For any beginning cannabis gardener, planning your first home grow can be a daunting experience. With so many different strains and cultivation methods to choose from, starting your own garden can feel like learning another language. But with a research and planning, it will be easier to determine exactly what combination of techniques and equipment will suit your situation and skill set.

One decision you’ll want to make early in your endeavor is whether you want to cultivate your plants hydroponically or in soil. Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages, and each is staunchly vouched for by a loyal cadre of experienced and talented cannabis growers. Let’s explore the pros and cons of each.

Pros and Cons of Cultivating in Soil

For a healthy cannabis home grow, you must provide an environment where the roots can receive a steady supply of water, nutrients, and oxygen. The simplest way to do this is with soil, either in a container or the ground, that is light and porous with plenty of organic matter to provide nutrients and good drainage. Outside, mix plenty of good quality compost or other organic matter into garden soil, or you can create raised beds to fill with additional organic matter and soil amendments.

To grow cannabis in containers, a good commercial potting mix that drains well and is slightly acidic is the best bet for beginning home gardeners. Popular brands from a garden center will work fine or you can visit a specialty retailer, such as hydroponics shops, for organic potting soils blended specifically for cannabis cultivation. Most home growers use either sturdy plastic containers or special fabric grow bags to hold the potting soil.

Cultivating plants in soil is a great option for cannabis gardeners just starting out because it is far more forgiving than hydroponic methods. Plenty of veteran cultivators prefer to grow in soil over other methods they consider less natural. The soil acts as a buffer for the plant’s roots, which can help protect them from issues such as over-fertilizing or extremes in acidity or alkalinity (pH). Soils with plenty of organic matter will retain water and slowly release nutrients over time, which also helps mitigate some of the common mistakes of beginning gardeners.

Growing cannabis in soil does have a few disadvantages, however. The natural environment for plants also happens to be an inviting home for pests and pathogens that hydroponic grows don’t have to deal with. So, a bit more vigilance and remedial action is required to ensure your plants stay healthy and produce the best bud on the block. Hydroponic systems also lend themselves well to automation, so growing in soil can require more labor.

Pros and Cons of Hydroponic Home Grows

With a hydroponic home grow system, an inert growing medium such as clay pellets, rock wool, or coir (also known as “coco” or shredded coconut husks) is used as the growing medium for the plants’ roots instead of soil. Sometimes, no medium is used at all, and the roots are left to dangle free, reaching into or automatically misted with a nutrient solution. Roots generally get more exposure to oxygen, but without firm ground to anchor themselves in, plants grown hydroponically are normally supported with trellising, or criss-cross structures used to guide the growth of plants, or other means.

Hydroponic home grows can utilize one of many different systems, all with the same goal of providing the roots with water, nutrients, and oxygen. Drip irrigation employs plastic tubing to deliver water and nutrients directly to the base of each plant. In an ebb and flow system, nutrient solution periodically floods the root zone, watering and feeding the plant before draining away to expose roots to fresh air. In deep water culture, roots are suspended in an aerated nutrient solution contained in a light-proof bucket. Aeroponic systems use misters to provide moisture and fertilizer directly to the roots.

Hydroponic gardeners often automate their home grows, allowing timers and pumps to do much of the work needed to water and feed plants. But, the lack of attention automation permits can become a drawback in the event of a power failure. With improved exposure to air built into hydroponic grows, roots can quickly dry out if the system breaks down, ultimately killing the plants. The exposed roots are also more sensitive to over-fertilization and unfavorable pH levels, which can harm plants or make it more difficult for them to obtain nutrients. If they’re given the same input of light and fertilizers, hydroponic cannabis plants will generally grow faster and yield more flower, but flavor and smokability can be sacrificed if care is not taken to carefully flush nutrients from the plants before harvest.

What Method Should You Use for Your Home Grow?

Ultimately, it’s up to each cannabis gardener to decide which home grow method will work best for their situation. But if you’re a beginning cultivator, it’s probably a good idea to try soil first because you’re more likely to succeed. Then, once you’ve learned the basics of cultivating good herb, you can decide if you’re up to the challenge of growing hydroponic weed from the comfort of your own home.

