Grass Roots America Magazine - January 2020

SENIOR ISSUE

JANUARY 2020

TOMMY CHONG KEITH STROUP BILL “SPACEMAN” LEE

CATCHING UP WITH

ALEXIS BORTELL

WELCOME TO OUR FIRST ANNIVERSARY ISSUE

With the help of talented people, I began a mission to educate about the science behind plant based medicines, by producing an online newsletter last year.

January 2019, it went online for the first time.

I sent out 98 emails to friends and family to check us out.

A week later, we had over 5700 reads in 9 countries!

In June, we changed our name to GRAM, Grass Roots America Magazine and announced our national presence at MJBizCon Next in New Orleans to a very receptive crowd.

Today, we give you the 2020 monthly print & digital version with: · Over 85,000 reads per issue · Delivered to over 250 dispensaries in the US · Read in 69+ countries With your help, we are growing our distribution network at amazing speed.

Ask for us at your local dispensary.

Subscribe and have it delivered to your home.

Thank you for reading our magazine!

- Nancy

OUR TEAM

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SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

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CONTRIBUTING WRITERS & COLUMNISTS

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Antonio DeRose Alexis Bortell Ben Owens Dr. Debra Kimless Heather DeRose Jordan Person Maggie Slighte

Erick Gibson Jack Shinella Jacqueline Collins Linsey Kelsey Melissa Morris Russell Gearhart

Dr. Matt Jackson Meg Sanders Michelle Martin Maxine Taylor Rachael Carlevale Sarah Moss

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Copyright © 2019. This magazine is protected by US and International copyright laws. Reproduction without written permission is prohibited.

DISCLAIMER: This publication is designed as a reference and is made available to the public with the knowledge and understanding that the publisher and the author are not rendering medical, legal or other professional advice. You should not use the information contained in this publication as a substitute for the advice of a licensed medical doctor. You should consult a medical doctor to address any health concerns specific to you. We suggest that you consult a legal professional to assess the legality of any described remedies.

Mention of specific products, companies, or organizations does not imply that the publisher and author of the publication endorse such products, companies, or organizations.

Nothing contained in this publication should be taken as an endorsement for any legislative action.

The author and publisher disclaim any liability whatsoever with respect to any loss, injury, or damage arising out of the use of the information contained in this publication or omission from any information in this publication.

Natural plant medicines and herbs can interact with medications or affect some medical conditions.

You should always check with your prescribing medical doctor before using any of the herbal remedies and natural plant medicines described in this publication.

Jordan is a passionate advocate for plant medicine and herbal solutions for health and wellness. She is an LPN, LMT, and the founder of a leading cannabis massage company, Primal Therapeutics. She teaches classes and workshops on cannabis, massage, and the combination of both for health and well being.

She is also the former Executive Director for Denver NORML and is an accomplished public speaker and educator.

RACHAEL CARLEVALE

Rachael lives in service to plant medicine with a focus on cannabis. She assisted in the development of the first campus permaculture garden at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst where she graduated from the Honors Commonwealth School with a Pre-Medicine Plant Biology. In addition to being an experienced farmer and cultivator, she is also a certified yoga instructor, and the founder of Ganjasana, where she includes cannabis in her instruction of sacred yoga methods.

BEN OWENS

Ben is an accomplished journalist, and published author, with a Master’s and Bachelor’s in Strategic Communication and Journalism, received from the University of Missouri - Columbia. In addition to writing for GRAM, he is the Cannabis Event Correspondent for EventHi, a contributing writer for The Hemp Connoisseur Magazine, and the founder of CannaVenture, an event planning service focused on outdoor cannabis adventures.

NEW WRITERS

JORDAN HELENE PERSON

ALEXIS BORTELL

Alexis is a public figure, an organic farmer, a teenager, and an advocate for freedom. She is currently one of several plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit against the U.S. government, calling for the de-scheduling of cannabis as a Schedule I drug. She is also a medical cannabis patient with epilepsy and has been seizure free for over four years thanks to cannabis. Together, with her family, she founded OneLuv Organics, an organic veteran-owned farm producing hemp soaps, shampoo bars, and USDA Certified Organic fruits and vegetables.

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KEITH STROUP NORML

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BILL LEE - SPACEMAN

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EDUCATION + RESEARCH MEDICAL MARIJUANA MINUTE - 8 CBD - 10 NATURAL PLANT MEDICINES - 12

JANUARY 2020

TOMMY CHONG

RESEARCH CORNER - 14 CATCHING UP WITH ALEXIS BORTELL - 18

DIS LIST ALZHEIMER’S - 46 ARTHRITIS - 48 ANXIETY - 50 INSOMNIA - 52 GLAUCOMA - 54

THE USUAL FITNESS - 56 OUTDOORS - 58 MAXINE TAYLOR’S CELESTIAL EVENTS - 60 CULTIVATION - 62 COOKING WITH PLANT MEDICINE - 64

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EDUCATION + RESEARCH

MEDICAL MINUTE WITH NURSE JORDAN

In this column, our readers have the opportunity to ask our staff nurse anything they want to know about using cannabis plant medicine. She will provide quick and concise answers to big questions. In this issue, we dive into why people age 65 and over are turning to cannabis. Read on as we explore some commonly asked questions about seniors using cannabis.

CANNABIS IS A KNOWN PAIN RELIEVER.

WHAT SPECIFIC AILMENTS CAN SENIORS USE CANNABIS FOR? Before we talk ailments, let’s talk retirement. Generally speaking the senior population has extra time on their hands. One of the most amazing things about cannabis is its ability to enhance daily activities. The mundane becomes the enjoyable, all thanks to a plant. A common complaint for the aging population is pain,1 and cannabis is a known pain reliever. Relief from conditions like arthritis may be found from a cannabis topical and a tincture taken by mouth. Anxiety and depression can also be a part of the aging process. Cannabinoids such as THC, CBD, and CBC (cannabichomonene) may contribute to the mood-elevating effects of cannabis.2 AS I CONTINUE TO AGE, WHAT IS THE BEST WAY FOR ME TO CONSUME CANNABIS? Not all seniors are savvy smokers, nor do they want to be. Smoking cannabis provides the quickest response, however, it also fades the fastest. Experimenting with edibles and tinctures may provide the most long-lasting effects. It is important to try different methods and cultivars. Keep a journal to document everything you try.

Include the time of day, what you try, amount you take, and effects felt after how much time has elapsed. This way, if you enjoy the feeling of a particular product you will know what it was and how much you took, so you can try to duplicate the effect.

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ARE THERE ANY RISKS TO ANY OF MY PHARMACEUTICAL MEDICATIONS? Because the majority of medications are metabolized3 by the liver and the same enzymes that break down pharmaceuticals also break down CBD, many medications may not be able to reach their full potential if using CBD. It is important to be honest with your doctor about your desire to use cannabis and to verify if any of the medications you are on can interact with CBD or THC. There are a few pharmaceutical medications that are causing interactions with cannabis. One of those medicines is Coumadin or Warfarin.4 This is a medication to thin the blood. It is contraindicated because it increases the risk of bleeding. Another medicine commonly used for asthma is a bronchodilator called Theophylline.4 Some research has shown cannabis interferes with the effectiveness of the drug. There are also some interactions with CBD5 and calcium channel blockers and beta blockers so cardiac patients should be sure to speak with their doctor.

WHERE CAN I PURCHASE CANNABIS? This answer is dependent on where you are. As of late fall 2019, there are 33 states with medical marijuana and 11 states with recreational cannabis available. Several countries have now adopted cannabis legislation as well. If you live in a legal or medical location then a quick search will get you started. If you are not sure about the laws where you live, visit the website for NORML6 - the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. They are the longest standing consumer advocacy group in the nation. Click the tab that says “States,” and then click on your state.

If you are in a medical state, first, you will need to register as a medical patient using a state approved physician. Chances are your primary care physician can not write this recommendation. Federally, cannabis remains a Schedule 1 substance so it is not possible for doctors to write “prescriptions” for cannabis because a Schedule 1 can not be prescribed. Doctors receive special certification from the state they live in and can then write “recommendations” to patients. When you are at the office obtaining your card, ask them for referrals to local dispensaries where you can then purchase your cannabis products. If you are in a legal state all you need to do is search online, “dispensaries near me” and you will find the closest dispensary to your current location. Simply show your ID at the door and be sure to ask questions to your “budtenders,” (budtenders are dispensary staff behind the counter who assist you with your purchase). They are there to help guide your experience.

DO YOU HAVE QUESTIONS FOR NURSE JORDAN? Please submit any questions to info@getgramnow.com Your question may be published in an upcoming issue.

Sources: 1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28983880 “Cannabis and Cannabinoids for Chronic Pain.” Current Rheumatology Reports, November 2017 2. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091305710000730 “Antidepressant-like effect of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol and other cannabinoids isolated from Cannabis sativa L.” Pharmacology Biochemistry and Behavior . June 2010 3. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/cbd-medication-interaction_l_5c9271efe4b08c4fec336ff 2 “CBD May Possibly Interfere With Your Daily Medication” Julia Ries. March 21,2019 4. https://www.mdlinx.com/internal-medicine/article/4695 “Rx drugs that don’t mix with CBD, THC, and marijuana” John Murphy, MD Linx. October 9, 2019 5. https://doh.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/doh/publication/attachments/Medical%20Ca nnabis%20Adverse%20Effects%20and%20Drug%20Interactions_0.pdf “Medical Cannabis Adverse Effects & Drug Interactions” Government of the District of Columbia, Department of Health 6. https://norml.org/states NORML, Working to Reform Marijuana Laws

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CBD FOR SENIORS TAKING CARE OF AN AGING BODY

BY BEN OWENS

Cannabis plants and their derivative products are more accessible than ever before. But for many consumers, including seniors, cannabis products that offer healing benefits are often also high in THC concentrations, which can produce overwhelming psychoactive effects that detract from the benefits.

CBD, cannabis’ other well-known cannabinoid, is offering hope.5 Nearly 51% of seniors who have tried CBD report an improved quality of life, and anecdotal evidence suggests CBD could help with a variety of issues impacting quality of life.6,7 Due to the quasi-legal status of this cannabinoid in the U.S., much of what we know about CBD is limited to anecdotal report, but studies are beginning to catch up.

HOW CBD CAN HELP SENIORS CBD has been shown to help relieve aches and pains as an effective anti-inflammatory and has also been shown to help with anxiety, sleep disorders, and depression, cases that increase in prevalence with age.3,4 Conditions such as depression and other mood disorders can negatively impact quality of life, often leading to physical and cognitive issues, frailty, and even low self-esteem.1 CBD has been shown to be helpful with psychosis as well, offering some relief to those who may already be in cognitive decline.

NEARLY 51% OF SENIORS WHO HAVE TRIED CBD REPORT AN IMPROVED QUALITY OF LIFE.

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3 CBD OPTIONS FOR NON-PSYCHOTROPIC CANNABIS RELIEF 1. TOPICAL CBD - Topical products such as skin creams and massage oils take advantage of the body’s largest organ (the skin) to offer targeted relief. For many who do not wish to eat, inhale, or ingest a product which could affect their entire body, topical products allow for relief where and when you need it. Apply infused products directly to the areas that are aching or in pain, as well as for certain skin conditions such as dryness or sunburn. Make sure to read the ingredients before applying to irritated skin.

2. EDIBLE CBD & TINCTURES - Edible CBD options and tinctures offer a discrete form of CBD administration that allows for gradual delivery throughout the body as needed. Edible offerings have a longer onset (due to digestion) and can offer sustained benefits over a longer period of time. Many consume a regimented amount of CBD using edibles and tinctures in the same way that they consume their daily vitamins.

3. CONCENTRATED CBD (FOR INHALATION) & CBD VAPES - CBD is also available in concentrated forms such as waxes, distillates, and isolates, many of which are designed to be vaporized using a water pipe or handheld vaporizer. These products are designed for rapid relief, as inhaled cannabinoids enter the bloodstream much quicker through the lungs and respiratory system.

CURRENT LIMITATIONS OF CBD AND SUPPORTING RESEARCH It is important to note that while a variety of CBD products exist on the market, there is still a significant lack of regulation and clinical evidence of efficacy. A lack of federal legality has prevented most research to date, and resulted in a lack of consistency on the market. Most of what we know is purely based on anecdotal evidence and animal trials, since human trials have been limited to extremely small sample sizes, if conducted at all.2 If you’ve been considering CBD as an option for improving your quality of life, make sure to talk with your physician or care provider for specific recommendations unique to your situation. Each ECS is unique, and your needs may not be fulfilled in the same way as your neighbors. For more information on CBD, its benefits, and the science supporting its applications, make sure to follow this column each month.

Citations: http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1516-44462005000400003 1 ANTUNES, Hanna Karen Moreira et al . Depression, anxiety and quality of life scores in seniors after an endurance exercise program. Rev. Bras.

Psiquiatr., São Paulo , v. 27, n. 4, p. 266-271, Dec. 2005 . https://www.nationalelfservice.net/treatment/antipsychotics/cannabidiol-cbd-an-effective-antipsychotic/ 2 Rains, Luke. “Is Cannabidiol (CBD) an effective antipsychotic?.” The Mental Elf. August 24, 2018. https://www.rxleaf.com/cbd-as-an-antibiotic-against-drug-resistant-bacteria/ 3 Hayes, Sarah. “CBD as an antibiotic kills strep, MRSA, and more.” RXLeaf. June 27, 2019. https://seniordirectory.com/articles/info/benefits-of-cbd-for-senior-citizens 4 Duke, Andrew. “8 Benefits of CBD for Senior Citizens.” Senior Directory. https://www.forbes.com/sites/abbierosner/2019/08/26/cbd-safety-for-seniors/#17cd908846ba 5 Rosner, Abbie. “CBD Safety For Seniors.” Forbes. August 26, 2019. https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilyprice/2019/02/24/51-of-seniors-that-have-tried-cbd-report-an-improved-quality-of-life/#38ad8c5d6b7f 6 Price, Emily. “51% Of Seniors That Have Tried CBD Report An Improved Quality Of Life.” Forbes. February 24, 2019. https://www.aarp.org/health/conditions-treatments/info-2018/cbd-oil-marijuana-health-benefits.html 7 Schaffel, Garrett. “Boomers Fuel Boom in Popularity of CBD.” AARP. June 7, 2018.

