Bling:

Promo Intro:

Hello my friends,                                    

Today we’re going to change course a bit… in fact, we may have several courses after you hear our next guest chat about his passion. Join me for a culinary cannabis chat with leading food expert videographer, Chef… Tarik Sparks.

                   right after the intro…

Intro

Honey Smith Walls 0:00

Welcome to season four of the Cannaba Verum podcast, the Cannabis Truth podcast.

I speak the language of cannabis freely and uncensored while educating my audience on safe use of this live plant therapy. You should know what’s in your cannabis…what’s good and what’s not.

It does not come with an FDA stamp of approval yet. Using cannabis mindfully as medication is a different concept in Western healthcare philosophy, specifically of the past 100 years. There’s a lot to learn and reconsider.

The information you’ll find here comes straight from scientists and clinicians doing the work and reporting their findings in real time through various live online outlets.

The scientific truth of cannabis is finally getting out and is wide open for all to see at respected medical sites like pubmed.gov and JAMA, the Journal of American Medical Association… and I’m right there in the thick of it with all those titans of medicine… as a fly on the wall.

Because I’m not a doctor, nor did I go to med school. But I did take dozens of private cannabis courses and still engage in continuing education offered by cannabis expert scientists over the past few years and slowly began to see and understand the bigger picture.

Now I talk to people all day long about cannabis and hopefully inspire them to research the facts as we know them today. Cannabis is an amazing alternative in health remedies. It can reportedly alleviate typical disease problems and troubling side effects, even those caused by synthetic prescriptions.

This is Honey Smith Walls, a 21st century cannabis shaman, not a doctor, not a scientist, raised by nuns and wolves in the verdant cattle pastures of the Oklahoma oil fields. I’m here to amplify the truth of this great big story of cannabis in historical, political, scientific and spiritual terms, so you can make educated decisions about the medicine you choose to ingest.

Seg 1

Honey Smith Walls 0:02

Hey, it sounds like I have Tarik. Hello. Hey. Hi. How are you?

Chef Tarik Sparks  2:55

I am well how are you?

Honey Smith Walls 2:56

I’m okay. It it feels like I’m reconnecting with an old friend from… I don’t know, some fabulous adventure we went through together.

Chef Tarik Sparks  3:10

Best way to put it there.

Honey Smith Walls 3:12

Did we have the best time?

Chef Tarik Sparks  3:14

Yes we did. It was literally one of the best experiences I’ve ever had.

Honey Smith Walls 3:18

I just had a ball. I felt like I was in the lap of love with about 1000 Close friends just having the time of my life. And it felt like it was so perfectly normal. But it wasn’t… it was for us! Yeah.

Chef Tarik Sparks  3:37

It was like… oh, this is cool… I don’t have to…. Yeah. Just talk about this… All of that to be like… hey, this is… I like this…. Do you like this? No. Okay, I’m just gonna go over here. Yeah.

Honey Smith Walls 3:48

It was just so wonderful. And sorry… Let me just give a little background. Tarik Sparks and I met at the Miami CannaDelic conference a couple of weekends ago or whenever it was… totally lost time, you know, when we were there now. And it was like I said, we’re just still kind of giddy over it. Because of all that happened. It was a four day conference at the one of Miami’s waterlogged hotels, and we just had a heck of a good time. I’m looking at your website… it’s just wonderful and the food is so mouthwatering.

Chef Tarik Sparks  4:37

Which your website are you looking at?

Honey Smith Walls 4:43

TarikSparksStudios.com Miami video and food photographer Tarik Sparks.

Chef Tarik Sparks  4:49

That’s correct. So I have two websites. I am a food and food videographer and chef. I’m a cannabis chef. And then we started our business called The Hidden Creation back in like 2017… Me and my wife. And we just been combining both of our skills that we picked up from going to Johnson and Wales where we both graduated… so I did culinary… she did baking and pastry. And when I traveled a lot… I’ve met a lot of chefs who are like, Look, man, it’s just like any other herb.

Honey Smith Walls 5:29

You realized what the medicinal value is, that the depth and value of this plant… is medicine, how it’s going to apply to you… how you’re going to apply yourself to the industry that’s already slightly begun. And especially for more people of color.

Chef Tarik Sparks  5:47

Yeah, it’s just, we all have our own traumas, you know what I mean? And just to know that there’s something else maybe potentially that could be already backed with research and all… like I got into the cannabis industry not as I think most of us maybe started… smoking recreationally right.

Well, I think a lot of us started smoking but then I’m like, Okay, well, there’s a lot of people that just need this for other reasons. Like in the restaurant industry.

There’s so many people that just do not sleep. You don’t get out until two or three o’clock in the morning and they go to a bar… then I learned about CBD, and I was like, okay, cool. That’s, that’s really cool. You know what I mean? If we have too much THC, this is the reason. And so it’s like, knowing that there was that process. That’s how I really got into and wanting to develop my information about cannabis. It wasn’t like, I’m just trying to get you on the best tasting product right?

Honey Smith Walls 7:00

You already know that people contain the high in THC by using CBD? Absolutely. Okay, good. I wasn’t sure where you are in this journey yet but I’m so thrilled because you’re saying all the right things… you know all my buzzwords, you know, clean product and make sure that people use it right… that you’re getting the right compounds for whatever and, yeah, that’s it.

