PSYCHEDELIC CANNABIS

Journey Prep & Integration Resources

Prep Videos

This video is focused on a 1:1 guided format but also applies to group experiences. Group experiences generally have a more limited capacity for 1:1 guidance and support.

Prepare Your Cannabis

Methods and Devices

We recommend vaping or smoking high quality, organic and live-soil grown cannabis flower. This allows for you to experience the full terpene profile of your blend, which will enhance the psychedelic quality of the experience. Vaping or smoking also allows you to feel the effects of the medicine quickly, so you can calibrate your own appropriate dosage in the moment and easily take more during the journey as needed.

If you prefer to vape vs smoke, the PAX Four vaporizer works best. You can purchase your own PAX here. I have a limited number available to lend for in-person use. Or use whatever other methods of smoking or vaping your flower blend you prefer.

If we meet in person, I will provide a mortar and pestle to create your blend with your own flower. For remote work you can find good mortar and pestles online for mixing your own blend, or use a grinder, but mortar and pestle is ideal.

Creating A Psychedelic Cannabis Blend

Find a high-quality dispensary and buy flower with the following guidance:

  • Buy organic cannabis grown in living soil

  • Go for high THC (ideally an average of 20-25% or higher) and zero or negligible CBD

  • Get at least 1 gram each of 3 individual strains of flower: one indica, one sativa, and one hybrid

    • When we mix these different strains together, an entourage effect occurs that enhances the psychedelic quality of the experience and also mitigates the potential negative side effects of any individual strain (i.e. a sleepy indica or a racy/heady/anxious sativa will have their negative side effects canceled out when blended together while maintaining their positive aspects).

    • I like to ask the budtenders about their favorite strains, and also smell them (if the dispensary allows you to) and choose the ones whose smell I like. Trust your nose!

    • Make sure you are mixing equal proportions of each strain together. One gram each of indica, sativa, and hybrid will be more than enough for a few journeys.

    • If you are feeling adventurous, you can create a larger blend. Pick 6 or 9 total strains (2 or 3 from each category). Try to pick unique points distributed on the imaginary indica-to-sativa spectrum (i.e. one super heavy indica, one normal or hybrid leaning indica, two hybrids, one normal or hybrid-leaning sativa, and one super intense and heady sativa).

Optional Supplemental Cannabis Products for Psychedelic Journey Work

The following supplemental products are optional to support and/or enhance the experience, but are by no means required for a transformational journey. Both are cannabinoids that are best taken through a sublingual spray.

  • CBN: Enhances the psychedelic quality of the experience when taken 10-20 minutes before taking the medicine.

  • CBD: When taken after taking the medicine, CBD can soften and relax the experience (perhaps quieting the mind or relaxing the body just slightly) without hindering the psychedelic effects. At large quantities it can also serve as an antidote to a negative or overwhelming experience. Do not take it before taking the medicine, however, as CBD taken before THC will inhibit the body’s uptake of THC.

If we are meeting in person, I will provide both CBN and CBD for you to use if you would like.

If you are remote, interested in procuring one or both of these products, and can’t find them at your local dispensary, you can email clinic@medicinalmindfulness.org for ordering information and let them know you are working with me (I am part of their credentialed guide community). It may not be the quickest turnaround but they can mail them anywhere in the US.

Prepare Your Space & Materials

If we meet remotely, take the following steps to prepare your space and make sure you have what you need:

  • Choose a comfortable place to lie down where you will be undisturbed and have space to move safely and freely (involuntary movement is a sign of a powerful journey and we want you be able to trust and follow that).

  • Make sure you have an eye mask and good quality headphones with a microphone function so we can communicate during the journey. The music is a key element of the experience, so if you have the option for headphones with good sound quality, that is ideal. You may also want to have a blanket, pillows, and options for a range of temperatures and positions.

  • It’s a good idea to have a puke bucket available just in case. Purging is rare but possible, and it’s worth it to be prepared.

  • For safety, make sure you have a clear path to the bathroom and be careful with fire.

  • Take any steps you would like to set the energy of your space in a good way! i.e. Clean, organize, smudge with sage or other purifying elements, pray, dim the lights, light a candle (just make sure it is a safe distance and you won’t accidentally knock it over), etc.

Prepare Your Body & Mind

To enhance the power and depth of your experience, we recommend abstaining from using cannabis or any other mind-altering substances for at least one week before your journey. In addition to leaving your body and brain “fully loaded” for a big experience, this is an opportunity for psychological and spiritual preparation as you turn your attention and your energy toward your upcoming journey.

Do your best to get good sleep and take good care of yourself in the days leading up to your experience.

From a still, silent, and centered place within, begin to tune into your intention and hopes for this experience (see intention setting resources below).

Protect Time and Space for Integration

You may be in a sensitive place post-journey. This comes with the terrain of doing transformational work. To help the transformation stick and to make things easier on yourself, please plan to leave extra space in your calendar after your journey so that you can be with and integrate whatever emerges.

It’s not friendly and can be counterproductive to jam yourself right back into situations that require your to ego be “on” or pressure you to slip back into old personality patterns.

It’s ideal to protect some healthy, nourishing space for yourself to be present, take it easy, and attend to whatever needs or inspiration spontaneously arise post-journey.

Intention Setting & Integration Resources

Below are some wonderful resources from our mentors at the Center for Medicinal Mindfulness to support your preparation and integration process.

Please spend some time with the Intention Setting Worksheet before we meet for the journey, and journal your responses. Answer as many of the questions as feel resonant for you, and skip the ones that don’t. Use the questions as a starting point and see where your journaling takes you.

See you soon!