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In this edition of "Rising High," The Fly conducted an exclusive interview with Adam Wilks, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Carma HoldCo, a house of brands focused on creating icon-inspired cannabis products. Here are some highlights:

AUTHENTICITY: Carma HoldCo is a cannabis company that aims to develop products evoking deep consumer connection and elevated experiences. The company houses TYSON 2.0, the premium cannabis brand of legendary boxer Mike Tyson, as well as Ric Flair Drip and Wooooo! Energy, the cannabis and energy drink lines of renowned pro-wrestler Ric Flair, and Evol, a cannabis brand by four-time Grammy Award-winning artist Future. Distribution of Carma's products spans over 110,000 retailers worldwide across 16 countries. "At Carma, we have always set ourselves apart by building brands that are authentic to our talent and that resonate with our customers around the world," Wilks said. "Consumers want to have that ability to connect on an authentic level with our talent and that's what we do, we give them that opportunity through different product offerings."

Carma is also fortunate as Tyson, Flair and Future are all masters in their own industries, he said. "They are all known worldwide and they all have a very loyal fanbase," the CEO said. "This allows us to build a genuine connection with consumers of each of their individual brands. This also sets us apart from competitors in the space as we all know, there is only one Mike Tyson, one Ric Flair and one Future."

U.S. PARTNERSHIPS: In June, Carma announced it formed an exclusive manufacturing and distribution partnership with Opus Farms in Missouri. Opus Farms is manufacturing and distributing cannabis products by TYSON 2.0 and Ric Flair Drip to dispensaries across the state. "Missouri is one market we had already been in," Wilks said. "We were live in Missouri in the past and it was one of our top markets, so we knew the massive potential before reentering. Since reentering, the initial response has been incredible and the demand for product is higher than it has ever been."

He added that he and Ric Flair recently held a meet and greet in the state, shaking hands with hundreds of consumers and fans of Ric Flair Drip. "We're just excited to continue growing within Missouri," the CEO said. "We partnered with Opus Farm around their quality of flower and their relationships within the market to scale the brands. There is an incredible team behind it. The knowledge, the SOPs and the quality of product were the real factors in the decision making of working with Opus Farms."

In May, TYSON 2.0 announced its expansion in Colorado. The company forged an exclusive distribution partnership with Seven Point Distributors to roll out products to even more dispensaries across the state. "We had previously been in market in Colorado and we knew the importance of being there for our brands," Wilks said. "Colorado was one of the first recreational markets and is now one of the most mature markets in the country. Having our brand represented there, we consider a must and a huge part of our growth strategy of being everywhere globally. Colorado is one of the leading states as far as the culture goes and that is a huge reason why we reentered the market with Seven Point."

Carma is also planning on launching in a few more markets in the coming months, he said. "Q3 is going to be a very exciting period for Carma with another half dozen markets coming online," the CEO said. "I couldn't be more excited about the speed of overall expansion and growth of the brands, and to see the international perception changing and the rules and regulations adjusting. We are in the infancy of this industry, and we can't wait for the future and what's to come."

INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION: In June, Carma announced it has broadened its European presence. Medical cannabis products from TYSON 2.0 are now available to patients in Germany via its exclusive partnership with PHCANN International. In April, the company announced it had entered the partnership with PHCANN to exclusively cultivate, manufacture and distribute TYSON 2.0 branded THC products across Germany and the United Kingdom. "International expansion is extremely important for our brand, especially in Europe as countries like Germany are changing regulations for the better," Wilks said. "Mike is set on having Tyson 2.0 everywhere in the world. He pushes not only me, but the team to continue to expand the brand to legal countries where rules and regulations are evolving for us to have that ability to bring our product to consumers."

He noted Carma already owns a coffee shop in Amsterdam with plans to expand and has a presence in Canada, Thailand and several other countries. "This expansion in Germany and the UK is a significant milestone in our overall growth strategy, ensuring our international presence as a global leader," the CEO said. "We think it is one of the most important parts of our expansion strategy."

