I have plenty of friends who wouldn’t dare put their lips to the tip of a cigarette yet smoke a preroll a day. Of course, everyone has a vice that might not align with our best selves–but is cannabis really a loophole for your lungs?

Recently, we teamed up with Reckner360 to find out. We asked pulmonologists (the lung doctors) about the effect of smoking cannabis on your lungs. The results weren’t pretty.

Of the doctors questioned, 56% believe smoking cannabis is NOT healthier than smoking cigarettes. A total of 78% believe there is no ‘safe’ amount of cannabis when it comes to lung health, while 63% believe there is no way to reverse or mitigate the negative effects of smoking on your lungs. Those who answered that the effects can be reversed suggest you quit smoking for twice as long as you maintained the habit.

While cannabis itself has proven harmless and often beneficial, smoking has not magically become guilt-free alongside it. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to elevate yourself without lighting up.

Better solutions

As the cannabis market grows more sophisticated, so do its methods. With new and trusted ways to consume cannabis, it’s easier than ever to incorporate cannabis into an active lifestyle. However, with all the new options out there, it can get overwhelming. No worries, we’ll break this down together.

In this series, we will walk you through a basic survey of the most popular smokeless alternatives on the market today, including:

• Vapor
• Food & Beverage
• Tinctures
• Topicals

Of course, these methods are just the start of what is to come in the cannabis industry. New techniques for consumption are popping up every day, ranging from relief patches and bath salts to quick-dissolving strips. That is to say nothing of the variety within the categories above: BBQ sauce, gum, k-cups, maple syrup, lube−you name it, there is a cannabis-infused version of it.

Like any other medication or substance, effective cannabis use involves some trial and error before you will find what is right for you. Learning about each option available is a great place to start. Discover what you like, discard what you don’t, and remember everyone has their unique set of needs and preferences when it comes to consuming cannabis. It’s a journey, and research is the best place to start.

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Ah, Ventura Boulevard. Forever immortalized in Tom Petty’s “Free Fallin’”, this old portion of the California Camino Real remains the primary artery of the San Fernando Valley. As a result, it’s lined with everything from brand name retail to unique mom-and-pops, some of the best food in the Valley, as well as some of the best dispensaries in the city.

This makes this sunny stretch of LA history the perfect setting for a weekend afternoon. Here’s a sample itinerary:

Our first stop, the brand-spanking-new Sweet Flower on Ventura and Colfax. Unlike most establishments in this city, they’ve even got a dedicated parking lot that’s rarely full. It used to be Perennial Holistic: clean, cozy and the budtenders were knowledgeable and attentive. After some downtime and a little elbow grease, Perennial emerged anew as Sweet Flower, thankfully with much of the great staff intact.

But by knocking down some walls, putting up some floor to ceiling windows, and opting for an open concept retail space, the new look is a warm and welcoming place for new consumers and veterans alike. While you’ll still need to check in with ID, there’s no longer a doctor’s/principal’s office style “room”, the space has been fully integrated into the rest of the store. It seems like a simple change, but for anyone who’s been to a dispensary before, it’s refreshing.

Among other steps forward are the demo products that line the shelves, a marked difference between the glass cases you have to ask a budtender to access in most dispensaries. It’s the same with the actual flower itself. Built up as the centerpiece of the space, individual uniform nugs of all brands, strains and profiles sit in glass-covered bowls that you can open, handle and smell yourself. Again it’s a simple shift, but being able to hold the packaging in your hand and read about it, to browse flower like it’s artisan produce rather than being treated like you can’t be trusted, it all adds up to help shed stigma and transform the experience for the better.

They’ve got a good selection of all the best brands including every kind of cannabis product under the sun but their flower selection cannot be beat. The selection isn’t necessarily exhaustive, but the simple and unobstructive way that the flower is presented and merchandised makes it easier to be truly happy with whatever you chose to take home that day. They also have a great selection of edibles and topicals, and most importantly, products that range all across the THC-heavy to the CBD-heavy so you can really explore the ratio that suits you best. But if you’re planning on exploring Ventura, I’d recommend a low-dosage edible or vaporizer; products better suited for a midday outing. Kiva’s Terra Bites or Plus Products gummies are easy, light 5mg doses and Sunday Goods makes an array of tasty, disposable vapes with varied THC/CBD ratios.

