10 (million) sack

Why do some strains make me paranoid and anxiety-ridden and some strains don’t?

—LFM

Good question. The short answer: No one really knows. We do know that the amygdala, the part of the brain that controls anxiety and fear, contains cannabis receptors and produces its own set of endocannabinoids. That’s right. You create your own form of cannabis just by being human. Anyway, it’s generally the THC in cannabis that can make you feel self-conscious and weird. Try to avoid anything with a super-high THC content, and maybe look for a strain that has a good amount of CBD. CBD has been shown to help with anxiety. Or just don’t use cannabis. I’m kidding. Smoke weed every day. Still kidding. Be yourself.

Is California going to legalize cannabis or what?

—Jimmy

Who knows? Last time I checked, there were three, maybe four groups working to get something on the ballot, but they all seem a little disorganized and underfunded. That may change this week, as Facebook billionaire Sean Parker has announced a plan to put an initiative on the ballot. Early reports say the new initiative will allow anyone over the age of 21 to grow up to six plants and possess up to an ounce. There would be a 15 percent retail tax and an excise tax (just under 10 bucks an ounce for flowers, and just under 3 bucks for shake) on wholesalers. Plus a $10 million fund for marijuana research, and a fund to help the CHP find better ways to tell if a driver is too high to drive. Parker seems to have the backing of the Drug Policy Alliance and the dude from Weedmaps.

I am all for legalization, and this new effort looks like it will have a chance. The challenge will be to convince all of the people in the marijuana industry that this new law is better than the way we are doing it now. As it stands now, for the low price of $60 a year (about what it costs to renew your doctor’s recommendation), you can grow and smoke and buy and eat and cook just about all the marijuana you could want. Is this new law better than that? Will this campaign be able to convince the squares that regulation is better than prohibition? I suppose we’ll find out in about a year.

What’s good this harvest season?

—Kronis Sure

All of it. It’s all good. I was just up in Southern Oregon and the flavors are poppin’! I tried some Afghan Kush (awesome), some “Yayger” (it used to be “Jager” but some growers received a cease-and-desist letter from the Jagermeister LawyerMeisters) and a strain from Rogue Bud Farms called “Omega” that was all sweetness and fruit and strong nonparanoid deliciousness. I am headed out to the Humboldt Hemp Fest next week and I look forward to trying all the cannabis grown by every grower ever. You should come visit.