ABOUT DR GIANNI DEL ROSARIO-MAKRIDIS
Gianni has always believed the surroundings we accept shape the life we live, a principle he tested by changing his own. After a decade working in the big smoke, he sold up shop and set off to the hills and valleys of Ecuador in pursuit of a deeper purpose. Living alongside local communities, he gained firsthand insight into the transformative potential of native medicinal plants. Upon returning to Australia, he struggled to explain his profound shift in perspective to loved ones, despite feeling certain that what had helped him could also help many others. That's when he decided to reskill as a plant scientist to become a credible, scientifically backed voice for medicinal plants. A decade later, that decision led to him becoming the first PhD graduate of the ARC Research Hub for Medicinal Agriculture at La Trobe University, specialising in medicinal cannabis.
Today, as a leading scientist inside the medicinal cannabis industry, Dr Gianni sees a system that was never intended to serve as a backdoor for adult use. Healthy adult Victorians shouldn’t have to choose between a medical pathway that isn’t fit for purpose and the black market. He understands that the practical answer is a state-licensed adult-use market that creates jobs, injects much-needed revenue into the Victorian economy and stops treating everyday people like criminals.
Whether it’s fighting for common-sense adult freedoms, scrutinising government waste, starting with the missing $4.9 million cannabis driving trial nobody asked for, or defending the North East Metro’s tree canopy from rushed housing mandates, Dr Gianni knows we don't have to settle for the way things are. Because in the end, it's the surroundings we accept that shape our quality of life and the future we owe the next generation.