By Kyra Curtis

    Most smokers are aware of the smokers cough that tends to happen when inhaling improperly. Because smokers tend to have this cough it puts them at risk for lung infections, respiratory infections and even death. And because smoking can be addictive it still puts the smoker at risk for the virus. Due to a weak immune system smokers especially have to be careful of the virus. Even if smoking medical marijuana products will help the products can only work for so long until you have to smoke/cough again.  

The big question here is does smoking/vaping put you at risk for COVID-19?  

Well according to New York Times, smoking consumers are at a high risk of catching the virus due to products containing tobacco that weakens the lungs and the immune system. It has also been said that because COVID-19 is considered a threat to smoking consumers the virus could heavily attack the consumers respiratory system thus causing respiratory failure. Multiple studies have shown that smokers are more susceptible to the virus because tobacco products in consumers attack binding receptors in the body thus making variations of the virus.  

Does this mean everyone can get the virus?

The answer is yes. According to the CDC, people who are 65 and older, who live in nursing homes, are anyone who has been exposed to someone else who has been in contact with the infected are susceptible to the virus. This includes everyone of all ages especially patients who have multiple medical problems that would make it hard to fight the virus. Even though as much research has been done that proves marijuana can be a cure for other medical purposes this virus can affect smokers to the point of death.

Does this mean you should quit?

In a way yes. New York Times suggests quitting will beat your odds against catching the virus. The news article has a categorized list of apps and texting service numbers to help encourage consumers to quit smoking. To quit smoking will benefit most smoking consumers in the long run since smoking can affect a person’s everyday life.  But if smoking is a good pass time for consumers during the day it has been suggested to smoke in the comfort of your own home rather outside out in the open since the particles of the virus on a face mask can linger more than a couple of hours. It’s best to stay home whether you’re high or not.

By Kyra Curtis                                        4/5/2020

So most know that the medical marijuana companies have multiple versions of CBD concentrates that can accommodate every consumer’s need to get their right dosage. Most dispensaries provide mainly oil concentrates, tinctures, and flower.  Some of these products accommodate people who are trying these products out for the first time and for people who microdose these products just to hold them over during the day if they experience pain throughout their day. And lastly, for these products consumers have optional ways of taking their dose of concentrate. 

According to  Health Europa, CBD oil ingredients mainly contain coconut oil, vegetable glycerin, and hemp seed oil as the base which dilutes some of the harsh concentration of the CBD thus making the dose or mg of CBD lower than the actual dose. Most CBD oils can be used as a topical, can be taken orally, and can be used to cook with. CBD oils can also contain some low levels of Thc as well thus giving the consumer a body high with a low balanced psychoactive high in case the consumer prefers it. Some CBD oils can also be homemade if the consumer wants to experiment on their own with the CBD and THC levels.

As defined by Health Europa, Tinctures have CBD suspended in the actual extract that has been derived from the hemp plant itself. But tinctures have 60-70% of alcohol as the main ingredient thus giving this product a longer shelf life. Tinctures are also a stronger version of an extract that has to be taken orally since it is more of a liquid. Surprisingly tinctures are also infused with essential oils or extracts such as peppermint, cinnamon, alcohol, and glycerine. Tinctures can also be cooked if paired with water-soluble CBD since tinctures are considered as a preservative for CBD. There are also other ingredients that can be used with tinctures such as essential vitamins (B12, vitamin C/D), water, melatonin, etc. 

Lastly as defined by  Weed Maps, Cannabis flower is mainly defined as the female part of the cannabis plant that is usually the versatile smokable part of the plant. Cannabis flowers can be smoked multiple ways to the consumers comfortability through pipes, bongs, or as rolled joints. Cannabis flower has to be ground in order to use it for multiple things in order to expand your supply of the flower. When you first see cannabis flowers it will look like nuggets or as buds clustered together before you crush the flower. And furthermore, Cannabis flowers can be used as the main ingredient for the products listed above because the sole purpose of cannabis flowers is to absorb as much nutrients and power the plant has to offer.            

