Medical Cannabis with Mandy Harlan

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This episode features Mandy Harlan, who shares her journey using cannabis to manage Crohn's disease and her subsequent involvement in the cannabis industry. The discussion covers the benefits and mechanisms of medical cannabis, its legal status in Florida, and the ongoing debate about recreational legalization. Mandy provides guidance on becoming a medical cannabis patient, finding quality products, and her work as a cannabis coach.
 
Additionally, Dr. Craig Curtis shares insights on alcohol's impact on heart health and Alzheimer's disease. The podcast is listener-supported, encouraging donations and Amazon affiliate purchases.

00:00 Introduction to the Podcast

00:55 Supporting the Podcast

01:59 Interview with Mandy Harlan: Discovering Cannabis

03:06 Cannabis and Crohn's Disease

06:10 Transition to the Cannabis Industry

07:38 Medical Cannabis in Florida

09:29 Cannabis Coaching and Client Experiences

10:27 CBD and THC: Benefits and Uses

12:21 Recreational Marijuana Legalization Debate

19:24 Cannabis for Cancer Treatment

27:18 Becoming a Cannabis Patient and Client

28:35 Conclusion and Next Episode Preview

Season 8 Introduction

Transcript

Mandy Harlan

[00:00:00] Dolores: Welcome to the Open Forum in The Villages, Florida podcast. In this show, we talk to leaders in the community, leaders of clubs and interesting folks who live here in The Villages to get perspectives of what is happening here in The Villages, Florida. We are a listener supported podcast. There will be shout outs for supporters in episodes. In season six, we will continue making substantial improvements to the podcast.

[00:00:26] Mike Roth: This is Mike Roth, and listeners, I'm thrilled to share with you this podcast, which is my passion project for you. 

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[00:01:54] Mike Roth: This is Mike Roth. I'm here today on Open Forum in The Villages with Mandy Harlan. Thanks for joining me, Mandy. 

[00:02:01] Mandy Harlan: Thank you for having me.

[00:02:03] Mike Roth: Mandy why don't you tell our listeners how you first became aware of cannabis? 

[00:02:09] Mandy Harlan: I first became aware of cannabis in the medical sense in my early twenties. I had heard about it, of course, a teenager. And in school, but it was always in a very negative regard in terms of it being a drug and say no to drugs.

And so it wasn't on my radar then. But when I was diagnosed with Crohn's disease, which is an autoimmune inflammation of my GI tract, I started to hear about it a lot in terms of helping me for my health. And that's when I. Decided to consider it for myself. . 

[00:02:45] Mike Roth: About what year was that? 

[00:02:46] Mandy Harlan: Oh, my, I was 24. I had graduated college 2006.

So it was probably about 2010, 2009 around there.

[00:02:59] Mike Roth: when you were diagnosed with Crohn's

disease, what did your doctors tell you to do? 

[00:03:03] Mandy Harlan: When I was diagnosed. it was pretty wild. I went in after my colonoscopy, and without really asking me any questions or explaining anything further, my doctor rushed in and had signed me up for a MRI of my lungs, and they were prepping me to make sure that I was healthy enough to take a biologic, which is the medicine that they wanted to put me on.

And biologics are those prescriptions on TV where the side effect

literally death. that one.

They wanted to put me on that. And I remember saying whoa. I don't,

I'm not comfortable with that. Let me do some other research. And so that's when I looked into alternatives and that's when I really came across cannabis.

[00:03:49] Mike Roth: Now, how long did it take you in taking cannabis as a regimen

to completely beat crohn's disease.

[00:03:59] Mandy Harlan: Yeah. So I'm in full remission with autoimmune illnesses and chronic illness. A doctor will argue if it's actually been cured, they'll say it goes into remission. So I don't know. I'd like to argue I've been cured, but I went into remission.

It took me about probably about two, two and a half years for me to really see. The full results of it. I started seeing things right away, symptoms getting better, but really full remission about two and a half, three years later, 

[00:04:32] Mike Roth: What kind of work were you doing at that time?

[00:04:34] Mandy Harlan: So I was doing corporate event planning, which was very stressful, a lot of time pressures, a lot of details to remember.

