Resources from the TEDx talk.

Summary Article:

The research shows that legalization in the first year has a 24% reduction in opioid deaths. Why have you not heard that statistic?

Original 6 articles and their links on the opioid addiction crisis

As a nation, how have we been impacted by the opioid addiction crisis? Thousands of families and lives were devastated and destroyed, but what if there was a way out?

What is the difference between opioids and cannabis? You would be surprised what the research shows.

What is the psychological stance on using cannabis for pain relief?

Research matters in discussions around cannabis, and medical uses. What do you think?

What do you think about cannabis? Well, my opinions have changed through additional research.

New information can help change your mind on how you perceive things in life. Cannabis is a topic with new data starting to come out.

Addressing opioid addiction is a huge issue in the United States, and together we can make a difference.

Check out Chalmers Pillarsofwellness.com for Wellness updates! And ask me any questions you have at [email protected]. I answer all of them and look forward to hearing from you.

The Chalmers Wellness Stubstack just launched. Comment, Like, and Interact with other people on their wellness journey. Communities can make a difference.     DrChalmers.substack.com

Dr. Matt Chalmers

Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only. Before taking any action based on this information you should first consult with your physician or health care provider. This information is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health providers with any questions regarding a medical condition, your health, or wellness.

Additional resources and references:

Questions from my TEDX transcript below:

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:00:00] This is Dr. Chalmers, Welcome to Wellness Insights with me Dr. Chalmers. All right we’re going to keep going through all of our stuff we have lots and lots of questions, people asking about the opioid epidemic since I did my TED talks, which go watch that, it’s spectacular and send it to everyone you know.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:00:15] We have to start a new National Conversation about Cannabis and pushing back into the Opioid Epidemic. And if you don’t understand how bad the opioid epidemic is, go to Netflix and watch Painkiller. It’s going to give you all the information you need it is dramatized, but the vast majority of the thrust of what they’re telling you is 100% accurate.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:00:36]  All right. So we talked about this a little bit, my TED talk, [00:00:41]How do I address the concern about dosing Cannabis? [4.1s] So the problem we get into is that if you’re just smoking flower, smoking joints, that type of thing, it’s really hard to get five or ten milligrams. It really is. Again, the whole joint’s not going to hurt you, but if you’re a little bit too high to function in, you’re laughing all the time you’re not going to get you through your day.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:01:06] So gummies can kind of do this, not great but if you find low dose gummies, five milligrams, that type of thing, that’s fantastic. But the strips, the sublingual strips that I like. So if you’re if you’re out and about Game8strips.com, that’s a delta eight strip it is at the moment legal in 30 something states. So I would grab as much as you can because they’re going to make that illegal probably by the end of this year. And they have no plans of making Cannabis legal for Medical in any of the states where it’s going to be illegal so grab what you can because you’re going to need it.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:01:47] The way the strips work is that you can cut them in half in thirds, you can get a 16 to just a little tiny sliver off. And that’s that’s the way that we dose it because, you know, it’s a 20 milligram, 25 milligrams strap depending on what you’re getting once if you cut it in half. So obviously math, if it’s 20 milligrams cut in half, it’s ten and ten you can’t really do that with gummies, though.