Beth Schechter

About The Open Cannabis Project

The Open Cannabis Project (OCP) is a community-led, research-driven non-profit with a simple mission: to defend the richness and diversity of cannabis from illegitimate and overreaching patents. To fulfill this mission, we are building a transparent and open source repository of data about cannabis genetics, chemistry, and traits. In addition to documenting plants that already exist in the public domain, such a robust data set can also provide a unique lens into cannabis en masse, allowing us to gain an understanding of this variable little plant in a way weve never before been able to see. <br><br> Beth Schechter comes to OCP through the world of community-centered design and open source technology. Prior to taking on a leadership role at OCP, her energies focused on creating educational experiences, curriculum, and documentation for technical subjects ranging from open source mapmaking to international land rights policies in Ghana. She started her community design work at GA Tech, where she worked with small-scale farmers to codesign speculative robots that could help them solve specific problems on their farms. As the Executive Director of OCP, shes thrilled to be able to work at the intersection of technology, farming, and do-goodery once again.

Algirhythm

The Invisible Hand Tending the Secret Greens

Some people call him a UX consultant, and to others, he is known as solid product designer with a keen eye for services. Keith however, considers himself a lifelong learner who motivates monolithic corporate cultures toward collective action. He’s also a previous DEF CON speaker, having given a talk at the Social Engineering Village about effective clandestine corporate change management. The opportunity for full legalization in the United States looms over the horizon. The impact however, reaches far beyond the cursory recreational, medicinal, and social benefits. This talk reveals how the mass social engineering effort behind cannabis legalization could be a strategic play to protect against the decoupling of the petrodollar system. We touch upon players & history behind regulation, extrapolate how legalizing today enables the U.S. to reopen and control the renegotiation of major trade treaties such as the WTO, then finally elucidate the knock-on effects with respect to individual security and self sovereignty.

Annie Rouse

The War on Drugs and The Untold Cannabis Conspiracy

Annie has been at the forefront of the hemp industry for the past 10 years, earning a US Fulbright Scholarship to study hemp in Canada and recently publishing her podcast series, Anslinger: The untold cannabis conspiracy - an interview-narration style podcast highlighting Big Pharma&#39;s role in cannabis prohibition analyzed from 10 years of archival research. Annie is co-founder of Anavii Market - an online market for premium verified CBD and other hemp products. She is also the founder of the Kentucky-based non-profit, Friends of Hemp, and is a member of the US Hemp Roundtable, the Hemp Feed Coalition Steering Committee, and the Hemp Industries Association Legislative Review Committee. In addition, she is a published author in Hemp Magazine and Hemp Business Journal. She received her BS in Economics from the University of Kentucky and holds a Masters in International Environmental Policy and an MBA. You can learn more about Annie and her journey on her blog, Think Hempy Thoughts.

Rex

Cruising the Cannabis Hiiighwaaay

Case studies of breaches in Cannabis Software. Recently a major Cannabis POS provider found itself on the business end of a sophisticated digital attack not once, not twice, but thrice. Or maybe four times; Poor disclosure policy and a lack of transparency made it hard to tell. A large portion of all dispensaries in the country were forced to enter sales by paper, spreadsheet, or to close their doors temporarily when this software was crashed by attackers. Government contracts were lost. All eyes are on the industry right now and, given its precarious federal legal status, the next moves made will be crucial. What mightve actually happened? How far beyond the carefully prepared press releases can we see by using OSINT, Social Engineering, source code analysis,and some good ol fashioned scripting & hacking? What makes the Cannabis industry a hotbed for this kind of behavior? Lets umm....answer those questions!

Kevin Chen

THC Producing, Genetically Modified Yeast

Kevin founded a startup focused on opening up the potential of cannabis-derived medicine, by replacing plant growth with engineered microorganisms. His side projects include Bricobio - the DIY bio/biohacker/indie science community in Montreal - and he’s also a director of Helios Makerspace. Kevin will speak about his work hacking the genome of yeast to make it produce THC. Being that this process is more in alignment with current pharmaceutical practices and is able to scale much more effectively, he hopes this approach will enable many to explore the benefits of Cannabis-related medicine and products more consistently.

Octet ln Triplicate

The Cantankerous Cannabis Cryptocurrency Kerfuffle

Octet ln Triplicate is a software developer with an affinity for Cryptography and Information Theory. He is occasionally spotted at parties solving a Rubiks cube with one hand while using his other hand to drink and is not afraid to beat you at Tetris. Cannabis legalization has been occurring in more places just as the popularity of blockchains as a technology has been increasing. As such, it comes as no surprise for cannabis and cryptocurrencies to intertwine. In this talk, Octet ln Triplicate will be comparing and contrasting the designs and utilities of multiple cryptocurrencies and blockchains commonly used or created for the Cannabis Industry, including PotCoin, Smoke.Network, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Monero, and more.

