Women Like Me Stories & Business

Sherri Mack BSN, RN Holistic Caring & The Green Nurse Co-founder and CNO

• Julie Fairhurst • Episode 174

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A veteran RN lands in the ICU, faces eighteen prescriptions, and finds relief not from another pill, but from a plant she’d been taught to distrust. That moment, pain plummeting without feeling “high”, sent Sherry Mack deep into the endocannabinoid system and forward into a new mission: make cannabis nursing safe, clear, and stigma-free for patients who want their lives back.

We walk through the body’s overlooked regulator, the endocannabinoid system, and why deficiency can amplify pain, anxiety, insomnia, and stress.

 Sherry explains how phytocannabinoids mimic what the body should produce, why CBD-first approaches matter, and how precise ratios plus microdosing can restore function without impairment. She breaks down modes of use beyond smoking, what “therapeutic” truly means, and how to pair cannabinoids with simple habits, breathwork, sunlight, movement, and nutrition to strengthen outcomes. We also talk candidly about polypharmacy, drug–nutrient depletion, and how careful coaching helps people responsibly taper sleeping pills, anxiolytics, and opioids while staying safe around alcohol and avoiding crossfading.

Recognition of cannabis nursing by the American Nurses Association, scope and standards, and patchwork state laws all shape today’s care. Sherry shares pediatric and adult cases, the Charlotte’s Web legacy, and new data on menopause support using CBD, CBG, and THCV to improve focus, energy, and night sweats. Along the way, a family story shows how stigma can soften when results are clear and compassionate guidance leads.

If you’re curious about using cannabis as medicine, want to reduce side effects, or need a smarter framework than “more THC,” this conversation offers practical steps and credible resources, including education, CE for clinicians, and a free nurse line backed by a pharmacist. 

Subscribe, share with someone who needs a gentler path to relief, and leave a review to tell us what you want us to dig into next.

Sherri Bio - https://holisticcaring.com/team/sherri-mack/ 

Holistic Caring & The Green Nurse - www.holisticcaring.com 
Bloom Hemp CBD - www.bloomhemp.com
The Green Nurse Podcast Living Your Best Life - https://www.youtube.com/@thegreennurse 

Check out products and the FREE nurse line for help with questions,  link here:    https://bloomhemp.com/ref/julie@changeyourpath.ca/


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Who Is Julie Fairhurst?

Speaker • Author • Business Strategist • Founder of Women Like Me

Julie Fairhurst is a force of nature disguised as a woman with a pen and a business brain built for impact. As the founder of the Women Like Me Book Program, she has opened the door for women around the world to share their truth, heal their past, and rise into their power. Since 2019, she has published more than 30 books and over 350 true-life stories — without charging a single writer a dime! Why? Because women’s stories deserve daylight, not gatekeeping.

With 34 years in sales, marketing, and successful business leadership, Julie knows how to turn storytelling into influence and influence into income.

Her mission is clear and unapologetic: break generational trauma one story at a time and help women elevate both emotionally and financially. She doesn’t just publish books, she builds brands, confidence, and possibility, giving women the tools to rewrite their futures, grow their businesses, and lift their families with them.


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SPEAKER_01:

Welcome everyone to another episode of Women Like Me Stories in Business. I'm your host, Julie Fairhurst, and I am here with a really interesting lady. Her name is Sherry Mack. Now, let me tell you just a brief little bit about her and then we'll dive in. So when life pushes a woman to her knees, she either breaks or she breaks open. And Sherry Mack did the latter, and the world is better for it. She's a registered nurse with a Bachelor's of Science in Nursing. Sherry is a powerful advocate for cannabis nursing, a recognized specialty where nurses stand on the front lines fighting for safe, informed, therapeutic use of cannabis. She brings knowledge, compassion, and grounded loved experience and wisdom that you just can't manufacture. So, Sherry, thank you so much for being here.

SPEAKER_00:

