Policy, Decoded

🎙️ Powered by THC Group, Policy, Decoded is the Sunday briefing that steps back from the churn and unpacks one consequential policy story shaping cannabis, hemp, alcohol, and regulated markets.This week, we sit with the institutional paradox at the center of federal cannabis policy. In the most polarized era in modern American history, cannabis is one of the few national issues where the country has already formed a stable cross-partisan public majority. Both parties have left it waiting.Eleven days after the April 22nd rescheduling order, the same Republican Party that produced it spent the week trying to defund it on a party-line 8-6 subcommittee vote. The Democratic descheduling caucus has been arguing for two years that rescheduling does not go far enough. Two presidents from two parties have promised reform. Neither has finished the job. Meanwhile the country has gone ahead and built the regulatory infrastructure itself, mostly through ballot initiatives in some of the most conservative electorates in the country.This episode walks through who actually wants reform and why, the asymmetric internal fractures inside both parties, the institutional opposition that goes beyond simple political disagreement, the enforcement record that any serious cannabis reform owes a reckoning to, and the calendar that gives the orphan thesis a deadline. Twenty-four days to the Texas Senate runoff. Six months to the midterms. Twenty-one months to the Iowa caucuses. By then, somebody has to decide whether to claim this issue or keep deferring it for a third presidential cycle in a row. Cannabis is not an orphan. It takes a village. Our electeds are still catching up.🔗 Read the Editorial: A Coalition Without A CaucusThis podcast may include content written or produced with the support of AI tools under human direction and editorial oversight.

🎙️ Powered by THC Group, Policy, Decoded is the Sunday briefing that steps back from the churn and unpacks one consequential policy story shaping cannabis, hemp, alcohol, and regulated markets.This week, we look at federal cannabis rescheduling, and where the United States actually sits in a conversation the rest of the world has been having for decades.The April 22nd federal cannabis order arrived after fifty-five years of waiting. The Justice Department reclassified state-licensed medical marijuana to Schedule III, ended Section 280E for medical operators, and routed the broader question of adult-use rescheduling to a public hearing on June 29th. By any honest measure, it was the most consequential American cannabis day in fifty-five years. It was also, for the rest of the world, a Wednesday in April.This episode walks through what the world has been doing while the United States argued. Israel licensed medical cannabis in the early 1990s and isolated THC at the Weizmann Institute in 1964. Canada exported roughly 240 tonnes in 2025, with Germany absorbing 62 percent of Canadian flower exports. Germany scaled from 250,000 medical patients to roughly 900,000 in a year. Uruguay legalized at the federal level in 2013. The United Kingdom runs Europe's second-largest medical cannabis patient market entirely through private clinics. Poland built a 105,000-patient program from imports alone. Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda, and four other Caribbean jurisdictions have built legal frameworks that recognize Rastafari sacramental cultivation rather than persecute it.We address the ground floor the international frame does not cover on its own. Federal prohibition was enforced in a country where cannabis use rates ran roughly even across racial lines but arrest rates did not. Those arrests reshaped families, neighborhoods, and downstream access to housing, custody, employment, and immigration status. Schedule III does not erase that record. The win is real. So is the perspective. The work that determines whether we belong in the room the rest of the world has built is the boring, technical, expensive work of quality, standards, and responsibility. None of that arrived in the order. All of it is on us to deliver.🔗 https://www.homegrown-group.com/blog/schedule3This podcast may include content written or produced with the support of AI tools under human direction and editorial oversight.Sign up for Policy, Decoded: https://policy-decoded.beehiiv.com/

