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Happy Holiday Season 2023

It is official, the holiday season is here, and we want to help you get ready to fully enjoy them! With that in mind, do you know anyone who has quit drinking using cannabis instead? The number of people I have met who decline a drink in favor of a joint are climbing every year. There are many reasons for this, but the first is almost always an effort to protect their health.

During the pandemic, medical cannabis recommendations and cannabis sales soared dramatically, especially after dispensaries were declared ‘essential businesses’. According to a Harris Poll, 45% of Americans replaced some of their drinks during Covid with cannabis, as alcohol purchases declined in states with dispensaries. How about you? Let us know!

We help our clients weigh their options, whether medical such as replacing pharmaceuticals with CBD+, or recreational such as trying to have fun without drinking. So what’s the difference between the two? Alcohol and cannabis are both mind altering – or psychoactive drugs that are stimulants and depressants. Alcohol targets GABA and is a CNS depressant (suppresses the central nervous system) and an overdose is possible. Cannabis works on the ECS (endocannabinoid system) as well as the serotonin, dopamine, opioid, and more, and overdose is not possible due to no receptors in brain areas that control respiration.

According to the CDC, addiction occurs in about 9% of cannabis users, and 13% of drinkers. The consequences of alcoholism, cancers, pancreatitis, and cirrhosis cause 95,000 deaths per year just in America. No one has directly died from cannabis, but bronchial infections from smoking and over consuming THC occur and must be managed. Safe consumption starts with a comparison to alcohol; you drink 1 glass of wine, not the whole bottle…so only take 1 THC gummy, don’t eat the whole 100mg bag.

Calories in wine are about 150, margaritas or daiquiris are about 300. A night out can add a pound, and repeat occasions coupled with buffets contribute to the extra holiday love handles. Cannabis doesn’t add to weight problems, despite stoner movies about the munchies. Long term users tend to have less diabetes or metabolic disease and smaller waistlines.

Crossfading is a term used when alcohol and cannabis are combined, causing a user to get drunk and high at the same time. It is dangerous, as ethanol raises the levels of THC in the body, and THC can inhibit the breakdown of ethanol, increasing levels of both. Small doses, such as having 1 beer with friends who also split a few puffs of a joint may be okay, but dosing a gummy, smoking a joint, and drinking a bottle of wine is out of the question.

Social graces still favor alcohol over cannabis, but times are changing since 75% of America has legal access, and 90% view cannabis as a medical right and adult use privilege. Consumption lounges in California offer low-dose THC beverages, prerolls, and pool tables, so a night out doesn’t have to include alcohol. Personally, we like to enjoy wine with dinner, but stop drinking and play a game of pool afterwards with a little THC instead of extra drinks. This is how millions have stopped hangovers – have 1-2 drinks, stop, enjoy a few puffs, stop.

Do you want to learn more about the safe consumption of cannabis? Have you replaced drinks with cannabis and how did that work for you? Write back and let us know!

Safe consumption starts with safe shopping, and our Green Nurse Approved CBD marketplace is the best place to start! Always check the lab results on any cannabis product and explore various doses and times of use as you go. Start with CBD whenever you plan to use THC to reduce the negative effects, and keep taking CBD daily for the numerous health benefits.

Call the Free Nurse Line @ 970-404-HOPE (4673) for help understanding how CBD may help you reduce symptoms and improve your quality of life today.

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Holistic Caring CNHC GIVE AWAY
One very lucky recipient will win a Cannabis Nurse Health Coach Scholarship this month! Will it be you? Submit your application HERE and we’ll award the prize on Christmas Day!

Donate to Holistic Caring Inc for a holiday gift to fund direct aid to patients suffering from serious illness, and to promote holistic nursing education.

Holistic Caring Inc. is a 501c3 nonprofit organization founded to provide Free Programs and Services to reduce suffering and improve quality of life.

There are 4 ways we spend these donations: