Kin Slips’ Park Life sublingual strips are touted as a go-to product for physical comfort and relief. CBD products are generally great for chronic pain management and overall wellness routines because they give you all the benefits of cannabis without the psychoactive high of THC. I use CBD-heavy edibles and salves to help with the lingering injuries my body has incurred over the years. I’m in my 30s now; things hurt.

My hope was for the Kin Slips to provide me some pain relief for my temperamental knee. I’m training to scale Mt. Whitney (casual, I know), so I figured there was no better time to try the Park Life slips than after my six-mile run a couple Saturdays ago.

“You’ll definitely need a beverage handy to help wash down that aftertaste.”

But before we get into that, let me start by describing how these slips actually work. The packaging is super sleek, super discreet, and the slip sort of looks like a Listerine strip topped with a layer of sugar. When you first open the package, you’re greeted by an appealing fruity, herbal scent. Unlike Listerine strips, you place the Kin Slips under your tongue instead of on top. Within a few seconds the strip begins to dissolve. While the initial flavor was similar to dried peaches, it was quickly overpowered by a harsh, bitter taste that extended from my mouth to my throat. The scratchy throat was a bit of a turn off and made me feel like I’d just smoked a poor quality joint. You’ll definitely need a beverage handy to help wash down that aftertaste.

After taking the slip, I spent the following few hours hanging out in my backyard. It was a warm, sunny day and while I was in a relaxing place, I couldn’t really discern any notable effect on my physical pain—or, well, any discernible effect at all. I almost questioned whether I had even taken the Park Life slip except for the lingering irritation in my throat. As someone who typically benefits from a 10mg dose of CBD, I was a bit disappointed I didn’t feel any pain relief.

The following day I went to Disneyland for a friend’s birthday, an experience my body would normally struggle with. So much walking. Oh, and did I mention screaming children? I was pretty nervous about my overall stress level and knee pain. So, armed with knee braces, my Pax Era, and some coffee to wash it down, I once again dissolved a (Theme) Park Life slip under my tongue with a few tools in my arsenal should the effects fail to kick in. I should mention the discreet nature of the slip made it extremely easy to consume while waiting in line for Splash Mountain.

Forty minutes later (and still in line) I was feeling surprisingly good. My mind wasn’t on my knee and the crowds weren't annoying the hell out of me. As you can probably guess, I’m not the biggest fan of crowds. My music festival days are numbered, and knowing that my future will one day require frequent trips to more people-packed, child-friendly places like Disneyland fills me with just the slightest bit of dread.

“I managed to feel not just alright, but good.”

Luckily, Kip Slips was along for the ride as I walked past a mess of strollers and children having meltdowns. We waited in line for Autopia next to a family of very, uh, rambunctious children. I rolled my eyes, but I did not grit my teeth. My overall anxiety was noticeably subdued. Throughout a long day of walking, I managed to feel not just alright, but good. While I did take some Ibuprofen to help with my knee, I attribute some of my mental calm (well, as calm as you can be at Disneyland) to the Park Life slip.

Kin Slips ultimately lived up to its claim for relief and provided mild cerebral relaxation under the right situation. Compared to traditional edibles, the sublingual strips provided relief much faster because they didn’t need to go through my whole digestive system to deliver the effects. Park Life is also a great option if you are looking for a product that is discreet enough to consume in situations where smoking may not be an option. If you’re looking for a CBD product to help purely with pain relief, Park Life is likely not for you. Lord Jones’ CBD gummies are a good alternative option for pain relief since they are similarly discreet but, at 20mg, provide twice the dose. That said, if you’re trying to take the edge off and relieve anxiety, the calming comfort of Park Life might be worth trying—as long as you have a solid chaser, Disney-themed or otherwise.