From Skunk To CBD

Putting Out The Fire

And then there’s smoking. Honestly, it’s pretty rare to see people with cigarettes nowadays. The 2007 public health initiative that saw smokers ostracised to the outdoors, was a relief to many British pub-goers – who no longer had to endure the indignity of their fine threads stinking like an ashtray after an evening on the pop.

However, 15+ years on and it seems public opinion still favours further restrictions on tobacco use; with government policy apparently lagging behind on these issues Yup, it’s clear smoking really isn’t cool anymore But that said, noone’s going to get arrested for sparking up a Marlboro Light – although the secondhand smoke is far more damaging However, should the smell of a combusting cannabis joint waft across to your neighbour’s perfectly pruned garden on a summer’s evening, then they (apparently) have every right to alert the police

Cessation Sensation

A lot of us Brits (myself included) have tried pretty hard to quell their tobacco cravings; which is undoubtedly why vaping has dutifully presented itself as a viable alternative over the last decade or so But it’s not without its own issues

Often marketed as a ‘smoking cessation’ option in healthcare settings – with pharmacy shelves brimming over with them – the use of e-cigarette devices is hugely popular here in Britain. Head to any social setting and you’re almost certain to be engulfed in a cloud of Mojito-Watermelon-Basil vapour – probably emanating from a neon-coloured, sweet-smelling, nicotine salt/e-liquid device.

But the backlash has already started The ubiquitous Elf Bar is facing a blanket boycott from major UK supermarkets, following a trading standards violation against the 600 series device (which have been found to contain more that 50% more than the legal limit for nicotine e-liquid) And that’s even before we get into concerns about appealing to kids, single use devices, and links to chronic lung disease

And yet, when it comes to medical cannabis, qualified healthcare professionals are advising patients to vape (rather than smoke) their prescribed flower – which is, more often than not, issued under the cultivar name –which seems totally at odds with everything else we’ve been told.

Naughty, Naughty…

So – what’s a British cannabis advocate to do? Well, if we were to consider all of these issues with a sincerity that’s characteristic of intoxication, we’d quickly conclude that none of this matters to your casual cannabis consumer.

Why? Because – I’d wager – a lot of British people like the fact that street cannabis is illegal: both Little Englanders and habitual tokers Its status as a Class B ‘drug’ cements its standing as ‘divisive’ Even if we knew nothing of its medicinal properties, we know it can’t be worse than any of the legal vices at our disposal

We *know* drinking excessively is bad We also know that smoking, vaping, and substance inhalation are not conducive to a healthy lifestyle We’ve also been told all of these things about cannabis too; but the puckish part of the British psyche embraces the naughtiness that comes with all of it.

If we truly want a recreational market to flourish here in Britain, then we need a way to legitimise cannabis; and so far, it seems that the stigma isn’t being suppressed by our medical market.

A Hit On The High Street

While you don’t have to venture too far down your average UK high street to get a whiff of skunk (the name stands for good reason); another, much more socially palatable, kind of cannabis is clear and present in pretty much every health and wellness store

I’m talking about CBD of course; which – provided it contains just the tiniest trace of THC (less than the presumed 0.2%) – is widely accessible in all of its various incarnations: oils, capsules, gummies, balms, sublinguals, transdermals, cosmetics, beverages. CBD flower, however, remains prohibited.

But is it just hype? No sir/mam. According to research commissioned by the Association for the Cannabinoid Industry, the UK’s CBD market was valued at £690 million in 2021, up from £314 million in 2019; making Britain the world’s second biggest consumer market for CBD, after the US

While it’s easy to assume that sales are being driven by the more affluent ‘yoga set’ for whom mindfulness and intentional action are de rigueur; CBD is actually much more mainstream than that: which makes sense, given that it’s used for everything from pain relief to anxiety to sleep

Thriving. Not Surviving.

To round this off, I’d like to say that, as a nation, I reckon the UK would thrive if cannabis were to be legalised recreationally: presuming we get a robustyet-workable framework in place (thanks Germany!) But, right here and now, it feels a long way off

This interplay of public health concerns, illicit activity, and cultural demonisation; set against medical necessity, therapeutic benefit, and destigmatisation are nothing new. But all of these issues have a critical role to play in driving awareness, advocacy, and acceptance of cannabis at large.

Sure, it’s gonna take time for the cannabis cause to evolve into more of a political issue, but right now –despite the best efforts of many patient-led groups (like NORML) and professional trade associations (such the Cannabis Industry Council) – it’s not on anyone’s radar

For now we have the twin Trojan Horses of CBD and medicinal cannabis to contend with openly; while deep within these wooden equine bellies, recreational forces bide their time – waiting to strike But perhaps that’s no bad thing; there’s a lot to get right

Montana's Best Selling

THC Infused Drinks

A’ho to Montana, the United States Treasure State! Big blue skies, enormous snow capped mountains, clear lakes and rivers, and red, green, and yellow landscapes; Montana is a place everyone should witness and experience at least once. They say beauty is subjective, held in the eyes of the beholder; but I now challenge this idea since exploring Montana.

There is no way that any eye, on any living being can look at Montana, and not see absolute beauty Every drive is a scenic one and every bend offers a sight even more marvelous than the one before I’ve heard that the most high created nature to show us perfection; I believe that Montana is nature’s runway

Look around and you’ll witness recognition and respect of the original people of Montana Listen and you’ll hear sacred speak Inhale and you’ll pull the scent of pine into your body Touch the soil or the massive boulders and feel the tightness in your body surrender to peace Smoke a Montana grown fat nug and taste the rainbow

It took just two short weeks for me to fall in love with Montana; the spirit, the people, and of course: the cannabis. Journey with me as I take you from Missoula, to Kalispell, to Great Falls, to Bozeman, and to Billings with stops and drive throughs in Flathead Reservation, Blackfeet Country, Big Fork, Whitefish, Helena, and East and West Glacier National Park.

This is the Fat Nugs Under Big Skies Tour with the Traveling Cannabis Writer.

Visiting: Missoula, Kalispell/BigFork, Great Falls/Helena, Bozeman, and Billings

Many people come from overpopulated places where nature has been chopped down for highrises and mansions to be built. These places are where a 10 minute drive is a 40+ minute drive and where food delivery takes an hour or longer because of traffic. I come from one of those places; Montana is not one of those places.

Comparison: Miami-Dade County has over three million residents. This doesn’t include the people there on vacation every day of the year. Just one city, three million people with two area codes. If we group in Broward County so that South Florida as a whole is captured, we are looking at about seven million people and four area codes

The entire state of Montana has about one million people and the entire state uses one area code In a place that has more nature than people, you breathe differently Going to and getting back from work doesn’t have the added stress of two hours of bumper to bumper traffic You don’t have to pay extra charges for priority delivery because there is only a five minute difference between priority and standard

When there is more nature than people, there is less navigating amongst anger, stress, and low vibrational energy Instead there’s more calm, ease, and overall peace