Plan B Forum

... and we can FINALLY see the light at the end of the tunnel.



-"BB"-

And the Saudis may have sabotaged that by cutting 2 million bbl/day oil production. We use around 25 million bbl/day so this represents about 8% of US needs. I'm sure we will make it up from somewhere - Iran, forced conservation, more fracking etc - but this will not end well. MBS in the same camp as Putin - well there's a surprise. Trump will of course claim that this would not have happened had he been still in charge and he may well be right which tells those of us who think about these things quite a lot about Trump.

34 days to the brink . . .

eta: grateful my favorite dispensary ran a big sale this last weekend - I stocked up on a few new strains to try and some Lambs Bread, which was Bob Marley’s favorite. It definitely takes the edge off when you’re working on the serenity to accept the things you cannot change.

How well regulated is the MJ industry in MA, BSG? E.g., how certain are you that what you have is in fact Lamb's Bread and not some no name strain labeled thus in order to command more of your $$$? Because it's still federally a class 1 drug it seems to be pretty much do-as-you-like in some places.

ex-khobar Andy wrote: ↑

Thu Oct 06, 2022 8:56 am

How well regulated is the MJ industry in MA, BSG? E.g., how certain are you that what you have is in fact Lamb's Bread and not some no name strain labeled thus in order to command more of your $$$? Because it's still federally a class 1 drug it seems to be pretty much do-as-you-like in some places.

Just curious where you came up with this assertion. Are you just guessing that this must be the case? Or are you closely following the emerging cannabis industry and have formulated this opinion based on those observations and other research you’ve done into the ways the various states are regulating and controlling the industry?

I know Lamb’s Bread, I’ve smoked it before. That’s why I purchased it again, knowing exactly the kind of high it provides and the degree of anxiety reduction and pain relief that comes with it. I use an app on my phone to track the various strains I’ve tried and to log my own impressions of the nature of each - degree of intoxication, types of side effects, flavor, etc.

Have you much experience using cannabis? Are you familiar with the science of the herb and how it works in the human body? I know you’re a chemistry guy so I would think you’d be fascinated by all that.

I’m in a rush at the moment to get out to a dental appointment (!), but would be happy to exchange more on this topic later in the day. I can tell you from my observations the industry is highly regulated in Massachusetts and there is enough competition that there wouldn’t be much incentive to growers and sellers to try to pass off crap as quality.

There is still an illegal market too I’m sure, but I much appreciate that I no longer have to wonder on my way home on a Friday if I can find some good bud to unwind from my week. It used to be a crap shoot can you find someone who has some, then another crap shoot is it going to make you feel good or is it going to be the type that makes you edgy and even brings on a headache. Now I can spend the last hour at work perusing the offerings of the day at the local dispensaries I frequent and deciding based on either prior experience or reviews and descriptions on wikileaf or Leafly which strains I’d like to try. This last visit I went with all new varieties except the Bread, which I will always get if it’s in stock because it is a brilliant strain that just reliably soothes the shit of the world.

When I worked at legal aid in Yuma Az there was a cigar club in a little house across the street from our offices. I’d be working late on a Friday and would hear the aficionados gather on the porch with their stogies and scotches, letting their hair down after a week in the trenches many of them also at court. It’s the same thing, nevermind decades of reefer madness propaganda that have certain people (some on this board, I’m not pointing at you) convinced that any cannabis user is a burnt out loser.

If you use your local library I highly (!) recommend Mitch Earlywine’s Understanding Marijuana. Very heavy on the science and thoroughly researched - but definitely dated as I first read it nearly 20 years ago.

I’m sure there is a plethora of information available online about how various states are regulating the industry, too.

here is enough competition that there wouldn’t be much incentive to growers and sellers to try to pass off crap as quality.

and that, coupled with some pretty robust anti competition laws in many states, is the reason that "crap" is usually not passed off as quality product. Sure, marijuana products cannot be trademarked under federal law (but give it time), but many states have parallel protection of marks under their business competition and consumer protection statutes which gives the consumers a good deal of protection. Add to that the fact that many companies also market CBD products which can be trademarked, and there is more incentive not to lose the good will generated with those products by selling crap products. I recently took a continuing edcourse in cannabis law, and there is a lot of movement already in the field, and much more to come; if I were younger, I'd really love to be part of the field.

