Those Stoned Climbers Have More To Teach Us About Cannabis Consumption Than You Think

[Ron Strider]

Cannabis is slowly becoming a mainstream product as state laws continue to change and brands launch innovative lifestyle offerings around the psychotropic plant. (Think: laced lip balms, snakeskin joint holders, and vegan dark chocolate caramels sprinkled with matcha salt.) But on Saturday, when four hikers summited Scafell Pike in England, the country's tallest mountain, and got too high to climb down, all the old stoner stereotypes came streaming across the Twittersphere. The group had to be rescued after consuming too much cannabis and becoming "incapacitated," Cumbria police said in a statement. The British authorities deployed mountain rescue to bring the hikers back safely down to earth. The incident sparked public outrage.

This news, while perhaps a small setback for an industry looking to distance itself from the drug's less illustrious connotations and position itself at the forefront of the booming wellness movement with cannabis-infused recipe books and yoga retreats, is not the only time in recent years that consumption of a marijuana product has earned notoriety in the media. In 2009, Michael Phelps was suspended from swimming for three months after a British tabloid ran a full-page picture of the Olympian smoking pot out of a bong. He was 23. Leading ultra-marathoner Jenn Shelton sparked ethical debate when she told the Wall Street Journal that she uses cannabis in her training. And the renowned New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd made waves when she wrote about her experience with edibles: After consuming about eight times the recommended dosage while in Colorado, she said, she thought she was dying. (According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, you cannot die from consuming too much marijuana–cannabis is not lethal on its own–but users can experience panic attacks, paranoia, impaired judgement and motor skills, and other unpleasant effects.)

So, cannabis: a wellness product or an intoxicating drug?

According to a growing number of experts, it can be either, depending on who you are and your mental history (cannabis is not recommended for people with serious mental conditions, including schizophrenia), and how cannabis affects your mind and body. What you're consuming (a few puffs from a vape pen or a bite of a low-dose edible will affect you differently than pulls from a joint or bong), where you are, and how much you consume also matters greatly. And thanks to its entrance into the realm of legally controlled substances, with about 29 states and Washington, D.C., having some kind of state-regulated medical marijuana program and eight states with recreational marijuana laws, there is an increasing body of evidence that, paired with a few simple rules, can help make the gray area less hazy.

Dr. Perry Solomon, a board-certified anesthesiologist who is also the chief medical officer of HelloMD, one of the industry's largest online communities that connects patients who suffer from chronic pain and a range of other illnesses with doctors who can offer tailored medical marijuana recommendations, agrees. "For some people, cannabis can help them attain a psychological space that blocks out extraneous things and focus on their mind, body, and one repetitive motion," answers Solomon when asked whether or not cannabis and wellness can go hand in hand.

Such potential benefits may make it well-suited to mind-body practices like meditation; and a new wave of exercise retreats, yoga studios, and sporting events and gyms (see The 420 Games and Power Plant Fitness) are exploring its role in mild forms of exercise. However you plan to incorporate it into an active lifestyle, experts stress that the key to reaping its self-care benefits may lie in treating the drug with the same respect for dosage and potency as one might any other controlled substance, from alcohol to pharmaceuticals.

"No one recommends climbing 3,000 feet and getting stoned," says Solomon. "You also need to realize that cannabis can affect you differently depending on what you're doing, what you ate, and, yes, what altitude you're used to. You can use the same [marijuana] product one day and feel a different affect another day."

For those living where it's legal, here are a few expert-approved ground rules on how to find wellness in cannabis.

Start Low, Go Slow

The mantra is pasted on billboards and signs across states like Colorado for a reason. While those dipping into the drug for the first time should consult a medical professional, since there are no official guidelines as to what constitutes a proper dose universally, people without a tolerance to THC should generally stick between 2 and 2.5 milligrams for their first couple of times until they're used to the effects, according to Solomon. Satori, which makes medical-grade cannabis-infused edibles out of coffee beans, blueberries, and California raisins, touts a microdosing-friendly bite ranging from 1 milligram per piece up to 10 mg.

