3 Things I Miss Most About Purchasing Pot During COVID-19

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Today marks the 22nd day we in Michigan have been under a government-ordered quarantine. Regardless of your views on quarantine actions being taken across the world, it is safe to say that we have all been impacted in one way or another.  Some inconveniences were apparent right away, some I have started to notice more as the days go by.  Either way, I have a new level of gratitude for the people and things that I may have taken for granted, or not shown proper appreciation for in the past.  This can be said for many areas of my life, including cannabis.

I have been a medical Marijuana user for many years.  Going to the dispensary to get medication has been something I welcome.  Checking out the new strains of flower and looking through the concentrates and edibles make me feel like a kid in a candy store.  Before the quarantine I would visit a dispensary 2 – 3 times a week even if I didn’t really “need” to.   It is part of my normal routine that I truly enjoy.  Fortunately, in Michigan, medical marijuana sales continue with one seemingly small change.  All orders are either for delivery or curbside pickup, no in-store visits/purchases.   With extensive online menus available for almost every dispensary this didn’t seem like it would be that big of a deal, but slowly I realized IT IS!

Everything I need as far as my medication is concerned is still readily available.  I can browse the online menu, look at beautiful pictures of frosty buds, and read detailed descriptions of the products.  I can place an order and have my medicine within a couple of hours at the most.   Essentially, I am still able to make the exact purchases I was before COVID-19, but it doesn’t feel the same, I don’t enjoy these purchases at all.  I decided to reflect a bit on this during my morning smoke break.  I came up with “The 3 Things I Miss Most About Purchasing Pot During COVID-19”.

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#3.  The third thing I miss most about my trips to the dispensary is the other customers.  I am a pretty outgoing person much of the time.  I will strike up a conversation with just about anyone and regularly do while sitting in the lobby waiting for my turn.  I have met some great people and got some great strain tips as well.  I wouldn’t have thought these interactions are as important to me as they are, but I really miss meeting fellow cannabis enthusiasts.

#2. The next item I miss was the most obvious to me from the beginning, I honestly thought it was the most important at first.  But it settled in at number 2.  I miss seeing and smelling marijuana in person.  It’s one thing to see a picture and read a description of a flower.  It is totally different to see a  bud and smell the terpenes in person.   This is driving me crazy.  Dank Tourist was started to share the best of cannabis and leisure with the community. Pretty hard to do that when we don’t get to smell the flowers.

#1. Finally, the thing I miss the most.  The Budtenders!  I have always appreciated and valued interactions with good budtenders.  I relied heavily on their guidance and education when I first began using cannabis medically.  I still count on the budtender to tell me about new strains, new products, local growers, and upcoming events.  Their role in my level of customer satisfaction is just as important, if not slightly more so than product quality.  You can sell the best product in the world, but if I don’t want to talk to your budtender, I won’t be a return customer. If you have a product that meets my needs but may not be the best available, and I have a great experience dealing with a professional and knowledgeable budtender, you will likely be one of my favorite dispensaries and see me often. 

Show appreciation to your favorite budtenders!  It is easy to get cannabis; it isn’t always easy to get cannabis that makes you feel the way you want.  Guiding new and experienced users through the thousands of products available proficiently takes immense knowledge and commitment to the customer and their wellbeing.   I miss seeing my favorite budtenders during this challenging time.  I can’t wait for the quarantines/lockdowns to be over so I can see them again.  Hats off to the budtenders, we miss you!

5 Reasons to Choose Cannabis Over Cocktails This Holiday Season

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The holidays are a great time to get together with loved ones. Being a Marine Veteran, most celebrations, holiday or otherwise include alcohol. As I get older and hopefully a bit smarter, I do my best to avoid the negative side effects of drinking too much. Whether it’s the hangovers that seem to get worse with each passing year, or the arguments stemming from stupid drunken behavior, I don’t want to deal with it. Luckily I live in a state that allows both the medical and recreational use of cannabis.

Choosing cannabis over cocktails can help us better enjoy time with family and friends, while avoiding the negative consequences of drinking. Below are just a few reasons to consider using cannabis this holiday season.

1. Cannabis leads to a pleasant experience, great conversations, and a better feeling of connection to those around you. Alcohol helps people loosen up early in the night. The effect of continued drinking can be unpredictable and unpleasant for the morning after, if not longer.

2. Cannabis has many health benefits. It is used to relieve anxiety and depression, used for pain relief, cancer treatment, and seizure relief. The list of medicinal uses grows daily as research expands. Excluding the supposed health benefit a daily glass of red wine may have for our heart, you would be hard pressed to find a doctor that will recommend alcohol for any ailment.

3. Alcohol gives the impression of relaxing us after a hard day at work. In reality our bodies are working overtime to process the poison (yes, alcohol is poison) to rid our body of it. Our body naturally accepts the active compounds in cannabis. Neither THC or CBD, the active compounds in cannabis, are toxic to humans. There are no known overdose deaths from cannabis use….EVER! The U.S. Center for Disease Control states nearly 90,000 people die from alcohol related causes in the U.S. annually.

4. You can tailor your desired experience with cannabis. Whether you want a slightly sedating indica buzz suited for game night or a movie with friends, or an uplifting sativa buzz to attend a holiday party, you can choose how you want to feel. With alcohol, drunk is drunk.

5. Cannabis has many different ways it can be consumed. You can smoke it, you can eat food prepared with it, take capsules of it, and vaporize extracts made from the plant. There are MANY options. The only reasonable way to consume alcohol is to drink it, and that almost always contains calories and/or carbs. If you are watching your figure this holiday season, cannabis is the best option.

These are just a few examples of how choosing cannabis could make the holiday season more enjoyable. Learning to use cannabis to improve our lives can be fun and rewarding. Avoiding the negative side effects of alcohol and drunkenness is the bonus. Whether you smoke some cannabis, or eat a THC infused sugar cookie shaped like Santa, consider choosing cannabis (where legal) this holiday season. Stay warm, be cool, and Live The High Life.