Anthony Codispoti

Most people underestimate how long it takes to build something real in this industry. They see the brand. They don’t see the compliance cycles, reformulations, failed SKUs, or quiet operational wins. The companies that last aren’t chasing hype. They’re building infrastructure. That’s always been the game.

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SF 4401 just passed committee — and it changes everything for hemp and cannabis businesses in this state. At Nothing But Canna (formerly Nothing But Hemp), we had a seat at the table as one of 80+ stakeholders who helped shape this bill. We've now read every one of its 119 sections so you don't have to. Here's what you need to know: - A brand-new product category — ratio hemp-infused cannabis products — just became law - Milligram limits for hemp edibles have been completely restructured (CBD up to 100mg per serving) - The cannabis macrobusiness license replaces the old medical cannabis combination business - Hemp operators now have a real, legal pathway into the cannabis market — effective January 1, 2027 - And if you own a hemp license and want to transition to cannabis? We break down exactly how that works — and where we still need more clarity A massive thank you to our lobbying partners at Larkin Hoffman, whose work at the Capitol made a measurable difference in shaping this legislation. And to every one of those 80+ stakeholders who showed up — this bill is proof that the community built it. We've published a full breakdown — milligrams, timelines, license fees, labeling changes, the transition pathway, and our honest take on what we still don't know. Link in comments. Nothing but the real stuff. 🌱 https://lnkd.in/g92AncsH #NothingButCanna #MNCannabis #Hemp #SF4401 #MinnesotaCannabis #HempToCanabis #CannabisBusiness #HempBusiness #OCM #LowerPotencyHempEdibles #CannabisLaw #MNLeg

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Running a cannabis business is not just about products and compliance. It is about managing risk at every level of the operation. From payroll and banking to benefits and HR, every system has a potential point of failure. A strong PEO partner helps operators take control of those risks by creating consistency, structure, and protection across every department. Here are six of the biggest areas where a PEO makes an immediate impact: 1. Payroll and Tax Accuracy Operators face complex payroll rules, multi state tax codes, and banking restrictions. A PEO ensures accuracy, automates reporting, and keeps payroll compliant with every regulation. 2. Banking and Financial Compliance Access to secure payroll funding, tax payments, and benefits administration through a PEO helps protect operators from non compliant banking practices and supports audit readiness. 3. Benefits and Employee Retention PEOs offer group buying power and access to national carriers that most cannabis companies cannot reach on their own. Better benefits build stronger cultures and reduce turnover. 4. Workers Compensation and Risk Management Through proper underwriting, safety programs, and access to master policies, PEOs help reduce claims, control costs, and maintain coverage even in high risk industries like cannabis. 5. HR Compliance and Policy Alignment PEOs handle constant labor law changes, employee classification, and wage requirements. They create structured policies that protect both the company and its employees. 6. Data Security and Record Management PEO systems maintain secure employee data, protect sensitive records, and support compliance across multiple locations. A PEO model gives operators group buying power, stable renewals, and compliant benefits across every state line. And it skips the headache for employees. That same structure benefits large operators too. Multi state organizations face complex layers of labor laws, reporting requirements, and inconsistent carrier networks. A PEO brings consistency, centralized administration, and the ability to scale benefits and compliance under one system instead of juggling multiple vendors and renewals. The cannabis industry moves fast, but structure is what keeps growth sustainable. If your team is looking to strengthen compliance, reduce risk, or connect with trusted channel partners for banking, payroll, or tax strategy, let us connect you with people who understand this industry and know how to protect what you have built. Canopy HR Joel Pearson #CannabisIndustry #HR #Compliance #Payroll #Banking #Benefits #PeopleSolutions #ChannelPartners #RiskManagement #Growth #Leadership

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CCA is the strongest source of credit data and insights to know whose who in cannabis. Our Michigan data set is getting stronger every day with leading operators and CRBs actively reporting verified trade lines. If you’re in Michigan and feel a Facebook group or he says/she says is a better credit process… I’d love to challenge you and get a demo set up with our team. It’s time to move this industry forward together.

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One thing I’ve realized after years in cannabis: A lot of people are trying to build better products… but they’re doing it without clear guidance. There’s so much noise in this industry: ⚙️ Formulation trends 🧪 Over-processed inputs 📈 Margin pressure 📦 Manufacturing limitations 🌿 “Clean label” claims that don’t actually mean anything So let’s do something useful. 👇 ASK ME ANYTHING 👇 If you’re working on: • Cannabis formulations • Hemp-derived products • Solventless or whole plant concepts • Lipid infusions • Product positioning • Clean label strategy • Scaling production without losing integrity Drop your questions below. Whether you’re a startup founder, operator, extractor, formulator, retailer, or just curious about where the industry is headed, I’ll answer openly so everyone can learn from the conversation. The cannabis industry gets better when knowledge is shared, not gatekept. Let’s talk.

