thecannabislocal-blog

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5 Tips for Busy Stoners

Any time you hear about stoners in movies and the media they’re almost always showcased as slow, dull, class clowns who could care less about their future. Since legalization hundreds are trying to do their part to break this stigma. We even have a post of our own about possibly redefining the word. More stories are popping up to showcase the productive stoner. Someone who uses cannabis to aid their level of just getting things done. Entrepreneurs in particular have been coming out, speaking up about how the plant has helped their focus. I can say myself that cannabis has definitely helped my productivity levels, especially with my blog work! Here are a few tips that I use in my everyday life that help me keep focused on the goal.

Prepare Ahead Of Time

Depending on the day, I’ve got a bunch of different things to get done. I have to create content for the blog and instagram. I have to follow leads on my services and possible sponsorships. I’ve got to keep up with all of the different events, conventions, and cannabis laws to stay up to date on the industry. After taking a look at all of that, I’ve got to organize it into content to deliver to my audience. I make lists, and take a look at my calendar to organize what’s got to get done by priority for each day. That way I’m prepared every morning with a gist of my most important items to get done.

Setup Your Workstation

For writing days, I set my notebook and pen down on my desk with my iPad. I also make sure to place my headphones on the charger from the night before. Depending on the time of day, I’ll have a bowl packed or a spliff rolled on the table by my writing items. The next morning after my wake up routine; I’ll sit down at my desk with everything prepared to start. Make sure your workstation is clean and ready for you. When you’re prepared to get started, it’ll be inviting to know your workspace is ready to go so you’re not dreading getting your work done.

Make A Playlist

Speaking of headphones, I’ve got a few playlists that I use to zero in and keep focus on my work. I remember reading an article when I was in high school that mentioned a study between music and focus. I took a mental note of that and started to work on my homework with headphones. It helped my productivity level so much I brought it into my everyday work environment. So when you’re prepared to focus, set aside time and find a space where you won’t be bothered for that period of time. Put your headphones in, and get lost in your music and the project you’ve got in your space at that moment.

Delivery Services Can Be Your Best Friend

If you’re really busy, or can’t be bothered to break your concentration you can take a look at delivery services like Eaze or Stoney delivery to bring your cannabis products to your door. This can be useful if you know your work day will be busy and there may not be any time to pick up before you get home. This can also be useful for work at home entrepreneurs who consume cannabis for focus. Delivery services definitely take the guesswork out of standing in line at the dispensary, then waiting in traffic before you can have your cannabis products. You can get your enjoy your lunch while you wait, or kick back, until your delivery arrives!

Build A Travel Kit

If you’ve got a busy day and you’ll be moving around alot I suggest making yourself a small travel kit. Though the law is that you’re not allowed to smoke in public spaces, you can pre-roll your joints or spliffs for your destination. You can also carry around a portable vape and take a puff or two discreetly in a vape safe space. You can also make sure that you’ve got your charger, vape accessories, papers, and other necessary items you’ll need for your destination when you need a mid-day pick me up.

Stoners Can Be Busy Too

When you’re a productive stoner, you can sometimes have a really full day! Alot of the time, you can save some extra time in your day if you do some preparation and really take time to focus. Whether you work from home, work a corporate job or you’re a mom and you just need a moment to add some extra time in, you can use these tips to help your overall productivity and perhaps make you a better stoner.

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5 Rules To Know When You Visit a Dispensary

It’s your first time in a dispensary! You’re excited, and one of the first things you want to do when you walk in is to whip out your phone to start taking pictures to show your friends back home. The problem is, unless specified, that’s not allowed! You might be surprised at what’s not allowed when visiting a dispensary. Here’s a list of some interesting tips that’ll help you prepare for your first dispensary trip.

No Phones

As stated in the introduction, you can’t take pictures in the dispensary. More often, you’ll find signs posted in the lobby of the dispensary and all around the inside telling phones are not allowed. Since dispensaries are still federally illegal, they’re often not able to keep a digital point of sale and therefore tend to have cash on hand. To keep from theft and other possible robberies, they just ask that you keep your phone away in your pocket or purse. Some ask that you leave your bag behind the counter as well!

Smoking Inside Is Not Allowed

Or more specifically, no smoking in public places. Cannabis consumption is treated like tobacco and alcohol are treated in the eye on the government. For you, this means for no smoking at the park, beach, hotel or within 1000 feet of any school. Where are you actually allowed to smoke? The law says private residences, or a lounge that is licensed to allow cannabis consumption. Though there is a slow roll out, some dispensaries are licensed as both a dispensary and a lounge. I’ll never forget the first time I had the chance to smoke in a dispensary lounge. The line was super long and to keep us all calm and patient they passed around one of their pre-rolled joints. It was so relaxing.

