222: Beth Waterfall on Advancing the Cannabis Industry and The Future of the “Green Rush”

What's poppin', y'all? It's your man, James, Say What Sales Buckley, and this is the latest episode of Make It Happen Mondays with your host, John Barrows. Big shout out to all of our partners, Sales Loft, Proposify, Gong, Vidyard, Chili Piper, Intro Hive, and our newest partner, Salesforce Sales Cloud. JBSales is a game changer for sales teams, large or small. We're out to help you set more meetings, build an outbound engine that delivers results, navigate the demos and discovery conversations to nail down next steps and ultimately become the well-rounded sales professional that knows how to do your job consistently. All of our courses, knowledge, training, tips, techniques, and tactics can be accessed with your membership to JBSales On Demand.

Join us today at ondemand.jbarrows.com and become the seller that you deserve to be. We'll see you there. Have you guys ever wondered why marijuana is illegal? Were you ever told that grass would make you a crazy person? Well, today we're joined by an expert in the legalization and advocacy for marijuana. Beth Waterfall and John Barrows are going to deliver an education around the history of cannabis and what's rapidly changing in that space today. The green rush, as it's often referred to, is all the rage. Beth and her team are out there educating others on the impact that cannabis can have on you, your health, and your success. As you all know, JB is an enormous advocate for the cannabis industry.

So let's pass it to the left and let JB and Beth hit it once or twice. Good afternoon, everybody. This is John Barrows. Make it happen Monday. Hopefully you had a fantastic weekend. I had a great weekend and it just is dovetailing perfectly into this conversation. And out of all the conversations I say, like I always say, hey, I'm really looking forward to this conversation. But this is one that's been on my mind for a while. And it kind of started with my, hey, maybe I should start a stoner podcast here. So I did a, I think it was a post with a couple of folks on 420 about trying to normalize marijuana and how it's very similar, you know, and you should think about similar to alcohol because we de-stigmatize and all that other stuff.

And somebody tagged this person in my post. And so I looked her up and I said, holy shit, this person knows way more about this than I do. And I got to get her on. So Beth Waterfall, how are you? Hi, thank you, John. I'm doing well. Thanks today. I'm waked and baked and ready to talk. Love it. See, I didn't get, I was, I was debating on whether to get stoned before having this conversation, but I wanted to, I want to have this and then maybe we'll do a different one where it's just like wide open. But Beth, you're the, the executive director over at Elevate Northeast and the president and founder of Beth Waterfall Creative. So could you just give a little context on both of those for the audience here before we dive into this?

Sure, sure. In a nutshell, I'm a marketing person having worked in legal and financial services in about 2015, read an article that was really what it was and opened my eyes to the medical marijuana industry. So basically I wanted to transfer after, it sounds like it was a much quicker process than it really was, but transferring that experience from working in those highly regulated industries into another highly regulated industry. It's a great opportunity. I love cannabis. I've been using it since I was a kid. And of course I've been moved and, you know, just awestruck by some of the things that it's done for people's families, for their own mental wellbeing, and of course the jobs and all that.

So in addition to starting my, my marketing consulting agency within the cannabis industry, there was also a very vast need for education. I mean, I was almost embarrassed by what I didn't know. And so learning so much, I felt kind of compelled also with that background in marketing and public relations to basically start a public relations campaign for marijuana education. And I started a 501c3 here in Massachusetts with two of my best friends and colleagues. It's called Elevate Northeast Events and Education. It's a 501c3 nonprofit. We do educational events and all sorts of just bridge building with traditional established industries and media. And we're just there to make people not so scared of marijuana and realize that they can jump in.

Really, I'm a firm believer, no matter what your background is, that there is an opportunity here for you. But there's also a responsibility to understand some of the history and how we got here today, why we're here today. And it's not just about cashing in on the green rush. I love it. And that's, again, that's a perfect segue because that's what I want to, I want to condense. I think I'm going to be embarrassed with my lack of education on this as well. Everybody's some degree of new. I say it all the time. Everybody's some degree of new in cannabis. It's still illegal at the federal level. So there's no such thing as an expert. Everybody is learning. Yeah. And I think we need to have a separate conversation about events because we're going to be, now that events are coming back a little bit, we're going to be doing one in Boston.

And it's going to be more about like kind of getting people back into the groove of networking before, you know, not like a traditional conference where it's a bunch of speakers and that type of stuff, but more kind of like social. We're doing a pop-up in Atlanta called More Social Than SaaS. And the whole idea there is to kind of get people re-situated into the world of networking and that type of stuff. And then a little bit of content with it, but we're going to do one in Boston. And I would love to partner up with you on that one. Let's do it. Let's do it. I do a bunch of events. I know all sorts of people and all the weirdness that comes into play when planning a cannabis-related event.

Perfect. So, Chris, if you're listening to this, then I want you to connect with Beth on this idea for what we were going to do in August. So, anyways, Beth, let's talk. Let's give that brief background to kind of de-stigmatize a little bit of stuff here because, you know, I think a lot of people assume that most drugs are illegal because of the harmful effects they have on the body and, you know, from a regulatory standpoint and all that other stuff. But that is as far from the truth as it gets, specifically with marijuana. Help us understand a brief history on why is marijuana illegal, but even worse, why is it a class A and at the same level as heroin and all those horrible drugs and what's prevented?

And that specifically, how that has prevented all the research on marijuana because it doesn't get funding for it and it won't be legitimized. So walk us through why and then let's talk about where we're going with this. Yeah. So to kick off this kind of why, I'm going to say people Google this. Like there is all sorts of information out there and there's a lot of it. So actually, one of my points I wrote down is where to go. Yes, Google, but I also think there's a lot of false information out there. And so what resources to go to, because I could Google it, you know, you could Google it and I could Google it and we could get two very different, you know, responses. And all of a sudden I could get on a rabbit hole of, oh, this, oh, this is why it's illegal.

