Cannabis for lightweights

When I had chemotherapy 23 years ago, I struggled with nausea and loss of appetite. Even though I was subject to drug testing at work, we decided to take a chance, and Dale managed to find me some pot … yes, in South Carolina! He rolled up a little joint one day, and all of the sudden, I was like, “What’s for dinner?”

I hated smoking it, but cannabis improved my mood and helped me maintain a good appetite so I could stay strong and endure the rest of the treatments. I do believe cannabis helped save my life.

Cannabis has come a long way. While I know some readers live in areas where cannabis is still severely restricted or against the law, others enjoy the benefits of legalized medical or recreational use. Living in California, legal cannabis is readily available, and now that I’m retired and no longer subject to drug tests, I grow and use it mostly for what I call “medicinal purposes.”

My blog statistics show a steady interest in my periodic cannabis reports, so here goes.

Growing Indoors

Although I’m not much of a gardener, I’ve been growing cannabis indoors for several years now. It’s not hard to grow, even for a novice, and that’s one of the reasons they call it weed – it grows like a weed. And it’s such a cool plant. I love seeing it morph over time. The buds are gorgeous.

I grow autoflowers from seed. Autoflowers are also known as ruderalis. This means the plant will flower when it’s ready and does not require special equipment to block out the light (non-autoflowers need 12 hours of darkness in the flowering stage).

Autoflowers are not as prolific as one might hope, but I’ve had decent results. Average growing time for me is 71 days and average yield is 17 grams. My highest yield was 30 grams.

Growing Outdoors

Last year, I purchased a seedling, also known as a clone, for about $20 from the local cannabis dispensary. Our yard doesn’t get a lot of sun, and the spot I picked in the flowerbed didn’t help. The plant failed to get enough sunlight and did not flourish, although it didn’t die.

I purchased another clone this week and planted it in a pot I placed in the sunniest part of the yard. If this one works, I should easily double my typical yield on the autoflowers.

Topical Balm

I use topical cannabis balm every day on my knees, an itchy thing on my back called Notalgia Paresthetica and other creaky body parts. You can buy it from the dispensary or make it yourself. My recipe for homemade balm is on the downloads page.

My preference is to use a strain high in CBD, which all reports suggest is a great anti-inflammatory and even better when combined with THC. It’s called the entourage effect. When you buy it commercially, look for the CBD to THC ratio. A ratio of 1:1 is typical, and a 3:1 ratio would be a high-CBD balm.

I haven’t had success growing a high-CBD strain, so I purchase flower from the dispensary. In the past, I’ve used CBD Shark, Ringo’s Gift and Harlequin.   

Tincture

There are two types of tincture. One is made with glycerin, and you put a couple of drops under your tongue for quick results. The other type is made with alcohol, and it’s too strong to put under your tongue. I mix it with liquids and drink it. It can take 30 minutes to hour to feel any effects.

Tincture might be my favorite use for cannabis. A little bit goes a long way and makes me feel happy and calm. Dale and I joke that I’m “On the tinc.”

I made my own tincture from alcohol several years ago, and I still have some left! If you’re using it for the first time, you should titrate. Start with two drops (not dropperfuls) and wait at least an hour to see if you feel any effects. Repeat over several days, adding one drop at a time, to see what the minimum dose is.

Even after almost five years, I only use four or five drops, but then I’m a lightweight. Dale tried it and felt nothing. But he didn’t have the patience to titrate.

Since I use tincture mostly for the psychotropic effects, I’m less concerned about CBD. If I get a big yield off my outdoor plant this year, I’ll probably use it for a new batch of tincture. Sometimes I mix it with juice in the morning, but recently I discovered another great use. Instead of whiskey, I like a cup of tea with tincture as a happy hour drink.

The tincture does add a taste to liquids, and I’ve been experimenting with various teas that complement the herby nature of cannabis. So far, I like Hibiscus, Double Red Rooibos and Irish Whiskey Flavored Tea. Sadly, the latter does not taste like Irish Whiskey to me, but I like it anyway.

Edibles for Sleep

While edibles are a pleasant way to get high or treat pain, I’ve only used them to help with sleep. Some products say they are “low dose” at 5 or 10 mgs of THC. Ten would knock me off my feet, but even five is a bit much. Most edibles can be cut in half. However, I recently discovered Kiva Blackberry CBN Mints, which are my new low-dose faves.

Each mint has 2 mgs of THC and 1 mg of CBN, the cannabinoid that has sedative effects. I often toss and turn at night, but I ate one of those mints before bed, and I don’t think I budged, not even to pee or drink water. And I felt refreshed when I woke up.

The tin holds 40 mints. The list price was $17.93 plus tax, but the dispensary was featuring 20 percent off edibles that Sunday, so I got a nice little discount. Even at full price, that’s about 44 cents a dose.

Sometimes it pays to be a lightweight!