Meet Peter Barsoom, the visionary founder and CEO of 1906: where cannabis meets intention, elegance, and modern wellness. With nearly two decades of experience at financial giants like American Express, Peter left Wall Street in 2015 to forge a different path: one built on plant medicine, thoughtful design, and functional ritual.
Under his leadership, 1906 has pioneered the modern microdose cannabis movement, crafting fast-acting “Drops” that deliver low-dose THC in beautifully designed tins.
The name “1906” is a deliberate nod to that year’s Pure Food and Drug Act, symbolic of the brand’s mission to end cannabis prohibition and normalize it as a choice in daily wellness.
Built as much on strategy as on plant science, 1906 is redefining how consumers experience cannabis. Today, we dive in with Peter to explore plant medicine, herbal innovation, and the future of functional cannabis medicine.
1. What inspired the creation of 1906, and what was missing from the cannabis space that you felt called to change?
1906 was created for people like us who want to feel better, function better, and stay in control. At the time, the cannabis space lacked trust. Products were inconsistent, the effects unpredictable, and the culture didn’t reflect the modern wellness consumer. We saw an opportunity to design a new standard: fast-acting, outcome-driven, plant-based tools for real life. We weren’t trying to join the cannabis industry, we were trying to rebuild it for people who value clarity over chaos.
2. How has your background in finance and government influenced your approach to plant medicine and business ethics?
Those worlds taught me discipline, but also disillusionment. What drew me to plant medicine was the chance to create something human and honest. With cannabis, you don’t get to hide behind abstraction. You’re making something people put in their bodies. That demands rigor and respect. At 1906, ethics isn’t just how we source or market. It’s how we show up, how we lead, who we hire, and what we choose to prioritize when no one’s watching.
3. 1906 is known for combining cannabis with adaptogenic and nootropic herbs. How do you select and source these botanicals to support your desired effects?
We start with intention: What state are we trying to support: focus, calm, connection, relief? From there, we combine cannabinoids with plant medicines that have a track record of safety and efficacy. Everything is sourced for purity and potency from partners we trust. We don’t chase trends, we match function to formulation. Ashwagandha, kanna, rhodiola… each one has a distinct role in creating a layered experience. Together with cannabis, they produce effects that are precise, balanced, and deeply supportive.
4. Your drops are formulated for specific experiences: Love, Bliss, Chill, Go, Genius, and Sleep. What went into designing these categories, and how do you see them supporting modern lifestyles?
Each Drop reflects a real need in modern life: sleep, intimacy, anxiety relief, focus, or energy. We wanted to build a toolkit, not just a product line. People don’t think in strains, they think in outcomes so we designed with that clarity in mind. These aren’t weekend edibles, they’re functional tools you can integrate into your day whether it’s a morning workout, a tough meeting, or winding down at night. We formulated them to support the way people actually live now.
5. What does it mean to you to create a “functional high”?
A functional high enhances your experience and doesn’t overpower it. It’s about using cannabis intentionally to shift your internal state in service of what you need. That could mean energy, focus, relaxation, or connection. The key is predictability. When you know exactly how it will feel, when it will hit, and how long it will last, it becomes usable, not just recreational. A functional high is cannabis reimagined: clear, controlled, and designed to elevate, not escape.
6. Cannabis has long been entangled in systems of injustice. How does 1906 work to repair some of that harm?
We can’t ignore the fact that this industry was built on criminalization and that Black and brown communities bore the brunt of it. At 1906, we support organizations working on expungement and reinvestment, but it goes deeper than donations. Repair is structural. It’s who we hire, how we build partnerships, where capital flows. Justice has to be baked into the business model. If we’re not redistributing opportunity, we’re just repackaging privilege.
7. What’s your vision for cannabis wellness 10 years from now, and what role does 1906 hope to play in that future?
In 10 years, cannabis will be as common as caffeine and beverages will lead that shift. Everywhere you find alcohol today, you’ll find cannabis: on cocktail menus, at weddings, at work happy hours. But the future of cannabis isn’t just social, it’s functional.
Between sleep, focus, mood, pain, and more, cannabis will become a core part of the wellness stack. 1906 will be the brand people trust to deliver that functionality with speed, precision, and elegance. Especially being rated as the #1 fast acting edible – you’ll always feel effects in 20 mins or less as opposed to traditional edibles, you never know exactly how you’ll feel and when which makes us stand out largely in this market. We’re not just building products. We’re building the new normal.
8. What does your personal relationship with cannabis look like now: ritually, recreationally, or medicinally?
For me, cannabis is functional. I use Genius to manage my ADD and support deep focus and it’s part of my workflow. Go is my pre-workout go to, helping me feel present and energized without the crash. And when I’m going out or connecting socially, I combine Off Duty and Bliss which loosens the edges, opens the heart, and keeps me clear. Cannabis isn’t an escape in my life. It’s a way to be more fully engaged.
9. How do you personally define wellness? Has that definition changed throughout building 1906?
I used to think wellness was optimization. More output, more control… But building 1906 taught me that wellness is about alignment. It’s the ability to move through life with less friction between your mind, body, and environment. Some days that means intensity and some days it means stillness. Wellness isn’t a performance, it’s permission to feel, pause, recalibrate and to choose what you need in that moment.
10. Is there a teaching from cannabis (plant or industry) that has deeply challenged or transformed you as a leader or human being?
Cannabis taught me that leadership isn’t control, it’s presence. The plant humbles you. It forces you to listen to your body, your team, the market. It’s not predictable in the way other industries are. But that unpredictability has made me more adaptable, more curious, and more transparent. In a business that’s constantly shifting, you can’t lead by controlling the outcome. You have to lead by anchoring to your values and staying open to change.
11. If you could de-stigmatize one myth about cannabis instantly, what would it be?
Cannabis makes you foggy or unproductive. In the right formulation, it’s the opposite. Genius, for example, combines THC, CBD, rhodiola, and bacopa (plus others) resulting in clarity, not sedation. For me, it’s a cognitive enhancement tool. The stigma around cannabis as escapism is outdated. When used intentionally, it sharpens focus, sparks creativity, and brings you into the moment not out of it.
12. What’s a favorite herb or plant you pair with cannabis that people might not expect but should try?
Kanna. It’s a traditional South African plant medicine that we use in our Bliss Drops and it’s the closest legal thing to MDMA I’ve experienced. Kanna doesn’t get you high; it opens you up. It softens anxiety, lifts mood, and creates a subtle euphoria that feels deeply connective. Paired with THC and CBD, the effect is expansive, heart-centered, and socially disinhibiting without any crash or comedown. Bliss is designed for those moments when you want to feel emotionally available, not just relaxed. Kanna is what makes that possible.
