Terrible Cannabis Strain Names

I am ashamed that the cannabis growing community has popular strain names like...

• Agent Orange
• AK-47
• Cat Piss
• Strawberry Dog Shit
• Cheesy Dick
• Donkey Dick
• Purple Fuck
• Dirty Girl
• Stinky Pinky
• Road Kill Skunk
• Matanuska Thunderfuck
• Green Crack
• Herojuana
• L.S.D.

I'm sure there are many more examples of horrible strain names. It doesn't make our hobby look good to the outside world.

Do these strains sound like anything that could be considered medical? Do these bring to mind the image of peace-loving and laid-back growers and consumers, which make up the majority of the cannabis community?

Strain breeders, I'm begging you! Please think about our community image when naming new strains.

Why Aren't There More Women in the Cannabis Community?

A few months ago I wrote an article questioning why women tend to be less pro-legalization than men when it comes to cannabis.

I recently received an email from someone who wanted to me to look at his article about the same topic. Today I am writing a response to that article: "Females Still Missing From The Marijuana Community" by Johnny Green.

As a quick summary the author of the article, Johnny Green, believes that women do not participate in the cannabis community because...

• Portrayal of women - "Since most females involved in the cannabis community use their bodies and looks to gain popularity, it’s the ones that avoid those actions that get pushed to the side."
• Negative associations with  the term "marijuana" - "Marijuana was also said to effect women in a severely negative way when smoked, back when the word “marijuana” still contained an “h”. Perhaps that it is this negative scare tactic that makes women uneasy to admit that they smoke cannabis."
• Marketing towards men - "Or perhaps women are just too afraid to attempt to establish themselves in the community, since marijuana is a cause that is primarily dominated by males. "

I agree that these are all likely to be factors in why there are so few women in the public eye when it comes to the cannabis legalization & regulation movement, but I also believe there is something inherent to the current culture of cannabis that is keeping women away.

There isn't a whole lot of evidence that women actually use cannabis less than men, so I believe that one of the issues we are facing is that women are not admitting they use cannabis, too. They don't seem as comfortable coming out as pro-cannabis in the public eye or appearing in pro-cannabis spaces.

Buy why?

Women naturally tend to congregate in places where they feel welcome, and I believe they don't currently feel welcome in the cannabis community..

I disagree with this statement by the author, "For every one female cannabis grower, there’s at least ten male growers." 

Why? On my website GrowWeedEasy.com, which teaches people how to grow cannabis, I've found via Google Analytics that out of hundreds of thousands of people visiting the site each month, more than 47% of all the visitors to the site are women.

If almost half of cannabis growers are women, why don't we see more women growing cannabis in the public eye?

I believe women are out there growing and using cannabis, but they're just not doing it in the same places as men in the cannabis community. Your average woman isn't even welcome in the cannabis community!

If you look at how women are portrayed and treated in the cannabis community, it's pretty easy to see why they might decide to grow and smoke cannabis somewhere else.

Let's just look at the growing world. Growers regularly refer to their plants by negative terms that apply to women. For example, bud-bearing cannabis plants are considered "female" plants and you'll often see growers refer to their plants as "their bitches" and talk about plant training by saying things like, "Bitches love when you train them hard," etc etc. 

Just take a look at the results you get when you search for the term "bitches" in a growing community. See for yourself.

If we want to see more women in the growing community, we need to change the language we use. We must change how we talk about women as well as how we portray them when it comes to cannabis.

About half of the population of the world is made up of women, and I believe we will never get cannabis fully legalized until we can change the image that women aren't allowed or welcome.

How do you think we can start making the cannabis world more friendly towards women?

Does cannabis help anxiety or make it worse?

Some people use medical marijuana to help with their anxiety. Yet others claim that cannabis can actually cause anxiety.

What's the truth about cannabis and anxiety?

Please Note: Buds which were incorrectly harvested or cured are more likely to cause anxiety

Buds that were harvested too early or which were not dried/cured properly can sometimes make me feel paranoid, but properly grown buds are always relaxing for me. That's part of why I started growing my own medical marijuana.

I'm definitely not a medical professional, but here's my take from my experience and what I've seen among other patients.

With using medical marijuana for anxiety, there's a lot to take account of. Oftentimes anxiety stems more from what's going on in your life than anything else. If you've got a story or string of thoughts repeating over and over in your head, and these thoughts make you feel anxious on a regular basis, then medical marijuana probably can't help you with that. It's not going to stop the anxiety-provoking thoughts by itself.

