Joshua Crossney: Champion for Science and Authenticity

Personally, I became a fan of the Cannabis Science Conference when I started getting involved in the cannabis industry several years ago. I first found the event on social media and started following because their agenda was always packed with top quality educators. Through all this time I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know Josh more closely, and he recently took the time to speak with me about what it’s like just being himself.

Many people know Joshua Crossney as the CEO and Founder of CSC Events, LLC., which hosts and operates the world’s largest semi-annual Cannabis Science Conference, but that’s only one of many positions he plays as a champion for science and authenticity. He is also the President and Founder of jCanna, Inc, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization devoted to the advancement of cannabis science, analytical testing, and personalized medicine, in addition to being a contributing editor & columnist for Cannabis & Science Technology Magazine, and serving on the advisory board of CannaKids. On top of all this, he’s an internationally recognized public speaker including presentations in Colombia, Israel, Jamaica, and Canada. It’s no wonder he was featured in Marijuana Venture’s “40 Under 40: Rising Stars in the Cannabis Industry” and recognized as one of the “Top 25 Cannabis Innovators for 2020” by Cannabis & Tech Today.

Antonio: “Can you share a few highlights about your background in analytical science recruiting and event planning?”

Joshua: “Before I got into the cannabis industry, I was doing staffing and recruiting for the analytical science industry and I was working with a lot of environmental labs, food safety labs, instrument manufacturer and providers. This background eventually led to a great opportunity to transition into cannabis because I had a lot of relationships and networking within that community.

I've always been really passionate about science, and especially quality control. We have standardized quality control testing for just about everything that is consumable or comes into contact with humans, but even still to this day, cannabis testing for quality control is not completely standardized. I wanted to get in and utilize my network and the people that we were working with to build a reputable science platform for these researchers and people to come together and share their information.”

Antonio: “What can you tell me about your work as a writer for Cannabis Science and Technology Magazine?”

Joshua: “It has been a pleasure working with Cannabis Science & Technology. Cannabis Science & Technology is a publication that was launched by the producers of LCGC & Spectroscopy magazines. Since the launch of Cannabis Science Conference in 2016, LCGC & Spectroscopy have been our Premier Media Sponsors of the shows. They seqwayed into the cannabis market with CS&T in 2018 and we helped work with them to launch that magazine. It was something where I was writing for a few different outlets for a while, but then this one took off and it was pretty successful out the gate. We went from four issues a year to six issues a year last year, to this year, now we're doing nine issues. It really just ended up being one of those things where I had the column and the platform to get my messages out there more and more frequently, honestly more than I even imagined in the beginning.

My most recent column is about the academic cannabis programs at University of Maryland School of Pharmacy and Northern Michigan University. The development of these programs has been really great and encouraging for me to see. Going back to 2014, 2015 when we were just getting into this, you didn't have major universities and institutions who were willing to really say, hey, we want to start academic cannabis programs on cannabis education and cannabis science. I feel this was due to the risk of losing federal and private donor funding for violating federal law. I am excited to see more and more of these programs launching in the future.”

Antonio: “What excites you the most about cannabis science?”

Joshua: “The thing that most excites me about cannabis science is really digging out of the 50+ years of misinformation, propaganda and prohibition and using science as a tool to combat this.

We've come so far in this industry and I think the science, research, medicine, and the why behind this plant is really what's gotten it to where it is with public perception and acceptance. I strongly feel that the science and research will continue to push us all the way over the finish line. I've always said until we have better access to true representative cannabis samples for research in the US due to cannabis being a schedule 1 drug here, it's really valuable to have the cross-border relationships when it comes to research with certain countries like Canada and Israel that have better access to the medicine people are using.”

Antonio: “What is your personal relationship with cannabis now and how has it changed over the years?”

Joshua: “I've come to find that through my journey, as a patient, I use cannabis to treat anxiety issues, and I was in a really bad car accident about ten years ago. I have some physical ailments from that in my shoulder and my back, as well as some PTSD issues associated with the accident. 

Going back ten years, I didn’t always realize that I was actually using this as a medicine. I might have thought it helps me relax, but before I knew what I know now, I never really considered myself a “patient”. But then I realized cannabis was helping me deal with these issues, and for me, someone who does have some slight anxiety issues and has been on prescription drugs like benzos in the past, I’ve learned that cannabis is just a much better tool for me to utilize to tamper down those kind of anxieties, rather than pharmaceuticals.

Antonio: “How do you prefer to consume?”

Joshua: “I am more of a flower guy, honestly. Not that I don’t appreciate concentrates here and there, but I tend to be more of a flower smoker. I really feel like all cannabis use is beneficial, even when we don't realize it.”

