Today we’d like to introduce you to Mitch Smith
Mitch, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Absolutely! I am a US Army Veteran, who became interested in emergency medicine after completing the Combat Lifesaver Training Program. From there, I became a paramedic for Mercy Ambulance for five years before getting hired as a Firefighter/Paramedic with the Clark County Fire Department. After a total of 22 years on the streets of Las Vegas, NV, I retired and moved to California where I now reside with my wife, Christina.
In 2008, I was diagnosed with Tuberculosis. Over the next year, I was put on multiple heavy doses of various antiviral medications, which caused a host of serious side effects including nausea, body pain, loss of appetite, insomnia and ultimately led to liver problems. After months of medications and terrible side effects, I was sick of the pills and wanted something more natural. It was at this point when I turned to medical cannabis for help. With my background and experience in the medical field, I was able to use the benefits of cannabis to improve my quality of life. Unfortunately, in 2021, I found out I have permanent liver damage (known as a drug-induced liver injury) and about 50% of my liver is functioning, due to those antiviral medications I took over a decade ago. Now I have no choice but to solely rely on cannabis and CBD as my medicine. I choose not to use any pharmaceuticals including over-the-counter medicines like Tylenol because it can stress my liver.
Over the past few years, I have used cannabis as my sole source of medicine and have witnessed improvements in every area of my life. I truly believe cannabis, CBD and hemp have so many medicinal benefits, but the negative stigma that has been built up around this plant is keeping people from learning about its true therapeutic results. So in 2023, I decided to get my Master of Cannabis Certification from the Cannabis Training University. This training provided me with extensive knowledge around cannabis and CBD. Now I am able to combine that knowledge with my experience and background in cultivating, cooking with and obviously, consuming cannabis to share my story with the world, while helping anyone I can learn about this wonderful plant. This is ultimately why we started Millennial420!
My team and I originally came up with the idea for Millennial420 back in 2019 when cannabis was becoming a hot button issue. More people were using cannabis in medical and recreational states, but we noticed there was a lack of facts, information and assistance on how to use the various products available. I remember when I first used cannabis I did not have anyone telling me what worked best for pain or what worked best for sleep. I had to do the research. I had to guess and try what strains and products worked best for me. I did not have anyone to turn to when I had questions; instead I had to figure it all out on my own (which is a lot of work and frustration.) I quickly realized you can smoke cannabis or eat it, but if you are not smoking or eating the right strain, consuming the right dosage or using the right product or delivery system, chances are you are not going to get your desired effect and you will give up, using the excuse that cannabis did not work. I decided I wanted to educate people about this beneficial plant, so Millennial420 was born.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It most definitely has not been a smooth road. We have been navigating through many struggles over the last 5 years due to state and federal regulations and laws. Millennial420 has been shadow-banned on social media several times and our accounts deactivated. We have had multiple website hosting companies drop us because of our cannabis-related content. At one point, we were selling our merchandise on Etsy, but that account also ended up getting suspended. Unfortunately, we have even had companies and brands we represent and work with close their doors due to the same battle of laws and regulations.
A little fun fact! According to the University of Pennsylvania, did you know the United States has spent over 1 trillion dollars on the War on Drugs in the last 50 years? And unfortunately, cannabis has been caught in the path. This is interesting because in the early 1900s cannabis and hemp were LEGAL! Yep. You could go down to any drug store and purchase cannabis products right over the counter. Even more interesting, back in the 1800s, hemp was an important part of our American culture and economy with some landowners being required to grow hemp as it was used to make ropes, sails, clothing, animal feed and more. Even better, in 1776 the United States Constitution was written on hemp paper! According to the most recent Pew Research Poll, as of March 2024, 88% of Americans say they want to see cannabis legalized. There are already 46 states that have some version of legalized cannabis (medicinal, recreational, CBD only, etc.) but it is not yet federally decriminalized.
Basically, cannabis is operating in a grey area. For example, cannabis is recreationally legal in our state of California, but because it is not federally legal, our business is penalized for it, even though we are only providing information. But we keep pushing through. Why? Because we believe in the message we are sharing. We believe in this company, but more importantly, we believe in and have seen the medicinal benefits that cannabis has to offer. Cannabis should not be used as a pawn in votes or in elections. Cannabis should not be restricted, especially when science and studies are proving there are medicinal benefits to this plant!
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Millennial420 is a curated health and wellness website that is dedicated to providing up-to-date educational information about hemp, CBD and cannabis. Millennial420 is different from most brands, because we EDUCATE our clients, customers and followers. We are not selling them a product and wishing them luck with it. Instead, we are guiding people in the right direction through our recommendations. We walk them through the steps of how to start their cannabis journey.
