In our never-ending exploration and education behind why it does what it does, our Chief Cannabis Officer Wendy Bronfein of Curio Wellness tells Nestor about the other terps (“terpenes”) and how you might get a better night of sleep of sleep by exploring some uniquely new and effective uses of the plant and the science.
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
cannabis, product, people, day, talked, cbd, thc, stigma, terpenes, pulse, effects, super bowl, maryland, sleep, pill, consume, release, week, testing, feel
SPEAKERS
Nestor J. Aparicio, Wendy Bronfein
Nestor J. Aparicio 00:02
We are wn St. am 1570, Towson, Baltimore and Baltimore positive. We’ve talked a lot of sports this week we’ve had Joe Flacco on we’ve had Brian Billick on we’ve had Marvin Lewis on, we’ve gone through, well, every alum I could get but once we beat the chiefs, then I’m going to open up the floodgates gonna be radio row. Next week, a week early. We’re doing crabcake row, a cup of soup or bowl and we’re doing that five days in a row from nine until five. So I brought to my friends at the Maryland lottery conjunction with window nation, and Jiffy Lube multi care now I gotta say this, our next guest here on the program is sponsoring our 25th anniversary. All sorts of well, I get over here 25th anniversary, all sorts of great things have happened here for our 25th anniversary, including the fact that we might be going to the Super Bowl on Sunday, Wendy Brown, fine is here for curio wellness, and father and daughter. They are sponsoring our 25 stories of glory. We’re down to number five and the Final Four are counting down till February 3. When we celebrate the I guess it’s the 12th anniversary of our New Orleans March. I don’t know if he’d be marching in Las Vegas or not. I know cannabis is on the menu in Nevada. For anybody flying out there when he brought findings here from Kara what’s going on? How are you? Is there nervous, palpable energy out on York Road right now in foreign daughter about what’s about to happen on Sunday.
Wendy Bronfein 01:21
I think everyone is super excited. Every gathering I’ve been in since last weekend that comes up or if somebody’s like talking, the first thing they say is I go Raven, and since so, here we go. Well,
Nestor J. Aparicio 01:33
it’s been something about the ticket prices and about the champ because we’ve never had an AFC champion game here since 1971. So people were a little like ski battle precepts of like, well, if you’re gonna go to Vegas, it’s gonna be an eight or $10,000 ticket game ticket. And then you have to fly out there and get there and do all that stuff. You guys went to the New Orleans Super Bowl, I went to the New Orleans Super Bowl. I mean, I would say it was a little sticker shock. I mean, I do this for a living. I think people are gonna get sticker shock. There’s been a little bit of how much going on this week in regard to the Ravens. It’s
Wendy Bronfein 02:04
It’s crazy. It’s funny. The Northern Ireland Superbowl came up recently and tying back to cannabis. someone. Someone was asking about crazy, like crazy time places you’ve used cannabis or whatever. And I said, well, in the spirit of hoping to have another Super Bowl. The last Super Bowl was in New Orleans. And we went and the night before the Super Bowl. Snoop Dogg was performing at the House of Blues. She was we went to that. And so
Nestor J. Aparicio 02:34
you were still high at game time. The next day? I wasn’t
Wendy Bronfein 02:38
that bad. But no, but just like, all right, I like I’m at House of Blues, seeing Snoop Dogg. You know, their stuff available. The Ravens won the Super Bowl the next day, it’s a good memory.
Nestor J. Aparicio 02:49
Let me just say this. I went to Vegas in 17 or 18, whatever your the caps won the cup I 70. Right. So very New Cannabis only in Nevada and like Washington then or excuse me, in Colorado, Washington, it come to Nevada, Wendy, I was blown away. And I guess this is sort of like going to Colorado and seeing little green crosses and saying, Oh, that’s a different kind of green cross. That was in 1516. In that area. I went to Nevada, I was blown away how quickly it sort of got to the strip, and how once it came on in the vat, it felt like to me like alright, this is going to be everywhere. And I saw it there as I saw on the VAT is sort of the Wild West about the cannabis part of this. And I learned recently that some states California being one of them very liberal place. They don’t even know what terpenes are, they know what they are, but they’re not listed. I find that to be a fascinating thing, given the stigma around cannabis, but more what’s in it. In the same way. When I go into wise market, there’s a label that says it has this it has that, from your perspective, the laws in Maryland versus other places. I would think that’s a good thing that the Terps are on the label. I would think in California, it’s probably not the most educational part to not know what you’re getting.
