Cannabis, crypto and karate fighting: Nashville hits the trifecta

By Todd Harrison via Cannabis Confidential (July 27)

History was made on Thursday when Karate Combat 48 arrived in Nashville, Tennessee.

I had never been to an MMA event, or to Nashville, but as a fight And As a music lover, I couldn’t wait to cross those items off my bucket list.

I contacted a friend from high school who now lives in Florida and asked if he wanted to meet up with me. That happened Wednesday night. After a few hours of getting used to the music city, Paul and I were ready to go into fight night.

Why this fight, and what kind of history, you ask? Our portfolio company Horticulture, which owns the Cure and Tempters brand, was one of the title sponsors of the event, which marked the first THC sponsorship of a professional sports league, the first time THC was sold in a Tennessee arena, and the first time cannabis and crypto, the other title sponsors, joined forces.

I’m not a crypto guy, but I’ve seen the industry evolve as an emerging asset class. In fact, I remember sitting on a MarketWatch panel over a decade ago talking about the potential of Bitcoin when I was diving into the cannabis space. I felt better about the latter, given my experiences; we know what happened next.

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The irony of these streams intersecting again a decade later was not lost on me. We’re talking about the opportunity cost of cannabis trading, and there’s no better example than crypto—and its community was out in force at the Nashville conference.

Security was tight. The Secret Service was patrolling the area and TSA-on-steroids frisked us as we entered the arena. They were also thorough, (hypothetically) finding a (hypothetically) Large dog in one bag, a (hypothetical) Sunburn vaping in another…

…which made it even more surreal when, after Upon entering the arena, we were encouraged to drink as many THC-infused Tempter drinks as we could.

I shunned alcohol for canna-drinks a year ago, but this was different: it was in public and in a red state, no less. As I was taking in the dichotomy, Paul pulled me and said, “Hey, do you want to do this?” so I did, not knowing what this was, when I met Hailey, better known as the “Hurrah Girl,” for reasons I’ll let you figure out for yourself.

Hurrah Hailey Welch

We went to the pit, where I felt a bit like Luke Skywalker must have felt when he first walked into the Cantina. I was fascinated by the personalities around me, many of them young and happy, all of them seemingly wealthy.

I have chatted a friendly guy named Nick who told me who the players were sitting around us, from Brock Pierce in an orange hat to Charlie Lee…

…Unpleasant this dude who reminded my old ass of Daft Punk and That a man with a $500,000 diamond necklace that I was told would be auctioned this weekend.

A bewitching Johnny Dang

It was a sensory overload, but I did pick up on a few themes. For starters, I didn’t hear anyone mention hemp-based cannabinoid drinks. I did, however, hear everyone rave about how great they were. hemp drinks—almost as if they were the same plant (which they are).

We have talked about the Hemp Warsand what an interesting case study it will be: one industry has overcome every conceivable barrier to reaching $40 billion in annual revenue, while the other has slipped through a loophole in the Farm Bill and grown to the same size, with some states tweaking regulations while others have banned intoxicating hemp altogether.

Meanwhile, cannabis remains a Schedule I narcotic, considered worse than fentanyl.

The Tennessee public didn’t seem to care, with the (hypothetical) exception of law enforcement, which shows how screwed up this construct is incongruent.

The US government has already told us that cannabis is healthier for us than alcohol – is it too much to ask to have Tempters And our (hypothetical) Big Dogs too?

UFC legends Ben Askren and Kenny Florian

16X MMA Grand Slam Champion (and nice person) Cris Cyborg

The reason for the Secret Service was revealed when RFK Jr. arrived. I’m pretty sure he would agree that canna is part of the societal solution, but I didn’t get a chance to ask.

I don’t have the sea legs I used to, so by the time the fights were over at 11:30 (12:30 ET), I was exhausted. But Tempter’s was hosting the afterparty, and we couldn’t be rude.

“We’ll show each other, shake hands, and then go to sleep,” I said to Paul, who also had an early flight, as we headed toward Broadway after a pizza stopover.

If I’m honest, I doubt I would have been at The Valentine if I was still drinking, but I did quit drinking, largely thanks to Tempter’s (true story). Still, it was good to step out of my comfort zone and connect with stakeholders and influencers outside of my circle.

Tempter’s newest brand ambassador Ne-Yo was also there, hydrating himself before hitting the road for his latest tour…

This also applies to Young Buck, not to be confused with old money.

Young goat

“These drinks don’t replace cannabis,” I said more than once, “they replace alcohol — with 5 calories per can — and are an introduction to cannabinoids that opens the door to a deeper, more meaningful relationship with the plant.”

But don’t take our word for it, figure it out yourself. “TODD24” gives 25% off your first purchase and “TODD” is good for 20% after that, which is the same discount I get, and getting it is Good ($4/can when ordering a case).

We are entering a busy period through the elections what a lot of uncertainties but one thing is abundantly clear: while our democracy falters, cannabis consumption continues to rise as the political elders grow older and even the cool kids take notice.

I wish you a safe journey and Enjoy responsibly.

If you want to help Mission (Green) change federal cannabis policy, Click here.

CB1 has positions in/advises on a number of the companies mentioned. Nothing in this document should be considered advice.

This article is from an unpaid external contributor. It does not represent Benzinga’s reporting and has not been edited for content or accuracy.

Photo by Drew Hays on Unsplash