We’ve talked a lot about the legal, retail, and marketing sides of cannabis on the show, but today we’re putting our science hats on and getting into the formulation side of things.
In this episode, I’m interviewing Maya Elisabeth, founder of OM, a female owned and operated legacy Cannabis company in The Bay Area. Maya shares her vast knowledge on the formulation of things like edibles and topicals.
She also shares her advice on things like how to find a good formulator, why cannabis is magic for the womb space, and how it can truly help people to feel better in their everyday lives.
A quick disclaimer before you listen: Maya and I are not doctors and our discussion should not be construed as medical advice. Please do your own research!
If you’re a DIY cannabis hustler who is just getting into the industry, make sure to subscribe to my podcast, High Class, where I help you move past the frustration, hurdles, and red tape of the cannabis industry.
In this episode, you’ll learn…
- [07:10] How Maya started her brand, OM, and the bridge that took her from formulator to entrepreneur
- [10:25] Maya breaks down the science of formulation for things like edibles and topicals
- [23:17] Maya’s advice on how to find a really good formulator
- [29:41] Why cannabis bath salts are so amazing for your mind and body
- [34:11] How someone can find relief with a cannabis suppository and the magic of the womb space
- [41:34] What’s going on in the CBD market, what Maya thinks the future of cannabis looks like, and her tips for a 19 year old just starting out in this business
If you want to hear more about the formulation side of cannabis, be sure to tune into this episode:
Links mentioned in this episode…
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About Maya
Maya Elisabeth is the founder of OM, a female owned and operated legacy Cannabis company in The Bay Area.
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Transcript for “Formulation, Edibles, and The Magic of Cannabis with Maya Elisabeth of OM”:
[00:00:35] Salwa Welcome to High Class. This podcast is for the DIY cannabis hustler who’s just getting into the industry and is trying to figure it all out. I’m your host, Salwa Ibrahim. Hi, Maya. Thank you so much for coming on to the High Class podcast. I really appreciate it.
[00:01:01] Maya Salwa, thank you for having me. It’s my absolute honor and pleasure.
[00:01:05] Salwa For the listeners out there. Maya is an OG boss. We have been friends for quite some time. I have seen her career from afar and we have been in the same industry, in the same area for many, many, many years, but actually met for the first time like what, four or five years ago and became instant friends because we had such similar war stories. And so I am just so thrilled to have you on the show because you are a master of your craft and I can’t wait for the audience to get to know you more.
[00:01:36] Maya Thank you so much, Salwa. I echo the same experience. Before we met, I had always heard so much about you. I knew what you looked like. You were so powerfully beautiful and I was aware of your accomplishments. And I knew that you hung out with so many movers and shakers in the game. So when we finally got the chance to meet, I seriously had an inspirational girl crush. Just like, because of your vibe and your your level of compassion as well as confidence, which is an unlikely duo. And when that’s coupled with a goal or intention or focus or ambition, you end up with Salwa at the firehouse.
[00:02:16] Salwa Oh, my God, I love you so much. See, I just love having you in my life.
[00:02:22] Maya I drew inspiration from you, so the feelings are mutual.
[00:02:26] Salwa Okay, So can you please give the audience who may not be familiar with you and your work a bit about your background, your journey, and how you got to where you are today?
[00:02:36] Maya Totally. I would love to. So I, like many people who are in cannabis, started out not thinking that cannabis was an option for a career. Like I loved weed, I was already a stoner. I couldn’t wait to smoke weed every single day. As soon as I got out of whatever else I was doing that wasn’t weed like school or work and majoring in cannabis wasn’t an option. So I was kind of like in the perfect place at the perfect time. Like I had chosen a major at San Francisco State. It was psychology because I knew I wanted to work with people, but I wasn’t sure on what level. And during that time we had Prop 215 that was starting to really like rage, this green Renaissance cannabis culture. And I started dealing with the clubs. We formed an all female collective in 2008 under Prop 215 called Homegrown Collective. We were doing Sun Grown Cannabis and we had a collective of patients. And then I was servicing the clubs with our product. I had access to tons of trim and I started experimenting with decarboxylation and infusion and formulation and really understanding that, like whatever herbal medicine already worked, worked a million times better when I added a lot of cannabis to it, like supercharged. So it just struck a fire in me. I was inspired. I have been a career trimmer. I’ve been a career hash washer. I have been a career grower, indoor and outdoor. I’ve been a budtender for years that put me in touch with so many patients firsthand and such a large library of strains where I was learning. And I started to really feel the culture of what I call mediquette, medical cannabis etiquette. And like in that transitional time of starting to let the light into this, you know, black market, quote unquote, the words that we chose and the way that we help this medicine and these products in the service really impacted how the culture was shaped. So I really came for all of that. The compassion, the miracles and the firsthand help that I witnessed through cannabis products. And then, flash forward by the skin on my teeth, got the very first manufacturing permit in California. It went to a female owned legacy brand.
[00:05:06] Salwa Yes, I didn’t know that. That’s so great.
