If a friend told you her aging mother had found a new salve that eased arthritis pain in her hands, you’d be happy for her, right? What if you noticed a co-worker missing fewer days from work after trying a new migraine prevention protocol – a good thing, no? What if both of them told you the treatment involved cannabis or “medical marijuana”? Would you feel the same?

Setting aside the political nature of marijuana legalization for recreational use, today’s podcast focuses on all the ways compounds derived from the cannabis plant may offer health benefits and alternative treatments for a variety of illnesses.  

In today’s show I interview long-time friend and colleague Janice Bissex who is also a Holistic Cannabis Practitioner. After watching her aging father suffer the side-effects of treatment for pain management late in his life, Janice began researching cannabis treatment as an alternative. Seeing first hand the benefits, she broadened her career to include education about cannabis as a therapy and is now helping clients for whom the current medical landscape has failed to provide adequate relief. In this episode we discuss: 

• The important – and often overlooked – distinction between smoking pot to get high versus the isolation of specific cannabinoid compounds that offer health benefits and symptom relief, most of which are not associated with the psychotropic effects of marijuana
• The myriad of health benefits and treatment options for specific disease states that various cannabis-derived compounds are used to treat
• Why people who’ve “tried it” using an edible and had a bad experience need to understand the metabolic challenges edibles pose and how alternative forms of deliveries – including salves, tinctures, gel caps, etc. – offer safer and more consistent dosing
• The importance of reaching out to a qualified practitioner and not simply relying on dispensary personnel for help finding the right products, varieties of cannabis, etc.
• How medical cannabis is proving to be a safe and effective alternative to opioids and actually reducing opioid use in the states in which it is legal

As a cautionary part of this segment, we also acknowledge the reality that marijuana at present is still considered illegal on the federal level. Listeners who are interested in approaching its use as a medical treatment should be aware of the medical marijuana laws governing their state and of course, the policies that apply to them as an employee in their current job.

To close out the show, I revisit one of my favorite segments — If I Had A VCR I’d Tape This — with a look at three programs I recommend for Amazon Prime Video subscribers: Orphan Black, Catastrophe and The Americans.

If these recommendations or this podcast, in general, resonates with you, I’d love to hear from you! You can either Find Me On Instagram or  Tweet Me @ReganJonesRD, leave me a voicemail, join the This Unmillennial Life Facebook Group OR submit a show idea here! 

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