Gary’s CBD discovery started out as a selfish journey looking to help his CrossFit Master Competition career but then discovered that his daughter had a dependency on opiates that lead her down a path of using heroin. He realized that this plant could help her overcome her addiction but , sadly the law and legislation were not on his side, and before he could get a cannabis product that was safe and viable, she lost her battle, losing her life. 

She was on life support until her 27th birthday. That day Gary and his wife decided to let her go. His daughter was someone who always wanted to help others, which showed even after her death. To their surprise, his daughter was an organ donor, and she saved someone else’s life with her own. 

At that point, Gary’s relationship with CBD and Cannabis changed to one of helping others in addiction with a particular focus on providing help to his fellow brothers and sisters in the fire department, many of whom face problems with PTSD and associated depression. 

Highlights

• Gary’s background and personal story and his connection with CBD
• How Gary used CBD to help improve his Crossfit performance 
• Daughter’s opiates addiction and the potential for CBD to help
• Mission to help first responders get access to CBD
• PTSD and Depression - the unique stress faced by firefighters and first responders
• How CBD has helped has first responders cope with the stress of the job
• How Gary is helping promote the benefits with first responders
• Gary’s own company, Pure Body Zen and podcast (Good Dudes Grow Podcast)

Links of Interest

• Good Dudes Grow Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-dudes-grow/id1546666698
• Pure Body Zen https://pbzcbd.com/
• Dealing with the emotional trauma caused by mass disasters https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/emotional-trauma-caused-by-mass-disasters/
• Conceptualization, Assessment, and Treatment of Traumatic Stress in First Responders: A Review of Critical Issues https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6624844/
• New Research Reveals Why Cannabis Helps PTSD Sufferers https://www.forbes.com/sites/emilyearlenbaugh/2020/09/17/new-research-reveals-why-cannabis-helps-ptsd-sufferers/?sh=3b12d7b5179a
• CBD for Veterans https://www.cbdschool.com/cbd-for-veterans/