Earlier this week, I posted the first half of my interview with Dr. Rachel Knox, who is a family care doctor with a background in clinical medicine. Dr. Knox is also the co-founder of Canna-Mds and serves as the medical chair for the Minority Cannabis Business Association.
In the first article of this 2-part series, we learned why Dr. Knox decided to begin advocating for medical cannabis, and why she feels it is important that cannabis is legalized in prohibition states. Find that article here
In part II, we dive even deeper into Dr. Knox’s experience and learn more about why this doctor represents a part of an area I feel is huge to getting the prohibition of cannabis ended on a federal level: the area of cannabis as medicine.
LM: Please share one of your patient success stories, perhaps one that really stands out to you as a doctor.
RK: There really is no single patient success story that stands out among the rest. Every patient that is able to manage or reverse their disease, decrease or wean from prescription medications, or recover from traumatic injuries with the use of cannabis medicine is a success. I have been amazed to see how quickly patients are able to wean from prescription pain, anxiolytic, antidepressant, antiepileptic and stimulant medications with cannabis medicine. I have been astounded to witness the cessation of migraine headaches or the disappearance of varicose veins with cannabis medicine. I have been encouraged by countless testimonies by long term patients who have, for example, regained cognitive functioning after successfully weaning from seizure medications, or who reversed their MS with cannabis medicine. Coming from the conventional system, where you rarely witness recovery from chronic disease, every measure of improvement with cannabis medicine is a success.
LM: Why did you agree to be the medical chair of the MCBA, and what goals do you hope to see accomplished through this organization?
RK: I was nothing short of thrilled to join the Minority Cannabis Business Association as Medical Chair. The overarching goal of the MCBA is to ensure that people of color receive fair representation and benefit from the emerging cannabis industry in both the recreational and medical sectors. Our tenets (economic empowerment, social justice, and patient awareness and advocacy) represent our dedication to promote people of color in entrepreneurship, to affect people of color via social and legal reform, and to improve people of color’s access to an effective health care solution.
The reason I left conventional medicine is that I no longer wanted to be a part of the problem, but rather a part of the solution. Be it Functional or Cannabinoid Medicine, my goal is to increase patient awareness and utilization of safe and effective health care solutions. As the Medical Chair of the MCBA I get to work with like-minded people both in and outside of healthcare professions to work towards this end and at a macro level. It is so important that people of color have advocates who are knowledgeable, fearless, and look like them in any arena, and I like to think that I am one of those people in the arena of cannabis medicine.
I am so grateful that I was asked to join the MCBA, a platform through which major impacts can and will be made in the areas of education and minority awareness of cannabis truths, access to recommendation writing services and affordable cannabis medicine, and in the participation of medical providers of color.
Find Dr. Knox of Facebook & Instagram!
