High Functioning Podcast

Jason Reposa
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

High Functioning Podcast is hosted by Jason Reposa, founder and CEO of Good Feels, a Massachusetts-based cannabis-infused beverage company. Join Jason as he dives into candid conversations with industry experts, innovators, and thought leaders from the cannabis world. Each episode explores the stories behind the people shaping the future of cannabis, from business practices to wellness trends. Whether you’re curious about the cannabis industry, looking to learn from the best, or simply want to stay informed, this podcast offers high-level insights with a dose of positivity.

  1. 4d ago

    Nick Lazzaro on Polite Corruption, Question 8 and the 7th Worcester District

    Nick Lazzaro, Democratic candidate for state representative in Massachusetts' 7th Worcester District, says there is "polite corruption" at the State House. He breaks down who is funding Question 8 and why voters face nine ballot questions this November. Nick was on the Millbury school board at 18, now serves on the Millbury Select Board, and runs a mobile car detailing business staffed by students. He's running against a 30-year incumbent seeking his 16th term. Jason and Nick talk about following the money on Question 8, the repeal of legal adult-use cannabis in Massachusetts, the 2024 audit question, public records, Question 1, why cannabis banking is broken, and why Nick says he has no plans to become a career politician. Free weekly cannabis operator brief: https://tr.ee/hfnewsletter Save 15% on Good Feels THC beverages: https://getgoodfeels.com/ (code HF15) CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro 01:28 Why He Stepped Up 05:16 Inside the 7th Worcester District 07:27 Not a Career Politician 11:22 Running a Business While Running for Office 19:37 Cannabis Banking Is Insane 25:32 Follow the Money on Question 8 32:54 The Audit and Public Records 36:39 Yes on Question 1 39:58 Why Your Ballot Has So Many Questions GUEST Nick Lazzaro, candidate for State Representative, 7th Worcester District (Millbury, Auburn, North Oxford, parts of Charlton and Leicester) Website: https://nicklazzaro.com Socials: @ElectNickLazzaro HOST Jason Reposa, Founder and CEO, Good Feels Show: https://highfunctioning.show Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026. For adults 21+ where legal. Opinions are the guest's own. Nothing in this episode is medical, legal or voting advice.

  2. 6d ago

    Connor Murray: 23, a Hard No on Question 8, and Four Terms Max

    I sat down with Connor Murray, a 23-year-old running for state rep in the 18th Essex District, which covers my old hometown of Tewksbury. I ask him why he opposes Question 8's repeal of adult-use cannabis, how campaigns decide which doors to knock, why his district is split across so many reps, what it costs to run, and why he's pledged to serve no more than four terms. He also shares the first bill he wants to carry, on workers' comp retaliation. (00:00) Intro (01:29) From Activist to Candidate (02:59) Why Run for Office at 23? (05:42) Why He's a Hard No on Question 8 (10:40) How Campaigns Decide Which Doors to Knock (13:47) The Home of Gerrymandering (15:18) The Ballot Questions That Didn't Make It (20:33) Only One Got 150 Signatures (23:41) Four Terms, Then Out (25:58) His Day-One Bill (27:24) Fired for Weekend Cannabis Use (29:56) Do You Consume? (33:58) What It Really Costs to Run Instagram: @murray4ma More episodes: highfunctioning.show

  3. Oct 6

    Chris Porter on Two Decades of Touring, Weed on the Road and Where the Money Comes From

    Chris Porter started stand-up at 19 because he was too shy to talk to women. By 23 he was on the road. By 26 he was on NBC's Last Comic Standing, buying his parents a big-screen TV so they'd stop asking about college. Two decades later, 95% of his income still comes from touring, and he hasn't even turned on social media monetization. Chris and Jason get into what nobody tells you about the comedy business: why there's no career ladder anymore, why YouTubers filling clubs actually help young comics, and why he left LA for Kansas City. He's also honest about cannabis. Weed helped him survive the loneliness of hotel rooms and 2 AM television, but a few months ago he stopped smoking before his first show because it was costing him presence on stage. Plus the night he and Justin Verlander ended up playing beer pong with Mumford & Sons at his parents' house, and Carlin's rule for writing high. Chris plays Springfield, MA on October 10 and Boston on October 11. His new special, Middle Rage, is out now. For adults 21+ where legal. Nothing in this episode is medical advice. New episodes every Tuesday. Follow High Functioning so you don't miss the next one.

