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FlashBack #2 de Sweet Seeds

Cannabis (/ˈkænəbɪs/) is a genus of flowering plant that includes three species (and seven taxa) or subspecies, sativa, indica, and ruderalis. The plant is indigenous to central Asia and the Indian subcontinent.

 

Cannabis has long been used for hemp fibre, for hemp oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a recreational drug. Industrial hemp products are made from cannabis plants selected to produce an abundance of fiber. To satisfy the UN Narcotics Convention, some cannabis strains have been bred to produce minimal levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the principal psychoactive constituent. Many plants have been selectively bred to produce a maximum of THC (cannabinoids), which is obtained by curing the flowers. Various compounds, including hashish and hash oil, are extracted from the plant.

 

Globally, in 2013, 60,400 kilograms of cannabis were produced legally. In 2013 between 128 and 232 million people are thought to have used cannabis as a recreational drug (2.7% to 4.9% of the global population between the ages of 15 and 65).

 

DESCIPTION

Cannabis is an annual, dioecious, flowering herb. The leaves are palmately compound or digitate, with serrate leaflets. The first pair of leaves usually have a single leaflet, the number gradually increasing up to a maximum of about thirteen leaflets per leaf (usually seven or nine), depending on variety and growing conditions. At the top of a flowering plant, this number again diminishes to a single leaflet per leaf. The lower leaf pairs usually occur in an opposite leaf arrangement and the upper leaf pairs in an alternate arrangement on the main stem of a mature plant.

 

The leaves have a peculiar and diagnostic venation pattern that enables persons poorly familiar with the plant to distinguish a cannabis leaf from unrelated species that have confusingly similar leaves (see illustration). As is common in serrated leaves, each serration has a central vein extending to its tip. However, the serration vein originates from lower down the central vein of the leaflet, typically opposite to the position of, not the first notch down, but the next notch. This means that on its way from the midrib of the leaflet to the point of the serration, the vein serving the tip of the serration passes close by the intervening notch. Sometimes the vein will actually pass tangent to the notch, but often it will pass by at a small distance, and when that happens a spur vein (occasionally a pair of such spur veins) branches off and joins the leaf margin at the deepest point of the notch. This venation pattern varies slightly among varieties, but in general it enables one to tell Cannabis leaves from superficially similar leaves without difficulty and without special equipment. Tiny samples of Cannabis plants also can be identified with precision by microscopic examination of leaf cells and similar features, but that requires special expertise and equipment.

 

The plant is believed to have originated in the mountainous regions northwest of the Himalayas.[citation needed] It is also known as hemp, although this term is often used to refer only to varieties of Cannabis cultivated for non-drug use.

 

REPRODUCTION

Cannabis normally has imperfect flowers, with staminate "male" and pistillate "female" flowers occurring on separate plants. It is not unusual, however, for individual plants to bear both male and female flowers. Although monoecious plants are often referred to as "hermaphrodites", true hermaphrodites (which are less common) bear staminate and pistillate structures on individual flowers, whereas monoecious plants bear male and female flowers at different locations on the same plant. Male flowers are normally borne on loose panicles, and female flowers are borne on racemes. "At a very early period the Chinese recognized the Cannabis plant as dioecious", and the (c. 3rd century BCE) Erya dictionary defined xi 枲 "male Cannabis" and fu 莩 (or ju 苴) "female Cannabis".

 

All known strains of Cannabis are wind-pollinated and the fruit is an achene. Most strains of Cannabis are short day plants, with the possible exception of C. sativa subsp. sativa var. spontanea (= C. ruderalis), which is commonly described as "auto-flowering" and may be day-neutral.

 

BIOCHEMISTRY AND DRUGS

Cannabis plants produce a group of chemicals called cannabinoids, which produce mental and physical effects when consumed.

 

Cannabinoids, terpenoids, and other compounds are secreted by glandular trichomes that occur most abundantly on the floral calyxes and bracts of female plants. As a drug it usually comes in the form of dried flower buds (marijuana), resin (hashish), or various extracts collectively known as hashish oil. In the early 20th century, it became illegal in most of the world to cultivate or possess Cannabis for sale or personal use.

 

CHROMOSOMES AND GENOME

Cannabis, like many organisms, is diploid, having a chromosome complement of 2n=20, although polyploid individuals have been artificially produced. The first genome sequence of Cannabis, which is estimated to be 820 Mb in size, was published in 2011 by a team of Canadian scientists.

 

TAXONOMY

The genus Cannabis was formerly placed in the Nettle (Urticaceae) or Mulberry (Moraceae) family, and later, along with the Humulus genus (hops), in a separate family, the Hemp family (Cannabaceae sensu stricto). Recent phylogenetic studies based on cpDNA restriction site analysis and gene sequencing strongly suggest that the Cannabaceae sensu stricto arose from within the former Celtidaceae family, and that the two families should be merged to form a single monophyletic family, the Cannabaceae sensu lato.

 

Various types of Cannabis have been described, and variously classified as species, subspecies, or varieties:

 

- plants cultivated for fiber and seed production, described as low-intoxicant, non-drug, or fiber types.

- plants cultivated for drug production, described as high-intoxicant or drug types.

- escaped, hybridised, or wild forms of either of the above types.

 

Cannabis plants produce a unique family of terpeno-phenolic compounds called cannabinoids, which produce the "high" one experiences from consuming marijuana. There are 483 identifiable chemical constituents known to exist in the cannabis plant, and at least 85 different cannabinoids have been isolated from the plant. The two cannabinoids usually produced in greatest abundance are cannabidiol (CBD) and/or Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), but only THC is psychoactive. Since the early 1970s, Cannabis plants have been categorized by their chemical phenotype or "chemotype", based on the overall amount of THC produced, and on the ratio of THC to CBD. Although overall cannabinoid production is influenced by environmental factors, the THC/CBD ratio is genetically determined and remains fixed throughout the life of a plant. Non-drug plants produce relatively low levels of THC and high levels of CBD, while drug plants produce high levels of THC and low levels of CBD. When plants of these two chemotypes cross-pollinate, the plants in the first filial (F1) generation have an intermediate chemotype and produce similar amounts of CBD and THC. Female plants of this chemotype may produce enough THC to be utilized for drug production.

 

Whether the drug and non-drug, cultivated and wild types of Cannabis constitute a single, highly variable species, or the genus is polytypic with more than one species, has been a subject of debate for well over two centuries. This is a contentious issue because there is no universally accepted definition of a species. One widely applied criterion for species recognition is that species are "groups of actually or potentially interbreeding natural populations which are reproductively isolated from other such groups." Populations that are physiologically capable of interbreeding, but morphologically or genetically divergent and isolated by geography or ecology, are sometimes considered to be separate species. Physiological barriers to reproduction are not known to occur within Cannabis, and plants from widely divergent sources are interfertile. However, physical barriers to gene exchange (such as the Himalayan mountain range) might have enabled Cannabis gene pools to diverge before the onset of human intervention, resulting in speciation. It remains controversial whether sufficient morphological and genetic divergence occurs within the genus as a result of geographical or ecological isolation to justify recognition of more than one species.

 

HISTORY OF CANNABIS

Cannabis sativa appears naturally in many tropical and humid parts of the world. Its use as a mind-altering drug has been documented by archaeological finds in prehistoric societies in Euro-Asia and Africa.

 

The oldest written record of cannabis usage is the Greek historian Herodotus's reference to the central Eurasian Scythians taking cannabis steam baths. His (c. 440 BCE) Histories records, "The Scythians, as I said, take some of this hemp-seed [presumably, flowers], and, creeping under the felt coverings, throw it upon the red-hot stones; immediately it smokes, and gives out such a vapour as no Grecian vapour-bath can exceed; the Scyths, delighted, shout for joy." Classical Greeks and Romans were using cannabis, while in the Middle East, use spread throughout the Islamic empire to North Africa. In 1545 cannabis spread to the western hemisphere where Spaniards imported it to Chile for its use as fiber. In North America cannabis, in the form of hemp, was grown for use in rope, clothing and paper.

 

EARLY CLASSIFICATIONS

The Cannabis genus was first classified using the "modern" system of taxonomic nomenclature by Carl Linnaeus in 1753, who devised the system still in use for the naming of species. He considered the genus to be monotypic, having just a single species that he named Cannabis sativa L. (L. stands for Linnaeus, and indicates the authority who first named the species). Linnaeus was familiar with European hemp, which was widely cultivated at the time. In 1785, noted evolutionary biologist Jean-Baptiste de Lamarck published a description of a second species of Cannabis, which he named Cannabis indica Lam. Lamarck based his description of the newly named species on plant specimens collected in India. He described C. indica as having poorer fiber quality than C. sativa, but greater utility as an inebriant. Additional Cannabis species were proposed in the 19th century, including strains from China and Vietnam (Indo-China) assigned the names Cannabis chinensis Delile, and Cannabis gigantea Delile ex Vilmorin. However, many taxonomists found these putative species difficult to distinguish. In the early 20th century, the single-species concept was still widely accepted, except in the Soviet Union where Cannabis continued to be the subject of active taxonomic study. The name Cannabis indica was listed in various Pharmacopoeias, and was widely used to designate Cannabis suitable for the manufacture of medicinal preparations.

 

20TH CENTURY

In 1924, Russian botanist D.E. Janichevsky concluded that ruderal Cannabis in central Russia is either a variety of C. sativa or a separate species, and proposed C. sativa L. var. ruderalis Janisch. and Cannabis ruderalis Janisch. as alternative names. In 1929, renowned plant explorer Nikolai Vavilov assigned wild or feral populations of Cannabis in Afghanistan to C. indica Lam. var. kafiristanica Vav., and ruderal populations in Europe to C. sativa L. var. spontanea Vav. In 1940, Russian botanists Serebriakova and Sizov proposed a complex classification in which they also recognized C. sativa and C. indica as separate species. Within C. sativa they recognized two subspecies: C. sativa L. subsp. culta Serebr. (consisting of cultivated plants), and C. sativa L. subsp. spontanea (Vav.) Serebr. (consisting of wild or feral plants). Serebriakova and Sizov split the two C. sativa subspecies into 13 varieties, including four distinct groups within subspecies culta. However, they did not divide C. indica into subspecies or varieties. This excessive splitting of C. sativa proved too unwieldy, and never gained many adherents.

 

In the 1970s, the taxonomic classification of Cannabis took on added significance in North America. Laws prohibiting Cannabis in the United States and Canada specifically named products of C. sativa as prohibited materials. Enterprising attorneys for the defense in a few drug busts argued that the seized Cannabis material may not have been C. sativa, and was therefore not prohibited by law. Attorneys on both sides recruited botanists to provide expert testimony. Among those testifying for the prosecution was Dr. Ernest Small, while Dr. Richard E. Schultes and others testified for the defense. The botanists engaged in heated debate (outside of court), and both camps impugned the other's integrity. The defense attorneys were not often successful in winning their case, because the intent of the law was clear.

 

In 1976, Canadian botanist Ernest Small and American taxonomist Arthur Cronquist published a taxonomic revision that recognizes a single species of Cannabis with two subspecies: C. sativa L. subsp. sativa, and C. sativa L. subsp. indica (Lam.) Small & Cronq. The authors hypothesized that the two subspecies diverged primarily as a result of human selection; C. sativa subsp. sativa was presumably selected for traits that enhance fiber or seed production, whereas C. sativa subsp. indica was primarily selected for drug production. Within these two subspecies, Small and Cronquist described C. sativa L. subsp. sativa var. spontanea Vav. as a wild or escaped variety of low-intoxicant Cannabis, and C. sativa subsp. indica var. kafiristanica (Vav.) Small & Cronq. as a wild or escaped variety of the high-intoxicant type. This classification was based on several factors including interfertility, chromosome uniformity, chemotype, and numerical analysis of phenotypic characters.

 

Professors William Emboden, Loran Anderson, and Harvard botanist Richard E. Schultes and coworkers also conducted taxonomic studies of Cannabis in the 1970s, and concluded that stable morphological differences exist that support recognition of at least three species, C. sativa, C. indica, and C. ruderalis. For Schultes, this was a reversal of his previous interpretation that Cannabis is monotypic, with only a single species. According to Schultes' and Anderson's descriptions, C. sativa is tall and laxly branched with relatively narrow leaflets, C. indica is shorter, conical in shape, and has relatively wide leaflets, and C. ruderalis is short, branchless, and grows wild in central Asia. This taxonomic interpretation was embraced by Cannabis aficionados who commonly distinguish narrow-leafed "sativa" drug strains from wide-leafed "indica" drug strains.

 

CONTINUING RESEARCH

Molecular analytical techniques developed in the late 20th century are being applied to questions of taxonomic classification. This has resulted in many reclassifications based on evolutionary systematics. Several studies of Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and other types of genetic markers have been conducted on drug and fiber strains of Cannabis, primarily for plant breeding and forensic purposes. Dutch Cannabis researcher E.P.M. de Meijer and coworkers described some of their RAPD studies as showing an "extremely high" degree of genetic polymorphism between and within populations, suggesting a high degree of potential variation for selection, even in heavily selected hemp cultivars. They also commented that these analyses confirm the continuity of the Cannabis gene pool throughout the studied accessions, and provide further confirmation that the genus comprises a single species, although theirs was not a systematic study per se.

 

Karl W. Hillig, a graduate student in the laboratory of long-time Cannabis researcher Paul G. Mahlberg at Indiana University, conducted a systematic investigation of genetic, morphological, and chemotaxonomic variation among 157 Cannabis accessions of known geographic origin, including fiber, drug, and feral populations. In 2004, Hillig and Mahlberg published a chemotaxomic analysis of cannabinoid variation in their Cannabis germplasm collection. They used gas chromatography to determine cannabinoid content and to infer allele frequencies of the gene that controls CBD and THC production within the studied populations, and concluded that the patterns of cannabinoid variation support recognition of C. sativa and C. indica as separate species, but not C. ruderalis. The authors assigned fiber/seed landraces and feral populations from Europe, central Asia, and Asia Minor to C. sativa. Narrow-leaflet and wide-leaflet drug accessions, southern and eastern Asian hemp accessions, and feral Himalayan populations were assigned to C. indica. In 2005, Hillig published a genetic analysis of the same set of accessions (this paper was the first in the series, but was delayed in publication), and proposed a three-species classification, recognizing C. sativa, C. indica, and (tentatively) C. ruderalis. In his doctoral dissertation published the same year, Hillig stated that principal components analysis of phenotypic (morphological) traits failed to differentiate the putative species, but that canonical variates analysis resulted in a high degree of discrimination of the putative species and infraspecific taxa. Another paper in the series on chemotaxonomic variation in the terpenoid content of the essential oil of Cannabis revealed that several wide-leaflet drug strains in the collection had relatively high levels of certain sesquiterpene alcohols, including guaiol and isomers of eudesmol, that set them apart from the other putative taxa. Hillig concluded that the patterns of genetic, morphological, and chemotaxonomic variation support recognition of C. sativa and C. indica as separate species. He also concluded there is little support to treat C. ruderalis as a separate species from C. sativa at this time, but more research on wild and weedy populations is needed because they were underrepresented in their collection.

 

In September 2005, New Scientist reported that researchers at the Canberra Institute of Technology had identified a new type of Cannabis based on analysis of mitochondrial and chloroplast DNA. The New Scientist story, which was picked up by many news agencies and web sites, indicated that the research was to be published in the journal Forensic Science International.

 

POPULAR USAGE

The scientific debate regarding taxonomy has had little effect on the terminology in widespread use among cultivators and users of drug-type Cannabis. Cannabis aficionados recognize three distinct types based on such factors as morphology, native range, aroma, and subjective psychoactive characteristics. Sativa is the most widespread variety, which is usually tall, laxly branched, and found in warm lowland regions. Indica designates shorter, bushier plants adapted to cooler climates and highland environments. Ruderalis is the informal name for the short plants that grow wild in Europe and central Asia.

 

Breeders, seed companies, and cultivators of drug type Cannabis often describe the ancestry or gross phenotypic characteristics of cultivars by categorizing them as "pure indica", "mostly indica", "indica/sativa", "mostly sativa", or "pure sativa".

 

USES

Cannabis is used for a wide variety of purposes.

 

RECREATIONAL USE

Cannabis is a popular recreational drug around the world, only behind alcohol, caffeine and tobacco. In the United States alone, it is believed that over 100 million Americans have tried cannabis, with 25 million Americans having used it within the past year.

 

The psychoactive effects of cannabis are known to have a biphasic nature. Primary psychoactive effects include a state of relaxation, and to a lesser degree, euphoria from its main psychoactive compound, tetrahydrocannabinol. Secondary psychoactive effects, such as a facility for philosophical thinking, introspection and metacognition have been reported amongst cases of anxiety and paranoia. Finally, the tertiary psychoactive effects of the drug cannabis, can include an increase in heart rate and hunger, believed to be caused by 11-OH-THC, a psychoactive metabolite of THC produced in the liver.

 

Normal cognition is restored after approximately three hours for larger doses via a smoking pipe, bong or vaporizer. However, if a large amount is taken orally the effects may last much longer. After 24 hours to a few days, minuscule psychoactive effects may be felt, depending on dosage, frequency and tolerance to the drug.

 

Various forms of the drug cannabis exist, including extracts such as hashish and hash oil which, because of appearance, are more susceptible to adulterants when left unregulated.

 

Cannabidiol (CBD), which has no psychotropic effects by itself (although sometimes showing a small stimulant effect, similar to caffeine), attenuates, or reduces the higher anxiety levels caused by THC alone.

 

According to Delphic analysis by British researchers in 2007, cannabis has a lower risk factor for dependence compared to both nicotine and alcohol. However, everyday use of Cannabis can in some cases be correlated with psychological withdrawal symptoms such as irritability and insomnia, and evidence could suggest that if a user experiences stress, the likeliness of getting a panic attack increases because of an increase of THC metabolites. However, cannabis withdrawal symptoms are typically mild and are never life-threatening.

 

MEDICAL USE

Medical cannabis (or medical marijuana) refers to the use of cannabis and its constituent cannabinoids, to treat disease or improve symptoms. Cannabis is used to reduce nausea and vomiting during chemotherapy, to improve appetite in people with HIV/AIDS, and to treat chronic pain and muscle spasms.

 

Short-term use increases both minor and major adverse effects. Common side effects include dizziness, feeling tired, vomiting, and hallucinations. Long-term effects of cannabis are not clear. Concerns including memory and cognition problems, risk of addiction, schizophrenia in young people, and the risk of children taking it by accident.

 

Cannabinoids are under preliminary research for their potential to affect stroke or children's epilepsy.

Industrial use (Hemp)

 

The term hemp is used to name the durable soft fiber from the Cannabis plant stem (stalk). Cannabis sativa cultivars are used for fibers due to their long stems; Sativa varieties may grow more than six metres tall. However, hemp can refer to any industrial or foodstuff product that is not intended for use as a drug. Many countries regulate limits for psychoactive compound (THC) concentrations in products labeled as hemp.

 

Cannabis for industrial uses is valuable in tens of thousands of commercial products, especially as fibre ranging from paper, cordage, construction material and textiles in general, to clothing. Hemp is stronger and longer-lasting than cotton. It also is a useful source of foodstuffs (hemp milk, hemp seed, hemp oil) and biofuels. Hemp has been used by many civilizations, from China to Europe (and later North America) during the last 12,000 years. In modern times novel applications and improvements have been explored with modest commercial success.

 

ANCIENT AND RELIGIOUS USE

The Cannabis plant has a history of medicinal use dating back thousands of years across many cultures. The Yanghai Tombs, a vast ancient cemetery (54 000 m2) situated in the Turfan district of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, have revealed the 2700-year-old grave of a shaman. He is thought to have belonged to the Jushi culture recorded in the area centuries later in the Hanshu, Chap 96B. Near the head and foot of the shaman was a large leather basket and wooden bowl filled with 789g of cannabis, superbly preserved by climatic and burial conditions. An international team demonstrated that this material contained tetrahydrocannabinol, the psychoactive component of cannabis. The cannabis was presumably employed by this culture as a medicinal or psychoactive agent, or an aid to divination. This is the oldest documentation of cannabis as a pharmacologically active agent.

 

Settlements which date from c. 2200–1700 BCE in the Bactria and Margiana contained elaborate ritual structures with rooms containing everything needed for making drinks containing extracts from poppy (opium), hemp (cannabis), and ephedra (which contains ephedrine).

 

"While we have no evidence of the use of ephedra among the steppe tribes, we have already seen that they did share in the cultic use of hemp, a practice that ranged from Romania east to the Yenisei River from at least the 3rd millennium BC onwards where its use was later encountered in the apparatus for smoking hemp found at Pazyryk."

 

Cannabis is first referred to in Hindu Vedas between 2000 and 1400 BCE, in the Atharvaveda. By the 10th century CE, it has been suggested that it was referred to by some in India as "food of the gods". Cannabis use eventually became a ritual part of the Hindu festival of Holi.

 

In Buddhism, cannabis is generally regarded as an intoxicant and may be a hindrance to development of meditation and clear awareness. In ancient Germanic culture, Cannabis was associated with the Norse love goddess, Freya. An anointing oil mentioned in Exodus is, by some translators, said to contain Cannabis. Sufis have used Cannabis in a spiritual context since the 13th century CE.

 

In modern times the Rastafari movement has embraced Cannabis as a sacrament. Elders of the Ethiopian Zion Coptic Church, a religious movement founded in the United States in 1975 with no ties to either Ethiopia or the Coptic Church, consider Cannabis to be the Eucharist, claiming it as an oral tradition from Ethiopia dating back to the time of Christ. Like the Rastafari, some modern Gnostic Christian sects have asserted that Cannabis is the Tree of Life. Other organized religions founded in the 20th century that treat Cannabis as a sacrament are the THC Ministry, Cantheism,[101] the Cannabis Assembly and the Church of Cognizance. Rastafarians tend to be among the biggest consumers of modern Cannabis use.

 

Clay pipes at William Shakespeare's Stratford-upon-Avon garden may contain cannabis, indicating that Shakespeare may have been a cannabis smoker.

 

REPRODUCTION

BREEDING SYSTEMS

Cannabis is predominantly dioecious, although many monoecious varieties have been described. Subdioecy (the occurrence of monoecious individuals and dioecious individuals within the same population) is widespread. Many populations have been described as sexually labile. As a result of intensive selection in cultivation, Cannabis exhibits many sexual phenotypes that can be described in terms of the ratio of female to male flowers occurring in the individual, or typical in the cultivar. Dioecious varieties are preferred for drug production, where the female flowers are used. Dioecious varieties are also preferred for textile fiber production, whereas monoecious varieties are preferred for pulp and paper production. It has been suggested that the presence of monoecy can be used to differentiate licit crops of monoecious hemp from illicit drug crops. However, sativa strains often produce monoecious individuals, probably as a result of inbreeding.

 

SEX DETERMINATION

Cannabis has been described as having one of the most complicated mechanisms of sex determination among the dioecious plants. Many models have been proposed to explain sex determination in Cannabis.

 

Based on studies of sex reversal in hemp, it was first reported by K. Hirata in 1924 that an XY sex-determination system is present. At the time, the XY system was the only known system of sex determination. The X:A system was first described in Drosophila spp in 1925. Soon thereafter, Schaffner disputed Hirata's interpretation, and published results from his own studies of sex reversal in hemp, concluding that an X:A system was in use and that furthermore sex was strongly influenced by environmental conditions.

 

Since then, many different types of sex determination systems have been discovered, particularly in plants. Dioecy is relatively uncommon in the plant kingdom, and a very low percentage of dioecious plant species have been determined to use the XY system. In most cases where the XY system is found it is believed to have evolved recently and independently.

 

Since the 1920s, a number of sex determination models have been proposed for Cannabis. Ainsworth describes sex determination in the genus as using "an X/autosome dosage type".

 

The question of whether heteromorphic sex chromosomes are indeed present is most conveniently answered if such chromosomes were clearly visible in a karyotype. Cannabis was one of the first plant species to be karyotyped; however, this was in a period when karyotype preparation was primitive by modern standards (see History of Cytogenetics). Heteromorphic sex chromosomes were reported to occur in staminate individuals of dioecious "Kentucky" hemp, but were not found in pistillate individuals of the same variety. Dioecious "Kentucky" hemp was assumed to use an XY mechanism. Heterosomes were not observed in analyzed individuals of monoecious "Kentucky" hemp, nor in an unidentified German cultivar. These varieties were assumed to have sex chromosome composition XX. According to other researchers, no modern karyotype of Cannabis had been published as of 1996. Proponents of the XY system state that Y chromosome is slightly larger than the X, but difficult to differentiate cytologically.

 

More recently, Sakamoto and various co-authors have used RAPD to isolate several genetic marker sequences that they name Male-Associated DNA in Cannabis (MADC), and which they interpret as indirect evidence of a male chromosome. Several other research groups have reported identification of male-associated markers using RAPD and AFLP. Ainsworth commented on these findings, stating,

 

"It is not surprising that male-associated markers are relatively abundant. In dioecious plants where sex chromosomes have not been identified, markers for maleness indicate either the presence of sex chromosomes which have not been distinguished by cytological methods or that the marker is tightly linked to a gene involved in sex determination."

 

Environmental sex determination is known to occur in a variety of species. Many researchers have suggested that sex in Cannabis is determined or strongly influenced by environmental factors. Ainsworth reviews that treatment with auxin and ethylene have feminizing effects, and that treatment with cytokinins and gibberellins have masculinizing effects. It has been reported that sex can be reversed in Cannabis using chemical treatment. A PCR-based method for the detection of female-associated DNA polymorphisms by genotyping has been developed.

 

ETYMOLOGY

The word cannabis is from Greek κάνναβις (kánnabis) (see Latin cannabis), which was originally Scythian or Thracian. It is related to the Persian kanab, the English canvas and possibly even to the English hemp (Old English hænep). In modern Hebrew, קַנַּבּוֹס qannabōs (modern pronunciation: [kanaˈbos]) is used but there are those who have theorized that it was referred to in antiquity as קני בושם q'nei bosem, a component of the biblical anointing oil. Old Akkadian qunnabtu, Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian qunnabu were used to refer to the plant meaning "a way to produce smoke."

 

WIKIPEDIA

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46 Reasons why Cannabis Technologies (CAN) will Succeed

 

1) Investing in biotech can be extremely challenging. There is always a chance that someone will come out with a better product. Typically, it takes a decade or more to approval, followed by commercialization. It usually costs tens of millions, to billions of dollars per drug. This can be highly dilutive to a small startup.

 

2) What if one company had a proprietary cookie cutter system targeting a dozen diseases quicker, cheaper and more effective? I am not sure what Cannabis Technologies will be called in a year from now. I think it will have a new name... perhaps GW Pharmaceuticals or Eli Lily? Or Novartis?

 

3) Dr. Hossain was chiefly responsible for a $157 million deal with Novartis a decade ago. There was also a $376 million deal with Teva in 2012 based on one of his discoveries. More on that later.

 

4) Dr. Tarek Mansour (Pfizer) was responsible for multiple FDA approved drugs, where the market value exceeded $1 billion. (Zeffix, Troxatyl, Bosulif, Neratinib and PFE384)

 

5) The big question is...how many therapy product launches, and strategic partnerships will it take before Big Pharma catches on?

 

6) The amplitude of possibilities dictates that Cannabis Technologies will one day be a dominant player in the prescription cannabinoid medicine market.

 

7) Many people now know there are at least 85 different cannabinoids isolated from cannabis exhibiting various effects that could prove therapeutic.

 

8) They also know that cannabidiol (CBD) alone has shown therapeutic benefits to at least 16 diseases.

 

9) CAN will take advantage of Strain differences to develop drugs for specific diseases, including:

 

Glaucoma, Inflammation/Pain/Arthritis, Huntington's, Epilepsy, Diabetes, Obesity, Cancer & Angiogenesis

 

10) CAN's proprietary Cannabinoid Drug Design Platform ("CDP") allows computer science, statistics, mathematics and engineering to study biological data and processes from the cannabis plant which can be targeted to develop therapies for specific diseases and conditions.

 

11) What will CAN's CDP be worth to a company that wants to compete with GWPH...or a better question..what would it be worth to GWPH?

 

12) The main active ingredients in this are the cannabinoids THC and CBD, but other pharmacologically active cannabinoids are also present and are being investigated.

 

13) This Platform Technology, combined with CAN's world renowned scientific team, will enable the company to discover therapies based on proven genomics and unique chemical fingerprints that specific cellular processes leave behind.

