Daily Archives: January 29, 2020

In Gwyneth Paltrows new Netflix series, The Goop Lab, Paltrow explores a variety of wellness management approaches, from energy healing to psychedelic psychotherapy.

Goop has long been criticised for making unsubstantiated health claims and advancing pseudoscience, but the brand is incredibly popular. It was valued at over US$250 million (A$370 million) in 2019.

The alternative health industry is worth A$4.1 billion in Australia alone and projected to grow.

A key driver of the industry is increased health consciousness. With easier access to information, better health literacy, and open minds, consumers are increasingly seeking alternatives to managing their well-being.

Goop has capitalised on the rise in popularity of alternative health therapies treatments not commonly practised under mainstream Western medicine.

Health systems in countries such as Australia are based on Western medicine, eschewing traditional and indigenous practices. These Western systems operate on measurable and objective indicators of health and well-being, ignoring the fact subjective assessments such as job satisfaction and life contentment are just as important in evaluating quality of life.

This gap between objective measures and subjective assessments creates a gap in the marketplace brands can capitalise on not always for the benefit of the consumer.

The Goop Lab fails to engage with the cultural heritage of traditional health and well-being practices in any meaningful way, missing an important opportunity to forward the holistic health cause.

Read more: Gwyneth Paltrow's new Goop Lab is an infomercial for her pseudoscience business

The uncritical manner in which these therapies are presented, failure to attribute their traditional origins, absence of fact-checking, and lack of balanced representation of the arguments for and against these therapies only serve to set back the wellness cause.

Many of the historical and cultural origins of the therapies in The Goop Lab are not investigated, effectively whitewashing them.

The first episode, The Healing Trip, explores psychedelic psychotherapy, suggesting this is a new and novel approach to managing mental health.

In reality, psychedelics have been used in non-Western cultures for thousands of years, only recently enjoying a re-emergence in the Western world.

In the second episode, Cold Comfort, the Wim Hof Method (breathing techniques and cold therapy) is also marketed as a novel therapy.

The meditation component of Hofs method ignores its Hindu origins, documented in the Vedas from around 1500 BCE. The breathing component closely resembles pryma, a yogic breathing practice. The Hof dance looks a lot like tai chi, an ancient Chinese movement practice.

Whitewashing these alternative therapies represents a form of colonisation and commodification of non-Western practices that have existed for centuries.

The experts showcased are usually white and from Western cultures, rather than people of the cultures and ethnicities practising these therapies as part of their centuries-old traditions.

Rather than accessing these therapies from authentic, original sources, often the consumers only option is to turn to Western purveyors. Like Paltrow, these purveyors are business people capitalising on consumers desire and pursuit of wellness.

Paltrow describes Goop as a resource to help people optimise the self. But many of these therapies are economically inaccessible.

In The Health-Span Plan, Paltrow undergoes the five-day Fast Mimicking Diet by ProLon a diet designed to reap the health benefits of fasting while extremely restricting calories. The food for the treatment period costs US$249 (A$368) (but shipping is free!). The average Australian household spends just over A$250 on groceries weekly.

Paltrow also undergoes a vampire facial, where platelet-rich plasma extracted from your own blood is applied to your skin. This facial is available at one Sydney skin clinic for between A$550 and A$1,499.

These therapies commodify wellness and health as a luxury product, implying only the wealthy deserve to live well, and longer.

This sits in stark odds with the goals of the World Health Organisation, which views health as a fundamental human right without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic, or social condition.

Companies like Goop have a responsibility to explain the science and the origins of the methods they explore.

Given their profit-driven motive, many absolve themselves of this responsibility with an easy disclaimer their content is intended to entertain and inform not provide medical advice. This pushes the burden of critically researching these therapies onto the consumer.

Governments should seek to fund public health systems, such as Medicare, to integrate traditional health practices from other cultures through consultation and working in collaboration with those cultures.

