April 7th, 2008 by Peter Bonginelli
filed under: Marijuana Effects
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Below is the official National Institute On Drug Abuse’s definition of marijuana. There are many flaws and many true facts in their definition, and I’d be interested in seeing what you guys have to say about it. One thing I noticed right off the bat was that some of their points such as “those who smoke marijuana are less likely to graduate from high school” could be attributed to the War On Drugs instead of the drug itself. For example… if marijuana were legal, kids would not be getting kicked out of school for experimenting with it.
Marijuana is the most commonly abused illicit drug in the United States. A dry, shredded green/brown mix of flowers, stems, seeds, and leaves of the hemp plant Cannabis sativa, it usually is smoked as a cigarette (joint, nail), or in a pipe (bong). It also is smoked in blunts, which are cigars that have been emptied of tobacco and refilled with marijuana, often in combination with another drug. It might also be mixed in food or brewed as a tea. As a more concentrated, resinous form it is called hashish and, as a sticky black liquid, hash oil. Marijuana smoke has a pungent and distinctive, usually sweet-and-sour odor. There are countless street terms for marijuana including pot, herb, weed, grass, widow, ganja, and hash, as well as terms derived from trademarked varieties of cannabis, such as Bubble Gum, Northern Lights, Fruity Juice, Afghani #1, and a number of Skunk varieties.
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February 5th, 2008 by Peter Bonginelli
filed under: How-To
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The making of hash is an ancient art, and it is hard to find a stoner that would not like to learn more about making hash. Hash is essentially a pressed together lump of trichomes (pure THC). You’d be surprised how many people can get baked off of a little lump of this stuff! I’ll go in order from worst to best method. The screen method is the least efficient, then the alcohol method and finally the purest method of blending.
The Screen Method:
Buy a nice grinder with a fine screen (I prefer a Space Case grinder). Grind the marijuana in the grinder and let it sit in a cold place overnight. Shake it up and then open up to bottom trey to reveal the collected crystals.
This method can also be done by grinding up with marijuana in any grinder and collecting the trichomes by sifting through any fine screen with a collection trey underneath. The resulting crystals from both techniques can either be smoked as-is or pressed into hash with a pollen press.
The Alcohol (Tincture) Method:
THC dissolves in alcohol and other non-polar substances and does not dissolve in water. Using this principle, we can separate the trichomes from the leaf by dissolving the THC in alcohol.
Start by grinding the marijuana to as fine a powder as can be. Put it in a sealable bottle with plenty of alcohol to fill up with bottle. Cap the bottle and shake it vigorously, to ensure all the THC is dissolved. Let it sit for a couple hours shaking it every 30 minutes or so, and eventually letting the mixture settle.
Now you need to pour the alcohol off into a separate container (it should be green now) and you may want to use a filter to make sure none of the leafy parts are transferred. Slowly heat the alcohol solution on a hot pad or double boiler so that it doesn’t get too hot. You can even just put it in a dish and let it sit for a couple days and evaporate. You will be left with pure THC trichomes that you can either press into hash, or add a tiny bit of alcohol back to it for an oil.
(FYI) I once used this procedure to make a small batch of oil. I then emptied an eyedropper bottle and sucked the solution up. Two drops of this eyedropper on a tobacco cigarette and you would get so high you wouldn’t believe!
The Blender/Ice Method:
This method has become increasingly popular and there are several machines available here that will now do this whole process for you and in a much more efficient manner. For us old-fashioned stoners, here is the run down.
First fill a blender with water. Throw in stems, leaves, shitty bud, anything that could potentially contain THC can go in. Next throw in a couple ice cubes. Blend everything together for about 5 minutes. The ice cubes will make the trichomes very brittle and this whole blending process should have stirred them up quite nicely.
Pour the mixture through a golden coffee filter or some other type of screen into a mason jar. Soon you will notice a collection of white trichomes at the bottom of the greenish mixture. Let it sit about 30 minutes, and then pour off the top ½ of the liquid. Again let the mixture sit another 20-30 minutes and repeat until you can’t pout off any more water without risking the trichomes.
Pour the remaining mixture through a paper coffee filter, the water will pass through and the pure crystals will remain. Congratulations you know have the purest trichome crystals you can get! Press and enjoy.
February 3rd, 2008 by Peter Bonginelli
filed under: Marijuana Effects
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I have had many requests to write an article about the effects of marijuana on the body, and have always been hesitant on this subject as THC and its related compounds affect each person in a different way. This has as much to do with a person’s psychological state, as it has to do with the physical make-up. Those who tend to think of them selves as small or insignificant have an enhanced sense of being when smoking pot. Per say, it brings out a sense of self confidence often ignored by the conscious mind. Conversely, those who are full of themselves and think they are superior to everyone else tend to get paranoia and feel uncomfortable while high. In addition, a veteran smoker will have a confident and assured mindset going into the high, while a first time smoker may feel paranoia due to the belief that the drug may harm them.
The creative types get the psychological benefits the strongest. THC increases sensory input without changing the overall perspective of what is happening (like hallucinogens would). For example, THC increases one’s appetite, and also enhances the taste of food at the same time, creating the "munchies" phenomenon. While high, one is in a relaxed state, almost of meditation, and very in touch with the subconscious part of the mind. Outside distractions are ignored and one is free to focus or "get in the zone" for whatever one may set their mind to do. However, short-term memory is not as strong while high, so a free flow of ideas is ideal, not complicated tasks that require a set thought process.
