Grow Life 420

By Leslie McMann for Emjay

Get weed delivered with Emjay

Life is hard: that’s why there’s weed. But getting weed shouldn’t be hard. That’s why there’s Emjay, California’s leading cannabis delivery company. Emjay delivers cannabis products and accessories to your door, with no delivery fee and no mark-up on items. Our products are the same price as a physical dispensary, but you’ll save money on gas by staying home and letting us drive the dispensary to you. And you can save even more by taking advantage of our sales and deals. 

What deals does Emjay have available?

What kinds of deals does Emjay have? Might be easier to say what deals we don’t have, but let’s give it a try: Emjay has deals every. Single. Day. Selling merchandise at full price is the least cool part of our job, trust. Check our page on the daily to see what items we’ve discounted under Today’s Deals. We’re known for delivering a broader range of cannabis products than our competitors, and that applies to our deals as well. Every day you will find a mix of discounted flower, pre-rolls, vapes, and edibles from classic names and small business brands alike. The discount is automatically applied at checkout.

And unlike other delivery services and storefront dispensaries, our discounts aren’t a clearance section of old products. We get a thrill from having the lowest prices on highly sought-after brands. 25% off on Jeeter prerolls for a week? Sure! A one-day sale on STIIIZY vapes or Kanha edibles? Why not!

And those are just the deals we’re blasting on our site’s homepage. After creating an account, Emjay will also send you personalized promo codes, just to let you know we’re thinking of you and appreciate you. Copy the promo codes from your email and enter them at your online checkout to receive a discount on your entire order (excluding tax). These codes have expiration dates, however, so use them quickly or you’ll miss out on some pretty sick deals. 

Emjay’s Referral Program

If you want to spread the love and share the good word of Emjay with your buddies, we’re all for that. We’re not some cult you have to keep hush-hush. Through our referral program, you can earn rewards every time you get a friend to try out Emjay. Send your personalized referral code to anyone you think might like to get their weed delivered by reliable and friendly people. Your friend will get $20 off their first order, and you’ll get $20 towards your next Emjay order once they’ve completed their first order. There’s no limit on how many friends you can refer, so please share your code on social media, with family, on first dates—heck, we don’t even mind if you write it on the wall of a bar bathroom (although Emjay does not condone vandalism). 

And if all that isn’t enough, you also earn 3% cashback on every Emjay purchase. 

Take 27% off your first Emjay order with this promo code

Sound cool to you? Well since you’ve read this far, take this promo code for 27% off your Emjay order: WHYNOTEMJAY27. All that Reading Rainbow you watched as a kid is finally paying off. Enter the promo code at checkout and hit apply. You should see the discount applied to your cart total.

Why is Emjay better than other cannabis delivery companies?

Emjay is the top cannabis delivery service in California because we have the largest selection of products and the broadest variety across both storefront dispensaries and delivery companies. And we offer the brands you know and love like Pacific Stone, Sherbinskis, Kiva, Pax, STIIIZY, and Wonderbrett. 

We also have two retail fronts as well: a co-owned store with Sherbinskis at 345 N Fairfax Ave, Los Angeles and our own Emjay store at 7180 University Avenue, La Mesa. We’d love for you to stop by some time, just as much as we love coming over to your place. 

Emjay is one of the only vertically integrated retail and delivery platforms. That means, we own and operate all our own infrastructure, allowing us to offer incredible pricing and better service to our customers. Like we say around here, Emjay has “All of the weed. None of the markup.” But our low prices don’t mean subpar service.

About Emjay

At Emjay we are ethical human beings first, cannabis enthusiasts second. Unlike so many other delivery companies, our drivers are professionals. They are employees of Emjay, not independent contractors or workers from a third-party courier company. If you’re interested in becoming a driver with us, please apply (https://heyemjay.com/courier). We offer guaranteed pay, mileage reimbursement, a flexible work schedule and we’re proud to say our drivers consistently remark that Emjay is the best company they’ve ever worked for. Our customers can feel secure knowing our onboarding and training process for couriers is rigorous and extensive. We’re sending a stranger to your house—the least we can do is make sure they’re not a stranger to us!

We believe in fully employing our delivery team because maintaining the trust of our consumers has been our top priority since we started in 2019. Safely processing your online transaction and then quickly delivering your order is our top job and we take it seriously. Our customer support team, who are also employed by Emjay, works tirelessly to correct mistakes or find alternatives to satisfy you. And our experienced store managers and knowledgeable associates are happy to make recommendations or discuss products with patrons. Like we said from the top, getting weed shouldn’t be hard. See for yourself how easy it is by downloading the Emjay app from the App Store or checking out the site here. 