🎙️ Powered by THC Group, Policy, Decoded is the Sunday briefing that steps back from the churn and unpacks one consequential policy story shaping cannabis, hemp, alcohol, and regulated markets.This week, we look at what 4/20 has become in 2026, and what the holiday reveals about an industry that is still growing up.4/20 is now loud enough to reach you whether you are looking for it or not. In your email inbox, in your LinkedIn feed, on a billboard in the states that still allow them, in the sponsored slot at the top of every cannabis newsletter in the country. The content is not uniform, but the frequency is unmistakable. Depending on who you are, it shows up as something to eye-roll at, something to snicker at, or something to quietly take stock of. All three reactions are reasonable. All three are looking at the same moment.This episode walks through what those three reactions reveal about the cannabis industry in 2026. The advocate's eye-roll at a category that was invented to defy prohibition and now sells a $4.20 Snack Sack at Carl's Jr. The operator's snicker at a compliance regime so dense that the promotional calendar is the only real advertising tool the industry has. The former regulator's quiet reflection that the same apparatus the operator snickers at is what made the commercial fabric possible in the first place. Testing exists because the only way to prove a product is not contaminated is to test it. Security cameras exist because law enforcement needed a reason to stand down. Age-gating exists because limiting youth access was the political floor beneath everything else. The rules were the translation of the movement, not its opposite.We also walk through the week's evidence of partial maturity: a Massachusetts commission voting 3-1 to freeze new cultivation licenses days before its own dissolution, without a promulgated rule the industry can plan against. Pure Oasis, the first Black-owned adult-use dispensary in Boston, closing with $400,000 in back taxes and $2.2 million in vendor judgments. Rhode Island's license lottery frozen by a federal judge after applicants invested six figures each on a residency requirement the state should have resolved years earlier. A Virginia governor signing hospital access and parental rights protections on the same day she sent back amendments reinstating life-sentence felonies for cannabis transport.We address the ground floor the three reactions do not cover on their own: the people still in prison, the expungement work still unfinished, the communities policed hardest during prohibition and excluded hardest from licensure. A maturing industry does not get to skip the part where it reckons with the people who paid the price for the market that now exists. 4/20 is the one day a year that question is unavoidable.The cannabis industry in 2026 is already three industries sharing a label, walking three paths at once, holding three reactions in the same person on the same afternoon. Growing up is a verb. Being grown up is future-tense. The industry is in the verb right now. It has not arrived at the state.🔗 https://www.homegrown-group.com/blog/half-grownThis podcast may include content written or produced with the support of AI tools under human direction and editorial oversight.Sign up for Policy, Decoded: https://policy-decoded.beehiiv.com/

🎙️ Powered by THC Group, Policy, Decoded is the Sunday briefing that steps back from the churn and unpacks one consequential policy story shaping cannabis, hemp, alcohol, and regulated markets.This week, we examine what coherent federal cannabis policy would actually require, and why rescheduling is not it.Rescheduling is closer than it has ever been, and it matters. It opens research pathways, eases tax burdens, and signals a different posture from Washington after decades of prohibition. Rescheduling should happen. It also leaves the harder question untouched.Cannabis already moves through a supply chain that looks like every other agricultural commodity in American consumer markets. It is grown, processed, tested, and sold. The difference is that the handoffs between those stages were never designed. Hops become beer, and along the way USDA hands off to TTB, and TTB hands off to state alcohol regulators. Each handoff is defined. Each regulator knows where its authority begins and ends. Cannabis has the same shape and none of the structure. A hemp farmer operating lawfully under USDA rules has to guess how the same crop will be treated once it is processed into a cannabinoid beverage and shipped across state lines. Compliance at one stage carries no weight at the next.This episode walks through what that fragmentation reveals about federal cannabis policy and what it would take to fix it. We examine why the agencies currently touching cannabis - FDA, USDA, DEA, TTB, EPA, DOJ, VA - were built for other missions and treat cannabis as a distraction from their core work rather than as the work itself. We look at what states with standalone cannabis agencies have gotten right, and where even they fall short, particularly on hemp. We walk through the three structural requirements for federal coordination: clear lead authority at each stage of the chain, a White House-led interagency body with real authority rather than a symbolic working group, and a unified federal strategy on a defined timeline.We use a recall scenario to make the coordination problem concrete. A consumer gets sick from a hemp-derived cannabinoid beverage. The cause could be a pesticide applied at cultivation, a contamination event during processing, a non-cannabis ingredient added at manufacturing, or the cannabinoid itself. Each of those answers lives with a different agency, and right now there is no protocol for any of them to coordinate on a public health timeline. A recall that should take a week takes months, and the people most exposed are the consumers the system exists to protect.We also address the functions that need their own institutional homes: testing, which cannot sit with the agency that oversees farming; social equity, which belongs somewhere its reasons are understood; and enforcement, which has to stay at arm's length from the rest.Real legalization is not a statute. It is a plan that starts at the top and charges the whole of government with carrying it out. Right now, the pathway has a lot of lanes, and it looks more like bumper cars than a speedway.🔗 https://www.homegrown-group.com/blog/reschedulingThis podcast may include content written or produced with the support of AI tools under human direction and editorial oversight.

