04/15/19 Green Eugene - April 2019

APRIL 2019

ab i s n n a c to t a b m co

silver d abbers

s l a u x se a n n a c

S M R A F P A E L

NT S WHERE THE PLA ARE HAPPY E AND THE PEOPL ARE TOO

GREENEUGENE.COM

Editor

Designers

Skyla Patton

Blake Mindemann Caroline Young Ellen Lyons Emma Nolan

Writers Bryan Dorn Josh Delzell Emma Routley Piper McDaniels Jake Brevis

Photographers Emma Routley Piper McDaniels Bryan Dorn Alex Powers

Art Director

President & Publisher Bill Kunerth

Creative Director Cole Petroccione

Account Executives Dani Torrey Madison Cascio Madeline McClenaghan

Blake Mindemann

Photo taken by Emma Routley during her visit to Leap Farms

STAFF

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

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Cannabis is a complex industry, both in it’s ever changing legal landscape and the culture that has developed around it.

As the rise of normalized use continues to battle against generational stigmas, consumers across all backgrounds and experiences are dabbling in cannabis these days. The 4/20 Edition wanted to reflect the diversity in not only cannabis consumers, but in the way that cannabis — as a plant, a medication, a hobby or a career — has evolved tremendously over time. In this edition we cover the perfect strains to get you through the upcoming holiday, how cannabis has turned a combat veteran’s life around and even how to use cannabis to spice up your sex life. It’s the best time of year y’all — welcome to The 4/20 Edition - enjoy!

420 STRAIN SURVIVAL GUIDE Words and Photos by Bryan Dorn

As 4/20 approaches, stoners everywhere are gearing up to celebrate the cannabis holiday. However, it’s important to pace yourself and choose your strains wisely in order to avoid a 5 p.m. bedtime or an immobilizing food coma. This list contains perfect strains for morning, noon and night to keep you stoned all day!

MORNING CHOCOLOPE

Start a pot of coffee and warm up your waffle iron, this potent sativa from White Label Farms clocks in at 24.3% THC and will leave you feeling uplifted after that 4/20 wake and bake. Chocolope has a distinct citrus smell with earthy undertones that give this invigorating sativa a very smooth and palatable taste.

Shortly after consumption, users can expect to feel euphoric, uplifted and inspired. Conversations will flow and giggles will be had as chocolope makes its way around the circle. Tidying up the house and preparing for the day ahead will come easy with this strain. Don’t worry about a crash, this sativa can be enjoyed all morning with a gentle and slow comedown.

AFTERNOON WEDDING CAKE As morning turns to afternoon, pull out this heavy hitting hybrid to keep the party going, but be careful; this strain is sure to send you to the pantry. Testing in at 30.6% THC, this batch of Wedding Cake from Resin Ranchers gives off a pungent sweet-yet-skunky smell. The distinct vanilla aroma is sure to clear out a room and leave only the stoners behind. Descendant of Girl Scout Cookies and Cherry Pie OG, this hybrid is reminiscent of its predecessors, giving off that distinct cookie smell with heavy trichome production. This strain is sure to keep you stoned until bedtime and should certainly be reserved for the later afternoon.

NIGHT JELLY PUNCH

For those that can manage to stay awake through the festivities, this strain stands at the end of the day to help cannabis consumers melt into bed and sleep off the day’s celebrations. Jelly Punch— an indica strain grown by PDX Organics testing at 26.4% THC— has a floral and earthy flavor. The purple and orange buds glisten with trichomes accompanied by the odor of raspberry jelly.

This strain’s name could not be more fitting because it certainly smells of jelly and definitely packs a punch. Put on your PJs and turn on a movie, this strain is sure to bring your 4/20 to a blissful and peaceful end.

Sticking to the right strain at the right time of day can help consumers make it through the day without getting hit by the heavy slump and munchies coma that cannabis use may cause. Knowing about how different strains affect your body can also help you decide when and where is appropriate to use your cannabis. The effects described above are the opinions of the writer and consumers are encouraged to find what strains work for them and what growers they can rely on to produce quality products. Remember to consume responsibly on 4/20 and to not bogart the funions.

All cannabis pictured is G Rfrom E E N E Next U G E N ELevel . C O M Wellness | 3 on Willamette Street.

Melissa Call

OF TJ’S PROVISIONS

Words and Photos by Piper McDaniel

WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO BECOME A BUDTENDER?

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE PART OF THE JOB?

