This episode features Ann Allchin, author of Butter and Flower, as we discuss the nuanced world of cannabis edibles. We cover Ann's personal approach to dosing, and the use of calculators and potency testers. Ann stresses the need for open conversations about cannabis, especially with children, to demystify its use. We touch on Anne's favourite recipes, the evolving edibles industry, and her work as a medical writer. The episode also highlights the positive impact of cannabis on the elderly, and personal anecdotes underscoring its potential benefits for pain relief. This is a fun and informative episode that you don't want to miss!
Visit the website for full show notes, free dosing calculator, recipes and more.
This episode features Ann Allchin, author of Butter and Flower, as we discuss the nuanced world of cannabis edibles. We cover Ann's personal approach to dosing, and the use of calculators and potency testers. Ann stresses the need for open conversations about cannabis, especially with children, to demystify its use. We touch on Anne's favourite recipes, the evolving edibles industry, and her work as a medical writer. The episode also highlights the positive impact of cannabis on the elderly, and personal anecdotes underscoring its potential benefits for pain relief. This is a fun and informative episode that you don't want to miss!
Visit the website for full show notes, free dosing calculator, recipes and more.
Welcome back, my friends. This week I'm sitting down with Ann Alchem, author of Butter and Flour cannabis-infused recipes and stories for the Cana Curious Welcome to Bite Me, the show about edibles, where I help you take control of your high life. I'm your host and certified Gongé Marge, and I love helping cooks make safe and effective edibles at home. I'm so glad you're here and thank you for joining me today.
Speaker 1:I was delighted to sit down with Ann and talk about her book Butter and Flour, along with her approach to making edibles and consuming cannabis. We touch on a variety of interesting topics, including her thoughts on recreational cannabis use, being an introverted cannabis user, her favorite recipe from the book, why dosing is so important, and much more. Ann is a fellow friendly Canadian and, whether you live in Canada or abroad, you're sure to learn something from this lively conversation. Please enjoy. Alright, we're live everyone. Thank you for being here, the listeners of Bite Me, the show about edibles, and I'm really excited to be here today with Ann Alchem, author of Butter and Flour cannabis-infused recipes and stories for the Cana Curious Welcome Ann.
Speaker 2:Yay, thank you. So nice to meet you, marge.
Speaker 1:Yes, I'm really glad you were able to take the time to spend a few moments with me today, and I was hoping that you could start out by introducing the listeners to yourself and telling them a little bit about you.
Speaker 2:Sure, so I'm Ann, as you said, I'm based in Toronto. I have two kids, 14 and 16. I have two dogs and I love spending a Saturday afternoon baking edibles. It's something that I look forward to. I love putting a movie on in the kitchen and experimenting. I have a lot of flops where I typically try one piece and then it goes crazy it goes flat or it goes puffy or whatever, and then I mess with the dough a little bit and then retry it until something comes out delicious.
Speaker 1:Sounds like we have that in common, because I also enjoy spending time in the kitchen to make edibles myself. So we'll have lots to talk about today, but the first thing I wanted to talk about is your book Butter and Flower, which is fantastic, and in the intro of the book you mentioned that you encourage casual cannabis use. I was hoping we could dig into this a little bit, because and why you felt it was important to include it, because I feel like that's pretty unique. A lot of people, I feel like, are often afraid to refer to it in those terms. So if you wouldn't mind, yeah.
Speaker 2:So this friend of my husband's, darrell, has said to me one time and he's a pretty straight shooter, he says things, you know how he sees them and he said he knew what I was up to. And he said well, and I find in my experience people are cannabis users or not cannabis users. They know which one they are and they figured it out young and that's that. And so I think part of that statement that in the introduction comes from me disagreeing with that. I'm always trying to encourage people to experiment with edibles, with cannabis, because I've seen in my own experience if someone's not feeling well, if someone was reluctant to try it, particularly older people, that they can have great results. And I think there's a lot of middle ground there. It might not be eating an edible, might not be something that you do every day, but it's something that you keep in your freezer. And then the weekend comes and you split one with your partner, and I have one couple that I'm really close with and they tend to bicker on a.
