From Vicodin to Vaping: How Cannabis Can Change Minds

Emily: You have a really interesting story because you said that you were very anti-cannabis, and so I’d love to explore that a little bit with you if you feel comfortable and how you made that transition to where you are today.

Christine: I’ve thought a lot of recently; why was I so against it? Growing up, I just wasn’t ever around it, for starters. I don’t remember my family saying it was horrible, but there wasn’t alcohol in the house; there wasn’t marijuana anywhere. I assumed we were not supposed to do that. Then the “War on Drugs” started the month before I was born. Then going through school, they’re just telling us how, you know, it’s a drug, and it’s going to ruin your brain.

I just thought it was horrible. The friends I hung out with, my girlfriends, they weren’t doing it a lot. I just never thought I would do it. Honestly, I judged… Looking back, I just said to my husband, “I feel so bad for like the people I judged because I thought, ‘Oh, they’re a pothead.’ because I didn’t know about it.” I was okay with alcohol because it was socially acceptable.

Moving forward, when I met my husband, he told me right off the bat that he sometimes smoked weed. After our first day, I went back home to my mom, and she was like, “Well, how’d it go?” And I said, “Oh, it was really good, he was really nice, but I’m not going to go out with him again.”

Christine: Right, that’s how it went for a lot of years. I’m a dental hygienist, and I worked, I did dental hygiene for over 25 years. I did 10 years full-time. By the end of that 10 years, I was just in tons of pain and ended up on pain meds. I didn’t ever take more pain meds than were prescribed, but I was taking them at 10:00 and at 2:00. I knew when I could take another one.

That started to really scare me when I realized that clearly, I was dependent on them, even though I wasn’t taking more than prescribed. And so I weaned myself eventually after years, honestly, of those… I weaned myself off of those just because I felt like I was doing so much damage to my body, and it wasn’t really even helping my pain.

After four hours, actually, probably after two hours, I was in pain again, and then I was counting down the next two hours until I could take something. I just hated that. And so I decided, I was going to take myself off of ’em. And I did that, and then I was just in pain for several years.

So then finally, one of my cousins, who I really respect, and she’s a successful business person, and we were all at a Steelers game, and she says, “You want to try my vape pen?” I had pain; my neck was hurting because we’d been walking all over and doing stuff, and I took like one hit off of that vape pen.

I remember looking at all of them, like, what’s happening? It wasn’t the high feeling so much as I felt like the pain melt away, literally. I felt like I was going to cry because when you spend that many years in pain. I was just in shock because it wasn’t at all what I expected. You know what I mean?

I had tried, and when I say I was totally against weed, I should back up because I did a couple of times get talked into it. I think I tried it like once in high school and once in college, and that’s when I decided it was not for me. But from those two experiences, all I remember was feeling tired. It was probably not really great marijuana. But I didn’t have pain at that time, so that wasn’t something that jumped out at me. So after I tried that pen, I was like, “Okay, I need to do more of this because this is the best I’ve felt in years.

Christine: His buddies were really shocked. Like right away, the one guy was like, “If you had said she’d be the first… I was the first person that they knew that got their medical card.” He says, “She’s the last person that ever; I would’ve bet a million dollars that she would never do this.” So it was funny, they were all shocked. At first, I don’t even think they believed him; they teased me.

Christine: Oh yeah, my husband’s; he’s not a big drinker, and it makes it a lot more fun. I’m not a big drinker either, but I mean, he could have none. It does make a lot more fun to go out somewhere. And obviously, the hangover aspect is, you know. That’s why I try to tell people who’ve never done it or have not really tried it lately, like you could go out and feel totally fine the next day. I don’t think they get it. I’m like, “Why wouldn’t you want to do that?”

Christine: Yeah, we will. I thought it was really slick too, but I’m not. I just know so many people; I help at the school a lot, and I’m up there whenever they need something. We have a small business locally; we’re a custom cabinet shop, so we have clients. There was a lot for me to think about, you know? Is that something that I want to put out there? But again, I got my card, I am legal, and I haven’t felt physically as good since I started. I mean, in probably 15 or 20 years.

