Author

Co-Founder Herbal Tune - R&D Formulation Independent
Consultant - Medical Cannabis Ph.D. Fellowship at A.R.O.

Owner and Head Cultivator at Blessed Coast Farms, Californias First Permitted Cannabis Farm. Second generation cannabis farmer celebrating the transparency of legalization.

Author and cannabis connoisseur Shasta Nelson was born and raised in the foothills of Northern California. She’s been involved in the cannabis industry at many levels from managing a delivery service, to studying and reporting on cannabis culture & news at DOPE Magazine. Her favorite strains are Candyland, Roses, and OG Kush and her favorite Terps are Pinene and Linalool.
“Mary Jane she’s my one true love/my very best friend
Never had a better girl/never gon’ leave her again"

Sebastian earned a B.S. in Molecular Biology and Neuroscience from the University of San Francisco and held a research position in a molecular plant evolution laboratory. He is a bonafide health nut with interests in both physical and mental health. Sebastian also has creative expertise as a musician and on-air DJ at kusf.org.

Petar is a freelance writer and copywriter, covering culture, art, society, and anything in-between that makes for a nice story. And as it so happens, cannabis is a great element to add to each of those conversations.

Nicholas Demski's latest venture is TheCannabiologist.com. He's a poet, author, cannabis writer, and budding entrepreneur. You can follow his travels with his daughter on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram @TheSingleDadNoma

I was born and raised in Portland, OR. In the early 2000's I became an OMMP patient/grower. Under the guidance of my mentor Shaggy, I soon became knowledgeable in the cultivation of medical cannabis as well as extractions such as dry sift and bubble hash. In 2014 I graduated from Portland State University with a B.S. in Mathematics. After a short stint in the education field I decided to refocus my attention on the cannabis industry. In 2015 some friends and myself created a non profit OMMP collective named Locally Baked. My responsibilities at Locally Baked were president/lead grower. Later in 2015 we teamed up with a local Co2 producer to win a DOPE CUP for best Co2 cartridge from OG Kush that we had grown. I currently work with several farms in harvesting as well as do minor consulting in the production/harvesting of cannabis.

Michael is a marketing and creative content specialist at GotVape.com with a primary focus on customer satisfaction. Technology and fitness combined with healthy lifestyle obsession are his main talking points.

Mell is a published writer and advocate of the legal cannabis movement who’s dedicated to all things wellness. You can catch her work in a number of publications including Plant People, Cannabis.info, and the Weed Blog. She’s a proud volunteer of the National Hemp Association and enjoys consuming cannabis medicinally and recreationally.

Luís Narciso from Lisbon - Portugal is a vegan chef and macrobiotic oriented counselor, humanist, activist for intellectual freedom and choice, for Nature (and natural ways to keep balanced and heal), for human and animal rights... For empathy. Most of all he is a cannabis advocate

Loren DeVito, PhD is a neuroscientist and science writer with expertise in cannabis science and medicine. She is committed to communicating evidence-based information about cannabis and its healing properties. Learn more about her work at Stickyink.net

Lisa Simoneli Rennie has been working as a freelance writer for more than a decade, creating unique content dedicated to informing consumers. She enjoys sharing her knowledge and experience with others, and in her spare time, Lisa enjoys trying funky new recipes, spending time with her dog, and of course, reveling in the joy of family.

Leo was born in Shanghai, China. He has more than 15 year’s experiences on Traditional Chinese Medicine-extraction, purification, and identification. He moved to California at 2013, working with Buchi Corp to support users with machine application. Cannabis process is very similar as Traditional Chinese Medicine, Leo is very happy to use his knowledge and experiences to help this industry.

Laurel Friesen obtained a degree in Environmental Chemistry from Northwestern University in 2013. After working in a gastroenterology lab and contributing research with renowned Dr. John Pandolfino at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Laurel left the medical field to explore the intersection of chemistry and business. Laurel joined Eden Labs, a well-established extraction equipment manufacturer, in July of 2015 to build their Research and Development department. Leading a team of 5 people she managed the development of Eden Labs’ newest systems, the FX2 Supercritical CO2 Extractor.

Laurel’s experience with Eden Labs inspired her to pursue her own processing license in Seattle. Mother Earth Cannabis Extracts became licensed by the State of Washington in January of 2017. The company now has 3 employees in a facility located in SODO, Seattle, Washington.

Laurel is committed to education and facilitates community engagement by hosting educational events at her facility including public tours, seminars, and hosting American Chemical Society – Cannabis Chemistry Division events. Her mission is to enable cannabis users with as much information as possible and to enable active and engaged lifestyles alongside cannabis consumption.

The President of Obotics is a guy by the name of Lane Yago. Lane spent his late 20s into his early 40s in the scientific products world…first as an Applications Chemist, then as an Applications Lab Director, moving on to take on roles such as Marketing Manager, Product Manager, VP of Business Development. Lane was one of the pioneers that developed the technology we know today as Solid Phase Extraction (was the managing author of one of the most-used books on SPE today)…and he was instrumental at bringing that technology to the world. When he and his colleagues were producing SPE columns and developing major SPE applications he always was showing the user base how to make sample preparation more efficient and more cost-effective. He and his colleagues brought the first automated SPE online processing system to the market…which is still alive today, albeit after several generations of improvements!

Lance

Kristie Amobi is the founder of Rebalan, a medical company a medical company focused on the use of cannabis in low doses as an effective way to treat stress and aid sleep. Download the free low-dosing guide, complete with product recommendations, at www.rebalan.com.

