There was a fortune made in the “For Dummies” books. Wine, Gardening, Hiking, etc. People love to learn about what they enjoy and, men especially, love to feel they are an expert. Even those new to wine love to figure out the best way to enjoy the flavor and body. So here are so here some expert marijuana hacks you need.
You know that ancient proverb: You can’t teach old dogs new tricks? Don’t believe it. Whether you are a long term consumer or just canna-curious, technology and new products open up a whole realm of fresh ideas.
Spice Jars Make Great Nug Containers
Do you have an empty cinnamon jar or garlic powder jar? You know the kind that have two separate lids, one with little holes and another main lid? They make great containers, especially if they are glass.
These little containers are excellent for keeping your nugs fresh longer. They act as a MacGuyverish humidor. Here’s how:
Photo by 4657743 via Pixabay
Get a small square of paper towel (or napkin) and get it just a little wet. Don’t drench the thing. I prefer using distilled water because it is free of any foreign particles. Place the paper between the two lids.
That’s it. Your cannabis won’t dry out.
Tip: Do NOT put the jar back in the pantry or spice cabinet or wherever who put your actual spices.
Freeze! Make Ice Cubes Out Of CannaJuice
If you are fortunate to live in states that allow the sale or cannabis beverages, this trick is great. Or if you make your own cannabis tea this will work too.
Simply pour the fluid into the ice cube tray (I prefer buying a mold that allows for 1/2 cup-sized cubes). Now you have cannabis in your freezer to use whenever you like.
Use them to make a smoothie. Or invent your favorite cocktail.
NOTE: It’s not advisable to mix cannabis with alcohol.
Variety Is The Spice Of Life — Especially Music.
Music and marijuana go together like peanut butter and jelly. Before your session, make sure you have selected your playlist. Sometimes, figuring out a playlist while impaired is not ideal. So take some time and pick your tunes.
I suggest creating multiple playlists depending on your mood: Wake and Bake List, Chilling List, Workout List, In The Bedroom List. You know the drill.
If you are stoked about your playlist, make sure to share it with friends
Eat A Mango
Eating a mango 45 minutes or so before a cannabis session will allow the THC to absorb into your body quicker and the high will stay with you longer. For some, the intoxicating feeling will be slightly more intense.
The sweet tropical fruit are packed with myrcene, a terpene that interacts with THC. Myrcene is also known to have anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, anti-spasmodic properties. Additionally, it lowers the resistance across the blood to brain barrier, allowing itself and many other chemicals to cross the barrier easier and more quickly. Including THC.
Added bonus: Not only are mangoes delicious, they are packed with vitamins and nutrients. It’s a win-win.
Do-It-Yourself Kief Pellets
If you are an advanced cannabis consumer, you no doubt now what kief is.
Buying kief pellets can be pricy and supply can be spotty in certain regions of the country. No worries. Here is how to make your own kief pellets. All you need are kief, scissors, two pencils, a sheet of paper and tape.
First, cut a piece of paper into a strip about 2 inches wide by 6 inches long and wrap it firmly around one pencil. Affix the tape on the paper so it will remain shaped as a tube. Remove the pencil. Carefully fill the paper tube with kief. Use the other pencil to tightly pack the kief inside the tube.
A Curling Iron Is Not Just For Your Hair
Now that you have little kief pellets, you can now make some homemade hash using a hair iron. Yep, a simple curling iron will come in handy.
Using pressure and heat, you can press kief into hashish. All you need is kief, parchment paper and a hair iron. Place the kief inside folded parchment paper. Apply pressure and heat with the iron for about 5-10 seconds. The kief will compress into a more solid form. Break off small pieces and smoke it or vape it or add to tea.
Take A Walk On The Mild Side: Tolerance Holidays
Nearly every regular consumer of cannabis will notice that his or her tolerance change over time. That comfortable euphoric feeling gets harder to experience. Maybe it’s time for a “Tolerance Holiday.”
Tolerance Holidays, also known as T-breaks, allow your body and mind to re-calibrate. If you have been consuming cannabis for a prolonged period of time, your system becomes desensitized to its psychoactive effects. When you constantly put THC in your body, the receptors that bind to it become compromised. Give your system a break.
If possible, 30 days is optimal for the T-break, but even a week will do.
Added bonus: You’ll have a few extra bucks in your bank account.
Part of the cannabis industry supported the new president, betting he was going to move and move quickly on cannabis – the White House finally commented.
The cannabis industry has been a boon for consumers, medical patients, veterans and legal states, but for the thousands of mom and pop businesses is has been a roller coaster. With a huge demand, it would seem to be easy money, but the federal, tax, and banking restrictions have made it difficult to grow and expand. Part of the industry were all for the new administration assuming they would support positive change, but many in the new cabinet and the House Speaker Mike Johnson are foes. Now the White House finally comments on marijuana industry…and it doesn’t show a clear path.
The administration’s current stance on marijuana reform is marked by inaction, despite campaign promises and earlier signals of support for cannabis-related reforms. A White House official recently confirmed that “no action is being considered at this time” regarding marijuana policy, leaving advocates and industry stakeholders uncertain about the administration’s priorities.
During his campaign, the resident expressed support for rescheduling marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), which would move it from Schedule I to Schedule III, easing restrictions on medical use and enabling cannabis businesses to access banking and tax benefits. However, since taking office, no concrete steps have been taken to advance this initiative. A DEA hearing on rescheduling, initially planned for January 2025, was postponed due to procedural appeals and remains unscheduled.
