Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
From the w A 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 medical
marijuana being conducted at VMU.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Hi there, it's Judy from iHeart Radio and joining us
on the podcast today. It's executive director of Florida A
and M University is Mary gp Mendi. Hi Gp, Hi, Judy.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Thanks for having me. How are you?
Speaker 2 (00:26):
I am so good and it's great to see you again.
Thanks for coming in to do this with us. We
always love talking to the executive director of MARY. Thank you,
thank you, You're welcome. So I just want to start
out for everyone. Let us know, all right, MARY stands.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
For Medical Marijuana Education Research.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Initiative and what is the mission of Mary.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
The mission of MARY that Florida Legislature has mandated us
is to educate Floridians about medical and unlawful use of marijuana.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Right.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
And this came up as a result of the legislature
passing a bill Compassionate used bill to enable certain physicians
qualified physicians to be able to utilize medical marijuana to
treat certain ailments that impact their patients.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Right. And what you're trying to do or what Mary
does is educate people that is correct and research. Yes, right,
so let's talk about the latest research, anything.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
New and thanks for asking about that. Now when when
at Mary at Florida in m University, Mary, what we
do is educate Floridians about the medical and onlaw for
use of marijuana, stated now, and so in order to
do that, we have to understand what's happening in society
(01:53):
amongst Flooridians. Our slogan need is educate, learn, talk. We
believe we have an obligation, a mandate by the legislature
to educate. We have an obligation to learn with floor
Idians and also we have it's imperative that we talk
with them. And so the art of having a simple conversation,
(02:17):
it's it's kind of becoming a lost art amongst you know,
amongst ourselves, and so so people don't really especially when
folks disagree, We don't we don't want to talk it out,
you know. We we look for other ways, you know,
to to express ourselves as opposed to looking at each
other and then actually having a conversation. And so so
(02:40):
we we emphasize talking with each other. It doesn't matter
what your viewpoint is. It doesn't matter if you already
know everything about cannabis, you know, or you don't know
anything at all. Let's talk it don't matter. It doesn't
matter if you know, if you don't like it. Some
people they don't want to hear it, they are opposed
to it. But let's still talk about it. There are
(03:00):
people in your life that think differently. There that there
might be your neighbor, it might be you know, someone
that you went to school with, might be a co worker.
So we have varied and different viewpoints when it comes
to cannabis, marijuana and all that.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
And some people might not even have all the facts.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
That is very true, right, that is, I mean, it's
it's it's true. We a lot of us live in silos.
It's whatever people in our circle, Yeah, talking about whatever newsfeed,
were listening to whatever social media. You know, a group,
we belong to whatever echo chamber in and so we
we we restrict ourselves to that, and and and and
(03:42):
we and we become uncomfortable to venture out of that.
But here's the thing, as human beings, that's not how
we were meant to coexist. Now in in in elementary
and middle school, we were taught that culture is the
way of life of any even people. That's a simple
definition of it. That means that whatever culture we create,
(04:05):
that's what we have. And so we could create a
culture that is civil and where we could talk with
each other and learn and listen to understand each other
rather than listen to respond. Those are two very different things.
In most instances, we listen to respond. Yes, Jody is
saying something, I already have a preconceived notion in my mind.
(04:28):
I've made up my mind. I'm not listening to her.
And because your answer to be exactly, I know what
I want to I want to I want to I
want to say to you. But whatever you said just
went through just one over my head. I didn't I.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Wasn't listening to and understand.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
To understand you and so and you do the same
thing to me, And before you know it, we were
in an impasse. We didn't learn anything from each other.
We're exactly where we were before the conversation started. Not
because the the opportunity not pre zen itself. We did
not take full advantage of it by just listening to
the other side, listening to understand and so and so
(05:09):
that's what we're trying to encourage all Floridians. Hey, let's
listen to each other, Let's learn from each other, Let's
talk to each other, Let's let's have a discussion. Let's
have conversations about whatever it is. And so if it's cannabis,
like we're doing educating Florians about cannabis, let's talk about
(05:31):
it now. There are people that are opposed to medical
marijuana because they've seen what marijuana medical or has done
to people close to them. They have people in their
lives that have substance use disorders, Marijuanna being one of them. Yes,
and you know, and and and people are coping with
different things alcohol and the rest of them. They are
(05:53):
families that have taken out first and on second mortgages
to treat substance use disorders for family members. So they
know firsthand what it means that you're talking about this thing,
and that you're telling me be open to it and
be open to listen. It's medical and it could be
good for you know, I don't want to hear about
it because I know what it's done to a family member.
(06:14):
That people that are serving jail time because of substances
you know. And so now you're telling me it's legal
and all that, I don't want to hear anything. And
then there are others that have someone that's got a mom,
a family, they've got a child, you know, with seizures,
(06:36):
and medical marijuana has helped that kid manage the seizure
and it's added to the kid's quality of life. Now
mom and dad can actually go on a vacation with
a kid. You know, something that's in itself, it's a
miracle as a result of the use of the medical
marijuana that the legislature has approved for certain physicians to
(06:59):
approve to treat medical certain medical medical illnesses. So you
have all that, and you have people, you know, elly
senior citizens that have that can't sleep and and and
the gummies are helping them be able to sleep. You've
got people going through cancer and they can't keep any
anything down. They're going through chemo and and and and
(07:21):
and it's helping them be able to, you know, hold
down food, absorb the food, and actually enjoy the meal.
And so you look at all that, you know, and
these are our friends, our neighbors, and yes we're opposite
sides of the aisle, but but we could come together
and say, hey, how is this impacting you, and we
(07:43):
listen to understand each other. So we're not making each
other a villain, you know, in in in this situation.
So we're creating a safe space for Floridians to talk
about it. Feel free, express yourself, and let's understand each other.
Let's see how this impacts you. You know, tell us
your story, share your experiences, because we each have an experience.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
So medical marijuana legal legal, medical marijuana is not a
one size fits all, as you just outlined and explained. Yes, yeah,
because you have the families that are battling addiction with
family members. And then you have, like you said, so
many people that are benefiting because of medical conditions they
(08:28):
may have.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
That that is very true. So so you have you know,
various ailments, people going through HIV, you know, people with
multiple sclerosists, people als, and lots of illnesses, people of anxiety.
It's it's it's interesting how a lot of great, great population,
you know, of our society are suffering from one form
(08:52):
of anxiety or not speaking. I believe that speaking recently
at a conference and was talking with his doctor. She
came and said, you know in our practice, we have
up to four thousand patients that you know, come towards
medical maljuanna pages and a huge number of them are women.
(09:13):
Say you would not believe what this women are telling us,
or this women things that they can't tell a male
physician male counterpart, they will tell me. And because I
want the doctor said, I wanted to understand why all
this anxiety? What's going on? And it balls down to
(09:33):
a lot of them have gone through one form of
sexual assault or sexual abuse or the other. And I said, WHOA,
they can't talk about it. Over the years, anxiety and
they've been suffering through it. And kinnabis medical marijuana is
(09:55):
helping those women deal with it. These are our mo
our sisters, our daughters, our friends, our family. Things that
they can't talk about, and the anxiety can be very crippling.
It impacts their work life, it impacts their family life,
(10:17):
it impacts their mental health. Medical marijuana is helping them
navigate through that and deal with it. Those things shouldn't
have happened in the first place, but they have a
way to help cope. In addition to the proper type
of therapy, get the standard of care that they need.