Frank (@cosmovaltran)

The Invisible Hands Tending the Secret Greens

Frank is a strategic marketing consultant with a strong focus on user experience and a proven adeptness in forecasting market trends. Frank works with established artists and brands to develop unique business opportunities into customer-centric branded experiences. He is focused on building lasting resonance between consumers and businesses worldwide. The opportunity for full legalization in the United States looms over the horizon. The impact however, reaches far beyond the cursory recreational, medicinal, and social benefits. This talk reveals how the mass social engineering effort behind cannabis legalization could be a strategic play to protect against the decoupling of the petrodollar system. We touch upon players & history behind regulation, extrapolate how legalizing today enables the U.S. to reopen and control the renegotiation of major trade treaties such as the WTO, then finally elucidate the knock-on effects with respect to individual security and self sovereignty. By legalizing cannabis, the U.S. is paving the way to control a multi-trillion dollar constellation of industries spanning petrochemical, pharmaceutical, and forestry industries via the industrial hemp market. Through simple examples, this talk reveals how all the pieces glue together and lays out a framework of what their respective impacts might be.

Michael Hiller

The Ongoing Federal Lawsuit Against Jeff Sessions

Michael is the founding and managing principal of Hiller, PC. He has built a career on fighting for his clients against large institutions, multi-national corporations, and state and local governments, with specialties including Commercial Litigation, Land-Use, Insurance, and Cannabis. He’s won numerous awards and designations in recognition of his achievements on behalf of community groups, neighborhoods, and corporate clients. Michael - helping represent some professional athletes, military vets, and parents who wish to treat their children with CBD derived products - is currently involved in a federal lawsuit against the US Attorney General, Jeff Sessions regarding the scheduling, or classification, of Cannabis. This lawsuit challenges the constitutionality of the Controlled Substances Act as it pertains to Cannabis/Marijuana. In a 90-page Complaint, attorneys representing five plaintiffs maintain that the CSA, in classifying Cannabis as a Schedule I drug, is so irrational that it violates the U.S. Constitution.

Alex Babich

Hydroponic grow techniques

Alex Babich is a Computer Engineer with the dream of building sustainable cities that grow their own food instead of having it shipped over long distances. He developed technology that helped translate sign language in a computer vision research lab, and worked to efficiently manage power systems through data analysis at Consolidated Edison. His dedication and commitment led the team to victory in the Zahn Venture and NY Business Plan competitions and will continue to drive the company forward. Through Alex and Adrian’s experience in the National Science Foundation I-CORPS Program they had the opportunity to visit several different types of cannabis farms. In this demonstration they will discuss the varied types of hydroponics systems that the farms are using and what their advantages and disadvantages are. The lecture will delve into the basics of different hydroponics systems for those that are just getting their hands wet. It will also provide some insights for those who want to understand the business decision behind what type of growing process to use and what technology can be used to optimally manage that system.

Adrian Logan

Hydroponic grow techniques

Adrian Logan is a Computer Engineer with a passion for building new and innovative technologies that solve real world problems. He has worked on a diverse set of projects from Data Visualization Web applications to Industrial Mold Design. Through the use of cutting-edge exponential technologies, such as machine learning and computer vision, he believes we can transform and disrupt global agriculture’s current inefficiencies. Through Alex and Adrian’s experience in the National Science Foundation I-CORPS Program they had the opportunity to visit several different types of cannabis farms. In this demonstration they will discuss the varied types of hydroponics systems that the farms are using and what their advantages and disadvantages are. The lecture will delve into the basics of different hydroponics systems for those that are just getting their hands wet. It will also provide some insights for those who want to understand the business decision behind what type of growing process to use and what technology can be used to optimally manage that system.

