Ep. 53: The Power of Pure: How Aspen Green Stands Apart in CBD – Fri, October 31, 2025

KCAA: Just Say KNOW with Maria, by Green Bee Life on Fri, 31 Oct, 2025

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Linda at one O six point five FM K two
ninety three CF, Prino Valley.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
What if the key to better wellness wasn't in another
prescription bottle, but in a carefully cultivated plant, grown organically,
extracted responsibly, and backed by science. The problem the CBD
industry exploded before the rules did. Thanks to a patchwork
of state laws, a twenty eighteen farm builder left gaps,

(00:36):
and the FDA's continued reluctance to evaluate or regulate CBD
products like dietary supplements, We've ended up with confusion, chaos,
and a flood of products making claims they can't back up. Today,
I just say no, We're cutting through that fog and
getting real about what's in your CBD and what should.

Speaker 3 (01:00):
By twenty twenty, Bank of America and Merrilynch estimate that
will grow to thirty five billion dollars, and many experts
believe it could eventually reach two hundred billion dollars each
and every year.

Speaker 4 (01:31):
I can see so much.

Speaker 5 (01:36):
Your mo mosa, your mos.

Speaker 2 (01:48):
I'm a butterfly who is only begun, taking me a
while to get it. Had to live and cry, to
appreciate life, and let you give this word when you're
holding me, held me so close. Someone for there in
ski want to leave them live soay I can be Hello, Hello,
and welcome back to just Saying No We're Today we

(02:10):
are going to take the mystery and the marketing spin
out of cannabis and ham products. I'm your host, Maria
Calibery's and I am excited about today's topic because it
addresses something near and dear to my heart, transparency and wellness.
I'm coming to you from the heart of California's cannabis

(02:30):
country on KCAA Radio ten fifty AM, one O six
point five FM and wherever you get your podcasts. With
so many CBD brands claiming to be pure, organic or
doctor recommended, how do we as consumers separate the truth
from the noise, the hemp from the chaff. Well. One

(02:52):
company that walks the walk is Aspin and Green, USDA
certified organic, full spec and physician formulated by one of
the most respected names in integrative medicine. Joining me today
is Brandon Lewis, the founder of Asping Green. Brandon's mission

(03:13):
goes beyond selling wellness products. He's here to raise the
standard and help us all become smarter CBD consumers. Brandon, welcome, Well,
thank you for having me Maria. It's a pleasure. Oh.
I have been looking forward to this conversation not only
because we're welcoming Aspen Green to the green Bee Life Hive,

(03:34):
but because I think your story and the science behind
your products can truly empower our listeners. For those who
may be new to Aspen Green, tell us how it
all started, what led you and your co founders to
step into the CBD space, and what problem were you
hoping to solve?

Speaker 6 (03:53):
Boyll boy, that is a loaded question a lot time back. Yeah,
So look, I'm not gonna get religious on anybody here,
but I will tell you that I literally was asking
from above for something that I was passionate about and
that would fulfill me for close to a decade. Now.

(04:17):
I am a recovering alcoholic addict. I'm sober twenty eight
years and I ended up in a business where I
had an executive search firm that was tied to pharmaceutical
marketing and healthcare advertising. And during this time, when I

(04:42):
would ask my clients, I would ask them about therapeutic
categories of expertise that they would require to have and
so forth, and different skills that they're looking for when
they would bring on whether account talent or scientific talent
into their organization. And my stomach really charted started to

(05:03):
turn somewhere around fourteen fifteen ish, maybe sixteen, when I
had clients that were in the pain space in particular,
were promoting opioids, and so with that, I just didn't
want to be a part of that any any longer.
I didn't know how I would end up over on

(05:25):
this side of the you know this this business. I've
been passionate about prison reform, decriminalization. I believe that people
need to go to treatment centers and get help when
any when they have any addiction. And I did not
grow up as a as really a cannabis lover. I didn't.
I used to have a retail chain a long time ago,
when I was in my in my early thirties. We

(05:49):
had I did business in eight states. I had a
thousand employees, and and I like the action, but that
but that business was really about the money. It wasn't
necessarily helping people per se. And when when this came
about with me, probably the first, the first moment that

(06:15):
it made me really pause and think was in twenty
I want to say. Twenty twelve, I was in Colorado
Springs and I had stopped off at a dispensary right
off of I twenty five and selfishly, look, I'm a male.
I've been married to my wife, Heathers, who's involved in
the business for I don't know what twenty three, twenty

(06:37):
four years now, and had I heard that you could
have a good time with your intimacy if you will,
if you've got a buzz from cannabis. So I stop
in at this dispensary and it took every bit of
forty five minutes. I get out, and you know, I
get back into the car, and heather says, what took
you so long? And I say, Babe, you don't understand

(07:01):
what I just saw. I saw every walk of life.
I saw every demographic. I saw people who do want
to get absolutely buzzed, there's no question. But I saw
so many people who are looking for, you know, help
from their ailments. And again, I want to be very cognizant.
I know I mentioned I was in executive search tied
to pharmaceuticals before. Well, you know, we're not making any claims, right,

(07:26):
so we're not We're not going to tell you that
we're going to help you quote unquote with pain or
with your with your other ailments where the FDA is
involved in far and pharma can pump out a drug
for you. But these are natural, you know, natural remedies,
if you will, from this plant that's been around for

(07:47):
thousands of years. And it was really eye opening to
me to see that in twenty twelve where people were
really really looking for relief from a variety of their issues.
And you know, it took a few years still where
I had to go on a journey where I thought,
you know what, why don't I open up these marijuana dispensaries,

