Merry Cannabis - Podcast with Parker McCloud

Outline

Crested Butte and Back Country Cannabis Overview

• Harry Brelsford introduces himself and mentions he visits Crested Butte, Colorado, a couple of times a year.
• Harry is at Back Country Cannabis with the owner, Parker McCloud, and comments on the fresh snow and the ski resort.
• Parker McCloud introduces himself as the new owner of Back Country Cannabis, mentioning that he has been the general manager since 2012.
• Parker explains the transition from a medicinal dispensary to a recreational one in 2014 and mentions going through multiple ownership changes.

Local Market and Tourism in Crested Butte

• Harry and Parker discuss the local market, with Harry noting that Parker probably loves Texans.
• Parker mentions that he was born in Texas and expresses a desire for more Texans to visit Crested Butte.
• Harry recalls meeting a couple from Texarkana, and Parker confirms their location on the border between Arkansas and Texas.
• Parker talks about the ebb and flow of tourists in Crested Butte, noting that summers have become more popular while winters have become more challenging.

Impact of Altitude on Cannabis Consumption

• Harry shares his experience with edibles at high altitude, noting the strong effects at 9500 feet.
• Parker agrees, explaining that altitude can affect both cannabis and alcohol consumption, as well as digestion and sleep.
• Harry mentions his involvement in the cannabis technology space and his work with a colleague, Sterling, who passed away.
• Parker expresses his admiration for Sterling, who was a significant influence on him.

National Cannabis Industry Trends

• Harry asks Parker for his opinion on the national cannabis industry.
• Parker notes that the industry is booming, with states like Michigan and Missouri joining the legalization movement.
• Harry draws a parallel to the gambling industry, mentioning how it has spread across the US.
• Parker predicts that cannabis will eventually become as widely available as gambling, possibly even being sold in places like Walmart.

Future of Cannabis Legalization

• Harry and Parker discuss the future of cannabis legalization, with Harry expressing doubt about it becoming legal in Texas in his lifetime.
• Parker mentions that he never thought cannabis would be legal in Arkansas but acknowledges the success of their municipal program.
• Harry suggests doing a skit inspired by the TV show "Cheers" the next time they meet.
• Parker agrees, and they end the conversation on a light-hearted note, with Harry asking to be called "Harry" next time.

So you can listen to the podcast on this topic HERE https://youtu.be/zb1Kj2DUvtc . The transcript starts right below!

Harry Brelsford  00:04

Hey, nation. Nation. Harry, here in Crested Butte, Colorado, I tried to get up here a couple times a year. I'm at the dispensary back country cannabis, with the owner, Parker. McCloud. Parker, how you doing?

Parker McCloud  00:16

I'm doing great today. Yeah. Thank you very much for stopping by. Yeah,

Harry Brelsford  00:21

no problem. Yeah, a lot of fresh snow. So that's that's kind of the business crest of buttes in with the ski resort. So tell me a little bit about you. I've actually gotten to know you over a couple of years of visits. So about you? Yeah,

Parker McCloud  00:35

I'm the new owner here in back country cannabis. My wife and I have just recently purchased the dispensary. I have have been the general manager, run the store almost completely since 2012 we were medicinal dispensary. Back then, in 2014 we did transfer into a recreational dispensary and relinquish that medical license back to the state. Went through a whole bunch of ownership changes through the years. I've actually ran the store for four different owners, and I'm now the fifth owner. Yeah, very, very happy to say that.

Harry Brelsford  01:15

Yeah, no kidding. Um, so what we'll play State of the Nation here? What? Let's talk about, sort of the local market I'm suspecting. Don't want to put you on the spot. You You probably never met a Texan. You didn't like

Parker McCloud  01:31

I love Texans. I was actually born in Texas, so, yeah, I love them. Bring them on up here. I wish Mark could come to crest of Butte. It's, it's a beautiful thing,

Harry Brelsford  01:42

yeah, because the other day when I stopped by to visit you, initially, the couple that was here at the same time Texarkana, so they were from sort of the northeast part of the state, so

Parker McCloud  01:54

that's exactly right on the border between Arkansas and Texas. Yeah, yeah, that's

Harry Brelsford  01:57

pretty cool. Um, how we're, how we're, thing, I mean, you're, you're a resort town at the end of the day, you're probably not doing much mining anymore. How? How's that look? I mean, are you getting good flow in the summer and winter of tourists?

