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When I was in my early 20s I would probably say I had a dependence on cannabis. Key for me in transitioning away from that was lower THC % products. It's was as
by extr 3y ago
When I was in my early 20s I would probably say I had a dependence on cannabis. Key for me in transitioning away from that was lower THC % products. It's was as if I wanted to enjoy a single beer after work but the only thing available was everclear. Most vape pens are billed as 85%+ THC. Now, I still enjoy cannabis, but I have a single puff of a vape pen that is around 3% THC (the rest is usually CBD) before bed. Or I take an edible that is 1.5mg THC (very low, edibles are usually sold at 5-10mg doses). It's a much different relationship. I don't feel like my mind is racing out of control, I don't build up a massive tolerance. I sleep fine without it. It's startling to think that a single puff of a 90% pen is literally 30x as much THC.
However, these products are disappointingly few and far between. When I walk into a CA dispensary, I actually have to hunt around for them, if they're even available. When I ask, staff members wonder if I'm buying it for my grandmother! It would be great to see the industry refocus on products that are designed to be consumed in moderation.
- jdhn 3y ago>It would be great to see the industry refocus on products that are designed to be consumed in moderation. I feel that the legal weed industry is speedrunning the past decade of craft brewing. Craft beer focused on growing the scene while focusing on higher and higher ABV beers, but now is transitioning back towards beers that are a bit more sessionable and don’t get you blasted after 2 beers. Wouldn’t be surprised to see the weed industry start focusing on sessionable items sooner rather than later.
- dylan604 3y agoVery much in agreement. Cannabis as a medicine means needing other cannabinoids other than THC. The minors all contribute in ways that we're just now really starting to study for a better understanding of the why.
- DANmode 3y agoRelearning old lessons. Oils from plants in nature are super helpful, when used correctly! (Hint: if you're a medicinal user in any form, probably best to stop lighting shit on fire)
- rs999gti 3y agoAgree. No health provider is ever going to approve burning anything for medicinal usages. All studies have proven all the bad stuff comes from combustion.
- FloatArtifact 3y agoUnderlying assumption is that moderation is the issue, however it's addiction for those that can't quit. In layman's terms, the brain's chemistry has been altered permanently. This can happen for some even after the first use THC, opioids, alcohol and you name it. Obviously the progression doesn't happen as fast for some. However, the key being they can't quit in moderation or in excess. Some can abstain for 3 months, some for six, thinking they don't have a problem but then find themselves using even a little. There's a self-rationalization as well as self-centeredness that's part of the disease process of addiction. I would say it's not only a disease process but it is a huge factor. Cross addiction substituting one substance for another is also part of that self-rationalization.
- j16sdiz 3y ago> ... it's addiction for those that can't quit. ...can't quit without side-effects. Most addicts can stop using immediately with the side-effect that becoming less productive/energetic. For THC, it is relatively easy to mitigate most side effects by adjusting the dose. Modulation is not the key, but helps a lot
- FloatArtifact 3y agoYou're talking about withdrawal which is semi-related to an underlying diagnosis of addiction. That is to say someone can go through quitting a substance without withdrawals symptoms yet still have an addiction.
- bko 3y agoI hear this claim often that your brain chemistry changes from substance use and it makes sense when you look at addicts. But with other things relating to addiction, I found claims to be hyperbole. An example is addiction is a disease no different than cancer. We don't want to tell addicts to just cut it out. But is it true? Are there scans of people before and after a while of chronic substance abuse that shows brain differences? Can we scan someone's brain and tell that they're addicts? Honest question, I don't know
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- binarymax 3y agoStill waiting for the craft beer scene in the US to get out of its grapefruit juice phase.
- zerocrates 3y agoThe whole New England/juicy/hazy IPA space has been the "fad" for so long that the fad cycle almost doesn't seem to exist anymore.
- oorza 3y agoMight be because there's a lot of people like me that only like that style of beer. I don't dislike other types of beer, but I'd rather drink something else than a lager, stout, porter, pilsner, etc. I've found that there aren't a lot of diehards for any other style, but IPA diehards are a dime a dozen.