(08:09):
medical marijuana dispensaries, And I really was disheartened because it
is so stink and political and every state is doing
it differently. Uh. Look, we're a lover of Colorado. Everything
that we've been doing has been based out of Colorado,
from soup to nuts, growing the plants, extraction. Rebecca and

(08:31):
Stephanie were on this call. Live out there. Our our
our teammate Adam Young is in Colorado Springs. And and
with that, you know, I also I live in Florida
in a town called Panapeter Beach, which is a beautiful place. Uh,
And I go out to Colorado all the time. But
with that, I really got disheartened in these in these

(08:53):
state sessions, both in Colorado and in Florida, and in
having it be you know, vertically integrated. You have to
do every single thing under the sun, and you have
to retail directly with you know, brick and mortar and
so forth. So fast forward through that. I was sharing
my zest to explore this medical marijuana space with a

(09:17):
friend of mine who's a very wealthy guy, and he
came to me a couple months maybe about six months later.
So this is in the beginning of eighteen and I'm
sitting at this desk right here, and he calls me
up and he says, hey, what do you think about
the CBD thing? He hit me in a bad moment,
and I just go, I think it's a fat And

(09:39):
it was because I was focused on marijuana right right,
and I'm not understanding the difference here. I'm not a
connoisseur of cannabis at this time. Really, so fast forward
through this. He invites me to come in and to
be a distributor for another brand out there, and I

(10:01):
started asking him, well, and that company. Where are the farms?
I want to meet the farmer And they couldn't tell me.
They would just say, hey, we buy material from all
over the place, five thousand farms, whatever it was, across
the country. We ship it in into one location. We're
grinding it up, mixing it all together. It's like a

(10:23):
hodgepodge of really biomass. And I said to him, I said,
this is not what I've envisioned. I have another gig
that I do. I've had success, YadA, YadA, YadA, and
I really want to help people and I want to know.
I want to know, like at the ground level, the strains,

(10:45):
the farming and so forth. So fast forward through that,
we have two We have partners, Kyle and Valerie Chong,
lifelong friends of mine. I've known Kyle since we're twelve
years old. He's a Chinese Jamaican guy, no joke. His
mom used to grow cannabis and she would use it

(11:06):
in tea right properties to help with the various ailments.
So anyway, so with that, his wife, Valerie was very
in tuned to these different toxins that are in skincare
products like the bandover. I think it's thirteen hundred of them.
So this is kind of a genesis of us where

(11:27):
we came together, two families homeopathic looking for the natural remedies,
and then the journey begin.

Speaker 2 (11:38):
Looking for the natural alternative to you know, pharmaceuticals or
products that are packed with preservatives or not so great ingredients.
You know, there's a lot of manufacturers out there who
put profit over people. And for you, it was personal

(12:03):
and I share that with you. I think that's what
drew me. I didn't realize the specifics, but to Aspen
Green because it's shines through and your you know your products,
they're USDA certified organic, they're grown in the United States
Colorado to be exact, and the care you take and

(12:25):
the interest you have in commitment towards sustainability. For me
it's personal too, and I really appreciate your sharing the
the why in such a candidate. In personal way, our
journeys are quite parallel. I went to law school. I

(12:45):
mean to me Mawana. Unfortunately, I was drummed in as
a childhood. There was a it was a felony and
a devil's drug and a gateway drug to all kinds
of mayhem. But I had a horrific car accident. I
had four massive spinal surgeries and opioids. That is not

(13:08):
a long term use drug. Sorry, Farma got it wrong.
Sometimes it helps, sometimes it hurts. Opioids was just not
a long term use drug. If there's really specific cases
very acute short term pain. But for someone struggling or

(13:28):
suffering with a chronic, lifelong condition. This happened to me
after my first day at Loss cub was only twenty four.
Opioid addiction was a real threat and concern, so, but
cannabis was never on the table. So for me, it
wasn't until twenty sixteen when it went on the ballot
in California, and it was actually through a dog that

(13:52):
I had. It's funny because with all of the propaganda
and the misinformation, I really thought, yeah, had to go
full blown cannabis, and that CBD was you know, was
just a fat I didn't understand the end of cannabinoid system.
We'll get into that and cannabinoids and that THC and
CBD are only two of over one hundred and fifty

(14:15):
at least cannabinoids. So someone suggested marijuana failing dog, I was,
you know, that was the devil's weed, and CBD I
thought was a fat but she her suffering, not her suffering,
forced me to kind of look into it and when

(14:38):
I have the aha moment like you, especially in the
dispensary and seeing people from all walks of life in there.
And that's what our audience wants to learn more about
because there they're folks who are looking for natural alternatives
to pharmaceuticals and alcohol. So I wanted to just take

(15:00):
it back to you know, your commitment to doing this
so authentically and clean. Can you explain to the audience
what exactly USDA certified organic means and how rare it
is to come by in the CBD industry.

Speaker 6 (15:21):
Yeah, well, well that was something that I was Uh,
it was non negotiable for me, is to put out
the cleanest products that we can possibly make. And so
it starts really at the farm, So the USA has
to come out and certify the actual farm. They do
this on the hemp side of the business. Okay, just

(15:43):
so everybody's clear who's listening, this is all the same
exact plant. It's called the Cannabis sativa L plant. There's
the only difference between what is classified as marijuana and
what is classified as hemp is the actual weight of
the product cannot exceed point three percent THHC. If it's

(16:04):
point three zero zero one, you call it marijuana. You
have to have a marijuana license if it If it's
at point three percent and below by dry weight of
that actual THHC, then you can call it hemp. And
the FEDS had passed the Farm Bill, also known as
the Agricultural Act in twenty eighteen, and that made it

(16:27):
federally compliant. Now every state's doing things all differently. Now
to there's this whole all this it's a quagmire, frankly,
but that's what gave way to this space. And with
that you can have The USDA will certify a hemp

(16:49):
farm as being organic, but they won't do that with
a marijuana farm. It does not exist. Okay, just so
you know now again.

