You do not know what you do not know.
Hey everyone,
Hope you are all doing well since my last post in August. I just returned from an amazing vacation out west. Starting in wine country and then driving up the coast then driving east to go to a 3-day concert; it was like having 3 different vacations altogether. If anybody has an opportunity to drive the Oregon coast, I recommend it 100%. Cannot tell you how beautiful it was driving on winding roads through the forest and then coming out to see the ocean from on top of a cliff. Simply put, it was INCREDIBLE. While in Oregon though, we stopped at a winery (Gran Moraine) and had a tasting. Gran Moraine has a really good selection of Pinot Noirs that they are known for producing.
A few years ago when I was working at The Capital Grille, we had one of their varietals on the menu and I thought I knew/remembered a lot about the wine but I found myself learning a ton about the one I ‘knew so well’ and sold very easily to many of my customers. I found myself asking numerous questions with the answer surprising me most of the time. When it comes to wine, it seems the more you know about wine/grapes/wineries, you realize that there is infinitely more that you will never know or understand about it as well. So I sat there listening intently to what the wine connoisseur was explaining to us.
While at the tasting, there was a couple sitting next to us; a little ahead of us in the tasting, but we started to chat with them. Turns out they have smoked before but have not the best experience smoking in the past. I, of course, go into dispensary manager mode and start asking them questions you may have heard me ask you in the past. “What effect are you trying to achieve after smoking?” “How do you want to consume/smoke?” “Are you normally looking for sativa or indica?” “Is there any reason you want to start using cannabis?” Turns out, when they did smoke it was always from a buddy and did not know the strain they were smoking, or it was a wicked strong edible. Both instances, it made them feel uncomfortable and it really made them shy away from smoking but they did admit that they have heard it helping with some issues that they have been having (tough time staying asleep, inflammation, and anxiety). A very common misconception with cannabis is that if you are anxiety prone, smoking will increase that anxiety to an all new level. That is not always the case because it really depends on the type of cannabinoid and the strain you are smoking. I recommended to this couple that they try a sativa strain like Jack Herer or an indica strain like Grand Daddy Purple, both great for countering anxiety. I then mentioned looking into and possibly using Delta-8. Another cannabinoid that is being looked more into because of its medicinal benefits and a great introduction to cannabis. We carry a Mandarin Cookies cartridge from Northeast Alternatives, in fact. The Mandarin Cookies strain which helps with anxiety and stress but it is also a 1:1:1; inside there is some Delta-8 (weed lite), Delta-9 (weed), and CBD forming an awesome ‘cocktail’.
This long about way of saying that when you come into our store, ask questions because there is something to always learn, no matter how long or how much you have been smoking. Every time you learn something new, different avenues of smoking will come to the forefront. I enjoy teaching people more about cannabis and I love learning something new about it myself. My employees will all roll their eyes at me when I learn something new because it’s like my flavor of the week. I will go off on a particular facet or different product, especially if I think some of you will enjoy it. So, again, please come in the store, ask a question, let us help you. I look forward to seeing everyone soon. Thank you all for letting be rant.
Thanks.
Steve
“Eat, Drink, and Be Merry.”