 

14) They will do this both quickly and effectively, with very little money, by outsourcing patented products that are ready for clinical trials and allow a company like Novartis (for example) to absorb all the costs through to commercialization. CAN will retain a fair and reasonable interest that may generate substantial revenue.

 

Track Record

 

Dr. Hossain's successful financial deals based on his drug discoveries over the last 15 years include:

 

15) 2004: Xenon, Novartis Enter $157M Deal For Obesity Compounds

 

16) 2006: Xenon and Takeda Announce $75M Agreement To Develop and Commercialize XEN401 for Pain

 

17) 2006: Xenon Enters Into Anemia Collaboration With Roche ($7 Million for Equity, and $44 Million From Research Funding)

 

18) 2012: Teva inks $376M deal on Xenon pain program

 

19) 2009: YM Biosciences Collaboration with the National Research Council of Canada’s Biotechnology Research Institute (NRC-BRI) yielded novel anticancer antibodies that may be safer than similar drugs sold by Genentech/Roche. (another partnership resulted in the production of new breast cancer drug candidates.)

 

20) 2009: NRC-BRI granted Alethia Biotherapeutics exclusive, worldwide diagnostic rights to a peptide that specifically binds to tumor-associated clusterin in cancer patients.

 

Who should CAN target?

 

21) GW Pharmaceuticals has one the broadest clinical pipelines of any company in the marijuana industry...so will CAN.

 

22) Even though GW may be suffering the typical challenges that all biopharma companies have to endure, with costs far outstripping revenues, they had no problem raising $169.8 million last month.

 

23) Over 30 years ago, two young men made their way to Vancouver from Seattle to raise money for their software company, and were unfortunately turned down. Their names were Bill Gates and Paul Allen. Very few understood what they had.

 

24) I think CAN is in the same position today, however, that is changing with Chris Parry writing one of the first articles. Cancer survivor and canabis acdvocate Cheryl Shuman recently endorsed Cannabis Technologies as well.

 

25) If the billionaire activists want Marijuana to be legalized they most likely would want to facilitate the fast tracking of several revolutionary therapies that will indeed improve the lives of the millions of sufferers around the world.

 

26) George Soros has spent at least $80 million on the legalization effort since 1994.

 

27) The late Peter B. Lewis, channeled more than $40 million to influence local debates.

 

28) The two billionaires’ funding has been unmatched by anyone.

 

29) Other wealthy activists include: Google billionaire Paul Buchheit, Facebook forefathers Sean Parker and Dustin Moskovitz, and Men’s Wearhouse founder George Zimmer.

 

30) As of March 31, GWPH had 75 Institutional Holders (sooner or later, they will know about CAN)

 

31) Analyst Firms Making GWPH Recommendations: Bank of America, Cowen, Piper Jaffray, Leerink Swann, and Morgan Stanley.

 

Conclusion Check List: 

 

32) World renowned scientific team with multidisciplinary expertise? Check.

 

33) CSO who has a track record that developed several drugs over 15 years, generating over $500m in revenues? Check

 

34) Global organizations, governments, and big pharma companies that have previously benefitted from the teams research? Check.

 

35) Proprietary Cannabinoid Drug Design Platform? Check.

 

36) Tools to isolate and identify chemical compounds both quickly and effectively? Check.

 

37) In-house Breeding, Genetics and Cultivation division? Check.

 

38) Capable of developing compounds for therapies in months rather than years? Check.

 

39) Target specific diseases and conditions? Check.

 

40) Outsource early-stage research and trials to conserve capital? Check.

 

41) Fast Forward through Phase I, Phase II & Phase III quickly and inexpensively compared to traditional Pharma? Check

 

42) Competitive edge from companies that rely on third-parties to manufacture their treatments? Check

 

43) Fully-integrated operations to lower costs and increase quality? Check

 

44) Capable of commercializing therapies in a 1/3 the time of traditional drug development? Check.

 

45) Anaglous company with a $1.5b market cap? Check

  

46) Developing medicines for:

 

- Glaucoma

- Pain and Inflammation

- Orphan Diseases

- Metabolic Disease (Obesity, Diabetes)

- Cancers and Metabolic Diseases? Check.

    

Dr. Sazzad Hossain, Ph.D., M.Sc.

 

Chief Scientific Officer

 

- 20 years of academic and industrial experience in new drug discovery, natural health product development

 

- Group Leader and Senior Scientist at Biotechnology Research Institute of National Research Council Canada, Government of Canada's prime biotechnology research organization where he set up pharmacology laboratory to evaluate safety and efficacy of new drugs under development in the areas of cancer, cardiovascular and ocular diseases.

 

Dr. Tarek S. Mansour, Ph.D., M.Sc.

 

Scientific Advisor

 

- Dr. Mansour was responsible for transition of staff and projects to the Pfizer pipeline

 

-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Sabila Biosciences LLC, New York

 

- Under his leadership, several compounds have progressed to various stages of clinical evaluation including FDA approvals and late stage development including: Zeffix, Troxatyl, Bosulif, Neratinib and PFE384.

 

Dr. Hyder A. Khoja, Ph.D., M.Sc., A.Ag.

 

Director of Botanical Research and Cultivation

 

- 17 years of extensive experience in a broad range of life sciences and business services with strong leadership combined with functional expertise and experience in general business management

 

- Industry experience spans from initiation, operation, and contribution towards developing several research and business proposals in the fields of Agriculture-Food Security, Food Safety & Sovereignty, Alternative energy, Renewable resources, Biofuels, Nutraceutical, Hydroponics, Agriculture & Land use management and Technology transfer

 

- Presented his work both in at federal government and academic institutions with authorship in over 18 peer-reviewed papers, primarily in genomics, plant physiology, and alternative energy.

 

-His work was also recognized and appeared in United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Environment and Natural Resources Management as a working paper for Algae-based Biofuels

 

Craig Schneider

 

One of Craig's first companies that he worked for was Ultra Petroleum. The stock dropped from .95 to .45 before blasting through the stratosphere to a stunning pre split price of close to $200. Put another way, the market cap rose from around $3 million to close to $3 Billion!

 

Loyal investors were rewarded once again in 2006, as he was the cofounder of Magnum Uranium, which was taken over by Energy Fuels in 2009. Shareholders were once again exposed to another potential 1000% gain by 2011.

   

CSE: CAN

 

OTCQB: CANLF

 

www.cannabis-tech.com/s/home.asp

Related Links

 

Advocate Cheryl Shuman Discusses CBD Benefits and Cannabis Technologies on CTV Interview

 

www.baystreet.ca/viewarticle.aspx?id=418171

 

Medical marijuana update: Cannabis Technologies (C.CAN) plans to become a GW Jr. (Chris Parry)

 

www.stockhouse.com/news/newswire/2014/05/20/medical-marij...

 

Cannabis Technologies: A "Junior GW" Play on Cannabinoid's Potential

 

www.marketwatch.com/story/cannabis-technologies-a-junior-...

9 Marijuana Policies from Around the World that Are Way Ahead of the U.S.

www.alternet.org/drugs/9-marijuana-policies-around-world-...

 

10 Ways Pot Can Make You Healthier

 

www.yahoo.com/health/10-ways-pot-can-make-you-healthier-9...

  

Read more at www.stockhouse.com/companies/bullboard/c.can/cannabis-tec...

 

Spread the word! :) Please share, like, comment, G+, tweet etc :)

Thanks all!

xoox

Cheryl Shuman

 

About Cheryl Shuman:

Tom Cruise, Steven Tyler, Julia Roberts, Madonna, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mike Myers, Elijah Wood, Lindsay Lohan, Fergie, Will.i.am and Michael Jackson are just a few of the names you'll find scrolling through the client files during the 25 year career of Cheryl Shuman. Known as the "Martha Stewart of Marijuana," Shuman brings decades of experience working with media, celebrities, marketing and health care in Beverly Hills. Shuman found her passion in the cannabis movement since 1996 working as an activist and legal cannabis patient. Since using cannabis therapy, she has survived cancer and injuries from two car crashes.

Her private medical cannabis collective, "The Beverly Hills Cannabis Club" is unlisted and membership is by referral only. Through her personal relationships and connections within Hollywood and the media, Cheryl Shuman has been named as one of the most influential women in the cannabis reform movement by international media.

Cheryl Shuman Inc., is a business development company and acquisition vehicle, made news with an historic funding facility dedicated to the cannabis industry with plans to go public by 2014. Cheryl Shuman currently has a hot new reality TV series in development and is represented by the prestigious William Morris Endeavor Agency in Beverly Hills, California.

Cheryl Shuman

President & C.E.O.

www.CherylShuman.com

Beverly Hills Cannabis Club - Join Free Using "Cheryl Shuman" invitation code on:

.www.BeverlyHillsCannabisClub.com

Social Network Links:

LinkedIN: www.LinkedIn.com/in/CherylShuman

Facebook: www.FaceBook.com/CherylShumanInc

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/AimeeShuman

Twitter: www.Twitter.com/CherylShuman

Twitter: www.Twitter.com/BeverlyHillsCC

YouTube: www.YouTube.com/BeverlyHillsCannabis

YouTube: www.YouTube.com/CherylShumanTheOnly

Vimeo: www.Vimeo.com/cherylshuman

Instagram: www.Instagram.com/cherylshuman

Instagram: www.Instagram.com/aimeeshuman

Sagittal section of an Nr4a1-eGFP transgenic mouse stained for the CB1 cannabinoid receptor and DAPI to show nuclei. Image was taken with a Zeiss Lumar stereomicroscope.

 

Credit: National Institutes of Health

The ice-o-lator you see here was homemade from trim, collected from a lots of different cannabis varieties - indicas, sativas, hybrids and also some high CBD strains - all grown outdoors at tenerife. This waterhash is a mix between 120 and 25 micron and contain the full spectrum of cannabinoids and terpens.

Sun-Grown Red N°4 is an indica-dominant strain. The predominant cannabinoid is THC, ( 17.3% ), making it well-suited for those who have previous experience with cannabis and find higher levels of THC helpful. 9.5/10

CBDfx Raw Dabs 300mg Wax is made with filtered CBD oil derived from organically grown hemp plants and is designed specifically for dabbing. This high quality full spectrum CBD oil is rich in the cannabinoids, terpenes and amino acids that are required to experience the entourage effect. The CBDfx Dab Wax contains one gram of 30% CBD oil and 300mg of pure CBD. This ultra potent CBD wax contains roughly 20 servings.

The above photo shows the positive results of the number 8 Duquenois reagent presumptive drug test when used with a sample of Afghan Hashish.

 

The Duquenois test is conducted by placing a small sample of suspect material (about the size of the tip of a typical pocket knife) inside the test vial. The top ampoule contains concentrated hydrochloric acid and is crushed first. After being shaken vigorously, the bottom ampoule is crushed and the tube shaken again. The deep blue/purple tint of the liquid inside the vial indicates the test was positive for the cannabinoids present in the hashish sample. Other THC containing drugs such as marijuana or hash oil will produce a light blue to dark purple reaction using the Duquenois reagent test.

 

This photo was created as part of a training program to assist the Afghan National Army in properly investigating, forensically testing and prosecuting drug crimes.

This bacon is made by Nexgen Medibles. The bacon is cooked and candied with top shelf quality nug run errl mixed into brown sugar. It has to be my favorite medicated treat. Each strip contains around 100mg'of active cannabinoids. Packs a punch!

 

Facebook: Facebook.com/Nexgenmeds

IG: @DaddyMac23

Bell Ringer Ale

Bell Ringer AleWill RJ Rockers ring your bell with this big, bad, 8.5% brew? Well, that depends on how fast you drink it and how many you have. But, in our experience… well let’s just say our beer panel was quite the lively event the night we sampled this one. On the pour, Bell Ringer offers a delicious-looking hazy amber color with an off-white head with decent retention for the high ABV. On the nose, look for a floral and lightly grassy hop profile with subtle undercurrents of pineapple and grapefruit. Beneath the hop aromas is a rich and somewhat bready malt center with a touch of earthy yeast and a light impression of straw or hay. As you take a sip, the core of sweet, biscuity malt comes to the fore accompanied by hints of brown sugar. Hanging on the malt backbone is a hop profile with enough bitterness to provide plenty of checks and balances, while offering a delicious flavor profile that’s at once subtly spicy, grassy, floral, and citric. The mouthfeel, which is soft, round, and quite full, makes Bell Ringer a pleasure to drink, and the spicy hop bitterness that lingers in the fade kept beckoning us to take another sip. No wonder it rang our bell!

 

Serving Temperature: 48-55°F

Alcohol by Volume: 8.5%

Int’l Bittering Units (IBUs): 53

Suggested Glassware: Pint Glass, Tulip, or Snifter

Malts: 2-Row Pale, Bonlander, 60L Caramel

Hops: Tradition, Cascade

  

EKU Pils

EKU PilsAs you might suspect from the name, EKU Pils is a pilsner, a style that has loosely become the most popular style of beer in the world since its invention in 1842. This style originated in the town of Pilsen in the Czech Republic, and it was the first beer to be brewed clear and golden in color (up until that time, beer was dark and rather murky). Though it’s always remained popular in the Czech Republic, the Germans ultimately became the most devoted fans of the style. They added their own twist, too, brewing it somewhat lighter in body and adding an extra bit of hops to give a refreshing, bitter zing. EKU Pils is a well-carbonated brew, with a big, fluffy, bright white head atop the golden body. Look for notes of spicy and floral hops with a traditional pilsner maltiness. We enjoyed this easy-drinking brew, with its crisp, clean, and dry finish, and lightly lingering bitter hop-forward aftertaste. This beer is great with food, and would be a great accompaniment for anything from pizza, to whitefish, to Chicken Kiev, to spicy Thai or Indian fare. Prost!

 

Serving Temperature: 48°F

Alcohol by Volume: 5.0%

Suggested Glassware: Pint Glass, Pokal or Mug (clear)

   

EKU 28

EKU 28EKU 28 walks a bit of a tightrope act between a standard eisbock and an amped-up, fortified doppelbock. While their recipe has never been released to the public, we do know that it spends an astonishing nine months lagering, during which time the temperature is lowered until the beer starts to freeze. EKU claims, however, that the amount of ice removed from the beer is not really a major factor in its potent level of alcohol or its concentrated flavor. One bit of info that they do acknowledge is the “28” in its name refers to the beer’s “degrees Plato,” which is the German method of calculating a beer’s “original gravity” (a measure of the density of fermentable sugars within the malt/water mixture that begins every batch of beer). To obtain the high ABV, a very large amount of malt must be used to infuse the this mixture (known as wort—pronounced “wert”) with the sugary fuel that the yeast will convert into alcohol. An average beer typically has an original gravity of around 8-10 degrees Plato, so EKU 28 is loaded up with around three times the level of fermentable sugars as a “typical” beer.

 

On the nose, look for a big, caramel-heavy aroma. The impressive flavor offers up notes of thick caramel and freshly-baked bread, with light fruity hints, and not surprisingly, some notes of alcohol (producing a pleasant belly-warming effect that is quite satisfying around this time of the year). The healthy does of hops creates a very well-crafted finish which balances EKU 28’s sweet overall flavor. You could say that this is a beer for special occasions, but honestly, as soon as you open one you’ve created a special occasion! We actually don’t recommend it with food; we think it’s much nicer as a digestif after a meal, like a port wine or cognac. A full-bodied cigar might work too, if you’re so inclined.

 

Serving Temperature: 55°F

Alcohol by Volume: 11.0%

Suggested Glassware: Snifter

 

Lakefront IPA

Lakefront IPALook for a hazy, orange-amber on the pour, with a big, fluffy head that retains well before dropping to a persistent collar. The aromas are big – it cries IPA as soon as you pop it open, in fact – with prominent piney, herbal hops offering a somewhat minty cannabinoid character, with a touch of citrus rind. Take a sip and the hops hit upfront with that same bold herbal quality, with hints of grapefruit zest and pine. The malts try to get your attention with a crackery, lightly toasty flavor offering some residual sweetness with a hint of fruity esters thrown in, but ultimately the hops declare their supremacy in this brew as the big hop flavors carry into the finish and linger with a firm but not overpowering bitterness. In fact, that’s one of the things our panel really enjoyed about this brew – it’s not super bitter, but it is super flavorful. The smooth and creamy body makes it very easy to drink, and we found it made a great thirst-quenching accompaniment to some super hot Thai pork stir fry with basil and chilies.

 

Serving Temperature: 45-50°F

Alcohol by Volume: 6.4%

Int’l Bittering Units (IBUs): 38 (an “honest” number per the brewer; 55 using a different calculation)

Suggested Glassware: Pint Glass or Mug

Malts: Cargill 2-Row Pale, Dingemans Cara 20, Dingemans Cara 45

Hops: Columbus, Cascade, Chinook, Simcoe

My painting won Honorable Mention from the Lake Elsinore Ladies Art League. I'm proud that such a conservative group of women not only allowed me to enter, but even honored me with an award. "On the Day of the Dead, pray for and remember friends and family members that have passed on." But do not pray for me, I am the hero in this story ... and no longer need saving.

This graphic details examples of the wide variety of chemical structures of three classes of cannabinoid compounds: plant-produced phytocannabinoids, the body’s own endocannabinoids and synthetic compounds made in the lab.

 

The cannabis plant produces more than 140 phytocannabinoids; the most well-known are cannabidiol (CBD) and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (top). These interact with many of the same receptors as compounds made by the body, called endocannabinoids (middle), despite their chemical differences. Synthetic compounds (bottom, three shown) that are meant to mimic the action of various cannabinoids also have a wide variety of chemical structures.

 

Read more in Knowable Magazine

 

Scientific highs and lows of cannabinoids

Hundreds of these cannabis-related chemicals now exist, both natural and synthetic, inspiring researchers in search of medical breakthroughs — and fueling a dangerous trend in recreational use

knowablemagazine.org/article/health-disease/2023/scientif...

 

Lea en español: Los altibajos científicos de los cannabinoides

 

Take a deeper dive: Selected scholarly reviews

 

A Delightful Trip Along the Pathway of Cannabinoid and Endocannabinoid Chemistry and Pharmacology, Annual Review of Pharmacology and Toxicology

 

===

 

Knowable Magazine from Annual Reviews is a digital publication that seeks to make scientific knowledge accessible to all. Through compelling articles, beautiful graphics, engaging videos and more, Knowable Magazine explores the real-world impact of research through a journalistic lens. All content is rooted in deep reporting and undergoes a thorough fact-checking before publication.

 

The Knowable Magazine Science Graphics Library is an initiative to create freely available, accurate and engaging graphics for teachers and students. All graphics are curated from Knowable Magazine articles and are free for classroom use.

 

Knowable Magazine is an editorially independent initiative produced by Annual Reviews, a nonprofit publisher dedicated to synthesizing and integrating knowledge for the progress of science and the benefit of society.

 

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We love to hear how teachers are using our graphics. Contact us: knowablemagazine.org/contact-us

Come fare la tisana alla canapa in maniera efficace

Il segreto per preparare un’eccellente tisana alla canapa sta nell’estrarre in maniera efficace i cannabinoidi.

Come estrazione i cannabinoidi?

Il Dr. Ternelli ha voluto condividere con noi il processo di estrazione dei cannabinoidi dai prodotti GANJA e TROMPETOL. Contrariamente a quanto si possa pensare è una procedura lunga e meticolosa.

La ricetta ottimizzata e consigliata per la preparazione di una tisana alla cannabis terapeutica è la seguente:

 

Battezzare” un pentolino con il quale si preparerà la tisana alla cannabis, ossia usare sempre quello. Pentolini di dimensioni diverse cambiano la superficie di esposizione del liquido, facendolo evaporare più o meno velocemente, alterando (in più o in meno) la quantità finale di tisana residua.

Porre acqua fredda nel contenitore, almeno (almeno!) 250ml di acqua per dosi di cannabis fino a 200 mg, 500ml per dosi da 200mg a 400mg, 750mg per dosi da 400mg a 600mg e così via. Quantitativi molto ridotti di cannabis (es. 30mg, 50mg) richiedono comunque l’utilizzo di almeno 250 ml di acqua.

Nel caso si disponga di cannabis grezza in cartine, sminuzzarla con una lama affilata (o, se disponibile, con un grinder); nel caso si disponga della cannabis micronizzata in capsule apribili per tisana, questo passaggio non è necessario.

Scaldare fino a ebollizione intensa.

Coprire con coperchio e mantenere in bollore per 20 minuti.

Trascorsi 20 minuti, abbassare la fiamma per mantenere un blando bollore, aggiungere almeno 15 grammi di latte intero (o almeno 1,5 grammi di latte in polvere) per ogni 100 mg di cannabis (es. se si sono preparati 200 mg di cannabis, aggiungere almeno 30 grammi di latte intero)

Mantenere l’ebollizione blanda per altri 15 minuti; al termine spegnere e lasciare raffreddare.

NON filtrare le infiorescenze (o la polvere), ma ingerirle insieme alla tisana: questo permette di assimilare anche eventuali sostanze rimaste nella parte vegetale e non perfettamente estratte o decarbossilate durante la decozione;

Dolcificare a piacere (zucchero, stevia, ecc…).

 

Come conservare la tisana alla canapa?

Se si desidera consumare la tisana nell’arco della giornata è possibile conservarla in un thermos di vetro o metallo; per la presenza del latte la stabilità in frigorifero, è stimata ad un massimo di 5 giorni. In questo caso è assolutamente necessario conoscere il volume totale della soluzione per poter sapere da quanti millilitri è composta la singola dosa da prelevare dal thermos, altrimenti si rischia di assumere una quantità o maggiore o minore di quella dovuta.

Cosa evitare?

Evitare il più possibile l’uso di cannabis in bustine filtro o alternative in cui la cannabis viene rimossa e gettata via. Come spiegato al punto 8, in una tisana sicuramente rimangono sostanze all’interno della parte vegetale: gettarla vorrebbe dire non assumere la parte in essa contenuta, sprecare farmaco e limitare l’efficacia della cannabis.

Per ulteriori approfondimenti rimandiamo alla pagina ufficiale del Dr. Marco Ternelli che ringraziamo per la gentile concessione all’uso del suo materiale.

  

oliodicanapa.net/come-fare-la-tisana-alla-canapa/

#Migraines are a larger, more awful version of your average headache. They make people feel debilitated, #dizzy, and #nauseous as well.

 

Normal medications don’t work for most, but others may try the green.

 

There’s data being shown that those with migraines may actually find a lot of solace within this herb, and here, we’ll go over if migraines really work for cannabis or not.

 

What is a Migraine

 

A migraine is more than just a normal headache, but they are much worse than that. The problem is, there are a third of people dealing with this, and they don’t get the correct treatment.

 

They usually have either an aura, or they don’t. those with an aura are more visuals, where they have tunnel vision, blind spots, and their vision tends to zigzag.

 

However, the auras are also rearing their head in the form of confusion, the pins and needles sensation, weakness, and of course, other problems as well that go with it.

 

The cause of this can be the following:

 

Emotional stress

Food sensitivity

Caffeine

Skipping meals

Hormone changes

Changes in weather

Loud noises

 

Does #Cannabis Help?

 

Where does cannabis fit into all of this?

 

Why would an herb help mitigate these attacks.

This is because of the #ECS, which is of course, what controls your #digestive, #nervous, #immune, and your #musculoskeletal system that’s there. All of these of course are physiological, and it can be really good for helping you get the most that you can for this too.

 

For some of these, the ECS is a network that works together to create homeostasis, which is a pretty word for petty much balance all over the entirety of the system. The ECS comprises of different receptors that signal in this, and the #cannabis plant binds to this, which can help to fill the void that otherwise would not be filled.

 

The Research

 

The theory behind why cannabis can help is because of the #inflammation, binding to this, and helping to mitigate these feelings. This also can help those with IBS

and fibro too.

 

The thing is though, is that there isn’t enough evidence that provides a real view of this. There are some scientific studies which show that it can be efficient in handling this, but there aren’t any controlled tests.

 

However there is a chance that medical marijuana can help with this. The phytochemicals in this much as terpenes, flavonoids, and cannabinoids are all there, and with all of the different cultivars, it’s definitely possible to see what’s going on.

 

There are different high-THC version that found that it actually helped with this, and according to studies that were anecdotal, about half that reported said it helped with this.

Recently, there was a survey which said that about 70% of those who participated were able to say that yes, cannabis helped with their migraines, but the researchers did say that it needed further studies in order to ensure that the headaches didn’t get too bad.

 

In a human trial that looked at both High-THC and High-CBD strains, it found that for the most part, both of these did help with this.

 

It was found too that of course when you look at structures, THC does mimic the anandamide that’s near the CB1 receptor, and for those who have a deficiency of the endocannabinoid system, there is a theory that this could be filled in and helped with function.

 

So can it help? Perhaps, but there is still some studies which must be done with this.

 

A bong (also water pipe, billy, bing, or moof) is a filtration device generally used for smoking cannabis, tobacco, or other herbal substances. In the bong shown in the photo, the gas flows from the lower port on the left to the upper port on the right.

 

In construction and function a bong is similar to a hookah, except smaller and especially more portable. A bong may be constructed from any air- and water-tight vessel by adding a bowl and stem apparatus (or slide) which guides air downward to below water level whence it bubbles upward ("bubbler") during use. To get fresh air into the bong and harvest the last remaining smoke, a hole known as the "carburetor", "carb", "choke", "bink", "rush", "shotty", "kick hole", or simply "hole", somewhere on the lower part of the bong above water level, is first kept covered during the smoking process, then opened to allow the smoke to be drawn into the respiratory system. On bongs without such a hole, the bowl and/or the stem are removed to allow air from the hole that holds the stem.

 

Bongs have been in use by the Hmong, in Laos and Thailand, and all over Africa for centuries. One of the earliest recorded uses of the word in the West is in the McFarland Thai-English Dictionary, published in 1944, which describes one of the meanings of bong in the Thai language as, "a bamboo waterpipe for smoking kancha, tree, hashish, or the hemp-plant." A January 1971 issue of the Marijuana Review also used the term.

 

ETYMOLOGY

The word bong is an adaptation of the Thai word bong or baung (Thai: บ้อง, [bɔ̂ŋ]), which refers to a cylindrical wooden tube, pipe, or container cut from bamboo, and which also refers to the bong used for smoking.

 

HISTORY

Excavations of a kurgan in Russia in 2013 revealed that Scythian tribal chiefs used gold bongs 2400 years ago to smoke cannabis and opium. The kurgan was discovered when construction workers were clearing land for the construction of a power line.

 

The use of a water pipe for smoking was introduced in China during the late Ming Dynasty (16th century), along with tobacco, through Persia and the Silk Road. By the Qing Dynasty, it became the most popular method to smoke tobacco, but became less popular since the Republic era. While typically employed by commoners, the water pipe is known to have been preferred by Empress Dowager Cixi over snuff bottles or other methods of intake. According to the Imperial Household Department, she was buried with at least three water pipes; some of her collections can be seen in the Palace Museum.

 

The water pipe employed since the Qing dynasty can be divided into two types: the homemade bamboo bong commonly made and used by country people, and a more elegant metal version employed by Chinese merchants, urbanites, and nobility. Metal utensils are typically made out of bronze or brass, the nobility version of silver and decorated with jewels. Typically, the metal version is made out of the following components:

 

- The water pipe itself, a single-piece construct consisting of the bowl-stem, the water container, and a drawtube at least 3 inches, but some can be up to 12 inches in length. Some are straight with a "Joint" (Sandblasted top part of stem, usually about 1 inch long, and all the way around, tapered or cone shaped, so the tapered, or "cone shaped" bowl will fit in)some are bent to resemble a crane. The size of the bowl is similar to that of a one-hitter, typically the width of a thumbnail or smaller.

- The tobacco container with a lid.

- A pipe rack small enough to be held by one hand, and consisting of two large holes for the tobacco container and the water pipe. It may have smaller holes to hold various pipe tools.

 

During a smoking session, the user may keep all equipment inside the rack and just hold the entire assembly (rack, pipe, and container) in one hand, lighting the bowl with a slow-burning paper wick (纸煤) lit over a coal stove. Unlike in North America and the Southern Hemisphere, the water pipe is typically employed by older generations.

 

USE

The water can trap some heavier particles and water-soluble molecules, preventing them from entering the smoker's airways. The mechanics of a bong are compared to those of a laboratory gas washing bottle. The user puts their mouth at the top and places the cannabis in the tube, as shown in the picture.

