Brian (1s):
Coming up on the GET, LEAN, Eat, Clean, Podcast.
Joseph (3s):
When I speak abroad, everybody wants to compare their healthcare system to the United States. And my response is pretty much the same in the acute phase. Trauma care. Yeah. I would not wanna be anywhere other than the United States. Right? Or that, you know, right. If I'm gonna get shot, I wanna get shot like in downtown Detroit. Or, or Right. Or the Bronx where I'm originally from. Because I know that those physicians and those ERs, that's their daily bread, they know what to do. They know how to do it. They're emergent acute care. There's no one better now when it comes to chronic or long-term care. That's where we as a nation have dropped the ball.
Joseph (43s):
We are in sick care, not healthcare. And that's where we as a nation need to step up and do better.
Brian (52s):
This week I interviewed Dr Joseph Rosado. Dr. Rosado is one of the most well respected scientists working with Medical Cannabis. He's also an educator and published author. We discussed the healing potential of medical cannabis, CBD and Ketamine therapy, along with How medical marijuana can help with anxiety, depression, and insomnia. Dr. Rosado is protocol to healing and getting off prescription drugs. Myths of Low T, helping kids with A DHD and is one tip to get your body back to what it once was. Really enjoyed my Interview with Dr Rosado. I know you will too. Thanks so much for listening and enjoy the show. All, right. Welcome to the Get Lean Eat Clean podcast.
Brian (1m 34s):
And I have on today's show, Dr. Joseph Rosado. Welcome to the show.
Joseph (1m 39s):
Thank you very much. Thank you for the invitation. Thank you for having me.
Brian (1m 42s):
Yeah, my pleasure. All the way from Florida
Joseph (1m 44s):
Where it's much warmer than where you are, I believe.
Brian (1m 47s):
Yeah. Although we've had a nice fall here. I will say. I'm not complaining. It was
Joseph (1m 51s):
94 today. Can you top that?
Brian (1m 53s):
Yeah, no, we're happy in the fifties right now.
Joseph (1m 56s):
Yeah, it was not, I got in my car today 'cause I had the mechanic and 90 I get in my vehicle and it was 94 degrees. I'm like, what the heck? Mm. I had my AC cut ranks down to like 65. Yeah.
Brian (2m 9s):
Geez. Yeah. My parents are in West Palm, like Del Rey area, so. Okay. Yes. That's familiar. I get the weather updates quite a bit,
Joseph (2m 17s):
Especially in the next few months when you guys are up to your hips and slow.
Brian (2m 21s):
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. That's true. That is true. Well, I'm glad to have you on, you're an author, you've been in medicine for quite a while. Alternative medicine, shall we say, medical cannabis, HRT, and excited just to talk to you about sort of the, the healing that that's brought to you and, and the individuals that you help.
Joseph (2m 42s):
Absolutely be my pleasure.
Brian (2m 44s):
Well, maybe just give like a brief background of how you, what got you into alternative treatments and, you know, I know you, it is had a personal experience on yourself and then, you know, with your clients and stuff, how, how you just got into that.
Joseph (2m 59s):
Absolutely. So, prior to being a medical doctor, I was a chiropractor And. what caused me to go to chiropractic school was because I was involved in a severe automobile accident, I was stopped getting ready to make a left-hand turn. This was 1987 ish and I was driving a Dotson two 10, B two 10. So this was before Nissan existed. So before Nissan was Dotson. And a 16-year-old boy was drinking a milkshake and was driving his dad to Delta 88. And he dropped his milkshake, benched forward to pick it up. When he went to pick it up, he left his foot on the gas.
Joseph (3m 41s):
And when he came up, my vehicle stopped his vehicle. Hmm. I lost obviously 'cause he was in this massive boat. Yeah. And that caused a compression fracture of one of my vertebrae, my spine, causing me to have initially what's called spinal shock, the spine. And the trauma caused major swelling and inflammation in and around the area where the trauma was. And I lost movement feeling and sensation from the weights down from the belly button down more so. And within 24, 48 hours, after having received massive doses of steroids and traction, I started getting kind of pins and needles.
Joseph (4m 22s):
And I was told by the orthopedic surgeon, well, you know, you're as good as we're gonna get you. So we're done. And I went to see a chiropractor who I had seen for a sports related injury a few years before. And when he took the X-rays, he was the one that told me about my compression fracture. It was not seen in the hospital. And again, this is 1987, where MRIs were there, but not really there. And so two weeks after the accident, I was feeling much better than I was before the accident. And I was pre-med, getting ready to go to medical school, changed directions and went to chiropractic school instead.
Joseph (5m 3s):
Got a lot, learned a lot about, you know, musculoskeletal, natural healing arts, reiki, all kinds of alternative, what is considered alternative medicine, some acupuncture. And practiced for five years as a chiropractor, but then got frustrated with the limited scope of practice because of the inability to be able to do more for my patients if I wanted to do, say HRT, although the majority of the patients were open to it, I could not prescribe testosterone, estrogen, progesterone because their prescription medicines or controlled substances like testosterone is. And so for that reason, I chose to go to medical school to be able to broaden my scope of practice and be able to manage and treat more people and help them naturally rather than relying and depending on synthetics.