Don't shit. It's illegal versus, oh, no, this is brilliant. It shouldn't be illegal. So let's talk about the resources to go to and what to look for. So as you're Googling it, Google things like Richard Nixon tapes, White House tapes, cannabis, Google things like, you know, Henry Anslinger. He was the original drug czar for the U.S. And really, once you start getting back to the really the roots of prohibition in the early 1900s, it was never because marijuana was something that was dangerous or that was hurting people, that was causing bad things. It was really because it was a very intentional effort to malign people who were black or people who had Hispanic, particularly and specifically Mexicans.

It was very intentional to malign them, to make it seem like this was the devil's lettuce. You probably it's you can Google reefer madness, this crazy movie that was put out as a public propaganda piece that showed people having a puff of marijuana and going berserk. You can see how crazy the acting is. And it really is just acting meant to scare the shit out of people that this this devil's lettuce, this this, you know, crazy cabbage is going to make you kill your brother. And there's all sorts of like crazy quotes. It was basically all about being really racist. And I'm sorry, there's a siren going by my house right now. So it's just once you start uncovering that and really looking back at how prohibition evolved from when Henry Enslinger was appointed to Richard Nixon as president, wanting to not only, you know, malign cannabis and drugs, not just cannabis with black people.

It was also an assault on the hippies, the progressive liberals that wanted to, you know, make positive change and not not oppress people because of their skin color. So it's it's it's racist for decades and decades and decades. And there's the data, there's primary resources, interviews from the White House that confirm all this. And it's really quite, quite ugly. It is. And even the opioids, you know, I remember reading something about how it was because of the Asian influence. Right. The reason that the cocaines and the opioids became illegal was because the the Asian immigrants were coming and then after work and they were taking taking all of our jobs and, you know, and then afterwards having, you know, blowing off a little bit of steam here and they were like, uh, wait a minute.

No, they're, they're, you know, influencing our women and they're taking our jobs. So opioids are illegal. Like that's it's not because now don't get me wrong. I'm not going to sit here and profess that go smoke some crack and, you know, go do some, you know, opioids. But the history of drugs being illegal is rooted in racism. It's rooted in oppression, which bothers me. And what's fascinating, I'm sure you know about more about this than I do, is like when it was, I think it's Portugal that legalized every single drug. All drugs, yeah. All drugs. And instead of making it a crime, they made it an addiction and treated it. And literally every index went down. Addiction went down. Crime went down.

Everything went down. And now, again, I think there's certain things here in America that are just never going to change. But weed is one of those ridiculous things that if you look at our penal society and, you know, like, like it's filled with like 30% of people who like literally sold a bag of weed. And now they're in for 20 years. And now they're going to be on a negative track when they come out because they're not going to be able to get a job and all that other stuff just because they were enjoying a little bit of weed and maybe sold some, some, some friends, which is just asinine. Yeah. Why is it a class A, though? I get the racism. I get I mean, I hate it. I understand why they did it.

Um, insecurities and everything else. But why a class A? And is it why is it that level? So, um, I, I normally call it schedule one. Um, and this is the scheduling. Um, so marijuana is schedule one, which means it has no medicine, no proven medicinal value. And that is because of the federal schedule one status. So it's kind of a catch 22, um, drugs like cocaine, LSD, they're scheduled to because they have been shown to have. And right now we're seeing all sorts of attention on LSD, psychedelic mushrooms, MDMA, um, in the treatment of mental health disorders. And again, responsible adults should be able to do get a little higher every now and then if they're doing it responsibly, not hurting others.

I micro dose mushrooms all the time. I think mushrooms, like mushrooms for me, I always kind of joke around. They're my hack to the matrix because I feel like we're living in the matrix. And it's like every time I do mushrooms, I see the world in a completely different way. And it, and it actually expands my understanding of a lot of things. A quick example on this. The first time I ever did mushrooms, um, cause I was, I, I, I was a late adopter. Uh, I didn't smoke weed until I was in college and I was very right. Right. And so, and, and even after that, I was like, I'm just a natural guy. I don't like any of the other stuff. And my buddies were trying to get me to do mushrooms. I'm like, no, no, no, no.

And finally one day I said, sure. And I was an art major, like my first major was art and Picasso's my favorite artist, like blows my cubism blows my mind. Okay. But I never fundamentally understood cubism. Cause I'm like, how could you even think of four dimensions on a two dimensional plane? Like, I don't even understand how your brain figures that out. And then I did mushrooms and I'm not killing you, Beth. I sat outside and I looked at a tree and immediately I said, holy shit, there's cubism. And it, and it made, and it started to make sense to me at a totally different level. And so I think the response, I did the key here is the responsible. And this is why I love medical and where it's come from, because a lot of my friends, for instance, were scared of marijuana because they didn't like to smoke, but B, when I would make brownies for them, I would get a bag of weed from my, my dealer.

It would be who the hell knows what it is. I would dump it into some brownies and sometimes you wouldn't feel anything. Other times you would be on the moon and it would just scare them. So they always said no, but now with the micro dosing and five milligrams and figuring out like tincture and those types of things, I have friends who have been on, uh, prescription drugs for years for ADD depression and all those, and now are gone. Like nothing. They take a couple of, they take five, 10 milligrams of, of edibles. They maybe go out, you know, a little bit of glass of wine right before bed and they're done. And it, and it, they sleep like a rock and those type of things. So it's. That's because of the science that it's finally being, the science is being allowed to come up.

Now still it's schedule one. So there's all sorts of limitations on research that can be done, but there are universities and, um, independent research projects that are happening all the time that are advancing, um, these businesses and advancing the industry. And the thing about, um, you know, you mentioned the brownies, so there's, we know now why brownies don't maybe don't exactly work when you make them, you know, in high school and college, because you're, you're not doing anything to make it so that each, each piece of the brownie has the same amount of, of product in it. Um, maybe you're not decarboxylating, um, enough, which is the application of heat that activates the cannabinoids and creates the high, um, there's a ton of science that goes into why marijuana works in different ways for different people.

