Caregiving, Cannabis, and Courage: Joyce Gerber on Redefining Women’s Wellness

In this episode of Beyond My Diagnosis, I sit down with Joyce Gerber, a lawyer, advocate, and caregiver who has become a leading voice in cannabis education and women’s wellness. and helping to reshape how women talk about health, caregiving, and healing.

We discuss what it takes to challenge long-held stigmas, balance self-care with caregiving, and understand the role of curiosity in personal transformation. Joyce shares her journey from the courtroom to advocacy and how her passion for cannabis education grew out of her experiences caring for others and watching how traditional medicine sometimes falls short.

You will learn how to:
 • Reframe caregiving as both compassion and leadership
 • Explore how cannabis and plant-based wellness can support stress relief and healing
 • Understand the role of curiosity and education in breaking stigma
 • Recognize caregiving as advocacy, both for others and for yourself
 • Balance humor, honesty, and humanity in your own healing journey

Joyce Gerber is a lawyer, advocate, and caregiver who has become a leading voice in cannabis education and women’s wellness. Drawing from her background in law, caregiving, and communication, Joyce helps bridge the gap between stigma and science, policy and people.

Through her writing, speaking, and community work, she shines light on how cannabis can play a role in compassionate care, stress management, and holistic healing. Joyce’s humor, heart, and honesty invite people to rethink what health looks like and to see caregiving and self-advocacy as acts of empowerment.

Transcript

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(Music) Hello, this is Michelle Weston talking about chronic conditions. And now that I switched over to more podcasting than radio, the most important thing is we're offering you, along with my people that I interview, tools and strategies to live your best life with a chronic illness, with a chronic condition. Whether that's mental health, whether that's MS like me, whatever it is, whether you're dealing with cancer. But there's benefits of cannabis and for a long time we know that it wasn't considered useful in helping people with pain, helping people with depression and so forth. I've asked Joyce Gerber to come back and talk to us. And if you remember, listeners, Joyce Gerber transitioned and learned about this coming from law. So don't think that this isn't about people who just smoke pot and learned a lot about different types, but she dealt little something. I'm going to let Joyce explain why. Hi, Joyce. Hey, thanks for having me back. Talking about cannabis pot. I love having you back because you've got a rich education. So it's helpful. I think it's solid. I think this idea that women, again, I'm going to be 60 this year, women are age. We know the least about cannabis. We probably could use it the most. And it's mostly for information and stories, like we were talking about earlier. These are stories we were told. And when you had said, we didn't really know about the benefits of cannabis, that's not really true because we have 10,000 years of, history of cannabis being used in different ways from different cultures. We didn't have CVSs. People went out into the fields. I found their thing. And cannabis was one of those things that was universal across the world. Everyone used it. It was just part of it. But again, we kind of are in this weird anomaly in history because of cultural, all sorts of American issues, oil, I would say. I'm not a big conspiracy theorist, oil and big paper, and a few rich men, I would imagine. Yes. Yes. This plant. And because it was part of a culture that was mostly brown and black people at some point, it became stigmatized. And in the 1970s, Richard Nixon, he created the Controlled Substance Act. He made it a controlled one, meaning it has no medicinal benefits. And there we sit, even though for most of history, human beings had figured out that you can use this for many, many different ways. And you shouldn't have to go to jail for having a joint. And when she says brown and black, I want you to go really back to who actually lived in the United States of America, in Mexico, in Canada. They're called Indians. And so when we say brown and black, it's not just Hispanic, Latin. It is here, American Indians. And they knew the value. Anyone who's got a white guy. Yes. I don't know why we're considered the minorities. So here we are. It was illegal for a long time. And I believe those stories. I was born in 1965. I believe it killed brain cells. It was dangerous for you. I tried to-- And there's still doctors that feel this way, by the way. Who are in neurology. Who are in neurology. And they still feel the way. And then there are those in neurology who totally don't feel that way. My psychiatrist, neurologist, thinks it's very beneficial to use it. I use it for sleep. I use it for charmers in my leg. And it helps when I-- And again, we have a lot of issues with the medical community, what they know and don't know. And the reason this works in our body is not magic. It's not voodoo. We have a system. It's called the endocannabinoid system. Humans actually produce cannabinoids. Why it's called endo inside. Cannabinoid. I have theories. I'm sure there's lots of theories why