Read more: Traditional medicines must be integrated into health care for culturally diverse groups

Perhaps this will give everyone access to a wellness system to help us live well, longer. This way, citizens are less likely to be driven towards opportunists such as Goop seeking to capitalise on our fundamental human right to live well.

Continued here:

Marketing, not medicine: Gwyneth Paltrows The Goop Lab whitewashes traditional health therapies for profit - The Conversation AU

Allow author Deepak Chopra to teach you the seven spiritual laws of big fit success:

The Law of Pure Sneaker Potentiality: let your loud sneakers do the talking. Don't force the rest of your fit to compete with them. Let them simply BE.

The Law of Giving: let a simple and harmonious outfitred trim on a jacket picking up the vivid splash of your red sneakersbe a present to the world

The Law of Karma: each accessory will generate a force of energy that returns to the entire outfit. Good glasses make for good fits.

The Law of Least Effort: let a statement staple, like a velvet, mandarin collar jacket, do most of the leg work.

The Law of Intention and Desire: make a list of clothes you want, but find ways to bring these ideas to fruition using the contents you already possess.

The Law of Detachment: Not every piece has to be a showstopper. Sometimes black pants are just what the alternative-medicine healer ordered.

The Law of Dharma: We get dressed to fulfill a purpose.

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Deepak Chopra Has Mastered the Seven Spiritual Laws of Big Fit Success - GQ

MY WAR CRIMINAL

Personal Encounters With an Architect of Genocide

By Jessica Stern

Where do malevolent leaders come from? What drives them, and why do people follow them? The rise of populist demagogues around the world, from Hungarys Viktor Orban, Turkeys Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russias Vladimir Putin to our own Donald Trump, has given these perennial questions new salience. In My War Criminal: Personal Encounters With an Architect of Genocide, the counterterrorism expert Jessica Stern seeks an answer from one of those leaders himself: Radovan Karadzic, the Bosnian Serb strongman implicated in atrocities committed during the ethnic cleansing of Bosnian Croats and Muslims between 1992 and 1995, including the deadly four-year siege of Sarajevo and the murder of thousands of Muslim men and boys at Srebrenica. Indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in 1995, Karadzic, a trained physician, changed his name and, disguised as a practitioner of alternative medicine, managed to evade capture for over a decade. In 2008, he was finally arrested in Belgrade, Serbia, and sent to The Hague to stand trial before the ICTY, which in 2016 convicted him of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide (his conviction was recently confirmed on appeal).

Stern, who has made a practice of speaking with terrorists of various stripes in order to understand their motivations, sought and exceptionally, as such requests are usually denied received permission to visit Karadzic from 2014 to 2016 in his jail in The Hague. In My War Criminal, she interweaves excerpts from their conversations with explanations of the history of the Bosnian war and reflections on the influences that shaped Karadzic. As the title of the book suggests, Stern also sees herself as part of the narrative, frequently calling attention to her own responses to her war criminals statements and behavior.

Understandably skeptical of Karadzics self-serving answers to probing questions, but determined to make a fair attempt to understand him, Stern goes in search of his family members, friends and former colleagues. From her interviews, and from her investigations into Serbian history and culture, she is surprised to find some truth in Karadzics claims. His insistence that Serbs were merely defending themselves against external threats, she observes, is rooted in memories of actual historical wounds that continue to exert a powerful influence. Karadzic writes poetry, and Stern explores the Serbian tradition of epic poetry and music that glorifies historical victimhood and martyrdom, and formed a backdrop to his youth.

Stern quotes extensively from the large body of literature on the former Yugoslavia, and also explores such related topics as the legal definition of genocide, the international law on secession, the complexities of globalization and the new man that Communism hoped to create. These citations and digressions, often in lengthy footnotes, can lend the book the feel of a graduate school thesis, and some errors and false impressions creep in: a misleading suggestion that the ICTY one-sidedly prosecuted only Serbs (it did not); the mistaken characterization of a Serbian case against Croatia at the International Court of Justice as involving World War II rather than the more recent conflicts; the incorrect claim that the indictments of Karadzic and his notorious general Ratko Mladic were the first to be handed down by the ICTY. In an effort to be evenhanded and to consider all sides in the conflict (and perhaps because of her own expertise), Stern devotes more space than may be warranted to the question of the influence of fundamentalist jihadis on the (traditionally quite secular) Bosnian Muslim population. Despite interventions during the war by several Muslim countries, she rightly concludes, the fears raised by Serbian propaganda regarding an Islamic fundamentalist takeover were considerably overblown.