Speaker 2:Saturday night, you know, they'll dig into the animals, as they call them, and have a great night together. So I think there's the perception that people are heavy users or not, and I don't think that that has to be the case. I think that it can be something fun that people experiment with and enjoy themselves, or not. So that's what. I encourage Right.
Speaker 1:So you're encouraging all kinds of cannabis use, not just medical, not just everyday wake and bake, but just however it works for you basically.
Speaker 2:Yeah for sure. I also kind of put it in there, because when I introduced myself, especially to a non-user, people kind of sometimes go, oh, and then I'll say, yeah, I got into it because I was baking medicinally for my father-in-law's partner and they say, oh, okay, well, medicinal, I get it. And I think even in early legalization in California there were polls that came out that said a huge percentage of the population were in favor of medicinal. But what's wrong with recreational? If that's someone who likes to kick back by enjoying a little bit of weed, there shouldn't be a problem with that. And I think it's just stigma, obviously, and that we've been so conditioned that kicking back with a couple glasses of wine which I also love but people have no problem with that. But when it comes to weed they can be a lot more critical. So I definitely always wanted to throw in the support for the recreational user at the same time that I'm supporting medicinal use.
Speaker 1:Right. Well, I'm really glad you did include that in your book, because I think anytime we can break the stigma. Like you said, not everybody's using it for specific medical purposes, though you could argue that stress relief is a very valid use for cannabis and that could be considered medical as well. But yeah, I think that's normal.
Speaker 2:It goes to the argument of If it's medicinal, it's helping and side effects are limited. In the case of weed, like, I don't think I would call alcohol medicinal, because they're pretty intense side effects and risks that are lower with weed. So yeah, for sure I do believe in it being medical or medicinal for recreational users as well.
Speaker 1:And I'm glad you mentioned that as well, because I also happen to love wine, so I find myself occasionally enjoying a glass in the evenings. But the more I read about alcohol consumption, even at a very moderate level, the more the science seems to be saying that you're almost better off not drinking anything and, like you said, the side effects with using cannabis are very minimal.
Speaker 2:So yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1:Now, another point that you bring up in the book is that you're more of a solo smoker, and this really stood out to me because I often feel, especially when it comes to smoking or vaping versus edibles, I tend to be more introverted about my cannabis use, I suppose and can you talk a bit more about that in the context of a weed culture that really typically celebrates heavy use, and do you find being an introverted user challenging?
Speaker 2:I do, especially because I've written books about it. So I feel I should come across as someone who is a very heavy user, who goes to parties and comes with a bag of treats and I do come with a bag of edibles, but sometimes a joint will go around at a party and I'll pass, because I can tend to go really introverted. I think I have a really hyper-excitable brain. I always have we're chemical beings and a lot of times with weed it tends to make me turn more into myself. I can get paranoid, depending on the strain. So it's something that I like to do in the comfort of my own home, less so at parties. So yeah, I think again it comes to embracing all types of use.
Speaker 2:And I was at an event this weekend and it was with the heightened chef and it was an infused dinner and I had all these sauces and I was so tempted, but I had to speak at the end of it and the paranoia got the better of me, so that I just waited until everything was finished and I was on my own. I'm going to wait until our talk is finished and then maybe sneak out to the backyard a little bit, or a little bit of a puff. But yeah, unfortunately that's just the way my brain works and luckily users are pretty accepting, so I don't think anybody judges, except myself sometimes.
Speaker 1:Right, and I'm so glad you talked about that, because I feel like sometimes I judge myself as well, because you could be describing me when you're talking about how you go more inward. I find the effects are a little less so with edibles, but I'm sensitive to THC and I have experienced paranoia many times, which is why I lean more towards edibles than vaping or smoking. But I just feel like it doesn't get talked about a lot and people are bringing up a little bit more now. I see it here and there every so often, but the culture still definitely kind of celebrates the heavy user or the all day user or whatever, and that's just not who I am and it sounds like not who you are. So I'm really glad that you brought that up in the book as well, because cannabis can be for everybody.
