(upbeat music) - Welcome to "Inspire" Coming up, we'll continue our inspire special mini series "Cannabis in Kansas."

With a discussion on the medicinal side of cannabis, the medicine of cannabis coming up next on "Inspire".

Stay with us.

(upbeat music) - [Announcer] "Inspire" is sponsored by Kansas Furniture Mart using furniture to inspire conversation.

And by the Blanche Bryden foundation.

(upbeat music) - Hello and welcome to "Inspire" I am always delighted to be here with my lovely sisters, of course my cohost Betty Lou Pardue as well as Leslie Fleuranges.

- Danielle, I love being here with all of you and I'm honored to be a part of this important discussion to continue our Cannabis and Kansas miniseries.

- This is the second of our three part cannabis in Kansas mini-series.

Today we dive into the medicinal side of cannabis and I'm happy to reintroduce Kelly Rippel, co-founder of Kansans for Hemp and via zoom Amy Reid, President of Kansas Cannabis Coalition.

And also via zoom, we re-introduce Leigh Carr, general manager of Hippos Marijuana Dispensary.

Kelly Leigh and Amy, we're so glad you're here and Leigh we remember when you were here in season one and how we all decided, "You know, when we're ready to do this, "we wanna go to you because we need you as the concierge" But let's do start with the fact that this is now becoming into our medical community.

And I'd like to hear from each of you.

Kelly, would you start?

- Yes, so there is going to be a bill that the legislature picks up in January.

And as we've talked about previously, there was some very significant movement in 2021 for the big push to get a bill introduced so that we can establish a medical cannabis program that's regulated by the state.

And that will be picked up coming in January.

- Oh my gosh.

Amy, would you weigh in place?

- Yeah, absolutely.

So I feel like we're over the hump, as far as getting a legalization, a bill passed in the Kansas legislature.

Last year, we had a bill pass the House of Representatives, unprecedented it's never happened in Kansas to get a medical marijuana bill passed either of the administrative chambers.

So we were thrilled about that and now it sits in the federal and state affairs committee.

On the Senate side, there's been overwhelming support by senators and we're just super excited to see it, help us carry it to the next level.

- And Leigh, you were talking about HIPPOS and meaning do no harm.

So, this is particularly of interest to you.

- It is.

So I'm over on the Missouri side now, since we last talked.

I have stepped over to the medical industry over here in Missouri, as we still wait for Kansas to pass legislation.

So I am now the General Manager of a medical marijuana dispensary in Chesterfield, Missouri rights, outside of St. Louis and HIPPOS.

As you can see behind me stands for the Hippocratic Oath and to Do No Harm.

So we as nurses and doctors take an oath to do no harm to patients.

And here HIPPOS, we want to help patients by doing no harm to them and helping them with medical cannabis.

- So how receptive have doctors and nurses been on the Missouri side since Kansas is still kind of holding out a little bit?

Can you give us the reaction that you've gotten from the medical community?

- So we are about three years into the inception of the program.

So it was passed in November three years ago.

The program is one year, just passed is one year anniversary of the first cell back in October.

So from where we were three years ago to where we are today is I wouldn't say we've grown by leaps and bounds, but I would definitely say that there are far more doctors and nurses who are educated in cannabis as medicine now, as well as more and more are wanting to learn because they're having more and more patients come to them being provided with relief from cannabis and getting off some of their pharmaceuticals and not having to be so reliant on every prescription that they were on with their doctors.

- And so what are we seeing with regard to the implications of the financial benefit to the state of Kansas?

What do we know about that?

I mean, is that one of the driving forces also of getting this legalized in the state of Kansas?

- I can speak on something and then I can pass it off to Amy.

I think she may be better to answer a little bit of it, but I definitely know when we were doing our work in the capital prior to COVID shutdown, when we were talking to legislators, giving them the numbers that Missouri saw, definitely did get their eyes to open, Missouri made several million dollars in just one weekend and application fees.

And here Missouri is, I think they've made over 300,000,000 in sales now, they've given back.

So-- - Lord!

Wow.

- That's a huge impact - Impact, yeah.

- What we need to realize in Kansas right now is we're losing that revenue.

So it's not even so much as what kind of revenue will it generate.

