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

Kia Baker, The Female Veterans podcast: So many people could benefit from having a smoke break or an edible break, or something along those lines. You don’t want to smoke, okay honey don’t smoke. Here have a [cloney 00:00:17]. You like practice.

April Pride: Welcome to the Pot Talk. We hope you love our podcast, How to Do the Pot. So what is The Pot Talk? Well, when cannabis was declared an essential service during the lockdowns for COVID-19 in March and they continued the national conversation around the plant shifted from stigma to solving real problems related to stress, sleep, and mental health. If you’re one of the many women who has found relief with cannabis, we’re here to help, because what does come next after cannabis has been deemed essential medicine for millions of Americans. You just heard from Kia Baker, a military veteran and host of The Female Veterans Podcast and who you may remember from Episode 21 on PTSD and stress. The Pot Talk series is, we’ll consider it our next handbook series, like a city guide collection from Louis Vuitton or Goop, but for weed. From our High Five series this spring to the Saturday Strain series we just wrapped, we get into the weeds on pot topics to answer the top pot questions we get with practical and tactical information that’s of course sprinkled with smiles.

April Pride: In the Pot Talk we’ll share stories about these top of mind topics, how to talk to your favorite boomer who is prescribed to too many pills. Someone asking for a friend who you think smokes too much weed, a teenager who has too little school and no sports, a sober partner who is off the weed for work or to work the steps, and a friend who just needs to do the pot already, which is the topic of today’s episode. If you don’t know how to share a podcast, ask anyone under 30, because you’re going to want to share this with at least one of your girls with confidence and without delay. Okay. Back to Kia Baker, who was at the top of the episode. Kia is a force who is using her exceptional human powers to support women veterans who struggle in a variety of ways, during and after serving.

April Pride: Ellen, the co-creator of the show, her grandfather was a three-star general, my grandfather served in the Korean war and we both have family who continue to serve in various branches. I’ve mentioned that before, I’m from Virginia. In fact, that’s where Ellen and I met in college at UVA. I grew up in Hampton roads, having stayed in Virginia Beach, Hampton and Newport News. But home is the news or the blues, depending on the day you’re having, located there is Fort Eustis where my grandfather was stationed. And I spent so much time on base in the summers, at the PX, and at the sand pool with my auntie Lisa, shout out. This is all to offer context as to why I think Kia, Ellen and I are all connected and we all claim different upbringings, but there’s a familiarity that we share.

April Pride: There’s no question that the contributors and those listening to the show are all connected by at least one thing, cannabis, regardless of the specifics. Right now, when we all crave deeper connection, we trust the women you’ll hear from through your guides. And we want you to get to know them, find common ground since their compassion, as well as their willingness to be vulnerable in service of other women’s wellbeing. The more you know about the women sharing advice to you so that you can confidently dispense advice to your loved ones, well all the better, and who doesn’t appreciate a few fun facts. So expect some fun when we’re not laying down straight up facts like 80 million women over 21 have legal access to weed.

April Pride: Every state where cannabis was on the ballot in 2020, passed. And that brings us to why we think you may be interested now more than ever in introducing cannabis to a friend who just needs to try pot already. Now that it’s legal, that long held in very valid reason may not apply. Think of legality like permission. And this episode is to run down all the reasons one may ever need to grant themselves permission to inhale, so to speak. You know what else legality allows for? You don’t have to go through a guide to get high. You know what I mean? Sandra Guynes is a California based nurse. She goes by, The Kush Nurse with over 15 years of experience who has dedicated herself to helping people understand how to use cannabis as an alternative to traditional medicine.

Sandra Guynes, The Kush Nurse: One of my neighbors is my friend on Facebook. So she sees that I’m talking about cannabis a lot clearly, she came to me for a tincture, but she came because she had knee pain. So I’m like, “Well, honey you want a topical for that because topicals are really good in your joint areas.” So she was like, “okay.” Well she left, she is in a running club, hadn’t been able to run. She went back home, used it, and the next day she’s like, “Oh my God, back running,” they’ve worked two days later, she was back running.

April Pride: Maybe you have some questions about cannabis topicals, like creams, lotions, or bombs, episode one of How to Do the Pot, The Pin Episode digs into that. We asked our favorite cannabis physician, Dr. Jessica Knox of the American Cannabinoid Clinics for quick refresher of the endocannabinoid system and the effects of topicals.

Dr. Jessica Knox, The American Cannabinoid Clinics: So most people know about the cardiovascular system, our heart, they know about the neurological system, the respiratory system. These are the systems we all learned about in health class, in high school. But nobody learned about the endocannabinoid system, but the endocannabinoid system really important system that’s sort of balancing and modulating all of these other systems in our body to maintain what we call homeostasis or a balance in our body.

April Pride: Topical cannabis either with CBD, which is available nationwide or with THC, which is available on a state by state basis is an entry point for many women. In the simplest possible term, CBD reduces inflammation at its source in the body. Then THC comes in to tell the brain, it’s okay, let’s not process that pain signal with the same pulsing intensity, another reason why topicals are a popular starting point.

