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How Greg Gamet Became a Cannabis Business Legend

by Travis C | Jun 28, 2017 | Blog, Business

In 2008, Greg Gamet walked into Cultivate Colorado to buy his first set of grow lights and equipment. Eight years later and he is a legend in the cannabis industry, and a pioneer in the world of legal cannabis.

What started as a small grow in a basement evolved into one of the first cannabis businesses in Colorado. While his Dank Dispensary thrives, Gamet has pushed the envelope further with his other businesses including a consulting firm, a child-safe cannabis storage company and the creation of CannaScore, a revolutionary cannabis compliance software.

Godfather of Legal Cannabis

Greg started growing cannabis in his basement prior to Colorado’s legalization initiative, which put him in a prime position to make a move on the new industry upon the eventual passing of Amendment 64. If anybody knows firsthand how to handle the ever-changing laws of the Colorado cannabis landscape, it is Greg Gamet.

At the beginning of his journey into the recreational industry, Greg was faced with the hardship of being one of the first to apply for permits and licenses through the city of Denver. While warehouses were being bought left and right by others in the industry, Greg took his time to learn the regulations and changes he would need to make to be more successful than those jumping in head first.

Regulation and Growth

While the industry was growing and changing constantly, the vast amount of grey area within the regulatory system began to grow as well. While many were tempted and went for the easy way out by taking advantage of the flawed system, Greg and his team never ventured away from, “It’s probably legal.”

The financial issues that arose from his endeavor led to Greg eventually reaching out to potential investors for aid. And as those who were compliant came together to grow the industry through mutual partnerships, the industry began to normalize. Greg described it best, saying, “It’s above board now. You can have a conversation at the bar while you’re drinking your beer at a normal, normal level and not worry about somebody overhearing you and getting turned in, because you have a home grow. So, the knowledge started sharing.”

Diversifying Cannabis

After establishing a foot-hold within the industry, Greg branched off from growing to start Kush Bottles, a regulated, child-safe cannabis storage container company in California. The creation of Kush Bottles led to the eventual creation of and joining with the Denver Consulting Group, a major player in the current cannabis compliance field.

With the two companies now together, Greg and his team helped local dispensaries and others become more compliant, whether with building permits and limitations or aiding in the design and compliance of packaging.

Today, Greg Gamet spends his time travelling around to various conferences and speaking at panels as an expert in the cannabis industry. What started as a landscaping job turned grow-op in his basement has evolved, branched out, and grown into a far-reaching name that is known throughout the industry.

Expanding Horizons

Greg’s next venture is Gold Flora, a massive operation in California with over 600,000 square feet of cultivation and manufacturing space. With a new recreational market rapidly growing and facing road-blocks in the golden state, Greg is ahead of the game in regards to research.

With his already vast knowledge of the recreational industry in Colorado, Greg’s experience will be a welcomed relief to those struggling to combat the strict new regulations facing California’s cannabis entrepreneurs. Denver Consulting Group has also expanded its reach to the west coast, bringing the industry knowledge of the some of the biggest players in the legal market with it to cover Greg and his ventures.

A Legend

The legal cannabis landscape is constantly changing. The pressures of state and local governments as well the ever-looming federal status of cannabis makes being an entrepreneur in the industry all the more stressful. People like Greg Gamet are the silent saints of the cannabis industry, the knowledge and experience he carries creating the path to success for many that have come after him.

It would not be an overstatement to say that Greg Gamet is one of the leaders responsible for the major growth and expansion of the recreational cannabis industry, and he will continue to the lead the industry for years to come. Greg is every cannabis entrepreneur; he started in his basement and saw the opportunity to grow his business as the laws changed. He faced the hardships when they started, so those that try to become part of the booming industry now no longer must face them alone.

420 Rally Banned in Denver for Three Years

by Travis C | Jun 19, 2017 | 420 Culture & Travel, 420 News, Blog

Denver’s 420 rally has been banned from Denver’s Civic Center Park for the next three years, but does anyone really care?

The ban comes after city council members say that the organizers of the Denver 420 rally/festival left the park a complete disaster, with trash strewn everywhere. While the city’s decision may seem to put a damper on things, the reality is that the spirit of 420 will live on…just somewhere else.