Speaker 2:Yeah, sure, and if you're a newbie and you're just trying things out for the first time, it's because of these reasons it's good to be in a space that you feel comfortable, it's good to be around people that you feel comfortable with, and then you can kind of branch out from there.
Speaker 1:Right Set and setting applies to cannabis as much as it applies to other substances as well, so yeah, for sure, for sure. Now could you share a bit about your journey into the world of edibles specifically, and what inspired you to write Butter and Flower?
Speaker 2:Sure. So my father-in-law turned 90 this year. So when he was about I don't know, between 75 and 80 or so, we were up at the cottage and his partner she's a little bit younger than he is, but she grew up in a manse. Her dad was a minister. She was a grade one teacher. She does all the right things. She's very polite. I'm giving you a little mental image of what she's like. She's a person who would never smoke at the time. So we were sitting up at the cottage and said but she couldn't be there because she had a severe migraine and she struggles with them all the time she still does. Traditional medicine doesn't help her at all. So we asked my husband's dad do you think she'd ever try cannabis? And so he's Irish. He said you know, I think she tried just about anything.
Speaker 2:So it was kind of my job to go away and procure it. It was before legalization, but we bought it occasionally from our connections. My one connection is actually a mom on the schoolyard, so we would push strollers and then do our deals together. So I went home and researched about decarb and about infusions, how it's lipophilic, and then I baked chocolate chip cookies and so I dropped it off to her and crossed my fingers and I gave a couple to my husband to test them out and he went for a run and at that time my dosing was a little bit strong. So he came back and was a little bit messed up, had to lay on the couch but I've improved since then. But Kathy tried one and she didn't call back and so I went oh my, what happened? Is she OK? And then the next morning she said oh yeah, I just I slept in because it actually helped her with sleep, it helped her with nausea. And she said I did at one point go down to the basement and forget why I was there, like OK, but it did really work for her. So eventually she got a prescription for vaping.
Speaker 2:But edibles are still her way to go because it's something small that she can take. It affects her for a long time, which really helps her with sleep. So she still struggles. She's gluten free, she's dairy free. So I always have to get a bit adventurous with my recipes for her, but it's something that's really worked. And then I just kind of branched out from there. I found my dosing was pretty good for the average bear. So I would take them to parties, take them to friends, and I just love gifting. And then I've always loved writing, so podcasting is for you, marge, but writing is my, that's my thing. So just have had so much fun and such a great experience writing stories and interviewing people and working through the photography, which was just like fantasy football. I just absolutely loved all of it. So yeah, so it's a great ride.
Speaker 1:That's great to hear, because I've heard for many people that writing a book is very challenging Rewarding, of course, but has a lot of challenges. So congratulations on writing a beautiful book, and I love that you included stories from the cannabis community in it as well. I think that was a really nice touch that makes it stand out from other books as well.
Speaker 2:Thanks so much. Yeah, I always like sort of tipping my hat to the fighters who have gotten us to where we are through legacy life.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and being in Canada, I feel very blessed. I mean, the legal system here isn't perfect, but I was just visiting a friend out in Saskatchewan last week. No-transcript, I could fly home with some weed, it's not weird, but you know it's. It's weird, yeah, but we live in a place where we're able to do that and there's a lot of people that help pave the way to us to be able to Enjoy that, here in Canada at least.
Speaker 2:But yeah, for sure, and I think it's almost weird that you can't Fly with it and that it's still so restricted in so many places, especially in the US, and that they you know, they refuse to take a stance federally yet. So they're still fighting to do, and so I think that that's sort of the responsibility of of Every cannabis user who has a platform is to argue for people who don't have the freedoms that that we have, and we're still restricted in ways here too. So absolutely.
Speaker 1:I just had a friend who's organizing a cannabis dinner here where I live is first one that's going to be hosted in town and and event bright decided to cancel the event on them at sort of the last minutes. No, yes, to postpone it for a month, but I guess you know it's a cannabis infused dinner and even though we're in Canada and it's legal, they are a US based company. So you know, that's one of those ways where that still affects people, even in Canada. So it's. It would be nice if the states would catch up and get with the times, but we may have to wait a little bit longer. I'm glad you mentioned dosing as well. One of the challenges with homemade edibles often is consistency. Do you have advice for home cooks who are looking to achieve consistent results with their infused recipes?
