Counting on Cannabis

While it took Dr. David Whitt more than 20 years into an accomplished internal medicine career to take a serious look at the benefits of CBD, once he finally did, it didn’t take long at all for him to be all-in.

Through Dr. Whitt’s research, he learned that the human body has specialized receptors for cannabis compounds, and it even produces its own cannabinoids that play an important role in a variety of functions.

Dr. Whitt eventually tried CBD first himself, alongside a small group of friends and family. The results, he noted, spoke for themselves.

“It worked really well for all of us,” he said.

Today, to make sure patients can receive the same CBD benefits Dr. Whitt experienced first-hand, he oversees the creation of a specialized line of CBD sold through DIley Medical Group. Formulated for use among the general public, Dr. Whitt’s Premium CBD is used by patients to treat everything from anxiety, sleep and depression to chronic pain and skin conditions.

By Jack McLaughlin / Photos by Sarah Pfeifer

“Prior to marijuana becoming medicinally legal in 2016, I really didn't know much about cannabis. It’s not something you learn about in medical school,” Dr. Whitt said. “At that point I started checking in with my patients, and I quickly came to see that it has a lot of medical properties.”

Not all brands are created equal, however. According to Dr. Whitt’s experiences, as most CBD is not federally regulated, the quality of less-reputable brands can vary greatly.

“Back in 2016, I knew people who were buying CBD from their gas station, or even tanning salons. Who knows what’s in those bottles,” he said. “We’ve met people making it in their garage.”

All of Dr. Whitt’s Premium CBD starts with Kentucky-grown hemp that’s processed at an FDAregistered facility (also in Kentucky), one Dr. Whitt visits multiple times a year. Not only is the product overseen by the doctor himself, each batch is also tested by a third party laboratory to ensure quality and transparency.

Don’t take our word for it, though: The U.S. Hemp Authority has awarded Dr. Whitt’s Premium CBD with its Certification Seal, a distinction reserved for an exclusive group of companies.

For those who prefer medical marijuana, Diley has what you need to get started as a new patient, and as someone continuing their care. The Columbus-based company offers multiple options to help you get the treatment you need. Patients can opt for in-person or telehealth visits, where 25 different conditions –including chronic pain, PTSD and more–can qualify them for medical marijuana in Ohio.

For first-time patients who qualify, a new medical marijuana card will cost $200, in addition to an annual $50 fee that’s paid to the state of Ohio. For patients renewing their cards, an appointment with Diley will cost $150, in addition to the annual $50 state fee. In both cases, veterans can also receive a 25 percent discount.

And whether it's internal medicine, medical marijuana, or CBD, with Diley Medical Group you’re not just getting a product or service, you’re also receiving a network of help, meaning patients can direct questions to a live human being, not the back of a bottle.

“CBD is different for everyone, and different people might need different amounts,” Dr. Whitt said. “Instead of following a set of instructions from a bottle when you want advice, we give you someone to talk to.” www.drwhittscbd.com

AA collection of anonymouslysubmitted breakup stories from around Columbus

Whether it leaves us huddled around a pint of ice cream by the TV, or imbibing in anonymous dive bars until the early hours of the morning, we all deal with breakups differently. And while in the moment just about all of them feel terrible, looking back, in a whole lot of cases, we can’t help but laugh.

That’s what our cover section this month is here for: Highlighting the triumph and humor in the (oftentimes hilarious) breakup stories submitted anonymously by (614) readers; Finding good and finding laughter in the types of stories most of us, whether we like to admit it or not, have in our back pockets.

While we’re not trying to say every breakup is funny, it’s never a bad thing to be able to laugh at yourself. Plus, this way we can see our past splits not as the terrible endings we sometimes consider them, but instead a passageway into the next phase of our life.

Thank you, next!

Because there’s nothing like some good, old-fashioned middle school dating drama, here’s a terrible story from my 12th birthday party.

A bit before I turned the big onetwo, I started dating a boy in my grade at school. In this context, “dating” might be a generous term, but you get it.

My family began planning a backyard birthday party for all of my friends, and I of course made sure my boyfriend was invited.

To be honest, I’ve blocked out a chunk of this day for reasons that will soon become apparent, but I do remember him breaking up with me, on my parents’ back deck, and in front of all my family and friends. Happy birthday!

Afterwards, since he lived in the same neighborhood as I did, he just casually walked through our yard and headed back to his house. I think my friends chased him, at least. ♦

Iwas really nervous to break up with this person. We had only been dating a few months and they were SUPER into me. I really, really cared about them and really wanted to be friends, I just didn’t want to be in a romantic relationship.

I spent several days working up the courage and running through ideas with some friends. This person and I decided to meet to go on a walk (something that we would regularly do together). We ended up walking down a set of railroad tracks to find this back entrance to a cemetery.

Because the cemetery had just cleaned its gravesites, there was a truly MASSIVE—like, bigger than an elephant—pile of fake flowers that we wanted to look at. I wasn’t even thinking of where we were at, and I just blurted out that I wanted to transition our romantic relationship into a friendship at the exact moment that he was bending down to pick up a bunch of the fake flowers to give to me. We both just kind of wide-eyed looked at each other for a while then moved out of the cemetery. Eventually, we had a longer talk and things ended well, though. ♦

So I got my first boyfriend when I was 23. I really thought he was the one because we had so much in common, but also unique differences that I thought complemented each other. Things were going absolutely fine and there was no indication that he wasn't interested.

One night, we were watching "Stranger Things" and I thought it was a very sweet, romantic evening.

Until then he looked over at me and said he wanted to break up.

When I asked why, his answer was:

"Well...umm...well....you like Mr. Bean." That was it. That was all he said.

I left and SOBBED in my car while calling my brother to cry to him. It took me a few months to get over him, but I look back on that now and die laughing that I was so hung up on a guy whose reason for not being interested in me was all because of Mr. Bean. ♦