Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
From the WA and M Studio on the campus of
Florida A and M University. This is Mary Forum Radio,
a weekly conversation on the education and research of the
medical marijuana being conducted at MUNI.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Hi, I'm Heidi Otway, your host for this Conversations on
Cannabis virtual form, brought to you by the Medical Marijuana
Education and Research Initiative at Florida and M University. In
this conversation, we're talking about medical cannabis as a treatment
for people living with multiple sclerosis, also known as MS.
(00:33):
So let's talk and learn about this subject with our guests.
Nasa Natasha Akoff is the founder of Online Nerves, Incorporated
and also serves as a National Multiple Sclerosis Society Ambassador,
leading various initiatives to promote and bring awareness to MS.
She is dedicated to improving the lives of individuals impacted
(00:54):
by the effects of MS and creating a safe space
for the MS community to evolve and thrive. Our next
guest is doctor Terrell Newton, a board certified physician specializing
in anesthesiology and interventional pain management. He's also a best
selling author. Doctor Newton serves as the Florida Medical Director
(01:15):
at TRULEIAVE, the largest dispensary in the US. In this role,
he is dedicated to advancing medical marijuana treatment and patient care.
Natasha and doctor Newton, welcome to the forum. I'm so
excited to have you guests, to share your expertise on
this subject.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
Thank you for having us.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
Thank you so much. I'm very excited. This is Autoimmune
Disease and mess Awareness Month, so so great time, perfect
timing for this topic exactly.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
To everyone watching, please share the link to this form
on your social media channels so others can learn about
this topic. We also want you to tell us what
you think about this form by completing the survey that
will be posted on Mary's social media pages. Your name
will be entered into a drawing and in April twenty
twenty five to win a one hundred dollars gift card
(02:03):
provided by one of Mary's partners. Now let's start this
conversation on cannabis, Doctor Newton and Natasha, Let's start by
educating our audiences about this form's topic. So, what is
multiple sclerosis which is commonly referred to as MS?
Speaker 4 (02:21):
Doctor Newton, you want to kick us off with that, yes, absolutely, so,
multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease. And with autoimmune disease,
the body essentially attacks itself, so it's a dysfunction of
the immune system. And with multiple sclerosis, the body is
attacking the nerves and the brain and spinal cord. So
if you think of our nerves as wires, the immune
(02:44):
system is attacking the covering around the wire or essentially
the insulation. And so with multiple sclerosis, as the body
is attacking those wires, you get various types of dysfunction.
You can get visual disturbances, weakness, fatigue, even muscle spasm
and plasticity that can be very severe and very debilitating
for patients.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
Wow, wow, how is it commonly treated?
Speaker 4 (03:08):
So over time there's been more FD approved medfications, there's
even several studies. Some of the medicines are given iv
or injection to.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Suppress the immune system.
Speaker 4 (03:20):
Sometimes you should get steroids and cortizone that also suppress
the immune system. And we see medical cannabis evolving as
another option, and even in some countries, medical cannabis is
FD approved in.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
Those countries for multiples thurosis.
Speaker 4 (03:35):
And we're seeing more and more states approving it as
a qualified condition.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Yeah, Natasha, what are what are how are you? What
is your treatment for your your living within this? So
what are the treatments that you're taking right now?
Speaker 5 (03:47):
Yeah, so I am on one of those disease modifying
therapies are also called d mts, and I'm actually on
a daily peel. So as you know, doctor n mentioned,
there are you know, injections twice a month, weekly medical cations,
but I take once a day peel that I've been
on for the last eleven years.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
What are the symptoms of MS, Natasha, Yeah, I.
Speaker 5 (04:10):
Mean, as Gardan Newton mentioned, you know, there's weakness, there's numbness, tingling, pain, dizzyness, vision,
problems walking. There's also cognitive where you know, people have
issues finding the words or you know, you know, mental
and kind of keeping.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
Up with things from them perspective.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Yeah, doctor Newton, did you want to add anything to them?
Speaker 4 (04:34):
Yes, every MS patient presents differently, so if there's a
variety in white range of symptoms, but in large part
it's depending on what part of the brain is spinal
cord is effective. So you have some patients where more
of the brain is affected somewhere with the spinal cord
is more effective. So you can see a variety of
different conditions, even how fast the disability from the condition progresses.
(04:57):
So there's a couple of types where it progresses quite rapid,
it lead and the patient has acute attacks on top
of a steady decline.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
I also heard that depression is a common side effect
of MS.
Speaker 4 (05:10):
There are many patients if you look at even pain overall,
paid patients are at high risk for depression. But one
thing that's a little bit different about MS, as Natasha
had mentioned, is you tend to see the fatigue in
the frustration that can come with not being able to
function normally.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
And so you can see.
Speaker 4 (05:29):
Thirty or more percent of patients dealing with depression that
have MS. And so when you think about a comprehensive
plan for MS patient, you're not only going to address
the physical disability, but you also want to address the
mental health component to that that comes with the frustration
of dealing with the disease process.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Yeah, Natasha, you want to share what you experience or
if you had any experiences of depression since your diagnosis.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
Yeah, so I haven't, but I do.
Speaker 5 (05:57):
You know, I leave that self help group here in Teleheal,
and it's part of the conversations. As Doc mentioned, there
is that mental health component too, and not even just
with just dealing with the disease, but being able to
talk about it. I think saw study recently that two
in five people with MS are embarrassed to have conversations
about it, and so you internalize it and you keep
(06:17):
it to yourself, and so being able to or not
being able to talk about it and share or relate
to others also kind of compounds that mental health and
depression piece of MS.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Yeah. Yeah, so doctor Newton, who is most at risk
of developing MS by gender, age, ethnicity.
Speaker 4 (06:39):
It can affect both sexist men and women get affected, however,
in general women are more.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
Likely to be affected.
Speaker 4 (06:46):
There's other risk factors including there's a hereditary component. Not
every person with the MS that has children, you know,
all the children don't get MS, but there's an increased risk.
There's also an association with vitamin D deficiency as well,
and vitamin D is very important for a properly functioning
immune system, and so when patients are low in vitamin D,
(07:09):
their immune system may not be functioning properly.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
So that is a huge risk factor as well.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
Yeah, I'm glad you brought up the hereditary piece because
my great grandmother was diagnosed with MS when I was younger,
and I really didn't know what it was. I just
knew that she lived with it, and so thank you
for sharing the aditary part because now I.
Speaker 4 (07:31):
Know or lifestyle things that you could do to also
intervene on that by not smoking, by controlling levels, but
even environmentally, you know, not putting yourself at risk to
be exposed to different viruses and things like that, because
some patients their symptoms start and they're associated with a
(07:52):
viral infection. Oh, or there's symptoms start and they're associated
with the vitamin D, so that deficiency, so that precipitates
and that basically starts where there where they notice a correlation.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
With the symptoms. So managing your stress.
