The Pot Pioneers Blazing A Path Forward In 2025

Forbes

For the fourth-annual Cannabis 42.0 list, Forbes is celebrating the entrepreneurs, innovators and disruptors who are finding success the state-regulated cannabis market. Over the last few months, Forbes interviewed dozens of investors, executives, analysts and business owners, studied sales data and financial documents and reviewed nearly 200 applicants to identify the 42 leaders and up-and-comers who are transforming cannabis from a criminal enterprise into a robust legal industry.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/lists/cannabis420/  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00Today on Forbes, the 2025 Cannabis 42.0 list.

00:07Every 420, the high holiday for marijuana lovers, is a reason to examine the state of the $32 billion cannabis industry.

00:15Pot may still be illegal at the federal level, but 39 states have some form of legal weed.

00:21Nebraska legalized medical marijuana on Election Day.

00:24And the majority of Americans currently support legalization, no matter their political leanings.

00:31This past week, Representative David Joyce, a pro-pot Republican from Ohio, reintroduced the States Act,

00:38which, if passed, would deschedule state-legal marijuana and create a federal framework for cannabis products.

00:45For now, legal cannabis companies struggle under federal prohibition, with punitive taxes and a lack of interstate commerce.

00:53Meanwhile, the federally legal hemp market, which sells THC-infused products online, in grocery stores and smoke shops around the country,

01:02and the illicit market have been undeterred by state legalization.

01:07And the hope that the Drug Enforcement Administration would reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug,

01:12it is currently in Schedule 1, the same category as heroin and LSD, has been dashed.

01:18Again.

01:19The DEA stalled the process late last year.

01:21That said, there are plenty of companies that have found a way to keep afloat in a punishing market.

01:28For the fourth annual Cannabis 42.0 list, Forbes is celebrating the entrepreneurs, innovators, and disruptors

01:35who are finding success in the state-regulated cannabis market.

01:39Over the last few months, Forbes interviewed dozens of investors, executives, analysts, and business owners,

01:45studied sales data and financial documents, and reviewed nearly 200 applicants to identify the 42 leaders and up-and-comers

01:53who were transforming cannabis from a criminal enterprise into a robust legal industry.

01:58Publicly traded companies were not considered in order to highlight smaller, entrepreneurial brands and people

02:05revolutionizing the industry from the ground up.

02:08If you're listening to or watching this before Monday, April 21st,

02:12you're invited to join us that day, Monday, at noon Eastern Time

02:15for a live, in-depth discussion with an audience Q&A on the future of the cannabis industry.

02:20To register, go to forbes.com slash sites slash members dash only dash events.

02:27Here are just a few of the pot pioneers on our list blazing a path forward in 2025.

02:33Jason Vedati started his career in real estate but always grew weed as a hobby.

02:39In 2015, he merged his first cannabis company with Arizona-based vertically integrated Harvest Health.

02:45In 2021, Harvest merged with Trulieve in a $2.1 billion all-stock deal,

02:52creating one of the biggest cannabis companies in the industry.

02:56Vedati's newest venture is Arizona-based Story Cannabis,

02:59which he has expanded to Maryland and Ohio with plans to launch across the country.

03:05Imelda Walla-Valkar and Tracy Anderson have grown their cannabis brand Pure Beauty

03:10from a garage into a business now licensed to expand into cultivation,

03:15manufacturing, and retail in New York.

03:18The California-based company is backed by musicians Nas and Timbaland.

03:23Pure Beauty produces flour, THC drinks,

03:26and a signature pack of 10 mini-joints called, quote,

03:29babies.

03:31At 27 years old, Prince Yusuf was convicted of conspiracy

03:35to distribute 100 kilos of marijuana, serving two years in prison.

03:39By 2015, Yusuf launched House of Dank, a cultivator and dispensary chain.

03:46The company opened its first store on Detroit's 8 Mile Road

03:49and today has 13 locations, generating an estimated $150 million in revenue.

03:57Christine Apple started making edibles in her home in Oregon.

04:01And in 2015, the former architect founded Groon.

04:05She started selling her sugar-coated gummies and candy-coated chocolates without raising capital.

04:11Since then, Groon has expanded to six states and Canada.

04:15The majority female-owned and operated company

04:17was the top-selling edibles brand in retail in Arizona, Missouri, New Jersey, and Oregon.

04:22For full coverage, and to see the whole list,

04:26check out Will Yakowitz and Simone Melvin's piece on Forbes.com.

04:32This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes.

04:35Thanks for tuning in.

04:36Thanks for listening.

04:50Thank you for listening.

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