What actually changed in cannabis testing
Lab testing is the part of legal cannabis that changed most and gets explained least. Here is what a certificate actually covers, what it leaves out, and the one number on it that decides whether a batch reaches a shelf at all.
Blog · since 2008
Cannabis news, culture and gear
Eighteen years of cannabis writing from the same two people: what changed this week, what we put on the desk and used, and the pieces that do not fit neatly into a guide or a review.
12 published, the earliest from July 2017
What actually changed in cannabis testing
Lab testing is the part of legal cannabis that changed most and gets explained least. Here is what a certificate actually covers, what it leaves out, and the one number on it that decides whether a batch reaches a shelf at all.
Weed humidors and the one number that matters
Every jar of legal flower passed a water activity test on its way to the shelf, and nothing tests it again afterwards. That is the entire case for storing weed properly, and it is a better case than the one usually made for it.
How much kief to use, and why
Kief is the resin knocked off flower, and California classes it as a concentrate rather than as flower. That is the reason the amounts are small. Here is the ratio that governs all nine common uses, and where it stops applying.
Buying a gift for someone who smokes
Most gift guides for smokers are a list of novelties nobody uses twice. This one is built the other way round: six categories where a good version is meaningfully better than a cheap one, and the specification to check in each.
Cannabis tea, and why most recipes fail
Most cannabis tea recipes leave out the two steps that make the difference: heat the material first, and put fat in the cup. Water alone will not carry cannabinoids, which is why a mug of steeped stems tastes of cannabis and does nothing else.
Working in cannabis, and the permit first
Every guide to cannabis jobs lists the roles and skips the gate. In most licensed states you cannot legally work for a licensee without a state-issued worker permit, and that comes before the application, not after the offer.
Transdermal patches, and what they are not
Transdermal and topical are two different things sold beside each other. One is designed to cross the skin and one is designed not to. What a patch is, how the format works, and how little of it is settled.
Water curing weed, and what it removes
Water curing soaks harvested cannabis for days to pull out everything water can dissolve. The percentage on a label goes up, which is not the same as getting more, and the smell goes entirely. It is a technique with one real use and one real risk.
Shaped joints, and how they actually roll
Cross joints, braids, tulips and the rest are novelty objects that still have to draw air and burn evenly. Most of them do neither by accident. Here is how each shape is actually built, and which are worth the flower.
Games worth playing while you smoke
Half the smoking games on the internet are competitive overconsumption with a name attached. These are the other half: games that are actually games, where the smoking is incidental and nobody wins by getting through the most.
Cottonmouth, and why water alone fails
The dry mouth that follows cannabis is not a fluid problem, which is why water disappoints. It is reduced saliva, and the things that help are the ones that get saliva moving rather than the ones that add liquid.
Every way to consume it, and what each does
The method decides more than the material does. Burning, heating and eating put the same flower through three completely different processes, and the numbers behind that are published rather than folklore.
