Month: July 2020

Vaporizing has never been more popular than it is today. Between technological advancements in the field and a pandemic that’s made everyone think a little more about their lungs, the market for devices that vaporize flower, concentrate, or both, is booming

While there are a ton of e-rigs, vape pens, portable vapes, and table top set-ups that vaporize concentrate or flower, essentially the same technology and form is used over and over again. Most of the time, you’re better lighting up a bong. 

The FlowerPot Vaporizer from New Vape is exciting because it delivers that top notch bong hit experience without combustion, giving the sensation of smoking without compromising your lungs. 

In an industry awash with products that use flashy marketing to cover shoddy manufacturing, quality is as rare as innovation. Not only is the FlowerPot the most well-manufactured vaporizer I’ve ever used, it offers a totally unique and clean approach to consuming cannabis. 

What is the FlowerPot Vaporizer? 

The FlowerPot is a vaporizing system by New Vape that’s sold in a variety of bundles, all designed to be fully customizable, compatible with glass, and to deliver a vaporized bong hit heavy enough to rival a real one. 

New Vape is a Florida brand known for the innovative and high-quality vaporizer systems they manufacture at their factory in-house. Having evolved from a medical machine shop in 2005, they applied their knowledge of creating stuff like titanium bone screws towards the cannabis hardware industry. 

While the conceptual goal of the FlowerPot is to deliver a perfect bong hit without combustion, our set-up kicks it up a notch. For this guide, we’ll be referring to the Vrod Head, the most popular model, where you can take a vaporized flower bong rip and a concentrate dab at the same time. 

How do you use the FlowerPot Vaporizer?

Photo by NewVape

The FlowerPot is a highly mechanized device with many customizable set-ups and added accessories. How you want to design the device around the basic heating mechanism is up to you. Here is how to assemble the basic heating element and electronic system of the FlowerPot. 

Assembling the FlowerPot Vaporizer 

While assembling the FlowerPot may seem difficult due to its many small parts and long list of instructions, it’s actually pretty easy. To make this process as simple as possible, we’ve broken it into three parts: head assembly, bowl assembly, PID controller. 

VROD FlowerPot Parts

Head Assembly 

Parts needed: 

• Heater coil
• Dish nut
• Dish
• Vrod Head
• Vrod Diffuser

Assembly:

1. Fasten the dish onto Head and secure with the dish nut. 
2. Screw the diffuser onto the Head while holding it against the coil. 

Bowl Assembly

Parts needed: 

• Shovelhead Post
• Shovelhead Body
• Screen

Assembly:

1. Insert screen into bowl until it snaps into place.
2. Insert post into glass rig, then place the bowl on the post. 
3. Screw shovelhead body handle to tighten onto bowl. 

PID Controller 

The Flowerpot offers two options for PID controllers and coils: 

• NV PID Controller 
• Auber RDK300A PID Controller

 and

• 20mm Coil for NV PID
• 20mm Coil for Auber PID

Assembly:

1. Plug then screw the coil cord into the PID controller. 
2. Plug one end of the generic power cord into the PID controller, and the other end into the wall. 

Using the PID Controller:

1. Make sure the FlowerPot is safely mounted on the safety stand.
2. Hit the red switch on the back of the PID.
3. The display will read the current temperature of the cord, an ambient 80 degrees F.
4. Use the up or down arrows to set your desired temperature. A good starting temperature is 650 degrees F.
5. When ready, push the front power button. This will power the coil and begin to heat.

Using the FlowerPot Vaporizer

When using the FlowerPot, there are a few tricks to keep in mind for getting the fattest clouds, and the best non-combustion bong rip the vape world has to offer. 

1. Grind the weed, a lot. The finer the grind the better the hit. 
2. Allow 3-5 minutes for the FlowerPot to get to temperature, and five minutes at first to let the heat soak the device fully. (Device can be left on all day as long as it’s safely docked on the stand.)
3. Go slow. The faster the air goes through the ground flower, the less hot it will be when it hits it, so it’s best to try for a slow to medium draw, vaporizing to the edge of combustion without coughing. 
4. Think of the FlowerPot as a big lighter: only add heat to the bowl when you’re drawing in. Be sure to always place it back on its safety stand between draws. 

What’s the appeal?

The FlowerPot Vaporizing System is very much an at-home set-up, perfect for someone who’s a hobby cannabis enthusiast. The kind of stoner with deep pockets, lots of time, and a fiery passion for pot. 

