Loading
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Reddit
  • LinkedIn
Dispense Magazine
  • Home
  • Articles
    • Featured
    • News
    • Health
    • Law
    • Interviews
  • Podcast
  • Resources
    • Physicians
    • Clinics
    • Dispensaries
    • Glossary
  • About
  • Contact
  • Advertise
  • Menu

Medical Cannabis: The Next Wave of Holistic Medicine

Featured, Health, News Winter 2019
Medical Cannabis: The Next Wave of Holistic MedicineDispense Magazine
Winter 2019 Print Article

Pennsylvania is not often considered a progressive state, but the medical cannabis program is regarded as one of the best state programs in the country by many industry insiders. Patient and physician friendly, it may be the best example of a major holistic wave moving through Western Medicine.

Defining Medicine

Since the 1960s, there has been a growing movement towards more natural, holistic, and integrative ways of health and healing. The focus has been on nutrition, exercise, and other lifestyle changes with lots of Eastern philosophies included. The movement tried on a variety of names in its evolution. Basically, this was the “everything but traditional medicine” crowd and some groups hardened into an “everything but pharmaceuticals” movement.

In the 1990s, “alternative medicine” was a popular term until “complementary medicine” became vogue. Traditional medicine and new evolving beliefs and therapies could coexist. According to advocates, they were not mutually exclusive. But “complementary” connoted that traditional medicine was still in charge. “Integrative medicine” became popular in the 2000s and perhaps is the most accurate term, as the traditional and nontraditional coexist with equal importance. “Functional medicine” has become a popular term, as it incorporates nutrition, lifestyle, and the hard science of traditional medicine and seeks to treat the cause of illness rather than only the symptoms.

For the purposes of this article, we’ll include all these definitions under the term “holistic medicine”, which is defined as “regarding the whole.” Whatever is the most practical, is the most natural, has the least side effects, and seeks to treat the cause, not just symptoms can be defined as “holistic.”

Since 1994, I have interviewed the top professionals in this holistic movement, and there is mutual agreement among both sides that a clear dividing line can be drawn between traditional and holistic medicine. That dividing line is simply this: Traditional medical professionals give the orders that the patient is expected to obey. These doctors are given special training in “compliance” which means “how to get your patients to obey.”

Holistic healers, on the other hand, believe each person is the captain of one’s own ship. They understand that it is usually wise to listen to a doctor’s advice, and, if it seems reasonable, go along with it. But if any part of one’s being disagrees, that person should cuss, fuss, object, question, get second or more opinions, do research, and, in all ways, be a major pain in the ass to his physicians.

These people are the captains of their own ship, and they dislike anyone questioning their authority.

Many people, especially many traditional medical professionals, find this attitude … well, um, challenging. Those involved in the growing medical cannabis industry find this attitude refreshing and key to the success and sustainability of the entire industry.

The Solevo Wellness Way

Consider what Solevo Wellness Pharmacy Director Richard Greer said during a recent podcast. “People are always fascinated whenever I explain to them and try to make it very clear and very transparent that they are the ones in control of this therapy. We don’t operate on a true prescription basis. We don’t say, ‘Hey take this 5 mg capsule twice a day. We’ll see you in a month. Don’t ask any questions.’”

The policy at Solevo Wellness is that every first-time visitor sits down with a pharmacist to ensure the patient fully understands the process. “I’m a pharmacist, and I’m not here to trash traditional medicine, but at the same time, my role here at Solevo is to rework that thought process. It’s a lot about patient engagement. We can give you the information, we can make certain suggestions, we can even make certain predictions of how things will work for you, but the bottom line is that the patient is very much the one driving their ship. It’s their responsibility to pay attention to what they are trying from us from a medical marijuana standpoint, what relief it is bringing them, and I typically tell people it is 100 percent about relief.”

