In this episode, you will meet Kim and explore her remarkable journey as a school teacher who turned to cannabis for holistic well-being. She shares her personal struggles following a medical crisis and how embracing cannabis transformed her life. Join us as we delve into her experiences, the power of cannabis in healing, and her mission to help other women over 40 find their path to wellness.

A picture of Kim Sarsons, a guest on the Well With Cannabis Podcast.

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Why You Will Love This Episode

In this episode, I am joined by the inspiring Kim Sarsons, who shares her journey of discovery and healing through the world of cannabis.

After facing a medical crisis in 2016, which included a complete hysterectomy and bowel resection, Kim struggled with extreme weight loss, pain, insomnia, and anxiety.

It wasn’t until 2018, just months before cannabis legalization in Canada, that she found the support she needed through this powerful plant.

Kim’s passion for cannabis wellness led her to become a certified cannabis wellness coach and author of three books on women’s wellness with cannabis.

Today, she is dedicated to helping other women over 40 embrace cannabis for holistic well-being by repurposing her books into a group program.

In our conversation, Kim opens up about:

  • Her personal journey and how cannabis came into her life
  • The challenges she faced after her medical crisis and how cannabis helped her overcome them
  • The process of becoming a certified cannabis wellness coach and what that entails
  • The importance of cannabis education and breaking down misconceptions
  • Her three books and the inspiration behind them
  • The group program she’s currently developing for women over 40

Don’t miss this enlightening episode as Kim shares her powerful story of healing and transformation, and learn how cannabis can play a role in supporting your own journey toward holistic well-being.

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Full Transcript

Kim: Be open to it. Don’t be afraid. There’s nothing too difficult. It’s a plant, and it’s a beautiful plant. It’s so generous and so loving. It’s the best relationship that you can have.

Announcer: Welcome to the Well With Cannabis Podcast, a show dedicated to telling the life-changing stories of those who live well with cannabis all while teaching you how to do the same. Meet your host, Emily Kyle, a registered dietitian nutritionist turned certified holistic cannabis practitioner. Emily changed her life for the better with the help of the cannabis plant, and now she’s committed to helping others do the same.

Tune in each week to hear heartwarming stories and gain the knowledge you need to feel connected, inspired, and supported on your own cannabis journey. Whether you’re a new cannabis consumer or a lifetime lover, you’ll benefit from these uplifting tales of real-life journeys that will show you how you, too, can live your best life well with cannabis.

Disclaimer: Hi there. Before we jump into today’s episode, I wanted to share a note on potentially sensitive content. The episodes on the Well With Cannabis Podcast are created for adult audiences only. We will, at times, cover sensitive topics, including but not limited to suicide, abuse, mental illness, sex, drugs, alcohol, psychedelics, and the obvious use of plant medicine. Explicit language may be used occasionally. Please refrain from watching or listening to the show if you’re likely to be offended or adversely impacted by any of these topics.

The information on this show is for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute medical advice. If any of the content on this podcast has brought up anything for you, please reach out or speak to a professional or someone you trust.

Emily: Hello, welcome back to another episode of the Well With Cannabis Podcast. I’m so excited to be here with Ms. Kim Sarsons, who has had quite the cannabis journey in the past couple of years. I’m so excited to welcome you, Kim. Hi, how are you today?

Kim: Hi, good morning. I’m excellent; thank you so much for having me.

Emily: I’m super excited to tell your story. You said cannabis came into your life in 2018, and I’d love to talk about what happened and how cannabis got to you.

Kim: I’ll try to, in a nutshell, for you. Essentially cannabis legalization was coming to Canada, where I reside, in 2018, and I was very curious to know as much as I could about it just to understand the landscape that would be among us. As I started my journey of exploration and learning, I came to a really powerful realization, and that is that cannabis could have supported me and perhaps even prevented the illness that I endured two years prior. So in that situation, I’m a school teacher by profession, and I’ve been a school teacher for close to 30 years if you can believe that.

Emily: Oh, wow.

Kim: I’m just going back into part-time teaching after stepping away from full-time.

Emily: Good for you.