Taking a dab and a bong hit of vaporized weed is obviously very next level, but it comes at a price. The most basic FlowePot Bundle will set you back $370, and the Premium package comes in at a whopping $805. While I love my FlowerPot and use it almost daily, it’s still a little steep.

That said, the FlowerPot is not meant for the casual user, but it fills the definite void when creating a walkable bridge from smoking flower to vaporizing. I’ve entertained the idea of laying off smokables for a while, but hadn’t seen it as feasible in that most vaporizers suck. This is the only vaping platform that has ever gotten me as high as smoking has, making me feel like it might be possible to make the switch … someday.

Featured images courtesy of NewVape

The post Everything you need to know about the FlowerPot Vaporizer appeared first on Weedmaps News.

Source: wm

When I was working as an actor a few years ago, I booked the lead in a commercial for a CBD gum company. Picture this: a woman and her “husband” on the track at a local high school, chatting happily while taking laps. All of a sudden, the woman — me — has to stop jogging because of debilitating knee pain. Her happy, helpful husband pulls from his pocket a pack of CBD gum. 

The woman is, of course, skeptical at first, but decides to try a piece. She expresses to the camera its minty fresh flavor, and two seconds later — TADA! She’s jogging again, miraculously cured by one piece of CBD gum. 

In reality, the gum tasted terrible. After chewing several pieces over the several-hour shoot I had nothing but a headache. Granted, this was pre-CBD boom time and CBD gum was a practically unheard-of niche product. A few years later, the non-intoxicating cannabinoid has undergone growth seen by few industries, and is expected to expand to a global market worth $23.6 billion by 2025.

Today, CBD is showing up in nearly everything, from beer to coffee, from mocktails to topicals, and now, increasingly, gum. So, what’s the deal? Could CBD gum be an effective way to consume and receive the anti-inflammatory, anti-anxiety, and other benefits of CBD? 

What does CBD gum do??

Dr. Michele Ross is a former neuroscientist turned plant medicine expert, whose books include CBD Oil for Health: 100 Benefits and Vitamin Weed: a 4-Step Plan. Ross said that on a practical level, CBD gum could freshen breath, enhance oral health, and may help reduce appetite and burn more calories than non-gum chewers. 

Your basic stick of sugar-free gum, however, doesn’t come with that extra CBD punch. “What’s different about CBD gum is how it’s absorbed. When you eat it [CBD] as a capsule or gummy, it’s getting digested and broken down through the liver,” said Ross. “When you eat it as gum, you’re releasing it through your cheek, so it’s getting absorbed sublingually and submucosally. It’s going directly into the bloodstream. When they say this is highly bioavailable, it actually is.”

That bioavailability could help increase CBD levels in the bloodstream, which may help promote relaxation and reduce stress. 

However, the lack of federal oversight for the CBD industry leaves an opening for confusion about dosing and ingredients, and some companies seem to conflate hemp oil and CBD oil. Hemp oil — which is highly nutritious and beneficial for overall health — is extracted from the seeds of the cannabis plant. CBD, lauded for its anti-inflammatory, antianxiety, and ameliorative effects, is extracted from the flower, stalk and stem of the plant. 

Dorota Szymczyk/Shutterstock

While they come from the same species of plant, they are not the same thing. Fifty milligrams of hemp oil per serving is very different from seven milligrams of CBD oil per serving, while still costing roughly the same amount, around $15-20 per pack.

Ross points out that hemp is a bioremediator, meaning that it pulls contaminants, pollution, and other toxins from the air, water, and soil and stores it in its stalk. Essentially, any CBD is only as good as the ground it is grown in. 

When choosing a CBD gum (or any CBD for that matter), Ross said there are several questions you should ask before purchasing. “Is it safe? Does it have heavy metal testing? Where does the CBD come from? If you are chewing enough gum with contaminants in it, it’s going straight into your bloodstream. In reality, you are being exposed to whatever is in that product when you chew it.” 

Does CBD gum work?

Tobacco cessation product Nicorette is a perfect example of how a gum can be used for more than just blowing bubbles and work in a practical, medicinal way. “Nicorette gum is a prescription medicine, and CBD gum is, I’m sure, being explored as a medication,” said Ross. “It’s a valid route of administration. It’s all about dosing, and [asking], where does the CBD in that product come from?”

