Dr. Mike Hart - Cannabis is Medicine

In today's episode, Joe and Kyle sit down with Dr. Mike Hart. In the show they talk about Cannabis and Ketamine used as medicine.

3 Key Points:

1. The main uses for Cannabis are for chronic pain and mental health. CBD is really good for people with inflammation.
2. When it comes to any psychedelic/plant medicine therapy, it's all about agency. The power lies within the individual, the therapy and the drug are just tools to help the person obtain the power to heal themselves.

3. Ketamine is a useful treatment for depression. It's instant, a patient can take it and it's effective right away, where typical antidepressants may take 4-6 weeks to kick in.

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Navigating Psychedelics

Show Notes About Dr. Mike Hart

• He attended Med school on Saba Island
• Then he came to Ontario where he did his residency
• 8 months after practicing he started prescribing cannabis
• He got into cannabis because it's a great alternative to opioids and pain pills, etc.

Cannabis

• The main uses for Cannabis are for chronic pain and mental health
  • CBD is really good for people with inflammation
  • CBD is good for anything with -itis like arthritis, etc
• THC is found to be much better than CBD for things like sciatica and nerve pain
• Kyle mentions that when he takes CBD he has flashbacks of ayahuasca dreams/experiences
  • CBD is not psychoactive in that it doesn't get you high
• Kyle says that people can have spiritual experiences just by breathing, so the
  • CBD is just another vehicle that helps
• Adding a small amount of THC to CBD isn't going to potentiate it, but there may be an entourage effect that can be a further benefit to a patient
  • Don't use more than 2.5mg of THC with CBD if you don't want psychoactive effects
• Mike says that some people use CBD isolate, and that's great, but like an egg, it's best not to eat just the egg whites, it's best to eat the whole egg to get all of the benefits
  • So just like eating the whole egg, the best way to get all the benefits of cannabis is to use/consume the whole plant
  • There are definitely situations where using the whole plant is best, and other situations where isolation is best

Cannabis and Therapy

• Anxiety can be treated very well with exposure therapy
  • Exposure therapy is exposing something you're afraid of, and exposing it over and over until its not an anxiety anymore
• CBD can decrease learned fear
  • PTSD is a learned fear
  • "The people who end up doing the most in life, are the people who have had the most trauma. We need to tell people that their trauma does not define them." - Mike
• It's all about personal agency
  • It's not about the drug, its you
  • It's not about therapy, its you
  • The power is in you, its just learning how to harness and use that power
• Mike says your relationships, your job, and your health are the three most important things to master
• Going without something makes you more grateful for that thing

Ketamine

• Mike has been prescribing Ketamine for just over a year now
  • It is helpful for mental health and chronic pain
  • Ketamine is really useful for treatment resistant depression
• He prescribes Ketamine orally
  • He advises his patients to take it in the morning as soon as they wake up on an empty stomach
  • If it is taken that way, they get a psychoactive effect, and he thinks that it is the most effective way
  • Its instant, a patient can take it, and its effective right away, where typical antidepressants may take 4-6 weeks to kick in

Links

Website

Instagram

Twitter

About Dr. Mike Hart

Michael Hart, MD is the medical director and founder at Readytogo Clinic in London, Ontario. Readytogo Clinic focuses on cannabinoid medicine, but also offers family medicine services, IV vitamin therapy and specialized hormone testing. Dr. Hart is a recognized speaker on the topic of cannabis. He has spoken at CME events throughout Ontario, multiple cannabis conferences and has been featured on a variety of cannabis websites. In March of 2017, Dr. Hart released a free Ebook with his co-author Jeremy Kossen. Dr. Hart has seen first hand how the opioid epidemic is affecting our population and wanted to take action by finding a solution. Dr. Hart believes that cannabis is an excellent alternative to opioids and has seen excellent results in his practice. Dr. Hart emphasizes lifestyle changes in his medical practice and follows a low carb diet himself. Dr. Hart actively trains MMA at Adrenaline Training center and follows a comprehensive strength and conditioning program.

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