Cannabis & Heart Health - Part 1

Episode Transcript

(00:01):
From the WA and M Studio onthe campus of Florida A and M University.
This is Mary Forum Radio, aweekly conversation on the education and research
of the medical marijuana being conducted atBAMMI. Hi, I'm Heidi Outway,
your host for this conversations on CannabisVirtual form, brought to you by the
Medical Marijuana Education and Research Initiative atFlorida and M University. In this conversation,

(00:25):
we're talking about cannabis use and itsimpact on heart health. Co Let's
talk and learn about this subject withour guests. Doctor Shimerio Roverson is a
highly skilled public health administrator with expertisein various areas including epidemiology, chronic disease,
infectious disease, and emergency response.She is also the former Deputy Health

(00:49):
Secretary for the Florida Department of Health. Doctor Robson, Welcome to the Forum.
Thank you. Happy to be onthe Forum today as a former also
chronic disease. He's not right,go to the state of Florida. Heart
disease is very important and so excitedto be here today to talk about the
relationship between heart disease and cannabis.All right, thank you. Our other

(01:11):
guest is doctor Kyn Tamar, aretired board certified surgeon who spent nearly thirty
nine years in public and private practice. He is now a qualified medical cannabis
physician in Florida who has seen morethan eight thousand patients. Doctor Tomorrow,
Welcome to the forum. Thank youHaty for having me back. I'm be

(01:33):
a pleasure to be here again todiscuss this very important issue and make sure
to get started all right. Thankyou to everyone joining us on this live
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(01:55):
your questions in the comment box andwe'll do our best to have our guests
to answer them. We also wantyou to tell us what you think about
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drawing on March seventh, twenty twentyfour to win a one hundred dollars gift

(02:15):
card provided by one of Mary's partners. Now let's start this conversation. On
cannabis. In Florida and the USas a whole, heart disease is the
number one cause of death. WalterRoverson, as an epidemiologist in the former
Florida Deputy Health Secretary, you studythe causes and symptoms of diseases. So

(02:38):
tell our listeners and viewers what arethe signs that someone is experiencing poor heart
health. So, to start out, heart disease definitely and has been for
the last twenty years in Florida.The leading cause of death. Heart disease
is comprised of several different types ofheart conditions. For example, to include

(02:58):
coronary artery disease and a couple ofother things. It is important to understand
that some of the signs and symptoms, for example, of a heart attack
could be fatigue, could be shortnessof breath, could be chest pain,
could be fluttering of the heart.So it is important to note if you're
experiencing any of these things, itis important for you to seek medical care

(03:21):
and talk to your health care provider. So what population is the most at
risk for heart disease? Good question. When you look at you know who's
at risk for heart disease. Thereare several risk factors that place you at
risk. Having high blood pressure thatis uncontrolled placed you at risk for heart

(03:42):
disease. Having high cholesterol, physicalinactivity, excessive alcohol use, and tobacco
use are all things that place youat risk, including obesity as well.
So it is very important to ensurean overall healthy lifestyle so that you can
prevent heart disease. And then,for example, you have heart disease,

(04:05):
you know, making sure you're listeningto your medical provider, you're taking your
medications, you're eating healthy, andengaging in a healthy lifestyle can help you
improve your overall health. Those arereally good points. Doctor Tomorrow is one
of Florida's qualifying medical marijuana physicians.You and doctor Robison both know that heart

(04:26):
disease is not a qualifying condition formedical cannabis here in Florida. So if
a patient has a qualifying condition andalso has heart issues, how should they
go about using medical cannabis. DoctorTomorrow, Well, you know everybody has
anxiety, depression, steed pain,or rappidite if you ain't heart disease,

(04:46):
So you're going to qualify. Butthere's some dangers with cannabis and heart disease
because when you inhale, whether itbe cannabis, cigars, cigarettes, anytime
you inhale something, your heart rategoes up because you are stealing oxygen from
your system, so the heart vehiclesor so that stresses the heart. THAC

(05:09):
specifically and CBD both cause baso dilitation. That's why the heart rakls up,
bluffish comes down, patient gets dizzy, anxious to be so careful as to
what you're taking because it can hurtyour heart. Because as doctor Roberson explaining
their heart failure, they they've writtenme as their strokes, and you know,

(05:30):
cannabis can help all those things.But the problem is, the seriest
problem is that when you do inhalationonly, it stresses your heart and it
makes your heart work harder because ofthe vasal diletation opening up for the arteries.
And you got to think of alot of contaminants, the common monoxide

(05:53):
that goes along with smoking. Soit's important and critical to use other routes
not just smoking or smoking it.When you inhalation, it stresses your heart
and leaves all the and of course, as doctor Roberson explained, hypotention,
diabetes, obesity of the lifestyle,exercise, diet, multiple things are important.