  4. Sep 29

    He Left Film for a Dispensary Counter: Cameron Morton on Budtenders, AI, and Question 8

    Cameron Morton spent years as an assistant director on films like American Hustle and Joy. Then he walked away to start his own production company, PLAN R Pictures, and he funds it with a shift lead job at Native Sun. From behind that counter he sees something most of the industry is missing: by his estimate, eight out of ten customers have no idea legal cannabis is on the Massachusetts ballot this November. His pitch for a better campaign ad is simple. Take the stores away and the sale moves to parking lots. Jason and Cameron get into why film productions are moving crews to Prague and Canada, how a 160-page script turned into a movie, and what cannabis use actually looks like on a film set. Then they go behind the dispensary counter: what budtenders recommend first, why brand pop-ups help most on busy days, and why a neighborhood store and a suburban store sell so differently. Cameron also explains why he calls generative AI plagiarism, and where a small cannabis brand with no budget should start with content. 00:00 Cold open 01:59 From film sets to his own company 08:34 Why film crews are leaving America 12:36 How a 160-page script became a movie 32:42 Cannabis on film sets 35:06 The budtender is the last step before the sale 49:29 Is generative AI plagiarism? 1:02:40 Question 8 at the counter 1:11:16 Where a small brand should start with content 1:24:49 The No on 8 ad he wants to make This episode is for adults 21+ where cannabis is legal. Nothing here is medical or legal advice. Follow High Functioning for weekly conversations with the people building the legal cannabis industry, and find every episode at highfunctioning.show.

  5. Sep 22

    Half the Edibles Batch Was Waste | Giovanni Estrella, Estrella Technologies

    Waste on the edibles line at one of the biggest cannabis companies in America was running around 50%. The freezers were stacked to the ceiling, and nobody on the floor was putting a number on it until one engineer did. The company's response wasn't to fix the process. It was to cut brownies out of the lineup entirely. That's the story Giovanni Estrella tells about being Trulieve's first engineer, and it sets up everything he does now. Giovanni left Navy flight school in Pensacola to get into cannabis, took the first engineering job at a major MSO during COVID, then went to Harvard Business School and started a functional mushroom tea company out of a commercial kitchen. Today he runs Estrella Technologies, consulting with tier-two and tier-three Massachusetts cultivators and manufacturers on their data. He explains why MSOs hire process people they won't listen to, why compliance tracking captures room movements but not the work in between, why labor cost is the number almost nobody tracks, and why small brands should co-pack before chasing their own license. He and Jason also get into how Atomic Fungi landed on dispensary shelves, and the story of bringing Berner to Harvard. 21+ where legal. Business conversation only. Nothing here is medical, legal, or investment advice, and cited figures are the guest's recollection. Listen on your podcast app or watch at highfunctioning.show.

  6. Sep 15

    They Drilled a Hole in a Plug. Now It's in 50 Stores | Nancy Domenichelli & Diana Langle, TarTubes

    Nancy Domenichelli and Diana Langle met at a letter-writing campaign for a local candidate. They were the only two who showed up. Between letters they found out they lived six blocks apart in Springfield, and at 4:20 they found out something else. One morning Diana reached for a cigarette with a filter on it, Nancy reached for a pre-roll, and the pre-roll would not fit. That mismatch became TarTubes. The first working version was a plastic plug from Diana's husband's workshop with a hole drilled through it. Fourteen months later the product is on close to 50 shelves across five states, and 80% of those dispensaries have reordered twice. Nancy and Diana are the co-founders of TarTubes LLC, a filter adapter that lets a standard disposable filter attach to a pre-roll. In this conversation with Jason Reposa they walk through the whole build: the tissue paper and cardboard failures, the university engineering lab that drew the first 3D print and cannot be publicly credited because federal grant money is on the line, the second designer who made it look like a product, and the Flower Expo soft launch where they gave away thousands of samples. They get specific about distribution. Why bud tender education is the actual sales mechanism, what a display case costs a store, how DTC stacks up against wholesale, and what a brand rep's word of mouth did to their shelf count. They close on Massachusetts Question 8 and why the repeal is a no vote. 21+ only where legal. Nothing here is medical advice, and claims about tar and filtration are the guests' own statements, not verified by the show. Listen at highfunctioning.show.

