Trail Blazers is a series of portraits by photographer Maria Levitov, spotlighting cannabis consumers from all walks of life.

Kai Alexander moved to Colorado from North Dakota a little over a decade ago, eventually taking part in two of the state's most notorious resources: craft beer and cannabis. A transgender and recent divorcé, Alexander now works for one of Aurora's most popular breweries, using cannabis to help treat his longstanding anxiety and depression.

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Maria Levitov

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"I’m thirty years old, originally from Grand Forks, North Dakota. I am a beertender at Comrade Brewing Company, which is the least stressful thing about my life. Over the past few months, I have been drowning in anxious thoughts and feelings, because of all of the hard in my life right now. I am a transgender individual going through a divorce and a lot of personal turmoil. I was first diagnosed with depression and anxiety at the age of twelve."

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Maria Levitov

"Over the years, I have been given a ton of medications to help with anxiety and/or sleep, none of which have worked as well as marijuana. Cannabis allows me to simply shut down all anxious feelings in order to get a good night's sleep. I feel so lucky to live here in Colorado — with legal weed — where I can calm all the worry from all of my life's unknowns."