Hempresent

Today on Hempresent our host is joined by Tim Pate Oregon hemp broker, and SHF core. Since 2013 Tim as been a member of the Administrative Rules Committee for Industrial Hemp for the State of Oregon. 20 years on Mainstage at the Seattle Hempfest. 7 years on the TV show Cannabis Common Sense. 7 years with Hempstalk as Event Coordinator or Stage Manager. On the Board of Directors of C&S Building Supply, inventors of Hemp MDF. He has built over 1,000 houses.. Tim has also been a judge in several high level Cannabis cups and competitions. Tim says quoute It's my medicine. I have had 21 surgeries, and it [cannabis] helps my chronic pain.

Cannabis as the cause of illness is our topic as Vivian McPeak speaks with Alternative Model, Cannabis Enthusiast and Activist Damsel W. Dank. Damsel suffered from arsenic poisoning from ingesting bad cannabis and she explains how she has handle treating the problem which Vivian knows all too well based on his own personal health. She takes us through how she first realized her issues and her mission to treat it.

Talking about cannabis program development, communication and implementation as Vivian McPeak speaks with Kris Morwood, the Director of Development of FOCUS (Foundation of Cannabis United Standards).FOCUS offers a range of services to assist with cannabis program development, communication and implementation, ongoing management and evaluation. FOCUS provides an impartial research, facilitation, training and program management resources for regulators, legislators, and non-governmental organizations. For cannabis businesses, FOCUS offers a complete quality management system to ensure product quality and safety, worker safety and continuous improvement. Our digital system brings the standards to life by linking standards requirements to operating procedures and worker training. Custom workflows automatically send reminders and track task completion. The management dashboard tracks open activity to completion.

Talking about Retail Commercialization and Social Consumption with Abi Roach, owner of the HotBox lounge in Toronto, Canada's longest running cannabis lounge.

Jeff Ditchfield is cannabis activism’s answer to Robin Hood; for years he has altruistically put himself in a legal firing line to provide sick people with the medicine they need. In 2002 he founded the Bud Buddies UK Medicinal Cannabis Organisation and in doing so became a poster boy for medicinal cannabis in the UK. For half a decade the club operated as a members-only service which supplies education, support, and medicinal cannabis to gravely ill patients. “The philosophy at Bud Buddies is to empower people to be self-sufficient". “So all members are taught how to cultivate and the guidance provided on making preparations depends on the illness or disease of the individual.” Members of Bud Buddies essentially have two options when considering how to treat their condition: to legally take pharmaceutical drugs that would invariably come with a string of harmful side effects or break the law and use cannabis. As you can probably imagine, the Misuse of Drugs Act would be the least of your considerations if you found yourself in that position.

Today on Hempresent Vivian is joined by Trey Reckling. Trey is originally from Savannah, Georgia and has 15 years experience in higher education. He has specialized in conflict resolution and helping prepare students for careers after they graduate. He founded the Academy of Cannabis Science and has been active in the cannabis community as a board member of the Washington Marijuana Association and Washington Cannabis Commission. In addition to other coursework at the SCC Cannabis Institute, he co-wrote the Medical Marijuana Consultant Course, the first program approved by the Washington Department of Health. He is pleased to be working with Seattle Central to develop a variety of courses to prepare the next generation of cannabis employees, informed consumers and industry leaders. Trey is a regularly featured author in the RX section of The Fresh Toast. Trey Reckling and his fiancée packed up their car in Savannah, Georgia and moved out to Seattle to join the cannabis green rush eighteen months ago. With a background in higher education (no pun intended), Reckling envisioned creating a class focused on the basics of cannabis science, handling, and law, targeted at the thousands of employees and owners in the burgeoning industry. His timing could not have been better. The Washington Department of Health recently began requiring that anybody who wanted to serve as medical marijuana consultants (talk with patients about medical marijuana choices) had to take a 20-hour educational class. When Reckling first arrived, and before the new law had passed, he started modestly, renting a classroom on the University of Washington’s Seattle campus for short sessions on “Introduction to Cannabis.” After six months he moved to Seattle Central College for a deeper partnership.