Wendy Bronfein 04:10
Yeah, I totally agree. So in Maryland, you we test for cannabinoids and terpenes. And then whatever is specified for the product appears on the label and I think that allows people to know like when when you come in and you say, oh, I want to be I want to I want to help sleep or I want to be relaxed I want to correct my mood or I want energy. Like that’s all coming from the terpenes so without that on the label the you don’t really kind of know that that effect is there. So when I was in California went into dispensary. I mean, I was kind of like being a little bit of a secret shopper, I guess since I’m in the industry. And I was asking these questions and people would tell me to expect certain effects. But I’m like it’s not on there. How do you actually know? Like, Have you have you consumed and tried every product in this store? Like, just because it says sativa. Indica on there doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s as authentic as the label is. And but if you see those Terps, you’re like, Oh, this is super high and linalyl Yes, I’m gonna get sleepy, I’m gonna get super relaxed from this. But if that’s not there, I don’t really know that I’m gonna get those results.
Nestor J. Aparicio 05:19
Well, and I would ask you, even in our state, would you want to sell a product that doesn’t have the tariffs? Like, I mean, to me, it’s part of the exploration of this that nobody explored years ago to say, what is this? And why does it work? I mean, and I’ll get to my wife in a minute with good night. I know you got some good day, but just on flour in general, I was sort of blown away that that existed, that they that a government would bring it into state law without regulating knowing every part that’s in it.
Wendy Bronfein 05:50
Yeah, I mean, it’s not it’s not on the flour. It’s not on the vapes there, either. I mean, sounded really on anything. I mean, I know, it seems like something that they could add to their program. Um, I would think that they can add the producers could put them on if they wanted to, they’re just not required. But I’m not familiar with their regulations, what they’re testing
Nestor J. Aparicio 06:09
it because they have percentages on there. So they’re doing testing the product, right?
Wendy Bronfein 06:14
Yes, yes, but but the lab might not be, they either are getting all the results, and they’re not required to put it on. So they don’t put it on, or the lab only tests for the cannabinoid profile and nothing else, which could be the case. But yeah, it makes you a much more informed consumer. Because essentially, that information, if you buy a product and you like it, that information is what helps you know, the next time you buy something like, Oh, if it has this kind of profile, then that’s a product. I’m gonna like, that’s a problem with that product that works well for me. In the absence of that. You’re just saying, Okay, this is how much THC or CBD or a
Nestor J. Aparicio 06:52
name? It’s like betting on a horse bank based on the names. Yeah. Oh, this is strawberry. This is lemon or this is cherry and it sounds good. But that’s not really certainly not we’re curious about for sure. No,
Wendy Bronfein 07:03
no, because I mean, we want you to kind of place product a person and be able to find that thing that’s going to solve your needs give you the effects you want improve your quality of life, it’s whatever you’re looking for. That information makes it much easier for you to find what you’re what you want. Alright,
Nestor J. Aparicio 07:19
so we talked about cannabis all the time in regard to relaxation in regard to focus and clarity, and certainly insomnia and sleep issues. For lots of people. My wife recently got the good night product, she’s medical, so she could get the time release, because she’s heard you talk about it here on Baltimore positive. And she also was just on the exploration of how can I get better sleep because she is finding yourself to be up in the middle of the night. Explain this product. My wife literally just got it three days ago, four days ago. It’s sort of trial basis for her. I’m not even going to ask her Hey, how’s it work? And until a week or two from now, maybe Super Bowl week, I’ll ask her some thoughts about that. Because she if you if she were here, right now, what would you say to her about that product.
