For the Best Cannabis Shopping, Focus on How You Want to Feel

If you haven’t bought your weed from school or college, going to the pharmacy can be equally enjoyable and exciting. Standing in a clean, well-lit and beautifully designed store is definitely preferable to meeting someone at Burger King, but the sheer chic of it all can make the cannabis shopper feel uncomfortable.

Fortunately, knowing a sativa indica is not a prerequisite for an enjoyable shopping (and consumption) experience, but you should have a good understanding of how you want to feel .

Help budender help you

In an email conversation I had with Kami Noeker (founder of Serra’s friendly dispensaries), she explained that “creating a bullying-free shopping experience” is of the utmost importance, which is why the store uses a “feeling-based approach to help”. you will find cannabis products to help you reach your consumption goal, whether your goal is entertainment or health. “You may not understand what sativa, indica or terpene mean, but the senses are universal. We encourage clients to tell our assistant professors / teachers how they want to feel in order to combine them with the perfect product. ”

Like any supplier of goods, the dispensary staff is always ready to help you, but they cannot read minds. In an email correspondence with Andrea Sparr-Yasva, Director of Education at Elegant and Friendly Pharma , she stressed that it is very important to have a solid understanding of how you want to feel. “In an ideal world,” she said, “the person behind the counter immediately actively engages customers and asks questions to help novices and connoisseurs alike. Of course, this is rarely a reality, and most of the information offered [there] is incomplete or inaccurate. In a sense, it is imperative that the buyer actually comes up with more answers than questions about knowing what type of effects they are looking for or trying to avoid. ” To prepare, Sparr-Yasva explained, a customer might ask themselves a few questions: “Are they happy with the intoxication? Are they looking for symptom relief or just drunkenness? Do they already have an idea of ​​the ideal dosage, especially for THC and foods? Do they want to get high or get rid of symptoms without getting high? If they are looking for intoxication or are feeling normal, do they want a more exciting high or a more soothing and relaxing experience? “

It is also important to know how you want to cut the weed. “What’s their preferred dosing method?” Asks Sparr-Yasva, adding that there are “ edible, inhaled, topical (which offer on-site relief instead of intoxication), tinctures and drops, and transdermal patches (which avoid potent edible substances) … effects, but last for a long time with controlled hourly dosage) “.

“Edible foods take longer and can be unpredictable until you know the ideal dosage for your metabolism and body chemistry,” she explained. “But they last longer and may be ideal for people not taking inhalants or looking for longer lasting relief, such as getting a good night’s sleep. Some people need help falling asleep, staying asleep, or both. But it may not be so much a problem with sleep as anxiety or pain, and this information may change what is ultimately recommended for them. “

Don’t get hung up on strains so much

Depending on your age, the weed available for purchase today is most likely not the weed of your youth. “Weed has changed a lot since the 60s and 70s, when the THC percentage rarely exceeded the average adolescent level, if not even,” explained Sparr-Yasva. In the 1980s and 1990s, cannabis was “driven underground, and cultivators selected flowers that yielded high yields, quickly, usually correlating with short, squat bushy Afghani lineages that were often highly sedative. Today we see much higher percentages of THC and much more varied chemical profiles. ” This is great in many ways, but you have to resist the urge to enter when the pipes are on. “There are a lot more options out there, but spreading potency is not a great place to start for most people. Higher THC levels increase the likelihood of side effects such as heart palpitations and dysphoria. Start small. Slow down.”

If you know the name of the strain you like, great, this information can help your friend, but don’t get hung up on it. In fact, if your experience with cannabis is limited by the fact that shitty weed was available for purchase in an area where it was illegal, Noecker encourages customers to “throw whatever strain name you know out the window and instead report the effect that you are trying to achieve. with my friend. ” It’s also important to remember that cannabis is constantly evolving and that you are dealing with a plant . “Strain names sometimes provide clues to the origin or flavor profile of a plant,” Noeker explained, “but unless a globally accepted and standardized naming convention is adopted, you will not get the best results by choosing a plant based on the strain name. Another problem is that two farmers can grow the same cultivar, but the flower profile of the two plants can be completely different due to their growing environment. “

