Podcasts inform, entertain cannabis community

To a growing number of people, the cannabis industry is one of the most exhilarating things happening in consumer goods and medicine today. Everybody’s talking. Nobody knows this better than cannabis podcasters. This rare but propagating breed fills a necessary niche in the fast-paced cannabis world – a world that offers very little in the way of downtime. “Just like pre-rolls, a podcast is all about convenience,” said Josh Kincaid, who discusses cannabis investments and other financially-focused industry topics on his Washington-based “Talking Hedge” podcast. “It’s easy to grab and go.” Kincaid transitioned to cannabis from conventional finance in the early days of state legalization, chasing what he saw as a huge, new industry full of opportunity. He currently operates as a consultant, analyst and advisor. “I saw that it was going to be legalized (federally) eventually,” he said. “You can’t just open up a bottle with a genie that will be worth millions and then billions of dollars, and then put that genie back in the bottle.” Kincaid started the podcast in January 2019 in order to strengthen his personal brand, broaden his network’s reach, and to spread information about finance in the cannabis community. “It’s something I didn’t really want to do, but felt compelled to,” he said. His podcast features a blend of bite-sized segments and deeper-dive interviews. He publishes more frequently than most – sometimes daily – and distributes via a stack of platforms to listeners looking for financial insights. Like Kincaid, many cannabis podcast hosts came to the platform almost by surprise. As the owner of KIS Organics, Tad Hussey was writing a book about cannabis cultivation that discussed best practices and promoted his business. But then he started surveying the “potcast” landscape. “When I first started, everyone was just getting together and getting high or whatever, and there weren’t a lot of (informative) podcasts,” he said. He started his podcast “Cannabis Cultivation & Science” to share useful information to cannabis cultivation hobbyists and entrepreneurs, and to spread the word about the soil and soil amendments he distributes to cannabis and non-cannabis farms from his 7-acre farm in Redmond. “As someone who really appreciates audiobooks and podcasts, it seemed like a really good platform – and a lot easier than writing a book,” Hussey said. “I like it because it’s really just a conversation. And what makes it work so well for growers, is it’s something to put on when you’re in traffic on the way to work, or in the grow room trimming.” People do listen. Hussey recently produced his 52nd episode, and says he recently reached a landmark 500,000th unique download. Not all podcasts are geared specifically toward investors or niche segments of the cannabis world. Some are casual, irreverent-but-informative shows geared toward consumers and the industry. Take the Seattle-based “Leaf Life,” hosted by longtime radio DJ Mike Ricker and Wes Abney, the founder of the Leaf Nation family of cannabis magazines who calls himself the “Bearded Lorax,” inspired by the Dr. Seuss character who “speaks for the trees.” Their podcast covers a variety of cannabis topics and events in a humorous drive time radio-style format. To give you an idea of Leaf Life’s broad topical range, check out the episodes, “Things to do in Alaska When You’re Stoned,” (July 8, 2019) and “How Clean is Your Green” (Feb. 25, 2019). Some podcasts, while they touch on important topics within the industry, serve a more sesh-style, “social consumption” function for listeners. For sisters Ashleen and Rileigh Aguilar, who consume and review various local cannabis products on-air with their new Vancouver, Wash.-based podcast, “Chronic Gals,” podcasting can provide an outlet for cannabis enthusiasts to feel connected while they consume. “We wanted to make a podcast where regular people, who have experienced real change from using cannabis, could share their stories,” the Chronic Gals said via e-mail. “Not only that, but we wanted to talk to industry professionals to educate ourselves and our community.” Whether podcasts are geared toward newbies, seasoned consumers, or industry heavies, podcasts provide a key service, helping bolster the businesses of their hosts. Hussey and Kincaid see it as a win-win, to keep the conversation moving forward and help the industry evolve.