Montel Williams Joins KIND Board as an Advocate for Medical Marijuana

Montel Williams, a TV and radio talk show host and advocate for medical marijuana as a treatment for multiple sclerosis and other chronic illnesses, has joined the board of KIND Financial, a technology solutions company, as a key advisor in efforts to support and expand the drug’s use.

“Montel Williams has become one of the most high profile medical cannabis advocates in the country and he is also active in raising money for a variety of charitable organizations relating to veterans issues and multiple sclerosis, which he was diagnosed with in 1999,” said David Dinenberg, KIND Financial’s chief executive officer, in a press release. “We are proud to have Montel on board. From the first time we spoke, it was clear that we share a similar vision that our business model holds the key to legalization — regulation, compliance and transparency.”

The company’s technology platform offers tools for cannabis tracking and compliance for cultivators, dispensaries, and regulatory agencies. These solutions aim at managing the whole cannabis business loop, ensuring that all transactions are made safely and securely, and remain compliant with regulations set forth in federal guidelines like FinCEN, the Cole Memorandums, and others.

“Compliance is the key. Regulation is the key. KIND has the roadmap for both,” Williams said.

“The national path forward for the medical cannabis movement hinges on the ability to create a well-regulated marketplace in new states, and history has taught us that the better regulated the proposed medical cannabis program, the more appealing it is to voters and legislators, and that’s why I’m proud to partner with KIND, which is at the forefront of medical cannabis compliance,” he added.

In the U.S., 23 states and the District of Columbia allow for comprehensive public medical marijuana programs based on the potential therapeutic value of cannabinoid drugs, primarily THC, for pain relief, control of nausea, appetite stimulation, and other benefits in a variety of medical conditions. But at the federal level, marijuana remains classified as a controlled substance.

For these reasons, Dinenberg says KIND technologies were built upon strict healthcare, financial, and regulation compliances. “For the industry to thrive, it must survive. To survive it must figure out a way to manage compliance — we’re never going to get to a Federal policy change without a great compliance record at the state level. That’s where KIND comes in.  We believe our partnership with Montel Williams will lead the industry towards a solution to make medical marijuana a viable option for patients who really need it. No one has lived this and represented it better than him,” he said.

William concluded: “We know that the vast majority of voters support making medical marijuana available to relieve the suffering of seriously ill Americans like me and so many others. What we also know is that voters want a well-regulated marketplace — for this industry to expand, to help more patients, the movement needs to keep compliance at the forefront of our minds.”

The National MS Society, on its website, supports “the rights of people with MS to work with their MS health care providers to access marijuana for medical purposes in accordance with legal regulations in those states where such use has been approved,” and favors advancing research into its use to help patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) cope with symptoms like pain, tremors, and spasticity.  The society offers information on a number of clinical trials into the therapeutic use of medical marijuana that can be accessed here.