Dispatch From A Ukrainian Cannabis Website Based In Kyiv

On Feb. 24, the day that Russia formally invaded Ukraine, I acquired an electronic mail from Lana Braslavskaia, who manages advertising and public relations for AskGrowers, a Kyiv-based hashish web site targeted on info and opinions about hashish cultivars, manufacturers, and dispensaries. She wished to know if I’d wish to interview her about their enterprise and what it’s at present like working a hashish web site in a metropolis below siege by Russia. I mentioned sure and we corresponded over electronic mail.

AskGrowers is a well-liked and rising web site with 250,000 month-to-month guests after two years in operation. It boasts a database of over 5,200 strains in response to 20 completely different metrics offered by readers, in addition to interviews with varied folks within the hashish trade.

Kyiv boasts a booming tech industry — in response to FastCompany, well-known corporations like Grammarly, Readdle and MacPaw are all based mostly within the capitol.

The nation has has an estimated 200,000 software program builders, in response to a 2021 report from the IT Ukraine Association. Some work immediately for corporations or contract by way of IT-outsourcing companies, like Elitex and Softserve or direct by way of expertise platforms like Fiverr. Fiverr has firm staff in its Kyiv workplace. 

In response to the WorkWeek newsletter WTFintech, there are 235 fintech startups in Ukraine. These corporations principally facilitate cost and cash transfers, present infrastructure and enabling applied sciences, and digital lending. 

At the moment, Braslavskaia mentioned nearly all of AskGrowers’ group is in Kyiv. Its content material supervisor is in Odessa and the search engine marketing specialist has been minimize off from returning dwelling to Kyiv and is caught within the Russian occupied territory close to Chernobyl. Two different staff have moved overseas and at the moment are unable to return to their households in Ukraine.

Right here, Braslavskaia discusses hashish’ illegality in Ukraine, what the nation’s weed tradition is like, present circumstances in Kyiv, hopes for the long run, and extra. “Our group is making an attempt to do all the pieces in our energy to assist our homeland. We’ll proceed to work in Kyiv and do all the pieces potential in order that as many individuals as potential find out about this battle and demand to help us within the struggle towards the Russian occupiers,” she mentioned.

This interview has been calmly edited for readability and was performed over electronic mail, owing to the present battle in Ukraine.

Jackie Bryant: How is AskGrowers related to Ukraine and its folks? Is your entire group based mostly in Kyiv? How did that come to be?

Lana Braslavskaia: Our group began engaged on the challenge in 2019. We’re all specialists within the subject of digital advertising. As well as, we’re united by a love for hashish and an understanding of its potentialities for a variety of individuals. Our group was based mostly primarily in Kyiv. Additionally, we now have a number of specialists in america.

The one market the place our challenge works is the USA. This location was chosen because of the large market and the progressive degree of legalization.

JB: What’s Ukraine’s hashish tradition like? What is the present standing of hashish in Ukraine and, previous to this battle, was there a path to legalization? What’s the activism tradition like?

LB: Ukraine has had a reasonably close relationship with cannabis since the time of the ancient Scythians. However over time, we additionally started to stigmatize hashish and other people utilizing it. However for now, aside from the restricted use of sure cannabis-based psychoactive substances (nabilone, nabiximol and dronabinol), the medical use of hashish is prohibited in Ukraine. Leisure use is much more so.

Ukraine is barely at the start of its journey within the wrestle to attain the legality of hashish. I can spotlight three fundamental milestones:

– 2019. The Ukrainian Affiliation of Hashish has submitted a petition to the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament of Ukraine) with a request to contemplate a invoice on the authorized standing of medical hashish. There’s a huge downside with most cancers in our nation. Folks burn out shortly or slowly with ache, many can’t afford costly painkillers. If such a invoice had been adopted, it might ease probably the most troublesome days for sick folks. However then this didn’t occur, even though nonetheless a presidential candidate, Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his settlement with the necessity for entry to medical hashish.

– 2020. An all-Ukrainian survey was performed on whether or not the inhabitants helps the legalization of hashish for medical functions – to scale back ache in severely sick sufferers. The outcome was as follows: 65 p.c had been in favor, 30 p.c had been towards, 5 p.c abstained.

– 2021. The regulation of drug preparations containing nabilone, nabiximol and dronabinol, that are based mostly on hashish, has been modified. To be sincere, this transformation didn’t assist severely sick folks, since medicine containing these substances are nonetheless very costly.

Additionally, hashish, in response to AskGrowers, has a terrific probability to partially change alcohol as a means of stress-free for the inhabitants. However to date, resulting from their unlawful standing, many individuals don’t use hashish. Additionally, there are not any conditions and circumstances for the event of the trade for the creation of edibles and different hashish merchandise.

JB: How does hashish’ illegality in Ukraine have an effect on the enterprise, if in any respect? Are there loopholes, issues it is advisable work round? Is it thought of dangerous for the enterprise to do what it does in Ukraine?

LB: Since we work solely for america populace, we don’t break any legal guidelines and thus we don’t want to avoid the legal guidelines. However if you’re asking us if we’ll make a market and hashish platform in Ukraine when medical or leisure use is legalized, then our reply is, after all, sure!

JB: What is the weed like in Ukraine?