(10:41):
Medical Manjuna being one of them to help them through
life and help them deal with the trauma and the
anxiety from what they went through. So when we think
of people that are utilizing medical maljuana for various elements
and lives issues, first thing that somebody should not think
(11:02):
about is someone that wants to get high. That's not it,
you know, it is. It is medicine helping our fellow
citizens navigate through this thing we call life, and it's
helping helping improve the equality of life. There ADLs the
activities of daily living, being able to leave a functional,
(11:25):
fulfilled life. If something helps your fellow human being, yes,
helps improve the equality of life and help them become
more productive citizens. I think it's something that it doesn't
matter if you're opposed to it. I think you should
care and you should listen.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
Yeah, because there's a stigma attached to it.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
That is true.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
You know, even after all these years, how many years
has been that medical marijuana has become legal in Florida.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
All the legislature passed the law, I think in twenty seventeen,
it's been it's been, it's been a few years. It's
been it's been a few years and so, but but
we're still we're still working on it, and we're still
it's gonna it may take some time for some people
because of what they've been through. But I think the
more we listen to each other to understand, and also
(12:19):
the more we understand the benefits for a lot of
our friends and family and the average Floridian under the
care of their physician, and how we see how this helps,
I think we could learn to understand that, hey, it's
actually better than opioids, it's actually actually safe for people
(12:41):
to be able to use it responsibly. Now that brings
us to something else, because when we're talking about when
we talk about the use of medical medical marijuana, there's
there's the there's the responsible I need responsible use of it. Yes,
medical marijuana can be used responsibly. Some people, could you know,
throw a party. Yeah, I got my gummys. Come on,
we have a Gummy's party. And then you give it
(13:02):
out to everybody. No, you shouldn't. It's meant for you. You
shouldn't do that.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
You can't share that.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
No, do not share it under the law. No, you
know you're not supposed to. And so you also shouldn't
take it outside of the state. Of Florida. Your medical
marijuana from Florida stays in Florida, and do not bring
medical marijuana from some other state corst into Florida. And
then there are other people that are using what we
might call street substances. Yes, something you're buying from, Oh, yeah,
(13:29):
my dealer, I've known him for years.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
And then you're using substances that are not regulated and
you don't know what's.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
In them, have no idea what's in it.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
You have no idea, and you might say, hey, I've
been using it for decades now. All it takes is
one instance, well just once, just once, and it's laced
with something that you don't know, and there goes you.
And if you have a family, who's going to take
care of your family? You know. So so we have
to think about the consequences of choices that we make,
(14:01):
not just for ourselves, but also for our families. And
we also know that a lot of people use substances,
especially in this day and age, to cope with something
like we've talked about, and it's it's good for us
to try to understand what what am I medicating for,
whether I'm using medical marijuana or illegal substances illegal marijuana
(14:25):
from the streets or alcohol or whatever. We're medicating for something.
You know. Some people eat to survive, some people eat,
you know, for comfort, some people eat to mask something.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Right, people have addiction to free people have addiction.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
So and and and and and and and it's simple,
you know, when when we can't control, when people cannot control,
you know, you know, their actions, or they cannot they
don't have they can't stop when they need to stop,
then you know you need help, you know. And so
people are using substances to cope. It's a maladaptive way
(15:02):
of coping. And when times change in society, either there's
there's an event, or there's something happening with the economy,
or something happening, you know, in their lives, or and
it changes. Sometimes simple changes, something that alters their daily
routine can trigger something else that sends someone the wrong path.
(15:27):
And a lot of times, instead of we don't want
to look for help, we don't want to go ask
for help because it makes us look weak, and so
we find our own ways to cope. And then we're
going down a rabbit hole and going down a path.
About the time we're halfway into where we're going. We
(15:48):
don't even recognize ourselves anymore. And so we see situations
where you know, law enforcement and first responders. You know,
I've responded to situations where mom and dad passed out
in the car and the key the kid is the
children are behind.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
Yeah, I've seen stories on the news.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
We see that, and it's painful. You know, parents, you know,
stoned or drugged out and just go somewhere and leave
the kids at home. Nobody take care of and and
and and usually kids, kids are usually you know, the
ones that end up suffering, especially in a family with kids.
(16:32):
You know, when when there's substance abuse, or there's substance
used one way or another, when the adults are doing
the other thing, the kids end up suffering. They do,
and and I and I think it's a fair assessment.
It's a fair thing to say that we really have
to think long and hard about how our choices impact.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
Our children and families.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Our children and families. It is our responsibility collectively as
members of society. We're not nobody is an island. No
man is an island, No woman is an island. The
choices and the decisions you make do not just impact you,
they impact people around you.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
Is that part of the education process that Mary is
teaching people that you need to think about everyone else
surrounding you.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
That is correct, and this is why we live in
a society. We do not live on an island somewhere
by ourselves, and even if we did, that island is
a habitat for other animals that we live with. Yes,
And so personally, I truly believe that God gave us
(17:49):
nature and gave us the responsibility to create culture.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
Mm hmmm.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
Our maker gave us nature, yes, and also give us
the responsibility the job of creating culture, and we create
the kind of culture we want to live in. Culture again,
is simply the way of life of any given people.
If we want to create a culture where we think
(18:17):
our fellow human is not worth living and we want
to take ourselves out, that is a lot. That is
the world we're going to live in. If we want
to create a culture where we do not we want
to expose our kids to all kinds of abuses and substances,
then we have to be prepared for whatever world that
that that brings about. If we also want to live
in a world, create a culture where we care for
(18:39):
each other and help each other understand Hey, you matter
to me and I'm matter to you. We can coexist
together and leave as neighbors and see each other as
human beings. That is also a culture that is within
our power to create as a society. And so when
we when when we listen to understanding each other, it
(19:00):
takes us farther. Not only does it help us leave
I mean enjoy each other's company and also leave peacefully,
it helps us with informed decision making. There was a
time where if something is happening to someone on the street,
either we step into help or we call for help. Yes,
(19:23):
there's been a trend in the last few years were
the first thing people do.
Speaker 2 (19:27):
Is take out their phone.
Speaker 1 (19:28):
Take out their phones instead of helping the person in need.
Speaker 4 (19:33):
That is so infuriating to me and so and so
you have to ask yourself what happened?
Speaker 1 (19:39):
What happened to us?
Speaker 4 (19:40):
Right?
Speaker 1 (19:40):
When did we get so desensitized that someone is hurting,
someone is in trouble And the first thing our brain says, hey,
I can go.
Speaker 4 (19:50):
Viral with this by taking a video and so and
so you have to ask yourself as a society, what
what's happening to us? And how do we help each
other get back to where we're not asking to be superheroes.
Just be human at a very basic of it. Just
(20:14):
be human to each other, that's all. And so our
job is to educate Floridians about medical and inLove for
use of marijuana. It also involves that people need to
learn how to make informed decisions. And how you make
informed decisions is having all the information that you need
(20:37):
and being able to synthesize and analyze that information and okay,
all right, this is good for me and my family
or this is not. When I'm making those decisions for you,
will only helping present you. Hey, this is what we're seeing.
This is what the research is saying. You make an
(20:58):
informed decision what's best for you because what's best for
you and your family may not be the same.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
It may not be what's best for me and mine,
of course, and so we make informed decisions. The government
is not trying to make that decision for you, right,
we have the right.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
So how does that So how does that information? How
is that received? When you guys go out in the
community and through all your other vehicles like Marion Demand
and all that is, do you find that people are
receiving it. They want to learn, they want to know more,
they want to be able to make these informed decisions.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
Yes, we're finding that Floridians are very much interested and
a lot of times, like we stated it earlier, people
already have their preconceived notions and a lot of times
their preconceived notions are so wrong. But that's what they've believed, right,
And so we listen and then we talk about it.
(21:54):
And so during the conversations and the light bulb goes on, oh,
I didn't know that, And then we talk some more.
And so that one person takes the word to their
family and friends and say, hey, I learned something new.
So learned that, and then you talk about it. And
and so when when when the more we talk to Floridians,
we've we've noticed people are very receptive. People are listening
(22:18):
and they're asking ask questions and we're doing how very
best to answer them. Now, we're not gonna tell you
anything made up. If we don't know it, we'll say, hmm,
that's interesting, let's follow up with you on that. We're
gonna go look, get and get it. So there's no
point making stuff up. No one person knows it all,
you know, so we learn from each other and we
(22:39):
can you know, get back and say, hey, what is
the research saying. You know, a simple thing as you know,
a pregnant woman utilizing marijuana medical marijuana during pregnancy.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
Is that safe? Do you know?