Emily: I feel like it really can affect your whole wellness in the sense that you sleep better. And then, when you sleep better, and you’re not in pain, you are more active and more energetic. You’re more likely to eat better; you have the energy and the fortitude to be able to go out and go to the farmer’s market or make yourself a meal. I feel it all just snowballs into this really, ultimately like, healthy lifestyle for a lot of people. People misjudge, but it’s happening everywhere to everyone. Do you agree?

Christine: Yeah. Oh, absolutely. I think that it’s just people are being educated. Thankfully, that’s what happened to me; I just wasn’t educated. I go down a rabbit hole once I start on something. So as soon as I tried her vape pen, I’m like diving, like, what are the dangers?

I have to go to a doctor because I’m scared to get it anywhere else because just that’s how… I think that was from being raised that way. I felt like if a doctor told me it was okay, I felt better. But I also, I didn’t add, I used to smoke. This is something I want to throw out there because I keep hearing people still that aren’t quite educated enough talking about how addictive marijuana is. But I was apparently; I was addicted to the pain meds. I’m convinced; I mean… I was at least dependent physically on them in some way. But the cigarettes I was definitely addicted to. I mean, quitting smoking was the hardest thing I ever did, I think.

Emily: I smoked for five years in my twenties, and thank God I got pregnant, and it made it easier to quit because I don’t know if I ever would’ve been able to do it by myself. It’s very hard.

Christine: I’d say, “Okay, I’d survive.” I wouldn’t be… And honestly, I don’t even think I would be tense. I would just wish I could have it, but okay. If you had told me that I couldn’t have a cigarette for a day, or even probably a few hours, I was a mess. You know what I mean?

Emily: I’m so glad you said that. It’s a perfect way because people really are afraid that it is addicting. I find that your experience is so much like my experience, where I’ll be sad without it, but like I’m not going to go crazy. And that’s we choose not to go without it because we’d prefer to feel better, but for anyone who’s listening and who is afraid of it being addicted, I have never met anybody who displayed any type of behavior like being addicted to alcohol or cigarettes at all.

Christine: Well, the evidence is there. I mean, it’s there.

Emily: You know? And I mean, you could become dependent, I guess, on anything.

Christine: Anything. Food, drinks, I mean, yeah.

Emily: You know? I feel like more people need to know.

Christine: I also recently said that if your doctor gave you a supplement or, you know, and they said, “This is all-natural, it’s going to help you,” and they listed the things that marijuana could do for you, you know, which is this long, you know? Your pain, your anxiety, all of them. There are a couple of side effects because, with every medicine, there’s a side effect. But if the side effect is you might have euphoria, going to feel good, you know? Music is going to sound better. You’re going to enjoy music more, you’re going to enjoy shows more, but those are the side effects. Why wouldn’t you take it?

Emily: Absolutely. Especially with your experience with pain pills. I mean, having no side effects or minimal. There can be some side effects with cannabis, I guess, for anyone listening. I mean, dry mouth, heart racing, too much THC, panic attack, anxiety, I’ll just throw that out as a disclaimer. But if you educate yourself and you know what you’re doing, you actually won’t even get yourself into that situation in the first place, which is perfect.

Emily: Absolutely. I’m so glad we’re having this conversation because people think there’s only high, THC high. There are so many ways to manipulate it; as you said, whether or not you have tea, you can adjust it to your mood, your preferences, and how you’re feeling that day. I think that’s the beauty of it; unlike a pill where it’s the same and you just take your one dose, you have full control over altering anything in your cannabis regimen. When you’re educated and know how to take care of yourself, it’s such a good feeling.

Christine: Yeah. I love, like, I’m figuring out, like, oh, this kind is going to do this and this kind… If I mix the two, I like that. I like to play with it. I’m getting a little more into it now.

