Over a decade of providing cannabis education Without proper cannabis education the industry may never reach its full potential. Chloe Villano founder of Clover Leaf University joins Justin Benton to talk about why cannabis education is even more important today than it was when she first started training people over 10 years ago. Produced by podCONX www.themiracleplant.org https://themiracleplant.org/the-miracle-plant-free-ebook-offer/
Over a decade of providing cannabis education
Without proper cannabis education the industry may never reach its full potential. Chloe Villano founder of Clover Leaf University joins Justin Benton to talk about why cannabis education is even more important today than it was when she first started training people over 10 years ago.
https://themiracleplant.org/the-miracle-plant-free-ebook-offer/
. [00:00:00] Welcome to the miracle plant podcast, where we discuss this miracle plant with so many names, which is so misunderstood and how this plant has helped people in extraordinary ways. Today's guest is an absolute legendary pioneer. Miss Chloe Velano, the president and founder of Clover leaf university, who has put in the time and is an absolute advocate of the plant has an incredible story to share.
And it's all about education and paying it forward. Miss Chloe Velano, how are you this wonderful afternoon. I am fabulous. Thank you so much for having me we're so happy to have you. And we just, we've gotten a chance to know each other through, the cannabis awards that you put on the global awards.
And we were fortunate to left and lucky enough to win. The 2020 cannabis business awards for hemp. And it was such an honor. And that's really how we started to get to know [00:01:00] you and your university and just an amazing cause. And from there I've been able to work side by side with you and building out the hemp side of the university.
And it's just amazing what you've done. So kudos to you. And how's that been going for? I know you're doing so much right now with the university. It's going well. If we're working this hard, that means that there's a real need. And right now in this industry, there's a real need for education on the government level business owners and employees.
So that's what we focus on at Cloverleaf university. And we're here to really bring this plant to life, really get people into the industry and really see this. Multi-billion dollar industry, which is known as the fastest growing industry in America, really work as well as do a lot of the research work with other universities, doctors, scientists, and conduct the necessary research that we need to really push this industry forward.
Absolutely. [00:02:00] And we have had a chance to hang out a lot more lately because the clubhouse, and in fact, right now we are recording live. On clubhouse, which is a cool new feature. And the great Dan is back there helping us pull off this magic. And we'd love to have more people reach out to us and do live recordings for the Merkel plant podcast as well on clubhouse.
So as we've been working together and getting to see each other more and more I've I came across as well. You've been. Talking about, you're also obviously taking applications for the classes at Cloverleaf university, but don't, you also have some scholarships as well. Yes this year, we are implementing, we're giving away over a thousand scholarships and we're going to target those scholarships to minority communities and help them get through this social equity application process and get into the industry.
So it's really exciting. And Cloverleaf definitely wants to be part of giving back. Yeah, absolutely. [00:03:00] And as far as, giving back, I know we'd like to hear how, this amazing plant, this miracle plan as we call it how we were introduced to it and how we inspired us, or, it was a calling for so many of us that are in this space.
How did cannabis and how were you introduced to cannabis? And what's your story? I was introduced to cannabis around 16 years old. I always loved it. It was, is always what my go-to, people would always have their. Substance of choice, right? Mine was always cannabis over alcohol.
And I never really had the relationship with cannabis that I got after my little brother got sick with cancer, which is really what got me into the industry. I was a kind of sewer. I loved the plant. I went in 2007, I went to Amsterdam and judged my first cannabis cup. So I was a con a sewer at heart, but my relationship changed dramatically when my brother got sick.
And that's when we, I formed a bond with the [00:04:00] plant, realizing the medical benefits. And I guess my business relationship with the plant where I became a soldier and a pioneer for it. And then, obviously the big thing happened was when the legalization in Colorado. And can you explain, I know you did a lot of firsts when Colorado went recreationally legal back then.
