Reefer MEDness

In Part 2 Kirk leaves Vancouver Island and visits Gimli, Manitoba. He discovers how a family doctor becomes a Cannabis consultant. Dr. Shelley Turner (@TheShelleyT) discusses how a deep interest in addictions directed her practice toward Cannabis. Her new clinic, Ekosi, will teach patients and professionals alike to discover the harm reduction benefit of Cannabis. Dr. Turner's journey with her Cre...

Travel with Kirk and Trevor beyond simple harm reduction strategies. Kirk brings us stories from Vancouver Island to Gimli, showing us how the Cannabis Culture helps people be well. In Part 1, we meet Kevin Donnelly from Newleaf Outreach (https://newleafoutreach.org/). This new autonomous peer driven harm reduction group in Nanaimo, British Columbia promotes that drug peoples’ rights are human rig...

What is impairment? What does it mean to drive a car impaired? Kirk and Trevor talk to PJ Barclay CEO of DriveABLE (@DriveABLE). DriveABLE has tools that look a impairment and cognition. But the impairment can be from opioid pain medication, muscle relaxant, lack of sleep, alcohol or cannabis. Legalization of recreational cannabis in Canada changed many things. Let's talk about impairment and how...

Are you CannaCurious? What cannabis strain works best for a 47 year old woman in Manitoba for MS related spasticity? There is an app for that. Kirk and Trevor talk to long time podcast sponsor, Strainprint (www.strainprint.ca) about their app and the many, many places Strainprint has gone lately. David Berg (https://twitter.com/DaveBergSP), the President and Chief Technology Officer of Strainprint...

Did you know some nurses could write prescriptions? Kirk talks to Nurse Practitioner Erin O'Shaughnessy about her practice. Erin works for Nalanda Health (https://nalanda.ca/) and prescribes cannabis for clients in need of help. Trevor talks to Carl Byrne a pharmacist at Nalanda Health who acts as a cannabis educator for Erin's clients. What does a medical cannabis clinic look like post legalizati...

What do you think of when you hear, "Discretion, discovery, and delight"? That phrase is what our Marketing Guru, Bridget Hoffer co-founder of Marigold Marketing and PR, thinks customers are looking for in a Cannabis retailer. Our business management consultant, Karen Debroni - Principal at Debroni and Associates, says education is key for people getting into the Cannabis Space. Kirk and Trevor ta...

What's the difference between hemp and marijuana? What's up with all these "hemp derived CBD's"? Kirk and Trevor talk to hemp pioneer Martin Moravcik, and hemp farmers Don Dewar and Chris Federowich. Martin has been a hemp promoter since the early 1990's. Chris and Don grow hemp on a large scale today and Chris is the Vice-Chair of Parkland Industrial Hemp Growers. Hemp can provide fiber for texti...

Did you have that friend of a friend who grew their own in a basement? Kirk goes back to the future. An ACMPR (Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations) legal grower, Paul, shows Kirk how he grows his own medicine! Paul is very environmentally conscious with his worm compost soil, no solvent resins and deep knowledge and respect for the cannabis plant. Plus he is an archivist of differe...

Trevor and Kirk went to the Cannabis and Hemp Expo (cannabishempexpo.com) in Winnipeg Sept 30, 2018. They talked to lots of fascinating people! They brought you 4 stories. Savethedrive.com's CEO Chanel Graham was a home care nurse when she saw a need for getting cannabis to people who couldn't leave their homes. Brad Pattison of Brad Pattison Pet Wellness (www.bradpattisonpetwellness.ca)stops cats...

My cannabis is labeled 17% THC. What dose that mean? Emily Kirkham, an analytical chemist, talks to Kirk and Trevor about cannabis potency testing, cannabinoids and terpenes. She also gets into pesticide testing and micro-contaminants like lead. Ever wondered about the alphabet soup of regulations like the MMAR, ACMPR and how they came to be? Mike Boivin, pharmacist and designer of cannabis contin...

What is the endocannabinoid system? Did you have that friend in high school with the hemp shirt who told you, "The body was designed to smoke pot, man!" That is not as crazy as it sounds. Trevor and Kirk talk to Dr. Robert Laprairie. He is a pharmacologist who studies the endocannabinoid system. Your body produces its own cannabinoids and has receptors that can accept external cannabinoids like TH...

