Southern California dispensaries

looney2nz

Research Geek, Mad Scientist
Damn bro, I'd go further than that and say that any would-be stoner with leafly can be conversant to that level (not that this is useful information - a narrow leaf variety can over generations and in the right conditions take on a broad leaf chemotype/appearance and visa versa)!

Given that strains themselves are not a unique identifier of chemotype/effects, let alone the terms 'indica' and 'sativa'; which describe geography and not what these 'budtenders' think, a budtender with only this level of knowledge is little help to a patient/customer.

Nothing is going to keep MMJ from credibility like 'stoner lore' being given to patients in lieu of proper product data.

Lol, I was trying to be 'kind'. A number of years ago, a place opened up local to me, in a very nice secluded location... the folks working there were fascinated with what I was explaining to them, and I was fortunate enough to get them hooked a bit and they got involved with ProjectCBD.
They have continued to learn and 'grow' (pun intended), and while O.C. succeeded in running them out of biz a couple of times :( they are thriving in the South Bay (typically #1 in their area on Weedmaps).
They have been learning about terpenes as well as other cannabinoids, and are fully aware (now) of the variability of strains over time (not sure how to crack that particular nut, we kicked around a few ideas years ago on the ASA forums). They've heard me bemoan what's happened to 'labelled strains' like Trainwreck, Grape Ape, Purple Urkle with this 'strain drift' has happened over time, and they've been watching it with more recent strains like AC/DC, Cannatonic, etc.

How about a thread on what it takes to measure and show that, a 'finger-printing' system that is easy to process and classify (since that's what our brains seem to like)?

The depressing thing is aside from the PopNaturals CO2 oils I scramble to get my hands on, labs are STILL not ubiquitous (2018 should bring some changes there), nor comprehensive :(
Typical labs only cover THC, CBD, CBN (perhaps THCa, CBDa), and make me see red wen they don't test for contaminants.
PopNaturals covers the gamut, most comprehensive labs I've seen: THC, THCa, CBD, CBDa, CBN, CBG, CBGa, CBC, THCv, (CBGv), Terpenes, Micro-organisms, Pesticides, Residual Solvents... I think heavy metals are included in that mix too. Here's a sample: http://www.cwcannalytical.com/cwlims/verify?cwid=CW6802S11&share=1 (it's behind a bot screening captcha, but is WORTH the look, eye opening on really good labs)

Before growers or store operators jump on me, I agree that the labs are too expensive currently... I couldn't get full labs done on something due to the cost and had to settle for a more rudimentary setup.
But labs like these show the way I think we should be going if we like the scientific method.

I still think there should be a vastly cheaper way to do testing for many compounds, even with contact patches (which should conceivably be able to test for pesticides/fungicides).
Erik and I started looking into custom test patches from a Chinese supplier, but that was right around the time he passed :( I still need to migrate data off my old machine, it's probably on there... saving up for a RAID1 backup to migrate everything with. Should be Christmas all over again when I get all that shit moved over :)
Now I have to go read up and see what the new law says about labs.
 

herbivore21

Well-Known Member
@looney2nz

Glad to hear that you have spent time with that local producer/retailer introducing relevant scientific knowledge to the mix brother, we need much more of that! :)

IMO one solution to variability in strains is already known. In pharma and various other relevant fields of manufacturing of plant extracts, one thing that has long been done in processing is to homogenize and provide replicable products to our clientèle. Flowers are living things and nature is messy. Epigenetic changes, normal genetic variation over time (the relevance of this factor is dependent to some extent on whether plants are being grown from seed or clones) and differences in the environment/growing practices between harvests will mean that producing replicable flower yields that have identical or even very similar chemotypes is an uphill battle for the foreseeable future. I'm sure years from now we might look back and laugh at this comment when somebody finally cracks that nut as you put it :D

I've said it for years now - we need to stop talking about 'strains' in the cannabis community - it is a nomenclature used for viruses for fuck's sake! This is a big source of cannabis' present ambiguity problem.

We need to talk about varieties, phenotypes and most importantly; chemotypes. Chemotypes (the chemical profile of a given plant), or what is actually found in the product as per lab testing is the most relevant and demonstrably cogent consumer information to provide IMO at this point. Commentary on subjective effects should always been taken with a pinch of salt - and always with the knowledge that flowers of the same variety (not strain, and note that the term variety implies variation within 'strains') can turn out profoundly different from one another.

I couldn't agree more furiously with your comments on the essential nature of contaminant/pesticide/microbial/residual solvent testing for all retail products. I truly hope that everyone can get their shit together in this regard! Testing costs a lot, but that is an expense you can pass on to customers just like any operating overhead cost - I know I'd pay more for products with test results. Testing will always be expensive, it requires qualified college educated white-collar professionals with less-than-common technical expertise - these folks do not work cheaply! :lol:

A thread looking for a cogent way to describe different cannabis products that are more useful for the user is a great idea btw man :)

I can't believe that anybody considers basic major cannabinoid testing to be the most important test vs the infinitely more important tests relating to product safety! Also IMO I want to know total terpene concentrations and individual measures of terp content more than I want to know about cannabinoids!

When you mention 'rudimentary testing setup' above, which analytical method/hardware are you referring to here? I am quite curious! :tup:
 

DrSteez

Well-Known Member
Lol, I was trying to be 'kind'. A number of years ago, a place opened up local to me, in a very nice secluded location... the folks working there were fascinated with what I was explaining to them, and I was fortunate enough to get them hooked a bit and they got involved with ProjectCBD.
They have continued to learn and 'grow' (pun intended), and while O.C. succeeded in running them out of biz a couple of times :( they are thriving in the South Bay (typically #1 in their area on Weedmaps).
They have been learning about terpenes as well as other cannabinoids, and are fully aware (now) of the variability of strains over time (not sure how to crack that particular nut, we kicked around a few ideas years ago on the ASA forums). They've heard me bemoan what's happened to 'labelled strains' like Trainwreck, Grape Ape, Purple Urkle with this 'strain drift' has happened over time, and they've been watching it with more recent strains like AC/DC, Cannatonic, etc.

