The Conversation, Cannabis & Christianity podcast

Dr. Barbara Mainville has been working full time with medical cannabis in Canada since early 2016. Prior to that, she worked in an Emergency Department for 30 years, and also served as a Coroner for the Province of Ontario for 30 years, conducting both investigations and coroners’ inquests. She is a member of both the Canadian Special Operations Medical Association and the Western Trauma Association, and retains a special interest in all aspects of trauma.

Sherry Bennett is the Founder of Let's Talk Cannabis and Bayview Concierge Inc and has been a cannabis advocate in Canada since marijuana provided a way for her to be, "Friendly with life again" after decades of traumatic familial, societal and personal happenings. 

The culmination of years in publicity, marketing, and sales has led Michael Mejer to connect leaders within the cannabis space to media and press opportunities. Mejer’s cannabis-focused PR firm, Green Lane Communications connects industry leaders to earned media opportunities that position them to establish credibility and successfully penetrate one of the fastest-growing verticals in today’s marketplace. Michael is also a contributor for Green Entrepreneur and he hosts A Mejer Journey podcast.

Hillary has been leading grassroots efforts in Florida's cannabis space since 2019. With a background in sales and marketing directly to cannabis consumers, Hillary uses her experience and product knowledge to spread awareness and educate everyone she meets. Her excitement to help people truly understand the benefits of cannabis and plant medicine is what keeps her ahead of trends and fads in the industry, and grounded in the science behind the flower. Hillary’s personal experience with cannabis and plant based medicine had a significant impact on her past and it helps shape her outlook moving into her future. Hillary has developed long lasting relationships with cannabis physicians, dispensaries, growers, and influencers across the State of Florida and internationally. Hillary’s hunger for learning fuels her outreach efforts as she builds lasting relationships with the cannabis community. Having worked for corporate cannabis and mom & pop farms, Hillary understands the business side of cannabis and how educating users has a direct impact on sales. Hillary is a native of Jacksonville, Florida and she is looking forward to the future with her fiancé Mark and their beautiful daughter. “Family is everything to me. That’s one of the things that I love most about the cannabis community - it’s like a second family!"

Prodigal Sons & Prodigal Daughters; Prodigal Daughters & Prodigal Sons

Robert Kowalski served in the U.S. Air Force as a Security Forces member from 2006-2011, which included two combat deployments to Iraq. Upon discharge, Robert became homeless and was eventually diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress and severe pain. Since becoming a medical cannabis patient, Robert has committed his efforts to help veterans access cannabis at state, federal, and international levels of government. He is the founder of the nonprofit organization, Veterans Ending The Stigma.

Alissa Lee has been part of the cannabis community for more than four decades. She is the adult child of a mother crippled by polio and she is the mother of an adult child with cerebral palsy, autism, craniosynostosis and ADHD.

Alissa Lee: Director, Cannabis For Children International 

[email protected]  

Rejection

Mario Rodriguez has more than 20 years of experience in creating value to startup companies that span many industries. He brings a unique background in food & beverage with an operations mindset. As a graduate of Babson College, Mario started his career with a software and services start-up which specialized in process re-engineering for clients in the finance, energy, and aeronautic industries.  After logistics consulting, Mario decided to jump into the food world and attended the French Culinary Institute (ICC), graduating top of his class. Mario jumped into the startup world with Dinner Lab as director of operations and helped scale the business from 3 locations into a total of 31. His next endeavors brought him into other facets of the food industry as a COO and co-founder in the food tech space. Mario is currently the business owner of Bootleg Avocado, offering consulting to early stage plant-based food startups on the culinary and operations side, and plant medicines are coming onto the menu.

Dr Joseph Rosado, MD is one of the world’s most respected medical authorities on cannabis as plant-based medicine. With over four decades of experience as a healthcare professional, he has built a career anchored in family tradition and driven by a desire to help his patients and community. Dr. Rosado's father was an x-ray technician before his untimely death in 1973. Losing his father spurred Dr. Rosado to start working at a young age to help support his family. He trained as a certified nurse’s assistant, then known as an orderly, and began working in the medical field in 1978 at age 16. After high school, Dr. Rosado trained as an emergency medical technician, paramedic, and catheterization laboratory technician while working his way through college. A major car accident led Dr. Rosado to the field of chiropractic. After a chiropractor alleviated his agonizing back pain in just a few weeks of care, Dr. Rosado decided to explore the complementary medicine system. As a chiropractor, Dr. Rosado dedicated his practice to helping underserved communities, particularly those for whom English was a second language, ensuring that each patient received the highest quality of care that he could provide. 

At the age of 35, Dr. Rosado entered medical school and was a top student while working his way through school as a husband and father. In medical school, he studied marijuana and determined that potential health and wellness benefits could be extracted from the plant. As a student and newly certified physician, Dr. Rosado worked throughout the Latin American Diaspora, setting up a clinic in Costa Rica, serving as a team doctor for the country’s Olympic teams. In 2014, Dr. Rosado added his considerable professional expertise to the frontlines of Florida’s push for medical marijuana. One of the state’s first doctors advocating for medical cannabis, in 2016, Dr. Rosado also had the distinction of being the first Central Florida physician to recommend medical marijuana for an adult patient, as well as the first to recommend it for a patient under the age of 18. As a clinician he has worked with thousands of patients, from toddlers to the elderly, recommending medical cannabis and managing treatment.

Christopher Cano is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force where his military career was unfortunately cut short by a knee injury. Chris matriculated to the University of South Florida where he continued his public service, interning in the Florida House of Representatives and later seeking to represent his community in public office as a state representative. Chris was an organizer for Charlie Crist for Governor in 2014, United for Care’s Medical Marijuana Amendment campaign in 2015, and oversaw a successful field campaign for the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s race in 2016. Today Christopher spends his days working as a labor organizer for the Service Employees International Union building faculty unions for college professors around the country. Yet, the reason most people know him is his advocacy work as a founder of the Florida Suncoast Chapter for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).