{"id":87656,"date":"2024-08-28T09:30:59","date_gmt":"2024-08-28T13:30:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bubbling-fog-81918.wp1.site\/index.php\/2024\/08\/28\/jeremy-rivera-from-the-legacy-market-to-a-licensed-dispensary-in-new-york\/"},"modified":"2024-08-28T09:30:59","modified_gmt":"2024-08-28T13:30:59","slug":"jeremy-rivera-from-the-legacy-market-to-a-licensed-dispensary-in-new-york","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bubbling-fog-81918.wp1.site\/index.php\/2024\/08\/28\/jeremy-rivera-from-the-legacy-market-to-a-licensed-dispensary-in-new-york\/","title":{"rendered":"Jeremy Rivera: From the Legacy Market to a Licensed Dispensary in New York"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n

The Ganjapreneur Podcast is back! In this episode, host TG Branfalt welcomes Jeremy Rivera, co-founder and CEO of Terp Bros<\/a>, a dispensary in Astoria, Queens. Rivera, a beneficiary of New York\u2019s Conditional Adult Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) program, shares his journey from the legacy market and facing multiple cannabis convictions to launching his own licensed cannabis business. He goes into detail about the nuances of the CAURD program, the competitive landscape of New York\u2019s cannabis market, and the distinctive approach Terp Bros has taken to distinguish itself amid a sea of dispensaries. He also provides first-hand insight into the entrepreneurial spirit driving New York\u2019s developing legal cannabis industry and the ongoing efforts to rectify past injustices. Listen to the full episode below, or scroll down for the transcript!<\/p>\n

Listen to the episode:<\/h3>\n\n
Ganjapreneur<\/a> \u00b7 Jeremy Rivera: From the Legacy Market to a Licensed Dispensary in New York<\/a><\/div>\n

Read the transcript:<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n

Editor\u2019s note: this transcript was generated automatically and may contain typos.<\/em><\/p>\n

Commercial (00:03):<\/em><\/p>\n

The Ganjapreneur Podcast is made possible by over 500 cannabis industry service providers in Ganjapreneur\u2019s Cannabis Business Index. At some point, every plant touching brand experiences the stigma that many industries still have to toward cannabis going strong. Since 2015, our business index is the most comprehensive and frequently visited directory for cannabis friendly services on the internet, saving you the time and hassle of sifting through uninformed and unwelcoming providers with categories for everything from business financing to extraction equipment to interior designers and public relations. You\u2019ll find every kind of specialist and business service you could ever need. Check out the business index today at ganjapreneur.com\/businesses<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (00:52):<\/p>\n

Hey there, I\u2019m your host, TG Branfalt, and this is the Ganjapreneur.com podcast where we try to bring you actionable information and normalized cannabis through the stories of entrepreneurs, activists, and industry stakeholders. Today I am delighted to be joined by Jeremy Rivera is the co-founder and CEO of Terp Bros in Astoria, Queens, New York. Rivera is a conditional adult use retail dispensary or CAURD license holder and Terp Bros\u2019 mission is to serve as a locale for the unique and memorable learning and experiences. Hey Jeremy, how are you doing this morning, man?<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (01:27):<\/p>\n

Not too bad, bud. What\u2019s going on?<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (01:29):<\/p>\n

Dude, I\u2019m real excited. You\u2019re my first guest back. I\u2019m happy to be talking with somebody in New York. The last time that I did this podcast, New York had gone legal, but we didn\u2019t have the rollout of the market yet, so we have a lot to talk about. Before we get into all of that though, man, tell me about yourself. Tell me about your background, just your history with cannabis and how you ended up in the CAURD program,<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (01:56):<\/p>\n

The program. Alright. Well, I\u2019m one of the owners of Tur Bros. Cannabis Dispensary and Astoria in New York. Obviously because of New York\u2019s parameters to get a license, some justice involved. I spent a lot of my teenage years as a gang member, Crip Street gang. Between 19 and 30. I spent most of those years in and out of prison. I have three state bids and a juvenile bid that I did when I was 30 2018. I came home, I had made a decision that I didn\u2019t really want to continue living the life of wasting away in and out of prison. So I got into construction. I tried to maximize the space there and I got into construction safety. I became an authorized ocean instructor, a New York City Department of Buildings compliance officer and a nationally certified construction health and safety technician, all of which I was denied for and I had to appeal.<\/p>\n

(02:52):<\/p>\n

I actually set precedent for people with convictions to be able to get these licenses. And I was doing that from about, well, 2018 when I got home, I started my own business also and I was doing that up until about 2021, 2022 when the CAURD program was released. And I didn\u2019t really know much about the CAURD program only because I had no real intention of getting back into selling drugs. And some of my background with cannabis is just like everybody else who was on the streets. You had some homies out in California, Oklahoma, Oregon, they\u2019d send you 10 packs, 15 packs, and you\u2019d distribute them throughout New York and with whatever your circle was. So I was dibbling dabbling in cannabis and even in prison, one of the big smokers is weed. You got somebody to bring you up the bag, you\u2019re smoking a joint in the yard, it becomes a thing. So that\u2019s really my experience just to go back and tell you what my experience in cannabis is. But again, in 2022 when the CAURD program was coming out, my best friend actually came to my house and he\u2019s like, yo homie, I was just watching the news. We\u2019re going to get a weed dispensary. And I genuinely thought he was crazy, bro. I am like, there are no way that New York out of every state in the country is going to give convicted felons. People have been convicted of crimes, nonviolent drug crimes. I mean<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (04:17):<\/p>\n

We have history of Rockefeller drug laws<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (04:19):<\/p>\n