[00:05:09] Maya It’s all because Berkeley let me through. And like I didn’t mean to, but I went really broad there and I’m sorry about that. It’s such a massive topic for girls like us. Like, where do you want me to begin? So that was my general draw. Like there was a magnetic pull of amazing things were happening with a phenomenal plant that was a total cure all. Science was catching on, things were booming, people were inspired, lives were changing, miracles were happening, legalization was coming. And to be here for that was the magic that hooked me in to never let me go again.
[00:05:45] Salwa Right. It was such a magical time and you really had to be there to understand it. But I love that you said, and you just touched on mediquette. That is such a great term that I’ve never heard before. Amazing.
[00:06:01] Maya Let’s do something with it!
[00:06:04] Salwa And also, like, the compassion is so real. You know, I got to say, like, for people who are thinking about getting into this space, yes, it’s complicated. Yes, there’s a lot of permits. Yes, it can be totally expensive. But once you start understanding that your work is really changing lives and actually providing healing and compassion and actually making people’s lives better, it becomes very addicting and it starts outweighing any of the dramas that you might be facing.
[00:06:35] Maya It’s so true. This is a bad joke that I joke with people. I’m like, Yeah, you know, to be seven years into this legal market, like there’s a half of me that had to die and like, disassociate because there’s so many things out of your control and there’s no quick fix in the legal market. Like even just getting a lab test takes a week, right? So it taught me a lot about how to really slow down and how to let go of the things I can’t control and how to also find magic in garbage piles.
[00:07:10] Salwa Yeah, fair enough. But okay, so back to your story, because, you know, you went on to launch so many different brands and things like that. So take us back and walk us through how did OM come to be and how did you get into formulation and how did that bridge happen between you being a formulator and you actually becoming an entrepreneur?
[00:07:30] Maya Let’s see. So OM started as the OM grown all female collective. There was a time I called us Queen 215. We made these like peanut butter puffed rice truffles. There was two of them for five bucks and each one was 250 milligrams. Like, I was getting like all my ingredients for Rainbow Grocery, like five gallon buckets of organic peanut butter, Like it was like puffed brown rice and just, like, really heady, delicious Belgian chocolate peanut butter cups. And so it was coming upon the time. I mean, I have to actually be honest with you guys. I voted no on the legalization of cannabis twice. And I it’s not because I wanted it to be illegal, it’s because I never thought it should have been illegal. And I knew what we had and I knew what was going to happen. And I kind of felt like if you’re not courageous or passionate enough to jump into the fire and take the risk, then maybe you don’t deserve to be working with this abundance, you know? So I knew I had to kind of turn my products into a brand and I saw what other people were doing. Like Kiva had just come on the scene and I was of course, so impressed with their packaging and they were really doing it, and I could see that this was where things were going. So, yeah, I just I met with designers and I kind of started to turn myself into a real brand, and that’s how OM came about. And then, you know, during that process, we had started competing for cups. I was competing in high times cups. This is when they really meant a lot. It was like the only barometer for quality of the cannabis team. You know, being in an ocean full of gentlemen, I wanted to show myself without having to tell myself I was like, I’ll just win if I can win these awards to show that our products are the highest quality and the best, then I won’t have to explain myself to anyone. So it was during that time that we got this cold call that said, Hey, I hear you’re like this crew full of ladies. We have a very famous celebrity who would like to start a THC line. Would you be the person to talk to? And I said, Yeah, for sure. And then they told me, Well, it’s Whoopi Goldberg and it’s a period line. I was like, I’m totally the right person to talk to. Like, Yeah, dude, I get a period. Like, I love Whoopi goldberg, I grew up on her movies and so.
[00:09:37] Salwa And by period you mean menstrual cycle.
[00:09:39] Maya Exactly. Menstrual cycle, yeah. So that’s kind of how that whole thing started and, I’ll just touch on it because I’m sure the people who are familiar are wondering. So that didn’t work out for a million different reasons. We came first. We were kind of like the first celebrity brand, and in my perspective, I know I’m biased that it was just the coolest concept. It was like a period line for Whoopi Goldberg, and it was her idea, and nobody had ever done things like that. And the women’s conversation in cannabis hadn’t really entered yet. So I will say this, I can’t say too much, but the story is not over. And please don’t be surprised when you see us coming back with something even cooler. So I you know, it’s amazing.
[00:10:23] Salwa Honestly, we will look for it. We look forward to seeing that. So, okay. One of the many reasons why I wanted to have you on this show, because obviously I have a wealth of experience. But the thing that always struck me with you is that your formulations and how you are consistently formulating new products and tweaking products, whether it be in your lab, you’re doing it in your kitchen. And so, you know, I’ve said this on the show before. My sister had breast cancer and she’s still going through her recovery. And when it came time for me to start sourcing her the best quality concentrates that I could find in the doses that she needed, the standard market just doesn’t have it. So I obviously knocked on your door and asked you to help me. And so you so graciously gave me oils and lotions that you made in your kitchen that I was able to give to her. So I guess for me, when I think about formulation, I automatically think it’s this big, scary thing. Like for somebody like me, I’m just like, okay, it obviously requires math, you obviously need to know chemistry. Like, how do you know if you fucked up? Like, how do you keep this shelf stable? Like all of a sudden I get so overwhelmed that I’m like, Not for me, right? So I have held every type of permit in this industry, never held anything with edibles because that just scares me. And so it was like this perfect synergy when you and I met because you are such an incredible formulator. So can you walk me through for somebody who’s just starting out, who’s kind of pulled to this what is like a good way to get started? How do you even think about formulating, like if you were doing this in your kitchen square one box one today, like how would you even break down that science?
