Welcome to the Cannaba Verum podcast, the cannabis truth podcast. I speak the language of cannabis freely and uncensored, while educating my audience on the 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 the healthcare philosophy of the past 100 years. There’s a lot to learn and consider cannabis is not dangerous, but it is not harmless, either. This is honey Smith walls, a 21st century cannabis shaman here to explain the language of cannabis in historical, political, and scientific terms, so you can make educated decisions about the medicine you ingest.
Host 1:23
Hey everybody, it’s Monday the 25th and there’s so much going on I keep having to add new little things to tell you about it. I bet you can hear my husband and the galley clanking on that cast iron pan and the soapsuds right over there. Anyway, it’s Monday morning. I wanted to introduce you to a friend of mine named Valerie Hecht, she and I are having a little cup of coffee. And we had such a great conversation. Stay tuned for that right now,
Thanks for helping me tell our audience about your experiences, and I’m sure it’ll be so meaningful to them. Because goodness girl you through the mill.
Valerie 2:08
Yeah, I think a lot of us have and anything to do to share my experience and help someone else I am a word, I’m a big fan of cannabis.
Host 2:19
And I am too and I’m a big fan of just telling stories so that other people can understand how we cannabis. And, and, you know, party pot pot, it just absolutely saved me and like it did you too, Valerie Hecht.
Valerie 2:39
I grew up in New Jersey, and I lived here most of my life and then I moved to Florida for about 16 years, and I just recently moved back to New Jersey, and I know it sounds crazy right now.
Host 3:00
Did you enjoy your time down here What was your, what was your career, about.
Valerie 3:06
I was well I was a domestic goddess.
Valerie 3:13
But I was alone.
Valerie 3:16
My, my love was photography and the mic, Florida, oh what a beautiful place. Oh my god, it’s so much. And were you when you were down here in cocoa historic cocoa and cocoa village.
Host 3:35
Isn’t that a marvelous place.
Valerie 3:37
Yes, we are right on the Indian River and we could watch the rocket launches from balcony.
Host 3:45
My goodness. Dice so excited it’s mind blowing isn’t it to be on the space.
Valerie 3:52
It’s inspiring.
Host 3:55
What happened when you were down here in this beautiful neck of the woods.
Valerie 4:00
Well, it was beautiful, but I couldn’t really enjoy it very much I had a lot of pain. I was my Fibromyalgia was very very bad I had a lot of health issues. And I spent a lot of time indoors on the sofa just trying to get through every single day. And basically not living, you know, but it was, it was a fight. When your health goes bad like that. You know you’re in the fight of your life, and I couldn’t find any relief from any of the doctors I tried every treatment. I was on opiates over a decade. And that took a real goodness, real toll on my very bad at my muscle mass my co pyrosis, and this was, it happened so quickly that I knew I was in serious peril. And,
Host 5:02
oh my goodness yeah
Valerie 5:03
I knew I had to get the poison out of my system and mega a drastic change or I was not going to make it. Yeah. So, medical cannabis was passed in Florida, and it was just, oh the sun came out and I hope of grabbing on to something. You know lifeline.
Host 5:29
Did you have experience with cannabis before that, that made you understand that, you know, oh joy cannabis is here.
Valerie 5:37
Yes, I was. I grew up in the 60s and 70s so I have, you know, general knowledge Yeah, people have, you know, really nothing known. You know you know how right
Host 5:51
no! you’re a young girl, right you’re partying with your friends and they’ve got pot and you smoke and you have a good time and life goes on, and
Valerie 5:59
the recreation illegal, right. So, went through the years. When I would have access to it, and I would you know smoke it. It made me feel so much better. It takes the pain out of your body, (1) and pain comes out of your body and you’ve been in pain for decades. Oh my goodness. It’s like, wow, this is what it used to be like you forget. But, oh, I was able to purge the, the poison out of my system. And then I had cannabis. Well day I woke up after going through the wisdom. I think I told you I went through the withdrawal.
Host 6:51
Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness,
Valerie 6:54
the little bit of really old nasty smelling weed, boy, worked. It worked to get through that hell. And the morning of my 59th birthday. And I had pain I was opening my eyes like this is a whole new world. This is different. And I walked out on the balcony and I looked at the Indian River. And I was listening to the birds it’s like thing was brighter. everything was more beautiful. It really enhanced everything in life is like, Oh thank God I am alive.