Before that I was on the ground floor of really pushing that medical legalization. So we went there first. I don't think we ever thought we were going to hit recreational legalization so quickly after, we were just fighting. And so many parents were moving to Colorado or people who were sick tap.
Access. And, we were just wrapped in the system where we were helping people. It was really all about the medicine. Most of us had somebody who was sick that we really loved, or we were sick ourselves. And so it was yeah, very small group of people that were able to really push the medical side of it.
And it was [00:05:00] huge. We were, we built a first real medical system that was. I guess you could say as legit as possible, right? Because here in California, they were getting rated constantly. But in Colorado we put a system where businesses were seed to sale traps. They were vertically integrated businesses.
There were no problems after medical, marijuana, legalization, and then quickly after. Okay, recreational. And that was, 2000, November of 2012. And then we had licensed dispensary's by January 1st of 2014. Absolutely. And as we've seen all of this progress over the last, 10 or 12 years, what are some of the highlights that you've seen and what are some of the things that you see happening?
I know we have the more act that's out there and everything's accelerated so fast. There's. New Jersey that just went recreational and Virginia just signed it. And you know how just maybe some stories of, like you said, you didn't think [00:06:00] recreational would even happen maybe at all. And then here it is, 20, 21 and we're right on the precipice of potentially going federal legalization or de scheduling or decriminalization.
It's pretty, it's a pretty exciting time for cannabis that's for sure. It's so true. And I think when we look back at legalization in Colorado, it was insane. The people trying to get access were, it was miles of lines all around, and people came from all over the world and that's when we realized, wow, people just want to consume cannabis, it's safer than alcohol.
And so now we're seeing this. This impact that we've had from legalization and we outsold alcohol our first year. So that just goes to show you what the black market is producing in cannabis. And I think these government officials and legislators are looking at this and saying, wow, this is enough money to really rebuild our cities and our schools and implement drug treatment programs and all this stuff.
And so now we're at this [00:07:00] very interesting place where, the UN has said there are medical benefits to cannabis. We currently have a schedule, one drug for cannabis. That's what was looked at in the United States, no medical benefits. So there's a few ways that it can go. The more act is, basically it's there, but I don't know if it's going to pass, because we have a whole new administration. So I think we need to resubmit the bill. Yeah, I know that I it's crazy to me. I'm out here in California and we're obviously in the hemp space and we're still trying to get all the, all of our ducks in a row on the hemp side in California, working with Patrick Goggin and California hemp council, and we're close and, California is a nation state.
It's like the fifth largest GDP. So it's just, sometimes things can move at a glacial pace, but. When and if it goes nationwide, we have to really understand what that means for the minor cannabinoids [00:08:00] and for the CBDs and for the. You know the 0.3 THC type products that come from hemp.
It's really exciting, but it's also nerve wracking. I think all of us have been in this space for a long time. You it's like entrepreneurs in general fly by the seat of their pants. They look at risk reward and there when, while everyone else is running away from the fire, the entrepreneurs are running directly into it.
And so being in this space and seeing so everything that can change so quickly, as we've seen over the last, five to 10 years, it's going to be pretty crazy. Like I, nothing would surprise me and I've heard a couple of different things. What could happen with the more act, whether it needs to be reintroduced or what have you.
But it's certainly things I firmly believe. And it's just my opinion that. Something's going to happen this year. And I think that they're gonna pass some type of version of the Moore act and let's just play hypothetical for [00:09:00] fun. Let's say I'm right. What do you see happening in the in the, with the cannabis industry?
If a bill like the Moore act passes? It's an interesting question and you have to understand, we were. Bringing in billions of dollars of legal sales. So if we deschedule cannabis, like we're looking at in the more apt we would have to right. Real legislation with, through the Biden administration and really go through and talk about what it's going to look like.
Not just the not just the de scheduling, but this is how the industry is going to work. And that's interesting because will it open up for. Know, interstate commerce, will we be able to sell all around the United States? Will we be able to sell to each other? I think most of the worlds will stay the same and multiple stakes, but they'll have to adapt to program that, that works on a national level.
