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Cannabinology (MARIJUANA) with Ziva Cooper and Caroline Melly

4/8/20261 hr 20 min

Gummies vs. pre-rolls. THC vs. CBD. Indica vs. sativa. Hemp vs. marijuana. Dad grass vs. modern trees. This extended 2-part deep dive with UCLA’s Center for Cannabis and Cannabinoids director Dr. Ziva Cooper and Smith College cannabis anthropologist Dr. Caroline Melly covers the storied history of the weed’s trek across continents, the endocannabinoid system,  the “bliss” molecule,” brain receptors, cancer therapeutics, edible mishaps, the munchies, legalization, titration, addiction, kief, hash, dabs, shatter, strains, and so much more next week. 

Follow Dr. Cooper on Google Scholar

Visit the UCLA Center for Cannabis and Cannabinoids website

Follow Dr. Melly on Google Scholar

A donation went to Last Prisoner Project

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Editing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake Chaffee

Managing Director: Susan Hale

Scheduling Producer: Noel Dilworth

Transcripts by Aveline Malek 

Website by Kelly R. Dwyer

Theme song by Nick Thorburn

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Transcript preview

First 90 seconds
  1. Alie Ward· Host0:00

    Oh, hey. It's the lady at the diner weeping into her hash browns, Sally Ward. Pack in as much info right now, and let's spark some discussion about weed, the psychology, the botany, the chemistry, the neurology, the legality, and the methodology. I.e., do you hold it in your lungs until you choke? Why do edibles sometimes feel like you will be high until you become dead? And are any of those tinctures at crystal shops worth it? I tracked down one of the world's best researchers on this. Ugh, so excited. Studied biopsychology and anthropology, got a PhD in psychology, went on to do a postdoc in human behavioral pharmacology at Columbia. They're now a professor and the vice chair for research in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at UCLA. They're the director of the UCLA Center for Cannabis and Cannabinoids. I was so committed to interviewing this particular person that I waited three years until the scheduling worked out. Every week at our Ologies staff meeting, I would ask, "Have we heard back? When will my dreams come true?" Finally, they did, and on a Friday afternoon a few weeks ago, I braved campus parking on a 90-degree February afternoon, and soon you will hear the result. And because we can't discuss the present without a little, a sprinkling of the past, I also tracked down a wonderful second expert, a sociocultural anthropologist and professor of anthropology at Smith College, and sat in a sunny conference room

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