In this episode of the Sunny Ray Show, host Sunny Ray talks with Dab, founder and CEO of TLHL, a licensed cannabis manufacturing and processing company building out its facility in New Jersey. Dab shares his path from studying computer science and working over 20 years as a technologist to mining Bitcoin in the early ASIC era, and eventually liquidating his crypto holdings to fund a legal cannabis venture. He compares the current state of adult use cannabis to the wild west days of early Bitcoin, citing New Jersey's rapidly growing market. The conversation covers how AI and industrial robotics, not humanoid robots, are transforming warehouse and manufacturing operations, drawing on Amazon's robotic shelving systems as a model for inventory management under strict cannabis regulations. Dab also discusses lights out manufacturing, the four Ds framework for automation, delivery regulation challenges, and the complex competitive landscape between legal cannabis, hemp products, and legacy markets. He closes with advice about having the courage to publicly pursue what you believe in.
A cannabis entrepreneur explains how Bitcoin funded his pivot and how AI driven robotics are reshaping cannabis manufacturing.
Can you tell us about your background and what led you to found your cannabis company?
I have a 20 plus year career as a technologist in IT management and data engineering. I studied computer science when AI just meant canned responses, not neural networks. Later I got into Bitcoin mining during the early ASIC era, using a Butterfly Labs miner and an Avalon ASIC to accumulate Bitcoin and Ethereum. When New Jersey legalized adult use cannabis in 2020, it reminded me of Bitcoin in 2010, so I liquidated my crypto to fund a licensed cannabis manufacturing venture.
How are you integrating Bitcoin, AI, and robotics into your cannabis manufacturing business?
Bitcoin was the direct financial transfer, since this venture is very capital intensive and I funded it by liquidating my crypto. For AI and robotics, most impactful work isn't humanoid robots but industrial robotic arms and systems used in factories and fulfillment centers, similar to what I saw touring an Amazon warehouse with a million deployed robots handling inventory.
How could robotics specifically help with inventory management in cannabis manufacturing?
Cannabis facilities need secure, cage like storage similar to a DEA drug cage for raw materials, work in process, and finished goods. Instead of relying on line workers to always place things correctly, I want robotic shelves that roll up to the door like Amazon uses, where random stow shelving robots bring the right shelf to the picker automatically.
What role do you see for robots in cleaning and running facilities overnight?
Cleaning is dirty and dear, which fits the four Ds framework for automation: dirty, dangerous, difficult, and dear. I envision collaborative robots working alongside humans during the day, then at night, like Toy Story, robots handle cleaning and setup so workers aren't just cleaning up a mess left by the previous shift each morning. That's lights out manufacturing.
Do you see drones or Bitcoin payments playing a role in cannabis delivery?
Right now regulations are very tight around delivery. It has to be a secure vehicle with cameras showing the inventory under lock and key with a human operator at all times, so there's not much flexibility for drones currently. There are lock and key robotic delivery options like Bright Drop, but they're pricey, so I'm looking more at low end electric delivery vehicles powered by renewable energy.
How do you reconcile the narrative that cannabis hype has worn off with what looks like a booming industry?
New Jersey only legalized five years ago and it took two years for the industry to get on its feet, so it's still young. Pricing is all over the map right now because supply isn't steady yet. As supply stabilizes, sometimes it exceeds demand causing price compression. There's also complexity from hemp products, state licensed cannabis, legacy markets, and competition with alcohol and tobacco all happening at once.
What advice would you give your younger self or someone thinking about starting their own venture?
Don't hold back on what you believe in. Don't keep it secret or guard it. Get it out there. Like John Stuart Mill said, truth isn't truth unless you question and attack it and put it up to scrutiny, otherwise it's just dogma. You have to put your ideas out into the world and develop them in partnership with your community.
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