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:02:11] The way that it works with gummies is that they kind of clump up the active ingredient and it clumps up. And so if you have a gummy like this and it’s all over here, if you cut it in half, all is going to be here none of us can be over here or you get 70-30 it’s very, very difficult to dose them with gummies. But with the strips since are evenly applied, you can cut them up like that and be really consistent. So you can. No, I need a third of a strip to go to sleep, I need a quarter of a strip to do this so that’s that’s been really good.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:02:40] One of the ladies found out that we gave us twopain-fighting she found out that a third of the strip would have the same ten-milligram power as a ten milligram oxy, which is pretty impressive because that’s ten milligrams of basically heroin.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:02:56] Heroin and Oxy are the same strength they’re stronger than Morphine. Morphine is a one on the scale, and Heroin and Oxy are about a six or seven. So it’s fentanyl, by the way, is 179, so fentanyl is ridiculously stronger and it’s used all the time in hospitals to help knock people out it is a functional drug it is needed for surgery it should never be on the street, though. So that’s how we addressed the dosage piece.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:03:25] Now, the fun thing is, is that so let’s say that you have a pain and let’s say it’s in your son and you give him a little bit and it doesn’t quite cover it. You can give him a little bit more and okay, now I know. Now I know I need to give him a quarter of a strip or, you know, a fifth of the strep or whatever to combat this issue.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:03:43] You know, that’s how we did with his surgery, I gave him a little bit and he was like, It helps, but not really. I gave him a little bit more and he was like, okay, that helped. And so I was like, okay those two added together was what we needed and so that’s how we dosed it. Really, really simple. So and I talk about I talk about that in a TED Talk. So I will add that clip in here just so you can see about what I did with my son.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:04:09] What Solution did I give the Sublingual Cannabis Strips that’s it Game8strips.com. We have a couple of groups that we’re talking to about doing actual real pain studies with them. And so hopefully we’ll have a specific one tailored specifically for pain in California soon if the rest of the country can get on board with decriminalizing medical use nationally, we’ll be able to ship those strips all over the U.S. and people can use those instead of Opioids for all their pain.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:04:42] [00:04:42]What’s the advantage of suddenly strips? [1.2s] It gets in your body a lot faster. You don’t have to smoke it so it doesn’t damage your lungs you don’t have vapors and damaged lungs and throat and mouth and all that type of stuff. And it doesn’t go through what’s called first pass, which is where it has to go through the liver first. So it’s a lot cleaner, a lot safer way of doing it, it’s faster and there’s no smoking involved so it’s awesome.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:05:05] [00:05:05]How does the Administration of Cannabis via Sublingual Strips differ from the methods of gummies and pills? [4.8s] This kind of answer, that one. Was the typical activation time for southern wool strips compared to other forms. Aural stuff that you’re going to do so gummies and brownies and cookies and stuff like that. 30 to 45 minutes for you get functional activation strips for you to look at anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes, just depends.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:05:34] So under the tongue or on the cheek, if you put them on your tongue, you’re just going to swallow most of it. So under the tongue or on the cheek in front of the gums also works as well, like a dip but that’s that’s how we do that one.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:05:52] [00:05:52]How do I refute the notion that cannabis produces substantial unwanted psychological effects? [4.7s] Because all of the research that says it does is bullshit. It is hilarious. Like I read one about how it causes, you know, how what was it? Schizophrenia. Like what? The problem was that when you read the research, like we had, these six people may like cannabis and they’ll end up with Schizophrenia when they got older so, you know, is that the cause?