And then also with the science and the tremendous focus on breeding right now, um, is that it's very clear that different strains do different things and affect people differently. So when we were smoking, like, you know, brown, brown, like who knows what was on that? That could have been laced with all sorts of pesticides. Um, I like angel dust, cocaine, all sorts of stuff was in that cocaine, in that marijuana that we had when we were younger, but now it's actually the, the actual plant product. And if you're in a regulated state and buying it at a dispensary, whether it's medical or adult use, those products are going and it's different state to state, but generally those products are going through some level of testing to make sure there isn't any sort of microbiome contaminant.

Um, we're not going to have angel dust. We're not going to have cocaine. Speed. Yeah. That just does not happen in the, in the regulated industry. But if you're buying marijuana off the corner or from a friend, um, or, you know, your guy, you don't know where that came from. And he may have the best intentions. She may have the best intentions for you, but at some point that product that they're carrying could have gotten contaminated by something. Um, cause there's a lot of push to, you know, it goes back to that old stereotype. We would see like the creepy guy pushing drugs on the, on the, the playground. They want you to be a customer. And if they're going to hook you with a little bit of fentanyl and you're going to say, Ooh, that shit really worked crazy.

I was never so relaxed. And you don't realize you're taking fentanyl, like this micro, micro amount of fentanyl, but you go back to that dealer. It's just, we need to pay attention to the science and accept this plant as a science and, and really just embrace the laboratories and innovation that are happening in this space. Um, and it's happening. We have 17 states that have adult use, uh, legalization now, not everybody's up and running. And then I think 36 medical, um, and then just going back to the, our lawmakers, uh, for a long time, marijuana has been legal in Washington, DC. Now ask yourself, why is that? Um, you can actually buy it quite yet, unless it's, you know, it's a little bit of a gray area.

There aren't dispensaries in DC, DC yet, but for several, several years, we've been protecting our DC residents. Now, who are those folks? You know, the people that are making the laws. Um, I firmly believe that that was meant to protect people, um, that work in government. Yeah. I mean, I think there's a, there's a lot of layers to that about the hypocrisy in so many ways of the laws versus the people who make those laws. Um, it's, it's painful, but, uh, I, I, I think. Um, let's, you know, for those people out there that worry, and I think this is a mindset that isn't, that is, is lessening, you know, Nancy Reagan kind of screwed us on this, but, um, but the, um, you know, it's a gateway drug.

What's your, what's your answer to parents or people who are like, I don't want to smoke because that's going to lead me to, you know, maybe do Coke and maybe do X, you know, and then all of a sudden I'm going to be an addict. Like, what do you, how do you, um, demystify that part of the equation? Well, the first thing is that I've been consuming marijuana for almost 30 years now, and I am not a heroin addict. I never have been. So I know from my personal experience that that didn't happen for me. Um, not to say I didn't experiment with things in high school and college, but trying marijuana was not the opening to that. It was sugar and then cigarettes and then booze. And it was like, this is fun.

Yeah. And then you move along. But the, the, the fact is that there, this gateway theory has been disproven. Um, and again, going back to science, we have more scientists and doctors that are looking at this. Um, a couple of years ago, I had, um, I, I plan a lot of events, whether it's through, um, elevate. I previously did a woman's networking group for cannabis or with my clients. Um, an event we had was with, uh, Dr. Stacy Gruber. Um, she's, she's a bad-ass, um, doctor out of Massachusetts. She's at the McLean hospital. She runs the mind clinic. Um, she studies marijuana and its effects on the brain. And at this, as this presentation, she's a heart, she's a. A professor at Harvard. Like this is as legit as it can be.

She was showing us brain scans. Um, and so brain scans of, of, um, young people that had used marijuana versus they didn't start using marijuana until they were 25. And the science is the thing that we know is that your brain is developing until you're 25. So if you're using tons of marijuana, yes, that could affect it. Just like if you're using tons of sugar, tons of alcohol, smoking cigarettes, those things affect your brain as well. Um, so I don't advocate for underage cannabis use or drug use by any means, but I think, um, painting cannabis as that gateway drug just doesn't make any sense. Um, and people need to realize that there is some science here. Um, and again, you have to start taking upon yourself to kind of learn because there's no government saying, Hey, we want to share how safe cannabis is.

Check it out. Go buy it. Um, we're just not there yet. Um, but if you actually look at these brain scans and you can see that, you know, compared to sugar, compared to alcohol, compared to cigarettes, it just isn't close. I mean, there, there was a comedian that was, that was watching one time. He's like, people think of cannabis as a gateway. He's like, I have never in my life smoked weed and been like, you know what? I want to do some blow right now. Like literally it's about the exact opposite feeling I fucking want. Like that is the last thing that I want to do when I'm smoking weed. Whereas if I'm drinking and I got a few beers in me and I'm feeling a little loose and somebody brings out a little bump at the, at the club, I'll be like, fuck it.

Let me do that. You know what I mean? So like that's, it always cracks me up of like the hypocrisy specifically of alcohol. Like I tell people this all the time, like if you drink alcohol and you judge people who smoke weed, then fuck you because like you are the biggest hypocrite. The amount of, I mean, again, going back to science, the amount of science on alcoholism and the effect of like generations of alcoholism that it's now in, like if, if your dad is an alcoholic, there is a strong possibility that if you drink a beer, you're going to get hooked on it. If your dad smokes weed, ain't no shot in hell when you're, you know, you're like, oh my God, I got to smoke weed. Like that's just not, it doesn't physically happen.

Yeah. In fact, we're seeing a lot of, for younger generations, they're starting to attribute cannabis to older people. And so it's just not really very cool among little, you know, younger kids now, but I do want to go back to something you keep talking about smoking and it's not all about smoking. And that's something that I think is really important for canicurias or people who maybe had a negative experience when they were younger, like a huge bong hitch is like, they were coughing like crazy, got a pop blood vessel in their eye or something. There are just so many different ways. There's so much really exciting product innovation going on right now. I mean, obviously there's the candies and some baked goods that you can get, but there are, you know, everything from the capsules that look like a Tylenol.

