This week's Benzinga Cannabis Hour featured Last Prisoner Project's Steve DeAngelo; Hoban Law Group's Bob Hoban; and The People's Dispensary's Christine Delarosa (link to video below).Co-hosts Patrick Lane and Javier Hasse guided the conversation across a wide variety of topics. Here's a breakdown of what was discussed.Steve DeAngelo, Founder, Last Prisoner ProjectSteve DeAngelo is perhaps one of the most renowned leaders in the sector. Touted as the "Father of the Cannabis Industry," the LPP founder is indeed a multihyphenate: speaker-activist-advocate-entrepreneur-educator.He kicked off the conversation by making a case for a hemp-based economy."We can wear hemp clothes. We can eat hemp foods. We can start driving this hemp economy forward," he said. Why? The environment depends on it."For every hectare of hemp that we harvest, we sequester 22 tons of atmospheric carbon," he said. "If we make hempcrete out of that harvested hemp, then the hempcrete — as it dries — will sequester additional carbon, and once harvested, that industrial hemp crop can be used to produce anything that's currently made from cotton, or petroleum or trees."In DeAngelo's view, a hemp-based economy coupled with a plant-based diet are the two "most immediate changes" that consumers can make in their lives in order to forestall climate change.DeAngelo also stressed the importance of LPP's mission: decarcerating cannabis. The organization provides a variety of services to those who have been incarcerated with cannabis criminal records, including job training and housing so they're not forced into circumstances that may lead them back to prison."Not many Americans realize it, but we incarcerate a larger proportion of our population [more] than any country on Earth — yes, including China, North Korea, Russia etcetera," DeAngelo said. "Five percent of the world's population, we have 25% of the world's prisoners. That's a travesty in 'the land of the free' and 'the home of the brave.'" Bob Hoban, Founder & President, Hoban Law GroupHoban provided viewers with a flavor of what his firm does best. Turns out, there are a lot of focal points. The law veteran works personally with about six or seven different clients throughout the course of the year."Most of what I do now is provide them strategy and advice," he says. He also serves as interim or active CEO to a number of different companies, aiding them in policy, strategy and investment: "Usually my last job is to replace myself."Among Hoban's practice areas include regulatory divisions around hemp and marijuana; tax and securities; as well as intellectual property, trademarks and patents. "Finally there's our global practice, which is really a hodgepodge of great lawyers who understand this space and other jurisdictions," he said.What's Hoban's biggest challenge? Finding lawyers in other jurisdictions that want to work in the cannabis space."When you approach them, they say 'Cannabis? I'm not a criminal defense attorney… that's not a real industry,'" he said. "You show them the numbers and walk through it, and then their eyes open up."Christine Delarosa, CEO & National Co-Founder, The People's DispensaryFlanked by Christmas lights (because "it's 2020… it's a dumpster fire"), Delarosa provided insight into her unique story. A pulmonary embolism from undiagnosed lupus in 2010 led her to rely on pills and opioids for treatment.By 2015, Delarosa still had trouble walking and coping with the pain. She asked: "What happens to me when I'm 60? How many pills do I take… just to be able to get up out of bed?"That's when she began looking for alternatives and discovered CBD and cannabis.A Women Grow conference "changed my world," she said. She found her regimen, stopped taking pills and has been in remission for five years thanks to cannabis treatment.The experience inspired her to launch The People's Dispensary and help others like her. "It was so important to me to make sure that people in general, but specifically people of color who have been demonized around this drug and are afraid of it, understand that this actually is an alternative way to treat your illness that's holistic, and doesn't put you addicted to opioids," she said. "And that's how we started."The Benzinga Cannabis Hour is produced every week and brings together top executives, entrepreneurs, and experts from all corners of the cannabis industry. Each show features three or more guests from a broad spectrum of expertise in cannabis.To tune in, stream the episode below; click subscribe on the official Benzinga YouTube channel; or visit BZCannabisHour.com.Cannabis Hour is also published on most major podcasting platforms, including Spotify, Google Podcasts, Breaker, Pocket Casts, and more.See more from Benzinga * Michigan Senate Passes Bills Allowing Cannabis Records To Be Expunged * WeChat Avoids Ban After Federal Judge Blocks Trump Executive Order * TikTok Ban Averted As Trump Gives Deal With Oracle, Walmart His 'Blessing'(C) 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

