Montel Williams Veteran, Celebrity, Patient, Advocate
Co-authored by Dustin Hoxworth & Lindsey Gunter
Photo Credit Douglas Sonders
Over the last several decades, the world has been lucky enough to witness so many amazing, dynamic, and powerful cannabis advocates. People like Jack Herer, Calvin Broadus Jr. (aka Snoop Dogg), Keith Stroup, Tommy Chong, Willie Nelson, Peter Tosh, and so many others who have helped uplift the plant, save lives, and pave the way for normalization and legalization to take place. Cannabis advocates come from all different walks of life, different cultures, with different backgrounds, but every single one of them have one thing in common: the goal to raise the profile of the plant in every way possible so it can take its rightful place within our society. From medicine to clothes, food to building materials, and so much more, our cannabis advocates continue to help push and uplift the plant using their own platforms, no matter how big or small.
When most people hear the name Montel Williams, they immediately think of daytime TV, and not necessarily his reputation as one of the strongest cannabis advocates of our time. For Gen Xers and some Millennials, “The Montel Williams Show” was a staple in our households. The show ran for 17 years, the topics were sometimes sensational in nature and his guests at times controversial, which makes a lot of sense, as Montel was always someone who used his show to discuss the things he wanted. The show also provided the beginnings of a platform he needed to take on something even bigger, life changing, and life saving for so many people around the world; but before we get into Montel the cannabis advocate, there’s a lot you might not know about Montel Williams the person. Fat Nugs Magazine was privileged enough to interview and get to know him, his cannabis journey, and his predictions for the future.
Born the youngest of four children to hard-working parents with multiple jobs in the 1950’s in Baltimore, Maryland, Montel says he’s “really a child of the 60’s.” A self-proclaimed product of Baltimore’s “busing” program who witnessed the cannabis BOOM for Boomers during the 60’s and 70’s firsthand. Like so many of us past and present, his journey with cannabis started early on in life around the age of 14. Eventually, Montel played in a band, where he “dabbled” a bit with cannabis, but because of his educational aspirations and student leadership, that’s all he could do, dabble.
Montel enlisted in the US Marine corps in 1974. This gave him about a 22 year break from the plant. He was the first black Marine accepted into the four-year officer training program in the U.S. Naval Academy, where he graduated in 1980 with a degree in General Engineering and a minor in International Security Affairs. Montel worked for Naval Intelligence as well as the NSA and ended up retiring as a decorated Lieutenant Commander in 1996 with an impressive list of medals.
Photo Credit Douglas Sonders
Montel was also the first black man to host his own syndicated daytime talk show when he created and conceptualized “The Montel Williams Show,” which premiered in July of 1991. By 1999, he learned that his persistent health issues from the past were actually MS (Multiple Sclerosis), and was officially diagnosed later that year. Like so many celebrities in America, Montel had access to doctors that would write him a prescription for almost anything he wanted. This led him down a path of opioid use in the name of “treatment.” At first taking two, then four, then five, until “there was a period of time when I was taking 14, 15, 16 pills a day and not really getting the relief”, he explained.
Montel was one of the lucky ones when it comes to dealing with opioids. A doctor from a prominent college on the East Coast “off-the-record” suggested he try cannabis to relieve some of the MS issues instead of opioids. And by 2002, he made the switch and never looked back. Seeing some of his health issues improve, he became inspired to research like so many others in this space do. This in combination with finding out opioids were not even meant to be taken over time in the first place, naturally led Montel to become a staunch advocate and speak out for all of those people who need cannabis. Putting passion to action as a military man would, he got busy working; lobbying for and testifying in front of 17 states, passing legislation to allow medical marijuana in this country.
As part of his staunch, patient-minded advocacy within the cannabis space, Montel believes that “Doctors should have a full quiver” and in that spirit, cannabis has its place within that quiver. For him, it’s just one of the tools he uses, along with neural modulation, Eastern and Western medications. Recently, Montel became inspired and developed some renewed hope for near-future federalization.
“More than ever before, thanks to their amazing technology identifying the biome markers that cannabis effects for different disease states, Dr. Itzhak Kurek, who published 20 peer reviewed papers that have been cited over 2,000 times by universities and publications, founded a company called “Cannformatics,” Montel explained. A company he believes is now on the cusp of redefining the cannabis industry and why cannabis works, all by developing the cannabis responsive biomarker.
Currently, Montel’s THC brand INSPIRE by Montel (powered by Freshly Baked) just launched in Massachusetts, borne from his experiences with his own formulations as well as a great partnership with a veteran, minority owned partner with a chemical engineering background.
So instead of being focused on simply selling products to customers using his celebrity, Montel has dedicated his life to helping educate the consumer and guide them to find what is best for them on an individual level.
Montel’s brand was developed with formulations he personally experimented with. His products have cannabinoid ratios like 9:1, 1:1, 7:3 (THC:CBD). He finds ratios like these extremely therapeutic and help take the edge off, allowing consumers to benefit medicinally without the anxiety.
With his formulation research inspired product line, Montel and his new partnership hope to not only make a success out of Massachusetts, but also create something of a standard they can spread to other states. Authentic, worthwhile products are his goal. A refreshing approach from the growing stereotype of a tone-deaf celebrity in the cannabis space trying to make a quick buck, huh? Since one can’t sell a CBD product under the same name as a THC product, “Live Better” (powered by Limited Labs) is his CBD line coming soon, first with 3 SKUs but expanding to 5, 7, to 10 SKUs by the end of the year in multiple states. For advocates like Montel, bringing good people together to do good things is the way to truly increase the profile of plant medicine in a world dominated by big pharma.
Photo Credit Keith McLaughlin
Dustin Hoxworth: What do you see happening to cannabis in our society and around the globe in the next few years?
Montel Williams: Our politicians need to get out of the way. In the last 3 years alone the rest of the world has jumped ahead of us. Spain, Germany, and the continent of Africa, along with others, are setting up distro paths and connections all over the world.
You’re also now seeing judges in states like Nevada, rule that cannabis can no longer be a Schedule 1 drug, pushing the boundaries of federal laws and limitations on the plant. NEVADA IS A PIONEER and we’ll see a lot more of that type of thing soon. We need the banking issue resolved, and it will be, but as soon as that takes place you’re likely going to see a big push by big pharma, even more so than you do now, into the cannabis space. The next few years are going to be very exciting, but we have a lot of work to do on education.
Sourced cited in this article:
1.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabloid_talk_show
2.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montel_Williams#The_Montel_Williams_Show
3.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desegregation_busing
4. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/06/220622113158.htm
