As Chief Marketing Officer of High Park Company, Adine Fabiani-Carter has cultivated a wealth of knowledge on the ever-growing cannabis landscape. With the second branch of legalization well underway, welcoming edibles into the marketplace, Fabiani-Carter shares insight on incorporating these new arrivals into your lifestyle as a beginner consumer, shedding them of their once-thought intimidating reputation. Discover her preferred methods of enjoyment and soothing product suggestions below.

What are your favourite cannabis items on the market right now?

“Picking a favourite is hard, it’s like picking a favourite child! For new users to cannabis (or what some might call the canna-curious), I think the edibles—including the beverages and teas—are really exciting. It provides an easy way to experiment without putting yourself in a situation where you feel uncomfortable because you either don’t know how to consume it or it’s something that’s outside of a normal habit. Everybody knows how to drink a cup of tea or eat a piece of chocolate. Chowie Wowie chocolates are incredibly delicious and dosed according to the Health Canada guidelines. It’s one piece of chocolate that’s got a clear break—you can break it in two so you can have 10 milligrams or five. There’s no complicated measuring. For the more experienced cannabis users and the people that like flower, I have a warm spot in my heart for our Canaca brand. It was created with Canada in mind and is a mainstream product honouring this moment in Canadian history. What I love about that is when you can see the cultivar on the label, so it affords consumers the opportunity to really know what they’re getting and understand what potency is right for them.”

Do you have any tips on how to incorporate cannabis into your life as an entry-level consumer?

“I would always say start low and go slow. Every body is different, so the way we all metabolize cannabis is going to be different. When choosing a chocolate, for example, break it into quarters and try a little piece. Enjoy the fact that it’s fantastic and delicious chocolate and then wait an hour. See how you feel, and if you’re not feeling the desired effect, have a little more. We have both THC-dominant and balanced, so start off with a balanced one if you’re not sure how THC affects you, and then you can graduate up. Do it in a space where you’re not driving, do it in a space where you’re at home. There’s nothing more approachable than enjoying a piece of chocolate.”

How about incorporating cannabis into a wellness routine?

“What’s exciting for me is there’s a real movement away from people wanting to consume prescription medications or overconsume pills and pharmaceuticals. People are moving towards what they believe to be a more natural remedy. Cannabis is just a plant, and I think taken the right way and taken responsibly, it really can help people look after themselves in a way that they feel contributes best to their overall health and wellbeing. For a lot of people it helps them be their best selves—whether that is enjoying a cup of warm Everie tea before bed so you can get the rest you need to go about your day the next day, or having a little bit of a chocolate at the beginning of a night to enjoy a movie or bring on some creativity.”

What are your recommendations for the most soothing or relaxing products?

“I personally think there’s nothing more relaxing than a cup of tea. The act of steeping a teabag in a cup of boiling hot water and waiting those three minutes, then taking in the aroma of the tea before you take your first sip. Everything about that ritual is incredibly relaxing—the ritual and the flavours that Everie tea has is an incredible relaxation opportunity.”

What are you most excited about for the future of cannabis?

“What I’m really most excited about is breaking down all the stigmas that have surrounded cannabis. Decades ago, to even years and maybe months ago, there was a real perception that there was one stereotypical cannabis user—I’m excited about breaking down all those stereotypes and saying cannabis is a plant that has applications for a number of desired outcomes and consumer segments, and it’s not how it was perceived to be in the seventies. If there’s a product that has been taken the right way, it can do a lot for a lot of people. When you look at it from a medical perspective, there’s a number of patients who take it for a variety of ailments, and really would say that it has changed their life.”

Have you seen a shift in cannabis stigma since legalization?

“What I’ve noticed is that conversations around cannabis have changed so drastically and in such a short timeframe—it’s almost unbelievable. A couple of years ago, there wasn’t a lot of awareness. From an adult-use perspective, it was illegal and it was scary. Now it’s the topic of conversations everywhere. People talk about it so openly, and the people who are talking about it aren’t the stereotypical people thought to use it. It’s our mothers, it’s our grandmothers, it’s people who are looking for a way to treat their arthritis topically so they can continue playing golf and tennis. To me, that’s what’s really exciting—the entire narrative has changed, everyone who is speaking about it has changed, and it no longer needs to be whispered. And this is just the beginning—we’re only 18 months into this new industry.”