- yogurthewise 3y agoAgreed, IPAs(west coast, hazy, etc) are pretty much the only beer I enjoy drinking(for taste). Occasionally, I'll take a lager on a hot day when I want something really "light".
- unethical_ban 3y agoI feel like I'm allergic, literally, to hazy IPA. I like the occasional DIPA but otherwise I stick with Belgians, stouts, porters, or lagers.
- Arrath 3y agoThe darker the better, imo. Though I appreciate a good blonde or hefe, my favorites are the Abysses or Ten Fidy's of the world.
- papertokyo 3y agoI could drink a hazy pale or NEIPA anytime, it would be my desert island style for sure. Never liked the high IBU IPAs that were everywhere for a while because of the bitterness. (And I love all the Campari-adjacent cocktails) I feel similarly about the store-bought THC products in Canada. They're like high ABV, hopped-up IPAs when really I just want a light, refreshing, repeatable beer with good flavour.
- mtreis86 3y agoCannabis has an inverse relationship between potency and health as alcohol. Drinking a dozen beers is (marginally) less dangerous than a dozen shots, because it takes longer to process and alcohol is a toxin. THC isn't a toxin. The smaller amount you inhale, of smoke or vapor, the better. I'll take a puff of some 90+% vapor any day over having to smoke an entire joint for the same effect. What we need is more accurate vapor delivery devices that can meter better.
- TylerE 3y agoDisagree. Those 12 beers contain a vast amount of carbs that will not be in the liquor. Now, sure, if you slam 12 shots of Cuervo back to back you're going to have a bad time - 12 shots is an entire bottle if you're actually getting full pours. But if you consumed one shot or one beer every hour... no difference in the effects.
- bhelkey 3y ago> But if you consumed one shot or one beer every hour... no difference in the effects. Their point is that it is much easier socially to sip a beer slowly over an hour than it is to sip a shot over that same hour.
- TylerE 3y agoI see zero in the GP about social effects. Their comment is addressing (alleged) health concerns and form of consumption.
- sublinear 3y agoHah I've known a few people to sip shots at the bar. They don't get shunned for it. It just means people don't buy them a shot. Also most people who take shots aren't trying to get wasted. Drinking a shot the normal way every half hour to an hour alongside always having a beer to sip until done for the night is fairly standard. e.g. about 6 beers and 3 shots over the course of 2 to 4 hours.
- vintermann 3y agoWhy would an industry that sells a addictive and harmful product do that? alcohol is more harmful and cannabis is more addictive (comparing how many say they try to quit), but apart from that they're not so different from the market perspective. Craft beers are just a niche. I don't trust the industry to self-regulate towards less profit.
- ForDoLupe 3y agoGotta just be blunt here and let you know that yours id an awful take and those are awful reference points you're drawing from there. I'm stunned to find anyone this far removed from the release of "Reefer Madness" who believes that cannabis is more addictive than alcohol. As a recovered addict who has spent many months in multiple rehabs and many hours at meetings -- with hundreds of other addicts, I can assure you that booze is EASILY more dangerous/unhealthy/addictive than weed. Across the board; worse by every general measure.
- DANmode 3y agoIt seems difficult to measure this, as it's wildly varying in addictiveness depending on the wildly varying affects each human gets from the substances.
- vintermann 3y agoYes, it's just one possible way to measure. But I think the number of users who say they've tried to cut down/quit and failed, is a pretty practical measure.
- vintermann 3y agoDangerous/unhealth/addictive are three different things! I specifically said alcohol is more dangerous and unhealthy. Judging from the number of users who say they would like to stop using it but can't, cannabis is more addictive, however. There are plenty of surveys of this, and I've seen even cannabis activists take them seriously, advocating offerings to cut down/quit similar to those we offer to smokers. I don't know why, and this is just one possible measure of addictiveness, but it is what it is.
