Editors’ Note: This is the transcript version of the podcast. Please note that due to time and audio constraints, transcription may not be perfect. We encourage you to listen to the podcast, embedded below if you need any clarification. We hope you enjoy!
Cannabis is the future of medicine. In today’s episode of The Dime, Bryan and Kellan sit down with Ashley Wynn-Grimes, MS, RN-BC LSSBB.
Ashley is an agent of change in the field of medicine. She has taken her expertise in healthcare, professional development, and process improvement to develop a standardized approach for nursing professionals, Cannabis Nursing Solutions. Cannabis Nursing Solutions’ continuing nursing education activity is approved by the American Holistic Nurses Association.
Featured in Today’s Episode
- Healthcare that becomes a lifestyle
- Nurse advocacy for Cannabis
- Cannabis as medicine for the future
- Medical cannabis for students: Connor and Raina’s Law
Become a supporter of The Dime Podcast: https://anchor.fm/thedime/support
[00:00:00] Bryan Fields: This is the dime, dive into the cannabis and hemp industry through trends, insights, predictions, and tangents. What’s up guys. Welcome back to the episode of the dime I’m Brian Fields. And with me as always my right-hand man Kellen Finney, and this week, we’ve got a very special guest Ashley Grimes cannabis nurse, Ashley, thanks for taking the time.
[00:00:23] How are you doing?
[00:00:24] Ashley Grimes: I’m good. How are you? Thanks for having me
[00:00:26] Bryan Fields: doing well, excited to talk to another east coaster as the east coast dominoes fall, Kellen becomes more and more of the minority. What’s going on, Kelly? Not a whole
[00:00:35] Kellan Finney: lot. I’m just out here on the west coast, trying to hold down the. The massive surge from the east coast.
[00:00:40] It seems like, how are you doing Bryan?
[00:00:42] Bryan Fields: We’re doing good. We’re doing good. Excited to kind of dive in with Ashley. So actually for our listeners that are unfamiliar with you, can you give a little bit about your background?
[00:00:50] Ashley Grimes: Yeah, sure. So I’m a nurse. I’ve been a nurse for over well, about 13 years. I have worked in traditional nursing settings.
[00:00:57] Most of my career. So like med [00:01:00] surge telemetry. And then I worked my way up. I got my master’s degree at Towson university and nursing education. Whoop and I ended up in leadership positions through the second half of my career. So like a transition of practice program for new graduate nurses and working in corporate settings and things of that nature.
[00:01:18] All of that has been very rewarding and I’ve learned a lot, but definitely not where I want to spend the rest of my life. So I have taken on cannabis as my specialty, or I call myself an endocannabinoid specialty nurse and have started a small business called cannabis nursing solutions that offers training and consultation to nurses and other small businesses.
[00:01:40] And I’m excited
[00:01:41] Bryan Fields: to kind of learn more about that. So take us on that journey. Was there a certain part throughout your experience and your background where you realized you wanted to be in cannabis? Was it something you read? Was there an experience you had? Can you kind of share some more of those.
[00:01:54] Ashley Grimes: So my husband is actually a cannabis patient and has consumed cannabis [00:02:00] since I’ve known him and I wasn’t against it, but I also knew that it wasn’t like, I felt like it was like, Ooh, like, let’s keep this under the radar.
[00:02:08] Let’s not tell anybody, but really he was self-medicating. So I wanted to learn more about it at some point. And I decided to do some research. And when I discovered the endocannabinoid system, I was like, wait my whole nurse and don’t know about this whole bodily function. Like this does not make any sense.
[00:02:25] So for me, it was like super enlightening, but I also wanted to like learn more. I wanted to research more and that’s actually how the training course came to be. It was literally my research pulled together and organized in the way that I understood it. And that’s how I do stuff. Anyway. I learned it, rewrite it and recreate it for myself.
[00:02:44] And I was like, well, let’s make it into a training. I mean, that’s the short, short story to that, but that’s pretty much how one. From
[00:02:52] Bryan Fields: your circle with colleagues and things like that, are they open, take us through like what the stigma is like in Maryland and in kind of moving towards [00:03:00] cannabis as your preferred.
