#3: Honesty is the new irony
The Office Hours Interview: Carly Fisher
Carly Fisher is a writer and editor whose work has appeared in publications you read like GQ, Fodors Travel, Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, High Times, Leafly, Wine Enthusiast, Brides, Saveur, Edible and NBC. She got a James Beard Award nomination in 2018, a food/travel book that's coming out next year and is one of the only people on Earth who's IG story I'll watch in full.
(even if it's one of those long ones that look like "-------------------------").
You hear "microinfluencer" thrown around a lot, but Carly's the real deal (add her to your influencer lists now, and then you get to look smart in a year). In addition to writing about food and the culture around it, she was my introduction (along with sites like Gossamer Magazine) to a community of writers who are embracing the culture of marijuana as we count down the days until the stuff is legal everywhere in the good ol’ U.S of A.
Share one fact you think Office Hours readers might not know.
Honesty is the new irony, and no one can handle it. It's fun, give it a try!
As marijuana becomes legal in more states across the US, I'm noticing that middle-class olds like myself who might be interested in getting into cannabis usage (either for social or medical reasons) often don't know where to start. It feels like we went from "Let's smoke this dirt weed I scored from a guy on the swim team who got it at a DMB show at Alpine Valley*" to "I can put CBD in my latte now, is it a scam?" in like a week. Any tips for timid tokers-to-be?
*Feel free to sub in your local outdoor music venue where DMB always played for Alpine Valley
Listen, this is a *dope* time to get into weed (or "cannabis," the water cooler-friendly term). Think about your first experiences with alcohol. Did you raid your parent's liquor cabinet and try to get lit on Bailey's or dip into the cool, murky waters of an unsterilized Rubbermaid cooler filled with god knows what and Everclear at a college party? Not exactly the same as having a beautiful top-shelf Scotch or a casual beer in front of the TV, is it?
So, assume the following, if you want to enjoy it recreationally to get high:
1. Avoid edibles unless they're low dose or microdosed. Absorption (particularly with fat) will last longer and be more potent than smoking or vaping. I once had a nightmarish day at Disneyland having to talk myself down through breathing exercises on the toilet because I split half a piece of Kiva chocolate that was like 50 mg of THC. BUT that same piece at 1/8 of the portion taken at an indoor waterpark inside a hotel in rural Indiana was some of the most fun I've had. I broke some of those D.A.R.E. ad eggs to give you the weed-infused omelet of wisdom I have today. Worth it.
2. Vaping, in my opinion, is the best introduction because you can control how much you smoke (most vape pens allow you to adjust the temperature) and you don't have to worry about fresh flower drying out.
3. If you go with flower, look for something that has a low THC content or hybrid (some even have CBD). And there's even some companies that are making "weed for non-smokers" that have a higher percentage of CBD and low dose THC.
As far as CBD, you have to remember it's non-psychosomatic (i.e. it won't get you "high") and also, unregulated. If you want the beneficial effects, research companies that actually do testing on their product. I think CBD is cool, but I'm on anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medication, so it doesn't do a ton for me. But I feel it most taking it before flights. If you have flying anxiety, this stuff is the shit. Topicals are nice for muscle pain. A lot of people say it chills them out/they like it, and it shouldn't have a major adverse effect.
I love being high as shit so I'm a THC girl. If you live in a non-legal state, the dealers are still likely trying to do minor strain hyping so ask them or check a site like Leafly that has an app where you can see all sorts of rankings and reviews.
Got anything to promote?
I have a book coming out in 2020, that should have come out in 2019, except I'm still writing the book therefore it cannot be published yet (I'm trying! I'm trying to write my second proposal because I guess I love punishing myself). It's a travel guide to Hudson Valley and the Catskills, which I now believe might be paradise and I'm hoping you'll join me (only if you're cool). There's hiking and great produce and drinks and hot tubs and art and scenic beauty and everyone loves their communities. I make it easy to go for a weekend, which is the purpose of the book, which I hope you will purchase and then join my commune/cult.
Where can readers find you online?
You can follow my day at @dinnerwithcarly on Instagram. It likely highlights weird things I find, delicious things I'm consuming, and probably weed because I'm a gigantic pothead.
I'm creating this newsletter as I go, so I think I'd like to institute my first recurring theme here: Starting now, the last question in an Office Hours interview will require the interviewee to shout out one person they think the world should pay more attention to. Any suggestions?
Everyone is paying attention to AOC, as they should. But find the AOC in your area and get them on the floor to make the changes we need for a better society. We need more young, angry, real people in office.
YOUR HOMEWORK THIS WEEK:
The season finale of The Opus — a new podcast about classic albums that's a collaboration between Consequence of Sound and Sony Legacy Records that I host — ends with a bang.
In what will likely be the only time they’re ever on the same podcast, Megadeth founder/metal legend Dave Mustaine and cultural poet Hanif Abdurraqib join me discuss the cultural legacy of Jimi Hendrix’s music. Listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
TUNES!
Kaz made this playlist of amazing rap music from 2007 - 2012 and it's worth your time. Take a walk down memory lane back to a time where the music blog-industrial complex grew from a small network, got bloated, and promptly collapsed upon itself.
RIP Mac Miller.
RIP Fredo Santana.
RIP A$AP Yams.