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This week, Mike Forenza, managing partner of AE Global, joins the Cannabis Equipment News podcast to discuss the crisis in cannabis packaging, sustainability without greenwashing, and the industry's new top priority (hint: it rhymes with smariffs).
Since 2017, AE Global has sought to create a domestic first supply chain that could service the speed-to-market cannabis operators demanded, which was often less than two weeks. The company didn't have a crystal ball, but the strategy has proven useful given the current geopolitical landscape. Still, it was a tall order, as many U.S.-based manufacturers refused to work within the cannabis industry.
AE Global remains committed to sustainability. The company recently partnered with rePurpose Global to reduce packaging costs and fight plastic waste. As of December 31, 2024, AE Global has helped remove more than 380,000 pounds of ocean-bound plastic from the environment—the same as about 9.6 million 16oz water bottles.
AE Global is co-hosting a beach cleanup in Miami on Earth Day, April 22, 2025.
Truth in labeling remains a top priority for Forenza. He says the industry faces constantly evolving issues created by cannabis control boards and regulators who aren't willing to simply copy best practices—regulators shouldn't need to put their stamp on everything. Many make their own required packaging symbols just to be different, and it has MSOs' labeling and packaging changing every year. Oddly enough, when asked which state is getting packaging the "most right," Forenza says Florida.
Despite many challenges, like problems with banking and 280E, the new top priority for cannabis operators is tariff clarity. The tariff situation needs to be finalized so the cannabis industry can know what to expect over the next 18 months, plan a way to move forward and come up with contingency plans.
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