COLLIN LEE

For almost two decades, COLLIN LEE has been writing for others, mainly for brands – national and international ads (some even ran during the Summer Olympics and the World Cup), websites and strategic plans. And now, he’s embarking on publishing his very own stories, starting with The Efil Brothers (that he’s been working on and off for the past 20 years!), which will be a series of picture books for all ages. He writes not only with his mind but also with his heart, in the hope that his stories will touch the hearts of many.

Collin Lee is a marketing professional with 20+ years of experience in all aspects of marketing and advertising, from traditional advertising to digital experiential marketing. His fluency in both English and Korean has allowed him to effectively work as a business liaison between Korean and American companies. His entrepreneurial passion has also led him to found an advertising agency, a marketing consulting firm and an entertainment company. He also speaks regularly at premier events such as Digital Hollywood on emerging media technologies. He possesses a rare combination of a scientifically trained mind, thanks to his aerospace engineering education, and a creative mind, shaped by his years in advertising — A real rocket-scientist-turned-marketer.

John J. Forster is the Activities Coordinator for the group 'Committee for the Capital City'. He is also Co-founder of Initiative DC, which led the successful effort to amend the DC Home Rule Act to provide for the voting rights of initiative, referendum, and recall. John has been a DC resident since 1977.

The 'Committee for the Capital City' was formed in 1995 by civic-minded citizens of the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia who are united in their desire to preserve and protect the unique character and beauty of the nation’s capital city while providing full democratic rights to its residents. The membership includes Democrats and Republicans, black and white, young and old, of many different occupations and income levels. They welcome all who would join with in pursuit of political justice and equality for the people of the District of Columbia.

John writes -  in an article written for The Washington Post 'The Other Path To Statehood', 2016:

"Creating a state of the District of Columbia (or whatever name they give it) faces too many obstacles.

Congressional Republicans almost universally oppose the addition of two new senators from the District and would certainly block such a proposal. It is unlikely that legislators from either Maryland or Virginia would ultimately support a new state of the District of Columbia if that state had the power to levy a commuter tax, as it surely would. Politicians from large states might object to the dilution of their Senate power. Likewise, some rural state legislators might object to empowering the District with statehood for what they see as essentially a city. For these reasons, the chance of the District becoming a new state looks remote.

But there is a better way to achieve D.C. statehood.

The other path: join an existing state.

Imagine the District becoming Douglass County, Md. As a new unique jurisdiction in Maryland, the District would honor one of its most famous residents: the great abolitionist Frederick Douglass. And it would retain its unique identity while gaining both full voting rights and full home rule.

Could this approach win the needed support in Congress, Maryland and the District?

Reunion with Maryland probably would gain bipartisan support in Congress because Republicans have demonstrated support for giving D.C. residents voting rights through Maryland-based proposals that would not add two senators. Meanwhile, Democratic leaders in Maryland surely would like to gain almost 700,000 new residents who, with their addition, would make Maryland more Democratic, more highly educated and wealthier. (Compared with Maryland, the District has a higher percentage of registered Democrats, a higher percentage of college graduates and a higher per-capita income.)

Once D.C. residents realize that the state of the District of Columbia is a bridge too far, they will support achieving statehood citizenship with Maryland’s help. Voting rights and full home rule are the goals, and both can be achieved by reuniting with Maryland.

There is, of course, a precedent for this. The District was originally created with land ceded from Virginia and Maryland. The Virginia portion was successfully returned to Virginia in 1847 after Virginia voters approved it the prior year.

Douglass County, Md., is the best path to D.C. statehood."

For more information:

Committee for the Capital City

PO Box 77443

Washington, DC 20013-8443

202-265-0200

info@cityhoodfordc.dev

Chris Conrad (born March 10, 1953) is an American author, activist, curator, publisher and court-recognized expert in cannabis cultivation and use. He has played a key role in the shaping of the modern industrial and medical cannabis reform movements as the author of such seminal books as Hemp: Lifeline to the Future (1993) and Hemp for Health (1997), as well as through his activist work as the co-founder and first President of the Hemp Industries Association (HIA), founder of the Business Alliance in Commerce and Hemp (BACH), and the signature gathering coordinator for the Proposition 215 volunteer effort which made California the first US state to legalize the medical use of cannabis.^[1] The December, 1999 issue of High Times ranked Conrad #10 on its list of top 25 “living legends in the battle for legal cannabi

Conrad’s writing career began when he designed and edited a revised edition of the hemp prohibition classic The Emperor Wears No Clothes by Jack Herer in 1990. He followed this with the publication of Hemp: Lifeline to the Future (1993), which was subsequently translated into Italian, and Hemp for Health (1997),^[6] which was subsequently translated into Spanish Portuguese, Czech and German. He is also the author of Cannabis Yields and Dosages (2004) and Nostradamus and the Attack on New York.

Conrad has co-authored two books with collaborators Virginia Resner and his wife Mikki Norris: Shattered Lives: Portraits From America’s Drug War   ^and Human Rights and the US Drug War.

In 2007, Conrad contributed a chapter on cannabis history to Pourquoi & Comment Cultiver Du Chanvre by Michka,^[12] where his writing appeared alongside contributions from other notable authors such as Jorge Cervantes, Raphael Mechoulam and Stephen Jay Gould.

In 1989, Conrad and his wife Mikki Norris co-founded the American Hemp Council, with the purpose of educating the American public on the many uses of industrial hemp and the laws against the crop in the United States.