I think when I first moved here I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, I just wanted to live in a new area, I moved all the way from Pennsylvania. I have a lot of friends in this area and that’s why I ended up moving here. The cannabis industry was kind of going up at the same time, it was something I was already pretty passionate about and I knew I was good at marketing.

I like that spread of information—like having a first-time user in their 50s come in and not know anything about cannabis, or CBD, or the health benefits of the plant. I like getting to break down those barriers that have been built up over the years. It’s nice to see them become comfortable with the products or see the products benefit them. It’s cool to watch people go on their personal journey with cannabis.

WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO WORK AT TJ’S? I knew I’d have chances to work with plants, because TJ’s is community-based and they have their own grow. I was really interested in learning more about the grow process and how organic and no-till growing practices effect the plants versus farming methods using nutrients. They are completely no-till, and completely organic. It takes a lot longer and there’s a lot more to deal with like bugs and pests in natural ways. I have a lot of respect for that.

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WHEN WAS THE FIRST TIME YOU GOT HIGH? I was a senior in high school. I was with my brother at my parent’s farm. We were by a pond, and we were smoking a joint that he rolled with some of his friends. I was about to go to college, and It was kind of his initiation — ‘you’re going to college and I want you to be prepared for things.’ So I got to have a nice comfortable experience, and it was with a family member so that was nice.

BUD TEN DER

SPOTLIGHT

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT CANNABIS BEING LEGALIZED IN OREGON? It’s been medically legal here for so long, I think that’s benefited a lot of people. Switching over to recreational in some ways has hurt medical patients, unfortunately, and that’s really a hard thing to watch happen. But I think it’s something that could even out as people are heard. Because there is a community of medical patients that really care about that and they want to continue building on it.

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE STRAIN OR PRODUCT? I really like tinctures, especially for times when it’s hard to smoke.

Tinctures are a great way to consume. I love the convenience of it, I love how it’s truly probably the most medical product we produce. You see the concentrated forms of cannabis, and you’re just getting the effect of it purified so much. We put it in coconut oil so it’s got a nice taste.

HAVE YOU BEEN SURPRISED BY WHO THE CUSTOMERS ARE? I am a little bit surprised about how it’s everyone. There’s a little bit of every group in cannabis. It’s something that can benefit anyone and I think people are learning that very quickly.

WHAT WOULD YOU RECOMMEND TO READERS? I recommend that if you’re shopping for flower you go by farm, because it’s an easy way to guarantee you’re going to get an organically grown product. A lot of the times if you’re strainhunting you’re going to be disappointed. Every dispensary tries to stock strains, but it’s not always good farms that grow the strains that people want. That’s always my best advice for customers—not to look at the THC, not to look at the strain name, but smell the jar, know where it’s coming from. And if it’s organic it’s going to be a higher quality.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE THING TO DO WHEN YOU’RE HIGH? Usually stretching. I like heavy CBD strains before yoga, it really helps your body loosen. Other than that I like hiking and watching movies. There’s all sorts of situations where it can be really fun, but I definitely like to be active.

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE TYPE OF MUSIC YOU LIKE TO LISTEN TO WHEN YOU’RE HIGH? Usually acoustic music, there’s something about string music I really like. It makes me feel happy.

GREENEUGENE.COM | 5

Sex is a wonderful thing, but it is also a frightening thing as well. It puts you in one of the most vulnerable places you’ll ever be. It can bring doubts about your sexual performance, your body image or, for the guys, if you’re well endowed enough. Sex is also a terrifying place for those who have experienced sexual violence, with sexual encounters bringing anxiety attacks or PTSD flashbacks.

For anyone that is affected by these issues: your problems are valid and not altogether uncommon. It can be frustrating to struggle with intimacy issues, which leads many to search for solutions. According to cannabis sexual educators like Ashley Manta, cannabis could be the fix for your problems.

Ashley Manta, the ‘OG cannasexual,’ preaches the use of cannabis to help further one’s sexuality, and coaches individuals and couples through her website Ashley Manta Cannasexual. “There’s also just anxiety and self-consciousness sometimes,” Manta told HuffPost in an interview detailing the becoming of cannasexual, referencing those struggles that individuals have with sexual intimacy.

“Many people that I work with say that they have the internal monologue of not being enough.” The idea behind being a cannasexual is to use cannabis to get out of your head and into your body — because that’s where all the fun happens, duh. Cannabis use can also help with anxieties that can come from sexual trauma. Manta herself is a sexual assault survivor and used cannabis to help manage the pain and PTSD that came with penetration.

