‘Sound of Ideas’ Community Tour coming to Eastlake

“The Sound of Ideas” is making a second stop in Lake County as part of this year’s Community Tour.

On Oct. 2, the WCPN/WVIZ show is coming to the Eastlake Public Library to discuss medical marijuana. The taping begins at 5 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

Eastlake is home to Buckeye Relief, the state’s first large medical marijuana grow facility. The first seeds were planted July 31, and Buckeye Relief Founder and CEO Andrew Rayburn told the News-Herald in August they’re expecting their first harvest toward the end of November or early December.

When Ohio lawmakers approved medical

marijuana in 2016 the program was supposed to be up and running by Sept. 8, 2018. That didn’t happen.

The delay and its effects—on growers, patients and the city—will be among the topics discussed at the taping.

Legalization of medical marijuana will affect the entire state, but it is of particular interest to cities like Eastlake that are hoping growers provide a financial boost to struggling economies. The effects on Eastlake will also be a topic of discussion, said “Sounds of Ideas” producer Rachel Rood.

Community Tour events include a mixture of question from host Mike McIntyre to panelists as well as questions and thoughts from the audience, which is encouraged to participate.

Rood said they’re hearing from Eastlake residents both for and against having a growth facility in their city as well as their feelings on medical marijuana in general.

“We’re looking for all kinds of questions,” she said.

The panelists for the event will be:

• Rayburn

• Eastlake Mayor Dennis Morley

• Cannabis Business Times & Cannabis Dispensary Magazine Digital Editor Eric Sandy

• Amanda Candow, a patient living with Multiple Sclerosis

• Pain Management Specialist, Owner of Practices in Beachwood and Warren Dr. Hyo Kim

• St. Vincent Charity Medical Center Addiction Specialist and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Associate Professor Dr. Ted Parran

This is the second year for the Community Tour. Last year included stops in Lorain to talk about education, Akron to talk about race, East Cleveland to talk about health and Sandusky to talk about Lake Erie.

Eastlake is the third stop on this year’s tour. The 2018 tour kicked off at Mentor High School’s Paradigm Center in March with a discussion of the opioid epidemic. The second stop was in Medina for a discussion on guns. A fourth stop on the tour is to be announced.

The Eastlake taping is scheduled to air in an hourlong episode on 90.3 WCPN at 9 a.m., Oct. 8. A half hour will be shown on WVIZ at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 9. Though the taping will be edited to fit airtimes, Rood said they will stay at the library as long as the audience is participating.

“We think of these as a way to hear from the community,” Rood said.

“We’re not going to leave until everyone has their say.”

The full unedited stream of the taping will be available at www.ideastream.org/communitytour after Oct. 8.

More details about the taping can be found at the above website or on the Facebook event page (www.facebook.com/ events/243927919650954/).

The Eastlake Public Library is located at 36706 Lake Shore Blvd.