[00:12:21] Maya Okay, great. I love this question and thank you. And I hope your sister is doing better.
[00:12:25] Salwa Yeah, Thank you.
[00:12:27] Maya My philosophy is cannabis makes things better, so choose something that you already love and find a way to put cannabis in there. You know, whether it’s an edible or a topical. I talked to a lot of people and they they want their manufacturing partner to do the formulation for them. Well, if you want the same formulation as every other brand that they’re manufacturing for, that’s a good choice. But to me, there’s machines and art, right? For me, the formulation is art. And then the machine follows the SOP, right? That’s good enough to make your process repeatable. So there’s there’s creating the original creation or formulation, and then there’s producing it and mass producing it and scaling up and repeating that process again and again and again to have consistency, right? So yeah, So, I’m self-taught. There’s tons of information out there. Like I looked to aromatherapy books, I looked to essential oil books because we’re talking about terpenes and cannabinoids, you know. So I looked a lot at temperature. There’s there’s a time and temperature continuum for decarboxylation that allows you to make the perfect medicine. And there’s so many things to learn along the way. Like, for example, if you have a lot of THC in your product or in your hash and you’re adding that to a hot, gummy mixture. Some random amount of it is going to decarboxylate, which is then going to affect your THC potency, which then makes or breaks you as far as the COA goes. Right. So as you know, because you’re a retail holder, that anything over 110 milligrams per serving in an edible form needs to be wasted. There’s no remediation for it unless it’s oils and you can pour it back out and diluted it. But if it’s a cookie or a gummy or anything, I mean, you just you’re going to have to waste it, right? And so you want to look for things that are going to hold the cannabinoids well. Cannabis loves fats. It does not like water. It actually hates water. So if you put hash oil in a jar of water, it’s actually going to stick to the glass because it hates the water so much, it’s jumping away from it and it prefers to stick to whatever the jar is made out of. They are just so interesting. Yeah. So anyways, I don’t want to get into a nerd siphon, but like, it goes on and on to hear about my nerding is so granular sometimes and I’m happy there like a weirdo. No one else can thrive in that environment, but I can literally see how it’s happening because you’re measuring more than one thing when you’re making an edible, you’re you have supporting ingredients, all the ingredients besides cannabis, and then you have cannabinoids, right? So it’s actually quite simple. You know that if your cannabis is this potency and you want to make this amount of units at whatever potency, obviously there’s a certain amount of extract that you put in to create a certain amount of units. And as long as you are homogenizing your process and pouring them the right amount, you should be fine. That’s all in theory.
[00:15:39] Salwa And how do you choose, like what base to start with? Like how do you choose whether it’s like oil or tincture or hash or whatever it ends up being like, how do you pick from that starter ingredient?
[00:15:52] Maya You know, I always go for the best. If you wanted to win the county fair for having the best pie, you would be sourcing the best strawberries you could find, like really paying attention to What kind of strawberries are these? What time of year is it? Who’s the farmer? What’s the soil like? Are they on the coast? Are these organic? A million questions, right? Granular. And then you would probably go to great lengths to import the finest Italian flour, you know, or whatever it is. You know, you get your eggs local. So for me it’s a no brainer. Like if it’s not an oil that I don’t want in or on my body, I’m definitely not using it. Like, respectfully, you won’t be finding me using canola oil or safflower oil or any of the kind of more GMO stuff. Like I’m really more into olive oils for sure. Coconut oils for sure. In our body products we do like apricot, avocado, jojoba, argon. I mean, these are oils that are clinically linked to make you more beautiful and feel your skin. Supercharged with tons of cannabis. We’re getting to total next levels of magic, you know?
[00:16:57] Salwa Yeah.
[00:16:58] Maya So if it’s not good, it’s not getting infused. Like the weed is not going to make a bad oil good.
[00:17:05] Salwa Yeah, absolutely. That makes sense. And then so what you were saying, like basically like you’re you’re really sourcing the products, right? Like are you sourcing raw flour or are you sourcing it already? Like, you know, whatever inside extract it. Thank you. Sourcing it already extracted and then putting it together.
[00:17:27] Maya So we’ve done tons of different things. We’ve done tons of stuff like our old way of doing it. We had so much bulky trim. I mean, keep in mind that I’m talking about garbage bags filled to the brim like you had cleaned your lawn and put all the leaf in there, like those bulging bags, like that of trim of stuff that has no stems, no seeds, just really compact sawdust, essentially. But, you know, cannabis. So that was stinky, that was bulky, that was full spectrum and it made amazing. That’s it. Flash forward, it becomes like cheaper and easier to start using concentrates. So we do rosins, which are full spectrum non solvents. We do broad spectrum concentrates. Yeah.
