Soulful Cannabis | CBD Reviews & Info

What does it mean for the cannabis industry to be the “best version” of itself? On Monday, June 24, 2019 a group of cannabis industry participants, patients, activists and ancillary business owners gathered to explore this question.   As people signed in, they identified their perspectives as “plant touching business experienced”, “ancillary business experience”, “activists” and “patients”. A brief introduction by Soulful Cannabis Co-founder & President Skip Shuda, acknowledged the “land grab” fever that is sweeping through the legal cannabis industry; the emergence and dominance of “multi-state operators (MSOs)” and the beginning of some cannabis companies creating equity and restorative justice programs.   Skip mentioned the Cresco SEED program and the TerraVida Victims of the War on Drugs (VOWD) program.  After the introduction, people wrote down some of their highest priorities for a more conscious and a “better” cannabis industry.   These priority messages were organized into six buckets including: 1) Social Justice 2) Community 3) Employees 4) Laws and Regulations 5) Patients and Caregiving 6) Education Four working groups tackled the buckets […]

Cannabis and Cancer Cancer will likely affect you or a loved one at some point in your lifetime.  You may find yourself as a patient or caregiver, wondering what treatments to pursue and what medications to take. Of course, this is a personal choice between you or the… Medical Cannabis as an Alternative in Hospice Many of us have had an encounter with hospice at some point in our life. Whether it be a loved one or a friend, the philosophy of hospice is dignity at the end of life, education regarding the dying process, spiritual… Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Caregiving Background Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana program was born out of caregiving.  The “Mama Bears”, groups of mothers demanding cannabis options for their seriously ill children, had pressured and shamed… As the global pandemic spread in early spring of 2020, Skip Shuda sat down with Sonia Gomez of the Hemp Revolution Podcast to record this podcast.   Sonia and Skip covered a wide range of topics including starting a Soulful business in the […]

  SOULFUL CANNABIS ANNOUNCES STANDARD FARMS AS SPONSOR  Media, PA (December, 2020): Soulful Cannabis is excited to announce Standard Farms as a sponsor of Soulful Cannabis.  Standard Farms LLC (“Standard Farms”), an approved Pennsylvania Grower-Processor in the… by Stasia DeMarcoPennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Program is managed by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The number of companies dispensing medical cannabis is growing rapidly with multiple locations across the state. One thing for sure is that medical marijuana… Soulful Cannabis Announces Leafwell as Sponsor Media, PA (September, 2020): Soulful Cannabis is excited to announce Leafwell as a sponsor of Soulful Cannabis.  Leafwell has joined as a 2020 sponsor of Soulful Cannabis, allowing Soulful Cannabis to pursue its programs… Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana Caregiving Background Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana program was born out of caregiving.  The “Mama Bears”, groups of mothers demanding cannabis options for their seriously ill children, had pressured and shamed… Soulful Cannabis Announces Pennsylvania Institute of Technology as Sponsor MEDIA, PA (September, 2020): Soulful Cannabis is excited to announce Pennsylvania Institute of Technology […]

Legalization of marijuana (cannabis) across states in the US has led to a rollback of prohibition.   Cannabis prohibition was started in the 1930s as the result of racism, greed and bias.   So legalization of cannabis across states is a good thing, right? Not everyone thinks so. Ask Ed Forchion (aka NJ Weedman).  Ed Forchion recently wrote: The industry in being formed largely by politically connected rich Caucasians who aren’t even part of the marijuana culture.  I call them ‘cannabaggers’. These two politicians and the cannabaggers are making the new marijuana industry laws to cater to these cannabaggers exclusively.   Neither I nor most minorities who were victimized by the current marijuana laws can’t participate or even fill out a application for a job or to get ownership in the proposed industry. … Why must we be millionaires to sell it?” Ask Jessica Bartlett of the Boston Business Journal,  who writes: Medical marijuana advocates are concerned the state isn’t doing enough to make the medical program on par with the recreational one, differences […]