In 1996, in the final weeks of the campaign (after the money came in and he was hired to do so), Conrad became the signature-gathering coordinator for the volunteer effort to pass California’s Proposition 215, the initiative which would go on to make the state the first in the US to legalize the medical use of marijuana.^[14] He was also a vocal supporter of California’s Proposition 19 in 2010, which came within four points of making California the first state to legalize all adult uses of cannabis.^[

Conrad has also been active in the movement to legalize industrial hemp, serving as the first president of the Hemp Industries Association (HIA) and founding the Business Alliance of Commerce in Hemp (BACH).

Since 2007, Conrad has taught at Oaksterdam University’s Oakland, California campus, where he teaches the history and politics of cannabis.

In 1993 and 2000, Conrad curated and designed the Hash-Marijuana-Hemp Museum in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. In 1995, Conrad and his wife Mikki Norris partnered with Virginia Resner to create and curate the “Human Rights ’95: Atrocities of the Drug War” photo exhibit to put a human face on non-violent prisoners of the Drug War and to show how the Drug War operates through their stories. Launched at the Fort Mason Center in San Francisco on June 24, 1995 for the 50th Anniversary the United Nations, the exhibit was put in context of the UN’s Declaration on Human Rights. The grand opening presented a program called, “Give Drug Peace a Chance,” that included Ram Dass, Paul Krassner, Jello Biafra, Ngaio Bealum, New Riders of the Purple Sage, and Terence Hallinan. They toured with this exhibit for many years, creating smaller excerpted displays that were shown at libraries, universities, conferences, and events under the name “Human Rights and the Drug War.” From 2011 to the present, Conrad has curated the Oaksterdam Cannabis Museum in Oakland, California.In 2014, Conrad and his wife Mikki Norris were jointly awarded the Seattle Hempfest Outstanding Cannabis Activist Award in recognition of their writing and advocacy work.

In 2010, Conrad was the recipient of Oaksterdam University’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

In 2004, Conrad and Norris received the Outstanding Citizen Activism Award at the 2004 national NORML conference.

In 2001, Conrad and Norris received the Drug Policy Alliance’s Robert C. Randall Award for Achievement in the Field of Citizen Action, along with collaborator Virginia Resner, Randy Credico of the William Moses Kunstler Fund for Racial Justice and Nora Callahan of the November Coalition.

The above information was taken from Wikipedia where Chris is listed.

Constance Finley, founder and CEO of Constance Therapeutics, was inspired by her own personal experience with a chronic illness. After nearly dying from the pharmaceuticals prescribed to help alleviate pain and inflammation caused by a rare autoimmune disease, Finley turned to medical cannabis for relief.

She quickly became fascinated with the science behind the medicinal benefits of cannabis. Studies have found that cannabinoids, like THC and CBD, are more effective when working in tandem with the entire phytochemical profile of the female cannabis flower versus working in isolation – what is known as “The Entourage Effect.” Based on her research, Finley became determined to make standardized, whole plant cannabis extracts that incorporate all the naturally occurring cannabinoids, terpenes and flavonoids in cannabis, and are safe for those with compromised immune systems.

Prior to Constance Therapeutics, Finley was founder and CEO of Housing Allies, Inc. She pioneered the use of tax credits to create high-quality, aesthetically delightful low-income housing for the working poor and ill, utilizing corporate investments motivated by financial tax benefits. Finley also worked as a clinical psychologist and taught psychology courses at Naropa University, Greeley Junior College and Lone Mountain College. She holds a Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology from the University of San Francisco, where she graduated first in her class, and a Bachelor of Arts in Eastern Studies and Psychology from Lone Mountain College, where she graduated summa cum laude.

CHIEF INVESTIGATOR FOR MUFON NEW JERSEY AND STATE DIRECTOR FOR MUFON VERMONT AND RHODE ISLAND. 16 YEARS IN MILITARY AND VETERAN FOR DESERT STORM IN 1991, PRIVATE PILOT, UFOLOGIST AND EDITOR AND FOUNDER

Erica is a QHHT practitioner, and a Naturopathic physician. She is an intuitive empath, and prophetic dreamer. She is the daughter of a Reiki master/Shiatsu practitioner, and the mother of a "crystal" child. She has been an avid student of philosophy, spirituality, metaphysical and esoteric concepts for over 20 years. She has always had a strong desire to understand what is going on within the universe and also within the “little universes” of our bodies. She has been practicing natural medicine in Arizona for 12 years. Her passion is helping people learn to live healthy, happy lives. After years of practice, she became increasingly aware of the connection between the mind and the body, learning first hand that we ARE creating our own realities. She believes that we all have an infinite source of power within us. A power that we can use for our benefit or for our detriment. It is up to us, and the decisions we make. Her goal is to help others learn to connect with this source.

Scott Wilhite is an award-winning commercial filmmaker turned social entrepreneur. What that means is he now uses his talents to help relieve unnecessary suffering—and nothing is more unnecessary than being unhappy and dissatisfied when you don’t have to. As a filmmaker he felt he was a “tortured artist” and grudgingly accepted the fact that “that’s just how life is for people in the creative field.” Then the most fortunate thing happened. He stumbled into the research of positive psychology and found that through simple mindfulness practices he could increase his happiness levels—and make them stick. Happiness is actually a skill, and like any skill it’s something you can improve. He’s now the founder of nCOURAGE.LIFE, the creator of the Feed Your Happy app, and the author of the best-selling book, The 7 Core Skills of Everyday Happiness: Scientifically Proven Skills for a Happier, More Meaningful Life.