“In the traditional biopharma space,
I could never get involved with
politics. That’s a no no. You know how
it works, they pay for lobbyists and
you have to stay out of it – especially
in clinical research. With medical
cannabis and CBD, I can get involved
with politics. I advocated on behalf
of patients before city council, for
decriminalization proceedings,
working on a federal level with
the American Society of Cannabis
Medicine, so I’m down The Hill quite
often.
“Now I’m lobbying, I’m meeting with
politicians, I’m speaking out on behalf
of patients in f ront of the public and
testifying on their behalf.”
She makes
money moves
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. 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 f inish line. You
have to make sure you
raise enough or continue
to sustain a raise after your
f irst couple of studies.”
While securing funding is an
uphill climb for any campaign, this
total girl boss doesn’t believe in the
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 prof iles, you
have to stick with what works for you.
Bath bombs are great but this not a
get rich quick scheme!”
Something which has cost an eye-
watering amount of money is Christina’s
precious CannaBot.
“We designed the little bot. I’m
really proud of this. It’s an artif icial
intelligence platform that patients
can use to be educated at the public
domain and the subscriber can
issue them authorization for access
through the private domain.”
The two-tiered system offers answers
to f requently 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 off ice Alexa
interrupted our interview. That’s AI
for you!
As the multi-talented and skilled
entrepreneur approaches the f ifth
anniversary of her father’s passing,
she hopes to host a major event in
his memory through Aff inity Patient
Advocacy, her non-prof it, later this
year.
“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.”
“
“In the traditional
biopharma space, I
could never get involved
with politics. That’s a no
no. Now I’m lobbying,
I’m meeting with
politicians, I’m speaking
out on behalf of patients
in front of the public
and testifying on their
behalf.”
“
Fast forward to 2019 and Christina
is CEO and founder of Affi nity Bio
Partners; CEO and Board President
of Affi nity Patient Advocacy; CEO and
co-founder of AI Health Outcomes of
which the CannaBot is an artifi cial
intelligence brainchild. In her spare
time, Christina co-hosts YouTube show
‘Coming Out With Cannabis’ and is
a Board Member of the American
Society of Cannabis Medicine (ASCM).
Her role is still research-focused, but
she can voice her educated opinion on
matters now as a woman in business,
and also as an advocate, something
a career in Big Pharma could never
afford her.
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