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Conversations With a Mass Murderer - The New York Times

WHO/Europe is pleased to release details of the 2020 Culture and Health webinar series. For the second year running, the series shines a spotlight on the cultural contexts of contemporary health challenges.

Featuring speakers from a variety of backgrounds including policy-makers, historians and people with lived experience the 2020 series will examine topics such as the rise of vaccine hesitancy, the digital footprint on health equity, the homecoming of traditional childbirth, and the mental health and well-being of youth in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) era.

In addition to having a live audience, each webinar will be webcast and participants will be invited to tune in online and ask questions in real time.

The series is a collaboration between WHOs Cultural Contexts of Health and Well-being (CCH) project, the Centre for Global Health Histories at University of York, and the Wellcome Centre for Culture and Environments of Health at the University of Exeter. The Culture and Health webinar series is generously supported by the Wellcome Trust.

Join us for the first webinar of the year: What works? Complementary and alternative medicines in the biomedical world.

The use of complementary and alternative medicines, such as acupuncture and chiropractic treatment, is growing rapidly. However, there are still many obstacles to their integration into standard health services. How do cultural differences, prejudices and the history of medicine play a role in these practices and their acceptance? And how do we draw the line between what works and what doesn't?

The webinar will take place at the University of York on Thursday, 6 February 2020 at 13:0014:00 CET (12:0013:00 GMT). To join the conversation and watch the event live, please visit the webinar page.

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Data and evidence - Launching the 2020 Culture and Health webinar Series - World Health Organization

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that Medicare will now cover acupuncture for patients with chronic low back pain in part because of the widespread abuse of opioids in America. Medicare will now cover up to 12 sessions in 90 days with an additional 8 sessions for those patients with chronic low back pain who demonstrate improvement. Until now, acupuncture was not covered by Medicare.

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Expanding options for pain treatment is a key piece of the Trump Administrations strategy for defeating our countrys opioid crisis, US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement. President Trump has promised to protect and improve Medicare for our seniors, and deciding to cover this new treatment option is another sign of that commitment. Medicare beneficiaries will now have a new option at their disposal to help them deal with chronic low back pain, which is a common and sometimes debilitating condition.

A federal agencyin the HHS, CMSadministers the Medicare program and works in partnership with stategovernments to administer Medicaid, the Children's Health InsuranceProgram (CHIP), and health insurance portability standards.

We are dedicated to increasing access to alternatives to prescription opioids and believe that covering acupuncture for chronic low back pain is in the best interest of Medicare patients, said CMS Principal Deputy Administrator of Operations and Policy Kimberly Brandt in a statement. We are building on important lessons learned from the private sector in this critical aspect of patient care. Over-reliance on opioids for people with chronic pain is one of the factors that led to the crisis, so it is vital that we offer a range of treatment options for our beneficiaries.

The CMS announced this week that its decision to cover acupuncture was the result of an examination of coverage policies of private payers and takes into account an assessment of benefits and harms and the opioid public health crisis. And while there is variation in whats covered and the allowed number of visits to acupuncturists among private payers, a large number of them provide some coverage of acupuncture, CMS reported.

While a small number of adults 65 years of age or older have been enrolled in published acupuncture studies, patients with chronic low back pain in these studies showed improvements in function and pain. The evidence reviewed for this decision supports clinical strategies that include non-pharmacologic therapies for chronic low back pain, CMS reported.

Some 47,600 deaths related to overdose involved opioids in 2017, the CMS reported. The CMS said it is now keenly focused on fighting the opioids epidemic including by supporting access to pain management using a safe and effective range of treatment options that rely less on prescription opioids.