[00:18:15] Salwa Walk us through what a what rosin is.
[00:18:17] Maya Sure. So when the cannabis is ready to be harvested and the buds are developed and the dry combs are developed. And I’m sure if there’s a hash head out here, I could be corrected. But this is the general unrefined process because so you basically pull up with a freezer truck to that garden and you cut it at night and you start big leafing and bucking all of it. So it’s not a trim. You’re just taking the fan leaves off super quick at night the second you cut it because the plant’s going to go into trauma, you stick it in the freezer. So that’s where you’re getting your fresh frozen material. And that’s very important to keep frozen because when trichomes are frozen the right way, like to the right degree, cold enough, they’re brittle and they break off. So you’re able to, when you wash it, separate the trichome from the chlorophyl, which is all extraction is is separating the turpenes and the cannabinoids from the plant matter. Yeah, that’s why the flower is so bulky, right? So you take a lot of material and you end up with a little material, but it’s a lot more potent. So amazing. It is amazing. Yeah, it’s super amazing. Especially because, like ten years ago we were dabbing Rick Simpson Oil off a kitchen knife. And here we are today with like, diamond sauce. I mean, I judge non solvents for that.
[00:19:44] Salwa Squeezing your bud with a flat iron.
[00:19:47] Maya That was like red hot titanium like butane cookies that literally made my forearms and shin sweat like I had to go whole like it close with.
[00:19:56] Salwa What’s the saying a lot for you because it was.
[00:19:58] Maya Like I’m never down again like this all the time.
[00:20:02] Salwa So amazing.
[00:20:04] Maya You take that fresh frozen, you get it nice and frozen. You put it in a huge thing of ice water. The trichomes are brittle. Before you start to agitate, you make sure they’re brittle, gently, gently agitate and not get it. Just with its ice water. Hash is ice water, weed, technique. 99% technique and water and ice are just the same ingredient in two forms.
[00:20:29] Salwa But what’s really interesting about all this because is that like when you were just saying that, you know, cannabinoids hate water. Exactly. So it’s like they get off me and then so it’s like sifting now.
[00:20:43] Maya That’s right. Gotcha. They’re jumping away. They’re going, What are you doing to me? Give me fats. That’s why I say when you’re extracting. It’s like if you cut an orange and squeeze it when you infuse. I’m making tea. Like when I was making all my trim stuff, I was like decarbing my trim and then bonding it with oil. This is like putting it with water and really separating out just the terpenes and the cannabinoids. So you have your different bags of the different grains, the different grades of silk, and you put them in order from smallest to largest. And so after the first run, you don’t want to agitate too much at all. You pour it through, you collect your hash, you can keep running it. You get down to like all kinds of good grades. I mean, the plant has so much. And even after that, all that wet frozen weed still has tons of cannabinoids in it. I used to use all that stuff too. I would actually wash the hash and then like, put it straight into the butter in a method that I don’t use anymore, but I mean for years. So I swear to God, if cannabis teaches us one thing, it’s however abundantly giving and non discriminating she is in all of her offerings and therapeutic uses and compassion. So after you do that, you catch all your hash, your different grades and you keep them separate because otherwise what was the point in separating them? You freeze, you put them in a freeze dryer and then you pack them into these little packs and then you apply a certain amount of heat and pressure and you squeeze that out. And that perfect nectar is freaking rosin girl. Like, it’s so crazy, like, holy moly. And then it has to be cured. I mean, it goes on and on, like hats off to the concentrate makers. They live in a granular world where a tiny difference, if you don’t have attention to detail, gives you a completely different grade. And with how tough the market is right now, it’ll make or break your sale.
[00:22:46] Salwa Yeah, that’s a real lesson right there.
[00:22:48] Maya Yeah. So that’s my long spiel, but.
[00:22:51] Salwa I love it. No, that was super helpful. Like I said, that’s that’s a part of the industry. I just never really got into it just because, like, I could barely make pancakes. So I just I’m like, I’ve gotten completely overwhelmed any time thinking about formulation. So thank you for the education.
[00:23:10] Maya Well, I hope you’ll hit up for formulations because I want to work with you and make you anything that you want.
[00:23:16] Salwa Amazing. Great. So obviously, formulation is like a super critical component of any brand for somebody who is inspired to tinker at home, I feel like this has been a very good lesson. But for somebody who’s like, okay, I’m not really I don’t have the space or the resources to be able to do that. How would they find a good formulator? And what’s the best way to figure out if that formulator is really good?
[00:23:48] Maya So, well, I formulate and I’m not trying to do a shameless plug like I really do. I formulate a formula for other brands in the space.
[00:23:58] Salwa That’s why you’re on the show, girl.
