The 10th annual invite-only Impact Forum is well underway in Orlando, Florida. Well-heeled attendees and thought leaders gathered at GuideWell Innovation Center in Lake Nona to listen to panels on crucial topics regarding the convergence of medicine and societal advancement, including healthcare and the future of modern wellness.
Renowned Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta moderated a fireside chat with the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton. The two famous gentlemen chatted about a wide swath of currently politicized topics from the Ukraine Crisis to the Opioid Crisis, and surprisingly, even to CBD.
Unexpectedly, Clinton came out full force in support of CBD plus a small amount of THC for pain management.
Proceeding with his recognizable brand of personable, folksy Southern charm, POTUS 42 expounded on the necessity of standardized CBD testing.
Discussing Putin’s direct interference in getting former President Donald Trump elected (“He admitted it.”) to predicting the invasion of Ukraine, the conversation ultimately turned to the opioid crisis and the subsequent deaths and suicides of individuals with substance use disorder (SUD).
Citing the inner turmoil that people with SUD and their loved ones face, and all the calls Clinton receives from friends and colleagues offering him helpful suggestions on how to deal with the crisis, Clinton expressed his support for low-level THC in CBD for pain management.
“I try not to answer any of those hype calls but I get more messages about CBD than any man alive. Go figure. There is some evidence that you can get CBD with a low-THC count that will combat pain. Some of these products have been tested more or less to FDA standards and some [haven’t been tested] not at all.”
Clinton told the rapt audience that he was counting on their help to support the need for standardization in CBD testing, so it can be regulated for pain management as an alternative to opioids.
“We need to have a national standard of the THC count of these products and what the tests show. NYU Langone does some of this testing and CBD could be a viable outlet for pain relief. We could potentially not lose so many people,” Clinton said.
Meanwhile, multiple Emmy-award-winning Gupta echoed the former President’s sentiments admitting that while originally circumspect on the topic, “CBD works.”
“I’ve done six documentaries on the subject and I wasn’t a believer before, but I am now.
I’ve worked on this for so long that I know not only can it work, sometimes it’s the only thing that works for some of these conditions,” said Gupta.
“We have to figure out the regulatory framework. You got to make sure people aren’t getting harmed by it, but to have a non-addictive option at a time when so many people are dying, I think it’s absolutely true,” Gupta surmised.
Clinton wrapped up his remarks noting that while he doesn’t expect everyone to live in a community that “has a wellness standard like this community, everyone deserves to live in a community where every child has a chance at wellness.
“The only thing that matters is living and making a difference. None of us live forever. We’re all just passing through, so suit up,” Clinton said. The 10th annual Impact Forum is produced by Tavistock in collaboration with media partner Fortune Magazine.
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