Medical marijuana works well for celebrity chef Kerry Simon

Medical marijuana is working so well for celebrity chef Kerry Simon that weed “rewound time about four to six months back to where he was,” according to an upcoming magazine article.

The revelation will be detailed in the inaugural issue of the medical marijuana magazine, Elevate Nevada.

Simon isn’t cured of multiple system atrophy, a nerve degeneration that put Simon in a wheelchair and worse.

But a concentrated form of cannabis called Phoenix Tears is doing what other medicines aren’t, which is “shocking” the MSA community. Here are the money quotes in the story, as written by Beth Schwartz, formerly of the Review-Journal’s sister publication Luxury Las Vegas magazine.

“Kerry’s physical therapist for the last year-and-a-half, Peter Pinto of FitLife Fusion, was surprised by his patient’s reaction to Phoenix Tears,” the Elevate Nevada story goes.

“A few weeks into the Phoenix Tears, he had rewound time about four to six months back to where he was,” Pinto told Schwartz.

“He was having an easier time talking, he was having an easier time communicating, he was far more alert. He was able to get out of the chair a bit more, and he was walking around with me more. It was intriguing to say the least. I felt like all of a sudden he turned time back,” Pinto told Schwartz.

For many years, Simon has been known as the “Rock n’ Roll” chef. That moniker may conjure images of a wild lifestyle. But Simon was a trim, workout-and-eat-right guy.

In 2013, Simon was diagnosed with MSA — which, as terrible coincidences go, claimed the life of Schwartz’ own father 10 years ago.

Some politicians continue to work to put people in prison for medical marijuana, despite the fact that marijuana is far more popular and medicinal than they are.

In December, a very frustrated Rick Harrison of “Pawn Stars” told me the “(expletive) of politics” was holding back medicinal cannabinoid (the kind with no THC), which parents are buying on the black market to treat their kids’ massive epilepsy problems.

Harrison, spokesman for the Epilepsy Foundation, told me cannabinoid was “doing wonders for kids.”

“One kid was having 40 seizures a day. Now he’s down to one every two months just because he’s taking this, but he’s taking it illegally,” Harrison said.

Elevate, under the direction of publisher Guy Bertuzzi, is billed as Nevada’s first medical cannabis magazine. It debuts on stands and in doctors’ offices on April 20, aka 420, the international symbol for weed o’clock.

Simon’s sumptuous restaurant Simon at Palms Place is still open until May 22. The hotel will shut it in his absence and rebrand it by the next day.

Contact Doug Elfman at delfman@reviewjournal.com. He blogs at reviewjournal.com/elfman. Find him on Twitter: @VegasAnonymous.