[00:23:59] Maya Oh, my God, you’re sweet. No, I mean, like, we collaborate too, but like, a lot of time when I tell people, first off, I’m like, This doesn’t need to be a collab. This could be like your thing. So when I think about, I mean, the first thing you want to think about is what do you actually want? Like if you were going to get a dress designed and you knew that you wanted to make something high end, you might approach Chanel. If you were going to get a dress designed and you knew you wanted something budget you might approach Old Navy, right. So this is my advice for like advice and everything in life. If you don’t like someone’s cooking, don’t ask for the recipe. Right? So you and I am saying this on a double plated sword, because when you approach someone and you say, I love your product, can you make me one just like it? A lot of people cringe like, yeah, ew. Why would I make the same exact product for you that I’m making for myself, right? So I feel like there’s a little bit of like a balance there. I would look for somebody who possesses the same qualities that you wish to possess, right? Like, if you don’t like the recipe, don’t ask. If you don’t like the end product, don’t ask for the recipe. So it’s like, look for someone who may value quality if that’s what you’re looking for. If you’re looking for the cheapest edible or budget, like let them know a good formulator should be able to match any of your needs. For me personally, I know what it takes to survive in this compliant market, so my formulations come with a recipe table that has the cost of goods. I can help people source things like if you tell me you’re in Nebraska and they only have butane there, I could literally tell you the best choices to make for the best price for of, I call it cannabinoid delegation. There’s the whole infusion process. There’s the actual recipe in the SOP. That person should be available to you after you buy the formulation, know it’s an agreement and a collaborative process. So for me it’s like if we’re going to begin, I don’t I’m not done until the person is happy and I take every single thing into account because you want to give them something that’s actually going to make them money or else your formulation is useless. So if it’s not going to pass COA like if I tell someone to do something with tons of beeswax knowing that beeswax is a red flag for pesticides because it is, there’s a lot of pollutants in there, like we had to transition out of beeswax, things like that. Like you actually want to vet this person and before you start the process, you want to see what they’ve done and how their process looks before you pay them any money. That’s what I would say.
[00:26:29] Salwa But it’s also interesting, too, because what your what I heard as well is that start with where you want to enter the market. Start with what type of brand you want. Do your research on the type of product you want. Find somebody similar in the field, then approach them.
[00:26:47] Maya Right.
[00:26:48] Salwa And ultimately, I think from a business perspective, there’s a couple different ways to make this sound appealing to that formulator. It could be a profit share. It could be like just paying them flat out to formulate you something similar. It could be formulating minus certain ingredients or adding certain ingredients, And those extra ingredients that are outside of cannabis can actually alter the efficacy of your product.
[00:27:16] Maya Totally. Or like, if a company came to me tomorrow and said, Hey, I really want to do bath salts, but I don’t want them to have CBD, And then I’d be like, Great, I’m in CBD so we can do that.
[00:27:27] Salwa Beautiful. So, okay, I love all of that. So formulation is pretty much endless, right? Like, I feel like somebody could just have a career in formulation without ever owning a license or owning a brand. Right. Like, that could be a completely different niche that somebody goes down. And I think for, you know, somebody who’s getting in this industry and wants to start creating a name for themselves, I don’t know anybody who’s really planted their flag just on formulation and like really is out there face forward on their Instagram or other socials, basically touting formulation 101. So for me, I see that as an open lane for somebody to take as an opportunity to really like start making a name for yourself.
[00:28:19] Maya Totally. And like, well, I’m embarrassed because I’m not trying to like plug myself, but I did put up a website, but no one has really come forward in that way. You are right. A lot of people talk about like, Oh, food scientists and stuff like that. It depends what kind of product you want. You know, like if you need something sterile that’s not creative that you’re just recreating of something else we give food scientists is a great way to go.
[00:28:46] Salwa I just love that formulation is sort of an endless thing, right? Like it’s like saying you’re a chef, right? Their ingredients are abundant and you can just like you can make different recipes all day for whatever it is that you need, especially right now where unfortunately, there’s so many chemicals and contaminants in our food. This is such a great opportunity to really make medicine and figure out what ingredients will help a larger portion of the population. You know, specifically when talking about edibles, because I know you guys do gummies, but I know you also do topicals and that type of stuff. But when it comes to edibles specifically, I have seen throughout the years, I have seen TV dinners, I have seen cotton candy, I have seen like the most random, different assortment of different edibles. So it really truly is endless. Yeah. It’s such a beautiful thing. And I am a sucker for the OM bath salts. I love it. I was the topicals judge for Emerald Cup. It was definitely my number one vote for the suite of products that we got. My family loves them. I hand them out, you know, to everybody I know and love when I get a case from Maya, because I think it’s such a great gift to give someone like absolute luxurious bath salts, especially when they are like getting out of the bath and you don’t need to put lotion on because all of the different oils are just on your skin and your skin’s just absorbing them. You feel like, I feel like butter after a bath like that.
[00:30:19] Maya Thank you, first of all. Cannabis hydrotherapy is like my extreme passion, and I smoke weed all day. Every day. I judge non solvents for Emerald Cup like five years now, like inhalation is a huge part of my life and definitely my most common form of consumption. But that being said, these cannabis baths change lives Like we’re really on to something here. Like the thing that’s hard about being early is that you’re ready when you get there. So I’m super early and I’m waiting. These cannabis baths are miraculous for pain, post-workout, soreness, anything skin related like eczema, psoriasis, dandruff, acne. Couples love them. There’s like a sexy aphrodisiac side to them and there’s a total beauty side to it. Like when I think about how I go to bed after a few drinks and like, I’m not going to sit here and bash alcohol. I love a glass of red wine. Okay? I wake up in the morning like acidified, puffy, red, grumpy, depressed, just not right. When I wake up after a cannabis bath, I’ve been recharged with magnesium from the Epsom salts. My skin is super hydrated from all the plant based oils. My hair is super hydrated, my skin is like unpuffy, un-red. I literally feel more beautiful. I feel so rested, there’s no pain in my body and everything feels juicy and great.
