IamA a Senior Account Executive at one of the largest Medical Cannabis companies currently in the industry, ask me and my Cooperate Operating Officer (COO) anything! AUA!

Do you get to sample anything, and if you're not allowed, would you like to? Follow up question, what's your preferred intake method, and your favorite strain?

We do offer product testing as part of our network services. Everyone in the office has their own preferred products and methods of ingestion but usually we have specific individuals whom handle the product reviews.

I see. As for your personal favorite?

my personal favorite is my aaron sokol black art of war mini tube

-Jonathan

When it comes down to the future of cannabis, where do you want to see your company in the next 10 years? Do you see Nationwide name brands like we have cigarette companies? Or do you think it will spark up a large volume of businesses like microbreweries?

The laws now are not necessarily reflective of the laws in the future. Once cannabis becomes legal on a federal level state laws will have to change in accordance. I personally believe that depending on the way that the laws themselves are written you might see different "Ages" or "Periods" within the cannabis industry. B.F.L. would example be Before Federally Legal while P.F.L. would be Post Federally Legal, the way business is conducted in either of these 2 times will differ EXTREMELY. I don't want to tell you flat out no in terms of your large company cigarette example but the reality is that it really will come down to the specificity of the laws and whom the government grants growing powers to.

Can you tell us how frequently you encounter prejudiced opinions people have about your line of business (i.e. people who don't realise that this is a legitimate medical product).

This business has the Howard Stern effect, those who know the least speak the loudest and in turn help to educate more people who in turn become patients or clients themselves. We find that the prejudices have become less and less everyday as our industry becomes more mainstream and spoken about.

With legalization seemingly just around the corner, how do you feel this will impact the MMJ business?

Also, what is your opinion of the actions of the federal government regarding state's rights for medical marijuana?

Chances are that even as the industry continues to legalize cannabis for recreational use that more and more starts will start by legalizing cannabis for medical purposes ONLY. We believe that once we see a majority of states legalize medical marijuana (26) that the federal government will intervene and considering testing cannabis and the use it has medically. The hope, will be that the classification will then change from a scheduled 1 drug to a scheduled 2. this will allow larger pharmaceutical companies to then step in, and prove without a shadow of a doubt that marijuana does in fact have medical benefits. Once we see this happen, larger corporations will then start to analyze those different medical components. - John

What did you study in college / how did you end up with this job?

I am actually currently still in college going for an associates degree in math and science - Jonathan

Hi, thanks for taking the time to do this AMA. Now lets get to the questions. How profitable is medical cannabis? Is your company a stock company? And if so, how well is the development? Would you say that your business in a strong competition with others on the market or there a dominating company or even a monopoly? Thanks in advance.

1. It is EXTREMELY PROFITABLE, maybe not right now in the immediate present, but its potential is ridiculously high. And now we are a private company.

2. Depending on the specific domain we do have some competitors, however in others our system and network are truly unique and a first of their kind we believe. (MarijuanaDoctors.com, StrainBrain.com, Cheeba.com being the 3 that come to mind first)

Where do you see the technology for things like concentrates/BHO/shatter going in the next 15 years? Is there currently any entrepreneurship in that element? I live in Flagstaff, AZ, and we have a guy in town who produces pounds of butter with a machine he made himself - is basement technology like that pretty much the standard?

My time on social media has taught me that as of right now there are very small and limited companies producing concentrate equipment. As far as I am aware apart from the major vape pen companies there is no major superstar in that realm of business - Jonathan

Thanks for taking the time to answer my question Jonathan! But in terms of the actual production of the medicinal product, is much of it done on a small-scale or is there large-scale production machinery?

As far as I know that all depends on the growers operation, the reality is that so much cannabis is grown illegally yet sold at legal business that its hard to say. Eventually however grow ops will be extremely large scale, like huge.

Awesome, I really appreciate your answering both of my questions! Have a good day!

no problem, the best advice i can give you is to somehow be innovative in the design or ease of use of a particular product. for example, re design a new kind of bhomb tube or something

Do you have any employees that abstain from marijuana?

Yes we do, we believe cannabis has legitimate medical value that being said we do not promote its rampant and reckless use by any means

Do you feel marijuana use (off the job) impacts the performance of employees that use marijuana? vs. employees that abstain?
How would this compare to an employee that might come into work with a hangover which is legal in all 50 states

If someone is hungry they will work hard for it

Are you saying that the use of marijuana is extremely subjective and that such performance evaluations are (and should be) done on a case by case basis because you treat your employees as individuals rather than statistics? hah

Yes

Any companies that deal with cannabis nowadays would probably be seen as hip by the general public. Are you personally concerned that one day the cannabis industry will become another big corporation with lobbyists and interest in public policing?

