RespectMyRegion Livestream | Ep. 5 | LSSU Students Launch Cannabis House of Brands

Hosted by Joey Brabo & Kyle Van Artsen (Streamed Live on May 8th, 2025)

The RespectMyRegion podcast highlights emerging voices and industry trends across cannabis, music, and culture, with a special focus on market movers in legal states. In this episode, part of the Michigan Cannabis Podcast series, Jackson Rund and I joined Joey and Kyle to share the early vision behind Higher State Brands and our push into the infused beverage space. We unpacked the science, regulatory challenges, and strategy behind launching cannabis drinks, while also reflecting on what makes Michigan uniquely positioned for innovation. The conversation covered everything from compliance hurdles to consumer education, offering a look at how we planned to carve out space in one of the fastest-growing product categories. It was our first time publicly walking through the drink concept and startup playbook in full.