Cannabis

The Most Expensive Weed You Can Buy (And How To Make Your Own At Home!)

Published

1 year ago

February 16, 2023

admin

While paying top-dollar for your pot might not be your ultimate goal, it is a fact that cannabis users are becoming more sophisticated and choosy about what they consume. As the weed space is quickly becoming as packed as a Miami beach on a smoldering summer day, standing out as a premium product is not the easiest thing to do.

A visit to your local dispensary might reveal that the price of strains usually vary by a slim margin of a dollar or two. So, what’s the most expensive weed?

Let’s dive into the area of expensive weed and find out how much people are willing to spend to get themselves some.

marijuana money — Photo by Cappi Thompson/Getty Images

What Makes a Strain Luxury?

Just like any top-notch product — be it a piece of fine jewelry, or grooved luxury travel bag — a lot goes into the production and utility that makes it stand out. Many growers go to great lengths trying to come up with the most expensive strain of weed, including:

Using untreated water that has been melted off a mountain top.
Fine-tuned genetics
Controlled cultivation and monitoring of nutrients
Hand handling the weed.
Using packaging cardboard as well as labels that are made from recycled material
Recycled glass
Following long, detailed processes
Using hydroelectric power

This sounds a little off the top, right?

While going the extra mile — quite literally! — might be a step in the right direction of creating premium brands of weed, let us see what the most expensive marijuana currently is and how it got that way.

So, what is the most expensive marijuana in the world?

If you are familiar with the world’s most expensive cuisine, you probably know that caviar ranks up there for what you would buy if you were looking for the best, and most expensive money can buy.

Cannabis seems to be following in the same footsteps.

Cannabis Caviar is really the most expensive marijuana that there is out there. It is the “champagne of cannabis.” While culinary caviar is basically expensive fish eggs, cannabis caviar is a concept of finely combined ingredients.

What makes cannabis caviar so prestigious is the process of making it.

The making of Cannabis Caviar starts off with soaking high-quality cannabis buds in intoxicating hash oil (concentrated liquid cannabis). Once the oil becomes soaked into the buds, the result is concentrated cannabis that can have THC concentrations ranging from 30-80%, as opposed to the potency of a normal bud that would be 5-20%.

RELATED: How Much Does Weed Cost?

If you think the process is done, you’re wrong!

The potent, concentrated bud is then rolled into kief (we will see what kief is later in this article). The result is a weed substance that will literally knock your socks off.

So, if you have been asking yourself “what’s the most expensive weed?” you now have your answer. A quality bomb of Cannabis Caviar.

Now to the big question, how much does it go for?

You would have to part with $1,400 to purchase an ounce of quality Cannabis Caviar!

What Makes Cannabis Caviar So Expensive?

Cannabis Caviar, or Caviar concentrates, Caviar Gold strain, Marijuana Caviar or simply Caviar Moon Rocks, are basically what we have described in the above section.

These names all refer to the same concept of dipping very high-quality weed buds into hash oil and rolling them in a kief layer. Cannabis Caviar can be exceedingly potent and some combinations are even known to result in high concentrations of up to 91% THC.

The high potency is due to the use of extremely high quality strains as weed as well as very potent cannabis oil and kief. This extravagant combination results in “one hell of a high”.

Many top-shelf weed strains are used in the making of Cannabis Caviar, but the most commonly used are:

KGB strain
Mochi Strain
THC Diamonds
Platinum weed
God Bud strain
Grapefruit weed
Black Diamond cannabis
Glue tap strain

Where Can You Get the Most Expensive Weed?

Caviar Cannabis is mainly sold in dispensaries across North America, though coffee shops abroad may also sell them.

Caviar Buds are virtually always very high quality with extremely potent qualities. When we say it will knock your socks off, we are not joking. Some would even say it could send you right to the moon, probably where it got its name “moon rocks’ from. If you are looking for weed that will literally transport you to the next world, this is it.

Conversely, if you are a cannabis newbie, you should probably steer clear of Cannabis Caviar until you develop some tolerance.

What Are the Effects of the Most Expensive Weed?

Have you ever felt so high you seem unable to feel your eyebrows, even if you touched them?

That’s the cannabis caviar high.

Starting in your head, the caviar high eventually spreads throughout your entire body and down to the tips your toes. It’s one of those slow burns that you don’t quite feel coming on, until you realise your feet are no longer touching the ground. It has an intense high that will hit about 30 minutes after you take it and last a really long time.