Greer believes that cannabis patients are more open, in general, to other alternative or holistic modalities and practices. While he may talk about diet or other lifestyle issues with clients in the course of their conversation, he emphasized, “Sometimes it’s a struggle because we are a medical marijuana dispensary. We are not a nutritionist. We are not a health club. So it’s almost like we are just part of the equation.”

That attitude of being just part of the equation, a partner or helper, is very much a component of the holistic way. This is the attitude Greer seeks to inspire in his patients. “We are on this journey with them. It’s not like a one and done. You don’t get one consultation and then ‘Just go figure it out on your own.’ A big part of our job is to help you figure things out, not just with marijuana, but with overall health.”

Healing Holistically

Mike Butler, Pharmacy Director for The Healing Center (THC), a medical cannabis dispensary with locations in Washington and Monroeville, PA, expressed much the same sentiment during a panel discussion for the Mind Body Spirit Healing Expo. The topic of the discussion was “Integrating Medical Cannabis and Holistic Medicine.”

“One of the fundamental topics that we talk about is helping patients take control of their own health,” said Butler. The policy of THC is that every first-time patient sit down with one of the medical professionals—a pharmacist, physician’s assistant, or nurse practitioner. “One of the things that we stress,” said Butler, “is that unlike traditional medicine where generally we would say, ‘Take this drug, take this many milligrams, this many times a day for this many days, and this is what’s going to happen.’ As the patient, you don’t have to worry about that. You don’t have to go home and look it up. You don’t have to talk to your friends and family about what their experience was with that medicine. The doctor said to take it, so you go home and take it.”

“That is not the approach that we like to take,” said Butler. “We tell everyone that this is very different and that you are the one who is in control of your dosage. The doctor did not write you a prescription for this. We give them guidance on how to start at a very low dose and very slowly come up into what we call the therapeutic range, where we see a response. At that point, it’s their responsibility to evaluate that as a positive or negative response.”

Butler emphasized the point. “The number one thing that we do is we try to enforce that idea, that you are taking a big step towards overseeing your own healthcare. That really is one of the fundamentals of the holistic approach to medicine.”

Integration Statewide

This holistic attitude seems to permeate the industry in Pennsylvania. With 25 grower/processor permits and 50 dispensary permits now awarded, (with each dispensary able to open three locations), a pace is being set for success and sustainability. To date, over 100,000 patients and 1,000 physicians have signed up for the program. Most importantly, the supply of medical cannabis is expected to keep pace with demand despite some early hiccups.

Happily, the movement toward a holistic approach is strong across the state. Many dispensaries have even included the word “integrative,” “holistic,” “organic,” “healing,” or “wellness” in their company name. Many make it the foundation of how they operate. In future issues, we’ll talk with them to discover which of the fundamentals of holistic medicine form the core of their medical philosophies.

To hear the complete interview with Richard Greer of Solevo Wellness, visit https://dispensemagazine.com/pain-management-and-opioid-addiction-part-three/

The complete interview with Mike Butler of The Healing Center starts about 31:30 of the podcast at https://dispensemagazine.com/integrating-cannabis-andholistic-medicine/

0 0 vote
Article Rating
March 1, 2019/1 Comment/by Sven Hosford
Tags: alternative medicine, complementary medicine, dispensary, Functional Medicine, Holistic, Holistic Medicine, Integrative Medicine, medical cannabis, medical marijuana, Mike Butler, Richard Greer, Solevo Wellness, The Healing Center
Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share by Mail
https://dispensemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Medical-Cannabis-The-Next-Wave-of-Holistic-Medicine.jpg 579 1030 Sven Hosford https://dispensemagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Dispense-Magazine-Logo-1.svg Sven Hosford2019-03-01 06:29:462020-01-16 08:11:51Medical Cannabis: The Next Wave of Holistic Medicine
You might also like
Cannabis Terpenes, a guide for Medical Marijuana PatientsDispense Magazine Let’s Talk Terpenes - Borneol
Dispense Magazine - Dispense With The NonsenseDispense Magazine Dispense With The Nonsense: Cheers, Jeers, Sighs and Raspberries on The Front Lines of Reefer Madness
How High Is Too HuDispense Magazine How High is Too High?
Cannabis Terpenes, a guide for Medical Marijuana PatientsDispense Magazine Let’s Talk Terpenes - Geraniol
Cannabis Terpenes, a guide for Medical Marijuana PatientsDispense Magazine Let's Talk Terpenes - Farnesol
Restore and Reboot with Felicia Greenfield-Blau
Subscribe
Notify of
1 Comment
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
MIAMI HoLISTIC HEALTH
April 4, 2019 2:45 pm

