Dr. Jennifer Anderson joins the show for a bonus episode, where she tells her personal story of her son finding relief from his seizures through cannabis.Dr. Jen fought and endured backlash so that now she can not only provide care to her son but to more families, and so that she could influence Child Services and local lawmakers to allow children to travel with their cannabis medication.  Dr. Jen is helping lead the integration of cannabis education into the mainstream medical curriculum for Canadian medical residents. She and her colleagues are forming an initiative that will be a model for how cannabis plant medicine and Western medicine can coexist. 

Dr. Jen has demonstrated not only what plant medicine can do, but also the power of a community working together to support the child and the family in their healing journey. 

Key Takeaways From This Episode: 

• In 2015, Dr. Jen’s son started having seizures, and his epilepsy got continually worse, with dangerous and alarming side effects and symptoms occurring alongside them. 
• She tried many forms of treatment until he was turned around by cannabis. 
• As Dr. Jen began to advocate for the powers of cannabis, she was met with resistance from people both personally and professionally. 
• Dr. Jen worked underground for the first several years and knew that in order to change the system, the had to work with the system in medicine already set in place. This included medicine, dosage, and payment plans for the families looking to use cannabis. 
• Politicians are people too. Dr. Jen shares an emotional story about a little boy with a brain tumor that was able to travel because she was able to explain his situation to the governor and Minister of Health of that country. 
• One of the biggest barriers in the United States now is that law and research aren’t well informed and working collaboratively. 
• Dr. Jen started to make positive waves when she was able to show just how much cannabis had benefitted her son.
• Her county became the first in Canada to actually have cannabis in schools.
• Dr. Jen is now integrating cannabis into family care practice or residency for Family Care Practice because the endocannabinoid system is one most doctors do not learn about.  
• We are in a time where patients want more control, and they want more involvement in the care for themselves and for their loved ones. 

Quotes: 

• “You shouldn't have to be a physician to be able to get stuff for your child.” 
• “I never set out to change everything. I've always been somebody who says, well, why not?” 

• “How do we change the system while using the system, because implementing a new system is not usually effective.” 
• “ I think sometimes we have to start with that mindset that these parents, 99% of them, want the best for their kids. And we just need to help make that possible.” 

For more resources visit Kara Ware Coaching S4. Ep5. Thank you for joining Nathan and me as we reimagine Functional Medicine by discovering how to include cannabis into our Functional Medicine toolbox. 

Dr. Jennifer Anderson

Anything Can Happen Doc

In this final episode, we'd like to talk to you about the future of cannabis and more specifically, the future of cannabis research, products, and medicine.

Policy

• Marijuana Policy Project

Research

•  Multidisciplinary Center for Cannabinoid Research (or MCCR)
• Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research Journal.
•  Dr. Ethan Russo CBG observational study

Genetics

• CYP2cC9 rs1057910.  which preliminary research which upcoming research is suggesting it might affect THC metabolism if the enzyme works too slow. This could mean a buildup or the development of toxic end products if the corresponding enzyme is working too slowly.
• FAAH rs324420. A lot of work has already been done to understand FAAH, which we’ve talked about plays a role in metabolism and might be a predisposition for cannabis addiction; check out Episode 4

   

   for more information.

College Certificates and Degrees

• Colorado State University, Bachelor of Science in Cannabis Biology and Chemistry. 
•  The University of Vermont is the first medical school in the nation to offer a professional certificate in cannabis and medicine for therapeutic use. 
• The American Cannabis Nurses Association also offers CEUs to nurses through its online cannabis curriculum.

CEUs for Providers

• Knox Docs Education-Five training modules on cannabis medicine provide important historical and contemporary context around cannabis use, before diving into the fundamental scientific study of the plant and physiology of the endocannabinoid system
• The Answer Page is a medical education resource that has been providing the highest quality accredited education to the healthcare community for over two decades. Awarded in the US and internationally, TheAnswerPage is now a recognized leader for providing comprehensive education on the endocannabinoid system and medical cannabis, pain medicine, and opioid prescribing practices. Content provides Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME – AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™), Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP), American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), American Psychological Association (APA), and American General Dentistry (AGD) credits.

To listen to the season in its entirety and learn how to include cannabis as part of the Functional Medicine toolbox, visit Karawarecoaching.com

Whether or not you decide to recommend cannabis in your practice, it is important to be familiar with basic aspects of therapeutic use, like quality, and method of intake, and what to consider when talking to patients about including cannabis in their care plan. So today we're going to cover the three most important things to know about choosing a product: quality, method of intake and delivery, and where to buy and why.

·   Marijuana Policy Project

·    Weedmaps

·    Leafly

Thank you for joining Nathan and me as we reimagine Functional Medicine by discovering how to include cannabis into our Functional Medicine toolbox.