The Conversation, Cannabis & Christianity podcast

Sergiy Kovalenkov is one of the most renowned hemp builders in the world and has been part of the hemp building industry for more than 13 years. He is the Founder & CEO of Hempire UA in Kyiv, Ukraine, a company that is focusing on developing and supplying commercial markets with hemp-based 100% natural insulation and construction materials. Under Sergiy’s leadership Hempire has earned recognition and numerous awards during international green tech and environmental contests. Hempire now has an office in California.

"In the way of righteousness there is life; along that path is immortality...Desire without knowledge is not good - how much more will hasty feet miss the way!" Proverbs 12:28 & 19:2

Rest, trust, faith, confidence and little foxes that want to spoil the vine.

Third Year Anniversary episode. Thank you to the guests from seasons one, two and three, and thank you for listening! Peace, Miguel Torrez

Faye Smith is a female professional looking to bridge the gaps between private and public sectors and bring alternative care to Wales. Faye has a wide range of personal and professional qualifications working, advocating and supporting public, private and social health care inpatient and community sectors.

Hunt is an ordained minister who founded the non-profit, Ligare in Savannah, Georgia. Ligare is a collaborative community of clergy, religious educators, scholars, spiritual guides, philanthropists and psychedelic researchers. In 2000, Johns Hopkins University re-opened its studies of healing properties and spiritual experiences with psychedelics, specifically psilocybin. In the 2010's, Hunt was screened and participated in a John Hopkins University study that focused on what trained religious leaders (Christian and non-Christian), who had not used psychedelics before, would experience under the influence of psilocybin. You can learn more about Ligare at, www.ligare.org

Nico Murillo is a Product Development Chef and entrepreneur, residing on her 5-acre homestead where she cultivates hemp for her skincare line, Bocanna Skin. She also manages a 501(C)3 non-profit, Texans for Safe Access, which is dedicated to advocating for safe access to medical cannabis. Nico is also a Compassionate Use Program License Applicant, one of 43 original applicants in 2016 to apply to be a provider in the medical program in Texas, and is still waiting for the program's expansion. Nico is deeply involved in farm life, operating a cottage bakery, raising chickens, and consulting with CBD businesses on product lines. With over 20 years of culinary experience, her expertise lies in bakery, pastry, and Consumer Packaged Goods (CPGs). Before venturing into the cannabis and hemp industry, she served as a developer with PepsiCo/Frito Lay for over a decade.

The objective of the American Journal of Endocannabinoid Medicine is to help educate medical professionals on the role of the endocannabinoid system in homeostasis, and as a therapeutic target for cannabis and cannabinoid prescription and non-prescription products. Ken Watkins is the Publisher of the American Journal of Endocannabinoid Medicine, www.ajendomed.com

You Are The Good Treasure.

A conversation with Legacy 420 owner, Tim Barnhart on the United Nations' Declaration for the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP).

"Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to heed a warning." Ecclesiastes

How can I see the road, when I'm looking at the signs?

Part II with Let's Talk Cannabis Founder, Sherry Bennett.

Aging in this world does not always equate to maturity. The gap between aging and maturity grows wider with coming generations. But they don't have to.

Mary Jane Oatman is an enrolled member of the Nez Perce Tribe and descendant of the Delaware Tribe and proud mother of three beautiful people. She is the Executive Director of the Indigenous Cannabis Industry Association, founder of the Indigenous CANNabis Coalition (ICANNC) and publisher of THC Magazine. Mary Jane is on the founding board for the JUSTUS Foundation and currently serves as the president of the Idaho ACLU and on the board of directors for the Association of Cannabis Health Equity and Medicine (ACHEM).

Grace: It is always Far More than we think it is.

Ted Smith has been a public figure in Canadian cannabis since the 1990s. Ted has confronted the Canadian government in court and he continues to succeed with the love, help and support of those who agree with the mission he set in place at the Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club in British Columbia, Canada.

In 1998 Trent Hancock began growing marijuana in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. 26 years later, Trent is an expert breeder of medicinal marijuana. His experiences and observations in the cannabis industry could only be lived once, he is an original. He is a caring and committed human being with the bigger picture in mind.

You, you, you, you and me. And a 'thank you' to season three guests.

