FUNKY JOE - Laughter, Cannabis & Veganism - By: Sie7e

Funky Joe, it's an honor to be here with you. We've usually been in an interview format, but it's you interviewing me a lot over the years. In fact, you've seen me since the beginning of my career, and now with the Sens Culture crew, I have my segment talking about veganism, which you know is a topic that's close to my heart, and you're the first person I've interviewed and wanted to interview.

So it's my turn to interview you, and I'm really excited about something that's very important to me. I've always admired you as a celebrity and as the influential person you are, and since you got into veganism, I've had the honor of being part of one of your first steps; well, from the decision itself, because the first one was…

I remember, in fact, I have an iconic photo of my beginning in veganism that was with you, I think at the vegan spot.

Exactly, we went to the vegan spot, then to the gas station in Caguas, and we had a blast. Well, man, from that moment on, my admiration for you has multiplied, and that's why I want to ask you some really important questions. Since one of the main topics is cannabis, and you're also a leading expert on the subject, I'd love to ask you a few questions because I don't know if people realize how friendly you are about it.

The first question: How did cannabis change your life? Give me a top 3.

Wow, that's a little difficult. I could answer that question that way if cannabis had been a decision, but cannabis wasn't something I decided to do.

As?

In the sense that when I started with cannabis, it was through a girlfriend. I was sixteen and she was twenty, four years older than me. And she was the one who got me to smoke it. So, at sixteen, it was my first experience, through a girl who, I think, was way ahead of me and I was way behind because she was already in college. And for me, in that respect, it was a spectacular experience, in the sense that cannabis is less violent when it comes to introducing you to something that could be dangerous in your youth, because it doesn't cloud your mind, it doesn't make you crazy, it doesn't erase memories, like alcohol does.

In fact, to tell you more, my first experience with a drug wasn't cannabis, it was with mushrooms. My cousin gave me half a liter of those cow mushrooms and I tripped before I understood. I saw things, elephants; I mean, from the point of view of psychedelic things, even though I had already read and had been exposed from a cultural point of view, because my dad was very open-minded and was like, hipster.

He was a guy ahead of his generation, culturally speaking, back in Venezuela, but he liked to experiment and be on that wavelength. Coming from that culture, I was open to experimenting too.

And this whole thing about liquor and drugs was something that was readily available, my cousin and my family were already... and I, by that time I had come out of my cocoon and was looking for new experiences and so on.

As a conscious adult, I understand that you enter the world of cannabis by accident, separating things, that is... right now when they say drugs to me, I think of other things and I don't think of cannabis, I even think of alcohol, but right now I see it as a medicine, I treat cannabis in my house like I treat ginger.

I see it more as a supplement; I don't really see it as a medicine. I see it as something supplemental that you use to reach different moods; a modulator perhaps, like how people interpret tea or coffee, you know, that kind of thing that changes your mood; well, I would say that, a little, cannabis for me has become that.

I come from a pretty hypochondriac family, where everything was fixed with medicine, pills, and all sorts of other things, you know, typical Puerto Ricans. And everything was discussed with your uncle, who was, well, he'd studied biology, hahaha, "What should we take?" "No, look, let's try this." Because, you know, my uncle had a PhD in biochemistry, he was a whiz at it. A typical Puerto Rican family. And I remember being immersed in that world, for me, cannabis, compared to alcohol or even other drugs that are stronger, I never saw cannabis as anything like that.

Well, I've lived without cannabis, not for a very long time, I don't know, maybe three years, if that counts as a long time, or two and a half years… I've had periods where I've decided, for one reason or another, to cut myself off from everything, not just cannabis, but everything, simply to cleanse myself completely, and I've had those experiences. Now, I have to tell you that if I had to choose between a life with or without cannabis, I'd choose it a thousand times over with cannabis. Because even though, from a health perspective, I don't think it has a negative impact on my health, I never think it ever has. What I have had to learn is how to use it, so for me, it's important that I know much more about it now.

I admit that culturally I am one of those people who like cannabis as much as wine, I like to get the “strains” and I like to know and understand what I am doing, why and how.

Yes, you know a lot… I have shared with you and I always learn when I am with you.

The problem is that lately I learn things and then I forget them, haha. You know, I have this problem that has nothing to do with cannabis. A lot of people think it's related to cannabis because it has the best effects, but I don't think so. It's like a condition that was described to me as a micro-seizure that lasts less than a second, like an epileptic seizure, but it lasts less than a second, I don't even notice it. But what it does is create a kind of shock and I forget my train of thought, what I was talking about; it's like a small short circuit, an electrical signal.

I have rules for surviving.

Let's see?

For example, I don't eat anything after 6 pm. You know, the thing is, it kind of stays in your system, it can backfire later. Even after you digest it. It happened to me once, I got to work and it just exploded. And I was like, "What?! I can't go on air like this..."

And you dealt with it, scared, but you dealt with it?

Well, I managed it because God is great and I have a fantastic partner. But I don't take that risk because, like I said, I have rules for survival, and I don't use anything for my radio show. I do my show clean; I have a couple of coffees. That's all, and I drink it black because I'm vegan, and they don't have almond milk there unless I bring it, and I don't trust leaving it in their fridge.

Okay, so the last question for those transitioning to veganism: Do you feel that the cannabis experience is different since becoming vegan? I've discussed this with several people, and in my case, I think the answer is yes.

Yes, because once you embrace veganism, you enter a phase of your life where you begin to see yourself as an organism, as part of an ecosystem. And it's not the same anymore; you're no longer acting recklessly. You're more like, "Okay, I'm aligning myself with the planet. Let me see how the whole world vibrates, let me see what the energies are like." And all these aspects emerge that are there, but we don't notice them. We don't observe these things, but once you're there, you become more attuned to the earth when it comes to synchronizing with the planet, the world. You try to find more harmony, to be more harmonious.

Are you vegan for the animals, for your health, for the planet, for everything? Was there one first?

I think… well, for health reasons, yes, it has something to do with it because I was looking for something to get out of the mess I was in. I had a lot of cognitive issues, I had mental fog, mood problems, tiredness, a lot of things, and veganism changed everything in a couple of months.

Once I decided to become vegan, I went through the entire detox process with González Chacon. It was all extraordinary because I felt liberated.

What's the biggest difference you felt: mental, physical, or emotional? But I think with your answer it's all of them, a little bit of all three.

Now I am sharper and calmer; I used to have an appearance of inner despair that I no longer have, and that is very important for us.

As a person, what have been the biggest challenges as a vegan? How do you balance being a good citizen with being an entrepreneur and keeping the economy running?

Well, in that respect, what allows me to rest and know that I have a direction is that I have convinced myself that the reason and purpose of this company is to educate as many carnivores as possible.

It's a very resilient community, mostly Latinos; something you'll see a lot is, "Why are they imitating meat if we want to be the most vegan?"

The reason is very simple: they need that meat substitute on their plate, and if we didn't find a way to replace that experience, we wouldn't succeed in teaching them that humans don't need meat to live. Because once you get past that initial stage where you see that you have alternatives, you'll be open to experimenting. That curiosity and exploration is what I want to promote through this company.

That's why I say, now we're going to launch a YouTube channel, because we want to create content in both English and Spanish, and one of the essential aspects is generating that reaction. We're doing it through deception, using social media/digital platforms to promote those reactions. So, the mission of this company is to deceive as many carnivores as possible.

WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW ON OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL.

ACCESS THIS LINK

https://youtu.be/dp2UsCxUUGY