Cannabis
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Researchers genetically modify yeast to ‘brew’ THC and CBD
Scientists in California have created a cheaper, safer, environmentally-friendly way to produce cannabinoids, the chemical compounds that give cannabis its many medicinal (and mind-altering) qualities. The trick is in using genetically modified brewer's yeast to produce cannabinoids, rather than ethanol, according to research published today by the University of California, Berkeley.
'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.
The technology behind the world's largest cannabis dispensary
Las Vegas is not a town for half measures. So it's of little surprise that when the state of Nevada legalized recreational cannabis in July of 2017, Sin City took the cannabis dispensary model and added a bit of Vegas' over-the-top magic. The result: Planet 13, a 40,000 square foot dispensary -- the largest of its kind anywhere on Earth.
PAX Labs CEO on how technology will demystify cannabis
PAX makes some of the most popular cannabis vaporizers around. By fusing technology, with innovative software, the company hopes to take the mystery out of getting high. But, there are problems. Many people don't know where to start, it's still illegal in many states, and even the organizers of CES aren't quite sure how to handle companies like PAX. In our stage interview with CEO Bharat Vasan, we take a quick tour through cannabis' digital revolution.
ILO tidies up your dab sessions with self-contained ceramic pellets
The days of wrestling hash oil out of the jar like a stoned taffy puller or combing through your carpet Honey I Shrunk the Kids-style because you spilled a handful of shatter are thankfully over. Oregon-based ILO vapes has developed an incredible -- dare I say revolutionary -- way of packaging concentrates that no longer requires you to handle your cannabis-derived concoctions directly.
Cannabis infusions are the latest evolution in beer's 10,000 year history
Archaeologists suspect that humans have been brewing beer for more than 10,000 years, which would indicate that we developed fermentation technology prior to the agricultural revolution. The oldest known beer sample dates from more than 8,000 years ago, made in China using a mix of rice, grapes, hawthorn tree fruit and honey. In the millennia that have followed, brewed beverages have spread and diversified across the globe. That trend continues to this day as brewmasters in the US and Canada experiment with a new strain of 21st century beer infusions: cannabis. It's not been easy, but our good friend science has come to the rescue.
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.
Is Trump serious about legalizing weed?
No matter how many handy gadgets we recommend, the 4/20 holiday is legally tenuous for tokers in the 21 (mostly red) states that don't allow for recreational or medical marijuana use. But that could change with a word from the president. A week after promising Colorado's Republican senator that the feds would keep their hands off state-sanctioned marijuana operations, Trump has the opportunity to make good on his word. Will he?
The gear you need to celebrate 4/20 like a responsible adult
It's 4/20 everybody, the High Stoner Holiday where we burn our trees rather than decorate them! The celebrations mark a magical moment when everybody can get the giggles with reckless abandon while satiating their munchies with traditional holiday tidings like Abba-zabba and Taco Bell. Today offers neophyte cannabis enthusiasts and hardcore stoners alike an opportunity to indulge in the mild euphoric of their choice with like-minded friends and family, or really, anybody standing with a dutchie on their right-hand side. But just as Christmas suffers from SantaCon, 4/20 celebrations attract their own brand of red-eyed knuckleheads who make the rest of us look bad. So unless you want to get lumped in with the folks who still proudly display their Scarface poster from college, put down that comically large blunt and read on.
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.
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.
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.
Concentrates are the future of cannabis
The cannabis industry is in the midst of an unprecedented renaissance. Strains are stronger, consumption methods more numerous and availability greater than ever before. Medical-grade marijuana now averages around 20 percent THC -- a threefold increase from the "hippie weed" your parents toked back in the '60s. Smoking has been usurped by vaping and edibles as the preferred dosing methods, making the concentrates and oils more valuable commodities than the flowers they're derived from. The good times certainly are rolling, but how long can we keep up this relentless march toward pure THC distillate?
Massive meta-study confirms the health benefits of cannabis
After digging through more than 10,000 separate clinical studies, the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine on Thursday issued a groundbreaking, 400-page report on the potential benefits and detriments posed by cannabis use. The biggest revelation: cannabis has verifiable medicinal uses, which are backed by large amounts of high-quality science. This could spell the end for weed's categorization as a Schedule I narcotic.
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.
Pax returns with its most versatile vaporizer yet
Since the introduction of its original Pax vaporizer in 2012, Pax Labs (formerly Ploom) has been making a name for itself as one of the most intuitive and user-friendly vaporizers on the market. Less than a year after the introduction of it's superior sequel, and Pax Labs is back with $46.7 million in funding, a smartphone app and two fresh new devices that promise to improve the vaporizer experience even further.
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.
