Brave New Weed

This episode originally released as episode 80.  Not many of us think of adding 1mg of melatonin with THC to ensure a deeper, longer night’s sleep… or blending ashwagandha with CBD to better cope with stress…or mixing St. John’s Wort with cannabinoids to better cope with pain. But Dr. Kevin Spelman is a molecular biologist, industry consultant and a clinician who has observed that a mix of plant medicines can be more healing than just one individual plant on its own. Spelman is that rare breed of scientist whose worldview integrates the wisdom of the east and the hard science of the west. He has worked as an Ayurvedic clinician and alongside Chinese medicine practitioners as well as being a researcher at the National Institutes of Health. It was in the NIH labs where he learned just how skeptically plant science was viewed by his colleagues. “When I spoke about certain molecules, my colleagues were all in,” he told me before I recorded this podcast, “but the minute I started talking about medicinal plants they’d turn suspect. I could almost see the thought bubble appear above their heads: ‘Quack! This guy can’t possibly be for real.’” This podcast is full of very real science about the mysterious world of plant medicines. In it, Spelman broaches three areas I want you to know about. Herbal allies. Especially relevant in the time of COVID-19 are the benefits of using echinacea, astragalus, and ashwagandha to strengthen our immune response. But he also explains that these substances should be combined thoughtfully rather than randomly thrown together. “One of the classic mistakes naturopaths make is just putting all in there. When you combine things properly you can induce emergent properties that you wouldn’t see with just one compound.” Low dose cannabinoids. We are big proponents of low dose cannabis medicines on this podcast. Spelman points out that there is a scientific phenomenon called “hormesis” in which a low dose of a substance, like cannabis or psilocybin, can have beneficial results while a higher dose can cause symptoms to worsen. “I had a lot of sciatica pain, maybe a 6 or 7 out of 10," he says, "and I didn’t want to use THC because my job demands I be critically observant. I found a sub-threshold dose of less than 1.5 mg of THC allowed me to work clear headed without a lot of pain.” Diet. Spelman points out that modern society is drugging illnesses that can be traced to what he calls a “phytonutrient deficiency.” His solution is the same that Michael Pollan arrived at while writing The Omnivore’s Dilemma: “Eat more plants.” Listen in to learn more on this emerging field, and be sure to read Kevin’s most recent blog on Powering Up Your Immune Response with Cannabinoids and Botanicals.And  please read "Practical COVID Tips as We Open" (and musical accompaniment) by the always impressive Dr. Jeff Chen at UCLA. We can't rely on the administration to give reliable info so we must rely on the smartest scientists we know. Jeff is another one worth listening to.

This episode originally released as episode 40 . This interview with Dr. Julie Holland marks the 40th podcast in the Brave New Weed series and it’s one of our best yet. As a podcaster I can often map out the route a discussion will take, but this conversation with Julie ebbed and flowed in the most delightfully surprising ways. I never knew where it was leading. What I did know was that every turn it took was more interesting than the last.In this episode, we discuss: CBD and dental pain and how this remarkable cannabinoid calms nerve irritation What an orgasm and a delicious meal have in common (you never even thought to ask, did you?) Why men have nipples The real danger of masturbating to porn Screenophilia (or the reason why the next generation is falling in love with their screens) Curing your runny nose with psychedelicsHow cannabinoids can help cure our country’s PMS.   Tune in and share it widely. As cannabis becomes more mainstream and a broader swath of people shake off the yoke of prohibition, so many more conversations about the plant’s powers are taking place. Our mission is to stay at the forefront of these conversations and lead the way in the post-Prohibition era. If you value independent explorations such as these, free of advertising and the traditional constraints imposed by mainstream media, please support on us on Patreon. For less than the price of a coffee in NYC your donation can help us continue this work. We do this for love, not money, and we appreciate any help you can offer to keep the love flowing. And where else will you learn why men have nipples?

RECUT from Episode 106: Many people who use substances say that they create a deeper connection with “god,” “nature” or their own “spiritual” selves. Yet most organized religions are averse to plant medicines including psilocybin, ayahuasca, peyote and cannabis. Christians call these entheogens (plants that when ingested produce higher states of consciousness) false gods and warn against them for a host of reasons, primarily because they don’t want adherents straying from the flock.Buddhists use different words but similarly proscribe intoxicants that lead users into states of “mindlessness” or “carelessness.” But as an intermittent traveler in spiritual circles I can assure you substance use among Western spiritual teachers is far more widespread than openly admitted. So many of them use psychedelics and cannabis, but maintain a well-guarded “conspiracy of silence,” as this week’s guest, Stephen Batchelor, puts it.Batchelor is an esteemed teacher, writer, artist, and Buddhist scholar, who is best known for his secular approach to Buddhism and his openness to using entheogens to deepen his own contemplative practices. At 18, he went to India, where he was ordained as a Buddhist monk in 1974. He traveled, first to Germany and then South Korea, where he left the Tibetan tradition to train in Zen Buddhism. But in 1985 he disrobed, married and moved to France, where he and his wife still live in a small village near Bordeaux. His work has centered around developing a more modern, universalist approach to Buddhism, one that integrates the truths of tradition with the needs of our time.“The bulk of Buddhist teachers set out on this path through psychedelics and cannabis in the 1960s and 70s,” Batchelor, 68, told me. “But Buddhism, for many reasons, is too trapped in its own history. It appears user friendly but scratch the surface and you’ll hit a bedrock of moralism. It’s heavily committed to certain dogmas that it won’t or can’t release.”If you are interested in Batchelor's secular approach to this religion, I recommend Buddhism Without Beliefs, Confession of a Buddhist Atheist, and his most recent, The Art of Solitude, which was written before COVID but helped me mightily during the darker days of lockdown and forced isolation. It’s my honor to have Stephen as a guest and my pleasure to share the conversation with you.

