Ed Rosenthal

Ed Rosenthal is recognized worldwide as a leading authority on marijuana. In almost 40 years as America’s “Guru of Ganjasm” he has written or edited more than two dozen books about marijuana cultivation and social policy that cumulatively have sold over two million copies. His first book is the only title on marijuana cultivation to be reviewed by the New York Time’s Book Review and his latest release, Marijuana Grower’s Handbook has become the definitive marijuana cultivation resource and official course book for Oaksterdam University, the leading trade school for the cannabis industry. After almost three decades, his Ask Ed column continues to answer questions on all matters of marijuana from readers around the world.

Eric Brandstad

Pauli Roterdam

Pauli Roterdam is a farmer and published researcher who has mastered the science of genetics, cultivation, extraction and formulation through studying the science of plants.  “Respect of the plants is the key,” he is often caught saying in a compassionate and assertive manner.

Focused on data that cannotbe interpreted and having the ability to identify rare and unique occurrences has led to his revolutionary discoveries in both food and hemp. His past work as a Chief Science Officer and Research & Development Consultant brought about the discovery of how cannabinoids and terpenes work with our endocannabinoidsystem.

Pauli’s scientific approach to growing plants has generated collaborations with numerous state universities. All, paving the way for the regenerative, organic and biodynamic principles that honors the earth, plants, water and people.

Despite lengthy credentials, he keeps a low profile publicly in order to devote his time and energy staying connected to the earth and plants. Staying fully committed to the purity of science isn’t an easy job, but for Pauli, it’s a way of life.

Teresa Kearney

Teresa Kearney is the Sales Director of Panacea Payroll, located west of Philadelphia, PA. Panacea Payroll is solely focused on providing payroll, HR and timekeeping services to the cannabis and hemp industries in all 50 states. With over 20 years as a sales professional, Teresa will settle for nothing less than providing the most personalized service possible to all of Panacea Payroll’s clients. Teresa earned her Bachelor of Science in Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and completed graduate study in Psychology at Texas A&M University.

Ryan Robert Agnew

Ryan Agnew’s practice is primarily dedicated to adult-use and medical cannabis businesses, with a focus on compliance and corporate counsel.

Clients include large and medium-scale cultivators and processors, as well as licensed retailers. Ryan also represents ancillary companies in extraction and distillation technology.

Erika Gee

Erika Gee has been actively representing dispensaries, cultivators, processors and ancillary businesses in the cannabis and hemp industries since late 2016 and leads the Wright Lindsey Jennings Cannabis and Industrial Hemp team. Her practice includes regulatory compliance, licensure and government relations, as well as entity formation and general corporate matters.

Her background as a pharmacy regulatory attorney and former Chief of Staff to the Arkansas Attorney General has given her practical skills and insight in navigating the sometimes-choppy waters of state regulatory issues. This background also assists her clients in anticipating the potential federal regulation of the industry on the horizon.

Erika is a recognized expert and sought-after speaker on cannabis and hemp, with multiple articles on the topic for Arkansas Business and appearances on Arkansas Week, Talk Business and Arkansas Public Media. Erika is a member of the International Cannabis Bar Association and the Oklahoma Cannabis Industry Association. She is licensed in Arkansas and Oklahoma and her Missouri bar license is pending.

Rafael Sabbagh

Rafael Sabbagh is an industry veteran. He served as the VP at BioTrackTHC and was their lead government contractor in various markets. As such, he was instrumental in developing BioTrack’s state tracking system and was heavily involved in bringing that system to Arkansas. Rafael is now the CEO and Co-Founder of Guru Systems – a marketing software for cannabis that provides text message marketing, online ordering, and loyalty programs for both dispensaries and cultivators. He received his MBA from the University of Florida. Although a proud Gator, he still enjoys watching our Razorbacks play.

Melissa Fults

Melissa Fults is the Executive Director of both Drug Policy Education Group, Inc and Arkansans For Cannabis Reform.  She is the former Director of Arkansans For Compassionate Care.