I appreciate it a lot. Julie, thank you so much for having me on. This is just a topic that is so near and dear to my heart. Um, you know, cannabis is the most, I would say, the most misunderstood plant in the whole world. Yes. And so I'm hopeful, hopeful to help. You know, I'm hopefully here to help destigmatize that with some storytelling. And I'm really excited for this interview. So thank you so much for having me on. Perfect. Well, that's excellent.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, let's get started. Because you were a cannabis patient.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, I was actually back in 2012. Geez, I found myself on the other side of the bed. I've been a registered nurse for I think I was in my 27th year. Wow. Working at the big teaching hospitals in Boston. And I ended up on the other side of the bed. I was on the in the intensive care unit. I got an infectious disease and I almost died. Wow. So yeah, interesting story. And so I was I've I became a patient on the other side of the bed where I had to deal with the pills, the procedures, the misdiagnoses, the delayed treatments, the delayed surgeries, the insurance, like ongoing, multiple different doctors, you know, um, infectious disease team, the whole nine yards. And I was really, really sick. I had an intestinal infection that I got working as a nurse in the hospital. Megacolon nearly wiped out my gut microbiome, developed a chronic myofascial pain syndrome, which was an autoimmune disease, had a lot of issues, was on over 18 pharmaceuticals at one point in time in my life. And that to me was very, very, very hard because I was also a holistic nurse. So I always tried to seek out ways to treat myself holistically. And I found that all of the holistic modalities that I was trying to utilize in my life wasn't working for this condition. And um, so I became, so I became a seeker of knowledge and diving into all of the holistic modalities, but it wasn't until a 70-year-old nurse came to my house with a basket of cannabis goodies. Oh, knocked on my door. Oh yeah, 70 years old, and she said, Where have you been? And I said, I've been sick. She said, I have not been sick. I've been, I have not been well. I'm and I said, What did you bring me? And she says, she held up her finger and she said, Sherry, I just want to tell you something. You know, it is 2012. Cannabis has just become legal medically as a medicine. And she goes, I'm hoping that in my lifetime we'll see it become legalized adult use at some point in time. And she's a 70-year-old nurse, and so she described to me a little bit about her journey. So she had this beautiful trans, what I call transpersonal nursing experience where she became very vulnerable. And she said to me, Sherry, I've been using cannabis every day since the age of 17. And I said, Wait a minute, you're 70 years old. You've been using cannabis every day since the age of 17. What does that look like? And what does that mean? And how how could that be for you? Yeah. And he said, Well, I want to tell you something else. My father was a pharmacist in Boston and he carried cannabis formulations in his pharmacy prior to 1937. Cannabis was approved as a medicine way, way back prior to 1937. It was part of the American Medical Association, part of the pharmacopoeia. There were over 600 cannabis formulations that were available to patients prior to 1937 in various ratios that were carried by the major pharmaceutical companies.

SPEAKER_02:

Wow.

SPEAKER_00:

I understood it or learned about it as a medicine. And so when her name was Mary Ann, and I God bless Mary Ann, because Mary Ann truly, you know, her being vulnerable and sharing her story with me allowed me to feel more comfortable trying it. Yeah. And I was um, you know, on, like I said, on 18 pharmaceuticals. And for those that of you that are new and understanding what polypharmacy is, if you're on five or more pharmaceuticals, there's a 50% chance that they're interacting. You're on 10 or more pharmaceuticals, 100% that they're interacting and probably not in your best and highest interest. So I am assuming that a lot of my problems were side effects from the polypharmacy that I was experiencing.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

How do I come off of those drugs and still have a quality of life? And so she introduced me to cannabis as a medicine. And she basically said to me, you know, there's a topical in here, there's a tincture in here, there's a little bit of joint in there, there's some gummies, there's some brownies, there's a oil that you can use. And and I just basically said, How could this possibly work for me when the strongest pharmaceuticals known to man are doing no thing?

unknown:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. And that's and that's when she said, Sherry, this is where you need to learn about cannabis. And so basically she introduced me to cannabis. I tried it, and I my pain went from a 10 to a zero within 10 minutes.

SPEAKER_02:

Wow.

SPEAKER_00:

And I had to look at that. Yes. So there was, and the interesting thing, too, at that particular moment in time when I consumed, I thought I was going to be altered and high, and I wasn't. That's the part that was really how could I be taking the substance into my body that makes people high and impaired and altered and funny and giggly? And how could it make how could it decrease my pain and make me feel normal? And I didn't understand that.

SPEAKER_01:

