Hempresent

Author Jack Lohman discusses his new book on phosphorus: White LightJack Lohmann is a writer from Richmond, Virginia, who lives in the Western Isles of Scotland. He is the author of White Light—The Elemental Role of Phosphorus in Our Cells, in Our Food, and in Our World. 

Jeff Kober is an American actor known for his television roles as Dodger in China Beach, Jacob Hale Jr. in Sons of Anarchy, Joe in the fourth season of The Walking Dead, and Kurt Nypo in Walker: Texas Ranger. He is also known for his movie roles in Out of Bounds, The First Power, One Tough Bastard, and Man Apart. For his role in ABC's General Hospital, Jeff received a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.

Jeff stars in Grassland, a new narrative film set in 2008 that explores the economic recession and the inequities of the era's incarceration rates. The story follows Leo, played by Ravi Cabot-Conyers, an inquisitive and sensitive boy who puts his mother's illegal cannabis business, played by Mía Maestro, at risk when he befriends their new neighbors, a young white boy and his police officer grandfather, Jeff’s character. 

Max Vansluys is the president of Dialed In Gummies. Max started his career as a budtender in Colorado, working directly with consumers and gaining firsthand insight into what makes a quality cannabis product. With a passion for innovation and a deep understanding of the market, he worked his way up the industry ranks—ultimately becoming president of one of the fastest-growing solventless gummy brands in the country. Now, Max is launching Dialed In Gummies in Ohio, his home state. He is committed to offering high-quality, better-tasting edibles that stand out in the rapidly expanding market. 

Jeff Crawford has been involved in independent media, activism, and technology for decades. He started with Bohemia AfterDark, one of the first indie music video shows, and later organized the Portland Hemp Festival in the mid-90s. His work spans media preservation, AI, and digital activism, focusing on counteracting algorithmic manipulation and censorship. Jeff has worked extensively with content archiving, including rare footage restoration for Getty, and he’s deeply invested in exploring how AI can be utilized to reclaim digital spaces from corporate and political influence.

Chris Bennett is an activist and author living in Nova Scotia, Canada, who has been researching the historical role of cannabis in the spiritual life of humanity for more than three decades. He is co-author of Green Gold the Tree of Life: Marijuana in Magic and Religion; Sex, Drugs, Violence and the Bible and the author of Cannabis and the Soma Solution; Liber 420: Cannabis, Magickal herbs and the Occult; and Cannabis: Lost Sacrament of the Ancient World. 

Chris has also contributed chapters on the historical role of cannabis in spiritual practices in books such as The Pot Book, Entheogens and the Development of Culture, Seeking the Sacred with Psychoactive Substances, One Toke Closer to God, Cannabis and Spirituality and Psychedelics Reimagined. Bennett’s research has received international attention from the BBC, Guardian, Sunday Times, Washington Post, Vice, and other media sources. 

Troy Stephens has been actively engaged in the cannabis community, particularly in advocating for patient rights and raising awareness about medical marijuana. He tells us about his latest endeavor, the Cannaverse Content Creators Awards Show, a grassroots community awards event created for the global grassroots cannabis community.  

Robert Sheilds received his natural resource management education in Vermont and has had a professional career in renewables and green building. The last decade spent on the frontline of a rapidly changing planet in Fairbanks, Alaska, has prepared him for what comes next for us all. Robert is a champion of permaculture as the foundation of a regenerative economy and believes that Alaska is in the process of emerging as a living lab where innovation, not fossil fuels, drives us forward and that industrial hemp is the key to practical self-reliance where food, energy, and zero waste policies keep costs low and the quality of life high for generations to come. As the founder of the nonprofit Alliance for Reason and Knowledge, ARK, Robert strives to convert public schools into experiential practicums and STEAM (or Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, & Mathematics), nurturing critical thinkers and lifelong learners. Robert believes mainstreaming the hemp industry in Alaska and regionally across the US can save our farm feed and families.

Doug McVay was trained as a Reefer Raider by Jack Herer in 1984. He is a social justice activist and drug policy reformer residing in Oregon. He works for the Real Reporting Foundation as Editor of Drug Policy Facts at drugpolicyfacts.org and World Health Systems Facts at healthsystemsfacts.org. Doug also volunteers as a community radio news reporter, public affairs producer, and host of a weekly radio program called Century of Lies and a monthly show called Free Culture Radio. He discusses the impacts of recent funding cuts on legalization and drug policy reform efforts.

Dr. Chanda Macias, MBA, is the CEO of National Holistic Healthcare, a medical cannabis cultivator, processor, and dispenser in the United States. Dr. Macias has spent 15+ years developing her knowledge of medical cannabis. She contributes to her success by educating on ailment strain alignment, which aligns a medical cannabis strain with a specific condition or ailment. She started her career in the flagship medical cannabis dispensary in Washington, D.C., at the National Holistic Healing Center in Dupont Circle. Dr. Macias educates women entrepreneurs and patients through her outreach platform as the Chairwoman of the Board of Managers and CEO for Women Grow, a global leader in connecting, educating, inspiring, and empowering the next generation of women leaders in the Cannabis and Hemp Industry. 

Dr. Macias educates women entrepreneurs and patients through her outreach platform as the Chairwoman of the Board of Managers and CEO for Women Grow, a global leader in connecting, educating, inspiring, and empowering the next generation of women leaders in the Cannabis and Hemp Industry.

Mitchell Colbert is a journalist and educator who has written over 200 articles for over a dozen outlets, including High Times, Leafly, and Cannabis Now. He is also a co-author of multiple whitepapers focused on sustainability in the cannabis and hemp industries and The Budtender’s Guide, a companion textbook for the training course he helped create at Oaksterdam University.  Since 2018, Mitchell has lobbied around the United States to legalize the recycling of cannabis waste, specifically vape waste. He is currently a member of the SB 54 Working Group in California, representing the cannabis and hemp industries in implementing a first-in-the-nation plastic packaging EPR, or Extended Producer Responsibility

law. The ASTM International published Mitchell’s novel study on cannabis consumer packaging waste last year, offering a first look at the types and volume of consumer waste being created.