Like most people who identified as a “stoner” at some point in their lives, my first edible experience was terrible. After smoking cannabis regularly for about three months in college, I assumed I had the tolerance of a 300 lb grown man and ate two whole cookies from a medical dispensary (before things were tested). I proceeded to have a three-hour panic attack while watching Alice in Wonderland in 3D. I didn’t try another edible for six years.
Then I moved to Portland, got my card, and got to know the rates of potency and lab result labels on the strictly regulated shelves in Oregon. The next time I tried an edible, it was a 5 mg lozenge from a state-licensed edible maker. It was like the anti-anxiety pill I never knew I could experience without a prescription and subsequent addiction. I felt the tension between my shoulders lessen for a few hours and I was refreshed and centered. I even felt my road rage at bay a few hours after I’d eaten the candy.
Since then, I started noticing how these microdoses of cannabis concentrate managed my stress, alleviated symptoms from carpal tunnel, and feel refreshed when a late night of writing lie ahead. And when I looked at the pile of empty edible packaging accumulating in my recycling bin, the candy that kept hitting every mark was WYLD gummies.
I first tried this product by WYLD (who always produces white chocolates) simply because the geometrical paper packaging was too pretty not to take home and unfurl. The rectangular, sugar-coated gummies are easy to bite in half for those who’d like to start slow, but at a very efficient 5 mg a pop, those who smoke cannabis semi-regularly can feel confident eating a whole one to start.
The candy is juicy and soft, without any traces flavor of cannabis oil or the sticky, cavity-inducing residue on the teeth that candies like Sour Patch Kids can leave behind. If I didn’t treat them like medicine, I’d eat a whole pack of ten in one sitting. Not quite medicine–vitamins. These are quite literally the adult version of Flintstone gummies. With a range of CBD-dominant, THC-dominant and 1:1 THC-CBD balanced flavors, there is one for every occasion and emergency.
Before I have a public speaking event, I eat the CBD-dominant strawberry flavor to calm my heartbeat and put some confidence behind my stage smile. I’ll eat a strawberry gummy around happy hour to alleviate any irritation or impatience I’ve accumulated over a stressful day. An hour later I’ll be dancing around the living room to Louis Armstrong and vacuuming the stairs. When I have physical pain, or when I’m somewhere in-between and just don’t want to feel stoned, I turn to the 1:1 pomegranate flavor. I find the best pain-relieving combination is one of the 1:1 pomegranate flavor with one of the THC-dominant marionberry options. If you eat edibles or smoke cannabis at least a few times a month, your tolerance is high enough to experiment–but always wait one and a half hours before committing to eating the second gummy in succession.
When my dad, a 65-year-old man more heavyset at this point in his life, tried his first strawberry CBD gummy, I didn’t imagine the effects would last through the afternoon. I just wanted to see if it would help with discomfort from a pinched nerve in his hip area during his long drive home.
Three and a half hours later, and I received a phone call. My dad was shouting with glee, claiming he felt so good he could do a jumping jack. Just one gummy gave him significant relief of real, 65-year-old-man pain for 4-5 hours.
The world of cannabis-infused gummies has expanded far and wide. As an edible formulation, it’s a hell of a lot easier for manufacturers and vendors to handle and sell than something temperature-specific like organic chocolate or ice cream. It’s affordable to make with few ingredients, and chewy gummies don’t require years of experience to master. That means there are a lot of gummy candy brands on the market. WYLD gummies stand out from the crowd for good reason.
