November 14, 2025 • 60 mins
KCAA: Just Say KNOW with Maria, by Green Bee Life on Fri, 14 Nov, 2025
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
On board caseaa's Inland Falk Express CACAA Glomelinda ten fifty am,
the station that pas notice her behind. Hello again and
welcome to Just Say No, that's no with a kkn ow.
(00:22):
I'm your host, Maria Calabrese, and you're listening to KCAA
Radio ten fifty am one oh six point five FM
in the England Empire and beyond. Mom, I'm so glad
you're joining us today on this special Black Friday edition
of Just Say No, because let's face it, if we
(00:42):
don't carve out time for ourselves now, the next few
weeks is going to feel like running a marathon in
flip flops. Joining me today is my dear, dear friend
and brilliant author of The Cannabis Gardener, Penny Barthel. Penny
has been profiled by the La Times as a pro
(01:04):
when it comes to growing her own cannabis, crafting her
own edibles and tinctures, and sharing with others how to
add a little DIY magic to your self care and holidays.
She's here to show us how cannabis can be a
game changer during this most stressful time. So grab your
(01:25):
favorite cozy beverage, kickback and let's take a little break
from the Black Friday chaos to focus on you. This
is just saying no, let's get started. By twenty twenty,
Bank of America and Merrill Lynch estimate that will grow
to thirty five billion dollars, and many experts believe it
(01:46):
could eventually reach two hundred billion dollars each and every years.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Sun this this guy let me. I can see so
much father, young Mo loses.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
You.
Speaker 4 (02:19):
Mo, I'm a better fie who has only begun taking
me a while to get it, had to live and
cry to appreciate your life and what you give. His word.
When you're holding me you, when you hold me so close,
someone better and under your skin, I want to leave
(02:42):
them ug so that.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
I can be welcome. Penny, thank you so much for
joining us today.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
I am delighted to be here with you.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
Maria. Oh wow, Well we're privileged, and I know everybody's
dying to know a little bit about yourself and how
you came to discover cannabis and what listeners can learn
from your amazing book, The Cannabis Gardener.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
Yeah, thank you for that. I'm going to say this,
I came into cannabis very much sideways. I have been
spent a lot of my adult life. I've always loved food.
I've a total nerd. I love plants. I am a
lifelong gardener, a cook. Actually sort of got myself going
with a food blog, and on that I had a
(03:33):
couple of awesome recipes. One of them made it into
Sunset magazine in twenty seventeen. From that, I kind of
got acquainted with the gardening culture. I always knew that
there was weed in the Bay Area. I was neither
for it nor against it. I was just kind of
beside it. But about a decade ago I discovered that
(03:53):
a friend of mine was put in a brand new
garden tons of sun and the person who was helping
her put that garden in had stage four cancer, and
he revealed to her how much he used cannabis for
his own well being and to be able to help
him withstand the rigors of chemotherapy. And although she and
I were not a foreigner against cannabis, she thought, look,
(04:15):
I've got this great new garden, why don't I grow
some cannabis for him and gifted to him. And so
she passed me with figuring out how to grow it,
because I'm just sort of an experimental gardener. I'm like, sure,
I'll try that. And I had some friends in the
bar area. We grew up a couple of plants together.
We had a terrible grow. We did not know what
(04:35):
we were doing. But through that, I decided to do
the research to figure out, well, how can she grow
this plant? I fell deep in love with this plant,
just fell in love with it. Started taking my own
notes and went looking for a book that I could
give to her. And there was not a book out there.
(04:56):
There was lots of information for the commercial grower, lots
of information for indoor grows, but nothing that situated this
plant where I wanted to grow, which was in my garden.
Since that time of a decade ago or a little
bit less than that, I have been on the journey
of my own growing the plant and then enjoying it
and using and experimenting with it. I decided to go
(05:17):
a little deeper in and I went to Oaksterdam, which
is a school here in Oakland that teaches the cannabis industry,
teaches people to go and work in the cannabis industry.
So I took a horticulture semester. So I'm a certified
cannabis horticulturist. I came in sideways as a gardener and
a cook, and I ended up a cannabis author and educator.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Would you say it's true of anyone who's part of
a backyard gardener that just has a love for plants
that if they become acquainted with cannabis, it's going to
have the same effect on them. They're going to fall
in love.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
I think.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
So.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
You know, I've got friends who grow it and don't
use it. They have a lot of good friends that
they give it to, but they are so in love
with this plant. We'll get perhaps more deep into the
Weeze is like I like to say on how to
grow it, but I'll tell you one thing. It goes
from a tiny little seed to in my garden a
(06:15):
nine foot tall monster of a plant in four months.
So from seed to drive bud in my jar in
five months. It's a really fun plant to grow, real
easy too, it is.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
I actually tried it myself, and we'll talk about that
too when we get to growing it at home. Today
is our Black Friday special edition, and we're going to
take all green take on on this Black Friday where
we're prioritizing wellness over consumerism. And did you know that
(06:52):
Black Friday originally started in Philadelphia in the nineteen seventies
and had absolutely positively nothing to do with shopping. I
like to make the metaphor that cannabis started out as
a Schedule one, but it really has absolutely positively nothing
to do with schedule one.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
But no, really, I like to say this. I like
to say, cannabis was framed, right, Cannabis was framed. Doesn't
belong there, never did. It belongs in the garden. And
I love what you said.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
And Penny, you know who else was framed?
Speaker 4 (07:27):
Eve?
Speaker 3 (07:28):
I always like to say evil strain started in the garden.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
It always starts in the garden. So there go. But yeah,
what happened with black Friday? I guess the police use
that term to describe the chaos that was generated from
shoppers wanting to get out early the day after Thanksgiving
(07:53):
to hit the sales, but they wanted he at home
in time for the Army Navy football game. And it
just was a frenzy. There were traffic jams and everything else.
So it got coined by the police in Philadelphia's Black Friday.
But then in the nineteen eighties, retailers grab it, hey marketing,
(08:13):
let's make it this shopping extravaganza, and it's when the
stores finally went into black and became profitable for the year.
So we do say from your experience that this hands
on DIY approach rather than just even in cannabis, there's
(08:34):
so many I'm not badmouthing them, but there's so many
emerging brands and products and gadgets. Would you say they
hands on approach? Has it been more meaningful and sustainable
way to even nurture yourself, especially during the madness and
pressures of the holiday season.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
Oh, yes, for sure you can. There are there are
young people today who who have grown up with just dispensaries,
and they think that you go to a dispensary and
you get stuff, and that's cannabis. Someone It's there's a
big analogy between cannabis. I think in food, meaning if
you if you've never lived on a farm, if you've
(09:17):
never grown anything in a garden, and you go to
a store, there's a strong association between here's this thing
that I buy in a store and that's what we eat. Right. Well,
there's a whole lot more to food of course than
just going to a store. And I'm going to say
the truth. The same thing is true with cannabis. It's
only very recently that cannabis was considered anything other than
(09:42):
just one of many medicinal and I will call them
culinary herbs in the garden. But today, just like how
Black Friday transformed so recently, that's a very recent thing.
Cannabis just has never has. It's only recent that it's
something you could buy and that it was in preparation.
That's rand new to the human experience. But for all
(10:04):
of humans, say you're let's go back. Humans have been
interacting with cannabis for we don't even know how long,
twelve thousand years fifteen. There's documentation that goes a long
time back. So we've had a long time to experiment
with cannabis and enjoy it both as a euphorient something
for health, for fiber, for textiles, for food. You can
(10:25):
use it for building materials. But it's only post prohibition,
which was really started in nineteen thirty seven, and it
still exists in some parts of the country today that
we've thought of cannabis as a drug or b something
you buy in a store. Those two things are brand new.
So for me when my relationship with with cannabis is
(10:49):
very much as a being, in a way, it's a plant.
And by the way, hot for gardening, you asked a
little bit about gardening. To grow cannabis is easy, but
you have to know the plant and then give it
what it wants. That's true for all plants.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
I just gotta say, it's true for all everything in
your garden. Right, that's it.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
You know, like, how do you how do you grow
a plant? Well, figure out what it needs and give
it to it. That's gardening in a nutshell.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
That's just and it's the same for parenting. Find out
what it needs? What what?
Speaker 3 (11:19):
What did you say?
Speaker 1 (11:19):
The formula was the planet? What it needs?
Speaker 3 (11:23):
What does it need? Give it to it and get
it to it. That's it. Give the plant what it
needs and it will respond with huge abundance.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
That's growing. That's growing, and you you share the gift
of this abundance. I mean, just in the book, it's
it's it's incredible. I I really enjoy it. I enjoy
reading about the science of cannabis and the molecules, getting
down to the molecular structure. But this is just it's
(11:56):
it's such a unique work because you really do treat
it the way it should be treated like anything else
in your garden, or that you would grow, and if
you don't grow, then that you would buy at a
farmer's market or eventually at a supermarket. So as we
(12:18):
dream ahead of our gardens for the spring, what would
we be thinking about now when it comes to adding
cannabis or I mean, do you use seeds? How do
you choose a seed? What should we be thinking about
as we're thinking about our spring.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
That's a great question to ask. If gardeners know that winter,
that gardening is year round, even if you're not outside,
your gardening in your head. And so winter is the
time when all the seed catalogs come to your door,
and gardener is just pour over the pages and salivat, oh,
I'm going to grow this this year and this and that.
So what seed picking time? But with cannabis, I want
(13:01):
you to back up one step and ask yourself this,
especially now that when entering the holiday season you can
have perhaps some additional drain on your time and energy.
A lot of people have gatherings they need to go to.
Those with social anxiety might feel a little worn out
by these things. So ask yourself this in another year,
(13:23):
how do I want to feel? Do I want to
feel calmer? Do I want to sleep a little bit better,
maybe have less pain? Good? Because that is the first
question you ask yourself before you buy anything to grow cannabis,
which is a summer annual. What do I want to feel?
What do I want from this plant? And then you
(13:44):
can start winnling down your needs and choose the right
seats to buy. So that's the first step is going
to be. Of course, getting some information is very helpful
and my book is a good source of that information,
so that would be another thing to buy. But you
can actually start deciding what do you want from cannabis,
and you have to know that Before you can even
decide what type of cannabis to buy seeds for, you
(14:07):
have to.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
Know the intention behind it. And I do that with tomatoes.
When I start dreaming and thinking about my tomatoes, it's like,
what do I want them for? Is if for sauce?
Is it for gravy? We call it gravy in the
East Coast Italians. Do I want to eat it raw?
Do I want it for a salad? So it's it's
you're interesting. Some people don't even know what they could
(14:31):
grow cannabis for, so can you just list, yes, someone
that can let me.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
One of the classes that I teach is called Cannabis
one oh one, and I teach this with my business
partner Kesha through our business Wondering about Weed, and we
offer classes to adults, and we start every one of
our classes with a question, why are you here? What
do you need or want from cannabis? And I'll tell
you here the top three things, Number one, Top three.
(14:58):
Number one. Pain. People come in saying, you know, from
little aches and pains to big aches and pains, I've
heard cannabis can help with pain. Is that true? Answer? Yes, absolutely,
It has wonderful health promoting properties and can be very
effective at treating especially chronic pain, inflammatory pain, but also neuropathy.
(15:21):
And there's more nuance to how that works. But that's
number one. Number two. How about sleep? You know somebody
said I should take a gummy?
Speaker 1 (15:30):
What do I do?
Speaker 3 (15:31):
I've heard cannabis can help with my sleep. Yes it can,
and it's a bit bigger answer. There are a number
of different ways and different cannabinoids, which is a special
molecule group of molecules made by the cannabis plant. So
sleep is number two. Number three is anxiety. That's anxiety.