Speaker 1 (22:53):
That's the thing. Some doctors, you know, in very very
very very redt situations will say, well, for the for
the health of the mother who cannot seem to keep
any food down, let's administer it in microdoses. But I
can sit here and tell you that there's no research
(23:16):
that I've read, and I've read a ton, yeah, and
I've asked questions from various experts, tend their conferences, talk
with colleagues, you know, you know Havard and the rest
of the other schools and you see you know, University
of California and you know u c l A. So
we've talked, and I haven't seen one one research that
(23:40):
tells you that marijuana medical or not is good for
the feeders.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
Nothing says it's good for the feed good. Yeah, I
could imagine.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
Brain because of brain development, the brain is still developing
up until age twenty five. And so when when when
I when I kids are utilizing cannabis, marijuana medical. Remember,
their brains are still developing, yes, and so if there's
no need for it, right, there is no need. The
(24:14):
benefits has to outweigh them. You have to oldweigh their harm, right,
and so if there's no need for it, do not
use it. If you're under the age of twenty five,
your brain is still developing.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
Very interesting because you see some you know, you see
or hear about so many kids underage under twenty one,
under eighteen that are are using whether you know, street marijuana.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
They are, they are and and and and and it's
interesting that you know, it's not just marijuana. You know,
hemp is it's the cannabis is like the mother. And
then under cannabis, the cannabis plant. You know, you have marijuana,
and then you have hemp. Hemp is legal on the
federal wall. And so you see all this smoke shops
(25:04):
and stores, you know, corner stores and gas stations where
you could buy him derived products. A lot of them
are synthetic products. Synthetic means that it's non natural. There's
a lot of additives. I say that it has been
added to it to make that what they what is
being sold there. And you know, as I do, synthetic
(25:26):
products do not sit well with the human body. Now
they don't. And so a kid goes into the gas
station and these things are flavored and they're.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
Illegal and marketed towards children, and.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
Marketing marketed towards kids, and so and and and it
was an unintended consequence of the Farm Bill. It was
well intentioned to be able to open up, you know,
the Farm Bill. But what Congress did not think about
is that the average American is so smart they'll find
a loophole and if found a loophole, and the industry
(26:02):
is massive just in Florida alone. Yeah, you see a
smoke shop everywhere, so much so that a lot of
people confuse medical Maljuna treatment centers mmtcs that are regulated
to sell medical marijuana. A lot of people confuse those
ham shops for mmtcs and they're going and they think
(26:25):
they're buying something that's regulated tested, you know, and they
know what they're getting, but then that they do not.
It is not regulated.
Speaker 2 (26:35):
So is there any attempt to pull back that law
that allows hamp products with synthetic additives to be sold
at convenience stores.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
We're just in the wild West. Here, the fine bill
doesn't get looked at every year. Yeah, so so I
have to look at to see the next time the
fine bill comes from Sable, I think is every five years.
I'm not sure the last time it came up if
anything was done about it. But when it's hard, really hard,
(27:10):
once you say yes, you can do something taking it back.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
Can those products be sold to underage individuals in.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
Florida, We've we've made laws that doesn't allow for that,
so that the laws protecting you know, but.
Speaker 2 (27:29):
Still right, it's just like underage alcohol, alcohol or cigarettes.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
Yes, you see someone, hey, I'll give you, I'll give
you ten dollars going down and buy something for me.
And people do that. And also some people, some parents
think it's okay. Oh I'd rather you know, you utilize
kids the substance with my kid at home that have
them go use it outside, So let them do it
while I'm here.
Speaker 2 (27:54):
I've heard that before.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
Too, and it's it's a call that the parents have
to make with their child. But think about what you're
doing to the long term brain development and health of
that child, because it impacts them. I'm gonna I'm just
gonna say this. Growing up, we used to make fun
and say, someone's got, you know, the attention span of
(28:17):
a goldfish. It was funny until about two years ago.
Last year or two years ago, study was done that
the average human attention span is shorter than a goldfish, shorter, shorter.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
Shorter, And that's been in recent years. I want to say,
is am I correct?
Speaker 1 (28:41):
That is true? Right recent and so our brains, our
attention span as humans is becoming so short that it's
hard to keep people's attention. And so when we create,
when when content is created, you have to think about
the attention span. Oh man, if it's longer than this,
(29:02):
I'm going to lose them. You know, you're having a
conversation and people tune you out because you've lost them.
And a lot of times there's one screen here, another
screen there, and another one is on the wall a TV,
and so people are doing different things. And we do
this almost every day. And then you have this YouTube
(29:22):
shorts where and you have the TikTok and and this
short short amount of and it's hitting the brain, hitting
hitting the brain one and it's like a drug. It
is like a drug. Absolutely, and so and and and
and these are these are not just This is not
far fetch and some planet, you know, out of space.
(29:46):
This is us, our neighbors, our kids, our friends, this
is us. These are people that we care about. This
is us, and we have to think about how do
we find a way to make sure that we don't
lose ourselves in this, in all of this, because at
(30:10):
the end of it, at the end of the day,
we still have to remember that we're human, Yes, and
we need to treat each other as such and find
ways to help each other, coved whatever it is that
we're going through, and so there's no easy way out.
It didn't take us a day or two to get here, now,
(30:31):
it took a long time. And yes, and so we
have to work together and understand that this is not
just one person's problem. It's a societal it's a societal problem.
You know, remember when COVID started, Oh yeah, it was,
it's a program. It's a problem overseas, and before you
know it one point.
Speaker 2 (30:50):
Away, Oh yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:52):
It's here, uh huh, it's here. And so it has
a way of impacting us whatever is happening in other
parts of the world world. Before long, you know, it's
home and it becomes our problem, and so we think
about it. Sobstance use, disorder, or utilizing illegal substances is
(31:14):
not just that family's problem.
Speaker 2 (31:16):
It is all of our problems, all our problem.
Speaker 1 (31:19):
It is all of our problem because that one person
gets behind motive motor vehicle goes down to interstate reckless driving,
some of the person's problem. That's right.
Speaker 2 (31:32):
And and and while we're on that top topic, I
wanted to just say that even medical marijuana should not
be used while driving. Right, that doesn't give you the
license to drive.
Speaker 1 (31:43):
No, it does not.
Speaker 2 (31:44):
While smoking marijuana.
Speaker 1 (31:46):
No, you can't. You can't. You shouldn't. You shouldn't operate
a motor vehicle or any machinery while you're impaired.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
Because you could be impaired. Just like drinking, it could
be impaired.
Speaker 1 (31:56):
And a lot of times, like with gummies, one of them,
some people take it not realizing it has a two
hour lag and oh take it. Oh that's not working,
and then take another one and by the time it
hits they're out.
Speaker 2 (32:11):
See that's that's a little scary.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
It is. But with under the care of a physician,
yes you would know. Hey, okay, take this when you're
about to either you're sitting down or you're about about
to lie down. Do not take it while.
Speaker 2 (32:25):
You're driving or or outside the home.
Speaker 1 (32:29):
Really, that is that is true. Do not And so
so these are precautions or steps that we can take,
you know, to be able to protect ourselves and and
and the state of Florida. You know, just the legislature
just passed a bill, think it's HB three fifty one,
you know that increases the penalty for traffic violations. Now
(32:52):
in the past, it used to be before this law.
It used to be say someone goes fifty miles over
the speed limit, you know, they get a citation, you
get a ticket, you know. Or but it's changing its
fifty miles over over the speed limit. Yeah, mandatory jail time.
Speaker 2 (33:13):
Yeah, well that makes sense to me. So I don't
know if you're a speeder when I see it. When
when I'm when I'm driving and people are going like
one hundred and twenty miles an hour past me, I'm like,
where are the cops now?
Speaker 1 (33:26):
Right? Yeah? So anything anything one hundred anything over one
hundred miles an hour, yep, not just a ticket, it's
mandatory j mondatory showing up in court. You have to
mindatory court appearance for both instances, you know, and and
it gets worse if you're second you know the second time, Yes,
(33:47):
it penalty increases. Sure to suspend your license and lose it,
you go to jail. Yeah, And so it's it's it's
getting that. And so you're talking about you're under the
influence of something, and then you'll alsoe volation of these
traffic laws. So not just dui. Now you're stacking on
the super speder, you know, consequences and there goes if
(34:12):
you survive, right, you know, survite that and you don't
kill anybody, which stacks of the you know, right, the
consequences of it. Your job, your life, your freedom, everything
is at risk just because just just because you wanted
(34:33):
you made you made choices that are not just only
good for you, that bad for you, but also bad
for anyone next to you.
Speaker 2 (34:43):
And I'm sure that's part of the education that Mary's
trying to teach Floridians about everything, not just about the
medical marijuana, how to get your license, the pros, the cons,
but all that everything else that you just said that
goes along with it, that how to be kept in mind.
Speaker 1 (35:01):
It's it's snowballs, it's no balls. So so we have
to be uninformed, you know, citizenry to make informed decisions.
And when we when we don't, then we run into
consequences that impacts us and impacts our lives. And a
lot of times the people that get caught up in this,
(35:21):
they were already struggling in the first place. They were
You're already struggling, and now you're just making your life
for You're making matters worse for you, you know, And
so we we want people to be cognizant of that
and learn to make informed decisions. So let's learn to
(35:43):
listen to each other. Listen to understand, as opposed to
listening to respond, take time to you know, learn talk.
You know.
Speaker 2 (35:55):
Those three words, educate, learn talk. But during this discussion,
it takes it to a whole other level.
Speaker 3 (36:02):
It does.
