We have a volunteer opportunity coming up. The Cannabis Alliance will have a booth at
CannaCon. The dates this year are January 31 – Feb 2 nd that is a Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
This is a fast paced, packed, powerful event and we could use your help. You can sign up to
volunteer on our website under the Take Action Tab or there is a signup sheet in the back.
So now it is time for our monthly Member Spotlight. Where we learn a little bit more about each
other’s businesses. Please take a few minutes after the meeting to introduce yourself to our
Monthly Spotlight Members so we can all support each other and continue building our
community and our network.

Our first Spotlight Member today is:

1. Nine Point Strategies

Jesse Parenti – Programs Director is not able to be here today, but hopes to join us at a future meeting.

Website

Nine Point Strategies provides risk management services for the cannabis industry. Their team of
Insurance, HR and Safety professionals are dedicated to helping you develop a strong risk
management portfolio to protect what you do – your business, your product and your employees.

So I asked Jesse our 4 questions:

1) What inspired your business to become involved in The Cannabis Industry?

We have friends and family that have been in the cannabis industry for many years. To help them
move forward into a legal and safe market place was a once in a life time opportunity. We have
been protecting the cannabis industry for over 8 years and we feel we have a responsibility to
help people do it right. It’s about Culture, Safety and Accountability.

2) Why did your business join The Cannabis Alliance?

Nine Point Strategies is a national risk manager leader in the cannabis industry! We are licensed
in all 50 states and support 22 states and we are growing. As a member of The Cannabis Alliance
we want to support members and help create a thriving and safe environment for business
owners as well as the employees and team members they support.

3) What is one thing you want our members to know about your business?

We are here to help you and not sell you. We work with you to find the solutions you need. That
might be Human Resources, OSHA Safety, Employee Onboarding technology, Employee
Benefits or Insurance…we don’t know what you need until we get to know you. We can do
everything or nothing for you…we would do an audit of your exposure and come back with a
strategy on how to fix any issues or concerns we identify. Our team brings a proactive approach
to save money.

4) How does being well educated about cannabis help you succeed and serve in this industry?

It’s the #1 thing! We are a national authority in many areas of the cannabis industry, working to
help us help you the business owner. We have relationships and exclusive programs that no other
US brokers have. This helps us leverage our products, buying power and relationships on behalf
of our members and cannabis business operators. Nine Point Strategies is here to help you. If you
work with anyone…the first thing you need to ask them is how long have they been working in
the cannabis industry and how many clients do they have? In this arena you don’t want to be one
of their first clients. Cannabis contracts are very different from other insurance contracts.
Anyone that isn’t specializing in this space or hasn’t been doing it for several years minimum,
we recommend you look for someone new. At 9 Point Strategies we do everything for free on the
front end to see if we are a good fit for each other. Nothing to lose and everything to gain!
So a big welcome to 9 Point Strategies.

2. Our 2nd spotlight member today is: Royal Tree Gardens

Joining us today we have Ryan Strand and Spencer.

Website

With the passing of Initiative 502 our team realized that opportunity was at hand. Having had
experience growing for the medical side of the industry and a true passion for the plant, Max,
Ryan and Spencer came together and founded Royal Tree Gardens.

In March 2014, with the uncertainty of being licensed by the state, they apprehensively signed a
lease on a warehouse in Tacoma, WA, and together, over the next 7 months, they designed and
built-out the warehouse from the ground up. Through countless hours of hard work they
completed the majority of the build-out themselves while concurrently developing a brand-
centric business plan with a focus and commitment to quality. Starting with a blank canvas
allowed them to combine their knowledge of the cannabis growing environment and design a
truly top tier facility for their plants.

In December 2014, after countless obstacles and setbacks we finally received our license from
the LCB. Presently, the team at Royal Tree Gardens is working extremely hard to produce the
highest quality cannabis for the recreational market here in Washington. We feel privileged to be
working with so many close friends and are excited to share with you our passion for the plant!

So I asked our 4 questions:

1) What inspired you and/or your business to become involved in The Cannabis Industry?

Our group of owners made the switch from medical upon the passage of I-502.  We saw
this as a great opportunity to bring our craft cannabis to a wider audience in Washington.

2) Why did you or your business join The Cannabis Alliance?

The Cannabis Alliance always seemed like a well-run industry group that supported all
of the i502 industry, not just retailers or P/Ps.  Furthermore, it’s great to see the
involvement the Alliance has within the cannabis industry.  We have been helped many
times by the efforts of the Cannabis Alliance and I know of non-member businesses that
have also benefitted.   It is nice that the information is freely shared and this is one of
the many reasons that encouraged us at Royal Tree to join the Cannabis Alliance.

3) What is one thing you would want our members to know about your business?

We are a group of friends with extensive cannabis backgrounds that came together to
bring quality cannabis throughout Washington.  We are still a small company and are
happy to be 100% owned and operated by the same founding members.   Each of us
has a different role to play within the company, but we strive every day to ensure our
customers are getting the highest quality products we can produce.

4) How does being well educated about cannabis help you succeed and serve in this industry?

Being well-informed is integral to running a successful business the constantly evolving
cannabis industry.  For that reason, we are always trying to educate ourselves about all
aspects of cannabis.  Our constant focus is on evolving our systems so that we can
produce better cannabis more efficiently, but we also try to stay abreast of the myriad of
changes happening outside our facility as well.

A big thank you to Royal Tree gardens for their membership, support and involvement in the industry.