Joseph (5m 54s):
And so I went to medical school. Following medical school, I got involved in everything in and around medicine. And from 2010 through 2015, I started doing hormone replacement therapy for men and women exclusively. That was caught stimulated by myself. I got involved with the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine, which are based here in Florida. And prior to going to the seminar, I did all the testing of myself. I did saliva testing, I did the blood work, checked all of my hormone levels. And one of the individuals that was speaking was a gentleman in Michigan that was does men's health.
Joseph (6m 39s):
And as he's on stage describing case studies, I'm sitting in the audience thinking, this guy's describing me, like as he's going through the symptoms and everything. And when he's got done speaking, I made a beeline to him. But by the time I got there, there were about 10, 15 people around him. And he's asking, answering questions and everything else. And when he, there was like a quick break. I had my labs with me and I pulled the, the labs out of my suit pocket and I handed it to him over everybody and said, what do you think about that patient? And he opened it and he looked at me and he said, this is you. And he like, he sold my badge.
Joseph (7m 19s):
And he saw the name on the, on the lab report, like, yes. And he looked at me and looked at the labs and he looked at me again, said, been feeling kind of bitchy lately. And I'm like, that's an understatement. So he's like, we have much to discuss. I said, let me take you to lunch, So. we went, had lunch in that hour. He created an entire program for me, explained why he was giving me what he was gonna give me, how I was gonna take it when I was gonna take it. And within 90 days, I was a completely different human being, not man, human being. I was just completely changed. And that's when I said this, I have to extend this and, and broaden this and take it out further.
Joseph (8m 4s):
Unfortunately, in 2015, some issues occurred in the state of Florida regarding alternative medicine and bioidentical hormone replacement therapy for men and women. And so I at that time shifted over because that's when things were moving in, in the medical cannabis arena. We were, it was up for ballot in 2014. It didn't pass. We were going back again in 2016. So I got involved into the medical cannabis space, which in essence does tie in with a lot of the HRT things, simply because one of the main reasons men and women have issues hormonally, is because they're under stress.
Joseph (8m 46s):
They're having anxiety, they're not sleeping, they're depressed, their cortisol levels are off. And by being able to manage them without the use of benzodiazepines, if they are in chronic pain without using narcotics, which we all know cause hypogonadism in men and, and the antidepressants that cause an orgasm or the delayed orgasms, we figured, let me combine all of this and just come up with a full package. And so that's where I'm at and that's what I've been doing.
Brian (9m 19s):
Excellent. Yeah, thanks for explaining that. And what would you say the majority of the people that you see come to you for? I know you mentioned like high cortisol, lack of sleep, and how do you sort of navigate, you know, medical cannabis and And, you know, you know, depending obviously on the, on the patient And, what they have. But how do you navigate that and decide what to use?
Joseph (9m 41s):
Well, the number one reason for patients coming to see me for medical cannabis is chronic pain, followed by anxiety, depression, and insomnia. Okay. So that's that, that, that, that's really my, you know, number one and number two. And so we'll start by addressing the pain because that's what they're there for. And in conjunction with that, then I'll add other things to their treatment. So the idea of strains is really a misnomer because there are no strains in the plant world. you know, you have a family, you have a species, you have a, you know, genus species, subspecies, et cetera.
Joseph (10m 23s):
And so knowing which chemo var to use is important, but more importantly are the percentages of CB, D and THC as well as the other phytocannabinoids understanding and knowing that we have an endocannabinoid system. We do produce cannabis, all vertebrates produce cannabis. Most people don't understand or know that less than 10% of medical schools educate physicians in medical schools on the endocannabinoid system. And the fact that we produce cannabis, we have cannabinoid receptors that work in our body as we age or as we're stressed from this disease or chronic pain or anything else, our levels are depleted.
Joseph (11m 6s):
Also with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, all those levels tend to drop as well. And so that's where you get all of a lot of the hormonal imbalances and someone is in chronic pain, you're throwing narcotics at them. You're just adding fuel to the fire and making them worse, not better. And so initially I'll put 'em on something, you know, to be used during the day in the morning, then midday and then into the evening, combining not only the percentages of the cannabis, but also what are called terpenes. The terpenes are found in not only the cannabis plant, but also other plants.
Joseph (11m 47s):
So lin, which is found in lavender and citrus beta, which is found in black pepper. All those three are excellent for anxiety, depression, and insomnia. And combining all of that, for the first 30 days, I lay, I leave them on their medications. I just add the cannabis to them. In the meantime, I'm getting labs done, I'm getting some liva testing, blood work, whatever needs to be done. Then when they come in after 30 days, I'll then review the labs, see where they are, get feedback on how they're doing. And that's when we start weaning off of the narcotics, weaning off of the benzodiazepines, we off the antidepressants.
Joseph (12m 33s):
And then we begin the supplementation to get their hormone levels to a normal state. And also aiding so that they can feel less anxious, their depression's under control and that, and they're sleeping better. Because contrary, you know, the difference between men and women in depression, for example, when a female is depressed, generally speaking, they look sad, they look depressed. The what, what, you know, depression to look or be like, they're crying, they're eyes watery, they're, they look like they're hungover. They're not all there with men. They're angry. They're very, very angry, violent, aggressive.