The president has also voiced support for state autonomy in cannabis policy and endorsed state-level legalization initiatives, such as Florida’s failed 2024 ballot measure for recreational marijuana. While this reflects a more favorable stance compared to his first term, his administration has yet to prioritize federal reforms like the SAFE Banking Act, which would facilitate banking services for cannabis businesses. Efforts to include such measures in a government funding bill late last year were unsuccessful.
The delay in federal action has significant implications for the cannabis industry. Rescheduling marijuana could alleviate financial burdens by eliminating restrictions under IRS Code Section 280E and promoting medical research. However, the stalled process leaves businesses navigating regulatory uncertainties and limited financial access.
While stakeholders continue lobbying for reform, the administration appears focused on other priorities such as immigration and foreign policy. Advocates hope the President will leverage his influence to advance cannabis reform, but for now, the issue remains sidelined. Until then the industry struggles and waits.
States are starting to scramble with looming budget deficients, but marijuana is a boon to some – especially one state.
The new federal administration is revamping how the government operates. With Doge, they are changing agencies and reducing services and support of states, which has left budget deficients in many. But some states have legal marijana and it has been a boon, for like alcohol…people are still consuming. States who are fully legal are making more money on weed than booze and this state’s cannabis revenue keeps pouring in. Missouri, the show me state, is being shown unexpected revenue.
“Due to a strong cannabis market and effective, efficient regulation of that market,” Amy Moore, director of the Missouri Division of Cannabis Regulation, told The Independent this week, “the funds available for the ultimate beneficiaries of the cannabis regulatory program continue to outpace expectations.”
Funds will help veterans and other key projects. The other benefit is as seen in data from legal states, teen use is down so it frees up some other funds. Legal states are seeing benefits from legal cannabis including lower teen use and crime reduction.
States with legal cannabis are experiencing a significant boost in tax revenue, surpassing those generated by alcohol sales. This trend highlights the economic benefits of marijuana legalization, as cannabis markets expand and mature.
In California, cannabis excise taxes have consistently outperformed alcohol-related taxes, bringing in over double the revenue. Colorado has seen even more striking results, with marijuana tax revenues totaling seven times those of alcohol. Similarly, Massachusetts has collected more tax revenue from marijuana than alcohol since fiscal year 2021, marking a notable shift in state finances.
Nationally, legal cannabis states generated nearly $3 billion in excise taxes on marijuana in 2021—20% more than alcohol taxes. By 2024, total adult-use cannabis tax revenue exceeded $20 billion, with states like Illinois and Washington reporting record-breaking contributions. Illinois alone collected $451.9 million from cannabis taxes in fiscal year 2022—one-and-a-half times the revenue from alcohol.
The funds are being put to good use. States like Illinois are channeling marijuana tax dollars into mental health services and community programs, while Colorado has invested nearly $500 million into public education. California has allocated millions to nonprofits addressing the impacts of the war on drugs.
This growing revenue stream underscores the potential of cannabis legalization to support vital public services and bolster state economies. As more states embrace regulated marijuana markets, the financial benefits are expected to continue flourishing.
The federal administration is all over the board around fed cannabis policy…and millions of patients are worried.
The industry employees over 440,000 workers at all lives and is driven in a large part by mom and pop businesses. Millions use medical marijuana for health issues ranging from chronic pain to sleep. But there are mixed messages from the feds about cannabis, and people are very worried. The federal government’s stance on marijuana has become increasingly complex, as recent developments show conflicting approaches to the drug’s potential benefits and risks. On one hand, there’s a push for research into medical marijuana for veterans, while on the other, a campaign against cannabis use is being launched.
The juxtaposition of initiatives highlights the federal government’s inconsistent approach to marijuana policy. While some departments are exploring the potential benefits of cannabis, others are actively working to discourage its use. This dichotomy is further exemplified by ongoing legislative efforts. For instance, Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) has reintroduced the Veterans Equal Access Act, which would allow VA doctors to recommend medical marijuana to patients in states where it’s legal. Meanwhile, documents from an ongoing lawsuit suggest that the DEA may have weighted the marijuana rescheduling process to ensure rejection of moving the drug from Schedule 1 to Schedule 3.
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The Department of Defense (DOD) has allocated nearly $10 million in funding for research into the therapeutic potential of MDMA for active-duty military members. This initiative, driven by congressional efforts, aims to explore MDMA’s effectiveness in treating conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and traumatic brain injury (TBI). Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R-TX) expressed pride in this development, stating that it could be a “game-changer” for service members battling these combat-related injuries.
Additionally, a bipartisan effort in Congress has been pushing for VA research on medical marijuana for PTSD and other conditions affecting veterans. The VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act, introduced in both the Senate and House, would mandate studies on how cannabis affects the use of addictive medications and impacts various health outcomes for veterans.
In stark contrast to these research initiatives, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has partnered with an anti-cannabis nonprofit to launch a social media campaign targeting young people. The campaign, set to run ahead of April 20 (4/20), aims to “flood” Instagram with anti-cannabis content. The DEA is offering monetary incentives to students for creating and posting anti-THC videos, with payments ranging from $25 to $50 depending on the type of content produced.
This approach has raised eyebrows, as it seems to contradict the growing acceptance and legalization of marijuana across the United States. Critics argue that such campaigns may be out of touch with current societal trends and scientific understanding of cannabis.