Welcome to the show everyone. This week's show is brought to you by the 2023 Connoisseurs
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with the lovely Kirk Kirkland. So welcome back to the show everyone. I'm here with Kirk
Kirkland of Nuve. She's been highly recommended from two of my best friends here in Denver.
That is, oh shoot, I forgot their name, Dan and Kendall. Both of them recommended I reach
out to her and talk to her. She had worked in education and we both have worked or looked
around and how we can fit and find our little niches into the cannabis community and found
out that owning a dispensary was not the one for us. And then we looked into other avenues
and found out that education was where we wanted to go and to educate people on the
uses of cannabis, how they can use it, especially new users into the cannabis realm. And unlike
most of the people I've interviewed already, Kirk here, she is new to cannabis with five
years experience or so I think. Most of the people I've interviewed started younger than
that, but not all of them. And first question I have for you, Kirk, what actually got you
into consuming cannabis when you started consuming cannabis?
Sure, sure, sure. So full transparency, like I tried weed for the first time at 18. So
being away for college, yada yada yada, boo off the bam. But it didn't, it didn't do anything
for me. Back then it was just kind of like, oh, this is a social activity. But a lot of
my friends who got high all the time also didn't graduate. So I was just kind of like,
focused on other things at that time. And then, you know, moving from there kind of
went into my career. And I didn't start to revisit, you know, consuming cannabis until
I actually became a special education teacher. And for me, it was a lot around managing my
stress levels and being able to decompress from the job after dealing with teenagers
all day. So my first foray into flower was really looking at something I could like hit
before I got into work and then hit right when I got into the car on my way home. So
really I bought a lot of shorts when I first started.
Vape pens probably those are the easiest to conceal.
But they actually started giving me a headache. So I actually just kept with the shorts. And
over time, I just prefer flower over everything.
Same here. Most consumers do.
Yeah, and like concentrates and things like that. My body can't handle. I have a few funny
stories. But for me, it was really around de-stressing. But then when the pandemic hit,
it became more of a both a decompression as well as a way to kind of like make sure my
mental health was decent or even killed just with all of the stressors with the school.
The kids didn't stress me out. But I was definitely in a space where I was kind of over-medicating
because it's like I'm at home, can't go anywhere. The kids don't show up to school. The administrators
are asking us to do things. And it's like, well, if I don't have students, what are we
trying to do here? And the mental gymnastics just kind of took me out. And I would rather
just be zoned out than having to deal with all of that stuff.
Yeah. So I taught in public schools for five years. I was two and a half years as a full-time
substitute. And then I was a substitute from kindergarten to 12th grade and maybe a whole
county. There was 20 different schools I would go to. So I got to see a lot of different
students. And I know the students sometimes could be a pain, but it is the hierarchy above
you and the regulations and all the BS you got to go through goes down and resonates
through the kids too. And then they're uneasy. So it's a whole, it's harder on the teachers
from that aspect than it is dealing with the kids. I understand.
Most definitely. Honestly, it was the kids that brought me joy. And I found it kind of
funny because my students did come to school high and there were times I had to spray them
down like, hey, we can't smell like this in class. Because I worked for a charter school.
And so a part of our like the merit system, students would be penalized for coming in
smelling like cannabis. That being said, when students would be like, hey, Ms. Kirkland,
have you ever smoked weed? And I'm just looking like, yes, in my head and my internal monologue.
But it's just like, you know, there was a time, why do you smell like weed every day?
And kind of redirected back to the student. But I always found so much entertainment that
they didn't think I was a consumer, but the entire time I was just like them.
Yeah, I could tell a couple of the kids that came in were pretty blitzed. I never really
said anything to them. Some of the kids knew that I smoked. I had a couple of kids ask
when I was teaching, have you ever smoked? And I just said, I went to college and not
left it at that. And they laughed. So, yeah, it's, it's a big thing. A lot of the kids
or a lot of the people that I've interviewed in the cannabis community started at a young
age as myself, 16 or 17. It wasn't on a daily basis like now, but it really helped with
ADHD. And I remember the first time that I smoked a good indica or a relaxing herb and
it just, my brain slowed down and I was like, wow, is this the way that other people think?
Because until then, my brain was going a hundred miles per hour and it was basically reaction.
I never really thought decisions over. It was just a really quick response, spontaneous
reaction. And after smoking, it was like, whoa, all right, let me stop and think. I
have other options here and it slowed me down. So, uh, and it helped me to focus and make
connections when I'm learning in college too. For sure. And I saw that really like around
a lot of my seniors, um, especially in that transitionary period, um, kind of going from
high school to college. And I remember asking them in a class, like, why do you, why do
you always consume like right before class? And I'm like, you know what, the way our system
worked at that school, to your point, they felt that they could be more present in the
classroom when they had, you know, smoked beforehand. And I was like, huh, that makes
so much sense because by the time I see you in the afternoon, you're kind of like all
over the place. That's the way I am. Yeah. It was just like, okay. I think it helps to
keep right in the moment instead of thinking about what you're going to do after class
or what happened before class. You're more in the moment and you're attentive and relaxed.
