Dr Selena Eon

11/20/2025

I love to keep you updated with any cannabis-related legislation that could impact patient health. The current proposal to change guidelines for cannabis testing regarding terpene content: WSR 22-23-001 rulemaking, or 246-70 rulemaking depending on the entity of consideration. Producers and processors of medical cannabis are not required to test for terpene content, nor to include this information on the label, although they may choose to do so.

Please note that these opinions are my own and in no way reflect the opinion of my employer or any other person.

My experience working with patients is that terpenes are important. Before our current regulated system was in place, I used a system I called “follow your nose” in which I taught patients how to smell different cannabis flower cultivars and select medical flower based on smell. The smell is largely caused by the terpenes in flowers. Smell 10 different cultivars of cannabis and you’ll notice they are different. Although no significant research into medical effects of terpenes exists in a clinically useful way at this time, I suspect we will find that terpenes have useful medical effects and that cannabis is not simply medicinal because of the cannabinoids we are most familiar with (CBD, THC, etc). Having tracked patient cannabis medicine use for 17 years, I am confident that it is not simply the THC/CBD and other cannabinoids that provide the medical benefit. As patients are not simply seeking psychoactivity (THC), it is critical that we consider all other bioactive compounds in this complex plant and their medical effects.

As cannabis medicine has changed significantly in WA state since the time I used “follow your nose” I am personally interested in having the same information available for patients in a more scientific and useful way- testing for terpenes and providing this content on the label. Beyond flower sold in hermetically sealed smell-free packaging, many of my patients now use other products where smelling wouldn’t be particularly helpful for determining terpene content anyway! I currently have patients who are very sensitive to cannabis cultivars and need to carefully track what they use to maximize medical benefit. These patients often need to create their own spreadsheets, and research what terpenes may be present in their medicine to help guide them. It is of particular concern when a product or cultivar that works for the patient is no longer available and we need to find the closest match. A reminder that medical cannabis patients have serious health conditions- changing their medication is no small matter.

The industry in general feels this proposal to be unnecessary, to not be helpful for patients, and to add costs that could force smaller licensees out of the business. If you disagree with this, you have an opportunity to share your opinion please do so. Those of us who are for terpene information are currently outweighed by the industry comments. Each comment counts!

Comments to DOH should be sent to medicalcannabis@doh.wa.gov.
Be sure to place: WSR 22-23-001 rulemaking, or 246-70 rulemaking in the subject line.

If you have questions or want to become more involved with the patient terpene effort you can also contact homegrow2018@gmail.com.

Thank you for your interest in medical cannabis!

08/29/2025

It's been bittersweet to place and track as the community places them. When I read that Goat Mountain had a wet register I knew it was time to replace it with one Jake would have approved of. We took the old wet register home and after it dried found familiar signatures.

I also visited Moonshine, Michael and Terrance bringing me that much further on my quest to visit all the lakes in the . alpine lakes brings me joy.

❤️

07/31/2025

A solo lakebag adventure to the most geographically remote lake in the alpine lakes wilderness. I took the shovel gorge route to shovel, Rebecca and Rowena via waptus river trail, sleeping at lake Rebecca. This route has some challenges starting with finding the disappearing shovel gorge bootpath, which is imperceptible from the PCT. After a lot of talus from small to cabin sized I stayed right of the twin waterfalls to shovel lake and sandpipers on the beach. I bushwhacked to find beautiful lake Rebecca and finally lake Rowena with her fantastic view of bears breast.

07/29/2025

07/24/2025

We spend so much energy defending against uncertainty and pain, against being wrong and being changed. But vulnerability is not weakness—it’s a doorway to healing, meaning, and a world quietly alive with beauty. It is so important to not allow yourself to be stuck in the cycle of always wanting to be "right" and embrace the inherent uncertainty of life while still making the best choices we can.

I've been thinking so much about how to make life better and I think the simplest answer is to go forth with an open heart and do your personal best to help anyone you can. Sometimes at work I see patients who are doing the equivalent of "screaming into the void" because they feel unseen, unheard and are struggling. It never ceases to surprise me how the simple gift of taking the time to listen with my heart open to what they have to say , even if I don't have anything new to offer, can be so profound.

