How to Use a Cannabis Yes-No-Maybe List

In the sex education world, you’ll hear people frequently refer to Yes/No/Maybe lists. The idea is that you sit down with a list of sexual acts and assign each one as a “yes,” “no,” or “maybe” to indicate your level of interest in each one. Once you complete that portion on your own, you can share it with a partner or prospective partners so that they know what’s on the table, what’s negotiable, and what’s off limits. It’s a great jumping-off tool for negotiation and I highly recommend it as an exercise for any sexually active adult. If you want a great sexual Yes/No/Maybe list, check out this one from Sunny Megatron, host of Showtime’s Sex with Sunny Megatron.

Recently, it occurred to me that we don’t have anything like that in the cannabis industry. Since my favorite thing is combining sex and cannabis, I thought it might be interesting to take a sexual tool like the Yes/No/Maybe list and give it a cannabis twist. I envision it working in two distinct but equally important ways.

Making a Yes/No/Maybe List

First, a Yes/No/Maybe list can act as a way of communicating to your partner or even budtender what effects you’re looking for. Think about the effects listed in Leafly’s strain database, and decide which matter most to you:

• Aroused
• Creative
• Energetic
• Euphoric
• Focused
• Giggly
• Happy
• Hungry
• Relaxed
• Sleepy
• Talkative

…and so on. You can also list potential negatives that you want to be sure to avoid in a No column; for instance, while a cancer patient may be searching specifically for strains that induce hunger and put this characteristic on their Yes list, someone with a new year’s resolution to watch their weight may put “hungry” on their No list.

Other negatives you may have experienced before and want to avoid can include:

• Anxious
• Dizzy
• Dry Eyes
• Dry Mouth
• Headache

Now imagine you have this written out on a sheet of paper that you can give to your budtender and ask them to make a recommendation based on the things you want and need. Or if you or your partner are particularly cannabis savvy, you can use that list as a jumping-off point to plan your evening together and choose from strains and products you already have on hand.

Questions to Ask Before Consuming Cannabis

You also might consider asking pertinent questions before enjoying cannabis either on your own or with others. When did you eat last? How much do you typically consume and how’s your tolerance? When you have bad reactions, how do they tend to manifest?

I can imagine another variation of this – a Yes/No/Maybe list for methods of consumption. There are so many out there, it’d be good to get on the same page with your partner or friends. Some people never do edibles. Others avoid dabs at all costs. Some are equal opportunity consumers and are more than happy to enjoy cannabis in whatever method it’s presented. Comparing lists with friends offers a way of creating a Venn diagram to see how you might best consume with others.

This past weekend, I was in Los Angeles for the Adult Novelty Manufacturing Expo. I brought four W Vapes pens, my Firefly 2 with some Deviant Dabs wax preloaded, low dose edibles, Foria, Hepburns ice water hash-infused pre-rolls, and a nug of Candy Jack. That’s more than most people carry on them, I suspect, but I wanted to have options for my friends.

If I’d thought of this cannabis Yes/No/Maybe list sooner, it would have been lovely to pull out a little sheet of paper where people could let me know their typical consumption preferences and what mood they were going for, so I could make suggestions accordingly. I would have also loved having a section where they could indicate the last time they’d had a meal, how often and how much they usually consume, any medical conditions that may be a factor, or even just how they typically react when they’ve had more than their body prefers.

Applying the Yes/No/Maybe Concept to Cannabis

Since the list is just a concept at the moment, I had to give recommendations on the fly at the conference. Luckily, everything worked out. That said, the cannabis industry can learn a lot from the sexuality education community: many sexuality tools and frameworks have been developed and honed over the last several decades, whereas the cannabis industry is just getting started.

The concepts of consent, negotiation, clear communication, boundaries, and intention setting can be easily applied to cannabis education, and it’s important for everyone to be mindful with their cannabis use. Every time you pass someone a joint or offer a dab, you’re impacting how they view the world of cannabis. Employing tools that facilitate mindful consumption will help shape the way the cannabis industry is viewed by those who might criticize it. Patient education will be more important than ever in the years to come, and offering frameworks will allow people to customize their experience and make it replicable.

Would you use a cannabis Yes/No/Maybe list? Tell us why in the comments!