WELCOME BACK TO CLOSE UP. THE ONGOING LEGISLATIVE BATTLES OVER RECREATIONAL CANNABIS. IT CAN BE EASY FOR THE CASUAL OBSERVER TO LOSE TRACK OF THE FACT THAT THERAPEUTIC CANNABIS HAS BEEN LEGAL IN THE GRANITE STATE FOR TEN YEARS NOW. THIS MORNING, WE’RE LOOKING BACK AT THAT ORIGINAL DEBATE AND HOW THE POLICY IS WORKING A DECADE IN. GETTING SOME PERSPECTIVE FOR ONE OF THE KEY PLAYERS THEN AND NOW. MATT SIMON FROM GRANITE LEAF CANNABIS. MATT, THANKS FOR COMING IN. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. SO ONE OF THE MOST REMARKABLE ASPECTS OF THIS PUBLIC POLICY BATTLE FROM TEN YEARS AGO, THE ADVOCATES HAD TO GO TO COURT TO GET THE STATE TO IMPLEMENT THE ACTUAL LAW THAT HAD PASSED. TAKE US BACK TO THAT MOMENT IN TIME. SURE. THANK YOU. SO IT’S VERY FRUSTRATING PROCESS FOR THE MANY PATIENTS THAT WERE INVOLVED. PEOPLE MAY RECALL THAT THE BILL WAS VETOED IN 2009 AND AGAIN IN 2012, FINALLY PASSED IN 2013, BUT PASSAGE LED TO ANOTHER TWO AND A HALF YEARS OF DELAYS. ULTIMATELY, A PATIENT HAD TO SUE THE STATE TO HAVE THE FIRST ID CARD ISSUED TO HER, WHICH ENABLED HER TO GO TO MAINE AND PURCHASE CANNABIS. THAT WAS TEN YEARS AGO. AS OF A COUPLE WEEKS AGO. SO WE’RE HEADING INTO TEN YEAR ANNIVERSARY SEASON, AND FROM OVER THE LAST TEN YEARS, WE’VE MANAGED TO BUILD THIS PROGRAM. OUR REGULATORS, THE THREE COMPANIES THAT OPERATE INTO THE SPACE. IT NOW SERVES A LITTLE OVER 17,000 PATIENTS. IT IS. WE’RE DOING THE BEST WE CAN WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE LAW THAT WE OPERATE WITH. THERE ARE STILL ISSUES WITH ACCESS AND AFFORDABILITY. ONLY SEVEN DISPENSARIES IN THE STATE. AND AS YOU NOTE, A LOT OF PEOPLE DON’T EVEN REMEMBER THIS OR EVEN REALIZE WE HAVE THIS PROGRAM. AS I TRAVEL AROUND THE STATE TABLE AND EVENTS SPEAK TO GROUPS, REALLY THE MOST COMMON REACTION I GET IS I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW WE HAD A MEDICAL CANNABIS PROGRAM IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, OR I REMEMBER HEARING ABOUT THAT. IS IT DID IT ACTUALLY IS IT REAL? IT IS REAL. AND WE’RE DOING THE BEST WE CAN TO TO SERVE THE PATIENTS. SO 17,000 PATIENTS, WHAT ARE MOST PEOPLE TREATING WITH THEIR MEDICAL CANNABIS. SO EARLY ON IT WAS VERY RESTRICTIVE. YOU HAD TO HAVE A CONDITION FROM THIS LIST AND A SYMPTOM FROM THIS LIST. AND PEOPLE FOUND IT DIFFICULT. PROVIDERS FOUND IT DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND. IN 2017, THE LAW WAS EXPANDED TO ALLOW MODERATE TO SEVERE CHRONIC PAIN AS A QUALIFYING CONDITION THAT IS NOW BY FAR THE MOST COMMON QUALIFYING CONDITION. AND WE TREAT PATIENTS ALL THE TIME. WE SEE PATIENTS ALL THE TIME WHO TELL US, I USED TO BE DEPENDENT ON OPIOIDS. I FOUND CANNABIS AS AN ALTERNATIVE. I FEEL LIKE I HAVE MY LIFE BACK. I’M ABLE TO BE MORE ACTIVE, BE A BETTER PARENT. WHATEVER IT IS. WE HEAR THAT FROM SO MANY PATIENTS AND THAT IS THE NUMBER ONE POPULATION THAT WE SERVE AT THIS POINT. IT’S NOW EASIER THAN EVER TO QUALIFY. SO INSOMNIA IS NOW A QUALIFYING CONDITION. GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER IS A QUALIFYING CONDITION. SO WE’RE GETTING A WIDE RANGE OF PATIENTS COMING IN. AND IT’S OUR JOB TO LISTEN TO THEM, TRY TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THEIR NEEDS ARE AND SUGGEST PRODUCTS THAT COULD BE HELPFUL FOR THEM. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE MEDICAL PROFESSION? AND WE KNOW THE POLITICAL SIDE OF THIS TOOK A WHILE TO FIX, BUT THE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE MEDICAL PROFESSION NOW VERSUS TEN YEARS AGO, I’D SAY THE DIFFERENCE IS NIGHT AND DAY. FRANKLY. WE HAD REALLY MORE OPPOSITION THAN SUPPORT FROM DOCTORS IN THE STATE WHEN WE WERE TRYING TO PASS THE LAW. AND THEN AFTER IT PASSED, MANY OF THE MEDICAL PROVIDERS CAME TO THE TABLE. IT WAS LIKE, OKAY, THIS IS LAW. I WANT TO UNDERSTAND IT BETTER. NOW WE HAVE A THERAPEUTIC CANNABIS MEDICAL OVERSIGHT BOARD, HAS A DOZEN MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS REPRESENTING DIFFERENT SPECIALTIES, AND WE WORK CLOSELY WITH THEM. REALLY, IN THE WAKE OF THE OPIOID CRISIS AND CANNABIS EMERGING AS AN ALTERNATIVE FOR CHRONIC PAIN, WE’VE SEEN JUST A SEA CHANGE IN ATTITUDES FROM MEDICAL PROVIDERS. THEY WANT TO UNDERSTAND HOW WE’RE SERVING PATIENTS AND HOW THEY CAN GUIDE PATIENTS, AND WHERE THAT HANDOFF TAKES PLACE, BECAUSE IT’S NOT LIKE A PRESCRIPTION. IF YOU GET A PRESCRIPTION, YOU GO TO A PHARMACY AND THERE ARE INSTRUCTIONS. AND WHEN YOU COME TO A CANNABIS DISPENSARY, YOU MIGHT HAVE A WIDE RANGE OF SITUATIONS DEPENDING ON WHERE YOU’RE GOING. IF YOU COME TO ONE OF THE NEW HAMPSHIRE DISPENSARIES, I’M VERY CONFIDENT YOU’RE GOING TO ENCOUNTER PROFESSIONAL STAFF WHO ARE WELL EDUCATED AND WILL DO THEIR BEST TO GUIDE YOU TO SOMETHING THAT MIGHT HELP. NOW, THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE THERAPEUTIC CANNABIS LAW, AS YOU ALLUDED TO, IT TOOK A LONG TIME AND THERE WAS SOME BUREAUCRATIC INERTIA, I GUESS, TO PUT IT POLITELY. WHAT DOES THAT TELL US ABOUT HOW THE EVENTUAL POSSIBLE LEGALIZATION OF RECREATIONAL CANNABIS MIGHT PLAY OUT IF THAT LAW GETS PASSED IN THE FUTURE? I THINK IT TELLS US THERE’S THERE’S MORE TO THIS THAN PASSING A LAW. THERE’S ALWAYS THE LAW THAT GETS PASSED ON PAPER, AND THEN THERE’S THE IMPLEMENTATION, AND THERE HAS TO BE A COMMITMENT TO THAT IMPLEMENTATION. IN THIS CASE, IT WAS AN UNFUNDED MANDATE FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES. I DON’T BLAME ANYBODY IN, YOU KNOW, FOR FOR THAT SLOW ROLLOUT. IT’S ONE OF THE REASONS PATIENTS FELT SO STRONGLY ABOUT HOME CULTIVATION, BECAUSE THEY UNDERSTOOD IT MIGHT TAKE YEARS FOR THIS TO HAPPEN, AND ESPECIALLY WITH LIMITED ACCESS, THAT’S STILL A MAJOR ISSUE FOR PATIENTS WHEN WE TALK ABOUT ACCESS AND AFFORDABILITY BEING THE TWO MAJOR CHALLENGES, SOME PATIENTS LIVE MORE THAN AN HOUR FROM A DISPENSARY, AND IT IS HARD FOR THEM TO TRAVEL. AND WHEN THEY GET THERE, THE PRICE TAG IS MORE MORE THAN THEY FEEL COMFORTABLE PAYING. SO IT’S STILL FACING THOSE CHALLENGES, DOING THE BEST WE CAN. AND ONE OF THE MOST INTRICATE ASPECTS OF THE LEGALIZATION DEBATE IS WHAT TO DO WITH THE ATCS THE ALTERNATIVE