![]() I imagined what he would think of the new landscape in his hometown, which was considered integrated when he was born in 1868. Among his many noted achievements are first African American to earn a doctorate, and a founder of the NAACP (in 1909). ![]() I chose the raspberry lime from among the selection of flavors.Īs I was driving the 2.5 miles up Route 7 from The Pass to Rebelle, I passed a sign proclaiming Great Barrington to be the birthplace of W.E.B. I wanted something that would take effect sooner rather than later, and Carlisle confirmed that the cannabis-infused seltzers from Levia – at 5 mg/20 ounce can – were a good choice. Along with a line of The Pass-made products, there were treats from some other manufacturers, too. He advised me to start with ingesting 2 to 5 milligrams of an edible, and that it can take up to two hours to take effect. He recommended that I “start low and go slow,” an easy-to-remember mantra around getting started with recreational marijuana products. When it was my turn to order, I was greeted by Carlisle, who was patient and obviously experienced in helping newbies like me. That was reflected in the clientele, some of whom were young, of course, but many of whom were elderly, accompanied by a spouse or a partner or friends. I know marijuana has many proven medical benefits, and this dispensary was more like a specialty pharmacy than a head shop. I was curious about the others who were there, finding it so hard to shake my judgmental twenty-something self from this experience. These were also posted on large screens around the store. While I waited to shop, I scanned the QR code that brought up the extensive menu of offerings. The very friendly associate at the door thoroughly checked my ID, and asked if I was shopping or picking up an order. To maintain social distancing inside and out, I had to wait to enter. I arrived at 9:30, which seemed very early for a Sunday morning, but there were several other cars in the lot. In fact, like the other dispensaries, The Pass is open seven days a week, with long hours (9am to 8pm every day). It was a lovely spring morning when I headed to the first dispensary I wanted to visit – The Pass – that conveniently opened at 9am. Not wanting to feel compromised in any way to drive home, I decided instead to visit the dispensaries and bring selections back to where my friend and I live so we could enjoy them without needing to get in a car for any part of the rest of the day. Thankfully the cannatourism literature is honest about what to expect, noting that the effects of an edible might not even begin to be felt until over an hour after consuming, and that the effects could last several hours. We’d go to a park, eat and partake, then spend a few hours hiking before heading home. I imagined bringing along a picnic of non-alcoholic beverages and hearty sandwiches to consume before and after whatever edible we would choose. Originally I was going to bring a friend and we were going to explore them like we would if we were on a wine trail, with a safe amount of imbibing included. I targeted Sheffield and Great Barrington because there were several within just a few miles of each other. In the roughly 25 miles between Sheffield and Pittsfield, there are currently eight well-established locations. In my research, I discovered that there are lots of dispensaries to choose from in the Berkshires. Imagine a day or a weekend in the Berkshires where, instead of relaxing with a cocktail before or after enjoying a cultural event or the area’s natural beauty, you consume a piece of chocolate or a lozenge or a gummy to take you to that slightly altered state of more focused and full enjoyment. ![]() I was goaded to do so by online sites promoting “cannatourism” in the Berkshires, where dispensaries and “budtenders” are presented like craft beverage businesses and the tastings they’re famous for. With legalization well established in Massachusetts, and finally imminent here in New York, I decided to check out the new world of dispensaries and see what the buzz was about. In her book, Cabot challenges these long-held beliefs, and by looking at how and why marijuana is going mainstream she suggests that, for wine drinkers like me (and you?), getting together for gummies may be a more satisfying – and even healthy – alternative to our recreational drinking habits. It may have been fun, but it was inherently dangerous, which is why it was illegal. Essentially, the book challenges the conception by people of my age and generation, who may have experimented with marijuana and other drugs in their 20s but have been wine drinkers since “growing up,” that pot is a mind-altering gateway drug whose only long-term effect is, well, dead brain cells. I recently read a book called The New Chardonnay: The Unlikely Story of How Marijuana Went Mainstream, by Heather Cabot. ![]()
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