Daniella Benea, Pharm.D., licensed pharmacist working in the medical marijuana industry in CT & MA comes on to discuss her experience thus far working in the growing cannabis industry. A graduate of UConn School of Pharmacy, Daniella started out working as a Stop & Shop store pharmacist but took advantage of an opportunity to work at a CT dispensary, hoping for more hands-on patient engagement. She discusses the medical marijuana industry in both CT & MA and gives her thoughts on the future of cannabinoid medicine, including the impact of the current MA vaping ban.

The bulk of our discussion centers on her patient interactions, the sorts of concerns she addresses and her process for analyzing a patient's medications and making recommendations related to the vast array of choices available. We talk about the most common patient medications and diagnoses, and she gives some examples of how these considerations influence her recommendations.

There is much opportunity for one on one interaction, as she had hoped and she loves the positive atmosphere and the joy of seeing improvements over time in many of the individuals with whom she's worked. She emphasizes the importance of forthright communication with a medical doctor and how this will further solidify the validity of cannabis as medicine. Finally, we discuss the CBD craze and she advises caution when choosing a brand and dosage as well as mentioning that it is not a miracle cure-all and safety needs to be a top priority when choosing to use not only CBD but all Cannabinoid medicine.

In conclusion, I'm sharing a apropos quote from Daniella on the podcast regarding use of CBD; "There's a lot of CBD out there. It's almost like the newest fad. people making CBD oil, selling them all kinds of places. I just like to give a caution. A lot of people will like to try it before they become a patient to see what is the thing that is helpful for me to know where the product is made. Do the research? Is it tested? Where is it being grown? It's been grown responsibly. chemicals in it? What's the dosing? A lot of those products don't have dosing, they just have a general...Oh, "there are 1000 milligrams in a bottle" Okay, well, what's the measuring tool?"

She encourages all listeners to call The Botanist or Prime Wellness with questions
(if local to CT or MA) if you're interested in learning more or booking an appointment.

Links are as follows:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniella-benea-pharmd-54a38418b/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/daniella.benea
Prime Wellness: https://www.facebook.com/PrimeWellnessCT/
https://www.primewellnessofct.com/
The Botanist: https://www.facebook.com/TheBotanist.MA/
https://www.shopbotanist.com/locations/worcester/
Check out our newly launched Indiegogo Crowdfunder, raising funds to test, and compile a Family Cannabis Guidebook with supporting podcasts: https://igg.me/at/TSCTalksCBDCannaTestGuidebook/x#/