Joseph (13m 15s):
And it's because of how we've been raised to think and be, you know, we're not taught to express our feelings. We're not taught to say, Hey, some I'm not feeling right. If something's not right. And because we don't know how to deal with that level of depression or what that is, we become angry because we can't figure it out. We can't fix it. And that's what we do. you know, I have twin daughters and three granddaughters and a grandson, and the way my grandson is versus my three granddaughters and my two daughters, you know, navigating through that level of estrogen in my poor grandson, he is like, grandpa, what do I do?
Joseph (13m 57s):
So, so understanding that is important and being able to explain it. Because once you explain it to, you know, individuals and my patients hear me say that, they're like, you know, that really makes a lot of sense. No one's ever explained it to me that way. And then once we start supporting them, And, you know, raising their testosterone levels, And, you know, working on lowering their estrogen levels, you know, that was my issue. you know, my estrogen levels were higher than my testosterone levels were now. And, and they were, you know, my testosterone levels were below normal. Had I gone to a, a regular conventional, you know, urologist or primary care that dabbled in it, he would just given me testosterone.
Joseph (14m 41s):
Said, here you go. Not understanding that all that testosterone that I was receiving, I was converting to estrogen. And so it was making me worse and not better. And so that concept, that idea of being able to look at all of the hormones and looking at the cascade And, you know, the precursors, And, what came first and how everything works, helps me to then be able to navigate and create treatment programs for everybody. Because like I tell all my patients, you know, what we do is individualized medicine. It's not cookie cutter. you know, you're not getting the same dose as, you know, your neighbor. you know it all, it's all dependent on what you're presenting, where your levels are and where we want to get.
Joseph (15m 23s):
Yeah.
Brian (15m 24s):
A lot of good stuff there. As far as sleep is concerned, you know, this is, I find a lot of clients aren't getting great sleep or they're getting up a lot during the night, especially males or going to the bathroom. How can maybe on their own or with the help of physician, someone like yourself, like use cannabis to their advantage as far as, you know, helping them fall and stay asleep. And is it the same quality of sleep as it would be if they were just doing it on their own?
Joseph (15m 51s):
It, no, it's not the same quality of sleep. In fact, a lot thanks to the technology that exists. And everybody's having their little Fitbit, you know, their little watches and they monitor themselves. They come in and they show me where they were before they started treatment and where they were afterwards. And not only is it a matter of the chemo, but you asked a really excellent question, you know, falling asleep and staying asleep, because a lot of people that have issues with insomnia, you have to, you know, I ask them, do you have trouble falling asleep or do you have trouble staying asleep? Some people have no problems falling asleep, they just wake up two to three hours later. Others toss and turn. They can't fall asleep at all. But once they do fall asleep, they're able to stay asleep relatively well.
Joseph (16m 34s):
And so that's where I combine the modes of administration of the cannabis. So it's not, again, one size fits all. If you're having trouble falling asleep, then I'm gonna give you something that's gonna work relatively quickly after suppositories. The next fastest mode of administration is inhalation. Whether you smoke cannabis, cigarette, you do a vape, you, you know, do a dry vape, hit a volcano, do a nasal spray. In the state of Florida, we have metered dose inhalers that look just like an albuterol inhaler because when you inhale cannabis, you get the effect usually within three to 10 minutes.
Joseph (17m 17s):
But it only lasts two to four hours. And so they're not gonna be getting up every two to four hours to hit their pen or their, their, you know, their, their, their pipe or their bong or whatever. So in that scenario, I'll give them the inhalation, but I'll tell 'em to at the same time, use an edible. Why in edible? Because in edible we can titrate to effect the standard dose is 10 milligrams. I have them cut it into four pieces. We start low So, they start at 2.5 milligrams, which is one quarter. But an edible takes about two to three hours before it kicks in in the system.
Joseph (18m 0s):
So when the effect of the vape or the inhalation is wearing off, the effect of the edible is kicking in. And so now you're covered better longer. So the inhalation got you to sleep, and then the edible is keeping you asleep. And that's the goal. Now granted, I'm 62 years old, so I, you know, still have on occasion, depending how much water I drink, if I had an alcoholic beverage, you know, before bed or whatever, I'll get up usually about between four and five in the morning to go to go to the bathroom. And again, checking their labs if their hy, if their dihydrotestosterone is elevated, you know, looking at the testosterone, if it becomes estradiol or if it becomes dihydrotestosterone.
Joseph (18m 48s):
Well, the enzyme that converts testosterone to dihydrotestosterone is five alpha reductase. Well, the conventional treatment has given them, you know, Flomax, what I use is copper and zinc. Both those help shrink the, the, the prostate in conjunction with some salt palmetto. Now we're addressing the, you know, the size of the prostate. And then with the cannabis, it helps 'em calm down. It helps 'em sleep. And so they're not having to get up as often or as frequently. Gotcha.
Brian (19m 18s):
And, and when I mentioned quality of sleep, did you say it was the same or better, or like, how would you say the quality of sleep would be compared to just not doing anything? I mean, obviously if someone's in like an insomniac and getting up all night, I'm sure like obviously the cannabis obviously can help a lot, but are they still getting in that rem like deep sleep from the cannabis?