Alright, so you’re all stocked up. Where to next? I’ve been a hundred times and the question only gets harder to answer. A mere 5 minute walk down the street gives you Barrel & Ashes (a BBQ joint opened by the former chef de cuisine of The French Laundry), a Sushi Stop location (owner Shuji Kimura wakes up at 4am every morning to hand-select fish from the storied Downtown LA Fish Market and then only charges THREE DOLLARS for nigiri) among countless other mouthwatering spots lined up virtually back-to-back. But I’ll implore you to walk just a little bit further dear reader, down to the fork where Ventura Boulevard meets Ventura Place.

Because tucked behind this San Fernando thoroughfare is a sandwich-and-ice cream double feature that’s become my guilty pleasure. First, there’s Joan’s on Third. Counterpart to the original, celebrity-frequented artisan food marketplace/cafe in Hollywood proper, the beauty of this Studio City location is it’s much quieter; the first location’s oft-cited worst feature is the sheer amount of people, not to mention Hollywood traffic. The Studio City location has the same five-star sandwiches and salads, without the dull roar of tourists fighting over parking spots and Instagrams. I highly recommend their decadent, just-greasy-enough, Short Rib Sandwich. A healthier option, is their popular Chinese Chicken Salad. (Ok, it’s only relatively healthier.)

Afterwards, just next door is McConnell’s Ice Cream, the now 70 year-old, scratch-made California staple. Though recently more widely available in most halfway decent grocery stores, McConnell’s started out of a Santa Barbara dairy, and remains one of the few ice cream brands to actually manufacture their own cream. The Earl Grey & Shortbread, Turkish Coffee and Pistachio Amaretto flavors are some of my favorites and a great pick for those who avoid the uber-sweet. Otherwise, their Double Peanut Butter Chip and Pineapple Rum & Guava Jam are easy, crowd-pleasing slam-dunks. If you’re feeling even more adventurous, wander a little further down Ventura Boulevard and try the savory Goat Cheese and Olive-flavored ice cream down at the equally vaunted Salt & Straw. I’ve never been high enough to enjoy it but maybe you will.

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Everyday it seems like there’s a new way to consume cannabis. But in the age of edibles, tinctures, patches and vapes, there’s only one true OG: flower. As a long-time consumer, the explosion of infused products is just as welcome to me as it is to newcomers. Lower, more consistent doses allow me to adjust my preferred state of mind more finely than ever. A wider variety of ingestion methods allow me to enjoy cannabis in a wider variety of settings and mitigates the direct correlation between my enjoyment of the plant and the amount of tar going down my throat. That said, flower is still, and likely will always be, my favorite way to enjoy cannabis.

How I Learned

As cannabis goes mainstream, it’s refreshing to see old stigmas and labels falling away. But as new brands and consumers clean up the “stoner” image, it’s important to preserve what was good about this culture we used to call counter-culture. In a space that was inevitably laden with risk (significantly more risk for people of color, of course), where no one could be blamed for being stingy or distrustful, the majority of my anecdotal experience with other cannabis consumers was of kindness and respect. Particularly in areas where the political or legal climate was less than welcoming, the significance of small acts of generosity was and is tenfold.

Some people might attribute this to the properties of the plant, but I like to credit the power of ritual. Not in the spiritual sense, (though that’s not an uncommon ascription) but in the anthropological sense. Much in the same way that the family dinner table or the bar/pub has codified social norms and acts into the consumption of food or alcohol, so has the smoke session for cannabis. The sequence of steps required to prepare flower for a group of people has, with exception to modern upgrades like grinders and percolator-stuffed water pipes, remained largely the same. These steps have been imbued with intention in a way that perpetuates consideration to those around you, keeping this part of cannabis culture alive in ways mass media never could. Unwritten laws like “Puff, puff, pass”, “don’t bogart the joint” and “corner the bowl” all derive from the same basic principle of etiquette: don’t be an asshole.

To Stop Coughing

It’s not hard to understand why burning flower can be intimidating or frightening to people just entering the space. The health risks are the most obvious, and it requires a certain level of dexterity with a flame and a practiced control of your breath. Worst of all, a misstep can cause a flower newbies worst nightmare: the dreaded coughing fit. Where the tingle in your throat turns into ahem, then a hack and then all of a sudden you’re trapped in a coughing prison. But follow the steps below and you’ll be able to enjoy flower just like our ancestors have for centuries.

First up, how to prep:

(If you’re partaking in a pre-roll, you can skip to the next section, this part has been done for you!)