Today on Hempresent our host Vivian Mcpeak is joined by Amanda Chicago Lewis, cannabis writer from Rolling Stone Magazine. Amanda reports and writes stories about cannabis, as it relates to policy, politics, science, economics, culture, race, public safety, and criminal justice. She has written about the impossible dream of a marijuana breathalyzer, the $50,000 bongs that weed moguls use to launder money, and the ways that the conflicts between state and federal marijuana law have forced sick people back into the unregulated medical circumstances of the late 19th century, before the FDA, when it was entirely unclear what a jar of medicine might actually contain. Amanda is particularly interested in public health, the influence of special interests, and the ways in which the documented racial disparities of drug law enforcement are being cemented into the details of legalization. She tries to tell the stories of representative stakeholders in order to hold those in power accountable and better inform and educate citizens, legislators, and other journalists.

Today on Hempresent our host ios joined by Dale Schaefer. The cannabis industry is one of many facets. From the advocates and activists speaking up for cannabis, to the patients that desperately need it, to the recreational smoker, to the lawyers defending or prosecuting, to those serving jail sentences from using or selling cannabis, to illegal drug dealers, to legitimate investors and entrepreneurs; there’s a lot of people involved in the cannabis industry. But few have seen it from more than one angle. And, certainly, no one has seen in it is as many as Dale Schafer. Schafer, a lawyer based in California, went from running a well-established law firm and being a small-time recreational user in his off hours to being arrested and serving time for over five years due to a cannabis collective he made to gather medicine for his former wife who was diagnosed with cancer. Labeled a saint by many and an outright drug dealer by others, Schafer has experienced every facet of the cannabis industry. Now, once again a licensed lawyer, Schafer uses his expertise to defend cannabis users from criminal prosecution, help fight unjust drug laws, help create literature like California’s recreational cannabis bill Prop. 67 and much, much more.

Today on Hempresent Vivian is joined by the curator of The Dublin Hemp Museum Brian Houlihan. The Museum located at The Hemp Company of Dublin is Ireland’s first ever cannabis museum! The Hemp Company of Dublin is a company that specializes in cannabis products and the museum is a complement to their storefront. Established in the early days of 1999, a time when Hemp meant drugs to most people, The Hemp Company of Dublin has seen many changes in public perception regarding hemp. Passionate to the point of evangelism, the Hemp Company are opening a juice bar in its basement Hemp Museum this month to further promote the benefits of the wonder weed. At The Hemp Company of Dublin, they especially concentrate on educating people about the potential benefits of nutritional supplements extracted from species of Cannabis which are high in the chemical compound CBD. Ongoing scientific research suggests CBD oil, a dietary supplement, made by extracting CBD from hemp, may be helpful for dealing with a range of health issues, such as chronic pain, inflammation, and anxiety.

Today on Hempresent Vivian is joined by Vera Twomey the mother Ava Twomey the Irish Med Canna-Mom Ava is a seven-year-old, beautiful young girl from Ireland. At the age of four months old, she had her first grand mal seizure. It lasted for 45 minutes. Shortly after, she was diagnosed with a condition called Dravet syndrome, a debilitating form of epilepsy that doesn’t respond to conventional medication and leaves a host of developmental challenges in its wake. Ava’s seizures can last anywhere from a couple of minutes to several hours. One seizure was so bad, it left Ava in cardiac arrest. After years of failed attempts to get Ava’s seizures under control, the family was granted permission from the Irish government to treat her with a CBD-only strain of medical cannabis. Ava’s seizures reduced dramatically, by approximately 85%. While on this CBD treatment, Ava experienced her longest seizure free stretch in 7 years, a previously unreachable 11 days. This is indeed a great start. A combination of CBD (one of the compounds found in cannabis) and THC (the psychoactive component in cannabis) is widely accepted as sound treatment among knowing medical cannabis professionals and among many parents who have tried it with their children in states that allow it. Sadly, there is still shockingly little clinical evidence to support these case studies. However, the esteemed European Journal of Epilepsy, “Seizure” published Israel’s 2016 clinical study on cannabis medicine in the treatment of epilepsy. The conclusion demonstrated extremely promising results.The ratios they used in their study of 74 pediatric patients were 20% CBD 0.5-1% THC. Vera has been a dear friend of CananTech’s since we first met her at the International Conference on Medical Cannabis hosted at the European Parliament in Brussels last year. We have been following her story closely ever since. I had the great pleasure of speaking with Vera earlier this week, from their new temporary residence in Holland.