Some people find that medical marijuana helps breaks their old negative thought patterns, gives them new perspective, or temporarily relieves the overwhelming depth of deep depression. The main idea is it makes it easier for some people to break the anxiety pattern in their head and replace it with something more useful.

Yet even in these cases, it's important that you're actively working to build new pathways in your brain that are more healthy and enjoyable. You have to take an active role to reduce anxiety long-term.

Anxiety will continue to grow until you direct that mental energy towards something positive. It doesn't just disappear.

If you just 'medicate' with marijuana and let your mind wander, chances are you may soon fall back into your regular mental patterns. Your regular anxiety-inducing thought patterns can be even more crippling when you're also feeling differently due to the effects of marijuana.

I believe medical marijuana is most effective for relieving anxiety when combined with another time-tested approach that involves you actively doing something different to break down old patterns. Exercise, dance, explore, draw something, talk to a trusted friend, start a journal, learn a new instrument, plant a garden, read a book, take an astronomy class, etc. These types of activities can give your brain new scaffolding to create more positive mental patterns. Using medical marijuana responsibly can help open your mind to new possibilities during these times. Yet it's not for everyone.

And if your anxiety is really affecting your life, don't be afraid to ask for help. Talking to a pro can help you see new possibilities that are impossible to see when you're crippled by anxiety or depression.

Legal cannabis for Portland, Maine in November?

I believe that the state of Maine, and particularly the city of Portland, Maine are set to become huge players in the USA cannabis industry soon.

Portland is the biggest city in Maine and tends to be very liberal. Portland will be voting on a bill to regulate cannabis like alcohol this November. They are the first city in the US to ever try to legalize cannabis on a city-wide level and there is a surprising amount of support.

Maine is a decriminalized state and already has legalized medical marijuana. The state of Maine looks to be one of the most likely to pass laws to regulate marijuana like alcohol next. They almost voted on it statewide this November, but the bill didn't quite make it, though it received a lot of votes in support.

MPP (the Marijuana Policy Project; backed by businessmen interested in getting marijuana legalized nation-wide, and the people who did a lot of the legwork in changing attitudes in Colorado and Washington) has recently been dumping a lot of their money and effort into Maine, since nearly half the population wants to legalize marijuana already, and there have already been (and continue to be) attempts to increase access to cannabis for adults there.

A bit more background about why Maine is a good candidate for legalization:

Maine has an aging population as children have been leaving the state for many years, and a lot of the elderly are becoming more open to the idea of medical cannabis as they fight some of the conditions where cannabis can be most helpful. There is less "think about the children" type thinking as there are relatively few children in Maine compared to the elderly.

Maine's main staple for money, the tourism industry, has been suffering in recent years. A lot of struggling business people in Maine seem to be intrigued by the idea of increasing tourism via legalization.

Maine citizens tends to place a lot of value on personal privacy. Outside the few major cities, most citizens live in relatively small, rural or farming towns. There's only about 1.3 million people in the entire state of Maine (to put that into perspective, they just have one area code for all Maine phone numbers). People living in these small towns outside the cities tend to have a desire to want the government to stay out of their business.

The people tend to be very liberal in the cities, including and especially the tourism-heavy beach cities.

On top of those factors, there's a huge prescription drug addiction problem in parts of Maine, and there is some hope that increased access to cannabis and medical marijuana might help reduce this tendency.

Plus, since the population is so small, there's the fact that you only have to convince less than a million people to get the entire state to legalize cannabis, so money towards changing attitudes goes a lot farther in this state than in bigger ones with more people to change the attitudes of.

Learn how to get involved here: http://www.mpp.org/states/maine/

California - How do medical marijuana dispensaries survive being closed down by the feds?

Interested in getting involved with the legal cannabis "green rush"?

Yet maybe you've heard that the federal government has been cracking down on medical marijuana dispensaries, and many dispensaries and collectives have recently been closed.

But were those dispensaries operating legally under California medical marijuana law?

Recently, the Obama administration announced it would not challenge the decision by Colorado and Washington voters to fully legalize marijuana. The feds have also stated that they will no longer be specifically targeting medical marijuana businesses, as long as these business are legal under state law.

The federal government has stated they will continue to go after dispensaries that are not in accordance with State law. But what does that mean?

From what I've seen in California, the types of dispensaries that don't close down are the ones that fulfill not just the letter of the law, but also the spirit of only providing medical marijuana to a limited amount of patients.

The more a dispensary advertises and expands quickly (seems to be operating as a business for profit, instead of as a non-profit for sick patients), the more likely it is to get shut down.

