Pinchez & Natalie Stallion - Cape Town, South Africa
What was your first cannabis experience like?
Natalie: With my first experience I was nervous and curious at the same time. I was in a zone as if it was a world of my own.
Pinchez: l got too high and l started meditating on a lot of stuff that did not make sense when l was sober.
How has cannabis benefited you?
Natalie: It has helped me to relax more and funny enough I think more into depth when there is a topic being discussed.
Pinchez: It helps me with concentration at school and work, l also get peace of mind
How does cannabis enhance your relationship?
Natalie: It has helped me to relax more and funny enough I think more into depth when there is a topic being discussed.
Pinchez: It made our relationship stronger, we have a deeper connection, we are more active, and it is great for intimacy.
What are your favorite ways to consume?
Natalie: Cannabis oils, cannabis gummies, cannabis beauty, and facial products, and blunts.
Pinchez: Oil, edibles, and cannabis vapor, and blunts.
How did you meet? When did you know it was love?
Natalie: Through my best friend who was friends with him too. I knew it was love when I was willing to wait for him to sort out his issues without hesitation, then it hit me like yeah this definitely has to be love.
Pinchez: Through a mutual friend,l knew it was love after we smoked a blunt together for the first time, the bond was strong.
Tell us about your favorite cannabis date night?
Natalie: My favorite has to be when we went on a double date at the beach. We picked a cute place at the rocks with a great view of the beach and mountain and we just smoked and chilled.
Pinchez: It’s always when we go to my brother's house for dinner, or when he comes to our place. Before we eat it’s a must we smoke four blunts. Each person smokes their own blunt and we made it a culture now. After eating we roll more blunts (we named this the dessert blunt.)
What do you wish people understood when it comes to cannabis and parenting?
Natalie: Just because you use cannabis doesn't mean you'll be bad at parenting. It will actually help you relax and release stress.
Pinchez: Cannabis can help with treating depression, relieving chronic pain, and can help with alcoholism.
What excites you most when it comes to the future of cannabis?
Natalie: Legalization! As well as people getting educated about the benefits of cannabis and how it can help the body.
Pinchez: Cannabis policy impacting the redistribution of wealth (i.e., job creation)
What advice do you have for couples just starting to experiment with cannabis together?
Natalie: Go for it!! It's a good experience to try it together. You guys can have fun and get to know each other more.
Pinchez: If you can’t smoke with your partner you are missing out a lot, give it a try!
How do you feel cannabis affects your family life and being a parent?
Natalie: Family life isn't affected as they don't really know much about cannabis. I don't think it will affect me as a parent in the future.
Pinchez: Our family used to think it’s bad until we proved them wrong about cannabis. We enjoy every moment of parenting even when we are high.
Have you faced any stigma as consumers?
Natalie: We just ignore the stigma because people just have a lack of knowledge hence are quick to judge. But honestly speaking the people we keep around us have no stigma.
Pinchez: No, we don’t face any stigma because most everyone around us consumes cannabis.
Follow this gorgeous couple on Instagram @sta_llions and keep an eye out for their new YouTube channel, where you can get to know the two even better. We are psyched to check out this great platform where they will be talking about cannabis education with the vision of removing stigma.
Couple Of Weed - Nordrhein-Westfalen , Germany
What was your first cannabis experience like?
Lara: My first experience with cannabis was in combination with alcohol. I was hanging out with some friends and smoked for the first time while drinking Vodka. It was not great, as you can expect.
Vincent: I tried cannabis first with my friends in my village. The first canna-product I got that was not smokeable was some infused tea that I brewed myself.
How has cannabis benefited you?
Lara: It helped me to give less meaning to the opinion others have about me. And I learned to be by myself. I also experienced a boost of creativity.
Vincent: I learned to chill with myself. I learned that I am not less meaningful than other people. Which made me the man I am today. It also helps me with creativity.
How does cannabis enhance your relationship?
Lara & Vincent: In stressful moments it helps us take timeouts for ourselves, which we definitely need.
What are your favorite cannabis products right now?
Lara: Flowers, hash, and rosin
Vincent: Flowers, rosin, and aftershave
How did you meet? When did you know it was love?
Lara: I was visiting an old friend and we went outside after dinner on Christmas Eve to smoke some. There we met Vincent who was chilling with some other friends. I knew it was love when we started meeting alone. That was about 3-years after we met for the first time.
Vincent: We met first on Christmas Eve at a schoolyard. I knew it was love when I first visited her at her Mum’s House.
What are some of your favorite canna-couple activities?
Lara: I loved to go to festivals and camp. Being in nature while high or playing some card games.
Vincent: Definitely Sex! Being in nature is also something I desperately enjoy.
Can you tell us a little about your favorite cannabis date, and how readers can prepare for this date activity?
Lara & VIncent: We went to Amsterdam when Vincent turned 21. It was a birthday present and we were there just for a day trip which we booked by a bus-company. There were plenty of older women with us on the bus.
What do you think people get wrong about the cannabis community?