Of course with the early nineties into the mid and the two thousands with stop and frisk all the way into the two thousands. And as early as the Rockefeller in the nineties, there\u2019s no way New York State was going to allow such a thing to happen. But as I dove a little more into it and started researching it, they had two main criteria. You had to be convicted of a cannabis conviction, a cannabis crime, and you had to have a small business positive for two years. And I have three state felonies in a juvenile conviction. Each one of my state prison bids had cannabis in the indictment. So I checked that box off the jump and like I said, when I came home, I made the conscious decision to change my life. So around 2019, 20, I started JA Building Consultants, which was a consulting firm that I worked with insurance companies and I audited job sites. So that checked that box off. Boom, we got with a good lawyer, we who from MRTA law and we just started rocking and rolling. I really liked developed abilities that I didn\u2019t know I had even this to be able to talk on podcasts and really tell the story. So it was amazing. It was a really cool journey and really journeys just beginning.<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (05:35):<\/p>\n

So the licensing process was marred by lawsuits. There was at least one that stopped it and then another one that stopped it that dealt with veterans. And I can tell you from experience I was in very shortly after legalization, I was in New York City and there were illegal dispensaries operating sort of everywhere. And I know that you had taken that route, you wouldn\u2019t have gotten a license ultimately. So the patients really paid off for a lot of people. Can you tell me about your experience obtaining a license in the state? What was it like for you?<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (06:14):<\/p>\n

So you said it right there. The state\u2019s program was hiccuped from the beginning. We had the verite lawsuit, which held five regions in injunction. We had the FII lawsuit, which cos Marte and Kbu and myself were a part of. We filed as interveners on that case and we were one of the three dispensaries that set the precedent for what the Honorable Judge Bryant was opening dispensaries for. But you said it, man, between the illicit dispensaries, we could have gone that route. And you know what, there are some illicit dispensaries that have gone that route and are still getting open. So that\u2019s always like, fuck not, it\u2019s been a hairy rollout. The CAURD program itself, we\u2019ve never codified CAURD. So the CAURD program isn\u2019t in the MRTA, the Marijuana Revenue Tax Act. It\u2019s not in the MRTA. So it\u2019s its sole independent entity. So that\u2019s why it\u2019s so subjective to having these lawsuits brought against \u2019em. We started this out with a Wish and a Dream and when they started awarding licenses back in November of 2023, I believe it was, no, 2024, sorry, up. My apologies. 2022. We didn\u2019t get approved until 2023. So I left my job, I left working and doing my businesses to pursue this full time and I was<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (07:42):<\/p>\n

Did you have to rent a building in the meantime? Just waiting for it?<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (07:45):<\/p>\n

So no, because originally the parameters were different. Originally we had to take the DASNY program, the Dormitory Authority Services of New York. It was supposed to be a turnkey operation in the beginning. They were supposed to fit us out with a dispensary, find the location, we do the branding together because a lot of us in CAR didn\u2019t have that experience in a mature market. We were individuals that were stepping into this. So the state had originally created a program through dasny where they were going to assist us find the location, work with fit out groups and all that. And as time progressed, everything changed. There were only supposed to be 150 licensees ended up now being 475 people or whatnot were licensed. We were originally supposed to work with the dormitory Authority services and now people like myself were able to get their own locations. So this program, and not to the fault of anyone\u2019s specifically, it\u2019s just been a very difficult and ever-changing landscape.<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (08:50):<\/p>\n

Now obviously when people in the industry in New York, when we talk about this, I hear a lot that they don\u2019t like those provisions that are in the CAURD provisions and that they say is what handicapped the rollout essentially, and what, what\u2019s your take on those provisions? It doesn\u2019t seem like in New York City with the dormitory authority, it really worked out that way. And it doesn\u2019t seem like now that there\u2019s four times as many licenses as they\u2019ve anticipated, it didn\u2019t really work out that way. So what do you think about the provisions and how it has rolled out?<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (09:32):<\/p>\n

I think there should have been more protection for the CAURD program. I think it should have been codified by our elected officials a lot earlier on and now still codified to give protection to these individuals. New York has continued the rollout though they\u2019ve continually, they\u2019ve continued to accept applications and give out licenses. So the program is not stopping. The cannabis adult use program is not stopping, but card seems like to be forgotten about and continuously being forgotten about. And again, it\u2019s no ill intent to anyone specifically. I think it\u2019s just the way the cards rolled out. We have to give credit to New York and the officials that were behind the original MRTA for creating a program that focused on people who were disproportionately affected by the war on drugs. But the truth of the matter is, and<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (10:23):<\/p>\n

New York City, I mean, yeah,<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (10:26):<\/p>\n

I come from CDIA community disproportionately impacted by cannabis. I have multiple cannabis convictions. I, again, as a former gang member and a person who was in and out of prison and was in the streets, we\u2019ve all been affected. Cannabis was that one reason to get you pulled out of a car and searched in hopes that they would be able to find something else. So we have to appreciate the individuals that focused on this and wanted to give us a chance. But the reality is, as we all know in other states, the big corporations really don\u2019t give two fucks. Excuse my language, about individuals like us. And they have the finance and resources to keep on either pausing programs or filing lawsuits that pause programs to honestly, it\u2019s like to break morale in individuals. And a lot of people who were in CAURD were hoping to get a build out. They didn\u2019t have the finances or the resources to open up their own dispensary. So a lot of people who initially applied were only applying in hopes that they would be able to get that chance. So it\u2019s a little difficult. It\u2019s a rough program. It\u2019s had its rough up and downs.<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (11:34):<\/p>\n

Lemme ask you another question just do you know if, I know that Holle shortly after she took off, pardoned a whole lot of cannabis convictions. Are you a person that\u2019s included in that sort<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (11:47):<\/p>\n

Of social justice? No, I wasn\u2019t. No, I\u2019m not familiar with the pardons that she did do. But I\u2019m a three-time pre persistent drug offender, so I can only get what\u2019s called a certificate of relief. I\u2019ve actually been home last year. This year I actually make six years that I\u2019m home from prison. Longest year, five years was the longest I ever been home in my life.<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (12:12):<\/p>\n

