Welcome to the Leaf411™ Blog
The Leaf411 Cannabis Nurse hotline is a FREE non-profit hotline available to all Colorado residents. We provide easily accessible cannabis education and support from trained medical professionals. When you call our free hotline, you’ll receive individualized answers to your questions. Our hotline phone number is: 1-844-LEAF411 (1-844-532-3411).
We also realize you might not have a specific question yet, or you may only be looking for general information. Our Leaf411 Blog is written for you. We provide information on trusted resources, research, cannabis news, and how-to guides for safely using cannabis and hemp products.
What You’ll Find on Our Cannabis Blog
We’re passionate about providing high-quality balanced information about legal cannabis use. Our blog provides an outlet for us to share cannabis resources to help you on your journey, whether you are new to cannabis or are already using cannabis recreationally or medically.
Not a cannabis user? We still have you covered! Our blog covers issues that impact all of us. Recreational and medical marijuanalegalization continues to spread across the country, and CBD and hemp products have earned their own spot in retail stores.Leaf411 is committed to providing balanced information to help you sort through the products that your patients, family members or friends may be talking about.
The People Behind the Leaf411 Cannabis Nurse Hotline
Our commitment is driven by firsthand experience after seeing the healing power of cannabis in our own lives and in the clinical setting. All of our hotline nurses are members of the American Cannabis Nurses Association (ACNA) and have completed specialized training. You can learn more about our nurses here.
Leaf411’s Founding Members
You’ll notice a growing list of founding members in our Member Directory. Our founding members support our nonprofit’s mission to provide free clinician-based cannabis education to consumers and industry partners. We screen all potential member businesses to ensure they meet our standards. Watch for future blog posts featuring our founding members’ perspectives on cannabis consumers’ needs.
Leaf411’s Cannabis Resource Library
We also offer a robust online resource library where you’ll find FAQs, disease-specific articles, information on how to get a Colorado medical marijuana card, and links to crisis lines and support groups. We always welcome your calls as well!
Sharing Our Cannabis Success Stories
Every day, more people are seeking out cannabis and hemp/CBD products to find relief and improve wellness. While you’ll certainly find those benefits within the space, you’ll also find an incredible community made up of people who have experienced the power of plant-based medicine. By sharing our stories, we help to remove the stigma and outdated stereotypes surrounding cannabis and hemp.
Katherine Golden, RN, Leaf411 co-founder’s story:
My journey in cannabis started 3 years ago when a close family member was suddenly diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer. He was in his 40s with kids in high school, and he’d never smoked. The doctors gave him 2-5 years to live. My family was completely devastated.
As a nurse and the medical professional in the family, I immediately researched alternative and less well-known treatment options to supplement my family member’s care. I began looking into the cannabis plant mainly to see how valid the research really was. At the time, I was extremely judgmental about cannabis. However, when I started searching well-known medical research sites like PubMed and ScienceDirect, I found tons of published research supporting the benefits of cannabis.
I’m happy to say that my family member is going strong 3 years since his cancer diagnosis. We don’t know exactly how the supplemental use of cannabis with his current regimen has helped reduce his tumors. However, everyone—including his non-cannabis physician—is watching his progress closely!
My personal experience led me to work as a lead nurse in a cannabis clinician’s office in Boulder, Colorado, where I met Jennifer, Leaf411’s co-founder. Every day, we saw patients who had benefited from cannabis. However, I realized not everyone had access to cannabis-trained medical professionals. I decided to dedicate myself full-time to my dream of making cannabis information from trained medical professionals readily available to everyone through the Leaf411 hotline. As a nurse, I can assure you that no question is too silly or strange when it comes to cannabis and your health. Give us a call today for help with your cannabis questions.
Jennifer Axcell, Leaf411 co-founder’s story:
I still remember when I started out as a cannabis patient. At the time, my primary care physician had happily prescribed me 13 different narcotics and opiates for chronic pain. However, these medications came with troublesome side effects and risks. When I asked my doctor about using cannabis instead, his answer was, “I don’t know anything about cannabis, I don’t want to know anything about cannabis, it’s federally illegal.” I didn’t know where to go to get answers to my questions about how to use cannabis to treat my chronic pain and PTSD. I was frustrated and confused, but determined to go down this path, even without help from a medical professional.
Three years later, cannabis has undoubtedly changed my life for the better. I also saw how cannabis improved other peoples’ lives while working with Katherine at the cannabis clinician’s office in Boulder, Colorado. Time and time again we saw patients leave with more questions than they came with. For new patients especially, it’s hard to know what questions to ask if you know very little about cannabis. The office we worked at did their best, but we knew much more could be done. After a lot of hard work, we’re thrilled to launch Leaf411 to provide the resource I wish I’d had when I first decided to look into cannabis as medicine.
Check back often as we regularly update our blog with the latest information and resources for the safe use of legal cannabis (marijuana and hemp).