Monday, December 22, 2025
Home Blog Page 614

The Essential Guide For The First-Time Cannabis Tourist

Before booking your trip, review the rules governing cannabis in the state where you will be visiting. These laws will clue you in regarding the basics of how much cannabis you can buy.

As more states legalize recreational cannabis, the number of those trying this plant for the first time or resume a habit they gave up after college continues to grow. For those who don’t live in a state where cannabis is legal, traveling to a state with legalized cannabis has become a destination vacation.

Here’s a list of suggestions for first-time cannabis tourists looking to try recreational cannabis.

Do Your Pre-Trip Research

Before booking your trip, review the rules governing cannabis in the state where you will be visiting. These laws will clue you in regarding the basics of how much cannabis you can buy, as well as where you can consume cannabis. Check out Kush Tourism for listings of cannabis tours and cannabis friendly lodgings if you want an in-depth cannabis experience.

Bring Your ID and Cash

Be sure to bring along some form of government issued identification. No one under 21 will be permitted to enter a recreational dispensary. Everyone will be checked at the door regardless of how old they may look. Also, leave the pets at home as only service animals will be allowed to go inside. As this is still a cash only business be sure to bring along enough cash for your purchases. Most dispensaries have an ATM on site but it’s better to be safe than sorry.

RELATED: 4 Things You Need To Know Before Visiting A Marijuana Dispensary

Photo by Scott Eisen/Stringer/Getty Images

Give Yourself Time

This isn’t like going into a 7-11. At a quality dispensary, the budtenders give each customer personalized attention, and the lines can get a bit long at times.

Honesty is the Best Policy

There’s no stigma to being a newbie cannabis user or only smoked bad weed during your college haze. Budtenders are used to dealing with first-time cannabis users, and enjoy helping someone have the best experience possible. So let them know you’re new to the current cannabis scene, and ask them for their recommendations for first time users.

RELATED: Let Your Friendly Neighborhood Budtender Help You

Photo by A_Melnyk/Getty Images

 

Be Mindful of Your Money

It’s incredibly easy to get carried away and walk out with a lot of expensive paraphernalia that you may never use after your trip. A pre-rolled joint is the cheapest option to consume cannabis. For those who don’t like smoking, another inexpensive option is a disposable vape pen that comes fully loaded and ready to use. However, do not skimp out by buying bad weed, as poor quality cannabis will not produce the desired effects you may be seeking.

Follow The Law

Be mindful that cannabis cannot be consumed legally in public, and that hotels, restaurants, and bars do not allow smoking of any kind. Also, Federal law prohibits transporting cannabis across state lines or flying with recreational cannabis. A qualified budtender will not give you recommendations regarding how you can circumvent the laws pertaining to recreational cannabis, so don’t ask. Edibles, vape pens, and topicals are ways one can consume cannabis in a discrete manner that won’t draw attention like smoking.

RELATED: How To Not Get Busted Smuggling Marijuana Into A Prohibition State

CBD Oil
Photo by AHPhotoswpg/Getty Images

Start Small

Take a short hit from a vape pen or pre-rolled joint. Then sit back and chill for 15 minutes. Then take another hit if you want a stronger sensation. Repeat this process until you have the effect you’re seeking. If you are taking edibles, start with a small 5mg dose. Wait half an hour, and then take another 5mg if you want a stronger hit.

Set the Mood

Clear the schedule so you don’t have to be somewhere within a limited time frame. You don’t know how your body will respond. Even if you don’t go to sleep, you’re liable to be too mellow and relaxed to get behind the wheel.

Have an Emergency Kit on Hand

Before consuming any cannabis have some water or other non-alcoholic beverages readily available as cannabis often produces dry mouth. Also, have some munchies around as certain strains of cannabis can make one hungry. Include pistachios in your munchie mix, as they can come in handy should one consume too much cannabis.

https://giphy.com/gifs/what-missing-knows-WsGk2cvMjkt9e

 

Does Cannabis Help With Muscle Building Workouts?

0

Cannabis’s effect on workouts has been hotly debated, with some people loving it and some hating it. Here’s what you should know about cannabis and the effect it has on bodybuilding.

A lot has been said about marijuana and its effect on workouts, with some fitness enthusiasts calling it the thing they’ve been missing, and others calling them crazy. As is the case with most things cannabis, the effect of the plant largely depends on your relationship with it. There’s also no scientific research out there proving if it works or not.