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Train On Trees – CannaMobile Connect Brand Positioning CannaMobile Connect is a mobile cannabis workforce infrastructure brand focused on equity, access, and job-ready outcomes. We bring compliant, industry-aligned cannabis training directly into communities—fast-tracking pathways into high-demand roles across New Jersey’s regulated cannabis ecosystem. Category: Mobile Workforce Development / Cannabis Infrastructure Training Primary Market: New Jersey (municipalities, NJDOL One-Stops, employers, community partners) Audience: Jobseekers, career-changers, returning citizens, impact zone residents, workforce stakeholders --- Brand Promise No cost. No fees. Real pathways to cannabis careers. We remove barriers, meet people where they are, and connect training to real jobs—safely, legally, and responsibly. --- Brand Personality Grounded & Trustworthy – compliant, workforce-first, community-rooted Accessible & Mobile – meets people where they are Empowering – skills, credentials, confidence Responsible – safety, regulation, awareness always --- Core Messages A Different Cannabis Training – workforce infrastructure, not hype Mobile. Compliant. Job-Connected. Equity in Action – impact-zone aligned, community-centered --- Taglines (Choose One) “Building Cannabis Careers. Block by Block.” “Mobile Training. Real Jobs.” “Where Cannabis Workforce Meets Community.” “Access • Skills • Opportunity.”

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New Blog: Michigan Cannabis Sales Looking at a nice time series of market sales in Michigan. Sales grew for 3 ½ years before plateauing, followed by a period of decreasing sales as the market consolidated, then a bit of a bounce-back. Sales didn’t seem to suffer much after its neighbor Ohio legalized, presumably because of the large price differential between the two states. As for product categories, infused pre-rolls are growing rapidly… Link to article here: https://lnkd.in/gF5TSkhF

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The Strategic Power of Boutique Consulting (BIZZMD.COM): How Small Business Owners Can Prepare for Profit, Stability, and Private Investment Buyouts When you’re running a small or medium-sized business, every decision has weight—and every mistake has cost. Founders often carry the entire company on their backs, navigating cash flow bottlenecks, margin pressure, and operational friction with little outside support. But what if the strongest move wasn’t hiring more or cutting deeper, but partnering with someone who sees the whole picture? That’s where a boutique consulting firm becomes essential—especially when preparing your company for a private equity buyout or investor acquisition. Step One: Unlocking Cash Flow & Profit Margins Private investors don’t buy chaos—they buy clarity. A consulting partner helps you: Uncover profit leaks hiding in workflows, vendor contracts, or pricing models Restructure costs without damaging operations Build dashboards that forecast, not just record Margins widen. Cash flow stabilizes. And suddenly, the business becomes investable—not just operational. Step Two: Strategic Preparation for Investment Investment firms look beyond revenue—they evaluate: Leadership maturity Operational accountability Scalable systems A boutique consultant acts like your Medical Doctor for Business: ·       Diagnoses inefficiencies ·       Prescribes strategic solutions ·       Follows through with implementation From ownership documentation to KPI alignment, you’re no longer reacting—you’re positioning. Step Three: Beyond Templates — Why Boutique Matters Unlike bloated advisory services or generic business coaches, boutique firms deliver: CEO-level insights tailored to your stage Emotionally resonant messaging that attracts investor attention Personalized strategy built around your values, not someone else’s playbook This level of custom care isn’t just strategic—it’s vital. Preparing for the Buyout Starts Now If you're hoping to attract private investment in the next 6–18 months, the groundwork must start today. Your numbers need context. Your systems need simplicity. Your brand needs clarity. And you? You need a partner who sees profit as the outcome of vision, structure, and discipline—not just spreadsheets. Final Thought The right consulting partner does more than advise. They treat the business. Elevate the founder. And prepare both for the next chapter. If you’re ready to create order from chaos—and transform from everyday operator to investor-attracting leader—consider what one hour of consulting could unlock. Visit BIZZMD.COM and book a one-hour FREE consultation with one of our expert CEOs.

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Be here! Capital is no longer the only question in cannabis, disciplined execution is. Looking forward to joining leaders across finance, banking, and investment at the Midwest Cannabis Forum to discuss what rescheduling may change, what it won’t, and why operational visibility and #knowyournumbers may become the industry’s greatest competitive advantage.

