In this episode we talk with Dr Jenna Valeriani from the Ontario Cannabis store with some advice for safer consumption during the holidays, we talk improved sleep with cannabis, a study on the effect of edibles on driving, some thoughts on a single excise stamp across the country and I remember my big brother one year on. On Cultivar Corner, brought to you by Up In Smoke we try a seasonal offering from Phant with their Egg Nog vape.
In this episode we talk with Dr Jenna Valeriani from the Ontario Cannabis store with some advice for safer consumption during the holidays, we talk improved sleep with cannabis, a study on the effect of edibles on driving, some thoughts on a single excise stamp across the country and I remember my big brother one year on. On Cultivar Corner, brought to you by Up In Smoke we try a seasonal offering from Phant with their Egg Nog vape.
00;00;01;22 - 00;00;08;29
Ian
From a studio high above the clouds of the Okanagan Valley. This is the cannabis potcast.
00;00;09;01 - 00;00;19;08
Ian
Exploring the world of Canadian cannabis culture. One toke at a time. Now is your host and Bud tender, Gary Johnson.
00;00;19;10 - 00;00;38;10
Gary Johnston
And let me be the first to welcome you to the Cannabis Potcast. Or maybe I'm wrong. Maybe you're actually coming back for another visit. Well, if that's the case, I'm even happier about that. Welcome back. Today we are going to spend the next 30 or 40 minutes talking about a subject that I am absolutely passionate about, and that is cannabis.
00;00;38;17 - 00;00;58;15
Gary Johnston
I suspect you may have an inkling or some predilection to enjoy that as well. And that could explain why you're here. Now, before we get too much further, let me remind you this podcast is intended for those of legal consumption, age in your jurisdiction, and is intended purely for entertainment and perhaps educational purposes. You should always consume your cannabis responsibly.
00;00;58;17 - 00;01;20;22
Gary Johnston
And speaking of responsible consumption, in this episode we talked with Doctor Jenna mariani from the Ontario Cannabis Store. She has some advice for us for safer consumption during the holidays. We talk improved sleep with cannabis. A study on the effects of edibles on driving. Some thoughts on a single excise stamp across the country. And I remember my big brother one year on on cultivar corner.
00;01;20;24 - 00;01;42;08
Gary Johnston
Brought to you by Up in Smoke. We're going to try a seasonal offering from fans with their eggnog vape. All of that and more on episode 187 of the Cannabis Podcast. And of course, before we get too much further, let me stop and say thank you for being a listener. I truly appreciate the fact that you are here every single time.
00;01;42;10 - 00;01;59;24
Gary Johnston
And I also want to thank those who support me. For example, Georgina at Buy Me a coffee.com/cannabis podcast. If you feel so inclined and you like what you hear, you can go there too and buy me a doobie. Just like my sister in law Caroline did. You gotta love it, right? Thank you so much, Caroline. I so appreciate that.
00;02;00;03 - 00;02;17;04
Gary Johnston
Now, it was kind of in recognition of my birthday, which was happened just a week or so ago. So I appreciate that. And I love the fact that my sister in law continues to be a listener of the Cannabis Podcast. I'm glad you're along for the ride, Caroline. Thank you so much. I truly appreciate it. And I want to thank my patrons at Patreon.
00;02;17;05 - 00;02;47;05
Gary Johnston
Thanks to Tony, Rob, Gage, Lloyd, Roger, and Justin. I appreciate each and every one of you, and thank you so much for your support and. Let me think back to a year from now. You remember that my brother Bill passed away. And what you may not realize or remember or even know is that in the few months prior to his passing, he unfortunately had a major fire at his property and just a little north of New Denver and lost everything.
00;02;47;08 - 00;03;08;07
Gary Johnston
The mobile home that was on the property completely destroyed, all of the contents completely destroyed. So he had some challenges. And of course, we've now have been thinking about him for a year now, thinking about Bill every single day. And I can pass on some good news for you. My niece Angie, who, of course, has had a very tough year.
00;03;08;09 - 00;03;27;16
Gary Johnston
This has been a tough one for her. She has now decided that she's going to rebuild and put a home on Bill's property just outside of New Denver. I think that is fabulous. I think it's the appropriate place for her to be. And I'm so happy to hear that she's moving along with that. So give my brother Bill a thought while you're smoking a joint today.
00;03;27;22 - 00;03;59;12
Gary Johnston
Wish you were still with us, Bill. But I've got lots of great memories.
Gary Johnston
And I guess there's one other thing that I haven't done in this episode, and that is to wish you the best of the season, whatever you may be celebrating. Maybe it's Christmas, maybe it's Hanukkah, maybe it's Happy Holidays, maybe it's something else. But you're probably getting together with family and I hope you have an enjoyable time. I hope you have some enjoyable time together and you get to spend some time with family and friends and celebrate the season.
Gary Johnston
That's all. Just a wish to celebrate the season. And now you can get back to rolling that joint and we can get on with the episode.
As the holiday season approaches. Public health authorities are reminding Canadians to use alcohol safely and responsibly. But what about cannabis like alcohol? Cannabis sales spike every December as consumers stock up on gifts and party supplies. Well, this year, the Ontario Cannabis Store is going to help us figure out what we need to be doing to have a safe and enjoyable holiday.