Speaker 4 (08:04):
By the way, next month is actually Stress Awareness Month
in April and then in May it's Mental Health Awareness,
So it's a good time to you know, bring that
to your attention.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Yeah, so Natasha, talk about when you were diagnosed with
MS and how you learned you know that you were
having that experience with MS.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
Yeah, so it started with just numbness.
Speaker 5 (08:27):
I started having some numbness on the left side of
my body and not really sure what it was. You know,
a lot of people, probably a lot of people with MS,
you know, you just kind of brush it off as
oh I slept wrong or something like that, I woke
up the wrong way or whatever. But I noticed as
the day went on and the next day it wasn't
getting better. It was only getting worse. And so I
(08:47):
went to the emergency room. They immediately took me and
did an MRI and I say, within the next four
hours of radiologists was like, I can't say this definitively,
but I'm not an accercent.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
Sure you have MS.
Speaker 5 (09:00):
And I was just like okay, because I had no
clue what he was talking about, you know, and I,
you know, I didn't really ask a lot of questions.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
I'm like, all right, sure.
Speaker 5 (09:08):
But then he gave me a pamphlet and I was
traveling forward. So I went back to my hotel and
I started reading it, and I mean, I boo hoo gride,
I booho gride, because I was like, oh my gosh,
I'm about to die. Because I again, it's one that
it was at one of those times which I think
is still happening now where we don't know about MS,
we don't know enough about it.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
We don't hear about it, and so we just immediately
think it's a death sentence.
Speaker 5 (09:32):
And so once I, once I got the diagnosis, I
you know, got with a neurologist, they treated it quickly,
and I immediately got on my disease modifying.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
Therapy and have you know, been somewhat okay since then.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
Yeah, that's great to hear that you're doing well, doctor Newton.
Can we talk a little bit about how you know,
m's just a qualify buying condition in the state of
Florida for someone to use medical cannabis. Can you talk
about a little bit more about how cannabis can help
patients with MS.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (10:11):
One of the whollmarks of other immune diseases is inflammation
in various areas of the body. And unfortunately, you know,
the standard treatment doesn't always put the patient's symptoms into remission,
and so cannabis can serve as a rescue treatment for
many patients and potentially slow the progression. So there's certain
(10:33):
patents that the NIH and that Institute of Health has
to protect the brain from different types of injuries, different
types of inflammation. And so because our body has a
type of cannabis in it. We can supplement that cannabis
with cannabis from the plant. So this is the endocannabinoid
system and part of it regulates inflammation and regulates nerve function.
(10:58):
So by using can as an anti inflammatory and to
supplement our bodies cannabis, it can help regulate the immune
system and improve the symptoms and potentially slow the progression
of the disease. So since about the last twenty thirty years,
there's been more than five hundred publications that have mentioned
cannabis in mobile sclerosis, and in the last two years
(11:21):
there's been more than fifty publications that have mentioned multiple.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
Sclerosis and cannabis. And so it's.
Speaker 4 (11:27):
Actually undergoing clinical trials in the US. It's not yet
FD approved, but that formulation is a combination of CBD
and THAC. So CBD is a potent anti inflammatory. TAC
is a great pain reliever. It also in some cases
can really help with the severe pain, can help with
the mental health component as well. Here in Florida, the
(11:49):
patients have access to various formulations of medical cannabis. It
can be in topical formulations, which is a tincture, edibles, capsules,
even the flower, So the power is one way to
consume it by inhalation, but there's also vate pens that
it can be consumed by inhalation. So there's a lot
of varieties that where physicians can recommend cannabis for patients.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
Yeah, so if someone is listening to this program and
has ms and they're interested in using medical cannabis to
help treat their symptoms, how would they go about that
in the state of Florida.
Speaker 4 (12:23):
So I would say start with educating yourself. You know,
there's excellent information on the Office of Medical Marijuana USA's website,
which is a division of the Florida Department of Health.
There's excellent information on your website as well, and Mary
and after educating yourself, you can look up and see
where the qualified physicians are to give recommendation. So in
(12:44):
Florida there's over two thousand physicians that have taken the
course and are qualified to give that recommendation. And then
after meeting with the physician, they'll add you to the registry.
And so once you're added to the Florida Registry, now
you can go to any dispensary and of course that
truly we have locations located throughout the state, over one
hundred and sixty locations in Florida, and then you can
(13:08):
focus on your symptoms and so talk to your doctor
about what symptoms you're having, if you have an anxiety depression,
if you're having numbness, tingling, if you're having pain, and
it can come up with a personalized treatment plan for you.
And the great thing about cannabis is there's more flexibility.
It's not like you can only have one route of
administration and you could have one type of cannabis that
(13:29):
you take in the daytime maybe helps you function, and
another type you take at nighttime that can help you sleep.
So there's a lot of flexibility and there's a lot.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
Of personalization when it comes to medical cannabis.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
Yeah, so Natasha, I have to ask you, as an
MS patient, have you personally tried medical cannabis?
Speaker 5 (13:44):
I have not. I have not. I mean there's a
lot of good information here because I'm you know, thinking
about the various methods of treatment or injection, I guess,
or whatever you know.
Speaker 3 (13:56):
For me, it's kind of one of those things where
I never felt like this is probably the popcorn.
Speaker 5 (14:01):
And kind of like like I didn't think it was
for me, right, you know, So I think about like
the invisible disease of a mess where a lot of
people don't see it, and so even for me with
my invisible symptoms, I'm like.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
Is it really for me? Do I really need it?
Speaker 5 (14:15):
Even though I know I qualified for it, I've never
I've never you know, gone to the point of I
should try this.
Speaker 3 (14:22):
But I think.
Speaker 5 (14:22):
It's in listening to the conversation, listening to you know,
doctor Newton. It's definitely something that I think about or
will think about, for my fasms, for potentially sleeping, for
even pain.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
So I'm interested, even though I haven't signed up yet.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
Yeah, and you also host a lot of support groups
for people with MS, and what kinds of conversations in
your group are they having about medical cannabis as a treatment.
Speaker 5 (14:48):
Yeah, I think it's I think it's kind of on
both sides, maybe a fifty to fifty.
Speaker 3 (14:51):
There are some people.
Speaker 5 (14:52):
That have tried it and stand by it, you know,
this is what they use, whether it's a tincture or
gummies or something like that. But then you have the
others that are like, I'm not totally sure. I don't
want to get hooked on it. I don't want to
get addicted, and I think a lot of that also
kind of ties back to the recreational pieces of.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
It, right, and people that's what they know.
Speaker 5 (15:13):
You know, we know about the recreational cannabis, and so
we're kind of afraid to try, afraid to try anything else.