How about a thread on what it takes to measure and show that, a 'finger-printing' system that is easy to process and classify (since that's what our brains seem to like)?

The depressing thing is aside from the PopNaturals CO2 oils I scramble to get my hands on, labs are STILL not ubiquitous (2018 should bring some changes there), nor comprehensive :(
Typical labs only cover THC, CBD, CBN (perhaps THCa, CBDa), and make me see red wen they don't test for contaminants.
PopNaturals covers the gamut, most comprehensive labs I've seen: THC, THCa, CBD, CBDa, CBN, CBG, CBGa, CBC, THCv, (CBGv), Terpenes, Micro-organisms, Pesticides, Residual Solvents... I think heavy metals are included in that mix too. Here's a sample: http://www.cwcannalytical.com/cwlims/verify?cwid=CW6802S11&share=1 (it's behind a bot screening captcha, but is WORTH the look, eye opening on really good labs)

Before growers or store operators jump on me, I agree that the labs are too expensive currently... I couldn't get full labs done on something due to the cost and had to settle for a more rudimentary setup.
But labs like these show the way I think we should be going if we like the scientific method.

I still think there should be a vastly cheaper way to do testing for many compounds, even with contact patches (which should conceivably be able to test for pesticides/fungicides).
Erik and I started looking into custom test patches from a Chinese supplier, but that was right around the time he passed :( I still need to migrate data off my old machine, it's probably on there... saving up for a RAID1 backup to migrate everything with. Should be Christmas all over again when I get all that shit moved over :)
Now I have to go read up and see what the new law says about labs.
you and I would get along very well. haha


we are those "weirdos" asking for full lab results. One time a budtender told me this, I kid you not, "OH yea, the General Manger usually takes the full lab tests with him, he just leaves us the total thc and total cbd results. But stop by tomorrow and maybe we can see those results together, haha!"
 

DrSteez

Well-Known Member
@looney2nz

Glad to hear that you have spent time with that local producer/retailer introducing relevant scientific knowledge to the mix brother, we need much more of that! :)

IMO one solution to variability in strains is already known. In pharma and various other relevant fields of manufacturing of plant extracts, one thing that has long been done in processing is to homogenize and provide replicable products to our clientèle. Flowers are living things and nature is messy. Epigenetic changes, normal genetic variation over time (the relevance of this factor is dependent to some extent on whether plants are being grown from seed or clones) and differences in the environment/growing practices between harvests will mean that producing replicable flower yields that have identical or even very similar chemotypes is an uphill battle for the foreseeable future. I'm sure years from now we might look back and laugh at this comment when somebody finally cracks that nut as you put it :D

I've said it for years now - we need to stop talking about 'strains' in the cannabis community - it is a nomenclature used for viruses for fuck's sake! This is a big source of cannabis' present ambiguity problem.

We need to talk about varieties, phenotypes and most importantly; chemotypes. Chemotypes (the chemical profile of a given plant), or what is actually found in the product as per lab testing is the most relevant and demonstrably cogent consumer information to provide IMO at this point. Commentary on subjective effects should always been taken with a pinch of salt - and always with the knowledge that flowers of the same variety (not strain, and note that the term variety implies variation within 'strains') can turn out profoundly different from one another.

I couldn't agree more furiously with your comments on the essential nature of contaminant/pesticide/microbial/residual solvent testing for all retail products. I truly hope that everyone can get their shit together in this regard! Testing costs a lot, but that is an expense you can pass on to customers just like any operating overhead cost - I know I'd pay more for products with test results. Testing will always be expensive, it requires qualified college educated white-collar professionals with less-than-common technical expertise - these folks do not work cheaply! :lol:

A thread looking for a cogent way to describe different cannabis products that are more useful for the user is a great idea btw man :)

I can't believe that anybody considers basic major cannabinoid testing to be the most important test vs the infinitely more important tests relating to product safety! Also IMO I want to know total terpene concentrations and individual measures of terp content more than I want to know about cannabinoids!

When you mention 'rudimentary testing setup' above, which analytical method/hardware are you referring to here? I am quite curious! :tup:
PREACH IT!


the future of medical cannabis, i think, will be distillate + different ratios of specific terpenes for specific patients' needs and ailments. It was always that, but was concealed by the whole Sativa vs Indica debate. Not everyone will have the same ratios, that is what makes it medical...well, first it has to be consistent quality to be considered medical. No excuses like, Oh yea well it takes a lot of work to grow all this weed, if there are some pesticides in there, then you should still buy it, because I worked hard on it and blah blah blah"


Maybe for the recreational market, but for medicinal market, I do think that quality control should be No1. Consistent reports.
 

looney2nz

Research Geek, Mad Scientist
@looney2nz

Glad to hear that you have spent time with that local producer/retailer introducing relevant scientific knowledge to the mix brother, we need much more of that! :)

IMO one solution to variability in strains is already known. In pharma and various other relevant fields of manufacturing of plant extracts, one thing that has long been done in processing is to homogenize and provide replicable products to our clientèle. Flowers are living things and nature is messy. Epigenetic changes, normal genetic variation over time (the relevance of this factor is dependent to some extent on whether plants are being grown from seed or clones) and differences in the environment/growing practices between harvests will mean that producing replicable flower yields that have identical or even very similar chemotypes is an uphill battle for the foreseeable future. I'm sure years from now we might look back and laugh at this comment when somebody finally cracks that nut as you put it :D

I've said it for years now - we need to stop talking about 'strains' in the cannabis community - it is a nomenclature used for viruses for fuck's sake! This is a big source of cannabis' present ambiguity problem.

