Rediscovering Cannabis with Tracy Amiel, Heather James & Susan Feinberg

Ellen Scanlon (00:00):

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

(00:10):

Support for How To Do The Pot comes from CANN. CANN is a social tonic. Drinkable, delicious cannabis that’s as bubbly, refreshing, and sociable as your favorite cocktail. But hold the booze. Use promo code DOTHEPOT for 20% off when you visit drinkcann.com. That’s Drink C-A-N-N. Try a CANN today and have a happy holiday without the hangover.

(00:49):

Welcome to How To Do The Pot, a podcast helping you feel confident about cannabis. I’m your host, Ellen Scanlon.

(01:02):

One of the biggest misconceptions about shopping for legal weed is thinking that you need to know a lot about cannabis before you go. You do have to bring your government-issued ID and it will make it easier if you bring cash. But visiting a dispensary has become a lot like a regular shopping experience now that more states have legalized it. This series is dedicated to providing you with a support system of women all across the country who have been in your shoes.

(01:35):

As I reflect back on the past year, one of the things that stands out to me is how much more access people have to cannabis. Nearly half of all US states allow adult-use cannabis, twenty-four states, and nearly two-thirds of the states allow medical access. It’s such a pleasure to share stories from women all across the country who took that sometimes intimidating first step of buying weed in the legal market.

(02:06):

I know that they, like me, are very grateful for the support that cannabis brings to health, well-being and enhancing the fun of life. We just finished up our series all about menopause. It is one of our most listened to series ever, and I hope you’ll check it out if you haven’t yet.

(02:27):

To celebrate, today I’m sharing the stories of women who got back into weed a little bit later in life. I hope these stories help you feel supported, less alone, and a little light-hearted when you decide to make your first cannabis shopping trip. I really want you to have fun.

(02:55):

As legal cannabis becomes more accessible and as more people are getting very curious about it, it’s hard to predict what the spark will be that leads someone to actually walk into a dispensary and make that first purchase. Oregon-based Heather James’ nephew had founded a dispensary, yet it took the stress she felt around the 2016 elections to finally bring her into the shop.

Heather James (03:24):

The first time I bought legal marijuana is probably around 2016 when the election happened, and I knew that I just needed to numb myself out, so I went to my nephew’s dispensary called The Green Front. I went through and smelled all of the various jars. It was really cool to go into a dispensary. I remember buying Blackberry Kush because it had a really old school kind of smell, and brought me back to my youth of the ’70s, ’80s, in that timeframe. Both my daughter and my nephew had been in the medical cannabis community for a long time, and so then when it became legal, my nephew opened the dispensary and so it was just kind of interesting, my daughter was so knowledgeable and just to go in like it’s a store, no one should be afraid to go in and go into a dispensary. I happened to be 60 years old, so I grew up smoking marijuana, but I stopped for a number of years while I had kids.

Ellen Scanlon (04:40):

Blackberry Kush, the strain that Heather mentioned, is one of How To Do The Pot’s essential strains. It’s known for relieving pain, especially pain related to menstrual cramps. Have you listened to our Essential Strain series yet? It’s a growing list of strains that I think everyone should have in their stash. Not because you need all of them, but because I want you to have two or three go-tos that you love. This will really help guide you when you walk into a dispensary so you won’t feel as intimidated or overwhelmed by the sheer number of strains that are available.

(05:20):

Even just telling a budtender the name of a strain that you’ve liked can help them help you find more strains that you will love. We’ve created a special Essential Strains playlist on Spotify so you can follow them all, and the full list is on our website, dothepot.com.

(05:38):

The story you’re about to hear is a bit of a cautionary tale. I hope it will help you to remember to start slowly and with a low dose of THC whenever you’re ready to try cannabis, especially cannabis edibles, which can be strong and can last a long time. Texas-based Susan Feinberg was really excited to try legal weed. She booked a trip with her husband to celebrate their anniversary in Santa Fe soon after cannabis became legal in New Mexico. What happened next was memorable but not part of the plan.

