When I tell people about my cannabis classes, a lot of them (understandably) want to know where I get my information. That’s a fair question, but it has a long answer.

I began my cannabis journey more than 20 years ago. I was suffering from anxiety, inflammation, and a digestive disorder. I tried traditional remedies, but found little relief. A friend of mine was treating his pain with cannabis edibles. I had smoked cannabis in college, but I didn’t like the effects. Although it relieved my pain, it seemed to make my anxiety even worse. At that point, however, I was willing to try anything, so I gave his cannabis edibles a try.

My friend’s edibles did seem to help with my anxiety, but they left me with a bad stomach ache. I realized that I had found a potential remedy for my problem, but it needed to be in a more digestible form. I started looking for books on cannabis medicine, and came across Ed Rosenthal’s book Ask Ed: Marijuana Gold: Trash to Stash. Ed’s book changed my life. It provided clear information and standardized processes that turned my kitchen fumblings into true experiments.

As the Internet became more prevalent, I was able to use other people’s research to refine the information I had learned through trial and error. As a researcher, technical editor, and trainer in my day job, I already had a lot of experience in interpreting scientific/technical information and applying it to the task at hand. Slowly, over the course of several years, I learned how to find the right strain for my conditions and turn it into powerful medicine.

Over time, some of my friends developed conditions that also seemed suitable for treatment with cannabis. They knew that I had healed myself, and asked for advice. I walked them through the process I used to choose a strain, and taught them how to extract medicine and formulate it into the best form for their conditions. They referred more people to me, and I even started to get some referrals from doctors! To date, I have taught more than 100 people how to make their own cannabis medicine.

In the mid-2010s, I started hearing about CBD, a cannabinoid that provided most of the medical benefits of THC, but no psychoactive side-effects. Not content to help only a limited circle of friends and acquaintances with cannabis medicine, I decided to form a CBD-infused supplement company called Cooper Botanicals, LLC. This took my journey to a whole new level. I consulted with doctors, chemists, and pharmacists to formulate a line of CBD products that included topicals, transdermals, edibles, sublinguals, and suppositories.

In 2015, Texas (where I was living at the time) enacted the Compassionate Use Act, which allowed Texas citizens with intractable epilepsy and a prescription to purchase low-THC medical cannabis. It seemed like a wonderful and exciting step towards ending prohibition. Unfortunately, when the dispensaries started opening in late 2017, Texas law enforcement started to harshly prosecute people who possessed THC-free, CBD-infused products.

Recognizing that my Texas CBD business was now in jeopardy, I closed the business and moved to Colorado. Once there, I realized that since I was now in a prohibition-free state, I could safely reach out to patients who need help on the Internet. With Creative Cannabis Consulting, I am able to help even more people take charge of their wellness with cannabis medicine.

DISCLAIMER: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Creative Cannabis Consulting is not a medical establishment and our classes are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.