The Door Is Open

Everything Changes

Forgiveness Is For Everyone

Love One Another

Choice begins with belief. People change when when belief about a thing changes. April Lemon believes the power of positivity in people can lift the trajectory of their life and the lives around them, if they allow themselves to believe it.

A Way In Life, with Miguel Torrez

Who do you say I am?

Everything Changes

The Door Is Open

Forgiveness Is For Everyone

Love One Another

"We are always falling in love or quarrelling, looking for jobs or fearing to lose them, getting ill and recovering, following public affairs. If we let ourselves, we shall always be waiting for some distraction or other to end before we can really get down to our work. The only people who achieve much are those who want knowledge so badly that they seek it while the conditions are still unfavorable. Favorable conditions never come." C.S. Lewis

The Door Is Open. Everything Changes. Forgiveness Is For Everyone. Love One Another.

More and more medical professionals are brining marijuana into their practices because of evidence that it will treat their patients with more success and less side effects than prescribed pharmaceuticals. Both physicians consult within the United States and internationally. Listen in with Dr. Uma Dhanabalan (MA) and Dr. Joseph Rosado (FL) as they talk about how they came to take such a step in life.

At 63, Chef Wayne Howey is a semi-retired professional chef who was born and raised on a small family farm. He is now working in the CBD, hemp and cannabis industry for a very simple and profound reason: Life. Chef Wayne was diagnosed with skin cancer, was uninsured and did not have $80k for the first surgery. Listen in and hear about how Chef Wayne became cancer free.

The Door Is Open

Everything Changes

Love One Another

Pictures. The Door Is Open. Everything Changes.

Alexys Fox was raised in southwest Iowa, and holds the role of Founder & President of Responsible Consumers of Cannabis. She is a former dance choreographer and instructor and a former sign language interpreter. She is a single mother to her 6-year-old daughter, Temple, who is the main motivation behind her company and mission. 

The Fight of Life, understanding the depth of one's existence, freedom to worship & the power of belief with professional mixed-martial artist, Fidel Paulino.

Tim Barnhart and Cathy L. O'Coin are the owner and CEO of the unique high quality medical marijuana dispensary, Legacy 420. How did this come to be? Tim and Cathy provide a history of Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory & how Legacy 420 has become a premier medical marijuana dispensary in spite of centuries of generational inequality. Hope, Perseverance and More.

Clint Kyles is a lifetime resident of Southwest Arkansas where he lives on a small homestead with his wife of 24 years & their three children. In 2020 he launched, The Psychedelic Christian podcast. Listen in.

Ted Smith founded the Victoria Cannabis Buyers Club in January of 1996, the oldest medical cannabis dispensary in Canada, now with over 8,500 members. Ted has successfully advocated human rights for decades and he played a large role in Canada's legalization of marijuana. He is the author of HEMPOLOGY 101: THE HISTORY AND USES OF CANNABIS SATIVA and he was the publisher of The Cannabis Digest newspaper, Canada’s largest publication on the subject for almost 10 years. Seen in the movie, Kid Cannabis, he has organized cannabis conventions across the country, coordinating or participating in approximately 3,800 rallies, meetings, press conferences and other events.

People suffer for lack of knowledge

Love One Another

For two decades Ashley Gonzalez has a built a very successful sales career in Commercial Real Estate & Investment properties through her company, Hempire Advisors LLC., and has sold over $100,000,000 in commercial investment properties.

Lucie Pagé is a French Canadian journalist, writer and speaker sharing her life between Canada and South Africa since 1990. When Nelson Mandela was released from a South African prison, she went to South Africa and did 10 television documentaries, interviewed a host of political actors including Nelson Mandela and her now husband, Jayaseelan "Jay" Naidoo, who was the General Secretary of the Congress of South African Trade Unions and became Minister in Mandela’s cabinet. Lucie wrote eight books, published hundreds of articles and did many radio and television documentaries. Jay and Lucie have three children and three grandchildren and they reside in the mountains of South Africa.

Groove Is In The Heart.