[00:03:01] So
[00:03:01] Ashley Grimes: when I first started this three years ago, it’s very different than how it is today. Our medical program has evolved quite a bit. The general public is pretty aware that there is a medical program here now, whereas three years ago it was kind of hush, hush. It was under the radar. If you knew you knew kind of thing.
[00:03:18] Right? So as my business is evolving, so is the industry here in Maryland and then further the nursing industry is becoming more and more involved. So back in 2018, which is around the conception of my business, the national council for state boards actually broke some guidelines that supports cannabis as medicine.
[00:03:38] For us to work under. And basically we call it NCS and they tell our boards of nursing. You know, what guidelines they need to follow. Now, all of nursing is not aware of this fact, but at the same time, when this is happening, my business is starting. So the slow, like spread of this information has kind of evolved with my business at the same time.[00:04:00]
[00:04:00] To answer your question. In the beginning, everybody was like, girl, what you doing? And then now as time has gone on, and I’ve kind of honed in on my messaging, my missing mission, my vision, all that kind of stuff, because that’s what happens when you grow a small business, more and more people are starting to kind of understand where my perspective is.
[00:04:18] As far as cannabis is, medicine is not just me saying, Hey, everybody just go smoke some weed. No, let’s talk about, you know like holistic medicine, holistic health. Just general wellness healing altogether. So, you know, even when I have conversations, it’s not just about the plan. It’s about like, how do you modify your lifestyle to achieve wellness?
[00:04:38] Bryan Fields: I love it. And before we kind of dive into your business, I want to go through the research a little more. When you were kind of learning about the endocannabinoid system, was there anything that you kind of stumbled the crime that surprised you that you’d like to see?
[00:04:50] Ashley Grimes: I think that the fact that it exists was the surprising fact.
[00:04:54] And, you know, we have a whole course in our nursing program that teaches about pathophysiology, right? So [00:05:00] most disease processes, we have some understanding of, you know, like the cardiomyopathy, you know, like we understand the, what the why and how it interacts with the body. So that’s standard for all nurses.
[00:05:12] And some people know more about it. Some people know less about it. Like that’s the way it works. Depending on how much research you do about it. So when I was learning about the endocannabinoid system that wasn’t surprising, it’s like, oh, it’s a neuro receptor system. Okay. I get it that these neurons attached to this receptor system, it binds.
[00:05:31] And then it has a specific set of responses to me that should, that should be standard nursing that. Everybody should know that all nurses should know that when they’re talking to their patients, they should be able to reflect on that fact and be able to critically think through their interactions with their patient.
[00:05:47] And that’s the piece that for me, is more surprising is that it’s not standard knowledge and. There has been some awareness of this system since at least 1990 in, well, before that as well, but we’ll stick with 1990 [00:06:00]
[00:06:01] Bryan Fields: Sandpoint. And again, what percentage of nurses would you say are aware of the endocannabinoid system?
[00:06:06] Ashley Grimes: Oh maybe, I don’t know. Like, I feel like. And I’m not, I don’t know every nurse out here and what their knowledge bases, but in my interactions, most people are surprised about the fact that there is an endocannabinoid system and the nurses across the country that are part of organizations that I’m affiliated with.
[00:06:24] I would guess about maybe 2000 across the country and that doesn’t even, that’s probably like 5% of nurses because there’s millions of.
[00:06:32] Bryan Fields: Tell him dive in there. And though, can I have a it system? I feel like it’s going to be such a hot topic in the next, let’s say six to 18 months as people kind of uncover this, isn’t a statistic surprising.
[00:06:43] And from your perspective, Kaelin,
[00:06:45] Kellan Finney: it’s not taught, right? So it’s not something that’s required to become a nurse. Or even a doctor at that point. So it doesn’t surprise me that it’s not, not taught. I will say though, that hopefully more individuals take on the [00:07:00] challenge of learning it on their own, like Ashley has, because it’s daunting when you have to go out and learn something that is, it required for you to actually do your day to day job.