Speaker 2 (16:58):
And that's because of the lead go classification of the
amount of THC.

Speaker 6 (17:03):
Yes, it's all about the amount of THCHC in the plant.
And look, and as we're growing plants, realize this. You
have a buffer. State by state they give you an allowance.
I told you point three percent by weight. So just
imagine this. For example, if you have a five gram gummy.
Point three percent of five grams is fifteen milligrams. So

(17:26):
if that came from what was classified as a hemp
plant and it was no more than fifteen milligrams of
THHC from a hemp derived plant, then you are federally compliant. Right.
So with if you're on the quote unquote marijuana side
of the business, the USDA will not certify any farm

(17:46):
as being organic. But again it's the exact same plant.
And when you're growing the plants, the term is it
went hot, meaning it went over a threshold that's acceptable
by the state, which typically is more than the point
three In a manufacturing process of growing the plant, okay,

(18:07):
getting the oil out, they allow a buffer for that, okay,
And again it does it differently. So if it's over
that whatever that threshold may be in the growing part
of the manufacturing and production, then it's called it went hot,
and now it's called marijuana. You've got to burn it,
whatever it may be. So you know, we're testing at

(18:29):
the field level, at the farm, clipping the buds, clipping
the flour, if you will. Then we're testing the bio mass.
When it's ground up and there's no stems. We don't
use any stems. It's all the flour, all the buds,
if you will, all the good walking abinoids and turpenes
and so forth.

Speaker 2 (18:46):
So that's important for bioavailability, right.

Speaker 6 (18:52):
Yeah, absolutely, you have to well you have to have flour,
yeah for sure. But there's also the ways of ingesting
for bioavailability.

Speaker 2 (19:04):
Yeah, okay, okay, a.

Speaker 6 (19:06):
Tincture, a tincture with the oil the droppers smoking is
the fastest way to take this stuff and get into
your system and hits your lungs lungs. Right. The second
fastest way is actually a tincture bottle and you leave
it in the back of the gum line for about
twenty minutes and so forth, and it soaks in. Want
I want to be very careful with the FDA all

(19:27):
that stuff with the sublingually. Yeah, you have that and
then you know you can drink it. We have new
drinks coming out by the way. You have the gummies,
you have topicals and so forth. But the tinctures are
and we don't sell smokables. If you look at our site,
I don't believe in and I'm totally anti smoking. If

(19:48):
somebody smokes, that's their prerogative. I'm personally anti vaping. I've
been asked to get in the smokable space, the vaping
space constantly, and I'm like, I just don't want to
be a part of it.

Speaker 2 (19:59):
Sure, lung has a whole lung health. There's a whole
other issue. But I got you a little off track.
You were talking about that you mill the hamp flour
removing the stems, on the topic of the USDA certification,
and that's not something everybody does correct.

Speaker 6 (20:13):
Oh, yeah, for sure, there's very few of us out
there that do that because it's very coftly. I mean
you're talking about you know, you're talking about the sprays used.
You have to have everything that has to be approved
by the usdas being organic and clean your soil. Then
you're talking about the actual facility where you're doing the extraction,

(20:36):
getting the oil out of the biomass. The facility has
to be certified organic. Like you know in manufacturing the gummies,
that facility needs to be certified organic, everything from soup
to nuts.

Speaker 2 (20:49):
That's what caught my attention about Aspen Green because it
was a few years back. I mean, you were one
of the first to get that certification, and I knew
that farms could get it. But to see that you
as a product, I said, I have to check this
product out. And on top of the USDA certification, and

(21:10):
we'll talk a little bit about your manufacturing process, but
you're also physician formulated and that is another unique value proposition.
I don't think too many CBD brands can say that.
And can you tell us a little bit about doctor
Adam Pearlman and his role in these formulations.

Speaker 6 (21:31):
Well, he's formulated all of them. So you know it
is Uh, we have to have doors open up with
the right relationships, meeting people and so forth right. And
I've we both have smoked, We've spoken to so many
different folks in this space. There's a ton of h impostors,
if you will, a ton of bad actors that don't

(21:52):
dot the i's, cross the t's, et cetera. So with that, uh,
your friend of mine introduced me to doctor Pearlman. And ironically,
you know, I live almost a stone's throw. My primary
residence is from the Mayo Clinic here in Jacksonville, Florida,
and so doctor Pearlman lives in my same neighborhood. We
finally got introduced by a very good mutual friend and

(22:17):
we hit it off, and he ended up offering a book,
gaisine if you will. So it's a cross between a
book and a magazine, about seventy five or so ages.
It was published by Mayo Clinic Press. It was called,
I believe it was called The Medical Benefits of Marijuana
and the Many Benefits of CBD. And with that, you know,

(22:42):
when anybody looks at doctor Pearlman, we're not talking about
just any old doc. This is an integrative, functional medicine doc.
He is all about your diet before anything. That's the
first go to deal. Yeah. Yeah, So he doesn't prescribe

(23:02):
pills unless he has to. He's truly that blend of
Eastern and Western medicine. And if anybody in the audience listening,
he never ever got to really meet doctor Pearlman. I mean,
this guy is I think he's fifty eight now. He
has like no fact, he's unbelievable. He shredded in amazing shape,
he does martial arts. You know, just a really unique

(23:26):
dude and a pleasure to be partnered with. And he
didn't join us just because we became friends. It's his name,
it's his career. He was at Duke University, you know,
for five years leading the integrative and Functional Medicine at
Duke University to the Mayo Clinic for another five years.
And so when he when he joined us, I wanted

