Experts say eating hemp or cannabis can be a recipe for improved wellness

Editor’s note: This commentary is provided by the Medical Marijuana Education and Research Initiative (MMERI) of Florida A&M University.

As legal cannabis use grows more mainstream, we’re seeing alternatives for realizing the health benefits of the plant itself. Emerging from the medicinal and recreational aspects of cannabis is a trend to consume parts of the raw plant as food ingredients, mixing them into everything from entrees to side dishes to snacks to drinks.

Joline Rivera is the founder of Chicago-based culinary cannabis brand KitchenToke.com, as well as a certified food product called Red Belly Honey, which is naturally infused by honeybees with CBD [cannabidiol] from hemp and is legal to use in Florida. For her, eating cannabis is healthy and nutritious.

“The leaves of the cannabis plant are rich in antioxidants, polyphenols, antibiotics, along with cancer reducing and anti-inflammatory compounds,” says Rivera. “There are a lot of benefits to the raw cannabis leaves, stems and stalks. I like to have cannabis greens in my smoothies and my salads every day if I can.”

Clinical Nutrition Specialist Abbey Folsom of Tallahassee, and qualified medical marijuana physician Dr. Genester Wilson-King of Lake Mary, Fla., also are enthusiastic proponents of consuming cannabis and/or CBD as dietary supplements.  While it’s illegal for private citizens to grow cannabis or possess the plant’s leaves in Florida, they say those with medical marijuana cards can still consume cannabis legally in other ways.

Folsom, who supports her clients using medical cannabis, advocates for using hemp seeds in cooking, a practice that goes back thousands of years in Hindi and Indian culture.

“I see the hemp seed as a perfectly balanced food. It’s about 25% protein, 25% fat and 38% carbohydrates. So, the incredible amount of fiber with that also makes it perfect because the carbs and the fiber balance out to about a net one or two grams of carbohydrates. To me, that is nutritionally sound,” Folsom says.

Visit bit.ly/cannabisandnutrition to watch MMERI’s Conversations on Cannabis Virtual Forum on YouTube featuring Joline Rivera, Abbey Folsom, and Dr. Genester Wilson-King. For more information on medical marijuana and to sign up for the MMERI newsletter, go to http://mmeri.famu.edu

[EDITOR’S NOTE – Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vErq4E8h6yQ]