I gotta say I’m a little concerned about recreational coming into Florida, because of the elders here already not understanding cannabis. And they’ll just go to wherever and have an experience that’s going to be way overwhelming for them.

Chef Tarik Sparks  7:49

That’s very true. It looks like it might be coming sooner. I know. Watch it to some degree. I’m excited about it. Yeah, I was able to talk to Nancy Whiteman, when she was at the psychedelic conference and they named her the Martha Stewart of cannabis cooking. I never heard of her but I was really excited because a part of the VIP package were having the dinners, and then she was at the table with a couple other people that were almost like the biggest people in the industry.

Yeah. And she told me if I want longevity in the industry… to one get away from trying to touch the product. And two, it’s so political here in Florida, that it’s like $2 million to start. And she’s like, I’m not saying that they’re not going to give you a license… but it’s extremely difficult.

But at the same time… when she did what she did… it was 13 years ago… I now have advise that she didn’t have when she started 13 years ago. Absolutely. She’d be a great consult. Right so I reached out to her and you know, I’m excited because what I do like about Florida and I gotta do more research on it… to some degree…even though you have companies with almost 200 dispensaries, like some of these smaller dispensaries can kind of be almost crafty… So it’s just crafty enough because since everything has to be vertically integrated, you kind of have to follow that path. Even though for longevity of Florida when it comes to actually the amount of money that’s coming into it. That might not be as much as compared to California or Boston or somebody’s other places that are recreational but the quality of your your product could be cleaner if it’s falling all underneath the same house.

Honey Smith Walls 9:59

So can you explain to our audience how you see restaurant coming into Florida for cannabis and infusion restaurants and stuff like that because you know, we’re not accustomed to anything like that here. It’s starting. It’s already started and you will already see CBD on the menu.

Chef Tarik Sparks  10:21

It’s fascinating and it is a great marketing tool because I think I was watching somewhere on YouTube. They were talking about how like the younger generation is not really so into like sodas and they just want like the bubbly. So there’s a lot of like CBD drinks coming out and hemp Delta nine drinks coming out so it’s like trying to find the right amount of CBD or THC hemp version that people are gonna like because, you know, I stopped drinking personally…

Honey Smith Walls 10:53

Me too…  who needs alcohol when you’ve got cannabis.

Chef Tarik Sparks  10:59

Exactly. And then you find the right dosing that works for you. I could be just as into the situation as everyone else without having to consume alcohol but at least now I know that there’s an option, right? You know what I mean? If Coca Cola came out with their own CBD drink like that would definitely change the perspective of CBD and what people would actually take because now you got this organization talking this can be good for you.

Honey Smith Walls 11:29

Yeah, boy. That’s an oxymoron from Coca Cola and CBD. Yeah.

Chef Tarik Sparks  11:36

But I think to the point… it’s like not everyone wants to drink. And when you go to a bar, the first thing you think about is I gotta have a drink. And it’s not like you’re saying, I’m going to go have a Coke or Pepsi just because the culture of a bar isn’t based around that. But when you start going to some of these bars here in Florida, you know, like you’d like tap 42. Like they’ll give you a cocktail and then if you wanted to see what CBD does… it’s a syringe of, I don’t know like five or 10 milligrams but they just stick into the drink and then you you know…

You know, I’ve seen soda cans… people making your own version, 25 milligrams, 30 milligrams, or what have you that I don’t think that’s been specified what’s going to work in each industry since every body literally is different.

But when it comes to alcohol, there’s a 9% Alcohol there’s a 4% Alcohol there’s seven, you know, I think that range will will display itself into the restaurants. I think people will do with food too… into restaurants. You know, like, if I’m going to a show later on, and I want 10 milligrams or something before I go to a show and I can’t smoke there. I don’t want to pin it up, you know, yeah, those options are going to become available, but it’s going to take more people doing it and knowing what their doses were… what the dosage is individually there. I think it took a long time in the alcohol industry to know that… okay, cool. We could do 7% And a lot of people were okay with it. Or we could do a 10% and this group is okay. You know what I mean? Like this?

Honey Smith Walls 13:19

Yeah. And then it went down to 3.2% beer. And you had to go across the state to get six point right? Oh, and what I’m getting at is that a lot of people, a lot of young people still have a “let’s get drunk” attitude with alcohol. And let’s get high attitude with cannabis or other psychedelics. Just for the hell of it. And not understanding that THC can cause them grave anxieties and stuff. They may choose the wrong varieties or not the right compounds to keep them from being anxious or whatever.

They don’t know enough about the product to choose the right one for themselves. I’m a little concerned about that in restauranting with cannabis. And just so you know, I used to own a restaurant in Kansas… it was called Camelot… and it’s, I will say, French and American cuisine… Barking by 5 dogs…

Sorry… that’s my five little brood of mongrels. And so I just love hearing about the restaurant business and about how you’re imagining all of this coming up and what you’re doing in the cannabis industry, with the food business and all of that. It’s wonderful to mash them together. And I’m so tickled that you’re taking seriously the medicinal values of it. Because food is our cure. Really. We are what we eat. I mean, I know that’s a broad thing to say but truly we are this bag of bones and alien creatures that survive inside of us. You know, throughout everything in us. We have to feed it something and if we’re not feeding the good stuff, then it’s going to revolt. And that second brain in our stomach becomes our first mind in our head, because it speaks the loudest.

