April Pride: This podcast discusses cannabis and is intended for audiences 21 and over.

Jennifer Lujan: Since COVID-19, cannabis has been deemed an essential business in California and some other states. That’s huge. The federal status of cannabis is behind the states. However, the industry is continuing to make waves and mainstream businesses are starting to embrace cannabis.

April Pride: Welcome back to How to Do the Pot. I’m April Pride and I do the pot. This is the audio newsletter. If you’d rather read it, visit dothepot.com to subscribe to the email newsletter. And if you like How to Do the Pot, please share it with someone and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. It helps more people find the show.

April Pride: Someone recently asked me if all my close friends are into weed. The answer is my closest friends don’t consume at all. Except just yesterday. One asked for a recommendation of quote, “An edible that is more social or good for creative projects.”

April Pride: Helping women find their way with weed is a huge part of why we created this podcast, How to Do the Pot. If you haven’t checked it out yet, our website, dothepot.com, breaks it down to help you feel better, figure out what to buy and answers just about every question we’ve heard about pot.

April Pride: We reached out to women with titles starting with Chief, naturally, to share the advice and product recs they give to their friends.

April Pride: Meet your guides. What do these women leaders in cannabis tell their best friends who maybe aren’t as into weed as they are about how to have the best experience with pot? The most common directive, try, try again. Different people, different needs and so many different ways and strains to consume. Best homework ever assigned. Just do the pot.

April Pride: For today’s High Five Top Tips from Top Women in Weed. Number one, Jennifer Lujan, director of social impact at Eaze.

Jennifer Lujan: My advice for women who are looking into trying cannabis for the first time is, ask yourself what type of sensation and feeling are you wanting to achieve? Is this for sleep, pain management, better sex, or do you want something that makes you feel more focused and energized? There are so many strains and different cannabinoids. The products are endless. Then find a good dispensary with a knowledgeable budtender who can help you identify the right product for you. Or if you live in California, you can also check out eaze.com.

Jennifer Lujan: I always advise to start off with a low dose, like 2 to 2.5 milligrams, then work your way up. The last thing you want is to start off too high and not have a pleasant experience.

Jennifer Lujan: So my favorite product at the moment is Dreamt. They are also women founded. This product is my favorite sleep aid. It’s a great blend of THC, CBD, melatonin, valerian root and terpenes. It’s perfect for the end of the day and when I need some good rest.

April Pride: Number two, Joyce Cenali, partner and COO of Big Rock Partners.

Joyce Cenali: My best advice is start low and go slow. The attenuation by individuals is just a totally different effect. Each of us have very unique endocannabinoid systems so our reactions will vary. And there are just so many different ways to try cannabis these days. You can consume edibles. You can smoke. You can drink beverages and infused teas. There are pills and tablets. Some are fast acting. Some will dissolve slowly in your system.

Joyce Cenali: Generally speaking, if you’ve never tried cannabis before and you’re a little bit anxious about it, I often recommend topicals with a high CBD application. They can be very helpful with pain but they will not make you feel high or elevated. So it’s really good for pain relief and arthritis and things like that. And it may even relieve your body a little bit like a really nice bath soak. And then every evening I rub my sad and tired feet with Sweet ReLeaf, which is a high THC topical from women operators that have been operating for many, many years. And it’s a butter topical. So it really gets into the skin and just gets right into the joints and just makes me feel so relaxed. So I highly recommend it.

April Pride: Number three, Codie Sanchez, managing director and partner at Entourage Effect Capital.

Codie Sanchez: The best advice that I have for women friends who are new cannabis consumers is don’t trust the narrative that most people who think about cannabis, including myself when I first got into the space, think about joints and bongs and sort of this stereotypical aspect of cannabis. And that’s not actually the truth.

Codie Sanchez: The second piece of advice is to make sure that you’re actually experimenting and exploring.

Go into a few different dispensaries. Try a bunch of different types of products. Go slowly as you go along and your body will tell you the things that work for you.

