Overcoming a bad trip + a cheat sheet to CBD
Photo by Christin Hume on Unsplash
This week we take a look at some options for those who are THC-shy either because they had a bad experience in college, or maybe they are curious about how to use CBD to improve their every day quality of life.
Hello Bad Mommy,
I am a mom and former cannabis enthusiast, but I had to stop when I had a really bad experience in college. I want to try it again because there are so many great, and tasty-looking, options out there but I am afraid that my body will reject it again. Am I doomed to live a cannabis-free life?
Doomed in California
Dear DIC,
We may all be doomed, but not because we had a bad cannabis experience in college. (But that conversation is for another time.) Assuming that your college years were similar to mine, it is important to keep in mind when trying cannabis again that in black market days of cannabis, the old school brownie was very different from the “white market” edible products that are available to us.
Comparing special brownies to say, a Bad Mommy Cameo, is like comparing homemade moonshine to a wine you buy at Whole Foods. They were handmade without too much attention paid to consistency or any regard for the strain of cannabis. Nowadays everything is legally required to be lab-tested for dosages and there are many different strains to try from, including edibles that balance out high ratios of CBD to THC, which will cut down on the psychoactive effects you might get from a product. Since you sound nervous, start out with a CBD:THC ration of 10:1 or 5:1, then 1:1 and so on.
As with everything cannabis, start low and go slow.
- - -
Dear Bad Mommy,
When I first learned about CBD I was really excited because I thought it would be relaxing and easy to use since it doesn’t get you high. But then it turns out that some CBD products have THC in them so now I’m so confused. What’s the difference and how do I not end up accidentally stoned at a meeting?
Confused, but down for it
Dear CBDFI,
I think there is a lot of misinformation running around about CBD so I’m glad you asked! When talking about CBD it’s important to be clear about the plants behind the different kinds of CBD products.
First off, there are two kinds of CBD or cannabidiol. There’s one that doesn’t get you high and one that will. The first one is hemp-derived, which has been made legal thanks to the farm bill that passed in 2018. Hemp is also used to make fabric and soap, and it causes zero psychoactive effects. You will see it widely available in products like lotions, tinctures, gummy pills and so on. Because of a new measure passed by the FDA, companies cannot claim that it has wellness benefits, but anecdotally it is said to have a positive impact on all kinds of health issues from pain to stress.
The other kind of CBD comes from cannabis. This CBD will only be available at your local dispensaries because even at its most pure form it usually includes trace amounts of THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol), the chemical in cannabis that makes you feel high. This article from Healthline offers a helpful breakdown, which also includes hemp seed oil which is also included in OTC products now.