Living in the Weeds: Wrapping Up S1

Welcome to Living in the Weeds, a series that explores the lived experiences of neurodivergent people who consume cannabis.

In the last episode of season 1, Lucy and Jessica sit down together to go through the highlights of each episode. We cover all seven guests, cherry-picking our favorite tidbits and insights we’ve learned along the way.

Why I Love This Episode

Lucy and I cherry-pick our favorite tidbits from each episode, wrapping up hours of incredible information into a condensed 30-minute sprint.

Watch episode 1 with myself and Lucy.

Episode 2 & 3 with Dr. Miyabe Sheilds, Ph.D

Watch episode 2: Let’s Get Canna-Nerdy

Watch episode 3: A Canna-Routine That Supports YOU

We took a deep dive into customized dosage for cannabis based on a variety of personal factors: workload, stress level, sleep, current neurodivergent symptoms, and available cannabinoids. Miyabe reiterated that your dose doesn’t need to be the same every day, as your needs change so do your dosing requirements. Dosing as a scientist, a term Miyabe uses often, is dosing based on your needs. They pose the important question: is it still medicine if it’s different every day? Yes.

Miyabe also does a fantastic job of applying traditional medical and pharmaceutical terms to cannabis consumption, which is enlightening given cannabis’ stigma.

Episode 4 & 5 with Catieosaurus

Watch episode 4: Catiosaurus, Cannabis, & ADHD

Watch episode 5: The Limitations of Cannabis

Cate took us on a journey of understanding neurodivergence and ADHD outside of the DSM. She talks a lot about symptoms that are not “diagnosable” like rejection sensitivity dysphoria (which she explains beautifully in episode 4) and object permanence (which Lucy describes as: forgetting the vegetables in the fridge drawer.) In these two episodes, we also dive into sleep, why it’s a continual challenge for ADHD-ers, sex, and why it can be hard to remain present in your body – and how proper cannabis dosing can help with both of these.

We also talk about situations where cannabis isn’t helpful, like dealing with timeblindness.

Episode 6 & 7 with JayMills

Watch episode 6: The Season of Cannabis

Watch episode 7: Cannabis & Creativity

With Jay, we explored the impact of later-life diagnosis, and how many women go decades thinking that they have unavoidable shortcomings or character flaws, rather than different brain wiring. Jay shares how it was easy for her ADHD to go overlooked and how it wasn’t until her son was diagnosed that she considered she too may have ADHD.

We talk about how, for many women, ADHD can be internalized. The hyperactivity that is so apparent in little boys is often taking place inside the brains of little girls, rather than in their bodies. We also talk about how hormonal changes can impact or worsen symptoms, especially pre-puberty and perimenopause.

Episode 8 with Artesha Lawrence

Watch episode 8: All About Edibles

Tesha gave us a 101 class on making edibles and the variety of ways neurodivergent stoners can infuse their foods. You’ve heard of brownies and gummies – but what about savory infusions? With LEVO infusion machine and at-home THC tester, Tesha makes edibles with precision you’ve never seen before.

Lucy also shares a throwback to the legacy market and her original experience with edibles – made by mixing an entire ounce of weed into brownies, seeds and all!

Episode 9 with Olga Hall

Watch episode 9: Cannabis & Holistic Nursing

I loved this episode because we talked about a few things that are near and dear to my neurodivergent heart: food fixations and understanding hunger cues. Olga explains how ADHD brains can miss hunger and thirst cues, especially during hyper fixations, which sets us up in a spiral to crash. She also shares how her food fixations can last for months and how safety foods can rise and fall. I finally understand that my cravings are not cravings – they’re food fixations. We also discuss the prevalence of textural sensitivities in people with ADHD, and Olga shares her tincture dosing routine which keeps her going when she’s on her feet all day.

Episode 10 with Simi Burn, PharmD and Megan Hollingsworth PharmD

Watch episode 10: Your ECS as a Thermostat for Wellness

In our final guest episode for season one, we got to pick the brains of not one, but two incredible pharmacists who have a deep understanding of both neurodivergence and cannabis – a dream come true.

We talk a lot about how sensitive neurodivergent brains translate into sensitive bodies and the physical manifestations of neurodivergence. ADHD isn’t just a thing that makes you late or disorganized, and it’s not just limited to your brain. We are whole systems and what happens with one organ affects the rest. Simi and Megan both emphasize that our neurodivergent “quirks” are actually subtle and complex communications from our bodies to us – and learning how to listen to them keeps whispers from turning into screams. We also explore alternative dosing methods like transdermal patches.