[00:07:11] It’s kind of a double sided sword because the more and more research that comes out associated with the endocannabinoid system, we’re learning that it’s, it’s tied to more and more, really important bodily functions, right? It’s tied to homeostasis. It’s tied to regulating our moods to regulating our hunger.
[00:07:27] And so hopefully as the scientific research and the body of primary literature builds around it, the best thing that could happen to the industry is that medical school. Take on the challenge of developing. A standard curriculum for the end up to novelette system, across the board, it’s required to become a nurse it’s required to become a doctor.
[00:07:49] And I think efforts like Ashley’s are the going to be the tip of the
[00:07:53] Bryan Fields: spirit, if you will. So kind of expanding into that. If they were only was a training course that kind of provided the resources.
[00:07:59] Ashley Grimes: [00:08:00] So like I said, that the training course was developed just out of my mind, needs to organize and, and frame it in a way that made sense to me. So that’s what I did, but it goes through some of the history related to. To cannabis, you know, cause it does have a long history and the United States has its very intimate ties with the plant, which has led us through this prohibition and it up until now.
[00:08:22] And it talks about the endocannabinoid system. It’s still very basic. There’s more information out there, but you know, it’s just enough. So the nurse can implement cannabis into their personal practice. We talk about plant genetics. So the term. The cannabinoids. We talk about methods of dosing and considerations for that and understanding that it is a patient driven practice, which is something that nurses are very uncomfortable with because of the way our healthcare system works and just, you know, it’s a lot of stuff embedded in it, but very important.
[00:08:57] The focus is implementing into your [00:09:00] practice, your current practice. So we do things called treatment care planning for almost every disease process. And we come up with what’s called a nursing diagnosis for almost every disease process and our standard of care is based on that treatment care plan. So basically it gives them the tools to be able to implement into their.
[00:09:19] Bryan Fields: It did from an educational level, is this for more of the advanced crowd or the entry? Like where would you put somebody on the spectrum? Who’s, let’s say newer to the space, interested in the medicine aspect, you know, can you kind of take us through who the train program was created for
[00:09:34] Ashley Grimes: creative, for the nurse who is just interested in learning about the plant?
[00:09:38] So ideally though the training course is intended for So if a nurse was sitting in orientation or something like that, it would be part of their training. That’s great.
[00:09:50] Bryan Fields: And it’s one of the areas that we found is like a big struggles that there aren’t resources for these doctors who are, let’s say interested, but are unsure of where to go.
[00:09:58] So, so Kaelin, from your [00:10:00] perspective, we’ve had conversations with other doctors that are, that are pro cannabis medicine. Like what other resources outside of what Ashley’s is bringing to the table, do you think are beneficial to kind of help overall move the message?
[00:10:10] Kellan Finney: As far as resources to help move the message forward, I would say the only real resources would be a stage and a platform for them to kind of communicate what they’re finding in the real world.
[00:10:22] Right. So that would be the only like conferences at this point is really the only. Resource that is available to them to go kind of push their message forward. I mean, as far as like pushing a message forward, that’s the only research resource. And as far as resources go in terms of furthering our knowledge base, the only thing out there is just getting your hands dirty.
[00:10:43] Right and doing it yourself and actually going out and doing the work and working with people that are consuming cannabis as a medicine that are self-medicating and all of those things. Can you think of anything else, Brian, from your perspective,
[00:10:55] Bryan Fields: maybe with like organizations like the CEFC trying to help change the narrative are [00:11:00] others that are just taken on that, you know, that gigantic fight of, of changing the message.
[00:11:04] And actually, I want to ask you. Do you get pushback? Obviously, you know, cannabis is still kind of new specifically here in the east coast. There’s gotta be some doctors or nurses or like Ashley, like cannabis. Are you kidding?
[00:11:15] Ashley Grimes: What’s that like? So part of the evolution of me and my business has been around just being able to accept that people are where they are, you know, and if you’re not really ready to hear what it is that I have to say, and a lot of people aren’t, I’m okay with it, but, you know, at least I’ll be able to plant the seeds.
