Once again, Kirk is on the road collecting stories, and never knowing where a story will take him. This road trip is in British Columbia where infused pre-rolls are the hottest summer blitz. Join Kirk and his dog River as they collect stories from cannabis stores, a vape shop, and while standing in a parking lot. We learn how bud tenders gain knowledge of cannabis: being an exit drug, assisting pregnant women, curing cancer, or just chilling at a town council meeting. You just never know what a Road Story will teach you about cannabis use.

Kirk catches up with Ted Smith from the Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club and his organization’s ill-defined existence within a country of legalized cannabis. We hear how Ted’s dreams, for this timeworn cannabis compassion club, are close to fruition yet there lingers potential for a new set of fines and a visit from the Public Health Authority impeding the full potential of this caring organization. In this episode we learn how the clouds preventing Ted from flying high are not simply from his new smoking lounge but rather the various levels of bureaucracy he must manage when putting compassion into action

The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell. That is what we learned in high school biology. But what if it is more? What if the mitochondria has receptors on it for cannabinoids? What if mitochondria move around the cell? What if mitochondria help produce chemical signals for the cell? What if mitochondria are involved in such diverse processes as epilepsy, mental health and aging itself? Hunter Land, PhD walks us through mitochondria and cannabinoids and so much more. Our preconceived notions about the powerhouse of the cell were blown out of the water. Let's see if yours are too!

One sunny evening in the summer of 2020, Kirk and Trevor had a meeting on Kirk's driveway. Even though all indoor meetings were taboo, they met someone bursting with excitement. Eric Greening's face lit up as he described the cannabis growing facility he envisioned building north east of Dauphin.  Four years, a pandemic, spiraling inflation and all the other unknown unknowns of building a facility and starting a business are now behind the persistent Mr. Greening. As proud Dauphinites, we are excited to say Greencraft Cannabis is now selling product! And.... after much pestering, we got a peek inside! Come with us on an audio tour of the facility. There is a cannabis "tree" whose trunk Trevor can't wrap his hand around, a sunset room with alien-looking golden light, the secrets of how you control tiny invaders when you can't use any pesticides, and so much more!

Ben Cameransi – Mingowood Pharmacal, LLC - Dr. Benjamin Cameransi, MD, DABA is a Board-Certified Anesthesiologist, with a entensive background in pain management. He has started four BioTech Companies. He was involved in the development of Ryanodex™, a treatment for Malignant Hyperthermia. But wait, there’s more… Acidic cannabinoids aren’t very stable when they are extracted and purified. Dr. Camersani’s team at Mingowood Pharmacal has a way to fix that.

Taz Turner - CordovaCann Corp - Taz has the top three attributes we look for in a guest. He knows where Manitoba is located. He’s a finance guy who spoke intelligently during his Capital Markets Panel. He is fun to chat to at a breakfast information session. Taz tells us how it is surprisingly difficult to get investment into the cannabis space in 2024. But, numbers and valuation guys like him (who also speak cannabis) are slowly convincing others that opportunities abound.

Melissa Moore - Professor, Cannabis Horticulture & Biology, SUNY Niagra Community College. Melissa Moore developed some of her horticultural chops in Northern California, but now passes on her knowledge in Buffalo, NY. She was very helpful getting pics of Trevor during his Capital Markets Panel and then she sparked some intense Aspergillus discussions. Professor Moore tells us why cleanliness is next to godliness in your grow room and, hear why Kirk is frothing at the mouth to pick her brain about how to grow plants better.

So many fantastic Canna-people to meet and talk to at CannMed 24! Here are the first batch of clips we got!

Ariane Williams & Megan Mbengue – Trusted Canna Nurse - There were so many nurses at CannMed 24! Our slightly biased co-host Kirk was ecstatic. He thinks more nurses makes every conference and everything else better! Ariane is the Director of Patient Services and “The Kind Nurse”. She’ll listen to your needs as a patient and guide you to personalized care. Megan is the Founder and CEO. She is a Social Media Content Queen with all things cannabis and runs the back end of Trusted Canna Nurse.

Jeff Smith -Professor, Strategic Partnership and Outreach Specialist at the Institute of Cannabis Research - Colorado State University Pueblo. The ICR is like the NIH (National Institutes of Health) of cannabis research in Colorado. The ICR funds research related to cannabis such as clinical research, biotechnologies, and economic development associated with cannabis in Colorado. Once the research is done, they publicly disseminate the results.

Clay W. Moore - Drug Discovery Scientist at Rare Earth Genomics. We first met Clay at CannMed 23. He is now a PhD student at Texas A&M. Clay needs bigger goals in life, because he is only trying to cure cancer with hemp extracts. He is also a part of Rare Earth Genomics (REG). REG wants to be your Swiss Army knife of hemp research projects. We talk to Clay about how REG could help Kirk with his potential Hemp-Crete dreams

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” 

Apparently, that isn’t really a Mahatma Gandhi quote. But it is a great sentiment. How we are teaching people about cannabis isn't great or sometimes it isn't happening at all. But, you can be part of the change and help shape the future!  Listen to Lisa Bishop PharmD, a Professor and Pharmacist at School of Pharmacy, Memorial University of Newfoundland, and Daniel Bear PhD, is the Director, Humber College Centre for Social Innovation, a Drugs Policy Researcher, and a Cannabis Policy Consultant, discuss a survey their team has developed. Along with their team, they’ve actually developed two surveys. And you really need to take at least one. Are you over 18 and have used or thought of using cannabis? They have a survey for you. Are you a pharmacist? They have a survey for you. Why should you take one of their surveys? Because they are going to use the info from these surveys to help pharmacists do a better job of teaching people about cannabis!

FYI - the actual quote is:

“We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. This is the divine mystery supreme. A wonderful thing it is and the source of our happiness. We need not wait to see what others do.” – Mahatma Gandhi