We also need to look at the lost revenue because there are patients medicating today in Kansas and you know, they don't have to drive very far to get medicine in another state.

And every time that happens, that's last tax revenue for our state.

So it's hard to compilate an exact dollar amount because it depends on the bill and the language in the bill and registration fees and all of those things, but it's definitely gonna make a positive impact on the state.

- Well and it seems like sadly money seems to drive everything when really we need to be thinking about the health and wellbeing of our people.

- Well, I wanna talk on that for a minute because I've talked with several legislators over the past two years and they get the medical benefits now.

I mean, we have drilled it into their head through the last five years of testimony from healthcare personnel and patients and their families.

So they have told me, "At this point, we get it.

"We understand there are medical benefits.

"We do realize we need a program, "right now It's it's okay.

"Where do we go from here?

"We want the best program."

And fortunately, because we're one of the last states to legalize medical cannabis, we can look at everybody else's mistakes and learn from them.

So that is the hidden beauty of us being one of the last ones to legalize.

- Well Leigh, I wanna bring you back in, because one of the things that you said last time was that there are people who have lost their lives because they weren't able to get medical marijuana.

Tell us about that and review the story for our viewers who missed that particular part.

- Yeah.

So we ended on that patients in Kansas are out of time.

They are literally out of time waiting for this medicine.

Me and my family are two of those patients that are, we have not lost our lives, but we have left Kansas 'cause we are out of time waiting for Kansas to pass this legislation.

There are patients that are cancer patients that over this last year, as Kansas was twiddle their thumbs waiting for legislation to the past who have died in hospice that could have had access to cannabis that could have helped them at the end of their life as well.

There's also patients who are on hospice that are able to get off of hospice when they are given access to high regimens of cannabis as medicine, so.

- So, and this is all good news.

This is great.

So I just have to ask that other question when it comes to pharmaceutical companies, right?

I mean, I would imagine that one of the reasons it's taken so long is because they've been lobbying not to let this happen.

So what are the potential losses?

What are the impact on regular pharmaceuticals when we make this legal in the State of Kansas.

- In pharmaceuticals, a patient cured is a customer lost.

However, pharmaceuticals will always have their hand in everything and they are getting their hand in it and every way possible.

(upbeat music) - Well, we are going to take a short break, but we're going to be back with our guests to continue our discussion on the medicine of cannabis.

Please stay with us.

(upbeat music) - Hi, I'm Janet Thompson Jackson, and I'm so excited to be a part of inspire today.

Are you one of those people who feels like I just don't have time to work out?

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Well, today I am going to show you some yoga moves and just some general movement that you can do while you're sitting in your chair.

You can do this in a small space.

If you don't have access to a yoga studio or if you just don't feel comfortable going to a studio.

Let's sit down and get started.

Alright.

So, imagine that you are at your computer, you've been on yet another Zoom call or just working on some document.

We often don't think about what that does to our hands.

So I wanna start there.

Let's give our fingers and our wrists, some exercise.

So I'm gonna start by taking my index finger on either hand and just gently pulling my wrist.

And the action is in my wrist.

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If you're doing this with me, you're feeling this at a slightly different spot, going up your arm.

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'Cause that pinky finger is kind of fragile.

Let's take that and do a nice stretch and you can hold this for a few seconds.

Oh, that feels really good.

I'm feeling that last one right up this part of my arm.

And I'm just gonna move my thumb a little bit.

Your thumb doesn't really bend quite as much, but then what I'm gonna do, I'm gonna take that same hand, make a fist.

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Now, if I was doing this in a class, I would be holding it for a few seconds longer just to really get that stretch.

One arm may be a little bit more tender than the other, a little bit more sore.

Give the thumb a little bit of blood and that's very natural.

Usually your dominant hand is you feel it a little bit more and then just really shake out, oh, you can do this.

You can do this as you're reading something on the computer, or if you're watching a video, just take the time to move your hands.

It would really save this area, the carpal tunnel problems that we have, it'll save that.

I'm Janet Thompson Jackson, and I hope I've inspired you to replenish and restore.

(upbeat music) - And we're back.

We're here with Kelly, Leigh and Amy.

And in our previous discussion, we were just talking about what the implications were for the pharmaceutical company.