Dr. Jessica Knox, The American Cannabinoid Clinics: In general, THC is not absorbed as well through skin as CBD is.

April Pride: So what does that mean? It means that cannabis applied as a cream or lotion is not going to get you high.

Rosie Mattio: I have friends who also, they never tried cannabis. They all got married very young, never in their whole life, not even in college. And at first they were a little nervous about it, but when I started posting, getting good night’s sleep now. You can imagine how many people dropped into my DM’s, friends of mine being like, “Well, I will try those, because it’s similar form factors like a sleeping pill, you put it in your mouth and you sleep.

April Pride: Rosie Mattio, founder of PR for Mattio Communications just shared what we think is a really important first step when you’re talking to a friend about why she might want to use cannabis, what will it help with and what are they currently using to solve the problem? Are there negative side effects or are the traditional paths just not working very well? Our episodes about sleep are among our most popular, shocking. So we know it’s a hot topic. And to learn more about the specifics, I definitely recommend you check out those. But our goal today is to help you open up a helpful conversation with a friend.

Rosie Mattio: I think the sleep is also interesting because, a lot of the fear around cannabis, and I had this too, and somebody who has access and has learned a lot, I suppose can get a little paranoid. I can be a little awkward if I have them in a business setting. I might want to be laughing my face off like I would with friends. Just getting used to it might be nerve-wracking. But if you’re using it to go to bed, no one’s judging me when I’m in my pajamas under my covers.

April Pride: You’ve heard us say that no matter what, you have to be willing to experiment with cannabis. It’s just not one size fits all. In general THC will help you fall asleep, and CBD will help you stay asleep. But I’ll give you my personal story about cannabis and sleep. I tried CBD tincture from a women founded company called Equilibria, every single night I woke up at the same time 1:00 AM. I also tried tinctures from about five other companies, because luckily we get lots of samples here at How to Do the Pot, and I woke up at 1:00 AM with every single brand. But back to Equilibria, they offer one on one personal phone calls with anyone who buys their products. So I called their lead CBD educator to figure out what was up. And she told me that 30% of the women that they speak to don’t respond to CBD for sleep at bedtime.

April Pride: So what does work for me? I was advised to take 10 milligrams at 10:00 o’clock in the morning of CBD tincture and make sure that it’s at least two hours after my pharmaceuticals. And then another 10 milligrams in a capsule form about 3:00 o’clock in the afternoon. On the other hand, Ellen, the co-creator of the show, she easily falls asleep but often wakes up in the middle of the night. She takes a CBD soft gel every night before bed and it works like a charm for her. Until there’s more research on the topic, let these stories guide you, but please share with your friends that it might take more time to get at what’s best for you. Not unlike being prescribed medication, but with a little more research required on your end.

April Pride: There is some new research that caught our eye about alcohol, a study from the International Journal of Drug Policy in November, 2020 compared survey results of nearly a thousand patients who answered questions about how they used alcohol before and after receiving medical cannabis authorizations from their doctors. Among them 44% reported drinking less frequently on a monthly basis. And 34% consumed fewer drinks per week. We call this California sober, choosing cannabis over alcohol. In episode 9 of How to Do the Pot. We talked to the Cut reporter, Katie Heaney about it. And Rosie has a perfect example of what it can look like in real life.

Rosie Mattio: I’ve been out with girlfriends and we’ve been out for dinner, and the next morning we wake up and be like, “Why did we drink so much?” We feel terrible the next day, just hung over. And That’s the worst feeling. You go out to eat too much next morning, you’re shoving your face the bagels because you’re hungover. So, it’s just a terrible 48 hour cycle when it gets to be age and you’re drinking. But last year on my birthday, we went out for dinner. We each had one glass of wine, then we went back to my girlfriend’s house and I happened to have had two vape pens. And we had that. And the next morning we didn’t feel terrible. So I’m hoping we’re going to be doing this more and more. As it becomes more legal and we can get access more product, and it’s just more on the up and up.

April Pride: Want to know the top question we get from all of our girlfriends? Jesse Casner of California Vape Device Company Vessel gets the same one.

Jessie Casner, Vessel: I think the number one question I get is, and it comes a lot from my girlfriends versus some of my husband’s friends or just a couple of friends. One thing that I get all the time is, “I want to buy some weed, what do I buy?” And that’s the biggest question in the world. So we take a step back or what are you looking for? Are you looking for an immediate head change? Because you’re feeling a little bit anxious? Or you’re looking for something where you’re just wanting to mellow out on a Friday night while you watch a movie with your partner. Walking through that and explaining the different modalities that exist and why you would maybe want to use one over the other, then you open up the whole other can of worms, which is, “Okay now what do I buy?” There’s all these strains, they all have these insane names. I have no idea.

April Pride: If strains have you stumped, we do have a solution for you. Our audio series, Saturday Strains, and in less than five minutes, we go deep on one of the 12 essential strains, every woman should have in her stash.