(15:53):
And so that those are the top three. I would
say health reasons or that people come to cannabis outside
of the obvious, which is I love getting stoned, and
I'll say, yes, absolutely, cannabis does that too. So that aside,
and we're going to say that that's why they call
the rec market it's built. Is that I like to use,
(16:16):
say the term adult use. So there's medical and that's
often how it starts. People get warmed up using a
medical license through state legislation, and that's how California started.
And then there's adult use, meaning you don't need to
have a medical reason, you can just enjoy it. Those
on the inside of cannabis would say, even if you're
using cannabis just to get high, it's still medical. It's
(16:39):
still going to do some good for your body if
you don't over consume. But those top three, yeah, I agree.
Speaker 1 (16:45):
I mean, I mean, just like if you're you know,
drinking orange juice just for the pleasure of it, you're
still getting you're getting health benefits, You're getting vitamin say,
you're getting vital nutrients, you're getting fiber. All right. So
now I come to your workshop and I say I
want something for those top three guide me.
Speaker 3 (17:03):
All right, here we go. First of all, I'm going
to ask you this question, how many well, oh, do
you want to grow? And let's just say you say
how many plants you want to grow?
Speaker 1 (17:13):
Maria, Well, I am going to check down to my
local county to find out how many I'm allowed to grow.
I happen to live in southern California, and where I
live I've checked and as of now, I'm allowed to
grow up to six plants.
Speaker 3 (17:34):
Oh fabulous, that's far more than you could ever use. Truly.
Oh really, I'm going to say this. If you are
growing just for yourself, and you are a pretty average
kind of new to cannabis consumer, but you'd like to have,
you know, abundant product at the end of the season,
I'm going to say you can get away with growing
two plants. I agree more than that, so you could
(17:56):
grow up to six and you can try that. But
let's just say you can you just two plants, Okay,
you could have at your disposal just about everything you
need for all three of those different things that we
talked about sleep, pain and anxiety. But there are two
different types of plants. They're both going to be cannabis.
They're both going to grow as a summer annual, but
(18:19):
one of them should give you a lot of THCHC
and little CBB. So I just used two words THHC
and CBD that might be familiar to most of your listeners,
but if not, let me clarify. They are the two
most abundant cannabinoids found in the resin on the cannabis flower,
(18:39):
and those are the things that we're really after. That's
what that's why we grow cannabis for the large part.
So you want a high THHC plant, you have hundreds
of varieties to choose from. That's very common. Marijuana and
hemp are the same species of plant. They are both
Cannabis sativa. That's the tanical name for this plant that
(19:01):
we're all growing. Whether it produces a lot of THCHC,
a lot of CBD, some of both, or even other cannabinoids,
they are one species and they grow just about the same.
So you're going to grow two plants, one with high
THHC and the other one is going to be filled
with CBD. In its ultimate product. So with those two plants,
(19:22):
you now have the raw ingredients to create just about
anything you could possibly make with cannabis. It's going to
if you want to lean on let's just say you're
feeling anxious, you want something to calm you, then enjoy
some of the plant that produces CBD. Let's just say
you want to get really elevated, Well, you're going to
(19:43):
want to lean a bit more heavily on that plant
that gave you a THHC weed. And for pain, it
depends upon the type of pain, but let's just say
everyday pain, you might have something you want to produce
the pain for in your body. Having a little bit
of CBD and THHC in the same preparation, that's the
golden ticket. So those are the only two plants now
(20:04):
in my garden because I just love this plant and
there's huge variety, not just with cannabinoids, but then there's
this other layer called terpenes, and that's what makes cannabis
smell I think, so delicious and so strong. At the
end of the growing season, you don't smell cannabinoids, you
(20:26):
can't smell them, but you can smell the terpenes. So
know that that's another class of molecules that this plant,
and all plants make terpenes. By the way, not all
plants make cannabinoids. Really only cannabis does, but all plants
make terpenes. So you might have two different plants, both
of which get really big and look lovely, two cannabis plants.
(20:49):
One smells more like lemon and pine trees, the other
one has fragrances of vanilla cake and grape and cheese.
It's amazing the amount of delicious smells. But those delicious
smells work with the cannabinoids in your body to alter
the perception of the cannabinoids. So one might give you
(21:11):
a high that feels like you're like real focused and
maybe a little bit very alert and awake, activating, activating.
We Sometimes in the cannabis industry they might call that
a set of a leaning effect or a head high.
Those terms are really changing, but that might be the
(21:33):
old way of describing that high. Other even just with
a high THHC plant, you may have terpenes that make
you feel calm or sleepier, so those would be maybe
called a body high. And I will say that most
of that language body high versus head high the keyword
there isn't the body or the head, but the high.
(21:53):
So the key thing to remember for people, especially if
they're new to cannabis, is to understand and how much
THCHC or cbd is in any given product, and then
how potent is it. That is the key determiner. Now,
the nuances of how that THC might hit in your
body or in your mind are going to be impacted
(22:15):
by the terpenes, but that is of secondary importance. So
focus on first on what's the cannabinoid content of weed,
fresh flower, butd if it's dried that you're going to
smoke it or vapor or more importantly, in edibles, it's
very important to know how much THHC and cbd that
you're getting, and especially how much THHC. That's really the
(22:37):
one to pay attention to because that is the only
cannabinoid that makes you feel euphoric. The others have.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
Well, that's a whole other reason to grow your own,
because then you can really know that with certainty.
Speaker 3 (22:49):
Yes for sure. So with that, Maria, you have every
ingredient that you need. If you've got a high cbd
cannabis and a high THHC cannabis that's most of what
you're gonna need.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
I love dreaming about this. Now we're into the spring,
we're doing our garden, but then we're just coming off
of October. C October. How do you like harvest it
or dry it or cure it or store it? And
when is the best case used to use the fresher?
(23:21):
Just walk us through. Now, Penny has a great substack article.
I have all this weed, Now what do I do
with it? We'll put that on our show page too.
Oh yeah, but if you could talk a little bit
about them, the harvesting it and the drying and the
curing it. It does feel a little overwhelming, but maybe
not yet. It is a lot.
Speaker 3 (23:42):
I will say for first time growers, it's important to
understand that you start with a seed. Although you can
buy these little things called clones, they are not clones.
They are rooted cuttings. I still steer all of my
outdoor garden growers to seeds. They are healthier, you have
a huge amount of variety, and they tend to be
(24:04):
very strong growers. So you're going to start with a seed.
That's key. Great seeds. Other than good seeds, you need
a garden spot that has a lot of sun. That's
very important, so you can't get away with shade. And
then you need good rich soil. You water it through
the summer because here in California we don't get much rain.
That's it in a nutshell. There are two of my
(24:25):
favorite seed companies. One's a grower in California, the others
in Oregon. Here's why I love both Emily goggle At
Growth from Home and not Pennington's company, the Humboldt Seed Company.
They are excellent breeders. They are scientists. They understand cannabis
genetics and breeding. They have high quality seeds. But they
also offer and here's a key, they offer feminized seeds
(24:47):
because there's a special technique that you'll only get female
plants from there from certain of their seed selections. So
make sure you look for high quality seeds and feminized seeds.
Go to the humbold Seed Company and grow it from home.
You can also order these online. They will show up
in your mail and that is probably the greatest cost
(25:07):
savings in the world. If you were to get some
high quality seeds, they have about a one hundred percent
germination rate. You need out of five seeds, you're likely
to get five plants, maybe four if you're not terribly lucky,
but that's a whole lot of cannabis. People, I routinely
get a half a pound of dried cannabis bud from
(25:29):
each of my plants that are full sized plants grown
in my garden. Let's just say you get a quarter
pound of dried cannabis bud from each of your plants.
That's a very significant amount of high quality cannabis bud.
So if you spend ten dollars on one seed, which
is kind of the going rate, it's still a bargain.
And so look for some high quality feminize seeds. If
(25:51):
you don't plant them all this spring, that's okay. They
will last for a couple of years and you can
plant some next year and the year after that.
Speaker 1 (25:58):
Do you have to do anything? People to ask me
all the time, ask her, or you're having petty barthol on,
ask her about propagation or putting seeds on paper towels,
or they're all no, two plants is going to be enough?
Speaker 2 (26:13):
No?
Speaker 3 (26:13):
Yeah, seed, it's an easy to grow seedy. It's as
easy as growing as planting a seed for a bean
and watching it grow. They're really that easy to grow,
but you have to get the right seeds. You want
to get high quality seeds and feminized seeds, so that
in top of your mind, I need to buy a
feminized seed. That's key, so you won't have any male
(26:37):
plants in your garden. You grow it throughout the summer.
It grows beautifully, it grows fast. Of course, there's a
couple of tips and tricks to that, so you know,
you might need to come to a garden workshop to
learn that your first time growing. But then come in California.
When we harvest typical or photo period cannabis, which most
of it is, it's going to actually Los Angeles is
(26:59):
going to harvest sooner than, for example, where I am
in northern California, and certainly sooner up than Oregon, because
it has to do with changes in daylight. It is,
and you have changes that are a little sooner than
than up north in terms of how daylight changes into
nighttime throughout the seasons. So you're going to harvest it
(27:21):
in September at the very latest October. Almost all cannabis
is then dried, and we're not saving the leaves, by
the way, we're not saving the stems we're not saving fruit.
We don't want it to produce fruit, which is seeds.
We are saving the unfertilized female flower bud in consequential
(27:41):
little flowers. They don't look like pretty flowers that you
would see in a florist shot because they don't need
to attract pollinators. They are wind pollinated, so they are little,
thick groups of flowers that we call colas. They're extraordinarily
sticky with resin. They smell in coral radomly strong and
fresh and wonderful. And then you dry it and boom,
(28:06):
that's your weed that you have. It's ready to go
by mid October, late October, it'll be dry and ready
to use.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
And how do you store it?
Speaker 3 (28:13):
How do you store it in uh After it's appropriately dried,
you just pack it into either glass jars that are
air tight or Mylar bags. These are food storage bags
that kind of look silvery. They're widely available online. And
you want to make sure that you're not using like
(28:35):
a ziploc bag or something that's polyethylene. That's not the
best way to store cannabis. You want to store it
in a cool spot in with no light. You don't
want to have direct sunlight on it.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
Okay, if you could use a dark jar, or if
it's a transparent jar, put it in a dark space, yes.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
A cupboard in a cool place. You don't want to
have great fluctuations in temperature, so keep it, you know,
below seventy degrees. If you have a basement or someplace
that's cool, that's that's a very good thing. It'll help
keep your cannabis fresh for the longest period of time.
No light and little oxygen because oxygen, light, heat, and
(29:16):
then time are the four things that make your cannabis
lose its peak of freshness over time. Cannabis good for
about a year and then I use it for something
different for but for fresh use dried cannabis, I like
to use mine every year, so I grow it every year, Matt.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
This is the fun part using it. So how do
we savor the fruits of our cannabis garden? Yeah, I mean,
I'm gonna let you run with this. But I saw
something in here that caught my attention. Something called a
vanilla bean infused CBB gummy. WHOA, You're not going to
find that anywhere on Black Friday, let alone on sale.
(29:58):
I could tell you that cannabis is.
Speaker 3 (30:01):
So I said at the beginning, I came into the sideways,
and I came in as a cook and a gardener.
Those are two of the best skills you could possibly
have for understanding and enjoying cannabis. I also have a
degree in nutrition and food science from UC Berkeley, so
that helped me with a bit of the biochemistry that
this fabulous plant gives us. But that does not mean
(30:24):
that you need to have any education in food or
a gardening or anything. You can start out as a
I've never gardened before. I don't know what I'm doing
in the kitchen, and I'm like, fine, you are in
good company and you don't need to Once you grow
this plant. There are a couple of key things in
which you take the goodness of the resin on the
(30:44):
flower and you make it available to our bodies. So
in my book, we talk about how to make a tincture.