Chef Tarik Sparks  15:44

Yeah, absolutely. And I think the the progression of the psychedelic and cannabis industry is going to cause a lot of people to start to learn, you know what they actually want for themselves. I feel like after you know the quarantine, a lot of people went through good or bad… they learned more about themselves because they didn’t have a choice but to be with themselves.

So as more time goes on and we’re leaving our jobs or going to new careers… We’re not taking things anymore. We do want to do things…. I think the same process is going to go into the cannabis side as more people get information about it. Because it’s going to become hard to ignore, you know what I mean?

There wasn’t as much information then as now and a lot more information and it’s only going to get bigger. And there’s always going to be that you know, tug of war of like… should we do it? Should we not do it? But as long as there’s information out there that’s positive, that’s at least willing to help people… I feel like we’re going to be on the right course.

Honey Smith Walls 16:51

So what are you doing specifically to help people of color into the same situation that you’re into?

Chef Tarik Sparks  16:58

Well as of now, I just quit my job about a month ago.

Honey Smith Walls 17:03

Yeah, what were you doing?

Chef Tarik Sparks  17:05

I was working for this guy named Grant Cardone. And did that for years as videographer Oh good. And it was great. It taught me a lot in the industry, especially when it comes to like social media. Sales Marketing.

But in the past, when it came to The Hidden Creation, the cannabis side of things, we were just doing small private dinners and teaching people about you know, low dose because everyone thinks that being stoned is the best until you’re actually stoned.

Then people were like, What should I do? And I was like, You should have read the instructions. Yeah. We’ve communicated this multiple times. So at the moment, me and my wife were putting together two ebooks… a smaller ebook it’s like maybe like 1015 pages in a larger one that I’m gonna start adding video content to it as well.

So I spent recipes that we’ve enjoyed over the last 10 to 12 years for working in the restaurant industry and then combining it with THC or CBD. Or any of the cabinet cannabinoids really, that way people can actually know what to do between distilled and a butter and oil. Yeah.

I’ve been thinking…. I wasn’t sure if I should say this, but the truth is like transitioning out of the fear factor of, hey, I don’t want too many people to see this because I’m looking for a corporate job.

And now… I’m like, No, I went to the conference. I know there’s actually a place where I can stretch. Yes, it’s been a bit challenging because I’m finally at a position where I know I can be, but I’m still hoping that I don’t get in trouble. So we’ve done the dinners in the past and now it’s just a process of coming out and talking about it because the only way that I feel I can help more people…. is to talk about it and for people to understand that not all of us are trying to get stoned.

This is what I did right before I quit my job with my anxiety, my paranoia. This is how I stopped smoking… so I can understand this about myself. And I don’t need to smoke all the time. I could take a tincture so I don’t have to smell like anything. You know what I mean? Like those who listen to you, Honey… you’re doing it right.

Honey Smith Walls 19:37

This is exactly why I wanted you to come on the show… to help other people understand what living with cannabis is like for you….  in your life and how you want to live your life with cannabis.

Chef Tarik Sparks  19:56

It’s very possible. You know, when I was in college, people are like, oh, you’re going to be lazy and sitting down… but I don’t know. I think sometimes people want to be lazy and that’s okay. You know what I mean? But you can’t look at the 45 minutes or two hours that people sit down and judge the whole thing out of it. You know what I mean? Like there’s a lot of people…

Honey Smith Walls 20:20

Well, and also…. you know what is putting them in couch-lock and making them “lazy” would be probably myrcene with pinene and a lot of THC… maybe some CBG’s in there… so it’s the particular compounds in that strain they were using that put them in the couch-lock to begin with. So if they use the right cannabinoids for the right time of the day, they’re not going to be found sitting stupid on the couch, right? They’re gonna be up and busy and focused and productive.

Chef Tarik Sparks  20:59

Right… there was a lady that you had on… I can’t remember her name… but you guys were talking about The Big Book of Terpenes. And I was like, I gotta get this book!

Honey Smith Walls 21:08

Yes you do. It will change your life. It will change your life. I am not kidding you. It’s like… It’s like better than the Bible for Jesus Freaks. Change your life. Hallelujah. So it’s a little expensive. I bought it for $160 bucks. But I think I saw it recently for like $90 bucks. So okay, just look for it… and it’s four and a half pounds. Good Lord, people I’m talking… They already know this… I talk about this book all the time… The Big Book of Terps by Russ Hudson. And you can find him all over LinkedIn and Tarik… I suggest you do and befriend him… you know, connect with him on LinkedIn. And he’s very, very accessible. And so if you have a question about what some might do in your food, you can actually ding him and he’s the dude for Terps. The next book he’s writing he said was The Big Book of Flavs… for flavonoids. Yeah.

Chef Tarik Sparks  22:17

It’s so exciting to me, especially as a chef, where I’ve seen other people make different meals and they’re like, Oh, well, you know, this one does this with lemon and I know I can use that to get this effect.