Maybe they come in different colors because it's branded for different moods and things like that. But, you know, the chocolate bars, the tinctures, suppositories, you know, personal lubricant products. There's all sorts of ways that people are integrating cannabis. It's not just about smoking. And of course, smoking is like the least healthy way to do it. Well, and that's, it's funny, my doctor who's old school, right? Um, he said to me, he goes, look, I don't give a shit about you having THC or do whatever you want with cannabis. He goes, just don't smoke it. He goes, cause your lungs, you just smoke a smoke, whether it's cannabis, whether it's cigarettes, whether it is you're introducing smoke into your lungs.

And my challenge with that one is I just, I enjoy the high on smoking more than I do in most other ways, but you know, that's why I balance it. But you're to your point of, and it kind of goes back to my friends who, who have been now reintroduced to cannabis through stuff like tincture. Like my wife, for instance, she doesn't like smoking. Um, it kills her throat. So she doesn't, but the tincture where she gets a drink and she drops a couple of drops in that. And now she's instead of having six or seven drinks throughout the day and kind of getting drunk and feeling like shit in the morning, she has one or two drinks with a couple of drops of tincture in it and she's been kind of figuring out what her level is.

Right. Like one drop. Right. And now it's, now she knows the formula. Now she's like, I can have two drinks and this many drops and I am straight for a whole afternoon of having a good time. And I wake up the next morning. I feel fantastic. Yeah. You slept well. You feel good. She may like there's a, in Massachusetts, a lot of beverages coming out. We have cell stars and then, um, select is one of the brands. It's almost like those, um, like those juices, like the concentrated juice that you just drop into water or something. Oh yeah. You just take it on the go. Perfect. Um, but yeah, no, it's great. But just the thing with edibles is the onset, you know, so people that are smoking edibles for the first time, maybe you're expecting to feel super high right away.

You know, cause when you're smoking, it's just a matter of a couple of minutes when you start to feel it, smoking, vaping, uh, where it's edibles that it has to go through, um, your digestive system. Um, and then there's a completely chemical, different chemical reaction that happens because of the enzymes and chemicals that are in your stomach. So it's, it's a different experience and you just need to kind of go low and slow on the edibles. That's the cardinal sin of any person who's never done edibles before is like they eat it and every, and I tell them all like, wait an hour at least, please wait, it can be more than that. Yeah, I agree. But, but I, I beg them to just wait an hour and like at a bare minimum and then maybe do a little bit more, but inevitably half an hour in there, like, I ain't feeling shit.

And then they'll eat another one. And then 30 minutes in there, like, I'm out of my mind right now. And it's like, God damn it. You did it wrong. You know, if you could equate it to, to drinking for the first time, there's a six pack on the table, see how you feel. Don't guzzle all six right at a time or guzzle a 40 in one sip, you know, it's, it's, it's moderation is key. And, and again, going back to the different strains and different types of products, there's really something for everyone on the product side, just as I think for, for jobs and getting involved on that side. Perception is everything when it comes to the state of cannabis in 2021. And while some people scoff at the green industry right now, the future is boundless for where this space might land.

I want to hear from you, all of our listeners out there. Do you have a sales win that you can share with me? A tough loss for a deal that you were sure would close. I really want that story. Those stories are what our audience resonates with the most. So please send them to me at jamesatjbarrows.com and let's highlight your story on the next Make It Happen Mondays episode. Today, I want to give a big shout out to long time on demand user Dakota Harding. He has taken his personal brand to the next level and become a personality in a specific vertical, delivering very specific content. When I met this man, he was an SDR. And in less than one year, he's gone from SDR to joining RevGenius to starting a business, Drolk LLC.

And now he's become the content lead and marketing manager at BoomTV, a gaming influencer community, creating content for gamers by gamers. What an amazing growth pattern. Great job, Dakota. Keep growing, my man. It's great to see you winning out there. On Demand is taking over the front lines of sales today. With strong partnerships with groups and communities like SDR Nation and RevGenius, and sponsors like Sales Loft, Gong, Salesforce Sales Cloud, Chili Piper, and Vidyard, the knowledge that we bring to you, the performance is endless. Need a better process? It's all there. Want to negotiate deals more effectively? Demand has you covered. Schedule more meetings. Close more deals. Evolve your process with us today at ondemand.jbarrows.com.

That URL one more time for you is ondemand.jbarrows.com. Become a member today and I'll see you there. Let's take another hit with JB and Beth. I have never seen a more welcoming group of individuals than walking into a cannabis dispensary. And somebody who's never smoked before, how welcoming they are and how much time they will spend with you to help educate you on, I mean, it's unbelievable. You could have a place that's like just crazy busy and somebody will literally sit down with you and answer every question that you have about it. And even if you don't buy a damn thing, you could just walk in there, get educated and they'll show you what you can do. And then you can go home and do your own homework.

But it's not, it shouldn't be a scary place to go into. But let's talk about the, let's talk about the, the industry. Because I think a lot of people see the buyers and the sellers, right? So we have the dispensaries and we have the growers and it's like, okay, that's cool. But I mean, talk, talk to me about the ecosystem here because in the, in the premise for this conversation or this part is, is I, I think there's a lot of people out there that might be listening to this podcast, um, who are doing their job there, you know, they're in, they're working because they're working there. They might not be working for a company or an, in an industry that they really give all that much of a shit about, but they're just, they got to get a paycheck type of thing.

And they're looking at it and saying, Hey, um, I like smoking weed. I think it's a cool thing. You know what I mean? But I don't grow and I don't want to go work at a dispensary, but there's a whole host of other opportunities to get in. And it's a, I mean, no pun intended, it's a massive growth industry right now. So talk to us about the ecosystem first here of, of what to look for and then where the opportunities are. Yeah. And I'll say I've been there as far as that working in a job that you're getting the paycheck, maybe you've got some buddies at work, but the product that you're selling or the service that you're selling, um, doesn't resonate. It may be like for me as selling legal services and financial services, um, you know, that's great to help businesses run and be able to make their profits and employ people and all that.