So that's my number one product that you would make,
super easy to make and it's very flexible. Make sure
is something that is probably the oldest way that people
have consumed cannabis, other than soaking it or inhaling the
(31:08):
charred vapor. A tincture is just do you take some
sort of spirit I like to use ever clear or
grain alcohol. You soak your cannabis bud in it, and
then the resin from the cannabis moves into the alcohol
portion of that. You get rid of the plant materia.
You've got this neat, little, very potent tincture. You won't
(31:32):
find tinctures. By the way, this is in dispensaries because
dispensaries are not allowed to sell anything with alcohol in them.
They will sell cannabis drops, but they are oil based.
Speaker 1 (31:44):
Okay, wait a minute, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I just
we're not doing a legal update today. But that's amazing. Dispensaries.
Legal dispensaries cancel anything with alcohol in them. But what
about the corner liquor store. Okay, I'm just saying. I'm just.
Speaker 3 (32:05):
Oh yeah, oh oh, the tangled web that we need.
If we just had left this plant alone, we wouldn't
have these weird distinctions. Right, Let's just put it back
in the garden where it belongs.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
I did not know that.
Speaker 3 (32:18):
The so they are because they want to divorce or
keep separate certain intoxicainst, one of which is alcohol and
the other, which is THHC say want to Okay, we
can't let those two things mix because that's just too putent,
and that sadly relates to even the minuscule amounts of
alcohol you would ingest taking half of a milli liter
(32:39):
of a very potent cannabis tincture. Anyway, it's so inconsequential.
But here's the cool thing. You can make it at home.
You can have it at home. You can't buy it anywhere.
It's just not for sale anywhere. You can't buy this
in a dispensary. You can't buy it in a liquor
store because there's.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
Very very cool. So the tinctures and dispensaries, it's the
oil that it is.
Speaker 3 (33:05):
And they're wonderful. There's nothing wrong with them.
Speaker 1 (33:08):
But yeah, but they're not they're not water soluble and
they don't mix. So well, go ahead, I'm gonna let
you go on.
Speaker 3 (33:14):
It is my starting point. If you just make one
thing from your cannabis flower, make a tincture. But with
any given flour, you can make two tinctures. You can
make one tincture with bud that's just dried, but it
has not been heat treated or decarboxylated. So you get
access to the raw cannabis, the raw cannabinoids in that one,
(33:37):
or you decarboxylate it, which is a pretty simple thing
to do. You just put it in the oven for
a certain amount of time and then you make a
tincture with that. You get a very different cannabinoid profile
we like to call it. So you have two different
products from one type of from one type of plant.
Just let's just say you grew one plant. Well, you
(33:57):
have a sweet of you have two different means cannabinoids
going on there. One is the acid form and the
other is the stable form, the one that we are
more familiar with. So that's a tincture you have.
Speaker 1 (34:09):
In the raw form from the CBD plant, you have
cbd A and you have that in your tincture. Or
you could have th C A and that in your tincture.
Or you were saying you can apply heat to them,
decarboxylate them, put them in your oven, and then have
CBD or THC. So exact theory, you could have a
(34:30):
raw form tincture or I like to take tinctures that
mix th C A with THC and CBDA with cbd. Yes,
I feel I feel a real benefit for pain.
Speaker 3 (34:43):
Doing it, you are and you have into it. It's
something that Canadas science is starting to reveal in the
lab as well. So having both raw and decarved cannabinoids
or stable form cannabinoids together are founding. Researchers are finding
the best and most profound health benefits from the combination
of those cannabinoids.
Speaker 1 (35:04):
Wow, I experienced.
Speaker 3 (35:06):
That is that wonderful. So let's just think about that.
You grow this, you soak it into alcohol. After a
couple of days, you strain it out. There's a a
little bit more to it, but not a whole lot
more to it than that. You've got this delightful, potent,
little transportable stuff. One of my favorite things to do
with it that you cannot do with cannabis oil drops
(35:28):
is to put it in a sparkling beverage. It is delicious.
Speaker 2 (35:32):
It is wow.
Speaker 1 (35:33):
Now do you perfect for the holidays?
Speaker 3 (35:36):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (35:38):
Especially you know if people are cutting down on alcohol.
You know, you talk about sleep, pain, and anxiety. The
alcohol's not so good for any of those three. So
a lot of people are looking for something different. So wow, wow.
Speaker 3 (35:58):
And the second thing, Now, a lot of people might
be familiar with cannabis brownies. Right. There was a woman
named Brownie Mary who was super famous in the cannabis
world for sneaking in cannabis and fuse brownies to those
patients who are suffering from AIDS miserable. She'd bring the brownies.
All of a sudden, they felt better, they could eat,
(36:19):
they had better lives as a result. She was quite
a maverick in the day. But that pot brownie is
a thing.
Speaker 1 (36:27):
The brownies. Though, when I talk to people, especially of
my age range, they're really really scared of edibles, especially brownies.
Speaker 3 (36:38):
Well there's some basis for that, So brownies pot brownies.
I'll say this. If you grow it it, and you
understand what's in your cannabis, and you apply just a
little bit of math and you make your own infused
cannabis oil or cannabis butter, then you can do some
(36:59):
math and make your own most delicious brownie recipe or
cookie or just about anything. I think I could actually
infuse anything that we could eat. But you can do
so with an eye towards how much THCHC. And that's
the big one to watch out for is in each serving.
So by doing a little bit of math, you can
(37:20):
control exactly how much THHC is in any given serving
of that batch of brownies. And I give some easy
to use formulas for trying to predict the potency of
your cannabis butter and then using that in just the
right amount to get the right effect. Now, one of
(37:40):
my favorite treats, and it's very giftable recipes in my book,
is you make a cannabis butter or you infuse fat,
then you use a certain amount of that and you
make delicious chocolate sauce. You can put it at the stars,
you label it with just exactly how much is in there,
and then people will know, oh, I'm gonna have one
(38:01):
ounce of this or a little scoop on my ice creaming.
It'll be just perfect dose to be just the elevation
I want. Now, those people who are more experienced with
cannabis have a little bit higher tolerance, they can make
their stronger. But the reason why people were scared about
cannabis gummies is because people were not calculating just how
(38:22):
potent those brownies could be. And as you and I
both know, with edibles, they take a long time to
kick in, and by the time it's kicked in, you
might have had too many brownies. So it's real important
to get that dosing just right.
Speaker 1 (38:39):
Yeah, and the chocolate's also mean. Some people will say
to me, and this makes sense. Oh yeah, but if
you have brownies and the dosing is minimal, you'll have
maybe two milligrams to five milligrams of TC per brownie.
But I want to eat five brownies. Well, okay, I
have one pop browny, emny eat it up, law or
(39:01):
none and none spiked brownies. That's right.
Speaker 3 (39:06):
And I think once you grow the plant and you
spend time with it, and you harvest it, and then
you do a little bit of research, it really demystifies
this plant. And by did mystifying taking the fear out
of it, you're able then to get a little bit
more real and enjoy its health and enjoyment benefits without
being worried about being overexposed to this.
Speaker 1 (39:28):
And it's like cooking with anything else where. I know
how much hot sauce I could tolerate. And you know,
I know some people are like.
Speaker 3 (39:35):
Is there pepper in that I can't eat it? Okay, Well,
you know you said you learned absolutely. I think that
hot peppers is a perfect analogy. But imagine a hot
pepper where you eat it and the heat doesn't caick
in for an hour.
Speaker 1 (39:50):
Oh that's great, so we get immediately.
Speaker 3 (39:53):
Back with other thing we taste. But canvas is not
like that. It takes a long time for especially fat
based edibles to kick in, and then it's got a
long duration. So that's a great thing for other applications
like sleeping is an ideal time to have just the
right little edible because it lasts the whole night or
(40:15):
a good portion of it, but not so at a
social event. So but that's something you can do. And
there's another little gift that's a little bit more advanced
is I make a cannabis oil. Some people might know
Rick Simpson oil. It's just a pure cannabis concentrate. I
use a special piece of equipment for that. That's not
(40:36):
all that complicated, but it just allows me to concentrate
my cannabis and I put it in. My favorite favorite
is a salve that I like to call magic sav
and I've provided a simple recipe for that in my book.
But that's like the third way, and that cannot get
you high, but it's incredibly soothing and it's something you
use on your skin.
Speaker 1 (40:57):
As a topical. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I love I love
a nice magic salve for aches and pains. I've even
used them for mesquita bytes and it's it's incredible for sure.
Speaker 3 (41:12):
Yeah, and we're talking about Black Friday and gift giving.
Let's just back back that train of one more step,
because the reason why we give gifts is that it's
a season of celebration. It's also a season of we're
wishing each other peace and goodwill, well.
Speaker 1 (41:29):
Gratitude and gratitude.
Speaker 3 (41:31):
You know, if you are given people the gift that
gives them the ability to have a little bit less anxiety,
a little bit less pain, a little bit less sort
of existential suffering in their lives, I just think that
that's a perfect fit with the season. And then if
you calm down and have some CBD gummy get a
little bit elevated in the evening, I think it's actually
(41:53):
going to break cycles of anxiety and worry and feeling
this I don't know, push to outdo one another, perhaps,
which is antithetical to the season, but I just think
it's a great fit with the season entirely.
Speaker 1 (42:07):
Well, it's stressful. I mean, kids come from college patterns
are interrupted. Everything is You're seeing people you haven't seen
in a long time, who's still together, who got forbid,
passed away, who's no longer together. You know, you get
big groups of people together that you don't normally do.
(42:29):
You're off your routine. It's an exciting time, but it's
a very very stressful time.
Speaker 3 (42:35):
It really can be, especially for those who I feel
the effects of social anxiety. And I think all of
us get that to a greater or lesser. There are
some who people who just have a little bit more
sensitivity to Ooh, I've got to go to the office party,
or it's going to be a big group and for
(42:56):
whatever reason, I'm feeling a little nervous. I actually think
that a low dose edible or a low dose little
tincture can really help offset that in a way that
alcohol doesn't. It hits differently. I make a low dose
gummies and I have named them and for my husband,
I'll just say I make them for him. I call
(43:18):
them moodlifters because I call a party gather. There is
nothing that will make me nervous going to a party.
But you know, when you go to a you're just
having one of those days. And you need a little
bit of mood switch. It's subtle and it's nothing you
want to rely upon overly much. But it's just subtle,
and it breaks a cycle of negativity sometimes helps you
(43:39):
to enjoy situations rather than just enduring them.
Speaker 1 (43:43):
It does, but I can say anecdotally you don't rely
on it. I haven't relied on it. The fact that
it has changed my mood or lift that negativity that
I might be knee jerk con certain situations, or that
anxiety certain social Having the experience of it lifted, it
(44:05):
becomes experiential. You've had this like corrective emotional experience. Once
you experience it and it helps you to experience it,
then it's easier to not need it to get to
that space. But unless you've been to that space of relaxation,
you don't know how to get there. You don't even
know what you're seeking. Yes, for sure, So the chocolate sauce,
(44:29):
the sav the Tissan's. What are some of your fans favorites?
Speaker 3 (44:35):
Oh, fan, good, good, gosh so much. Well, I have
to just say my number one fan favorite once people
have tried it, definitely the Magic sav So that is well.
Speaker 1 (44:46):
Over the chocolate sauce. Over the chocolate sauce.
Speaker 3 (44:49):
Over the chocolate sauce, because that's for everybody, even people
who have really had a number done on them by
the War on drugs. And I'll just say that's everybody
over the age of number two would have to be
the chocolate sauce. It's just absolutely delicious. It's super simple
to make. Probably the third thing would be one of
(45:10):
my many flavors of gummies. Now we are aware of
gummies at the store. The ones that I have in
my recipe in my book are a little lighter and fresher.
