In this edition of This Week in Cannabis Live, our host Ben Larson joins Jay Rosenthal & Jeremy Berke of Cultivated and Marc Hauser of Cannabis Musings for a fast-moving, no-BS conversation on the biggest stories shaping cannabis right now.

From Schedule III claims and missed DOJ deadlines to a surprise hemp bill, New York’s track-and-trace chaos, and the realities behind M&A headlines, this episode is all signal, no fluff.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why cannabis rescheduling is still very much unfinished business
  
  
• What the new “CBD bill” could mean for hemp, THC limits, and regulatory convergence
  
  
• How FDA inaction continues to stall real market clarity
  
  
• The hidden costs and legal risks of New York’s delayed track-and-trace rollout
  
  
• Whether 2026 will truly be an M&A boom—or just distressed deal-making
  
  
• Why regulatory capture, compliance costs, and IP disputes are becoming defining industry risks
  
  
  

Meet the Panel:

Jay Rosenthal (Cultivated), Jeremy Berke (Cultivated), Marc Hauser (Cannabis Musings), and Ben Larson (High Spirits) bring investor, legal, operator, and media perspectives together for a grounded, sometimes skeptical, always informed take on the week in cannabis. This is real-time analysis from people deeply embedded in the industry’s policy and business trenches.

Why Tune In?

If you want to understand what’s actually changing—and what’s just being marketed as progress—this episode delivers context, candor, and critical insight every cannabis operator, executive, and investor needs right now.

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.

Cannabis is leaving its “startup era”—and the next phase won’t be won by hype. It’ll be won by operators who can build trust, standardize the experience, and run tighter businesses in a margin-crushed market.

On Episode 122 of High Spirits, hosts Ben & AnnaRae sit down with Ashwin Raj, CEO of LeafLink, to unpack what he’s seeing from the center of cannabis wholesale—where billions in transactions reveal the real signals of industry health. Ashwin draws sharp parallels to ride-sharing and e-commerce, and makes the case that consumer education, product standards, and tech-driven compliance are the keys to unlocking the next wave of growth.

They also go inside LeafLink’s pricing-model backlash (and reversal), the strategic logic behind acquiring DAMA Financial, and why the industry’s biggest bottlenecks aren’t just regulatory—they’re operational.

What You’ll Learn

• Why consumer education + product standards are still a massive gap in cannabis (especially vs. alcohol)
• The “signals from the middle” LeafLink sees that predict operator distress before it hits the headlines
• How policy decisions (like license caps or overload) drive price compression and market instability
• What Ashwin learned from the LeafLink pricing uproar—and why predictability matters in cannabis
• How the DAMA Financial acquisition connects payments, AR/AP, and compliance into one system
• Verticalization vs. specialization: what’s winning now—and what likely wins long-term

Meet the Guest

Ashwin Raj is the CEO of LeafLink, a platform at the center of cannabis wholesale powering billions in transactions across thousands of companies. Before cannabis, Ashwin led in industries that scaled ahead of regulation—holding leadership roles at Lyft, Amazon, and ezCater across marketplaces, payments, and operational infrastructure. He brings a “build for the long term” mindset to cannabis, with a clear emphasis on listening to customers, simplifying complexity, and using tech to turn compliance into confidence.

Why Tune In?

Because this episode isn’t about wishful thinking—it’s about what the data actually says. If you’re an operator, brand, retailer, or investor trying to survive (and win) the next phase of cannabis, Ashwin’s “middle-of-the-market” view will sharpen your strategy fast.

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.

Two of the most durable edibles brands in cannabis just joined forces—and the backstory is pure “mature-market grit.”

On Episode 121 of High Spirits, hosts Ben Larson & AnnaRae Grabstein sit down with Aaron Morris (Founder & CEO of Wyld) and Draper Bender (President of Grön) for their first interview together following Wyld’s acquisition of Grön.

They unpack why Oregon breeds profitable operators, how “market compressions” shape winning playbooks, and what it takes to build a real national platform in cannabis without hype, bankers, or venture-fueled burn. Plus: a rapid-fire policy rundown—from the federal “Baird bill” hemp delay to state-by-state adult-use pushes and rollback campaigns—setting the stage for what 2026 could mean for operators.