What exactly could cannabis do for your sex life? Let’s look at THC and CBDs cousin, 2-Arachidonoylglycerol (or 2-AG for short).

2-AG is a naturally occuring cannabinoid that resides in the nervous system, and interacts with your body’s cannabinoid receptors.

During an orgasm, 2-AG levels are significantly elevated whereas other chemical compound levels, like cortisol, are not altered. This suggests that 2-AG plays a role essentially as a rewarding byproduct during sex. When other cannabinoids are introduced, it gets interesting.

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While CBD does not directly interact with our cannabinoid receptors, it does elevate 2-AG, which may indicate that high CBD products can help with our bodies response to 2-AG — and maybe help you improve your orgasms.

THC on the other hand plays a stronger role in reducing stress and anxiety. THC does interact with the cannabinoid receptors, which happen to live next to the parts of the brain that play a role in how we respond to anxiety and fear.

THC also has been shown to impair the function of short term memory, which can help one stay in the moment during sexual experiences and properly relax. With this knowledge under our belt, it makes more sense how cannabis can help sexual assault survivors, like Manta.

While cannabis is absolutely something to explore within your sex life (many swear that it helps achieve “mind-blowing” orgasms) there are a couple things to note. There are not studies that have looked thoroughly into dosages prior to intercourse. Dosages are crucial to know if you plan to consume, because too high of a dose can affect men’s sexual performance (sorry fellas).

Along with this, it’s important to remember that cannabis affects all of us differently. For some people, it gives them anxiety or makes them unusually tired, neither of which are desirable sexual descriptors. Symptoms and side effects all depend on the strain, so experimentation is required to find what helps you the best.

If smoking isn’t really your thing, there are a variety of sex lubes that are THC or CBD infused, which can be easily picked up at local dispensaries like Eugene OG and Moss Crossing.

The most important part of introducing cannabis into your sex life is that it’s something that you need to be in control of. Go into it with the mindset of pleasure and exploration, and remember that the person that knows what’s best for you, is yourself.

Words by Josh Delzell Illustrations by Ellen Lyons

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Words and Photos by Emma Routley

While it may be a struggle for some

companies to set themselves apart from the competition, Leap Farms knows exactly what makes them unique — and they’re not afraid to show it. Leap Farms is one of the finest organically operated cannabis producing companies in the Pacific Northwest. From the special ways they care for their plants to their business plan for the future, Leap Farms stands out in the spotlight of the recreational cannabis industry. They work endlessly to ensure their consumers receive the best quality products every time.

Leap Farms especially prides themselves on their 100 percent organic materials.

They do not use pesticides or any other

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chemicals when growing, ensuring the process is all natural. “We don’t grow cannabis, we grow better people and better soil. The plant and the flowers are just a reflection of our commitment to the other two,” said Beau Rillo, owner and founder.

Part of this process and what helps make Leap Farms unique is their use of Kangen water, along with other methods of integrated pest management, such as predatory mites and other beneficial insects.

Kangen water is an ionized health-based water that comes from a scientifically proven technology, allowing the user to adjust the pH balance (how acidic or alkaline) of the water. Leap Farms uses an SPONSORED CONTENT

alkaline pH of 11.5 to create conditions on the surface of plants where mold and bacteria cannot survive, and a low pH for poison-free pest control.

“We have more control over the water and what it does for the plants. We also keep it readily available as healthy drinking water for our people. What’s good for the plant is good for us and vice versa,” said Brittany Rillo, co-owner of GREENEUGENE.COM | 17 Leap Farms.

Leap Farms began applying this innovative technology on their plants when Brittany noticed its value when her step mother added it to her lifestyle diet after having been diagnosed with cancer.

“The basic idea is to keep your body at a healthy alkaline levels in order to better combat the basic dayto day diseases we all fight while simultaneously battling cancer,” Rillo said.

Leap applies this technology throughout the plant’s life cycle, according to Alex Roveda, Leap Farms nursery manager.

This homegrown, family corporate structured company cares about what their customers are consuming, and consistency in their products is incredibly important to them. In fact, Leap Farms has never in its history failed a test.

Another low-tech practice that Leap Farms swears by is to play exclusively happy, uplifting music on the farm. It isn’t unheard of for the owner to dismiss a grumpy “leaper” from the garden to gather themselves and focus their energies. This lighthearted, self-care

focused standard ensures that the plants are around the most positive energy and music at all times.