So that's when I think that's the I'm sorry to interrupt, but I think that's one of the biggest fears that a lot of people have is like, I well, I don't want to get high.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. Well, see that, and so that was my impetus to really understand cannabis therapy, the endocannabinoid system. And this is a system that we have in our body that's not taught in medical school, not taught in nursing school yet. They are starting to teach it in pharmacy school. My daughter is her in her second year of pharmacy school or first year of pharmacy school. They actually did cover it the first week in one or two classes. Yeah. But the endocannabinoid system is a system we have in our body that isn't taught. And it's a shame because once I learned about this system, I you can't go back. You can't unlearn what you learn. And so the endocannabinoid system is the largest neuroregulatory system in our body. It is the 12th organ system. We have 11 organ systems, our immune system, and all the neurotransmitter signaling systems that are regulated by the endocannabinoid system. We have an endocannabinoid system, not because of the cannabis plant, but because we make molecules in our body just like the plant. I was blown away when I learned that. Didn't interesting. Yes. So the plant makes THC. We make a molecule called anondomide. The molecular structure of the THC molecule and the anondomide molecule that we make is the exact same shape, plugs into the receptor the exact same way. The difference is the plant that makes THC is 10 times stronger than the anondomide molecule that we make upon demand. So I was like, hmm, cannabis works in our body because we have an endocannabinoid system. So if we have an endocannabinoid system and we're making molecules in our body like the plant, then why do we need the plant? And so that's that was my biggest question. Is okay, well, well, great, great. I love it that I make molecules in my body like the plant. If I make molecules, then why do I need it? Yeah. Well, there is a thing called an endocannabinoid deficiency. So the endocannabinoid system is made up of enzymes that create the molecules that we make upon demand. And it's generally in a response to a need. If your body needs something, the endocannabinoid system is going on and off all day long. Think of eating hunger hormones stimulated by the endocannabinoid system, sleeping, circadian rhythm, orchestrated by the endocannabinoid system.

SPEAKER_01:

So it's letting you know what your body's needing.

SPEAKER_00:

Needing, relaxed. So it's a sensing system. We have sensors or cannabinoid receptors on all of the cell surfaces of all of our organ systems, our immune system, and at the neurotransmitter signaling junction site. Wow. So when we take in these phytocannabinoids from the plant, it's mimicking what our body is making or not making. If we're not making enough of our own, we may have an endocannabinoid deficiency, which is real. And this is where we see disease. So if you think about it, if if you have a system, and how I like to explain it is for people to imagine their umbrella. You are an umbrella, just imagine you are the umbrella. All of the different spokes of the umbrella are your different organ systems. It shows the interconnectedness of the body. The fabric pieces that attach to the spokes of the umbrella are the different neurotransmitter signaling systems, like serotonin signaling, dopamine signaling, opioid signaling, trip V1 signaling, GABA, glutamate, hormonal signaling, all of these signaling systems are controlled by the endocannabinoid system. So when you have a deficiency, messages don't get relayed, and so things get confused. And generally, people are running hot, meaning here's an example the endocannabinoid system signals the fight or flight response. It also signals the relaxation response. We can't control the fight or flight response. Yeah, we can control the relaxation response with conscious awareness and practice and different tools. So the endocannabinoid system actually responds to activities besides cannabis. So there are things that we can be doing in our lives that can support and nourish the system. And this is why it's so important for clinicians and nurses to understand this. Everything that we do or don't do in our lives, everything that we tell a patient to do or not do in their life affects this very important system. So the activities that you're doing in your life either support the system or they don't. And if they don't, you need to know why they don't and what you can do so you don't get into further trouble.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, interesting. Right? I, you know, I mean, I'm not in the medical industry, but I've never heard of that.

SPEAKER_00:

The endocanic.

SPEAKER_01:

And it makes complete sense.

SPEAKER_00:

