marijuana

Bits and Pieces — September 27, 2023

Fandango10 Comments

Just a few bits and pieces that I thought I might share with you today.

America’s Pot of Gold

Americans spent some $30 billion on legal marijuana last year. By comparison, $28 billion was spent on craft beer, $20 billion on chocolate, and $7 billion on ice cream.

And if you add chocolate and ice cream to what was spent on marijuana, Americans spent $57 billion getting high and pigging out on chocolate and ice cream!

I want to point out that Marijuana is fully legalized for recreational use in 20 states plus Washington, DC. But in 18 states it’s only allowed for medical use, and it remains illegal in 12 states.

Imagine the spend on cannabis if it were fully legalized in all states.

Breaking New Records

By the end of August, the U.S. had recorded its 500th mass shooting of the year. Mass shootings are defined by most agencies as four or more persons shot in one incident, at one location, at roughly the same time. Some trackers exclude the perpetrators in those numbers. According to Axios, as of September 24, the number of mass shootings was 511. Until 2020, the country had never recorded 500 mass shootings in a year.

Seems that the National Rifle Association (NRA) and American gun manufactures are striving to break 2021’s record of 691 mass shooting in America.

Gun-wielding Robots

The NRA used to say that guns don’t kill people; people kill people. Well that is so 20th century. Now we have to add robots to the list of things, other than hubs, of course, that kill people.

But don’t worry. Your lawmakers are all over this. In fact, Massachusetts may become the first state to regulate gun-wielding robots. A proposed bill from state representative Lindsay Sabadosa and state senator Michael Moore, both Democrats, would ban the sale and use of armed robots and drones, with exemptions for the military and law enforcement. “Things are really changing,” said Sabadosa. “It was important to get something on the books as soon as possible.”

Photo credit: Chris Moore (AP)

MLMM Friday Faithfuls — Cannabis

Fandango6 Comments

For Friday Faithfuls this week, Jim Adams has challenged us to respond by writing anything about cannabis, or to go with whatever else that we think fits. Well, what I think fits is my second Flashback post of the day, which is all about cannabis. It was originally posted on December 17, 2017. I hope you don’t mind, Jim.

Alice B. Toklas Brownies

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Back in the day, I used to be something of a pothead. In my twenties and early thirties I spent many a weekend in a cannabis haze, mesmerized by nature programs on TV or by zoning out on rock albums.

But after a while (like when my wife and I had our first kid), I decided that being in a haze while raising children was not such a good idea. My wife and I went cold turkey and stopped smoking weed pretty much altogether.

By the way, our experience negates the argument that marijuana is addictive. It was harder to quit smoking cigarettes than it was to quit smoking pot. It also demonstrates that marijuana is not a gateway drug, since neither of us has ever done any “hard” drugs like heroin, cocaine, or meth.

Okay, yes, I did drop acid a few times, but that was a whole nuther trip, so to speak.

My wife and I are getting up there in years, and like many aging Baby Boomers, we have our share of aches and pains. And sometimes getting a really solid sleep at night eludes us.

We have a friend who has some medical issues and his doctor prescribed medical marijuana, which is legal in California. When I was telling him about my trouble falling and staying asleep, he brought over some Alice B. Toklas brownies (brownies baked with marijuana in them). “Eat a brownie about an hour before bedtime,” he said. “I promise you’ll sleep like a baby.”

So I did eat a brownie and I did get a great night’s sleep. It was bliss. I fell asleep almost instantly and didn’t wake up until after seven!

I don’t have a prescription from my doctor for medical marijuana, but the good news is that in November 2016, the good citizens of California voted to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. Starting January 5th, I will be able to legally purchase cannabis from my local dispensary.

And I’m looking forward to getting my bliss on. Maybe it will make hearing about how Donald Trump is destroying my country a little more tolerable.

Written for today’s one-word prompt,”bliss.”

Truthful Tuesday — Infusion

Fandango6 Comments

Melanie, of Sparks from a Combustible Mind, is still filling in for Frank, aka PCGuy, who is taking a temporary hiatus from his Truthful Tuesday prompt. This week Melanie asks…

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF HEMP INFUSIONS?

Anyone who is familiar with my blog knows that I will occasionally treat myself to a cannabis-infused goodie. And my preferred goodie is Mellows, a cannabis-infused marshmallow.

Of course Melanie’s question focuses on hemp, not marijuana. So let’s talk about the differences between the two. It’s a common misconception that hemp and marijuana are two different species of plant. But they are not. They’re just two different names for cannabis, a type of flowering plant in the Cannabaceae family.

The difference between hemp and marijuana is their psychoactive component. Hemp has 0.3% or less tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is the psychoactive ingredient found in marijuana that produces a high. Thus hemp-derived products don’t contain enough THC to create the high traditionally associated with marijuana.

Another term to know about is CBD. CBD is a chemical found in marijuana. CBD doesn’t contain THC. CBD can come from either hemp or marijuana, but it is often derived from hemp in order to avoid the addition of larger amounts of THC.

So, to answer Melanie’s specific questions:

Is it a good idea even though there is reportedly no THC in the items?

