Get medicinal

If you’re interested in the medicinal properties of different types of cannabis, ask Alan Blount, sales associate—or what many refer to as “budtender”—at El Camino Wellness Center. He can point you in the right direction whether your symptoms include insomnia, anxiety, back pain—or something grave, like seizures.

Tell me about some of the patients you work with.

I have had this patient for about six months now. He is in his early 20s and suffers from seizures. At first he was medicating with our high [percentage cannabidiol] hashes to quell the seizures, and he did see results. However, after the arrival of high-CBD strains like Harlequin and Purple Dragon, which both test over 8 percent, he has not had a seizure in months. It’s amazing to see those kinds of results.

What are CBDs?

CBDs are an anti-inflammatory, anti-epileptic and anti-convulsant. Any patients looking for relief from pain due to inflammation or muscle spasms would highly benefit from high-CBD medicine. Some main conditions that can be treated with high-CBD medicine would be rheumatoid arthritis or multiple sclerosis.

Interesting. I know a lot of people with anxiety who are uncertain what cannabis strain to medicate with.

I typically recommend an indica of some sort to people with high anxiety, but every patient is a little different. Indicas are very relaxing and tend to calm anxiety. Some popular strains that are indicas include Granddaddy Purple, Romulan and Mr. Nice.

Some patients can smoke sativa-dominant strains for mild anxiety, as long as the THC percentage is not too high. You should avoid high-percentage THC sativas, as they can increase anxiety.

What do new patients need to understand about medical cannabis?

I think the most important thing a first-time patient should know is the reason they are using medical cannabis. As long as they know what they are looking for relief from, I can help them find exactly what type of medical cannabis that they need.

Which is your favorite strain?

I’m a big OG Kush fan, because it has a powerful, uplifting buzz that still has the pain relief that I am looking for.

Do you like edibles?

I love the Rocky Mt. High Bar from Alpha Medicinals. It was the first edible I ever ate at El Camino Wellness Center and is incredibly powerful. Lately I have been going for different candy-bar varieties by Ganja Goodies. They have different versions similar to Snickers bars, Kit Kats, Paydays, and Baby Ruths.

Why do you use medical cannabis?

For a lingering lower-back injury that happened when I was playing baseball in college. Sometimes my back flares up at night, so I medicate with indicas to help me sleep.