High Spirits: The Cannabis Business Podcast
Hosts Ben Larson and AnnaRae Grabstein serve up unfiltered insights, reveal their insiders' perspectives, and illuminate transformative ideas about the cannabis industry for people who want to make sense of it all.
Episodes
"Stop shaming my sex and drugs."
On this episode of High Spirits, hosts Ben Larson & AnnaRae Grabstein sit down with the incomparable Tanya Griffin, a multihyphenate entrepreneur who is rewriting the rulebook on what it means to be a "professional" in the cannabis industry. From building the first vertically integrated national franchise to navigating the "crash landing" of the Illinois social equit...
On this episode of High Spirits, hosts Ben Larson & AnnaRae Grabstein are joined by Elliot Lane, Co-Founder and President of IgniteIt. After years of building the cannabis vertical at Benzinga, Elliot and his team are striking out on their own to create a more intentional, high-impact space for cannabis leaders. From navigating the "pure terror" of entrepreneurship to the tactical secrets of building a world-class B2B...
On This Week in Cannabis Live, host Jay Rosenthal and Jeremy Berke (Cultivated.news) lead a high-stakes roundtable featuring Ben Larson & AnnaRae Grabstein (High Spirits) and Marc Hauser (Cannabis Musings). Special guest appearance by Bryan Fields of The Dime Podcast.
The panel dives into the messy reality of cannabis earnings season, where "creative writing" often masks the bottom line. From the crushing price compres...
On this episode of High Spirits, hosts Ben & AnnaRae forgo the guest chair for a candid, deep-dive conversation into the shifting tides of the industry. From the sobering reality of Tilray’s latest $44M acquisition to the "perfect enforcement" threat of AI, this episode explores the evolution of cannabis leadership and the grit required to stay in the game.
💡 What You’ll Learn:
The Tilray Strategy: Is Ti...
From New York’s bold $4.6 billion market forecast to the unlikely intersection of the Second Amendment and cannabis at the Supreme Court, the team explores the shifting tectonic plates of the U.S. industry. Are we witnessing the "locus of the cannabis world" moving East, or does California still hold the crown?
💡 What You’ll Learn:
- The New York Surge: Why the OCM’s new leadership is projecting a $4.6B market by 2028—an...
The federal government has finally acknowledged the "accepted medical use" of cannabis—but for millions of patients, the battle for true integration into the US healthcare system is just beginning. As we face a shifting regulatory landscape, is Schedule III a victory or a trap?
About This Episode:
In this episode of High Spirits, hosts Ben Larson & AnnaRae Grabstein are joined by Steph Sherer, the powerhouse Founder and...
Chicago Atlantic's Steven Ernest, Head of Originations, pulls back the curtain on institutional cannabis lending — from how his firm evaluates operators and underwrites deals, to navigating distressed assets, ESOPs, and the murky road ahead for rescheduling and 280E. If you want to understand how capital really flows in this industry, this is the episode.
But before we talk to Steven, a quick catch up: Ben's back from Maui...
The 2026 Farm Bill draft is finally on the table, and while the "hemp loophole" remains untouched for now, the industry is already looking toward a post-cliff future. As big tobacco backs Canadian giants in Europe and stadiums open their doors to THC, the landscape of cannabis distribution is shifting under our feet.
In this week's edition of This Week in Cannabis Live (TWICL), hosts Jay Rosenthal and Jeremy Berk...
THC% might be the most overused number in cannabis—and it’s not helping consumers make better choices. In this episode, Ben nerds out with Dr. Riley Kirk on what actually drives effects, why “nose knows” matters, and how cannabis science can (and should) live outside academic journals.
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Ben Larson (solo this week while AnnaRae is off-grid in Kauai) welcomes Dr. Riley Kirk—PhD cannabis scientist, educator, and author of Reefer Wellne...
The cannabis industry is getting squeezed from every angle—state AGs, ballot fights, and a federal regulator that can’t hit a deadline. On this week’s High Spirits business news roundup, Ben Larson and AnnaRae Grabstein break down the stories shaping operator strategy right now.
Episode #125 dives into Ohio’s escalating “legalization meets enforcement” showdown, including an antitrust lawsuit targeting major MSOs—and the messy split...