Antonio: “In one of your interviews for Forbes where you were interviewed as one of several LGBTQ leaders in the cannabis industry, you defined the difference between inclusivity and representation stating that you felt like the cannabis industry was very inclusive but not necessarily representative. It was almost a year ago that that came out. Have you seen any changes in representation since that interview? 

Joshua: “I think we're seeing more and more representation. I actually participated in a series of articles based on that topic last year and it was around the LGBTQ+ pride season. I really wanted to be a voice and stand up for my community. I think there's a lot of people that aren't comfortable with sharing that kind of information about themselves, and to be honest, when you’re in a professional setting, you shouldn't have to if you don't want to. For me, it just made sense to be open about who I am, and I think that never pretending to be something I wasn’t really has been a strong advantage for me. 

I feel the industry is very inclusive, but I think we do still have a lot of room for improvement. We have seen a bit more representation over the last year, in my opinion. I attended a mixer in Vegas during MJBizCon that had a LGBTQ focus around cannabis professionals. The same group hosted this event at the previous show in Vegas and I did notice an increase from the year before. I think more and more people are starting to speak out, like the amazing Renee Gagnon in Canada who is a strong voice and advocate for the LGBTQ+ community as a trans individual, and Kyle Porter who's with CMW media who both were also featured in some of the LGBTQ+ article with me. Not that I'm trying to call myself brave, but I think it is a brave choice to make the decision to be a voice for your community. I think that the visibility is up to us sometimes, you know? And really at that point I was just like, why not be a voice for other people like me and maybe other LGBTQ+ individuals that might not know the inner workings of the cannabis industry and know that it is an open industry and that there is a place here for you. At the end of the day, that was my motive behind speaking out.

Actually, in doing these interviews I've gotten great feedback from people that were just so appreciative of the topic being highlighted. I’m really glad that I decided to use my voice to speak out for a community that I’m a part of. 

Antonio: “You mentioned you don't know whether or not you would consider yourself brave for sharing that, but honestly I feel like anyone who is open to being their authentic self, regardless of what that authentic self is, publicly is brave in itself. So, thank you for being open and talking about it, because it is a big deal.”

Joshua: “I appreciate that. I just feel like, almost more than being brave, it just ended up being an advantage to me because I'm not going out here to all these shows and meeting all these people and trying to be something I'm not. I think when you don't pretend to be something you're not, you can just focus on the work at hand, developing relationships and being who you are.”

Antonio: “What do attendees need to know about the Cannabis Science Conference events coming up this year?”

Joshua: “We're really excited for both of our 2020 shows. We have our 2020 Cannabis Science Conference East coming up June 29th through July 1st in Baltimore, MD. I live here in Baltimore, but we have been doing the show in Portland, OR since 2016, and we have been growing it out there, because at the time, 2015, 2016 when we were putting these shows together, there wasn't really much of a market on the East coast. So, we knew we kind of had to take our dreams out West and build the show, but it was really a great, full circle feeling to bring the show to Baltimore, last April with over 2,000 attendees, and we're really excited to be coming back. 

Joshua Crossney with Stormy Simon

We have some amazing keynotes lined up. I'm really excited about my dear friend, Stormy Simon, who is the CEO of High Times. She's also the former President of Overstock. Stormy will be joining us for a keynote talking about her journey going from subculture to science, that's really what we've seen happening in the industry over the past five or six years. I think that'll be a really interesting topic that will resonate with our attendees. We also have Dr. Sue Sisley and her attorney, Matt Zorn, who are going to be giving their talk Sue’n the DEA, they’ll outline their lawsuit with the DEA based on the federal monopoly on cannabis for research, how they won, and what that means. We’re looking forward to getting the public engaged and aware of that whole situation. I feel that knowledge is power and the more you know, the more you can do for your world. 

We also have Dr. Bonni Goldstein, who is a world-renowned pediatrician that specializes in cannabis. We’ll have Tracy Ryan there who’s doing amazing research for UCLA. You and your lovely wife will be there talking about hemp as cannabis athletes, so really just a ton of amazing people. You can view our full agenda for our analytical science, medical cannabis, cultivation and hemp tracks at https://www.cannabisscienceconference.com/program-and-speakers/. 

We would love for everyone to join us in Baltimore and at our 2020 Cannabis Science Conference West that'll be coming up in Portland, Oregon, August 31st through September 2nd. We encourage people to come to our conferences and learn about analytical science, medical cannabis topics, cultivation and hemp. Our medical cannabis track really speaks to the patients and consumers. We talk about topics like medical cannabis for geriatrics, pediatrics, and things like routes of administration. We hear from doctors and cannabis nurses that are treating real life patients and sharing their research and data. We also have a robust exhibit floor. In Baltimore we'll have over 150 vendors at the show ranging from companies based in cannabis science, medicine, and hemp, as well as ancillary brands, media companies and other businesses we are working with cannabis. It’s always a great time and we encourage everyone to come and join us."