But it's fifty to fifty and we do have conversations
about it, you know, So people are interested in trying
medical cannabis.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Yeah, And I'm going to go back to echo what
doctor Newton said is that you can go on the
Florida Department of Health Office of Medical Marijuana Use website
to learn how to get a medical marijuana card and
then also see the physicians in your area that are
qualified by the state to provide that treatment. So I
definitely would encourage anyone who's listening to check that out.
(15:50):
So then I want to kind of talk through. You
are an ambassador for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. What
is your organization's stand on medical cannabis as a treatment.
Speaker 5 (16:02):
Yeah, so society supports the rights of you know, the
individuals that are living with the MS to as dot
dimensioned talk to their health care providers in determining whether
or not it is an appropriate treatment, you know, and
what's the best route for doing that. But then also,
like y'all mentioned, you know, listening to your state laws
or in compliance with your state laws, so you know,
Florida has theirs, others have, you know, wherever they have,
(16:23):
so being in compliance with their state laws, and then
exploring the treatments and seeing what best works for you,
because even though you have pain, you may try a
tincture that may not work right, so it maybe the
gummy's are oute. So you know, exploring the treatments and
knowing your bodys and just considering the best options for you.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:42):
So, doctor Newton, you talked a lot about the benefits
of using cannabis for MS. What are some of the
risks that MS patients should be aware of if they're
considering cannabis as a medical treatment.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (16:54):
So the risks are generally associated with two things. What
is the patients onunderlying conditions and then what is the
route of how the medicine is taken. One of the
most well known ones is you know, someone takes like
an edible and you know, they don't feel anything for
about fifteen minutes. They'll take another one and they'll and
then don't feel anything take another one, so now they've
(17:15):
taken too much and now they have, you know, basically
a panic attack essentially.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
So there's you know, acute risks.
Speaker 4 (17:22):
There another one that might be let's say you take
a dosage and it's too strong for you, so you
may have something called couchlock where.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
You feel like you don't want to move around for
a while. But is that the the.
Speaker 4 (17:35):
Side effects are generally benign when you can compare it
to something like opioids, where you can actually overdose on opioids.
There's no dose of cannabis where the patient will have
their breathing breathing suppressed, so you can't overdose in that
sense with cannabis. The other routes, the other factors are
based off of how you take it. So if you
inhale anything, it can affect the lungs sometimes, so you
(17:58):
may want to balance out, you know, with a longer
acting like an oral or tincture. If you do choose
to inhale the medicine, sometimes the lungs could be effected
based on the that's consumed. In rare cases, and you
see this more in the recreational side. Where someone can
have severe nausea related to that to cannabis consumption. But
(18:18):
usually those are like the heavy users on the recreational side,
you don't see that as much on the medical side.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
Overall.
Speaker 4 (18:27):
One thing to think about too, is that on the
medical side, we need to be more educated as physicians.
And you know, whether you're talking about physicians, nurses, pharmacists,
and so that's why there's great programs like yours, and
that's why I end up writing this book.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
I don't want to feel like I'm giving a plug
for my book.
Speaker 4 (18:47):
Fill in that gap because we don't get educated in
medical school. I didn't learn anything about cannabis in medical school.
I didn't learn anything about cannabis in residency. As in medicine,
we only learn about the side effects because of the
scheduling of it. But now we have more than thirty
states that has it legal. There's so many institutions, including
at FAMU doing research, University of Florida doing research. I've
(19:10):
done several research projects. I'm starting another one later in
the year. And so we're educating ourselves, we're educating our patients,
and we need to continue what you're doing, continue to
support that, continue to support books like this that educate
doctors and pharmacists as well to fill in that gap
and education so that way we can personalize what each
patient needs.
Speaker 3 (19:30):
So there's so many more.
Speaker 4 (19:31):
Qualified conditions, including PTSD cancer.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
We look at.
Speaker 4 (19:38):
Alzheimer's has approved in some states here if you have
something similar to Parkinson's, which Alzheimer's is similar to that,
and we know that that's on the rise, that you
can qualify the patient off of that because you have
conditions that are similar to in Messers or similar to Parkinson's.
We have pediatric epilepsy. That's another qualified condition. So there's
(20:00):
so many ways that we need to continue to educate
ourselves so we can maximize the benefits for the patients
as well.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
Yeah, Tasha, did you want to add anything to.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
That at all?
Speaker 3 (20:12):
I mean, I agree with the educational pieces.
Speaker 5 (20:16):
I think that's you know them, a society has a
healthcare provider group where they are constantly you know, engaging
with providers and reaching out to them to you know,
kind of keep them up to date on things because
it's worth they're practicing, right. So the more you know,
the more you know, and the more you as providers
or our providers can support us those of us sleep
with them because we put our trust in our providers.
(20:36):
We don't know everything, and so to be able to
go to someone that is at least a little more
knowledgeable than we are, so that we are just out
here trying things and picking you know, picking up the
wrong thing and then we over in the corner scratch
and you know whatever.
Speaker 3 (20:48):
So having our providers that are knowledgeable.
Speaker 5 (20:50):
About MS and the ways that the medical cannabis can
treat us, I think is helpful.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
Yeah. So so doctor Newt wanna go back a little
bit on on the link about risk. Right, So in Florida,
you know, we have a lot of the CBD shops
and the hemp shops that are all across the state
of Florida. You can find Now CBD products and stores
is like a beverage, it's candy, It's all these different things.
(21:19):
So what are what's the difference between you know, the
THC and and these CBD products that are not that
you don't get at a dispensary. So can you educate
our listeners and viewers on that and how they should
approach that.
Speaker 4 (21:36):
Yeah, So things that you would go in buy it,
like a vape shop or you know those stores like that,
those boutique shops. Is not regulated, meaning that the medicine
is not always sent to a third party for testing,
so it could be contaminated with pesticides. We know that
(21:57):
on the street that cannabis can be unfortunately, can be
contaminated with fentanyl, and we know that. You know how
the overdose epidemic is going right now, you know with opioids,
you know, unfortunately it's not a regulated market in the
licensed side, So the licensed dispensary in Florida have to
(22:20):
do third party testing, you know. So US as a dispensary,
we do our own testing, but we also send off
to a third party and a patient can scan a
QR code and see that there's no heavy metals in there,
there's no pesticide, there's no microbes in there, there's not
excessive moisture, which excessive moisture can lead to mold and
things like that. So it's been tested and it's pharmaceutical grade,
(22:43):
and so the precision of the medicine is much more reliable.