And that weighed heavy on me because stress was my biggest trigger. So I really. I had to take a step back from that when I was diagnosed, because the only way I knew how to help myself was to control my outside environment. I hadn't figured out yet how to treat my body with this disease, so I pulled myself out of the stress.

[00:05:06] Mike Roth: Did you change your eating pattern?

The things you eat, did you go pure vegetarian or vegan? 

[00:05:11] Mandy Harlan: I tried things. If you do research, That was frustrating

part is if you do research there is no answer. There is no Crohn's diet. There is no one size fits all has different triggers and for some it could be a salad for some it's meat. And so I Danced around and tried different things And really came to find that fiber was the only thing really upset me noticeably, so I lowered the fiber in my diet like no beans. I just started eating beans again. That was really exciting. No broccoli. Whole wheat things like that and that is what have honestly still stuck to and even now I'm just starting to dip my toe Back in those foods and you just get nervous, but so far so 

[00:06:03] Mike Roth: Good That seems to be 

working for you.

Yeah, so after you determined that Cannabis had actually helped you How did you get involved with the cannabis industry.

[00:06:15] Mandy Harlan: Once I learned the science of cannabis beyond what I was taught in

as a child, which obviously wasn't good things. Once I learned the science, it made so much sense.

It was so logical. It was not complicated. And I thought why isn't anyone teaching this? Why doesn't everybody know this? It's so easy. And so once I started learning more and more, my desire to teach to other people grew because I would meet and encounter other people that had autoimmunes or chronic pain or conditions that I knew this could help them.

And if they just learned or relearned, they could really ease their suffering and ease their symptoms. So I started working with the dispensaries after I was on social media first. I shared everything I knew on social media and they saw me and they liked the education and information that I was presenting and the way that I was presenting it.

And so they actually came and found me and asked me to work for their community outreach programs, which is essentially a chance to go and educate. The general public or even current patients about medical cannabis. 

[00:07:32] Mike Roth: Okay. This is a medical cannabis in Florida where that is legal. Correct. Yep. Our medical program.

[00:07:38] Mandy Harlan: So we have about 800, 000 patients in the state of Florida at this point. Our medical program is about five years old. We have 22 million residents in the state of Florida. So that just gives you an idea that we're close to a million of them are patients. So it's a pretty established and substantial program here.

[00:07:57] Mike Roth: Right. It's a. It's a critically intense program for a patient, have to go back a

doctor every six or seven months. 

[00:08:04] Mandy Harlan: It is. Florida puts rules in place. Yep, you have to go to doctor.

There are certified doctors that medical cannabis. It's not every doctor.

You have to find those particular ones, which there's over 2, 500 in the state. You've got a lot of options, and you have to see them every seven months.

And then you have to renew your card with the state every year. So here in The Villages area, how many cannabis certified

physicians

are there? think

of at least five off the top of my head. They're not all created equal. I always have to give that caveat. Some doctors are very hands on. So there's one here in The Villages that is very hands on, explains things very well goes into a lot of detail and will also recommend products. But then there's also doctors who are literally just going to sign the piece of paper and send you on your way and maybe answer a question or two. So you really get a range of care and sometimes you have to try different ones to looking for. But most of the time, even when you find the doctor you're for, they're not, may not hold your hand as much as you might need.

So then that's where I come into play and can act as a continuing coach of sorts, because sometimes it takes a minute to. Dial in a routine. 

[00:09:23] Mike Roth: So you have cannabis coaching clients.

[00:09:27] Mandy Harlan: I do. 

[00:09:27] Mike Roth: So does that work? 

[00:09:28] Mandy Harlan: So I work with people one on one who are either current patients and have not found what is working for them yet.

So we work together to tweak their regimen and to understand it a little bit better so that they know what tool to reach for how and when. And I also work with people who are considering it. And really just feel overwhelmed by the information or the lack of information and we chat about their goals and if cannabis can help them or if it's been shown anecdotally or in studies to help whatever it is they're looking to achieve.

And then I will work with them to do.

[00:10:10] Mike Roth: We hear regularly about the CBD oils in cannabis. And that there were claims that those oils actually work. That's not my opinion. Is it your opinion they actually work? 