Parker McCloud  02:13

You know, we are winners have become a little bit more difficult than they used to be. But in that same respect, summers have completely exploded. We definitely have the ebbs and flows here, being a resort town, April and May is what we call mud season. Yes, I mean, there's nobody here. Even if you live here full time, you usually take that time to go and go to Moab, go on your adventures. So even long time, full year, locals aren't even here. So for me, when they're not here, they're not purchasing cannabis. That's that's noticeable. And on top of that, when all the restaurants and the resort and any job that might generate some sort of income for these locals, that's gone away. So there's a lot of a lot of saving, a lot of you know, cutting out unneeded expenses, which, unfortunately, sometimes can, can mean cannabis.

Harry Brelsford  03:08

Yeah. And then on a local note as well, and my readers know, well, you know, I've been active in the good Lord is that 678, years, the cannabis spaces and analysts, primarily on the cannabis technology side. Worked with a colleague of yours, Sterling, and by the way, he passed on, hello, oh yeah. I reached out to him. Yeah. He

Parker McCloud  03:29

was, he was my boss for for a good amount of time, and he was, he was a great, great guy. Very happy to have gotten to him.

Harry Brelsford  03:36

Yeah. So, so one thing I noticed was I got one of my favorite edibles, you know, and went back to the condo and, you know, locked up the car for the evening and watched little football and stuff on TV with the holidays here. But man, at 9500 feet, or whatever the living room sofa is, it's, it hits hard.

Parker McCloud  04:00

Yeah, it does. You know, altitude can affect everything. It can affect alcohol, cannabis, even digestion and sleep. So you definitely do need to take a lot of thought into how much you're consuming at altitude. Yeah.

Harry Brelsford  04:15

And then finally, on the National Front, you know, I keep my finger on the pulse, but I'd like your opinion. What, what are you hearing for the industry, or what's your opinion on the industry as a whole? At the national level,

Parker McCloud  04:29

you know, I'd say at the national level, it's probably pretty booming. You know, we have states like Michigan, we have states like Missouri that are going on board, and they're seeing huge numbers, and that can kind of also explain the decrease in numbers that we're seeing here in Colorado, is that these new states coming on board for legalization, their their citizens no longer have to look elsewhere.

Harry Brelsford  04:54

Yeah, I That's a good point. I would say it's analogous to gambling. Um. You know, I'm old enough to remember when Las Vegas was pretty much it maybe Atlantic City, and then now she's man and the, you know, American Indian reservations and whatnot. It's, it's all there, except the state of Texas.

Parker McCloud  05:14

You can, you can gamble right in the palm of your hand with your phone nowadays. I mean, there's so many different availabilities for gambling. You know, it's eventually going to be true for cannabis. And, you know, maybe 1015, 20 years down the road, you'll see cannabis being sold in Walmart. Yeah,

Harry Brelsford  05:32

we'll see, I don't know if we'll see it legal in Texas in my lifetime. It's, I mean, and that's actually good for you, yeah.

Parker McCloud  05:40

And, you know, in that respect, I grew up in Arkansas, and I would say, I would have never thought that would ever happen. But they do have a municipal program that seems to be thriving down there, and they're taking things responsible for not only the the patients, but also the state's economy. Alright,

Harry Brelsford  05:57

so I'll, I'll finally end on this. I mean, thank you for your time. Hey, promise me when I come back in the summer, and I kind of agree, I kind of like the summer, I like the flowers and the leaves of the fall. You know, it's a nice time to visit. But why don't we do a little skit, you know, the old popular TV show, cheers. And when norm walked into the bar in Boston, everybody go norm.

Parker McCloud  06:22

So I love cheers. Yeah. Watch the entire the entire series from start to finish multiple times,

Harry Brelsford  06:29

yeah, so maybe give me a Harry next time. How about that? I will Harry. Alright. Thanks for your time, and away we go for.