The Cannabis Accounting Podcast

In this episode of the Cannabis Accounting Podcast, host Raymond Guns sits down with Eric Halpern, founder of The Halp Center, to break down how cannabis retailers can buy smarter, turn inventory faster, and stop tying up cash in the vault.Eric started his career as a big box pharmacist and moved into Connecticut's medical marijuana program in 2019, when dispensaries had to be run by pharmacists. Over six and a half years at Fine Fettle, he went from buying for a single store to leading commercial strategy for 11 locations across Connecticut and Massachusetts.Eric breaks down:💵 Cash hiding on the shelf: the simple ratio he runs first with every client🗂️ Clean data before any analysis: How duplicate products and messy categories hide the truth📦 Vendor managed inventory: With buyers juggling 40 to 60+ vendors, why brands that can turn retailer data into suggested orders will have an edge💊 Pharmacy meets cannabis: Why beverages are a low-stakes entry point and what Schedule III could mean for medical patientsEric's view of the next few years is measured: prices and taxes that make sense for customers, beverages as a familiar way to try cannabis, and a slow path toward pharmacy and insurance for medical. His parting advice for operators is refreshingly practical. Know how many days of inventory you're holding, how many you should be holding, and how much cash that gap would free up.Subscribe for deep dives on cannabis business, accounting, regs, and growth! 🔥👉 The Halp Center: https://thehalpcenter.com/ 📧 Eric Halpern: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ejhalp/

Ready to specialize as a cannabis CFO?👉 Apply and book a call with our team: https://go.dopecfo.com/get-started-6?...We'll walk you through the three pillars of a thriving specialized cannabis CFO practice, and show you exactly how DOPE CFO gets you serving cannabis operators at the highest level, faster.In this video, Andrew Hunzicker, CPA and founder of DOPE CFO, walks through the complete cannabis rescheduling story from Schedule I to Schedule III, explains how Section 280E going away is triggering a roughly 20% cash flow boost and a 5 to 7 times valuation increase across the industry, and lays out what accountants and CFO advisors need to know to position for the wave of new cannabis startups, M&A activity, and specialized advisory work coming in 2026 and beyond.Andrew has trained thousands of accountants over the last eight years, both through DOPE CFO and at national firms. He helps plan and lead the AICPA Cannabis Conference every year, and he is speaking at the 2026 conference alongside Viridian Analytics on the cannabis capital flows now hitting the industry.Andrew covers:The complete rescheduling timeline from October 2022 to todayWhy cannabis company valuations just jumped an estimated 5 to 7 times (per Viridian Analytics), plus what's coming nextWhy tax returns for cannabis operators are actually getting more complex (not less), and the specific advisory work accountants can charge for nowAndrew's playbook for accountants ready to enter the spaceThis is what a real specialized CFO practice looks like when the pricing model actually reflects the value delivered.Get started here: https://go.dopecfo.com/get-started-6?...

In this episode of the Cannabis Accounting Podcast, host Raymond Guns sits down with @jessejredmond (Jesse Redmond), Chief Strategy & Investor Relations Officer at LEEF Brands, to unpack a supply chain problem most consumers never hear about, and how it shapes the way LEEF builds its concentrates business. Jesse spent two decades running hedge funds before pivoting into cannabis, building his own dispensary from the ground up before joining LEEF.Jesse breaks down:🔬 The hidden pesticide problem: More than half of the cannabis biomass LEEF sources from outside farms fails pesticide testing, not from bad practices by cannabis growers, but from overspray drifting in off neighboring wine, blueberry, and strawberry farms.🌱 Why concentrates make it worse: Cannabis is a bioaccumulator. Concentrate it and you don't just multiply the terpenes and cannabinoids 3 to 4X, you multiply the pesticides right along with them.🌍 What a national cannabis market could look like: Cannabis can't cross state lines today, but Jesse thinks it's headed where wine and beer already went, most volume coming from scaled West Coast growers, with local and craft options still holding their own. LEEF has already applied for a DEA export license.📊 Where the market's actually headed: Concentrates now make up 54% of products sold in California, and vapes have overtaken flower as the state's top form factor for the first time.📦 The "Intel Inside" model: LEEF built its own farm to feed its extraction labs, then wholesales the concentrate to brands like Kiva, Jetty, and Heavy Hitters rather than putting its own name on the shelf.💰 Debt vs. equity, done right: Jesse breaks down when to take on debt, why he favors preferred stock structures over cheap dilution, and the lesson every cannabis operator should take from watching companies lose their license to lenders.Jesse's optimism isn't rose-tinted. He's watched cannabis stocks fall over 90%, watched companies lose their license to lenders, and spent years solving a supply chain problem most of the industry doesn't talk about. But two decades on the inside of institutional investing and cannabis alike have him convinced the fundamentals are turning, clean supply, real demand data, and a real path toward a national market. If you want a grounded look at what actually goes into a clean cannabis concentrate, this is the episode.Subscribe for deep dives on cannabis business, accounting, regs, and growth! 🔥📧 Jesse Redmond: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesseredmond/

