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<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="130390" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Magic-Johnson">Magic Johnson</keyword> spoke to Business Insider last week in an interview tied to his new partnership with <keyword id="9666657" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="uncle-buds-hemp">Uncle Bud's Hemp</keyword>, a retailer of hemp- and CBD-based products. </li></ul>Adding to his business acumen during the COVID-19 pandemic, Earvin "Magic" Johnson has made an entrepreneurial move into a rapidly growing industry — the <keyword id="6354851" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="retail">retail</keyword> sale of <keyword id="1957434" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Hemp">hemp</keyword> and <keyword id="6607408" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="cbd">CBD</keyword>.Johnson, the <keyword id="6361805" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="NBA">NBA</keyword> legend and former president of basketball operations for the Los Angeles Lakers, spoke to Business Insider in a phone interview last week about the personal and professional factors that drew him to a newly announced partnership with <a href="https://www.unclebudshemp.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Uncle Bud's Hemp</a>, a retailer of hemp- and CBD-based products. In the interview, Johnson also discussed his experience of quarantining in California during the state's recent rise in coronavirus cases, and gave his perspective as a longtime public-health advocate on the urgency of societal safety measures in a pandemic. Johnson concluded by addressing the logistics of the 2019-2020 NBA season's continuation in a "bubble," which starts on Thursday; "tired of watching reruns," he relayed his general appreciation for the return of live <keyword id="6356028" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="sports">sports</keyword>. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. John Lynch: What drew you to this new business venture? Magic Johnson: Well, I think Uncle Bud's is an amazing company with an amazing cofounder in Garrett [Greller]. And I think <a href="https://www.unclebudshemp.com/our-hemp-based-pain-relief-medication-story" target="_blank" rel="noopener">his story</a> drew me to it. The fact that he had arthritis at an early age, and he had that problem, but he found a solution for that problem. I'm the same type of guy. I like to find solutions to problems. He created this unbelievable company, Uncle Bud's, but it just wasn't a solution for him. He found a solution for a lot of people.And I think that, first, the company right here created jobs. Everything is made right here in America. That's what drew me to it. The price point, $2.50 to $35; that's what drew me to it, because it's affordable for people. Then it's located in over 15,000 retailers across America — Kohl's, the Vitamin Shoppe, I mean, Urban Outfitters, and on. And then when you think about — no T-H-C — that's very, very important to me as well.So I think those things right there. And I power walk five days a week, so my knees be killing me after I'm done. So I can put that roll on on my knees as well as my lower back, because it gets tight, and it's helped me out a lot. And the lotion and the hand sanitizer. I can go on and on. The product line is amazing. Lynch: What made this the time for it? Had you, sort of, in the pandemic, started to use CBD more? What brought this to mind?Johnson: Well, I think you're right. During the pandemic you use it more because of the fact that I can work out more. I'm at home more. And we were able to come together, have a great meeting, and their vision was like my vision. The two companies aligned with each other. It was just amazing. It was an easy deal to get done because I believe in the product, use the product, I believe in the cofounders. So it was an easy deal to get done. Lynch: CBD, for you personally, is the main application of it for pain relief? What appeals to you about CBD? Johnson: Yeah, because of the pain relief. And then also, too, you know, they got great lotions, hand sanitizer. So they got other products. It's an amazing product line, and people can go to <a href="https://www.unclebudshemp.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">UncleBudsHemp.com</a> to see the whole line. It's truly amazing. They blew me away. The packaging is great. I mean, everything. It's really a first-class organization.<div type="image" title="UncleBuds_BTS_Jul2020_1766_flat" height="2886" width="3848" msid="77248693" hostid="261"></div>Lynch: While we're on the topic of health, how strictly are you quarantining? I know California is going through it right now. Johnson: Yeah. I'm quarantining. At first I get out and power walk early in the morning, about six o'clock in the morning. And then I'm either at home all day, or I wear my masks, wear my gloves, you know, when I'm out grocery shopping with my wife, of course. But I really don't go too many places. I'm not around a lot of people. So we all gotta do our part to bring the numbers down here in California and in our country, in America. Lynch: I was going to say, for you, as an important advocate for public health throughout your life, I'd imagine you must take issue with the people who are "anti-mask," this movement of people who are ignoring science. Johnson: Yeah, because you can't ignore the data and science. Because the numbers, when we did ignore it, look what happened in Florida. Look what happened in Alabama. Look what happened in Georgia. I mean, the numbers just — Texas — the numbers have just gone through the roof because they didn't put rules in place to say, "Hey, the bars can't open," restaurants, on and on and on.Now when we first quarantined and shut the state down in California, the numbers went down, right? But as soon as we opened it up and people didn't want to wear masks and all that, then the numbers went back up. So I'm for, let's wear masks, let's protect ourselves and also our friends, families, and other people, so we can drive the numbers back down, and then hopefully we can get back to our everyday walking life, the way it used to be. But that probably won't happen until after it, probably until next year.<div type="image" title="magic johnson" height="1837" width="2000" msid="77248698" hostid="261"></div>Lynch: With this <keyword id="9500702" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="NBA-bubble">NBA bubble</keyword> that's just about to start up here, would you, as a player, feel comfortable in that situation? What do you think of it as a concept? Johnson: Yeah, I would feel comfortable as long as all the safety measures are there, the protocols are in place. And it seemed like commissioner Adam Silver has done an amazing job. Michele Roberts is happy, and the Players Association — as long as they're happy, everything is good with me. And I'm happy sports is back, man. I miss sports. Lynch: Yeah [laughs]. Johnson: [Laughs]. I'm glad MLS is back. I'm glad Major League Baseball is back. I'm glad the NBA is back. It helps me through my day. I'm tired of watching reruns. I want live sports, and I want to see who's gonna win the World Series, the MLS cup. Also the NBA championship. I'm excited. This is an exciting time. Just like I am about this great venture with Uncle Bud's. I'm excited about that as well.