It makes complete sense. Yeah. Wow. Wow. And so the reason why, just get back to the question of, you know, over time, me processing all this, you know, I consumed cannabis at a very vulnerable point in my life where I was on a lot of pharmaceuticals, and I and all of a sudden I was, I was clear as day, like bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, awake, alert, calm, cool, collect, no pain, thinking clearly. Why and how? And it's because I had such a deficiency that what I took in, the basket of goodies that my friend brought me, actually plugged into those receptors to start balancing things out. Right. I wasn't, I wasn't impaired, I wasn't high, I was calm, I was cool, I was collect, I didn't have any pain, I could articulate clearly. And that's to me was the impetus that I needed to look into this more. Yeah. And so, you know, her little visit to me propelled me into the space. Yeah. I went to I went to the doctor to get my medical card because again, my mother, this is another, this is a great story. My mother was not a fan of cannabis. Uh when she found out that I was using it, she blocked me on Facebook. Mom, I love you to death, wrote me out of her will. She was sending me letters for a good year. And I, it was really horrifying because I found something that worked, but then to not have the acceptance of your family was in your own mother, yeah. It was really hard. So I had to kind of let go of that and to continue on my journey of educating and learning about this very important misunderstood plant. And so what I learned was like again, Zed, it's it's it's a miracle. Yeah, it's science. Yes, you know, it's a combination. This is where miracles meet science. And yeah, this cape, this plant that is so misunderstood. And so when I went to the doctor and I got my medical cannabis card, you know, I got approved right away. He goes, gosh, you've got an awful lot of problems for being this young. He goes, You definitely can get your medical cannabis card. And so I said, Okay, so what are the best products for me to take now? I'm I'm ready to learn. He hands me a piece of paper with the list of all these dispensaries and says, Good luck, kid. I can't tell you how to take it. Oh no. So for me, I was like, hmm, I am sure that I am not the only one out there that needs to understand cannabis' medicine. If I can make this work for me, and that's what I this is what I did. I went to the dispensary, bought all kinds of products, sat down at sat down at a table, started looking at it, checked out all different kinds of books, started doing research, found nursing organizations, and I basically said, if you can, if I can figure this out for me and I can come off my pharmaceuticals, you can call me the green nurse. And here we are.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, wow. Well, it it's years later. So cannabis nursing is now a regist uh a recognized specialty.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes. So basically in 2018, the Journal of Nursing Regulation put out a call to action that all nurses, nurse practitioners, advanced practice nurses, nursing students must have six essential areas of knowledge when it comes to cannabis' medicine. Oh, page document. So at some point in time, nurses will be tested on the nursing boards. It hasn't happened yet, but this is a call to action that was put out back in 2018. So in 2023, the American Nurses Association, which represents 5 million nurses, recognized cannabis nursing as a specialty. Wow. In 2024, in conjunction with the American Cannabis Nurses Association and the American Nurses Association, cannabis nursing scope and standards of practice was published. This is the who, what, when, where, and why of cannabis nursing. And so it looks at nursing, you know, advanced practice nurses, masters prepared nurses, and registered nurses, and sets up the standards of practice of what nurses should and shouldn't be doing in the clinical space when working with patients. Oh, wow.

SPEAKER_01:

So, so what so how do nurses help? Like, like I understand you have the they have the knowledge and they can certainly guide patients, but but what can they like? Tell me, I I I come to you, I'm I'm I'm not well.

SPEAKER_00:

How constantly, yeah, how I work with patients, and it's all you know, and that's the thing, cost because it's not covered by insurance yet. You know, we're hoping at some point in time that it will be, you know, but there's certain HSA plans where we can write a super bill for our coaching and consulting. Oh, and so what happens is this patients will come to us, you know, and first of all, you know, it's meeting patients where they're at, right? This isn't about, I know that this works, but I also know that it's a it's it's a stigmatized plant, and patients come in there with preconceived notions, yes, their biases, their own prejudices, their own stigma. So it's really about addressing the comfort level of where someone's at in regards to plant medicine. So it's really asking, you know, so we have an intake form, and the intake form goes over the basic, you know, past medical history, past surgical history, pharmaceuticals, drug allergies, medications that you're on, upcoming surgeries that you're on, lifestyle, looking at lifestyle questions, really, really important to look at what you're eating, how you're sleeping, supplements that you're taking. Are you consuming alcohol? Are you taking um smoking tobacco? Are you partaking in other adult drugs that maybe aren't so good for you? You know, so it's really looking at lifestyle, looking at how people eat, how do they relax, their social life, looking at the bio, psychosocial, spiritual nature of a human being and then asking them, what's important to you and how do you want to live your life? Why do you want to use cannabis as a medicine? What are you looking to achieve? And then from there, what we do is we go down and we discuss the different modes of administration. What do you feel comfortable with? The most, the most common way that people use cannabis is inhalation. And I'll tell you what, it's the most reason why people don't want to use it when they come to us. People will say, I want to use cannabis as a medicine, but I don't want to smoke and I don't want to get high. And I go, guess what? You don't have to smoke and you don't have to be high to use this.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes.

SPEAKER_00:

But that's what's great. And so there's so many different ways of using it. So we discuss, you know, what's in alignment with you? What would feel better for you? Tinxtures, topicals, gummies, edibles, oils. You know, there is, if you do need to inhale, you know, there's safe ways that you can use inhalation, dry herb vaporizer. You know, inhalation isn't bad. It's just, it's just a I look at it as another way of getting it into the body. Right. But there are healthier ways to do it than not. Yeah. Right. And I'm not against adult use cannabis, you know, because recreational use. Here we are as nurses telling people to go enjoy themselves. Yes. How dare we judge them how to use it? So, what's really important is really discussing what does the therapeutic use of cannabis mean? And this is really, really important, and it can help a lot of people become very clear. So, the therapeutic use of cannabis is the use of cannabis products for medicinal, wellness, and healing purposes. It's personal and subjective to each consumer. So it's going to be different for every person. But the objective criteria is improvement in one of the five health domains without negatively impacting any of the others. So you have the biological health domain, you know, your body, your mental, emotional, spiritual, social. So if you have improvement in one of those five health domains without negatively impacting any of the others, yeah, then you're using it therapeutically.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

So does it does it counteract then when someone is on some form of medication? Well, actually.

