Each and every day it seems like we wake up with something new to stress about. Whether it’s a story on the news, a personal tribulation, pain management, or just a bad night of sleep, these disruptions each eat away at our overall wellbeing. But, what if there was a way to whisk your woes away with a natural remedy? That’s exactly what hemp-derived CBD and THC have done for ages.

Even though you’ve probably heard of THC and CBD, these hemp extracts have been gaining popularity since the passing of the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2013 which legally defines hemp as cannabis with no more than 0.3% THC content. This act makes it possible for makers to use CBD and even THC in their products, opening us up to a wide spectrum of CBD and THC salves, gummies, sprays, skin care, pet products, and so much more. Plus, the expansion only continues with the Hemp Farming Act of 2018 which completely legalizes industrial hemp. 

Even though these products are completely legal, there are lingering misconceptions about what these products can do for you. If you’re a newbie, it can be scary to think about ingesting THC or CBD but there are two resources in Pittsburgh that can teach you all about using hemp for the first time.

Trying Legal THC or CBD For the First Time in Pittsburgh

PENN’S CHOICE is a family-owned hemp farm and brand based in Western Pennsylvania. This farm is where the process of creating hemp products starts and finishes. They start with sustainably growing the hemp before harvesting. Then they slow-cure it and the infuse it directly into the products that they make by hand in small batches. For co-owner and chief operating officer, Rebecca Zaccard Gibson, keeping the process close to home is one of the ways that they can ensure the safety and success of consumers. 

“PENN’S CHOICE does everything from start to finish to ensure quality, care, and affordability,” explains Zaccard Gibson. “We specialize in CBD salves, CBD oils, CBG oils, and more – with a focus on clean, planet and people-friendly ingredients that work together to help our customers sleep well and feel good in their daily lives. We truly believe everyone deserves to live a life free from anxiety and pain, and while we can’t take away life stressors, we can help people manage them.”

THC, CBD, Delta-8, Delta-9, What Does it All Mean?

THC, CBD, Delta-8, CBG…all these acronyms can be confusing and may seem like the same thing from afar. While they do come from the same plant, each is a different cannabinoid, varying slightly from other related molecules within the plant. It’s important to know the difference between these cannabinoids when you first start shopping for legal hemp products. 

“Delta-9 THC is a psychoactive compound that is typically associated with getting high, although it has a whole lot of other benefits too,” says Zaccard Gibson. “Delta-8 THC is like Delta-9’s cousin. It has similar properties; however, some people find it to be a bit milder and more relaxing than Delta-9. THC-A is an interesting one because it’s the acidic precursor to THC, and therefore when burned it becomes THC. CBD, CBG, CBN, CBC are also all cannabinoids, but they are considered non-intoxicating, so you get the various effects without the high.”

Get Rid of the Misconceptions

It’s all a lot to take in, but that’s why there are places like PENN’S CHOICE to help make all the information easier to comprehend. Though if you’re looking for another resource closer to home, CBD Wellness Store in Pittsburgh is another way to test products for the first time with ease. Here, Terri Miller works as a CBD Specialist, directing customers to what fit is best for them. She considers herself a bit of a CBD nerd and uses her research to help stop the misconceptions that have been floating around for years. 

“A lot of people, when they hear CBD, tend to be fearful of it as if it’s marijuana, as if it’s going to get them high,” says Miller. “There are certainly products that can do that. But, there are also a lot of products that have so many benefits but that don’t get you high at all. It’s really a great thing to get the word out there about because the stigma behind it doesn’t necessarily always allow people to have a good understanding.”

Getting a Legal High

Speaking of products that get you high, some are actually legal, like the ones that are naturally grown by farms like PENN’S CHOICE and sold by the CBD Wellness Store. By providing a high while also transparently communicating what is in the product, they have made consumption safer. According to a 2020 research report by Greta Hsu, professor at University of California and Balázs Kovács, associate professor at Yale University, higher numbers of medical and recreational storefront dispensaries “…are associated with reduced opioid related death rates, particularly deaths associated with synthetic opioids such as fentanyl.” There are no barriers to purchase, such as dispensary cards, prescriptions, or other documentation.

“Products like ours at PENN’S CHOICE are derived from hemp, so you don’t need a medical card to purchase them,” explains Zaccard Gibson. “It’s a great option for people who are looking for local, reasonably priced products with the health benefits of cannabis without the high. That said, if you are looking for the health benefits and the high, there are some hemp products that contain intoxicating cannabinoids like Delta-8 or Delta-9 available as well.”

