Inspired Mondays

Check Out this Week's Inspired Monday's Feature  @queenlalamichelle

1.Describe your first experience with cannabis.

 My first experience with cannabis was with my aunt. I was in high school so I lied and said I smoked before. It was right after my cousins funeral and I actually hated it. I got way too high I felt like my heart was going to explode and I was terrified. It felt like I couldn’t move or speak and I didn’t touch cannabis for years after that. I feel like if I had told the truth my first experience would’ve been more enjoyable

2. Any advice for anyone interested in trying cannabis for the first time?

Pace yourself. It is a wonderful aid medically to so many things and good for opening up your creative mind and decompressing but like any other substance (alcohol, psychedelics, tobacco, etc) it might not be for you in high quantities it might not be for you in low doses there’s alot of trial and error as to how much your particular system can and should handle so just start small and if it’s not enough then do more but don’t start off going HAM.

3. How has cannabis inspired you to be a better person. 

Cannabis has helped me with managing my PTSD my anxiety my ADD and my depression. It helps me focus to complete tasks and it helps me open my creative mind for projects I’m working on. It has helped me look deeper into and understand the world around me from a different perspective and the people in it. It has helped me relax to overcome my social anxiety issues. It helps with my period symptoms like headaches and cramps. It really helps all around in the right dosages. I prefer to use herbs over Pharmacutical drugs if possible for any ailment.

4. Any words of inspiration you like to share or give a special shout out to?

Special shout out to @rmmpercy for giving me my “female snoop” title and the opportunity to light it up with some of the cannabis legends like @snoopdogg and @wizkhalifa always loved the cannabis world and I’ve really gotten the chance to immerse myself in it out here mostly because of Big P 💫💯

5.What do you feel needs to happen or change  in order for cannabis to be destigmatized? 

 I think the legal system in America has a lot of issues and honestly I think cannabis being de-stigmatized will have to take educating the masses and restructuring the legal system so that it can’t be used to target African Americans. Cannabis was made to look way worse than it is in large part because of the popularity of it in the African American community (when Nixon started the “war on drugs”). An excuse to lock POC up and demonize them and put more money in big pharms pockets (which is another industry that used to and in ways still does target POC) … starting a stigma behind a herb that actually does wayyyy more healing than harm depending on how responsibly it’s consumed. #freethetrappers 💯💫

 Check Out this Week's Inspired Monday's Feature @celestekushog 

Email inspiredbycannabis@yahoo.com  if you like to be featured 

Check Out this Week's Inspired Monday's Feature @recyclensmoke go to IBCBRAND.COM for the complete responses!

1. Describe your first experience with cannabis.

I was in 9th grade when I had heard about weed.  One day  going to 711 to get milk some gangsters that were around my complex were smoking and offered me some. I said no, but i was curious. It was not until 11th grade at the end of the day that I walked up to my homie and asked him for a nik lol!!!! I told him i didnt have any cash and he let me pay him later. My best friend at the time and i walked to Robertson park . Thats where i rolled a pregnant joint hahahah only broke up a little. I was so nervous that I didnt finish wand rolled the nug up hahahaha. We smoke in the bathroom and walked home. MY mom asked my why i was acting wierd lol .

2. Any advice for anyone interested in trying cannabis for the first time?

Don't go in with out educating your self. Because every human is unique, your dosage and the way you respond to it will be unique as well. Ask yourself what are you trying to accomplish, pain relief, sleep aide, suppress hunger, invoke hunger, calm anxiety. Cannabis is versatile plant medicine. Take it a step at a time and understand what you are doing and why.

3. How has cannabis inspired you to be a better person.

In this last year alone, with cannabis, therapy and self examination, I have learned who i really am (including the negative stuff) who I want to be, and the things that really matter.

Cannabis has allowed me to be honest with my self and i feel like a more genuine person because of that .

4. Any words of inspiration you like to share or give a special shout out to?

There is always room for your creativity, even if there is some one who is already doing it. You are unique, don't rob us of your creativity, you never know you might spark the next great mind!

Shout out to @vchjolan for always being real, with even the not so great things. Its a blessing to have someone who pushes you to be great, not mediocre.

