Dr. Michael Steward

About Dr. Michael Steward

Dr. Michael Steward has been a licensed physician for over 20 years. He is a member of the Society of Cannabis Clinicians, and is board eligible in family medical practice, a specialist in HIV treatment, palliative care, and cannabinoid medicine. He has owned and operated the largest HIV care practice in a 5-state region. He has held a medical director position in the areas of hospice and home health care. He is an owner in one of California’s largest Cannabis Companies, and is on multiple pharmaceutical advisory boards.

TRANSCRIPT:

Dr. Pompa:
Well, I’m blessed to be here and so are you with Dr. Michael Steward. And I have to say, doc, I am appreciative of you being here. And you were also on one of my doctor training calls. And we got so excited about your topic and the information you blessed us with that I thought he has to be at my next seminar because people need to know this information. Information regarding this vaccine, information regarding this environment of COVID where are we, where are we going? All of these things. And you talked a lot about long haulers and you have a really unique solution and answer for that, that you spent many, many years really researching, and it applies to this as well. All of what you’re going to talk about at the seminar, so. So blessed that you’re here, Michael, but start with just a background. What in your area of expertise has made you an expert to talk about these things?

Michael Steward:
Well, I think the best place to start is I ran with fire rescue for seven years before and during medical school. And so my introduction to medicine was through paramedicine. I taught fire science and paramedicine at a local community college. And so the idea was you had to do something when you arrived on scene with the fire department. We didn’t have a lot of time to research, so we better know what we were doing and actually apply it. So with that kind of attitude from fire rescue, when I went into medicine, I had a little different perspective on things. I wound up doing HIV care, and I started doing that in the 1990s, early 1990s, before medications were readily available.

So there really was no standard of care when I started doing HIV care. The protease inhibitors, when I actually began doing it as a physician had hit expanded access, and they really changed the playing field dramatically, but there was no accepted standard of care. So in essence, I had a license to do whatever it took, which is somewhat analogous to what’s going on with COVID-19. This is a new disease and we don’t have all of the trials out there and all of the evidence-based medicine to support what we’re doing.

But I wound up owning and operating the largest family practice, the office that was providing HIV care in a five state region. And my clients did extraordinarily well. And that’s really where I got my introduction to cannabinoid medicines as well. Although I was reluctant to enter that field at that time. I did retire from that. I moved out of the state of Colorado, where that was to California, went into hospice and palliative care. And then over the last seven years have earnestly been studying cannabinoid medicine. And so that’s just been a nutshell what my background is. I’ve been dealing with RNA viruses now for more than a quarter of a century. And there’s a whole lot that you pick up with the immune system when you’re dealing with HIV care on a day in day out there.

Dr. Pompa:
Yeah. I mean, so a lot of topics here and you’re going to get into it at the seminar. By the way folks, the link to join us at this Live it to Lead it seminar, which is invite for a hundred people live, which I feel all of you that are there live are going to be blessed. The link is in fact below. There will be an option to be their live stream. However, those that are in person are going to really have quite the experience. Dr. Michael, obviously your research into cannabinoid is part of this really cool, unique answer that myself and my doctors have been using around this topic. And you’re going to get into that.

But your research with the mRNA was fascinating when you spoke to our doctors. I asked you a point blank question. Obviously you have a lot of experience around this. I guess this research started with the SARS one. That’s where the mRNA vaccine research started. And technically this is SARS `two, just so people know, right. So just kind of understanding that we’re dealing with something not necessarily completely new. But I asked you the question, would you take this vaccine yourself? And we’re a close circuit here, so we can talk pretty darn freely. We don’t have fear of being taken down, but your answer then was, absolutely not. I wouldn’t. And it seems like when I speak to anybody that has a lot of knowledge in this area, their answers the same as yours. So kind of explain the vaccine a little bit based on your knowledge and then why wouldn’t you ever take it.

Michael Steward:
Well, and I think we need to start because we’re using the term vaccine a little bit loosely here. Generally vaccines are attenuated pathogens that we then inject into the body so that our bodies can recognize the pathogen, but not get very sick. So you do want an immune response when you take a vaccine, whether it’s oral or injected. The majority of our vaccines of course are injected now. And vaccine medicine can be incredibly helpful.

But for me to evaluate a vaccine, I want to evaluate my risks. What are my risks of getting sick to begin with? And then if I get sick what are my risks of having a severe course? And you know, I’m almost 60 years old, but I’m metabolically flexible. I’m in good health. I take supplements that I believe will help me in this particular case and supplements that help my health overall. So I’m one of those folks that I believe I have less than a 1% chance of having a difficult course with COVID-19 if I get COVID-19.

But with that said, we’re talking about probably a 0.5% chance of having a very difficult course with this illness if I get it. And the vaccine comes with some side effects as well. And so I would really want to know the absolute risk reduction of that vaccine, not just a risk reduction compared to [crosstalk 00:06:33]

Dr. Pompa:
And the truth is from what I’ve read is they have no idea. It’s one of the unknowns, how effective this will be on a human with if they actually get the virus, am I right on that?

