Do you have a favourite craft cannabis flower? Are you getting what you think you ordered? Think again. While attending the Calgary Hempfest, Kirk and Trevor gathered five Micro Cultivation License holders (plus a surprise cameo contributor!) to discuss the recreational cannabis retail space. The conversation revealed a complicated system of regulations, policies, and red tape which affect their ability to build brand loyalty. Although these passionate growers produce excellent weed, it is surprisingly difficult for their high quality, small batch, hand trimmed product to reach you, the consumer. Packaging, sale by lottery, and ambiguously named SKU's are some of the many convoluted rules of the game. Kirk and Trevor ponder whether the current recreational cannabis system actually prevents us from properly understanding the cannabis product we are purchasing, and how small cannabis producers might eventually break even.

Imagine an affordable home that will not burn or grow mould, while it also cleans the air within. Christina Goodvin, a self-described “Envelop and Building Science Engineer”, gathers locally sourced materials to build fire resistant homes that interact with the environments we live in. She uses hempcrete. Her hydrothermal designs will manage the indoor humidity, inhibit the transmission of bacteria, viruses, and fungi all at comparable prices to the construction costs of a conventional home. Kirk and Trevor marvel at how one small business uses cannabis to make our world a better place.

Ross Rebagliati, Michael Phelps, and Sha'Carri Richardson. Different athletes, different sports, and different eras. Tremendous athletic ability and years of arduous training aren't all they have in common. Their sporting careers have all been touched by cannabis. Dr. Mark Ware and his colleagues examined cannabis and elite athletes. What they found was captivating and thought provoking. Join Kirk and Trevor in the discussion.

Sharing stories is how we learn and connect. Kirk travels westward from Dauphin along North American’s most northern provincially connected highway system. Listen to the quirky, cool Bud Tenders stories he brought back from the road.

We are in an opioid crisis. Wouldn't it be great if we had another tool to taper people to a lower opioid dose or off their opioids altogether? A group of almost 20 experts got together and drew up consensus guidelines on how to taper opioids with cannabis. We got Aaron Sihota - Pharmacist, Dr. Brennan K. Smith, PhD, and Dr. Colleen O'Connell MD from the consensus guidelines group together virtually to discuss how the guidelines were drawn up and how cannabis can help fight the opioid crisis

Has Covid-19 affected your day-to-day? “Ah, yes!” We have all been touched; this virus has influenced behaviours within all of our communities and our condolences are extended to those who have lost love ones. This episode tells a story of an individual who recovered from Covid-19, only to suffer from debilitating symptoms long after the acute nature of the illness had passed. These are people referred to as “Long-Haulers.” Brittany (Peg City Hippie) explains how cannabis assists her with the long-term effects from the SARS-COV-2 virus. This is another extended My Cannabis Story from an individual willing to share with Kirk and Trevor.

Dr. Suzy Pinnick, a family physician specializing in palliative medicine and remote northern medicine, shares her cannabis story with Kirk. In this episode, the two health professionals sit in a casual masked conversation within the warmth of the NIC’s office of a northern nursing station during a deep Covid19 Canadian winter evening. She is quick to say she has very little knowledge of cannabis, yet believes it is important to learn. When she was asked by parents to prescribe cannabis for one of her pediatric palliative care patients, Dr. Pinnick quickly recognized how little she knew. Kirk brings the story to Trevor, how this experienced doctor is willing to learn as she practices; how she learns the art of medicine while applying the formal duties of a doctor.

Therapeutic cannabis use is to cancer, as salt and pepper is to the dinner table; ubiquitous yet individualized. In the past 20 years, oncologist Paul Daeninck, MD, MSc, MSc., FRCPC has not only seen cannabis slowly infiltrate personalized cancer care treatment plans, but also how it eventually changed a country’s relationship with an illegal drug. Although we trust the chef to properly season our food, we know why people should not use salt and some people simply will not like pepper. In this episode, Kirk and Trevor sit at the table, feeding on the knowledge of Winnipeg’s Top Pot Doc learning how cannabis seasons his practise. Kirk and Trevor quickly come to understand how this unassuming man is so admired for his leadership, compassion, and research within Cancer Care Manitoba network, which is the provincially mandated cancer agency providing clinical services to both children and adults.

One of a series of episodes focusing on cannabis use in opioid harm reduction, Kirk brings a story of one man’s experience. The episode follows a discussion Kirk has with Mr. Mark Heinrich who is “a craft cannabis farmer in Manitoba, Canada and pretty much a lifelong junkie and addict.” The episode follows Heinrich’s years of problematic substance use, leads us into his experiences with Methadone and how he self-medicates with cannabis. This episode is a very personal journey presented as information on how one man uses his medicine in harm reduction. Kirk and Trevor then discuss their personal views of Mark’s story; each approaching it through their individual professional lens.  

Philippe Lucas from Tilray comes on the discuss the TOPS (Tilray Observational Patient Study).  It looked at around 2000 medical cannabis patients across Canada prospectively and gather tons of data.  Some of the most interesting findings include medicating with cannabis seems to reduce opioid use and the use of prescription medications in general.  Plus, there was no signal that the study participants wanted more and more cannabis which implies limited drug seeking and addition behaviors from medical cannabis.  Numbers, data, cannabis, a great chat with Philippe, are you as excited as Trevor about this one?  Have a listen.