🎙️ Powered by THC Group, Policy, Decoded is the Sunday briefing that steps back from the churn and unpacks one consequential policy story shaping cannabis, hemp, alcohol, and regulated markets.This week, we examine the structural failure underneath the legal cannabis market's most important promise.Everyone agrees that testing matters. Legislators say it. Regulators build their frameworks around it. Operators absorb the cost. Voters feel reassured by it. That consensus has held from the earliest days of legalization through every state that followed. It has also, on its own, not been nearly enough.Since January 2023, at least eleven testing laboratories have faced formal enforcement action across six states. In Michigan, a lab that tested 60 percent of the state's cannabis was permanently shut down after technicians classified visible mold as mite feces. In Massachusetts, a lab reported yeast and mold failure rates ninety times below the statewide average. In California, a lab director signed a certificate of analysis clearing a product that contained a banned pesticide at 600 times the permissible level. In Oregon, seven of the state's eleven accredited labs were cited simultaneously, three for adding kief directly to testing samples.This episode walks through what that record reveals about two distinct structural vulnerabilities in cannabis testing. The first is lab shopping, where operators seek the lab most likely to return favorable results. The second is less discussed and may be more consequential: in most states, operators select their own compliance samples. When sampling is compromised, even excellent laboratory work cannot protect patients.We explore why potency inflation gets the headlines but contamination failures carry the real clinical risk, how testing costs and affordability gaps push vulnerable patients toward the unregulated market, why the emerging state reference lab movement risks replicating fragmentation rather than building shared standards, and what the repeal campaigns gathering strength in Massachusetts and elsewhere are doing with the testing record.The legal cannabis market built its entrance on a safety promise. The testing system underneath that promise was designed with structural flaws that most states have not corrected. The opposition does not need to manufacture a crisis. The testing record is assembling one.The question is whether the industry and its regulators fix it before someone else uses the evidence to take the whole project apart.🔗 Read the full Sunday editorialSubscribe to the Sunday briefing This podcast may include content written or produced with the support of AI tools under human direction and editorial oversight.

🎙️ Powered by THC Group, Policy, Decoded is the Sunday briefing that steps back from the churn and unpacks one consequential policy story shaping cannabis, hemp, alcohol, and regulated markets.This week, we examine a shift the industry can no longer ignore.Cannabis is starting to fail like a real industry.In Massachusetts, regulators reported roughly 30 licensed businesses in receivership as of March, up from 24 just weeks earlier. Similar stress is building in other mature markets. The instinct is to read those numbers as a warning about bad companies.They are something more structural than that.This episode explores why cannabis companies are now failing for familiar reasons, including debt, price compression, tax burden, and missed projections, and why those failures play out differently once they arrive.In most industries, distress has an established process. Companies can stabilize, restructure, and preserve value through bankruptcy. In cannabis, that pathway is largely unavailable to plant-touching operators.Instead, failure moves through receiverships, creditor enforcement, and constrained asset sales, all inside a regulatory system that still needs to know exactly who controls the license, the premises, and the product at every moment.We walk through what that means in practice.Why licenses are not ordinary assets.Why inventory cannot drift into legal limbo.Why buyers cannot simply show up with capital.Why timing determines whether a business survives or gets dismantled.We also examine how the industry’s capital structure was built on an assumption that federal reform would arrive in time to ease these pressures, and what happens when that timing slips.The deeper policy question follows from there.Legalization built a pathway into the market.It did not fully build a pathway out.As receiverships rise, the next phase of cannabis policy will not be defined by who gets licensed, but by how the system handles failure once it arrives.🔗 Read the full Sunday editorial: https://www.homegrown-group.com/blog/receivershipSubscribe to the Sunday briefing: https://policy-decoded.beehiiv.com/This podcast may include content written or produced with the support of AI tools under human direction and editorial oversight.

🎙️ Powered by THC Group, Policy, Decoded is the Sunday briefing that steps back from the churn and unpacks one consequential policy story shaping cannabis, hemp, alcohol, and regulated markets.This week, we examine the fight most of the cannabis industry is still misreading.Inside licensed dispensaries, THC beverages barely register. In Q1 2025 they represented about 1 percent of cannabis sales nationwide, according to BDSA. The category that was supposed to bring social drinkers and lighter-use consumers into the regulated market is still a niche inside the system built to sell it.But outside that system, the same format is moving very differently.In Minnesota, a liquor retailer told Reuters that hemp-derived THC beverages now account for 15 percent of his business.Same product. Different channel. Entirely different result.This episode walks through what that mismatch reveals about the real battle shaping the next phase of cannabis policy. It is not simply cannabis versus alcohol. It is a contest over which distribution system introduces cannabinoids to the mainstream consumer market.We explore why alcohol wholesalers are pushing Congress to regulate hemp beverages instead of banning them, why producer groups want the regulatory loophole closed, and why retailers and brewers increasingly see THC drinks as a growth category rather than a threat.The deeper policy question follows from there.If low-dose cannabinoid beverages are reaching consumers through ordinary retail channels, legalization alone will not determine the structure of the market. The decisive question becomes who controls the infrastructure that carries these products to consumers.The cannabis industry spent a decade fighting for legal space.The next decade may be decided by who controls the shelf space.🔗 Related post:Read the full Sunday editorial:https://www.homegrown-group.com/blog/wrong-enemySubscribe to the Sunday briefing:https://policy-decoded.beehiiv.com/?modal=signupThis podcast may include content written or produced with the support of AI tools under human direction and editorial oversight.