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EDUCATION + RESEARCH

PLANT MEDICINE

BY HEATHER DEROSE

In Grass Roots America Magazine, we discuss plant medicines and the science surrounding their uses, along with stories about the people’s lives they affect. Our previous issue featured interviews with U.S. Army Veteran, Matt Kahl, and Dr. Sue Sisley. Matt shared about his positive experience with ayahuasca, and how it helped with his PTSD. Dr. Sisley, the world’s leading researcher on cannabis and PTSD in veterans, also discussed how she’s heard reports of veterans feeling better and more joyful after going on their own journey with things like psilocybin, ayahuasca, and/or ibogaine. In addition to our interviews, the GRAM team attended the 2019 Cannabis Science Conference West in Portland, OR, where Olivia Newton John explained how cannabis helped her get off morphine and how ayahuasca allowed her to quit taking antidepressants.

In addition to these powerful testimonials, psychedelic legal reform is continuing to progress around the country. In 2019, Denver became the first major city to decriminalize psilocybin possession and personal use for those ages 21 and above. A month later, Oakland became the second major city to decriminalize psilocybin, as well as other psychedelics that come from plants and fungi, including ayahuasca, ibogaine, and peyote. Supporters share how they found the plants helpful for overcoming trauma, depression, addiction, and anxiety. This psychedelic movement is advancing quickly with Portland, Dallas, Chicago, and Berkeley proposing to decriminalize some sort of psychedelic plants.

Even scientific research in the United States is beginning to rapidly expand as people become more interested in the possibility of psychedelic therapies becoming a natural option for medical treatment. In the fall of 2019, a group of private donors gave $17 million dollars to start a Center for Psychedelic and Consciousness Research at Johns Hopkins Medicine. “Johns Hopkins is deeply committed to exploring innovative treatments for our patients,” says Paul B Rothman, Dean of the Medical Faculty at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine. “Our scientists have shown that psychedelics have real potential as medicine, and this new center will help us explore that potential.”

Inspired by our interviews, the progression of decriminalizing natural plant medicines like cannabis, psilocybin, and ayahuasca throughout the U.S., and the advances of plant medicine research, we feel it’s a priority to share these new discoveries. This is why we’re beginning this plant medicine column, which will be featured every month, leading up to an entire issue focused on all plant medicines, later this year. Plant medicine topics we will cover will include things like cannabis and psychedelics, but also how different plant foods work as a medicine, the health benefits of things like essential oils, and more. If it’s a natural medicine that comes from plants, we’ll cover it here, because we are dedicated to delivering Great Research About Medicine, one GRAM at a time, with informative material empowering you to take control of your health and well-being.

IT’S A PRIORITY TO SHARE THESE NEW DISCOVERIES.

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EDUCATION + RESEARCH

RESEARCH CORNER COLLECTED BY MATT JACKSON, PHD

THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN CANNABIS PRODUCT CHARACTERISTICS AND SYMPTOM RELIEF An app-based survey of real-world cannabis use by researchers at the University of New Mexico

STUDY FACTS

Link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-39462-1 Date of study: June 6, 2016 – March 5, 2018 Date of publication: February 25, 2019 How many people: 3,341 patients over 19,910 cannabis sessions

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SURVEY: ● 3,341 people used ReleafApp (MoreBetter, Ltd.) on a mobile device ● Symptoms and side effects were recorded before and after 19,910 cannabis sessions ● Symptom severity rated on a scale from 0 (none) to 10 (severe) RELIEF AND SIDE EFFECTS WERE BROKEN DOWN BY: ● Cannabis cultivar: C. indica, C. sativa, hybrid ● THC and CBD levels in the cannabis cultivar ● Cannabis form: dried flower, concentrate, edible, tincture ● Inhalation by: vape, pipe, joint MOST COMMON SYMPTOMS AND SIDE EFFECTS: ● Symptoms being treated: anxiety (16% of users), depression (10%), back pain (8%) ● Positive side effects: relaxed (63%), peaceful (54%), comfy (39%), chill (38%) ● Negative side effects: dry mouth (26%), foggy (23%), unmotivated (14%) ● Side effects that could be good or bad depending on context: high (37%), thirsty (27%)

Federal laws all but prohibit scientists from studying cannabis cultivars that have high enough potency and quality to represent the medical cannabis market. In this study, researchers used an app to crowdsource the cultivars of medical cannabis people were using, how they consumed it, for what symptoms, how well cannabis treated their symptoms, and what the side effects were.

WAS CANNABIS EFFECTIVE FOR SYMPTOM RELIEF? ● On average, people initially reported their symptom severity as a 6 out of 10 ● Symptom severity decreased to 2.5 after cannabis use, a 60% improvement WHAT WAS THE MOST COMMON TYPE OF CANNABIS? ● 48% hybrid, 30% C. indica, 22% C. sativa ● 74% dried flower, 17% concentrate, 5% edibles, 4% tincture ● 45% vaped, 43% used a pipe, 13% smoked joints WHAT WERE THE MOST EFFECTIVE CULTIVARS AND FORMS OF CANNABIS FOR SYMPTOM RELIEF? ● C. indica was associated with better symptom relief but more negative side effects ● Dried flower provided the best symptom relief and side effect profile ● All methods of inhalation provided similar symptom relief, but vapers reported fewer negative side effects

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HOW MUCH THC WAS IN MEDICAL CANNABIS, AND WERE THC LEVELS IMPORTANT? ● Medical cannabis had 28% THC on average ● Cannabis with more than 10–19% THC did not provide better symptom relief, except for depression ● Higher THC levels were associated with more side effects, both positive and negative WHAT ABOUT CBD LEVELS? ● 25% of medical cannabis had <1% CBD, 67% had 1–34% CBD, and 8% had >35% CBD ● CBD levels were not associated with different symptom relief or side effects WHAT ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT POINTS OF THIS STUDY? ● The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) federally regulates cannabis for clinical research studies ● NIDA’s most potent cannabis cultivar has 12.5% THC, most of NIDA’s “high-dose” cultivars have 5–10% THC ● In this study, medical cannabis with <10% THC was uncommon (16% of users) and least effective for symptom relief ● Crowdsourced studies can provide data to bridge the growing gap between science and the medical cannabis market

There is a mismatch between the potency of cannabis that the federal government provides for research and the commonly available cultivars of medical cannabis. This type of study fills a knowledge gap in the cannabis cultivars that people are actually using for symptom relief.

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EDUCATION + RESEARCH

CATCHING UP WITH ALEXIS BORTELL

UPDATES ON THE FEDERAL LAWSUIT Right now, our case is at the Second Circuit of Appeals, where we won--but the Court has directed us to file a de-scheduling petition with the DEA by the end of the year. The problem is that the DEA has already gone on record that it cannot deschedule cannabis; rather, the DEA is claiming that it can only reclassify cannabis under Schedule II, which would be terrible. Reclassification to Schedule II would likely render all state-legal programs non-compliant under the Controlled Substances Act and thus illegal. All cannabis medications would be subjected to a new regulatory review process with the federal government, raising barriers to access, including reduced supply and substantially increased costs. So, we are moving to extend the time to file the petition until we can file another lawsuit – this one, against the DEA to challenge its conclusion that it cannot deschedule cannabis.

Remember, I’m not suing to reschedule cannabis. I’m suing so me and other cannabis patients have the same liberties and freedoms as people who don’t need to or choose not to consume cannabis.

Right now, we don’t.

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RECENT EEG TEST RESULTS They were borderline normal, and I hope to get my driving permit in the near future! What is borderline? If I wasn’t diagnosed with epilepsy they would probably send me to a neurologist for a checkup, but since I used to be much worse, this is a “good” result. THC still helps, and I couldn’t imagine my life if I didn’t have it or only had CBD. It would be a disaster or more likely, I wouldn’t still be here.

HEARING BACK FROM ELON MUSK (Alexis mailed a letter to Elon Musk written on our magazine!)

Nothing yet, but he is an important and busy guy, so I doubt he even knows who I am. I really think I can help them make autopilot better for people like me with epilepsy. The Tesla autopilot will pull over to the side of the road and turn on the hazard lights if someone falls asleep so I think we could make it pull over if the driver has a seizure. I’m not just talking to Elon Musk. I will help any car company that needs it. It could help MANY epilepsy patients be a little more independent, and that’s my goal.

(Tesla autopilot does not currently pull to the side of the road, but will bring the vehicle to a stop in the lane that it is in, and turn on the hazard lights.)

UPCOMING PROJECTS This winter I’m working on two projects. The first is in Tennessee. About a month ago, I received an official invitation from the chairman of the TN House Health Committee Rep. Bryan Terry, MD to testify after January 1st. This is a great opportunity, and I have asked my legal team lead Michael Hiller to help make it happen. If cannabis is a “States Right” issue, then the TN Governor Bill Lee and the Colorado Governor, Jared Polis, should be able to work together and get me and my medicine into the TN capitol without federal help. If not, I need to go back to court and explain to them that my situation proves cannabis is not a State's Rights issue.

The second project is my Washington, DC trip with my 8th grade classmates. This is a trip all students in our school take during their 8th grade year but it looks like I’m not going to be able to go because of federal cannabis laws. This is not okay with me and I am planning to ask the courts to help.

Either way, if I am ever going to have equal liberty to other kids in my class, I’m going to have to fight the government for it in court. I’ll never accept that me and other cannabis patients should be less free because we need cannabis to live. I’ll fight them all the way to The Supreme Court if I have to.

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EDUCATION + RESEARCH

HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT This winter, our goal is to get a greenhouse to extend our growing season. We haven't reached our goal yet but a couple of organizations have been helpful getting us closer. If people want to help, they can donate here: http://donate.oneluvorganics.com. The greenhouse will help us grow organic vegetables year-round instead of just in the summer which will help us donate more organic food to charity groups like Tri-Lakes Cares in Monument, CO and The Marion House in Colorado Springs.

These groups help us make sure our food makes it to families in need through our “Patches of Hope” (TM Trademark) program.

DONATE.ONELUVORGANICS.COM

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SENIORS + CANNABIS CANNABIS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED A FIRST-LINE TREATMENT IN SENIORS

BY DR. DEBRA KIMLESS I was asked what makes seniors different from any other adult when it comes to medical cannabis? I thought about this for a while. Seniors (not just our children) should be considered our future, especially when it comes to accepting cannabis as medicine. Seniors have the good fortune of having life experiences. Some experiences make them question current thoughts and conventional wisdom.

This is especially true when it comes to their health and healthcare. Many seniors have serious repercussions from their past choices, even if they were told by conventional teachings that their choices were good ones. They are now paying a heavy price in the form of poor health. Seniors spend their hard earned and well-deserved time, energy, and money going from doctor to treatment facility to consultant to pharmacy only to continue to experience poor health and a poor quality of life they did not count on. In the US, people over the age of 65 are taking an average of 5 different prescription medications a day. This does not include the over-the-counter medications that are also being used. This is a staggering statistic! These medications are not without risks. Side effects from pharmaceuticals are well-reported, and often, patients are prescribed other medications to counteract the side effect of a medication, only to require another medication to counteract the side effect of the drug used to counteract the side effect of the initial drug.

By the way, there are no double blind randomized trials studying the safety or efficacy or dose effects of multiple pharmaceutical drugs taken by a single person. How can this be? The FDA only approves single molecules for single indications. No one has ever questioned or examined what happens when a human body is given a panoply of pharmaceuticals

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SENIORS + CANNABIS

IT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED A FIRSTLINE THERAPY ALONG WITH OTHER HERBAL TREATMENTS AND BEFORE PHARMACEUTICALS. in perpetuity. We just assume that it is okay. This is the common practice of modern medicine and when written here in black and white seems absurd.

Frustrated, many seniors are open to new methods of regaining health beyond the traditional pharmaceutical route. This means embracing a lifestyle method that focuses on health and well-being by putting themselves and their healthcare first. This method is described as the therapeutic order of healthcare. Imagine the therapeutic order as a pyramid (think of the old food pyramid) where the base of the pyramid consists of lifestyle elements that include nutrition—especially plant-based eating— exercise, socialization, and sleep. If injury or illness occurs after a proper foundation is established then the next step up the pyramid is discovering the root cause, and then addressing the cause with the least invasive and least risky therapies first. So this next step on the pyramid includes for example: physical therapy, psychological therapy, meditation, acupuncture, massage, and herbal remedies. The remainder of the pyramid includes, in a stepwise manner, the traditional medical therapeutic modalities starting with over-the-counter medications, then pharmaceutical drugs and finally surgical interventions. As you can see in this model, the traditional medical treatment options should be the last considerations and not the first line treatment.

So where does medical cannabis fit into the therapeutic order pyramid? It should be considered a first-line therapy along with other herbal treatments and before pharmaceuticals. How can this be? Cannabis has been illegal for decades and is still federally illegal. It is a schedule 1 drug, which means it is in a category of drugs that are considered highly addictive and have no medicinal value.

Sadly, cannabis has been vilified for social and economic reasons, and the schedule 1 designation has nothing to do with whether or not it has medicinal value. In fact, cannabis has been used safely and effectively as a medicine for thousands of years.