Always Bring Proper Form Of ID

The law in California and the cannabis legal states only allow those 21 and older into a dispensary. The acception are those 18 and older with a valid medical license from a doctor. As far as what kind of identification you’re allowed to use, you can bring a state issued id or drivers license as well as military ID or passport. Remember! No ID means no entry. They tend to be super strict on this so make sure you bring the proper form of ID.

Come With Cash (For Now)

Even though cannabis has been legal for a full year, you’ll still have a hard time finding places that accept credit and debit cards. As cannabis is still illegal on a federal level, banks have the right to refuse service for cannabis businesses. This means that dispensaries have to search far and wide for a bank and card processing service that will allow their type of business. Dispensaries often provide an ATM inside and will sometime point one out if none is provided. Things are changing though! With the constant adjustment of the legislation, dispensaries are getting closer to card processing. My suggestion is that you bring cash anyway, just in case.

Come With Questions Ready

If it’s your first time, make sure you’ve got your questions prepared for the budtender. Dispensaries tend to be busy and they may have a line with about 2-3 budtenders in the store helping other patients. Do your research and check their weedmaps menu to see what they have in the store. You can also call ahead to double check that the menu is up to date and has the product you’re looking for. If you’re not sure what weedmaps is, take a look at my list of cannabis resources for a quick rundown.

Hopefully this list helps you through your first dispensary experience! I know when I first moved to California things were a bit confusing for me. I didn’t fully understand the rules, and would occasionally take my phone out to return a text while in the dispensary only to quickly shove my phone away because I had completely forgotten the rule. I’ve also visited a new dispensary with no questions prepared and a line behind me. That can be embarrassing! I survived my first year of cannabis legalization, and now I’m here to teach you how to do the same!

Let me know in the comments or on social media if you have any questions about these tips.

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Stoner Friends We All Have

We all have those stoner friends. You know, the ones who smoke and instantly get the munchies, or the one who can never last a whole sesh. Last week we spoke about the word stoner and how we should and could redefine it as a community. This week I wanted to talk about the actual types of stoner you come across. We’ve all seen the lists on the internet about the types of stoner you’ll meet and we may even know a few. Here’s my list of stoners I’ve come across in my lifetime.

The Professor

The stoner that always leaves you with some knowledge. There are two types.

The Philosopher: This stoner always has something to teach you. Whether it’s about life, or a problem you’re dealing with, this stoner is always there with great advice and a big picture outlook. You can always get your head on straight with this stoner.

The Scientist: This stoner is smart. Not just nerd smart, but science smart. When this stoner smokes they pick very obscure topics to speak on. Topics like how small we are in comparison to the stars, and what it would be like to live on Mars. This stoner leaves you thinking about things you would normally not put thought into.

The Silent Stoner

This stoner usually likes smoking to themselves. This means that you usually won’t find them in a group of people smoking at parties or outings. They’re usually home, with their gear and weed enjoying whatever makes them happy at the moment. Sometimes you’ll find them in a group with their own weed just enjoying the company but not partaking in a cypher.

The Munchie Stoner

This stoner loves to eat. They especially love smoking before they eat. This stoner typically smokes indica and are always prepared to eat a good meal. Some medicinal stoners fall under this category if they smoke to help with eating issues.

The Cultured Stoner

The cultured stoner, broadly, defines a stoner who smokes specially by culture. So far, in my research I’ve found 2 types of culture stoners.

Rasta Culture: This stoner follows the Jamaican Rasta way of life, or at the very least they’ve been inspired by it. Sometimes that means dreading your hair, and other times that means you were spiritually touched by your visit to the island and you want to make lifelong changes for the better.

Hippie Culture: This stoner is usually older and came from a time when smoking weed was so taboo you were an outsider for it. They usually know a thing or two that you didn’t know and can teach you.

The Athletic Stoner

This is the fit stoner. This type of stoner has no problem taking the stairs instead of the escalator. Their munchie snacks usually include fruit or something else with unprocessed natural ingredients. This stoner often loves to head straight to the gym after a quick sesh. They may even use CBD after their workout to repair sore muscles.

The Adventure Stoner

These stoners are always up for the adventure. It doesn't matter if they have a car or if they use public transport they consume their cannabis and set out for the horizon. They’ve got their bag ready with cannabis gear small enough to travel along with the day’s essentials.

