Holistic Health & Cannabis: Sashies Dispensary
As a U.S. Navy combat veteran and board-certified family and psychiatric nurse practitioner, Sachmarie Crowley has dedicated her life to helping people be healthy and happy. Owner of Sasha’s of Saratoga, she has continued to serve her community, bringing positivity and empathy to every patient. Determined to help even more people, she is embarking on a new business and entering into the cannabis industry with Sashies Dispensary. She hopes to educate the community about the medicinal benefits of cannabis and her dispensary will serve as a place where people can feel welcomed and she can continue to do what she loves most – helping others.
Born in Jamaica, Sachmarie moved to the United States when she was 10 years old. Growing up in the Bronx, she discovered that she had a passion for helping other people. “I really got interested in medicine when I was in high school,” she explained, “I volunteered at a nursing home in Riverdale, New York and I really enjoyed it and figured that’s what I’m going to do. I love helping people get healthy and live happy lives so it was just my destiny.” After graduating from high school, she attended Westchester Community College studying to become a respiratory therapist. However, the high cost of tuition was difficult, prompting her to look for other opportunities to continue her education. “I decided I was going to go into the military because it would give me the opportunity not only to go to school but also to travel the world,” she said. After interviewing with all the different branches, Sachmarie found herself drawn to the Navy. She served as a Hospital Corpsman, gaining experience in cardiology, dental care, anesthesia, and more. “I pretty much have a lot of experience in all areas of medicine through the Navy,” Sachmarie explained. She worked in hospitals from Virginia to Italy and was deployed to numerous locations, including Iraq.
While serving in the Navy, Sachmarie continued her education and earned an undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Maryland. She then completed a second undergraduate degree for nursing from Russell Sage College. At Sage College of Albany, she earned her master’s degree as a Family Nurse Practitioner and post-master’s degree as a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner. Sachmarie felt that it was essential to have both specialties, the medical and psychiatric degrees, so she could expand the extent to which she was able to help people. Having served in the Navy, she witnessed first-hand the challenges that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can pose for veterans, and has tragically lost several friends to suicide. This motivated her to start Sashas of Saratoga in 2018, a medical practice that focuses on holistic healthcare and helping people find true wellness of both mind and body.
More recently, Sachmarie has been focused on opening her cannabis dispensary, which will provide yet another avenue for her to assist individuals both physically and mentally. She has been a prescriber of medicinal cannabis since 2016, and with its legalization for recreational use in 2021, she saw it as an opportunity to increase the number of people she can help. Some people have prejudices against cannabis however, as a board-certified nurse practitioner, Sachmarie understands that the plant can be used for so much more than just a way to get high. “The medicinal benefits are just unbelievable from insomnia, anxiety, PTSD, chronic pain, seizures,” she explained. Even people over the age of 65 can benefit from medicinal cannabis. Fortunately, she has encountered very few issues with the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), but some people shared their concerns about the dispensary attracting the wrong kinds of people to the area. Sachmarie accepts that everyone has their own opinions, but hopes to educate them on why people actually use cannabis. For many, it is a safer alternative to other medications that they could be taking. Sachmarie is also ensuring that her staff shares the same values and are well-educated, employing two pharmacists. “The staff that I’m hiring are very educated not only on the plants themselves, but also on the medical benefits of the plants,” she shared. She is also working on adding a blog to her website that will support the dispensary’s mission of educating others about cannabis.
Overall, Sashies Dispensary is an extension of Sachmarie’s long-term goal of helping people achieve both physical and mental health. Her knowledge in medicine and experience in the health care world gives her the ability to educate others and help them achieve their health goals. Driven by her love of caring for others and with a history of service Sachmarie exemplifies the kind of business owner who can uplift and bring good to the surrounding community.
To learn more about Sashies Dispensary, visit the website: https://www.sashiesdispensary.com/.
