Following the success of the inaugural two-day conference, Grassroots: An Expo for the Cannabis Curious is coming back this fall to answer more of Vancouver’s most pressing cannabis questions.

This time, the Georgia Straight is putting on the event in association with the industry experts at Groundwork Consulting, a cannabis-focused consulting firm for retailers, cultivators, and producers entering and transitioning into the legal landscape. The team brings decades of combined expertise to the table, as well as a cutting-edge approach to consumer education.  

Jamie Shaw

"Jamie Shaw is currently a Partner at Groundwork, a Director for the B.C. Independent Cannabis Association, and an advisor to NICHE Canada. She is formerly Government Relations Director of MMJ Canada, a former director of the B.C. Compassion Club Society, and former President of the Canadian Association of Medical Cannabis Dispensaries.

She co-founded the first Canadian chapter of Women Grow, has worked with the Vancouver School Board and the Canadian AIDS Society on cannabis education, and is one of the authors of the Lift Retail Cannabis Training Course. Jamie’s testimony in the Allard trial was deemed ‘very important’ by Justice Phelan, and led to the quote ‘dispensaries are at the heart of access.'

She lobbied successfully for dispensary regulations in Vancouver, and other B.C. Municipalities, and consulted with Vancouver, Victoria, and others on the crafting of said regulations."

Follow Jamie on Twitter here.

Travis Lane

"Travis Lane has been cultivating cannabis for over 20 years. He grew up without any of the typical stigma associated with the cannabis plant, and became fully focused on cannabis as a career in 2010. An organic, living-soil-based cultivator, Travis has advocated strongly for the facilitation of pesticide free, sun grown, organic cannabis production. He is a long-time participant in B.C.’s cannabis economy, having been involved in the founding of numerous small cannabis businesses over the last decade.

Since 2015, Travis has helped found and expand a successful chain of storefront dispensaries, a thriving online mail order service, and one of the most successful hydrocarbon extraction brands in the country. In several cases he helped secure municipal licensing for illicit cannabis businesses.

With pending legalization, Travis has recently refocused his business interests, divesting from the illicit market. His latest ventures include Levity Solutions, a multi-purpose cannabis consultancy focused on cultivation and extraction methods for licensed producers, and Groundwork Consulting, a government relations firm that focuses on small businesses in the cannabis space.

As a founding director of the B.C. Independent Cannabis Association, Travis has created widespread connections within government, providing feedback and advice to several governmental bodies.

With consultation clients that include ACMPR applicants and aspiring micro-cultivators, Travis maintains deep connections on both sides of the cannabis industry in B.C."

Follow Travis on Twitter here. 

Courtland Sandover-Sly

"Courtland Sandover-Sly is the founder of Sandover-Sly Financial, and a financial advisor by trade. He was the first to place a health and dental benefits plan on a cannabis dispensary in North America, and works with a large group of dispensaries to this day.

A former film, TV, and theatre production worker, Courtland retired from his entertainment career to pursue a Bachelor of Commerce degree from Royal Roads, which he obtained in 2014. Trained by Freedom 55 Financial, Courtland left the company to become independent in 2016 to found his own company. In 2017, Courtland became the president of the B.C. Independent Cannabis Association, a membership-funded not-for-profit that aims to foster the current black market cannabis industry in B.C. through legalization. In addition to his financial work, Courtland is heavily involved in volunteer political work.

He is currently a citizen appointee on the District of Central Saanich's Advisory Planning Commission, and is the former vice-prisdent of the B.C. Liberal's Saanich North and The Islands Riding Association."

Follow Courtland on Twitter here.