patient profile
CHRISTINE LAGOS CANNABIS FOR CHRONIC PAIN RELIEF | FIBROMYALGIA | LYME DISEASE
What are your go-to Cannabis products and why? I see that you also make a lot of your own items at home! Can you share a little bit more about your favorite things to whip up? Most days to manage my pain, my go-tos are Synergy Skin Worx transdermal patches, lots of flower, concentrates for dabbing, and FECO oil at night. Empower soaking salts help on those really bad pain days to relax my sore muscles and joints. Some of my favorite things to make at home are FECO infused edibles. I also infuse coconut oil to make hemp CBD medicine for my six-pack of dogs, to help them with a variety of medical issues.
“RIGHT NOW WITH THE PANDEMIC, THINGS HAVE BEEN EVEN MORE CHALLENGING. THE MASKS PREVENT ANY KIND OF LIP READING AND THEY MUFFLE ALL VOICES.”
What did you have growing in your garden this year? Any particular reasons you picked those genetics? This year for
outdoors I had some ACDC for its wonderful CBD properties. We cannot keep enough CBD in our household! It’s a real challenge! I also had some Pinkleberry and Garlic Breath x Peanut Butter, which are strains that help manage the daily pain. Indoors I have some Purple Diesel and Gorilla Zkittlez growing to help manage my pain, stress and depression.
As someone that is hard-of-hearing/deaf, what obstacles have you met in the Cannabis community? How can storefronts and community members alike improve the experience and inclusivity of our deaf and hard-of-hearing neighbors? The biggest obstacle for me going into dispensaries is just being
able to hear people. The dispensaries usually have very loud music playing and lots of background noise (it sets the vibe, I get it). The budtenders don’t usually speak up and/or they have to turn their back to find the products on the wall, and often continue to talk while facing away from me. I’ve had some really negative experiences when certain budtenders have gotten frustrated with me when I told them I was hearing impaired. Right now with the pandemic, things have been even more challenging. The masks prevent any kind of lip reading and they muffle all voices. I would say patience is needed for those of us with disabilities. Having the budtenders speak up and face the client while talking helps me in most cases. Sometimes though, it’s even too loud for that or the masks make it impossible to hear. Patients that are deaf or hard-of-hearing could benefit from a text communication system to help bridge the communication gap between budtenders and patients. Thankfully, my go-to dispensary – Next Level Wellness – has some rad, long term budtenders that know me well and have helped accommodate my hearing impairment.
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How long have you been a part of Luvable Dog Rescue and can you share a little bit about your new rescue, FurEver Young? I
oregonlEAF.COM
Christine & Atticus >> By 2013, Christine “Ari” Lagos had received a double diagnosis
that tossed her into a recurring routine of pain. Fibromyalgia and Lyme disease left her in a mostly bed-ridden state, and on top of her physical afflictions, she was bearing the burden of PTSD, depression, anxiety and severe hearing loss. Christine had turned to Cannabis in the past to overcome addiction and acknowledges the OMMP program for changing her life. Once again, she looked to the plant for a “natural alternative to those nasty pharmaceuticals.” These days her pain may persist, but she is pushing through thanks to Cannabis and some seriously special K9s. Follow her @furever_young_seniors.
nov. 2020
have been a part of Luvable (@luvabledogrescue) for six years now! The first year there I was solely a volunteer. The following year, we were able to create a paid position for me as a Maternity Program Manager, where we were able to save a lot of moms and puppies over the last five years! It has been the most rewarding thing I have done in my life. Due to COVID, however, Luvable’s funding was impacted and we’re no longer able to rescue moms and puppies. My wife and I are in the process of becoming a nonprofit rescue called FurEver Young Senior Dog Rescue (@furever_young_seniors), where we will be focusing on seniors. Senior dogs are often discarded when they need us the most. We want to give them a safe and loving place to spend the rest of their days. Our goal would be to find them a forever home, and those that need sanctuary will stay with us.
How many dogs from the rescue have been lucky enough to end up in your home and can you share a little bit about your handsome co-model, Atticus? Olive, Atticus, Lumen and Lip were all
rescued by Luvable! In 2015, Atticus was found wandering the streets of LA with a chain embedded into his neck, extremely underweight and with severe leg injuries. He came in needing some extensive knee and ACL surgeries, and some behavioral work after living life on the chain. After months of healing and training, we developed a serious bond and I just couldn’t let him go. He’s my heart dog!
INTERVIEW & PORTRAIT by AMANDA DAY @TERPODACTYL_MEDIA