Lindy Snider

Lindy Snider

CEO, Founder, and Owner, Lindiskin

Lindy Snider

Lindy Snider is one of the nation’s most respected experts on business development in the cannabis industry. She is a trusted advisor to investors–including firms such as The Arcview Group and Greenhouse Ventures–and a successful entrepreneur with a long history in mainstream business as a top-level executive. Since creating Lindiskin, a line of skincare products for cancer patients, she has been on the vanguard of the legal cannabis industry’s expansion across the US and in her home state of Pennsylvania. 

Where do you see the cannabis industry in Pennsylvania in 5 years?
It will continue to grow and hopefully follow other states into adult-use.

What attracted you to the cannabis industry?
The many medical benefits which have been demonstrated for so many conditions.

Tell us one fun fact about cannabis.
Our country’s founding fathers were supposedly very familiar with it.

Cannabis has clear value to people’s health, tell us your favorite way you stay healthy & fit.
I’m a big believer in combining western medicine with plant based therapeutics. CBD is marvelous to help with sleep. I’ve also found CBD topicals to help with pain, itchiness, discomfort, and muscle soreness.

Senator Sharif Street (D-Philadelphia)

Sharif Street

Senator, Pennsylvania State Senate

Senator Sharif Street (D-Philadelphia)

Senator Street represents Philadelphia’s 3rd Senate District. He amended Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Program, improving patient accessibility and affordability, and authored bipartisan bills to decriminalize cannabis and legalize its adult-use. He is the co-prime sponsor of Pennsylvania’s Safe Cannabis Banking Act. Since 2019, he’s partnered with the Diasporic Alliance for Cannabis Opportunities to host Philadelphia’s Cannabis Opportunities Conference, educating marginalized communities on opportunities in wellness, social entrepreneurship, and workforce development in the emerging cannabis industry.

Where do you see the cannabis industry in Pennsylvania in five years?
I believe the prohibition of cannabis will have ended, providing, conservatively, $500M to Pennsylvania’s economy annually. My goal is to ensure Black and Brown communities, farmers, patients and small businesses benefit from the emerging cannabis economy.

What attracted you to the cannabis industry?
The disparate application of drug laws on Black and Brown communities for something arguably less dangerous than alcohol drove me to ensure those whose lives were upended by the failed War on Drugs could be made whole.

Tell us one fun fact about cannabis.
Cannabis use can bring pain relief and for some has led to a reduction in opioid use.

Cannabis has clear value to people’s health, tell us your favorite way you stay healthy & fit.
In high-school and college I ran track at a championship level. I work out for about an hour every morning and run when I have time.

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Mary Szazdi

Laboratory Manager, MCR Labs

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Overseeing laboratory operations, Mary facilitates the processing of medical marijuana samples for analysis at MCR Pennsylvania. She spent time at a pharmaceutical CDMO as an analytical chemist before entering the cannabis space. Mary brought her laboratory experience to MCR Labs as part of the inaugural team and her role evolved as she helped build the company from a startup. She now serves as lab manager for the Pennsylvania site and focuses on delivering accurate results without jeopardizing turn-around time.

Where do you see the cannabis industry in Pennsylvania in five years?
Growing! In five years Pennsylvania will see a thriving cannabis industry being served by an improved set of regulations.

What attracted you to the cannabis industry?
My affinity to the cannabis field was driven by the opportunity to grow with a new industry, for my contributions to be meaningful and to diversify my professional experiences.

Cannabis has clear value to people’s health, tell us your favorite way you stay healthy & fit.
Gardening, walking the dogs, eating fruit, and naps with the cats!

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Chris Visco

CEO and Owner, TerraLeaf

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Chris Visco was awarded a medical marijuana dispensary license in 2017 by the Pennsylvania Department of Health as the only WBE woman certified cannabis company in the state. She has since merged with a larger company in the largest 3 store medical transaction in the country. Since, she has been awarded licenses in Illinois, West Virginia, and New Jersey. Chris also operates a non-profit for victims of the War on Drugs.

Where do you see the cannabis industry in Pennsylvania in five years?
I see it devoid of large multi state operators, which will eventually sell to the alcohol, tobacco, and pharmaceutical industries. 

What attracted you to the cannabis industry?
I was originally attracted to it as someone who always believed in the medicinal value of the plant and who wants to end the stigma associated with it. Furthermore, I was inspired by the story of Charlotte Figi, a young girl from Colorado who battled Dravet syndrome through the use of CBD oil. 

Tell us one fun fact about cannabis.
The THC level of a plant has nothing to do with the quality of a high you will receive. Instead, individuals should be concerned with the terpene level. 

Cannabis has clear value to people’s health, tell us your favorite way you stay healthy & fit.
I take 1000mg of cannabis per day, a preventative treatment which impedes the growth of cancer cells. I also do a 16 hour fast.