Host 7:40
I bet your little molecules were so happy
Valerie 7:41
They were singing! I could hear them.
Host 7:46
Oh. So, how did you go about finding a doctor and tell us about your experience with your first cannabis doctor in Florida?
Valerie 7:57
Well, I have to tell you that when I knew I was in trouble and I was telling my husband Jeff. I don’t think I’m going to be able to get out of this without how really in trouble and he went online and they were very few Doc available, at that time, you know, you really had to look. And he found one on the west coast of Florida and we were on the East Coast, and the name that came up was recognizable to him. It was a fraternity brother of his from Ohio State, named Barry Gordon. It’s GORDO!
Host 8:40
I love him. He’s so cool.
Valerie 8:42
So, you know, we got an appointment and I went out there and I got my recommendation and Barry,was so awesome. And he was my Ambassador into, you know, the world of medical cannabis and it was just Good.
Host 9:05
Well You had the best entrance into cannabis.
Valerie 9:10
everybody in the office they were so wonderful. And so much.
Host 9:16
Yeah. I just love their show. Dr. Berry and Ruta’s show that they have a podcast on, it’s a it’s a rant and rave with politics and the newest information about cannabis, you know, and it’s just so juicy yeah and I hope everybody gets to listen to it I think it comes down on Tuesday mornings, on Facebook, it’s a Facebook Live thing. Yes,
Host 9:41
I love it. So, he made you understand how to utilize cannabis effectively didn’t he?
Valerie 9:49
Yes, they gave me lots of information and, you know, because there’s so much….. Oh, can you hear me.
Host 10:01
Oh, there you are. Yeah, okay, gays we’ve got Wi Fi issues. I’m sorry.
Valerie 10:08
Oh no, it’s probably on my side.
Host 10:10
There we are. So anyway, he gave you lots of information and. And I’ll just cut snip that part out no big deal. So tell us again. And then, and then so after you went through dr Berry’s fabulous. Gold Star clinic and, you know, all of his education. I’m sure you felt pretty confident to go into a dispensary.
Valerie 10:35
Yes! I was, I was on my way as soon as I got my letters, or my email saying that you know I was in the system, I went right away to trulieve. And it was so it was fun, it is a lot of fun to go to the factories in Florida, because there’s, there’s no security team outside New Jersey is different. Have one dispensary team, you know, so it’s like,
Host 11:06
and I know Michigan too. Michigan in Michigan, they don’t even require that the dispensaries have clean weed. They the dispensaries in Michigan make you sign a piece of paper that says you understand that this cannabis has not been third party lab tested. And so it’s contaminated as far as I’m concerned, they’re selling contaminated weed up there, just scares the hell out of me and that I you know
Valerie 11:33
I don’t either. I don’t know how they could lead.
Valerie 11:36
Patients again who have to take it into their own hands to, you know, heal themselves because we can’t count on someone to do it. And,
Host 11:57
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Host 13:02
And they don’t know how to do that. They don’t know how to, how to use cannabis effectively. You know who’s teaching them if they’ve got laws like that it just scares me. So tell us more about New Jersey because that’s pretty new.
Valerie 13:16
They’ve had medical cannabis in place, but the previous government did not want to you know take it to people. So when new jersey governor Phil. I think it is. He understood that the people need to be able to get their hands on it to utilize it, and he made it much more available for us. So, but there’s, we don’t have the choice that you have in Florida, like Surterra and VidaCann and Fluent, I miss them. All of them!
Host 14:02
Oh darling, I’ll let them know. Let them know that you missed them. I’ll send them hugs and kisses when I see them from you. Yeah, I love them too I think we’re very, very lucky in Florida honey I really do. that we have the choices that we do and that, you know, we’re still restricted it’s still not free here but it’s freer, and and more safe in Florida and
Valerie 14:31
when you have that variety and you meet new people behind the counter who are not just selling it but they use it, you realize, as well for their health. They have so much information, and you learn so much, just I mean, even pamphlets that, Yeah, there’s so much, and it’s been such a great path. Yeah.