Joseph (19m 43s):
Yes. They, they can get into that deep level of sleep. And, and like I said, you know, people are measuring how they sleep, how well they sleep on all of these technological, you know, their watches or their, their wearables,
Brian (19m 56s):
Their
Joseph (19m 57s):
Apps. Yeah. And they'll come in and they'll share that with me and I'll see, you know, what, based on their, what their, their settings are set at. It gives us an understanding of how well they're sleeping, how deeply they're sleeping, et cetera. And so now they're not having to rely or go to a, you know, have a sleep study. Now, do I still have to refer some people out for sleep studies? Absolutely. Because a lot of people, you know, it's not one size fits all. And as good as cannabis is, it's not a panacea. It's not, you know, it's not gonna work for everybody Right. The same way. And so, but nothing in medicine is that way.
Joseph (20m 38s):
you know, my mom, for example, she's 84 years old. She just suffered a stroke in June of this year. Prior to that, she had had multiple transient ischemic attacks, mini strokes. Granted, she's non, you know, non-compliant. She's a really bad patient overall. But for the past five to seven years, she's been suffering and dealing with dry eyes, just consistently, constantly having dry eyes, dry eyes. And she's been to multiple ophthalmologists, neuro ophthalmologists, you know, everybody in, in the same specialty. And, what a week, 10 days ago.
Joseph (21m 19s):
She saw a younger graduate ophthalmologist, fresh out of specialty, fresh outta residency. And when my mom went to see her, her exact words were, you know, I'm gonna help you. I'm gonna fix your problem. And, and my response to her, to my mother was, and if she can't like everybody else Hmm. What then, you know Yeah. To, to come in and, and boldly say, well, I'm gonna fix your problem. you know, I can help your problem. I'll do my best to figure out what your problem is. But for me to arrogantly say, you know, I'm gonna fix you, especially when by the time they come to me, they've seen everybody and their brother, because, you know, not everybody starts with cannabis as their number one treatment of choice.
Joseph (22m 5s):
Sure. Not everybody is gonna come to, is gonna see somebody for BHRT first. They're gonna do everything else first. And then when they're sick and tired of being sick and tired, then they'll say, okay, well, I'll pay out of pocket to get fixed.
Brian (22m 22s):
Yeah. I mean, I could just, from personal experience trying like edibles and things like that, I can totally see how people who are deal with, you know, depression or anxiety, how it can help take the edge off for sure. And, and get them, you know, comfortable and, and feeling better. And I'm sure, like you said, everyone's a little bit different. I'm fairly sensitive to it. So like, I know I have friends who can do 10 milligrams, and I'd be, I'd be done, I'd be done. I can do probably, you know, two to three and I'm, it's fine. you know, so it's definitely a, I can see how you have like a tailored approach to that. And then also the amount of CBD and THC that is in each application that you're using for the, for the client, how do you sort of navigate that?
Brian (23m 11s):
I mean, now you see like these hybrids where it's like 50 50. How do you go about deciding the amount of THE versus CBD?
Joseph (23m 19s):
Excellent question. And that again, was from personal experience. This I learned when I was in chiropractic school in a chiropractor, because as a chiropractor, you know, all my patients had a get rich quick scheme, and everybody had a multi-level marketing product that I needed to try and sell to my patients. Sure. And, and, and my motto was the same for everybody. Give me a sample. Gimme a bottle, let me try it. Right? And let me, and I'll let you know how it, how it worked on me, or if, if it's something that, you know, a condition that I didn't have, but I'm, you know, I had patients that had it, I would gift it to one of my patients, say, look, I'm gonna give you this use.
Joseph (24m 3s):
And that I knew they were compliant and that I, they were trustworthy. I'd give it to them and say, here, you try this, you tell me how it worked, and if it worked for them, or if it worked for me, then I would consider it. If it didn't, I wouldn't. And I always knew when I was using cannabis that certain ratios, certain percentages didn't work as well for me as others. And I, at one of the seminars where I was speaking at an individual that is an engineer, a geneticist, and a, and an engineer. So he's like, you know, one of these PhD geeks to, to the nth degree created a program and a, a testing to be able to test cannabinoids and determine based on your genetic makeup, what phytocannabinoids worked best for you, what type of cannabis, whether it was a high THC or a high CBD or a ratio based product was, you know, what you needed.
Joseph (25m 8s):
I, I use that in my mental health clinic when patients come in that have been on antidepressants for 10, 15, 20 years. And there's, there, you know, PHQ nine there, you know, which is the measure, an objective measure of depression is, you know, 21, 24, 27, and they're on, you know, 3, 4, 5 medications. I do a genetic test on them to determine how they metabolize certain medications. And once I get the results, I see, okay, every medication that you're on, your body can't metabolize. We got, we have to completely change and revamp how you've been treated.
Joseph (25m 50s):
And within 30 to 90 days, again, we turn lives around because of that simple genetic testing. So this individual came up with the same concept, but for cannabis. And when I did that, I discovered that I am an ultra slow metabolizer of THC and ultra rapid metabolizer of CBD and a normal metabolizer of ratio based products. From that point forward, I stopped purchasing just high THC products or high CBD products. I started getting ratio based products and then trial and error. I started with a one-to-one C-B-D-T-H-C.
