Archive for September, 2015

25 Sep

The Women In Cannabis Who Keep Me Lifted

Posted by TwiceBaked in Washington in My Cannabis Adventures. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

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Last night I attended MJBA Women’s Alliance ‘Power To Influence’ at the Sorrento Hotel in Seattle, WA. Surrounded by lady politicians, business owners, advocates, moms, and grandmas I had my spirits lifted and was reminded why I am sitting here right now plinking on a keyboard about cannabis.

When I joined my first women’s cannabis group, a couple of years ago, I didn’t have my face on my blog, any kind of social media around it, and was nervous to come out publicly as a cannabis blogger and user. It was then that I attended a party with Washington Bud Company’s, Shawn Denae, and expressed my concerns about having my face attached to marijuana. She gave me a look I’ll never forget and told me that they are all putting themselves way out there so if I mean what I’m doing, then go for it. The very next day I updated my blog to include a picture of myself and never looked back. I’m not sure she even knows she did that for me and I am forever grateful that she did.

But this is what I’m talking about. When I hang around these women in cannabis I am spoken to candidly while still feeling supported and I am reminded that I am not alone on this path. I have a whole tribe of powerful women in my camp who want to see me succeed and celebrate with me.

Knowing the women in cannabis that I do has definitely changed me. When I see how brave, ambitious, and hard-working they are I feel empowered to do more.

Also, one of the best things about spending time in the cannabis industry is that it has expanded my personal vision of what it means to be a female. Cannabis ladies are a special breed and by bringing together our diversities, we are the ones who will also be lifting the world into normalization after legalization.

15 Sep

Exercise, Scoliosis, And Cannabis: There Is No Space For Ego

Posted by TwiceBaked in Washington in Using Medicinal Cannabis, Weed For Wellness. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , .

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Remember the things you were able to physically do a decade ago? Can you still do them? This week I rediscovered an old photo album of a yoga photoshoot I did a decade ago. It was beautiful but it was also eye opening because I no longer lived in the same body that could do those poses.

The scoliosis I have been dealing with since age 10 told me back then that it would be wise to capture my spine movement I was able to physically do because one day I may not be able to do them. I never imagined that day would seemingly come so fast.

As I was looking at these old photos, I realized that I could now only do about half of the poses the way they looked in the pictures. Major ego check.

Then I started thinking about how different it was when I used cannabis way back then. I would smoke weed before I exercised to enhance my workout and be able to focus and feel on a whole new level.

Ego check number two…

These days I’m using cannabis not to enhance my workout but to actually be able to do the workout. When I get up early in the morning my back doesn’t want to workout and will protest by being sore and tight. I usually apply a cannabis topical to my torso, take some kind of CBD edible or tincture, and vaporize flower when I have it. Having to modify my intention with why and how I use cannabis is a reality check.

My morning workouts themselves have changed and are rarely high energy because my spine doesn’t want that. It wants gentle, low-key, and mellow first thing in the morning so I usually end up doing stretches and core work.

This whole experience of having to maintain a scoliotic spine is a humbling one. I have only so much control over it but it is still my job to care full-time for this little body while I live in it and be able to learn from the lessons that it provides me. Tuning in with cannabis and exercise allows me to keep the relationship with my body a positive one although that remains a major task.

If you are dealing with scoliosis or back pain I encourage you, as I do myself, to just keep moving. Respect the messages your body is sending you in its pain. Use cannabis with positive intention so you can live a higher quality of life and wellness. And then release your ego as soon as possible.

-TwiceBakedinWA

11 Sep

Raw Cannabis Juicing: You’ll Probably Have To Become A Grower

Posted by TwiceBaked in Washington in Using Medicinal Cannabis.

Weedgoat in the Raw Cannabis Juicing Garden

Weedgoat in the Raw Cannabis Juicing Garden

Raw cannabis juicing is a lifestyle discipline that I wholeheartedly embrace, but it requires a lot of effort and plants. For the past few years I have relied on the kindness of other cannabis growers to supply me with raw cannabis they were otherwise discarding or allow me into their gardens to defoliate their plants. This year, however I started tackling the idea that I can grow my own for juicing.

The very idea of growing my own is an intimidating one. I don’t have much privacy or property and I live in a rainforest that only gets sunshine in the summer. Plus my research on what is required for a raw juicing routine has suggested that I need to have 30 plants so as to be able to juice one a day. This is not legal or sustainable for me. So, I’m trying to see what kind of raw cannabis experience I can have with a few plants and if it would still be beneficial.

Last summer I grew a couple of plants but they did not produce much, were stricken with spider mites and powdery mildew,  and turned out to not something I wanted to eat. This year has been a different story.

My garden didn’t get any bigger, but my plants sure did. I started with healthy clones in nutrient rich, organic soil and they grew into trees that I have had to work to keep smaller than my fence so as to keep them as discreet as possible. I also planted mint, sage, and lemon balm around my garden as a potential bug barrier. So far any growing issues have been minimal and spider mites are non-existent. That in itself feel like a huge accomplishment.

I water them with filtered water only when they need it and have been feeding them things from my kitchen that I would feed myself to manage a healthy gut microbiome, nothing fancy or store bought. The other day, for example, I made a smoothie for my plants made of sauerkraut, kelp, mushrooms, and molasses- they loved it. I didn’t learn that recipe that from a book, I’m just experimenting with what feels right and learning how to read plants and developing my own growing style.

I’ve been picking leaves off of my plants once or twice a week, stripping the foliage way down and frequently feeling like I may have over plucked. Each time, though, the plants will bounce back and pump out even more leaves. This plant really does grow like a weed. While I am not getting enough matter off of them to be able to take multiple servings every single day, I have been able to get enough to at least blend with daily and that in itself feels beneficial albeit energetically different from taking multiple raw cannabis juice shots every day.

I feel somewhat accomplished to have gotten this far in my cannabis journey. I’m still not anywhere near where I would like to be as a grower, but having to attend to this plant has taught me tricks that I can also apply to my vegetable garden and is plugging me into the idea that I can grow a lot of my own food even in my small yard.

I’m highly grateful for all this plant is capable of and the cannabis growers in my life who have encouraged and empowered me to stand up and boldly grow my own. Can we just legalize already it so that anybody who wants to can grow and juice their own too?

-TwiceBakedinWA