TSC Talks!

Nikki Lawley is a former pediatric nurse, former blackjack dealer and much more, who went from a full active life to chronic daily pain and other debilitating symptoms after suffering a traumatic brain injury on the job in 2016. This is the story of how it happened, what happened and how she's been able to move from existing in survival mode to having a life filled with hope despite ongoing challenges. In her own words; "since my (TBI) injury, one of the things that I've learned more than anything is about living in the moment. my life changed a second and I can't go back and write a new ending, but I sure can start now and I just have really become more human with this injury. "

Nikki states: "I suffered both a traumatic brain (TBI) and whiplash injury to my neck. Due to this, I have been unable to work as a nurse ever since. My injury also comes with some debilitating symptoms, which include cognitive issues, chronic headaches, and severe neck pain. Cannabis helps alleviate my pain, bringing it from a 7/10 daily pain and down to a more tolerable 2 and 3. Other symptoms of my injury include impacted balance/coordination, visual impairment, and depression/anxiety."

She details what was an active, chock full life, growing up in Buffalo, NY, relocating to Fort Myers, FLA and then returning to the Buffalo area, having to change careers moving from nursing to HVC sales, working at a local Planned Parenthood and back to nursing, as well as taking on a second job as a blackjack dealer at a local casino. After listening to Nikki talk about how she was able to roll with life's challenges repeatedly and reinvent herself time after time, one can see how life as she knew it coming to a screeching halt after her TBI, was a brutal blow. It was in part, the perseverance and tenacity from years of walking through changes and challenges that gave her the ability to push to find answers and not give up after her injury.

Regarding the aftermath of the TBI, she states, "And I expected to be out a day, maybe two, definitely not three-plus years. And when I say, I could not cognitively function, I could not stop the head pain. I literally cried for the first year after my injury so often, because I just, I had so many different medications and yeah, so many treatments failed and people were like, "Well, it can't be from the concussion." She goes on to further explain, "So two of my ligaments are completely level three in the front and they really caused a huge amount of issues as far as, I get no cerebral spinal fluid CSF flow to my frontal parts of my brain because of the way the bones are and again, it causes complete compression and occlusion of the CSF flow. The neurosurgeon said, Oh, you don't need surgery will wire back to work and, and I constantly felt like I had to tell people my side of the story like I'm not crazy people, there's something really wrong. It is not normal to never not have a headache. So one of the biggest things that devastated me and probably the most of my cognitive challenges was I can't count anymore. When I worked at the casino, I emptied a deck of cards. So fast in blackjack, and I could count like backward. Just never a challenge. I cannot count higher (now) consistently than five."

So after years of seeking treatments, paying out of her own pocket repeatedly, traveling around the country and doing everything and anything she could to lessen the daily nightmare she was living in, on a trip to Vegas, she saw a "sign from God" in the form of a billboard advertising,

“So I'm standing outside looking and it's hot, and it's like, the sun's on my face. So, I should be feeling happy because I came out of Buffalo in January. I wonder though. They have these driving billboards on the Vegas Strip, and I see this “get your medical cannabis card today. ..call one 800 get your weed card” and I’m like, I doubt that'll help. And then it comes back by again. What the hell? So, my husband came back from a walk because he said I literally can't stand to be around you. I have to get out of the room. Yeah. So I mentioned to him when he gets back, I'm like, there's this billboard, “get your weed card”, you know and he said do it. He said, “Do it like just do it now. Let's do it.”

Nikki was finally able to find some relief with some guidance and using particular strains of cannabis that she has only been able to find in Nevada and Canada. The cannabis took her pain from a daily level 7/10 to a 2/3 on the pain scale. However, it has been incredibly frustrating not to have access to the strains of cannabis that actually work in her home state of NY due to restrictive regulations. Nikki often travels to Nevada and Canada to find the right strains that give her the relief that allows her to function.

Throughout this journey, despite hitting some true "window ledges" where she didn't know how she was going to go on, she's come back to being a passionate and eloquent advocate for TBI survivors, sharing her story of hope and the amazing potential of the cannabis plant every chance she gets.

"What I do now is I just started sharing my story. I sent it to Mike (Mike Robinson, Cannabis Advocate/Activist) and I have a very good friend Rachelle Gordon, who is a writer for financial cannabis news. And she kind of helped me lose some of the rambles and make my story more concise. And then I said to Mike, "I don't know do you think this is worth having more exposure? Do you think people want to hear about this?" You know, I'm not trying to be famous in any way shape or form. I'm just trying to promote awareness."

For Nikki, while cannabis has provided relief, she still struggles with misunderstanding and judgment because injuries related to TBI are invisible. Sharing this final quote here;

"But you know, if nothing else, since this injury, I've learned so many things about chronic illness, and how, how much is misunderstood about it. And just because somebody doesn't have a broken leg or isn't in a wheelchair doesn't mean they're not disabled, it doesn't mean that they're not challenged in some way. If I use my parking sticker, it's usually when it's icy out, and I met a huge risk fall risk. So I still suffer with dizziness and balance issues and depth perception issues. I feel guilty that as the person using that sometimes, and I shouldn't."

There's a lot more in this episode you don't want to miss! Thank you Nikki Lawley for the inspiration and education on TBI, cannabis and dealing with life!

Nikki's links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikki-lawley-aa281517/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nikki.lawley
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawleynikki/?hl=en
Recent podcast: https://player.fm/series/coffee-party-usa-radio/i-want-access-4-all-nurse-nikki-lawley-stops-by-for-a-cup-of-joe
Blog article: https://www.mikesmedicines.com/medical-marijuana/cannabis-shopping-with-nikki-lawley-everyone-is-unique/
Nikki's book suggestion: https://www.amazon.com/Medical-Cannabis-Primer-Ushering-Marijuana/dp/1885176023

https://tsctalks.com STAY TUNED FOR MORE!
TBI One Love: https://www.tbionelove.com/single-post/TBI-One-Love-Survivor-Nikki-Lawley

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“You are here for a purpose. There is not a duplicate of you in the whole wide world; there never has been, there never will be. You were brought here now to fill a certain need. Take time to consider what it might be.” Lou Austin.