Photo of me by Jake back in 2019 on the summit of West McMillan Spire. Jake (minorly) injured his back on the way up this peak, I was so worried we would need an evac but we found ways to help him so we could make our way out together the next day ❤

03/04/2025

Happy Heavenly Birthday Jake.
You’d be 30 today. It’s now been more years since you died than I spent with you yet I think of you every day. What I think about are usually the little things, inconsequential in life but always present:
💙Jake would love this mountain
💙I wish I could sing this song to Jake and have him figure it out on the guitar in about 2 minutes
💙Jake would be giggling at how nervous I am about driving right now. He’d say “steady inputs, no sudden moves”
💙Jake would already be at the summit waiting for me
💙Jake would encourage me to try harder
💙Jake would be talking about my body mechanics right now because I’m hiking funny
💙Jake wouldn’t throw this sock away just because there’s a hole in it. (I’d darn it for him)
After Jake died I talked about him with my Grandma. She told me that the hardest part of aging is losing the people you love. As she died 2.5 months ago at age 100, she would know this lesson so much more than I—but she is right. It may be the hardest part of my life so far, outliving the people that I love and wishing they could be here right now.

This picture brings back good memories for me: Jake on his 99th bulger peak, Azurite on June 2nd, 2019. We tried the weekend before but turned around en route because of avalanche danger on the traverse around Mount Hardy. He was determined enough that we came back the following weekend. We arrived at the trailhead the night before to sleep, where he realized he forgot his hiking pants. We searched through my wardrobe and found that this pair of mine fit… kinda… well enough for the trip anyway. I have repaired the pants since then because of holes but I continue to wear them and chuckle about him wearing them. He loved to take his shoes off on the summit and air his feet out, just like this.

12/17/2024

While I cannot change what happened in the past, I have immense power to reinterpret and reframe those events in my mind, allowing me to shape how they impact my present and future by choosing how I narrate them to myself.

What kinds of things might I choose to reinterpret and reframe? Shame. Grief. Health challenges. Consider anything that cannot be changed and causes distress as a past event you would benefit from reinterpreting and reframing. This doesn't mean that I deny negative consequences, rather than I work with what happened and the potential positive benefits I already have, or could find in that event. This is the opposite of victimhood, empowerment.

What I mean by "my story" is how I choose to interpret the event, in a way that emphasizes my physical, spiritual and mental health moving forward. This gives me the power to influence my emotions and thereby my behaviors in the present, and in my future.

An example: My beloved Jake wanted me to ski so badly but with Covid closures opportunity was scant until after he died. When I finally tried, I ended up falling. I broke my rib, collapsed my lung and tore all 4 muscles of my rotator cuff. One muscle was torn completely. I was in severe pain for over 3 years while I went through medical treatments. I struggled with this series of events. My first interpretation was that "not only had he died, but I failed at learning to ski". But is this true?

As time has passed I realize that my interpretation isn't really true. I tried and it's okay if skiing isn't for me. My physical pain provided me with empathy for my patients who are in pain. I know what it is to be unable to sleep becuase I can't find a comfortable position. I know what it is to learn to accept help from others for things I cannot do myself. I know what it is to be determined each day to grow stronger and heal so I can climb another day. There were gifts hiding in my pain.

Is something in your past holding you back? Try reinterpreting your situation and see if a different lens into the truth provides you with renewed power and peace.

Photo: Climbing Chimney Rock. Photo by

11/06/2024

Photos from a upcycled 1 of a kind fashion show where and I showed 15 outfits.

I enjoy a complex design challenge. Can I weave a dress of plastic bags intended for the landfill? Can I take a huge bag of t-shirt scraps and braid them into a gown? Can I create a winter goddess ensemble featuring vintage doilies, tablecloths and handkerchiefs? Design my own pants pattern and sew it all from leftover jeans hems from a tailor shop? Create a garment and "sew" all the seams by poking holes and braiding them together? Use tiny rectangles of cashmere to make a hood like a lion's ruff? What about a weekender sized shoulder bag from leather upholstery samples? Indeed I can. After sewing creatively for over 40 years, I develop my own techniques to make these challenges (and more) happen. You won't find these instructions in a pattern, or a tiktok video.

I am a strong proponent of art. Creating art and appreciating art is so healthy for our brains! You do NOT have to be good at it! Sing a song, paint a picture, learn a new technique, make a mess.... it's all beneficial.

10/15/2024

“As the poet Robert Frost put it, "The only way out is through/" And the only good way through is together. Even when circumstances separate us - in fact, especially when they do - the way through is together.”
― John Green

I often think about challenges in life because life is a series of challenges. We don't always get to dictate what comes our way, but we have infinite ability to choose how we respond to those challenges. I love that I have worked my neural circuits to no longer see disagreements as attacks. I no longer see external validation (such as how many followers I have on here!) as proof of my value. I no longer see difficulties in my path as punishment for the past. I know that "nice" is often manipulation, and that honest compassion is the path forward. Each day is a new opportunity to move forward, to be better than I am today. Aging is a gift that not everyone gets-- grow older and wiser with me.