Unbelievable story, man.<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (12:14):<\/p>\n

Yeah. So this year I\u2019m actually able to put in for what they call a certificate of relief. And it doesn\u2019t sponge my record because I have so much on top of it, but it puts a little asterisk next to it and it just let\u2019s the officials know if everybody looks at my record that I\u2019m kind of reformed or I am reformed.<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (12:36):<\/p>\n

So going back to the community that your shops in, I\u2019m a guy who likes buildings. Can you tell me about the building itself that you\u2019re in? Maybe what it used to be? What?<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (12:48):<\/p>\n

So it\u2019s a funny story. We\u2019re in North Astoria, Queens Dip, Mars. So we\u2019re across the street from a real famous Greek seafood restaurant. We\u2019re also across the street from a real famous bakery called Martha\u2019s.<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (13:02):<\/p>\n

Good place for a dispensary.<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (13:04):<\/p>\n

Yeah, exactly. Great place. So originally we were working with one of my partner\u2019s friends, Danielle from Fresh Bases. She\u2019s young like us in her thirties, was in the club scene early on. And then as she grew up and had her family, she developed into doing real estate and we hired her to find this locations and she gave us a list of 10. And out of that 10 we picked four or five we wanted to see, and this specific location wasn\u2019t even on the list. We never picked it, check it out. So we go look at the other spots and we\u2019re finishing. She\u2019s like, Hey, I want to show you the place on 36 in Ditmars. You didn\u2019t pick it, but I want to show it to you. So we go over and we look around and I\u2019m like, yo, this is the spot. The problem is the landlord, older gentleman, he\u2019s about 65.<\/p>\n

(13:53):<\/p>\n

His father had owned the building since the thirties and was a Greek woods craftman. So they had it as a cabinet place. They used to make handmade cabinets. No way. And this is the first time he was ever interested in renting it out to somebody that wasn\u2019t in his family. So bro, when I tell you we had to jump through hoops and have to deal with this guy while we were building out, we were literally, we had to construction crews in here. He was standing here like a foreman. And he would stand here and be like, well, you know, have to change this and you have to change that. And he like, no way, yo. It was crazy to the point we were like, Nick, you got to go to Florida. You had a house in co. He like, yo Nick, you have to go down to Florida. But it, it\u2019s a first floor storefront with apartments upstairs. And again, a story is very residential with small businesses. So all of the small businesses have residential attached to them. So my neighbors, they\u2019re like, oh, we live downstairs from a dispensary. I\u2019m like, it\u2019s really cool. My neighbor next to us is a bar. The neighbor to the other side of us is a brick of an Italian pizzeria. So bro, it\u2019s really cool. There\u2019s not much architectural substance to the building, but there\u2019s so much emotional substance to it. But I mean,<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (15:11):<\/p>\n

I saw pictures of it. It\u2019s got that dope awning on the front of it. You know what I\u2019m saying? It\u2019s got character.<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (15:16):<\/p>\n

Yeah. When we did the design, it was actually my partner who came up with the whole design. We did two murals, one from a local Astoria artist and another from a, excuse me, another from a Colorado and Hawaii based artist. So even our construction, we did it small business from a guy in the neighborhood, our floors, we did small business. Everything in the dispensary, we outsourced to people in the community.<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (15:45):<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the way to do it, man. Really. It brings a dollar spent locally or earned locally two or spent locally. I don\u2019t know how the phrase goes.<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (15:56):<\/p>\n

I know it\u2019s something<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (15:57):<\/p>\n

Now. Something like that. Prior to licensing, I just mentioned earlier, New York was a hotspot for unlicensed dispensaries. Are they still proliferating? I mean, you had said earlier that they\u2019re still out there and how are licensed operators competing?<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (16:18):<\/p>\n

So we\u2019ll start with the first part, right? Are they still proliferating and continuing to open up and that the truth is yes, just within maybe 500 feet of me, I have about five or six of them. So an average of about one for every a hundred feet. New York didn\u2019t really, New York State didn\u2019t create a program where there was a real ability to shut these stores down. Even the other day in the news we saw on the Upper West Side, an elected official had gone and shut a illegal dispensary down and decided the next day to do a press conference in front of the padlock dispensary. Illegal and much to her amazed when she got there, they were open again and operation they had clipped the lock, opened it up, and they were back in business. So if she\u2019s supposed to show you what the temperament in New York City is, it\u2019s like fuck you. We\u2019re going to do what we want. How do we differentiate and how do we work is providing education and understanding of what legal cannabis brings health wise. I know we have to separate ourselves because we\u2019re not medical distribute, we\u2019re not medical dispensaries, but we always have to make sure that we\u2019re understanding these illegal dispensaries are definitely being found. Lace, cannabis, there\u2019s definitely fentanyl, cocaine, heroin being distributed sometimes out of these same places.<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (17:55):<\/p>\n

Really?<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (17:56):<\/p>\n

Yeah, no, it\u2019s crazy. Just the other day there was a raid and they found traces of fentanyl in the cannabis. The NYPD released a statement. So what can we do is market as safe legal providers. We have to get into our communities and show them that we have reasonably priced product, good product, safe product that we can give them. It\u2019s always just the education part of it. These illegal dispensaries aren\u2019t going out and telling you what the fuck\u2019s in the weed. They\u2019re just selling it to you.<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (18:27):<\/p>\n

I hadn\u2019t heard that from New York City at all. So that\u2019s super disconcerting. At the very least. Now, broader, aside from the illegal operators that you have to sort of compete with, New York City itself, I\u2019m sure is going to be hyper competitive, just like it\u2019s for any business that decides to open in the city. Do you take the same approach when trying to corner your part of that hyper competitive, sort of broader New York City market? Of<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (19:02):<\/p>\n

