Educate. Learn. Talk about Marijuana in Florida. |
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Let’s talk about children using medical marijuana |
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A former combat nurse talks about cannabis for veterans with Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) |
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How To Get a Florida Medical Marijuana ID Card |
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Medical Cannabis For Kids. What Parents Need to Know. |
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Should children use cannabis as a medical treatment? More and more parents across Florida are saying yes. In fact, Board Certified Pediatrician Dr. David Berger says he has certified hundreds of kids to use medical cannabis for conditions ranging from epilepsy to autism.
Join the next Conversations on Cannabis virtual forum on Thursday, August 26 at noon to talk with Dr. Berger, the founder of Wholistic ReLeaf in Central Florida, and cannabis mom and advocate Andrea Anderson, whose son uses pediatric cannabinoids.
If you’re a parent, this is a forum you don’t want to miss. Register to join the conversation.
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'America's Combat Nurse' Campaigns To Help Veterans Fight PTSD with Cannabis |
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Retired U.S. Air Force (USAF) nurse Cherissa Jackson, who served more than 23 years in the USAF and rose to the rank of captain, may have survived three deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, where she witnessed the human toll of war, but years later she is still engaged in a battle that haunts her and hundreds of thousands of other combat veterans (vets); post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Jackson believes that PTSD is a serious mental health illness that afflicted veterans should be able to counterattack with medical marijuana provided through the Veterans Affairs’ healthcare system, an option that’s prohibited because marijuana, regardless of its use, is illegal under federal law.
Jackson is the chief medical executive for AMVETS’ HEAL (Healthcare, Evaluations, Advocacy and Legislation) program, a leading proponent of medical marijuana as an effective treatment for veterans with PTSD and other chronic health conditions.
She calls herself “America’s combat nurse” as she advocates for removing legal and bureaucratic barriers that keep veterans from accessing a natural alternative to potentially addictive pharmaceuticals.
“I take this role very personally, and I’m out here every day fighting and advocating for veterans,” said Jackson, who wrote a memoir about her own struggles with PTSD, “At Peace, Not in Pieces: Powering Through the Pain.”
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Jackson organized the first conference in the nation to educate veterans about the cannabis industry and the potential benefits of medical cannabis. The Veterans Alternative Healthcare Summit was held in 2021 on June 27, National PTSD Awareness Day, as a virtual event.
Conference topics included, “Understanding the Endocannabinoid System and the Medical Benefits of Cannabis, “Access to Medical Cannabis,” and “Cannabis Education & Research.” Dr. Patricia Green-Powell, executive director of Florida A&M’s Medical Marijuana Education and Research Initiative (MMERI), was a guest panelist on Education & Research discussion. Videos of every breakout session are posted online at www.amvetshealprogram.org/.
Jackson said her motivation to stage the summit was to energize an AMVETS resolution that calls for veterans to have access to medical marijuana and, more importantly, to add fuel to a movement to allow VA healthcare providers to recommend cannabis treatments. Currently, the Veterans Administration (VA) only permits its physicians to talk about cannabis use with veterans.
“I think it’s very important for veterans to know they have options out here, and the option doesn’t always have to be an opioid,” she said.
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How to Get Medical Marijuana in Florida |
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Only a qualified physician can recommend medical marijuana in Florida. However, a patient still must get a Medical Marijuana Use Registry Card to obtain the drug from an approved treatment center.
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find a qualified
physician
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for a Medical Marijuana
ID Card
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to find a Medical
Marijuana Treatment
Center near you
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What People Are Saying About Marijuana
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“My service was discontinued because of Lyme Disease while stationed in OK. Cannabis changed my life. Now I’m helping other veterans.” - J.F., Napa, CA
“I'm using medical cannabis. Because of work, I sometimes travel between states. Since not all the states are on the same page on the legality of this plant from earth, I sometimes have to be without my medication or scared I might get arrested if I take my medicine while I'm working in a state that is against marijuana,” - B.S., United States
“I am a Registered Nurse recently diagnosed with breast cancer and am having internal struggles with using medical marijuana being that it is still illegal on the federal level and risking my licensure,” - K.K., United States
“With a PTSD diagnosis and chronic pain, marijuana helps me get through it,” - C.L., Kansas City, MO.
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How to get a Florida Medical Marijuana ID Card here.
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Join the Conversations on Cannabis on
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Contact us directly by phone at 850-561-2456 or by email at
625 East Tennessee Street, Ste. 210, Tallahassee, FL 32301
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