What did you do to celebrate Oct 17/18? Kirk and Trevor were busy. Kirk interviewed people at the first legal cannabis shop in Manitoba outside of Winnipeg. They also had a party to celebrate a year of podcasting. They called up some chefs, read some cookbooks and cooked with cannabis for their friends! They talked to Joel Carleton-Cannabis Sommelier & Interpener, Chef Matt of Delta-9 Chefs, Chef...

Are we addicted to taxes? Trevor and Kirk talk to Dr. Jason Childs. He is an economist who says whether you want to reduce harm from cannabis or increase government coffers then keep taxes on cannabis low. In fact, having the government subsidize licensed producers might be a brilliant idea. In part 2 we have Dr. Jonathon Stea. He is a psychologist who has studied and treated cannabis addiction. S...

The leaves are changing. Fall is here. What do you do if an employee at your job site is coming to work high? How much cannabis should a school bus driver be using? Teachers and students - which one should be allowed to use medicinal cannabis? Are you less fit for work if you are on Tylenol #3's or cannabis? We talk to Floyd Martens, a local and national School Board representative and Wendy Hoffo...

What is the name of the trophy Governor General of Canada of 1892 had named after him? Need a hint? The winners of the trophy in 1971-72 had their names misspelled on the trophy as the “Bqstqn Bruins.” What does that trophy have to do with Dauphin and the fact recreational Cannabis will be legal October 17/18? Find out, plus learn all sorts of interesting details about legalization from the CEO of...

Kirk goes to Cossack camp at Canada's National Ukrainian Festival and talks to MP's and outlaws about Cannabis. Trevor and Kirk review what they have learned in the first 9 episodes and where they are going next. Plus the inaugural "My Cannabis Story". These are short stories that YOU the listeners submit. This one is on Lyme Disease. We normally keep the identity of "My Cannabis Story" people con...

How is cannabis prescribed? Do American prescribers practice differently than on the Canadian side of the border? Kirk goes South to talk to Dr. Karen O'Brien a Naturopathic doctor in Arizona. Trevor stays North to talk to internist Dr. Blair Hrabarchuk. Listen as they explore medicinal cannabis on both sides of the 49th parallel.

Crystal Ball time! What will cannabis stores in Manitoba look like? Kirk goes south to Fort Collins, Colorado and visits a dispensary there. What does a legal cannabis store look like? How do the staff interact with customers? Is it a nice inviting place or a seedy, run down, scary place? I think you need to have a listen!

Why is the recreational cannabis age being set at 19 in Manitoba? Why do four big companies have a monopoly on recreational sales? Did the government look back at prohibition of alcohol to plan for legalization of recreational cannabis? Michael Legary, a spokesperson for the Government of Manitoba update Kirk and Trevor about the Province's plans as legalization approaches

You've decided to try medicinal cannabis. Now what? If only there was some support out there. We talk to Ashleigh Brown, the founder of SheCann, a Facebook Community of medical cannabis advocates. Then, you track your steps and sleep with a FitBit. You track you calories with a diet app. What if you could track your medicinal cannabis use? We talk to Stephanie Karasick the founder of Strainprint....

What does cannabis do to the brain? What is the "entourage" effect? Does having no receptors in the medulla make cannabinoids safer than opioids? Dr. Mike Namaka schools Trevor and Kirk about the neuroscience behind cannabis. What do we know? What do we not know? Where is the science taking us?

Should cannabis be sold in pharmacies? Is there a difference between recreational and medicinal cannabis? Should an ER Doc have a record if a patient is using medicinal cannabis? Trevor the Pharmacist thinks medicinal cannabis belongs in a pharmacy. What do you think?

Do your old cannabis possession charges go away when pot is legalized in Canada? How will the police know if you are driving while impaired by Cannabis? How will US Border security deal with Canadians after pot is legalized? Kirk and Trevor talk to lawyer Aaron Beddome about the upcoming changes in Canada's Cannabis laws.

Do people take cannabis products for their ailments now? We have three: Kevin, Keijo and Dawn who will share with Trevor and Kirk if and how cannabis has improved their lives.

"First, do no harm." Kirk, a nurse, and Trevor, a pharmacist always make sure the treatments they offer their patients don't make the patient's lives worse. What about cannabis? Will it do more harm than good? Listen to the interview with Dr. Sherry Fandry from the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba.