The Cannabis Conversation Podcast
The Cannabis Conversation is the leading English-speaking podcast exploring the legal cannabis industry from a European perspective.
Founded in 2019 by commercial lawyer Anuj Desai, the show has spent six years bringing together the people shaping this industry - operators, scientists, investors, clinicians, policymakers, and entrepreneurs, for honest, evidence-based conversations that go beyond the headlines.
With 194 episodes, The Cannabis Conversation has become a trusted resource for professionals navigating one of the world's fastest-moving sectors.
In late 2025, Anuj passed the reins to Nikita Cretu & Thomas Gray from Lumino - Europe's leading cannabis recruitment agency, who have taken stewardship of the podcast's next chapter. Powered by the belief that an industry is only as good as the people in it, the show continues its mission: to illuminate the industry by bringing the right voices into the seat.
Guests span the full spectrum, from founders and operators deep inside the cannabis world to leaders from other highley regulated markets like pharma, Tobacco, Alcohol, and beyond who are paying close attention.
The Cannabis Conversation Podcast
EPISODE #123 Setting Standards in Cannabis with Darwin Millard, Cannabis Industry Consultant
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This week, we’re joined by Darwin Millard (aka. ‘The Spock of Cannabis’) - Cannabis Industry Consultant, thought leader, Executive Committee Member of ASTM International’s Technical Commitee.
In this episode we explore why standards are needed to regulate the cannabis industry, including how they are set, defined and contribute to consumer safety.
→ View full show notes, summary, and access resources here:
https://www.canverse.global/shownotes/e123
About Darwin Millard
Darwin Millard is an active member of ASTM International’s technical committee D37 on Cannabis which is an international group dedicated to the development of voluntary consensus standards for the global cannabis/hemp industry. Darwin is the Subcommittee Vicechair of D37.04 on Processing and Handling of Cannabis and Cannabis-derived Products, and the Co-chair of Subcommittee D37.07 on Industrial Hemp.
He has been active in cannabis policy change and an advocate of the cannabis plant for over a decade. Darwin Millard specializes in mechanical and solvent based extraction methodologies for isolating highly volatile terpenophenolic secondary metabolites from botanicals. For the past 15-years, Darwin has been focusing on the extraction and manufacture of nutraceutical products comprising of phytocannabinoids and other bioactive constituents from the cannabis plant. He works with clients to design and implement cost-effective built-for-purpose phytocannabinoid processing and herbal product manufacturing solutions.
Quotables
Cannabis is an industry that is [going to be] sticking around, whether you’re talking about the marijuana or the hemp side of the coin. It's a vibrant industry that is only going to be growing. The more we can make that legitimate by providing a foundational framework with standards, the easier it’ll be for people to take it on as a legitimate career path. 03:45
Resources
Join Darwin Millard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darwinmillard/
TSOC Consultancy: https://thespockofcannabis.com/
Follow Darwin on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thespockofcannabis/