Melissa has worked as a patient advocate and worked to pass cannabis legislation since 2011. She was the author of Issue 7 and is the sponsor for the 2020 Adult-Use amendment and the 2020 cannabis expungement amendment.

Melissa has testified before many legislative committees to fight for better patient care and access with the Arkansas Medical Marijuana program. Part of the reason for her adult-use amendment is to allow the thousands of patients that got left behind with the passing of Issue 6 in 2016. She has testified numerous times before legislative committees of Arkansas fighting for patient’s rights and is the sponsor of the Arkansas Adult-Use Cannabis Amendment and the Arkansas Marijuana Expungement Amendments for 2020.

Karen Reeves

Karen C Reeves was born and raised in Central Texas and has been a proud Cannabis consumer for the last 45 years. Karen started consuming cannabis when she was only 13 years old. She has considered herself a Cannabis Patient for the last 28 years after fracturing her vertebra the first time in 1991.

Karen has been on a ‘Crusade for Cannabis’ most of her life while enduring the pain and heartache of being disabled in her pursuit of happiness, never giving up hope. Besides fracturing her back (3x) she has also survived a mini stroke, three heart attacks and an open heart single bypass surgery.  Karen is a Heart Disease Survivor thanks to Cannabis!

After turning 50, Karen made the decision to stop all the harmful pharmaceuticals she had been taking for so many years. Karen has been a proud Texas Cannabis Activist for the last seven years after she started educating others about the therapeutic benefits of cannabis and hemp.

She finally started the CenTex Community Outreach group in 2014. Team CenTex has been busy advocating for Cannabis Reform by reaching out across Texas and around the world helping to change hearts and minds through education and compassion.

Karen was a Speaker at the Texas SWCCExpo in 2017 and the Ark-La-Tex Business Cannabis Expo in 2018. Karen has been very passionate and vocal, speaking at rallies and events across the state. She has also participated in the last three Texas Legislative Sessions where she has testified numerous times in front of a variety of committee hearings at the State Capitol regarding reforming unjust cannabis laws in Texas.

Karen is relentless in her pursuit to help bring awareness in her community and has been featured on the local news stations dozens of times. CenTex Community Outreach wants to remind people that THE POWER OF THE PEOPLE IS STRONGER THAN THE PEOPLE IN POWER and your voice and your story are very important. Never Give Up Hope!

The CenTex Community Outreach believes no one belongs in jail for a plant! They started a social media campaign called Action For Alex to help bring awareness about Jury Nullification after Karen’s son was unjustly arrested.

TeamCenTex “Patches for People Against Prohibition” were created to honor those that have been affected by prohibition. Sadly, everyone knows someone! Karen and the Team CenTex Community Outreach family are definitely on a Mission To End Prohibition in the great State of Texas once and for all.

Michael Fattah

“There are many ways to medicate, but using it as a medicine requires proper dosing and the high quality standards of food products, which should be created only by an experienced chef.”

Michael Fattah graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY and the American Institute of Baking in Manhattan, Kansas for science of baking and technology. The knowledge he gained from experience afforded Michael the opportunity to establish his own GMP facility and consult for others with the highest quality standards for producing food products. His mission is to make the most Safe, Reliable, and Consistent products for his customers. This includes professional and compliant labeling with lot and batch codes for tracking and processing. His facility guarantees to always maintain quality chocolate without compromising effectiveness, and the customer feedback speaks for itself. He even visits these facilities where the ingredients are sourced to ensure the ingredients and CBD come from only the highest quality facilities and are produced by the highest safety standards. Michael takes the most pride in being educated and up to date, and working with state officials to maintain compliance as legislature changes.

Cindy Hoffmann

Cindy has served professionally as an Executive Director in orthopedic, spine and neurosurgery medical practices and as a medical research writer at an academic medical center.  She is a Fellow of the American College of Medical Practice Executives and has Master’s Degrees in both Health Services Administration and Communications (UALR) and has an Executive Edu certificate in Marketing from The Wharton School, UPENN.

