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Amazon adjusts its 'Time Off Task' metric and drug testing policy
Amazon said it will change the way it measures "Time Off Task" -- a metric that counts every second workers are away from their stations including when they take bathroom breaks.
PAX introduces the Era Pro, a smarter vape for cannabis nerds
Vape "mods" are pretty straightforward; they're mostly just batteries. That said, the original PAX Era was actually pretty smart. It can dial in a specific temperature via a companion app (or you can choose a preset temperature without it). There's also control for your dosing so you don't get too high, and there's even a handful of games built-in. With the newly announced Era Pro, things get even smarter. And at $70, it's also a little pricier.
Firefly 2+ is a smart and stylish vape for cannabis connoisseurs
The Firefly 2 turned more than a few heads when it was released back in 2016. Lighter, sleeker and smarter than its clunky and cumbersome predecessor, it felt like the future of cannabis consumption. But in the following three years, the world turned. Today, pre-packaged concentrates and edibles are all the rage. Do dry herb vapes still have a place in today's cannabis market? The Firefly 2+ makes a compelling argument that yes, they do.
Google won't allow marijuana delivery apps in the Play Store
Google updated its Play Store policy today to prohibit apps that either directly sell or help facilitate the sale of marijuana, even in states where the drug is legal. Apps that offer features such as weed delivery are now at risk of being removed from the Play Store unless they are able to comply and remove the offending features within the next 30 days, according to a report from Android Police.
Omura's Series 1 cannabis vaporizer uses 'flower cartridges'
Cannabis vaporizers have come a long way. As weed becomes legal in more states, companies are free to devise new methods to administer the herb. Enter Omura and the Series 1. At first glance, it looks like a conventional — if not more stylish — flower vaporizer. The Series 1 takes a different approach to most though, using pre-filled "flower cartridges" over the bring-your-own approach of rivals like PAX.
Hanu Labs' Stone vaporizer hits like a ton of bricks
It's not hard for us to guess what the oil vape in your pocket looks like. If it's a 510, chances are it looks pretty much like every other 510 in existence. Even the new generation of vapes with specialized pods all tend to look reasonably the same. But the Stone from Hanu Labs doesn't look like any that's come before it.
Have robots roll your joints and infuse your budder this High Stoner Holiday
Ugh, when did getting stoned become so much work? Back in my day, there was one kind of weed: whatever strain your dealer had in stock. And there were only three ways to enjoy it: through a perforated apple, rolled up in a crude approximation of a joint, or out of a brass pipe you had a homeless guy buy for you on Haight Street. (Thanks again, Igloo!) Never did I have to worry about whether I had the right kind of charging cable or port adapter, only whether my BIC lighter still had gas. Now I've got to consider indicas vs sativas, THC vs CBD, and whether I want to smoke, vape, sublimate, eat or drink my weed. It's all getting to be just a bit much. That's why this 4/20, I'm going back to basics. I'm going to roll a couple monster joints and eat as much weed butter-smeared sourdough toast as my belly will hold. Of course that doesn't mean I'm going old school all the way and doing this all by hand. Here are the gadgets I'll be using to stoner-proof the process.
The next frontier for cannabis vapes: mood-specific formulas
"In New York, my bicycle messenger really had two types of cannabis. It was either green or brown." Michael Ray is the CEO of Bloom Farms, a California-based cannabis company that specializes in vape cartridges and CBD tinctures. Ray's reflecting on cannabis's current cultural explosion. As an increasing number of states fully legalize it, alongside countries like Canada, the curtain of illegitimacy is slowly lifting. For the first time, cannabis can be explored and experimented with in plain sight. The result: an emerging trend of tailored and targeted vape products that claim to do more than get you lifted. Cannabis is going a la carte.
'High Maintenance' meets 'Civilization' in 'Weedcraft Inc'
When I was a kid smoking weed in high school, I was convinced that marijuana would never be legal. The idea that it's legal now, I'm in my late 40s, it's shocking to me." Scott Alexander speaks in rapid-fire paragraphs brimming with information about modern marijuana laws, politics and culture. He's the lead writer on Weedcraft Inc, the first original video game developed and published by popular indie label Devolver Digital. Weedcraft Inc is a tycoon or world-building game, similar to Civilization or Tropico, but players start out as low-grade weed dealers and build their empires from there. It's in beta now, and the full game is due to drop some time in April.