John A. MacKay earned a B.A. in Chemistry from St. Lawrence University, and Ph.D. from the University of Vermont in chemistry focused on the synthesis for cancer fighting compounds. After success with positions teaching at Davidson College, Lyndon State College and University of Vermont, John joined Waters Corporation in 1983 where he is currently the senior director of strategic technology. His career has included many roles in innovative product development and he currently leads the Strategic Technology team.

Born and raised in a small town in upstate New York, Jaymie and her now-fiancé Matthew relocated to Denver in search of opportunity. Although she is a non-user, Jaymie has worked in the cannabis industry for the last three years.

Harry Resin has been working in the cannabis industry for close to twenty years as a breeder, grower, writer and entrepreneur. Harry grew up in Amsterdam in the golden age of seed companies and coffeeshops. He was a partner in both Delta-9 Labs and The Harvestmen. He was inducted into the Hightimes magazine seed bank hall of fame and won the sativa cannabis cup in Amsterdam in 2009. Additionally he worked in Amsterdam with many of the local coffeeshops to curate their menus as well as covering the local scene for many of the cannabis magazines in publication. Harry is a contributor to High Times as well as Cannabis Now and Terpenes and Testing.

He currently resides in the Bay Area where he has a permitted grow facility and a medical/adult use delivery only dispensary called URB Delivery.

The Grow Sisters are made up of two sisters, Siobhan and Sloan. We own and operate Blessed Coast Farms, Humboldt Counties first legal cannabis farm, and we are second generation farmers. We are honored to share our life, instructional YouTube videos and our knowledge with you! http://bit.ly/2pO9T6z

I’m Fernanda, both a lover of handicrafts and biologist. I worked previously with Arabidopsis thaliana and is now am venturing into the world of Cannabis. These plants were widely used by past civilizations because of their everlasting potential. Thus, the study of Cannabis is not only a trend but also a resumption of the past and a search for knowledge for better living conditions.

Dr. Brian C. Smith is Chief Technical Officer of Big Sur Scientific, based in Capitola CA. Dr. Smith has done pioneering research in the use of mid-infrared spectroscopy to analyze cannabis containing materials for cannabinoids, terpenes, and moisture. Dr. Smith has over 30 years experience as an analytical chemist, 20 of which he spent running his own training and consulting business. He has also worked for PerkinElmer, AT&T, IBM, and Xerox. He has written 3 books on the use of infrared spectroscopy to analyze samples, authored a number of papers published in the peer reviewed scientific literature, and writes a bi-monthly column for Spectroscopy magazine. Dr. Smith earned his Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry from Dartmouth College.

Dr. Diana Rangaves graduated from the University of California, San Francisco in pharmacotherapy management. Published author with Cognella and Radion, she writes for numerous print and online outlets. Diana lives in California with her dogs and pasture pets, in their forever home.
Diana has an in-depth and specialized understanding of the science involved with marijuana, forensics, and pharmaceuticals. Diana earned an LLM in intellectual property and a professional science masters in chemistry. Before attending law school, she worked in a pharmaceutical research laboratory. When not representing clients, Diana teaches chemistry at Mott Community College. Before becoming a lawyer and a scientist, Diana served in the United States Navy.

Danny has over 7 years experience in marketing & sales strategy development and implementation working with a world-renowned beverage company, just recently becoming involved in the cannabis industry. He currently resides in Portland, OR with deep connections in music & culture in the city. Check out more from Danny at www.dannycygan.com

Colby McCoy is a recent graduate of the University of Georgia who has written for non-profits, marketing firms, and personal blogs. When not writing he can be found trekking the mountain ranges around Seattle, WA, with his two pups Harry and Riley.

I was born in San Mateo, California but grew up in Portland, Oregon. I have always had a passion for cannabis and its capabilities to heal and help reduce anxiety. I moved to LA when I was in my mid 20s where I worked in television production for 2 years, but my passion was still in cannabis. I soon returned to Portland hoping to get back in touch with my roots and cannabis connections. It was then that I started Miyagi Extracts in Oregon with two of my best friends and never looked back. Eventually I moved on to work for another legal concentrate company in SE Portland where I processed using Sub Zero light hydrocarbon closed loop extractors, Julabo rotary evaporators, and a Pope Scientific Short Path Wiped Film Molecular still for separation of Terpenes, Cannabinoids, and undesirables. I currently work as an extraction account executive for Terpenes and Testing Magazine and do product sales for and extraction company called CEID who are based out of San Diego CA.

Cara began working in the retail cannabis industry of San Francisco, CA in 2011 and continued in that sector for years. In 2015 she dedicated herself to writing full-time. Her passion for the written word and deep respect for the healing properties of the plant have brought her to Terpenes and Testing magazine. She now helps keep us on the cutting edge of scientific cannabis discovery as the Editor-in-Chief of the print publication.

Caleb Summeril writes creative copy, stories and songs from the mountains of Colorado. When not working on words, he can be found on global gallivants which fuel future endeavors. Learn more about his writing services at calebsummeril.com

Asia Mayfield is a freelance writer who focuses on the cannabis industry. She can be reached at a.mayfield18@gmail.com

Alex Valvassori is Co-Founder and Chief Compliance Officer at Complia, the Quickbooks of marijuana compliance. Complia captures and manages all critical compliance and licensing documents in an alert based license dashboard. Complia works with 3 of the 10 largest operators in Colorado and is quickly expanding across the US. Contact us today at teamcomplia@complia.com to schedule a demo and kick start a risk free trial!

Alexander Micalef is the founder of Brain Fog Ltd., a Canadian wholesale distribution company tailored to providing customized accessories to Licensed Producers and Cannabis businesses around the world. Born in Montreal, but raised in California and Europe; Alexander brings an eclectic and unique point of view to the Cannabis industry.