Local hospitals look for ways to bend, not break during latest surge

Speaker 1: (00:01)

Hospitals are struggling with overcrowding and diversion where the rubber hits

Speaker 2: (00:04)

The road is really in the hospitals and, and whether or not they end up, uh, able to handle the demand.

Speaker 1: (00:09)

I'm Jade Hensman with Christina. Kim is off. This is KPBS midday edition Calls for action. After hate speech was sprayed on the walls of San Diego GTO academy. We have to do more.

Speaker 3: (00:30)

We have to do more, no child should feel unsafe. And so we have to do

Speaker 1: (00:35)

More. We'll tell you about change coming to the California legislature and labor Federation. Plus the changes at digital gym cinema that's ahead on midday edition Yesterday, San go reached a record high in COVID cases with more than 8,000 cases. Being reported though, hospitalizations are lower than last year. At the same time, local emergency rooms are being stretched to their limits here. To talk more about what local hospitals and emergency rooms are seeing in recent days is San Diego union Tribune health reporter pulse. Paul, welcome. Thanks for having me in your latest article, you write about how hospitals sometimes employ a process called diversion. Can you explain what that is? And, uh, what it's designed to do

Speaker 2: (01:34)

Diversion is just simply this idea that your emergency department may get so full that you, uh, struggle to take additional and, uh, runs that might be coming to you. You know, those folks generally need to be put to the front of the line. They generally have pretty urgent problems that need urgent attention. And so diversion simply allows a hospital to, to raise its collective hand and say, Hey, we need a little break. Uh, we need to send some of these, uh, a, that might be coming into us from other areas to other hospitals. Uh, they generally continue taking ambulances that are in their kind of main service area. Uh, but they stop bringing in, uh, stuff from further away. And so what happened, uh, yesterday is that so many hospitals, uh, I think 16 of the 22 non civilian hospitals in San Diego county were on diversion.

Speaker 2: (02:32)

Uh, and the saying in, in healthcare is that if everybody's on diversion, nobody's on diversion. In other words, there's really, you're diverting ambulances, but you're not really diverting them to anywhere that can take them because pretty much everybody is, is full up. Uh, so, uh, what the county EMS authority did yesterday, was that okay, uh, until 8:00 AM this morning, uh, overnight, nobody's going on diversion anymore. You're going to have to take all of the ambulance runs that show up at your, uh, ambulance bay and you're going to have to handle them as best you can. Uh, and so it's gonna take a lot longer, uh, for paramedics to offload their patients, uh, than it might, if they were able to find another alternate facility to go to

Speaker 1: (03:13)

What capacity are local hospitals currently seeing they,

Speaker 2: (03:16)

They are, uh, quite full, you know, they, they continue and they have continued to see through this year higher than normal levels of, uh, demand for non COVID care. Uh, if you talk to people, uh, on the units, they, they all feel, it seems like that, uh, a lot of people who delayed care last year are now coming in with more severe illness and they might have otherwise had. And then, you know, this high level of COVID cases that we're seeing as everybody's going out and getting tested and testing positive, uh, you know, they're, they're just seeing a lot of those folks, a lot of them with more minor illness, but, but some of them, uh, you know, pretty severely sick, uh, with COVID as well. I was out an ER last night and we saw a couple folks come in who, uh, had severe enough COVID that they needed, uh, supplementary oxygen and eventually were headed for the ICU.

Speaker 1: (04:08)

As I mentioned, San Diego reached a record high in new coronavirus infections yesterday. What jumps out to you with the latest numbers?

Speaker 2: (04:16)

They're not terribly surprising. We know that we have a lot of P people going out and getting tested right now. We have, uh, record numbers of people waiting in, in long, long, long lines, uh, to get tested. Uh, I know that yesterday, for example, at the, one of the Kaiser facilities on the Mesa, uh, there was, you know, so much demand that it was banking up traffic and the police had to, to warn people to take alternate routes. Uh, so, you know, you're testing a lot of people. So of course, you're going to find more positive cases than you might have. Otherwise, if fewer people were coming in for testing, it's, it's hard to, to really suss out exactly what, what is all driving the, uh, the demand for testing. But yeah, it doesn't really surprise me that we would have a lot more cases if we, if we have a lot more, uh, tests, the question is, uh, you know, where, where the rubber hits the road really in the hospitals and, and whether or not they end up, uh, able to handle the demand.

Speaker 1: (05:06)

You touched on this earlier, but, uh, is the current situation which you refer as dire, delaying people from receiving necessary medical care.

