Dr Weed: “If you can have a pot with cannabis at home, then you should do so”

Influencers matter in all industries, but because it still straddles between legality and prohibition, they matter more in cannabis than in any other sector. The lack of a regulatory framework makes it difficult to access information on the product in many countries, meaning that those who share their knowledge on how to grow and use the plant are often the only resource available to users. Among them is Dr Weed, a Uruguayan whose plants and spontaneity have earned her thousands of followers. This is her story. 

How and when did you become interested in cannabis?

I used to smoke cigarettes and one day a friend passed me a joint with weed she had grown herself. Back then, I didn't smoke ganja because it made mi sick, but my friend's weed was a whole different thing. So I said to myself: 'I will grow cannabis too'. I started out with a couple of plants in a pot, and if someone dropped by, I would hide it in the garage. When they left, I would put it back in the sun, but that way I couldn't express myself, so I decided to do things right. That's when I went wild planting every seed that came my way directly in soil, in Uruguay.

I started growing in 2005, and then I moved in with my boyfriend. We both left the nest and, one day when we were out with a group of friends, I saw a plant growing in concrete. I pulled it out and took it home. We named it Chuchito. So strictly speaking, I stumbled accords my first plant by chance. And from then on, I never stopped and kept growing more and more. Eventually, we moved again and, since the floor was sand, I would dig holes, fill them with substrate and covered then back over with sand. I remember growing a plant that reached three metres high.

Did you have any growing skills?

All I know, I learnt from my grandmother, and this includes growing and cooking. She taught me how to heal plants, hence the nickname Dr Weed. I joined a Facebook group called Cultivando Libertad [Growing Freedom] that attracted many women. In this industry, women are used for promotional purposes rather than anything else, but the way I see it, women are at the centre of the process. I think there's something special about a woman in a garden.

I grew so many plants that I got every pest under the sun, so I had no choice but to learn. In 2018, I had 50 plants in 6x7 metres, in pots filled with homemade, organic compost. I look at the plants and they tell me what to do and what they need. Cannabis is a noble plant: you just have to do some really quick research, work on it 10 minutes a day, and that's really it. 

Last season, your garden was really impressive. Have you ever had problems with your neighbours?

Not even once. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I give them herbs from time to time – parsley, oregano and the like. As for the authorities, if that's what you're asking, they probably know who I am, but then they'll also know that I' have no possessions, that I'm a poor woman. All they can do is come to my place, have a cupcake or a cookie and think: "The girl's got 50 plants and shows them all." But what's the point of that? I've got nothing to hide. Nothing at all.

You post a lot about medical cannabis.

As soon as I became a recreational user, I realised cannabis is highly soothing. I suffer from a degenerative bone disease that has caused all my cartilage to wear away, to the point its almost gone. I also have disc disease, pinching, hernias and slightly ruptured discs. I started having back problems when I was 11, and it's really hard. I live with pain every day. Some days, it hurts a bit less, so I jump out of bed and dance. But there are also days when I'm dragging my feet. And as I have no cushions between the vertebrae, my spine is totally compressed since 2007. I've had two children in this time.

Were it not for cannabis, probably I wouldn't be able to move

I see a doctor only when I feel completely broken. I had no cannabis when I first arrived in Spain, so I was totally stiff and I developed a limp in my left leg. Do I look stiff now? I'm fed up with being told that cannabis does nothing and that it's all in the mind. You don't need to be a doctor to know the effect cannabis has on you when you take it. It is thanks to this plant that I can stand up straight. I suffer from stiffness and if it were not for cannabis, probably I wouldn't be able to move.

How do you consume it?

I ingest the cannabis because I can't spend all day vaporising. I quit smoking on January 26 and my next project is to promote raw cannabis. The plant is an excellent source of vitamins, antioxidants and flavonoids, which are great for health, but you've got to take it raw. Cannabis is not just about getting high, it is about improving your quality of life. Get as high as you like, but ingest it too – always in moderation, of course. You can bake yourself a cookie, for instance, but not one that makes you feel groggy all day. I use a balanced recipe that does not interfere with my daily routine. Otherwise, whenever I had a cookie, I would end up doing nothing all day. And that's something I can't do at the moment. I have two children, three dogs, a rabbit and a lot of plants…

You've been attacked on social media more than once, and you always defend yourself without mincing words. How do you deal with haters?

I believe in nature and in myself, period. And also in bringing some joy to people. Many people laugh at me and call me a narcissist, but I think they're wrong. They don't know my suffering and they're not aware of the sacrifice I put in my plants. The grow is on the third floor of my home, and as there's no water there, I take a hundred litres with me every day. When I finish my work, I contemplate the plants, smell them, eat them, vaporise them… And as they make me feel proud, I show them to other people. Why wouldn't I?

I believe firmly in what I do. Cannabis makes me feel so good and I am determined to stick to what I believe in. What really matters to me is the love from people who care about the plant, and collaborating with brands that work responsibly.

What would you say to those who don't know you?

I would challenge them to show their faces and stop accusing people of being criminals just for giving life to a plant. My message is clear: if you can have a pot at home, then you should. I grow my own parsley, and if everyone had their own pots, it would mean the end of many shady businesses. This season 2019 I want to encourage people to plant and cook, to go beyond just smoking. Young people need to understand that cannabis is much more than just a joint.

I would also tell them that I want to be a gardener, which is what I'm good at, and that I want to show them the monster plants you can get without having to spend a fortune at the grow shop. So just invest in a seed, use your dog's food bag as a pot, make your own compost with organic kitchen scraps, and there you go: you've created your own grow. All you have to do is keep adding kitchen scraps for two months and mix every day. My plants were fed only water during the vegetative stage and still grew to over two metres in nine litres.

What are your favourite strains?

Mostly, I do indicas because, having ADHD, I can't take pure sativas. I grow sativas too, but I mix them with indicas, which I let ripen up a bit more than is usual so that they're anesthetising, otherwise they don't ease my symptoms. I have a high tolerance for vaporised rosin, so I balanced it out with ingestion. I don't only make sweet stuff. If I've got a concentrate, I add it to soup, and I also make tea.

I cannot emphasise enough that cannabis is not just about getting high. And you've got not to separate cannabinoids. That's why I like seeds: I use cannabis differently to other people, so I grow differently too. I benefit from the whole plant. I've always grown from seed, so my garden is a bit of a mess. I don't even want to think about growing from cuttings. Cannabis produces many different types of cannabinoids for a reason, so why favour some over others? 

* This season 2019, Dr Weed is growing Dinafem's Purple Moby Dick, Remo Chemo and Blueberry Cookies. You can follow the whole process on her Facebook and Twitter accounts.