 

Bongs are often either glass or plastic that use a bowl, stem, and water to produce smoke. Most glass bongs are made from heat resistant borosilicate glass, allowing the bong to withstand repeated use and heat exposure without breaking. After the bowl has been packed and water has been inserted into the bong, the substance is lit and the smoke is drawn through water to produce a smoother smoke than other methods of smoking do. To smoke a bong, the smoker must inhale in the bong so bubbles containing smoke begin to come from the stem. Once the bong has a fair amount of smoke built up, either the carb is uncovered or the stem is separated from the bong, allowing the remaining smoke to be inhaled.

 

However, a 2000 NORML-MAPS cannabis study found that "water pipes filter out more psychoactive THC than they do other tars, thereby requiring users to smoke more to reach their desired effect". In the study, smoke from cannabis supplied by the NIDA was drawn through a number of smoking devices and analyzed. This study looked at the tar to cannabinoid ratio in the gas in output by various bongs, as well as unfiltered and filtered joints, and vaporizers. The results showed that only vaporizers produced a better tar to cannabinoid ratio than unfiltered joints, but that within the cannabinoids produced, even vaporizers warped the ratio of THC (the psychoactive component of the smoke) to CBN (capable of producing medical benefits but is not psychoactive) in favor of CBN. This showed an unfiltered joint had the best tar to THC ratio of all, and bongs were actually seriously detrimental in this respect.

 

MAPS also reviewed a study that examined the effects and composition of water-filtered and non-filtered cannabis and tobacco smoke. It found that when alveolar macrophages were exposed to unfiltered smoke, their ability to fight bacteria was reduced, unlike exposure to water-filtered smoke. It also found substantial epidemiological evidence of a lower incidence of carcinoma among tobacco smokers who used water-pipes, as opposed to cigarettes, cigars, and regular pipes. "It appears that water filtration can be effective in removing components from cannabis smoke that are known toxicants... The effectiveness of toxicant removal is related to the smoke's water contact area."

 

Specially designed water pipes, incorporating particulate filters and gas-dispersion frits, would likely be most effective in this regard; the gas-dispersion frit serves to break up the smoke into very fine bubbles, thereby increasing its water-contact area." These frits are commonly referred to as diffuser for the way that they diffuse (or disperse) the smoke as it exits the downstem, and usually consist of small holes or slats at the end of the downstem. This study suggests that a bong's smoke is less harmful than unfiltered smoke.

 

LEGAL ISSUES

In the United States, under the Federal Drug Paraphernalia Statute, which is part of the Controlled Substances Act, it is illegal to sell, transport through the mail, transport across state lines, import, or export drug paraphernalia.

 

In countries where marijuana and hashish are illegal, some retailers specify that bongs are intended for use with tobacco in an attempt to circumvent laws against selling drug paraphernalia. While technically 'bong' does not mean a device used for smoking mainly cannabis, drug-related connotations have been formed with the word itself (partly due to punning with Sanskrit bhangah "hemp"). Thus for fear of the law many head shops will not serve customers who use the word "bong" or "bongs", or any other word typically associated with illegal drug use.

 

Some brand name bong manufacturers (notably RooR) have sought to curb the counterfeit market for their products by suing stores accused of selling fake merchandise.

 

WIKIPEDIA

David Suchoff. Hemp is now a federally legal crop and is defined as Cannabis sativa that contains less than 0.3% THC. Once THC levels go above 0.3% it is classified as marijuana and considered an illicit material that must be destroyed. Many NC farmers grow hemp to extract CBD, a similar cannabinoid to THC. Unfortunately, as CBD concentrations increase within the plant so does THC. Farmers walk a thin line between maximizing CBD production and maintaining THC levels below 0.3%. Currently, no recommendations exist for optimal harvest timing. This study is a collaborative effort among researchers in the Departments of Crop and Soil Sciences, Biological and Agricultural Engineering, Horticultural Science, and Plants for Human Health Institute. The objectives are to understand the production of CBD and THC over time, the genes that regulate these cannabinoids, and the use of hyperspectral imaging for a quick, non-invasive means to measure CBD and THC concentrations.

Trini (la Dra Trinidad María de los Milagros Sáez para aquellos que no la conocen y, por tanto, no han de arrogarse (como yo) el privilegio de llamarla Trini, así de simple y a secas).

En plena faena de toracotomía a una Wistar (anestesiada y para fijarla). Parte de su trabajo (doy fé que excelente) sobre los efectos de los cannabinoides sobre el desarrollo de la corteza cerebral de las crías expuestas a tales basuras químicas. Por más que esté de moda decir que la marihuana no hace nada y que es más segura o menos dañina que el cigarrillo de tabaco... En términos científicos: ¡¡LAS PELOTAS ES SEGURO!!

Acá pueden ver, bajar y leer (indispensable esto último para desasnarse un poco) la tesis de Trini: www.google.com.ar/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&am...

Olio di Semi Di Canapa

Cos’è l’olio di semi di canapa?

Con una circolare del Ministero della Salute del 22 maggio 2009 è stato approvato l’uso dell’ olio di semi di canapa anche a scopi alimentari, poiché ne sono stati riconosciuti proprietà e benefici.

L’olio di semi di canapa si presenta con un colore che varia dalla verde chiaro al verde intenso, odore molto delicato e gusto con un leggero sentore di nocciola.

Riconosciuto come una delle poche fonti vegetali di acido alfa linolenico.

Contrariamente a quanto si potrebbe pensare non ha effetti psicotropici (il livello del principio attivo stupefacente è molto basso). Fino ad oggi non sono stati verificati effetti collaterali derivanti dall’assunzione di olio di canapa, ma al contrario, si sono osservati effetti benefici sulla salute, sia per i bambini che per gli adulti, tanto da essere ormai raccomandato nella prevenzione e nel trattamento di alcune malattie.

Cosa contiene l’olio di semi di canapa?

L’olio di canapa viene ricavato dalla spremitura a freddo dai semi di Cannabis sativa.

La sua particolare composizione è la base dei suoi benefici, infatti contiene Acidi grassi saturi per 10% e Acidi grassi essenziali polinsaturi (Omega 6 ed Omega 3) per il 90%.

Il rapporto ottimale fra Omega 6 (acido linoleico) e Omega 3 (acido alfa linolenico), il primo 50-60% il secondo 15-20%, è la caratteristica che contraddistingue quest’olio dagli altri oli alimentari.

Olio di canapa è ricco anche di:

 

amminoacidi: essenziali per il corretto funzionamento dell’organismo

vitamine (A, E, B1, B2, PP, C)

Sali minerali (ferro, calcio, magnesio, potassio, fosforo)

Fitosteroli e cannabinoidi

 

Come utilizzarlo in cucina?

L’olio di canapa va consumato a crudo (non cucinare e non usare per friggere), da 1 a 3 cucchiaini da tè al giorno, suddiviso durante l’arco dell’intera giornata.

Si consiglia di conservarlo lontano da fonti di calore, e in bottiglie di vetro scure, per evitare che la luce possa alterarne le qualità. Una volta aperta la confezione va conservato in frigorifero.

Proprietà benefiche

 

Sistema cardiovascolare: aiuta a diminuire gli eccessivi livelli di “colesterolo cattivo” (LDL) e di trigliceridi nel sangue. Inoltre mantiene elastiche le pareti dei vasi sanguigni.

Ossa: contenendo buone quantità di calcio, potassio e magnesio, preserva la salute delle ossa, utilizzato nella cura e nella prevenzione di osteoporosi, artrite, artrosi

Pelle: per i trattamenti alla pelle deve essere applicato direttamente sulla zona da trattare. Ottimo per malattie della pelle come psoriasi, vitiligine, eczemi, micosi, irritazioni da allergie, dermatiti secche e per tutte le infiammazioni o irritazioni localizzate. Può inoltre migliorare le condizioni della pelle affetta da acne. Efficace anche per la cura dei funghi alle unghie (onicomicosi)

Vie respiratorie: utilizzato nella cura di forme asmatiche e affezioni delle vie respiratorie

Patologie a carico del tratto gastro-intestinale e del fegato: l’infezione cronica della vescica, la colite ulcerativa, il trattamento dell’intestino irritabile

Sistema ormonale femminile: sindrome premestruale, menopausa, cisti ovariche, fibrosi mammarie

Problemi neurologici e psichici: utilizzato per curare deficit della memoria, problemi di apprendimento, difficoltà di concentrazione, mancanza di attenzione, depressione post-parto, depressione cronica, disturbi del linguaggio e caratteriali, autismo, nevrosi. Grazie alle sue proprietà rinforza il sistema nervoso.

 

In questo articolo abbiamo visto cos’è l’olio di semi di canapa, come utilizzarlo in cucina e quali sono gli effetti benefici.

  

oliodicanapa.net/olio-di-semi-di-canapa/

Dominica Kriz smoking a marijuana cigarette, Berkeley, California. Photocopy on paper, 1969. (Detail from a 35mm photograph I made and then greatly enlarged from a contact print via a photocopy machine.)

 

(The above image is a detail from a larger image of Dominica that was published in my coloring book for adults:

 

LSD DOODLES--CATALOGUE NUMBER ONE

[Exploding Mandala Press, Berkeley, California, 1991.] Issued in a very tightly-controlled limited edition. Each copy came with a set of high-quality color pencils, a pencil sharpener, and a packet containing 25 doses of "CLEARLIGHT brand 'microdose' LSD". The text of the book included the product information leaflet that came with each packet of "CLEARLIGHT brand 'microdose' LSD")

   

I appeared n a video, "Siberia", made and shown at California College of Arts and Crafts (CCAC) in Oakland in 1984 by gifted poet, author, imagemaker, and mother Dominica Kriz, whose father was the noted Czech Surrealist photographer Vilem Kriz. Her 2000 book OCEAN OF MERCY was written under the pseudonym Atoma Ziv.

 

("The book was extremely personal and mythic at the same time. Reading it was like an acid trip. It found its way into my dreams and sections of it continue to haunt me in the best sense of the word. My boyfriend said it re-defines channeling and manages to offend everybody. I didn't find any of it offensive though. For me it was like a love affair."

 

---Christina Fawn, amazon dot com, in her five-star 9.17. 2000 review of OCEAN OF MERCY, "A hallucinogenic journey".)

 

Dominica was the very first person I met in Berkeley when I arrived there in 1969. I was 17 years old at the time and had never smoked marijuana. (Eight days earlier, in a completely unprovoked attack, my mentally ill father in North Carolina had punched me in the face, breaking several of my teeth. My mother had driven me to a nearby highway, dropped me off, and said "Don't come back!") In 1984, I was in a store in Berkeley and a young woman came in. She had a colorful tattoo of a phoenix on her upper arm. I looked at her and I said "I once knew someone who had a tattoo of a grim reaper in the same spot on her arm." The woman said "What is your name?? " I told her, and it turned out that she was Dominica, who was the person who had had the tattoo of a grim reaper. I had not seen her since we were both teenagers, over a decade before. On a beautiful sunny day a week later, I visited her at CCAC, and we went to a nearby graveyard and smoked some marijuana. I asked her about another tattoo that she had when she was a teenager. [It was on one of her buttocks, and it was the words "PROPERTY OF" (and the name of a young man who had saved her life).] She slid her bluejeans down and showed me the charming tattoos of Chinese clouds that were where the words "PROPERTY OF" had once been...

 

("What a fucking nightmare."

 

---Dominica Kriz, on Facebook, commenting in 2016 on the election of Donald Trump.)

 

("For the first time, the General Social Survey--a large, national survey conducted every two years and widely considered to represent the gold standard for public opinion research--shows a majority of Americans favoring the legalization of marijuana."

 

---Christopher Ingraham, the Washington Post, 3.4. 2015.)

  

(I subscribe to a free official California state website run by the Department of Cannabis Control, which can be found here:

 

cannabis.ca.gov/resources/cannabis-recalls-and-safety-notices/

  

I think their testing of cannabis products is far, far too limited, in that there are many toxic and possibly toxic substances that they are not testing for. Still, there is value in receiving their email warnings, because I am not seeing these warnings about specific products being widely posted anywhere by the online media, and I do not see such warnings being publicly posted at cannabis stores. Below is a warning I received today.

  

"Notification of Mandatory Product Recall

June 25, 2024

 

The Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) is issuing this consumer advisory for a single CUREpen PREMIUM THC OIL Vape Cartridge product due to the presence of the pesticide chlorfenapyr.

 

Consumers who purchased this product are urged to check their packaging for the UID and batch number listed below."

 

The notification also mentions that the recalled product was "Packaged by: Alkhemist DM LLC".)

  

(The website of the large cannabis dispensary Harborside in Oakland, California has a "Seizure-Safe" setting that "clears flashes and reduces color".)

 

(In May 2011, "DistantEchoes" commented on reddit dot com that viewing my art "may cause seizures and brain damage.")

 

("...video games with rapidly changing images or highly regular patterns can produce seizures, and video games have increased in importance as triggers as they have become more common."

 

---from the Wikipedia page "Photosensitive Epilepsy".)

  

("...in November 2017, two months before legal sales were to begin...the California Department of Food and Agriculture released rules that shocked the farming community: The state would allow legal pot farms to grow as large as they want."

 

"Glass House Farms, one of the state’s biggest cultivators, grows cannabis in a 2 million-square-foot greenhouse facility that was financed by a $100 million loan."

 

---Lester Black, 11.17. 2024, SFGATE.

  

["Glass House reported its cost of production at $139 per pound. The company also stated that it sold the equivalent of over 90,000 pounds of dried biomass in the second quarter of 2023 at an average price of $340 per pound."

 

---cannabis benchmarks dot com, 8.22. 2023.]

  

["...we’re the largest cannabis flower brand in the largest market in the world."

 

---glass house brands dot com, 11.19. 2024. The site also says that Glass House has a six million square-foot "state of the art greenhouse footprint".]

  

[On their website, Glass House tells people how to buy stock in Glass House Brands, even providing links to brokers like Charles Schwab.])

  

"'Criminal records for marijuana use and possession have imposed needless barriers to employment, housing, and educational opportunities,' Biden said in December. 'Too many lives have been upended because of our failed approach to marijuana. It's time that we right these wrongs.'"

 

---from a 4.30. 2024 CBS News article "Justice Dept will move to reclassify marijuana in a historic shift, sources say". ("Robert Legare and Willie James Inman contributed to this report.") "The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will move to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, a historic shift to generations of American drug policy that could have wide ripple effects across the country."

 

(During the course of my career in non-profit quality control, I smoked marijuana every day for 29 of the past 42 years. I found that it often inspired me.

  

***Burning plants and then inhaling the smoke very, very obviously seems like an unhealthy thing to do since there are so many, many possibly toxic substances in the smoke!***

  

[“'On Jan. 1, 2014 in Denver, 1/8 ounce of Bubba Kush was the USA’s first legal sale of this for recreational purposes,' the host said."

 

"One of the $2,000 challenges on a recent episode was to identify the first part of the name of a 'well-known hallucinogen' that ends 'acid diethylamide.' The contestant said 'lysergic,' as in LSD."

 

---Kyle Jaeger, 5.12. 2019, marijuanamoment dot net, writing about the mainstream television game show "Jeopardy".]

 

As of early 2022, there are said to be 779 different strains of marijuana being sold.

 

My favorite imported kinds of marijuana were Punta Roja Colombian, "Thai sticks", and Mexican from Oaxaca. Some of the Cannabis Sativa grown in Hawaii that I smoked was not only potently psychedelic, but also WONDERFULLY TASTY.

 

I also enjoyed some of the hashish that came from Lebanon, Afghanistan, and Nepal. The hashoil I smoked that came from Morocco greatly lifted my spirits and provided unique insight. "Bubble Hash" made in Berkeley gave me colorful visions.

 

I even quaffed Hi-Brew Beer [early 1980s marijuana/alcohol beverage].

  

To celebrate my 70th birthday I smoked a potent "sativa hybrid" strain of marijuana called "Runtz". [29.1% THC, .05% CBD, 33.8% total cannabinoids. Total terpenes: 1.5%. Top 3 terpenes: caryophyllene, limonene, and myrcene. Packaged 9.6. 2021. Tested by Belcosta Labs. Distributed by a company in North Hollywood, California.]

  

[In the 1970s I trimmed MANY pounds of marijuana. One of my associates, a taxi driver who claimed that he had “rolled so many joints I don’t have any fingerprints left” was so impressed that he borrowed my scissors and had them plated with gold.]

  

['Miron had stolen a big pile of wedding invitations... and we would use them to make filters for joints."

 

---Etgar Keret, translated from the Hebrew by Miriam Shlesinger and Sondra Silverston, in his 2002 collection of short stories THE NIMROD FLIPOUT. When I was arrested in 1985 the police seized a small box of filters from me that I had made by cutting some of my business cards into strips. I called them "jay-spacers" and had labeled the box. In 1986 when I went in front of the parole board, they (not knowing what a "jay-spacer" is) made a big deal out of the filters. "You had almost a hundred jay-spacers!" they said very accusingly...]

  

["I was able to access memories I didn't even know I had in extreme detail!!"

 

---Idefe, describing "Peanut Butter Breath", a hybrid strain of marijuana. Leafly dot com, 2019. Idefe gave "Peanut Butter Breath" the highest possible rating. I AGREE!]

  

[And yet:

 

In late April 2021, Facebook warned me that when it comes to illegal drugs, on my Facebook page I am NOT allowed to admit "personal use" without acknowledgment of or reference to recovery, treatment, or other assistance to combat usage...]

  

Surfing on a toke--and when the bowl of the pipe looks like the Grand Canyon, I know I've almost had enough...

  

[Stoner humor: Photo of a marijuana cigarette. Over the first four-fifths of the marijuana cigarette is written "I love nature so much...what a beautiful day." Over the last fifth is written "The raccoons work for the CIA."]

  

[Willie Nelson won 10 Grammy awards, and has appeared in 37 movies and TV shows. More than 40 million copies of his more than 100 albums have been sold. He has smoked marijuana for MANY years. Nelson is an outspoken advocate for the drug and has been arrested several times for possession of marijuana. He was arrested in 2006 for possessing marijuana and hallucinogenic mushrooms. His latest song is titled "Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die".

 

---from an Associated Press news report, 4.21. 2012.]

  

["I smoke two joints in the morning

I smoke two joints at night

I smoke two joints in the afternoon

It makes me feel all right"

 

"I smoke two joints in time of peace

And two in time of war

I smoke two joints before I smoke two joints

And then I smoke two more"

 

---Chris Kay and Michael Kay, in their 1983 song "Smoke Two Joints", which was recorded by The Toyes.]

  

["Things Get Grounded When There's Chemistry"

 

"Cannabis Connects"

 

"Life In Color" (over a rainbow of colors)

 

---from a billboard advertisement for cannabis oil cartridges, edibles, and tinctures made by a company named Chemistry. I saw the billboard, which has a lavender background and depicts two women on a rug smiling at each other, on Telegraph Avenue at 63rd street in Oakland, California in June 2019.]

  

[The first cannabis label that I remember seeing (printed in black ink on blue paper) was "STONY RIDGE" brand marijuana. It was on a one-pound bag of American-grown product that I obtained from Richard Krech in 1972.]

  

["One toke over the line sweet Jesus

One toke over the line"

 

"Waitin' for the train that goes home sweet Mary

Hopin' that the train is on time

Sittin' downtown in a railway station

One toke over the line"

 

---Mike Brewer and Tom Shipley, in their 1970 song "One Toke Over The Line". Vice President Spiro Agnew did not like the song and called it "subversive". After being investigated on suspicion of conspiracy, bribery, extortion, and tax fraud, Agnew was convicted of felony tax evasion and forced to resign.]

  

["California's cannabis-growing nuns pray for profits"

 

---BBC News headline, late October 2022.]

  

["He said 'drugs make you too pleased with everything.'"

 

---Sarah Seiter, associate curator of Natural Sciences at the Oakland Museum of California, quoting David Hockney on the connection between drugs and creativity. Seiter was quoted by Paul Kilduff in an interview about a current show, "Altered State: Marijuana in California". The East Bay Monthly, July 2016 issue.

 

I think I somewhat understand what Hockney said, and I think there is truth in his statement. I also think that I often find great value and much joy in seeing beauty in both the wheat AND the chaff!]

  

[After many years of refusing to go to marijuana stores, I made my first purchase at one in 2020. (I now must purchase my cannabis at a store since, because of my extreme poverty, it is not [and has never been] possible for me to grow marijuana, and since it is no longer safe for me to continue, as I did for decades, to purchase black market marijuana. I enjoy interacting with the many helpful and kind people working at the local cannabis store. It makes me very happy to see them working there!)]

  

Here is a list of some of the cannabis products I have used [and a few that I have not used, or do not remember the effects of using] that were obtained from marijuana stores in the San Francisco bay area. [From labels I saved]:

  

"Jeeter" brand "Mai Tai" [sativa] pre-roll one gram joint of indoor-grown marijuana "infused" with THCA "diamonds" and kief. "MFG/PKG date: June 23RD, 2023" "Total THC: 42.5%, delta-9 THC: 1.69%, THCA: 46.5%"

 

["...a class action lawsuit against DreamFields Inc., and Med for America Inc., on behalf of California consumers who purchased cannabis products with inaccurate THC content labels.

 

The lawsuit alleges that defendants, who make, sell, and market 'Jeeter' brand cannabis products, overcharged consumers by illegally selling products whose THC content was substantially lower than the amounts listed on the label."

 

---from a October 2022 press release.]

 

Blueberry

Tsunami

Outdoor Rom

Trainwreck

Orange Hill Special

Red Widow

Smoothelove

Dutch Passionkush

Northern Green

Spice

Nor Kali Black Spice

Sensi Star

Organic Main Wreck

Sour Diesel ["22.73% THC" (2019)]

Sour Diesel [26.22% THC, .8% CBD, 27.72% total cannabinoids (2021)]

Ice Ice

Fruity Bliss

Organic Remedy

NYC Diesel

S1-5

Organic Super Silver Haze

Morning Star

Sun Grown Purple OG

Jedi

Sweet Nightmare

Kosher Strawberries

Dirty Little Pig

Durbin Poison

Oracle

Space Cowboy

Bubble Haze

White Widow

Mountain Kick

Snow White

Sun Grown Diesel

Yumbolt

Co-op

Organic Flo

Candyland

Silvercratic

Sun Grown Chocolope

Pineapple Kush

Goo-5

Nor Kali Kaui Kola

Dynomite

Nor Kali Buddha's Haze

Old Grand Huck

Grape Ape

Sour Diesel Lemon

Buddha's Sister

Super Jack

Organic Rom Thai

Third Eye

Pink Champagne

World Wide Widow

Afgootiva

Greased Lightning

Outdoor Organic Humboldt

Herijuana

Cherry Pie

Peak 19

Organic Mazar

Outdoor Train Crossing

Organic Shaman

Super Star

Rhino

Burmese

Double Dream

Jelly

Caramel

Kahuna

Shiva's Tears

Organic A-10

Purple Burmese

Lemon Skunk x Royal Orange

Mendo Blendo

The Sativa

Organic Hawaiian Snow

Purple Kush Domina

Organic Ultra Skunk

Sage 'n' Sour

Outdoor Organic Kam

Tree-W

Da Kind

Jack Frost

Pot O' Gold

Shiva Afghani

Gorilla's Mist

Strawberry Cough

Sativa 2

Organic Jane

Organic Purple Way

Outdoor Organic Bonkers

Organic Purps

Outdoor Organic Goo

Juicy Fruit

Mind Eraser

Pearly Baker

Lavender Goo

Titan OG

White Russian

Sonoma Coma

Organic Sticky Nurple

MK Ultra

Outdoor Organic Trainwreck x White Widow

Organic Sweetleaf

Organic Purple Ice

Jack Herer

Zlushie Kush

God's Gift

Outdoor Organic Purple Mendo

Organic Ogre

Organic Trance

William's Wonder x Northern Lights

Blue Ogre

Organic Lamb's Bread

Champagne

Black Bunanna

Super Chunk

Organic Rom Cross

Sun Grown Goji Jack

Rom Hottie

Organic Slider

Animal Cookies

Sunshine Grown Green Dragon

El Bueno

Jakki

Organic Time Warp

Durban Dream

Organic Mist

Cookie Pie

Mantanuska TF

Pineapple Trainwreck

Organic Mantanuska Mist

Organic Mothership

Traincrash

Swazi Haze

Grape Pop

Golden Goo

Organic Trance

Jack'l Berry

Outdoor Mysty

Purple Peak 19

AK-47

Sage

Motor City

Purple Erkel

Crazy Hazy

Bright Star

Green Crack

Power Plant

Organic Cindy 99

Skunk #2

Organic Bonana

Outdoor Organic Hash Plant

Baby Blues

Cat Piss

Mr. Nice (G 13 x Hash Plant)

Girl Scout Cookie

Outdoor Organic Blue Dot

Sour Daze

Thin Mint

Grand Daddy Purple

Spicy Jack

Outdoor Organic Pure Rezin

Old Mother Sativa

Master Yoda Kush

Mountain Girl

Green Ribbon

Ice Cream Cake #5

Super Wreck

Sapphire Star

Grenadine

Bombshell

Also Known As

Pea Soup

Razzlez

Pirate's Kush

Purple Tangie

Leda Una

Cloud Berry

Northern Lights x Big Bud

All Star Organic Oaktown Wreck

Animal Punch

805 Glue

Sunset Sherbet

Forbidden Fruit

Cookie Monster

Blue Dream [Blueberry x Santa Cruz Haze] [26.64% THC, .1% CBD] ["AlphaPinene: 0.51%, BetaCaryophyllene: 0.25%, BetaMyrcene: 0.95%, BetaPinene: 0.23%, Bisabolol: 0.03%, CBC: 0.06%, CBD: 1.08mg/g, CBDa: 1.23mg/g, CBG: 0.07%, CBGA: 0.26%, CBN: 0.02%, Humulene: 0.1%, Limonene: 0.1%, Linalool: 0.06%, THC: 266.45mg/g, THC9: 19.57mg/g, THCA: 281.51mg/g" (Information posted by the Harborside cannabis store in San Leandro, California on 10.23. 2024 about "Dime Bag" brand Blue Dream marijuana flowers.)]

Berry Haze [26.8% THC, .1% CBD, 28.51% total cannabinoids] ["AlphaPinene: 0.03%, BetaCaryophyllene: 0.49%, BetaMyrcene: 0.05%, BetaPinene: 0.06, CBD: 1.02mg/g , CBDa: 1.17mg/g, CBG: 0.06%, CBGA: 1.31%, CBN: 0.02%, Humulene: 0.16%, Limonene: 0.35%, Linalool: 0.1%, THC: 267.97mg/g, THC9: 5.87mg/g, THCA: 298.85mg/g" (Information posted by the Harborside cannabis store in San Leandro, California on 10.23. 2024 about "Dime Bag" brand Berry Haze marijuana flowers.)]

Jelly Cake [27.4% THC, .14% CBD]

Cherry Popperz [28.85% THC]

Blue Face [Face Off OG x Animal Mints (Blue Pheno)] [32.90% THC, .05% CBD]

Orange Tree [27.08% THC, .06% CBD, 28.84% total cannabinoids]

Bubblegum Runtz [32.5% THC]

Starberry Cough [21.51% THC, 21.62% total cannabinoids]

Apple Fritter [37.1% THC]

Girl Scout Cookies [36.58% THC]

Organic Purple Haze

Purple Haze [34.5% THC, .043% CBD, 35.2% total cannabinoids]

Z x Georgia Pie [27.8% THC, 29.1% total cannabinoids]

Space Lollipops [31.42% THC, .12% CBD, 32.1% total cannabinoids]

Snow Runtz [37.34% THC]

Sour Tangie [25.05% THC, 25.29% total cannabinoids]

Rainbow Smacks [indoor shake] [23.37% THC, .01% CBD, 34.64% total cannabinoids (15.4% delta-9 THC)]

Platinum Gelato [18.17% THC, .07% CBD]

Blueberry Space Cake [31.98% THC, 33.6% total cannabinoids] [Said to be a 90% indica-10% sativa hybrid. Packaged on 8.31. 2023.]

 

[I am thinking of legally changing my name to Blueberry Space Cake...]

 

Gooberry [30.43% THC, .1% CBD, 31.75% total cannabinoids]

Lemonwreck [34% THC]

Balance [31% THC]

Chill [34% THC]

Platinum Scout [26.90% THC, .07% CBD, 27.60% total cannabinoids]

Cadillac Cookies [38.79% THC, 39.11% total cannabinoids] [infused with THCA "diamonds"] [With the image of an American flag:"Veteran owned and operated since 2017."]