Course, because eventually I don\u2019t believe that the illegal dispensary is going to be here for much longer within the next couple of years. And as the program develops, I think the state will create a protocol in which they\u2019re shutting them down. It\u2019s just not happening fast enough. But when it does happen, there are going to be a lot more legal dispensaries and just like anything else is marketing right? And creating something that other dispensaries don\u2019t have, which is your own personal vibe, your own personal feeling that you give the consumers when they walk in. We don\u2019t have a bunch of screens. We have bud tenders that walk the floor. We talk to you, we introduce a lot of our returning customers know our bud tenders by name. We know our customers by first and last name. So it\u2019s just<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (19:46):<\/p>\n

Like you knew your boy back in the day. No,<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (19:47):<\/p>\n

Exactly. We\u2019re bringing back that feeling of cannabis. We don\u2019t want to over commercialize it where it feels like you\u2019re going to an Apple store, you\u2019re going to some big corporate building. We want to normalize the fact of purchasing cannabis in your neighborhood from somebody you recognize and you feel like. So that\u2019s going to continue to be our game plan as more dispensaries open up as being ter pros, giving back what people feel is the reason they come in and it\u2019s comfortability and the coolness.<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (20:18):<\/p>\n

Well, and on marketing too, New York has really strict marketing regulations. I have a small business, a record store, and I wanted to partner. It just so happens record store day is on four 20 and I wanted to partner with our local dispensary on something and he\u2019s like, dude, I can\u2019t do it. I can\u2019t do that type of partnership advertising. So how are you doing marketing and advertising in a space where it\u2019s not allowed?<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (20:45):<\/p>\n

Well, it\u2019s not that it\u2019s not allowed. It\u2019s very strict and there\u2019s very strict guidelines on how to market, right? We have to make sure that 90% of our viewers are 21 and older. We can\u2019t use certain colors or certain fonts. We can\u2019t insinuate the use of cannabis, I believe we can\u2019t use brands. We can\u2019t have brands market with us because there\u2019s no picking one over the other. You<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (21:11):<\/p>\n

Can\u2019t trademark your name.<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (21:13):<\/p>\n

Well, you can trade. You see, again, there\u2019s ways to do certain things. We\u2019re in the process of trading marketing tur rows, not through cannabis, but as merchandising, because we sell hats, we sell shirts. There are ways to go about it. Even with marketing programmatic out of home search engine optimization, there\u2019s ways to do it organically. And there are companies out there that are marketing that want to break into the cannabis space knowing that eventually this is either going to go to schedule three or BD schedule completely, and we\u2019re going to be playing on the same field. So there are companies out there. It takes a lot of work and a lot of diligence to do your homework on what is legal and not legal, what\u2019s in and not in the regulations, so that you can go to your marketing meetings and you can explain and or your marketing company can explain back to you if you don\u2019t fully understand.<\/p>\n

(22:02):<\/p>\n

This is what it says, right? Regulations are like law. And when I was going in and out of prison fighting cases, you cite case law and if it isn\u2019t exactly the way it is, that\u2019s what causes mistrials and that\u2019s what gets you. It\u2019s exact regulations are exact. So you have to be able to use those regulations and get as far as you can without violating them. And there are ways to do it even with your record store. It\u2019s not him marketing. It\u2019s you marketing. There\u2019s no regulations that says a record store can\u2019t market for four 20. It\u2019s a cannabis company that can\u2019t. It\u2019s the legal dispensary.<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (22:43):<\/p>\n

It just seems ridiculous on its face. It\u2019s<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (22:45):<\/p>\n

Super ridiculous. And we hope eventually that it\u2019s going to open up. But for now, if we want to stay in this competitive market, we have to learn how to play the words. We have to learn how to work it.<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (22:57):<\/p>\n

How hands on are you day to day? Because you seem pretty like you\u2019re just<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (23:03):<\/p>\n

Like any other small business owner. I\u2019m here, me and my partners are here. We have 14 shifts a week. One morning one night. We\u2019re open seven days a week. And between myself and my other partners, we\u2019re here every day. I\u2019m here Monday through Friday from morning till evening. We are hands-on in all of our marketing meetings, all of our growth and expansion, all of our day-to-Day team meetings. But you have to be, if you want to be a successful small business, I can\u2019t expect anyone else, especially only five months into an industry to care about this as much as I do, knowing how much I\u2019ve already lost, this is more than just a business. This is reparations for so much pain that individuals like myself have been through having to be stopped and searched and ripped out a car, having to go to prison with cannabis on your indictment and living through these traumatic instances. This is reparations for cannabis users and we have to treat it in a respectful manner. This is a real business. This is a real industry. So bro, I\u2019m here every day, no questions asked. I\u2019m at the shop right now.<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (24:10):<\/p>\n

I mean, when it goes to marketing too, I just want to ask about your name, because Turt bros, right? Terpenes are not something that\u2019s often an experienced cannabis consumer might understand. So you have weed shop on a hundred feet down from you, and then you have this really unique name that I think speaks to the maturity of your business. So what\u2019s in a name, man?<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (24:44):<\/p>\n

So this was actually my partner who came up with the name. We originally opened the company under cush culture industry because again, we thought we needed, we thought it was going to be a das and we wanted to go with something like conservative. And as the program evolved, we had created an Instagram page where terp rows was the name. My partner came up with that name. And it\u2019s funny you say that. A mature consumer may know what terpenes is and maybe not the immature consumer, but everybody understands once you explain to them what Terps are and what terpenes are, because it\u2019s the first thing that every consumer does when they check weed, they look at it, they open it and they smell it. So it goes back to the educational purposes of what we\u2019re trying to create here and opening up things that again, the natural consumer may not know but wants to because they do it on a regular habit basis. And then as again, time went on, we DBA TER rows and we are like, that\u2019s who we are. This is the feel. And it\u2019s cool that you picked up on it and I feel you. Not every consumer picks up on it and not every person does. I\u2019m<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (25:50):<\/p>\n