The CMS said it has made significant strides in preventing opioid use disorder by, for example, issuing safety alerts to pharmacists when a beneficiarys opioids prescription exceeds certain levels. Given these and other efforts from federal partners, total opioids dispensed by pharmacies nationwide declined 31 percent since 2017, CMS reported.

Practitioners of acupuncturea form of alternative medicine and a key component of traditional Chinese medicinestimulate strategic points on the body, most often by inserting thin needles through the skin. The alternative therapy is most commonly used to treat pain but is increasingly being used for overall wellness and stress management.

According to Mayo Clinic, traditional Chinese medicine explains acupuncture as a technique for balancing the flow of energy or life forceknown as chi or qi (chee)believed to flow through pathways (meridians) in your body. By inserting needles into specific points along these meridians, acupuncture practitioners believe that your energy flow will re-balance. In contrast, many Western practitioners view the acupuncture points as places to stimulate nerves, muscles and connective tissue. Some believe that this stimulation boosts your body's natural painkillers.

Whatever the reason, reviews on its effectiveness are also mixed, and many want even more alternative therapies covered.

To me, the best therapy is chiropractic and massage therapy, said Bonnie Huffman. Massage therapy should be covered. The benefits of it are remarkable. I have had successful back surgery, and I would not be working if it wasnt for my chiropractor and massage therapist. I have tried the needles. They dont work for me, but I know people that they do work for.

I tried [acupuncture] once on the reference of a pain management doctor to a physical therapist, said Lois Martin. She hit a nerve, and that did not feel good at all. Couldnt tell any difference even after the treatment. She was young and may have been inexperienced. Chiropractic has given best results. Massage therapy would be awesome but its expensive and not covered. I think it would speed up recovery after a flair up.

Currently, Medicare only covers chiropractic care as a treatment for a condition called spinal subluxation. According to the latest information regarding Medicare coverage in 2020 from AARP, original Medicare pays for only one chiropractic service: manual manipulation of the spine if deemed medically necessary to correct a subluxation (when one or more of the bones in your spine are out of position). This procedure, when performed by a chiropractor or other qualified provider, is covered throughMedicare Part B, the component of original Medicare that includes outpatient services.

Medicare will pay 80% of the Medicare-approved rate for this procedure, and you will owe 20% of the amount. In addition, you must also pay your deductible for Part B before Medicare begins to pay its share. You pay all the costs for other services provided or tests that a chiropractor orders, includingmassage therapy and X-rays. Medicare will cover the cost of an X-ray a physician orders to demonstrate that a spinal subluxation requires treatment but will not if a chiropractor ordered the X-ray. SomeMedicare Advantageplans do offer routine chiropractic services, however, as an additional benefit.

According to Mayo Clinic, acupuncture has been used to relieve discomfort associated with a variety of diseases and conditions, including:

The risks of acupuncture are low as long as patients seek a competent, certified acupuncture practitioner who uses sterile, one-time use needles. Common side effects could include soreness and minor bruising or bleeding at the site where the needles were inserted.

Still Mayo Clinic cautions that not everyone is a good candidate for acupuncture. You may be at risk of complications if you:

Mayo Clinic recommends taking the same steps in choosing an acupuncturist that you would if you were choosing a new doctor:

And not everyone responds to acupuncture.

Many people who have chronic low back pain have found acupuncture to be helpful. But the scientific evidence to support these claims has been mixed, partly because it can be difficult to devise a good form of sham acupuncture for comparison, said Brent A. Bauer, M.D.

According to the National Center for Commentary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), several studies indicate that both traditional (actual) and simulated (sham/placebo) acupuncture decrease pain, but other studies have suggested that the neural mechanisms involved may be different. (Simulated acupuncture mimics actual acupuncture, but without piercing the skin or using specific points.) There is evidence that simulated acupuncture appears to work just as well as real acupuncture. Evidence also shows that acupuncture works best in people who expect it to work.

