Dr. Julia Arnsten is Chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine and a Professor of Medicine, Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, and Epidemiology & Population Health. Dr. Arnsten is a general internist with a long-standing interest in behavioral medicine, including adherence with medication-taking, nicotine dependence, and substance abuse. She currently leads led an NIH-funded research program focused on addiction and chronic medical illness.

Dr. Arnsten graduated from the New York University School of Medicine in 1990 and completed residency training in Primary Care Internal Medicine at Bellevue Hospital and New York University Medical Center in 1993. She then completed a research fellowship in General Internal Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. From 1998-2002, Dr. Arnsten was a Robert Wood Johnson Generalist Physician Faculty Scholar. In 2002, she was awarded an R25 grant from NIDA to start a clinical addiction research and education fellowship for physicians; this program has now been funded for over a decade. Dr. Arnsten has been recognized for outstanding teaching and mentoring with several local and national awards.

Dr. Sandra Carrillo is a Specialist in Cannabinoids Based Medicine. She is President of the Colombian Medical Association of Cannabis Medicine (ASOMEDCCAM) and Professor in charge of the Scientific Program of Medicinal Cannabis Faculty of Medicine University of Panama.

Dr. Carrillo is Co-Founder Medicann IPS Medical Cannabis Clinics (Colombia) and in addition to these responsibilities she is a review board member for the American Journal of Endocannabinoid Medicine (AJEM) and a Scientific Committee Member of the Columbian Medicinal Cannabis Observatory (OCCM).

Dr. Carrillos holds a Masters in Health Services Management, and certified in Antiaging and Regenerative medicine. She is also a former professor for the first certification of applications of Cannabinoids in Clinical practice for medical doctors at CES University.

She is an International speaker and advocate with appearances on different continents including USA, Mexico, Colombia, Panama, Jamaica, Brazil, Portugal, Malta, and the United Kingdom.

Her trainings and certifications include: Society of Cannabis Clinicians( TMC iGlobal) ,Diplomate Certification Program for Clinicians in Cannabinoids Prescription CES University, Certified in Medical Cannabis program Oaxterdam California ,Spectrum Academy Certification (Ottawa), AJEM University Certification in Cannabinoids Based Medicine and  Pharmacology University  Puerto Rico.

She continues her work on educational program to train Doctors and Health Care Practitioners and developing Research protocols.

Sandra is the Co-Founder of the Panama Food Bank and Volunteer at the Children´s Epilepsy foundation (LUCES) in Panama.

Through a family hardship in 2011, John and his wife Corinne founded United Patients Group (UPG), a trusted resource and leader in medical cannabis information and education for patients, physicians, pharmacists, governments, and organizations, both domestically and internationally.
UPG also acts as a virtual hand for patients and their loved ones struggling with chronic and terminal illnesses by helping them navigate through this ever-changing industry.

John conducts interviews regularly, most recently with Harvard, CNN and the Washington Post and was proud to be the face, host and advocate for The Sacred Plant Company: Healing Secrets Exposed, a global docuseries in addition to co-leading and co-creating The Sacred Plant: Healing Secrets Explained webinar series. John also authored 4 cannabis books and Masterclasses on (Pain, Cancer, Brain and How to Make Cannabis Work for you) with The Sacred Plant organization. Most recently he was featured in the global docuseries and masterclass entitled, The Answer To Cancer along with hosting the internationally recognized International Integrated Oncology annual conference – Best Answer for Cancer and The Green Plant Summit.

To date, John enjoys a healthy lifestyle of mind, body and spirit. John believes in a compassionate approach to Health and Healing and has dedicated his career to alleviating pain and suffering.
In October 2017, John was faced with terrible heartache. His best friend, his wife, his business partner, but, most of all, his soulmate, Corinne Malanca, passed away from cancer. She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer at the end of June 2017. John continues his work in the medical cannabis arena in honor and loving memory of his beautiful wife, Corinne Malanca.

Dr. Adam Abodeely MD, MBA, FACS, FASCRS is a double Board-Certified Surgeon specializing in gastrointestinal diseases and cancer and founder & CEO of Adirondack Gastrointestinal & Colorectal Surgery LLC. Realizing the benefits of cannabis for patients with such ailments, Dr. Abodeely expanded his medical cannabis practice to include patients with a variety of medical ailments and has been treating patients utilizing cannabis-based therapies since 2010. In 2024, Adam was appointed to the NY State Medical Cannabis Advisory Council (MCAC).

In January 2023, Adam joined the Australian-based cannabis company Cannim as the Medical Director for North America. He has successfully led and assisted in the development, launch, and operations of the Lumir Clinic & Mission in North America and internationally. He will be providing medical leadership to the Cannim team in the development, launch and operation of their line of medical cannabis products and support their clinical, research, and market initiatives. 

