Andrew Subin – Vermont’s Legal Cannabis Market (EP. 1)

Whelp… Episode 1 blues; Will recorded his side of the video from his home in rural New England, with slow-as-molasses internet speeds. Bare with us as we shake out the newbie hurdles. Video aside, this is a wonderful conversation!

Today we’re joined by Andrew Subin, Attorney and founding Partner of Vermont Cannabis Solutions, to discuss the recent passage of s.54 in the Vermont Legislature; a bill that allows for the recreational sale of cannabis for consumers 21+. We get into some of the specifics of the bill, why it was maligned and what businesses can do to prepare for the upcoming legal cannabis marketplace.

If you’re a Vermont business looking to better understand how to legally set up your canna-business, be sure to reach out to Vermont Cannabis Solutions.

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Will Read: Welcome to the first inaugural episode of higher learning. My name is Will Read. I am the CEO and co-founder of CannaPlanners, we are a Burlington-based Creative design & Web Development Agency, and the whole purpose of these conversations that we’re going to start having are to be talking about the industry, talking about entrepreneurialism in this industry, talking about pop culture and specific legislative incidents, and specific legislative momentum that’s happened in the country and specifically in Vermont.

So, with that, today on the first episode of Higher Learning (Common SENSimilla), I want to welcome Andrew Subin. He’s an attorney with Vermont Cannabis Solutions, located in Burlington, VT, along with his co-founder Tim Fair. [They] have set up this amazing consultative network wherein businesses will…

Well let him get into it, Andrew, thanks so much for joining us on this first episode. I hope I’m not doing too terribly yet, there’s still room for me to grow! Thanks for joining us, I really appreciate it.

Andrew Subin: No will thank thanks so much for having me. Happy to be here on the inaugural episode of Higher Learning (Common SENSimilla). I’m an attorney with Vermont Cannabis solutions. Tim and I formed our company in 2018 to represent and help Vermont’s cannabis industry and foreign businesses that are going to form Vermont’s cannabis industry. You know, Will, that legalization of adult use licensing didn’t happen as quickly as we had hoped.

Will Read: Sure didn’t.

Andrew Subin: Our business has been kept afloat by hemp and CBD. And we’ve started over 50 companies. We represent nearly 100 companies who are growing hemp, and selling smokable flower, and making CBD products, and retailing CBD products and so forth. And now here we sit. We passed our bill – even though the governor would not actually sign it – but the bill passed into law the first week in October as I think probably most people watching this know and here we sit. Poised at the beginning of Vermont’s adult use regulated industry and what a great place to be and what a great time to be here.

Will Read: Totally.

Andrew: So yeah it’s an interesting time nationally, as we sit here Friday morning, still waiting to see who our next president is going to be. I think everybody’s a little on edge about that.

Will Read: A little bit, Andrew, a little bit.

Andrew Subin: This past election cycle has been important for cannabis, it’s been good for cannabis and from the state level in terms of cannabis initiatives I hope we can talk about that for a little bit and then we want to just really get an overview of where we’re at with adult licensing in Vermont so people know that we believe that Vermont is going to have the most accessible industry, with the lowest barriers to entry. It’s going to be an industry that’s built for Vermonters and it’s just a great opportunity for anybody that that’s thinking about, maybe, “hey, how can I get into this and wouldn’t my life be great if I worked in the cannabis industry every day instead of doing what I do now.” And the answer is yes it will it will be

Will Read: I am in the cannabis industry and I think the same thought every day how lucky I am. [But} before we get into all that, Andrew, I kind of want to like, maybe, turn on the flux capacitor and go back in time maybe just even a couple years. Or just talk about, you know, how did you get into law, how did you meet Tim, why cannabis? Why did you decide on the cannabis industry? Why did you become a lawyer?

Andrew Subin: Great question. I became a lawyer probably for all the wrong reasons. I don’t know because I thought my dad wanted me to and whatever so I just followed in the family business. It was criminal defense, just so you know.

Will Read: Ah, the son of a lawyer. Okay, well, you broke the mold though! That’s good.

Read the rest of the transcript on YouTube. Just click the the buttons next to “SAVE” and then click “Open Transcript.