We recently connected with Dustin Robinson and have shared our conversation below.

Dustin, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to start by getting your thoughts on what you are seeing as some the biggest trends emerging in your industry.

In the cannabis industry, we are going to see more states legalizing medical and adult-use; and I believe, in the next three years, we will see some federal bills pass around 280e and banking. We are also seeing delivery platforms grabbing tremendous market share in California (compared to retail) and I believe we’re going to start seeing this trend expanding to other states.

In the psychedelic industry, we’ve already seen an explosion of companies forming around drug discovery and drug development of first-generation psychedelic compounds. I think we are going to see massive consolidation over the next 24 months. I also think there’s going to be a lot of companies innovating new psychedelic analogues and new chemical entities that are psychedelic-inspired.

Dustin, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I had a different path to starting my own law firm compared to most. Prior to law school, I obtained my CPA and worked at a Big Four accounting firm — Deloitte. After law school, I worked in Big Law — Holland & Knight. Then, I took a detour from law by transitioning to a more operational and entrepreneurial role helping run and build one of the top roofing-manufacturing-companies in the country — Tropical Roofing Products. Once I sold my interest in Tropical Roofing Products, I was looking for a venture that would utilize my diverse skill set as an entrepreneur, attorney, CPA, and licensed realtor, while also having an impact on the world.

A friend had a cannabis license and needed help doing a deal with another company that had a cannabis license in another state. I was able to assist with the transaction, utilizing my legal, accounting and real estate background. I found it fascinating the need to learn a completely new and emerging area of law — cannabis law — in order to successfully structure the transaction. I also found it interesting that my old law firm, Holland & Knight, wasn’t willing to represent companies in the cannabis industry due to the industry being federally illegal. There was a clear need in the market for a law firm that provided cannabis businesses with Big Firm-type of expertise, with a narrow focus on the cannabis industry. So, as an entrepreneur, I decided to fill that market void by starting my own law firm that exclusively focuses on the cannabis industry, Mr. Cannabis Law. Since then, my firm has expanded its focus to also include the psychedelic industry, which is one of the most emerging industries in the country. Working in these two industries fulfills my desire to always be challenged and my desire to have a positive impact on the world.

I then went on and co-founded Mr. Psychedelic Law – a 501(c)(4) focused on using medical and spiritual research to drive responsible legal reform in Florida for psilocybin mushrooms and other entheogens. Mr. Psychedelic Law consists of the top lawyers, lobbyist, doctors, scientists, and spiritual leaders in the state of Florida. Through Mr. Psychedelic Law, I have drafted Resolutions for psychedelic decriminalization for various cities in Florida and hope to build a responsible legal framework in Florida for the commercialization of psilocybin mushroom and other entheogens. I also worked with Florida State Representative Michael Grieco to draft and file the Florida Psilocybin Legalization Bill.

In April 2021, in partnership with seasoned private equity investor Robert Velarde, we launched Iter Investments, a venture capital firm that aims to deploy capital primarily in businesses operating in and around the burgeoning psychedelics industry.

Through Iter Investments, we most recently launched Nucleus – a platform with various tools to help guide individuals on their mental health journey. Within the platform, participants can assess their emotional health, find treatments, journal their experiences, and fully own all of their documented health data along the way.

To continue the conversation about psychedelics, I host a monthly psychedelics panel that takes place at Soho Beach House Miami on the second Tuesday of every month. The panel has expanded to locations throughout the country including New York, Chicago and California. Each panel features experts in the psychedelics space from CEOs, doctors, lawyers and celebrities.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

In highly regulated emerging industries, I think it’s important to be at the forefront of legal reform. My advocacy and non-profit work in both cannabis and psychedelics have helped me build a reputation for pushing these industries forward; and have helped me build trust among other industry stakeholders.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I started my non-profit Mr. Psychedelic Law in 2019 with the goal of pushing legal reform around psychedelic medicines. While my advocacy work through Mr. Psychedelic Law was having an impact, I recognized that the industry really needed significant capital to progress. This led me to pivot into launching my venture capital firm Iter Investments that deploys capital into the psychedelic industry. My investment firm has already deployed tens of millions of dollars into the psychedelic industry and we plan to deploy much more capital over the next 24 months.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://mrcannabislaw.com/, https://www.iterinvestments.com , https://mrpsychedeliclaw.com , https://www.withnucleus.com
• Instagram: @dustrinr10 , @mrcannabislaw , @mrpsychedeliclaw
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Mr-Cannabis-Law-387990165136171 , https://www.facebook.com/mrpsychedeliclaw
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dustin-robinson-esq-cpa-3a48b31a , https://www.linkedin.com/company/mrcannabislaw , https://www.linkedin.com/company/iter-investments/about , https://www.linkedin.com/company/mr-psychedelic-law/about