-Cohost of the nationally syndicated radio show Wisequacks.
-Cohosted the Oprah Winfrey Network show Buyologic
-Author of “The Doctor Is In(sane)” which was nominated for several book awards.
-Syndicated columnist to more than 100 newspapers across the United States and Canada.
-Entered the Guinness Book of World Records as the highest scoring defenceman in the longest hockey game in history.
Canadian naval surgeon in the Persian Gulf War
-Doctor to the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta
-In 1995 he lived in the remote Pacific island of Tanna in the country of Vanuatu where, for most of a year he was the sole doctor and bush surgeon to 30,000 Tannese, many of whom had never seen a white man.
-Former team doctor to the national rugby team as well as junior and professional hockey teams.
-Has lead two African safaris
-One of Canada’s foremost medical cannabis educator of physicians and the scientific and lay communities. He is a member of the Society of Cannabis Clinicians (SCC), International Association for Cannabinoid Medicines (IACM),The International Cannabis Research Society (ICRS), Physicians for Medical Cannabis (PMC) and the American Academy of Cannabinoid Medicine (AACM).
Alexzander Samuelsson has developed a career over the last three years in the medical cannabis industry through his company DevCat Consulting working with dispensaries, licensed producers, industry stakeholders, and various media outlets on contracts ranging from technical SOPs and industry advising, to writing on the science of cannabis under the moniker “Alex The Chemist”. Alexzander holds a BSc. in Chemistry from Ryerson University and has focused his background toward innovation, research, and education in the medical cannabis industry after discovering first-hand the medical benefits of cannabis. His passion for cannabis education has brought him across the country discussing the science of cannabis in podcasts, media interviews, and presenting both private and public to audiences from the canna-curious, technical researchers, and C-level executives to everyone in between.
Megan Henderson is the Director of Marketing and Business Development for HelloMD in Canada. Previously Megan helped to create and launch TheGrowthOp.com, Postmedia’s editorial brand on cannabis and acted as the Executive Producer for the brand. Megan lead TheGrowthOp’s editorial strategy as well as contributing content. In addition to her sales, marketing and content experience Megan worked to develop the cannabis advertising guidelines used at Postmedia and acted as the main compliance lead for all cannabis advertising. With over a decade of experience in marketing, advertising and custom content, Megan brings this experience as well as her cannabis promotions skill set into her new role with HelloMD. Megan works with HelloMD’s Canadian partners such as Shoppers Drug Mart, TGOD and Terracend.
Dr. Hatcher received her MD in 1982 from Memorial University of Newfoundland and was certified with the College of Family Physicians of Canada in 1984 and awarded a fellowship in 2001. She is an Associate Clinical Professor of Family Medicine at McMaster University Hamilton, Ontario.
In 1998, she received the Canadian Psychiatric Association’s Mental Health Awareness Award. In 2016 she became a Diplomate of the Canadian Academy of Pain Management.
She was an expert panel member for the 2017 Canadian Opioid Guideline update. She is involved in designing a medical cannabis public education program for McMaster University Pain Clinic. She is on the Editorial Board of the journal “Using Medical Cannabis” and writes regularly for this journal. She is also assisting with the DataCann cannabis research network at McMaster University and is involved in clinical research with cannabis.
She regularly lectures to physicians and the public on Medical Cannabis and Chronic Pain nationally and internationally. She has given over 200 lectures.
Blaine Favel is the founder and CEO of Kanata Earth; an indigenous owned cannabis company focused on genetics, nursery growing and organic cultivation. Blaine hails from the Poundmaker Cree Nation, where he served as Chief and Grand Chief of the Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations. Blaine is credited with starting the Saskatchewan Indian Gaming Authority and the First Nations Bank, two national firsts of Indigenous People entering new industries. He was more recently CEO and founder of One Earth Farms and One Earth Oil and Gas, and served as Chancellor of the University of Saskatchewan until 2016. Blaine has a law degree from Queens and a MBA from Harvard Business School and has over 25 years experience in leadership in politics, business and academia.
