Xzibit: Before we get to our guest, let’s talk about the HHS (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) rescheduling cannabis.

Tammy: Yes, they are hinting that it’s GOING to happen.

Xzibit: So it hasn’t happened yet, they’re just talking about it?

Tammy: Right. Remember when there was that Roe v Wade leak, and then it actually happened a few months later? It’s one of those situations.

Xzibit: Okay, so give us some background information as to why this is significant at this time?

Tammy: Unfortunately it’s not descheduling, which would remove it completely. Rescheduling means moving cannabis from one category to another.

Cannabis is currently Schedule I, and they’re talking about moving it to Schedule III.

Schedule I means that there’s no accepted medical use, there is high potential for abuse, and there’s basically no benefit.

Because there are almost 40 states with a medical cannabis program, we now know that it wasn’t properly scheduled.

Now they are trying to move it to Schedule III, but the issue is that everything that is on Schedule III has to get FDA clearance before it is sold.

Xzibit: What else is Schedule III that our listeners might know of?

Tammy: Testosterone, ketamine, and anabolic steroids. It’s honestly offensive that cannabis is in that same category.

Xzibit: Okay well onto today’s guest.

We have a guest here that we’re excited to talk to, his name is Teddy Bang. What is the name of the cultivation that you’re from?

Teddy: The big brand that sells in the dispensaries is called Cali Flwr Farms, but there are a bunch of different brands.

Xzibit: We are excited to talk with him because we love talking to our fellow cannabis operators about their philosophies and why we do what we do for the plant.

Welcome, Teddy. Thank you for coming.

Teddy: Thank you, thank you.

Xzibit: Give us a little background on how you got into cannabis. What led you down this path, and what plans do you have for your company in the future?

Teddy: Man, that’s a lot. I come from a highly educated medical background. I worked in the pharmaceutical space and know all about the HHS and DEA.

When it comes to the rescheduling, we’d all love to see it be descheduled. I think the HHS is saying that for the first phase, let’s let doctors be a part of it and let them prescribe it.

Tammy: Just like it used to be in the 1940’s, and prior to that.

Teddy: Personally, I wish they would just let it go and I don’t think doctors need to touch it at all.

I come from the entrepreneurial space on the hospital/medical side, and I saw some things I liked and a lot of things I didn’t like.

Xzibit: If you don’t mind me asking, what did you do in that medical space?

Teddy: I did operating room technology. One of my biggest things was a system that allowed surgeons to robotically perform operations by interacting with joysticks and a computer.

This removed the shaky tremors. There’s a lot of caffeine in a doctor's world, so you need that. I got involved with a couple of start up companies and went public. It was a good experience.

Xzibit: So you did well in the medical space. What made you choose cannabis?

Teddy: Well, personal reasons. I was always preaching to my daughter to be passionate, but what was I passionate about? For me, it was surfing and weed.

At the time, top pro surfer Kelly Slater created a wave pool that could generate perfect waves every time. So I went to work there, but instead of surfing I was in meetings and writing emails. I realized it wasn’t the right passion.

The second passion choice was weed, and California had just voted to make it legal. I got linked up with people with similar passions and started at the bottom, selling THC breath mints. It was the only thing I could find!

Xzibit: I started with LOL Taffy, and it was so crazy. We couldn’t figure out how to dose it correctly, so the pieces were all off balanced. It was horrible!

Teddy: That was me, selling whatever I could sell. Then I finally got to flower. I have a plug in San Diego with some fire weed, and whatever he can bring I can sell.

So I’m in a position that even if things go wrong with this rescheduling and it goes back to the way it was, it might not be a bad thing after all.

Tammy: Cannabis became such a lucrative product because of the prohibition. We didn’t know what was on the market.

With supply and demand, you know the supply so you can set your pricing based on the demand. But we don’t know any of that, so that’s what drives the prices.

There’s also no insurance, no taxes, and no overhead. Honestly, it’s a plant and it needs to be freed. The dispensary jars remind me of little prisons!

Xzibit: It’s called marketing and it’s a necessary evil.

Tammy: We’re looking at it a little too deep. People are thinking “why can’t we make a billion dollars from weed?” Because it’s a plant and there are pests and other things you can’t control.

Xzibit: Do you think there will always be a traditional market, no matter what happens?

Teddy: Yeah, I think there will always be some form of traditional market. You brought up a good point, California has a very sophisticated stoner base, so you see a lot of California branding.

I know my weed, I’ll buy it in the turkey bag. No offense to Snoop, but I’m not paying extra for weed just because I see his face on it. Well maybe I would, just because it’s Snoop.

