Hempire

Today on Hempire our host Eileen Karpfinger is joined by Julie Holland, M.D. Julie is a psychiatrist specializing in psychopharmacology, with a private practice in New York City. She majored in the Biological Basis of Behavior at the University of Pennsylvania and received her M.D. in 1992 from Temple University School of Medicine. At Mount Sinai Medical Center, she completed a residency program in psychiatry, where she created a research project that treated schizophrenics with a new medication. In 1994, she received the Outstanding Resident Award from the National Institute of Mental Health. From 1996 until 2005 she worked weekends running Bellevue Hospital's psychiatric emergency room, and she's penned an autobiography of this time, Weekends at Bellevue: Nine Years on the Night Shift at the Psych ER. Holland is the editor of Ecstasy: The Complete Guide - A Comprehensive Look at the Risks and Benefits of MDMA, and The Pot Book: A Complete Guide to Cannabis. Holland also provides expert testimony and forensic consultation on a range of drug-related behavior and phenomena, with a focus on PCP and MDMA.

Today on Hempire our host is joined by Jose Bellen the co-founder of Mission Zero. Jose and his wife Danielle founded Mission Zero to combat the PTSD and veteran suicide epidemic plaguing U.S. veterans. They know from our own experiences that a PTSD diagnosis isn’t a death sentence or the end of the line. But they also know that it changes everything. Danielle and Jose know how it feels to have the horrors of the battlefield follow them home. They understand what it’s like to be endlessly hounded by nightmares, depression, anxiety, sleeplessness, and the thought that there might never be an escape. They have witnessed firsthand how the current medical and veterans-support systems often can’t handle the problem, relying on oversimplified approaches, punitive mindsets, and dangerous pharmaceuticals that risk making the situation worse. Jose knows what it’s like for the war within your mind to claim collateral damage: your job, your family, your very existence.

Today on Hempire our host Eileen Karpfinger is joined by 12-year-olds Alexis Bortell. She’s written a book, takes cannabis oil daily and is challenging the U.S. Controlled Substance Act by suing Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Approximately three years ago Alexis had to leave her home in Texas in order to treat her severe form of epilepsy — known as intractable epilepsy — with cannabis. Now she’s suing Sessions so that others like her won’t have to leave home in fear of retribution from the federal government if they, too, use medical marijuana. The suit aims to prove that the Controlled Substances Act, the statute governing federal drug policy, is unconstitutional as it relates to marijuana, according to Alexis’ attorney, Michael S. Hiller. Joining in on the suit with Alexis are plaintiffs Marvin Washington, a former NFL lineman; Jose Belen, an Army veteran; and Jagger Cotte, a 6-year-old Georgia boy with Leigh syndrome, all of whom use medicinal cannabis. The Cannabis Cultural Association is also named as a plaintiff, according to court documents.

Dr. Eileen Karpfinger speaks about the history and current dynamics of medical cannabis regulation in California and US federal legislation with Steph Sherer, the founder and Executive Director of Americans for Safe Access

Today on Hempire our host Dr. Eileen Karpfinger is joined by Dr. Ethan Russo the Director of Research and Development at International Cannabis and Cannabinoids Institute. Dr. Russo's background is as a physician, board-certified in Neurology with Special Qualification in Child Neurology, but He has always held a strong interest in medicinal plants, which he gradually incorporated into his practice and research endeavors, with the aim to bring cannabis-based and other botanical agents back into the mainstream of medicine. After 20 years experience in clinical practice, Russo transitioned in 2003 into a full-time consultancy position with GW Pharmaceuticals, a British pharmaceutical company developing prescription pharmaceuticals from the cannabis plant, which he held for 11 years. In 2015, Dr. Russo became Medical Director of PHYTECS, a company devoted to the research and development of medicines, supplements and lifestyle approaches to optimizing the function of the endocannabinoid system,the critical homeostatic regulatory mechanism of human physiology.

