Building Bridges to Safe Medicine - The Cannabis Alliance

Dr. Sue Sisley MD is an Arizona-based physician practicing Internal Medicine & Psychiatry.

Sue is President of Scottsdale Research Institute & best know serving as Principal Investigator for the only FDA-approved randomized controlled trial in the world examining safety/efficacy of smoked marijuana flower in combat veterans with severe post traumatic stress disorder PTSD. Sue is striving to put crucial medically-active plants thru entire FDA drug development process to eventually be on the market to treat chronic pain, opioid dependence and PTSD as a safer alternative to synthetic pharmaceuticals.

Scottsdale Research Institute in conjunction with their 501(c)(3) arm Field to Healed Foundation is already hard at work on implementing their next FDA approved controlled trials which now include PSILOCYBIN MUSHROOMS, and partnering with farmers to source natural plants/fungi from their fields and learn how to harness their potential as therapeutic tools.

Sue was highlighted in Rolling Stone Magazine last year as Top 25 Most Influential in Tech & Research along with Elon Musk

Mary C. Brown, MA. Ed. Founder/CEO, SMJ Consulting at the AIMS Institute (Advanced Integrative Medical Science Institute) Seattle Chief Clinical Officer and co-Founder, Canvas Therapeutics Co-Founder, Revida Labs PBC Since 2010 Ms. Brown has been focused on practical applications in cannabinoid therapy, helping patients with chronic and acute illnesses to improve their condition through the use of CBD, CBG and medical cannabis. She has counseled hundreds of patients, studying trends in data and patient response, allowing her to chronicle the effect of cannabinoid therapy on their health and wellbeing. The clinical observations made over the last ten years have helped guide practitioners and patients in purposeful cannabinoid dosing protocols. She is sought after by researchers from various disciplines and organizations to collaborate on the development of products, protocols and technology in cannabinoid treatment. As Founder of SMJ Consulting, she also conducts individual and group cannabis health education sessions and acts as an advisor to various companies on medical cannabis education. Driven by her desire for consumers to have access to the highest quality, sustainable medications, she has helped to develop cannabinoid formulations specific to patients’ conditions, as well as the development of delivery device technology with companies nationwide. As part of the AIMS Institute, started in 2018, she and her team of practitioners work closely with experts in the field of medical cannabis and other natural medical approaches to treat patients with serious medical conditions, many of whom have given up on traditional medical treatments. A particular focus and passion for SMJ is on pediatric cancer patients. Ms. Brown holds a BS in Education from the University of Montana and a Masters in Educational Administration from Western Washington University. Her PhD studies have focused on the impact of pharmaceuticals on government funding in the public sector. A frequent lecturer at medical conferences for CME credits for participants, she is also author of several publications involving her field of work. Ms. Brown’s accomplishments include: • Advisory board member WA State Liquor and Cannabis Control Board Cannabis Potency Tax Committee • Principal investigator-Effects of High-Potency Cannabis on Psychomotor Performance in Frequent Cannabis User. Published Online:10 Sep 2020https://doi.org/10.1089/can.2020.0048 • Co-Author, Cannabinoid Chapter in Palliative Care and Support Oncology textbook, 5th edition

Berger, Ann M. Published. April, 2021 • Featured Author: The Complete Guide to CBD: Everything You Need to Know About the Healing Powers of Cannabis. Tomashoff, Craig. Published. March, 2020 Lectures (sample only): • 47Th Annual Advances in Family Medicine & Primary Care, Univ. of Washington OSHER Center “Practical Applications of Cannabis Therapy in Primary Care” • 15th Annual Psychosocial Oncology Symposium, Swedish Medical Center Cherry Hill “Clinical Use of Cannabis in Cancer Care”

“Clinician’s Guide to Cannabis Based Medicine” • 2019 PNW Cambia Palliative Care Conference, Univ. of Washington Medicine “Integrative Palliative Care Symptom Management” • Puget Sound Pain Resource Nurse Cooperative, Harborview Medical Center, “Standardization of Cannabinoid Therapy in Pain Management” Ms. Brown also serves on the Boards of OhioCann and RevidaLabs, a public benefit corporation.

I’m a Cleveland born Baby Boomer (Ghoulardi). Seattle by way of Ann Arbor (The Hash Bash) and then Boston (New England School of Acupuncture). Cascadia is my home now with no regrets, where snow is an hour away not to mention optional. I do miss fireflies and lightning storms truth be told. For 30+ years I’ve lived on the Left Coast where cannabis is legal.

Father of three wonderful sons. Vegetarian (no mammels), dharma bum (Vajrayana, Geluk) & lifelong Deadhead. Nerd (bits not wires). Beer (IPA) over wine (Bordeaux if you insist), pie (fruit) before cake (German Chocolate). I have a soft spot for vintage black & white photography and the NMAAHC. All power to the people!

