By Madison Butkus
Hometown Weekly Reporter
With the fall season coming to an end, the Needham Free Public Library (NFPL), in sponsorship with the Library Foundation of Needham (LFN), hosted their final event that is part of the LFN Fall Author Series. For this discussion, Dr. Benjamin Caplan was interviewed by Matt Robinson.
Robinson is the host of The Writer’s Block on The Needham Channel and author of “Lions, Tigers, and … Bulldogs? An Unofficial Guide to the Legends and Lore of the Ivy League.” When interviewing Caplan, he asked him an array of questions stemming around his most recent book, “The Doctor-Approved Cannabis Handbook.”
The NFPL’s website went on to explain that Caplan “is a distinguished figure in Clinical Cannabis Medical Care. As the co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of CED Clinic, CED Foundation, and EO Care, Inc., Dr. Caplan is at the forefront of delivering exceptional patient care and spearheading the development of cutting-edge cannabis education platforms. His CED Clinic has treated 18,000 patients and supervised the guidance and data collection of over 300,000 others. His book, “The Doctor-Approved Cannabis Handbook,” serves as a definitive guide to effective cannabis therapies and renders complex information accessible to a broad audience.”
When talking with Robinson about how he got into this field of work, Caplan explained that he simply started out as a regular family doctor with no prior training when it came to cannabis. As many of his patients started coming forward and stating that cannabis was helping them, it piqued his interest and so he started conducting more research on the topic.
While many of his colleagues and family members were weary about this decision that Caplan was making, he simply wanted to better help his patients in ways that were already working for them. Despite the concerns, Caplan pursued on, reading through data and research to ultimately become an excellent doctor within Clinical Cannabis Medical Care.
Caplan additionally explained that there are still many people against this type of medication due to the array of misconceptions surrounding it. These include having to be high in order to feel better, the stereotypes of people who work and/or go to these stores, those who say there is no research behind it and more. According to Caplan, regardless of how one feels about the use of cannabis, it has been used and known to work for hundreds of years.
“I would argue that this is the human plant,” Caplan stated, “and no matter what the industry or government is doing, people know that it works. And that is why I think that it has survived. I mean against all odds, like illegal on all fronts, you couldn't find it, buy it, consume it, and yet here we are with an industry that has gone against all those odds to legalize it. It is really incredible. And for us to be alive for this process is utterly remarkable. It might not seem so special, but it is really amazing.”
Combined with all the new-found-knowledge, research and practice, Caplan wrote in his book about practical insights on how medical cannabis can truly help people with depression, anxiety, sleep management, pain, etc. As the event came to an end, attendees were able to gain perhaps a new perspective on the benefits of cannabis and the healing powers found within.
For more information about upcoming events like these happening at the NFPL, please visit their website at www.needhamlibrary.org.
