 |
| On Masonic and Haight |
I've been getting out a bit more, taking taxis to nearby cafes & seeing friends who have been wonderful enough to ferry me around a bit.
Yesterday, while en route to the sensible shoe store, we drove past the shop shown above. I think this space has had its Summer of Love paint job for the past couple of decades. Usually, I don't really give it another look, but on Saturday I found myself really appreciating the patterns and colors used. I took this snap while we were stopped at a red light. Groovy.
As of Jan. 1, 2018, pot and pot-derived products are legal to purchase for those over the age of 18 in the state of CA. I haven't smoked dope in over a decade, so buying buds as if I were buying a beer doesn't hold a thrill for me. What does hold my interest are all the CBD products dispensaries have in stock.
 |
| Our pal, Mary-Jane. |
CBD, or Cannabidiol, is a non-psychoactive compound found in cannabis. It's the stuff that doesn't get you high. What research shows it may do, however, is reduce pain and inflammation in the body. I'm currently experiencing both.
Conveniently, there is a dispensary around the corner from my place. I hobbled over a couple of weeks back to check out the scene. The shop consists of two small rooms: a foyer & back room. The rooms are connected by a heavy door manned by security guard. The guard gives everyone entering the back room a number. It sort of felt like I were visiting a well-guarded butcher shop. The back room is narrow with a bar running down the length of one of the walls. A cash-point stands at the back. The shelves above the bar are stocked with buds, tinctures, edibles and creams. An all-male staff attends to customers' needs. I left with a CBD tincture that was meant to reduce anxiety. After using the tincture for the past two weeks, I can't say I'm sold. Moreover, the product selection wasn't broad enough to suit me, so I don't think I'll be back.
More recently, I went to a swanky pot emporium over in the Castro in search of a topical CBD cream. After conferring with a rather stoned-seeming employee, I purchased an ointment that's a combo of CBD and THC compounds. THC, by the way, is the stuff that gets you high. I've been applying the ointment to the swollen bits of my feet on and off for the past few days. Perhaps that's why I responded so strongly to the psychedelic building in the Haight? More field research might be in order.
I hope it helps. You are streets ahead of us on this issue.
ReplyDeleteIt is decades since I have inhaled, but I still loved that psychedelic building.
I hope so, too, thanks.
DeleteYeah, we're lucky here in Calif. Perhaps, the legalization of pot will come to your more liberal states and territories, as it has for us...?
I had a high school Spanish teacher who was born in Cuba and spent time growing up in Spain. He was VERY straitlaced. Someone had given him a liniment which contained marijuana seeds soaked in rubbing alcohol.
ReplyDeleteCurious, he decided to plant one of the seeds, and ended up with a tiny plant. All the while, he became paranoid- every time he heard a siren or a helicopter flying overhead, he'd get a panic attack. He finally decided that the plant had to go.
In retrospect, I'm shocked that he told us, being such a straitlaced guy. Of course, we jokingly asked him if he burned the plant.
Ha. Yes. It had to go right into the rolling papers.
DeleteNowadays such an admission would see that maestro lose his job, I would imagine.
They often talk about legalising for medical reasons but nothing has happened here.
ReplyDeleteA friend's 77-year-old father suffers from neuropathy. A THC balm from the dispensary has proven to be a great help. The medical uses of cannabis are tremendous. May your gov't see the light.
DeleteI hope whichever product you try out next that it will do what it is supposed to be doing, and really make things a little better and easier for you.
ReplyDeleteThank you! A foot balm I recently purchased seems to be having an effect. :)
DeleteJust when they legalise it, you - after ten years of abstinence - are now considering it as a pain killer and anti inflammatory. What a drag it is growing old...
ReplyDeleteIt is a drag.
DeleteGreat building. I love that paint job.
ReplyDeleteI hope you find a blend that helps you. They're discussing putting dispensaries in my city, but the city council has been hesitant. I would have thought once it became legal that that wouldn't be an issue, but it is.
I know that some residents in SF have felt that the presence of dispensaries would bring a certain unwanted element, I guess, to the area. I don't see that with our local shop. What I have noticed is that visitors to the shop often double park out front of the store. It's a bit of traffic disruption.
DeleteI hope you find the right product to help you out. Idaho will probably be one of the last states to legalize because we are little old-fashioned and not setting the world on fire with our progressiveness.
ReplyDeleteBummer. Some people swear by the CBD-infused products. I mean, as you know, it ain't about getting high, but rather pain relief.
DeleteWondering what pain it is you’re trying to relieve but hope you’re successful as gather it affects your feet which impairs walking — possibly a neuropathy due to some med issue.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Joared. I think it's a bit of neuropathy as well. PT has helped quite a bit.
Delete