Kim: I’m really excited about that but also nervous. I’m also a single mom, so as you can imagine, the balancing act of doing it all by yourself was tremendous for me. I ended up with a mystery illness in 2016. It was just the end of the school year, and I needed emergency surgery in the hospital. I woke up from that surgery with a complete hysterectomy, a bowel resection, an ileostomy bag, and months and months of adjustment, healing, and recovery. After that, that really was a struggle.

Emily: That is intense. That’s crazy. You just went in, not even knowing all that was going to happen.

Kim: I went in to address a severe pain I was dealing with, which seemed to have come out of nowhere. I’m sure it was. I’m sure my body had been speaking to me for quite some time before, but I was just not very good at listening. A little bit preoccupied with the balancing act, as I said before. When I finished up this school year, a colleague of mine said, “Kim, you need to take yourself to the emergency room. This is not normal,” because every day, my doctor had prescribed oxycodone for pain. So I was going to work.

Emily: Handed it out like candy; it’s crazy. Not to discount your pain by any means, but it’s just easy to get.

Kim: Yeah, so I was going to work medicated in that way, and the pain was so intense. So going in for surgery after seeing a gynecological specialist, he had said, “We’re going to book you in for surgery at the hospital tomorrow, and you’re going to have surgery the next day,” They didn’t really know what was going on. It was only after the surgery that they were able to explain that I had had a massive pelvic infection. And as I said, where it started, how it started, mystery, I really don’t know.

Emily: Oh, that’s terrible.

Kim: In the interim, between my first surgery and my second surgery, I was living with this ileostomy bag, which took the place of my digestive system.

Emily: Poor thing, I know that is for anybody who’s not aware, I worked in a hospital on a GI floor, I’ve seen them and worked with them, and people were thinking, so I don’t even know how you mentally process all of that.

Kim: Thinking back on it, I think it was the medication in hospital that got me through, but I didn’t have cannabis at that time, and the ileostomy caused me to lose a lot of weight. I’m six feet tall and I dropped to 107 pounds because my body just couldn’t digest food properly. My doctor’s advice was to drink more protein shakes.

Emily: Oh my God.

Kim: Which is laughable.

Emily: It is, truly.

Kim: It just goes to show you that they’re really lacking in the realms of more holistic wellness and nutrition. I know you’re an expert in that area. I didn’t listen to his advice. I was enduring weight loss and associated weakness because I couldn’t function properly. I didn’t have the strength even to hold myself up. The weight loss caused a lot of pain. Even sleeping and lying down was painful because I was so thin. The anxiety of like, “Is this going to be my life?”

Emily: Yeah, oh, I can’t even imagine.

Kim: I didn’t know. I didn’t know-

Emily: It’s trauma.

Kim: I didn’t know if the bowel resection was going to work or if I’d have ileostomy long-term. I really didn’t know. I spent a lot of time at home while my daughter was off at school. She was 10 years old at the time. This was very hard on her as well as you can imagine. I had the time at home alone, and I was actually spending a lot of time reading cookbooks because I was excited to… I wanted to eat, and I wanted to enjoy food, and I wanted to benefit from food, but I just couldn’t.

Kim: I ended up seeing a naturopath. Remember, cannabis was not legal at the time. This is two years prior. Medical cannabis was, but it never had never crossed my mind. No one had suggested it. As a school teacher, it just was something that, “it’s not legal, stay away, what are people going to think if I’m using this as a medicine”. Worrying about what other people think? Silly. I saw a naturopath and ended up receiving intravenous vitamin therapy for a period of a few months.

Kim: That allowed me to become normal again until I got the phone call from the surgeon saying, “You’ve had enough time to heal. We’re going to reconnect your digestive system, and that will change everything for you.” And it did because it allowed me to absorb nutrition again through food. But it took a long time. I had to rebuild my body essentially from an almost anorexic state. So regaining strength, endurance, flexibility, all of that, I had to work on rebuilding. And still, cannabis was not; it just wasn’t there.