At least I was. Yes. Um, and then, you know, sometimes after bathroom trips, you know,
they would be like getting a little antsy right before and then they'd be like, Mr,
can I go use the restroom and be like, yeah, sure. Go ahead. Next time they come back,
you know, just even killed. And I'm like squinting and it's like, I know what you know that I
know, but you know, as long as the work gets done.
So it's different in Chicago, right? You're in Chicago, correct? It just legalized correctly
or recreational also in Illinois. Okay. Back in 2020, it was official, official. So in
a big city, it's usually a little bit different than it is in the country. I'm from the country
and it was kind of hard to find her. It's a pretty easy to find her in the city there
before legalization. Oh yeah. Um, the kids won't have a problem finding it. So no, not
at all. I actually worked in the Belmont, Craig and neighborhood and it's an economically
disenfranchised area, predominantly black and brown, um, not super high crime, but it's
a familiar territory in those spaces. And so for a lot of my students, you know, living
in those communities, um, cannabis was their means of mental health, um, means of their
own therapy, many of which they cannot afford it, um, to be able to kind of cope with all
of those different challenges of living and going to school in those communities. Um,
that being said, you know, they were my most resilient students. Um, and some of those
that were actually like the daily smokers, cause I actually didn't have some daily smokers,
you know, ended up graduating, going to you by Illinois state and things like that. So
it, it's not as bleak as administrators paint the picture. Um, and then for parents, if
they're willing and open to having the conversation, you know, their children will actually talk
to them about it because what I'm finding is that a lot of these students aren't consuming
cannabis because it's cool or peer pressure or anything like that. They're consuming it
for its medicinal properties in order to be able to sustain and be effective students,
um, given all of these different conditions, PTSD, all of that. Um, that being said, you
know, as we evolve the industry, I definitely want to have more conversations around where
the intersections lie between, you know, mental health support, um, with the consumption of
cannabis because it does to an extent, you know, affect brain development. Um, but furthermore,
you know, speaks to the system and all the shit the system doesn't have and how we need
to be better stewards of our children to ensure that, you know, they're going to make it out
here because we're all getting a little rough.
So I got to go back to the very first thing you said here. You had some friends that consumed
when you were younger and they didn't graduate. If they would have had the same teacher like
you that was accepting it, but not turning them in. So they got demerits and would you
think they could have graduated and going on to college too? Or was it the system that
they had to hide from that caused them to drop out?
You know, it's a very multi-layered issue. Um, however, in my experience, giving students,
especially like our high schoolers, those that are about to like go out into this world,
you know, the autonomy to just be people has, at least in my opinion, he has supported them
in making those next steps towards college. You know, if it's trade, what have you, they
felt more supported in staying within school to make those, those next steps. Um, that
being said, even schools themselves are part of the system and actually probably cause
issues that the students are smoking about anyway, if I'm being completely honest, um,
because even as a teacher, it, it got to a certain point where I was negotiating how
much am I going to stress these kids out, especially when it came to testing and things
like that. And so yes, have conversations with the students, but then we need to have
the conversations with the ministers. Not that we haven't been, cause I feel teachers
have been on that, on that soapbox for decades. You know, it's not the kids fault, but we
place a lot of that blame on them. So I would like to see more work around even at the teacher
level, you know, becoming more aware around why students are turning to cannabis as part
of their wellness routine at such an early age. Um, what factors, um, as a teacher, are
you contributing to their consumption and things like that? Because again, it's a multi-layered
issue and I think everybody has some accountability to that. Um, what I think I would like to
see moving forward is what we do at an individual level, like really just hold the mirror up
to ourselves to see how we can like unlearn a lot of the bullshit propaganda that the
war on the war on drugs propagated. But yeah, I have hope if people are curious enough about
cannabis and curious, you know, enough about understanding cannabis from a wellness point
of view, not just getting high. So one of the biggest things here or nationally, whenever
it comes to legalization of cannabis, you always hear where the kids are going to get
access to it. They're going to have more chance of becoming addicted as kids. And you know,
it's always the children consumption or underage consumption is going to rise. But here in
Colorado, after so many years of legalization, they've done studies that showed that underage
consumption has not risen up. And I think it is basically, like you said, people that
have maybe issues that it helps them to cope with. And the other ones that don't have these
issues, they're not going to seek it out. But as a kid, I know five or six of my best
friends, I was labeled a troubled kid at a young age. So a lot of parents didn't want
their kids to hang out with me when I was in junior high or high school. So I ended
up hanging out with a lot of kids that were in worse trouble than me or worse than me.