Today on Hempresent David Borden joins our host Vivian Mcpeak. David Borden is founder and Executive Director of StoptheDrugWar.org. Borden played the leading role in pioneering use of the Internet for education and organizing in drug policy reform after founding DRCNet in late 1993. Borden oversaw the organization's work on the Higher Education Act Reform Campaign, an effort to repeal a federal law that denies students financial aid because of drug convictions, and has initiated programs including the John W. Perry Fund scholarship program and the Out from the Shadows international conference series. Borden has written over 160 editorials on drug policy, and publishes DRCNet's Prohibition in the Media blog. He earned an A.B. with honors in Astrophysical Sciences from Princeton University in 1988, and completed an M.M. in Jazz Composition from New England Conservatory in 1990. He is a native of Englewood, New Jersey, one of the first communities in the state to achieve racial integration in its school system. Borden is also a member of the Boards of Directors of Common Sense for Drug Policy and the Flex Your Rights Foundation, and of the Students for Sensible Drug Policy Council of Advisors.

Today on Hempresent our host Vivian McPeak is joined by Brad Burge about the success of MAPS' Legalizing Psychedelic Therapy crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo. Burge speaks about MAPS’ current psychedelic and marijuana research program, highlights the various accomplishments of MAPS’ crowdfunding efforts, and details the results and progress of MAPS’ clinical research into MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for PTSD. MAPS is a non-profit, private donation funded organization. They discuss how MAPS takes legal avenues for studies of controlled substances. They envision a world where psychedelics and marijuana are safely and legally available for beneficial uses, and where research is governed by rigorous scientific evaluation of their risks and benefits. They currently have an Indiegogo campaign for legalizing psychedelic medicine.

Today on Hempresent our host Vivian McPeak is joined by Danica Noble, the Coordinator for the NORML Women of Washington. She is Chair of the Antitrust, Consumer Protection, and Unfair Business Practices Section of the Washington State Bar Association. Ms. Noble graduated from Georgetown University Law Center and clerked in the US Virgin Islands. NORML Women of Washington is a women’s group dedicated to education and outreach on marijuana in the State of Washington. We also promote the NORMLization of marijuana by challenging the myths and stereotypes associated with its use, users, and supporters. We will fight to ensure that justice stays at the forefront as this movement becomes an industry. We are a collaborative group with many diverse backgrounds and interests.

Today on Hempresent Vivian is joined by Kelly Rippel from Kansans for Hemp. Kelly's vision in highlighting his research and related information is to acknowledge the historical importance industrial hemp played in the economic viability of Kansas agriculture. For decades Kansas was a large contributor to the hemp industry and even ranked first in bushels per acre in 1863. By understanding and sharing this information, their call to action is to collectively accept the response of prohibiting cannabis was a damaging path to go down that must be reversed for multiple reasons. The discovery of this data provides us a place to begin transparently addressing what influences caused policies to change. Based on this historical evidence we have a foundation for understanding what path we now must forge to guide optimally-informed, responsible decisions for the common good of the environment and all citizens. Through evaluating and applying the lessons from this research combined with today’s advancements, it is time Kansas contributes to the multiple industries that now benefit from its cultivation. Given the dozens of patents existing specifically for cannabinoid-based medicine, it is time to move past the hypocrisy and stigma about the data proving efficacy of medicinal cannabis for patients. And finally, it is imperative to return industrial hemp to Kansas farmers as the legacy crop our fertile land once yielded.