[00:10:22] Mandy Harlan: hope that it's not only my opinion, but my body is the living example of it. My life is

the living example that it works.

[00:10:31] Mike Roth: That the the CBD.

[00:10:32] Mandy Harlan: Yeah. When I first got started in cannabis, of course, THC is, of course,

THC is what gets you high. It's what gives you the euphoric effect. 

[00:10:41] Mike Roth: The hallucinogenic effect of 

[00:10:43] Mandy Harlan: it can. Marijuana. Yep, it can. And so That's

sister that everybody knows, that's the popular girl.

[00:10:50] Mike Roth: That's old MaryJane 

[00:10:52] Mandy Harlan: That's right But cannabis actually has a hundred and fourteen different

cannabinoids. So in addition to THC, there's CBD, there's CBG, there's CBN CBDA, I won't name them all it starts sounding like alphabet soup, but each one is a unique molecule That has a unique effect on the body.

CBD is a massive anti inflammatory.

I say CBD is like nature's Advil, where THC is nature's Tylenol.

They're

doing different things. One is helping by actually going to

root and the cause of the symptom.

The other one is just treating the symptom. So when I first got started, I thought, Oh, CBD is bullshit. No, this is just diet weed.

Nobody wants this. And the very first show I went to convention, I went to as a CBD convention and I learned so much about it and I thought I should be taking this. and that's when i started taking

CBD regularly.

And it just shifted everything. 

[00:11:51] Mike Roth: So you take that as a gummy?

[00:11:53] Mandy Harlan: I take a capsule. So it comes in a bunch of different forms for

I like a capsule. They make it in a tincture which is just a liquid that goes under your tongue. They make it in gummies. I like a capsule cause for me, I'm trying

to get it to

go to my gut. That's where my inflammation is. So the capsule gets further down where I need it to go. And I take that every day.

[00:12:16] Mike Roth: What is your opinion of the attempt now in Florida to legalize marijuana for recreational purposes? 

[00:12:24] Mandy Harlan: I have mixed opinions. 

[00:12:25] Mike Roth: Mixed opinions. 

[00:12:26] Mandy Harlan: Which would probably surprise people.

The most important thing to me is access. Rather you're a medical patient and I think even a lot of who consume recreationally.

Do so medically without the knowledge of, but when you go recreational in a state, it opens access, which is a beautiful, wonderful thing. It lowers costs and barriers of entry for people to explore the world of cannabis, which is really beneficial for people who. might have an ailment, but might feel nervous about going to

doctor about it.

Just gives more options and opens more doors. However, it could also change the way the medical program is operated here in Florida. So patients might go away. We might lose our medical program. We'll use Colorado as

example.

They decided to keep their medical program in addition to going recreational.

What does that mean? It means that patients don't get taxed on their products. It means that patients have access to higher dosages, higher milligrams. It means that the dispensaries are open later for patients. There's certain benefits

patients still receive in a recreational market when we maintain a medical market as well.

[00:13:45] Mike Roth: So the ballot initiative, which people are going to vote

in a in a couple of weeks here in Florida, does that maintain the separation of medical and recreational marijuana or is it just a catch all if it passes?

[00:13:59] Mandy Harlan: As of right now, it doesn't talk about the medical program and what would happen to it. So right now, it's a separate vote.

We're voting on recreational. And then it's after that, that I think we find out what happens to our medical program. But the state of Florida is also supposed to issue 22 new licenses. to new dispensaries within the medical program this

year. So that's already on the docket, that's already in the works.

Applications have already been submitted. It doesn't feel like the medical program would go away, but if REC comes to the state, It just throws some more wood into the fire that we've already got burning, if that makes sense. 

[00:14:38] Mike Roth: To me it doesn't make sense to keep the medical program if, in fact, it's legal statewide. And then the other question that I've been burning up to ask is if it's not really bad for you, why is the federal government putting its nose in it for all these years, criminalizing, Possession or using marijuana? 

[00:14:59] Mandy Harlan: Yeah, that's a great question. So the other reason we don't want patients

to go away is because dispensaries, when it goes recreational, the it's just like any corporation where the numbers and the dollars are.