Joseph (26m 32s):
I felt that it gave me a little bit too much somnolence during the day. Made me a little groggy. So I dialed it back to a five to one C-B-D-T-H-C. And every morning I take 20 milligrams of that, where, you know, 83% is CBD, 17% is THC and that five to one ratio. And that carries me through. And, and I have a, a vape pen that is of the same ratio of five to one. And so I'll have that with me throughout, that I can use periodically throughout the day. And as a result that keeps me even and focused And, you know, keeps my anxiety and 'cause as a physician, I mean, I see, you know, 24 to 30 people a day.
Joseph (27m 19s):
Hmm. And not everybody is as jovial and wanting to get well and be happy all the time. you know, I'm gonna get, you know, angry people that are in pain disgruntled, you know, their insurance didn't pay, or which, you know, cannabis doesn't, you know, you don't use insurance to, for cannabis visits. And so, and we just had the, we voted in the state of Florida to be like Illinois. I just, yeah. It, it didn't pass right? No, it, it missed it by four percentage. We needed, because it's a, because it was a constitutional amendment, we had to have 60% or greater, and we got 56%.
Joseph (28m 1s):
Hmm. And so as a result of that adult use was stopped. And so all of these individuals there had all their cookies in that basket hoping that it was gonna become adult use. It didn't happen. And so, you know, they had their, their issues and their traumas with that. And so to offset a lot of the personalities that I deal with, not only patients, but staff, you know, I use that and it keeps me relatively, you know, consistent. So that's how I dose and manage people. If I have patients, I mean, I have my go-tos and I have my ideas based on what patients are telling me. And based on all the years and, and patients that I've managed, not only the United States but abroad, but when I get these complicated cases that no matter what I give them or how they're taking it, it's not working for them.
Joseph (28m 52s):
Those are the ones that I reach out to, you know, my buddy in California and say, Hey, send me one of your test kits. I got somebody for you. And then we figure it out. In fact, today, because I'm one of the few doctors in the state that sees children, I was first, I was gonna, I was actually gonna ask about that. Yeah, yeah. I was the first certifying physician in the state of Florida to recommend to a 15-year-old. In fact, last week was the eight year anniversary of him receiving a one-to-one C-B-D-T-H-C, because he was terminally ill. He had a stage four cancer of the head and neck that had eaten out his jaw, his cheekbone, his eyeball and eye socket.
Joseph (29m 32s):
He had to wear an eye patch, had gone into his skull and then into his brain. And he was on 16 milligrams of morphine via a morphine pump. But, you know, every four to six hours, he weighed maybe a hundred pounds soaking wet. And in between, if he had any pain, which he obviously did with all that bone trauma that he had, he could give himself a bolus of additional morphine. But all he did was lay in his hospital bed, in his bedroom, drooling, looking at his crotch. And once we got him started on the cannabis, within a month we dropped his morphine dose from 16 milligrams to eight milligrams, you know, which for mom and dad, that was huge because now he was no longer in his bedroom drooling.
Joseph (30m 22s):
He was in the living room, you know, enjoying the family, asking his mom, Hey, mom, make me some rice and beans and meat. I'm hungry. Or, you know, was the best man at his brother's wedding. And at that same wedding, he danced with his sister. And yeah, he did pass away the following year in February, but his quality of life from November to February is what everybody's gonna remember in that family, in the church, in his society and his community. And so today I saw a 12-year-old girl, same thing. She, she has A-D-D-D-A-D-H, adhd, she's on spectrum. So she would have some major meltdowns. And they were using over the counter CBD, because again, you know, they, they read about, you know, Charlotte, Fiji, and Colorado and, and did some research.
Joseph (31m 9s):
And So, they started her on straight C, b, D, but she was, wasn't getting any results. And So, we started with the one-to-one, and then that wasn't working very well. And then the five to one, and we just couldn't figure it out. And we ordered the genetic testing on her. And today when I saw her for her, her six and a half months follow up, mom, dad, and she were there. And, you know, we could do virtual visits for follow-ups in the state of Florida. Completely different girl. She was sitting there very calm, very chill. And she's like, I, I don't take my a DD medicine anymore. I'm not on any pharmaceutical doc. I'm just taking what you've told me to take. I take a one, a two to one C-B-D-T-H-C capsule during the day.
Joseph (31m 55s):
I take a one-to-one or a one to four, C, B-D-T-H-C. So a little more THC at bedtime to help her sleep, shut her brain down. Completely different child. And, and in the middle of our consultation, I'm seeing her, like looking at her watch and seeing look, you know, looking a little antsy. I'm like, you know, what's wrong with you? What's, what's your problem? She's like, no, I, I got, I got an assignment to do and I gotta turn it in. And I'm like, oh, I'm sorry. Go, go do your schoolwork. Mm. And so mom and dad sat there and, and they, when she left, they looked at me and it's like, you know, two years ago, this was not the child that you just saw here saying, I gotta go do homework, I gotta do my assignment. Hmm.
Joseph (32m 35s):
So that's how I dose and, and manage a lot of the complicated ones.
Brian (32m 41s):
Yeah. I gotta imagine like, just like a DD and for example, is just probably misdiagnosed or overdiagnosed, and then these kids get on medi, you know, on become medicated and on pharmaceuticals and for, to use something like this as an alternative to get them off that I think, you know, is that something that you see that's becoming more and more common?