Kim: It wasn’t there. So as I started to learn about it two years later, all these light bulbs were going off in my mind. It could have supported me with sleep; it could have supported me with my pain; it could have supported me with anxiety, all of it. The weight gain would’ve been a difficult thing just because of the ileostomy. But still, I would’ve gone through that, that period of struggle and frustration and worry and all of that, feeling more like a human being, because I honestly, I had felt as though I had doubled in age like that. I was 46 at the time, so I felt like I was 100 years old, and I looked it too, I was just very gaunt, very weak.

Emily: You’re starving; you were starving to death.

Kim: Essentially.

Emily: What would’ve happened if you hadn’t crossed paths with that naturopath? It’s crazy.

Kim: I was looking for solutions. I was on the internet trying to understand how I can slow my digestion following groups of people who live with ileostomies and colostomies and all of that. But no matter what I did, I would eat, and that bag would be full within half an hour. I’d step on a scale. I’ve never been one to step on a scale, and I would just watch my weight drop and drop and drop until it bottomed out. It was quite a journey. I’m grateful it’s in the past. Everything is so different now.

Emily: That just sounds so traumatic. Then you didn’t even have cannabis to help you cope. Where does cannabis come into the picture for you?

Kim: As I said at the beginning, with legalization approaching, I was just curious. I had come across an article, a magazine article, about high tea parties. I was intrigued. I bought the magazine, took it home, started reading, and was like, “I want to do this. This sounds amazing.” It was women in their midlife years coming together for social, educational events where they could consume. They were happening in California, of course, legal there, socially acceptable there. Very different landscape from here.

Kim: It really got me excited about how to bring this education to more women because I don’t want people to suffer. I had extreme suffering. I know not everybody’s going to go through what I went through this pretty unique circumstance that I had. But so many women aren’t sleeping; they’re turning to alcohol, and they’re relying on prescriptions. There are so many struggles out there that cannabis could support. I thought, if I want to lead these sorts of opportunities, these events, then I need to really up my knowledge game.

Kim: And so, the deep dive into learning began. I ended up finding the Cannabis Coaching Institute, and this was the perfect thing because we were about six months out from legalization, and I thought that gives me enough time. So that by the time it is available for people to purchase in dispensaries, I can have the knowledge and the insight.

Emily: Look at you, so smart.

Kim: So that I can help them. Help myself, coaching myself first and then being able to support others, because being an educator, that’s just naturally what I want to do. I understood the power as I learned more about the plant; I understood the power of it and thought, this cannot be; this can’t remain closeted and under this stigmatizing microscope, and so many people live within that old paradigm of fear and it’s a gateway and all of that. I just wanted to be a pioneer, part of the change to come.

Emily: I feel like once you, for yourself, experience how amazing cannabis is, you feel compelled you have to tell other people. You cannot keep it a secret to yourself. It would be wrong to do that. Do you feel the same way?

Kim: I do, however, as a school teacher, which I mentioned, I felt torn because I felt what if the wrong, not the wrong people, but the people with the out-of-date attitudes find out that I am supporting myself and my wellbeing using cannabis? What are they going to think? I’m in charge of their kids. I’m teaching their kids; what are they going to think?

Kim: I allowed that to really subdue my enthusiasm because I was nervous, and I had friends and close friends and colleagues say, “Kim, you have to be really, really careful. The school board could do this, could do that, you could lose your job.” And that’s the last thing I need is to lose my job.

Emily: Right. Just one more worry on top of the rest; thanks, people.

Kim: Even though it was legal, right? By this time, cannabis was legal. And, but still so new on the landscape.

Emily: People didn’t even know; there was no precedent for deciding if a situation comes up; they’ve never handled it before. They don’t know how to move forward. And for old-school thinkers, it’s a scary subject that they don’t want to touch. So let’s talk about the first time you ever used cannabis. Do you want to talk about that a little bit? And what was that experience like for you?

Kim: Oh gosh, so I had experienced it prior to all of this back in my high school days. In my twenties, I would say. I was always open to it when it would show up. I felt like, well, it, number one, it’s natural. I never wanted to go down the route of unnatural intoxicants; I’ll call it that for now. But I thought, if I’m going to try anything, I’ll try cannabis. So whenever it would show up, I would have a little puff. And generally, it was good. Sometimes live and learn. I would’ve been consuming alcohol first, and then the joint came around, and I learned the hard way.