cannabinoids work in us. It's like a lock and a key. But it also creates-- you're centered and balanced. This is really the magic of it. I think our whole country has to go back to being centered and balanced. And somehow, this plant medicine works with this locking key to the endocannabinoid system. That's just the truth of it. It doesn't impact your brain. It can't kill you like opioids because it doesn't hit your hippocampus or whatever. It's not going to make you stop breathing. No one dies of it. We have discussions about what products exist now that it's legal. That's a whole different discussion. But the cannabis plant, as it exists, works with our body like a locking key. Which is great. Works in our body like a locking key. This is not opioids. It doesn't work like that. And it's something to consider. This is what the show is about, tools and strategies. Considering things because every single thing doesn't work for every single person. It was like talked about before. It's a tool in the toolbox. Well, I will say, again, I am a type A personality. I was pregnant in law school. Really? You were a type A personality like me? I know, I'm trying to believe. I did all the things I was supposed to do. I thought cannabis was bad for you. I did use it sometimes. Sometimes, even when I was in college, I tried it. And I knew I felt good. But I also felt guilty about it. I thought there was something bad about feeling that way, which is just one of those weird human psychological things. And even when I was older and I'd had kids, I had some friends, some moms, we would find the littlest bud and go far, far away. Like go to the beach house away from the family. God forbid anyone should see us smoking. And we would feel great. We would just be laughing and relaxed. And we'd feel good. And we'd drink our wine and wonder if that was OK. It was just a very weird era. And I didn't know what it was. But I knew how it made me feel. And also, when it's over 50, we all can have this conversation. So there you go. This is actually something a little bit younger. Anyway, so then this is like-- I live in Massachusetts. I'm a lawyer. Like I said, I'm also a mom. I'm a caregiver. And it's just really hard to do everything, honestly. It's stressful. It's stressful. It's hot on the body, right? And I did not use cannabis for my children a little. And I understand now how it would have slowed me down. It would help me engage them in a way. Because small children just want your attention. That's really all they want. And now I have the ability. But if I could have slowed myself down when I had come home from work and picked them up and had to figure out what was for dinner and whatever else was going on in my life and also making sure the children survived and whatever it was, if I could have gone to my bedroom, had a hit, I could have slowed down and I could have prioritized. And I would have understood that multitasking was impossible. Whatever. I think it would have helped. But I didn't. So when my kids were teenagers, this is my story. I think I told it before. I went up to Denver. I had a cannabis awakening. I went on a tour. I saw what it was. And I came back. And then I got more involved. And I recognized how women our age could really, really use it. And we really just-- we don't know anything about it. And it's hard to find good information. Yeah. And so where did you start to look? Where did you find good information where people could actually start to delve into the good information, not the negative information? And again, there's still a lot of really bad stuff out there. Like, you know, studies that say things that aren't really true. And I will say there are more. Like, there's a doctor here in Massachusetts, Dr. Benjamin Kaplan, who has a book out for doctors. Again, this is a physician's issue. We would like to have caregivers who understand how the human body works helping us utilize this plant medicine because we don't even really understand how it works with other medications. I mean, this is a big issue about why it's still being an as a controlled substance. But there are some doctors out here who have seen from their patients-- this is, like you had said, your doctor-- they are seeing what their patients are doing, and they can see how it's helping them. And so they're able to open up their mind that maybe what they know is not right. And they can look at these patients, and they're listening, and they're absorbing it. And he really believed in it. And he started writing books about it so he could tell other doctors because that's how they understand it. They have to tell each other. Well, they need empirical evidence. They need it to be proven as opposed to just an idea. To be open up to it, you almost have to have someone on your own-- whatever, doctor level. On your level. Sure. You listen to lawyers on legal things better than you listen to somebody who wasn't in law, of course. And there are many more nurses now in this area because I think they're closer to that caregiver level, and they are seeing how patients are using it for pain. Interesting. So yeah. So they're using it to get off opiates. They're using it for all sorts of-- Really? Oh, nice. Nice. I think I forgot that. I think you told me that. But it can be used to help you wean off of opiates that it is a good tool. And