And the way it, it changed my frequency and took me away from alcohol, I can’t even stand the taste of alcohol and I wouldn’t put it to my lips.
Host 15:08
What were you using, Valerie, what were you using when you were detoxing from alcohol and cannabis was helping you do that?
Valerie 15:19
the only thing I had to detox from was the opiates and the benzodiazapan prescription. But when, when I came out of that and that was all that system and I was like all back to natural, I thought, well, I can have beer. Right. I love beer. Oh, now I feel good enough to go out with my friends I’m going to have a few beers. They enjoyed it for a bit, and then for some reason that taste just changed. my taste buds changed I guess I could not stand it.
Host 15:56
Well I’ve heard that they can change. But isn’t that weird because cannabis and hops are cousins.(2) Yes,
Host 16:06
yes. And I thought, Oh, that’s great.
Host 16:09
How odd that it changed your tastes.
Valerie 16:15
So we went out for a birthday drink ends, and I actually brought some vodka. I took a shot of vodka which I haven’t done I don’t think since I was maybe a teenager, you know. I had been vaping, but all of a sudden, I felt like I was in a different reality. I was not drunk. I was not high, I was just, It was strange and. Okay.
Host 16:50
A feeling of well being?
Valerie 16:52
It was a feeling of being in a different reality. I even got up and walked, and I walked perfectly straight and I’m like, this is weird. So later that night we went back to the friend’s house, and they said oh I have this expensive vodka, you know, brought this out, and I put some I, you know, just wanted to smell it and I broke a little glass up to my lips. And it was like someone slapped it out of my hand and I said no. And it was like, Oh my god, did I just do that. I hope nobody’s looking at me you know because that was a weird. Yeah, something in me, would not allow that alcohol to enter my body or even come back to my lips I cannot stand to be around it. We’re just a different frequency we don’t jive anymore and those spirits don’t jive with my spirits, I guess. Cannabis raised my raised my frequency,
Host 17:56
that’s a very strange story, isn’t it, it is,
Valerie 18:00
I started doing a little bit of research, and there is science behind it. Shockingly, oh, that can be a whole nother story.
Host 18:12
Don’t we love science. Yeah. And it shall be too. You know I’m, I’m just so tickled that the scientists are perking up their little ears about cannabis. And that we’re going to find out all of the mysteries of it, because, you know, over 400 compounds in the plant. (3) And it’s gonna take a while.
Valerie 18:35
It is a known entheogen, so people do use it in their spiritual practice, so it does actually help in that respect, it’s it’s a bomb that they use in India, when they go to worship, they ingest cannabis, and it opens opens you up to your spiritual self. It’s just a wonderful. I was on that path of healing. And then I was about to make a serious mistake by adding alcohol like that, by my system. And, you know, Mary Jane said no. And and I choose to listen to her.
Host 19:17
How are you doing up in New Jersey. Now, you know you still got medical marijuana… just not as many choices.
Valerie 19:26
Right, well we have curaleaf up here in my area. And there are a few dispensaries around the state, and it’s just a different system we don’t have the choices you have, but I like curaleaf. You can complain about their potency, tell you that. And I think been doing great.
Host 19:50
I yeah curaleaf’ s products are wonderful.
Valerie 19:55
They really are. And I continued my healing. Besides vaping, the THC I use CBD oil every single day. I put it on my skin. Everywhere I put on my hair. It grows hair,
Host 20:17
I use it as makeup.
Valerie 20:19
Oh, wonderful. It’s so good. I’ve had incidences where I dropped something heavy on my foot. And I put the CBD oil on it right away and the pain is gone and never swells up it never bruises and you couldn’t even tell you did any damage to yourself because you get there before the damage really happens and turn it back. It’s wonderful. It’s true
Host 20:46
It’s amazing. It’s, it’s amazing. It’s true. Well I’m so happy to hear that you’re doing well, that you recovered from the dark side of prescription medicine. And it’s so funny and odd to hear that. One of the end results is that you no longer. Enjoy or even want a sip of suds.
Valerie 21:13
Ohhh I miss a good beer
Valerie 21:14
I really was a fan of beer.
Host 21:16
I bet. I’m just so surprised because you know cannabis and hops are cousins. And so that’s a funny little side effect I think
Valerie 21:27
that God loves it, but we happy. He made, he made cannabis cannabis and beer.