Scientific studies have indicated that sham acupuncture works just as well as real acupuncture for back pain, Bauer said. This could mean that sham acupuncturecould be having an effect, or it could mean that the effects of acupuncture may be due in part to a placebo effect.

Bauer said the research on acupuncture is growing, but interpreting it is still a challenge. For now, most studies seem to indicate that, for most people, acupuncture results in some beneficial effect with a low risk of side effects when provided by a well-trained practitioner. So if other treatments haven't helped your low back pain, it may be worth trying acupuncture. But if your back pain doesn't begin to improve within a few weeks, acupuncture may not be the right treatment for you.

Mayo Clinic has ongoing studiestesting treatments for pain management, including acupuncture.

For the purpose of the CMS decision, chronic low back pain is defined as:

Physician assistants, nurse practitioners/clinical nurse specialists and auxiliary personnel may furnish acupuncture if they meet all applicable state requirements and have:

Read more:

Medicare Will Now Pay For Acupuncture In Part Due To Opioid Abuse - Forbes

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With offerings from reiki to massage to intuitive tarot readings, the new spot is perfect for the mystical among us.

Photograph by Amber Johnson, courtesy of The Reiki School

Get ready to relax and breathe deeper in Queen Village at the just-opened outpost of The Reiki School + Clinic. Its the 21-year-old businesss second Philadelphia location (934 E. Moyamensing Street.) With two treatment rooms, a store, and a classroom, the Queen Village spot which had its grand opening earlier this month offers the schools full range of alternative healing therapies, from reiki to massage to herbal consultations to intuitive tarot readings.

For those of you wondering what exactly Reiki is, we can explain its a Japanese energy healing method. When you go in for your Reiki session, the practitioner places their hands lightly on your body as you recline, fully clothed, on a comfy massage chair or table. This purportedly allows for a transfer of healing energy. Yep, its as simple (or complicated) as that: Reiki is all about balance and a belief in that transfer of energy.

Unlike some types of massage or physical therapy, Reiki doesnt focus on treating specific symptoms alone. Instead, treatments at the Reiki School + Clinic set out to offer the entire body a sense of wellbeing and peace whether it works or not is a matter of individual assessment.

Photograph by Amber Johnson, courtesy of The Reiki School

If Reiki is still a little too woo-woo for you to book a full session, the Reiki School + Clinic offers combo massage and Reiki treatments at both of their Philly locations, with added special options for pre-and-post-natal clients. (The first outpost is The Ellington Building on 1500 Chestnut Street.)

But for those who want even more mystical healing?The School also offers sound healing options for Reiki treatments involving quartz crystal singing bowls, drums, rattles, and crystals placed on your body. They also offer space cleansing services for homes and offices, herbal medicine consultations, and tarot readings for guidance on everything from your love life to your work life to your past life.

Photograph courtesy of The Reiki School

Photograph courtesy of The Reiki School

At a minimum of $80 per session, you might want to learn how to perform Reiki for yourself at home. If youre intrigued, you can even take classes at the Reiki School + Clinic to learn how to treat yourself or others. The Reiki School + Clinic also offers classes in Reiki at four different levels, so that you too can become a master of the treatment method. They even have options for training in Animal Reiki, because we all know our furry friends (and bugs?) need balance too.

Even if Reiki isnt for you, the new location is good news for Queen Village. Reiki School Co-directors Stephanie Palmer, LMT, RM, and Vicki Zaharopoulos, LMT, RM, HHC bring years of expertise and a desire to be a positive presence in the neighborhood. The Schools mission is even based around mirroring the community of bees in a hive (check out their honeycomb logo). They work to support their communities and neighborhoods by collaborating with local healthcare groups and nonprofits at their two Philly locations.

So what does it mean that a holistic, Japanese wellness-based business is expanding (to its third location!) in our area? Maybe its part of the unstoppable millennial interest in astrology and other forms of alternative spirituality. Or maybe its a sign that Philadelphia has a growing need for balance and mental clarity these days (A.K.A. Were all way too stressed out.)

