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“Curious About Cannabis?” Webinar

 

“Curious About Cannabis?” Webinar 

The focus of this presentation was to help the listener get a basic understanding of why cannabis is a safe and effective medicine and why it is so versatile.

This webinar is no longer available to view online.  Look for our forthcoming book, Chronic Relief: A guide to cannabis for the terminally & chronically ill on the same subject matter.

In less than an hour you will walk away with a quick overview of how cannabis works with our internal harm reduction system to help the body manage symptoms and support healing. Highly respected cannabis expert, Dr. Sunil K. Aggarwal answered questions from the audience after the presentation for 15-20 minutes.

Who Should Watch?

  • Anyone seeking relief from pain or illness
  • Anyone who has questions about medical cannabis
  • Anyone considering supporting our crowdfunding campaign
  • Skeptics of medical cannabis

What Will You Learn?

The webinar is packed with excellent information from our forthcoming book Chronic Relief: A guide to cannabis for the terminally & chronically ill. Participants will learn the following:

  1. Why cannabis is a safe and effective medicine & for what illnesses.
  2. How therapeutic goals drive intake methods and cannabis use.
  3. Why knowledge of cannabinoid content is better than the “hit-or-miss” approach

 

Speaker & Webinar Host: Nishi Whiteley

Nishi Whiteley

Nishi (Sounds like Nee-sha) is the creator of www.mychronicrelief.com and the author of the  upcoming book Chronic Relief: A guide to cannabis for the terminally and chronically ill.  She will share with the audience the foundation of her book which is based on basic premise that cannabis is a safe and effective medicine. She will explain why and how cannabis has extraordinary promise for generating advances in science and public health. Nishi was inspired to write the book and become a voice for medical cannabis education after her mother’s positive experience with cannabis at the end of her battle with lung cancer.  Nishi is a business development consultant and executive coach working with small and medium sized businesses and entrepreneurs to help them identify and communicate what they do best while building a more sustainable and profitable business.  She is a graduate of Texas A&M University where she received a Master of Agriculture in Agricultural Development.  She also teaches yoga two nights a week in the farming community where she grew up.

Question & Answer Session: Dr. Sunil K. Aggarwal

Sunil Aggarwal

Dr. Sunil Kumar Aggarwal (M.D., 2010, Ph.D., Medical Geography, 2008, University of Washington, NIH-supported Medical Scientist Training Program) is an Associate Member of the New York Academy of Medicine and a Resident in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at large academic medical facility in New York City. As a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, he conducted human studies of medical cannabis use under the first-ever granted federal Certificates of Confidentiality which protected 176 enrolled study subjects recruited both from sites of both cannabis delivery and medical consultation.  He is published in the journals of Pain medicine, Hospice and Palliative Medicine, General Medicine, and Law, in addition to a book chapter for the general public and a chapter in a supportive oncology textbook.  He is a frequent contributor to The Huffington Post and Alternet.org.  Read his writings and watch his videos at http://cannabinologist.org/. Follow him on Twitter @humansunil and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SunilAggarwalMDPhD.  We were honored to have him join us!

Julie Chiaiello with Magic-Flight also joined us to explain the benefits of vaporization.  Thank you for your insights.

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RocketHub Funding Sought to Publish Cannabis Guide

WaWhoooo! We have successfully launched our crowdfunding campaign on Rocket Hub! Our goal is to raise $18K to cover the cost of publishing our book Chronic Relief: A guide to cannabis for the terminally and chronically ill.  Who knew publishing is so expensive?  But we consider it a great investment in spreading knowledge about healing powers of cannabis. The following is our official press release.  Click here for the downloadable version.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                                                

RocketHub Funding Sought to Publish Cannabis Guide for the Sick & Suffering

Book Explains How & Why Cannabis Works as Medicine

Chronic Relief launches rocket hub campaign for cannabis guideAustin, Texas – Curious about cannabis (aka marijuana)?  Author Nishi Whiteley launches a Rocket Hub campaign to generate capital to publish her book, Chronic Relief: a guide to cannabis for the terminally & chronically ill. Whiteley was inspired to write the book after her mother had such a positive experience with cannabis at the end of her battle with lung cancer.  “Cannabis gave my mom relief that her prescription medications did not,” said Whiteley.  “I want others to have the benefit of my mother’s experience.” Whiteley has written a compelling book that is part personal narrative, part research paper and part practical guide allowing readers to decide if cannabis is right for them and how to proceed.  While the book is packed with scientific references, it is written in layman’s terms intended for those new to cannabis. The book will help the reader understand:

  • Why cannabis is a safe and versatile medicine
  • How it works in the body to protect the brain, fight cancer, slow aging, and reduce pain and inflammation
  • Intake methods
  • Risks of cannabis use & ways to mitigate them
  • Components of cannabis and how they address various symptoms.

Why Crowdfund on Rocket Hub?

