420? More Like 8:30 for Busy Moms

4:20pm? No way! Getting really high during the day may not be ideal for a busy mom juggling kids, a household, and a career.

For many moms, there is work to wrap up at 4:20pm, dinner to prepare, homework to help with, and a lot more to do before their real end of the day. Getting high and being “out of commission” isn’t often an option. Once the kids are in bed, Mother’s Little Helpers these days might include a few puffs of a bowl of cannabis flower or vape pen of a cannabis concentrate or an edible followed by a good night’s sleep.

Here’s how the founders of Ellementa handle their multi-faceted lives and roles through self-care which could include cannabis.

“I run two companies and have three kids. If I don’t schedule time for myself it won’t happen,” says Ellementa COO Melissa Pierce. “For example, I typically will make time to read or journal in the mornings after I drop off the kids at school.”

4:20? No way, says Melissa. “That’s prime family time. It’s more like 8:30 after the kids are in bed.”

For daytime relaxation, recalibration or relief, some women are starting to favor microdosing – just enough cannabis to reduce anxiety and take the stress down a few notches but not enough to be “out of it” or unproductive.

“I am not a smoker so for me consuming cannabis – at any hour – is very realistic,” explains Ashley Kingsley, CMO of Ellementa. “I don’t enjoy being HIGH, hence microdosing. But yes, at 4:20, 9:30am, 10PM. I don’t have a set schedule, and it doesn’t interfere with my life like opiates and alcohol did in the past.”

Ashley says she starts her day with a 5 mgs THC/CBD combo in her coffee. Around the 2pm afternoon “slump,” she does another small dose.

“It keeps me feeling great, energetic, and my creativity is sparked!”

Ellementa CEO Aliza Sherman got her marijuana medical card when she got to Alaska where cannabis is legal for adult use.

“I had been suffering from chronic neck pain and insomnia, a double whammy on my overall wellbeing and attitude,” she recalls.

Small amounts of indica flower vaped at bedtime did wonders for her ability to sleep and, in combination with other healing modalities and CBD topicals, reduced her pain and improved her quality of life.

“There is still so much stigma around cannabis, especially for moms,” says Aliza. “On the one hand, many of us were told ‘Just Say No’ and might be telling that to our kids, too. On the other hand, we’re finding relief and a better quality of life with cannabis and CBD so it takes time to navigate our fears and the widely varying laws where we live in order to integrate cannabis into our lives for better health and wellbeing.”

Aliza points out the importance of high profile women speaking openly about their cannabis use as a way of making it seem more natural and acceptable.

When actress Kristen Bell said on late night television, “My one daughter has a lamby, my other daughter has a blanket, my husband has a 1,000-pound off-road vehicle, and I have my vape pen…” – it was an aha moment for so many of women who realized they were not alone.

For any woman looking to integrate cannabis into her everyday routine, starting with products that are faster acting can be useful for gauging the effects without having to wait for several hours. If you feel uncomfortable or “too high,” some experts recommend dropping some CBD oil under the tongue to counter the THC. A new product on the market, Undoo, also claims to help you come down quickly from an excessive high.

“I have found a good place to begin is with vaping or distillates that are easy to measure so you don’t go overboard,” Ashley says. “A distillate can be water soluble THC and can go in/on food or drinks – so it is easy to incorporate into all scenarios. There are drinks and drops on the market as well.”

For someone who hasn’t consumed cannabis ever or not for a long period of time, easing into microsdosing is key as is finding the products that fit into your lifestyle and what you are looking to achieve. Melissa’s advice for other moms is the common refrain for new consumers: Start low, go slow.

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