other members of the Health Care T-Ignite Unit, not just the doctors, the nurses. We have nurse practitioners now. We have physicians assistants. It's changed. And I will say, even like my own mother thought I was in a drug cartel until the day she died. She does not believe me. But she was having a lot of issues at the end of her life, and she was on a lot of medications. And she was finally open to talking to somebody because she wanted to talk to a medical professional. So I have a friend who works. She was an oncology nurse. She got involved with cannabis. And now she specializes in helping patients figure out how to use cannabis with their medications. So she had a good sense of how medications work together. And she did a consultation with my mother. And she was the first medical professional to even ask why she was on those other meds. And we couldn't figure out if some of her issues were from the medications or they were actually going on in her mind. And this is the first medical professional who worked with my mother with some CBD products. I thought I like tight traded her off of some of the-- whatever. And that worked. But my mother was having some other mental issues. But that's the thing. You need a medical professional understands how these things work together so they can give you a regime and you know how to use it. Yeah. Yeah. And depending on your issue, I guess. And then we can kind of dial it back to just people who have anxiety, like I have anxiety, or you can't sleep. Or how are you going to utilize it in your life, like maybe how you utilize meditation or improve your meditation. Or mindfulness. Or mindfulness, yeah. I think so. I think that those are, again, strategies to help you. Can you use tools like mindfulness to help you work through things? And I think that they're very beneficial. And I think this helps with the mindfulness. Again, it's kind of like that thing that will be centered like when my kids are little. If I could have been able to refocus back on one thing like them, but to be mindful, you need to be focused, really be centered in yourself. And if you can actually achieve that goal through cannabis and intentionality and you know, I talk about cannabis like it's some kind of magic field. It's another tool to help you feel connected to yourself, I think. And kind of my own doctor explained it to me this way because I was nervous about using it. He said it takes away a lot of the external things. That's how he explained it to me. Interesting. And I always feel like it's able to focus on one thing which allows me to be mindful because the multitasking thing is terrible for all of us. I did this so bad for us. You know what? And we do it a lot, especially women, they multitask all the time. I don't think it's as bad. I think there are certain things that you can do. I mean like if Mulani talked to my friend. When it's too much, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I can't be like trying to write an email and have a conversation with my husband and actually focus on casting. You can't do it. Yeah, I can listen to the TV and cook in the kitchen though. So I think that you can do it from an automatic, folding the laundry and listening to podcasts. Yes, yes, yes. But to really be engaged deeply in something, like to really read a story or to really be in the moment. You can do that one thing at a time. And I think that people, it's an opportunity. I am glad that it's been legalized because now we have places that have, can I use this word cleaner? More- Tested. Tested, that's good. More tested in regards to where the canvas is coming from. And alternative methods that we talked about too. How you actually can do it. Yeah, listen you guys, I like THC the best, which is, THC sorry, in an oil base, which is drops underneath my tongue. You have tincture, I like a tincture. Yeah, I like a tincture because- You tried a beverage? I have tried a beverage, I haven't found what I liked yet that hit me that way. But yes, we actually have some soda in the refrigerator that's like vanilla Coke soda. So I've been trying that. They've dropped now like to make a lemonade with. Oh, how cool. It's like a concentrate. Okay. And out here there's a young woman who makes a product here in Massachusetts. It's kind of a clever, it's a tincture, but it's part of like a cake package. Okay. Oh. So drops into the cake. It's a pretty high, you sell it as a tincture. So you can get like a hundred milligrams or 200 milligrams in the tincture. And then you put it into your cake, make such a- Like we used to make pop brownies, right? Yeah, but the tincture is already like, you know, created for you. And I did it for my daughter's 21st birthday. We made little cupcakes. Cause one thing I was like afraid about dosing, I'm like, I don't know if you put in the cupcakes, it should be like evenly toast. You know what? I think that's a good point. Cupcakes over a giant cake that you would consent well, if it was a cake, right? You know what it is. Sorry, it's okay. It seemed like that's kind of a thing. And then, you know, people think of cannabis as always being kind of sweet, but a lot of those tinctures now can be as savory. I have a delivery service out here. She does savory meals that she delivers like this. Oh, yeah. Put together meals. And again, she provides the oil that's