Speaker 1 (36:02):
And just just talk talk to someone, you know, don't
matter what you're going through, find someone that you could
talk to, you know, and and if and if you're
someone that other people want to talk to, you have
the privilege of having people wanting to talk to you.
Also learn to keep their confidence and be helpful to them,
(36:24):
you know, Listen and then don't don't, don't be judgmental.
Speaker 2 (36:30):
Yeah, seeing that's something too that people probably are skeptical
of maybe having a conversation because they don't want to
be judged.
Speaker 1 (36:39):
Nobody wants to be judged. And and then you ask yourself,
even if I judge this person, what does it do? Nothing?
You're not helping, not helping anyone. It makes you feel good,
but that's not the point. It's about them, not you.
And so we you know, I remember one of the
(37:01):
things that I will start growing up that it's nice
to be important, right, but it's more important to be nice.
Speaker 2 (37:08):
I like that.
Speaker 1 (37:09):
Yeah, nice to be important, but.
Speaker 2 (37:12):
More important to of words, to live by a lot.
Speaker 1 (37:16):
Of those and never really understood and know until growing up.
And then you leave life, and then you you find
out what's important? You sure do you do? You do?
Speaker 3 (37:27):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (37:27):
So it's it's it's we We just have to try
and be there for each other, right, It's not easy,
Just just just.
Speaker 2 (37:37):
Try and it makes you feel good inside. I think
for me, when I'm there for somebody, and I could
help somebody, even if it's with the littlest thing, it
doesn't have to be a tremendous thing. Makes you feel good.
Speaker 1 (37:51):
Yes, it does. Gives your purpose, it does. Start with
your family and and be cognizant. Know what your limitations are,
know what your strengths are. Don't try to be who
you're not, you know, don't try to jump into a
situation that you know you can't handle. Don't try to,
you know, see someone with a gun and think you
could disarm them when you don't even know how to
(38:12):
handle them, you know. So, Yeah, so you have to
know what your limitations are. It's it's not a weakness,
it's it's actually a sign of strength to know what
your limitations are and and know when to call for help. Yes, no,
when to know when to call for help. And basic things,
(38:36):
basic things, you know, we're talking in kindergarten. Wash your
hands after you use the restroom, don't take anything that
doesn't belong to you, Clean up after yourself. Little basic things.
I think we could go back if we remember, going
back to that ort, remember how we got here. I
think it will it will help us a lot. Don't
(38:57):
forget who we are, and treat each other as we
would want to be treated. Just simple things we learned,
you know, as kids. And yeah, I think we've forgotten it.
Speaker 2 (39:09):
Yeah, somehow, some way it got lost, you know, and
like you said, little by little and you don't even
realize it, which we were seeing in the beginning. I know.
There's a wealth of information on famu's Mary's website, which
is Mary dot mu dot e d u M M
E r I dot f A M you dot e
(39:30):
d u uh. There is so much information and resources there.
They're free, they're free, it doesn't cost a thing. People
can go there, find out about your community events. You
guys go out throughout the state, hold these events and
talk to people and educate them about the health risks.
(39:53):
You make sure parents are involved in these conversations.
Speaker 1 (39:57):
That is true, you.
Speaker 2 (39:58):
Know, and sharing the information with people. Again. Taking it
back to medical marijuana, that yes, even if you do
have a license, there are some struggles, there's tips, there's
doesn't mean that you just have a free ride to
use marijuana. It has to be done in the medical
(40:22):
way that your doctor explains to you.
Speaker 1 (40:25):
That is true, you know.
Speaker 2 (40:26):
They're they're like and like we said, there are risks
and there are benefits.
Speaker 3 (40:30):
There are.
Speaker 1 (40:31):
Yeah, you have to use her responsibly like any other substance,
any other medicine. You could, you could take too much
talent all yes, you know, you could drink too much water,
Yes you can and responsible use, responsible use, And I
want to say, and it it affects each person individually.
Speaker 2 (40:53):
You could take too tile and al and it might
help you for your headache. I could take the same
and it might not help mine.
Speaker 1 (40:59):
That is true.
Speaker 2 (41:00):
So I try to make that comparison. Comparison.
Speaker 1 (41:02):
That is very that is so true. Our bodies are different,
and so medical marijuana works with our bodies differently because
we are in the connobinoid systems. You know. That's it
works when I in the connobinoid system and and and
and so it helps us individually accept differently. And and
so we have to understand that, understand how your body works.
(41:26):
And that's why the slogan for that it's start low,
go slow. You know, you start low and go slow
until your body gets used to how it works. And
it's it's it's it's quite interesting the things we learn
as we interact with Floridians about this, and it's it's
quite a blessing to leave in the state of Florida. Yes,
(41:48):
where where this resource is available, you know, where medical
manjuana is legal.
Speaker 2 (41:54):
You know, are there similar programs in other states that
you're aware of?
Speaker 1 (41:58):
It's similar programs like married to education the citizens about yeah, no, no, no, no.
Florida is the only state that mandates or the legislature
mandates a state entity to educate its populations about you know.
Speaker 2 (42:15):
So we're very fortunate, very fortunate.
Speaker 1 (42:18):
There's no other state all the states. What they did
is they legalized medical marijuana, and they said, hey, do
you think and they left it to the industry, you know,
to do whatever they did. They were more interested in
who's getting who's getting what, who's getting what slice of
the industry of the pie and all that and so,
(42:40):
but the legislature wanted Floridians to be educated so they
could make informed decisions. And so it's it's a thing
of pride Florida A and M. We we have this
with this you know, task and this responsibility, and we
do it cladly and we're excited to keep doing it. And
we feel really really blessed to be able to be
(43:02):
in a position to you know, to be of service
to the great State of Florida and our people.
Speaker 2 (43:08):
And we appreciate you so for the rest of this year. Gosh,
I can't believe we're halfway through the year already. It's crazy.
I don't even know how that happened. Uh. Any any
plans that you know of as far as on site
community events throughout the state. Should folks just go to
marry on demand and find out about that?
Speaker 1 (43:29):
Please visit our website. Fam you the Mary that e
du right and we we we were always having different
events and oh and our partners and our friends and
different events across across our great state. And if you
if you see an event close to you, please feel
free to join us. And so yeah, we we we
(43:49):
have events all the time, and and we welcome you know,
Florydians to join and interact with us. We want to
hear from you, want to hear your story. Also, join
us in conversations and cannabis. We have it every month.
Yes you know, it's live streamed on YouTube and Facebook.
Join us, ask questions of the various experts that we have,
(44:10):
you know, the guests that we have on talk you know,
join us and you know the supporters and tell us, Hey,
tell us, how what else do you think we can
or how we can help you in your community?
Speaker 2 (44:22):
Right?
Speaker 1 (44:22):
To educate you. For you invited us to speak, we
will be there to address you know, your Senior Citizens
group or your church or whatever civics organization that you
you work with.
Speaker 2 (44:34):
Yeah, inviters, So anyone can do that, can just go
to the website find out from there how to put
in a request for you to show up at an
event or yes, oh that's wonderful.
Speaker 3 (44:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (44:46):
So yeah, wherever you are, whether you're somewhere you know,
in in Monroe County.
Speaker 3 (44:52):
And the Keys, or wherever you are, and this can
be a county, the middle of the state, wherever you wherever,
wherever you are, we can we can get that. We
can get there and show up and work with you
and educate you know, the population there and interact with you. Yeah,
that's the job. We want to where two or three
(45:13):
Floridians a gad that we want to be there. Nice, Yes,
we want to be there.
Speaker 2 (45:17):
Yeah. The goals to educate Floridians. And we can't thank
you enough for your contributions and your leadership for this
program which has really gone above and beyond. So thank
you for that.
Speaker 1 (45:30):
Thank you so much, Jodie. It's quite a pleasure than.
Speaker 2 (45:32):
Having always a pleasure talking with you, and we'll talk
again soon. In the meantime, it's Mary M.
Speaker 1 (45:38):
M e.
Speaker 2 (45:38):
Ri I dot fa MU dot edu for all the
information you need.
Speaker 1 (45:42):
Thank you. Yes appreciate that
Speaker 2 (45:47):
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 w A 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 medical
marijuana being conducted at VMU.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Hi there, it's Judy from iHeart Radio and joining us
on the podcast today. It's executive director of Florida A
and M University is Mary gp Mendi. Hi Gp, Hi, Judy.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Thanks for having me. How are you?
Speaker 2 (00:26):
I am so good and it's great to see you again.
Thanks for coming in to do this with us. We
always love talking to the executive director of MARY. Thank you,
thank you, You're welcome. So I just want to start
out for everyone. Let us know, all right, MARY stands.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
For Medical Marijuana Education Research.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Initiative and what is the mission of Mary.