Speaker 2:Sure. So I think the the hard truth is that it's a bit of math. You know you have that. You need a kitchen scale so that you can actually you know if you're going right from From farm to table, then I really recommend weighing everything as you go. You might not use all of your infusion in one go, so Way it freeze it and then the next time you need it you need to weigh it again. You know, if you find that you have good results with a batch, then write down what you did, make sure that you you know Exactly how much flour you added to your infusion and exactly how many pieces came out in the recipe. And there are a lot of great calculators out there. I saw you have one on your website.
Speaker 1:Marce.
Speaker 2:You know, definitely Do a bit of work so that you don't catch anyone by surprise and then just kind of know your audience.
Speaker 2:Like you know, are you feeding a whole bunch of newbies so that you need to keep dosing low, or Is it something that you need to learn about yourself so that you know that you're someone with a higher tolerance and you're going to need to spike it with, with a concentrate or or something like that?
Speaker 2:So, definitely, I would just say Just be careful, make sure that you translate from flour and the percentage of THC in the flour, which we're lucky enough to have access to now, right through to the, the final product, so that, so that you know what you're getting. And then, in terms of Each batch, like even within a batch, it's important to be consistent. So, for butter and flour, I tend to Well, I try to keep most of the recipes so that they come in pieces, so that when you're recreating it, you know, okay, one piece will get me this far. But then sometimes people who have a better tolerance are better with sauces, because then If they're sharing, they know that okay, well, I'm going to take a lot more sauce on my meal Versus someone else who just needs, who has a lower tolerance, who needs less. So, yeah, it's really just be brave Take notes.
Speaker 1:Yeah, no, I love that kitchen scale is an invaluable tool, whether you're making edibles or not. Yes, great for any kind of cooking. And I like that you say take notes, because I often advocate for that, mainly because you think you'll remember what you did and you don't. You just don't you go back like a week later You're like how much flour did I put in? That again, I, and the number of times I've forgotten over the years. It's. That's why I started having to take notes, just because I my memory is not as good as it used to be. Yeah, do you have any advice for someone who might be Using Um, using like homegrown flour, because a lot of the times you just don't have those you know numbers on the jar when you're growing your own.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so, um, a lot of times you can look up the strain and find out Um the average. So you might not be exact there, but I also find maybe because I'm a crappy grower, but my homegrown tends to be a lot arier. So when I'm using the kitchen scale, um, I, I use the same weight, um, but it's going to take more flour to get there. Um, but, yeah, I, I definitely use homegrown Um, so, yeah, I guess I would. I would just estimate based on what comes up on the the search. And then, um, I have had it tested to make sure that you're on track. But that can be a little bit expensive if you're not making edibles all the time. So, right, yeah, so again, test your first batch in a safe space and then you'll know whether you're on track for for the future.
Speaker 1:Right, okay, that's good advice. I would say that you know, looking up the average potency For the cultivar that you're using is a helpful tool than just sort of guessing in the dark, and you'll know that your results are going to be a little bit off. But Anytime, I find if you're sort of dosing your homemade edibles, they're going to be a little bit off anyway. But you need to have that, that benchmark for that framework. Yeah, my.
Speaker 1:Um, now, obviously dosing is very crucial for a lot of the reasons that you are talking about, especially if you're gifting them to people. So you want to be able to tell them at least like it's in this range of potency so they can Eat accordingly. Do you have any tips, further tips for our listeners on how to get that dosing as accurate as possible?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I think, um, typically for novice users, if I'm Taking edibles to a party, I typically keep it really low, because people are drinking and they'll also mindlessly eat multiple pieces. So that's where I would go in that direction. But if you're dealing with experienced users, then I would visit a dispensary and then, uh, spike it with an oil or a tincture that, um, that's going to take it to 11. Um, how do you find margie deal with more experienced users and dosing?
