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Harrison Wise is the publisher and founder of The Bluntness. He answered eight simple questions for NY Cannabis Insider’s “People to know” series.
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What is your position and what do you/your company do in the cannabis space?
Founder/Publisher of The Bluntness, one of the fastest-growing digital media and marketing platforms covering the intersection of cannabis and psychedelic community, culture and commerce.
How long have you worked in the cannabis space?
Since 2015, when my marketing communications agency launched MedMen in California – that was our entry point into the cannabis space. We’ve worked with a number of MSOs, single-state operators and cannabis-adjacent companies since – including Stiiizy, Shryne Group, Hemptown USA, Hypur, MCR Labs, Happy Valley MA and more.
What did you do before you were involved in the cannabis industry?
I ran a full-service integrated marketing communications agency focused on the B2B and B2C technology industry.
What led you to the cannabis industry?
In 2015, my agency was helping to launch a food innovation event called FoodBytes! in partnership with SF NewTech and Rabobank.
Food innovation consists of agricultural innovations, farming automation, vertical farming tech, extraction technologies, etc., and we came into contact with a number of folks serving the cannabis industry and serendipitously ran across the folks from MedMen as well as other emerging cannabis cultivation operators in California.
This FoodBytes festival, which debuted in San Francisco in 2015 and then came to New York, Colorado, etc., was what led me/us into the cannabis industry – since it led us to MedMen which we worked with from 2015 – 2018 and was the foundation of my agency’s cannabis practice.
Do you have any advice for someone looking to get into the NY weed industry?
Yes, go in with both eyes open and learn as much as you can from those who have succeeded in other markets. Each market is different, but regardless of the market, standing up a legal, licensed cannabis business requires capital, grit, focus and determination, as well as a strong support system.
What do you think the NY cannabis ecosystem will look like in five years?
We will work out our initial rollout issues and have the most thriving cannabis market fueled by experiential and consumption friendly spaces/venues and a strong retail market throughout the state that is supportive of the state’s cultivators.
Do you use cannabis? If so, what’s your favorite method (flower, dabs, edibles, tinctures, etc.), and why?
Yes – flower and edibles.
Who should contact you, and what’s the best method (i.e. email, phone number, LinkedIn handle, etc.)
917-805-3213; harrison@thebluntness.com