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DOPE MAGAZINE: Tell us about the transformation from a ‘90s American talk show host to a 21st century cannabis activist?
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MONTEL WILLIAMS: At the height of my TV career, I was flying out from New York to LA when I felt an excruciating pain in my feet. A few days later, my doctor diagnosed me with multiple sclerosis (MS). The pain was literally paralyzing. It quickly spread up to my knees, legs, then arms. I tried various pharmaceuticals—to no avail—but then a doctor at Harvard recommended cannabis. I’ve been using cannabis as a medicine ever since. Very early on, I became a cannabis advocate to ensure that patients have access to cannabis for medical purposes. I’ve fought for medical cannabis reform in numerous states and on Capitol Hill.
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Did you have a pre-established perception of cannabis, and, if so, what was that moment when your perspective of cannabis changed? As a former Naval Intelligence Officer for 22 years, I used to have to get blood-tested every few months, so I’d never been a regular cannabis user. But after my diagnosis with MS, cannabis became a very necessary medicine for treating my symptoms.
“MY CELEBRITY IMAGE HAS BEEN LESS IMPORTANT THAN MY EXPERIENCE AS A CANNABIS PATIENT.”
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A For more information on LenitivLabs, visit lenitivlabs.com
Is there a moment you can point to when you knew you didn’t want to be just a medical marijuana patient anymore? I’m a big research nut—so when I first started using cannabis, I read everything I could about it—the medical effects, the science and the legal landscape. Back then, you had cancer patients being wheeled out of their homes by the police for using cannabis. Having experienced its medicinal effects firsthand, I decided that law enforcement had no business interfering between doctors and their patients; and it became my mission to stand up for patients. It’s evident that you’re passionate about bringing transparency to the cannabis industry. What’s the biggest issue you’re seeing right now that stems from a lack of transparency and accountability? Seed-to-sale tracking software has been shown to be essential in ensuring transparency and accountability, as well as patient safety. California has been slow to adopt tracking software, which has led to a lot of issues with federal and local prosecution, seizures and raids; but California’s new law looks as if it’ll increase transparency and accountability.
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How has your celebrity image hindered or helped you gain traction in the cannabis industry? My celebrity image has been less important than my experience as a cannabis patient. It certainly helps that people know me, but mainly they can relate to my health journey with MS, and my absolute reliance on cannabis to treat the symptoms. We dove into previous interviews you’ve done, and we wondered if there was something you always hoped someone would ask you that no has asked before? I do get asked—but not often enough— about the veterans. As a Marine Corps veteran myself, I’ve fought hard over the years to ensure that veterans have access to cannabis to relieve symptoms of PTSD; and there’s still a lot of work to be done on that front. What’s on your calendar of upcoming cannabis-related events? Alongside the launch of my new medical cannabis brand, LenitivLabs by Lenitiv Scientific, I’m looking forward to speaking at several cannabis conferences this year. What do you see as your biggest challenge in 2017? The single biggest challenge is always making this movement appeal to folks in states that aren’t online yet, most of which are conservative and don’t have a lot of frame of reference on this issue. How do you envision the future of cannabis? On the recreational front, I anticipate a spike in use, and a steady improvement in quality, as new regulations go into effect and as cannabis consumers seek out the best legal options available to them. On the medical front, I hope and expect to see more money poured into research and science and expect to see new cannabis patients benefitting.