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Cannabis Tech Company Strives During Pandemic
VERIHEAL RECEIVES AN INCREASE OF CUSTOMERS TO PROVIDE INFORMATION AND DISTRIBUTION FOR CANNABIS DESPITE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
- OCTAVIA JOHNSON
Sometimes herbs like cannabis are hard to gain for those who need the plant the most . Sam Adetunji from The Virginia Commonwealth University ( VCU ) and Joshua Green from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University ( FAMU ) created a telecommunications company called Veriheal that helps people who need direct contact with personalized cannabis education and wellness . The two HBCU graduate students defeated the odds by providing services with statelicensed medical doctors who are experienced with safe alternative medicines during the COVID-19 pandemic . With the virus spreading throughout the nation , it ’ s even more important to have virtual health support during this time . The company recently started a $ 1,000 scholarship for cannabis research for those who want to help develop the telecommunication services for cannabis .
Adetunji and Green wanted to spread awareness of the benefits of using cannabis . They started by going door-to-door but realized a major piece was missing in the industry . Safe , secure , and simple access to medical cannabis professionals that can approve a patient for legal use . “ States make the process more confusing than it needs to be ,” Green said . “ We streamlined that into a robust platform that now serves over a million cannabis users every year . Together we saw a little shimmer of opportunity and ran with it .” Now , Veriheal was online for patients to create an account , fill in a quick history form , connect with a doctor virtually , and when approved , they ’ ll receive a digital copy of their medical recommendation and move forward with purchasing at the dispensaries .
During the process of creating the business , Adetunji and Green had to build on third-party platforms , but they learned how to scale the development team and better monetize their resources and tools . “ This has led to both great success and flexibility over our offerings ,” Green said . “ We are not restricted to what some software out there can do , we build it ourselves .”
The company expected a drop in the sign-ups in regards to using Veriheal due to the pandemic affecting businesses . However , Veriheal doubled from March to April and has since grown at a steady rate of 20 % each month . In June , over 20,000 signed up nationwide . Green describes the increase as a humbling experience to witness people who truly want to improve their lives and well being with cannabis . They even received an additional 10 people who are a part of the team in helping direct new customers in starting their cannabis journey . According to Green , research in the US in regards to cannabis is not where it should be . With Veriheal ’ s cannabinoid research , there was a huge momentum and social media attention . In terms of cannabis in the medical industry , the company is seeing a lot of patients who are ditching their 5 to 20 daily pills . The research didn ’ t just stop within the company , it ’ s being spread out in scholarship opportunities as well . Veriheal has an annual $ 1,000 Veriheal ’ s Innovation in Cannabis Scholarship for business , computer science , and nursing students who are looking to provide more research on cannabis in the business , technological , and medical fields . “ It ’ s also important to mention that every month we donate a large portion of our proceeds to several non-profit organizations ,” Green said .
Veriheal was able to grow due to starting off as an illegal market to a regulated one . Although it was a long process , that didn ’ t stop Adetunji and Green from creating the company and leaving opportunities for improvement . Cannabis entrepreneurs have to hit the ground running , but success is some of the most rewarding by helping those work on improving their health . “ The cannabis industry can learn a lot from similar markets , and the people within the industry have a whole lot to give in the right direction ,” Green said . “ Positively influencing just one patient out there is special . Now have your platform serve over 100,000 patients , that service to others will motivate you day in and day out .”
To learn more about Veriheal , please visit www . veriheal . com . To apply for the “ Veriheal ’ s Innovation in Cannabis Scholarship ,” please visit www . veriheal . com / scholarship .