This happens to be one of Daniel Price’s favorite quotes and as you will see and hear, has truly framed the way Daniel lives his life. Daniel Price, a rare disease and adoption advocate, and young adult from the Seattle Washington area who is living with TSC. He’s Auxiliary Adult Regional Coordinator West and has been an active volunteer for the last 3+ years. Working in the airline/travel industry part-time, has given Daniel the opportunity and scheduling flexibility to travel the country and to parts of the globe to participate in TSC conferences and other events such as; Step Forward to Cure TSC walks in Seattle as well as Northern and Southern California; Sound Bites in Minnesota; Regional Conferences in Houston, San Diego, Saint Louis and Los Angeles; and the 2018 TSC World Conference in Dallas. Recently he attended the TS Alliance Board Meeting in Chicago and the 2019 March on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. He’s flown to Melbourne, Australia to help them with their first Comedy for a Cure.

Daniel was adopted from mainland China at the age of 3 and diagnosed with TSC at the age of 6 when visiting a dermatologist to examine the red bumps on his face. He is the only family member with a rare genetic disease and states, “I've had seizures as a younger child. Development delay issues in K through 12 education and had a special education program. I've gone through a speech and language program, was kicked out and then put back in later in my K to 12 programs and have had many other challenges through trying to maintain in work, living and other daily challenges as well facing life “

Daniel’s mother sought the best treatments for Daniel as she could at the time but the TS Alliance was just being formed and there was not as much information available about TSC as there is currently. Eventually, Daniel found the TS Alliance, stating, “I reached out to- I think the headquarters in DC and they mailed me out to a couple of people in the Washington area. And they email-connected me to someone named Gloria, and I was like, Oh, okay. And then she's said that we're going to have a picnic coming up in Seattle. So, then I go to this picnic and meet other people (with TSC & families), and it changed my life. It changed the way I saw it. So yeah. I've learned a lot from Gloria and the other people that within the TSC community within the Pacific Northwest”

Seeking better medical care, Daniel traveled to the TS Clinic in Cincinnati and was excited to be able to visit all TSC related specialists in one location and talk to medical professionals with specific expertise in treating TSC. He carries a book on TSC with him to every appointment and hospital visit to share with any and all of the treating team to not only make sure they have a quick reference guide on TSC at their fingertips but also raise awareness of the condition and educate as many people as possible.

Outlining ongoing challenges Daniel states, “I mainly struggle with TAND, (stands for) tuberous sclerosis complex neuropsychological disorder. I struggle a lot with depression, anxiety, mood swings, socializing with other people. And many people just don’t see it They see a regular person going to work, paying their bills, driving, going to school, but they don't see the outcome of what TAND or TSC. They don't see the real picture. They don't see the big picture of what TAND can do. I do get mood swings. There are times where I just want to like shut people off and shut off from the world when it's just too much sometimes”

We discuss his return to China, with his entire family, and was able to meet caregivers and other members of the local community who remembered Daniel and what a moving experience this was. Daniel talks about coming out as a gay man being an active member of the LGBTQ community and his desire to find connections with others who are in this community that also have a rare disease.

“So I came out four or five years ago…I came out as a gay man, a young person questioning my sexuality, but also I was trying to (a couple years ago), connect with people with a rare genetic disease, but also who have been adopted and part of the LGBTQ community as well. I have not been able to find anyone. I've been to other organizations on the west coast and other people who are LGBTQ but have not been able to connect with other people that have the other two aspects.”

There’s a lot more in this episode. In conclusion, Daniel states eloquently; “the most meaningful thing is being able to advocate at different events, socializing with other people within the TSC community, connecting with them, learning from them. But being a voice for those that don't have…or can't give a voice. Learning how to cope with things from other people, learning their styles, learning how they advocate for change, being able to go to events and help raise money to help eradicate this disease. Being able to be that change, to help other people who can't help themselves or help other people within the community. They may be a little shy or closed off from other people, not only just here, not only just in the TSC community, but the LGBTQ community and adoption community, or any community. I am thankful to have the privilege to advocate, to be able to change the way other people perceive TSC Tuberous sclerosis complex-a rare genetic disease, adoption, LGBTQ or any of those communities.”

Here are Daniel’s links!

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/daniel.price.1694
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pricendaniel/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-n-price-7270156a/
https://www.tsalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/06-June-Adults-with-TSC-Newsletter.pdf
https://www.rareiscommunity.com/2019/11/27/navigating-a-forever-home-with-a-rare-disease-daniels-story/

Links on Adoption:
https://www.adoptioncouncil.org/
http://www.adoptioncouncil.org/2020-gala https://adoptionsbygladney.com/ http://www.gladneyasia.org/index.html
http://cccwaen.mca.gov.cn/
China Center for Children's Welfare and Adoption (CCCWA) and Bridge of Love Adoption Services (BLAS) https://www.ccaifamily.org/
https://onesky.org/
http://moveablefest.com/nanfu-wang-one-child-nation/?fbclid=IwAR3e4i5m-Ajkl1Bj5efLC88IJX7lnIFw1Py0qqBM66kv29tLog97RjSjlX4
https://www.holtinternational.org/

LGBTQ links for Asian Americans who are LGBTQ:
https://www.facebook.com/pg/crn.ngo/about/
https://gapafoundation.org/ in SF

Stay tuned for more, including information about a new podcast hosted by Thomas Van Antwerp, Chief Development Officer of Nicky’s Gardens of Hope discussing issues related to “The Cliff”….turning 21 with Autism, IDD, TSC…”, appropriately named, “Over The Cliff”. (https://nickysgardensofhope.com). Thanks for tuning in! https://tsctalks.com

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I was honored to interview Tiffani Goff, mother, blogger, author of Loving Tiara: A Memoir on the podcast. I followed Tiffani’s journey with her daughter Tiara who had TSC for several years on Facebook as she shared glimpses from her day to day life with an incredibly challenging presentation of TSC, one that would ultimately claim Tiara’s life. I observed her posts in the days leading up to her passing and waited and watched for her to reappear on the other side of this loss. So many of we parents of loved ones affected by chronic life-threatening conditions live with the reality that we may lose our children at some point in our lifetimes and while this is not often the case, it happens regularly.

