By: Jessica N.
Like many people in this new age of cannabis legalization, I feel like I am rediscovering weed. I smoked in my late teens and early twenties, but as I started my career, got married, and had children, my cannabis use fell by the wayside.
I rediscovered cannabis as a result of serious health issues that almost took my life and completely changed my thinking about cannabis. I had very serious necrotizing pancreatitis that has left me without a functioning pancreas.
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After many months in the hospital and many more at home recovering, my life has completely changed. The illness also left me with diabetes, serious muscle deterioration from so many months in a hospital bed, serious anxiety, and another lovely side effect is that I can no longer have any alcohol, not even a drop.
After many months at home, still in some pain, and at the encouragement of my husband, I began to look at the newly legalized recreational cannabis dispensaries in my state to try to find relief.
I looked to the internet to find the strains that may help me. One of the things I never liked about weed when I was younger was the paranoid feeling I would tend to get.
I also deal with anxiety; I have since I was a kid. Cannabis would often heighten my feelings of anxiety when I smoked without knowing anything about sativa versus indica or strains.
I also tended to smoke while I was also drinking alcohol, and the feeling of being way too messed up was also something I did not like.
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After looking at lots of different sources, I decided to try some different sativa strains. Durban Poison was a strain that I wanted to try because the reviews online all talked about how much it helped with anxiety but also did not give the dreaded “couch lock.”
This is important to me as a mom because I do not have the luxury of not getting my daily chores and work done. I also liked that people said that it did not increase appetite because with my diabetes, I really do not need to be snacking.
Luckily one of my local dispensaries had Durban Poison in stock. What is unique about this strain is that it is a pure South African sativa. It is not a crossbred or hybrid plant. It is basically as close as you can get nowadays to an heirloom strain.
It is a high THC strain which was counterintuitive to me. I associated high THC strains with being too in my head and triggering paranoia. I decided to try it anyways and I decided to microdose it.
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My husband gave me a dry herb vaporizer, and I decided to start with just one hit at a time. Almost immediately I felt a change that made me feel energized and boosted my mood.
I felt as if I had four cups of coffee. I immediately wanted to be on my feet and doing something. First I cleaned my house for a a few hours and then sat on the floor and played with my kids.
I was so present in the moment it was something that I hadn’t realized I had been missing. The effects were striking and immediate. I was hooked.
I use Durban Poison to microdose about every other day. I feel the mood effects for about 24-48 hours. The energetic high lasts me about 2-3 hours. I will smoke before doing mountains of chores around the house or even before a family outing to the park to be more present with my young children.
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I have experimented over the last few months with smoking flower versus using a vape cartridge. I prefer flower. I think it lasts longer and I think the effects are more pure.
While the Durban Poison was helping my mental health I was still struggling with pain. I decided to look for a CBD tincture to help. I started using Select CBD. There are so many options when it comes to CBD and I decided to buy something from the dispensary because it was tested and pure.
I am weary of ordering products that may come from overseas or are not third party tested. I started out with the unflavored 1000mg drops once a day. Sometimes I mixed it with my coffee, but usually I just used it sublingually- about a minute under my tongue and swallow the rest.
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The effects of daily CBD took me about a week to realize. My mood was better, but I really noticed its pain relief effects when I started my period about a week later. Usually I have bad cramps that not even pain relievers and a hot water bottle would help.
I felt none of my usual back pain or stomach cramping. I continue to take CBD daily in the same amounts. I have experimented with upping and lowering my dosage. But it works best for me when I use 1 mL of the Select CBD tincture once a day.
While my most serious physical health issues are much better than they were a year ago I still deal with anxiety and bouts of depression. What changed my mindset the most about cannabis was starting to prioritize my mental health and well-being as much as my physical well-being.
When I started to consider cannabis as my daily medicine it made me really look at cannabis strains and delivery methods the same way I would with pharmaceuticals.
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Cannabis has changed me. I am happier, more present, and motivated to get on with my life after this serious illness. It helps me deal with my day-to-day anxiety and stress. It also has become a source of positivity in my marriage and family.
When dealing with mental health you don’t often realize how low you have gone until you climb your way back out. Cannabis is helping me with this and I hope the stigma of cannabis use continues to lift so that more people can rediscover weed.
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My name is Jessica N. I am a mom and educator. I write blog posts about cannabis and have a small online shop with cannabis positive apparel and accessories called www.modernmaryjane.com. You can follow me on Instagram @weedisthenewmerlot.