(23:49):
him to go through every formula and every product that
we were coming out with and he signs off on
all of them. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (23:59):
Wow. You know, he said something that struck me that
his biggest concern in recommending CBD is the quality of
the products out there, and that resonated with me, obviously
with you too, and likely with our audience. And you know,
quality control, as you mentioned, it's still a challenge in

(24:20):
every space, not just CBD, but when you're in an
unregulated space, in his space, with such the patchwork of
laws that are inconsistent with gaps, then it's even more
can be more unscrupulous, which is a shame. And that's
why it's so important to amplify voices like yours and
brands like yours, so that people who want to be

(24:43):
helped by this plant and by the products know what
to look for and how to find them, and not
just people but pets. Now you don't just have and
we're going to talk about your products and formulas in
a bit and about your customer care team and meet
some of them. But you also, which I love because

(25:04):
my dog was the gateway to cannabis for me formulate
CBD for pets, and I love that your pet line.
I know doctor Trina has A and uh, I know
you've got incredible veterinary board of advisors. It's really impressive.
How did you attract such such medical authorities, So tell

(25:27):
us about your vetinary line and your veterinarian board of advisors.

Speaker 6 (25:31):
Well, doctor Michael Silver and and doctor Trina has A.
I gotta tell you, I think it was just through
constant networking. I really can't even remember. I mean, we're
talking about you now right.

Speaker 2 (25:44):
Well, they're the bests. They are. They are the bests,
not just in the cannabis field, but doctor has on
the field of oncology, in their respective veterinary medicine fields.
It's it's it's remarkable. You you hit gold there.

Speaker 6 (25:59):
Well, they and those are their formulations. You know, I
didn't want to make a product that true cannabis veterinarians
or veterinarians have that have expertise in cannabis and and hemp.
It didn't make sense to me. There's so much. There's
so many products out there. Again, how does a consumer
know what to trust? Right? And that you Yeah, you

(26:20):
got a flood of quote unquote brands, but there is
no dare I say Coca Cola? Uh in our space,
it just doesn't exist. Maybe it will in thirty years,
but uh, you know, how do we send the message
to the consumer to trust a brand? And to me?
To me, it felt like we had to be USDA
certified organic. It was a non negotiable. We need true,

(26:44):
true docs that have expertise in hapen cannabis, both for
the pets with doctor Trina and doctor Silver and then
doctor Pearlman from the obviously the human side. And then
let's go further too, because we we didn't talk much
about this is testing, so we all want to talk about, Oh,

(27:05):
these are by an independent all our products are tested
by an independent third party lab. Does that mean it's
you got.

Speaker 2 (27:13):
The MVPs of the space because you guys use sc
Labs and I wanted you to talk about that, so
I'm so glad you brought that up.

Speaker 6 (27:21):
Well with sc Labs. They they well. Our original partner
was botanic Or in Denver, which was purchased by sc
Labs nationally recognized botanical with US in Colorado, they were
accredit they were only one of three labs accredited by
the state of Colorado. So to me, I'm like, I
had we had to go with one of the three

(27:41):
period and you know, they're doing state compliance, they're doing
national compliance, they're doing USDA organic compliance. To me, they
are the cream of the crop. And I've seen all
these other labs out there and I'm like, who are they?
I've never heard of them? A lot of them, there's
a handful I have heard of, yes, But sc Labs

(28:02):
is the premiere testing authority in our space, and we've
been with them again pretty much since inception. We were
with a different lab in the very beginning for just
a little while, and then when I stumbled on and
I found out about sc labs AKA but previously botanic work,
it was a mic drop. We had to go there.
There was no question about it.

Speaker 2 (28:23):
And You're transparency is so impressive because you have such
easy access to the lab results for customers. When you
talk about how to consumers even begin to evaluate, and
it could be overwhelming, but you have QR codes on
every package and on your website. You have the lab

(28:43):
results make them very very very transparent and you walk
the walk brand and what can I say? And in
terms of all of these Creme de la Creme partnerships,
you're also partnered with the Realm of Caring Foundation are
incredibly respected in the space. Now you know, why was

(29:04):
it important for you to align with them?

Speaker 6 (29:08):
Again? I felt like it was true trust for consumers,
but also we needed to have because we cannot speak
to conditions with the consumer with our customer base and
we are so proud to serve so when they want
to talk to us about their variety, the variety of
ailments that they've got, and then they get into their

(29:33):
other pharm of drugs that are taking or their medical conditions,
we felt it was best to partner with Realm of
Caring because they've taken over one hundred thousand phone calls
from they'll say clients, not patients, And they've also done
research with Hopkins, Harvard and Penn just to name a few,
and we've donated products for some of those observational studies,

(29:58):
and we just felt that that was the right thing
to do for our again, our consumers and educating people
out there. This is a this is a free call.
They're they're they're they're there to help you and guide
you on your journey if you will. And with that, so,
actually one of their tenured guys I always had on

(30:19):
my radar to come join us. His name is Adam Young.
He's not on this call with us. Uh, but Adam
was there for about five years. Uh. Well versed in
in cannabis and and in hemp again it's the same
plant folks, so uh. And he was a caregiver.

Speaker 2 (30:38):
Distinction to make not everybody realize that that can't be
said enough, but go.