Woah-Si-Woah [41.7% THC, 42.07% total cannabinoids] [infused with THCA "diamonds"]

Grapes N Cream [27.05% THC, .05% CBD]

Space Mamba [32.14% THC, .14% CBD, 32.71% total cannabinoids]

Blue Horchata Mintz [30.44% THC, .08% CBD, 35.78% total cannabinoids]

Triangle Cookies [19.49% THC, .07% CBD (21.22% total cannabinoids: 14.93% THCA, 6.40% delta-9 THC) (1.32% terpenes, including .69% b-caryophyllene and .21% humulene)]

GMO Fuel [Girl Scout Cookies x Chemdawg] [33.1 % THC, .06% CBD, 35.4% total cannabinoids] [A mostly indica strain that has a strong taste and smell reminding some people of things like "garlic, mushrooms, and onions" aka "GMO". (NOT genetically-modified, at least not in the conventional meaning of the term...)] I smoked GMO Fuel to celebrate becoming 72 years old in 2023.

Obama Runtz [30.61% THC, .09% CBD, 31.02% total cannabinoids]

Headband [OG Kush x Sour Diesel] [37% THC]

Jetfuel [31% THC]

GMO [28.7% THC]

Rainbow Belts [Moonbow x Zkittlez] [32% THC}

Wet Dream [Blue Dream x Ocean Beach Haze] [28.65% THC, 28.94% total cannabinoids]

Animal Mints [Thin Mint GSC x Fire OG] [25.03% THC, .03% CBD, 26.62% total cannabinoids]

Mixed Berry Runtz [30.6% THC, .07% CBD, 32.7% total cannabinoids]

Gello [21.4% THC, .04% CBD, 22.15% total cannabinoids] ["Indoor Sugar-Trim"]

Bernie Hana Butter [24.65% THC]

Prism [25.17% THC, 30.06% total cannabinoids]

Delirium [29% THC, 35% total cannabinoids]

Pave [29.9% THC, 30.9% total cannabinoids]

Astro Funk [21.2% THC] [Pre-ground indoor-grown flower shake] [Limited amounts of this surprisingly potent marijuana were being legally sold in California cannabis stores in May 2023 for fifty cents per gram as marijuana "extender"...]

Lemonchello Gelato [33.205% THC] ["Main Terpenes: limonene, caryophyllene, humulene"] A FAVORTE!

Gush Mints [27.32% THC]

Gush Mints [18.6% THC] ["indoor sugar-trim"]

OG Legend Littles [23.11% THC, .06% CBD]

Cherry Chem [21.16% THC, .04% CBD]

Dosilato [27.32% THC]

Cereal Milk [24.5% THC]

Fuji Ice [Apple Fritter x Ice Bx2] [31.44% THC]

White Cherry Gelato [25.07% THC]

Peanut Butter Gelato [Do-Si-Dos x Mendo Breath] [28% THC]

Toffee [26.6% THC]

Maui Cheesecake [24% THC]

Wedding Cake "Sugar Shake" [30.31% THC]

Kush Mints "Sugar Shake" [24.32% THC, 26.46% total cannabinoids]

Apple Sauce [33.84% THC, 37.91% total cannabinoids]

Early Bird [34.71% THC, 38.16% total cannabinoids]

Purple Cake Batter [25.82% THC, .06% CBD, 31.21% total cannabinoids]

True OG [26.4% THC, 27.2% total cannabinoids]

Magic City Mango [Platinum Cookies x GDP x Blue Power x Gelatti] [26.4% THC, .07% CBD, 31.3% total cannabinoids]

Cookie Dawg [26.89% THC, .07% CBD, 31.79% total cannabinoids]

Lemon Jack [25.86% THC, .06% CBD, 30.90% total cannabinoids]

Hawaiian Haze [25.56% THC, .07% CBD, 30.65% total cannabinoids]

Marshmallow OG [24.99% THC (22.49% THCA, 5.25% THCD9), 1.06% CBD, 29.16% total cannabinoids, 4.6% terpenes (1.72% Limonene, .82% B-Caryophyllene, .47% Myrcene, .35% B-Pinene, .30% Linalool, .25% a-Humulene, .24% a-Pinene, .23% Nerolidol) (indoor-grown)]

GMO Crasher [Wedding Crasher x GMO] [24.7% THC, .062% CBD, 26.46% total cannabinoids]

Black Diamond [28.26% THC, .08% CBD, 34.51% total cannabinoids]

Bubba Berry [36.57% THC, .11% CBD, 44.47% total cannabinoids]

Cookies and Cream [26.6% THC, .08% CBD, 32.7% "total active cannabinoids"]

Blue Cookies [38.25% THC, .15% CBD, 46.77% total cannabinoids]

Snowcap [38.96% THC, 41.35% total cannabinoids] [Packaged in May 2022 with an image of people dancing and the words "a Party in every Bag!"]

Hawaiian Dream [26.71% THC, .8% CBD, 31.97% total cannabinoids]

Cookies Kush [27.66% THC, .08% CBD, 32.72% total cannabinoids]

White Kush [26.06% THC, .07% CBD, 34.60% total cannabinoids]

Papaya Punch [28.10% THC, .07% CBD, 33.02% total cannabinoids]

Royal Kush [24.47% THC, .07% CBD, 29.31% total cannabinoids]

Platinum Cake [31.63% THC, .11% CBD, 38.23% total cannabinoids]

Gorilla Breath [22.33% THC, .16% CBD, 23.56% total cannabinoids]

French Cookies [Girl Scout Cookie x Chemdawg] [21.44% THC, .06% CBD, 26% total cannabinoids]

Bubba Hash [34.32% THC, .16% cbd, 35.68% total cannabinoids]

Dank You [26.57% THC, .06% CBD, 31.86% total cannabinoids]

Sugar Plum [27.87% THC, .23% CBD, 28.64% total cannabinoids]

Mazar Kush [36.86% THC, .16% CBD, 38.25% total cannabinoids]

Blackberry Hashplant [26.09% THC, .06% CBD, 31.19% total cannabinoids]

Kali Mist [26.24% THC, .08% CBD, 31.47% total cannabinoids]

Gumball No. 3 [29.73% THC, 35.73% total cannabinoids]

Gumball No. 4 [27.93% THC, 28.31% total cannabinoids]

Wedding Pie [28.13% THC, 32.72% total cannabinoids]

E85 [Jetfuel OG x Biscotti] [32.99% THC, 2.11% CBD, 2.56% terpenes, 35.1% total cannabinoids]

Super Lemon Cherry [31.4% THC, 36.6% total cannabinoids, 2.3% terpenes "white ash, no black ash, all organic, 14-day flush, slow cure"] Sour Jack [24.24% THC, .2% CBD, 25.23% total cannabinoids]

Sweet Diesel [34.3% THC, .06% CBD, 34.41% total cannabinoids]

Banana Dream [25.2% THC, .09% CBD, 30.5% total cannabinoids]

Banana Bread [Banana OG x Maui Bread] [34.98% THC, 42.2% total cannabinoids]

Kush Mountains [30.2% THC, .07% CBD, 35.19% total cannabinoids]

Hindu Kush [24.1% THC, .04% CBD, 28.79% active cannabinoids]

Hindu Kush [24.99% THC, .07% CBD, 29.92% total cannabinoids]

Biscotti Cookies [22% THC]

LA Pop Rocks [27% THC, 31% total cannabinoids]

OCC [17.87% THC, 20.38% total cannabinoids]

Sundae Driver [24% THC]

Flow White [22.14% THC, 0.056% CBD]

Slurricane [22.57% THC, 0.065% CBD]

Super Silver Haze [24% THC, 0.07% CBD, 1.30% total terpenes]

Super Silver Haze [27.87% THC, .16% CBD, 29.98% total cannabinoids]

Space Cakes [31.96% THC]

Gorilla Goo [23.24% THC]

King Louis [20.82% THC, 25.77% total cannabinoids]

Turquoise Jeep [23.6% THC]

OG Kush [22.0% THC]

Kush Mint Cookies [31.36% THC]

Willie's Kush [23.97% THC]

Chem Reserve [38.56% THC]

Petrol Kush [20.73% THC]

Mimosa [24.8% THC, .1% CBD]

Mimosa [27.05% THC, .14% CBD, 27.99% total cannabinoids]

Mimosa [28.49% THC, 0% CBD]

Clout Cake [26.14% THC, .06% CBD] ["Friends Don't Let Friends Smoke Mids"]

Cali Cherry Pie [20.60% THC, .08% CBD]

PR OG [16.51% THC]

Meat Breath [21.26% THC, 26.56% total cannabinoids]

Orange Cookies [19.90% THC]

White Fire [29.1% THC, .07% CBD, 34.5% total cannabinoids]

Motorbreath [15.42% THC]

805 Sour [20.72% THC]

Cherry Dosido [Cherry Cheesecake x Dosido] [29.98% THC]

Cherry Do-Si-Do [24% THC]

Super Chem [Sour 2.0 x Chem] [21.28% THC, 26.17% total cannabinoids]

Orange [20.08% THC]

Malawi Dream [20.4% THC, .19% CBD]

Purple Cake [18.34% THC]

Strawberry Banana [20.59% THC, .19% CBD]]

Peanut Butter Breath [18.18% THC]

Peanut Butter Breath [27.7% THC, .05% CBD, 32.8% total cannabinoids]

Alien OG [20.18% THC]

Garanimal Cookies [20.64% THC, .03% CBD]

Dark Karma [Dutch Treat x Strange Love] [25.71% THC, .04% CBD]

China White [26.42% THC]

Gushers [20.65% THC]

Gushers [36.08% THC]

Los Angeles Kush [23.05% THC]

Triple Scoop Gelato [27.7% THC]

Purple Punch [26.44% THC]

Trifi Cookies [21.99% THC]

Rollins [24.36% THC]

Wedding Chemz [24.2% THC] [from a cannabis company founded by Grateful Dead percussionist Mickey Hart]

Han Solo Burger [GMO Cookies x Larry F8] [More than 30% THC]

Cereal Milk [29% THC, 31.12% total cannabinoids] [A hybrid strain that is distributed in glass jars with VIVIDLY colorful reflective metallic labels containing 28 pre-rolled filter-tipped marijuana cigarettes. Each marijuana cigarette contains .5 gram "greenhouse hydroponic" cannabis.

 

One of the warnings on the label:

 

"Smoking cannabis increases your cancer risk and during pregnancy exposes your child to delta-9-THC and other chemicals that can affect your child's birth weight, behavior, and learning ability."]

 

Ice Cream Cake [22.2% THC] ["Honest Flower" brand "Indica" from Eden Enterprises. "Flower You Can Trust" 3.5 grams in a small child-resistant plastic container from Calyx Containers. "Made in USA"]

Humboldt OG ["17.76% THC" hybrid pre-roll. Cultivator: "Grouse Mountain Green" in Humboldt County, California. Distributor: "Emerald Family Farms" 2019]

Ghost OG ["22.49% THC .05% CBD" hybrid "Manufactured and distributed by Flora California" from "Sessions Supply Co." pre-roll]

Wedding Cuvee ["21.60% THC .05% CBD" hybrid "Manufactured and distributed by Flora California" from "Sessions Supply Co." "Time For Blast Off" (On package containing 3.5 grams) 2019]

Jungle Glue ["Krush Kingz" pre-roll by "Berkeley Pharmz" 2019]

Orange Mango ["19.8% THC" "Distributed by Black Oak Gallery" 2019]

Ziablo [Grown by IC Collective.] [2019] [The jars containing 3.5 grams feature one of my favorite labels, a very colorful skeleton-skull!]

Now and Laters ["20.51% THC" "Sativa" Grown in Shasta County, California, and distributed by Ember Valley, 2019.]

Ghost Mints ["23.31% THC, 0.9% CBD". "...may be habit forming." "This product may be unlawful outside of Washington State." from "Green Fire Production, Inc."]

Extreme Jack [16.49% THC "even hybrid" "greenhouse-grown" "Warning: This product can expose you to chemicals including arsenic, which is known to the state of California to cause cancer. For more information, go to www.p65warnings.ca.gov" from Foxworthy Farms, 2019.]

Blackout ["Inspire featuring limonene 7.84% THC, 8.05% CBD. From Abatin Farms, 2018]

Cherry Vortex [Sativa-dominant."17.46% THC". From Headwaters. Source: UPI Supply Systems, Inc. Origin: Carpenteria, CA. Packaged 12. 14. 2018. Expiration date: 12. 13. 2019. "WARNING: Cancer and Reproductive harm."]

Wedding Cake ["14.36% THC" pre-roll from "Humboldt Growers". 2019] [Also: from Marley Natural, "grown in Trinity County, California." "16.3% THC" 2019] [Also: "from Sublime, in Oakland, California." "Fuzzies" brand pre-roll, "infused with cannabis concentrate, kief, and terpenes" "25% THC and 1% CBD" 2019] [Also: from Pacific Stone in Santa Barbara, California 2019]

Blueberry Muffin ["15.94% THC" pre-roll from "Humboldt County Indoor". Harvested 12.1. 2018]

Unicorn Tears [indoor Sativa"blend"] "22.8% THC", 1 gram pre-roll from Sunset Connect in San Francisco, 2024.

Raspberry Diesel ["18.2% THC", grown by "Fleur d'elite"]

Banjo [hybrid pre-roll from "Just Chief"]

Banjo [2 gram bottle from "Coastal Sun Farm". Package date: 8.28. 2019. "26% THC. 30.9% total cannabinoids". "Consciously Grown." "Healthy Plants Heal Humans".]

Banjo ["16.49% THC "sativa" from Pacific Stone in Santa Barbara, California.

Wifi43 [pre-roll from State Flower Cannabis Company, San Francisco 2019 "19.63% THC"]

Dolato [hybrid pre-roll from "Just Chief"]

Miss U.S.A. [1 gram all flower Indica pre-roll from Lowell Smokes. 18% THC. In a glass tube. "Test: Cannasafe 01. 19. 19"]

Royal Blend ["Krush Kings" brand pre-roll from "Industry Standard Group, Inc." 18.74% THC "hybrid-indica" "Your Royal Highness"]

San Fernando Valley OG ["The Weed Brand pre-roll. 1 gram."]

Shark Shock ["The Weed Brand pre-roll. 1 gram." "grown by Caliber." "Harvested 4.20. 2019." "19.5% total cannabinoids"]

Gelato 45 [The Weed Brand preroll. Harvest date: 7.23. 2018. Packed: 9.24. 2018. "Best Buy": 7.23. 2019. 16.9% THC. 0.26% CBD.]

Banana Bubble [1 gram pre-roll. 160 mg THC. Manufactured by Marigold. Packaged in Santa Rosa, California. 9.28. 2018. "Cultivation with a conscience"]

Fire OG [1 gram pre-roll. 29.23% THC. "infused with oil and kief". From Jeeter.] Pure Kush [Indica. pre-roll. 133 mg THC. "Harvested 7.6. 2018. Best by 10.3. 2019."]

Grizzly Bones [Hybrid. 1 gram pre-roll. Indoor-grown. 155 mg THC. "Grown by Grizzly Peak Farms."]

"Lifted" brand .7 gm "House Cone Fortified with Hash Oil"]

"Cookies" brand "Triple Scoop Infused Blunt" [1 gram flower, .25 gram BADDER, and .25 gram THCA] [hemp wrap and glass tip.]

Super Silver Haze [infused pre-roll] [29.26% THC]

Chocolate Hashberry [Grown in downtown Los Angeles. "Manufactured by Purple Heart Compassionate, Inc."]

Orange Citron ["19.19% THC, 0.02% CBD" "Packaged 4.24. 2019" from "Molecular Farms" in California.]

El Fuego [from "Molecular Farms"]

Key Lime Pie ["Humboldt Farms" "Premium Flower-Hybrid" "15.2% THC, 0.00% CBD" "Harvested on July 2018, Packaged on July 2018" "One-Eighth Ounce" in a clear glass jar with a stopper made of wood. The label has a 1" x 2" colorful detailed image of tall trees and small flowers and a small white Volkswagen van. Printed with metallic ink. After smoking some Key Lime Pie I decided that, in my opinion, this extremely appealing image is the best illustration I have seen on a cannabis label.]

Taffie [This medical cannabis strain is sold in cork-lined light-proof well-labeled tins, each containing 5 joints. The tins come sealed in a bag that contains a Boveda 2-way humidity control packet. This product is distributed by Humboldt Legends, and is labeled Steelhead Sativa. Organically grown in sunlight and harvested by hand. The label has the name (and a copy of the handwritten signature) of the person who grew the marijuana (Scott Davies). Also the batch number and the percentages of THC (19.5%) and CBD (0.0%). The label on the back of the tin states that the group of cultivators who call themselves "Humboldt Legends" have been growing marijuana for "forty years". A warning note states that marijuana is a “Schedule 1 controlled substance”. And that “Smoking this product will expose you and those in your immediate vicinity to marijuana smoke...known to the State of California to cause cancer.” “Keep out of reach of children and animals.” "This product may impair the ability to drive or operate machinery." Obtained in the San Francisco bay area, 2017. (After I smoked some of this marijuana in a dark room, I closed my eyes and saw beautiful hallucinations that were extremely complex, with uniquely vivid colors. When I opened my eyes I had a VERY strong urge to write poetry.)]

Juicee Fruit ["bud-only pre-roll. 1 gram. Cultivated 7.28.18. Packaged 7.16.18. Batch ID 6-15-18-JF.] THC 21.14%. 211.4 mg/serving. 0mg CBD/serving V.H.H.C. Juicy Fruit $9.99+Tax" Seven Leaves brand, packaged in black plastic child-proof tube]

"Top Shelf Rainbow Diesel Minis [Sativa]" [small joints]

"Top Shelf Hell OG Minis [Indica]" [small joints]

"Maui Wowie" [infused flowers] 25.20% Delta-9 THC, 41.75% total cannabinoids [from Baby Jeeter]

"Blue Poison" indoor-grown ground Sativa flower infused with solventless cannabis oil [45.1% THC, 47.8% total cannabinoids]

"Pineapple Express" hybrid indoor cannabis-infused 51.17% THC prerolls, live resin-infused, kief-coated, and terp-enhanced. Five prerolls in a glass jar from Stiiizy. Each pre-roll weighs .5 gram.

"Mericanna" hybrid [small joint] "16.79% THC" [2018]

"Pacific Remedy Shatter joint, hand-rolled in California" "Blue Russian flower, Kosher Kush, BHO Snake" "Indica-dominant" [2017]

"Heshies" brand pre-rolls "Selfies" [small joints] [2019]

"Sour Diesel X Sherbet" [Hybrid pre-roll. 19.97% THC.] [2019] [From Pacific Sunset.]

"Sublime King Fuzzies", pre-roll terpene-enhanced "top shelf bud, CO2 wax/kief", "Indica OG Kush" "THC 253 mg". [2017]

"Watermelon" ["Fuzzies" infused pre-roll, 54.72% THC]

"Trix Bubble" [concentrate]

"Fire Walker" [Raw Garden brand .5 gram pre-roll infused with "Crushed Diamonds" from fresh frozen whole flower. 42.4%

cannabinoids]

ZAZA flower pre-rolls [65% THC, .84% CBD "infused with dual refined distillate, rolled in golden kief"]

"Shiva Crystals" [hashish]

"Pineapple Fruz" [52.56% THC] "Diamond-infused select flowers" in a glass jar containing 2.5 grams of flowers, plus one gram "diamond". [Pineapple Fruz flowers are totally covered with THC "diamond" that looks like dense confectioner's powdered sugar.]

Bombed Buzz [36.46% THC, 36.30% total cannabinoids] ["ingredients: cannabis flwers, THCa, terpene blend"] The packaging features a colorful and vivid cartoon of a bee wearing aviator goggles, smoking a joint while kicked-back on a red bomb falling through the clouds, with these words: "Our mission is to achieve federal legalization for veterans. Your purchase helps fund our lobbying efforts to pressure Congress and the White House to make it happen ASAP. Thank YOU for YOUR support. Let's Roll!" [From the "American Weed Company"]

"Biscotti" [Indica] [Half gram THC pods, for vaping.] [88.24% THC.] [2019] [From STIIIZY. Made by Ironworks Collective.]

"Juicy Melon" [Half gram pods, for vaping.] [41.05% THC, 1:1 CBD] [2020] [From STIIIZY] "This product can expose you to chemicals including Beta-myrcene, which is known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm."

"Sky Diver" ["Refined raw resin. 84.68% THC .29% CBD" ["Indica hybrid" cartridge made by "Raw Garden" "100% fresh frozen whole flower terpenes and cannabis oil" 2019]

Jack Herer brand 1 ml cannabis oil cartridge 83.98% THC, .16% CBD, 89.49% total cannabinoids

"Yogi Berries"["Refined raw resin. 81.99% THC."] ["Indica hybrid" cartridge made by "Raw Garden" 2019]

"Skydoggie" ["Refined raw resin. 83.33% THC 0.2% CBD"] ["Indica" cartridge made by "Raw Garden" 2019]

"Chemberry" ["Refined raw resin. 81.65% THC .35% CBD"] ["Indica" cartridge made by "Raw Garden" 2019]

"Chem Walker" ["Refined raw resin. 81.82% THC" ["Indica hybrid" cartridge made by "Raw Garden" 2019]

"Lemon Haze" [Distilled CO2 extract.] ["90.63% THC 1.64% CBD".] [Made by "Clear Day". 2019]

"Mendo Breath" [CO2- extracted cannabis oil. 78.2% THC.] [From by Marley Natural.] [2019]

"Mango Kush" [Cannabinoid extract plus terpene blend cartridge] [2019] [Made by "Pure Extracts".]

"Select" brand "Mimosa" "cannabis oil vape cartridge" [125 doses per cartridge] 3.5 mg THC per dose. [from the "Select" brand label: "Curating the Science of Feeling" [2018]

Cali Gold H20 [extracted cannabis resin]

"Emerald Dream" ["Single Origin"] [Trinity County, CA] [58% THC] cannabis oil extracted with CO2 [cartridge for use with "Highlighter" vapor pen]

Garlic Cookies [Raw Zen solvent-less cannabis extract. 72.45% THC. One gram in a small glass jar.] [2019]

"Chemdawg" ["terpene rich distillate" by Bakked. 81% THC. 1.14% CBD.]

"XJ-13" [distillate. 88.08% THC. ]

"Granddaddy Purple" ["Flavored Cannabis Extract" cartridge, for vaping, by "Naked Extracts"] ["Indica] ["Ingredients: Cannabis Extract, Non-Cannabis Terpene Blend, Natural Flavors"] [2019]

"Granddaddy Purple" "cured resin" [79.6% THC, 82.1% total cannabinoids]

"Green Crack" [distillate. 88.13% THC.]

[Concentrates:

Banana Kush 95.25% THC

Banana OG 79% THC

Skywalker OG 91.62% THC

Alien OG 87.76% THC

Sour Cookies 89.53% THC

King Louis XIII 85.85% THC

King Louis XIII 90.76% THC

King Louis XIII 92.28% THC

Blue Valley 77.54% THC, .23% CBD

Acapulco Gold 87% THC, .18% CBD, 92% total active cannabinoids

Lemon Tree 90% THC

OG Kush 91.68% THC

Purple Punch 91.7% THC

Super Silver Haze 79.46% THC [live resin]

Electric Blue 78.69% THC [live resin]

Dutch Treat Haze 84% THC, .20% CBD

Blackberry Kush 82.4% THC

SFV OG (San Fernando Valley OG) 78% THC

Crunch Berries Crumble 88.96% THC, 89.09% total cannabinoids

Apple Jack 88% THC

Strawberry Shortcake 91% THC

Dream Queen 87% THC

Star Chaser 89.42% THC

Berry Blast 88.13% THC

Jack Herer 90.83% THC

Blackberry Diesel 91.1% THC

Beach Party 2 83.07% THC

God's Gift 90.8% THC

Mango Dream 86% THC

Strawnana 92.25% THC

Stawberry Shortcake 91% THC

Melonade 91% THC

Incredible Hulk [Green Crack x Jack Herer] 88.93% THC

Strawberry Cough 85.47% THC

Mendo Clouds 83.77% THC

Golden Kiwi 82.84% THC

Do-Si-Dos 91.35% THC

Cookies 84% THC

Blue Beary 83.91% THC

Birthday Cake 83.15% THC

Birthday Cake 87.72% THC

Watermelon Z 71.45% THC

Watermelon OG 91% THC

Cannis Major x Milky Way 65.6% THC, 67.9% total cannabinoids

Double Platinum Cookies 73.27% THC

Gorilla Cookies 77.65% THC

Orange Cookies #12 83.89% THC

Yoda OG 90.43% THC

Blueberry Cookies 85.0% THC

Grapefruit Romulan 92.2% THC

Limeade 83.20% THC

Premium Jack 90.5% THC

Dosi Lemonade 81.62% THC

White Fire 93% THC

Fruity Pebble OG 92.0% THC

Slurmberry 82.71% THC

Pineapple Express 92.82% THC

Georgia Peach 90.63% THC, .23% CBD

"Raw Garden" brand "Forbidden Fruit" "liquified diamonds and botanical terpenes" [87.98% THC, 92.81 total cannabinoids] ***Ocean Beach .5 gram "dry flower" vape cartridge from Cookies (November 2021): 35.3% delta-9 THC, 59.3% total THC, THCA 27.3%. Total terpenes: 7.53%, 1.8% Limonene, 1.08% Linalool, 1.54% Betacaryophyllene***

"hybrid cannabis" from Space Monkey Meds.

Chemdawg + Gelato "Sativa cannabis flowers" distributed in 2019 by "Papa's Herb", 3.5 grams in a lightproof ziplock bag.

  

"Green Crack" cannabis flowers bought at High Fidelity, a marijuana store next to Amoeba Music on Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley, several blocks from the University of California campus. "Grown by: Blue Nose. Harvested: 10.18. 2018. THC: 16.42%." High Fidelity motto: "Your supreme source for herbal inspiration and higher education."

(After smoking this marijuana, I ate a bag of HIPPEAS brand Bohemian Barbecue Flavor organic chickpea puffs. "Store in a dry and, like, totally cool place.")

 

("UC Berkeley synthetic biologists have engineered brewer's yeast to produce marijuana's main ingredients--mind-altering THC and non-psychoactive CBD--as well as novel cannabinoids not found in the plant itself. Feeding only on sugar, the yeast are an easy and cheap way to produce pure cannabinoids that today are costly to extract from the buds of the marijuana plant..."

 

---Robert Sanders, "Yeast Produce Low-Cost High-Quality Cannabinoids", news.berkeley.edu, 2.27. 2019).

  

"THC-Indica" transdermal patch 18.4 mg THC per patch. By Mary's Medicinals. [Made: 2.4. 2019. Expires: 2.4. 2021.] I have also tried the CBD version.

 

"Releaf Patch" Transdermal patch by Papa & Barkley. "18.56 mg THC plus 18.61 mg CBD" Mfg. date: 7.15. 2019 Best by date: 8.5. 2020

 

Oh, Yes! [cannabis extract + aloe vera] [for vaginal use] [from Quim]

  

[A few times I have gone for months without smoking marijuana, and then smoked a potent joint. On more than one such occasion I have experienced intense fearful disorientation, acute paranoia, and horrible physical distress including nausea and a sudden loss of consciousness. CAUTION IS ESSENTIAL!]

  

I have eaten a variety of cannabis preparations sold at marijuana stores in Berkeley, including:

 

"Emerald Bay Extracts" ["a women owned company"] brand 25 mg THC tablets. [Each of these tablets is said to contain 25 mg of THC from RSO "full spectrum" marijuana oil extracted from a very potent strain of Cannabis Indica called "Afgoo". (The strain is so-named because it is very resinous and is genetically related to marijuana from Afghanistan.) RSO "full spectrum" marijuana oil is named for a Canadian, Rick Simpson, who claimed in 2003 that "full spectrum" marijuana oil can cure a variety of ailments. RSO is VERY easily made by soaking dried and cured marijuana flowers in ethyl alcohol, then filtering out the flowers by pouring the alcohol/marijuana oil mixture through a coffee filter, then removing the alcohol from the alcohol/marijuana oil mixture by heating, leaving the "full spectrum" marijuana oil in the bottom of the container.

