S2 E33: Florida's Leading Cannabis Physician, Dr. Joseph Rosado

Dr Joseph Rosado, MD is one of the world’s most respected medical authorities on cannabis as plant-based medicine. With over four decades of experience as a healthcare professional, he has built a career anchored in family tradition and driven by a desire to help his patients and community. Dr. Rosado's father was an x-ray technician before his untimely death in 1973. Losing his father spurred Dr. Rosado to start working at a young age to help support his family. He trained as a certified nurse’s assistant, then known as an orderly, and began working in the medical field in 1978 at age 16. After high school, Dr. Rosado trained as an emergency medical technician, paramedic, and catheterization laboratory technician while working his way through college. A major car accident led Dr. Rosado to the field of chiropractic. After a chiropractor alleviated his agonizing back pain in just a few weeks of care, Dr. Rosado decided to explore the complementary medicine system. As a chiropractor, Dr. Rosado dedicated his practice to helping underserved communities, particularly those for whom English was a second language, ensuring that each patient received the highest quality of care that he could provide.  At the age of 35, Dr. Rosado entered medical school and was a top student while working his way through school as a husband and father. In medical school, he studied marijuana and determined that potential health and wellness benefits could be extracted from the plant. As a student and newly certified physician, Dr. Rosado worked throughout the Latin American Diaspora, setting up a clinic in Costa Rica, serving as a team doctor for the country’s Olympic teams. In 2014, Dr. Rosado added his considerable professional expertise to the frontlines of Florida’s push for medical marijuana. One of the state’s first doctors advocating for medical cannabis, in 2016, Dr. Rosado also had the distinction of being the first Central Florida physician to recommend medical marijuana for an adult patient, as well as the first to recommend it for a patient under the age of 18. As a clinician he has worked with thousands of patients, from toddlers to the elderly, recommending medical cannabis and managing treatment.