Anyone with even a cursory knowledge of the CBDs industry knows that it is positively saturated. The 2018 Farm Bill – which federally legalized hemp products with less than .3% THC – resulted in a tsunami of brands flooding the market, eager to cash in on the latest Green Rush. Although the legislation provided the framework for farmers to be able to cultivate an agricultural product that dates back to before America’s founding colonies, it didn’t necessarily set up the regulatory framework that would allow for consistency across various states and brands. It’s something we’ve definitely noticed at
Hail Mary Jane when we got “accidentally” baked by some (supposedly) low-THC CBD chocolate. It’s not like we’re complaining or anything, but being unexpectedly baked on a deadline doesn’t exactly do wonders for productivity.

The quality of their products is what makes the brand Thrive Flower so refreshing. We’ve tried a ton of their products and they’re consistent, high quality and beautifully packaged.

What we love about Thrive Flower is that it’s a brand that doesn’t rely on white label manufacturing partnerships (and hanging on the coattails of someone else’s COA or Certificate of Analysis). These guys are transparent, testing each and every batch of products that they produce. The other awesome thing about Thrive Flower is that they go so far as to get their COAs verified by Real Tested CBD, a platform that was designed to bring transparency to a growing industry. Real Tested CBD is a company based in California, doing the job the rest of the market should be doing for regulation of CBD products. They independently lab test a company’s CBD products and give them a brand review score compared to other brands on the market.

We also love the fact that Thrive Flower is focused on supporting local, organic farmers. Based in Philadelphia, the brand sources its flower exclusively from farms in Bucks and Lancaster Counties that grow their hemp, as well as other products, using organic and sustainable methods. Their products are all produced in small batches to ensure quality, integrity and love go into each and every item.

Jake Wolff founded the company with his brother Judd, and their friends Colby Mills and Curtis Matthias after discovering a shared passion for the benefits of CBD long before it exploded in national popularity. “Our biggest goal for the brand is to continue to grow within our local community in Philadelphia,” Wolff says. “We take pride in educating our local community about the amazing benefits cannabis has to offer. We also focus on connecting with local retailers in the community and developing a personal rapport with the business owners.”

At Hail Mary Jane, we had a chance to try out a few of Thrive Flower’s most popular products, and wanted to share what we found.

A beautiful and high quality CBD flower with wonderful shades of purple and with a slightly sweet aroma. The packaging is a tasteful glass jar with bamboo lid and a logo inlay on top. Overall a great smoke with a very mild lemony flavor and a relaxed concentrated buzz. One of our fantastic editors relayed that he used it to get through a mountain of content writing and was happy to report it helped him to stay on target. He also saw improvements in his knee discomfort during strenuous workouts after using it. Overall, we suggest this flower to anyone looking for something high quality, tasty and fast acting in the CBD realm of flower.

Strawberry Cake Indoor CBD Flower

This was another strong showing from Thrive Flower. We tried several strains of their CBD Flower and heard things like, “that’s the best CBD flower I’ve ever smoked,” and, “my God, that stuff was good!” With the majority of us based in Colorado, that’s saying something. The quality of the flower is even more apparent when you look at the buds up close under a magnifying glass. Strawberry cake has gorgeous threads of reddish orange throughout and smells like infused strawberry shortcake. Definitely worth trying.

CBD Pet Drops – Natural Flavor – 750 mg

We specifically asked to try this out as some of the dogs in the Hail Mary Jane family have been struggling with anxiety as of late. Not surprising, given the fact that our pets had almost full-time access to us for much of the pandemic, and now are adjusting to their humans going back to a somewhat more active lifestyle. The brand offers a couple varieties of pet products. Their CBD dog treats with 2 mg of CBD per serving (30 servings per package) are ideal for smaller dogs (under 40 lbs). Rosie, The Doog, and Roger are all quite a bit larger than that so we went with the pet drops. At 1500 mg per bottle, a single serving has 25 mg of CBD, so it’s a better bet for big dogs or animals dealing with a high level of anxiety. A dropper of this did wonders for our doggos and we definitely plan on getting more to keep around the office.

CBD Vegan Gummies (35 mg per serving, 50 gummies per container)

One of Thrive Flower’s top sellers, and it’s easy to see why. These gummies don’t have the herbal under-taste some CBD gummies have that make it feel like you’re chewing on grass, and a bottle of 50 gummies for $69.99 (or $55.99 if you use our code HailMary20 ) is a pretty sweet deal. They look like gummy bears dusted in sugar and are calming as well as tasty.