already, you know, infused. So put on your salmon to put on your vegetables. Yeah, put on your salmon, or to use it in your salad dressing. Yeah. Oh, good idea. In your salad dressing. I like that idea. Some tinctures into your salad. Gosh, I will have to look that. And so we're talking, when we talk about cannabis, we're also talking about, you'll hear the two terms of the different types of cannabis. Can you talk about that in regards to whether you want to be lifted up or when you need mellowed out? Because I think it's important. So the short answer is they had created these terms called indica, which like into the couch, which are more sedative. And sativa, which are more active. But it's actually not true. I just, I'm trying to like unravel this whole thing. So the cannabis, indica, this plant grows all over the world. Like really literally all over the world. I'm sure. So the indica plants tend to be shorter and fatter because they grow in colder climates. Okay. And the sativa's are taller and bigger. And it is more in hotter climates. And the bud work, what the bud? Because it's actually a flower. When you- Right, it's called a flower. You'll see that actually. You want to buy the bud, the flower, yeah. I have actually grown cannabis now. So I've seen it. It's actually pretty. The bud has all sorts of different things in it. We talked about the cannibal, the THC, which is a cannabinoid. Also has CBD and the cannabinoid that people hear about. And there's a lot of other ones in there. There's again, because it's a schedule one drug, it is difficult to study. There's CBD, there's CBN. There's all sorts of other things in there. But in addition, there's also like this, like any like an herb, like a marjoram or thyme, or anything. There's all the smells. Hmm. And those are. That's true. I mean, sometimes you open, you, Yaelik, there's vape pens, literally they smell like grape. Yeah. So it's like, yeah. So the smells are called like, "Mercing" is like kind of like more of a grapey smell. And that's more of a sedative, you'll know that's more of a sedative kind of, because of the smell. Some of them have limonene, they're called terpenes. Limonene and the limonene is lemon. So it's up with chining. Chining is like think of the forest. And then those are also things that were then, it's a plant to the plant. Cool. So that is what can impact the effects. And also the different cannabinoids, they say that CBN. Okay. CBN. Is a sedative. So you'll see some of the gummies now have CBD or CBN. I like gummies too. I like gummies too. Yeah. So the gummies will sometimes have CBN that's supposed to be a cannabinoid that helps you stay asleep. And now they talk more about CBG, which is more of a thing and supposed to be more like invigorating, like you want to, some people use it before they work out or like they're gonna like, you know, to kind of like keep them focused and like energize. Or go to a party. Go to a party, whatever it is that you want to socialize. So anyway, so there's a lot that goes on. There's a lot that happens in a beautiful plant. It's a female plant. There's a lot going on with her. I didn't know that. Okay. All your female plant, the boys have little balls and they get thrown away because they, we don't want them to lose. They're not the same. No, we don't need this. It's a female plant. This industry should be run by women. And she's a caregiver. She's a caregiver. I like that. So the plant is very complicated in herself and all these products that you're seeing are being manufactured. And that's why you're seeing so many different things out there. And there's a little bit of controversy because we don't really know what these are doing to us because we can't study it because it's not really legal federally. Okay. Okay. There you go. I think we can grow from Joyce. You know, we have this now it's legalized. I mean, we've been to Massachusetts to pick things up before New York had it. And you know, when you go in, don't you think it's valuable to talk to the staff? Because I think that, I think they're really valuable. They're almost like their own kind of pharmacist. Well, you know, I knew whole, I mean, the dream is that these are all really well trained by tenders. That's what they call them. Is that what they call them? Bud tenders. I like that. I like that. They should be, again, there's a lot of products. So they should in theory be trained on every single product. It is also, we have turned this plant into a business, which is part of the issue. I'm sure you're seeing that in New York. Yes. But we are losing some of the better, I think we're losing some of the whole listing parts of this for business models. Like that's why you see such high THC products now because the guys think that's what people want. Okay. And then I would go in there and we'd talk about, women my age do not want to be having 35% THC. They want low dose products that work for us and we buy shit. This is what I don't understand. We're the people who buy stuff, so make things for us, but they're not. The market keeps making the high THC because they think a bunch of dudes are buying their product and then they're like, "Oh, I'm not gonna buy that." They're buying their product and then they don't think that's, that's not really who it is, but that's it. And it's also that theory of more is