Complicated Circumstances

The circumstances surrounding the banning are questionable at best. While it is true that trash was indeed left in an ugly heap all around the 420 rally venue, how the trash got there may not have been the organizers fault. As fast as the reports of the incident hit social media, so did claims disputing the announcement. Dozens of local residents who either took part in the cannabis festival or were passers by, reported that when the event was concluded trash was cleaned up and the park was, for the most part, in order.

It Wasn’t Us

According to Miguel Lopez, the rally’s organizer, the problem came about when a man with a knife, intentionally tried to scuttle the efforts of the festival clean-up crew, who had already bagged up most of the trash. Around 80 to 120 bags were cut open and thrown around by the lone individual, who when confronted, pointed his knife at the workers.

Police were called around 2am to respond, Lopez says. The Denver PD showed up, but made no attempts at taking a report on the incident, a blatant violation of DPD policy. When questioned about it, they acknowledged they had responded but “didn’t know” anything else about the incident at the 420 rally .

Was it ever about the trash?

Despite the revelations by Lopez, the city wasted no opportunity to inject their own personal views on the Denver cannabis festival and the message it permeates. The ban was an opportunity the city council couldn’t pass up, yet it had very little to do with trash. According to Lopez, the ban is the city’s way of silencing the festival’s message. He plans to fight the ban, as the rally was pulled off without a hitch, until an act of sabotage spoiled the fun for everyone.

Another point of contention, according to Lopez, is that the 420 festival had until noon the next day to do clean-up, a deadline which was met. Lopez was also fined almost $12,000 for the incident, while according to the city, damages totaled only $190.

Here, there, 420 everywhere

The one thing that the city of Denver can count on is that the spirit of the 420 rally is not defined by its location. The 420 rally is about freedom, and embracing a culture of togetherness. It’s about loving your neighbor, and coming together as a community. The one thing that the city will never get is that cannabis unites people, and nothing will ever change that, no matter how hard they try.

The Evolution of Cannabis Strains & Cultivation Techniques

by Travis C | Jun 14, 2017 | 420 Culture & Travel, 420 News, Blog, Growing, Science & Technology

On a new episode of The Real Dirt with Chip Baker, Chip sat down in the studio with Dave Malone from Green Dot Labs, and Doug Marvin from nutrient manufacturer Botanicare.

Cannabis extracts are all the rage lately, but not all extracts and cannabis concentrates are created equal. Greed Dot Labs specializes in how to make high grade concentrates made from cannabis flower, grown using top quality seeds and the best nutrients around. But what sets Green Dot Labs apart from the competition? Dedication to quality and innovation in the grow room.

“It’s the timeless classic varietals that we’ve preserved over the years, your kushes your diesels, every so often something new and revolutionary comes out. It’s happening more and more.”

Part of Green Dot Labs’ success is attributable to the quality of their strain genetics. Besides the classics, Green Dot Labs stays on top of the cannabis world by producing some of the newest and best cannabis strains around.

Chip and his guests sampled some Triangle Mints, a cross of Triangle Kush and Girl Scout Cookies, which is just one example of the new and cutting edge genetics being grown at Green Dot labs.

“And now that extraction is a large part of the business in cannabis, we’re able to really see this plant through the different lens and ways we could breed this plant now to have as much essential oil as possible, as much terpene content as possible.”

Cannabis extracts are now the fastest growing segment of the retail cannabis world. They are inexpensive, easy to make and provide a concentrated burst of cannabinoids and terpenes without the fuss of rolling a joint. But not all plants make good extracts, or provide the right amount of cannabinoids or terpenes, leaving Dave and the team at Green Dot Labs to discern which strains are best for concentrates.

As Dave and Chip discuss, the best strains for extraction are those heavy with oils and resins. The best high-cannabinoid plants for blasting have genetics going back to many of the original hash plants like Afghani or Lebanese. These landrace genetics have gone on to play a major role in many of the strains consumed today.

“Once you’ve found out the ways of how Botanicare products can help your plants, it’s hard to go back. I’ve seen cannabis all over the world.”