In my city, nearly all the dispensaries have been closed down except for the ones that...

• Cater to very sick people and offer high-CBD strains, extracts and oils
• Keep only a small number of patients (instead of expanding to everyone who will buy)
• Check documentation thoroughly and stay organized enough to never sell to a patient who's recommendation has expired
• Don't advertise publicly
• Present themselves publicly as a medical office with a generic name; no cannabis leaves or anything showing from the outside of the office that immediately proclaims themselves as a dispensary. They're not notable from the street and most people don't realize there's a dispensary there.
• Sell only top quality medical cannabis, for higher prices. Instead of offering lower quality meds at lower prices, they provide discounts for people who are sick and qualify for help. The idea seems to be to weed out casual buyers who are trying to find the cheapest deal or buy a gram at a time - this strategy greatly reduces the amount of foot traffic (which tends to attract unwanted attention)

The other group of medical marijuana providers in my city who seem to have survived all the shut-downs are the delivery services. The same sorts of rules seem to apply to these services, and they tend to be more likely to go "under the radar" when they don't have a store front and don't advertise publicly in local publications (everyone seems to use Weedmaps though).

Most delivery services with reasonable prices and high quality meds have waiting lists and applications for new patients, again to limit the total number of patients and reduce the number of people who just buy once or twice. The delivery services that are more open to the public tend to have much higher prices and will only sell 1/8 or more at a time. The services that open up with low prices, low minimums, and take lots of new patients tend to get closed down in a heartbeat.

The delivery service workers dress in clothes that make them look like an electrician or handyman, something that people would expect to see in a neighborhood. They don't do any chit chat, and all transactions take place inside the house with doors closed.

For right now, with the feds coming and shutting down people who sell cannabis left and right, I believe the businesses who survive are the ones who stay small and grow smart instead of big.

Because of all the uncertainty (and prison penalties) associated with selling cannabis in the US, I know I personally wouldn't get involved in a business that actually sells cannabis. At least not until the federal laws change.

So far I've noticed 3 major ways of getting involved with the industry that have emerged, and I'm sure there's lots more ways coming soon as this industry continues to grow:

• Getting involved with selling cannabis directly (very high risk, high uncertainty since business could get closed down at any time, likely to get prison time if company gets shut down, biggest immediate rewards, with the potential for huge amounts of money to be made as you take on higher amounts of risk)
• Catering to growers with information or equipment, for example hydroponics stores (much lower risk, lower immediate profits, though the risk and amount of money made goes up the closer you get to catering directly to bigger growers in person)
• Catering to patients with information and equipment, such as selling vaporizers or water pipes (similar risk to above; the closer you get to catering directly to medical marijuana users in person, the more risk you're undertaking, though there is opportunity for major growth here for businesses that are willing to innovate and grow the traditional way, just look at the incredible growth of the Magic Flight Launch Box)

Those were just some thoughts that come to mind from the experience I've had in California with medical marijuana, and what I've seen online. I know the climate is very different in other states. I hope someone finds the above information helpful and I'd be happy to answer questions.

Learn how you can help legalize cannabis in Alaska!

Want to legalize cannabis in Alaska?

Alaska looks to be one of the most likely states to next pass a law to regulate cannabis like alcohol, following the steps of Colorado and Washington, with sights set on the 2014 election.

The 2014 initiative, entitled “An Act to tax and regulate the production, sale, and use of marijuana,” would legalize the possession of marijuana for adults 21 years of age or older, and it would establish a regulated system of marijuana cultivation and sales.

Learn more here: http://www.mpp.org/states/alaska/

Get involved here: http://regulatemarijuanainalaska.org/

Medical marijuana is already legal in Alaska thanks to Ballot Measure 8 which was approved on Nov. 3, 1998 by 58% of voters and became effective on Mar. 4, 1999.

This bill removed state-level criminal penalties on the use, possession and cultivation of marijuana by patients who possess written documentation from their physician advising that they "might benefit from the medical use of marijuana."

Approved Conditions: Cachexia, cancer, chronic pain, epilepsy and other disorders characterized by seizures, glaucoma, HIV or AIDS, multiple sclerosis and other disorders characterized by muscle spasticity, and nausea. Other conditions are subject to approval by the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services.

Possession/Cultivation: Patients (or their primary caregivers) may legally possess no more than one ounce of usable marijuana, and may cultivate no more than six marijuana plants, of which no more than three may be mature. The law establishes a confidential state-run patient registry that issues identification cards to qualifying patients.