Honey Smith Walls 22:30

Yeah, that’s it… it’s just going to change everything for you. I’m not kidding. It did for me… it changed the way I cook in my own home. I stopped using so many spices because well, I don’t know how to use spices… so I just use a little salt pepper…but Oh no. Oh, my spice rack is filled up with all kinds of stuff because The Big Book of Terps taught me what is in those spices, terpenes and flavonoids and all kinds of esters and alcohols and things that you know are so great for our body and that our bodies need that we can consume through our food if our chef knows how to do it.

Chef Tarik Sparks  23:12

Yeah. It’s really exciting when people ask for dinners I’m like, okay, do you guys want  education? Or do you guys want to CBD and we’ve actually talked about this. And it’s so interesting seeing the different range of people that I come in for a dinner.

Chef Tarik Sparks  23:36

Some come in to the idea that I just want to be stoned and I just want dinner. I just want it to taste good. It’s like okay, cool. Well, this is what this looks like. You know, I mean, but once you start breaking up, because before we were making a lot of our products  ourselves… I mean now every everything is so easy in terms of getting a distillate.

We had to do the math to get very precise and as close as we possibly can with all the machines… but it also let us put more energy and love into creating a tincture of butter and getting some of the flavors out that not everyone likes… now making compound butters like we would do in French cuisine. We’re doing the oregano and the time and then doing a bouquet garni and then infusing the butter. What is bouquet

Honey Smith Walls 24:33

What is bouquet garni… it sounds familiar to me, but I don’t know it.

Chef Tarik Sparks  24:37

Oh my gosh, it’s a certain amount of spices. I can’t remember the exact spices. It’s a certain amount of herbs that you will put into a cheesecloth.

Honey Smith Walls 24:49

Okay, I get it.

Chef Tarik Sparks  24:51

I can’t remember the order.

Honey Smith Walls 24:54

I understand the process. So it’s kind of like a curry, different spices, but generally the same kinds of spices that went into a curry.

Chef Tarik Sparks  25:03

Yeah, we can say that. You just put them into a cheese cloth so they don’t bundle around. And you do three or four of them together that you add them and they do it a lot in French cuisine.

So I just took all those experiences… instead of just giving someone cannabis and butter, we looked for the right butter, at a certain period of time, to have the highest fat and then with that butter…we can actually….instead of using regular butter… we can actually make it into a ghee and remove some of the milk solids off… which will contain the butter to make it a little bit stronger. And then we can infuse just that.

Then we learned that when you’re making a tincture…Instead of using MCT oil. But what’s really cool about that… when you make your tincture from scratch…  you put your MCT oil into your machine and we’ll put that into a cheesecloth… and then you run that and then you have your liquid. You squeeze it all out… but if you keep that plant matter still… you can actually take that plant matter again and put it into another oil… and then that oil would fuse… but it’s not done…

Bling

Mazo Promo

Honey Smith Walls 26:20

Hey my friends. If you live near Melbourne, Florida and you’re having serious health issues and don’t know where to go that includes cannabis in your plan for relief…. I want to give you a tip about a neurologist I know and trust. Dr. Anthony Mazo is a highly rated specialist here in Melbourne, Florida and is one of the first physicians to research and study cannabis since 2016 when it was legalized in Florida. Dr. Mazo is not quick to prescribe traditional synthetic chemicals when he knows that this gentle live Plant Therapy will likely give needed relief. I know this to be true because I had seen him for my own old lady neuropathy issues and he did not prescribe the usual stuff.

He told me to go get a particular kind of cannabis instead and use it in a very specific way to find relief. And that is what every doctor in America should have in their little black bag. His clinic details will be in my show notes for you. Because he’s a trusted cannabis expert in the field of neurology right here in Melbourne, Florida.

Dr. Anthony Mazo at the Brevard Neuro Center on NASA Boulevard, Melbourne, Florida. See his details in my show notes.

Bling

Healer Promo

Bling

Friends, I’m just stunned to realize how difficult it is to find trustworthy high quality CBD products that are full spectrum whole plant with all the natural compounds extracted from the plant for you to consume as nature provided.

They don’t carry it in the dispensaries in my town. They push their own isolate brands and that’s just not good enough for me. It doesn’t have all the compounds. I’ve heard a lot of complaints about how to find consistent over the counter CBD products and I have a solution.

Last year I became an affiliate partner with Healer hemp products… that’s the company that Dr. Dustin Sulak, Doctor of Osteopath created. And this line is truly one of the greatest… Well, Dr. Souillac is truly one of the great leaders in cannabis therapy, giving his patients relief from their issues for many, many years with his healer CBD products that can be shipped to all 50 states.

If you’re lucky enough to be up there in Maine you can get his THC products too. Healer products will give you a full spectrum whole plant entourage effect of all those compounds that grow naturally in the cannabis plant. You’ll have the best opportunity to manage your aches and pains or anxiety or spasming organs with a full spectrum whole plant product, working perfectly together in synergy within your body to manage what’s happening.

I use his acidic version of cannabidiol or CBDa. It has everything plus a lot more of the compound which Dr. Sulak and other leaders in this industry have found to be more potent, thereby using less… which ends up making a big difference to your wallet.