Despite this, there’s plenty of scientific evidence regarding some of the benefits of cannabis, which could translate well to workouts, specifically those where muscle building is involved.

The process of building muscle is a simple one: in order to build muscle mass, you have to tear the muscle and allow it to rebuild itself, resulting in stronger and bigger muscle fibers. Rest days and a high protein and carb diet is very important for bodybuilders, which is why so many people are quick to suggest cannabis as a solution.

RELATED: 3 Main Differences Between CBD Oil And Hemp Oil

is marijuana workout fuel for the gym
Photo by rawpixel.com

The use of cannabis has a few scientifically supported connections with reducing inflammation and treating pain relief. These effects would allow people to get back to the gym faster, reducing stress and painful post workout cramps. Another positive side effect for bodybuilders using marijuana is the munchies. Bodybuilders on strict schedules sometimes don’t have the time or appetite to go through all of their necessary meals; the munchies would solve this problem swiftly, especially if there’s some self control and the fridge is stocked with the proper food.

RELATED: 13 Types Of Marijuana That Will Improve Your Workouts

As for negative side effects, there are a few which could pop up and derail your training sessions. If you’re a cannabis newbie, it’s a bad idea to try out smoking a joint right before a workout session. Using cannabis is a process that demands some trial and error, and a period of time where you get accustomed to the plant’s effects. The gym is not the right place to try this out.

For experienced athletes and marijuana users, experimenting with the plant before hitting the gym is worth a shot. Although the experience may not end up being a positive one, at least you’ll be safe and say you tried out something new. For newbies, it’s best to get used to the plant and then get fancy with it.

Mike Tyson Will Bring The ‘Davos of Cannabis’ And Marijuana Tourism To Caribbean

By teaming up with Tyson Ranch brand, the Caribbean will become a major powerhouse in tourism, marijuana-related or otherwise.

By the looks of it, Mike Tyson wants to become the Walt Disney of cannabis. The former boxer bought a 40-acre farm in California and transformed the land into Tyson Ranch, a fantasia that revolves around marijuana and features the world’s longest lazy river. As soon as possible, a.k.a. as soon as legalization laws change, plan exist to build another Tyson Ranch along the Florida-Georgia border.

But Tyson isn’t stopping there either. Tyson announced plans this week to deliver marijuana tourism to the Caribbean, with another marijuana theme park in the islands of Antigua and Barbados. The Tyson team intends to introduce a major marijuana conference as well, which will become the “Davos of cannabis” and launch in April 2020.

RELATED: Your Ultimate Guide To West Coast Cannabis Tourism

Lose His Virginity
Photo by Thomas Lefebvre via Unsplash

The tourism will drive relief efforts to the Caribbean islands still reeling from damages caused by Hurricane Maria in 2017. Through this collaboration, Tyson believes Antigua and Barbados will become a dominant player in tourism spaces once again.

“Absolutely, I think that with your association with Tyson Ranch that it would be a far good conclusion that we accomplish that and make this a powerhouse,” Tyson told reporters. “It will be good for the country and will bring in much-needed funds to help your economy.”

These plans and boasts aren’t just coming from Tyson’s team—the government of Antigua and Barbados are on board, too. Tyson met with Gaston Browne, prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda, earlier this September to discuss conceptualization of the project. According to Browne, the plans Tyson and his team are developing “goes beyond marijuana products or hemp products.”

RELATED: 5 Hotels That Allow You To Consume Marijuana

“They are also looking at the whole area of entertainment and leisure and one of the most exciting projects that they will establish within the next nine months is the establishment of an annual marijuana conference here in Antigua,” Browne said at a press conference.

“It will be like the Davos of cannabis; it will take place on an annual basis and will bring stakeholders from throughout the globe for that matter right here on Antigua to discuss various opportunities within the industry.”

Americans Are Finally Eating Healthier

0

New study says that Americans are changing their outlook on food, consuming less processed food, even if it’s taking them awhile.

Despite the doom and gloom that is the current news cycle, it appears that Americans are finally getting one thing right: they’re eating healthier, even if they’re changing their habits really, really slowly.

A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) says that gradually, Americans have been changing their outlook on food, becoming more informed and choosing to consume healthier options.

The study analyzed the diet of 44,000 Americans over the age of 20 and concluded that, overall, they were consuming 3% less highly processed foods.

RELATED: Like Elvis, We Turn To Food For Comfort, But Why?

