Michael Mayes, International Cannabis Consultant travels to Los Angeles, California to meet with client’s and attend the Marijuana Investor Summit and International Cannabis Association Cannabis Expo.

So you wouldn’t believe it. More problems with booking flights… per usual in true Michael Mayes fashion I screw up my travel arrangements. While booking my flight from Oakland, California to Los Angelis, California I book via JetBlue. It was an honest mistake, I hit the “or near airport” button, huge mistake. My flight from Oakland put me in Long Beach instead of Los Angeles. When I called JetBlue they pretty much told me that there was nothing they can do. The flight was $110 or so, it would be a $60 cancellation fee and a $60 change fee. So I decided to just keep my flight and book a car, this was actually the best option since I needed a car anyways. This ended up not being a problem at all since the Summit was actually not that far from Long Beach.

My visit to Oakland was to meet with my dear friends Ed and Jane Rosenthal. Ed is one of the forefathers of cannabis, he is like a very cool older uncle of mine. Jane is like my dear aunt that lights up my mood every time I see her. They have mentored me for years on how to build Quantum 9 and to make the right moves. Not all of them have been great but overall mostly good. Ed and Jane live in Piedmont, California just outside of Oakland. I was only able to stay one night there so we spent the night catching up with each other and me telling them about my adventures as an international cannabis consultant. I told them about my trip to Hawaii and to Puerto Rico.

Christmas Day for Ed Rosenthal

Ed showed me the new water culture system he built as a prototype for large industrial cannabis greenhouses and controlled environments. He busted into his new GroPro and I caught the following picture. Ed is the coolest cannabis consultant I know in the game and I would highly recommend tapping into that genius of his.

 

California Moves Cannabis Toward a Regulated Model

Since 1996 cannabis has been legal in California, most cannabis consultants would consider California a “grey” market. This is not the case anymore after the following landmark bills passed and are now awaiting the governor’s signature. There are over one million patients in California which make up 50% of the United States cannabis patient population. Los Angeles, where our Client is located, has the seventh largest economy in the world.  With the publishing of these guidelines, California will fall under the Cole Memorandum and come out of the “grey” title. I personally have been pitching cannabis investments in California for over a year since I knew cannabis legislation was coming. Investing in California would be heavily advised. Essentially the new bills will allow local municipalities to govern their own medical cannabis program.

The Minivan | Cannabis Consulting Friendly

When I booked my vehicle for this trip a got a convertible. I highly suggest getting a convertible when traveling to Florida or California, there is no reason not to since the weather is so nice. There is no other feeling like cruising down the highway with the top down and feeling the sun in your face and the wind in your hair.  I was feeling really good when I landed and while I was waiting in line to get my car I remembered how horrible cars are for my back. As most of you might not know I injured my back a few years ago and have been struggling with recovery ever since. Even to this day I have pain, I have changed my diet to exclude grains and dairy and I have to do yoga every morning.

I actually had two spinal surgeries on this injury already. It is far better than what it was two years ago but still far from being 100%. I think I’m at a cool 85% but you can’t win them all. This grip with mortality really humbles a person. My mom says that everyone has a cross to bear, this is mine. Cannabis actually helps with pain management. That’s right, I am a patient and an advocate.

Marijuana Investor Summit

I get to the event and there was a bomb scare. No literally, someone had put a random box in a hallway and no one knew what it was. It took the LA Police five hours to securely explode the box. This worked out PERFECTLY for me since I still had to rent a minivan and travel all the way from Oakland. This put me at the convention center about 20 minutes prior to the conference starting. I covered the event in a few different posts:

Marijuana Investor Summit Overview

Giadha Aguirre De Carcer speaks at Marijuana Investor Summit Workshop

There was an afterparty for the Marijuana Investor Summit at the LA Hotel Downtown, the lobby was beautiful as seen below.

After the event, I went on a little bit of a rant since in the video below since I was sick of people looking down on California. My point is that no matter how anyone feels about California patients are able to access medicine effectively.

I ended the night booking a room at The Line where I meet with my Client. The room was amazing. My Client owns two of the largest grossing dispensaries in Los Angeles.

We did breakfast at POT which is a very ironic name for the restaurant given what I do.

It was in a greenhouse layout which I also found super ironic.

Something that I thought my readers would enjoy is videos of my experiences as an international cannabis consultant. Video blogging allows the readers to actually see my experiences. What the heck, why not. I hoped you enjoyed this adventure, now to make more.