The Painted Traverse is a classic route in the Glacier Peak Wilderness. It's a committing route, and like many challenges in life, the way out is through it! We climbed Skalabats, Painted (Red), Magenta, Black, Brown, Skullcap, Purple, Portal and White peaks along this spectacular high route over two days in August. As you see from the photo of my watch, it's STEEP- yes that says 10 miles, and nearly 8500 gain on the summit of Black with another 3500 vert to go the next day.

We found two summit registers on Black mountain. One was soaking wet, and a register placed by stated that he placed the new one because the other was so wet.... two years ago! I took it home, carefully dried it out over a two week period and was finally able to unfurl and admire the PNW mountain legend signatures I found within.

10/01/2024

On a hike in 2023, and I discussed the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon R3 (Rim-to-rim-to-rim) is a classic epic trail run. We decided to try for it, and a few months later bought plane tickets! There are a couple of route options, the one we chose was 43.5 miles and over 11,000 vertical. It sounded daunting, and longer than we had hiked in a day, but we felt collectively that we could support each other through it in one day.

I run, but it's not because I'm a runner. I run to train for mountaineering. Although I can and have run up to 20 miles without stopping, I felt confident there was no way I could run 43.5 miles so it made more sense to plan on powerhiking the route. I've hiked up to 37 miles in a day carrying full mountaineering gear. I worried about my feet hiking 43 miles.... would my feet make it? The 11,000 vertical was less concerning to me as I've done several days with more vertical gain than that. Even though a small bit of my brain was worried I wouldn't make it, most of me felt that I could do it even if it was uncomfortable.

The experience was incredible, the drop into the canyon. Crossing the opaque green Colorado river. 9 miles with steep canyon walls on either side of us. The North Kaibib trail carved into the cliffs. Snow at the north rim. Talking to others experiencing this with us.

The hard part for me was the last 7 miles, 5000 gain uphill starting at mile 37. Nick said "it'll take just 2 hours". I knew it would take me 3 and it did. I treasure this experience

09/18/2024

I recently attended my grandmother's 100th birthday party. Her accomplishments are many, including travelling to 59 countries. She passed her love of exploring our world on to me. There is always something new to see. You can start by noticing all the details in an "everyday" place by choosing a nearby tree, rock, building or waterway. Spend 10 minutes with it and slowly take it all in.

Or go big and take the trail less travelled in a Uber popular place... My brother and I didn't see anyone in two days on the trail. Then we went farther, away from the trail to this meadow where Ansel Adams may have camped, with a view of a peak names after him. A storm kicked in so we hunkered down for the wind, thunder and hail yet the storm also brought us this sunset. Taking in the essence of a place like this can heal you.

08/14/2024

How much of your life is truly comfortable?

I can only speak for my life and with veracity I can attest that much of what I do on a daily basis is uncomfortable, sometimes potently so. This discomfort isn't an enemy, it's a gift. When we notice discomfort in our life, it's an invitation to inquire about why.

Sometimes discomfort is physical, sometimes it's emotional and sometimes it is BOTH. I'm in the process of healing from a serious shoulder injury. While learning to ski in late 2020, I took 3 hard falls in a row. Initially I thought my injuries were broken ribs, bruised and collapsed lungs and a bunch of gnarly bruises. It was so hard to deal with this injury in the wake of the death of my dear love Jake. I had learned to ski for him, as he wished for me to do. Now I was alone, in a spartan apartment with only a bed and a folding chair. My physical pain and emotional pain were one in many ways during these weeks. As my chest healed, I started to notice that my right arm and shoulder weren't right. I started to lose strength, mobility and function in my right arm. I was frequently awake at night in pain, unable to find a comfortable position to sleep in. Sometimes nerve pain would zing down my arm into my fingers, making it difficult to sew, cook or type. I grieved having an arm that worked well.

Even as a doc, I jumped through the same hoops as others with chronic pain. A year of physical therapy, which did help. My PT was a climbing specialist who informed that I *should* be feeling a lot better than I was, gently pressing me to move on. I got an MRI that taught me a lot. The shoulder is a complex structure, and I had at least something wrong with every structure of interest other than a lack of arthritis in my glenohumoral (shoulder) joint. The worst of it was a full thickness tear of my supraspinatus muscle, however, all my rotator cuff muscles were torn, my bicep tendon was injured and there was arthritis sprinkled about like a sparkly topping to my injury layer cake.

It was a gift to finally have the answer to WHY. My lesson here: always inquire when discomfort and pain show up for you. The answer might be challenging but you need to know.