What Tiffani details is often heart-rending and painful, Treatment after medication after surgery after procedure. In Tiffani’s own words; “So whenever normally work, didn't work for her. So it was a lot of trial and error. And I think for even families who have a child not as affected (by TSC) as Tiara, that's the most important piece as a parent and/or caretaker is being able to identify; Is this a behavior from medication? What're the side effects? What is the actual condition? How is my child feeling when they can't communicate? That's the hardest part and guessing and guessing. Am I doing this right? Am I doing this wrong?... but I kind of feel like the best advice, if I'm giving advice was kind of just gotta go with your gut. And you just have to really pay attention.”

Managing a condition such as TSC requires a parent or caregiver become incredibly knowledgeable about various aspects of medicine, A TSC case manager is a person that has learned to traverse multiple systems of care at the same time and bridge the communication gaps between these systems of care in order to make sure nothing slips through the cracks, amassing legions of knowledge about pharmaceuticals, insurance companies, social services, the mental health and behavioral health industry, dentistry, and more in order to insure that all treating are as close to on the same page as possible.

“And when I was dealing with Tiara after the first couple meds didn't work, and I knew they weren't working and I realized that some of the doctors, like when a doctor, in the beginning, who's our first doctor, just picked up and left. I was like, Oh, my, I realized I'm responsible for her. So a doctor can just leave us and he was like our lifeline. And so that first made me realize I have to be in charge here. I can't just depend, (on anyone) and then when you can't get visits, so I just put aside my fear. I think that is one of the biggest things for anyone, whether not getting a new job or being afraid to speak up, is fear. And I just was …I am not going to. I was scared, but I was like, forget it. I'm not being scared.”

Tiffani continues throughout the episode to walk us through the timeline of her life managing Tiara’s TSC diagnosis, which got more involved, complicated and convoluted with each passing day but also impinged greatly on the lives of her family, She discusses these challenges as well. Challenges to find balance in the midst of chaos, challenges to stay connected to all of our family members and fulfill our “societal obligations” when our hearts are breaking in pieces daily.

“So I think I just knew Tiara was not going to live forever. So it was kind of like, I know she's taking up so much time but these kids are here for a reason. I've got two other kids and I can't drop the ball and I knew wasn't going to be forever. You know, so it was kind of like God was keeping me going because they were going to be here. I knew they were going to be here a lot longer, and I just couldn't abandon them. And my husband is the sweetest guy in the whole world. But he's never filled out a piece of paperwork for school. He doesn't know. He didn't know any of that, you know, he didn't even know how to find the volleyball schedule online. So, if I wasn't going to do it, nobody was going to do it. Let me do it. And then when Tiara was here, then well, you know, I just felt like, I didn't have a choice. And I was always trying to overcompensate. I would not sleep.”

Tiffani talks as well about coping throughout Tiara’s journey, and in the days following her passing, discussing her faith in this quote that I absolutely love for it’s authenticity, humor and deep wisdom, in my opinion; “And then after Tiara passed away, I went to mass every day. I mean, that's what it is. There are so many downsides to being a Catholic. But one of the great things about being a Catholic is that you can go to any church in the world. And everyone's saying the same prayer on the same day and standing up and kneeling. And it's just like a meditation for me. And I don't limit myself to the Catholic beliefs. It's like, that's my home. I love those people. I go there, there's so many faults and so much that’s wrong. But it kind of just kind of keeps me centered. Because I do believe in mediums and psychics and I believe if you're Buddhist, your God is still going to be the same as my God, I just like, being a good person and living with integrity. And doing the right thing is my God. And so, it just happens to be I find that at my church.”

Finally, Tiffani discusses poignantly the final days when Tiara was in hospice an she had an interaction with a hospice doctor; “so when we went home from that visit, on hospice when the hospice physician came over, and I was describing Tiara and her life, and she was only able to crawl (at this point in her life) and he was very quiet. It went on and on. And it was so quiet, and I said, Do you think that she's going to pass away? Like, what do you think? And he said, “’ I've kind of never seen something like this. And I'm having a hard time telling you how I'm feeling (he said), because she is suffering so much, and I can't believe you can still find joy for her.’” And he said, “I can't believe you've made it this far”. I was like, Really? I mean, he couldn’t talk. I was like, so you think she's going to die? And he said, “yeah, I don't know how she's still alive. We're keeping her alive.” I was so baffling to me. But it was confirming that I wasn't crazy because he was a total outside person who'd never met her. And just looking at her, and just the way she was struggling to walk or to breathe and how was like, “I need to let her go.”

The full episode is full of wisdom, humor, honesty, tears and a testament to the inner strength, faith and passion on Tiffani’s behalf, a final quote on the power of authenticity in written form, “it's going to benefit our whole community. You know, because having this many people read about TSC and I'm sadly My story is, other people’s story. There are other families that live that same story. But they don't have the way to get it out.”

Tiffani’s links!
Purchase the book! 😊 https://amzn.to/2s7tMLg
Tiffani’s amazon page: https://amzn.to/2QDbvPo
Website: https://tiffanigoff.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TiffaniGoffAtHome/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/twigdecor?lang=en
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tiffanigoff/?hl=en
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/tiffanigoff
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffanigoff/
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/48912091-loving-tiara
Indiebound.org
Barnesandnoble.com
https://nonfictionauthorsassociation.com/directory/25788/tiffani-goff/

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R.J. Cooper, Founder & CEO of R.J. Cooper & Associates is an inventor, technologist, and student of human behavior. RJ has always carried with him the goal of wanting to help as many people as possible. His interest in the area of assistive technology began over 30 years ago when he was studying to become an electrical engineer at the University of Utah.

In his own words: I love what I do because my products make a tangible impact on the lives of the users by unlocking their hidden capabilities. What gives me the greatest pleasure is working one-on-one with my clients to help them tap into those abilities. For the last 18 years, I have conducted Road Trips spanning three continents to meet learners and caregivers, so I can help provide solutions that will help them overcome obstacles that they may not have thought possible"

"When I began my career, not many people realized the potential technology would have on the lives of those with special needs. My love for people and my interest in special needs drove me to also pursue a Bachelor's in Developmental Psychology from University of California-Irvine and a Master’s in Education, concentration in Autism Spectrum Disorder, from Arizona State University."

