One reoccurring theme we have noticed for people who have entered the cannabis industry is a personal connection to the plant. That again was the case for host, producer, and publisher of the Cannabis Advocate Podcast, Pat Helmers. I recently joined Helmers on the Cannabis Advocate Podcast to talk about several aspects of the Illinois cannabis industry.
Helmers’ personal connection to the cannabis plant manifested when he became a home grower in search of a strain that would help his wife’s trigeminal neuralgia (a type of chronic pain disorder that involves sudden, severe facial pain).
“I thought a podcast would be a good way of meeting experts and getting free advice,” he said. “Turned out to be true. Now, I have a large network.”
Submitted photo: Pat Helmers
The Cannabis Advocate podcast advocates for businesses in the cannabis industry and explores the unique challenges they face. He says his idea audience is people in the cannabis industry and people looking to get into the cannabis industry, and he believes in advocating for cannabis business, especially for social equity entrepreneurs.
“I want to see these businesses find success,” he said. “The cannabis business is for the most part, like any new market, all the same problems: capital, real estate, staffing, regulations, focus, etc.”
Helmers has been producing podcasts for 9 years but found his eureka moment during a cannabis conference.
“I’m a subscriber to Cannabis Business Times and attended their conference in 2021,” Helmer said. “I had a few random episodes published, but it was at this event it became clear this should be a podcast about business and startups.”
Helmers’ home studio is out of Plano, Illinois, and the Cannabis Advocate Podcast is available on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, Overcast, Google Play, Player FM, and at the Cannabis Advocate Podcast’s website. Subscribe here or contact Helmers here. The Cannabis Advocate Podcast Linktree can be found here and on Instagram @canna_advocate_podcast.
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