Forsaking stoner culture, a new generation of entrepreneurs is using venture capital, scientific research and new products to revolutionize America’s cannabis industry
His day started early in a meeting with San Francisco investment bankers. Now Mark Hadfield, a 44-year-old serial entrepreneur, is guiding his Mercedes SLK 350 Roadster over the Bay Bridge to meet a potential business partner. His mission: to spread the gospel of HelloMD, an online platform that allows doctors, patients and retailers to exchange information about medical marijuana.
“People come to the industry who maybe smoked a joint in college but don’t know what’s available today,” Hadfield explains. To those novices, HelloMD offers video consultations, doctors’ recommendations and access to a community of medical professionals, vendors and more-experienced users.
Although medical research has been stymied by Washington, D.C.’s lingering Reefer Madness mentality, it’s increasingly evident that cannabinoid extracts can improve the lives of millions of Americans. “At one end of the spectrum are young men in their 20's who just want to get high, and at the other are people who have cancer, epilepsy and terminal illnesses,” says Hadfield. “We’re focused on the health-and-wellness consumers in the middle who want relief from chronic pain, arthritis, insomnia and migraines.”
Hadfield’s destination is a 13,000-square-foot factory building on the far side of Oakland. The factory houses Kiva Confections, a cannabis-candy company headed by a 30-year-old former wedding photographer named Kristi Knoblich, who started the not-for-profit collective in her kitchen in 2010 with a $36,000 loan from her father-in-law. Hadfield wants Kiva to join his online community and, as an inducement, has posted a video about Knoblich and her company on the HelloMD website.
この記事は Playboy Magazine US の November 2016 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、8,500 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は Playboy Magazine US の November 2016 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、8,500 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
A Veteran's True Battle: Staying Sane After Returning Home
Can a single injection save thousands of soldiers suffering from severe PTSD? An Afghanistan combat vet goes under the needle to find out if there really is a cure for war.
True-Crime Shows That Are Anything But Dateline
We’re more fascinated with true crime than ever before. But what are we really looking for?
Is Lagos the Most Dangerous Party City On the Planet?
With Nigerian music influencing America hip-hop and EDM, Adam Skolnick travels to the world capital of Afropop and finds a city that's both captivating and conflicted.
Keegan-Michael Key on Obama, Religion and Life After 'Key & Peele'
With Key & Peele behind him and his first marquee movie role (alongside a do-rag-sporting kitten) out this month, the comedian pauses to talk race, religion and Hamlet’s anger translator.
Foreign Relations: How To Score A Date Around the World
A globe-trotting guide to hooking up, hanging out and sexting around the world, with the must-have dating apps, must-know pickup lines and expert tips that will break any language barrier.
The Rise and Fall of Loon
Chauncey “Loon” Hawkins was Harlem hustler royalty, a hit-writer for Puff Daddy and a crucial part of the Bad Boy Records family. He looks back at the wave that took him and the wreckage it left behind.
Bob Odenkirk Traces His Rise to Unlikely Leading Man
You’ll be glad to know that the star of Better Call Saul and W/ Bob & David - two of the most adored spin-offs in recent TV history - is not comfortable with his newfound success.
Do Silencers Look Good with Skinny Jeans?
Meet the gun-loving, indie-music-listening, hipster-beard-growing millennial entrepreneurs disrupting the gun industry.
How Jazz Saved Hip-Hop Again
The story of two South Los Angeles music scenes and Kendrick Lamar's genre-bending album To Pimp a Butterfly.
Casey Neistat - YouTube's Favorite Vlogger
For the YouTube genius who snowboarded through Times Square, life in New York hasn't always been a viral joyride.