Emily: It’s exciting. It’s really fun. Now, can we talk a little bit about your medical card experience? For anybody listening who is like, “Oh, maybe I would try it if I had a card.” How was it? Was it easy to get? Was it comfortable?

Christine: Very, it was very comfortable. I went to a Sports and Spine Institute for mine, just because I have neck and back issues, but I’ve also taken friends to… Took one friend to another one and referred several to them. There are so many doctors now; if you just Google it, you’re going to find one local. There are so many conditions that it treats that I’m convinced pretty much everybody has one of them. I mean, like, how do you not have one of those conditions? I didn’t even realize I had anxiety, and I do. I think I realized it more after I started using it. Sometimes it made it worse, the fight to use the wrong stuff or in the wrong situation maybe.

But I’ve gotten kind of past that. Now I think that it’s more helpful than anything for it. It’s better than alcohol in so many ways, for, like I said, we talked about the hangover, but also just in general, the way I feel. Hopefully, it becomes legal in Ohio. It should be up in November. There’s a really good chance.

Emily: Yeah, it’s just that the wording and the… I was talking to someone yesterday in another state, and I believe it maybe was West Virginia, and she was like, “We’re not allowed to have edibles.” There are just so many weird state-to-state differences; that’s why I love to ask people because none of them really make a lot of sense. They’re just random in state by state. I will cross my fingers for you.

Christine: Yeah, but I just like… They never asked me. I’m not going to lie. But I’m also not like, “Hey, I’m smoking weed”. They never said anything. I had girlfriends that were like, “They totally know.” I’m like, “No, I’m telling you, they don’t.” I had, like, I would make cookies. I would leave, like, go to my aunts down the street to make cookies or anything I wanted to make.

Emily: Oh my gosh. Really?

Christine: Yeah. I bought a Magical Butter Machine and kept it there. And then I would bring the stuff home. I’m a vegetarian, so I had vegetarian patty bags. Well, when they were empty, I would fill them with my cookies, and I would reseal them. I had stuff in the vegetable drawer for a long time, and they didn’t look in there because I knew they weren’t going to get their own vegetables when they were younger.

Emily: That’s just a great suggestion, though, for anybody with parents of kids.

Christine: Yeah. Well, it didn’t work, though. I mean, it did probably for a while, but when I find… I forget how it came. When they finally said, “Yeah, we know.” And I’m like, “Wow.” I was like, “How long have you known?” They’re like, “We’ve known him for a long time.” I was like, “Why didn’t you say anything?” And my older son, right? He’s like, “Nobody cares.” Literally, he was just like, “Nobody cares, mom.” I was like, “Oh.”

Emily: I mean, hearing that out of the mouths of your children has to be like the best feeling because I know, as a mom, we all feel super guilty when we start. Am I making the right choice? Am I doing the right thing? Am I being a good mom? Am I being a bad mom? Where does the line draw to have your mature older kids say, “I’m happy for you; feel better.” That has to feel so good. And now you don’t have to hide, and they have a happy present, Mom.

For a lot of moms, cannabis can really improve the motherhood experience. It’s hard. And if there’s something that can make it a little bit more enjoyable and make your time with your kids more special, why wouldn’t you want that? So I’m so glad you shared that with us. But I hope anyone, any mom listening, can be like, “What if I could show up as a better parent for my kids?” That’s all we could ask for. That’s amazing.

Christine: Right? Well, and back to the pain meds. I know when I took those, I was irritated. I was irritable anytime. That was just a side effect, I guess, of the pain meds. I just felt irritable all the time, and I would freak out over nothing, which I’m not saying I never do that still. I mean, I do sometimes. But I did it more then. And over really dumb stuff because I think that also something else marijuana has done for me is it makes me a lot more compassionate.

Christine: Right. And, the music, how you’re saying it just makes everything more… Like, we listen to music a lot, I always have loud music on, but it makes it so much better, you know? And I know it sounds, like a hippy thing, you know? But oh, so true. Like, why not? There’s just a lot of different things that it does.

