Native son Mister McTier McTier will share his research on cannabis during the upcoming Amendment 3 Legalization of Marijuana Panel and ‘Legal Weed, Yay or Nah??’ comedy and hip-hop showcase on Aug. 31 at FloridaRAMA.
BY J.A. JONES | Staff Writer
ST. PETERSBURG — Mister McTier is a St. Pete native with a long-time passion for gardening and growing. He’s a Bright Futures recipient who graduated from Northeast High School and enrolled in Florida A&M University as a computer information student, where he joined the Marching 100 as a trombonist. But the constant traveling and performing with the renowned band took a toll.
“I enjoyed the band a little bit too much,” McTier admits. He left the university’s highly demanding computer information program before graduating. “I didn’t have my focus on,” he acknowledged.
McTier ended up in advertising at the St. Pete Times for a stint before returning to get his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice with a focus on juvenile justice at FAMU. He started working at Humana in case management and then its process improvement department, where his skills in data mining were put to good use.
During that time, he also entered the University of Maryland’s Graduate School of Pharmacy program in Medical Cannabis Science and Therapeutics, receiving his master of science degree — a logical, if not necessarily foreseen, destination for the son from a family of growers and gardeners.
“My family were outdoors people; I’ve always had dirt under my nails.” McTier initially thought that getting the master’s degree would somehow aid him in his quest to ultimately have a cannabis farm. He now realizes that the information he gained prepared him for something else.
“This was the first master’s level cannabis science degree offered in the country,” he said of the pioneering program. Graduating from its second class of students, he is among a select few with these credentials. “It’s a pretty small cohort right now, but we are growing.”
The Maryland program was a science-based program dealing with how cannabis affects human anatomy and systems, giving McTier vast knowledge on how it affects the human body. “My passion for cannabis has grown from more than just wanting to grow it, now that I understand how it is medicinally applicable.”
And in the nick of time. As the legalization of recreational marijuana – McTier refers to the plant by its scientific name, cannabis, or Cannabis Sativa – continues to move forward throughout the country, the need for research increases.
Florida has the Amendment 3 Marijuana Legalization Initiative on the ballot this fall. While Florida currently has a tight grip on who can handle and distribute medical marijuana, McTier’s specialization has made him valuable to those practicing in places like California, where cannabis-based therapies are more available. He currently serves on the board of STAND4SOMETHING Media Group, Ltd., a California health tech company that reached out to make use of his expertise.
The cannabis expert notes that while there are thousands of people referred to therapies in places like California, they’re often not entirely or correctly educated on what their particular diagnosis means.
“For example,” he noted, “you don’t want to give someone who can’t sleep the same type of cannabis that you give someone who has high blood pressure or someone who’s epileptic, right? You wouldn’t give them cannabis that has high properties of THC because THC is psychoactive, crossing the blood-brain barrier — and epilepsy already means [there are mis-firings and interruptions to brain function] to begin with. So, you don’t want to add more chaos to that type of situation.”
McTier’s scientific expertise on the human endocannabinoid system has led him to understand how specific body receptors are wired to respond positively to certain cannabinoids, which mimic chemicals our body already makes. While CBD and THC are the most commonly known cannabinoids, there are hundreds of other cannabinoids also found in the cannabis plant. Not all have the same effects on the human body, and McTier said more research is needed to help determine which cannabinoids, in what doses and combinations, can be used to our benefit.
“Cannabis has been part of medicine for as long as human history; Aboriginal folks, folks all around the world, always consumed cannabis,” McTier noted, adding that tinctures were another common form of use.
Indeed, there is evidence that cannabis was in use medicinally as far back as 400 A.D. It was mentioned in the United States Pharmacopoeia for the first time in 1850 and commonly used as medicine during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Political and racial campaigns led to the federal restriction of cannabis in 1937 with the passage of the Marihuana Tax Act. Following the legislation, it was dropped from the United States Pharmacopoeia in 1942.
McTier will share more about his research during the upcoming Amendment 3 Legalization of Marijuana Panel and “Legal Weed, Yay or Nah??” The comedy and hip-hop showcase will be held on Aug. 31 at 4 p.m. and is sponsored by Pinellas Diaspora Arts Project at FloridaRAMA, 2606 Fairfield Ave. S, St Petersburg. The panel examines some economic and health considerations of legalizing cannabis in Florida.
Moderated by business owner and graduate of the USF Kate Tiedemann School of Business Maranda Douglas, the panel also features Corey Givens, Jr. of the Poor People’s Campaign, nurse and wellness practitioner Melissa Cooper Roland, and activist and filmmaker Jabaar Edmond.
The comedy and hip-hop showcase begins at 6:30 p.m., hosted by Lee Teharte and featuring comedian Barak Amen. There will be musical performances by Jay Grey, aka Legal Alien, Charli Funk, and Kalib Music. There will also be a voter registration event held by Pinellas Diaspora Arts Project at FloridaRAMA on Aug. 31.
The event is free and open to ages 18 and over, but registration is required. Visit https://www.facebook.com/share/4MZKSghAJ1fZFNoS/ or register directly by clicking here.