We need to talk about varieties, phenotypes and most importantly; chemotypes. Chemotypes (the chemical profile of a given plant), or what is actually found in the product as per lab testing is the most relevant and demonstrably cogent consumer information to provide IMO at this point. Commentary on subjective effects should always been taken with a pinch of salt - and always with the knowledge that flowers of the same variety (not strain, and note that the term variety implies variation within 'strains') can turn out profoundly different from one another.

I couldn't agree more furiously with your comments on the essential nature of contaminant/pesticide/microbial/residual solvent testing for all retail products. I truly hope that everyone can get their shit together in this regard! Testing costs a lot, but that is an expense you can pass on to customers just like any operating overhead cost - I know I'd pay more for products with test results. Testing will always be expensive, it requires qualified college educated white-collar professionals with less-than-common technical expertise - these folks do not work cheaply! :lol:

A thread looking for a cogent way to describe different cannabis products that are more useful for the user is a great idea btw man :)

I can't believe that anybody considers basic major cannabinoid testing to be the most important test vs the infinitely more important tests relating to product safety! Also IMO I want to know total terpene concentrations and individual measures of terp content more than I want to know about cannabinoids!

When you mention 'rudimentary testing setup' above, which analytical method/hardware are you referring to here? I am quite curious! :tup:

lol, years of teaching... can't break myself of sharing info :)

agreed on the variety/pheno/chemotype!

the rudimentary testing was just the basic labs they do, they want close to $500 for a 'full spectrum' test, and since I'm no longer living large... went for the $200 variety. which if memory serves me, was an HPLC unit. did you look at the CWAnalytics labs for PopNaturals? That's the cool shit!

sadly, 'out in the field' as they say, it's widely variable if a place will have lab-tested stuff, or how much of it will be lab-tested. many places only have certain things that have labs, and even then they just post the numbers by the product, you don't actually see the lab results.

and tied to that is the need for a clean concentrate, and the protocols to keep machines CLEAN (have heard some horror stories about CO2 machines not being maintained properly and all the product coming out being HEAVILY tainted with pesticides) :( I don't know how the folks in WA stand it with all the 'state approved organic' nonsense, with 200 actual pesticides and fungicides allowed for use by growers and they STILL call it 'organic'. They sell this crap to PATIENTS!!! :( <head exploding>

I'm hoping they don't screw it up in the nascent CA regulatory process.
 

Receptor

Well-Known Member
Here is a principal component analysis results from a data set containing (494) cannabis
flower samples, (170) concentrate samples analyzed for (31) compounds found in the
California dispensary markets.

e.sciencecentral.org......Cannabinoids and terpenes as chemotaxonomic markers in cannabis..
Best to read in the pdf format....
(Natural Products Chemistry & Research)
Analysis done by TheWercShop in Pasadena, Ca. & Excelsior Analytical Lab in Union City, Ca.

CANNABIS.....Cluster Headache....Re.New Mission....Good to-Go!!
 
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Receptor,

Baron23

Well-Known Member
@looney2nz

Glad to hear that you have spent time with that local producer/retailer introducing relevant scientific knowledge to the mix brother, we need much more of that! :)

IMO one solution to variability in strains is already known. In pharma and various other relevant fields of manufacturing of plant extracts, one thing that has long been done in processing is to homogenize and provide replicable products to our clientèle. Flowers are living things and nature is messy. Epigenetic changes, normal genetic variation over time (the relevance of this factor is dependent to some extent on whether plants are being grown from seed or clones) and differences in the environment/growing practices between harvests will mean that producing replicable flower yields that have identical or even very similar chemotypes is an uphill battle for the foreseeable future. I'm sure years from now we might look back and laugh at this comment when somebody finally cracks that nut as you put it :D

I've said it for years now - we need to stop talking about 'strains' in the cannabis community - it is a nomenclature used for viruses for fuck's sake! This is a big source of cannabis' present ambiguity problem.

We need to talk about varieties, phenotypes and most importantly; chemotypes. Chemotypes (the chemical profile of a given plant), or what is actually found in the product as per lab testing is the most relevant and demonstrably cogent consumer information to provide IMO at this point. Commentary on subjective effects should always been taken with a pinch of salt - and always with the knowledge that flowers of the same variety (not strain, and note that the term variety implies variation within 'strains') can turn out profoundly different from one another.

I couldn't agree more furiously with your comments on the essential nature of contaminant/pesticide/microbial/residual solvent testing for all retail products. I truly hope that everyone can get their shit together in this regard! Testing costs a lot, but that is an expense you can pass on to customers just like any operating overhead cost - I know I'd pay more for products with test results. Testing will always be expensive, it requires qualified college educated white-collar professionals with less-than-common technical expertise - these folks do not work cheaply! :lol:

A thread looking for a cogent way to describe different cannabis products that are more useful for the user is a great idea btw man :)

I can't believe that anybody considers basic major cannabinoid testing to be the most important test vs the infinitely more important tests relating to product safety! Also IMO I want to know total terpene concentrations and individual measures of terp content more than I want to know about cannabinoids!

When you mention 'rudimentary testing setup' above, which analytical method/hardware are you referring to here? I am quite curious! :tup:

@herbivore21 - just curious...do you know how Monsanto or DuPont limit the variability in their agricultural seed stock? Seems like a similar situation to some extent.
 
Baron23,

looney2nz

Research Geek, Mad Scientist
Here is a principal component analysis results from a data set containing (494) cannabis
flower samples, (170) concentrate samples analyzed for (31) compounds found in the
California dispensary markets.

e.sciencecentral.org......Cannabinoids and terpenes as chemotaxonomic markers in cannabis..
(Natural Products Chemistry & Research)
Analysis done by TheWercShop in Pasadena, Ca. & Excelsior Analytical Lab in Union City, Ca.