Emily: Absolutely. Little things. Someone was talking about yesterday how they just like to go to the beach and enjoy the sound of the waves. As you said, there’s something that just enhances the already enjoyable things in life.

Christine: Right. Yeah. That’s a great way. That’s exactly what it does.

Emily: Without the side effects, without a hangover, without, you know. And if we can just get rid of the guilt, then we’re good to go, like, everything’s great now.

Christine: Without the hangover, you’re talking about too? We know a lot of people that work for companies that test, so since they can’t do anything, they drink all weekend, like three days, and then Monday, they’re a wreck, you know? I’m like, but if they would just let them smoke weed, they’d have a relaxed, rested employee on Monday, not a hungover one that can’t keep their eyes open.

Emily: Hopefully, any business owners or legislators listening to these wise words, it makes no sense that we treat alcohol differently. We consider adults responsible enough to handle alcohol but not responsible enough to handle cannabis. And yet here we are. Where are we going with alcohol, truly? I mean, it’s a problem for so many people.

Emily: I don’t have an issue with alcohol at all, but probably because they have cannabis. Who knows if I drink more alcohol if I didn’t have cannabis because, for me, cannabis is a social thing too. I enjoy it when we go out. I don’t drink. I’m more than happy to have no drinks if the kids are around. I don’t mind because I have cannabis, and I’m good to go. And I can still get up at 6:00 AM with the baby the next day and not feel bad about it. That’s been a great social piece for me.

Christine: Oh, absolutely. I mean, I hope that once they come up with better testing because I think that if they could test and say, “Okay, you’re not high right now while you’re running this machine at work.” You know what I mean? The problem now, I think, is they don’t know if you did it yesterday or you did it today.

Emily: But how much better is that than feeling like you’re so mad and angry because you’re the one cleaning, and no one else is cleaning? I remember I used to be so resentful, and now, I’m like, “Whatever. I’ll do it; I don’t care.” And so that’s just better for your whole family—you and everybody.

Emily: Yeah. It’s beautiful. , I feel the same way about cannabis. So hopefully, anyone listening, and they’re like, “Oh wow, look at all these secret benefits.” I hope that they are pulling them from this conversation because there are just so many besides just the ones we talk about every day. There are these little hidden gems that make it just enjoyable.

Christine: Yeah. Things I never knew or would’ve believed even. Beause they’re like, “Okay, you must be high.” If someone was telling me like all these, I’m like, “Okay.” Sure, it’s that great.

Emily: I’m so, so excited that you found cannabis. And that brings us to our next question. If you could sit down with yourself 10, 20, or even 30 years ago and give yourself a little piece of cannabis advice, what would it be?

Christine: I’d say stop being so judgy and be nice to those people. And not that I was ever mean to anyone. I just remember thinking, “Well, I won’t ever do that.” Now, I’m like, “Well, that was mean.” But here I am, probably doing it more than they are now. But get educated because that was what did it for me. I have to know; I want to know how things work, I want to know where it came from, and I got to know it all before I do something. I would tell myself to get educated and then form my opinion based on facts, not the War on Drugs. I don’t think I had the facts, and I wish I had looked into it sooner, honestly, just because I would’ve had even more fun. I would’ve had fewer years of pain.

For anyone who’s listening, it’s never too late. Just start your journey, and jump down that rabbit hole. Go and enjoy it. There’s a lot of information out there, not as much as we’d like, but there’s enough information to make you realize, wow, this is a real thing; it really works with our bodies. There’s a lot of science to back it up. There is research out there, so jump down that rabbit hole, everybody, because we never know. I think people are coming around. I feel like all the time I’m hearing more people getting on board, at least. At least not looking at it the same as they used to.

Emily: It takes conversations like this. There are people who are going to listen to this and say, “I listened to Christine, and she felt this way, and now she feels this way, but now she lives this life that is fun, happy, and great. What if I could be Christine-“

Christine: And I still have my moments. Don’t get me wrong. I don’t.