Photo by Jose Soriano via Unsplash

“These positive trends are likely to reflect an increased public awareness of the health risks associated with high added sugar and low whole grain consumption,” said Fang Fang Zhang, co-author of the study and professor at Tufts. Aside from exposure, Zhang also mentioned how important the role of education is when it comes to diets. “People with less than a high school education or living below the poverty line not only ate a worse diet than those with a higher level of education or income at any given cycle, they also did not improve their diet quality over time.”

Other research finds that people are now consuming more high quality carbohydrates and plant protein. One bad thing the study found is that 42% of energy intake came from mostly low quality carbs like refined grains, starches and added sugars.

RELATED: Here Are 3 Methods That Can Help You Stay Healthy Once The Munchies Hit

Although the improvement of America’s eating habits has been slow, researchers from the study claim that the existence of this data can only highlight positive things, instructing people on how to eat better and on which areas of nutrition they should be focusing on. The study also highlights the differences between communities, making it easier for the people in charge to address these discrepancies and take the necessary measures.

This Week’s Music: Alicia Keys, Diplo And Tegan And Sara

Alicia Keys and Miguel deliver their much anticipated collaboration, Diplo and the Jonas Brothers band together, and Tegan and Sara release a new album.

This Week’s Music is a weekly column that discusses the weeks’ best, worst, and most interesting songs. We try to select songs of different artists and genres to keep things interesting and to please a variety of music fans.

This week, Alicia Keys and Miguel deliver their much anticipated collaboration, Diplo and the Jonas Brothers band together, and Tegan and Sara release a new album. Have a listen.

Pop

Alicia Keys & Miguel – Show Me Love

A collaboration between Alicia Keys and Miguel sounds too good to be true, so it’s disappointing that “Show Me Love” is so… flat. The song, a throwback to romantic R&B ballads, is about sex I guess, but there’s not much going on aside from the obviously impressive vocals from both performers. There’s no depth there, no romance, just a song that kind of works because of who’s singing.

Diplo & Jonas Brothers – Lonely

RELATED: This Week’s Music: Angel Olsen, Brittany Howard And Caroline Polachek

If you didn’t know that Diplo livestreamed Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner’s wedding, well, now you know, because there’s a 2:30 minute music video detailing the whole thing. Using cheap knock off lyrics and a production that was cool during the early aughts, “Lonely” will surely be a hit just because it’s Diplo and the Jonas Brothers. That’s kind of sad but that’s also what happens with 70% of pop music.

Tegan and Sara – Don’t Believe The Things They Tell You (They Lie)

Tegan and Sara are one of those bands that people love faithfully over the years. Being a staple of queer pop and rock music, listening to Tegan and Sara is like hanging out with old friends. Their new record is called “Hey, I’m Just Like You,” and it’s a curious experiment. The twins found some old songs that they wrote while in high school and decided to produce them now as adults. The result is a meta exercise that’s hopeful and melancholic and that appeals to old and new fans. Although the lyrics are raw, young and filled with anguish, the production is layered and glossy. Cliche as it may be, life does get better out of high school.

Dogs Of Instagram: The Basset Hound

Bassets are instantly recognizable with their low and sturdy stature, enormous paws, long velvety ears, and drooping melancholy eyes. Here are some of our favorites.

It is said that no other breed other than the Bloodhound has a more accurate sense of smell, which makes the Basset Hound the perfect hunting companion. The breed is not known for its speed, rather its endurance and deliberate manner. Bassets are instantly recognizable with their low and sturdy stature, enormous paws, long velvety ears, and drooping melancholy eyes.

Here, we find five Basset Hounds of Instagram with the most woeful eyes.

Hank

https://www.instagram.com/p/BozXyA4AcfP/

RELATED: Dogs Of Instagram: The Australian Shepherd

Woody

https://www.instagram.com/p/BrkedyClZNN/

Louie

https://www.instagram.com/p/BpzaB91gd5f/

RELATED: Dogs Of Instagram: The Greyhound

Bernie

https://www.instagram.com/p/BrVeiHKAxgZ/

Big Al

https://www.instagram.com/p/BrGu59VgKj2/

4 Ways Amazon Is Upgrading Alexa

0

Amazon is betting it all on their Echo devices, announcing more features and products controlled by the voice enabled assistant.

Amazon held a big event on Thursday in Seattle, where they announced a bunch of their new products. The biggest news was probably the fact that Amazon is betting it all on their Echo devices, announcing over 12 Alexa enabled products with widely different functions. There’s Amazon’s version of the AirPods and Alexa with the voice of Samuel L. Jackson, which is bizarre.