1. Take care of your flower

Ensure the flower has been kept properly. Old, dried out herb will burn faster and make more likely you pull in more smoke than you mean to. You’ll want to keep your flower in sealed containers out of sunlight to keep it fresh. If you’ve just purchased from a legal dispensary you can be pretty certain they’ve taken the same care, you’ll want to keep it the same quality as long as you can!

2. Take care of yourself

Gather your smoking apparati and accessories: generally a grinder, lighter/hemp wick, and your pipe/papers. Grab some water. Find some friends and a nice spot. Something like a balcony or patio is perfect but we can’t all be fancy schmancy homeowners with private outdoor areas so at least make sure you’re somewhere where you won’t be bothered and you’re free to relax. If it’s your first time, a setting that you know, with friends you trust, is ideal.

3. Grind it up

Good quality stuff should come as intact “nugs”. In order to prepare them for smoking, the stems need to be removed and the flower buds themselves to be ground up for ease of prep, whether you’re using a pipe or paper.  If you’re so inclined, it’s not uncommon to pass around the unbroken flower like an appetizer or pre-wine waft so that everyone can appreciate.

4. Pack it, roll it, put it in a stew

The easiest way to use your prepped flower is a pipe. Simply pack the ground flower into the bowl (snug and even, but not too tight) and you’re good to go. If you’ve opted for some form of papers, there’s a little more practice and dexterity involved. Tom can give you the basic gist:

And now you’re ready for, how to smoke:

5. Light it

If you’re using papers, try to light the tip evenly to prevent “canoeing”, a phenomenon where one side of the roll burns faster than the other, leaving you with a sort of paper “canoe” with wasted or unburnt flower. If you’re using a bowl, remember to “corner” it! Brightly colored flower, untouched by flame, burns the easiest and smoothest. For this reason, it’s considered good etiquette to keep your flame from engulfing all of the fresh flower. To achieve this, just lightly touch flame to the edge of the bowl as you inhale, to “pull” the flame closer. Most people will try and keep their flame to a single quadrant of the bowl.  A hemp wick is a great alternative to your average lighter as it’s much easier to control, as well as reducing the risk of inhaling the butane in the lighter.

6. Puff…

While the mechanics of a pre-roll and a pipe are slightly different, the same principles apply. You want to get the smoke into your lungs and out again, with minimal irritation to your breathing. This is done by making sure you get a good amount of fresh, cool air to balance the harsh, hot nature of smoke. With a pipe, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with the carburetor, the third hole on the side of the pipe. By covering it with your finger, you can control the amount of fresh air vs. smoke you’re inhaling. If it’s your first time, try inhaling a lung full of air, to gauge where your lung capacity is at. When you take your first pull of smoke, pull slowly to fill the pipe, ease off the carb and try to only fill a quarter of your lungs before filling the rest with fresh air. Exhale.

7. …puff, pass to the left

As is tradition, you’re entitled to one more “puff” before passing it on. This ensures that everyone in the circle gets an equal amount. With more practice, and some trial and error, you’ll eventually have a better understanding of your respiratory system’s threshold for coughing and be able to take more confident pulls. Technically passing left is “tradition”, but mostly it just important to keep the direction consistent. If conversation and good times are flowing, remember not to “bogart” the flower. So named after Humphrey Bogart’s tendency to speak with a cigarette hanging out the side of his mouth, it’s easy to accidentally hold up the circle with a long-winded story. Again, the priority here is equal consideration for your fellows.

8. All good things must come to an end

As the bowl or pre-roll comes closer to its end, you’ll likely notice the flower get darker and the smoke get harsher. As mentioned as the reason for “cornering”, it only stands to reason that your originally fresh and bright flower will be dark and depleted by the end. If you’ve had your fill, don’t be afraid to give your lungs some respite and politely decline the next round. If you’re feeling feisty, just remember the smoke gets harsher and harsher, so you’ll need to adjust how much you’re pulling accordingly.

Love the Flower

Much like a sit down dinner, or the uncorking and presentation of a wine, there’s a basic step-by-step to enjoying flower. And just like group dinners and wine-tastings, each of the steps also embodies something greater about the experience. Just like the dinner and the wine, it’s not so much about the food or alcohol, as it is the people you’re with. It’s about talking together, venting together, pondering together or really, just being together. Wherever you’ve been or you’re at, you collectively embark on a journey of shared experience and meet each other on the same wavelength. As you grow older, as the world gets larger and relationships drift, these moments are of rarefied air. These experiences build on each other, layering over time, by tying disconnected people and moments together. In the same way that a certain dish or tablecloth might take you back to your mother’s cooking, catching up with an old friend over some flower brings to mind all our old rituals, and enforcing those memories and bonds with a new one.