RJ shares how he develops products from requests he receives globally. “On the product development side. It's a different process. This one is very simple. I just listened to everybody who has a suggestion on what they think it necessary to create. And even if it's one person in Australia, or China or wherever it is, I'll try to create or adapt something for that specific person. And then, over the years, I've found that there are always going to be others in the world. Not many but others that have that same specific need. I offer it even if I've only made one just for that one person, I'll still usually put it up at the website as a quote-unquote product. And every once in awhile, somebody else will buy that same thing that I made specifically for that one person in XYZ. And that's where the product ideas come from”

He also discusses some of his advocacy work in school districts both with parents and the school systems; "it's the parents that I'm advocating for. And they have the legal right to draw me into the frame so to speak. And I'll be sort of advocating for the child, the parents, in my opinion towards some necessity for the school district spending some money as far as they look at it. And sometimes it's the reverse. The school district heard from the parent, the parent wants them to buy a Tobii Dynavox thing for $10,000. The school district comes in and says we think the iPad is the right tool. What's your expert opinion? Would you be willing to assess this kid by video?"

He discusses the theory behind the development of one of his most helpful products that can help a broad range of individuals with mobility and/or cognitive issues that make it tough to operate something as simply as a television. (https://store.rjcooper.com/products/tv-controller) "I'm trying to get to something that's so simple that my theory -and I don't have any academic or even experiential background in this- is that if you give someone something simple enough that they can read learn it each day rather than having to remember it from the day before, which of course is the actual essence of dementia, right? So instead of a controller, like you and I have a Remote Control, which requires memory cognitive ability, physical acuity, I make a box with three large buttons on it. One is for next channel. One is for previous channels, and one is for power. Yeah, you give them the box, you put them in front of the TV, but my limited testing, but that shows that it's enough that if they press the button, they can quickly understand what each button does. And it's not so much remember that the next day, it's more that each day they take 30-40 seconds, and they actually read learn it, they relearn it."

Surprisingly enough, the filed of assistive technology has not been overwhelmingly successful in integrating products into the mainstream and is one of RJ's concerns going forward, "And every single person, even in my field that wants to believe like we've done some good in the world, they all say the same thing. Never. I've never seen anybody in the grocery store using an assistive device. I've never seen anybody in any academic session, other than the ones that I was called in on using something to access the computer. The only time I see these things that we've created over years being used is at the specialized conferences and events. That's it. Once you get out in the real world, you rarely see anything, you don't see it on TV, you don't see it in the real world. The whole field has not been that successful, but we don't want to say those words out loud."

In conclusion, RJ emphasizes that "Many times, it's the parent who just refuses to give up. And they've been rejected or had to move on to a different direction, Time after time, but they never give up for their kiddo. And somehow they push that kid with the assistance through, you know, one through 12. But they are the exception, right?"

There's a great amount more fascinating material in this interview and I don't want to give it all away so give it a listen and check out R.J. Cooper's links here:

Website: https://store.rjcooper.com/
Index: http://rjcooper.com/index-ipad.html
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/rjcooper/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rjcooperinc
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/rjcooper725/
Twitter: @rjcooperinc
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rj_cooper_associates_inc/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/rjcooperinc/
Closing the Gap Conference Info: https://www.closingthegap.com/conference-exhibitor/rj-cooper/
Apple Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/developer/rj-cooper-associates-inc/id412790299
http://atoralhistory.uconn.edu/podcasts/cooper.php

Contact info: RJ Cooper & Associates, Inc.
640 S. Grand Ave., Suite 109
Santa Ana, CA 92705
1-800-RJCooper (752-6673) 949-582-3169 (fax)
[email protected]

Thanks R.J.!

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/tsc-talks--1666046/support.

In this episode, my guest is Ricardo Rivera-Acevedo, Chief Science Officer and Director at Ecovita Health Corporation, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada working to initiate and manage a medical cannabis extraction facility and guide research and development of new therapeutic products. Ricardo is host of the Cannabis Science Podcast, the first weekly Canadian radio show focused entirely on cannabis and he is also a Scientific Consultant at ACGT, where he works to provide the skill and knowledge necessary to comply with the regulations set forth by Health Canada's Cannabis Act.

Born and raised in Puerto Rico, he attended City University of Puerto Rico. One of his college professors was from Canada and encouraged him to check out Vancouver where he ended up coming and starting his Ph.D. at the University of British Columbia in the Department of Pharmacology with a fantastic mentor. “That’s kind of where I started my path of not just drug development, medical research, but also my introduction into the science of cannabis.”

While preparing for his Ph.D. comprehensive examination, he mentions, “while studying the capsaicin receptor (the spicy hot feeling when eating a chili pepper) that receptor is actually activated and interacts with cannabinoids. And that receptor is also directly involved in pain sensation, noxious pain sensation. So I began to prepare this document for this examination. And I began to realize, Oh, you know what, there's a lot more to cannabis than I had previously considered in terms of like these molecular interactions because I always thought cannabis just had its effects on you know, on CB 1 receptor, cannabinoid receptor one and CB 2, and that's it. But it's much more complex than that and much more dynamic. And so that kind of began to push me in that direction”

Ricardo discusses being involved in the first clinical trial with dried cannabis on the island of Puerto Rico. “We were able to do the hard work and effort to initiate the first clinical trial with dried cannabis on the island of Puerto Rico, one of the first of its kind to any US territory.” He describes some of what he learned from this research; “So the basis by which you should really guide your therapeutic use is through the ratios of cannabinoids, CBD and THC. Now there are a bunch of other cannabinoids and they have some very interesting effects. But the main cannabinoids that are well studied right now are the THC and CBD. We've definitely established this conclusively, but it's also something that other groups and other labs have seen and many people have known for a long time, which is that when it comes to cannabis, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. So what does that mean? That means that when you have for example, CBD by itself, it is not as effective as CBD with THC, and then CBD with the other constituents in cannabis. But the issue is that, sadly, people have been focusing on CBD and THC for a very long time. So there's a lot of other chemical constituents that are now being explored but because they occur at such low levels in the plants, they're very difficult to get at levels too, to do a lot of these scientific experiments, particularly in smaller sort of academic environment. So what we're trying to do is to isolate them, purify them and then begin to introduce them back into a formula that reproduces what’d in the plant, but then we can also add or remove these different cannabinoids and see what happens. Because, honestly, to be just like open with you right now, it's kind of interesting and novel information that we've discovered. It's not just CBD and THC, that are doing this stuff, we're seeing effects that we can't describe just by looking at the THC and CBD that are very beneficial for a patient. And it has to do with the other cannabinoids that are actually present. And some strains have some of these cannabinoids like CBC for example, or, or even CBN that people have said, Oh, that’s the degraded products of THC. They do seem to have benefits for patients that are now only being teased apart.”