Speaker 1:Uh well, I use a tea check a lot of the times. I have used my own calculator numerous times too, but I typically will dose or figure at the potency of the Infusion that I'm making with a tea check. That's sort of been my strategy for the last Number of years and I find that the results for that are pretty accurate. But I just also realized and not everybody wants to invest in one of those devices my purposes I was making a lot of edibles edibles before the show, but now that I'm Doing the show, I'm making even more, which is Wonderful because I have more edibles to eat. But so that's sort of what I'm doing.
Speaker 1:Um, but if I gift something, I always test and let them know, and if they haven't used edibles before or if they're newbies, then I would always recommend you know, if this thing is 20 milligrams, I try, you know, the small bites is the best way to go, because you want to start as low as possible, sometimes even two milligrams if you can. Yeah, you know, get it that low, just because you don't know where your tolerance is going to lie, and it can vary widely between Amongst people. I've seen everything. It's pretty crazy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think. Um, yeah, everyone's internal neural network is very different, which is why we react so differently. So until you learn how you're going to respond definitely the old catchphrase, you know, start low and go slow. And for the book, what I did was kept things very consistent. So, you know, made basically made assumptions and then called them out. So, like, one quarter ounce of 16% THC with one block of butter will get you this much per tablespoon. And then there are this many tablespoons in this recipe and this many pieces. So you can assume that this recipe, if you follow these directions, will get you to five milligrams, and I tried to keep things between five and 10 milligrams per piece. But then you can play with those assumptions. If you know yourself, you know that you need higher than that. Of course, you can eat more pieces, you can increase the flour in your infusion.
Speaker 1:Yeah, once you get more experience do you feel more comfortable experimenting with that and changing the ratios up based on your own needs. But you need to start that low end and work your way up to that. And of course I'm a big advocate of just making them lower dose and then eating more if you need to, because you know sometimes you want more, sometimes you want a lot more and sometimes you want just a bit, and that way you can sort of titrate your dose based on your mood and your setting and all that kind of things. So sometimes I just want to eat more sweets. Yeah, don't worry. Are there any common misconceptions about edibles that you would like to clear up?
Speaker 2:So I guess the main one, I mean they're the ones that everyone knows. Like you, you know you can't overdose on edibles. You can green out, for sure, but you're not, you know you're not going to run into problems. Of course, if you're really concerned, that you know you're having heart palpitations or whatever you can, you can get medical help. You might get made fun of by the time you get there, but definitely, if you're worried, get checked out.
Speaker 2:So but I guess the misconception that I would talk about more than the common ones is really about parenting, because I find that a lot, of, a lot of cannabis users tend to hide it from their kids still. So my kids, I started baking edibles when they were quite young and so I had to tell them okay, if you, you know, don't ask a cook, don't eat a cookie without asking first if it has this sticker on it. I had stickers made so that if it has this sticker on it, don't touch it. I would put it in the freezer in a locked cash bag in the beginning so that they didn't get it by accident when I was super paranoid, but really they've grown up with it.
Speaker 2:I had a funny conversation when one day my daughter came home and said Mom, you deal drugs. No, no, it's honestly. Justin Trudeau is going to make it legal. And I had to play her a YouTube video because she thought that I was on the wrong side of the law. But ever since that time we've been very open about it. They really have no interest in trying it. But that's my own family, that's my own kids personalities. But it's something that you can address openly with your kids, you know, explain to them the difference between weed and alcohol and just keep an open dialogue and you can still be a fantastic parent.
Speaker 1:I totally agree and I'm glad you brought that up because, yeah, I don't think you are right that a lot of parents do tend to hide it because they are worried about the stigma and all kinds of other things. But when you're more open with your kids they're probably less likely to experiment sooner than they might otherwise, I think.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because it's not.
Speaker 1:So it's not taboo anymore when you have an open dialogue with your kids. If you hide it and you you know, and then they find your stash and a lot of things, suddenly it's like, ooh, what are mom and dad up to? And there's that taboo associated with it, and kids love to push boundaries when they're teenagers. So, yeah, that open dialogue is almost a bit of an insurance against it's not a guarantee, of course, but you want them to be armed with the right education and the best way to do that is to tell them yourself and not hope to get it from school or a playground friend or something like that.
