Different Leaf: the Podcast

Growing up, athlete Rachael Rapinoe thrived off the "built-in rivalry" at home with her twin sister Megan. The Rapinoe twins played collegiate-level soccer for the Portland Pilots, where Rachael sustained a career-changing knee injury. After years of surgeries and overuse of prescription painkillers, Rachael learned just how many elite athletes were tapping into the vast health benefits of CBD, and she tried it for herself. 

With a Master's degree in Health and Exercise Science behind her and the lived experience of how cannabinoids can help athletes like herself, Rachael co-founded Mendi, a sports-focused CBD brand whose mission is to "improve athletes lives using nature’s best recovery tools." Mendi offers CBD-infused gummies, capsules, tinctures, salves, and oils, all designed to help keep athletes like the Rapinoe twins at the top of their game. In this episode, Brit and Rachael discuss her experience with opioids and pot, how cannabinoids help athletes recover, whether weed should be considered a performance-enhancing drug, the current state of CBD, and THC rules in major sports, and more.

Learn more about Mendi at themendico.com.

Find issues of Different Leaf the Magazine at DifferenLeaf.com or at Barnes and Noble and Books-a-Million bookstores, follow us on social media @differentleaf and @different_leaf, and follow host Brit Smith @BritTheBritish. Produced by Andrea Muraskin and Brit Smith, music by Homebody.

Grab your apron and an eighth, it's time to learn how to bake THC-infused brownies so good they belong at your next dinner party. Cannabis-infused dinners may be gaining in popularity, but they are by no means easy to pull off. Aside from making sure every course tastes great, infused dinners call for preparing your cannabis through a process called decarboxylation, and figuring out how to dose each course, which can take a lot of time and math.

This episode, learn the ins and outs of hosting a pot-infused dinner with canna-cuisine creators Colin Hanner and Laura Scherb, who guide host Brit Smith through baking their amazing "Not Your Roommates Weed Brownies" recipe.

Find this recipe and more in Colin and Laura's article; "An Informal Guide to Hosting Your Own Cannabis Dinner," in the 3rd edibles issue of Different Leaf the magazine, out now at DifferentLeaf.com or at Barnes and Noble and Books-A-Million bookstores. Follow Different Leaf on social media at @differentleaf and @different_leaf and find host Brit Smith @BritTheBritish - Produced by Andrea Muraskin and Brit Smith, music by Homebody.

Steven Van Zandt may be best known as the legendary founding guitarist from Bruce Springsteen’s E-Street band, or perhaps as Silvio Dante from The Sopranos. Now, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer "Little Stevie" is diving into the world of weed, with a focus on wellness.

As Van Zandt tells host Brit Smith, unlike other celebrities who have put their names on THC-focused cannabis lines, Little Stevie's new pre-rolled joints are heavy with CBD and easy on THC, designed to give the consumer a nice mellow body buzz. The bud itself is also being grown by one of the best in the business; Chemdog, one of the most iconic cannabis growers in modern U.S. history. “Little Steven’s Underground Apothecary” has launched exclusively at Canna Provisions recreational dispensaries in Lee and Holyoke, Massachusetts.

Audio in this episode includes music by Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band, and sound from HBO's The Sopranos.

Buy the Fall 2021 issue of Different Leaf the Magazine at DifferentLeaf.com and now at Barnes & Noble and Books-a-Million book stores across the U.S. Follow us on social media @differentleaf @different_leaf and follow host Brit Smith @BritTheBritish - Produced by Andrea Muraskin and Brit Smith, music by Homebody.

US cannabis culture has its roots deeply planted in reggae music. "Rockers" is the quintessential cult movie credited with introducing reggae music, Rastafarianism, and ganja to young American audiences in the 1970s. Before his death in 2015, the film's director Ted Bafaloukos penned an autobiography about his discovery of reggae in New York, and his experience shooting "Rockers" in Jamaica. In this episode, Brit talks to Gingko Press publisher David Lopes about the book "Rockers: The Making of Reggae's Most Iconic Film." Then, Brit talks to Niambe McIntosh, the youngest daughter of the late reggae legend Peter Tosh, founding member of The Wailers, to discuss the connection between the Rastafarian faith in Jamaica, weed, and reggae music.

Find Different Leaf the magazine now on the shelves at Barnes and Noble and Books-A-Million bookstores across the US. Search for your nearest location or buy issues at differentleaf.com. Follow us on social media @differentleaf and @different_leaf, and follow host Brit Smith on social media @BritTheBritish.

This episode includes music by Ketsa, Kiddus-I, Peter Tosh, and Bob Marley. Produced by Andrea Muraskin and Brit Smith, music by Homebody.