Um, but at the end of the day, I do not have passion for financial services, accounting services, um, for auto dealers, like just, it just wasn't doing it for me. And I got to a point in the mid thirties where it really was like, almost like my, my body started saying, you know what, we need to start thinking about something a little bit different here. Um, I had a great job, um, but it was getting to me to the point I was on Xanax every day, multiple times a day. So I'm in my office, you know, ask me to do something, treat me poorly, pop a Xanny, just go about my day. Um, and that was not how I wanted to, once I got to that point, I remember being with my doctor and like, this is a short-term thing.

This is just getting me over hump. I am not committing to a career where I need to take drugs to be able to tolerate going to work. No. Um, and I, I consider Xanax drugs versus marijuana being an herbal remedy. I couldn't agree more. I mean, pharmaceutical drugs versus cannabis to me, I would not put them in the same category as drugs, but I have no doubt the pharmaceutical companies are in on this. Oh, they better be, or else they're going to, I mean, that because there's profit. So, um, but no, I've been there and I, all I can say is that if you have a passion for cannabis and you take the time to understand the history of prohibition and how that's so negatively impacted generations of families, if that moves you come on into cannabis, if you just see it as like, Oh, I'm going to go make a bunch of money selling weed, something like that, you know, you may be able to do just fine, but this, the network of people that are working in cannabis, there's so many people that I've met, I'd say 90% of the people that I've met and interact with are here, not just to make a buck, but because they've been so moved by something either in their, their experience or in their family or some just something in their community where we're doing good.

We are changing the world for the better by making cannabis more accessible to people and by elevating access to, uh, research and science and all that. So if that resonates with you, there is a place for you in cannabis. Um, there is obviously the growing and the selling like John mentioned, but there's everything in between, I mean, I do marketing and product development, consultation, things like that. Um, but there's for sales in particular. I mean, my goodness, think of all the huge equipment, um, that these large scale cultivators need to, you need to use, um, all the lighting equipment, uh, real estate sales. Um, the pharmaceutical companies are absolutely in this GW pharmaceuticals, um, has a patent on, uh, CBD.

Um, so there's pharmaceutical sales involved here. Um, we have new license types that are coming out all the time, delivery transporters, people that have to sell those delivery trucks, uh, people that have to, um, formulate and sell security systems. Like there is everything in cannabis. What about the software that runs? Cause I think an easy transition and cause I, I, I would say probably, uh, I'm going to take a healthy guess here and say 60% of my audience is in SAS, probably more like 70% is in SAS. They sell some sort of software product. Um, and there's a whole host of them, uh, in this space, not just from a point of sale system, but also from a tracking and a, and a data collection standpoint.

So what are some of those kind of trending areas, if you will, that people could look at? Sure. So in Massachusetts recently, there was a pretty exciting development out of the Cannabis Control Commission. They launched a, uh, basically a portal where you could go and look up products. Um, so it was really more for, um, like for, for me for marketing, I want to see, oh, how many are selling of this product? You know, what's the biggest brand and all that. But the tool is really intended for, you know, parents, um, educators. Uh, law enforcement, um, you know, community leaders to be able to verify that a cannabis product is indeed something that has been, um, tracked in the state seed to sale tracking system.

It's called metric. Um, so there's absolutely a big reliance on software, um, all the data that, I mean, again, I'm on marketing. So there are a couple of companies like BDS analytics, new frontier data where they're crunching all the numbers related to sales, sales of different products in different States, trends, employment numbers, um, and releasing these, these reports. Um, also as far as, uh, software tracking, uh, related to cultivation and breeding, um, there's so many different phenotypes of cannabis. Um, even if you like John, if you buy, um, you know, a TNG strain at a dispensary near you and I bought a TNG screen at a dispensary near me, even if it was the same exact cultivator, if it's not the same exact plant, then we may have different, slightly different, um, you know, it could smell a little bit different or maybe yours had a little more THC.

So it's kind of like, and I am by no means a plant biology person, like science was never my thing. Um, but I'm so fascinated by cannabis. And so phenotypes is basically like siblings kind of like they're kind of the same parents, but maybe a little different. Um, so, so there are these humongous, um, um, like breeding and genetics databases, um, that these companies are now selling to help inform product development. Um, so like software is all part of it. And then of course, any client that I work with is on teams. Um, you have to think about, you know, the general administration of business and the different tools that are used there. Um, a cannabis business, if they're selling business, uh, selling marijuana, it's just like a business that's selling, you know, uh, office supplies, they need accounting systems, they need HR systems.

Um, they're going to need, um, like hub spots and things like that. Yeah. Um, it's still business. And I think that might even be a fun transition for a rep is to, you know, start potentially, you know, prospecting into the industry just to kind of see what it's like to sell whatever, you know, hub spot or whatever it might be to say, Hey, you know, you guys need this. Let me educate myself while I'm trying to help you run your business and learn a little bit more about that ecosystem. Cause that, cause to your point, I think, you know, there, there are some industries that, um, because of COVID, uh, are really hurting obviously. And I've, uh, has been fundamentally shift changed in a lot of ways.

I mean, I was watching the restaurant industry right now, you know, the it's, it was fascinating to me that, that, you know, there's the talk of, oh, well, it's the stipend that's, uh, preventing people from coming back to work. It's like, well, no, uh, it's the lack of money. Like it's, it's literally, if you can't make a living wage as a waiter, most of those people, what they did was they went and found other jobs that were more stable, that were more secure, that had healthcare benefits. And so it's not like these people are just saying, oh, I'm just, you know, collecting my $300 check every single week because I don't want to go back to being a waiter. They said, no, I'm going to go be a warehouse, you know, I'm going to work at Amazon.

