Meet the CannaKeys Team.
Uwe Blesching
Co-Founder/Chief Science OfficerUwe Blesching is a medical writer and regular contributor in the fields of the cannabinoid health sciences, mind-body medicine, phytopharmacology, as well as evidence-based illness prevention and treatment protocols. In addition to his life-long passion for Integrative Medicine, his writings are informed by Blesching’s rigorous in depth research and twenty years experience in emergency medicine as a Paramedic for the City of San Francisco. He holds a BA in Humanities from the New College of California; an MA in Psychology and a PhD in Higher Education and Social Change from the Western Institute for Social Research.
Doug Reil
Co-Founder/Chief Executive OfficerDouglas Reil is motivated to drive the mission of CannaKeys by his experience working with patients and his own experience incorporating cannabis to help treat his Crohn’s Disease. In the cannabis industry, he has worked in compliance and community development and is currently the Program Director of the compassion program Mission: Compassion which provides free cannabis medicine to low-income patients and was a founding member of the California Compassion Coalition which drove the passage of SB34 which created compliant pathways for compassionate cannabis activities in California.
David Rosenthal
Co-Founder/Chief Technology OfficerDavid Rosenthal became a full stack web developer after a decade of experience growing B2B companies as a business development consultant and digital media strategist. He is proud to be a co-founder of CannaKeys and has enjoyed the challenge of bringing Uwe’s vision of an endocannabinoid research platform to the world. Rosenthal holds an MFA degree in poetry from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. He did not coin the phrase “Code is Poetry,” but it does explain his career trajectory and approach to coding as a means to create new experiences and richer communications.
Nancy Quigley
Cannabis Science AnalystNancy Quigley is an integrative nurse practitioner/herbalist. She attended Boston College for her undergraduate degree in nursing and Tennessee State University for her master’s. She holds a second master’s degree in exercise physiology from Boston University. For over a decade, she worked in lifestyle medicine and health coaching. Nancy studied herbal medicine with physician Dr. Tieraona Low Dog. She has been a cannabis nurse since 2014 assisting clients navigate the world of cannabis therapeutics. She has been active with Patient’s Out of Time since 2015 and was a board member of the American Cannabis Nurses Association (ACNA) 2017-2019.
Hailey Pash
Cannabis Science AnalystHailey Pash is a Nurse Practitioner with over 15 years of healthcare experience as a critical-care nurse and an oncology nurse practitioner. She thrives on navigating complex patient care scenarios and is passionate about collaborating with other medical professionals to evolve patient care best practices, improve patient and practitioner education, and enhance the patient experience. She has given lectures and counseled patients undergoing cancer treatment on emerging research around cannabis and CBD use both medicinally and recreationally. Hailey holds an undergraduate degree in Nursing from University of Northern Colorado and a Master’s degree also in Nursing from University of South Alabama. She currently resides in Denver, CO with her husband, rescue dog Gus, and her two cats.
Dr. Abraham Benavides
Medical Reviewer / Advisor / Cannabis Science AnalystDr. Abraham Benavides is a worldwide cannabis consultant and full-tuition merit scholar of the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. He also studied Biology and Business Administration at Boston University. During medical school, Abe earned a Health Policy Track certificate by advocating for the advancement of Hispanic public health and the interests of 50,000 US Hispanic physicians on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. In 2016, he started the Cannabis as Medicine Interest Group at GWU, the first cannabis-focused educational group at a US medical school. Abe survived severe COVID-19 infection and lives with new disabilities including Long COVID, POTS, and PTSD. He loves spending time with his wife and pug, Bruschetta.