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This week, Gibran Washington, CEO of Ethos Cannabis, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss craft cannabis at MSO scale, inclusion initiatives that work and why we should never forget the contributions of the legacy market.
Gibran Washington came into the "formal" cannabis industry about two years ago, but he's been around and involved in the black market for most of his life.
Washington calls Ethos Cannabis a craft MSO centered around medical research For example, the company was the first in the country to have a partnership with an accredited medical institution, specifically Thomas Jefferson Hospital.
The Ethos vision statement is "making cannabis an appropriate place in society," and Washington says it underpins every decision the company makes. Ethos pushes the medical efficacy of the plant and wants more people to realize that, even for recreational consumers, the plant offers a lot of medicinal value. So, instead of focusing on the quantity of cannabis, Ethos is focused on marketing high quality products. For Washington, it's important that his work makes a difference, so he is really focused on patient care.
Inclusion initiatives are also vital for Washington who asks all of his employees to live life and work in a way that is gracious, humble and gives everyone a place where they can be their truest self.
Washington is also trying to create opportunities for former or current black market participants, such as showcasing prominent glass blowers in dispensaries and buying genetics from "basement cultivators" to give them more exposure. Ethos typically doesn't buy genetics from large breeders. Instead, it sources from small operators with around 30-40 plants and even, if they are willing, puts their names on the jars.
"The legacy market is what got us to where we are today," Washington says. "And we can't ever forget that."