In addition to their innovative and caring process, Leap Farms also provides the best products for consumers through collaboration with other leaders and likeminded companies in the industry. There was a time when companies were trying to hold up their place in the cannabis industry entirely independently: growing, managing a dispensary, running all the product lines, processing, wholesaling and more.

Although this method is ambitious and inspiring for entrepreneurs in the industry, doing everything alone doesn’t always appear to be the best method of operation. Leap’s top-notch sales and marketing team came to the conclusion that collaboration within the cannabis

industry is far better than trying to do everything by themselves. Through extensive industry outreach, Leap’s sales team has been able to partner up with other companies such as SugarTop Buddery, GreenStar Growing, Pineapple Society and Kumba Hills to name a few.

This collaboration leads to the best possible output.

One of the reasons Leap Farms and SugarTop Buddery chose to work with each other is because they share the same values and family centric mentality.

Leap Farms and SugarTop Buddery have many common goals, including giving the consumer the best quality products possible. According to Tyler Carpenter and Cory Eicher, sales and marketing directors for Leap Farms, the value of collaboration comes through teaming up with people that have mastered

“IT’S ABOUT BORROWING STRENGTHS AND TEAMING UP WITH GREAT COMPANIES AND GREAT PEOPLE.”

their craft. This is where SugarTop Buddery comes in: outstanding ability and packaging for the project, on top of being in the heart of Eugene.

Together, Leap Farms and SugarTop Buddery are combining forces to create high-quality products for the consumer, such as the Goodsmoke Multipacks. This product replicates cigarettes visually, however each pack contains ten .5g joints. A single pack of ten prerolls costs $20, and the larger size packaging contains five packs of ten .5g joints costs $100. Leap Farms and SugarTop Buddery are proud of the amount of work they have poured into this product, right down to choosing the perfect rice paper to ensure best quality for taste and burning consistency to making sure every aspect about the product is geared towards giving the consumer their money’s worth.

Leap Farm’s true passion of cannabis and hemp genetics.

“Leapers” are just as dedicated and devoted to Leap Farms, and describe the working environment in three words: loving, innovative and passionate. They love their jobs and their products, and they are proud of their constant search for new, groundbreaking ways to increase productivity and quality. Most of all, the family and staff at Leap Farms is proud to embody the balance between love and innovation, trailblazing the way to their success in the cannabis industry. The doors of Leap Farms are always open for tours and information, and they encourage their consumers to get to know their grower and come on by!

“Pre-rolls are a consumer product, not a byproduct. I think we are one of the few who look at it that way. We’re trying to change the game,” says Brennan Anderson, SugarTop Buddery’s chief operating officer.

The future of the cannabis industry also looks bright, and Leap Farms has big plans to keep up with the growth. During the next five years Leap Farms hopes to evolve into a national distribution company, and within the next ten years they hope to have an international footprint using their foundations and ideals to bring rising nations cannabis and hemp. They also intend on continuing to innovate with new ideas, applied technologies and further develop 10 | GREENEUGENE.COM

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The story of one Marine’s journey to finding solace through smoking When Jeremiah Civil, a Marine Corps combat veteran who served from 2001-2005, went in for his recent medical evaluation at the Department of Veteran Affairs in Portland, he was asked a series of basic questions about his health and habits. “Do you smoke marijuana?”

“Yes,” said Civil.

“Look, I understand. In fact, if it were up to me, I might even say it might be okay,” replied the VA officer. “It might even be a good thing. But let me read you this pamphlet.”

The officer proceeds to quickly read through a short lecture prepared by the VA about how marijuana is illegal under federal law and they do not support its consumption.

Civil has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and says that cannabis helps him cope with his everyday symptoms. He was not always a habitual smoker. The intense anti-cannabis culture of the military had convinced him it was not an option for years after his service. Eventually, with some guidance, he gave it a try.

“It changed my whole life,” said Civil.

He takes a deep hit from his rubber green bong. He sits in the living room of his government-owned house on site of the Federal Fish Hatchery he also works at, near Estacada, Oregon. There is a cascading display of flags hanging from his ceiling in the living room. In the center is the American flag. On one side is the Department of Interior and the Oregon state flag. On the other side is a banner for Prisoner of War and Missing in Action.