How to Find the Hemp Product For You

Your interest in THC and CBD is peaking. But where do you start? Do you pop an edible in your mouth? Try a new CBD lotion? Light up a pre-roll (a pre-rolled paper cone packed with hemp flower)? Grab a bag of treats for your dog? Well, that decision is truly up to you and the more you try, the better the opportunity of what works best. But, there are a few tips you can follow to figure out what to try first. 

“A good place to start is by asking yourself what you are looking for help with which usually is one or more of our ‘big 3’ – pain, anxiety, and sleep,” explains Gibson. “Next, ask yourself if you are open to something that is intoxicating or not. If you don’t want anything intoxicating, you probably want to steer clear of high amounts of THC. Topicals, like our CBD salve, are a great option for pain and you can apply them directly to achy muscles or sore joints. If you’re looking for better sleep, something like a CBD oil that goes under your tongue is a great option. If it’s anxiety relief you’re after, CBG is a lesser-known cannabinoid known to calm anxiety, boost your mood, and decrease inflammation while not making you drowsy the way CBD can while also promoting a happy, healthy gut.

What About for Delta-8 and Delta-9?

If it is a high that you’re looking for, there are plenty of things to look out for when choosing between Delta-8 and Delta-9. Also consider how you’re using the product. When using anything that has Delta-8 or Delta-9, it’s important to go for a low dose and start things out slowly. It is THC after all. You don’t have to be completely baked like a cake in order to have a good high. In fact, a light body high can sometimes be just what you need to help you sleep or relax after work.

Start with understanding what you are actively consuming: check your cannabinoids and testing reports. Don’t take an edible that’s going to last all night when you know you have somewhere to be in the next few hours. Make sure you go to a reputable source. 

“When you add Delta-8 or Delta-9, that’s when you’re actually consuming amounts of THC. There are pros and cons to that. But, we offer a product that’s legal and that we test. There is weed available on the street, but you have no idea what it’s laced with. So we have a high quality product that is safe and tested and at a legal level, that offers people an alternative while giving them the results that they’re looking for. It’s still a wellness product at the end of the day,” says Gibson.

What Should You Be Cautious Of?

While trying THC and CBD can be a fun experience, there are still elements to be cautious of. You should always alert your doctor to what you’re using, especially if you’re under 25. Since your brain does not fully develop until your mid to late 20’s and hemp is legal for ages 21 and older, you still need to go forward with caution. While scientists’ studies on this subject are still new, there is evidence to suggest that cannabis (we’re talking THC here, not CBD), can cause attention, memory, and learning problems that may last a long time, or even be permanent.

Even if you’re in your late 20s and your brain is fully developed, you still have to be careful where you are getting your hemp from. We know gas stations seem like an easy way to pick up a quick pack of gummies…but you likely have no clue what type of chemicals are lurking within. 

“What you want to see is a full panel third party test,” explains Miller. “So when we look at a third party test, not only is potency going to be important, but also CBD purity, residual solvents, pesticides, heavy metals, and microbials. The story that I always point out to my customers is if people can get sick at McDonald’s with contaminated onions, it can happen with hemp and marijuana. They both are plants grown on farms. Anything that’s grown in the dirt really needs more extensive testing.”

Always Ask for Help

If you want a helping hand when trying THC or CBD for the first time, both PENN’S CHOICE and CBD Wellness Store are just a few of the stores in the area that have consultations available to answer any questions. Here you can meet with a specialist to find the right start for you or even get advice later on for what new products to try. Nevertheless, exploring THC and CBD should be an exciting and healing experience. It’s all about what works for your body and what makes you feel more like yourself at the end of the day.

“Listen to your body!” exclaims Zaccard Gibson. “ A little trial and error is likely going to be part of the process, but you know yourself best. Trust yourself, have fun, and we’re here to talk hemp whenever you need us!”

Check out our article on THC and CBD shops in Pittsburgh to start your journey!

Story by Kylie Thomas
Photo Courtesy of PENN’S CHOICE

Subscribe to TABLE Magazine’s print edition.

Leslie Gordon of Orr’s Jewelers will get to work a little closer to home with her family business’s recent plans to expand into The Strip District’s Terminal space. Gordon, who runs Orr’s with her mother, father and sister, Aliza, lives in the Strip. “We see it as a natural place for our third-generation family business to grow. It’s convenient to access from so much of the Pittsburgh area and will open us up to so many of the Strip District’s residents as well,” Gordon told TABLE.

