Apartment 113 Cannabis & Psychedelics Industry Podcast

Episode 221 is the 19th episode of Season 4. Our guest for this episode is Chris Kuilan, Co-Founder of Stoops NYC, a Latinx-owned cannabis dispensary in Manhattan’s Flatiron District. Chris joins the show to talk about building a cannabis business rooted in New York culture, community and long-term vision inside one of the toughest regulated markets in the country. Born and raised in New York, Chris saw legalization not just as an opportunity to open a dispensary, but as a chance to help build the foundation of a new industry from the ground up. Stoops NYC was created around the idea of bringing the spirit of the New York stoop into cannabis retail, a place where culture, conversation and community intersect. Rather than leaning entirely into hype or aesthetics, the company focuses on hospitality, operational discipline and building authentic neighborhood relationships while navigating the realities of taxes, regulation and social equity in New York cannabis. We also talk about the challenges facing early operators in the state, the importance of local and boutique brands, the role technology and data may play in the future of cannabis retail and what it means to build something designed for longevity rather than short-term momentum. This episode is a grounded conversation about modern cannabis retail, New York culture and building something real in a rapidly changing industry. Find out more at stoopsnyc.com Enjoy the show! IG: apt_113 apt113.com

Episode 220 is the 18th episode of Season 4. Our guest for this episode is Maggie McBain, Indoor Cultivation Manager at CULTA, a Maryland-based cannabis company focused on premium cultivation, retail and cannabis culture. Maggie joins the show to talk about her path through the industry and what it takes to consistently produce quality cannabis at scale. Maggie entered the cannabis industry in 2020 starting out in extraction packaging at CULTA before moving into cultivation. Over the years she worked her way up through the grow, learning every layer of the operation from the ground floor as she advanced from laborer to team lead, supervisor and eventually Indoor Cultivation Manager. Today she oversees day-to-day indoor grow operations in Cambridge, Maryland alongside a team focused on quality, consistency and continual improvement. We also talk about Maryland’s evolving market and the realities of managing large scale indoor production while staying connected to cannabis culture and craft. CULTA has been cultivating in Maryland since 2015 and has built a reputation around top-tier flower, strong community roots and a deep respect for the culture. This episode is a conversation about hard work, learning every layer of the plant and building quality from the ground up. Find out more at culta.com Enjoy the show! IG: apt_113 apt113.com

Episode 219 is the 17th episode of Season 4. Returning to the show for the first time since Episode 79 is Gary Laderman, Goodrich C. White Professor of American Religious History and Cultures at Emory University. Gary joins us to discuss his new book Sacred Drugs: How Psychoactive Substances Mix with Religious Life and the deeper relationship between psychoactive substances, spirituality and human culture. We talk about the ways substances ranging from coffee and alcohol to cannabis, psychedelics and pharmaceuticals have historically shaped religious practice, community and personal transformation. Gary also shares insights from his popular Emory course Sacred Drugs, discussing why altered states have remained such a persistent part of human meaning-making and how modern society continues to navigate questions around healing, transcendence and consciousness. This episode is a thoughtful conversation about religion, culture, psychoactive substances and the stories societies tell themselves about what is sacred. Find out more at garyladerman.com IG @garyladerman X @garyladerman Enjoy the show! IG: apt_113 apt113.com

Episode 218 is the 16th episode of Season 4. Our guest for this episode is Riel Roussopoulos, Founder of Bud Mafia and a longtime marketer and technologist working across cannabis and other markets. Riel joins the show to talk about storytelling, digital strategy and the challenge of building events and brands in industries where traditional marketing channels are limited. We talk about Riel’s background spanning decades in digital marketing, his work building campaigns and content ecosystems in cannabis and how platforms, SEO and community-driven media play a role in growth. Riel shares his perspective on Bud Mafia as a media and events platform, the state of cannabis tech and the role of virtual events and video in brand building. This episode is a conversation about marketing, experimentation and navigating industries where the rules are still being written. Find out more and connect with Riel on LinkedIn. Enjoy the show! IG: apt_113 apt113.com

Episode 217 is the 15th episode of Season 4. We’re back with the April Special featuring Jeremy Johnson, Chief Marketing Officer at Quality Roots as co-host. This month we dig into federal policy shifts, state level dynamics and the broader forces shaping cannabis in 2026. Quick note, we had some connection issues during this recording so the episode is cut a bit short. Appreciate your patience with it. We start with the biggest headline of the month, the year and maybe the decade, the federal government moving medical cannabis to Schedule III. While it marks the first time cannabis is officially recognized as having medical use, it also opens the door to new regulatory oversight and raises questions about where the industry goes from here. From there we touch on Missouri’s crackdown on intoxicating hemp, Virginia’s continued delays in launching retail sales and Indiana’s massive cannabis demand despite full prohibition. We also look at the growing pressure around taxes and market structure, as well as the environmental conversation gaining traction across the industry, from energy intensive indoor cultivation to water use and sustainability concerns for a little Earth Day inspired perspective on the industry. Before we lost connection, we also began discussing recent developments in psychedelics, including the FDA fast tracking multiple therapies for depression and PTSD and new research exploring how psychedelic experiences affect the body beyond the brain. While the conversation was cut short, the direction is clear, increased medical focus, faster regulatory movement and growing interest in how these substances may reshape mental health treatment. You can catch the audio as always on iTunes, Spotify, Audible, YouTube, or at apt113.com. Connect with Jeremy on LinkedIn and visit Quality Roots if you’re in Michigan or New Jersey. Sit down, roll one up, and enjoy the ride. IG: apt_113 apt113.com