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 Bravslavskaia, who manages advertising and public relations for AskGrowers, a Kyiv-based hashish web site targeted on data and opinions about hashish cultivars, manufacturers, and dispensaries. She wished to know if I’d prefer to interview her about their enterprise and what it’s presently like working a hashish web site in a metropolis underneath 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 numerous individuals within the hashish business.

Kyiv boasts a booming tech industry — in response to FastCompany, well-known firms 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 instantly for firms or contract via IT-outsourcing companies, like Elitex and Softserve or direct via expertise platforms like Fiverr. Fiverr has firm staff in its Kyiv workplace. 

In line with the WorkWeek newsletter WTFintech, there are 235 fintech startups in Ukraine. These firms principally facilitate fee and cash transfers, present infrastructure and enabling applied sciences, and digital lending. 

At present, Bravslavskaia mentioned nearly all of AskGrowers’ group is in Kyiv. Its content material supervisor is in Odessa and the web optimization specialist has been lower off from returning residence to Kyiv and is caught within the Russian occupied territory close to Chernobyl. Two different staff have moved overseas and are actually unable to return to their households in Ukraine.

Right here, Bravslavskaia 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 things in our energy to assist our homeland. We’ll proceed to work in Kyiv and do all the things doable in order that as many individuals as doable study this struggle and demand to help us within the combat in opposition to the Russian occupiers,” she mentioned.

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

Jackie Bryant: How is AskGrowers related to Ukraine and its individuals? Is all the group based mostly in Kyiv? How did that come to be?

Lana Bravslavskaia: Our group began engaged on the challenge in 2019. We’re all specialists within the discipline 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 the US.

The one market the place our challenge works is the USA. This location was chosen as a result of large market and the progressive stage of legalization.

JB: What’s Ukraine’s hashish tradition like? What is the present standing of hashish in Ukraine and, previous to this struggle, 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 folks utilizing it. However for now, except for 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 simply initially of its journey within the battle to attain the legality of hashish. I can spotlight three foremost 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 rapidly or slowly with ache, many can not afford costly painkillers. If such a invoice have been adopted, it might ease probably the most tough days for sick individuals. 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 cut back ache in severely ailing sufferers. The outcome was as follows: 65 p.c have been in favor, 30 p.c have been in opposition to, 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 trustworthy, this transformation didn’t assist severely ailing individuals, since medicine containing these substances are nonetheless very costly.

Additionally, hashish, in response to AskGrowers, has an ideal probability to partially substitute alcohol as a manner of stress-free for the inhabitants. However to date, because of their unlawful standing, many individuals don’t use hashish. Additionally, there are not any conditions and circumstances for the event of the business 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 you might want to work round? Is it thought of dangerous for the enterprise to do what it does in Ukraine?

LB: Since we work solely for the US populace, we don’t break any legal guidelines and thus we don’t want to avoid the legal guidelines. However in case you are asking us if we are going to make a market and hashish platform in Ukraine when medical or leisure use is legalized, then our reply is, in fact, 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 prison offense in Ukraine, and plenty of use this very loophole to develop for themselves. Additionally many individuals order hashish seeds overseas, it’s authorized and subsequently they nicely aware of many strains which are presently sizzling in dispensaries within the US.

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

JB: How has this invasion and struggle 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 intervening time, there’s a full-scale struggle that has engulfed my complete nation, and never simply the entrance line. However, partly, we’re grateful to the pandemic for the truth that the distant work format has grow to be fairly acquainted to us. That heightened nervousness after the pandemic has not but been utterly forgotten, too.

There are not any interruptions with the Web, so we work as regular. 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 intervening time, most of our group is in Kyiv, together with me. Our content material supervisor in Odessa. Our web optimization specialist was lower off from Kyiv and is now within the occupied territory close to Chernobyl. Two extra of our colleagues moved overseas and now can not 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 undecided that I’ve sufficient phrases to explain our worry for the lives of our compatriots, anger on the occupiers and infinite religion in our armed forces. We additionally don’t perceive why all the western world, together with the US, 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 struggle for 8 years, is holding again one of the vital 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 doable that the entire world will once more delay the bloodbath of him, because it was throughout World Conflict II?

AskGrowers’s Founder Igor Dunaevsky and CEO Irene Stepanenko did all the things to make us really feel protected and guaranteed that the challenge wouldn’t undergo. It’s doable for us to carry our households and pets to the workplace which has all the things for snug work and security: bomb shelter, meals, bathe, web, and extra. You realize, when selecting an organization, it was necessary for me that the workplace had a homely snug ambiance, however I didn’t suppose {that a} bomb shelter ought to seem on my consolation listing.

Now we have adequate monetary cushion to make sure that the challenge can be protected. Additionally, anybody from the group who decides to go to defend their nation in any manner will, in fact, 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 doable cyberattack? Is {that a} concern? What is the contingency in that case?

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

JB: What would you like worldwide and particularly American hashish customers to learn about what is occurring in Ukraine proper now?

LB: I believe the thought is straightforward. Every of us, whatever the business, 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 can 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 wish 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 objective yesterday.

JB: What do you hope for the way forward for Ukraine? Its hashish tradition? How can it and the enterprise round it’s saved alive throughout wartime?

Earlier than the struggle, we had forecasts within the firm relating to the legalization of first medical after which leisure hashish in Ukraine. The time-frame various from 5 to 10 years, relying on the change of energy and the rising up of a brand new technology. Now, it’s fairly tough to construct a brand new forecast, as a result of it’s not in any respect clear when this struggle will finish.

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

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

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

Our group, due to the frequent fiery speeches of our founder Igor Dunaevsky, for 2 years now has a sense that the hashish business is freedom. The liberty to decide on what is nice to 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 taking place now. Russia, with an authoritarian regime, the place even for the toke of hashish individuals are imprisoned, the place nobody may even trace within the media discipline in regards to the subject 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 very best for themselves and never be afraid of something and anybody.