In the Weeds Episode 3: Double Bottom Line Cannabis Brands – How Giving Back Contributes to Your Bottom Line – Featuring Jesce Horton, Founder of the MCBA

On today’s show we yak with Jesce Horton, Founder of the Minority Cannabis Business Association (MCBA.)
The MCBA advocates on behalf of minorities in the cannabis industry. Today Jesce tells us about MCBA’s new record expungement initiative, developed in partnership with with renowned cannabis brand Marley Natural.

Listen to the latest podcast here.

About Jesce Horton

Jesce Horton is the owner of Panacea Valley Gardens, a cultivation center and boutique edibles line serving cannabis patients in Portland, OR. He is also the Co-Founder of the Minority Cannabis Business Association, a non-profit organization focused on increasing diversity in the cannabis industry through educational programs on economic empowerment, social justice and patient awareness.

Today we tackle questions like…

What is the MCBA and why does it need to exist?

What changes would make the most difference to minorities in the cannabis industry? Access to capital? Jobs? What do you wish you saw more of?

People are saying that in some ways cannabis is divorcing itself from activism. Do you agree with that?

What makes Marley Natural one of the first truly double-bottom line cannabis brands? Tell us about your MCBA partnership.

What is record expungement exactly and how does it work?

Is it true that this partnership has manifest in an increase in revenues? What can other brands learn from you?

How can you tell authentic socially responsible brands from “astroturfed” ones, meaning brands that do good things just for the PR value?

Stay tuned for our next episode of In the Weeds where we’ll talk to Charles Jones the Founder of Lucid Mood about the trend of “mood marketing.” Mood marketing is the notion of positioning cannabis products based on the experience or the mood they create for consumers, rather than positioning based on strain name.