I feel that the legal weed industry is speedrunning the past decade of craft brewing. Craft beer focused on growing the scene while focusing on higher and higher ABV beers, but now is transitioning back towards beers that are a bit more sessionable and don’t get you blasted after 2 beers. Wouldn’t be surprised to see the weed industry start focusing on sessionable items sooner rather than later.
Oils from plants in nature are super helpful, when used correctly!
(Hint: if you're a medicinal user in any form, probably best to stop lighting shit on fire)
No health provider is ever going to approve burning anything for medicinal usages.
All studies have proven all the bad stuff comes from combustion.
Obviously the progression doesn't happen as fast for some. However, the key being they can't quit in moderation or in excess. Some can abstain for 3 months, some for six, thinking they don't have a problem but then find themselves using even a little. There's a self-rationalization as well as self-centeredness that's part of the disease process of addiction. I would say it's not only a disease process but it is a huge factor. Cross addiction substituting one substance for another is also part of that self-rationalization.
...can't quit without side-effects.
Most addicts can stop using immediately with the side-effect that becoming less productive/energetic.
For THC, it is relatively easy to mitigate most side effects by adjusting the dose.
Modulation is not the key, but helps a lot
To me, I feel as though that behavioral addiction is completely disregarded by the medical community. If someone is lighting up every night / having a drink and want to stop, they need an alternative way of closing out the day. Otherwise of course it'll be difficult.
1. Imagine you're going to Walmart. You see a friend. "You say hi and raise your hand to draw attention" However, they walk right past you without even acknowledging your presence.
What is your first thought? Maybe "Jerk!", "he's busy?".
You don't have control over that first thought, but you do have control over that second thought and your actions thereafter. Addiction messes with your first thoughts and attention. Next scenario
2. A wife and a husband are driving down the road. The wife notices Kohl's is having a 50% off and the husband notices that Andy's liquor store has two six pack for the price of one.
In this case, due to addiction, the husband noticed that Andy's liquor store and that's a craving. His awareness was drawn to that sign with a subconscious cue influenced by addiction.
Therefore, someone who wishes to maintain sobriety has to be very self-aware of their thoughts and actions. They have to guard themselves from triggers, situations, people and then manage those other aspects they can't control.
It isn't helpful for people to view themselves as simply a character flaw when going through addiction because their brain is scarred. It doesn't mean they can't make poor choices and not choose to maintain to pursue sobriety. Their behavior matters and their disease matters.
I feel similarly about the store-bought THC products in Canada. They're like high ABV, hopped-up IPAs when really I just want a light, refreshing, repeatable beer with good flavour.
I'm not going to lie-- I'm also put off by the vibe the craft beer scene has taken on in the past 10 or 15 years. When craft beer fans see me order a classic European pilsner, with shocking frequency they a) attempt to shame me for ordering such a 'boring' beer, b) assume they need to educate me about this amazing thing called craft beer that I've clearly never encountered before, or c) assume my palate is unsophisticated. Like... listen bro... I'm a classically trained chef-- I've spent more time actively developing my palate than you've spent even thinking about it. I can tell you things you didn't know about the beer you're drinking based solely on your breath. Some very big names in craft beer were my multiple-times-per-week drinking buddies for years. I'm glad you've cultivated a passion for a locally-made food/bev product... now go be smug about your foamy bug spray juice elsewhere. lol
That is how I feel about most of the overpoweringly strong IPAs that have been all the rage for so long.
If you don't like that as a motivation, I have some bad news for you about 99% of the entire edifice of human history...
While I'm classically trained, my focus is from-scratch bar food while keeping it at the same price point as the frozen food service shit.
(saving this for the next time someone claims we moderate HN according to our personal beliefs...)
Their point is that it is much easier socially to sip a beer slowly over an hour than it is to sip a shot over that same hour.
Also most people who take shots aren't trying to get wasted. Drinking a shot the normal way every half hour to an hour alongside always having a beer to sip until done for the night is fairly standard. e.g. about 6 beers and 3 shots over the course of 2 to 4 hours.
That's the real play... decent gin, soda water, maybe a splash of lime juice, served on ice in a pint glass (usually ordered as a double or else it's too watery).
You up with something as sippable as beer, with fewer calories and zero added sugar. (except a little from the lime, but lime doesn't have that much by fruit standards).
In California, 6 beers (typical beers averaging 6% abv) + 3 shots (5.5oz of hard alcohol) over 2-4 hours would be straight up alcoholic levels of consumption.
Over the course of two hours, that's pretty wasted. Depending on the beer, that might be your entire weekly recommended alcohol intake in two hours.