Lara: I think the problem is the law. If all countries would legalize weed it wouldn’t be that big of a problem,
Vincent: The question is tricky because in my opinion there is no real canna-community. I mean yes, some many canna-Influencers and brands work together but it is not a niche as many may think. In every working image, there are some pot-heads. The problem is that too many of them don’t stand up and ‘fight for their rights’ as Bob Marley would have said.
What excites you most when it comes to the future of cannabis?
Lara: Legalization for sure. Not being hunted for smoking a plant!
Vincent: The legalization. When the trade market is open worldwide and legal. That’s something I really dream of. So Germany can start getting involved in the cannabis market.
What advice do you have for couples just starting to experiment with cannabis together?
Lara: Less is more. Wait before you keep going and make sure you stay hydrated. Also, get something for munchies.
Vincent: Do not smoke too much! I'm not kidding. If you smoke too much you are just chilling most of the time. I mean that’s not the problem. The problem is that you automatically start muting yourself when you are too high.
Have you faced any stigma as consumers?
Lara: Sometimes yes, the usual. The stigma of the lazy stoner that doesn’t get their shit together. But we have dreams that we are working on.
Vincent: Not really. I noticed some uncertainty from my mom in the first few months. That is nothing that has impacted us so far. So I do not feel so.
What is cannabis culture like in Germany?
Lara & Vincent: We are both from different cities in Germany, NRW. Here it is not legal. Every year there are many criminal proceedings because of cannabis. There are a lot of discussions about this topic in the Government but nothing has changed yet, besides medical use if prescribed by the doctor. There are not many doctors that are prescribing cannabis because of the criminalization. Also, many doctors just don’t want to prescribe THC because many people call them ‘medical dealers’ and give bad reviews if they do so.
Check out Lara and Vincent on Instagram @couple.of.weed where you can get to know more about their activism, life, and just all together positive vibes!
Fefo & Sofi - Rosario, Argentina
What was your first cannabis experience like?
Sofi: I was 23 years old the first time, I had opportunities before, but for some reason, it wasn't until I started the relationship with Fefo. The first time it was with a vaporizer, a relaxing experience.
Fefo: It was at the age of 18, I tried my first joint with my best friend and a friend. Personally, I did not experience any sensation, but they think otherwise (no doubt they are more correct than me).
How has cannabis benefited you?
Sofi: It has given me a much quieter and slower life. It helped me see things differently, trying to apply that feeling throughout the day, even when I do not use cannabis.
Fefo: It has certainly made me a calmer, more thoughtful, and more relaxed person. There are days I don't need to use cannabis to feel like that, I think cannabis is already part of my blood and feelings. I'm a happier person.
How does cannabis enhance your relationship?
Sofi: When I am annoyed and I smoke cannabis, I lose the desire to fight or argue. Our relationship from the very beginning is accompanied by cannabis, so I could not say what it would be like without weed. What I can say is that we have been together for more than five years and we have been very happy.
Fefo: Our entire relationship, from the beginning, has been accompanied by cannabis. We have been a couple for 5 years and happily married for 2. Not everything is roses because in a relationship there are always differences and therefore discussions, but we certainly have a healthy and mature relationship. We usually talk a lot about the things that make us laugh, and both she and I are trying to reach the most satisfactory agreement for both of us. I honestly do not imagine our relationship without cannabis, it is an essential condiment for us, almost like pepper (we love spicy food).
What is your way to consume?
Sofi: I prefer edibles, joints, and CBD oil.
Fefo: Smoking a joint is most common, but if I were to choose, I prefer food, the journey is more durable and comforting, as well as healthy.
What is your favorite strain?
Sofi: If I can choose, I always prefer some strain with Indica-dominance, I enjoy relaxation and good sleep. But if I’m offered, I’m not picky, I appreciate all the varieties.
Fefo: While I have been consuming cannabis almost for 15 years, I am not a specialist in strains. I've tried a lot I have liked, I don't have any preferences, It just has to be a cannabis plant, whatever variety it is, I prefer organic cultivation
What are your favorite cannabis strains?
Sofi: If I can choose, I always prefer some strain with Indica-dominance, I enjoy relaxation and good sleep. But if I’m offered, I’m not picky, I appreciate all the varieties.
Fefo: While I have been consuming cannabis almost for 15 years, I am not a specialist in strains. I've tried a lot I have liked, I don't have any preferences, It just has to be a cannabis plant, whatever variety it is, I prefer organic cultivation
What are some of your favorite canna-couple activities?
Sofi: I really enjoy going to the river or the park, nature is best appreciated while high. At night, especially in winter, I love to watch a movie or series, obviously eating popcorn. Cooking is also a beautiful activity to do for canna-couples.
Fefo: Not usually during work hours or when there is any important obligation, but any other activity we do together, we pair with cannabis: go shopping, go for a walk, go to the river, cook, listen to music, watch movies, or a series, make love, etc, etc. I couldn't choose a favorite, because I really enjoy everything we do as a couple.
Can you tell us a little about your favorite cannabis date, and how readers can prepare for this date activity?