And right now we have every single state has its own program and they're very different than each state. I think it's going to be tricky and the work never ends for us. So I'm sure we'll be right there [00:10:00] helping iron everything out and make sure that these businesses are successful as they go forward.
But there is a lot of gifts, it's, we will have banking, we'll have the things normal business as well, but will taxes ever go down? Named one time in history taxes ever have, will we be able to. Operate like a normal business without the two 80 E legal drug trafficking tax code.
I, I hope so because it's almost impossible for a business to operate being taxed at that level. So there's a lot we have to fix. And I have noticed even just in Colorado, every two years, we have that sunset review process and we do fix a lot, but it is a system that needs a lot of work.
Agreed. And I think Colorado has blazed a trail, no pun intended about really the, the best legislation that I've come across. I obviously bury my nose in more of the hemp side of the space, but, the Colorado was the first and it made some mistakes and have been able to clean things up.
So if [00:11:00] you were to have your way and you were named the the person in charge of rolling out a national. Cannabis program. Would you take some things from Colorado? Would you use Colorado as the template and what kinds of things would you like to see enacted? If if you were in charge. Colorado did a lot of things wrong as well as, but what we did is we required vertical integration in the beginning with our medical marijuana businesses, because we wanted to prove the seed to sale worked. We want it to be able to say, you can grow it. Track it track the plant and sell it. And this system will work. It'll prevent diversion and it will be successful.
And then when we passed amendment 64, which we put in our constitution, which was very smart, because it would take a vote of the people to repeal it. We had some protection there for legal marijuana businesses. So we an vertically integrated the industry, allowed growers to just be growers dispensary owners to be dispensary owners, whereas [00:12:00] like the market in Washington.
Did things a little bit different than us. So when we switched to either go full recreational or become dual licensed facilities in Colorado, we, of course gave the medical marijuana businesses the first, and then some of them had businesses in places where they couldn't go recreational.
So this was the only time in all of history where another local municipality would take you, or you could actually move. City lines, right? If you could to move your medical dispensary into a recreational location. So I think there's going to be a lot of that moving around. Some people are going to say they want it.
And some people aren't going to say no, which is normal. We've seen that for businesses, but when we open it up to full, Where everybody has this. So one other thing we did in Colorado is we had virtual separation between these businesses. So if you were going to be dual licensed, you would have a dispensary.
And on one side you sold medical. On the other side, you sold recreational, which is ridiculous. [00:13:00] You have to build two grows, two different dispensary entrances and exits. If you're going to serve patients under 21 years of age that have medical marijuana cards, then you would have to have.
Complete separation. So I think that's just too much, like where are the I five Oh two market basically did it. They said you could come in and if you buy, if you have a medical card, we'll give you the tax write off, know, we won't have to pay as much tax. If it's recreational, we could just sell it at the same register.
And so I think there's places where it's a lot easier to take, maybe we take the best from every market. And then put it together into one system that works for everybody. Absolutely. I was sitting here thinking too is as far as. All that we've seen that's happened. And in, like I said, I'm feeling very hopeful and optimistic that something big is going to happen this year.
And I just hope that we have the right people in place and the right just. Including everybody. So they don't have to make the same [00:14:00] mistakes that we made and, going on a state by state basis, the way that it is, I think is the way to roll it out from what I've seen, I we're dealing with on the hemp side with the FDA and regulation and all of these, large government agencies that just are, set up.
To deal with something like even CVD. And there's just no way in the world. I could imagine a federal agency, like the DEA or the FDA or whoever being in charge of of something like. Cannabis. And it's, and the good news is we are aligned. There's a lot of us that are in this industry with good lobbyists and good attorneys and great business owners like yourself.