And a lot of them smoked herb, but they didn't really have much access to it. So alcohol
was something they relied on. Or even I would I grew up with some of my best friends were
smoking crack cocaine in a bit in junior high and high school. Now, I would rather see kids
have access to some herb than crack cocaine and alcohol at an age to deal with some of
these issues. And I think the fact that it was illegal, and some of my friends got in
trouble and locked up for it, kept them from graduating, which they could have graduated
and they were smarter than 90% of the kids in this in the school. So that fact that the
underage usage is going to rise is pretty, pretty much nullified now. And it's my thought
that people that have uneasiness at anxiety ADHD at the age of 16, 17 can benefit from
consumption. Excuse me. But I'm not saying they all need to go out and smoke. For sure.
There's other ways of consuming. There can be edibles. And I'm not saying THC, it could
be CBD dominant, you know, maybe a five to one CBD dominant. Give them on a regimen and
the kids that are uneasy, they would be willing to take something like that. And to sit down
and like you said, talk to them like they're human beings like they're adults. I'm from
a country ghetto. It's pretty, pretty bad. There's not a lot of money around a lot of
broken homes. A lot of kids in the system. So there's a lot of factors like you said
that go into what these kids need and what is causing their anxieties. For sure. And
education is so, so important around that because I can guarantee you if a kid knew
about CBD, they might be like, all right, let me do the CBD as opposed to the THC. But
because you know, the THC variety, the street weed is more available, you know, that is
going to be the go to. Additionally, you know, they're starting to put like put shit either
intentionally or unintentionally in a lot of the street products these days. And so
to an extent, we, anybody not not just the teens, but anybody should be consuming products
that are good for us and won't get us OD'd and things like that because cannabis does
not cause an overdose. But other things, LACE among it will. And if the students don't know
about what else is out there, my concern is now safety, harm reduction, because I can
guarantee you students aren't really kind of scoping out, you know, what goes in my
weed like that. You know, they're just passing around a pen, passing around whatever, you
know, in between bathroom breaks during lunchtime. And so I look at this from like a holistic
perspective in that, yes, let's teach them about CBD, let's teach them about dosage and
things like that. But then also, let's talk about what your your behaviors are now and
how we can be more conscious about what we're consuming, if that's what we're going to do.
Because one thing I'm just like, look, I'm not going to debate you as to whether or not
you should be smoking weed at your age. I think that's a stupid debate. And I think
that's what a lot of parents kind of get into, like you shouldn't be smoking. Because kids
are going to figure out how to do whatever. So I've learned. But that being said, you
know, teaching them how to make informed decisions is where I think a lot of the work needs to
go. That way, we're not kind of pigeon holding these notions that you know, the kids are
just getting high to be getting high. Because nine times out of 10 from the students I asked,
that was never the case, they weren't getting high just to be getting high, they were getting
high to manage their PTSD, to focus during class. Some did, you know, the one did get
high to get high. To be able to be present in certain situations where students were
moving about because they had social anxiety, like these were real issues that students
told me because I asked. And I wonder, you know, how many people actually just asked
the kid, you know, most of the time it's just like, I caught you smoking. And you find,
you know, when you just take a moment to ask, it's like, huh, I can't even really fault
you for smoking. It's just like, that makes total sense. But we just got to have a more
conscious understanding. And as well as other tools we can use so that we're not like over
consuming and over medicating. Because I did see some of that as well.
Yeah, there's got to be more education on how to consume on a proper level for these
reasons that we are discussing. And it's not an easy answer. And cannabis affects everybody
differently. So trying to give kids a dosage that's the same all the time for every kid
just doesn't work. And I don't know about you, but I worked in the public schools. And
I worked in the grade school, even middle school, you would have a list of the students,
you got to have a list as a teacher of what medication the kids are taking. And from my
perspective, it was like 50% of the students were on some kind of medication. And you think
about that 50% of the students on medication, need medication, the other 50% have to deal
with them every day. They're side by side every day, that anxiety passes from one person
to the next, even if it's not. If they're not under the same situations, when I'm uneasy,
your kid and my daughter would feel it, she would get uneasy, you know, like people sense
this and it passes through the whole school. Once you get to high school, those numbers
started to drop because I don't think some of those kids actually made it to high school,
they either dropped out or had other issues and just never made it to high school, which
is a big problem. Like I said, I'm not telling ever thinking all these kids should be out
there smoking, but even on a preschool level, some of these kids could use this medication.