Cannabis medicines were even included in the US Pharmacopeia until 1941 when cannabis prohibition replaced alcohol prohibition. This means that up until 1941, pharmacists and physicians would have the option to treat patients with cannabis medicines for all kinds of indications. Our US government even has a patent on cannabinoids as antioxidants and neuroprotectants that was issued in 2003 (patent number US6630507B1). So clearly, cannabis does have medicinal value. We humans (and almost every other living creature) have a biological system in our bodies called the endocannabinoid system (ECS). The ECS governs every other biological system in our body, and its purpose is to maintain a physiologic balance. The word endocannabinoid is a combination where “endo” means from within and “cannabinoid” refers to the chemicals our own body makes—which are similar to the chemicals that the cannabis plant makes. The ECS gently tries to keep everything in check. When injury or illness strikes, supplemental help is in order; that’s where cannabis comes in. The chemicals in the cannabis plant interact with our ECS to help regain and maintain that physiological balance. Cannabis medicines and its interactions with the ECS can be a beneficial treatment for a whole host of medical indications.

Using cannabis as a first-line treatment may prevent having to take many pharmaceuticals or reduce or replace them entirely.

Does that mean seniors have to smoke something or feel intoxicated or high in order to use this herbal remedy? Absolutely not! Cannabis is different from most traditional pharmaceutical remedies in that there are many ways to take it and there are different amounts of cannabis chemicals and combinations that make up cannabis medicine. Inhalation is the most commonly thought of method, but it is certainly not mandatory. In fact, surveys report that most people over the age of 40 prefer methods other than inhalation. The medical issue and patient and physician preference will help guide the best method of administration. Topicals or under the tongue preparations are popular methods of administration. As an example, for a localized pain, topical

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cannabis creams and ointments can be used effectively. Because it stays on the skin there is no intoxication or feeling â&#x20AC;&#x153;high.â&#x20AC;? The under the tongue preparations, like tablets or tinctures, allow the medicine to be absorbed quickly with a fast onset of action without having to smoke. These types of preparations are easily titrated so you can start at low doses and see the effects within 30 minutes and take more only if needed and without risking intoxication or that feeling of being high.

So, can cannabis be used freely without concern? The answer is no. Just like with all medicines, cannabis and its constituents is a medicine. Medical cannabis can interact with other medications, especially if you are a patient taking many different pharmaceutical medications. Although cannabis has been shown to be a much safer medicine than traditional pharmaceutical drugs, and with less toxic side effects, cannabis including CBD must be used with care. My recommendation is to talk to your physician or healthcare provider and discuss your interest in taking cannabis medicine. Request that they help guide you so you can maximize the potential benefits of cannabis medicine for your specific condition. The goal is always to do no harm, to improve health, and embrace a better quality of life. Seniors deserve to maximize their valuable time pursuing the things they want to do without being side-lined by their conditions or the treatments. Cannabis can help achieve this goal.

BE WELL, DR. DEB

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TOMMY CHONG "IT'S CANNABIS TIME"

BY HEATHER DEROSE

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Tommy Chong is an icon who continues to lead the cannabis community. His comedic career took off in the 1970s when the legendary Cheech and Chong characters were first born and lived out in their live performances, records, and trailblazing movies like Up in Smoke. Together, the duo began leading a generation and took the cannabis counter culture movement mainstream. They shined a humorous and positive light on cannabis consumers, which shed some of the fears surrounding cannabis and its use. Chong, now 81 years old, continues his journey helping people laugh alongside his longtime comedic partner, Cheech Marin. “Now it’s cannabis time.

It’s gone mainstream,” says Chong. The duo went on tour this fall and audiences saw throwbacks from their classic work and heard their thoughts on cannabis legalization as it’s rapidly growing across the world. Chong says, “Oh I’m still in love with cannabis. She’s been so good to me. I love every bit of her. She’s still my best friend. She’s my lover. She’s my angel. She’s my everything.” He first tried cannabis at age 17 and has consumed cannabis his entire life, with the exception of 3 years. He recently overcame rectal and prostate cancer and says, “As far

as everything goes, I’m in better shape than I’ve ever been.”

At the beginning of Cheech and Chong, the country was fighting the Vietnam War, which continued through 1975. Chong currently serves as an Advisory Board Member for NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, which was founded in 1970 by Keith Stroup. Their mission is to move public opinion sufficiently to achieve the legalization of cannabis in the United States so the responsible use by adults is no longer subject to penalty. Chong says, “It really affected life, especially during the Vietnam War. It actually helped stop it, or at least brought people’s attention to it. I’ve always said marijuana will save the world, and I’m right.”

He became a leader during the 1970s and continues to advocate through comedy. Out of everything he’s accomplished he says he’s most proud to be, “Working with my family. My wife, Shelby, is my partner on stage and as a wife. When Cheech and I broke up she stepped in and she became my partner. That’s one of the proudest things that ever happened to me, because it’s very rare. So, my proudest accom-

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plishment is being on stage with my wife every night. I’m very proud of that.” He continues working with his family and is starring in a new television show called, Tommy Chong’s Pipe Dreams. He feels the show is changing a lot of things and is among the most unforgettable shows of our time. Shelby stars on the show alongside him.

Shelby doesn’t smoke cannabis and never did, but she does use edibles. “She loves her gummy bears and chocolates and has her own private stash that I better not go near. She also likes topicals and she’s planning on launching a line of her own marijuana based creams.” He’s excited for the future and says, “I just scratched the surface of my comedy, even though I’ve done all the movies. There was never a one and done, one always led to another. So the new show

is a game changer for everybody that sees it. My aim is to reassure people that you’re exactly where you’re supposed to be. Every one of us. There’s no one that’s out of place. If you feel uneasy about where you’re at. That’s a good sign. If you feel comfortable where you’re at that’s also a good sign.

What it means is that we’re all alive and we’re experiencing it.”

In reference to the rise of cannabis use in seniors, Chong tells us, “We all have aches and pains and we all need to sleep and eat. Cannabis helps with all those areas. We all need to be healthy and we all need to forget our problems. So it just works perfectly for seniors.”

For others interested in using cannabis, he recommends edibles at bedtime. “If they have pain they can use marijuana salve, which is

I’VE ALWAYS SAID MARIJUANA WILL SAVE THE WORLD, AND I’M RIGHT. - TOMMY CHONG

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also good for sleeping. You can put it on your head or the back of your neck and it works really well.

If they’re smokers, they can smoke a joint or a bowl. I wouldn’t recommend dabbing right away. When you smoke you put your ‘worry brain’ on vacation. That’s what you want to do. You forget bad habits and that’s what it helps you do. I quit smoking because every time I felt like a cigarette I would light a joint and I would take a couple of tokes and I’d be fine. When I felt like a cigarette again. I’d light it up again. It took a year before the nicotine got out of my system, but I quit smoking with the help of cannabis.”

The plant continues to help Chong daily, and he smokes live with his fans on his Tommy Chong App once a day. He says, “Now you

go to any dispensary, and it looks like a lineup to see Jesus to get healed. They’re on their crutches or on their canes. There’s MS patients and people with mental problems. There’s people with epilepsy and all those people with neurological problems. They need the cannabis. And it’s not a joke.

It’s very serious to these people.”

In addition to advocating for legal cannabis use for others, Chong knows the value hemp brings to the world. “We wouldn’t have all these plastic problems we have now had we kept hemp, because it made the best paper. Anything could be wrapped in hemp paper and it doesn’t hurt the environment. Hemp can also be used like plastic. Henry Ford made a car and the body of the car was made out of hemp and it ran with hemp oil.” He says having hemp in the supply line was beneficial,

but they broke the chain and now we’re going through the climate crisis because of the fossil fuel industry and paying the price for it now.

Looking back on his life, some of the best advice he should’ve taken, but didn’t, was the warning he received in 2003. “We got the warning, but I figured, nah, they aren’t going to bust you for making bongs. But they did.” Chong spent 9 months in jail and says he really enjoyed his time there and learned a lot. This was during the time he was required to quit smoking cannabis for around 3 years. While serving his time in jail, he was often offered free cannabis. “They tried to bust me. They had snitches offer me free weed, and I turned it down each time. After each time, they drug tested me right afterwards. I would have been doing

more time in jail had I fell for it, but I resisted.”

Chong has decades of cannabis experience and launched his own line of cannabis in 2016. “Cannabis works on the brain with our receptors. Cannabis and humans have a lot in common. Cannabis really reminds us constantly of who we are and slows the brain down and makes us appreciate life.” During his time consuming cannabis, one of the most surprising locations he’s ever smoked was at George Bush Sr and Junior’s house in Midland, Texas. He’s also smoked a joint on top of the empire state building. If he could introduce one person to cannabis, it would be Melania Trump. “I think she needs it.” He also fondly remembers smoking with George Harrison of the Beatles. “He was the only one of the Beatles I got to know per-

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IT TOOK A YEAR BEFORE THE NICOTINE GOT OUT OF MY SYSTEM, BUT I QUIT SMOKING WITH THE HELP OF CANNABIS. sonally. He played the guitar on one of our Cheech and Chong Basketball Jones. George played the introduction to it. I almost got high with John, but he was worried about his immigration status. Ringo was a recovering alcoholic. I haven’t got high with Paul yet. That’s on my bucket list, to get high with Paul.” Chong has a long list of memorable people he’s smoked with, “Cheech and I played basketball, and we smoked up with Bob Dylan.”

Throughout his life, one of the people who inspired him is Moses. He used to think it was Jesus, but his life was cut short. “Moses made it to the end.

He was the one the burning bush talked to. Moses is my inspiration because he was raised in a royal family and he was taught all the secrets of the Pharaohs, and then he led his people out of bondage into freedom.” Chong says he’s a student of the Bible, both the old and new testaments. “The secrets are all there. I’ve been shown the proper way to interpret the bible and it has gotten me to where I am today. I went to Bible camp when I was 8 years old. I learned how to pray and that’s very important.

Prayer is much like meditation. You’re really talking to yourself. That’s why you eliminate the thought of a far away God or some kind of god you can deal with.

Like, hey God, you do this and I will do that. There is no such thing, it’s just you. I realized that early in life when I was very young and therefore I found the path to success and I’m still on it and I still will be on it. Part of the knowledge I gained was to forgive and let people live their own lives. As they say in yoga, stay on your own towel. That’s what I’ve done all my life, and I’ll continue to.”

Part of Chong’s success comes from his superpower. “I have a superpower. I do, and I know it. The superpower really is keeping your mouth shut. That’s the superpower. That’s the hardest thing in the world to do, you know, because you can’t tell a spoiler for a movie. I have a bad habit. I see a movie and I want to tell everybody all about the movie. My son tells me, ‘Shut up Dad. Don’t tell me anything.’ That’s what

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life’s all about. My superpower is knowing that everybody’s on their own path. Everybody’s on their own journey and the best you can do is encourage them and help them when you can, but the best thing is to keep your mouth shut. That’s my superpower. Knowing that. Also knowing that you can’t help people. You know people have to struggle through life. Unless they ask you, but people have to learn the lesson, whatever the lesson may be. You’ve got to remember that we are eternal beings. We’re not just here the one time and then we’re gone forever.

Nothing ever leaves this earth. Every drop of water that was here in the beginning is still in one form or another. We’re 90% water. We’ve always been here.

We’re just like a thought in a mind of a god. That’s exactly what we are. All of us are just one thought.

One grain of sand, each of us. Knowing that and then knowing you can’t give other people your experience. They have to experience everything themselves. It’s so maddening sometimes. But it all works out.”

Chong recalls his Bible studies and shares, “There’s all good, there’s nothing bad. The Bible says everything that God made was good and everything that God did not make was not made. You see, everything else is an illusion. You can’t have positive without negative when you live in a physical world. You’re going to have both. You’re going to have good and bad. Each experience that we go through is exactly that, it’s experience. And you know how they always say you only learn from your mistakes? Well, for instance, if you’re perfect like say Jesus was, because Jesus never made a mistake. Everybody else did.

But Jesus could never make a mistake, because he was only here to show us what it’s like to be godlike on Earth. And that’s what he did. When it was time for him to go, he had to leave. He said something like, ‘If I do not go, the comforter will not come to you.’ In other words, if you keep looking to me for all your goodness, then you’re not going to be able. We are all gods, basically, but we’re all here to learn and learn what it’s like to be whatever everybody’s go-

WHAT WE HAVE TO DO IS TRY TO HELP THE OTHER PERSON. THATâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S YOUR ONLY JOB ON EARTH IS TO HELP OTHERS.

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THERE’S PEOPLE WITH EPILEPSY AND ALL THOSE PEOPLE WITH NEUROLOGICAL PROBLEMS. THEY NEED THE CANNABIS. AND IT’S NOT A JOKE. IT’S VERY SERIOUS TO THESE PEOPLE. ing through. We’re all going to experience it because eternity gives us the ability to go through every possible physical change that you could think of on this planet. Then, when that’s done, there’ll be another and another and another; it never ends. The only thing there is an ending to is our knowledge. A lot of us are limited. We are only shown so much and then we have to figure everything out ourselves. That’s the way it is with life. This is very advanced teaching by the way. There is no such thing as good or bad.

There just is. And when you realize it like I do, then you do what you gotta do. You shut the fuck up and let everybody figure it out for themselves, because everybody will and can.”

Experience and figuring things out himself have clearly helped shape and define Chong’s career, and outlook on life. Another big influence in his life is obviously cannabis. He has love for the plant and believes in its ability to inspire others. “Cannabis inspired Bill Gates and Steve Jobs and they changed

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our world.” The movement isn’t just about cannabis, it’s other plant medicine and expanding knowledge.

Chong even says cannabis legalization is leading the way for other psychedelic plant medicines and has been for decades. He isn’t finished and has a goal to be on stage a lot longer. “I’m 81. George Burns said he wanted to be on stage doing standup when he was 100. I want to get on stage and say, ‘Hey George, I beat you.”

After he and Cheech took the stage for their comedy tour across the US and Canada in 2019, he’s already working towards that goal! More than just a comedian, we’re honored to share Chong’s knowledge and insight while he continues to lead a movement for freedom through comedy. Chong may have became an inspirational leader through his legendary comedy long ago, but he still continues to lead in advocating for the plant and making people laugh along the way. “What we have to do is try to help the other person. That’s your only job on Earth is to help others.”

