How quickly the times change! To see the shift in perception towards cannabis in Missouri over the past year is quite remarkable. Before the passage of Amendment 2 last November, I was admittedly still a bit cautious when it came to my involvement in the industry. Nowadays, the more people that know about my involvement the better, mainly because I hope it piques their interest in Feel State (I am definitely not a self-promoting type of person and even writing this post is a bit outside of my comfort zone). Almost every time I tell someone I work for a cannabis company, their first question is “do you have any samples?” If I had to guess, I would say that only half the time person is kidding. Regardless, the answer is always a resounding “no” (go get your medical card!).
So, what was the path that led me to where I am today with cannabis? Like a lot of people, my first interactions with the plant came a while back in a “less-than-medicinal” capacity (even though, as Corey often says, the intended use was to produce some desired effect). The science and concepts surrounding cannabis that I have learned over the past couple of years were foreign to me; granted I do not think they were as prevalent as they are today. It was more of a let’s try it and see what happens approach. To be completely cliche, hindsight is 4/20, I mean 20/20. If I knew then what I know now, I am sure my experiences could have been much more enjoyable.
Fast forward a bit to my foray into the industry. Why did I decide to get involved? Was it the lure of the “green rush?” To be honest, that played a part. However, it was more because I became better educated about the plant and the ability it has to help people. Whether it be people I know personally or have had the pleasure of coming in contact with as a result of my involvement in the industry, there are so many different stories of how their use of cannabis has dramatically improved their quality of life.
I am not a cannabis connoisseur by any means, nor do I pretend to be (I will leave that to Mitch who has studied the plant for many, many years and knows more than I ever will). Furthermore, I have not consumed the plant in a long time. Now, that’s not to say I will never do it again, but I know my days of let’s try it and see what happens are over. There are reasons why smartly and effectively using cannabis makes sense for me. When the right products are available in the Missouri market, I will evaluate incorporating them into my overall wellness plan.
At the end the day, plenty of people can attest that my real “high” comes from working at Feel State. I truly think we are trying to do things a bit differently than most and it gets me excited. (It also sometimes wakes me up in the middle of the night, much to the chagrin of someone else in my household.) Even though this is a personal post, Feel State is not an “I and me” company, but rather a “we and us” company. We want our success to be driven by the success of others, whether that be an improvement in the quality of life for the patients we serve, our team members, our business partners, or anyone else we have the privilege of connecting with.