Wendy Bronfein 08:06
So that product was developed a number of years ago with medical patients in Maryland as a trial group. And like you said, it does use that pulse technology. So it’s a tablet, it’s scored. So there’s a line and you can break the tablet in half and take half a dose. But no matter you take a full dose or half a dose, you always get that pulse system. And what the pulse system does is you take the pills 30 minutes before bed, it has a first pulse to help you fall asleep. And three hours later, it has a second pulse to help you stay asleep. So when we did the trial, we found that people who it helped people who both had trouble falling and or staying asleep. If people had what I’ll refer to as like triggering events, like I get up to go to the bathroom, and then I can’t back get back to sleep, stuff like that. They had either a very in ease of going back to sleep or it was a non event right. The next morning, they didn’t remember really that they went to the bathroom and didn’t there was no like a hug got up and I didn’t see in my
Nestor J. Aparicio 09:04
case, it’s if we forget to feed the cat at about 1am She will let it be known that she must be fed. And then you know, I’m like well combined the trip to the bathroom because I’m 55 and male with feeding the cat. And then I go back in and I’m like, Alright, I might as well get to work. You know what I mean? Sometimes Sometimes that happens. And I guess for other I get up in the middle of the night I don’t think anything you think I’m weird to begin with because I’m I work anywhere anytime, whatever. But a lot of people like my wife got a gig she’s gotta like report to be an engineer at eight in the morning. 2am sleep problems and she’s still staring at the wall at 3am and 4am. And then she falls back asleep at five he gets up at six and she’s a mess. And so that middle of the night that pulse I don’t know how it works. I don’t know if you’re gonna be able to listen to the radio station. I can’t explain really how it comes in your car. Can you explain this pulse thing to me in some way that maybe a guy from Dundalk can understand it.
Wendy Bronfein 09:58
So, so We have a scientific advisory board that helps us develop these more targeted products. And one of the members and the chair of that board is a noted pharmacologist, who’s made several commercial drugs that people would know, including the extended release form of Adderall. So he is very attuned to how to put, for lack of a turn the technology into a pill so that the pill knows when to release in your body and where to release in your body. So with with good night, it’s about timing, right, it’s about knowing to release initially when you take it and then knowing release three hours later, with our GI product. It’s the the pill understands not only the extended release in terms of providing you with effects, but it doesn’t release until it gets deep in your gut, it knows where in your body to go to help solve that issue. So that is his mastery. And so we bringing that that speciality of what you’d find, and in traditional health care into the cannabis sector. Now what we’re working on behind the scenes is, it’s it’s very common, and for lack of a term, I’ll say, easier to do these types of pulses in a tablet, right that you swallow. It’s not as common in a gummy, but we know that gummies are a form that people like. So we’re trying to innovate and figure out how we can capture that pulse system in a gummy so that you can get the both best of both worlds. Somebody who wants to chew and swallow something has the same can have the same system that gives you those ideal effects. As somebody who swallows a pill, a
Nestor J. Aparicio 11:36
lot of people can’t take pills, especially big ones, like swallow, they get a gag thing going on dummies. So gummies are the popular, the most popular. We always heard about brownies and edibles and all these different things but gummies sort of the standard, right?
Wendy Bronfein 11:53
Yeah, I think I think that to market here in cannabis is very popular, or broadly spoken about like edibles would be a term that people would use those people you know, I think anything, just whether it’s cannabis or traditional medicine, if your medicine quote tastes good, right, it’s easier to consume it. So you know, we have a myriad we have like 15 flavors of choose, we do a lot of work on dialing in those flavors, we do a lot of work on distilling the cannabis so that we have the active ingredients in there. And it’s not real earthy tasting, you’re not kind of feeling like you’re you’re eating, you know, plant matter with a gummy. It’s just a nice tasting chew. And so I think people really liked that way of consuming. Now, when you consume that way, you have a differentiation in your onset versus inhaling something, right? If you inhale something super fast, like immediate effects of heat, because of how quickly it gets into your bloodstream. When you choose something, you have to digest it. So you know, that’s more of a fit probably like a, you know, in its shortest firm form, probably in a 15 to 30 minutes to start to feel the effects, but can be much longer in duration when you digest it. And so that’s why when people consumed by edibles, you talk more, a lot more about start low and go slow, because you don’t know what your metabolism is relative to this. And when you’re not only going to feel it starts to take effect, but how long it’s going to last. And if you think oh, I don’t think this is doing anything. And you eat a second one. I’ll do that fine. Don’t do that. Right.