A good idea? For who? For me, if the edible doesn’t have any THC, what’s the point? But whether it’s a good idea for someone else, well, that’s up to them, isn’t it?

Would you eat or drink something made with those products? Why or why not?

Yes, but if I’m going to ingest infused gummies, brownies, mints, marshmallows, tea, or whatever, I would want it to include THC. Why? Because I occasionally enjoy getting high and, except for an occasional beer, I don’t drink alcoholic beverages.

Fandango’s Flashback Friday — December 17th

Fandango19 Comments

Wouldn’t you like to expose your newer readers to some of your earlier posts that they might never have seen? Or remind your long term followers of posts that they might not remember? Each Friday I will publish a post I wrote on this exact date in a previous year.

How about you? Why don’t you reach back into your own archives and highlight a post that you wrote on this very date in a previous year? You can repost your Friday Flashback post on your blog and pingback to this post. Or you can just write a comment below with a link to the post you selected.

If you’ve been blogging for less than a year, go ahead and choose a post that you previously published on this day (the 17th) of any month within the past year and link to that post in a comment.

This was originally posted on December 17, 2017.

Alice B. Toklas Brownies

1895A370-6C1A-43E2-8AAD-77FED7A2396B

Back in the day, I used to be something of a pothead. In my twenties and early thirties I spent many a weekend in a cannabis haze, mesmerized by nature programs on TV or by zoning out on rock albums.

But after a while (like when my wife and I had our first kid), I decided that being in a haze while raising children was not such a good idea. My wife and I went cold turkey and stopped smoking weed pretty much altogether.

By the way, our experience negates the argument that marijuana is addictive. It was harder to quit smoking cigarettes than it was to quit smoking pot. It also demonstrates that marijuana is not a gateway drug, since neither of us has ever done any “hard” drugs like heroin, cocaine, or meth.

Okay, yes, I did drop acid a few times, but that was a whole nuther trip, so to speak.

My wife and I are getting up there in years, and like many aging Baby Boomers, we have our share of aches and pains. And sometimes getting a really solid sleep at night eludes us.

We have a friend who has some medical issues and his doctor prescribed medical marijuana, which is legal in California. When I was telling him about my trouble falling and staying asleep, he brought over some Alice B. Toklas brownies (brownies baked with marijuana in them). “Eat a brownie about an hour before bedtime,” he said. “I promise you’ll sleep like a baby.”

So I did eat a brownie and I did get a great night’s sleep. It was bliss. I fell asleep almost instantly and didn’t wake up until after seven!

I don’t have a prescription from my doctor for medical marijuana, but the good news is that in November 2016, the good citizens of California voted to legalize the recreational use of marijuana. Starting January 5th, I will be able to legally purchase cannabis from my local dispensary.

And I’m looking forward to getting my bliss on. Maybe it will make hearing about how Donald Trump is destroying my country a little more tolerable.

Written for today’s one-word prompt,”bliss.”

Fandango’s Flashback Friday — April 30

Fandango26 Comments

Wouldn’t you like to expose your newer readers to some of your earlier posts that they might never have seen? Or remind your long term followers of posts that they might not remember? Each Friday I will publish a post I wrote on this exact date in a previous year.

How about you? Why don’t you reach back into your own archives and highlight a post that you wrote on this very date in a previous year? You can repost your Friday Flashback post on your blog and pingback to this post. Or you can just write a comment below with a link to the post you selected.

If you’ve been blogging for less than a year, go ahead and choose a post that you previously published on this day (the 30th) of any month within the past year and link to that post in a comment.

This was originally posted on April 30, 2018. It was the final day of the 2018 A to Z Blogging Challenge.

Z is for Zig Zag

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Well, this is it. The final day of this year’s A to Z Challenge. And that means that it’s also time to post about the last letter of the alphabet — Z. My Z word is “zig zag.”

Decades before medical marijuana could be sold with a doctor’s prescription and, even more recently, in a number of states that have legalized the sale and use of marijuana for recreational use, the only way to score some pot was if you knew a guy who knew a guy.

Hence, there was a vibrant underground for the buying grass. At the same time, though, a number of small, retail places that serviced the pot-smoking community sprung up in strip malls and shopping centers. These storefronts were called “head shops.”
Most head shops had a lot of psychedelic posters, black lights, multicolored plastic beads hanging from the front door and separating the front of the store from the back room, and smelled of burning incense. Some had beanbag chairs and played albums from Hendrix, Joplin, and Jefferson Airplane on the shop’s stereo system turntable.

These head shops from the late 60s through 70s didn’t sell pot or any other drugs. Their merchandise consisted of pot paraphernalia, from pot and hash pipes to bongs, roach clips, posters, and scented incense. And, of course, joint rolling papers, the best of which were Zig-Zag brand papers.
C6B23260-C282-4EAF-A7E7-C1E2D14CCA9CThe label on the Zig-Zag packaging called them “cigarette papers,” but I never, ever saw anyone smoking tobacco in Zig-Zag rolling papers. And it’s not like you could find Zig-Zag rolling papers at the local pharmacy, grocery store, or convenience store. Just at head shops.

So, I dedicate this final A to Z Challenge post to Zig-Zag brand rolling papers. They really helped keep my shit together back in the day.