LB: State of affairs with hashish in Ukraine is extra prefer it was within the U.S earlier than legalization. Rising as much as 10 bushes shouldn’t be a felony offense in Ukraine, and lots of use this very loophole to develop for themselves. Additionally many individuals order hashish seeds overseas, it’s authorized and due to this fact they effectively acquainted with many strains which might be at present sizzling in dispensaries within the US.

The proof of that is that Ukraine till the Fifties was the chief on the earth within the cultivation of hemp.

JB: How has this invasion and battle affected AskGrowers’ operations to date? Is everybody protected? What is the plan going ahead, is everybody planning on staying in Kyiv? Why or why not?

LB: In the mean time, there’s a full-scale battle that has engulfed my whole nation, and never simply the entrance line. However, partially, we’re grateful to the pandemic for the truth that the distant work format has turn out to be fairly acquainted to us. That heightened anxiousness after the pandemic has not but been utterly forgotten, too.

There are not any interruptions with the Web, so we work as standard. The one distinction is that we now have breaks not for espresso as earlier than, however for a dash to the bomb shelter. Kyiv from the very first day is endangered from the sky.

In the mean time, most of our group is in Kyiv, together with me. Our content material supervisor in Odessa. Our search engine marketing specialist was minimize off from Kyiv and is now within the occupied territory close to Chernobyl. Two extra of our colleagues moved overseas and now can’t return to their households. We keep up a correspondence with everybody.

JB: What’s the firm’s view on the present actions in Ukraine?

LB: I am unsure that I’ve sufficient phrases to explain our worry for the lives of our compatriots, anger on the occupiers and limitless religion in our armed forces. We additionally don’t perceive why your entire western world, together with america, doesn’t give us actual help. We hear solely phrases of help and religion in our energy. Whereas Ukraine, a rustic that has been at battle for 8 years, is holding again some of the highly effective armies on the earth, the entire world retains silent and pats us sympathetically on the shoulder. The brand new Hitler revealed his face, is it potential that the entire world will once more delay the bloodbath of him, because it was throughout World Struggle II?

AskGrowers’s Founder Igor Dunaevsky and CEO Irene Stepanenko did all the pieces to make us really feel protected and warranted that the challenge wouldn’t endure. It’s potential for us to deliver our households and pets to the workplace which has all the pieces for comfy work and security: bomb shelter, meals, bathe, web, and extra. You understand, when selecting an organization, it was vital for me that the workplace had a homely comfy ambiance, however I didn’t assume {that a} bomb shelter ought to seem on my consolation record.

We’ve ample monetary cushion to make sure that the challenge can also be protected. Additionally, anybody from the group who decides to go to defend their nation in any means will, after all, save the place and full wage for every month.

JB: As a digital property, what’s the firm doing to make sure its security and that of its shoppers from a potential cyberattack? Is {that a} concern? What is the contingency in that case?

LB: We’ve skilled information safety specialists on our group who’ve already reported phishing assaults. However that is noticed all through Ukraine, and our challenge isn’t any exception. There are not any actual causes to fret. Our servers are based mostly outdoors Ukraine. We’re undoubtedly can function, work and help our challenge.

JB: What would you like worldwide and particularly American hashish shoppers to find out about what is going on in Ukraine proper now?

LB: I believe the thought is straightforward. Every of us, whatever the trade, should contribute to the event and stability of the nation. Even when it is a hashish enterprise. We don’t cease and do our greatest to develop our enterprise. And we shall be grateful if everybody among the many neighborhood will unfold the information from dependable sources on Russian invasion to Ukraine of their social media.

Individuals who need to go even additional in serving to my nation can donate to the official account of the National Bank of Ukraine, which was created for this function yesterday.

JB: What do you hope for the way forward for Ukraine? Its hashish tradition? How can it and the enterprise round or not it’s saved alive throughout wartime?

Earlier than the battle, we had forecasts within the firm relating to the legalization of first medical after which leisure hashish in Ukraine. The timeframe different from 5 to 10 years, relying on the change of energy and the rising up of a brand new era. Now, it’s fairly troublesome to construct a brand new forecast, as a result of it isn’t in any respect clear when this battle will finish.

As follow exhibits, we handle to work efficiently in wartime and even obtain some data in our challenge improvement methods. However usually, that is an extremely scary time that requires a number of sources.

JB: What did I miss? Please be at liberty so as to add something we did not contact on that you just assume readers must know.

LB: As a human being and as a girl, I’d once more ask you to attract consideration to the battle and the horrors that we’re experiencing right here completely scrolling by way of the information feeds within the telegram and our official state pages or once we say goodbye to our fathers, brothers, and husbands once they go to guard us. However I perceive that I must deal with hashish.

Our group, because of the frequent fiery speeches of our founder Igor Dunaevsky, for 2 years now has a sense that the hashish trade is freedom. The liberty to decide on what is nice in your physique and thoughts. After all, I am speaking about accountable consumption 21+. 

That is one thing that feels good within the instance of what’s occurring now. Russia, with an authoritarian regime, the place even for the toke of hashish persons are imprisoned, the place nobody may even trace within the media subject concerning the challenge of legalization, since you’ll instantly be accused of selling medicine. A vivid instance is the persecution of journalist Yury Dud for this interview.

Whereas Ukraine and its residents confidently select what they contemplate to be the most effective for themselves and never be afraid of something and anybody.