Where and in which circle? Because from where I stand it seems very unusual.
Edibles are very consistent, at least today they are. The problem with them is that people are stupid and don't know how to find the right dose responsibly. They take a gummy, it tastes pretty good, and then after 15 or 20 minutes they don't feel anything so they take another, because yum, it tastes like candy so why not. Then it starts to kick in after 30 or 40 minutes and it's double the dose so they feel nauseated and sick.
The best way to gauge the effects of an edible dose is to take the edible on an empty stomach, wait about 20 minutes, then eat a meal, and do not take a second dose. After eating your metabolism will get that dose into your blood stream right quick and before you're done with the meal you will definitely be feeling the full effect if you took enough. And if you don't feel much, then the dose is too low. Try again tomorrow. Don't double up the dose in the same sitting, because then you're really not getting an accurate result. Take maybe 1/3 more the next day, try again. If it's still not enough then the next day try a little more. When you find the right dose, then stick to it.
That being said, the other side of this (in a pre-legalized world) was that the plants you grew on your own tended to be within a certain potency range, which meant 1 puff roughly equaled another — as opposed to baked goods, where butter could end up spread throughout inconsistently. There’s also the swifter intake-to-feedback loop when smoking/vaping, which made “taking too much” easier to see coming and avoid. Thus my old fashioned POV.
But you're right, it's way easier to not "overdose" with inhaled THC than it is with edibles. People just need to approach the two methods differently. Inhaling is instant gratification, where as eating is delayed gratification. Not everyone is capable of delaying gratification because so many people are impatient and impulsive. Edibles are still vastly superior in terms of healthiness so long as they aren't just 95% sugar and 5% THC.
Personally, these days I use "Protabs" which contain 0 sugar, just THC and a binder (probably corn starch) and the high is extremely clean and clear and completely guilt-free. And the dosage is very reliable and repeatable. There's no guessing involved now that I know my tolerance.
I get what you’re saying - but this is not practically true. Weed that contains 35% THC has a lot to do with the conditions it’s grown in which affects a lot of the other physical qualities of the weed. Smell, color, size of nug, density, humidity all are very correlated with potency.
Density is just a measure of humidity in practice and thus pick date.
Alternate take, dispensaries have enabled many people I know to get a reliable product that acts the same each time they buy it and use it, and let them dial in exactly what strain and quantity and method of ingestion works best for them. Before the commercialization one never had the diversity and reliability of product they have now.
Contrast that to the before times where people, as you put it, bought whatever the dealer was selling.
I don’t know if that comes down to dosing, or if the body just reacts differently, but either way, it’s just rarely the experience I’m looking for.
I can not smoke cigarettes, never liked them, always got headaches from them. With vaping quality liquid I have no issues and I'm a heavy user. Not saying it's good for you but claiming it is worse or the same as literal smoke is just wrong
That sort of vape liquid is nicotine in a suspension of food/medical grade PG/VG and likely some small bit of flavoring in the same. It's essentially a tiny version of the fog machines that blast out vapor in nightclubs.
I know its just an anecdote but people YOU ONLY GET ONE PAIR OF LUNGS and they heal differently then other parts of your body (or they don't heal at all - COPD is TERMINAL).
It's easy to drink 12 shots in succession, but it's very hard to take 12 beers in a reasonably comparable amount of time. This is not a good comparison. It's obviously much easier to poison yourself with strong alcohol.
Not anti in any way, so please don't jump at me without looking first.
Craft beers are just a niche. I don't trust the industry to self-regulate towards less profit.
As a recovered addict who has spent many months in multiple rehabs and many hours at meetings -- with hundreds of other addicts, I can assure you that booze is EASILY more dangerous/unhealthy/addictive than weed. Across the board; worse by every general measure.
Judging from the number of users who say they would like to stop using it but can't, cannabis is more addictive, however. There are plenty of surveys of this, and I've seen even cannabis activists take them seriously, advocating offerings to cut down/quit similar to those we offer to smokers.
I don't know why, and this is just one possible measure of addictiveness, but it is what it is.
A lot of people went from drinking beer and wine when Prohibition was first enacted in the US and moved to liquor. This happened because many of the speakeasies would rather have a given volume of liquor versus beer because they can serve more customers and there is less of a concern about your product being large and conspicuous.
With illicit drugs you often find the producers making the drugs more and more concentrated so they can move more product in a smaller volume and then step on it to make up the bulk later down the supply chain.
It would make sense to me that dispensaries would be more interested in buying and receiving higher THC product because they can either do more with less or they can have customers come in less often and serve more of them.