Either way, be sure to check out the new location of the Reiki School + Clinic, and treat yourself to a day or several of pursuing inner peace.

Want to hear more from us? Join Be Well Philly at:FACEBOOK|INSTAGRAM|NEWSLETTER|TWITTER

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A New Location of the Reiki School Just Opened in Queen Village - Philadelphia magazine

The AYUSH and Alternative Medicine Market report is a collection of pragmatic information, quantitative and qualitative estimation by industry experts, the contribution from industry connoisseurs and industry accomplices across the value chain. Furthermore, the report also provides the qualitative results of diverse market factors on its geographies and segments.

Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) is a system of alternative medicines in India. Growing population, rising awareness about AYUSH medicines, increasing side-effects of mainstream medicines, escalating costs of conventional health care and government support is driving the industry. Today India is one of the top exporters of alternative medicines in the world. Major export destination includes US and European countries like Germany and France.

Click the link to get a Sample Copy of the Report:

https://www.marketinsightsreports.com/reports/07111356735/global-ayush-and-alternative-medicine-market-size-status-and-forecast-2019-2025/inquiry?source=nytelecast99&Mode=12

The report presents the market competitive landscape and a corresponding detailed analysis of the major vendor/key players in the market. Top Companies in the Global AYUSH and Alternative Medicine Market: Baidyanath, Himalya Herbals, Ganga Pharmaceuticals, Patanjali, Hamdard and other.

This report segments the global AYUSH and Alternative Medicine market on the basis of Types are:

Ayurvedic Medicines

Herbal Medicines

Aroma Therapy

Homeopathy

Reflexology

Others

On the basis of Application, the Global AYUSH and Alternative Medicine market is segmented into:

Women

Men

Kids

For comprehensive understanding of market dynamics, the global AYUSH and Alternative Medicine market is analyzed across key geographies namely: United States, China, Europe, Japan, South-east Asia, India and others. Each of these regions is analyzed on basis of market findings across major countries in these regions for a macro-level understanding of the market.

AYUSH and Alternative Medicine Market research report delivers a close watch on leading competitors with strategic analysis, micro and macro market trend and scenarios, pricing analysis and a holistic overview of the market situations in the forecast period. It is a professional and a detailed report focusing on primary and secondary drivers, market share, leading segments and geographical analysis. Further, key players, major collaborations, merger and acquisitions along with trending innovation and business policies are reviewed in the report. The report contains basic, secondary and advanced information pertaining to the AYUSH and Alternative Medicine Market global status and trend, market size, share, growth, trends analysis, segment and forecasts from 20192025.

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Global AYUSH and Alternative Medicine Market Overview, Drivers, Restraints and Opportunities, Segmentation overview

Global AYUSH and Alternative Medicine Market competition by Manufacturers

Production by Regions

Consumption by Regions

Production, By Types, Revenue and Market share by Types

Consumption, By Applications, Market share (%) and Growth Rate by Applications

Complete profiling and analysis of Manufacturers

Manufacturing cost analysis, Raw materials analysis, Region-wise manufacturing expenses

Industrial Chain, Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers

Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders

Global AYUSH and Alternative Medicine Market Effect Factors Analysis

Global AYUSH and Alternative Medicine Market Forecast

Global AYUSH and Alternative Medicine Market Research Findings and Conclusion, Appendix, methodology and data source

Finally, all aspects of the Global AYUSH and Alternative Medicine Market are quantitatively as well qualitatively assessed to study the Global as well as regional market comparatively. This market study presents critical information and factual data about the market providing an overall statistical study of this market on the basis of market drivers, limitations and its future prospects. The report supplies the international economic competition with the assistance of Porters Five Forces Analysis and SWOT Analysis.

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AYUSH and Alternative Medicine Market Global Insights, Trends and Huge Business Opportunities 2019 to 2025 - NY Telecast 99

The government wants people to have the facts as the medicinal effects, and possible risks, of ganja emerge.

