Show: On The Town Station: KNCO File: 8:26.mp3 Air date: 2026-08-26 Source: OpenAI whisper-1 · shrunk from 28.3 MB to 5.7 MB --- transcript --- Good to see Ari back in the house from Grass Valley Provisions. Thank you so much for having us back. It's been a little bit. It's been a little bit. I think we missed Connections beginning of the month. That's right. I'm not even sure why. Do you know why? I'm not even sure. It's been a crazy month. It's been too hot. It's getting to us. That's right. And here's the thing. We've had changes here. There's been, as they say, account executive changes. We had, I think, your old account executive, I think she just moved on to different pastures. That's right. Or something like that. So, yeah, we've got it all settled now. So, great to have you. How's everything been going? It's been going great, Tom. It's been going great. And we're super happy to be back here and talking about what we love to do. Yeah, exactly right. And you've got Josiah Moncrief. Is that right, Josiah? That's right. Happy to be here. Thanks for having me. Great having you here. Josiah is part of your staff over there. That's right. Josiah is a sales associate with us, and you may have met him if you come into our store. He loves to help people. From what I understand, Josiah, you're not a bartender, are you? Oh, no. Much more than that. Is it a bud tender? Do I hear that term right? Bud tender is definitely the term that we like to use, yeah. Yeah. Now, here's the funny thing about that. Since you're doing customer service and really like a point person to kind of walk people through the process, bartenders, they've made movies about them and all that stuff. There's a lot that goes into that type of stuff as far as research and making sure things are being developed the right way. Is it the same for you with the products over there, Grass Valley Provisions? Absolutely. And that's what I was actually going to say. It's so much more than just being a bud tender. There is this longstanding stigma that cannabis is just a recreational, we're going to smoke and get high type of situation, and also the stigma around being a burnout if you are a quote unquote stoner. These days, there's so much science behind micro cannabinoids, terpenes, our endocannabinoid system, why we have that, what medical applications can be used for those situations, and that's what I like to do when customers come in is take time to ask questions and really just ask, hey, are you here just to recreationally get what you need? Right. Or do you have an ailment? A lot of times, there's a lot of elders that come in and they've got all kinds of different issues and young folks as well, construction workers. We have a range literally from 21 to 90 plus years old, and it's really fun to be able to dive into individual needs and be able to point each person in the right direction for the medical aspects of what cannabis can be used for. Yes. And I'm one of those older people too because here I am late 60s battling cancer and sleep issues and all the things that kind of go with that. Absolutely. But the funny thing, both you guys have to kind of handle it, like with the old, well, for lack of a better term, the old farts like me, is that when I was a kid and say I wanted to do it recreationally, get high, whatever, it was all very much backdoor stuff. There was nothing kind of legitimate. The conversations were very secretive and all that stuff, especially going to college in Arizona where it was kind of crazy. Oh, yeah. I know all about Arizona and their laws. So that's the thing. It's like we almost have to be educated to kind of relax and know it's a safe place that you can talk about it and kind of get educated. I agree. There is still that fear. I grew up around here. My family has been in this area for about 30 years. And I still have the old we're growing tomatoes. I still have that same mindset where it's like we're nervous to be here. We're scared that somebody that we work with is going to see us here. Those situations totally do arise. And that's why we're also there to help ease that tension of all of the, like you said, stigmas. But then also there's a lot of sensory overload because there is such a broad product selection that it can be really hard to just look at something and Google it and get all these different answers when we are specialized in each product that we carry. And so it's really nice to be able to know that you can come in with a calm, ease-like state of mind and know that we're not pressuring. We're here to help. And it's okay to ask questions. Yeah. That's the thing, Ari, that we've talked about since day one when you've been on is having people kind of break that barrier of just – the fear is kind of different where you don't want to be embarrassed and be kind of like awkward and stuff. Yeah. At some early places where you wanted to buy some cannabis, it always seemed like it was kind of darker and all that stuff. Your place is just the opposite. Right. It's light. It's bright. It's totally cool. I would say that's a theme we've seen in all retail sales and what we do at the end of the day is retail sales. Yeah. We see people who want to be more educated about what options are there, what price points are there, what are we getting. People don't want to buy something that doesn't have the product photo, for example. You want to see exactly what it looks like that you're getting. You don't want to just buy something off a catalog that you're guessing what you're going to get. So all of that is really important. We want to give people the resources to know