Daria Doering

Today I want to talk about cannabis, which I think will turn out to be the most incredible medicinal herb of all time. When I was a teenager, I did smoke pot occasionally, but really didn’t like it – it just made me tired and hungry. As an adult, I’ve always been pretty intensely anti-drug – I almost never drink, do no recreational drugs, no anti-depression drugs, and have almost never even taken any medicines. So when some people tease me and call me a pothead – well, I can barely even laugh about it,because I am just so anti-drug (for me; I am truly not intending to judge or disrespect others’ choices). And I do take some meds now, as an old person with some health conditions.

But I am writing this because of what a lifesaver cannabis has been for me for the past several years. Ever have trouble sleeping? I think the older we get, the more important sleep is, and the harder it is to come by!

Having heard lots of bad things about Ambien (even my mother, in full Alzheimer’s mode, said she would no longer take it, because it was giving her “crazy thoughts”), I started experimenting with cannabis for sleep. Of course due to all the decades of the ridiculous “war on drugs,” there is so little research on cannabis, when it should be a prime focus for research. Therefore we are left reading on the internet, or just going to a dispensary and asking what they recommend. I tend to be an obsessed researcher, but in this case not so much … I wasn’t enjoying it, and it was overwhelming. So I decided to just call dispensaries and ask what they recommended.

That takes us to the dispensary experience, which is pretty bizarre. You go to a dispensary, always with a uniformed security guard who checks your ID in the front. Then you enter to usually a long counter with merchandise in glass cases and psychedelic looking youth behind the counters. Merchandise like bongs (which we knew as water pipes) in the shape of phalluses … hmmm … all sorts of stuff.

I have tried a number of things. I never smoked cannabis, since we had roommates when this adventure began, and I definitely didn’t want our house to have even a whiff of marijuana smoke … didn’t want to have to explain myself, or start a trend .

So I started with edibles. One thing to know about cannabis for sleep is that there are two main strains of cannabis, sativa and indica, and you want indica for sleep.

The other is that there are two main categories of cannabis compounds, CBD and THC. From what you hear and read, CBD is the good guy and THC is the bad guy, since it makes you high. Well, forget all that. CBD is good for relaxation and pain relief, but THC is what puts you to sleep! People ask me, “Do you feel high?” Well, I hardly even know, because I am falling asleep as the cannabis takes effect. Occasionally I can feel a bit of a funny feeling come over my brain.

Actually that reminds me of the first time I tried a cannabis edible. I was really careful to eat it and then IMMEDIATELY go to bed, because I had visions of walking down the hallway to our bedroom, and suddenly getting a wave of sleepiness and falling down on the way there! Well, that is NOT how it works at all. The effect is very, very subtle. And with the proper dose, you wake up with no after effects at all.

I have tried a number of edibles, including gummies, chocolates, powder and more medicinal kinds. They are all fine, but I usually take gummies, because they are the most available, and have fewer calories than the chocolates (which are amazing!).

I have found that for me, 7.5 mg is what I need to take, of either pure THC or a very high ratio of THC to CBD (like 4:1). You could try starting with 5 mg, but if it doesn’t work, increase it to 7.5 or 10 mg.

Edibles are easy to consume, taste good and are long-lasting, as far as sleep goes. The problem is that they are slow acting, usually taking about 90 minutes for full effect. So I take them on those relatively few occasions when I can’t get to sleep in the first place. I know they will get me to sleep eventually, and I will sleep through for 6-8 hours.

My usual problem, though, is that I go to sleep immediately, but wake up at 2 or 3 am. I have done this all my adult life – stayed up for a couple of hours and then gone back to sleep. But as I’ve gotten older, it’s harder to go back to sleep. I don’t want to take an edible because I need something faster acting and with shorter-term effects, so I don’t wake up groggy.

So enter some type of cigarette or vape, which are very fast acting. I ruled out cigarettes and bongs because of the smoke. My son told me to try Dosist vapes … he lived near a Dosist store in LA at the time.

Dosist turned out to be my solution … I’ve been amazed at how well it works, and have used it ever since. The name “Dosist” comes from the technology – the device vibrates when you have inhaled one dose – a really nice feature, so you know how much to consume (just one puff, for me).

Vapes are little devices (plastic tube things, in this case) through which you inhale a vapor of cannabis oil. Some need to be plugged in and charged, or otherwise turned on with a button, before use.

But the Dosist vape does not need to be charged or turned on, it is always just ready to go (which amazes me). There is one end with a little window, through which you can see how much oil is left. You put that end to your mouth, inhale one drag, hold it in as long as you can, and that’s it! It does produce one puff’s worth of smoke, but I haven’t noticed any odor to it.

It took my lungs awhile to adjust … at first I would have a coughing fit. And I still don’t love the effect on my lungs, but I barely cough … I’ve somehow adjusted.

Another thing is that Dosist has both disposable and non-disposable devices. I recommend the disposable, because the other does need to be plugged in. You can buy Dosist in either a 50-dose or 200-dose size, so it lasts quite a long time.

Also, if you want a particular brand, like Dosist, you should go to their website and consult their list of what stores carry their products … only a few dispensaries in San Diego do.

A funny thing about cannabis is how regional it is. We go to Colorado a lot, and I can buy certain brands there that they don’t have here; and vice versa. So that’s why I’m not recommending a particular brand of edibles. But if you want an edible, I would ask for one that is indica, completely or mostly THC, and fast-acting. Some claim to be fast-acting, and hopefully are to some extent.

If you can’t face the idea of going to a dispensary, many deliver! There is a minimum, and you have to pay in cash, but that is what I did at first.

And I am not compensated by Dosist for any of this … just trying to share something that has really saved me, and I feel it’s a fluke that I found it (well, my son Jake does tend to always save me too!)

I feel that some people may be too intimidated to try cannabis, so I’m trying to demystify it. Hell, it is quite intimidating, with the lack of research, the lack of approval or disapproval by many, the lack of legality in many states, and the youth-centric dispensaries (though employees have never been anything but kind, helpful, and respectful to me).

Lastly I did not do any research for this piece, just sharing my experience, so I hope it is accurate. Just wanting to pass along something that has worked brilliantly for me, and I hate to think of where I would be without it. I only take cannabis when I really feel the need, maybe once or twice a week, but am immensely thankful for it each time.

Have some good sleep!