002 | Why Weed Is Good For Your Vagina with Dr. Leslie Apgar

“Our poor bodies are just broken and we're exhausted. We’ve got a terrible diet, we got societal stress, emotional stress, physical stress. And our bodies cannot make the endocannabinoids in a way that they're supposed to. Our guts are broken and that's where all of this magic happens, is in our GI system. So it's many, many years of abuse, and our bodies are doing absolutely the best that they can, but they need help.”

Dr. Leslie Apgar knows the female body, and she knows cannabis. Our bodies change so much from pregnancy, to postpartum, and into aging and our endocannabinoid system (this system keeps us balanced, and the system that reacts with cannabis positively) needs help to stay balanced. She offered valuable tips to helping our common ailments of our cycles and healing. She shares patient stories, her incredible story, and wisdom in speaking your truth no matter the stigma, judgement, and confidence levels. She brings her invaluable insight to how to approach cannabis as a seasoned user or a first time experience to improve your cycle, postpartum and getting off meds. She’s a wealth of knowledge and I cannot wait for our next interview together.

• Bio

  Leslie Apgar, MD, is a board-certified OBGYN and skilled minimally invasive surgeon. During her 21-year career, she served on numerous hospital committees helping to educate and train new surgeons and students, change policies and embrace new technologies. Unsatisfied by many aspects of traditional medicine and seeing an obvious void in the market, Dr. Apgar founded Greenhouse Wellness, a medical cannabis dispensary in Maryland, alongside her best friend, Gina Dubbé.

  The duo founded Blissiva, a cannabis line of products directed toward women, and published a behind-the-scenes look at the industry called, High Heals: How Two Women Found Their Footing in the Medical Cannabis Industry. They have appeared on the Today Show, The List, CNN, and various other local and national outlets, as well as numerous international publications and podcasts.

  As Medical Director of Greenhouse Wellness, Dr. Apgar gives cannabis education lectures to physicians, patients and community members. She performs complimentary, daily medical cannabis consultations in-person or by telehealth to patients all over the world.

  Dr. Apgar’s passion is cannabis education and women’s health and her appointment as Editor in Chief of AJEM aligns with her core mission to improve the understanding of cannabinoid therapy, decrease suffering, and improve the lives of her patients and colleagues.  

  Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Dr. Apgar attended medical school at Penn State University and completed her OBGYN residency at Penn State University, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. During her leisure time, you can find her hanging out with her 5 amazing kids and husband, as well as spending time with her horse, Figaro. An avid reader, she will often polish off a novel in one sitting while traveling, another passion of hers.

Episode notes:

4:38 Endocannabinoid System, female specifically with PMS, PMDD, etc.
7:24 How our body changes from having a baby, to breastfeeding, and when our hormones start to balance and improve from all of that
8:10 When is a good time to introduce higher amounts of cannabis medicine to help the balancing out
10:39 Postpartum and how cannabis helps (how to use and what to use)
11:40 High THC in the industry and how it doesn’t solve some of our issues
14:51 Blissiva Vape Pen (female specific)
16:02 Proper rations of CBD and TCH: When Mama is balanced so is everything else: mindset, husband, depression, sleep
17:26 How diet affects cannabis
19:04 Our personal “toolkits” and what we can add to it with cannabis to feel better
22:16 Weening off antidepressants with cannabis
30:07 Cannabis resources and unintimidating dispensary experiences
36:00 Stigma and Judgement felt by a mama using cannabis
38:59 Why Leslie left traditional medicine and started a dispensary with her best friend
43:01 Weed and the Vagina
51:13 Using Cannabis during your period cycle
55:41 Starting slow with cannabis
56:33 Getting super baked
58:05 Resources

Other mentions:

Medical Marijuana Guide by Patricia Fry
Resources at greenhousewellness.com
American Journal of Endocannabinoid Medicine

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or on your favorite podcast platform.

Brought to you by Mana Supply Dispensary in Edgewater Maryland. They are offering 25% your first purchase when you mention MAMACHILLCLUB. Already a patient? You still score with $5 off. Find them on Instagram: @mana.suppy for full menu of offerings and event calendar.

greenhousewellness.com
@teamgreenhouse
High Heals Book
blissiva.com
@blissiva

You can find the transcript of this episode here.