exactly what they're buying, and we're happy to advise on that as well. All right. Has business been good? Has it continued to grow? Business has been great. Yes. Absolutely growing. We love to see it. We love to see it. Every day we get new people in the door, locals who say, this is my first time here, and often they keep coming back. So we love to help them. If we can do whatever we can do for them, we'll always do that. Yeah. So part of your gig then, Josiah, is having them just relax first off, probably, right? Yeah. We like to be very approachable. We like that all the customers that come in, we welcome them. We ask if there's anything specific that they're looking for or if they would just like some time to browse. If they do need something specific, that's where we step in, and we start asking the questions and dialing that in for them. And it's very calm. We do one-on-one. Even if there's a line in the store, there's never pressure to be rushed. Yeah. I've taken 30, 40 minutes with customers, and there's a lot of information to cover, and so we don't want anyone to feel pressured or anxious that they're not being treated as if they are important, because each customer is equally as important as the next. Yeah. Now, you're probably getting some direct feedback from some people you've helped. After all, they come in with a malady or concern, or maybe they just want to do recreational stuff. Yeah. You know what I mean? But, again, we're just getting used to the idea of having a conversation and having intelligence coming back at us and just go, Oh, no, my French is great. That used to be enough. Yeah. You're getting good feedback from people after they've used the product? Absolutely. And that's where the questions that we ask come in really handy, because it's very helpful to be able to hear it from the customer and then know what the product selection is. And all of us are really well-versed in each one of our products. So, yeah, just the simple questions sometimes or the in-depth questions. It can be a really quick, Hey, are you looking for something local, something indoor? If you're just looking for flower, right? And then if you're looking for something for, like, self-healing, we're going to go down a multitude of questions. And that can take time. But usually, if someone's just being recreational, they most of the time know what they're looking for, to be honest. And so there's a flow. You kind of start to learn each customer and you remember them. I have a lot of customers that do specifically just come back in and they're like, What you gave me last time was rockin', you know, let's get something like that or the same thing. And every one of us that works has customers that do that where they're like, I remember you. I want to work with you. And so that's what's great. You start to build this relationship. And we love that. Yeah. And it also seems that the feedback loop really is able to sharpen our recommendations, right? Because, you know, when people come back to us and say, Hey, this worked for me for A, B, and C, for sleep or for pain, then we can put one and two together and recommend that product to other people. You know, I don't want to say that we're making a diagnosis or anything like that. But if a product has worked for many other people, then we're pretty confident that we can recommend it for a given problem. It's also an industry, and especially, you know, with the farmers that are involved, since you have a background so many years involved with it, it's amazing how diverse it is, the products. It really is. And they seem to keep, you know, getting kind of specified and also really just dialed in on what it can and can't do and what it brings to the table, whether it's recreationally or, you know, kind of a self-medicating. Absolutely. If you are just looking for recreational, that's, you know, almost everything in the store can be used for that, can be for sure. If you're looking for something for sleep, we have a lot of products for that. If you're looking for something that will help you with your mood because you feel like a bit of anxious when you go out in public or you don't feel like your serotonin and dopamine is balanced, we have micro cannabinoids that work for that. And let's say you just feel like you don't have the energy you need to get through the day, but you're not wanting to get recreationally buzzed, we have products for that. If you have cancer, we have products for that that help with that. And again, we're not making a diagnosis, but these are studies that do have scientific data that can be shown on many different accounts. And we do also a lot of R&D on our own. So, yeah, we are really well versed in the product knowledge. And if you are just looking for anything, really, we can help with that, whether it is just a quick in and out or if you want to sit down and really pick our brain. Yeah. Now, the bud tenders, how many bud tenders do you have over there, Ari? I want to say it's about 12. About 12? Yep. Wow, okay. Yeah, that's right. That's about three times what I was expecting. We are open 9 to 9 every day, folks. So, yeah, we have the staff to commentate. You have the staff. Do you guys meet together and kind of discuss what's been happening with your clients and stuff? Oh, absolutely. Yeah. Yeah, definitely. We're a really tight group. We're more like a little family crew at work. We all have a really tight relationship with each other, and we definitely bounce all of the info off each other. We love teaching each other new stuff, too. You know, I'm a big nerd. I like to go down the rabbit hole