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:06:22] It did not discuss any psychological trauma, it did not discuss any genetic run, So like, did the Parents have it? Do the Grandparents have it have Schizophrenia? There was no studies beforehand they were just like, hey, you know, we found these kids and they ended up with Schizophrenia and they liked Cannabis. Okay. Yes. You took a thousand kids. They all like cannabis. Six, seven ended up being Schizophrenic if you single those guys out and say it was because of the Cannabis, it’s trash that’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:06:53] There are no Real Research that shows any deficit because of Cannabis ever. All the ones are trying to say, Well, you know what? These kids smoked a lot of pot when they were 13 and now they’re dumb. Okay. What? There’s a lot of people I know who were smart when they were 13 that are dumb now because they just didn’t apply themselves, so trying to say that it was because of the Cannabis is foolish.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:07:23] I have tons of people that I know who I think are really smart Lawyers and Doctors and Engineers who’ve been using Cannabis since they were teenagers. So I, I have not seen any research and I read research all the time, and I would 100% not get into this and put my name behind it if I had any research that said that it did anything negative.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:07:44] One of the things we do see a lot is if people like it, they like the way they the person they are in it they like the way they feel. They think that they’re more calm, more relaxed, that they laugh easier and they think, hey, those qualities are something I want in my life. That was my decision I like the person I am when I’m on Cannabis.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:08:04] Now, let’s walk through this one real quick, there’s a difference between having one shot of vodka and seven martinis. If you have seven martinis, you’re gonna be hammered your going to be drunk and sloppy and silly and yes, you’re drunk and you’re hammered. If you have one shot of vodka, are you drunk? Most of this is going to say no, are you under the influence of alcohol? I still have a lot of people who are like, not really, because you don’t have any effects I’ll grant you, Yes, You’re under the influence of alcohol.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:08:30] Now, here’s where we get into it if you consume a little bit of Ccannabis, are you high? That’s a question we’re all going to have to answer this is why I want a new national conversation about Cannabis, because I would tell you that if no one can tell, you’re just relaxed and you’re calm and you can function, that you’re not high.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:08:50] Now, when you’re sitting on the couch, your eyes are open can you can barely see through them and you can’t move and you’re laughing at everything. Yeah, you’re High. Yeah there you go your High. But there’s a therapeutic range in here where you don’t have any pain, your stress is gone, you’re relaxed, you can finally calm down, you can digest all your food, you can just be at peace with the world around you, you can laugh a little bit easier. In this case, yes, you’re under the influence, but I wouldn’t consider you high.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:09:18] Again we’re going to come up with a definition we all can agree on that one. But like being drunk, you can look at someone who’s had one shot and be like, I don’t think you’re drunk. And then we all know what drunk looks like. So I think that we need to have that conversation in there as well under the influence versus high but that’s kind of how we are we kind of look at that one.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:09:42] [00:09:42]Which part of the brain is can this have the ability to affect and how does this impact anxiety? [3.3s] Well, if you specifically are talking about anxiety, that’s the amygdala. So the amygdala is in the temporal lobe and it is responsible for all the bad things in the world. Fear, hate, anger, terror, stress, anxiety, all that stuff. So that’s the big issue with with how it affects the brain and affects the amygdala and we want it to affect the amygdala. It does not affect the pons, like I said earlier so you can continue to breathe as much as you want to. It has more impact on the temporal lobe than anything else, which is really good because that’s where Epilepsy comes from.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:10:20] So we can actually suppress temporal firing, which a so a Seizure is Abnormal firing in the temporal lobe. So we can decrease firing in the temporal lobe guess what? All of a sudden we’ve decreased Seizures and that’s what we see with all of Cannabis in Epilepsy. So that’s why Epilepsy and Cannabis works so well together because of that suppression of abnormal firing in the temporal lobe.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:10:49] It does have some suppression function to the frontal lobe so you’re not going be able to think nearly as well that, you know, depending on how much you’ve consumed and where you’re at, you know, you might have anywhere from 0 to 10% functional command loss. I will tell you that as a personal thing, something I’m super not proud of. There’s been lots and lots of times in my youth where I would drink too much and then drive home I know it’s stupid. It’s the worst thing I’ve ever done. It’s terrible.