Michael Steward:
You are. And there’s some concerns with the information that’s been released thus far about the trials. The trials are not complete, and I believe the information is supposed to be released in 2023. So we’re operating right now in essence, with a phase three clinical trial on an unproven, it’s an investigational medication that doesn’t really follow what vaccines have been in the past. And I’m all for people being a part of this trial. Don’t get me wrong. We want this information and it’s going to get, I think, a lot of good information out there in the healthcare system period, whether it’s supportive of this vaccine or not. What I’m concerned about is how people are being consented for the vaccine. And if they’re actually receiving informed consent, because in essence, they are a part of a phase three clinical trial.

And that’s where my issue with the vaccine comes about. Now I’m not in a high risk group to have a difficult time with COVID-19. I think the argument behind the vaccine that it’s going to create herd immunity is one. We just don’t have the science to support right now. That the vaccine, when you listen to even the medical societies are coming out and they’re saying you still have to wear masks after you get the vaccine, because we don’t know if it’s going to stop you from getting infected or transmitting the vaccine or the virus to other people. And masks are another issue that I think we’ll talk about the pros and cons of those as well. But the information that I have out there right now for me is that the side effect profile of this vaccine probably outweighs any benefit that I would get from it. I also-

Dr. Pompa:
I just listened to an expert saying, look her fear is, look, what we don’t know is how will it protect people. Even if it does, right, how long? I’ve heard six months, I’ve heard a year and now I’ve even heard three months, right, at best. And then we also don’t know if how these… And just so people understand, the mRNA is injected, not the attenuated virus as you mentioned, like a typical vaccine. Is injected. It goes into the cell. Your DNA then produces a protein that looks like the virus, correct. And then your body makes antibodies. What we don’t know is will these antibodies attack you? What attack your organs? And this expert feels that it will in a large number of people, but it may take until March or April or even up to a year later before this anaphylaxis reaction occurs and then it kicks in this auto-immunity. Do you have the same fears that she did?

Michael Steward:
Well, I have definite concerns that what we’re doing is we’re injecting this mRNA into our bodies that goes into ourselves, and then our cellular structure makes a protein based on that. Then we are expecting that our bodies are going to recognize this protein that we have made as foreign and not recognize other parts of our bodies as foreign. And that to me is concerning. It doesn’t mean that it won’t work, but it does mean to me that it’s concerning. And I think that we are understanding more and more now that when children actually have their natural childhood illnesses that later on in life, they have fewer problems than kids who don’t have those illnesses.

And that’s part of this, that the immune system is an incredibly complicated system. And it’s in my opinion, designed to actually incorporate information from our environment into our bodies. And historically, that’s been very important. If it hadn’t been for a viral infection, we wouldn’t be mammals today because the necessary information to develop the placenta apparently was received through a viral infection and then incorporated into our bodies. So our immune systems do more than just stop us from getting sick. And I may be going down a different path here, so I’ll stop.

Dr. Pompa:
Yeah, no, that’s okay. But actually you did bring up the placenta because that’s another unknown. We know that in childbearing women, that the virus or the… I’m sorry, the immune system can attack the placenta. And they’re not sure when that will be done, meaning that like, will it lasts forever? Will last three months, is this temporary infertility? What is your opinion on that? Because that’s another huge unknown, and a lot of people to your point, don’t really know that that is a real problem.

Michael Steward:
Well, it’s a real problem, both from the placenta and from hormonal imbalances that are caused by this infection. And you’re right there. There’s some concern that there are some similarities between the proteins that the body is instructed to make and identify as foreign with some of the proteins that have to do with adherence of the placenta to the uterine wall. And whether or not those proteins are similar enough to create that kind of reaction, I don’t know yet. And I’m pretty darn sure that science doesn’t know yet either. And it doesn’t mean that it’s going to happen, but this is a vaccine in for at least a period of time WHO was saying, World Health Organization even said that you got to evaluate pregnant women and make sure that the benefits outweigh the risks of this vaccine. And they’ve, I think recently taken that down, but I don’t have any of the science behind why they took it down, that recommendation that pregnant women, not just get it.

Dr. Pompa:
You know what, when I say something about the virus, people always say, this virus is real. And I always say, no, I know it is. I had it. My family has had it, right. And we’re healthy. I mean my wife just lost her sense of smell. I was fatigued. I had a temperature for a day and I was fatigued for sure for three days. And I had a lingering cough. This is a weird virus. I mean, I’ll be the first to admit it. However, when you said that we have to evaluate the risk of the vaccine with the risk of the virus itself. You’re still talking about a 99.97 survival rate depending on what age we look at. I mean, Michael, it’s, it’s really hard to believe. But I think that is it just because everybody seems to know somebody that was younger and I’m going to put quotes around it “healthier” they got pretty sick. I mean, how are we dealing with those numbers that seem like, gosh this is not something that the world should be shutting down over, but yet it is.

