The Conversation, Cannabis & Christianity podcast

Lieutenant Colonel Ali W. Palmer is an Army Engineer officer with a professional career that spans 25 years in a variety of experiences to include military, government, private, non-profit and higher education. A 1997 graduate of West Point Military Academy, he soon after completed Airborne and Ranger training and was stationed in Germany where he deployed to the Balkan region three times. Ali spent the next nine years in multiple command and staff responsibilities in the Army including: basic training company command, battalion operations officer, and General’s Aide for the Army Corps of Engineers division in Baghdad, IRAQ – earning Bronze Star and Combat Action Badge for life-saving actions under fire.

Ali left military service in 2006 to pursue an MBA from Harvard Business School and spent the next six years in healthcare, finance, leadership development and facilities engineering. During that time, he was active in his Veterans of Foreign Wars Post and served as a Congressional Nomination Committee Member. In 2013, he started his first company – LIFECON, LLC where he designs and delivers executive leadership coaching to corporate, nonprofit and university senior leaders. In 2014, Ali re-entered the military in the Army Reserves, was promoted to Major in 2016 and recently to Lieutenant Colonel – a full year ahead of schedule. He most recently served as Operations Officer for the Army Corps of Engineers, South Atlantic COVID and Hurricane Response Teams.

In 2019, he launched another startup – Royal Technology & Agriculture, a cutting-edge agriculture technology firm providing quality assurance & consulting solutions to a myriad of farmers, brands, retailers and agribusinesses nationwide. Ali is also adjunct faculty at Battlefield Leadership and the Intrepid Leadership Group – two premier corporate leader development companies. He’s a member of the US Army Ranger Association, sits on multiple boards, speaks three languages, and is a Certified Engineer in the State of NY.  

Mary followed her first culinary recipe when she was eight years old, the recipe was brought to her by her childhood friend next door. That was the same year she got her first Betty Crocker yellow and white striped Kids Cook Book, and her love of everything food was born. Throughout her childhood Mary's mom, aunts, relatives and friends shared their stories of family around a table of food they prepared.  Before graduating high school she toyed with the idea of culinary school but there were very few female chefs at that time and the school she knew about was in Paris, and Mary did not speak French.  So she majored in History and earned a Master’s degree, teaching for more than 10 years. 

No matter where life seemed to take her, Mary was always drawn back to food and eventually owned a wholesale bakery taking care of mom and pop sandwich shops in local office buildings, which led to her finally going to culinary school, a little later in life than most of her fellow students, but she was loving the thrill of new recipes and methodology. Becoming a certified Pastry Chef was a life-long dream fulfilled and the chance to work in some of the finest kitchens and with world class chefs. As a cannabis consumer, adding cannabis to food was a natural process for Mary and she says she has cooked with cannabis, "...since before decarb-ing was a thing..." adding raw cannabis to pots of spaghetti sauce and meatloaf. Only later did she discover the true way to infuse food when working with an ill friend. 

When using easily accessible CBD became legal, Mary began educational dinners at a local Tampa restaurant where you could enjoy an infused dinner, educate yourself and sample the different varieties of CBD available. And as cannabis (THC) became legal, her focus moved in that direction as well, finding ways to put cannabis into the foods we eat everyday rather than gummies and candy. Mary believes that you are what you eat. Cannabis has so many entourage plants and vegetables with similar terpenes that can increase potency and experience, why would you not combine them? So she does, in so many unique ways.  From infused almond milk chocolate ice cream to mayonnaise and almond butter – you can satisfy all your cravings and eat healthy with a cannabis filled kitchen and inspired dishes. 

In our conversation, Sherry discusses her recent launch with Let’s Talk Cannabis: Online Medical Cannabis Education Courses. Understanding the stigma attached to marijuana, Sherry partnered with medical professionals to deliver current and accurate medical cannabis courses to health care professionals and anyone who wants to know more about their Endo-Cannabinoid System (ECS), how marijuana complements the human body’s ECS, its impact on homeostasis and more. Sherry also serves as a support to people suffering from trauma. In this episode she is days removed from helping a friend deal with the prescription drug overdose of her daughter. As Sherry is known for saying, “Cannabis can help people become friendly with life again.” You can learn more about medical cannabis and Sherry at: https://ltcedu.ca/online-courses/ 

With a passion for cannabis and writing, Phil Wong began his career in cannabis in 2015 as a photo journalist for High! Canada Magazine, writing on all things cannabis, legalization, innovation, tech and entertainment. In time, Phil became an active and trusted source in the cannabis industry, with over 29K followers (Phil is an avid cannabis blogger on LinkedIn). While at High! Canada Magazine, Phil expanded the content format to include video interviews with CEO’s and celebrities in the cannabis space, arranging grow operation tours, highlight videos from cannabis events and promotional trailers. Phil’s video portfolio includes covering events for O’Cannabiz, Grow Up, Lift & Co., and MJ Biz Con (Las Vegas). Working in video for the last couple of years, Phil began to develop a new passion and style for story telling, engaging via social media and video shorts. We also discuss Phil's belief system and an astonishing experience that has only one explanation.