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In July 2019, Pennsylvania added Tourette syndrome to the list of conditions that qualify for medicinal cannabis use. Contributor Lorena Cupcake explains what Tourette syndrome is and looks at the place of cannabis when it comes to Tourette syndrome, using their own experiences as a medical cannabis patient.

Tourette Syndrome Awareness Month is recognized from May 15th to June 15th each year, inspiring some of the estimated 100,000 people living with Tourette Syndrome nationwide to share their stories with the hashtag #TouretteAwarenessMonth. As a medical cannabis patient — qualified due to my diagnosis — I’m sharing my experiences managing my condition with cannabis to help fill in the gaps in a field with little published research.

The research of neurology is hindered by the limitations of non-invasive techniques; my brain may only reveal some secrets after I’m dead. I’m telling my story while I’m still here so the conversation on the future role of cannabis in treating Tourette Syndrome can grow and gain momentum, leading to more high-quality studies, a better understanding of the behind-the-scenes biological functions, and increased access to decriminalized cannabis. Currently, only seven states including Arkansas, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Ohio have specifically approved Tourette Syndrome as a condition for medicinal cannabis use.

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Tourette syndrome (often shortened to TS, or Tourette) is a neurological disorder characterized by involuntary movements and vocalizations known as “tics.” Every human experiences involuntary actions; we cringe when embarrassed, yelp when startled, and reflexively snatch our hands away from hot surfaces. These types of unconscious reactions are governed by the nervous system, which is divided into the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). 

To understand why people with TS have tics, and how cannabis may help with both tics and related medical conditions, it’s important to know the difference between the two divisions and the role in their body.

Fight, flight, or freeze

The SNS is most famously associated with “fight, flight, or freeze,” three evolutionary responses to danger tracing back to the caveman days. While this system can keep us out of danger, it’s overactive in people with TS, causing uncomfortable symptoms of anxiety, like rapid heartbeat, skin tingling, and chest tightness. The pressure builds unbearably until it’s released with an involuntary movement. Suddenly, there’s a wave of relief … until the pressure returns. 

It’s a cycle familiar to anyone with neurobiologically similar conditions like Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (where the relief comes from giving in to a compulsion) or body-focused repetitive behavior disorders (which include conditions like Trichotillomania, a condition also called “hair-pulling disorder” by the Mayo Clinic). It’s important to realize that people with these medical issues aren’t simply lacking willpower; the basal ganglia, which would normally send inhibitory signals to suppress unwanted behaviors, isn’t functioning as effectively as it would in a neurotypical brain.

Pharmacological treatments for TS usually focus on suppressing dopamine, a messenger molecule your neurons use to initiate movements, both voluntary and not. I’ve personally had better results from cannabis, which has helped me learn to control and, more importantly, comfortably cope with tics through activation of the PNS.

Rest and digest

The parasympathetic nervous system, which slows the heart rate, increases saliva production, and stimulates the digestive tract, is nicknamed the “rest and digest” response. Many techniques exist to help activate this system, including mindfulness, meditation, and stimulation of the vagus nerve. 

This 2017 Iranian journal details how the endocannabinoid system modulates the release of GABA, a neurotransmitter with receptors found throughout the parasympathetic nervous system with the ability to decrease blood pressure, reduce stress, and stimulate appetite. Rather than directly blocking tics, the right type of cannabis-based product puts me in a relaxed state where tics are less likely to occur, easier to control, and less uncomfortable to endure.

Recognizing the importance of accessibility to this treatment, numerous states have approved medical marijuana as a treatment for TS. The key to gaining acceptance nationwide may lie in raising awareness of the many biological similarities between a relatively-rare syndrome and more well-known disorders that are widely recognized to be effectively regulated with cannabis.

Cannabis and movement

Movement disorders are neurological conditions that affect the ability to control movement. There’s evidence that cannabinoids produced naturally by the body assist in motor control, and that dysfunction of the endocannabinoid system plays a role in the pathophysiology of movement disorders like Parkinson’s Disease. 