SPEAKER_00:

Actually, cannabinoids can make other medications work better. That's how a lot of people are able to cut their sleeping pills, their anti-anxiety medications, they're able to cut back on alcohol use, they cut back on opioids. I was able to wean off of 18 pharmaceuticals using cannabis. Yeah, that's a lot. That's a lot. Yeah. Wow. Yeah, it's a lot. Wow. And it was basically, you know, the one pharmaceutical has a side effect, so they prescribe something else, and then that has a side effects. And before you know it, you're stacking multiple things. Yeah. And then your body just doesn't know what it's what it's doing. And the issue with, and I'm not anti-pharmaceuticals at all. I think they serve a purpose. They're they're important. Yes. But what a lot of patients don't understand and know is about drug nutrient depletion. This is another thing I learned in my inquiry of learning about endocannabinoid system deficiency that so many patients have is because of the pharmaceuticals that they're on are depleting their body of nutrients and they don't even know that they're it's doing that. So they're not eating enough of those nutrients or they're not supplementing. So the drug nutrient depletion. And then that further influences the impact on the functionality of the endocannabinoid system. Yeah. Wow.

SPEAKER_01:

So do you find then that a lot of the people that is is coaching a right, uh a good proper term?

SPEAKER_00:

Consulting, yes. So that's okay it is. So it's meeting people where they're at, you know, doing the intake form, finding out how they want to use cannabis as medicine, and then taking them on a journey as to what they would feel comfortable with. And so, you know, where would you like to start? Yes you know, generally it depends upon, you know, if you what condition that you're looking for, you know, what is your disease, what are your symptoms? And we generally start off with one or two symptoms, one or two symptoms, one or two products, and then and then we build from there. And then we talk about complementary activities or even nutraceutical supplements that can enhance the cannabinoid experience or different activities, you know, such as breath work, deep breathing, meditation, getting sunshine, grounding, earthing, essential oils, aromatherapy, yes, you know, chanting, singing, dancing, walking, you know, on and on. So we try to teach people how to pair health and wellness activities with the cannabinoids and to do it mindfully, right? And this is what the goal is to take the least amount to get the therapeutic response below the threshold of being impaired. Yeah. Granted, if you want to get high or feel elevated, you don't need me for that. Right. But if you want to use cannabis as a medicine so you can get back to functioning, right? Functioning and living your best life, then that's how that's what we do is we help teach people how to use it appropriately using different dose formats. We help patients to build a toolkit. Yeah. And the toolkit, you know, you have breakfast and we teach microdosing, right? Microdosing mimics, yeah, the endocannabinoid system. Yeah. So if the endocannabinoid system is going on and off all day long, yeah, it makes sense that we would need little tiny bits dripped in throughout the day.

SPEAKER_01:

So, how do people that are um overindulging in alcohol, how does this help them?

SPEAKER_00:

So, how this helps them, I'm gonna tell you the reason why, is because if you think about alcohol is toxic. I hate to say it, never mean to alcohol shame anyone, but it is toxic to all 11 organ systems, our immune system, and all the neurotransmitter signaling systems. The minute we ingest alcohol into our bodies, yeah, our liver tries to get rid of it. We go straight to our liver, we try to get rid of it. Our brains are very, very intelligent, and the endocannabinoid system recognizes when we drink alcohol. Yeah, when we drink alcohol, your brain starts to create more CB1 receptors in your brain to protect it from the alcohol, because alcohol can cause neuroinflammation. Yeah, so your brain starts to create cannabinoid receptors, seeking the endocannabinoids to protect it from the alcohol and the neuroinflammation that can that it can be caused. So, what happens if if people are when people are trying to come off of alcohol, yeah, C D D dosing is really, really great. A little bit of THC here and there, but too much THC, you know, over time, you don't want to be people, you don't want people to be drinking and using cannabis at the same time. Yeah, no. Cross fading. Yeah, they can make they can amplify the effects of each other. So generally, when I'm telling people, you know, if you want to cut back on your drinking, like over the holidays, yes, we have people, you know, get comfortable with a nice CBD dosing, maybe a one-to-one, you know, one part CBD, one part THC gummy, and experiment with that. And if you're gonna go out and party and have an ex you want to go out and recreate, it's always use the cannabis first, not last. If you have the alcohol first and then you use the cannabis, that's when you can get into a lot of trouble. Whereas the cannabis can actually help decrease your uh need or want or even inkling to want to drink.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, yeah, right.