Know Your Dose

Dosing matters. Hmbdlt, a vape pen company with the tagline "delivering health and happiness" in Santa Monica, California, makes hospital-white, precise low-dose pens that vibrate after a modest 2.25 mg of THC oil is dispensed. The system is offered via a range of six formulas, including Sleep, which is developed out of a sleep-promoting terpene blend that helps calm the body and mind, and Arouse, which claims to elevate moods thanks to its ultra-relaxing THC blend of linalool and farnesene terpenes, delivered along with a floral and green apple-like aroma. "Different people require different doses of medicine and it's the same with cannabis," says Gunner Winston, the company's CEO. "That's our focus: dosing technology."

Try CBD-Only Alternatives Instead

If you aren't ready to feel the plant's psychotropic effects, topicals (lotions, balms, and oils) and treats infused with CBD–the non-psychoactive cannabinoid with medicinal qualities such as anti-inflammation–are a way to tread lightly into the lifestyle because neither will get you high. Cindy Capobianco, cofounder of Lord Jones, the luxe cannabis-infused as well as hemp-derived CBD-infused line of edibles and topicals out of California that has been collaborating on wellness events with Equinox, says she and her husband, Rob, took their time before putting their low-dose, CBD-rich gum drops and cooling body lotions on shelves. "We developed and designed our products for people who were cannabis curious, but also fearful of having a bad experience," says Capobianco. Other brands offering high-end topicals in an effort to ease in the inexperienced include Marley Natural, which also has a line of branded marijuana; Apothecanna, one of the industry's first all-natural beauty lines derived by cannabis and therapeutic-grade essential oils; and Kiva, a cannabis-infused chocolatier that recently launched its own line of CBD-only confections. Their tagline? "A higher chocolate experience."

News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Those Stoned Climbers Have More to Teach Us About Cannabis Consumption Than You Might Think - Vogue
Author: Will Yakowicz
Contact: Contact - Vogue
Photo Credit: Patrick Demarchelier
Website: Magazine mode, beaut'e, joaillerie, d'efil'es, culture, sorties, votre magazine mode Vogue.fr | Vogue

 

[TorturedSoul]

Re: Those Stoned Climbers Have More To Teach Us About Cannabis Consumption Than You T

Think: laced lip balms, snakeskin joint holders, and vegan dark chocolate caramels sprinkled with matcha salt.

If I thought about crap like that, I'd start wondering why I ever thought cannabis should become a mainstream product.

 

[Shadar]

Re: Those Stoned Climbers Have More To Teach Us About Cannabis Consumption Than You T

Idiots. I've summitted peaks in Colorado many dozens of times and occaisionally got too stoned to feel comfortable climbing down right away. Any experienced scrambling climber knows that UP is MUCH easier than DOWN.

My suspicion is that these were novices who climbed something that turned out to be scary and maybe iffy to safely climb down with their skill level. I did that many times when starting off mountaneering. But you learn. However, in their case, they got high on top, which reduced their physical confidence and made them overly cautious. It's hard to be physically brave when you're stoned, especially when large heights are involved. Seen that so many times. Happens to me too.

But the idea of calling for rescue is completely nuts. How very 21st century. Way back in the 20th century, we just waited on top for a while, mellowing on the view, which was generally great, and then, once the buzz faded a bit, it wasn't too hard to climb down. Sometimes meant it got dark before we made it all the way down, but once on a foot trail, who cares.

 

[thehitman]

Re: Those Stoned Climbers Have More To Teach Us About Cannabis Consumption Than You T

Well, this kinda brings back memories from many years ago. It was 1972, my wife and I were touring Colorado in our TR4. She was driving and we drove up to Rocky Mountain National Park. I was smoking hash from a small hookah in the passenger seat and we made it to the park entrance and stoped the car. When I jumped out of the car and tried to run across the parking lot I nearly passed out, and had to get back to the car a sit for awhile. Certainly, I was pretty high at the time, both figuratively and literally, but I think the main cause of my incapacity was the thin air at the top of the park coupled with attempting physical activity without acclamation at that elevation. Not sure what the elevation is at the park, but it is very high - and the oxygen is thin. At any rate, the song "Rocky Mountain High" still brings back fond memories.