I'm going to work at this. And cannabis is one of those industries on the flip side that I think really, uh, benefited a little bit from, uh, from the COVID because of the stress, because of the, uh, you know, now everybody going home and trying to figure out what this new world looks like. And so it's almost like this catapult for certain industries to, to get more exposure in a positive light. And if you're, so I tell people all the time, if you're looking to get into something that a, you're passionate about and B is in a growth phase right now, more than anything, cannabis, if you're not paying attention to this, I think you're missing out on a huge opportunity to, to make a, make a difference, B enjoy what you do and C make a, probably a shitload of money.

If you're doing it right for the right reasons to the right, right audience. Yeah. And getting in with the right companies too. No, we talked, talk about the pandemic effect on the cannabis industry. Um, and I do have to send some numbers here. Americans bought $18.3 billion worth of cannabis products in 2020, 18, three, 18.3 billion, dollars in Massachusetts alone, where I live in 2019, there was $400,000 in sales, excuse me, 400 million in sales. And in 2020, it was 700 million in sales. So in an already legal state, it nearly doubled. Um, and I think that there's all sorts of studies out there, um, for people that maybe, uh, were more inclined to have a glass of wine to write wine down at the end of the day or have a couple of beers.

Um, I think they quickly realized that that was, you know, cannabis is indeed a depressant. Um, and it also, if you look at the statistics, cannabis, or excuse me, alcohol leads to, uh, something like 30% of all domestic assaults, uh, domestic incidents. There's something like 30 to 40% of those incidents involve some sort of alcohol. Um, and I think people really did kind of catch onto that concept that alcohol kills, cannabis chills. I want to feel better. And also the excitement of these new products coming out and the accessibility of them and the lower doses, it's less scary. It's not like, uh, you're walking into a store and there's just a bunch of marijuana plants everywhere. These are packaged products that look like something off the shelves at Whole Foods or CVS.

Um, and it's just becoming more, um, you know, palatable to a broader audience. And I think people are also seeing that their, their friend or the, you know, somebody that's in the woman's club or in the boosters club, or they take tennis class together that they've had a positive experience. And that's, that helps kind of open, open eyes and curiosity to, to making that personal purchase. So it's just not as stigmatized as it was, but stigma is absolutely still there. It's still there. And that, and, and actually, uh, help me. Cause I, I, there's still, because of the stigma, um, I still struggle a little bit with, um, kids. And like, so let's look like, for instance, my daughter, I hid it from her for a while.

Um, and then the other, you know, and then probably, I think it was last summer, maybe the summer before I was talking to my neighbor and I thought my daughter was in the backyard and I'm smoking a joint. And all of a sudden she comes through the door and she looks at me, she goes, daddy. Right. And she was eight years old at the time. And I go, it's not cigarettes. I'll tell you later. Right. And I, and, and so, and, and so I said, just let me finish my conversation and I will, okay, now we've broken this barrier. And I brought her in and I, and I talked to her about, okay, this is what it is. It's, it's, it's a plant, it's cannabis. And then I talked about, you know, marijuana and then how it's called weed and the stigmatism around it, but the benefits of it and why I do it.

And I, and I tried to say, look, yes, smoking, it is bad. Obviously smoking, anything is bad, but here's why it's not. Now that said, you still can't go to school and tell your friends that daddy smokes marijuana or cannabis because their parents might be then whatever. So how do you, um, for like a parent right now who enjoys cannabis, um, and has a curious eight, nine year old daughter that you don't want to lie to because that's even, you don't want to hide it because obviously that always makes it even worse. Um, they'll be curious and then they'll go sneak around and try shit without you being open. So how do you, um, help people talk to their children to normalize it in a way like alcohol is?

I'm glad you brought that up, John. And for full disclosure, I am not a parent, um, but I come from a huge family of nieces and nephews that I love and certainly have a big network of, of, um, moms and dads, uh, who I've talked to about this. And I think it just goes back to what you were saying about being honest. Um, and I like to suggest that maybe you can compare it to a coffee or tea, how we talk about in the morning, we want our coffee or tea. If that's a plant that makes us feel a little bit different, makes us feel a little bit better about, you know, whatever we need to tackle that day. So drawing that correlation between this being a natural thing that creates an effect similar to other things that we use every day.

I think that's, you know, making that comparison can be helpful. Um, absolutely going to honesty, um, talking about the laws that, you know, this is not for people under 21. Um, I wouldn't recommend a parent to ever do that. Um, but you know, everybody's going to do their own thing. Um, well, that's what, I mean, the sad thing is like D I don't know if you follow rap or anything like that, but DMX, uh, you know, he passed recently and he, and there was an interview I saw of him where like his, his dad or something like that gave him a joint at like, that was laced with piece, you know, something crazy at like five years old. And it's, and that put him on the track of, you know, his, his bad problems, but it wasn't because of marijuana.

It was because it was at five years old and it was laced with some crazy ass shit that put him down a bad path. And I, I completely, that's why I'm, I feel good about the fact that I really didn't explore, uh, cannabis until I was 20, 21 years old, because I, you know, the brain is developing through those years and whether it's alcohol, whether it's weed, whether it's sugar, whether it's whatever that is retarding the mental growth there. And, but it's not because it's cannabis. It's because it's, it's a, it's a substance that is not, shouldn't be introduced to kids who are developing. Yeah. It's all chemicals. It's all chemical stuff. Um, but the honesty is really important. And then I also go back to a personal experience when I was a kid, I had a, um, it's my father's cousin.

So it was kind of like an uncle type age. Um, he was an addict, uh, alcohol, uh, cocaine, we were at a family wedding and, um, you know, the family didn't want him to be making a scene. So they kept alcohol away from him. Um, and he ended up, I mean, I was four or five years old. My brother saw it. I didn't see the whole thing go down, but because of the alcohol withdrawals, he seized and he fell and cracked his skull open on the ground in front of my like five, six year old brother. Um, and meanwhile, all the adults are drinking alcohol. And so that's a little confusing for kids where, well, we can't let, you know, uncle Stu have it, but we're all going to have it and he's not going to have it.