A New Chapter: Orr’s Jewelers to Expand to The Strip District 

The new Orr’s space will open in fall of 2025, beside Argentinean restaurant Balvanera and across the street from the shopping destinations in The Terminal. “We plan to bring Pittsburgh’s best selection of Swiss watches, fine designer jewelry, and bridal collections to the Strip District,” Gordon said. “Our Strip District store will be the only place in the city of Pittsburgh to shop many of our exclusive brands in-person, including Cartier, Rahaminov Diamonds, Pomellato, and many more! We will have an on-site jeweler for repairs and custom design work as well.”

This expansion comes during an ongoing period of change in The Strip District. The space beside Balvanera has remained largely empty for the past few years. But now, consumers can buy their diamond earrings, then go right to a delicious dinner next door.

The two other Orr’s locations are in Sewickley and in Squirrel Hill. In both locations, they’ve built a devoted clientele over their seventy years of operation. Through the years, they’ve helped many Pittsburghers find the perfect wedding ring, Valentine’s Day gift, or heirloom watch. “We’re committed to bringing the latest trends and top manufacturers in the jewelry and watch industries to Pittsburgh. We travel the world looking at new collections, styles and designers to bring back to Orr’s,” Gordon said. “Many of our clients have been with us from our beginnings in Beaver County. We can’t wait to welcome everyone new and old into our newest iteration in the Strip District.”

Story by Emma Riva
Photo courtesy of Orr’s Jewelers

Subscribe to TABLE Magazine’s print edition.

Before you start reading, inhale. You don’t have to close your eyes or get up from your computer. Just inhale through your nose for a count of four, feeling it rise in your stomach, then exhale through your mouth. Done? That’s the one thing that no one, no matter what happens to you in this life, can take away from you. As long as you’re living, you can breathe. What happens outside of that is out of your control. While just taking one breath isn’t necessarily meditation, it’s a start.

Think You Can’t Try Meditation? Think Again

Meditation doesn’t always make you a paragon of physical health, but especially for creative people, it can be a way to access a different part of yourself. I felt inspired to spend more time on spiritual matters by the death of David Lynch. Lynch practiced Transcendental Meditation, but he also smoked a pack a day of American Spirits, drank tons of wine, and stayed up all night making disturbing films. Not exactly a wellness influencer, per se, but an advocate for meditation’s benefits.

But “Transcendental Meditation or “TM” involves having your own mantra and sitting in silence, repeating it to yourself in your thoughts as you allow them to flow through you, without judgment. But while it’s easy to talk about these ideas of spiritual peace and a pathway into your inner world—how do you actually put them into practice?

A Non-Judgmental Approach to Meditation

It sounds like a lofty task, to go inward, particularly for those of us with chaotic work lives and therefore chaotic minds. RYT 200 yoga instructor and reiki master Paige Creamer, who teaches at The Om Lounge in the Strip District and East Liberty, wants to assure people that they can start meditating. Before she ever practiced asana yoga (the physical element of yoga most people are familiar with), Creamer found meditation. Her father was terminally ill, and she was “really not feeling well” when she began working with a TM teacher who gave her a mantra and taught her to focus on her own body.

“There’s a meme-ification of it all, a Pinterest aesthetic board of sayings like ‘you are your deepest well.’ But meditation is a real, actual, experience that you can feel in your body, I try in my work to show people that you can access that. It’s not a concept, it’s something real,” Creamer said. “My favorite approach is to go through a body scan and find the place just beyond myself. You can try feeling the inside of your mouth or imagining looking at the inside of your throat.”

Meditation for “Neuro-Complex” People

Creamer describes herself as a “neuro-complex person with complex trauma” and saw finding a mantra as a way of having one thing just for herself. She wants people with similar backgrounds to know that self-judgment and spiraling will defeat the purpose of the process. “If you say you’re going to meditate every day for one minute, and then you don’t, you say ‘Oh, I can’t do that.” That’s just another story,” she said. “Ask yourself ‘Am I really mad at myself that I didn’t meditate yesterday?’ You didn’t lose out on any resources. You didn’t become a bad person overnight.”

Her recommendation is to focus much more on the bodily experience of meditation than on whether your mind was quiet or whether your practice was fastidious enough. You can look at a candle’s flame or do an “eating meditation” where you chew every bite with intention.