[00:11:34] I’ve started the conversation. And when you are ready to hear it, you’ll remember that cannabis nursing solutions exists. Ashley was the one who told you that and you’ll come back and it’s happened a lot. I can
[00:11:45] Bryan Fields: imagine change takes time. Yeah, absolutely. So what’s the biggest, let’s say negative pushback that others provided.
[00:11:54] I think on this pod specifically from my side, we always harp on a lot of the positives and I want to hear more of the negatives, what others [00:12:00] are bringing to the table saying actually,
[00:12:01] Ashley Grimes: what about. So the one that kinda stands out in my mind was a young lady. She was a nurse who was telling me that I was trying to kill her son because like cannabis is a gateway drug and
[00:12:14] Oh, I just said, oh, okay. I, you know, my apologies. I’m not trying to kill your son. And, you know, we just kind of disconnected at that point.
[00:12:24] Bryan Fields: Like the 1982 dare script, right. Cannabis is a gateway drug, right. The same school. And it’s like, just say, no, that’s gotta be such an uncomfortable experience. I mean, at that point you just gotta be like hard pass.
[00:12:37] Ashley Grimes: Yeah. I mean, you know, and, and that’s what I’m saying. So at that time, when, when that comment came up, I was like, oh God, like, you know, do people really think this, you know, I started questioning what and why I was doing what I was doing.
[00:12:49] And, you know, a lot of it, a lot of where I was and where I am today has a lot to do with just having the self self-confidence to stand firm in what I know to be true. [00:13:00] And when I run into those types of conversations, just walking away, knowing that it’s just not their time to. This information and I’m okay with that, you know?
[00:13:09] So, yeah. And kind of just pulling out that, like, I’m not debating with you about it because it’s not a debate. And that’s just the end of the conversation. As far as I’m
[00:13:21] Bryan Fields: concerned, it’s been stigmatized for so long. So someone like that, obviously it’s it’s, it’s not even a challenge, right? It’s like I’m going to in, it’s an impossible barrier to overcome.
[00:13:29] If their first response is like, you’re trying to kill your son. I mean, your role as a nurse is to essentially help people. So if, if her words out of her mouth are, you’re trying to kill myself, Clearly there’s a disconnect and where to go. So, I mean, there’s no doubt that unfortunately that’s part of the process and, you know, hat tip for you for continuing to fight the good fight.
[00:13:49] So kind of switching gears a little bit, let’s talk about some of these conferences. I’ve seen you pretty active in the, in the speaker circuits, and I’d love to kind of hear some of the topics you’ve been discussing and [00:14:00] any, any ideas that are really at the forefront of your mind.
[00:14:03] Ashley Grimes: So. Whatever is relevant to me at that time.
[00:14:08] Like I am so okay with just talking about whatever is on my mind. And again, it goes back to like just kind of building, you know, who I am and what it is that I’m trying to communicate. So at this stage in the game is, is an acknowledgement of nurses in the space is an acknowledgement of underrepresented populations.
[00:14:26] Black and brown women in the space is an acknowledgement of, you know, the endocannabinoid system for nurses. So those are the things that kinda stand out to me right now. And, you know, just understanding the system of healthcare and how it fits into the entire construct of our society. And just kind of making that relevant to people and understanding like, you know, where this plan is going.
[00:14:51] So, you know, it’s just interesting to me that we call the plant medicine, but our healthcare systems aren’t involved with it. And it has a lot to do with the way that [00:15:00] our system. It’s leaning more towards capitalism and it’s not, you know, taken on healthcare aspect of it as much. As I think that it should because of the impact that it could have on people.
[00:15:11] So that’s pretty much the narrative that I, I like to communicate in different regards and, you know, different. Ways and perspectives of looking at that big concept, you know, so that’s usually where I kind of hit that’s the tunnel. I usually head down, I don’t focus on disease specific, you know, a lot of my nurse counterparts, they’re like, oh, I’m an expert in diabetes and all that kind of stuff.
[00:15:33] I didn’t do that in my career. I was a med surge nurse. So I knew everything a little bit about it. You know I worked in corporate, so I understood healthcare systems and project management and implementation and things like that. So I take that approach and I applied.