People are only aware of what they can put hands on in their locale.
It's basically the one thing I hope Amazon gets their way on (they're one of the bigger lobbyists for legalization).
So funny that that law didn't account for how edibles work. If you have a baked good (brownie, cookie, etc.) which weighs 100 grams, and it contains 29mg delta-9 THC, thats below the 0.3% legal threshold, and still a solid dose.
I always try to explain this to people, that the Republicans actually unwittingly legalized weed in 2017, but no one ever gets it. Fact is, delta-9 THC edibles are now federally legal (and can be ordered online) in all 50 states due to the Farm Bill loophole.
Delta 9 is the long-known active ingredient in regular marijuana. You're thinking of delta 8, which is a new isolate.
This is kind of my point though. When I talk about this stuff, people assume I just mean delta 8, or CBD or whatever. Nope. Straight up delta 9 edibles are 100% federally legal now.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture_Improvement_Act_...
It's the entire reason for the explosion of hemp stores everywhere in the last few years.
That "0.3%" clause is the kicker. Because 0.3% is a long way away from being 0%, it means posession of THC is now federally legal.
CBD on it's own is completely different so it shouldn't be compared.
Stating Delta-9 is legal, not Delta-8, is not that big of a deal. If you think it is, you should talk about why it matters instead of stating plainly that it does because saying "They just don't understand" is giving iamverysmart.
Here's a commentary by drug policy litigator Matt Zorn: https://ondrugs.substack.com/p/delta-9-thc-gummies
The prefatory text to Schedule I(c) of the Controlled Substances Act removes all doubt: “[u]nless specifically excepted or unless listed in another schedule, any material, compound, mixture, or preparation, which contains any quantity of the following hallucinogenic substances” is a Schedule I substance.
A 12 mg THC extract infused into a 4-gram gummy consisting of non-cannabis isn’t a “hemp” gummy. It is a “material,” “mixture,” or “preparation” containing “marihuana,” which is a Schedule I controlled substance.It's been tested somewhat (interestingly, in a trademark case which rested on whether the infringed trademark was for a legal product) and it has succeeded at the Circuit Court level. AK Futures LLC v. Boyd Street Distro, LLC, 9th Cir. No. 2-56113 (May 19, 2022):
Importantly, the only statutory metric for distinguishing controlled marijuana from legal hemp is the delta-9 THC concentration level. In addition, the definition extends beyond just the plant to “all derivatives, extracts, [and] cannabinoids.” 7 U.S.C. § 1639o(1). The use of “all” indicates a sweeping statutory reach. See Lambright v. Ryan, 698 F.3d 808, 817 (9th Cir. 2012) (“The common meaning of the word ‘all’ is ‘the whole amount, quantity, or extent of; as much as possible’ . . . .” (quoting All, Merriam-Webster (online ed., visited Oct. 4, 2012))). This seemingly extends to downstream products and substances, so long as their delta-9 THC concentration does not exceed the statutory threshold.
Of course, as this was on an appeal of a denial of a preliminary injunction, the ruling is framed in likelihood of success rather than absolute terms, but its a pretty strong negative indicator for your argument that this is a clearly incorrect interpretation that no court would take seriously, since both the District Court and the Circuit Court very much took it seriously.
This is the key. Who will ever bring this in front of a judge? The "anti-weed" lobby has all but ceased to exist. Which leaves basically a small handful of deep red state attorney generals that would even have the standing to be able to attempt it.
And which side do you think has the funding (and incentive) to defend it all the way to the supreme court?
The floodgates have opened, and they're never going back. There's simply too much money and momentum behind it. Even the conservatives are on board at this point now that they've seen the tax revenues.
Apparently, an accused trademark violator, in the hopes of proving that, as it was not in legal use in trade, the trademark they are accused of violating was not valid in the first place.
For example, Florida recently was about to pass a state law limiting the total amount of THC in each individual edible, which would have killed the "legal D9 THC" market. They apparently got huge pushback from producers/consumers in the state and dropped any limits: https://floridaphoenix.com/blog/florida-senate-approves-hemp...
Edit: BTW, though, that link from Matt Zorn was great, thanks for posting.
They're swapping out legacy industry worker addiction to opioid and alcohol for cannabis.
Socially, it's done a lot of good in those places.
It's because you're using the word wrong. Weed is illegal federally. The problem is that you think THC is weed, and Delta-9 is weed, and CBD is weed. Words have meaning. A caffeine pill isn't coffee, and beef steak isn't a cow. Something being derived from something doesn't make it that original thing.
//Asking for a friend.
