All posts tagged: Weed

Weed really does change your dreams

Weed really does change your dreams

Published by Jenni Sidey

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. By signing up, you confirm you are 16+, will receive newsletters and promotional content and agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time. It’s four in the morning and you wake from a dream. It wasn’t a nightmare exactly, but it was vivid and unsettling—a circus of imagery in which the other commuters stuck in gridlock beside you were all octopi  or your feet were transformed into a pair of horse hooves while going through airport security.  Maybe you don’t often remember your dreams but this one, this episode that fused the mundane with the outlandish, it sticks. Even days later, you can still see those tentacles gripping the steering wheels or feel the awkwardness of your gait running to catch your flight.  It couldn’t have been that joint you smoked before bed, could it? Science says maybe. How weed effects sleep cycles Reports of vivid …

The dangerous garden weed pet owners should watch out for this summer

The dangerous garden weed pet owners should watch out for this summer

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the Well Enough newsletter with Harry Bullmore for tips on living a healthier, happier and longer life Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Get the Well Enough email with Harry Bullmore Across much of the United States, spring is in full force. With warmer weather, people are taking their furry family members out on longer walks and spending more time outside. Alongside blooming flowers and trees, your pet might run into a small, unassuming grass seed pod known as a foxtail. Despite the cute name, foxtails can pose a major threat to your pet’s health. I am a veterinarian in California’s Central Valley, and foxtails are a daily issue where I work, especially during the spring and summer months. What exactly are foxtails? A foxtail isn’t a specific plant. It is a type of grass seed pod that resembles a fox’s tail. Multiple species of grass can create this type of seed pod, and foxtails are found across much of the United States. Regions of the western U.S., especially California, have the …

I didn’t think I could get addicted to weed. I was wrong – and I’m not alone | Well actually

I didn’t think I could get addicted to weed. I was wrong – and I’m not alone | Well actually

Published by Sam Flores

Amy knew it wasn’t great. But there she was, at the bottom of a dumpster, desperately searching for the THC vape cartridge she’d thrown away just hours earlier. Amy, 18, had previously tossed that same cartridge, known colloquially as a cart, into a public trash can. Passersby stared as she later rooted around to recover it. So she lifted the entire garbage bag and brought it back to her apartment, where she dug through a bunch of sloppy, stinking detritus before finding it and taking a grateful toke. Later that same week, she threw it into the dumpster – surely that would prevent her from going back. But she did. “I’ve tried everything to stop,” said Amy (not her real name – all interviewees requested anonymity for this story). She’s been to rehab and discussed her cannabis use in therapy for years. She’s given carts away, made non-smoking friends, changed schools – but nothing has helped her quit. She said she’s trying every day. “Especially after the dumpster situation,” she added. “That seriously scared me.” …

I Tried an Air Purifier Designed to Filter Out Weed and Cigarette Smoke

I Tried an Air Purifier Designed to Filter Out Weed and Cigarette Smoke

Published by skeptic

In the US and globally, April 20 has become an unofficial holiday for weed smokers. While vaping, gummies and edibles are increasingly popular, a fair number of people still light up for a smoke, and that can result in a lingering odor many find unpleasant. I’m one of those people, and GermGuardian’s new FLT420B air purifier filter is designed to remove cannabis smoke more effectively than standard air purifier filters.“As cannabis use becomes more widely accepted, we recognized a real gap in the market for a filter purpose-built to tackle cannabis smoke odors, not just mask them,” said Rukky Ojakovo, senior director of heaters and air quality at Guardian Technologies. “In our two-week in-home test, over 90% of users rated it very effective at reducing cannabis odor.” GermGuardian’s new air purifier filter can help remove the lingering smell of cannabis smoke and other VOCs.  GermGuardian I’ve been using the FLT420B filter in my home with a GermGuardian AC4880B air purifier for several weeks now, and I’ve been impressed with just how effectively it tackles smoke odors. …

Weed that smells like paint thinner takes over Arizona

Weed that smells like paint thinner takes over Arizona

Published by Jenni Sidey

Get the Popular Science daily newsletter💡 Breakthroughs, discoveries, and DIY tips sent six days a week. Invasive plants can be just as destructive as animals—and often fly more under the radar until it’s too late. In parts of Arizona, stinknet (Oncosiphon piluliferum) really stinks. The noxious yellow weed gives off more than just an offensive smell; it’s also destroying native wildflowers critical to the ecosystem. Bright yellow stinknet weed growing in Arizona. Image: Zach Duncan. What is stinknet? Stinknet is an invasive annual weed. It grows during the winter and can then crowd out native plants and become a fire hazard during the summer. According to The University of Arizona, it is spreading in Maricopa, Pinal, and Pima counties. It is also spreading in Nevada, California, Mexico, and Australia. It can grow in a wide variety of habitats, including yards, desert riparian areas, urban sidewalk cracks, and in disturbed or undisturbed soil. It is still not entirely clear when and how it got to Arizona. The Arizona Native Plant Society believes that it was through …

Weed Companies Are Cashing In on Dry January

Weed Companies Are Cashing In on Dry January

Published by Daniella Wilson

Many Americans enthusiastically partake in Dry January, but it is rarely pitched as fun. After the holiday stretch of office parties and family gatherings, Americans have come to use the start of every year to abstain from alcohol in the name of health and auspicious beginnings. It’s a time of discipline, of cleansing, of embodying your mood board, even if it makes you a drag at parties. And it is also, as weed companies have learned, a marketing opportunity. In recent years, weed companies have started to lean into the argument that taking the edge off sobriety with a low-dose gummy or THC drink still counts as dry. My social-media feeds are flooded with posts from cannabis companies pitching their products as fun and approachable tools to get through an alcohol-free month. Mary and Jane, an edibles company, makes a tantalizing proposition: “Dry January made easy.” Artet, which specializes in beverages, sells a “High & Dry January” bundle that includes a bottle of its THC-laced aperitif. Some products are conspicuously health-coded: North Canna describes its …

Search your stash: 538 cannabis pesticide tests show what’s in your weed

Search your stash: 538 cannabis pesticide tests show what’s in your weed

Published by Sam Flores

California’s testing requirements for cannabis products contain major gaps. To understand what’s being missed and what consumers are exposed to, the Los Angeles Times bought more than 150 products from licensed stores, as well as from tobacco shops and illicit vendors, and had them tested at three state-licensed labs, Anresco Laboratories, SC Labs and Infinite Chemical Analysis Labs. Those tests were conducted without the labs knowing what brand they tested. Where available, the tests included expanded screening for more than 290 pesticides and checks for other hazardous materials, such as vitamin E acetate or synthetic cannabinoids. The Times also obtained data from private market tests conducted on behalf of vape manufacturer Raw Garden and the March and Ash dispensary chain as well as participating labs. Lab test results Private lab tests show frequent pesticide contamination in cannabis, as well as the presence of synthetic THC and harmful dilution oils ●. Most products listed are vapes bought on the legal market. Pre-rolls, edibles and products bought outside legal venues are noted. Findings are based on California …