But it also adds many many benefits to your body. Start lifting your quality of life with healer CBD Products today and check out that sweet discount just waiting for you in the link below.

Find out more about Dr. Dustin Sulak’s Healer products and the value that can add to your life. Don’t forget the coupon code: honey20. Just click on that link below.

Bling

Seg 2

Honey Smith Walls:

I’m sitting here almost daydreaming about putting you on a stage in a restaurant and letting the sous chef go do the other stuff in the back while you come and perform the whole ghee thing infusion and talk about it to an audience of people who come to dine. And this is fine dining with education and elegant cuisine. It just seems like it would be the thing to do with this and that helps people when they go out to dinner. For instance, you would help them learn the fundamentals of cannabis.

Chef Tarik Sparks  30:58

Yeah, the fundamentals. I mean, it’s so funny because like when you’re in any type of art form or learning anything…you’re always trying to get past the fundamentals. But with cannabis, it’s always the fundamentals.

Honey Smith Walls 31:11

A great point. Yeah, we keep going back to those… right. And well only because we didn’t really understand what they were for the longest time… for the first six millenniums or however long we’ve been here on this planet. Yeah So it’s really nice to understand the fundamentals. Gosh, I think you’re just doing it really right. I’m thrilled for you and I can’t wait to see how this evolves for you. What is your next step now?

Chef Tarik Sparks  31:44

Um, so the the ebook has been our focus. Yeah. We’re hoping to finish that right before 420 this year, and then we’ll start making the video content around there. And then once we start the video content, we’ll be putting some on YouTube and then we’ll add the rest to the ebook as a package. So then you can follow with me and my wife. My wife makes the bread with cannabis in it…

Honey Smith Walls 32:14

Oh my lord. Oh my gosh.

Chef Tarik Sparks  32:19

So, we’ve been doing this long enough to know what works and what doesn’t, which is a blessing itself. Yeah, because we don’t want anyone having any bad products or bad timing. It’s really just putting all of our experiences from working in the hospitality industry and really trying to get people to know the first real fundamentals when it comes to cooking and cannabis. Because there’s always going to be new people within the next 10 years. You know, there’s gonna be so many new people that are interested in it and don’t want to get stoned and it’s like… is there anything besides brownies?

Honey Smith Walls 32:57

Right right. Yeah, I see all these pictures of you, like in Rome, and I don’t know where I read that you did spend time in Puerto Rico…  I loved Salinas in Puerto Rico and we hung out there for a long time. Well, we lived on a boat and so we moved around the islands for a while. So we moved around the islands for about five years. It’s just a different way of living that’s all… just like a school bus on the water but yeah,  it was wonderful fun.  I don’t know what got me there. But the islands… you were in the islands too.

Chef Tarik Sparks  33:47

Yeah, when I went to Puerto Rico… went to Jamaica for a little while.

Honey Smith Walls 33:53

Was that a culinary delight for you? And you’re so much younger than I am. When I did that… When I went sailing… There wasn’t much to offer.

Chef Tarik Sparks  34:02

Hmm. Let’s see. So we went to Jamaica. That was actually a family trip, but we rented a house and then had someone just drag us around to different places… but it’s always cool going to other countries. Yes. Like you can always think about what could it be like if you try it in America and Oh, this is so good to have something that’s from another country and then you go to another country and you’re like, Wow, this is completely different… just based off the ingredients and where they’ve grown.

So anytime I go see any place… I’m always going for the food. And then I’m a little conceited because I’m a chef too. So I’m always like, how did you make this? How did you…. And I have my camera and I’m recording it and then I have the entire recipe.

Honey Smith Walls 34:48

So that’s fantastic. I bet they love those videos.

Chef Tarik Sparks  34:53

So until I went to that conference to realize everything that I’ve been doing is it’s time right now to actually put it all into practice… because I’ve just been so afraid to express my desire for plant medicine.

Honey Smith Walls 35:15

I do understand that.

Chef Tarik Sparks  35:16

I’ve been in Miami for 11 years and before that, I was in North Carolina.

Honey Smith Walls 35:23

Oh hello black guy in America.

Chef Tarik Sparks  35:28

Right so everything that had anything to do with the things I like, not everything but like when it comes to cannabis and psychedelics. It was like okay,  I was always cutting my hair because a lot of people that we’re seeing on TV who go to jail that look like me. And I’m trying to solve my own problems. Yes, with whatever I can. And I’m like terrified to help people because I don’t want to go to jail… but I’m just trying to help myself too. Yeah, it’s been like 10 years.

Okay, well fear of fear. Yes. And what I’m trying to tell people that CBD can get rid of the anxiety.

Honey Smith Walls 36:11

Yes. And I see it’s such a dichotomy, isn’t it? Yeah, you’re trying to help and yet you’re so afraid because you’re a target. Just by the color of your skin and your gender and your you. Yeah, you’re a target.

Chef Tarik Sparks  36:28

So, but once I saw that, once I saw the psychedelic conference and I’m like, Okay, well maybe this is a space where that doesn’t matter as much. And with them saying that it’s going to be more legalized… That means that I’m in a better position to talk about it over the next few years. Yeah. When I met a lot of people such as yourself and you know, different people at the event, I realized that like we’re all trying to solve trauma.