Speaker 2: (05:14)

You know, it's a little unclear, it's hard to, uh, to have a CLO, a global view of this. Uh, what kind of really, uh, open my eyes wide was just this notion that we have so many medical personnel that are calling in sick, uh, because they have COVID, uh, you know, and that really, uh, talking to some of the, the local, uh, facilities here in town, it seems like it's a quite significant situation where, you know, they're canceling, uh, elective procedures and it, like, it's putting a lot of pressure, uh, on their ability to have much throughput in the emergency rooms. Uh, you know, as things kind of get backed up that I think feels a little more dire because if you don't have people to, uh, to deliver the care, then, then you're kind of stuck. What

Speaker 1: (05:59)

Are our hospitals and medical officials telling patients who are seeking medical care, particularly those who are showing coronavirus symptoms.

Speaker 2: (06:08)

I spoke to a ER director at radi last night, um, 80 children's hospital here in San Diego. And, uh, you know, they are asking the public to be a little careful about what they come into the ER for right now. You know, they say, you know, certainly if you have a child or, or you yourself, if you are truly very concerned that something is wrong and, and it needs to be dealt with urgently, they're saying, you know, by all means, please come in. We, we believe you, when you say you feel very, very ill. Uh, but what they're saying is, you know, if you, if you have pretty minor symptoms or your child has pretty minor symptoms, a minor cough, a some running nose, no signs of trouble breathing, that kind of thing. Uh, you know, please talk to your pediatrician, talk to your doctor, call your nursing line, get their advice before you come into the ER, you know, try to work up the chain. Uh, they know it's very busy out there and a lot of folks are, are struggling to get through. And some of that just tends to default over to the emergency department when people can't get through to the primary care resources. Uh, but all that really does it just kind of continues to back things up in the ER, waiting rooms. Uh, so, you know, it's, it's kind of hard to find a, uh, quick way through at this point.

Speaker 1: (07:20)

I've been speaking with Paul Sissen healthcare reporter for the San Diego union Tribune. Paul, thank you. Thank you so

Speaker 2: (07:26)

Much

Speaker 4: (07:34)

For the second time. And only a few months, hateful slurs have been found graffiti at the campus of Santo academy in Encinitas. The incident marks the third of its kind to occur at a Santo union campus. This academic year elsewhere across the region. Recent races events have reopened painful discussions at schools like cathedral Catholic high school and Coronado high. The string of incidents across the county under is a disturbing trend in racist behavior on school campuses. Joining me now with more is Cheryl James Ward, superintendent of the Santo union high school district, superintendent James Ward. Welcome to the program.

Speaker 3: (08:11)

Thank you. Thank you. Happy to be here.

Speaker 4: (08:13)

You just started in your position as superintendent on November 1st, but already. There's been several of racist, antisemitic and homophobic. Graffiti. What do you think is driving this uptick in hate?

Speaker 3: (08:26)

Well, I think there are a number of issues actually obviously hate has existed in this country and racism since the inception of the country. And there have been episodes of higher levels of hate, uh, throughout the history of the country. But we have seen a huge uptick in hate, and we've also most recently with COVID because kids have been home and they have not had access to each other. They've had more access to social media and social media in many cases has not been good, especially because of the algorithms that take kids down a path, if they have an inkling to any different direction. So social media has not been helpful. COVID has led to just a whole host of mental health issues and uptick in racist behavior is one of those

Speaker 4: (09:18)

Yesterday over a hundred community members and students rallied together to denounce this racist incident, but they also say the district has done little to prevent hate in the past. They wanna see the teaching of systemic racism and include more textbooks by authors of color. How do you respond to that? And do you think that the district has done enough in this regard? I

Speaker 3: (09:38)

Can't speak for the past of the district because I, I wasn't here, but I will tell you this since I did get here in November, the board passed an anti-discrimination resolution and an antisemitism resolution. The other thing that we have going on, we just started a ethnic studies literature class, actually starting next week, Santo academy. And then we also have kids doing tremendous work. We have, as of late our black student unions on various campuses, we have Latinx clubs. We have our Asian Pacific Islander clubs, and then on campuses in our ASBS, we also have diversity equity and inclusion commissioners.

Speaker 4: (10:21)

Right. And I wanna hear more about that. I mean, especially students recently KBB spoke with IA Jaffer, a junior at Santo academy, high school who went as far as saying that she feels unsafe in her district. I wanna play a clip of what she had to say.

Speaker 5: (10:35)

I feel like we're constant. I never know what's gonna happen. There's constant threats there's. And especially this year in particular, it has felt rockier than ever to be a marginalized student

Speaker 4: (10:45)

In this district superintendent, you're saying the students are really picking up the mantle, but what is this kind of response from a student make you feel as an educational leader in this district?

Speaker 3: (10:55)

We have to do more. We have to do more, no child should feel unsafe. And just from her voice, I mean, she's in pain. And so we have to do more. And I will say that we've got COVID and we have mental health challenges as a result of COVID. So kids are coming back and we're seeing behaviors and we have never seen just bizarre behaviors as a result of, and what that means is that we are challenged in terms of putting in place enough mental health resources to help our kiddos. And then we have COVID and all of this is not only a strain on any system, but it's a strain on every child because the stresses of this are tremendous. And the behavior that we may see behind again could be bizarre.

