HempCon 2011

Just when I thought I was done writing about marijuana for a little while, HempCon came to town.

Reminder: Medicinal cannabis (pot, marijuana) is legal in my neck of the states, and I have a prescription. I adhere to all laws to the best of my knowledge, and encourage you to do the same. I also encourage you to seek out whatever gives you pain relief, in the best way you can.

I spent the afternoon before our evening HempCon trip panicking a little. I'd walked the dog just a quarter mile too far in the morning, and was worried that I'd already spread myself too thinly and would end up crying in the middle of a crowd. There were no food or drinks allowed, so I was afraid that they wouldn't let me bring in my own huge bottle of water and smaller bottle of coffee. I knew there'd be a lot of walking, and there was a strict "no smoking" policy on the grounds, which made me curious as to how all of the medical marijuana patients were going to medicate themselves, if need be. And we were originally going to take public transport, which is a whole other ball of worms.

So, after calming my panic with soothing noises and vague promises of solving all my problems, my boyfriend carefully planned it so we had the use of our neighbor's van (I love you guys!), he called someone he knew who was working the event and was reassured that they had no interest in my non-disposable beverage containers. There was no organized smoking situation at the venue, but my so-smart boyfriend reminded me that we could always take a walk if I needed to medicate. Convinced enough that I wouldn't be walking directly into a viper pit of pain, we went.

The convention wasn't as big as I expected. It was split into two sections, the first was accessible to everyone over 18. There were pipes and grow lights and a booth with several massage chairs and clothing stands and even hemp ale, which we didn't try. This first section was worth a quick walkthrough, but nothing held our attention for long. Then, there was an area you couldn't get into without a hand stamp. We showed our IDs, my recommendation and the boyfriend's caregiver paperwork, got our stamps, and stepped behind the curtain into the true HempCon.

Free Edibles! Cannabis delivery! I've found my happy place.

There were many food booths, candy bars, "potcorn", cocoa rice krispie treats, chocolate, brownies, lollipops, and fudge.

Cocoa Cannabis Rice Krispie Treat. The best medicine ever.

There were even more elaborate pipes and bongs, and some truly beautiful glass pieces. They weren't selling marijuana directly, but there was one booth where you could buy a water bottle and get a substantial "free sample" with it. They also had clones (cuttings of fully grown plants, which would then grow and flower for your consumption), but none of them were robust enough or cheap enough for us to bite.

The experience was exhausting. It was a huge tent/warehouse thing. It was loud. It was bright. And it was crowded.

A busy booth with a Bob Marley print displayed.

Another busy booth.

Free BBQ! OMGWTF!

Crowded

There wasn't adequate seating around the booth area. I ended up sitting on the floor, as far out of the way as I could get, for probably 45 minutes total. (Hence the perspective of the above three shots.) My boyfriend would go register us for this or that, bringing me papers to fill out and samples to try, while I rested and drank water. My boyfriend did all the talking for me and collected information on delivery services and strange and interesting methods of ingestion, which I may be experimenting with soon.

As I previously panicked, er, mentioned, there was no smoking on premises, or so the rules stated, but I was shocked (shocked!!) that the edibles seemed to help and I really didn't feel a need to medicate the entire time we were there. I mean, I kept both earplugs in and my hat on the whole time, but I brought my sunglasses, minty "headache oil", and various emergency pharmaceuticals and didn't end up needing any of it. Then, I got home and still didn't need to medicate! For the rest of the night! Apparently, my previous edibles experiments have been defunct either because I wasn't consuming quality goods, or because wasn't consuming enough. I can't, unfortunately, be eating brownies and fudge and gobs of thc butter every day, but I like knowing I have the option, if I'm stuck somewhere where smoking is impossible or difficult. Also, my recent sleep anxiety is null with the edibles. I'm still very early in my experimenting, but it's looking promising.

If you are interested in learning more about HempCon, click there. If you have the spoons and the cash, it's an interesting event. Take a look at the schwag we scored!

Chocolatey treats and t-shirts and coupons and stickers and pamphlets galore. Photo and lovely arrangement on the busiest bedspread ever courtesy of Boyfriend, My.