50 YEARS KEITH STROUP

BY JORDAN PERSON In the cannabis community, Keith Stroup is a legend.

He is the founder of the longest standing consumer advocacy group in the nation, NORML - the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.

In 2020, NORML celebrates 50 years as an organization. Stroup’s long hair is reminiscent of his past, present, and future. Now, at age 75, he has fought for the freedom of cannabis longer than many staking claims in this industry have been alive. GRAM sat down with Stroup to hear how it all started, the struggles of legalization, his personal journey with the plant, and where he thinks cannabis laws are headed in the future.

In his third year of law school at Georgetown University, Stroup was offered a job serving on the National Commission for Product Safety. Two years went by and Stroup worked alongside Ralph Nader.

He recalls, “It was at this time, I really began to learn about public interest law. In the process of working at the commission, I became enamored of the concept of using your law degree to make an impact on public policy.”

Two people greatly shaped and influenced Keith Stroup in 1970. First Ralph Nader, “He didn’t smoke marijuana, all the young aids that worked for him, known as ‘Nader’s Raiders’ all consumed like I did.

Ralph was a straight guy, but I was influenced by him using his law degree to directly affect public policy. Secondly, I read a book about that time by Ramsey Clark called “Crime in America.” He had recently retired as the US Attorney General, and I

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greatly admired him. He was here in Washington and he proposed legalizing marijuana and in time he became an antiwar activist. I admired Ramsey enormously from a distance,” Stroup explains.

Stroup’s personal opinion of politics had become somewhat radicalized due to the antiwar movement during the Vietnam war. He tells us, “I don’t think I would have ever had any interest in starting a public interest group to support marijuana, but the antiwar movement showed me that marijuana was seen as a symbol of resistance—it was a way to say, not only do we not like your war in Vietnam, there are a lot of other things in current policy that we don’t agree with.” By now Stroup was 27 and past the drafting age. He knew he wanted to do something in public interest law. He began to wonder if he wanted to use his law degree to develop a program to legalize marijuana. He sat down with a few friends and

IN LATE 1970, THE NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR THE REFORM OF MARIJUANA LAWS WAS FORMED.

WITHOUT QUESTION, I ROLL AND SMOKE JOINTS.

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began to create the concept for an organization that could accomplish such a task. In late 1970, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws was formed.

Stroup began contacting mutual friends in an effort to contact Ramsey. Stroup tells us, “I was nervous I was making a damaging career decision by starting NORML. I finally had my opportunity to sit down with him, and he told me two things: ‘Do it, it’s important, someone has to do it so don’t hesitate, just move forward. Second, do it now when you are young so if it doesn’t work out, you can pick yourself up and start over, you can still have a fulfilled life.’ We ended up forming a tight relationship, and Ramsey served on the Board of Directors for NORML for the first decade we were in operation.”

One of the other ways Ramsey would influence Stroup was by the connections and introductions that he would receive. Stroup was asked if he had reached out to the Playboy Foundation to try and receive funding. Stroup exclaims, “Now I knew what Playboy was. Any young man my age hid that magazine under their mattress but I had never heard of this foundation.” Before Stroup reached out to the foundation, he was very nervous about taking money from them, so he asked Ramsey his opinion about using their funding. His answer helped Stroup make the right decision. “Ramsey explained to me that when he traveled around the country speaking and giving lectures, ‘almost never does someone ask me a question based on a book I have written, but almost every time someone asks questions to me because of the interview I did in Playboy magazine.’” Stroup knew what he needed to do.

Playboy ended up being the primary source of funding for NORML during the 1970’s. The first donation was the modest amount of five thousand dollars.

Stroup could tell they really believed in what they were trying to do. The foundation told Stroup to take the money and show them what he could do. Within a year, the foundation committed to $100,000 a year and two full page ads for the organization to seek

public support.

NORML’s goal has always been the same, marijuana smokers should be treated fairly in all aspects of their lives. The 70’s were highly influenced by the marijuana commission established as a provision for the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. In the words of Stroup, “This was a terrible act and is to this day.”

The latter half of the 70’s was spent traveling around the country providing expert testimony in decriminalization cases. “In 1973, Oregon was the first to adopt, and then by 1978, we had a total of 11 states that had decriminalized marijuana. At that point, we thought we were well on our way to nationwide decriminalization. We underestimated the reality that public opinion sometimes changes direction,” said Stroup. According to Gallup during their first poll in 1969, 88% of the public were opposed to marijuana policy. “I think we may have made it to 24% approval by 1977, and then it started to go down again just a point or two a year.”

The 80’s brought the Reagans and the Just Say No program. Stroup tell us, “The focus became ‘what will happen to the children?’ And, that if it’s not good for children, then it is certainly not good for adults.

Now if you think about that, it’s absurd. There are things that are appropriate for adults that are not appropriate for children.”

For 18 years, no laws were changed—not a single statewide victory. The next big moment for marijuana policy came in 1996. That victory was the medical use of cannabis in California. During those 18 years of inactivity, the public came out of the fog about the medical possibilities of marijuana. “Part of this was due to the AIDS epidemic. People were becoming more vocal that marijuana was helping them, then the focus became the medical side.

Once California did this voter initiative, we were able to start picking up other states. The 90’s finally showed the uptick in support, and it has only continued,” said Stroup.

THIS DECADE IS WHEN WE FINALLY REACHED, 5 NATIONAL POLLS WHERE 65-68% OF AMERICANS NOW WANT TO FULLY LEGALIZE CANNABIS.

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“All of our early progress was by voters. By the 2000’s, we began seeing a change legislatively as well. Citizens can draft what you feel to be a perfect bill. When you are dealing with the legislature you can create something unique. However, 26 states do not offer voter initiatives. Those states still do policy the old fashioned way.”

Things really started moving in 2012. Colorado and Washington legalized recreational marijuana for adults over the age of 21. Policies went into effect by January 1, 2014. Stroup said, “As we near the end of this decade, we now have enough public support that we are starting to pass laws through legislature in places like Vermont and Illinois, and we are close in New Jersey and New York. This decade is when we finally reached, 5 national polls where 65-68% of Americans now want to fully legalize cannabis.

We now enjoy the support of 2 out of 3 Americans.

50% have smoked at some point in their lives, but only about 14% are actual users. We are winning this not because of the marijuana smokers but because we have won the hearts and minds of nonconsumers as well.”

In the fifty year history of the organization the ideals of NORML have not changed.

Stroup tells us, “We were founded as a consumer lobby. What has changed is the consumer side

of the issue. For example, making sure products are tested; we have always wanted to make sure the products were safe and secure to use. Years ago, before it was no longer a crime, the idea of testing was outlandish. Criminal prohibition needed to change first. Now, the need for social clubs is a thing. We also want to protect workers’ rights and child custody issues and DUI laws are now an issue too.”

Stroup continues, “I believe that we are still working through reefer madness, the repercussions of 80 years of government propaganda and exaggerations. My contemporaries and I were taught it was an evil drug. We were taught the gateway concept.

Although there is less and less of that every year, there will still be members of the legislature that continue to oppose initiatives, and their reasons are still antiquated.

The re-education is necessary. It’s not that we have better arguments, we have better data, and we have now outlived our opponents.”

Stroup’s personal journey with cannabis is a budding fifty plus year relationship. As the aging process comes into play, his use of the plant continues day to day. In addition to the recreational desire to consume, it has also provided Stroup alleviation from an epileptic condition for many years. “I had

IT IS TERRIBLY IMPORTANT WE UNDERSTAND OUR PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE AND THAT WE UNDERSTAND WHAT THIS FIGHT IS ALL ABOUT. IT IS REALLY ONLY ABOUT PERSONAL FREEDOM. - KEITH STROUP

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my first seizure at the age of 65, one of the things that cannabis has always been known for is an anti-seizure medicine. So I called my friend and colleague, Dr. Greenspoon, at Harvard and said, ‘I can’t figure out what is happening.’ He said to me, ‘You would have been having seizures all of your life, but you’ve been taking the strongest anti-seizure medicine known to man.’”

a pipe, vape, or shatter, or anything like that, and that is my own personal preference. I love cleaning the marijuana by hand. I still roll torpedo shaped joints like my friend Willy Nelson. I like the feel of it on my lips. For me, flower is the way to use marijuana. For me, it is the healthiest way to just roll the joints. I will use topicals too. If I scratch my arm or something, that is what I reach for in my medicine cabinet.”

“As you get older you have more aches and pains, and anyone can imagine how comforting the casual use of marijuana can be if you are an older person. If you have a doctor trying to make you take 5 or 6 pills a day and all of the pills have different side effects.

Then there is a plant that can help so much, without the side effects. But even more so, it can take an ordinary experience like walking the dog or playing a round of golf and turn it into an extraordinary experience. It’s no longer just ordinary. It enhances the quality of life and makes the free time of retirement far more enriching and rewarding than it would otherwise be.”

Stroup leaves us with his advice to future cannabis consumers, advocates, and activists,

Everyone has a preferred method of consumption and for Stroup it has always been joints. He tells us, “Without question, I roll and smoke joints, I don’t use

WE ARE WINNING THIS NOT BECAUSE OF THE MARIJUANA SMOKERS BUT BECAUSE WE HAVE WON THE HEARTS AND MINDS OF NONCONSUMERS AS WELL.

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“It is terribly important we understand our place in the universe and that we understand what this fight is all about. It is really only about personal freedom.

All people who are active in this journey, keep that in mind. Prohibition has been ingrained in our lives; it’s not just a matter of do we consider marijuana consumers criminals. Now, it’s whether or not we treat them fairly in all aspects of their lives. Most individuals do not want the government deciding. Without question, the most fortunate thing I ever did was to get caught up in the antiwar movement and become radicalized so that my mind was open to the concept of trying to legalize marijuana.”

A JOURNEY INTO SPACE WITH BILL “SPACEMAN” LEE

BY ANTONIO DEROSE

Today’s cannabis news often mentions former professional athletes advocating for cannabis law reform, starting their own cannabis businesses, or investing in the cannabis industry. 2019 saw headlines about CBD products being sold in stores like GNC and The Vitamin Shoppe for the very first time; two franchises whose primary consumers are athletes and fitness enthusiasts.

Cannabis is not only commonly associated with athletes, it’s becoming mainstream in the athletic community, even though athletes have been consuming it almost secretly amongst themselves for a very long time. This means athletes consuming cannabis is nothing new, but professional athletes openly talking to the press about it is, unless you’re Bill Lee. Bill Lee is a baseball legend. He is a left-handed pitcher who played for the Boston Red Sox from 1969-1978 and then the Montreal Expos from 19791982. Lee was on the 1973 American League All Star Team. In his career, he pitched 119 winning games, with a lifetime ERA of 3.62 and was inducted into the Red Sox Hall of Fame in 2008 for pitching the most games as a lefty, and for having the 3rd highest win total by a left-handed pitcher. He plays ball to this day, and in 2010, at age 40

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63, he set the record as the oldest pitcher to win a professional baseball game, only before beating his own record again at the age of 65 in 2012.

Lee is famous for his comments to press as much as his successful career in America’s favorite pastime.

At a time when the league was very conservative, Lee was seen as eccentric by being very outspoken about his opinions and ideologies, so much so, the press nicknamed him Spaceman. He was even outspoken enough to admit using cannabis to the press, which got him fined $250 by Bowie Kuhn, the MLB Commissioner at the time. In 1980, he was featured on the cover of High Times, where the cover stated, “What would happen if Bowie Kuhn levied a $250 fine against every player in baseball who smoked dope? Bill Lee says, ‘He’d be a rich man’.”

This was one of the first times an athlete consuming cannabis was featured on the cover of a magazine, not only admitting to using cannabis himself, but suggesting lots of major league baseball players do too. The catch was, Lee never said he smoked cannabis, although he did smoke it. The story was, he sprinkled raw cannabis on his buckwheat pancakes, and Lee tells us, “When Bowie found out that I didn’t say I smoked it, he sent me a letter and fined me $250 for using it as a condiment, and I still have that letter.”

Looking back on his High Times cover feature, Lee said he never imagined cannabis would become an integrated part of sports in the future, as it’s starting to now. He says, “Only over the history of learning that the Chinese use the seeds back 3000 years ago, and the fact that it has been an integral part of our culture, I’ve found out that shamans and the witchdoctors, and everybody else had always used it. And then I always thought it had good properties.

You know, everybody says it’s a gateway drug, but I’ve always found it as the drug that gets you off of everything else. It’s always kept me from drinking too much. I remember when I left Montreal, I bought an ounce of weed and I drove my Volkswagen bus all the way to California. When I got to California, I had no problems. So I’ve always thought that if it’s a gateway drug then it must be a gateway to the golden gateway.” Lee’s life story even took to the big screen in 2016, when he was played by Josh Duhamel, in the movie titled, “Spaceman.”

Lee actually first tried cannabis while attending the University of Southern California, where he roomed with long distance runners who smoked it. He doesn’t feel like their choice to consume influenced his decision to try it, but rather, “It just happened to be coincidental at that time, and the fact that they seemed to be able to run a lot better. I’ve always thought it definitely opens up your alveoli. Those

Photo provided by Doug at Republic Seeds

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THEIR MANDATORY DRUG TESTING, I THINK, WAS FLAWED FROM THE BEGINNING.

sacks are there so you can relay more oxygen, and they tend to run very well. And you know what? That probably helps you handle the pain and the stress of running, through all the other ingredients in it, including the THC and the CBD. If you get a mixture of 50/50, you know, you could probably run all day.

It tends to make you focus. People say you catch people staring off into the distance and everything else, but you know, when your heart is beating perfectly, you’re running, and you get that endorphin high, it seems like you can go forever.”

He also thought back to the inner baseball culture during his time of play, and how drugs like amphetamines and stimulants were readily available. “There was a bowl in front of everybody.

