Bear with me, Dear Reader, while I tell my CBD story. I was in pain and found it uncomfortable to sit, stand or just move. Usually, when severe pain strikes, I pop pills and apply ice and heat. But a package from Jessica Bernardo at Canna Bath Co. (cannabathco.com) arrived in the mail. I knew it contained the CBD patches for pain that I’ve come to think of as cannabis Band-Aids. I opened the package, removed the backing on a patch and applied the sticky side down on ground zero of my pain.
Slowly, I felt the CBD working, along with the Lidocaine and the menthol that the patches contain. For extra relief, I ate a 10-milligram THC gummy and felt my stress drop, but then—before I should have—I went back to my computer.
The pain came back, though not as badly as before. I went for a walk, took a hot bath, massaged my back as best I could and applied another CBD patch. The second time it kicked in faster than the first time. Then I called Bernardo in Oakland and told her that her product was working for me, which made both of us happy.
“If you want to know about me,” Bernardo said, “I’m 34 and have therapy in my blood. I have grown marijuana, been in the THC market but switched to CBD because it’s bigger and less hassle. CBD has helped greatly with my menstrual pain. My topicals are available in small retail shops around the country. Before long, I hope to be in Target and Whole Foods.
“I also manufacture oils, lotions and creams. I want people to be out of pain without using harmful pharmaceuticals and opioids.”
I’ve been writing about cannabis for the Bohemian for so long I can’t remember when I started, though I do know I’ve never actually recommended a single marijuana product. But as a savvy patient who doctors himself as much as possible, I’m confident recommending Canna Bath’s pain patches. The patient absorbs the CBD through the skin, not the digestive or the pulmonary system. The bottom line is: don’t tolerate pain unless you’re a masochist and want it. “No pain, no gain” is bull.
Jonah Raskin is the author of “Dark Day, Dark Night: A Marijuana Murder Mystery.”