On the physiological side, there are several things going on. First, cannabis will cause a swelling of the minor conjunctival blood vessels around the eye, resulting in bloodshot eyes. Another unpleasant side effect is the reduction of saliva production (dry mouth). On a lighter note, it has been reported in a de-classified military study that Cannabis can have hypnotic, anesthetic, anti-convulsant, anti-hypertensive and temperature-reducing effects with some medical value.
The high is still going to different for every person and new studies will come out every year saying one thing or another. You need to find out how THC affects your body in a safe and controlled environment. Don’t let someone pressure you into smoking - you WILL have a bad experience. I can’t stress this enough, I have seen many cases of first time smokers who have been pressured into smoking have a horrible time because they believe the drug is horrible and they feel they have let themselves down. As I said before, weed will bring out your inner feelings about your life for a few hours; make sure you’re happy with yourself first.
Erowid.org list of effects (part humor):
POSITIVE
mood lift, euphoria
laughter
relaxation, stress reduction
creative, philosophical or deep thinking : ideas flow more easily
increased appreciation of music. More aware of, deeper connection to music.
increased awareness of senses. (eating, drinking, smell)
change in experience of muscle fatigue. Pleasant body feel. Increase in body/mind connection.
pain relief (headaches, cramps)
reduced nausea, increased appetite (used medically for this)
boring tasks or entertainment can become more interesting or funny
NEUTRAL
general change in consciousness (as with many psychoactives)
increased appetite, snacky-ness
slowness (slow driving, talking)
change in vision such as sharpened colors or lights
closed-eye visuals (somewhat uncommon)
tiredness, sleepiness, lethargy
stimulation, inability to sleep (less common)
blood shot eyes (more common with certain varieties of cannabis and inexperienced users)
mouth dryness, sticky-mouth (varies with strain)
interrupts linear memory. Difficulty following a train of thought.
cheek, jaw, facial tension / numbness (less commonly reported)
racing thoughts (especially at high doses)
increased emotional impact of music
Time sense altered: cars seem like they are moving too fast, time dilation and compression are common at higher doses
NEGATIVE
nausea, especially in combination with alcohol, some pharmaceuticals, or other psychoactives
coughing, asthma, upper respiratory problems
difficulty with short term memory during effects and during periods of frequent use (Ranganathan M, D’Souza DC, Psychopharmacology, 2006)
racing heart, agitation, feeling tense
mild to severe anxiety
panic attacks in sensitive users or with very high doses (oral use increases risk of getting too much)
headaches
dizziness, confusion
lightheadedness or fainting (in cases of lowered blood pressure)
paranoid & anxious thoughts more frequent
possible psychological dependence on cannabis
clumsiness, loss of coordination at high doses
can precipitate or exacerbate latent or existing mental disorders
WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS
mild to moderate, non life-threatening withdrawal symptoms occur after daily use in some users. These may last for 1-6 weeks after cessation of use and can include anxiety, anhedonia (reduced experience of pleasure), headaches, general unease/discomfort, difficulty sleeping, and a desire to smoke pot. Severity of symptoms is related to frequency of use and individual sensitivity. slight loss of appetite finding non-stoned life a bit dull, increased boredom
February 3rd, 2008 by Peter Bonginelli
filed under: How-To
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A lot of people, including my friends, have asked me how to pass a drug test. To start, there are varying kinds of drug testing, ranging from a take home test administered by a parent or boss at work to a hardcore piss-in-a-cup while the pigs watch you test. However, most of these principals can be applied to both situations.
1. Know detection periods for the drugs you are using. Alcohol lasts 12-24 hours for a standard EMIT drug test, but can be detected for days using more advanced urine test. Cannabis will stay in urine anywhere from 3 days to 10 weeks depending on how often one smoked marijuana. If you’ve smoked once in the last 3 weeks than you would probably pass a test a couple days later, while if you are a chronic user (as I suppose a lot of us are) you’re looking at a period between 3-10 weeks. Height, weight, and body mass index are also factors in how long a drug will stay in your system, especially for marijuana as THC stores itself in fat cells. FYI Methamphetamine and Cocaine leave the system within 5 days and lsd/mushroom based psychedelics are not traceable.
2. DRINK WATER. I can’t stress this enough. You probably are drinking a ton of water already from the dry mouth you get everyday from smoking….leading to your drug testing in the first place, but either way, you need water to get THC out of your system. Most test services will not be able to detect marijuana if you dilute your urine enough, however they will most likely demand another sample. At the very least, you can prolong testing to a later date with this strategy, hopefully giving your urine time to clear up. Just remember the more water, the less concentrated any drug will be in your system.
3. Take over the counter pills such as Tylenol/Advil to set off false alarms at the drug test. This will invalidate the drug test, and again buy you more time. Do not take more than recommended, the regular dose is enough.
4. If you get to piss in private than taking someone else’s urine with you may be the best idea. You can keep it in a prescription bottle, or if you are worried about getting caught, buy a wizzinator (fake penis) and fill it with the fake urine. This will not work for any court ordered drug testing. Just remember to keep your urine sample in the fridge until it is time to take the test.
5. Cranberry juice is a diuretic, so it will make you piss more and balance the PH of your urine. It is also useful in addition to water to help dilute and mask the presence of THC.
Most advertised "pass a drug test" concoctions are fake and will just get you caught. I know a few that have had some success with drug test concoctions, but be sure to buy it from a reputable website/store. There’s no 100% safe way to pass a test, just follow the guidelines above.
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