Cannabis leader, Nadir Pearson, and Madison talk equity, mushrooms, indigenous wisdom, the entourage effect, Gen Z, mindfulness, the digital age, flow states, and counter culture.
A pioneer in the cannabis industry, Nadir Pearson is an entrepreneur specializing in digital strategy and business development. Nadir is a Chief Innovation Officer at Hybrid. He serves as Deputy Director for NJ NORML, East Coast Project Lead for Cannaclusive and is founder of SMART (Student Marijuana Alliance for Research & Transparency) a national college cannabis organization. Nadir’s past experience in digital marketing comes from his time with industry giants like High Times and Herb.co. Driven by a mission to make cannabis equitable for Black and Brown communities, Nadir is best known for empowering the next generation of leaders to leave their mark on the movement.
Cannabis & Equity
Welcoming the groundbreaking Nadir Pearson to Set and Setting, Madison invites him to share how he began making an impact in the cannabis industry at a young age. Nadir explains his early interest in the benefits and history of the plant, and how he had to overcome the stigma of using it as an athlete. From here, Madison and Nadir jam on how to create equity in the cannabis industry.
“Learning about the health benefits, the ways [cannabis] can help people with terminal illnesses, and the racism and history behind it, opened my eyes to, ‘Oh wow, this is a lot more than just a plant.'” – Nadir Pearson
Cannabis journalist, Donnell Alexander, talks cannabis & equity, on Ep. 13 of Set & Setting
Indigenous Wisdom & the Entourage Effect // Spirituality, Set, & Setting (14:00)
Madison explores indigenous wisdom in relation to plant medicines, sparking Nadir to apply the full-spectrum metaphor of the entourage effect. From here, Madison inquires what role psychedelics and cannabis play in his spiritual life, and what his typical set and setting is for experiencing cannabis. Next, they talk Gen Z, Ram Dass, and learning so much you feel like a kid again.
“Indigenous cultures who have used different plant medicines—whether it’s cannabis or ayahuasca or whatever—they’re using it in a way where it’s connected to their religion, their spiritual path, and their community. There’s so much to learn from that type of wisdom that the clinical side of things could use a little bit more of.” – Madison Margolin
Cannabis media maker, Abdullah Saeed, & Madison talk the psychedelic mainstream, on Ep. 6 of Set & Setting
Gen Z, Mindfulness, & the Digital Age // Flow States & Counter Culture (30:00)
From here, they contemplate how the digital age of intoxicating technologies effects our mindfulness. Madison inquires with Nadir how he personally taps into beneficial flow states, rather than typically mindless flow states like scrolling Instagram. Next, they explore how cannabis can help reset stagnant workflow, and how sessions can be used to relax and tune in with friends. To close, they dive into the inquiry, “What is the counter culture today?”
“People are always searching for the easy thing. That’s what commercialization brings, the easy part of it. It’s easy to smoke weed now, it’s easy to get shrooms now. Before it wasn’t easy, so you were searching for something, on that journey. And that could tell more about you than actually getting the thing—how far you went to get those shrooms, to get that experience. Now that those barriers are away, it starts to make it easier for people to fall subject to being lazy about their experiences.” – Nadir Pearson