Magic Johnson on his new partnership with a CBD retailer and the start of the NBA bubble

Welcome to <keyword id="1854956" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="cultivated">Cultivated</keyword>, our weekly newsletter where we're bringing you an inside look at the deals, trends, and personalities driving the multibillion-dollar global <keyword id="14728" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="60" keywordseo="cannabis">cannabis</keyword> boom. <a href="http://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/cultivated">Sign up here to get it in your inbox every week</a>. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/subscription/prime-discount?r=birefer-jberke">If you want a discount to BI Prime to read our stories, sign up here!</a>Happy Friday everyone,We've got a quick edition for you all today. This week, I got an <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cannabis-companies-hiring-now-in-sales-it-and-marketing-2020-7">exclusive on a new report from Vangst, Leaflink, and Flowhub about the cannabis industry's outlook for 2020 and beyond</a>, my colleague John Lynch <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/magic-johnson-interview-cbd-venture-nba-bubble-2020-7">scored an interview with Magic Johnson about his new CBD partnership</a>, and more.Hope you all have enjoyable weekends!JeremyHere's what we wrote about this week:<h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cannabis-companies-hiring-now-in-sales-it-and-marketing-2020-7">Cannabis companies that weathered the pandemic are staffing up to prepare for huge shifts to the industry. A top recruiting firm shares the 3 skills that will be key to landing a job.</a></h3>Cannabis companies say they plan on ramping up hiring, according to a new report from Vangst, Leaflink, and Flowhub.For companies that have weathered the pandemic, sales, marketing, and IT roles will be a priority, as the industry shifts toward e-commerce rather than in-store sales.<h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/magic-johnson-interview-cbd-venture-nba-bubble-2020-7">Magic Johnson on his new partnership with a CBD retailer and the start of the NBA bubble</a></h3>This one's from my colleague, John Lynch, who scored an interview with Magic Johson about his new partnership with Uncle Bud's Hemp.Johnson talked about why he's making moves into the CBD-and-hemp space, the NBA bubble, and his thoughts on the rise in COVID-19 cases in California.<h2>Executive moves</h2><ul><li>Greenlane Holdings has made a slew of changes to its executive team. William Mote, previously the CFO of Basic Fun, joins as CFO, and William Bine, previously an SVP at Crocs, Inc, joins as COO, <a href="https://investor.gnln.com/news-releases/news-release-details/greenlane-accelerates-business-transformation-through-strategic">among other appointments</a>.</li><li>Briana Dougherty Chester has <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/briana-dougherty-chester/">joined cannabis PR shop Mattio Communications</a> as a partner in Los Angeles. She joins the company after a stint at MedMen and Cove PBC. </li></ul><h2>Deals, launches, and policy moves</h2><ul><li>The US House of Representatives <a href="https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2020174">approved an appropriations amendment</a> by a vote of 254-163 to protect state-legal cannabis businesses from federal interference. Specifically, the amendment would prevent the federal government from using any funds to prosecute individuals or businesses operating cannabis businesses in compliance with state law. </li><li>Jushi Holdings is <a href="http://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/07/31/2071149/0/en/Jushi-Holdings-Inc-Announces-Additional-Upsizing-of-Debt-Financing.html#:~:text=(%E2%80%9CJushi%E2%80%9D%20or%20the%20%E2%80%9C,voting%20shares%20(the%20%E2%80%9CWarrants%E2%80%9D">upsizing its debt financing</a> to $33.3 million from an initial close of $15.25 million.</li><li>Canadian Securities Exchange-listed iAnthus Capital is recapitalizing in a move that will mostly wipe out shareholder value, <a href="https://thedeepdive.ca/ianthus-capital-shareholders-to-be-effectively-wiped-out-in-recapitalization-transaction/">reports The Deep Dive</a>. The two scenarios laid out would leave shareholders with either 2.75% equity in the cannabis company or none at all. </li></ul><h2>What we're reading</h2><a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/fake-businesses-are-fooling-real-banks-into-processing-online-drug-purchases-11595415601?mc_cid=6b818d7199&amp;mc_eid=7a0a53edc3edc3">Fake businesses are fooling real banks into processing online drug purchases</a> (Wall Street Journal)<a href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/cannabis/2020/7/27/21326479/kpmg-pot-licenses-delayed-illinois-contracts-marijuana-weed-cannabis">As new pot licenses delayed indefinitely, global accounting firm pockets $7M from state to rank applicants</a> (Chicago Sun-Times)<a href="https://hempindustrydaily.com/sec-complaint-400-investors-defrauded-of-25m-for-supposed-marijuana-farm-cbd-extraction-facility/">SEC complaint: 400 investors defrauded of $25M for supposed marijuana farm, CBD extraction facility</a> (Hemp Industry Daily)<a href="https://www.weedweek.net/stories/worries-mount-over-retail-slotting-fees/?mc_cid=6b818d7199&amp;mc_eid=7a0a53edc3edc3">Critics of "Big Weed" fret over retail cannabis slotting fees</a> (WeedWeek)