Speaker 1 (00:48):
The mission of MARY that Florida Legislature has mandated us
is to educate Floridians about medical and unlawful use of marijuana.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Right.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
And this came up as a result of the legislature
passing a bill Compassionate used bill to enable certain physicians
qualified physicians to be able to utilize medical marijuana to
treat certain ailments that impact their patients.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
Right. And what you're trying to do or what Mary
does is educate people that is correct and research. Yes, right,
so let's talk about the latest research, anything.
Speaker 1 (01:29):
New and thanks for asking about that. Now when when
at Mary at Florida in m University, Mary, what we
do is educate Floridians about the medical and onlaw for
use of marijuana, stated now, and so in order to
do that, we have to understand what's happening in society
(01:53):
amongst Flooridians. Our slogan need is educate, learn, talk. We
believe we have an obligation, a mandate by the legislature
to educate. We have an obligation to learn with floor
Idians and also we have it's imperative that we talk
with them. And so the art of having a simple conversation,
(02:17):
it's it's kind of becoming a lost art amongst you know,
amongst ourselves, and so so people don't really especially when
folks disagree, We don't we don't want to talk it out,
you know. We we look for other ways, you know,
to to express ourselves as opposed to looking at each
other and then actually having a conversation. And so so
(02:40):
we we emphasize talking with each other. It doesn't matter
what your viewpoint is. It doesn't matter if you already
know everything about cannabis, you know, or you don't know
anything at all. Let's talk it don't matter. It doesn't
matter if you know, if you don't like it. Some
people they don't want to hear it, they are opposed
to it. But let's still talk about it. There are
(03:00):
people in your life that think differently. There that there
might be your neighbor, it might be you know, someone
that you went to school with, might be a co worker.
So we have varied and different viewpoints when it comes
to cannabis, marijuana and all that.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
And some people might not even have all the facts.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
That is very true, right, that is, I mean, it's
it's it's true. We a lot of us live in silos.
It's whatever people in our circle, Yeah, talking about whatever newsfeed,
were listening to whatever social media. You know, a group,
we belong to whatever echo chamber in and so we
we we restrict ourselves to that, and and and and
(03:42):
we and we become uncomfortable to venture out of that.
But here's the thing, as human beings, that's not how
we were meant to coexist. Now in in in elementary
and middle school, we were taught that culture is the
way of life of any even people. That's a simple
definition of it. That means that whatever culture we create,
(04:05):
that's what we have. And so we could create a
culture that is civil and where we could talk with
each other and learn and listen to understand each other
rather than listen to respond. Those are two very different things.
In most instances, we listen to respond. Yes, Jody is
saying something, I already have a preconceived notion in my mind.
(04:28):
I've made up my mind. I'm not listening to her.
And because your answer to be exactly, I know what
I want to I want to I want to I
want to say to you. But whatever you said just
went through just one over my head. I didn't I.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Wasn't listening to and understand.
Speaker 1 (04:45):
To understand you and so and you do the same
thing to me, And before you know it, we were
in an impasse. We didn't learn anything from each other.
We're exactly where we were before the conversation started. Not
because the the opportunity not pre zen itself. We did
not take full advantage of it by just listening to
the other side, listening to understand and so and so
(05:09):
that's what we're trying to encourage all Floridians. Hey, let's
listen to each other, Let's learn from each other, Let's
talk to each other, Let's let's have a discussion. Let's
have conversations about whatever it is. And so if it's cannabis,
like we're doing educating Florians about cannabis, let's talk about
(05:31):
it now. There are people that are opposed to medical
marijuana because they've seen what marijuana medical or has done
to people close to them. They have people in their
lives that have substance use disorders, Marijuanna being one of them. Yes,
and you know, and and and people are coping with
different things alcohol and the rest of them. They are
(05:53):
families that have taken out first and on second mortgages
to treat substance use disorders for family members. So they
know firsthand what it means that you're talking about this thing,
and that you're telling me be open to it and
be open to listen. It's medical and it could be
good for you know, I don't want to hear about
it because I know what it's done to a family member.
(06:14):
That people that are serving jail time because of substances
you know. And so now you're telling me it's legal
and all that, I don't want to hear anything. And
then there are others that have someone that's got a mom,
a family, they've got a child, you know, with seizures,
(06:36):
and medical marijuana has helped that kid manage the seizure
and it's added to the kid's quality of life. Now
mom and dad can actually go on a vacation with
a kid. You know, something that's in itself, it's a
miracle as a result of the use of the medical
marijuana that the legislature has approved for certain physicians to
(06:59):
approve to treat medical certain medical medical illnesses. So you
have all that, and you have people, you know, elly
senior citizens that have that can't sleep and and and
the gummies are helping them be able to sleep. You've
got people going through cancer and they can't keep any
anything down. They're going through chemo and and and and
(07:21):
and it's helping them be able to, you know, hold
down food, absorb the food, and actually enjoy the meal.
And so you look at all that, you know, and
these are our friends, our neighbors, and yes we're opposite
sides of the aisle, but but we could come together
and say, hey, how is this impacting you, and we
(07:43):
listen to understand each other. So we're not making each
other a villain, you know, in in in this situation.
So we're creating a safe space for Floridians to talk
about it. Feel free, express yourself, and let's understand each other.
Let's see how this impacts you. You know, tell us
your story, share your experiences, because we each have an experience.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
So medical marijuana legal legal, medical marijuana is not a
one size fits all, as you just outlined and explained. Yes, yeah,
because you have the families that are battling addiction with
family members. And then you have, like you said, so
many people that are benefiting because of medical conditions they
(08:28):
may have.
Speaker 1 (08:28):
That that is very true. So so you have you know,
various ailments, people going through HIV, you know, people with
multiple sclerosists, people als, and lots of illnesses, people of anxiety.
It's it's it's interesting how a lot of great, great population,
you know, of our society are suffering from one form
(08:52):
of anxiety or not speaking. I believe that speaking recently
at a conference and was talking with his doctor. She
came and said, you know in our practice, we have
up to four thousand patients that you know, come towards
medical maljuanna pages and a huge number of them are women.
(09:13):
Say you would not believe what this women are telling us,
or this women things that they can't tell a male
physician male counterpart, they will tell me. And because I
want the doctor said, I wanted to understand why all
this anxiety? What's going on? And it balls down to
(09:33):
a lot of them have gone through one form of
sexual assault or sexual abuse or the other. And I said, WHOA,
they can't talk about it. Over the years, anxiety and
they've been suffering through it. And kinnabis medical marijuana is
(09:55):
helping those women deal with it. These are our mo
our sisters, our daughters, our friends, our family. Things that
they can't talk about, and the anxiety can be very crippling.
It impacts their work life, it impacts their family life,
(10:17):
it impacts their mental health. Medical marijuana is helping them
navigate through that and deal with it. Those things shouldn't
have happened in the first place, but they have a
way to help cope. In addition to the proper type
of therapy, get the standard of care that they need.
(10:41):
Medical Manjuna being one of them to help them through
life and help them deal with the trauma and the
anxiety from what they went through. So when we think
of people that are utilizing medical maljuana for various elements
and lives issues, first thing that somebody should not think
(11:02):
about is someone that wants to get high. That's not it,
you know, it is. It is medicine helping our fellow
citizens navigate through this thing we call life, and it's
helping helping improve the equality of life. There ADLs the
activities of daily living, being able to leave a functional,
(11:25):
fulfilled life. If something helps your fellow human being, yes,
helps improve the equality of life and help them become
more productive citizens. I think it's something that it doesn't
matter if you're opposed to it. I think you should
care and you should listen.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
Yeah, because there's a stigma attached to it.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
That is true.
Speaker 2 (11:48):
You know, even after all these years, how many years
has been that medical marijuana has become legal in Florida.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
All the legislature passed the law, I think in twenty seventeen,
it's been it's been, it's been a few years. It's
been it's been a few years and so, but but
we're still we're still working on it, and we're still
it's gonna it may take some time for some people
because of what they've been through. But I think the
more we listen to each other to understand, and also
(12:19):
the more we understand the benefits for a lot of
our friends and family and the average Floridian under the
care of their physician, and how we see how this helps,
I think we could learn to understand that, hey, it's
actually better than opioids, it's actually actually safe for people
(12:41):
to be able to use it responsibly. Now that brings
us to something else, because when we're talking about when
we talk about the use of medical medical marijuana, there's
there's the there's the responsible I need responsible use of it. Yes,
medical marijuana can be used responsibly. Some people, could you know,
throw a party. Yeah, I got my gummys. Come on,
we have a Gummy's party. And then you give it
(13:02):
out to everybody. No, you shouldn't. It's meant for you. You
shouldn't do that.
