I have not had great experiences with Papa & Barkley’s transdermal patches – see my review of them here. As I always want to give products the benefit of the doubt, I tried a 3:1 formulation with 21mg of THC and 7.76mg of CBD. I document the effects I experienced throughout a day in this post.

Morning

9:10 am – After a shower, applied alcohol to the inside wrist to clean it. Opened the Papa & Barkley patch container. I noticed discoloration and “seeping” of the ingredients from inside the patch to the patch surface, which shows up as discolored brown areas. I tried wiping off the sticky area but they just pill and clump, the stickiness won’t wipe off. I noticed the strong smell of camphor that is usual with this brand of transdermal patch. I set a timer to help document effects.

9:25am – I begin to feel some irritation on my skin, partly the menthol and camphor but also an uncomfortable slight stinging sensation.

9:50am – I feel some impacts of the THC in my sinuses and somewhat in my body. I feel very little pain relief. The stinging sensation where the patch is on my skin continues, a little more irritating but not so painful that I want to remove it.

10:05am – I’m feeling more of the THC effect, stronger “high” feeling in my muscles, slightly spacey head. Very mild pain relief, as if I took a dose of ibuprofen.

10:50am – Effect has plateaued, been steady for about the last 30 minutes. From the effects I’m experiencing I think the THC in this batch might be a Sativa-dominant hybrid, as I feel the head-focused effects more than any body effects. The heady effects include heightened senses, especially sight and smell, some calming, anti-anxiety effects and a mild sense of well being. There were also some mild relaxing body effects.

Afternoon

12:20pm – Effects stayed pretty consistent over the last two hours. Went for a nice long walk with the dog and didn’t feel too tired or lethargic, energy stayed pretty steady. Consistent irritating feeling where the patch is.

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1:21pm – After lunch, the effects decreased noticeably. Instead of a tired, nap-oriented feeling it is more like a fading of the effects. Still experienced some relaxing effects and ability to concentrate is still good but the energy and head effects have diminished. Stinging on skin at patch site remains as does very strong unpleasant smell of menthol and camphor.

2:00pm – With the effects almost gone and the stinging on the skin continuing, I removed the patch and cleaned the area with alcohol. Left a pink/red patch on my skin from the irritation.

Conclusion

While the patches are effective, the drawbacks of the leaky patch plus the irritation to my nose and my skin turns me off from these patches. I have friends who are less sensitive to the smell and the skin irritation that use them to manage pain and inflammation, so I know some folks don’t experience the same downsides as I do.

My preference is still for Mary’s Medicinals patches