RocketHub is one of the many crowdfunding platforms that makes it possible for like-minded people to come together to fund ideas, projects and products that are important to them.  Whiteley intends to raise $18,000 or more to cover the cost of professional editing, indexing, design, illustration and publishing the book. The campaign will last 45 days.

Medicinal Cannabis Fights Pain & Inflammation?

Twenty states plus the District of Columbia have some sort of medical marijuana laws.  Over 83% of American support legalization of medical marijuana and in 2012 the states of Colorado and Washington voted to legalize cannabis for personal and medicinal use.  In 2012 over two million Americans held medical cannabis cards.

Whiteley says, “Americans are curious about cannabis.  They are beginning to realize that much of the information they have been taught about cannabis is based on misinformation and fear, not science and reason. It is time we bring science to the forefront of the conversation about cannabis and dissolve the cloud of shame, secrecy and controversy around the use of this legitimate medicine and empower millions of people to get the relief they deserve.”

Who Can This Book Help?

With over 100 million Americans suffering in chronic pain, she expects her project will resonate with people who are not getting the relief they need from their prescription medicines.   Whiteley says of Rocket Hub, “I really appreciate their willingness to approve our project and give us the platform to connect with our audience to raise awareness about cannabis and get the information to the people who need it the most.  We have a pain and sickness problem in this country.  Cannabis can help. And, Rocket Hub is helping us get that message out!” Join and follow the Chronic Relief campaign at http://www.rockethub.com/projects/32069-chronic-relief-cannabis-guide-for-the-terminally-chronically-ill

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Vicente Fox: Against Cannabis Prohibition

Vicente Fox, the Former President of Mexico – and one of my all time favorite politicians/global leaders – has been on the speaking circuit urging a reversal of cannabis prohibition in Mexico and the United States.  In the attached video, Fox makes a compelling argument for why cannabis prohibition has failed and how changing this could positively impact the U.S. and Mexico economies and reduce violence.

Since the early 1990’s I have followed closely the Mexican economy, politics and culture. Much of my graduate work was focused on agricultural trade with Mexico.  After graduation, I spent several months there learning the language and traveling around the country.  While I bleed red, white and blue and get teary-eyed at the sound of the Star Spangled Banner, I also love Mexico.

When I joined the working world, I landed a private industry job that had me working closely with the Consulate of Mexico in Houston helping develop trade relationships between businesses in Texas and Mexico.  This work led me to travel in some fairly interesting circles which resulted in meeting then Governor Fox and later President Fox.  He is impressive, dynamic and a powerful force for change for whatever he deems a priority.  Among his many positive traits, I most admire his resolve to speak openly about difficult and often controversial topics.  As you can see in this video he does so with grace and eloquence.

 Thank you to High Times Magazine for this excellent video

Drug Violence

President Fox has declared that his highest post-presidential priority is to reduce violence in Mexico.  He believes that ending U.S. and Mexican cannabis prohibition would do that. He says that “the war on drugs [began] by President Nixon over 40 years ago has been a total failure.” He continues to say that the policies set forth by Mexico’s former President Calderon did nothing to reduce the killing, crime or usage of cannabis. “Every day an additional 40 kids being are killed.  This has to be stopped.  We need to get out of the idea and paradigm that prohibitions works and the paradigm that violence defeats violence,” said Fox.  He views current American and Mexican drug policy as totally mistaken and wants to help lead the effort to find new and better solutions.

Cannabis Prohibition Creates a Black Market Economy

He estimates that $50 billion USD are generated on the U.S. black market by the Mexican cartels and then taken back to Mexico to fuel the violence.  While cannabis is not the cartel’s only business, it is an important part of their business.  Legalizing cannabis would create a shift in the U.S. economy turning a significant portion of that $50 billion cartel income from criminal activity to legitimate businesses generating important tax revenue at the local, state and federal level while increasing the safety for people who choose to purchase cannabis and reducing drug related violence.

Regulation not Cannabis Prohibition

Mr. Fox advocates moving from cannabis prohibition to regulation.  His strategy also includes funding for medical research  medical.  He says, “not only God created us free, the founding fathers of this nation are committed to freedom but at the same time with the idea that governments do not have the right to intervene in my consciousness, to intervene in my behavior, to intervene in my decisions unless I affect a third party. Then, the states and government have the right to intervene.   But if not, it shouldn’t happen. So again, ethical and moral reasons sustain the idea of moving up prohibition and start working on the road of information and regulation.”

My years of work in U.S./Mexico trade taught me that our economies and cultures are inextricably linked.  Cannabis prohibition and violence go hand and hand.  An enormous opportunity to reduce violence and stimulate the North American economy exists if the U.S. and Mexico can work together to create thoughtful cannabis policy.

 This blog is written by  Nishi Whiteley. Nishi is a business development and marketing consultant and a cannabis advocate. Please visit www.MyChronicRelief.com for more information about medical cannabis.

