The State of Craft - Episode 30 - The Super Advocates

The State of Craft is a bi-weekly live conversation discussing the state of the legal craft cannabis industry presented by CertiCraft

After a multi-month hiatus, The State of Craft is back!! 2023 will be a year full of amazing programming in this series. :)

For our first episode back, we're stoked to tell you all about the exciting superhero group we've formed.... The SUPER ADVOCATES*!! Making the world a better place through cannabis policy advocacy. (*not the actual name)

As some of you may recall, in Episode 28 (The Direct Delivery Rebellion), we discussed what actions we could take to ensure Direct Delivery actually enabled craft producers to thrive. One of these actions was creating a BC policy advocacy "super-organization" to have a unified voice for the BC craft cannabis industry. Throughout the summer and fall, State of Craft host and CertiCraft CEO, Sami Majadla, spearheaded exactly that.

For our first episode back, we welcome three guests that are all founding members of this new organization and who have put in a lot of time and energy in the past few months to create a sustainable climate for craft cannabis producers and independent retailers. Our guests are founders/directors of 3 of the most active cannabis policy advocacy organizations in BC: Sarah Campbell from the Craft Cannabis Association of BC, David Hurford from the BC Craft Farmer's Co-op, and Jaclynn Pehota from the Retail Cannabis Council of BC.

Come join us to learn about what we've been up to and how you can help us create a sensible cannabis policy reality!

Sarah Campbell, Founding Director of CCABC

Sarah joined the cannabis movement in 1998 and had a front row seat during three landmark court cases involving friends and loved ones. She spent several years making cannabis edibles and managing House of the Great Gardener, an International award-winning seed company.

In 2016, she co-founded the Craft Cannabis Association of BC, a non-profit industry association created to support and promote small scale independent businesses.

David Hurford, Founding Member and Secretary of BCCFC

David Hurford brings over 20 years of experience working in senior roles with various governments, crown corporations, and non-profit organizations (as well as a top 40 global university) to the cannabis industry. Throughout his career, David has been an active participant in the shaping of many drug policies in Canada. This includes: leading development of the Government of Canada’s original medical marijuana regulations and procurement plan between (1999-2002), negotiating terms with the City of Vancouver for the opening of Canada’s first safe injection site, and facilitating the implementation of innovative heroin maintenance trials as Chief of Staff and Director of Communications for Mayor of Vancouver (2007-2008).

David helped establish the BC Craft Farmers Co-Op (BCCFC) as a founding member and currently serves as its secretary.

Jaclynn Pehota, Executive Director of RCCBC

With over a decade of operational management experience in the telecom and insurance sectors, Jaclynn Pehota brings a large skillset to the cannabis industry, and has been a passionate advocate for medical cannabis access and cannabis legalization. After seeing how cannabis helped her own father during the palliative stage of his terminal pancreatic cancer, Jaclynn shifted her focus to cannabis advocacy, and has been working in the industry ever since.

Having worked and volunteered extensively in the cannabis industry for the last 6 years, Jaclynn has gained an wide breadth of experience, including working with Sensible BC on their provincial decriminalization petition; co-founding the Cannabis Commerce Association of Canada; serving as a Director of the BC Micro License Association; co-founding Althing Consulting, a cannabis licensing consultancy; and participating in dozens of government stakeholder engagement sessions.

She has assisted dozens of cannabis producers, both small and large, with their licensing, and likewise has helped many cannabis retailers with their zoning and licensing needs. Jaclynn is happy to be able to bring this breadth of experience to her work with RCCBC.

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What is The State of Craft?

The State of Craft is a webinar series focused on the legal craft cannabis industry.

The rollout of cannabis legalization in Canada has been full of ups and downs. The craft cannabis industry in particular has been immensely affected by a myriad of challenges and missteps in the years following the Cannabis Act and Cannabis Regulations.

In The State of Craft, Sami Majadla, CEO of CertiCraft, facilitates conversations with leaders in the legal craft cannabis industry to explore what is going well and what is going not-so-well. We'll discuss what can realistically be changed at different levels of government and industry alike to address major issues the craft cannabis sector is facing, and hopefully inspire stimulating ideas of all sorts. Every episode will end with a 15 min live Q&A with our audience.

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What is CertiCraft?

CertiCraft is a compliance software system that helps small-to-medium licensed cannabis producers stay on top of their regulatory requirements. CertiCraft is focused on making compliance easy and automating all reports and records, and saves more time (and labour cost) than any other system available. Find out more at certicraft.com.