Tag: #NORML

TSC Talks A 420 Compilation

In this Special Edition 420 Compilation, we share some favorite audio clips from several of our past guests on the 20th of April, 2020!

First up is Sherri Tutkus, RN, BSN~Founder and CEO of GreenNurse Group, Medical Director of Irie Bliss Wellness and host of GreenNurse on the Go Radio Show.

1. Sherri is a cannabis nurse, patient and advocate. Sherri earned her Bachelors in Science and Nursing from Boston College. She is highly skilled Registered Nurse with 30 years practical experience in various departments within the hospital and home setting. She is utilizing her expert nursing skills as a medical center specialist, clinical nurse liaison and educator to bridge the gap between patients and the cannabis community. Sherri has been educating and implementing holistic integrative healing modalities within her practice for over 20 years. She educates on the endocannabinoid system and the safe utilization of cannabis at dispensaries, hospitals, clinics, patients homes and she regularly does pop up events and expos.

Sherri is a member of the American Cannabis Nurses Association and the Cannabis Nurses Network and she brings passion and purpose to her work teaching bio-psycho-social-spiritual healing using cannabis as a tool. https://greennursegroup.com
Shari’s episode on TSC Talks: https://tsctalks.com/sherri-tutkus/

2. Keith Stroup, Mr. Keith Stroup is a Washington, DC public-interest attorney who founded NORML in 1970. Stroup obtained his undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Illinois in 1965, and in 1968 he graduated from Georgetown Law School in Washington, DC. Following two years as staff counsel for the National Commission on Product Safety, Mr. Stroup founded NORML and ran the organization through 1979, during which 11 states decriminalized minor marijuana offenses.

Stroup has also practiced criminal law, lobbied on Capitol Hill for family farmers and artists, and for several years served as executive director of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL). https://norml.org
Keith’s episode on TSC Talks: https://tsctalks.com/tsc-talks-guest-keith-stroup/

3. Nikki Lawley~Nikki Lawley, Cannabis Advocate and Educator

Traumatic brain injury stole my joy, but cannabis returned it.

Nikki, a NY state resident, has always been a proud and diligent worker. She’s served as an HVAC filtration salesperson, later starting her own company, then as a casino dealer, and most recently, as a pediatric nurse. She had suffered two traumatic brain injuries during her younger years, but it was the third TBI that suddenly changed everything. In a heartbeat, her life changed from one of optimism, vibrancy, enthusiasm, confidence, and extroversion, to one of constant pain, withdrawal, depression, and hopelessness.

While trying to help administer a routine vaccine to a young boy, Nikki was thrown against the wall, suffering a significant TBI and cervical instability in the process. Nikki’s TBI has caused cognitive deficiencies, confusion, memory loss, anxiety, and pain. She found herself unable to work, unable to interact with others, and in a very dark place. None of the numerous traditional medications she’s tried helped, and if fact, their ghastly side effects left her even worse off.

She had long since reached the end of her rope, when, on a whim, figuring she had nothing more to lose, she turned to cannabis. https://linktr.ee/Nikkilawley
Nikki’s episode on TSC Talks: https://tsctalks.com/tsc-talks-guest-nikki-lawley/

4. Mike Robinson~Mike Robinson, the founder of the Global Cannabinoid Research
Center in Santa Barbara California, is a multiple Cancer survivor that’s used cannabis oils and CBD extensively as well for Severe epilepsy, Chronic Lyme Disease, PTSD, and in pain management. Over the last 6 years Mike has shared his journey and analytics on cannabinoid medicine research globally while assisting patients and helping to teach clinicians globally. Mike is the former Director of Consumer Affairs and Communications at The American Academy of Cannabinoid Medicine. His post grad education, however is not in cannabis or cannabinoid medicine, rather it’s focus was International Relations and Diplomacy. Robinson has an extensive history of leading a large compassion program that provided countless disadvantaged cannabis patients with various alternative protocol treatments, is a published journalist and international cannabinoid research specialist, is a former registered Civil Rights lobbyist and non attorney that represented countless disabled children pro bono nationwide for over 2 decades. He’s a past board member of Big Brothers and Sisters, the founder of multiple non profits for disabled children, and is well known for adopting a severely disabled child, Genevieve, from the compassion program he once ran.