And mostly CBD, there's other cannabinoids coming out like CBG that could be helpful
also. But I think the whole argument of more access to children is going to raise the underage
consumption level. It's BS and kids that actually have these disorders or anxieties are going
to seek it out no matter what. And if they don't have access, they're going to seek out
something else, which that right there is actually could turn cannabis into a gateway
because if they know cannabis is there and it helps them and they can't have access to
it and they got to hide it, they're going to have easier access to alcohol or other
drugs, pills, which there's lots of lots and lots of pills. I'm from West Virginia. It
is the probably the opium capital of the world with overdoses and consumption levels and
pills are off the chart. And that is one of the big reasons there are so many broken homes
and children in the system is because of the pills. And a lot of that could have been avoided
if they were smoking cannabis, their parents were consuming cannabis. For sure. And a lot
of that goes into drug testing and they have to hide it. They can't smoke cannabis because
of drug testing and then they'll use opiates or pills, which get out of their system in
two days. And that's they get addicted to pills.
Yeah, I really think parents are the key here in this conversation because like the challenges,
all the research is geared towards villainizing herb and whatever I forget is executive order
Biden's executive order that came out last year, you know, to do this research. The research
isn't getting here fast enough to disprove or provide, you know, additional nuance to
the studies that are out there right now. So at least in my experience, you know, talking
with parents, you know, not having that sticky data has been kind of the challenge with trying
to kind of help them unlearn around what actually happened during that era and what the industry
is now and what people are doing to not only just educate people, but ensure that people
are correctly informed. Like there's just a lot of misinformation going on. And for me,
like when kind of working with parents around that misinformation, what I found helpful
has really just been looking at their own experience, kind of juxtapose for what they
want for their children and giving them a moment to kind of like unpack how we got here.
Because most of the parents are just flat out in denial like my child could never. And
it's just like, oh, really? I beg to differ because they do. And so even with my own business
at Nuve and Canna Learn, like parents hold a special place in my heart because I know
they want what's best for their children and they want to keep them safe. But sometimes
a lot of their fear kind of overrides their ability to unpack all of the things that are
contributing to their child wanting to consume in the first place. So I believe it starts
with the parents. I hope the research comes out sometimes eventually, but in the mean
and between time, you know, I think it's up to those of us who have been educators, those
who have had both foot in the classroom as well as, you know, conscious consumers ourselves
to be able to facilitate these conversations so that we can let parents know what is available
so that they can make the best decisions for their kids.
Yeah, I find that a big topic, especially being where I'm from. A lot of my friends
have been prescribed medication and they've gone and I've talked to their children because
I had their children in the class and we would talk about their parents medication and the
medication they are being prescribed or offered and how it makes them feel. And I have smoked
with the parents. I have never smoked with the kids, but the kids have told me when they
consume that they feel much more in control and not as sedated and not as on edge is the
word I'm thinking of. And education is going to be key. So you started up Nouve, correct?
Yes. Could you explain to me and to the listeners here what Nouve is and where you're going
with Nouve?
Sure. So Nouve is a digital media platform that provides cannabis content and education
using immersive tech. And our focus is actually on bringing the conversation beyond consumption
to help normalize cannabis across the nation. And so for us, because we realize that there
is a lot of information out there around the science, physical components of cannabis in
terms of like cannabinoids and all of that nomenclature, if you will. I wanted to speak
more about the intersections of cannabis and what that means for society and how we need
to kind of change not only our outlook, but our approach and how we are bringing this
plant and industry as a whole into our lives. Because the reality is like, it's going to
be legalized. It's just a matter of when. And so in the time that we get to federal
legalization, we should be having conversations about what it means to talk to children about
consuming cannabis products. What does it mean to travel internationally with cannabis?
And you are a regular consumer or someone that uses everyday pretty much.
Habitual user.
Yes, habitual. There was the word. Thank you. Where's the conversations around cannabis
and spirituality? And I know these things are going on, but they're in like very little
pockets here and there. And so the idea is we put it out there. We'll catch in some other
people that are like minded, like you little farmer and like, Hey, let's share stories
with one another so that we can add to the different perspectives around the plant.
Yeah, that's why I started the podcast. So people in the industry can tell their story
why they like it, how it helps them. And then other listeners new to cannabis can listen
and like, Hey, yeah, I kind of felt the same way. Maybe that'll help me and give it a shot
or just know how to ease into it and not jump into it and eat a hundred milligram edible
and feel bad. I'll never do it again. And just let them know you don't have to keep
up. It's not like a drinking game where you got to drink with everybody. You take one
puff, I'll take three and we feel the same. We're good. And I'm not going to judge you
if you can't consume as much as me. It's the adults that have the pressure, not the kids.
