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 #139 CBD - Hero Ingredient? with Tony Reeves, CBD Consultant and EIHA Board Member
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On this week's episode, we’re joined by Tony Reeves, European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA) board member, and CBD Consultant, working with regulators, the UK government and a variety of brands.
We investigate changing consumer behaviours towards CBD, the latest drug delivery innovations within the sector, and the adoption of CBD within consumer packaged goods.
About Tony Reeves
Tony is a board director & UK representative of the European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA); the only pan-European hemp trades association (https://eiha.org/). Since 2016 he has been representing the industry to regulators (MHRA, Home Office, FSA, HPRA, FSAI) and contributing to presentations at the European level on various matters including novel food regulations, CBD and THC levels in food, food supplements, beverages and cosmetics. He is closely engaged with numerous stakeholders in the cannabis industry across multiple geographies encompassing manufactures, brand owners, retailers and investors. He is a member of the UKAS-led ‘CBD Food Product Approval Expert Group,’ the Food & Drink Federation’s (FDF) ‘CBD Working Group and a consultant to major organisations in North America and Europe including THG.
Tony was European Managing Director of what became Aurora Hemp and former Marketing Director of Leatherhead Food Research Association; providing consulting services to the global food & beverage sectors. In a later role, he led the development and launch of a new vegetarian product range securing substantial listings within both health food and general store chains. Initially, he worked within the UK Government's scientific services before leaving to establish his own specialist analytical laboratory business; achieving key supplier status with most of the UK's major multiples. Tony holds an MBA from Warwick Business School.
Quotables
‘The more I learned, the more I was trapped in this black hole called hemp because it's amazing stuff’ 03:36
‘This industry just keeps on giving’ 19:43
Resources
Join Tony on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonyreeves1/?originalSubdomain=uk
Visit The European Industrial Hemp Organisation’s Website: https://eiha.org/
Read Tony’s recent article for The Grocer titled ‘The UK has the potential to become a leading player in the CBD sector’: https://www.thegrocer.co.uk/food-safety/the-uk-has-the-potential-to-become-a-leading-player-in-the-cbd-sector/655292.article
❇️ Get in touch at https://www.thecannabisconversation.co.uk
Connect with Nikita Cretu on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikita-cretu-b24b83a8/
Connect with Thomas Gray on LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-c-s-gray/
🔋 The Cannabis Conversation is powered by Lumino - Europe's leading HR and Recruitment Agency specialising in building high performance teams for the legal cannabis industry. They work in three main verticals: Commercial, Medical and Plant-Facing. From HR advisory and executive search services to hiring support for full-time placements, consultants, or contract staff, Lumino has helped hundreds of companies of all sizes in the industry scale sustainably through the right people.
🌱 Need support finding the right talent to GROW your business? Book a call with our recruitment team at: https://calendly.com/d/zvg-y2d-tgc