  7. Sep 8

    Someone Brought Him A Duffel Bag Of Cash | Marc Kazinec, Best in Grass

    Somebody showed up with a duffel bag full of cash to buy a win in a cannabis competition. Mark Kazinec says it would not have changed his life, but it would have changed his year. He turned it down, and then he had to call people he considered friends to tell them their votes were being deleted for trying to rig the same competition. That is the whole business in one story: an awards program that only exists because people believe the results. Mark is the co-founder and COO of Best in Grass. He came up through Manhattan marketing, a Hollywood mailroom, and comedy touring at CAA before High Times poached him in 2018. Inside High Times he built the Cannabis Cup People's Choice model that opened judging to the public, watched the company overpromise and underdeliver to clients and staff, and left months before board members started calling him about lawsuits and SEC fraud claims against the ownership. He started Best in Grass in January 2024 and the clients followed him out. In this conversation he walks Jason through the entire economics: free entry for brands, roughly 3,000 judge kits assembled per state, 20% of kit revenue to retailers, 10% to the intake facility, $75K to $100K in cost to run a single state, and unique per-kit QR codes that shut down vote stacking. He and Jason also get into what a Massachusetts repeal would actually cost operators, and why the illicit market conversation is not about the guy growing twelve plants at home. 21+ where legal. Nothing here is legal, medical, or financial advice. Listen to High Functioning wherever you get your podcasts, or watch at highfunctioning.show.

  8. Sep 1

    Big Beer Moved Too Early. Boston Beer Waited. | Paul Weaver, Teapot

    Years ago, Molson Coors and Anheuser-Busch put millions into cannabis beverages in Canada. They built their own breweries. The market wasn't ready, and the bet didn't return. Boston Beer Company watched all of it happen, then entered the category in 2022 without owning a single facility. They licensed their brands out, partnered with a manufacturer in Windsor, Ontario, and put their own people and their own lab inside that partner's building. Their cannabis iced tea, Teapot, is now the number one cannabis iced tea in Canada and holds roughly a 20 percent share of the drink category in Quebec. Paul Weaver is Head of Cannabis and Director of Cannabis Operations at Boston Beer Company, the maker of Samuel Adams, Twisted Tea, Angry Orchard, and Truly. He spent seven years at Molson Coors and led beverage innovation at Canopy Growth before building Boston Beer's cannabis business from scratch. In this conversation he walks through the co-packing playbook that keeps quality consistent, why documented SOPs and on-site staff matter more than ownership, and how Canada's provincial system works when ten government boards are your only customers. He explains why Quebec bans cannabis gummies outright, why Boston Beer is not in Alberta, and what the split between five and ten milligram drinkers says about who actually buys these products. Jason also pins him down on the question every operator wants answered: what has to change before Boston Beer brings a THC drink to the United States. 21+ where legal. This episode is for informational purposes only and is not medical, legal, or investment advice. Listen to the full conversation on High Functioning.

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Ratings & Reviews

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About

High Functioning Podcast is hosted by Jason Reposa, founder and CEO of Good Feels, a Massachusetts-based cannabis-infused beverage company. Join Jason as he dives into candid conversations with industry experts, innovators, and thought leaders from the cannabis world. Each episode explores the stories behind the people shaping the future of cannabis, from business practices to wellness trends. Whether you’re curious about the cannabis industry, looking to learn from the best, or simply want to stay informed, this podcast offers high-level insights with a dose of positivity.

Information

  • Creator
    Jason Reposa
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    127
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Jason Reposa
  • Show Website
    High Functioning Podcast