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Cannabis legalization continues to spread across the country, and federal reform seems to be right around the corner. With this comes a crucial need for lawmakers, government agencies, and leaders from all industries, not just cannabis, to join forces to ensure a solid foundation is set to set the space up for long-term success.

The Council for Federal Cannabis Regulation (CFCR) is a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit seeking to unite these groups with the overall goals of de-stigmatization, normalization, and legitimization of cannabis. The CFCR offers scientific expertise on cannabinoids while at the same time advocating for small business, social justice and further research on these compounds as well as being the bridge to legitimization.

Learn more about the organization’s mission, the important work it’s doing, and how to get involved in this exclusive Leafwire Q&A with CFCR Founder and Chair of the Board Sheri Orlowitz.

Leafwire:  You’ve been referred to as a pioneer. What is your background?

Sheri Orlowitz:  I guess it would be fair to say that I’ve done a lot of pioneering things. I am attracted to the huge opportunity of unchartered paths, and I have had the multi-faceted career to bring an informed and unique perspective to cannabis. I started my career as an actor, then did some commodities trading, then became a Justice Department lawyer, then a federal prosecutor and a real estate developer. In the early 90’s I was one of the first women to undertake leveraged buyouts of companies.  That was really a pioneering journey. I not only structured and raised the capital for the LBO’s of 8 companies, I also operated them as the CEO. The companies were acquired from Fortune 500 corporations and my expertise, turn arounds, restructuring, finance, and manufacturing was unique for a woman at the time, probably still is.  After my last exit I continued to invest in start-ups and began consulting for companies that needed a solid business strategy, finance, differentiation, connections, and money.

LW:  How did you break into cannabis?

SO:  I was hesitant about the cannabis industry. A couple of people had asked me to invest in it. I said no. And then a woman engaged me at Starbucks and asked if I could help her daughter raise $5 million. That’s such a sweet spot for me, helping women access capital and I said yes immediately. Turns out what she wanted was someone to help her write her application for a license in Maryland in 2015. 

To make a long story short, they won one of 15 licenses awarded in the state and today, they are called Grow West, Merida was the key investor, and I would guess they’re stake is well over several hundred million dollars. That’s how I got started in the industry, making someone else rich. 

I continued looking at the industry and did some work for Privateer and Brendan Kennedy who was considering where to build a facility in Southern Europe. I had an influential Greek woman friend who took me on a 3-week blitz of meetings with cabinet officials and the current Prime Minister Mistotakis. We were able to convince the Greek government that Privateer would bring jobs and investment and it agreed to allow Privateer to build an export only facility for the EU in Greece. This is before Greece legalized medical. But, Privateer decided to build its EU facility in Portugal. 

I undertook a couple of similar type projects that, from my lawyer’s perspective was “arguably” legal. And, then, several years later, 2018, I agreed to sit on the board of the Marijuana Policy Project and I invested and helped Jessica Billingsley, fill out MJ Freeway’s C-round right before its IPO when it was renamed Akerna.  As far as I know this was the first reverse takeover (RTO) in the industry. And that was the end of my being able to stay “arguably” legal. The law is changing and is being ignored by banks, the Nasdaq and SEC, lenders, private equity funds and doctors who “recommend” cannabis. So, it’s been a really an interesting journey for me from someone who used to enforce anti-money laundering (AML) and asset forfeiture laws to the Founder and Chairman of Council.

Leafwire:  How did you come to found the Council For Federal Cannabis Regulation?

SO:  As I shared with you, I was a Justice Department lawyer. Aside from prosecuting AML I represented many of the federal agencies, from the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) to HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development). I have also held positions or worked with State, SBA, Commerce, and our current president, Joe Biden. I understand how federal agencies develop a regulatory framework and how they begin the process. Absent this regulatory framework there will be no federal legalization. The 50+ federal agencies that will be affected by legalization need guidance and education to begin the process of implementing legalization and creating regulations. You only have half the job done once legalization bills pass.  

An example – the hemp industry. The 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp. Moving into the fourth year of legalization and cannabinoids cannot be put into product and the industry is stalled.  Another example that may hit home, if we legalize cannabis with high levels of THC (HighTHC Cannabis) tomorrow, smoking flower will likely remain illegal at the federal level unless and until the FDA agrees that smoking flower is safe. And that’s part of what we, the Council for Federal Cannabis Regulation (CFCR), do. The work with the federal agencies to educate, including on new technologies, protocols, and approaches to simplify and frankly discredit old ways of looking at things and to educate regulators to the potential of this plant. 

Cannabis has been outlawed for over eight decades and the stigma remains. As the federal government embraces the cannabis industry through engaging with and regulating it, the stigma begins to dissipate.  Again, legalization is only half the battle, “regulation is the implementation of legislation” and there is no federally legal industry without regulation. Regulation gives shape, structure, and dollars to the promise of DEI policies, federal money for R&D, the groundwork for interstate commerce, and so much more.  

Finally, CFCR, is the only non-profit, built with a team that can work with regulators.  It’s elite experts across industries and professions, many of them former government leaders, engender trust, not only with regulators, but also with corporate America who we term “hesitant stakeholders.” Hesitant stakeholders are from various industries that are currently dabbling in cannabis, such as Perrigo, Pfizer, Nestle, and so on, and the industry, frankly the country, needs them to begin to invest in the regulatory process.

LW:  How did you manage to begin to engage with these so-called “hesitant stakeholders?”