We personally are not worried about it becoming big business as we hope to be on the innovative edge of that aspect but we do believe that eventually medical cannabis will be heavily influenced by big business

Can I have a job?

we will be posting our fax number soon, we will be accepting resumes

You still use faxes? Wouldn't an email address be more useful?

believe it or not a lot of companies we deal with use it so we have to. i posted my work email you can send your resume to that

How do i get a job in sales with you? Seriously. I have sales training, tons of sales classes under my belt and almost a year of business to business sales experience. MMJ is huge and legalized is gonna be even huger, and I want to get in now. Please PM me with any contacts or leads? <3

send me an email and ill speak to our CEO

[email protected]

Are there any difficulties with your company doing business with banks? And will there be any troubles with taxes, etc?

We dont handle actual cannabis, we offer business development services in the industry. Ie we make websites and advertising campaigns, we work with physicians, dispensaries, product companies, advocacy groups, we do it all.

How do you feel about GMO in regards to cannabis?

It depends, are you speaking about using GMOs to alter the components of cannabis on a medical level? Because if so we feel that the studies would need to be done by pharmaceutical companies to better understand the relationships of GMOs and cannabis. One would assume/hope that an individual is not consuming as much cannabis as they are food/legitimate nutrients so we are still personally interested to see the possibilities of GMOs but only with further study.

What's the strongest strain of weed you've ever seen? Do you smoke weed? If so what's the strongest you've ever smoked? Do you get to keep/buy any of the weed? Do you enjoy your job?

1. Blueberry Haze when I was in Amsterdam last month - Jonathan 2.We dont handle weed directly via our company
2. Yes we both enjoy it very much and see a huge potential in what we do.

Do you think there will be a lot of jobs in the medical/recreational marijuana industry? I am in college and I am thinking of majoring in something that can be useful in the soon-to-be cannabis-run economy. Do you think this is smart? I was thinking botany, alternative medicine, or something where I can be a part of the cannabis legalization movement. If so, what would you suggest.

Botany. for sure botany

As the movement for legal cannabis gets stronger, how has your business changed from its infancy to today, where it is getting more and more legitimate on a daily basis it seems?

We are actually moving into a bigger office which is always good. And also the types of people you see come into the office, when I first got hired I was somewhat in shock, then I got used to seeing real legit doctors and attorneys and businessmen come into our office, thats when I realized this was completely for real and going to be huge - Jonathan

From your perspective how long do you think it will take a state from the east coast to legalize it... I am from New England and anywhere in New England would be great because it's not to far away

We dont see recreational legalization as a viable reality in the future for the east coast.

How do I get a good job in the cannabis job market? (I am attending a university next year) Any tips?

I applied to a craigslist add - Jonathan

Hi, I have recently become interested (and invested) in Bitcoin and Alt-coins such as Potcoin. I hope that these new technologies can facilitate payments with credit cards in dispensaries without fear of legal reprisal. What are your thoughts on the uses for these new currencies in the legal marijuana industry?

While our industry is still limited we think its great that alternate currency are possibly going to be accepted so that patients can obtain medicine in legal states. In preparation for this, we will be launching a brand new version of our website www.PotLocator.com which will not only accept alternative forms of currency such as BitCoin but PotCoin as well. For more info I would actually recommend that you visit potcoin.info

If weed were to be legalized across the state/world what would you like/think the price for weed would be? With full legalization do you think we would see lower prices or staying the same?

It would depend on the factors of production my good man

May I also have a job? Young Veteran who knows a thing or two about the subject.

we will be posting our fax number soon we will be taking resumes

Have you had to deal with the DEA any? Any raids or stuff like that?

Nope. We dont handle cannabis directly

What exactly does your company do with the marijuana you get? (Is it already dried and trimmed or do you guys have to do that?) And what is the process of what you guys do there with the marijuana?

We dont actually process the physical cannabis, we offer business services to business and doctors within the industry. We are heavily involved in any aspect of this industry and if you name it, we probably have a website or a department that will handle it.

How active is the company or it's employees in the legalization process? Do you openly support groups like NORML through monetary means?

Cant speak on behalf of everyone else but we have made monetary contributions in the past - Jonathan

Do you think recreational legalization is helping or hindering the medical culture?

neither, it is simply a stage the industry most pass through on the way to federal medical legalization, as weve stated we dont believe it will become recreational on a federal level

Where do you think we are heading in terms of legalization? Do you think the momentum behind the legalization in Uruguay, Washington and Colorado will help to push the cause around the rest of the world?