[00:31:47] Salwa Yeah, that’s real.
[00:31:48] Maya They are the healing of the nation. They’re the consumption form for everyone. When you take a hit of weed or you eat an edible, it passes through your mind. And that’s why there is a chance of a quote unquote bad trip. When you soak your body in a cannabis bath, I’m going to blush, I say this more than once a day, I will blush, but I don’t care. It’s worth it. It’s the colon and the womb space. The womb space has more cannabinoid receptors than anywhere else in the human body. So you soak your body in this infused bath water that’s also packed with magnesium sulfate, which is Epsom salt, as well as argan oil, avocado seed, jojoba and apricot oil, as well as essential oils. It’s going in your scalp, it’s going all over your skin, epidermis, it’s going into the colon and it’s going into the womb space like your every part of your body is being touched by this water. So when you get out, oftentimes you feel like a noodle and sleep like a baby and you’re all lubed up and ready to go cuddle with your lover and you just wake up like beautified. I’m telling you, the government patent for cannabinoids is for antioxidative properties as well as neuroprotective properties. Antioxidants cancel free radicals, free radicals cause all illness and all wrinkles. It’s so easy, it’s so simple on top of what it’s doing for the insides of our body. To be able to do this to the outside of our body. And that’s because it’s especially effective when coupled with argan oil and jojoba, like jojoba is the only oil that contains sebum. It makes our scars go away. Like this is science meets magic meets like like people would say like, oh, are you like an apron or are you like a lab coat? Well, I’m like an apron, a lab coat and a broomstick. Okay, let’s make some magic. Put this in your womb space. Put this on your face. Use this with your lover. Like what other plant can do all of this? So that’s cannabis baths. And just an example of, like, proper formulation. Like, it’s a gentle dance of plant magics. Like, cannabis can do what lavender can do, cannabis does what Calendula does, cannabis does what tea tree oil and white willow bark do. But none of them can do all the things the cannabis does.
[00:34:08] Salwa Yeah, so that combined, that’s where that magic happens. So fascinating. Wait, you touched on something that I think is important that some people learn about. So the womb space, right? And all the receptors in your womb. I know that you have suppositories that you make and with your OM love balm. So with your suppositories, like, how could somebody find relief by using a suppository? Like, who are who are suppositories for? Walk us through that.
[00:34:40] Maya Okay, great. The first thing is like this word, suppository. Suh-poz-it-or-y. Oh, my God. It’s five syllables of yuck. Like your ears already turned off. It’s, like, so gross. And if you’ve been a budtender, you understand that people will come in and they hate asking for them, and it’s uncomfortable. And you can rest assured that they don’t like talking about whatever they’re talking about with you more than you don’t like talking about it with them. So that’s that whole, like, mediquette thing. So like, I always remember that and that’s why I prefer to even really start to call it like a womb pearl. Like because it’s a pearl. Like it’s not going to be a bullet. It’s a pearl. So, yes, anywhere there’s a cannabinoid receptor is a place that cannabis can help. It’s a freeway onramp to the center of your body. And it’s for all people that have a womb. And it’s not because it’s any gender talk, it’s literally receptor talk. Like if you have receptors there, you can receive, right? So cannabinoids are antifungal, antiviral, antibacterial, anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, analgesic, which means they take away pain as well as really high in antioxidants. So why wouldn’t you want to protect your womb space, like with something magical? And when it’s combined with something like in our love balm, we do like shea butter olive oil, calendula, which is a tiny yellow flower that takes away diaper rashes and heals the skin and coconut oil. So they’re like temperature sensitive, but we give instructions like you can melt down, put it into a mold. You can literally just take a little piece, you can dip your tampon in it. It’s like a topical for your uterus. Yeah, I cannot believe everyone who tries it is like, I’m never going to not use this. Like when I’m on my moon, I always have that jar in my bag. So cannabis in the womb space can help with a lot of things I’m not supposed to talk about like abnormal cells, like from HPV or something like that because cannabis is proven to kill cancer cells, but we’re just not allowed to say it.
[00:36:45] Salwa Let’s let’s have a disclaimer of Maya and I are not doctors. We do not have formal education in medicine. Please do your own research. But this is like California hippie stuff. Like this is the stuff that we just witnessed in the stories that we saw and the things that we learned throughout being in the San Francisco Bay Area and being around lovers and friends that have had serious illnesses. And through our work we heard these stories. So again, please do your own research. But also alternative healing is a good thing.
