Do you remember the first time you heard about CBD?
I sure do. It was about three years ago when I was visiting my best friend in Maine. We were talking about natural alternatives to pain medication when he mentioned a friend that swears by CBD products. Naturally, I was intrigued since I deal with chronic pain.
At three months old, I was diagnosed with sickle cell. Sickle cell is a genetic blood disorder that causes my red blood cells to have an irregular shape. Since the cells are shaped like crescent moons, they often get stuck in blood vessels and cause excruciating pain.
To manage the pain, I take narcotics because they’re the only thing strong enough to alleviate my pain. But, they have severe side effects and can be extremely addictive. I’ve taken narcotics my whole life and seriously needed a change, so I decided to start using CBD products for my pain.
However, I had no idea where to purchase them, especially on Staten Island. Other than a few stores and smoke shops, the closest dispensaries are at least 30 minutes to an hour away from me. I also didn’t know much about CBD at this point, and didn’t know what questions to ask or what to buy.
Unsure of the best place to purchase CBD on Staten Island, I decided to visit my hematologist and ask for an alternative to my pain medication instead. My nurse gave me a few options and helped me create a pain management guide as a start.
During our conversation, she mentioned she’s registered to certify patients for medical marijuana and thought it could help relieve some of my pain. After she told me the pros and cons of using medical marijuana, I knew I had to give it a try. So, I signed a few consent forms and she started the registration process for me.
Within a week, I received my patient certification and was able to complete the registration process online. A few days later I received my medical marijuana card in the mail along with a list of places in NY state to purchase CBD products from.
After reviewing the options, two companies stood out to me. The first was Medmen which is located near Bryant Park in Manhattan. They’re open Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 7 pm. Medmen sparked my interest the most because of how thoroughly they break down their products on their website. They specify exactly how much CBD and THC each product has and what conditions each product works best to alleviate.
The second place is Be., formerly known as CITIVA, which is Staten Island’s first medical marijuana dispensary. It opened on March 26, 2020, and they offer a variety of CBD and THC products. Although it’s amazing that Staten Islanders finally have a dispensary to visit, it’s unfortunate they’re only open Thursdays and Fridays from 12 pm to 4 pm. This time isn’t ideal for anyone who works a typical 9 to 5 job. But, it’s nice that they deliver.
Although I haven’t visited either store yet, I plan on scheduling a consultation with one of their pharmacists. I would love to have two businesses I can trust to buy my CBD products from especially one that’s local and only 20 mins away from my house.
Other than dispensaries, I think the best places to buy CBD on Staten Island are smoke shops. They offer various options such as vapes,tinctures, oils, lotions, and gummies so you’ll definitely find something that works best for you. Every time I’ve bought CBD products from smoke shops, the employees were extremely knowledgeable about CBD and its effects.
However, I’ve found that not all CBD products are made the same. I’ve bought lotions and gummies that were supposed to help relieve pain and calm my anxiety but didn’t do anything. Those products I learned had very low doses of CBD in them and were made primarily of other ingredients. It’s going to take some trial and error before you find a company that makes CBD products that work for you.
There are various websites you can order CBD products from such as TribeTokes. They create CBD products that target your pain, sleep, anxiety, and skin needs. Online companies are another great place to buy affordable CBD products. It might take longer to receive your products, but sometimes it’s worth it.
CBD products have completely changed my life and I’m grateful they’re continuing to grow in popularity. We need more people to share their stories with CBD so places like Staten Island are able to build more dispensaries and cater to their medical marijuana patients.
Want to connect with me for more on CBD + Staten Island? Contact me at @rosey5692