So what's the quickest and easiest thing to market? It's recreational. So the education people like me that were part of the dispensaries will no longer be employed by dispensaries. People that are seeking medical information about cannabis will have a harder time finding it if the medical program goes away.

It's lovely for someone like myself because then I'm the person that can provide the information, but that's the catch 22. They now have more access to product, but there's less information being shared. So that's the first part of that question. The second part is why is the federal government put so many people in jail and make it illegal when they know it was beneficial.

It was all politics. Shock. Surprise. 

[00:15:53] Mike Roth: Politics in this country. 

[00:15:55] Mandy Harlan: Could you imagine? Yeah. It was all political. And I think that's the really frustrating thing and why we have to say we're relearning cannabis is because the information that was shared was propaganda. It was just untrue. I don't even want to say assumptions because it wasn't even assumptions.

It wasn't even what was being observed. It was politics. It was racial. It was yucky. And it's something that makes me upset because It stops people from looking into this plant as an alternative that is and safe. And it prevents people from doing that or puts up a wall when really it's quite the opposite.

It's one of the safest things that you can try. Yeah. 

[00:16:35] Mike Roth: Okay. To me, it's a question of, if smoking was bad for us and the federal government allowed that for all of those years. And we're

talking about

people who can use marijuana in a capsule form or

as a liquid under the tongue.

It doesn't seem like that's bad at all. 

[00:16:54] Mandy Harlan: No and here's the ironic part. So this is, this one got me. In 1984, so at the height of the war on drugs,

The federal government contracted a pharmaceutical company

make a drug called Maranol. Maranol is synthetic THC. It mimics marijuana completely, but made by a pharmacist.

Maranol is still prescribed today by the federal government and that same pharmacy to people with terminal illnesses, think HIV and AIDS. It's very ironic that they locked people up for this drug that had absolutely no medicinal value and was put as a Schedule 1 drug, but yet created the exact same mimic of that molecule and still prescribes it today.

So just tells you the sense in it all. 

[00:17:49] Mike Roth: This is Mike Roth and Dr. Craig Curtis talking about Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Curtis, can you talk about alcohol use and Alzheimer's? 

[00:17:58] Dr. Craig Curtis: Yes, Mike. They have had studies out for years that show those that have one to two drinks a day actually have a lower risk of heart attack or stroke. And in a study published, 

[00:18:09] Mike Roth: That's interesting.

That means that people who totally abstain from alcohol Have a higher risk? 

[00:18:15] Dr. Craig Curtis: That's a, difficult question, Mike. It's, yes, those that abstain from alcohol, not with Alzheimer's disease, but actually had a slightly higher risk of heart attack and stroke. However, so this was a study published in June of 2023 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology in stress signaling in the brain.

So essentially they had less stress, which we've always known. is a risk factor for a heart attack or stroke. But the American College of Cardiology currently is not advocating for the use of alcohol to reduce your risk of heart attack or strokes because of other concerning effects of alcohol on health.

[00:18:55] Warren: With over 20 years of experience studying brain health, Dr. Curtis's goal is to educate the Villages community on how to live a longer, healthier life. To learn more, visit his website. CraigCurtisMD. com or call 352 500 5252 to attend a free seminar.

[00:19:11] Mike Roth: A lot of people want to talk about marijuana's use.

for cancer. Okay. What is your opinion about that? 

[00:19:17] Mandy Harlan: Yeah. So I'm always at the firm belief and I will, with most things, there's sometimes that I know we can't get there through just crawling, but I go crawl, walk, run.

When someone comes to me, even with cancer, we're not jumping into the THC. We're not diving into the deep end right away. We're going to crawl before we. run. So I always start someone on a CBD regimen.

CBD is your foundation. It's a multivitamin. Everyone should be on it every day, in my opinion.

It keeps your endocannabinoid system healthy.

Your endocannabinoid system is in your body. It is what the marijuana

interacts with to create relief of symptoms, inflammation. Which is typically the

cause of chronic pain, anxiety stress, same thing. 

[00:20:07] Mike Roth: So CBD taken internally, in your opinion, would be a great analgesic pain reliever. 