CANNABIS.....Cluster Headache....Re.New Mission....Good to-Go!!

can you try that link again? I'll do a search on that stuff, but would be good if there was a working link.

never mind, here it is: https://www.esciencecentral.org/jou...s-in-cannabis-2329-6836-1000181.php?aid=57624
 
looney2nz,
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Baron23

Well-Known Member
Great paper! Undermines a lot of 'common knowledge' with actual facts. Need more of this stuff being done.

Perhaps somewhat related to discussion of need for testing:

Contaminated medical marijuana believed to have killed cancer patient

A rare fungal infection has killed a California man undergoing cancer treatment and it’s believed he got it from medical marijuana, CBS Los Angeles reports.

The treatment left the man’s immune system compromised, but his death still surprised doctors because he was relatively young and his cancer was beatable. He was using medical marijuana to fend off the treatment’s effects. After his death, testing of 20 medical marijuana samples from across the state found the vast majority were contaminated with dangerous bacteria and fungi.​
 
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DrSteez

Well-Known Member
Great paper! Undermines a lot of 'common knowledge' with actual facts. Need more of this stuff being done.

Perhaps somewhat related to discussion of need for testing:

Contaminated medical marijuana believed to have killed cancer patient

A rare fungal infection has killed a California man undergoing cancer treatment and it’s believed he got it from medical marijuana, CBS Los Angeles reports.

The treatment left the man’s immune system compromised, but his death still surprised doctors because he was relatively young and his cancer was beatable. He was using medical marijuana to fend off the treatment’s effects. After his death, testing of 20 medical marijuana samples from across the state found the vast majority were contaminated with dangerous bacteria and fungi.​
I wish they would say what fungal or bacterial infection the patient got.


All they say is that it's lethal and dangerous bacterial infection that killed the patient.
 
DrSteez,

herbivore21

Well-Known Member
LIkely candidate is aspergillus.

If I didn't already label mold as an issue, this certainly drives it home :(
I have seen similar reports in the past too, almost universally (if not actually universally!) in immunosuppressed patients. The problem is that a lot of these people do benefit from cannabis medicine. To me this strengthens the argument for precise formulations of cannabis actives for these kinds of serious conditions. Botanical material gets moldy. That's a reason why we make pharmaceuticals, they can store without spoiling easily!

Fungal/microbial testing is crucial as we've discussed before. I should say that the most common mold on cannabis is Botrytis Cinerea in my experience, which is not toxic/does not produce dangerous aflatoxins. It does cause bud rot and destroys the resin, leaving you with medically useless flowers however! Cannabis flowers are like buying fruit and vegetables in this sense. They cannot be relied on to keep well for long periods unless they have been impeccably treated during and after the lifespan (ie: harvest and subsequent storage/handling). This isn't to say that flowers can't be stored perfectly and kept long-term - I know this is true as I've done it myself. Just that we can't expect that most cannabis users (for any purpose) will put in this effort and get it right every time.
 
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zenmasterofzinfandel

Well-Known Member
To me this strengthens the argument for precise formulations of cannabis actives for these kinds of serious conditions. Botanical material gets moldy. That's a reason why we make pharmaceuticals, they can store without spoiling easily!

Agree on that. But spoilage will be only one of more important considerations. Why I refer to 'medical dispensaries' in Cali as recreational in function---you ever seen such ignorance from a pharmacist that has a medical degree(from the USA), compared to budtenders? I hope in a few decades (I'll probably be nearly dead by then unless I live to 100) FDA will regulate medical cannabis preparations, and they will be sold *only* in/by licensed pharmacies as all prescription drugs are now...will need to get that rescheduled I to II at least. @hervivore21 you probably do not (unless you had grandparents/great gp's that faced these issues) have experience that I have had, and therefore are not thinking about how difficult it is go consume cannabis in standard preparations. Very common in older patients, but also happens (talk to you friendly gastroenterologist) in younger people, the failing/multiple co-morbities of failing systems, organs, etc. These things just fail with time, unfortunately is the frailty & briefness of human life.

LES (lower esophageal sphincter muscle) is what keeps food/liquids in your stomach from coming back up your esophagus, which causes heartburn in minor cases, but long-term damage occurs and the LES stops working. Enter need for gastric feeding tubes---how do you administer cannabis through a feeding tube without it plugging (obstructed in medical terms)?. Sometimes can be temporary, sometime permanent...if you get to that stage you will find specialist gerontologist MD's that will tell you studies have shown GT tubes do not prolong life. You will get other opinions from internists and GI doc's that disagree with the bleak scenario. You will be tugged & pulled in so many directions the current healthcare system in it's badly failed delivery mode, you could end up severely traumatized afterwards, if it's you as the patient, you will consider assisted suicide (hopefully while you can still speak your intentions). You will also have to deal with medical science and physicians that lack knowledge at present to completely understand those two most complex organs in the human, the brain & gastrointestinal system. MD's so easily Rx for depression, Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)...only problem there is cannabis & SSRI's have an effect on serotonin in both the brain & GI system where there are thousands or millions of nerve receptors for serotonin...these effect the normal balancing of the functioning of the GI system (which is very complex).

My father was dying from CRPC (castration resistant prostate cancer) that has metastisized to his hip/lower spine. But was set him on the long downfall to septic shock & pneumonia (old man's disease), was Thrush that had been allowed to go undetected too long, and had spread to his esophagus, and likely into his lungs>which led to bacterial pneumonia that spread into the blood. All these things a healthier person can fight off, weaker immune systems, the very young, elderly, and disease impaired individuals, simple infections can spread very, very rapidly and end in death.

PTSD, i went through back to back (zero downtime, zero time to grieve) over 21 month period, death of my beloved mother, then my physician father who had a storied career for over 1/2 century, but got shafted by his own life-long hospital he was on every staff & rules, meeting group.

newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/30/for-some-caregivers-the-trauma-lingers

^ to me, my situation was 10X more stress/trauma as this physician had a career and did not spend nearly 24/7 (with some time to sleep @home is all) over such a lengthy and roller-coaster, horrific ride.