(06:15):
And as you mentioned earlier, uhso, it's a breadth, chest
pain, palpitations, sweating with chestpain, pressure on your chest. Those
are all the symptoms, and sometimespeople don't even recognize the symptoms, particularly
in women, the symptoms are sometimesatypical. Yeah, well you talked about
other ways to take cannabis if youhave heart issues, you want to touch

(06:39):
on what those modalities are. Absolutely, and again I want to say before
I go along with that, thestudy that had been done that show cannabis
can cause heart disease, it istrue, but it's a flawed study because
they didn't study the people that usedother Ralph number one tinctures is another way.

(07:00):
They last one to six. Gummieslast four to six. It was
shown that people who take THAC bymouth, whether it be a gummy or
edible, along with CBD, itcan't protect the heart lower c B TAC
levels. You've got patches that lastsix hours. You got I just removed

(07:26):
that last seventy two hours. Jailcaps last forty well twice as long as
gummies, So it is critically importantto use not just flower which damages your
lungs, but these are tinctures.Gummies the gel caps, edibles, top
of creams, gels, lotions,bombs, and jail caps. Last By

(07:48):
says longly, and I will tellyou, and I'm gonna say this so
that everybody remembers this. The seventytwo hour patches that are available from move
last eighteen times as long as atopical cream jael lotional Obama or flower or
vape both as long as a tensionor gummy, and six times as long
as a child chap. That's whyit's so important to use more room.

(08:13):
She means routes straight. You gotto look at the ratio. All right,
Well, I want to go toDr Roverson because she was actually a
part of helping establish Florida's medical medicalmarijuana program. So doctor Shamira, would
you like to kind of add onto that ways that people can use cannabis

(08:35):
and then also maybe you can sharehow do people go about getting a legal
medical marijuana card in the state ofFlorida. Absolutely, so one of the
best resources is really going to theFlorida Department of Health Office of Medical Marijuana
Use website. On that website youcan find in your area qualifying physicians that

(08:56):
you can go to to assess whetheror not you actually have one of those
qualifying physicians. I'm a qualifying conditions. In addition to that, you know,
just being educated on you know,the uses the different medical marijuana treatment
centers in the state. They havedifferent products. So talking to your qualified

(09:18):
physician and going to look at theavailable products that may be best for you
is very important. You have to, you know, once you receive that
medical marijuana card, make sure thatyou are talking to your qualified physition on
how the products make you feel andwhat works best for you are what may
not work best for you. Yeah, So that's a good segue back to

(09:41):
doctor Tamar. So, I knowyou're not a cardiologist, but you've seen
eight thousand or more patients here inFlorida who are interested in using cannabis.
And have you had any come inthat said, hey, I got some
hard issues and I have a qualifyingcondition. I want to use cannabis.
How have you advised them? Again, I'm gad you said that. I

(10:03):
meant to say early I am nota cardiologist, but no, these are
I have two experiences that come tomind. You and I talked about it
yesterday, but this is the onethat came to mind. This was before
I retired as a general surgeon.I spoke to a man who, at
age fifty five massive heart attack.He had no environmental factors, no genetic

(10:28):
and no personal risk factors, andhe had a massive heart attack. And
the only risk factor was identified thathe got less than seven hours sleep per
day. That was the only riskfactor. And we forgot to mention that
sleep is the most important part ofwellness. Because we rest, we paid,
we knew and regenerate. Another ladycame to see me. She wasn't

(10:52):
seeing me as a as her physician, but she related her story to me,
which was she had no corn everyas in chest pain anginer coronary ari
disease that doctor Robinson mentioned earlier.The audi is to your heart. And
she told me that cannabis helps her, relax, helps her, calm down,

(11:13):
helps her, you know, bringthe emotions down, which, as
you know, can affect your heart. You get get news, you get
excited, you get angry, youget big, you get chest pain on
every spasm, and someone who hasor cornate art disease, spasm didn't be
devastating. And that's what And whenI boats up to a carneologist, he
asked me, well, did shehave her natil glistering? Because German speaking,

(11:37):
if you have coronary art disease andyou have reas, take her niblition
under your tongue. I didn't askher that she used her cannabis. She
used her weed to calm her down, to bring down her anxiety and he
emotions, because when your emotions getout of control, that's when your heart
rate goes over, your blood bressergoes up, your heart is working harder,
and if you have existing heart disease, it's going to make it worse.