Emily: And not to be rude to anybody out there, but they don’t mix very well.

Kim: Not really. And edibles as well. It’s a whole different animal, an intense experience with edibles. So when you go into it really not knowing how it’s going to affect you, how quickly are you going to feel, how to come down if you’re too high, all of that. When you don’t have that information, it’s kind of like the roulette wheel, kind of the lottery, what you’re going to end up with.

Emily: Absolutely.

Kim: But now I know much better. Now I know much, much better.

Emily: Moving forward, are you open about cannabis? Has anybody found out? How has this worked for you in navigating your teacher life and your new cannabis life?

Kim: Well, what I decided to do, to share, but in what I saw in a safer way was to put my knowledge into a book. And so, I spent about six months gathering everything, writing, and then I self-published a book, which I’m very proud of.

Emily: Congratulations, that is a huge feat.

Kim: Yes, thank you. And it became the first of three. So I now have a three-part series.

Emily: Oh my gosh.

Kim: Cannabis and women’s wellness, because it’s such an unnecessary focus that we spend time on our self-care, but how do I navigate it? Well, so putting that out there was a big deal.

Emily: How did people react? Were they surprised?

Kim: Well, my inner circle knew what I was up to, and certain individuals in my world knew. I don’t know that all of my colleagues or my principal at the time knew what I was up to. But I always felt I will share with people who I really feel safe with because I really don’t want the negative energy of judgment coming my way; I really don’t want it. I was really particular about who I would share with. And it came to a point where I was even bringing some of my infusions; I would make infused honey or cookies or whatever I would make if anyone was saying to me, I’m really feeling stressed, or I’m so exhausted I can’t sleep or whatever. Even if it were the colleague that I felt close enough to, I would say, can I support you with something? And that would open up the conversation, and then I would bring them in.

Emily: I find that so many people who find healing with cannabis turn out to be healers. And that’s exactly what you’re doing now; you’re sharing that with others. Has everybody been receptive to what you’ve shared them?

Kim: Yeah, and then I have followed up and said, I’ve always given them the insights on how to engage with it, but following up and asking, “How was it?” And yeah, like it’s been good. I’ve always been clear to say when it comes to edibles, just start with the tiniest amount and give it time and have it at night. Give yourself about an hour before you go to bed. And then the idea is that it’ll help you sleep.

Emily: I mean, sleep is priceless for so many people. And so, many people, once they get that good night’s sleep, it just reignites their healthy lifestyle, because you feel so much better that you can be more active and you can eat better, and you’re more likely to take care of yourself. And it comes into this full holistic model, kind of like you said.

Kim: Yeah, so it’s been exciting. I’ve been sharing in other ways too. I get invited to speak at events.

Emily: How have the speaking events gone for you? Have you been nervous? Are you just so excited to get out there and talk to people?

Kim: Generally it’s a mix.

Emily: Yeah, totally.

Kim: But having a little bit of cannabis beforehand is always really helpful to ease the nerves.

Emily: Thank you. I am a big proponent of using cannabis before public speaking events and my gosh, it helps so much.

Kim: Just takes the edge off with everything at ease. So much better. But being a school teacher, I’m used to being in front of an audience, not an audience of my peers, per se, other adults. So it’s a little different. The subject matter, of course, is different, but being able to address an audience in an engaging way is something that I’ve had a lot of practice with over the years.

Emily: It’s such a beautiful blend because we are so in desperate need of cannabis educators. A lot of people like me, I’m not an educator; I’m just a cannabis consumer trying to share my own knowledge. But to have someone with actual education, experience, and background to come in and provide that type of education for people is so amazing. I’m so excited that you were brave enough to say, “I’m going to push past this fear of what people are going to say, and I’m going to do it.” And going out and speaking at events that are out there. I’m super proud of you for that.

Kim: Thank you. I hope for more because the response is always very positive, and people are really lacking in their understanding, and they don’t understand that they have a system in their bodies, this endocannabinoid system.