The safety of the medicine is much more reliable. I
would say every month I hear about different stories where
someone bought a product at a vape shop. It might
have one hundred and fifty milligrams of TC, might have
two hundred milligrams of TC or more in one dosage,
which is I've seen products that have been one hundred
(23:05):
times the recommended started starting dosage unfortunately, and that will
cause a panic attack. The patient would have to go
to the er to get some supportive care. In that instance,
someone can literally feel like they're dying because it's the palpitations.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
But usually it's it's self limited.
Speaker 4 (23:23):
Now somebody has a history of heart disease, that might
be more consequential.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
But the most part it could be benign, but it could.
Speaker 4 (23:29):
Be very serious if you're consuming something with pesticides, and
we know pesticides can be carcynogens. If you're something that
on a regular basis, whether that be breathing it in
or taking it orally or with drops or something like that,
or inedible, that can lead.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
To very serious consequences.
Speaker 4 (23:45):
So the safety of the regulated side is one of
the most important things about getting your card and going
to the dispensary and staying safe and not taking a
product that's not tested, it's not regulated.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
Yeah, thank you, thank you for sharing that, so in
addition to consum during pharmaceuticals or medical cannabis, are there
any lifestyle changes that can help alleviate the MS symptoms? Doctor,
and I'll start with you and then Natasha, I'll have
you share from your own personal experience.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (24:13):
So one thing that's very important to look at and
consider is with lifestyle is getting regular exercise because that
does help boost and maintain your immune system. Keeping low
stress levels can reduce flare ups, and it also helps
you maintain your immune system. If you get too much stress,
there's a build up of a warmone called cortisol, which
(24:34):
can suppress your immune system and it can also lead
to weight gain because it can affect how your body
metabolizes glucose.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
By getting exposure to vitamin D.
Speaker 4 (24:44):
By getting vitamin D and also getting exposure to sunlight,
that can lower the risk for multiple scirrosis. And being
on an anti inflammatory diet is very important.
Speaker 1 (24:54):
And so one component of.
Speaker 4 (24:56):
An anti inflammatory diet is having fiber and so the
healthy back acteria in our gut break down the fiber
and the byproduct of that is anti inflammatories. Also consuming
omega three, so fish oils is very good as well
as part of an anti inflammatory diet, very similar to a
Mediterranean diet. So all these things will help to calm
(25:18):
the immune system. We have about eighty percent of our
immune system in our GI tract, so our body really
responds to what we eat, and so keeping a healthy gut,
keeping a healthy immune system to the foods that we
eat is very important. And limiting toxin exposure, so smoke,
environmental exposure, limited exposure to fumes. And then if you
(25:40):
think you have these symptoms, to get an early screening,
So talk to your doctor about those symptoms, even though
they may be mild. Catching it earlier can help to
improve the prognosis. So now you get an earlier treatment,
you're not getting treated after a point. We've already had
some permanent disability from the MS.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
Yeah, all right, Natasha, you want to add to that
place from your experience.
Speaker 5 (26:03):
Yeah, so from a lifestyle change, I once I was
diagnosed with MS and actually having Bell's palsy prior to that,
stress reducing.
Speaker 3 (26:11):
Stress was a big thing for me.
Speaker 5 (26:12):
I tried to I am big on self care, whether
it's massages or stretch zone and things like that, Like
I am big on reducing stress. Also kind of trying
to exercise. I don't do it as much as I should,
but definitely, you know, trying to factor that they're in there,
whether it's going to the gym a couple of times
a week just kind of walk and get things off.
I'm actually participating in a study right now on MS
(26:35):
on African Americans with MS. It's and exercise studies, So
it's kind of forcing me to make sure I'm doing
my part to continue to adapt that healthy lifestyle. I
didn't know a lot about in doctor. Thanks for sharing that,
like some of the Omega three pieces and things like that,
Like those are things that I feel like there's a
lack of again going back to that lack of knowledge,
(26:56):
like I didn't know anything about that. So more knowledge
and more information sharing and awareness is really helpful for
a lot of people with MS. I mean, we have
our sun light here and Telassie in Florida, right, so
we're not lacking son, But then there's still so many
people in Florida that haven't MESS and there's also a
lot of people with Florida that have that a lot
of people with the MS that have the heat, the
(27:18):
hot and cold issues with MS. So kind of knowing
that and you know, knowing the best ways is still
kind of good to kind of understand the best way
we can treat ourselves.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
Yeah, this was such great information and I'm so glad
Natasha that you're here. You are living with MS and
you're learning on ways to you know better your health.
So I want to thank you again for being a guest.
I wanted to give you all a chance to share
thoughts or any resources that you think our listeners and
viewers would appreciate. And I'll start with you, doctor Newton.
(27:50):
I know you mentioned your book earlier. Are there any
other resources or information that you want to share closing
thoughts with our listeners and viewers.
Speaker 4 (28:00):
Yes, I think your website is one of the essential sources.
Speaker 1 (28:03):
I thank you.
Speaker 4 (28:05):
Your team is one of the leaders in Florida, if
not the whole United States as far as educating the community.
So I would give a strong shout out to your
website and mary beautiful design as well and great videos.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
At the Dispenser.
Speaker 4 (28:21):
We have true Leaf's website at trueleave dot com and
Office of Medical Marijuana Use. I would say start there
and if you need deeper research or say go to
PubMed dot gov.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
PubMed dot gov. I'm about to head out.
Speaker 4 (28:32):
I have a patient to see, but I want to
thank you so much for having me on and look
forward to anymore. If you ever need me to come
in and do some education. I really appreciate both of you.
Speaker 2 (28:42):
All right, thank you doctor. Moving with that, I'm going
to close this show by saying thank you for being
guests on this Conversations on Cannabis virtual form, brought to
you by the Medical Marijuana Education and Research Initiative at
Florida and M University. Thank you to everyone watching this program.
Tell us what you think about this form by completing
the survey posted in the comment boxes on Mary's social
(29:03):
media pages. If you complete the survey, your name will
be entered into a drawing on April twenty twenty five
to win a one hundred dollars gift card provided by
one of Mary's partners. We also want to encourage you
to go to the Florida Department of Health Office of
Medical Marijuana Use website to learn how to obtain a
legal medical marijuana card in the state of Florida. And
(29:24):
we also want to encourage you to go to Florida
and M University's Merry website to learn more about this
initiative is educational programs and about cannabis use in Florida.
Thanks everyone.
Speaker 5 (29:38):
The views and opinions of our invited guest are not
necessarily the views and opinions of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical
University or the Medical Marijuana Education and Research Initiative
From the WA and M Studio on the campus of
Florida A and M University. This is Mary Forum Radio,
a weekly conversation on the education and research of the
medical marijuana being conducted at MUNI.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Hi, I'm Heidi Otway, your host for this Conversations on
Cannabis virtual form, brought to you by the Medical Marijuana
Education and Research Initiative at Florida and M University. In
this conversation, we're talking about medical cannabis as a treatment
for people living with multiple sclerosis, also known as MS.