[00:20:15] Mandy Harlan: To start, most of the time, that will get us where we need to go. Because it's reducing inflammation, which is the typical cause of the chronic pain. Sometimes, it's not enough. So you stay on that CBD regimen, and then maybe if it's not enough and you're still having pain, or you're still not able to go to sleep, then we layer in some THC to that. So for a cancer would say the same thing. First, the CBD is going to give your body a healthier foundation to stand on while you're going through treatments, while you're putting your body through this stress. Then if You start having symptoms because not all cancer patients will have symptoms, but maybe the chemotherapy is starting to make you feel nauseous.

Maybe you're starting to get some pain. Yeah. And the CBD is not cutting it anymore. Then we'll layer in some THC. The only caveat is if you're having chemotherapy, you cannot consume THC orally. Like an edible it was it will be processed by your liver and in doing so it can negate the effect of the chemotherapy So no edibles for while in chemotherapy THC edibles So instead you typically do have to go the inhalation route And that can be with a vaporizer where it's like an oil.

It could be with flour where you're using a good old fashioned joint. They also have dry flour vaporizers now, or you it's like a little oven, little portable oven.

[00:21:41] Mike Roth: Really?

[00:21:41] Mandy Harlan: So there's no combustion. And then usually it's the smoking or inhalation of THC that will stimulate appetite It will scramble the signal to the brain and it does so in various ways.

And in that scramble, that's where the appetite comes from. That's where the pain relief comes from. 

[00:21:59] Mike Roth: So anyway to use any form of cannabis to get the reverse effect of weight loss. 

[00:22:04] Mandy Harlan: So they actually were playing with, so you've got different classifications of THC. And it's a plant that's I always don't forget.

It's a plant just like any other plant that's out there so if you've got

 An orange plant a citrus orange plant. There's obviously different varieties of those citrus orange plants cannabis is no different So just like those different orange varieties might taste different or look different.

 So there's sativa plants and there's indica plants. Sativa is like a cup of coffee. They wake you up. They make your brain go fast. Indica. think in the bed indica in the bed, make you sleepy, tired and relaxed. Those are the best for pain. Those are the best for appetite stimulation stimulation sativas.

[00:22:53] Mandy Harlan: Cause I think when you have a cup of coffee, sometimes you don't get hungry. Same thing. So sativas will typically cut the edge off of a munchies or feeling hungry. There's also THC h C V.

Remember that alphabet soup? 

[00:23:09] Mike Roth: Yeah, 

okay, here some alphabet soup. 

[00:23:11] Mandy Harlan: Yeah, that's it. 

[00:23:11] Mike Roth: Now we're up to letter V.

[00:23:12] Mandy Harlan: So that's another one. THC V is THC, it's just the molecule slightly different and supposedly they're calling that one the skinny weed because when you smoke it, it curbs your appetite. Don't have it in Florida. We might. Again,

medically. know any medical benefits. I know, I'm

sure there are That's what it's been famous for so far you'll find it

California and Colorado, but we don't have

over here quite yet that i'm aware of

[00:23:39] Mike Roth: Now we have a few minutes left. So I wanted to ask you With

 Only one ballot initiative coming up for

Marijuana in November should people vote yes or

no.

[00:23:49] Mandy Harlan: I think people should vote. Yes because it's access, it's movement, it is progression. That doesn't mean that there won't be parts of it that have to be tweaked or written out to include medical or, there'll be aspects that

will have to still fight for, but it's access and it's legalities that finally say that this plant doesn't need to be criminalized anymore. So I will always say yes to legalization. 

[00:24:20] Mike Roth: Good. Now, if our listeners want to get a hold of you after the show to either ask you questions or find out more information, What are the ways they can do that? 

[00:24:30] Mandy Harlan: , There's a handful of ways. If you're in The Villages I run

The Villages Medical Marijuana Club, and we meet the second Tuesday of every month the Lake Minona Recreation Center. a. m.

You can find the catalogue of clubs. We are an official club. We get

question a lot.

[00:24:47] Mike Roth: So you're a lifestyle. club. 

