Guelph dance teacher selected to be 'cannabis connoisseur'

A Toronto-based company is paying eight people from across Canada $1,000 per month to sample cannabis strains and curate retail packages for one year. 

The eight people selected will become "cannabis connoisseurs" and form the "cannabis curation committee," for the company A Higher Level of Thought. 

Among the eight selected was Kayla Gerber, a dance teacher, actor and singer from Guelph, Ont. 

"Cannabis education is something that has always been interesting to me whether that's recreational or medical," Gerber told CBC, adding that she has been using cannabis since she was 15 years old. 

"I thought ... 'I can really bring my experience and diversity as a black woman under 30 to represent something of wellness that is really a big part of my life and has been a big part of my life for the last 12 years,'" Gerber said. 

Lost in sameness 

Martin Strazovec, chief creative officer of AHLOT, says there were 25,000 people who applied for the program. 

"The average consumer, whether they were familiar with cannabis brands previously or not, would likely be utterly lost in a new sea of sameness," he said. 

"The reason why we started the company with curated variety packs was to help with this sea of choice that we thought people would be facing," said Strazovec. 

The selected cannabis connoisseurs are expected to test marijuana strains for a year as well as promote events and activities. 

Gerber said with the money, she's hoping to pay off her student bills, find a new home and travel.

"We're not just people smoking weed for fun," she said.

"It's actually very serious for us to report and test and give out information—and it's going to be a lot of fun."