What do words like research, biopharma and advocacy
all have in common? Money. As CEO, Christina knows all
too well that there are people out there who tug on the
strings of compassion. How does she balance coming to
someone’s rescue with business?
She says, “People call and ask if we will donate our services.
But we can’t. We have to work, we have to make a living.
We don’t charge the same price points in medical cannabis
and CBD research that they do on the traditional side out
of respect.”
The CBD and medical cannabis industries are on the cusp
of a boom, but funding to back research, or a lack thereof,
is still a problem. Christina says, “There isn’t enough
funding. People need to understand it’s going to take X
amount of money to get you to that finish line. You have to
make sure you raise enough or continue to sustain a raise
after your first couple of studies.”
While securing funding is an uphill climb for any campaign,
this total girl boss doesn’t believe in the so-called green
rush everyone else is talking about.
“Everybody is in a rush around here. They’re putting it
[CBD] in everything… coffee, tea, cookies, ice cream, water,
juice. It’s too much! We’re overloading now, you’re flooding
your endocannabinoid system with all of these different
terpene profiles. You have to stick with what works for
you. Bath bombs are great but this is not a get rich quick
scheme!”
Something which has cost an eye-watering amount
of money is Christina’s precious CannaBot, a ground-
breaking piece of technology.
“We designed the little bot. I’m really proud of this. The
COO and I, Wayne Kelly, we designed The Bot together.
It was our brain child. It’s an artificial intelligence (AI)
platform that patients can use to be educated at the
public domain and the subscriber can issue them
authorisation for access through the private domain.”
The two-tiered system offers answers to frequently asked
questions which those curious about CBD and medical
cannabis might have, while CannaBot can also provide
more bespoke information and services via a private
gateway. And the cherry on the cake?
“It’s all voice activated through Alexa and Google.”
At this point Christina’s office Alexa interrupted our
interview. That’s AI for you.
As the multi-talented and skilled entrepreneur approaches
the fourth anniversary of her father’s passing, she is also
gearing up to host an event in honour of his legacy.
“This is all stuff I couldn’t have done in the traditional side.
It’s all stuff that my Dad wanted me to be involved in since
I was a kid, since I was in High School. It’s nice to have that
opportunity to bring it back full circle.”
Rising from the Ashes: Collaborations within the medical cannabis and CBD industries takes place October
12 and is presented by Affinity Biopartners to benefit Affinity Patient Advocacy, a non-profit organisation
which offers support to medical cannabis and CBD patients and their loved ones. Tickets are available from
Eventbrite. The Cannavist is official media partner to this event.