Michael Steward:
Well, I think we’re entering into one of the reasons why COVID could be very beneficial for us today. And that is shine the light on the fact that Western medicine has become political medicine, and that doctors are not able to be clinicians the way they used to be. At least most doctors. Once a standard of care is developed, and it’s not developed by clinicians new standards of care come about either through big pharma or they come about through “special interest groups” like mothers with children, with seizures, don’t stand in between a mother and the health of her child as a politician, or you’re going to get hurt.

I think that’s one of the reasons why cannabis has received as much embracement and as far as moving into the field of medicine as opposed to a drug. Back when I did HIV care, I think the majority of the clinical advancements came because the gay community was very vocal and organized. And they were the ones that were demanding that things be done. But it’s very rare for a clinician now to be able to bring something into medicine as a new treatment. Our system doesn’t support that.

Dr. Pompa:
And you’re going to be talking about, I find my doctors myself we found it fascinating, your research on cannabis, especially for these long haulers. And you literally developed a very specific product from years of researching cannabis. And I know that you all were doing some trials on it, but literally from what the feedback that I got within five days, kicking people out of the long haulers, some of the results that you’re getting with that. And a lot of it’s the terpenes I think you explained.

Michael Steward:
Well, it is, and it is cannabis medicine. It’s not just a CBD product. We are full flower cannabis medicines. And the reason for that is the idea is to reinstate homeostasis in the body is to balance our naturally occurring the endocannabinoid system that is designed to bring us back to our natural state and our natural state is one of wellbeing. So our product there are over 400 components in it, in the cannabis plant. And what we’re really doing is its just one of many tools to get our bodies back to their natural state of being. And functional medicine really does need to be incorporated with that treatment for it to be successful. We don’t have a magic bullet, but we have a very useful tool to put in your toolbox.

Dr. Pompa:
Well and that’s the cool thing is we’re going to be myself included talking about real immunity and what we need to be understanding as practitioners and doing. And this is a tool that my docs and myself have been using. So, but you know, it’s a misunderstood tool. And it’s not just CBD. It’s not just cannabis. You’ve done some really unique things that really make it fit this niche. Very quickly because of the lack of time here. I know that everyone wants to hear the answer to this, do masks work? What about all of these lockdown procedures?

Michael Steward:
Well, I think that the scientific evidence is pretty clear in the case of COVID-19 masks don’t work. Now, I don’t want to just blanket really stay that and leave it because there is a placebo effect to a mask. And the placebo effect I do believe it. And so when I’m out in public and when I go out to the store, I wear my mask, but I don’t wear it for me. I wear it to support other people’s placebo effect that when they see me wearing a mask, they somehow feel safer. And safety and stress are very, very key components that are going on here. So while I may understand is that from my scientific research into mask, that the way COVID-19 is transmitted mask are not the answer. I will wear my mask because it helps other people in feeling safe around me, but I don’t wear it for myself.

Dr. Pompa:
Yeah. I couldn’t agree more.

Michael Steward:
In lockdown we’ve got some pretty good evidence too to show, and I don’t think history is going to look back very favorably on the decisions we made about lockdowns. Now, with that said, I do believe that those people who are susceptible to COVID-19 and are likely to have a rough course with it, we do want to protect them in our society. And we do want to limit exposures, but to do it to everybody just does not make any scientific sense to me.

Dr. Pompa:
No. Like you pointed out for briefly there that viruses, we need viruses. I was in my family were trying to get this virus from day one. Even when we believed it was far more dangerous, I still knew that we had to get it. This thing’s not going away. It’s going to be spreading for at least the next three years and then changing et cetera. And we need this information for this virus. We do, but you’re right. There are certain people I would say, don’t get this it can really be a negative for you.

Michael Steward:
And let’s help and let’s support them. And at the same time, though, what I think that your docs are really so well positioned to do right now is let’s start attenuating the fear that’s out there. And let’s let folks know, yes, we’re in the middle of something that is awkward and it’s scary, but we’re human beings and we’re adaptable creatures. And we’re going to get through this. Let’s have some courage and some compassion and let’s have some knowledge that makes sense.

Dr. Pompa:
Well, man, I can’t wait for your lecture. I’ll be taking great notes. And then the fun thing is, is after lecture, you and I are going to have a conversation that we’re going to bring the audience in because we need the information you know and have and have experience with. So appreciate your research, Michael. I appreciate you being on here and coming to the seminar. And folks, the link is below. I can tell you this, that we have an early registration deal. The earlier you register the better. So check it out. This is going to be a very special seminar. Very, very incredible, because we have such a small group of us. So join us. Thank you, Michael. We’ll see you at seminar.

Michael Steward:
Thank you. Appreciate it.