SPEAKER_00:

Because people, when people are drinking, you know, it's social, they're out, they're excited, they don't pay attention. And this kind of just helps people to bring it in and to become mindful, mindful and more um intentional about what they're putting in their bodies. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

What about depression? Because um, that seems to be a real problem these days. There's a lot of people, our world is a I love our world, but it's a right now, it's a little bit of a of a stressful place for a lot of people. So, so what can they do? Because people are going to come to you and they're maybe they're already on antidepressants. Yeah, and how how how could you help them there? What can you what advice do you give?

SPEAKER_00:

So it just depends. Okay, so if you're on antidepressants, are you looking to come off the antidepressants? Are they not working as well? So it just depends upon what symptoms are you still having while you're on the antidepressants? So we work on that. So it just depends. You know, are you still having issues, difficulty sleeping? So oftentimes, you know, anxiety. So the main reasons people come to cannabis pain is the number one, anxiety is number two, and then sleep is generally number three. Those are the top three reasons why people come to cannabis, and so it's just really looking at each individual person and what they're looking to achieve. What goals are you looking to achieve? You know, you you have a clinical depression, so it's it's even just looking at lifestyle things too. You know, are you exercising? Motion is the lotion. So this is you know, literally motion is and then exercise, you know, that runner's high that they talk about. Yeah, guess what? That runner's high is our own anondomide molecule. Yeah, yeah, right. So that bliss-like molecule, anandomide, ananda is Sanskrit for the word bliss. And so when um Lumir Hannes, Lumir Hannes was actually the one that actually discovered the anondomide molecule that mimics the THC molecule, and so you know, it's it's very interesting how all of this together can help patients to have a better day. But in regards to depression, you know, um, I'll have to say the the the top, and and I've we've got lots of research that we've done and lots of logarithms, and there's there's a lot of great resources out there. Yeah, you know, it's generally when people are starting with cannabis' medicine and they haven't used it before, you always want to start off with CBD. CBD works on over 70 targets in the body, it indirectly impacts the CB1 and CB2 receptors that THC plugs into. CBD can soften THC without taking away the medicinal effect, meaning that CBD can soften THC's psychoactivity. And then when people want to use a little bit of THC, you know, we introduce that. And sometimes a full spectrum CBD product can have that, you know, and full spectrum means it is the whole plant with a trace amount of THC. But when people are shopping at dispensaries, this is where big people can get into trouble because it's all about the THC. Right. So this is where this is why we have bloom hemp. Oh, yes, right there. Other company. Yeah. So we found we found out, you know, that people don't need as much THC as they think they do. And um, and over time, particularly with depression, too much TH over too much THC over time can make depression worse. So it's really CBD with a little bit of THC, CBD, CBG, CBD, CBN, and these are the minor cannabinoids. The plant has so many different uh phytobotanical nutrients and constituents in it that have a therapeutic medicinal value to them. Yeah, and so we're we have found that patients don't need as much THC. So that's why we bought bloom hemp. And so it's legal, you know, hemp is legal in all 50 states, you know, it has less than 0.3% THC, very low dose, but enough to make it work right a lot. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

So are the doctors have the doctors gotten a little further ahead since no, no, they still have to say it.

SPEAKER_00:

The American Medical Association, I go to their website every day, yeah, and I actually check out. Um, they still see doctors, still see cannabis as a drug of abuse. Doctors, it's not gonna change for physicians or the American Medical Association until scheduling. So you have to think cannabis is still scheduled as a schedule one on the federal level, even though we have over 40 states that are, you know, have laws. Yes. So we have, you know, patchwork laws in different states. You know, some dates, some states don't have it at all. There's very few. Yeah, but a lot of them have hemp laws, you know, and then there's the the then there's the medical cannabis laws and then adult use laws, and each state is different, so it's very difficult for patients. And so that's what's you know, that's one of the things in the book. Yes, nurses shall know all the states, yeah. Yes, yeah, the regulations in those states to keep patients safe.

SPEAKER_01:

And so how how are the nurses um uh the nursing industry, the five million nurses? Are they embracing this? Or what are you finding?