Honey Smith Walls 36:54

Yes, yes. Yes, exactly.

Chef Tarik Sparks  36:57

So even though I’m afraid… the industry that I want to work in is trying to solve trauma. So as long as I keep connecting myself with the people in the industry, then I can actually physically grow in this space. And then if I keep talking to the people that I’ve met… then I can be connected to other people that I don’t know… at least I don’t have to worry about if I’m black as the main topic.

Honey Smith Walls 37:20

Because it won’t be any longer. Eventually, it will be about helping people in trauma… and we are all in trauma… simply by the way we’ve raised each other. Right, you know, so I’m so proud for you. Can I ask you this? You don’t have to tell if you don’t want to…Are you already a medical marijuana patient? Yes, yeah. Okay, good, because I’m 68 years old, and I became a patient in 2014. When, you know, Florida flipped. Yeah. And I gotta tell you, it was like a switch flipped for me. I lived in constant fear of being found out that I was smoking street weed. Yeah, and that street weed nearly killed me because it was so contaminated. Yeah. So that’s my soapbox.

Chef Tarik Sparks  38:17

Yeah. I mean, I tell my friends all the time. It’s like dude, if your friend was selling Tylenol out of their apartment, from a mason jar…. Or you could go to CVS, just naturally… this is what you would do? Right? You know what I mean? And for a long time, you are going to our friends in apartment three A out of a mason jar, getting some Tylenol, but I get this opportunity to at least change my mind about it. And I can go to that same

Honey Smith Walls 38:48

You went to that same guy and in apartment three a?

Chef Tarik Sparks  38:59

Laughing…

Honey Smith Walls 39:07

Oh, man, if I can suggest to you that… Well… Let me tell you about my experience. Please. Coming into this industry just as a woman on my own and learning about cannabis on my own through various schools la la la on my own, because there weren’t any… there still aren’t really… any colleges. I mean, there’s just a tiny few opening up.

Chef Tarik Sparks  39:36

I just heard about you three weeks ago. Where were you before?

Honey Smith Walls 39:40

Yeah exactly. So you know, it’s just been hard trying to tippy toe into the industry shyly, you know, very shy. And you know what I found? I found that the doctors and the scientists who were teaching the discovery of cannabis are the best sources, and they will keep us honest about using cannabis. And they’re so open to discussion and helping people like me… I’m just an advocate. I’m not a doctor or nurse or scientist, but just an advocate with a podcast and a lot of cannabis knowledge now. So I’m just trying to help my community understand how to use cannabis safely and effectively. And you are too… but you’re doing it through food. And I love that it’s even more effective through food.

Chef Tarik Sparks  40:41

Everyone gotta eat. Anyway, I got a lot of people that  I know smoked together so okay, hold on, man. Hold on. You just spent all this money on this weed. You’re gonna go through it in like two weeks. Let me show you how to do it a little differently. So you can legally use your money. Use your money correctly.

Honey Smith Walls 40:58

Right? wisely. Yeah, of course. So I just love that… Tell us what your wife’s name is and, and talk about her a little bit.

Chef Tarik Sparks  41:10

Yeah, so my wife’s name is Anne Marie. We have a baby on the way.

Honey Smith Walls 41:16

Oh…. congratulations. We love hearing that. Especially as grandparents. We love babies. I’m sure you’re very excited. Honey.

Chef Tarik Sparks  41:24

I’m super excited. I always wanted kids… always wanted to be married. You know? Oh, it’s happening exactly when it’s supposed to. We’ve been doing everything we can and learning as much as we can. She’s actually working at a dispensary so she’s learning like the business side of things.

Honey Smith Walls 41:45

That is really cool.

Chef Tarik Sparks  41:50

Ya know it takes a long time to get into a dispensary.

Honey Smith Walls 41:54

It does… but then you get to move around once you get in. So once you get your foot in the door.

Chef Tarik Sparks  42:00

Yeah, we both applied…She got in before I did. And you know, I took a course and she loves it. So that’s always great to not have to work in the restaurant industry. And it’s our second career.

Honey Smith Walls 42:14

Oh my gosh, you’re married to a restaurant… that’s just all there is to it. You’re married to it. Yeah. And there’s no life outside of it.

Chef Tarik Sparks  42:24

I’m always gonna be in food. Yeah.

Honey Smith Walls 42:28

Its a broader thing than just restaurant and so I really like what you doing… I think it’s very creative. And oh my lord, the food that you shoot is just, I’m not kidding. It’s just mouth watering. Why don’t you tell our audience how they can get in touch with you?

Chef Tarik Sparks  42:45

Yes, so my website for my food page is TarikSparksStudios.com And then for our cannabis page, it’s TheHiddenCreation, one word, .com. And on there we’re going to start putting short form and long form content. I’m actually going to use this resource that you told me about…  Anchor. I didn’t know you can actually do this for podcasts but we’re going to start putting out content where people talk about their own experiences in their cannabis journey.

Honey Smith Walls 43:20

Fantastic. I hope you’ll call on me to be one of your guests sometime if you need one.