Creamer also hopes that her own experiences can help other people feel more comfortable meditating.  “I know that change can happen because I’ve changed,” she explained.  “I know that oneness is there because I feel it. It’s not only for Instagram influencers at Bonnaroo.” She remembered a friend who works as an HVAC technician coming to her saying that meditation had become a key part of his daily life, since he spent so much time in people’s homes and felt he needed some control over his inner life. Inner peace shouldn’t only be for professional-managerial elites that can afford to spare the time for it.

Where Can You Go to Meditate in Pittsburgh?

So, you want to start meditating. While you don’t have to go anywhere other than your own home, having a teacher for guidance can be helpful. The Om Lounge, where Creamer teaches both yoga and an “embodied experiences” course, is an approachable but accredited space for it. The Deep Dive Dream Center in Oakland offers free or low-cost group meditations, with discounts for students.

Additionally, Pittsburgh has a Transcendental Meditation center in Squirrel Hill, where Marty Caplan teaches TM courses. The classes are offered on a sliding scale based on household income. To look for resources of your own that you can do at home, at no cost, The Insight Meditation Society offers free online meditations and Dharma talks.

Some ways to find meditative experiences in Pittsburgh don’t involve teachers or formal settings, either. The pitch-dark James Turrell installations at The Mattress Factory can allow you to sink deeper into your own mind. Likewise, there’s something calming and reflective about the Hillman Hall of Gems and Minerals at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Or, while it isn’t a traditional form of meditation, going to see a movie in a theater can be a way to force yourself to sit still and quiet your mind. But if you’ve made the choice to try to seek out meditation, you’re already on the right path. Creamer’s advice? “Let practice speak for itself. You are the space for it all.”

Story by Emma Riva
Photo by Ray Albrow

Subscribe to TABLE Magazine‘s print edition.

My kitchen sink clogs up. There’s a blockage somewhere in the pipes. My home was once a boarding house for steelworkers, so there are some oddities in the layout of the plumbing. But for the past few months, my sink drains at a glacial pace; no doubt some combination of coffee grounds and oatmeal has lodged in place. The clog, if I don’t clean it out properly, will just get worse. On a recent dark morning, I’ve looked at it and felt it’s the perfect metaphor for burnout: A buildup of psychic residue unable to drain, full of unwanted emotional and spiritual gunk that leaves you feeling…empty.  

Pittsburghers Share Their Stories of Burnout

I became interested in writing about burnout when I heard Bonfire, a restaurant on the South Side I loved, was closing its doors. The restaurant industry is notoriously harsh, with grueling hours, financial strain, and physical work that takes a toll on the body over time. Chef Chris Bonfili said, however, that he felt optimistic about closing the restaurant, because after his father’s death, he realized he didn’t have unlimited time and didn’t want to spend all of it working.

“I still love cooking and hospitality, and for a long time I was willing to sacrifice other areas for that, but I’m just not there now,” he said. “It tugs on your heartstrings a little bit, but I really am just kind of ready. That’s in the front of my mind. I think about all the things I am going to be able to do and all the time I am going to have — this will be the first year in seventeen years I’ll be home for Mother’s Day and cooking for my wife instead of cooking Mother’s Day brunch at the restaurant.”

“This will be the first year in seventeen years I’ll be home for Mother’s Day and cooking for my wife instead of cooking Mother’s Day brunch at the restaurant.”

Bonfili didn’t necessarily characterize his experience as burnout, but I found myself curious about the choices we make for our health, our families, and our wellbeing. How much are you willing to sell your time and your labor for? What is it worth? When have you gone too far?

The participants in this story are a mix of age ranges, socio-economic backgrounds, and career paths. Talking about burnout openly is one way to start the healing process. So, I put out a call: Have you experienced burnout and how did it affect you? It turns out, almost everyone I know had a burnout story.

What is Burnout?

Burnout is not just exhaustion or stress.  Psychologist Herbert Freudenberger popularized the term in the 1970s, borrowing it from the patients he saw from the New York hard drugs scene who used it to describe the way the drug use ravaged their brains. But he started using the term to describe the emotional depletion and loss of motivation in volunteers at St. Mark’s Free Clinic in New York. Freudenberger himself experienced burnout, and originally, it only applied to care workers in the human services sector.

But from the 1990s to the 2000s, it spread to wider usage across careers. Part of what characterizes burnout is a sense of depersonalization and disillusionment. Your work is so tangled up in your sense of self, but as the burnout increases, your work performance and your daily life gets worse. The WHO calls it “feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion; increased mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job; and reduced professional efficacy.”

