At the age of 14, Joshua Haupt woke up in an ambulance. He was supposed to be in school, but he had suffered a seizure at the breakfast table. Later that day, Haupt was diagnosed with epilepsy.That diagnosis eventually led Haupt down the path to become an entrepreneur in the cannabis industry. Today, Haupt, 32, is worth millions, including a 16 percent stake in Medicine Man Technologies.
Haupt, who lives in Denver, made his fortune after selling a cannabis guidebook company, Pono Publications, and marijuana nutrient line, Success Nutrients. In 2017, he sold both companies to cannabis consulting firm Medicine Man Technologies, for 7 million shares in Medicine Man. Haupt personally owns 4.4 million shares in Medicine Man, according to May 2017 SEC filings, which are currently worth about $9 million.
In his late teens and early 20s, Haupt's family wasn't sure he was headed down the right path. While in high school, he began growing cannabis to help prevent his epileptic seizures. In Colorado, where he lives, medical marijuana has been legal for epileptics since 2000. The father-of-two says he is now seizure-free. At age 24, he replaced his epilepsy medication with CBD, a non-psychoactive component of marijuana. In 2018, the FDA approved Epidiolex, the first prescription drug containing CBD, to treat two rare and severe forms of epilepsy.
