Cannabis Media Keep Socially Distant Companies & Consumers Connected

About This Episode

Returning from a rather long hiatus, we’re happy to be back in the studio and hope that you and yours are staying safe and healthy in this challenging era we’re living through. It goes without saying that COVID-19 has impacted so many of us in just about every aspect of life with disruptions to the way we live, work and interact with one another. What’s been particularly challenging is finding ways to bridge the chasm between science and the national response, which has left most of us relying on trusted media, medical advisors and our better judgement to navigate daily business and inform choices we make to survive in a healthy way.

What has been amazing to watch is how adaptable we have become. The cannabis industry is no exception. We are fortunate that most state leaders have had the fortitude to deem cannabis businesses as essential so that they can continue to help patients access the medicine they need to stay healthy. That has created new challenges for cannabis businesses, who must still find a way to produce and market their products. Before COVID, trade shows and expos provided business leaders with effective channels for networking and educating the public, and provided consumers with a great way to learn about new products and speak with experts about ways in which cannabis can improve their health. Since those public gatherings have been out of the question in this era of social distancing, trade publications and online events like Canna World Expo have provided effective alternatives for both consumers and companies.

But when it comes to media, there are still challenges having to do with the legal disposition of cannabis. The FDA has yet to name hemp CBD as “Generally Recognized as Safe” since granting Epidiolex approval to be recognized as a “Drug.” While, at the time, that appeared to be good news for the industry, as most thought it would pave the way for eventual legalization of CBD, in reality, it actually rescheduled CBD, even that extracted from hemp, rather than remove CBD from the schedules of the Controlled Substances Act.

That created more of a gray area when it comes to advertising and marketing CBD to the public. There’s only so much a cannabis producer can say about their products to educate consumers without receiving a dreaded notice from FDA watchdogs. And, in the absence of expos and educational events, businesses have become more reliant on both consumer and trade publications to connect with one another and meet consumers’ growing demand for information about their products.

Now, more than ever, businesses and consumers must rely upon editorial media providing information about ways in which cannabis can help to strengthen their immunity and protect them from the inflammation that makes infectious diseases like COVID so deadly. That’s the topic of this episode and who better than a media expert to answer questions about how media can fill those gaps.

About Our Guest

Frank Lane is the founder and president of Cannabis Financial Network (CFN) Media Group, a publicly traded company. He has unique perspective about how cannabis companies have adapted to challenges posed by a global pandemic. Before focusing on the emerging cannabis and CBD markets and launching CFN Media in 2013, Frank spent the previous 15 years disrupting financial media to build and scale new products and services that drive revenue and growth. He was responsible for rolling out a targeted press release platform used by NASDAQ’s Globenewswire in 2009. Frank has worked with leading companies and brands in the global capital and consumer markets to deliver digital communications strategies and services that help them thrive.

Acknowledgements

We appreciate our partners!

If not for the generosity of our partners and sponsors, we wouldn’t be here! We’d first like to express gratitude for our radio sponsors Blue Mountain Energy and Cannasphere Biotech. We are grateful! We’d also like to shout out to XRQK Radio Network and Society Bytes Radio Network for broadcasting our show and Cannabis Radio for helping us spread the word online. Theme song “Evergreen” by Erik Godal. Cover image: Photo by Étienne Godiard with revision © Snowden Bishop 2020-All Rights Reserved.

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