Cash Only’s 420 Recs: Zoë Ligon, Sex Educator

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Cash Only’s 420 Recs is an ongoing series where interesting folks offer recommendations for all things 420 — what strains they like, what weed products are blowing their minds, and what they like to do once stoned.

Thank the Dionysian ganja gods, Zoë Ligon is here to talk weed.

The writer, artist, peer sex educator, and founder of Spectrum Boutique (the coolest adult toy store in the U.S., sans-doubt) is one of the preeminent voices when it comes to sexuality and sexual education. And damn does she make a complicated topic fun.

Take one look at her Instagram, and it’s clear that Zoë has mastered a balance of silliness and seriousness when discussing everything from innovative adult toys and particular kinks, to practicing consent and advocating for mental health awareness. Tough act, but that’s why Z is the reigning queen of “dinks.”

We also highly recommend Carnal Knowledge: Sex Education You Didn’t Get in School, the book she co-authored with the brilliant Liz Renstrom, which absolutely should be taught in schools!!!

Zoë is a longtime friend of the admins here at Cash Only, and we’re grateful that she’s always down to clown and answer some interview questions. Below, the titan of toys, the master of masturbators, discusses her preference for weed that’s below 20% THC, absurdist films that all start with the letter F, and a dream blunt rotation featuring all her dead relatives who she’s never met. Enjoy!

Do you have a current favorite weed strain? How do you like to consume it?

Zoë Ligon: These days I smoke the weakest weed I can find. I go into dispensaries and say, “Give me your mildest stuff” and they say, “Wow no one ever asks us that.” Then they scramble around to see if anything meets that criteria. I smoke almost daily, and going for a 10% THC strain is good for my soul and sanity. I love the act of smoking itself, and if I smoke more than a hit of any strain with more than 20% THC I am TOASTED and out of commission. Is this what getting older feels like? Anyway, I smoke joints and even though I can roll them myself they are way better when my boyfriend is rolling them for me. My holy grail strain is Jesus Christ OG x Jillybean, which I found 7 years ago in Michigan and haven’t encountered since.

Do you have any favorite weed products — any particular papers, grinders, or whatever?

Big shoutout to BIC lighters. We always lose them and go for BBQ lighters, but I guess BIC also makes those so, thanks BIC! Also just weed lube as an entire category of product. Brands differ depending on locality, but I have never met a weed lube I didn’t like. Gummies have also been good to me, especially because I like giving my lungs a break when I can.

What activity do you like to do after you’ve gotten stoned?

Pinball is great when you’re stoned. You might think pinball is a stressful game, however, it is very relaxing to watch the little ball ping around. I also love to mountain bike, and find that I manage to fall less often when I’m biking stoned. I’m not particularly good at it or coordinated, but the sensory experience is just divine! Finally, stretching. Not in a “class” or anything, but some passive floor stretching is fucking orgasmic when high.

Can you recommend something to watch after smoking?

Windy City Heat is my favorite underrated movie. It’s basically a Comedy Central TV documentary where some comedians prank their friend Perry into thinking he has been cast as the lead actor in a film, but the whole thing is just a prank. It’s okay, he is an asshole and he deserves it, so you can laugh at his expense comfortably. Here are more dumb and absurdist movies you should be stoned for: Fungicide, Funky Forest, Freaked, Final Flesh. I didn’t intend for those to all start with the letter F, it just happened. Aside from that, Thu Tran’s Food Party — also starts with F! ~Do not~ watch The Cat in the Hat, Foodfight! or Boss Baby, while stoned. Please, I’m begging you… Be careful.

What do you like to listen to after smoking? Any albums, radio shows, or podcasts?

TANGERINE DREAM! Aphex Twin… lol. Terry Riley. Plantasia! Insane Clown Posse if I’m driving around the beautiful state of Michigan. Spooky podcasts like Knifepoint Horror — the writer/host has one of my favorite voices and it rocks me to sleep like a little baby.

Can you recommend something to read when you’re high?

I don’t believe in ghosts or spirits or anything like that, but I do love reading about “haunted” places and (not haunted) ghost towns in Michigan. I will also always love creepypastas. (Can you tell I hate books?) I also love reading weird manga, even though I am relatively new to the genre. Juni Ito anything, but I recently read all of the Alice in Borderland manga and really loved it.

Who’s in your dream blunt rotation?

An assortment of dead relatives I’ve never met so that I can interrogate them about why our family is so weird once I get them baked enough. Also, Elmo can be there.

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