Speaker 2:So for sure, and I think, especially with edibles, accidents happen when you're not open, like I saw another. I saw another headline this morning that talked about kids eating gummies. I think, and you know that's kind of a result of people not parents not saying OK, if you see this package, these are not, you know, these are not candies, these are for adults and blah, blah blah. So the openness is pretty key with parenting, I think.
Speaker 1:Yes, I agree. Now in your book Butter and Flower, you have a whole bunch of different kinds of recipes. I love how you put them into different categories. Do you have a favorite edibles recipe from the book that you recommend, and perhaps one that's good for someone who's new to edibles?
Speaker 2:Sure, I think. Well, my favorite one is the triple chocolate cookie. I put a chocolate section in the book because if you're writing your own book, why wouldn't you have a chocolate section, Of course? So I did want a cookie that makes you, you know, take an extra gulp because it's so chocolatey.
Speaker 2:So I would say that one's a pretty big hit. Also, the licorice toffee. Everyone, you know everyone's used to the gummy. They kind of like getting their weed in the form of a candy. So the licorice sort of covers the taste which some legacy users like the taste. But you know, it's kind of a good sneaky way to have a special treat. That's small and tasty and I think most of the recipes would be good for a novice baker and a novice user. Like I said, the dosing is fairly low and I'm not really one of those Pinteresty bakers who does heavy duty decorating. I kind of struggle with decorating. So it's a lot more cookies and things that are pretty easy and pretty quick to get results.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and sometimes quick is nice too, because you want to be able to put something together and be able to eat it that night, kind of thing. You don't want to slave over something, and the bites too. When you have cookies you can cut it in half if you need to, but you also end up with a batch of A dozen, a couple dozen, and so you have your supply for a little bit Depending on how many you're eating.
Speaker 2:Yeah, for sure it's great. I also tried to keep in mind being able to freeze things, so that you don't have to eat a whole batch right away. You can tuck it into the freezer and eat it over time.
Speaker 1:Yes, I'm a big proponent of freezing too. Just remember to label people if you decide to do that. Yeah, now do you have any advice for those who are already Edibles enthusiasts and they're comfortable making their own Edibles?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I think my advice would be the same as it would be for any chef or cook, people who like to bake or cook Branch out, experiment, get creative, try to think outside the box, try to enjoy yourself and think about your guests. And I would say, become a bit of an ambassador, because that's pretty fun. I love going to a party and people find out about the book and they walk up and ask me questions and what's the difference between Sativa and Indica? It always leads to a lot of discussion. So that would be my main piece of advice If you know that someone's not feeling well, just gently suggest to them that it might help with nausea, it might help with sleep, it might help them with inflammation if they're using a topical. So I would say, just become an advocate.
Speaker 1:We definitely need more advocates, because I also find it interesting when you become an advocate and people are like, oh wow, you use weed. It really opens the doors to so many interesting conversations, and in fact I believe it was the CEO of Tea Check that I had on my show a little while ago. There's a conversation that he had like that with somebody that led him to start the company, which you wouldn't have a home potency tester for making edibles if it wasn't for someone who shared with him that they used cannabis. So you never know what will lead. And then you realize how many people from all walks of life are using it, which I think is really eye-opening for a lot of people.
Speaker 2:So I love that, yeah, right there. Well, bob Dylan smoked the Beatles up for the very first time, right the music we would have missed out on if they hadn't connected.
Speaker 1:Now cannabis legalization, which we've enjoyed in Canada for about five years, I believe. There's obviously a surge of edibles. I keep seeing new things coming to the market. Have you noticed any trends in the edibles industry and how do you think it's going to evolve in the legal market?
Speaker 2:Definitely there's been an explosion in drinks, as we know, which I think is great because you're kind of addressing that physical and the pattern of going to the cottage having a drink on the dock with something that's healthier. You know, I'm definitely like I said, I'm one who likes to drink. I know it's not good for me. So I think the future I hope will involve substitution, especially for the harder drugs. I know that weed is something that's helped a lot of people who are involved in more dangerous or harmful drugs. But in terms of edibles, I really hope that things will open up for smaller business here, because right now I think you have to be pretty big to be able to produce a gummy, to be able to produce a drink.
