The legalization of recreational cannabis in some US states has finally brought to this country the transparency needed to fuel an enormous wave of creativity in all-things marijuana. For those of you interested in deep-diving into the new wealth of public information on cannabis, here are the sites that keep me up-to-date on all the serious and silly goings on in the industry.
The Cannabist– a longstanding resource with a large group of writers able to bring in news and information from a broad range of topics that includes clothing, parenting and sports.
High Times – maybe the longest-standing cannabis magazine, this website focuses on the latest news and trends across culture, growing, edibles and more.
Leafly – This website has emerged as the go-to spot to quickly find dispensaries and bud info. They’ve done an excellent job, since their start just a few years ago, of maintaining a clean, user-friendly site and mobile app while quickly expanding their content to include deeper threads: terpene definitions, a nice collection of ‘cannabis 101‘ resources, and several news lines.
NCBI– and if you really want to geek out on the data, I refer you to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, operated by the US National Library of Medicine, a website that presents a no-nonsense library of biomedical and genomic information.
NORML – Founded in 1970, this group works to reform marijuana laws. While their focus is legislative, because they’re one of the oldest such organizations they’ve had time to build up a lot of good “pot 101” content like FAQs, policy fact sheets, a nice primer article and, my personal favorite, nice summaries on recent medical research; a great site for getting your hands on cannabis data.
The Weed Blog – a nice running collection of headlines in a range of areas like culture, cooking, and growing. Their mission: “facilitating a constructive conversation about marijuana in America”.
And a few more sites that make most ‘top 10’ lists:
Herb.co– this site began as ‘The Stoner’s Cookbook’ and still hosts a lot of good cooking content along with a wide array of news on policy, health, strains, and etc.; a great resource for foodies!
PsychonautWiki– a LOT of information on a LOT of psychoactive substances, natural and synthetic.
And Grow Light Central provides a few more ‘best of’ lists that might be of interest. So many helpful lists of lists! I feel a spreadsheet coming on.
And definitions for some common terms:
Cannabis: also known as marijuana; a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant that is used for medicinal, shamanic, or recreational use. Cannabis is ingested via smoking, vaporizing or eating.
THC, tetrahydrocannabinol: one of the many cannabinoids created by the cannabis plant, THC is a psychotropic substance and responsible for the ‘high’ feeling associated with using marijuana.
CBD, cannabidiol: one of at least 113 active cannabinoids made by the cannabis plant, CBD is so far associated with anti-anxiety and anti-psychotic effects.
Cannabis sativa: a species or strain of cannabis plant; this strain is associated with a more energetic, creative high.
Cannabis indica: a species or strain of cannabis plant; this strain is associated with a relaxed, sleepy or mellow high.
Since my awakening came by way of psychedelic mushrooms, reading up on the topic has become my new favorite past-time. It used to be gaming ... I miss gaming.
"You must be ready to accept the possibility that there is a limitless range of awareness for which we now have no words; that awareness can expand beyond range of your ego, your self, your familiar identity, beyond everything you have learned, beyond your notions of space and time, beyond the differences which usually separate people from each other and from the world around them. You must remember … millions have made this voyage." --The Psychedelic Experience
By now I've listened to at least a few dozen people recount their psilocybin experiences; the descriptions that have so far resonated with me most are found on the pages of this book. No surprise, perhaps, considering the group of experienced psychonauts who are the authors. They've combined their experiences to both describe the psychedelic experience and help prepare those getting ready for their own explorations. The book is only about 100 pages, which was fortunate as I was immediately hooked by the clear, practical and yet compassionate writing and couldn't stop until the end. As I read, I could feel the echoes of my own journey burbling up in the background; I'd say these three nailed something essential about the psychedelic encounter. And the way the authors set their descriptions against backdrop of the Tibetan Book of the Dead provides a nice peek into a details of that tradition. (I'm sure I encountered the essence of the Tibetan's Bodhisattva Chenrazee during my first frantic journey back to Source.) I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to prepare for their own spirit quest with a few possible spoilers on board. I will definitely be reading this book again. Free pdf version
