Good afternoon!
Welcome back to your weekly guide to the best in cannabis lifestyle. Winter is bearing down on us in San Francisco and up north, cannabis country is set to get 18 inches of snow. Growers in the Mendocino County hills report stocking up for maybe ten days without contact with the outside world. We’re dreaming of the epic ski vacations of the future, when the kids are older and the bank account has recovered a bit.
For now, it’s about staying warm and enjoying the little breaks life affords you: sneaking an Imax matinee of Black Panther on Friday; the gift of a good massage; or treating oneself to a colorful manicure. Read on below to generate some mini-vacation ideas of your own. Winter has come. — David Downs
WE’RE EXCITED ABOUT
Even more new retail store openings in California. We got the latest ones on our map. Welcome, Hollywood High Grade of L.A.!
FASHION | ART | DESIGN
Would you rock a marijuana manicure? A potent social status signifier — nails now signal a woman’s cannabis fandom. We sent our reporter to get her nails done by the Bay Area’s It-girl of weedicures, Dabulous Nailz.
North Carolina-based Founder’s Hemp has released a line of cannabis-infused beauty products catering to women of color. Hemp oil can extend the life of hair extensions, but the company has challenges. Minorities “feel sometimes that cannabis is only OK for white people.” Via Marijuana Business Daily.
WELLNESS | HEALTH
Cannabis healing has shattered the grass ceiling. A posh five-star spa in San Francisco has begun offering massages with oil rich in cannabidiol (CBD), which could help with sore, inflamed muscles.
A patient survey from Israel’s largest medical marijuana provider, Tikum Olam, finds using cannabis can help in preventing opioid dependency in cancer patients. Marijuana can “increase quality of life, and to reduce pain, nausea and vomiting,” says lead researcher Lihi Bar-Lev Schleider. Via Rolling Stone.
Cannabis contains a potential diet drug called “THC-V”. A licensed nutritionist explains for the new site Miss Grass.
FOOD | TRAVEL
The Denver-based cafe the Coffee Joint received Colorado’s first license to allow patrons to consume marijuana on-site. Via Denver Post.
Las Vegas’ McCarran Airport installed a series of “amensty boxes” for travelers ditching their state-legal marijuana before fleeing Vegas. Via Las Vegas Sun.
VIRAL
Illinois congressional hopeful and former FBI agent Benjamin Thomas Wolf released an ad campaign of him lighting a joint while sitting in front of an American flag painting, touting himself as the state’s “cannabis candidate.”
PICKS OF THE WEEK
Edible — Smoke-free and effects-based, THC mouth strips from California’s Kin Slips go under the tongue and aim to help with the blues, insomnia, or pain.
Topical — Futuristic, no-high pain relief is here, courtesy of Mary’s Medicinals’ CBD Gel Pen, spotted at Berkeley Patients Group.
Strain — As winter bites down, you need a super-potent indica hybrid for long hours staring at the fire. You need — Creme De La Creme from Buds & Roses in Los Angeles.
MONEY | POWER | FAME
Actress Charlize Theron tells E! Online about her past history with cannabis, and why she’s open to using it again. “I have really bad insomnia, and I’d much rather get off sleeping pills.”
Despite product shortages and other roadblocks, Nevada’s first six months of marijuana sales generated over $30 million in tax revenue for the state so far. Via Forbes.
The major Canadian cannabis producer Cronos Group was approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission to begin trading on the NASDAQ, earning them the distinction as the first legal marijuana company to be listed on a U.S. stock exchange. Via Vice News.
REVIEW
Cannabis’ smell is divisive, to say the least. But do you even know where the aromas come from? To master cannabis appreciation, you have to learn a new word: “terpenes”.
You know about red wines, white wines and roses. Now get ready to learn about the three types of cannabis: sativa, indica, and hybrids.
NEWS
Cannabis events are generally very safe, and do not warrant the level of restrictions they face under legalization. How do we know? We audited the public safety record of a 25,000-person marijuana party — The Emerald Cup. Read what we found.
A federal judge in New York dismissed a lawsuit seeking to make cannabis legal under federal law, ruling that the plaintiffs must first ask the Drug Enforcement Administration to declassify marijuana as a dangerous substance. Via New York Times
Rep. Phil Roe, a Republican lawmaker and chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, told reporters that the VA should be encouraged to study the medical use of cannabis: “We need to study that drug, like any other drug. Where there are benefits — if there are any — then we use it for what it’s researched for.” via Stars & Stripes.
HIGHLY DUBIOUS
A rural California county legalized cannabis farms, took their money, and then banned marijuana farming. Welcome to Calaveras. Via Los Angeles Times.
WATCH | PLAY | LISTEN
Watch — Comedian and musician Donald Glover returns with a second season of his critically lauded FX comedy Atlanta. . . . Plus – Jennifer Lawrence is magnetic in the spy thriller Red Sparrow.
Play — New indie game for Windows “Into the Breach” is like ‘chess meets Starship Troopers’. Time to enlist.
Listen — Vice and High Times alumns David Bienenstock and Abdullah Saeed have a self-explanatory new podcast: Great Moments in Weed History. Episode 1: Willie Nelson toking on the White House’s roof.
FOLLOW
@thesonomacountyexperience — Wine Country slows down for the winter, but cannabis and wine tours are heating up.
@dabulous_nailz — Keep tabs on the cannabis nail art trend and get inspired.
@stregissf — You can’t live in five-star hotel like a Royal Tenenbaum, but at least your Insta feed can.
Best wishes for a relaxing, rewarding weekend, david downs + oscar pascual