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

Shari Horne: When you start taking a tincture how do you know how many drops to take? Some people need micro doses and so they only take a drop. So you had to start low and slow with one drop for a week and then may raise it to two or three until it took away your pain. So people would talk about it. Everyone that had that condition would talk about it and so there was a great support group.

Shari Horne: We even had a facilitators group so that if somebody was trying it for the first time and they were scared, a group of us would go over there and be there with them, not getting high or using any of our own medicine, but just being there with them.

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. If you like How to Do the Pot, please share it with someone in rate and review us on Apple podcasts, it helps more people find the show.

April Pride: You just heard from Shari Horne, the former mayor of Laguna Woods, California and a cannabis advocate who helps seniors learn how to use cannabis often by taking small doses to help with aches, pains, and stress. Taking small doses throughout the day to regulate pain or your mood is micro-dosing or as we like to say here at How to Do the Pot, flying low. You’re not in the clouds, but you feel lighter, light enough to float, doesn’t that sound like the perfect state in which to ride out COVID.

April Pride: Micro-dosing can refer to low-dose THC or low-dose THC with equal or greater parts of CBD in the formulation. To help you decipher what low dose actually means today we’re digging into ratios and percentages on cannabis labels. So think of reading labels on cannabis products like a nutrition label, your dietary goals dictate the ingredient you zero in on, carbs, sugars, saturated fats, you get it. You also get that your dietary goals change. With cannabis labels your weed goals are not always the same, so how you read the label is determined by the ingredients you need to get your desired outcome.

April Pride: Just like not every diet as a winner, not every weed product is either. So please be open to experimenting and experimenting with your best low-dose option, a tincture, vape pen, gummies might mean spending the day floating. Thanks to several micro doses of CBD sprinkled with THC the day is smoother, brighter, and well less the same. If you or someone you love deserves a float don’t F it up by dosing her with more than she needs.

April Pride: Consuming legal cannabis means a new retail buying experience for many women. Need some help buying THC products? As the youngest African American woman to own a dispensary in the US Hope Wiseman’s vision is proving foundational to how we will all shop for cannabis in the future. Hope, with some tips for choosing the right product at the right dispensary.

 

Hope Wiseman: You should be prepared to share details about your most recent experience with cannabis, what brand did you use? What dose did you take? How did it make you feel? And did you enjoy that feeling or would you like a different feeling? What is your desired outcome? If you have a good idea of these things in advance of coming to the dispensary, it could make the experience more pleasurable.

April Pride: Hope also reminds us what to expect from the people helping you out when you buy the pot, budtender.

Hope Wiseman: They are experts in the brands that they carry. They’re talking directly to patients and customers all day, every day, they understand all the frequently asked questions. When someone first comes to a dispensary, a lot of times people go to their budtender and they’re looking for medical advice. These are retail sales associates, and they are not medical professionals. They are not allowed to give medical advice, but a lot of them are highly trained on the signs of cannabis. So there is a level of expertise that you can expect.

April Pride: If you live in one of 17 states that allows it, cannabis can be delivered right to your door. You can check out our website dothepot.com for all the state by state details.

April Pride: So how does cannabis delivery work? Well, it’s a lot like having anything delivered you check out what you want online, add it to your cart, choose a time and wait. The main difference is payments. Some states allow for delivery payments with debit cards, others accept checks, and some take only cash.

April Pride: I’m excited to share with you one of the pioneering cannabis delivery services in California, Sava is based in San Francisco and serves the Bay Area. Over 50% of the companies on the site are women founded and they have a growing menu of pot brands too. The online menu is really helpful and lets you filter products based on how you want to feel or what health issue you want to solve. Sava delivery drivers are all discreet and professional, your order is packaged in a cardboard box that looks like a present and is a hundred percent recyclable. Visit getsava.com, that’s G-E-T-S-A-V-A.com and receive $10 off your first purchase with promo code do the pot.

April Pride: For today’s high five, what the ratios and percentages on cannabis labels mean. Number one, CBD:THC. When reading labels printed with CBD:THC ratios, the number to the left of the colon always refers to CBD and the number to the right always refers to THC. My cheat is that C comes before T. To learn more about CBD:THC ratio formulated products, listen to the Pharma episode of How to Do the Pot.

April Pride: Number two. 1:1, equal parts CBD and THC. When consumed simultaneously CBD naturally diminishes the effects of THC, the psychoactive effects. The intoxicating effect of a one-to-one formulation is most similar to a glass of champagne.

April Pride: Number three. 20:1, or 20 times CBD to one part THC, the much higher ratio of CBD means that the intoxicating properties of THC will be barely felt like after consuming a light beer, a Pilsner.

April Pride: Number four. 1:3, although most Dole formulated products contain higher levels of CBD, you need to look out for the opposite, a higher number after the colon this is tricky and will result in three times the THC you are expecting with a minimal amount of CBD to level off any anxiety that might induce. It is a common mistake to mix up the ratio. So just remember again, the first number CBD that’s not going to get you high, second numbers THC that’s going to get you high. If that second number is bigger, you’re going to be high-er.

April Pride: Number five. 16% plus THC, flower and pre-rolls products with THC levels around 16 to 21% and less than one to 2% CBD will induce very noticeable intoxicating effects, extraction based goods like oil cartridges have much higher levels of THC listed on their labels because these are concentrated products, a little goes a long way. Over 22% THC is a mental commitment at a minimum, with the potential to induce serious anxiety. Sometimes it is fun to see if you are up for the challenge, but you need to know what you’re doing if you are getting in bed with 22% THC.

April Pride: Today’s strains with just right ratios. ACDC, it’s a 20 to one CBD to THC strain. It’s the first choice that I usually recommend to those who are newish to cannabis and you can find it in dispensary’s most everywhere. Canatonic is a one to one strain and it’s a quiet high that suits your body and mind prevents and reduces inflammation. So you get a little bit of a balanced high and it does help with pain, but you know, you’re not flying. Harlequin, it consistently yields a two to one ratio, so two parts of CBD to one part THC and it’s for people who don’t want to be getting high. It’s a great daytime strain so you can work without stress like cleaning out your garage.

April Pride: Three podcasts that we love. I like Broken Record, which is hosted by Rick Rubin and Malcolm Gladwell. Their interviews with a wide range of musicians. There’s an episode with Flea who helped to absolve much of my mommy guilt and shame and there’s an episode with Wyclef Jean, which is really great too. Ellen likes Cassandra Daily, it’s hosted by Nina Rupp and it’s a weekly trend report on millennial and gen Z consumers.

April Pride: To Do The Pot, we recommend WeedWeek hosted by journalists, Alex Halperin and Donnell Alexander smart, credible cannabis news with business intel.

April Pride: Thank you for listening to this audio newsletter, let us know what you think. Find us on Instagram at Do The Pot and you can follow me at April Pride. For lots more information about cannabis and women visit dothepot.com.

April Pride: 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.