“That was kind of our flag,” says Civil, 12 | GREENEUGENE.COM

referring to his role in Mortuary Affairs in the Marines. And behind the banner is the red flag of the Marine Corps. “I have my home, my country, who I work for now, and the two cults I belong to,” he jokes.

His white pit bull rescue, Gunner, rests lazily on the couch next to him.

“It creates distance between the present and the past within your memories,” said Civil, referring to what cannabis does for him.

He explains his concept of the separation between a person’s resting baseline and anxiety. There is a gap between the body’s resting state for muscle tension, heart rate, adrenalin levels and the threshold of fight-or-flight. Increasing stress closes that gap. But when trauma happens, the body decides it can no longer survive at that low resting baseline.

After trauma, the body resets itself to a

Words by Jake Bevis Photos by Alex Powers higher baseline closer to that fight-orflight threshold, shortening the distance between resting and alarm. This, he explains, is why people with PTSD are more spooked by sudden noises, bright flashes of light, large crowds and so on.

These triggers can become an everyday occurrence with trauma such as PTSD. But for Civil, cannabis slows that progression towards fight-or-flight. He explains that smoking gives him enough space to recognize when he’s about to have a panic attack. He gets more time and can identify it and sometimes even stop it before it overtakes him. “It gives me a little bit more, before it kicks in,” he says. “Enough time to think and become aware.”

It took several years after he left the Marines for Civil to settle on the idea of using cannabis as a tool. When he began experiencing symptoms from his trauma, he went to the VA, where they prescribed antidepressants such as Wellbutrin and Effexor. While the depression was being treated, his anxiety was left untamed. “It was just amplified,” he said. He describes not sleeping very well and always being on edge. He was married at the time.

After a particular incident where he got angry and broke everything in the house, his wife sent him to the VA where he received in-patient treatment.

They switched his Wellbutrin to Paxil and added Xanax and Klonopin for the

anxiety. However, the addictive properties of the Benzodiazepines overtook him.

His compulsive nature would lead him to taking Xanax to the point of full emotional disconnection.

“You could come in here and kill my whole family, and I’d be like, ‘eh shit.

Whatever. I don’t care,’” he remembered, taking another rip from his well-packed bong. His dog, Gunner, makes a lazy canine groan on the couch next to him.

The new drugs changed things for him, but not for the better. In 2009 Civil sought counseling at the VA, but quickly terminated that when he had an explosive outburst of frustration when the staff counselor couldn’t relate to having ever experienced combat.

That’s when he was referred to the Portland Vet Center, a community-based counseling center that specializes in PTSD and military sexual trauma. It’s a branch of the VA established in 1979 by congress, initially to assist with societal reintegration of veterans from the Vietnam War. This is where Civil finally found the guidance he needed.

His next counselor was a combat vet this time. Civil described him as a “hippy type” with gauged ears. The counselor immediately advised Civil to get off the Benzos. He suggested quitting alcohol, coffee and energy drinks, and to start smoking a lot of weed, to help with weaning off his anti anxiety meds gracefully. He helped Civil get his medical marijuana card.

Within a few months he had successfully kicked the Benzos, his mood had stabilized and he was finally starting to get a few decent nights of sleep. “It was all about finding the right counselor,” said Civil.

His favorite strain quickly became Sweet Tangerine. “It gives me energy without anxiety,” he said. Another one of his veteran friends used grow it for him but claims he can’t find it anywhere. Now he says he just goes for what’s cheap.

Finding the right counselor was a turning point for Civil. Among cannabis use, he adopted a collection of activities to help manage his mental health. Until recently, he was a Warrior leader at group therapy sessions for the Wounded Warrior Project.

“People tend to open up more in those situations than they do in a counseling session,” said Civil. “Sometimes you can have some beers and buds; loosen things up.” He jokes about starting a marijuana therapy group complete with a talkingbong to pass around. He continues with counseling, and occasionally volunteers with veteran nonprofits.

He takes the opportunity to rip from his rubber green bong again. Smoke drifts amongst his assortment of flags in the high vaulted living room ceiling.

Using cannabis to cope with trauma is not a cure-all. There are many reasons why someone may not be able to or want to use cannabis, and it’s not a cure for every internal struggle combat veterans suffer with. Civil’s story is simply a case in which cannabis was a missing piece among many that ultimately helped him get his life back.

“Getting off the meds and getting into weed opened me up to trying other things,” he says, referring to treatments for his mental health. In 2011, he attended a Native American sweat lodge ceremony, which he credits to eliminating his nightmares.

