Keeping holiday stress down means an enjoyable time with your family and time to sit back and relax while medicated to reflect. Whether you’re celebrating Winter Solstice, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or all of them through the New Year, consider our recommendations for a stellar time.
Holidays can certainly be nerve-wracking with the influx of your genetic material in the room. And since cannabis is still very much illegal, that could mean conversations you do and don’t want to have. So maybe you want to keep your consumption discreet and leave smoking for when you have privacy. Or maybe it’s time to introduce the MMCC registration process to your loved ones and get them started with hemp-derived CBD options.
To keep stress levels as low as possible, here’s what we’re covering:
- Products rich in limonene, linalool and caryophllyene to massage away stress
- Mary’s Medicinal transdermal patches for long-lasting relief
- Bare essentials of traveling with cannabis
- Importance of proper storage
- Different types of “Talks” about medical cannabis you might have with family
- How you can explore the Releaf App for tracking doses
Quick-acting, long-lasting product recommendations
Take the edge off the holiday stress with medical cannabis that’s discreet and long-lasting. You might not be ready to talk to your family about your patient status. Or maybe you are. Either way, here are our product recommendations to help you wind down and enjoy the company of relatives and friends.
Essential terpenes to beat stress: limonene, linalool and caryophyllene
The best terpenes for this time of year are limonene, linalool and caryophyllene. So keep an eye-out for products that are dominant and rich with some or all of these terpenoids.
We have overviews of these terpenes on our cannabis curriculum. But the essentials if you’re still learning are as follows:
- Limonene has a citrus aroma and studies reflect its uplifting effects that elevate mood and knock out states like depression and anxiety. It’s present in lemons.
- Linalool has a fragrant aroma and studies show it offers calming effect, which is helpful for social anxiety. It’s present in lavender.
- Caryophyllene has a peppery aroma and studies show it has anti-anxiety, anti-inflammation and pain relieving effects. It’s present in black pepper.
If you’re not looking to attract attention, you want options that limit or eliminate that wondrous cannabis aroma. So discreet options like transdermal patches (explored further below), edibles, tinctures and cartridges for vaping and dabbing are your best bets.
Check out these recommendations while they last:
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Refreshing and convenient. Everything else to kalm you down. These low-dose tablets are mellow and there when you need it. |
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The perfect balance of THC and CBD plus CBDA and THCA, their acidic counterparts. This formula contains the widest entourage of cannabinoids available and is excellent for most symptoms. Also it’s a beneficial daily supplement to help improve overall well being. These drops are non-impairing (even in THC-sensitive individuals) unless used at very high doses (20-40 drops). |
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These delicious chews are handcrafted with the finest all natural ingredients for the best experience. Betty’s Eddies use only non-GMO organic fruits and vegetables and naturally extracted THC. |
Not shy about your plant medicine use? Check out Afterburner from Grow West, while supplies last. Afterburner comes in at 22% THCa, with 2.69% total terpenes, including: 1.5% beta-myrcene, .69% ocimene, .16% alpha-pinene!
12-hours of discreet relief: Mary’s Medicinals cannabis transdermal patches
If you have a long day or couple of days of non-stop interactions and tasks, you might not have time to medicate. And if discretion is important to you, it creates stress finding privacy with your meds. With that in mind, we recommend giving Mary’s Medicinals transdermal patches a try.
It’s medicine that provides ongoing, stable relief for up to 12 hours. And you apply the patch to the top of your foot or your inner wrist, so more than likely no one will see it and ask questions. If being around the relatives or all the stimuli of holiday cheer is typically a point of stress for you, give the patches a try.
Of course, they’re great for ongoing pain and discomforts from other qualifying conditions. It will take the edge off of your ailments so you can keep up with your family and peers until you have a moment to smoke or dab without question.
There’s also a 10mg hemp-derived CBD patch called Mary’s Medicinals if you want to share it with your family. As for Mary’s Medicinals, there are many options and they’re all terpene-rich:
1:1 THC to CBD with myrcene, linalool, limonene, pinene, and caryophyllene
CBD (marijuana-derived) + limonene, pinene, caryophyllene
CBN + linalool, myrcene, caryophyllene
THC Indica: myrcene, linalool, pinene, caryophyllene
THC Sativa: limonene, pinene, caryophyllene
If you find that you have a special inclination towards one or two patches, we offer them in bulk as a 15-pack.
Navigating holiday travel with your medical cannabis
The holidays means reconnecting with relatives and peers, which means travel. If you’re looking to keep stress levels down, continue on for our recommendations for traveling with medical cannabis.
DON’T travel outside of state lines with your meds!
If you’re keeping your holiday visits in Maryland, move onto the next section about safely storing your medicine around family. For those patients doing the driving, it’s best to medicate once you’re off of the road.
That aside, please don’t travel outside our crab-loving state with your medical cannabis. It doesn’t matter if you’ve heard TSA isn’t actively searching for it in your luggage or that you’ve made smell-proof drives many times before. And what’s a sure way to guarantee stress and potential legal problems for yourself?
Different ways to talk to your family about cannabis
The cannabis talk with your family comes down to a few things. Other than the embedded “reefer madness” in our culture, you may have family who are curious about exploring cannabis. And that’s exploring for their own ailments or they want to know more about your experience as a patient.
Fortunately, you don’t have to spend your entire time being an educator. Give them an overview and then nudge them over to our blog and easy-to-follow cannabis curriculum, especially if they want to become a MMCC patient.
Proper storage is vital for safety and product freshness
Whether you’re inviting relatives over or traveling in Maryland, make sure your medicine is sealed in airtight, child- and pet-proof containers and placed out of reach. If you have homemade edibles, tinctures or other cannabis-infused products that require refrigeration, properly label them and ensure they’re only accessible to you.
These tips ensure the safety of your family, keep everyone out of legal trouble, and keep your purchases as fresh and potent as possible!
Tracking your cannabis dosage: Releaf App
How do you track your cannabis consumption? You may have a set routine during your regular day-to-day. With relatives in town or if you’re headed elsewhere in Maryland, the whirlwind of holiday cheer could throw you off. Or maybe you’ve learned that you need to increase your dosing so that you enjoy your time with family without worry.
We highly recommend the Releaf App for tracking effects of certain products. And given how in flux Maryland’s market is, you could be exploring a new strain during the holidays and may want to buy it again.
If you’re a regular Releaf App user, you can use it as a visual reference for educating your relatives about medicinal options and innovation in the industry. It’s available on iPhone and Android.
Takeaways
We wish you the happiest of holidays and that you have a lovely time with your relatives. Products high in limonene, linalool and caryophyllene are great for elevating your mood, helping you remain calm and massaging away pain that used to limit positive interactions with your loved ones.
Transdermal patches are great for long-lasting, consistent effects. But remember to be wise and safe about traveling with your medicine (please DON’T do it across state lines!). Consider how to store cannabis to keep away from children and pets. And prepare for a good cannabis convo by reviewing our blog.
And if you’re not tracking your cannabis dosing and products, try out Releaf App!
Dissolve your holiday stress and try out Mary’s Medicinals transdermal patches and/or any products rich with limonene, linalool or caryophyllene when you come in. They’ll be helpful for creating positive conversations with your family about medical cannabis.
Alaina Dorsey is a freelance cannabis content marketing writer and strategist based in Baltimore, MD. For dispensaries and online cannabis businesses, she writes the chilliest customer-focused content that educates and engages. Quirks available upon request at www.alainadorsey.com.