What You’ll Learn

• Why Oregon’s repeated price compressions create tougher (and better-prepared) brands
• How Wyld and Grön scaled with distribution-first strategy and strong retail relationships
• What “one plus one equals five” actually looks like when two profitable operators combine
• The real role of form factor + product consistency in consumer loyalty (and why “innovation” is often overrated)
• How they think about hemp vs. regulated cannabis distribution—and what’s changing fast in 2026
• Why most cannabis M&A dies at the finish line… and how this one got done

Meet the Guests

Aaron Morris is the CEO of Wyld, one of the largest edibles companies in the U.S., known for disciplined execution, quality, and a distribution engine built to scale. Draper Bender is the President of Grön, the brand behind the iconic Pearls and Megas—playful products with serious operational rigor and deep retail relationships.

Why Tune In?

If you’re building in cannabis through margin pressure, policy whiplash, and retail gatekeeping, this episode is a masterclass in durability, distribution, and dealmaking the hard way—from two operators who’ve already survived multiple rounds of compression and came out bigger.

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.

What actually changes for cannabis in 2026—and what’s still just wishful thinking?

Join the teams from Cultivated Media, High Spirits: The Cannabis Business Podcast, and Cannabis Musings for This Week in Cannabis Live | 2026 Prediction Show.

From rescheduling realities and 280E implications to M&A strategy, hemp-derived beverages, and where not to start a cannabis business, this conversation cuts through the noise with grounded, operator-first insight.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why rescheduling may help strong operators—but won’t save bad businesses
• AnnaRae’s take on why “Big CPG is coming” is still mostly hype for 2026
• Whether 2026 is the year to buy cannabis assets—or stay patient
• What actually gets easier if 280E goes away (and what stays broken)
• The uncertain future of hemp-derived THC beverages and low-dose carveouts
• Which parts of the cannabis value chain to avoid entirely right now

Why Tune In?
If you’re a cannabis or hemp operator trying to separate real opportunity from recycled narratives, this episode delivers clarity. AnnaRae’s predictions aren’t about hype—they’re about timing, discipline, and surviving long enough to win.

Catch This Week in Cannabis Live on LinkedIn with Cultivated every Friday @ 9AM PT / 12PM ET.

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.

New year, new signals—and cannabis is entering 2026 with policy momentum, consolidation heat, and a growing demand for real numbers (not vibes). In Episode 120 of High Spirits, hosts Ben Larson & AnnaRae Grabstein sit down with Cy Scott, Co-Founder & CEO of Headset, to break down what 2025 actually told us—and what to watch as rescheduling moves forward and markets keep maturing.

From New York’s explosive growth to the margin squeeze hitting legacy states like California and Michigan, Cy brings a data-driven lens to the questions operators and investors are asking right now: Where is growth still real? Why do prices keep falling in mature markets? And how could Schedule III reshape profitability, M&A, and investment appetite across the industry?

What You’ll Learn

• The biggest 2025 market storylines (and why New York is still “emerging”)
• What price compression is really doing to top-line sales and retailer survival
• How discounting impacts baskets, margins, and the downstream supply chain
• The potential financial upside of rescheduling—especially via 280E relief
• Why cannabis retail data may be more reliable than traditional CPG measurement
• How hemp beverages and mainstream retail exposure could reshape consumer adoption

Meet the Guest

Cy Scott is the Co-Founder & CEO of Headset, a leading cannabis retail data and analytics platform used by brands, retailers, and investors to understand market performance in real time. Before Headset, Cy co-founded Leafly, helping define early consumer discovery in legal cannabis—and he’s been building in the space since the industry’s earliest days.

Why Tune In?

Because 2026 won’t reward guesswork. If you’re making bets on growth, pricing, capital, or brand strategy this year, this episode helps you read the signals—and stay ahead of what rescheduling, consolidation, and consumer behavior are about to change.

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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.

