Part 2 in a series highlighting this writer’s experience as a judge in a high-profile cannabis competition. As I began to detail in an article last month, I was assigned “vape cartridges” as my product to review as a judge for the High Times Oregon Cannabis Cup. Normally, that would have been great. But in […]
Josh Jardine
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Cannabis Cup, Oregon Edition
Whereas a judge has to pay to attend the High Times event he’s judging
As someone who writes for three newspapers, I’ve come to understand that publications usually have two sides: editorial, which produces what you read, and sales, which sells the ads and produces events that pay for what editorial creates. This can lead to conflicted feelings for the reader, as they enjoy the content created by the […]
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2020 for 4/2020
More states going legal. More consumers getting informed. We look at what’s ahead for the coming year.
As we enter the new year, there’s no shortage of predictions for the cannabis industry. Having just wrapped up a tumultuous year which saw a bloodbath of job and financial losses in both the U.S. and Canada, a cavalcade of reports, articles and blog pieces predict what we can expect in 2020. Aside from the […]
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The Year in Hemp
A huge increase in production, a massive increase in sales… and more fuzzy guidance from the FDA in 2019
The year 2019 was arguably the biggest year for hemp since it was criminalized in 1937. The passage of the Farm Bill in 2018, along with the skyrocketing interest in—and availability of—CBD made from hemp has been explosive, yet uneven. Much as with cannabis, rules and regulations for hemp vary from state to state. Federal […]
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Testing Federal Pot
We had the federal government’s test pot evaluated for potency and safety. The result? Worse than the worst.
In my last column, I interviewed Elvy Musikka, one of two remaining Americans to receive medical marijuana from the federal government, grown at the University of Mississippi. We were both curious about the potency and terpenes in the 6 pounds of cannabis pre-rolls the feds provide her every year, so I took a few to […]
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Prescription Pot
The ups and downs of being a test case for the federal government’s Investigative New Drug program
Over the years of writing this column, I’ve gotten to meet and interview a lot of great people. One of my all-time favorite subjects to spend time with is Elvy Musikka, who I profiled in 2017 for being one of the last remaining Americans approved to receive cannabis from the federal government for medical conditions. […]
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Memories of the Volcano
The OG vaporizer that pre-dates those you hold in your hand
Many have used a Volcano vaporizer at some point. It’s arguable the company that makes them, Storz and Bickel, set the platinum standard for precise vaporization. Markus Storz, a German graphic designer, used a heat gun to develop the first Volcano in his basement in 1996. In 1998, he received a patent for his soon-to-be […]
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Cannabis + Other Plants for Medicinal Tinctures
An ancient way of delivering active ingredients in plants
Cannabis tinctures are a great delivery system. Cannabis and hemp can be soaked in high percentage alcohol, or a fat like coconut oil, and deliver whole plant extracts, including THC/CBD and other cannabinoids, terpenes etc. It’s an ancient way of delivering the active ingredients in the plants, as well as being portable, discreet, fast acting […]
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Vapocalypse 2019
What to know, what to be concerned about
It’s been a scary couple of weeks for those who use vaporizers, and for the companies which make the products and equipment used to do so. Every day provides more information about what’s happened, and the potential reasons behind this increasingly deadly health crisis. We still don’t have all the answers, but we know a […]
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Weed Oversupply?
A case for Oregon supply projections being overblown
The biggest story about Oregon cannabis this year has been just how much of it we have—by most accounts, a six-year supply. Much like a six-year-old joint, this story caught fire quickly and burned hot. The Oregon Liquor Control Commission made that claim at the end of January. It was viewed with dubious skepticism amongst […]
