Name: Jessilyn Dolan, RN | Certified Ganjier
Location: Fletcher, Vermont
Ganjier Graduating Class: April, 2022
Favorite Cultivar(s):
For Medicinal Use: Blueberry Muffin by Humboldt Seed Co., Nine Pound Hammer by Jinxproof.
For Creativity/Dancing: Most anything higher in terpinolene – Durban Poison classic fave, along with Ed Rosenthal Superbud.
To Cultivate: Golden Lemons by Crockett Family Farms.
What was your position before joining Ganjier? I am a Clean Green Certified hemp farmer and medical cannabis cultivating patient and caregiver as well as a holistic nurse, researcher and educator.
What is it now? I am applying for a Vermont adult-use cannabis cultivation license to bridge the gap between medical and adult use cannabis. I just bought a farm this summer! I am now a state-approved vendor trainer, educating budtenders and cannabis professionals statewide for the adult-use market, from history and cultivation, to medicinal use and Ganjier quality assessments.
What was your primary motivation for joining the cannabis field? Cannabis has always been a part of my life and family from as early as I can remember, and as an herbalist, nurse and patient myself, working in the cannabis industry was a natural fit.
Having had almost forty surgeries myself since childhood, cannabis and alternative medicine has been a lifelong support.
As an activist and state representative for Vermont nurses, and having a partner who is a felon for cannabis cultivation, advocating and educating seemed a given.
Why did you choose the Ganjier program? I wanted to learn and study from Frenchy, and this was the best option available. I have always looked up to Swami as a Clean Green farmer and Kevin Jodrey’s brilliance with genetics so it was worth taking a trip to the triangle to learn from them!
Was there a game-changing “A-ha” moment for you during the course? During my live training in CA, I realized how lucky and privileged I have been (and am) to have been part of the cannabis industry, as well as cultivating cannabis, for decades. The experience I gained over the years as a grower and having access to high quality cannabis from other fabulous growers over the decades, has been invaluable and truly helped me on my journey to becoming a Certified Ganjier.
What skills/knowledge/philosophy have you been able to take away and apply to your cannabis career? The assessment skills that Ganjier teaches and develops have helped me become even more of a conscious cannabis consumer and educator than I had been before. Understanding complexity, maturity and curing more in-depth and a bit differently has helped me look at harvesting, drying/curing and post processing differently, as well as delving deeper into genetics and terroir!
What impact did the Ganjier training have on your cannabis future? Ganjier helped me come full-circle, with 2022 being a big year for me.
From deep roots in a legacy past, to just recently having had the honor of publishing my cannabis research with Raphael Mechoulam himself one month (a “high”light of any medical professionals career!), becoming a Certified Ganjier the next, buying a farm this summer, and now judging Oklahoma’s Cannabis Cowboy Cup with a team of Ganjiers, bridging the gap between medical and adult-use, legal and legacy, has always been my goal. And Ganjier is a big piece of attaining that goal!
To those considering the Ganjier course what advice would you give? Start with the online courses. Medical professionals especially who are not themselves smokers or consumers, would benefit from the online portion alone. Grow, grow and grow some more. Touch the plants, and listen to where and how they guide you. She won’t steer you wrong.