 

[Biker Dude]

Re: Those Stoned Climbers Have More To Teach Us About Cannabis Consumption Than You T

Idiots. I've summitted peaks in Colorado many dozens of times and occaisionally got too stoned to feel comfortable climbing down right away. Any experienced scrambling climber knows that UP is MUCH easier than DOWN.

My suspicion is that these were novices who climbed something that turned out to be scary and maybe iffy to safely climb down with their skill level. I did that many times when starting off mountaneering. But you learn. However, in their case, they got high on top, which reduced their physical confidence and made them overly cautious. It's hard to be physically brave when you're stoned, especially when large heights are involved. Seen that so many times. Happens to me too.

But the idea of calling for rescue is completely nuts. How very 21st century. Way back in the 20th century, we just waited on top for a while, mellowing on the view, which was generally great, and then, once the buzz faded a bit, it wasn't too hard to climb down. Sometimes meant it got dark before we made it all the way down, but once on a foot trail, who cares.

That is precisely what is wrong with the generation now, NO COMMON SENSE ! All you have to do is wait for the high to fade a little and go about your way. I agree with you about getting back after dark, there is no sense in involving rescue because you are stupid. One problem is that rescue teams get people hurt all the time on legitimate calls, it doesn't make sense to get them hurt rescuing someone that didn't really need it. Then the Cannabis movement gets a black eye for something that should not have even been an issue.

Some of the best times I had were sitting in the woods or on a hilltop looking at the wonder of nature at sunset after enjoying a bowl. We stayed where we were one night just because it felt right to stay instead of walking out. That was a fun night and we still talk about it 20 years later.

 

[Shadar]

Re: Those Stoned Climbers Have More To Teach Us About Cannabis Consumption Than You T

I'm not sure if its a lack of common sense, or an over-dependence on having someone else save their butts. If you've been helicopter-parented, you grew up with a cell phone and 9-1-1 in your hand, then the idea of self-rescue (which doesn't even apply in this case) is foreign to them. It's the "If something goes wrong, someone else will fix it" mentality.

When I did most of my climbing (70's), self-rescue and mutual support was the way things were done in most mountain areas. Despite climbing for years on dozens of summits, the only kind of mountain rescue I heard about came from rangers that walked some of the trails every week or two, plus the sign in boxes at the trailheads. But that was pretty sketchy given there was no communication once on the trail. It was only when someone called the Park or Forest service and said a hiker was missing that they even looked at the trail-head sign in boxes. It could take a week or more to be found, and only if you were on the trail, and we all prepared accordingly.

I always thought one of the points of it all was that you were on your own. That gave the adventure an edge that I really liked. You and yuor buddies were all there was.

Now I live at the edge of the Olympic National Park in WA, and we still see young people getting really uncomfortable because their cell phones don't work up here. It makes them feel very insecure. With very few exceptions, you can hike for weeks in the Park and surrounding Forest and never get a cell signal. But I'm among the growing minority who think that's just fine. In fact, its one of the attractions.

 

[Shadar]

Re: Those Stoned Climbers Have More To Teach Us About Cannabis Consumption Than You T

Yup... Rocky Mtn High is very real. Works with booze too. And nothing better than touring CO in the summer in a TR4 or similar vintage sports car. Brings back fond memories for me too.

And if you were smoking hash in '72, then you have my applause. I'd just come from 'Nam then and was living in the mountains of CO smoking Mexican weed. After being introduce to good weed in SE Asia, the Mexican crap was a huge dissapointment. I'd also spent some time earlier in Europe enjoying hash. Took me a year or two to get hooked up with Thai Stick. Knew some guys in the Air Force who were flying it back from Thailand. Now THAT was good weed.