
MEDICAL
ents. “If you were lucky enough to have friends who lived
in states where pot was legal, you could get them to send
you stuff — cartridges and edibles, not flower. The smell
would get you caught!” he says.
USE RISES DURING PANDEMIC
As an essential service, dispensaries were not adversely
affected by the shutdown due to COVID-19.
In fact, Yahn says that during the pandemic, use of all
substances — legal or otherwise — increased.
“My clients said their medical marijuana helped with the
stress,” he says. “It’s interesting, what once was viewed as
taboo is now being used as a treatment modality.”
While some people still believe that marijuana is a gateway
to harder drugs, the National Institute on Drug Abuse
found that for the majority of users, it isn’t.
“My clients are often in pain of one form or another,”
Yahn says, recalling one woman who hadn’t responded
well to a variety of treatments. “I recommended medical
marijuana and it changed her life.”
It changed Terri Colledge’s life, too. Colledge is retired,
living in a local 55-plus community. Diagnosed with
Parkinson’s and restless leg syndrome, she knows four
people just on her block with cards. When her neurologist
recommended cannabis to help her sleep and reduce hand
tremors, she decided to try it, having heard stories of successful
results. “I’ve been able to cut back on some of my
medications.”
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS?
Marijuana’s two therapeutic ingredients are commonly
known as CBD and THC. While CBD products are touted at
convenience stores, upscale makeup counters, pharmacies
and even doctor’s offices, products with THC, associated
38 Port St. Lucie Magazine
MÜV
Cannabis plants are cross-pollinated to produce a variety of strains such
as this one called Ice Cream Cake. Its properties target conditions such as
>> chronic pain, insomnia and anxiety.
MÜV’s 300,000 square feet
cultivation and manufacturing
facility in Apollo Beach is stateof
the-art and includes in-house
testing and research labs.
MÜV