I always rely upon natural ingredients. Like yesterday in my
class we made mier lemon gummies and they were just
exquite so. They use gelatine, they use some sugar, and
(45:31):
it uses a cannabis tincture in the gummy recipe. So
it's a way of getting a low dose of cannabis,
and you're in charge of what's in that tincture. It
could be raw, it could be decarved, it could be THHC,
it could be CBD, it could be the both. You
can make custom gummies and they're fast to make and
really delicious and quite low dose. So there's little risk
(45:53):
of overconsumption because they're just one little gummy at a time.
Speaker 1 (45:56):
It's fun. I mean, this is also the holidays, give
meaningful gifts and baking, cooking.
Speaker 3 (46:04):
And in my book there is oh gosh, gosh, the
I have a recipe for giant cheesy goldfish and they
look like goldfish crackers. They absolutely delicious, and so again
they're they're one serving is one big cracker. So as
long as you're like, how many crackers do I think
people are gonna make, or maybe you package them up
(46:25):
in like two little gump you know, crackers, and make
sure that they're just like two milligrams each so people
feel confident. Oh they'll get a nice little buzz after
a while, but you know, just eat that. So you
can just say that and for.
Speaker 1 (46:39):
Beginners, that's a really good starting dose. I would like
to know just for just every day wellness, your self
care routine, just your baseline what you take in the
morning and throughout the day and in the evening.
Speaker 3 (46:56):
So for sure, I mean, yeah, you.
Speaker 1 (46:59):
Reap benefits of your crop, go ahead, just for yourself personally,
your self care routine. And look, I've never ever ever
thought about Penny Barthel and stone are in the same sentence.
Not that you won't take it to elevate and on
special occasions, but this, this, you are the epitome of
(47:24):
someone who uses it responsibly.
Speaker 3 (47:27):
So thank you. I appreciate it very guys.
Speaker 1 (47:30):
It's gonna lead to having your own beautiful backyard garden
and having the most popular gifts. Gohad penny. How do
you integrate it? How do you take it daily?
Speaker 3 (47:39):
People who are who express surprise, like you you go cannabis,
I'm like yeah, and they'll some some get cheeky and like,
why are you high right now? I'm like, I'm not.
But you know, I like to say this, I enjoy
cannabis every day and I'm rarely stoned. If I want
to be stoned, that's fine, but that's my reality. So
(48:00):
I love the I make a raw tincture that has
CBA and THHCA both in it. Every single morning, I
take a pint of water, I throw in some lemon
juice from one of my trees. I put in several
squirts of my rock and abonoids. Boom, I'm hydrated, I'm
feeling good, and I trust that those things will help
(48:20):
to keep down chronic inflammation. Basic chronic inflammation due to
just getting older. So that's one thing that I do.
I don't have a sense of that. It doesn't make
me alter my perception of myself at all. Often then
times during the day I will rub a topical on
my joints in my hands, my knee if its acting up.
(48:44):
I mean, I was in a ten k race this morning.
I will be using SAB on my knee later on today,
I can tell you that. And then often before I
go to bed, I'll have a little chocolate heart that
I make that has a low dose of THHC in it,
which I find to be very helpful in help to
promote relaxing sleep for me. That is particular to me,
(49:04):
and each of you will need to figure these things
out for yourself. This is not a prescription. It's just
my practice. And so with you and knowing what your
health issues are, what your knees are, you have those
things available to you. But that's just my baseline. And
then there are times when I do want to like
test out a new weed that I just grew, and
(49:25):
here's one. It's on my desk. This is a little
sprig of Royal highness and it's really powerful. It's delicious.
It's really cushion.
Speaker 1 (49:34):
What does it smell like? What does it smell like? Oh?
Speaker 3 (49:36):
It has what I describe as a classic cush smell.
So here can you hear it? Yeah, it smells great,
It smells bresh, it smells. It has a lot of
hits of like pine and just like you walked out
into a wet forest in the Northwest, it smells amazing
(49:57):
and the mallsmells.
Speaker 1 (49:58):
That's the nose. But that's another episode of folks when
you're worried about well, the predictability. Now, I don't know
how it's gonna affect me what Penny just did. Smell
it just like you smell, you know, and see how
it hits you, See where it hits you getting to
your baseline. We're not saying to give any of these
things up, but wow, to add that point of water
(50:23):
with cannabinoids to my cup of coffee instead of just
having caffeine, which is also legal, I think would probably
do me good. To add the magic salve and cut
down on the ibprofen. Oh, I think my gut would
appreciate that so much, definitely. And then in the evening
(50:45):
to take a chocolate heart instead of a pharmaceutical sleeping
pill or a bunch of wine. Nothing against that, and
you could still have that. You might find you're having less,
and you're having less of something that's serving you but
also has negative effects, and you're replacing it or you know,
(51:12):
cutting down on it, diluting it with something that's has
the same effects and is actually can't make health claims.
But as the research will show, as we get even
more and more studies, but there's a lot of peer
reviewed studies about the antioxidant effects and the anti inflammatory
(51:34):
effects of the medicinal benefits of cannabis. It's a magic plan. Yeah. Well,
and then in closing, we always ask our guests. We
have a segment called nip it in the butt because
we want to prove the stigma. And I'm gonna ask you,
(51:56):
what is maybe one of your top cannabis misconceptions, a
myth you'd like to clarify it was framed, let's nip
it in the bud. Do you have a common misconception
that you'd like to debunk.
Speaker 3 (52:14):
Yes, the common misconception is that cannabis always gets you stoned.
It does not. Cannabis is that one good one? If
you buy cannabis. That's all CBD. Guess what. You can
roll a joint. You can look as cool and as
if as you possibly want. You can smoke all night.
You will not get stoned, You'll be super relaxed. So
you just got to know what's in your weed. But no,
(52:36):
there's way more than THHC. As much as that is
a fabulous molecule, and it is medical in addition to
being super fun and it gets you high. Cannabis is
much more than just getting high.
Speaker 1 (52:50):
It's much more than the promise of a high. And
there's many things. Hey, today people are chasing sales, not
chasing a high. But we'll say, we'll say I come home,
I want to chase high. I think they might want
the CBD after the Black Friday. So well, Penny and
we have one other segment. We have consumer insights and tips.
I mean, this entire interview was one big consumer insight
(53:13):
and tip. I really love knowing the intention behind what
do you want to have your cannabis for and understanding
who's behind it.
Speaker 3 (53:26):
Absolutely, there are in addition to the Humble Tea Company
and Grow It from Home, there are a wonderful array
of just delightful companies. I think the cannabis industry has
some of the most creative and integrity filled people in
business today, but they are under duress in terms of
the license dispensaries. There's a pretty onerous tax burden that we,
(53:51):
the people in California, have put on them, so be
aware of how that impacts them. But there's some phenomenal
products out there. Go to a really good dispensary, and
by good, I mean you get to know them. Who
owns them, Are they serving their community? Are they owned
by black people, by women, by queer people. You got
to figure out what your values are and then go
(54:11):
find a dispensary that meets them. So that's the first thing,
and the second is then ask the questions. There are
bud tenders who are really well informed and they can
help you pick out products. Let's just say you haven't
grown your own cannabis, but you love using it. You
can go try things at a dispensary and then think,
then then kind of diy them yourself next year. That's
(54:33):
kind of how I got started making my own products.
I loved some of the things that I tried in dispensaries,
and I still go to dispensaries and look at their offerings.
I'll buy them on occasions. So it's not mutually exclusive
to go to a really good dispensary and try things
there and that will help inform what you make at home.
(54:53):
It's sort of like going to a great restaurant. You
get inspired, you can home, come home and go wow,
I want to make things like that too.
Speaker 1 (55:00):
Yeah, wow, wow, wow, wow wow. What an amazing conversation
today with you, Penny. I gotta get you in studio
because I would like a hug virtual you know, yeah,
we'll do a virtual hug. This has just been such
a refreshing reminder that, you know, we're at the beginning
(55:21):
of the holiday season, but it's a season. It's a
season that should last all year, not be dictated. I
like to say to people, it's a state of mind, guys,
not a date.
Speaker 3 (55:33):
So you know, it doesn't have to.
Speaker 1 (55:37):
Be about buying more stuff. I know, and I know
I do it myself. Like you should see what how
many treats and bones my dog has. I just want
to shower her, and it's it's is it that about me?
Or is it about her? What does she need? You know,
it's not I know you want to. You want to
make an impact on somebody by this book, Grow It
(56:01):
from Home, Make something. Yeah, you'll be the most I
tell you, I've become the most popular aunt in our family.
But I'm sure you want to.
Speaker 3 (56:12):
Penny ranking did go up several.
Speaker 1 (56:16):
Lins, right, doesn't it go up? What?
Speaker 3 (56:19):
That's cool?
Speaker 1 (56:20):
Yeah, and it is cool. To recap on the key
takeaways from our talk today, Penny you know, shared some
fantastic advice on how to start planning your own cannabis guarden.
Whether you're dreaming about it now or ready to roll
up your sleeves come spring, it's the perfect time to
think about what you'd like to grow and what you
(56:42):
want to get from it. Why do you want to
grow it? You know? Whether you're a seasoned grower or
just starting out, this book is fantastic. It is not overwhelming.
It's going to guide you through the process of growing, harvesting,
and all the multiple ways you can enjoy cannabis and
(57:03):
all of its many forms, including gifting it. So don't forget.
We've got more resources waiting for you at greenbe life
dot com. She mentioned Emily, go go Grow It from Home.
We have some fantastic growing guides and a whole playlist
on GBLTV with Emily showing us how to make herbal teas,
(57:25):
how to start your garden with seed, to treats for
your pets. Whether you're looking to learn creator shop, We've
got something for you. As we wrap up today, I
want to share a final thought. Let's make this holiday
season a time for mindfulness, relaxation, and creativity. Let's focus
(57:48):
on what really matters, you know, just connecting while making
the cookies, not whether your kid got the right amount
of butter in it. I know that matters, and sometimes
you know you're stressed, you lose it. Let's remember what's important.
It's the connection and the feeling that's being fostered, you know.
And then, rather you're crafting your own cannabis infused holiday
(58:11):
gifts or just taking a moment to pause and recharge,
remember that you've got the power to make this scene,
to make this season meaningful in a way that's meaningful
to you. So thank you so much for joining us
on just saying no today, that's no with a k K.
Now we now have grown or no, grow your no,
(58:38):
and I hope you leave feeling inspired and ready to
take a new green approach to your holiday season, at
least your Black Friday. Until next time, take care to
stay curious and remember your self care matters, Keep exploring,
keep creating, keep listening, and as always, just Say No.
(59:03):
Just Say No is a green bee Life presentation airing
live weekly on Friday afternoons from four to five pm
Pacific on KCA Radio and KCAA TV. Archived audio episodes
are on greenbeelife, greenbelife dot com, iHeartRadio, Speaker, and most
(59:24):
third party major platforms. For archived videos, check them out
on GBLTV, on greenbee Life YouTube and Rumble. To follow
us our Instagram and Facebook is at just Say No Radio.
To apply to be a guest on the show or
(59:46):
for sponsorship and advertising opportunities, go to greenbeelife dot com,
forward slash just Say No, and feel free to reach
out to me Maria for any questions. I'm at Maria
at greenbeylife dot com or kwame at eight one eight
(01:00:07):
seven five eight six no
On board caseaa's Inland Falk Express CACAA Glomelinda ten fifty am,
the station that pas notice her behind. Hello again and
welcome to Just Say No, that's no with a kkn ow.