Amended by Senate Bill 94  - Effective: June 2, 1999

Mandates all patients seeking legal protection under this act to enroll in the state patient registry and possess a valid identification card. Patients not enrolled in the registry will no longer be able to argue the "affirmative defense of medical necessity" if they are arrested on marijuana charges.

Update: Alaska Statute Title 17 Chapter 37

Creates a confidential statewide registry of medical marijuana patients and caregivers and establishes identification card.

Why are women less pro-marijuana legalization than men?

I recently was asked why women in the US are not more supportive towards marijuana legalization.

For example, according to recent findings, only 48% of women favor legalization vs 57% of men. 57% of women say they are "made uncomfortable" by marijuana use, compared to just 44% of men. And I think most importantly, 36% of women believe marijuana use is "morally wrong," compared to just 29% of men.

What accounts for these differences in perception?

I'm definitely not an expert, but a few thoughts come to mind which might at least be contributing factors to why women in the US tend to be less supportive of marijuana than men. Today I would like to share my beliefs with you, in hopes that more people become aware of these possible underlying issues.

I believe that we can make huge positive social change happen as long as we continue working together towards greater understanding and better solutions.

So what are some reasons women in the US tend to be less pro-pot than men?

Pro-marijuana women may face additional public stigmatization

Let me explain...

In American society, especially in certain regions or cultures, there seems to be few ways women can be pro-pot without stigmatization.

I imagine this varies quite a bit depending on where you live, but I know that in some places I've lived (especially outside major cities, and away from the coastlines of the US), women who smoke pot seem to get a lot more scrutiny than men who smoke pot.

Negative public perception against mothers who use cannabis

There's a lot of stigmatization against pot-smoking mothers.

A lot of people think that a woman cannot use cannabis regularly and still be a good mother. So for women who choose to be mothers, there's a decades-long period smack in the middle of their life where people will heavily judge them for any marijuana use. There tends to be less stigma for fathers who smoke (though definitely still some).

Women-centric groups like Moms for Marijuana are often publicly shunned and several moms have had children taken away just because of their participation in groups like this that support marijuana legalization.

That image of "good moms don't use marijuana" supports a situation where mothers will NOT want to come out in support.

Few female roles models support legalization

Another thought that comes to mind is there are few female role models who are accepted by society yet are openly pro-marijuana. I can think of lots of well-loved and publicly accepted men who are pro-marijuana (Carl Sagan, Willie Nelson, Bill Hicks, Snoop Dog, Michael Phelps, Arnold Schwarzenegger...) yet I can only think of two women off the top of my head (Rihanna and Jennifer Aniston) who will publicly admit to and defend the fact that they use cannabis.

Hypersexualized portrayal of women who use cannabis

Also, I hate to say it, but how women often get portrayed in the pro-marijuana movement is probably not helping things.

There seems to be a strong perceived correlation (at least in a lot of people's minds and at marijuana events) between cannabis smoking females and hypersexuality.

At cannabis conventions in America, the female promoters are nearly always scantily clad and highly sexualized.

Look at the information pages for cannabis conventions or events like the recent Kush Expo and consider how women are portrayed. Or just type "Cannabis Girls" into Google and see what sorts of results come up (NSFW). Check out this Facebook group "Girls Love Marijuana, Too" which is supposed to be for girls by girls. Consider how young and sexualized the women tend to be in all the posts.

I believe there is nothing wrong with sexuality, yet in American society, highly sexual women are often categorized as "sluts" or "free-loaders". Female sexuality in America is often equated with loose morals. The public perception that all female cannabis users are highly sexual may cause additional fear or shame for women who DO use marijuana or might like to try it.

The average woman is not well-represented in the pro-cannabis movement

There are few older or average looking women being featured in pro-marijuana events. The images promoted by many pro-marijuana groups do NOT represent the average woman in America, and women who don't fit that stereotype likely feel like they "don't belong" with the pro-marijuana movement.

I believe a big step towards greater acceptance of marijuana use among women will start with specifically targeting and educating women who are currently left out of most legalization efforts.

I believe it is important we show women that marijuana legalization is a civil rights issue and provide better and less biased information about marijuana's true benefits and risks. Women make up half of all American society, and therefore they have an incredibly important place in the legalization movement. By reaching out to women more effectively, we will continue to allow women to make better and more informed choices about marijuana.

Why do you think cannabis legalization is not as popular among women in the US?

What do you think can be done to improve the public perception of cannabis?