00;03;59;14 - 00;04;11;04
Gary Johnston
I'm pleased to welcome to the Cannabis Potcast, doctor Jenna Valeriani, the senior manager of social responsibility at the Ontario Cannabis Store. Dr Valeriani? Welcome to the potcast.
00;04;11;05 - 00;04;12;20
Jenna Valeriani
Thanks so much for having me.
00;04;12;22 - 00;04;20;03
Gary Johnston
Well, thanks for joining us today. I'm glad you took some time to help us have a better holiday season. Do you consume cannabis?
00;04;20;05 - 00;04;21;06
Jenna Valeriani
I do, yeah.
00;04;21;09 - 00;04;29;03
Gary Johnston
Excellent. I just love that because we do too. And the first question I like to ask is, where does your cannabis story begin?
00;04;29;08 - 00;04;57;28
Jenna Valeriani
Well, I, you know, really, I got started maybe about 14 years ago now. So I was a researcher. I was a student at the University of Toronto, and I had a friend that was navigating the medical cannabis access system at that time. And I just thought it was really fascinating. And, you know, hearing his story about how he had to find the right doctors to find the right, you know, to navigate education, and dosing and getting a medical document at the time.
00;04;58;00 - 00;05;19;14
Jenna Valeriani
And so I just decided to make that my entire focus of my studies at UFT. And so I was really, interested in the area. And then as I was, you know, kind of starting my dissertation, the Liberal government announced they were going to legalize cannabis. And so at that time, I'd been doing some field research at some medical cannabis dispensaries in the city of Toronto.
00;05;19;14 - 00;05;38;21
Jenna Valeriani
So really just hanging out and talking to patients, talking to folks that worked there for a long time. And so really, it was the kind of, right moment, right time, just kind of coming together. And so really, I focused on the opening of the commercial market and what I was really interested in were these entrepreneurs that had been in this space for a really long time.
00;05;38;27 - 00;06;07;13
Jenna Valeriani
You know, I think historically, if you if you go back before, before the proliferation of, medical cannabis dispensaries in the city, there were 12 or 14 that really were there and had been there for a while that were risking their liberty. So kind of comparing them to these new entrants into the commercial market. And then, I got really deep into the policy and educational space, doing a lot of, advising around the legal, legalization and, and some of the consultation they were doing.
00;06;07;13 - 00;06;38;24
Jenna Valeriani
And I did a post-doc out at UBC medicine and, and there I was really interested in working with folks who use drugs that were using cannabis as a tool to manage or reduce their other drug use. So I kind of have the community health angle, the policy angle. I worked, for a few non-profits. I worked for, the private industry for a little bit, and now I'm in the public sector, and I kind of feel like that's a great balance of my public health background, but also, you know, really wanting to see legalization succeed more broadly.
00;06;38;26 - 00;06;50;27
Gary Johnston
And of course, seeing legalization succeed is something that we're all hoping to see. So now you're with the Ontario Cannabis Store in your role of senior manager of social responsibility. What exactly does that mean?
00;06;51;02 - 00;07;15;18
Jenna Valeriani
So I manage, you know, a lot of our social responsibility programing, which is really, you know, we're, you know, we're kind of mandated to, operate our business in a socially responsible way. So I'm really responsible for operationalizing that. So for us, that is really around education and research. So making sure that Ontarians are well informed about cannabis.
00;07;15;20 - 00;07;39;05
Jenna Valeriani
We provide a really great educational hub called cannabis Made clear. And you know, I'm really passionate about evidence based, balanced, kind of non-judgmental education and information. And so we try to bring that, to the public. We also, you know, have a social impact fund where we give back 1% of our, our net profits to a range of different programing and initiatives.
00;07;39;08 - 00;08;08;15
Jenna Valeriani
And, you know, we fund research as well, to help grow our understanding of, of cannabis and kind of those key issues around public health. And we, we do a range of other functions to we support retailers and ensuring they have education here in the province of Ontario. And we have another focus on sustainability around the environment as well as diversity, equity and inclusion in the industry.
00;08;08;15 - 00;08;27;08
Jenna Valeriani
So we've done a few things with, you know, we've we've done a retailer diversity study. We also provide equity funding. So essentially if we're sponsoring an event, will, provide a little extra funding to get some black, indigenous and persons of color owned businesses out there, so they get to engage in those networking opportunities.
00;08;27;10 - 00;08;29;26
Gary Johnston
And how long have you been in your role, Janet?
00;08;29;28 - 00;08;50;24
Jenna Valeriani
I've been in this role for about three years now. So it's been, you know, when I kind of got there, things were just really starting out. And so we've been able to build, a bunch of programing around that. As I mentioned, our Cannabis Make Clear platform is probably one of my favorite things. And so we're just growing and kind of diversifying that content and finding new ways to get it out to the Ontario public.
00;08;50;26 - 00;09;07;05
Gary Johnston
All right. Well, here we are. We are into the holiday season for 2024 a season. We are hoping will be a very happy and a safe season. Any suggestions, any recommendations for how we should take our approach to partying this holiday season?
00;09;07;05 - 00;09;24;08
Jenna Valeriani
Yeah. So generally, you know, we always want to, just provide some harm reduction, education for folks who may be celebrating. It's also a time, you know, we have a little more time off for hanging out with our family and friends. So, generally, I would say the age old saying that, no doubt you've heard this many times, the start low and go slow.
