Podcast: What's Your Why?

Dr Barron is a General Practitioner graduating from Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry. He has a varied portfolio of clinical roles under his belt, including both NHS and private practice and has an undergraduate MBBS teaching role at University College London.

Since the rescheduling of medical cannabis in 2018, Dr Barron has recognised the potential for cannabis-based medicines to sit within mainstream medicine— while also acknowledging the unique challenges and hurdles that need to be overcome to achieve this.

For the past few years, he has focused his efforts on educating clinicians as he believes this is the key to reducing stigma and helping to improve wider patient access to these medicines. In this episode, Dr Barron shares what brought him to medical cannabis and how he thinks things have changed since it was legalised in the UK.

Dr Anne Katrin Schlag is a Chartered Psychologist and holds Honorary Senior Fellowships at both Imperial College London and King’s College London.

As Acting CEO and Head of Research at the charity Drug Science, she leads the research for Drug Science’s Medical Cannabis and Medical Psychedelics Working Groups, publishing widely in both areas.

In this episode she discusses the importance of real-world evidence in addition to randomised control trials, especially for botanical medicines such as cannabis, and calls on regulators to place more value on this.

Dr Niraj Singh is a highly regarded consultant psychiatrist, with extensive experience in the treatment of depression and anxiety disorders as well as neurodevelopmental conditions including ADHD and Autism.

Using a holistic approach, he has a strong interest in alternative treatments and was one of the first doctors to prescribe medical cannabis in the UK back in 2019.

In his conversation with Hannah and Mike, Dr Singh shares what brought him to a career in medicine (despite being told his GCSE grades weren’t good enough) and how he became frustrated with the lack of effective treatments and over reliance on pills in psychiatry.

On this month’s episode of What's Your Why, Hannah and Mike welcome Sophie Gamwell, a former nurse who spent five years working in leadership positions at one of the UK’s first cannabis clinics.

Sophie started her professional career on the front-line of healthcare, training to be a nurse in her home country of Australia. After taking a break from the chaos of the emergency and intensive care, her career took a very different turn when she got a place studying international business in New York.

She went onto work in operations for numerous tech start-ups across Melbourne, London and New York – so when an opportunity came up to join the nascent medical cannabis industry, it seemed like the perfect synergy of her skillset.

Ricardo Geada is director of Lawrence Stephens Solicitors, has  17-years of legal experience and is now a renowned legal expert in cannabis regulation.

He has assisted Medicinal Cannabis and CBD Wellness companies through regulation mazes across the UK, EU, US and Asia, on aspects of unlicensed medicines; vaping products (e-cigarettes and e-liquids); cosmetics; and food supplements. His expertise in this space means is regularly invited to speak at events to discuss the ever growing global cannabis market, and he currently sits on the executive committee of the UK’s Cannabis Industry Council.

In this episode, Ricardo chats to Hannah and Mike about how he came to specialise in cannabis law (despite his lack of personal experience!), improving patient access and the importance of trying to change the narrative through education.

Brothers Jonathan and Richard Hodgson co-founded Rokshaw Laboratories in 2012 and have been at the forefront of the emerging medical cannabis Industry since it was first legalised as a medicine in 2018.

Rokshaw became the first company to manufacture medical cannabis in the UK and another of its UK operations, Sapphire Medical Cannabis Clinic (now Curaleaf Clinic) was the first CQC Registered Medical Cannabis Clinic.

Having been in the healthcare sector since 1999 across a number of leading companies Jonathan and Richard have a clear number one position in this rapidly growing sector and have aligned with the Curaleaf mission, to provide wider access and unlock the potential of medical cannabis to those who need it.

James Smith is co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer of 4C Labs, a Canadian Cannabis company operating in Guernsey and the UK.  After studying Political Science at Bishops University, James had a number of careers before cannabis, including as a chef, filmmaker and in real estate sales and development.

James made the decision to leave his stable career in real estate after seeing the benefits that medical cannabis was having for his nephew —and the wider family— after he was diagnosed with a neurological disorder.

Kieran is a patient advocate and host of the YouTube channel ‘God In The Grass’.  Having struggled with his mental health since the age of 12, Kieran had tried every conventional pharmaceutical and therapeutic approach to manage his symptoms which included severe anxiety and obsessive He says in his own words, his doctors had ‘washed their hands of him’.

In this episode he opens up about his personal struggles and shares how medical cannabis has not only improved his health and quality of life—including helping him quit alcohol—but has given him a passion and purpose.

Callie is a formulation chemist with over 20 years experience in the hydroponic industry. Whilst completing her degree in biomedical sciences she worked for GlaxoSmithKline within the drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics department, before going on to complete a PhD in fertiliser chemistry and setting up a liquid fertiliser manufacturing company.

Now an established professional in the field of medicinal cannabis, working with cultivation facilities across the globe, Callie recently set up Sunnyside Consultancy, helping new businesses navigate the cannabis space.

In this candid interview, Pierre speaks openly about how his personal struggles have given a sense of optimism and a drive to improve things in everything he does, whether that’s for his own loved ones or patients more generally. That is also why he is chairman of the board of the Dutch MS patient association.

He speaks about how this inspires GROW’s focus on the patients who can benefit from medical cannabis and the work by his team to drive awareness, lobby for regulatory changes, and source the best products and innovations for patients and prescribers. 

In our latest episode, Hannah Deacon and Mike Barnes welcome barrister Tom Cross and his personal commitment to using his legal expertise to advocate for vulnerable groups, and the intersection of law, policy, and human rights in contemporary society. 

In this episode, we talk to Tom about his efforts to make law more accessible through his podcast, Cross Examination, and his  significant role in navigating legal challenges in medicinal cannabis, particularly regarding access for children.

Tom shares his journey to becoming a barrister and how  the complexities of public law and human rights intersect with his work in medicinal cannabis cases. 

With thanks to Curaleaf for supporting this episode of the podcast. 

In our first episode of 2024, Hannah Deacon and Professor Mike Barnes spoke to Melissa about her life before cannabis, from growing up in Australia to a high-flying career in the mining industry (much of which was spent being the only woman in the room). 

Melissa founded Ananda Developments after reading an article about cannabis on the off-chance. At its UK manufacturing facility, the company is focused on developing cannabinoid medicines for the treatment of complex, chronic inflammatory pain conditions. 

Hannah and Mike also hear about the many ways she 'reinvented' herself throughout her career, from selling sports memorabilia to negotiating 'exhilarating' underground mining deals in South Africa and being asked to make the tea in a boardroom full of men.

Now she is fully committed to helping establish a robust medical cannabis industry in the UK and enabling patients to have consistent access to high-quality medicines.