Emily: We all do. Absolutely. But if it helps. Life is hard, and being a human is hard. If there’s something that can bring on some joy and relief as you go along like everybody deserves that. I hope that people can listen to your story and say, “If Christine can do it, I can do it too.” Because everyone deserves to be happy like you are today.

Christine: You know what’s funny is Joe Rogan’s podcast; I don’t know, do you listen to him ever?

Emily: I’ve never listened to it, but it was funny. I said to my husband, “If Joe Rogan can have a podcast, I could have a podcast.” Because I got kicked off of , I was like; maybe I’ll go for podcasting because they’ll be less likely to get canceled.

Christine: Yeah. He is very pro-weed, you know. He smokes it on the show all the time. He’s always smoked it on there. I watched a lot of his podcasts because he’s got a lot of scientists and doctors on there, and he’s the same way; he goes down a rabbit hole, and he wants to know exactly everything. And why and the facts, you know. I heard multiple doctors, as well as him, talking about the benefits of marijuana. And at least how it wasn’t like the doctors that were on there would say, “No, it’s not harmful.” That’s where I got a lot of my education.

Emily: It’s that conversation. Think about how many, like millions of people listened to that podcast and, just have that seed planted. That’s why I’m so glad you’re here and we’re doing this today because hopefully someone on the other end is going to be like, “Oh, maybe I should look into this.”

Christine: Right. I hope so, because I… And hopefully it’s like I said, it’s legal soon, I hope. And I think that’ll help a lot of people that are on the fence maybe.

Emily: Of course, because none of us want to be doing something. We don’t want to feel bad for doing something. Nobody wants to feel, like they’re breaking the law and nobody wants to feel bad. Especially, feeling bad for wanting to feel better,

Christine: Righ I think especially parents. It’s harder, because you’re trying to be a role model.

Emily: Absolutely. And if there’s something that makes you feel better and be a better parent, but if society found out you’d be a bad parent. How do you juggle the two? That’s what I hope this show will help people learn is that you can be a great mom, dancing home in your kitchen when your kids get home from school and be present and happy. Your kids at the end of the day might say like, “Wow, mom, I’m so glad you feel better.” Nothing else better we can ask for.

Christine: I think they probably will.

Emily: I mean that’s great. I mean, it’s better for you, it’s better for your kids, it’s better for your husband. I’m sure it’s just-

Christine: Oh yeah, for sure. I’m not harping on hit, well, he doesn’t have to hide, I mean. And now we do it together, it’s a bonding thing. It’s not like we don’t sit in the house so and do it because of the kids. But we’ll go outside and you know…

Emily: It’s something you can do together. I don’t know if you notice this, but like as a wife, I’m much less naggy or snippy or I just can let stuff go a lot. I do feel like it is an enhancement to my relationship because marriage is hard.

Christine: For sure. You do let a lot more, I think. There’s a lot of times, I think, “Do I want to, no, that’s not worth it.” You know what I mean? I’ll just keep my mouth shut, but just hard for myself-

Emily: That does come with wisdom and age, but I feel like the cannabis helps a lot. Our very last question. If you could be remembered in the cannabis space for just one single thing, what would it be?

Christine: I guess just helping people, and especially, like I said, moms or anybody really just realize the benefits that it could have in their life. I think if you could just get someone to try it for one reason, they’re going to… They’ll end up enjoying all the other things it does too. You know what I mean? But if the only reason they tried is for pain. Great. It’ll work. I’m actually having surgery, I hope pretty soon on my foot, and I am determined I am not going to take any pain meds. I’m going to try RSO and I said, “Look, I might be high for a week but-“

Emily: But you’re not going to come out feeling side effects from other medications, like, you probably feel so much better in the end.

Christine: We’ll wait and see, but that’s my plan.

Emily: That’s so brave of you too, to say…

Christine: I had two kids with no pain meds. I think I can do it.

Emily: You superwoman. Superwoman’s status right there. Oh my gosh. I wish you the best of luck with surgery coming up. And I hope-

Christine: Oh thanks. It’s not a major one.