In order to grow the best plants, you need the best cannabis nutrients. Doug has spent 20 years working to create some of the industry’s top selling nutrient lines. Botanicare has been around since the late ’90s and fuels the garden at Green Dot Labs. Botanicare’s professional lines of nutrients provide a wide range of supplements that pack the punch of nutrient salts for cannabis, while maintaining the fullness and essence of an organic grow.

“So to make the ultimate extract in my mind is to preserve 100 percent of the terpenes on the plant and 100 percent of the cannabinoids, and then homogenize those two and filter out every other impurity such as your lipid, your plant waxes, your cuttin.”

One of the newest trends in cannabis concentrates is called high terpene full spectrum extract. The idea is to preserve 100% of the terpenes and cannabinoids, resulting in the highest quality ‘full spectrum’ cannabis extract available. The need for full spectrum extracts comes from the Entourage Effect, in which terpenes and cannabinoids work together to enhance each other’s properties.

THC or CBD alone fail to reach their full potential if ingested alone. Only in consuming a variety of cannabinoids at once can you be sure to maximize their effectiveness. The more we learn about cannabis, the more we realize that whole plant remedies and full spectrum cannabinoid profiles, are what make the magic happen.

Find out the full scoop about extractions and the future of concentrates from Dave and Doug themselves on The Real Dirt with Chip Baker Podcast.

Hemp CBD: The $90 Million Market You’ve Never Considered

by The Real Dirt | May 22, 2017 | Blog, Science & Technology

You’ve probably heard of it, you may have even tried it, and there is definitely a product made with it on shelves in your local organic grocery store. But just what is hemp CBD?

How is it different than cannabis CBD? And what kind of market is there for hemp CBD-based products? Let’s start with the basics.

What is CBD?

You may have really started hearing about CBD after Dr. Sanjay Gupta’s CNN special, Weed, where he reversed his previous opinion on the medical efficacy of cannabis. Or maybe you’ve heard of “Charlotte’s Web”, a CBD-based cannabis strain created by the Stanley Brothers with sick children in mind.

CBD is a chemical compound found in cannabis that is most known for its medical properties and lack of psychoactive, or “high”, effects. CBD has become somewhat of a medical marvel since its discovery. CBD shows promise in reducing cancer cell growth, reducing the amount and severity of elliptic seizures, reducing inflammation, alleviating pain from Multiple Sclerosis, reducing anxiety and depression, and much more.

Since the “high” effects from CBD are little to non-existent, some medical practitioners and patients feel better using it as a form of medicine. This rings especially true in the mind of elderly patients and parents of sick children.

What is the difference between hemp CBD and cannabis CBD?

According to an International Association of Plant Taxonomy’s study from 1976, a plant is considered to be hemp when it has less than 0.3% THC and considered to be cannabis when it has more than 0.3% THC. For those keeping track at home, Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is the chemical compound responsible for the high feeling cannabis consumers experience. Whether the percentage chosen seems arbitrary, it is still the main distinction in hemp CBD vs. cannabis CBD in the eyes of the law.

CBD that comes from hemp plants has a lower potency and much less THC than its cannabis-derived sister. This means hemp CBD products have little to no psychoactive side effects, and a much more diluted CBD potency…a positive or a negative depending on who you ask.

How do you grow Hemp CBD?

In order to grow hemp, you have to start with seeds that are CBD-rich and fall under the 0.3% THC mark. But don’t let that fool you into thinking growing hemp is easy. Hemp plants grow to be very tall and aren’t as inclined to thrive indoors as cannabis plants. And since the concentration of CBD in hemp is significantly lower, it takes a lot of plant matter to get a little CBD.

If the practicality, or lack thereof, doesn’t scare you away from growing hemp, maybe the law will. It is completely illegal, save for a few research-based exceptions, to grow hemp in the United States for commercial purposes. Oddly enough though, it is technically legal to process and distribute hemp CBD products in all 50 states and 40 countries, so long as the CBD used abides by the 0.3% THC rule and is made from the seed or stalk of the plant, not the leaves.

What is the market for hemp CBD products?

