Strain Art: Spritzer

I’ve dealt with debilitating headaches since I was 13. Pain radiated from my head to my eyes causing nausea until I was white in the face and fainting. For the past 20 years, doctors would prescribe migraine medication that would relieve me of pain in my head and ease the nausea, but only if I took it immediately. In turn, the medication would cause my chest to tighten and heart to race. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I found relief with medical marijuana. It gives me full relief without having to swap one symptom for another.

This may be a blanket statement but most art pieces are created from a place of pain and healing. Sometimes I create a piece that I love and sometimes I walk away thinking, “What was I thinking?” Either way, each process allows me to heal just a little more — I’m always healing but will never be completely healed. When Noa Botanicals commissioned me to create an art piece that represented their Spritzer strain, I was so excited. As one of their patients, I wanted to share my experience with their product. The Spritzer strain is energizing with cherry notes and a peppery finish. My heritage is Japanese and Chinese but I grew up in a predominantly Japanese household with my parents, grandparents, and older brother. My grandpa was a Japanese translator in World War II stationed in Okinawa. My grandparents encouraged the use of Japanese language in our household on a daily basis and my brother and I attended Japanese school from elementary to middle school. I honestly wish I paid more attention. Surrounded by Japanese culture, maneki neko gave me hope. Hope that life didn’t always need to be so passive aggressive. Hope that life didn’t need to always be painful.

My illustration is a playful interpretation of the 90s and the Kool-Aid Man. Think when he’s busting through the wall bellowing, “Oh Yeah!” This is how I feel when medicating with the Spritzer. I feel this mood boosting energy that has me prepared to be productive without the mind block.

Medical marijuana is not for everyone and just like anything else can only work if you believe and are accepting to the treatment wholeheartedly. By no means is this medical advice and I’m sharing my experience with it. If you are interested, please visit Noa Botanicals. Their loyalty program is insanely generous and really supports their patients. No shame, but if you do sign up, please use my link to sign up: https://noa-wppyu.com/2XvPxF