In this day and age, people are stressed out, overworked, unhealthy and our endocannabinoid system can feel it. The stigma around cannabis and it’s ‘reefer madness’ has created a void of information surrounding this plant. People do not know who to turn to or whom to ask when they have questions. This is where Millennial420 comes in. Through education, we can help people make informed decisions about what they need. At Millennial420, we believe hemp and cannabis can truly help people. It is not just marketing BS – it is why we started this company. From sleep, pain and nausea to menstrual cramps and post-workout recovery, we have found cannabis can enhance your entire wellness routine.
At Millennial420, we offer four different services. Our first service is education around cannabis, hemp and CBD. This includes various blogs and news articles, vocabulary terms, videos and webinars, links to community activism as well social media accounts of people we follow and more. We do our best to provide only accurate, up-to-date information and all this can be found on our website – www.millennial420.com.
Our second service is personalized cannabis coaching sessions. This is where I work directly with clients to help them take that first step to learn everything there is to know about using cannabis as medicine. I take the time to understand what their needs are before I create and develop a CANNABIS RECOMMENDATION, a personalized consumption plan, which provides them with a list of recommended products, various routes of consumption and other information to help them understand how cannabis helps with their specific wellness complaints. We are open to working with anyone 21+, but our ideal client is someone who has never been into a legal, licensed dispensary and has no idea where to start. We want to help those who are curious and open-minded about cannabis. We want to help those who want to learn and are willing to try different cannabis products. This may be someone who is recently retired or is no longer threatened by drug testing at work. Or it may be someone who has medical issues and they are looking for a more holistic route, but their doctor is not willing to discuss cannabis as a medical option. Our mission is to help people achieve a positive experience using cannabis and CBD. We want to provide support for those responsible consumers looking for alternative healthcare. Right now, these sessions are FREE and we encourage you to visit our website for more information.
The third service we offer is EXCLUSIVE discounts and savings on premium, high quality CBD, hemp and cannabis-related products including CBD edibles and oils, hemp shoes and clothing as well as smoking devices and growing supplies. We work with partners to help deliver the best deal possible to our clients. PLUS if you are a veteran/active military, healthcare worker, first responder, teacher, student, are disabled, on low income or unemployed, you may qualify for special savings (sometimes up to 50% off) on various CBD, hemp and cannabis-related brands. Reach out to us to start saving today!
And lastly, we sell fun specialized merchandise and souvenirs including coffee mugs, tote bags, t-shirts, throw pillows, post-it notes, face masks and more! As a thank you for reading this article, use coupon code: MILLENNIAL420MAGAZINE to save 20% off your entire order!
I have witnessed these issues around cannabis first hand and have been on both sides – I have been both the medic and the patient; I have been both sick and healthy; I have been both the novice with no idea where to start and the teacher with lots of information. My team members and I want this plant to become normalized and for people to recognize the benefits it offers. Our team has years of customer service and business experience including running non-profits, holding multiple degrees and certifications, continually taking classes and attending seminars as well as reading books. We are a wealth of knowledge and we believe this information should be accessible to everyone, regardless of their race, gender and income. This is why many of our services are donation-based. We are not doing this for money; we are doing this out of the goodness of our hearts. We are doing this to help people!
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Sure! I would definitely classify myself as a risk taker, but I was not always one. I became a risk taker after going through some hard times in my life. I realized I needed to be completely honest with myself and the decisions I was making at that time. I ended up doing a lot of self-discovery through therapy and personal development, which helped me overcome some issues from my past and I learned how to be honest with myself. Even though it is not always easy to do, when you can be 100% completely honest with yourself, you can fully assess any risk in front of you. Taking the right risk is hard to recognize and even harder to teach. You have to learn to set aside the emotional part of the situation and think about everything from a logistical point-of-view.
Whenever I am assessing a risk, I ask myself a simple question, “What is the worst case scenario?” followed by “Am I ok with that outcome?” For example: I love investing as a hobby. (I was a Series 65 License Holder in 2016.) When I am looking to invest in a company, I first do my due diligence and then I ask myself “What is the worst case scenario?” Usually the answer is “I could lose the money.” I then ask myself “Am I ok with that outcome? Am I ok with losing this money?” Sometimes the answer is yes. But if I cannot answer that question or the answer is no, then I do not take the risk. It is the same with Millennial420. Running this business and trying to help people understand a plant that is federally illegal is a risk. And as we have discussed, we have had many struggles (or risks) along the way. But growing this business is important to us; sharing this valuable information with others is worth the risk. Sometimes bigger risks come with bigger rewards, but that also could mean bigger downfalls. You have to choose what is going to be best for you!
Pricing:
- Veteran/Active Military Discounts
- Healthcare Worker Discounts
- First Responder Discounts
- Teacher/Student Discounts
- FREE Cannabis Consultations
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.millennial420.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/millennial420team/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/millennial420team
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Millennial420/
Image Credits
Christina Smith, Papa & Barkley, cbdMD, Foria Wellness, 8000 Kicks & Extract Labs