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Minnesota’s Cannabis Market Is Setting a Precedent — And Operators Should Pay Attention. Minnesota has signed a cannabis agreement with the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians, formally enabling cooperative participation between Tribal nations and the state’s adult-use cannabis market. This isn’t just a regulatory update — it’s a strategic economic development model. For Tribal nations, agreements like this: • Reinforce Tribal sovereignty • Create long-term revenue diversification • Support workforce development and community reinvestment • Position Tribes as first movers in newly legalized markets For operators, this signals: • New partnership pathways outside traditional licensing structures • Potential access to supply, retail, or joint-venture opportunities • A need to understand dual regulatory frameworks (state + Tribal governance) • Increased importance of strong financial controls, compliance, and reporting We’re seeing cannabis evolve beyond a single-lane commercial model into a multi-stakeholder ecosystem that includes states, Tribes, regulators, and capital — all moving at different speeds. The operators who succeed in these environments will be the ones who can: ✔ Navigate complex agreements ✔ Build compliant, scalable financial infrastructure ✔ Approach partnerships with cultural and operational competence Cannabis policy is maturing — and so is the business strategy required to compete. https://lnkd.in/eyHyGK_h

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When it comes to capital strategy in the cannabis industry, strategic investors are not simply seeking “exposure” to the sector. Instead, their focus is on acquiring specific capabilities—such as compliant supply chains, consistent quality standards, route-to-market leverage, and brands with the potential to expand across markets. In cannabis, the true test of strategy occurs after the deal closes. Integration challenges can arise due to state-by-state fragmentation, quality assurance failure modes, channel conflicts, and concerns about whether the operating system can scale without jeopardizing compliance or the brand itself. Three primary capital strategies are emerging within the industry: * Asset-heavy vertical integration * Pure brand licensing * Hybrid infrastructure platforms Each of these strategies has inherent strengths. Asset-Heavy Vertical Integration Asset-heavy vertical integration is a strategic approach centered on control and synergies across inputs, manufacturing, and distribution. However, this model concentrates regulatory and execution risks, and its effectiveness depends on maintaining a fully utilized footprint and a replicable playbook across different markets. Brand Licensing - (Admitted bias - The Clear Brands has embraced this strategy completely) Licensing offers a strategic advantage for brands looking to expand reach without owning every facility. This approach can deliver option value across various geographies, but it requires rigorous specifications, testing procedures, and partner governance to ensure the brand maintains its consistency everywhere. Hybrid Infrastructure Platforms Hybrid platforms are creating a “shared services” layer, including compliance, QA, manufacturing systems, and distribution standards that brands can connect to. This strategy is particularly appealing for bolt-on opportunities, provided the platform is truly interoperable and not just a standalone solution. The central question is not which model is currently popular, but which approach best reduces operational risk while preserving brand integrity. Ultimately, capital gravitates toward predictability, since repeatable returns depend on it. This principle is consistent across all consumer categories. From a strategic perspective, it’s vital to determine where to place the bet: should you own the assets, own the brand, or own the operating system? The right choice is the one that increases integration velocity while maintaining quality and regulatory durability. #theclearbrands #TWAXbyTheClear #TheClearEFX

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Congress has once again redefined “legal hemp,” tightening limits and targeting intoxicating hemp products with a compliance deadline of November 2026. A new federal analysis suggests enforcement is unclear and agencies may lack resources. This regulatory limbo is something that operators need to prepare for now. Full breakdown on Medium.  https://lnkd.in/gipiTMTN

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MSOs & LPs: Don’t Let AI Take Over Your Strategic Thinking Many cannabis workers are embracing AI for tasks like content generation, automating workflows and research.  Early adoption is valuable for its productivity gains and learning. However, AI-powered strategy development and planning can be a ‘weapon of mass destruction’ in some firms 4 problems arise when firms put too much faith in AI: 1️⃣ AI hallucinations and problematic recommendations Google these terms, or do you own experiment.  I used GPT-5 to generate a map of North America, a map that hasn’t changed in decades.   How many errors can you count in the accompanying picture? I stopped at 40. I grant you AI is still a work in progress and will get better.  My concern for cannabis is that the outputs are only as good as the inputs.   AI scours in order Reddit, Wikipedia and YouTube for its knowledge (see chart in comments).  One doesn’t find the most current, relevant and accurate cannabis data in these sources.  Reddit and Wikipedia dominate because they are overflowing with user discussions, definitions, reviews, and advice, much of that generated by AI. However, citation frequency is not the same thing as a quality knowledge source. 2️⃣ Regression to the strategic mean The strategic impact goes deeper than errors.  When people in different companies match prompts and the LLM draws on the same data, businesses end up with copy-cat strategies.  This is the antithesis of what’s needed: bespoke, practical strategy that outflanks the competition. 3️⃣ Dumbs down organizational talent An over reliance on AI reduces your team’s critical thinking, communication skills, and curiosity. This is fine if the employee already has the competencies. But if they don’t, they could turn into a robot-like worker.  Firms that become dependent on algorithmic thinking will lose the capacity for judgment and creativity. 4️⃣ Hurts the user AI is a people pleaser.  GPT-5 won’t say your prompts or questions are dumb when they are.  This dishonesty gives the user a false sense of their abilities.  When this deceit is mated to a senior but inexperienced person the results could be dangerous. Maybe worse, companies may inadvertently be training their employees for obsolescence. When your primary skill becomes prompt engineering rather than providing functional or cannabis expertise, the boss can replace you with a $20/mo. GPT-5 subscription. Moving forward The solution is not to ban AI or add more review layers. AI is valuable and here to stay.  Cannabis firms must understand that driving business performance requires preserving and enhancing uniquely human capabilities plus strategically deploying AI. Those that master this balance will thrive.   🔔 Ring the bell on my page to get VIP notifications Call me.  I help leadership teams develop AI programs that reduce cost, improve productivity and enhance decision making. #AI #management #cannabis #cannabisindustry #artificialintelligence

