Chicago Atlantic's Steven Ernest, Head of Originations, pulls back the curtain on institutional cannabis lending — from how his firm evaluates operators and underwrites deals, to navigating distressed assets, ESOPs, and the murky road ahead for rescheduling and 280E. If you want to understand how capital really flows in this industry, this is the episode.

But before we talk to Steven, a quick catch up: Ben's back from Maui, AnnaRae just returned from Kauai as the newly minted president of organic farming nonprofit WWOOF USA, and both are already packing bags again for the Canna Bev Summit in Miami.

They hit two sobering news items: a reefer-madness-flavored California hearing where Assembly member Jaqui Irwin is gunning for tighter cannabis packaging and dosing rules in an already struggling market, and Michigan's 8.3% year-over-year sales drop — a one-two punch of a new 24% wholesale tax and record winter storms hammering operators across the Northeast.

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