 

"Full spectrum" marijuana oil can be made from any strain of marijuana. I first made "full spectrum" marijuana oil more than 51 years ago. Over the decades I made and smoked quite a bit of it. I remain convinced that "full spectrum" marijuana oil made using pure food-grade ethyl alcohol as a solvent yields a product that gets me higher when I smoke it than any other marijuana oil I have tried that was made by any other method.

 

I never ate any of the "full spectrum" marijuana oil I made because I thought it was too difficult to accurately measure the dosage.

 

I find these easily dividable tablets to be EXTREMELY potent.

 

["Emerald Bay Extracts" also produces 25 mg THC tablets containing RSO "full spectrum" marijuana oil extracted from a very potent and, to me, very mind-active strain of Cannabis Sativa, "Blue Dream". Also 25 mg THC tablets containing RSO "full spectrum" marijuana oil extracted from a powerful and, to me, dreamy strain of Cannabis Indica, "Grand Daddy Purple". Also 25 mg THC tablets containing RSO "full spectrum" marijuana oil extracted from what to me is a wonderfully sensual strain of Cannabis Sativa, "Super Sour Diesel". Also 25 mg tablets containing RSO "full spectrum" marijuana oil extracted from a mysterious and exotic strain of Cannabis Sativa known as "Blackberry Sour". Also 25 mg tablets containing RSO "full spectrum" marijuana oil extracted from a strain of Cannabis Indica, "Ice Cream Cake". Also 25 mg THC tablets containing RSO "full spectrum" marijuana oil extracted from a (what I often find to be trippy) strain of indica-dominant hybrid cannabis, "Trifi Cookies". Also 25 mg tablets containing RSO "full spectrum" marijuana oil extracted from a strain of hybrid cannabis, "Banana Kush". Also 25 mg tablets containing RSO "full spectrum" marijuana oil extracted from a strain of Cannabis Sativa, "Lemon Zest". Also 25 mg tablets containing RSO "full spectrum" marijuana oil extracted from a thrillingly tasty strain of indica-dominant hybrid cannabis called "Dosilato" that seems to make art come alive. Also 25 mg tablets containing tasty RSO "full spectrum" marijuana oil extracted from a hybrid strain of Cannabis Sativa, "Lemon Cherry Gelato" ("Sunset Sherbet" x "Girl Scout Cookies"). Also 25 mg tablets containing RSO "full spectrum" marijuana oil extracted from a hybrid strain, "Runtz". The indescribable mental effects I experience after taking "Banana Kush" tablets are INTENSE.]

 

["Emerald Bay Extracts" gave me a free tin of small tablets. The rainbow-colored tin contained 20 tablets made in a variety of colors. Each 5 mg THC tablet contained RSO "full spectrum" marijuana oil extracted from a strain of marijuana called "XXX". "Pride Pack", April 2021.]

 

["Emerald Bay Extracts" also produces stronger 50 mg THC tablets containing RSO "full spectrum" marijuana oil extracted from a fascinatingly dreamy strain of Cannabis Indica, "Biscotti". I was given a free 20-tablet tin of these stronger doses at a cannabis store on 4.20. 2023..."WARNING! SUPER POTENT!"]

 

"Plus" brand vegan "10:1 Calm Mango" gummies, each containing 1 mg THC, 10 mg CBD, and a blend of terpenes. [20 gummies per container]

"Froot" brand orange tangie-flavored cannabis-infused "chews", each containing 10mg of THC. "sativa" [10 "chews" per package]

"Froot" brand blue razz dream-flavored cannabis-infused "chews", each containing 10mg of THC. "hybrid" [10 "chews" per package]

"Pax" brand wild strawberry-flavored cannabis-infused live rosin gummies containing 10mg THC. [10 gummies per package]

"Park Jams" brand coconut-flavored cannabis-infused gummies containing 10 mg THC. [10 gummies per package]

"Kiva" brand peppermint pattie-flavored dark chocolate-coated cannabis-infused "bites" containing 5 mg THC from "solventless cold water hash". [20 "bites" per container]

"Yummi Karma" brand "Wicked Apple Drops". Each bottle contains 30 milliliters of fractionated coconut oil, "whole plant cannabis extract" said to contain 1000 mg THC, flavors and sweetener. Each one milliliter dose is said to contain 32.89 mg THC, .08 mg CBD, .89 mg CBG, and .42 mg CBC. [San Francisco bay area in California, 2022]

"Uncle Arnie's" brand "Blueberry Night Cap" cannabis-infused beverage. Each 59 ml bottle contains cannabis oil containing 100 mg THC and 25 mg CBN.

"High Power" brand "Watermelon "cannabis-infused THC tincture", 250 mg THC per bottle.

"Korova" brand "Cannabis-Infused Tincture", said to contain 1000 milligrams of [what I experience as VERY POTENT] "THC distillate" per bottle. With "Midnight Guava" flavoring, water, etc. ["DRINK ME. MIX ME. MICRODOSE. MACRODOSE."]

"Butter Brothers" brand Brownies, Phat Mints, Blackberry Streusel, Ginger Snaps, Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Peanut Butter Cookies.

"Absolute Extracts" brand Sleepy Time blueberry lavender cannabis-infused gummies containing "Ice Water Cannabis Extract, CBN, terpenes", etc. [5 mg THC plus 2.5 mg CBN per gummy] [2023]

"Dr. Norm's" brand SleepWell gummies containing "nanotized THC, nanotized CBN & long acting THC" [10 mg nano THC blend, 5 mg nano CBN, and 1 mg CBD per gummy] [2023]

"Chill" brand chocolate bar with finely crushed espresso coffee beans and 100 mg THC.

"Pura Vida" brand Ocean Spray, Happy Trails, Chocolate Jubilee, and Chocolate Chip Protein Bar.

"Ganja Candy" brand Caramel, Blackberry, and Dr. Pepper.

"Tainted" brand Thin Mints

"Dank" candy

"420 Grand" candy

HealTHCare "Private Reserve OG" [cannabis tincture in vegetable glycerin base]

"Double-Strength Medi Pills" [cannabis oil capsules]

"Shiva Candy" [hashish candy]

"Auntie Dolore's Medical Cannabis Glazed Pecans"

"Hashey's 200 mg Indica Bar" [made with dark chocolate In Santa Cruz]

"Rhino Pellet" [tiny cookie]

"Potlava" [vegan cannabis baklava]

"Enjoyable Edibles" brand cannabis-infused Snickerdoodle cookies. ["10.8 mg THC" per cookie. Each package contains 10 cookies. Made with "full-spectrum cannabis extract" by Ironworks Collective. 2019]

"Habit" brand "Sparkling Pineapple Cooler". 10 doses of THC in each 12.6 fl. oz. bottle. Made in Los Angeles by Canna Healthcare, Inc.

"Orange Zest Awakening Mints" [sublingual 10 mg THC tablets]

"Drivn" brand watermelon-flavored cannabis-infused gummies, 10 mg THC per gummy.

"Breez" brand mints [sublingual 5 mg THC tablets]

"Kiva" brand Blackberry Dark Chocolate [cannabis oil candy]

"Black Cherry Gummi" [cannabis oil candy]

"Wyld" brand Elderberry gummies [10 mg THC and 5 mg CBN per piece] For sleeping. "It's a little like watching sheep count you."

"Absolute Extracts" brand Blueberry Lavender gummies [5 mg THC and 2 mg CBN per piece] For sleeping.

"Original PLUS Super Potent Hybrid Cannabis-Infused Gummies" ["20 mg THC"]

"PureCure Sativa Strips" [preparation for oral use] [from the label: "EXTREMELY STRONG!"]

"Dr. Norm's Extra Strength medical cannabis cookie" "Chocolate Chip Therapy" 25 mg THC per cookie. hybrid.

"Full Extract Cannabis Oil" [Indica-dominant strain, for oral use. Full-plant extracted with ethyl alcohol. Dated 12.1. 2015 and provided in a 3 milliliter oral syringe marked for 0.1 milliliter doses. "THC 37.05%"]

"Stokes" brand "Mint Micros" [Sativa-strain] [small tablets, each containing 5 mg of cannabis extract] [I have used 2 different flavors: Mint and Watermelon]

OMedibles brand "Tree Hugger Medical Cannabis Cinnamon Maple" [high CBD extract mixed with nuts and spices]

Utopia Farms brand "Medical Cannabis Raspberry Macaroons"

"Cafe Attitude THCoffee" 40 mg THC per 8 oz. bottle ["70% Sativa, 30% Indica"]

 

"Evil Aunt Emily's Seriously Psychotic Suckers" [cannabis oil candy] ["79 mg cannabis oil" per sucker])

 

("'Remember when Abigail got her prescription for medical marijuana and we all went to the top of Doheny and sucked on those marijuana lollipops and watched the sun set?'

 

'That was a perfect day', Cheryl says definitely."

 

---A.M. Homes, portraying some young people in Los Angeles in a short story in her book DAYS OF AWE.)

 

"Sprig" brand citrus soda containing 45 mg THC per can. Made in California. [2017]

Petra "Moroccan mint"-flavored medical cannabis tablets, each containing 2.5 mg THC plus matcha tea. Produced in 2017 by Kiva, a not-for-profit collective. Lab tested by CW Analytical. "A micro-dosed blend." Packaged in tins containing 42 tablets.

 

Kiva "Lost Farm" cannabis-infused fruit chews, 10mg THC from "live resin" per piece. These fruit chews are strain-specific. My favorite so far is BLUEBERRY.

 

["CW uses its best efforts to deliver high-quality results and to verify that the data contained therein are based on sound scientific judgement. However, CW makes no warranties or claims to that effect and further shall not be liable for any damage or misrepresentation that may result from the use or misuse of this data in any way."

 

---from a disclaimer issued by CW Analytical. (found outside of a warehouse in Berkeley in 2019.)]

  

"KushyPunch" brand plum flavor Cannabis Indica gummies. Each gummy contains 10 mg THC + 0.1 mg CBD + 0.8 gm sugar. "Feel the power of the punch"

"Korova" brand Peanut Butter Dip cookie, containing 100 mg THC.

"OmEdibles" brand Sour Apple flavor cannabis gummies. Each gummy contains 10 mg THC. Distributed in plastic boxes containing 6 gummies each.

"OmEdibles" brand Lychee Blossom flavor cannabis gummies, packaged the same as the above.

"CuriouslyCannabis" brand "Rayne Drops" berry, orange, and lemon flavor cannabis pastilles. Each pastille contains 5 mg THC. Distributed in tins containing 20 pastilles each.

"Emerald Sky" brand Alpine Strawberry cannabis-infused licorice. 10 mg THC per piece [Cannabis Sativa]. 10 pieces per container.

"Emerald Sky" brand Creme Filled Chocolate cannabis infused cookies. 10 mg THC per cookie [hybrid cannabis]. 10 cookies per box.

Kanha "Enhanced Nanomolecular Gummies" made from hybrid cannabis 10 mg THC in each "Blueberry Blast"-flavored dose. 2019.

"Cannabis-Infused" organic microwave popcorn, 44.5 gram pop-up bag containing 10 mg THC and less than 2 mg CBD. Made in Berkeley in 2019 by "Type 7 Manufacturing, Inc". "Movie Night's New Best Friend".

"Somatik" brand "Sparks" cannabis-infused chocolate coffee beans. 3 mg THC per bean. 25 beans per container. '"Lovingly made by A Tribe of Us Collective". "Turn Your Magic On".

"Smokiez Edibles" brand Cannabis Infused Watermelon Fruit Chews. 10 mg THC per piece.

"Smokiez Edibles" brand Cannabis Infused Peach Fruit Chews. 10 mg THC per piece.

"Smokiez Edibles" brand Cannabis Infused Green Apple Fruit Chews. 10 mg THC per piece.

Kaneh Co. brand Mango Chile fruit jellies. 5 mg THC per serving. Manufactured by Xtracta.

Distribution, Inc. Made and packaged 3.6. 2019. Best by 7.6. 2019. Tested 3.15. 2019 by Infinite Chemical Analysis.

Kaneh Co. brand Raspbery Lime fruit jellies. 5 mg THC per serving.

"Edible Cannabis Oil" batch 030119-MUT-5-01 [4.30. 2019] by CalVape Collective.

"Chew & Chill" Blueberry Dream + Sky Og Indica "LIVE RESIN" gummies, 10 mg THC per gummy

"MC Farma" brand "Full Spectrum Oil" capsules "THC 90 + THCV" ["THC 80.11 mg + CBD 20.35 mg + THCV 29.09 mg + CBG 2.98 mg" per capsule. Cannabinoids, lipids, fats, and terpenes remain in full spectrum extraction, which "enhances efficacy and is known as the 'entourage' effect." Each package contains 10 capsules. Manufactured in 2020 in Marin County, California.

Also: "MC Farma" brand "Full Spectrum Oil" capsules "THC 60" [" THC 62.86 mg + CBD .38 mg + THCV 2.92 mg +CBN 1.66 mg + CBG 3.63 mg" per capsule.]

Glowing Buddha brand grape flavor cannabis candy, 10 mg THC per piece. Made in Santa Rosa, California. 2020

 

[It is not uncommon for people to have EXTREMELY negative experiences after they have eaten too much of a product containing cannabis. CAUTION IS ESSENTIAL!])

  

(The cannabinoid cannabidiol [CBD], along with the cannabinoid tetrahydrocannabinol [THC], is produced by many marijuana [cannabis] plants. Bottled water containing CBD is currently [2021] being sold over-the-counter ["AN EXTREMELY EXTREME VALUE"] at my local grocery store, where it apparently is frequently purchased by schoolkids. [From the "CBD Living Water" label: "Consult your physician before use if you are pregnant, lactating, have a medical condition or are taking any medication. CANNABIDIOL USE MAY BE HARMFUL. KEEP OUT OF THE REACH OF CHILDREN. These staements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease."] Last night I saw an ad for "Harrelson's Own CBD" on national TV: "When Life Gets Crazy...It Just Makes Everything About My Day Better")

  

("...the dudebros continue to pile into pot. Perhaps their worst public showing was when a bunch of them traversed the convention floor during MJ Bizcon wearing t-shirts that read 'Buy Weed From Rich White Men'. This was supposedly a response to the Buy Weed From Women movement, which has popular t-shirts of its own."

 

---Dan Mitchell, in his article "Low Times-2022: the year of stunts and desperation", East Bay Express, 12.28. 2022.)

  

("...marijuana is not legal."

 

---Ed Rosenthal, interviewed by Paul Kilduff, The Monthly, December 2014.)

  

("Indeed, positive hits for pathogenic mold are already changing grower operations. 'You smoke ten random samples of cannabis and you've most likely smoked aspergillus [mold],' said Dave, one of the lab's two founders. 'It's in there, often at unacceptable levels. Now it's up to the industry to respond. We also are not in a position where we want to make enemies and piss people off. We want to see it happen in the best way for the movement and the industry to kind of just naturally evolve.'

While the distributed nature of California's cannabis supply network obviously benefits mom-and-pop growers, it doesn't encourage quality assurance. Consequently, Dave and his peers believe that some pot consumers are in danger.

'It's expensive to test every single thing that comes through the door — that's the price you pay with a decentralized supply system,' Dave said. 'But that's what you've got. You've got five pounds coming from here and two from there and one individual. I mean, a dog walks in the grow room, and wags its tail — anything can be coming off that dog's tail. It's gross. Fertilizers with E. coli. Compost teas that they don't make right, anaerobic tea that has elevated levels of E. coli and salmonella...There's no way that this is sustainable. All it takes is one story of immune-compromised people dying from aspergillus infection. The myth that cannabis hasn't killed a single person in 3,000 years is allowed to go on. Well, it's not cannabis that kills people, it's all the shit that's in it.'

 

[From "The Manhattan Project of Marijuana", David Downs, the East Bay Express, 3.4. 2009.])

  

(Steep Hill Lab says eighty-five percent of the medical marijuana samples it tests "show traces of mold".

 

---Peter Hecht, "Pot Lab Fills Need for Oversight", the Sacramento Bee, 4.6. 2010. The owners of Steep Hill Lab in Oakland California [which is NOT a federally-certified laboratory] are extremely in favor of medical marijuana...)

  

("We find e.coli in hash. We're seeing pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacteria that's found in filth."

 

---Robert Martin, of the Association of California Cannabis Labs. Martin was quoted by David Downs in the East Bay Express, 4.11. 2012.)

  

("It's a nasty little secret in the medical marijuana world that many growers spray their plants liberally with pesticides..."

 

---Robert Gammon, the East Bay Express, 7.28. 2010.)

  

(In places like Berkeley in 2018, where cannabis production is encouraged, much cannabis waste is generated. Some of the waste is toxic if consumed. Moldy marijuana, marijuana contaminated with chemicals, contaminated hashish, and contaminated cannabis concentrates do not seem to be rare. Some homeless people, alcohol addicts, and methamphetamine addicts find these sometimes poisonous contaminated cannabis products in garbage containers and sell them on the streets...)

  

("A 2015 study published in The Journal of Toxicological Sciences found that more than 80 percent of the concentrate samples were contaminated by residual solvents."

 

"In the same 2015 study, pesticides were detected in one-third of the concentrate samples."

 

---Kathleen Richards, The East Bay Express, 3.21. 2018, in an article about vaping cannabis.)

  

("...the true danger in untested cannabis comes from the potential pathogens--pseudomonas, aspergillis, and E. coli are routinely found by our laboratory [CW Analytical]."

 

---David Egerton, in a letter to the editor of the East Bay Express, 7.18. 2012.)

  

("...Anresco Laboratories conducted tests on all of the cannabis featured at the HempCon Festival held in San Francisco in August 2017. The San Francisco-based laboratory discovered that 80 percent of the cannabis at the festival was contaminated with unhealthy levels of solvents, pesticides, molds, fungus, or various bacteria."

 

---John Geluardi, East Bay Express, 9.20. 2017.)

  

(Over the decades, I have seen MANY careless and ignorant people with hands contaminated by perfume, cologne, cosmetics, grease, oils [and a number of other toxic substances] use their fingers to prepare marijuana for smoking. I am dismayed by the amount of marijuana I have had to throw away because of toxic substances that stupid and/or careless people have allowed marijuana to come into contact with!)

  

("Illegal Vapes are Killing People. Blame the 'Legal Market'"

 

---title of an article by Dan Mitchell, 9.11. 2019, East Bay Express. This San Francisco bay area newspaper is extremely pro-marijuana.

 

"Legal cannabis has created a market for manufactured products like vapes and gummies. If not for that legal market, there would likely be far fewer pirates out there making what look like legal vapes--complete with legit-looking packaging--but were actually made half-assedly by random cretins. When it comes to vapes, half-assed production can mean illness and death."

 

There is a full color ad for the Magnolia dispensary in Oakland on the same page as the article. "Dab Bar and Vape Lounge Open 7 Days 9AM--9PM".)

  

("People like to make poison. If you don't understand this, you will never understand anything."

 

---Margaret Atwood, in a short story, quoted by Jia Tolentino in her review of Atwood's 2019 novel THE TESTAMENTS, a sequel to THE HANDMAID'S TALE. The review was in the 9.16. 2019 issue of The New Yorker.)

  

("Mycobutanil...was found in a product recently recalled by Mettrum Ltd., a Toronto-based medical marijuana company."

 

Mycobutanil, used to control mildew, is said

The Cannabinoids feat. Erykah Badu

 

© All rights reserved. No use without my prior written permission.

 

Auditorium Shores

SXSW Music Festival

3/21/09

 

Breakthrough Treatment of IBS, Crohn's & Colitis!

 

thehealthyskeptics.com/ibs-crohns-colitis/

 

Hello, this is the skeptics video for Tuesday, February twentieth. I'm Steven Cherniske. If you're new to this blog, you can check out our credentials and our experience that the healthy skeptics. Today we're talking about inflammatory bowel disease, a group of disorders including Crohn's disease, colitis and irritable bowel syndrome. Uh, these diseases affect more than 3,000,000 people in the US and that's conservative because these are 3,000,000 people where the disease has been diagnosed by endoscopy and confirmed whereas the actual number of people experiencing these disorders is probably much higher than the 3,000,000. The conventional treatment includes basically a bunch of drugs and I'm not telling people to stop taking your drugs and I'm not suggesting you disregard the advice of your doctor. What I'm saying is that we need to look at alternative treatments. The conventional treatment is basically relying on anti inflammatories, primarily prednisone and other steroids, immune system suppressors because, uh, there is an auto immune components and most ib, the antibiotics of course, to control the end to take care of the infections that ensue and other medications including antidiarrheals.

 

So that's the conventional approach. It helps people to manage their disease and rarely does it result in a what we would call a cure or complete remission from the disease. Now along comes something which is important for you to know cannabis. THC has been shown to be effective in the treatment of Crohn's disease. Now, whether they find in a placebo controlled human clinical trial, read this with me completely mission and five out of 11 people in the thc positive clinical response in 10 of 11, 3:11 subjects were completely weaned off of their, of their steroids, had improved sleep and appetite with no significant side. We've talked a lot about about cbd. We've talked a lot because Natalie and I are selling a cbd tincture as well as a cbd, Gil capps and a topical cream, but those are cbd. Those are derived from industrial hemp, so they are a hemp extracts, has no thc in these products because otherwise we couldn't sell them across the lines.

 

You could drink this entire bottle of CBD tincture and not get high. The people in this study were actually smoking pot and achieved remarkable results. So let's talk about that. When we look at the endocannabinoid system, how is it that these people experiences dramatic improvements? The endocannabinoid system, which we discussed on this blog a lot, and you're welcome to go back and look at any of the previous videos. If you're a member of the healthy skeptics, you have access to a to a searchable database where it's searchable, keyword, searchable, and you can find, you know, prior blogs that we've done on the endocannabinoid system. You can also study it for yourself, but keep in mind that this system is all about what balance. It's all about balance and the more we study human physiology, the more we studied pathology. We understand that it's really all about balance.

 

Every time it's about balance. It's hardly ever about about hitting some symptom symptoms with a sledgehammer hammer sometimes, but most often it's not most open. It's about restoring balance system does you produce compounds in your own buddy derived from dietary fats which activate the endocannabinoid system to provide balance for immunity to buy probiotic balance for your nervous system and the management of pain in addition to the endocannabinoids are the compost that your body makes to establish and maintain balance. You can also eat these compounds that have activity and they bind to receptors in the endocannabinoid system. No CBDS bind to those receptors. Produce benefits you can see, feel and objectively measured, so does thc. THC works differently than the CBDS, but this is what we want to focus on. Let's look at the details. I know this will be a little bit complex for some of you, but I know a lot of healthcare professionals watching this vlog and I want to go into a little bit of detail so you get the the important points ready.

 

Here we go. CB One and CB two receptors are located in the colonic epithelium in the gut and it protective effect of thc via epithelium. Permeability is likely, in other words, if you've got leaky gut, is entirely likely that thc is helping to improve the barrier mechanism of the gut. Let's move on. Cannabinoids could enhance it, but the whole your wound closure in the code, one of the prominent features of ca cannabinoids in experimental intestinal inflammation is their effect on immunoscience, which mainly expressed cb two receptors who knew that until very recently, who knew that sells the whining, that gut right, that are basically immunoscience. These are cells producing immune combat. Who knows that they mainly expressed CB two receptors. You see, this is all new information and important for all of us and especially clinicians to do to understand upon cb two activation to cells undergo apoptosis and decreased proliferation and there was a down regulates the immune system which is basically hyper active in in intestinal disease.

 

Does that make sense? So additionally, activating CB two diminishes the recruitment of neutrophils and macrophages. Another way that is helping to calm everything down in the gut, right? CB receptors are also found in me enteric nervous system. This is the nervous system that exists in your gut. The enteric nervous system which controls gut motility and secretion, CB receptors present in the enteric nervous system represent a break that protects the ens from hyperstimulation of inflammatory mediators that activate the ns during intestinal bowel disease. Activation of CB receptors by TAC may reduce hypermobility associated with inflammation of the gut. The reduction of hyper mobility may consequently alleviate diarrhea producing beneficial side effects for the patient. That a, that's a. it's a long. It's a 14 page study, but I wanted to distill it down to one page of how did it do what it did. So you know meth there.

 

This is a map that shows you where marijuana is or medical marijuana is illegal, and that's all the green streets, right? United states in the Washington DC, 29 states where medical marijuana is legal, where if you have a diagnosis of any intestinal disease, whether it's Crohn's, colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, you can get a note from your doctorate, go into a dispensary and buy thc products by all those areas. If you have, if you have one of those disorders and you live in one of the grey states, move. I'm serious. This is such a breakthrough and it's so important for your quality of life that if you can't walk into a dispensary with a, with a note from your doctor certifying the need for Thc, you might want to move. There's where you can go any of those states at the same time, I wouldn't be remiss if I didn't remind you that there is another breakthrough, but this breakthrough happened long ago in the treatment of Crohn's disease.

 

Patients with refractory that means they tried everything and nothing worked right? Patients with refractory crows and disease or ulcerative colitis respond to t h e a. What did that look at? The 20 2003. If you've got any of these problems, if you got irritable bowel syndrome, colitis, Crohn's, and you went to your doctor, your conventional doctor probably never looked at the study that looked at it. They probably forgot it immediately because DNA is not on their prescription pad. Now look at this. Treatment with the Aga was effective in randomized controlled trials in patients with Lupus. Did you know that? All right. Does your. Does your rheumatologist know that? But it's true. The concentrations are decreased in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. There is a smoking gun, Dah inhibits nf Kappa b, a profoundly inflammatory. Okay, and the secretion of aisle six, another inflammatory cytokine. Viola practices on proliferator activated receptor Alpha, so we even know how it does what it does. Look at the results of the study to get the results. Six out of the seven pages and against seven pages is not a lot. That's why this is called the pilot study right now. Six or seven patients with Crohn's disease and eight of 13 patients with ulcerative colitis responded to oral daa treatment, right. Six crohn's disease patients and six ulcerative colitis patients went into remission. No patient withdrew from the study because of certain events. Conclusion studied. Dag was effective and safe in patients with refractory causes. These ulcerative colitis.

 

No. I hope that your understand that boost that it was done in Germany because in the US there is very little research being done on the gay. That research came to a screeching halt right after my book that was published in Nineteen Ninety six called the Dag and breakthrough. Um, my new book, which I am presently writing that will be out on my 17th birthday, is basically called the conspiracy of silence and I think that it will be a blockbuster. He goes, I'm blowing the whistle on the fact that the dag revolution, which should have occurred or it was canceled and I know who canceled it and I know why I'm not a conspiracy nut, but this one is obvious. So we have two things now in conclusion for, for, for the effective non drug treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. We have thc and we have Dah, Dah. Talk to your doctor about this. Take these studies, print them out and bring them to your doctor. And if you have any questions or comments, please put them in the comment section on this video. And we respond to all comments and questions. We are the healthy skeptics. Thank you for spending some time with us. Check us out at the healthy skeptics. Don't come to healthy skeptics, facebook page as well as the healthy skeptics youtube channel. Bye for now.

A bong (also water pipe, billy, bing, or moof) is a filtration device generally used for smoking cannabis, tobacco, or other herbal substances. In the bong shown in the photo, the gas flows from the lower port on the left to the upper port on the right.

 

In construction and function a bong is similar to a hookah, except smaller and especially more portable. A bong may be constructed from any air- and water-tight vessel by adding a bowl and stem apparatus (or slide) which guides air downward to below water level whence it bubbles upward ("bubbler") during use. To get fresh air into the bong and harvest the last remaining smoke, a hole known as the "carburetor", "carb", "choke", "bink", "rush", "shotty", "kick hole", or simply "hole", somewhere on the lower part of the bong above water level, is first kept covered during the smoking process, then opened to allow the smoke to be drawn into the respiratory system. On bongs without such a hole, the bowl and/or the stem are removed to allow air from the hole that holds the stem.

 

Bongs have been in use by the Hmong, in Laos and Thailand, and all over Africa for centuries. One of the earliest recorded uses of the word in the West is in the McFarland Thai-English Dictionary, published in 1944, which describes one of the meanings of bong in the Thai language as, "a bamboo waterpipe for smoking kancha, tree, hashish, or the hemp-plant." A January 1971 issue of the Marijuana Review also used the term.

 

ETYMOLOGY

The word bong is an adaptation of the Thai word bong or baung (Thai: บ้อง, [bɔ̂ŋ]), which refers to a cylindrical wooden tube, pipe, or container cut from bamboo, and which also refers to the bong used for smoking.