(12:01):
Yeah, Doctor Roberson, would youlike to add anything to that?
Yeah, I just want to talka little bit about and segue with heart
disease. It is very important asa public health professional to make sure you
understand that other chronic conditions are oftenpresent with heart disease. So, for
example, diabetes, it is importantthat if you have diabetes, to control

(12:24):
your diabetes, it's important to takethe medication, take the insulin, whatever
it is that your healthcare provider haveprescribed because they are linked. A lot
of people who have heart disease havediabetes and vice versa, and multiple people
have multiple things going on at onetime. So again if you go into
a qualified physician, it is veryimportant to tell them any chronic diseases you

(12:50):
may have, any other medications thatyou may take to ensure that they have
all of the necessary information to adviseand order you whatever product and at whatever
strength you may need. So itis also important to note with heart health
it is linked to a lot ofother things. So those other risk factors,

(13:11):
like you know, having high cholesterol, adhering to your medication if you
have that doing all of those thingsare connected. So just want to advise
making sure that you're taking care ofyour overall health. Chronic conditions, although
they show up typically when individuals areolder, as you age over time,

(13:33):
it is you know the process ofdeveloping those chronic conditions. So the things
that you do early as a child, in your adolescent years, early in
life collectively add up to typically heartdisease. However, keeping in mind some
heart conditions can occur early in lifebased on genetic factors, environmental factors are

(13:54):
other things, but it's important tounderstand that over time these things add up
for heart disease, and just understandingwhat heart disease is and how to keep
your heart as healthy as possible isimportant, especially if you are interested in
using cannabis. Yeah, well,we talked about it a little earlier about
the different the research that's out there, some recent studies saying that cannabis use

(14:18):
could do more harm than good.Are there any other studies? Can you
all tell us a little bit moreabout those studies from your perspective? And
then also there are any other storiesthat may talk about any surveys or research
that may talk about the benefits ofusing cannabis. So the existing research out
there now just came out, I'dlike to hear your thoughts on that,

(14:39):
and then is there anything else thatyou want would like to share in the
form of research When it comes toheart health and cannabis use, There is
said being a fair amount of researchthat has shown that when cannabis stimulates to
CB two receptors, it lowers theLDL, which is the bad cholesterol.

(15:00):
At your cholesterol check, it's theHDL and a at LDL high density lipoproteins
low density lipoproteins. The high densitylipoprotein is the good cholesterol, the low
density lipoprotein is the bad cholesterol,and CBD can lower the bad cholesterol,
which slows down arterial sclerosis. Letme just mention again, when you use

(15:24):
other routes. It's been proven that, for instance, people that have heart
disease also have long disease. Andwhen you use just flower, of course
that's gonna damage your lungs. Butthac by mouth, alpha pining eucalyptus and
one other terpene. All the chemabiproducts that can open up the lungs their
broncho dilator, so that's going tohelp the heart. When the lungs are

(15:46):
working better, THEIRS does not wantto improve ardiy thickness from uterious scroosis.
That's one study. The NIH oscillativefishs oscillative stress is what gets us all
in the end. Oxidative stress frominflammatory cytokinds and pre oxygen radicals and tuminocrosis

(16:07):
factor and intero loooking one through sixis what causes all diseases, including heart
disease, And the NIH has astudy that stated oxidative stress is what causes
all diseases as we age, andcannabis is an antioxidant restores balance, so

(16:29):
it's going to help with heart disease. There was a study done by doctor
Robert LEMDY. When the plant isoutlawed that in hibbits aging, including age
related diseases such as autoimmune diseases,cardiovascian diseases, osteoporosis, neurological disorders,
and cancer. The ability for theworld to effectively treat and prevent disease through
safe and nontoxic means is diminished.It works, but you have to pay

(16:55):
so much attention to dosing ratios.Because low THAC protects the heart, high
THC hurts the heart, but somepeople have protection with the higher boss of
the low THAC et cetera, etcetera. I think, yeah, doctor
robersonigh in on that, yeah,And I think, you know, when

(17:18):
looking at studies as a researcher myself, it is important to understand the studies.
So for example, with this,when people say they did a study
on cannabis and it showed, youknow, effects on the heart, there
are limitations to those studies in that, you know, they may not have
asked patients who are using medical marijuana. I think it's important to note with

(17:41):
the studies, especially with the studiesthat's on many of the websites that were
just released, that there is alimited amount of research that is being done
on medical marijuana, especially in controlpopulations like Florida. There's a huge need
to research medical marijuana, chronic conditions, interactions with risk factors, different types

(18:03):
of products. So I think there'san opportunity to continue to look at those
effects and to understand and read thestudies, but with some limitations and palls
for interpreting that and generalizing that toall populations, because a lot of those
studies do not distinguish between cannabis asan unlawful product versus a medical marijuana product,

(18:26):
and a lot of the studies theywere not conducted for medical marijuana products
in itself. A lot of thestudies was unlawful use, and you cannot,
you know, figure out how muchTHC, where it came from,
what other chemical interactions were in theproducts that they ingested. So I think