Speaker 2 (13:06):
You can't share that.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
No, do not share it under the law. No, you
know you're not supposed to. And so you also shouldn't
take it outside of the state. Of Florida. Your medical
marijuana from Florida stays in Florida, and do not bring
medical marijuana from some other state corst into Florida. And
then there are other people that are using what we
might call street substances. Yes, something you're buying from, Oh, yeah,
(13:29):
my dealer, I've known him for years.
Speaker 2 (13:30):
Yes.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
And then you're using substances that are not regulated and
you don't know what's.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
In them, have no idea what's in it.
Speaker 1 (13:38):
You have no idea, and you might say, hey, I've
been using it for decades now. All it takes is
one instance, well just once, just once, and it's laced
with something that you don't know, and there goes you.
And if you have a family, who's going to take
care of your family? You know. So so we have
to think about the consequences of choices that we make,
(14:01):
not just for ourselves, but also for our families. And
we also know that a lot of people use substances,
especially in this day and age, to cope with something
like we've talked about, and it's it's good for us
to try to understand what what am I medicating for,
whether I'm using medical marijuana or illegal substances illegal marijuana
(14:25):
from the streets or alcohol or whatever. We're medicating for something.
You know. Some people eat to survive, some people eat,
you know, for comfort, some people eat to mask something.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
Right, people have addiction to free people have addiction.
Speaker 1 (14:40):
So and and and and and and and it's simple,
you know, when when we can't control, when people cannot control,
you know, you know, their actions, or they cannot they
don't have they can't stop when they need to stop,
then you know you need help, you know. And so
people are using substances to cope. It's a maladaptive way
(15:02):
of coping. And when times change in society, either there's
there's an event, or there's something happening with the economy,
or something happening, you know, in their lives, or and
it changes. Sometimes simple changes, something that alters their daily
routine can trigger something else that sends someone the wrong path.
(15:27):
And a lot of times, instead of we don't want
to look for help, we don't want to go ask
for help because it makes us look weak, and so
we find our own ways to cope. And then we're
going down a rabbit hole and going down a path.
About the time we're halfway into where we're going. We
(15:48):
don't even recognize ourselves anymore. And so we see situations
where you know, law enforcement and first responders. You know,
I've responded to situations where mom and dad passed out
in the car and the key the kid is the
children are behind.
Speaker 2 (16:07):
Yeah, I've seen stories on the news.
Speaker 1 (16:09):
We see that, and it's painful. You know, parents, you know,
stoned or drugged out and just go somewhere and leave
the kids at home. Nobody take care of and and
and and usually kids, kids are usually you know, the
ones that end up suffering, especially in a family with kids.
(16:32):
You know, when when there's substance abuse, or there's substance
used one way or another, when the adults are doing
the other thing, the kids end up suffering. They do,
and and I and I think it's a fair assessment.
It's a fair thing to say that we really have
to think long and hard about how our choices impact.
Speaker 2 (16:55):
Our children and families.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Our children and families. It is our responsibility collectively as
members of society. We're not nobody is an island. No
man is an island, No woman is an island. The
choices and the decisions you make do not just impact you,
they impact people around you.
Speaker 2 (17:17):
Is that part of the education process that Mary is
teaching people that you need to think about everyone else
surrounding you.
Speaker 1 (17:28):
That is correct, and this is why we live in
a society. We do not live on an island somewhere
by ourselves, and even if we did, that island is
a habitat for other animals that we live with. Yes,
And so personally, I truly believe that God gave us
(17:49):
nature and gave us the responsibility to create culture.
Speaker 3 (17:55):
Mm hmmm.
Speaker 1 (17:56):
Our maker gave us nature, yes, and also give us
the responsibility the job of creating culture, and we create
the kind of culture we want to live in. Culture again,
is simply the way of life of any given people.
If we want to create a culture where we think
(18:17):
our fellow human is not worth living and we want
to take ourselves out, that is a lot. That is
the world we're going to live in. If we want
to create a culture where we do not we want
to expose our kids to all kinds of abuses and substances,
then we have to be prepared for whatever world that
that that brings about. If we also want to live
in a world, create a culture where we care for
(18:39):
each other and help each other understand Hey, you matter
to me and I'm matter to you. We can coexist
together and leave as neighbors and see each other as
human beings. That is also a culture that is within
our power to create as a society. And so when
we when when we listen to understanding each other, it
(19:00):
takes us farther. Not only does it help us leave
I mean enjoy each other's company and also leave peacefully,
it helps us with informed decision making. There was a
time where if something is happening to someone on the street,
either we step into help or we call for help. Yes,
(19:23):
there's been a trend in the last few years were
the first thing people do.
Speaker 2 (19:27):
Is take out their phone.
Speaker 1 (19:28):
Take out their phones instead of helping the person in need.
Speaker 4 (19:33):
That is so infuriating to me and so and so
you have to ask yourself what happened?
Speaker 1 (19:39):
What happened to us?
Speaker 4 (19:40):
Right?
Speaker 1 (19:40):
When did we get so desensitized that someone is hurting,
someone is in trouble And the first thing our brain says, hey,
I can go.
Speaker 4 (19:50):
Viral with this by taking a video and so and
so you have to ask yourself as a society, what
what's happening to us? And how do we help each
other get back to where we're not asking to be superheroes.
Just be human at a very basic of it. Just
(20:14):
be human to each other, that's all. And so our
job is to educate Floridians about medical and inLove for
use of marijuana. It also involves that people need to
learn how to make informed decisions. And how you make
informed decisions is having all the information that you need
(20:37):
and being able to synthesize and analyze that information and okay,
all right, this is good for me and my family
or this is not. When I'm making those decisions for you,
will only helping present you. Hey, this is what we're seeing.
This is what the research is saying. You make an
(20:58):
informed decision what's best for you because what's best for
you and your family may not be the same.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
It may not be what's best for me and mine,
of course, and so we make informed decisions. The government
is not trying to make that decision for you, right,
we have the right.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
So how does that So how does that information? How
is that received? When you guys go out in the
community and through all your other vehicles like Marion Demand
and all that is, do you find that people are
receiving it. They want to learn, they want to know more,
they want to be able to make these informed decisions.
Speaker 1 (21:33):
Yes, we're finding that Floridians are very much interested and
a lot of times, like we stated it earlier, people
already have their preconceived notions and a lot of times
their preconceived notions are so wrong. But that's what they've believed, right,
And so we listen and then we talk about it.
(21:54):
And so during the conversations and the light bulb goes on, oh,
I didn't know that, And then we talk some more.
And so that one person takes the word to their
family and friends and say, hey, I learned something new.
So learned that, and then you talk about it. And
and so when when when the more we talk to Floridians,
we've we've noticed people are very receptive. People are listening
(22:18):
and they're asking ask questions and we're doing how very
best to answer them. Now, we're not gonna tell you
anything made up. If we don't know it, we'll say, hmm,
that's interesting, let's follow up with you on that. We're
gonna go look, get and get it. So there's no
point making stuff up. No one person knows it all,
you know, so we learn from each other and we
(22:39):
can you know, get back and say, hey, what is
the research saying. You know, a simple thing as you know,
a pregnant woman utilizing marijuana medical marijuana during pregnancy.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
Is that safe? Do you know?
Speaker 1 (22:53):
That's the thing. Some doctors, you know, in very very
very very redt situations will say, well, for the for
the health of the mother who cannot seem to keep
any food down, let's administer it in microdoses. But I
can sit here and tell you that there's no research
(23:16):
that I've read, and I've read a ton, yeah, and
I've asked questions from various experts, tend their conferences, talk
with colleagues, you know, you know Havard and the rest
of the other schools and you see you know, University
of California and you know u c l A. So
we've talked, and I haven't seen one one research that
(23:40):
tells you that marijuana medical or not is good for
the feeders.
Speaker 2 (23:46):
Nothing says it's good for the feed good. Yeah, I
could imagine.
Speaker 1 (23:50):
Brain because of brain development, the brain is still developing
up until age twenty five. And so when when when
I when I kids are utilizing cannabis, marijuana medical. Remember,
their brains are still developing, yes, and so if there's
no need for it, right, there is no need. The
(24:14):
benefits has to outweigh them. You have to oldweigh their harm, right,
and so if there's no need for it, do not
use it. If you're under the age of twenty five,
your brain is still developing.