Here are some photos of my latest haul from Panacea Wellness in Middleborough MA:

Not sure why those last two posted sideways, apologies.

Containers are either plastic, glass or ceramic depending on vendor/grower. Each of these is 3.5 grams or 1/8, so a total of 6/8 of an ounce. Should last me until the end of the year, depending on what dumbfuckery occurs in the world and how much it triggers my anxiety. Now that the weather has cooled I’m walking more and getting more benefit from that so I don’t need so much herbal medicine.

I smoke a little nearly every night, it’s like having a single glass of wine with dinner. I’ll usually take another toke or two just before bed, to help me sleep - works terrific. On days off I usually do a wake and bake, choosing a strain that is energizing rather than one I would use at night which gives what we call ‘couch lock,’ i.e., total lack of motivation which of course I don’t want on a day off when I have stuff to do.

I assume I’m what would be considered a moderate user of cannabis. I take at least 72 hours off every month to reset my receptors because like any drug of this type, if you use it regularly you develop a tolerance and require more to get the same effect. I don’t want to/can’t afford to waste money that way so I’m keen to keep my tolerance low.

I’m going to do a little more research to share more specifics about regulation here, but I can say that while we legalized recreational marijuana in Massachusetts in 2016 - the only good thing that happened that November - it took a few years for any dispensaries to start offering recreational and it’s only the last couple of years that there have been an abundance of them cropping up.

With regard to the issue of contraband sold under false labeling - ironically I was just reading an article sometime this last week about the frightening frequency with which pharmaceutical drugs are found to be weakened formulations or outright placebo, and of course we all hopefully know that there is little regulation if any of the supplements industry which means all the money folks shell out on vitamins and herbal this and that and protein shakes blah blah blah we have no idea if there really is the stuff we think there is in those tablets caplets gelcaps etc.

At least with bud, if you don’t get high you know it’s no good.

As to the differences between effects produced by various strains - I’m no aficionado and I wouldn’t claim to have superior powers of perception of flavor etc. of different strains. I could not smoke a bowl handed to me in a blind taste test and tell you, that’s _______ strain. Unless, maybe, it was one I frequently enjoy and have a strong memory of the flavor and the effect - I might be able to do it with Lamb’s Bread, Jagermeister, a couple of others. But there are dozens and dozens of strains as cannabis is as happily manipulated by botanists as roses are. When I decide to try something new I read about it on Leafly and read user reviews to see if it sounds like it will produce the effects I’m hoping for without any nasty flavor profile or effects.

For anyone interested in a tutorial on all things cannabis, this website is a great place to start: https://www.leafly.com/news/cannabis-101

Here’s a link to the Massachusetts cannabis regulatory agency: https://masscannabiscontrol.com/

Should answer some of the questions you might have about how carefully the industry is regulated here, Andy.

Amazing ... it took less than an hour and only two posts before this thread went off the rails into a stoners' conversation on the merits of recreational pot.

Although, as long as the thread has devolved, I'll join the topic to admit that calling your supplier a 'dispensary' rather than a 'pusher' or a 'head shop' does give drug sales a bit more of an air of legitimacy.  And now that this has been going on for a while, it might also be interesting to know just how much revenue the licensing fees and taxation on the sale of weed has brought into the coffers of, say, Massachusetts.  I'm sure BSG has or can get that information.

-"BB"-

To put it back on track, I can't escape the freaking attack ads. Those damn things are now showing up in my Youtube streams. Of course Youtube's ad algorithm is so off the mark it's almost comical.

Bicycle Bill wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 07, 2022 2:24 am

Amazing ... it took less than an hour and only two posts before this thread went off the rails into a stoners' conversation on the merits of recreational pot.