What Cannabis Caviar Is Not

The high that results from the strong combinations of cannabis caviar has led many to describe it as “the strongest cannabis in the world” that can you “the best high on earth”.

Is it a wonder that moons rocks are sometimes confused with other substances?

Moon rock weed has regularly been confused with MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine), we will go by the abbreviation because who can pronounce that? Another name for MDMA is speed.

Like marijuana, ecstasy creates psychoactive effects. However, they are vastly different. Ecstasy is a “methamphetamine” which acts through the dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine receptors found in the brain. Ecstasy is considered to be addictive as it is a stimulant of the amphetamine class.

So make sure to specify the moon rock you are talking about the next time you are a having a conversation of your best high. You wouldn’t want anyone to get the wrong impression. Would you?

What Is the Most Expensive Strain of Weed?

By now, you must have figured that the most expensive weed is not a strain, but a prime concoction. If you are still wondering what the most expensive weed strain is, we have the answer for you.

Loud Dream

This potent strain is “a Sativa-dominant hybrid”. Created from backcrossing its parent strain (Blue Dream) with itself, it is an excellent strain to spark focus and creativity. With average THC levels of 26-28%, Loud Dream ranks as one of the most potent weed strains.

Now, how much does it cost?

For a whopping $800, you can score yourself an ounce of Loud Dream. That definitely makes it the most expensive strain of weed in the world. It also has strong berry flavors which make it a very enjoyable smoke.

If you want to get some concept of how high $800 is, consider that price for “medium to high-quality” weed is about $230.50. This is according to a sample size of 45,707 published by the High Times. The average weed also has THC contents of roughly 18.7% on average, according to NBC News, which makes it’s 27% average quite momentous.

The Mystery of the Oracle

Once upon a time, a strain named “The Oracle” emerged as the most expensive weed strain, and it was sought after by both gentry and common folk.

The Oracle is a potent Indica strain that has a staggering 45% THC contents balanced by 20% CBD.

As many stories go… one day, while routinely running some tests, it was found to be a duplication of the common ACDC strain, which can be purchased for a fraction of the absurdly high prices, from any dispensary.

This strain also retailed for $800, with the price of a clone being $1000

How to Make the Most Expensive Weed at Home

Caviar cannabis is basically moon rock weed that’s topped with honey oil and a dusted generously with kief. The finished product closely resembles a Brussels Sprout, or to those with a sweet tooth, a chunk of green candy.

To make your own cannabis caviar from home, you will need:

Raw, whole bud (of the finest, most potent quality you can get)
Honey oil(a.k.a. hash oil)
Kief

Making the kief

As promised earlier in this article, we have come to the point of revealing the contents of our secret ingredient, “kief”.

In German, the word “kief” refers to a quarrelsome person. That is obviously not what we’re talking about.

Kief, which is also called pollen or crystal, is the fine powder gotten from the trichomes (dried resin glands) of a cannabis plant. Kief is quite easy to produce. Actually, it’s the easiest step in this whole process. All you will need in order to collect your very own kief is a nifty grinder that has a kief catcher at its bottom.

Simply put your flower into the grinder’s topmost chamber and start grinding. The chopped bud will fall into the screen below, and the kief will get separated from the ground bub. It then gets stored in a final compartment.

When you’re done grinding, tap the grinder on a flat surface such as a table to ensure all of the kief falls through to the last compartment, we don’t want to waste any of that precious stuff, do we?

If you find this process tedious, as you are bound to, simply purchase quality kief from your local dispensary and skip to the next step.

Making the honey oil

Honey oil, also known as hash oil, is derived typically from a process called solvent extraction. Solvent extraction involves a chemical solvent such as alcohol, butane or carbon dioxide being forced through the weed material. This process causes trichomes and other chemicals to be stripped from the plant as they dissolve in the solvent. The solvent is then evaporated or strained out leaving the CBD, THC, flavonoids and terpenes behind in their oily state.

However, making your own honey oil can be dangerous as butane and other solvents are highly flammable.

Like with the kief, it is sometimes just easier to purchase the honey oil from your local dispensary.

The bud

The final, or first ingredient is the bud. If you are a weed connoisseur, you probably have your own potent weed growing in your background.

If not, purchase the finest, most potent strain from your local dispensary.

Earlier on in this article, we gave some suggestions of recommended strains.

