Nature created cannabis. Humans evolved it.
Something archetypal and powerful is emerging through it.
Today in the United States, 100 million people have or will soon have the ability to legally purchase and consume cannabis. Globally hundreds of millions more consume cannabis on a regular basis. Three powerful forces shape the choices that those consumers have: capitalism, prohibition and legislation. These forces create barriers between people and communities with deep wells of cannabis knowledge. Producer/growers, processors, state regulators, retailers, psychologists, healers, consumers of many types, addiction specialists, philosophers, students of consciousness, medical researchers, doctors, botanists, biochemists, technologists, neuroscientists, historians and so on all have expertise that needs to be integrated, to come together.
We at Physis and Agency see a picture emerging that connects them all, that brings together their strengths with a focus on creating the best consumer experiences possible in legal cannabis markets. On our Patreon we are building a map that connects knowledge, people and products into a cohesive perspective on mindful cannabis use.
Our work together began in 2017 on a consulting project with a simple question: what is the total addressable market (TAM) for legalized recreational cannabis in Arizona? As we started to apply strategic MBA level frameworks to finding the answer, more and more questions were raised—and a picture began to emerge.
After our TAM estimation (we almost perfectly predicted Arizona’s first year of taxable sales after legalizing recreational cannabis) we kept going. We built a database that combines disaggregated data to be able to track every single unit sale in the Washington cannabis industry by producer, processor, retailer, retail location, wholesale price, retail price and time in inventory. With tens of billions of interconnected data points it allows us to examine the market in unprecedented detail.
We spoke with producers, processors, retailers and thousands of customers, analyzed cannabis loyalty reward programs, developed an updated method of evaluating the character of a high, read hundreds of research papers, all with the intent of putting the cannabis consumer at the center of the model. Where we see missing pieces in cannabis knowledge we are creating it, such as in our flower dosing guide. Check it out. There's a lot more where that came from or on the way.
-Aric and Graham
A bit more about us
Graham Halwas
Graham began his career in cannabis as a supply chain analyst for a small, Seattle-based, family-owned producer growing flower that sells at one of the highest price points in Washington State. There he gained comprehensive experience with craft cannabis cultivation. After completing his MBA, Graham became general manager of a mid-sized cannabis retail store on the strip with the highest density of cannabis retailers in the state. He led that store to outperform competitors and achieve consistent sales growth by focusing on creating an excellent customer experience in an industry dominated by cost reduction. During his three years in retail, Graham was a certified medical marijuana consultant licensed by the Washington State Department of Health. Across thousands of conversations with customers and patients, ranging from first-time cannabis consumers to those with decades of experience, he developed a deep understanding of customers’ needs and of how nearly all cannabis consumers are underserved.
Aric Mayer
Aric has experience across the business spectrum, from billion-dollar legacy enterprises to scrappy startups that are trying to change the world, and has led projects for clients ranging in scale from Amazon to small boutique product companies. With both an MFA and an MBA, Aric brings creative energy and hard business skills to everything he does. He created and co-teaches the MBA Consulting Capstone in all three tracks of the MBA program at Western Washington University. He co-created, co-directs and co-teaches the Arts Enterprise and Cultural innovation minor, a two-year program consisting of seven completely original courses that function as an accelerator for creative enterprise for students who are pursuing a degree within the arts, design or social practice spaces. He founded Cake Machine, a boutique consulting company firm that focused for over a decade on providing marketing strategy and comprehensive talent development for creative entrepreneurs. Aric co-founded Hopela and built the first mobile giving platform, creating a new category in the Apple store. There he built a scalable B2B and B2C mobile payment and donor engagement solution for NPOs, launching on three mobile platforms and web with a unique UX resulting in rapid adoption with a 2.5x referral index. He worked in magazine publishing at Time Inc and Hearst for a decade, winning the Time Inc President’s Award for contributions to coverage of the attacks on the World Trade Center on 9/11. Aric co-led the imaging production team for the People Group at Time Inc. that produced People Magazine, at that time a billion dollar publication, as well as incubated and launched numerous titles including InStyle and Real Simple. Aric was co-founder and first president of the Pratt Artists' League, now in its 30th year of supporting creative professionals at Pratt Institute as they launch their careers. He produced the first two exhibitions to represent the graduating classes of all NYC arts programs, juried by curators from the Museum of Modern Art and the Brooklyn Museum. Aric graduated with an MFA in painting from Pratt, giving the 1997 student commencement address, the first time a graduate student was elected for this award in Pratt’s 100+ history.