Policy and regulation across cannabis and hemp are shifting fast—and operators don’t get to pause the business while Washington debates definitions.

On Episode 123 of High Spirits, Ben Larson and AnnaRae Grabstein sit down with Thomas Winstanley, EVP of edibles.com, to unpack what it actually looks like to build and operate through policy uncertainty. From the urgency of 2026 (“do or die”) to the reality that “waiting for clarity” isn’t a strategy, Thomas shares how his team is planning in scenarios, engaging policymakers, and pushing for a framework that preserves consumer access while drawing a real line between good actors and bad actors.

They also zoom out to the market signals shaping this moment—like United Center’s multi-year THC beverage deal with GTI and the rise of employee ownership structures (ESOPs)—and why curated product strategies (not endless SKU sprawl) may be the most resilient way to grow.

What You’ll Learn

• Where advocacy is actually being focused as federal hemp policy heats up
  
  
• How to “operate while the rules are still being written” without losing business momentum
  
  
• Why Thomas sees 2026 as a defining year—and what a realistic path forward could include
  
  
• How to plan with contingencies (worst / middle / best case) when the regulatory floor could shift
  
  
• Why unity across competing interests matters—and how to have the hard conversations productively
  
  
• The consumer shift toward low-dose, ratioed products (THC + CBD) as a mainstream on-ramp
  
  

Why Tune In?
If you’re leading a cannabis or hemp business right now, this conversation is a tactical gut-check: how to stay proactive, keep building, and engage in advocacy without getting pulled off mission—especially when certainty isn’t on the table.

Have a question for us? Send us a text. We may answer it in the next show!

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High Spirits is brought to you by Vertosa and Wolf Meyer.

Your hosts are Ben Larson and AnnaRae Grabstein.

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