Reefer Wellness by Dr. Riley Kirk

Hi there, and thanks for reading my inaugural blog post about Reefer Wellness – I recommend you get the book! Today, I’d like to discuss propaganda. We all see it every day, and there are all sorts of it flying about these days. We all either remember, have read about, or heard stories of “Reefer Madness”. As we sit here shaking our heads, saying, “Who would believe this crap?”, there are plenty of people who still believe it to this day.

Well, one ‘stoner scientist’ has set out to fight that propaganda with her new book “Reefer Wellness”! I’m currently reading it right now, and let me tell you… wow.

First, I’d like to tell you a little bit about Dr. Riley Kirk and why you should listen to her. This woman is truly inspiring.

She obtained her Ph.D. in pharmaceutical sciences and is currently an assistant associate professor at the University of Rhode Island. She has worked as an immunology scientist in the biotech industry, and currently works in the cannabis industry studying the chemical complexity of cannabis smoke. She also co-founded the cannabis research and education non-profit organization called the Network of Applied Pharmacognosy (NAP). She is also the host of the podcast “Bioactive” and the author of “Reefer Wellness”.
Reefer Wellness sets out to educate the public about cannabis science in a friendly, approachable way.

“The book uses science and lived experience to reverse the stigma caused by Reefer Madness.
With sections on history, chemistry, lived experience, testing, adverse effects, and more, you will learn something new from cracking this book open.”

Failed chemistry or biology in high school? No worries, Dr. Kirk does her best to leave the technical behind and explains the science in a way that is easy to understand. Reefer Wellness- get the book!

Cannabis is a very personal medicine, and just because it affects one person one way does not mean that it will affect you in the same manner. However, having an understanding of how cannabis works in the body and how terpenes are generally known to affect most people can help readers make educated decisions and understand how it is likely to affect them. This was critical to me in learning how cannabis affected my own body.

As the book goes deeper, it explains a lot of the cannabis culture and things that you might have been too embarrassed to ask, like “What the hell is a dab and how does one do it? Isn’t that some kind of weird dance/sneeze from the early 2010s?” Yes, that may or may not have been me….

This article was mainly supposed to talk about Dr. Kirk’s book “Reefer Wellness”, but I would be remiss if I didn’t also discuss her podcast, “Bioactive”.

Bioactive is a twice-a-month podcast that discusses the pharmacology and chemistry of natural products. It discusses current news and research surrounding cannabis, psychedelics, toxins, pharmaceuticals, and other “bioactive” substances.

If you want to jump in and start listening, I highly recommend listening to the episode “Figuring out how THC works in the brain with Dr. Allyn Howlett”. This episode includes an interview with Dr. Allyn Howlett. Dr. Howlett is famous for discovering the receptors in the brain that THC interacts with. This is my favorite episode, and hearing Dr. Howlett talk about her experiences researching cannabis at Pfizer was really awesome.

About The Author
Steve originally hails from the Palm Beach area. He served 21 years in the US Navy in the broadcasting/telecom world, working for agencies such as Defense Media Agency, Naval Media Center, Afloat Media Systems, Naval Sea Systems Command, the Navy Chief of Information, and other sea-going commands. Upon retirement, he became a certified Florida teacher specializing in general science.
Now Steve dedicates his time and energy to his family, and learning as much as he can about cannabis in particular, botany in general, and working with the Florida Cannabis Action Network.

He is the producer of the up-and-coming “Elevated Intel Podcast”, starring Jodi James and Cynthia Brewer. Catch them LIVE on FLCAN’s Facebook Page Fridays at 4:20 or on YouTube.com/@flcanfiles

Full Disclosure: The author has purchased this product and is also a monthly supporter of the podcast

Links
Book: Reefer Wellness!
Podcast: Figuring out how THC works in the brain with Dr. Allyn Howlett