Just Google it. Or call the CBD shop at your nearest strip mall. This is all 100% legal and legitimate, that's the point.
These guys are legit. I just toured their production facility last week and I was impressed enough that we chose them as our contract manufacturer for gummies.
That dosage is insane to me. I'm 235lbs and 15mg is a solid, "I'm not driving" dose for me.
It's so easy/cheap to use low-spectrum cannabis oil in edibles, and most uneducated/recreational users can't/won't feel the difference between how THC feels, compared with all of the compounds you're supposed to have together when using cannabis.
No different than early vape pens.
No terpenes? No CBD? You're just gonna be high.
Grow the plant, cut and dry the plant, heat the plant & breathe it in. It's pretty simple.
Edibles can definitely do the same, but not distillate made stuff from the store.
Even trying a firecracker (herb cooked in peanut butter on a tortilla chip) at home with your existing purchase of plant matter can show you the difference.
10mg I’m not sure I could reliably ABX with a placebo.
For me, 5-10mg of delta 8 is a good relaxing evening. On the low end, it's an anxiety reducer, on the high end of that, a bit of a giggle and indacouch feeling. 25 mg (one gummy) is a zonk the brain kind of night.
Honestly, for knowing I drink too much alcohol, d8 can be a great substitute on the way to quasi sobriety.
Don't do drugs, kids.
Becoming a regular smoker is often a hunt for something that can get you just as high as the first time, but nothing will. (Concentrates can get you very high, though.)
With that said, I want to lower my usage -- and, admittedly, it has been hard. Especially if there's hardly anything disincentivizing me from not feeling good all the time. I also have ADHD and take Adderall every day, so it's a part of a routine that has a designated dopamine hit a least once every 1.5hrs, whether that be coffee, weed, whatever.
At my peak, I was a half-gram, gram of concentrates a day smoker. There was always the option of taking three or four good dabs in a row and getting past the point of high and into psychedelic panic. The idea that "you can never get as high as the first time" is a total myth peddled by the same people who claim it's a "gateway drug".
Something I'm looking to buy and test soon: isolated terpene tincures of my most helpful strain, for when I have no interest in THC.
I'm not sure if you're looking for recreational or medicinal, but if it's medicinal the key is to have a regiment. If not, just cut the edible in half. If you're buying gummies they're well enough mixed that you can track the dosage by portioning them carefully.
3-methylfentanyl is an early example of this.
For those who want to try using low controlled doses like you said, I gotta recommend dry herb/flower vapes - the normie portable ones, not the $400 desktop vape with a fan and everything. It’s easier to find low-but-not-0 THC flower than oil cartridges IME, and if you can’t find them, you can just pack less. It’s also a lot easier on your lungs and having to take multiple hits per packed chamber allows you to control your dose a bit better. Low dose edibles also work but they can last a long time in your body due to being metabolized differently and are similarly hard to find.
Your preferred ratio, for recreation OR medicinal purposes, may be way closer to 1:1 (THC/CBD) than you thought!
Where do you find the 3% THC in California? Hopefully, it’s someplace in the Bay Area.
CBD is on its own an effective antipsychotic (comparable efficacy to one of the common treatment options in schizophrenia in a 2013 study), and has repeatedly been shown to balance out the psychotic effects of THC.
And I'd say easily 80% or more of the products I've seen in any dispensary I've walked into have ~0% of CBD compared to those heavy THC amounts.
It's no longer "just using something that grows as part of nature" if you completely disrupt the balance of the natural high with extreme levels of selective breeding and processing.
For starters, everyone’s goals for cannabis use are different. A person with Crohn’s for example, who uses cannabis for nausea relief will surely have a different ideal ratio of THC:CBD than a weekend warrior who uses it for muscle pain. There’s no one dosage or ratio that works for everyone and I think that you are greatly exaggerating the importance of weed's so-called "entourage effect" re: THC, THCA, CBD...prolly some terpenes floatin' around in there. I dunno...
Besides, pursuing greater THC "heights" and in process, pushing out CBD has been the way for decades. This is nothing new and those "80% of strains" you sneer at are borne of the same methodology as previous efforts before commercial outfits perfected it.
What's more, "CBD heavy" strains with only 0.3% THC are wildly in demand these days. The more "balanced" iterations with up to ~20-25% THC & ~6-12% CBD are also gaining in popularity.
However, these products are disappointingly few and far between. When I walk into a CA dispensary, I actually have to hunt around for them, if they're even available. When I ask, staff members wonder if I'm buying it for my grandmother! It would be great to see the industry refocus on products that are designed to be consumed in moderation.