SO:  Again, our people, they are known to and have worked with these large corporates like Unilever, Pfizer, Perrigo, Amazon and others that are quietly participating in the industry.  We are starting to engage with the corporates on specific initiatives as they recognize they need the expertise provided by CFCR.

LW:  What are some of the initiatives CFCR is working on right now?

SO:  At a 50,000 foot view our goal is to mainstream cannabinoids, to create a federally legal marketplace and remove unsafe products from the stream of commerce.

At this time that means engaging with FDA to remove legal and safety roadblocks, guide industry to develop the science needed by FDA to deem cannabinoids safe, provide for funding of FDA’s efforts and fight preclusion of cannabinoid isolates because at high dosing levels it is a pharmaceutical, Epidiolex is an example.

Our first initiative was to develop a relationship with the FDA and engender trust.  We wrote a letter to the HHS (Department of Health and Human Services which oversees FDA) discussing the legal and regulatory roadblocks and we were invited to meet with the FDA within 3 weeks. I encourage your readers to read the letter sent to HHS here. 

A mission critical initiative we are working on, is to help secure funding to create an Office of Cannabis Products within the next year. We submitted a request through Representative David Joyce (R-OH) to fund the Office of Cannabis Products (OCP) and prepared and submitted Congressional Testimony for FY 2023 Budget, to support an appropriation of $10 million to fund the OCP. Another initiative your readers may find interesting is on June 14^th our Science Chair, Dr. Vicki Seyfert-Margolis (former Senior Advisor to the FDA Commissioner) will testify to the FDA Scientific Advisory Board about new technologies and protocols available to help bring cannabinoids safely to market in a cost and time effective fashion. A recording of the hearing will be available on our website at www.uscfcr.org.  And we produce top draw webinars with current FDA and other government leaders, corporate exechosted by our Executive Director and co-hosted by Jack Jacobson from Thompson Coburn. Often these webinars create a platform for the industry and the federal government to speak to each other.  We are expanding this communication to a thirty-minute podcast hosted by Benzinga and much more.

Our most important initiative is underway, to develop the trust of the federal regulators, currently the FDA, that, our interests align, we are objective and trustworthy, and we have the expertise to weigh in and help balance the safety of the consumer and maximize the value and accessibility of this plant. The FDA has been receptive and it part it helps that our organization has an exceptional group of FDA and HHS leaders

LW:  What advice do you have for newcomers entering the cannabis space?

SO:  Don’t be in such a hurry. Don’t think that this industry is passing you by if you don’t hurry up and get involved. Yes, there was a lot of easy money in the early days, and those early days are long gone. People love to handicap what inning we’re in. And frankly, I think we’re in the first inning. So, there’s plenty of time to get involved in the industry.

The second thing I would say is: bring your skills to the industry. Don’t try to learn how to be a website designer, because you think that’s what the industry needs. If you are a content writer, or if you’re a lawyer — these are skills that you’ve developed over the course of time. If you’re interested in the industry, bring those skills. This industry needs skills, leadership, and talent from everywhere.

LW:  Do you foresee any major changes ahead for the cannabis industry?

SO:   I don’t think that any of the bills that portend to legalize cannabis will be passed. However, the socialization process is critical; bills make our Congress think about and discuss the issues heretofore, illegal. That’s a heck of a mind shift.  And I see a different growth trajectory than many in the industry. While growth will continue in adult use, the legal cannabinoids is where I see interest, significant investment and a trillion-dollar market developing over time. The federal government will invest hundreds of millions over the next decade to support research and the development of “medical marijuana.”

What I understand from this President and what he supports, is robust R&D and the creation of a medical pathway. That’s what I see happening in the next three years. And that medical pathway is not only THC but CBN, CBG, etc. Many of these cannabinoids seem to offer a lot of promise but have not had the opportunity to be researched in any significant way in the United States. 

Think about this, CBD is the active ingredient and the first cannabinoid drug approved by FDA, Epidiolex, and it sold over $500M in 2020. 

LW:  How can people support CFCR? How can they get involved?

SO:   Join us at the CFCR Cannabis Café, the first Friday of every month at 1 PM,  check out the website and please join CFCR’s ED Sarah Chase and Jack Jacobson on the 4th Thursday of every month as they host webinars to educate and build bridges between industry and regulators.  CFCR is diverse and dynamic and has strong values around a safe, credible, and healthy industry. If you share our values, you will meet people of similar ilk and similar values that are looking to create an industry that is a little different than what we’ve had in the past. At CFCR, because we share a value system, you will find friends and colleagues for life.

So go to the website, fill out the basic information form, and tell us what you’re interested in. We’ll call and talk to you about you and your company and interest.  We want to know what you, as an integral part of this community, think and we will share all about CFCR, the interactive programs, initiatives, networking, and opportunities designed for our members interaction. CFCR needs members that share our values and will help shape our vision of creating a safe and accessible cannabis industry.  So please contact us and learn about us and how you can become involved and how you can help educate and advocate.

LW:  What else should Leafwire readers know about the Council for Federal Cannabis Regulation?

SO:  I think what people should know and try to understand is: why regulation matters? I mean, for goodness sakes, we don’t even have a legal industry so why does regulation matter? 

Well, we do have a legal cannabinoid industry – most of the plant is federally legal and yet we have no products, the industry is stalled at the FDA. What’s going on with the with hemp cannabinoids and how they develop is going to influence how the adult use industry develops.  

Legalization without regulation is where we’re sitting today with legal cannabinoids sitting on the shelf.