I blog often and I seriously thank you for your content.
The article has truly peaked my interest. I am going to take a note of your website
and keep checking for new information about once per week.
I opted in for your RSS feed too.

0

Featured

  • Cannabis Terpenes, a guide for Medical Marijuana PatientsDispense MagazineLet’s Talk Terpenes – FarnesolJanuary 20, 2020 - 10:50 pm
  • Cannabis Terpenes, a guide for Medical Marijuana PatientsDispense MagazineLet’s Talk Terpenes – CedreneJanuary 13, 2020 - 7:08 pm
  • Cannabis Terpenes, a guide for Medical Marijuana PatientsDispense MagazineLet’s Talk Terpenes – MentholJanuary 6, 2020 - 11:49 am
  • The PA Flower Shortage - Growing Pains or Structural Problems 3Dispense MagazineFlower Shortage in PA – Growing Pains or Structural Problems?January 5, 2020 - 3:06 pm
  • Dispense Magazine Podcast Now Available on iheartradioDispense MagazineDispense Podcast now available on iHeartRadioJanuary 1, 2020 - 5:21 pm
  • Cannabis Terpenes, a guide for Medical Marijuana PatientsDispense MagazineLet’s Talk Terpenes – FencholDecember 30, 2019 - 10:00 pm

Newsletter Signup

Download the Latest Issue!

Like us on Facebook

Follow us on Instagram

Dispense Magazine

800 Bay Ridge Ave

Apt 1
Pittsburgh, PA 15226

412.915.5340

[email protected]

Categories

  • Featured (68)
  • Health (81)
  • Interviews (26)
  • Law (10)
  • News (55)
  • Podcast (34)
  • Science (17)
  • Sponsored (7)
  • Terpenes (26)

Find Dispense Magazine

0 0 vote
Article Rating
© 2019 - Dispense Magazine | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy | Cookies Policy | Disclaimer | Website by Budding Brand
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • Reddit
  • LinkedIn
Treating Trauma with Cannabis: An Interview with Sara Makin Dispense Magazine Interview - Treating Trauma with CannabisDispense Magazine Dispense Magazine - Dispense With The NonsenseDispense Magazine Dispense With The Nonsense: Cheers, Jeers, Sighs and Raspberries on The Front... Scroll to top

Dispense Magazine utilizes cookies to give you the best browsing experience possible. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

OK


How we use cookies

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

Essential Website Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refuseing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

Google Analytics Cookies

These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience.

If you do not want that we track your visist to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here:

Other external services

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

Privacy Policy

You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.

Accept settingsHide notification only
wpDiscuz

Enter your email address for a FREE digital copy of Dispense Magazine!

 

Enter your email address to receive this quarter’s issue, absolutely free!

If you would like a physical copy, please click here

Dispense Medical Marijuana Magazine Volume 1 Issue 3 Cover

Please fill out the form below, and we’ll send you a copy of our latest issue.

 

Dispense Medical Marijuana Magazine Volume 1 Issue 3 Cover

 

Enter your email address to receive this quarter’s issue, absolutely free!

If you would like a physical copy, please click here

This is text

2019 Multimedia Advertising Guide

Please fill out the form to receive a copy of our advertising guidelines. Once submitted, one of our advertising reps will get right back to you.