Cannabis flowers are like buying fruit and vegetables in this sense. They cannot be relied on to keep well for long periods unless they have been impeccably treated during and after the lifespan (ie: harvest and subsequent storage/handling).
Do not agree with that analogy, fruits and vegetables are far more perishable, though subject to same bacterial/fungal problems as cannabis grown for the commercial markets.

I wish they would say what fungal or bacterial infection the patient got.


All they say is that it's lethal and dangerous bacterial infection that killed the patient.

No, read the article again, and click on the links. It was stated it was a fungal infection that caused/precipitated death.

LIkely candidate is aspergillus.

If I didn't already label mold as an issue, this certainly drives it home :(
Why do you say that is a likely candidate, I see no indication of such?

This thread has kind of gone on a drift (shisssh, don't tell the mods :p).

Better reporting from CBS in Sacramento:
http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2017/02/06/medical-marijuana-fungus-death-uc-davis-medical-center/

& related article on testing @steephill labs:

sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2017/02/06/bay-area-marijuana-tests-positive-for-toxic-fungicide/

"
“The cannabis was contaminated with many bacteria and fungi, some of which was compatible with the infections that I saw in my patients,” Tuscano said.

“Klebsiella, E.coli, Pseudomonas, Acinetobacter, these are all very serious infections for anybody in the hospital. But particularly in that population, the cancer population,” Thompson.
"

But the link in the LA CBS story mentions the antibiotic resistant Candidiasis strain, only recently seen in the USA, but deadly and commonly spread in hospital/healthcare environments.

If you want organic cannabis, tested or not, forget hollwyood or dwntwn LA, go to the valley & visit BudsNRoses, they care many 'veganic' products, as Kyle Kushman is a founding partner of that dispensary.

not to be outdone by the 'veganic' crowd, there's the newest flavor of biodynamics>>>> vegan biodynamics, lol.


...oh snap, this was a thread on So.Cal dispensary recs, OC in particular...next post then :)
 
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zenmasterofzinfandel,
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looney2nz

Research Geek, Mad Scientist
particularly for immune-compromised patients (intentional or not):

untested flowers bad :(

I know I threw this idea around awhile back, and someone reminded me that you need to know and observe all the safety protocols, but if _I_ were producing whole plant concentrates, I'd want to freeze the plant whole in liquid nitrogen. So the question arises, is a supercritical temperature sufficient to kill these bugs?

as for the link that led to Candidiasis, based on the other links, I don't think it was a contextual link, just a like to a generic fungus description. The previous link was for cancer, and it was not specific. I picked aspergillus as it's quite common and very deadly. Was just a stab in the dark :)

color me ignorant, what the hell is a veganic flower, let alone biodynamic?

I capish your comments on PTSD and caregiving :(
 
looney2nz,

zenmasterofzinfandel

Well-Known Member
Candidiasis is always there, just like the 'bad' bacteria in your GI system, you only hear about these when the 'bad' get out of control and multiply to point where they become medical liabilities. Candidiasis was likely responsible for my father's death...led to more deadly complications, like septic shock, most likely precipitated multiple bouts of pneumonia (look @Bush senior, even without out of control fungus, he is getting pneumonia frequently as is common for that age/health group<<<which if we are lucky, will be us in a shorter-than-we-want-time.

PPl here will not like it, but I think GMO & synthetic cannabinoids from the future labs of scientists (maybe big bad Pharma) will have those medical qualities locked in, no worries about 'drift' then. Won't have to use enails, pipes,vapes, joints, edibles...all the common forms in use now. ...but that's a decade or more from now; maybe I'll be dead before that happens. Must be advanced DNA profiling, what is there now is deficient to be of any use. I want to use a profile to tell me that Trainwreck has similar medical qualities as say Headband, so that I can use them interchangeably when I cannot find one of another, which is quite common. Dispensaries/delivery collective models, simply are designed for the recreational (under guise of medical) users such that 'strains' come and go on a weekly basis; good luck getting anything remotely similiar when you try in another month...all gone, moved on to the 'newest' strain that vendors are promoting, all about $$$, cannabusiness.

Interesting in my absent since last post here, some changes in the So. Cal. scene(s) I've noticed.

Prices keep going up for concentrates as 1 producer after another is chasing a limited market. Now 'designer' flower packaging is hitting it's stride. Vacuum sealed fancy looking glass jars for 1/8th's at very high prices, think I saw one N flushed. Excessive marketing, you could just as easily, and for much better oxidation reduction; open a mason jar, put fancy MMJ into that, use a $10-20 wine preservation can containing inert gases, to prevent oxidation, few squirts ea time to the jar, remove product, before closing up, oxidation free! >but better than those store bought sealed containers which only keep it fresh until you *open* the jar.

There are more an more extraction artists/producers coming out on a monthly basis, it seems; and older extractors are going out of business. Competition is coming on the low & high-end of concentrates- I see more an more less expensive ice wax, for instance. 1/2g for $25-40 range, instead of the more typical $50+...all the way up to Matt_Rizz 9.5 or 10/10 that is hitting $100/0.5g

As far as lab testing, that's the price you pay. Pro & higher-end amateur winemakers always use labs (even as you could in theory get by without, on small scale, not larger productions). Look, if these 1/8th's are selling for $50+ (I've seen $70/3.5g), What exactly will it cost if you spread the cost over grams/1/8ths, or what would it add to the cost...say a gram costs $20 x 28 = 560. A grower producing kilo, what does it cost the grower to have a harvest of several kilo tested? So what, you add $5/g or $10/g to cover the cost of labs, it is not that much to have peace of mind as to safety of meds. But then again, with all the labs coming up with 'false positives', what labs are we to believe? And SC labs recommends testing 2X for every batch, to catch these potential 'irregularities' in testing results. Which lab tests shall we rely on?