The post How I learned to stop coughing and love the flower appeared first on Flowertown.

The price points on luxury products are funny things.

Take cigars, for example. A Gurkha His Majesty’s Reserve cigar will set you back $750. Sure, the wrappers are aged for 15 years and the filler is infused with Louis XIII cognac, but at the end of the day, no one who buys a His Majesty’s Reserve cigar believes that the price tag is justified by the product. They buy them to say they did.

At hundreds of dollars a pop it’s more about the status symbol than the cigar – however exquisite the cigar in question might be. You could make the same argument for pricey wines, luxury cars, and designer clothes.

Is it any wonder that cannabis is trying to tap into those sweet luxury market dollars, too?

Enter the cannagar

A cannabis cigar-like blunt. Cannagars contain ground up flower, often supplemented with a little concentrated THC.

They’re rolled in marijuana leaves, which gives them the distinct green coloring that visually sets them apart from a traditional, tobacco cigar. And they retail anywhere from $100 to $3,600.

And by all accounts, they’re very, very good. Take the $420 Leira Corona. The six-inch-long, 42-gage cannagar contains 12 grams of organic flower from Gold Leaf Gardens.

Cannagar by Leira Cannabis Cigars – CC BY

Leering over Leiras

The flower is packed around a small dowel, which is later removed, leaving behind a tiny hollow core that ensures an even burn. The flower is coated in a solvent-free resin to give it a little extra punch. Then they’re hand-rolled in marijuana leaves and cured for at least a month.

The end result is a potent, smooth cannagar that lasts up to six hours.

That’s a good, long time spent smoking, and this is really where cannagars begin to (if they can) justify their price tag. Cannagars are easy to share, even with a room full of people. And their sophisticated, elegant look makes them the picture perfect thing to puff and pass at weddings or other formal parties. Leira really leans into this aspect.

But is that level of high society imagery worth $420? Maybe. After all, what are luxury products for if not to commemorate special occasions like marriages, births, anniversaries, and promotions?

Rose Cannagar by Las Vegas Cannagars – CC BY

Plenty of people, and not just the ludicrously wealthy, will pick up a bottle of good champagne or a box of cigars to share with their friends and family when they have something to celebrate.

A cannagar like a Gold Leaf Leira or a Las Vegas Rose Gar is just one more way to share joy with your friends and, yes, throw a little cash around. So maybe it’s not really worth the money, but sometimes it’s worth spending it anyway.

And if cigars aren’t your thing, that’s not a problem. The amount and variety of high quality products in cannabis is growing everyday.

If you enjoy the smoke but not the potency of a cannagar, try a premium pre-roll. If that’s not your thing, try a nice, smooth vape to pass around with you and your friends.

The post Cannagars: is the luxury product worth its weight in flower? appeared first on Flowertown.

At the front of the library at MOMA PS1, a flower installation stood in the style of Ikebana, an umbrella term for the Japanese art of flower arrangement. Amid exotic tropical flowers, branches, and recognizable produce, cannabis leaves were nestled into each arrangement. The new installation was the centerpiece of a panel discussion entitled “Hothouse: Flowers and Cannabis Culture with Broccoli Magazine.” The audience gathered to listen to the panelists speak on the role of cannabis in art, focusing less on its effects and more on its beauty and potential as a vessel for artistic expression.

The panel, attended by Anja Charbonneau, Editor-in-Chief of Broccoli Magazine, Amy Merrick, floral arranger and creator of the installation; Alice Grandoit, cannabis advocate and student of floral arrangement; and Mennlay Golokeh Aggrey, Mexico City-based cannabis grower, focused on the plant’s inherent beauty and potential for fostering community engagement.

Image courtesy MoMA PS1. Photo by Walter Wlodarczyk.

Moderated by Georgia Frances King, the panelists discussed the stigma of the “pot leaf” in mainstream discourse, with its connotations as an emblem of “stoner culture.” The installation mirrored a similar one by Merrick for a cover of Broccoli Magazine. Charbonneau described the cover choice as an effort to destigmatize the image of the pot leaf, reframing it as a beautiful plant similar to any other and worthy of inclusion and consideration within the Ikebana practice.