Shoot, everybody was taking greenies and stuff, and I found out those were counterproductive to me. I believe that it forced people to throw too hard and not learn how to pitch. It was basically a drug because we drank too much and everybody would have to take your greenie just to make it back on the field the next day.”

Another experience Lee had with plant based medicines and athletics, was with mescaline, a psychedelic compound extracted from different mescaline containing cacti. “I used to snort mescaline. I remember I ran six miles in a rainstorm when I got rained out of Minnesota one day. Peter Gammons (a famous American sportswriter) came up to me to interview me before the rain out and I was all wired up. I said, ‘Peter, you’ve got to take off that shirt. That pink line is jumping out at me’. He laughed and added, “I remember running through the rain drops with a smile on my face for six miles in Minnesota. One of the greatest runs of my life.”

This sounds a lot like the opioid problem we have in the NFL today. Sports teams pushing pills to keep their players on the fields to earn money for the franchise is nothing new. In mid December 2019, the MLB announced removing cannabis from its banned substance list in the minor leagues. It previously did not require mandatory drug testing for cannabis, but the minor leagues did. Lee’s opinion of the current culture of cannabis and drug testing in the MLB today is that, “They’re neanderthals (referring to the people managing the MLB). I mean, they’ve been slow to go to free agency. They’re slow to do this. Their mandatory drug testing, I think, was flawed from the beginning.

All these people got kicked out of the game, the McGuire’s and the Canseco’s, and everybody else. But the problem is economics. That’s why we have the problems in our capitalistic system where we don’t take care of the poor.

We don’t take care of the incarcerated.

We don’t take care of a lot of people that we should and that’s why I’m more of a socialist. And I always will be, like Eugene Debs.”

This intertwined relationship between plants, cannabis, and sports continued, even when Lee first met his friend, Cheech Marin, one half of the iconic stoner comedy duo, Cheech & Chong.

“We first met playing basketball. We used to play basketball on Wednesday nights. We played two nights a week down in Malibu in ’76. We would play pickup basketball, and then we’d go out and smoke a doobie. Then we’d head on home and do it all over again the next day.” Lee said, laughing at the memories.

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SENIORS + CANNABIS

Eugene Debs was an American socialist and five time candidate for President of

the United States, representing the Socialist Party of America, in the early 1900’s. Lee himself entered the political arena when he ran as the Liberty Union Party’s candidate for Governor of Vermont, in 2016. He ran on a very left wing campaign, during which, he told TIME Magazine, “I’m an anti-prohibition guy. I think everything should be taxed, legalized.” Although Lee didn’t win the election, Vermont fully legalized recreational cannabis in July of 2018. It had been legalized medically in 2004, but Lee tells us, “Hell, it’s always been legal up here. No one’s cracking down on it. You know, as long as you treat your neighbor nice, we’re kind of a self-governing place. And where I live in the Northeast Kingdom, way up here, no one is going to get bothered. We haven’t been bothered here for 30 years.”

In reference to federal legalization,

Lee said, “Everything in Vermont is going to hemp. Everything’s going that way. I think maybe the federal government will start legalizing it a little more, instead of coming down on it, and having this battle between state’s rights and federal rights.” Federal legalization is definitely something we can all hope for, and the future is looking promising with more states legalizing at the turn of every major election.

in the Roy Hobbs League, and the Men’s Senior Baseball League.

When it comes to his cannabis use, he says he doesn’t smoke as much as he used to. “I don’t think I’m the consumer that I used to be, that’s for sure. I do use CBD oil, a lot of that. Sometimes people give me edibles, and I take a puff every once in a while. It seems like everybody in the world wants to smoke with me”.

Nowadays, when Lee isn’t openly sharing his opinions and views with the world, his hobbies include traveling, making baseball bats, and even making wine. He’s produced his very own brand of wine called Spaceman Wines, and makes his own bats made from wood sourced in Vermont. Even with his hobbies and advocacy for cannabis, no matter how busy he gets, nothing can keep him away from his true love, the game of baseball. To this day, Lee still plays

After having the opportunity to learn more about the complexity of Bill “Spaceman” Lee, I believe we can all agree, he’s definitely someone you’d like to spark up more than just a conversation with, because you never quite know how deep into space Lee’s discussion will take you.

EVERYBODY SAYS IT’S A GATEWAY DRUG, BUT I’VE ALWAYS FOUND IT AS THE DRUG THAT GETS YOU OFF OF EVERYTHING ELSE. - BILL “SPACEMAN” LEE

43

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ALZHEIMER’S

BY MICHELLE MARTIN 46

DIS-LIST

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive disease caused from damage to brain cells.

The disease usually affects memory and the ability to learn new things first, then progresses to changes in behavior, confusion, and in later stages to an inability to carry on activities of daily life. The disease is one among many that lead to dementia.

About 50 million people live with some form of dementia in the world and about 60 to 80 percent of dementia cases are due to Alzheimer’s disease, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.1

Patients experience these changes in memory and behavior when cells in their brain are damaged and can no longer communicate with one another. Communication in a typical brain happens when an electrical signal travels within one neuron to where it meets another neuron. When the signal reaches the gap between them, called a synapse, the cell releases small chemicals called neurotransmitters. Alzheimer’s interferes with both how the electrical charges travel and the neurotransmitter activity.

The cause of the damage is unclear, but two signs of the damage are abnormal clumping of proteins called beta-amyloid plaques and twisted protein strands called tangles.

The plaques are thought to block communication between cells and they may also cause an inflammation response and eventual demise of damaged neurons. The tangles prevent the passage of nutrients and waste to and from neurons. Treatments for Alzheimer’s, as with other forms of dementia, do not slow or stop the disease progression, but they can sometimes help with symptoms.

Typical symptoms include memory loss and trouble speaking, thinking and problemsolving, and changes in mood, sensitivity to sensations, personality and behavior.

Caregivers will often try things like adjusting sensory input, such as adjusting

clothing, offering rest or food, to help the patient feel better. When those kinds of things fail, they may turn to medications, though these are often off-label medications that are approved to treat depression or other conditions. Because of the limited evidence supporting these medications, as well as their side-effects, researchers have been interested in cannabinoids as a possible treatment.

In one human study2, researchers looked at whether Dranabinoid, a synthetic THC, would be useful in treating agitation and aggression in patients with severe dementia. They gave the medicine to 40 patients. The study, published in 2014 in “The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry,” found that patients had a decrease in agitation, increased sleep times, ate more food, and they had higher Clinical Global Impression scores—a measure of overall functioning given by the patients’ doctors before and after beginning the trial drug.

Then, in 2015, the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics published a review3 regarding cannabinoids as a potential treatment for late onset alzheimer’s disease.

Remember those amyloid plaques and twisted proteins we mentioned that could be causing the diseases progression? They concluded cannabinoids can reduce their formation, as well as reduce oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and the typical behavior related symptoms seen in dementia patients.

Moving onto 2017m when a study4 found CBD to reduce brain inflammation and promotes new brain cell formation. It even reduces and prevents cognitive deficits from developing in rodent Alzheimer’s disease models. A combination of THC and CBD seemed to dampen the psychoactive effects of THC and increase the therapeutic effects beyond that seen from either phytocannabinoid alone. Their “data suggests that this major component of cannabis sativa, which lacks psychoactivity may have therapeutic potential for the treatment of AD.” Even though there have been several studies like these, suggesting cannabinoids like CBD and THC, may work as potentially treating Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and other neurodegenerative diseases, a recent 20195 review of the current research available suggests otherwise. Published by the Canandian government, they claim to have found limited evidence that medical cannabis may be effective for treating agitation, disinhibition, irritability, aberrant motor behavior, nocturnal behavior disorders, aberrant vocalization and resting care—all symptoms associated with dementia, and often, Alzheimer’s. They point out the current studies that have been published have had very few participants, used various cannabinoids of uncertain quality and in varying forms. The authors of the review highlight the need for more robust, long-term studies. Once cannabis is legalized federally, restrictions on research will be loosened, and we’re excited to see what results scientists will find as we continue to explore the medicinal properties of this plant.

A STUDY4 FOUND CBD TO REDUCE BRAIN INFLAMMATION AND PROMOTES NEW BRAIN CELL FORMATION.

1. https://www.alz.org/media/Documents/alzheimers-facts-and-figures-2019-r.pdf 2. 2014 The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry Volume 22, Issue 4, April 2014, Pages 415-419 Brief Report Dronabinol for the Treatment of Agitation and Aggressive Behavior in Acutely Hospitalized Severely Demented Patients with Noncognitive Behavioral Symptoms 3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25788394 4. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5289988/ 5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK546328/

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ARTHRITIS

BY MATT JACKSON, PHD

There are over 100 different types of arthritis that target bone joints. Osteoarthritis is the most common, affecting 27 million people in the U.S. who experience limited range of motion, swelling, stiffness, and chronic pain.1 It’s easy to take our joints for granted, but when the protective, slippery cartilage wears down, bone-on-bone contact can be intensely painful. It can affect all aspects of everyday life—simply moving in the night can wake you with pain.

Osteoarthritis can damage nerves, inflame the joint, and cause physical damage and bone spurs, which are bony projections on the edges of bones. The spurs can break off from the bone and float into the synovial fluid that lubricates the joint, acting like shrapnel.

The chronic pain caused by osteoarthritis is difficult to treat. The first medication recommended by most professional medical organizations is acetaminophen, but some 50% of osteoarthritis patients don’t respond to it. Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and the selective serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SSNRI) duloxetine are often tried next—but again, not all patients respond.2 And let’s just not talk about opioids, which are addictive and have their own set of serious problems.

Considering 63% of osteoarthritis patients are unsatisfied with their current pain medication regimen,3 some are turning to medical cannabis for baseline pain management or to relieve the acute pains that “break through” their current medications. Cannabis might seem like a new alternative treatment, but cannabinoids are not. We have been treating chronic pain with cannabinoids for over 130 years.

We just didn’t know it.

The story goes like this. Acetaminophen was first prescribed in 1887. Its widespread usage initially was put on hold by a competitor, which ended up causing kidney failure and cancer. Acetaminophen was mass produced in the 1950s and, despite safety concerns, became widely accepted as an over-the-counter medication by the 1970s.4 It may surprise you, but until recently, no one knew how acetaminophen worked.

Then in 1991, a scientist in Israel, Dr. Raphael Mechoulam, discovered the first two endocannabinoids, AEA and 2-AG. It took almost two decades until we connected the dots and realized how acetaminophen truly works, and it’s an indirect action.

When our bodies metabolize acetaminophen, it ends up amplifying our levels of the AEA and 2-AG. Those elevated endocannabinoids cause an ECS response, which is what is truly responsible for relieving pain and reducing inflammation.4

In fact, the synovial membrane that surrounds our joints have plenty of endocannabinoid receptors that are involved with both inflammation and the nervous system’s “pain pathway.” In osteoarthritis patients, the synovial fluid filling the joint contains both 48

DIS-LIST

AEA and 2-AG, which are activating the ECS and are not found in the joints of healthy people.3 This alteration of ECS activity might be caused by the osteoarthritis, or it might be caused by acetaminophen use, which is common among osteoarthritis patients.

So, what's the big problem with using acetaminophen to activate the ECS? Osteoarthritis patients are treated with the maximum recommended dose, 4 grams per day.2 Acetaminophen, which is available over-the-counter, is also the most common cause of poisoning in the United States. A single dose of 4–10 grams can damage the liver, and acetaminophen is the leading cause of acute liver failure.5 Osteoarthritis patients who take acetaminophen have to be careful not to consume over-the-counter cold medicines or alcohol, for example, for fear of accidental liver damage,2 and many are still not satisfied with their pain management.2 So, if it were you, how would you feel about trying medical cannabis?

Over 80% of clinical studies have reported significant pain relief using cannabinoids. In two studies of patients with chronic and diabetic nerve pain, increasing concentrations of THC in cannabis provided progressively better pain relief, improved sleep quality, and caused only mild to moderate side effects.3 But studies that specifically focus on arthritis are few and far between. One such study from 2006, treated patients with rheumatoid arthritis, an autoimmune disease, with Sativex, a pharmaceutical grade extract from whole cannabis plants that contains a 1:1 ratio of THC and CBD. Sativex significantly improved movement pain, pain at rest, and sleep quality in these patients,6 but Sativex remains an investigational product in the U.S. and doesn’t have FDA approval.

Despite not fully understanding its mechanism of action, acetaminophen has been well-studied for treating chronic arthritic pain, and it has been helping relieve pain and inflammation via the ECS for decades. Acetaminophen has also been responsible for many poisonings, liver failures, and liver transplants.5 We should question why it remains approved for over-thecounter use by the FDA. Meanwhile, U.S. regulations surrounding medical cannabis are so constrained that researchers are all but prohibited from studying real-world cultivars, each with a unique blend of cannabinoids and terpenes. For more on this, see the Research Corner on page 14.

63% OF OSTEOARTHRITIS PATIENTS ARE UNSATISFIED WITH THEIR CURRENT PAIN MEDICATION REGIMEN. Perhaps if cannabis plants produced pills instead of flowers, history would be different, and I would be able to recommend specific cannabis cultivars for osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and the like. But instead, I can recommend only this: talk to your doctor, and if you want to try CBD or medical cannabis for arthritis pain or breakthrough pain, remember that more is not always better. Try different doses, perhaps topical ointments too, and certainly different cultivars if you plan to use cannabis. You may find some cultivars provide better pain relief, or you prefer different cognitive effects.

Some cultivars might be more appropriate for working in the morning; others might be better for sleep quality. Arthritis pain can stem from many sources—inflamed joints, damaged bones, and nerves—so I wouldn’t be surprised if someone with arthritis used multiple cultivars of cannabis, ointments, and other medications to ease their pain as effectively as possible.

References 1Madden, K., George, A., van der Hoek, N., Borim, F., Mammen, G., and Bhandari, M. "Cannabis for pain in orthopedics: a systematic review focusing on study methodology."

