Tripp Keber: Dixie Elixirs & Edibles

He was a little irritated with us for limiting him to a one-word answer for a particular question on our list and that’s completely understandable because this entrepreneur has more than enough to say. He has novels of knowledge reeling from his lips every time he speaks. He’s one of those people you sit in front of and watch his mind race behind his eyes. Tripp Keber is the CEO of Dixie Elixirs and is on his way to make a very major impact and if you take the time to read his interview…. a very major impact on you.

What was the deciding factor for you to join this particular industry?

Bret Bogue: Apothecary Genetics

He’s setting out to bring Apothecary Genetics to the forefront as the leading brand for cannabis seed distribution and development. So, obviously we don’t have to prove further that Bret Bogue has no shortage of ambition. He’s extended their reach far past national boarders to other countries and are already growing to become a household name in the global cannabis market. Absolutely eye-opening, mind-expanding, and thought-provoking information in our interview with the mastermind of the seed from which our industry grows…

What was the deciding factor for you to join this particular industry?

Derwin Wallace: CannaWebcast

Whether you’re a grower, a dispensary owner, a product developer, or a consultant in the cannabis industry… you have hopefully realized the importance of putting yourself, your company, and your mission out there for investors and members of the media alike. The only obstacle is time and finances, but that’s what Derwin Wallace of CannaWebcast has sought to alleviate with his monthly online meeting that is putting entrepreneurs and investors from across the nation into the same room without even a thought of an airline ticket. Now, how creative is that?

Technology is beginning to affect every aspect of the cannabis marketplace, pushing it in unprecedented directions. As Tantalus Labs builds the first ground-up, legal, cannabis-tailored greenhouse in Canada, we can’t help notice others building ancillary services in the marketplace. As with most health innovation, the end result is a better patient experience. Some of these prospects are big bets on the future, and many others can be found in established industries, with the application to marijuana seemingly past due.

Weed history is being made in Seattle: the first vending machines to dispense marijuana flower buds debuted Tuesday.

The machines, called ZaZZZ, are being placed in medical pot dispensaries, which helps to verify customer's age and identity since medical marijuana cards are required to enter the centers, said Greg Patrick, a spokesman for the maker of ZaZZZ, American Green.

Though vending machines appeared for the first time in Colorado last year, those sold only edibles, or cannabis-infused foods, and not the plant's flower buds that are so often associated with smoking pot.

Medical marijuana users will be among the earliest users of bitcoin, according to bitcoin entrepreneur Peter Klamka. Klamka’s Ann Arbor, Mich.-based company, Bitcoin Brands, has placed a bitcoin ATM machine at one medical marijuana dispensary and is in the process of placing another two in the Grand Rapids area.

Klamka’s bitcoin ATM machine, made by Portland, Ore.-based Skyhook, provides the customer a QR code which they get scanned at the checkout counter by a clerk using a bitcoin payment tablet.

“The (payment) technology is like a gift card,”

The Hebrew University tech transfer company will collaborate on a novel delivery system.

Hebrew University of Jerusalem technology transfer company Yissum Research Development Co. Ltd. has signed an exclusive licensing and collaboration agreement with PhytoTech Medical Ltd. for the development, manufacturing and marketing of a novel delivery system to enhance the bioavailability of cannabidiol (CBD) and/or THC. These are the active ingredients in cannabis, for the treatment of various medical indications. The novel formulations are based on oral and transbuccal delivery technologies developed by Professors Abraham Domb and Amnon Hoffman of the Hebrew University Faculty of Medicine, School of Pharmacy, Institute of Drug Research.

With recreational marijuana production and sales now legal in Colorado and two other states, utilities and energy efficiency experts are waking up to the challenge posed by an industry with a massive appetite for power that runs on 1980s technology.

Cultivating cannabis takes energy. Lots of energy.

A 2011 peer-reviewed study by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that on a per-square-foot basis, it takes 356 percent more energy to run a cannabis operation than it takes to operate a hospital ( Read the report here).