[00:15:47] Bryan Fields: Cannabis Kaylin. Do you want to dive in there?
[00:15:49] I know pharma is one of your biggest enemies that you like to attack. So from a health care, it’s not an enemy.
[00:15:57] Kellan Finney: I just don’t agree with the current [00:16:00] model that they follow to deliver potentially life-saving drugs to the masses. Right? I mean, yeah. I mean, that’s a, it’s a sticky subject, right? Because at the end of the day, modern medicine and the Western world specifically America, Trent in by making money, right.
[00:16:19] It’s a business, right? So from every single standpoint, they need to make money. Are there, do they take advantage of the kind of monopoly that they have? Of course, I believe that for sure. Is there individuals who wheeled individuals or groups who wield significant amounts of power within those organizations, driving decisions that probably aren’t for the welfare of society, most likely.
[00:16:45] You know what I mean? But at the end of the day, it’s the only thing we have. Right. I guess that’s, it’s kind of like a brand at this point. I was honestly thinking about it while you’re talking. And it’s like, there is a lot of individuals that just go into the hospital and access. Whatever that [00:17:00] doctor says to them as like the word of God.
[00:17:02] Right. And it’s like, a lot of people don’t even think that, oh, maybe I should go get a second opinion at this other hospital or, or all these other things they go in and it’s like, no, this, this is the word of God. So I’m kind of ranting right now, but like the hospital system goes and, and how that relates to cannabis.
[00:17:19] And, and again, I think that potentially there is a place for cannabis in the medical system. It’s just going to be a really. Challenging moment, I guess you could say, within the development of the hospital and our medical system, because at the heart of it, cannabis is. The complete opposite of how pharmaceutical industry has been treating diseases for the last 50 plus years, in terms of one single molecule, the API, this molecule is what treats this disease.
[00:17:52] What we’re finding with cannabis is that it’s not cut and dry. It’s this poly molecule poly molecules system that seems to work the best. [00:18:00] Right? I mean, perfect examples without the dialects, right? It’s a combination of THC and CBD two molecules together that are actually. What’s helping individuals with schizophrenia, that type of schizophrenia.
[00:18:12] I’m not exactly sure. The specific type of that schizophrenia I’ll pop my head, but that I think is a really positive thing for society is as we hope, hopefully it opens the door to all these other potential drug interactions that could enhance our ability to treat diseases. Yeah.
[00:18:33] Ashley Grimes: You know, it’s so interesting because I think healthcare is, is antiquated.
[00:18:39] At this point, it hasn’t really evolved with society. So you’re right. Like the way that we treat medicine is, you know, is outdated, you know, prescribing a medication for every single thing that somebody comes in with isn’t necessarily conducive. Like we complain a lot of times about the fact that our older adults aren’t taking all their pills.
[00:18:58] Why did it have so many pills? [00:19:00] You know, like when there are other ways that we can consider not saying that it is the way to fix things, but there are other considerations that could be a little bit more conducive to a person’s lifestyle. We talk about in nursing all the time. You know, how do we get a person to make a lifestyle change?
[00:19:17] We’re going to tell them and teach them and educate them. And then all of a sudden they’re going to change their life. Don’t work there. You know, so just the acknowledgement from the powers that be who drive our healthcare systems, you know, it needs to be a realization that our society has changed fundamentally.
[00:19:36] And the way that you interact with your nursing staff, which they’re still running around here talking about as the millennials is doing everything wrong. It ain’t the millennials doing everything wrong is, is our gen Xs that’s coming in and, you know, making these major changes because they’re the ones who have grown up with technology at their fingertips from the moment that they were born.
[00:19:57] So, you know, even beyond just the [00:20:00] plant medicine, we need to change the way that healthcare looks at, the, their customer who is the patient. And they’re largely refusing to do.
[00:20:08] Bryan Fields: Well back to capitalism and we can kind of dive into that at the time, because like that one is such a, it’s such a negative rabbit hole, right?