Ricardo also discusses his podcast; “Cannabis Science Podcast is exclusively dedicated to discussing the most up-to-date science on cannabis and cannabinoids, from an industry insider’s perspective”. He decided to start this labor of love to educate and inform anyone and everyone on the science of cannabis. What he had assumed was common knowledge even among the scientific population was not necessarily so. The podcast was launched in an effort to get everyone on the same page to inform and education on the science of cannabis.

In his own words; “I am a scientist and entrepreneur working to help biotech companies find better ways to solve poorly managed health conditions. To do this, my areas of expertise include drug chemistry and pharmacology, extraction, formulation, product development, facility design and operation, project management, regulatory consultation, as well as designing, organizing and directing clinical trials. I also strongly believe in science education and communication as valuable tools to improve people's lives by empowering them to make well-informed decisions for themselves and society. At this moment, I provide the training, knowledge, and skills necessary for organizations to successfully achieve their product and research goals”

From his website bio: Dr. Rivera-Acevedo is an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology & Therapeutics at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. He is also cannabinologist and consultant for various pharma companies around the world.

With a BSc from the University of Puerto Rico – Cayey and PhD in Pharmacology from the University of British Columbia, he has extensive knowledge and expertise researching cannabis and its derivatives. In 2015, he established the first laboratory for cannabinoid research in the Department of Pharmacology at UBC, which is dedicated to understanding the therapeutic uses of different cannabis strains and formulations to treat different diseases.

He also teaches various undergraduate courses within the department including Introduction to Pharmacology, Statistics in Science, Drug Development, Natural Health Products, and Pharmacogenomics.

As former Director of Chemistry for Cannevert Therapeutics Ltd, he lead the chemistry team conducting R&D, QA/QC, and manufacturing research to improve cannabinoid extract formulations and development of new delivery methods. He also helped organize and supervise one of the first internationally recognized clinical trials with cannabis in Puerto Rico.

When not in the lab, he can be found in the dojo practicing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, teaching mindfulness to high school students with the Vancouver Crisis Centre, co-hosting the shows Cannabis Science Podcast, Cannabis Con Ciencia Podcast, and El Bus De Las 7 on Vancouver Coop Radio 100.5 FM.”

Thank you, Ricardo, for providing us with a glimpse of your ongoing research, work and projects in the area of cannabis science! There’s a lot more within this rich, informative episode that will be helpful for anyone wanting to increase their scientific knowledge on cannabis and gaining more of an understanding of the vast untapped potential of this plant.

Ricardo’s Links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ricoriver/
Website: cannabisconciencia.org  (Cannabis Science and Research)
Podcast: https://cannabisconciencia.org/podcast/
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: CannabisFaculty, payme4science
The Univ. of British Columbia: https://www.grad.ubc.ca/alumni/profile/ricardo-rivera-acevedo
Press Release: https://apnews.com/7fa52c472c1092fdcb22ca734d4e449b
Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ricardo_Rivera-Acevedo

TSC Talks: https://tsctalks.com

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In this episode, we are joined by Professor Petrus de Vries, Sue Struengmann Professor of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Academic Head: Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Cape Town, South Africa and Alexis Minnaar, English and Geography tutor at DawnCroft Alexis was diagnosed with Tuberous Sclerosis Complex, at the age of two. Prof. de Vries and Alexis graciously joined me to engage in a discussion on TAND, a phrase coined by Professor de Vries himself, which is an acronym for Tuberous Sclerosis Associated Neuropsychiatric Disorders and its one of the most challenging aspects of managing a TSC diagnosis and is a clinical manifestation of TSC, along with the other manifestations.

Recently, Professor de Vries’ along with Anna Jansen (UZ Brussel – Vrije Universiteit Brussel) were awarded funding from the Tuberous Sclerosis Association and the King Baudouin Foundation for the TANDem project, which will bring together a worldwide team of families affected by TSC, researchers and clinicians to provide scientific evidence for greater TAND intervention and treatment. The two-part project will first focus on the development of a self-report TAND checklist and identification smartphone app, to measure how people are affected by TAND. The second part of the study will investigate the best ways to treat TAND, including agreement on suitable clinical guidelines for TAND. Following this work in identifying and treating TAND, the TANDem Project will help to prepare a global team of TAND researchers to raise awareness and lead future research into TAND.

Bringing both Alexis and Professor de Vries together to discuss their lived experiences with TAND in a Q & A session to bring to light the perspective of patient, doctor and a parent, to hash out the very different experiences. Professor de Vries coined the term TAND when in need of a succinct way to sum up the grouping of symptoms in a way that is easier for families also to talk to others about.

“It can be easier to say; “I have, or my child has epilepsy or I've got something on my skin or got a kidney thing” than to talk about anxiety, about mental health issues and about learning issues and about all sorts of stuff like that. So, the journey to share often takes even longer for people about those kinds of things. And that's why it was so important for us to find a way of building a kind of a language around TAND. And to give the message, the simple message to people is that TAND is as much part of tuberous sclerosis complex as all the other things are. And therefore, it's not something to be ashamed about or shy about or embarrassed about. This is something that we need to know about them that we can do something about. And so that really is, you know, you you're talking about how do we how do we put down on a level playing field with all the other things, it's just as important and just the same as all these physical health problems that people have learned to talk about and have learned to treat in a better way. And so for many decades, very little research was done on behavior and psychiatry and mental health. It was, in 2012, when we had the consensus conference in the US to revise the diagnostic criteria and to revise the treatment guidelines that we the neuro psychiatry group that said, What? We've been trying to tell people to do these things, and nobody has been doing anything. What can we do to make it simple, so that people might start to listen to us? And the one thing we realized was, we've been talking about know, you have to think about the behavioral issues and the psychiatric issues and the academic issues and the intellectual issues and the psychosocial issues. And you know, by the time I said that whole sentence, people aren't listening to me anymore. And so that was why we decided we needed to come up with a simple term that puts all these things together. And that was the birth of the word TAND, which stands as you know, for TSC, associated neuro psychiatric disorders across all those different levels. We wanted a simple word that you and I can talk about TAND in one word, and then we can start to break it up, rather than to talk about all these fuzzy words that in a psychiatrist often like to talk about, that nobody follows. Right? So that was really the reason to give us that you can talk about it.”

Alexis shares her own lived experience with TAND as well; “(my mother) She said I was having temper tantrums at school starting at about age seven. And she actually got to a point where she had to speak to my doctor say, look, you know, is it the TSC that's causing this or is it anger, or is it discipline issues? Or, you know, how do I deal with this? And so, my pediatric neurologist, her advice at the time was-there's no excuse for bad behavior. So, my mom had to put me on a strict discipline, freedom within boundaries sort of routine. I had strict routines in terms of schooling. Whether I was homeschooled or not, you know, you wake up at seven, you started school at eight, you work 'til two. And after that, you could do what you wanted. You took your medicine at seven, you know, they were they were structured systems in place so that I didn't have an excuse, and it's been very helpful. I did go through the TAND checklist last night, actually. And I kind of giggled because I realized I do kind of struggle to in terms of organization, I think you called it executive functioning”

I am personally passionate about TAND because of the impact it had on our entire family. There tends to be a ripple effect when dealing with a lot of dysregulated and unpredictable behavior on top of seizures for long time periods and the whole family develops dysfunctional ways of coping. So when I heard Professor de Vries talk about TAND, first on YouTube and then in person at the World TSC Conference in 2017 in Dallas, the entire history of our life with TSC started to make more sense.

More regarding the TANDem project; “And so what the TANDem project will do is three things: One, we're going to make a self-report version of the checklist, so that you either as a parent or caregiver or an individual that lives at TSC can fill it in yourself. Two-then we're going to put it into an app so that you can download an app and fill it in on the app. Three-And then we are going to create an expert group of people, consensus guidelines for treatment, next steps interventions for all these seven clusters of TAND difficulties. And then we're going to build them into the app so that when you sit down and you fill in the app for yourself or for your son or daughter, and you click on it, it will show you your child’s cluster profile. And you can click on it and it'll tell you what you can do about your that specific type of manifestation. And it will also tell you what the clinicians and the physicians ought to be doing as the next steps for your TAND profile. The TANDem project is just starting. We will create a website. And as soon as there are updates, we will inform people like you and the TS Alliance and the TCI, etc. So, the people just follow the story and give us input into the progress of the project over the next four years. It’s funded for four years by a Belgian foundation. It's called the King Baudouin Foundation. And they have funded us basically to develop this app, to validate the app and we will use people in the US and different parts of the world to make sure that we have something that we think is a good product that can then be launched for anybody in the world to use towards the end of the project. So that's the idea. You can see it's very practical. And it's really about empowering families and people who live with TSC. Because we know we can't wait until you can get somebody who knows about TAND- we need to give you the tools. I also don't want everyone to think that TANDem will solve all the problems of TAND in the world, but I think it's the kind of next step that we're taking in the community with people in the community that I'm really excited about.”
From Alexis: “Education is where my heart lies for kids with TAND or any other genetic disorder, autism, anything else of because there is none in South Africa. All the children get sent to a special needs school and they get cheated and it’s frustrating.”

Thanks for listening and many many thanks to both Professor Petrus de Vries and Alexis Minnaar for being willing to engage in this important conversation and shed some light on the lived and learned experience of TSC & TAND. WE will be watching and waiting to hear more on the TANDem project as it develops. Find us at: https://tsctalks.com

Professor Petrus de Vries’ links:
University of Cape Town: http://www.psychiatry.uct.ac.za/psych/staff/petrus-de-vries
Centre For Autism Research: http://www.cara.uct.ac.za/petrus-de-vries
TANDem press release: https://www.tsalliance.org/international-tand-research-project-awarded-funding/
Professor de Vries discussing TANDem: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=699529333889383
Recent article: https://www.spectrumnews.org/opinion/viewpoint/offer-support-young-autistic-children-south-africa/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/profpetrusdevries/
TSC South Africa: https://www.facebook.com/TSSouthAfrica/

Alexis Minnaar links:
Blog: http://theycallmetsc.blogspot.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alexisbilyard
Living with TSC Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theycallmetsc/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/they_call_me_tsc/
Previous podcasts on TSC Talks: https://www.spreaker.com/episode/18952329 and https://www.spreaker.com/episode/19010713

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Jon Workman is Vice President - Industrial Hemp Business Development at American Cannabis Company and President - Arkansas Hemp Assoc. He has had a long career in the industry, starting out growing up on a farm in Arkansas, getting into the finance industry in California, having much success, then a random snowboarding accident revealed he had multiple myeloma. Given 3 years to live, he was hit with another disease called TTP ( Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura).

He shares, "I was in the hospital for over 60 days at City of Hope in Los Angeles, I was down to about 139 pounds. I'm six-one and it didn't look real real good on me. In fact, I was scared I was going to not make it out of there. So I I took it upon myself to bring in some assistance in the form of cannabis edibles" While Jon would not say cancer cured him, it definitely helped ease his recovery and he's gone on to be in remission since shortly after his last bone marrow transplant to address his TTP. In his own words,

"I am a stage 2 cancer survivor of multiple myeloma bone marrow cancer. After two bone marrow transplants and countless hours in the infusion room getting the poison they call chemotherapy I can say I didn't know if I was going to survive. Fast forward 19 years later and looking back I see with clarity that my survival was comforted by the use of medicinal cannabis. Now I am here to share my story in an industry that is growing like a weed (bad joke)."

Jon discusses his entrance into the hemp and cannabis industry, moving back to his home state of Arkansas, being inspired and encouraged by a childhood best friend to enter the cannabis industry; "at the end of the day, I came to think that it's what brought me to where I am, it saved me in some ways, and it's a message. I think that it's something God really wants me to do. I really you're put in places in your life and sometimes it's just opportunistic, but at the same time, I think it's a thing called luck. What is luck? I think John Wooden called it "when opportunity meets preparation meets opportunity" ".