(18:47):
while looking at the studies as acause for understanding the relationship between heart disease
and cannabis, it is important tonote that that is not specifically studies exclusively
on patients in a medical marijuana usagecase. Yeah. Absolutely, let me

(19:07):
just mention this, and many ofthose studies, is doctor Roberson, are
indicated, they were just on peoplewho are sneaking cannabis from the street.
It's not medical cannabis. And thereason that and those studies even say admit
that their study is flawed because theyhaven't had a wider study group to see

(19:29):
those that are using street versus medicalcannabis. And that's all because cannabis remains
on Schedule one. There are limitedstudies. But I will tell you from
my own eight thousand patients, thereare hundreds of thousands of anecdotal stories on
how well this plant works. Butthe studies are lacking because the cannabis remains

(19:51):
on Schedule one and cannot be studiesappropriately. But of course is going to
work for heart disease because it's anticoox intent which slows down the say they
have a stress that causes cardiac diseaseand cancer and hypertension and diabetes. You
know, as doctor Robinson indicated,you got to eat properly, you gotta

(20:14):
avoid certain foods, you gotta loweryour your wins, you gotta exercise,
you got to reduce stress. There'sso many things that cannabis can help us
reduce stress to anxiety and depression andsleep and pain and appetite issues. Yeah,
yeah, and I just want toremind everyone. I mean, in
Florida, recreational or adult use isnot legal. It is you have to

(20:37):
get a medical cannabis card to geta product. And doctor Roberson, you
kind of touched on it safer products, so you want to talk a little
bit about that the difference between thetwo for those who are currently using UH
cannabi said they got on the streetcorner got you know. Absolutely, there
are a lot of cases all acrossthe United States and in Florida with poison

(21:00):
associated with children with unlawful ingestion ofmarijuana products. So it is important to
understand that there are safety protocols inplace for medical marijuana. Those products are
tested and approved from outside laboratory andinternal laboratories of the medical marijuana treatment centers

(21:21):
at the focus and then my previousrole as Deputy Secretary for Health, it
was important to ensure all protocols regulationswere followed to ensure for safe products.
That has been a primary role isa primary role of the Office of Medical
Marijuana Use at the Florida Department ofHealth. So patient safety is very important.
So when you look at unlawful useof marijuana, you don't know where

(21:44):
it came from. For example,with medical marijuana, they follow those products
from seed to sell, making surethat they track those products from the growing
process essentially not actually that it camefrom seed, but that's just what the
process is called. But they followthe product to ensure that what it is
that they say that you're getting thatthat is what you're getting. That is

(22:07):
the dose of THC. So inthe event that something happens or you have
an adverse event, they can goback and look in this track. These
are the types of products that werepurchased. This is where it was purchased
from. So if they need togo back to look at a strain,
to look at a particular MTC,you can do that. With unlawful use
of marijuana, there's no way totrack that, there's no way to understand

(22:32):
its origination. So it is veryimportant that if you are using marijuana,
you are using medical marijuana that hasregulatory regulation on what can go in it,
how it is moved, how itis stored, and how it is
tested to ensure you're getting a safeand effective product. Doctor Tamar, talk

(22:52):
about your role in that, Well, my role is to educate the patients
that's too what products they need,because when you come to see me and
you get the information, you arenot taking control of your health care and
you have to do so much researchon your own and to take onto doctor
Robertson's point about the purity of theproduct. Every product that leads a respect

(23:15):
that the dispensary has a batch numberon it. Look at the batchelumber deceiver
within your product. Move into terror, I'm sorry, move in. Trueleaf
has a certificate of analysis to seewhat the combination of the connabinoids and the
terrapines, the percentages of each andall the processes they've gone to make sure

(23:37):
the product is safe and pure.I've gone to grow farms and I've seen
the process from seed to sale.Thank you both for being guests on this
Conversations on Cannabis Virtual Form, broughtyou 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 theform by complete the survey that will be

(24:00):
posted in the comment boxes on YouTubeand Facebook after this live program. If
you complete the survey, your namewill be entered into a drawing on March
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one of Mary's partners. We alsowant to encourage you to go to the
Florida Department of Health Office of MedicalMarijuana Use website to learn how to obtain

(24:22):
a legal medical marijuana card in thestate of Florida, and we also encourage
you to go to Florida and MUniversity's Merry website to learn more about this
initiative, as educational programs and additionalinformation about cannabis youth in Florida. Thanks
everyone. The views and opinions ofour invited guests are not necessarily the views

(24:47):
and opinions of Florida Agricultural and MechanicalUniversity or the Medical Marijuana Education and Research Initiative.