Cannabis and Cancer Cancer will likely affect you or a loved one at some point in your lifetime.  You may find yourself as a patient or caregiver, wondering what treatments to pursue and what medications to take. Of course, this is a personal choice between you or the…   SOULFUL CANNABIS ANNOUNCES STANDARD FARMS AS SPONSOR  Media, PA (December, 2020): Soulful Cannabis is excited to announce Standard Farms as a sponsor of Soulful Cannabis.  Standard Farms LLC (“Standard Farms”), an approved Pennsylvania Grower-Processor in the… Many of us will be talking to family over the holidays.  If you’ve ever had difficulty explaining your cannabis use to a family member, then you’re reading the right post! First off, its good to clarify that you call it cannabis.  Why? That’s the name of the plant. … Medical Cannabis as an Alternative in Hospice Many of us have had an encounter with hospice at some point in our life. Whether it be a loved one or a friend, the philosophy of hospice is dignity […]

As the global pandemic spread in early spring of 2020, Skip Shuda sat down with Sonia Gomez of the Hemp Revolution Podcast to record this podcast.   Sonia and Skip covered a wide range of topics including starting a Soulful business in the cannabis industry and finding careers in cannabis.  They explore how the pandemic has affected the cannabis industry, the operations of cannabis companies and Soulful Cannabis as an organization.  Sonia’s team provided a chock-full of resources including the full transcript and recording, with bookmarks, of Sonia’s conversation with Skip.  

Thank you for agreeing to sponsor our inaugural event on Feb. 24, 2019. We are delighted to have you as a sponsor. Using the “Pay Now” button below, you can either use a Paypal account or select the “Pay with Credit Card” button to pay by credit card.

by Stasia DeMarcoPennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana Program is managed by the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The number of companies dispensing medical cannabis is growing rapidly with multiple locations across the state. One thing for sure is that medical marijuana… Soulful Cannabis Announces Pennsylvania Institute of Technology as Sponsor MEDIA, PA (September, 2020): Soulful Cannabis is excited to announce Pennsylvania Institute of Technology as a sponsor of Soulful Cannabis.  The Pennsylvania Institute of Technology (P.I.T.)… As the global pandemic spread in early spring of 2020, Skip Shuda sat down with Sonia Gomez of the Hemp Revolution Podcast to record this podcast.   Sonia and Skip covered a wide range of topics including starting a Soulful business in the cannabis industry and…  Soulful Cannabis endorses the following check-list for Adult Use cannabis legislation.  These high level principles can be addressed through numerous legislative paths and language.  We offer them as a guide for educating law-makers, activists and policy advocates…. At Soulful Cannabis, we feel the need to speak up at this time of extreme […]

Pennsylvania’s Medical Marijuana program was born out of caregiving.  The “Mama Bears”, groups of mothers demanding cannabis options for their seriously ill children, had pressured and shamed legislators into action.  Along with the help of some forward-thinking politicians, Act 16 legalized a medical marijuana program in PA. These mothers were now able to get medicine to ease the suffering of their children.  One of the original Mama Bears, Diana Briggs, started PA Compassionate Caregivers and began helping non-family patients with getting medicine from the dispensary.  People fighting cancer, people at end-of-life and, now, immuno-suppressed individuals, all need help getting their medicine without traveling to a dispensary. Our primary vision is to see the cannabis industry as being the best version of itself.   In that spirit, we are pleased to see dispensary caregiver programs springing up in response to the pandemic at Terra Vida Holistic Centers, Ethos Dispensary (although as of this writing, it appears that Ethos has discontinued the program) and others across PA.  As long as the services are free […]