(00:33):
So let's talk and learn about this subject with our guests.
Nasa Natasha Akoff is the founder of Online Nerves, Incorporated
and also serves as a National Multiple Sclerosis Society Ambassador,
leading various initiatives to promote and bring awareness to MS.
She is dedicated to improving the lives of individuals impacted
(00:54):
by the effects of MS and creating a safe space
for the MS community to evolve and thrive. Our next
guest is doctor Terrell Newton, a board certified physician specializing
in anesthesiology and interventional pain management. He's also a best
selling author. Doctor Newton serves as the Florida Medical Director
(01:15):
at TRULEIAVE, the largest dispensary in the US. In this role,
he is dedicated to advancing medical marijuana treatment and patient care.
Natasha and doctor Newton, welcome to the forum. I'm so
excited to have you guests, to share your expertise on
this subject.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
Thank you for having us.
Speaker 4 (01:34):
Thank you so much. I'm very excited. This is Autoimmune
Disease and mess Awareness Month, so so great time, perfect
timing for this topic exactly.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
To everyone watching, please share the link to this form
on your social media channels so others can learn about
this topic. We also want you to tell us what
you think about this form by completing the survey that
will be posted on Mary's social media pages. Your name
will be entered into a drawing and in April twenty
twenty five to win a one hundred dollars gift card
(02:03):
provided by one of Mary's partners. Now let's start this
conversation on cannabis, Doctor Newton and Natasha, Let's start by
educating our audiences about this form's topic. So, what is
multiple sclerosis which is commonly referred to as MS?
Speaker 4 (02:21):
Doctor Newton, you want to kick us off with that, yes, absolutely, so,
multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease. And with autoimmune disease,
the body essentially attacks itself, so it's a dysfunction of
the immune system. And with multiple sclerosis, the body is
attacking the nerves and the brain and spinal cord. So
if you think of our nerves as wires, the immune
(02:44):
system is attacking the covering around the wire or essentially
the insulation. And so with multiple sclerosis, as the body
is attacking those wires, you get various types of dysfunction.
You can get visual disturbances, weakness, fatigue, even muscle spasm
and plasticity that can be very severe and very debilitating
for patients.
Speaker 2 (03:04):
Wow, wow, how is it commonly treated?
Speaker 4 (03:08):
So over time there's been more FD approved medfications, there's
even several studies. Some of the medicines are given iv
or injection to.
Speaker 1 (03:18):
Suppress the immune system.
Speaker 4 (03:20):
Sometimes you should get steroids and cortizone that also suppress
the immune system. And we see medical cannabis evolving as
another option, and even in some countries, medical cannabis is
FD approved in.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
Those countries for multiples thurosis.
Speaker 4 (03:35):
And we're seeing more and more states approving it as
a qualified condition.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Yeah, Natasha, what are what are how are you? What
is your treatment for your your living within this? So
what are the treatments that you're taking right now?
Speaker 5 (03:47):
Yeah, so I am on one of those disease modifying
therapies are also called d mts, and I'm actually on
a daily peel. So as you know, doctor n mentioned,
there are you know, injections twice a month, weekly medical cations,
but I take once a day peel that I've been
on for the last eleven years.
Speaker 2 (04:06):
What are the symptoms of MS, Natasha, Yeah, I.
Speaker 5 (04:10):
Mean, as Gardan Newton mentioned, you know, there's weakness, there's numbness, tingling, pain, dizzyness, vision,
problems walking. There's also cognitive where you know, people have
issues finding the words or you know, you know, mental
and kind of keeping.
Speaker 3 (04:28):
Up with things from them perspective.
Speaker 2 (04:31):
Yeah, doctor Newton, did you want to add anything to them?
Speaker 4 (04:34):
Yes, every MS patient presents differently, so if there's a
variety in white range of symptoms, but in large part
it's depending on what part of the brain is spinal
cord is effective. So you have some patients where more
of the brain is affected somewhere with the spinal cord
is more effective. So you can see a variety of
different conditions, even how fast the disability from the condition progresses.
(04:57):
So there's a couple of types where it progresses quite rapid,
it lead and the patient has acute attacks on top
of a steady decline.
Speaker 3 (05:04):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
I also heard that depression is a common side effect
of MS.
Speaker 4 (05:10):
There are many patients if you look at even pain overall,
paid patients are at high risk for depression. But one
thing that's a little bit different about MS, as Natasha
had mentioned, is you tend to see the fatigue in
the frustration that can come with not being able to
function normally.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
And so you can see.
Speaker 4 (05:29):
Thirty or more percent of patients dealing with depression that
have MS. And so when you think about a comprehensive
plan for MS patient, you're not only going to address
the physical disability, but you also want to address the
mental health component to that that comes with the frustration
of dealing with the disease process.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Yeah, Natasha, you want to share what you experience or
if you had any experiences of depression since your diagnosis.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
Yeah, so I haven't, but I do.
Speaker 5 (05:57):
You know, I leave that self help group here in Teleheal,
and it's part of the conversations. As Doc mentioned, there
is that mental health component too, and not even just
with just dealing with the disease, but being able to
talk about it. I think saw study recently that two
in five people with MS are embarrassed to have conversations
about it, and so you internalize it and you keep
(06:17):
it to yourself, and so being able to or not
being able to talk about it and share or relate
to others also kind of compounds that mental health and
depression piece of MS.
Speaker 2 (06:29):
Yeah. Yeah, so doctor Newton, who is most at risk
of developing MS by gender, age, ethnicity.
Speaker 4 (06:39):
It can affect both sexist men and women get affected, however,
in general women are more.
Speaker 1 (06:45):
Likely to be affected.
Speaker 4 (06:46):
There's other risk factors including there's a hereditary component. Not
every person with the MS that has children, you know,
all the children don't get MS, but there's an increased risk.
There's also an association with vitamin D deficiency as well,
and vitamin D is very important for a properly functioning
immune system, and so when patients are low in vitamin D,
(07:09):
their immune system may not be functioning properly.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
So that is a huge risk factor as well.
Speaker 2 (07:14):
Yeah, I'm glad you brought up the hereditary piece because
my great grandmother was diagnosed with MS when I was younger,
and I really didn't know what it was. I just
knew that she lived with it, and so thank you
for sharing the aditary part because now I.
Speaker 4 (07:31):
Know or lifestyle things that you could do to also
intervene on that by not smoking, by controlling levels, but
even environmentally, you know, not putting yourself at risk to
be exposed to different viruses and things like that, because
some patients their symptoms start and they're associated with a
(07:52):
viral infection. Oh, or there's symptoms start and they're associated
with the vitamin D, so that deficiency, so that precipitates
and that basically starts where there where they notice a correlation.