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California-based FDA Registered cGMP nutraceutical manufacturer expanding domestic capsule and stick pack production. We partner with supplement brands seeking low MOQ, fast turnaround, and scalable capacity. Now building strategic relationships with independent sales consultants and industry professionals working with emerging and mid-size brands.

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The headlines make it seem like Chicago’s hemp veto keeps the market crowded. In many ways, it does. Competition remains. It was never going to disappear. Some retailers expected the field to clear out. That was unlikely. Customers are still choosing Still searching. Still walking into stores for relief, wellness, and alternatives. What changes is not demand. It is who gets seen first. When regulation becomes public conversation, attention often tightens. Across the board. Some stores will feel steady traffic. Others will notice quieter days. Same city. Same customers. Different exposure. That is not random. It is redistribution. There will always be competition in retail cannabis and alternative health. The opportunity is not in waiting for fewer players. It is in understanding where customers are making buying decisions and being present in that moment. I go deeper into what this moment in Chicago signals for retail operators here → https://lnkd.in/g3WkinCw

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Cannabis giant TerrAscend to exit Michigan market, closing 20 stores and cutting 230 jobs - reported by Detroit Free Press

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Cannabis companies must maximize the ratio of revenue-producing staff to non-revenue-producing staff. Revenue-producing staff are salespeople, manufacturers, and budtenders. They bring in money to the business. Non-revenue-producing staff are managers, administrators, creatives, and c-suite executives. They cost the business money. Revenue-producing staff have workflows that can demonstrate profitability at a glance. Non-revenue-producing staff produce value that is harder to pin down. Adding non-revenue-producing staff should only be done in absolute necessity, under circumstances of true, sustained pain for the company due to the staffing gap. Likewise, even with sustained pain from exceptional revenue growth, you should be working dligently to do more with the same revenue-producing team. Ask yourself: how could we do this with our current team? Often, it comes down to: Better automation. Better SOPS. Better AI integration. Better execution. Better motivation. Building a dream team is absolutely essential to building a successful company, but too often, cannabis founders look to a new hire to spur growth or manage a project, instead of building better systems that augment the productivity of their current team.

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As a business owner, especially in cannabis, your business should be composed of a million different A/B tests… Every workflow in your business should create meaningful data. That data should drive change and continuous improvement. This process of data cultivation should be integrated seamlessly, and should be produced within the natural flow of work, not with extra effort. Let me put it this way: Are you sure you are doing things the ‘One Best Way’ - in all aspects of your business? Does your staff in the trenches think so? When was the last time you asked? What parts of your business can you say you are actively improving almost continuously? What parts haven’t you improved in years? Let me answer for you: You aren’t. They don’t. Very few. Most of them. The work of continuous improvement never ends. But if you aren’t building your business to naturally produce data that drives continuous improvement… IMO, youre building it wrong.

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New Deal Opportunity-Growth investment opportunity with Grasshopper Farms, a premium sun-grown cannabis cultivator with established operations in Michigan, Colorado, and New Jersey. Over the past five years, the Company has built a disciplined, scalable outdoor cultivation platform focused on premium smokable flower, consistently achieving sell-through and commanding wholesale pricing premiums. Grasshopper is seeking a minimum $30mm growth capital investment to expand existing operations and enter newly opened limited-license markets. Investment Highlights: *Premium outdoor flower platform focused on smokable product (not biomass extraction) *30–40% higher wholesale margins vs. peers *Compliance-first operations with consistent pass rates *Structurally lower-cost model vs. indoor cultivation *Positioned to scale in limited-license markets *Supported by improving federal regulatory momentum, including potential 280E tax relief If interested, please email me at rick@fuelbreakcapital.com #cannabis #growthcapital #investment #opportunity #deal

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