From Olympic hockey banter to Washington politics and THC drinks at major arenas, this episode proves there’s never a slow week in cannabis. AnnaRae joins a familiar roundtable to unpack policy signals, market stress, and why beverages keep stealing the spotlight.
About This Episode
On this week’s edition of This Week in Cannabis Live, Jay Rosenthal is joined by Jeremy Berke, Marc Hauser, and AnnaRae Grabstein for a wide-ranging conv...
THC beverages are officially hitting the big leagues—and Chicago’s United Center is the proof point.
In Episode 124 of High Spirits, hosts Ben Larson and AnnaRae Grabstein sit down with Rick Schepp (GM of Beverage, Señorita & RYTHM) and Charles Bieler (Co-Founder, Señorita) to unpack what it really takes to build hemp-derived THC drinks that can scale into major venues, national retail, and mass culture.
From on-premise con...
Policy and regulation across cannabis and hemp are shifting fast—and operators don’t get to pause the business while Washington debates definitions.
On Episode 123 of High Spirits, Ben Larson and AnnaRae Grabstein sit down with Thomas Winstanley, EVP of edibles.com, to unpack what it actually looks like to build and operate through policy uncertainty. From the urgency of 2026 (“do or die”) to the reality that “waiting for clarity” i...
In this edition of This Week in Cannabis Live, our host Ben Larson joins Jay Rosenthal & Jeremy Berke of Cultivated and Marc Hauser of Cannabis Musings for a fast-moving, no-BS conversation on the biggest stories shaping cannabis right now.
From Schedule III claims and missed DOJ deadlines to a surprise hemp bill, New York’s track-and-trace chaos, and the realities behind M&A headlines, this episode is all signal, no fluff.
...
Cannabis is leaving its “startup era”—and the next phase won’t be won by hype. It’ll be won by operators who can build trust, standardize the experience, and run tighter businesses in a margin-crushed market.
On Episode 122 of High Spirits, hosts Ben & AnnaRae sit down with Ashwin Raj, CEO of LeafLink, to unpack what he’s seeing from the center of cannabis wholesale—where billions in transactions reveal the real signals of indus...
Two of the most durable edibles brands in cannabis just joined forces—and the backstory is pure “mature-market grit.”
On Episode 121 of High Spirits, hosts Ben Larson & AnnaRae Grabstein sit down with Aaron Morris (Founder & CEO of Wyld) and Draper Bender (President of Grön) for their first interview together following Wyld’s acquisition of Grön.
They unpack why Oregon breeds profitable operators, how “market compressions” s...
What actually changes for cannabis in 2026—and what’s still just wishful thinking?
Join the teams from Cultivated Media, High Spirits: The Cannabis Business Podcast, and Cannabis Musings for This Week in Cannabis Live | 2026 Prediction Show.
From rescheduling realities and 280E implications to M&A strategy, hemp-derived beverages, and where not to start a cannabis business, this conversation cuts through the noise with grounded...
New year, new signals—and cannabis is entering 2026 with policy momentum, consolidation heat, and a growing demand for real numbers (not vibes). In Episode 120 of High Spirits, hosts Ben Larson & AnnaRae Grabstein sit down with Cy Scott, Co-Founder & CEO of Headset, to break down what 2025 actually told us—and what to watch as rescheduling moves forward and markets keep maturing.
From New York’s explosive growth to the marg...
It’s a cozy year-end check-in—and a clear-eyed look at what’s next. Recorded Tuesday, December 30, 2025, Ben & AnnaRae close out the year by revisiting their 2025 predictions, unpacking what actually happened across regulated cannabis and hemp-derived THC, and setting the tone for 2026: faster, sharper, and more focused.
From the surreal experience of finding cannabis policy debates in a 1969 Playboy issue to today’s reschedulin...
On this special This Week in Cannabis episode Presented by Cultivated Media, High Spirits hosts Ben & AnnaRae join Jay & Jeremy from Cultivated and Marc Hauser of Cannabis Musings to break down the biggest cannabis policy story of the year: the federal push to reschedule marijuana to Schedule III.
Recorded live just days after the announcement, this conversation cuts through the hype to examine what actually changes—and what...
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