A national speaker on healthcare quality and marketing, she focuses on (1) improving quality by improving patient-centered care and (2) better marketing by using targeted analytics and content.  Seeing patients become addicted to opioids and helping Veterans who have PTSD drives her passion for the medical use of cannabis.  Cindy is a life-long horse lover, a lifetime member of the American Quarter Horse Assn, an owner of a national champion show horse, and, of course, is promoting veterinary applications of medical cannabis.

Joel Perkins

As the Business Manager of Key Grow Solutions, Joel leads the cannabis and hemp division of one of the largest sustainably-focused agricultural fertilizer producers in the world, bringing innovation and simplification to the cannabis nutrient market. Having previously managed a biological nutrient company, dispensaries (including the opening of recreational sales in Las Vegas), cultivation and production facilities, wholesale sales, product development, as well as distribution, Joel brings unique insights to the plant, its effects, and the emerging legal market from seed to sale.

Ryan Milam

Ryan Milam was born and raised in Oklahoma City and has spent his entire life in Oklahoma. Prior to joining Polston Tax, Ryan worked at Apple for over 8 years. Ryan decided to apply at Polston Tax after he chose to change career paths and wanted to be part of a well-respected firm. He initially considered going back to law school to better serve his clients and investigated a variety of paths to do so.

When Ryan dove into the various certifications that would equip him to better serve the clients he discovered that becoming an Enrolled Agent with the IRS allows him to have tremendous impact on the trajectory of his client’s cases. Ryan then chose to dive deeper into tax strategy to become an expert in tax for his clients, so they do not need to be the experts. He speaks nationally about taxes and their impact on small business including the cannabis industry.

Heidi Arsenault

Heidi Arsenault, Founder and CEO of GrassHopperHub and former Microsoft and Real Networks Executive.  A well-known thought leader and industry speaker on the legal cannabis market.  Frequently speak/moderate on topics such as leveraging technology to further accelerate revenue, assisting in managing growth, and utilization of best practices to optimize supply chain.

Lejen Lotspeich

Lejen Lotspeich has been involved in cannabis oil production and purification since leaving the US Navy in 2012. His journey through the industry has included; cannabis oil production (hydrocarbon and ethanol), formulating products, optimizing oil quality, and ensuring chemical supply chain for both extraction and post-processing. As the co-owner of the chemical supply company, Carbon Chemistry Ltd, Lejen strives to support best practices for the cannabis industry as it develops world-wide.

Casey Flippo

As CEO of Natvana, Casey has been able to take an active role at the forefront of the Hemp Industry in the State of Arkansas. With years of experience in high-risk markets, Casey and his team are striving each and every day to bring professionalism, quality control, and ethical business practices to the fragmented Hemp space. At Natvana, Casey has spent the past year developing a system and a team that works in perfect cohesion with the rest of the industry. From the local farmer to the end consumer, Casey and his Natvana team are here to assist in any way that they can.

Ryan Douglas

Ryan Douglas provides cannabis consulting services through his company, Ryan Douglas Cultivation, LLC.  He has worked in commercial horticulture for 23 years and specializes in legal cannabis start-ups.  Prior to entering the cannabis industry, Ryan spent 15 years as a commercial greenhouse grower of ornamental and edible crops, growing up to 600,000 plants annually.  As Master Grower from 2013 to 2016, Ryan directed cultivation for Tweed Inc., Canada’s largest licensed producer of medical cannabis and the flagship subsidiary of Canopy Growth Corporation.  Ryan now cultivates in Colombia, South America and provides start-up advice to groups launching cultivation projects in newly regulated countries.

Hope Piggee

Hope Piggee has been a licensed CPA for 20 years. She has partnered with Canna Accounting Services to  educate business owners and partners on how to not get shutdown by the government. Everyone wants a lucrative business. It starts with having a healthy financial business portfolio.

Craig Holden

Craig Holden is founder/president of Suståne Natural Fertilizer, Cannon Falls, Minnesota and is also owner/operator of Eastgate Farms, Northfield, Minnesota.  At Suståne he is responsible for business management with emphasis on research, product development, and international markets. Today Sustane is the only organic fertilizer line distributed throughout North America and exported to over 60 different nations.

