What benefits do you see for patients throughout Florida within this space?
Cannabis has the potential to unlock countless therapeutic benefits for patients across Florida. In fact, as a cannabis coach and educator, I see on a daily basis how CBD and Medical Marijuana are safely and effectively incorporated into patients’ lives. During my time as a cannabis coach, it has been beyond rewarding to help these individuals create personalized cannabis protocols. Observing the health benefits of plant based medicine and seeing the transformations it makes for patients has been nothing short of astonishing.
What motivates you to be a part of the Cannabis Industry?
Florida’s cannabis industry is perhaps the most gratifying and worthwhile space to work in. Whether it has been interactions with patients or other cannabis professionals, I have found the people in this industry to be genuine, supportive, and sincere. What motivates me to continue being a part of this industry is first and foremost a deep passion for cannabis therapeutics. Secondly, as an educator, I feel a responsibility to integrate myself into all aspects of the industry so that I am better able to serve our community and cannabis patients alike.
What field are you in within the Cannabis space?
Currently, I work with Dr. Merna Matilsky at The Boca Center for Healthy Living as a cannabis coach. I am also the founder and lead educator at The Canna Academy. The Canna Academy is Palm Beach County’s first in-person cannabis academic institution that is exclusively dedicated to cannabis industry education and vocational training.
How can people in Florida benefit from the company you represent?
In 2018, 65,000 jobs were added to the cannabis industry alone. The Canna Academy benefits Floridians as we provide high-quality, accessible, and affordable education for all. Whether someone is looking to launch a new career, become a cannabis coach, budtender, or fill one of the hundreds of other positions available in the industry, completing an evidence-based cannabis education course from The Canna Academy is advantageous for them.
How did you get started within the cannabis industry?
My background is in Functional and Integrative medicine. This model of health care aims to identify, treat, and prevent the root cause of disease and chronic illness. In order to achieve this, a combination of nutrition, exercise, lifestyle modifications, and cannabis is used. After having much success using cannabis myself, and with my patients, I quickly realized the powerful healing properties these plants have. From here, I knew I had a duty to continue expanding my knowledge of cannabis therapeutics in order to augment patient care.
Are you personally an MJ cardholder?
Yes, and proud of it!
Do you see Florida moving forward with recreational Marijuana/Cannabis and how will that affect your business?
The U.S. is expected to remain the largest cannabis market in the world, reaching $66.3 billion by 2025. Therefore, I believe a shift towards adult-use or recreational marijuana in Florida is inevitable. Further, I am confident that the need for a trained workforce will continue to grow as well. In terms of how this will affect The Canna Academy, I foresee the demand for our services scaling up, however, our commitment to the industry will remain the same. This is to continue educating our students with the highest level of academic integrity and excellence.