5. What do you feel needs to happen or change  in order for cannabis to be destigmatized?

We all need to promoted cannabis education and highlight the importance of medical cannabis instead of recreational.
We need more support, more advocates to put the spotlight back on the healing properties. So that it won't be looked as just another version of alcohol.

1. Describe your first experience with cannabis.

Hmm, well it may have been similar to any other experience. I did it with people I trusted in a safe space. It was one summer night and I was sitting in the room where it was shown to me and was guided every step of the way. We started low, went slow, and laughed the whole night watching Jackass and eating snacks. Then I knocked out. Great night.

2. Any advice for anyone interested in trying cannabis for the first time?

Start low, go slow and take notes. I think it's best to track the experience. Any intricate thoughts or sensations that are unique. Sometimes, especially with a preconceived notion of alcohol, we tend to think that more is better. Definitely not with cannabis as a first time user. So, by all means, hydrate and have some snacks ready with trusted friends that are fun. You should be in good hands.
Ideally 2.5mg would be your best dose to start out with. Although 5mg is the standard, best to build up to it. Perhaps not on the same night. If a joint isn't your preference, then by all means consider a tincture to start off with for dose control and reducing the scent that comes with the plant. Definitely want to respect other people’s palette in a shared space.

3. How has cannabis inspired you to be a better person?

I think cannabis has become my muse in some cases. Everyone needs a muse right? A
concept, symbol, or some sense of attraction to otherworldly creations. As a youth, it was this fascination with the stories around it that I was interested most in. My family was heavily
inspired by gang movies like the classics of Godfather, Goodfellas, and everything that was a staple in some Chicano households (vatos locos forever, real ones will know) so I guess that had something to contribute to it as well.
But aside from that, entering the underground world early and being an observer was like being part of this secret pact. A sense of belonging. Though the concept of a muse still applies. There’s fascination with lawlessness. Especially as a brown kid. Another story for another time but I guess I can say my biggest role models taught me what not to do. The Great Gatsby story and bootleggers. Victor Villasenor and his stories of triumph by disobedience and crafting your own narrative (Given his dad was also a bootlegger at one time). I lived through it. The onething that remained consistent other than resilience?

Ouid.

Some stigma still applies as far as the perceived downward spiral of addiction and declining mental health by use of cannabis. “The Gateway Drug.” Surprisingly there isn’t sufficient data to support that hypothesis anymore. But by no means am I discounting these issues that I tend to tackle on my own journey in different spaces though is it possible that this cash crop can provide relief not only to the consumer but to our society? In addition to aiding a flawed mental health system by providing supplemental funding to an already underfunded need? I’m so mf inspired by that and any way I can become better by doing better then count me in. Especially la gente that has been cut out of the game for so long, not only in cannabis but in other sectors and fields. It’s time to break one more of the many cycles held against us. So if I can continue to be better for my people and for myself, then sure. Let’s continue to nurture this beautiful community and provide healing, acceptance, forgiveness (because I make mistakes too) and uplift each other hand in hand.

4. Any words of inspiration you like to share or give a special shout out to?

La Gente 󰜫 People who look like me. People that I aspire to be like and want to uplift. 5.7% are in this industry and I salute everyone who's making space to provide a welcoming and richenvironment to thrive. So definitely a special shout out to Johnny, Lizzy, and Susie for just keeping a young one like me inspired.

5. What do you feel needs to happen or change in order for cannabis to be destigmatized?

I think more rigorous science-backed results that support cannabis' role in wellness, increased prosocial interactions and an exit from harder drugs would be a start. People have been connecting with this plant in so many ways and at the root of it (pun intended) is healing. A desire to be better. Sure, part of the debate is that it can happen without cannabis, though a morning coffee or tea helps ease our days a little more, doesn't it?

What's the difference with cannabis? I'll wait.

The sooner we gather more information on longitudinal studies that confirm or deny the positive attributes of cannabis then the sooner that we can normalize, as a culture, responsible cannabis use as a free choice model to empower responsible consumption.

If you like to be featured and participate please send your responses to inspiredbycannabis@yahoo.com