Reefer MEDness

The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell. That is what we learned in high school biology. But what if it is more? What if the mitochondria has receptors on it for cannabinoids? What if mitochondria move around the cell? What if mitochondria help produce chemical signals for the cell? What if mitochondria are involved in such diverse processes as epilepsy, mental health and aging itself? Hunt...

Do you know anyone with dementia? If you don’t, you will. We humans are living longer and healthier lives. There are more healthy 75 year old people alive now than there ever have been. However, the number of people with dementia is sky rocketing as well. Enter Dr. Mechtler… Dr. Lazslo Mechtler is the Medical Director of Dent Neurologic Institute, the Chief of Neuro-Oncology at Roswell Park Cancer...

In this episode, Kirk and Trevor bring forward the importance of Cannabis advocacy. With the legalization of recreational cannabis, some may see the need for Cannabis Advocacy as being dispensable. Stephen Stairs, a medical cannabis consumer is a leader within the Winnipeg green culture. He explains how the many interpretations of regulations, from all level of governments, requires his continuous...

One sunny evening in the summer of 2020, Kirk and Trevor had a meeting on Kirk's driveway. Even though all indoor meetings were taboo, they met someone bursting with excitement. Eric Greening's face lit up as he described the cannabis growing facility he envisioned building north east of Dauphin. Four years, a pandemic, spiraling inflation and all the other unknown unknowns of building a facility...

Trevor and Kirk continue their CBD exploration with a Canadian Icon. Bif Naked, one of Canada’s best selling musicians shares her “my Cannabis story” sharing how she watched CBD help various members of her family, peer group, and eventually how she too benefited from daily dosing. Bif Naked discusses her formative years in Dauphin, her experiences with cancer, volunteerism, and how she hopes to ch...

So many amazing Canna-people, so little time. CannMed 24 was sublime! Here are the another batch of clips we got! Ben Cameransi – Mingowood Pharmacal, LLC - Dr. Benjamin Cameransi, MD, DABA is a Board-Certified Anesthesiologist, with a extensive background in pain management. He has started four Biotech Companies. He was involved in the development of Ryanodex™, a treatment for Malignant Hyperther...

Our co-host, Trevor has an unhealthy obsession with suppositories. You know that guy you never ask, “Hey, what is an NFT?” lest he talk your ear off? Well never ask Trevor, “Hey, what is a Rectal Rocket?” With that background, imagine our delight when we stumbled across Sarah Roberts and her company Cicatrix Labs. They make vaginal and rectal suppositories with cannabinoids in them! People have us...

So many fantastic Canna-people to meet and talk to at CannMed 24! Here are the first batch of clips we got! Ariane Williams & Megan Mbengue – Trusted Canna Nurse - There were so many nurses at CannMed 24! Our slightly biased co-host Kirk was ecstatic. He thinks more nurses makes every conference and everything else better! Ariane is the Director of Patient Services and “The Kind Nurse”. She’ll...

Ian Mitchell is an emergency physician, the Site Scholar for the Kamloops Family Medicine Residency Program and is occasionally photographed teaching whole rooms full of people to stick their fingers in their ears while opening their mouths really wide like they are in a silent scream. He caught our interest with an article and talk he did about gabapentin vs cannabis. Gabapentin was originally de...

Do you have a favourite craft cannabis flower? Are you getting what you think you ordered? Think again. While attending the Calgary Hempfest, Kirk and Trevor gathered five Micro Cultivation License holders (plus a surprise cameo contributor!) to discuss the recreational cannabis retail space. The conversation revealed a complicated system of regulations, policies, and red tape which affect their a...

Let us start by saying, we encourage pregnant women toward balanced diets, proper exercise, and we discourage unnecessary drug and alcohol use. But, what if a mother consumes cannabis during pregnancy? In this episode Kirk and Trevor begin to explore prenatal cannabis exposure and are joined by Dr. Ciara Torres, Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Columbia University. Th...

It’s like having a trial lawyer try to explain how cannabinoids interact with endogenous cannabinoid receptors! You know what that is like? It’s, it’s, it’s… actually pretty great. Come hear how a trial lawyer got into the cannabis space, how he thinks the acidic versions of cannabinoids are bursting with medical promise and just come listen to one of our new favorite characters! Robert “Bob” Hill...

The Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club (VCBC) is no stranger to defending the services that a compassion club can deliver. For decades, the VCBC has supported individuals with chronic and or life-threatening diseases by providing aid not available from government health systems. Kirk once again visits this west coast healing community. He examines how this celebrated organization is now fighting a $6.4...

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” Apparently, that isn’t really a Mahatma Gandhi quote. But it is a great sentiment. How we are teaching people about cannabis isn't great or sometimes it isn't happening at all. But, you can be part of the change and help shape the future! Listen to Lisa Bishop PharmD, a Professor and Pharmacist at School of Pharmacy, Memorial University of Newfoundland...

When you take a prescription medication, it goes into your body, does what it is supposed to and then leaves. Part of leaving the body often involves the medication getting broken down or metabolized by enzymes in the liver. One of the biggest medication metabolizing enzyme systems in the liver is called the Cytochrome P450 enzymes. Why should you care? Because cannabis can effect the Cytochrome P...

Akeem Gardner and his team at Canurta are delving deep into the hidden corners of the cannabis plant. They want to know if we extract this cannflavin, this terpene, this cannabinoid, or one of the other thousands of molecules in the cannabis plant, can it treat a disease? Last year at CannMed 23, he talked to us about how cannflavins could be used to treat a particularly nasty brain tumour called...

More than 200,000 Canadians are registered Medical Cannabis patients. Due to a cumbersome national system, many of these individuals discover the benefits of Cannabis alone, with little therapeutic expertise to guide them. Learning about your medicine or just trying to access your medicine, these tasks are made easier when engaged with a business like Tantus Health; a Medical Cannabis Dispensary....

We’ve got another amazing group of attendees from CannMed 23! Joe Thompson One evening they said dinner was on Lanai Beach. In Manitoba, if you are at a conference and someone says dinner is on Lanai Beach, then Lanai Beach is the name of a room. But in Florida, they actually meant dinner was on a beach. That sounds like a lovely idea, unless it is over 30 C and there is no shade. Thankfully, I br...

Philippe Lucas, formerly of Tilray, comes on the discuss the TOPS study. It looked at around 2000 medical cannabis patients across Canada prospectively and gather tons of data. Some of the most interesting findings include medicating with cannabis seems to reduce opioid use and the use of prescription medications in general. Plus, there was no signal that the study participants wanted more and mor...

Imagine being so good at your job that everyone knows you, but not by your face nor by your name. Jorge Cervantes (an alias) put on a disguise in 1983 and started sharing his plant knowledge with all people. In these forty years he has published more than 50 gardening books; many of which focus on growing that Schedule One drug we call cannabis. This is why he lived in the closest. During the DEA’...

We are in an opioid crisis. Wouldn’t it be great if we had another tool to taper people to a lower opioid dose or off their opioids altogether? A group of almost 20 experts got together and drew up consensus guidelines on how to taper opioids with cannabis. We got Aaron Sihota - Pharmacist, Dr. Brennan K. Smith, PhD, and Dr. Colleen O’Connell MD from the consensus guidelines group together virtual...

Ahmed Labied – Morocco - At the opening reception of CannMed 23, there were all these people with green t-shirts that said Morocco. Trevor introduced himself and was told he had to talk to Ahmed Labied. Ahmed explained that in August 2023 there should be the first legal crop of cannabis coming off the field in Morocco and that they’re organizing a cannabis conference in Morocco in November 2023. T...

Terry O'Regan has spent his career in the pharmaceutical industry. He has worked for several Big Pharma companies including ones that have developed important treatments for neurological diseases like Multiple Sclerosis. Terry had heard there was a class of therapeutics for neurological conditions that pharmaceutical companies weren't working on, cannabinoids. Terry kept hearing from neurologists...

Bernardo Carreira the owner, and founder of 8000 Kicks believes hemp is the past and future of textile manufacturing. His business goal is to leave a legacy. In this legacy, hemp becomes mainstream and the most ubiquitous fiber available in the textile industry. This small European company creates shoes using the strongest canvas fiber available, with soles made of algal blooms. While continuously...

Canadians are changing their perspective of cannabis. People are using it as medicine and access has never been easier. Why is this bad? Why should anyone care how we access our medicinal cannabis? Canada is one of the few countries with federally legal cannabis. However, Canadians are not all benefiting from the creation of the Cannabis Act. There are barriers doing cannabis clinical research. Ma...