I bet you are on drugs right now! Don’t believe me? How long has it been since your last caffeinated beverage? Over 90% of us use caffeine daily. Most of us use alcohol at least weekly. Many of us use prescription medications to treat everything from ADHD to high blood pressure. Now thanks to cannabis legalization, more and more of us also use cannabis. If we use cannabis, it is likely that we are going to have cannabis and other drugs in our system at the same time. Are those combinations bad? Good? Unknown? Listen to Dr. Codi Peterson, pediatric pharmacist and cannabis science expert, walk us through what you need to know.

Pre-legalization, policing of Cannabis was disproportionally excessive and punitive to BIPOC and poor folk of Canada. While Cannabis is now legal, thousands are still saddled with cannabis convictions preventing them from employment opportunities, international travel, and or joining volunteer groups. Although federal legislation “Bill-93 - No-fee, Expedited Pardons for Simple Possession of Cannabis” has received royal assent, the complicated process of applying to have a criminal record removed remains prohibitive. In this episode, Aisha Abawajy explains how her organization, Cannabis Amnesty, is fighting for this community. When many people with a cannabis record hope to obtain a Pardon, Ms. Abawajy explains why Expungement should be the ultimate goal. During discussions with Trevor, Kirk reflects on how “white privilege” may have influenced his own past recreational cannabis use. 

On July 23, 1983 at an altitude of 41,000 feet, Air Canada Flight 143 travelling between Montreal and Edmonton ran out of fuel because of confusion between metric and imperial measurements. However, the crew of the Boeing 767 successfully landed the passenger jet in Manitoba’s Interlake in what is now known as the Gimli Glider. That intrepid flight crew applied their years of training and experience to an unprecedented situation to become heroes. Much like when a PhD with international training in biochemistry, genetics and pharmaceutical manufacturing successfully glides into the cannabis space. Meet Dr. Brent Guppy and BioScision Pharma. This wide-ranging conversation covers sexing plants, topicals with microbial contamination, testing cannabis for heavy metals and our new favorite word to try to say five times fast “nanoemulsions”. Did we mention BioScision’s retail line, Hwy 59 Cannabis, has a vape cart named after the famous unpowered Boeing 767 that landed in a certain Icelandic town?

What is the evidence? Where are the studies? There is no proof that cannabis can treat anything! Well…What if I told you there are lots of studies showing that cannabis has medical benefits? What if there was a study going on right now in Sarnia looking at Cannabis and Dementia in Long Term Care (LTC) homes? Dr. Blake Pearson and his partners in Lambton County are the epitome of “Think Global, Act Local”. They are tackling the pervasive problem of dementia in all LTC homes by seeing if cannabis can improve it in their local LTC system. Their study also measures if cannabis use in Dementia patients can help reduce Care Giver Burnout. This exciting research on the shores of Lake Huron is adding to the growing mountain of cannabis as medicine. We also take a left turn into “Green Washing”, but it is not what you think. Come have a listen.

We had a plan. Back in March 2020, Kirk and Trevor were going to host an event that served cannabis infused food in a restaurant in Dauphin. Then, the world shut down with the pandemic. As we're coming out of the pandemic, we thought we'd revive the plan, but the Manitoba Government gave us a hard no. Now we're talking to Nathan Mison, from Diplomat Consulting, for a brief history of cannabis legalization in Canada, what regulations are different in which provinces and maybe a way to resurrect our dream to throw a cannabis consumption event, properly.

Brent Alarie is informed he has COPD, then it was multiple sclerosis. No wait, he receives another diagnosis of blood cancer. These were just a few of the catastrophic verdicts given to describe how his body was betraying him. He needed to create change and prepare for his enviable death. With a new bucket list he started living his best life under the circumstances. A six-year painful journey, of the most insane symptoms and being bounced from one diagnosis to another, finally comes to an end. Brent is told he has chronic Lyme Disease. A new journey begins with learning to live with the on-going symptoms of Lyme and regular pharmaceuticals do not help with the chronic nerve-pain. He was never a drug-guy, but after a friend gave him Cannabis, he finds therapeutic relief. Brent shares how he now balances his life with nutrition and Cannabis. Kirk and Trevor bring their second story on how Cannabis brings relief to people suffering from this Monster sickness in which we call Lyme Disease.

Kirk and Trevor bring you a Road Story that they didn’t need to leave home to find. A Mobile Cannabis Shop parked at Dauphin’s Countryfest, Canada’s longest running country music festival. Delta 9, Manitoba’s own Licensed Producer, made history as this was the first Mobile Cannabis store in Canada! The Delta 9 Mobile Cannabis Store was licensed by the Liquor Gaming and Cannabis Authority of Manitoba to sell cannabis at the 2022 Dauphin’s Countryfest site and again the 2022 Rockin’ the Fields of Minnedosa site later in the summer. Marshall Posner, Chief Marketing Officer for Delta 9, explained the nuances of selling cannabis at an outdoor summer music festival and how this was a history making event. Did Cannabis bring a new “chill” to Canada’s hottest country music festival? Have a listen and discover Cannabis is on the Go in Manitoba.

Dr. Jen Anderson wasn’t very interested in cannabis. As a newly minted family physician, it just wasn’t on her radar. She wasn’t against it. But cannabis just wasn’t going to be a tool in her tool box, professionally. She became a mom, and one of her children started having seizures. Lots of seizures. After exhausting all the regular anti-seizure medications, she tried cannabis on her child. It helped. The cannabis helped a lot. But some of her colleagues in neurology were not happy she was giving her child cannabis. Without the cannabis, Dr. Anderson believed her son could die. Then the neurologist said words no parent wants to hear, “Well, yes he could…” You’ll just have to listen to hear how the twists and turns play out. 

The Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club (VCBC) is no stranger to defending the services that a compassion club can deliver. For decades, the VCBC has supported individuals with chronic and or life-threatening diseases by providing aid not available from government health systems. Kirk once again visits this west coast healing community. He examines how this celebrated organization is now fighting a $6.4 million fine levied against them as an unlicensed dispensary. Founder Ted Smith, a tenacious defender of human rights, explains this current challenge, the club’s relationships with growers, and the help his staff provides the medical cannabis community.

You've said the word concussion. You might even have had one. But do you really understand them? Did you know a concussion is a minor traumatic brain injury? Dr. Patrick Neary and his team got a grant from the NFL to study if cannabis can help prevent or treat concussions! Dr. Neary explains, you don't have to actually bang your head to get a concussion. We've often said you don't have to like cannabis to enjoy this podcast. But, if you listen to this episode while rhythmically shaking your mullet forwards and back, we think you'll elevate your knowledge about both.