Monday, October 3, 2016

Fire it up!



Paper. Spit. Some mota. A match. Very simple, pure, easy. The only tech requirements to enjoying a cannabis spliff is a bit of patience and some doobie rolling know-how. No computers needed, no wall sockets to plug into, no butane burners, no batteries, no funky cartridges that are prone to failure. Just a bit of time to play with and a lot of passion for the plant.

All that being said I find it mighty powerful indeed to be part of the cannabis scene at this stage in the game. Thanks to the ubiquity of computers and the general ease of accessing the internet the world of cannabis…politically, educationally, medically, commercially… has changed radically. So much of what we know about weed today and how we gather information about cannabis is all thanks to the internet. Without the internet I couldn’t indulge in my daily gleaning of marijuana news from across the nation and around the world. I think it’s mighty fine, in a world that still shadowed heavily by marijuana prohibition, that we can share information about weed so openly and grow more powerful because of it. Just gathering information on cannabis is a form of civil disobedience. By actively gathering and sharing knowledge about cannabis and using that accurate information and trusty knowledge to the good, allows us to parry our well-meaning but misguided opponents, makes us more powerful and less inclined to listen to anything but straight talk about the good plant.

One of the things about the web in recent years has been the rise of commercial sites dedicated to cannabis. Some are political, some commercial, very few are non-profit and a lot are informational. Some of finer sites, such as Leafly and Seedfinder, can aid you in your quest for knowledge. Others, like Marijuana Business Daily and Cannabis Business Executive, can keep you up on the daily news and doings of cannabis in the world of commerce. Need politically minded fare? Take a gander at Normal. Need daily commentary and a gathering of cool and socially meaningful news? Take a look at the Denver Post’s The Cannabist, the first nationwide daily cannabis column out of a big city newspaper.

For instance, thanks to the internet I have been able to broaden my knowledge on quite a number of cannabis strains. What I like to do, most days, is to spend a bit of time on Leafly trying to, one, understand the history and genetics of the incredible array of strains I find in the dispensaries around the region, but two, I like to find out what is happening with my fellow psychonauts and see what they think about their experiences with the kind herb. I feel that by reading what cannabis users feel and appreciate about the plant they partake in helps me make more informed decisions and to be more confident and better able to share that knowledge with folks out in town and on the other side of the counter.

It is one thing to know that a particular strain in is going to make me laugh, or be sleepy or get the munchies. That’s all well and good. But I also want to know where that plant came from and what the lineage is. As I go from pot shop to pot shop I take that online research with me and get the right kind of herb I need for the tasks ahead. Sometimes you just want a good sativa to help you clean the house, sometimes you want a indica to zone out with. With an hour or two of prep time on the net you can go just about anywhere and talk like you have at least a bit of sense. A good thing when really good cannabis can go for more than twenty bucks a gram!

But electronics have taken their place in the world of cannabis in other ways besides the net. For example,  I have a little Magic Flight Launch Box, one of the simplest, easy to use and goof with vaporizers in the world. Made of wood, boxy design, a plastic slide top, a screen to rest your mota on and a AA battery to get it all going. I would like to advance to a Firefly or a Pax device but for now I am happy with the easy to use pleasures that my Magic Flight brings to my life. And to add to my pleasure I also have a Vapor Bros device if I want a more sturdy and ongoing source of power to fire up my weed. Sure, there are more space age and better designed units out there but for what I need the simplicity of the Vapor Bros rig does me just fine (and if just have to get rid of your Volcano, I will kindly take it off your hands!)

I like flower but a lot folks, according to statistics in the newspaper, are favoring concentrates these days. Firing up that oil is as easy as grabbing a pen out of your pocket. Once again, ease of use is coupled with battery power and down the road you go without the need of a Bic or the worry about having a pack of matches on you. I know that fire is still in style when you grab your bong, your spoon, your bat or what have you. I haven’t advanced to dabbing yet so I know that that special rig and the high powered flame needed to make that magic happen doesn’t have to be on my mota apparatus shelf just yet. Time enough for everything, I suppose.

But for the moment I am happy knowing that no matter what kind of cannabis experience I want I can find it on the internet. Need a dispensary? Want to make mota brownies? Have an ache to find a 420 event? Just broke your bong and need to know where the closest glass shop is? The internet can take care of all of that for you.

If after all that you still find that you still don’t know how to roll a joint there are online YouTube tutorials out there for you. No fire needed, just basic net surfing skills, a bit of dope and a pack of papers. How cool is that? No need for a Rizla rolling machine ever again! Roll your own, electronic style!


Salud!

How to roll a joint for beginners!

Magic Flight Launch Box!

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