- phone8675309 3y agoI wonder what the impact of cannabis being illegal federally has on this sort of thing. A lot of people went from drinking beer and wine when Prohibition was first enacted in the US and moved to liquor. This happened because many of the speakeasies would rather have a given volume of liquor versus beer because they can serve more customers and there is less of a concern about your product being large and conspicuous. With illicit drugs you often find the producers making the drugs more and more concentrated so they can move more product in a smaller volume and then step on it to make up the bulk later down the supply chain. It would make sense to me that dispensaries would be more interested in buying and receiving higher THC product because they can either do more with less or they can have customers come in less often and serve more of them.
- DANmode 3y agoMAJOR impact. People are only aware of what they can put hands on in their locale. It's basically the one thing I hope Amazon gets their way on (they're one of the bigger lobbyists for legalization).
- roguas 3y agoWhen you put metrics on something. You see its limits... then you push them. Every industry does that till they find sky is the limit but its actually about balance.
- zoklet-enjoyer 3y agoLook for federally legal hemp derived delta 9 products. They usually max out at 5 or 10mg per serving
- ramesh31 3y ago>Look for federally legal hemp derived delta 9 products. They usually max out at 5 or 10mg per serving So funny that that law didn't account for how edibles work. If you have a baked good (brownie, cookie, etc.) which weighs 100 grams, and it contains 29mg delta-9 THC, thats below the 0.3% legal threshold, and still a solid dose. I always try to explain this to people, that the Republicans actually unwittingly legalized weed in 2017, but no one ever gets it. Fact is, delta-9 THC edibles are now federally legal (and can be ordered online) in all 50 states due to the Farm Bill loophole.
- yamazakiwi 3y agoMost people don't know about Delta-9 yet. It was brought to my attention when I saw a video about a business selling Delta-9 drinks in an illegal state.
- ramesh31 3y ago>Most people don't know about Delta-9 yet. Delta 9 is the long-known active ingredient in regular marijuana. You're thinking of delta 8, which is a new isolate. This is kind of my point though. When I talk about this stuff, people assume I just mean delta 8, or CBD or whatever. Nope. Straight up delta 9 edibles are 100% federally legal now.
- polynomial 3y ago100% federally legal? How is that even possible?
- ramesh31 3y ago>100% federally legal? How is that even possible? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture_Improvement_Act_of_2018 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture_Improvement_Act_... It's the entire reason for the explosion of hemp stores everywhere in the last few years. That "0.3%" clause is the kicker. Because 0.3% is a long way away from being 0%, it means posession of THC is now federally legal.
- wonderwonder 3y agoI have a hard time finding 5mg dose edibles for my wife. Most are 10 plus. Was at the dispensary the other day and a girl who probably weighed 115lbs suggested I try capsules as they are stronger. Capsules are 30mg and she says she takes 2 at a time. That dosage is insane to me. I'm 235lbs and 15mg is a solid, "I'm not driving" dose for me.
- HDThoreaun 3y agoEdibles at high doses are a completely different experience. a 60mg dose would be comparable to acid with heavy thought loops and perhaps ego death. Some people are looking for that I guess.
- genocidicbunny 3y agoThat's not really true for long time users. I've encountered people who need 600mg to get a light buzz.
- HDThoreaun 3y agoRight I meant 60mg for this guys wife who is looking for a 5mg dose.
- wonderwonder 3y agoI smoke / take edibles probably 3 - 4x a week. 600mg in one dose for me is probably asking for a psychotic break.
- femiagbabiaka 3y agoIt has happened: look up Owen Benjamin.
- ghosty141 3y agoTolerance varies insanely for edibles. Some people dont process them like others. Ive heard about people just not getting high from edibles at all, even high doses like you described. It‘d be curious if this phenomenon is backed by science or not.
- golergka 3y agoThis reminds me of spice. Synthetic cannabinoids started in 00s as a legal alternative to weed, but in a span of just around 10 years evolved into one of the most frightening drugs out there.
- pstuart 3y agoIt's nasty stuff, and yet another indicator of how the War on Drugs has only made things worse.
- rootw0rm 3y agoJWH-018, the first very widely available one seemed safer (based on my own limited research) than those that followed, but was banned. it's the same thing every time. chemical gets banned, more dangerous but legal chemical takes it's place, cycle continues. 3-methylfentanyl is an early example of this.
