The State of Craft - Episode 28 - The Direct Delivery Rebellion

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

After over a year of waiting on the BCLDB to meaningfully engage small scale producers, we're still waiting...

It's time for action!

For Episode 28, we have a special State of Craft planned. The episode will be an active policy advocacy session focused on the planned BC Direct Delivery program.

Craft cannabis producers and independent retailers across BC pretty much unanimously agree: the BCLDB is doing a terrible job with Direct Delivery. They have chosen to do things their own way instead of meaningfully engaging the industry. Over the past year, they have shown through inaction that they don’t truly care about working with small-scale operators to design, develop, or trial a program that actually addresses the distribution challenges that are causing BC businesses to close shop.

One year of waiting is long enough. Our goal at CertiCraft is clear: we want the BCLDB to prioritize the needs of the industry, not their own internal desires. It’s time we hold them accountable.

This State of Craft episode will feature 3 all-star guests who have a wealth of experience doing policy advocacy work across a wide domain of sectors and levels of government. Advisor to the Craft Cannabis Association of BC, Kelly Coulter (who convinced Trudeau to make legalizing cannabis a priority), President of Acton Consulting Ltd, Bruce Acton, and Executive Director of ACCRES, Jaclynn Pehota, will lead us in our Direct Delivery rebellion!

We’ll have a discussion to determine actions that industry stakeholders can take to force the BCLDB to engage the industry, listen to craft operators, and implement a direct delivery program that empowers small scale producers and retailers to thrive.

Please join this important discussion that can have massive impact on our industry.

Jaclynn Pehota, Executive Director of ACCRES

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 ACCRES.

Kelly Coulter, Advisor to the Craft Cannabis Association of BC

Kelly began her advocacy for cannabis law reform in 2006 when the Conservative government under Stephen Harper was introducing mandatory minimum sentencing for small cannabis cultivators - 6 plants/6 months. Her role as the National Campaign Director for NORML Canada brought her to Ottawa where they were successful in de-railing the Conservative government for not revealing the costs of the crime bill. In 2012, she met with Justin Trudeau to advocate for legalization before he became leader of the Liberal Party of Canada.

She has since relocated to Vancouver Island and advocates for small independent cannabis farmers as an advisor to the Craft Cannabis Association of BC. Since legalization in 2018, she also holds Back to the Garden workshops for women in the cannabis industry to help build community and strengthen the historical importance of women in the cannabis industry. She is an environmentalist, writer, and former regenerative farmer who believes the future of cannabis will be more sustainable as the industry matures.

Bruce Acton, President of Acton Consulting Ltd

Now retired, Bruce was the President and founder of Acton Consulting Ltd., an Edmonton based consulting firm, with clients in Canada and the Northwestern United States. Bruce’s consulting practices has comprised numerous engagements in the public and private sector. He conducted a numerous fee setting engagements for all three levels of government and actually enjoyed doing it. His public sector work resulting in numerous awards for his clients and himself. He still occasionally instructs for CPA organizations across Canada.

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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. The platform has a focus on ease of use, minimal training time (<15 mins), and incredible time savings. Find out more at certicraft.com.