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.
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Bu hikaye Playboy Magazine US dergisinin November 2016 sayısından alınmıştır.
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