The Levo II oil infuser does so much more than just make weed butter
When I was initially pitched on the Levo II oil infuser, my first reaction was, "Oh ok, a weed butter maker that doesn't sound like a swarm of angry meth-addled bees smashing cement trucks into a tornado," (looking at you, Magic Butter Maker). But after trying it out over the past couple weeks, the Levo has proven to be much more useful than I had expected. It makes a decent batch of budder, sure, but is also versatile and convenient enough to earn a permanent spot on the kitchen counter.
Recommended Reading: Instagram invades the home
Home is where the photo booth is: How Instagram is changing our living spaces Alyssa Bereznak, The Ringer Backdrops, letter boards and faux patterns. The struggle to upgrade those Instagram-able moments at home is real. The Ringer examines the trend of spicing up those regular ol' photos for parties or a milestone announcement, and the fear of the "indifferent scroll."
NASA launching safety review of SpaceX because Elon Musk smoked pot
When NASA tapped SpaceX and Boeing to fly astronauts to the International Space Station, the companies likely expected the government agency would keep a close eye on things. But they probably didn't expect a probe prompted by a podcast. According to the Washington Post, NASA is conducting a safety review of both companies because some officials were annoyed when they found out SpaceX CEO Elon Musk smoked weed with Joe Rogan.
The Rosinbomb Rocket is a panini press for weed
While medical cannabis is already available in more than half of American states and recreational cannabis nears the cusp of national legalization, cannabis culture still strongly values self-sufficiency. Even though this generation of stoners likely won't have to worry about MacGuyvering their bongs together from household implements or growing their own herb instead of buying it from the corner dispensary, there are still plenty of DIY projects that they can take on.
PAX’s ‘Session Control’ helps you control your vape high
If you partake in cannabis, you've probably overdone it at some point and felt like the walls are closing in. Or instantly forgot what you just said and were suddenly paranoid everyone in the room thinks you're weird? Or put your vape pen down so you can look for your vape pen? If you have puffed your way over that blurry line between pleasantly stoned and low-level anxiety, you'll appreciate the importance of knowing when to stop.
Cannabis is having its 'smartphone' moment
"It's very similar to having a phone; you wouldn't want just one or two apps on it. You'd want to be able to have a wide selection," Bharat Vasan, CEO of PAX, told me in his company's downtown San Francisco office. He's referring to the range of "pods" available for the PAX Era weed vaporizer, likening fewer weed options to only having Instagram or Twitter on a phone.
The Puffco Peak vaporizer is a quick hit of concentrated genius
Hell hath no fury like a stoner who has just had to dig his last nugget of honeycomb wax out of the carpet because the wad of sticky concentrate managed to fall off its dabbing tool. I mean, do you still fire it up -- carpet fuzz, cat hair and all -- or simply take the L and move on with your evening? Neither, you get yourself a tabletop cannabis vaporizer that doesn't require a menagerie of industrial tools to operate and which can be loaded as easily as a hash pipe.
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.
Drones won't be delivering weed in California any time soon
In the near future, your pizza, Big Mac, and groceries could all be delivered autonomously. But, the good Cali folk out there expecting their newly legalized batches of pot to arrive in the same manner, are in for a bummer. The California Bureau of Cannabis Control recently declared that weed deliveries cannot be made by autonomous vehicles -- that includes UAVs and unmanned self-driving cars. Therefore, don't go expecting the robot delivering your munchies to bring you Scooby Snacks too.
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.
Stanford has developed a roadside breathalyzer for weed
Blood, breath and urine. These are the holy trinity of determining alcohol intoxication but are virtually useless when measuring the amount of THC in your system thanks the molecule's ability to remain present in bodily fluids for up to a month after consumption. However, a technological breakthrough from Stanford University could soon enable law enforcement to accurately determine how blunted you are as soon as they pull you over.