Ross said that depending on the dose available in each piece of gum, and your particular level of physiological need, CBD gum could be thought of in the same way as ingesting a CBD gummy or capsule. “If you’re anxious, CBD gum might help you feel relaxed, or feel calm. If you’re run down, stressed out, burned out, you might feel a bit better. If you are not stressed out, not in pain, and you’re a healthy person, you might not feel anything,” she added. 

What sets CBD gum apart from something like a CBD tincture or edible is the positive role it could play in oral health overall. Ross points to some research showing that the antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties of CBD could be the next ingredient in toothpaste or mouthwash to help people combat gum diseases like periodontitis or gingivitis. “Some people, unfortunately, have a lot of oral health problems, for those consumers, I would definitely suggest CBD gum.” 

3 CBD gums to try 

There are a lot of CBD gum products out there, so to narrow the search, we’ve zeroed in products that make their third-party lab results easily accessible, are customer-friendly, and are a good quality product and value for the price. 

Find CBD gum products

Endoca CBD Chewing Gum

This environmentally friendly company is differentiating itself from other companies in the space by avoiding the non-biodegradable polymers contained in other products. Endoca CBD Chewing Gum is 100 percent biodegradable and has no artificial colors or preservatives. It’s organic, gluten-free, vegan and GMO-free, and flavored with essential oils from mint and peppermint. 

Elevate CBD Gum

Containing 5 milligrams of full-spectrum hemp extract per piece, Elevate CBD Gum is available in an 8 ounce tin or 20-serving bottle. Using hemp sourced from growers in the northeast region of the US, it is gluten-free, vegan, and lab-tested for potency, purity, quality, and safety. 

MedCBDX CBD-Infused Chewing Gum

With about 10 milligrams of CBD from CO2 extracted hemp oil, MedCBDX CBD-Infused Chewing Gum is available in blister packs of eight and is mint flavored. At $17.99 per package, it seems to be on par with their counterparts, with an extra emphasis on bioavailability. What’s interesting about this company is that they will work with businesses to help them develop their own brand of CBD gum. 

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Feature image by Thought Catalog on Unsplash

The post CBD gum, explained appeared first on Weedmaps News.

Source: wm

Hippie Sabotage is an electronic dance music duo from Sacramento, California, made up of brothers Kevin and Jeff Saurer. Like most hippies, Kevin and Jeff love weed. It’s influenced their growth as humans, it’s influenced their music, and as they evolve, it now influences their merch.

Hippie Sabotage started smoking weed in summer camp as kids, and the relationship never stopped. Camp Counselors were down to blow and the hippies joined a few sessions. Around 16, they started smoking blunts when they started making music. It’s been a holy matrimony ever since, a love that translates into their newest product: the Devil Eyes OG pre-rolls. “It sounds corny, but we do have a passion for marijuana. As it becomes legal and more accessible — especially in California — we just wanted to participate in that.”

Currently, the brothers are gearing up for a social distance-appropriate tour across the country. “We’re doing a drive-in movie theater tour in mid-August. It’s going to be a very special ambient banger. Full of cool instrumental experiences at a drive-in, mostly projected up on a screen. Perfect time to bring out Devil Eyes OG.”

In our talk about their experiences with cannabis and their upcoming tour, we also spoke about some of the group’s favorite smokeables. Here are a few cannabis products Hippie Sabotage can’t live without.

Devil Eyes OG Pre-rolls

Quite obviously, Hippie Sabotage loves smoking their own product, and they love those classic Kush flavors. When asked how Devil Eyes OG tastes, Kevin says, “It tastes like an OG. I’m not a big fan of real strong berry or fruity flavors.” 

Named after their 2018 Devil Eyes EP, the duo told me that the main mission behind the joints is to keep strengthening the connection between the music and the fans. “We really just wanted to do a joint for our fans that we like smoking ourselves, that they could bring to the concerts. So they could know that they’ve had a similar smoking experience to us.”

Jack Herer

In addition to that classic OG flavor, when I asked about their favorite cannabis strains, Hippie Sabotage told me, “we love sativas, because we’re always making beats.” Of those sativas, they named two favorites, the first was Jack Herer.

Named after the legendary cannabis activist, Jack Herer, this strain is a well-known big daddy sativa strain that many associate with a super energetic and buzzy high. It’s old school and was bred by crossing Haze, Northern Lights, and Skunk genetics. For some, the rush of cerebral energy that comes with Jack Herer can be a little hard to manage; for the hippies, it’s a bridge to creativity that works wonders for their music.