every day. If there's something new in the cannabis world, I like to check it out. Like, for instance, they're studying cannabis sativa leaves for this compound called cannaflavin A. Okay. So that is specifically found in cannabis sativa leaves. That has an over 90% cancer killing rate in every use that they have used in, you know, mice and all that. But it's a new study that they're finding. There's cannaflavin B and C, which they've studied before, but specifically this from sativa strains in the leaves is a new one. So that's a fun new thing I'm learning about. Now, were you always interested in science and that type of stuff? Were you always, like, a deep diver or just something in there? Oh, yeah. My story with cannabis is since I was a teenager, they tried to put me on all kinds of, you know, pharmaceuticals for anxiety and depression and all these things. And I didn't like how they made me feel. However, I did like how cannabis made me feel. And I resonated with it. And I knew that there was more to it than just smoking. Recreationally, I also am a chronic asthmatic, which is why I'm having a little tough time speaking right now. Okay. And I wanted to know that what I was getting from the smoking could be achieved without the carcinogens being in my lungs because I already have issues. Yeah, all right. So back then, I was in high school, and there wasn't really all the science available. There was limited science, but there was still enough for me to start grasping these concepts. And so in sophomore year in high school, all my friends just nicknamed me weedologist because I was such a nerd about it. And I knew there was more to it than this recreational stigma. And I have been just on this journey of breaking that stigma ever since. And it's hugely important to me that people who are seeking other forms of healing or medicinal plant medicines, I love educating people on that because there is so much of that science available these days. And certain people love sharing that. And that's what all of us at Provisions are really great about is we like to dive deep. We like to share that with people and educate. And that is helping break that stigma daily. All right. Actually, your shop, the Grass Valley Provisions, is doing that as well, right? I mean, it is kind of a beautiful, unique type of place. For people that have been hesitant, why should they come in there? I agree. I've been to dispensaries in many states. And Provisions, I was a customer there before I worked there, before I ever considered working there. And I was in awe the first time I walked in. It's a beautiful, welcoming home environment kind of feel. We have plants. We have a really open showroom. It's just very welcoming. And that's the vibe and energy that we put out there. We want you to feel at home. And when you walk in the door, you get greeted by our security guard. Right when you walk through the security door, which is just open, it's not like we have bars. A lot of people are like, oh, a dispensary. It's got to be like bars on windows. Oh, yeah. It's real dark. Yeah. It's beautifully lit. We have lots of windows. Just a beautiful place that was designed by the interior designer who did the National Hotel. It's got original interior beams from the 1920s. It's just really well done. And it's very welcoming. I can't stress that enough. You just walk in, and you're like, oh, this is peaceful. So what was it like to transition from customer? Did they approach you? Did you approach them? How did that work out? Did you start to work together? Ari can kind of touch on that. I was just wondering, Ari, how did that work? Josiah was one of our good customers, and I will attest to the fact that he was always very, very interested in the products and asking as many questions as he could and trying all of our brands, really. And one day, we were hiring, and Josiah came in. I want to say we were right towards the end of the hiring process, and we may have stopped accepting applications already at that point. But Josiah seemed very, very enthusiastic and very interested in the job and seemed like he could be a great fit. So I convinced the management to have a chat with him, and one thing led to another. And here we are. I think it's been a year and a half. A little over just around a year and a half. Yeah. Did you think he was like a geek, like a geeky guy with this cannabis stuff? No, not too much. You can be honest, Ari. You can be honest, Ari. Come on. I do think you are more passionate than I am, although I am a user. I'm not quite as passionate about what I do, but that's because I don't work with people every day. And when you work with people every day, like Josiah does, and you see how much it benefits their life and you hear the stories firsthand, I can very much understand how you'd be very passionate about this. Yeah. Well, you know what? For the listeners out there, I've been battling this five years prostate cancer. And when I first got diagnosed for stage four, they said two to five years. When they give you that, it's kind of like a weird thing. Well, here I am at five years. And actually, I feel actually better since getting some help using product medicinally to help me sleep better. It doesn't mean the cancer is going away, because it just radiated my right leg because they found some not too long ago. So it's just metastasizing here and there. But I'm handling things better. Right. And sometimes I wake up and go, wow, I feel pretty good today. It doesn't mean I have great energy. There's still some things that aren't right. Right. But I feel more optimistic. And then when