Read Genevieve’s Journey in High Times: https://hightimes.com/culture/genevieves-journey-how-cannabis-helped-save-life-create-family/
https://mikesmedicines.com, https://globalcannabinoidrc.com, https://genevievesdream.com, https://carouselchallenge.com

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TSC Talks Guest Keith Stroup

TSC Talks guest Keith Stroup, Founder of NORML, may be a down-home country boy, from Southern Illinois, but he sure did make it in the big city (from Box #10 w/Jim Croce). Keith takes me on a walk, through the annals of his legendary history as a founding father of the marijuana legislation movement in the US. From his early years growing up in Southern Illinois, to Georgetown Law School where he became politically radicalized by the Vietnam anti-war movement, and he started using cannabis.
After getting his law degree and working with Ralph Nader, he was inspired to start a consumer group for cannabis users and using his legal skills to try and impact public policy rather than simply “to assist your individual clients get richer, stay out of trouble or whatever.”

On founding NORML: “First off, I enjoyed smoking it but I also had become part obviously, of the underground culture of millions of smokers around this country, and began to be aware of the hundreds of thousands of people who were being arrested and having their lives destroyed because of a senseless policy. So I got some friends together a couple of colleagues of mine at the time and we found it normal as marijuana smokers lobby. ”

From here Keith goes on to outline his work with NORML over the years along with key moments in the history of marijuana legislation, starting with the foundational motivation of avoiding being drafted, “but for that Vietnam War and that experience of having lived through that terrifying experience and thinking you’re going to be drafted and sent to war, I don’t think I ever would have had the interest to start NORML, but because of that, it that I jumped into it with both feet. I think I was a bit naive at the time. I remember someone asked me how long I thought it was going to take. And I said I thought it would take at least 10 years. Well, that was in 1970. So it’s taken us a little longer than that, where I think we’re in our 45th year at NORML, but it is now finally happening”

Keith discusses the shift in public opinion under the influence of more conservative leaders; “Well, we underestimated the possibility of the public mood shifting. And as of the late 70s, early 80s, you had Ronald Reagan and Nancy Reagan. (The) “Just say no” movement, the parents movement, there was a period there where we began as a country to evaluate drug proposals on whether they were good for children. Well, no one is suggesting that children should be using marijuana or alcohol or any other drugs. But nonetheless, that was started the test and as a result, after we got the 11th state to decriminalized in 1978, we didn’t win another statewide victory for 18 years”

Bringing us to the current day, Keith discusses the latest legislation approved by the house judiciary committee, ” And one of the reasons that the bill at the House Judiciary Committee approved just yesterday, right is so important is because it’s called the MORE act. And among the things that would do the most important is it wouldn’t just lower marijuana to a lower schedule under the Controlled Substances Act, it would, in fact, remove it altogether from the Controlled Substances Act. ”

Keith has been a trailblazer in pushing forward on marijuana legislation nationwide and encourages anyone interested in understanding more about their state laws to visit the website https://norml.org/ and click on their state to read all the applicable state and federal legislation.

There’s a lot more here, check out Keith’s links and thank you, Keith, for your groundbreaking work to reform marijuana legislation over the last 50 years!

NORML: https://norml.org/. https://norml.org/about/item/r-keith-stroup-jd
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-stroup-68997b6/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/keith.stroup
Twitter: https://twitter.com/keithstroup
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keithstroup/
Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Stroup
Recent articles:
https://www.arlingtonmagazine.com/life-after-50with-cannabis/3/
https://www.cannabisindustrylawyer.com/keith-stroup-norml/
https://www.playboy.com/read/weed-warriors