With the ability to sell hemp CBD products in all 50 states and 40 countries, the hemp-derived CBD market has exploded in the last couple years at a compound annual growth rate of 59%. According to The CBD Report by The Hemp Business Journal, the hemp CBD market grew from a niche and negligible market to $90 million in 2015.

Since the growing of hemp is illegal in the United States, much of the entrepreneurial opportunity is in the processing and distribution of hemp CBD-based products. From hemp CBD tinctures, to lotions, to pills, to salves, to oil…there is no shortage of innovative product lines to be made for the patients and consumers looking for CBD products.

The International Hemp Exchange, hemp’s first digital marketplace, is a perfect example of a company that has taken advantage of the distribution possibilities for hemp CBD and other hemp products. By connecting wholesale and retail buyers to the cultivators and processors around the world where hemp is legally grown, they serve as the middle man in a burgeoning industry.

Companies like the International Hemp Exchange are making it easier for patients living in states that do not allow or allow CBD for medical use but have not set up any sort of CBD commerce laws, to get medicine that may help.

With the amount of hemp CBD market growth we are witnessing, there’s plenty of room for more entrepreneurs to participate.

Hemp Industry Insights w/ Adrian Zelski

by The Real Dirt | May 15, 2017 | Blog

On an upcoming episode of The Real Dirt with Chip Baker, Chip Baker had a chance to sit down and have a smoke with hemp entrepreneur Adrian Zelski. Adrian works with the International Hemp Exchange, the world’s first online marketplace and digital exchange for buyers, sellers and growers of hemp.

America’s hemp industry amnesia

“Everyone knew it before the drug war. Around the world, you just look, and it’s been thousands of thousands of years of recorded history of civilizations, of ancient people, indigenous people, and they were all using it for medicinal reasons, for building materials, for ink, stuff like that. Stuff that was absolutely purposeful.”

America is a nation with Amnesia. For centuries, early colonial settlers grew hemp, mostly at the order of the crown. As a textile, hemp and the hemp industry was ideal for rope, cloth, and burlap. Its cultivation and use continued unfettered As it posed great competition for burgeoning textile industries, the political tide turned and the hemp industry ended up outlawed with marijuana in the Tax Act of 1937. By the 1950s, the introduction of cheap synthetic fiber was the final nail in hemp’s coffin. A 2014 law gave new hope that hemp could one day serve as the backbone of a new textile industry. Since then states have implemented test programs and expanded industrial hemp farmers ability to grow their crop without fear of prosecution.

What are the regulations around the hemp industry?

“The regulation in America, according to the Industrial Farming Bill in 2014, is any hemp that is going to be produced and used in America has to be under .3% THC. Some of that is changing.”

Hemp farmers have been restricted to producing hemp with .3% THC or under. For textiles, this poses no obstacle, however, for medicinal use, the reality is that hemp should contain high enough levels of THC in order to fully activate the CBD contained within. Cannabinoids enhance each other’s properties in what is known as the Entourage Effect. In a nutshell, in order to maximize the medicinal effect of CBD, THC has to be present in sufficient quantities. The low THC limit has come under fire, and efforts are currently under way to change the law.

What’s the future of the hemp industry?

“That’s where hemp is beyond reproach; that’s one of my favorite things to say. It’s not something you can sit there and judge, like alcohol or smokeable cannabis. It’s something where you can say, “Actually, I’m gonna rub this on my kid’s foot and he’s gonna stop having seizures.” That’s not an arguable thing from anybody, really … even Donald Trump, I believe.”

It is hard to deny the incredible results we have seen from patients using CBD oil made from hemp. As more and more people are swayed by the science, it becomes harder and harder to hide behind the politics of the matter. The only thing holding hemp back from reaching its potential in the market place is the current legal structure. As the benefits of hemp become further realized, more and more money is bound to flow into the hands of researchers and farmers. Find out what’s really going on behind the scenes and hear it from Adrian himself, on his episode of The Real Dirt with Chip Baker coming to iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud and anywhere you get podcasts on 5.22.17.