(00:22):
I'm your host, Maria Calabrese, and you're listening to KCAA
Radio ten fifty am one oh six point five FM
in the England Empire and beyond. Mom, I'm so glad
you're joining us today on this special Black Friday edition
of Just Say No, because let's face it, if we
(00:42):
don't carve out time for ourselves now, the next few
weeks is going to feel like running a marathon in
flip flops. Joining me today is my dear, dear friend
and brilliant author of The Cannabis Gardener, Penny Barthel. Penny
has been profiled by the La Times as a pro
(01:04):
when it comes to growing her own cannabis, crafting her
own edibles and tinctures, and sharing with others how to
add a little DIY magic to your self care and holidays.
She's here to show us how cannabis can be a
game changer during this most stressful time. So grab your
(01:25):
favorite cozy beverage, kickback and let's take a little break
from the Black Friday chaos to focus on you. This
is just saying no, let's get started. By twenty twenty,
Bank of America and Merrill Lynch estimate that will grow
to thirty five billion dollars, and many experts believe it
(01:46):
could eventually reach two hundred billion dollars each and every years.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
Sun this this guy let me. I can see so
much father, young Mo loses.
Speaker 3 (02:19):
You.
Speaker 4 (02:19):
Mo, I'm a better fie who has only begun taking
me a while to get it, had to live and
cry to appreciate your life and what you give. His word.
When you're holding me you, when you hold me so close,
someone better and under your skin, I want to leave
(02:42):
them ug so that.
Speaker 1 (02:43):
I can be welcome. Penny, thank you so much for
joining us today.
Speaker 3 (02:48):
I am delighted to be here with you.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
Maria. Oh wow, Well we're privileged, and I know everybody's
dying to know a little bit about yourself and how
you came to discover cannabis and what listeners can learn
from your amazing book, The Cannabis Gardener.
Speaker 3 (03:09):
Yeah, thank you for that. I'm going to say this,
I came into cannabis very much sideways. I have been
spent a lot of my adult life. I've always loved food.
I've a total nerd. I love plants. I am a
lifelong gardener, a cook. Actually sort of got myself going
with a food blog, and on that I had a
(03:33):
couple of awesome recipes. One of them made it into
Sunset magazine in twenty seventeen. From that, I kind of
got acquainted with the gardening culture. I always knew that
there was weed in the Bay Area. I was neither
for it nor against it. I was just kind of
beside it. But about a decade ago I discovered that
(03:53):
a friend of mine was put in a brand new
garden tons of sun and the person who was helping
her put that garden in had stage four cancer, and
he revealed to her how much he used cannabis for
his own well being and to be able to help
him withstand the rigors of chemotherapy. And although she and
I were not a foreigner against cannabis, she thought, look,
(04:15):
I've got this great new garden, why don't I grow
some cannabis for him and gifted to him. And so
she passed me with figuring out how to grow it,
because I'm just sort of an experimental gardener. I'm like, sure,
I'll try that. And I had some friends in the
bar area. We grew up a couple of plants together.
We had a terrible grow. We did not know what
(04:35):
we were doing. But through that, I decided to do
the research to figure out, well, how can she grow
this plant? I fell deep in love with this plant,
just fell in love with it. Started taking my own
notes and went looking for a book that I could
give to her. And there was not a book out there.
(04:56):
There was lots of information for the commercial grower, lots
of information for indoor grows, but nothing that situated this
plant where I wanted to grow, which was in my garden.
Since that time of a decade ago or a little
bit less than that, I have been on the journey
of my own growing the plant and then enjoying it
and using and experimenting with it. I decided to go
(05:17):
a little deeper in and I went to Oaksterdam, which
is a school here in Oakland that teaches the cannabis industry,
teaches people to go and work in the cannabis industry.
So I took a horticulture semester. So I'm a certified
cannabis horticulturist. I came in sideways as a gardener and
a cook, and I ended up a cannabis author and educator.
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Would you say it's true of anyone who's part of
a backyard gardener that just has a love for plants
that if they become acquainted with cannabis, it's going to
have the same effect on them. They're going to fall
in love.
Speaker 3 (05:53):
I think.
Speaker 1 (05:54):
So.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
You know, I've got friends who grow it and don't
use it. They have a lot of good friends that
they give it to, but they are so in love
with this plant. We'll get perhaps more deep into the
Weeze is like I like to say on how to
grow it, but I'll tell you one thing. It goes
from a tiny little seed to in my garden a
(06:15):
nine foot tall monster of a plant in four months.
So from seed to drive bud in my jar in
five months. It's a really fun plant to grow, real
easy too, it is.
Speaker 1 (06:28):
I actually tried it myself, and we'll talk about that
too when we get to growing it at home. Today
is our Black Friday special edition, and we're going to
take all green take on on this Black Friday where
we're prioritizing wellness over consumerism. And did you know that
(06:52):
Black Friday originally started in Philadelphia in the nineteen seventies
and had absolutely positively nothing to do with shopping. I
like to make the metaphor that cannabis started out as
a Schedule one, but it really has absolutely positively nothing
to do with schedule one.
Speaker 3 (07:10):
But no, really, I like to say this. I like
to say, cannabis was framed, right, Cannabis was framed. Doesn't
belong there, never did. It belongs in the garden. And
I love what you said.
Speaker 1 (07:24):
And Penny, you know who else was framed?
Speaker 4 (07:27):
Eve?
Speaker 3 (07:28):
I always like to say evil strain started in the garden.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
It always starts in the garden. So there go. But yeah,
what happened with black Friday? I guess the police use
that term to describe the chaos that was generated from
shoppers wanting to get out early the day after Thanksgiving
(07:53):
to hit the sales, but they wanted he at home
in time for the Army Navy football game. And it
just was a frenzy. There were traffic jams and everything else.
So it got coined by the police in Philadelphia's Black Friday.
But then in the nineteen eighties, retailers grab it, hey marketing,
(08:13):
let's make it this shopping extravaganza, and it's when the
stores finally went into black and became profitable for the year.
So we do say from your experience that this hands
on DIY approach rather than just even in cannabis, there's
(08:34):
so many I'm not badmouthing them, but there's so many
emerging brands and products and gadgets. Would you say they
hands on approach? Has it been more meaningful and sustainable
way to even nurture yourself, especially during the madness and
pressures of the holiday season.
Speaker 3 (08:56):
Oh, yes, for sure you can. There are there are
young people today who who have grown up with just dispensaries,
and they think that you go to a dispensary and
you get stuff, and that's cannabis. Someone It's there's a
big analogy between cannabis. I think in food, meaning if
you if you've never lived on a farm, if you've
(09:17):
never grown anything in a garden, and you go to
a store, there's a strong association between here's this thing
that I buy in a store and that's what we eat. Right. Well,
there's a whole lot more to food of course than
just going to a store. And I'm going to say
the truth. The same thing is true with cannabis. It's
only very recently that cannabis was considered anything other than
(09:42):
just one of many medicinal and I will call them
culinary herbs in the garden. But today, just like how
Black Friday transformed so recently, that's a very recent thing.
Cannabis just has never has. It's only recent that it's
something you could buy and that it was in preparation.
That's rand new to the human experience. But for all
(10:04):
of humans, say you're let's go back. Humans have been
interacting with cannabis for we don't even know how long,
twelve thousand years fifteen. There's documentation that goes a long
time back. So we've had a long time to experiment
with cannabis and enjoy it both as a euphorient something
for health, for fiber, for textiles, for food. You can
(10:25):
use it for building materials. But it's only post prohibition,
which was really started in nineteen thirty seven, and it
still exists in some parts of the country today that
we've thought of cannabis as a drug or b something
you buy in a store. Those two things are brand new.
So for me when my relationship with with cannabis is
(10:49):
very much as a being, in a way, it's a plant.
And by the way, hot for gardening, you asked a
little bit about gardening. To grow cannabis is easy, but
you have to know the plant and then give it
what it wants. That's true for all plants.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
I just gotta say, it's true for all everything in
your garden. Right, that's it.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
You know, like, how do you how do you grow
a plant? Well, figure out what it needs and give
it to it. That's gardening in a nutshell.
Speaker 1 (11:14):
That's just and it's the same for parenting. Find out
what it needs? What what?
Speaker 3 (11:19):
What did you say?
Speaker 1 (11:19):
The formula was the planet? What it needs?
Speaker 3 (11:23):
What does it need? Give it to it and get
it to it. That's it. Give the plant what it
needs and it will respond with huge abundance.
Speaker 1 (11:32):
That's growing. That's growing, and you you share the gift
of this abundance. I mean, just in the book, it's
it's it's incredible. I I really enjoy it. I enjoy
reading about the science of cannabis and the molecules, getting
down to the molecular structure. But this is just it's
(11:56):
it's such a unique work because you really do treat
it the way it should be treated like anything else
in your garden, or that you would grow, and if
you don't grow, then that you would buy at a
farmer's market or eventually at a supermarket. So as we
(12:18):
dream ahead of our gardens for the spring, what would
we be thinking about now when it comes to adding
cannabis or I mean, do you use seeds? How do
you choose a seed? What should we be thinking about
as we're thinking about our spring.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
That's a great question to ask. If gardeners know that winter,
that gardening is year round, even if you're not outside,
your gardening in your head. And so winter is the
time when all the seed catalogs come to your door,
and gardener is just pour over the pages and salivat, oh,
I'm going to grow this this year and this and that.
So what seed picking time? But with cannabis, I want
(13:01):
you to back up one step and ask yourself this,
especially now that when entering the holiday season you can
have perhaps some additional drain on your time and energy.
A lot of people have gatherings they need to go to.
Those with social anxiety might feel a little worn out
by these things. So ask yourself this in another year,
(13:23):
how do I want to feel? Do I want to
feel calmer? Do I want to sleep a little bit better,
maybe have less pain? Good? Because that is the first
question you ask yourself before you buy anything to grow cannabis,
which is a summer annual. What do I want to feel?
What do I want from this plant? And then you
(13:44):
can start winnling down your needs and choose the right
seats to buy. So that's the first step is going
to be. Of course, getting some information is very helpful
and my book is a good source of that information,
so that would be another thing to buy. But you
can actually start deciding what do you want from cannabis,
and you have to know that Before you can even
decide what type of cannabis to buy seeds for, you
(14:07):
have to.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
Know the intention behind it. And I do that with tomatoes.
When I start dreaming and thinking about my tomatoes, it's like,
what do I want them for? Is if for sauce?
Is it for gravy? We call it gravy in the
East Coast Italians. Do I want to eat it raw?
Do I want it for a salad? So it's it's
you're interesting. Some people don't even know what they could
(14:31):
grow cannabis for, so can you just list, yes, someone
that can let me.
Speaker 3 (14:36):
One of the classes that I teach is called Cannabis
one oh one, and I teach this with my business
partner Kesha through our business Wondering about Weed, and we
offer classes to adults, and we start every one of
our classes with a question, why are you here? What
do you need or want from cannabis? And I'll tell
you here the top three things, Number one, Top three.
(14:58):
Number one. Pain. People come in saying, you know, from
little aches and pains to big aches and pains, I've
heard cannabis can help with pain. Is that true? Answer? Yes, absolutely,
It has wonderful health promoting properties and can be very
effective at treating especially chronic pain, inflammatory pain, but also neuropathy.
(15:21):
And there's more nuance to how that works. But that's
number one. Number two. How about sleep? You know somebody
said I should take a gummy?
Speaker 1 (15:30):
What do I do?
Speaker 3 (15:31):
I've heard cannabis can help with my sleep. Yes it can,
and it's a bit bigger answer. There are a number
of different ways and different cannabinoids, which is a special
molecule group of molecules made by the cannabis plant. So
sleep is number two. Number three is anxiety. That's anxiety.
