Cheddar's "CannaBiz" program is dedicated to the business of marijuana. In each episode we explore the growing market, landscape for regulation, and ways people and businesses are capitalizing on the space. During this episode Cheddar Anchors Hope King and Brad Smith explore pending legislation in Vermont, and a company expanding deeper into the medical marijuana market.
According to a new report by New Frontier Data, Cannabis could create more than $130 billion dollars in federal tax revenue by 2025. That's if the federal government legalizes the drug. It could also ad 1.1 million jobs by 2025.
Vermont could be the next state to change it's current marijuana laws. Vermont Governor Phil Scott planning to sign a bill to legalize marijuana for those 21 years or older. This will make Vermont the first state to do so through legislation. Montpelier, Vermont Mayor John Hollar explains how this could impact the growing market.
"People generally think its an inevitability in our state that we will have a legalization," says Hollar. "I think people understand and recognize that its going to happen."
Now that cannabis is legal in California, many people are wondering how to add it to their recipes in the kitchen. Cheddar's Alyssa Julya Smith joined Jeff the 420 Chef in the kitchen to talk about his specific technique to clean cannabis and make sure you are taking out all the smells and flavors to seamlessly add to your food.
Namaste Technologies is rolling out a telemedicine portal to connect doctors to medical marijuana patients virtually. The company's co-founder and CEO Sean Dollinger explains how they are bringing this technology to the Canadian market.
"NamasteMD is the first application allowed by the app store for telemedicine in Canada ever for cannabis," said Dollinger. He explains his hope for Namaste Technologies to become a global leader in cannabis by leveraging its technology for partners in the market.
A.I. startup Fractal has raised $360 million in funding, officially entering the unicorn club. Pranay Agrawal, CEO and Co-Founder of Fractal, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss what the company plans to do with the fresh capital.
Electric vehicles are quickly becoming an accessible way for consumers to slash emissions as legacy automakers begin to electrify their fleets and world leaders including President Joe Biden push for broad EV adoption. But consumers have concerns about EV range, the availability of charging stations, and more. What if it were both helpful to consumers — and feasible from a climate change standpoint — to keep hybrid models that run on gas on the market? Gill Pratt, CEO of the Toyota Research Institute & Toyota Motor Corporation's Chief Scientist joins Cheddar Climate to discuss his team's research about 'carbon return on investment,' how Toyota is electrifying its fleet, and more.
Fresh off of a $42 million Series B Fundraise, co-founder and CEO of Chapter, Cobi Blumenfeld-Gantz, joined Cheddar to discuss the company's business model and how it will use the capital going forward. He explained that Chapter is a Medicare advisor that searches savings on medical options in order to help users find the right plan for them. "We want to make sure we can help all of our existing members and as many new Americans find the right Medicare coverage, so we're hiring aggressively for the best talent we can," Blumenfeld-Gantz said.
Apple's iMessage has come under fire after a Google executive accused the fellow tech giant of bullying — Android Users. Hiroshi Lockheimer, Google SVP of Android, said that Apple's lack of RCS adoption is holding the industry back while the company uses peer pressure to bolster iMessage.
Fresh off of receiving an innovation award at ShowStoppers @ CES 2022, Iasha King, co-founder of SOLO Secure joined Cheddar to explain how its platforms, the GoSOLO app and the SOLO Backpackpacker device, helps improve personal safety for users. "People just don't know what's going on around them, so it's very important that you're using smart technology to provide them with what's going on," she said. "For example, if there has been an increase in robberies in a neighborhood, that's something that our technology would inform a user."
Ellen Fitzsimmons-Craft, assistant professor of psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine, joins Cheddar News to discuss how chatbots can help prevent eating disorders and the research that uncovered these findings.