Chef Tarik Sparks  43:24

Absolutely. It’s been challenging when you’re a photographer/videographer… you want to put out content because you’re so used to putting out content in the best way you possibly can as that job description, but then when you try to do it too… It’s like I gotta shift… it takes a little bit longer but I love this.

So I can definitely speed up that process now. But oh, wait. Lastly, when I was talking to Rick Doblin at the psychedelic conference, he actually told me to do the same thing when it comes to people on psychedelics, he was like, What can I do?

You guys can talk about content. You know what I mean? Like what type of content do you need? He goes… look, sit down with people, have them talk about their experience before they do a psychedelic… and then have them talk about the experience later on after they do the psychedelic… because you get a lot of people at least knowing what the experience might be versus watching a movie from the 90s and 80s about the experience and say yes… I don’t want to go to that.

Honey Smith Walls 44:24

Exactly. I’m so glad you’re gonna do that. Because I feel like there’s a lot… I could be wrong about this, but I feel like there’s a lot less information out about psychedelics than there is cannabis. Even though psychedelics are becoming legal, more so than cannabis… it’s mind boggling.

I use mushrooms medicinally. I use Paul Stamets blend of seven different mushrooms medicinally for myself, but I’ve got a 13 year old poodle with Cushing’s disease and that’s just enlargement of the organs. Okay, and so I feed her one of Paul Stamets capsules, half of it twice a day, as well as CBDa for inflammation. And so she’s a cannabis mushy dog you know, and she’s doing so well she doesn’t exhibit any symptoms that she’s in any pain whatsoever. She’s still walking, and drinking and all of her ablutions and all of that stuff just perfectly so before that… she was pretty miserable. So I’m quite certain that you, sir, are on the right path of teaching a lot of people how to take care of their health in a much better and more exciting way through their food.

Chef Tarik Sparks  46:07

Thank you so much… that feels so good to hear on this journey.

Honey Smith Walls 46:10

Yes.

Chef Tarik Sparks  46:13

It feels good to hear from outside sources per se.

Honey Smith Walls 46:17

Understand… Yeah, it can be very alone work. But you are not alone Tarik… we’re here and we really like what you’re doing. We’re gonna keep our eye on you. And we hope that you’ll come back and chat with us for the next big whatever it is… well when the baby comes for sure. That’s great. All right. Big Daddy. Well, this has been so much fun. I so appreciate just having met you Tarik. We had so much fun at the conference. And hopefully we’ll get to see each other again real soon. If not, I want you to pick up that phone and call me anytime. I’m just right on the other end. Okay.

Chef Tarik Sparks  47:04

Okay. Thank you so much. And yeah, I’ll probably come and do a dinner for you. They can try some of this food.

Honey Smith Walls 47:09

Oh, my gosh, I would love that. We’ll set up a big party for them. Thank you so much Tarik…we’ll look forward to seeing and hearing from you again.

Chef Tarik Sparks  47:20

All right. Thank you so much. We’ll talk again. Bye bye bye. Bye.

Clubhouse

Honey Smith Walls 47:40

Hello, my friends. I’m inviting you to join me on a clubhouse live stage every Sunday at 8am. Eastern for Sunday with Honey. This is your opportunity to ask me questions on my live stage about anything we’ve discussed on the podcast. And also where we speak about the spiritual effects of cannabis. And how to find peace through means of calming our minds with tools we’re all familiar with on Sundays 8am Eastern on the clubhouse app. We’ll talk about the many blessings of this live Plant Therapy in Sunday with Honey.

Fini

You’ve been listening to another Cannaba Verum podcast with 21st century cannabis shaman Honey Smith Walls, (that’s me) about the importance of using verifiably safe products. The process of getting a diagnosis from your family doctor and taking your records to a cannabis specialist can lead you to the correct cannabinoid therapy for those issues. Otherwise, you’re just your own guinea pig looking for answers without any foundational knowledge or ability to determine the best choices or strategies to find a qualified cannabis expert to help in your area.

Visit cannabisclinicians.org It is a National Society of cannabis experts. And you’ll see that link down in my show notes. Unless otherwise proven by a reputable third party lab test… please regard all street weed as contaminated. It may do grave harm to a patient with a delicate immune system who already has inflammatory issues like arthritis, IBS, fibromyalgia, or worse.

Thanks so much for listening today. I hope you found value in understanding through my podcast. I have many more thoughts upon the subject that go in a more spiritual direction. So in that vein, please join my brand new live stage on clubhouse every Sunday at 8am Eastern. Look for Sunday With Honey. It’s the spiritual version of my weekly podcast, which usually covers all things in the cannabis industry. But we’re live on Clubhouse so you can ask questions and inspire others with your own stories. Or just be a fly on the wall. Get there for a live conversation with learned friends and if you miss, you can catch the replays at a convenient time. Sunday with Honey on Clubhouse at 8am Eastern.

I hear the cows callin…

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

FINI:

You’ve been listening to another Cannaba Verum podcast with 21st century cannabis shaman Honey Smith Walls about the importance of using verifiably safe products. The process of getting a diagnosis from your family doctor and taking your records to a cannabis specialist can lead you to the correct cannabinoid therapy for those issues. Otherwise, you’re just your own guinea pig looking for answers without any foundational knowledge or ability to determine the best choices or strategies.