Emily: They don’t know; it’s just never talked about. No one’s ever even said the word before. And people are like, “What did you just say?”

Kim: Yeah, yeah.

Emily: So what does life look like now? You’re feeling amazing, you said, but you’re not working full-time. Talk a little bit about your business side, where things are going that way.

Kim: So I’m really motivated to coach. I really want to be gathering groups of women together and doing group coaching events and programs and that sort of thing. Putting those things together, as well as bringing women together, who have stories of transformation with cannabis that want to share their stories. I have this experience now with publishing, and I’ve got so much experience in teaching students how to write and editing, and format their written work, I just thought there’s so much power in story. And bringing women together who have diverse backgrounds, who’ve had really, whatever their experience is of transformation with cannabis. I think the more of those that are shared with the world through conversations like podcasts or through publications, the more we will have an impact on change.

Kim: Those are two big projects that I have in the works at the moment. I’m looking for women who are interested in connecting with me to talk about sharing their stories and taking on this endeavor of writing them, but also bringing those together who are new to the plant and are nervous, and have a sense of trepidation. I really want to help them go from canna-curious to canna confident and really able to listen to their bodies, which I was not very good at, and respond appropriately so that they can show up more fully as mothers, as partners, as CEOs, as whoever they show up as in the world. I think the more support that women have and the more they understand cannabis plant medicine, we’re going to just see so much change in the world because of that.

Emily: Absolutely. I’m going to leave your information on the page here. So anybody who’s listening to you and is like, “I have to talk to Kim,” that way they can get in contact with you because I truly believe the same thing. It’s the storytelling that’s going to not only change the minds of the naysayers but bring comfort to those who currently consume or who feel alone because when I first started using cannabis, I felt so alone. There were no conversations like this. There were no other women to talk to like this, and these conversations; I hope someone’s just going to listen to be like, “Oh my gosh, I can relate with Kim. I hear her story. I want to try cannabis. Maybe she can help me through this journey,” and just spark this whole kind of change for people. I’m really glad that you are here, that you’re doing this, and despite what you went through, you’ve made the best of it, and you’re trying to help other people through the same thing. I’m just really excited we’ve gotten to talk about this and share this today.

Kim: Yeah, I think it’s time. It’s been five years; it’s coming up five years since legalization in Canada, and coming up seven years since I was so ill. I’d say that’s enough time to really push this.

Emily: It is, it is. As we move towards the future, hopefully, it just gets easier and easier. But again, it’s because of the work that you’re going to be doing that we’re doing here that really just take one person by the hand at a time and say, “Let us help you and let us show you the way.” Ccannabis can be safe, and it can be gentle, and there’s a lot of really special ways to incorporate it into your life. Now, I wanted to ask you; I want to be respectful of your time. I ask all my guests the same four questions but I have one extra one for you. What is your advice for professionals, whether they’re teachers or healthcare professionals, who want to use cannabis but are so terrified to do so? Do you have any advice for them?

Kim: I would say, first and foremost, connect with someone who has more knowledge than you do. Find someone, not someone who just consumes, but someone who is a conscious consumer. Because if you connect with someone who’s consuming as a recreational user, they’re not necessarily going to have the right information for you because cannabis is something that we can manage and we can dose it like the micro-dosing model is really important to understand. So definitely connecting with a resource that knows that aspect.

Emily: It’s such a good point; just because you’re a cannabis consumer doesn’t mean you’re an educated cannabis consumer. And so, finding the right person is such a good piece of advice. There’s nothing like having just someone with wisdom who’s been down the same path. It’s so comforting for me, and for women-helping-women, it just feels like the way it’s meant to be, really.

Kim: I also feel like there’s this stereotype, right, the stoner stereotype that people think of immediately when they think of cannabis. I want to be the face of something completely different. I’m a mom; I’m an educator, all of these different things, and I consume cannabis, and it allows me to be the best version of myself. I don’t take anything else. Cannabis is my number one , and vitamins. That’s really it. I don’t take, even with a hysterectomy, no HRT, I don’t take anything. So sometimes I ask myself if should I be taking something else because I feel fine.