I think that we both, uh, I did, I worked in the industry and I noticed that medical
is kind of getting lost and they're not as much education. And with these recreational
companies, especially the big ones, it's all numbers. They don't care about what the consumers
getting it's long as they're making their money. It's, it comes down to a money thing
when it comes to rec. So a lot of the education getting lost, the bud tenders here aren't
educated. I don't know about other States. I know some States, especially where it's
only medical that they got to be educated on certain aspects, but here it's hard for
the dispensaries to actually keep bud tenders because a lot of people come in and think
they're just going to get high all day and sell weed. And it's, it's pretty stressful
being behind the counter and you got people coming in, telling your life stories. Like
you're a, I'm not a psychiatrist. I'm not a doctor, but people will come in and tell
you their stories, how, and I've tried my best for three years to give them what I think
would help them from what's, what's available. But, uh, nine times out of 10, that's not
what you're going to find out or dispensary. So I agree. This needs to be a subject talked
about even in schools. I have the parents come in sometime even, uh, I would definitely
do a PTA meeting. And, uh, yeah, it's a, it's a very tough subject, especially with the
laws out there. And when it does become legalized, how is it going to be advertised? It's going
to be advertised like alcohol. Is it going to be on TV commercials all over the place?
That's one reason, uh, I don't know. I think alcohol is just become too available, too
much advertising for it. They took smoking cigarettes and stuff off of, uh, off of TV
and ads a long time ago, but alcohol is still there. And, uh, how is, how's cannabis going
to be? I know CBD has been accepted by major league baseball. Um, but I don't know. NBA
has never really had a problem with cannabis. NFL lobbies against cannabis. They hate it.
So they put millions into making it illegal or keeping it illegal. Um, so how is it going
to be advertised? That's another thing. You know, I think, I think they'll probably somehow
expand in the social media sphere, digital media. Um, I wouldn't be surprised to see
like more niche sort of like your weed maps, leaf leaves popping up and things like that.
Um, I do kind of hear rumors that cannabis is, is the industry is trying to kind of be
like the alcohol industry and you can kind of see some things like, that's interesting
where you see some of the major alcohol companies kind of like sniffing around cannabis and
vice versa. So it's like, I could see it going there too, when, you know, full legalization
hits, but, um, you know, cannabis, I would say in the mean and between time is going
to continue to struggle. So I don't think it's, it's as prolific of an issue right now,
but when it does become federal, I think that's, that's probably when it's like, Ooh, do we
have too much cannabis content out there for people? Um, and to that extent, it's just
like, Oh, well now that I think about it, here's me. I'm like, is that, is that bad
though? Like to an extent, we don't want it like advertised as a commodity in that sort
of sense. Like, Hey, pop up, buy some weed. Like, you don't want that. But if there's
a way education is tied to it, I'd be like, I don't mind this as much. Um, because isn't
that kind of what they did with the war on drugs? Like you had all of this propaganda
around cannabis, wasn't old girl, like smashing pans in a kitchen or something like that.
Every for bad. Yeah. And they did all of that without ever showing the plant. I feel we
could do something similar to that, but like reverse, um, and it not be as harmful as like
the alcohol and tobacco industries, um, kind of perpetuated. Yeah. So, uh, the program
people's beliefs for sure, if they have already seen that and read, just educate the ones
that aren't old enough to know that past villainization of the cannabis plant. So yeah. Um, I'm afraid
that the recreational part of it and the money behind it is going to overshadow the medical
part. And a lot of that's going to get, get, uh, lost. So I'm in the same boat as you.
We need to educate people. Um, I'd love to work with you somehow. I don't know how we
could work it out, but we will in the future. For sure. For sure. Where can, um, people
find more information about yourself in new bay? Uh, do you, you do have a YouTube site?
I watched a couple of your videos. I liked the one you were talking about where it actually
helps with your foot injury. You had surgery on your foot. You like to run. That's one
thing. Uh, a lot of people think cannabis run or cannabis consumers are lazy. You're
another example that you, you helps you to get out and run more marathons, even with
a hurt foot you had, could you explain that and how it helps you to run your marathons?
Sure. Sure. Um, most recently I actually completed a sprint triathlon and years ago, funny story
was with a friend. We're trying to catch a bus. I didn't realize there was a stair.
So I ended up running and like curling my foot under and breaking my ankle, made the
bus though, but flash forward some years, you know, ended up getting surgery and now
I have a metal plate in it. Um, for the most part it's okay, but with too much activity,
it can start, you know, being eh, for lack of a better word. Um, that being said, I wanted
to challenge myself to run a sprint triathlon, which includes biking, running and swimming.