1000 mg Pain Relief CBD Salve

This might be a new favorite, and a little bit goes a long way. Here at Hail Mary Jane, like many people, we’ve got some old ass parents who are dealing with the aches and pains that are an inevitable part of the aging process. Arthritis. Sciatica. Old injuries where the pain and discomfort have come back with a vengeance. CBD products can be a game changer when it comes to pain relief, and this product definitely measures up. Our folks loved it and we can definitely see this making an appearance in a CBD themed Christmas box sometime soon.

500 mg CBD Muscle Gel

A lovely pale pink shade, this stuff does wonders for aching muscles after a vigorous hike or CrossFit session. With 500 mg of CBD and Thrive’s signature glass and bamboo packaging, it’s a product that not only looks great on your bathroom counter, but delivers on the promise of relief for sore muscles.

What we loved about this product is how incredibly refined it is. Loaded with CBD goodness, the tincture has a clarity we don’t often see in this industry, as well as a very mild flavor. A dropper of this stuff in the morning reduced stress, made us less prone to road rage, and definitely played a role in pain relief.

All in all, we were really pleased with the quality of Thrive Flower’s suite of products, and strongly identify with their community driven mission. Check out their entire line of products and use code ____ for 15% off from your friends at Hail Mary Jane.

There is a cannabis-craze sweeping through the United States. States are legalizing marijuana and new products are coming onto the market every day. Federally, hemp was legalized in 2018 via the Farm Bill. The difference between hemp and marijuana is the level of Delta-9 THC in the plant. Delta-9 THC is just one of over 100 cannabinoids that make up the cannabis plant, but it is the most well-known. Delta-9 THC is the cannabinoid responsible for the feeling of being “high”. Marijuana is loaded with Delta-9 THC, up to 35%! Hemp, on the other hand, legally must contain less than 0.3% Delta-9 THC. This means that hemp and products made from hemp will not get you high.

Instead, hemp is loaded with another cannabinoid, CBD. Cannabidiol (CBD) has been shown to potentially produce many of the same benefits that marijuana users enjoy. This includes pain management, anti-inflammation, anti-anxiety, stress reduction, digestive help, sleep aid, and more.

All of this, without any of the high.

The CBD in hemp flower can be extracted and used to make concentrated products like edibles, tinctures, and dabs. There are a seemingly infinite number of ways to enjoy CBD. Dabbing has become a popular product on the market for its high potency. While hemp flower may contain up to around 25% CBD, dabs can reach up to 90%!  These dabs can be made in a number of ways. In many instances, butane or another solvent is passed through the buds to strip the cannabinoids. The solvent is then evaporated leaving only the pure cannabinoids.

The use of solvents to extract cannabinoids is not the most pure method in many users’ eyes. Solventless extracts have become quite popular recently. We call this “Rosin”. Rosin is made by applying heat and pressure to cannabis in order to “squish” out the concentrated cannabinoids. It is safer to make than dabs that require flammable solvents, the equipment to make it is significantly cheaper, and you can do it yourself in the comfortability of your own home! In this article, we are going to discuss the best way to press CBD flower rosin from hemp.

How to Press the Best CBD Flower Rosin

To press flower rosin, hemp flower is broken down and packed into a rosin bag. Rosin bags are made of fine nylon mesh. The goal of the rosin bag is to hold plant material inside while allowing cannabinoids and terpenes (flavor) to pass through the small spaces in the mesh when being pressed on a rosin press. A rosin press is a piece of equipment with two heated plates that press together. Pressing rosin is a straight-forward task, but the little things can make a big difference. It will take some practice to really dial in the techniques that work best for you. Let’s dive in.

Pro Tip: Start with a small amount of flower and run a “test press”. This way, if anything goes wrong, you will not have wasted much material.

Necessary Equipment

You are going to need a few things to make high-quality CBD flower rosin. This includes the actual hemp flower, rosin bags, parchment paper, a rosin press, a dab tool, and a sealable glass container. We will discuss the specifics of each in this guide.

• Hemp Flower
• Rosin Bags
• Parchment Paper
• Rosin Press
• Dab Tool
• Sealable Glass Container

CBD Flower

There is a simple saying we like to remind ourselves when finding the hemp buds we want to press into rosin. That saying is “Fire in, fire out”. It should be no surprise that high quality hemp produces high quality rosin. Hemp that has high levels of CBD and terpenes will usually produce high yields of good rosin.