Seems it is permanently closed a few wks ago, on WM's but Holistic gardens collective in Hemet had a concentrate which was SC Lab tested, and in the WM img next to the concentrate was the full QR code for lab test, I used my smartphone QR reader and it brought up the SC Lab test results! Every dispensary & delivery service should list the QR code in the images, so it is easy for use to look up the results!

https://webcache.googleusercontent....turally-higher-3-14+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

Not nearly as interesting, Fresh from the Earth in Santa Ana, now lists a few varieties per category with the SC Labs terp profile.(have to click on the link once it loads, then click to get full terp results displayed in the pop-up window).

https://weedmaps.com/dispensaries/from-the-earth#/menu/skywalker-og--26

I have some more comments I might drop in another post, getting too busy to post here on FC in the next mo, so I"m out of here shortly for another 1/2yr or so.

Many more organic cannabis products showing up @some dispensaries. While not a fan of the store, BudsNRoses has organic products, seen more lately listed @other dispensaries...just did not note them all.

Popular Nor. Ca. dispensary is now in the OC(Santa Ana) as Cookies OC

I spent almost 1/2hr talking to one of the concentrate guys @Fresh from the Earth, and while the flower prices are high, concentrates they have. Was told Cuban Growers(hanging out @Hitman glass during HTCC) prefer their ice was over their Strawberry Kush dry sieve? Huh, would have thought the other way around since CG made their name with dry sift hash. Keep in mind, that's 3rd hand info, could be wrong. Also noted that he had more difficulty getting a quartz nail to keep temps in line to get good flavorful hits when doing dry sift, than ice wax was less temperature temperamental.

@looney2nz

Gabapentin withdrawal
^unfortunate that Aimless Ryan got the gabapentin thread closed. Had *plenty* of comments regarding that subject...but since it involves years of suffering by my mom before she died, it's still to close time wise for me to want to test that ultra sensitive area of my psyche now...just not good---how I wish I had thought of using MMJ instead of gabapentin, I just did not do enough research into the benefits of MMJ, was all too new for e at the time, and it was extremely urgent by the time I needed to act, as other pain meds & Dr's ideas had completely failed to help. I may just need to leave FC permanently b/c of the comments I'm reading on the Med forum are just too painful for me to read, memories are just too much/too intense now. I could write a book on the subject of failed medical delivery systems...hundreds of pages, but in the end, would not change anything...so y bother going through it all, if it could not help effect changes?

Forget about MMJ, you have *many* other issues to face when we both get into older age(upper senior yrs) if we are lucky enough to make it that long; that is when probably the vast majority of the people living on this planet, will find out what they do not know(oh but they *think* they do), have not prepared for, when it is their time to wind down, and die<<<those few months, years, or longer; when the reality of how humans deal with death becomes painfully ***NOW*** when it happens to all of us...excepting those lucky enough to die quickly, in our sleep. You would be far more "scared shittless" if you knew what I know about health care delivery in the USA. I could just go on, and on about it ad nauseum. Hospitals & Hospital Admin(&Dr's on those commitee's; the friggin ethic's committees...ask me how I know) after dealing with them; you'll think Better Call Saul is an honest decent man, in comparison with the run-around you will get.

I went to see this CBD expert; http://www.greenbridgemed.com/

after fentanyl transdermal system 12 mcg/h recommended by a spine specialist (referred by our family oncologist/hemotologist after the pain specialist @Santa Monica ortho group did jack shit for us---really tantamount to medical malpractice, imo; an oncologist who treated former LA councilman Bill Rosendal's cancer<vocal cannabis advocate that MMJ did *not* save him when he thought it would, no matter how much we all wish cannabis is the miracle cure, doesn't know much about MMJ, but she wrote my father a rec for it, bc she said she knows that some of her cancer patients get good pain relief from it)

Conc guy @TheWEED in studio city told me that Cali-Sift is just a 2 man operation, and they use an old Medisun press @170ºF for their rosin's(seems most extraction companies are now making an attempt to broaden their concentrate lines to include every type/form, ice waxes are much more common now, Jungle Boys Icewax 1st pull, 70u, $120/g of their own label to add to the portfolio of various styles of rosins, after doing a quick ice wax collab with CubanTech).
 
zenmasterofzinfandel,
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looney2nz

Research Geek, Mad Scientist
Candidiasis is always there, just like the 'bad' bacteria in your GI system, you only hear about these when the 'bad' get out of control and multiply to point where they become medical liabilities. Candidiasis was likely responsible for my father's death...led to more deadly complications, like septic shock, most likely precipitated multiple bouts of pneumonia (look @Bush senior, even without out of control fungus, he is getting pneumonia frequently as is common for that age/health group<<<which if we are lucky, will be us in a shorter-than-we-want-time.

PPl here will not like it, but I think GMO & synthetic cannabinoids from the future labs of scientists (maybe big bad Pharma) will have those medical qualities locked in, no worries about 'drift' then. Won't have to use enails, pipes,vapes, joints, edibles...all the common forms in use now. ...but that's a decade or more from now; maybe I'll be dead before that happens. Must be advanced DNA profiling, what is there now is deficient to be of any use. I want to use a profile to tell me that Trainwreck has similar medical qualities as say Headband, so that I can use them interchangeably when I cannot find one of another, which is quite common. Dispensaries/delivery collective models, simply are designed for the recreational (under guise of medical) users such that 'strains' come and go on a weekly basis; good luck getting anything remotely similiar when you try in another month...all gone, moved on to the 'newest' strain that vendors are promoting, all about $$$, cannabusiness.

Interesting in my absent since last post here, some changes in the So. Cal. scene(s) I've noticed.