According to Sparr-Jaswa, “Strain names can be directly correlated with genetic origin, but two parent plants can produce an infinite variety of effects in their offspring, just like humans — no two are exactly the same. A stable seed line or repeatable and measurable growing conditions may yield more similarities than differences, but phytochemistry is the best and most reliable way to measure effects. As producers continue to play with genetics in cultivation through crossbreeding and phenotypic selection (finding unique chemical profiles), the name is often just a manufacturer’s whim – [it] may be related to a specific effect they have experienced (namely: somewhat subjective) or specific flavor profile. Playing with titles is a fun, but not entirely reliable source of predictive effects. In fact, more often than not, this is not a forecast at all. That being said, when you are trying to determine what is the best to recommend, it is helpful to know what he likes the most. “

Plus, just like today’s herb isn’t the herb you loved in high school, your body has probably gone through some changes too, and this human factor can be beneficial. “The chemical composition of individual bodies is more variable than fingerprints and can change over time,” Sparr-Jaswa said. “Preferences and tolerances are also changing. To this end, a personal journal can help keep track of patterns and preferences pertaining to each unique person. If they know what they are looking for, an alarm can help them choose a good starting point. “

Keeping calm

For many people, one of the best things about legal weed is being able to find a product that doesn’t scare you, and this can lead to over-focusing on what Sparr-Yasva calls “Indica.” / The Sativa Dichotomy.

“Worry is a big problem for people,” she explained. “Some combinations of compounds can help reduce pre-existing anxiety or reduce the likelihood of an anxiety response, while others can increase the likelihood of an anxiety response. Both possibilities can be found in indica or sativa, so this categorization of up or down, black or white is oversimplified. Knowing whether anxiety is causing anxiety can help a beginner find the best options, many of which are dose-dependent rather than indicative or sativa-free. “

You are not a THC hunter

“Stay away from the THC hunt!” explained Noeker. “A lot of people come in and want to find the plant with the highest percentage of THC instead of finding the strain with the richest terpene profile and miss out on some incredible strains. I think the most important thing a customer needs to communicate is what they are trying to feel and what they are trying to achieve by consuming. From there, our assistant professors will be able to interpret which plant will give them the best results based on the plant’s terpene profile and the percentage of THC / CBD. “

While “THC and CBD are two important terms to know,” you don’t want to dwell on them either. While CBD is not psychoactive (meaning you won’t get high when you consume it), a small amount of THC can help you achieve your goals. “Often people come and ask for CBD only for pain relief, when in fact you will get the best results if you get a plant that is high in CBD and some THC due to the entourage effect .”

“Cannabinoids work better together and at lower doses than their isolated cannabinoid counterparts,” explained Sparr-Jaswa. “Isolates are booming in the market, especially with regard to CBD products, but these products are not always the most effective. For some, this may be the case, but a general rule of thumb is to look for full spectrum products. Products derived from cannabis sources are more likely to have a broad spectrum profile, but many hemp products are marketed with full spectrum profiles that include at least a small amount of other cannabinoids such as THC. ”

“What’s really important is understanding the terpene profile of the strain,” Noeker explained. “Terpenes are what gives the plant its flavor profile and also helps determine the properties and benefits of a variety. Beginners don’t need to understand terpenes; they really need to know how they want to feel. Then our amazingly knowledgeable specialists will be able to interpret the terpene profile. “

Don’t be a member

If you feel uncomfortable, just bend over and let the experts guide you. According to Noekner, “the most important thing is not to pretend to know more than you and to trust the experts; be open to a strain or product based on more than just the name or percentage of THC. “

Even if you have a firm grasp of what makes you feel good, don’t force it on your friends. “Experienced people who come with insecure newbies should remember that what works for them may not work for their friend,” explained Sparr-Jaswa. “Drunkenness is not a competition, and your inexperienced friends will get much better results if they are asked to act at their own pace. Plus, there should never be dispensing without consent, even if you think your grandma can really benefit from your favorite gum. Let’s work together to keep trust unchanged. “

Finally, know that there are really no stupid questions. “If you’re not comfortable asking any questions at a dispensary, find another dispensary,” Sparr-Jaswa said. “This is a completely new science and we are still learning. Moreover, coming in like a know-it-all is much worse than talking openly about your insecurities. Ask all questions. “