I hear about, as you hear, these plants that have maybe some cancer fighting things to fight those cells. Absolutely. I'm all over that. So there's this amazing human being who's named Rick Simpson. And he knew that there were very strong medicinal properties from cannabis. And he studied them to a point where he got ran out of his country because it does so well at eradicating cancer cells. And it's called RSO, Rick Simpson Oil. It's also known as Phoenix Tears and some other places. But the real Rick Simpson Oil, which is a full extraction cannabis oil, so FICO. It literally, they've tried it on 28 types of breast cancer with full eradication. They've tried it on inoperable brain tumors in infants and elders that were sent home on hospice, basically given their timeline to live and had full remission. Same with lung cancer. Same with all kinds of these studies. And you can watch a free documentary on YouTube about Rick Simpson. You just look up Rick Simpson Documentary. And it's very informative. And those people who are using micro cannabinoids that are neuroprotectants that are having reversed effects of Parkinson's disease and convulsions and seizures. And so there's a really broad realm of health benefits that cannabis does offer. That's really attacking inflammation and things in cells. Absolutely. Our endocannabinoid system is built with CB1 and CB2 receptors. And cannabis is giving you the micro cannabinoids that are needed for that system to operate with certain functions in the nervous system, in our gut health, in our endocrine, in all of our serotonin, dopamine releases of all a lot of different things. Of functions that our body has this built-in system for. And that's what that science that is there these days is so relative. And a lot of people see it as overwhelming. And that's why it's just if you feel overwhelmed and anxious, just come in and talk to us. Because we love to share this kind of information. Alright, now do people need to make an appointment to see you? Nope, you can just come in. We're open 9am to 9pm every day of the week. Are people waiting in line to see you? Some days. Like in other words, is somebody else free? No, no, this is my man here. Is that what happens sometimes? Absolutely. I'm not trying to pat my own back or anything. But yeah, I've built really close relationships with some of our customers. I've had some customers that literally come back after their first time seeing me and thank me and are like, what you recommended has changed my life. Literally heard those words before. It's an awesome thing to think about. Multiple times, yeah. And so it touches my heart because it lets me know that the work I'm doing is effective. It's very scary to hear about Eric Simpson having to leave his country. What country was he from? If I recall correctly, it was Canada. I'm not 100% sure. It's been over a decade since I watched the documentary. I'd have to double check. But yeah, all of his medical research, they were like, get out of here. You're going to heal everybody. Exactly. It's a money-making thing. I understand that part. You have to kind of battle that stuff. And since we're almost out of time. Okay, so people want to check out Grass Valley Provisions, Ari. Absolutely. What should they do? Should they go online first or just show up first? They can go online. They can show up. And you don't always have to wait in line. As I mentioned, we do have 12 associates. And we always love to take our time with you, chat with anyone as long as you want. There's no time limit on the transaction. So please come in, visit us at Grass Valley Provisions at 403 Idaho Maryland Road or at gvprovisions.com any day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. And real quick, farmers update since we have about a minute left. How are they doing as far as the guys that are growing your product and stuff? Absolutely great. We're finally upon harvest season. Our shelves have been a little empty the past month, but we're going to get some fresh stuff coming in the next couple of weeks. So a lot of good stuff to be excited about and a good reason to visit. Good. Very good. And Josiah kind of rhymes with Messiah. I've heard that one before, too. You've heard that before? I thought I came up with something. Josiah, nice meeting you. It was nice talking with you. And I hope if anybody out there was listening, they come in and feel less anxious and know that we are here to help. Yeah. Just drive over there. Right off Idaho Maryland Road is where you find Grass Valley Provisions. Great place to be. And it is beautiful inside and great people inside as well. So Ari, Josiah, great job today. Thank you so much. All right. Appreciate that. Thank you. Appreciate all the help I've been getting from them. All right. We've got news update weather forecast. You're listening to Nevada County's award-winning news on KNCO Grass Valley, Nevada City. 106.9 FM and News Talk 830 AM. This from the KNCO B&C ACE Home and Garden Center Weather Center. ACE is the place. Here is your forecast on KNCO News Talk 830. Sunny with a high temperature in the low 90s with a very light southwesterly wind. It will be clear overnight, Arlo, in the low 60s. Partly sunny on Thursday with a high of 91. Thursday night clouds move in, Arlo in the mid 60s. And a chance of scattered showers developing on Friday. Cooler with a high in the low to mid 80s. For weather anytime, click on the weather center at knco.com. I'm meteorologist Dan Holliday on KNCO News Talk 830. This from the KNCO B&C ACE Home and Garden Center Weather Center. ACE is the place. --- end of transcript ---