Susan Feinberg (06:28):

So my husband and I, last winter, visited New Mexico, Santa Fe specifically, and we had known that they had just gone online for adult rec use in that state. It’s only an hour flight from Texas, so we decided to take the weekend to ourselves. It was cold, I definitely remember that, and it was snowing the day we left Albuquerque. So we visit a dispensary in New Mexico, in Santa Fe. That was probably my first time ever going to a legal dispensary ever.

(06:58):

And we picked up some edibles. My husband’s not a big smoker or doesn’t want to smoke at all, actually. So we picked up some chocolates and a drink and I got a pre-roll since we were just there for the weekend. And we both took a little chocolate square. It was delicious. It was five milligrams. And we went about our day, we went some sightseeing and did all that stuff, and a couple of hours later, my husband’s like, “I don’t feel anything. Let’s take another one.” So he went ahead and took another whole five milligrams. And the next thing I know, I’m outside smoking a joint by the fire. He’s calling me saying, “You need to come upstairs. I’m not feeling good.”

(07:37):

So I run upstairs and find him on the bed and he’s under the covers. He pulls the covers out of his face and he literally looks like a white ghost. He looks so pale, he’s hyperventilating, freaking out. It’s obviously too much THC for him. I was like, “What do you want me to do? I need you to drink water.” I’m trying to calm him down. He’s like, “No, I need you to call the paramedics. I need you to call the paramedics.” I’m like, “Are you sure? Are you sure?” There was no settling him down, so I did what he said. We called the paramedics. The paramedics come into our hotel room and they’re like, “Yeah, this is probably not our first or last call of the night for someone that took too much weed.”

(08:18):

And they took his blood pressure and they were there for maybe five or 10 minutes, and the color in his face started coming back. They told him to just drink water and sleep it off, but everything else was fine. And he did say after the paramedics were there for about 10 minutes, he was starting to feel better and that that was the last time he was ever going to do any weed with me.

Ellen Scanlon (08:42):

I really don’t want anyone to have a bad experience with weed. I know it can be frustrating to wait for the edible to kick in, but please don’t take another.

(08:57):

There are a lot of different ways to consume cannabis now, and one of my favorite innovations has been fast-acting, low-dose cannabis beverages. They’re really great if you’re new to weed or coming back after a long break. You’ll feel the effects in about 15 minutes, so you know if you want to stop there or try another.

(09:19):

I love CANN Social Tonics. They are drinkable, delicious cannabis that’s as bubbly, refreshing, and sociable as your favorite cocktail, but hold the booze. CANN Social Tonics ship to more than 40 states so you can have them sent right to your door. Use promo code DOTHEPOT for 20% off when you visit drinkcann.com. That’s drink C-A-N-N. Thank you for supporting the brands that support our show.

(09:56):

Florida-based Tracy Amiel, the founder of Ethereal Communications, had generally depended on her partner to buy weed. That changed when health issues convinced her to search for cannabis that could help with the grand mal seizures that she was experiencing.

Tracy Amiel (10:14):

I’d always been with partners who were the weed purchasers, so it was my time to step up to the plate. I started having grand mal seizures nocturnally late in life, and this was right about when Charlotte’s Web came out in the news as far as CBD being supportive of seizure activity. So I got my medical cannabis license and went to our dispensary specifically to explore CBD. And the woman behind the counter was so lovely and so guiding and supportive that I ended up choosing a nine CBD to one THC, a handful of vapes and some gel caps. And although I really value CBD, I didn’t experience any of the relief around seizure activity, and so I tried the scope of one-to-one, and now I’ve ended up with nine THC to one CBD and not a grand mal seizure since. So I’m very, very grateful for that first time, for sure.

Ellen Scanlon (11:13):

If you liked this episode, please share it with a friend. We love new listeners and are here to help everyone feel confident about cannabis. Thank you for listening to How To Do The Pot. For lots more information and past episodes, visit dothepot.com.

(11:36):

Are you one of the thousands of people who love How To Do The Pot’s newsletter? If you’re not getting it, please sign up at dothepot.com. And if you like How To Do The Pot, please rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. It really helps people find the show.

(11:53):

Thank you to producers Maddie Fair and Nick Patry. I’m Ellen Scanlon, and stay tuned for more of How To Do The Pot.