A Tale of Two Trips

Got my first order from the Ontario Cannabis Store today. Ordered on the 17th of April and, despite Canada Post delays due to Covid-19, it arrived at my post office yesterday. I got an email saying the package had been delivered and instructions to pick it up, showing ID to prove I’m of age, at the postal outlet in the pharmacy at the mall.

The trip to the post office was quite surreal. Usually bustling with activity, the mall is on lockdown except for the grocery store and pharmacy which both have outside entrances. There were only a handful of cars in the parking lot where, usually, it is difficult to find a spot that isn’t 3 miles from the entrance. The bus stop had fewer than five people waiting when, typically, there are throngs of passengers even in the middle of the day. It was so eerily quiet that I could clearly hear the music from inside the pharmacy outside as I made my way into the building. Even crossing the street to do that felt liberating since there is truly very little fear of being mown down by a rampant vehicle at this point. Not only could you see it coming for a while, you would probably also hear the sucker!

There was red tape on the sidewalk outside marking the now obligatory six feet separation between customers – although, no one waited there at this time of day. I tend to think that these separation markers get used first thing in the morning when the special shopping hours for seniors are in effect.  Inside, the stand with flyers showing deals and coupons was missing. All employees and about half the handful of customers were wearing masks. I only noticed one lady wearing gloves. There were arrows on the floor marking where to go in order to stand in line for the post office — I imagine these would have been much easier to follow had there actually been people queued but, since it was empty with only a by-law officer (also weird to me — cuz, you know by-law officers exist but who ever really sees one out in the wild??) at the cash and the lines pointing away from the post office toward the front of the store (and back down another aisle, I discovered), I was confused and then embarrassed as the THREE employees “near” me all started directing me to the right spot. I guess they must get pretty bored during the day or just deprived of interaction in general lately.

As I waited at the designated spot, I noticed the plexiglass barrier added to both outer edges of the counter to protect customer and clerk with only a small pass-through space for payment and packages. There was a sign on the makeup display beside me explaining that testers have been removed from the store for the safety of everyone during the pandemic. When the clerk was ready for me she told me to come forward. I had my ID and pickup slip ready and slid them onto the counter, then stepped back. She stepped forward. It’s become an odd little dance we all seem to do… She was more talkative and friendly than normal, this clerk who has worked at the post office for at least 20 years – asking me questions about the hoodie I was wearing and if my last name meant I was related to such and such (it doesn’t). Again, I’m thinking this the result of a lack of stimulation as opposed to an earnest interest in me specifically. It’s just nice that there is an atmosphere of kindness, gratitude and support all around these days when you go out instead of the hostility seen frequently before. I imagine this positivity will deteriorate the longer this lockdown goes on, however… We shall see.

Anyway, this is my first experience with CBD and THC. Smoking it has never interested me but with chronic pain due to fibromyalgia and PCOS I’ve been interested to see if it will help me better manage my painful days. Currently, I take (prescription) tylenol 3 and/or robaxacet which is all that works. I am medically unable to take advil and ibuprofen-based products. Previously, I have tried hemp oil with zero effect. Recently (ie, last week),  I tried hemp gummies. The recommended dosage was 1 – 3 gummies ($40 CAD for about 45 pieces, btw) but eating 4 at a time was the only thing that made me feel any different. This discrepancy could also be due to a malabsorption issue I deal with, though. There isn’t a way to be certain unfortunately…

At my aunt’s recommendation (also odd to me that my elders are recommending this type of thing…), for about $30 CAD, I purchased 15 x 10mg cannabis oil softgels – Argyle Indica strain (is that the right word? I don’t know). There is 10.0mg total THC per unit and 12.0mg total CBD. I also ordered 5 raspberry gummies (for $8.95 CAD) which have 2mg THC and <0.3mg CBD per unit. The latter smell AMAZING. The former has no discernable smell to me, though my sense of smell is not very acute to be honest.

About 45mins ago I ate one of the new gummies. I was going to wait until bedtime but then I thought – why?? It’s not like I have anything that HAS to happen today if it puts me to sleep. Lockdown Life – duh! So, the raspberry smell is better than the taste but the taste isn’t bad at all. After about 5 mins, I started to feel a little bit of the fuzzies I think. Now I’m feeling okay, calm and maybe a bit sleepy but, to be honest, I felt tired before I ate this thing. I’m not sure if it is affecting my pain level… I think I read that it takes about 45 mins to come to full power in your system so I’m about there now…

Well, it will be interesting to see how this develops. I’m thinking lying down to watch something on Netflix right now will end in a nap and I just might be okay with that! I think I will take one of the stronger pills before bed tonight or tomorrow…