Speaker 6 (30:42):
Ahead, no, And he was a caregiver as well. He's
very empathetic. Uh. He took care of his mom down
the stretch she passed. So a lot of this with
you know a lot of people were using r S O.
Rick Simpson oil uh and and Adam was and he's
such a caring guy. He's been with us for over
two years. And we've got also two gals on the

(31:05):
call with us here, Stephanie and Rebecca, who have been Yeah.
So with Adam Young leading our customer care team, him
coming from realm of caring and his experience was just
perfect for that. But we needed to have some other
really key stakeholders involved that could help our customers. And

(31:28):
I actually had met an awesome farmer. Rebecca was at
her farm myself, and now she's with us. It took
about two years later she joined us. And then Steph,
who's on this call. Both Rebecca and Steph are on
this call. Sorry Bonnie, you're not here, Adam, Sorry you're
not with us. We love you both. But stef and

(31:48):
Rebecca here, and I'm so honored and proud to have
them on the team. I've been passionate about I want
to have an in house American customer care team that
can really guide our customers and who've got experience in
this space. So with that, I'll let you chat with
Rebecca and Steph.

Speaker 2 (32:08):
Well, welcome, Welcome, Rebecca and Stephanie. You know, I could
discuss education and patient support all day, but I'm gonna
let some new voices talk about it. So why don't
we start with Rebecca. Rebecca, tell us a little bit
about yourself, how long you've been in Aspen Green, and

(32:31):
what type of patient support or we call it, we
have to call it client support you offer to customers.

Speaker 7 (32:41):
Yeah, so I'm Rebecca, I've been with Aspen Green for
about two years now, and it's been a great company
to work with for me. My background with him or
cannabis has been an extensive background and growing cannabis on
a small and a large scale. So that background of
like seeing actually what goes into growing has really made

(33:04):
me appreciate this job because I just know like how
much effort and time and care really goes into it.
My history with growing has also been organic, and that's
really helped open my eyes to how insanely difficult it
actually is to get USDA Organic certification. It's not something
that the farm that I worked with was able to
do just because it was just so intensive and also

(33:27):
really expensive too. So that's been really nice, like work
for a company that offers that on all levels.

Speaker 4 (33:35):
So I really appreciate that about Aspen Green.

Speaker 7 (33:37):
And as for the support that we give, I think
that our main mission with Aspen Green is to be
not only knowledgeable but also available to customers into our clients,
just because I mean that's something.

Speaker 4 (33:51):
That you know, in the world of like AI and.

Speaker 7 (33:54):
Computerization of everything, like people are really losing that personal
touch with companies and so for them to be able
to actually like pick up the phone and call us.
We'll call them back if we missed it right away,
you know, we'll respond to their emails quickly, talk to
them on the chat. Like just to actually be able
to talk to a human being like quickly has been

(34:15):
I think a game changer for a lot of people.
And on that note, like even for me if I'm
wanting to get, you know, customer service from a company
and I'm like pitching out to them, just working for
aspin Green has kind of set my expectations for customer
service a little more. I'm just like, dang, they haven't
responded to me in forty eight hours.

Speaker 4 (34:33):
What's going on?

Speaker 6 (34:34):
You know?

Speaker 7 (34:34):
So I think that's our main mission is just like
educating people, being knowledgeable, caring, and also yeah, being available
for people.

Speaker 2 (34:42):
Well, this is a radio show and we're also going
to have a video version, and I just love to
highlight and spotlight the faces behind it because we're crushing
the stigma. You're relatable, you're you're you're lovely. I'd call
you not the sound dated, the girl next door. I'm
like the stereotypical crazy propaganda refor madness displays. So not

(35:11):
only are you a subject matter, expert. You you come
to it with years of experience and it's been a
gateway to helping people. So I love spotlighting the people.
I like to say that Greenbee Life is a people
network with cannabis, not a cannabis network with people. And

(35:33):
I'm gonna now introduce. We want to say hi to Stephanie. Stephanie,
tell us a little bit about yourself. Another one who
doesn't look like you know whatever, not that there's not
that there's anything wrong. I love to cheating John, but
you know, the demographic's much wider, you know. Yeah.

Speaker 8 (35:53):
So my name is Stephanie and I similar to back.
I've been in the industry now since twenty thirteen. I
took a little bit different a path. I went more
on the retail side of things, so I was working
more customer facing jobs and I worked for a company
called Liberal Enlightened Health. They had no training program when

(36:14):
I first entered. They were only medical and so it
was crazy to see like all these different walks of
life coming into dispensary having little to no knowledge of
like what they were buying, how to ingest it, what
it was going to do. And so I kind of
saw an entryway of being like, Hey, I can be
really impactful for this company. I'm going to help them

(36:35):
create a training program. So we developed a world class
training program that eventually turned into multiple different states, and
we really saw Libal expand at a rate that we
couldn't have expected. And the coolest thing was that a
lot of our reviews that were left back, you know,
in the early days, it was that they were coming
in and it was an experience that they could come

(36:55):
in and they could get walked through all the different
forms of ingestion. We were answering question in a compliant way,
and they were leaving, you know, feeling really empowered and
the decisions that they made.

Speaker 4 (37:06):
So it was really cool to be a part of that.

Speaker 8 (37:08):
I love Aspen Green because they've hired so many different
people with different like backgrounds, and so it all kind
of formulates into this really beautiful symbiotic relationship where you know,
Recca has grow, I have retail, Adam has both sides.
Bonnie as well coming into it, and it's just been
really cool to see how meticulous the processes for Aspen

(37:30):
Green and I use the products, my family uses their products,
family friends, everyone's using their products and they love it.
And it's really something that I can stand behind because
the USA Organic just the care that we take with
our customer service, just every every step of the way
is really thoughtfully curated and it's something that I can
really get behind.