The Social Stoner

This stoner tends to only smoke around their friends or social situations. You won’t find them smoking by themselves. They’ll maybe buy weed once but it won’t be smoked until that moment they’re around someone else. It’s not a bad thing, they’re just not an everyday consumer. Much like a social smoker or a social drinker.

The Medical Stoner

These stoners are consuming for medical reasons. Usually diagnosed by a doctor, this stoner may have a debilitating disease or pain that makes it hard for them to continue the day. Medical stoners incorporate vaporizing, smoking, and cannabis cooking to their lives. This medicinal Lifestyle has been known to positively aid or even cure some debilitating diseases.

The Newbie Stoner

These stoners usually just started smoking or haven’t been smoking for very long. They use your keif catcher without realizing you should ask first. They cough uncontrollably because they ingested the smoke accidentally. They tilt the bong, accidentally ingesting bong water. They get really really really high before the sesh is over and fall over in a ball of laughter and giggles while everyone tries to continue the sesh.

The Burnout Stoner

This is the stoner that your parents warned you about. This is the stoner that everyone avoids. They don’t like to do much outside of smoking weed. Jobs are usually a non factor for them or they just generally don’t keep the same one for too long. This is the non productive stoner.

It all comes back to..

Finally we have the Lifestyle stoner. This is your everyday stoner. They’ve consumed their cannabis long enough to know an exact regimen that works for them. Sometimes this means smoking indica at night for sleep while setting up a sativa bowl with coffee for your morning. This can also mean adding cbd to your self care routine in the form of a tincture or oil. 

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Redefining The Word Stoner

What comes to mind when you hear that word? The general image that most people see includes a guy or gal with a beanie on, messy hair (usually dreads) and tie dye t-shirts. The word is also completely synonymous with the “class burnout” who not only smokes weed but is always skipping class just to do so. Their grades aren’t entirely the greatest yet they’re somehow passing. The Stoner is not someone you want to be. Or, at least, that’s what we’ve been taught all of our lives.

Stoner History

When researching the word I came across a few interesting things. You can’t necessarily find a proper origin for the word. Some cite around prohibition time in the 30’s when people were hiding to drink. Stoner, at that time meant someone may have been visibly drunk in a world that condemned alcohol. Some others are citing the 50’s when drugs were rampant during the war. Of course a few cited the 70’s when weed was known for being the most rampant. Although we can’t place the origin, we can definitely see it’s influence in damn near everything. If you take a few moments to google Stoner Culture, you’ll see subsections of films, music, foods and even clothing. Have you noticed something else, though? There’s not very much about drinking, or any other drug for that matter. However if you look at the Merriam-Webster definition of the word, you’ll find “a person who habitually uses drugs or alcohol”.

What is a stoner?

Setting aside the argument of whether cannabis counts as a drug or not (which it isn’t), the word Stoner hasn’t been synonymous with alcohol or hard drugs since the 90’s. The dictionary paints a bad portrait of what a stoner is for this generation. Especially since the demand for hard drugs are changing in favor of cannabis. Currently, throughout the world, a stoner is someone known to indulge in cannabis a bit more than most. That usually causes said person to become a burnout. This is the person our parents warned us about hanging out with because they would bring with them bad grades and endless tie-dye tee shirts.

Stoner Redefined

Stoner is a word that Cannabis Advocates and enthusiasts are starting to take back. Our current generation is showing how cannabis can help your productivity, mindfulness, and overall health. People don’t just consume cannabis to get “stoned” anymore. More states are starting to legalize because even they realize that the plant is useful for much more than that. Recreational cannabis users usually cite their reason of consuming as relaxation. This means that even in a recreational sense, the plant is being used medicinally. This is no different than going to the bar after work for a drink on the rocks or a small glass of wine.

What should we do about the word?

Stoner is a word that should be used like social smoker or social drinker. Though, most often than not, you’ll hear the term social smoker being used in the sense of a cigarette smoker. Cannabis users as a community should take hold of the world stoner and wear it proudly. Just like with drinking, there’s types of “drinkers.” You have the social drinker, the happy drinker, the “I have to get on the dance floor to my own beat” drinker, and so on. So far as I can tell, it seems that as long as you’re a drinker and not an alcoholic all is okay in the eyes of society. Lets do the same with Stoner. Lets make it general knowledge that there’s a difference between a stoner and a burn out stoner. User Big Bird The Great on Urban dictionary broke stoner down into types of stoner. It’s a bit stereotypical so I wanted to make my take on that list. Check back next week to see what I’ve come up with!