It’s really not dissimilar to how we have different vitamins that work for us. Different hair care things that work for us. Cannabis is certainly not a one size fits all. So enjoy the fact that there are so many different varietals to try this plant.

Codie Sanchez: One of my favorite products owned by women and that product is called Garden Society. I invested in it, not as the fund, but just because I love the product so much. And the founder, Erin Gore I love. I’d still to this day, swear, Erin, that your dark chocolate edible was the best body high that I’ve ever had. And I know you made it for lots of other moms, just like you.

April Pride: Number four, Kimberly Dillon, founder of Frigg, and former CMO of Papa & Barkley.

Kimberly Dillon: I like to tell all of my friends who are new to cannabis that the number one tip I can say is to keep trying. Remember the first time you tried alcohol? You probably didn’t nail it then either. It takes a bit of time to find out what you like and what your body responds to. I didn’t even try cannabis for the first time until my early thirties. Did it for my anxiety. It was amazing, but it was a process. And sometimes even now someone will gift me with some free products. I’ll try it. And then I’ll quickly realize it’s not for my body. But the beautiful thing is, is that cannabis really helps you listen to what your body needs and wants. And it’s fun.

Kimberly Dillon: So I would say, take it easy and learn what works for you. My favorite product is… I started with edibles, still love edibles and my favorite gummy is the Smokiez gummy. Number one, they taste exactly like a Jolly Rancher. Two, it is three times larger than the standard gummy. I love to save me some money. So if you are one of those people who doesn’t need a big dose, you can actually cut it in half. And then my favorite thing about it is that it’s a harder gummy, which means you can suck on it and get the sublingual effects. And what that means is you’re going to feel it a lot faster than if you just swallowed it. It’s my favorite treat, especially in these unprecedented times.

April Pride: Number five, Alison Gordon, founder and former CEO, 48North.

Alison Gordon: Maybe don’t start with edibles, definitely. If you are going to try and edible do a really, really, really small amount because I have seen too many people turned off weed completely from one bad edible trip. So for all you out there trying to get your friends to take edibles, maybe start them with a puff of a joint.

April Pride: If you want to smoke pre-rolls we love Sarah Jane’s Micro J’s, available in Michigan or Pure Beauty, available in California.

April Pride: For this week’s Three Strain Recommendations, I like to call these Fisher-Price, My First High strains.

April Pride: Pennywise. It’s a one-to-one CBD to THC strain, offers mental clarity and focus with milder psychoactive effects.

April Pride: ACDC. It’s a 20 to one CBD to THC strain, which means it’s not intoxicating. And it’s my first choice for those who are new-ish to cannabis. And you can find it in dispensaries most everywhere.

April Pride: Cannatonic. Again, almost a one-to-one of CBD to THC. Although I did pick up cannatonic at one of my local dispensaries here in Seattle, and it was a 13% CBD with a 0.4% THC. So you may want to check the labs on the label before you leave if you’re looking for more of a balanced ratio. It still provided a quiet high that soothed my body that’s aching more and more, and my mind that’s scattered more and more. It also prevents and reduces inflammation when taken on the regular.

April Pride: And for three podcasts that we love and think you should listen to, I like Nice White Parents from The New York Times and Serial and hosted by Chana Joffe-Walt. This series details one community’s attempt to integrate a neighborhood school a decade after Brown v. The Board of Education when these white parents don’t even have children that attend the school.

April Pride: And Ellen likes the Michelle Obama Podcast hosted by none other than Michelle Obama. She brings her grace and charm to conversations with her husband and other notable Americans.

April Pride: And to Do the Pot, we recommend From Pot to Popular, hosted by Rosie Mattio, an inside look into how leading entrepreneurs, executives, and journalists are bringing cannabis into the mainstream.

April Pride: Thank you for listening to this audio newsletter. Let us know what you think.

April Pride: Find us on Instagram, @dothepot and you can follow me, @aprilpride. And for lots more information about cannabis and women visit dothepot.com. Thanks to my co-founder Ellen Scanlon, Madi Fair, marketing manager, and our producer, Nick Patri. I’m April Pride and we’ll be back soon with more of How to Do the Pot.