00;09;24;09 - 00;09;50;23
Jenna Valeriani
So we always just recommend folks, really, you know, dose and then kind of wait, especially when with edibles, just because of the delay and feeling those effects. And generally, you know, some folks may be new to cannabis or trying cannabis, maybe edibles or gummies. And so in any legal package here in Canada, you'll get no more than ten milligrams, of THC in your edibles.
00;09;50;23 - 00;10;08;09
Jenna Valeriani
And so I always recommend two and a half as a starting dose. If you're not sure how it's going to impact you. You can always take more later, but you can't go backwards, so that's for sure. So if you know anyone that's had you know that's over consumed, it can be really uncomfortable and very, very unpleasant. So just avoiding that by taking your time, you're you're in no rush.
00;10;08;11 - 00;10;23;28
Jenna Valeriani
And I think second, we always want to recommend that folks are safely storing their cannabis. There are always kids and more pets running around over the holidays. Just making sure that it's up in a way or properly labeled, is really, important there.
00;10;24;01 - 00;10;44;17
Gary Johnston
Absolutely. We want to be very, very safe in our cannabis and how we are storing it. And making sure it's well protected from everybody else. So as we get ready for the holiday season and I want to host a party and I decide that I want to include some alcohol, what kind of things should I be concerned with?
00;10;44;19 - 00;11;05;00
Jenna Valeriani
So I think, you know, I think everybody kind of, you know, can make a decision around what they want to consume and how they want to consume it. If folks are combining, let's say, alcohol with cannabis, we generally say to be very mindful that it might actually elevate how intoxicated or or how kind of, high or drunk you may feel.
00;11;05;00 - 00;11;29;21
Jenna Valeriani
And even if you're used to having 1 or 2 beers, if you combine that with cannabis, you can feel way a lot more intoxicated than you would just feel on those two drinks alone or just on that joint alone. And also I would say, you know, if you're going to have cannabis at your parties, just making sure that if you have edibles, for example, they're properly labeled, perhaps away from the non infused food, just so guests really understand that, okay, when they pick from this platter, this one has a bit of an infusion.
00;11;29;27 - 00;11;40;03
Jenna Valeriani
And also just to have some knowledge around, what the dosing looks like, what you're kind of giving folks as well, just to ensure that everybody stays safe and has a really enjoyable experience.
00;11;40;05 - 00;11;59;04
Gary Johnston
And that's really what we're after, isn't it, everybody to stay safe and let's have an enjoyable experience. Okay. So we've got everybody at our party. We have perhaps consume some alcohol and some cannabis. I guess the one thing we want to make sure is not only have we arrived at the party, but we need to find a safe way home, right?
00;11;59;06 - 00;12;24;12
Jenna Valeriani
Yeah. So I think just like with alcohol, you always you know, if you are consuming cannabis, you want to ensure that you have a safe ride home so that can be, you know, staying over at your host house. It can be getting a taxi or a rideshare using public transit designated driver, having somebody come pick you up. I think all of those things are really good options to make sure that you know you're staying safe, you're keeping other people safe and and you're, celebrating responsibly.
00;12;24;14 - 00;12;44;12
Gary Johnston
That's what we're all hoping for, right? We want to celebrate responsibly and have some fun. Now, this is a question that I saw, I talked about earlier, where somebody is heading to their Christmas party and they're getting free drinks, but cannabis is specifically disallowed. Loud. Any suggestion how we can deal with that?
00;12;44;14 - 00;13;07;07
Jenna Valeriani
I mean, that's a very interesting question. I think, generally I think it's stigma. Yeah. I was going to say I think generally well, first of all, I'm sure that like, organizations don't want to be serving both in the same place just because there could be an increased risk. But generally I would say that, yeah. We're just we're simply not there yet.
00;13;07;07 - 00;13;18;18
Jenna Valeriani
I think generally there's a lot of, stigma and logistics and, I think some things that probably most companies are just not willing to really delve into just yet.
00;13;18;20 - 00;13;34;04
Gary Johnston
And I think you're correct. I think we're going to see stigma breaking down stigma for a number of years to come. Like, like I'd like to see people in their Christmas packages. They give out, you know, bottles of wine. Can we not see some cannabis in there?
00;13;34;07 - 00;13;56;19
Jenna Valeriani
I think we are seeing that change. I would bet that more and more people are going to be getting hosting gifts, etc. especially. We're kind of seeing a general shift away from alcohol more broadly. I really feel like, you know, you know, having a dry December, having a dry January, that's a lot more common. So I think this year we're going to see a lot more cannabis hosting and cannabis gifting.
00;13;56;21 - 00;14;06;01
Gary Johnston
Well, I hope you're right. Not only would I like to see people gifting more cannabis, but I wouldn't mind receiving some of that cannabis myself for sure.
00;14;06;04 - 00;14;24;09
Jenna Valeriani
The only thing I would say is that if you are gifting cannabis just to make sure that the person you're giving it to, that it's a very intentional gift giving that you're explaining to them what you're giving them. And if they're new or they're novice users really explaining to them about, you know, when they might feel it, what they might feel, how much is in the package.