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:11:23] But I’ve never consumed Cannabis and then thought, you know, I should drive. In fact, there’s been a couple of times where I was supposed to leave at a certain time and I went, No, I don’t feel like I’m good to drive. I’m going to wait 30 minutes, which has never happened with alcohol. So as far as making bad decisions I have not seen it. Are you going to say silly stuff because that you think is profound but that’s about it. And the worse thing you’re going to do is eat too much that’s from what we’ve seen that’s basically what’s going on.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:11:57] [00:11:57]How much do I Emphasize the Importance of shutting off the Amygdala? [2.5s] My entire practice is based around the quality of life. Wellness is the quality of life over time. Shutting off stress is the number one thing I try to do. And so shutting down the Amygdala calming it down the thing that tells you that everything is terrible, that you’re you’re scared, that you have stress, that you know, all the negative things fear, hate, anger, terror. How about how much how important is shutting that off? Really important. Really important. So, yeah, like, this is a daily thing like, we should start working on this. [00:12:38]How do I Connect Aanxiety and Stress to the Function Amygdala? [1.7s] I just told you it is directly 100% linked.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:12:49] So I will tell you this. This is kind of silly joke, but it’s also kind of silly true. I will consider Cannabis a Nutrient because the definition of Nutrient is something that the body requires in order to function normally and survive. If you didn’t have any Cannabinoids in your body, your brain would no longer work.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:13:12] Your Endocannabinoid system, which is inside of you right now, regardless if you’ve ever consumed cannabis, it is in there and we’re using Cannabinoids to make the brain and spinal cord function. Your entire CNS is directly dependent upon those chemicals to function.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:13:28] So adding in a different Cannabinoid structure that helps your body to function, helps your brain to function in the way that we want t. I’m going to consider that a Nutrient. Tongue in cheek kind of funny, kind of true, that type of thing so but that’s that’s just a fun thing that I have to throw out.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:13:53] All right. [00:13:54]How did I personally encounter the issues we discuss in the talk? [2.7s] I have tons of stress. Like, you know, when you’re launching multiple companies, when you’re trying to keep people alive, when people text you in the middle of the night and the kids just in a car wrecks and stuff like that. And you know, these kids, there’s a lot of kids I’ve been working on I’ve been doing this for 16 years.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:14:15] Like there are kids who are driving today that I met when they were born and I’m not there in their family. But, you know, when you work with somebody and you know somebody for ten or 15 years, you get kind of close to them. So, you know, there’s that type of thing.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:14:34] So I like I love cannabis for the for the stress relief piece. I’ve quit drinking alcohol because, you know, take it however you want to if it helps your life. Fantastic. There’s too much research for me right now to say that it’s worth taking it’s worth consuming. I still do a very little, but as far as stress goes, I’ll take a strip and that is by far my favorite way to go. I personally use it all the time to help with stress, help with pain, that type of thing so it’s it’s a big deal.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:15:13] So [00:15:13]What was the Reason I gave my ten year old son, Why did he have the surgery? [3.1s] He because he’s my son and he does silly things and he fell off a merry go round and broke his arm. Head of surgery, have a plate and six screws put in his arm. And when he first had it done, we didn’t have the strips we had to give them Opioids I’m not not happy about that.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:15:36] But after he had the Surgery, we had the Surgery to have the plate and six screws removed there was no choice there was there was no way I was giving him Opioids. So we gave him the strips and it works just fine and we talk about in the TED talks so I’ll play that clip. But yeah, so that was the reason I’m not giving my kids Opioids ever again ever. Watch Painkiller if you’re worried about why.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:16:11] So this is a great question. [00:16:13]How did I approach the dilemma of using Opioids for my son’s pain management? [3.4s] I talk about this a little bit in the TED Talk, so we’ll play that clip now. So. I was really worried about. However, I was gonna think whatever I was gonna think, if I was gonna get in trouble. You know, I’m not giving my kids Opioids I’m just not going to do it.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:16:35] And so we gave him the strips I knew he was going to tell people what you did. But I tell you, man, the the I was very, very surprised. All of the parents came up to me and were like, that was really smart. They’re like, We don’t give our kids Opioids either and we got to talk about it. And what’s funny is that, you know, my kids go to a really amazing small Christian school in the center of Texas.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:17:03] So, you know that’s one of the things we have like what are people going to think? You know, I really love the school and I really wouldn’t want to have any problems and everyone’s been super cool about it. They were like, That was really smart. You know, that was the best way to go, not giving your kids opioids. And so we got to talk about it.