(15:53):
And so that those are the top three. I would
say health reasons or that people come to cannabis outside
of the obvious, which is I love getting stoned, and
I'll say, yes, absolutely, cannabis does that too. So that aside,
and we're going to say that that's why they call
the rec market it's built. Is that I like to use,
(16:16):
say the term adult use. So there's medical and that's
often how it starts. People get warmed up using a
medical license through state legislation, and that's how California started.
And then there's adult use, meaning you don't need to
have a medical reason, you can just enjoy it. Those
on the inside of cannabis would say, even if you're
using cannabis just to get high, it's still medical. It's
(16:39):
still going to do some good for your body if
you don't over consume. But those top three, yeah, I agree.
Speaker 1 (16:45):
I mean, I mean, just like if you're you know,
drinking orange juice just for the pleasure of it, you're
still getting you're getting health benefits, You're getting vitamin say,
you're getting vital nutrients, you're getting fiber. All right. So
now I come to your workshop and I say I
want something for those top three guide me.
Speaker 3 (17:03):
All right, here we go. First of all, I'm going
to ask you this question, how many well, oh, do
you want to grow? And let's just say you say
how many plants you want to grow?
Speaker 1 (17:13):
Maria, Well, I am going to check down to my
local county to find out how many I'm allowed to grow.
I happen to live in southern California, and where I
live I've checked and as of now, I'm allowed to
grow up to six plants.
Speaker 3 (17:34):
Oh fabulous, that's far more than you could ever use. Truly.
Oh really, I'm going to say this. If you are
growing just for yourself, and you are a pretty average
kind of new to cannabis consumer, but you'd like to have,
you know, abundant product at the end of the season,
I'm going to say you can get away with growing
two plants. I agree more than that, so you could
(17:56):
grow up to six and you can try that. But
let's just say you can you just two plants, Okay,
you could have at your disposal just about everything you
need for all three of those different things that we
talked about sleep, pain and anxiety. But there are two
different types of plants. They're both going to be cannabis.
They're both going to grow as a summer annual, but
(18:19):
one of them should give you a lot of THCHC
and little CBB. So I just used two words THHC
and CBD that might be familiar to most of your listeners,
but if not, let me clarify. They are the two
most abundant cannabinoids found in the resin on the cannabis flower,
(18:39):
and those are the things that we're really after. That's
what that's why we grow cannabis for the large part.
So you want a high THHC plant, you have hundreds
of varieties to choose from. That's very common. Marijuana and
hemp are the same species of plant. They are both
Cannabis sativa. That's the tanical name for this plant that
(19:01):
we're all growing. Whether it produces a lot of THCHC,
a lot of CBD, some of both, or even other cannabinoids,
they are one species and they grow just about the same.
So you're going to grow two plants, one with high
THHC and the other one is going to be filled
with CBD. In its ultimate product. So with those two plants,
(19:22):
you now have the raw ingredients to create just about
anything you could possibly make with cannabis. It's going to
if you want to lean on let's just say you're
feeling anxious, you want something to calm you, then enjoy
some of the plant that produces CBD. Let's just say
you want to get really elevated, Well, you're going to
(19:43):
want to lean a bit more heavily on that plant
that gave you a THHC weed. And for pain, it
depends upon the type of pain, but let's just say
everyday pain, you might have something you want to produce
the pain for in your body. Having a little bit
of CBD and THHC in the same preparation, that's the
golden ticket. So those are the only two plants now
(20:04):
in my garden because I just love this plant and
there's huge variety, not just with cannabinoids, but then there's
this other layer called terpenes, and that's what makes cannabis
smell I think, so delicious and so strong. At the
end of the growing season, you don't smell cannabinoids, you
(20:26):
can't smell them, but you can smell the terpenes. So
know that that's another class of molecules that this plant,
and all plants make terpenes. By the way, not all
plants make cannabinoids. Really only cannabis does, but all plants
make terpenes. So you might have two different plants, both
of which get really big and look lovely, two cannabis plants.
(20:49):
One smells more like lemon and pine trees, the other
one has fragrances of vanilla cake and grape and cheese.
It's amazing the amount of delicious smells. But those delicious
smells work with the cannabinoids in your body to alter
the perception of the cannabinoids. So one might give you
(21:11):
a high that feels like you're like real focused and
maybe a little bit very alert and awake, activating, activating.
We Sometimes in the cannabis industry they might call that
a set of a leaning effect or a head high.
Those terms are really changing, but that might be the
(21:33):
old way of describing that high. Other even just with
a high THHC plant, you may have terpenes that make
you feel calm or sleepier, so those would be maybe
called a body high. And I will say that most
of that language body high versus head high the keyword
there isn't the body or the head, but the high.
(21:53):
So the key thing to remember for people, especially if
they're new to cannabis, is to understand and how much
THCHC or cbd is in any given product, and then
how potent is it. That is the key determiner. Now,
the nuances of how that THC might hit in your
body or in your mind are going to be impacted
(22:15):
by the terpenes, but that is of secondary importance. So
focus on first on what's the cannabinoid content of weed,
fresh flower, butd if it's dried that you're going to
smoke it or vapor or more importantly, in edibles, it's
very important to know how much THHC and cbd that
you're getting, and especially how much THHC. That's really the
(22:37):
one to pay attention to because that is the only
cannabinoid that makes you feel euphoric. The others have.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
Well, that's a whole other reason to grow your own,
because then you can really know that with certainty.
Speaker 3 (22:49):
Yes for sure. So with that, Maria, you have every
ingredient that you need. If you've got a high cbd
cannabis and a high THHC cannabis that's most of what
you're gonna need.
Speaker 1 (23:01):
I love dreaming about this. Now we're into the spring,
we're doing our garden, but then we're just coming off
of October. C October. How do you like harvest it
or dry it or cure it or store it? And
when is the best case used to use the fresher?
(23:21):
Just walk us through. Now, Penny has a great substack article.
I have all this weed, Now what do I do
with it? We'll put that on our show page too.
Oh yeah, but if you could talk a little bit
about them, the harvesting it and the drying and the
curing it. It does feel a little overwhelming, but maybe
not yet. It is a lot.
Speaker 3 (23:42):
I will say for first time growers, it's important to
understand that you start with a seed. Although you can
buy these little things called clones, they are not clones.
They are rooted cuttings. I still steer all of my
outdoor garden growers to seeds. They are healthier, you have
a huge amount of variety, and they tend to be
(24:04):
very strong growers. So you're going to start with a seed.
That's key. Great seeds. Other than good seeds, you need
a garden spot that has a lot of sun. That's
very important, so you can't get away with shade. And
then you need good rich soil. You water it through
the summer because here in California we don't get much rain.
That's it in a nutshell. There are two of my
(24:25):
favorite seed companies. One's a grower in California, the others
in Oregon. Here's why I love both Emily goggle At
Growth from Home and not Pennington's company, the Humboldt Seed Company.
They are excellent breeders. They are scientists. They understand cannabis
genetics and breeding. They have high quality seeds. But they
also offer and here's a key, they offer feminized seeds
(24:47):
because there's a special technique that you'll only get female
plants from there from certain of their seed selections. So
make sure you look for high quality seeds and feminized seeds.
Go to the humbold Seed Company and grow it from home.
You can also order these online. They will show up
in your mail and that is probably the greatest cost
(25:07):
savings in the world. If you were to get some
high quality seeds, they have about a one hundred percent
germination rate. You need out of five seeds, you're likely
to get five plants, maybe four if you're not terribly lucky,
but that's a whole lot of cannabis. People, I routinely
get a half a pound of dried cannabis bud from
(25:29):
each of my plants that are full sized plants grown
in my garden. Let's just say you get a quarter
pound of dried cannabis bud from each of your plants.
That's a very significant amount of high quality cannabis bud.
So if you spend ten dollars on one seed, which
is kind of the going rate, it's still a bargain.
And so look for some high quality feminize seeds. If
(25:51):
you don't plant them all this spring, that's okay. They
will last for a couple of years and you can
plant some next year and the year after that.
Speaker 1 (25:58):
Do you have to do anything? People to ask me
all the time, ask her, or you're having petty barthol on,
ask her about propagation or putting seeds on paper towels,
or they're all no, two plants is going to be enough?
Speaker 2 (26:13):
No?
Speaker 3 (26:13):
Yeah, seed, it's an easy to grow seedy. It's as
easy as growing as planting a seed for a bean
and watching it grow. They're really that easy to grow,
but you have to get the right seeds. You want
to get high quality seeds and feminized seeds, so that
in top of your mind, I need to buy a
feminized seed. That's key, so you won't have any male
(26:37):
plants in your garden. You grow it throughout the summer.
It grows beautifully, it grows fast. Of course, there's a
couple of tips and tricks to that, so you know,
you might need to come to a garden workshop to
learn that your first time growing. But then come in California.
When we harvest typical or photo period cannabis, which most
of it is, it's going to actually Los Angeles is
(26:59):
going to harvest sooner than, for example, where I am
in northern California, and certainly sooner up than Oregon, because
it has to do with changes in daylight. It is,
and you have changes that are a little sooner than
than up north in terms of how daylight changes into
nighttime throughout the seasons. So you're going to harvest it
(27:21):
in September at the very latest October. Almost all cannabis
is then dried, and we're not saving the leaves, by
the way, we're not saving the stems we're not saving fruit.
We don't want it to produce fruit, which is seeds.
We are saving the unfertilized female flower bud in consequential
(27:41):
little flowers. They don't look like pretty flowers that you
would see in a florist shot because they don't need
to attract pollinators. They are wind pollinated, so they are little,
thick groups of flowers that we call colas. They're extraordinarily
sticky with resin. They smell in coral radomly strong and
fresh and wonderful. And then you dry it and boom,
(28:06):
that's your weed that you have. It's ready to go
by mid October, late October, it'll be dry and ready
to use.
Speaker 1 (28:12):
And how do you store it?
Speaker 3 (28:13):
How do you store it in uh After it's appropriately dried,
you just pack it into either glass jars that are
air tight or Mylar bags. These are food storage bags
that kind of look silvery. They're widely available online. And
you want to make sure that you're not using like
(28:35):
a ziploc bag or something that's polyethylene. That's not the
best way to store cannabis. You want to store it
in a cool spot in with no light. You don't
want to have direct sunlight on it.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
Okay, if you could use a dark jar, or if
it's a transparent jar, put it in a dark space, yes.
Speaker 3 (28:53):
A cupboard in a cool place. You don't want to
have great fluctuations in temperature, so keep it, you know,
below seventy degrees. If you have a basement or someplace
that's cool, that's that's a very good thing. It'll help
keep your cannabis fresh for the longest period of time.
No light and little oxygen because oxygen, light, heat, and
(29:16):
then time are the four things that make your cannabis
lose its peak of freshness over time. Cannabis good for
about a year and then I use it for something
different for but for fresh use dried cannabis, I like
to use mine every year, so I grow it every year, Matt.
Speaker 1 (29:36):
This is the fun part using it. So how do
we savor the fruits of our cannabis garden? Yeah, I mean,
I'm gonna let you run with this. But I saw
something in here that caught my attention. Something called a
vanilla bean infused CBB gummy. WHOA, You're not going to
find that anywhere on Black Friday, let alone on sale.
(29:58):
I could tell you that cannabis is.
Speaker 3 (30:01):
So I said at the beginning, I came into the sideways,
and I came in as a cook and a gardener.
Those are two of the best skills you could possibly
have for understanding and enjoying cannabis. I also have a
degree in nutrition and food science from UC Berkeley, so
that helped me with a bit of the biochemistry that
this fabulous plant gives us. But that does not mean
(30:24):
that you need to have any education in food or
a gardening or anything. You can start out as a
I've never gardened before. I don't know what I'm doing
in the kitchen, and I'm like, fine, you are in
good company and you don't need to Once you grow
this plant. There are a couple of key things in
which you take the goodness of the resin on the
(30:44):
flower and you make it available to our bodies. So
in my book, we talk about how to make a tincture.
