Are you running your cannabis business on gut instinct or hard numbers? In a volatile, state-by-state landscape where headlines rarely tell the whole story, relying on assumptions is a fast track to getting left behind.

In this episode of High Spirits, hosts Ben Larson & AnnaRae Grabstein are joined by Leah Spokojny, Chief Revenue Officer of BDSA, the industry’s leading market research and analytics firm. Together, they dive deep into the changing dynamics of mature versus emerging markets, the shifting consumer preferences of Gen Z versus Millennials, and how cutting-edge AI integrations like Claude’s Model Context Protocol (MCP) are transforming how operators interact with market intelligence.

What You’ll Learn

• The Inhalable Divide: Why Gen Z is flocking to vapes while Millennials still prefer rolling their own joints, and what this means for your product development.
• Deciphering the Hemp THC Boom: A realistic look at the retail future of hemp-derived THC beverages and whether they act as a gateway or a threat to traditional dispensaries.
• SaaS vs. Raw Data Quality: Why user interfaces are taking a backseat to clean, structured data as AI and conversational LLMs become the ultimate analytical assistants.
• State-by-State Realities: Under-the-hood insights into Michigan’s relentless price compression, California’s category shifts, and Virginia's trajectory toward 2030.

Meet the Guest

Leah Spokojny is the Chief Revenue Officer at BDSA, where she leads the charge in translating complex, fragmented cannabis market data into actionable retail and brand strategy. Bringing over a decade of foundational experience in mainstream CPG and healthcare market research, Leah joined the cannabis sector in 2019. Since then, she has focused on pioneering methodology and consumer insights to help brands, retailers, and investors successfully navigate the industry's messiest data challenges.

Why Tune In?

If you want to stop guessing your market position and start pricing, packaging, and scaling with precision, this episode provides the data-backed roadmap you need to gain a true competitive edge.

Have a question for us? Send us a text. We may answer it in the next show!

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High Spirits is brought to you by Vertosa and Wolf Meyer.

Your hosts are Ben Larson and AnnaRae Grabstein.

Follow High Spirits on LinkedIn.

We'd love to hear your thoughts. Who would you like to see on the show? What topics would you like to have us cover?

Visit our website www.highspiritspod.com and listen to all of our past shows.

THANK YOU to our audience. Your engagement encourages us to keep bringing you these thought-provoking conversations.

Remember to always stay curious, stay informed, and most importantly, keep your spirits high.

The rules of the cannabis economy are being rewritten right now in a small, secure federal courtroom in Northern Virginia. While July usually signals a summer slowdown for the industry, the exact opposite is happening.

In this week's live episode breakdown, AnnaRae Grabstein (Co-Host of High Spirits) steps into the arena alongside Jay Rosenthal (Cultivated) and legal analyst Marc Hauser (Cannabis Musings). Together, they pull back the curtain on the opaque DEA administrative hearings regarding the federal rescheduling of adult-use marijuana.

From the bizarre bifurcation of medical versus adult-use policy to Virginia’s impending local market launch, this conversation cuts through the legal jargon to deliver the raw, unvarnished market realities that mainstream headlines completely miss.

💡 What You’ll Learn:

• The Schedule III Mystery: Why the federal government took pains to fit medical cannabis into a specific DEA buy/sell framework, yet left adult-use trapped in administrative purgatory.
• The Litigation Chess Match: Why the seemingly dry, "bibliography-style" DEA hearings are actually a methodical setup for the massive federal court battles ahead.
• The Interstate Commerce Catch-22: How shifting to Schedule III without explicit DEA registration might keep state-line walls up—and why top law firms won't bless exchange up-listing just yet.
• Virginia for Virginians?: A realistic look at the Commonwealth’s upcoming 2027 market, skyrocketing license values, and whether states can truly box out major Multi-State Operators (MSOs).
• The Capital Gap: Why state-level, SBA-style funding—not just local protectionism—is the only real way independent craft operators can survive against heavily funded players.

🚀 Why Tune In?

If you are a cannabis or hemp operator, entrepreneur, or executive trying to forecast where your capital and supply chains should go over the next 24 months, you cannot afford to guess. This episode offers an expert-level breakdown of the legal mechanics and regulatory hurdles shaping the future of retail, investment, and interstate trade. Tune in to get the strategic insights you need to navigate an increasingly complex, fragmented marketplace.

Have a question for us? Send us a text. We may answer it in the next show!

--
High Spirits is brought to you by Vertosa and Wolf Meyer.

Your hosts are Ben Larson and AnnaRae Grabstein.

Follow High Spirits on LinkedIn.

We'd love to hear your thoughts. Who would you like to see on the show? What topics would you like to have us cover?

Visit our website www.highspiritspod.com and listen to all of our past shows.

THANK YOU to our audience. Your engagement encourages us to keep bringing you these thought-provoking conversations.

Remember to always stay curious, stay informed, and most importantly, keep your spirits high.

While most multi-state operators are racing to build massive houses of brands, one independent Ohio operator made the exact opposite bet—and won.

About This Episode: In this episode of High Spirits, hosts Ben Larson & AnnaRae Grabstein sit down with Zach Weprin, President of Certified Cultivators, to unpack how his family-owned, vertically integrated company captured an impressive 7% market share in Ohio. Zach shares the raw, behind-the-scenes journey of transforming a former auto parts warehouse into a top-tier cultivation facility, navigating the shift from medical to adult-use, and why they choose to double down on a single brand name across flower, vapes, edibles, and beverages.

What You’ll Learn:

• The Single-Brand Strategy: Why Certified rejected the "house of brands" model and how putting all their equity into one name drove massive consumer trust.
• Wholesale vs. Retail Economics: Why Zach is prioritizing a robust wholesale engine over retail footprint saturation in a limited-license market.
• The Three Pillars of Cultivation Success: How balancing genetics, environmental control, and team culture creates "lightning in a bottle."
• Bootcamp for Cannabis: Why a background in the high-stakes hospitality and restaurant industry is the ultimate foundation for scaling a cannabis business.

Meet the Guest:

Zach Weprin is the co-founder and President of Certified Cultivators, one of the premier independently owned, vertically integrated cannabis companies in Ohio. Before entering the cannabis industry in 2017 alongside his father, Zach spent a decade building a highly successful fast-casual sushi chain. His deep hospitality background shapes Certified’s focus on culture, operational efficiency, and community-driven brand building, cementing their spot at the top of the rapidly growing Ohio market.

Why Tune In? If you are an operator, entrepreneur, or investor trying to navigate market compression and brand differentiation, this conversation provides a masterclass on capital efficiency, vertical integration tactics, and true brand discipline in a shifting regulatory landscape.

Have a question for us? Send us a text. We may answer it in the next show!

--
High Spirits is brought to you by Vertosa and Wolf Meyer.

Your hosts are Ben Larson and AnnaRae Grabstein.

Follow High Spirits on LinkedIn.

We'd love to hear your thoughts. Who would you like to see on the show? What topics would you like to have us cover?

Visit our website www.highspiritspod.com and listen to all of our past shows.

THANK YOU to our audience. Your engagement encourages us to keep bringing you these thought-provoking conversations.

Remember to always stay curious, stay informed, and most importantly, keep your spirits high.