Speaker 4: (11:40)

And that brings me to a question, you know, how does the school and district plan to support and provide care for black students who already only make up less than 1% of SDA, as well as LGBTQ plus students and other marginalized students who are feeling really the onus of this, both the pain, but also the mantle of picking up the work. What supports are being put in place for them?

Speaker 3: (12:00)

One of the things that we're doing as a district that I'm doing, I spend a lot of time in schools. I start my days in schools. The reason why I start my day in schools is because I wanna talk to kids. I wanna hear from them. And I also wanna see what's happening in classrooms. Where are they sitting? Are they seen, are they heard? And so the following week we start our equity walks and that is something that I'll be doing with my executive cabinet. I want them to see what I'm seeing in schools in classrooms, where are our black and brown kids seated in classrooms? Where are LGBTQ kids seated in classrooms? Are they in the back? Are they being heard? Are they being supported? How are we engaging with our kiddos of color and our LGBTQ kids? So that's the walk that we're gonna start and why, because we want to bring it to the forefront, bubble it up so that we see it and we can talk about it. And then besides the work that we're doing with San Diego county office of ed on DEI, we will be starting our work with the anti defam league and then the training on the other end, because once you have the data, then you have to do something with it. So that means at the same time, we have to be doing the training. And that's what we're doing

Speaker 4: (13:06)

As a black woman, working in a predominantly white community and school district. Do you see these incidents as extensions of larger C community tensions around changing demographics or national politics?

Speaker 3: (13:18)

Well, I would go to national politics, right? Because, uh, national politics, there's just a, a, there's just a lot of hate out there in general. It's just a lot of hate and there's fear with the status quo. What does it mean if things change, you know, what does it mean for me? But in my personal community, I have lived in this community for 16 years and I have never had better neighbors in my life. My neighbors are my family. And if anything goes down, I am here to tell you that my neighbors are here for me. And so my experience in the community has been extremely positive. It's been a great experience for my kids. They've played all their sports in the community and it's just been a good experience. And, and so when I look at some of the issues, I wanna say that they're also on the fringe of the community. And unfortunately, when something like this happens, it's hurtful and it becomes center stage. But on the other side, we've got a lot of good people doing good things. I see my staff teachers on campus, administrators on campus who are embracing all of our kiddos who are protecting our kids of color. Now, is everybody doing that? I'm not gonna say everybody is. I can't say that. And that's why we have work to do. That's why we have work to do.

Speaker 4: (14:30)

I've been speaking with Cheryl James Ward, superintendent of the Santo union high school district. Thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you.

Speaker 3: (14:37)

Thank you for having me. You're listening

Speaker 1: (14:51)

To KPBS midday edition. I'm Jade Henman with Christina Kim. Maureen Kavanaugh is off a shift in leadership is coming to California's labor Federation and California's assembly just yesterday. Assembly member Lorena Gonzalez announced her resignation from the assembly as she takes a position with the labor Federation here to discuss the chain is UC San Diego political science professor Thad cower, Thad welcome,

Speaker 6: (15:15)

Happy new year Jade,

Speaker 1: (15:16)

Happy new year. So, uh, Lorena Gonzalez announced her resignation from the assembly yesterday. Uh, were you surprised at all?

Speaker 6: (15:24)

Well, this is huge news for the state legislature for the labor movement in California and for San Diego politic. Uh, but it's not a giant surprise as this is actually Lorena Gonzalez turning back to her roots, right? When she, uh, came to prominence, it was as the leader of the San Diego county labor Federation. She has been the leader in labor legislation at the statewide level, pushing for things like paid sick leave, uh, oh, over time for, uh, for agricultural workers making the gig economy, workers being part of the, uh, of the, of the normal employment system. So, so this was in some ways a logical next step for her.

Speaker 1: (16:04)

And she'll be heading the California labor Federation beginning, July. Tell us more about the state labor Federation.

Speaker 6: (16:10)

Yeah. So this is one of the, the, the two, I guess, labor groups, the other being the S E I U in California. And so I think what this does is it gives lo Gonzalez the way, uh, two levers to, to make an impact on, on working people's lives, which has been her, her driving focus, right? One, it has more than 2 million members. So, so the leaders negotiating all of these, uh, agreements, right. Uh, and doing collective of bargaining on behalf of all of those different workers. And also it's a major player in California politics as a group that's that's in many ways, a king maker, um, helping to, to elect labor friendly legislators to Sacramento. So

Speaker 1: (16:46)

Given that does, uh, Lorena Gonzalez hold more power as an assembly member or, uh, working for the, the labor Federation?