[00:20:15] Because then the day you’ll write, as you go see your doctor, their roles to help you and, and tell them, like you were saying, like most probably don’t challenge the doctor and be like, Hey, I don’t really want them, but, and then Ashley coming back to you. If I’m, let’s say open to cannabis medicine. Right.
[00:20:31] But my doctor is not really interested or isn’t going to prescribe that to me. Is it on the patient then to kind of ask the doctor for guidance or do you need to go seek out a specific doctor that specializes in cannabis medicine in order to be afforded? Let’s say that is an option to kind of suit.
[00:20:47] Ashley Grimes: Yeah, technically it is. It’s up to the patient to advocate for themselves. And back to the original point, a lot of times patients don’t have the confidence to, you know, suggest this thing for their doctor because of the stigma, because [00:21:00] the doctor is considered God in a sense. So you know, now the patient is sitting there.
[00:21:06] Thinking or considering, or doing something without any, any guidance or support or even the proper education, but cannabis culture is real. And the information that’s spread amongst culture, the culture, isn’t always 100% accurate
[00:21:20] Bryan Fields: important. Right? And, and I wish for everyone, that’s hearing this to feel more comfortable in sharing that information because medically there is opportunities to say, if I don’t want to take X, I can take Y.
[00:21:30] And if that’s the path you want, you have to be more vocal. Ashley for those people who are, let’s say interested or intrigued, but don’t know any information are not really sure about what is, let’s say the minimal line of information to know. What would you share with them as someone who’s interested in kind of approaching cannabis as a medicine for the first time
[00:21:50] Ashley Grimes: with their doctor?
[00:21:50] I didn’t really suggest that when they talk about it with their doctor, they ask their doctor the question, what is an endocannabinoid system? [00:22:00]
[00:22:01] Bryan Fields: Your point, please, you might sell many doctors that might be, is there, is there a second line in case they have some sort of formidable response?
[00:22:10] Ashley Grimes: Well, if the, if the patient is already aware, then they can, they can absolutely educate their doctor and once they get, I don’t know.
[00:22:16] So the thing about the personality of the average physician, I’m not saying all, but they tend to want to know. ’cause they feel like that they are the ones who are supposed to be knowing it all. So if you approach them with a question that they can’t answer, there’ll be more likely to receive whatever the answer is.
[00:22:34] If you think, you know the answer, right? Because you didn’t already put them in a place where they’re uncomfortable, because they’re supposed to know the answer. And then they can do their research. After they’ve met with a patient, I’m going to research the endocannabinoid system and now they have that in their toolkit.
[00:22:48] They can come back around to the patient and now it might be most likely it will be more of an open conversation about what to do next, where to go. And hopefully that doctor can provide the [00:23:00] guidance that like meshes with their medical expertise and their understanding of the plan.
[00:23:05] Bryan Fields: So let’s kind of continue on that same.
[00:23:07] I saw that you wrote a book and I’d love to kind of hear more about that. Can you kind of
[00:23:11] share
[00:23:11] Ashley Grimes: some? Yeah. So it’s a children’s book actually, it’s called ACEs medicine and it was inspired by my work in Maryland. We have a bill here that allows medical cannabis in schools. It passed in early 20, 20, and after it passed, they needed somebody to work on a work group that knew about cannabis to help develop guidelines for the implementation of.
[00:23:36] So I was able to participate in that I contributed and is published with the with the public guidelines, which is really cool, but I still have. I had a lot of questions about the social impact. Like, you know, in this scenario, the child who’s attending school, who taking the medical cannabis is technically my patient.
[00:23:56] Right. And that patient is potentially [00:24:00] interacting with my child. Right. Like I have a child in Maryland schools, so. My head automatically went to okay. As the parent, what would I want my kids to know when they’re interacting with this other child, you know, as a nurse, what would the school nurse need to do to help advocate for this child in school?
[00:24:19] Because that’s what they do in the school setting. We give them their asthma and. So we’re also going to give them the medical cannabis in school and you teach about it on a regular day. So why not this the interaction with the teacher and then the other children’s response to this because the children only know what their parents have taught them.