Nestor J. Aparicio 13:28
I do a lot of response, gaming and responsible. Do this responsibly. Wendy brown fine is here. She’s our chief cannabis officer. She is the Chief Brand Officer at curio wellness. They’re right over on New York Road just south of Timonium. They specialize in cannabis products right here in the state of Maryland also in a few other states but are based right here. And they even have like purple, the 00 curio, some stuff over there. If you’re celebrating Festivus for the rest of us. Last thing for you this week as I keep it short, we got a lot of things going on. We got a lot of celebrating to do that to get through this football game. You have a new product on the good day side I talked Good night about my wife and time release. I don’t think I’ve ever really spoken to you about the good day product which is you know, I think day I think day Quill and I think like when I’m flighty and I’m sick and I’ve got to take this thing to keep me going on the chittery part of those drugs was just I mean yeah, it’s functional I get through my day, but there was nothing pleasant about DayQuil. So when I think Good day, I’m thinking All right, so what what would a good day product look like during the day? That’s something that for focus and clarity, right?
Wendy Bronfein 14:37
Yeah. So the good day product is would be referred to as a ratio product. So it’s a blend of CBD and T THC. But it leans more into CBD than THC. THC is what psychoactive CBD is not psychoactive, right. So you’re going to have you have you’re able to you have more function, right? You’re not Gonna be quote high. Now there are varying ratios from as much as 20 milligrams of CBD to two milligrams of THC, which is virtually, you know, you’re not going to feel much in the way of a psycho activity to a more balanced ratio where the THC is higher, where you could feel a little bit of that effect. And that’s where people need to find what the ratio is right for them across the spectrum that we offer. But essentially, it’s it’s functional use of cannabis for the daytime. Now, the newest product coming out is not only CBD and THC, but another minor cannabinoid called thc v. And that cannabinoid has been shown to produce more effects that have relate more to focus. So again, great for that daytime use. And being able to have clarity of mind and focus on activities and getting stuff done. So you know, I think the good day runs the gamut from sort of, like, you know, I just want to take the edge off, you know, you’re gonna be around a bunch of people who might get on your nerves, and it’s kind of like, Hey, I take a good day, nobody really bothers me, and I’m not really high at all. But it all rolls off my back to I gotta get stuff done. I’m going to take one of these with the thc v. the THC, again, is very low in the formula. So you’re not feeling high, you’re just feeling high functionality.
Nestor J. Aparicio 16:23
The clarity thing is interesting to me, because, you know, I’m a Dundalk guy, and you know, back in high school, so people would get a little bit of, you know, the product and say, it puts me to sleep, it just knocks me out. It’s not functional. And the whole reason your parents told you not to do it was you’ll just sit in your room all day and nothing will get done, you’ll, you’ll go to bed, you you can’t get things done, you can’t accomplish things. That’s a stigma on the drug that maybe somebody got something in 1978 to put them to sleep or whatever. But that’s not really what cannabis is about. And, and that really is part of the stigma of the government and the scheduling of it. And all of that was to think like, there was no way to be productive if you were a stoner or if you even got stoned once, which is why testing and job testing and all that is you couldn’t be a good employee. If you use cannabis there was that that was a stigma.
Wendy Bronfein 17:16
Well, I think there’s sort of two pieces we’ve talked about today that kind of counter that sedating stereotype, if you will. So when you’re using CBD, you have no psycho activity, you have inflammation, you’re helping inflammation, you’re helping relaxation, you’re dealing with stress, right? So all those things are kind of giving you benefits to mood to anxiety management, stuff like that. Then you’ve got the terpenes like we’ve talked about our term choose a lot. So like on the terpene side, if you had something like the mango or the orange terpene shoes that we make, those are infused with Valencia and limonene. Which you might think of like a lemon or a Valencia orange, right citrusy, bright things. So those chews are specifically designed to be energizing and uplifting. So, yes,
Nestor J. Aparicio 18:11
they are I will I will vouch for that they are they they will, you will not be taking a nap. I don’t think there’s any question.