Speaker 1 (08:02):
With the symptoms. So managing your stress.
Speaker 4 (08:04):
By the way, next month is actually Stress Awareness Month
in April and then in May it's Mental Health Awareness,
So it's a good time to you know, bring that
to your attention.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Yeah, so Natasha, talk about when you were diagnosed with
MS and how you learned you know that you were
having that experience with MS.
Speaker 3 (08:24):
Yeah, so it started with just numbness.
Speaker 5 (08:27):
I started having some numbness on the left side of
my body and not really sure what it was. You know,
a lot of people, probably a lot of people with MS,
you know, you just kind of brush it off as
oh I slept wrong or something like that, I woke
up the wrong way or whatever. But I noticed as
the day went on and the next day it wasn't
getting better. It was only getting worse. And so I
(08:47):
went to the emergency room. They immediately took me and
did an MRI and I say, within the next four
hours of radiologists was like, I can't say this definitively,
but I'm not an accercent.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
Sure you have MS.
Speaker 5 (09:00):
And I was just like okay, because I had no
clue what he was talking about, you know, and I,
you know, I didn't really ask a lot of questions.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
I'm like, all right, sure.
Speaker 5 (09:08):
But then he gave me a pamphlet and I was
traveling forward. So I went back to my hotel and
I started reading it, and I mean, I boo hoo gride,
I booho gride, because I was like, oh my gosh,
I'm about to die. Because I again, it's one that
it was at one of those times which I think
is still happening now where we don't know about MS,
we don't know enough about it.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
We don't hear about it, and so we just immediately
think it's a death sentence.
Speaker 5 (09:32):
And so once I, once I got the diagnosis, I
you know, got with a neurologist, they treated it quickly,
and I immediately got on my disease modifying.
Speaker 3 (09:44):
Therapy and have you know, been somewhat okay since then.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
Yeah, that's great to hear that you're doing well, doctor Newton.
Can we talk a little bit about how you know,
m's just a qualify buying condition in the state of
Florida for someone to use medical cannabis. Can you talk
about a little bit more about how cannabis can help
patients with MS.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (10:11):
One of the whollmarks of other immune diseases is inflammation
in various areas of the body. And unfortunately, you know,
the standard treatment doesn't always put the patient's symptoms into remission,
and so cannabis can serve as a rescue treatment for
many patients and potentially slow the progression. So there's certain
(10:33):
patents that the NIH and that Institute of Health has
to protect the brain from different types of injuries, different
types of inflammation. And so because our body has a
type of cannabis in it. We can supplement that cannabis
with cannabis from the plant. So this is the endocannabinoid
system and part of it regulates inflammation and regulates nerve function.
(10:58):
So by using can as an anti inflammatory and to
supplement our bodies cannabis, it can help regulate the immune
system and improve the symptoms and potentially slow the progression
of the disease. So since about the last twenty thirty years,
there's been more than five hundred publications that have mentioned
cannabis in mobile sclerosis, and in the last two years
(11:21):
there's been more than fifty publications that have mentioned multiple.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
Sclerosis and cannabis. And so it's.
Speaker 4 (11:27):
Actually undergoing clinical trials in the US. It's not yet
FD approved, but that formulation is a combination of CBD
and THAC. So CBD is a potent anti inflammatory. TAC
is a great pain reliever. It also in some cases
can really help with the severe pain, can help with
the mental health component as well. Here in Florida, the
(11:49):
patients have access to various formulations of medical cannabis. It
can be in topical formulations, which is a tincture, edibles, capsules,
even the flower, So the power is one way to
consume it by inhalation, but there's also vate pens that
it can be consumed by inhalation. So there's a lot
of varieties that where physicians can recommend cannabis for patients.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
Yeah, so if someone is listening to this program and
has ms and they're interested in using medical cannabis to
help treat their symptoms, how would they go about that
in the state of Florida.
Speaker 4 (12:23):
So I would say start with educating yourself. You know,
there's excellent information on the Office of Medical Marijuana USA's website,
which is a division of the Florida Department of Health.
There's excellent information on your website as well, and Mary
and after educating yourself, you can look up and see
where the qualified physicians are to give recommendation. So in
(12:44):
Florida there's over two thousand physicians that have taken the
course and are qualified to give that recommendation. And then
after meeting with the physician, they'll add you to the registry.
And so once you're added to the Florida Registry, now
you can go to any dispensary and of course that
truly we have locations located throughout the state, over one
hundred and sixty locations in Florida, and then you can
(13:08):
focus on your symptoms and so talk to your doctor
about what symptoms you're having, if you have an anxiety depression,
if you're having numbness, tingling, if you're having pain, and
it can come up with a personalized treatment plan for you.
And the great thing about cannabis is there's more flexibility.
It's not like you can only have one route of
administration and you could have one type of cannabis that
(13:29):
you take in the daytime maybe helps you function, and
another type you take at nighttime that can help you sleep.
So there's a lot of flexibility and there's a lot.
Speaker 1 (13:36):
Of personalization when it comes to medical cannabis.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
Yeah, so Natasha, I have to ask you, as an
MS patient, have you personally tried medical cannabis?
Speaker 5 (13:44):
I have not. I have not. I mean there's a
lot of good information here because I'm you know, thinking
about the various methods of treatment or injection, I guess,
or whatever you know.
Speaker 3 (13:56):
For me, it's kind of one of those things where
I never felt like this is probably the popcorn.
Speaker 5 (14:01):
And kind of like like I didn't think it was
for me, right, you know, So I think about like
the invisible disease of a mess where a lot of
people don't see it, and so even for me with
my invisible symptoms, I'm like.
Speaker 3 (14:13):
Is it really for me? Do I really need it?
Speaker 5 (14:15):
Even though I know I qualified for it, I've never
I've never you know, gone to the point of I
should try this.
Speaker 3 (14:22):
But I think.
Speaker 5 (14:22):
It's in listening to the conversation, listening to you know,
doctor Newton. It's definitely something that I think about or
will think about, for my fasms, for potentially sleeping, for
even pain.
Speaker 3 (14:34):
So I'm interested, even though I haven't signed up yet.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
Yeah, and you also host a lot of support groups
for people with MS, and what kinds of conversations in
your group are they having about medical cannabis as a treatment.
Speaker 5 (14:48):
Yeah, I think it's I think it's kind of on
both sides, maybe a fifty to fifty.
Speaker 3 (14:51):
There are some people.
Speaker 5 (14:52):
That have tried it and stand by it, you know,
this is what they use, whether it's a tincture or
gummies or something like that. But then you have the
others that are like, I'm not totally sure. I don't
want to get hooked on it. I don't want to
get addicted, and I think a lot of that also
kind of ties back to the recreational pieces of.
Speaker 3 (15:11):
It, right, and people that's what they know.