Joseph (33m 4s):
Very much so, yes. Again, because as you said, the, they're in mental health, the diagnoses are very, very gray a lot of times. And, you know, for years we thought, and we were taught that, oh, if they behave this way, then it's this, and if they behave this way, it's this. But now, you know, things are changing. And, you know, one of my favorite comedians and and talk show hosts is Trevor Noah. And just recent, not recently, but within the past year, he's been more verbal about the fact that he was diagnosed with a DHD depression.
Joseph (33m 46s):
And, and that's something that most people have never heard of, but more importantly, it's not treated with medicine. But the minute you hear a DHD or a DD, boom, oh, we gotta give you an amphetamine. And, and that's where I laugh because conventional thought says and dictates that we should not give marijuana cannabis to a child because it's gonna cause them to be schizophrenic And, you know, the probability of addiction. And they can become addicted. Yeah. But amphetamine is way more addictive than cannabis ever will be. Right. Whatcha talking about?
Brian (34m 22s):
Right, right. It's just completely inverse of that. Yeah, that makes no sense. Yeah, I definitely, so in Florida you have to have a, like a medical card to get to get cannabis? Or do you have to have a doctor prescribe it? Is that correct?
Joseph (34m 38s):
Yeah, recommend it. We can't prescribe it because it's still a schedule one drug. Okay. And so if, if I say I'm prescribing it, then that's a violation of the DEA and I would lose my DEA license because the only way I could prescribe a schedule one drug is if I have a special DEA license to do so. And that's usually reserved for individuals that do clinical trials, do clinical studies. So the rest of us use our first amendment, a constitutional right, A free speech and So, we make a recommendation. But yeah, in the state of Florida, the only way to obtain cannabis legally, because there's, there's tons of other ways. Yeah. But the legal way of getting it medically is by having a physician sign off and saying that you meet the criteria in the state of Florida, we have 10 qualifying conditions that are named post-traumatic stress disorder, cancer, HIV aids, Lou Gehrig's disease, or a LS, Parkinson's Disease, Crohn's Multiple Sclerosis, epilepsy seizures and Cancer.
Joseph (35m 44s):
But, and then the 11th is a terminally ill patient, which is why the 11, the 15-year-old was able to get cannabis in 2016 because it was under the right to Tri act, which meant that if you were terminally ill and the state defined a terminally ill person as someone who, if we did nothing for them, they would be dead within a year. That's how they defined terminally ill so terminally ill patients. And, but we have a caveat in the state that reads any chronically debilitating condition that's equal to or greater in severity than one of the ones named.
Joseph (36m 25s):
So for example, an individual comes in with irritable bowel syndrome or ulcerative colitis. I can put them under the umbrella of Crohn's. If someone comes in with insomnia, anxiety, depression, then I put 'em under the umbrella of PTSD. If someone comes in with diabetic neuropathy, peripheral neuropathy, or low back pain with pain radiating down both legs, then I can put 'em under the multiple sclerosis umbrella because it's comparable to that. And so that's how we work with the adult population for children. And in the state of Florida pediatrics are anyone below the age of 18, so up to the age of 17, they are eligible to get cannabis.
Joseph (37m 7s):
But two physicians have to sign off on the patient So. we need two doctors to sign off on it. I get a lot of referrals from pediatricians, So. they give me the first, you know, recommendation. I give 'em the second we comply with that ruling. And then I manage their care together with the pediatrician where if they're already on some type of A-D-D-A-D ADHD medication or some medication for their, because they're on spectrum or their anxiety or whatever, then we work together to wean them off or wean them down. So that way they're not so dependent on conventional medications.
Joseph (37m 49s):
And so that's how we manage pediatric cases and the adults.
Brian (37m 54s):
Gotcha. Okay. And where did, where were they, they would just get it from a, a local cannabis store and just they have a card or you know, with
Joseph (38m 2s):
A Correct. Yes. Yeah, they get a medical cannabis card and then they would go to a specific dispensary or one of the typical dispensaries, because I'm pretty familiar with what each one of the dispensaries have, has And what they offer. Yeah. And then if I've done the genetic testing on them, then I, it really hone me into know which dispensary to send them to. Not that I can quote unquote legally say, go here. Because then that could be considered, you know, an anti, like a kick anti-kickback. 'cause I get nothing from this. 'cause in the state of Florida, I cannot get any compensation from any dispensary.
Joseph (38m 43s):
I can't even invest in a cannabis dispensary in the state of Florida, because that would be a violation. I cannot have any compensation from any dispensary. So I can invest in cannabis outside the state of Florida, but not of anyone in the state of Florida. And, and so when that happens, then I'll send them to a specific dispensary that I know will have the products and the product line that would best benefit them.