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:17:21] And now all the parents are on board now, they all understand they’ve they’ve looked at the research there’s a bunch of docs, there’s a bunch of really, really smart people in the school, and we’re all kind of on the same page. And so I was I was wrong to assume that the people around me were just going to think it was bad.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:17:38] And so since then, I’ve spent a lot of time talking to a lot of people, and I have not found anyone who’s against the medical use of Cannabis. And I’ve started to look, I’m trying to find somebody who’s like, No, no, we should just use Opioids we should not allow for cannabis use by Doctors. I’d love to know what their argument is. I just haven’t found anybody who actually is saying that doctors shouldn’t have access to Cannabis.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:18:02] So I think those stereotypes are going to change we’re going to do a whole bunch of stuff on stereotypes a minute, But that was a big piece for me. I was very, very happy to see the outpouring of support for any alternative to Opioids and how little people cared in a negative manner. Lots of them were super positive, but no one really had any negative issues with it. Like it was really, really refreshing and I’m really happy about it.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:18:33] [00:18:33]How did it affect my son’s pain management? [2.6s] A lot. I mean, so this is more and I have all the pictures. If you knew me, you want to throw up. But I had to take pictures of it while they were doing it. They had a chip, the bone off of his plate because the bone and sort of growing over it. So imagine that they make a decision about this long they pry it open so they can get to the they can get inside and they can start working on the actual bones. And they had to take a chisel and literally, like chip away at the bone that’s in there before they could even unscrew the screws.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:19:09] And when they got done so you can see the incision and you can see the bone and there’s holes. There’s six holes in the butt, like, not like small holes, like big old holes where those screws used to be all the way through.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:19:22] And so then they put it back together what happened the first time that he had the surgery when they put him in, is that he had a reaction to the to the dissolvable strips, sorry, the dissolvable sutures they used. And so it had opened up. We had this wound issue to his he had this giant scar it was like three quarters of an inch this way, by the entire, like six inch length of the scar.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:19:47] So what they did is they did like a scar revision where they just cut off that skin. So he had to have the bone chipped away he had six giant holes in the actual bone, he had a about one inch by five inch or something, maybe six inches cut out and then sewn back together that’s what the surgery was. So I really understand this was not like pulling a splinter out this is a major actual surgery, a to a ten year old.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:20:15] And then what we ended up doing was we just cut little strips and I gave him little strips and he was fine whenever he would be like, Hey, Dad, my arm starting to hurt, I would give him a little strip and he put it under his tongue dissolving and he’d be fine. Ten or 15 minutes later, we’re like, Hey, how’s your arm? He’s like, Oh, it’s fine and he would go back to reading, and I was making sure that he wasn’t any high because I want to make sure the dose was right. And I would talk to him and stuff like that, and he was his normal, silly self and anything nothing I would consider that was an added bonus. No, no, no. High issues so it was it worked out really, really well.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:21:00] [00:21:00]What observations I make about the Son’s experience with sublingual strips in terms of psychological effects? [4.6s] This is how I knew. That I’d use them on me and I’d use them on my friends and use them on everybody else. But when I gave them to my son for his issues, that’s really when I knew. I knew for a fact this is our replacement for Opioids.This is it. My ten year old is not high, he’s talking normally, he’s reading his book, he’s remembering everything he read, he has no pain this is what we need to be doing. This is it. This is where we need to go.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:21:36] The Observation was that we have our Solution, I’m done looking. This is it. We need everybody to know we have a New National Conversation about this, we need to be using these and everybody so that we don’t have the addiction issues, we don’t have the death issues. And we can bring everybody back together we can rebuild and stabilize our families. So 100%. It was supercritical it changed the way I think about it, it’s 100%. I know now that this is the <edication we should be using. So that’s that was the observation I made and that’s what it changed so.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:22:20] [00:22:20]How do I React to the idea of having more Comprehensive Information about Cannabis? [4.0s] 100%? 100%. We need more research and we’re trying right now to get our Cannabis Strips in for pain research in California. We’re pretty sure that seeing it knocked out, I will talk about that more than you guys want to hear.