Here are 4 ways in which Alexa is improving in the near future:

Alexa will sound more human

One of the biggest issues with Alexa is the fact that it’s a little… well, dumb. Although the AI is capable of looking up all sorts of information, speaking with it is clunky and the voice is robotic. Amazon plans to address this by employing neural text to speech technology in order to make the assistant sound more expressive and emotive. “She can sound more excited, like when your favorite team wins the game,” explains Dave Limp, Amazon’s senior VP of devices. Regardless, every time you mock Alexa or say something mean to it, you’ll feel worse than you do now.

RELATED: Amazon Opens New ‘4-star Store’ In California

Alexa Can Now Let You Know If It Figures Out An Answer It Didn't Know Before
Photo by Flickr user Stock Catalog

The device will be able to speak two languages at once

There will be a Multilingual Mode, which will allow Alexa to reply and “think” in two different languages, that way fitting in more comfortably in houses where different languages are spoken. These upgrades will start next month, with U.S. Alexa devices having capabilities for English and Spanish.

It can be tailored to sound like you’re favorite celebrity

This is where Samuel L. Jackson comes in. Taking a page from Google and its celebrity voice features, Alexa will now be able to sound like your favorite celeb. These artists won’t be recording dialogue for Amazon, instead, Alexa will mimic their voice and you’ll be charged a dollar for the feature if you’d like to enable it. It sounds creepy and slightly invasive, but the featured celebrities agreed to be part of it, so at least it’s consensual.

RELATED: Almost Half Of Millennials Would Prefer To Give Up Sex Instead Of Amazon

Hey Alexa: Why Isn't Anyone Naming Babies 'Alexa' Anymore?
Photo courtesy of Amazon, Inc.

It will know how to read your moods

One of the most interesting announcements is also one of the hardest to explain. Amazon claims that Alexa will soon be able to interpret your moods in order to learn how to behave better. For example, if you’re frustrated because your assistant is getting things wrong, Alexa will be able to read your inflection and respond accordingly. “Alexa understands the tone and inflection of the customer—and can acknowledge the frustration like a person would,” says Amazon. Whether that means if the device will sass you back or learn from its mistakes remains unresolved.

4 Essentials Kate Middleton Carries In Her Purse

The Duchess of Cambridge carries just four things with her at all times. And these include the basic of all basics.

If you ask women what they always have in their (likely giant) purses, you’ll likely get answers ranging from hairspray, makeup, gum, car keys and a cellphone. But when you’re royalty, you carry only the necessities.

A true staple in Kate’s wardrobe is this black, Emmy London Natasha clutch bag. She owns this very purse in at least 12 shades but the black is the one people have seen her wear most often.  So considering her entourage and her long days as a working royal, what is in the handbag?  Well, the Duchess of Cambridge carries just four things with her at all times. And these include the basic of all basics. You won’t find any Cliff bars, kiddie toys or crinkled receipts in this bag.

A mirror

Checking one’s teeth for food is a must when you’re royalty.

A handkerchief

Totally necessary when you have three young children with runny noses. Unless Prince William has some allergies we don’t know about. #momlyfe

RELATED: This Is Why Kate Middleton And Meghan Markle Are Not Called ‘Princess’

kate middleton upstaged victorias secret model
Photo by WPA Pool/Pool/Getty Images

Lip balm

This is probably why her pout always looks so perfect.

RELATED: Kate Middleton Sends Demand Soaring For This Surprising Fashion Accessory

Blotting papers

This is absolutely essential as to not appear shiny in photos. Kate runs around all day for royal engagements, not to mention chasing her kids around and dodging rumors of infidelity.

Queen Elizabeth also was known for carrying an icon

South Park Mocks MedMen

Fiction mirrors reality, as South Park’s Tegridy Farms fights to ban home growing marijuana with dispensary chain MedMen in its latest episode.

You would think writing 23 seasons of South Park episodes could cause creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone to lose their fastball. But its season 23 premiere, “Mexican Joker”, showed that not to be the case. One of the biggest American marijuana companies probably wishes otherwise.

That’s because in its season premiere on Comedy Central, South Park squarely aimed its punchlines at dispensary chain MedMen, lambasting the company’s allegedly shady business practices and political maneuvers. The episode continues the plot around Randy Marsh’s Tegridy Farms, a weed-growing operation Randy started to live a simpler life away from big-city problems like school shootings.