Speaker 2 (37:50):
Yeah, and you know, there's nothing more gratifying than having
customers or listeners. I know today's listeners are going to
walk away from this just interview, but to have an
interaction with you as well feeling more informed. That makes
them feel more empowered on their wellness journey. Which we
talked a lot about the information gap, and there's a

(38:13):
real inform there's a legal gap, but those gaps in
the law and when you you know, we talk about
being able to speak to the customers in a compliant way,
it's it's tough for consumers. That's for me, new to
cannabis and having been so grossly misinformed trying That's why

(38:36):
I put together Greenbey Life and I'm trying to build
a hive of brands that are aligned and who are
putting people over the profits. But you know, we need
you know, it's connecting the people to the brands that
are walking the walk, that are well meaning and that

(38:58):
are really interested in helping the people, then the profits
will come. But the gaps in the law present gaps
and information because on the retail side and on the
marketing side, how to separate hype from marketing. But then
even well meaning companies like yourself, if you're restricted from
making health claims or you know where, we have barriers

(39:23):
to social media to putting information out. So having this
customer support team, I you know, I evaluate, and I
look at and I search for many brands I don't
I don't know too many that offer that, and so
it's fantastic. While I have such smart people, we like

(39:46):
to do something called a quick it. So I'm going
to have y'all drop a knowledge bomb where you guys
are going to share and you're on the spot. You're
on the spot here. I'm not gonna lie they didn't
know about this beforehand, but we're going to share a fast,
powerful insight. Now, I kind of would giving your backgrounds

(40:10):
and your mission, I thought it would be great to
ask each of you and you could go around. You
could take a couple of minutes each and you could
take a minute to think about it. Tell me who
would want to go first. Today's knowledge bomberor quick hit.
What's the one thing you wish more people truly understood

(40:32):
about CBD beyond the hype and the misinformation. So who
wants to go first? Woop's Brandon? Brandon is brave, Brandon muted.

Speaker 6 (40:49):
I was going to defer to the ladies and being gentlemen.
You want to go with this, I mean, go ahead, Rebecca, Okay.

Speaker 7 (40:59):
I think for me one thing that I really wish
that people I mean, okay, can.

Speaker 4 (41:03):
I drop two?

Speaker 6 (41:04):
Oh?

Speaker 2 (41:05):
Absolutely? You okay, I'd love you to indulge me in
answer the one you wish more people? But they, you know,
have a knowledge bomb you want to drop by all.

Speaker 7 (41:16):
Yeah, I think for me and Brandon actually touched on
this earlier, is that like hemp, cannabis, marijuana.

Speaker 4 (41:23):
It's all the same plant.

Speaker 7 (41:25):
And I think that that's something that a lot of
people don't realize, and so there's certain aspects of the
plants I kind of get demonized, so to speak. You know,
like a lot of people are like, oh, like marijuana
is awful, I just want CBD, And it's kind of
explaining to them, like, you know, hemp is CBD is hemp,
and CBD is from marijuana plants, and it's all just

(41:45):
about how much THHD you're extracting from these plants.

Speaker 4 (41:49):
So that's something that.

Speaker 7 (41:50):
I think would be really helpful, maybe not for people
to know, but like for the respect of the plant.

Speaker 4 (41:56):
Like I feel like it helps people to like have
a better.

Speaker 7 (41:58):
Understanding of the plant and kind of the history of it,
and just the terminology I think is important.

Speaker 2 (42:05):
I agree, and I also think, not to interrupt, but
in terms of respect for the plant, I think when
you make the distinction, we're we're just perpetuating the propaganda
and vilifying Sea A Matwana and that's got to be normalized.

Speaker 4 (42:22):
But good, good, yeah, thank you.

Speaker 6 (42:24):
And yeah.

Speaker 7 (42:25):
The other one is just that it's not like one
size fits all solution and it's not like fakes and so,
you know, like Brandon was mentioning earlier, it's like coming
from a space where like a lot of people, I'd
say most people are kind of conditioned to expect immediate results,
you know, immediate relief because we're used to like having
access to medicines and things that you know, mask the

(42:48):
symptoms right away, and so when people are looking for
like natural alternatives, they kind of have this built up
expectation of like Okay, if I take this once, I'm
gonna sleep ten hours tonight or my ha's gonna go away.
But it's just like with any natural supplement, it takes
time and patience and consistency to like allow your body

(43:08):
to actually like acclimate to it and give your body
a chance to respond, and that could take some time.
So for me, that's one thing I would just love
to like shout to the world is like give it time,
be consistent, be patient with it, give it a couple
of weeks, and then come back, but like immediate.

Speaker 4 (43:23):
Results like it happens sometimes but pretty rare.

Speaker 2 (43:27):
I love that. I mean, you guys are in it
for the long haul because the education in managing the expectations.
And that's another thing, guys, just you know, if brands
are making these crazy claims, they are clear. I love
your honesty and that's realistic. Thank you, all right, Steph,

(43:49):
Your turn a.

Speaker 8 (43:52):
Definitely jumping off that like the fact that we you know,
it's not a one size fits all. I think it's
really important to really drive that home for sure. I
love that when people give get the opportunity to like
talk to Rebecca or Bonnie or I we can kind
of help educate them that, you know, everyone's body is
going to react differently, and so to be really open
to like experimenting not only with the different forms of ingestion,

(44:13):
but with the different amounts that you're taking, because it
is going to be different for every single person. Right
what your partner takes may be a completely different effect
for them versus.

Speaker 4 (44:22):
For you know, what you take.

Speaker 8 (44:23):
So being able to be open to experimenting is a
really big thing because your mindset is huge when you're
entering the world of like full spectrum products.

Speaker 4 (44:32):
Or CBD in general.