Gina Coleman/Weedmaps

An anonymous survey conducted by the Prague Movement Disorder Centre found that one-quarter of the respondents had tried cannabis, with 45.9% of them going on to describe some sort of benefit. “Once I started taking CBD oil, I never had a sleepless night because I couldn’t relax my muscle groups,” septuagenarian Garry Griffin told CBD Denver following his participation in a University of Colorado study on the use of cannabidiol oil in patients with Parkinson’s Disease. “I’m not a stoner, but I am a proponent.”

The basal ganglia, mentioned earlier for its role in regulating unwanted movement, contains many endocannabinoid receptors. When cannabinoids bind with these receptors, they can help alleviate involuntary movements by assisting in the regulation of neurochemicals linked to signaling and movement.

Tics respond well to cannabis, with 82% of participants in a 1998 German study reporting improvement and one patient remaining symptom-free for an entire year. What’s missing is research that clearly explains the full role of cannabinoid receptors and the endocannabinoid system (ECS) in TS pathology and treatment, along with education, therapies, and medications that utilize those findings.

The potential of cannabis to calm spasticity, tremors, muscle tightness, muscle jerks, and pain associated with disorders like dystonia, epilepsy, and restless leg syndrome is documented, allowing insight into the significant biological impact of marijuana on movement. Until larger and more through studies can take place, the positive experiences with cannabis reported by many people with Parkinson’s, TS, and other movement disorders suggests that we have more to learn about the role of the ECS in governing movement.

Life on the spectrum

Tourette Syndrome is a spectrum disorder or a collection of conditions that share traits and characteristics. There are only so many different regions of the brain; only a limited array of neurochemicals used by the nervous system. Brain abnormalities and neurotransmitter dysfunction will often express themselves in diverse ways, with symptoms that may be associated with a range of different conditions.

People on the Tourette Syndrome Spectrum have much higher rates of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Autism Spectrum Disorder, and learning disabilities like Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder than the general public. They’re also more likely to have anxiety, personality, and mood disorders. Even if someone doesn’t qualify for dual diagnosis, they may still experience some symptoms; the reverse can be true for those with a primary diagnosis other than TS. For example, up to 50% of children with OCD experience tics.

Although these conditions are often considered separate, they share underlying biological mechanisms that link them together, which explains why cannabis may be beneficial in regulating all of them.

Looking Forward

Over the past couple of decades I’ve been living with TS, I’ve used cannabis alongside cognitive-behavioral techniques to cope. Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention for Tics (CBIT), a type of Habit-Reversal Training, teaches people with TS to identify the premonitory urges that come before a tic. They can then choose a low-impact and easy-to-disguise movement — like squeezing a fist— over tics that can be distressing, painful, or stigmatized.

Suppressing tics can be frustrating and physically uncomfortable, so I’m grateful to have a way to “get them out of my system” while minimizing unwanted attention and avoiding tics that might be dangerous or harmful. At the same time, daily cannabis use relaxes my body, reduces my anxiety, and balances my mood, making it easier to consciously activate my PNS and less stressful to manage my tics.

I’ve learned to accept that life on the Tourette Syndrome Spectrum means that every symptom is a puzzle piece that helps me figure out how and why my body works as it does. Cannabis doesn’t just improve my quality of life; it helps me gain insight into, and control over, the two divisions of my central nervous system. 

Featured image by Gina Coleman/Weedmaps

The post Smoking weed when you have Tourette Syndrome appeared first on Weedmaps News.

A new Colorado cannabis social equity bill would allow Governor Jared Polis to pardon each and every individual arrested for minor cannabis possession in the state.

This mass-pardon power was added as a last-minute amendment to a broader cannabis social equity bill that was passed by the state General Assembly on Monday. The amendment gives the governor the power to grant unilateral pardons to any defendant convicted of possessing up to two ounces of weed. Unlike the existing pardoning process, cannabis offenders do not have to personally apply for these pardons, nor does the governor have to seek approval from judges or district attorneys involved in the case.

This amendment was initially proposed as a standalone bill, but lawmakers were forced to table it to focus on new legislation to handle the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The bill’s sponsor, State Rep. Jonathan Singer (D), decided to include the bill as an amendment to the existing cannabis social equity bill, rather than waiting another year to propose it again.

