Week one

©2022 Michael Raven

I’ve still not gotten used to being a legal user of medical cannabis; I still feel “edgy” about it all. But I’ve started easing into it very slowly. While most people might go right for “the good stuff”, I’m still exploring the outer fringes of the whole affair. I can’t shake the feeling that, should anyone find out in the neighborhood, parents of other children, my own extended family (and my own children)… that I will be judged.

And not kindly.

My quirks aside, I have now spent a week exploring how much, what kind and how often I should imbibe. The written instructions have such a broad range and are almost arbitrary as to be laughable. “1-5 puffs up to 5 times a day”, my 1:1 THC:CBD vape instructs. Following that and only taking 1 puff, five times a day would net me roughly 10mg THC total (and 10mg CBD). Taking 5 puffs, five times a day then nets me 50mg THC a day. The instructions for my 100% THC vape read the same and would double the total at 100mg THC a day. I could use both, together and have 150mg THC a day (it does not specify that I should avoid other forms of cannabis).

So, my guidance has a range of 10-150mg THC a day, which is a darned big range. And then I could add nighttime gummies on top of that at 10mg THC/gummy (“1-5 gummies up to 5 times a day), which would net me another 50mg THC (assuming I only took advantage of it before going to sleep, or 250mg THC/day if I did this instead of vaping).

As I said, the range is pretty big.

And I am on the lowest of low ends at this time. So… about 15-20mg THC vaping and another 5mg THC from nighttime gummies — I cut my gummies in half because I’ve discovered that taking a whole one doesn’t last longer or provide for more intense pain relief overnight.

Dosing oddities aside…

Have I been getting pain relief? Yes, but mostly in the way of muscle spasm release. I sound like walking Rice Crispies shortly after vaping, almost every muscle in my body starts to calm down and let me self-adjust (crack) my joints — even without trying. I say almost every joint. My shoulder and neck have been stubborn, and I wonder if it isn’t just a matter of time before they calm down too (or taking higher doses). My sternum pops like rifle-fire, as do my knees and ankles. Fingers crack just stretching. Pain is diminished, but stubbornly persistent in some areas of my body. One person I know said it took a full month before it really made her feel better all of the time.

My tolerance has gone up. I almost feel no euphoria when I vape. The first day was completely different. For those who didn’t catch it before, I find getting “high” to be an undesirable side effect, at least for daytime dosing. This isn’t much of a solution to my pain if I need to always be high to be pain-free. So, this is a good thing that the vape doesn’t get me floaty at these levels.

I haven’t even delved into the pure THC vape or the flower. Just the THC:CBD vape and the gummies.

Mock me, if you want, but I also had to spend a few days figuring out the vape pen: the voltages, the usages (no instructions included), other options if this pen didn’t meet my needs. I learned quite a bit, honestly, and was able to fine-tune my experience for the better. And I have my eyes on both a more elaborate pen battery as well as a vaporizer for use on flower that heats, but avoids burning the plant material beyond the flash point to volatilize the cannabinoids (“smokeless”). If I can find the right formula for relief with minimal euphoria, I might move to the bigger guns to further improve my experience. But I don’t want to invest too much more if I’m not able to find that balance.

Jury’s still out. I see promise, but I’m not absolutely convinced it will be the answer I am looking for. Time will tell.