00;14;24;09 - 00;14;44;15
Jenna Valeriani
So just being really intentional about that gift giving, I think is really important. And I think if your listeners want to learn more, they should check out, cannabis Made Clear. Okay. So that's kind of our educational hub. All of our information and education is reviewed by experts all across Canada. And it really just is a reflect, a reflection of where the research sits today.
00;14;44;17 - 00;14;50;09
Gary Johnston
And it's really nice to hear that you're spending so much time on education. So are you ready for my hot questions?
00;14;50;14 - 00;14;51;22
Jenna Valeriani
Oh okay.
00;14;51;25 - 00;14;55;06
Gary Johnston
All right. Well, what's your favorite cultivar?
00;14;55;08 - 00;15;00;28
Jenna Valeriani
Oh, I love, any kind of, amnesia haze.
00;15;01;00 - 00;15;06;08
Gary Johnston
Oh, amnesia haze. Always nice. Okay. Joints or vape.
00;15;06;10 - 00;15;08;07
Jenna Valeriani
Joints? She's old school.
00;15;08;10 - 00;15;11;24
Gary Johnston
Oh, I love old school. Your favorite munchie?
00;15;11;27 - 00;15;12;20
Jenna Valeriani
Dorito chips.
00;15;12;25 - 00;15;16;22
Gary Johnston
Always tasty. And final question. Flower or edibles?
00;15;16;29 - 00;15;18;29
Jenna Valeriani
Flower. Always.
00;15;19;01 - 00;15;27;17
Gary Johnston
Yes. I am a flower guy. Always as well. Edibles. Unfortunately, my endocannabinoid system, they just don't work for me.
00;15;27;19 - 00;15;28;13
Jenna Valeriani
You're one of those.
00;15;28;14 - 00;15;30;25
Gary Johnston
Yes, that's one of those.
00;15;30;28 - 00;15;40;10
Jenna Valeriani
I see, I kind of the opposite. I, I've consumed for for 20 years, but, you know, give me like two milligrams of THC and I'm, like, in bed.
00;15;40;13 - 00;15;51;21
Gary Johnston
I am envious, let me tell you. And thank you so much for sharing some great information with us today. Jenna. Thank you so much. We'll have a better holiday season this year. Enjoy the rest of your day.
00;15;51;24 - 00;15;55;17
Jenna Valeriani
Oh no problem, thanks so much for having me.
00;15;55;19 - 00;15;59;29
Ian
For the cannabis infused studio in the clouds, this is the cannabis potcast.
00;16;00;03 - 00;16;28;10
Gary Johnston
And this story we are picking up from Strat can.com. It was written by staff researchers at the University of Saskatchewan's Driving Research and Simulation Laboratory, will begin looking at how cannabis edibles impact people's ability to drive in 2025. There's a lot of research on smoked cannabis and the impacts on driving, but very little on the effects of edibles, Alexander Krisel, the labs director and an associate professor of public health, tells the CBC.
00;16;28;12 - 00;16;52;05
Gary Johnston
Participants in the study will get to eat a ten milligram THC edible and will be provided with snacks at cab fare home. The research team will then measure participants impairment utilizing their in-house driving simulator, Crystal tells the CBC and Saskatchewan. We also have a battery of tests where we look at how the people think, and we kind of stress them out a little bit to see how well they perform under a certain amount of stress.
00;16;52;08 - 00;17;15;25
Gary Johnston
That kind of gives us a good indication of how much the edibles are impacting their ability to think and drive. The Driving Research and Simulation Laboratory the doctors at the University of Saskatchewan is directed by Krisel and contains state of the art driving simulators to study the impact of technology rehabilitation, road design, for example, intersections, roundabouts, bicycle lanes and training, among other features.
00;17;15;25 - 00;17;39;15
Gary Johnston
The cell also has a full array of clinical assessments such as vision, cognition and motor tests. The lab is also a co-investigator in the multi-year Don't Drive Hi campaign from 2021 to 24, with funding from the Canadian Institute of Health Research. This Canada wide project partnered with young Canadians to better understand the factors that influence their decision to drive high.
00;17;39;18 - 00;18;05;03
Gary Johnston
A recent 2023 report from Public Safety Canada found that 23% of cannabis users nationwide admitted to driving within two hours of consumption and new figures from 2024. The number of people who reported using cannabis before driving 18% increased slightly from the year prior, at 15% in 2023 and still lower than the 27% who reported doing so in 2018.
00;18;05;06 - 00;18;27;29
Gary Johnston
Now, this included 16% who reported driving within two hours of smoking or vaporizing cannabis, and 10% who reported driving within four hours of ingesting cannabis. Of those who reported using cannabis in the past 12 months, 78% said they believe that cannabis use impairs one's ability to drive, while 13% responded that it depends and 6% responded that it did not impair one's ability to drive.
00;18;28;01 - 00;18;43;02
Gary Johnston
And you're going to always get a diverse, a diverse section of opinions on this topic. Interesting story out of Saskatchewan and some research to determine whether edibles will have a different impact on your driving.
00;18;43;09 - 00;18;48;13
Ian
THC CBD Tepene profiles Whats in me?
Oh, please explain to me.
00;18;51;15 - 00;18;52;24
Ian
Cultivar Corner oh yeah Cultivar Corner
00;18;59;06 - 00;19;03;02
Ian
Please explain this stuff to me.
