Sarah Schwefel, Medical Cannabis Activist, Researcher and Writer – Interview Series

Since relocating to Las Vegas in 2018 from the very prohibitionist state of Wisconsin to have safe and legal access to medical cannabis, Sarah Schwefel has used her platform as a medical cannabis refugee to do everything from strongly advocating for medical patient rights and protections across The Silver State, to leading thought-provoking panel discussions at large-scale cannabis conventions, to hosting a regular column in Vegas/Tahoe Wellness Magazine.

Tell me about yourself and your experience as a medical cannabis refugee.

In 2018, my life changed in ways I never thought possible when myself and my family relocated from my home state of Wisconsin to Las Vegas, NV for access to legal cannabis and the dry climate combined for my health.

I have a rare genetic condition, Ehlers Danlos Syndrome (EDS), that causes weak and faulty collagen in my body. Collagen is the glue that holds our bodies together, and with EDS it can attack almost everything in the body. For myself, it causes constant pain, muscle spasms, dislocations, heart and GI problems, and has caused severe spinal instability resulting in over 10 spine injuries/conditions, and unfortunately much more. While it is genetic, it did not start affecting me much until my early 20s, and then it came out with a vengeance. I became bed bound, in extreme pain, barely able to make it to the bathroom on my own. I went doctor to doctor, desperate for relief and help, and there was nothing. Either they dismissed me because it is a rare disease and they know nothing about it, write me off as if it was all in my head, or tell me there was nothing to be done and I would only continue to get worse. I was declining quickly, miserable and suffering. I was given a slurry of medications with horrid side effects, and nothing helped, all while being denied pain medication because I was “too young” and “what if I got addicted.” So rather than help me, the doctors left me to suffer. During this time there was a lot of darkness. I had no hope for the future and everyday was filled with horrid pain that would leave me crying and shaking in bed. During this time in my life, I became suicidal, wanting a way out of the suffering. It was never that I didn’t want to live, I didn’t want to live in the pain that I was told there was nothing to help.

On one last hurray in January of 2018, my then fiancé flew us to Las Vegas to get married. Truth is, I wanted to go on the trip so badly to marry the man of my dreams, but by the time we landed, the pain was so severe all I could do was cry. There was no way I could get through a 3-day vacation. We immediately went to a dispensary to get some cannabis for me, as I already used it illegally in Wisconsin for pain relief. I’ll never forget the wave of relief I got after smoking my first joint of legal cannabis. It worked much differently than the illegal cannabis I had access to in Wisconsin. I felt a wave of relief I thought was impossible and yet there I was, experiencing less pain than I had in years. I went to my knees and just started crying. I couldn’t fathom what was happening or how it was even possible. At this point, I was sick for years, begging doctors to help me and told there was nothing over and over again, only to find that cannabis could give me relief.

For the next three days, I frequented the dispensary trying an array of products. I lived my best life those three days, walking around the Strip- just being able to walk around was a miracle. I smiled and laughed like I haven’t in years because the pain had been all encompassing and stole my smile. I hugged my husband so much because the pain became so bad, I couldn’t even hug my family anymore without extreme pain. I felt like I could live again for the first time in years, and for the first time in a long time, I saw hope for my future. My husband promised me he would get us to Vegas and 8 months later we made the 26-hour drive to Nevada. Relocating saved my life without a doubt. I know I would not be here today without relocating. The pain was too severe, and the decline was rapid. Every day I wake up and begin my day with cannabis, feeling the pain lower to a tolerable level that allows me to live in ways I once gave up all hope on. This is why I advocate for cannabis, why I fight for plant medicine, and why I share my story. Cannabis saved my life and if one person can find cannabis and it can save them too from hearing my story, then that makes all the suffering have a bit of a purpose. Because no one should have to suffer when cannabis may be able to help them too.

Since I also decided to move out to Las Vegas for similar medical cannabis access reasons, I wanted to ask why did you decide Nevada in particular to move to?

Las Vegas offers not only access to cannabis that my body needs but also the dry desert climate my body prefers. When traveling here in early 2018, I learned the dry weather could help ease my joint pain, as well as lessen the frequency of dislocations by lessening the swelling in my joints. With my condition, Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, the dry climate of Las Vegas helps ease my pain, just like the cannabis does. It also has less severe weather, such as rain and snow, that also exasperated my pain in Wisconsin. I’m thankful everyday to live in Las Vegas and proudly call myself a local now. It is a beautiful city, filled with amazing people.

