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Waffling the Way to Wellness

The healing powers of a silly, stoned idea

Cannabis took a healing role in my life 20 years ago in Ventura, California. I had been diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma for the second time in two years. I was 17 and had gone down two pant sizes after starting chemotherapy again. 

When my dad brought me to live with him, I walked into his house and found a Coke can pipe and a baggie of immature, poorly manicured bud that he picked up from one of his Alcoholics Anonymous buddies. That wispy weed changed my life in a way I never thought possible. One minute I was dying from malnutrition, and the next I was laughing and eating pizza until I threw up. Maintaining appetite and weight was the key to managing and minimizing the side effects of chemotherapy. After two separate chemo treatments—one that I accompanied with cannabis and one I didn’t—the benefits of using the plant were obvious. It helped keep my weight up by curbing nausea and increasing my appetite. It was the tool that helped me survive and incidentally establish a new relationship with my dad.

Fast forward to September 2017. Still living in Ventura, I was busy juggling my job and a side business while enduring months of phantom pain—until a PET scan showed lesions all over my body. I had Hodgkin lymphoma for the third time. The disease had progressed to “stage 4B”—meaning it had spread to other parts of my body. The doctors had never seen a case like mine relapse after 18 years. They didn’t know to whether to treat it as a new disease or as a relapse. They tried targeted chemotherapy first, and then a new immunotherapy drug, but neither worked as they had for many others. Eventually, traditional chemotherapy followed by a stem cell transplant helped me achieve remission. 

Before starting treatment, I visited a local dispensary with my fiancee, Alex. We spent an absurd amount of money on edibles. After trying every one imaginable, I found microdosing was more effective than consuming large amounts of THC. Too much caused me to retreat into my head, while small amounts were perfect for taking the edge off and letting me relax. It was a completely different experience, and to my surprise, cannabis helped me in an alternative way. It allowed me to take my mind off my potential demise and catalyzed a new creative outlet.

Waffleye Cannabis Infused Waffles

Several things inspired the idea—including an Instagram post of a cannabis leaf-shaped pizza—but the biggest incentive was imagining people’s laughter as they opened the package. Enlisting the help of friends and family, Waffleye was born.

While I received these treatments, Alex and I took time off from work—my family’s packaging business and her home daycare—to focus on fighting the disease. The downtime was to relax and recover, but I quickly found that I needed something to occupy my mind. I decided to pursue a random idea: a cannabis leaf-shaped waffle maker. We eat waffles for breakfast every Sunday at Alex’s grandparents’ house. I thought it would be hilarious to incorporate weed into waffles without getting the whole family stoned, even though half of us were already high. 

Several things inspired the idea—including an Instagram post of a cannabis leaf-shaped pizza—but the biggest incentive was imagining people’s laughter as they opened the package. Enlisting the help of friends and family, Waffleye was born. 

Creating a new business while fighting cancer is a daunting task, but we found that a creative outlet with deadlines kept our minds busy and allowed us to focus on something rather than worry. Taking a stoner idea, turning it into something real and acting on it gives me the most joy. 

Making money has never been our primary goal for Waffleye. We’ve used the company as a tool to heal, learn and have fun. Running a business not driven by greed but by passion, and a willingness to learn, is both successful and fulfilling. It’s allowed us to collaborate with people in the cannabis and food industry, like Chef Sebastian Carosi, and Monica Lo of Sous Weed. Each time we create a new recipe, we are just as excited as when I came up with the original idea. Some of our favorites include our keto version of chicken and waffles (a keto bacon batter waffle topped with pork rinds and maple syrup) and our chocolate-covered potato chip waffle. And you can’t go wrong by simply throwing your favorite cereal into the batter. 

Our goal was to create a product that people would enjoy, but it led us to a world that we didn’t know existed. We are learning more about cannabis and cannabinoids than we ever thought possible. We’re proud to be a part of this industry because of its potential to help people heal. A third diagnosis reminded me that I am not immortal. We only have so much time on earth, and we have a choice to act on ideas, or let them pass us by. We decided to act, and because of that we’ve been embraced by an ever-evolving industry that helps people get through the most difficult times. We’re also having a lot of fun.

By Billy Owczarski

Photography by Frank Lawlor

Recipe to link:

Sourdough Waffles with Gingered Cherries