Canadian Journal of Surgery 62, no. 6 (2019): 001018. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31545565.

2Brown, J. and Boulay, L. "Clinical experience with duloxetine in the management of chronic musculoskeletal pain. A focus on osteoarthritis of the knee." Therapeutic Advances in Musculoskeletal Disease 5, no. 6 (2013): 291-304. https://doi.org/10.1177/1759720X13508508.

3O'Brien, M. and McDougall, J. "Cannabis and joints: scientific evidence for the alleviation of osteoarthritis pain by cannabinoids." Current Opinion in Pharmacology 40 (2018): 104-109. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.coph.2018.03.012.

4Bertolini, A., Ferrari, A., Ottani, A., Guerzoni, S., Tacchi, R., and Leone, S. "Paracetamol: new vistas of an old drug." CNS Drug Reviews 12, no. 3-4 (2006): 250-275. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.15273458.2006.00250.x.

5Dimitropoulos, E. and Ambizas, E. "Acetaminophen toxicity: what pharmacists need to know." U.S. Pharmacist 39, no. 3 (2014): HS2-HS8. https://www.uspharmacist.com/article/acetaminophentoxicity-what-pharmacists-need-to-know 6Blake, D., Robson, P., Ho, M., Jubb, R., and McCabe, C. "Preliminary assessment of the efficacy, tolerability and safety of a cannabis-based medicine (Sativex) in the treatment of pain caused by rheumatoid arthritis." Rheumatology 45, no. 1 (2006): 50-52. https://doi.org/10.1093/rheumatology/kei183.

49

ANXIETY

BY MATT JACKSON, PHD

This article hits close to home. I have an anxiety disorder. I work hard at it, and I’ve been pretty successful coping. But there are still days when I just can’t control it.

Sometimes I wake up, and without a conscious thought to it, my nervous system is on fire. My muscles feel permanently constricted. My mind races frantically from one point to the next. What I need most is to relax, but even thinking about trying to relax intensifies my anxiety. I’m not alone—40 million adults in the United States experience an anxiety disorder every year1—and about half of all people use medicinal cannabis to manage anxiety.1,2 Count me in.

It’s normal to worry about things big and small: about work, a presentation, paying the bills, where the world is heading. But when worries interfere with day-to-day functions, anxiety becomes a disorder. Past trauma, specific phobias, or just daily life can trigger panic—the quintessential anxiety disorder is post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)3—and what gets triggered is a neurological response centered in fear. For example, people with PTSD have a hyperactive amygdala, an evolutionarily ancient part of our brain that stores fear-related memories and responds to threats with fear, aggression, and defensive behavior.3 The effects aren’t just psychological, though. Anxiety can cause physical symptoms such as headaches, nausea, and gastrointestinal problems.

Treating anxiety disorders is generally a two-part process. The first part is medication, primarily with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) for long-term anxiety management and benzodiazepines such as Valium—which can be addictive—for acute attacks. As with any medication, there can be side effects: nausea, drowsiness, headaches, and sexual problems. The second part, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), is just as important. CBT is a type of professional counseling that helps people recognize thought patterns and change behaviors that lead to anxiety. Both medication and CBT are equally effective, and their effects combine for the best chance at long-term anxiety management.4 Millions of people are using cannabis as an alternative medication for anxiety disorders, and in several surveys, most people reported exceptional anxiety relief.2,5,6 But there’s also a bit of a paradox, because 10–20% of users consistently report anxiety as a negative side effect of cannabis.2,6 Honestly, at this point in time, we have more questions than answers. We know our ECS plays a role in anxiety. Patients with PTSD have more type I cannabinoid (CB1) receptors in their nervous systems and lower concentrations of natural endocannabinoids that activate those receptors. We also know that anxiety is a major negative side effect of pure THC, but pure CBD can reduce anxiety by decreasing neural activity in the amygdala, similar to benzodiazepines.2 However, when we look at how people respond to the whole cannabis plant, these trends don’t really hold.

50

DIS-LIST

We often focus on THC and CBD as the main components of cannabis, but they alone can’t explain the differences between cannabis cultivars. A cannabis plant

has over 150 different terpenes; different combinations give each cultivar its unique smell and taste.2 It’ll take a long time before we understand how all these components work in concert—a synergistic action called the “entourage effect”—but meanwhile, scientists have asked the experts: cannabis users!

One thing is clear, not all cultivars of cannabis are equally effective for relieving anxiety. In one survey, 84% of users in Canada reported that medical cannabis helped relieve their anxiety.

About 40–50% of people reported anxiety relief using C. indica and hybrid cultivars, compared to 7-10% reporting increased anxiety. The results for C. sativa cultivars were far more mixed; 30% reported increased anxiety, the same percentage of people reporting relief.5 Another study went even deeper and examined the total cannabinoid and terpene content in cannabis cultivars that were reported as best for anxiety (Bubba Kush, Skywalker OG Kush, Kosher Kush) and least effective (Chocolope, CBD Shark, Tangerine Dream). Interestingly, one slightly C. sativa-dominant hybrid (Blueberry Lambsbread) made the list as both most effective and least effective,1 meaning people had vastly different experiences with the same cultivar.

So, how can you find the cultivar of medical cannabis uniquely suited for your anxiety? Try focusing on cultivars that are pure C. indica or C. indica-dominant hybrids and have low CBD. Try a few cultivars at different doses and keep notes on which is most effective for you.

But what about long-term anxiety management? Well, here’s where it gets a little tricky. If you find that medical cannabis helps with sudden anxiety attacks but doesn’t reduce how often the attacks occur, then there are concerns about dependency, even if cannabis itself isn’t considered addictive. After all, long-term management is the main reason why SSRIs are prescribed first, instead of benzodiazepines. But if you want to avoid pharmaceuticals altogether, you should consider integrating medical cannabis with professional therapy—CBT counseling in particular.

Unfortunately, easy access to medical cannabis appears to be leaving therapy out of the equation for some. In one study, 80% of Californians who used medical cannabis for anxiety or depression were not prescribed cannabis for that reason,1 so they wouldn’t have received professional recommendations for therapy. In another study, only 20% of Canadians using medical cannabis for anxiety disorders had ever received CBT counseling. Some of these people were also using considerable amounts of cannabis—23% used ≥3 grams cannabis per day.5 Another study hinted that stronger doses of cannabis may not provide better symptom relief but could cause more side effects, both positive and negative6—you can read more about that study in the Research Corner on page 14.

Overall, medical cannabis could prove extremely effective for relieving anxiety symptoms.

Each person is unique though, so finding the cultivar and dosage that works for your anxiety will require some experimentation. But even with that, conventional medication or cannabis is only half the battle. If you face persistent anxiety attacks, talk to your doctor; professional CBT counseling may be the missing piece for long-term anxiety management.

References | 1Kosiba, J., Maisto, S., and Ditre, J. “Patient-reported use of medical cannabis for pain, anxiety, and depression symptoms: Systematic review and meta-analysis.” Social Science & Medicine 233 (2019): 181-92. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.06.005.

2Kamal, B., Kamal, F., and Lantela, D. “Cannabis and the anxiety of fragmentation—a systems approach for finding an anxiolytic cannabis chemotype.” Frontiers in Neuroscience 12 (2018): 730. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2018.00730.

3Zoellner, L., Rothbaum, B., and Feeny, N. “PTSD not an anxiety disorder? DSM committee proposal turns back the hands of time.” Depression and Anxiety 28, no. 10 (2011): 853-6. https://doi. org/10.1002/da.20899.

4Cuijpers, P., Sijbrandij, M., Koole, S., Andersson, G., Beekman, A., and Reynolds, C. “Adding psychotherapy to antidepressant medication in depression and anxiety disorders: a meta-analysis.”

World Psychiatry 13, no. 1 (2014): 56-67. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20089.

5Turna, J., Simpson, W., Patterson, B., Lucas, P., and Van Ameringen, M. “Cannabis use behaviors and prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms in a cohort of Canadian medicinal cannabis users.” Journal of Psychiatric Research 111 (2019): 134-39. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2019.01.024.

6Stith, S., Vigil, J., Brockelman, F., Keeling, K., and Hall, B. “The association between cannabis product characteristics and symptom relief.” Nature Scientific Reports 9, no. 1 (2019): 2712. https:// doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-39462-1.

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INSOMNIA

BY HEATHER DEROSE 52

DIS-LIST

If you’ve ever lain in bed tossing and turning or woke up early and been unable to go back to sleep, you may have experienced insomnia. Insomnia is the inability to promote and maintain quality sleep, despite having the opportunity for sleep to occur. Sleep disorders are one of the most common, but treatable, health problems that occur. Approximately 50-70 million Americans chronically suffer from a sleep disorder and are unable to get enough sleep, which negatively affects health and longevity.1 Millions of people have experienced a night without sleep at some point.

Maybe it was because of something stressful the next day that you were lying awake thinking about, or maybe you ate too much before bed and you woke up with heartburn and couldn’t fall back asleep. The exact cause of the disorder can be complex and may involve a combination of biological, psychological, and social factors. Being a woman and at an older age may increase the risk of developing insomnia.2 Regardless of the reasons, going without adequate sleep, even for a night, can negatively affect your health and mood. Having a sleepless night here and there is very common, but chronic sleep loss can have detrimental effects on a person’s health and well-being.

Chronic insomnia occurs when a person experiences sleep loss at least three times per week, which lasts for a month or more. The exact amount of sleep for each person varies, but most adults need seven to eight hours a night of sleep for optimal health.3 A doctor will evaluate each person before a diagnosis of insomnia, considering other variables which could account for sleep loss, such as other sleep disorders, medication side effects, substance abuse, depression, or other illnesses.

Sleep is important for overall health and well-being throughout our lives. Maintaining quality sleep each night can protect your mental and physical health, quality of life, and safety. Sleep helps the brain transform new information into memory, which is why getting adequate amounts of sleep after learning something new will help process and retain what you’ve learned. Sleep can affect metabolism and weight, by altering hormones and carbohydrate storage. Sleep loss also affects energy levels and mood throughout each day. Sleep loss can cause irritability, loss of patience, inability to concentrate, and moodiness. More serious side effects of chronic sleep loss may affect cardiovascular health. Sleep disorders have been linked to hypertension, increased stress hormone levels, and irregular heartbeat.4 There’s

APPROXIMATELY 50-70 MILLION AMERICANS CHRONICALLY SUFFER FROM A SLEEP DISORDER AND ARE UNABLE TO GET ENOUGH SLEEP also an increased risk of disease associated with chronic sleep loss because of its effect on our immune systems. Inadequate sleep alters immune function, including the activity of the body’s killer cells, which help fight cancer.5 Since maintaining sleep is crucial for overall health and wellness, there are options to consider to promote a more restful night’s sleep. With the growing knowledge about the abilities of cannabis to help promote sleep naturally, many have successfully used it as a tool to promote a restful night’s sleep, and many more are curious about trying it to promote sleep. Cannabis works with the receptors in our endocannabinoid system. “The discovery of the endocannabinoid system, composed of endogenous lipids, receptors and metabolic enzymes, has brought information on its significance in multiple neurobiological processes, including sleep modulation.”6 More studies are needed with cannabis and insomnia patients. Many patients are offered pharmacological therapies to help promote sleep such as benzodiazepine or nonbenzodiazepine hypnotics, which often come with impairment and harmful side effects, as well as dependence. Other pharmacological options may be used for insomnia, such as sedating antidepressants, antihistamines, and antipsychotics. However, their efficacy for treating insomnia have not been thoroughly studied.7 This may be one reason many patients are trying cannabis. It has minimal side effects and offers a natural option that works within each person’s ECS via cannabinoids and phytonutrients. Other tools a patient may find helps promote sleep is keeping your bedtime and wake time consistent daily, including weekends.

Staying physically active also promotes restful sleep. Avoiding and limiting caffeine, alcohol, and nicotine may help as well. Patients who make their bedroom comfortable for sleep and only use it for sleep may benefit from better sleep. In addition, creating a relaxing bedtime ritual, like taking a bath, and limiting exposure to light from electronics can help induce sleep.8 Since sleep quality plays such an important role in our daily lives, it’s important to promote behavior and environments where you can get enough rest. Understanding the value sleep brings to our health is the reason many seek help to improve their sleep quality. We know our bodies’ ECS contains receptors for our own endogenous cannabinoids, as well as exogenous cannabinoids from cannabis, and it works to promote homeostasis and modulate sleep function. More studies are needed to understand the efficacy of cannabis and its potential to treat sleep disorders, but many patients are using cannabis as a natural tool to promote sleep quality and are reaping the benefits.

1. NHLBI (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute). National Sleep Disorders Research Plan, 2003. Bethesda, MD: National Institutes of Health; 2003.

2. Edinger JD, Means MK. Overview of insomnia: Definitions, epidemiology, differential diagnosis, and assessment. In: Kryger MH, Roth T, Dement WC, editors. Principles and Practice of Sleep Medicine. 4th ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier/Saunders; 2005. pp. 702–713.

3. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/insomnia/symptoms-causes/syc-20355167 4. https://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/importance_of_sleep_and_health 5. https://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/importance_of_sleep_and_health 6. https://www.theroc.us/index.php?preview=1&option=com_dropfiles&format=&task=frontfile.download&catid=218&id=1vxCNOrEvpDXKTmFvdl0VHYzowqtk47p4&Itemid=1000000000000 7. Walsh JK, Dement WC, Dinges DF. Sleep medicine, public policy, and public health. In: Kryger MH, Roth T, Dement WC, editors. Principles and Practice of Sleep Medicine. 4th ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier/Saunders; 2005. pp. 648–656.

8. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/insomnia/symptoms-causes/syc-20355167

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GLAUCOMA

BY MICHELLE MARTIN 54

DIS-LIST

Promising results hint that THC might one day treat glaucoma.

