The Canna Podcast

What we aim to do at #TheCannaPodcast is to have an hour-long conversation with professionals working in the CBD industry. That could be #CBD, #hemp, #cannabis. You name it, we're into it. We aim to have in-depth conversations with professionals in the #cannabis industry.This interview took place in Anoka, at their brand new CBD/Hemp store in downtown Anoka off of second Avenue. This store is the next iteration of the House Of Oil Worx brand and has been Jamie Croyle's dream since she and her husband began working on a CBD drop ship business in 2018. As she says in the interview, "It's the dream baby, the dream!". 1919 2nd Avenue, Anoka, MN 55303They took over the storefront from the old Lillian's, a well-known clothing store that had existed in Anoka for years. They are excited to bring fresh new products and ideas to the Anoka community. They understand that the Anoka location will take time to morph and grow into their vision, but they believe their quality mix of both local and national CBD products will provide the right group of products to entice local buyers to stop into their store.The husband and wife duo initially decided they would drop ship CBD products and they were on that path for about eight months until they visited a CBD extraction company while they were on vacation in Boulder, Colorado. They were there for a personal vacation but they decided to take up an invitation from an extractor to visit their facility and they quickly fell in love with the idea of creating their own brand. When they returned from vacation the duo shifted gears and began investing in their own product. What they realized is that in order to sell something, they really needed to believe in the product! By creating their own product line, House of OilWorx has taken an extra step to ensure they know where the product comes from and that the quality is good. During the interview Jamie says, "I can't sell something that I don't know anything about. So, that's why we invested in our own brand. And decided that we wanted to bring our own broad spectrum products to people. 0.0% THC."Take a listen today, and make sure to subscribe and leave a comment! 

Late last month we interviewed John Strohfus, CEO and Founder of Minnesota Hemp Farms. John grew up in Hastings, MN. Right along the Saint Croix River Valley. He grew up on a small farm. His father worked for Coca Cola and the family had commercial horse boarding. Most of their excess land was rented out for corn, wheat, soybean, and alfalfa farming. So he was very immersed in the agriculture industry. He went to college at Saint Cloud State University and went on to have a nineteen-year career with Accenture, a large IT consulting company. His father passed in 2010 and he had the opportunity to buy out the family farm estate in 2010. They then expanded the farm’s operations (horse boarding, hay production, brought beef cattle direct to the consumer). In 2015, Hemp was coming through the legislation, and John thought that it would be a tremendous opportunity. He was very passionate about being the first person to grow hemp in Minnesota. In 2017, John launched Field Theory Hemp Products, a CPG brand that sells hemp food, CBD, and CBD for pets.A lot of people didn’t understand the benefits of hemp when they first got started. Most people don’t realize how good hemp is as a food product. Plant proteins are in vogue and plant-based diets are becoming increasingly popular. John’s family eats hemp at home with his kids, they’ve even used hemp hearts in their spaghetti! Hemp is a great option for those looking for a complete protein. It really is a superfood.John doesn’t really see his hemp production as competing against other crops. But, hemp is the highest plant-based protein next to soybeans. It’s a great alternative to soy and it’s a compliment to chia seeds. It’s a little behind pea protein as far as product development goes.John takes a measured approach when it comes to talking about hemp. He doesn’t want the buzz that’s surrounding hemp to become annoying or overly played out. 

"How Supporting Local and Giving Back Can Go a Long Way"Nate officially launched Cannesota in March of 2019, since then he's been focused on providing plant based solutions for people who desire cannabinoids. On today's podcast we go through Nate's startup story and the inspiration behind Cannesota. Nate started his business by biking around the Twin Cities delivering homemade CBD, vegan gummies. Throughout the podcast you'll hear how Nate made the right moves along the way to ensure that his company was set up in the right way from an investor, legal, and banking perspective. One of the best moves that Nate made was choosing the right investor. To learn more about Nate and the Cannesota story, check out Canna.MN and search for Cannesota. To read an earlier feature on Nate check out this story here: https://canna.mn/2019/10/09/affordable-cbd-oil-cannesota-begins-to-see-success/

Today on the podcast we have Shawn Weber.Shawn Weber was born and raised in Morgan, MN. Right on the MN River Valley. About 1 hr 45 minutes from the #TwinCities. Cannabis has been a part of his life since 1997, listen how he launched a second career inside the Minnesota Hemp Industry. Shawn Weber has worked in the industrial automation industry since 1999. He works with companies that build machinery that make everyday products. Electrical assembly, food processing, automotive assembly, etc. Along the way he has worked his way up from the bottom. One year ago he launched a cannabis company called Crested River (he still works for a company that makes the components, that go onto the machines, that do stuff.)Shawn discusses the prospects of a new industry (Cannabis) that is primed for innovation and streamlining. He's confident that his experience within industrial automation will allow him to merge his new career with his existing. And he has this to say about the Gold Rush, "People are getting in trouble really fast, because they see dollar bills, they see huge opportunities for the recreational market, and it's not that they aren't thinking things through. It's just that they don't have a good understanding of the caveats and the needs of the space, the market, the plant." - Shawn Weber Having a lot of knowledge on the Food Safety Modernization Act, the processes and backgrounds, helps Shawn be proactive in the processes and the techniques to ensure the quality control is on point. If one-day Crested River decides to automate their processes, Shawn understands how he can streamline the process to take out all the human errors and know what caveats to watch out for. The catalyst of Crested River came from making #cannabis more accessible for friends and families. Shawn aims to keep overhead low so that he can offer entry level CBD products for under $50. Innovation through automation will help bring these costs down. Crested River's mission:Bring #Relief.Bring medicinal relief. Bring economic relief. Bring agricultural relief. Bring societal relief. 

Back in late February, during the US Hemp Growers Conference & Expo, I reached out to Zach Rohr in hopes of interviewing him for a Canna.MN feature. After two days of phone tag at the conference, I found him on the MN Hemp Processing Panel organized by Sara Kietzer. This was a great panel that featured leaders in the MN Hemp Processing Industry. During the panel I sat next to Steven Brown, CEO of Nothing But Hemp. I mentioned to him that I was going to be recording a podcast with Zach after the panel and asked him if he would want to join us. Zach and Steven collaborate on a regular basis so the two were perfect for a podcast together. The three of us got settled near a quiet area and there happened to be Luke Terry! Luke is a subject matter expert in the Hemp industry and was a presenter at the conference. He joined us for the conversation and added a valuable voice to the conversation. What started as two people, ended up being four. This is a testament to the opportunities that are out there when we work together. Let's keep finding ways to collaborate and build this industry bigger and better!