Um, and I've never done anything of that magnitude. I don't even consider myself an athlete. I
just exercise from time to time. Um, but I found that during training, especially during
the running component that I could keep, I could keep going in terms of endurance, but
my ankle, because it had the plate and wasn't used to that much working out was starting
to affect my performance. And so I actually started, um, getting topicals, um, and using
that to relieve the pain. And I found that there was no pain when I was running. And
so it's cold now, but when I start back running again, because again, I was never a runner
because of my ankle and I was like, Oh, I actually enjoy running now. Um, I will continue
that using the topicals and things like that to manage the pain so I can make it through
the workout. Um, so yeah, but I also like consume and run to like, I don't have any
issues with breathing or anything like that. If, if anything, and this is just me, I feel
that being a cannabis smoker has actually increased my capacity a little bit, a lot
of it. Uh, second that too. Okay. But if you do get some contaminated herbs, they can really
damage your lungs. Yeah. Be careful if you get some moldy stuff and, uh, or I'm not sure
what it was sprayed with something I could tell it'll start burning. I shouldn't stop
immediately and go find something else. Yeah. Just don't smoke. If you can't find anything
else, it's not worth the damage to your lungs. It could really make you sick. But, uh, yeah,
my capacity, I think it's bigger too. I could take big bong hits and I go to the doctor
and like, man, you got a really big lung capacity. It's like, thank you. It's practice. I built
it up. Um, you also said earlier, you had started to over consume a little bit. How,
what were some of the signs to yourself? You're, I think people become more in tune with their
body. If they started smoking cannabis, they, they could tell what their body needs and
they can, they just are more in touch with themselves. And what were some of the signs
that you felt you were over consuming when the pandemic hit and you were mentioning that
you, you were having issues with work and school and home and what were the signs? Were
you getting too lazy? Were you not washing the dishes and not keeping up on the house
chores? Um, it was definitely the mental activity. Like I was still able to like function, but
I'm a creative, I'm over here, you know, throwing ideas left and right. And I was getting nothing.
I was like a robot. I was just like, let me teach something. It was physics, but it's
just like, here's the lesson, do the work, don't do the work. We'll figure out the grade.
Um, and then like at the time that's when new way was like just starting. I wasn't putting
all of the extra time that I would have had, um, into that. And that's how I knew I was
like, you're just kind of like not doing anything mentally whatsoever. Maybe you should ease
back on smoking a little bit. Um, and I did and didn't, um, mainly what I did was kind
of like restructure my time around consuming. Um, and I also started dosing. So now I don't
start smoking until 11 o'clock in my day because my highest brain activity is between like
four AM and like 10 AM. So I commit myself like, I am not going to smoke during this,
this timeframe because this is where I know I can be the most productive. Once I get there,
I get my one hitter. I get about one or two, as you see, I've been, you know, smoking this
whole time here during my one to two and I'm good up until it's time for me to go to sleep.
I also have insomnia. So then I'll smoke my Indica right before I go to sleep and then
I'm good until the next day. So for me, it was more so around one managing, um, the time
of day, not necessarily the amount I consume. Cause I only smoke about maybe two grams a
day. If that, if that,
yeah, just knowing your body rhythm, right? Exactly. Just when you're at your peak and
you're at your bottom and exactly trying to control the parts that you can't control.
Like the insomnia, um, you know, manage the day correctly. I'm, I'm an Indica girl all
day, all day, all day. I can't smoke Indica all day though. So I allow myself either like
crescendo is my favorite over here. Um, it's a sativa leaning hybrid, but crescendo I can
do enough where it won't give me a headache, but I'm still having that like even killed
because I found those kind of give me a headache to the sativas do a little bit. Um, and then
I'm okay. And then after my work day is done, it's in the good time and we are couch sitting
together until it's time to go to sleep. Yeah.
I've talked to other people that it's, it's easier to have a routine when you're more
knowledgeable about it and you can go into it. When I was younger, we started smoking.
It was just like, it makes you feel good more of the better, but it's not more of the better.
It's cutting back a little bit and controlling it. It max maximizes the effects. I'm not
going to lie. I probably over-consume it just because I've been consuming so long that I
need a little bit more consumption because of the, the tolerance. And that's one good
thing I like about cannabis too. And you liked your strain, crescendo. I liked that one.
That's a good one. We sold here and the spring tree I worked out for a while, um, that cannabis
not compared to pharmaceuticals, pharmaceuticals, they're always the same dosage, the same medicine.
And you get even when you're taking those on years on years and years, it, you have
to have a tolerance buildup and they, they probably don't work. If you have cannabis,
each strain is a little bit different. If you're smoking crescendo all the time, you
might get a little tolerance to it, but you can switch over to something else that smells
very similar, but has just a little bit different kind of an oil structure profile and different
terpene profile. And it hits you just a little bit different, but almost the same. So it's
kind of like, you don't have to take a tolerance break as much because you can switch to another
strain. It's kind of similar and then go back to the crescendo after a couple of weeks and
it'll hit you like it did in the beginning. At least that's my theory.
I like that theory because I actually recently learned what a tolerance break was from my
intern and she's like, do you ever take tolerance? I was like, what's that? I'm like, no, I just
switch it up.
Yeah, that's, that's with me growing. I grow different strains. I don't, a lot of growers
will grow a lot of the same strain, but I like to grow different strains for different
times of the day, different purposes. Like right now I have a hybrid, which kind of relaxing,
but still sociable. After this, I'll probably end up taking a nap and I'll smoke a little
something heavier to knock me out for a little bit. And then I'll get up later on. And if
I need to smoke a little sativa, something not as heavy if I need, or I usually probably
don't smoke too much after my nap until nighttime when it's time to go to bed. And then I'll
smoke something heavier to slow my brain down.