A TURP guy, man.<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (25:51):<\/p>\n

I feel you. But once you explain it to them, they understand. And again, that adds on to the educational purpose that we\u2019re trying to provide here. It\u2019s like teaching somebody something new every day.<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (26:02):<\/p>\n

Yeah, I\u2019m sure you have people. Do you have people who come in and say, what the fuck is a Turkey?<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (26:08):<\/p>\n

Yeah, absolutely. I had somebody tell me because I\u2019m not really a sports fan, but I had somebody ask me if it\u2019s like a college football team. It\u2019s<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (26:17):<\/p>\n

Maryland. Yeah, yeah,<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (26:18):<\/p>\n

Maryland like the TURPs. I\u2019m like,<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (26:20):<\/p>\n

Bro, no, I\u2019ll be watching ESPN. And they\u2019ll be like, and the TURPs. And I\u2019m like, the fuck the, what are we doing here? So what is the top selling category at your shop? Is it flour, concentrates, edibles, flour,<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (26:38):<\/p>\n

Flour, hands down flour? We\u2019re a flower shop. We have a great of eights from 25 all the way up to 60. We have something for everybody. We are a small shop, but we hold a lot of skews. And I know a lot of people who are going to watch this from the mature market is like you\u2019re supposed to have two 50 and 300, but we have like 580 skews. We have a lot of flour. We have a lot of non-cannabis too. We have puffco, we have grab bongs, we have papers and shit. But we have, I\u2019d say about right now, maybe 90 different SKUs of just flour. We\u2019d like to give people an option that\u2019s between eight quarters, half ounces, ounces. But we like to give every consumer a chance to purchase something that\u2019s for them. I don\u2019t think having limited quantities really helps people. I think people need a good choice. And especially if you have good bud tenders that are guiding them to find exactly what it is they\u2019re looking for, you can definitely dial down a TER rows and find something for everybody.<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (27:44):<\/p>\n

What do you look for in a bud tender?<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (27:47):<\/p>\n

So we picked our bud tenders from the community, also from the cannabis New York City community. We want to have people that are, I want to say conures, but understand cannabis, understand terpenes, understand the difference between flowers, understand the cannabinoid systems and secondary cannabinoids, not just THC, so that they\u2019re able to give the consumers a good piece for what they\u2019re looking for, but also personable. We want a bud tender that has retail experience that knows how to sell, but can smile and has a good aura about them. One thing about all of our staff is we\u2019re trying to create the next line of entrepreneurs in the business. So we want bud tenders that have goals. We want bud tenders that want to be owners of dispensaries or owners of cultivation or get into marketing or get into compliance or anything like that. We want to be building the next set of business owners in the industry. So it\u2019s like a little bit of everything. Cannabis, you\u2019re a good flow person. You got a good vibration, you smile. You know how to upsell. You know how to sell. You want to be something you have goals in your life. And if ter pros is the place for you, there\u2019s so many people that come in and out of these doors that there\u2019s a chance for you to fulfill your dreams by working in this store for your future.<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (29:12):<\/p>\n

And do you look for people that may have maybe records themselves and<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (29:18):<\/p>\n

All of our, yeah, I didn\u2019t add that on, but all of our bud tenders either have a conviction or if not have a conviction, have been in a CDI community disproportionately impacted or come from a CD. I got butt tenders and fulfillment from Brownsville all the way to the South Bronx, some from Williamsburg. I got people from everywhere.<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (29:39):<\/p>\n

Williamsburg is a little gentrified now.<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (29:41):<\/p>\n

Yeah, now it\u2019s gentrified.<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (29:43):<\/p>\n

Yeah,<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (29:44):<\/p>\n

They\u2019re still like the south side. Still got some hood blocks to it.<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (29:49):<\/p>\n

I want to go back to flower just for a second though. Why do you think flower\u2019s still it? I mean, I was just talking about my buddy about this right before we caught on and I was like, man, I still get flour from my boy. But meter, dose, edibles, concentrates. I mean all that comes from the dispensary and I think that\u2019s because of the age, right? I still got boys. But why do you think flour is still that number one selling?<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (30:21):<\/p>\n

I think what it is is when you look at the evolution of the illegal dispensaries they put out of business, our boys who had the delivery routes they put out of business, those local dealers who you would call, I\u2019ll be at yours in 45 minutes with two bags, they put that area out of business. But again, as cannabis evolved in New York, they started to see that these corner stores were not giving them product that was suitable for their health or suitable for consumption. So now people are driven to what they\u2019re used to, which is a store type environment, but they\u2019ll rather go legal and especially in a small community like this where it\u2019s not a lot of tourist traffic, it\u2019s not in Manhattan where a customer will come in once and you\u2019ll never see them their whole life. They\u2019re just buying a vape pen in, they\u2019re walking through Manhattan and seeing sightseeing and smoking a vape. These people are buying a bag of weed. They\u2019re going to their house packing a bowl of rolling a joint. They\u2019re buying a pre-roll going next door to the bar and smoking a joint outside. So again, the illegal dispensaries put out business are homeboys who are having the routes. But now that these illegal dispensaries, the cloth is coming over and we\u2019re really seeing what they\u2019re doing. It\u2019s driving the consumer back to legal dispensaries.<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (31:43):<\/p>\n

I mean it\u2019s super interesting just from a, now does it sort of deviate by age group for you? Are the younger kids sort of looking for one thing and then grandma\u2019s looking for another thing?<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (31:54):<\/p>\n

Absolutely. We have a common core demographic of 37 to 41 that\u2019s male and female. We\u2019re starting to see that 21 to 28 start to pick up now that new brands are coming to market and those more recognizable brands that have that marketing and that young feel about<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (32:15):<\/p>\n

Them that are on<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (32:16):<\/p>\n