Raised on a diverse family farm, Holden attended Friends World College, Mankato State University and the University of Minnesota with studies in architecture and agronomy. In 1987 Holden was awarded the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Environmental Protection for the development of livestock manure composting systems and field research.  Later that same year Holden founded Suståne Natural Fertilizer, Inc.

Mr. Holden’s expertise is in the organic fertilizer industry, initiating 39 years of applied research on efficacy, soil ecology and environmental impact.  Since 2016 Sustane research has focused on marijuana and hemp productivity and input cost reduction. Today Suståne Natural Fertilizers serve six green market segments and are known worldwide.

Peter Prevot

Peter Prevot is a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Internal Auditor with over 10 years of experience. As a part of the Bridge West team, Peter is responsible for ensuring that the Firm’s clients have the necessary resources and information to make sound business decisions, retain more of the bottom line for business growth, and comply with laws and regulations. He focuses on management consulting, corporate governance, financial modeling, merger due diligence, accounting information systems, compliance with IRC Section 280 E, banking regulations, use taxes, and internal controls.

In 2014, Peter dedicated his career to the cannabis industry after learning about the unique tax and banking regulations surrounding legal marijuana in the U.S. and he formed a consulting firm to serve the industry. During 2017 and 2018, Peter was actively involved in medical cannabis licensing procurement in Louisiana. He represented Columbia Care Louisiana in pursuit of production contracts with Louisiana State University and Southern University and served as the organization’s Controller. He then led a diverse team of professionals in pursuit of dispensary licenses in Louisiana. The applications produced by his team were ranked #1 in five of the state’s nine regions and his clients were ultimately awarded three of the nine dispensary permits available.

Peter began his career as a professional accountant at Ernst &. Young’s New Orleans, LA office. Mr. Prevot also has experience in managing grants, government contracts and clinical operations with Tulane University’s School of Medicine via the Department of Psychiatry. He earned an undergraduate degree in finance and a graduate degree in accounting from Louisiana State University. As a licensed Certified Public Accountant and Certified Internal Auditor, Peter is a member of the Louisiana State Society of Certified Public Accountants, the Institute of Internal Auditors, and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He previously held board seats with the Louisiana Cannabis Association and the Pointe Coupee Enrichment Fund and currently serves on the Board of Directors for Upbeat Academy Foundation and the Louisiana Association for Therapeutic Alternatives.

Robert deBin

Robert deBin is a well-known cannabis pioneer and industry expert. His breadth of knowledge spans sourcing, growing, manufacturing, compliance, and educating the market and policy makers to propel adoption and usage of cannabis-based products in this explosive industry. Robert serves as the Director of Operations of Cannabis Capital Group, is the co-founder of one of Arkansas’ first medicinal marijuana operations Natural State Medicinal Cultivation, serves as President of the Arkansas Cannabis Industry Association, and is the founder and CEO of Arkansas’ based CBD manufacturing company, Buffalo Co.

His passion is contagious, any time spent with him is both educational and inspirational. Robert states, “I am living my dream by bringing better health and living to our world.  I wake up every morning, spend my entire day, and go to bed every night singularly focused on breaking down barriers, creating innovative offerings, and expediting the adoption of cannabis into everyday lives for immediate and long-term health benefits”.

Troy Robson

Seasoned cannabis industry professional with expertise in state-of-the-art LED modules, incorporating advanced light controls for cannabis production and operation management.
Focused on more photons per plant, reducing air conditioning, heating, capital equipment cost and operating expenses for faster ROI.

David Beckett

Exposure to electronics and security equipment from a young age and over 15 years of relevant experience working within the cannabis security industry provided the foundation for Beckett to launch 710 Security LTD. In addition to his job experience, as a trusted expert he ensures complete security and practices progressive thinking to guarantee safety in an unpredictable and ever-changing environment.