Dr. Abodeely is a thought leader in the cannabis industry specializing in plant-based science, education, and therapies. He is also the CEO & Cofounder of Coral Cove Wellness Resort, a cannabis-centric health and wellness resort in Jamaica. He has given several national presentations to a variety of audiences and provides consultations on various aspects of medical cannabis including product development and formulation as well as educational support and business development. He has authored a book titled “A Surgeon’s Perspective on the Science & Truth of Cannabis” and has published in several peer reviewed surgical journals. Adam has developed educational platforms on the science and applications of cannabinoids. He is former Chairman of both the Education Committee and the Dispensary Review Committee, and current board member for the Association of Cannabinoid Specialists. 

He is dedicated to advancing the science and education of plant and cannabinoid-based therapies. Adam has been working with the University of Mississippi on the development and commercialization of a novel way to diagnose gastrointestinal disease looking at specific markers of the endocannabinoid system. Dr. Abodeely has a special interest in formulating products which capture the unique benefits of cannabinoids, while understanding the applications of cannabis, and other natural ingredients, in wellness lifestyles.

Bryant Godfrey is a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Foley Hoag and is Co-Chair of the firm’s FDA Practice Group. He provides strategic regulatory advice to large pharmaceutical, medical device and biotech companies, startups, and trade associations, helping them to navigate challenges relating to the development, manufacturing, approval and promotion of drugs, biologics, medical devices, and combination products. Having spent nearly a decade at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in senior regulatory and policy roles, Bryant advises FDA-regulated companies on a broad range of FDA regulatory, policy, compliance, enforcement and strategic matters.

Bryant's experience encompasses a wide range of issues relating to product jurisdiction, medical product development and approval/clearance, labeling, advertising and promotion, scientific exchange, investigations of off-label marketing, post-marketing commitments and requirements. His work also includes Current Good Manufacturing Practices (CGMPs), Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) compliance, drug supply chain, FDA inspections, recalls, cannabis-derived products, and foods/dietary supplements.

While at FDA, Bryant was the Senior Lead Regulatory Counsel in the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Office of Medical Policy, Office of Prescription Drug Promotion (OPDP), where he led the regulatory counsel team within OPDP and advised the office on a wide range of complex legal, regulatory, and policy matters relating to the promotion of prescription drug products. While in OPDP, he helped the office to respond to various First Amendment challenges brought by regulated industry. Bryant also participated on various Agency-wide First Amendment working groups to examine and assess current vulnerabilities as well as potential paths forward.

Carrie Armour has over fifteen years of experience representing physicians, patients and the cannabis industry as a government affairs attorney and advocacy consultant.

As a consultant, Carrie focuses on improving pain management and influencing policies to create highly regulated, compliance focused cannabis programs as well as expanding opportunities for cannabis research.

Prior to opening up her consulting firm, Armour Advocacy, Carrie worked for over a decade for the American Medical Association in its state government affairs division.

At the AMA, Carrie developed and managed advocacy campaigns to help shape and inform state laws, regulations and policies in support of patients and physicians focusing on public health improvement and protecting the physician-patient relationship.

Carrie began her legal career as a prosecutor at the Cook County State’s Attorney. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Miami University and a Juris Doctorate from Loyola University School of Law. She is on the Board of the Medical Cannabis Research Advocacy Alliance, a Director on the Board of Illinois Women in Cannabis and a member of the International Cannabis Bar Association and the Illinois Cannabis Bar Association.

David (Dedi) Meiri, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Biology at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology and a member of the Technion Integrated Cancer Center (TICC). Dr. Meiri’s scientific background is highly diverse. He holds a M.Sc. in biochemistry and a Ph.D. in plant biotechnology from Tel Aviv University. Dr. Meiri conducted his post-doctoral fellowship at the Ontario Cancer Institute where he focused on the role of the GEF-H1 protein in tumor invasion and metastasis. During his post-doctoral studies, he expanded his knowledge in human biology and cancer pathogenesis and succeeded within a very short time frame to receive worldwide recognition as an expert in the fields of G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) and small GTPases. Upon completion of his post-doctoral fellowship, Dr. Meiri took a position at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology, where he heads the “Laboratory of Cancer Biology and Cannabinoid Research”.

Presently, his lab investigates the therapeutic potential of phytocannabinoids, the unique active compounds of the Cannabis sativa plant. On top of other research being conducted in the lab, the main focus of his research is to determine the antitumor effects of cannabinoids, including the anti-metastatic and pro-apoptotic effects of phytocannabinoids.

In addition to the laboratory cannabis research performed on-site, Dr. Meiri collaborates with cannabis growers, clinicians, major manufacturers and distributors of medical cannabis for the purpose of revolutionizing cannabis treatment. He is operating the “Cannabis Database Project” and his lab is currently involved in eight clinical trials covering diverse aspects of cannabis treatment such as colon disease, pain prevention, cancer treatment and epilepsy.

Dr. Meiri is also highly involved in governmental regulations and is a residing member in several Israeli Ministry of Health committees which seek to advance the fundamental understanding of optimal cannabis usage and minimization of adverse side effects.