TikTok one to 20. Yeah, it\u2019s not even the TikTok, but they\u2019re the ones that were like the seven tens and the cookies and all these brands are starting to come. They got boys is going to come to New York. They have brand recognition. The older demographic is looking, honestly, it\u2019s like sleep products, right? They\u2019re looking for edibles that put them to sleep. They\u2019re looking for flour that puts him to sleep.<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (32:40):<\/p>\n

Interesting. So<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (32:41):<\/p>\n

The market is ever developing, and I think the whole demographics of who your consumer is today by three, four months is going to change because all these new brands are now dropping to the New York market.<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (32:54):<\/p>\n

What surprised you most about the legal market are going legal yourself?<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (33:00):<\/p>\n

How much bullshit comes along with it<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (33:03):<\/p>\n

That surprises you? You\u2019re talking bureaucracy in New York State bud,<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (33:07):<\/p>\n

Bro. The taxes two 80 e, I believe it\u2019s 4 71. All these tax codes, the marketing regulations, understanding the independent regulations just for New York state and then understanding cannabis is still federally illegal<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (33:24):<\/p>\n

And the city\u2019s got their own codes<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (33:26):<\/p>\n

And then the city has its own code. That\u2019s really what took me for the biggest loop. It\u2019s that it\u2019s so controlled that you part of what\u2019s going to be the largest infrastructure in New York state. It\u2019s going to bring some of the most money in every than any other infrastructure. But yet we\u2019re so regulated, so heavily regulated and we can\u2019t do anything, right? We would just with our accountant, and it\u2019s like you start to add up the amount of taxes and you\u2019re like 13 and seven plus eight, and then we filed as a C corp. But what most common dispensaries are you get taxed on your personal, you get taxed on your dividend, you get taxed on everything. So that was the most difficult process.<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (34:10):<\/p>\n

Do you think that recently a proposed legislation that would get rid of the potency tax, do you think that that would help the dispensaries and the smaller operators?<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (34:24):<\/p>\n

Well, it depends because if you get rid of the potency tax on one end, it still has to be placed on another end. They\u2019re not just going to lose taxes. No,<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (34:33):<\/p>\n

I think they were going to put a flat tax on wholesale.<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (34:36):<\/p>\n

But what would be the flat tax you get from 13% to what, 23%? Because you want to be lower than any of the other legal East coast states are. I think the highest we are in maybe mass is 24, 20 6%. So what would hoku want to do? Give us a flat rate of 23. We\u2019re at 13% now. We still have a 13% M RT tax that we give our consumer. Our customer gets a 13% tax. So you think, I think it\u2019s not going to drive consumers to want to shop. It\u2019s already hard enough paying 13% tax. Imagine giving a flat rate of 21, 23, 20, whatever it is. I think on the dispensaries end, it\u2019s going to drive a lot of consumers into not wanting to buy legal.<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (35:21):<\/p>\n

What do you think would be best to get some sort of normalcy going in this market just because of the illegal operations. There\u2019s a lot of issues in New York\u2019s market. Do you think there\u2019s any sort of panacea or legislation or anything that would benefit<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (35:41):<\/p>\n

On the largest descheduling right removal? So<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (35:45):<\/p>\n

Federal reform.<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (35:46):<\/p>\n

Federal reform, of course, right on interstate commerce, right? Interstate compact. Seeing if we can start shipping from state to state. California is in a rut. If New York is the next hot market and there\u2019s already brands in California that are dying that have notoriety, why can\u2019t we start shipping them from California to New York?<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (36:06):<\/p>\n

I mean, Connecticut has no supply.<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (36:09):<\/p>\n

Yeah. Oh yeah. And that of course, that interstate movement would help a lot of these East Coast states not only drive traffic, but also relieve the issues that the West Coast states are having. So there\u2019s so much that we can do. It\u2019s just, I guess not lining the pockets the way people want it to on the big end. So they\u2019re not with it really.<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (36:30):<\/p>\n

So what advice do you have for entrepreneurs looking to enter this space?<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (36:39):<\/p>\n

Educate yourself on the history of legalization in cannabis and other states and in your state. The regulations and the market itself. Understand that the whole facade of you driving a Ferrari and you own a dispensary really isn\u2019t true. If you talk to anybody who\u2019s been in mature markets and understands how the cannabis industry truly is, knows you\u2019re going to have to be like me working here every day. Me and my partners are here every day, blood, sweat, and tears. It\u2019s not easy. It\u2019s heavily regulated. Gets back into understanding the regulations of your specific state and city and educating yourself, like just learning your consumer learning, sales, learning business, learning retail, being a good people\u2019s person. There is a lot that has to do with being successful in this industry. It\u2019s not just one thing.<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (37:37):<\/p>\n

And just to ask you, man, what drives you to sort of be in there five days a week of this industry, of what you do? What\u2019s the passion?<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (37:52):<\/p>\n

I told you I\u2019m a three time predicate persistent drug offender, bro. I dropped out of high school in ninth grade. I have no formal education. I left construction safety to do this. I\u2019m not going back to construction. So this is all I have. This is everything, all eggs in the basket. This is what we\u2019re doing. I\u2019m that type of intense person. I don\u2019t have a college degree where if this fails, I can go back to an office or I\u2019m going to go do something. I don\u2019t play basketball, I don\u2019t rap. I don\u2019t play sports, I don\u2019t play football. I don\u2019t do none of that shit. This is all I have. And because of that, and because I have a family that I need to support, I have a wife and beautiful children, I have a dream and a goal. This is what it is. This is what my focus is. And again, goes back to your earlier question before this. You need to focus on that. You need to focus in cannabis if you want to be successful the way I am. Because if you\u2019re not focused and you\u2019re not giving this a hundred percent, you\u2019re not going to get a hundred percent out of it. So you have to be like laser vision all day every day. I saturate myself in legal cannabis, I\u2019m all in on this.<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (39:07):<\/p>\n