Cannabis companies ramp up hiring

<a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/toni-braxton-performs-bet-presents-2017-753044422">Jamie Lamor Thompson/Shutterstock</a>Toni Braxton.<ul class="summary-list"><li>Grammy-winning singer Toni Braxton spoke to Business Insider last week about her longtime battle with lupus and how the autoimmune disease has affected her personal life and career.</li><li>Braxton also discussed her partnership with co-founder Garrett Greller's CBD and hemp topical brand Uncle Bud's, and how CBD has personally helped her cope with lupus.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul>When Toni Braxton was first diagnosed with systemic lupus in 2008, doctors told her that she would need a heart transplant and might not be able to ever perform again."I remember being petrified," Braxton said in a phone interview with Business Insider. "I was scared. I didn't know anything about lupus."While a few days later doctors told Braxton she luckily wouldn't need a heart transplant, her uphill battle with the autoimmune disease was only just beginning.According to the Lupus Research Alliance, a private funder for Lupus research based in New York City, lupus is <a href="https://www.lupusresearch.org/understanding-lupus/what-is-lupus/about-lupus/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIz-WLk9_85wIVAT0MCh0MdgM3EAAYASAAEgIR-PD_BwE">an autoimmune disease</a> that can affect the joints, skin, brain, lungs, kidneys, and blood vessels, and can eventually lead to tissue or organ damage and other diseases, like heart disease and kidney disease.Lupus also disproportionately affects women, and especially women of color. About <a href="https://www.womenshealth.gov/lupus">every nine out of 10 adults</a> with lupus are women, with African American women being <a href="https://www.womenshealth.gov/lupus/lupus-and-women/#9">three times more likely</a> than white women to be diagnosed with lupus. Since her diagnosis in 2008, Braxton has developed microvascular angina and blood clots. But that hasn't stopped the 52-year-old Grammy-nominated singer, who recently finished her As Long As I Live tour in 2019 while battling lupus. "Of the lupuses, I have the worst - but of the worst, I have the best," Braxton said. "I'm always trying to be positive about it."Braxton said she was able to reach a point where she could perform again by educating herself about the disease and using CBD to cope with her symptoms and flare-ups. She also opened up about how living with lupus has affected her career and personal life. Garrett Greller, the 23-year-old co-founder of Uncle Bud's CBD products, also joined in on the call from Los Angeles to discuss how his own struggles with arthritis pushed him to create the CBD topical brand.This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.Isabella Paoletto: To start, I wanted to talk to Toni Braxton about what it was like to be diagnosed with lupus in 2008, and how it's affected her both physically and mentally?Toni Braxton: When I was first diagnosed with lupus, I remember being petrified. I was scared. I didn't know anything about lupus. I remember my doctors telling me I needed a heart transplant. I remember that day. I remember having to tell my kids that. But then shortly later, they came and told me a couple days later, that I didn't need a heart transplant, but I did have lupus, and it loved my heart. As a result I have microvascular angina, I have thick blood, which means that my blood clots. It was a lot of different things. Of the lupuses, I have the worst - but of the worst, I have the best. I'm always trying to be positive about it. I just started educating myself. They initially said I would never be able to perform, but here I am today performing. Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesBraxton performing at the 2019 American Music Awards in Los Angeles.Paoletto: I know that lupus can be somewhat difficult to diagnose because the symptoms can be similar to other autoimmune diseases, so how long did it actually take doctors to figure out what was going on with you?Braxton: I think it took them about five years to completely diagnose me. They didn't know what was going on. I had cases of pericarditis, which is inflammation of the sac of the heart. It's very tricky, like you mentioned, to diagnose because out of five things, at least three things have to line up at the same time. It's like an eclipse of some sort. It took them about five