🎙️ Powered by THC Group, Policy, Decoded is the Sunday briefing that steps back from the churn and unpacks one consequential policy story shaping cannabis, hemp, alcohol, and regulated markets.This week, we examine the category war coming for cannabis.Legalization built a system around a specific product sold in a specific place: cannabis flower in a licensed dispensary. But the market that followed did not stay there. THC now appears in drinks, gummies, vapes, tinctures, and other manufactured products that move across different retail channels and regulatory assumptions.We walk through the structural shift underneath the industry. Cultivation is beginning to behave like a commodity business while value concentrates in manufactured products and brands. Jeeter, Wyld, and STIIIZY illustrate how quickly that consolidation is happening, even inside a fragmented market that still faces federal tax penalties, banking restrictions, and interstate commerce barriers.Then we explain how hemp broke the architecture legalization was built on. Intoxicating products began appearing outside dispensaries in convenience stores, liquor-adjacent retail, and online storefronts, creating a parallel market that regulators never designed their systems to govern.Finally, we unpack the deeper policy question this raises. As cannabis products begin to behave like consumer packaged goods, regulators are no longer just governing cannabis. They are governing a growing family of THC products that circulate through households, retail shelves, and social rituals in ways legalization frameworks were never built to manage.The first phase of cannabis policy asked whether cannabis should be legal. The next phase will decide where it belongs.🔗 Related post: Subscribe to the Sunday briefing: https://policy-decoded.beehiiv.com/?modal=signupThis podcast may include content written or produced with the support of AI tools under human direction and editorial oversight.

🎙️ Powered by THC Group, Policy, Decoded is the Sunday briefing that steps back from the churn and unpacks one consequential policy story shaping cannabis, hemp, alcohol, and regulated markets.This week, we confront the uncomfortable truth behind intoxicating hemp. Congress drew the line in the 2018 Farm Bill. The market engineered inside it. States inherited the consequences.We explain how “gas station gummies” and opportunistic products grew out of a federal definition - and how, at the same time, mature operators built adult-retail channels with testing, labeling, dosing limits, and age gating. Then we walk through what states actually did: bans aimed at the worst actors, plus real infrastructure - licensure, lab standards, potency definitions, retail boundaries, stop-sale authority, and revenue to fund enforcement.Finally, we break down the pending federal hemp rewrite, why the 0.4 mg per-container cap functions as a reclassification event for many state programs, and what happens when Washington changes the definition underneath systems that are already operating. This is not a culture-war fight. It is a federalism and governance test.Congress can close the loophole. The question is whether it will respect the state capacity built to manage its consequences.🔗 Related post: https://www.homegrown-group.com/blog/farm-billSubscribe to the Sunday briefing: https://policy-decoded.beehiiv.com/?modal=signupThis podcast may include content written or produced with the support of AI tools under human direction and editorial oversight.

🎙️ Powered by THC Group, Policy, Decoded is the Sunday briefing that steps back from the churn and unpacks one consequential policy story shaping cannabis, hemp, alcohol, and regulated markets.This week, we break down the repeal playbook now showing up in states like Massachusetts, Maine, and Arizona, and explain why the next fight over legalization will not be a culture war rerun. The strategy is a competence attack aimed straight at the persuadable middle: convince voters that commercialization cannot be trusted, then offer rollback as the “reasonable” fix.We walk through the case opponents are building and why it works when the system hands them footage: pediatric exposures, rising THC potency, gas station THC, impaired driving, illicit cultivation, and regulators who look distracted. Then we shift to what serious oversight actually looks like in practice, and why the industry’s biggest vulnerability is fragmentation and tolerance for behavior that undermines everyone’s credibility.The question is no longer whether legalization was justified. The question is whether the system looks governed.🔗 Related post: https://www.homegrown-group.com/blog/repeal-playbookSubscribe to the Sunday briefing: https://policy-decoded.beehiiv.com/?modal=signupThis podcast may include content written or produced with the support of AI tools under human direction and editorial oversight.

