How to Save Money at the Marijiuana Dispensary

If you are lucky enough to live in a state that has legalized the adult use of cannabis, then you can basically go to the dispensary whenever you want and buy yourself some weed (if you are over the age of 21). However, one of the main roadblocks that cannabis users run into when wanting to buy recreational marijuana is price. Not everyone can afford to buy weed every weekend, especially if money has been tight lately or you have lost your job in relation to the pandemic. It is also true that medical marijuana users can have a hard time affording their cannabis as well, mostly due to the fact that not many insurance companies will actually cover any of the costs associated with medical marijuana. That includes doctor's appointments, renewal fees, and of course the cost of the cannabis products. 

With all of this being said, you can probably understand what I am talking about as far as being able to afford cannabis. Some states are cheaper than others, but many people attest to not being able to regularly afford cannabis in their area even if they wanted to. The people taking the biggest hit from this are medical marijuana patients that rely on using cannabis regularly to treat certain health conditions. Unfortunately, many of these patients that are looking for alternative medicines are stuck using medications and prescriptions that are actually covered by their insurance provider. If you ask me, insurance in this country is just a straight-up scam. I am looking forward to a future in which cannabis, both for recreational and for medical users, is much more affordable. How can something as dangerous as opioids or alcohol be more affordable than cannabis? I have no idea. 

Did you know that cannabis consumption has reached an all-time high in the United States during 2021? More and more people are beginning to utilize marijuana for recreational purposes and also medical to treat and manage medical problems. So just how much money is the average American consumer spending on cannabis? Well, it may be much more than you think. We have looked at various information gathered from completing a poll of Americans. The results show that nearly half of all cannabis consumers that visit a dispensary spend anywhere between $500 and $2500 per year on marijuana alone. In addition to that, the poll also explained that over 71% of patients that use cannabis said it reduced their need to take over-the-counter medications for pain and other conditions. If you are like some of these cannabis users, you may very well be looking for a better way to save money when buying weed. Well, today I would like to spend a little time talking about how you can save money the next time you go to buy weed. One of the first things that you should be doing is looking for sales. Believe it or not, sales are not just for grocery stores and Best Buy. 

Many dispensaries will have weekly or monthly sales going on that you can find out about by visiting their website or social media pages. This can save you a ton of money in the long run by buying weed that is on sale. Plus, you can end up trying some new strains that you come to love. Another thing you can do to save money at the dispensary is to buy in bulk. If you are good at storing your weed properly, there is no reason why you can’t buy some of your favorites in bulk when they go on sale. Not only will this save you trip to the dispensary down the road, but it can also save you money.

Medical Marijuana and Chronic Pain

Many people who are currently taking opioids to manage their chronic pain are considering switching to a more natural alternative like cannabis, and personally, I don’t blame them. There are currently 36 states in the United States that have legalized medical marijuana, and many of these states have listed chronic pain as one of the qualifying conditions in their medical marijuana program. A recent article written in Forbes actually highlighted new studies that are describing many states' success with their medical marijuana programs.

More specifically, these states are seeing lower reliance on opioids like fentanyl and oxycontin for medical patients who are dealing with severe levels of chronic pain or something like that. This is huge news for our country, especially while we are currently facing an opioid epidemic. Other studies in the similar vein was the one in Forbes pointed out that states that allow patients to obtain medical marijuana cards have 25% fewer opioid overdoses. Honestly, all of this information begs the question - why hasn’t medical marijuana been legalized on a federal level?

Regardless of how you may feel about cannabis and the stigma surrounding it, you cannot deny that using medical marijuana is objectively more natural and risk free than using something like opioids. Hopefully, state and federal governments are able to come to their senses in this regard; otherwise, we may not see an end to the opioid crisis in our country for quite some time. 

So how does one suffering with chronic pain go about getting their own medical marijuana card? Well, it is important to keep in mind that it differs and varies by state, so the process is not the same across the whole country. However, today we are going to be looking at the state of Oklahoma and how one can go about getting their medical marijuana card in this state. Firstly, patients must be over the age of 18 in order to start the process of applying for medical grade cannabis.

In addition, it is important to note that the state of Oklahoma does not restrict the use of cannabis to only certain qualifying conditions. If you are able to get your doctor’s approval and then be referred, you are pretty much good to go. The thing about chronic pain is that it is often hard to diagnose and can manifest itself in a lot of different ways. The CDC actually reported that, in 2018, there were about 20.4% of adults in the United States suffering from chronic pain, and 8% of those suffering from severe chronic pain. For people that are dealing with this kind of pain, just getting through the day can be too difficult without the help of medical intervention (like medical marijuana).

Chronic pain can be extremely debilitating for a lot of patients. For some people, their pain is unbearable and can keep them out of work, in poverty, or without sleep. The great thing about medical marijuana is that it is generally considered risk free and can be taken or consumed in a variety of ways. Some people prefer to smoke their weed, while others enjoy taking edibles or tinctures.

For people with chronic pain that are just trying to survive, medical marijuana can make a huge difference in their lives. You honestly don’t know how bad it is to live with chronic pain until you experience it yourself. I hope that you learned something from reading this article and that you can find medical marijuana as an effective treatment option for managing your chronic pain. Come back next week to read about the time that I smoked weed in my grandma’s sauna.