Schmader - Weed: the users guide: a 21st century handbook for enjoying marijuana

Copyright 2016 by David Schmader

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form, or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published by Sasquatch Books

Editor: Hannah Elnan

Production editor: Emma Reh

Illustration: Alex DeSpain

Design: Joyce Hwang

Copyeditor: Nancy W. Cortelyou

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

eBook ISBN: 978-1-63217-043-9

Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-63217-042-2

Sasquatch Books

1904 Third Avenue, Suite 710

Seattle, WA 98101

(206) 467-4300

www.sasquatchbooks.com

www.sfiprogram.org

v3.1

This book is dedicated to weed dealers, whose legal risk-taking allows so many of us to enjoy the miraculous effects of marijuana, which are pleasurable enough to make up for those dealers who insist on giving lectures on Chem Trails before handing over the goods. Most importantly, this book is dedicated to every American imprisoned for nonviolent marijuana possession, whose fate must be rectified through legislative action if legal marijuana is ever to be considered a truly guilt-free pleasure.

CONTENTS

---

Chapter 1
A BRIEF HISTORY OF WEED

Chapter 2
METHODS OF INGESTION

Chapter 3
VARIETIES AND EFFECTS

Chapter 4
RECIPES AND INSTRUCTIONS

Chapter 5
MARIJUANA ETIQUETTE

Chapter 6
MAXIMIZING YOUR EXPERIENCE

Chapter 7
IF YOURE HIGH AND DONT LIKE IT

Chapter 8
SAFETY AND LEGALITY

Chapter 9
MEDICAL MARIJUANA 101

Chapter 10
GLOSSARY OF CANNABIS CULTURE

T he life-enhancing potential of marijuana first made itself known to me when I was nineteen. A group of friends and I were headed out to a Mexican restaurant, and en route one friend whipped out a joint and passed it around. Id smoked weed before and enjoyed it. Id eaten Mexican food before and enjoyed it. But the combination of the two was revelatory. One of weeds great powers is sensory enhancement, and my sensory-enhanced encounter with a nothing-fancy enchilada plate was a full-immersion Technicolor opera starring pico de gallosoaked rice and delicious bits of charred cheese around the edges. When I was done, I felt like Id just had a short face-to-face with God in my mouth.

This enchilada epiphany led me to further investigation of weeds power to enrich sensory perception and facilitate immersive engagement with the world. I was thrilled to find it worked with music (I spent what felt like hours swimming around in the space between notes on Cowboy Junkies languorous The Trinity Session ), comedy (ditto sob-laughing through compulsive replays of 30 Rock s Werewolf Bar Mitzvah), and conversation.

Still, the fact remained that all these seriously enriching pleasures were forbiddenbanned by law and disparaged by society, the majority of which lazily adhered to the stereotype of potheads as basement-dwelling burnouts on the level of the fictional Cheech & Chong.

But what about all the high-functioning, life-loving adultsdoctors, lawyers, engineers, entrepreneurs, authors, parentswho comprise the vast majority of weed smokers I know? The reality of responsible adult marijuana use is a fact of life thats ever more apparent, thanks in large part to citizen-driven efforts to reclassify, decriminalize, and legalize marijuana. This book is a guide for all those interested in exploring the wide, wonderful, post-War on Drugs-terror-hyperbole world of marijuana.

That all sounds great but perhaps youre wondering: Does weed require a users guide? Arent the basic facts known to every middle-school rebel puffing behind a Dumpster?

Yes and no. (But mostly no.)

Yes, marijuanas ability to produce psychoactive effects in human users is common knowledge. But beyond this fact lies a world of nuance and discernment that I will map in this booksynthesizing information from the existing pool of marijuana wisdom and offering myself up as an experienced test subject and tour guide. (Another reason for a users guide is that todays concentrated marijuana products are a far cry from the grassy stuff folks mightve smoked at Woodstock or in the 80s in collegea fact that makes even past personal experience an unfortunately unreliable guide to twenty-first-century weed.)

In this book, youll find all you need to know to about the current state of recreational marijuana, from methods of ingestion and varieties of effects to edible recipes and tips for maximizing your marijuana experience.

What you wont find in this book is reckless encouragement to smoke marijuana. Even among people who love it, experiences of being high differ widely, and there are tons of folks who just dont enjoy the sensations marijuana offers. To these people, I offer my sympathies, my support, and .

To everyone else, a final bit of wisdom from Stephen Colbert, who delivered this gem at the end of a scared-straight drug lecture on Strangers with Candy : All Im saying is, if you still want to smoke pot, then be prepared to spend a lot of time laughing with your friends.

CHAPTER 1

---

A BRIEF HISTORY OF WEED

Twelve Thousand Years of Marijuana as Textile, Medicine, Intoxicant & Controlled Substance (Abridged)

T he history of weed begins roughly twelve thousand years ago, when the first cannabis plant pushed its spiky leaflets up through the grasslands of the Eurasian steppe. Pollinated by wind and coddled by humidity, the cannabis plant spread eastward, where it was initially appreciated for the strong fiber of its stalk, which became known as hemp. The first documented use of the plant comes from what is now Taiwan, where ancient pottery makers bolstered their clay with hemp-fiber cord.

Over the next nine thousand years, the use of cannabis as a textile spread westward, with the passage of time bringing increased refinement. In 1500 BCE, central Eurasian Scythians used hemp fiber to weave a linen-like cloth, and in 100 BCE, the Chinese created the first hemp paper.