Joint effort between student clubs brings elected officials, businesspeople, and medical experts.
ANN ARBOR, Mich.: A crowd comprised of University of Michigan students, faculty, staff, and Ann Arbor locals witnessed discussion from ten of the most prominent voices in the marijuana industry in Michigan at the first annual Michigan Cannabis Leaders Summit. The event was hosted in Robertson Auditorium at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, one of the nation’s top business schools.
Event panelists hailed from diverse cannabis-related backgrounds which provided a thorough overview of the cannabis industry in Michigan:
-State Rep. Yousef Rabhi: Michigan State Representative for 53rd District
-Jeff Irwin: Political Director for Coalition to Regulate Marijuana like Alcohol; former state representative
-Stephen Goldner Esq, RAC: attorney and advisor to US FDA; credited with invention of liquid-dose methadone and modern drug screening methods
-Kevin Boehnke: published study on cannabis use in Journal of Pain; Postdoctoral Research Fellow
-Danny Victor, JD: ; CEO at Gulfstream Gardens; member of Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation
-Mark Passerini: Hash Bash organizer, Owner at OM of Medicine
-Benjamin Rosman, JD.: co-founder of PSI Labs; member of Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation
-Dr. Lev Spivak-Birndorf, MS, PhD.: co-founder of PSI Labs
-Tom Lavigne, JD.: Partner at Cannabis Counsel, PLC; member of Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation
-Dennis Hayes, JD: Michigan’s longest-standing cannabis attorney
Following the panels, students had the opportunity to interact individually with the speakers during a catered reception. The joint effort between members of Green Wolverine (affiliated with the Ross School of Business) and the University’s chapter of SSDP and is one of shared outlooks regarding how students can become acquainted with cannabis. This familiarity should not just be limited to getting high; Michigan has an entire cannabis industry in its infancy which needs future lawyers, policymakers, doctors, researchers, business leaders, and many other professions to carry out the industry’s vitality and legitimacy.