[00:37:21] Maya So that’s very true. Yes. Thank you so much for that. And like, seriously, like even like vulnerable share like even firsthand, everyone I know has gone through all this abnormal cells. I had an abnormal pap smear like that’s part of when I first really started learning about this magic was healing from it firsthand. And I don’t want to sit here and make a bunch of claims, but if, you know, herpes is a virus and the cannabinoids are antiviral, I’m pretty sure someone could do the math and go, Hey, I wonder, like if I were to use this here, if it could possibly lessen my chance of having a breakout? I don’t know. I have no idea. I’ve never done a study. But I do know that cannabinoids are antiviral, right? So these light bulbs kind of go off and you’re like, wow, is there anything this plant doesn’t do? So cannabis in the womb space can help with pH balance, menstrual cramps, menopausal symptoms, pain, any kind of cramps or spasms. It actually really increases pleasure. So the way that topicals work is if they’re high in THC or high enough in THC, they really draw blood to the area. So in our intimate places we have tons of veins and then our skin. So it literally draws the blood.
[00:38:34] Salwa So and this is for everybody, right? It’s not like I just because we were focusing so much on the womb, but like this is obviously for people who are suffering.
[00:38:44] Maya From the most interested people in our love balm a lot of the time are men who want to please their partner more. And I love it because, like, I think about like, I’m really going to get into this. Okay, So like.
[00:38:56] Salwa Yeah, please.
[00:38:57] Maya Oh my God. First of all, I’m just totally like, had this epiphany literally yesterday. There used to be this crazy lady who would corner me in events and talk to me about vagina oil with weed in it. And I like, Oh, no, it’s the vagina oil lady. And here I am, I’ve become the vagina oil lady. Oh, no.
[00:39:14] Salwa There’s worse things to be known for. I mean, vagina oil lady is pretty cool.
[00:39:21] Maya Right? I don’t care. I don’t know if I’ll ever get married. I ain’t got no man. This stuff helps women. I got a womb. I’m making my own body. It’s magic. Like cannabis in the womb space is what I’m here to preach. So that’s like my little funny ego disclaimer, but it’s like I made it really high in THC. So it does spike the female orgasm. And that’s because of the THC. It works the same way that a topical does. It draws blood to the area. So I don’t know any other medicine that has a sexual benefit as well as all these pain benefits and stuff.
[00:39:53] Salwa And actually a really good point.
[00:39:56] Maya Holy moly.
[00:39:57] Salwa That is really funny like that.
[00:40:00] Maya And the more I learn about cannabis, the more I’m like, Wow, cannabis does this too, you know? And it’s hard because we came in for the magic and then all the legalization kind of took out some of the magic for me. So every day I remind myself of this magic. And a lot of it comes from testimonials from people that are helped. So. I got super digressed there, but.
[00:40:21] Salwa No, it’s all good. I’ll bring this back.
[00:40:23] Maya Huge, huge, huge proponent for cannabis in the womb space. I will say this, cannabinoids love oils and oils are not latex safe. There’s no oil that’s latex safe. My product in particular cannot be used with latex. You’ll end up with a weed baby, which is definitely what happened to me. And you know, men love this stuff too like pleasing their women. Like, how much do people spend on Viagra?
[00:40:51] Salwa Right.
[00:40:52] Maya How much would you spend to get rid of menstrual cramps, naturally? Like, how much would you pay to protect your womb space? Like not that I’m here to talk about money, but I just think there’s an importance and need for these type of products. And it’s interesting because I guess a lot of the time maybe the conversation isn’t so comfortable for men, but at this point I just almost don’t notice anymore because I’m so into what I’m talking about.
[00:41:18] Salwa Yeah, that’s great. I mean, like, look, like I think everyone needs to take space and sharing what they’re passionate about. And honestly, the way you do it by is through so much science and having people understand their own bodies. I think it’s really important. Okay, so bringing us back. So what do you think the future of cannabis looks like? And can you explain right now sort of for anybody that’s out there listening what’s going on in the CBD market?
[00:41:47] Maya So let’s see. So well, for me personally, CBD is working out fine because our bath products translate well. It’s not even that there’s something going on in the CBD market. It’s almost that California cannabis is so messed up that like any other market would be a breath of fresh air. Like everyone’s like, Whatever you do, don’t open a restaurant. Like, I want to open a restaurant. Now, if I could just do that, then I could probably do a restaurant. So I know.
[00:42:16] Salwa Something about being in this climate, and cannabis really makes me feel like I can do anything like it really is. I’m like, If I survived California cannabis, I am unstoppable. Right?
[00:42:28] Maya Seriously? God. Sorry. What was your question again?
[00:42:31] Salwa No. Okay, I’ll put it to you this way. So what I’m seeing right now is like we have this blip in the market where CBD became super hot and people are talking about everything CBD and all of a sudden you see Rite-Aid and all these grocery stores and stuff with CBD products in it. Then all of a sudden the desire for that type of product kind of dipped and the market didn’t necessarily support all these brands that were in the traditional market. Time went on and now I’m starting to see this new interest in CBD. And for me it’s really cool because I’m a Muslim Middle Eastern American and so I obviously, like I have desires to do business in Cairo. I have desires to go back to the Middle East and provide plant based healing to that community because of who I am and what I do. And that was just never an option because like, you know, just the stigma. There’s just a lot there. And obviously it’s a very Muslim and tight country. But very recently, the prominent sheikhs of the Muslim world came out and said CBD was okay and that CBD for healing is okay. So now you’ve got all these Muslim countries that are now like, okay, like what does this mean? Like what can we import? What are the good products? And so CBD is starting to kind of tick up again. And I see this opportunity, this huge opportunity in the international market specifically for CBD. And so I was just wondering for you and your products, because I would think OM would do so well, like in a Dubai whatever hotel or luxury resort or something like that. Like what opportunities are you seeing for your products in the CBD market and do you have any opportunities to go abroad and how are you approaching that?