So that's my number one product that you would make,
super easy to make and it's very flexible. Make sure
is something that is probably the oldest way that people
have consumed cannabis, other than soaking it or inhaling the
(31:08):
charred vapor. A tincture is just do you take some
sort of spirit I like to use ever clear or
grain alcohol. You soak your cannabis bud in it, and
then the resin from the cannabis moves into the alcohol
portion of that. You get rid of the plant materia.
You've got this neat, little, very potent tincture. You won't
(31:32):
find tinctures. By the way, this is in dispensaries because
dispensaries are not allowed to sell anything with alcohol in them.
They will sell cannabis drops, but they are oil based.
Speaker 1 (31:44):
Okay, wait a minute, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I just
we're not doing a legal update today. But that's amazing. Dispensaries.
Legal dispensaries cancel anything with alcohol in them. But what
about the corner liquor store. Okay, I'm just saying. I'm just.
Speaker 3 (32:05):
Oh yeah, oh oh, the tangled web that we need.
If we just had left this plant alone, we wouldn't
have these weird distinctions. Right, Let's just put it back
in the garden where it belongs.
Speaker 1 (32:16):
I did not know that.
Speaker 3 (32:18):
The so they are because they want to divorce or
keep separate certain intoxicainst, one of which is alcohol and
the other, which is THHC say want to Okay, we
can't let those two things mix because that's just too putent,
and that sadly relates to even the minuscule amounts of
alcohol you would ingest taking half of a milli liter
(32:39):
of a very potent cannabis tincture. Anyway, it's so inconsequential.
But here's the cool thing. You can make it at home.
You can have it at home. You can't buy it anywhere.
It's just not for sale anywhere. You can't buy this
in a dispensary. You can't buy it in a liquor
store because there's.
Speaker 1 (33:00):
Very very cool. So the tinctures and dispensaries, it's the
oil that it is.
Speaker 3 (33:05):
And they're wonderful. There's nothing wrong with them.
Speaker 1 (33:08):
But yeah, but they're not they're not water soluble and
they don't mix. So well, go ahead, I'm gonna let
you go on.
Speaker 3 (33:14):
It is my starting point. If you just make one
thing from your cannabis flower, make a tincture. But with
any given flour, you can make two tinctures. You can
make one tincture with bud that's just dried, but it
has not been heat treated or decarboxylated. So you get
access to the raw cannabis, the raw cannabinoids in that one,
(33:37):
or you decarboxylate it, which is a pretty simple thing
to do. You just put it in the oven for
a certain amount of time and then you make a
tincture with that. You get a very different cannabinoid profile
we like to call it. So you have two different
products from one type of from one type of plant.
Just let's just say you grew one plant. Well, you
(33:57):
have a sweet of you have two different means cannabinoids
going on there. One is the acid form and the
other is the stable form, the one that we are
more familiar with. So that's a tincture you have.
Speaker 1 (34:09):
In the raw form from the CBD plant, you have
cbd A and you have that in your tincture. Or
you could have th C A and that in your tincture.
Or you were saying you can apply heat to them,
decarboxylate them, put them in your oven, and then have
CBD or THC. So exact theory, you could have a
(34:30):
raw form tincture or I like to take tinctures that
mix th C A with THC and CBDA with cbd. Yes,
I feel I feel a real benefit for pain.
Speaker 3 (34:43):
Doing it, you are and you have into it. It's
something that Canadas science is starting to reveal in the
lab as well. So having both raw and decarved cannabinoids
or stable form cannabinoids together are founding. Researchers are finding
the best and most profound health benefits from the combination
of those cannabinoids.
Speaker 1 (35:04):
Wow, I experienced.
Speaker 3 (35:06):
That is that wonderful. So let's just think about that.
You grow this, you soak it into alcohol. After a
couple of days, you strain it out. There's a a
little bit more to it, but not a whole lot
more to it than that. You've got this delightful, potent,
little transportable stuff. One of my favorite things to do
with it that you cannot do with cannabis oil drops
(35:28):
is to put it in a sparkling beverage. It is delicious.
Speaker 2 (35:32):
It is wow.
Speaker 1 (35:33):
Now do you perfect for the holidays?
Speaker 3 (35:36):
Yes?
Speaker 1 (35:38):
Especially you know if people are cutting down on alcohol.
You know, you talk about sleep, pain, and anxiety. The
alcohol's not so good for any of those three. So
a lot of people are looking for something different. So wow, wow.
Speaker 3 (35:58):
And the second thing, Now, a lot of people might
be familiar with cannabis brownies. Right. There was a woman
named Brownie Mary who was super famous in the cannabis
world for sneaking in cannabis and fuse brownies to those
patients who are suffering from AIDS miserable. She'd bring the brownies.
All of a sudden, they felt better, they could eat,
(36:19):
they had better lives as a result. She was quite
a maverick in the day. But that pot brownie is
a thing.
Speaker 1 (36:27):
The brownies. Though, when I talk to people, especially of
my age range, they're really really scared of edibles, especially brownies.
Speaker 3 (36:38):
Well there's some basis for that, So brownies pot brownies.
I'll say this. If you grow it it, and you
understand what's in your cannabis, and you apply just a
little bit of math and you make your own infused
cannabis oil or cannabis butter, then you can do some
(36:59):
math and make your own most delicious brownie recipe or
cookie or just about anything. I think I could actually
infuse anything that we could eat. But you can do
so with an eye towards how much THCHC. And that's
the big one to watch out for is in each serving.
So by doing a little bit of math, you can
(37:20):
control exactly how much THHC is in any given serving
of that batch of brownies. And I give some easy
to use formulas for trying to predict the potency of
your cannabis butter and then using that in just the
right amount to get the right effect. Now, one of
(37:40):
my favorite treats, and it's very giftable recipes in my book,
is you make a cannabis butter or you infuse fat,
then you use a certain amount of that and you
make delicious chocolate sauce. You can put it at the stars,
you label it with just exactly how much is in there,
and then people will know, oh, I'm gonna have one
(38:01):
ounce of this or a little scoop on my ice creaming.
It'll be just perfect dose to be just the elevation
I want. Now, those people who are more experienced with
cannabis have a little bit higher tolerance, they can make
their stronger. But the reason why people were scared about
cannabis gummies is because people were not calculating just how
(38:22):
potent those brownies could be. And as you and I
both know, with edibles, they take a long time to
kick in, and by the time it's kicked in, you
might have had too many brownies. So it's real important
to get that dosing just right.
Speaker 1 (38:39):
Yeah, and the chocolate's also mean. Some people will say
to me, and this makes sense. Oh yeah, but if
you have brownies and the dosing is minimal, you'll have
maybe two milligrams to five milligrams of TC per brownie.
But I want to eat five brownies. Well, okay, I
have one pop browny, emny eat it up, law or
(39:01):
none and none spiked brownies. That's right.
Speaker 3 (39:06):
And I think once you grow the plant and you
spend time with it, and you harvest it, and then
you do a little bit of research, it really demystifies
this plant. And by did mystifying taking the fear out
of it, you're able then to get a little bit
more real and enjoy its health and enjoyment benefits without
being worried about being overexposed to this.
Speaker 1 (39:28):
And it's like cooking with anything else where. I know
how much hot sauce I could tolerate. And you know,
I know some people are like.
Speaker 3 (39:35):
Is there pepper in that I can't eat it? Okay, Well,
you know you said you learned absolutely. I think that
hot peppers is a perfect analogy. But imagine a hot
pepper where you eat it and the heat doesn't caick
in for an hour.
Speaker 1 (39:50):
Oh that's great, so we get immediately.
Speaker 3 (39:53):
Back with other thing we taste. But canvas is not
like that. It takes a long time for especially fat
based edibles to kick in, and then it's got a
long duration. So that's a great thing for other applications
like sleeping is an ideal time to have just the
right little edible because it lasts the whole night or
(40:15):
a good portion of it, but not so at a
social event. So but that's something you can do. And
there's another little gift that's a little bit more advanced
is I make a cannabis oil. Some people might know
Rick Simpson oil. It's just a pure cannabis concentrate. I
use a special piece of equipment for that. That's not
(40:36):
all that complicated, but it just allows me to concentrate
my cannabis and I put it in. My favorite favorite
is a salve that I like to call magic sav
and I've provided a simple recipe for that in my book.
But that's like the third way, and that cannot get
you high, but it's incredibly soothing and it's something you
use on your skin.
Speaker 1 (40:57):
As a topical. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I love I love
a nice magic salve for aches and pains. I've even
used them for mesquita bytes and it's it's incredible for sure.
Speaker 3 (41:12):
Yeah, and we're talking about Black Friday and gift giving.
Let's just back back that train of one more step,
because the reason why we give gifts is that it's
a season of celebration. It's also a season of we're
wishing each other peace and goodwill, well.
Speaker 1 (41:29):
Gratitude and gratitude.
Speaker 3 (41:31):
You know, if you are given people the gift that
gives them the ability to have a little bit less anxiety,
a little bit less pain, a little bit less sort
of existential suffering in their lives, I just think that
that's a perfect fit with the season. And then if
you calm down and have some CBD gummy get a
little bit elevated in the evening, I think it's actually
(41:53):
going to break cycles of anxiety and worry and feeling
this I don't know, push to outdo one another, perhaps,
which is antithetical to the season, but I just think
it's a great fit with the season entirely.
Speaker 1 (42:07):
Well, it's stressful. I mean, kids come from college patterns
are interrupted. Everything is You're seeing people you haven't seen
in a long time, who's still together, who got forbid,
passed away, who's no longer together. You know, you get
big groups of people together that you don't normally do.
(42:29):
You're off your routine. It's an exciting time, but it's
a very very stressful time.
Speaker 3 (42:35):
It really can be, especially for those who I feel
the effects of social anxiety. And I think all of
us get that to a greater or lesser. There are
some who people who just have a little bit more
sensitivity to Ooh, I've got to go to the office party,
or it's going to be a big group and for
(42:56):
whatever reason, I'm feeling a little nervous. I actually think
that a low dose edible or a low dose little
tincture can really help offset that in a way that
alcohol doesn't. It hits differently. I make a low dose
gummies and I have named them and for my husband,
I'll just say I make them for him. I call
(43:18):
them moodlifters because I call a party gather. There is
nothing that will make me nervous going to a party.
But you know, when you go to a you're just
having one of those days. And you need a little
bit of mood switch. It's subtle and it's nothing you
want to rely upon overly much. But it's just subtle,
and it breaks a cycle of negativity sometimes helps you
(43:39):
to enjoy situations rather than just enduring them.
Speaker 1 (43:43):
It does, but I can say anecdotally you don't rely
on it. I haven't relied on it. The fact that
it has changed my mood or lift that negativity that
I might be knee jerk con certain situations, or that
anxiety certain social Having the experience of it lifted, it
(44:05):
becomes experiential. You've had this like corrective emotional experience. Once
you experience it and it helps you to experience it,
then it's easier to not need it to get to
that space. But unless you've been to that space of relaxation,
you don't know how to get there. You don't even
know what you're seeking. Yes, for sure, So the chocolate sauce,
(44:29):
the sav the Tissan's. What are some of your fans favorites?
Speaker 3 (44:35):
Oh, fan, good, good, gosh so much. Well, I have
to just say my number one fan favorite once people
have tried it, definitely the Magic sav So that is well.
Speaker 1 (44:46):
Over the chocolate sauce. Over the chocolate sauce.