Myrna Gillis, QC is the CEO and co-founder of Aqualitas, a vertically integrated multi-cannabis license holder and producer of organically grown cannabis and value-added products distributed domestically and internationally. She is a disabilities advocate, and practiced law in the vulnerable services sector for 25 years before joining the cannabis industry in 2014. Motivated by a desire to promote access to medical cannabis, through research, innovation and sustainability she has led her team to highlights including Grow Up’s 2021 Innovation Technology Award, Canada’s 2020 Grower of the Year, a Spark Innovation Award, and Clean Tech Energy Award for cultivation, as well 16 Canadian provincial and federal research grants. Myrna received her Queens Counsel designation for excellence and integrity in the practice of law and was a business leader bronze award winner in 2019. She is a board member on the Cannabis Council of Canada, and a board advisor for the Council for Federal Cannabis Regulation and has volunteered for various disabilities and social justice organizations over the last 30 years.

Robert is the President and Founder of AD LUCEM Law Corporation. His legal practice and consultancy business focuses on commercial business, regulatory issues and constitutional legalities surrounding cannabis and psychedelic plant medicines. Robert has eighteen years of policy development and legal practice. As a lawyer in Canada, Robert works to reform drug laws. As a consultant, he devises regulatory, government policy, and business solutions for companies operating globally in the regulated food, cannabis, and psychedelic industries. Robert also serves as a board advisor to MAPS Canada, the Last Prisoner Project, and SPORE Denver. In addition, he is a legal advisor to the Heroic Hearts Project, a founder of the McKenna Academy of Natural Philosophy, and a director of the Ecuador Amazon Restoration Project.

Angela Mustone is the trailblazing Founder and CEO of HighOnLove, a female-focused line of luxury wellness products crafted with premium cannabis oil to enhance intimacy and self-care. Angela has been a driving force behind some of the most innovative sexual health and wellness products on the market. Prior to becoming the president of Produits Amour & Beauté, she worked for California Exotic Novelties, Dermalogica, and in the beauty industry. An international sales expert and fluent in three languages, Mustone has a unique global perspective that transverses multiple markets and demographics. She sources only the best ingredients from around the globe, fine-tuning each blend to perfection. Through HighOnLove, her vision is to empower women to take charge of their own sexual wellness and break down the stigmas surrounding pleasure and cannabis.

It is an episode of Genesis, Sex in The Book of Genesis, Sex Now; International Cannabis & Psychedelic Law; Cannabis Koi Fish that helped rescue a town after its main industry shut down; and Content Creation, Video Production and Social Media Management. It is a wild time to be alive, and there is no room for apathy. But, should you find yourself in it, look up to your Deliverer. Pick up your countenance (your faces) and sing. 

Prabhuraj Bhandekar created MaaFaa Designs to be "A temple of simplicity and pure woven hemp elegance." Based out of Pune, India, Prabhuraj sources organic hemp and dyes from Nepal for men and women's clothing and footwear. Prabhuraj is not the normal entrepreneur. He has incorporated the standards of his worldview into the ethos of MaaFaa Designs. It is a refreshing approach in an era of corporate and tech giants, and it is a great conversation with India's Man In Hemp, Prabhuraj Bhandekar.     

Stephanie is a young Breast Cancer Survivor and the daughter of a Breast Cancer Survivor. Stephanie is also a Certified Cannabis Educator and Patient Care Coach with True Roots Healthcare in Ontario, Canada where she helps women who are struggling with Breast Cancer side effects including anxiety, sleep, pain and more. In 2020 Stephanie co-founded the non-profit organization, EduCanNation, a diverse group of Certified Cannabis Educators who are raising the level and standards of Cannabis Education in Canada, the United States and internationally. Stephanie is also the Co-Host of A Tincture of Time Podcast, which focuses on cannabis education, specifically a dive into the science and evidence that support cannabis as medicine.