For over 20 years, Masha Belinson, AKA Masha Ty (pronounced “T”), has resolved significant challenges for Fortune 500 companies in the areas of omnichannel marketing, eCommerce, application development, compliance, talent acquisition, resource planning, and brand activations. Ty brings her passion and experience to the cannabis and psychedelics sectors.
Armed with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) from American University and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from George Washington University, Ty’s qualifications are a testament to her readiness to tackle the challenges of these developing sectors.
Ty works across sectors for cannabis and hemp compliance, entheogens research, and analytical testing for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and International Standards Organization (ISO/IEC 17025:2017) accredited, ACS Laboratory, which tests flower, concentrates, extracts, beverages, transdermal patches, vapes, inhalers, topicals, gummies, and almost any other product imaginable.
It is considered crucial by health and safety officials to avoid purchasing products that are not tested by an ISO-accredited and DEA-registered lab.
As a pioneering facility in the cannabis testing space, ACS was founded in 2008 as a clinical laboratory, pivoting to the first cannabis testing laboratory in Florida by 2018. Six years later, ACS’s clients regard it as one of the most prominent cannabis and hemp, third-party testing and compliance laboratories.
Utilizing its vast experience in high-complexity laboratory tests, ACS developed proprietary testing methods for cannabis, hemp, and their derivatives as well as kratom and mushrooms.
At ACS, Ty is pivotal in managing corporate growth through digital marketing and education. Having published dozens of peer-reviewed blogs, bridging the gaps between applied and analytical science and product development, her efforts have expanded the ACS testing scope from purely cannabis and hemp to mushrooms and kratom. The result has been an accumulation of over 1,800 clients with a highly successful retention rate. She collaborates with brands on lab testing for compliance, product development, and trend anticipation. Her expertise is instrumental in helping clients set up DEA permits for shipping Psilocybin-containing mushrooms domestically and internationally, and managing those relationships.
Passionate about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), Ty also co-founded CannaFamiliawith the ethos of “a healer in every home.” CannaFamilia focuses on patient navigation and cannabis wellness education through pre-recorded, TV-quality variety shows in Spanish, with expansion plans to include other languages including Russian, German, and Portuguese.
Notably, Ty was a vital founding team member for a groundbreaking ketamine telemedicine platform which was later sold to a Canadian public Company.
Ty’s unwavering commitment to mentorship and guidance is evident in her pro bono work with patients and consumers. She assists them in interpreting certificates of analysis (COAs), commonly known as “test results” for cannabis, hemp, mushroom, and kratom products. By reviewing COAs, Ty helps people make informed choices and select the right products for their specific needs.
Ty is the proud parent of five dogs, including two nervous rescue animals. In her spare time, with necessity being the mother of invention, Ty is working on developing a High Frequency Pets platform that will unify like-minded dog owners with product makers and provide valuable insights for plant- and fungi-based dog products.
Her commitment to the health and wellness of animals and people alike, by creating new roadmaps in psychedelic research, integration, and set and setting—meaning the mindset and the physical and social environment in which a person has a psychedelic experience—is a testament to her innovative spirit and dedication to pushing boundaries in her field.
This article first appeared in Cannabis & Tech Today Vol. 6. Issue 2.