years, and once they diagnosed me I remember feeling relieved and frightened at the same time, but also very fortunate. Like I said, I'm always trying to find the silver lining. I'm very fortunate that I was able to learn about it and help myself and live through this crisis. I think in life sometimes you get things, but it's okay.I refuse to be a victim about it, but sometimes I do have good and bad days. And for me I think what GG (Garrett) has invented with Uncle Bud's has been really great for me and my family.Paoletto: I know you suffered from arthritis, so I was just wondering how that affected you and eventually inspired you to create Uncle Bud's? Garrett Greller: I was diagnosed with arthritis at the young age of 14, in my knees, back, hips, and ankles. I tried all of the prescription medications, other alternatives, things to try and alleviate that pain, but nothing worked for me.I came across a Sanjay Gupta documentary that talked all about CBD. I educated myself a little but about it, I was only a junior in high school at that time, and I gave to my parents a four page essay on Sanjay Gupta, on this documentary, to educate them a little bit about CBD and maybe they would let me try it.I tried CBD for the first time and it was the only thing that worked for me. It took my pain away right away. I was able to be active again, and that's when I knew I needed to start a brand that everyone could access, that's affordable, and a brand that's trusted. Braxton: And it smells super yummy. I have to add that. You know sometimes when you use topical things and you go, "What is that?," but you don't say that with this, you go, "Ooo what is that?" Not a Justin Bieber yummy, but it's yummy. [laughs]Paoletto: So how old were you when you launched the company?Greller: I formulated the first product when I was a sophomore in college, and then I teamed up with this amazing team of people who have over 25 years of retail experience in launching products and building a brand, and they helped me bring Uncle Bud's to life, to where it is, over this past 15 months. We're now in over 13,000 retail locations internationally, from your GNCs to your Vitamin Shop to your Khols to your Urban Outfitters. Our goal from the beginning was to teach people about hemp and CBD and to really have an affordable brand that anyone could have access to at these retailers or online. Paoletto: What has it been like to watch your vision and brand grow and be sold in places like Urban Outfitters? Greller: It's really a dream come true. I've always been an entrepreneur. I started selling duct tape wallets when I was a 12-year-old. Braxton: Really?! [laughs]Greller: I've done all types of things, and this was truly amazing because I always wanted to be an entrepreneur, but never did I think that it would come out of a solution for a problem that I had. That's when I realized that I had this opportunity to help other people with a product and a brand, and it's just amazing. It's a dream come true to see it in these retailers, and to see it on four billboards in Times Square, and to be working with such legends like Toni Braxton. I never could have imagined it.Paoletto: That's amazing. So, Toni, what treatments had you tried before CBD, and why did you decide to try CBD?Braxton: For me, it wasn't a lot of things I was turning to because everything was all prescription medications. I was often over medicated, I found. I said, "I'm taking all these medications, I need something else," and for me Uncle Bud's was a great alternative because it's natural and it works.And it doesn't get you high - that was important to me as a mom. Paoletto: What was the difference in how you felt once you started using CBD? Did you notice a difference right away?Braxton: Well, Uncle Bud's is not a medication, it's more of a topical salve, I like to call it. But the prescription medications I was on, I remember sometimes feeling sluggish. There's all these side effects to a lot of different things. And I'm not telling people, "Oh, don't take your medications," that's not what I'm suggesting.I think you should talk to your doctor, but I think it's an alternative. If you're achy, if you have chronic pain, try it.Paoletto: I actually have family members with lupus, so I know that it can be difficult to watch your loved ones deal with the disease. I was just wondering how it affected your personal life. I know you have two sons, what was it like for them?Braxton: You know, sometimes