EXCLUSIVE: CEO Of This California Company Has Advice On How To Beat The Illicit Cannabis Market, Shares His Formula At Benzinga Conference

Being locked up in prison for cannabis "has to end," said Kyle Kazan, Glass House Brands Inc.‘s (CBOE CA: GLAS.A.U) (CBOE CA: GLAS.WT.U) GLASF GHBWF CEO and chairman, who stressed that many people are still sitting in federal prison, "living in cages" for a plant.

Kazan urged the crowd gathered at the Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference in Hollywood, Florida on Tuesday to pick up the phone and call their representatives in Congress and also President Joe Biden to remind him he "didn’t say simple possession." 

"When you said you [Biden] were going to pardon people, you said you were going to pardon people for cannabis and do it," he told Jesse Redmond, a managing director at Water Tower Research, during the keynote.

See also: EXCLUSIVE: Glass House CEO Says ‘Legalizing Cannabis Isn’t Just About The Economy, It’s About Righting Past Wrongs’

California: Tough Place For Retail Cannabis

Kazan's company runs ten stores throughout the Golden State, with plans to expand its retail footprint statewide. However, making money in retail in California is hard, Kazan said.

Yet, Glass House has performed so well during a tough period for so many California operators. Last month the company reported an 89% surge in annual revenue to $160.8 million, setting a new record.

The formula that has worked for Glass House was a focus on "getting the best possible cannabis," and "the best possible prices to people," Kazan continued.

Enter the company's new line of cannabis products under its value cannabis brand, Allswell.

"We rolled out this year, 9.99 out the door to the consumer," Kazan said. "We think that’s the best way to attack the illicit market is to bring people over."

However, even though cannabis grows "well" and "cheaply" in California, many businesses continue to struggle, he explained.

In addition to high taxes, there's a thriving traditional market, which Kazan called both "a blessing and a curse."

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Why?

California has a decades-long cannabis history. "California has been growing cannabis up in the Emerald Triangle," for a long time. "The police never took it that seriously," which he said allowed the traditional market to thrive.

On the other hand, low prices for illegal weed have hit legal operators the hardest.

Federal legalization of cannabis would put an end to most of the challenges cannabis operators are facing not just in California, but nationwide.

 But, until that happens, Glass House will continue to grow in California.

Now read: EXCLUSIVE: ‘Undo The Harms Of The War On Drugs,’ Says Glass House CEO