Prices keep going up for concentrates as 1 producer after another is chasing a limited market. Now 'designer' flower packaging is hitting it's stride. Vacuum sealed fancy looking glass jars for 1/8th's at very high prices, think I saw one N flushed. Excessive marketing, you could just as easily, and for much better oxidation reduction; open a mason jar, put fancy MMJ into that, use a $10-20 wine preservation can containing inert gases, to prevent oxidation, few squirts ea time to the jar, remove product, before closing up, oxidation free! >but better than those store bought sealed containers which only keep it fresh until you *open* the jar.

There are more an more extraction artists/producers coming out on a monthly basis, it seems; and older extractors are going out of business. Competition is coming on the low & high-end of concentrates- I see more an more less expensive ice wax, for instance. 1/2g for $25-40 range, instead of the more typical $50+...all the way up to Matt_Rizz 9.5 or 10/10 that is hitting $100/0.5g

As far as lab testing, that's the price you pay. Pro & higher-end amateur winemakers always use labs (even as you could in theory get by without, on small scale, not larger productions). Look, if these 1/8th's are selling for $50+ (I've seen $70/3.5g), What exactly will it cost if you spread the cost over grams/1/8ths, or what would it add to the cost...say a gram costs $20 x 28 = 560. A grower producing kilo, what does it cost the grower to have a harvest of several kilo tested? So what, you add $5/g or $10/g to cover the cost of labs, it is not that much to have peace of mind as to safety of meds. But then again, with all the labs coming up with 'false positives', what labs are we to believe? And SC labs recommends testing 2X for every batch, to catch these potential 'irregularities' in testing results. Which lab tests shall we rely on?

Seems it is permanently closed a few wks ago, on WM's but Holistic gardens collective in Hemet had a concentrate which was SC Lab tested, and in the WM img next to the concentrate was the full QR code for lab test, I used my smartphone QR reader and it brought up the SC Lab test results! Every dispensary & delivery service should list the QR code in the images, so it is easy for use to look up the results!

https://webcache.googleusercontent....turally-higher-3-14+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

Not nearly as interesting, Fresh from the Earth in Santa Ana, now lists a few varieties per category with the SC Labs terp profile.(have to click on the link once it loads, then click to get full terp results displayed in the pop-up window).

https://weedmaps.com/dispensaries/from-the-earth#/menu/skywalker-og--26

I have some more comments I might drop in another post, getting too busy to post here on FC in the next mo, so I"m out of here shortly for another 1/2yr or so.

Many more organic cannabis products showing up @some dispensaries. While not a fan of the store, BudsNRoses has organic products, seen more lately listed @other dispensaries...just did not note them all.

Popular Nor. Ca. dispensary is now in the OC(Santa Ana) as Cookies OC

I spent almost 1/2hr talking to one of the concentrate guys @Fresh from the Earth, and while the flower prices are high, concentrates they have. Was told Cuban Growers(hanging out @Hitman glass during HTCC) prefer their ice was over their Strawberry Kush dry sieve? Huh, would have thought the other way around since CG made their name with dry sift hash. Keep in mind, that's 3rd hand info, could be wrong. Also noted that he had more difficulty getting a quartz nail to keep temps in line to get good flavorful hits when doing dry sift, than ice wax was less temperature temperamental.

@looney2nz

Gabapentin withdrawal
^unfortunate that Aimless Ryan got the gabapentin thread closed. Had *plenty* of comments regarding that subject...but since it involves years of suffering by my mom before she died, it's still to close time wise for me to want to test that ultra sensitive area of my psyche now...just not good---how I wish I had thought of using MMJ instead of gabapentin, I just did not do enough research into the benefits of MMJ, was all too new for e at the time, and it was extremely urgent by the time I needed to act, as other pain meds & Dr's ideas had completely failed to help. I may just need to leave FC permanently b/c of the comments I'm reading on the Med forum are just too painful for me to read, memories are just too much/too intense now. I could write a book on the subject of failed medical delivery systems...hundreds of pages, but in the end, would not change anything...so y bother going through it all, if it could not help effect changes?

Forget about MMJ, you have *many* other issues to face when we both get into older age(upper senior yrs) if we are lucky enough to make it that long; that is when probably the vast majority of the people living on this planet, will find out what they do not know(oh but they *think* they do), have not prepared for, when it is their time to wind down, and die<<<those few months, years, or longer; when the reality of how humans deal with death becomes painfully ***NOW*** when it happens to all of us...excepting those lucky enough to die quickly, in our sleep. You would be far more "scared shittless" if you knew what I know about health care delivery in the USA. I could just go on, and on about it ad nauseum. Hospitals & Hospital Admin(&Dr's on those commitee's; the friggin ethic's committees...ask me how I know) after dealing with them; you'll think Better Call Saul is an honest decent man, in comparison with the run-around you will get.

I went to see this CBD expert; http://www.greenbridgemed.com/

after fentanyl transdermal system 12 mcg/h recommended by a spine specialist (referred by our family oncologist/hemotologist after the pain specialist @Santa Monica ortho group did jack shit for us---really tantamount to medical malpractice, imo; an oncologist who treated former LA councilman Bill Rosendal's cancer<vocal cannabis advocate that MMJ did *not* save him when he thought it would, no matter how much we all wish cannabis is the miracle cure, doesn't know much about MMJ, but she wrote my father a rec for it, bc she said she knows that some of her cancer patients get good pain relief from it)

Conc guy @TheWEED in studio city told me that Cali-Sift is just a 2 man operation, and they use an old Medisun press @170ºF for their rosin's(seems most extraction companies are now making an attempt to broaden their concentrate lines to include every type/form, ice waxes are much more common now, Jungle Boys Icewax 1st pull, 70u, $120/g of their own label to add to the portfolio of various styles of rosins, after doing a quick ice wax collab with CubanTech).

That doc looks pretty good (the CBD/THCa guy).

