On April 22, 2020, the team from Vanguard welcomed hundreds of guests from around the globe for the first episode of Vanguard Scientific's 2020 webinar series on forthcoming FDA regulation for the hemp extraction, processing, and manufacturing industry...
The first-in-series webinar was a tremendous success, as confirmed by feedback from guests, and due in no small part to the speaker and host lineup (to whom we're very grateful). Accordingly, we thought we'd take this opportunity to share a bit more about these regulatory and industry wizards.
The series, dubbed "FDA Future Proofing" centres around a star-studded cast of industry experts sharing actionable insights to prepare industry participants for success under federal regulation.
Yesterday's episode (the series inaugural), titled: "How FDA Regulation Will Change The Extraction Game", was a panel-style conversation hosted by Vanguard CEO, Matthew Anderson, and Rymedi Co-founder and CSO, Dr. Jason Cross. Matthew and Jason walked attendees through an exploration of the broad impacts anticipated as a result of FDA regulation, specifically examining how the looming reality of these standards are affecting the perspectives of key industry stakeholders, from investors and operators, to consumers and regulators.
If you were in attendance, you'll surely be eager to know more about our speakers and their thought leadership. If you missed it, make sure you get on the pre-registration list for the next one, and take this opportunity to meet our panel and hosts (below).
Dr. David Casarett Dr. Casarett is a palliative care physician, well-known in cannabis circles for his 2015 book, Stoned: A Doctor’s Case for Medical Marijuana. Dr. Casarett is a palliative care physician, well-known in cannabis circles for his 2015 book, Stoned: A Doctor’s Case for Medical Marijuana, in which he sets out to do anything—including experimenting on himself—to find evidence of marijuana’s medical potential.
In addition to his work as an author and palliative care physician, Dr. Casarett is also a researcher whose work focuses on improving systems of care for people with serious illnesses. He is a Professor of Medicine at Duke University and the Chief of Palliative Care in Duke Health. Dr. Casarett’s writing has appeared in print and online in Salon, Esquire, Discover, HuffPost, Newsweek, Psychology Today, The New York Times, and Wired.
Dr. Casarett's 2016 Ted Talk talk asks: "What if mainstream health care operated more like a medical marijuana dispensary?" and has almost 3 million views! Catch it here.
Andrew Freedman Andrew Freedman is currently Senior Vice President at Forbes Tate. Having come from Freedman & Koski, a consulting firm dedicated to making cannabis legalization successful, Andrew was Colorado's first cannabis czar under governor Hickenlooper from 2013 to 2017. His firm has since worked directly for dozens of governments including California, Canada, Florida, Massachusetts, Maine, Rhode Island, and Illinois; and testified to all governments considering legalization. He has been a featured speaker at dozens of conferences including Code Conference, Summit, and Aspen Ideas Fest.
Andrew has received national recognition for his leadership. He was recognized as one of Fast Company’s “100 Most Creative People in Business” in 2016. Men's Health Magazine named him one of the 30 top health influencers of the last 30 years, labeling him “legal weed’s best friend”. He has been featured on 60 Minutes, NBC Nightly News, The Today Show, The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Politico, CNBC, The Boston Globe, Governing Magazine, and dozens of local stories throughout the nation and internationally.
Andrew holds a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a B.A. in philosophy and political science from Tufts University.
Greg Huffaker III
Greg currently works with the Canna Advisors team, overseeing the licensing application process, the technical writing team, and overall project management. He is an expert in navigating the complex cannabis regulations and emerging state programs across the country.
From his early industry work of maintaining a comprehensive database of ever-changing cannabis laws, his J.D. from Cardozo School of Law, and being a Colorado-licensed attorney, Greg brings a keen sense and deep knowledge of the legislation that impacts clients at every phase of business. Greg maintains an active membership to the National Cannabis Bar Association which provides excellent, ethical, and advanced legal assistance to the growing cannabis industry. He is also a member of the NCIA's State Regulations Committee (SRC) that works to establish best practices for states and municipalities on developing sound regulatory procedures for industry-specific statewide regulations.
Greg is a regular on the cannabis industry speaking and commentary circuit, recently making appearances with CanopyBoulder, The Chicago Tribune, and MJBiz Daily.
Dr. Jason Cross (Co-Host)
Dr. Jason Cross (Ph.D., JD) is Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer for Rymedi, a technology company enabling healthcare companies to capture, track and share data with blockchain, IoT and AI.
Prior to Rymedi, Dr. Cross was a professor of innovation and entrepreneurship law, policy, and business at Duke University, where he was founding Executive Director of the Innovation & Technology Policy Lab. At the ITPLab, he led the research, consulting, and venture incubation on novel finance, intellectual property, collaboration strategies, and trade policy for enhancing the efficiency and accessibility of innovations across global health, energy, education, and smart infrastructure. He has extensive experience working with governments, industry, and nonprofits to create and strengthen inclusive innovation systems: from biopharmaceutical legal reform and trade policy in Central America, open education business models and telecom policy in Southern Africa, and mHealth technology in emerging markets, to intellectual property and global development negotiations at the WTO, WIPO, and WHO.
Dr. Cross earned his Ph.D. in the Anthropology of Economics & Governance from Duke University. He was a Postdoctoral Fellow in Science & Technology Policy at the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy and received a J.D. from Duke Law School specializing in innovation and intellectual property law. Dr. Cross also has an M.A. and passed Ph.D. exams in the History & Philosophy of Science from the University of Pittsburgh, and a B.A. in Biological Anthropology from the Pennsylvania State University.
Matthew Anderson (Co-Host)
Matthew is dedicated to spiritual science and the belief plant-based medicines can truly heal. As Co-Founder/CEO of Vanguard Scientific Systems, one of the world’s leading providers of end-to-end solutions for integrated botanical extraction and purification equipment and services, Matthew is uniquely positioned to change how the world’s leading processing, extraction, and active-ingredient manufacturers work with cannabis, hemp, and other natural botanicals.
Matthew is a true entrepreneur, having created Enlightened Grain Spirits, a nationally distributed spirits company out of his garage at the age of 22. With an unrelenting thirst for knowledge and an inspiring appreciation for the beauty of life, Anderson is a seasoned creative marketer possessing expertise within branding, industrial design, and advertising.
As a Partner at MacArthur Capital, LLP, Matthew has had ground-level work experience in the global cannabis industry since 2015. MacArthur, a private equity company, has deployed more than $30 million dollars into the industry throughout the areas of advanced cultivation, supply-chain design, contract manufacturing, and technology advancement. Anderson’s leadership throughout this process has fueled his passion as a life sciences champion and contributed to the success of Vanguard Scientific.
Matthew intends to deliver a global network of integrated systems and solutions to meet the processing needs of the rapidly evolving cannabis and hemp industries. Through partnerships committed to market-leading technology, standards, quality control, and training excellence, Vanguard Scientific Systems will lead with compliance and consistency to provide a stable supply chain to the global marketplace.
Anderson received his degrees in International Business and Economics from Rollins College with an area focus in Performance Ensemble.
Matt is a familiar face in the media and on stages around the world, where he's regularly tapped for insights on the fast-changing cannabis landscape. You may have seen him on The Green Rush, New Cannabis Ventures, CFN, The Motley Fool, Forbes, and News24.