Taking the second step in #CannabisJournalism
University of Denver Winter Interterm
Speakers of the Day
In class today we were introduced to @TheJaneWest who started us off this morning on a very different path to cannabis journalism. She focused her lecture on empowering women in marijuana industry and expanding their presence in the business all together through her program @WomenGrow which strives to connect and educate leaders in various aspects of cannabis. The second part of her visit she spoke about how she found herself in this business to begin with and where she wants to go with it in the future.
Our second speaker today was @LukeRunyon. Luke is a KUNC associate for NPR. He was very engaging and spoke to us about a few stories that he had to cover as a journalist. When asked what he would like to write a story on in the future he wants to focus his attention on the genetics on cannabis. He shared my same concern with the use of the word “organic” weed in the industry.
But what about Depression?
Today was a successful day when it came to researching my topic.
In regards to my final project topic, I have finalized it down to the research of CBD-rich and CBD-dominant cannabis strains in treating depression.
Cannabidiol — CBD — is a cannabis compound that has significant medical benefits, but does not make people feel “stoned” like the psychoactivity of THC. The fact that CBD-rich cannabis is non-psychoactive or less psychoactive than THC-dominant strains makes it an appealing option for patients looking for relief from inflammation, pain, anxiety, depression, psychosis, seizures, spasms, and other conditions without disconcerting feelings of lethargy or dysphoria.
“CBD-rich” versus “CBD dominant:” “CBD-rich” refers to a cannabis strain or product that has equal amounts of CBD and THC, or more CBD than THC (usually at least 4 percent CBD by dry weight.). By “CBD-dominant,” it refers to the strains or products that are CBD-rich but have very little THC content.
What are the misconceptions about CBD?
take a look at an article from ProjectCBD.org that I tweeted out earlier today:
And just because I was feeling a little podcast-y thanks to Luke Runyon’s lecture earlier in the day, I decided to look up some good podcasts on the subject of CBD.
In this fantastic podcast (tweeted out below) broadcasted live from Septembers Spannabis event in Barcelona, hosts David Kowalsky of the Cannabis Network Radio and Danny Danko of High Times spent some time talking about the CBD trend with doctor and researcher Guillermo Velasco of Complutense University of Madrid. Professor Velasco is currently one of the doctors responsible for finding that cannabis kills cancer cells in animal models.
Final Thoughts
I believe this story still has a ways to go until I fully understand the subject. I cant wait to delve deeper into this topic and uncover what there is to learn. More to come tomorrow!
