From the Emerald Triangle: Marijuana and Health – My 1996 Interview with Two Humboldt County Doctors

Wise Talkers

This 4th “Legacy Edition” of the Wise Talkers podcast features an interview I conducted in 1996 on KMUD radio in southern Humboldt County, California. In conversation with two doctors from the heart of the famed Emerald Triangle, one of the world’s largest marijuana-producing regions, we discussed the long-term health effects of regular marijuana use.
There were very few research studies in the United States on marijuana in 1996, 20 years before it became legal for recreational use in California. We reviewed research conducted in Jamaica and other countries, and also the professional expertise of Dr. Marc Phelps and Dr. Bill Hunter. Four listeners called in, relating their own experience and views on the subject, addressing built-in research bias issues, sacramental used of cannabis, and how usage and health effects vary in different cultures.

Only the first half of the original one-hour interview was available, unfortunately, but it nonetheless covers a variety of views on and experiences with cannabis use. After the truncated interview plays, I close with a suggestion of doing a future live-streamed episode of Wise Talkers with listener call-ins, focusing on the use of marijuana not just for recreational or medical benefits, but as an aid in the exploration and expansion of consciousness.
(I did not create a transcript for this episode, partly because it was difficult to distinguish voices when there was cross-talk. However, Apple Podcasts features their AI-generated transcript of the episode.)
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Chapters

1. From the Emerald Triangle: Marijuana and Health – My 1996 Interview with Two Humboldt County Doctors (00:00:00)

2. Marijuana and Health – Introducing my 1996 interview from the Emerald Triangle (00:00:07)

3. Interview with Dr. Mark Phelps & Dr. Bill Hunter begins (00:02:34)

4. Dr. Phelps says that if marijuana had very bad health effects, hospitals would be full of those cases... but they are not (00:05:39)

5. Dr. Hunter points out that long-term epidemiological studies have not been done yet in the U.S. (00:06:49)

6. Studies in other countries reviewed, including discredited 1974 Heath study. (00:08:38)

7. Brain damage vs. psychological effects from marijuana use (00:10:36)

8. 1st caller addresses researcher bias, including in widely debunked monkey studies. (00:12:03)

9. 2nd caller discusses using cannabis for self-help, history of use for spiritual purposes, and the need for education. (00:14:05)

10. Quitting can also have health benefits for many. Nobody is advocating "morning to night" use. (00:18:25)

11. 3rd caller says laws are fighting the drugs that *don't* kill us instead of the ones that do! (00:21:28)

12. 4th caller's own long-term use had no ill effects on his active lifestyle. Also relates experience of Berbers in Morocco, and the effect of cultural norms. (00:23:00)

13. Epilogue: Suggesting a possible future live-streamed episode of Wise Talkers, with call-ins, discussing our experiences with using cannabis for consciousness exploration. (00:27:55)