Emily: Yeah, I mean, how many people are taking HRT that doesn’t feel good? I mean, the fact that you are off everything and feel good, it’s a miracle. I’m so happy for you.

Kim: Thank you.

Emily: All right, are you ready for our four questions? Our first one to date in your life; what are you most proud of?

Kim: My daughter and the person that she is and is becoming, I raised her all by myself, and she’s such a warmhearted, loving, intelligent, talented human being. I’m amazed by who she is, the journey we’ve been on together, and all the ups and downs. And the things she’s been through, she had to live through my illness.

Emily: For a 10-year-old, that’s awful.

Kim: Yes, and she has some residual trauma from that because if I bring it up at all… but I’m okay with it. It’s a lived chapter; it’s over; it’s done. It was really hard. But if I ever bring it up with her, she’s like, “Mom, I don’t really want to talk about that right now.” She goes back to that 10-year-old child who was really afraid.

Emily: Afraid for her mom.

Kim: Yeah, but she’s almost 17. She’ll be 17 on Valentine’s Day.

Emily: Does she know about your cannabis?

Kim: Oh, absolutely.

Emily: Can we talk about that for a minute? How does that work? For anybody listening who maybe is afraid to talk to their teenagers, how did that unfold for you?

Kim: Really simple, organically, as I was learning because it’s just the two of us. I wanted to talk about this. As I was learning, I was telling her things. So she would’ve been in 2018; she would’ve been 12. Wait, how old is she now? Rather on the young side to be understanding this, I have not been one to keep secrets from her. I just told her not immediately; I wanted to know how I was going to feel with cannabis. And then, but as I started to really go deep into understanding, I would tell her because I didn’t want to hide and be.

Emily: Yeah, no reason to.

Kim: Going outside into the back alley to have a puff. I don’t want to do that, I want to be able to-

Emily: No need.

Kim: Yeah, so she’s been witness to all of it. Sometimes there’s a strain that makes you extra happy and chatty, and I get into a zone, and I’ll start talking to her, and she’s like, “Mom, did you just have a puff?” I’m like, “Yes, I did.”

Emily: My husband says the same thing to me; I completely relate. Where you just get like so excited. You’re like, “I just want to talk to somebody.” And they’re like, “What are you doing?”

Kim: Yeah, so, and we’ve talked about cannabis versus alcohol, she sees in her peer group. She goes to parties; she’s almost 17, right? She sees both in that social-recreational setting, and she’s experienced both. She’s decided to drink alcohol. What 16-year-old doesn’t drink? And she’s gotten sick from it, and she’s had a puff on cannabis, and she’s had a reaction there too. But at least she knows.

Emily: And at least she has a mom who’s honest and will walk her through it. She’s got the best, I mean, to have someone that you trust and love so much to guide you through your teenage years, honestly, and give real advice. She’s so lucky.

Kim: Also, to have that clarity that it’s really not ideal until your brain is finished developing. And that’s going to take a few more years. And we know that as we get older, so my age and beyond, cannabis is really good for your brain, right? It’s gotten neuro-generative properties, neuro-protecting properties. But when you’re young, you got to let your brain grow. You have to let your brain.

Emily: Yep, and I talked to my son; it’s the same way as alcohol. You’re just not ready yet. It’s an adult thing, period. It is what it is. And he’s only eight, so he doesn’t really question me yet, my authority. I think it’s easier almost that alcohol has an age limit, to put an age limit on cannabis as well for kids, and just say neither of them are for you. Obviously, experimenting with mom is a different story. But I do think kids can wait in most situations. And then if they have parents who are open and honest enough to just explore it as they get older, which is awesome.

Kim: I’d rather she know than be living in fear.

Emily: Absolutely, or just putting in… Yeah, or just to have that knowledge and to know that she can come and talk to you about it, I feel like is more than anything.

Kim: But generally, she’s not really interested in consuming it.

Emily: I mean, if it is not something secretive or something that they’re super-interested in, if they see it all the time, it just is what it is to them. It’s nothing special.

