SPRING REAWAKENING: Your Guide to a Reopened Portland
The pandemic isnât over, but weâre inching toward a more open Portland. Weâre here to help you make sense of what just happened, and chart a new path forward.
Itâs no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic was a greenrush for Oregonâs cannabis industry. People turned to weed to ease their anxiety and depression, and to make staying at home a little more fun.
As more people get vaccinated, Portlanders can begin to have some semblance of a social life againâor return to the workplace, or even just run more errands. And just as pot was a salve during the lockdowns, cannabis products can also help you come out of your quarantine cocoon and emerge as a social butterfly.
But the high-potency, couch-locking weed you consumed over the last year might not be the best choice for socializing. Hanging out and being out in the world again is going to feel weird for a while, and you need something that will both keep you calm, and embolden you to engage with your fellow humans.
âAt the beginning [of the pandemic], people were getting blasted, almost ignoring the issues of the world,â says Stephen Davenport, an award-winning budtender whoâs general manager at the MindRite dispensary in Northwest Portland. Now, Davenport says, âyou have to come to your sensesâbut you still want some relief.â
Davenport recently recommended some cannabis products to the Mercury that should help with social anxiety. The mix of flower strains, edibles, and concentrates all have one thing in common: They have a balance of both THC and CBD, providing the âuplifting effectsâ of THC and the âseatbeltâ effect of anxiety-soothing CBD.
âEverybody has a different body chemistry, so itâs important for everyone to know what works best for them through trial and error,â he says. âBut there is a direction I would point people towards, and thatâs products that have a combination of THC and CBD, and not just THC or CBD alone.â
Protanicals Emerge Tincture
Protanicals produces the only physician-formulated tinctures in Oregonâand this alcohol-based tincture, with a seven-to-one CBD and THC ratio, is designed to give you a calm baseline for interacting with others, rather than get you high.
âYouâre not taking this to make your night fun,â says Davenport. âYouâre taking this to ensure an anti-anxiety night, and the fun is created by what youâre doing.â
You can take this tincture directly, or throw a few drops in your beverage of choice while out with friends, to help keep the âOh my god, Iâve forgotten how to be a normal humanâ panic at bay.
Gron Elevate Pearls
Gron is a powerhouse when it comes to Oregon-made edibles, and these fruity gummies each contain five milligrams of THC and 20 milligrams of CBD, sold in packs of 10.
âWhen you have relaxing edibles when you go out, you end up not being involved, and just staring at the wall,â Davenport saysâbut not so for the pearls.
âFive milligrams of THC is your basic dose for a single edible, so itâs great to have the full THC, but that safety of the CBD to make sure you donât get to an anxious state,â he adds.
Brother Davidâs Flower Blends
Brother Davidâs takes flower from Phoenix Rising Farm and East Fork Cultivars and uses it to produce perfectly curated blends in three varieties, each containing a different ratio of CBD and THC: the THC-heavy âRise Up,â the CBD-heavy âComfort,â and the evenly split âReflective.â
Each blend is available in either a five-gram jar of loose flower or a six-pack of compact half-gram joints, so you can use a pipe at home or enjoy a joint at a party. As a bonus, all proceeds for this series goes toward causes the brand believes inâincluding supporting small-scale farms and fighting the criminalization of cannabis.
Truly Pure Cartridges 1:1 Malawi Diesel
Davenport credits Truly Pure Cartridges (which also has a dispensary in Southeast Portland) with valuing safety and integrity over super-high potency in their vape products. The Malawi Diesel option is equal parts CBD and THCâand while Davenport points out that the effects of vaping are often shorter-lived than with flower, that isnât always a bad thing. Plus, vapes are handy for when you want to step outside the get-together, take a few moments to collect yourself, and ease that social anxiety.
âThis would be great for someone who wants a lot of control over their dosing, and that instant effect,â Davenport adds.
Magic Number One-to-One Soda
Cannabis-infused beverages tend to have a faster reaction time than edibles, making this a good choice for impromptu get-togethersââYou can do that 15 minutes before going out,â Davenport says, as opposed to waiting up to an hour for a gummy to kick in. The one-to-one Magic Number option has 25 milligrams each of THC and CBD, meaning it can easily be shared among a couple friends.
Magic Numberâs soda flavors include ginger beer, classic cola, mandarin lime, and cherry vanillaâbut the brand also offers infused seltzers, and all of their products come in a range of dosing options.
A few flower strains
Davenport recommended four flower options to try when re-entering your work and social life, all of which should be easy to find at dispensaries around town.
Lemon Flufluns, produced by Oregon farm Garden of the Gods, helps with âmood elevation and patience for others,â making it a good lower-THC option for when youâre headed back to the office and need to keep a clear head.
âI see people getting this constantly now, especially just for their regular workdays,â Davenport says. âLike, people who are accountantsâyou canât fuck up the numbers, but maybe you also donât want to be there.â
Golden Goat, meanwhile, gets a special endorsement from Davenport: âIt makes me talk to my dog for a whileâthatâs the type of mood elevation I get with it.â
Golden Goat is a sativa-dominant hybrid, but wonât give you the heady, racing-thoughts feeling other sativa strains might induce. You can also find it in convenient âpuff packsâ of 10 half-gram prerolls.
Mt. Hood Magic is another âvery well-rounded strain,â a cross of the uplifting strain Durbin and calming Northern Lights.
âYouâre alert, but itâs not a racy feeling at all, and youâre able to converse with people,â Davenport says.
Finally, keep an eye out for Makru Farmsâ Tang, a CBD-heavy strain that has an âamazing flavor to itâ and smells like a citrusy IPA.