In this episode of the Cannabis Accounting Podcast, Andrew Hunzicker, founder of DOPE CFO, recaps the biggest cannabis industry news heading into the DEA rescheduling final decision and the AICPA Cannabis Conference.Listen to learn about:✅ Why medical marijuana's move to Schedule III in April is already reshaping state rules, including a Georgia ruling that allows cannabis to be shipped by mail✅ The DEA rescheduling hearing's final briefs, and why even anti-cannabis witnesses admitted under oath that cannabis meets the Schedule III definition✅ Why Texas officials are calling hemp "a crisis" while hemp-derived THC sits on gas station shelves across the state✅ New federal bills to decriminalize cannabis and hemp, and what the midterms could mean for their odds✅ 218,000 marijuana possession arrests in 2025, and the Florida case raising questions about enforcement priorities✅ How Canada quietly passed California to become the world's largest cannabis marketArticles mentioned in this episode:https://themarijuanaherald.com/2026/08/u-s-legal-marijuana-sales-reach-2-56-billion-in-july-bringing-2026-total-to-roughly-16-6-billionhttps://themarijuanaherald.com/2026/08/u-s-senate-approves-bill-that-would-delay-federal-hemp-restrictions https://themarijuanaherald.com/2026/08/u-s-senate-confirms-todd-blanche-as-attorney-general-2 https://www.marijuanamoment.net/square-tells-businesses-to-stop-selling-hemp-and-cbd-products-in-light-of-upcoming-federal-ban https://www.marijuanamoment.net/marijuana-could-generate-111-billion-in-tax-revenue-over-a-decade-if-legalized-federally-and-in-all-50-states-yale-report-shows https://www.marijuanamoment.net/medical-marijuana-can-be-delivered-in-the-mail-by-usps-under-trumps-rescheduling-move-georgia-officials-say https://www.marijuanamoment.net/texas-officials-call-hemp-a-crisis-while-bigger-public-safety-threats-go-unanswered-op-ed https://ganjapreneur.com/federal-bill-would-regulate-intoxicating-hemp-beverages-like-alcohol https://www.marijuanamoment.net/dea-and-anti-marijuana-groups-file-final-briefs-in-hearing-on-trump-administration-rescheduling-proposal https://themarijuanaherald.com/2026/08/missouri-receives-nearly-900-applications-for-final-marijuana-microbusiness-lottery-set-for-september-9 https://www.marijuanamoment.net/dea-releases-full-marijuana-rescheduling-hearing-transcript-as-judge-prepares-to-issue-his-recommendation https://themarijuanaherald.com/2026/08/more-than-218000-marijuana-arrests-reported-in-u-s-in-2025-up-7-from-previous-year https://themarijuanaherald.com/2026/08/florida-grand-jury-finds-10-million-in-taxpayer-money-was-misappropriated-millions-used-to-fight-marijuana-legalization https://ganjapreneur.com/as-square-exits-hemp-and-cbd-cova-software-reaffirms-its-commitment-to-regulated-retailers https://www.sfgate.com/cannabis/article/california-falling-cannabis-market-22401030.php

In this episode of the Cannabis Accounting Podcast, host Raymond Guns sits down with Jason Cieland, CFO of Intrinsic, to unpack why cannabis companies with strong sales numbers still end up in receivership, why 280E relief isn't the lifeline most operators think it is, and how overbuying equipment on hype can wipe out a balance sheet.Jason spent 17 years in public accounting before joining Intrinsic in 2018, helping the founder build out the company's finance function from the ground up. Today he oversees a Michigan cannabis manufacturer that sells wholesale to roughly 600 dispensaries across the state.Jason breaks down:📉 The growth trap: Why taking on too much debt to scale fast, especially with private equity money in the mix, is the fastest way cannabis companies end up in receivership.⚖️ 280E's fine print: Why the DEA's move to reschedule cannabis for medical use doesn't help the 97% of the industry that's adult use, and why Jason isn't building his tax strategy around federal change.🧪 The extraction equipment trap: How buying processing equipment at the top of the market can leave you unable to recoup the cost once prices fall.💰 Michigan's 24% tax: How the new wholesale tax stacks on top of the existing 6% sales and 10% excise tax, and why Intrinsic moved to COD to manage it.📊 Know your cogs: Why Jason reviews cost of goods every two weeks, down to the cost per gram, before he'll even talk about pricing or profit.🧾 AR collections reality: Why Intrinsic runs two full-time collections staff separate from sales, and the front-end vetting that keeps bad debt from piling up.Jason's take is a useful gut check for anyone tempted to scale on borrowed money or bank on federal relief that doesn't apply to them yet. The operators who make it through this next stretch, in his view, are the ones who grow only as fast as their cash flow allows and know their real costs cold.Subscribe for deep dives on cannabis business, accounting, regs, and growth! 🔥👉 Intrinsic: https://intrinsicmi.com/