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:22:39] But because I like I said, man, we’ve got it we’ve got to give options other than Opioids, You know, it’s we just we have to. So but we know we need all the information we can. I love PET Scan Function, I love long term studies you know, all of it like we need is. But I’m an information guy. I want I want more information, not less.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:23:06] I think the bigger paint picture you paint, the more dots you have, the easier it is to see patterns, the easier it is to see function. So I would love to do more research if you guys are doing research out there, actual research, get hooked up with us I’ll give you the strips to test with let’s get it knocked out let’s make this stuff work.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:23:32] [00:23:32]What Statistical Evidence do I have regarding the impact of Cannabis Legalization? [3.4s] There’s an NIH study. By the way, real quick, for those of you who don’t understand, you don’t get to just say whatever you want to in a TED Talk. When you do a TED talk, every single thing you say. If you don’t have solid research to back it up, they will kick your talk out you don’t get to publish it. So every TED talk that’s Published, the research has been looked at, reviewed and proven to be functional, accurate. So that’s the deal.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:24:02] So there is a there’s a research study that showed 24% to the states that Legalized Cannabis, a 24% drop in Opioid Overdose deaths within the first year. That is significant and, you know, so that was from the National Institutes of Health.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:24:21] And again, remember, if you think that there is any bias, they’re biased against Cannabis, not for it, so that 24% number might be higher, but it’s pretty solid. So. Yeah, so. But here’s the thing people who know now that the Doctors are starting to know and people are starting to know, people choose Cannabis over Opioids every time we can.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:24:44] So, I mean, it doesn’t it doesn’t take a rocket science to figure out as a doctor, am I going to give you something that was going to kill you and make you addicted to it and make me a terrible, horrible human being? We’re going to give you access to something that’s not going to kill you and not going to make you addicted to something. Of course, the doctors are going to choose Cannabis if they can that’s the thing.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:25:04] So it doesn’t make any sense that the numbers wouldn’t get better because if doctors have access to things that are make are going to make our patients healthy and function, that’s the one we’re going to choose. So of course, the numbers are going to come down tremendously. All right.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:25:22] [00:25:22]What Societal Impact does the Decrease in Opioid Prescriptions do to the Cannabis Legalization highlight? [5.0s] Okay. Here’s the thing. If we can decrease the prescriptions written, we’re going to decrease the addiction we’re going to decrease the death. So what ends up looking like is if a Doctor has the option this is the amount of prescriptions written is really a how do the doctors use this, that’s what this question is.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:25:46] So if you have a million prescriptions for four drug X, but it’s killing people in horrible, terrible. But there’s no options guess what? Next year, you’re probably going to have a million prescriptions for drug X, but if all of a sudden something comes along and you’re like, Hey, look, this is now legal it is super safe it will take care of the pain, just like drug addicts, but it won’t kill anybody. The Doctors are going to write whatever is not drug X.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:26:12] Will this help my Patient? Yes. Well, it keeps them from dying? Yes this is my new first choice and that’s where we need to go. This should really highlight that the Doctors want Cannabis the Doctors are using Cannabis instead of Opioids. The Doctors we’re supposed to know what they’re doing are choosing Cannabis.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:26:30] Now, one of the things I will tell you, the only thing I didn’t like about the painkiller deal is that the light it puts some of the Medical Doctors in. Which you have to understand is that all Doctors want to help people that’s why they got into the what they’re doing. We didn’t have anything to help them with. Yeah, Pain socks. Pain’s terrible and for a while we all thought, Hey, this is great this is working and then we they found out that it wasn’t so that’s the only downside.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:26:55] But as soon as Docs have an option, that’s better, they’ll use it. That’s why I’m trying to highlight the fact that people died less when they had Cannabis instead of Opioids. It’s a greater choice. It’s the better choice, the Doctors know it they’re going to use it. The more people find out about Cannabis, the more we change the perceptions of the 40 years of telling people how bad it was and now we give them the real information. I think you’re going to see this get even more, even better.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:27:27] [00:27:27]What Significant Change do I believe is necessary regarding our Cultural View of Cannabis? [4.0s] We need to talk about this more. We need to have the real information out. We need to have experts like, I will go talk to anybody on any podcast. I will debate anybody that wants to know. Let’s sit down and talk about this let’s talk about it.