As a very strong advocate for the medical cannabis patients that are unfortunately oftentimes forgotten about once a state legalizes recreationally, what are some issues that medical patients still face even when a state does fully legalize?

I absolutely agree with you. While I believe everyone gains medicinal value from cannabis, patients in particular who depend on the plant as their medicine are often overlooked, forgotten, and patients’ needs are silenced within the recreational market, despite patients being the reason the industry was started in the first place.

There are numerous problems that plague patients, though I would like to touch on three that I believe are significant roadblocks for patients.

To begin, there is a lack of prioritizing education. More often than not, the budtenders are not educated on the plant and can not accurately help patients find what they need. They promote the sales and incentives for the week, instead of prioritizing what a consumer of cannabis needs, which harms all cannabis consumers. There are waves of research papers that exist on cannabis, teaching us how to leverage cannabinoids and terpenes to gain the desired effects, and yet when patients go into dispensaries, they must take a gamble, not knowing if the product will help them or not. On a personal note, when I came to Las Vegas for the first time, I thankfully had a budtender who listened to my concerns, asked me what I wanted the cannabis for, and was able to identify the right terpenes and cannabinoids to help ease my pain. His knowledge of the plant helped change my life, because if he didn’t know what to give me, and it didn’t help as much as it did, I would still be in Wisconsin, bedbound and may not be alive today. His knowledge allowed me to experience the power of cannabis and completely changed the course of my life.

In addition to the lack of education, affordability and accessibility is a problem within the legal cannabis market. Accessibility regarding access to specific products that could help medical patients, such as THC suppositories for example that could benefit many patients including those with gastrointestinal disorders and chronic pain, are not available to patients in Nevada. Furthermore, affordability plagues patients that rely on cannabis as their daily medicine. With prices skyrocketing, many cannot afford the cannabis they need and thus must suffer with various symptoms that could otherwise have been helped from access to affordable cannabis. It’s time the industry creates specific programs that help cannabis patients have access to affordable cannabis. We, as patients, are not out here trying to merely party with cannabis, we are trying to relieve pain, reduce the frequency of seizures, eat, get out of bed, and so much more. Cannabis patients deserve affordable access to their medication, in the same way diabetics deserve affordable insulin. It is medicine and it is time the industry treated it as such.

What have been some of your personal and/or professional highlights as a cannabis advocate and writer?

After moving to Las Vegas in 2018 I became engulfed in the cannabis industry, determined to learn more to better help myself and other patients. In 2020, I became certified in endocannabinoid medicine from the American Journal of Endocannabinoid Medicine. Soon after, I worked as a research analyst and writer for the Global Cannabinoid Research Center alongside esteemed cannabinoid researchers. Since then, I have worked with various companies, writing over 200 articles about plant medicine, including monthly articles and an Ask Sarah Column in Vegas Wellness and Tahoe Wellness Magazines. I’ve also had the privilege of speaking at various events, including CBD.IO and G4 Live in Las Vegas, allowing me to share education, advocate for patients’ needs, as well as sharing my personal testimony of what plant medicine has done for me.

I am also involved in legislative advocacy, advocating for patients and the needs of the industry at large. I am Chair of the Public Affairs for the Chamber of Cannabis where I utilize my knowledge, skills, and background in marketing to help promote and advance the Chamber and the needs of the members it represents.

If you would have told me years ago when I was in Wisconsin, bed bound with many doctors telling me there was no hope for any improvement, only decline; I would never have believed this was all possible and yet here we are. Every day I am thankful for the access I have to plant medicine and for the opportunities it has brought me. I am honored to be able to do what I do and be able to represent patients in the cannabis industry.

With cannabis becoming rescheduled and further possible large-scale federal reforms on the horizon, how can advocates for these measures remember to include medical patients in their advocacy?

It is critical patients are considered in advocacy and future reforms, as patients are the reason the industry began. There is a vast amount of research papers that analyze and prove the medicinal properties of cannabis, numerous personal testimonies, and yet we must continuously fight for patients’ rights.

In order to keep patients at the forefront, we need to be loud and voice our needs. Not all patients can do this. When I was bed bound in Wisconsin, I was lucky if I had enough energy to eat, and advocacy never crossed my mind, because frankly I was too sick. Patients and allies that are able to advocate must get involved. We need to be a voice for the voiceless. We need to continue to fight until everyone has access. No one should be suffering when cannabis could potentially help them.