Speaker 6: (16:54)

I think you can view this as a promotion. It's probably not the promotion that she wanted. Uh, Lorena Gonzalez was clearly planning to run for secretary of state in 2022, when, uh, when Dr. Shirley Weber got that appointment, when Alex Padilla was elevated to the us Senate, she lost that, uh, that potential goal. But what she's done is found another way after, uh, when term limits had, had limited her time in Sacramento to continue to have a powerful voice, uh, on the issue that is labor, which has been the, the driving factor in her public life.

Speaker 1: (17:28)

There was more than just this new position that likely played a role in her decision to resign from the assembly. Tell us about, about that.

Speaker 6: (17:34)

Well, I think the, the big looming factor that caused this really kind of career shift for Lorena Gonzalez was term limits. So we haven't talked a lot about term limits in the last few years in California, because a, a change to them passed in 2012 gave people 12 years in office. That meant that her clock was ticking as of 2024. So she could have tried to run in a, in a new district trying to take on another democratic incumbent, uh, Dr. Aquila Weber, but she would've just, if she had won that race, she would've been an immediate lane duck termed out in the next and, and likely out of power from her prominent committee role in Sacramento. So because of those looming term limit, she needed to go somewhere else. And, and this is where she landed. And

Speaker 1: (18:18)

In the face of all this, she's also faced some health challenges

Speaker 6: (18:21)

Too. Right, right. She, she had, uh, surgery, uh, for breast cancer. And so I think, you know, that also the, of an everyday legislative session flying up to Sacramento and back, uh, that this may be, uh, this job may provide some welcome respite for that at a time when she's faced over the past six months, uh, a tremendous health challenge. And

Speaker 1: (18:41)

You mentioned some of her accomplishments as a lawmaker. What were some of Gonzalez's most notable

Speaker 6: (18:47)

To you? Well, I think the, the, the biggest ones were, were focused on labor, right? As the sick leave, the gig economy, bill that then became the focus of a huge proposition. And now was that, which was then overturned in a court case that is still, uh, a book yet to be written, but it could mean that all Lyft, Uber drivers, uh, you know, the food delivery worker and, and a whole range of other employees are granted, uh, benefits in California. That's a, a huge accomplishment. Although some parts of it are up in air, and she was also engaged in really on the ground, detailed things like, uh, providing subsidies for, for people purchasing diapers, uh, making sure that tampons weren't tax, she wasn't afraid to Wade in, into these, uh, these issues that, that weren't as prominent at the national level, but, but really mattered for, for everyday Californians. So

Speaker 1: (19:37)

How will Lorena Gonzalez seat be filled?

Speaker 6: (19:40)

Well, that's not quite clear yet. Uh, it, there may potentially be a special election, but it could be consolidated with the next primary election. What we do know is there are a lot of people who want this seat and are, are jumping in to, to, to, to try to capture what would likely be a safe democratic seat for another 12 years for whoever could capture it. Hmm.

Speaker 1: (20:02)

And, and when the election for Gonzales' former seat is held, it will represent a different area because of redistricting. So how different are the districts, uh, new boundaries?

Speaker 6: (20:12)

Well, the, the numbers in the old districts at the assembly level have really changed in San Diego. So, so that the same number district that she represented will probably, uh, go into the hands of, uh, of Aquila Weber, who holds a neighboring district. Uh, but that area that, uh, Chula Vista to south San Diego area will, will be up for grabs. You already seen, I think George Georgia Gomez, the council member, uh, David Alva is former city council member, uh, declare their candidacy for that area. Hmm.

Speaker 1: (20:41)

All right. Very interesting. And something I'm sure we'll all keep our eyes on. I've been speaking with UC San Diego political science professor, Thad cower, Thad. Thanks so much for joining us. Thanks for having me. A new legislative year has started in Sacramento with members of the state Senate and assembly going back to work as they reconvene the state's elected officials, confront problems like the pandemic, homelessness housing, growing concerns about crime and passing a new state budget. What should we expect to see happen in Sacramento this year? The California reports SA Gonzalez talked about that with Democrat Anthony Rendon, the speaker of the California state assembly, who begins by stating what he hopes to in the new legislative year.

Speaker 7: (21:29)

Quite a bit. I mean, obviously we know there's incredible problems with housing and the housing market and homelessness in this state. So we're definitely gonna continue working on housing. We have a new housing chair this year, uh, assembly member, Buffy, wick, and looking forward to, to her service in that role climate action. And then obviously we know there's tremendous income and, and health disparities in the state. We saw those sort of amplified, uh, multiplied, uh, because of COVID, we're gonna continue to, to work on that as well. And one of the ways of doing that is making sure we're, we're boosting our economy.