Who've been around and can speak from experience. It's not like we're flying blind, so hopefully there's going to be a lot of mingling with the private sector and they will take our. Our advice serious. And I know that's what we're doing on the hemp side. We are out there fighting, [00:15:00] nail and tooth and Clauda make sure that the right provisions and the things that protect the farmers common sense, and you know what you're going to, you can't win them all.
So you have to know which ones mean the most and the ones where you're really dig in and make sure that they pass. But having people like you, Chloe, who've been through it as I, again, even feel even more optimistic. That 2021 is going to be a banner year for the plant. And I look forward to seeing how that all shakes out.
So what have you been doing lately? What's been keeping you up at night these days. I know you've got your hands in so many different pies. What are some of the fun projects that you've got going on? I'm doing some exclusive consulting with partnerships that I've developed. So I've been writing applications.
Riding horses feel we're filming for our online curriculum. And so that's really exciting bringing we're hiring with 50 new people that we're bringing on to the university for classes. So we're expanding all of our educational series and adding the hemp [00:16:00] division as because you're a part of it.
And so it's really exciting. And I think what's going to happen, Justin, just between you and I is like through every state they've developed a regulatory committee and board within some sort of agency, like the department of revenue or the health department, depending on what state eight.
And so I think once it goes federal, we're going to develop an agency that's going to deal with just this. I just don't see the drug enforcement division or any of them taking this legalization on. I think we would need I think we would need a real federal agency to come in and regulate.
So it's exciting. And we're also preparing for that. We're launching an online curriculum that will also go train government agencies and they need a lot of help right now, really to understand how these businesses work, the impact and how it can affect them and legalization, and also what to watch out for, make sure that they.
They have the proper barrier set in place. So there's low impact or any harm caused by the industry. [00:17:00] Absolutely. And I, as we've been on clubhouse and we've, hosted and co moderated some rooms, so many rooms, which has been incredible, first of all, what's been your experience of clubhouse with your purpose and your mission and your overall experience with clubhouse.
I think 20, 21 is already so great because of clubhouse. It just, it opened us up to be able to communicate with each other in a way that we haven't, and it's just a genius platform. And these rooms we're hosting sometimes go for five hours. We're bringing in people constantly from all over the world who are fighting the same fight.
They're working with us and they're. They're doing the work. So it's just, it's so awesome to get everyone together and say, let's write this system and let's write a system that works and what are the issues you're facing and in this place, and what do you want to see better? And I think clubhouse just has really if we're going to go move to online technology and communication, clubhouse [00:18:00] has been one of the most.
Amazing things to happen to humanity. Since we've been locked down since early 2020, so it's exciting. Absolutely. Couldn't agree more. I, I've, like I said, I've been on the hemp side of the world and. We've had so many complications when it come, came to just getting our message out and just doing normal, just outreach through any type of social media channels.
And accounts are getting blocked or ads are getting disapproved and all kinds of stuff. And, in the, on the hemp CBD side of things, it's Hey man, this is federally legal. What are you doing? And there were so many challenges, but when clubhouse came out, it was like, Oh my God, wait.
We just get a log-in and hop into rooms and have conversations and, share our stories and collaborate with other like-minded and like value individuals. It was just an absolute game changer for us. So yeah. So excited that we have clubhouse and just cause a lot of us haven't been able to go and do any conferences or.
[00:19:00] Anything that, you know, the way the world is right now, but I know we've got a conference coming up in Denver on March 26th and 27th called NOCO. And I really look forward to introducing you to some folks. I'm sure plenty of them already, but I know you said you're going to be able to make that one cause that's in your hometown.
Absolutely. I'll probably wear like three masks. No, I'm kidding. But I will definitely be there and it's no co is such an incredible event. Every person in the hemp industry who's anybody comes, they come from all over the world and just the vibe there to see people's Sabrics and. And everything that they've created, their hemp plastics and all of this are really opens up your mind to what the world of possibilities are out there, because we haven't even touched the tip of what the hemp industry is going to do.
