Episodes

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 Hyperthermia. But wait, there’s more… Acidic cannabinoids aren’t very stable when they are extracted and pur...

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 used these products to treat endometriosis, inflammatory bowel disease, hemorrhoids, pain during sex, ...

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 listen to your needs as a patient and guide you to personalized care. Megan is the Founder and CEO. Sh...

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 developed as a seizure medication, but it wasn’t really good at that. Now it is routinely used for mig...

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 ability to build brand loyalty. Although these passionate growers produce excellent weed, it is surpr...

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. This neuroscientists near six-year meta-analysis found prenatal use of cannabis does not lead to cogni...

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 - LinkedIn Life Research Co Sign up for his newsletter and email notices: Here Cab Calloway-Reefe...

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 million fine levied against them as an unlicensed dispensary. Founder Ted Smith, a tenacious defend...

“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, and Daniel Bear PhD, is the Director, Humber College Centre for Social Innovation. a Drugs Polic...

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 P450 enzymes. That could cause there to be too much or too little of a prescription medication in you...

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 glioblastoma. Since then, Akeem has hit the road and brought the gospel of cannabis plant medicine t...

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. Their consultants design natural wellness plans to educate individuals and provide personal guides t...

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 brought a ball cap for my bald head and I met Dr. Joe Thompson also looking for some shade beside a ...

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 more cannabis which implies limited drug seeking and addition behaviors from medical cannabis. Numbers,...

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’s “War on Drug” years, many of Cervante’s friends were arrested while he kept on teaching. In 2010, ...

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 virtually to discuss how the guidelines were drawn up and how cannabis can help fight the opioid crisis Mu...

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. Texas A&M - Everything is bigger in Texas. These tall gentlemen from Texas A&M are all about hemp. R...

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 that cannabinoids held great promise for neurological conditions. Enter Brains Bioceutical. Brains...

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 monitoring international sustainable manufacturing processes, 8000 Kicks produces shoes that are bo...

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. Many prescribers and provincial health systems still refuse to help patients safely access medicinal c...

Living without alcohol contamination may be an oxymoronic assertion for a licensed producer, specializing in cannabinoids extraction, to make. Typically, alcohol is a common solvent used to extract cannabinoids from cannabis plants. Trevor and Kirk are introduced to a new business in Dauphin. It partners with local hemp farmers to create a cannabis oil. Master Extractor Richard Spatola shares his origin story while sharing a meal in a restaurant. Afterwards, he takes the listeners into his proce...

“David Crosby, I read your chart man” is how Kirk starts his long-awaited chat with one of pop-culture’s most notorious Cannabis influencers. In 50-years, David Crosby has had a very public relationship with cannabis, addictions, incarceration, and relationships, which he willingly discusses. With thoughtful understanding that these past behaviours are well reported elsewhere, Kirk digs into current events asking his guest to speak to his new relationship with legal and medicinal cannabis. They ...

A short intro for the eminent Dr. Ethan Russo is challenging. Ethan Russo is a neurologist who explored the Amazon rain forest in the 90's to explore medicinal plants with aboriginal tribes. He returned to the USA and became interested in medicinal cannabis. He quickly became an expert in the field, and worked as a consultant for GW Pharmaceuticals. Later, as a Senior Medical Advisor for GW, he was involved with the development of Sativex and Epidiolex. Dr. Russo founded CReDO Science, who crea...

The fact marijuana heightens the musical experience is no secret. We know both listeners and players have enhanced their musical experiences through the use of this plant for over 100 years. This episode links cannabis to music through the stories told by acclaimed musicologist John Einarson. We follow a path of early jazz players influencing Canadian singer-song-writer Ian Tyson, who in turn influenced Bob Dylan, who in turn influenced The Beatles, to produce their iconic cannabis inspired albu...