Speaker 8: (22:03)

The governor is going to unveil his proposed state budget in the coming days. Um, what should be in it?

Speaker 7: (22:09)

I, I think what should be in it is making sure that we're addressing the needs of the most vulnerable Californians. We know that a lot of Californians have had an exceptionally difficult time, particularly through, through COVID. We need to make sure that we're, you know, investing in those families and, and whether it's early childhood education, whether it's like E I T C earning income tax credit program, we need to make sure that those programs are well funded, because those are the folks who, who most badly need our help. I

Speaker 8: (22:38)

Wanna talk about the legislature itself for a moment. Um, there's a lot of churn happening in it now. Uh, this is an election year and many elected officials will be running in new areas because of redistricting. Many incumbents have announced they won't be seeking to run again, or that they're just going to be leaving for other jobs. Uh, most recently assembly member Lorena Gonzalez was San Diego who just announced she's going to be leaving the assembly to head the California labor Federation, uh, taken all together. What does this mean for the management meant of the state legislature?

Speaker 7: (23:11)

It's good and bad. I mean, from a personal perspective, uh, these are friends, these are friends I've known for a long time. And, uh, Ms. Gonzalez and I got elected in 2012. Um, so, you know, we we've been through a lot together. There is a, to an extent some institutional memory that is that's lost and, and that's that it's a shame, but at the same time, I mean, we're a caucus of 60 strong, or at least we were before recent resignations. We're now a caucus, I think of about 56 strong, um, there's a tremendous amount of talent in, in our body. So this provides new opportunities, new chair, chairmanships, uh, for a lot of members. And I think, you know, those new perspectives are, are, are interesting to have someone just for example, Eduardo Garcia is the new chair of utilities. He comes from a district that's very unique, the Coachella valley, all the way down to the Mexican border, all the way across, uh, the Arizona border, very unique topography, very unique district to have him in the role of utilities. Chair, I think speaks to a different, uh, part of California. It's very different than the bay area, very different than Los Angeles. It's very different than San Diego. And I think, uh, making sure that those voices are sort of part of the chorus here, uh, in the assembly is incredibly important.

Speaker 8: (24:25)

And finally, Mr. Speaker, what do you say to the Californians listening who are just really concerned about the state of the state? I mean, they point to a third of Californians living at, or near poverty home prices that continue to go up and up a homeless crisis. That just seems to grind on, I, I can go on about other topics. Do you think we're fundamentally making inroads into the big problems that most concern Californians?

Speaker 7: (24:50)

I think we're trying to address those problems. And I, I always, uh, I always say if, if we hadn't done the earlier, I talked about, uh, spending 12 billion over two years on, on homelessness, what would the homeless crisis look like if we weren't being aggressive, if we weren't, um, pursuing big policy ideas. So, uh, for us, we're gonna continue to be ambitious and we're gonna continue to be ambitious because we know the problems, as you said, are, are

Speaker 1: (25:15)

Profound. That was the California report. Saul Gonzalez speaking with Anthony Rendon, the speaker of the California state assembly.

Speaker 4: (25:27)

You may not know this, but there are actually several different kinds of THC, the chemical and cannabis that makes you feel high. The well known one that comes from the cannabis plant is technically called Delta nine, THC KBB S reporter CLA Traer tells us of a new kind that has emerged in the past few years. It's called Delta eight THC.

Speaker 9: (25:51)

So why is this new THC variety now being heavily marketed? Well, mainly it's a way for cannabis producers and distributors to get around laws and states that ban THC to understand why you have to start with the plant hemp, which comes from the same species is a plant as cannabis, but hemp is legal. And so is C B D, which is usually made from hemp, from C B D. You can make Delta eight. So in states that ban cannabis, Delta eight falls into a legal loophole,

Speaker 10: (26:23)

A lot of people have dubbed Delta eight, sort of this weed

Speaker 9: (26:25)

Light, Kyle Boyer researches Delta to eight at UC San Diego's center for medical cannabis research. But he says, scientists don't know a lot about it. Yet. There have been limited clinical studies on Delta eight. This is,

Speaker 10: (26:40)

Um, you know, what you read about people's experiences on the internet, this type of thing. Um, and while that's valuable, to an extent it is, there's not a replacement for a clinical trial , especially if we're talking about treating a specific illness or, um, a condition

Speaker 9: (26:57)

Delta eight is made by dissolving CBD oil and mixing it with acid and then use in chromatography to isolate the THC strand. But Boyer says the labs that do this chemical process. Aren't always well regulated.

