Pot: An American Pastime

The marijuana culture in America has long been regarded as the "counter culture". However, recent studies and legitimate research suggest otherwise. A survey published this month in PLoS Medicine found that 42% of people surveyed in the United States had tried marijuana at least once. By contrast, only 20% of people surveyed in the Netherlands admitted having tried pot. What's even more interesting is a comment made by Jim Anthony, the chair of the department of epidemiology at Michigan State University. In the PLoS study, Mr. Anthony reports that the high number of cannabis users in the United States may have something to do with an increasing awareness that marijuana may be less toxic than say, alcohol or tobacco.

Hits from the bong....

After finishing off a nice bong the other evening after work, I was reflecting on which bong I like the best. I finally came to the conclusion that I can't pick ONE. I like them all!!

Since giving up papers and blunts (for the most part..lol), I enjoyed the pleasantness of bongs, water pipes, and vaporizers. Of the bongs I currently use, I would say that recently I seem to enjoy my ice bong ( pictured above) in particular. The ice bong basically works like a normal water bong, but you can trap ice in the neck of the bong to further cool the smoke. I got mine at my local head shop, but a good place to look online is grasscity.com.

A lot of people like to add flavors in the bowl of the bong. This is fine, but I always suggest not using tobacco and always using natural, herbal flavoring. This way you don't interfere with the herb and you only get natural and pure herb in your lungs.

Ever Vaporize?

If you enjoy smoking cannabis and have never vaporized, you should seriously consider trying it. Why vaporize? Well, vaporizing allows you to inhale the flavor and essence of the pot without all the smoke. How the hell does that work? I'll explain.....


When you smoke herb, the substance is heated to very high temperatures, sometimes exceeding 1200 degrees Fahrenheit. This is an excessive temperature because you can enjoy the essence of the herb at around 365 degrees Fahrenheit. Rather than burning your pot, a vaporizer heats the material so that the active compounds in the plant melt. This causes a phase change in the matter, which is now an aromatic vapor.


The new "smoke" is not actually smoke, but rather an evaporated vapor that has the appearance of smoke. Ideally, the vapor contains less harmful gases like, carbon monoxide. With no smoke produced, the harmful effects of smoking are greatly reduced or eliminated by using a vaporizer.