Ernest is a Lecturer at Tufts University, an Instructor at Harvard University’s Arnold Arboretum, and a Medical Trainer at Harvard Medical School, Boston University School of Medicine, and Tufts University School of Medicine. Before becoming an expert on the ethnobotany of Cannabis, Ernest spent over a decade as a criminal defense attorney and public defender, representing youth offenders often charged with crimes associated with Cannabis. Since then he has trained medical students on the intricacies of dealing with medical Cannabis use at Harvard Medical School, Boston University School of Medicine, and Tufts University School of Medicine. He has developed and currently teaches a course entitled “The Cannabis Debate: Science, Culture, and The Law” at Tufts University. He also co-teaches the courses on medicinal plants at Tufts University and Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum. Recently, he has organized a two-day, first-of-its-kind symposium at Tufts University that highlights the past, present, and future issues around the Cannabis debate through lectures, film screenings, and a headlining panel discussion led by him.