When evaluating expansion, he said Carma looks for qualified individuals globally that can help the company scale its brands. "PHCANN with their GMP-approved facility in Macedonia, beautiful, state-of-the-art grow and incredible team with decades combined of experience behind them, we felt they were the perfect fit for our growth strategy," Wilks said. "The two cultures mixing has just been a home run. Our teams have intertwined incredibly and we're excited to be working together and growing our international presence."

PRODUCT CATEGORIES: According to research firms within the space, flower still holds the biggest share of sales of any cannabis product category, followed by vape. "Over the last year we have seen a huge jump in all-in-one disposable vapes," the CEO said. "Edibles also continue to gain market share on a consumer basis beyond typical cannabis consumers, who are buying flower and pre-rolls. I anticipate those more discrete form factors will continue to grow in market share as we have seen in the last 12 months,. We are focusing on moving more and more Mike Bites, more and more Wooooo! Chews as well as our all-in-one vapes through several partnerships."

SCHEDULING: The U.S. Justice Department recently formalized its process to reclassify cannabis as lower-risk and reschedule the drug from Schedule I to Schedule III. The Drug Enforcement Administration submitted a notice of proposed rulemaking on Thursday, May 16, triggering a 60-day comment period that will allow members of the public to submit remarks regarding the rescheduling proposal. "It is something that we have all been waiting for and we love to see progress on all fronts," Wilks said. "This is really exciting to see the regulatory changes are coming. It signifies a change in the perception towards cannabis as a whole and I couldn't be more excited about all the opportunities that will come from this. It's not an if, but more of a when and I think it's right around the corner."

He noted a significant impact of rescheduling would be the elimination of Section 280E. "It opens up a lot more cashflow for our licensees and all of our operators, whether its cultivation, manufacturing or distribution," the CEO said. "It takes that burden off a lot of cannabis operators that are running on tight margins and lets them operate a standard business in this country. I think it is going to be releasing the handcuffs and really letting people thrive."

SAFER BANKING: In September, a U.S. Senate committee voted to advance The Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation Banking Act bill, which seeks to ensure that all businesses, including cannabis businesses, have access to deposit accounts, insurance and other financial services. "Obviously banking is a critical function of business," Wilks said. "This is a wait and see, but it is obviously going to bring ease of commerce. It's not an if, but a when, and it is something the cannabis space needs."

Letting cannabis businesses operate like all other companies' businesses within the country will increase access to capital, he said. "Right now, interest rates for cannabis businesses versus every other business are substantially higher," the CEO said. "The ability to bank, the banking fees, the movement of cash and the risk of moving cash, we are all seeing the struggles that we are having in the space. This all needs to be pushed through, SAFER Banking, 280E being removed and the whole progress of the evolution of the cannabis space. We need to ease up on operators so we can continue to grow and bring clean, tested, plant-based medicine to the masses."

STATE REGULATION: The New York market has recently started to crack down on illicit cannabis stores that have been pressuring the adult-use market and Wilks said he recently visited the state with Tyson. "We had the privilege of going into a bunch of these smoke shops," he said. "I was blown away to see our products, not our packaging, but our products on dozens of shelves. It made me realize this is crazy, it's being taken advantage of, and I hadn't seen it firsthand at that level."

The CEO said he was shocked to see Tyson 2.0 all over, when it is not the company's tested product and not safe to be sold. "I am eagerly looking forward to the shutdown of all these illegal dispensaries," he said. "Our licensed partner in New York, Hudson Cannabis, grows beautiful product and it's been an extremely successful launch with them. We will continue to produce, manufacture and distribute products from New York legally. I would push everyone to focus on continuing to purchase from legal dispensaries as we know what's in there, we know it's tested product and we can put our name behind that."

