Emily Rigby
Cannabis Industry and Cultivation Consultant, Rigby Research Emily is a research scientist and passionate advocate for natural medicines – promoting industry development, efficient production methods, education, patient access, research and regulatory reform.
About this speaker
Since 2016, Emily has played an integral role in developing the Australian medicinal cannabis industry. This includes establishing one of Australia’s first licenced medicinal cannabis cultivation and research facilities and releasing Australian-grown cannabis medicines into local and export markets.
Emily is on the Board of the Australian Medicinal Cannabis Association (AMCA) and Director of Protected Cropping Australia (PCA) – Australia’s peak industry body for hydroponic and greenhouse growers. Emily was recognised as Australia’s 2021 ‘Woman of Weed’ in the Australian Cannabis Awards for her contribution to female leadership in the cannabis industry.
Emily has a diverse range of expertise including propagation and cultivation methods, postharvest processing, facility design, licensing, regulatory compliance, patient access, education, marketing, research and business development. She currently runs her own consultancy assisting local and global cannabis stakeholders achieve their goals in the rapidly evolving cannabis space.
Prior to working in the field of Medical Cannabis, Emily worked in ornamental horticulture for over 10 years and taught scientific research methods at the University of the Sunshine Coast for 9 years. Emily is a 2016 Nuffield Australia Farming Scholar and President of the Australian Society of Horticultural Science from 2017 to 2021.
Through her passion for education, Emily has initiated a dedicated Medical Cannabis stream at PCA conferences since 2019 and developed the first industry program and trade exhibition at the United in Compassion (UIC) Australian Medicinal Cannabis Symposium in 2022. Emily continues to demonstrate her strong commitment to this field through ongoing education and advocacy within the industry, including speaker engagements, stakeholder workshops, and organising industry conferences (UIC2023 and PCA2023).
In addition, Emily is also sharing her knowledge and expertise to facilitate the ‘psychedelic renaissance’, to enable better mental health outcomes through psychedelic-assisted therapy.
Emily is dedicated to removing the stigma surrounding natural medicines and facilitating a holistic approach to patient access and industry development on a global scale.