Speaker 5 (15:13):
You know, we know about the recreational cannabis, and so
we're kind of afraid to try, afraid to try anything else.
But it's fifty to fifty and we do have conversations
about it, you know, So people are interested in trying
medical cannabis.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
Yeah, And I'm going to go back to echo what
doctor Newton said is that you can go on the
Florida Department of Health Office of Medical Marijuana Use website
to learn how to get a medical marijuana card and
then also see the physicians in your area that are
qualified by the state to provide that treatment. So I
definitely would encourage anyone who's listening to check that out.
(15:50):
So then I want to kind of talk through. You
are an ambassador for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. What
is your organization's stand on medical cannabis as a treatment.
Speaker 5 (16:02):
Yeah, so society supports the rights of you know, the
individuals that are living with the MS to as dot
dimensioned talk to their health care providers in determining whether
or not it is an appropriate treatment, you know, and
what's the best route for doing that. But then also,
like y'all mentioned, you know, listening to your state laws
or in compliance with your state laws, so you know,
Florida has theirs, others have, you know, wherever they have,
(16:23):
so being in compliance with their state laws, and then
exploring the treatments and seeing what best works for you,
because even though you have pain, you may try a
tincture that may not work right, so it maybe the
gummy's are oute. So you know, exploring the treatments and
knowing your bodys and just considering the best options for you.
Speaker 1 (16:42):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:42):
So, doctor Newton, you talked a lot about the benefits
of using cannabis for MS. What are some of the
risks that MS patients should be aware of if they're
considering cannabis as a medical treatment.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (16:54):
So the risks are generally associated with two things. What
is the patients onunderlying conditions and then what is the
route of how the medicine is taken. One of the
most well known ones is you know, someone takes like
an edible and you know, they don't feel anything for
about fifteen minutes. They'll take another one and they'll and
then don't feel anything take another one, so now they've
(17:15):
taken too much and now they have, you know, basically
a panic attack essentially.
Speaker 1 (17:20):
So there's you know, acute risks.
Speaker 4 (17:22):
There another one that might be let's say you take
a dosage and it's too strong for you, so you
may have something called couchlock where.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
You feel like you don't want to move around for
a while. But is that the the.
Speaker 4 (17:35):
Side effects are generally benign when you can compare it
to something like opioids, where you can actually overdose on opioids.
There's no dose of cannabis where the patient will have
their breathing breathing suppressed, so you can't overdose in that
sense with cannabis. The other routes, the other factors are
based off of how you take it. So if you
inhale anything, it can affect the lungs sometimes, so you
(17:58):
may want to balance out, you know, with a longer
acting like an oral or tincture. If you do choose
to inhale the medicine, sometimes the lungs could be effected
based on the that's consumed. In rare cases, and you
see this more in the recreational side. Where someone can
have severe nausea related to that to cannabis consumption. But
(18:18):
usually those are like the heavy users on the recreational side,
you don't see that as much on the medical side.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
Overall.
Speaker 4 (18:27):
One thing to think about too, is that on the
medical side, we need to be more educated as physicians.
And you know, whether you're talking about physicians, nurses, pharmacists,
and so that's why there's great programs like yours, and
that's why I end up writing this book.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
I don't want to feel like I'm giving a plug
for my book.
Speaker 4 (18:47):
Fill in that gap because we don't get educated in
medical school. I didn't learn anything about cannabis in medical school.
I didn't learn anything about cannabis in residency. As in medicine,
we only learn about the side effects because of the
scheduling of it. But now we have more than thirty
states that has it legal. There's so many institutions, including
at FAMU doing research, University of Florida doing research. I've
(19:10):
done several research projects. I'm starting another one later in
the year. And so we're educating ourselves, we're educating our patients,
and we need to continue what you're doing, continue to
support that, continue to support books like this that educate
doctors and pharmacists as well to fill in that gap
and education so that way we can personalize what each
patient needs.
Speaker 3 (19:30):
So there's so many more.
Speaker 4 (19:31):
Qualified conditions, including PTSD cancer.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
We look at.
Speaker 4 (19:38):
Alzheimer's has approved in some states here if you have
something similar to Parkinson's, which Alzheimer's is similar to that,
and we know that that's on the rise, that you
can qualify the patient off of that because you have
conditions that are similar to in Messers or similar to Parkinson's.
We have pediatric epilepsy. That's another qualified condition. So there's
(20:00):
so many ways that we need to continue to educate
ourselves so we can maximize the benefits for the patients
as well.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
Yeah, Tasha, did you want to add anything to.
Speaker 1 (20:09):
That at all?
Speaker 3 (20:12):
I mean, I agree with the educational pieces.
Speaker 5 (20:16):
I think that's you know them, a society has a
healthcare provider group where they are constantly you know, engaging
with providers and reaching out to them to you know,
kind of keep them up to date on things because
it's worth they're practicing, right. So the more you know,
the more you know, and the more you as providers
or our providers can support us those of us sleep
with them because we put our trust in our providers.
(20:36):
We don't know everything, and so to be able to
go to someone that is at least a little more
knowledgeable than we are, so that we are just out
here trying things and picking you know, picking up the
wrong thing and then we over in the corner scratch
and you know whatever.
Speaker 3 (20:48):
So having our providers that are knowledgeable.
Speaker 5 (20:50):
About MS and the ways that the medical cannabis can
treat us, I think is helpful.
Speaker 2 (20:57):
Yeah. So so doctor Newt wanna go back a little
bit on on the link about risk. Right, So in Florida,
you know, we have a lot of the CBD shops
and the hemp shops that are all across the state
of Florida. You can find Now CBD products and stores
is like a beverage, it's candy, It's all these different things.
(21:19):
So what are what's the difference between you know, the
THC and and these CBD products that are not that
you don't get at a dispensary. So can you educate
our listeners and viewers on that and how they should
approach that.
Speaker 4 (21:36):
Yeah, So things that you would go in buy it,
like a vape shop or you know those stores like that,
those boutique shops. Is not regulated, meaning that the medicine
is not always sent to a third party for testing,
so it could be contaminated with pesticides. We know that
(21:57):
on the street that cannabis can be unfortunately, can be
contaminated with fentanyl, and we know that. You know how
the overdose epidemic is going right now, you know with opioids,
you know, unfortunately it's not a regulated market in the
licensed side, So the licensed dispensary in Florida have to
(22:20):
do third party testing, you know. So US as a dispensary,
we do our own testing, but we also send off
to a third party and a patient can scan a
QR code and see that there's no heavy metals in there,
there's no pesticide, there's no microbes in there, there's not
excessive moisture, which excessive moisture can lead to mold and
things like that. So it's been tested and it's pharmaceutical grade,
(22:43):
and so the precision of the medicine is much more reliable.