Wendy Bronfein 18:19
No, no, I mean, I use them mostly like, kind of like Friday, Saturday night, right? Like, in some ways in lieu of drinking, but also like, Alright, we’re going out and I gotta be like, on and get cup of coffee without the gyre, right? Yeah, right. Like, instead of like, Oh, we’re going out tonight have a cup of coffee. It’s like, I’m gonna have this too. And I’m just gonna get a little pep in my step. Yeah. Between the terpenes and the CBD, both of them kind of counter that, that conversation around sedation.
Nestor J. Aparicio 18:50
Or listen, we’re gonna keep the short or they’re gonna win. I mean, let’s just are we gonna be talking Super Bowl next week are we going to be talking about and I’ve said this a little bit lately because I talked to a lot of football players early in the week it was all football, football, football. Now it’s more like how I feel about it. And I’m like, Patrick mahomes You know, it’s their favorite but like, it’s not in the bag. You know what I mean? And I’m thinking to myself, this would be the worst loss of all like I can’t fathom what it’s going to feel like on Monday if they don’t win and it’s been a long time since I’ve had that feeling and I’m pretty sure they’re gonna win but I don’t know that I’m psychologically I don’t know that the city psychologically prepared if they were to lose
Wendy Bronfein 19:30
Well, here’s what I will say. If God forbid that happens, we have many things that can help.
Nestor J. Aparicio 19:41
The endorsement when he brought his your chips or chief cannabis officer who was making me laugh, you gotta carry a wellness you go too far and daughter. I just saw a gateway standpoint if it nobody’s ever been in your shop, what would you tell them that coming in talk to somebody when they come in, because you can do all this research on the internet, but there is a part Sometimes even I get it even broadcasting your place. I’m like, I wonder somebody’s gonna see me here. I love them. You know, like, nobody ever thinks that way about walking in a liquor store. And I think sort of that stigmas going away a little bit. But if you’ve never been in you don’t need a card, you need to be an adult age. But if and you are, but if you come in for the first time, I think people can be a little intimidated a little. You just start first times first time for anything, right?
Wendy Bronfein 20:25
Yeah, I mean, well, first of all, the store is broad and what it offers, right, so when you walk in, you’re entering just general retail, lots of health and wellness products and, and sort of fun lifestyle things that you can purchase. And then the dispensary is sort of set back inside the store. And we have a wonderful staff who’s highly educated and who’s going to, you’re going to say what you’re looking for the way you’d like to consume it. Do you want to smoke it, you want to eat it? Do you want to rub it on your body, whatever it is, and they’re going to help guide you to the right product. You know, there’s no rush. We’re here to listen, and we’re here to help you find and, you know, we want you to get the right product. If it’s not the right fit, you should come back we should talk about it get you get you something that you like.
Nestor J. Aparicio 21:06
I’ll let everybody know that if the unthinkable happens and things go wrong, that you’re there for them on Monday when he brought her present. She’ll be back here next week. She’s not going to serve because it’s too damn expensive. For some of us as well. The good news is if the Ravens win on Sunday, or should I say when the Ravens win, Luke will be in Las Vegas next week. I’m going to be doing a brand new promotion we’re calling it crabcake row it’s gonna be live radio, think Jerry Lewis telethon but with me with longer hair. We’re gonna be doing nine to five live radio Monday through Friday, the week of February 5, we’re gonna start things that have faith in these at the new Lexington market. So I brought to you by the Maryland lottery window nation and Jiffy Lube, multi care, and it’s eight hours a day, five days in anticipation of Superbowl 58 And hopefully, our third parade in downtown Baltimore. Look, we’ll keep you abreast of anything that happens on the WNS D tech service. We’re hoping for Marlon Humphrey we think Mark Andrews is going to play it’s a big, big week around here. Go ravens Festivus for ravens, I’m Nestor we are wn St. am 1570, Towson Baltimore and we never stop talking Baltimore positive