Sofi: If it is summer, the ideal place to spend the day from very early to dusk is on the island. The island is located in front of the city, crossing the river. Sun, trees, beach, river, cannabis, a good book, music, a grilled fish, something rich to drink, well accompanied, I can't ask for anything else. In fact, when the sun falls, it is ideal to drink some rich mates (yerba mate hot infusion, typical of these latitudes).
Fefo: There is no doubt that both of us enjoy daytime rather than nighttime activities. We like to connect with nature and the outdoors. Every experience with cannabis has its charm, but I personally prefer sunny afternoons making a rich roast, (in the US they say barbecue, although in reality, they are not the same, they are cooked in different ways) and red wine. That scene, with your partner and a group of friends, is what many people from the Argentinean Cannabis community would place as number one. The most important thing to take into account, beyond the place, the moment, the climate, the cannabis, is the company. If you are well accompanied, the rest happens naturally. Rather than choosing the plan well, you have to choose with whom to do it.
What do you think the world gets wrong about the cannabis community?
Sofi: I believe that the world is wrong with the cannabis community in exactly the same way as it is wrong with everything: prejudice. That is why it is important to spread our reality, in order to combat those prejudices that do so much damage to those who are on one side being tried and to those who are on the other judging. Prejudice, hatred, intolerance of differences, are feelings that the whole world must fight.
Fefo: I do not think that the world is wrong, I believe that many years of lies and false information have made the world wrong. Prohibition has been able to clean up cannabis and its community very well. More than one generation grew believing that cannabis is a plant of evil that only ruins lives when reality, science, history, and facts prove absolutely the opposite. The change in the world's perception of cannabis must be cultural, and it is the cannabis community that has a duty to do so, in the way that each one lives. The plant gives us a lot of joy because we must return something to it at least.
What excites you most when it comes to the future of cannabis?
Sofi: What I'm excited about is being able to build a better world for everyone with cannabis, in any of its multiple uses. Personally, I am passionate about skincare, and cannabis is an endless source of compounds for cosmetics. I am very interested in the topic of protecting the skin from sun rays and everything that this entails, and hemp clothing absorbs more than 70% of UV rays, while regular garments successfully absorb 30%. In short, the world needs more cannabis.
Fefo: The cannabis plant can save the world, only the world does not know, or in reality, some interests do not want the world to know. Cannabis could end hunger in the world, it could end deforestation of forests, it could end oil pollution, it could provide housing for people who do not have them, it could produce clothing and plastics of higher quality than the current market and without polluting. Cannabis is pure medicine for many diseases. It is a very diverse plant, it is a sustainable and profitable economic resource, but unfortunately, it is not in the interest of the “owners” of the world that all this happens, in such a way with the excuse of the war on drugs as a trojan horse, so is the world today, increasingly polluted and increasingly unequal. It is a long and difficult battle, but fortunately, we have the joint to be able to cope with it.
What advice do you have for couples just starting to experiment with cannabis together?
Sofi: Dialogue, a consensus is the key to the success of all partner activities. The imposition of one party on the other only creates problems, in the short or long term.
Fefo: Like any other activity that is carried out as a couple, the indispensable thing is that both parties agree. If one of the two is not very convinced, it is likely that the experience will not be satisfactory.
Have you faced any stigma as consumers?
Sofi: Fefo is certainly a little better at dealing with the stigma, he’s older and has more history of cannabis use, but sometimes it gives me some modesty to smoke somewhere else, it doesn't mean that I don't end up doing it, just I think about it a little more.
Fefo: Without a doubt, every member of the cannabis community is facing this stigma, well our task is to show the world that this stigma is false. Showing ourselves as we are, without shame or modesty to our friends, family, and strangers, is a good way to show that we are simply human beings like any other and that our cannabis use does not hurt or harm anyone.
What is cannabis culture like in Argentina?
Fefo: We are from Argentina, more precisely from the city of Rosario. In our country, prejudices for cannabis are now in the hands of politics, justice, and police. While we are light years away from the perception of cannabis in the US, the reality is that the general population, civil society, is increasingly losing prejudices about cannabis. The medical cannabis boom helped that a lot, and now grandparents and children use medical cannabis in the face of various ailments, and this leads society, in general, to have another look at it, although prejudice with potheads is still there, but to a lesser extent. This is Argentina, but I believe that what happens here is happening around the world, and that is that societies usually go several steps ahead of politics and state institutions. Conservatism in state institutions (government, justice, police, schools) causes society to walk on one path and the state on the other, occasionally crossing these paths, and that is when progress occurs, but generally, the good is delayed, so we are prepared to wait until the plant's total freedom is achieved.
Sofi: I agree with what Fefo said, I add that the thing is much more complicated if you are a woman.
We love that this couple is just adding enhancement to an already happy and beautiful relationship. “We are very happy with each other, and the secret is not cannabis, the secret is to find the right person and cultivate the constant dialogue. Cannabis helps us a lot, yes, but if there is no love, then there is nothing.”
Check Fefo and Sofi on Instagram @fefo.420 & @soficao65, to learn more about the work they are doing for stigma change and spreading love!
