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What’s the biggest challenge facing the cannabis industry right now, and how are you and/or your company addressing it?
The biggest challenge facing the cannabis industry right now is federal Schedule 1 classification. As long as cannabis remains a Schedule 1 substance, patients, especially veterans, face confusion, stigma, higher costs, and inconsistent access across state lines. Many are still afraid of losing federal benefits or employment protections, and this fear prevents them from seeking a medicine that could dramatically improve their quality of life.
Where do you see the most exciting opportunity for growth and innovation in cannabis?
I see the greatest opportunity in plant-based medicines, with cannabis leading the way. Cannabis has the potential to become the “Bayer of the 21st century,” a foundational therapeutic that reshapes how we approach pain, mental health, inflammation, sleep, and chronic conditions. As research accelerates, new formulations, delivery methods, and cannabinoid profiles will integrate more deeply into mainstream healthcare.
The most exciting growth is not just in retail or cultivation. It is in bridging cannabis with evidence based medicine and building the clinical infrastructure that supports it. I believe cannabis will become a core pillar of our healthcare system, not an alternative to it.
What’s one piece of advice you would give to someone looking to break into the cannabis industry?
Run, run, run! If you do not like constant change, challenges, restrictions, and confusing laws, this industry will be difficult. You have to truly love the plant to succeed here.
What is the most important thing you have learned from your experiences in the cannabis industry?
Anything and everything will happen to you on a very regular basis. You have to adjust, rethink, recreate, accommodate, and keep moving forward. Dealing with the state’s Medical Marijuana Program, to put it lightly, has been very “crazy” in many instances. There have been many rollouts of new software with zero notice and clearly designed by someone who had no idea about the actual day to day usage of it. Telemed was allowed, then it wasn’t, then it was again, then it wasn’t, then it was. Major changes happened overnight, with patients finding out before the doctor offices.
What do you want your legacy to be as it relates to the cannabis industry?
I have never really thought much about legacy. What drives me is making a real difference in the health and well being of veterans. With Veterans Cannabis Care, the vision has always been simple, 100 percent free access to medical cannabis without barriers, stigma, or red tape for the great people who served this country.
I want Veterans Cannabis Care to stand as proof that compassion and community can change lives. My hope is that, in the years ahead, veterans across the country will all have free access to medical cannabis and feel comfortable using cannabis as medicine and speaking openly about it as part of their healthcare. If the awareness, partnerships, and programs we have built have helped us reach that goal, I would be cool with that.