Weed-infused edibles have come a long way. Far from the home-baked hash brownies of our teenager years, we’re now the first generation of adults who can go to a store and buy organic infused weed gummies, crackers, drinks, and even THC-ice cream. We’ve also learned a lot in recent years about the science of ingesting cannabis, which can help us pick the kinds of products we might want to try.

This episode, host Brit Smith talks to California-based cannabis journalist Jackie Bryant. In her latest article for Different Leaf the Magazine, Jackie dives into the science of what happens inside our bodies when we eat pot-infused food.

You can buy the Fall 2021 issue of Different Leaf the Magazine at DifferentLeaf.com and now at Barnes & Noble and Books-a-Million book stores across the U.S. and Canada. Follow us on social media @differentleaf @different_leaf and follow host Brit Smith @BritTheBritish - Produced by Andrea Muraskin and Brit Smith, music by Homebody.

Back in March of 2016, anthropologist Caroline Melly had just received tenure at Smith College, and was mother to a healthy five month-old baby boy, Lionel. Then one morning, Lionel had a series of seizures in Caroline’s arms – and she knew everything about her family’s life would change. Racked with seizures daily, Lionel was diagnosed with a catastrophic form of epilepsy called infantile spasms. And he was put on a cocktail of drugs that left him barely able to interact with his parents. But through online communities, Caroline found that other parents of epileptic children were having positive results with CBD. And she and her husband decided to give it a try. And as she watched her son improve, she turned her academic research to these groups of parents who are driving the science forward.

Learn more about Caroline’s story in the Summer 2021 issue of Different Leaf Magazine, available at differentleaf.com.

Follow us on Instagram @DifferentLeaf, and on Twitter @Different_Leaf, and find host Brit Smith @BritTheBritish.

Produced by Andrea Muraskin and Brit Smith, music by Home Body.

Ted Dobson is one of the East Coast's most legendary old-school, outdoor marijuana farmers. More than 30 years ago, he was selling pot on the underground market to major league baseball players, rock and rollers, and upscale NYC chefs. Today, he's the farmer-in-chief and public face of Equinox Farm in Sheffield, Massachusetts. Brit chats with Ted about organic, sun-grown bud and what the future might look like for outdoor growing as our climate continues to change.

Learn more about Ted Dobson in the Fall 2019 issue of Different Leaf Magazine, or at equinoxfarmberkshires.com.

Check out DifferentLeaf.com for all the issues of our cannabis magazine, and follow us on social media @DifferentLeaf @Different_Leaf, and find host Brit Smith @BritTheBritish.
Produced by Andrea Muraskin and Brit Smith, music by Homebody.

In much of the so-called Bible Belt cannabis is still completely illegal, and medical marijuana programs are minimal at best. But folks in the South are still accessing marijuana products in droves on the underground legacy market, which is mostly funneled from the west coast where it's legal. This episode Brit talks to CeCe, a weed dealer in College Park, Atlanta, to learn how Georgia's illicit market supply chain works, and what kind of products are most popular in the South. Then, Brit talks to Stanley Atkins II, director of the Georgia chapter of Minorities for Medical Marijuana, to learn about the current medical cannabis program in the Peach State, and what the future looks like for Georgians who are hoping for legal access to the plant.

Check out DifferentLeaf.com for all the issues of our cannabis magazine, and follow us on social media @DifferentLeaf @Different_Leaf, and find host Brit Smith @BritTheBritish
Produced by Andrea Muraskin and Brit Smith, music by Homebody.

Brit talks to iconic burlesque dancer and longtime marijuana advocate, the legendary Bambi Jones. A native of Holyoke, Massachusetts, Jones started touring internationally as a burlesque dancer in the late 1940's, when she witnessed the harsh impact of drug laws on her fellow dancers and friends. Jones talks about her experiences with cannabis in the mid-1900's, how the culture of weed has changed over the decades, and why she still advocates for legalization with her new gimmick; a tan bodysuit with pot leaves in all the right places. She recently received the 2021 Living Legend Award from the Burlesque Hall of Fame in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Find issues of Different Leaf the magazine at Differentleaf.com -- Follow us on social media @differentleaf and @different_leaf -- Follow host Brit Smith @BritTheBritish --- and find Bambi Jones on Instagram @TheFairyKushMother

Unlike most other states with legal weed, Maine has long allowed its certified cannabis caregivers to essentially set up shop and care or all medical patients in the state. This episode, Brit talks to Mark Barnett of Higher Grounds cannabis+coffee in Portland, Maine, to learn how Maine allowed its legal marijuana program to be run by the little guys over big corporations. They also discuss the focus on farmers, the fine bud and marijuana products those mom'n'pop shops make, and what other states can learn from how Maine allowed its legal cannabis industry to grow.

Read more on Mark Barnett in the latest issue of Different Leaf the magazine at DifferentLeaf.com and follow us on social media @differentleaf @different_leaf and @britthebritish

Produced by Andrea Muraskin, music by Homebody.