Xmunoz

Weed Hacking: A Pragmatic Primer For Home Grows

Xmunoz likes to tinker with bits using a magnetized needle and a steady hand. In a former life, she wrangled web traffic and corralled distributed systems. Present interests include breaking cryptography, reverse engineering things, and ethically uncovering vulnerabilities in network infrastructure, system configuration, and web applications. In her free time she plays on the R3d Cr3sc3nt CTF team. In this talk shell be bringing to bear all the aforementioned knowledge to teach you how to grow small-scale Cannabis well indoors with as little effort and expenditure as possible

Dr. Mark Lewis

Hacking Phenotypic Pathways In Cannabis

Dr. Lewis earned his Ph.D. in Chemistry from Purdue University in 2007 and a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the Rose Hulman Institute of Technology in 2001. His interest in the science of cannabis spans decades and in 2011, Dr. Lewis founded NaPro Research and assembled a team of chemists and plant scientists to create analytical solutions and products across four key sectors: biotechnology, production, laboratory services and consumer education. Over the past five years, Lewis has additionally focused on cannabis breeding and the optimization of a broad range of secondary metabolic pathways within the plant. Selective breeding has been used for thousands of years to create better agricultural crops. Recent advances in the human understanding of genomics have led to breakthroughs in our ability to hack plant genomes to create better and better plants. The analogic relationship between computer programming paradigms and the central dogma of molecular biology are very uncanny and even justify the use of the word “hacking” when describing the selective breeding and administration of tailormade drugs to humans. Whether deleting genes or add genes, techniques have been developed that can modify the plant source code, this development can turn off or turn on programs in the plant that ultimately change the final chemistry of cannabis plants. The final chemistry of the plant can, therefore, be tailor-made to hack individual human metabolomes by design and to fix ‘buggy’ humans or human behaviors.

Mayor Chad Wanke

A Primer On Dealing w/ Local Gov. & Legal Cannabis

Mr. Wanke is a businessman, Mayor, and County Commissioner. He was born in Anaheim and has lived his entire life in Orange County, CA. He currently lives in Placentia, with his wife and their four young children. Chad graduated from Cal State Fullerton with a BA in Geography and a Minor in Anthropology. As the Principal of Orbis Capital Consultants Chad directs all company activities, personally providing government affairs services to a diverse range of clients including large multi-national corporations, religious organizations, private companies, public agencies, family offices and individual property owners. Chad will present a primer on the critical role local government plays in the Cannabis industry. This will touch upon the areas of local Cannabis permits, business licenses, building permits, law enforcement, code enforcement, health/safety/fire, etc, which are all handled at the municipal or County level and are the pain-points most likely to get someone shut down, arrested, or their permit application stopped in its tracks & their business never opened in the first place.

A Nurse

How To Microdose Yourself

What is Microdosing? Why and how would one use it in their personal life day to day? The Nurse will show us. Though this talk will NOT focus on the medical use of Cannabis or hardcore research, it will discuss using Cannabis as a life-hack, some physiological traits to potentially target, and how one would go about measuring its effectiveness.

Harry Moreno

Diagnosing Sick Cannabis Plants with Computer Vision

Harry Moreno is a professional Web Software Engineer and a Machine Learning Enthusiast. He has spent most of his career developing web applications for startups in Healthtech, Hospitality and Advertising. He was built machine learning applications for radar sensors, cell segmentation in images and audio identification Using cutting edge approaches in the field of Machine Learning and Computer Visions, we’ll take you through the steps for building an ML model for classifying sick cannabis plants. This is a feature present in many plant or cannabis monitoring systems, but why pay big bucks for big licenses when it could be freely available?

WeedAnon

Compliance & Infosec within the Cannabis Industry

WeedAnon is a long time infosec practitioner, cannabis enthusiast, and active volunteer with the HackMiami Conference of South Florida. WeedAnon believes that cannabis use is a great way to pass the time while awaiting internet wide port scans to complete, and sees the emerging cannabis industry as an under-served marketplace when it comes to the implementation of information security best practices. This talk will discuss the emerging attack surface of the cannabis industry. Analysis of physical, digital, and compliance risks that go hand-in-hand with newly drafted medical and recreational legislation will be examined. Examples of discussion points include topics such as the secure management of PII, various compliance requirements, secure data storage, interaction with regulatory authorities, physical security issues, IoT security, legal loopholes and ambiguities, as well as suggestions for best practices and resources for followup research.

Project Nexus

Vulnerabilities in Cannabis software

Recent attacks provide insight on cyber assaults which could halt the cannabis industry. Cannabis financial systems are little more than a set of promises between various online and real life entities. Processes designed to make cannabis financial services safe have created new vulnerabilities. If systemic institutions were compromised, panic could spread. Better testing is needed. However, cracking cannabis financial systems is harder than it looks. Project Nexus shows how certain testing methodologies can affect cannabis financial services and might even have an impact on our chances for success. Project Nexus works on Security @ a retail furniture company. Project Nexus’s interests include cracking clouds, modeling complex systems, developing massive software-defined infrastructures, and is the outlier in your risk model.