UPDATE: The Cabinet today gave the greenlight for kanchong (cannabis) cultivation to make this type of hemp a cash crop, according to Thai News Agencys English news.

As earlier reported by The Thaiger, two Thai government agencies have agreed to cooperate to educate the Thai public about the medicinal value, and the potential risks, of marijuana. The Public Health and Education ministries will develop a course of study promoting the medicinal use of cannabis, to be offered by the Office of the Non-Formal and Informal Education (NFE).

Permanent secretary of health Dr Sukhum Kanchanapimai and Rakana Tantawutho, the deputy permanent secretary of education, signed a memorandum of understanding to that effect yesterday.

Thailand is taking cannabis seriously now marijuana is being seen as a potential cash crop which may benefit Thailands economy. The legalisation of cannabis for medical use was allowed last year and Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has said he is pushing for the Government to change laws to allow the medical use of marijuana freely.

The government wants to promote technology that can be applied in medicine, including in the medical use of cannabis and other materials, as a source of income for Thai citizens.

The course proposed by the permanent secretary of healths office translates to mean Studies of cannabis and hemp for informed medicinal uses.

The aim is to ensure that NFE students and the general public have access to complete and accurate knowledge about existing and potential medicinal uses of cannabis.The Health Ministry has developed innovations for making use of it, and marijuana is now legally cultivated, under strict controls, as a component in both conventional and traditional medicines.

The two ministries will promote the course, which will cover chemical characteristics of the plant, benefits and health risks, legal aspects, and potential uses in mainstream and alternative medicine.

SOURCE: Thailand Today | Forbes

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School of weed: Ministries preparing course on medical marijuana - The Thaiger

Spice things up by adding cannabis to the mix. Learn how to make chocolate-cannabis edibles and, in a separate event, how cannabis can be an alternative medicine.

For those interested in the business side of cannabis, weve got you covered.

Learn how chocolate edibles are made.Getty Images

Jan 31, 4-7 p.m., 241 Broadway St. E, Fort QuApelleJan. 31, 141-143 2nd Ave., SaskatoonFree admission

Interested in learning more about edibles? Head over to one of these sessions to learn how Tweeds infused chocolates are made, what goes into them and how to pick the right edibles based on your cannabis experience and taste.

Valentines pot-luck that aims to reduce stigma around cannabis use.iStock / Getty Images Plus

Feb. 3, 7-8:30 p.m., 114 Armistice Way, SaskatoonEntry request: Bring a dish

Come out for a fun pot-luck supper! Apart from sharing in the feast, hear speaker Michael Kani talk about cannabis for medical use. Kani, a pharmacist by profession, says that while the stigma around medical marijuana use still exists, things are changing. About 75 per cent of the patients I consult with are seniors whove never used cannabis, Kani said in an interview with his alma mater, the University of Waterloo.

Speaker Shawn Parchoma, manager of government relations for Aurora Cannabis (Photo LinkedIn)

Feb. 20, 405 20th St. E, Saskatoon, 11:30 a.m., $44 for members, $88 for non-members

In 1998, CanniMed was founded in Saskatoon, and was acquired by Aurora Cannabis in 2018 for over $1 billion. Join the Greater Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce as they address the topic of legalization. The event will feature Shawn Parchoma, manager of government relations of Aurora Cannabis, who previously worked for the Government of Alberta in policy advising and cannabis.

Want to keep up to date on whats happening in the world of cannabis?Subscribeto the Cannabis Post newsletter for weekly insights into the industry, what insiders will be talking about and content from across the Postmedia Network.

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Check out these cannabis events in Saskatchewan - The GrowthOp

Her moving portrayal of Casualty's nurse Duffys battle with dementia has touched millions, but actress Cathy Shipton may have done too good a job.

Cathy, who bows out this week after 33 years playing Lisa Duffin in Casualty, was approached at a telly event by an organiser, who assumed she really had dementia.

The 62-year-old recalls: I was at the National Television Awards last year and got split up from our group.