You also want to hydrate flower before pressing. During the process of pressing rosin, if the buds are dried out, the heat may burn away valuable cannabinoids or terpenes. You want to aim for about 62-72% relative humidity (RH). You can use humidity packs to achieve these levels of RH. Once you have your buds chosen, they need to be broken down to pack the rosin bag. DO NOT GRIND THE BUDS. You simply want to remove any stems and leave the buds in small to medium sizes.

Rosin Bags

With your flower prepped, it is time to pick a suitable rosin bag and pack it. There are several rosin bag brands out there, but we prefer Gutenberg’s Dank Pressing Co. Their bags are double-stitched for added durability so they won’t break (blowout) during a press. You can use the code “maryjane15” for 15% off your order from Gutenberg’s Dank Pressing Co.

Rosin bags come in a variety of mesh sizes. The spaces between the mesh are measured in microns (µ) and usually range from 15µ to 220µ. The larger the micron, the more space in the mesh, the more material can pass through. This means higher yields, but it may also mean less clean rosin. For flower rosin, we suggest using a micron bag between 90µ and 220µ.

The size (dimensions) of the rosin bag you use is based on how much material you are pressing and how large your rosin press plates are. For example, a 2×4 inch bag can fit up to about 7 grams of flower and a 4×7 inch bag up to about 25 grams. You never want to use a rosin bag that is larger than your rosin press plates.

To pack the rosin bag, make sure the seams are facing inward. Gutenberg rosin bags come this way. Next, begin to form a base of flower at the bottom of the inside of the rosin bag. Be careful to avoid any air pockets. Keep building up the flower inside the bag. You want to leave at least a 0.5 inch space at the top. This will be used to fold over and “seal” the bag. Some people prefer to use a pre press mold to form their flower into a tight brick before putting it in the rosin bag.

Pressing Bottle Tech Style (BTS) is another method of producing flower rosin that has gained a lot of support. Using this technique allows the presser to maintain a more even pressure. Some say it produces higher yields as well. When packing a rosin bag BTS, the only difference is that before you pack the bag, poke the corners of the bottom of the bag inward. Then proceed as you normally would.

Prepare the Rosin Press

The plates of the rosin press need to be lined with parchment paper to “catch” the rosin that squishes out of the bags. It can be helpful to use a magnet to hold the parchment paper in place. We suggest that the parchment overlaps the plates by a few inches (more if you are pressing a large quantity).

Place your rosin bag(s) flat onto the press plates towards the center. You want enough room for the bag to expand when being pressed so that it does not expand over the limits of the press plates. If you are pressing BTS, place the bag vertically on the press plates so that the bottom with the corners poked in is sitting upright on the plates (pictured above).

Set a Temperature

When pressing CBD flower rosin, we suggest using a temperature between 160℉ and 200℉. Lower temperatures may yield less than higher temperatures. On the other side of the coin, lower temperatures may produce tastier rosin because more terpenes are retained. Consistency wise, higher temperatures may yield saucier rosin or, if on the press for longer, shatter-like rosin. Lower temperatures may yield a more budder-like consistency. It will take some time and practice for you to find what temperature works best for you. Remember, not every strain or even every bud will press the same.

Apply Pressure

To begin, we suggest applying just enough pressure to hold the rosin bags in place. The heated plates will begin to warm the hemp in the rosin bag and better prepare it to be squished. About 30-60 seconds should do the trick. For the remainder of the press, you want to steadily and evenly increase pressure. DO NOT apply pressure then let it sit then apply pressure again and repeat. This can lead to clogs in the mesh, burnt terpenes, and underused cannabinoids. The amount of pressure you apply is a personal choice. Many do not even use pressure gauges and rather press by feel. Again, this is going to take some practice.

How long you leave your rosin bag on the press is up to you. For flower rosin, a press generally lasts about 90 second to 4 minutes. The more material you have, the longer you will probably need to press.

Cure it

When you are done with the press, it is best to immediately collect the rosin from the parchment paper using a dab tool or non-stick glove. If the rosin is a bit runny and hard to collect, you can cool it on a cold plate or in the refrigerator. This may be able to help stabilize the rosin and make collection a bit easier. Once collected, place the rosin in an airtight, sealable, glass container.

Now we are at the “curing” stage. This is an entirely optional step and some prefer to enjoy fresh press rosin. Curing refers to the introduction of light, time, oxygen, temperature differences, and agitation to change rosin’s consistency and cannabinoid/terpene content. We suggest using an airtight jar because oxygen can degrade desirable terpenes and alter the flavor of your rosin. It is also best to store rosin in a dark place, away from direct sunlight.