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(Bloomberg Opinion) — Once a bastion of political stability in a troubled region, Malaysia faces the prospect of its third government in little more than six months. A war of attrition over the premiership is the last thing the country needs.Gross domestic product shrank 17.1% in the second quarter, the worst performance in East Asia, and deflation is taking root. Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin came to power in March, just as the pandemic began rippling through the region. His support  never looked very solid. That shaky backdrop has opened the door for the latest leadership challenge. On Wednesday,  Anwar Ibrahim, a one-time establishment insider now heading up the opposition, shocked  investors by asserting he has more than enough votes in parliament to command a majority and oust Muhyiddin. While Anwar’s announcement hasn’t been matched by public declarations of support, it was jarring enough to push stocks lower and nudge the currency to a two-week low. The premier says he isn't going anywhere and is focused on trying to contain Covid-19 and lift the economy out of a historic recession — effectively challenging Anwar to put up or shut up. There’s no denying Anwar has come close to the apex of power in Malaysia in the past, only to stumble, or get tripped, before the finish line. With an abundance of salon intrigue, the political class at times appears out to lunch on basic governing needs. Within Muhyiddin’s camp, backers have engaged in public spats about who gets to contest electoral districts and which supporters get plum public-sector jobs. Four stimulus packages have been passed mostly by decree; other critical things like raising the debt ceiling need legislation. Demonstrating a working majority is critical, but Muhyiddin's is so thin he appears wary of risking a public vote.It wasn't always this way. For most of its six decades of nationhood, the country was able to steer a middle ground in Southeast Asia. One coalition ruled for most of that time and returned at regular elections. By contrast, neighboring Indonesia has been prone to epic crackups that degenerate into communal violence. In Thailand, the military regularly installs and sacks cabinets, and Ferdinand Marcos in the Philippines was able to seize power and rule as an autocrat for years before getting overthrown. Now, power in Malaysia risks falling into a disturbing pattern: a few lawmakers switch sides and unseat governments outside of elections.That’s what Anwar's gambit would mean. Neither he nor Muhyiddin want the stalemate broken by the monarch — whose role is largely ceremonial — dissolving parliament and calling a fresh election. Each man worries that he would lose. Provincial balloting this weekend in Sabah is the next potential trip wire; the northeastern Borneo state is one of the few local administrations not allied to Muhyiddin's bloc. The return of the state government would be seen as a rebuff of the prime minister and, in theory, a plus for Anwar.The fractured nature of the opposition is also part of the story here. Before March, Anwar looked on course to assume the premiership later this year, such was the gentleman's agreement with then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. The two had history: Back in the 1990s, Anwar was also heir apparent to Mahathir, when both held office under a different political grouping, the Barisan Nasional, which had run the country since independence. But Anwar fell out with Mahathir and was jailed. The two men reconciled and united to defeat Barisan, which they claimed had succumbed to graft. Najib Razak, the last Barisan leader to occupy the premier’s job, was convicted and sentenced to prison  for his role in the 1MDB saga. (Najib has appealed.) The terms of the Mahathir-Anwar peace treaty were that Mahathir, now in his 90s, would stand aside for Anwar after a few years. They could never fully reconcile, however. Their supporters split, enabling Muhyiddin to ascend. Anwar is on the outside wanting desperately back in; Mahathir says he'll wait and see how things pan out.This isn't just a storm within the ethnic Malay community, which has long formed the backbone of politics and policy. The region has much at stake in Malaysian stability. The nation is a major exporter of electronics and tied intimately to the global economic cycle. It sits astride the vital sea lanes of the Straits of Malacca and is one of the claimants on tracts of the South China Sea.Consistency and continuity count for a lot in such a diverse corner of the world. Unfortunately, these virtues tend to get noticed only once they are gone. Soon after Muhyiddin was installed in March, I wrote that Malaysia's politics had come to resemble the divisions over faith, ethnicity and urban-rural cleavage that characterized Brexit and Donald Trump. Malaysia can do better. Considering his reputation as a reformer and champion of civil society, so can Anwar.This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Daniel Moss is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Asian economies. Previously he was executive editor of Bloomberg News for global economics, and has led teams in Asia, Europe and North America.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

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