[00:44:27] Maya I want to do it with you now. Let’s you know, I really I agree. There’s just infinite potential. We service areas around here. I just haven’t been able to focus on the international market enough yet, but I’m here for it.
[00:44:45] Salwa So it’s there, right? You’re seeing like and hearing and you know that it’s coming, right?
[00:44:51] Maya Yeah. Like, you know, if you pick up something in the grocery store, then it’s all with vitamin C, like, I feel like that’s where CBD is going, like there’s going to be everything. And then like the CBD version and it’s not much more expensive, if any at all. So you just kind of grab that one.
[00:45:05] Salwa Yeah, well it kind of sucks too, it’s like, you know, we had CBD kind of getting shipped in from China that didn’t necessarily have like the best ingredients in it and had different types of contaminants and things like that. But the market did have a way of differentiating what was coming from the States and what was coming from China and what was being tested and what wasn’t. And so, you know, like us as the cannabis industry, we’re always trying to like self-regulate. And so when CBD sort of opened up and, you know, you had people entering it who didn’t have the same mindset as the people coming from the THC market, it created this sort of divide. And so I think it’s really important for us to go ahead and self market like, Hey, this CBD is sourced from Kentucky, Tennessee, California, whatever ends up being and really like start as a marketing tactic, spelling out what the benefits of American made CBD is.
[00:46:07] Maya Well, to piggyback on that, it is really important. Like what if, God forbid, you had fentanyl in your CBD? If it is the way they say it is, it just randomly comes in from faraway places. So like, that’s a great point and a great reason to get your CBD from someone who’s been in the compliant market, because I already know that all of my stuff is lab tested. I’m looking at my lab test before I get it. It’s all non detectable pesticides. It’s undergoing the same scrutiny that our cannabis products do. It just doesn’t have THC. It even has all the supporting cannabinoids that all bring medicinal value. Just no THC.
[00:46:43] Salwa Oh, my gosh. Thank you so much, Maya. Thank you so much. Do you have any last tip for a 19, 20 year old who is just graduating high school and is thinking about doing this? Where would they start? Like any tips?
[00:47:00] Maya I really do. I have a huge tip that I’m super, super passionate about. So cannabis is a vibe and a spirit like it’s been around for thousands of years. It’s touched so many people’s lives. So if you can’t smoke it or like don’t enjoy the feeling of it, then don’t do it because there’s a million other things for you to do. And I promise you, you won’t make a good product so you don’t have to be a crazy high consumer or stoner. But in my opinion, you do have to have some type of positive relationship with this plant in order to produce quality medicine. And that could totally be topicals.
[00:47:40] Salwa Totally. It’s like being a winemaker, but not being able to taste the wine or being a chef, but not being able to like, you know, dip the spoon in to taste. Right.
[00:47:50] Maya So exactly right. Yeah.
[00:47:52] Salwa But also too, I’m going to piggyback on that because I think for those of us who’ve been in this for some time, cannabis has karma. There is very much an energy to her. I have seen millionaires and billionaires come into this space with a certain budget thinking that they were going to just dominate. And they have lost all of their money very quickly. On the flip side, I’ve seen a group of very compassionate people who come from nothing, who have made it big and become self-made millionaires because they understand the plant. They have a good vision and they know how to execute it. So, like really starting with your intention and where you want to go and understanding the plant as the root product and then sort of moving into a business will ultimately be your guide. Because if she doesn’t want you making money off of her, she’s going to give you a really hard time.
[00:48:52] Maya That’s very, very true. So even to piggyback off that one more step, like if you are thinking, Oh, cannabis might be my life’s calling, well, take a hit of your favorite strain and go lay on your back in the grass in the day or the night and close your eyes and go in your heart and actually listen and listen to what she tells you to do. You know, so yeah, I just feel like we make better products and serve better medicine when we have a firsthand experience or see someone we really love, have a first hand experience with cannabis. Miracle.
[00:49:28] Salwa So awesome. Thank you, Maya. Thank you so much for your time today. We really appreciate you being on the show. We would love to have you on again.
[00:49:39] Maya Any time. I’m so happy you’re doing this.
[00:49:41] Salwa Thank you. All right, guys. Until next time, classmates keep on pursuing the high life. Thank you so much for listening to another episode of the High Class podcast. If you want to support me on this journey, please, like and subscribe. And if you have an extra minute, please leave a review. I’d love to hear your thoughts or you can connect with me on Instagram at highsalwa. And if you need additional resources, go to highsalwa.com. Peace.