 

HISTORY

Excavations of a kurgan in Russia in 2013 revealed that Scythian tribal chiefs used gold bongs 2400 years ago to smoke cannabis and opium. The kurgan was discovered when construction workers were clearing land for the construction of a power line.

 

The use of a water pipe for smoking was introduced in China during the late Ming Dynasty (16th century), along with tobacco, through Persia and the Silk Road. By the Qing Dynasty, it became the most popular method to smoke tobacco, but became less popular since the Republic era. While typically employed by commoners, the water pipe is known to have been preferred by Empress Dowager Cixi over snuff bottles or other methods of intake. According to the Imperial Household Department, she was buried with at least three water pipes; some of her collections can be seen in the Palace Museum.

 

The water pipe employed since the Qing dynasty can be divided into two types: the homemade bamboo bong commonly made and used by country people, and a more elegant metal version employed by Chinese merchants, urbanites, and nobility. Metal utensils are typically made out of bronze or brass, the nobility version of silver and decorated with jewels. Typically, the metal version is made out of the following components:

 

- The water pipe itself, a single-piece construct consisting of the bowl-stem, the water container, and a drawtube at least 3 inches, but some can be up to 12 inches in length. Some are straight with a "Joint" (Sandblasted top part of stem, usually about 1 inch long, and all the way around, tapered or cone shaped, so the tapered, or "cone shaped" bowl will fit in)some are bent to resemble a crane. The size of the bowl is similar to that of a one-hitter, typically the width of a thumbnail or smaller.

- The tobacco container with a lid.

- A pipe rack small enough to be held by one hand, and consisting of two large holes for the tobacco container and the water pipe. It may have smaller holes to hold various pipe tools.

 

During a smoking session, the user may keep all equipment inside the rack and just hold the entire assembly (rack, pipe, and container) in one hand, lighting the bowl with a slow-burning paper wick (纸煤) lit over a coal stove. Unlike in North America and the Southern Hemisphere, the water pipe is typically employed by older generations.

 

USE

The water can trap some heavier particles and water-soluble molecules, preventing them from entering the smoker's airways. The mechanics of a bong are compared to those of a laboratory gas washing bottle. The user puts their mouth at the top and places the cannabis in the tube, as shown in the picture.

 

Bongs are often either glass or plastic that use a bowl, stem, and water to produce smoke. Most glass bongs are made from heat resistant borosilicate glass, allowing the bong to withstand repeated use and heat exposure without breaking. After the bowl has been packed and water has been inserted into the bong, the substance is lit and the smoke is drawn through water to produce a smoother smoke than other methods of smoking do. To smoke a bong, the smoker must inhale in the bong so bubbles containing smoke begin to come from the stem. Once the bong has a fair amount of smoke built up, either the carb is uncovered or the stem is separated from the bong, allowing the remaining smoke to be inhaled.

 

However, a 2000 NORML-MAPS cannabis study found that "water pipes filter out more psychoactive THC than they do other tars, thereby requiring users to smoke more to reach their desired effect". In the study, smoke from cannabis supplied by the NIDA was drawn through a number of smoking devices and analyzed. This study looked at the tar to cannabinoid ratio in the gas in output by various bongs, as well as unfiltered and filtered joints, and vaporizers. The results showed that only vaporizers produced a better tar to cannabinoid ratio than unfiltered joints, but that within the cannabinoids produced, even vaporizers warped the ratio of THC (the psychoactive component of the smoke) to CBN (capable of producing medical benefits but is not psychoactive) in favor of CBN. This showed an unfiltered joint had the best tar to THC ratio of all, and bongs were actually seriously detrimental in this respect.

 

MAPS also reviewed a study that examined the effects and composition of water-filtered and non-filtered cannabis and tobacco smoke. It found that when alveolar macrophages were exposed to unfiltered smoke, their ability to fight bacteria was reduced, unlike exposure to water-filtered smoke. It also found substantial epidemiological evidence of a lower incidence of carcinoma among tobacco smokers who used water-pipes, as opposed to cigarettes, cigars, and regular pipes. "It appears that water filtration can be effective in removing components from cannabis smoke that are known toxicants... The effectiveness of toxicant removal is related to the smoke's water contact area."

 

Specially designed water pipes, incorporating particulate filters and gas-dispersion frits, would likely be most effective in this regard; the gas-dispersion frit serves to break up the smoke into very fine bubbles, thereby increasing its water-contact area." These frits are commonly referred to as diffuser for the way that they diffuse (or disperse) the smoke as it exits the downstem, and usually consist of small holes or slats at the end of the downstem. This study suggests that a bong's smoke is less harmful than unfiltered smoke.

 

LEGAL ISSUES

In the United States, under the Federal Drug Paraphernalia Statute, which is part of the Controlled Substances Act, it is illegal to sell, transport through the mail, transport across state lines, import, or export drug paraphernalia.

 

In countries where marijuana and hashish are illegal, some retailers specify that bongs are intended for use with tobacco in an attempt to circumvent laws against selling drug paraphernalia. While technically 'bong' does not mean a device used for smoking mainly cannabis, drug-related connotations have been formed with the word itself (partly due to punning with Sanskrit bhangah "hemp"). Thus for fear of the law many head shops will not serve customers who use the word "bong" or "bongs", or any other word typically associated with illegal drug use.

 

Some brand name bong manufacturers (notably RooR) have sought to curb the counterfeit market for their products by suing stores accused of selling fake merchandise.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Nuevamente, Trinidad María de los Milagros Sáez (Trini para mí, jaja), María Paula Aronne (Pau para mí) y Laura Romina Caltana (Lau para mí). ¡Mueránse de la envidia hombres del mundo libre! Las tres fueron MIS compañeras y son MIS amigas.

Las tres doctoras de la UBA. Trini y Pau, biólogas; Lau, médica.

Trini y Lau hicieron sus tesis sobre cannabinoides y Pau, como yo, en alcoholismo-materno fetal.

Como verán somos chicos sanos muy alejados del contacto con las drogas que son malas. Je.

La foto fue tomada en el laboratorio en Diciembre de 2009 (todavía no había seteado la fecha de mi recién adquirida K-x) cuando yo ya había presentado y defendido mi tesis. Después vinieron las de Paula, Laura y, por último, Trini.

Laura y Trini tienen cargos docentes de dedicación exclusiva en la UBA, son docentes de histología y siguen en la investigación científica; Trini en el laboratorio del Dr Tomás Falzone (el Profesor I) y Laura en el de Alicia Brusco, que fuera la directora de todas nuestras tesis y es directora del IBCN y profesora titular de la Cátedra. Pau se fue a la industria farmacéutica y está haciendo investigación clínica (quizás sea la más viva de todos nosotros, ¿no?).

De más está decir que las quiero un montón (¿se nota?).

Breast Milk, Babies & Cannabinoid Receptors = Just about the weirdest true headline ever written. bigbudsmag.com/...

Some people think that smoking #cannabis doesn’t affect the lungs?

 

Well the thing is, that it can, especially since there are some chemicals that can be bad for the #health of the #lungs when consumed.

 

While it’s not as bad as #smoking #tobacco, there are some things to consider, which we’ll discuss here.

 

The research

 

There are certain carcinogens in tobacco that are definitely much more potent.

 

Cannabis doesn’t deliver nicotine either, but instead cannabinoids along with terpenes to the body.

 

Cannabinoids are a potential protection against the carcinogens too.

 

When you smoke cannabis, you usually focus on just the THC and #CBD, but the cannabinoids offer effects that are different, with #THC getting you high, with CBD not changing the effects of this.

 

But the molecules may actually offer protection against the damaging effects of smoking.

 

Cannabis and tobacco smoke are not the same in terms of carcinogen’s according to a paper panned by Robert Melamede. In this, he delved into the ways that the cannabis smoke differs from tobacco smoke, with both of them having different damaging parts especially polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

 

The enzymes in your body convert these into #carcinogens normally, but THC actually blocks this, which leads Melamede to believe that this cannabinoid actually offers better effects than normal smoking.

 

In another rapper that looked at smoking and cancer, the team devised these different hypotheses before they start the #research.

 

First they said that there is a possibility of carcinogens that could increase the cancer, but there are #phytochemicals and #cannabinoids that offset this.

 

There is also the hypothesis that the effects of this actually might decrease the risk of #cancer.

 

After looking at the data collection, the authors of the study concluded that the hypothesis of cannabis increasing cancer risk isn’t supported by data, and that the data actually found that there was a negative trend that comes between cannabis, and the risk for cancer too.

 

Lung Function and Cannabis

 

In another study published recently, it was found that there was an association between the exposure and function of the lungs.

 

The study looked at both cannabis and tobacco users, and also looked at how the flow rate changes, lung volume of the person, and whatnot affects things.

 

There was a study that found a strong connection between tobacco and the lung function being reduced too.

There is a very obvious relationship there. However, with cannabis it told a different tune, where the airflow was better the more a person smoked, to a degree of course.

 

However, the researchers also found that frequency may be another explanation for that, since most people that smoke cannabis do it a lot less than those who smoke tobacco as well. Cannabis inflicted a little bit more damage in those who were heavy smokers though.

 

What about Heavy Smokers

 

There are some evidence that’s have been found which found that if you are smoking it a lot, you will have some decline in the function of your lungs, which means that you should be a little bit more moderate or look to other means to smoke weed in this case.

 

#Vaping is one of the best ways to move to an alternative to smoking if you want to consume it fast. This is pretty easy to use, but there is a potential risk to the heart and lungs too, but it’s a whole lot less.

 

#Edibles are probably the best one if you want to take out the lungs from all of this too. The one downside is they’re much more potent though.

 

A bong (also water pipe, billy, bing, or moof) is a filtration device generally used for smoking cannabis, tobacco, or other herbal substances. In the bong shown in the photo, the gas flows from the lower port on the left to the upper port on the right.

 

In construction and function a bong is similar to a hookah, except smaller and especially more portable. A bong may be constructed from any air- and water-tight vessel by adding a bowl and stem apparatus (or slide) which guides air downward to below water level whence it bubbles upward ("bubbler") during use. To get fresh air into the bong and harvest the last remaining smoke, a hole known as the "carburetor", "carb", "choke", "bink", "rush", "shotty", "kick hole", or simply "hole", somewhere on the lower part of the bong above water level, is first kept covered during the smoking process, then opened to allow the smoke to be drawn into the respiratory system. On bongs without such a hole, the bowl and/or the stem are removed to allow air from the hole that holds the stem.

 

Bongs have been in use by the Hmong, in Laos and Thailand, and all over Africa for centuries. One of the earliest recorded uses of the word in the West is in the McFarland Thai-English Dictionary, published in 1944, which describes one of the meanings of bong in the Thai language as, "a bamboo waterpipe for smoking kancha, tree, hashish, or the hemp-plant." A January 1971 issue of the Marijuana Review also used the term.

 

ETYMOLOGY

The word bong is an adaptation of the Thai word bong or baung (Thai: บ้อง, [bɔ̂ŋ]), which refers to a cylindrical wooden tube, pipe, or container cut from bamboo, and which also refers to the bong used for smoking.

 

HISTORY

Excavations of a kurgan in Russia in 2013 revealed that Scythian tribal chiefs used gold bongs 2400 years ago to smoke cannabis and opium. The kurgan was discovered when construction workers were clearing land for the construction of a power line.

 

The use of a water pipe for smoking was introduced in China during the late Ming Dynasty (16th century), along with tobacco, through Persia and the Silk Road. By the Qing Dynasty, it became the most popular method to smoke tobacco, but became less popular since the Republic era. While typically employed by commoners, the water pipe is known to have been preferred by Empress Dowager Cixi over snuff bottles or other methods of intake. According to the Imperial Household Department, she was buried with at least three water pipes; some of her collections can be seen in the Palace Museum.

 

The water pipe employed since the Qing dynasty can be divided into two types: the homemade bamboo bong commonly made and used by country people, and a more elegant metal version employed by Chinese merchants, urbanites, and nobility. Metal utensils are typically made out of bronze or brass, the nobility version of silver and decorated with jewels. Typically, the metal version is made out of the following components:

 

- The water pipe itself, a single-piece construct consisting of the bowl-stem, the water container, and a drawtube at least 3 inches, but some can be up to 12 inches in length. Some are straight with a "Joint" (Sandblasted top part of stem, usually about 1 inch long, and all the way around, tapered or cone shaped, so the tapered, or "cone shaped" bowl will fit in)some are bent to resemble a crane. The size of the bowl is similar to that of a one-hitter, typically the width of a thumbnail or smaller.

- The tobacco container with a lid.

- A pipe rack small enough to be held by one hand, and consisting of two large holes for the tobacco container and the water pipe. It may have smaller holes to hold various pipe tools.

 

During a smoking session, the user may keep all equipment inside the rack and just hold the entire assembly (rack, pipe, and container) in one hand, lighting the bowl with a slow-burning paper wick (纸煤) lit over a coal stove. Unlike in North America and the Southern Hemisphere, the water pipe is typically employed by older generations.

 

USE

The water can trap some heavier particles and water-soluble molecules, preventing them from entering the smoker's airways. The mechanics of a bong are compared to those of a laboratory gas washing bottle. The user puts their mouth at the top and places the cannabis in the tube, as shown in the picture.

 

Bongs are often either glass or plastic that use a bowl, stem, and water to produce smoke. Most glass bongs are made from heat resistant borosilicate glass, allowing the bong to withstand repeated use and heat exposure without breaking. After the bowl has been packed and water has been inserted into the bong, the substance is lit and the smoke is drawn through water to produce a smoother smoke than other methods of smoking do. To smoke a bong, the smoker must inhale in the bong so bubbles containing smoke begin to come from the stem. Once the bong has a fair amount of smoke built up, either the carb is uncovered or the stem is separated from the bong, allowing the remaining smoke to be inhaled.

 

However, a 2000 NORML-MAPS cannabis study found that "water pipes filter out more psychoactive THC than they do other tars, thereby requiring users to smoke more to reach their desired effect". In the study, smoke from cannabis supplied by the NIDA was drawn through a number of smoking devices and analyzed. This study looked at the tar to cannabinoid ratio in the gas in output by various bongs, as well as unfiltered and filtered joints, and vaporizers. The results showed that only vaporizers produced a better tar to cannabinoid ratio than unfiltered joints, but that within the cannabinoids produced, even vaporizers warped the ratio of THC (the psychoactive component of the smoke) to CBN (capable of producing medical benefits but is not psychoactive) in favor of CBN. This showed an unfiltered joint had the best tar to THC ratio of all, and bongs were actually seriously detrimental in this respect.

 

MAPS also reviewed a study that examined the effects and composition of water-filtered and non-filtered cannabis and tobacco smoke. It found that when alveolar macrophages were exposed to unfiltered smoke, their ability to fight bacteria was reduced, unlike exposure to water-filtered smoke. It also found substantial epidemiological evidence of a lower incidence of carcinoma among tobacco smokers who used water-pipes, as opposed to cigarettes, cigars, and regular pipes. "It appears that water filtration can be effective in removing components from cannabis smoke that are known toxicants... The effectiveness of toxicant removal is related to the smoke's water contact area."

 

Specially designed water pipes, incorporating particulate filters and gas-dispersion frits, would likely be most effective in this regard; the gas-dispersion frit serves to break up the smoke into very fine bubbles, thereby increasing its water-contact area." These frits are commonly referred to as diffuser for the way that they diffuse (or disperse) the smoke as it exits the downstem, and usually consist of small holes or slats at the end of the downstem. This study suggests that a bong's smoke is less harmful than unfiltered smoke.

 

LEGAL ISSUES

In the United States, under the Federal Drug Paraphernalia Statute, which is part of the Controlled Substances Act, it is illegal to sell, transport through the mail, transport across state lines, import, or export drug paraphernalia.

 

In countries where marijuana and hashish are illegal, some retailers specify that bongs are intended for use with tobacco in an attempt to circumvent laws against selling drug paraphernalia. While technically 'bong' does not mean a device used for smoking mainly cannabis, drug-related connotations have been formed with the word itself (partly due to punning with Sanskrit bhangah "hemp"). Thus for fear of the law many head shops will not serve customers who use the word "bong" or "bongs", or any other word typically associated with illegal drug use.

 

Some brand name bong manufacturers (notably RooR) have sought to curb the counterfeit market for their products by suing stores accused of selling fake merchandise.

 

WIKIPEDIA

A staged image taken by a Greater Manchester Police photographer to illustrate the dangers of using Spice.

 

The drug is made of a mixture of toxic cannabinoids. It works on similar receptors in the body to that of cannabis but is 800 times stronger.

 

Unlike cannabis that just partially bonds to our receptors and causes a mild relaxation, Spice and its synthetic cannabinoids fully bond and take over the molecules affecting the central nervous system. This explains some of the shocking symptoms Spice is capable of causing such as seizures, hysteria and paranoia.

 

In May 2016 after an increase in the circulation and demand of Spice, the Psychoactive Substances Bill was introduced making synthetic cannabinoids illegal and a class B drug.

The implementation of the bill caused the established shops to disappear but meant the distribution had gone underground.

 

The drug is now one of GMP’s priorities and positive action is being taken against dealers and those found in possession, as this is a criminal offense.

 

Working under Operation Mandera, officers and a specialist Spice team have plans to tackle the problem and eliminate it from our streets.

 

PC Andy Costello who works as part of the specialised team commented: “Spice has been widely publicised recently for its devastating effects and how it’s destroying our already vulnerable homeless communities. At just £5 a bag it is easily accessible and with the effects being visible in just 45 seconds it’s providing that escapism that our users are craving.

 

“The effects can last for up to an hour and include vomiting, foaming at the mouth, paranoia and extreme hysteria. I would advise anyone who isn’t a trained medic to stay away and give the victim plenty of space and approach with caution. If a victim appears to be sleeping, try to wake them calmly as any sudden shocks can cause heart failure.

 

“We are now working with Manchester Metropolitan University to identify the contents of different batches and to see if we can spot any patterns in the hopes of identifying specific suppliers.”

 

To find out more about Greater Manchester Police please visit our website. www.gmp.police.uk

 

You should call 101, the national non-emergency number, to report crime and other concerns that do not require an emergency response.

 

Always call 999 in an emergency, such as when a crime is in progress, violence is being used or threatened or where there is danger to life.

 

You can also call anonymously with information about crime to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

 

Crimestoppers is an independent charity who will not want your name, just your information.

 

Your call will not be traced or recorded and you do not have to go to court or give a statement.

  

Smoking a joint using tobacco and Happy Joker, a legal high that has a similar effect to cannabis

 

Social Issues Photography

A bong (also water pipe, billy, bing, or moof) is a filtration device generally used for smoking cannabis, tobacco, or other herbal substances. In the bong shown in the photo, the gas flows from the lower port on the left to the upper port on the right.

 

In construction and function a bong is similar to a hookah, except smaller and especially more portable. A bong may be constructed from any air- and water-tight vessel by adding a bowl and stem apparatus (or slide) which guides air downward to below water level whence it bubbles upward ("bubbler") during use. To get fresh air into the bong and harvest the last remaining smoke, a hole known as the "carburetor", "carb", "choke", "bink", "rush", "shotty", "kick hole", or simply "hole", somewhere on the lower part of the bong above water level, is first kept covered during the smoking process, then opened to allow the smoke to be drawn into the respiratory system. On bongs without such a hole, the bowl and/or the stem are removed to allow air from the hole that holds the stem.

 

Bongs have been in use by the Hmong, in Laos and Thailand, and all over Africa for centuries. One of the earliest recorded uses of the word in the West is in the McFarland Thai-English Dictionary, published in 1944, which describes one of the meanings of bong in the Thai language as, "a bamboo waterpipe for smoking kancha, tree, hashish, or the hemp-plant." A January 1971 issue of the Marijuana Review also used the term.

 

ETYMOLOGY

The word bong is an adaptation of the Thai word bong or baung (Thai: บ้อง, [bɔ̂ŋ]), which refers to a cylindrical wooden tube, pipe, or container cut from bamboo, and which also refers to the bong used for smoking.

 

HISTORY

Excavations of a kurgan in Russia in 2013 revealed that Scythian tribal chiefs used gold bongs 2400 years ago to smoke cannabis and opium. The kurgan was discovered when construction workers were clearing land for the construction of a power line.

 

The use of a water pipe for smoking was introduced in China during the late Ming Dynasty (16th century), along with tobacco, through Persia and the Silk Road. By the Qing Dynasty, it became the most popular method to smoke tobacco, but became less popular since the Republic era. While typically employed by commoners, the water pipe is known to have been preferred by Empress Dowager Cixi over snuff bottles or other methods of intake. According to the Imperial Household Department, she was buried with at least three water pipes; some of her collections can be seen in the Palace Museum.

 

The water pipe employed since the Qing dynasty can be divided into two types: the homemade bamboo bong commonly made and used by country people, and a more elegant metal version employed by Chinese merchants, urbanites, and nobility. Metal utensils are typically made out of bronze or brass, the nobility version of silver and decorated with jewels. Typically, the metal version is made out of the following components:

 

- The water pipe itself, a single-piece construct consisting of the bowl-stem, the water container, and a drawtube at least 3 inches, but some can be up to 12 inches in length. Some are straight with a "Joint" (Sandblasted top part of stem, usually about 1 inch long, and all the way around, tapered or cone shaped, so the tapered, or "cone shaped" bowl will fit in)some are bent to resemble a crane. The size of the bowl is similar to that of a one-hitter, typically the width of a thumbnail or smaller.

- The tobacco container with a lid.

- A pipe rack small enough to be held by one hand, and consisting of two large holes for the tobacco container and the water pipe. It may have smaller holes to hold various pipe tools.

 

During a smoking session, the user may keep all equipment inside the rack and just hold the entire assembly (rack, pipe, and container) in one hand, lighting the bowl with a slow-burning paper wick (纸煤) lit over a coal stove. Unlike in North America and the Southern Hemisphere, the water pipe is typically employed by older generations.

 

USE

The water can trap some heavier particles and water-soluble molecules, preventing them from entering the smoker's airways. The mechanics of a bong are compared to those of a laboratory gas washing bottle. The user puts their mouth at the top and places the cannabis in the tube, as shown in the picture.

 

Bongs are often either glass or plastic that use a bowl, stem, and water to produce smoke. Most glass bongs are made from heat resistant borosilicate glass, allowing the bong to withstand repeated use and heat exposure without breaking. After the bowl has been packed and water has been inserted into the bong, the substance is lit and the smoke is drawn through water to produce a smoother smoke than other methods of smoking do. To smoke a bong, the smoker must inhale in the bong so bubbles containing smoke begin to come from the stem. Once the bong has a fair amount of smoke built up, either the carb is uncovered or the stem is separated from the bong, allowing the remaining smoke to be inhaled.

 

However, a 2000 NORML-MAPS cannabis study found that "water pipes filter out more psychoactive THC than they do other tars, thereby requiring users to smoke more to reach their desired effect". In the study, smoke from cannabis supplied by the NIDA was drawn through a number of smoking devices and analyzed. This study looked at the tar to cannabinoid ratio in the gas in output by various bongs, as well as unfiltered and filtered joints, and vaporizers. The results showed that only vaporizers produced a better tar to cannabinoid ratio than unfiltered joints, but that within the cannabinoids produced, even vaporizers warped the ratio of THC (the psychoactive component of the smoke) to CBN (capable of producing medical benefits but is not psychoactive) in favor of CBN. This showed an unfiltered joint had the best tar to THC ratio of all, and bongs were actually seriously detrimental in this respect.

 

MAPS also reviewed a study that examined the effects and composition of water-filtered and non-filtered cannabis and tobacco smoke. It found that when alveolar macrophages were exposed to unfiltered smoke, their ability to fight bacteria was reduced, unlike exposure to water-filtered smoke. It also found substantial epidemiological evidence of a lower incidence of carcinoma among tobacco smokers who used water-pipes, as opposed to cigarettes, cigars, and regular pipes. "It appears that water filtration can be effective in removing components from cannabis smoke that are known toxicants... The effectiveness of toxicant removal is related to the smoke's water contact area."

 

Specially designed water pipes, incorporating particulate filters and gas-dispersion frits, would likely be most effective in this regard; the gas-dispersion frit serves to break up the smoke into very fine bubbles, thereby increasing its water-contact area." These frits are commonly referred to as diffuser for the way that they diffuse (or disperse) the smoke as it exits the downstem, and usually consist of small holes or slats at the end of the downstem. This study suggests that a bong's smoke is less harmful than unfiltered smoke.

 

LEGAL ISSUES

In the United States, under the Federal Drug Paraphernalia Statute, which is part of the Controlled Substances Act, it is illegal to sell, transport through the mail, transport across state lines, import, or export drug paraphernalia.

 

In countries where marijuana and hashish are illegal, some retailers specify that bongs are intended for use with tobacco in an attempt to circumvent laws against selling drug paraphernalia. While technically 'bong' does not mean a device used for smoking mainly cannabis, drug-related connotations have been formed with the word itself (partly due to punning with Sanskrit bhangah "hemp"). Thus for fear of the law many head shops will not serve customers who use the word "bong" or "bongs", or any other word typically associated with illegal drug use.

 

Some brand name bong manufacturers (notably RooR) have sought to curb the counterfeit market for their products by suing stores accused of selling fake merchandise.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Manchester- spice epidemic

 

Leica M3, 35mm f2 Summicron and Tri-X @ 1200, developed in HC-110 dilution B (1+31) for 16 minutes at 20C.

A diagram showing the general process by which fats and fat-soluble molecules are broken down and absorbed by the digestive system. After processing, fat-soluble molecules are taken into the cells lining the intestine, where they are packaged and routed to the lymph vessel.

 

When eaten, cannabinoids and other fat-soluble bioactive molecules take a circuitous route to the bloodstream. In the intestine, fat globules carrying bioactive molecules are broken down into smaller droplets by bile salts and enzymes. The resulting bubble-like micelles can enter the cells lining the gut. There, micelles are packaged into lipid nanoparticles and ferried to the lymphatic system, eventually reaching the bloodstream. If the bioactive compound has been modified to make it water-soluble, it may skip the lymphatic route and go directly to the bloodstream.

 

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Read more in Knowable Magazine

 

Building a better edible

Foods and beverages containing cannabis are popular, but probing their effects is difficult. Scientists are scouring existing studies and knowledge from nutrition research to learn how these products interact with the body.

knowablemagazine.org/article/food-environment/2021/buildi...

 

Take a deeper dive: Selected scholarly reviews

 

Enhancing Efficacy, Performance, and Reliability of Cannabis Edibles: Insights from Lipid Bioavailability Studies, Annual Review of Food Science and Technology

Studies of fat-soluble bioactive molecules, such as nutraceuticals and vitamins, can inform how the body absorbs cannabis edibles and help guide the design of these consumable products.

www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev-food-032519-051834

 

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Knowable Magazine is an editorially independent initiative produced by Annual Reviews, a nonprofit publisher dedicated to synthesizing and integrating knowledge for the progress of science and the benefit of society.

 

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#Cannabis has a lot of chemicals that can make up the whole plant itself. #CBG, not to be consumed with CBD, is one of them, and here, we’ll discuss what this molecule does in the cannabis plant, and why both #CBD and #THC need this, and any other unique and interesting effects that this has as well.

 

What is It?

This is a part of the plant that’s been isolated from the plant itself.

 

We know THC as the psychoactive part of this, but CBG doesn’t produce that.

 

It actually creates a high because of how it interacts with the #endocannabinoids, which are network receptors that create cannabinoids. This latches onto the CB1 receptors directly, which gives you a high.

 

But CBD actually doesn’t bind directly onto the CB1 and CB2 receptors, but instead goes for the more expanded system, including some of the vanilloid receptors and the nervous system signals.

 

CBD is something that works as a precursor to the other cannabinoids that we have here. This is actually a precursor to CBD and THC and it actually is called the “mother cannabinoid for this very reason.

 

The biosynthesis

In order to understand how this works, let’s talk about the biosynthesis of this, which is basically how the cannabinoid becomes what it is.

 

In the cannabis plant, there are a bunch of biosynthetic paths that are used to create cannabinoids of all different kinds, with one start with #CBGA or cannabigerolic acid

.

After the creation of such, the plant enzymes then act upon this, and it crates other compounds as well as a result of this, including #CBDA and #THCA as well.

 

It does take specific kinds of enzymes in order to convert this into the right molecules.

When you have it act upon the THCA synthase, this then changes the CBGA to THCA, which later on when it’s decarboxylated, it becomes well, CBD and THC, which we know of today.

 

Where does it Come from?

