What was the transition to legal cannabis like for you?
With legalization, it was literally like starting over again. It was like 30 or 40 years ago when the underground cultivation of cannabis became regular and consistent. The quality really went down at the beginning of legalization. It took a year to get the legal product to start hitting that bar for quality that I look for. Now it’s just little tweaks to get a little more out of each plant, but there was a big learning curve when legalization and growing at scale started.
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Are legacy smokers embracing the change?
I think it’ll be maybe five to seven years before the majority of smokers move to the legal market. The thing legal has on top of legacy is convenience—as more stores pop up, it’s going to be easier to access the different strains people want. I call it the “subway model,” where people won’t drive across a city to go to a different store to get a strain, they generally just go to the one closest to their house. It’s so convenient, even instead of waiting for someone to come and deliver. Once that convenience hits a tipping point, I think that’s when we’re going to see the majority of people shift over.

Also the quality is only going to keep getting better. That’s when the connoisseur and the real cannabis culture market will come over.
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‍Has legalization impacted that cannabis culture?res?
The business of cannabis has changed dramatically, but the culture of cannabis is the same. We're seeing new money and companies and investors and everything that’s going into building this industry, but the cannabis community is a lifestyle. Cannabis culture is very counterculture, so they know what's going on, they speak their minds, they call things out for the majority, they want what's best for self and what's best for the planet. I don't think those aspects will ever go away. And because that cannabis culture has been around for so long, I believe it's here to stay. The language and the clothing might change, but those people are still here, they are still thriving, they are still coming together. That culture is alive and well.

What happens to that community over the next few years?
There are so many new types of users now. We're seeing a lot of soccer moms, a lot of senior citizens, people using and testing cannabis to see what works for them. I just think it's going to get broader. Five years ago, you could look at a person or a group and say, “Yeah, they probably partake.” Now you can’t tell because it really is just everyday people—the doctors and lawyers, the teachers, the grocery clerks, the mechanics, the bread makers. As the access grows, the community will grow.