How Does Medical Marijuana Work?

Medical Marijuana Awareness Post-Webinar Resources

The Webinar

Thank you to everyone who attended the August 4th Medical Marijuana Awareness & Wellness webinar “How Does Medical Marijuana Work?”

Watch the video on our YouTube channel! Your questions and comments during the live Q&A helped to make a great source of information for the next person seeking treatment.

Speakers featured in this webinar were host Marc Matoza and guest speakers Christopher Cano, Executive Director for the Suncoast Chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and Alex Ford, Community Educator for Trulieve

Ongoing Education

We’ve partnered with medical marijuana education experts to provide you further resources on the topic of Medical Marijuana and what it can do to help with your chronic condition.

Click an item from the index below to skip to that section.

Speakers

  • Marc Matoza, Marijuana Med Today
  • Christopher Cano, Executive Director, Suncoast Chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)
  • Alex Ford, Community Educator, Trulieve

Overview: How Does Medical Marijuana Work?

  • PATIENT INFORMATION BROCHURE
  • MMTCFL Chronic Conditions Resources
  • How Cannabis Works on the Human Body: The Endocannabinoid System with Cannigma

Materials from the Webinar

Cannachats Recommended Reading

  • Medical Marijuana Help
  • Basics of Medical Marijuana in Florida

Meet the Speakers

Marc Matoza

Host
President, Marijuana Med Today

Marc is a technology and business development manager with expertise in technology, database, cybersecurity, and online/web/mobile computing. As an inventor, computer scientist, and entrepreneur, he has developed innovative tech products including a leading relational database, multiple digital multilingual dictionaries, a digital bilingual reference/grammar-checking word processing add-on, golf [sports] swing video capture & analysis solutions, and certified safe anti-microbial environments.

Marc’s multinational background includes technology and corporate management experience with Hewlett Packard, Netscape Communications, Ashton-Tate, AlphaGraphics SA, MarcTech SA/LLC, and Swing Solutions. This includes managing operations in Europe, Latin America, Canada, and the USA. He has a Computer Science Degree from California Polytechnic State University.

Christopher Cano

Guest Speaker 
Executive Director, Suncoast Chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)

Christopher Cano is a United States Air Force Veteran and Public Administrator who currently serves as an organizer for social justice. Armed with multiple degrees from the University of South Florida and years of experience in Florida politics, Chris strives to be at the forefront of multiple movements working to affect change in America. Currently he serves on several local and state-wide boards of various nonprofit and advocacy organizations. His scholarly work, A Comparative and Policy Analysis of Cannabis Prohibition with Recommendations for Florida’s Medical Marijuana System, was lauded by fellow academics as the most in-depth research on the subject ever conducted by a student from the University of South Florida’s School of Public Affairs.

Christopher’s professional experience working as a Legislative Analyst in the Florida Legislature, for several Social Justice Organizations, and a major Fortune 500 Company in the Pharmaceutical Industry give him a wealth of knowledge that he applies everyday. His post-graduate work as a Professor teaching educational seminars combined with his professional and his academic experience make him one of the top industry professionals. Chris currently serves as Executive Director for the Suncoast Chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws in the state of Florida.

Alex Ford

Guest Speaker
Community Educator, Trulieve

Alex is from central Florida and has lived here his whole life and has always enjoyed being outdoors and exploring the natural beauty Florida has to offer both above and below the surface. In spite of the climate, he developed a love for ice hockey at a young age and still plays to this day. He also played for the University of South Florida where he attended college, majoring in psychology.

Alex began working for Trulieve in October 2017 and has been a community educator for 2+ years. He has a deep passion for spreading awareness and educating the communities of central Florida to the medicinal benefits and potential of Medical Cannabis after losing 2 close friends to cancer and opioid addiction. He loves where he lives, what he does, and the communities he serves, and is excited to be a part of the MMAW series.

How Does Medical Marijuana Work?

Overview by Medical Marijuana Treatment Clinics of Florida

Medical Marijuana is used to treat a variety of lifestyle conditions. In Florida, the Office of Medical Marijuana Use outlines the rules and regulations for the State Medical Marijuana program.