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Speak Up About Cannabis

For the last two weeks, vigorous debate on a law that would greatly restrict abortion and women’s health has unfolded in my home state of Texas.  Watching the debate and legislation unfold has me thinking about the power of the voice of one person.  Regardless of the issue, your voice counts. Even when the outcome does not go your way.

At this time, our current cannabis laws do not reflect the desire of the majority of the people.  I would like to think that elections and legislation reflect the will of the people, but that is not always the case.  I’m not even sure that is the case the majority of the time.

Speak Up About Cannabis – Why It Matters

Part of the group that choose to testify in support of Texas House Bill HB594 that would make it legal for doctors to discuss cannabis with their patients and for a judge to have the option to dismiss marijuana possession charges for people with a medical marijuana defense. The bill did not get out of committee. Regardless 18 people found the courage to speak in support of the bill. No one spoke in opotion. At the least we educated many people who may have previously been unaware of the medical efficacy of cannabis.
Part of the group that testified in support of Texas House Bill HB594. The bill would have made it legal for doctors to discuss cannabis with their patients & for a judge to have the option to dismiss marijuana possession charges for people with a medical marijuana defense. The bill did not get out of committee. Regardless 18 people found the courage to speak in support of the bill. No one spoke in opposition. At the least we educated many people who may have previously been unaware of the medical efficacy of cannabis.

Why is that?  My hypothesis is that is all boils down to the difference between apathy and action.  The old adage, the squeaky wheel gets the grease is true.   Elections and legislation reflect the will of the entity with A) the loudest voices (read best organized and effective as messaging) and B) the one with the deepest pocket books because they are the squeaky wheels.

Abortion, gay marriage, cannabis, the environment, welfare, health insurance and immigration are hot issues of our time.  The minority of the population passionate about these issues are driving the debate and the outcome.  If you want a different outcome, speak up. The more people who speak up, the closer to the middle we move as a society – which I think is good.

Maybe you are afraid of how you will be judged if you speak up about cannabis.  What will be the repercussion of using your voice?  Will you be persecuted actively or passively in some way?  Will you be labeled?  I was silent on many of these issues for a long time.  Who did that serve?  NO ONE!  Finding your voice and using it for what matters to you is empowering. 

When did we become so afraid of disagreeing?  Discussing our point of view is how we come to understanding one another.  This is the only way we can find middle ground and poke holes in each other’s thinking.  Without such discourse how do we come to some type of an agreement?

3 Simple ways you can exercise your voice to speak up about cannabis:

  1. Talk to family and friends.  Start a conversation with people about the topic with the intent to understand their position.  When we understand what is important to people and where their fear originates we can begin a meaningful discussion.
  2. Support an organization.  There are many well organized cannabis groups that lead organized efforts at the local, state and national levels to raise awareness about cannabis laws and cannabis science.  Supporting them financially, signing their petitions and sharing their newsletters and social media are easy things to do.  They make it easy for your voice to be heard.
  3. Communicate with your elected officials.  Most elected officials want to hear from you.  Go see them in person, meet with their aide, call them and state your position on a certain issues and ask for their support of your position (they track those calls to know what their constituents want), write them, message them on social media!  They should be working for you.  If they don’t hear from you how can they effectively represent you?

3 Tips for Successful CommunicationSpeak Up About Cannabis

Unfortunately it can be easy for people to get highly emotional when speaking about a topic for which they have great passion.  This often gets in the way of effective communication.  Here are a few things, I have found along the way that have helped me speak up about cannabis and engage people in discussion. These three basic principles have made it possible for me to successfully open a dialogue with people about cannabis and made it easier for them be willing to listen to my position:

  1. Be well informed.  When you have the facts straight people respect that.  Vague or not well researched information quickly destroys your credibility. If you are sharing anecdotal information don’t be afraid to call it that.  Your observations and experiences count as being well informed.
  2. Share personal stories.  You personal story makes you relatable.  When someone can put themselves in your shoes, they may hear what you have to say more openly.  It is at that point that you have a higher likelihood of helping someone understand your position and maybe change theirs.
  3. It is OK to disagree, but don’t be disagreeable.  Civility is critical to successful communication.  We can attack a person’s view point without attacking them.  Once you attack the person, they likely can no longer hear you.

Taking a position on an issue such as cannabis can be a bit scary if you have not done so before.  It is especially the case if you feel like taking a stand could harm you professionally or socially.  Although it has taken me a year to work through this for myself, I have come to the conclusion that if I don’t stand up for what I believe in, who will?

What do you believe?

The blog is written by Nishi Whiteley the creator of www.MyChronicRelief.com.  The website is intended to curate the most credible information about medical cannabis as a resource for the terminally and chronically ill.  Nishi is a business consultant and a cannabis advocate.  She can be reached at lane@mychronicrelief.com .