🎙️ Powered by THC Group, Policy, Decoded is the Sunday briefing that steps back from the churn and unpacks one consequential policy story shaping cannabis, hemp, alcohol, and regulated markets.This episode takes on the New York Times editorial board’s reassessment of marijuana legalization. We walk through what the board claims has gone wrong, then pressure-test the argument with the realities policymakers and operators live with: underfunded public education, thin regulatory capacity, tax stacking, weak incentives to move consumers and sellers into the legal market, and enforcement that rarely matches the rhetoric.Join us as we separate legalization as an idea from legalization as implemented, and map what a mature market correction can look like when the goal is fewer headlines and more durable governance.🔗 Related essay:https://www.homegrown-group.com/blog/nyt-editorialSubscribe to the Sunday briefing:https://policy-decoded.beehiiv.com/This podcast may include content written or produced with the support of AI tools under human direction and editorial oversight.

🎙️ Powered by THC Group, this episode takes on the question we keep getting: how is hemp THC legal, and what makes it different from marijuana sold in dispensaries. We walk through how one plant ended up split by two legal systems, why dispensaries were built as closed, auditable markets, and how a federal hemp definition turned low-dose THC into a mainstream consumer product.From Instagram ads and home delivery to liquor store shelves and statehouses, consumers experience this as one THC market. Policymakers do not. We unpack how that mismatch fueled confusion, invited bad actors, and pushed Congress to tighten the definition again.Join us as we explain what changed in Washington, why FDA’s next set of definitions will matter more than most headlines suggest, and how trust, not chemistry, has become the real fault line shaping the future of cannabis and hemp in America.🔗 Related essay:https://www.homegrown-group.com/blog/[INSERT-SLUG]This podcast may include content written or produced with the support of AI tools under human direction and editorial oversight.

🎙️ Powered by THC Group, this episode examines how hemp-derived THC drinks quietly rewrote the rules of American social life. We trace how a generation that values wellness, clarity, and connection began trading hangovers for balance—and how a billion-dollar market emerged before Congress finished defining it.From convenience stores in Minnesota to liquor aisles nationwide, these drinks are reshaping expectations and forcing policymakers to catch up. We break down why major alcohol trade groups are now asking Washington to pause the market, what that really signals about power and timing, and why “putting hemp on ice” might freeze innovation, not protect consumers.Join us as we unpack how culture moved first, regulation stumbled behind, and what this fight reveals about who gets to shape the future of social drinking in America. 🍻🌿https://www.homegrown-group.com/blog/hemp-on-iceThis podcast may include content written or produced with the support of AI tools under human direction and editorial oversight.

🎙️ Powered by THC Group, this episode asks what a government shutdown really means beyond the headlines. We trace the origins back to a 1980 legal opinion that transformed missed deadlines into full stop crises, then explain how twelve appropriations bills tied to defense, health, transportation, and foreign affairs became bargaining chips in partisan standoffs.From national parks locking their gates to federal workers going weeks without pay, from stalled small business loans to delayed immigration hearings, we explore the real consequences when government slows to a crawl. We look at the ripple effects on contractors, local economies, and public trust, and why each shutdown leaves institutions weaker than before.Join us as we unpack why shutdowns are not simply political theater but a corrosive cycle that erodes confidence in democracy itself. This essay-turned-conversation explains how shutdowns happen, what services continue, what stops, and why the bigger danger is the normalization of dysfunction. 🏛️⚠️https://www.homegrown-group.com/blog/shutdownThis podcast may include content written or produced with the support of AI tools under human direction and editorial oversight.

🎙️ Powered by THC Group, this episode asks whether Labor Day is just a three-day weekend or a rulebook for the future of work. We trace the holiday back to its 1882 origins—homemade floats, brass bands, and workers demanding dignity—and argue those lessons still explain today’s battles over AI, platforms, and modern strikes.From the Pullman Strike to the “stand-up strike,” from handmade banners to algorithmic scheduling, we explore how local leverage, crisis windows, and institutional ratification have always shaped worker power. We look at why public-money corridors in chips and clean energy will set sector standards, how portable benefits will follow gig workers across apps, and why contracts now treat data rights and algorithms as core working conditions.Join us as we navigate what 1882 can teach us about organizing in 2025: why approval of unions is high even as membership remains low, why the modern strike is surgical, and why the future of labor will be decided at chokepoints where technology, politics, and capital intersect. ✊📈New episodes drop early for subscribers to The Homegrown Consulting Group’s Insiders newsletter. Sign up at www.homegrown-group.com for early access.This podcast may include content written or produced with the support of AI tools under human direction and editorial oversight.https://www.homegrown-group.com/blog/laborday