Kim: Yeah, and what I make is confused cookies and things like that. She’ll always ask, “Can I have these?” “Nope.”

Emily: “Nope, not for you, not for you.”

Kim: “I’ll make a different batch for you.”

Emily: Yes, exactly. You can have your own special batch, which is perfect. And she’s respectful; you’re respectful. It sounds like you have a beautiful relationship.

Kim: Yes, I’m very proud of it.

Emily: Looking forward, or maybe I should say, looking backward, what do you think your life would look like if you didn’t ever try cannabis?

Kim: Oh my gosh. I would probably be a stress case working all the time. Not taking breaks, not allowing myself to slow down, and struggling with not asking for help. That was one of the lessons I learned through my illness is that you can’t when you cannot do anything; you need to ask for help. And there’s no shame in that.

Emily: No.

Kim: I think I would be a different person. I don’t think I’d be as calm and, at the same time, have that healthy energy. So many things. My sleep probably wouldn’t be as good. I would’ve been seeking solutions or deciding that this is my baseline of normal, this level of anxiety, this level of stress, this inability to sleep. Everybody’s going through it. So it must be normal when it’s not. We have re-established what our normal is. It’s not, no.

Emily: I feel like once you find cannabis, you re-find what normal is for you. It’s different for everybody. But it brings you back to yourself and reminds you who you are and what’s important to you. It just kind of gives you, like you said, that ability to slow down and pause a little bit.

Kim: Yes, which is so important. We do so much so fast; we feel compelled always to say yes. We just load more and more and more onto ourselves, and then we pay a price ultimately, right?

Emily: Yeah, our health, our mental health, physical health, all of it, yeah.

Kim: All of it.

Emily: If you could go back 10, 20, or even 30 years ago and give yourself a little piece of cannabis advice, what would it be?

Kim: I’ll just jump back 10 years ago because that’s within that timeframe when everything happened. I would say start exploring, start exploring. You don’t need a diagnosis of an illness to consume cannabis. And I maybe would have gone through appropriate steps to find out if I needed a diagnosis to access the medical, I would’ve gone through proper steps. I remember even someone asking me at one point, just a very basic question, because of my way of being, and just point blank said, “Kim, are you okay?” And I was like, “I think I’m okay.” I’ve never really paused to ask myself, am I okay? I think they just saw the level of stress that I was living with because I did so much.

Kim: At one point I decided, before I got sick, I decided I think I’m going to do my Master’s degree. So I worked on that for five years part-time while parenting and teaching full-time. I probably would’ve if cannabis had been in the picture then, I just think I would’ve approached everything so differently and put myself and my needs much, much higher than I had. I would have wanted to know about it, I think. If it had been part of my thought process, it just wasn’t. I think if I had had it earlier in my life and was reaping the benefits of a mindful relationship with it, I think I possibly could have avoided everything that I ended up going through. However, with that said, and I think you would agree with this, we’re supposed to go through the fire.

Emily: A hundred percent.

Kim: We’re supposed to go through the fire so that we can emerge as a new beings with a new mindset and new attitudes.

Emily: Perfectly to where you are today and the work that you’re doing and the work that you’re putting out there. And kind of goes into our last question because if you could be remembered for one thing in the cannabis space, what would that be?

Kim: Ooh, it would be bringing millions of women around the world into a mindful relationship with this plant, opening them up to it and supporting their journeys. And that’s largely why I decided to write the book as well. Just to have a greater reach than I can have just in my immediate community.

Emily: I mean, you’re doing all that work now. Tell us a little bit more about where people can learn about you and your work, where they can work with you, and where they can get your book.

Kim: I’m around on the different social media platforms. I also have my own website, so kimsarsonscoaching.com. I’m on Facebook, and the books are currently on Amazon. They’re all on Amazon. The first one I wrote, Midlife Magic, I’ll show you, I have it here.

Emily: Please, yes. Oh my gosh, I love the cover, love it.

Kim: Yeah, I love it too. So this is available obviously in paperback, but also Kindle and audio. I recorded it, I narrated it myself last summer.

