Bria Vinaite, a Lithuanian-American actress, who recently starred in the 2017 film The Florida Project, talks about her experience of playing Halley, a single mother raising a six-year-old in a cheap motel outside of Orlando. “Halley’s character resonated with me strongly in that she is a strong and resourceful woman with good intentions – in Halley’s case, she does what she can with the hand she has been dealt to keep faithful to her commitment to Moonee,” Vinaite comments, referring to Halley. “So, we’re both strong, resourceful, with good intentions, love our family…and smoking weed, duh.”
Bria Vinaite is just one in a long string of artists and celebrities who have recently begun to talk openly about consuming THC on a regular basis and for recreational. According to her, THC has helped her in many ways. “Recently, I have been most grateful for THC because of its anti-anxiety properties and the way it helps me calm down,” she shares. “I’m always on the go now, from shoots to meetings to interviews, that it’s easy to get super-overwhelmed! THC helps relax me just in the right way so I can focus my attention on all these blessings and keep a smile on my face!”
Vinaite has also revealed that, besides THC, she also has developed a taste for other cannabis-derived products, namely CBD products such as creams, gummies and tinctures, which have steadily been gaining popularity among consumers. “I love CBD creams and other topicals so much because it tangibly proves the healing properties of the herb and its versatility,” she says. “Honestly, I feel like CBD exists in so many awesome forms, I’m too busy scrolling through all of them to find my favorite, but I’m typically loving topical CBD and capsules.”
Singer-songwriter Tristen (born Tristen Gaspadarek) is also an avid fan of CBD and CBD products.As a music creative, Tristen loves “the way CBD makes me feel: calm, but clear. I can take CBD to calm my anxiety and not get so high that I lose my keys.”
The world has changed a lot since the ’60s, when the war on drugs began and cannabis became stigmatized and criminalized, and in the intervening years, people’s views and opinions on cannabis and its derivative substances have changed, as well. In a way, people’s view of cannabis has become more positive and progressive as states like California and Colorado have legalized the recreational use of THC, and cannabis-derived products (such as CBD creams, oils, tinctures and other products containing cannabidiol) have become more popular in certain industries.
“I feel lucky to live in an age where the stigma of plant medicine, like cannabis, is slowly breaking down. We can begin to see the usefulness of this medicine and have a more nuanced conversation about drug use and abuse,” says Tristen.
Vinaite, meanwhile, highlights the importance of being visibly outspoken about one’s usage of cannabis and THC: “It’s super-important for people who have integrated THC into a productive lifestyle to speak up about their usage so we can work towards decreasing the stigma and eventual federal legalization.”
“It’s all about educating the public on the benefits and seeing if it works for people, and also increasing research on the plant.” adds Tristen. “This is going to be a slow process, and the more research we can do on the plant, the better the case will be.”