Additionally In April, Florida's Supreme Court's decided to allow an adult-use cannabis bill to proceed to the ballot this November. "Florida is a very powerful and influential state for our space," Wilks said. "It's been a great state for our brands on the medical side, so I can only imagine how wonderful it is going to be when recreational use is pushed through. I couldn't be more excited for what is to come in Florida, and excited to be announcing a few new partnerships coming around this adult-use progress."

CHALLENGES: When asked about the largest hurdles facing the cannabis space, the CEO pointed to regulations and banking as two of the biggest challenges for the industry. "We're hoping that the upcoming rescheduling and legislative changes will help us ease these restrictions," he said. "Obviously there are tons of things that fall underneath banking, the high interest rates, access to capital, 280E and so on."

Wilks noted when these obstacles abate, investor interest should increase in the space. "There are a lot of people whose perception of the industry will change when they're told they can loosen up on the regulations," he said. "That is going to change a lot of perspectives and the floodgates will open up for capital. It will be a huge positive for the space."

OPPORTUNITIES: As the cannabis space develops, Wilks said he believes the cannabis industry is still in its infancy. "We are in the early innings and with all the regulatory changes, domestically and internationally, we're extremely excited to see where things are going," he said. "We are hopeful that these changes will allow our company to deliver products like Mike and our entire team would like to bring the brands worldwide. Just making sure consumers everywhere can connect to our talent in an authentic way as well as the brand. We are always innovating and expanding into new product categories, looking for new licensing opportunities with additional brands, additional talent, and we have an incredible team keeping a pulse on upcoming trends within the industry. We're excited for the continued expansion of Carma brands."

CANNABIS/PSYCHEDELIC STOCKS: Publicly-traded companies in the space include Acreage (ACRHF), Ascend Wellness (AAWH), Atai Life Sciences (ATAI), Aurora Cannabis (ACB), Ayr Wellness (AYRWF), Avant Brands (AVTBF), BZAM (BZAMF), Cannabist Company (CBSTF), Cannara Biotech (LOVFF), Canopy Growth (CGC), Chicago Atlantic (REFI), Clearmind (CMND), Clever Leaves (CLVR), Compass Pathways (CMPS), CordovaCann (LVRLF), Cresco Labs (CRLBF), Cronos Group (CRON), Curaleaf (CURLF), CURE Pharmaceutical (CURR), CV Sciences (CVSI), Cybin (CYBN), Delta 9 (DLTNF), Entourage Health (ETRGF), Enveric (ENVB), Fire & Flower (FFLWF), Flora Growth (FLGC), Trees Corporation (CANN), Goodness Growth (GDNSF), Greenlane (GNLN), Green Thumb (GTBIF), GrowGeneration (GRWG), Hemp (HEMP), Heritage Cannabis (HERTF), High Tide (HITI), IM Cannabis (IMCC), India Globalization Capital (IGC), Indiva (NDVAF), Innovative Industrial Properties (IIPR), InterCure (INCR), Lotus Ventures (LTTSF), Lowell Farms (LOWLF), Lucy Scientific Discovery (LSDI), MediPharm (MEDIF), MedMen (MMNFF), MindMed (MNMD), NewLake Capital (NLCP), Numinus (NUMIF), Organigram (OGI), Optimi Health (OPTHF), Planet 13 (PLNHF), Red White & Bloom (RWBYF), Relmada Therapeutics (RLMD), Reunion Neuroscience (REUN), Revitalist (RVLWF), RIV Capital (CNPOF), RYAH Group (RYAHF), Safe Harbor Financial (SHFS), SNDL (SNDL), Sproutly (SRUTF), Skye Biosciences (SKYE), Stem Holdings (STMH), Sunniva (SNNVF), TerrAscend (TRSSF), Tetra Bio-Pharma (TBPMF), Tilray (TLRY), Trulieve (TCNNF), Tryp Therapeutics (TRYPF), Verano (VRNOF), Village Farms (VFF), Zynerba (ZYNE) and 4Front Ventures (FFNTF).