Xzibit: Yeah shout out to Dogg, man! What’d Dogg do?! I’ll buy all the Snoop weed!

Teddy: I’ve never smoked it, so I don’t know. No shade, no shade.

But we see brands come in and just think that their jar or packaging will get people to pay more. We found that to be false. Whether it’s a social influencer or celebrity, doesn’t make a difference.

Xzibit: I feel the same way and I see it all the time. Even though I’ve had brands, they’ve all stood on their own because they are quality products.

I’m an operator, I don’t just put my name on something unless I’ve actually had a hand in building it from the ground up.

I take pride and love standing next to guys like you. We are a community, and I love that we can view and build with each other.

Teddy: Before it was legal, you were just looking for top shelf quality. Once it became legal, there were suddenly hundreds of brands in that top space.

So we went out and talked to all the dispensaries in the area, and they said what they need is middle tier, economically priced weed.

Not the shittiest weed, but weed that the daily smoker will keep smoking.

So we put a lot of effort into talking with our farmers about what the dispensaries are specifically looking to buy. It’s important to bridge the communication between the dispensaries and farms.

At the end of the day, don’t come at me with a brand saying “just put weed in it and sell it under this brand.” No, it starts with the seed and the flower.

Xzibit: So which brand did you start first?

Teddy: Well we had a lot that came and went, and we learned a lot. But at the beginning, Humble Exotics was a good one that had some killer strains.

We didn’t have as much weed as we do now, so just 3 dispensaries could buy us out. The original strain that put us on the map was Narco OG.

Now, Cali Flwrs is one of our top brands. If you go to one of the dispensaries that we sell in, our brands are usually in the top sellers. It’s because it’s pure weed with a good structure, and we sell it for 20 bucks an ⅛ out the door.

Xzibit: That’s awesome. Brands like Cali Flwr Farms and Pacific Stone do super volume, so that’s a great model. I haven’t seen your stuff in the dispensaries, but I’ll definitely look for it from now on.

I know you brought some stuff for us today and we will be enjoying that in just a minute. But I wanted to ask, does Cali Flwr Farms use indoor or outdoor methods?

Teddy: We started indoor, but we realized that the cost of the power needed to grow in LA is too high. It’s like 55 cents per kilowatt.

When you get out to the agricultural areas and into the green houses you lose the full control of indoor growth, but the cost of power is significantly lower.

Our yields really got hurt this year by the extended gloom, which really crushed us and had us running around to get money to stay alive. For that reason we invested in 500 lights to use when it’s too cloudy.

So to answer your question, I’d say we are a hybrid operation. Indoor and outdoor.

Xzibit: Do you want to keep your brands in a boutique, or do you want to grow out to be massive multi-state operators?

Teddy: Right now, we’re all very happy with what we’re doing and we love our day-to-day jobs. We try not to think too long-term, because things are always changing.

In the beginning we were thinking global, but now we are just focusing on Southern California. We keep figuring out ways to be profitable and grow.

We use what I like to call the “In-N-Out” model. Our weed isn’t fancy, but it’s good enough to smoke.

We’re just focused on keeping it local. Even if it did go federal, there’s no way I could afford to put California weed in New York.

Right now we are figuring out California, then it’ll be Arizona, and then Nevada. That’s a long process, so to go nationwide would take at least 10 to 15 years for me.

Xzibit: Do you think that eventually they’re going to move cannabis around like they move California avocados? Like have a label that says, “Made in California”?

Tammy: Yeah I think so, everybody wants it. You made a great point, the sophisticated cannabis culture is brand sophisticated. We know what we like and we’re going to get it.

On the other hand, a lot of people are just worried about making their dollar stretch. You can either be a cost leader or different, but you can’t be different AND cheap.

There are people new to cannabis that don’t need the top shelf product, and there are people who only smoke on weekends and don’t need to spend a lot of money.

Xzibit: There’s standouts in each category: economy brands, premium brands, and elite brands. There’s room for everything.

I really commend you for sticking through it, and hopefully Cali Flwr Farms will have a successful 2024.

Teddy: Thank you. This year’s looking good so far.

Xzibit: Well look man, I appreciate you coming. It’s the Lasagna Ganja Podcast. We try to support and talk to everybody, and we thank you for coming and rocking with us.

Lasagna Ganja Podcast, it’s Mr X to the Z Xzibit.

Tammy: And Tammy a.k.a. The Cannabis Cutie.

Xzibit: And Teddy Bang!

Teddy: Thank you!