“When we talk about a business licensing and equity model, we need to be thinking about people behind left in the War on Drugs,” said Singer to The Denver Post. “There are people who are still paying for their crimes that are now legal and constitutional. As someone that ended up making a lot of their career in the legislature on everything from helping people struggling with substance abuse to creating the legal marijuana industry as we know it now, this is the biggest blind spot.”

Other lawmakers challenged the amendment, arguing that it violated the state’s single-subject rule. This rule requires lawmakers to constrain each bill to one single topic, and some legislators felt that the social justice provision was too distinct from the bill’s largely economic focus. Singer argued that the amendment was indeed appropriate for the social equity bill, as the impacts of marijuana prohibition laws disproportionately affect communities of color. 

Ultimately, the bill passed despite these objections. Gov. Polis still needs to sign the bill for it to become law, but legislators believe that he will do so. “The Governor is happy that a meaningful, bipartisan bill addressing marijuana equity passed the legislature and thanks lawmakers for their efforts to get this bill to his desk,” said Conor Cahill, the governor’s press secretary, to The Denver Post. 

The bill contains a number of other provisions intended to help marginalized communities participate in the state’s lucrative cannabis industry. Colorado already has a cannabis accelerator program, which provides business assistance to individuals from economically disadvantaged communities. The new bill seeks to expand this program by creating two additional categories of eligible applicants while also clearing up some of the confusion created by the current program.

Under the new bill, anyone who lived in a designated economically distressed community for at least 15 years between 1980 and 2010 is now eligible for the program. The bill also expands eligibility to lower-income Colorado residents, as well as people who have previously been arrested for weed offenses, or had an immediate family member arrested for pot.

The bill’s sponsor, state Rep. James Coleman (D), told Marijuana Moment that the bill “supports social equity in the cannabis industry and it provides a leveled playing field for those who were convicted of marijuana offenses prior to its legalization in Colorado.”

“I’m really pleased, as you’d imagine, that we were able to get this kind of legislation passed in this amount of time,” Coleman continued. “I think it’s a testament to the amount of work that our stakeholders did outside of the building, but also a testament to my colleagues in the legislature who agree that we should have an opportunity for folks to work equitably in an industry that is booming and is really taking a lead here in Colorado.”

The new bill comes just days after Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak pardoned over 15,000 Nevadans previously convicted of low-level cannabis crimes. Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker also pardoned 11,000 minor weed offenders at the end of 2019, one day before the state’s adult-use law went into effect.

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Many years ago, when concentrates were more akin to hash and vaporizers were mostly on tabletops, a portable, pocket-sized vape made just for oil-type concentrates hit the scene. The original G-Pen by Grenco Science made such a splash that the industry started an entirely new branch of products: portable vapes and concentrates. 

These devices have come a long way from the dribbly, goopy, first models, and Grenco dropped in with another flower vape — G Pen Elite vaporizer. 

Our previous G Pen guide had quick breakdowns of each device, but we wanted to take a full look and put together a G Pen Elite review for readers interested in G Pen’s bestselling device.

What is the G Pen Elite vaporizer?

Made specifically to vaporize dry herb, the Elite is not multi-use. It costs about $120 and is accessible online across a variety of retailers, as well as their own shop. Flower consumers will love the size of its ceramic chamber, as the Elite boasts one of the largest on the market. 

What immediately stands out about the vape is its smooth but angular shape, like a maxed-out version of their cartridge pen, the Gio. Grooved sides mean it’s easier to hold and much harder to drop, which is something you may sacrifice with the more modernist type of pocket vapes. 

How does G Pen Elite vaporizer work?

The dry herb vape heats up quickly and provides great airflow for hits that aren’t as weak as some competitor vapes. This is something that Grenco understands — the customer wants high vapor quality and a hit that keeps coming, not a slow leak of weed flavored air. 

Packing dry herb into the heating chamber is simple, the same as other portable vaporizers. Make sure the flower is properly ground and packed in the heating chamber before closing and activating the device. Check the LED display and power button to make sure the device is off before filling or refilling.

Temperature control on the Elite is precise — a Celsius or Fahrenheit reading on the digital control takes the guesswork and color-coding out of the heating process. You can set the temperature using the LED display anywhere from 200°F up to 428°F depending on your vaporizing preferences. 

