An ACS Employee for 2 years, Rachel has a contagious personality and is always bright, bubbly, and downright hilarious.
According to Cultivation Director Matt C “Rachel brings her smile and positive attitude to work with her every day, which rubs off on the staff AND the plants! She is an EXTREMLY hard worker. With no previous experience, Rachel grasped working with the plants faster than anyone I’ve ever trained with. She was also the creative master mind behind the cool, carved Cultivation pumpkin for Halloween! Starting in the production department, trim/pack, then displaying an interest in working with the plants, she began earlier this year and has been shooting for the stars since!
What do you enjoy about ACS I enjoy many things about my role at ACS-being able to grow something that will help a lot of people, watching each stage of growth in the plants and in individual strains, learning how to grow cannabis, and learning from people who have vast knowledge and experience in this field as a whole.
What draws you to Medical Cannabis? Cannabis has always been in my life. Being able to consume legally, then taking it a step further to learn the entire process from growing to packing is something I never thought would be possible and is a big draw to medical cannabis for me. I have always worked in the service industries, with people and animals, so being able to be in the background growing something I know will help a lot of people makes me happy. I love what I do.
What is your favorite product to produce? My favorite product to produce is any and all types, and strains of flower. Some of my favorite strains to grow and maintain are Purple Chemdawg, Black Raspberry, and Breath mints. The plants are beautiful in color, frostiness, smell, and so enjoyable to look at and watch each strains individual growth process.
As a patient, what products do you find helpful? How has cannabis helped you? The products I find helpful are mosty edibles and flower. The uplift/focus strains really help with my ADHD, anxiety and moods throughout my day and the relief/relax strains help with my body aches and sleep. Both categories help with my appetite as I do not eat unless I medicate. The edibles help the most with sleep and mood. Cannabis has helped me immensely throughout my life. It has helped with my depression, bipolar, anxiety and ADHD. It helps balance out my brain chemistry as I do not want to be on pharmaceutical medications as I do not like how they make me feel. Medicating with Cannabis is a great alternative for someone who does not want to be on pharmaceutical medications. In the last year and half, I have quit smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol, both things that have been a part of my life for almost 20 years and both very hard to stop within 5 months of each other. Without cannabis this process would have been a million times harder to deal with every day and my mental health would have been much worse.
What is something surprising about cannabis that someone who hasn’t consumed before might not know? Something surprising about cannabis is that every part of the plant can be used for something, from clothes to houses to teas and treatments for illness. Another fun fact is that CBD and THC are 2 different things and have different effects on the body. CBD is more of a relaxing medicinal feeling that helps with anxiety, depression, inflammation, and seizures and it does not give you a traditional high. However, THC which is helpful with things like insomnia, appetite, tremors, and nausea and will give you a more traditional high.
What are your favorite ACS products? My favorite ACS products are anything and everything Mendo breath. That strain will always be my ACS favorite. Unfortunately we do not grow that anymore, but we have a Mendo cross strain called Breath mints that is beautiful, frosty and a pleasure to grow and consume. Ben’s edibles are AMAZING especially the chocolate cookie sandwiches and the banana bread! My favorite nighttime routine that helps with relaxation and sleep is mixing Purple Chemdawg and Sour Banana Sherbet together.
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time? In my free time, I enjoy Cooking and Baking, Beach trips to Nantasket to get crazy milkshakes during the summer, target practice with my bow and arrow, going out to eat, Halloween activities in October, and hanging out eating snacks and binging Netflix.
Anything else you’d like to add? Hopes/dreams for medical cannabis? My hopes and dreams for medical cannabis is that one day it will become federally legal and the stigma around it will no longer exist. This product and everything that comes from it is beneficial to a lot of people for a lot of different things from health issues to sobriety and recovery to mental illness. It is important for me to advocate and use my voice to show people that are skeptical that medical cannabis and its products can help with sobriety, as it was a huge help in mine when I quit drinking. In closing, I want to thank ACS for allowing me to learn and grow within the company in an industry that I love. I want to thank the patients and community for the continued support and business.