Glaucoma is an umbrella term for a group of diseases that damage the optic nerve— the signalling pathway bringing color and image information from the retina to the brain.1 Damaged nerve cells in the eye can narrow a person’s field of vision and even lead to complete blindness. According to the World Health Organization, about 4.5 million people are blind as a result of glaucoma in the world—that’s slightly more than 12 percent of all human blindness.2 About three million people who suffer from glaucoma are in the United States, according to the American Glaucoma Society.3 Unfortunately it’s a bit sneaky in that patients often only notice the decrease in their peripheral vision after a large swath of cells is already dead and the disease is in the advanced stages.3,4 Currently, there is no known cure, and patients typically manage the condition for the rest of their lives with medicine, surgery, or both.

Although the exact ways in which the diseases work are poorly understood, two aspects are well known: damage to the cells of the optic nerve, and in most cases, there is an increase in pressure within the eye. The most effective medicines used to treat glaucoma aim to lower the pressure within the eye.1,5 Researchers published a study in 1971, in the prestigious “Journal of the American Medical Association” showing that smoking marijuana decreased intraocular pressure.7 We know today that THC is at least one of the components responsible for this effect.

Keeping intraocular pressure low seems to work to hold off the worst glaucoma has to offer. Even so, for a minority of patients who are successfully keeping eye pressure low, the disease still progresses. That is why some researchers are looking beyond pressure-lowering medicines and taking a closer look into medications that can also protect the nerve cells from damage4—something THC has also been shown to do.5 THC seems like a good candidate to treat glaucoma because of the combination of its ability to protect neurons as well as lower intraocular pressure. THC affects change in the body by connecting to at least two cannabinoid receptors.7 One of these is the well-known cannabinoid CB1 receptors. They are found throughout the brain and eyes and can affect pain, mood, movement and memory.5,8,9 As it turns out, CBD is actually not well-suited to the job according to results we’ll get to below.

Smoking cannabis as a way to treat glaucoma has drawbacks. It lasts a short duration (three to four hours according to the American Glaucoma Society),10 has potentially undesirable psychoactive and other side-effects, as well as the possibility of building up resistance. The society issued a position statement in 2009 saying it does not recommend cannabis for glaucoma treatment. However, the statement hints that the position might change if more promising research becomes available.

In the 11 years since the statement came out, there have been more studies. Recent research in animal models highlights the possibility that some form of THC might one day be available to treat glaucoma.

Since smoking has its challenges, researchers have tried delivering THC and CBD under the tongue (THC lowered eye pressure for four hours and CBD had no effect or raised the pressure) and via eye drops.11 The eye drops failed at first, because the THC didn’t get very far into the eye, due to its love of lipids or lipophilic nature. A team of pharmaceutical researchers from the University of Mississippi has been tackling this problem. They published a study last year in the journal “Translational Vision Science and Technology” pointing to early success in developing a new eye drop.12,13 It allowed the THC to penetrate more deeply into rabbits’ eyes and decreased intraocular pressure for six hours. They were able to override THC’s hydrophobic nature by attaching it to molecules that made the whole nano-sized medicine able to sink all the way into the rabbit’s eye. In their paper, the researchers also point out that, if recent findings are correct, THC can protect the cells in the optic nerve from damage and deeper penetration may help increase this positive effect.

In a 2018 study published by the online journal “Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science,” Indiana University researchers investigated on which receptors THC and CBD were working in mice.7 They found the two compounds were working with different receptors. THC lowered eye pressure. CBD, though it may have neuroprotective effects, worked against THC and kept the pressure from decreasing and, in some cases, could even have the unwanted effect of increasing eye pressure.

In one surprise result, they found a marked difference in how the cannabinoids affected male and female mice. Males had a much more pronounced decrease in eye pressure from THC. When they looked into this, they found the males had more of the relevant receptors.7 In short, before THC could be a good long-term solution to this life-long condition, there are some hurdles to overcome. In their position statement, the American Glaucoma society states: “Unless a well tolerated formulation of a marijuana-related compound with a much longer duration of action is shown in rigorous clinical testing to reduce damage to the optic nerve and preserve vision, there is no scientific basis for use of these agents in the treatment of glaucoma.”10 Rigorous clinical testing is the gold standard for choosing a safe and effective treatment. Such research will continue to be difficult to conduct as long as cannabis is still listed as “Schedule 1” under the Controlled Substances Act, meaning it is considered to be a substance with no medical use and a high potential for abuse. If Congress or the federal administration changes the classification, researchers will likely have more opportunities to conduct relevant research in humans.

References: 1. https://higherlogicdownload.s3.amazonaws.com/AMERICANGLAUCOMASOCIETY/4ca07187-fb0f-4dc3-a19c-33093862484d/UploadedImages/Documents/559_cyclophoto4_final.pdf 2. https://www.who.int/blindness/causes/priority/en/index6.html 3. https://www.americanglaucomasociety.net/patients/glaucoma-faqs 4. Bucolo, C., Plantania, C.B.M., Drago, F., Bonfiglio, V., Reibaldi, M., Avitabile, T., Uva, M. (2018). Novel Therapeutics in Glaucoma Management. doi: 10.2174/1570159X15666170915142727.

5. Rapinoa, C., Tortolania, D., Scipionib, L. & Maccarroneb, M. (2018). Neuroprotection by (Endo)Cannabinoids in Glaucoma and Retinal Neurodegenerative Diseases. Current Neuropharmacology (16), 959-970.

6. Hepler R.S., Frank I.R. (1971) Marihuana smoking and intraocular pressure. JAMA (217),1392.

7. Miller S., Daily L., Leishman E., Bradshaw H., Straiker A. (2018). D9-tetrahydrocannabinoland cannabidiol differentially regulate intraocular pressure. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci (59), 5904–5911.

8. Piomelli D. (2003). The molecular logic of endocannabinoid signalling. Nat Rev Neurosci (4), 873–884.

9. Straiker, A.J., Maguire, G., Mackie, K., Lindsey, J. (1999). Localization of cannabinoid CB1 receptors in the human anterior eye and retina. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. Sep (40:10), 2442-2448.

10. https://www.americanglaucomasociety.net/about/statements 11. Tomida, I., Azuara-Blanco, A., House, H., Flint, M., Pertwee, R.G., Robson, P.J. (2006). Effect of sublingual application of cannabinoids on intraocular pressure: a pilot study. Journal of Glaucoma: Oct15(5), 349-53.

12. 2019: Taskar, P.S., Patil, A., Lakhani, P., Ashour, E., Gul, W., El Sohly, M.A., Murphy, B., Majumdar, S. (2019) D9-Tetrahydrocannabinol derivative-loaded nanoformulation lowers intraocular pressure in normotensive rabbits. Trans Vis Sci Tech: 8(5),15.https://doi.org/10.1167/tvst.8.5.15 13. Adelli, G.R., Bhagav, P., Taskar, P., et al. (2017). Development of a D9-tetrahydrocannabinol amino acid-dicarboxylate prodrug with improved ocular bioavailability. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. (58), 2167–2179. doi: 10.1167/iovs.16-20757

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FITNESS + CANNABIS FIGHTING OLD AGE WITH EXERCISE

BY ANTONIO DEROSE

It’s a new year, and with the start of every new year, many of us have New Year’s resolutions.

In fact, according to a 2018 survey1, 44% of adults in the U.S. are likely to make a New Year’s resolution. In this same survey, the number one resolution was to exercise more, followed by stop smoking, lose weight, be a better person, and eat healthier. All of these top resolutions are centered around taking better care of ourselves, and quite frankly, they should be. We all deserve to be in good physical and mental health, especially seniors.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “Adults ages 65 years and older gain substantial health benefits from regular physical activity.”2 These benefits include reducing the risk of several cardiovascular diseases and cancers and can even help prevent type 2 diabetes.

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The evidence for exercise fighting diseases is overwhelmingly strong. In reference specifically to seniors, “Physical activity is key to preventing and managing chronic disease.

Other benefits include a lower risk of dementia, better perceived quality of life, and reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression.”2 Regular physical activity also reduces the risk of falls, which are a common cause of injuries in older adults. Aerobic fitness even improves memory. In a study at the University of Pittsburgh3, they researched the relationship between aerobic fitness and the volume of the hippocampus, which plays a large part in our memory. The research concluded, “Our results clearly indicate that higher levels of aerobic fitness are associated with increased hippocampal volume in older humans, which translates to better memory function.”

So we know we want to exercise. There are tremendous health benefits for doing so: improving our quality of life and offering sustained independence for seniors, but how can cannabis play a role in exercising? The answer is easy, and it’s however you prefer. If you’re already consuming cannabis in some way, I suggest you keep your current routine, begin an exercise program, and find out how you prefer to incorporate it into your program. If you’re consuming flower or vaporized concentrates, try it about 30 minutes prior to beginning exercise. I personally find consuming cannabis flower prior to exercise helps motivate me to get active and makes the activity more enjoyable. Edibles should be used with caution unless you already consume them regularly, and are familiar with their onset and effects. Tinctures and oils are great to use as a daily supplement, just like B-12, and topical products like creams and patches are perfect for targeting isolated areas of discomfort.

If you’re new to exercise, consuming cannabis, or both, the rules remain the same. Start slow, learn what works best for you, and have fun. Not all exercise is going to the gym. Go on walks with your family, friends, and neighbors. Volunteer for local organizations and sign up for positions that require physical activity. Even activities like gardening and dancing are excellent ways to increase your level of fitness, while lowering your risk of disease and encouraging sustained independence alongside a longer and happier life.

THE USUAL

1. http://maristpoll.marist.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/NPR_PBS-NewsHour_Marist-Poll_USA-NOS-and-Tables_New-Years-Resolutions_1812061019-1.pdf#page=3 2. https://health.gov/paguidelines/second-edition/pdf/Physical_Activity_Guidelines_2nd_edition.pdf#page=66 3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19123237

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OUTDOORS 6 WAYS SENIORS CAN BENEFIT FROM INTRODUCING CANNABIS + OUTDOOR RECREATION INTO THEIR LIFESTYLES

BY BEN OWENS

For seniors, outdoor recreation may seem intimidating. Luckily, enjoying the outdoors isn’t limited to activities for the young and physically fit. There are plenty of ways for seniors to get outside, and by doing so: enjoy nature, socialize with others, and lower your overall risk of death.11, 3, 4 HOW CAN SENIORS BENEFIT FROM OUTDOOR RECREATION? While studies have shown exposure to nature through windows and natural areas can have a positive effect upon well-being and recovery, outdoor recreation offers a variety of benefits that can only be experienced when you take that leap to go outdoors.1,3,4,6,8,9 Sunlight is an infinite source of Vitamin D, often prescribed to adults as they age, especially seniors, who often have low levels of this vitamin.5,6,8 Additionally, venturing outdoors can lend itself to diminished feelings of isolation by creating opportunities for social interactions with people of all ages and even animals.2,3 Activities such as feeding ducks or bird watching require minimal physical exertion while offering precious interactions with other living beings. Spending time outdoors has been shown to lower anxiety, depression, and stress. Additionally, people who spend an hour in a natural environment have been shown to experience a 20% improvement in attention span and short-term memory.3 Studies show time spent outdoors and in the presence of nature lowers our overall risk of death.

HOW CAN CANNABIS PLAY A ROLE IN YOUR RECREATION? Infused trail bars, other edibles, and even smokable cannabis products can be great in preparation for outdoor adventures. Thanks to their delayed onset, they gradually kick in once you’ve had some time to begin your activity. If you are prone to joint pain, for instance, you might not need immediate relief from the beginning of your walk, but halfway through, a gentle serving of THC could help relieve inflammation you’re feeling. Conversely, if you’re in need of an energy boost or already feeling some discomfort, a smokeable option could provide immediate effects with an uplifting, soothing kickstart.

Cannabis products can be great during your recreation as well. Similar to taking advantage of a delayed onset with edibles, serving yourself appropriate amounts of cannabis during your activities can enhance smells, sights, and feelings of enjoyment. Cannabis can be incorporated during activities without needing to be consumed as well, including options like gardening and photography, where you’re tending to the plants rather than consuming them.

After you’ve completed your recreation, cannabis can serve as a relaxing “dessert” to cap the activity off. Cannabis products can be used for recovery, such as infused topicals applied to aching areas; some products can be ingested orally or inhaled as a means of relaxing and cooling down. Or, it could simply be your reward for getting up and getting outside for an hour a day. As you participate in outdoor recreation more frequently, you’ll begin to titrate your cannabis regimen until it’s no longer a foreign aspect but as natural as taking a vitamin before heading out for your morning walk.

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6 EASY OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES TO GET YOU OUTSIDE 1. Go for a walk or hike.

2. Take a bike ride.

3. Go for a swim.

4. Spend time fishing.

5. Pick up gardening.7

6. Enjoy birdwatching or photography.

No matter how mobile, active, or energetic you’re feeling, you can take advantage of the benefits of outdoor recreation at any age.10 As a senior, it’s especially important to spend time outdoors as well as enjoying social interactions and natural environments.

Encourage the elderly around you and in your family to join you on an outdoor adventure, whether it’s a long walk or simply a short jaunt around the farmer’s market.

Citations: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262224648_Recreational_Activities_for_Senior_Citizens/ 1 Singh, Bhawana & Kiran, UV. (2014). Recreational Activities for Senior Citizens. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science.