Rosin can go through a warm or a cold cure. Warm cures (about 90℉ to 220℉) can create a sauce-like consistency. Cold cures (about 50℉ to 75℉) usually result in badder-like consistencies. How long you cure is up to you. This could be 12 hours or 12 days or 12 weeks. Generally, the colder the temperature you are curing at, the longer it may take.

During a cure it is not uncommon to begin to see terpenes separate from the cannabinoids and form “puddles” or even their own layer. Once this happens, many choose to “whip it” back together to homogenize the mixture so that each dab has the same terpenes and cannabinoids.

The first thing you’ll notice about the Levo II is how perfectly innocent it looks. This is a machine you could have sitting on your counter when your very sweet (and very square) parents drop by for a visit and they’d one-hundred-percent buy your story that it’s a machine for making lavender-infused bath bombs. Which, technically, it is. Or it could be anyway. It’ll go much better than that time you tried to pass off the bong on the coffee table as a vase that just didn’t have any flowers in it yet. Because who puts water in a ‘vase’ and forgets the flower? (see what I did there?)

But it’s when you get down to actually using this bad boy that the Levo II really shines. It is simple. Idiot-proof really. Although there were obviously directions in the box, we ignored them entirely in favor of a trial and error approach, and quite frankly, there weren’t many errors. We loaded the power pod up with some Apple Fritter flower grown in the backyard of a member of Team Hail Mary Jane, hit activate, and didn’t think about it again. It was slightly less smell proof than we’d expected, but it’s also maybe not the best idea to decarb weed in a shared office space, even if the cannabis wholesale brokers down the hall routinely hotbox their office. 

Flower freshly decarbed, we then set about crafting our very own nerds ropes. And again, the Levo II made it ridiculously easy. We took the flower out of the pod, spread it on the floor of the reservoir, and loaded the rest of the reservoir with coconut oil, then retired to the patio to drink White Claws while the machine worked its magic. We couldn’t figure out how to switch it from Celcius to Farenheit (as I mentioned, direction pamphlets are not our thing over here at Hail Mary Jane) but we Googled the conversion so it didn’t really slow us down. Once the machine ran through the infuse cycle (for our coconut oil, it took a little over an hour) we just hit the button with the oil droplet on it and sweet cannabis-infused goodness flowed out. All told, the process of making the cannabis-oil required our active attention for maybe 15 minutes. When I say the Levo II makes infusing oil simple, I mean it.

But truly, the very best part of the Levo II is…the clean up! If you’ve ever tried making cannabutter yourself at home, you know that shit gets messy. There’s cheesecloth and oil all over you, your floor, your counters. It’s. A. Process. And it’s really kind of awful. But with the Levo II, you hit that little oil button, tap the leftover flower into a trash can, and drop the reservoir into a dishwasher. That’s it. 

The Levo II is currently sitting in the top spot of Hail Mary Jane’s favorite cannabutter machines. It’s sexy, simple and makes cleanup a breeze. We do have an Ardent sitting in the office waiting to be tried though, so stay tuned!

I’ve been a nerds aficionado since the tender age of about 8 (when the sugar rush helped me to survive the boredom of my brothers’ Little League games). But nerds ropes take my love for these crunchy, sweet and tangy pellets of sugary goodness to a whole new level. It’s all the things you love about nerds, but with a gummy bear center. This in and of itself is one thing, but then some genius, in a bout of stoner brilliance, realized you could take this already solid concoction and add weed to it, and the cannabis community has never been the same. 

Nerd ropes edibles are basically everything you could want in an infused treat. They’re sweet and tangy with the perfect texture mix of gumminess and crunch, not to mention gorgeous to look at. In this article, we’re going to teach you the ins and outs of making a batch of nerd ropes that would make Wonka himself proud. 

As with any DIY edible endeavor, the devil is in the details. Especially when it comes to figuring out potency. If you overdo it on the amount of THC you incorporate into your infused nerd ropes, you could be in for a very long night. A friend of Hail Mary Jane found herself at a CBD conference not long ago and someone she met handed her a homemade nerds rope to try out. She was living in Colorado at the time, and mentioned that she had tickets to the renowned outdoor venue, Red Rocks Amphitheater, that night. “Red Rocks, huh,” the guy she was talking to said. “In that case, you shouldn’t take that, you need this one,” and exchanged the one he’d just given her from one pulled from deep within his bag. Maybe she’d had a few too many hits off the vape pen before heading into the conference, but the meaning of this statement flew right over her head. Fast forward to the next day, the “CBD infused” nerd rope hangover cure, and the 400 mg of THC it contained, had her rocking back and forth in a ball, unable to speak and questioning all of her life decisions. So be careful, folks. Start small, either in serving size or potency, and work up gradually in order to have the best experience. 