My roller-coaster started yesterday with my 1st radiation treatment of 15 (in as many days), chemo will likely start monday. Went from 'smoldering' to stage 2 pretty quick! :(
At least my approach with organic lab-tested flowers bought me 4 years without chemo.

Wish I could have the richer array of Clean Green Certified grown varieties like are available further up the coast! would like to have someone make me a 'clean' RSO out of those.
 

mixchu69

Well-Known Member
So where is everyone going these days? Live in OC but drive to new Amsterdam collective in LA for some kush co. And moxie. Wish I can find somewhere in OC with those prices.
 
mixchu69,

Buildozer

Baked & Fried
@mixchu69 If you have a medical rec, check out Loud & Lavish :cheers: they're rec only, but have great buds, and the price is a fucking steal! 5 for $35 all day every day, and $200 oz.. it's the only place I've been going to for a while now.. it's kind of out of my way (not as much as a trip to LA though! been years since I've done that), but it's the only place I go to these days, since the day it opened... I only go there for flowers, they have great flowers IMO, the low price can seem deceiving.

Let me know if you check it out and what you ended up w/ :cheers: maybe you've already been there? If not, you should know it can be a little weird to find the first time, so you might wanna take the phone number w/ you..

:peace:
 

Grifo

Well-Known Member
SCPA delivery is the only place i go to for flower now! Check the out you wont be disappointed! Seriously i feel like you could almost compare there stuff tot he jungleboys which i think one of them ahs worked for them in the past. Second is Jolly farms delivery! ALL ORGANIC AND TESTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Grifo,
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Baron23

Well-Known Member
That doc looks pretty good (the CBD/THCa guy).

My roller-coaster started yesterday with my 1st radiation treatment of 15 (in as many days), chemo will likely start monday. Went from 'smoldering' to stage 2 pretty quick! :(
At least my approach with organic lab-tested flowers bought me 4 years without chemo.

Wish I could have the richer array of Clean Green Certified grown varieties like are available further up the coast! would like to have someone make me a 'clean' RSO out of those.
All of my best wishes for the absolute best outcome. Do hang strong and lean on us by posting what's up, if that's at all helpful. Good luck, mate.
 

Shooby

4ShOObY3 - IG
So where is everyone going these days? Live in OC but drive to new Amsterdam collective in LA for some kush co. And moxie. Wish I can find somewhere in OC with those prices.

If you dont have a rec, go to EDC (they carry Moxie) in Santa Ana off of 17th. They carry a lot of expensive concentrates and only need a CA DL. I personally go to First Choice Organics also on 17th in Santa Ana. great prices and i am a fan of Raw Gardens Extract they carry. Clean Green Certified and they offer Live Rosin sugar and Hash Rosin for $60 a gram. Cheaper than making it myself!
 
Shooby,

FlyingLow

Team NO SLEEP!
Will a person have issues with a current med recommendation from a dr, and a passport (if they do not have a CA id)?
 
FlyingLow,

Silver420Surfer

Downward spiral
Will a person have issues with a current med recommendation from a dr, and a passport (if they do not have a CA id)?

As of July, 2017


Step 1: Assess
As with all medical marijuana programs, there's a specific list of conditions that qualify patients for receiving a card. The very first step is personally assessing your own health, and seeing if you have one of the various ailments. If you're in serious, long-term pain, there's a high chance that cannabis for pain relief is a likely possibility.

Medical marijuana qualifying conditions include: "anxiety, arthritis, cancer (plus chemotherapy and radiation therapy side effects), chronic pain, fibromyalgia, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, migraines, multiple sclerosis, and any other chronic or "persistent medical symptom that substantially limits the ability of the person to conduct one or more major life activities," as described in the Americans with Disabilities Act.

After this initial reflection, the assessment has to be taken to the next step'”a doctor's recommendation. There are a few ways you can go about getting this written evaluation, which is required by law, before the application process.


Step 2: Acquire
The first step in applying for a medical marijuana card in Los Angeles is going to a doctor to verify that you meet the qualifications, and acquiring a document that reflects this decision. This documentation has to be from a licensed physician within the state of California stating that you are a qualifying patient.

There are three ways to obtain a doctor's recommendation. You can meet with your primary physician and ask if they think cannabis is a viable solution to your ailments. If that doesn't seem like a viable option, you can check out cannabis specialists for an evaluation. This is a more popular option because these specialists are all over Los Angeles; however, they come with their own issues. Often the offices are packed full with long wait times, over charge patients, and can be located in more run-down areas. The third option is the most user-friendly'”getting an evaluation online. The online process is quick, accessible, safe, and legal. In some cases, you can even apply on the same site you've been evaluated.

The final product is an important piece in the MMJ card process. These recommendations are a full 8.5 x 11" sheet of paper listing your name, date, patient id number, doctor's signature, embossed seal, proof of legitimacy, and expiration date. After being approved, patients will take this paper to their first dispensary visit. After verifying the authenticity of the recommendation, dispensaries will then accept either a digital or smaller medical marijuana card.


Step 3: Apply
Every state requires specific documents for the medical marijuana card application process. In California, applicants need proof of California residency (a driver's license or something that establishes an address, like a utility bill or bake statement, would work) and a photo ID. Also, they also need to have written documentation from a doctor, a.k.a. your weed-approved recommendation.

Once you have these documents, it's necessary to register with the California Department of Health, Public Health Policy and Research Branch, Medical Marijuana Unit. After doing so and being approved, patients will receive their coveted medical marijuana card.

Healthcare is a factor when paying for the med cards. Besides a county-specific administration fee, it costs about $66 for the application fee per card for non-Medi-Cal patients and approximately $33 for Medi-Cali patients.

Remember: medical marijuana card holders have to reapply for their card every year. Keep yourself up to date, and pay attention to annual deadlines.
 
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Silver420Surfer,
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