Jon describes his current role with American Cannabis Company; "with what happened in 2018 with the new farm bill, at the beginning of this year it transitioned my role at American Cannabis Company to the role I'm in now, which is the Vice President of Hemp Business Development. And so throughout this year, I've been working with farmers throughout the country to basically offer the same services we did with our marijuana but, but more for outdoor applications, then of course, indoor and there are quite a few greenhouse operations that we consult with as well for hemp, but we've been involved with quite a few different states and in these states are university pilot programs. In fact, just this morning, about two hours ago, we got the release of the USDA interim rules on hemp cultivation, for 2020. crop year. This is the first USDA rules we've had since well since 1937"

Jon continues to outline his extensive involvement in the cannabis industry," I also work with a team of cannabis industry professionals to help individuals and organizations gain entry into the legal recreational and medical marijuana industry. We provide business to business consultative services for dispensaries, grow operations and extraction facilities. Our team is dedicated to providing real-world solutions for the ever-changing cannabis markets in the U.S. and abroad."

There's much more within this rich episode. Thanks so much to Jon Workman for this education on overcoming adversity and finding inspiration and motivation within and without the cannabis industry; "When people I meet ask me what I do in the industry, I usually reply with, "I connect the dots for those that are trying to start an industrial hemp business as well as find markets for them to sell their product." Simply put my approach is to provide my customers with Best of Class products and service which I do on a daily basis." Thank you Jon!

Here are Jon's links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonworkman/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jsworkman63
Press Release: https://americancannabisconsulting.com/american-cannabis-company-inc-announces-hemp-business-development-appointment-of-chief-operations-officer/
Bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/person/20938691
American Cannabis Company: https://americancannabisconsulting.com/

Thanks for listening! Reviews on our FB page, or ITunes are much appreciated! https://tscatlks.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/tsctalks/

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Tiffany Watkins is a "Cannabis Enthusiast". She's been an activist for 20+ years and has done a lot of work to bring awareness to health care and proper distribution of Medical Cannabis as well as paving the way for Recreational Cannabis.

She has marched the Capital (CA), to help bring a voice to those in need of the protection of the Compassionate Care Act. Additionally, she has attended and spoken at City Council meetings and delivered talks as a keynote when invited.

She states, "Cannabis is my passion and I am driven to assist this industry in becoming the standard when it comes to treatment plans, revenue achievement, and sales models.
My intent is to continue helping, building and growing within the Cannabis industry. "

We discussed her early years getting involved as an activist and what drew her to get involved in the industry; "what drew me in was during that time in the early 90s, we were really coming off the scare of the 80s with HIV and AIDS and there were plenty of my friends whose lives had been touched. They either had a family member or they were personally affected and at that time they were noticing that cannabis was very helpful in easing side effects from some of the very heavy medications that they were on to try to help with the HIV and sometimes full-blown aids. Cannabis helped stave the wasting away. They were using cannabis to increase appetite and lift the mood and just have a better quality of life. They were treated like criminals."

We go on to discuss the timeline of her life and career, after early activism, exploring other options as there was not an opportunity to build a career in cannabis. Eventually, Tiffany delved into agriculture distribution which "just kind of steamrolled into me making a choice, leaving behind the mainstream and just going head headfirst back into cannabis."

She talks about her work at Old Pal The home mantra and an ethos of the company is "it's just weed". It's for the people and it's accessible to everyone. And we spend some time discussing her new business called "Lady Canna"; "when I first developed the concept of Lady Canna, it was geared towards women. It was geared towards the forgotten voices. And as cannabis has really become more mainstream, it is very much so dominated by males....ao that's where it kind of was born. But where it's ended up is being a platform for education, change of stigma, and overall approach to usage of cannabis"

" I think that that really is where is the fire burning underneath is that I just want everyone to understand we have another choice out there for help for relaxation for all a multitude of things that happen in our lives. We have another thing out there that can help us and we need to listen and stop making a villain out of it"

Tiffany is full of wisdom, inspiration and demonstrates the kind of longevity and tenacity that will make Lady Canna a success. There's much more in this episode to educate, inform and empower all who listen. Check out Tiffany's links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffany-watkins-9910a5176/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ladycanna101
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ladycanna101/
Old Pal: https://oldpal.com/

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Dr. Uma Dhanabalan is Founder/CEO, Global Health & Hygiene Solutions LLC, Uplifting Health & Wellness, Natick, MA. "She is a highly respected physician trained in Family Medicine, Occupational & Environmental Medicine, specialized in heavy metals, a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians, a Cannabinoid Medicine Specialist and Medical Review Officer.

She completed her Bachelor of Arts degree with high honors from Rutgers University and a Medical degree from the University of Medicine & Dentistry in Newark, New Jersey. She completed a Family Practice Residency at the Medical University of South Carolina, in Charleston, South Carolina and then her Master’s in Public Health and Occupational & Environmental Medicine Residency and Fellowship at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston Massachusetts. She is also certified by the American Academy of Cannabinoid Medicine and by the Medical Review Officer Certification Council.

She has received awards from the American College of Occupational & Environmental Medicine for her research project: “Occupational & Environmental Exposure to Lead in South India”, from The 7th World Ayurveda Conference & Arogya Expo for her presentation “Cannabis & The Therapeutic Uses” and the Educational Achievement Award presented by Clover Leaf at Cannabis Business Award 2017

She is the Founder/CEO for Global Health & Hygiene Solutions, LLC established in 2006, with a mission to promote wellness and prevent illness. She worked for Kimberly Clark as Regional Medical Director for Asia Pacific She worked for the Hanford Site in Richland, Washington, the largest and most complex cleanup projects in the world, where plutonium was manufactured for the first nuclear bomb detonated in Japan.

She created the TotalHealthCareTHC model where she “Educates Embraces Empowers” patients and promotes cannabis as a treatment option at Uplifting Health and Wellness, in Natick, Massachusetts. She is an advocate, activist, and educator and speaks globally about cannabis as a plant medicine. Her mission is to change the Stigma regarding Cannabis and for the world to know about the Endocannabinoid system through education" https://necann.com/news/speaker/dr-uma-dhanabalan/

Dr. Dhanabalan states: “Cannabis is not for everyone, yet it should be a first-line option not the last resort,” and “Cannabis is not an entrance drug, it is an exit drug from pharmaceuticals narcotics and alcohol.”