See Also from MMTCFL:

More About CBD:

  • Neither CBN or CBG produce an intoxicating high on its own, though they both affect the high when combined with THC (source: Weedmaps)
  • CBN is a byproduct of THC which is produced by environmental factors experienced during the growth and storage of a plant containing THC (source: Industrial Hemp Farms)
  • CBG is in both cannabis and hemp, but patients should research the individual CBD product if not purchased from a licensed dispensary because some extraction processes may greatly reduce the amount of CBG in the product (source: Cresco Labs)

What does the endocannabinoid system have to do with cannabis? It has everything to do with the order in which scientists discovered the different molecules. 

Cannabinoid receptors, the locks attached to cells in our bodies, were only discovered because researchers were trying to understand how plant-based cannabinoids (phyto-cannabinoids) like THC interact with the body. So they were named cannabinoid receptors, after the main chemicals that activates them.

Materials from the Webinar

“Cytokines are signaling proteins that ultimately recruit inflammation to happen. Cytokines will trigger specific immune cells to release inflammation or actually even reduce inflammation, given the right circumstances. […] CBD actually modulates the cytokine production.”

Weed (Parts 1-3)

CNN Documentary | Dr. Sanjay Gupta, 2013-2015

Weed (Part 4)

CNN Documentary | Dr. Sanjay Gupta, 2016

Dr. Sanjay Gupta‘s enterprise reporting on medical marijuana has led to five documentary films, “Weed,” which were awarded the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award.

Cannachats Recommended Reading

Medical Marijuana Help

Center for Medical Cannabis Research University of California, San Diego

Cannabis Pharmacy: The practical guide to medical marijuana. Pgs 185-187. Backes, M. W. (2017). 

Basics of Medical Marijuana in Florida

i

Patient Information Brochure
Medical Marijuana Awareness Webinars, in partnership with MMTCFL

Office of Medical Marijuana Use
Florida Department of Health | KnowtheFactsMMJ.com

l

Florida Medical Marijuana Patient Application
Click to Download from the Office of Medical Marijuana Use

Medical Marijuana Patient Webinars
MarijuanaAware.com

Cannabis 101 with Leafly
Leafly.com | Cannabis 101

w

Suncoast NORML
suncoastnorml.org

Supplemental Research

Types of Pain. , MD and , MD.

Cannabis and Pain: A Clinical Review Hill, K.P., Palastro, M.D., Johnson B., & Ditre, J. (2017). 

Origins of Agriculture.Gray, Alic William et al.  Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 29 Sep. 2015. Web.

The Cannabis Health Index, pgs. 259-264. Uwe Blesching, P. (2015).

The History of Herodotus.Herodotus.  440 B.C.E. Web.

Assessing the Effects of School-Based Drug Education: A Six-Year Multilevel Analysis of Project D.A.R.E. Rosenbaum, Dennis P. and Gordon S. Hanson. Journal of Research in Crime & Delinquency 35.4 (1998): 381-412. Web.

The Economic Costs of D.A.R.E.Shepard, Edward M. Institute of Industrial Relations, Nov. 2001. Web.

Mortality Data. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Division of Vital Statistics. Atlanta, 2014. Web.

The Economic Burden of Prescription Opioid Overdose, Abuse, and Dependence in the United States. Florence CS, Zhou C, Luo F, Xu L. 2013. Med Care. 2016;54(10):901-906. doi:10.1097/MLR.0000000000000625.

Visceral pain: the ins and outs, the ups and downs. Current opinion in supportive and palliative care, 6(1), 17–26. doi:10.1097/SPC.0b013e32834f6ec9 Sikandar, S., & Dickenson, A. H. (2012)

 10 Surprising facts about the history of pot. Blakinger, Keri (9, Oct 2014).

The History of Prescription Drugs (n.d.) Good Medicine, Bad Behavior: Drug Diversion in America.

 Marihuana: A Signal of Misunderstanding.National Commission on Marihuana and Drug Abuse. 1973. Web.

Legalize It All Baum, Dan. Harper’s Magazine. Harper’s Magazine Foundation, Apr. 2016. Web.

Get Your Life Back with Medical Marijuana

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