Loretta Eldridge is the Director of Marketing at Ample Organics, a leader in cannabis tracking and reporting technology that powers 70% of Canadian licensed producers. Loretta brings extensive marketing experience from a decade-long career in book publishing, managing marketing teams in the development and implementation of national campaigns. She holds certificates in Strategic Marketing from Ryerson University, Creative Book Publishing from Humber College, and is a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) graduate from Trent University with a Double Major in English and Cultural Studies.
Dr. Gerdeman is a neuroscientist and educator with expertise in the physiological actions of cannabis and the endocannabinoid system (ECS). His Ph.D. dissertation in Pharmacology from Vanderbilt University was one of the first studies to discover endocannabinoids acting as “retrograde messengers” that regulate synaptic plasticity in the brain, findings that have become a foundation to modern understanding of the ECS and the neuroprotective actions of cannabis. Greg’s research has been widely cited in the scientific literature, and highlighted in such diverse publications as Science, National Geographic,Men’s Health, and The New York Times. He has been a member of the International Cannabinoid Research Society (ICRS) since 1999, and has received research funding through grants from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Science Foundation (NSF). His scholarly research has spanned topics ranging from synaptic physiology of the ECS; behavioral pharmacology of CB1 receptors and their regulation of habitual memories; the physiological activation of ECS signaling in exercise; and the evolutionary & comparative biology of cannabinoid receptors through studies on invertebrate marine chordates.
Through deep study of the science of cannabis Dr. Gerdeman became a vocal advocate for reclaiming this plant as a safe and effective natural remedy. Over the last 10 years, he has progressively studied the chemical ecology and genetics of cannabis, and the extraction of cannabis biomolecules to create medicinal formulations. In 2017 he resigned a tenured faculty position as professor of biology at Eckerd College (St Petersburg, FL) to become Chief Scientific Officer for 3 Boys Farm: a rainwater harvesting, solar powered, low carbon footprint, USDA certified organic produce farm that is newly licensed to cultivate cannabis in the state of Florida.
Danielle specializes in strategic management has provided advice to corporations on procurement, marketing, pricing, IT and supply chain management. Prior to Auxly, Danielle played a key role on the Shoppers Drug Mart cannabis strategy team where she was responsible for ACMPR licensing and cannabis procurement initiatives for the enterprise. Danielle also has extensive experience launching new healthcare services to both patients and caregivers and gained pharmaceutical marketing experience from her time at GlaxoSmithKline where she worked on several blockbuster drugs in the respiratory portfolio.
Danielle has been invited as a guest lecturer to several Universities and Colleges including Ryerson, Western and Fanshaw, covering topics related to cannabis and healthcare strategy.
Bringing experience from the pharmaceutical industry where she held several positions within Quality Assurance, Compliance and Operations, Zara brings technical insight on manufacturing and quality management. Zara specializes in maintaining and developing robust quality systems to ensure operational compliance with regulatory requirements. Zara has developed Quality Management Systems and SOPs implemented by Licenced Producers all over Canada and approved by Health Canada. Zara has been a pivotal component in supporting applicants at all stages of review with the OMC and OCS for Licensed Producer and Dealer’s Licence applications. She has presented multiple late-stage LP sites to Health Canada with all successfully receiving Licence to Cultivate. Zara is also well versed in current and future regulations and supporting clients in preparing for new emerging markets through GMP Certification.
Nick Pateras is Vice President of Growth & International Strategy at Lift & Co., leading the company’s Events and Retail Solutions teams. Lift & Co. is Canada’s leading cannabis media and technology platform, with a mission to empower better cannabis decisions by bridging the informational gap between buyers and sellers.
Prior to joining Lift & Co., Nick spent several years in the pharmaceutical sector with Johnson & Johnson Inc., where he led businesses across OTC and Health & Beauty. His background in healthcare led him to make the professional move into cannabis, having long advocated for recognition of its many medical applications.
Nick is a regular speaker at cannabis conferences across Canada as well as in Europe, typically on the topics of marketing and branding, as well as global industry trends. He holds two degrees, in Business and Philosophy, from Queen’s University, Canada.
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