It is no surprise to our readers that we have a deep and abiding love for Cannabis Nurses and the work that they are doing on the “front lines” of Medicine. Dr. Raphael Mechoulam himself has expressed frustration at the foot-dragging of traditional members within the medical field in conducting scientific research on this plant. Now in his late 80’s, he said ” I greatly regret that I don’t have another lifetime to devote to this field.” Nurse Heather Manus, in her presentation during the 2019 Cannabis Nurses Networking Conference said, “They didn’t teach us about the EndoCannabinoid System at nursing school and I want to know why.”
It’s apparent to us that after 80 years of Cannabis Prohibition, incurred by a handful of greedy businessmen and authoritarian government officials, many people are still suffering from the stigmatization of the plant. Not to mention those who are suffering from pains and dis-eases that can be addressed with the judicious use of the plant.
A man we met at this year’s CannMed conference in Los Angeles said that we have advanced in terms of Cannabis research as far as the day we put a man on the moon. To think where we could have been today in terms of medical advancements. My own parents would have had a more merciful passage from this life to the next, if only access to Cannabis hadn’t been a crime. As far as Paliative care, there is much more we could all be doing for elders who are suffering.
Some of the nurses at the CNNC shared their stories with us, so that we could share them with the world.