Bleeding it man. He\u2019s fucking bleeding it.<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (39:10):<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a fact.<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (39:11):<\/p>\n

My man. I cannot wait to my next trip down to the city to come and visit you and meet you and buy some flour. Where can people find out more about you and turp Bros. On the old internet?<\/p>\n

Jeremy Rivera (39:27):<\/p>\n

So you can go to our website www.erpbrosnyc.com. So that\u2019s terros nyc.com. You can also find us on Instagram, T-E-R-P-B-R os. Do Astoria, A-S-T-O-R-I-A. You got to type the whole thing out because we\u2019re Shadow band. So if you type in just type, you got to literally type the whole thing. Because cannabis is so heavily regulated and marketing is so difficult that Meta doesn\u2019t allow us to have cannabis brands on their platform. But we\u2019re also located at 36 dash 10 Ditmars Boulevard in Astoria, New York. So that\u2019s Dip Mars Boulevard between 36th and 37th, and that\u2019s where you find us at.<\/p>\n

TG Branfalt (40:12):<\/p>\n

Well man, I really appreciate you coming on the show. My return after a couple of years away, Jeremy Rivera is the co-founder and CEO of Turf Rose in Astoria, Queens. And this has been the entrepreneur.com podcast. You can find more episodes of the podcast and podcast section of entrepreneur.com wherever you get your podcasts. On the website, you\u2019ll find the latest cannabis news and cannabis jobs updated daily along with transcripts of this podcast. You can also download the entrepreneur.com at in iTunes and Google Play. This episode was engineered by Wayward Media. I\u2019ve been your host, TG brand.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Ganjapreneur Podcast is back! In this episode, host TG Branfalt welcomes Jeremy Rivera, co-founder and CEO of Terp Bros, a dispensary in Astoria, Queens. Rivera, a beneficiary of New York\u2019s Conditional Adult Use Retail Dispensary (CAURD) program, shares his journey from the legacy market and facing multiple cannabis convictions to launching his own licensed cannabis business. He goes into detail about the nuances of the CAURD program, the competitive landscape of New York\u2019s cannabis market, and the distinctive approach Terp Bros has taken to distinguish itself amid a sea of dispensaries. He also provides first-hand insight into the entrepreneurial spirit driving New York\u2019s developing legal cannabis industry and the ongoing efforts to rectify past injustices. Listen to the full episode below, or scroll down for the transcript! Listen to the episode: Ganjapreneur \u00b7 Jeremy Rivera: From the Legacy Market to a Licensed Dispensary in New York Read the transcript: Editor\u2019s note: this transcript was generated automatically and may contain typos. Commercial (00:03): The Ganjapreneur Podcast is made possible by over 500 cannabis industry service providers in Ganjapreneur\u2019s Cannabis Business Index. At some point, every plant touching brand experiences the stigma that many industries still have to toward cannabis going strong. Since 2015, our business index is the most comprehensive and frequently visited directory for cannabis friendly services on the internet, saving you the time and hassle of sifting through uninformed and unwelcoming providers with categories for everything from business financing to extraction equipment to interior designers and public relations. You\u2019ll find every kind of specialist and business service you could ever need. Check out the business index today at ganjapreneur.com\/businesses. TG Branfalt (00:52): Hey there, I\u2019m your host, TG Branfalt, and this is the Ganjapreneur.com podcast where we try to bring you actionable information and normalized cannabis through the stories of entrepreneurs, activists, and industry stakeholders. Today I am delighted to be joined by Jeremy Rivera is the co-founder and CEO of Terp Bros in Astoria, Queens, New York. Rivera is a conditional adult use retail dispensary or CAURD license holder and Terp Bros\u2019 mission is to serve as a locale for the unique and memorable learning and experiences. Hey Jeremy, how are you doing this morning, man? Jeremy Rivera (01:27): Not too bad, bud. What\u2019s going on? TG Branfalt (01:29): Dude, I\u2019m real excited. You\u2019re my first guest back. I\u2019m happy to be talking with somebody in New York. The last time that I did this podcast, New York had gone legal, but we didn\u2019t have the rollout of the market yet, so we have a lot to talk about. Before we get into all of that though, man, tell me about yourself. Tell me about your background, just your history with cannabis and how you ended up in the CAURD program, Jeremy Rivera (01:56): The program. Alright. Well, I\u2019m one of the owners of Tur Bros. Cannabis Dispensary and Astoria in New York. Obviously because of New York\u2019s parameters to get a license, some justice involved. I spent a lot of my teenage years as a gang member, Crip Street gang. Between 19 and 30. I spent most of those years in and out of prison. I have three state bids and a juvenile bid that I did when I was 30 2018. I came home, I had made a decision that I didn\u2019t really want to continue living the life of wasting away in and out of prison. So I got into construction. I tried to maximize the space there and I got into construction safety. I became an authorized ocean instructor, a New York City Department of Buildings compliance officer and a nationally certified construction health and safety technician, all of which I was denied for and I had to appeal. (02:52): I actually set precedent for people with convictions to be able to get these licenses. And I was doing that from about, well, 2018 when I got home, I started my own business also and I was doing that up until about 2021, 2022 when the CAURD program was released. And I didn\u2019t really know much about the CAURD program only because I had no real intention of getting back into selling drugs. And some of my background with cannabis is just like everybody else who was on the streets. You had some homies out in California, Oklahoma, Oregon, they\u2019d send you 10 packs, 15 packs, and you\u2019d distribute them throughout New York and with whatever your circle was. So I was dibbling dabbling in cannabis and even in prison, one of the big smokers is weed. You got somebody to bring you up the bag, you\u2019re smoking a joint in the yard, it becomes a thing. So that\u2019s really my experience just to go back and tell you what my experience in cannabis is. But again, in 2022 when the CAURD program was coming out, my best friend actually came to my house and he\u2019s like, yo homie, I was just watching the news. We\u2019re going to get a weed dispensary. And I genuinely thought he was crazy, bro. I am like, there are no way that New York out of every state in the country is going to give convicted felons. People have been convicted of crimes, nonviolent drug crimes. I mean TG Branfalt (04:17): We have history of Rockefeller drug laws Jeremy Rivera (04:19): Of course with the early nineties into the mid and the two thousands with stop and frisk all the way into the two thousands. And as early as the Rockefeller in the nineties, there\u2019s no way