TOP 10 Tips for New cannabis Patients

As a budtender in Sonoma county ca, our patients are actually what we like to call the "AARP CROWD" our main increase in New Patient are Older Patients and Women Over the age of 40.
Not young adults, or hippie pot heads. But older patients that want to get rid of the prescribed medicines and give cannabis a try! Either Again, or for the first time.
Coming into a shop where we have everything from edibles and topicals to smokeables and vaporizing only too. We are a full service dispensary and specialize in carrying a wide selection of edibles. Our products come lab tested and we carry a nice selection of High CBD Products.
I have worked at Sonoma Patient Group for 7 years now, and have learned so much since I started. I have been given so many amazing opportunities and experiences that has molded me into the person I am today. Today my passion it to educate people on the benefits of cannabis and teach them how to use it. How to make the most out of their medicine. How to grow it if they want. How to make their own products to save money. Plus there is something magical about making your own medicine.
My top 10 tips for new cannabis Patients:
1. Decide for now one way you want to try cannabis and start there. You could feel like a kid in a candy store and get over whelmed easy. So ask your budtender or patient consultant to educate you. And try and pick one way to start using cannabis. I am not saying don't go buy a little of this and that. But for first time user, I want you to try cannabis one way for several times, learning its affects on you. Noting what you liked and didn't like about the experience. If you are taking it for anxiety, did it work for that? If you chose to vaporizer with a vape pen, Did that product help you? Did it work?
I suggest this, because often when a new person to cannabis gets a bunch of things to try, its hard to pin point what cannabis product worked. So once you do this step, and you learn how that product worked. Please start trying New products too. In different consumption methods. You would be amazed the sleep you can get from eating the "right" amount of edibles.
2. Keep notes. Short term memory loss is part of cannabis. Stop and it goes away pretty quickly. Keep notes of what you bought and what you liked and didn't like. It helps as you are learning. Especially if trying different strains of cannabis, learning what types work well for your conditions is really helpful.
3.Learn to be open minded. Cannabis isn't take 2 puffs and call me in the morning medicine. How it works for me, how I feel, how much I use verses You all of that varies. So learning to try different strains can help you get the best benefits out of your cannabis. If you for example are using cannabis for pain, at night may not mind feeling relaxed and sleepy so an Indica cannabis would be great. But using that in the day time maybe too sedating for some patients. So, by trying some Sativa (daytime ) medicine you can still get the pain relief, without the sleepiness and get more of a creative, uplifting and motivating effects. So be open minded and try different strains.
4. Learn all You can! Some people like to read, google everything cannabis and it will come up! If you are a hands on learner there are Cannabis colleges where you can learn Cannabis 101. Talk with other Patients, chat up the budtenders and educate yourself. You would be amazed, I think that cannabis can be infused into everything. and cannabis can provide a benefit to everything aliment it just depends how it does.
5. Learn to try new tools. If you smoked joints back in the day, today cannabis can be vaporizer, prefilled for you. Pre-rolled. There are all kinds of accessories and equipment for using cannabis. But!!!! Most head shops and tobacco shops mark up these items ALOT!! (Sorry you know I love you guys, but it's true! Right?) So, see if you can get a discount for being a medical patient. Or find out what you want and price it online. I google the item and say online. Or go to amazon or ebay and see the price difference. It is amazing what you can save by shopping online.
6. Go to a social cannabis event at least once. WHY? It is a great way to see all the cannabis products available in the industry and most of these events you can get a lot of free products to try and sample. It is a great way to experience a whole bunch of cannabis products, talk with the makers and or sales team and learn about how their products might help you.
7. For those Not Californian 215 patients!!! I know I go on about dispensaries and walk in and shop. I know that in the rest of the country most states don't have dispensaries Yet. I know there are not store fronts for you to go and shop at. I know.. I am sorry, and please know we have had medical cannabis for almost 20 years. Dispensaries were always apart of our patient model. Please just know with all my heart and from what I see happening in recreational states. Dispensaries are coming to  your states too. It may take some time but they re coming.
8. Bye Bye Amsterdam say hello to Recreational Cannabis in the USA~
we have 5 recreational states already! Colorado and Washington states are doing great with their recreational cannabis. If you can, go to one of these states (Co, Wa, Ak, Or, Dc) and celebrate the legal access to recreational cannabis.
9. Learn your rights as a patients. There are all kinds of information online about laws in your state. and Your rights as medical cannabis Patients. But there are also, groups like ASA Americans for safe access, or local groups that help patient link with caregivers to get the medicine they need grown. As our laws changes and state laws change the rights and access we have is going to only get better. Google it, but there are already some state that welcome cannabis patients to travel into their state with their own medicine.
10. Cannabis is a medicine, an herb and a blessing plant we need to cherish and love. When someone asks "can cannabis...."  My answer is almost always YES! Cannabis has blessed and changed my life, my career, my health and my family. Cannabis has incredible properties and can do amazing things. Don't doubt it.. Fight for the rights for everyone to use it.    
( If you are blessed enough to be in California and of course then be a 215 medicinal marijuana patient you then have access to dispensaries throughout California.)