Beckett continues to develop new cyber technology for cannabis regulations, to ultimately safeguard all data under a single platform. His extensive background working with many different states across the country is warranted by his implementation of security regulations for cannabis specific clients in 17 U.S. states and territories including AK, CA, CO, CT, FL, HA, IL, MA, ML, NJ, NY, OH, OR, PA, TX, WA & Puerto Rico.

He also won licenses in CO, HI, IL, MD, MI, OH, OR, PA, TX, WA and most recent Utah and MO.Now operating 710 Security LTD, Beckett aims to bring this company to the forefront of the cannabis industry.

Rick Funderburg

Retired Manager with United Parcel Service (UPS) after 35 years of service. Married to Lisa for 35 years with 2 children and 3 grandchildren. Shortly after retiring I started using CBD on a daily basis after being diagnosed with very little cartilage in both of my knees. Daily usage of CBD has eliminated all radiating pain in both of my knees. Currently I’m the Manager of Operations with Arkansas Hemp Genetics in Fayetteville Arkansas.

Managing an 11 acre Industrial Hemp Farm with 5 acres of Hemp in the ground. Started working with the Arkansas Hemp Genetics team after introduction to the team at the 2018 Ark-La-Tex Cannabis Expo. We completed our first season of growing 6 different cultivars. Our goal is to organically produce a high CBD content cannabis plant that we then make into smoking products, tinctures and edibles. I’m an avid student of the Hemp Industry and everyday is a learning experience and an opportunity depending on how you seize the moment…

Megan Mirfield

I moved from NJ to AR in April 2014. I am a stay home mom with 2 small children. I have always advocated for the people who are not able to advocate sufficiently for themselves. I sincerely believe in the power of cannabis and feel that everyone should have access to medicinal cannabis as well as as a safe alternative to addiction.

In the early Spring of 2019 , after watching Arkansas NORML dissolve, I began collecting information and personal testimonies on how it pertains to medical cannabis. I was truly taken back by the questions I began to ask myself – ‘What happens to the medical patients outside of this ‘adult use’ guideline?’ and ‘How many people need to ask for help before somebody helps them?’ As an advocate, I saw a huge issue. As a pediatric advocate and mother, I began working hard to change this issue.

And from these passions, “Let Me Be Heard” was born. We strive to help extinguish the stigma with simple education on the endocannaboid system and advocate for all medical cannabis patients; current and future.

Mark Mobray

Mark Mobray entered the Cannabis Industry in 2012 and has never looked back. Starting with his family’s own personal funding found it to be quite full of lesson’s and hard knocks.

Every year I went to the other conference I kept hearing hearing how the millionaires do it. I wanted someone to talk straight and tell me the ugly stories so I might be able to avoid such pitfalls. “No, that wasn’t what sells”, they told me.  Well, as a Premium Cannabis Cultivator, I believe the truth is important and collaboration is vital.

I always say “I can save you $300,000.00 in 30 minutes.”  How do I know that you ask? Straight talk has been a big part of my life. When my ski career ended, I became the first and only National Speaker allowed in High Schools to talk about Drugs & Alcohol and how they affected my career. To survive, the students I spoke straight. I believe to survive this industry you have to have straight talk.

Adam Grimmett

Adam Grimmett is the Chief Risk Consultant & Co-founder at GrowBrite Risk Management, a risk management firm located here in Little Rock, AR. Adam served as a Combat Engineer in the US ARMY with a deployment to Afghanistan were he conducted route clearance missions. Before starting GrowBrite Risk Management, Adam worked for a “national top 30 broker” were he worked with the state on designing the Surety bond requirement for cultivation and dispensary applicants along with co-founding the Arkansas Cannabis Industry Association and serving as the Executive VP.

Adam now focuses all of his time on helping business owners that are in the cannabis industry and providing best in class insurance, bonds, & risk management consultations. Over 50% of the business in or around the cannabis industry here in the state of Arkansas choose to work with Adam and his team at GrowBrite Risk Management.