TREATMENT CENTERS. IF AND WHEN LEGALIZATION DOES COME, BECAUSE YOU HAVE A LOT OF SUPPORTERS OF LEGAL CANNABIS IN THE STATEHOUSE WHO ARE MORE TOWARDS THE FREE MARKET SIDE, AND THEY SAY, HEY, WHY THE HECK SHOULD WE BE PROTECTING THESE GUYS IF WE JUST THROW IT WIDE OPEN? WHAT IS THE ARGUMENT FOR KEEPING THE ATCS AROUND IN A FULL LEGALIZATION WORLD? WELL, OUR COMPANY, WE HAVE 48 FULL TIME EMPLOYEES. THEY ALL LIVE IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. WE’RE COMMITTED TO THE FUTURE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE CANNABIS. WE THINK WE’VE PROVEN THAT OVER TEN YEARS OF SERVING PATIENTS. IF NEW HAMPSHIRE DOES GO DOWN THE PATH TO ADULT USE LEGALIZATION, WHICH I’M VERY CONFIDENT IT WILL AT SOME POINT, OUR TEAM WOULD LIKE TO BE PART OF THAT FUTURE AND FEEL LIKE WE’VE LEARNED A LOT IN TEN YEARS, OPERATING UNDER A HEAVILY REGULATED PROGRAM. IT’S BEEN ONE LEARNING EXPERIENCE AFTER ANOTHER, AND THE IDEA OF JUST KIND OF SHOVING US OUT OF THE WAY SO THAT SOMEBODY ELSE CAN DO WELL IN THIS BUSINESS DOESN’T SIT VERY WELL. SO AT SOME POINT WE’LL BE BACK INTO THE FRAME OF MIND OF HAVING THOSE CONVERSATIONS FOR US. THAT’S NOT SOMETHING WE THINK ABOUT. OUR TEAM WAKES UP EVERY DAY. HOW CAN WE DO THE BEST WE CAN PROVIDE THERAPEUTIC CANNABIS PRODUCTS TO PATIENTS AND GIVE THEM THE EDUCATION AND GUIDANCE THEY NEED? WHY DO YOU THINK THERE IS SUCH A BIG DISCONNECT BETWEEN THE POPULAR OPINION SUPPORT FOR LEGAL CANNABIS IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, AND THEN WHAT WE SEE FROM ESSENTIALLY THE STATE SENATE AND THE GOVERNOR AND THE ELECTED GOVERNORS, THEY’RE SAYING ESSENTIALLY, WE’RE NOT GOING TO DO THIS. AND YET VOTERS DON’T PUNISH THEM FOR IT. SO THERE’S A BIT OF A DISCONNECT THERE, I’D SAY. SO FOR ME, THE BEST EXPLANATION IS JUST THAT CANNABIS IS A C-LIST ISSUE, YOU KNOW, AND IT’S BEEN PERCEIVED THAT WAY BY A LOT OF PEOPLE. I THINK FOR A LOT OF VOTERS, IT’S ACTUALLY AN A-LIST OR B-LIST ISSUE. BUT WHEN WE HAVE ELECTED OFFICIALS AND PEOPLE SEEKING OFFICE WHO DON’T COME ON PROGRAMS LIKE THIS AND TALK ABOUT CANNABIS AS ONE OF THEIR FIRST OR SECOND ISSUES, THAT CONTRIBUTES TO THE PERCEPTION THAT NOBODY REALLY ACTUALLY CARES ABOUT THIS IN THE POLITICAL CLASS. IT’S USUALLY A C-LIST ISSUE. WHEN I’M OUT TALKING TO PEOPLE, THEY SAY, CANNABIS, WHY IS IT THAT LEGAL? YET? AND I DON’T HAVE A GOOD ANSWER FOR THEM. OBVIOUSLY, THE PUBLIC OPINION IS VERY STRONG, BUT OBVIOUSLY DETAILS MATTER TO PEOPLE LIKE ME AND TO EVERYBODY ELSE THAT MIGHT ACTUALLY BE IN THE POSITION OF WORKING IN THIS, IN THIS INDUSTRY OR REGULATING IT, OR THE DETAILS DO MATTER. WE HAVE 24 STATES THAT HAVE LEGALIZED ADULT USE CANNABIS. SO I JUST THINK WE SHOULD LEARN WHAT’S WORKED AND WHAT HASN’T. AND WE’VE SEEN SUCCESSES AND AND SOME, SOME NEGATIVE IMPACTS. AND WE KNOW ENOUGH NOW TO, TO MAKE A GOOD POLICY IF AND WHEN THE TIME IS RIGHT FOR FOLKS IN CONCORD. ALL RIGHT. MATT SIMON FROM GRANITE LEAF CANNABIS, THANKS FOR JOINING US AND HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, I GUESS, TO YOU ON O