Super Lemon Haze

The second sativa that Hippie Sabotage loves is Super Lemon Haze. Super Lemon Haze is a cross of Super Silver Haze and Lemon Skunk. As the name suggests, this sativa-dominant hybrid pushes out those classic skunky, citrus and piney haze flavors. The high, much like Jack Herer mentioned above, tends to be energetic and happy, fit for those who are seeking a strong cerebral high. 

Weed purists, the hippies may especially love Jack Herer and Super Lemon Haze, but truthfully, “we just love weed man.”

Otto Automated Cone Roller by Banana Bros

The Otto Automated Cone Roller from Banana Bros is an amazing product, straight up. I first saw it back in August 2018 when I attended Matt Barnes’ Athletes vs. Cancer event at Snoop Dogg’s compound. Set up sort of like a trade show/farmer’s market, the lot was filled with all kinds of products, and one clearly stood out amongst the rest: the Otto. I specifically remember watching Snoop’s son Cordell participate in its demonstration then yell, “Yoooooo, this the future right here, bruh!” The hippies caught one as a gift and they tell me they’ve made huge use of it. 

Basically, the Otto has two components: a grinder and a cone stuffer. The grinder is an automatic grinder that can also be used as a standalone. You split it open like an egg, stuff your weed in, and then press a single button and watch your flower fall on your coffee table. 

The second component is a cone tube for stuffing a joint. You put a cone in the tube, connect the tube to the grinder, press the button, and the weed falls directly into the cone on some Wiz Khalifa Day Today shit. The days of spraining your wrist while twisting an impossibly dirty grinder that you refuse to clean are over.

Axiom Solventless Hash

When it comes to the Hippie Sabotage smoking experience, the brothers are purists in that they prefer flower over anything else. Of other consumption methods, they said, “We like pretty much strictly flower; we [may] throw some hash in there. I’m not the biggest fan of blow torches or large fire devices; I prefer to keep it old school by smoking blunts, smoking joints, having a coffee with it.” 

When they do choose to toss some hash in a joint, versus dabbing it, the hash they favor comes from a Los Angeles-based company called Axiom. However, their relationship with hash started in Spain. “We first got into hash when we were in Barcelona. They had a lot of different hash blends. So when we got back to the states, we found this hash company called Axiom Hash. It’s solventless, so it’s supposed to be as pure as possible.”

In so many words, solventless hash is a form of cannabis hash oil that uses no solvents to extract the cannabinoids and terpenes you consume. They include dry sift, ice water or bubble hash, and rosin. 

Conversely, solventless-based hash do use solvents. Common forms of solvent-based hash oils are butane hash oil (BHO) and propane hash oil (PHO). Most extract fans prefer solvent-less because they’re cleaner and more natural. 

Axiom’s internet presence is pretty scarce, but a peak at their Instagram account shows that they produce a slew of concentrates including: solventless hash, temple balls, and a seemingly pre-roll alternative that is a tube full of their hash and pre-ground flower.

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Featured graphic by David Lozada/Weedmaps 

The post 5 cannabis products electronic dance duo Hippie Sabotage can't live without appeared first on Weedmaps News.

Source: wm

Whenever someone starts to say that they don’t like sativas, I want to interrupt them, “Shut up. Yes, you do.” 

Too many people love to say they hate sativas and that it makes them anxious. Take a look:

Sativas be having me too up. I swear I hate sativas

— B (@nicholson_bryan) July 2, 2020

I hate sativas. Indica me, please.

— ً (@JEDIDlAHPEACE) June 26, 2020

Getting to hate sativas

— LiL Soap (@ghetto_soap) June 19, 2020

But it’s time we add some true context to that conversation — or else people will continue writing off an entire third of the weed types out there. Probably more when you really get into genetics. 

So gather round the fire, kiddos; it’s time to talk about sativas and why you probably do like them.

What are sativas?

Sativa, indica, and hybrid refer to the morphology of a cannabis plant. Cannabis sativa plants grow tall and lanky with long, fluffy flowers, cannabis indica plants grow short and bulky with thick dense flowers, and hybrids fall somewhere in between. Though the cannabis industry uses these plant species as a one-to-one system between strains and effects, these are truly just classifications of plants based on the way they grow, where they grow, and the structure of their flowers.

Most modern sativas can be traced back to the original Haze and Skunk genetics, which can then be traced back to landrace strains from all over the world. Sativas grew in the Middle East, Mexico, Africa — sativas grew everywhere. 