Hemp – From Illicit to Internationally Used

by The Real Dirt | May 12, 2017 | Blog, Business, Science & Technology

On a trip to Amsterdam around a dozen years ago, I was overwhelmed by all the hemp based products they had on offer, the icing on the cake being a digital scale that was made of hemp plastic. When I mentioned it to the clerk, he remarked, “Even the lucky grower has his grow room made entirely of hemp these days.”

A hemp powered history

The earliest traceable examples of hemp fibers being used, go back twelve millennia where early Chinese people used hemp. Development of hemp in pottery, clothing, ropes, and early versions of paper followed for thousands of years. In this time the healthful, medicinal and recreational elements of the plant were being explored as well. Some have even theorized that it’s psychotropic qualities are what helped Cannabis sativa make its migration west to the rest of the world.

As humanity took to the sea, hemp was there, billowing in the sails and hauling up the anchor. Hemp was with Columbus as he opened European eyes to a larger world. As Ben Swenson noted, it is “estimated the English fleet that defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588 donned 10,000 acres of cultivated hemp” in it’s sails.

We have all seen a dollar bill with the cartoon bubble “I grew hemp” stamped over Washington’s mouth. Which in fact he did, as just about every other smart agriculturist of the day. Virginians were even at one point allowed to pay taxes with hemp. In the 1930’s, Henry Ford began to experiment with plant based plastics in his effort to blend agricultural raw materials into industrial applications. Amazingly, his plastic car prototype of 1941 had panels made of soybean and hemp and was even designed to run on a hemp based fuel.

So what happened?

The dreaded “Marihuana Tax Act of 1938” put an end to all cultivation of Cannabis Sativa. Since then, proponents have vigorously demonstrated that certain strains and styles of horticulture provide us with plant almost devoid of THC. Any serious article you read today about industrial hemp or hemp food production feels the need to add the caveat that “this will not get you high”. This stigma and lack of understanding has been nearly impossible to shake, but now that attitudes and laws towards recreational cannabis use have shifted, so have attitudes to all uses of the plant.

Hemp’s place in technology

Hemp has continued to prove its usefulness in some high tech spheres. The BMW i3 which shaved 10% of it’s weight using hemp plastics over other low weight materials. In home and building construction use hemp can be used a cheap and light insulation material, a particularly “green” material as it can be made with the leftover material from hemp processing.

In the world of super capacitors (think: fancy and fast batteries) hemp has been found to be a cheap and viable alternative to graphene which is, as described at asme.org, “a carbon nanomaterial, is considered to be one of the best materials for supercapicitor electrodes. Graphene is, however, expensive to manufacture, costing as much as $2,000 per gram.” Whereas “a process for converting fibrous hemp waste into a unique graphene-like nanomaterial that outperforms graphene…can be manufactured for less than $500 per ton.”
Hemp plastic is also being deployed in the exciting new technology of 3D printing, providing a strong and light finished product used in biodegradable packaging, sunglasses and even drones.

What’s the future of the emerging hemp industry?

In the present of climate of legalization and progress some innovative new services and products are beginning to emerge. The International Hemp Exchange is,“a platform for buyers and sellers of hemp goods and services to connect and transact.” Basically, it’s a digital marketplace for all things hemp. While another company, Pure Hemp Botanicals, is purporting to have a new process to be able to economically process and refine multiple different parts of the hemp plant. Hemp refineries take in whole hemp plants to produce the intermediate products and chemical building blocks for manufacturing countless consumer and industrial products. Just the fact that two such services have opened their doors is a huge boon for the hemp industry.

Whole plant hemp extracts are a new development in the health and wellness industry. Hemp provides a high source of protein, omegas -3 -6 -9, linoleic acid, gamma linoleic acids (GLA). Not to mention the 85 cannabinoids which have been identified by the US Government (of all groups!) as neural protectors. Even Joe Rogan eats this stuff everyday.

The future of Cannabis Sativa is varied and exciting. Everything from body lotion to cars to nanotechnology are within hemp’s scope. As we grow, so the industry grows, so does the diverse application and appreciation of this wondrous plant. In the words of the late great Bill Hicks, “It grows naturally on our planet, serves a thousand different functions, all of them positive. To make marijuana against the law is like saying that God made a mistake!”