When Steph Sherer founded the ASA in 2002, she never expected she’d still be doing this work more than 20 years later. A recent college graduate living in Southern California, she was also taking a high dose of anti-inflammatories every day for a painful chronic injury. And despite her young age, she was experiencing early onset kidney failure because of it.
Given the popularity of its products, it’s odd that America’s cannabis industry feels so brittle. Smoke shops seem to teeter on the edge of annihilation due to a constellation of government and societal pressures.
While only two states, Oregon and Colorado, have legalized psilocybin and a few other psychedelics, many other states are nipping at their heels with their own legislation pending.
Believe it or not, some head shops and vape stores have yet to fully realize the benefits of technology. Many brick-and-mortar establishments still follow the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mentality, and they want to keep it that way.
As the FDA began issuing denials, Vapetasia CEO Chris Finch started planning. He knew the next step was to sue the FDA, but he also knew it would take money, manpower, and risk.