Brian (39m 10s):
Gotcha. Okay. And like quality wise, like I know with like the supplement industry, it's sort of the wild, wild west, a little bit. Like you gotta really know where you're getting it from. How is it as far as like medical marijuana? I mean, I'm sure there's some reputable brands that you probably recommend that recommend,
Joseph (39m 27s):
Well, not only that, but we do third, it's mandated that they do third party testing. Yeah. And so, and independent, not their labs, but an independent lab. And every one of the products has to have what's called the COA, which is a certificate of analysis. And so in that certificate of analysis, it has a breakdown of what's in there. So what percent THC, what percent C, B, D, what percent CBN, which is also an excellent phytocannabinoid for sleep, what percent C-B-G-T-H-C for individuals that wanna lose weight. Because that was another thing. Oh, well I'm gonna get the munchies, and if I'm gonna get the munchies, oh, you know, I'm gonna get, I'm gonna gain weight.
Joseph (40m 9s):
Especially if, you know, cortisol levels are up, you, you know that they've got that central adiposity, their belly, they got the belly fat. It's like, wait a minute, I don't wanna gain more weight. And so there are certain terpenes, for example, Lene, that's excellent for controlling and managing your glycemic index controls your blood sugar, but also addresses metabolic syndrome. And so that in conjunction with THCV, which is a phytocannabinoid that has been shown to help curb appetite, then will get products that have a higher percentage of those two if the person is wanting to monitor and control their, their weight. And today I saw a gentleman who, his first line, he started off kind of negative.
Joseph (40m 54s):
And so his first line is like, you know, I always ask him, well, how have you been since the last time I saw you said, well, you know, about the same, you know, I, it, it, I'm not cured. Like this is like, you know, marijuana isn't curing me. Like, okay, I don't know of anything that does cure, but that's okay. But then like the next sentence was, oh, but let me tell you something that happened, doc, I'm no longer on blood pressure medicine and I'm no longer on my oral medication for my diabetes. I like, really? How come? Well, because just like you told me to take an, an edible, a, you know, a specific type of edible at night to help me sleep and to take another one during the day to help with my anxiety and my depression, I'm like, yeah, well, I, I, I took an edible, I take an edible in the morning when I'm having my coffee and just chilling out.
Joseph (41m 43s):
And my blood pressure went from 150 over a hundred to 118 over 70. And I'm like, really? I'm like, yeah. He's like, yeah, and my blood sugar, my A1C went from 7.5 And, now I'm 5.7. I'm like, well, that's practically normal. And he's like, yeah. And my primary care couldn't believe it. And, and I said, well, what did, what do you attribute it to? And he's like, well, what you told me the marijuana. I'm like, so I guess you're not the same as you were six months ago. Yeah. 'cause now you're not on these medications. And then he pauses. It's like, oh yeah, I guess you're right.
Brian (42m 23s):
Yeah. I, I can, I mean, I can see so many different uses for it. Like you said, you listed off 10 of 'em. And I think, yeah, more and more people should, should try these alternative methods, you know, as opposed to, you know, just relying only on pharmaceuticals. you know, there's a time and a place probably for either one, but like you said, like if you can wean off, you know, five, 10 medications or whatever it is that can only do you, you know, be a positive.
Joseph (42m 49s):
Well, when I speak abroad, you know, and, and everybody wants to compare their healthcare system to the United States, you know, and, and my response is pretty much the same in the acute phase, trauma care. I, I would not wanna be anywhere other than the United States. Right. Or that, you know. Right. If, if I'm gonna get shot, I wanna get shot like in, you know, downtown Detroit or, or Right. Or the Bronx where I'm originally from, because I know that those physicians and those ERs Yeah, that, that that's their daily bread. They know what to do. They know how to do it. They're we or emergent acute care, there's no one better now when it comes to chronic or long-term care.
Joseph (43m 40s):
That's where we as a nation have dropped the ball. We are in sick care, not healthcare. And that's where we as a nation need to step up and do better. And so, and that's what I see in other countries that, you know, are not as affluent or as industrialized as we are, that they have better healthcare because they know that if they get sick, they're not gonna have the wherewithal and the resources to be able to manage what they're gonna end up with. And so for that reason, you know, we've gotta, there's gotta be a balance between the two.
Joseph (44m 22s):
And that's where, you know, I've learned so much by traveling and going to South America, central America, the Caribbean, Europe, Southeast Asia, and working with doctors there, educating them, training them, but also working with the lay people and speaking with them. But my biggest laugh is when I get individuals that live in Canada that are Canadians that reach out to me for support with their cannabis treatment, I'm like, wait a minute. You guys have had a medical program since 2000? Your insurance pays for it. You can get your medication sent to you by mail to your home, your, it's federally legal in your country.
Joseph (45m 8s):
My country. It's not that way. Why are you seeking my help? And their response is the same across the board. Most of the doctors that I we see here either don't believe in it or don't know what they're doing or don't want to do it. Hmm. I'm like, wait a minute, why throw out the baby with the bath waters? Like, you've got it, you've got access to it, you know, use it, use it to your advantage. you know, like you said, you know, there's times when you need conventional medicine, like, you know, something acute, something that needs to be addressed. Right now, you know, you've got a, like, you know, one of my nurse practitioner students reached out to me today, you know, that she's had covid three times And, now there's a possibility that she may have broncho pneumonia.