better. And for me, when I work with people with obesity, more is not better, more is just more. Yeah. That's what it is. I think we're in a tricky spot in cannabis right now because it could be used for such, again, like anything it could be used to save the world. Like hemp, we didn't even talk about hemp. Hemp can do everything that oil and plastic can do. Really? Oh yeah. So that's interesting because you hear that terminology, I'm sure most of us think, "Oh, it's in soaps." I always think hemp for fabrics, absolutely. That I know for fabrics. Hempcrete is not burnable. You could rebuild LA with hempcrete. Wow. Is that wild? Well, yeah, you should let them know. They kind of like cannabis products. This is what I've come to understand from the farmers and the manufacturers and why it doesn't exist. And it could be an American industry. We always, we know we're gonna be stuck here for a while. Yeah, we're always looking for things to make more money on. Isolation is now, so we gotta make everything here.(Laughing) Oh my God, guys, we're not even going there, but you can hear, it's a sign of the times, yes. It's a grow where we grow hemp. You can grow hemp here in America. Farmers love to grow hemp, but that manufacturing part doesn't exist in America. You need to have some kind of investment to actually make sure that they could actually do it to scale. But the thing if you grow hemp, hemp is so good for the earth. This is the other thing about hemp. Is it like heat better than cold or does it matter for hemp? It takes toxins out. Like when Chernobyl was, when the Chernobyl accident, they planted hemp because hemp plants remove toxins from the soil. Wow. Which is actually why you need to be really careful where you get your products from, because if you have cannabis plants, it's the same plant, basically. If you grow it in bad soil, it'll absorb the bad soil. That's sort of the part about making sure you, that's why these cannabis facilities are so, I've been in a couple that are like Willy Wonka. They're so pristine. They're like nothing touches. Like you come from head to toe, you like spray it off between each section. They're so weirdly clean, but you just gotta be really careful. It'll absorb stuff that's bad. Well, I like that. In fact, people buy supplements, minerals and vitamins that's up from my GNC and Walgreens. Those are not, all those supplements, those are not considered white labs. And if you learn more about supplements and vitamins, I've been using them for the past, my whole life, my mother always gave us them. You're looking for, like you just described, people are in suits, it is pristine. And that's what makes a product really clean. And you can control it better. You know exactly what its environment was. Yeah, so, you know, it's not a bunch of dudes sitting around eating cheetos. These are like, these are cannabis, Willy Wonka factories, you know, when they're making the, you know, they're growing the plant obviously, but then they're making the products. They have kitchens, they have, you know, they do tinctures, they do bake, they bake goods. They've, you know, there's all sorts of things. Chocolate. Chocolate, candies. My mother, when my mother was still alive, and she still didn't trust me on this, I took her on a tour. I went to a dispensary and a growth facility, and I took her on a tour, and she was like, "Girl, those people, "I think she was scaring them." They're funny. But you know what, I like that she was curious. I like that she was asking, and you know, it's better to question than to just like stand there and not ask questions. I know, it was good. And I've heard stories of like people whose parents like, you know, they believe this is really the devil's lettuce. This is really dangerous. And they, you know, they will kick them out of the family. I had a friend whose mother was gonna take her out of the will when she learned she was getting involved with the cannabis industry. Oh my goodness. It's so crazy. So we have, what's nice about the United States is we have different areas and different temperatures. So like you said, that the sativa is more in warmer climates. Are there other areas? I assume- But the point is I've kind of like taken these plants that used to grow. Now everything has grown indoors. It's all like, if you look- Controlled. Controlled. Yeah, they're just like the seeds are all, I don't understand what a culture really, but the seeds are all interconnected. And you know, there are hundreds and hundreds of different types of cultivars, I think they're called out there. Okay. You know, take from, you know, it's sweet from this side and it's, you know, I don't know. Savory from the other side. Yeah, and the way it grows, like, you know, sometimes you want a tall plant, sometimes you want, most of these are hybrids now because they've been intersected, you know, interconnect, whatever. Okay. Science. The seeds have come together for so long. So, you know, you have a lot of plants that are being grown that are kind of created, I think, in these environments. And I think, you know, I think your point of, this is something that women should explore. This is something that will be helpful to us. And, you know, we always think, you know, of guys, it's not just guys, there are women, what I love is here in New York, we now have, and my