Speaker 3 (44:49):
Over the chocolate sauce, because that's for everybody, even people
who have really had a number done on them by
the War on drugs. And I'll just say that's everybody
over the age of number two would have to be
the chocolate sauce. It's just absolutely delicious. It's super simple
to make. Probably the third thing would be one of
(45:10):
my many flavors of gummies. Now we are aware of
gummies at the store. The ones that I have in
my recipe in my book are a little lighter and fresher.
I always rely upon natural ingredients. Like yesterday in my
class we made mier lemon gummies and they were just
exquite so. They use gelatine, they use some sugar, and
(45:31):
it uses a cannabis tincture in the gummy recipe. So
it's a way of getting a low dose of cannabis,
and you're in charge of what's in that tincture. It
could be raw, it could be decarved, it could be THHC,
it could be CBD, it could be the both. You
can make custom gummies and they're fast to make and
really delicious and quite low dose. So there's little risk
(45:53):
of overconsumption because they're just one little gummy at a time.
Speaker 1 (45:56):
It's fun. I mean, this is also the holidays, give
meaningful gifts and baking, cooking.
Speaker 3 (46:04):
And in my book there is oh gosh, gosh, the
I have a recipe for giant cheesy goldfish and they
look like goldfish crackers. They absolutely delicious, and so again
they're they're one serving is one big cracker. So as
long as you're like, how many crackers do I think
people are gonna make, or maybe you package them up
(46:25):
in like two little gump you know, crackers, and make
sure that they're just like two milligrams each so people
feel confident. Oh they'll get a nice little buzz after
a while, but you know, just eat that. So you
can just say that and for.
Speaker 1 (46:39):
Beginners, that's a really good starting dose. I would like
to know just for just every day wellness, your self
care routine, just your baseline what you take in the
morning and throughout the day and in the evening.
Speaker 3 (46:56):
So for sure, I mean, yeah, you.
Speaker 1 (46:59):
Reap benefits of your crop, go ahead, just for yourself personally,
your self care routine. And look, I've never ever ever
thought about Penny Barthel and stone are in the same sentence.
Not that you won't take it to elevate and on
special occasions, but this, this, you are the epitome of
(47:24):
someone who uses it responsibly.
Speaker 3 (47:27):
So thank you. I appreciate it very guys.
Speaker 1 (47:30):
It's gonna lead to having your own beautiful backyard garden
and having the most popular gifts. Gohad penny. How do
you integrate it? How do you take it daily?
Speaker 3 (47:39):
People who are who express surprise, like you you go cannabis,
I'm like yeah, and they'll some some get cheeky and like,
why are you high right now? I'm like, I'm not.
But you know, I like to say this, I enjoy
cannabis every day and I'm rarely stoned. If I want
to be stoned, that's fine, but that's my reality. So
(48:00):
I love the I make a raw tincture that has
CBA and THHCA both in it. Every single morning, I
take a pint of water, I throw in some lemon
juice from one of my trees. I put in several
squirts of my rock and abonoids. Boom, I'm hydrated, I'm
feeling good, and I trust that those things will help
(48:20):
to keep down chronic inflammation. Basic chronic inflammation due to
just getting older. So that's one thing that I do.
I don't have a sense of that. It doesn't make
me alter my perception of myself at all. Often then
times during the day I will rub a topical on
my joints in my hands, my knee if its acting up.
(48:44):
I mean, I was in a ten k race this morning.
I will be using SAB on my knee later on today,
I can tell you that. And then often before I
go to bed, I'll have a little chocolate heart that
I make that has a low dose of THHC in it,
which I find to be very helpful in help to
promote relaxing sleep for me. That is particular to me,
(49:04):
and each of you will need to figure these things
out for yourself. This is not a prescription. It's just
my practice. And so with you and knowing what your
health issues are, what your knees are, you have those
things available to you. But that's just my baseline. And
then there are times when I do want to like
test out a new weed that I just grew, and
(49:25):
here's one. It's on my desk. This is a little
sprig of Royal highness and it's really powerful. It's delicious.
It's really cushion.
Speaker 1 (49:34):
What does it smell like? What does it smell like? Oh?
Speaker 3 (49:36):
It has what I describe as a classic cush smell.
So here can you hear it? Yeah, it smells great,
It smells bresh, it smells. It has a lot of
hits of like pine and just like you walked out
into a wet forest in the Northwest, it smells amazing
(49:57):
and the mallsmells.
Speaker 1 (49:58):
That's the nose. But that's another episode of folks when
you're worried about well, the predictability. Now, I don't know
how it's gonna affect me what Penny just did. Smell
it just like you smell, you know, and see how
it hits you, See where it hits you getting to
your baseline. We're not saying to give any of these
things up, but wow, to add that point of water
(50:23):
with cannabinoids to my cup of coffee instead of just
having caffeine, which is also legal, I think would probably
do me good. To add the magic salve and cut
down on the ibprofen. Oh, I think my gut would
appreciate that so much, definitely. And then in the evening
(50:45):
to take a chocolate heart instead of a pharmaceutical sleeping
pill or a bunch of wine. Nothing against that, and
you could still have that. You might find you're having less,
and you're having less of something that's serving you but
also has negative effects, and you're replacing it or you know,
(51:12):
cutting down on it, diluting it with something that's has
the same effects and is actually can't make health claims.
But as the research will show, as we get even
more and more studies, but there's a lot of peer
reviewed studies about the antioxidant effects and the anti inflammatory
(51:34):
effects of the medicinal benefits of cannabis. It's a magic plan. Yeah. Well,
and then in closing, we always ask our guests. We
have a segment called nip it in the butt because
we want to prove the stigma. And I'm gonna ask you,
(51:56):
what is maybe one of your top cannabis misconceptions, a
myth you'd like to clarify it was framed, let's nip
it in the bud. Do you have a common misconception
that you'd like to debunk.
Speaker 3 (52:14):
Yes, the common misconception is that cannabis always gets you stoned.
It does not. Cannabis is that one good one? If
you buy cannabis. That's all CBD. Guess what. You can
roll a joint. You can look as cool and as
if as you possibly want. You can smoke all night.
You will not get stoned, You'll be super relaxed. So
you just got to know what's in your weed. But no,
(52:36):
there's way more than THHC. As much as that is
a fabulous molecule, and it is medical in addition to
being super fun and it gets you high. Cannabis is
much more than just getting high.
Speaker 1 (52:50):
It's much more than the promise of a high. And
there's many things. Hey, today people are chasing sales, not
chasing a high. But we'll say, we'll say I come home,
I want to chase high. I think they might want
the CBD after the Black Friday. So well, Penny and
we have one other segment. We have consumer insights and tips.
I mean, this entire interview was one big consumer insight
(53:13):
and tip. I really love knowing the intention behind what
do you want to have your cannabis for and understanding
who's behind it.
Speaker 3 (53:26):
Absolutely, there are in addition to the Humble Tea Company
and Grow It from Home, there are a wonderful array
of just delightful companies. I think the cannabis industry has
some of the most creative and integrity filled people in
business today, but they are under duress in terms of
the license dispensaries. There's a pretty onerous tax burden that we,
(53:51):
the people in California, have put on them, so be
aware of how that impacts them. But there's some phenomenal
products out there. Go to a really good dispensary, and
by good, I mean you get to know them. Who
owns them, Are they serving their community? Are they owned
by black people, by women, by queer people. You got
to figure out what your values are and then go
(54:11):
find a dispensary that meets them. So that's the first thing,
and the second is then ask the questions. There are
bud tenders who are really well informed and they can
help you pick out products. Let's just say you haven't
grown your own cannabis, but you love using it. You
can go try things at a dispensary and then think,
then then kind of diy them yourself next year. That's
(54:33):
kind of how I got started making my own products.
I loved some of the things that I tried in dispensaries,
and I still go to dispensaries and look at their offerings.
I'll buy them on occasions. So it's not mutually exclusive
to go to a really good dispensary and try things
there and that will help inform what you make at home.
(54:53):
It's sort of like going to a great restaurant. You
get inspired, you can home, come home and go wow,
I want to make things like that too.
Speaker 1 (55:00):
Yeah, wow, wow, wow, wow wow. What an amazing conversation
today with you, Penny. I gotta get you in studio
because I would like a hug virtual you know, yeah,
we'll do a virtual hug. This has just been such
a refreshing reminder that, you know, we're at the beginning
(55:21):
of the holiday season, but it's a season. It's a
season that should last all year, not be dictated. I
like to say to people, it's a state of mind, guys,
not a date.
Speaker 3 (55:33):
So you know, it doesn't have to.
Speaker 1 (55:37):
Be about buying more stuff. I know, and I know
I do it myself. Like you should see what how
many treats and bones my dog has. I just want
to shower her, and it's it's is it that about me?
Or is it about her? What does she need? You know,
it's not I know you want to. You want to
make an impact on somebody by this book, Grow It
(56:01):
from Home, Make something. Yeah, you'll be the most I
tell you, I've become the most popular aunt in our family.
But I'm sure you want to.
Speaker 3 (56:12):
Penny ranking did go up several.
Speaker 1 (56:16):
Lins, right, doesn't it go up? What?
Speaker 3 (56:19):
That's cool?
Speaker 1 (56:20):
Yeah, and it is cool. To recap on the key
takeaways from our talk today, Penny you know, shared some
fantastic advice on how to start planning your own cannabis guarden.
Whether you're dreaming about it now or ready to roll
up your sleeves come spring, it's the perfect time to
think about what you'd like to grow and what you
(56:42):
want to get from it. Why do you want to
grow it? You know? Whether you're a seasoned grower or
just starting out, this book is fantastic. It is not overwhelming.
It's going to guide you through the process of growing, harvesting,
and all the multiple ways you can enjoy cannabis and
(57:03):
all of its many forms, including gifting it. So don't forget.
We've got more resources waiting for you at greenbe life
dot com. She mentioned Emily, go go Grow It from Home.
We have some fantastic growing guides and a whole playlist
on GBLTV with Emily showing us how to make herbal teas,
(57:25):
how to start your garden with seed, to treats for
your pets. Whether you're looking to learn creator shop, We've
got something for you. As we wrap up today, I
want to share a final thought. Let's make this holiday
season a time for mindfulness, relaxation, and creativity. Let's focus
(57:48):
on what really matters, you know, just connecting while making
the cookies, not whether your kid got the right amount
of butter in it. I know that matters, and sometimes
you know you're stressed, you lose it. Let's remember what's important.
It's the connection and the feeling that's being fostered, you know.
And then, rather you're crafting your own cannabis infused holiday
(58:11):
gifts or just taking a moment to pause and recharge,
remember that you've got the power to make this scene,
to make this season meaningful in a way that's meaningful
to you. So thank you so much for joining us
on just saying no today, that's no with a k K.
Now we now have grown or no, grow your no,
(58:38):
and I hope you leave feeling inspired and ready to
take a new green approach to your holiday season, at
least your Black Friday. Until next time, take care to
stay curious and remember your self care matters, Keep exploring,
keep creating, keep listening, and as always, just Say No.
(59:03):
Just Say No is a green bee Life presentation airing
live weekly on Friday afternoons from four to five pm
Pacific on KCA Radio and KCAA TV. Archived audio episodes
are on greenbeelife, greenbelife dot com, iHeartRadio, Speaker, and most
(59:24):
third party major platforms. For archived videos, check them out
on GBLTV, on greenbee Life YouTube and Rumble. To follow
us our Instagram and Facebook is at just Say No Radio.
To apply to be a guest on the show or
(59:46):
for sponsorship and advertising opportunities, go to greenbeelife dot com,
forward slash just Say No, and feel free to reach
out to me Maria for any questions. I'm at Maria
at greenbeylife dot com or kwame at eight one eight
(01:00:07):
seven five eight six no
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