Smoke is Toxic. Vapor is Not. Know the Difference.
I may be the only person in web3 who can share their experiences about how I stay healthy and enjoy cannabis 💚but it's really just not that simple.. because for starters.. I DO NOT EVEN SMOKE WEED!! 🚭
and yet I can honestly say, I would not be where I am today without this amazing plant 🌱 I can sense a deep urgency in my bones to finally write this article and tell the other side of my story that I have kept quiet for far too long 😤
so fuck it.. let’s get into it.. and happy 4/20!
(I've added some helpful links throughout 🔗 with a TL;DR at The End) 🧵👇🏼
1. The ONLY way I consume cannabis is through vapor, edibles, and topicals. 📢
As I already alluded to, I DO NOT combust cannabis or promote combustion of any kind. For one reason, my dear mother has suffered from COPD and emphysema, caused by smoking, both tobacco and cannabis, all of her life. Fuck Cancer and Fuck Smoking. 🖕🏼🖕🏼
In addition, I worked in Oncology (as a chaplain, not a doctor) with many cancer patients and I would never recommend anyone burning anything and inhaling the smoke. I have seen firsthand how terrible the suffering is, for both the patients and their families when people smoke. 😢
Smoke is Toxic. Carcinogens are released when cannabis is burned, albeit far less than tobacco, but still beyond my comfort level, as well as a significant amount of tar. For this reason, I only support the vaporization or ingestion of cannabis. 🌬️💯
I run 1-2 half marathons🏃♂️just about every week, and I could never do this without healthy lungs. For several years, I smoked weed traditionally, with pipes, joints, and bongs, and I would cough up black tar almost every morning. I was coughing up literal chunks of black tar similar to the gross black resin that accumulated in my weed pipe! I had essentially become a human bong! 💀
Thank God this went away a few months after I stopped combusting! When I made the switch from combustion to vapor, I was no longer releasing toxic chemicals like Benzene and other carcinogens into my body, and soon my smoker's cough dissipated, and I was able to begin living an active healthy lifestyle! 🙏
There are a few studies online, or you can google to learn more about the advantages of vaporizing cannabis over combustion, but I don't want this to be too technical. I can only really speak from my own experiences, and for me vaporization is essential.
I have used a product called the Volcano for over 10 years and highly recommend the investment. This gives you full control to ensure you never overheat and accidentally combust, aka burn your herb. ❌🔥
What about edibles and topicals? 😋 In my experience, ingesting cannabis has been helpful in treating severe body aches and pains, and I greatly appreciate the relief they offer without having to take pills. If I have severe back pain or I find my joints are particularly inflamed, I will have a couple of edibles. 🍪 I find this is much better for me than the Tylenol, aspirin, or NSAIDS, I used to depend on. 💪
There are many ways to make your cannabis oils and butter used for edibles and topicals, but following instructions carefully is the key to having a good outcome. Recipes can be a little tricky to dial in, and if you are not skilled in the kitchen, you may prefer to buy edibles and topicals already made from your dispensary to guarantee the best quality. 👨🍳
We use a product called Magic Butter to make oils and butter for our edibles and have had excellent success. There is an online community and several online recipes and tutorials: 🪄 🧈
2. Knowing Your Dosage and Having Balance. ⚖️
This is probably the biggest mistake people make with cannabis: Taking way too much. 🤮 For me at least, I think it was because I started using cannabis in prohibition! So the idea of balance was ridiculous. Since weed was so hard to get, it became the norm to smoke 💨 and smoke 💨 and smoke 💨 until the weed was gone!
Smoking weed like this was terrible for my body, and illegal at the time. To be honest, though, the weed was the least of my problems. It was the heavy drinking and constant prescription pill popping that was going to kill me. 😵
So on April 1, 2008, I went cold turkey and quit everything. Weed being illegal at the time, was cut out along with everything else, and I white knuckled my way through seven years as a dry drunk.. until I was over 200 pounds (50 pounds over-weight), with almost 7 figures of financial debt, a struggling family and marriage, and so many health problems developing, I was likely headed towards an early grave. ☠️
In 2015, after seeing several specialists and working with a rheumatologist, my primary care physician concluded I had an auto-immune disorder called Ankylosing Spondylitis (or AS) and agreed to prescribe cannabis for the severe pain I was having.
