Biography
Michael Mayes has been called one of the most influential voices in international cannabis consulting by CannaInsider for his leadership as CEO of Quantum 9. Michael, an Asian-American, has been instrumental in the educating elected officials, physicians, business owners and patients about the therapeutic and palliative effects of cannabis around the world. In 2012, Michael started a cannabis consulting firm Quantum 9, Inc. His award-winning consulting team has been engaged globally in public policy and the manufacturing of cannabinoid products through the prioritization of environmental sustainability and patient care. In 2015, Quantum 9 was awarded the prestigious CannAwards Most Disruptive Company. In 2016, Quantum 9 was recognized by Corporate Visions Magazine as the Best International Marijuana Consulting Firm. In 2017, Michael was awarded the Bronze Stevie Award for Executive of the Year and the Silver Golden Bride Award for Most Influential People of the Year in Business.
Michael started his cannabis career as an angel investor in 2009, in Good Meds which has grown revenues over $7M annually and have serviced over 300,000 medical cannabis patients. Michael comes from humble beginnings; his family is considered lower middle class, Michael helped with school financing from back-breaking construction work full time during this colligate career. By the age of 26, Michael developed a custom piece of software that helped align cannabis strains to patient ailments and created one of the first seed-to-sale tracking software for government compliance. Michael started his software architecture and development career as a lead consultant for a Chicago based Microsoft Gold Partner. His work was instrumental in the firm’s acquisition of the 2010 Microsoft SharePoint Partner of the Year Award.
In 2016, Michael started Greenwave Naturals, LLC, a medical cannabis dispensary located in Lansing, MI. Michael has personally assisted many medical cannabis patients including his assistance with a prominent Michigan physician’s son who had autism. Michael shows exemplary commitment to his community as well. His most recent charity projects in 2016 involved donating part of Greenwave’s revenue to the Homeless Angels Project, a not-for-profit organization which provides hotel accommodations to the homeless. Michael also led charitable drives at Greenwave, collecting various hotel toiletries to provide for the homeless, the drive has generated 4,325 shampoos, 2,653 conditioners and 5,872 bars of soap.
Michael is a member of the International Cannabinoid Research Society (ICRS), contributor to Marijuana Business Daily, quoted in the Chicago Tribune, Tampa Tribune, Yahoo Finance, Sativa Magazine, CBC and the Daily Herald. His media appearances include several CBS and WGN appearances and international presence on BNN Commodities in Canada. On the public policy front, Michael and his team were instrumental in their work of drafting the Kentucky Medical Marijuana Bill for Senator Perry Clark. Most recently, Michael taught a class for the International Pharmaceutical Academy in Toronto, Canada. He spoke on Cannabis Pharmacology, and the effects cannabis has on the endocannabinoid system.
Michael performs public speaking engagements all over the world helping governments and politicians understand how legal medical cannabis policies are written and enforced. In 2016, Michael has helped the German Ministry, Representatives from Guam and Senators in Pennsylvania. Michael has been invited to speak this year at the MJIC in San Francisco and the World of Cannabis show in Las Vegas. Michael personally helps patients understand the effects of cannabis and how different strains help different ailments.