Karma Koala Podcast

Steve gets the honour of being Karma Koala Podcast 300!

In episode 3 it’s time for High School in Washington DC, becoming a small time pot dealer, leaving school at 16  and engaging with politics and the Yippies and meeting Dana Beal.

Listen and also there's lots more inf at
https://cannabislaw.report/karma-koala-podcast-300-washington-dc-high-school-pot-dealer-the-yippies-out-of-school-into-the-game/

Chris is the president of the US Hemp Authority and hemp business owner and is perfectly placed to explain all things hemp to the koalas.

As you’ll hear he knows just about everything you need to know about the US hemp market and why and how it exists as it does.

Yet another fascinating discussion about how US politics, capital and markets work to create the hemp ecosystem as you see it now in the US.

Chris reminds a rather cynical koala that it isn’t all...

Great to speak to Jordan about the paper which was published January 21, 2026 and how they  are looking to communicate the idea around the US and what they hope to achieve with the paper.

Jordan Wellington is a partner at Strategies 64 based in Denver. He regularly advises government officials, businesses, trade associations, and other organizations around the U.S. and across the globe on the responsible regulation of cannabis. He is also host of S64’s Weed Wonks podcast, which features conversations about timely cannabis policy issues with state cannabis regulators, policymakers, and industry leaders.

Learn mor...

An honour to speak with Rose one of the generation i read avidly about and, wished I was there, when back in my salad days.

She experienced psychedelics before the US govt decided to schedule them and then has spent her life working with psilocybin, educating and helping people.

She is , the real deal.

We talk solidly for half an hour on all issues psychedelic and the crossroads we now stand at in 2026 as legislatures discuss regulation, the medicalization of compounds as well as the fraught issue of companies...

Great to talk to Juliana.

She’s just joined NY powerhouse cannabis law firm RLG (Rudick Law Group) and is based in Bogota.

She moved into the world of cannabis and law in Colombia a number of years ago on her Mom’s suggestion!

We discuss the country’s constitutional and regulatory approach to cannabis , how it relates on regulated cannabis to the big neighbor to the North as well as the giants below, Brazil & Argentina.

I hope you enjoy the discussion.

In this episode we were nominally talking about the rise of the influencer shaman, retreats and money money money but as always it’s psychedelics so off we head on various tangents.

But those tangents are leading to the same conclusion time again in my conversations with many of  those have played a part in the USA’s 20th & 21st century  psychedelic history and they are all saying the same thing. Put these compounds in boxes and try to make money out of them is not a wise path for humanity

I cam acroos Jim via th...

We dive in with Steve again and that wonderful age of innocence combined with India, European travels and back to the US to start high school and the discovery of you know what !

See photos at
https://cannabislaw.report/karma-koala-podcast-294-the-deangelo-chronicles-part-2-india-travels-through-europe-back-to-the-usa/

A very enjoyable conversation with Griffen.

We were going to talk about that EO prior to Christmas but both decided that was somewhat boring so just dived into the state of the cannabis industry in the US today and how state and federal politics play a much larger role in the industry than many commentators and industry “leaders” would like to openly admit.

Very refreshing to speak to someone working with the cannabis industry but not beholden to it.

The koalas thank Griffen for her openess and lack of fenc...

The koalas are trying to speak to as many lawyers as possible who have been on a law journey in their professional life and a psychedelic journey in their private life and learn how and where to the two interconnect in the personal and professional sense.

Will psychedelics change the law or visa versa>

We think it’s a bit of both and talking to people like Ronald really explores those connections. I hope you enjoy the conversation and much as we do.

Ronald McNutt studied Religion at Tufts Un...

An honour, or as I’m in the US i should say honor, to speak with Alice who with her husband Robert changed the paradigm back in 1976 as they ignored the word “impossible” and brought into reality the US’s first medical cannabis prescription since 1937!

For the last 50 years Alice has been working to build on that development

Read all about it here https://www.aliceolearyrandall.com/

We chat through the hows’, whys’ and whereforefores and then jump into Alice’s thoughts about cannabis regualtion in the USA in 2026.

Jason has been running the Harris Sliwoski Denver office for a while now and he's pretty clued into what's happening around the world in cannabis.

Which is lucky, because every time time i try and get my head around cannabis regulation in France I get........ le migraine terrible!

Brazil I find equally confusing.

So, Jason has come to my rescue (and yours) and guides us through the current ins and outs of both these jurisdictions.

Although we do try to avoid the topic...

I came across Jarid on Linked In and he’s making inroads with sustainable indoor cannabis grows and developing ideas and systems to do so on larger scaling.

Well worth a chat so we got him on the Karma Koala podcast to see where this stuff is heading.

Read More
https://cannabislaw.report/karma-koala-podcast-289-jarid-turner-sustainable-indoor-cannabis-farming-in-the-usa/

Over the past 16 months or so the Karma Koala Postcast has been catching time with Steve De’Angelo whenever we can to dig much deeper into his life, his family his formative childhood experiences and then into his teens and 20’s,  Yippies and life on the wrong side of the law in the 70’s and 80’s and the long road that led him to being known now as the father of Amercian medical cannabis.

As always with the Karma Koala podcast it is all about  raw unedited conversation to dive into the nooks and crannies of Steve’s...

Great chat with Pamela holed up in DC in the middle last week’s east coast snowstorm about all things hemp.

Where the hell is Guernsey some of you might be asking?

A few weeks ago we spoke to Simon Harrison of “End Cannabis Prohibition Jersey” in the UK Channel Islands, so I thought it would also make sense to see what’s happening over in Guernsey, Jersey’s little sibling.

Simon introduced the koalas to Bruce Caruso, former native of Portland Oregon, who came to Guernsey for work in 2020 and never left!

He now runs one of the island’s two small cannabis clubs, The Green Retreat , where people can consum...

I chat with Sasha of NY's Housing Works a nonprofit organization that has been running a dispensary for a while in the wild east of cannabis.

Against all odds they are surviving and thriving and building the sort of approach to cannabis retail and social equity that many had hoped for .

We touch on the growth of the market, the OCM, METRC, the possibility of expansion, 280e and much more

Thankyou Sasha

Sasha Nutgent serves as Vice President...

It’s been a while since the Koalas have chatted with Bob.

The dust is settling on the Trump EO prior to Christmas so it’s time to speak to Bob and dive into some of the details especially so the nexus between cannabis and politics in the US and how it progresses both medical cannabis and hemp derivatives in 2026.

What does it actually mean?

The issues include who qualifies as Schedule 3 Licensees / US standards & International standards / International Trade / DEA Operators / 280e / Private Sector Research

We start our conversation about our very English mums,psychedlics & cannabis and that’s how it carries on!

I thought the best way to start the year is a fun wide ranging conversation

Topics covered include

Just before Christmas this news came in from Jersey via the government’s Health Ministry

Read more at
https://cannabislaw.report/karma-koala-podcast-282-simon-harrison-end-cannabis-prohibition-jersey-talks-to-us-about-new-proposals-regulation-of-cannabis-in-jersey-channel-islands-uk/