Although, as long as the thread has devolved, I'll join the topic to admit that calling your supplier a 'dispensary' rather than a 'pusher' or a 'head shop' does give drug sales a bit more of an air of legitimacy.  And now that this has been going on for a while, it might also be interesting to know just how much revenue the licensing fees and taxation on the sale of weed has brought into the coffers of, say, Massachusetts.  I'm sure BSG has or can get that information.

-"BB"-

You prefer alcohol, don't you?

Jarlaxle wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 08, 2022 9:59 pm

You prefer alcohol, don't you?

While I have consumed alcohol as a social lubricant (and still do), when it come to dealing with my problems I prefer to face them head-on and sober.

-"BB"-

Watched some of the Ohio senatorial debate from last night- that JD Vance is pathological, especially if you know who he was just a few years ago when he called Trump an American Nazi.

Vance is going to be a top Trump man if the regime returns. He’s going to be like Heydrich level diabolical - he will have his hands in all the worst things the regime perpetrates. He is next level pathological in his ability to turn his principles on a dime for the right chance of grasping power.

Trump called him an ass kisser at his own rally in Ohio, right in front of him.


I am also very nervous about Kari Lake, if she wins - if any of these extreme MAGAt election deniers win we are entering next level progression to fascism.

This election cycle is spiking my anxiety.

Yes I bought Vance's "Hillbilly Elegy" and found it interesting but in the end disconcerting. As a description of poverty and the associated problems of alcoholism and drug dependency it is anecdotal - sure there are poor folk who are dysfunctional because of drugs and alcohol but it's not one to one (lots of poor folk are not dysfunctional and lots of rich folk have substance abuse problems) - and short on solutions. Maybe I can quote the Wikipedia piece to give a flavor:

To lend credence to his argument, Vance regularly relies on personal experience. As a grocery store checkout cashier, he watched welfare recipients talk on cell phones although the working Vance could not afford one.

And I watch people like Mark Zuckerberg or Elon Musk or JD Vance become wealthy although being pretty unwholesome in most people's view. Did Zuckerberg steal other people's ideas to make FB? How did Musk get away with calling one of the Thai cave rescue heroes 'pedo boy'? And Vance definitely seems to want to pull the ladder up. Life isn't fair and most of us find that out in our teens. Are there welfare recipients who have cell phones better than mine? I'm pretty sure there are and I lose zero sleep over it.

I'm with you on Kari Lake, BSG.

This house will be voting against Vance, altho' it's probably pissing against the wind. The man did indeed diss Trump to the max until seeking the Senate nod and wanting the Trump's endorsement. Worse, he set up a program to help Ohioans in the opioid crisis, trumpets it (even now) as an org that he heads (although he actually stepped down), raised precious few dollars and seems to have spent them on advancing his political career.

Not apparently illegal, since his charitable group status allows political activity to advance its cause. Just unethical and perhaps immoral.

Scum floats

My wife and I will be bringing voters to polls on election day, working with Don Bolduc and Karoline Leavitt's campaigns.

Jarlaxle wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 11, 2022 4:29 pm

My wife and I will be bringing voters to polls on election day, working with Don Bolduc and Karoline Leavitt's campaigns.

Oh good. More insanity:

For more than a year, Bolduc endorsed the false conspiracy theory that the 2020 presidential election was rigged to favor Joe Biden. Two days after winning the primary, he changed his stance and acknowledged that Biden is the legitimate president and that the election was not "stolen," though he continued to promote the false claim that the election was marred by fraud. On October 3, he changed his position again, claiming that "I can’t say that it was stolen or not. I don’t have enough information.”

Bolduc has repeated COVID-19 falsehoods and conspiracy theories. He claimed that COVID-19 vaccines are really "Bill Gates saying we should put (micro)chips inside people" and asserted that the use of face masks to control the spread of the virus "cause(s) more problems than they solve."

Leavitt was a presidential writer and assistant press secretary under President Donald Trump (R). She highlights working for her family's small business and her work in the Trump administration. Leavitt's priorities include securing the border, supporting police, and banning critical race theory. She said Pappas, along with President Joe Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, are "destroying our economy, brainwashing our children, and allowing illegals to invade."

She sounds eminently qualified for writing stuff. Not laws (let's all pray).

Both are better than the alternatives.