00;19;03;05 - 00;19;23;26
Gary Johnston
And welcome to Cultivar Corner. Brought to you by Up in Smoke at 258 West Broadway in Vancouver and online at It's Up in smoke.com and we of course are always giving you the direct delivery exclusives through. It's up in smoke.com. No we're not sure what we're doing today is a direct delivery exclusive. But it is out there.
00;19;23;28 - 00;19;51;00
Gary Johnston
You can grab it. And this is from Fant. And this is something that they have introduced a couple of times around this time of the year. And this is their fat egg nog liquid diamond vape cart. Interesting. And now, of course, you and I have had experience with vape cards in the past. My whole thing about distiller just does not work, so that's why the liquid diamond is of appealing to me and we'll see what happens.
00;19;51;00 - 00;20;14;07
Gary Johnston
So this again is fant liquid diamond eggnog cartridge. THC is sitting at 90%. And that always amazes me that inside of these there's literally 90% THC and then 10% of other stuff, which always just amazes me. So here we are. Cultivar corner, brought to you by It's Up in Smoke at 258 West Broadway in Vancouver. This from the folks at Fenton.
00;20;14;07 - 00;20;37;28
Gary Johnston
Let's give you a little bit of rundown on fat. So fat is a renowned company in the cannabis industry, gained recognition for our commitment to excellence, and quickly developed a dedicated following among cannabis enthusiasts in British Columbia during the mid 20 tens. Our focus on consistency, quality and innovation set us apart from competitors. Even after legalization of cannabis in 2018, we continued to be at the forefront of innovation.
00;20;38;00 - 00;21;06;03
Gary Johnston
Our advanced extraction technology allows us to consistently produce clean and potent products at our state of the art facility in Abbotsford, BC are 99% THC. A concentrate has set a new standard for potency and quality in the realms of cannabis extracts, and one key factor contributing to our success is our dedicated team, comprised of industry veterans with extensive experience in the cannabis field, we've been able to utilize our collective knowledge and expertise to outperform competitors, whether it's cultivation, extraction or product development.
00;21;06;03 - 00;21;27;17
Gary Johnston
We remain ahead of the game thanks to our talented and passionate workforce. And so now let's get to the product we are talking about today. And that is the Fant Liquid Diamond eggnog. So this is a winter special. Fant is excited to present this holiday special once more. Experienced the potency of liquid diamond combined with a custom botanical Turpin blend.
00;21;27;24 - 00;21;53;21
Gary Johnston
Enjoy the rich flavors and creamy vanilla custard infused with festive spices and just a hint of rum for that special seasonal touch. A flawless blend of terrapins and THC, offering you a milder and more enjoyable smoking experience with each pour, the perfectly crafted cartridge leaves you feeling relaxed and fulfilled. Now, I have always had a bit of concern about botanical trappings, but I open the jar well, not the jar.
00;21;53;21 - 00;22;12;29
Gary Johnston
You know the little plastic tube where my cartridge is sitting in. And I have to say, those botanical trappings are certainly giving it an eggnog flavor and an eggnog aroma. As soon as you open that up, my goodness, the explorer comes bursting out of that. And now we'll see what happens when I transfer it into the smoking experience.
00;22;13;01 - 00;22;37;11
Gary Johnston
So again, in terms of what I am putting this through, I'm using a yo can codo a koto pro and let me get my cartridge on top of that Kyoto Pro and we'll see what this is going to do for me. So my sitting at 90%, and again, as soon as I open that little tube, the botanical chirping, just come forth and tell me how much eggnog like flavor there is in this.
00;22;37;14 - 00;22;58;11
Gary Johnston
And now we'll see whether actually we taste the flavor. So this is eggnog liquids diamond vapor sitting at about 90% to 80, 90 to 96%. And this is sitting at 90%. We're going to give that a quick little preheat. Get it up to the proper temperature before we give it this first pull. And let's see what the eggnog liquid diamond vape is going to do for me.
00;22;58;13 - 00;23;08;09
Gary Johnston
And here we go.
00;23;08;11 - 00;23;18;15
Gary Johnston
Okay. When that transfers into the vapor for me.
00;23;18;18 - 00;23;23;27
Gary Johnston
And there you go.
00;23;23;29 - 00;23;37;24
Gary Johnston
I don't do well with botanical terpenes . That was the first hit. And as you could hear, there was a little tension in my voice.
00;23;37;27 - 00;24;05;14
Gary Johnston
So I'm not going to preheat. I'm going to take my temperature down, take my temperatures down to two volts. Let's see if that gives me a bit more flavor and a little less harshness. So let's preheat that. And see where this one goes for us. So I've got another two seconds. Fant eggnog liquid diamond khat.
00;24;05;17 - 00;24;33;26
Gary Johnston
Okay. That was better. I needed to run it at a lower temperature. And. But I also have to be honest and say that in terms of the flavor profile, as I smoke that. I'm not picking up a lot of eggnog, in what's coming out of there. I mean, there are hints of it, obviously, because all those botanical terpenes are providing a lot of those vast aromas of scents that are reminding us of eggnog.
00;24;33;28 - 00;24;42;26
Gary Johnston
But as soon as we put it through our endocannabinoid system and here we go again.