And he's going to crack his brain open and need an ambulance. It's really confusing. So when it comes to cannabis and I think drugs too, the insects, you have to be honest. They're not stupid. And particularly these days, I mean, I didn't have Google when I, but kids, they're all on their phones and they can actually Google. They can, they can get to all sorts of information. And I think it's really important. Again, I'm not an apparent, but like, I would encourage that trust to be there because I didn't have that with my parents and I definitely experimented more than I needed to. Um, you know, because I realized on my, my own that I was indeed being lied to. And I imagine that the type of kid that I was, if I did have Google back then, maybe I would have gotten involved in the cannabis industry on a business level a little sooner.

Um, but it's, it's honesty. We do have science and data now and being responsible about it. It's not for kids, but just like alcohol. So it's that conversation about why it's okay for mommy and daddy, but it's not for, for the kiddos now too, John. Um, if you go onto Amazon, um, there are, um, and I could follow up with you. I can't think of the titles right now, but there are books that are like children's books, like for, you know, mommy works at the garden, um, or daddy drives a marijuana, like it's just helping kids understand that it's nothing to be ashamed or scared of, you know, they're part of legal commerce and, and, you know, taxpaying individuals. Um, and then, um, I have a friend who's a farmer and his daughter is about 12 years old.

He's a hemp farmer out in Western Mass and he'll send, she's up on the tractor. He's getting her involved in the family business. Um, it's farming. I mean, you're growing. I mean, regardless, right. I mean, I think it's, it goes back to just education, right. I think it's, it's education and honesty. Cause that's the thing that that's been kept from us and which created that, that environment where this disgusting stigma could grow and harm so many people. Um, if we'd had honest data and information about this and just treated it as what it really is, a plant that has a mind altering substance to it. And if you do a lot of it, you could get a little crazy, but if you have a little bit of it, it could be great.

Um, I think, you know, the past, you know, seven, seven, eight decades would have been different for so many families, particularly people of color. Yeah. Yeah. And I think that, you know, we could get into a whole nother conversation about how that's been subdued because of pharmaceutical industry, right? Because they, they, they know, they know the benefits of it. Um, but they also know that will destroy their profits because it'll take people like my friends off of the pharmaceuticals that they've been doing for years and put them into a much better state with a much more natural solution to it. And, um, you know, those types of things are, are inherently frustrating to me when I look at big pharma, I do my best, like I'm on, you know, high blood pressure medication right now.

And I'm trying to figure out every way I can to get off of it because it's a lifetime thing. You know, I'm like, they're like, oh yeah, no. And they prescribe it like it's nothing. Oh yeah. Oh, here's, you know, try this one. And I'm like, okay, how long do I have to have it? Oh no, you'll, you'll be on this for the rest of your life. I'm like, no, no, no, no, no, uh, I got to figure out what the, what my body's telling me right now that all of a sudden made my blood pressure go from here to here, um, exercise, whatever those things are, but it's been a rough year. Yeah, it absolutely has. It's, it's been a more than a rough year in a lot of ways for a lot of people. Um, and that's why I want to, and I appreciate you coming on here to have this conversation out loud, because I think if, you know, if more people, um, were educated and de-stigmatized this, you know, cannabis, that it could do so much more good for so many more people.

Um, it's, it's sad. There's like 340,000 people working in the industry right now with legit jobs. And that only represents probably about a third of the actual marijuana being sold in the country. So, uh, cause there's still the very, um, alive and well illicit market, which, you know, I don't, I don't understand at this point. I told my quote unquote drug dealer a while back, I'm like, sorry, dude, I'm going all medical now that I got my car. And he's like, Oh, come on, I can get you better stuff. And I'm going to go, no, no, you, no, you can't. Like, I mean, I still, I still get some, I don't get all of my marijuana at a dispensary. I'm not, um, but the people that I'm getting from are people that I know really care.

They're growing it themselves. They're, you know, it's just because I know too much now to go buy it from a guy in the brand. Oh yeah. Yeah. No, no, no. Thank you. So look, um, Beth, let's, um, how, how can people find out more about what you're doing? And, uh, cause I genuinely, you know, looking through what you're doing right now with, uh, elevate and, and what you're doing from a marketing and the cannabis conventions and all that stuff. Like where can people learn more about you and, and what resources do you have available? Uh, sure. So really easy. Bethwaterfall.com is my website. Um, and then elevate ne.org is for elevate Northeast. Um, we've got some events coming up. We're raising money for a scholarship fund to send people through workforce training at Holyoke community college, which is here in Massachusetts.

Um, but, um, those are the big things. And of course on socials, Beth Waterfall as well. Um, but we have some, uh, big events, I think for folks that are interested in learning and getting a real taste for the cannabis industry before they really start jumping or to start their networking, uh, which is super important in cannabis. Um, there's all sorts of limitations, but on marketing and, and of course, you know, again, the stigma is there. So getting out there and networking and reaching out to people is super important. But in, um, September, uh, there will be a cannabis convention here in Boston. Um, and they're happening all over the country now too. Then go out to Vegas. Vegas is the biggest one in October.

Um, I'll be there for five nights in Vegas, um, but that's, that's a big one. Um, but yeah, any, if you ever see anything popping up in your neighborhood or in your city, that's, you know, a cannabis event, cannabis, um, convention, you know, that's, that was my first kind of, um, um, um, opportunity to realize that, um, you know, there were, there were speakers and there were businesses there, um, for me to see that this was indeed a real industry and that there were professional women like myself that were, you know, innovating, creating products, uh, helping patients. And that was that, that first experience at a New England cannabis convention in September, 2015 was really the, okay, this is real.