[00:24:49] Mandy Harlan: Yes, they know we're actually under other We are under other which I love because it says we think outside of the box And advocate for ourselves in any way we have to so there's that i'm always there second tuesday of

the month 

[00:25:03] Mike Roth: Are there free samples ?

[00:25:04] Mandy Harlan: Yeah, that's also the second most popular question.

So there is with CBD. We typically will have some CBD companies that like you said Sometimes it doesn't work and that's typically because the product itself maybe wasn't the best quality There's a lot of stuff on the market. That's not good

So I bring in vetted certified CBD companies that I use myself.

So sometimes they do get free samples. Very nice. You can also email me which is:

[00:25:33] Louisa: mandy@theflmm.com

[00:25:36] Mandy Harlan: At the f l m dot com. It stands for Florida marijuana mentor. So if it's easier, you can also find my website, which is Floridamarijuanamentor. com. 

[00:25:47] Mike Roth: So in that capacity, are you really an employee and salesperson for one of the dispensaries?

[00:25:54] Mandy Harlan: No, I've worked for a total of. Three of them because that's just the cannabis world changes quickly and one the other and that's just how goes.

But no even when I was there, so there are Currently 22 dispensaries in the state of Florida 

[00:26:11] Mike Roth: and how many of them are here in The Villages area?

[00:26:13] Mandy Harlan: You've got at least 10 them and I would say you've got at least 15 different

stores. Some of them are big Repeats you'll even see the same company owns two or three stores within a 40 minute radius. So even then, even when I worked for a specific dispensary, I would always recommend products from others, including my own . They their own specialties. Some are really good for their edibles. Some are really good for their flower. I will always advocate for the patient.

Okay. rather than the dispensary. And

[00:26:45] Mike Roth: so you are an independent source of information as opposed to an employee source. 

[00:26:50] Mandy Harlan: Correct I left the dispensary world about two years ago.

Corporate cannabis is no different than any corporate, even with the cannabis at the end. And I just got too far away from my passion of working with patients and I didn't want to Be in the space of just making it look cool. It's not why I'm here So I've not worked with the dispensary a couple years now.

[00:27:13] Mike Roth: So is it hard to get it become a new patient?

[00:27:16] Mandy Harlan: No. No.

So when you go your doctor, it takes maybe about, I don't know, 15, 20 minutes. It's very quick. If you want to stay longer, you might have a doctor that'll talk to you longer. You may not.

[00:27:27] Mike Roth: The doctor's appointment to get a medical.

marijuana card.

[00:27:29] Mandy Harlan: No, maybe half an hour and then you get your card right away. So big improvement in the state of Florida.

When our program first started, people would die before they would get their cards, literally. Then it took three weeks and now you get it within 30 minutes. It shows up in your email and you take that to the dispensary and shop right away.

[00:27:47] Mike Roth: Okay.

I was talking about becoming a client of yours to get personal input on what to be buying. 

[00:27:54] Mandy Harlan: Yeah. No, you'll usually talk to me within a week or less. Okay. Yeah. Or quick. And I'm in The Villages. Regularly, so I meet in person and virtually even if you're not In Florida and not in the Florida medical program if you're in a legal state I

help you there as well.

[00:28:12] Mike Roth: Okay, so you work over something like 

[00:28:13] Mandy Harlan: Yep, exactly. Yeah, it's all cannabis just different packages and bells and whistles, but it's all from the beautiful plant

[00:28:21] Mike Roth: Thanks for joining us Mandy. 

[00:28:22] Mandy Harlan: Yeah, thank for having me. I appreciate being here and I appreciate your openness to this conversation and topic Thank you.

[00:28:28] Mike Roth: Great. Thanks very much 

[00:28:30] Emily: Remember, our next episode will be released next Friday at 9 a. m. Should you want to become a major supporter of the show or have questions, please contact us at mike at rothvoice dot com. This is a shout out for supporters Tweet Coleman, Ed Williams, Paul Sorgen, and major supporter Dr. Craig Curtis at K2 in the Villages.

We will be hearing more from Dr. Curtis with short Alzheimer's tips each week. If you know someone who should be on the show, contact us at mike@rothvoice. com. We thank everyone for listening to the show. The content of the show is copyrighted by Rothvoice 2024. All rights reserved.