Jessie Casner, Vessel: Generally, without trying something you’re not going to know exactly how it affects you inside of your body. But, a guide, a roadmap is really helpful.

April Pride: A roadmap is what, How to Do the Pot is here to provide. And our website, dothepot.com and newsletter offer ways to help you answer the, what do I buy question? But five years in the cannabis industry focused on women has also taught me that knowing why to buy, is the best path to getting what you want and then sharing the knowledge with your friends. Still not sure you can convince your friends to try the pot already. A lot of us were programmed to see this as a bad plant. And even though sentiment is changing, two-thirds of Americans now think cannabis should be legal. Unfortunately, old habits do die hard. Shonitria Anthony, the host of Blunt Blowin’ Mama podcast had a visit from a family member who was psyched about consuming her weed, but decided to keep it a secret from his wife.

Shonitria Anthony, Blunt Blowin’ Mamas podcast: So I was just like what is she thinking? And by the way, his wife’s a nurse. And he was just like, “She is totally against weed.” She thinks that clouds, your judgment makes you make bad decisions because you can’t think clearly and I was like, “Wow, this is so unfortunate.” So he’s probably not even going to tell her about this large part of his trip out of fear of judgment from her. It just made me realize that we have so much more, a long ways to go with understanding when it comes to cannabis and people being able to see past a lot of the propaganda that we’ve been fed. Is really hard to tell someone that everything you know about something is wrong. It’s really hard to be that bearer of bad news.

April Pride: Kia shares how she started The Pot Talk with her friends.

Kia Baker, The Female Veterans podcast: I think the conversation starts and builds over time. Really depends on the friend. Because you know your friends, and you know what they’re going to be open to and what they’re not going to be open to. But even the most rigid mind, when you start to show them and help them to understand the benefits of it. And what it’s done for you start the dialogue, start the conversation, start the education process.

April Pride: Do you feel comfortable being an ambassador for the plant? Rosie our favorite PR expert thinks messaging naturally really matters.

Rosie Mattio: I think that de-stigmatization, we have so much work to do. And these conversations that I’m having with my friends or my parents are so important and I encourage people. If Cannabis is a part of your life, talk about it more openly. If I’m a mother of four and I’m having these conversations with my daughter and it’s my business, I need to be more open about my consumption and have those conversations people so they can get more comfortable around it because the more we’re educating, the more we’re de-stigmatizing, the more comfort people will be in being at a choice for their life.

April Pride: Finally, if your friend does try weed, doesn’t like it. Jessie has a solution for that too.

Jessie Casner, Vessel: My friends have all taken the tactic, if it didn’t work for me, I have plenty of other people who might like it. So I can just hand it off, and then it’s yours. The re-gifting of cannabis has been really nice too.

April Pride: For today’s high five, the best ways to get your friend to try weed already. Number one, if you have a personal story, be prepared to open the Pot Talk with a testimonial of how cannabis has added value to your life. Figure out what feels good for you to share and out your relationship with the plant. Listen, there are always exceptions including not to be minimized cultural sensitivities, but in general, I promise you’ll be shocked by how little judgment you’ll be met with. Women of every age, and in every part of the country are more curious than critical on this topic. Think of it like you’re hooking her up, but don’t be surprised if she wants to keep it on the DL. Even in legal States, women may feel there’ll be judged for their choice to consume.

April Pride: Number two, listen to your friend. What are some of the ongoing challenges you hear her mention? Is she experiencing any negative side effects to over the counter or prescription meds, or are the traditional paths just not working very well? This is the story I hear most from women with the least in common. I tried everything. Cannabis was the last thing I tried. And the first thing that worked. Number three, if a topical will solve her problem, start there. A CBD topical is how most women are introduced to legal weed. Start with a topical, whether it’s cream, lotion or balm. It’s a first step that won’t get her high. Number four, if ingesting weed is necessary, start with a tincture. Tinctures are Fisher-Price my first experience with cannabis. They’re so easy. You just put the liquid from the vile under your tongue, hold it there for 30 to 60 seconds. And yes, it does smell or taste a little bit planty hold it for 30 to 60 seconds and allow it to be absorbed by the cells in your mouth versus swallowing it, which will delay the onset.

April Pride: You can expect to feel something probably within 15 minutes. Number five, if at all possible help your friend’s score. If you’re listening to this podcast and you can offer a couple of products or brands you’ve heard on our episodes or send her to dothepot.com to investigate further. We know, there’s an overwhelming variety of products from which to choose. We’re here to help answer your questions about weed including, what should I buy? We hope our first Pot Talk has offered you some ideas for how to talk to your friends.

April Pride: Stay tuned for more in the coming weeks. And if you have a conversation, we’d love to hear how it goes. 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 our show. Thank you for listening to the Pot Talk. Every woman’s cannabis handbook. Find us on Instagram @dothepot and you can follow me @aprilpride. And for lots of information about weed and women visit dothepot.com. Thanks to my co-founder Ellen Scanlon, Madi Fair, our 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.