It's going to be the largest agricultural commodity in the world at some point. And that's when we can't even really understand, I think the depth of what that is yet, because it's so new [00:20:00] and for anybody who's excited or wants to learn more. I know Morrison, he lives. He put it on March 26th and 27th. There'll be virtual tickets.
I'm pretty sure, but I know if you can make it in person. It's $20 to go walk the floor. I know we'll have a booth at one-on-one HAMP and we partnered with autism hope Alliance and the president Kristen will be there and it'll be an amazing event. It'll be the first event that I've gone to since the whole thing, all this craziness happened.
I can't wait to see so many people. I know Bob Hoban will be there with his whole crew. And there's just so many people that I just can't wait to see everybody. So I forward to meeting you too. I know we were trying to connect. You're flying out here. Yeah. And all that good stuff, but I know we'll get a chance to hang out in person and that'll be a lot of fun.
So yeah. Wait for that. Do you have any events coming up? I know you are always planning events and have so much going on with them. With the awards and all that good stuff, anything penciled in yet for 2021, we are [00:21:00] doing, we already have our schedule launched for 2021 for Cloverleaf university through the spring.
We should have our classes for summer and fall done by next week. So we've been seeing, can we start holding in-person classes, what's going on with that. And so we might start doing both where we have some in-person and some online and see how that works out. And the cannabis business awards schedule we're in the works of it.
Now we're going to do four shows this year and we should have that done by the beginning of next month. So of course we're in negotiations with beautiful venues, you know how I like to do it. And it's exciting what we're going to do for 2021. It just feels like we're finally coming back and. And I think clubhouse had a lot to do with that because we were all able to start communicating and getting in touch.
But if we can only go up from here we're not locked down, we have the vaccine. And so I think it's going to be a year of building and hopefully we can be back to where we were in 20, 22 or even farther. I was telling you, before we went live today, I was like, geez, I'm [00:22:00] hopping on a plane.
I'm going to Charlotte for a mastermind this upcoming weekend. And then. There's no code two weeks after that. And then, my schedule is starting to fill and it's just feels it feels been at home for a 12 months and now it's the first time we get to go out and actually hang out with people and travel.
And just the excitement of thinking about, going to a baseball game or going to a concert or going to a conference or hanging out with friends or just having dinner, what friends and family again. So it's just incredible. That it's, we're on that path. So what's the first thing you're going to go do.
And Chloe when the world opens back up again, what are, you've been dying to go get out there and do you know, I want to go to Italy personally. I've been, so the whole time I've been locked up, I've been looking up a lot of different places in Europe, and I would really like to take a month off and just travel for a month.
Even if there's some events over there, like Spannabis places I would love to go. And just travel Europe for a month and I'm going to, as that [00:23:00] sounds like a heck of an idea. Yeah. Let me know, is there any good conferences? I'll get some business, write offs and we'll have a couple of books go over there.
And we were supposed to go to one of the events in Barcelona, right? When this thing all happened last March, we literally had our tickets bought. We were getting ready to go. There was, it was just at the beginning. And then boom, everything shut down. So that was a year ago coming up in March. So yeah, I can't wait to get over.
Are you talking about Spannabis? Was that and what it was? I can't even remember the name. Was that the one that was in March at the Ritz Carlton? Yeah, that's a I'm not sure. It's, I don't think Spannabis is at the Ritz Carlton, but it's a big event in March and then there's a few other people who do.
Shows like during that week, but it's like the big week. And then after that, everybody goes to Amsterdam. So yeah, I love that event. I go every year. And so you should definitely come. It doesn't seem like we're doing it this March, but maybe next year. Exactly. And there'll be some more fun events that'll pop up so well, [00:24:00] so excited that you can join us.