How to Make Nerd Rope (the Easy Way)

As is often the case in this world, there’s an easy way, and a hard way. Personally, I’m all about keeping it simple, so let’s start with the easiest way to make nerd ropes. Don’t worry, overachievers, we’ll get to you in a minute.

Nerds Rope Edibles Recipe (Equipment and Instructions)

• Squeeze Bottle – You can grab these at most dollar stores or on the interwebs
• Aluminum foil and/or silicone molds
• Baking Sheet
• Liquid Measuring Cup with a pour spout
• Microwave or sauce pan
• Cooking spray (we prefer coconut oil, but any will work)
• Nerds – at least two 10 oz. boxes (but if you order on Amazon and wind up with 60 accidentally, it’s not the worst thing in the world, is it?)
• Gummi Bears – 1 cup (we wound up with 5 lbs, but we’re also a stoner publication, so we’ll see that they don’t go to waste)
• Infused coconut oil (see our reviews of the Levo II and Ardent for machines that make this crazy simple or check out our How to Make Cannabutter article on how to do it with a crockpot or oven at home) 

THC Nerds Rope 

Instructions

1. Take a large piece of aluminum foil and fold it into an accordion shape
2. Gently pull apart to make ‘troughs’ in the aluminum and spread out across the cookie sheet.
3. Spray the troughs with coconut (or another type of) non-stick oil. 
4. Place 1 Cup of gummy bears in the glass liquid measuring cup and place in the microwave. Heat on high for 20-30 second intervals, stirring in between. 
5. Stir in 2 tbsp infused coconut oil. 
6. Mix thoroughly
7. Pour into the squeeze bottle. 
8. Pour Nerds candies into the troughs of the aluminum foil. If using silicone molds, fill 1/3-1/2 with Nerds. 
9. Use the squeeze bottle to make lines of the gummy mixture on the nerds. 2 lines should suffice. 
10. Top with an additional layer of Nerds.
11. Refrigerate for an hour or leave out to set overnight. 

How to Make Medicated Nerds Rope Edibles (the Hard Way)

So it’s not necessarily hard, but if you’re making your own gummies instead of using pre-made gummy bears, there are more steps involved. But, in exchange for your hard work, you’ll get bragging rights, so that’s gotta be worth something, right? And realistically, it’s not that terribly hard. No more difficult than mixing up a bowl of Jell-O anyway. 

All the above steps remain essentially the same, with the exception of making the gummy mixture separately. 

Nerds Rope Ingredients

• Large packet (6 oz.) of flavored gelatin or Jell-o
• 4 envelopes of gelatin (unflavored)
• ½ Cup of cold water (we love to substitute with juices like pineapple or cranberry for additional flavor)
• 4 Tbsp of cannabis infused oil or tincture (we prefer coconut oil ourselves, but you do you!)

Instructions

1. Combine Jell-o packet with 4 packets of gelatin and whisk together in a saucepan
2. Add water or juice to mixture along with cannabis-infused oil or tincture
3. Turn heat on high and bring to a low boil
4. Reduce heat to low while stirring continuously 
5. Let the mixture simmer on low for approximately 5 minutes until everything is blended thoroughly
6. Pour into a squeeze bottle (for nerds rope) and/or silicon molds (if using excess for traditional gummies)
7. Other steps related to DIY Nerds Rope Edibles Instructions above

How to Store Nerds Rope Edibles

Unfortunately, Nerd Ropes don’t particularly lend themselves to freezing, so the best way to store them is to place them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. After that, the gummy center may become more chewy. Looks like you’re spending the next seven days blissed out…not exactly what we’d call a tragedy.

Variations on Classic Nerds Ropes

You can use any flavor of nerds, and any flavor (or a mixture of gummy bears). For the Nerds, we used rainbow, but the watermelon/cherry combo is great for Christmas gifts, and you can’t go wrong with the timeless grape/strawberry combo classic. 

Are Nerd Ropes Vegan?

Most definitely not. Most flavors of Nerds contain a substance called carmine, which is essentially made of crushed up insects and frequently used as a coloring agent. Gelatin, found in the gummy bears, is a protein that is obtained by boiling skin, tendons, ligaments, and/or bones with water, usually from pigs or cows. 