Photo courtesy Medmen

But in “Mexican Joker,” Randy has been seduced by the big profits in legal marijuana. He expands his operations to cover all of 420 Valley—an actual Colorado valley full of legal marijuana operations. When Randy learns his former South Park neighbors, now customers, have started growing their own cannabis plants, he becomes incensed. Randy claims these neighbors stole his idea. Their actions will negatively impact his children’s life, just not how you might expect.

“While you assholes were out screwing around, I went out and made a living!” Randy yells. “When you grow your own pot, you’re taking weed out of my children’s mouths!”

RELATED: The 3 Best ‘South Park’ Marijuana Episodes Of All Time

Stan, at the behest of his father Randy, petitions South Park City Council to ban home-growing in the town. “As the son of a proud American farmer, I’m concerned about what homegrow can lead to. People can grow weed wrong and poison themselves…wait, what?” Stan says, realizing how foolish the stance is.

As preposterous as Stan’s words sound—”Unscrupulous growers could use cheap irrigation and drown babies,” Stan says, clearly reading a statement prepared by Randy—it somewhat mirrors real life. Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s proposal to legalize marijuana in New York, a bid that ultimately fell short, included a ban of home-growing cultivation. Cuomo got the idea from big marijuana corporations like MedMen, who advised the state on legalization and regulation strategies, including a section on “The Fallacy of Home Grow.” The corporations claimed home growing would sustain the black market, undermine law enforcement as well as public health, and cut into New York’s tax revenue.

South Park makes its criticisms literal when fictional executives claiming to represent “billion-dollar marijuana company” MedMen show up at Tegridy Farms. They heard of Randy’s push to ban home growing and want to help, while also protecting their financial interests at heart. “You seem to be fighting the same fight we are,” one MedMen exec states. The group shares a joint and laments all the drowning babies caused by home growers. Eventually, Randy gets down to brass tacks.

“So you guys want to team up and piggyback on the goodwill of the legalization movement for some good old-fashioned crony capitalism?” he says. “I’m totally in.”

RELATED: What MedMen’s Financial Woes Means For The Cannabis Industry

Randy goes on to destroy all the home grows of South Park residents and watches his profits once again rise. Along the way he experiences existential crisis and pushback from his allies. “Weed isn’t supposed to be some money-grubbing business model,” Towelie says. “It’s a gift from God and not something to be exploited by some stupid towel.” (Randy is a stupid towel, according to Towelie; this is still South Park after all.) The episode ends with Randy, in a Godfather-like speech, boasting the spoils of his bounty.

This isn’t the first time South Park lampooned MedMen either. Earlier this year, the dispensary chain teamed up with director Spike Jonze and actor/activist Jesse Williams to produce a social justice campaign titled “The New Normal.” The commercial detailed America’s history of marijuana, and how its prohibition disproportionately harms lives, especially for communities of color. However, South Park’s parody of the commercial flips the script on MedMen.

“Our country did lose its way and begin a War on Drugs that was and still is just a war on people,” Randy narrates in the parody. “And then a bunch of young corporate banker types come along telling us we’re all in the ‘new normal,’ as they try to turn god’s green miracle into an easy buck for themselves.”

We can’t help but ask: How did Randy lose his tegridy along the way? If the season premiere is any indication, we’re sure we’ll find out—and the jokes on corporate cannabis will keep coming.

Meme Of The Week: This Shaking Mannequin Head Is Twitter’s Favorite Reaction

0

A shaking mannequin head becomes this week’s most notorious and viral meme. Check out some of our favorite tweets.

The internet is the only place in the world where you’d find a shaking mannequin as the funniest and embodiment of… everything.

RELATED: Meme Of The Week: Alienstock Music Festival Produces A Fresh Wave Of Alien Memes

There’s something universal about this clip and it’s intense rave music, something that perfectly embodies ridiculous people or bouts of outrageous anger. We love to point out people who remind us of the mannequin and hate to admit that on our bad days we’re just as bad and shaky.

People’s reactions to the meme are varied. It can represent dumb politicians, old fashioned anger or a particularly strong caffeine induced panic attack. All replies are valid and great. Check out some of our favorites below:

RELATED: Meme Of The Week: Jonah Hill Drops His Coffee And The Internet Is Entranced

Don't Miss Your Weekly Dose of The Fresh Toast.

Stay informed with exclusive news briefs delivered directly to your inbox every Friday.

We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe anytime.