We cover a gamut of topics including

Psychedelics, content, writing and language in the digital age / sphere
Psychedelics and education in terms of communication and writing
How does psychedelic knowledge and capitalism co-exist

Adam Miezio

Adam is a Content Marketing Manager in the psychedelics field with a consistent history of driving lead generation and accelerating revenue growth through the creation of on-brand digital marketing campaigns and refining SEO strategy. Experience leading both B2B and B2C digital marketing campaigns, identifying and articulating brand voice to disparate audiences. Data-driven with extensive experience analyzing consumer trends and business insights to deliver performance-driven content and communication strategies.

I am an experienced psychedelic writer, psychedelic copywriter, psychedelic content marketer, and have 10+ years of experience in SEO content writing, content creation, content strategy and analytics. I am equally adept at content creation either from the retreat side or the biomedical side. My writing often crosses over into mental health education and mental health disorders: PTSD, trauma, substance abuse disorders, depression, and others. 

I have psychedelic experience in a variety of sets and settings, including spiritual and therapeutic contexts. I have worked with a wide variety of plant medicines and medicinal psychedelic substances: psilocybin, peyote, MDMA, DMT, 5 Meo DMT, ayahuasca, LSD, etc.

Learn more at

In this episode, the last of the year, I speak with small cannabis producer from New Mexico, Richard Strahlem.

Richard contacted me wishing to discuss the New Mexico statutory cannabis management body and the issues he and others have had with the body over the past couple of years.

He co-signed the following open letter sent to the state’s governor along with over 100 other small cannabis producers and businesses in the middle of the year with the assistance from the state chamber of commerce and as yet, says, they’ve heard nothing back from anybody in the New Mexico administration.

In the letter and the podcast Richard outlines how licensing has been managed in the state and what seems like a total inability by the NM CCD to explain or manage the program efficiently.

The current director Todd Stevens is the body's 4th director in only 2 and a half years and previously worked in Colorado's cannabis retail private sector.

Richard talks us through his compliance issues with the NM CCD the lack of license oversight, only 50% of licensed businesses inspected as yet.

The NM CCD appears to change rules with what seems like little thought on how to share that information in a timely fashion with license holders and what was most worrying to hear, was something I have heard throughout 2024 about under pressure licensing authorities in other states.

That being, if a licensee is a little to vocal in their criticism or are demanding answers suddenly the compliance enforcement of their license(s) is stepped up.

Throughout our conversation Richard's frustration is evident and the same that i've heard and read aabout all year from smaller businesses around the US.

Cannabis programs & legislative frameworks were supposedly designed to encourage the smaller players or those who had been affected by the war in drugs with the concept of equity licensing.

In some cases the legislation has been somewhat flawed but not disastrously so.

This conversation and many others I have witnessed throughout the year tend to point to the state regulatory bodies and their leadership of lack thereof.

I also believe that, in many cases,  the hiring and HR practices used to find employees for these bodies is seriously flawed and simply put the wrong people are being hired to manage these programs. This is yet another conversation that bears this out.

CANNRA keep telling us what a great job their members are doing but  vignettes from the frontline around the country suggest that this isn't actually the case. If you are a big company with reserves of cash and experienced lawyers and other professionals you'll do alright but if you are further down the pecking order it's sink or swim.

Richard like many others in his predicament understand the market they are in and don't complain about the difficulties or even the inbuilt inequities of programs but what really rankles is the inability of program managers or staff to work with licensees.

We were, in the main, told that cannabis was also meant to be an opportunity for smaller players to build good local and profitable businesses.

If, at the moment this isn't even been bourne out in smaller states like New Mexico what hope do we have in seeing anything positive happening for smaller producers in the big states.

I don't hold out hope that 2025 will bring the solutions if I'm being honest.

Which is a sad state of affairs to finish this year on.

A great conversation with Corey about the growth of insurance cover for cannabis businesses, plant touching and non plant touching, throughout the US.

Similar to finance it has been the state operators who have taken on the mantle and generally those at the independent and SME end of the scale. Insurers who understand local rules and regs and have been willing to understand their clients and the risk factors involved in the industry.

Corey alludes to the fact that the bigger companies who have either just decided to appear on the scene or are still waiting on the touchline are most probably out of the game already.

We also discuss the work he’s beginning to do outside the US and the various scenarios for cannabis businesses and insurance as we go into 2025 where a number of factors from re-scheduling to a new administration will play a big hand in how the sector is insured going forward.

Corey recently attended MJ Biz in Vegas which allowed us to also discuss his thoughts on the state of play of the sector generally.

In precis, there’s still business and there are still opportunities aplenty just smarter and more considered that the first goldrush which is now well and truly consigned to history.

Thankyou to Corey

Corey Tobin

At Symphony Risk, my focus is on devising strategic insurance solutions for Cannabis businesses, leveraging a deep understanding of industry-specific risks to negotiate favorable terms and robust coverage. Our team’s proactive approach has positioned us as trusted advisors, facilitating over 200 Cannabis Insurance accounts. We pride ourselves on fostering trust and maintaining transparency, ensuring accountability for our commitments, and delivering on our promise of comprehensive risk management.

With a background that includes coordinating commercial lines and serving as a property and casualty producer, my expertise lies in analyzing business needs and crafting tailored insurance programs. This experience has honed my skills in sales, communication, and business analysis, which are instrumental in my current role. At Symphony, we’re dedicated to providing solutions that protect our clients’ assets and reputations.

Learn more at

We recorded this interview with Jen Reise on Tuesday and then had to travel midweek.

By the time i had edited the interview at an airport and got the interview live it appears the state have stepped back on the lottery approach…

You’ve read the short reports and the mediabites

Now hear from the lawyer behind the litigation on why the lottery had to end up in front of a judge.

Jen Randolph Reise

Head of Business and Cannabis Law

Jen Randolph Reise is an attorney and entrepreneur. As the Head of Business and Cannabis Law at North Star Law Group, she advises business owners on formation, capital raising, and other corporate issues, especially (but not exclusively) in the legal cannabis industry. She is passionate about helping founders manage risk proactively and maintain control while raising the capital they need.

After graduating law school summa cum laude in 2007, she was in private practice at a large Minneapolis firm for six years and spent four years in-house as securities and corporate governance counsel at a public company. She then served as a Visiting Professor at Mitchell Hamline School of Law for three years, where she taught doctrinal business law courses with an emphasis on transactional law and business skills.