00;24;42;29 - 00;25;02;20
Gary Johnston
There's a different taste to it. I'm not sure what that taste is for me. It's not eggnog. It's just a combination of those botanical terpene's coming together in the. In the accumulated smoke that is generated from this.
00;25;02;22 - 00;25;20;22
Gary Johnston
Okay. Settling down a little bit in terms of my ability to pull that in and incorporate that into my endocannabinoid system at 90% THC. I should be feeling this pretty soon.
00;25;20;25 - 00;25;39;10
Gary Johnston
So the only bring this one out around this time of the year to get that eggnog flavor. And again, the eggnog insert of the cartridge itself as soon as I pull it out of the little tube, just bursting with flavor. But I'm not detecting a whole lot of that when I actually consume, but that's pretty typical for me.
00;25;39;10 - 00;25;49;06
Gary Johnston
I don't pick up a lot of the flavors that are are listed in a lot of these vape cartridges.
00;25;49;09 - 00;26;17;03
Gary Johnston
So more importantly, am I getting a buzz? So liquid diamond. So it's not just lit, which is a good thing and also a good thing. I can feel it coming on. Now, I do find I struggle with cartridges that have botanical drippings in it. That's that's just my nature. And I'm finding the same thing with the eggnog one from fan.
00;26;17;05 - 00;26;25;07
Gary Johnston
It's just making it a little harsher as I pull that in.
00;26;25;10 - 00;26;48;19
Gary Johnston
Now, have I done any research to determine whether or not it is the botanical terpenes that making this a little harsher experience for me? I'm not sure. It's just my guess because my experience has been when I have had tension and imbibing in something that it in a cartridge, it's when those botanical trappings are there.
00;26;48;22 - 00;27;11;01
Gary Johnston
I don't get actual percentages, so I don't know what, how much, botanical terrapins they are or what. In fact, they have used to create that eggnog flavor. I don't know specifically what would technical term beans are adding, but. It has made it. Yeah. I'm going to say a harsher experience in terms of what my throat is feeling right now.
00;27;11;01 - 00;27;36;04
Gary Johnston
No, I am getting a buzz off of it. That's the good side, because if you go through all of this and you don't get a buzz, then that's even a worse outcome. But definitely I now have some happy eyes happening. It's kind of sitting in the top of my head right now. You know how you if you feel that little ball kind of up there in the middle of your brain and your endocannabinoid system starts to fire?
00;27;36;06 - 00;27;59;23
Gary Johnston
Oh, so if you know that, I do appreciate that there is some intoxication factor that's coming along now and 90% THC, I expected this to hit me perhaps a little harder. It's a nice little buzz, but it's not set me back on my ass. And I continue to imbibe.
00;27;59;26 - 00;28;25;00
Gary Johnston
And as I continue to imbibe, it is hit me a little harder. And I'm starting to feel that now. It's it's coming on strong. That's some really nice euphoria going on. My appetizer here and in my head is just kind of a drift in some cannabis intoxication. So definitely has had that impact. I still do have a problem with the botanical trappings in terms of the the weight.
00;28;25;00 - 00;28;32;18
Gary Johnston
As I bring that into my lungs, let's try it again.
00;28;32;20 - 00;29;01;14
Gary Johnston
I mean, it's not an unattractive taste, but in terms of my flavoring perception, I'm not picking up any eggnog unless I smell the cartridge before I've actually connected it to my battery. And then it really does smell like eggnog. So the botanical trappings, I think it's a bit of a debate. But there's a lot of companies that are putting that out there, and you're going to find those in the fent liquids, diamond, eggnog, vape cartridge, my THC sitting at 90%.
00;29;01;16 - 00;29;18;07
Gary Johnston
And this cultivar corner brought to you, of course, by Up in Smoke at 258 West Broadway in Vancouver. Check it out for yourself. See if you can find it on their menu. And if you are 19 years of age in BC, then you can have it sent to you once they figure out how they're actually going to get that sent to you.
00;29;18;07 - 00;29;37;25
Gary Johnston
But that's a whole other issue and I can update that as well. The Canada Post strike is over, although there may be a bit of a backlog, we don't have to worry about how they're going to send it to you anymore. So I'm not sure I'm a fan of the botanical terpenes, but I'm definitely a fan of the high that I ended up with.
00;29;37;27 - 00;29;44;16
Gary Johnston
And that is Phant Liquid Diamond eggnog gets here for the season.
00;29;44;18 - 00;29;51;10
Ian
Sharing stories about good weed while trying good weed. This is the cannabis potcast.
00;29;51;12 - 00;30;26;13
Gary Johnston
And this story we're picking up from 420 intel.com cannabinoid, a lesser known compound found in the cannabis plant, might hold promise as a sleep aid, according to new research published in the Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology. Researchers found that cannabidiol improve sleep quality in rats by increasing the duration of deep sleep and stabilizing overall sleep patterns. Cannabidiol, or CBN, is one of many naturally occurring chemicals in cannabis, though it is present in much smaller amounts than compounds like delta nine tetrahydrocannabinol THC or cannabidiol.
00;30;26;13 - 00;30;54;10
Gary Johnston
CBD. CBN forms as THC ages and degrades, leading to its nickname, the sleep cannabinoid. Despite the growing popularity of CBN products marketed as sleep aid, scientific evidence supporting these claims has been limited. The research team, led by Professor Jonathan Arnold, sought to test these claims rigorously. Their study aimed to objectively assess CBN's effects on sleep by analyzing changes in sleep patterns and brain activity in rats.
