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Happy Holidays to the Green Rush Family! Thank you all for being loyal listeners during what has been a crazy year. In honor of the holiday season, we wanted to give you all a little “gift” by way of a special episode. 

Back in November, Anne Donohoe hosted a live interview with Jim Belushi for the IAB Brand Disruption Summit. For those who don’t know, IAB is the The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), is the national association for digital media and marketing industries. The trade group that empowers  these companies to thrive in the digital economy. Its membership is made up of more than 750 leading media companies, brands, and the technology firms responsible for selling, delivering, and optimizing digital ad marketing campaigns. Full disclosure – IAB is a KCSA client. 

The third annual IAB Brand Disruption Summit took a look at this turbulent year and how brands navigated new risks – and in some cases, reaped new rewards.

How does cannabis play into this? When we talk about “disruptors” there is possibly no other industry as a whole more “disruptive” than the cannabis industry. After all – how do you build a brand when it’s federally illegal? By navigating through a patchwork of state-level regulations and laws, this industry has had to build itself through a web of complex – and dynamic – ecosystems that allow companies to bring their products to market. 

Perhaps no one knows this better than Jim Belushi, founder of Belushi’s Farm. And while he needs no introduction – i’m going to give him one anyway… You know him as a multi-hyphenate entertainer – actor, comedian, singer, musician, producer, director, but you Green Rushers know, Jim has made a name for himself as a farmer and an entrepreneur in the cannabis industry. He is building out an impressive brand portfolio from his adopted home state of Oregon – and has recently announced brand expansions to states including Illinois and Colorado.

So with HUGE thanks to the IAB for letting us repurpose this, on to Anne’s interview with Jim Belushi. 

So don’t sit back, lean forward and enjoy! 

Jim Belushi, Hollywood Star and Cannabis Entrepreneur

It’s been 12 years since Jim first came to Oregon’s Rogue Valley where his dear friend John has a sprawling property along the Rogue River, one town over in Shady Cove. Their children are the same age and attended classes together in California, so the families gathered for many activities over the years. With Jim’s own family’s experience and numerous others marred by opioids and the stigmatization of cannabis, Jim was incredibly grateful to have been led to the Rogue River where he first envisioned Belushi’s Farm and his own part in the agricultural and healing gift of cannabis.

A proud Chicagoan, Jim graduated from Southern Illinois University with a degree in Speech, Education and Theatre before moving on to become a resident member of Chicago’s famed Second City for three years. In 1979, he left for Los Angeles, where he was cast on TV, launching his career as a performer. In addition to starring in a diverse and remarkable list of television and film— movies from Trading Places to Wonder Wheel, working with famed directors like Oliver Stone, Roman Polanski, David Lynch and Michael Mann—Jim wrote and appeared in Saturday Night Live for two seasons. He’s also served as an executive producer, music composer, director, book author, and Broadway star. His own television show According to Jim aired for 182 episodes during eight seasons before the family favorite launched into off-net syndication in 2007.

Locally, Jim is actively engaged in several projects benefiting the communities surrounding Belushi’s Farm in Jackson County, Oregon. In Medford, Jim is helping reconstruct the historic Holly Theater to bring the 1930s Spanish Colonial movie palace back to life as Southern Oregon’s largest indoor concert venue. In Eagle Point, Jim’s assisting with the reconstruction of The Butte Creek Mill, destroyed in a 2016 electrical fire, to preserve its heritage, build community, and improve the environment. In Los Angeles, Jim’s a benefactor of the Greater Los Angeles Veterans Administration, and Stuart House, a program of the Santa Monica-UCLA Medical Center Rape Treatment Center. Jim’s also a supporter of The Joyful Heart Foundation in New York City, whose mission is transforming society’s response to sexual assault, domestic violence and child abuse, supporting survivors’ healing and ending the violence forever. 

Links to guest’s social media:

• Jim’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/JimBelushi
• Jim’s IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000902/
• Belushi Farm’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/belushisfarm/

Links and Mentions:

• https://www.iab.com/
• https://www.iab.com/events/2020-brand-disruption-summit/
• https://www.belushisfarm.com/
• Belushi Farm’s Products: https://www.zazzle.com/store/belushis_farm 
• Jim Belushi and Steve Deangelo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtCpUu0pK7E
• Jim on the Farm: https://www.instagram.com/p/CAsqcwehu7i/
• Jim on the Farm Part 2: https://www.instagram.com/p/B-XX1FNhlIG/

Show Credits:

This episode was hosted by Anne Donohoe of KCSA Strategic Communications.

Special thanks to our Executive Producer Nick Opich and Program Director Shea Gunther.

You can learn more about how KCSA Cannabis can help your cannabiz by visiting www.kcsa-cannabis.com or emailing greenrush@kcsa.com. You can also connect with us via our social channels:

Twitter: @The_GreenRush 

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