TL18HIGH
Latest
The challenge of showcasing weed tech at CES
There was, as expected, a thin scent of weed in Roger Volodarsky's 28th-floor Mirage hotel suite as the Puffco CEO and founder demonstrated his latest product. It was 11:30 PM the night before CES opened, and seven attendees gathered in the living room overlooking the Vegas strip. A welcoming, tattooed man with a groomed beard and shaved head, Volodarsky was showing off the Puffco Peak, a smart dabbing rig for consuming cannabis concentrates that he'd presented at the Pepcom media event just hours earlier. Away from the mainstream events around CES, he could show how it truly works.
The Puffco Peak is the future of dabbing
Dabs aren't just for Cam Newton. It's also a great way to consume cannabis concentrates. Problem is, dabbing traditionally requires the use of either a butane blowtorch and titanium nail or a clunky electronic heating ring (aka enails). But no longer! With the advent of the Peak by Puffco, consuming concentrates is now as easy as pressing a button.
How to buy legal weed in the online era
Medical cannabis is now legal in a majority of US states -- 28 plus DC, to be precise. As the legalization movement continues to gain momentum, buying weed "over the counter" is easier than ever. You no longer have to "know a guy"; you just need to know an app. And we're not talking about scouring the Dark Web for black market drug bazaars. These days, getting cannabis delivered to your door is only marginally tougher than signing up for Amazon Prime.
The Pax Era aims to be the Keurig of vaporizers
Out of all the ways to ingest THC, oil concentrates are far and away the messiest, stickiest and most irritating method. Unlike shatter, crumble or even wax, all of which maintain their shape and texture to some degree, oils have a knack for getting everywhere. It's especially tricky when you're trying to dribble minuscule amounts of oil into teensy Smurf-size cartridges used by mixed-media vapes (I'm looking at you, DaVinci Ascent). The new Era pen vape from Pax, however, solves that issue by taking a page out of the Keurig playbook and operating on a pod-based system.
US government wants you to grow weed for science
Citizens hoping the US government would smile upon recent requests for deregulation, today is not your day: it will remain an illegal, schedule 1 controlled substance. But all is not lost, as the DEA announced it's allowing more organizations to grow and distribute marijuana -- just so long as it's for research purposes.
Microsoft partners with a legal weed startup
Microsoft is going into the legal marijuana business by teaming with a weed financing startup called "Kind," according to the New York Times. The two companies will create Azure-powered cloud apps that track plants from "seed to sale," helping legal dealers comply with laws. The decision to enter the trade was probably not taken lightly by Microsoft, as most corporations still won't touch it with a ten-foot bong. However, the software giant is based in Washington state, where it's perfectly legal to sell pot, and sees the potential for profits.
We made weed butter with a 'magical' machine
WARNING: This story contains references to the use of marijuana. Do not try this at home -- unless, of course, you're an adult living in a state or city where the use of such substances is legal or, you know, you like the way it feels.