Everything is Personal

An amazing conversation with Jahan Khamsehzadeh, Ph.D., who is a child of immigrants; mother from Mexico and father from Iran. His childhood was painful. He felt alienated at school. By high school he was clinically depressed and suicidal. Existence seemed bleak. A month after graduating high school someone he had just met that day gave me a handful of mushrooms while he was on my way to see my favorite band, Tool, play for the first time. Little did I know it was going to be one of the most significant days of my life. Once Tool hit the stage, the mushroom’s effects began. My experience of time dissolved. There was only this present moment. My consciousness rushed toward a threshold that I perceived to be death. The movie The Matrix came to mind. I felt like the character, Neo, about to be unplugged from the Matrix. And like his first time being unplugged, I did not know what was on the other side. For fifteen minutes I held back from crossing this line and then, out of curiosity, I relaxed and let my being move forward. What occurred was an explosion in my consciousness to a degree I had never experienced. I could feel every cell of my being orgasmically rejoice in love and celebration. I felt eternal—that my consciousness existed before the Big Bang and will exist after death. There was a familiarity to this feeling, as if I had known it all along. Then a voice—strong and not my own—arose in my consciousness to say “Jahan.” I asked if this was real. The voice replied, “Yes.” Every wall I had built in my heart collapsed. I broke into a gushing river of tears for the next 90 minutes. That's the start of his journey and the passion he developed for what he is doing to expand consciousness through psychedelics.

Gabe is the EVP of Retail Operations, and Nicole is the Senior Product Manager at 4Front. The couple met when Nicole was a budtender and sold Gabe his first legal eighth of cannabis. Just a few months later, a first date turned into years together, and their apartment became a shared office. Gabriel Mendoza, EVP of Operations, 4Front Ventures / Mission Dispensaries Gabe Mendoza, Executive Vice President of Operations for multi-state cannabis operator 4Front Ventures, is a lifelong Chicagoan who has worked in the cannabis industry for eight years. Gabe is responsible for shepherding retail projects into and through application/acquisition, construction, compliance, and revenue generation. Further responsibilities include daily oversight of over 300 employees and $90,000,000 in annual revenue. ​​In addition to his operational experience, Gabe is the co-creator of the non-profit, Chicago NORML, which was founded in 2017 with the goal of educating and motivating communities of color to destigmatize and accept the cannabis plant as a vehicle for wellness, and empowerment. Nicole Mendoza, Senior Product Manager, 4Front Ventures / Mission Dispensaries Nicole entered the cannabis industry in 2015 by way of Los Angeles. She manages new product development and launches across four of the largest cannabis markets (MA, IL, CA & WA) in the U.S. In the last two years she has driven the launch of 500 new SKUs across 18 of 4Front’s core brands. Amongst her collaborators Nicole is known for being an agile, trendsetting and passionate problem solver. Motivated by social impact, Nicole believes that the cannabis industry is an entryway into a healthier and more equitable future for all. In addition to being a new mom, teaching pre- and post natal yoga classes - Nicole also serves on the board for the non profit ChicagoNORML. 4Front Ventures: Company Background 4Front Ventures Corp. (“4Front” or the “Company”) (CSE: FFNT) (OTCQX: FFNTF) is a national, vertically integrated multi-state cannabis operator who owns or manages operations and facilities in strategic medical and adult-use cannabis markets, including California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan and Washington. Since its founding in 2011, 4Front has built a strong reputation for its high standards and low-cost cultivation and production methodologies earned through a track record of success in facility design, cultivation, genetics, growing processes, manufacturing, purchasing, distribution, and retail. To date, 4Front has successfully brought to market more than 20 different cannabis brands and over 1800 products, which are strategically distributed through its fully owned and operated Mission dispensaries and retail outlets in its core markets. As the Company continues to drive value for its shareholders, its team is applying its decade of expertise in the sector across the cannabis industry value chain and ecosystem.

Alleh Lindquist, Chief Executive Officer, FloraWorks Holdings Inc. Alleh Lindquist is the Chief Executive Officer of FloraWorks Holdings Inc., a leading cannabinoid therapeutics company. In his role as CEO, he is responsible for managing and directing the company toward its primary goals and objectives, strategy and market expansions. Lindquist brings years of expertise in entrepreneurial startups, raising capital, business development, product innovation, strategy, marketing and cannabinoid R&D to his role. Under Alleh’s leadership, FloraWorks closed a $2.25M Series-A financing round. The milestone marked FloraWorks’ commitment to exploring and developing new cannabinoids with the potential to address various unmet medical needs with promising discoveries in treating sleep disorders and dementia-related diseases. Floraworks also recently announced the results of the first-ever double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial that analyzed the effects of its flagship product, TruCBN™ – a pure form of Cannabinol (“CBN”). Independently conducted by clinical-research company, Radicle Science, the groundbreaking research found that the group taking 50 mg of TruCBN™ showed a significant improvement in sleep compared to placebo, and most of the group experienced a clinically important improvement. Prior to joining FloraWorks, Lindquist was a founding partner and CEO of Swell Companies, the first cannabis extraction company in the state of Oregon to receive a license and owned two notable vaporizer and cannabis oil brands. In 2019 under Alleh's direction, Swell was acquired by C21 Investments, a publicly-traded cannabis company. In addition to his work in the emerging cannabis and biotech industries, Lindquist has also worked in a variety of capacities with globally recognized brands such as Nike, Polar, and Gerber Knives.