So I'd love to know more about that, Amy.

And also when this gets legalized, what illnesses specifically should consumers really be excited about being able to go and get this fabulous new medication for?

- Absolutely.

Well, as far as the pharmaceutical industry goes, there will always be a need for pharmaceuticals and in most medical conditions, THC products, cannabis products are typically a complimentary medicine to help relieve alleviate symptoms or decrease the amount of prescription medications that are needed.

The pharmaceutical industry actually did get a synthetic version of CBD, patented and approved by the FDA back in 2018.

So they're seeing the benefits of this medication and don't get me wrong.

It's not a wonder drug.

It's not for everyone.

And it doesn't cure everything, but our patients have the right to have access to all different types of treatments.

Some it may help tremendously others, maybe not so much.

I think that Kelly said over 4,000 articles published just last year on medical uses for cannabis.

And some of the most common ones are chronic pain.

I have a passion for our veterans and wanting to take care of our veterans, PTSD, anxiety and sleep disorders are three of the biggest issues that our veterans come back from combat facing.

And these can really benefit in those areas.

Anti-nausea medication, patients utilizing chemotherapy for cancer.

You know, maybe it won't can't treat the cancer, but it'll sure make their quality of life tremendously better for those final weeks, months, years they can eat by, you know, they get their appetite back.

They're in less pain and they have lower anxiety levels.

So lots of different reasons.

- I love that.

I love the success stories.

We do need to touch a little bit though.

Kelly, what about something that might not work a patient that this might not work for or have a drug interaction or something like that?

- Yeah, there have been some known drug on drug interactions and contra-indications from certain medication and cannabis based preparations and treatments.

And really that kind of comes with the education with the medical providers.

So the medical providers who are administering, who are going to recommend a cannabis product for a patient, they will have hopefully already gone through some continuing education with the state and maybe with some national groups to understand what those particular Contra indications could be for that patient based on whatever medication they are using currently.

- Leigh I wanna bring you back on because in a season one show you talked about how cannabis had helped not only you, but your son.

Would you remind us about that and why you're so passionate about medical marijuana?

- Yeah, so me, myself, I was able to take her off five different daily pharmaceuticals that I was relying upon for my spinal injuries from car accidents.

But we use CBD for our son who has autism and ADHD and sensory processing disorder.

So we have not been able to get his medical card yet because my husband and son and daughter are still in Kansas.

They have not relocated over to Missouri with us, with me yet.

So I am currently a Missouri resident and able to have my medical card, but since my son has not moved across state lines yet, I do not feel comfortable getting him a medical card because that means he is a legal patient on one side of the state line and not the other state of the state line if he is crossing back and forth weekly.

And so until I moved him over to Missouri, I will not be getting his card.

I am hoping that over this Christmas break, the Lord brings us a house that we find to rent.

And I can bring him up here with me and so that we can start medicating him with THC for his autism.

- So tell me a little bit about this card.

I haven't heard about that before, and it's, I'm assuming that that will also need to happen when we get it legalized in Kansas.

What is, what is that about?

- Yeah, so in the medical cannabis world, when we are not recreational, states have you have to go through a certification process to become a medical card holder and each state has different qualifying conditions.

In Missouri, we have 13 different qualifying conditions that you can qualify for a medical cannabis card.

In Kansas, I'm not sure exactly where they are at and the bill with what they are working on towards the different language, but there will be different qualifying conditions in Kansas that qualify as well.

And that'll be up to the doctor to give you a medical recommendation.

So in cannabis, there is no prescription.

So you do not walk into a pharmacy with a prescription pad that the doctor has wrote you to get something.

So that's why education is so important and being comfortable with the dispensary's that you are shopping at, knowing that they have educated staff and but tenders as well as external resources, such as nursing consultations, such as what EME and Cheryl offer through Green Healing Solutions, as well as the cannabis care team who we work with here in Missouri, that also offers nursing consultations.

- Now you mentioned 13 different, could you touch on just a few and are they applicable to like a small child, babies?

Is there an age?

- Autism is one of the qualifying conditions here in Missouri.

glaucoma is one of them, pain unrelieved by pharmaceuticals, migraines, there's another one that says "If your doctors seems fit to take this medication "over the medication that you're on."

