Cannabis Chronicles: Clean Cannabis, Clean Food, w. John Salley
Clean cannabis, Clean food
By Robert Lundahl
Both blogs and feature articles in business publications like Forbes and Inc. have been on the forefront of identifying trends in the cannabis industry going forward. It’s no small matter as the industry has been predicted to grow geometrically and the topic for investors is hot.
As might be expected in an emerging space, credit is due to indy publications and writers like FreshToast.com, whose piece, "7 Unexpected Cannabis Trends To Watch For In 2018," sets the tone. To quote writer Sharon Golden, "Marijuana will be used in sports. Sports organizations have gradually acknowledged the fact that marijuana has helped players in treating physical ailments and improve the condition of their nervous systems. Aside from that, marijuana has been used in the past to treat sports-related injuries.”
In order to pursue the topic there is no better individual to check in with than John Salley. He was the first player in NBA history to play on three different championship-winning franchises. He is a vegan activist, chef, and wellness entrepreneur. Perhaps it would not be unexpected of a man who changed not only his diet, but way of life through veganism, then to embrace cannabis.
Salley was in Las Vegas to attend the country’s biggest marijuana business conference, MJBizCon. He was there to promote Deuces, a new marijuana venture he is running with his daughter Tyla.
Named for his number (Salley wore number 22 for playing for teams such as the Detroit Pistons), Deuces is based in Los Angeles and will sell pre-rolled joints, CBD oil and other branded products.
As an activist, Salley is known for promoting alternatives to practices of massive factory farming. Salley is a noted speaker at Michigan's Vegfest since 2009 and appears on VegMichigan's billboard campaign. He also testified to the U.S. Congress advocating for vegetarian options in public schools as part of the Child Nutrition Act discussions. His authority in healthy life choices and actions is formidable.
Salley demonstrates an easy grace and humor as he describes his business activities with Tyla, co-investors/owners of GreenSpace Labs.
Salley's partnership with GreenSpace, a cannabis testing company able to detect pesticides, heavy metals and bacteria rapidly in the field, is helping to launch a mobile pesticide screening device, the GreenLite Screener.
Mr. Salley has taken an ownership position in the company with the added goal of helping to educate the cannabis community on the need to strengthen testing standards to ensure safe consumption.
The quality of municipal water is often uncertain, even in organic food production. Especially for medicinals, what’s in the water is what’s in your body. The headlines tell the story: "Mussels in Washington's Puget Sound test positive for opioids, other drugs.”
Salley talks about Clean Food, Clean Cannabis.
"I got involved with GreenSpace because I believe in the importance of clean cannabis, same as I believe in the importance of clean food,” Salley told Benzinga. “I always saw on movies that every drug was tested for purity. So why not test cannabis?”
SEE ALSO: HIGHTIMESinvestor.com; HIGHTIMES.com
Robert Lundahl, Writer
Robert Lundahl is an Emmy Award winning documentary filmmaker. He is the Principal with Agence RLA, LLC. Robert can be reached at this email address: robert@studio-rla.com; Skype: robertundahlfilms.