by MADELINE FERGUSON

Soon Utah will have its first Cannabis Pharmacy Master. This Spring, Mindy Madeo will receive a Master’s Degree in Cannabis Science and Therapeutics from the University of Maryland. Mindy is the general manager and pharmacist in charge of Beehive Farmacy in Brigham City, Utah.

Mindy began her pharmacy career in a traditional sense, working for typical drug store pharmacies after graduating from the University of Utah. Seeing her patients being over-prescribed medications and not getting better, she grew frustrated with the healthcare industry.

“Healthcare has gone a little bit downhill as far as reimbursements and always trying to service more patients with less providers,” Madeo told of the beginning of her exit from a traditional pharmacy.

Madeo went on to describe how her experience during the surge of the opioid epidemic, helped move her into cannabis: “I worked during the opioid epidemic around 2008 when so many people were over medicated and overprescribed opioids. I got frustrated with all of Western medicine, because my patients were not getting better and had too many medications.” Madeo continued, “I feel like it’s healthcare’s business to keep patients sick. That’s how it profits.”

Eventually, Madeo retired and only worked occasionally to keep her license. But, she retained a deep interest in natural and functional medicine.

Madeo shared a story that spurred her journey into the cannabis space. Patients who were prescribed many medications, including opioids, started filling their prescriptions less often and, when they did, they looked much healthier. When she inquired, several patients told her they had started using cannabis to treat their ailments.

Along with the obvious health benefits she was seeing in her patients, Madeo also was inspired to join the cannabis world in order to directly combat the opioid epidemic. Her hometown of Brigham City was ravaged by opioids, because of a doctor who over-prescribed. Madeo saw cannabis as a harm reduction strategy to address opioid addiction rates.

“This just makes so much sense. I can go back to my hometown, and I can help all these people come off of their pain pills with the help of cannabis,” she said. “My motivation for being involved in cannabis is helping people stop taking so many prescriptions.”

Cannabis In Utah

Madeo enjoys seeing so many people change their minds about cannabis. She believes the stigma around medical marijuana is dissipating. To help with that destigmatization, Madeo believes in sharing stories about the benefits of cannabis for patients. People hear stories of cannabis helping their friends, family members or neighbors, and it slowly erodes preconceived notions and stereotypes.

“I loved seeing so many people change their minds over these last two or three years working in cannabis,” she passionately described.

Madeo believes she is much more connected to her patients in the medical marijuana industry now than she was as a traditional pharmacist. She gets to spend more time and be more involved in her patients’ healing journeys.

Madeo wants to see less stereotyping and harsh judgment of patients in Utah’s medical marijuana program. She dislikes how some modalities of consumption are deemed “too recreational” and how people’s medical conditions or reasons for using cannabis are dismissed and policed.

“Sometimes people will say ‘oh, that doesn’t look medical’, so you can’t inhale the flower, but you can use the tincture or a capsule. To me, that’s very judgmental,” she explained. “Lawmakers are attempting to remove access to cannabis-infused drinks and suppositories. Cannabis medicine is so individualized, and clinicians like me need access to every dosage form for our patients.”

When a patient has a card from a doctor, Madeo believes there should be no judgment of how they consume or their medical reason for using cannabis. She explained that it is impossible to tell what someone is suffering from by simply looking at them. It is also impossible for anyone but the patient and provider to know what works best for them.

“If someone has a card, I want as many products available to them as possible. And I don’t want regulators judging which ones are recreational or medical,” she said.

While Utah’s medical cannabis program has room to grow and the national stigma still needs to be broken down, having trailblazers like Madeo—Utah’s first person with a Master’s in cannabis therapeutics—offers optimism for the future.

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