About Chad Cooke
With legalization just around the corner in Canada and still creeping its way through the United States, I collaborate with anyone that has a vested interest in safely and conveniently providing medical and recreational consumers with high quality, affordable cannabis. That means I work with start-up cannabis entrepreneurs, established cannabis brands, policy makers, various government branches, and consultancies that require subject matter experience and design guidance.
Is this your first time to Prague?
Yes, this is my first time in Prague.
What message do you hope to get across for the cannabis industry?
The message I hope to convey is that for a cannabis company to be successful it must understand the local and global cannabis culture. To take a patient-centric and human-centric approach to doing business. To follow some of the tenements within the cannabis culture community and include in any business model involving investing in third world economies, the need to also build sustainable communities and local economic development. That this should be part of your brand which will make a difference to the consumer.
Would you support the legalization of cannabis if it had no medical value?
As a recreational substance I would.
What’s the best medical cannabis story you have heard?
This is a personal one. In 2000, many years before Dr. Sanjay Gupta did his CNN special about the children with Dravet Syndrome who were using cannabis oil, I got a call from parents of a 11 year old girl with this type of epilepsy. Back then things were a bit different so for these parents to reach out to us I knew they had tried everything else. Their daughter had as many as 40-70 seizures in a 24 hour period. She couldn’t attend school, sleep through the night…it goes on and on. I made a glycerin based tincture and had the parents come in to where I was working at the time and explained everything they needed to know. 3 days later I receive a call from the parents – they are in tears, then I am, as they proceed to tell me that in just those 3 days their daughter had a dramatic decrease in the amount of seizures she was normally having. It continued to get better as time went on. She was able to go to school, sleep through the night!, and have a quality of life she deserves. It was this one thing that made all the risk and hard work worth it. I often think about her and how she is doing.
What was your first experience with cannabis?
My first experience with cannabis was when I was 15. BC bud was just starting to make an appearance and my brother happened to know a guy…anyways, I smoked the best from the start!
Has cannabis ever landed you in trouble?
Not really. Lol! Just pissed off a lot of politicians back in the day!
If the global cannabis movement hadn’t begun, what would you be doing instead?
There is no instead. This is my life’s work. I would continue to work locally.
Where do you see the industry in 10 years?
I see it being one of the top vertical markets in the world in the same league as oil/gas and technology etc.
What are your plans outside of the convention, business or pleasure?
Business, with a bit of pleasure. Hoping to land a job. Getting to old for consulting! 🙂
How is your diary looking for the next six months?
Hopefully filled with work relating to what I present at the B2B conference in Prague!