 

Well, it starts with sunlight where the cannabis plant uses photosynthesis in order to take the light and then make it into sugars that become the energy source in plants as well. These units then start to offer energy to the plant, which then turns into the basic functions, including the coenzyme acetyl-COA which then causes more and more chemical reactions.

 

This creates two molecules called geranyl pyrophosphate and olivetolic acid, also known as P and OA. These two molecules then do most of the work, and from there they create the cannabinoids that you know and love in your weed.

 

What’s the Use of this?

 

So should we use CBG at all? THC gives us the high, and CBD offers a bunch of benefits without it.

 

But here’s what’s cool about this. It can still work with the endocannabinoid receptors that we normally don’t think about, going beyond mere THC and CBD that we have.

The research is still quite basic, and right now, we don’t have a ton of different evidence that suggests the full gamut of what CBG can do, but it is the mother #cannabinoid, so it might be able to give us a whole lot more than we ever expected.

 

It actually works well with the nervous system. They also work with the #TRPV1 receptors too which do work with the pain and heat sensations, and it can actually help with locking into these receptors and reducing pain, without causing irritation that capsaicin and other types of #chemicals too.

 

There is a chance that this can also help with the reuptake of the GABE neurotransmitters too.

 

The NIH supports a broad portfolio of research on cannabinoids and the endocannabinoid system. This research portfolio includes some studies utilizing the whole marijuana plant (Cannabis sativa), but most studies focus on individual cannabinoid compounds. Individual cannabinoid chemicals may be isolated and purified from the marijuana plant or synthesized in the laboratory, or they may be naturally occurring (endogenous) cannabinoids found in the body.

 

For more information on marijuana research, check out our website at: www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/marijuana/nih-research-mari...

A bong (also water pipe, billy, bing, or moof) is a filtration device generally used for smoking cannabis, tobacco, or other herbal substances. In the bong shown in the photo, the gas flows from the lower port on the left to the upper port on the right.

 

In construction and function a bong is similar to a hookah, except smaller and especially more portable. A bong may be constructed from any air- and water-tight vessel by adding a bowl and stem apparatus (or slide) which guides air downward to below water level whence it bubbles upward ("bubbler") during use. To get fresh air into the bong and harvest the last remaining smoke, a hole known as the "carburetor", "carb", "choke", "bink", "rush", "shotty", "kick hole", or simply "hole", somewhere on the lower part of the bong above water level, is first kept covered during the smoking process, then opened to allow the smoke to be drawn into the respiratory system. On bongs without such a hole, the bowl and/or the stem are removed to allow air from the hole that holds the stem.

 

Bongs have been in use by the Hmong, in Laos and Thailand, and all over Africa for centuries. One of the earliest recorded uses of the word in the West is in the McFarland Thai-English Dictionary, published in 1944, which describes one of the meanings of bong in the Thai language as, "a bamboo waterpipe for smoking kancha, tree, hashish, or the hemp-plant." A January 1971 issue of the Marijuana Review also used the term.

 

ETYMOLOGY

The word bong is an adaptation of the Thai word bong or baung (Thai: บ้อง, [bɔ̂ŋ]), which refers to a cylindrical wooden tube, pipe, or container cut from bamboo, and which also refers to the bong used for smoking.

 

HISTORY

Excavations of a kurgan in Russia in 2013 revealed that Scythian tribal chiefs used gold bongs 2400 years ago to smoke cannabis and opium. The kurgan was discovered when construction workers were clearing land for the construction of a power line.

 

The use of a water pipe for smoking was introduced in China during the late Ming Dynasty (16th century), along with tobacco, through Persia and the Silk Road. By the Qing Dynasty, it became the most popular method to smoke tobacco, but became less popular since the Republic era. While typically employed by commoners, the water pipe is known to have been preferred by Empress Dowager Cixi over snuff bottles or other methods of intake. According to the Imperial Household Department, she was buried with at least three water pipes; some of her collections can be seen in the Palace Museum.

 

The water pipe employed since the Qing dynasty can be divided into two types: the homemade bamboo bong commonly made and used by country people, and a more elegant metal version employed by Chinese merchants, urbanites, and nobility. Metal utensils are typically made out of bronze or brass, the nobility version of silver and decorated with jewels. Typically, the metal version is made out of the following components:

 

- The water pipe itself, a single-piece construct consisting of the bowl-stem, the water container, and a drawtube at least 3 inches, but some can be up to 12 inches in length. Some are straight with a "Joint" (Sandblasted top part of stem, usually about 1 inch long, and all the way around, tapered or cone shaped, so the tapered, or "cone shaped" bowl will fit in)some are bent to resemble a crane. The size of the bowl is similar to that of a one-hitter, typically the width of a thumbnail or smaller.

- The tobacco container with a lid.

- A pipe rack small enough to be held by one hand, and consisting of two large holes for the tobacco container and the water pipe. It may have smaller holes to hold various pipe tools.

 

During a smoking session, the user may keep all equipment inside the rack and just hold the entire assembly (rack, pipe, and container) in one hand, lighting the bowl with a slow-burning paper wick (纸煤) lit over a coal stove. Unlike in North America and the Southern Hemisphere, the water pipe is typically employed by older generations.

 

USE

The water can trap some heavier particles and water-soluble molecules, preventing them from entering the smoker's airways. The mechanics of a bong are compared to those of a laboratory gas washing bottle. The user puts their mouth at the top and places the cannabis in the tube, as shown in the picture.

 

Bongs are often either glass or plastic that use a bowl, stem, and water to produce smoke. Most glass bongs are made from heat resistant borosilicate glass, allowing the bong to withstand repeated use and heat exposure without breaking. After the bowl has been packed and water has been inserted into the bong, the substance is lit and the smoke is drawn through water to produce a smoother smoke than other methods of smoking do. To smoke a bong, the smoker must inhale in the bong so bubbles containing smoke begin to come from the stem. Once the bong has a fair amount of smoke built up, either the carb is uncovered or the stem is separated from the bong, allowing the remaining smoke to be inhaled.

 

However, a 2000 NORML-MAPS cannabis study found that "water pipes filter out more psychoactive THC than they do other tars, thereby requiring users to smoke more to reach their desired effect". In the study, smoke from cannabis supplied by the NIDA was drawn through a number of smoking devices and analyzed. This study looked at the tar to cannabinoid ratio in the gas in output by various bongs, as well as unfiltered and filtered joints, and vaporizers. The results showed that only vaporizers produced a better tar to cannabinoid ratio than unfiltered joints, but that within the cannabinoids produced, even vaporizers warped the ratio of THC (the psychoactive component of the smoke) to CBN (capable of producing medical benefits but is not psychoactive) in favor of CBN. This showed an unfiltered joint had the best tar to THC ratio of all, and bongs were actually seriously detrimental in this respect.

 

MAPS also reviewed a study that examined the effects and composition of water-filtered and non-filtered cannabis and tobacco smoke. It found that when alveolar macrophages were exposed to unfiltered smoke, their ability to fight bacteria was reduced, unlike exposure to water-filtered smoke. It also found substantial epidemiological evidence of a lower incidence of carcinoma among tobacco smokers who used water-pipes, as opposed to cigarettes, cigars, and regular pipes. "It appears that water filtration can be effective in removing components from cannabis smoke that are known toxicants... The effectiveness of toxicant removal is related to the smoke's water contact area."

 

Specially designed water pipes, incorporating particulate filters and gas-dispersion frits, would likely be most effective in this regard; the gas-dispersion frit serves to break up the smoke into very fine bubbles, thereby increasing its water-contact area." These frits are commonly referred to as diffuser for the way that they diffuse (or disperse) the smoke as it exits the downstem, and usually consist of small holes or slats at the end of the downstem. This study suggests that a bong's smoke is less harmful than unfiltered smoke.

 

LEGAL ISSUES

In the United States, under the Federal Drug Paraphernalia Statute, which is part of the Controlled Substances Act, it is illegal to sell, transport through the mail, transport across state lines, import, or export drug paraphernalia.

 

In countries where marijuana and hashish are illegal, some retailers specify that bongs are intended for use with tobacco in an attempt to circumvent laws against selling drug paraphernalia. While technically 'bong' does not mean a device used for smoking mainly cannabis, drug-related connotations have been formed with the word itself (partly due to punning with Sanskrit bhangah "hemp"). Thus for fear of the law many head shops will not serve customers who use the word "bong" or "bongs", or any other word typically associated with illegal drug use.

 

Some brand name bong manufacturers (notably RooR) have sought to curb the counterfeit market for their products by suing stores accused of selling fake merchandise.

 

WIKIPEDIA

I’m having a drink or too many tonight. I’m not a drinker, but it’s been one of those days.

 

Like most of my privileged bohemian life, today had highlights, highs and hellos while cruising my eChopper around the warm southern tip of this huge island. Life is good and I’ve had more than my share; of life and good; but today some of life’s ever present sadness ruthlessly gripped my heart.

 

I held back tears until I left Gary’s new room, on the second floor of the emergency psych ward.

 

My heart is broken for this man I failed; a man who came to me distraught, pleading for help, bullied by BC Housing, fearful of losing his community and home of over 22 years – and now he has.

Gary’s plentiful plants sit wanting water; his wall to wall art collection missing his adoring gaze; the computers he repairs for himself and others remain silent and powerless; his glasses now useless, sitting at the home Gary lost to anxiety amped-up by the bullying from his social housing provider. Why didn’t they make sure this man they were locking up could at least see?

 

Gary’s blurred eyes now wander a barren room; one chair, one bed, one window that can’t be opened, and lonely television hook-ups for those who can afford diversion. Gary can’t.

 

…and there is now an invisible person who interrupts and makes Gary ask odd questions; Gary gets embarrassed realizing you witnessed his argument with the voice I couldn’t hear; the voice he’d turn to and give an angry glare. I wish I could force the voice to fuck off and leave Gary alone.

 

I’m frightened for Gary, all alone. I’m frightened for the medications they have, or don’t have Gary on. The only times I’ve ever seen Gary smiling, at peace with his anxiety, is when I told him I could force BC Housing to back off him, and whenever Maryjane massaged Gary’s cannabinoid receptors; a natural treatment the medical profession would not entertain; a peace of mind I fear Gary may never know again in this drug dispensing institution.

 

I was frustrated; my efforts to throw Gary a life line were inadequate. Gary mostly hung out with the voice. I feel bad for feeling a loss, for shedding tears as I write this, because it is Gary who is lost, who is losing, who has been losing, for all his mentally challenged life in this unaccepting oppressing world.

I will see through the existing four Human Rights Tribunal cases I’ve filed, on behalf of Gary; and they will likely be fought with more zeal, if that’s possible. I’m so pissed at what has befallen this good man who deserved so much more than being locked in a hospital, imprisoned now even more than society’s attitudes toward mental illness already did.

 

…it’s the injustice of it all; my stupid aspiration that the downtrodden will someday lead the parade.

A bong (also water pipe, billy, bing, or moof) is a filtration device generally used for smoking cannabis, tobacco, or other herbal substances. In the bong shown in the photo, the gas flows from the lower port on the left to the upper port on the right.

 

In construction and function a bong is similar to a hookah, except smaller and especially more portable. A bong may be constructed from any air- and water-tight vessel by adding a bowl and stem apparatus (or slide) which guides air downward to below water level whence it bubbles upward ("bubbler") during use. To get fresh air into the bong and harvest the last remaining smoke, a hole known as the "carburetor", "carb", "choke", "bink", "rush", "shotty", "kick hole", or simply "hole", somewhere on the lower part of the bong above water level, is first kept covered during the smoking process, then opened to allow the smoke to be drawn into the respiratory system. On bongs without such a hole, the bowl and/or the stem are removed to allow air from the hole that holds the stem.

 

Bongs have been in use by the Hmong, in Laos and Thailand, and all over Africa for centuries. One of the earliest recorded uses of the word in the West is in the McFarland Thai-English Dictionary, published in 1944, which describes one of the meanings of bong in the Thai language as, "a bamboo waterpipe for smoking kancha, tree, hashish, or the hemp-plant." A January 1971 issue of the Marijuana Review also used the term.

 

ETYMOLOGY

The word bong is an adaptation of the Thai word bong or baung (Thai: บ้อง, [bɔ̂ŋ]), which refers to a cylindrical wooden tube, pipe, or container cut from bamboo, and which also refers to the bong used for smoking.

 

HISTORY

Excavations of a kurgan in Russia in 2013 revealed that Scythian tribal chiefs used gold bongs 2400 years ago to smoke cannabis and opium. The kurgan was discovered when construction workers were clearing land for the construction of a power line.

 

The use of a water pipe for smoking was introduced in China during the late Ming Dynasty (16th century), along with tobacco, through Persia and the Silk Road. By the Qing Dynasty, it became the most popular method to smoke tobacco, but became less popular since the Republic era. While typically employed by commoners, the water pipe is known to have been preferred by Empress Dowager Cixi over snuff bottles or other methods of intake. According to the Imperial Household Department, she was buried with at least three water pipes; some of her collections can be seen in the Palace Museum.

 

The water pipe employed since the Qing dynasty can be divided into two types: the homemade bamboo bong commonly made and used by country people, and a more elegant metal version employed by Chinese merchants, urbanites, and nobility. Metal utensils are typically made out of bronze or brass, the nobility version of silver and decorated with jewels. Typically, the metal version is made out of the following components:

 

- The water pipe itself, a single-piece construct consisting of the bowl-stem, the water container, and a drawtube at least 3 inches, but some can be up to 12 inches in length. Some are straight with a "Joint" (Sandblasted top part of stem, usually about 1 inch long, and all the way around, tapered or cone shaped, so the tapered, or "cone shaped" bowl will fit in)some are bent to resemble a crane. The size of the bowl is similar to that of a one-hitter, typically the width of a thumbnail or smaller.

- The tobacco container with a lid.

- A pipe rack small enough to be held by one hand, and consisting of two large holes for the tobacco container and the water pipe. It may have smaller holes to hold various pipe tools.

 

During a smoking session, the user may keep all equipment inside the rack and just hold the entire assembly (rack, pipe, and container) in one hand, lighting the bowl with a slow-burning paper wick (纸煤) lit over a coal stove. Unlike in North America and the Southern Hemisphere, the water pipe is typically employed by older generations.

 

USE

The water can trap some heavier particles and water-soluble molecules, preventing them from entering the smoker's airways. The mechanics of a bong are compared to those of a laboratory gas washing bottle. The user puts their mouth at the top and places the cannabis in the tube, as shown in the picture.

 

Bongs are often either glass or plastic that use a bowl, stem, and water to produce smoke. Most glass bongs are made from heat resistant borosilicate glass, allowing the bong to withstand repeated use and heat exposure without breaking. After the bowl has been packed and water has been inserted into the bong, the substance is lit and the smoke is drawn through water to produce a smoother smoke than other methods of smoking do. To smoke a bong, the smoker must inhale in the bong so bubbles containing smoke begin to come from the stem. Once the bong has a fair amount of smoke built up, either the carb is uncovered or the stem is separated from the bong, allowing the remaining smoke to be inhaled.

 

However, a 2000 NORML-MAPS cannabis study found that "water pipes filter out more psychoactive THC than they do other tars, thereby requiring users to smoke more to reach their desired effect". In the study, smoke from cannabis supplied by the NIDA was drawn through a number of smoking devices and analyzed. This study looked at the tar to cannabinoid ratio in the gas in output by various bongs, as well as unfiltered and filtered joints, and vaporizers. The results showed that only vaporizers produced a better tar to cannabinoid ratio than unfiltered joints, but that within the cannabinoids produced, even vaporizers warped the ratio of THC (the psychoactive component of the smoke) to CBN (capable of producing medical benefits but is not psychoactive) in favor of CBN. This showed an unfiltered joint had the best tar to THC ratio of all, and bongs were actually seriously detrimental in this respect.

 

MAPS also reviewed a study that examined the effects and composition of water-filtered and non-filtered cannabis and tobacco smoke. It found that when alveolar macrophages were exposed to unfiltered smoke, their ability to fight bacteria was reduced, unlike exposure to water-filtered smoke. It also found substantial epidemiological evidence of a lower incidence of carcinoma among tobacco smokers who used water-pipes, as opposed to cigarettes, cigars, and regular pipes. "It appears that water filtration can be effective in removing components from cannabis smoke that are known toxicants... The effectiveness of toxicant removal is related to the smoke's water contact area."

 

Specially designed water pipes, incorporating particulate filters and gas-dispersion frits, would likely be most effective in this regard; the gas-dispersion frit serves to break up the smoke into very fine bubbles, thereby increasing its water-contact area." These frits are commonly referred to as diffuser for the way that they diffuse (or disperse) the smoke as it exits the downstem, and usually consist of small holes or slats at the end of the downstem. This study suggests that a bong's smoke is less harmful than unfiltered smoke.

 

LEGAL ISSUES

In the United States, under the Federal Drug Paraphernalia Statute, which is part of the Controlled Substances Act, it is illegal to sell, transport through the mail, transport across state lines, import, or export drug paraphernalia.

 

In countries where marijuana and hashish are illegal, some retailers specify that bongs are intended for use with tobacco in an attempt to circumvent laws against selling drug paraphernalia. While technically 'bong' does not mean a device used for smoking mainly cannabis, drug-related connotations have been formed with the word itself (partly due to punning with Sanskrit bhangah "hemp"). Thus for fear of the law many head shops will not serve customers who use the word "bong" or "bongs", or any other word typically associated with illegal drug use.

 

Some brand name bong manufacturers (notably RooR) have sought to curb the counterfeit market for their products by suing stores accused of selling fake merchandise.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Cannabidiol (CBD) is one of many natural compounds found in the cannabis plant, classed as a cannabinoid. It has many health benefits for human beings. Want CBD Oil in Auckland? Explore our website now to know where can you buy this in New Zealand. cbd-oil.co.nz/

If you’re someone who deals with #anxiety, you’re not alone.

Those feelings of worry and fear can reduce your quality of life.

 

The environment and genetics play a part in it, and sometimes trauma, brain overactivity, a history of #drug abuse, and #hormonal balances can be a part of this.

But can #cannabis help with this? Here’s the answers that’ll help you.

 

An Overview of Cannabis for anxiety

 

Cannabis has over 200 different terpenes and 100 cannabinoids inside of it, with different strains creating different effects as well.

 

While it’s considered da drug, this is one that can help with a variety of effects.

 

These can enhance and modify the feelings that are there and combined with the other molecules in this, it may work for some people, but may not be ideal for others.

 

Avoid High THC

 

The biggest thing to understand is that THC is the underpinning part of the cannabis high, which is the psychoactive results of cannabis.

 

This binds to the CB1 receptors, which causes a lot of dopamine to rush on through. The more they have, the higher that they feel.

 

#Euphoria, #creativity, #relaxation, and an increased appetite play a role in this. But for some people, when they do have a high THC strain, they tend to feel worse as a result of this, depending on the situation they have.

 

Anxiety, confusion, paranoia , and a short-term #memory loss can sometimes happen.

 

The thing with THC is that it’s a bit of a double-edged sord, where some users love that they feel good and high, and the offer a peace of mine, whereas some of those strains, because of how extensive the THC is, can sometimes feel worse.

 

Lower amounts of THC does help to reduce the anxiety that’s there, whereas a bit of a higher level does cause the spile. You want to use low or moderate-strength strains, and usually, having something that’s low in THC and higher in CBD is good for those with anxiety, since it can offer the physical benefits without making your anxiety worse. Cannabis also works great to reduce #insomnia.

 

The biphasic Dose Response

 

Some people may wonder what the best way to take it is. Some may wonder how much they need to get high.

The answer isn’t as simple as you’d think it is.

There is some trails that have found that THC does offer a biphasic response for the most part, so it can produce a certain effect at lower doses, and an opposite result in higher doses.

 

The research that was done back in 2017 on this found that this does apply to anxiety and how it’s controlled too.

A study was found that there were participants, and some of them were experienced and others weren’t users that were regular.

 

They were then divvied up into three groups, with one getting a low amount, one getting a moderate amount, and the highest group getting a high amount, then of course eth placebo getting no #THC.

 

During this, it was found that the heart rate, #cortisol, and blood pressure did spike when they had the higher amounts. For those with lower doses, they had less tension that dropped much faster. The moderate group did have a bit of a negative mood that was there before they did thins.

 

That means that this is biphasic, which means lower relaxes, higher creates more tension, but the big thing to remember is that THC is not something that’ll affect everyone the same way.

 

So if you want to use this, be mindful of how #THC affects you, and sometimes, going lower is better too.

There seems to be some confusion when it comes to #medical #marijuana. Firstly, there is talk of #CBD, but also #THC? What’s the difference and which one is better for you? All of these are good questions.

 

Today we are going to be talking about CBD and how it may be of use to you. There are millions of people in the United States using CBD everyday to treat a variety of health conditions, and there just may be a reason you should be using it too. So first off, let’s define CBD and talk about what it actually is. If you are unfamiliar with cannabis, it is generally regarded as a plant with both CBD and THC.

 

CBD stands for #cannabidiol, and is the part of the cannabis plant that is mostly associated with healing and medicinal properties. Contrary to what some people believe, CBD won’t actually get you high. In fact, most CBD products have such low levels of THC, and that is why you can find CBD in states that do not allow other cannabis products with THC.

 

This leads us to our next point about CBD, which is that it will not get you high. In some states, you can walk into a dispensary and find all sorts of THC products, while in other states you cannot find any at all. That is because THC is the part of the #cannabis #plant that will actually get you high. Some states only allow CBD to be sold and not THC.

 

This means that pretty much everyone has at least some access, albeit small, to cannabis in the form of CBD. Now, before you think that CBD is lame because it doesn’t get you high, you should know that it has great purpose. CBD still has #psychoactive components, even if they are not necessarily #intoxicating.

 

Psychoactive means that it is having an active effect on your brain, specifically focused on relaxation and healing. CBD is great for treating a variety of #chronic #diseases and other #health #conditions because of its ability to reduce inflammation on a cellular level. In fact, many medical marijuana patients that use THC also like to ‘layer’ their cannabis use with CBD as well for the medical properties.

 

You can also get CBD without a medical marijuana card, which is super important for some people that do not have a qualifying condition in their state. This is great for people that want to experience the healing benefits of medical marijuana but have not yet been able to gain access.

 

Hopefully we will begin to see the federal government come up with a medical marijuana program, but that may not happen for quite some time. The great thing about CBD is how accessible it is. It can also be consumed in a variety of ways. Some people prefer smoking or vaping their CBD, and that is usually the fastest way to start feeling it’s effects. However, you can also use products like #CBD #oil, tinctures, edibles, and topicals.

 

#CBD #oil is perfect for putting into food or beverages, allowing you to get your daily dose of cannabis without even tasting it. Plus, medical marijuana products like oils and edibles are much more discreet than smoking or vaping. It is also worth mentioning that the #FDA has not officially approved and regulated CBD products on the market, meaning that there may be some fake products out there on the shelves.

 

I recommend that you be very careful when buying CBD and only buy from the trusted brands that you have researched. Otherwise, who knows what you could be getting?

 

A bong (also water pipe, billy, bing, or moof) is a filtration device generally used for smoking cannabis, tobacco, or other herbal substances. In the bong shown in the photo, the gas flows from the lower port on the left to the upper port on the right.

 

In construction and function a bong is similar to a hookah, except smaller and especially more portable. A bong may be constructed from any air- and water-tight vessel by adding a bowl and stem apparatus (or slide) which guides air downward to below water level whence it bubbles upward ("bubbler") during use. To get fresh air into the bong and harvest the last remaining smoke, a hole known as the "carburetor", "carb", "choke", "bink", "rush", "shotty", "kick hole", or simply "hole", somewhere on the lower part of the bong above water level, is first kept covered during the smoking process, then opened to allow the smoke to be drawn into the respiratory system. On bongs without such a hole, the bowl and/or the stem are removed to allow air from the hole that holds the stem.

 

Bongs have been in use by the Hmong, in Laos and Thailand, and all over Africa for centuries. One of the earliest recorded uses of the word in the West is in the McFarland Thai-English Dictionary, published in 1944, which describes one of the meanings of bong in the Thai language as, "a bamboo waterpipe for smoking kancha, tree, hashish, or the hemp-plant." A January 1971 issue of the Marijuana Review also used the term.

 

ETYMOLOGY

The word bong is an adaptation of the Thai word bong or baung (Thai: บ้อง, [bɔ̂ŋ]), which refers to a cylindrical wooden tube, pipe, or container cut from bamboo, and which also refers to the bong used for smoking.

 

HISTORY

Excavations of a kurgan in Russia in 2013 revealed that Scythian tribal chiefs used gold bongs 2400 years ago to smoke cannabis and opium. The kurgan was discovered when construction workers were clearing land for the construction of a power line.

 

The use of a water pipe for smoking was introduced in China during the late Ming Dynasty (16th century), along with tobacco, through Persia and the Silk Road. By the Qing Dynasty, it became the most popular method to smoke tobacco, but became less popular since the Republic era. While typically employed by commoners, the water pipe is known to have been preferred by Empress Dowager Cixi over snuff bottles or other methods of intake. According to the Imperial Household Department, she was buried with at least three water pipes; some of her collections can be seen in the Palace Museum.

 

The water pipe employed since the Qing dynasty can be divided into two types: the homemade bamboo bong commonly made and used by country people, and a more elegant metal version employed by Chinese merchants, urbanites, and nobility. Metal utensils are typically made out of bronze or brass, the nobility version of silver and decorated with jewels. Typically, the metal version is made out of the following components:

 

- The water pipe itself, a single-piece construct consisting of the bowl-stem, the water container, and a drawtube at least 3 inches, but some can be up to 12 inches in length. Some are straight with a "Joint" (Sandblasted top part of stem, usually about 1 inch long, and all the way around, tapered or cone shaped, so the tapered, or "cone shaped" bowl will fit in)some are bent to resemble a crane. The size of the bowl is similar to that of a one-hitter, typically the width of a thumbnail or smaller.

- The tobacco container with a lid.

- A pipe rack small enough to be held by one hand, and consisting of two large holes for the tobacco container and the water pipe. It may have smaller holes to hold various pipe tools.

 

During a smoking session, the user may keep all equipment inside the rack and just hold the entire assembly (rack, pipe, and container) in one hand, lighting the bowl with a slow-burning paper wick (纸煤) lit over a coal stove. Unlike in North America and the Southern Hemisphere, the water pipe is typically employed by older generations.

 

USE

The water can trap some heavier particles and water-soluble molecules, preventing them from entering the smoker's airways. The mechanics of a bong are compared to those of a laboratory gas washing bottle. The user puts their mouth at the top and places the cannabis in the tube, as shown in the picture.

 

Bongs are often either glass or plastic that use a bowl, stem, and water to produce smoke. Most glass bongs are made from heat resistant borosilicate glass, allowing the bong to withstand repeated use and heat exposure without breaking. After the bowl has been packed and water has been inserted into the bong, the substance is lit and the smoke is drawn through water to produce a smoother smoke than other methods of smoking do. To smoke a bong, the smoker must inhale in the bong so bubbles containing smoke begin to come from the stem. Once the bong has a fair amount of smoke built up, either the carb is uncovered or the stem is separated from the bong, allowing the remaining smoke to be inhaled.

 

However, a 2000 NORML-MAPS cannabis study found that "water pipes filter out more psychoactive THC than they do other tars, thereby requiring users to smoke more to reach their desired effect". In the study, smoke from cannabis supplied by the NIDA was drawn through a number of smoking devices and analyzed. This study looked at the tar to cannabinoid ratio in the gas in output by various bongs, as well as unfiltered and filtered joints, and vaporizers. The results showed that only vaporizers produced a better tar to cannabinoid ratio than unfiltered joints, but that within the cannabinoids produced, even vaporizers warped the ratio of THC (the psychoactive component of the smoke) to CBN (capable of producing medical benefits but is not psychoactive) in favor of CBN. This showed an unfiltered joint had the best tar to THC ratio of all, and bongs were actually seriously detrimental in this respect.

 

MAPS also reviewed a study that examined the effects and composition of water-filtered and non-filtered cannabis and tobacco smoke. It found that when alveolar macrophages were exposed to unfiltered smoke, their ability to fight bacteria was reduced, unlike exposure to water-filtered smoke. It also found substantial epidemiological evidence of a lower incidence of carcinoma among tobacco smokers who used water-pipes, as opposed to cigarettes, cigars, and regular pipes. "It appears that water filtration can be effective in removing components from cannabis smoke that are known toxicants... The effectiveness of toxicant removal is related to the smoke's water contact area."