🎙️ Powered by THC Group, this episode tackles David Brooks' explosive NYT piece asking "Are We Really Willing to Become Dumber?" We examine whether AI in education is a cognitive threat or the catalyst for long-overdue reform of America's $1.81 trillion student debt crisis.From MIT studies showing 55% reduced brain connectivity in AI users to the apprenticeship renaissance bypassing traditional degrees, we explore how artificial intelligence exposes decades of educational dysfunction. Is restricting AI the answer, or should we embrace it to build smarter pathways to prosperity?Join us as we navigate the tension between cognitive development and technological disruption in a system already failing millions of borrowers. 🧠💡New episodes drop early for subscribers to The Homegrown Consulting Group's Insiders newsletter. Sign up at www.homegrown-group.com for early access.This podcast may include content written or produced with the support of AI tools under human direction and editorial oversight.www.homegrown-group.com/blog/ai-education

🎙️ Powered by THC Group, this episode dives into Trump’s July 2025 AI Action Plan, launched just days ago. We unpack how AI could boost American innovation and global leadership - scanning regulations, powering infrastructure - while tackling risks like deregulation and environmental trade-offs.Join us as we explore balancing tech progress with democratic values. It’s a story of ambition meeting accountability in a pivotal moment for America.💡 New episodes drop early for subscribers to The Homegrown Consulting Group’s Insiders newsletter. Sign up at www.homegrown-group.com for early access.This podcast may include content written or produced with the support of AI tools under human direction and editorial oversight.https://www.homegrown-group.com/blog/ai-action-plan

In this episode of Insiders Uncovered: Beyond the Headlines, powered by THC Group, we explore how artificial intelligence could reshape cannabis regulation in America. As agencies work to oversee a young, fast-moving industry with tight budgets and growing demands, AI offers tools that can scan license applications, flag inventory anomalies, and schedule fair, efficient inspections.We unpack how regulators might use these technologies to maximize limited resources, strengthen public trust, and advance social equity—while avoiding the risks of bias and overreach. It’s a story of innovation meeting responsibility in one of the most complex regulatory landscapes today.💡 New episodes drop early for subscribers to The Homegrown Consulting Group’s Insiders newsletter. Sign up at www.homegrown-group.com for early access.This podcast may include content written or produced with the support of AI tools under human direction and editorial oversight.https://www.homegrown-group.com/blog/intelligent-regulation

In this episode of Insiders Uncovered: Beyond the Headlines, powered by THC Group, we dig into how a little-known clause in H.R. 8281—better known as the “Big, Beautiful Bill”—could reshape the future of artificial intelligence in America. While marketed as an immigration and budget package, the bill quietly preempts states from passing most AI-specific regulations for the next ten years.We break down how this clause came to be, why it matters, and what it means for the federal-state power dynamic, global competitiveness, consumer protection, and the future of AI governance. It’s a story of innovation stalled by inaction—and of policymaking by omission.💡 New episodes drop early for subscribers to The Homegrown Consulting Group’s Insiders newsletter. Sign up at www.homegrown-group.com to get early access.This podcast may include content written or produced with the support of AI tools under human direction and editorial oversight.

In this episode of Insiders Uncovered: Beyond the Headlines, powered by THC Group, we explore how the same compound is being treated in radically different ways depending on whether it comes from hemp or marijuana. From convenience store drinks with no warning label to Minnesota’s accidental legalization of edibles, this episode unpacks the regulatory confusion shaping today’s THC marketplace.We examine why the hemp and cannabis sectors—often treated as rivals—may need to align before the rules are written for them. And we ask: what does it mean to regulate based on chemistry, not category?💡 New episodes drop early for subscribers to The Homegrown Consulting Group’s Insiders newsletter. Sign up at www.homegrown-group.com to get early access.This podcast may include content written or produced with the support of AI tools under human direction and editorial oversight.

Long before dispensaries and discount codes, 420 was a number whispered between friends — a secret code passed from teenagers in 1970s California that grew into one of the most enduring symbols in cannabis culture.In this episode of Insiders Uncovered: Beyond the Headlines, powered by THC Group, we trace the true origin of 4/20, debunk the myths, and explore how it became both a cultural ritual and a form of protest. We also examine its evolution into a marketing machine — and what that says about cannabis in America today.This episode blends cultural commentary with regulatory insight to reflect on what 4/20 really means — and why it still matters.💡 New episodes drop early for subscribers to The Homegrown Consulting Group’s Insiders newsletter. Sign up at www.homegrown-group.com to get early access.This podcast may include content written or produced with the support of AI tools under human direction and editorial oversight.

