Jason Nelson brings a decade of operational knowledge within the regulated cannabis industry to the Avail Ag Division and currently serves as its Chief Executive Officer. As CEO, Nelson leverages his industry experience in executive operational and cultural leadership roles to lead the strategic deployment of Avail services within client organizations in the CBD, cannabis and psychedelic industries. He oversees overall progress of all client engagements and is responsible for Avail Ag’s long-and short-term growth strategies. Most recently, Nelson served as CEO of Missouri’s BeLeaf Medical, where he oversaw the company’s expansion to the adult-use market and supported the campaign that secured passage of Amendment 3 in 2022.

Before joining BeLeaf, Nelson was a founding member of the Cresco Labs SEED team, which focused resources to mitigate and rectify the disproportionate impact of anti-cannabis law enforcement levied against minority communities. His work on the team helped develop a foundation for practical, effective and financially sound cannabis business model expansion while still incurring positive, tangible outcomes to support and empower disaffected communities. Nelson joined Cresco Labs in 2016, just as the company completed inaugural crop harvests in three Illinois-based facilities. During his tenure at Cresco, he implemented and refined the national production model that established Cresco Labs as the largest manufacturer of branded cannabis products in the country. Through new license awards and successful M&A activity, the company’s operating portfolio expanded to a 10-state market presence, growing quarterly wholesale revenue from $60,000/quarter to $120 million in Q4 2021. Nelson began his career in the cannabis industry in 2012 at the Green Solution, a leading cannabis producer/retailer in Denver, Colorado, during the state’s transition from a medical to a recreational marketplace.

Having spent the last 10 years developing regulated commercial cannabis operations across every medical/recreational market in the continental United States, Nelson provides invaluable knowledge, expertise and credibility to Avail’s offerings. His comprehensive background includes all facets of cannabis operations, from cultivation to processing to manufacturing and retail. Nelson earned a Bachelor’s and Master’s of Science degrees in Horticulture from Kansas State University. Jason leverages his lineage in academia to support multiple colleges both locally and across the country. Jason serves as a Board Member and Adj Professor for the Cannabis and Science Certificate program at Saint Louis University and directly supports St Louis Community College as they build a leading cannabis curriculum program.