The Door Is Open

This Life Is Far More Amazing & Supernatural than it is advertised to be

Everything Changes, So Do You

Love One Another

Bridget Watson-Favaro is a Nurse Practitioner who works with patients from all walks of life, from pediatric care to geriatric care. Bridget has worked in clinical areas specializing in geriatric  assessments, aboriginal centers and advanced wound care. Over the last decade, Bridget has focused on cannabinoid-based medicine. In 2020, she founded, Watson-Favaro Cannabis Consultant where she provides specialized consults for patients with a complex picture of health, specifically pediatric-focused and medically complex patients (MS, Fibromyalgia Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, and  trigeminal neuralgia). Bridget also provides educational material and speaks publicly about whole plant marijuana with hopes that the stigma around marijuana fades and is replaced with an understanding that marijuana is truly medicine.

Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.

This Life Is Far More Amazing & Supernatural than it is advertised to be

Dr. Uma Dhanabalan is a highly respected, Harvard trained physician known to most as Dr. Uma. She is the Founder/CEO of Global Health & Hygiene Solutions, LLC established in 2006 with a mission to “promote wellness and prevent illness”™ and Uplifting Health & Wellness, an Independent Medical Concierge Practice.

Dr. Uma’s mission is to change the stigma regarding Cannabis and for the world to know about the Endocannabinoid system through education. She is an educator, advocate, activist and speaks locally &  globally about cannabis as a plant medicine and a global solution.

She created the model TotalHealthCareTHC™ where she “Educates, Embraces and Empowers” her patients, the public and policymakers, etc. and promotes cannabis as a treatment option.

She has received awards from the American College of Occupational & Environmental Medicine for her research project: “Occupational & Environmental Exposure to Lead in South India”, from The 7th World Ayurveda Conference & Arogya Expo for her presentation “Cannabis & The Therapeutic Uses", The Educational Achievement Award presented by Clover Leaf at Cannabis Business Award 2017, Award from High Times Inaugural Female 50, The International Cannabis Activist Award at The 10th Anniversary Cannabis Business Awards 2022 , Cannabis Philanthropist Award 2022-2023, “Blood, Sweat & Tears” from the Crohn’s Charity Service Foundation and most recently, the 2023 Warrior Women Award presented by Etain and The JUSTUS Foundation.

She received her Bachelor of Arts with High Honors from Rutgers University; her Medical Degree from the University of Medicine & Dentistry; her Family Practice Residency at the Medical University of South Carolina; her Masters in Public Health, Occupational & Environmental Medicine Residency, and Fellowship in Heavy Metals at the Harvard School of Public Health.

She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians, a Diplomat of the American Academy of Cannabinoid Medicine as a Cannabinoid Medicine Specialist and Certified by the Medical Review Officer Certification Council as a Medical Review Officer.

In 2016, Martina Bill transferred her professional skills into the medical cannabis industry. She began with a position at a medical clinic as an Administrative Assistant. Martina's role quickly developed into educating patients to understand how to use cannabis as medicine. Training in Canada was very limited at the time, so she chose to pursue online training to help solidify her foundational knowledge from personally medicating earning a Master of Marijuana Certificate from Cannabis Training University. She has since joined the amazing team at Lyte Clinic in Ontario, Canada as a Patient Educator. Martina educates and supports patients with a myriad of conditions, and ranging in all ages.

Jay Naidoo is a Grandfather and an Elder of South Africa, but he is primarily a freedom fighter who was invited to serve in the inaugural cabinet of South African President, Nelson Mandela. Jay was the founding General Secretary of the Congress of South African Trade Unions, launched in 1985 which became a backbone of the struggle for workers' rights and a key part of the liberation movement fighting apartheid. He served three terms and then was elected to lead the efforts on co-creating a post-apartheid framework of action to address the socio-economic legacy of apartheid. Jay was then appointed by President Nelson Mandela as the Minister Without Portfolio, responsible for the Reconstruction and Development Program, in the Office of the President. In 1996, he was appointed as the Minister of Communications. Jay Naidoo is dedicated to human rights and leaving behind a better world for his grand children.