Speaker 10: (27:11)

A lot of the people that are making this stuff, many of them are untrained and definitely, um, don't necessarily have any business doing synthesis. If they're, they're not trained chemists,

Speaker 9: (27:21)

If the acid isn't fully new neutralized, you could end up ingesting it and there might be other substances in the mixture as well. You don't

Speaker 10: (27:29)

Know what you're getting. Um, there's a lot of lack of quality control because these, this is not regulated in the sense that there is no mandate saying if you put a Delta eight product on the shelf that you have to test it, um, because it's a legal loophole,

Speaker 11: (27:43)

It it's very different for every, um, state and federally. Um, and even, you know, it's just this huge gray area, and there's been so many contradicting statements coming out of the DEA itself that, you know, it still all needs to be sort of, um, hash out

Speaker 9: (28:04)

Cannabis attorney mial Missouri says the federal government and states are still figuring out what to do with this new Delta aid strain here

Speaker 11: (28:13)

In California. They're essentially saying that, um, it's going to be taken into the, um, cannabis regulatory scheme and at some point, and be regulated just like cannabis that hemp will be. And then, um, you know, there's going to be sort of this subjective analysis as to your products intoxicating effects and how that determines the legalities.

Speaker 9: (28:41)

Jackie Bryan is a journalist and expert on cannabis. She sees lots of marketing from companies selling drinks, syrups, and gummies, all made with Delta

Speaker 12: (28:51)

Eight. The first Delta eight product I ever tried, um, was from a brand called level, which makes this product called pro tabs. And they're little pressed pills. And, um, yeah, it kind of feels like weed, but it's not quite there

Speaker 9: (29:03)

Because she lives in California where cannabis is legal. She would prefer products that have been tested. Plus she says, she likes that traditional Delta nine comes from

Speaker 12: (29:14)

Plants. You don't have the plant, you don't have the farmer, you don't have the land. You don't have all of the expenses and manpower that come with that. So, and, and you know, our current medical model and the FDA model of, of medical testing is one compound, one effect. And so cannabinoid medicine doesn't really fit well into that because the cannabis plant produces again, a number of cannabinoids as for the

Speaker 9: (29:40)

Future of Delta eight. It's unclear right now, cannabis retailers are making lots of products with Delta eight because it's on

Speaker 4: (29:48)

Trend. But whether that will last is not yet known Claire Trieger KPPs news. Joining me now for more on this is Jackie Bryant, a journalist and cannabis expert who we just turn in the story. Welcome, Jackie. Hi.

Speaker 13: (30:02)

Thank you. Thanks for having

Speaker 4: (30:03)

Me, Delta eight is made out of C B D, which as we just heard is what allows it to be sold legally in some states that allow CBD, but not cannabis. Why are C D and thus Delta eight legal in some states?

Speaker 13: (30:17)

So basically C B D is legal in many states because it is made from hemp. It is non intoxicating, and that is really the main difference. Um, cannabis and hemp are actually the same plant, but we, um, split them out legally based on whether or not they're intoxicating. So CBD is considered, okay, because it's non intoxicating. And then you engineer Delta eight out of C, B D. So it is legal technically, but the government, no governments have really legalized Delta eight per se. They legalize C B D. And because it's derived from that, I personally consider it a loophole.

Speaker 4: (30:55)

So is that loophole why Delta eight is getting so much attention right now? Yes. A

Speaker 13: (31:00)

Hundred percent. Basically, if you have access to legal weed, or you have access to, you know, regular weed, you're not really gonna need Delta eight, but yes, I, I basically think that Delta eight is a placeholder for legal weed. And in places where you, where you have cannabis, um, you know, being, uh, fully illegal or restricted in some way, you're going to see more of a prevalence of Delta eight and conversely in markets where cannabis is fully legal. You're not gonna see as much Delta eight.

Speaker 4: (31:29)

How does Delta eight work on the body say compared to marijuana or just CBD?

Speaker 13: (31:34)

Okay. So Delta eight is one, you know, small chemical compound away from Delta nine, THC, which is the famous THC, you know, every one nose and loves and makes you feel funny. Um, so that being so chemically close means that it has many of the same physical properties, and it expresses the same physically. It's just a little bit more muted. So your dosing will be higher and you can expect to feel all the things that you would normally feel when smoking weed or in, you know, consuming cannabis. But it's a little bit less, a lot of people say I have personally referred to it as diet weed before, which is a little flippant, but it, it does get the idea across that you're gonna feel it is intoxicating. And you're gonna feel a little funny and it's gonna be relaxing. Some people report that, um, it removes the anxiety that, that normal THC causes in some people I personally don't find that to be true. And, and studies have not really, you know, born that out, but, um, basically you can expect it to be like regular THC.