SPEAKER_00:

I I am finding that um I think it's gonna be, I think that they will embrace it more once rescheduling or descheduling happens. Yeah. Um, and the reason why is because it's it's coming, it's not it's not, it's not going away. There is, you know, there's a botanical path and there's a pharmaceutical path. Currently, there are pharmaceuticals, you know, epidielex, marinol, those are synthetic versions of THC and CBD. So marinol is synthetic THC that was created in night in the 1980s for refractory nausea and vomiting in in chemotherapy individuals. And then epidielex was created for rare pediatric seizure disorders. Leno Gasteau syndrome is one of them, and Drave syndrome. Charlotte Fiji, she was, you know, I'm not sure if you remember the Charlotte's Webb story. Yes, yes, yes, yes, okay. So she this she was the one that started this little girl, you know, this five-year-old was having 300 seizures a week, and her family picked up, moved to Colorado. Yeah, they met the Stanley brothers. The Stanley brothers had a strain called Hippie's Disappointment. It was a high CBD strain. They grew that, gave it to her, and she went from 300 seizures a week, her first day of taking cannabis oil, zero seizures, none, not one, gone. Wow. So, and she was taking 120 milligrams of full extract cannabis oil 22 times a day. Wow. And so they ended up changing the name of Hippie's Disappointment to Charlotte's Web, and she was the one that really introduced the whole world. They did, you know, the documentary on it. Yeah, Sanjay Gupta, you know, just amazing just to see the quality of life and in these children. And that's the other thing. I'm also a pediatric nurse, and so we take care of families as well. There's a lot of families that come to us, you know, pediatric cancer, behavioral disorders, a lot of kids with autism and epilepsy.

SPEAKER_01:

Because I in my research, I think you've worked with thousands of patients. Wow. Wow. So what's so do you have a pattern in their stories, how they get to you? Is there a bit of a pattern there?

SPEAKER_00:

Or the pattern is generally it's either word of mouth or they'll hear me on a podcast, they'll hear me on a webinar. So, you know, I've been I've been podcasting since 2018 and bringing on patients that want to share their stories. A lot of times they'll find out I have a podcast and people will write in and say, I want to share my story, and so I'll invite them on. So people will find me that way. They'll find me. I speak at webinars. We do webinars all the time, we do clinical conversations, and um people will word of mouth, you know, um word of mouth. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

And so, and so what how so what so just so everybody knows, we're gonna have um all of the links in the um in the show notes. And to reach out to Sherry to to find her, to get her book, or are your books on Amazon? Yes, so this, yep.

SPEAKER_00:

So cannabis for health, become a coach is the book that Elizabeth, my business partner, wrote. That's on Amazon as well.

SPEAKER_01:

Become a coach. Interesting.

SPEAKER_00:

Yep. This book is also on Amazon. This is Cannabis the Handbook for Nurses, the Carrie Clark book. It's a textbook, it's really good. Uh, the scope and standards of cannabis nursing, that's also on Amazon. Ah Journal of Nursing Regulation. You can download this um on our website at holisticcaring.com. 64-page document available. And I know Elizabeth was just on recently. She was on to share her book, Wine Women in Bleed. Yes. So all of these books are available. And then our companies, just to just to kind of differentiate between them. So you can see Holistic Caring, Holistic Caring in the Green Nurse, the little logo there. That's our podcast. That's our coaching, consulting, and educational community. So when you go to holisticcaring.com, that's where if you wanted an educational program. So we've have educational programs for patients and providers. For nurses, they get continuing education credits. And that's where we have our coaching and consulting for patients and providers. So for nurses or healthcare professionals that want to learn how to incorporate this into their practice, we teach how to do that. We also have coaching and consulting appointments for patients. The Bloom Hemp side of things on the other side, that's our CBD company. So Elizabeth and I bought that company. We hired a pharmacist. We have a pharmacist on staff. We have a free nurse line. It's organic hemp CBD, doctor and nurse formulated, Aervedic formulas, 18, um, third over 30 SKUs, you know, eight tinctures, topicals, tinctures, gummies, uh, do it yourself, isolate. So we have a free care plan and free nurse line. So there is a free hotline. And if we don't answer the phone, the pharmacist answers the phone and the pharmacist is sleeping. People can leave a message and we call them back. So we have a free nurse line and we have free emailed care plans. Because we want patients to have access to it. If people can't afford the coaching and consulting on the holistic caring side, yeah, they can get a free emailed care plan on the bloom hemp side. So we try to offer something for everyone. That's amazing.

SPEAKER_01:

That's amazing. Yeah, so often people are held back financially. So we try to remove those barriers. Yeah, yeah, that's wonderful. Wow. I am so educated now. I have just learned so much. And I've got some family members that that uh I can't wait to get them to watch the video because they will be very interested in in what uh what you've been talking about. I'm interested in what you've been talking about, but they will be very interested in in in uh and what you've been talking about. And and it just makes so much sense because I I find that as I've had older, older folks in in my life, and you know, they go on one medication, then they get on another medication, then they end up on another one. And the next thing you know, there, you know, there's six, seven pills a day that they're that they're taking. And um, and uh, but to to to to be able to shift your mind to there's an actually other ways as well. Yes.

