The newsroom

Reporters, editors, reviewers.

Every CannIntel byline links to the reporter who wrote it. Every medical story is reviewed by a licensed clinician before publication. Here's who we are.

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Marcus Vela
Editor-in-Chief
Federal policy · Business · Markets

Marcus has covered cannabis policy and markets for nine years, previously reporting from Washington for a national trade publication. He oversees CannIntel's editorial standards and original reporting.

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Dr. Lena Whitfield, PharmD
Medical Editor
Medical cannabis · Cannabinoid research · Pharmacology

Lena reviews every medical and research article on CannIntel. She is a licensed pharmacist with a research focus on cannabinoid pharmacokinetics and drug interactions.

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Rio Okafor
Senior Growing Correspondent
Cultivation science · Genetics · Equipment

Rio has run commercial cannabis cultivation operations across three states and now reports on growing science, genetics, and emerging plant pathologies — including hop latent viroid.

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Harper Ash
Strains & Culture Reporter
Strains · Breeders · Cannabis culture

Harper covers new breeder releases, cup winners, and the genetics moving the legacy market. Her strain reviews involve verified terpene panels and side-by-side grow logs.

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Tomas Greer
State Policy Reporter
State legalization · Ballot measures · Local regulation

Tomas tracks every state legalization bill, ballot measure, and licensing round. He maintains the CannIntel legalization tracker.

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Kira Mantel
Markets & Business Reporter
MSO earnings · Investment · M&A

Kira covers the publicly-traded cannabis sector, MSO earnings, M&A activity, and wholesale pricing trends. Previously a junior equity analyst on a cannabis-focused fund.