The Future of Consuming Cannabis- The Meaning of Cannabis Usage

In today’s episode of Why Meaning Matters, Erin, Jason and Ujwal bridge the connections between sleep and pain to cannabis. They explore the use of cannabis for managing inflammation, how it interacts with other supplements, and how it’s being used on a daily basis for general health and wellbeing. There’s a lot to unpack, so let’s dig in…   Welcome to Why Meaning Matters. A Story Studio Network podcast hosted by Erin Trafford with MotivBase cultural anthropologist, Ujwal Arkalgud and MotivBase president, Jason Partridge.   As alluded to in the last episode, consumers are looking for a solution for their sleepless nights and for pain relief.   UJWAL [00:03:19] “It's seen as a solution for pain and in particular as a holistic solution for pain, because the consumer is becoming more and more aware of the, not just of the opioid crisis in America, but also of the general over-prescription of painkiller crisis in the US.”   There is still a cultural hurdle or stigma for cannabis users to overcome however cannabis use for chronic pain and inflammation has become more acceptable in recent years.   JASON [00:06:41] “So it's exciting because it really does start to present a really interesting place where something that has been so associated with, again, Matthew McConaughey, ‘All right. All right. All right’, now is basically being associated with, you know, my mother's friend who is really kind of figuring out a way to deal with her arthritis.”   Cannabis use now intersects with food, nutrition and supplement culture more than ever before. And consumers are asking smarter questions that may not have been considered in the past. For example, ‘Are my supplements and cannabis doses interacting with one another?’ Or,  ‘Could one have a negative impact on the other?’   UJWAL [00:09:09] “So if you're a cannabis company, you may have to think about how to get into the supplement business because those Venn diagrams are getting more and more intertwined with each other. And then on the other hand, if you're a supplement company, you have to think about how to get into the world of cannabis, because those Venn diagrams are getting more and more intertwined.”   Consumers are accustomed to the question, “How many drinks do you have per week?” The alcohol industry is also impacted as consumers gravitate towards substances they believe they have more control over.   JASON [00:11:59] “I can start to science my dosage. I can think of it more as a medicinal element that helps me basically kind of maintain less stress, as opposed to these other things that I feel are kind of a little bit harder to control.”   Next week on Why Meaning Matters, from storefronts being high while working from home, we dive deeper into the conversation and myths around cannabis culture.   Why Meaning Matters is a podcast produced by Story Studio Network and iContact Productions for MotivBase- Decoding implicit meaning behind what people talk about.   If you want to contribute to the conversation, make sure you drop us an email at hello [at] storystudionetwork [dot] com. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to SHARE it, RATE it, and SUBSCRIBE to the show!