This episode is brought to you courtesy of Nirvana Dispensaries in Oklahoma. Check out my interview with Adam Lasi, CEO, who explains why Oklahoma is the country's most dynamic cannabis market. As I explain in more detail on this podcast, this will be the last recording for a few weeks. I am taking some time off to absorb and reflect upon the many changes this year has brought. Before saying good bye I want to leave you with this wonderful podcast on The Endocannabinoid Diet and to thank the Nirvana Group for sponsoring this episode. When Dr. Chin first described the Endocannabinoid Diet, my ears perked up. While she's still developing the thesis more thoroughly, I thought I'd bring you this peak into her observations. This from her desk: The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is the largest neurotransmitter system in our body. It modulates responses to internal and external stimuli and it is activated by both endocannabinoids (produced in the brain and body) and phytocannabinoids (produced from plants). Many people are not producing optimal amounts of endocannabinoids -- some experts are calling this an endocannabinoid deficiency. Studies have shown that patients with chronic pain and inflammation -- that often underlie at migraines, fibromyalgia, depression, PTSD, ADHD, weight gain, and irritable bowel syndrome -- have lower levels of anandamide, one endocannabinoid produced by our body. The vexing question to date is: What causes low levels of endocannabinoids? There’s no simple answer. If you’re experiencing pain and inflammation, not sleeping well or having difficulty with mood, anxiety, stress, or concentration, your ECS may be out of balance. According to Dr. Bruno, nutrition professor of Huntington University of Health Sciences, recent research suggests that in some cases, “A diet low in phytocannabinoids—low in plant foods—may also play a role. The fact is, inadequate levels of endocannabinoids may be associated with their production, metabolism, or the state of cannabinoid receptors. ”To learn more about how changing your diet to include more cannabinoids can impact your health, listen in!

"Biology, geography, botany, culture, linguistics. Weed is like wine -- it’s not about one single thing. You have to learn about a set of things together. That's what makes them both so beguiling."

Mindbloom is the first treatment for depression and anxiety that "alchemizes psychedelics, software, substances, content and human care into personalized at home experience." What if you could order a weeks-long course of psychedelic medicines that is delivered to your door and then you are guided through each journey by a therapist and an integration coach over Zoom? What if that therapy could change the neural pathways in your brain to enable new cognitive insights and healthier thinking and emotional patterns and at the same time, help you to break old ones that are causing you distress? What if that therapy were legal in one half of the United States and costs less than your 50-minute hour on the couch with your current talk therapist?  Our guest this week is Dylan Beynon, founder + CEO of Mindbloom, the first Ketamine-therapy-in-a-box-solution [my phrase] aimed at healing depression and anxiety. This therapeutic modality was created with the contributions of pioneering psychiatrists and psychedelic researchers and, as Beynon says, “it alchemizes psychedelics, software, substances, content and human care into personalized, at home experience.”  Beynon has been named a "Top 25 Consumer HealthTech Executive" and one of the "Top 100 Most Influential People in Psychedelics." But his route to Mindbloom started as a teenager growing up with a mother who suffered from a mental illness that rocked his family. Psychedelic experiences sparked a fundamental emotional shift that finally set him on a path towards healing and growth, which he discusses in detail on this most excellent podcast.  To learn more, check out Mindbloom.com. And if psychedelic therapy is a topic of interest, you should definitely listen to Episode 114 with Dr. Erica Zelfand.

“As a psychiatry resident I wondered if cannabis does to people what catnip does to cats. That turns out to be a completely incorrect assumption.” This episode is brought to you courtesy of Trichome Institute, providers of most excellent cannabis education and certification programs. Trichome courses enable you to Weed Better! Dr. Godfrey Pearlson, the esteemed neuroscientist, researcher, and author of Weed Science talks with me about how our favorite plant works in the brain, heart (and maybe even the soul) of human beings On this episode the esteemed neuroscientist, Yale professor, and author Dr. Godfrey Pearlson, joins me to talk about what we know and don’t know about the way cannabis works in our brains (and hearts, and maybe our souls, too). This episode could also be called “Cannabis: The Good, The Bad and The Mysterious and if you tune in you'll learn:The Good: Why colors seem more vibrant, why time moves more slowly, why so many musicians say they find more space between notes when using cannabis.The Bad: We explore the evidence linking cannabis to psychotic illnesses as well as the paradoxical evidence showing that ultra-high doses of CBD reduces some psychotic symptoms. We also explore the evidence between lethal car crashes in states that have legalized -- and why this is not a reason to continue the prohibition.The Mysterious: Many topics of interest here, but one of great interest to me: why so many of us need less cannabis to get high as you age.And finally, for all of you who have always wondered if cannabis does to humans what catnip does to cats, the answer is revealed within!

The jury's still out on the newest cannabinoid to take the world by storm -- Delta-8 THC. Is it safe, legal, or an interesting high? On this episode two wise men with competing points of view weigh in.

Dr. Erica Zelfand, MD, naturopath and psychedelic therapist, discusses the science and spiritual connection of psychedelics... Psilocybin, MDMA, Ibogaine, LSD, Ketamine & God!

Hemp gets no respect -- until now! Trichome Institute's Max Montrose and Project Hemp Flower's Chris Fontes will change your mind about this humble and much maligned flower.