But I had to learn how much i required to accomplish what I was trying to achieve. I no longer wanted to get wasted and die laughing with my friends like when I was a kid.
More than anything, I was sober now for almost 7 years and I was not going to do anything that would fuck that up. My Sobriety is Everything to me. 🫶
Now I was using cannabis medicinally, to reduce inflammation ⬇️ increase healthy digestion ⬆️ and promote a strong diet (just to name a few) and I discovered quickly it doesn't take much quality cannabis to achieve this. Knowing your dosage is so important (just like any medicine right?) and having too much or consuming at the wrong time can make your life harder.
An example of this for me is public speaking. I love to do this as I am very energized by the experience, but I still get nervous if it is a large group of people I haven’t met. For me, cannabis is NOT helpful for the nerves in this case and will significantly contribute to my anxiety 😬
I tend to think of cannabis like coffee ☕️ as I find the dosage works very similar. If you are just needing a pick-me-up at about 2 pm, then a small cup of coffee or a shot of espresso does the trick, and you will still be in good shape for dinner. But if you over-indulge and drink several coffees with friends, then you won’t have an appetite for dinner, and likely be up struggling to sleep. 🛌
Cannabis is no different. You can learn how much (or how little) your body requires to feel good and dial in your dosage. This is even more apparent when you vaporize because you are not consuming the toxins that give you the urge to smoke and smoke. (Benzene is very addictive, and wears off quickly, requiring a smoker to keep smoking. No joke fam.. this shit is poison.☣️)
3. Not Advised For Mental Heath. ❌😡
This may come as a surprise but I do not recommend using cannabis as a way to deal with stress, anxiety, anger, or other emotions we tend to avoid. Having a healthy way to process these emotions is so important for your mental health, and using cannabis or anything to bypass these essential feelings will almost always lead to a mental breakdown. 😵💫
I worked as a chaplain in the psychiatric hospital and it was devastating to see so many people barely surviving, close to a mental break, trying to use cannabis and other drugs to quiet their painful emotions. 💔
I have to be very mindful not to use cannabis as a way to deal with my anger or frustration because I know it does not work. It will almost always only add to my frustration, as my thoughts will become far too abstract to honestly process any of the other emotions hidden or stuck under the anger. 😡/😢
💫 Here are 7 things that I do to feel better when I am anxious, afraid, sad, angry, and/or just plain stressed out: 👇🏼
drink lots of water 💦
eat a clean balanced diet 🍲
writing/journaling ✍️
walk outside daily 🏃♂️
get good sleep 😴
breathing exercise 🔢
meditation🧘♂️
🌟 If you are too active to sit for any length of time, then give Walking Meditation a try! This is my go-to and a guaranteed way to feel good! 😊 I made a video last fall about this practice that you can watch on YouTube here. 🎥
4. Always Keep It Legal. 🚨
It feels important to say a few things about legality as there are several of you who live in places where cannabis is illegal. I can only say, I understand the dilemma this puts you in, but I only support legal cannabis consumption.
I am very grateful for the many cannabis pioneers and early marijuana activists who helped to end the prohibition of cannabis where I live. Marijuana is legal to use, both medically since (1998) and recreationally since (2014), for adults 21 and up, when consumed in a private setting. 🏠
Lastly, having spent several years incarcerated as a youth, and knowing all too well how dehumanizing imprisonment feels, my freedom is very important to me, and obeying the law is one of my high priorities.
If I lived in a state that had different laws, I would obey the laws no question. I would probably also consider relocating to a state with better laws, but that's just me.
As promised.. TL;DR👇🏼
Do Not Smoke Weed. ❌🔥 Vape Cannabis Instead. 🌿🌬️
Knowing Your Dosage is Key 🔑 Having Balance is Essential.⚖️
Not Advised For Mental Heath. ❌😡 (but I listed 7 alternatives that will help u feel great!)🧘♂️ 😊
Always Keep It Legal. 🚨 Your Freedom is Everything 🙌🏽 Cannabis only makes sense if you live where it is legal and you are 21 and up. 💯
If you read this, plzz like 👍 and follow… if u resonate with anything I said please share your thoughts in the comments… I would love to know what you think. 🧠 and every repost is an absolute gift 🎁
Thank u for your love and support💚
Chris Joy @chri5j0y
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