Speaker 8 (44:33):
If you have that you know, mindset of like oh,
I want this to be a quick fix and you're
not willing to experiment and be open to like what happens,
it can be I don't know, it can kind of
be you can kind of not meet that expectation or
you might be let down. Whereas if you're going into
it with okay, let me just be really open to
this experience, especially for new time users, right like when
new time us, like when you when someone that is

(44:54):
trying CBD for the first time calls, it's like, Okay,
this is what you know you're trying. How about you
try on a day where you don't have a lot
going on, you're in the safety of your home, you
can be really open to what is going to happen
to your body because you just kind of have no idea.
So really educating people on that And I think another
thing too, and this is something that we used to
teach back in the dispensary at least, is that people

(45:16):
have the misconception that like CBD is like not psychoactive,
but like CBD is still altering your nervous system. So
in a way, it's still going to be you know,
it may not be intoxicating, but it's still going to
cause some type of difference in your nervous system. So
like it's kind of a misconception to say it's not psychoactive,
because anything that alters your nervous system is. And so

(45:39):
that was another big thing for me that we would
really touch on when people would come into the dispensary
looking and to learn about different cannabinoids.

Speaker 2 (45:47):
Very powerful You've got you did do you just get
the best people, Brandon. I mean, that is such an
important distinction. And I always say, like psychoactive, psychotropic, I
mean I don't even like the word intoxicating. I like
to apply the word intoxicating to alcohol because it's toxic marijuanity. See,

(46:08):
it's got a psychoactive effect, but it's not toxic. So
I know it's all semantics, but I hate when people
say that CBD is that's a strong word. I get
discouraged when people say that CBD is not psychoactive because
wait a minute, if you're taking it for sleep, or

(46:29):
if sleep support, or you're trying to just calm stress,
I mean, is it is affecting the psyche perhaps, and
that's what the studies indicate as well. But so great,
great insight.

Speaker 6 (46:45):
Wow, uh, glorify with that because a couple of times
throughout our conversation, I know we've said sleep, I know
we've said pain. I want to make it very clear
we are not making any claims no, nope, that we
can that we are giving you better sleep, pain, relief.
We're not making those claims in case the FDA listens

(47:08):
to this. So that's why our products say, rest, have
a good have a good evenings, rest, you'll be dreaming
all night long. However, you want to take that right.
You want relief from your ailments, whatever those are and
your discomfort. You can read between the lines, right.

Speaker 2 (47:24):
Well, it's it's it's balance, and we didn't have it.
We're not gonna have time, but I got to have
you guys back, because it is established that there's an
endocannabinoid system, and the endocannabinoid system, there are studies and
we're going to have them on the show page does
kind of regulate certain bodily functions. And there's a lot

(47:46):
of research to be had. And your honesty is and
your your lack of bias is refreshing.

Speaker 6 (47:54):
Maria, your your your audience. The listeners here, they can
go to pub PubMed yaps. Yeah, they can go abovemed
and they can also go to the nih dot gov
and they can type in cannabis, they can type in HEMP,
they can type in THHC, they can type in CBD
and any ailment that they want, and they can see
a list of studies that we don't even know who

(48:17):
these scientists are. So we used to actually have those
on our site. We thought that we were good stewards
in the very beginning of the business, and then we
had obviously compliance lawyers and they said no, no, no,
you're by showing those studies you're making a claim a
claim boom, they had to come down immediately, right.

Speaker 2 (48:34):
So, well, this is where there's the regulation is in
no man's land. But once we get to actual sensible
rules and regulations, it's always threading the needle where you
want to have regulations that are sensible to promote innovation

(48:55):
and to protect the consumers at the same time, but'll
also to be able to inform them. I wish the
FDA would stop stalling and actually evaluated, have the NHI
studies and we'll see where that goes. But that was
a really good quick hit brand and I'm gonna gona

(49:17):
count that is your quick hit. Unless is there one
thing you wish more people truly understood about CBD.

Speaker 6 (49:25):
Uh, it's just it's one cannabinoid. We look, we have
sold the in all of our products. We've had all
all the cannabinoids that came out of the plant, the miners,
the terpenes included, and that's through all of our products.
So I didn't want to be focused as a CBD company.

(49:46):
I actually it kind of irked me. I feel like
we are more of a health and wellness company and
it just so happens that the main ingredient that we use,
if you will, happens to be from a cannabis slash
hemp plant. I mean it's one of the same. Right,
we've gone through that today. And look, and we've gone
through some of this propaganda that we that a lot

(50:09):
of the audience doesn't know. And it started back with
Randolph Hurst, right, and I don't know if we want
to get into that or another.

Speaker 2 (50:17):
Time, but nineteen Marijuana Tax Act yep.

Speaker 6 (50:21):
Yeah, And so there's so much stuff out there showing
what Randolph first he had paper mills, well, the hemp
plant the hemp trees were actually encroaching on his paper
farms that he had in the Philippines. So in his
newspapers he literally put in the ads where it's a
white woman getting busy if you will, with the brown

(50:43):
man and calling it reef for madness in marijuana and
and that slang term versus just cannabis. And then they
also had put out stories of people going nuts and
like a young guy killing his parents because he's high.
That that's this is false, right, this is it's crazy.

(51:06):
And Joe I love Joe Rogan. Joe Rogan talks about
this all the time, right, sure, you know, and and
it goes into it goes into Nixon in seventy one
in the drug war. Right, so all the hippies anti
Vietnam movement, if you will, they all know, you know,
the politicians are like, no, no, no, they're all smoking pot.
This is how we're going to crack down them.

Speaker 2 (51:26):
And and by keeping it schedule one, they get arrested
and felons can't vote.