Joseph (45m 53s):
You know, we, I ordered a bunch of tests on her and all these other things, but initially, you know, she's getting, you know, an inhaler. She's getting steroids, she's getting this, she's getting that, she's getting multiple antibiotics to address and treat the issue right now acutely. Once she gets better and once we get her outta the woods and I, you know, we don't have to intubate her or put her on a ventilator or anything like that. Once we get past that, then she and I gonna have a major conversation about, okay, what are you doing and how are you doing it? That you have gotten covid three times? I mean, yeah, you're a nurse practitioner, you're in the trenches, you're, you know, in the front line, but there's something else going on in your system that we need to get to the root cause of.
Joseph (46m 38s):
And so that's where me having gone abroad and having been a chiropractor, you know, one of the mentors in chiropractic school was a gentleman by the name of Clarence Gonstead based out of Mount Hor Wisconsin. And, and he had a statement, and when you walk into his clinic, they had a big sign that read, you know, find it, fix it, accept it, leave it alone, and understand that you, you're looking for the root cause of the problem. You're fixing it and you're leaving it alone, and you let the body do the rest.
Brian (47m 8s):
Yeah. Well, this is great. What would you say to someone that's maybe, you know, has some chronic pain or maybe even just some depression and maybe a way they want to help manage stress? What's the best way to go about, I mean, like, getting started with, you know, cannabis
Joseph (47m 25s):
Typically, and, and this is something I offer, which I see that you offer the same, I offer a FA free 15 minute consultation. They can go to my website, Joseph Rosado md.com, and they can schedule it a 15 minute appointment with me. They get me, they don't get my assistant, they don't get one of my nurse practitioners. They don't get my pa they get me or 15 minutes and I'll answer and address any and all issues and concerns at that time. And then if it's something that does work for them or maybe a possibility, then depending on where they are, where they live, then, you know, if they're in Florida, it's a no brainer. They can come up to one of, one of my clinics if they're in Michigan, no brainer.
Joseph (48m 8s):
'cause I'm licensed in Michigan. Michigan, I see more kids than Florida because again, Michigan has the same ruling that you need to have two doctors sign off for medical cannabis. But they have, like, autism is a qualifying condition. OCD is a qualifying condition in Michigan. And so a lot of children that are on spectrum, that their parents that are adult users or have a medical cannabis card have chosen to have their children get one as well. And so that's where I work with them. So Michigan, Florida, no problem. I can manage you there. But if you're outside of any one of those, one of the companies that I work with, we have clinics in different states.
Joseph (48m 55s):
And so if they happen to be in one of those states where we have a presence like Ohio, Texas, Georgia, et cetera, Massachusetts, then I'll send them to one of the doctors that I know or that are with the company there. If not, then we'll make it work.
Brian (49m 15s):
Excellent. Yeah, no, this is great. This is a topic we haven't discussed on my podcast, And, you know, 400 plus episodes in, so I think it was, you know, rightfully so, and something that needs to be talked about more. So I really appreciate you coming on and yeah, your website's, Joseph Rosado md.com, we'll definitely put Links in the show notes for people to learn all about you. And, and if they wanna reach out, they can do a 15 minute call, which is great. So,
Joseph (49m 40s):
Perfect. Thank you very much. And before we leave, I wanna bust a myth right now. Call me the myth buster. Yeah. For years, and I'm sure you heard this too, that, oh, if you smoke marijuana, your testosterone level drops, or you're gonna become impotent, or you're gonna have erectile dysfunction. Okay. Cannabis is biphasic. What does that mean? At a low dose, it has one effect at a high dose or higher dose, it has an opposite or different effect. So in men, if you use a lower dose, what we discussed earlier, a 2.5 to five milligrams, which is considered a low dose, anything less than 10 milligrams is considered a low dose that increases the libido, that stimulates the sexual appetite.
Joseph (50m 32s):
Anything beyond that, it has the exact opposite effect. In men, in women, it doesn't matter. You can wave the, the joint over them and they'll get stimulated with men, not so much. So be mindful of that. Yes, it does do it, but at a higher dose, at a lower dose, it does stimulate. And there are certain terpenes that also stimulate and open up. I went to one dispensary here locally and they had a new product called Pink Rose. And I'm like, what? you know, like there was advertisement every, all over the, the dispensary. I'm like, you know, you guys are really pushing and promoting this pretty aggressively.
Joseph (51m 15s):
They're like, doc, you're not gonna believe it. And they showed me the insert, and one of the things that they took that it was promoting was increasing sexual appetite, increasing the libido. So I'm like, okay, there you have it. And, but, and then, but then we, we both said it at the same time, at a low dose. Right. I'm like, yeah, yeah. At a low dose. So yeah, at a low dose for men, definitely. No problems.
Brian (51m 39s):
Well, thanks for crushing that myth.
Joseph (51m 41s):
My pleasure, sir.
Brian (51m 43s):
All. right. Well, thanks so much for, for coming on. Have a, have a great rest of the day.
Joseph (51m 47s):
You as well. Have a wonderful evening and we'll see you next time.
Brian (51m 51s):
Thank you so much.
Joseph (51m 52s):
Bye-Bye.
Brian (51m 53s):
Thanks for listening to the Get Lean Eat Clean Podcast. I understand there are millions of other podcasts out there, and you've chosen to listen to mine and I appreciate that. Check out the show notes@briangrin.com for everything that was mentioned in this episode. Feel free to subscribe to the podcast and share it with a friend or family member that's looking to get their body back to what it once was. Thanks again, and have a great day.