17-time pageant titlist (Teen, Ms. Miss & Mrs.), two-time Nevada Governor appointed board member to Nevada's Commission for Women (served full terms), 20-year professional career in healthcare (public & private), three-year cancer survivor (as of September 2023), first-generation college graduate (with multiple degrees), Founder & Owner of Legally Blunt & Blonde and the Founder and Owner of 'Women In Cannabis Expo' (WICE). Brooke has done all of this with a diagnosis of dyslexia and OCD. In 2023 she releases her memoir, "From Crowns to Cannabis". She is Brooke M. Westlake

The format change and the Love that is its antidote. People suffer for lack of knowledge. Everything Changes.

This Life Is Far More Amazing & Supernatural than it is advertised to be. The Door Is Open. Love One Another.

Veterans For Healing CEO & Founder Fabian Henry, hailing from Nova Scotia, is a former Canadian Armed Forces soldier deeply dedicated to veterans' well-being. With a dynamic career, Fabian specialized in combat engineering, serving on six deployments including Afghanistan, Haiti, and Pakistan. 
Post-military, Fabian leads in developing precise veteran recovery processes. As an award-winning social entrepreneur and advocate, he's founded corps and non-profits, forging an integrated platform for veterans navigating post-service life.
His commitment arises from facing adversity, enduring PTSD, hearing loss, and addiction due to prescription painkillers. Fabian's own journey drives his mission to transform veteran care. His visionary leadership creates a compassionate space for veterans to heal, find hope, and renewed purpose.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Forgiveness Is For Everyone

The Door Is Open

Everything Changes

Love One Another

In April of 2023 Shelly Straw was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. Her husband, Jason, is the former NORML Indiana Chair and a retired U.S. Air Force Critical Care Trauma Nurse. They reside in Michigan as medical marijuana refugees. This was recorded at the end of July 2023.

A multi-talented professional, John Bailey has spent the last 15 years putting innovation and disruption at the forefront of everything he does. He is passionate about transforming businesses and individuals into their highest success. He also has an extensive background working with the most innovative consumer technology company in the cannabis industry.
John has developed a unique perspective on growth strategy and content marketing, product innovation, and he coaches individuals who are working to achieve their highest vision of success. He is the founder of The Mindset Genesis.

Dr. Sexton is a Naturopathic Doctor who furthered her education in the formal study of the endocannabinoid system and its roles in health and illness.  Her postdoctoral research was on the topic of cannabinoids and their roles in neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration by investigating cannabis use in patients with Multiple Sclerosis and impact on inflammatory markers.

She has continued research into health effects of cannabis at University of California, San Diego as Assistant Adjunct Professor in the Department of Anesthesiology.  She is currently a Medical Staff Professional with the Center for Integrative Medicine at UCSD, at the first cannabis clinic in a major medical center.

Dr. Sexton’s clinical practice, research and teaching focus on the endocannabinoid system and roles in integrative medicine, to treat a range of conditions, across the lifespan. Dr. Sexton has presented her research internationally and published 24 papers in peer-reviewed journals.

She started her career in healthcare as an herbalist and midwife. She opened the first cannabis analysis laboratory in Washington State and has served as an editor on the American Herbal Pharmacopeia botanic monographs. She is a member of the International Cannabinoid Research Society, the International Association of Cannabinoid Medicine the California Naturopathic Doctors Association, and the American Association of Naturopathic Doctors.

She maintains a private medical practice in San Diego, CA. When not caring for patients or pursuing research activities, you can find her in the garden, paying music, playing with grandchildren, swimming or riding her bike to the beach for a surf session!

Tarris Batiste is a former collegiate and NFL player and the author of, "Don't Let it Smoke You: How to Create a Non-Toxic Relationship with Cannabis."

12 years ago Angie decided to give cannabis a shot as a method of treatment for her CMT (Charcot-Marie-Tooth). Not only did she find it greatly improved her quality of life, but she also found herself wildly curious about how it worked and who else may benefit from the cannabis plant.

Over the years Angie has crossed paths with thousands of people looking to cannabis for help with physical, mental and/or emotional conditions. She has seen cannabis do wonders for so many of people and she has seen it do absolutely nothing for others. Angie knows that cannabis is not for everyone. Cannabis is not a cure all, a magic bullet, or the last medicine you'll ever take. But what it may have is the potential to help. Naturally.

Angie's new book, "Pot for the People”, will be released November 2023. It promises to be an easy-to-read guide on the buying, selling, and consumption of cannabis written for the regular Joe by a regular Jane.