Seated in the heart of Pueblo County is one of Colorado’s most technologically advanced cannabis concentrate companies: Stratos. The company is transforming the way cannabis is ingested, creating pharmaceutical-grade tablets and salves to precisely treat all variety of ailments. For the debut issue of Cannabis & Tech Today, we had the opportunity to speak with Charlotte Peyton, founder, and CEO of Stratos. In this excerpt from our exclusive interview, we discuss the appeal of tablet-form THC and CBD, as well as the shifting perspectives surrounding the substance.
Cannabis & Tech Today: Why has Stratos chosen to market some of its products to older demographics?
Charlotte Peyton: Cannabis is good for lots of different demographics. In a series we sponsored at Balfour [a retirement community], it was general education for cannabis as medicine and it was strictly educational. We really chose not to market in the presentation.
We provided educational information through Dr. Cohen and Holos Health and made arrangements with dispensaries close by that we knew and trusted as a service to the seniors, so they didn’t have to be afraid of going into a dispensary that maybe was a little bit too wild for their taste.
Dr. Cohen also spoke about all types of products in cannabis, not just ours or our forms. Cannabis and seniors and also medicine are a good match. It provides a way to address pain relief, insomnia, those types of things, without the use of pharmaceuticals that have side effects.
And then our products come in a tablet form, which is a good match for seniors because they’re already very comfortable taking that. They may not be so comfortable with the dabbing rig or the vape pen.
C&T Today : How are you seeing perspectives on cannabis use shift from drug to medicine?
Charlotte Peyton: That’s pretty interesting because we’ve seen that shift in recreational use as well as medical use. The term “drug” has connotations of gangs, cartels, dirty preparations, lawbreakers, Ziploc baggies. And now that the industry is moving to legality, visibility, testing, standardized labels, and packaging, it removes a lot of the hesitancy and reluctance for people to try cannabis.
And once you get rid of those, then people are willing to try the medications on their various physical ailments and see for themselves the results. I think that drives it into the mainstream and people feel safe trying it and then they get the results that help them out.
C&T Today: Has your work with Stratos changed the way you think about cannabis or cannabis use?
Charlotte Peyton: When we started this, I assumed we were going to a space where it would be equivalent to the wine industry, right? It was for relaxation.
I would sit with my laptop for the first month and pound away just searching the internet and I myself was very surprised to find all the different medicinal uses of it. I was in the dark as much as a lot of other people. And the research is just growing so fast, it’s almost impossible to keep up with everything. It’s just moving on so many different trajectories at the same time.
Make sure to check out the full interview in the debut issue of Cannabis & Tech Today, available in print and digital formats.
Featured image courtesy of Lucy Beaugard