- opportune 3y agoSince you take a single puff of that pen, is it an oil cart you’re hitting that has just 3% THC? For those who want to try using low controlled doses like you said, I gotta recommend dry herb/flower vapes - the normie portable ones, not the $400 desktop vape with a fan and everything. It’s easier to find low-but-not-0 THC flower than oil cartridges IME, and if you can’t find them, you can just pack less. It’s also a lot easier on your lungs and having to take multiple hits per packed chamber allows you to control your dose a bit better. Low dose edibles also work but they can last a long time in your body due to being metabolized differently and are similarly hard to find.
- rileyphone 3y agoYou can also mix CBD flower with THC flower to reintroduce what has been bred out. People here might appreciate a setup with a dynavap and an induction heater built from parts and a bit of soldering.
- DANmode 3y agoPlease, everyone try this. Your preferred ratio, for recreation OR medicinal purposes, may be way closer to 1:1 (THC/CBD) than you thought!
- extr 3y agoYeah, it's an oil cart. I've been recommended dry flower vapes before, but for me personally it's just more involved of a process than I'm looking for. The oil cart is zero setup, zero smell, zero cleanup. Hard to beat.
- schwartzworld 3y agoHa, I used to buy mids when I could get them. Good luck finding any now.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- incompleteCode 3y agoYeah, I’m convinced that the concentration of THC found in products these days is unhealthy. I’m a weed user myself, but since legalization I haven’t had a great experience due to the high THC contents. Where do you find the 3% THC in California? Hopefully, it’s someplace in the Bay Area.
- parentheses 3y agoThis was the original attitude amongst the older pot smokers I know. They were in search of the buzz's quality rather than its intensity.
- DANmode 3y agoThis requires terpenes, and in some cases, CBD.
- kromem 3y agoThe other REALLY big issue is the CBD content. CBD is on its own an effective antipsychotic (comparable efficacy to one of the common treatment options in schizophrenia in a 2013 study), and has repeatedly been shown to balance out the psychotic effects of THC. And I'd say easily 80% or more of the products I've seen in any dispensary I've walked into have ~0% of CBD compared to those heavy THC amounts. It's no longer "just using something that grows as part of nature" if you completely disrupt the balance of the natural high with extreme levels of selective breeding and processing.
- ForDoLupe 3y agoKinda making a mountain out of a molehill, here. For starters, everyone’s goals for cannabis use are different. A person with Crohn’s for example, who uses cannabis for nausea relief will surely have a different ideal ratio of THC:CBD than a weekend warrior who uses it for muscle pain. There’s no one dosage or ratio that works for everyone and I think that you are greatly exaggerating the importance of weed's so-called "entourage effect" re: THC, THCA, CBD...prolly some terpenes floatin' around in there. I dunno... Besides, pursuing greater THC "heights" and in process, pushing out CBD has been the way for decades. This is nothing new and those "80% of strains" you sneer at are borne of the same methodology as previous efforts before commercial outfits perfected it. What's more, "CBD heavy" strains with only 0.3% THC are wildly in demand these days. The more "balanced" iterations with up to ~20-25% THC & ~6-12% CBD are also gaining in popularity.
- conradev 3y agoYes, absolutely! I second this wholeheartedly. Care by Design is a great brand that sells low THC, high CBD products but they are hard to find.
- extr 3y agoLol you got it. Care by Design + Rove are my go-to brands for low THC content carts.
- chronicsonic 3y agoSame for me, I am prescribed medical cannabis for neuropathic pain and by default they gave me 18% THC. After a year of getting more and more anxious and panic I did some research and ecided to try 5% THC with 10% CBD, this is much better. No more couch lock, better sleep, more productive and waayyy less anxiety. Same if not better effect on pain.
- PaulHoule 3y agoMyself if I stay away from any cannabis projects for about two weeks I can almost forget that the stuff exists. However, if I have the stuff around I find it almost impossible to say no and I rapidly dose escalate. My guess is that cannabis smoking has both an irritating and anti-inflammatory effect so if I am smoking my breathing is OK and if I am away for two weeks I am OK but my breathing gets bad maybe 4-5 days after quitting. A vape just doesn’t do it for me.