Yeah.
I like the Indica because it slows your brain down. Yes. And it helps you to control your
thoughts a little bit more or just complete blackout. That's what I don't have. I don't
have anything. Yeah. I was like complete blackout. Like we've worked enough for today.
Yeah. And if you control it, it can work just like you said, like clockwork, you hit it
at the right time. Your body routine gets it. It can help you knock out really good.
And you'll have to come out here to Colorado sometime. Absolutely. Check it out. Chicago,
what is what is happening in Chicago at the moment? What are the the weed prices? What
are the the mentality from your viewpoint?
Oh, the Chicago market. We are over it. The weed prices too damn high. You know, Illinois
came out here talking big shit like we're going to do it better than everybody else.
And Illinois has become in these last three years the poster child for not how to roll
out a candidate's program. You know, people are paying a hundred hundred and twenty for
eight. Like, wow. Yeah. Is that the taxes on it? What's the tax? That is I think in
total is about 35 percent. Yeah, it's a price. Yeah, it is about 30 percent here. Yeah.
But prices aren't that high. I think it's just because supply and demand. There's more
more licenses for grows out here than there are there. I'm not sure how hard is it to
get a license in Chicago to grow or to own a dispensary? It's been a very difficult process.
So I mentioned our program rolled out in like 2020. So like we were supposed to have licenses
in 2020. They just issued the licenses, the conditional licenses last year in terms of
those. And these were mostly the social equity licenses. And to date, only three, three have
opened, I believe, of like 180 or so that were issued. Yeah. Where most of those in
the city of Chicago or is that the whole city of Chicago and some in the lower part of the
state, but most in the Chicagoland area. What is the biggest hurdle for these licenses to
become reality? And messos like I'm a keep it a book like the corporations don't want
the small businesses to have anything. It's fucked up, but it's a reality. I accept it,
which is why I had pivoted early because I also put in for a dispensing license. I saw
from the beginning it was going to be some bullshit. And I think that's how it's going
to continue despite or in spite of our efforts around speaking with our political leaders
and things like that. Yeah. Money's just going to take over. Corporations got it right now.
And it's just kind of like we're kind of at their behest, if you will. But then I'm kind
of like, yo, just get like California and just do what you got to do. Grow for yourself.
Like, that's what I want to educate people that tell them cannabis is not going to be
able to roll out like alcohol just because you can't, you can't brew up the plant and
you can't keep the recipe the same all the time. It's something that it's nature. It's
hard to control, but anybody can do it. But when you try to do it on large, large scales,
it suffers. Like what is the quality quality of the herb these people are paying a hundred
dollars an eighth for? Is it worth a hundred dollars an eighth or is it is it nugs or what
they call it? It really is all many. Like I haven't seen a Nug since like 2020.
Like summer 2020, like an actual lie. I haven't seen one. Everything is basically nugs now.
This is like it's highly processed, not touched by hand machine rolled, highly processed.
That's you lose a lot of quality and you lose medicinal qualities too. So that's the one
thing I want to educate is people where you're at, reach out to your governor, reach out
to your senators, tell them, Hey, I want to be able to grow my own medicine for sure.
Or have a caregiver system because these big, big companies, they're going to vote against
caregivership and home growing Joe. They can corner the market and keep continue to sell
their mids for large amounts of money. And then they wonder why the black, the black
market is an issue. Well, they're going to keep making a black
market. That's exactly what it is. There's got to be a fine line where the black market
stops and the consumer goes to the store, but that's not going to happen with big corporate
entities. The only way it's going to happen is with small mom and pop places, maybe even
farmers markets, being able to sell it at a farmer's market. It's got to be spread out
for sure. And the people that really love the plant,
that's where you're going to find the best medicine. Not for people who had just a lot
of money, want to invest it, have nothing to do, have no, no education about cannabis
at all. Probably don't even consume.
Well, they do. They just don't. They think that money can produce anything and it is
true. And it's, it's hard to do that. And I'm afraid that's what's going to happen with
the market with recreational, because I've already seen it starting miseducation, high
THC levels, branding, commercializing ads, stone, famous rappers, sticker name on it,
throwing Willie Nelson's name on it. I love Willie Nelson and I love his weed, but that's
a marketing tool that people here are using.
Interesting. I wonder who they use that for because I'm like, do people like, and it might
be a generational thing, like full disclosure, 35, 80s baby all the way, I grew up in the
90s. I'm like, none of these people, like I know who they are, but they're not like
relevant to me. And it's like, there's kind of like this disconnect because isn't Gen
Z like the biggest demographic of consumer at this point? I could be, it could be Gen
Z and or millennials. But even so, like, I'm a millennial, like, like they're great, but
they're not like my, my celebrity, if you will, you know, Beyonce is, it would be my,
my celebrity.