Since he got rid of his nightmares, Civil no longer feels like he needs cannabis for sleep. He says he used to rely on it for bedtime. But every now and then, his anxiety catches up with him in the night, finding himself waking in the middle of a panic attack.

Civil used to sleep with a loaded gun. Heart pounding out of his chest, and muscles tense, he reaches for his night stand, looking for the tool he’s learned to trust most as a veteran of war. He puts it up to his face. He flicks a lighter. He’s replaced the loaded gun with a loaded bong. He takes a long deep breath, and as he exhales, his muscles relax, his heart beat goes down, and his mind settles.

GREENEUGENE.COM | 13

Words by Josh Delzell Illustration by Caroline Young

SILVER DABBERS

A study by Dr. Benjamin Han, assistant professor of internal medicine at NYU, found that between 2015 and 2016, 9 percent of adult between the ages of 50 to 64 had at least tried cannabis in the past year, and 3 percent over 65 had also tried it within the same time period. While these percentages may seem small, it’s actually a statistic on the rise. In 2013, 7 percent of middle aged people had tried it, and 1.4 percent of those over 65. Is cannabis use normalizing for older Americans, or is the devils lettuce still too infamous for baby boomers and beyond?

At a minimum, there’s less of a stigma around cannabis use in certain areas than there once was. In 2018, 10 states — as well as the District of Columbia — passed laws legalizing the recreational use of cannabis, and several others pushed for new legislation or took the first step with legal medical use. The number of states that may pass legal cannabis is also rising in 2019, with states like New Mexico passing a bill that would legalize cannabis.

Doug Fuchs, a Eugene resident and older generation cannabis user, noted the rise in cannabis use for people his age. “A lot of people my age started using [cannabis] in the past 4-5 years since it has been legal,” said Fuchs. “My inlaws are in their 80’s and lived through the anti-cannabis era. Now they are using it because of its medical purposes.”

Fuchs also helps run the Oregon Homegrown Challenge, in which contestants bring their own flower to be judged, and many of the participants fall 14 | GREENEUGENE.COM

into the baby boomer category — not only consuming cannabis, but taking the industry by the reigns. It’s like a brew contest, but for cannabis. Currently, Fuchs is working on establishing The Willamette Valley Homegrowers as a local cannabis gardening and network club, an organization Fuchs founded himself.

“My inlaws are in their 80’s and lived through the anti-cannabis era.

Now they are using it because of its medical purposes.”

Medical relief is also a huge motivator behind older generations increasing use of cannabis. These properties come from the benefits that cannabinoids provide for easing common ailments like nausea, pain or spasticity. Medical cannabis also has shown to provide positive benefits for diseases like parkinson’s, which tends to affect people over 40.

The Alzheimers Society recognizes the ability of cannabis to soothe symptoms of alzheimer’s such as aggression or agitation. Dr. Joshua Briscoe of Duke University told NPR that even the most modest benefits of cannabis use would be beneficial to the elderly. “We prescribe substances that are far more dangerous than cannabinoids,” Briscoe told NPR during an interview on elderly

use of cannabis. He also noted that the elderly are far more likely to experience side effects from medication in general.

While cannabis can be helpful for older patients, because of the strict federal regulations on cannabis, it’s hard to fully know the benefits and risks cannabis can have on elderly users. Dosage amounts are especially important for older consumers, because of metabolism rates slowing with age. Sticking with a smaller dosage until comfortable with cannabis is a good idea for older users to avoid potential side effects that can come with a heavy-handed edible or preroll.

Whether or not cannabis helps elderly users is still up for debate in an empirical sense, because of the lack of research, but anecdotal evidence has shown that it can help tremendously.

Cannabis use is increasing every day as states begin or continue the process of legalization, storefronts pop up across the nation and the stigma slowly fades. Baby boomers and older generations were raised with a dark image of cannabis, and old habits are undeniably hard to break.

Despite this, education is spreading and the healing properties of cannabis are starting to dominate the conversation — regardless of your age.

That being said, maybe your parents have been using cannabis behind the scenes. I just found out only a couple months ago that my dad has been smoking since he was in his teens. Do you have a hilarious story about learning that your parents use cannabis? Message us on Instagram or Facebook @greeneugenemag!

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16 | GREENEUGENE.COM Do not operate a vehicle or machinery under the inuence of this drug. For use only by adults twenty-one years of age and older. Keep out of the reach of children.