Co-founder and president of LeBlanc CNE, cannabis & hemp genetics, product development, research and education. I write a monthly hemp column for Northwest Leaf. Landraces rule. Outdoor beats indoor. Terpenes as well as cannabinoids. And let’s not forget CBD (not that there’s anything wrong with THC).

Over time I hope to add to this website. Lots of stuff; it’ll just take a little time. Well worth the wait IMHO.

John wants others to know that cannabis patients are real people, with real needs, whose quality of lives are benefitting enormously from cannabis as a form of medical therapy. Patients are grown-up, autonomous adults who do not need the government, or the recovery industry, or business interests, to tell them what works best for them. They may need help with some things, but they must have the right to manage their own care in an appropriate manner in consultation with their doctors.

John says that being well-educated about the cannabis industry helps in a thousand ways and it
helps in one over-arching way. Activism is largely about prospecting and looking for opportunities. It is about finding common-cause with a broader community. It is about finding ways forward that benefit everyone, wherever that is possible. Being effective means constantly learning and challenging one’s own preconceptions. That is only possible in a broader community among people who know their businesses well, and who can act as resources, as well as learning from different experiences. It comes from discovering common cause that we did not know was there. It comes from discovering resources that we did not know existed. Because we do not always know where the next bit of insight or tool will come from.

Matthew is the owner and CEO of Skagit Organics, a state-licensed cannabis company founded with the purpose of serving the medical cannabis community within the Washington State recreational market. Skagit Organics has been a member of The Cannabis Alliance for several years now and with the support of his partners, Matthew has been an active participant, serving as an adjunct board member for a year before starting his new role as an elected board member.

He became officially involved in the cannabis industry in 2013 upon returning to the state. A good friend from high school was operating a medical collective garden that he was able to join with the idea of transitioning to the recreational market. They successfully completed the licensing process in 2015 and began operations as Skagit Organics in January of 2016. Their company has spent the last few years dedicated to serving the needs of the old medical cannabis community within this new framework of the recreational market. The rules and laws of this new market have not been favorable to the medical cannabis community and Matthew is hoping to help bring about positive change in this area as an advocate for the needs and desires of the patients.

My experience with cannabis started as many have by being offered a bowl in the woods by a friend. The culture and community surrounding cannabis was very intriguing and inviting. I grew up in Washington State and I became a licensed massage therapist at the age of 19 after moving to Santa Fe, NM. I spent the next 15 years practicing massage and working construction while living in destination areas such as Lake Tahoe and Maui, Hawaii. I became a personal trainer in Hawaii surrounded by professional athletes and exposed to an incredibly active and healthy way of living. Through all of this cannabis was always a constant presence used by the most extreme athletes, the elderly, and people treating a huge variety of illnesses. My interest in holistic health care and the medicinal uses of cannabis are rooted in that education and experience of being in the sports and natural medicine world. Now that I have moved back I am excited to help shape the industry and I feel so fortunate to have found such an incredible group of people and businesses in The Cannabis Alliance.

Burl is from British Columbia originally where he was a standout football and rugby player in High School and in College at the University of British Columbia, National Champions 1986. Go T-Birds!

Burl got a JD from Willamette University College of Law in Oregon and practiced in Portland with the firm of Schwabe, Williamson and Wyatt. He actively used cannabis as a student and as a lawyer as a relaxant to help him unwind from his stressful litigation practice. In 1999 Burl left the practice of law in the pursuit of happiness. He and his wife Marcia traveled extensively in Mexico and Central America for a year in a Volkswagen van with their dog Molly. In 2012 they repeated the trip over 2 years with 2 dogs in their Sprinter van, and drove all the way to Ushuaia Argentina, Tierra del Fuego, Fin del Mundo.

Burl returned to Vancouver BC in 2000 and started working for Mountain Equipment Co-op and made a commitment to spending as much time as possible in the outdoors, which is his happy place. He ultimately became a backcountry skiing guide and Avalanche Rescue team leader with Nelson Search and Rescue for almost 10 years. When Canada started their medical marijuana program, Burl went through the rigorous process of obtaining his medical marijuana card from Health Canada and was active in the early medical days in BC.

In 2015 Burl joined a medical cannabis company in Bend Oregon called Lunchbox Alchemy as CEO. Lunchbox became the #1 edible company in OR and won many Dope Cups for their edibles and extracts.

In 2019 he joined Smokey Point Productions in Washington as CEO and had a successful run rehabilitating and right sizing SPP. Burl joined The Cannabis Alliance in 2022 as Executive Director and is excited about continuing the successful tradition of supporting common sense cannabis regulation and legislation and is Dedicated to the Advancement of a Vital, Ethical, Equitable and Sustainable cannabis industry in the state of Washington and beyond.

Burl is an active mountain biker, backcountry skier and whitewater kayaker and can regularly be found in the Mt. Baker backcountry, at Galbraith trails in Bellingham and recently kayaked 200+ miles down the Grand Canyon.