Sleep, Insomnia, and Medical Marijuana

Since retiring from the Army, I started out working as a delivery driver for a local dispensary (Surterra) in 2018. I worked my way up to assistant manager opening a new location (FWB) within 10 months. Though I love the dispensary side of the industry, I felt it necessary to gain clinical experience. So I decided to take a job with The Kaya Life Cannabis Clinicians as a Cannabis Advisor/Practice Manager in 2021. The key to this change is that I was no longer held back by dispensary retail liabilities, meaning I could now be more specific in advising patients. In doing so, I began learning from others experiences along with my own in more detail, a true blue case study at the user level (not peer-reviewed). This allowed me to assist others in finding specific products for specific results, saving hundreds of dollars.

​I believe that due to the nature of cannabis and how it may affect individuals differently, there is a need for advising/coaching for those who find little assistance in the general consultations being provided in the market today.

​Qualifications:

• Interpener or Cannabis Sommelier (Certified)
• Cannabis Consultant (Certified)
• Cannabis Products & Sales Training (Certified) by the Trichome Institute and Medical Cannabis Wellness Advisor
• Member of the new National Association of Cannabis Businesses (NACB) as a professional within the industry

Webinars featuring Manny Alfinez:

• Your Terpene Toolbox: Choosing the Right Terpenes for Your Condition / June 5, 2024
• The Active Components of Cannabis: How Cannabinoids Support the Human Body / April 17, 2024
• Finding Relief: Getting Started with Medical Cannabis / April 10, 2024
• Arthritis and Medical Marijuana / March 20, 2024
• Dosing with Medical Marijuana / March 13, 2024
• Cancer, Chemotherapy, and Medical Marijuana / March 6, 2024
• Terpenes: The Key to Medical Marijuana / February 21, 2024
• Sleep, Insomnia, and Medical Marijuana / January 31, 2024
• Anxiety, Stress, and Medical Marijuana / January 10, 2024
• Cannabinoids: CBD, THC, CBN, Delta-8, and More / December 6, 2023
• Neuropathy and Medical Marijuana / November 29, 2023
• Post-Traumatic Stress and Medical Marijuana / November 8, 2023
• Fibromyalgia and Medical Marijuana / October 25, 2023
• Arthritis and Medical Marijuana / September 13, 2023
• Anxiety, Stress, and Medical Marijuana / September 6, 2023
• Managing Chronic & Acute Pain with Medical Marijuana / August 16, 2023
• Cancer, Chemotherapy, and Medical Marijuana / June 21, 2023
• Terpenes: The Key to Medical Marijuana / May 3, 2023

Dr. Gregory Holt is the Director of Operations and Polysomnography for Respiratory Quality Services (RQS) in Houston, TX. Dr. Holt has been trained as a respiratory therapist at LSU Medical Center in Shreveport, LA. He’s worked in the acute care setting on code teams, ventilator management, labor & delivery, and hyperbaric medicine. He has administrative experience as the Asst. Director of Respiratory Care at E.A. Conway Memorial Hospital, Monroe, LA., Director of Pulmonary Diagnostic Testing at Temple University Hospital, Philadelphia, PA., and Program Director of Respiratory Care, Florida A&M University.

He completed his education at the University of Florida’s College of Medicine, earning a Doctorate in Physiology in 1992 while studying Respiratory Muscle Afferent Signal Processing. He has been involved in clinical sleep medicine for 25 years prior to his arrival at RQS. Dr. Holt participated in the initiation of the Sleep Diagnostic Laboratory at Temple University Hospital in 1992. He was Board Certified as a Clinical Sleep Specialist by the American Board of Sleep Medicine in 2005 and since has helped thousands of patients with sleep/wake disorders. Dr. Holt has been the Medical Director of sleep clinics in Florida, he’s held joint appointments with UT Medicine, Pulmonary Medicine at Temple University Hospital, Pulmonary Medicine at the Audie Murphy Memorial VA Hospital and the Sleep Therapy & Research Institute in San Antonio. Dr. Holt continues his interests in clinical patient care and remains active as a Respiratory Therapist at the South Texas ALS Clinic and the Houston Methodist ALS Clinic. He has been involved with Veteran’s Health while working as a Certified Hyperbaric Technologist and diving with patients suffering from traumatic brain injury.

His research interests are in the control of breathing, diagnostic testing in the ALS population and sleep medicine. Dr. Holt has published a number of peer-reviewed articles and several book chapters in the field. His most recent publication is a book chapter on the Principles of Mechanical Ventilation (Shelledy & Peters, eds., 2019).

Currently, Dr. Holt serves as a member of the HME-RT Council, American Association for Homecare, an item writer for the National Board of Respiratory Care, and President of the Texas Society of Sleep Professionals. He continues to work with the ALS Association, and local support and community groups while enjoying participating in ALS sponsored events. He is an avid motorcycle enthusiast, enjoys sailing, diving, hunting & fishing. Dr Holt is married and has 5 children which he jokes about, pointing to his interest as a long-distance motorcyclist.

Webinars featuring Gregory Holt:

• Improving Sleep and Medical Marijuana / March 8, 2023
• Sleep, Insomnia and Medical Marijuana / January 12, 2022
• Sleep, Insomnia, and Medical Marijuana / June 1, 2022
• Improving Sleep with Medical Marijuana / November 9, 2022