Benefits of Keeping a Cannabis Journal
What is a Cannabis Journal? (and Why You Should Keep One!) from CannabisNet on Vimeo.
The practice of writing in a journal has been around for centuries. It’s also a widely-used tool for self-improvement, which can also be applied for cannabis users. Correction: should be applied.
If you’ve ever kept a journal, you know that it’s one of the most insightful activities you can do for yourself. It helps you to organize your thoughts, improve mental health, set goals, reduce stress, and learn more about yourself as well as your cannabis lifestyle. Whether you’re a medical or recreational user, keeping a journal of your cannabis consumption habits can benefit you in many ways.
Here’s how:
- Keep tabs on your favorite strains and products. Each day, more and more people are enjoying better access to cannabis. There are also more strains and products being developed that we don’t know about just yet. And considering the fact that there are well over 500 strains to choose from, a journal will help you keep tabs on the strains you like best as you explore the big, wonderful world of cannabis. A journal can help you remember which strains sent you into a paranoid frenzy, and which one you enjoyed going on a hike with. Unless you write it down, it’ll be difficult to remember exactly if it was Girl Scout Cookies or Lemon Haze that was responsible for the perfectly blissful afternoon you had.
- Mindful cannabis use. Tracking your consumption habits is especially important if you’re a patient. Logging down in a journal when you experienced a migraine, which strain you medicated with and how much, as well as other details such as how it relieved your symptoms will help you recognize patterns that may come in handy the next time you talk to a budtender or doctor. If you’re a recreational user, writing down why you choose to consume and when can provide valuable insight such as your likelihood to always smoke at the end of the day for the purpose of relaxing from stress at work, and looking back at your habits may make you realize that you should be experimenting with more indica-dominant strains. Information about your consumption will help enhance the overall experience down the line.
- Weed out strains with side effects. We know that cannabis is 100% safer than alcohol, but it’s also a fact that cannabis affects everyone differently. Finding the perfect strain that agrees with your body and mind is going to take some time and experimentation. Having said that, it’s important to identify strains that make you feel some of the common side effects of cannabis such as dry mouth, the munchies, anxiety, red eyes, anxiety, and paranoia.
- Track any changes in consumption. Most cannabis users don’t really know just how much they consume over time. Writing down what strains you use, how much you consume, how it affects you, the times of day you tend to medicate, and when you use the most will give you insights on your needs while helping you understand your budget for pot much more effectively.
- Improve your senses. Just like wine and beer, cannabis has many complex flavors and undertones that can and should be enjoyed, whether you’re a recreational or medical user. Cannabis strains are bred to be delicious, so you should take advantage of it and find out which strains you enjoy the most. Writing down your observations of flavor notes, scents, and undertones will help you recognize your own unique stoner palate, and over time you’ll become better at detecting these flavors.
What should you write?
Making sense of your cannabis consumption and how it complements your lifestyle can be achieved by writing these things down:
Your state of mind and body: How did you feel before medicating? Were you anxious, depressed, suffering from back pain, nauseous, sleepy? Did you exercise before or after consumption? Did you medicate with supplements or prescription drugs that day?
Details of your intake: Write the strain, details of its phenotype and even terpene profile if you can, brand of edibles or concentrates consumed, exact method you used, time of day, how quick the effects were felt, the dispensary you purchased it from, and other important details.
Effects: What did you like or dislike about the experience? If you found a strain whose effects you loved but it gave you red eyes, write it down so that during your next visit to the dispensary, a budtender can help you find something similar with none of those unwanted effects.
If you’re looking to start cannabis journaling, here are some companies that have created journals exclusively for you:
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