Speaker 6 (51:34):
So yeah, right, all that, all of that, yep, taking
away our freedom to use something that we want to
use for a variety of reasons, whether it's recreational or
it's from a therapeutic decision, from the you know, the
consumer making that choice themselves.

Speaker 2 (51:56):
We've unpacked very well and lively that because we could
talk about so many facets, so many things, we could
do a whole episode on full spectrum on sustainability. Sustainability
goes right to oh, by the way, talking about false claims. Yes,
William Randolph Hurst, I don't know, so watch out for
false claims. People were not allowed to make health claims,

(52:18):
but they were allowed to make both claims. Hey guys,
we're gonna have to wrap up. But this is why
I'm proud to welcome asp and Green into the greenby
Life Hive because we believe in partnering with brands that
care as much about what goes into the bottle as
you care about what goes into your body. And Brandon, Stephanie, Rebecca,

(52:43):
I thank you guys so much, and I look forward
to doing part two and really diving in to the
different ways you can consume for what different effects We're
not going to say benefits, and the different deliveries systs
there are because there's lotions, there's potions, there's pills, there's

(53:04):
soft gels, there's tinctures, and you guys, as being part
of the customer care team, we've got a retail specialist
and we've got someone with the cultivation background can talk
a little bit about all of it. So guys, thank you,
thank you so much, and I look forward to having
you back.

Speaker 6 (53:25):
Hey, if the audience would, they can feel free to
call directly at one eight eight eight five seven eight
five nine zero zero. You can talk to Rebecca, Steph,
Bonnie or Adam in the website's aspingreen dot com. We
also use drink aspengreen dot com coming out and then
bolodrinks dot Com is coming too, and by the way,

(53:48):
you'd be talking to these gals right here when you're
asking about Bolo as well.

Speaker 2 (53:54):
Fantastic. Thank you for letting our audience know how to
get in touch with you. That was going to be
my next question. Guys, if you you know, you can
hear this live on KCAA Radio, which you're listening to
right now, but also to be archived on all the
major third party platform podcast platforms iHeartRadio, Spotify, Amazon, Apple.

(54:18):
But if you go to greenbelife dot comgreenbelife dot com, listen,
you go to our show page for this episode, we'll
have all their contact information and who knows, maybe I
can even get them to give us a little special
affiliate link for Greenbe Life. Hi, pintent, no pressure, But
all right, guys, thank you so much.

Speaker 6 (54:39):
Well, why don't we Greenbee Live? Right, let us go,
Let's go greenbe You want Greenbe Life, Mario, We'll go
Greenbee Life and get twenty percent off.

Speaker 2 (54:48):
Whoa green Bee Life twenty? You heard it here, guys,
it'll be on the show page green Bee Life twenty.
I love it. I love it. Oh, thank you, thank you,
thank you, guys, thank you. All right, So here's the truth.
The more we know the better we choose. So before

(55:11):
you buy your next CBD product, pause and ask does
it follow you know? Does this brand published lab results
aspen Green yes? Are they third party lab tested aspen
Green yes? Do they use clean extraction methods and organic
practices Aspen Green yes? Or are they just hoping you

(55:34):
won't ask those questions? Hey, if today's episode raised your
standards or inspired you to try CBD for the first time,
head over to greenbeelife dot com. Go to our show
page for this episode with Aspen Green, use greenbee Life
twenty and they'll hook you up. Feel free to call them.

(55:55):
We'll have their phone number. You could talk to their
customer support Stephanie Rebecca. We didn't meet, but they've got
a whole learned team over there. And so if you
care about clean, responsibly made CBD, let your elected officials know.
Remember the FDA has yet to create meaningful guidance and

(56:18):
HEMP derived CBD, and that's left good companies like Aspen
Green to figure it out on their own, while less
scrupulous ones buddy the waters. It's timely, demand action and
definitely support the brands that are getting it right. So
consider supporting groups like the US HEMP Roundtable, or reach

(56:40):
out to your representatives and tell them you expect clear,
sensible regulation that supports safe access and honest innovation. Because
the remedy you're looking for, it might not be in
the prescription bottle. It might be in the plant if
we protect it. Thank you for tuning in. If you
found today's episode helpful, please share it, follow the show,

(57:01):
and leave a review wherever you listen. Every share helps
us grow and helps others know. Cannabis isn't about getting high.
It's about getting well, being informed and living filth fully.
And here I just say now We're curiosity is Queen
will always keep it real, relevant and rooting to truth
'spingreen dot Com was today's spotlight. Thank you, everybody, have

(57:25):
a good safe week. Just Say No is a green
bee Life presentation, airing live weekly on Friday afternoons from
four to five pm Pacific on KCA Radio and kc
AA TV. Archived audio episodes are on Greenbeelife, greenbelife dot com, iHeartRadio, Spreaker,

(57:49):
and most third party major platforms. For archived videos, check
them out on GBL TV, on greenbee Life and Rumble.
He'll follow us our Instagram and Facebook is at just
Say No Radio. To apply to be a guest on

(58:11):
the show or for sponsorship and advertising opportunities, go to
greenbelife dot com, forward slash just Say No, and feel
free to reach out to me Maria for any questions.
I'm at Maria at greenbelife dot com or call me

(58:33):
at eight one eight seven five eight six nine two
five an appreciate that let's sea. Did you know TC
and CBD are just two of more than one hundred cannabinoids.

Speaker 9 (58:52):
At Greenbeelife, you can watch gbl TV with an evolving
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Speaker 2 (58:59):
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Watch learn shop.

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Green Bee Life, changing the way the world sees green.

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You're on board kaas Inland Talk Express KCAA GOME Linda
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Speaker 6 (01:00:04):
Two judges, one from Massachusetts, one from Rhode Island or
ordering the Trump administration to part