Patient Advocacy and Highlights of the East Coast’s First Cannabis Science Conference

The Cannabis Science Conference was a great experience and we hope you made it! There’s no denying the hefty price tag. But the resources, panels, exhibitors, doctors, keynote speakers and so many more helped create a very educational experience.

This was the conference’s first time expanding to the east coast. If you weren’t able to make it to Baltimore, we’ll get you caught up to speed with our takeaways. Patient advocates need more opportunities like this.

 

Scheril Murray Powell, Esquire’s Panel Recap: Impact of Language in Cannabis Law

Scheril Murray Powell, Esquire is the President of Green Sustainable Strong, LLC. And she provided an exceptional panel, especially as a Black woman in a market where they’re highly marginalized.

Scheril Murray Powell, Esquire
Scheril Murray Powell, Esquire / Photo courtesy of LinkedIn

It was a lesson in semantics and understanding the weight of our vocabulary when pushing for legalization. Essentially, she gave pro tips on how to play ball in various areas that the law touches.

Areas of cannabis law to consider? Family, administrative, real estate, international law and more.

Our education can’t stop at knowing the ins and outs of the plant. It includes navigating spaces where we can reshape the narrative of cannabis.

You can follow Powell on social media, and check out her companies, Canna Headhunters and Cannurban online.

 

 

Dr. Sisley Panel’s Recap: Vaping Flower & PTSD Research

Dr. Sue Sisley
Dr. Sue Sisley / Photo courtesy of Facebook

Another great panelist was Dr. Sue Sisley. She’s one of the few researchers exploring vaporized flower’s effect on conditions. And she recently wrapped up research for military veterans with PTSD.

Because of her work with veterans, she has a site you can volunteer and contribute research! It’s a research hub for medical patients to volunteer their personal experiences for research. It’s HIPAA compliant and you can add your pets.

Feel free to reach out to her on her Twitter for more information about what’s she doing and about the research she’s involved in!

 

Deep-diving into Weed the People

Weed the People shows how “Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein reveal the personal stories of those whose lives are caught up in the cannabis medicine controversy.”

Tracy Ryan, the creator of CannaKids, and her family
Tracy Ryan, the creator of CannaKids, and her family / Photo courtesy of weedthepeoplemovie.com

It was shown during after-hours of the conference at the National Aquarium, followed by Q&A for key members of the production team.

There were two major stories that stood out. Tracy Ryan, the creator of CannaKids and documentary participant, was present. Her daughter Sophie suffers multiple life-harming conditions and has survived and healed thanks to cannabis.

Her journey stood out in that before CannaKids, she worked with Aunt Zelda’s, a medical cannabis company. When Tracy started making her own cannabis oil, it created tension with Aunt Zelda’s founder Mara Gordon.

Mere mention of Mara’s name caused a discomforting stir during Q&A (thanks to our copywriter Alaina asking!). It was a weird dynamic: where the question wasn’t answered and Ricki Lake moved onto the next subject.

The second story was about a Black family featured in the film. Unlike the other (White) families, this family didn’t get a happy ending. Their son passed away.

This begs the question of what limitations existed that prevented that family from possibly saving their son sooner.

Weed the People also presented the restorative justice organization Cage Free Cannabis.

 

Connecting Patients and Medical Professions, Right?

Montel Williams being interviews by cannabis writer, Alaina Dorsey
Montel Williams being interviewed at the Cannabis Science Conference by cannabis writer, Alaina Dorsey.

The Cannabis Science Conference is a welcome addition to Maryland and we look forward to seeing it again next year!

It does beg the question: how much of the panel information is getting to the patient community? For those with financial barriers, being unable to attend means a restriction of knowledge.

Montel Williams, prolific Baltimore native and former talk show host, highlighted in his fiery speech that patients need to come first. And those in the industry for profit can cause people who need help to fall through the cracks.

CSC aims to bridge the gap between medical professionals, advocates, patients and business owners. We hope a patient-centered conference becomes reality sooner than later.

Interested in checking out some of highlights of the conference? Head over to our Instagram! Videos and pictures of our experience at CSC can be found in the highlights on our profile page under “Out and About” and “Out and About II.”

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