husband and I went to a Shabbat dinner. I love that. With tincture used on the food. And you would say to the chefs, you know, do you want one drop, two jobs there? I loved it, I thought it was brilliant. I've been to like infused dinners and that's so fun. I do my Jews and Weed event. There's a lot of us, like a strange intersection. There was a great article in one of the newspapers in the fall about it, that this is becoming something that there's these parties going on. Yeah. Anyway, so the food thing is good. I think it's, you know, it's a good way to introduce it. You know, if you want to look for studies, I mean, Israel has been doing studies for years, this is where this all originated. Really? I didn't know that. And I will say this is actually a sad story, but on one of the kibbutz that was invaded October 7th, there was a woman I interviewed who was actually living in Germany, she had fled, but her kibbutz was growing cannabis, medical cannabis plants. And they were trying to save, you know, they're trying to save some of the plants before they were being invaded and one of the growers was taken. Oh, jeez Louise. These are, the way they use it in Israel is very different how they use it here. It is really used as a medicine. It can be used in nursing homes. It's really like, it's integrated into their, you know, medical system. You can pick it up at a, you know, a drug store and they have farmers and people who are, you know, personal growers, people who are doing this, you know, professionally to make sure this cultivar, because they have to be very, it's definitely the same every time. You know, this is when you're getting to-- It's actually medically, right, medically. When you're getting to a medical level, it's like whatever the combination of elements someone needs in it, how much THC, how much CBD, how much terpene, I don't really know how it works, but they're specific for specific issues. They're drawing these plants for these patients and they were trying to save them, yeah. How do you explain the difference between medical cannabis and recreational cannabis? I think it's all therapeutic. That's kind of what I've come down to. I think the medical came about because they had to, you know, when they try to legalize it again, you know, it's in America, it's a controlled substance, obviously, and it's a known one. So they say there's nothing good about it. Little do they know, yes. But, you know, through California, the AIDS epidemic, really, through the AIDS epidemic, there was this understanding that these brownies, really, you know, things that people were using were helping with these patients who had wasting disease. And again, they could, and I, even the women I interviewed, a lot of this is true. They don't know exactly how it's working, but they can feel that it's helping them. Okay. So people could see it was really helping them, and people around them could see it was helping them, and they, you know, they started this medicinal movement, and that's how it got in. And then it got taken, you know, it's become a business. It's a little frustrating, but I think everyone uses it for a therapeutic. Yeah, this is America where we're entrepreneurs. And so in America, everything is money, money, money, money. Money is a big guarantee. I don't know, I used to think about money, and I think it's just control of the money. I used to do divorce work, too, so I'm a little cynical about money and control. You don't consider money as energy? I kind of liked that one, but I guess it could be negative energy as opposed to positive energy. Yeah, in a divorce. So I do think that everyone uses it for some sort of therapeutic, but I think it came in, like, and especially if you look at some of the, with children's issues, like Caesar disorders, or-- Oh, interesting. Hotism, some of the earliest advocates were for their children, because almost universally, people had come, they were at the end of their rope. They had no more choices. They weren't literally desperate, and they were across state lines to get medicine for their children. They had learned that a tincture in Colorado could help their child in Iowa, and they were across state lines, and it was scary. But they were willing to do it for their children because they were desperate, and then they were willing to step up and advocate for it, and that is, I think, the beginning of really, like Charlotte's Web, or people who could prove that this was actually working, and if we could only study it. If we get real studies, not studies trying to prove how horrible it is, real studies using real science, then we'd understand how it works, and then we can stop scaring people and maybe use this beneficially, because we could see it was helping anecdotally, but parents were still being stigmatized. And again, I used to be a family law attorney. You would lose your children. You could lose your children for something like this. So this is really scary stuff people were doing, and they were stepping up out of desperation, and then they were advocating. Okay. And that's a lot of the medical stuff, and I think a lot of that passion has been lost because of the business part that is blown up. Money, money, money.