Austin Zamhariri

Austin is a state leader in cannabis reform and created the Texas Cannabis Collective to consolidate relevant news as it pertains to cannabis policy, industry and culture in the Lone Star State

Vaughn Hartung

Vaughn is a licensed Chemical Engineer and professional Organic Chemist with a passion for botanical extracts and formulated natural products. Vaughn has designed and operated laboratory and manufacturing spaces for licensed cannabis facilities throughout the United States. As part of operational values, Vaughn strives for green chemistry processes and sustainable products. Vaughn’s prior work includes design and fabrication of MEM’s harmonic oscillators and ultra-fast heating elements, several of which are patented for novel design.

Dan Anglin

Dan Anglin is the Co-Founder & CEO of CannAmerica Brands Corp. (CSE: CANA) (OTCQB: CNNXF), a branding, licensing and intellectual property company with a portfolio of premium cannabis brands in the United States. His duties include management of the company, expansion of the brand into other markets, promoting the public company listing to increase value of the company, identifying brands for acquisition, business development, government relations, public relations and continuing the forward momentum of the brand. His detailed experience in laws, regulations and policies affecting the cannabis industry has helped inform his strategy for entering the hemp market.

For more than a decade, Mr. Anglin has been a prominent figure in the regulated cannabis industry, and is regarded as a national expert on policy reform. He has owned and operated 38 licensed businesses across the nation, including Colorado’s largest infused edibles brand. He was ever-present at the Colorado capitol as the state’s adult-use Amendment 64 was implemented after voter approval in 2012. He continues to serve on rule-making working groups for the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division and in 2014 founded the Colorado Cannabis Chamber of Commerce (C4), a nonprofit organization that provides advocacy and networking opportunities for stakeholders in the cannabis industry.

Mr. Anglin’s expertise as a marijuana policy influencer is rooted in his professional background in legislative analysis and professional lobbying. He previously worked in the Arizona State Legislature and the Colorado General Assembly as a policy analyst, and then as a professional lobbyist for the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry.

Trey Tijerina

Trey is a multiple cannabis business owner that has been operating in the space for going on 5 years. He has worn many hats in the industry but currently focuses primarily on education and connecting in the industry. He is also a guest writer on the Texas Cannabis Collective and has been featured in a handful of podcasts regarding both entrepreneurship and the cannabis industry.

Jody Hardin

Jody Hardin is a fifth-generation farmer from Grady, AR. In his lifelong career as a sustainable organic farmer, he has received numerous awards and recognition for unique farming projects around the state, as well as being invited to testify on behalf of the nation’s organic farms at the 2014 Farm Bill hearings in Wash. D.C. which legalized hemp production.

Hardin produced one of the first successful hemp crops in the pilot 2019 season at Arkansas Hemp Genetics, LLC, and recently formed a new company called Arkansas Hemp Brokers, LLC (http://arkansashempbrokers.com/) where he is now working with hemp cultivators all over the state to market their first hemp crops.

Lucas Haley

Lucas is the Lab Director and Head of R&D at Navanna LLC. Originally a chemist, Lucas worked for the Arkansas State Plant Board testing Arkansas agricultural products for quality control. He is now finishing up his PhD in Chemical Engineering at the University of Missouri. His research is diverse, ranging from developing nanomaterials for energy harvesting to electrosorption of contaminants from product streams.

His experience with researching and teaching has given him extensive knowledge in both refinement and extraction processes. Lucas will be leading Natvana’s team to ensure the highest degree of quality control and product consistency.

Scott Cusack

Scott is the Founder and CEO of WAAYB Organics, a vertically integrated CBD company with both a USDA Certified Organic family farm and USDA Certified Processing facility. WAAYB Organics manufactures a range Organic ingestible and topical CBD products as well as Present sparking CBD water.

Robert Cormier

Robert is our highly decorated jack of all trades. Honor Graduate from the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center. Designed and implemented force on force training at a national level for major agencies, drafted policy and procedure, supervised high level labor racketeering/organized crime investigations and was on the front lines of federal law enforcement as a US Border Patrol Tactical Team member.