• 

There has been a well known battle between CBD cream and Tiger balm since CBD made it debut in 2018. Tiger balm has been a well known over- the- counter topical balm to relieve muscle tension with it’s burning and cooling sensation to redirect your attention from the pain. Since there is plenty of CBD creams out there the cream you see in the picture above is a 150 mg cream that consists of Zero Mg of THC since CBD is known to help relax the body from pain or stress. Meanwhile both creams are helpful depending on the person each cream or balm have extra strength ingredients in it. 

    According to Painpathways, the ingredients in Tiger balm consists of two ingredients which are Menthol and Camphor. Menthol is considered as an irritant for the skin while the Camphor gives the muscles a cooling sense of relief. Tiger balm also has a strong Menthol smell but has a smooth non-sticky texture to it. Although it is known that the effects of Tiger balm are fast acting with pain relief but it has been said that the pain relief effects don’t last long.

With CBD cream according to Painpathways, the ingredients in CBD creams consists of twenty ingredients but the main ingredients in CBD cream is Hemp Extract, Glycerin, Salicylate (which is an ingredient that can be found aspirin). CBD can take awhile to relieve the pain since some CBD creams have more Glycerin in them as a ingredient to spread the cream but sometimes too much Glycerin in a product draws away from the amount of CBD/Hemp extract in the product. Thus causing a semi pain relieving effect unless the consumer has a lower CBD tolerance or if the product has a ratio of both CBD and THC. Depending on the consumer CBD creams can and can not be effective depending on the consumer who might have a higher CBD/THC tolerance.  

Have you ever heard of Sativa, Indica, or Hybrid strains? Ever wondered which strain is your preference?

Well according to Leafly, these three strains are in their own categories of Sativa, Indica, Hybrid. The two most common strains out of the three are Sativa and Indica. Indica strains are mostly known to sedate the body to relax for bed or to ease the body from any strenuous pain. With Sativa on the other hand, Sativa is more of the energy booster out of strains that increases cerebral effects, physical activity, and gets the creative juices flowing. Now with the Hybrid strains, Hybrid strains are the best of both worlds of Sativa and Indica in one strain. Meaning that Hybrids give you an energy boost while giving your body that relaxing high at the same time.

 But how will you know the difference in strains?

According to Leafly, the main difference you can tell with these strains is how they grow differently, look different, and can even smell different. With Sativa strains the leaves are narrow, the plant itself is tall in stature, has long flowering cycles, and is better suited for warmer climates. As opposed to Indica strains the leaves are more broad, the plant itself is shorter in stature, has shorter flowering cycles, and is better suited for colder climates. An experiment was conducted to tell the difference between the two strains and guess which strain was which. But the downfall of this experiment was that the consumer needed to understand which strain was causing certain side effects based on how was the strain delivered and the dosage of the strain. The results were that Sativa doesn’t really give you an energy boost that you were looking for, and not all Indica strains will relax/sedate your body how you wanted it too. If anything you should know that these strains have hundreds of cannabinoids in each plant but the real difference between these strains is which one is more THC-dominant, CBD-dominant, and which one is balanced between the two.

CBD/THC Dominant Strains:

-THC-dominant strains give consumers more of an euphoric feeling which helps consumers with depression, anxiety, insomnia, etc. For example, the most famous strain is Girl Scout Cookies which is known for it’s long-lasting relaxing effects to the consumer all the while giving the consumer blissful waves of euphoria.

-CBD-dominant strains contains very small amounts of THC for consumers who are sensitive to THC. For example, Stephen Hawking Kush gives the consumer a mild, relaxed effect while giving the consumer a healthy dose of CBD even though this is a Indica-dominant strain.

– Balanced THC/CBD strains have similar levels of THC and CBD giving the consumer both euphoria and symptom relief. This kind of strain is usually the best choice for consumers who are just beginning to consume marijuana. For example, Cannatonic is a strain that is evenly split between CBD/THC that gives the consumer a wide amount of flexibility to use this strain as either medicine or to just enjoy while unwinding from the day.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.