High Minded podcast by The Cannabist | S01E04
Published: Dec 22, 2017, 2:38 pm • Updated: Dec 26, 2017, 11:17 am
By Alex Pasquariello, The Cannabist Staff
Welcome to High Minded by The Cannabist, our podcast diving into the stories, news and voices shaping a new billion-dollar industry.
This episode of High Minded is coming to you in two acts, hosted by The Cannabist’s staff.
Act I features serial news storytelling from our team of award-winning journalists. Season one is hosted by Alicia Wallace. In Act II, Cannabist editor Alex Pasquariello leads “The Conversation” with marijuana’s movers and shakers in government, law and business.
Enjoy our fourth episode, subscribe so you don’t miss any of Season One, and follow this podcast on Twitter at @HighMindedCast. Got feedback or a nominee to be on the podcast? Drop us a line here.
High Minded by The Cannabist
Season 1, Episode 4
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Act I
CBD, TBD with Alicia Wallace
The battle for CBD isn’t restricted to U.S. soil: WHO committee delving into science, control status of cannabis compound
High Minded continues its Season 1 serial series “CBD, TBD” on the world stage where the World Health Organization just released preliminary findings that CBD should not be scheduled as a harmful drug – for now.
However, the mere potential of a scheduling action prompted cannabis business executive Raul Elizalde to action. His involvement in CBD advocacy has roots deeper than business interests: The 38-year-old man from Monterrey, Mexico, spoke before the WHO committee’s November meeting on behalf of his 10-year-old daughter, Grace, who has endured violent seizures from her epilepsy since she was a baby.
Act II
The Conversation, hosted by Alex Pasquariello
High Minded’s Season 1 Conversation is framed by a months-long correspondence The Cannabist has dubbed “The Sessions Letters.”
Since April 2017, the U.S. attorney general Jeff Sessions has sent missives to officials in the first four states to legalize adult-use marijuana: Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington. In the letters, Sessions has raised serious questions about their respective regulatory and enforcement regimes.
High Minded convened a panel of Colorado’s top government officials to discuss their state’s response to Sessions.
In this episode, we dive into the work of the Colorado Department of Revenue, which oversees the state’s Marijuana Enforcement Division including its seed to sale marijuana tracking system.
The Conversation unpacks how Colorado is keeping its residents safe with:
- Mark Bolton, adviser to Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper on marijuana policy
- Dr. Larry Wolk, executive director and Chief Medical Officer for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
- Michael Hartman, executive director of the Colorado Department of Revenue, the agency that oversees the state’s Marijuana Enforcement Division.
- Glenn Davis, highway safety manager for Colorado Department of Transportation
- Kristi Kelly, executive director of Marijuana Industry Group, a state-based trade association facilitating ongoing public-private collaboration to realize the state’s public safety and health goals.
Catch up on all the episodes:
High Minded podcast Episode 3
High Minded Episode 2
Introducing the High Minded podcast
Topics: cbd, Colorado, colorado legalization, High Minded, Sessions Letters, Special Report: CBD TBD, World Health Organization (WHO) 
Alex Pasquariello
Alex joined The Cannabist as Editor in April 2017. He started his journalism career in Colorado as a reporter at community newspapers and national ski magazines before heading to New York to work as an editor at Condé Nast Traveler and digital…