When was looking for my lot, one of the organisers came up and I think they thought dementia! because she said in a sympathetic voice: Are you OK? Have you lost your friends?

I felt like saying its a character! I can see my friends at the bar! so I do have to go out of my way to say to people its a character and not me!

Cathy, in the pilot episode in 1986, will still be a healer when she leaves the medical drama, but in real life.

She is a big fan of homeopathy and complimentary medicine and is such a dab hand at dishing out advice she jokingly calls herself Witchy-Poo.

She says: I had a total hip replacement and went through it with a whole series of remedies and they were astonished at my recovery. I was on stage within six weeks.

I took Arnica for internal and external bruising you take it pre and post-surgery - and I have a homeopath who prescribes. Shes also an orthodox GP.

When my mum was 89, someone fell on her and crushed her pelvis. The doctors wouldnt operate because of her age, so my homeopath suggested Arnica and Symphytum, which is actually Comfrey.

Comfrey was used in the Battle of Agincourt on broken bones. You make a poultice of it its called the bone knitter. Mum was walking within two weeks.

I remember when my daughter was a baby, her nappy rash disappeared overnight with Chamomile.

I prefer the phrase complimentary medicine, rather than alternative medicine, as it compliments orthodox medicine.

Ive had consultants tell me they have patients who wont go through surgery unless they can use complimentary medicines. One said to me: I have to say it seemed like their recovery was markedly quicker.

Cathy, also a fan of acupuncture and acupressure, is even related to a white witch.

Cathy says: My mother was one of seven children. Weve a family tree and Im related to Old Mother Shipton. People say there is something a bit Witchy Poo about me!

Old Mother Shipton, A 15th century fortune teller, lived in a cave in Knaresborough, North Yorkshire.

She made potions and remedies as well as predicting the future.

Cathy laves Casualty on Saturday, two years after Duffy was diagnosed with young onset dementia.

Of the 850,000 with dementia in the UK, approximately 42,000 have young onset dementia, which affects those under age 65.

Viewers have seen Duffy forced to quit her beloved nursing job and in recent weeks her husband Charlie has struggled to cope.

Cathy says: Its a dramatic storyline, but it has been incredibly respectful to the character and to the subject, its a moving and beautiful farewell.

Although she is proud of the storyline, Cathy hopes it will not prove distressing viewing for families who have been touched by dementia.

Im at great pains to point out Duffys deterioration is quite rapid, she explains.

I dont want anyone who is dealing with dementia to assume what happens to Duffy happens to everyone.

To prepare for the storyline Cathy read last years best-selling book Somebody I Used to Know, written by Wendy Mitchell, a former NHS worker who was diagnosed with young onset dementia, aged 58.

She also spoke to the charity Dementia UK, but she turned down the offer of meeting people with the condition. I thought; its Duffys journey I cant graft on another persons life.

Over the years Cathy briefly left Casualty four times, but it pulled her back. In a way, what draws the audience back, is similar to what draws me back. Its the shows values.

Not surprisingly the role has left her with deep respect for the NHS. One of the things Ive learnt is what tremendous pressure theyre under, she says.

Duffy represents someone in a public service and thats important to me. I feel a responsibility to the nursing profession the nurses doing it for real are unsung heroes..

Cathy lives in West London with her partner, actor Christopher Guard - they met on the set of Casualty - and their student daughter Tallulah, 18. Cathy now is looking forward to new roles.

She said: I want to play a lunatic monster in Doctor Who, a homeless woman, someone in a period drama, or a character in A Discovery of Witches.

She added: When Casualty started we just did half a year, 12 episodes. The amount now seems to occupy your whole life.

In a way thats counter to being an actor, because theres part of you that just wants to face the next challenge.

Although Duffys exit is heart-breaking, Cathy loved filming it.

She explains: Her storyline became quite a dominant issue and I was challenged. The last dozen episodes was like playing a different character, because she was going through so many changes.

See the article here:

Casualty star Cathy Shipton on her passion for 'witchy' home remedies as she exits soap - Mirror Online