Meeting and talking to Dr. Uma was a transformational experience for me. She logically explains the evolution of her understanding of cannabinoid medicine, starting from an early age. Born in India, moving to the US from India at age 8 with her father, a chemical engineer and her mother, a mathematician and working in computer software, she was raised with a strong interest in science as well as a passion for understanding preventative health.

"I'm a family doctor, went to South Carolina (and) finished my practice residency, then I decided to do my second life which brought me back to Massachusetts to Harvard. Where I did my masters in public health because that's where I really realized I had to go back to that calling of preventative medicine."

She goes on to say, " That was something that has been rooted in me, that's never really encouraged in most doctors' lives. You know, it's always -make a diagnosis- what's the treatment plan? What's the ICD code that you have to bill with, and how many people?... La la la la la. That's the world of healthcare. Ultimately, what people have to live with today. I was very fortunate also, not only did I have all of that as a background, I had a culture. My parents kept up with my language. I spoke five different languages when I came to this country."

Dr. Uma discusses various experiences she had leading up to her "AHA" moment when she was with her mother who was dying of lung cancer for unbeknownst reasons, "she had seen a TV program and I could still hear her saying using ganja and I damn well knew what that word was. I beelined it and I heard her said they're using it for COPD, asthma, lung cancer, PTSD, and I still remember that" From there Dr. Uma has gone on to become one of only 50 physicians certified to practice cannabinoid medicine in the United States. She was one of High Times' top 50 females in Cannabis in 2019. I'll share one more quote to wrap up this intro, with the 3 key facts she shares when doing public speaking, and often she is told by doctors that they just didn't know this;

"number one, nobody, and I use the word nobody because there are no deaths ever in the world from this medicine. You cannot die from it. You may feel like you're dying, you ain't gonna die from it. Fact number two, the government has a patent number 66 35 07, issued on October 7, 2003, and it's owned by the government. And it clearly states cannabinoids, not just one, cannabinoids, as an antioxidant. And guess what? A neuroprotectant. There's nothing here about the developing brain. There's nothing here about neurotoxicity. It says neuroprotectant, and they have known about it for Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, dementia, strokes, protection of the heart. They have known about it. Fact number three, doctors had the liberty to write prescriptions because it was allowed. And it was in the United States pharmacopeia from 1852 to 1942." Wow. Check out her website to learn more: http://totalhealthcarethc.com/

Dr. Uma's Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008556311630
Twitter: https://twitter.com/drumasays
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.uma_thc/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-uma-dhanabalan-md-mph-faafp-mro-cms-02843040/
Other links:
https://necann.com/news/speaker/dr-uma-dhanabalan/
https://hightimes.com/news/honorees-high-times-female-50/
https://www.cancerschmancer.org/summit/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/cannabinoid-medicine-rebirth-nature-dr-uma-dr-david-bearman/

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Keith Stroup, Founder of NORML, may be a down-home country boy, from Southern Illinois, but he sure did make it in the big city (from Box #10 w/Jim Croce). Keith takes me on a walk, through the annals of his legendary history as a founding father of the marijuana legislation movement in the US. From his early years growing up in Southern Illinois, to Georgetown Law School where he became politically radicalized by the Vietnam anti-war movement, and he started using cannabis.
After getting his law degree and working with Ralph Nader, he was inspired to start a consumer group for cannabis users and using his legal skills to try and impact public policy rather than simply "to assist your individual clients get richer, stay out of trouble or whatever"

On founding NORML: "First off, I enjoyed smoking it but I also had become part obviously, of the underground culture of millions of smokers around this country, and began to be aware of the hundreds of thousands of people who were being arrested and having their lives destroyed because of a senseless policy. So I got some friends together a couple of colleagues of mine at the time and we found it normal as marijuana smokers lobby. "

From here Keith goes on to outline his work with NORML over the years along with key moments in the history of marijuana legislation, starting with the foundational motivation of avoiding being drafted, "but for that Vietnam War and that experience of having lived through that terrifying experience and thinking you're going to be drafted and sent to war, I don't think I ever would have had the interest to start NORML, but because of that, it that I jumped into it with both feet. I think I was a bit naive at the time. I remember someone asked me how long I thought it was going to take. And I said I thought it would take at least 10 years. Well, that was in 1970. So it's taken us a little longer than that, where I think we're in our 45th year at NORML, but it is now finally happening"

Keith discusses the shift in public opinion under the influence of more conservative leaders; "Well, we underestimated the possibility of the public mood shifting. And as of the late 70s, early 80s, you had Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan. (The) "Just say no" movement, the parents movement, there was a period there where we began as a country to evaluate drug proposals on whether they were good for children. Well, no one is suggesting that children should be using marijuana or alcohol or any other drugs. But nonetheless, that was started the test and as a result, after we got the 11th state to decriminalized in 1978, we didn't win another statewide victory for 18 years"

Bringing us to the current day, Keith discusses the latest legislation approved by the house judiciary committee, " And one of the reasons that the bill at the House Judiciary Committee approved just yesterday, right is so important is because it's called the MORE act. And among the things that would do the most important is it wouldn't just lower marijuana to a lower schedule under the Controlled Substances Act, it would, in fact, remove it altogether from the Controlled Substances Act. "

Keith has been a trailblazer in pushing forward on marijuana legislation nationwide and encourages anyone interested in understanding more about their state laws to visit the website https://norml.org/ and click on their state to read all the applicable state and federal legislation.

There's a lot more here, check out Keith's links and thank you, Keith, for your groundbreaking work to reform marijuana legislation over the last 50 years!

NORML: https://norml.org/. https://norml.org/about/item/r-keith-stroup-jd
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-stroup-68997b6/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/keith.stroup
Twitter: https://twitter.com/keithstroup
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keithstroup/
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Stroup
Recent articles:
https://www.arlingtonmagazine.com/life-after-50with-cannabis/3/
https://www.cannabisindustrylawyer.com/keith-stroup-norml/
https://www.playboy.com/read/weed-warriors

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