Marijuana Smoker's Guidebook. Matt Mernagh
the stem to determine if it’s been sprayed to improve taste and weight. Some growers and dealers will spray sugary or salty solutions on to their bud to make it weigh more, and therefore make more money off it. Beware of this ganja garbage. It’s out there. When smoking tasty sprayed weed you’re going to notice an unreal or flavored rolling paper or blunt wrap-like taste–especially if you’re vaporizing. Experienced heads will know instantly that it’s not natural and it doesn’t take much for you to know either. Dealers spraying cannabis for taste and weight should be frog marched to city hall and put in stocks to be publicly ridiculed by potheads everywhere.
How To Tell If You Have An Indica or Sativa Before You Smoke It
If it looks like the Kush, it’s probably an indica. Determining if it’s an indica or a sativa before toking a strain is a huge cannabis challenge. Hybrids have made characteristics between indicas and sativas very blurred. It’s much easier to tell the difference between indica and sativa when they’re still growing because the characteristics are more pronounced in the living plant.
However, most of the marijuana you’ll come across will be an indica-dominant hybrid that creates a sedate kind of stone. This is because most cultivators agree that indicas are easier to grow and are faster finishing. Generally speaking, indicas are fatter, denser and smell less exotic. Most indicas won’t stink up a room when the stash jar is open. Sativas are leaner looking and can be slightly wispy but will stink up a room real good when grown correctly. Remember that because hybrids have become so commonplace, the best way to tell is to sample the weed.
How To Moderate Your Cannabis Consumption
Good luck with that. When you have fantastic cannabis, moderating how much you’re toking can be a challenge. However, staff at a BYOB (bring your own bud) lounge called Vapor Central sometimes do have to clean up puke after tokers have over indulged. Generally speaking, alcohol plays a role, but not always. Sometimes–and it is very rare, thankfully–people do get so stoned that they vomit.
New potheads especially can easily get overwhelmed on weed, but that’s part of the fun. Remember that you’re not going to die. It’s best to take deep breaths, drink some juice and make yourself comfortable because your setting plays an important role in the experience. Stoners have been known to leave Vapor Central much more ripped than they thought after getting up from a couch and going outside because their setting has changed. Take things easy and slow, and don’t run for the hills!
Take the time to enjoy your cannabis. Inhale some then kick back and wait for the effects before going further. On nights when you’re going full bud bore, put out a variety of munchies in advance to keep yourself well fed. Try to avoid just the junk food, too.
Experienced folks should never put new tokers one toke over the line intentionally as that’s just bad form–we are classy cannabis lovers over here, after all. It’s not a reefer race nor is inhaling the most marijuana some kind of cannabis contest. Our foremost goal is to derive the maximum enjoyment and benefits from our ganja.
How To Tell If You’ve Got Indoor Or Outdoor Grown Grass
In my experience, I have seen that indoor trichomes are fatter and more plump, whereas outdoor weed is more hairy and rough looking. Outdoor cannabis has a rougher appearance than indoor cannabis because it’s been subject to harsher conditions. I’ve been accused of babying my marijuana plants in my indoor grow room because I once adjusted a fan speed after a friend decided it was “a little too low.” Who does that? Come on!
How To Tell If You Have Organically Or Chemically Fed Marijuana
Unless you grow it yourself or know the grower personally, finding organic marijuana can be a real cannabis challenge. Some medical marijuana centers offer organically grown grass, but few do. Even Amsterdam coffeeshops don’t have much in the way of bio cannabis. Most cannabis will be fed some kind of chemical nutrient and then flushed of these nutrients in the final weeks of flowering. Growing organically has become much easier, but I doubt commercial growers are going to change their methods from using chemical plant foods. Regardless, it’s all in how the cannabis has been flushed. Poorly flushed organic marijuana is going to produce results that are just as bad. Your marijuana should leave behind a nice white ash in your bowl or ashtray if it’s free from the nasty shit.
How To Tell How Potent Your Cannabis Is
Smoke it, duh! On first inspection you might have potent pot if it is sticky with resin, packed with glittering trichomes and dusted with cannabis crystals. Stinky cannabis can also be a sign that you’re about to get higher than the proverbial kite. However, even the most beautiful buds can be a huge disappointment when you smoke them. Some strains given advance hype never live up to their reputation for potency. Use the wise weed words of others, but don’t just rely on the name of the nug to determine its potency.
Advice For My Medical Marijuana Friends
Accessing a variety of affordable strains is exceedingly important when medicating with marijuana. To receive the most benefit from med buds, patients need to know what they’re medicating with. Various strains provide different effects and some may provide better relief than others, but other than strong anecdotal evidence we don’t know much about how certain strains affect various ailments. Contrary to what some people may pitch to medical patients, every cannabis strain affects people differently and you need to experiment in order to determine what kind of pot is best for alleviating your symptoms.
I’m wary of recommending one strain over another because the ultimate benefactor is the breeder and what works for me might not work for you. There’s an honest statement! Medical marijuana center staff can, of course, direct their patients to specific strains based on the reports of patients with similar afflictions. However, I’m not sure if this really extends beyond their own medical marijuana menu. Given the subtle nuances of growing cannabis, patients need to learn to recognize not only the strains that help their condition but also the growers and production methods that produce the cannabis that they prefer. Knowledge is power.
White strains work for my fibromyalgia because they provide pain relief without making me sleepy. I’m not sure if there’s something extra special in these strains or if I get a really pleasant placebo effect. Either way, it doesn’t really matter because ultimately I’m getting the symptom relief that I need.
The goal of medical marijuana patients is symptom relief and we don’t really require anything more than anecdotal evidence for our own personal medical marijuana discoveries. My guide mentions many strains that are effective for pain relief and I hope that it can work for many as a starting point on their journey towards being a ganja guru capable of identifying and enjoying great marijuana.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Hash Mob Honor Roll
Christina Moorshead, Erin & Chris Goodwin, Mann, Mark Klokeid, Matt Oliver, Sean Brady, Paul Lewin (and The 22 witnesses in R v. Mernagh), Sita Windheim, Tracy Curley, Adam Glover, Daniel Boughen, Martin Legabbe, Heather Parry, Dave Unrau, Eric Compton, Adam Greenblatt, Dana Larsen, Jeremiah Vandermeer, Michael Mage, Steve “Wanna A Dab Matt?” Hunter, Sarah Sunday, Jillian Hollander, The Weedy Guy, Amy Anonymous,