The safety of the medicine is much more reliable. I
would say every month I hear about different stories where
someone bought a product at a vape shop. It might
have one hundred and fifty milligrams of TC, might have
two hundred milligrams of TC or more in one dosage,
which is I've seen products that have been one hundred
(23:05):
times the recommended started starting dosage unfortunately, and that will
cause a panic attack. The patient would have to go
to the er to get some supportive care. In that instance,
someone can literally feel like they're dying because it's the palpitations.
Speaker 1 (23:20):
But usually it's it's self limited.
Speaker 4 (23:23):
Now somebody has a history of heart disease, that might
be more consequential.
Speaker 1 (23:26):
But the most part it could be benign, but it could.
Speaker 4 (23:29):
Be very serious if you're consuming something with pesticides, and
we know pesticides can be carcynogens. If you're something that
on a regular basis, whether that be breathing it in
or taking it orally or with drops or something like that,
or inedible, that can lead.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
To very serious consequences.
Speaker 4 (23:45):
So the safety of the regulated side is one of
the most important things about getting your card and going
to the dispensary and staying safe and not taking a
product that's not tested, it's not regulated.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
Yeah, thank you, thank you for sharing that, so in
addition to consum during pharmaceuticals or medical cannabis, are there
any lifestyle changes that can help alleviate the MS symptoms? Doctor,
and I'll start with you and then Natasha, I'll have
you share from your own personal experience.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (24:13):
So one thing that's very important to look at and
consider is with lifestyle is getting regular exercise because that
does help boost and maintain your immune system. Keeping low
stress levels can reduce flare ups, and it also helps
you maintain your immune system. If you get too much stress,
there's a build up of a warmone called cortisol, which
(24:34):
can suppress your immune system and it can also lead
to weight gain because it can affect how your body
metabolizes glucose.
Speaker 1 (24:42):
By getting exposure to vitamin D.
Speaker 4 (24:44):
By getting vitamin D and also getting exposure to sunlight,
that can lower the risk for multiple scirrosis. And being
on an anti inflammatory diet is very important.
Speaker 1 (24:54):
And so one component of.
Speaker 4 (24:56):
An anti inflammatory diet is having fiber and so the
healthy back acteria in our gut break down the fiber
and the byproduct of that is anti inflammatories. Also consuming
omega three, so fish oils is very good as well
as part of an anti inflammatory diet, very similar to a
Mediterranean diet. So all these things will help to calm
(25:18):
the immune system. We have about eighty percent of our
immune system in our GI tract, so our body really
responds to what we eat, and so keeping a healthy gut,
keeping a healthy immune system to the foods that we
eat is very important. And limiting toxin exposure, so smoke,
environmental exposure, limited exposure to fumes. And then if you
(25:40):
think you have these symptoms, to get an early screening,
So talk to your doctor about those symptoms, even though
they may be mild. Catching it earlier can help to
improve the prognosis. So now you get an earlier treatment,
you're not getting treated after a point. We've already had
some permanent disability from the MS.
Speaker 2 (26:00):
Yeah, all right, Natasha, you want to add to that
place from your experience.
Speaker 5 (26:03):
Yeah, so from a lifestyle change, I once I was
diagnosed with MS and actually having Bell's palsy prior to that,
stress reducing.
Speaker 3 (26:11):
Stress was a big thing for me.
Speaker 5 (26:12):
I tried to I am big on self care, whether
it's massages or stretch zone and things like that, Like
I am big on reducing stress. Also kind of trying
to exercise. I don't do it as much as I should,
but definitely, you know, trying to factor that they're in there,
whether it's going to the gym a couple of times
a week just kind of walk and get things off.
I'm actually participating in a study right now on MS
(26:35):
on African Americans with MS. It's and exercise studies, So
it's kind of forcing me to make sure I'm doing
my part to continue to adapt that healthy lifestyle. I
didn't know a lot about in doctor. Thanks for sharing that,
like some of the Omega three pieces and things like that,
Like those are things that I feel like there's a
lack of again going back to that lack of knowledge,
(26:56):
like I didn't know anything about that. So more knowledge
and more information sharing and awareness is really helpful for
a lot of people with MS. I mean, we have
our sun light here and Telassie in Florida, right, so
we're not lacking son, But then there's still so many
people in Florida that haven't MESS and there's also a
lot of people with Florida that have that a lot
of people with the MS that have the heat, the
(27:18):
hot and cold issues with MS. So kind of knowing
that and you know, knowing the best ways is still
kind of good to kind of understand the best way
we can treat ourselves.
Speaker 2 (27:28):
Yeah, this was such great information and I'm so glad
Natasha that you're here. You are living with MS and
you're learning on ways to you know better your health.
So I want to thank you again for being a guest.
I wanted to give you all a chance to share
thoughts or any resources that you think our listeners and
viewers would appreciate. And I'll start with you, doctor Newton.
(27:50):
I know you mentioned your book earlier. Are there any
other resources or information that you want to share closing
thoughts with our listeners and viewers.
Speaker 4 (28:00):
Yes, I think your website is one of the essential sources.
Speaker 1 (28:03):
I thank you.
Speaker 4 (28:05):
Your team is one of the leaders in Florida, if
not the whole United States as far as educating the community.
So I would give a strong shout out to your
website and mary beautiful design as well and great videos.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
At the Dispenser.
Speaker 4 (28:21):
We have true Leaf's website at trueleave dot com and
Office of Medical Marijuana Use. I would say start there
and if you need deeper research or say go to
PubMed dot gov.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
PubMed dot gov. I'm about to head out.
Speaker 4 (28:32):
I have a patient to see, but I want to
thank you so much for having me on and look
forward to anymore. If you ever need me to come
in and do some education. I really appreciate both of you.
Speaker 2 (28:42):
All right, thank you doctor. Moving with that, I'm going
to close this show by saying thank you for being
guests on this Conversations on Cannabis virtual form, brought to
you by the Medical Marijuana Education and Research Initiative at
Florida and M University. Thank you to everyone watching this program.
Tell us what you think about this form by completing
the survey posted in the comment boxes on Mary's social
(29:03):
media pages. If you complete the survey, your name will
be entered into a drawing on April twenty twenty five
to win a one hundred dollars gift card provided by
one of Mary's partners. We also want to encourage you
to go to the Florida Department of Health Office of
Medical Marijuana Use website to learn how to obtain a
legal medical marijuana card in the state of Florida. And
(29:24):
we also want to encourage you to go to Florida
and M University's Merry website to learn more about this
initiative is educational programs and about cannabis use in Florida.
Thanks everyone.
Speaker 5 (29:38):
The views and opinions of our invited guest are not
necessarily the views and opinions of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical
University or the Medical Marijuana Education and Research Initiative
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