Speaker 2 (24:28):
Very interesting because you see some you know, you see
or hear about so many kids underage under twenty one,
under eighteen that are are using whether you know, street marijuana.
Speaker 1 (24:41):
They are, they are and and and and and it's
interesting that you know, it's not just marijuana. You know,
hemp is it's the cannabis is like the mother. And
then under cannabis, the cannabis plant. You know, you have marijuana,
and then you have hemp. Hemp is legal on the
federal wall. And so you see all this smoke shops
(25:04):
and stores, you know, corner stores and gas stations where
you could buy him derived products. A lot of them
are synthetic products. Synthetic means that it's non natural. There's
a lot of additives. I say that it has been
added to it to make that what they what is
being sold there. And you know, as I do, synthetic
(25:26):
products do not sit well with the human body. Now
they don't. And so a kid goes into the gas
station and these things are flavored and they're.
Speaker 2 (25:35):
Illegal and marketed towards children, and.
Speaker 1 (25:38):
Marketing marketed towards kids, and so and and and it
was an unintended consequence of the Farm Bill. It was
well intentioned to be able to open up, you know,
the Farm Bill. But what Congress did not think about
is that the average American is so smart they'll find
a loophole and if found a loophole, and the industry
(26:02):
is massive just in Florida alone. Yeah, you see a
smoke shop everywhere, so much so that a lot of
people confuse medical Maljuna treatment centers mmtcs that are regulated
to sell medical marijuana. A lot of people confuse those
ham shops for mmtcs and they're going and they think
(26:25):
they're buying something that's regulated tested, you know, and they
know what they're getting, but then that they do not.
It is not regulated.
Speaker 2 (26:35):
So is there any attempt to pull back that law
that allows hamp products with synthetic additives to be sold
at convenience stores.
Speaker 1 (26:47):
We're just in the wild West. Here, the fine bill
doesn't get looked at every year. Yeah, so so I
have to look at to see the next time the
fine bill comes from Sable, I think is every five years.
I'm not sure the last time it came up if
anything was done about it. But when it's hard, really hard,
(27:10):
once you say yes, you can do something taking it back.
Speaker 2 (27:16):
Can those products be sold to underage individuals in.
Speaker 1 (27:21):
Florida, We've we've made laws that doesn't allow for that,
so that the laws protecting you know, but.
Speaker 2 (27:29):
Still right, it's just like underage alcohol, alcohol or cigarettes.
Speaker 1 (27:34):
Yes, you see someone, hey, I'll give you, I'll give
you ten dollars going down and buy something for me.
And people do that. And also some people, some parents
think it's okay. Oh I'd rather you know, you utilize
kids the substance with my kid at home that have
them go use it outside, So let them do it
while I'm here.
Speaker 2 (27:54):
I've heard that before.
Speaker 1 (27:55):
Too, and it's it's a call that the parents have
to make with their child. But think about what you're
doing to the long term brain development and health of
that child, because it impacts them. I'm gonna I'm just
gonna say this. Growing up, we used to make fun
and say, someone's got, you know, the attention span of
(28:17):
a goldfish. It was funny until about two years ago.
Last year or two years ago, study was done that
the average human attention span is shorter than a goldfish, shorter, shorter.
Speaker 2 (28:37):
Shorter, And that's been in recent years. I want to say,
is am I correct?
Speaker 1 (28:41):
That is true? Right recent and so our brains, our
attention span as humans is becoming so short that it's
hard to keep people's attention. And so when we create,
when when content is created, you have to think about
the attention span. Oh man, if it's longer than this,
(29:02):
I'm going to lose them. You know, you're having a
conversation and people tune you out because you've lost them.
And a lot of times there's one screen here, another
screen there, and another one is on the wall a TV,
and so people are doing different things. And we do
this almost every day. And then you have this YouTube
(29:22):
shorts where and you have the TikTok and and this
short short amount of and it's hitting the brain, hitting
hitting the brain one and it's like a drug. It
is like a drug. Absolutely, and so and and and
and these are these are not just This is not
far fetch and some planet, you know, out of space.
(29:46):
This is us, our neighbors, our kids, our friends, this
is us. These are people that we care about. This
is us, and we have to think about how do
we find a way to make sure that we don't
lose ourselves in this, in all of this, because at
(30:10):
the end of it, at the end of the day,
we still have to remember that we're human, Yes, and
we need to treat each other as such and find
ways to help each other, coved whatever it is that
we're going through, and so there's no easy way out.
It didn't take us a day or two to get here, now,
(30:31):
it took a long time. And yes, and so we
have to work together and understand that this is not
just one person's problem. It's a societal it's a societal problem.
You know, remember when COVID started, Oh yeah, it was,
it's a program. It's a problem overseas, and before you
know it one point.
Speaker 2 (30:50):
Away, Oh yeah.
Speaker 1 (30:52):
It's here, uh huh, it's here. And so it has
a way of impacting us whatever is happening in other
parts of the world world. Before long, you know, it's
home and it becomes our problem, and so we think
about it. Sobstance use, disorder, or utilizing illegal substances is
(31:14):
not just that family's problem.
Speaker 2 (31:16):
It is all of our problems, all our problem.
Speaker 1 (31:19):
It is all of our problem because that one person
gets behind motive motor vehicle goes down to interstate reckless driving,
some of the person's problem. That's right.
Speaker 2 (31:32):
And and and while we're on that top topic, I
wanted to just say that even medical marijuana should not
be used while driving. Right, that doesn't give you the
license to drive.
Speaker 1 (31:43):
No, it does not.
Speaker 2 (31:44):
While smoking marijuana.
Speaker 1 (31:46):
No, you can't. You can't. You shouldn't. You shouldn't operate
a motor vehicle or any machinery while you're impaired.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
Because you could be impaired. Just like drinking, it could
be impaired.
Speaker 1 (31:56):
And a lot of times, like with gummies, one of them,
some people take it not realizing it has a two
hour lag and oh take it. Oh that's not working,
and then take another one and by the time it
hits they're out.
Speaker 2 (32:11):
See that's that's a little scary.
Speaker 1 (32:13):
It is. But with under the care of a physician,
yes you would know. Hey, okay, take this when you're
about to either you're sitting down or you're about about
to lie down. Do not take it while.
Speaker 2 (32:25):
You're driving or or outside the home.
Speaker 1 (32:29):
Really, that is that is true. Do not And so
so these are precautions or steps that we can take,
you know, to be able to protect ourselves and and
and the state of Florida. You know, just the legislature
just passed a bill, think it's HB three fifty one,
you know that increases the penalty for traffic violations. Now
(32:52):
in the past, it used to be before this law.
It used to be say someone goes fifty miles over
the speed limit, you know, they get a citation, you
get a ticket, you know. Or but it's changing its
fifty miles over over the speed limit. Yeah, mandatory jail time.
Speaker 2 (33:13):
Yeah, well that makes sense to me. So I don't
know if you're a speeder when I see it. When
when I'm when I'm driving and people are going like
one hundred and twenty miles an hour past me, I'm like,
where are the cops now?
Speaker 1 (33:26):
Right? Yeah? So anything anything one hundred anything over one
hundred miles an hour, yep, not just a ticket, it's
mandatory j mondatory showing up in court. You have to
mindatory court appearance for both instances, you know, and and
it gets worse if you're second you know the second time, Yes,
(33:47):
it penalty increases. Sure to suspend your license and lose it,
you go to jail. Yeah, And so it's it's it's
getting that. And so you're talking about you're under the
influence of something, and then you'll alsoe volation of these
traffic laws. So not just dui. Now you're stacking on
the super speder, you know, consequences and there goes if
(34:12):
you survive, right, you know, survite that and you don't
kill anybody, which stacks of the you know, right, the
consequences of it. Your job, your life, your freedom, everything
is at risk just because just just because you wanted
(34:33):
you made you made choices that are not just only
good for you, that bad for you, but also bad
for anyone next to you.
Speaker 2 (34:43):
And I'm sure that's part of the education that Mary's
trying to teach Floridians about everything, not just about the
medical marijuana, how to get your license, the pros, the cons,
but all that everything else that you just said that
goes along with it, that how to be kept in mind.
Speaker 1 (35:01):
It's it's snowballs, it's no balls. So so we have
to be uninformed, you know, citizenry to make informed decisions.