SPEAKER_00:

And I think and then getting back to the full circle of my mother. So my mother heard the podcast of a nun that I took care of, got her off of fentanyl, and um and in the podcast, I knew that I was gonna ask the nun the question. And so I asked her permission that I could ask this question, and she said, sure, go go for it. And so I asked her, I said, Sister Suzanne, this question is for my mother and all the people that are out there that are plagued with stigma and think that cannabis is the devil's lettuce. Yeah. What would I said this with all due respect? Yes, what would Jesus say about all this cannabis? And she looked at me and she laughed and she held up her finger and she said, Sherry, Jesus would say, What the frig did it take you so long to use this God-given plant that I created for you? It would be a sin not to use it. So I took that clip and sent it to my mother. And after I sent that clip to my mother, she called me in a month and she said to me, Sherry, what's the gateway? So basically, my mother came full circle. It just took time. And so I started to work with my mother and to help her. And basically, my mother's story is like the greatest gift because it helps it, it helped me to be able to help other people that were played with stigma and to really focus on her and what's important to her and how she wants to live her life and to go at her pace. Yes, and so we went very, very, very, very slowly. Took her about six months to get the therapeutic use that she was looking for, but we did it, and we did it because we did it slowly and we did it with attention and we did it with spirit involved, right?

SPEAKER_01:

That hopeful inspiration growth and so everybody deals with things in their own time, yeah. And just important that that you're able to honor that, yes, for people for sure. Wow, it just so interesting, so so interesting. Let me just ask you in closing, sure. If every person listening could walk away with just one message about reclaiming their health, what would you want them to hear?

SPEAKER_00:

Don't go don't give your power away. Literally, we have these beautiful, smart, intelligent bodies that know how to heal when it's given the right tools. Yes, don't give your health and power away to someone else. Gather information, research, call people, get second opinions, yeah, seek out all natural, holistic ways of healing, like literally, yeah. Um, and and then and figure out what's best for you. Yeah, right. Because everyone's different. Can I ask you just one other question?

SPEAKER_01:

Because I know I know our time is is getting short here, but but it just popped into my head when when you were saying that. And thank you, thank you for that. But I have so many friends in menopause and perimenopause. What would This do to help them? Oh well, we did a study.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, this is exciting. And they'll go on and on. Bloom hemp did a study on a hundred women, the ages between the ages of 30 and 70. And we were looking for women that were either working in the home, yeah, working full-time, working part-time, but they had to be busy women. And we wanted to see how it affected their energy, their metabolism, and their focus. And so all of the women, so the majority of the women, you know, they were in all different ages of uh all different, you know, cycles of their menstrual cycle. But the bottom line is there's 36 symptoms of menopause, and CBD can work on all of them. So that's the bottom line of that. And we studied one of our products, focus tincture, and it's CBD, CBG, THCV, some functional mushrooms in it, um, and uh really powerful, beautiful tincture. And we studied 100 women over 30 days, and the results were significant. It's on the website bloomhemp.com. I'll make sure you all have access to that study, but it showed that women had 2.2 hours more of productivity. They actually had 50% of women um lost their appetite. 25% of the women actually lost weight doing nothing else but taking the tincture. Wow. So really, really, yeah. So menopause, and I did an article called balancing your hormone. So I'm a writer as well. So one of the things I have a substack and I write for the Canigma and just wrote an article and was on a podcast too, a recent podcast for another um confidently loving yourself about hormonal health. And I talked all about menopause, hormones, the cycle. Yes, cannabinoids are great for women, great for women and great for menopause for sure. Perfect. Perfect. When you think about the night sweats, right? THC, THC can help cool the body. How great is that? People have night sweats, a little bit of THC in a gummy before bed. There you go. There's your little hug and nug right there, right? Wow. THC can help cool the body when you're sleeping at night, decreases your temperature. Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

Well, Sherry, thank you for that. Thank you all for being here. And we will have all of that information in the show notes for you so that you can reach out and and um see whether or not this can be a help for you and help you to get your life better. But I'm going to pass the video when I get it up and running. I've got some people to tag. I'm in a few networking groups with some ladies who uh who need to hear this. And so I'm going to be sharing it for sure. Well, thank you. Thank you, Sherry, for doing this and for being so willing to be so open and and um positive and to share, share your knowledge. You, you're a wealth of knowledge. And I appreciate it so much for you being here. Thank you. Thank you for having me. It was an honor. You're welcome. Thank you. Okay, everybody, we will see you next time. Take care.