Advisory Board

Leslie Apgar, MD

Apgar is a board-certified OB/GYN who graduated from Penn State School of Medicine in 1996 and completed her residency in OB/GYN at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center at Penn State University in 2000. She joined a large practice in Columbia, Maryland, and practiced until late 2017, with a special interest in minimally invasive surgery. She cared for countless women of all ages during this time and listened to their many complaints that traditional medicine often failed to adequately treat. In 2016, she and her best friend applied for and won a medical cannabis dispensary in Maryland, and Greenhouse Wellness (www.GreenhouseWellness.com) opened in 2017. Her dispensary is run like a residency program, with Apgar as attending physician on site, training the staff how to talk to patients about their medical concerns and how to safely incorporate cannabis into patients’ home treatments. Apgar is medical director for Greenhouse Wellness, Blissiva, and Pura Vida Med Spa, a medical spa in Fulton, Maryland, that she started in 2008.

Janice Newell Bissex, MS, RDN, FAND

Bissex is a registered dietitian nutritionist, cookbook author, and holistic cannabis practitioner. After her dad found relief from his pain using medical cannabis, it became her mission to help others suffering from pain, anxiety, insomnia, autoimmune diseases, inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome, and other debilitating conditions find relief with cannabis/CBD. Bissex compled training at the Holistic Cannabis Academy and now advises clients on proper cannabinoid rations, dosing, best consumption methods, and cooking with cannabis at Jannabis Wellness. She partnered with a Colorado manufacturer of organically grown medicinal-grade hemp to provide phytocannabinoid-rich hemp CBD products for her clients under her Jannabis Wellness label.

Joseph Friedman, RPh, MBA

Friedman was the founding member and principal at PDI Medical, LLC (Professional Dispensaries of Illinois), a unique pharmacy model medical cannabis dispensary formally owned and operated by healthcare professionals (pharmacists). Friedman made history in the fall of 2016 by being the first medical cannabis dispensary in the nation to have 4th year pharmacy students do one of their required APPE clinical rotations in a medical cannabis dispensary. Friedman has become a content expert in the scientific, legal, social, political, and financial challenges facing U.S. entrants to the burgeoning medical cannabis industry. He has contributed to several published articles in the Chicago Tribune, Pharmacy Practice News, Drug Topics Magazine, Crain’s Chicago Business, TheStreet.com, The Daily Herald, plus a host of other publications. Friedman works tirelessly to advocate for pharmacist involvement in our nations’ medical cannabis industry and has been a public speaker on the topic of medical cannabis and pharmacist involvement at several pharmacy and cannabis conventions across the nation.

Bonnie Johnson, MS, RDN

Johnson is a registered dietitian nutritionist, food industry consultant, speaker, and certified cannabis consultant. After spending 20 years translating nutrition science into compelling business opportunities and communicating product benefits to health care professionals and consumers, she took some time in 2014 to focus on her health and anxiety issues. During that time, she discovered cannabis as an adjunct therapy to prescription medications and cognitive behavioral therapy. Her evidence-based education drove her to continue her education into cannabis as medicine. In the last two years she completed the Holistic Cannabis Academy certification program and the Green Flower Fundamentals of Cannabis program. She spends much of her volunteer time educating a variety of audiences about the benefits and potential risks of using cannabis to treat chronic pain, anxiety, insomnia, and other ailments.

Sarah-Jaana Nodell

Nodell graduated from Guilford College with a bachelor’s degree in peace and conflict studies. She then was an AmeriCorps volunteer and social worker in Philadelphia before moving to Boston to work for the Undiagnosed Diseases Network at Harvard Medical School. For the past three years, she’s been deeply involved in the medical cannabis community, both professionally and as a lobbyist. She is dedicated to providing accessible, accurate medical cannabis education for disproportionately affected communities. Most recently, Nodell has been the senior wellness consultant with Revolutionary Clinics and helped make it a “Best Medical Dispensary, 2018.” In addition to her work at Revolutionary Clinics, she also has a practice as a life coach with a special focus on managing disability and chronic illness.

Sherri Tutkus, RN, BSN

Tutkus is founder and CEO of GreenNurse Group (www.GreenNurseGroup.com), medical director of Irie Bliss Wellness, and host of GreenNurse on the Go Radio Show. She’s a cannabis nurse, patient, and advocate. Tutkus earned her bachelor of science in nursing from Boston College. She’s a highly skilled registered nurse with 30 years’ practical experience in various departments within the hospital and home setting. She’s a medical center specialist, clinical nurse liaison, and educator to bridge the gap between patients and the cannabis community. She’s been educating and implementing holistic integrative healing modalities within her practice for more than 20 years. Tutkus provides education on the endocannabinoid system and the safe utilization of cannabis at dispensaries, hospitals, clinics, and patients’ homes, and regularly participates in pop-up events and expos. Tutkus and the GreenNurses are writing a chapter in the first nursing cannabis textbook for nursing students.