Being a UK Ent it feels like we still have to far to go in regards to changing public opinion on the subject. Would you have plans to expand to foreign countries should the market be there?

I had to ask my CEO for his thoughts on this one and here is a summary of what he said -

Just like alcohol prohibition the scheduling of cannabis needs to change. once that happens it opens the door for legitimate pharmaceutical companies to begin EXTENSIVE testing into cannabis' uses. I fully believe that the next president, regardless of party will essentially have no choice but to make marijuana legal. I believe that it will eventually become a prescribed medicine and remain in the same classification of drugs as xanax or vicodin. The reality is that recreational legalization is a unlikely and on the small chance it does occur, would only come AFTER AN EXTENDED period of it being a schedule 2 drug.

So I am from a non medical state. I am interested in getting into the business once my state allows it. What advice would you give to someone trying to find a job in this field? What is the best part about your job?

Be prepared to spend money on a very good attorney. The people who are most informed about the law will be the ones who benefit fastes

Thank you for the response. Follow up, do a lot of your clients end up in sticky situations with the law?

Not to our knowledge

Are there people that work at your business, or in the marijuana business in general, that don't smoke? Or is everyone there pretty much a smoker?

Many people choose not to be users either medically or for recreation

application?!

i will be posting our fax number soon so anybody who wants to send in a resume can do so. we are actually going to offer paid and unpaid internships as a result of the interest we have gotten from this AMA

Do you guys work with companies such as Refine Seattle? Or do you stick strictly to cannabis buds and stay clear of BHO/nBHO?

Another question, I'm currently a 17 year old student in college majoring in business management and botany. Do you think I'll have a good chance getting into the field you're in with these majors?

Also, did you do any illegal ops before you moved on to legal work?

Currently we do not work with them but we would if the situation ever arose.

As an Ent in a state that is working to legalize (Maine) what can I do now to prepare for that in terms of starting my own marijuana-related business?

Make sure you familiarize your self with your states laws and also contact a good attorney who can help you file all your paperwork

Does your company have problems when dealing with Corporate Banking? Considering that Banks need to follow federal laws and cannabis is still outlawed federally?

we dont physically handle cannabis so no that is not a problem for us

How do your parents/ friends view your decision to get involved in the industry?

They know we are hardworking and understand the legitimacy of what we do. They are extremely supportive. Especialy we dont break any laws

What is the average wage of a vendor at your dispensary? and what is your favorite way of consuming cannabis?

we are not a dispensary

Do you guys have any affiliation with research on cannabis for medicinal use? If not, do you happen to have any sources where I could find out more about it? Thanks

our website www.marijuanadoctors.com is what we believe a good site to start any potential research you may wish to begin

Which is the next drug you believe will be legalized? And why?

We focus solely on the medical use of cannabis, we like to refer to it as an "exit drug" to many of our patients who have sadly not been helped or limited to traditional pharmaceuticals

[deleted]

we dont do anything illegal, so no we are not

[deleted]

we are located on the east coast

Do you see companies in the future adding chemicals to the buds for a more cost-effective, faster output of their product, much like big tobacco companies did?

It is certainly a possibility, however we cant directly speculate as to the future intents of possible growers.

You mentioned you work on the east coast. In most east coast states marijuana hasn't been legalized for medicinal use yet. If you're in one of those states what is it like working in a state that looks down upon your business? How do you see the east coast progressing in the next few years in their reform of marijuana laws?

We believe that the next presidential election will be the main factor in bringing about nation wide legalization of any kind, we personally feel that it will remain medical for quite some time.

What was your motivation to create this company?

Our COO unfortunatley lost his sister due to cancer at a young age, this prompted him to dive into researching alternative methods of treatment and eventually he discovered the Rick Simpson case, this inspired him to pack up and move to California on a whim so that he could become more directly involved with aiding patients and assisting in the acceptance of the industry. www.MarijuanaDoctors.com and www.420Petition.com are some of the domains that reflect and work heavily toward those goals.

With a lot of people wanting to get into the industry what is most important for applicants to have, other than previous experience?

As someone who just recently joined the company I feel that being a good people person, quick thinking, and adaptable were what helped me attain a position with the Medical Cannabis Network. I can certainly tell you that my education is no better or that I am no smarter than many of the people on reddit, I was blessed with a great opportunity at a great company - Jonathan

Are you guys in the stock market and if so, has it boomed?

No we currently are not a public company, in our infancy we used to be public but due to the nature of the industry at the time we felt it was inappropriate. We have since reverted back to being privately owned.