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:27:44] We’ve been telling the government’s been telling us for since I was a kid, since the late seventies, in the eighties, that cannabis is the worst possible thing in the world. It’s a gateway drug. You know, you’re going to smoke one joint and then you’re gonna be crazy or you smoke one joint that is straight to crack, which is never panned out in any real research.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:28:02] I know a lot of people who were like, I used to do coke, but I really like Cannabis. I quit doing coke and now I do Cannabis, I quit drinking alcohol because of Cannabis. So. I mean. We just need to talk about this more we, if we are of our culture, can have another conversation about it, a real honest conversation that’s what’s important.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:28:30] [00:28:30]Why do I Emphasize the Importance of keeping an Open Mind in addressing the Opioid Crisis? [4.1s] Because we’ve all been told that cannabis is terrible for you and it’s going to kill you and be horrible if we don’t keep an open mind to the idea that maybe the information we got earlier was either highly biased a flat lie, or just wrong.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:28:51] If we don’t keep an open mind that we’re always going to be sitting here thinking, Yes, but. My school principal and all the all the after afterschool specials told me that cannabis was really bad for us. I have been indoctrinated, I’ve been brainwashed, I’ve had that hit in my school for 20 years. Yeah. Sorry. Hate to be the person who tells you this, but sometimes the government lies to you, sometimes the government’s wrong.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:29:17] We need to kind of rethink what we what we thought we knew, because in this case, it’s very, very, very obvious that we were that it was the information we got was bad. And we need to we need to open our minds and think about this again. All right.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:29:41] [00:29:41]What is the meaning of be Referencing Albert Einstein’s Quote in the context of the Opioid Crisis? [3.8s] So let’s play that quote. Okay. Basically, what I’m trying to say is that we’re slamming our heads against the wall. We all know the Opioid Epidemic is terrible we all know it’s horrible and the idea that we’re going to continue to give people Opioids? Because that’s what we do? that’s the definition of insanity. Doing the same thing over and expecting different results is insanity.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:30:12] So that’s, I think, one of and of course, as well but the thing is, is that when we look at the Opioid Epidemic, if we don’t start to change the way we think about it, we’re going to end up reciting and continue to do the same thing with the thinking we use that got us into the Opioid Epidemic if we don’t change that thinking? We’re never gonna get out of it, we’re never going to fix it.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:30:34] We have to a new level of thinking, we have to start thinking, Hey, by the way, highly addictive things that affect the Pons is probably not something we should hand out on a mass scale. Maybe. I mean, that’s a it’s pretty solid opinion, but that’s not what we’re thinking right now. So, you know, that’s that’s we’re going to change the way we think about Cannabis and about Opioids we’re going to solve this issue.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:31:03] [00:31:03]What Message do I leave the Audience with at the end of this talk? [2.9s] I hope that I gave you some information that maybe would help you rethink it. Maybe would allow parents and kids and doctors and patients to have another conversation, like, look, we learn new things all the time. And sometimes when we learn new things, we find out that the old things we thought we knew were wrong. Let’s have this talk. Let’s sit down and be like, Hey, you know, maybe we need to do this differently.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:31:36] I will tell you, as as as as a kid who’s been told by his Parents, you know, since I was born that Cannabis or Marijuana or whatever is horrible and terrible, you should never, ever use it. Now, going through and watching my parents talk about how beneficial it is, I listen to them, talk to other people about how, you know, they should get off their Opioids and use Cannabis it’s really it’s really, really nice. I’m hoping that the rest of the baby boomers and the rest of people, my generation, and can get together and have this conversation and be like, we need to move in a different direction. We need to move away from Opioids and towards Cannabis.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:32:15] And if we come up with something that’s even safer than cannabis, great we can use that. I don’t care. We just got to get off the Opioids. Cannabis is just the most obvious solution because it has so many benefits and so actually so few negatives we really need to kind of move in that direction.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:32:30] So I hope that that’s kind of what with the Audience with, was that, you know, we need have a new conversation about this. So, you know, like I’m open for whatever whenever I’d love to talk about this. I you know, I talk about this on Cannabis talk I talk about this with everybody else but we all need to start having this discussion because we need to Legalize Medical Cannabis and we need to start using it instead of Opioids.

Dr Matt Chalmers [00:32:54] Like doctors need to be Prescribing Cannabis instead of Opioids, So hopefully that’s what we really got. So that’s all the Questions we got that was a lot of Questions, but apparently if you put a TED talk out, people have Questions. So if you guys have any Questions, hit us up [email protected]. Thanks.