Finding Community & Calm With Cannabis
Sasha Uzlyaner has met some of her closest friends through cannabis. She recalls meeting one such person, Natalie, in a waxing salon, where they discovered a shared passion for cannabis. It only took one session to form a strong and lasting bond.
“When we started talking, it turns out that she medicates too,” said Uzlyaner, 32, a Patient Care Associate at Ethos Cannabis’ Philadelphia location. “I met one of my other best friends, Stephanie, in a similar way: We were with a group of people and I just asked her if she wanted to smoke. When you have a common ground and common interest with another person, it tends to make having conversations easier. You know you’re with people who won’t make you feel judged.”
For Uzlyaner, cannabis is more than just a tool to help her manage anxiety. Through the years, she has found a community of like-minded people who understand, reaffirm, and celebrate her decision to use cannabis as medicine.
“I’ve met my best friends by connecting with others who medicate with cannabis,” Uzlyaner said.
Uzlyaner explained that anxiety can make social situations difficult to navigate, and cannabis opens the door to not only help her feel at ease, but offers an entryway to strike up conversation.
“When you already have an ‘in’ and know that [cannabis] is something you have in common, that alleviates your mind when it’s racing and asking, ‘What am i going to say and do?’” Uzlyaner said. “Cannabis opens up the conversation and alleviates the tension.”
As she thrived socially in the cannabis community, Uzlyaner decided that she wanted to make the transition professionally as well: both to work among other like-minded people and to help others like herself looking to make medical cannabis a part of their lives.
“I’ve been waiting for this industry for years,” said Uzlyaner. “I’ve had office jobs and other positions, but this is the industry that speaks to me and one I feel connected to.”
Uzlyaner emphasized the crucial role of community in her cannabis journey.
“When people talk about cannabis medicine, the importance of community sometimes gets lost,” Uzlyaner said. “The people you meet and the creativity cannabis inspires are interconnected and beautiful. People should not be afraid to consume cannabis, and a supportive community uplifts that message.”
As one of an estimated 40 million American adults diagnosed with anxiety, navigating social situations is not easy for Uzlyaner. Anxiety is a qualifying condition for a medical cannabis recommendation in several states, including Pennsylvania. Researchers are still learning more about how cannabis can help impact anxiety, but what has been uncovered so far — and what medical cannabis patients like Uzlyaner can attest to — is promising. (Read the Ethos guide to cannabis and anxiety.)
“At first, cannabis was half self-medicating, even if I didn’t know it at the time, and half social to help me unwind,” said Uzlyaner. “Now, these two parts of me are beautifully intertwined.”
Uzlyaner had a second “a-ha” moment when she noticed cannabis’ impact on night terrors, a condition sometimes triggered by anxiety that causes frightening, sleep-disrupting episodes that the person does not recall upon waking.
“I eventually realized that I would sleep through the night if I consumed before bed — [and] it was restful sleep,” Uzlyaner said. “Once I connected the two, I figured out that cannabis was doing something much more for me than just giggling in a park with some friends.”
Uzlyaner now utilizes cannabis as part of her daily routine and situationally as needed to help her calm body and mind.
“My day is anchored in mindfulness, meditation, and positive affirmation practices, and at the center of it all is cannabis,” Uzlyaner said.
Uzlyaner’s cannabis routine involves inhalation when the moment calls for it, and edibles to help her sleep through the night. That’s because the faster onset of inhalation can take effect within minutes when she needs to calm down quickly, while edibles take longer to take effect and have a several hour duration, helping her fall asleep and stay asleep.
“If I know it’s going to be hard to fall asleep, I’ll eat an edible an hour before bedtime,” Uzlyaner explained. “Like clockwork, I fall asleep an hour later, and I know I’ll get at least five hours of solid sleep.”
For those nervous about trying cannabis, Uzlyaner has one simple piece of advice: Just come.
“There’s a community here that loves you and accepts you,” Uzlyaner said. “Cannabis is a way of being — it’s everything, it’s life.”