Like the rest of businesses across America, the cannabis industry has also felt the impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic.   For some patients, it is more difficult to make purchases and for others going into a dispensary at this time is simply not an option.   Some seniors, cancer patients and immuno-compromised patients are having difficulty obtaining medicine that helps relieve pain, helps with sleep, soothes their anxiety and calms their tremors. Fortunately, the PA caregivers provision provides a mechanism for doing exactly this.   So, why then, are some dispensaries and growers in the state perhaps slow to embrace this procedure as a means to bring medicine to people in need?  Caregiving for PA patients seems to be mostly an afterthought. That  needs to change, and the change is quite straightforward and easy. It makes good business sense for dispensaries and grower-processors to embrace and and support the caregivers program.   Dispensaries and Grower-Processors should be actively encouraging, recruiting and supporting caregivers in PA.  Its the right thing to do and makes sense […]

(Thank you to Catherine for contributing her story to the Soulful Cannabis blog) For a dozen years I searched for relief from the unbearable pain of gastrointestinal diseases. During my frustrating quest, I took a variety of ineffective pharmaceuticals for my symptoms and was prescribed a dangerously addictive narcotic. But ultimately it was a bushy plant that offered me a real remedy. I found an alternative, natural answer to conventional therapies with medical marijuana (MMJ). I started having gastrointestinal issues in 2006 (at 42 years of age) and the pain was extreme. My healthcare journey included seeing my doctor and her associates, three trips to the ER and many uncomfortable tests. The diagnoses were gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and duodenitis – inflammation of the duodenum. The doctor prescribed omeprazole. It didn’t help. You know what did help? Oxycodone. Oxycodone! It killed the pain and/or made me so stupid and tired that I could ignore or sleep through the pain. But the controversial Oxycodone, which is associated with addiction and drug […]

 Soulful Cannabis endorses the following check-list for Adult Use cannabis legislation.  These high level principles can be addressed through numerous legislative paths and language.  We offer them as a guide for educating law-makers, activists and policy advocates. Affordable and Accessible Permits.   The number of permits for cultivation, manufacturing and retail sales should be large or unlimited.  The permit fee should be low enough that permits are available to any entrepreneur in the state.  Home Grow.   Residents should be able to grow their own.   This is the only way to truly have a program that is intended to benefit the residents of the state first. Clear and Helpful Taxing.  Taxes should be easy to understand.  Tax revenue should be shared with local municipalities and earmarked for the common good of the state.  Social Equity Support.  Include programs that will support disadvantaged communities with access to ownership in the program including business service support, education and discounted fees. Ensure equitable geographic distribution of the businesses.  Expungement and Prisoner Release.  […]

Soulful Cannabis Announces Leafwell as Sponsor Media, PA (September, 2020): Soulful Cannabis is excited to announce Leafwell as a sponsor of Soulful Cannabis.  Leafwell has joined as a 2020 sponsor of Soulful Cannabis, allowing Soulful Cannabis to pursue its programs of cannabis education, access, and corporate social responsibility (CSR). Leafwell is a telehealth platform focusing on getting people their medical marijuana cards and physician’s medical cannabis certificates/recommendations as simply and easily as possible.  Leafwell’s CEO Emily Fisher says “At Leafwell, we believe in providing accessible care to every patient and in the medicinal value for cannabis to help treat a wide range of conditions and symptoms. Through research and education, we are committed to helping patients navigate the landscape and furthering our understanding of cannabis as a medicine.”    “We are thrilled to have Leafwell as a sponsor and partner,” said co-Founder Skip Shuda.  “We are collaborating on providing easy access to physician recommendations and creating an education series around Cannabis and Hospice.  Because many hospice agencies receive federal dollars, there […]

At Soulful Cannabis, we feel the need to speak up at this time of extreme social unrest. Sparked by a series of recent, devastating attacks against African Americans (Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Christian Cooper, George Floyd) and countless others captured on video, the current social unrest is  a magnification of repeated crimes and injustices against marginalized people. Born out of the original sin of racism, it has shifted from slavery to the Jim Crow era to the militarization of law enforcement and the Mass Incarceration era that we live in today, denigrating and sucking the soul out of communities of color and enriching (mostly white) communities of privilege. Soulful Cannabis was largely formed as a response to injustice and inequity, and we actively work to counteract this paradigm and offer solutions based on corporate social responsibility because we believe that a healing plant deserves a healing industry. Social Justice reform lies at the heart of our work. We seek to: expose the bias implicit in our language (Language Matters Series) […]