And when we when we don't, then we run into
consequences that impacts us and impacts our lives. And a
lot of times the people that get caught up in this,
(35:21):
they were already struggling in the first place. They were
You're already struggling, and now you're just making your life
for You're making matters worse for you, you know, And
so we we want people to be cognizant of that
and learn to make informed decisions. So let's learn to
(35:43):
listen to each other. Listen to understand, as opposed to
listening to respond, take time to you know, learn talk.
You know.
Speaker 2 (35:55):
Those three words, educate, learn talk. But during this discussion,
it takes it to a whole other level.
Speaker 3 (36:02):
It does.
Speaker 1 (36:02):
And just just talk talk to someone, you know, don't
matter what you're going through, find someone that you could
talk to, you know, and and if and if you're
someone that other people want to talk to, you have
the privilege of having people wanting to talk to you.
Also learn to keep their confidence and be helpful to them,
(36:24):
you know, Listen and then don't don't, don't be judgmental.
Speaker 2 (36:30):
Yeah, seeing that's something too that people probably are skeptical
of maybe having a conversation because they don't want to
be judged.
Speaker 1 (36:39):
Nobody wants to be judged. And and then you ask yourself,
even if I judge this person, what does it do? Nothing?
You're not helping, not helping anyone. It makes you feel good,
but that's not the point. It's about them, not you.
And so we you know, I remember one of the
(37:01):
things that I will start growing up that it's nice
to be important, right, but it's more important to be nice.
Speaker 2 (37:08):
I like that.
Speaker 1 (37:09):
Yeah, nice to be important, but.
Speaker 2 (37:12):
More important to of words, to live by a lot.
Speaker 1 (37:16):
Of those and never really understood and know until growing up.
And then you leave life, and then you you find
out what's important? You sure do you do? You do?
Speaker 3 (37:27):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (37:27):
So it's it's it's we We just have to try
and be there for each other, right, It's not easy,
Just just just.
Speaker 2 (37:37):
Try and it makes you feel good inside. I think
for me, when I'm there for somebody, and I could
help somebody, even if it's with the littlest thing, it
doesn't have to be a tremendous thing. Makes you feel good.
Speaker 1 (37:51):
Yes, it does. Gives your purpose, it does. Start with
your family and and be cognizant. Know what your limitations are,
know what your strengths are. Don't try to be who
you're not, you know, don't try to jump into a
situation that you know you can't handle. Don't try to,
you know, see someone with a gun and think you
could disarm them when you don't even know how to
(38:12):
handle them, you know. So, Yeah, so you have to
know what your limitations are. It's it's not a weakness,
it's it's actually a sign of strength to know what
your limitations are and and know when to call for help. Yes, no,
when to know when to call for help. And basic things,
(38:36):
basic things, you know, we're talking in kindergarten. Wash your
hands after you use the restroom, don't take anything that
doesn't belong to you, Clean up after yourself. Little basic things.
I think we could go back if we remember, going
back to that ort, remember how we got here. I
think it will it will help us a lot. Don't
(38:57):
forget who we are, and treat each other as we
would want to be treated. Just simple things we learned,
you know, as kids. And yeah, I think we've forgotten it.
Speaker 2 (39:09):
Yeah, somehow, some way it got lost, you know, and
like you said, little by little and you don't even
realize it, which we were seeing in the beginning. I know.
There's a wealth of information on famu's Mary's website, which
is Mary dot mu dot e d u M M
E r I dot f A M you dot e
(39:30):
d u uh. There is so much information and resources there.
They're free, they're free, it doesn't cost a thing. People
can go there, find out about your community events. You
guys go out throughout the state, hold these events and
talk to people and educate them about the health risks.
(39:53):
You make sure parents are involved in these conversations.
Speaker 1 (39:57):
That is true, you.
Speaker 2 (39:58):
Know, and sharing the information with people. Again. Taking it
back to medical marijuana, that yes, even if you do
have a license, there are some struggles, there's tips, there's
doesn't mean that you just have a free ride to
use marijuana. It has to be done in the medical
(40:22):
way that your doctor explains to you.
Speaker 1 (40:25):
That is true, you know.
Speaker 2 (40:26):
They're they're like and like we said, there are risks
and there are benefits.
Speaker 3 (40:30):
There are.
Speaker 1 (40:31):
Yeah, you have to use her responsibly like any other substance,
any other medicine. You could, you could take too much
talent all yes, you know, you could drink too much water,
Yes you can and responsible use, responsible use, And I
want to say, and it it affects each person individually.
Speaker 2 (40:53):
You could take too tile and al and it might
help you for your headache. I could take the same
and it might not help mine.
Speaker 1 (40:59):
That is true.
Speaker 2 (41:00):
So I try to make that comparison. Comparison.
Speaker 1 (41:02):
That is very that is so true. Our bodies are different,
and so medical marijuana works with our bodies differently because
we are in the connobinoid systems. You know. That's it
works when I in the connobinoid system and and and
and so it helps us individually accept differently. And and
so we have to understand that, understand how your body works.
(41:26):
And that's why the slogan for that it's start low,
go slow. You know, you start low and go slow
until your body gets used to how it works. And
it's it's it's it's quite interesting the things we learn
as we interact with Floridians about this, and it's it's
quite a blessing to leave in the state of Florida. Yes,
(41:48):
where where this resource is available, you know, where medical
manjuana is legal.
Speaker 2 (41:54):
You know, are there similar programs in other states that
you're aware of?
Speaker 1 (41:58):
It's similar programs like married to education the citizens about yeah, no, no, no, no.
Florida is the only state that mandates or the legislature
mandates a state entity to educate its populations about you know.
Speaker 2 (42:15):
So we're very fortunate, very fortunate.
Speaker 1 (42:18):
There's no other state all the states. What they did
is they legalized medical marijuana, and they said, hey, do
you think and they left it to the industry, you know,
to do whatever they did. They were more interested in
who's getting who's getting what, who's getting what slice of
the industry of the pie and all that and so,
(42:40):
but the legislature wanted Floridians to be educated so they
could make informed decisions. And so it's it's a thing
of pride Florida A and M. We we have this
with this you know, task and this responsibility, and we
do it cladly and we're excited to keep doing it. And
we feel really really blessed to be able to be
(43:02):
in a position to you know, to be of service
to the great State of Florida and our people.
Speaker 2 (43:08):
And we appreciate you so for the rest of this year. Gosh,
I can't believe we're halfway through the year already. It's crazy.
I don't even know how that happened. Uh. Any any
plans that you know of as far as on site
community events throughout the state. Should folks just go to
marry on demand and find out about that?
Speaker 1 (43:29):
Please visit our website. Fam you the Mary that e
du right and we we we were always having different
events and oh and our partners and our friends and
different events across across our great state. And if you
if you see an event close to you, please feel
free to join us. And so yeah, we we we
(43:49):
have events all the time, and and we welcome you know,
Florydians to join and interact with us. We want to
hear from you, want to hear your story. Also, join
us in conversations and cannabis. We have it every month.
Yes you know, it's live streamed on YouTube and Facebook.
Join us, ask questions of the various experts that we have,
(44:10):
you know, the guests that we have on talk you know,
join us and you know the supporters and tell us, Hey,
tell us, how what else do you think we can
or how we can help you in your community?
Speaker 2 (44:22):
Right?
Speaker 1 (44:22):
To educate you. For you invited us to speak, we
will be there to address you know, your Senior Citizens
group or your church or whatever civics organization that you
you work with.
Speaker 2 (44:34):
Yeah, inviters, So anyone can do that, can just go
to the website find out from there how to put
in a request for you to show up at an
event or yes, oh that's wonderful.
Speaker 3 (44:46):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (44:46):
So yeah, wherever you are, whether you're somewhere you know,
in in Monroe County.
Speaker 3 (44:52):
And the Keys, or wherever you are, and this can
be a county, the middle of the state, wherever you wherever,
wherever you are, we can we can get that. We
can get there and show up and work with you
and educate you know, the population there and interact with you. Yeah,
that's the job. We want to where two or three
(45:13):
Floridians a gad that we want to be there. Nice, Yes,
we want to be there.
Speaker 2 (45:17):
Yeah. The goals to educate Floridians. And we can't thank
you enough for your contributions and your leadership for this
program which has really gone above and beyond. So thank
you for that.
Speaker 1 (45:30):
Thank you so much, Jodie. It's quite a pleasure than.
Speaker 2 (45:32):
Having always a pleasure talking with you, and we'll talk
again soon. In the meantime, it's Mary M.
Speaker 1 (45:38):
M e.
Speaker 2 (45:38):
Ri I dot fa MU dot edu for all the
information you need.
Speaker 1 (45:42):
Thank you. Yes appreciate that
Speaker 2 (45:47):
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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