Patrick O'Boyle, CEO Dama Financial, discusses the current and most pressing issues that cannabis businesses navigate in this pre-SAFE era, the strengths and weaknesses of the proposed SAFE Banking Act, next steps after the passage of SAFE and more. If you’re unfamiliar, Dama provides financial services to cannabis businesses, helping to secure bank accounts and low-interest loans, provide safe and compliant payment methods and more.

Never in her wildest dreams did Katie expect to create a community like Lavinia. Katie’s original plan in life was kind of the opposite — specifically, she believed her calling in life was to be a nun and prepared for a life of study, reflection, and celibacy… Until, like one does, Katie met a “Francois” during study abroad… and then priorities changed. In stepping away from nunhood and into a life where sexuality is expected, Katie felt behind the eight ball relative to her peers in sexual experience. As a result, she began to research methods and products that would help her feel empowered, pleasured, and promote access to better, more powerful orgasms. Unfortunately, she never found the exact product she was looking for... So she made it herself. Through her research, Katie found that cannabis can enhance orgasms and create a better sexual experience. When correctly applied, cannabis dilates blood vessels, which increases blood flow — this makes achieving an orgasm easier and more intense while making multiple orgasms more accessible. Katie started making it simply for herself, then for friends who would ask for it, then friends of friends, and then friends of friends of friends… From this community came Lavinia. Lavinia’s mission is to enhance peoples sex lives through cannabis and to normalize two historically taboo subjects (sex and cannabis). Lavinia wants to empower people to live life to the climax!

Asher began classical violin training at the tender age of 2 and had already performed with the Buffalo Philharmonic by age 13. Asher’s expertise in trans-genre improvisation has led him to a career as a soloist in demand, performing at venues such as Madison Square Garden, Hammerstein Hall, Lincoln Center, the Jacob Javitz Center and across four continents. Asher has also been featured on PBS, and has made headlines on CNN, WABC, and NBC and many other major news sources. Asher is known for breakdancing across stages with his LED electric violin, in addition to performing as a DJ violinist, bringing his experience as a live performer and technical prowess as an audio editing and mixing guru to countless clubs and stages across the country.

Reynolds Kairus is the CEO of XR Consulting Group, a Healthcare & Human Capital Development firm (MBE, HUBZone, DBE) based out of New York City. Providing professional services to government agencies, private corporations, nongovernmental organizations, and nonprofits worldwide. With 20 years of healthcare and mentoring experience, Reynolds is a health expert. Reynolds started off on the unconventional path. Raised in a poverty-stricken area by a single mother. He nearly fell victim to the negative influences. Dr. Kairus eventually changed the trajectory of his life and became a NYS emergency medical technician. Then became a paramedic in 2007 who later would be recognized by the Fire Department of New York for returning spontaneous circulation to numerous patients in his care. In 2017, Reynolds obtained a doctorate degree in medicine. Dr. Kairus also served as the lead emergency brigade instructor at Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra. The university he graduated from. He was responsible for teaching staff and the underserved communities how to handle various medical emergencies. As of May 2023, Dr. Kairus is a published author who has been able to reach over 5 million people worldwide sharing his life experiences and teaching others what it takes to reach optimal health. Reynolds continues to actively mentor the youth and moonlights as a paramedic in the Bronx NY. Sharing the best practices for wellness and self-development every chance he gets. Reynolds is an advocate for community development as a volunteer in the Bronx NY and online. Kairus provides entrepreneur mentorship to young males in adverse communities with the goal to ensure they have the tools and resources to become successful businessmen. Dr. Kairus, a husband and father of three, truly embodies his saying; “the best knowledge is the one you share with someone who is ready to receive it!”

Jahan Marcu, Ph.D is one of the top researchers and industry experts in the field, contributing to many innovative discoveries, applications, and standards for medical cannabis and its laboratory analysis, cultivation, manufacturing, and dispensing. Dr. Marcu has also created training for the industry and internationally accepted methods for cannabis analysis, and has founded institutions and organizations for research, education, and training programs. Listen to his journey and learn valuable insight. He is also an author of the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia Cannabis monograph, which help set standards for cannabis and hemp products for human consumption. He became well-known for demonstrating synergistic interactions for cannabinoids such as THC and CBD in cancer, which has lead to the development and marketing of products with those ratios and launched numerous applications and research projects.

Leigh Steinberg is America's first sports super agent. During his 41-year career, Steinberg has represented over 300 professional athletes in football, baseball, basketball, boxing, and Olympic sports. He has represented the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL draft a record eight times, including Patrick Mahomes. Steinberg is often credited as the real-life inspiration for the sports agent in Cameron Crowe's film Jerry Maguire in 1996. He is also a philanthropist and author. Listen to this. Leigh describes his personal struggles and the way he was able to overcome those to renew his career.

Dr. Jimmy Fardin Rocha is an Orthopedic surgeon and traumatologist specializing in knee surgery and sports medicine in Brazil. He has experience in emergency care, surgeries and treatment of chronic pain, arthritis, tendinitis, fractures, ligament injuries, fibromyalgia, low back pain and neck pain. We really get deep into the treatment of athletes and how cannabis and genetics can be a huge solution. We also discuss WADA testing concerns and which Jimmy is Dr. Jimmy named after. Member of the Brazilian Society of Orthopedics and Traumatology. He served as a volunteer doctor in the Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games – Rio 2016.