[00:24:37] So if their parents are. looking at Cannabis from an antiquated standpoint, that’s what they’re passing on to their children. So the likelihood of that child bullying another child because of their differences, quote, unquote, I think is pretty significant. So anyway, the children’s book touches on. And like 20 pages, but just very simple terms, colorful [00:25:00] graphics, about a child who goes to school and some other child comes up to him and says, oh my gosh, you’re taking medical marijuana.
[00:25:08] And they briefly touch on the stigma. You, you kind of see that the teacher’s response him and the school nurse come and teach the class about cannabis. And just a couple of sentences. And that’s pretty much it. And the child’s name is EISA and he comes home and he’s proud because he taught the class something new.
[00:25:24] I think that’s
[00:25:25] Bryan Fields: an incredible story for someone who’s a constant reader of children’s stories. Nowadays. It’s really important. The by-lines of the hidden meanings within it. Obviously the sauna, at least my son isn’t understanding of the different concepts, but I think one of the things that’s surprised me about children’s books is.
[00:25:40] Takeaways for the parents in there too. And I think one of the benefits of your book is that you’re kind of changing the narrative for the parents who are reading this book and realize. Medical cannabis is no different than the inhaler. Exactly. Like you described. And if we’re depriving children and others of this medical ability, I [00:26:00] mean, it’s really, it’s really sad.
[00:26:01] And I think it’s really, really powerful that you’ve taken that approach because I think it’s not done enough at like a simple fundamental level. And I’m curious to hear work, to see other parents read this and then start wondering to themselves, like maybe we should start changing the stigma, telling your.
[00:26:18] I
[00:26:19] Kellan Finney: agree with everything you said. I just have another quick question though, for Ashley, I was thinking how challenging was it to distill that message down into a couple sentences and communicate that in like one or two sentences, because it’s kind of a complex topic.
[00:26:35] Ashley Grimes: It is. So it was, it was, it was such a challenge getting just the story concise.
[00:26:41] But I mentioned that I have a daughter, so she actually had. So I would, yeah, so I wrote it out and I was like, does this make sense to you? And she’s like, no, what are you talking about? And you know, and at the time she was only 10. So she’s like, no, and I would explain it to her. She’s like, oh no, you can write it like [00:27:00] this.
[00:27:00] And now I understand. Yeah. So that’s, that’s the only reason why I was able to figure that, that
[00:27:07] Kellan Finney: it sounds
[00:27:07] Bryan Fields: like, man, that must be so tough. Yeah. There’s a lot of moving parts in that story, right. Between the parents, students, the nurse, I mean, there’s endless people and you all have to communicate like a central message and also take them through the climax of like maybe not being sure.
[00:27:23] And then being short towards the end in very limited. Yeah.
[00:27:28] Ashley Grimes: Yeah. And you know, and I do get feedback sometimes it’s like, well, that’s not enough. Or nobody understands what that is. And it’s like, if I explained every single word, if I broke down, it wouldn’t be a children’s book
[00:27:39] Bryan Fields: anymore. No, it wouldn’t even be an adult book.
[00:27:41] People were just like, I’m not reading that the addiction. All right. So slightly switching. Heroes or mentors in the cannabis space. I think everyone, as they kind of go through their career, always has one person that’s made a massive difference, help change them or help get them to where they were. Is there anyone in your life, [00:28:00] Ashley that’s made a substantial difference that you can kind of share a story?
[00:28:03] Ashley Grimes: There are some, a lot of core people that have helped me through my evolution. So, I mean, it’s a break it down into one person it’s kind of hard, but I’ll stick with, I guess, the simplest and most obvious person that would be my husband. So. My husband is the one who encourages me daily. He’s the one that has supported all of my crazy ideas.
[00:28:30] And I come up with quite a bit of them, including the children’s books. Hey, today, I’m going to write a children’s book. Oh, really? Okay.
[00:28:41] So and, and, and those moments come more often than not, but you know, the biggest piece of it is knowing. Who I am and him being okay with that, because the way that I look at the world has changed significantly since I’ve discovered this endocannabinoid system you know, just [00:29:00] understanding what true homeostasis is and real wellness and implementing that into my life has changed me quite a bit.