00;30;54;12 - 00;31;22;28
Gary Johnston
For decades, cannabis folklore has suggested that age cannabis makes consumers sleepy via the buildup of CBN. However, there was no convincing evidence for this, said Arnold, the director of preclinical research at the Lambert Initiative for Cannabinoid Therapeutics and the University of Sydney Pharmacy School. The researchers conducted a series of experiments to investigate the effects of cannabidiol CBN on sleep patterns in rats to ensure a precise and objective measurement of sleep related parameters.
00;31;23;00 - 00;31;48;00
Gary Johnston
They used wireless telemetry probes surgically implanted in the animals. These probes allowed continuous monitoring of brain activity, muscle tone, and other physiological indicators of sleep. The rats were housed in a controlled environment with a 12 hour light dark cycle, and the experiments were conducted during their active dark phase to mimic conditions of reduced sleep pressure, similar to insomnia in humans.
00;31;48;02 - 00;32;16;06
Gary Johnston
The researchers administered different doses of purified CBN intra periodontal to the rats, ranging from low to high concentrations. They also included a widely used sleep aid zolpidem. As a comparison. During the experimental sessions, the rats sleep architecture was analyzed, focusing on non rapid eye movement or any REM sleep rapid eye movement REM sleep and sleep onset latency, total sleep time, and wakefulness.
00;32;16;08 - 00;32;51;29
Gary Johnston
The team also performed para pharmacokinetic analysis to measure CBN and its metabolites in the rats brains and blood streams, aiming to uncover the compound's mechanism of action. The results showed that CBN significantly increased total sleep time in rats, particularly by enhancing in REM sleep. This effect, however, was delayed, appearing several hours after administration. In contrast to zolpidem, which acted almost immediately, the increase in REM sleep was marked by longer sleep bouts and fewer interruptions, indicating that CBN stabilized the architecture.
00;32;52;02 - 00;33;25;01
Gary Johnston
However, CBN exhibited a biphasic effect on REM sleep, initially suppressing it before eventually increasing REM duration at lower doses. This delayed onset of CBN's effects suggested a distinct mechanism compared to zolpidem, which primarily reduces rapid sedation. Pharmacokinetic analysis revealed that CBN's primary metabolite, 11 hydroxy carbonyl, achieved high concentrations in the brain and exhibited significant activity at cannabinoid receptors, potentially contributing to the observed sleep effects.
00;33;25;04 - 00;33;57;06
Gary Johnston
This metabolite was found to have stronger receptor activity than CBN itself, suggesting that CBN impact on sleep may be meditated by its conversion into active metabolites within the body. In the repeated dosing experiment, CBN continued to improve total sleep time initially, but some tolerance to its effects was observed over time. Despite this, certain benefits such as longer, uninterrupted nREM bouts appeared to persist, indicating that the compound could maintain some of its sleep stabilizing effects even with prolonged use.
00;33;57;08 - 00;34;24;19
Gary Johnston
So the study provides the first objective evidence that CBN increases sleep, at least in rats, by modifying the architecture of sleep in a beneficial way, said Arnold. And an interesting story from 420 intel.com. And I always chuckle about these studies where they're using rats and measuring their brain activity in their sleep activity. I mean, as a stoner, I have a little trouble connecting those two.
00;34;24;19 - 00;34;31;00
Gary Johnston
But obviously as researchers, that's where it all starts.
00;34;31;03 - 00;35;03;23
Gary Johnston
In our next story from Strack and Akam and I found this one really interesting. The federal government exploring single harmonized cannabis excise stamp. The move from requiring producers to use 13 different provincial and territorial excise stamps to a single harmonized stamp is something the industry has said would save cannabis producers time and money. In a meeting in October, the Cannabis Council of Canada, the C3, called for such changes, saying they would go a long way toward addressing some of the logistical challenges the current tax stamp program creates.
00;35;03;26 - 00;35;23;27
Gary Johnston
Paul McCarthy, the president of C3, says he's happy to see the government acknowledging the issue, but is frustrated that this announcement used a lot of vague wording rather than committing to immediate action. But they should be doing is implementing this, says McCarthy. It will help businesses. There's no downside for anybody, anywhere, but they still want to wring their hands and look at it more.
00;35;24;00 - 00;35;49;27
Gary Johnston
Talk about a government that is not in touch with the needs of the sector. McCarthy adds that he was cautiously optimistic that the fall 2024 statement would have included some movement on the tax, but also acknowledges that expectations have been low due to the complexity of such a change. Although the industry has been asking for the excise rates to be lowered, many in the industry say a single stamp would at least relieve some of the financial burdens associated with the current stamp regime.
00;35;49;29 - 00;36;25;06
Gary Johnston
To cut red tape for growing businesses and help them to succeed. The 2024 Fall Economic Statement also announces the government intent to explore a transition from cannabis excise duty stamps specific to each province and territory to a single national stamp. This would make it easier for regulated cannabis producers to ignite new business opportunities in other provinces. Earlier this year, Orville Vincent, president of Pure Sunfarms, who, by the way, was a recent guest on the Cannabis Podcast, told Strachan that such a move could save his company around $1 million a year.