(Both Laughing) Yeah, I mean, talking about moms, I mean, that's a really, that's where the "Canna Mom" thing came up. When I first started this podcast, I had a woman down in Florida who was a can of mom for a child who was a sick child and was advocating for use of cannabis, and she was very afraid I was gonna use my platform. I mean, you see what I look like. Right. But she thought I was gonna use this platform. Oh, you guys would love her. She looks like your mom, and she looks like your aunt. Yeah, but she thought I could be flashy, and be like a spoof on the "Canna Mom" and make fun of it and be like, and she was worried about that because I did trademark the name. Anyway, then she, you know, I had two different moms from two different parts of the country connected, because this was a really serious issue for them. Yeah, it sounds like it. That was not what I was doing. That was not what I was doing at all. Well, I love having you on, and you know that every once in a while, I'm just gonna like reach out to you because there's never enough education. And when you have somebody like you, Joyce, who really knows their stuff, do you have a blog? Do you have any place that people can go read anything? Or any advice? I have five years of podcasts, but I stopped doing the podcast in last May, 25. I'm sort of, I don't know. You're on break. You're on break. You're on break. Yeah. And is there anybody that people that you liked, that you listened to on podcasts that were educational for you? I mean, if you're really looking for some good medical stuff, I think Dr. Benjamin Kaplan, Okay. I'm here in Massachusetts, and he does post a great deal, and he does actually do something, like now they're actually doing congressional work. I've been to Washington to advocate to get it off the Controlled Substance Act, and he's one of the doctors that people talk to. He's out in Boston, and he has a book. I feel like if a nurse, there's a whole Cannabis Nurse Association, just kind of like Google them, and they have all the great stuff. Cool. It's a changing industry. I think it's, again, I think hemp could save the world, but no one seems to be talking about it. Curious, Kaplan with a C or Kaplan with a K? I would say Kaplan. Okay, you have to always ask, because you know, I never assume, right? Well, this has been really, really helpful, and I think people get to learn a great deal, things about ideas and strategies and tools. And I personally feel it is a very good tool. Don't abuse it, use it. Use it to help yourself. And as you said, you would have loved knowing this when you were working full-time and coming home and having little ones run around and been a little more relaxed and not as wound up. What I used to say is- By day. Yeah, so my options were, I could stop at the liquor store, everyone would expect me to stop. Yes, yes, yes. Get some wine. I could take pharmaceuticals, that was totally okay. Or I just had to feel shitty. So I just assumed I had to feel shitty. That is honestly the truth. Oh, God. I was like, "Oh my God, I don't- You didn't want a martini?" I'm like, "I don't want to feel shitty all the time." Yeah, and it doesn't hurt your liver. So there you go, right? It doesn't hurt your liver. You don't have to worry about wine and alcohol. You could actually use cannabis, feel good, know what's good for you. And not be hungover the next day, not being mad. And I also say this, no, and a lot of the moms, their kids know that they use it, and they actually tell them, they can see when their mother's getting anxious or frustrated for no reason, and they will tell their mother to go take a break. And no one ever asked their mother to have another martini, ever. No, you are correct. In fact, sometimes they say, "Mom, how many glasses of wine have you had?" So this is a much better way to do it. I really thank you for your time and your energy. I will make sure I post it about Dr. Benjamin Kaplan, I'll listen to homework. And there is the Cannabis and Nurse Association. I love that that is another outlet for people to use. So it's good for my sub-stack. And I've just started a sub-stack. So there you go, a subject that is worth talking about. Absolutely. Have a great afternoon, a great week. And I look forward to catching up with you again, as we are in the 2020s of time. You and I have discussed, hey, everything goes through cycles. So this is our cycle right now. We're ready. I know. We're ready. I've been waiting for this my whole life. I'm a Jewish person in America. I know this is coming, so I'm ready. Well, so have a great day. Me too, from you to me, and from out there, you guys. It's a great conversation, and it's something to consider. Thanks, Joyce. Okay, thank you. Take care. Thanks for tuning in to this episode of"Beyond the Diagnosis." If something we talked about today resonated with you, if you're craving deeper understanding, better support, we just wanna know you're not alone on this journey. Make sure to subscribe to my free sub-stack at michelleweston.substack.com. N-I-C-H-E-L-E-W-E-S-T-O-N.substack.com. That's where I share personal insights expert takeaways and extra resources to help you stay informed, empowered, and one step closer to the clarity you deserve. And if you found this episode helpful, leave a review or share it with someone who needs to hear it. Your voice helps this message go further. Until next time, keep asking questions, keep trusting yourself, and keep going beyond the diagnosis.