The battery life is adequate and charging time completely reasonable at a few hours tops. It has USB charging, which makes charging fairly easy.

Is the G Pen good? Is the G Pen Elite worth it?

You don’t lose anything from the adjustments to the standard pocket vape that Grenco has made, namely some buttons and a sculptural shape, and it isn’t lacking anything that another similar model can provide, especially at this lower price range ($119.95). 

Though pocket vapes can’t handle the volume of a tabletop model, Grenco at least tries to make it easy and foolproof with minimal headaches. This model’s ceramic chamber is far easier to clean than a metal heated vape. 

These little tweaks are what makes this a good buy, and the one year warranty doesn’t hurt either.

Photo courtesy of G Pen

The post Everything you need to know about the G Pen Elite dry herb vaporizer appeared first on Weedmaps News.

Image via The Last Prisoner Project

This week, on June 17th, 2020, Craig Cesal was released from an Indiana prison after serving 18 years for a first-offense, non-violent cannabis crime.

Across the country, Cesal and thousands of incarcerated people like him are being held on decades-long prison sentences for charges relating to a plant that is now legal for medical or recreational use in numerous states across the country. 

We are so happy to report that after serving 18 years of a LIFE sentence for a first-time, nonviolent marijuana offense, Craig Cesal has been granted home confinement. pic.twitter.com/QPSYV4Vtpj

— The Last Prisoner Project (@lastprisonerprj) June 17, 2020

That’s where the Last Prisoner Project (LPP) comes into play. To make sure that the benefits of cannabis legalization make their way to prisons and not just dispensary owners, the LPP is rallying advocacy, funding, and attention to try and commute the sentences of anyone sentenced to years in a cell for cannabis crimes. Those goals have only been accelerated by the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the nonprofit group is now pushing to get supporters to call on Michigan’s governor to demand the release of Michael Thompson, a prisoner serving a life sentence for a non-violent cannabis crime. 

“When the coronavirus started spreading in the US, LPP knew that we had to act fast to start trying to get our incarcerated constituents out,” Sarah Gersten, Executive Director & General Counsel at LPP, told MERRY JANE in an email. “We knew that due to the conditions of confinement — including overcrowding, lack of resources, and little access to medical care — correctional facilities would be highly susceptible to outbreaks. We were rightfully concerned that a cannabis sentence would become a death sentence for some of our at-risk constituents. Craig Cesal was one of those constituents.”

But while Cesal has now been released to home confinement monitored by an ankle tracker, he is still a part of the criminal justice system, and there are still thousands of people still locked up for cannabis crimes that are now legal in many states.

In Michigan, despite a thriving adult-use cannabis market, Michael Thompson has been in prison for over 25 years as part of a life sentence, due to being caught with three pounds of pot. Gersten and her colleagues at the LPP have teamed up with Shaun King and Action Pac, among other celebrity activists, to push a call-to-action campaign to free Thompson, a black man considered high risk for COVID-19. “It’s a race against time before his cannabis sentence becomes a death sentence,” wrote The Last Prisoner Project. 

“This is a political issue. Those officials are not going to grant clemency if they feel that their constituents, the people that voted them into office, don’t believe these individuals should be freed,” Gersten told MERRY JANE. “So it’s imperative for anyone who supports cannabis justice to make their voice heard and let their elected officials know that they believe that no one should remain incarcerated for a cannabis offense.”

The Last Prisoner Project has also drawn attention to their most recent initiative with the help of celebrity cannabis users like Willie Nelson, Melissa Ethridge, and Vanessa Carlton.

“Can you imagine being arrested for pot and then being kept in prison for 25 years? That is what has happened to Michael Thompson,” Vanessa Carlton told Forbes. “Marijuana offenders serving sentences of life without parole need clemency… I am a huge supporter in the Last Prisoner Project. Please help me in highlighting this case so that the governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer, doesn’t overlook him. If the governor turns her cheek, Michael has to wait another two years before submitting again.”

For more info on how to help free Michael Thompson and help with the nonprofit’s campaign, visit The Last Prisoner Project’s website here.

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