Burnout in the Arts

Like Bonfili, many people I spoke to only realized the depth of their burnout when a personal stressor rattled their sense of who they were.  “Burnout is no joke,” Carolyn Pierotti, a painter and sales manager at Expansive, a downtown Pittsburgh real estate company, said. “In 2018, I was running Percolate Gallery and taking care of three children. My father was going into a long-term care facility and my marriage was on the rocks. I have been taught to push through and suck it up, but my body was giving out on me. I was exhausted, my anxiety was high, and I was watching my kids suffer because I wasn’t there.”

“I have been taught to push through and suck it up, BUT my body was giving out on me.”

Pierotti ultimately choice to walk away from the gallery she owned and find a different career path while still making her own artwork. But burnout among creative professionals is a widespread phenomenon, because most arts workers spread themselves across multiple jobs to make a living wage. So, forget having any time to rest or have a personal life.

An art handler and film crew member referenced the toll of constantly job-hopping as a gig worker, the strain of the small pool of job opportunities in Pittsburgh, and the toll of having to spend extra energy invoicing clients to even get paid at all. Rent is due, but a payments arrive on their own weird timeline. They noted that burnout often comes up around white collar digital labor, but that people who work with their hands have an additional challenge of facing their body’s limitations, too.

Burnout in a Toxic Workplace

It doesn’t help when there are additional emotional strains in the workplace. One respondent, an artist and fashion designer who goes by Evelyn’s Reverie but who has sustained herself with an office career, said that “[At the call center I worked at] I started getting harassed by another employee. I followed all the rules. Reported to my manager and did my best to remain professional. This went on for six months before I found out my boss was hiding it from HR.”

“I keep feeling like ‘What’s the point in overextending myself for organizations who do not care about me?’”

Though she left the job, the experience left her feeling jaded about office culture and whether she could trust anyone in the workplace. “All my hard work and service meant nothing to them. They protected the other employee who had a history of being inappropriate. I’ve struggled to have that same drive at my other jobs. I keep feeling like ‘What’s the point in overextending myself for organizations who do not care about me?’”

Burnout in Education

An educator who asked to remain anonymous described burnout associated with her time as a tenure-track academic at a rural university. “I was constantly trying to find ways to combat inequity, buying into the mythology of the more dedicated you are to your students, the more you’ll self-sacrifice for them. Teachers are underpaid and exploited, and women in any role do disproportionate amounts of ‘office housework,’ administrative work, counseling colleagues emotionally, cleaning…. Systemic factors also contribute to burnout,” she said.

 She also pointed to the fact that people from immigrant backgrounds, as she is, or anyone who comes from a marginalized group, often will overcompensate for their presence in the workplace. “When you rest, there’s someone who’s willing in a toxic and exploitative environment to keep going in your place.”

“When you rest, there’s someone who’s willing in a toxic and exploitative environment to keep going in your place.”

She then went on to work for a DEI consulting company, but found herself burning out again because the fully remote work meant she had no personal boundaries.  “A lot of people who are dealing with burnout are so far down the burnout hole that we don’t deal with our basic needs,” she said.

How Do You Cope with Burnout?

The educator mentioned that there are several coping skills that help her. Turning off her phone, making sure she gets out of the house, and leaning on her support network all have helped her mental state. “If someone from your community wants to help you, don’t turn them down,” she said. She also recommended that if you do quit your job, really take a rest. Hopping into the next profession immediately only exacerbates the spiral.

Anthony Angelilli, a trade worker who restores and paints historic homes in Pittsburgh, offered these tips about burnout from his own experiences managing his daily work and his personal life. He suggested that people who work in digital spaces often lack boundaries because of the myriad distractions around them. Working a trade offers more time to really focus on work. “Set work hours for yourself and actually work those hours. That means no scrolling on Instagram or other social sites or accepting phone calls that aren’t emergencies,” he said. When he got burnt out, he focused on what he did have agency over. “To cope, I just stopped thinking about it and directed my attention to things I can control. Right now, I just want my relationships with people to be loving and memorable.”

“Right now, I just want my relationships with people to be loving and memorable.”

Carolyn Pierotti said “I still experience stress, but I set boundaries for myself now. I’ve learned how to say no. It’s a word that I always had a hard time using, but now it’s more important than ever that I give myself time to rest and reset.” And if people respond negatively to that, Pierotti said: “I’m not always available, and the people who truly care will understand. And if they don’t…. well, F ‘em.”

Story by Emma Riva
Photo by Tangerine Newt

Subscribe to TABLE Magazine’s print edition.