Hi all,

I am back to work after a week off recovering from oral surgery. I had a front tooth removed, and have only since Day 6 been able to enunciate and chew solid food (only on one side though!) As a daily consumer of cannabis, I was concerned about how I would be able to use it while smoking and vaping were out of the question. So today we’re going to look out how I have been getting around combustion, and how you can use cannabis is new ways during a recovery period to make you feel better and heal faster!

I love San Francisco. While they were numbing me up, my nurse asked me the usual questions about my job, and she knew what a budtender is! She was firm on the smoking/vaping point (smoke is carcinogenic after all), but said edibles were absolutely fine. So that’s what I did. Oral surgery often requires a few days of liquid diet and minimal chewing, so I had to be careful of what I coaxed down the hatch. If your operation or situation is localized in a different part of the body, you may enjoy smoking and/or vaping and benefit from it. However, I would recommend the Dosist Relief pen for physical pain and nausea, or the high-CBD Calm pen, rather than smoking flower, as burning the plant directly does result in smoke that is carcinogenic to the body and can impede healing. (Cigarettes are out of the question!)

I was a repeat user of Kikoko’s Positivi-Tea and Sympa-tea products, from their line of low-dose infused teas for every situation, like a nightcap, an aphrodisiac, or a easily-swallowed pain reliever. Positivi-Tea is a 2:1 THC;CBD in a lemongrass tea base ideal for a cheery disposition and functional medication. Sympa-Tea is much heavier on the CBD, which is ideal when the swelling is peaking and the body needs an anti-inflammatory. If these weren’t cutting it, I also incorporated a 20:1 tincture, such as those we carry by VET CBD, Humboldt Apothecary and Papa & Barkley used sublingually or incorporated in my tea cup.

Both of these means of ingestion are ideal for those in recovery who are on restricted diets or are looking to avoid things like gluten, sugar, and animal products. My surgeon estimated the swelling might take a week to go down, but mine was cooling down by the third day. CBD is an incredible anti-inflammatory that works best when ingested, imbibed or used topically, while THC is preferable for targeting pain from the inside out. We offer dozens of CBD-based products from flower to gummies to tinctures to creams to bath salts to suppositories, and many that contain both powerhouse cannabinoids. Something for everyone!

Once I was able to properly bite down again, I could branch out. For me, gummies have been the best approach. I am supposed to stay away from potato chips, nuts, anything with sharp edges, and I am still cautious of things like chocolate and baked goods. Plus Gummies and Kushy Punch are great because they are dosed accurately and in such small squares I could swallow them without chewing. I used the Kushy Punch Recover, a 2:1 THC:CBD ratio. We recently picked up another order of the newly-compliant Space Gems, hash-based vegan gummies available in pure THC or 1:1 with CBD.

Depending on what you are recovering from, there may be forms of cannabis you cannot consume, or no longer offer you the same relief that you are used to. It is important to educate ourselves on our healing bodies’ needs, and cannabis might not always be the best option. We at Barbary are deeply invested in finding the right products for you. Before this, cannabis was a solution for my mental illness symptoms; I always thought my body would be fine. I know now that’s not a given, and I have to make the most of every day I am given the opportunity to recover. May the health be with you!