19. 2279-837. 10.9790/0837-19472430. https://www.livestrong.com/article/493323-physical-social-emotional-intellectual-benefits-of-outdoor-recreation/ 2 Pashley, Tina. “Physical, Social, Emotional and Intellectual Benefits of Outdoor Recreation.” Livestrong.com. June 19, 2019. https://www.nathab.com/blog/the-outdoors-and-the-elderly/ 3 Andrews, Candice. “Seniors and the Outdoors.” Good Nature. September 11, 2018. https://seniorsafetyadvice.com/benefits-of-outdoor-activities-for-the-elderly/ 4 Kane, Esther. “Benefits Of Outdoor Activities For The Elderly.” Senior Safety Advice. https://landmarkseniorliving.com/benefits-of-the-outdoors-for-seniors/ 5 “THE BENEFITS OF THE OUTDOORS FOR SENIORS.” Landmark Senior Living. June 4, 2019. https://blog.trekology.com/2018/06/20/the-benefits-of-the-outdoors-for-seniors/ 6 “The Benefits Of The Outdoors For Seniors.” Trekology. September 2, 2018. https://www.cedarhurstliving.com/benefit-outdoor-activities-seniors/ 7 “Benefit of outdoor activities for seniors.” Cedarhurst Living. May 30, 2017. https://www.overlook-mass.org/2016/03/7-benefits-of-being-outdoors-for-seniors/ 8 “7 Benefits of Being Outdoors for Seniors.” The Overlook. March 7, 2016. https://eldercarealliance.org/blog/seniors-benefit-spending-time-outdoors/ 9. “Seniors Can Reap Benefits from Spending Time Outdoors.” Elder Care Alliance. February 1, 2017. https://www.elderindependence.com/10-outdoor-activities-perfect-for-seniors 10 Johnston, Lori. “Outdoor Activities Perfect for Seniors.” Elder Independence. May 7, 2018. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2566234/ 11 Maas J, Verheij RA, Groenewegen PP, de Vries S, Spreeuwenberg P. Green space, urbanity, and health: how strong is the relation?.

J Epidemiol Community Health. 2006;60(7):587–592. doi:10.1136/jech.2005.043125

THE USUAL

YOU CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE BENEFITS OF OUTDOOR RECREATION AT ANY AGE.

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M XINE TAYLOR’S

CELESTIAL EVENTS Maxine Taylor became America’s First Licensed Astrologer after mounting a legal challenge to legitimize astrology in the 1960’s Bible Belt state of Georgia. She became CNN’s Original On-Air Astrologer when the network launched.

youtube.com/c/MaxineTaylorAstrologer

twitter.com/wizardstargazer

facebook.com/starmaxinetaylor

JANUARY 2020 ARIES (MARCH 21 - APRIL 19) You see the big picture, and you know where you want to go. Your focus is on helping other people now, so consider mutually beneficial finances ventures. By mid-month, you have the clarity you need to share your idea

LIBRA (SEPT 23 - OCT 22) Put your attention on money-making activities and watch your income grow. Travel looks good all month, but especially around the 12th when your travel plans can expand. Open your eyes to greater opportunities in all areas.

TAURUS (APRIL 20 - MAY 20) You are intent on finding out what’s really going on, especially where money is concerned. Keep the big picture in mind so you don’t get involved in intrigue. Focus on helping others. By midmonth, your finances improve.

SCORPIO (OCT 23 - NOV 21) It’s your turn now, so focus on doing what you want your way, especially where finances are concerned. Keep your cards close to your chest, especially around mid-month when your inner psychic detective is alive and well.

GEMINI (MAY 21 - JUNE 20) Throw yourself into your work, especially if it involves helping others. Focus on what the other people in your life want. By mid-month, you will be able to focus on yourself and do things your way.

SAGITTARIUS (NOV 22 - DEC 21) Spread your wings and soar. It’s your turn to be independent. You may require more private time in order to follow the Sun. By mid-month, you are able to include others in your life’s journey.

CANCER (JUNE 21 - JULY 22) Combine work and pleasure, throw yourself into fun activities and do only those tasks that are enjoyable. Now is the time to stay busy doing productive work. By mid-month you will enjoy your own company more than others’.

CAPRICORN (DEC 22 - JANUARY 19) You are in preparatory mode for most of the month. Just before Christmas, you step forward into the new you. Around mid-month, you can focus on your work with single-mindedness and purpose.

LEO (JULY 23 - AUG 22) Your home and family come first now, so throw yourself into domestic activities. You are always ready for fun, so combine work and play, especially where children are concerned. By mid-month, spend time with your friends.

AQUARIUS (JANUARY 20 - FEBRUARY 18) You believe that what’s good for the group is good for the individuals in the group. You express this in both your career and friendship circles. After partying mid-month, you will need more privacy in order to march to your own drum.

VIRGO (AUG 23 - SEPT 22) Your domestic side is triggered, so spend time at home with your family. Plan social activities with your children. Your mind is working overtime, so make To Do Lists. By mid-month, you’ll be ready to focus on your career.

PISCES (FEBRUARY 19 - MARCH 20) You can combine leadership with friendship, which is a rare quality. You are able to take a stand for your principles in your career because you see the big picture. By mid-month, your desire to be at home is strong.

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M A X I N E TAY L O R .C O M CLICK ON THE READING FORM, AND SELECT FREE BIRTH CHART. THEN JUST FILL IT OUT AND HIT SUBMIT.

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Cannabis Professional Certificate Program Sponsored by the Office of Continuing Education at Florida Gulf Coast University

February 29-March 4, 2020, Saturday-Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

240 Sugden Hall at FGCU 10501 FGCU Boulevard South, Fort Myers, FL 33965 Program overview: Cannabis is approved for medical use in Florida and much of the U.S., and an increasing number of states also are legalizing its recreational use. The Cannabis Professional Certificate Program is an intensive, multidisciplinary, 5-day workshop designed to meet the needs of those who want to increase their understanding of cannabis and its effects.

WHAT THE PROGRAM COVERS: } The history of cannabis } Cannabis laws and policies } Characteristics of the plant } Cultivation and extraction techniques } Cannabis as a business } Physiology, pharmacology, and medicinal uses of cannabis WHO THE PROGRAM BENEFITS: } Those who are in or who would like to enter the cannabis industry } Patients and advocates } Healthcare professionals } Educators } Those interested in the legal and financial realities of the cannabis industry } Anyone interested in the fastest growing industry in the United States FEATURED INSTRUCTORS/SPEAKERS: } Program director is Dr. Martha Rosenthal, professor of neuroscience and physiology and director of the Cannabis Research, Education, and Workforce (CREW) initiative at FGCU } Physicians, botanists, and scientists } CEOs/entrepreneurs, business leaders, and industry managers } Accountants and investment bankers } Attorneys and community activists } Artists and chefs

Cost:

$1,295 (until Dec. 31) $1,395 (after Dec. 31) Participants earn a certificate of completion.

To register and get more information: fgcu.edu/cannabiscertificate

CULTIVATION

BY RACHAEL CARLEVALE

Anyone can grow cannabis, if you have the passion, and drive. It is a relationship we cultivate with the plant, and just like any other friendship, it takes time, practice, and presence for a successful coexistence to blossom. The question is not if, but when we make mistakes, let them serve as a lesson for the future. Keep a dated grow journal to log every input, plant responses you observe.

PREPARING YOUR SPACE

Review your local cannabis grow laws and abide by them. If you are renting, lease agreements may differ from the law, so ensure you are not putting yourself at risk. Before growing cannabis, take the time to prepare the environment. From cultivation to harvest, drying, storing, waste management, and knowing what you will do with your end product is key information that will light the way when making important decisions in your design process. Consider how you will mitigate smell, and if your location is in close proximity to neighbors who may be concerned. You don’t want to spend your time, money, and energy growing a garden that only has to be taken down due to some complaints.

Water may be your most limiting factor, so think about where you will source it from, and test it to make sure it has a balanced pH and is clean. Water filters help eliminate any future problems in the garden. Plan your garden around your water source and prepare sustainable irrigation systems.

OUTDOORS

Cannabis is one of the worlds largest bioremediators. Its tap root draws up whatever is in the soil, be it heavy metals, toxins, or beneficial nutrients. For this reason, if cannabis is being grown outdoors, its highly recommended to test the soil to ensure quality. A trained eye will notice robust life thriving in the soil if it is fertile. If stable ecosystems are created and integrated pest management is in place, there will be no need to use any toxins of any kind.

Consider your environment and decide if you want to plant directly into the ground, in raised beds, or a greenhouse. Be careful for cross-pollination from your neighbors, especially now that more and more people are deciding to grow cannabis.

INDOORS

There is no greater energy than the sun; however, current legislation has enforced that some regions can only cultivate cannabis indoors including in Colorado where the home grow law states that, “[Cannabis] plants must be kept in an enclosed, locked area that can’t be viewed openly. This means the plants can’t be outside.”

Consider where you will be growing indoors.

Are you going to frame out a room? Put up an indoor tent? Or use natural light by the window? Cannabis makes great house plants, and can be used to grow microgreens as well! How will you manage the temperature of the room? Do you need a fan, an air conditioning unit? There are no right or wrong answers, only solutions to your unique situation.

One way to adapt to indoor gardening practices is to build living soil systems inside.

This can be accomplished in pots, indoor raised beds, or other methods, depending on the materials you have available.

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SEED OR CLONE?

Decide if you will grow from seeds or if you will be using rooted clones. The benefits of growing from seed include a more stable genetic and eliminate the risk of inheriting pests from a purchased clone. Seeds take longer to germinate, and you will have to ‘sex’ the plants, which means to identify which are male and which are female, and try to remove the males as fast as possible. Clones are cut from a mother plant and are ready to go in your garden right away.

Those taken from your own plants are more cost effective than purchasing seeds. Genetics are just as important as your growing methods, so choose wisely! If purchasing seed, use credible sources who offer genetics that are completely stabilized. Know that not all genetics are the same; they will grow at different rates and sizes. These factors can all play into your overall design of your room.

MALE OR FEMALE?

No matter your location, from urban cities to coastal climates, from greenhouse spaces to large-scale indoor operations, from sea level to mountain ranges, regenerative agriculture practices can be applied to all contexts. More is possible by working with nature’s bio rhythms. We can harvest greater yields and increase fertility in the soils.

Regenerative cannabis cultivation is the solution to growing healthy plants that are good for the environment and the people. Be humble, honor your intention for cultivating the cannabis plant, and start slowly. Be kind to yourself, trust your intuition, come to your senses, let them tell you everything. The more time we spend in the garden, the more intuitive we will become. Get your hands dirty, and don’t forget to enjoy the ride. Nature is an impeccable teacher when we take the time to do the work and listen.

THE USUAL

Do what feels best for your time and space, and source your materials from farmers who are also using clean, regenerative methods of cultivation. Cannabis completes its life cycle in one season, an annual plant, so plan for about three months from seed to harvest.

References 1 https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/marijuana/home-grow-laws

Cannabis sativa l. (Cannabaceae) is a dioecious plant, meaning it has distinct male plants and female plants. Female plants are mostly used for their flowers which contain cannabinoids (including THC, and CBD, among hundreds of others) and terpenes (like limonene, which is also found in lemons!) Male plants may be used for breeding purposes, among other things. In most cases, you will want to grow females, and this requires the removal of all male plants so that the females do not get seeded. A male in the room can seed your whole garden if you are not careful.

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COOKING WITH PLANT MEDICINE FEATURING GUEST CHEF MEG SANDERS

Meg Sanders is the Co-Founder and CEO of Canna Provisions, a cannabis retailer based in Massachusetts and she enjoys making her own cannabis edibles, like her famous Canna Ranch Cracker Snacks.

In addition to making her own delicious medicated treats, Meg is an established pioneer in the cannabis industry. She is a Founder and Partner of Will & Way Cannabis Consulting and the former CEO of Mindful, one of Colorado’s first medical cannabis dispensaries. She is now one of the biggest forces in the new Massachusetts cannabis cultivation and consumer sales fields, and will grow Canna Provisions to be a fully vertically-integrated company with State maximum retail locations in 2020. As a leader in the legal cannabis movement, Meg has been featured on National Public Radio and in Rolling Stone, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Le Monde, 60 Minutes, and we’re proud to share her recipe in Grass Roots America Magazine.

Meg’s Famous Canna Ranch Cracker Snacks are a delicious and simple-to-make infused dish, perfect for parties, and a great entry into infused products. Their low dosage is ideal for snacking. Plus, they are also a great DIY gift idea (where it’s legal to do so)! Simply fill up a small mason jar with these delicious crackers, put a ribbon around the top and BOOM, handmade gifts aplenty. Enjoy!

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MEG SANDERS’ FAMOUS CANNA RANCH CRACKER SNACKS Dosing info: Crackers should be approximately 0.5 mg THC each

INGREDIENTS: • 0.5 grams distillate of your choice approximately 380 mg THC (check mg on package) • 1/2 cup coconut oil • 1 packet ranch dressing mix • 1 tablespoon dried dill • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder • 1 16 ounce pack of oyster crackers

KITCHEN UTENSILS: • 4-6 quart pot • Emulsifier or whisk • Large stainless steel or glass bowl • 2 large baking sheets • Thermometer

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to lowest setting - ideally 175 F. If your oven doesn’t go that low, set it at 200 F and let it heat up. Then turn the oven off. Let it sit for about 10 minutes.

2. Melt coconut oil in a 4 to 6 quart pot on low heat. Keep temp between 175 and 190 F.

3. Add 0 .5 grams distillate to the coconut oil maintaining temperature 175 to 190.

Using an emulsifier or whisk, blend oil for at least 2 minutes.

5. Add oyster crackers to large bowl and pour oil mixture over the crackers.

4. Add ranch mix, dried dill and garlic powder and blend thoroughly.

6. Blend crackers and oil mixture with spatula to thoroughly coat each cracker.

Let crackers sit for 3-5 minutes and then blend again.

8. Place cookie sheets in oven for 15 minutes.

9. Take cookie sheets out of oven and let the crackers cool.

10. Store room temperature crackers in an airtight container.

THE USUAL

7. Once oil mixture is thoroughly applied to all crackers, spread crackers evenly onto each cookie sheet.

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WHEREâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S

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We are adding dispensaries each issue!

No GRAM at your dispensary? Ask them to go to: GetGramNow.com and contact us to receive GRAM every month.

Take a selfie outside the dispensary, mention the location and tag us on Instagram using the hashtag #GetGramNow for a chance to win a GRAMtastic Prize! Winners drawn monthly, and will receive a direct message.

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