O P I N I O N
THE URBAN HIPPIE
By Irene Martin
Long before The Big Lebowski, Pineapple Express and Dazed and Confused there was Cheech and Chong. The OG Stoner Comics who turned being potheads into a money making business and turned a lot of people on to the cannabis culture as it was back in the ’70s. Anyone who smoked “pot,” as we called it, were criminals and many early pot smokers are still in jail today. Remember, until the Marijuana Tax act was passed in 1937 cannabis was legal. But greed and racism won and cannabis was declared illegal. Do the research sometime, especially William Randolph Hearst and his involvement in the criminalization of cannabis.
Anyway, I digress. Cheech and Chong’s comedy albums and eventual movies were many ’70s kids’ first exposure to pot as a common, if not accepted, behavior for some people. Illegal or not.
This column isn’t about Cheech and Chong but I would never write a column about marijuana without a shout out to my favorite stoners. This column is about my transition from weed from my regular weed source to Medical Cannabis. Two very different worlds, in my experience.
I am a patient of the Medical Cannabis program in my state of Pennsylvania. I obtained my first medical cannabis card in March of 2018, a month after the program started. I had always been honest with my doctor about my pot and alcohol consumption and he was open minded and listened to me. One Saturday morning in February of that year he called me at home to let me know he just received his certification to prescribe cannabis and wanted me to be one of the first patients he wrote a script for! I followed up ASAP and before I knew it, was taking a drive up the PA Turnpike to the closest dispensary to me, about an hour away. The only medical cannabis available at that time were capsules and vape cartridges, flower wouldn’t hit PA until 2019.
The first few years were a time of exploration… EXPENSIVE exploration. Medical cannabis isn’t cheap, nor should it be. But the early years of the medical cannabis program in PA were very expensive compared to what we pay for now.
It was also full of misinformation or misconceptions. I remember a pharmacist at one of the dispensaries telling a patient “everyone knows cannabis doesn’t raise your blood pressure” which was not my experience at all!. As someone with decades of high blood pressure I watch my numbers carefully. I noticed that with certain strains I felt like my blood my pressure was up. So I would take my readings and, yep, my pressure was up! And the medical cannabis was just so much more potent than anything I’d ever gotten off the street that my body and brain reactions were much more intense, both good and the bad. Eventually somebody told me about a website, Leafly, that was a very helpful tool for learning about medical cannabis strains and how they can affect your body. Now this is only a guide because like any other substance on the planet not everyone reacts the same way. However the general population will have similar experiences with certain strains and the substances within those strains.
I enjoyed the exploration of this new green world and felt I had found the strains that worked for me when an opportunity to work in the industry presented itself. After I started working at a dispensary I learned so much more about cannabis all of its compounds and various delivery methods. I was so impressed with the training that we received and our on-site pharmacist was very knowledgeable not only of cannabis but other medications as she came from the retail pharmacy industry.
For me it’s all about the terpenes. Terpenes are compounds in cannabis that create the sensations that cannabis delivers. An analogy we used was that the THC in cannabis was the fuel in your gas tank and the terpenes were the steering wheel that determined where you were going on this journey. After a lot of trial and error and record keeping I found my best terpene combination and it helps me shop smarter and waste less money. There is a common school of thought throughout much of the cannabis culture that it’s actually the type of strain that will make you feel a certain way.
For example: Sativa’s give you energy, Indicas make you sleepy and Hybrids are somewhere between. Again, not necessarily wrong but unfortunately way too simplified. It’s the terpenes within that strain that will determine how you respond. So for someone like me with high blood pressure, a heart condition and anxiety I avoid a particular terpene called Terpinolene. That terpene in high numbers exacerbates all of those previously mentioned conditions, for me at least. And Terpinolene does tend to be higher sativas. But I can find sativas with lower Terpinoline levels and higher percentages of terpenes like Limonene, Caryophyllene and Myrcene that I am able to enjoy. Similarly, I remember often having to guide our heart patients when purchasing cannabis because they automatically thought Indica’s would be perfect for them. But every now and then an Indica would have high percentage of Terpinoline which, again, can raise respiration, heart rate, blood pressure etc. So the time I spent working at the dispensary was like getting paid to go to cannabis school and I loved it.
There are many fantastic sites online that have Terpene charts that can help you make a more informed choice, rather than relying on your budtender to suggest something. Cannabis is a very personal experience and response and a strain that might check someone else boxes might not be the right fit for your brain and body. Take your time, do the research and go slow.
