Cannabis cartridges are a long (good) way from rolling a joint

Well, it's been a couple of years since I last wrote about how to imbibe marijuana. Time for an update from this 69 year old baby boomer who is still learning new cannabis tricks in our happy new world of legal pot here in Oregon and elsewhere.

As I said in "Tips for 'vaping' marijuana if you want to go first class," there's a lot to like about buying cannabis flower/buds, grinding it up, and vaporizing the weed rather than rolling a joint -- which was usually the only way we Flower Children smoked it way back in the late 1960's. 

Vaporizing, or vaping, has no smell associated with it. And a little goes a long way, since none of the marijuana goes up in wasteful smoke. Inhaling on a vaporizer, like my much-beloved Pax 3, causes the heated cannabis to release its THC, CBD and other good stuff into the lungs. There's very little throat irritation, if this is a concern.

But periodically loose-leaf vaporizers need to be cleaned. I use a couple of pipe cleaners, several Q-tips, and alcohol. I clean my Pax 3 about once a week after using it daily in the evening as a mood relaxer, along with a glass of red wine. And grinding the flower so it vaporizes better is another periodic chore, albeit not an onerous one.

So I've been gradually edging into using cannabis/hash oil cartridges. These contain concentrates of THC, CBD, or a combination of THC and CBD. They're typically screwed onto a battery, or pen, that heats the oil when inhaling happens, though some batteries are disposable, with the oil integrated into the battery.

I enjoy the Select CBD-only disposable pens, which can be ordered from anywhere in the United States. CBD has numerous health benefits without the psychoactive effects of THC.

Yesterday I bought a couple of high THC Select cartridges, one a Sativa strain and one an Indica strain. Basically, Sativa is more uplifting and energetic, while Indica is more relaxing and couch potato'ish. The cartridge boxes have wine-like descriptions on the back. 

The Sativa Purple Haze (86% THC) is billed as "earthy, sweet, relaxed, creative." The Indica Blue Cheese (84% THC) is described as "cheese, blueberry, relaxed, sleepy." 

The budtender who helped me at the cannabis store pointed me toward a new battery/pen that looked so cool, I had to get one. It's called the Palm, by CCell/Weeplus. You screw a connector onto a cartridge, then drop the cartridge into a magnetic slot on the battery, which is considerably more powerful than the pen I'd been using.

An enthusiastic (and high) woman describes the virtues of the Palm in this video.

I can testify that what she says is accurate, especially her "this will fuck you up," if I remember those words correctly. 

Wanting to try out both the new Sativa and Indica cartridges I'd bought, plus the CCell Palm battery, I soon realized that (1) the cartridges were potent and (2) the Palm is quite a bit more powerful than the battery I'd been using with cartridges. So four puffs on each cartridge, which usually leaves me feeling good but not wiped out, hit me much harder than I expected.

Well, live and learn. 

For a few hours I was flying higher than I'm used to, which made me feel a bit uneasy. I'm pretty sure that it was the more potent Palm battery that made most of the difference, since there seemed to be considerably more vapor produced from it -- a positive fact, and one that I'll keep in mind next time I use the Palm. 

So if you get one, my advice is to start with fewer inhales than you're accustomed to. This is especially good advice for anyone starting to imbibe cannabis, either from a fresh start or after a long dry spell. 

Opinions differ about how much stronger marijuana is these days, compared to back in the 60's. There was "good stuff" back then comparable to what's available now. However, the concentrates in cartridges or in some other form definitely have a more intense kick than smoking a joint, or vaporizing. 

The Select products reflect this. They have a Social brand of cartridges for people who want THC, but not a giant high.

Social is a low potency cannabis vape brand designed for any occasion. A mild high for people visiting areas with recreational marijuana, and anybody else who just needs a mellow dose of THC. 

Parents with a little time alone can puff discreetly and quickly return to normal function. Baby boomers, scared away by the arms race of ever-increasing THC levels, can return to recreational cannabis enjoyment. Share Social with friends at a reunion, a special night out with friends, or other Social event.

By contrast, this is the description of the high THC Elite brand that I flew high on.

Select ELITE elevates your cannabis enjoyment to a higher level with luxuriant terpene-infused oil. This top shelf cartridge packs a powerful punch with our highest concentration of activated THC. Single source terpenes are reintroduced into our Elite oil after the distillation process for strain specific flavors and effects.

Select ELITE natural flavors serves up a sophisticated, sublime, and singular experience. Bursting with THC, this top shelf cartridge fuses natural flavors with a smooth inhale. Treat your tastebuds and stimulate your senses.

Comments

[tom]

Some years back I got a medical marijuana card with the idea that weed might help with certain issues. It was fun at first to go into the dispensary/farm and walk out with a bag of weed products, drop it on the passenger seat and drive off with no legal concerns... especially since the dispensary was about 200 yards from the police station. Imagine that happening in 1967.

I tried smoking, vaping, cartridge pens, edibles, concentrates and a good variety of sativa and indica strains. What I discovered was that I don't like weed, at all. It makes me overthink things, makes me self conscious and anxious. I don't like the effect on the lungs from smoking or the lingering hangover the next day or more, no matter what method i used to take the weed. I was awkward, clumsy, forgetful, spacey and more stupid than usual under the influence. I found myself talking like Spicoli in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High". Sex was good however.

I found one indica strain, Kryptonite, that did relax muscle spasms and the psychoactive effects were relatively mild, but it left me gawking, motionless in a stupor at the TV, and I still had the lingering hangover effects I don't like. CBD was somewhat helpful but the effect was subtle and possibly in the realm of a placebo effect.

I even had some plants growing in the guest house bathtub with grow lights and all that, but by the time the buds were ready I had lost interest and gave them away to some happy recipients.

I think i had such high levels of health, fitness and clarity in the past that no drug is a substitute for that sense of well-being. Not even close. Not even close to being close to being close.

It is curious the wide variety of experience people have with weed, how some derive so much pleasure and euphoria, while some can take it or leave it, and others like me just flat out prefer to leave it.

All I can say, weedsters, is please don't smoke and drive and keep it away from the young'uns.