I'll be in a flare and I'll have to go to the hospital and I didn't tell my kids initially, you know I would tell them, "Oh, I'm going to hang out at auntie Jada's," or something like that. I didn't tell them I was going to be in the hospital for a couple of days.Jeff Kravitz/Getty ImagesBraxton and her two sons attending the American Music Awards in 2019.It doesn't really have a "look" when you have lupus. Sometimes my mom says she can see it in my eyes, but I'm often trying to pretend that I'm doing great or having a great day because I don't want my family and friends to worry about me, but inside sometimes it's not the best day.I like to call it "stupid lupus" because I just want to smack it sometimes. It picks on me, I feel like it's a bully, but I manage through it with family and friends. It helps me a lot. I always try to stay positive, but I can't lie and say everyday I'm positive, but I always try and make it my goal to be positive. Paoletto: How did your sons react when you did eventually tell them that you have lupus?Braxton: They were young when I told them. I told them "Mommy has lupus." I told them what it was. I tried to break it down for kids, which was challenging for me to do because I hadn't fully educated myself on the disease. But I told them, "Sometimes mommy has to go to the doctor, sometimes mommy gets tired."I remember my kid asked me, "Mommy, are you going to die?," and oh that broke me apart. I was like, "Not today, mommy has like, oh another 50 plus years to go son." You know, I wanted to be positive for my kids. I didn't want them to be afraid because inside I was afraid, and you never want your kids to see that. They worry about me alot and I don't want them to worry about me. I'll often tell them "Oh mom's great" or "I'm good." Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty ImagesBraxton and her son Diezel Ky Braxton-Lewis at the 3rd annual MBJAM in 2019.Paoletto: I know that genetics can also play a part in getting lupus. Does anyone else in your family have lupus or an autoimmune disease?Braxton: I think autoimmune diseases run in our family. My brother has an autoimmune disease. My mom's brother had it, so it definitely runs in our family.I'm living through it, and I have lupus, but it doesn't have me. It's just one day at a time. I'm very lucky that I get to perform and do what I love doing. I can't do five or six shows a week, but I can do three or four shows, probably more like three, but I can do shows and that's a good thing.Patrick McMullan/Getty ImagesThe Braxton family attending the 8th Annual Bag Ladies Luncheon in 2010.I can go in the studio, I can perform. I'm one of the lucky ones. I'm very, very fortunate, but like I said I have family and friends who support me, and I'm just very fortunate. Paoletto: What was it like to transition from being this Grammy-winning artist constantly going on tour to then having lupus and dealing with these flare-ups that make it difficult to perform? How did it affect your career?Braxton: There have been moments that have definitely affected my career. I remember one time being on stage and having to have a heart monitor because my lupus loves my heart. I had to have my heart monitor on stage performing, and the pink elephant was in the room and I just had to tell the audience "Okay guys, I have this stupid lupus. I have to have this heart monitor, you know, guys help me un-break my heart." C Brandon/Getty ImagesBraxton performing at the Eventim Apollo in London, England in 2019.I made it fun. I took the elephant away. We talked about it a little bit through music, and for me, music is always a big healing property as well. <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/youtube-influencer-creator-crash-course-how-to-make-money-ads-2020-2">CRASH COURSE: An influencer explains how YouTube ads work, her advice for making more money, and how much she earns</a></h3>

Toni Braxton on how her battle with lupus landed her in the hospital, nearly in need of a heart transplant - and how CBD has helped her cope since

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Magic Johnson on his new partnership with a CBD retailer and the start of the NBA bubble

John Lynch

Cannabis companies ramp up hiring

Jeremy Berke

Toni Braxton on how her battle with lupus landed her in the hospital, nearly in need of a heart transplant - and how CBD has helped her cope since

Isabella Paoletto

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