April 5th.  “It’s good to be alive.” Think about that saying.  It takes on a new meaning these days, don’t you think? Family, friends and/or celebrities are contracting the Corona Virus.  I actually find myself wondering if this could be my last day where I can easily fill my lungs with fresh air and let a soft song wash over me on a spring day, free of fever, cough or body aches.   I consciously try not to spend time amplifying this concern, while also recognizing that more than any time in our lives, our neighbors and friends may be suffering, anxiety may be sky high and tempers may be short.   A little compassion and empathy can go a long way right now.   So let’s talk about the things we can change for the better.   Opportunities are showing up all around us to choose new paths… productive paths… healing paths… soulful paths. I’m grateful to say that yesterday my path was soulful. As a caregiver in the Soulful Caregivers Program, I […]

Village Wellness, owned by Lance Isakov in Berwyn, PA recently took a giant stride towards breaking down the stigmas surrounding cannabis by hosting an event that was the first of its kind for Pennsylvania Medical Marijuana cardholders. The event was a Kundalini Yoga and Sound Journey hosted by Lance himself.  Attendees were able to use medical cannabis in vaporizers throughout the 2-hour event. The only prerequisite for attending was having obtained a medical card. The medical community and healthcare systems have begun to widely embrace and tout the numerous health benefits and alleviation of symptoms available with cannabis use. However, the landscape in Pennsylvania has been devoid of a conversation discussing the spiritual capabilities of the plant. Soulful Cannabis aims to start this conversation by explaining how cannabis can be used with intention and within a community setting. Village Wellness created an incredibly welcoming atmosphere for our group of spiritual pioneers. As the evening began we formed a circle with our yoga mats, pillows and blankets. We were invited to […]

Language matters.   In areas where there are deep-grooved stories of danger, mis-trust and trouble, our language often reflects that.   At Soulful Cannabis, we are seeking to promote a re-imagining of how the world thinks about cannabis.   How we think about something follows from how we talk about something.  Pot, weed, dope, ganja and marijuana are all slang terms for cannabis.   Cannabis is the botanical name of the plant.   All of the other names were assigned by street culture and then mis-assigned by law enforcement authorities and government officials seeking to prohibit access to the plant.  Today, the language used around cannabis has been used to perpetuate a propaganda campaign to continue prohibition of the plant. This plant seems to provide numerous health and wellness benefits to a wide range of people.   Its time that our language changes to properly reflect the truth behind the plant.  Follow this thread for our Soulful Cannabis Language Matter series.  We’ll be tagging our “Language Matters” blog posts in the category section. 

Just what does it mean to “help the cannabis industry be the best version of itself”? Soulful Cannabis is meant to be a resource to anyone working in or around the cannabis industry.   Although we are “thinking globally”,  we are “acting locally” and since our roots are in PA, just outside of Philadelphia, that’s where we’re starting.  At Soulful Cannabis, we believe that the most important stakeholder is the patient. After the patient, other key stakeholders include those who serve the patient’s needs: the prescribing physicians, caregivers, the dispensaries that stock the medical cannabis, and the grower-processors who grow and distribute medical cannabis products. The State of Pennsylvania and the Department of Health’s Medical Marijuana Office also play a huge role. Additionally, local towns and boroughs across the state are wrestling with this new business model in their midst. In essence,  everyone living in PA is a stakeholder in this newly emerging medical cannabis marketplace.   Communities where medical cannabis is sold and grown will be affected by this emerging marketplace. […]