00;36;25;09 - 00;36;48;18
Gary Johnston
However, these savings would not be limited to just larger companies like Pure Sunfarms. It's not just us, said Bove and Shen. If you look at small producers, medium sized producers, it's very complicated for them as well. A change like this could make it easier for us to operate and become more profitable. I think this is much easier to achieve before we get to the bigger issue of the excise tax itself, while changing the actual excise rate is complicated, he added.
00;36;48;24 - 00;37;06;14
Gary Johnston
Solutions like these could make more sense in the more immediate term. I think it could be an achievable win. Nothing is easy, but I think it can be a much needed win for everybody, for the government, for us. I don't think there is a single person that isn't aligned with this idea of having one single stamp for the entire industry.
00;37;06;16 - 00;37;28;20
Gary Johnston
Janine Davis, VP of Sales at Dealer Cannabis, formerly JC, who has also been a previous guest on the Cannabis Podcast, which distributes cannabis, often from micro cultivators and processors in B.C. and Ontario, who has also been a previous guest on the Cannabis Potcast says the change will definitely help the company save time and money, even if it doesn't go as far as she would like to see in terms of lowering the actual excise rate itself.
00;37;28;22 - 00;37;49;17
Gary Johnston
We spend so much time just managing our stamp inventory for the provinces, explains Davis, managing stamp inventory can be a major administrative burden to all processors in Canada, and I think if there was just one excise stamp, it would be something to celebrate. Gord Nicoll, the owner of North 40 cannabis, a micro producer in Saskatchewan, says the move doesn't address the giant elephant in the room.
00;37;49;23 - 00;38;21;13
Gary Johnston
That is the need for lowering the excise rate itself, especially for smaller producers like his company. Excise tax reduction for microprocessors is the only issue that might save me. Nicole. Tail struck. Can such a move would require the support of the provinces, who receive 75% of every dollar the federal government collects from the federal excise tax? Some in the industry, speaking with RAC and strictly on background, have also suggested that the recent stepping down of Chrystia Freeland from the role of finance minister could bode well for efforts at lowering the excise rate itself.
00;38;21;15 - 00;38;39;25
Gary Johnston
In the past, some have suggested that Freeland was one of the main last minute impediments to such changes in previous federal budgets. And that's an interesting twist at the end of that story. So considering a single excise stamp across the country, sounds to me like it would be a great idea.
00;38;39;27 - 00;39;05;11
Gary Johnston
We've made it again. We started this off 30 40 minutes ago and here we are. We've come to the conclusion once more. And you know, I am absolutely amazed at how our brains work. I've been telling stories ever since I started the podcast on an occasional episode, depending on how frequently the stories come back to my brain. And in this last month, there's just been a whole bunch of them that come flooding back.
00;39;05;13 - 00;39;30;26
Gary Johnston
So I'm going to tell you another radio story. This is it used to be pretty common when you worked at a radio station, especially when you worked in the production department, where I was a producer for many, many years. You always put together a little audio skit to play of the Christmas party, and that usually took a few punches or a few ridiculed ideas of somebody and and what they had done during the year, and how we could poke some fun at them.
00;39;30;28 - 00;39;53;08
Gary Johnston
Sometimes they came up with some really weird commercials that had absolutely nothing to do with reality, but they sounded funny. And then there's one year where I was working at a radio station in the interior of British Columbia, and the Christmas party was coming up. I was at a particular stage of my life where I was not really happy being there anymore.
00;39;53;10 - 00;40;18;07
Gary Johnston
And I did not go to the Christmas party intentionally, but I heard later that I was featured because of the skit that we created. And so that that was the fact that the manager of the radio station was so cheap that the transmitter had to be powered by coin, and every time it was running down, you had to drop down into the basement and plug another coin into the transmitter to pump it back up.
00;40;18;09 - 00;40;48;16
Gary Johnston
So in the course of telling this story, which was a variation on A Christmas Carol, we took a number of shots and I always like to take a few shots at myself. Now, again, I wasn't there to hear the end result of this, but this this was kind of in the middle of this little episode. And two of the characters are walking down through the park in town, and they're out there at lunch hour and they're walking along and they say, well, what is that?
00;40;48;18 - 00;41;17;16
Gary Johnston
Is that somebody I see on that park bench over there smoking a joint outside? Now, let me back up a little bit. This was prior to legalization. I'm not that I'm admitting that I ever consumed prior to legalization, but this was. And so we carry on from that point. Yeah. Look at that. Is smoking a joint right in the middle of the day and oh, it's Gary.
00;41;17;18 - 00;41;54;01
Gary Johnston
And that seals my reputation for the fact that if you saw me at lunchtime and I was going to be producing that afternoon, it's pretty good chance that I was going to be smoking a joint. And I was not shy about admitting it. I'm still not shy about admitting it. Others would be, but I found that from a creative perspective, when you were a producer and you're working with audio and you need that spark, I found that cannabis assisted me in that regard, and it became a joke for the Christmas party that year.
00;41;54;04 - 00;42;02;03
Gary Johnston
And that's it from the Guy in the clouds. That is episode 187 of the Cannabis Potcast.
00;42;02;06 - 00;42;10;15
Ian
From the Cannabis infused studio high above the Okanagan Valley. This was the cannabis potcast.