Today on Hempresent our host Vivian McPeak is joined by John Inman. John walked out of the Clay County jail exhausted but determined. In a soft-spoken voice, he explained why he was arrested on marijuana charges and why he believes it was a wrongful arrest. The Clay County Sheriff's arrest report shows he had bags of marijuana, vials of oil, bongs and more. Both Inman and his daughter, Shae, are Medical Marijuana card holders. He said he prefers the organic form of the drug because the marijuana from the state-licensed dispensaries makes him sick. He was arrested on charges of intent to distribute or sell, a charge he denies. Cellphone pictures of his home shows how investigators went in and how the condition they left it. Shae, 20, was read her rights and arrested, but she was released. Ethan Dowdy is a neighbor and a friend of the family. Inman said he decided to buy his marijuana from the streets, he prefers the raw form of his prescribed medicine. He said his preference is driven by his concerns over the use of chemicals to process the marijuana sold in dispensaries. Inman said he's expressed his concerns to the Florida Department of Health before. He said he will fight the charges against him. Christopher Padgett with the Clay County Sheriff's office said Florida's medical marijuana laws are very clear. And according to the office of Medical Marijuana Florida law makes it illegal to buy your prescribed medicine from the streets.

Today on Hempresent our host Vivian McPeak is joined by Joie Leigh from Charm City Cannabis Connoisseurs. Charm city is dedicated to educating the community, breaking the stigma and offering a full line of Doctor backed CBD products to patients in need nationwide. Charm City Cannabis Connoisseurs is a team of activists and industry professionals in the Baltimore/DC area who passionately stay informed with Cannabis legislation, Cannabis business news, Medical findings, Product reviews, Dispensary information and more. Basically, there’s no end to their need to educate ourselves and the community about the health and industrial benefits of the amazing plant.

Today on Hempresent our host Vivian McPeak is joined by Mike Robinson Cancer Survivor, American Cannabis Compassion Alliance Founder, and Global Goodwill Ambassador. Mike Robinson has been known on Facebook for his strong opinions and sharing resources in Special Education, the worlds of Autism and Epilepsy, and especially now in Cannabis. The reason why has been outlined in stories done by Sue Rosen previously of his own recovery from both Epilepsy And now Hodgkin's Lymphoma. As a famous cannabis activist in California Mike tells his personal story of success and how one of the most studied plants in the world help save his life. Mike talked about taxes that were recently imposed on the sale of marijuana in California. He stated the taxes were so onerous they help fuel a black market which isn’t all that unsurprising if you think about it. Mike indicated what would help reduce confusion in the California marketplace would be deregulation.

Today on Hempresent our host Vivian Mcpeak is joined by Simpa Carter of The Durham city cannabis club. DCCC was founded on July 1st 2016 following the Product Earth expo in Peterborough by Simpa. He attended the event and subsequently met many of the inspiring people and like-minded individuals who've been in the cannabis activism scene for many years fighting to highlight the injustices, speak the truth about cannabis and work towards the relegalisation of cannabis here in the UK. Having discovered the existence of the UKCSC (United Kingdom Cannabis Social club) and speaking to its founder and other club administrators our Simpa decided to found DCCC just a week later. The early days of the club was focused on designing the clubs first the main logo, setting up our social media and researching and contacting other clubs and activists to find out what they were up to on the local and national level to see how DCCC should go about conducting its activism work and develop as a club.

Vivian McPeak speaks about Marijuana Business Intelligence with Cassandra Farrington, Co-Founder & CEO, Marijuana Business Daily and President at Anne Holland Ventures Inc.

Talking about the effect of cannabis on children and the discovery of the endocannabinoid system as Vivian McPeak welcomes Dr. Ethan Russo, a board-certified neurologist and one of the country's leading cannabis researchers. He is one of the nation’s leading researchers in medicinal cannabis—but he still has to go through innumerable hoops with the FDA to legally get materials for his research.