How a Brain Scientist Became the "Weed Wizard of Weirton, WV" - Greg Gerdeman, PhD
The title of this episode is so funny to me because - one I’m addicted to alliteration - and but mostly because how it reflects on the history of cannabis policy. We don’t use the term “weed” or “marijuana” because - one it’s called cannabis - and two because slang was purposefully used by Nixon and many others to attach the plant with prejudicial beliefs.
Greg and I talked about how much has changed over his long career and even in my relatively short career. Dr. Gerdeman, at one point, had to use a pseudonym to write about cannabis science without jeopardizing his research funding. As a neuroscientist and researcher, Greg made some of the key discoveries about the endocannabinoid system. He was in on the ground floor of the Florida medical cannabis industry. And when he moved to West Virginia, he founded Weir Wellness, a dispensary in Weirton, WV.