Speaker 2:I hope that when things relax a little bit, they can relax with branding, because the branding is ugly and I think people are paranoid, so that people can get a little more creative there. But also, I really hope that I might be able to start a little bakery that can which I don't necessarily have dreams to do this, but someone like me open a little bakery that sells a little pack of homemade cookies that are infused and that people can enjoy and take home and just like any other bakery. So I think there's still a long way to go there. Things like you were saying of dinners and events where they're still happening a little bit underground. I've been to a few that are in dispensaries. That have been fantastic, but I think things need to relax a little bit so that we can branch out beyond the gummy, beyond the drink, and then it becomes a little bit more normal.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I agree, I would love to see. I'd love to be able to see fresh flour not fresh but dried flour or edibles at my local farmer's market, for instance. That would be really nice. I don't know if we'll ever get there, actually, but one can dream.
Speaker 1:Yeah you never know. Now, we were talking earlier about the stigma around cannabis and how it is slowly changing, and that's changing in large part because of people like yourself. You're an ambassador for the plant and you've written a book. How do you see edibles themselves contributing to the normalization of cannabis use?
Speaker 2:So definitely, I think Smoking is still a bit of a hard sell, even around in my own family. I'll admit that. You know, I don't know if I feel super comfortable having my kids watch me smoke, because I've done a very good job in telling them don't smoke cigarettes, don't vape. So I think with edibles it's a lot more discreet, it's a lot more welcoming, especially to an older population that has the same stigma against smoking, and smoking can be an irritant, although it doesn't seem to be as damaging as cigarette smoking. So yeah, I think just edibles really opens up the field a little bit toward normalization. It just feels more comforting to have a drink than to smoke a joint, but there's nothing wrong with smoking a joint either, I think when people begin to understand that it's not harmful. I don't really want stigma around that either. But edibles sort of even takes us even further.
Speaker 1:Right, and I feel also that everybody is familiar with food in some description, right, and I mean for myself I'm an ex-smoker, so I don't like to smoke joints, just not my thing. But most people are like ooh cookies, so it makes it really accessible, like you said.
Speaker 2:Yeah, for sure, yeah now one of the things that's really nice to be able to bring cookies to someone. Just in this way. It's nice to gift cookies to someone that are virgin. It's sort of an act of giving and act of love. So that's where edibles has that going for it as well.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I agree, because anytime you've made something with your own hands, people love that it does make a lovely gift. So Now switching gears just a little bit. What would surprise people about you?
Speaker 2:So I guess my day job is a little bit surprising. It's funny because usually this question goes the other way. If people don't know that I'm into cannabis, then what would surprise them is that I have an edible stuff, right. But yeah, my day job is as a medical writer. So I studied sciences in English in school. I used to work with rats and because I thought, okay, well, if I'm gonna go into the sciences, I should really volunteer, and I volunteered in a lab studying epilepsy and used to give rats seizures and felt bad for a little PA 17, used to get really bad seizures, but I understand the value of it. It was helping people with epilepsy. But yeah, I guess that's the surprising part of it is really living a blended life, which I think everyone does. There are days that I'm writing and doing photo shoots and then there are days that I'm editing medical research papers about traditional pharmaceutical drugs.
Speaker 1:Right, yeah, that is surprising. Thank you for sharing. Now, do you have any other projects or developments in the world of edibles that you're currently involved in or excited about?
Speaker 2:I do, I have. So I've also written another book Ooh don't, ooh looks beautiful. Yeah, it's more of a coffee table book, so it's going to be for sale in home stores and it's more of an art project and it also tells the story of prohibition through time, which is that's where the title comes from stoned, because it's obviously double meaning. So, yeah, that should be out, definitely by 4.20 this year. So I'm looking forward to that. And then I'll be at CanExpo in Toronto. I'll be in Niagara Falls for 4.20 at that trade show. So looking forward to meeting people and connecting with other potheds.
Speaker 1:That's awesome. That book looks beautiful. I'll definitely be watching for that, and did you say it's going to be out sometime around 4.20? Yes, and where will people be?
