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.
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 highschool 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.