[00:29:06] And for him to go down this rollercoaster with me has been just nothing short of magical. I’ll use that term because. A lot of people don’t like to see things change
[00:29:18] Bryan Fields: since you’ve been in the Cabo, the industry, the biggest misconceived.
[00:29:24] Ashley Grimes: That I smoke weed all day. Yeah. It’s you know, I have, and I do occasionally I microdose I’ll try different things just to experience it.
[00:29:34] Like, you know, my recent experiment was with this cannabis honey and I would take a very, very small amount every day and it was amazing. I loved it. But. You know, most people are like, oh, it was great because you get all this free weed. And I’m like, eh, I mean, I do get stuff for free sometimes, but I’m not really in it for that, you know?
[00:29:52] And no, I’m not high right now. And you probably won’t see me high unless I, I decided. [00:30:00] Overindulged, but I probably won’t is all about intentional use of assumption for me all about it.
[00:30:06] Bryan Fields: You could sum up your experience in a main takeaway or lesson learned to pass on the next generation. What would.
[00:30:13] Ashley Grimes: Continue evolving. Don’t be okay with the status quo. Don’t be okay with the way that things are handed to you today, because the way that they’re handed to you today is based on the circumstances of today. So whatever it is that you have going for you in the future, make it into your own world, evolve it, create it, make it grow.
[00:30:33] All right.
[00:30:33] Bryan Fields: Prediction time. Okay. What would you change today? So that in five years in 2026, Would help healthcare providers understand the massive benefits of medical cannabis?
[00:30:48] Ashley Grimes: I don’t know. I feel like that’s a bigger question than you may get seen. What would I change today? I would just, nursing programs would have a cannabis topic embedded in their med surge program or [00:31:00] something.
[00:31:00] I don’t know. Some sort of education is already infused in, in our nurse training.
[00:31:07] Bryan Fields: I
[00:31:07] Kellan Finney: would say that, I mean, it’s tough, cause that’s probably the best answer. Right. But I’d say, you know, that the endocannabinoid system is actively being developed in med school and nursing school and all of our medical professions that the masses put faith in.
[00:31:23] You know what I mean? I think that would be probably the best development. I would kind of expedite all of the good things that come with. Using cannabis as a medicine and, and all the things that we haven’t yet discovered in terms of the potential associated with it. So those, that would be my answer just to piggyback on Ashley, Brian, I don’t know if you can do another piggyback.
[00:31:46] So I think you’d have to think of something original here.
[00:31:50] Bryan Fields: I would make the masses read Ashley’s book, I think in 20 pages, she’s billing multiple myths across multiple departments and in a [00:32:00] children’s books. So like conceptually. Everyone can understand the simple terms of what’s going on and the ability to kind of compare and contrast and then evolve the characters as they understand what’s going on, I think would make a big difference.
[00:32:13] At least in my perspective, when you create a book like that, and it’s intended for a child as a parent, when you’re reading about it, you naturally think about what’s going on and then kind of dissect. At least that’s how I handle the children’s book. And I wonder myself, how would I perceive this? And then I, you know, I’m just thinking about it out loud.
[00:32:30] I would assume if my son needed medical cannabis for whatever. And we were helping provide that. I would never want my child bullied no matter what. And even more. From a medical standpoint, especially one that makes a difference. So I think kind of dispelling myths in a children’s book. I think it’s a beautiful way of taking the older generation, simplifying the information, saying, Hey guys, like it off your, your, your couch and like your high horse, like take a look at this, then let me know what you’re thinking.
[00:32:54] So that’s the route I would go. Is that original enough for you telling[00:33:00]
[00:33:01] you actually, for those who want to learn more? They want to get in touch. Where can they reach you?
[00:33:06] Ashley Grimes: Cannabis nursing solutions, llc.com. And you can email me at gratitude at cannabis nursing solutions, llc.com. And
[00:33:14] Bryan Fields: we’ll link it up in the show notes and everyone who has a young child that they go by Ashley’s book.
[00:33:18] We’ll link it in the show notes also. Thanks for your time, Ashley. Thank you.