The mixing

Now that you have the cannabis caviar ingredients, we can start on the process. A quick check on everything you need:

Your favorite potent whole bud
Kief
Honey oil
Small brush or eyedropper
Tweezers

Follow these steps:

Break a small piece of bud off the larger whole. This is what the tweezers are for, they will make it easier to hold and manipulate the pieces.
Use the small brush or eyedropper to cover the piece you have extracted. Make sure that while you cover the whole area, you do not saturate it.
Finally, roll your oil-covered bud in your kief until it’s totally coated.
Repeat the process with the remainder of your bud, honey oil, and kief.
Ensure the nuggets dry completely before use.

That’s it. With these simple steps you can have access to the most expensive weed in the world!

This article originally appeared on MyCannabis.com and has been reposted with permission.

Source link

Cannabis

Senate Leadership Pushes End of Federal Prohibition Of Cannabis

Published

1 day ago

May 3, 2024

admin

In a big week for the marijuana industry and a surprise to most of the industry, Senators Schumer (D-NY), (Murray D-WA), Wyden (D-OR), Cory Booker (D-NJ) and 14 others have deduced to follow the public and make a change. As of today, Senate leadership pushes end of federal prohibition of cannabis.

Senator Patty Murray, a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) has long been a champion of veterans. This falls in line with PTSD treatments and with the American Medical Association’s backing of rescheduling and more medical research to see how the cannabis plant can help more patients.

They have reintroduced the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act (CAOA), legislation that would end the harmful federal prohibition of cannabis by removing cannabis from the list of federally controlled substances and empowering states to create their own laws. This legislation would be a historic step toward rectifying the failed policies of the War on Drugs and would help federal law better reflect the will of the vast majority of Americans, 91% of whom believe that cannabis should be legalized for either adult or medical use.

“It is far past time that the federal government catch up to Washington state when it comes to cannabis laws. This legislation is about bringing cannabis regulations into the 21^st century with common-sense reforms to promote public safety and public health, and undo deeply unjust laws that have for decades disproportionally harmed people of color,” said Senator Murray. “The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act will help set us on a safe and responsible pathway to legalization—I’ll keep working to secure the necessary support to get it done.”

Sen. Patty Murray — Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act establishes a federal regulatory framework to protect public health and safety, prioritizes restorative and economic justice to help undo harm caused by the War on Drugs, ends discrimination in the provision of federal benefits on the basis of cannabis use, provides major investments for cannabis research, and strengthens worker protections. By decriminalizing cannabis at the federal level, the CAOA also ensures that state-legal cannabis businesses or those in adjacent industries will no longer be denied access to bank accounts or financial services simply because of their ties to cannabis.

The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act:

Protects public health by:
- Establishing a Center for Cannabis Products to regulate production, labeling, distribution, sales and other manufacturing and retail elements of the cannabis industry.
- Instructing the FDA to establish standards for labeling of cannabis products, including potency, doses, servings, place of manufacture, and directions for use.
- Establishing programs and funding to prevent youth cannabis use.
- Increasing funding for comprehensive opioid, stimulant, and substance use disorder treatment.
Protects public safety by:
- Removing cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act and eliminating federal prohibitions in states that have chosen to legalize medical cannabis, or adult-use cannabis.
- Retaining federal prohibitions on trafficking of cannabis in violation of state law; establishing a grant program to help departments combat black market cannabis.
- Requiring the Department of Transportation (DOT) to create standards for cannabis-impaired driving.
- Directing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to collect data on cannabis-impaired driving, create educational materials on “best practices,” and carry out media campaigns.
- Incentivizing states to adopt cannabis open container prohibitions.
Regulates and taxes cannabis by:
- Transferring federal jurisdiction over cannabis to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB).
- Eliminating the tax code’s restriction on cannabis businesses claiming deductions for business expenses, and implementing an excise tax on cannabis products.
- Establishing market competition rules meant to protect independent producers, wholesalers, and retailers and prevent anti-competitive behavior.
Encourages cannabis research by:
- Requiring the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to study and report on metrics that may be impacted by cannabis legalization.
- Requiring the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) to conduct or support research on the impacts of cannabis.
- Requiring the VA to carry out a series of clinical trials studying the effects of medical cannabis on the health outcomes of veterans diagnosed with chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder.
- Requiring the Bureau of Labor Statistics to regularly compile and publicize data on the demographics of business owners and employees in the cannabis industry.
- Establishing grants to build up cannabis research capacity at institutions of higher education, with a particular focus on minority-serving institutions and Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
Prioritizes restorative and economic justice by:
- Using federal tax revenue to fund an Opportunity Trust Fund to reinvest in communities and individuals most harmed by the failed War on Drugs.
- Establishing a Cannabis Justice Office at the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs
- Establishing a grant program to provide funding to help minimize barriers to cannabis licensing and employment for individuals adversely impacted by the War on Drugs.
- Establishing expedited FDA review of drugs containing cannabis manufactured by small businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.
- Directing the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to establish a grant program to provide communities whose residents have been disproportionately affected by the War on Drugs with additional funding to address the housing, economic, and community development needs of such residents.
- Initiating automatic expungement of federal non-violent cannabis offenses and allows an individual currently serving time in federal prison for nonviolent cannabis offense to petition a court for resentencing.
- Disallowing the denial of any benefits or protections under immigration law to any noncitizen based on their use or possession of cannabis.
- Prevents discrimination in the provision of federal benefits against people who use cannabis.
Strengthens workers’ rights by:
- Removing unnecessary federal employee pre-employment and random drug testing for cannabis
- Ensuring worker protections for those employed in the cannabis industry.
- Establishing grants for community-based education, outreach, and enforcement of workers’ rights in the cannabis industry.

The Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act is co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ed Markey (D-MA), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Gary Peters (D-MI), Tina Smith (D-MN), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Rev. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), John Fetterman (D-PA), and Laphonza Butler (D-CA).

Senator Murray has been a leader on common-sense cannabis reforms. She helped introduce the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act last Congress, and in 2017, she first introduced the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act which would allow state-legal cannabis businesses to access banking services. She has reintroduced the bill multiple times and is pushing hard for its passage. An updated version of the legislation—the Safe and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act of 2023, which Murray also cosponsored—passed through committee after a bipartisan markup last fall.

Source link

Cannabis

Off To The Horse Races With Cannabis

Published

1 day ago

May 3, 2024

admin

House racing is highly popular sports with over 45,000 races run in the US and Canada last year. The Kentucky Derby is the pinnacle of horse racing in North America, but most major metro hubs have some type of opportunity. Globally it is a $400 billion industry with tens of millions of people watching. But are they off to the horse races with cannabis?

The biggest horse racing party is the Kentucky Derby and the Infield (the area inside the track) is a huge one with beer trucks, Mardi Gras bead shenanigans, and maybe a little whiff of weed. While Churchill Downs, where the race is run, bans all smoking, vapes, gummies and more make the way in. The same is true across the realm. But what about those in the race?

The signature beverage of the Kentucky Derby is the Mint Julep

Horse racing is an intense activity for the animal, and increasingly, horse owners are adapting human products (either medical marijuana or hemp) for their athletes. Recovery, hydration, inflammation and pain management are all benefits for the horse if done with the correct dosage. Additionally, it is seen as a potential for calming a horse.

Like the human mass market, CBD is leading the way. But the efficacy and safety of some products is questionable, due to very little research and supervision. Until the passage of the 2018 Farm Act, it was illegal to possess or conduct research on hemp as well as marijuana. Like the NFL, owners should be aware CBD and THC cannot be used in when competing, and if CBD shows up on a drug test that horse may be disqualified.

With rescheduling, there should be more research done regarding CBD and THC’s benefits to animals, especially pets and horses. Before administering CBD to horses, horse owners should first consult with a veterinarian.

Additionally, jockeys are banned from using cannabis while racing. This falls inline with the current global sports guidelines. CBD has been used in helping with recovery, but it can not be used prior to the race, especially if you are looking at winning.

Source link

Andrew Cooper

The Future Of Cannabis After Rescheduling

Published

1 day ago

May 3, 2024

admin

The Cannabis world is going through another big change with the potential of rescheduling – but what does it really mean?”

The Fresh Toast – The cannabis world is going through another major change, so what is the future of cannabis after rescheduling?

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is moving for cannabis to be rescheduled. The anticipated rescheduling follows the Department of Health & Human Services’ (HHS) August 2023 recommendation, based on scientific support for the rescheduling from the FDA, that cannabis be rescheduled under Schedule III of the Controlled Substances Act. Cannabis has remained a Schedule I substance since it was originally “temporarily” classified as such by the Controlled Substances Act of 1970. Schedule I drugs are defined as having no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse, with other Schedule I drugs including heroin and LSD (despite cocaine, fentanyl, and other potentially dangerous drugs being in less restrictive drug schedules). The status of cannabis as a Schedule I drug has long been criticized, particularly as more and more U.S. states legalized cannabis for medical and recreational use.