Speaker 4: (32:34)

Have you been able to follow the money on this yet? Do we know who's profiting off the sale and marketing of Delta eight

Speaker 13: (32:40)

A little bit. Yeah. I mean, it's CBD companies. It's, it's, it's he manufacturers and CBD companies. There are some full-fledged cannabis companies who do have Delta a products, but again, there's really no point for them to have that. And so, you know, mainly it's CBD companies, I would expect you also, you know, different nutraceutical wellness companies. It's definitely integrated into that. You'll see them in, in different cannabis strengths as well. So I don't think that there's necessarily some like big Delta eight lobby, but it's a direct tie to the, the C B D

Speaker 4: (33:12)

Juggernaut. What states are areas are seeing an increase in the use of Delta eight products? Are we seeing it here in San Diego, even the O California doesn't ban cannabis,

Speaker 13: (33:21)

You can find it pretty much anywhere where it's not legal. You can find it here in San Diego. I do know that that legal dispensaries have had drinks that have had Delta eight in it. I know that I used to, I've bought, um, you know, little pro tabs, little pills that are Delta eight in legal dispensaries in San Diego. Before I, I do believe since Delta eight has become more popular, let's say in the last year or so that those have disappeared from the shelves because of their dubious legal status. So you can get it in San Diego. I wouldn't necessarily expect to see it in a legal dispensary anymore, though. That used to be the case. I would expect more to find it where you find more of the untested on regulated cannabis products. So mall kiosks, gas stations, wellness stores, things like that.

Speaker 4: (34:07)

You just mentioned that you were able to find Delta eight more so before in legal marketplaces, but now less so, because it's not regulated based on your reporting. What do you expect will happen here in California in terms next steps for regulating the sale of Delta eight?

Speaker 13: (34:23)

So technically in California, it's actually illegal C B D is legal and Delta eight is expressly illegal. Um, which is kind of funny. I, I actually often forget about it because you can find it fairly easily and you can buy it on the internet and no one's going to stop you. It's, it's all over the place. Um, there are other states that have done the same Colorado, Texas, New York, pretty much all of the states are catching on like, oops, we made hemp and CBD legal, and then you can make all these other cannabinoid products from CBD. And, and, and they're kind of realizing uhoh we kind of opened a floodgate here. So that's really what happened in California. And these other states that being said, there is no manpower for enforcement, uh, cannabis, uh, California's legal cannabis industry is a complete mess right now. Um, there is a very big lack of enforcement. They don't really have a handle even on the THC stuff. So cracking down on Delta eight, I just don't really see it feasible or priority for any agency or law enforcement.

Speaker 4: (35:20)

So what do you recommend for consumers that maybe do run across Delta eight? What should they know about these products?

Speaker 13: (35:27)

Honestly, I'm extremely bearish on them. I am not a Delta eight fan, and it has nothing to do with the feeling of it. Um, stick to the legal regulated things, if you can. I, I understand why people use it in other AC markets where there's less access, but we don't have that problem here. So my, my advice is

Speaker 4: (35:43)

To avoid it. That's Jackie Bryant, a local San Diego journalist and cannabis expert. Thank you so much for joining me. Thank you. It

Speaker 13: (35:50)

Was a pleasure.

Speaker 4: (36:02)

This is midday edition. I'm Christina Kim in for Marine Kavanaugh, digital gym cinema operated by media art center. San Diego has been going through a lot of changes. It losses, El Cajon Boulevard space before the pandemic found a new partnership with UC Diego and is ready to reopen later this month with special Sundance film festival programming, KBB S arts reporter, Beth Amando speaks with exhibition manager, Moise za about what people can expect at the new venue.

Speaker 14: (36:32)

Moises digital gym cinema has been closed during the pandemic, but you've been have virtual screenings, but it's very exciting news that this January to kick off 2022 digital gym cinema will be reopening. So where does everything stand right now?

Speaker 15: (36:49)

We've been dark for almost 18 months and we move from our alga home location to downtown things. And near the end. Right now we are putting the finishing touches on our cinema, ordering some new equipment, including a new projector. We're kind of rushing here at the end to get everything done in time for Sundance screenings, which start on January 28th. But, you know, we would've liked to have opened much, much earlier, but we've just run into a lot of pandemic related issues with supply and demand and deliveries and shipments and everything is even though the world seems to have started again, there's so many operational things that still seem to be a bit stuck. So we've been fighting that current quite, quite a bit over the last couple of months, but we are committed to opening our cinema at the end of January. We're calling it our preview weekend, and we're doing that with these amazing Sendent screenings that we have planned.

Speaker 15: (37:51)

And then we might take a couple of weeks off to maybe iron out some of the issues we may have encountered during our preview weekend. We'll be making some improvements to cinema scheduled for, um, March. And then we're gonna reopen officially as a fully functioning cinema, seven days a week, a little bit after March. So we're just excited to get the momentum going. And we consider ourselves really, really lucky to have been able to partner with Sundance and for screenings to coincide with the grand reopening of our cinema. We miss screening movies, we miss creating a communal cinematic experience or shared experience with supporters. And we're really happy to be on the verge of reopening here.