Today on Hempire our host Eileen Karpfinger is joined by Mieko Hester-Perez an International Special Needs Cannabis & Autism Advocate. In 2009, Perez decided to go public with her son's success with medical cannabis and since that day in 2009, she has become a source of inspiration and information for families looking to explore unconventional and holistic treatment options within the autism spectrum. Mieko diligently leads the pack with tremendous knowledge regarding laws, regulations, products and a plethora of family resource options. She possesses personal knowledge and experience navigating through treatment options resulting in positive outcomes for families throughout the world. Although medical marijuana is not known to be a cure for autism, it has proven to facilitate life for her son and has ushered him into documented progressive development.

Today on Hempire our host Eilieen Karpfinger is joined by who's son Kabel overcame his disease useing CBD's. When he was just 10 months old, Kalel Santiago was diagnosed with a rare form of childhood cancer. known as neuroblastoma, and spent more than two years undergoing surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatments. When he was 3, Kalel was pronounced cancer-free, however, the joy of winning the painful battle against the deadly disease was short-lived. He was diagnosed with severe, non-verbal autism. The Santiagos were aware of the negative perceptions around the use of cannabis oil; yet they took a tiny sample bottle of Hemp Health to administer to Kalel. After they sprayed Hemp Health right into his mouth, twice daily (as directed on the label) only for two consecutive days, they were stunned to “hear” the result: Kalel spoke his first words.

Today on Hempire our host Eileen Karpfinger is joined by Chris Bennett. Chris is widely recognized as one of the foremost authorities on the history of cannabis, having written dozens of articles in Cannabis Culture, High Times, and other magazines as well as three books dealing with the subject; Green Gold the Tree of Life: Marijuana in Magic and Religion (Access Unlimited, 1995), Sex, Drugs, Violence and the Bible (Forbidden Fruit Publishing, 2001) and Cannabis and the Soma Solution (TrineDay, 2010) and contributing chapters on cannabis history for anthologies such as, ‘Psychedelics ReImagined’ (1998); ‘The Pot Book’ (2010); ‘Entheogens and the Development of Culture (2013); The Anthropology and Neurobiology’ (2013); ‘Seeking the Sacred with Psychoactive. Bennett has identified evidence for a religious role for cannabis in a variety of ancient and modern religions, such as Hinduism, Islam, Zoroastrianism, Taoism, but his work regarding evidence in the Bible regarding the use of cannabis by both the ancient Jews and Christians has received the most attention. More recently Bennet has been working in video, and making documentaries with interviews from a variety of academics and authors who have written about the role of cannabis in history.

Today on Hempire our host Eileen Karpfinger is joined by Arizona mom and cannabis advocate Brandy Williams. Brandy is passionate about how well medical cannabis has helped her son with seizure control and self-harming episodes. She said, “He was having 7 – 15 seizures a day. He was banging his head 75 – 150 times per day. I have scars all over my arms from him biting my flesh. Every door in our home had a hole in it from his head.” Within 20 minutes of her son’s first dose of CBD oil, he was calm and focused. She said, “My son’s entire world has changed. I couldn’t imagine going through another four years of autism without medical marijuana.”

Today on Hempire our host Eileen Karpfinger is joined by Erica Daniels a cannabis entrepreneur, mother, and the author of Cooking with Leo: An Allergen-Free Autism Family Cookbook. Erica is the single mother of Leo who struggles with autism and chronic health issues. Her life changed and gained new purpose after her son was diagnosed with autism in 2007. Erica founded Autism Advisors LLC and #hope4Leo 501c3 after years of struggling to treat her son’s autism using conventional and biomedical treatments with little or no success. Eating a healthy allergen-free diet and using natural medicines such as medicinal cannabis have greatly improved Leo’s health and autism symptoms. In 2016 Erica founded the autism420 Project, an initiative for legal, safe and appropriate access to medicinal cannabis for use in autism.