It was my pleasure to have Michael Pedersen is Host/Producer of Cannabis Update Podcast, Founder of Distinct Media as well as Station Manager of Multicultural Broadcasting Corporation, Inc. in Calgary Alberta. “Michael has worked in broadcasting and managed radio stations since 2005. Before radio, he worked in the Vancouver film industry as a post-production editor and location sound recordist. He has produced an estimated 7000 audio commercials for radio along with countless jingles, stingers, sonic brands and more. Distinct Media now produces radio commercials & audio for video for small to medium-sized businesses looking to get a "distinct" form of brand awareness in multiple markets across Canada & beyond.” He also is a husband and father of two young boys.

I appreciated Michael’s willingness to come on the podcast and share some pro-tips related to podcasting and marketing that have already proved helpful. He infuses his work with loads of enthusiasm, wit and genuine interest in all subject matter. It was a lot of fun to chat about common challenges in podcasting, experiences interviewing in the cannabis space as well as hear his thoughts on the state of the cannabis industry in Canada vs the US, and more.

The Cannabis Update Podcast is a podcast that gives leaders & organizations an opportunity to tell their stories and share information. Based on a long-form interview format, the podcast has featured countless industry leaders, giving them an opportunity to communicate their message in a timely and professional manner. This podcast falls under the umbrella of Distinct Media, which he also founded & currently directs.

Here's a quote from Michael discussing the podcast, “My day job is a general manager at a radio station in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. So, my background is in production. So naturally, podcasting is something that I liked originally like, I like listening to them. And when the cannabis whole, the whole business of cannabis in Canada started to evolve and grow, I saw a need for a podcast that sort of interviewed industry players. So with my production background, and with my interest in the cannabis space, I thought, well, this is perfect, why don't I just jump in and start so that's really why I started and I had friends who were investing in Cannabis Stocks in Canada. And when I looked into it, I thought, well, there's got to be a podcast out there, I can listen to where I can learn about the companies. And there wasn't, I thought, Oh, geez, I got it. I better do something here. So that's kind of like how I started, and the podcast has evolved over time. Now it's a little bit more culture and not always business. You know, some science I try really get into the individual, the personalities of the people in the space, so people get to know who's kind of steering the ship in these companies, you know, a little bit more than simply numbers and figures”
He talks about podcasting challenges and how he created Cannabis Media Collective to bring several podcasts together, “Why not create a place where all of us can produce and publish together so that if you subscribe to one thing, the cannabis media collective, every single day, you get a new podcast from a new producer? And you don't have to go around and have 50 subscriptions and try to read through them and all that. The only thing about it though, is it's a lot of work. And it's hard to monetize it, like anything. And yeah, it's hard to make money off it. So, you have to really like it has to be in your heart. You have to want to do this. And you have to write to make it work in your schedule. I have two little boys. So, I'm up at 5 am most days producing and editing and sending emails and all that because that's my time. I can't do it at your school time.”

He mentions challenges getting paid for his work and how he addresses this, “I’ll interview your multimillion-dollar CEO. I'm going to send you a media kit and here My price is (xyz) and they'll say like, Oh, we don't have a budget for this. And I say, well, you gave me that big song and dance about how huge you are and how you're going to be the next Coca Cola of CBD. I don't understand why you can't afford a few hundred dollars for me to put in probably four hours work for you and help you promote yourself?”

We also discussed his thoughts on the cannabis industry as a whole, “Well, I think that we're in a very, very interesting place. And you know, as far as the science that surrounds the cannabis plant is concerned, you know, and I speak for Canada, I think the US is the same. We've been prohibited since like the 1920s. People haven't even in controlled laboratory environments that have not been allowed by law to even look at the plant, which is bonkers. But now, that's all changing, and we have a lot of extremely qualified PhDs chemists that are really looking at it on a molecular level. I think you're going to see in the next decade, a lot of change in the medical environment. But unfortunately, it could turn out that pharmaceutical companies buy up all the technology trademark everything and turn around and sell it to make a profit all over again. Like, it's not to say that this is going to change the world, this could actually just turn into another pharmaceutical avenue of revenue for those guys. And that's what I fear.”

Talking about the differences between the Cannabis market in the US vs. Canada, “And in Canada, it goes province by province, as far as local regulations go on the cannabis plant and retail and that sort of thing. So, I'm in Alberta, and within a year in Alberta, we had 350 stores in our province 350 with a population of about 3 million in the whole province. You take British Columbia, which has a way larger population, a way longer history of cannabis culture. You know, so much great legacy market cannabis has grown there to this day, and they're like, super restrictive. They're just starting to roll stores out now. And it's crazy, but it just boils down to the provincial government and what they decide that they want to do for their own provinces. Some provinces are rolling along making tons of tax revenue. And other ones are still trying to figure out how to make the model work, which is crazy. So, you look at comparing Canada in the US. You go into a legal dispensary in Oregon. They've got so many cool products; you know what I mean? Edibles and different things and you can learn about them. And it's almost like, you know, microbreweries for a beer or something. We don't allow that. Yet. The problem with craft in Canada is that the government requires so much paperwork, for example. And if you want to do a craft facility, you have to build it first before you can apply for a license. So, think about the kind of money you need just to get the ball rolling. They're making it almost impossible craft market to proliferate. Now, will it change? I'm hoping so. And now what they're doing is they're creating co-ops. A lot of craft growers or potential craft growers are saying, Let's work together. Let's build almost like a union. And let's approach it together and all apply together and help each other that way. So that's it. Probably the biggest differences between Canada and the US.”

Regarding medicinal Cannabis in Canada, “we do have clinics in Canada, and most of our major cities now that specialize in diagnosing and prescribing cannabis-related medicine. They tend to be more on the private end because we have social medicine here in Canada. But you can go in there and they have doctors who are making their best efforts to be knowledgeable about cannabis as medicine. So that's changing but the thing is, cannabis isn't really regarded federally as medicine the same way that a prescription might be for some pharmaceutical. A lot of medical cannabis patients in Canada are upset by that, there are different taxes that apply. You can't get it the same way, can't source it. Still a lot of rules and loopholes. If you want cannabis to help you sleep, or maybe stimulate your appetite, there's a whole system you have to go through in order to qualify for it and then get a prescription. They have to order it, and it has to come in the mail…totally different. So, we still have a long way to go with medicinal cannabis here.”

Finally, a parting quote from Michael, followed by his links and recent articles, “Now you can't be afraid to evolve and when you see somebody doing something and you go “that would make it better, just go forget it. I'm doing it. Bang. And that's not to say change everything but don't be afraid of change.”

Michael’s Links:
Cannabis Update Podcast: http://www.cannabisupdate.ca/
Distinct Media: https://www.distinctmedia.ca/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-pedersen-98263213
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cannabisupdatepodcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/CannUpdatePod
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrDyXDaJaoMtFwsXsHi6xhA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cannupdatepod/
Article: https://timlowing.com/read-the-lowdown-here/f/michael-pedersen---canadian-cannabis-update