There's a place for me. Let's, let's do this. But it's because of what I learned there. You know, where, when's the one in Boston, September 10th through 12th. Okay. And is that from, uh, is that with Elevate Northeast or is that? No, so that's, it's, it's one of my clients, um, the New England cannabis conventions. Um, they do a bunch of events. We're going to be in Oklahoma, Chicago, Maine, Atlantic city. Um, yeah, it's happening. We're getting back out there, getting all that and back out there. I am going to tie myself, I'm going to go to that and we might, let's talk because that's around the time where we were talking about doing more social, you know, that, that little kind of one day reconnect to, you know, conferences type of thing.

And we might be able to kind of do some cool stuff around that where, you know, we do a one day thing on just networking and that type of stuff, but it's kind of connected to that in some way, shape or form. So that'd be super fun if we could put something like that together. How to, how to go to your first cannabis convention. Yeah. Yeah. See, that's like, so we'll do like, we'll do like just normal conventions and now how to, you know, how to, you know, network at a cannabis convention, by the way, tomorrow, everybody go. So educate yourselves. So I love it. I love it. Yeah. It's a, and I will say that for the most part, I think I mentioned before the people that I've met in the industry are extremely excited and passionate about the social justice side of things, passionate about the wellness.

Um, and I, you know, if you happen to find somebody on LinkedIn or read an article about something for the most part, people are really receptive to particularly now with, with the pandemic where we haven't been able to go out, you know, reach out to somebody, ask them, you know, try to, you know, tell them what your value is. And instead of just like, Oh, can I pick your brain? But you know, what can you contribute? And I think that can open some really big doors for the people that can want to be proactive and put themselves out there. Um, you know, there's, there really is a place for you in this, in this, there is, I mean, like I was saying earlier about like, when you walk into a cannabis dispensary, I have never met an asshole and I'm dead serious.

You know what I mean? Like I've, I mean, I've met some asshole friends. We do have those in this industry, but that's a different episode. But the, but I think the percentage of them is far less because, because when you're mission driven, when you're, you know, it's, and I equated a lot to the, you know, nonprofit industry. It's like the nonprofit industry. When you were mission driven, you were there for something bigger. Like my wife, she works in the environmental field. She's a, you know, she's, um, climate and environment and those, and sustainability and such. And yeah, she makes money. I know, I know that trust me, uh, we, we've had plenty of conversations around it and, and she, you know, but you know, that you can tell her level of satisfaction with her job.

Yes, she makes money. Um, but she is very mission driven about what she's trying to accomplish. And it's just, when you have that, the satisfaction of your job and your life ultimately is far greater than just going and showing up at a job to get a paycheck here. So hopefully, um, people can start looking at this as, as more than just, you know, stoners, you know, trying to just have cool conversations. This is a real and, and very emerging, you know, uh, industry that, that does a lot of good and has a lot of good in it. So thank you so much, Beth, for coming on board and sharing, uh, some of your insights here and, and for everything that you're doing, um, I appreciate it. And, uh, you too, I mean, anybody that can use their platform to, to break the stigma and open doors to opportunity.

And I mean, bravo to you as well. So thank you for having me. I'm, I'm proud to be here. Yeah, I appreciate it. I just, I feel like I've kind of gotten to a point in my career where I, I, and I, and I've been vocal about it for a while, but now I've kind of gotten to the, I don't give a shit factor anymore. Like, I don't care what people, I don't care what people think of me. I don't care what your judgment is at this point. Like I, you know, you're growing up, you kind of worried about what other, now I'm just like, I could care less. If you don't, if you judge me because I smoke or, or whatever, uh, that's more on you than it is on me. So now I am a bullhorn right now trying to get people to, to pay attention here.

And, and, and, and, and, and I guess the last point I'd make is that I, I get to be who I really am in this industry. I don't have to fake and pretend that I'm enjoying, like, you know, strategizing around the next, whatever accounting practice or tax regulation announcement. Uh, no, I, I get to do this, you know, I don't have to, I get to do this. And that is, it's, it's life-changing. So, um, yeah, backwaterfall.com happy to, happy to talk to folks and, um, leverage my network for, for good folks that want to do things for the good reasons. So awesome. Thank you. And for everybody, hopefully you enjoyed this conversation as much as I did. And it got you to think a little bit differently. And if, if you were out there, um, you know, educate yourself, educate others, uh, you know, de-stigmatize it because eventually it will become legal across the board.

I don't know how long that's going to take, uh, but it will, the stigma is still going to be around for years to come. Um, but I think we're chipping away at it for all the right reasons. And so everybody, as I always say, um, even if you had a shitty day, uh, go out there and make somebody smile today. Cause if you make somebody smile, you know, you had a great day and the world needs a lot more of that these days. So, uh, go out there and make it happen. Thank you all for listening. I appreciate it. Cheers. Nothing like a good history lesson to kick off our weeks, right? A lot of assumptions are made about cannabis and what it represents and how useful it can be for our economy and our psyche, our wellbeing and our lifestyle.

We appreciate all the knowledge and facts that Beth dropped on us here today on this episode. Thanks so much for coming out on the show. As always, we encourage you to invest in yourself, take steps to own and develop the skills that you need to succeed. World-class sales training is a click away for you at on-demand.jbarrows.com. There you're going to find all our courses, sessions, webinars, examples, our sales tips, our tactics, all of our messaging. It can all be accessed right there. It's everything you'll ever need to impact your prospects and clients in ways that they never dreamed of. Sign up today and become a member of this elite group of sellers at on-demand.jbarrows.com. JB Sales is live on Instagram.

Be sure and follow us at JB Sales Training, all one word. There you'll get daily sales tips and strategies and much, much more. Follow us to get personal with us, man. Let's go. This page is my jam. Be sure and connect to Leslie Douglas as well. She's throwing down fire, training sales teams all over the place to leverage our techniques and drive results. Follow her at TalkingWithLeslie. That's Talking underscore with underscore Leslie on Instagram and get her daily content and sales routines into yours today. Good stuff, Leslie. Keep it going. I love your content. We'll see you next week, everybody. Thanks for joining us. Next week, we bring you another guest to help you sell better. Let's make it happen.

Let's make it happen. Let's make it happen.