New tariffs are back—and the supply chain is feeling the heat. In this episode of Insiders Uncovered: Beyond the Headlines, powered by THC Group, we break down Shawn Collins’ latest analysis on how Trump’s sweeping trade policies are impacting everything from grocery prices to global logistics. Hear what’s at stake, what to watch next, and how this policy move could land right in your cart—or your budget. Want more like this? Become an Insider at www.homegrown-group.com/insiders.

In this episode of Insiders Uncovered: Beyond the Headlines, powered by THC Group, hosts dive into Shawn Collins and Tim Harvey’s urgent take on AI’s future. Collins, THC Group founder and policy expert, and Harvey, FlyDragon co-founder and tech innovator, unpack AI’s promise—think cancer breakthroughs—and perils, like the $108 million scam wave of 2024. They weigh Trump’s deregulation gamble against China’s AI ambitions, spotlighting their 'Five Locks' plan to balance innovation and safety. With Gen AI poised to inherit this tech-driven world, education emerges as the linchpin. From deep fakes to data breaches, this deep dive reveals why America can’t afford to wait.

This episode tackles "'Tariffs in 2025: The Hidden Tax You’re Already Paying" by Shawn Collins, founder of The Homegrown Consulting Group. Trump’s 2025 tariffs—25% on Mexico and Canada, 10% on China—mean $5 avocados, $12.50 beer, and an $800 hit to your wallet. Steel jobs rise, soybeans crash, and Canada’s targeting 38% of U.S. beer exports. History—from Hamilton to Smoot-Hawley—warns of chaos. Join us for a witty take on guac woes, Old Orchard Beach’s quiet fate, and bourbon swaps. Full scoop at THC Group’s blog! (https://www.homegrown-group.com/blog/trade)

Remember when news was just a paper on your doorstep or Walter Cronkite’s steady voice? Not anymore. In 2025, we’re drowning in tweets, TikToks, and streaming feeds, with trust in media at a measly 31%. Join us as we unpack how we got here—from echo chambers splitting us into tribes to podcasts and blogs outpacing the old guard. Cable’s dying, local news is fading, and it’s on us to sift fact from spin. We’ll dive into the wild west of today’s media, spotlight tools like Sensity and TinEye to catch the fakes, and ask: Can we be our own Cronkite? Tune in for a deep dive into the chaos—and how to conquer it.

In this episode, we dive into the buzz around cannabis rescheduling to Schedule 3, straight from a policy lover’s brain at THC Group. Expect a rollercoaster of insights: better medical research and patient care? Yes. Banking fixes and legalization? Not so fast. From pesticide woes in cannabis farming to the War on Drugs’ lingering scars, we wrestle with what’s won—and what’s still lost. Part rant, part revelation, this is one lawyer’s take on a thorny shift that’s more than meets the eye. Join us for the real talk.

In this episode, we unpack the AI invasion at work—no, your fridge isn’t judging your snacks, but your job might get a glow-up. Inspired by a witty take on tech’s big shift, we explore how AI tackles the grunt work, from grading papers to crunching data, freeing us for the human stuff robots can’t touch. Will jobs vanish? Sure, some will—but new ones are sparking too. With unions as ‘humanity guardians,’ we dive into upskilling, ethics, and a future where AI’s your sidekick, not your boss. Ready for the revolution?

In this episode, we roll into Webster, Massachusetts, where a mechanic’s garage sparked a legacy of community and hustle. Inspired by a heartfelt blog, we trace one man’s journey from his dad’s coffee-fueled hangout and his mom’s banking breakthroughs to founding THC Group—a cannabis consulting firm with small-town soul and big-time savvy. From healthcare policy to cannabis regs, discover how family values and a mentor’s wisdom fuel expert strategies for navigating the green rush. Tune in for a tale of heart, handshakes, and high stakes.

In this episode, we step into the wild intersection of AI, health care, cannabis, and alcohol policy, inspired by a call to action for citizen power. From AI-driven diagnostics to equitable cannabis laws, we explore how to shape a future that’s fair and forward-thinking. Think health equity for aging Boomers, smarter addiction strategies, and cannabis rules that don’t mimic alcohol’s missteps. With tips to amplify your voice—think town halls and tough talks—join us to unpack why engagement isn’t optional in this brave new world.

In this episode, we dive into the messy, vibrant heart of American politics—the middle ground. Inspired by a bold take on today’s polarized chaos, we explore why it’s okay (and very American) to ditch the red-or-blue trap. From unexpected allies like progressive Democrats and Libertarians to the balancing act of fiscal conservatives and safety-net advocates, we uncover the power of nuance. With nods to trailblazers like JFK and Eisenhower, we ask: can the silent majority find its voice and reshape the battlefield? Tune in for a fresh spin on civility and compromise.

