Chris Montgomery is a communications and government relations expert. He spent eight years in the Canadian Senate where he was Director of Parliamentary Affairs, Office of the Leader of the Government.

In this episode of “Profiles by Cannabiz Social”, Chris discusses Bill C-45 as it passes through the upper house of Parliament. In doing so, he explains the role the Senate plays to improve legislation and the likelihood independent Senators will delay or defeat the Cannabis Act.

So, will the Senate act as the chamber providing a "sober second thought" or will it go against a popular bill that is favoured by a majority of Canadians?

Miz D is an innovator and pioneer in Canada’s cannabis industry. Self-employed as a Cannatherapy Consultant for baby boomers and seniors since 2004, she helps both new and experienced consumers learn to maximize the therapeutic benefits of cannabis. Miz D is involved in a variety of cannacentric businesses and organizations, including her family’s company Dvibz, which focuses primarily on luxury cannatourism. A cannabis enthusiast for more than 4 decades, Miz D is an inspiring thought leader and innovator - cannabis culture’s very own “Doprah.”

We are delighted to have this inaugural episode of Profile in Cannabis by Cannabiz Social with such a towering figure. We talk about cannatheraphy and cannatourism, and we explore how the industry has evolved over the past three decades. It is an insightful and entertaining conversation and we hope you enjoy it.

In this episode of Profiles by Cannabiz Social we talk to Ryan Lalonde, CEO of Clearleaf and we explore his company’s first product – Buddi. Buddi is a technology solution that helps cannabis retailers and producers to build and grow their brands and to serve customers better.

Buddi was developed by working with dispensaries, producers and patients. The Buddi platform helps retailers to direct cannabis users towards the products that are most suitable to their needs and gives licensed producers a direct line of sight to the end users that purchase their products. Buddi also enhances the customer experience in-store by giving consumers detailed information about products and it gives producers an opportunity to tell their brand story directly to potential customers while they are in the store in an otherwise highly regulated marketing environment.

Ryan is an ambitious and entrepreneurial individual with over a decade of experience running small businesses, managing projects, and consulting across various industries. We are excited to share his compelling story and his innovative technology.

Dr. Igor Kovalchuk is an accomplished scientist. Before coming to Canada he was a medical doctor and a cancer researcher in Switzerland. Today he is a leading plant biologist and geneticist researching the medicinal properties of various plants. His special interest is in cannabis. He holds a Section 67 license from Health Canada, which allows him to conduct research on controlled substances at the University of Lethbridge. Dr. Kovalchuk is also the founder of a medicinal plant research and technology firm called Plantbiosis Ltd., and he is a member of Sundial Growers Inc.’s management team.

In this fascinating podcast, Dr. Kovalchuk shares his life’s journey as a researcher and entrepreneur with interest in breeding new plant varieties exhibiting pain-killing, anti-cancer, and anti-inflammatory properties. He tests the potential medicinal properties of cannabis using a combination of cell cultures and animal models of various diseases. He utilizes common breeding techniques as well as transgenic genome editing techniques to develop new cannabis and hemp varieties.