Welcome to Rise & Roll, a bi-weekly newsletter that keeps you smart, savvy, and always in the loop on the latest in cannabis.

Here’s what we have on deck for today…

1. Insurance opens doors for cannabis investment

2. Safe Harbor pivots to broader fintech services

3. Cannabis medicine enters mainstream pharma race

Insurance opens doors for cannabis investment

One of the biggest roadblocks for cannabis companies isn't competition – it's finding insurance coverage that makes them investable. Relm Insurance CEO Joe Ziolkowski is changing that game by offering specialized coverage when traditional insurers won't.

"Without proper insurance, cannabis startups struggle to attract board members, executives, and especially investors," Ziolkowski explains. "It's nearly impossible to close funding rounds without protection for directors and officers."

By providing these policies, Relm isn't just selling insurance — they're building a bridge that connects investors with cannabis opportunities they'd otherwise avoid.

For entrepreneurs, it means access to capital that was previously out of reach.

Safe Harbor pivots to broader fintech services

Under new CEO Terry Mendez, Safe Harbor Financial is expanding beyond cannabis lending into wider fintech services. He's leveraging the company's experience handling $25 billion in cannabis funds to tap into other underserved markets.

"We're not capitalizing on that data," said Mendez, who plans to explore crypto and gaming opportunities while strengthening cannabis financial services.

To fuel this expansion, Safe Harbor:

• Freed up $6 million by renegotiating debt with Partner Colorado Credit Union and streamlined operations.

• Executed a reverse stock split to maintain Nasdaq listing requirements.

For cannabis entrepreneurs, this pivot shows how industry-specific expertise can be leveraged to create growth opportunities beyond plant-touching operations — especially important as lending standards tighten and markets mature.

Cannabis medicine enters mainstream pharma race

DeFloria just cleared a major hurdle that no cannabis medicine has before. Their plant-based drug for autism got FDA approval to begin Phase 2 trials — the first systemically absorbed botanical drug to reach this milestone.

"This marks one of the largest milestones for botanical drugs," says Joel Stanley, DeFloria's Chairman.

What makes this huge? Doctors could soon prescribe this cannabis medicine instead of just recommending it. Plus, it opens doors for other plant medicines to follow the same path.

For cannabis companies with unique plant genetics, this signals a potential goldmine through pharmaceutical partnerships as regulators warm up to botanical drugs.

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We’ll be back with another edition on Friday. See you then!

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