Emily: Oh, gosh, look at you. That is such a feat and to hold it in your hand is to feel amazing. So proud of you.

Kim: Thank you, this is the second one. As I was writing Midlife Magic, I thought this needs a companion journal. The whole point of “Midlife Magic” is to educate women about the plants, educate them about their bodies, and hone in on ways to engage and what symptoms that we deal with predominantly at this stage of life can be addressed and how. As I was writing all of that, there needs to be a journal so that there can be documentation and the journey from having no relationship to a really mindful relationship. That’s how this one came to be. This is called Elevated Expansion.

Emily: Beautiful, oh wow, I love it.

Kim: Space for recipes, space for dosing, journaling. A little bit of art as well. And that leads me to the most recent one, which is called Highly Inspiring.

Emily: It’s a coloring book, oh my gosh.

Kim: Yes, women’s creative self-care retreat. I’ve been recently learning about art therapy. And this book actually has a forward from a doctor in Texas. She’s an endocannabinoid specialist. Her name Dr. Olga. So shout out to Dr. Olga. She prescribes not only cannabis to her patients, but also coloring, because she understands and she’s studied the benefits of art therapy. And so, she agreed to write the forward for this. So this one’s for me.

Emily: Oh my gosh, that is so fun.

Kim: There’s a lot of fun stuff, yeah.

Emily: I will link to this so everybody can buy one. I know everybody is going to want to get their hands on this. So if anyone’s listening, not watching, Kim’s showing us her book; it’s a coloring book so that you can enjoy both the benefits of art and cannabis together, which goes by perfectly. A lot of people in interviews have been talking about how cannabis really sparks their creativity. I can’t think of anything better if anybody is looking for an outlet. And as I said, I’ll link to this book so everybody can get their hands on it.

Kim: Wonderful, thank you. Yeah, it also has space in it for journaling, because you know the downloads that come.

Emily: So important, yes.

Kim: And you write on whatever piece of paper you have available. That’s right, we need a place to contain all of these amazing downloads. And then I’ve also got space in there for dosing.

Emily: Perfect.

Kim: Keeping track of your medicine. And so, you can replicate, so you can repeat positive experiences.

Emily: All my gosh Kim, I’m so excited about all the work you’re putting out into the world and I’m so excited to share this with my audience. I’m really hoping women listening here right now are like, “Oh my gosh, I need to meet Kim.” I’ll put all the links everywhere that you can find Kim, work with her in coaching or just check out her book. I’m getting on Amazon right now, I’m getting a copy of all of those. I cannot wait to share it, it’s for everybody. Any last words of wisdom Kim, to share with our audience?

Kim: My final words of wisdom, hmm. I think, I’ve said it a few times. Be open, be open. Even if you’re in a part of the world or a state where cannabis is not fully legal, take the initial steps of learning, because by the time legalization arrives to your area, you’ll be ready. You’ll be ready to engage with it. You’ll be ready to support yourself and support other people. And in the meantime, just travel somewhere to the neighboring state or wherever you go. Come up to Canada and experience it, but mindfully, know what you’re getting into. Have a sense of that. Yeah, be open to it, don’t be afraid. There’s nothing to be afraid. It’s a plant and it’s a beautiful plant. It’s so generous and so loving and the best relationship that you can have with a plant.

Emily: There is beautiful words of wisdom. I share the same feelings about the plant. Thank you so much for sharing your experience and sharing the transformation and all of the amazing work you’re doing today. It’s really been a pleasure. Thank you for your time.

Kim: Thank you, Emily. I really appreciate being here.

Announcer: Congratulations, you’ve finished another episode of the Well With Cannabis Podcast and are one step closer to discovering how you, too, can live well with cannabis.

Thank you for listening in today. We hope this episode has been a helpful and informative one. Please visit emilykylenutrition.com for more information on today’s show, show notes, guest information, recipes, and other resources.

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Cover art for the Well With Cannabis Podcast featuring Emily Kyle standing in a cannabis garden.

About Emily

Hi, I’m Emily Kyle and I teach people just like you how to use cannabis to find joy, enhance productivity, improve relationships, and naturally support your overall health and wellness.

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