Speaker 14: (38:36)

No, for people who don't know the digital gym cinema is reopening inside the UC San Diego market and park building. So what can people expect here in terms of the size of the cinema and what it's gonna be like?

Speaker 15: (38:50)

The cinema will be inside, uh, U C S D's new extension building at park and market. It's a state of the art facility, four levels, uh, the media art center, San Diego, which manages a digital gym cinema will also be headquartered there on the third floor. The digital gym cinema will be on the second floor, more seats, uh, a new projection system, uh, new sound system, new amplifiers. I mean, we we've really gone all out with, with, with this reopening and making modifications that we thought were Def or were necessary to differentiate ourselves from the, uh, location that was formerly on Oklahoma Boulevard and kind of entering this new, this new phase of her cinema, um, at the new U C S D building, the building itself will be primarily a cultural hub of different events, not just ours. There's a large auditorium on, in, in, on the main floor. There's a cinema on the second floor. Um, there's a huge courtyard space where you can host screenings or concerts. So beyond our programming, which will be primarily film focused, obviously the, the new space will always be activated with cultural events, which we're, you know, really excited to be a part of.

Speaker 14: (40:06)

Let's talk a little more about Sundance, because this is a unique event at this point in time, because Sundance usually is completely self-contained within, in its own festival, but you have been designated as kind of a satellite offshoot venue. So what does that mean and what can people actually get to see? Yeah,

Speaker 15: (40:26)

So being a satellite screen for Sundances is, is, is a tremendous honor for the honor for the organization. And what it means essentially is that we're community screening venue for Sundance. We're one of seven, uh, we're the only one in California, and we have, uh, satellite siblings all over the United States. That's what we're calling each other in our meet meeting, satellite siblings. Um, so people in ERs, Massachusetts, or Memphis, Tennessee, each have a design, they satellite screen. And we happened to be the satellite screen for San Diego. This program actually got started last year in the wake of the pandemic and Sundance decided to open up their screenings to new cities across the nation. And they're continuing this program this year, cuz they had such a tremendous success with it last year. And we, we feel incredibly lucky to be one of seven independently owned art house cinemas that are participating in this program. And you know, the films that we're screening are Sundance exclusive Sundance premieres. So if individuals of repo, if the San Diego public, once they get a taste of what type of films they screen at Sundance, you know, we are gonna be offering eight amazing features and a collection of shorts that will give our San Diego community a taste of what the Sundance film festival really is.

Speaker 14: (41:50)

And so will all these films then in person, or is there a virtual component and is it kind of that concentrated festival feel about

Speaker 15: (41:58)

It? Yeah. So this will be a concentrated group of films. We will be screening them in person. Sundance does have virtual screening options, but we are not affiliated with those. One of the requirements to being a satellite screen is that you'd be able to host screenings in person. So we will be doing just that eight features and one shorts program. And we're gonna try to create a film festival experience to the best of our abilities. We'll have a step and repeat a red carpet, a small reception on the launch night, which is January 28th with be your tasters, some music. So we're, we're trying to create a festival atmosphere. We're trying to bring Sundance to San Diego. And you know, one of the amazing things about going to a film festival is listening to Q and a with different filmmakers. And as a satellite screen, we've been assigned to do a Q and a for one of the films, and then we're gonna share our Q and A's with the other satellite screens. So I'll be playing the Q and A's after each feature that were produced by the other six satellite screens and beyond the films, we wanna activate the courtyard space that's right outside of our cinema. Um, but the idea is to not only, you know, play the Sundance films, but to also kind of let the community know that we're back and to introduce 'em to a new venue.

Speaker 14: (43:22)

And what can people expect in terms of the COVID requirements.

Speaker 15: (43:27)

We're gonna be following city ordinances. We're gonna be requiring vaccinations for all of guests. Employees will also have to be for fully vaccinated. We'll be asking that customers as well as employees remain masks while inside the movie theater and in the lobby areas. And then we're gonna be paying special attention to any new ordinances that come up between now and January 28th. But as of now, we are planning on producing these screenings in person and we'll just be follow the ordinance as I just

Speaker 14: (43:59)

Mentioned. Well, I wanna thank you very much for talking about the reopening of digital gym cinema.

Speaker 15: (44:05)

Thank you so much, Beth.

Speaker 4: (44:07)

That was Beth Amando speaking with Moises as Spara limited passes are now available for digital gym cinema's Sundance film festival satellite screen activation coming January 28th. Listen to KBB S evening edition tonight at 5:00 PM on KBB S television and join us again tomorrow for KBB S midday edition at noon. And if you ever miss a show, you can find the midday edition podcast wherever you listen to podcasts. I'm Kim with Jade Henman thanks for listening.

Speaker 16: (45:06)

I.