Another variable to consider is which delivery method you prefer.
Back in the day we smoked everything. Now there are multiple choice options as to how you ingest your cannabis. You can smoke or vape your dried flower. Use gummies or capsules, vape a concentrated liquid form, do “dabs” of very concentrated forms of cannabis. I prefer vaping but I’m tryng to transition to oral dosing per my doctors’ request. Vaping and smoking can cause lung issues for some patients. An issue that has arisen from medical marijauna are overdoses on edibles. Edibles can be tricky and because they look like candy can create a false sense of security.
Depending on what you have in your stomach it may take some time for you to feel any results. Often people will take another and when they finally feel the effects it can be too intense. Edibles work best with some fat in your stomach, peanut butter works especially well. THC and CBD are lipopilic, which means they need fats to dissolve and become bioavalable to humans. So a little fat helps your body process it more quickly and efficiently. There are also tinctures and syringes and the same applies. A little fat helps your medication act faster. And if you don’t want to injest at all you can still use medical cannabis for pain relief. A wonderful option for pain are topicals. With a topical lotion or pain patch the THC is delivered directly to the area that needs it most. There are also internal suppositories which can be used for gynolocigal pain.
By now there have been thousands of articles published about cannabis and most of the information is pretty good. But I have an issue with a common sentiment that seems to run through most of them and that is that cannabis users think cannabis is completely safe for everyone. The cannabis users I know are very well informed by their own experiences and most of us have some bad ones, before and since medical cannabis. Education and information about this new industry is important to all of us. Not lofty claims or a one size fits all mindset. Cannabis is complex and we’re still learning about everything it can do for us. So far about 150 – 200 different terpenes have been identified but about 20 or so are the ones we know best. Long since it was first recommended to help with the nausea and pain associated with chemotherapy in the late 1980s medical applications of cannabis have expanded to a wide variety of conditions. Pain relief, seizure reductions, mental health issues are just a few. I use cannabis for pain relief and for my anxiety and depression. But I have several friends for whom cannabis isn’t an option, and I respect that.
Another area of confusion is the difference between medicated and intoxicated. I medicate every day, but don’t get “stoned” or “high” unless I’m home relaxing or out partying with friends. Cannabis has slowly been replacing alcohol for me and I’m drinking less now than I have in years. Thanks in huge part to cannabis and two recent terrifying hospitalizations for atrial fibrillation. Not a single doctor had an issue with my cannabis use but boy did they all have strong opinions about my drinking, and didn’t hold back. Message finally and gratefully received! And me and my dodgy heart are doing pretty well these days.
Which leads me to the use of cannabis as an MAT (Medication Assisted Treatment) in the Recovery Community. The Recovery Community has been understandably slow to – if not necessarily embrace – at least not condemn cannabis anymore as an MAT. Especially since Opioid Use Disorder is now one of the conditions medical cannabis is prescribed for. And I understand it, I do. For decades the Anonymous People, 12 Steps or whatever you call them have been pretty much the only voice for addicts. And their program specifically states non-use of all mind altering substances. And then during the break many folks are gulping coffee (caffeine delivery system) or inhaling cigarettes outside (nicotine delivery system) or both.
I’m certainly not advocating cannabis at recovery meetings, at all. But for a portion of the community cannabis is keeping them from using their drug of choice. I have personal experience with several former addicts for whom cannabis was the key during their early days in recovery when withdrawal issues and urges were at their worst. After multiple failed attempts they were finally able to get clean while using cannabis to help, especially in the early months. I myself belong to an online group for people who use cannabis for harm reduction or abstinence from alcohol. Again, I am not saying this is the answer for everyone, but for many addicts who were convinced they couldn’t do it, cannabis has helped them quit the substance that was destroying their life.
I hope that you enjoyed this column and maybe learned a thing or two. One last time for those in the back, I agree that cannabis isn’t for everyone. But I can’t help but advocate for something that has made a positive difference in my life. Now that I am a proud Cannabis Enthusiast and no longer feel like a criminal or have to worry about police at my door, life is pretty groovy, a lot less painful and hangover free. While it isn’t for everyone, it’s certainly made a huge positive impact on my mental and physical health.
Just give a listen to Afroman’s positive remix of his “Because I Got High” and maybe you might want to check it out too. 
The Urban Hippie is a 60-something senior living in the Philly burbs. Still trying to figure out what she wants to be when and if she ever grows up. She welcomes all feedback and can be reached at ireneemartinother@gmail.com.