Wiz Khalifa is would be one more close to your age, wouldn't it?
Yeah, Wiz Khalifa, but nobody checks for Wiz Khalifa. It's just kind of like, like, he's
great again. I enjoy his music, but they're not the people encouraging me to go consume.
They're not the people encouraging me to like go buy their brand. And so I hope at a certain
point, like the industry just stops relying on these celebrities who are disconnected
from us anyway, and kind of like bring the perspectives of the people into like some
of this branding and marketing, because it's like, they have money, I don't care. And they
don't care about me.
I think they should focus, we should focus more on the different effects of different
types of cannabis. A lot of this endicam sativa has been taken away. A lot of people don't
want to focus on endicam sativa or even use those terms anymore. And it's more on the
revitalizing or the type of sleep. They'll label it as a sleepy weed or purple pillow,
something that you know is going to help you relax and go to sleep or energizing weed.
They have energizing weed. Some of the companies out here put energize on it because it's a
sativa, some kind of a nice daytime that helps people get through the workday. So yeah, that's
what I think the commercials or ads or whatever, how we should start to show it to people with
different types of cannabis, CBD, even it's completely different. There's so many new
things coming out there that a lot of the consumers that have been consuming for 20
or 30 years don't know this information because it's so much information coming out at one
time. And it affects everybody differently. So it's even you got to throw in that factor.
There's different types of people. There's lazy people. There's people that have ADHD
or are already super active and gear towards these certain types of consumers that consume
for different reasons. For sure. And I like one thing that you said, one of your things,
it does help with your metabolism. So another thing you think pot smokers, oh, couch potatoes
eat a lot of chips. That's the thing you would see back in the eighties or nineties when
they had to reformat and so your brain on drugs. And that's not true. It does really
help affect your metabolism. And after the very first initial munchies, I'm sure you
got the munchies a little bit, but after so a little bit of time, you lose that that munchie
feeling and it helps control your appetite actually in your in your food consumption
in my perspective. Yeah, like I've been experiencing that as well. Like full disclosure after I
did my little triathlon, I have not worked out since. And I've always been like very
conscious around managing my weight. And I found it very strange that I hadn't gained
anything in these like four or five months. I haven't been working out. And I was like,
my diet hasn't changed. I was like, has has has the weed kind of like kept my metabolism
kind of keeping it going? Oh, maybe it has along with, you know, losing some muscle mass.
But outside of that, you know, I think to an extent that that cannabis has been helping
me kind of like maintain my weight to a certain extent, not saying that is used for weight
loss, but that metabolism piece. I would like to see some research on that when they get
to that point.
Yeah, I've said that for years and I've heard it from other people too. So you're right
on point with that. I'd like to see some more research on that. Hopefully this bill goes
through and they actually do some research. Yes, there's a lot of independent research
already out there and that they know about and they can bring into the research and speed
it up. But I don't see it speeding up too quick.
Nah, they're up. The government going government. That's all I got. Like, it's it's up to us
to kind of do what needs to be done until they figure out. Well, they probably already
have it figured out. They're just playing games. So it's up to us.
Yeah, it's it's just big money, big corporate entities holding it back from my perspective.
And they're just trying to figure out a way that they can corner the market. That's what
people are always calling a race to the bottom race to the bottom. So listeners, if you ever
hear this, that's what the race to the bottom is, is holding out until the prices are so
high for the business owners that they can no longer support their own businesses and
fold. And then the big entities with the big money like the alcohol companies can come
in and corner the market because they already have the distribution and everything set up
from the alcohol. For sure.
But it's all about controlling the prices and undercutting all the little guys until
we all have a supermarket weed. Basically. So education is the only way. I like to thank
you, Kurt, for coming on to the show and helping to educate the listeners. And definitely we
got to keep it up and support the little guys.
Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me. I truly appreciate it.
Well, welcome. And you're welcome to come out here and record and help mingle and network
a little bit here with me and Dan and Kendall.
Oh, most definitely. I'm gonna have to get on your calendars pretty quickly.
All right. Well, I'm gonna let you go get back to your work and enjoy the day and we
will be in touch really soon.
All right. Take care.
Anything else you want the listeners out there to know before we cut it off?
They can follow you on YouTube and all your little plugs here before we cut off.
Yes, absolutely. Be sure to follow us at InterNouve on all of our socials. CandleLine on the YouTube
and www.internouve.com is our website. Check us out.
Yes, I will. And everybody else, it's highly recommended. I will talk to you soon. Thanks,
Kurt.
All right. Take care. Thanks.
Bye.
Don't diss herbal doctors from rumors you heard. The man's not a drug dealer. Call him Dr.
Herb. For the healing meditation and good vibration. For food, fuel, fiber, and a little
bit of fun. See the joint ain't necessarily the point, but I want more.