Veriheal Announces Winners Of $20,000 ‘Innovation in Cannabis’ Scholarship Fund

Here’s the press release

Veriheal, the cannabis tech, healthcare and intelligence company behind the nation’s largest medical marijuana application platform, today announced the recipients of its $20,000 Innovation in Cannabis scholarship fund, designed to invest in students pursuing degrees in cannabis and accelerate diversity and inclusion in the burgeoning industry. The scholarship fund, which launched with a $10,000 award in 2020 and doubled this year, offers $1,000 grants to 20 student applicants chosen based on essay submissions reflecting their original ideas for improving the cannabis industry through innovation. Submissions were scored based on ingenuity, utility and depth of knowledge, with winners delivering the most groundbreaking ideas for industry progress.

“From sustainable chemistry practices for THC extraction to a CBD-infused shea butter for Black hair types, we were blown away by the ideas presented by this year’s batch of scholarship applicants,” said Veriheal co-founder and Co-CEO, Samuel Adetunji. “Last year, we set out to pay Veriheal’s success forward by investing in the next generation of cannabis leaders, and we doubled our fund this year to further encourage diversity, inclusion and barrier-breaking within the cannabis industry. We’re delighted to reward this batch of students for their diverse viewpoints, novel ideas and deep passion.”

After extensive review, Veriheal has selected the following students to receive $1,000 grants:

  • Matthew Aaron Vogel of Stockton University
  • Aambr Newsome of UC Santa Cruz
  • Camille Elliott of Villanova University
  • Benjamin Sanchez of Northwestern University
  • Sheldon Padgett of University of Maryland
  • Sandeep Singh of University of Michigan
  • BreeAnna A Nicoletti of Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions
  • Qamar Saitovski of University at Buffalo
  • Guinevere Dorado of University of Maryland, Baltimore
  • India Shaniya Davis of University of California, Los Angeles
  • Andrea Chaillet of University of Cincinnati
  • Magaly Ordonez of University of Minnesota
  • Louis Waryanka of Penn State University
  • Anas Gondal of Duke University
  • Kennedy Coates of Agnes Scott College
  • Elizabeth Jessica Ranelli of Wagner College
  • Heather Edginton of Mills College
  • Zackary Owen Thurber of University of Tennessee-Knoxville
  • Alexandra Harris of University of Maryland, Baltimore
  • Christina D Hippensteel of MSU Denver

“As a Black-owned corporation operating at the intersections of cannabis, technology and healthcare, we have an intimate understanding of the many inequities and barriers that make this industry so insular,” said Joshua Green, co-founder and co-CEO of Veriheal. “We saw the impact our scholarship had on last year’s winners, and couldn’t wait to change the lives of 20 more students looking to jumpstart their careers in cannabis.”

The next Innovation in Cannabis scholarship round will open to high school seniors and college students of all ages in the U.S in Spring 2022. All applicants are required to submit one 1,000+ word essay detailing their plans to improve the cannabis industry. Winners will be selected based on the best overall combination of knowledge, innovation, and passion for the future of cannabis as an industry and a medical medium.

Veriheal was founded by Adetunji and Green in 2017 with a mission to become the go-to online destination for prospective medical cannabis patients looking to obtain a medical marijuana (MMJ) card and access educational resources. For a one-time $199 fee, Veriheal streamlines and facilitates the end-to-end application process by connecting users to state-licensed doctors who can certify qualifying conditions via telehealth or in-person appointments — a requirement for all medical cannabis programs. Qualifying patients receive a doctor’s recommendation and are supported through the process of applying for and obtaining their medical marijuana card.

Primary Sponsor

 


Karma Koala Podcast

Top Marijuana Blog