Speaker 2:able to buy that so stoned. Right now there's a pre-order list but it'll be available in home stores not necessarily widely available because it's taking a bit of a less traditional route. But Butter and Flour, for anyone interested, is in all the traditional bookstores. You can get it at Indigo on Amazon or you're independent booksellers. It's got a lot of those as well in Canada. Order it in for you if you'd rather shop and support small business.
Speaker 1:Right Now. You mentioned home stores. I'm not familiar with those.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so that's still undergoing. It's sort of making it to the finish line, but more like furniture stores where you would buy coffee table books rather than in traditional bookstores.
Speaker 1:Right, ok, well, I'll get some links for me for that so I can put them in the show notes when this episode comes out, because I think there will be a lot of people that would be interested in that. And that sort of art project coffee table book coincides with your recommendation that we all become ambassadors, and what better way to do that than have a beautiful book out on your coffee table for people to look at when they come over?
Speaker 2:For sure, it'll definitely be a conversation starter.
Speaker 1:Yeah, now you said you're going to be at a few conferences this spring. Where else can people find you?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so mostly on Instagram. So I'm at Anne Infusion, ann Infusion, also at annalchoncom and I'm pretty approachable. If you DM me, I'll be sure to reply and just look to connect. I go to as many events as I can, so if anyone has anything coming up, I'm happy to attend. And, in general, what I'd really like to do going forward is educate more newbies. So I'd love to go to speak at retirement groups and things like that where I can talk about sort of answer questions for people who may not be as experienced.
Speaker 1:Right, so do you particularly like speaking with you? Mentioned retirement groups. Like more the retiree elderly demographic.
Speaker 2:I think that's where I've found connections very rewarding, because it's something that obviously there are a lot of ailments that they're struggling with, and even a topical I had I. So one family member was asking me about what I do and if I could do something topically for a woman at her church and she just messaged me after she had arthritis in her knee. She ended up with a knee replacement and she said you know, anne, you're just that was just a game changer and you're just an angel for being able to reduce that pain. So you know, it's not smoke and mirrors, it's something that can really help people who have various conditions. So I'd like to educate and inform more of those people.
Speaker 1:I think, too, that is a rewarding audience. I used to work in a dispensary a couple of years ago and the retirees and the older folk were definitely my favorite customers a lot of the times Because they came even though they had so much. I guess just even getting in the store was a big deal, but they had so much propaganda fed to them over the years. But they still came in with an open mind and asked really good questions and if you were able to help them with a lot of the ailments, even though you couldn't really talk about it in the dispensary setting, they were so grateful and would just keep coming back. But they were great. I can see why you'd want to target those people, because cannabis can be a game changer for them when nothing else has worked.
Speaker 1:So I think, yeah, I think that's wonderful. Yeah, now I want to thank you for your time today, ann. I really appreciate you spending some time with me and answering questions and talking about your book. I recommend anybody go out and pick it up Because even if you are not a newbie user, like we said earlier, you can modify any of these recipes to suit your own tolerance, and there's a lot of beautiful recipes in here. So thank you, ann.
Speaker 2:For sure. Thank you so much, Marge. It's so nice to finally meet you. I love the podcast.
Speaker 1:Well, thank you, what a lovely conversation I had with Ann. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. Be sure to check out her book Butter and Flower, cannabis-infused recipes and stories for the Canakurious and her other upcoming book, stoned. And, of course, if you missed the episode on the Snowball Cookies that I did recently, that recipe is from her book, which will give you a taste on what you can expect from her writing.
Speaker 1:Of course, if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with somebody that you care about, because word of mouth is one of the best ways to spread the word about Bite Me, the show about edibles. Reach out to me if you have any comments, questions concerns feedback. I'd love to hear from you. You can email me, send a message on the podcast hotline, dm me on Instagram or join the Bite Me Cannabis Club before you'll find me as well. You can stay up to date with the newsletter that I send by email and, of course, consider using the products and services on the Marge Recommends page, because that does really help to support the show. I'm your host, marge, and until next time, my friends, stay high.