Those genetics went on to be crossed with all kinds of Afghani, Northern Lights, and other indica genetics from all over the globe, and that’s exactly why most of the cannabis strains on shelves today are some form of hybrid. We started crossing strains in the search for perfection and never stopped.

You’re probably smoking sativas and don’t even know it

Chances are you’ve smoked plenty of sativas and enjoyed them. With most products being hybrids, it’s just impossible to avoid them. When you smoke with people at a social function, you don’t ask for strain names (much less a certificate of analysis), you just smoke the weed and go. I guarantee you’ve hit some strange sativa in the wild, and I bet, not once, have you ever regretted it. 

OG Kush is a sativa-dominant hybrid, as are many Kush strains. Have you written off Kush? GSC is sometimes a sativa-dominant hybrid. Have you written off Cookies? To say that you don’t like sativas ignores how broad the world of cannabis can be.

The cannabis shopping experience is why so many people only think of sativas as upper, hyper strains that may make you feel racy and anxious. And indicas are deemed super sleepy strains that will be stronger and better because they pack the hardest punch. The shopping experience is all about getting customers in and out of the door in the fastest time possible, which leaves very little room to educate consumers on the nuance of sativa cannabis strains. From there, customers unwittingly move on with misinformation, and end up writing off the entire realm of sativa strains forever.

Why it’s silly to write off sativa strains

It’s silly to write off cannabis strains because the effects of cannabis do not solely come down to plant type. Nothing about this plant is 1:1. We love cannabis strains because you can walk into a store and choose whichever feeling you want to feel. Those feelings are exclusive to only a third of the products you see. 

If you want to feel sleepy, there are sativa strains that can make you feel sleepy. If you want to feel relaxed, there are sativa strains that can make you feel relaxed. If you want to feel hungry, there are sativa strains that can make you feel hungry. 

Sure, there are plenty of sativas out there like Jack Herer that may make you feel super energized, and if you’re a naturally anxious person, then their cerebral effects may be too much for you. But in the end, those effects are not to be blamed solely on a plant growing tall and fluffy. Instead, that all comes down to a plant’s genetics and chemical makeup i.e. a strain’s parents, cannabinoids, and terpenes. Educate yourself on these, and you’ll learn to shop past classification, opening your options to the entire world of weed.

Sativa strains to start off 

Three common sativas that perfectly illustrate why you can’t shop for effects solely by plant type are: Tangie, Candyland, and Lemon G. They all provide various experiences, dependent mostly upon how much of them you smoke.

Tangie

Tangie comes from a mix of California Orange and Skunk genetics. Skunk genetics are known for producing funky plants with heavy-hitting effects, so it’s easy to see why Tangie sometimes defies the one-size-fits-all nature of sativa classification. 

Smoke it initially and you’ll feel euphoric and uplifted, ready for the world. Hit another sesh, and suddenly that energy will turn into a lazy, stoned feeling that makes you want to chill. Keep smoking it, and your eyelids are going to need a 1-2 hour break from work.

Candyland

Candyland is another strain that can produce a wide spectrum of effects dependent on phenotype, consumption method, and dosage. Candyland was created by crossing the heavily sedative Granddaddy Purple with a Platinum GSC varietal, and the result gives us a plant that will absolutely lay you down if you smoke too much of it. Otherwise, it may bring you the perfect balance of relaxed euphoria and creative focus. Most consumers report the effects as happy, energetic, and relaxed. Realize that they mean all at once.

Lemon G

Lemon G is a third example of sativa cannabis strains that can provide a variety of effects. The name alone might be enough to scare off the no-thanks-sativas crowd, because many lemon strains and also strains high in limonene produce uplifting and energetic effects. Lemon G, however, can be very potent and provide a long-lasting euphoric sensation that pairs great with social activities.

Overall, the point is that you should not write-off cannabis strains because they’re on one side of a dispensary. It’s important to educate yourself on the types of cannabis strain and the genetics they come from. From there, you’ll be able to guide yourself towards the cannabis strains you’re supposed to be smoking. If you don’t, you’ll keep writing off thousands of weed strains that could ultimately provide the effects and experience you truly seek.

Find hundreds of strains and where to buy them on Weedmaps Strains. 

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Featured image by Dre Hudson/Weedmaps

The post Yes, you do like sativas appeared first on Weedmaps News.

Source: wm