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Nicholas Vita

Co-Founder and CEO, Columbia Care

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Nicholas Vita co-founded Columbia Care in 2012 and serves as CEO. Nicholas has over 25 years of experience serving in corporate leadership roles, investing capital, structuring and funding public/private partnerships and providing strategic advisory services to Fortune 500 companies throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia and Latin America. Prior to Columbia Care, Nicholas held leadership roles at Apelles Investment Management, LLC, ARX Investment Management, and Goldman Sachs & Co. Inc.

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Shemariah Waggoner

Pennsylvania State Director, Trulieve

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Shemariah Waggoner is the State Director of Pennsylvania for Trulieve, a leading cannabis company in the U.S. with 19 locations in PA. Shemariah oversees operational activities across Pennsylvania and works closely with executive leadership to establish the State’s overall direction and strategic initiatives. Shemariah previously served as the PA State Compliance Consultant for Trulieve and worked with the team in Pennsylvania through the Company’s integrations to maintain operational efficiencies in a highly regulatory market.

Where do you see the cannabis industry in Pennsylvania in five years?
I hope to see the decriminalization of cannabis continue across the Commonwealth and the legalization of cannabis for recreational use in Pennsylvania, with Trulieve positioned at the forefront of the market.

What attracted you to the cannabis industry?
I originally entered the industry on the license application side, working with diverse business contractors and individuals to ensure they were provided increased opportunities to participate in the industry through the licensure process.

Tell us one fun fact about cannabis.
Cannabis is one of the oldest crops grown in history, going back at least 12,000 years.

Cannabis has clear value to people’s health, tell us your favorite way you stay healthy & fit.
The cannabis industry is 24/7. Making sure that I hydrate and take time each day to sit in silence, reflect and decompress is important.

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Sara Jane Ward

Assistant Professor, Center for Substance Abuse Research, Department of Neural Sciences, Temple University Lewis Katz School of Medicine

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Dr. Ward’s laboratory studies the therapeutic potential of non-psychoactive cannabinoids using animal models of pain. Her work on the protective effects of CBD in rodent models of chemotherapy-induced neuropathic pain has been supported by the NIH since 2014 and has inspired two clinical trials in this area. She also collaborates with other academic laboratories and industry partners, to study cannabinoid neuroprotection in models of spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, stroke, and aging.

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Jelani Washington-Crum

Owner and Founder, Just Like Tomatoes

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Jelani is a seasoned cannabis cultivator that founded Just Like Tomatoes. His company provides education on the many applications of cannabis, including how to grow your own at home! Taking a class with Just Like Tomatoes will inform individuals on the basics of the plant, medicinal history, plant laws, potential health benefits, and possible business opportunities which allow for much needed diversity in the industry. 

Where do you see the cannabis industry in Pennsylvania in five years?
I can see Pennsylvania being fully legalized within five years.

What attracted you to the cannabis industry?
Growing and touching the plant led me down this path. Being able to learn while I grow and see immediate results was beneficial to my skill set.

Tell us one fun fact about cannabis.
If you’d like to practice growing Cannabis but don’t live in a state where it’s legal to grow, start with a crop like tomatoes. They require the same growing environments and feed schedule.

Cannabis has clear value to people’s health, tell us your favorite way you stay healthy & fit.
Working out is my favorite way to clear my mind and stay healthy, I also recommend power naps!

Judy Wicks

Founder, All Together Now PA

Judy Wicks is an activist and entrepreneur. She founded All Together Now Pennsylvania in 2019, an organization which aids in the development of local economies. Through this organization, she helped create a movement called Pot Profits for Pennsylvanians (P3), which advocates for the legalization and regulation of adult-use cannabis in Pennsylvania, but particularly aims to uplift Pennsylvania’s communities through local ownership. Finally, it also aims to aid those who have been victims of the War on Drugs. 

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Brooke Worster

Associate Professor of Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital Medical Director, Supportive Medicine and Cancer Survivorship Program Director, Cannabis Medicine, Science, and Business Master’s Program at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital

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Dr. Worster is an associate professor of medicine at Thomas Jefferson University and a clinician-researcher – practicing cancer pain management and founding a clinical cannabis research collaboration. She obtained federal and private grant funding to study the use, impact, and perceptions of cannabis in cancer pain and other illnesses. Additionally, she is program director for the Master’s in Cannabis Medicine, Science and Business at Jefferson College of Emerging Health Professions, the only of its kind in the country.

Where do you see the cannabis industry in Pennsylvania in five years?
With legalized adult-use and medical cannabis. Given the incredible opportunities established by “Chapter 20” and the ACRC/CR relationship, we could easily be leading the nation in cannabis research productivity.

What attracted you to the cannabis industry?
My Patients! So many people came to me asking about using cannabis to treat their cancer pain, insomnia, anxiety, nausea, you name it. We need to be able to give them better data about where it is helpful and where it isn’t.

Tell us one fun fact about cannabis.
Cannabis may be able to close the racial disparity in cancer pain management. We know that poorly controlled cancer pain is worse in Black adults, but our research has shown that those that also concomitantly use cannabis have equitable pain scores.

Cannabis has clear value to people’s health, tell us your favorite way you stay healthy & fit. Chasing my two daughters down the ski slopes and running the Schuylkill river banks trail.