Can you Make Vegan Nerds Ropes?

The answer to this is…yes and no. It can definitely be done, but only with limited flavors and special ingredients that aren’t always easy to get your hands on (although the age of Amazon means you can get most anything if you plan ahead). Carmine is not listed on the watermelon/cherry Nerds combo, so you’re safe with those flavors at least. You’d also need to find a vegan gummy product or recipe for the center. There are companies that sell pre-made vegan gummies (the Almighty Google can lead the way) or you can make them yourself. 

How to Make Infused Vegan Gummies

This recipe calls for just four ingredients: 

• 1 Cup natural juice of your choosing
• 2 teaspoons of agar-agar powder
• infused oil or tincture (1-4 Tbsp depending on desired dosage) 
• 2-3 tablespoons of sweetener (we prefer agave, but you can use sugar or maple syrup as well). 

Simply mix the ingredients, bring to a boil, and then boil for 1 minute, stirring frequently. Allow the mixture to cool for 5-10 minutes (long enough to no longer be extremely hot to the touch but not so long that it begins to harden). Transfer into a squeeze bottle and use for nerds ropes (quick! before the mixture hardens!) or put into a silicon mold, let set for 10-20 minutes, and viola, a vegan treat that’s PETA approved!

Are Nerds Rope Discontinued?

No. The non-medicated version of Nerd Ropes are still very much available online and at retailers nationwide. 

How to Calculate the Potency of Nerds Rope 

1. Figure out how many grams of flower you used to make your cannabutter/cannaoil. 
2. Multiple this number by 1000 in order to convert it to milligrams. 
3. Multiply this number by the percentage of THC (or CBD) in your flower (so if the flower has 15% THC, you’d multiply by .15, not 15)
4. The final number will be the total amount of THC your entire batch. 
5. Divide this by the number of nerd ropes you make. 

For example, say you used a quarter of the Smarties strain of flowers with a THC level of 22%. A quarter ounce is just over 7 grams. 

• 7 x 1000 = 7000
• 7000 x .22 = 1540 mg of THC in entire batch
• Final yield = 25 nerd ropes, so 1540 divided by 25 = 61.6 mg of THC per full rope (divide by number of sections if cut down into smaller servings)

An (Important) Note of Caution

Medicated Nerds Rope Edibles (and any homemade edibles for that matter) are for personal use only. Don’t try selling them. In January 2020, twenty-four individuals were arrested following a year-long investigation dubbed, “Operation On the Ropes.’ Authorities seized 21,000 pieces of candy totaling over 100K individual doses.

Through his years of business experience, Smith knows the keys to success are about having a regimen.

“Ultimately what motivates me, regardless of accolades or momentum, it is always hustling like it’s day No. 1. “

Smith’s day starts with meditation and a trip to the gym to organize his thoughts and clear his mind. This is his time to not think about Tetragram and to immerse himself in music with a workout playlist that is based on his tasks ahead. 

“If it’s a tough day of meetings, I listen to hard core rap, like Ice-T, Scarface, and Dave East. If it’s a more laid back day, I will listen to The Weeknd or J Cole – something more inspirational.”

Smith’s gym routine includes a 2-mile run in 14 minutes to get his heart rate going. 

After his 74-year-old father’s death of a brain aneurysm about six years ago, Smith realized he didn’t have any way of coping with his untimely passing so he started running and focusing on his own health. 

“I realized tomorrow is not promised. He worked out every day. He walked every day. He was in fantastic shape. His death was out of the blue. It made me realize, time is the most valuable commodity we have and I don’t waste a minute of it anymore.”

After years in development, Tetragram was officially born in 2020. In the first year, the app usage far exceeded the company’s projected goals especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, tax revenue generated from medical and adult recreational marijuana topped more than $2 billion. 

As medical and legal recreational cannabis usage increases, the spike in cannabis-related businesses has also jumped. That is where Smith sets Tetragram apart from other cannabis startups.

“We are part of the culture. We are grassroots and have credibility. We are tapped into the vibe of the real industry. We have the respect of the OGs in the industry. We are not building tech to get rich, we are building to improve people’s lives. We are here for the people. Our goals are for people who look like me to have a place in this industry.”

For Smith, the creation of Tetragram began after he nearly died in a 2003 car accident. After the crash that left him with severe head injuries, Smith was prescribed opioids for the pain he was suffering. He quickly knew that was not a solution for his pain and he turned to medical marijuana for relief.