So basically it's kind of gives the doctor wiggle room to say that this would be better fit for you than the pharmaceutical that you're on that is not working.

Cancer's one of them, I think I already said that.

- So, can I introduce.

So what about, you know, one of the things that's so big during COVID-19 besides anxiety was depression.

Does this have any application for people that you know, are depressed or have depression suffer from depression?

- PTSD is one of the qualifying conditions which depression would fall under PTSD in many doctor's eyes.

(indistinct) - Go ahead.

- I was just gonna add, that there is significant data out there about depression and anxiety and how cannabis preparations does help alleviate them.

- What about the age thing though?

Like, could you use any of this on an infant or is there an age limit at all?

- There are many people using cannabis as a therapeutic for epilepsy in younger children.

And it's also just, you have to work with your physician on this.

Like Amy said it's not a supplement for the other medications that you're on, especially epilepsy patients, you know.

It's working with your non neurologist and the pharmacist and the doctor and a nurse.

You know, it's a whole collaborative effort when working with cannabis as medicine, especially in a pediatric patient.

- So is any of this addictive, like we talked about opioids being potentially addictive.

What about medical marijuana?

And I'm gonna start you off with this Kelly, what are your thoughts?

- Okay.

So when we talk about, you know, comparing I guess, to different substances and compounds, there's a difference between addiction and dependence.

And so that you know, we have to kind of think about it in that context, because some drugs, some substances are very physically addictive.

You can't really go about your daily life unless you utilize that substance or that compound.

And when we look at the overall data about cannabis compared to other drugs, it's not the same.

And kind of going back to the way that the drugs were scheduled originally, were not necessarily based on evidence or the full body of data that we had at that time.

It was more based on bias, but I will wanna kick that over to Amy.

- Kelly's exactly right.

And I think there was an actual study that did look at the dependency and they equated a dependency to cannabis equal to that of a dependency on caffeine.

So yes, I have to have my coffee every day of the week, right?

Every morning have to have my coffee, but that's something I could give up pretty easily.

When you put it on a continuum with opioids and narcotics and sleeping pills and hard, illicit drugs, it's on the very, the very low end of that spectrum as far as dependency.

- So, well, that's good to know.

(all laugh) So when I think about, you know, one of the things that we talked about in the first show was, you know, the forms that these things come in.

And so one of the things I was wondering about is, you know, when we're talking about talking to our doctors about this type of medical administration, is there anything that the doctors need to go to school on?

You know, you guys mentioned schedule one, taking this drug from a schedule one up to a schedule two or three, how is that actually going to take place so that it really becomes an efficacious solution?

- So you're gonna see that the legalization, I mean, we're looking at two different things there with the federal legalization and then the state and how the state program is written.

In Kansas, I know that our bill relies on the Kansas Department of Healing Arts to provide the recommendations and education to our doctors.

So there's a process in place that will hold them accountable and we'll provide them the education that they need, the bill language isn't done yet, right?

It's still making revisions right now.

I think it requires the doctors to have a minimum of two hours of continuing education credit, and then they can write the recommendations.

And just to reminder, it's not a prescription where they write out a dosage like three times a day, and how many milligrams they're literally just writing.

"Yes, this person could potentially benefit "from medical cannabis."

And then they're on their (indistinct).

- Thank you so much, we need to leave it there for now.

Kelly, Leigh and Amy, thank you all so much.

You know, there's so much more, that's why we have a three part series.

So we're going to be back.

That is all the time we have for today.

We look forward to our discussion on next week, more with cannabis in Kansas.

So, hey we're going to dive into the economic side of it as well.

But again, we're always worried about the patient.

- Don't forget, you can watch and share this show and all the other episodes of "Inspire" at watch.ktwu.org.

And if you're inspired to learn more about our guests and find out what's coming up on future shows, please be sure to visit our website at www.ktwu.org/inspire.

- Inspiring women, inspiring you and inspiring knowledge on the medicine of cannabis right here on KTWU.

Thank you so much for watching.

(upbeat music) - [Announcer] "Inspire" is sponsored by Kansas Furniture Mart, using furniture to inspire conversation and by the blanche Bryden foundation.