And I know you're super busy, so thanks for. Diving in here and letting us get a peek into what's going on. Any other new, exciting projects or things that people need to be aware of. I know that you and I working on the hemp side of the school are there any, there's the applications for scholarships and in general, any other classes that have a lot of interests, like maybe starting a business in cannabis or something along those lines?
Yeah, our open to cannabis business classes are going to be tailored to growing markets. So we're going to be doing one for Florida, one for New York, one for New Jersey. And those are just amazing classes to take because it really maps out where the opportunities are. And then we also have one that we do on a national level.
So if you just want to get into the industry, you're interested in possibly being in that is the best class to take. I've had, I've trained thousands of people just through this one class for opening a cannabis business. And you should read the testimonials that we get. [00:25:00] People say this was the best thing I've ever done.
Thank you so much for doing this. And we've traveled all over the United States, doing that class for 10 years now. I was holding classes before I got approved through the university for a few years, too, at the law firm, we would hold them every weekend. So he had been educating now for over a decade in cannabis, which is really exciting.
Heck yeah. And I just, and cause there is a lot of great things about clubhouse and there's the collaboration and the sharing of ideas. But there's also a couple of things that aren't the best things. And that's when people are talking a little bit out of their own element, especially when it comes to opening up a business in the cannabis space, because there's so much excitement and there's so much love and passion and a little bit of greed that comes in there sometimes.
And so people can get these pie in the sky ideas. They're going to get like a, a [00:26:00] $25,000 loan and they're going to make it turn into millions like Rumpelstiltskin and, not having grounded, clear guidance and expectations, which they can find taking one of your courses, right?
You guys literally show them step-by-step this is what you need to do. This is the money. Here's the finance, here's the paperwork, all that good stuff. Absolutely. And that we even put them in touch with good people if they want to move forward. And, I think a lot of my success, even as a consultant has really been the handholding process.
I walk them through every single step of the way until they have the license and whether it's contracts, licensing finding properties. And I think that's really what we teach in the class. We walk you through every aspect until. You know exactly what you're doing and it's been pretty successful.
We have a lot of business owners who have gone to Cloverleaf university. I'm so excited and 10 years, that is just an amazing accomplishment. And I know no one holds a candle to [00:27:00] Culver leaf university. What's the best way for them to to go apply or learn more about Cloverleaf. Actually, we started in 2007 holding the classes.
So it's over 10 years. It's. Wow. I We've been training for a long time. A Baker's dozen. So is it university.gov or what's the website not gov.org or what's the website? No, we're definitely not. Dot gov. Cloverleaf, university.com or.org. We'll take you to Cloverleaf university's website. And you could click on enroll and you could see all the classes we currently have open for enrollment, or you can download our school catalog, which will tell you all the classes that we've been approved for by the department of higher education.
And then we also have specialty workshops weekend workshops for business as well, better tailored to individual States. I can't wait to dive in and. Help get that hemp school built out and bring a bunch of great professors in and folks in there and do a lot of [00:28:00] educating for the hemp plant and the hemp side of the space.
And like we said, no coasts, March 26th and 27th, I'll be there. Chloe will be there. Dan will be there. Everybody will be there. So if you're in HAMP and you want to learn more about the hemp space and wanting to learn more about the next generation of hemp, which is the fiber, which is the growing for the plastics and the textiles and all of the amazing parts of this plant that can replace all of the petroleum based plastics.
All the things that are toxifying this world. And instead of having a renewable energy source life HAMP, that's good for the earth and good for the air he could for our body. So please swing by checkout Cloverleaf university, check us out, down there at NOCO as well. And Chloe, thanks so much for coming on.
And I know I will see you soon on another room on clubhouse. Absolutely. And thank you for having me today and thank you all for listening and yeah. Keep growing hemp and keep pushing the industry forward because we all need to, and it's a beautiful thing watching it grow. Absolutely. Thanks again, [00:29:00] Chloe.
And thanks everybody for tuning into the miracle plant. We'll see everybody next week until then take care of everybody.