It’s a cozy year-end check-in—and a clear-eyed look at what’s next. Recorded Tuesday, December 30, 2025, Ben & AnnaRae close out the year by revisiting their 2025 predictions, unpacking what actually happened across regulated cannabis and hemp-derived THC, and setting the tone for 2026: faster, sharper, and more focused.

From the surreal experience of finding cannabis policy debates in a 1969 Playboy issue to today’s rescheduling whiplash, this episode zooms out on the long arc of reform—and zooms in on what operators should be watching right now: enforcement, consolidation, mainstream retail adoption, and the fight for sensible regulation.

What You’ll Learn

• Which 2025 predictions came true (Farm Bill punt, beverages gaining share) — and which didn’t
• Why **states—not feds—**continue to shape enforcement (and where that breaks down)
• The real outlook on rescheduling vs. descheduling and why “it’s not enough” is the next phase
• How THC beverages are winning consumer mindshare—and pulling mainstream retail along with them
• What consolidation actually looked like in 2025 (and why the “real M&A wave” may still be ahead)
• Why 2026 demands speed, clarity, and fundamentals—aka the “Fire Horse” mindset

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.

On this special This Week in Cannabis episode Presented by Cultivated Media, High Spirits hosts Ben & AnnaRae join Jay & Jeremy from Cultivated and Marc Hauser of Cannabis Musings to break down the biggest cannabis policy story of the year: the federal push to reschedule marijuana to Schedule III.

Recorded live just days after the announcement, this conversation cuts through the hype to examine what actually changes—and what still hangs in the balance—for cannabis, hemp, banking, and dealmaking.

Tune in Fridays at 9AM PT / 12PM ET at youtube.com/@CultivatedMedia.

What You’ll Learn:

• What cannabis rescheduling to Schedule III actually does—and doesn’t—change
• Why 280E relief is the real financial unlock operators are watching
• How rulemaking, lawsuits, and Congressional action could still derail progress
• What this moment means for hemp-derived THC, CBD, and the Farm Bill fight
• Why deal flow, M&A, and market volatility may surge in early 2026
• The myths around SAFE Banking, uplisting, and credit card acceptance

Meet the Panel:
This episode features insights from Jay Rosenthal and Jeremy Burke of Cultivated Media, Marc Hauser of Cannabis Musings, alongside Ben Larson & AnnaRae Grabstein of High Spirits. Together, they bring perspectives from policy, media, finance, and operations to unpack one of the most consequential weeks in cannabis history.

Why Tune In?
If you’re a cannabis or hemp operator trying to separate real opportunity from political theater, this episode is essential listening. The headlines say “historic”—this conversation explains what survival, growth, and strategy actually look like next.

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.

This episode of High Spirits is a little different. Recorded live just days before a major federal shakeup, hosts Ben & AnnaRae dive headfirst into the state of cannabis media, policy uncertainty, and what survival really looks like heading into 2026.

From the collapse of trusted cannabis journalism to bold predictions around Schedule III, hemp legislation, M&A, and THC beverages, this conversation captures the raw, unfiltered realities of an industry that refuses to die—even when no one seems to be watching. Despite technical issues early in the live recording, the second half delivers a powerful, timely discussion.

🔍 What You’ll Learn

• Why the collapse of cannabis media creates real risks for operators and policymakers
• How fewer reporters and less oversight impacts enforcement, compliance, and public perception
• What rescheduling to Schedule III might (and might not) actually change
• Predictions for 2026: M&A, receiverships, and alcohol’s move into THC beverages
• Why hemp and cannabis brands may need unified strategies to survive
• The unexpected optimism behind an industry that keeps adapting—cockroach-style

🎙 About This Episode

Ben and AnnaRae reflect on the responsibility of independent cannabis media amid newsroom layoffs at outlets like The Wall Street Journal, Politico, and MJBiz. They also highlight the importance of supporting investigative journalism from platforms like Weed Week and Cultivated—because when no one is watching, bad policy thrives.

🌱 Why Tune In?

If you work in cannabis, hemp, beverages, or adjacent industries, this episode offers clarity, realism, and hard-earned optimism. It’s a reminder that even in chaos, this plant—and the people building around it—are shaping one of the next great American industries. Survival isn’t optional, but neither is hope.

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.