Everything you wanted to know about cannabis but thought it too illicit to ask

Canadians absorbed and inhaled the new Cannabis Act without any major societal destabilization. Now that the initial debris has settled, the overall haze may increase. What should you know about cannabis before the haze obscures your vision?

The act proposes to reduce illicit activities in relation to cannabis and provide for the licit production of cannabis. One does not see the word licit very often — or ever. Apparently, everything appears licit unless described somewhere else as illicit. This column shall make prodigious use of the word licit.

One of the main licit activities listed in the legislation includes the possession of 30 grams of dried cannabis. This compares favourably to the licit possession of the 35 grams of sugar found in your regular Coca-Cola. Interesting aside: Upcoming legislation will make it no longer licit (meaning illicit) to market unhealthy food and beverages to children.

The Cannabis Act allows up to four cannabis plants in a dwelling. The growing regulations previously limited plant growth to no more than one metre, but the feds removed this restriction. My previous plant-growing experience would seem to indicate that an oversized plant would not have been a problem and would rather be quite unlikely. I normally rely on the Darwinism approach; a drought-like environment followed by the occasional torrential drenching.

Cannabinoids comprise the psychoactive substance in cannabis and THC is the main drug at issue. Cannabis also contains cannabidiol — or CBD — but this has no psychoactive properties on its own. CBD may assist in the body’s metabolism of THC, sort of a digestive aid perhaps.

One company’s stock skyrocketed once the stock market heard that Coca-Cola was waxing philosophical about incorporating CDB into one of its lifestyle drinks. Coke may be considering getting back to its roots by adding other drugs into its mix since it already includes caffeine and, perhaps even more mind expanding, sugar. Admittedly, this is more body expanding than mind expanding. But perhaps Coca-Cola wants to get back to its original roots when the formulation included trace amounts of cocaine.

CBD seems to provide other positive attributes, but its oily quality may make a liquid formulation unpalatable. And CBD leaves a bitter taste in your mouth comparable to that opportunity/investment/person that you did not follow up with but still see around occasionally.

Not surprisingly, the Los Angeles Times provided a helpful guideline on the recommended grams of THC usage. Raw cannabis contains very little of the active THC psychoactive compound. Heating triggers a chemical process called decarboxylation, which facilitates the chemical conversion into THC. More than half of the THC can be lost in this process. Therefore, a standard joint of .3 grams can deliver 12 milligrams of THC through toking and the rest is lost. A vapourizer can deliver 17 mg. Perhaps vaping should be renamed voping in this situation.

No less than Business Insider conducted some experimentation and discovered that a “few hits” would provide the ideal “Goldilocks” state of relaxation. Participants at this level did better in job interviews and other calculations. More than this amount resulted in greater stress with the participants. The study did not clarify if the higher-level THC participants’ increased stress arose from having trouble finding the interview rooms.

THC possesses psychoactive properties, which means it changes brain function by altering perception, mood, consciousness, cognition or behaviour. As dire as this sounds, other chemicals such as alcohol, nicotine and caffeine reside in this psychoactive category. Apparently, these last three chemicals cause greater levels of addiction.

We can neatly categorize these drugs into two categories: agonists and antagonists. THC falls into the agonist category, which is responsible for increased activity in the brain’s neurotransmitters. Those that partake minimally apparently see an increase in philosophical thinking. Caffeine, nicotine and alcohol fall within the antagonist category and these drugs interfere with synthesis or block postsynaptic receptors. These people develop an intolerance for philosophical speaking if it delays them from getting their dose. The first two are stimulants while the last is a depressant.

THC also assists in metacognition. Knowing about knowing. This includes knowledge about when and how to use particular strategies for learning or problem solving. This may have some interesting applications when trying to divine new legal strategies for a particularly complex situation. We would only suggest perhaps testing a very senior partner under very controlled circumstances not within the office. So only try this at home kids. And, of course, get the proper medical, legal and insurability advice before attempting anything like this.

If THC increases metacognition, we may start to see cannabis in situations requiring creative thinking. I overheard a senator asking about how to turn off the smoke detectors. There may be a connection.

One of the other major factors giving the federal government more of a natural high would be the potential $618 million in tax revenue coming from the sale of cannabis. This would likely expand to $1 billion or more in the future.

For drivers, the feds operate on a zero-tolerance policy. You would be better off being nowhere near your car when partaking considering we are talking about THC detection in nanograms, which is a billionth of a gram. In comparison, a grain of salt is 58,000 nanograms. Once you get your A.I. billing program, you might start billing at this infinitesimally small level.

The federal THC limit is 2.5 ng, which results in up to a $1,000 fine, while tests showing greater than 5 ng results in a $1,000 mandatory fine and prison sentences for subsequent convictions. Drivers with .05 mg alcohol and greater than 2.5 ng have the same penalty as more than 5 ng.

So, don’t be a dope and drive.