Farm-to-bowl

My father-in-law has Parkinson’s disease, and we’ve been told about how CBD oil could help with his restless leg syndrome topically, and as a tincture, that it could help him relax and be less manic. Do you agree?

—Ivan T. Fielbetter

Thank you for asking me. You realize I am not a doctor, right? Okay, with that out of the way, I looked up some studies. The good people at Project CBD (I love them!) say that CBD, THC and THCA can all be effective as a treatment because cannabis can help increase dopamine levels in the brain. I also found a small-scale study saying pretty much the same thing. Both reports say cannabis shows promise and that there should be more studies. My opinion: It couldn’t hurt. Try it out and see how he feels, If he doesn’t like it, or he feels like it’s not helping, he can stop. But if it works, then hallelujah! I hope he finds relief, and thank you for asking.

Do you think we will still have farmers-market style events under the new legalization?

—Walker Roundsmo-King

Eh. It’s gonna be a challenge. The new rules will make it really, really hard to maintain the cool small-scale cannabis farmers markets we know and love. First of all, all events must be held at state fairgrounds or District Agricultural Association space, whatever that is. Those places are hella expensive to rent. Also, all vendors must be state licensed and follow the new “Track and Trace” procedures. By the way, this “Track and Trace” thing is kinda ridiculous. I get that cannabis is federally illegal, and that authorities are worried about unscrupulous growers transporting cannabis out of state, but not being able to hand out samples at festivals is B.S. WEED IS NOT CRACK. Wineries and breweries are allowed to give out samples, why not cannabis growers? Oh, and there is this tidbit in the new rules: “Cannabis goods sold on-site at a cannabis event shall be transported to the site by a distributor.” That means that vendors can’t just pull up and set up shop. A state-licensed distributor has to do it for them. This is almost prohibition through over-regulation. I am not a fan. Fortunately, these new rules are the first steps. Hopefully, we can get the state to ease back a little. Also, as I keep trying to tell people, cannabis culture is very good at being sneaky. Over-regulating cannabis doesn’t make any of these things go away. It just makes them harder to find. I am sure there will be more than a few small-scale grey-market events in the future. Have a good one.