Article By Peter A Roos
A couple dozen folks paid $20 each and took time out of their busy holiday schedules to spend their lunch hour on Saturday, December 14th, 2019 at a cooking class at The Centre of St. Pete Beach. There, a makeshift kitchen looked a little like a movie set, complete with the most beautifully decorated 13-foot Fraser Fir Christmas tree I’d ever seen.
An attractive lady in a chef’s apron laid cookies on napkins around two stainless steel tables in preparation for her presentation about her favorite appliance, the Magical Butter Machine.
When I asked how she got started presenting the machine to the public, she said, “I am a dual autoimmune disease survivor. Just a few years ago I was subsisting on 19 pharmaceuticals. I found out I was seriously afflicted with Celiac disease, and by trial and error I learned what foods to avoid. I experimented with gluten-free recipes. I tried 14 times before I got a pie crust I could live with.”
The lady, Renee Mercedes, is resident chef and community director for the Magical Butter Company. Cannabinoids, she says, have helped her keep her autoimmune diseases at bay and her pain in check. In her case, it allowed her to get off most of the pharmaceuticals she was taking. Just as she experimented with gluten-free recipes, she has made a career out of experimenting and showing people how they can integrate medical grade cannabinoids into their diets, using the Magical Butter Machine as an extraction tool. She kept repeating “I always tell people to start low and go slow.
This special event was a wellness day, including Renee’s presentation, a presentation by MUV, one of several dispensaries in the Tampa Bay area, and one by a 5th generation herbalist, a local creator of a line of all-natural supplements, tinctures and teas that were part of a day of learning at The Centre.
The slogan of The Centre of SPB is ‘A Place to Be You.’ Organizers are providing a place for balance, with activities like daily or weekly yoga, meditation, cupping classes for example and meetings of small groups, and to help facilitate the integration of medical marijuana and CBD into our residents’ lives. There’s a room that serves as a classroom that could also serve as an art gallery for a reception or even as a pop-up store.
While the Commission of the City of St. Pete Beach had voted against permitting a dispensary in the city, organizers of The Centre fine-tuned their services with the city and city attorney to ensure their plan was totally acceptable to all concerned. They help patients through the approval process for their medical cannabis card and they provide a continuing educational service, including immersive classes and workshops to help patients get the most out of their newly prescribed treatments. Workshops will include such topics as today’s, “Cooking or Baking with CBD & THC” along with other ways to reduce stress and anxiety. The Centre is governed by a 35-year-old not-for-profit organization, Quality of Life Community Services, which helps establish direction and focus for The Centre.
Dr. Luis F. Ycaza, D.O., is the Medical Director of Triverde Health, the medical office at the Centre. Twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, he sees patients looking to be certified for a medical marijuana card. As far as I know, The Centre is the only place on the beach you can go to get certified.
Michael J. Moses is CEO. He personally has benefitted greatly from the products available only because the residents of Florida voted overwhelmingly to allow medical marijuana use in the state. He is obviously passionate about helping people learn about the benefits and getting access to them. “The Vision of The Centre of SPB is to be a Cannabis-centric wellness and education venue, the first of what will be many such facilities where people can go for healing and education. The Centre assists its clients with the entire journey. The intake process is eased by a HIPAA-secured online portal. They also assist with the State of Florida application. They stress the importance of understanding “The WHY” of medical cannabis along with non-medical cannabis. The unique, relaxing environment includes a yoga room, an art exhibition and classroom, a common room, a kitchen and more. Since a visit to licensed dispensaries are as much as an hour to 90-minute round trip, they offer to serve as a delivery point for clients as well as a yoga and meditation facility to reduce stress and anxiety in all ways possible. It is the perfect time for such a service to begin.
Everyone knows someone who is battling cancer, anxiety, pain and sleep issues and medical cannabis has helped with these and so many other health related issues. The national opioid crisis is causing people in pain to find other ways of dealing with their conditions. Many people find, once they try, that cannabis products give them hope and allow them to deal with things that were unmanageable without it. Michael J. Moses told Paradise NEWS, “I was raised with family members who became addicted to prescription medications. It has made me hyper aware to avoid prescription medications. I even do my best to avoid antibiotics as well, unless I really need them badly.
An overall principle here at The Centre of St. Pete Beach is to minimize any stress and anxiety, provide education and enlightenment as to the benefits of medical vs non-medical Cannabis. When asked “why St Pete Beach for the flagship location?” Moses said the answer was simple.
“The city of St Pete Beach, is far more than a “Beach Town.” It has everything a city has from businesses that are local, national and international. We are now seeing some major Tampa business entrepreneurs opening and operating here in the City of St Pete Beach. The most significant benefiting population is above 55 years of age. Our clients quickly learn that this is not about smoking weed. It is about taking more control of their own health, and not just taking so many pills each day. St Pete Beach and our location is perfect in that our surrounding population is the prime benefiting age group. Being located at 7525 Blind Pass Road next to Lenny’s Cycle and Surf Shop and across from Mermaids, we are at a key intersection with two stoplights and an average of 20,000 cars a day. We are currently accepting proposals from tea, coffee and juice vendors for 2020,” adds Michael. “We want highly curated services, in a manner each service provided represents our mission to the people of St Pete Beach and surrounding communities.”
One of their clients, Crystal, a body builder from Pass-a-Grille, says she felt like she was dying in December of 2018. During a 45-day period that fall she’d been hospitalized three times due to asthma attacks that kept her from doing much of anything. “Medical cannabis gave me my life back. I was able to work out almost immediately after my first treatment, and now I am working out daily, back to competing professionally and asthma attack free,” said Crystal in an interview.
My own sister-in-law is a true believer. She says cannabis is the best for her fibromyalgia pain. The pain does not entirely disappear, but it is easier not to focus on the pain after a treatment.
The leadership team includes Doctor Luis Ycaza, Michael Moses, Jon Hobson and Leonardo Liberato. Jon Hobson tells Paradise NEWS “Our intake system can be handled in person with Sally at our counter or remotely from the comfort of your home.
Leonardo likes to point out “The Centre is the first of its kind. Our mission is to provide a fully accessible journey to everyone through a concierge service to be the key component in your health and wellness. With a heavy focus on education and knowledge we provide a positive value exchange between patients, doctors and staff to help people be more naturally healthier.”
If you go to www.triverde.com/paradise you will get a discount of $25 off your initial doctor visit fee. All are welcome to be part of The Centre, patients, non-patients, residents and visitors to join in its activities and to use The Centre’s ordering and delivery systems. You can download The Centre of St. Pete Beach APP from the Apple Store or Google Play and enroll now.”
What is the Endocannabinoid System (ECS) and what does it do?
It is a human body system like our Nervous, Skeletal, Circulatory, Digestive, Respiratory, Muscular and other bodily systems. It is a complex biological system composed of receptors, endocannabinoid molecules and its metabolic enzymes which the body uses to keep equilibrium. While researchers only identified the ECS system in the early 90s, many scientists believe it is one of the body’s most important (if not most important) biological systems helping to maintain homeostasis.
What is Homeostasis?
Homeostasis is a key element in the biology of all living things and is best described as the ability to maintain stable internal conditions that are necessary for survival.