“an effort to destigmatize the image of the pot leaf, reframing it as a beautiful plant similar to any other”

In Ikebana, Merrick explained, each stem in any given arrangement has a distinct significance, and the resulting arrangement represents a cohesive message. By utilizing the emblematic pot leaf, the artist complicated its mainstream symbolism as part of the counterculture, highlighting its simple elegance instead. The panel focused on cannabis as more than an intoxicant or a subject of political debate; rather, it is a plant that requires love and nurturing similar to any other in order to grow, and an object of beauty and a subject of artistic exploration. She explained that flowers foster a collective community experience, and utilizing the pot leaf in this way can reframe it outside mainstream political discourse.

Image courtesy MoMA PS1. Photo by Walter Wlodarczyk.

The introduction of cannabis to New York’s fine art sphere was welcome, evidenced by the crowded space (on Superbowl Sunday, no less). The room was overflowing, and audience members squeezed in to find seats on the floor or wedge themselves into the standing room. Though the anecdotal evidence shows that New Yorkers are ready for cannabis in the mainstream, the question remains how to integrate marginalized and criminalized communities into these discussions.

Image courtesy MoMA PS1. Photo by Walter Wlodarczyk.

Charbonneau voiced her thoughts that the cannabis industry suffers from similar blind spots as any other large capitalist industry, and it is up to the consumer to demand ethical business practices from companies in their early stages, especially as it enters new markets. The panelists acknowledged the necessity of diversification within the cannabis industry. Though the thesis of the project is to normalize the plant by presenting it within traditional artistic frameworks, there remains an access gap for New Yorkers. I was left wondering how to open the dialogue and facilitate diversification by presenting work outside of a high-art, exclusive and ticketed space.

The post Reimagining the pot leaf at Ps1 Moma appeared first on Flowertown.

Romance is in the air, but it could definitely do with some company. Cannabis goodies can improve your Valentine’s Day plans whether you’re just setting the mood or igniting a little extra passion.

Arouse by Dosist – CC BY

Cannabis in the clouds

If you and your significant other are staunch flower lovers there are two strains you should definitely consider: Skywalker and Atomic Northern Lights. These hybrids mix euphoria with a nice body high that doesn’t make you immobile.

For the more discreet, arouse by dosist offers our California readers a scintillating vaporizer pen. This THC-forward formula will have you cozying up to your partner in no time.

Queen Green by Kushed Candles – CC BY

Relaxing aromatherapy

Set the stage for your romantic tryst with a QueenGreen candle or two. Despite its name, this member of the Kushed Candles lineup is actually rather sweet with enough musky undertones to prevent it from being overbearing. The candle comes in a wide range of sizes, including some 6 oz gold travel tins — in case you’re hitting the road this Valentine’s day.

Cannabis Bouquet by Lowell Smokes – CC BY

A bouquet they’ll never forget

Send some green flowers this year with Lowell Farms’ cannabis bouquet. The arrangement features about an ounce worth of marijuana for a cool $400. Lowell Farms will only deliver within Los Angeles, but you can find out if they ship to a California dispensary near you!

Love CBD Bath Bomb by Kush Queen – CC BY

A tantalizing bubble bath

Whether you’re drawing a bath for your loved one or joining them for some bubbly footsie, you can’t go wrong with a bath bomb. The irreverent Kush Queen’s Love CBD Bath Bomb, which ships everywhere, is all about soaking up the mood. For a more intense effect, you can try out their 1:1 CBD to THC version at your local California dispensary.

Easy Cannabis Cookbook by Amazon – CC BY

A cannabis-infused dinner

Want to skip the busy restaurants where someone’s proposing every few minutes? Enjoy a nice night in with a cannabis-infused meal. “The Easy Cannabis Cookbook” by Cheri Sicard will walk you through the creation of sweet and savory edibles. Control the dose as you see fit, for a jovial culinary experience.

Dark Chocolate Bar by Satori Chocolates – CC BY

Some decadent chocolates

What’s Valentine’s Day without chocolate? Satori makes delicious milk and dark chocolate bars that are so easy to eat, you might forget that each square is 10 mg of THC (don’t forget that, please).

Awaken by Foria Wellness – CC BY

A sensual lubricant you’ll use past February

Foria’s Awaken lubricant is not only a hot cannabis product, it’s knocked some regular lubricants off some nightstands. It’s oil-based so it doesn’t play well with latex and should be used with silicone toys. Awaken only contains CBD, so it can be enjoyed by all, but its THC sister, Pleasure, is only available in California, Colorado, and Canada.

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