New York State was going to allow such a thing to happen. But as I dove a little more into it and started researching it, they had two main criteria. You had to be convicted of a cannabis conviction, a cannabis crime, and you had to have a small business positive for two years. And I have three state felonies in a juvenile conviction. Each one of my state prison bids had cannabis in the indictment. So I checked that box off the jump and like I said, when I came home, I made the conscious decision to change my life. So around 2019, 20, I started JA Building Consultants, which was a consulting firm that I worked with insurance companies and I audited job sites. So that checked that box off. Boom, we got with a good lawyer, we who from MRTA law and we just started rocking and rolling. I really liked developed abilities that I didn\u2019t know I had even this to be able to talk on podcasts and really tell the story. So it was amazing. It was a really cool journey and really journeys just beginning. TG Branfalt (05:35): So the licensing process was marred by lawsuits. There was at least one that stopped it and then another one that stopped it that dealt with veterans. And I can tell you from experience I was in very shortly after legalization, I was in New York City and there were illegal dispensaries operating sort of everywhere. And I know that you had taken that route, you wouldn\u2019t have gotten a license ultimately. So the patients really paid off for a lot of people. Can you tell me about your experience obtaining a license in the state? What was it like for you? Jeremy Rivera (06:14): So you said it right there. The state\u2019s program was hiccuped from the beginning. We had the verite lawsuit, which held five regions in injunction. We had the FII lawsuit, which cos Marte and Kbu and myself were a part of. We filed as interveners on that case and we were one of the three dispensaries that set the precedent for what the Honorable Judge Bryant was opening dispensaries for. But you said it, man, between the illicit dispensaries, we could have gone that route. And you know what, there are some illicit dispensaries that have gone that route and are still getting open. So that\u2019s always like, fuck not, it\u2019s been a hairy rollout. The CAURD program itself, we\u2019ve never codified CAURD. So the CAURD program isn\u2019t in the MRTA, the Marijuana Revenue Tax Act. It\u2019s not in the MRTA. So it\u2019s its sole independent entity. So that\u2019s why it\u2019s so subjective to having these lawsuits brought against \u2019em. We started this out with a Wish and a Dream and when they started awarding licenses back in November of 2023, I believe it was, no, 2024, sorry, up. My apologies. 2022. We didn\u2019t get approved until 2023. So I left my job, I left working and doing my businesses to pursue this full time and I was TG Branfalt (07:42): Did you have to rent a building in the meantime? Just waiting for it? Jeremy Rivera (07:45): So no, because originally the parameters were different. Originally we had to take the DASNY program, the Dormitory Authority Services of New York. It was supposed to be a turnkey operation in the beginning. They were supposed to fit us out with a dispensary, find the location, we do the branding together because a lot of us in CAR didn\u2019t have that experience in a mature market. We were individuals that were stepping into this. So the state had originally created a program through dasny where they were going to assist us find the location, work with fit out groups and all that. And as time progressed, everything changed. There were only supposed to be 150 licensees ended up now being 475 people or whatnot were licensed. We were originally supposed to work with the dormitory Authority services and now people like myself were able to get their own locations. So this program, and not to the fault of anyone\u2019s specifically, it\u2019s just been a very difficult and ever-changing landscape. TG Branfalt (08:50): Now obviously when people in the industry in New York, when we talk about this, I hear a lot that they don\u2019t like those provisions that are in the CAURD provisions and that they say is what handicapped the rollout essentially, and what, what\u2019s your take on those provisions? It doesn\u2019t seem like in New York City with the dormitory authority, it really worked out that way. And it doesn\u2019t seem like now that there\u2019s four times as many licenses as they\u2019ve anticipated, it didn\u2019t really work out that way. So what do you think about the provisions and how it has rolled out? Jeremy Rivera (09:32): I think there should have been more protection for the CAURD program. I think it should have been codified by our elected officials a lot earlier on and now still codified to give protection to these individuals. New York has continued the rollout though they\u2019ve continually, they\u2019ve continued to accept applications and give out licenses. So the program is not stopping. The cannabis adult use program is not stopping, but card seems like to be forgotten about and continuously being forgotten about. And again, it\u2019s no ill intent to anyone specifically. I think it\u2019s just the way the cards rolled out. We have to give credit to New York and the officials that were behind the original MRTA for creating a program that focused on people who were disproportionately affected by the war on drugs. But the truth of the matter is, and TG Branfalt (10:23): New York City, I mean, yeah, Jeremy Rivera (10:26): I come from CDIA community disproportionately impacted by cannabis. I have multiple cannabis convictions. I, again, as a former gang member and a person who was in and out of prison and was in the streets, we\u2019ve all been affected. Cannabis was that one reason to get you pulled out of a car and searched in hopes that they would be able to find something else. So we have to appreciate the individuals that focused on this and wanted to give us a chance. But the reality is, as we all know in other states, the big corporations…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-87656","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bubbling-fog-81918.wp1.site\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87656"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bubbling-fog-81918.wp1.site\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bubbling-fog-81918.wp1.site\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bubbling-fog-81918.wp1.site\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/39"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bubbling-fog-81918.wp1.site\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87656"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bubbling-fog-81918.wp1.site\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87656\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bubbling-fog-81918.wp1.site\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87656"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bubbling-fog-81918.wp1.site\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87656"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bubbling-fog-81918.wp1.site\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87656"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}