Author: David Downs

[ad_1] A decision by the federal government could put money back in your pocket, and make legal cannabis businesses more competitive. So keep hammering your elected officials on rescheduling marijuana this fall.Those are the two biggest takeaways from this week’s news that the US Department of Health and Human Services has recommended to the Drug Enforcement Administration that cannabis be downgraded from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule III drug, under the Controlled Substances Act.Cannabis attorney Lauren Mendelsohn at Omar Figueroa Law in Sebastopol, CA joints Leafly News Senior Editor David Downs to talk through the news and its…

[ad_1] Labor Day or not—summer just keeps simmering along on the West Coast. Up in the cannabis heartland of Humboldt County, the summer light dep crop moves out to stores, while the full-sun plants launch their flowers.This month’s Leafy Buzz comes straight from a major Eureka, CA pot contest—the Transbay Challenge IV. There, we judged 18 flowers over six hours and came away with armfuls of buds to review.Here are the cheat codes to the best bongloads of August. Here’s another edition of Leafly Buzz.Data grinderStrains surging on the West Coast this August. (Sasha Beck/Leafly)Moonbow⬆ 2%Moonbow #99 grown by Archive Portland.…

[ad_1] Boston is a well-oiled money-eating and making machine.The Ivy Leagues sit right there, minting masters of the universe. Five years into legal weed, it’s a shock to see how Massachusetts has ironed out the kinks for visitors. Rapid delivery services like Rolling Releaf can meet you in front of your spot. Craft living soil growers like Tower Three release small batches of world-class strains like Donny Burger, and Half-Pint. You can combine Fenway Park with a massive new cannabis mall across the street—New Dia. And don’t try to dry out, or hew to a diet. Boston demands tasting pints…

[ad_1] A new tide of craft cannabis is rising in Massachusetts this year. Five years into legalization, the big companies have shot their shot—now it’s time for smaller, more diverse, and local players to emerge.Among them, the 9-month-old Rooted In dispensary on snooty Newbury St., off of the storied Commonwealth Ave. in Boston. It’s like the American Revolution’s Rodeo Drive out on the sidewalk, but Rooted In keeps it real with award-winning, fire flowers.Watch the full video above to see our picks of the shop, and walk through the local, woman co-owned ‘mom and pot shop.’ Our picks include Tower…

[ad_1] This summer, connoisseur smokers start a forest fire of the stone fruit dessert strain Georgia Pie all across the US. Why? Because it’s Gelatti x Kush Mints, with a peach, apricot, and tree fruit note; and it’s bred by the best—Seed Junky Genetics—with a chill, hybrid, summer party vibe.Georgia Pie appears on nearly 2,000 menus listed on Leafly—up nearly 100% from a year ago. Now a top 200 strain in availability, Georgia Pie is officially our Leafly HighLight for August.Dispensaries serve Georgia Pie as top-shelf flower for $50 an eighth, as well as 6-star ice water hash worth more…

[ad_1] Hollyweed Stars: What do they smoke? Do they smoke things? Let’s find out!Hollywood gets 50 million visitors per year, but where do they re-up? Smokers heading into town should act like a local and put an order into Urbn Leaf on Sunset Blvd—the Strip’s first licensed dispensary.Watch the video above to see the full details.Urbn Leaf on Sunset Blvd opened in January 2023, and has served the Wu-Tang Clan, countless celebrities’ assistants, as well as visitors staying at all the nearby hotels. A Hollywood Hills doctor asked Urbn Leaf to cater his birthday party with private budtenders for $4,000.Our…

[ad_1] More folks enjoy cannabis legalization in more states than ever before. The downside? A patchwork of state and federal laws and rules on trains, planes, and automobiles.As America herds through a record year for travel, Leafly is here to keep pace with the changes. Listen to our updated rules for hitting the road or flying with weed in 2023—via this interview with Los Angeles’ National Public Radio affiliate KCRW.“There are a lot of people taking personal amounts of cannabis on domestic flights,” I told KCRW.Tap the play button to listen along to KCRW’s segment.Here are the tips in the…

[ad_1] Millions of people worldwide use cannabis to treat mood issues as legalization continues to spread.People smoke pot to reduce anxiety, and depression, and many have found lifesaving relief. Considering its status as an effective neuro-modulator, it’s no surprise that people experiencing nervous system dysregulation seek out cannabis for its many effects. But cannabis’ ability to help also exists alongside its potential for misuse, and potential to cause harm.Last week, the Wall Street Journal ran a column under the headline “Cannabis is linked to mental illness” that referenced a paper published this May in JAMA Psychiatry: The study concluded that…

[ad_1] Peaches, peaches, peaches, peaches-peaches—I love you, oh.Anyone who wants to smoke hype weed while keeping the summer at a high vibration should not sleep on good batches of the hybrid strain Peach Ringz.This July from coast to coast, Peach Ringz delivers sour, stone fruit, and fuel terps with party hybrid effects. We’re psyched to see Peach Ringz approach the top 200 most-stocked strains in North American dispensaries and stores—it’s got a champion pedigree and remains trendy among breeders.Dentists may hate us for this, but Peach Ringz wins our Leafly HighLight for July.Peach Ringz from UpNorth, via Purple Star, SF.…

[ad_1] Listen up, joint rollers, bong loaders, and pipe packers of America.Leafly’s winning Strains of Summer 2023 has arrived online and in your social feed, and too bad it’s not scratch ’n’ sniff. Each summer solstice, we seek to arm you with the terps and THC you’ll need to slay the long summer days, from NYC to the Bay. This year, we picked a mix of classics, trendsetters, and hot-hot new-new from across the flavor wheel. We’re talking flavors like blueberries, strawberries, cherries, oranges, lemon, ice cream, gasoline, cereal milk, tropical taffy, and more. We mean strains that pair with waking,…

[ad_1] Sunday, June 18, is Jack Herer Day, an unofficial remembrance for the profane, bombastic, lovable weed warrior and author of the landmark 1985 hemp legalization polemic “The Emperor Wears No Clothes.”Herer died in 2010 at age 70, just two years before voters passed weed legalization in Colorado and Washington. Today, 23 states and Washington, DC, have legalized THC, and the federal government has made hemp federally legal, igniting an explosion of CBD oil products and a weed seed golden age. Jack would have loved it, and yet would still have found rights to fight for.The strain named in honor…

[ad_1] Late May heralds the high season for cannabis planting in North America. Millions upon millions of starters root in soil for their 2023 full-sun run. The clone trays at Mainstage dispensary in Sacramento, CA look picked over.On the weed contest circuit, strains like Grape Stank and Trop Cherry are crushing it in Oregon. Blue Face brought gas back to California at The Emerald Cup May 13.And fresh on seed banks this week: new crosses from Seed Junky, Compound, and Clearwater.Here’s what’s cooking in the white-hot magma core of the US’ $60 billion cannabis industry. Here’s Leafly Strain News Weekly #5.New…