Educating the Masses: Author Shira Adler on Teaching about CBD

Medical cannabis reform is making some amazing strides for the families of children who consume it medically. But the stigmas against cannabis still exist, so it’s not uncommon for parents to have questions about whether or not they should be giving CBD to their children for medical conditions, or for children who wonder why people are opposed to a medicine that helps them. That’s where ABCs of CBD: The Essential Guide for Parents (and regular folks too) comes in. The book explains the basics of medicating with CBD for parents who don’t spend everyday talking with cannabis industry insiders. It’s a much-needed perspective, given how many new parent advocates are out there. CULTURE spoke with Shira Adler, advocate, entrepreneur and author of the book, about how anyone can spread the good word of CBD.

How did you first become familiar with CBD?

I already had an aromatherapy line called Shira Synergy® Sprays—and through my partner Andy, I was introduced to the cannabis space and to the Colorado master grower, cannabinoid guru and spiritual brother Pauli Roterdam (whom I talk about in the book). That’s where things really started to percolate. Synergy in motion! So I jumped down the cannabinoid rabbit hole and never looked back.

My late father, Dr. Norman Adler, was a physiological psychologist and an academic, and passionately interested in the human brain, how it works and how to improve how it works. I never saw him toke, but I did see him teach. So with my dad a constant inspiration, for more than two decades I’ve been immersed in areas of spiritual care and healing and work with people in the most intimate expressions of their lives—birth, coming of age, crises, weddings, end-of-life events.

It’s these experiences that reveal how fragile our coping and other mechanisms can be, and it became my mission to find alternative and eco-conscious modalities to support people through them. That’s what brought me full circle back to that stuff my dad mentioned when I was young. Only now, instead of the ideas from a physiological psychologist/neurobiologist, I was hearing whispers of plant-based medicine in my holistic/spiritual circles.

What made you decide to write a book, and why do you think this is an important topic?

Ever since I was the debut mom on Bravo’s short-lived series Extreme Guide to Parenting, people reach out and tell me how much they appreciate that I’m not afraid to talk about stuff that would freak out most other “regular” types of people. People are searching because they just want to find someone to talk to—who’ll deeply listen, and support them through whatever modality (no matter how outside their comfort zone.) Trust me—cannabis is still pretty far out of most people’s comfort zones. That’s when I started learning, trying and eventually talking about CBD and holistic/natural wellness and spiritual care.

My kids are also why I wrote this book—plus my parents. My mom, who lived in L.A., and my dad, in New York, both died far too young and from different states of “dis-ease” (disease) that cannabis could have helped. She was 68 and he was 75. The only upside to trauma and heartbreak is that they serve as great catalysts for passionate advocacy—at least they did for me.

I want the book to invite people to reach out and share their stories. That’s how we connect as humans. I changed my entire life to create a health and wellness media and consumer products company around how essential CBD is. Because if CBD worked for my own family, it was something I needed to offer to everyone. That’s absolutely my mission, passion and motivation for my new book—to offer what I know worked for my family to help someone else’s.

What are some of the highlights of your book, and what do you think people can learn from it?

People are telling me they love this book because it has got tons of information they had no idea existed. The second-biggest aspect of the book is that there’s no dogma allowed; it’s more conversational than preachy. I write the way I speak . . . and the purpose is to connect, to inspire and empower people to make conscious decisions on behalf of their own wellness and their families.

If there is one takeaway from the book it would have to be that, as the subtitle exclaims, “pot is not what we were taught.” In other words, a lot of the challenges we face as an entrepreneurs, as advocates, as pot-parents in the field of alternative wellness, is because the collective consciousness mindset has been stubbornly entrenched for so long that it’s going to take some serious efforts to undo the damage. I encourage people to be open minded, and more so, open-hearted.

Have you had any parents approach you about getting help for their children? If so, how do you help?

Yes, as that is the point of the book, and my work in general. Parents are scared. If I can help any human being become better informed and empowered, then I’m down with that. From big picture to intimate, I love connecting and want to help support as many people, especially parents, as possible. I also invite people to join my engaged social tribe where people can open up, share and seek support.

Do you have anything exciting coming up, like book tours or a new book, that you’d like to announce?

I love my canna-communications team, TypeA Media, who’re helping coordinate a bunch of cool things, starting with some awesome radio and podcast interviews and magazine reviews coming up in the next couple of weeks. As for book tour events, I’ll be doing some more book tour appearances as soon as my driveway thaws out, and in early spring.

I’ve also been asked by my new amazing canna-buddy, Marvin Washington, former NFL Super Bowl winner and MMJ advocate, to do some events with him as he focuses on New Jersey next for advocacy efforts. I’ll be outside the court on February 14 when he and the other plaintiffs in the lawsuit against Sessions and the DOJ have their next plaintiff hearing.

All of these events will be listed on my website and my Amazon author page.

I do have another book in progress—Beyond the Spectrum—about raising the Indigo/Crystal children, aka the “woke” generation, and yes, CBD is going to be a big part of that book, too. Actually I started Beyond the Spectrum well before The ABCs of CBD, but the priority switched because the world needs CBD information . . . and needs it now.

How has CBD impacted your life?

Before being an author and entrepreneur, I’m a mother—first and foremost. So having to create a place of better health, vitality, wellness, social change for my own family . . . it’s hard not to care and want to get involved with the larger community that can also be helped. CBD helped my kids, my dog (who used to have seizures), my partner. It helped me. CBD hasn’t just impacted my life; it basically now is my life, and I feel I have a moral imperative to share it with the world. I also love that the canna-community is all about that—sharing, supporting each other and making a real difference. How can anyone not be impacted, once they’re introduced to CBD? Honestly, I’m humbled to be able to do what I do and grateful to be supported by so many amazing people in this space.

How do you feel about legalization so far? Is there anything you think could be done better or differently?

You would think that the culture and fearlessness that New York is known for would make it a leader in the movement, as California has been for decades. But that’s not the case. And in the U.S. in general, it’s clearly not the case. There is a lot of work to do. The momentum may be huge, yet change comes slowly. I absolutely think we have a bit more of an uphill battle thanks to the idiocy of Jeff Sessions and his recent actions to roll back Obama-era protection from federal prosecution for marijuana. I also absolutely think legalization must go hand in hand with decriminalization. If we make progress, but leave people behind rotting in jail for arcane minimum mandatory and three-strike sentencing, we have forgotten the basics.

I also think we have a great opportunity from what Jeff Sessions just did. The momentum will be for more states to jump on board and focus on their own legalization/decriminalization efforts. So his idiocy may actually be one of the best things that our community needed!

I would encourage more grass roots local efforts. The more people are willing to share their personal story and get involved, the faster we will effect change on local governmental, then state, then federal level.

How would you like to see CBD legalization looking in 10 years?

In 10 years I want to see, and believe we will see, fully federal legal cannabis laws and new programs to encourage market growth and industry protections for small businesses as well as the big entities. Cannabis is about people; it’s about protecting the earth; it’s about creating synergy between ancient plant wisdom and modern science.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Whatever we do to improve our lives has to be done by supporting the whole person—the whole being—and being respectful of how we utilize our natural resources in the process. I’m all about working from a mind-body-spirit foundation. To me, that’s the very core of plant-based medicine and natural healing modalities. That’s the essence of CBD.

As far as this book goes, ultimately, I want to reach across the lines—grab the hand of someone on the “other side” who is afraid to take that first step into understanding or considering cannabis as a viable healing modality and platform for social change.

I wrote this book to change the conversation and invite a new one—to speak to the anti-pot mom, the totally uninitiated and the oppositional force deeply embedded in the average American psyche.