By Monique Chavez
Dr. Regina Nelson was never the cliché “stoner.” In fact, she has called herself a closet cannabis user for most of her adult life. She describes herself as have being naïve in the past, often likening cannabis to an alternative to wine. She worked a corporate career in HR, went back to school, and received her Bachelors and Master’s degree, all while raising six children. She began her journey as a medical cannabis patient in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2012. Cannabis quickly became a passion for her after she chose the subject of medical cannabis for her Ph.D. and during a time when Dr. Nelson’s own health was failing her. She quickly realized that she was misinformed regarding everything she knew about cannabis. There was no literature or hard scientific information available. Dr. Nelson goal became to revolutionize the way people used cannabis as a medicine. By Monique Chavez Dr. Nelson earned her Ph.D. in Ethical and Creative Leadership at Union Institute and University in 2016 with a concentration in Medical Cannabis. She has been publishing peer-reviewed articles since 2012, engaged in national cannabis education since 2013, and began presenting topical research projects in 2015. She is also a well-recognized public speaker in leadership, public policy, ‘Integral theory,’ public health, and cannabis arenas. Dr. Nelson is the author of multiple titles including – Theorist-at-Large: One Woman’s Ambiguous Journey into Medical Cannabis, The Medical Cannabis Recommendation: An Integral Exploration of Doctor-Patient Experiences, Time for the Talk: Talking to Your Doctor or Patient about Medical Cannabis, and The Survivor’s Guide to Medical- Cannabis.
Following the completion of her Ph.D., Dr. Nelson wanted to focus on helping make the world around us a better, happier place. Dr. Nelson created The eCS Therapy Center and sits as the organizations’ current President and Founding Officer. The eCS Therapy Center is a 501(c)(3) ‘integral organization’ and national champion of community-based education, as well as a research project (www.myecstherapy. org). Dr. Nelson also leads Integral Education & Consulting, LLC as C.E.O., providing cannabis consulting services and leading research projects for cannabis organizations (www.integraleducationandconsulting. com). Dr. Nelson’s Plant a Seed Tour will be visiting Santa Fe, New Mexico on May 28th at Fruit of the Earth Organics (901 Early St, Santa Fe, NM 87505) and Las Cruces, New Mexico on May 30th at Dona Ana Community College (2800 Sonoma Ranch Blvd, Las Cruces, NM 88011). The following courses are included in the Cannacian™ Level One certification: Time for the Talk: Doctor- Patient Communication, Intro to the Endocannabinoid System (eCS), Hemp vs. Cannabis, and Targeted Dosing. These courses are accredited by the American Academy of Family Physicians. To purchase tickets, please visit https://kurplemagazine.com/ plant-a-seed-santa-fe/ for the Santa Fe event, and https://kurplemagazine.com/ plant-a-seed-las-cruces/ for the Las Cruces event. Dr. Nelson will be wrapping up her 2018 Plant a Seed Tour in Albuquerque, NM with “CannaHemp 2019: Certifying New Mexico’s Physicians and Farmers” on June 1st at the CNM Workforce Training Center. Featuring Dr. Nelson’s Plant a Seed Tour, the morning session will offer the Cannacian ™ Level One certification: Time for the Talk: Doctor-Patient Communication, Intro to the Endocannabinoid System (eCS), Hemp vs. Cannabis, and Targeted Dosing. The afternoon session will offer the Cannacian ™ Level Two Certification: An In-Depth Look at the eCS, Cannabis Therapy Planning, Pediatric Cannabis Use, and Veterinary Cannabis Use. Again, these courses
are accredited by the American Academy of Family Physicians and should be shared with anyone who might benefit from the information. To purchase tickets for the June 1st event, please visit https://kurplemagazine. com/cannahemp2019/. We now live in a world of reliable and accredited research on cannabis, thanks largely to Dr. Nelson. Stay tuned, as Dr. Nelson’s Cannacian™ Level Three certification will be coming in 2020!!
