There must be a reason why Ojai herbalist and native plant guide Lanny Kaufer has been inviting Professor James Adams of USC School of Pharmacy to Ojai again and again for the past seven years, filling the events each time. Could it be that Dr. Adams has a unique perspective on plant medicine that is resonating with people eager to explore natural alternatives to pain management and other troubling conditions? You can find out for yourself when Professor Adams and plant educator Enrique Villaseñor return on Saturday, April 6, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for a Spring Medicinal Plant Workshop focused on Dr. Adams’ groundbreaking pharmacological studies on natural pain management using medicinal native plants.
The plant identification session will take place on the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy’s Ventura River Preserve where Kaufer and Dr. Adams will identify a wide variety of useful plants. The afternoon hands-on preparation session will be held at a community kitchen in Ojai. Dr. Adams will demonstrate how to prepare medicinal products from seasonal native plant material such as California Sagebrush, Sacred Datura, and Black Sage. Villaseñor will give instruction on preparing healing foods and drinks from Prickly Pear Cactus pads. Participants will go home with a jar of liniment they prepared themselves. After the workshop, they will receive a complete list of all plants that are identified and/or utilized as well as recipes, journal articles, and other info.
The cost of the workshop is $75 which includes all materials. For more information or to register, visit HerbWalks.com, email [email protected] or call 805-646-6281. Registrants will receive an email during the week prior with all necessary information including directions, what to bring, etc.
ABOUT DR. ADAMS:
Dr. Adams brings to Ojai a wealth of scientific knowledge and field experience as well as a singular perspective on herbal medicine. As he tells it, “My family came to Virginia in 1635 and has always survived by using American Indian healing. On the frontier, there were no doctors. American Indian healing was better than European medicine anyway. I continue this tradition.”
Dr. Adams is the co-author — with the late Chumash healer Cecilia Garcia — of the groundbreaking book, Healing with Medicinal Plants of the West: Cultural and Scientific Basis for Their Use. The revised 3rd edition will be available for purchase and signing at the workshop. As an Associate Professor of Pharmacology at the prestigious University of Southern California, Dr. Adams has been teaching pharmacy students, medical students, doctors and other healthcare professionals for over 25 years while researching the natural pharmaceutical compounds in native plants. He has over 200 publications.
Running parallel with his academic career, Dr. Adams has worked with the Chumash people since 1998 and studied Chumash healing with Cecilia Garcia for almost 15 years. In addition to their book, they wrote 30 journal articles together. Jim is now the carrier of the healing knowledge passed to him by his teacher. “Humans have used plant medicines ever since humans came into existence, about 200,000 years ago,” Dr. Adams explains in his book. “That means that our ancestors experienced an intense natural selection. Those who responded to plant medicines survived and passed their genes on. We are the products of this natural selection. Our bodies are designed to respond to plant medicines.”
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