In this episode, we explore the budding world of cannabis social consumption, inspired by a fresh take on this evolving trend. Picture sipping a hemp-infused drink at a brewery or savoring a strain-paired dinner—states like Massachusetts and California are making it real. We dive into the vibe, from yoga studios to lounges, and unpack the economic buzz: jobs, tourism, and tax dollars. With tech like AI menus and VR grow tours, plus a push for social equity, is this the next big high? Join us for a chill look at cannabis going social.

In this episode, we tackle the messy world of cannabis agent registration and badging, inspired by a deep dive into Massachusetts’ evolving industry. From 'multi-badge madness' costing thousands to rigid rules shutting out talent, we explore how outdated systems hinder growth. Drawing lessons from alcohol and gaming, we unpack smarter approaches—think portable credentials, streamlined training, and tech like QR codes. Can the cannabis industry ditch the red tape and build a fairer, more efficient future? Tune in for a fresh take on regulation done right.

In this episode, we dive into the game-changing world of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL), inspired by Homegrown Group’s blog. From Ohio State’s $20 million roster to Michigan’s $10 million quarterback deal, NIL is rewriting the rules of college athletics. We explore its origins in legal battles, spotlight stars like Livvy Dunne and Caitlin Clark cashing in, and unpack its ripple effects—recruiting shifts, transfer portal chaos, and questions of fairness. What does this mean for the future of amateurism? Tune in for a deep look at the money, power, and potential of NIL.

The cannabis industry is experiencing rapid growth, but a deceptive practice known as "lab shopping" threatens to undermine its integrity. This episode explores how producers manipulate testing results to boost profits, the risks it poses to consumers and the measures being taken to ensure accurate labeling and product safety.Key Discussion Points:What is Lab Shopping? The episode will define “lab shopping," explaining how cannabis producers strategically select testing labs to obtain the most favorable results, often inflating THC levels or concealing contaminants, which hurts both honest businesses and consumers.The Impact on Consumers: Discover how inaccurate labels resulting from lab shopping can mislead consumers about THC content and product safety. For medical cannabis patients, this misinformation can lead to ineffective treatment or even harmful experiences.The Importance of Cannabis Testing: Testing should ensure safety by checking for contaminants, and verify content. Labs test for potency, microbial contamination, pesticide residues, heavy metals, residual solvents, mycotoxins, and terpenes.Legitimate Variations vs. Intentional Fraud: While natural variations in cannabis plants and different testing methods can cause results to vary, the episode will highlight how intentional fraud and manipulation of samples poses a significant problem.How to Protect Yourself: Learn practical steps consumers can take to protect themselves from lab shopping, including how to understand and interpret Certificates of Analysis (COAs), look beyond THC percentages, and properly store cannabis products. When reviewing a COA, make sure it is accredited, that the batch number matches the product, and that the testing date is recent.Regulatory Efforts: The episode will examine the actions regulators are taking to combat lab shopping, such as standardizing testing protocols, implementing secondary testing programs, and increasing oversight of testing facilities.The Role of Consumer Education: Explore the importance of educating consumers on how to interpret COAs and the value of purchasing cannabis products from licensed and reputable dispensaries.Accountability and Penalties: The episode will emphasize the need for strict penalties for fraudulent labs and cultivators, ensuring that those who prioritize profit over public health are held accountable.The Path Forward: The legal cannabis industry must value safety and integrity by demanding transparency, supporting ethical businesses, and staying informed, to prioritize consumer safety, product quality, and scientific integrity.

Is American democracy under threat? This podcast explores concerns that Trump's executive actions mirror monarchical behavior, challenging the core of American democracy.Key discussion points:Executive Orders: Unpack Trump's initial orders regarding border security, citizenship, and diversity programs. Examine their impact and message to his base.Checks and Balances: How are courts, states, and bureaucrats reacting? What role does partisanship play in either enabling or hindering these actions?Historical Context: From Lincoln to Nixon, how have past presidents expanded executive power? How does Trump's approach differ?Democracy's Stress Test: Legal battles, policy reversals, and eroding public trust—can the nation's institutions withstand the strain?Future Scenarios: Could future presidents exploit these precedents, regardless of their political affiliation?The podcast will dive deep into the implications of Trump's actions, analyzing their potential long-term effects on American governance and the balance of power. It will also touch on potential future scenarios and the importance of safeguarding American democracy.