Finding it difficult to remember what strains helped with types of pain and had what effects, Smith would again begin building another business. He and his fellow cannabis users and Tetragram co-founders, Lucas Roe and Julius Moore, created an easy-to-use app to track, rate, and discover cannabis. 

Tetragram was recently named one of the best cannabis apps by Cannigma.

Smith, who also happens to be a member of MENSA, talks about terpenes and cannabinoids like most discuss sports, movies, or music. Smith has truly educated himself about marijuna strains and their effects for pain relief. But more importantly, Smith understands the importance of data and sharing information between cannabis retailers, producers, medical marijuana professionals, and consumers.

Working with dispensaries, investors, and his team, Smith never stops taking the next steps to propel his cannabis start-up to a much higher level and provide cannabis users with a way to journal their marijuana experiences.

The next version of Tetragram is scheduled to launch by the Q1 of 2022 with added functionality, including integration with dispensary QR codes and visual data. 

Weeding through — pun intended — the thousands and thousands of cannabis products out there to find your favorites is not only an overwhelming task, it’s downright impossible. But never fear, Hail Mary Jane is here. 

We have been testing CBD vape oils, pens, and countless other products for years so that we can recommend only the very best to you. You’ll be able to search our recommendations by category, plus you can check out our blog to inform yourself on a variety of cannabis-related topics.

Hail Mary Jane is a group of cannabis enthusiasts with the goal of providing the best quality content to our community. Let us start helping you today.

You have probably heard about the many benefits of CBD oil and are interested in trying it. 

If this product can relieve your anxiety or pain and create an overall sense of well-being, it is a weapon you will want to have in your arsenal. 

Vaping seems like a good method of delivery because it works so quickly. But with countless vape pens and cartridges on the market, how do you know which one contains the right dosage for you? 

Since we are all different, no one vape oil dosage fits everyone across the board.

That’s why we are here to explain more about CBD vape oil and explore the factors that go into determining the right dosage for you.

If you have a plastic grinder, go ahead and skip down to the next section titled, “How to Clean a Plastic Weed Grinder.”

If you have a metal or another kind of grinder, stick around for this step. 

Once all of the resin has been removed (and stored safely for later use), submerge the parts of the grinder into a container or ziplock bag of isopropyl alcohol. Be sure that all parts are covered by the alcohol. 

This step will ensure that all residue has been removed. 

You will notice that the liquid in the bag will turn a light brown color. This is just the excess resin floating off the ‘hard to reach’ parts of your grinder, making it cleaner and ready to use again. 

If you do not feel comfortable using isopropyl alcohol, you can purchase solutions designed to clean resin. 

People have also had success with:

• Vinegar and baking soda 
• Denture-cleaning tablets
• Vodka
• Water and epsom salts

You’re probably curious, “How much THC do you get from a vaporizer?”, but there is no definitive answer.

Different variables like …

• Cartridge potency
• Individual dosage; and
• THC content percentage

… play a role in how much THC you might be consuming when using a cannabis vape pen.

You can attempt to calculate your THC intake by starting with a full cartridge and taking consistent pulls until the cartridge is empty, keeping track of how many pulls it took for you to finish.

Your calculations would depend on the tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) level of your cartridge. 

For example:

• 75% distilled cartridge = 750 mg
• 20% distilled cartridge = 200 mg

By smoking marijuana, you lose a higher amount of THC. It burns off into the air and is lost as side smoke that is not being inhaled. You could end up inhaling about 25% of the total THC from your cannabis.

With a cannabis vape pen, you can increase the amount of THC you inhale by 20

After you’ve consumed CBD, it will begin to interact with your endocannabinoid system or ECS. This system wasn’t discovered until the 1990s, yet it impacts several major processes in the body.

The ECS has three components:

1. Endocannabinoids — substances that complement the body by keeping internal functions running smoothly
2. Receptors — substances to which endocannabinoids bind that exist throughout the body; and 
3. Enzymes — two types of which break down endocannabinoids.

These parts function regardless of CBD use, but it’s the relationship between the endocannabinoids and receptors that lead to us understanding the effects of CBD on your body.

There are two types of receptors:

1. CB1 — located mainly in the central nervous system and responsible for coordination, movement, pain, appetite, memory, and mood.
2. CB2 — located in the peripheral nervous system, these receptors influence pain and inflammation.

After the enzymes break down the endocannabinoids they activate the receptors, which allows for many of the health benefits that people associate with CBD.

This is why CBD can influence a variety of conditions, whether emotional or physical.