Soulful Cannabis attended the August 14,  Quarterly 2019 Medical Marijuana Adivsory Board meeting, chaired by Dr. Rachel Levine, PA’s Secretary of Health.   Skip Shuda, co-founder of Soulful Cannabis, made the trek out to listen in on the quarterly meeting and join select Department of Health (DOH) team members for a patient focus group following the meeting. During that meeting, John Collins, Director of PA’s Office of Medical Marijuana, provided an update on the Pennsylvania Program.  The numbers are impressive, indicating a healthy start to the program: The first sale took place on Feb. 15, 2018.  All of the statistics below are since the program began 18 months ago. PA Patient Statistics: 200,000 registered 180,000 certified 121,000 actively visiting dispensaries 50.5% of patients are in the program are certified due to chronic pain Roughly 3,000 patients have been newly added due to the anxiety condition being recently added to the program.   Approximately 1,000 new patients are being added weekly, with a growth rate similar to that of chronic pain (an original […]

One recent study in Israel has showed promising results.  The authors state in their published report: “Cannabis as a treatment for autism spectrum disorders patients appears to be well-tolerated, safe and seemingly effective option to relieve symptoms, mainly: seizures, tics, depression, restlessness and rage attacks. The compliance with the treatment regimen appears to be high with less than 15% stopping the treatment at six months follow-up. Overall, more than 80% of the parents reported at significant or moderate improvement in the child global assessment.” The full report can be found here.  Two other studies on Cannabis and Autism are currently underway. One is taking place at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine and is seeking to determine if CBD provides therapeutic benefit to children on the autism spectrum.  The second study , conducted through the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, seeks to track the number of children on the ASD spectrum who are using cannabis, and to provide standardized dosing guidance.  So, if you are researching cannabis as […]

Soulful Cannabis™ launches the Soulful Caregiver Program; Improving Medical Marijuana Access for Homebound Patients  MEDIA, PA —  Pennsylvania non-profit organization Soulful Cannabis has launched its Soulful Caregiver program, with medical cannabis training and education and a certification program for patient caregivers, after completing a successful pilot program in PA.  This program provides free training to prospective caregivers in the PA Medical Marijuana program.   Caregiving services are provided free of charge to homebound patients, cancer patients and people seeking guidance in navigating the wide product options available to patients in the PA medical cannabis market.    Julia Kline, RN and co-founder of Soulful Cannabis states, “The goal is to provide best-in-class education, guidance and financial support to potential caregivers so they can safely and effectively obtain and deliver this medicine to patients.   Many of our program patients would not have access without a caregiver. “ As long as sponsor funds are available, the program reimburses Soulful Caregivers for their registration fee and background check.  They also provide a $50 gas card […]

In our home state of Pennsylvania, we are watching for the leaders who are stepping up in the cannabis industry.    Since the program was signed into law in 2016 by Governor Tom Wolf, the state has awarded the first 25 Grower-Processor permits and 50 Dispensary permits.   With recent additions to the program, the Philadelphia Inquirer lamented, “Big Marijuana tightens grip, receives most new Pa. dispensary permits.”   Of course, big is not necessarily bad. As the 2018 season of giving is in full swing, its worth exploring which marijuana businesses in the area are working to help others, provide a hand up and morally supporting the community. Some note-worthy examples are showing up: Example #1: We find a local dispensary, Terra Vida Holistic Centers, whose team spent a good part of Christmas Day working to feed the homeless in Camden, NJ. Example #2: Earlier this year, after the tragic and senseless synagogue shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, four PA cannabis companies banded together to provide a […]

As an advocate for medical cannabis, I have to admit that there seems to be a very good reason for these condition omissions. Despite popular belief and anecdotal evidence, psychiatrists and other behavioral health professionals actually know very little about the therapeutic effects of marijuana. The relationship between cannabis and mental disorders is little known because there has not been much research available to better understand the association. Some research results are favorable for MMJ use for depression and mania, while other studies were not favorable to the cannabis cause. Studies have linked marijuana use to increased risk for psychiatric disorders, including psychosis (schizophrenia), depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders. Through my own personal MMJ research, the flower in my mind continues to ease and heal my mental and physical health. And it works for millions of others. The Marijuana Policy Project estimates that more than 2.8 million people in the United States are using marijuana as medicine. Recreational use is even higher, with more than 22.2 million users. With […]