This year the governor of Washington, Jay Inslee, will be joining us at the Summit. Be there to find out why!
The Washington Cannabis Summit is crafted with the goal of positioning WA State as a powerful thought leader in the industry. It is designed to challenge the current state of affairs with Cannabis legislation, research and education. We push the envelope of the conversation past current problems, into a realm where we openly discuss opportunities for the future of the industry. As leaders we not only have the opportunity, but the responsibility, to craft a better future. This starts with intelligent dialogue about where we are, where we’ve been, where we want to go and how we intend to get there.
The audience of the summit includes legislators, policy makers, government employees, business owners, and advocates. Additionally, the speakers, along with the questions from attendees, will both inspire and better connect you with professionals, public servants, academics and citizens who share a commitment to improving the burgeoning cannabis industry.
With more and more states and countries choosing to legalize, it’s important to have foresight, to look at long-term strategies in order to position Washington as a competitive and socially responsible contributor. This can only be accomplished by coming together, being visionary and by working with each other to create sustainable and successful industries.
Dr. Karyemaitre Aliffe is a multilingual physician-scientist who brings life to science, and vitality to our concepts of medicine. His 35+ years experience in natural products research and discovery spirals the globe, from Ivy League Academia and Silicon Valley Biotech, to the remote healing forests of the Amazon, Australia and Africa. From teaching appointments at Harvard and Stanford, Dr. Aliffe has since been welcomed to over 50 countries as a keynote speaker and guest lecturer, giving insightful presentations to governments and institutions, corporations and executives, health-focused professionals and community groups worldwide.
Dr. Aliffe is presently Chair, Executive Officer at Praxigen Biomedia and Noobiome Clinical Sciences (non-profit research and education). He leads an expert Natural Health Product Development Team, applying translational medicine and integrative neurophysiology to expand the utility of cannabis-
based formulations unto enhancement of global human life in fitness and longevity.
Cat Packer is the first Executive Director of the Department of Cannabis Regulation for the City of Los Angeles where she oversees the implementation of the City’s new commercial cannabis regulatory program. Prior to this role, Ms. Packer served as California Policy Coordinator for the Drug Policy Alliance, where she worked to ensure the successful and equitable implementation of California’s recently passed Adult Use of Marijuana Act. Prior to joining DPA, Ms. Packer served as the Campaign Coordinator for Californians for Responsible Marijuana Reform, Drug Policy Action’s social justice-driven campaign in support of the Adult Use of Marijuana Act.
Ms. Packer also has participated in marijuana policy reform efforts in Ohio where she served as the Deputy Director of Central Ohio NORML and participated in their statewide legalization effort in 2015. Ms. Packer is an alumna of The Ohio State University where she received a Bachelor’s in Political Science, a Master’s in Public Policy and Management, and a Juris Doctor.
Senior Research Scientist,
University of Washington's Alcohol & Drug Abuse Institute (ADAI)
Dr. Carlini’s research career has been dedicated to understanding the public health impact of legal psychoactive substances such as alcohol, tobacco, and inhalants and more recently, marijuana. Dr. Carlini has been in the forefront of marijuana legalization research in Washington State and been actively participating in state level discussions about Washington’s new drug policy landscape. In 2016 she was appointed to coordinate the ADAI’s marijuana research activity, collaborate with other marijuana researchers at the UW, and liaison with policy makers in Washington State and researchers at other agencies. Dr. Carlini is an instructor in the Continuing Education Program for Medical Marijuana Consultants at Seattle Central College Cannabis Institute. Her current research focus are the public health impact of marijuana concentrates and cannabis advertisement impact on vulnerable populations.
Associate Professor of Law,
Concordia University School of Law in Boise, Idaho
Ryan Stoa is an Associate Professor of Law at Concordia University School of Law in Boise, Idaho, where he teaches Property Law, Administrative Law, Environmental Law, and Natural Resources Law. He is the author of Craft Weed: Family Farming and the Future of the Marijuana Industry (MIT Press, 2018), as well as numerous scholarly articles that address cannabis agriculture, energy regulation, natural resources management, and international development. Professor Stoa’s popular writing has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The New Republic, and The Conversation, and his research has been featured in Rolling Stone, Wired, and Gizmodo, among others. He can be contacted at www.ryanstoa.com.
CEO,
Verda Bio Research
Verda Bio Research is a marijuana research company performing genomic, analytical and agricultural research on cannabis. Jessica is a scientist who left a career in genomics after over two decades to transition into cannabis research. Over the last five years, Jessica advocated for and helped to create one of the country’s first cannabis research systems in the state of Washington. Verda Bio Research was recently awarded WA States first Cannabis Research License. Jessica has been widely quoted as an expert in the biotechnology field in journals such as Nature, Science, Popular Science and Genome Technologies. Jessica was a Howard Hughes fellow with an MS in immunology and a BS in microbiology.