To find a qualified cannabis expert in your area… visit www.cannabisclinicians.org.

It is a national society of cannabis experts and you’ll see that link down in my show notes.

Unless otherwise proven by a reputable third party lab test, please be advised that all street weed is contaminated. It may do grave harm to a patient with a delicate immune system who already has inflammatory issues like arthritis, IBS, fibromyalgia or worse.

Subscribe to the Cannaba Verum podcast and become part of a project to understand the effects of cannabis on the public. Your anecdotal testimony is priceless to me. Medical citations are posted on my podcast blog when you visit CannabaVerum.com. That’s CannabaVerum.com. Hey, and one last thing… Would you take an extra second to give my podcast a Like and Review? It’s like Bitcoin crack for the algorithms. Thanks so much. Hey, I hear the cows calling.

MOOOOOOO!!

Sources

Cannaba Verum is Latin for Cannabis Truth. Sourcing factual information about cannabis hasn’t always been easy for a variety of reasons. However now because of modern innovations, it is. My sources are from leaders in cannabis science like:

Roger Adams, U.S. Organic Chemist who isolated the structure of CBD,

Raphael Mechoulam, Israeli Organic Chemist who isolated the structure of THC,

Ethan Russo, Dir R&D International Cannabis and Cannabinoids Institute

Dustin Sulak, DO – my favorite doctor at healer.com, teaching the art of Cannabis Healing to the world, and other industry greats like:

Rev. Dr. Kymron DeCesare, Ed Rosenthal, Jack Herer, Michael Backes, and Michael Pollen and so many more… plus I use classical sites like: PubMed.gov, JAMAnetwork.com, ResearchGate.com. I listen to several daily podcasts to keep up with the latest cannabis news across the nation and throughout the world like: Dr. Codi Peterson et al on The Cannigma Podcast,  MJTodayDaily.com and MarijuanaMoment.net.  I trust the CBDProject.org and CannabisScienceTech.com. I watch the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) at: thecannabisindustry.org and many more like: NCIA’s Cannabis Industry VOICE (CannabisRadio.com)

Over past episodes of Cannaba Verum, we’ve listened to some amazing scientists and medical professionals talk about their discoveries and patient successes as hundreds of questionable compounds rise to the public grasp. I am especially interested in the pharmacists movement becoming an integral part of this new medicinal choice.

Watch this machine roll into action through conversations with pharmacy doctors all over the nation like Dr. Leah Johnson and Dr. Codi Peterson out West and Dr. Alan Ao up North. There are so many more getting involved now… these are just a few who have come on my show to explain the situation and it’s fascinating.

You’ll find citations available on my podcast blog at cannabaverum.com

PS: Helping society get past the fear of using cannabis will be a lifelong journey for me. This industry is just opening up and most patients and doctors are seriously cannabis naive and need help understanding where to turn for trustworthy information.

If you need help opening that cannabis discussion with your family doctor,  please reach out and grab the Dear Doctor Letter I wrote for this exact purpose. It will explain your decision to try cannabis and ask for their help in monitoring your labs and progress. It will also show them where they can find medical research on the subject of your diagnosis and the effects of cannabis.

You’ll find that letter at cannabaverum.com  

My specialist in hormonal help: Dr. Genester Wilson-King, M.D. and Founder

Victory Rejuvenation Center – Orlando, Florida

VictoryRejuvenationCenter.com

My Neurologist and Cannabis Expert Medical Marijuana Doctor in Melbourne, FL:

Anthony Mazo, M.D.

Brevard Neuro Center

(321) 733-2711

315 E. Nasa Blvd.

Melbourne, FL 32901.    

All opinions are my own and should not be mistaken as medical advice.

Here are some other helpful links as well:                                                    

(1) Microdosing – https://healer.com/cbd-cannabis-dosage-guide-project-cbd-interview-with-dr-sulak/

(2) Concentrates – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29307505/

(3) Cannabis Helps Dementia Podcast – Anchor.FM/cannabishelpsdementia

(4) Society of Cannabis Clinicians – https://www.cannabisclinicians.org/

(5) Take the Pledge – GreenTakeover.com

(6) Handbook for Clinicians – Principles and Practice – https://wwnorton.com/books/9780393714180

(7) Dr. Angie Krause, DVM – BoulderHolisticVet.com

(8) The Cannigma Podcast = https://cannigma.com/podcast/behind-the-scenes-on-cannabis-normalization-with-jm-pedini/

(9) Curious About Cannabis Podcast = https://cacpodcast.com/

(10) The Big Book of Terps by Russ Hudson = thebigbookofterps.com

(11) Learn Sativa University = SativaUniversity.com

Show Notes:

Ever meet somebody you just instantly wanted to hang out with more??? Well Chef Sparks lit a fire under me when we met at the 2023 Miami Cannadelic Conference. As you’ll see, we had a lot on our plate to talk about.  No leftovers but plenty of room for dessert! More please, Chef!     

TarikSparksStudios.com                        

TheHiddenCreation.com                        

Nancy Whiteman – Martha Stewart of Cannabis = https://www.consciousconnectionmagazine.com/2020/12/nancy-whiteman-ceo-wana-brands/