Libby is a retired addiction psychiatrist and a clinical faculty member of the CU School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry. After serving for 20 years as the Director of the CO Mental Health Institute at the Pueblo Circle Program, Dr. Stuyt believes, “High-potency marijuana is the worst drug we have because it is so insidious. Everyone has ‘normalized’ it and believes it is safe.”

Dr. Karen Randall is an emergency medicine physician. She has had residency training in family practice, pediatrics, and emergency medicine. Prior to moving back to Colorado, Dr. Randall taught residents and medical students at a large teaching hospital in Detroit. She currently practices emergency medicine in Southern Colorado, where she is the vice president of case management for the emergency department. Dr. Randall has a certificate in Cannabis Science and Medicine from the University of Vermont. 

Kenneth Finn, MD has been practicing Pain Medicine in Colorado Springs since 1994.  He is Board Certified in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (1995), Pain Medicine (1998), and Pain Management (2000).  He is President (2022) to the American Board of Pain Medicine and has served on their Exam Council for 20 years. He served on the Colorado Governor’s Task Force on Amendment 64, which legalized marijuana for recreational use, Consumer Safety and Social Issues Work Group (2012) and serve 4 years on Colorado’s Medical Marijuana Scientific Advisory Council (2014-18).  He has testified to the Canadian Senate on their marijuana bill (2018) and speaks internationally on the health impacts of marijuana, including being an invited speaker to the Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, UCLA VA Medical Center, and the Texas Medical Society.  He is editor of Cannabis in Medicine: An Evidence-Based Approach (2020) and currently the Co-Vice President (2021) of the International Academy on the Science and Impacts of Cannabis (https://iasic1.org). Dr. Finn is a member of Johnny's Ambassadors Scientific Advisory Board.

From non-profits to hospitals to private programs, Ben has been a leader inside of many forms of addiction treatment and prevention. From 2017-2020, Ben was a consultant to various treatment programs, state governments, professional and collegiate athletics, and labor. He is now CEO of the Foundry Steamboat Springs, an inpatient treatment program for men in the mountains of Colorado. His TED talk “Surprising Truths about Legalizing Cannabis” has been viewed over 2.5 million times.

Luke is the Executive Vice President of one of the nation’s leading non-profit, non-partisan marijuana policy organizations, Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM). He is also the CEO of Protect Our Kids PAC, a parent-led Super PAC. Prior to SAM, Luke worked in management in nonprofit health care as well founding and selling a digital health startup. Luke graduated from the University of Denver, is a Masters Candidate at Johns Hopkins University, and lives in south Denver with his lovely wife and two daughters.

Marijuana legalization has led to increases in psychoses, suicide, recurrent vomiting episodes termed cannabinoid hyperemesis syndrome, and patients using marijuana instead of other treatments for their medical care resulting in adverse consequences. These patients present to the ED with adverse consequences to themselves, their families, other patients, the cost of medical care, and affect ED overcrowding. 

Brad Roberts was born and raised in Pueblo, Colorado. After graduating Cum Laude from Brigham Young University, completing medical school at the Medical College of Wisconsin, and completing residency in Emergency Medicine at the University of New Mexico where he served as one of the chief residents, he returned back home, where he works at Parkview Health System with Southern Colorado Emergency Medicine Associates. He is also the Chief Medical Officer for the Pueblo Department of Public Health and Environment.

As Robbie’s mom and the executive director of Robbie’s Hope, Kari devotes the majority her time to advocating for youth mental health awareness and suicide prevention. She certified to give advice on strategies for youth suicide prevention as a QPR trainer and a youth mental health first aid trainer. She has given dozens of presentations on youth mental health and suicide prevention and has hosted three galas for the Robbie’s Hope Foundation. She worked closely with teens and mental health professionals to create the “Robbie’s Hope Adult Handbook” series and all other resources, programming, and legislative reform projects developed by the organization. Prior to raising two beautiful kids and co-founding Robbie’s Hope with her husband Jason, Kari was owner of Roberts-Eckert Funeral Home in Forest Lake, MN. She has her graduate degree in mortuary science from the University of Minnesota and an undergraduate degree in psychology from North Dakota State University.

5:30 Adjourn