From a consumer standpoint rescheduling will not actually legalize cannabis. At least not in a way forcing States in which cannabis is currently prohibited to immediately change course as a direct result of rescheduling. Instead, those States are likely to continue cannabis prohibition (though this momentous step may influence further states to legalize). Similarly, states with state-legal cannabis programs will likely not immediately change from a consumer perspective, although further regulation or even a reduction in product pricing due to cannabis no longer being subject to section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code (discussed in detail below) may soon follow.

There is more going on the business side with rescheduling. Falcon Rappaport & Berkman LLP has reviewed the process and outcomes.

Taxes

The most significant consequence of cannabis rescheduling will be the immediate removal of cannabis from the reach of I.R.C. Section 280E, which is arguably the greatest burden on state-legal cannabis operators. Section 280E prohibits cannabis businesses from writing off many business expenses when calculating their net profit, which has resulted in vastly higher taxes as compared to similar non-cannabis businesses. Instead, section 280E only permits a deduction for the Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) for any business trafficking in any controlled substances (i.e., drugs listed on Schedule I or Schedule II). Despite cannabis businesses operating under state-legal programs, they are considered “trafficking” and cannot take ordinary business deductions. Allowing cannabis businesses to deduct all ordinary and necessary business expenses, and not just COGS, will help to even the playing field with nearly every other legal business.

Federal Illegality

As discussed from a consumer standpoint, rescheduling cannabis does not affect the overall federal illegality of cannabis. This means that state-legal cannabis businesses will not automatically be federally legal, as their federal illegality will continue under Schedule III. While Schedule III drugs may be legally prescribed and sold under federal law, the various restrictions (such as requiring FDA approval of any such Schedule III drug and DEA registration of a distributor) mean that your average dispensary, even medical dispensaries, will still be federally non-compliant. For these same reasons, the reclassification to Schedule III does not mean that marijuana grown pursuant to state programs can be sold in interstate commerce. Marijuana products, even under Schedule III, are only federally legal if they are federally approved and there are only three FDA-approved cannabis-based drugs developed to date (Marinol, Epdiolex, and Syndros).

Intellectual Property & Cannabis Trademarks

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), the agency tasked with examining federal trademark applications, has generally required use of a mark to be lawful under federal law in order to receive federal trademark registration under the U.S. Trademark Act (see Examination Guide 1-19). The federal illegality of cannabis has thus prevented trademark registration in connection with most cannabis products. Unfortunately, cannabis rescheduling will not remedy this issue. Even in Schedule III, cannabis products would have to be federally lawful, with lawful use of a Schedule III drug requiring FDA approval.

Entitlement to Federal Bankruptcy Protection

Currently, plant-touching cannabis companies are not entitled to federal bankruptcy protection. That is because the U.S. Bankruptcy Code requires that bankruptcy plans are “proposed in good-faith and not by any means forbidden by law.” Since even state-regulated cannabis companies violate the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA), they are disqualified. Unfortunately, rescheduling to Schedule III of the CSA alone will not likely solve that barrier to bankruptcy. While some have argued otherwise, the fact is that to manufacture, distribute, or dispense a Schedule III Controlled Substance, businesses must be registered with the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”). Any business or person not registered with the DEA is not authorized to manufacture, distribute, or dispense it. Meaning that violations would likely constitute an unlawful act under the CSA. Consequently, an attempt by the non-complying business to commence a voluntary petition seeking federal bankruptcy protection will likely result in a motion to dismiss the case by the U.S. Trustee’s Office.

However, in light of a recent trend among bankruptcy court’s in allowing ‘one-step-removed’ distribution of cannabis-related assets, federal rescheduling may very well result in a more liberalized approach to administering bankruptcy cases so that bankruptcy judges will be more willing to look past the issue of marijuana’s federal illegality.

Status Quo

There are several aspects of the existing cannabis industry which would not be immediately changed by rescheduling cannabis to Schedule III. Ongoing banking issues including the lack of access to standard commercial bank loans and lines of credit would likely persist; difficulties in processing cannabis transactions due to the reality that major credit card companies like Visa, Mastercard and others will likely still not service marijuana businesses; general federal illegality; and the criminalization of cannabis (and continued incarceration of certain offenders) in prohibitive states would remain following rescheduling.

While many had hoped for the de-scheduling of cannabis, the change in stance of the DEA, a longstanding adversary of cannabis reform, is no small feat.

Terran Cooper is a regular contributor to The Fresh Toast. He is part of Falcon Rappaport & Berkman LLP. This article was developed in part with the help of Andrew Cooper and Matthew Foreman.

Source link