Host 21:39
All right, dear heart well it’s just been lovely talking to you I can’t thank you enough for your perspective on how to potty pot pot because there are just so many people in, you know, in the hippie age bracket like you and me, who may have had some experience in their youth but don’t really know how to do it effectively for their aches and pains as an elder, as an old fart. So, you know, there’s just a lot of nuances to it, that if you get a good instructor and just you know it just takes a little education about the subject to learn how to do it effectively. And I bet you microdose right. Oh, microdose so they know where your sweet spot. Right, right. But that’s microdosing, and you you’ve already found your sweet spot and you know how to manage your body and its issues with your cannabis for just the right amount for just the right relief.
Valerie 22:45
Right, absolutely, and it is a medicine of intention. So if you go into it with an open mind and willing to learn and open to it to healing, you will get great results with that intention, but grill fat
Valerie 23:01
people have overcome the programming that unfortunately we’ve been to this programming. And it’s a stigma that it’s. We have to educate keep educating keep talking about and keep encouraging.
Host 23:16
So, on it’s right you’re really good at that Valerie I really think you’re a great ambassador for cannabis and, and I can’t thank you enough for for your insight to it it’s very meaningful for our audience.
Valerie 23:31
Oh, I appreciate it and I appreciate the encouragement and and the information that you give to me and we have to keep fighting, you know we’re we’re wounded let’s we’re wounded warriors, and we have to go help the people who are still suffering because it can’t be allowed to say Yes, it can’t.
Host 23:51
Right. You’re absolutely right girl I hope you’ll come back and join me again sometime. And we’ll just keep our audience caught up. okay. I can’t wait for you to come back down to Florida when it’s safe, and we wish you and your family well honey.
Valerie 24:07
oh thank you so much and I appreciate it, and I hope to talk to you soon.
Host 24:11
Thank you. Okay, great. We surely will we’ll reconnect right okay.
Valerie 24:18
Okay, bye.
Host 24:21
Hey everybody, I just realized that after Valerie and I hung up. I forgot to tell you how to get in touch with her. So, let me tell you now. She is a Marvel to talk to. Catch her at Holy Fire healing@hotmail.com. That’s holy fire healing@hotmail.com. And listen, don’t forget to look up Dr. Barry Gordon, MD, he had 30 years experience as an ER doctor and then he became an incredible expert on cannabis and set up what I consider the gold star clinic for cannabis help in Florida, his, his clinic is called the compassionate cannabis clinic in Venice Florida. Don’t miss it. If you, especially if you’ve got some serious issues, go to Dr. Berry, you’re just going to love him and his staff and his wife and their puppy. ahhh go see them anyway. Oh, and you can catch him online on Facebook, too. I think he’s got a show tonight in fact it’s Monday, about 515, check in with Dr. Berry on Facebook, you’re gonna love what he’s got to tell you, and his friend Ruta and all the staff, fabulous out there. Hey this is honey with cannaba verum, just trying to have another wonderful day with cannabis and you.
Host 25:58
You’ve been listening to the cannaba verum podcast with host and educator, honey Smith walls, discussing the language of cannabis certified by respected cannabis doctors researchers and clinicians in the industry and passionate about helping people understand the benefit of this ancient plant, with over 400 chemical compounds in it, you’ll find a lot to relate to in her experiences, and those of special guests in the industry. Click on the buttons below to subscribe to the podcast and preorder her new ebook, the language of cannabis, how to use potty pot pot, effectively, coming in January, 2021.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
- Pain relieved by THC – Russo EB. Cannabinoids in the management of difficult to treat pain. Ther Clin Risk Manag. 2008;4(1):245-259.doi:10.2147/tcrm.s1928
- Hops & cannabis are cousins – https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330260128_Russo_The_case_for_the_entourage_effect_and_conventional_breeding_of_clinical_cannabis_No_strain_no_gain_Front_Plant_Sci_2019/citation/download
- Over 400 compounds in the plant – 400 compounds… Atakan Z. Cannabis, a complex plant: different compounds and different effects on individuals. Ther Adv Psychopharmacol. 2012;2(6):241-254.doi:10.1177/2045125312457586