 

Specially designed water pipes, incorporating particulate filters and gas-dispersion frits, would likely be most effective in this regard; the gas-dispersion frit serves to break up the smoke into very fine bubbles, thereby increasing its water-contact area." These frits are commonly referred to as diffuser for the way that they diffuse (or disperse) the smoke as it exits the downstem, and usually consist of small holes or slats at the end of the downstem. This study suggests that a bong's smoke is less harmful than unfiltered smoke.

 

LEGAL ISSUES

In the United States, under the Federal Drug Paraphernalia Statute, which is part of the Controlled Substances Act, it is illegal to sell, transport through the mail, transport across state lines, import, or export drug paraphernalia.

 

In countries where marijuana and hashish are illegal, some retailers specify that bongs are intended for use with tobacco in an attempt to circumvent laws against selling drug paraphernalia. While technically 'bong' does not mean a device used for smoking mainly cannabis, drug-related connotations have been formed with the word itself (partly due to punning with Sanskrit bhangah "hemp"). Thus for fear of the law many head shops will not serve customers who use the word "bong" or "bongs", or any other word typically associated with illegal drug use.

 

Some brand name bong manufacturers (notably RooR) have sought to curb the counterfeit market for their products by suing stores accused of selling fake merchandise.

 

WIKIPEDIA

A bong (also water pipe, billy, bing, or moof) is a filtration device generally used for smoking cannabis, tobacco, or other herbal substances. In the bong shown in the photo, the gas flows from the lower port on the left to the upper port on the right.

 

In construction and function a bong is similar to a hookah, except smaller and especially more portable. A bong may be constructed from any air- and water-tight vessel by adding a bowl and stem apparatus (or slide) which guides air downward to below water level whence it bubbles upward ("bubbler") during use. To get fresh air into the bong and harvest the last remaining smoke, a hole known as the "carburetor", "carb", "choke", "bink", "rush", "shotty", "kick hole", or simply "hole", somewhere on the lower part of the bong above water level, is first kept covered during the smoking process, then opened to allow the smoke to be drawn into the respiratory system. On bongs without such a hole, the bowl and/or the stem are removed to allow air from the hole that holds the stem.

 

Bongs have been in use by the Hmong, in Laos and Thailand, and all over Africa for centuries. One of the earliest recorded uses of the word in the West is in the McFarland Thai-English Dictionary, published in 1944, which describes one of the meanings of bong in the Thai language as, "a bamboo waterpipe for smoking kancha, tree, hashish, or the hemp-plant." A January 1971 issue of the Marijuana Review also used the term.

 

ETYMOLOGY

The word bong is an adaptation of the Thai word bong or baung (Thai: บ้อง, [bɔ̂ŋ]), which refers to a cylindrical wooden tube, pipe, or container cut from bamboo, and which also refers to the bong used for smoking.

 

HISTORY

Excavations of a kurgan in Russia in 2013 revealed that Scythian tribal chiefs used gold bongs 2400 years ago to smoke cannabis and opium. The kurgan was discovered when construction workers were clearing land for the construction of a power line.

 

The use of a water pipe for smoking was introduced in China during the late Ming Dynasty (16th century), along with tobacco, through Persia and the Silk Road. By the Qing Dynasty, it became the most popular method to smoke tobacco, but became less popular since the Republic era. While typically employed by commoners, the water pipe is known to have been preferred by Empress Dowager Cixi over snuff bottles or other methods of intake. According to the Imperial Household Department, she was buried with at least three water pipes; some of her collections can be seen in the Palace Museum.

 

The water pipe employed since the Qing dynasty can be divided into two types: the homemade bamboo bong commonly made and used by country people, and a more elegant metal version employed by Chinese merchants, urbanites, and nobility. Metal utensils are typically made out of bronze or brass, the nobility version of silver and decorated with jewels. Typically, the metal version is made out of the following components:

 

- The water pipe itself, a single-piece construct consisting of the bowl-stem, the water container, and a drawtube at least 3 inches, but some can be up to 12 inches in length. Some are straight with a "Joint" (Sandblasted top part of stem, usually about 1 inch long, and all the way around, tapered or cone shaped, so the tapered, or "cone shaped" bowl will fit in)some are bent to resemble a crane. The size of the bowl is similar to that of a one-hitter, typically the width of a thumbnail or smaller.

- The tobacco container with a lid.

- A pipe rack small enough to be held by one hand, and consisting of two large holes for the tobacco container and the water pipe. It may have smaller holes to hold various pipe tools.

 

During a smoking session, the user may keep all equipment inside the rack and just hold the entire assembly (rack, pipe, and container) in one hand, lighting the bowl with a slow-burning paper wick (纸煤) lit over a coal stove. Unlike in North America and the Southern Hemisphere, the water pipe is typically employed by older generations.

 

USE

The water can trap some heavier particles and water-soluble molecules, preventing them from entering the smoker's airways. The mechanics of a bong are compared to those of a laboratory gas washing bottle. The user puts their mouth at the top and places the cannabis in the tube, as shown in the picture.

 

Bongs are often either glass or plastic that use a bowl, stem, and water to produce smoke. Most glass bongs are made from heat resistant borosilicate glass, allowing the bong to withstand repeated use and heat exposure without breaking. After the bowl has been packed and water has been inserted into the bong, the substance is lit and the smoke is drawn through water to produce a smoother smoke than other methods of smoking do. To smoke a bong, the smoker must inhale in the bong so bubbles containing smoke begin to come from the stem. Once the bong has a fair amount of smoke built up, either the carb is uncovered or the stem is separated from the bong, allowing the remaining smoke to be inhaled.

 

However, a 2000 NORML-MAPS cannabis study found that "water pipes filter out more psychoactive THC than they do other tars, thereby requiring users to smoke more to reach their desired effect". In the study, smoke from cannabis supplied by the NIDA was drawn through a number of smoking devices and analyzed. This study looked at the tar to cannabinoid ratio in the gas in output by various bongs, as well as unfiltered and filtered joints, and vaporizers. The results showed that only vaporizers produced a better tar to cannabinoid ratio than unfiltered joints, but that within the cannabinoids produced, even vaporizers warped the ratio of THC (the psychoactive component of the smoke) to CBN (capable of producing medical benefits but is not psychoactive) in favor of CBN. This showed an unfiltered joint had the best tar to THC ratio of all, and bongs were actually seriously detrimental in this respect.

 

MAPS also reviewed a study that examined the effects and composition of water-filtered and non-filtered cannabis and tobacco smoke. It found that when alveolar macrophages were exposed to unfiltered smoke, their ability to fight bacteria was reduced, unlike exposure to water-filtered smoke. It also found substantial epidemiological evidence of a lower incidence of carcinoma among tobacco smokers who used water-pipes, as opposed to cigarettes, cigars, and regular pipes. "It appears that water filtration can be effective in removing components from cannabis smoke that are known toxicants... The effectiveness of toxicant removal is related to the smoke's water contact area."

 

Specially designed water pipes, incorporating particulate filters and gas-dispersion frits, would likely be most effective in this regard; the gas-dispersion frit serves to break up the smoke into very fine bubbles, thereby increasing its water-contact area." These frits are commonly referred to as diffuser for the way that they diffuse (or disperse) the smoke as it exits the downstem, and usually consist of small holes or slats at the end of the downstem. This study suggests that a bong's smoke is less harmful than unfiltered smoke.

 

LEGAL ISSUES

In the United States, under the Federal Drug Paraphernalia Statute, which is part of the Controlled Substances Act, it is illegal to sell, transport through the mail, transport across state lines, import, or export drug paraphernalia.

 

In countries where marijuana and hashish are illegal, some retailers specify that bongs are intended for use with tobacco in an attempt to circumvent laws against selling drug paraphernalia. While technically 'bong' does not mean a device used for smoking mainly cannabis, drug-related connotations have been formed with the word itself (partly due to punning with Sanskrit bhangah "hemp"). Thus for fear of the law many head shops will not serve customers who use the word "bong" or "bongs", or any other word typically associated with illegal drug use.

 

Some brand name bong manufacturers (notably RooR) have sought to curb the counterfeit market for their products by suing stores accused of selling fake merchandise.

 

WIKIPEDIA

A bong (also water pipe, billy, bing, or moof) is a filtration device generally used for smoking cannabis, tobacco, or other herbal substances. In the bong shown in the photo, the gas flows from the lower port on the left to the upper port on the right.

 

In construction and function a bong is similar to a hookah, except smaller and especially more portable. A bong may be constructed from any air- and water-tight vessel by adding a bowl and stem apparatus (or slide) which guides air downward to below water level whence it bubbles upward ("bubbler") during use. To get fresh air into the bong and harvest the last remaining smoke, a hole known as the "carburetor", "carb", "choke", "bink", "rush", "shotty", "kick hole", or simply "hole", somewhere on the lower part of the bong above water level, is first kept covered during the smoking process, then opened to allow the smoke to be drawn into the respiratory system. On bongs without such a hole, the bowl and/or the stem are removed to allow air from the hole that holds the stem.

 

Bongs have been in use by the Hmong, in Laos and Thailand, and all over Africa for centuries. One of the earliest recorded uses of the word in the West is in the McFarland Thai-English Dictionary, published in 1944, which describes one of the meanings of bong in the Thai language as, "a bamboo waterpipe for smoking kancha, tree, hashish, or the hemp-plant." A January 1971 issue of the Marijuana Review also used the term.

 

ETYMOLOGY

The word bong is an adaptation of the Thai word bong or baung (Thai: บ้อง, [bɔ̂ŋ]), which refers to a cylindrical wooden tube, pipe, or container cut from bamboo, and which also refers to the bong used for smoking.

 

HISTORY

Excavations of a kurgan in Russia in 2013 revealed that Scythian tribal chiefs used gold bongs 2400 years ago to smoke cannabis and opium. The kurgan was discovered when construction workers were clearing land for the construction of a power line.

 

The use of a water pipe for smoking was introduced in China during the late Ming Dynasty (16th century), along with tobacco, through Persia and the Silk Road. By the Qing Dynasty, it became the most popular method to smoke tobacco, but became less popular since the Republic era. While typically employed by commoners, the water pipe is known to have been preferred by Empress Dowager Cixi over snuff bottles or other methods of intake. According to the Imperial Household Department, she was buried with at least three water pipes; some of her collections can be seen in the Palace Museum.

 

The water pipe employed since the Qing dynasty can be divided into two types: the homemade bamboo bong commonly made and used by country people, and a more elegant metal version employed by Chinese merchants, urbanites, and nobility. Metal utensils are typically made out of bronze or brass, the nobility version of silver and decorated with jewels. Typically, the metal version is made out of the following components:

 

- The water pipe itself, a single-piece construct consisting of the bowl-stem, the water container, and a drawtube at least 3 inches, but some can be up to 12 inches in length. Some are straight with a "Joint" (Sandblasted top part of stem, usually about 1 inch long, and all the way around, tapered or cone shaped, so the tapered, or "cone shaped" bowl will fit in)some are bent to resemble a crane. The size of the bowl is similar to that of a one-hitter, typically the width of a thumbnail or smaller.

- The tobacco container with a lid.

- A pipe rack small enough to be held by one hand, and consisting of two large holes for the tobacco container and the water pipe. It may have smaller holes to hold various pipe tools.

 

During a smoking session, the user may keep all equipment inside the rack and just hold the entire assembly (rack, pipe, and container) in one hand, lighting the bowl with a slow-burning paper wick (纸煤) lit over a coal stove. Unlike in North America and the Southern Hemisphere, the water pipe is typically employed by older generations.

 

USE

The water can trap some heavier particles and water-soluble molecules, preventing them from entering the smoker's airways. The mechanics of a bong are compared to those of a laboratory gas washing bottle. The user puts their mouth at the top and places the cannabis in the tube, as shown in the picture.

 

Bongs are often either glass or plastic that use a bowl, stem, and water to produce smoke. Most glass bongs are made from heat resistant borosilicate glass, allowing the bong to withstand repeated use and heat exposure without breaking. After the bowl has been packed and water has been inserted into the bong, the substance is lit and the smoke is drawn through water to produce a smoother smoke than other methods of smoking do. To smoke a bong, the smoker must inhale in the bong so bubbles containing smoke begin to come from the stem. Once the bong has a fair amount of smoke built up, either the carb is uncovered or the stem is separated from the bong, allowing the remaining smoke to be inhaled.

 

However, a 2000 NORML-MAPS cannabis study found that "water pipes filter out more psychoactive THC than they do other tars, thereby requiring users to smoke more to reach their desired effect". In the study, smoke from cannabis supplied by the NIDA was drawn through a number of smoking devices and analyzed. This study looked at the tar to cannabinoid ratio in the gas in output by various bongs, as well as unfiltered and filtered joints, and vaporizers. The results showed that only vaporizers produced a better tar to cannabinoid ratio than unfiltered joints, but that within the cannabinoids produced, even vaporizers warped the ratio of THC (the psychoactive component of the smoke) to CBN (capable of producing medical benefits but is not psychoactive) in favor of CBN. This showed an unfiltered joint had the best tar to THC ratio of all, and bongs were actually seriously detrimental in this respect.

 

MAPS also reviewed a study that examined the effects and composition of water-filtered and non-filtered cannabis and tobacco smoke. It found that when alveolar macrophages were exposed to unfiltered smoke, their ability to fight bacteria was reduced, unlike exposure to water-filtered smoke. It also found substantial epidemiological evidence of a lower incidence of carcinoma among tobacco smokers who used water-pipes, as opposed to cigarettes, cigars, and regular pipes. "It appears that water filtration can be effective in removing components from cannabis smoke that are known toxicants... The effectiveness of toxicant removal is related to the smoke's water contact area."

 

Specially designed water pipes, incorporating particulate filters and gas-dispersion frits, would likely be most effective in this regard; the gas-dispersion frit serves to break up the smoke into very fine bubbles, thereby increasing its water-contact area." These frits are commonly referred to as diffuser for the way that they diffuse (or disperse) the smoke as it exits the downstem, and usually consist of small holes or slats at the end of the downstem. This study suggests that a bong's smoke is less harmful than unfiltered smoke.

 

LEGAL ISSUES

In the United States, under the Federal Drug Paraphernalia Statute, which is part of the Controlled Substances Act, it is illegal to sell, transport through the mail, transport across state lines, import, or export drug paraphernalia.

 

In countries where marijuana and hashish are illegal, some retailers specify that bongs are intended for use with tobacco in an attempt to circumvent laws against selling drug paraphernalia. While technically 'bong' does not mean a device used for smoking mainly cannabis, drug-related connotations have been formed with the word itself (partly due to punning with Sanskrit bhangah "hemp"). Thus for fear of the law many head shops will not serve customers who use the word "bong" or "bongs", or any other word typically associated with illegal drug use.

 

Some brand name bong manufacturers (notably RooR) have sought to curb the counterfeit market for their products by suing stores accused of selling fake merchandise.

 

WIKIPEDIA

A bong (also water pipe, billy, bing, or moof) is a filtration device generally used for smoking cannabis, tobacco, or other herbal substances. In the bong shown in the photo, the gas flows from the lower port on the left to the upper port on the right.

 

In construction and function a bong is similar to a hookah, except smaller and especially more portable. A bong may be constructed from any air- and water-tight vessel by adding a bowl and stem apparatus (or slide) which guides air downward to below water level whence it bubbles upward ("bubbler") during use. To get fresh air into the bong and harvest the last remaining smoke, a hole known as the "carburetor", "carb", "choke", "bink", "rush", "shotty", "kick hole", or simply "hole", somewhere on the lower part of the bong above water level, is first kept covered during the smoking process, then opened to allow the smoke to be drawn into the respiratory system. On bongs without such a hole, the bowl and/or the stem are removed to allow air from the hole that holds the stem.

 

Bongs have been in use by the Hmong, in Laos and Thailand, and all over Africa for centuries. One of the earliest recorded uses of the word in the West is in the McFarland Thai-English Dictionary, published in 1944, which describes one of the meanings of bong in the Thai language as, "a bamboo waterpipe for smoking kancha, tree, hashish, or the hemp-plant." A January 1971 issue of the Marijuana Review also used the term.

 

ETYMOLOGY

The word bong is an adaptation of the Thai word bong or baung (Thai: บ้อง, [bɔ̂ŋ]), which refers to a cylindrical wooden tube, pipe, or container cut from bamboo, and which also refers to the bong used for smoking.

 

HISTORY

Excavations of a kurgan in Russia in 2013 revealed that Scythian tribal chiefs used gold bongs 2400 years ago to smoke cannabis and opium. The kurgan was discovered when construction workers were clearing land for the construction of a power line.

 

The use of a water pipe for smoking was introduced in China during the late Ming Dynasty (16th century), along with tobacco, through Persia and the Silk Road. By the Qing Dynasty, it became the most popular method to smoke tobacco, but became less popular since the Republic era. While typically employed by commoners, the water pipe is known to have been preferred by Empress Dowager Cixi over snuff bottles or other methods of intake. According to the Imperial Household Department, she was buried with at least three water pipes; some of her collections can be seen in the Palace Museum.

 

The water pipe employed since the Qing dynasty can be divided into two types: the homemade bamboo bong commonly made and used by country people, and a more elegant metal version employed by Chinese merchants, urbanites, and nobility. Metal utensils are typically made out of bronze or brass, the nobility version of silver and decorated with jewels. Typically, the metal version is made out of the following components:

 

- The water pipe itself, a single-piece construct consisting of the bowl-stem, the water container, and a drawtube at least 3 inches, but some can be up to 12 inches in length. Some are straight with a "Joint" (Sandblasted top part of stem, usually about 1 inch long, and all the way around, tapered or cone shaped, so the tapered, or "cone shaped" bowl will fit in)some are bent to resemble a crane. The size of the bowl is similar to that of a one-hitter, typically the width of a thumbnail or smaller.

- The tobacco container with a lid.

- A pipe rack small enough to be held by one hand, and consisting of two large holes for the tobacco container and the water pipe. It may have smaller holes to hold various pipe tools.

 

During a smoking session, the user may keep all equipment inside the rack and just hold the entire assembly (rack, pipe, and container) in one hand, lighting the bowl with a slow-burning paper wick (纸煤) lit over a coal stove. Unlike in North America and the Southern Hemisphere, the water pipe is typically employed by older generations.

 

USE

The water can trap some heavier particles and water-soluble molecules, preventing them from entering the smoker's airways. The mechanics of a bong are compared to those of a laboratory gas washing bottle. The user puts their mouth at the top and places the cannabis in the tube, as shown in the picture.

 

Bongs are often either glass or plastic that use a bowl, stem, and water to produce smoke. Most glass bongs are made from heat resistant borosilicate glass, allowing the bong to withstand repeated use and heat exposure without breaking. After the bowl has been packed and water has been inserted into the bong, the substance is lit and the smoke is drawn through water to produce a smoother smoke than other methods of smoking do. To smoke a bong, the smoker must inhale in the bong so bubbles containing smoke begin to come from the stem. Once the bong has a fair amount of smoke built up, either the carb is uncovered or the stem is separated from the bong, allowing the remaining smoke to be inhaled.

 

However, a 2000 NORML-MAPS cannabis study found that "water pipes filter out more psychoactive THC than they do other tars, thereby requiring users to smoke more to reach their desired effect". In the study, smoke from cannabis supplied by the NIDA was drawn through a number of smoking devices and analyzed. This study looked at the tar to cannabinoid ratio in the gas in output by various bongs, as well as unfiltered and filtered joints, and vaporizers. The results showed that only vaporizers produced a better tar to cannabinoid ratio than unfiltered joints, but that within the cannabinoids produced, even vaporizers warped the ratio of THC (the psychoactive component of the smoke) to CBN (capable of producing medical benefits but is not psychoactive) in favor of CBN. This showed an unfiltered joint had the best tar to THC ratio of all, and bongs were actually seriously detrimental in this respect.

 

MAPS also reviewed a study that examined the effects and composition of water-filtered and non-filtered cannabis and tobacco smoke. It found that when alveolar macrophages were exposed to unfiltered smoke, their ability to fight bacteria was reduced, unlike exposure to water-filtered smoke. It also found substantial epidemiological evidence of a lower incidence of carcinoma among tobacco smokers who used water-pipes, as opposed to cigarettes, cigars, and regular pipes. "It appears that water filtration can be effective in removing components from cannabis smoke that are known toxicants... The effectiveness of toxicant removal is related to the smoke's water contact area."

 

Specially designed water pipes, incorporating particulate filters and gas-dispersion frits, would likely be most effective in this regard; the gas-dispersion frit serves to break up the smoke into very fine bubbles, thereby increasing its water-contact area." These frits are commonly referred to as diffuser for the way that they diffuse (or disperse) the smoke as it exits the downstem, and usually consist of small holes or slats at the end of the downstem. This study suggests that a bong's smoke is less harmful than unfiltered smoke.

 

LEGAL ISSUES

In the United States, under the Federal Drug Paraphernalia Statute, which is part of the Controlled Substances Act, it is illegal to sell, transport through the mail, transport across state lines, import, or export drug paraphernalia.

 

In countries where marijuana and hashish are illegal, some retailers specify that bongs are intended for use with tobacco in an attempt to circumvent laws against selling drug paraphernalia. While technically 'bong' does not mean a device used for smoking mainly cannabis, drug-related connotations have been formed with the word itself (partly due to punning with Sanskrit bhangah "hemp"). Thus for fear of the law many head shops will not serve customers who use the word "bong" or "bongs", or any other word typically associated with illegal drug use.

 

Some brand name bong manufacturers (notably RooR) have sought to curb the counterfeit market for their products by suing stores accused of selling fake merchandise.

 

WIKIPEDIA

A bong (also water pipe, billy, bing, or moof) is a filtration device generally used for smoking cannabis, tobacco, or other herbal substances. In the bong shown in the photo, the gas flows from the lower port on the left to the upper port on the right.

 

In construction and function a bong is similar to a hookah, except smaller and especially more portable. A bong may be constructed from any air- and water-tight vessel by adding a bowl and stem apparatus (or slide) which guides air downward to below water level whence it bubbles upward ("bubbler") during use. To get fresh air into the bong and harvest the last remaining smoke, a hole known as the "carburetor", "carb", "choke", "bink", "rush", "shotty", "kick hole", or simply "hole", somewhere on the lower part of the bong above water level, is first kept covered during the smoking process, then opened to allow the smoke to be drawn into the respiratory system. On bongs without such a hole, the bowl and/or the stem are removed to allow air from the hole that holds the stem.

 

Bongs have been in use by the Hmong, in Laos and Thailand, and all over Africa for centuries. One of the earliest recorded uses of the word in the West is in the McFarland Thai-English Dictionary, published in 1944, which describes one of the meanings of bong in the Thai language as, "a bamboo waterpipe for smoking kancha, tree, hashish, or the hemp-plant." A January 1971 issue of the Marijuana Review also used the term.

 

ETYMOLOGY

The word bong is an adaptation of the Thai word bong or baung (Thai: บ้อง, [bɔ̂ŋ]), which refers to a cylindrical wooden tube, pipe, or container cut from bamboo, and which also refers to the bong used for smoking.

 

HISTORY

Excavations of a kurgan in Russia in 2013 revealed that Scythian tribal chiefs used gold bongs 2400 years ago to smoke cannabis and opium. The kurgan was discovered when construction workers were clearing land for the construction of a power line.

 

The use of a water pipe for smoking was introduced in China during the late Ming Dynasty (16th century), along with tobacco, through Persia and the Silk Road. By the Qing Dynasty, it became the most popular method to smoke tobacco, but became less popular since the Republic era. While typically employed by commoners, the water pipe is known to have been preferred by Empress Dowager Cixi over snuff bottles or other methods of intake. According to the Imperial Household Department, she was buried with at least three water pipes; some of her collections can be seen in the Palace Museum.

 

The water pipe employed since the Qing dynasty can be divided into two types: the homemade bamboo bong commonly made and used by country people, and a more elegant metal version employed by Chinese merchants, urbanites, and nobility. Metal utensils are typically made out of bronze or brass, the nobility version of silver and decorated with jewels. Typically, the metal version is made out of the following components:

 

- The water pipe itself, a single-piece construct consisting of the bowl-stem, the water container, and a drawtube at least 3 inches, but some can be up to 12 inches in length. Some are straight with a "Joint" (Sandblasted top part of stem, usually about 1 inch long, and all the way around, tapered or cone shaped, so the tapered, or "cone shaped" bowl will fit in)some are bent to resemble a crane. The size of the bowl is similar to that of a one-hitter, typically the width of a thumbnail or smaller.

- The tobacco container with a lid.

- A pipe rack small enough to be held by one hand, and consisting of two large holes for the tobacco container and the water pipe. It may have smaller holes to hold various pipe tools.

 

During a smoking session, the user may keep all equipment inside the rack and just hold the entire assembly (rack, pipe, and container) in one hand, lighting the bowl with a slow-burning paper wick (纸煤) lit over a coal stove. Unlike in North America and the Southern Hemisphere, the water pipe is typically employed by older generations.

 

USE

The water can trap some heavier particles and water-soluble molecules, preventing them from entering the smoker's airways. The mechanics of a bong are compared to those of a laboratory gas washing bottle. The user puts their mouth at the top and places the cannabis in the tube, as shown in the picture.

 

Bongs are often either glass or plastic that use a bowl, stem, and water to produce smoke. Most glass bongs are made from heat resistant borosilicate glass, allowing the bong to withstand repeated use and heat exposure without breaking. After the bowl has been packed and water has been inserted into the bong, the substance is lit and the smoke is drawn through water to produce a smoother smoke than other methods of smoking do. To smoke a bong, the smoker must inhale in the bong so bubbles containing smoke begin to come from the stem. Once the bong has a fair amount of smoke built up, either the carb is uncovered or the stem is separated from the bong, allowing the remaining smoke to be inhaled.

 

However, a 2000 NORML-MAPS cannabis study found that "water pipes filter out more psychoactive THC than they do other tars, thereby requiring users to smoke more to reach their desired effect". In the study, smoke from cannabis supplied by the NIDA was drawn through a number of smoking devices and analyzed. This study looked at the tar to cannabinoid ratio in the gas in output by various bongs, as well as unfiltered and filtered joints, and vaporizers. The results showed that only vaporizers produced a better tar to cannabinoid ratio than unfiltered joints, but that within the cannabinoids produced, even vaporizers warped the ratio of THC (the psychoactive component of the smoke) to CBN (capable of producing medical benefits but is not psychoactive) in favor of CBN. This showed an unfiltered joint had the best tar to THC ratio of all, and bongs were actually seriously detrimental in this respect.

 

MAPS also reviewed a study that examined the effects and composition of water-filtered and non-filtered cannabis and tobacco smoke. It found that when alveolar macrophages were exposed to unfiltered smoke, their ability to fight bacteria was reduced, unlike exposure to water-filtered smoke. It also found substantial epidemiological evidence of a lower incidence of carcinoma among tobacco smokers who used water-pipes, as opposed to cigarettes, cigars, and regular pipes. "It appears that water filtration can be effective in removing components from cannabis smoke that are known toxicants... The effectiveness of toxicant removal is related to the smoke's water contact area."

 

Specially designed water pipes, incorporating particulate filters and gas-dispersion frits, would likely be most effective in this regard; the gas-dispersion frit serves to break up the smoke into very fine bubbles, thereby increasing its water-contact area." These frits are commonly referred to as diffuser for the way that they diffuse (or disperse) the smoke as it exits the downstem, and usually consist of small holes or slats at the end of the downstem. This study suggests that a bong's smoke is less harmful than unfiltered smoke.

 

LEGAL ISSUES

In the United States, under the Federal Drug Paraphernalia Statute, which is part of the Controlled Substances Act, it is illegal to sell, transport through the mail, transport across state lines, import, or export drug paraphernalia.

 

In countries where marijuana and hashish are illegal, some retailers specify that bongs are intended for use with tobacco in an attempt to circumvent laws against selling drug paraphernalia. While technically 'bong' does not mean a device used for smoking mainly cannabis, drug-related connotations have been formed with the word itself (partly due to punning with Sanskrit bhangah "hemp"). Thus for fear of the law many head shops will not serve customers who use the word "bong" or "bongs", or any other word typically associated with illegal drug use.

 

Some brand name bong manufacturers (notably RooR) have sought to curb the counterfeit market for their products by suing stores accused of selling fake merchandise.

 

WIKIPEDIA

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