io9: Marijuana

Driving stoned doubles your risk of a serious car crash

Robert T. Gonzalez — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 09:20:00 PST

Evidence suggests that driving high may be less dangerous than driving drunk, but driving stoned is still driving impaired — and assuming otherwise could get you killed. More »

Would people abuse a marijuana mouth spray? Absolutely. Does it matter? Absolutely not.

Robert T. Gonzalez — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:28:42 PST

British pharmaceutical company GW Pharmaceuticals has developed a medical marijuana drug called Sativex. The drug is delivered orally via a spray pump, and is the first of its kind to be produced by extracting high-inducing cannabinoids like THC (pot's primary psychoactive ingredient) from the cannabis plant itself. More »

This is what your brain on drugs really looks like

Robert T. Gonzalez — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:05:00 PST

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Scientists this week published a study that reveals what the human brain looks like under the influence of psilocybin, the hallucinogenic chemical found in magic mushrooms. More »

Smoking joints not so bad for your lungs, after all

Tim Barribeau — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 06:45:05 PST

Score another victory for the tokers in the audience. A study into the long-term effects of marijuana smoking on lung function has shown that it's not nearly as bad as many have assumed. Despite having many of the same constituents as tobacco smoke, the long-term effects of marijuana smoking on breathing is poorly understood, which this study has at least partly rectified. More »

Legalizing marijuana could reduce traffic fatalities

Robert T. Gonzalez — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 15:18:00 PST

On the fence about legalizing marijuana? If so, consider this: legalizing weed could save your life. In the most comprehensive study of its kind ever conducted, the Institute for the Study of Labor has revealed in a provisional discussion paper that the legalization of medical marijuana in the United States is linked to a dramatic decrease in traffic fatalities. More »

Participate in the largest drug-use survey ever conducted

Robert T. Gonzalez — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 11:30:00 PST

Drugs play a huge role in our lives, but it's hard to find in-depth research on how people take them and what effect it has on their lives. Here's your chance to help change that. More »

10 Ways Of Getting High That Are (Slightly) More Pleasant Than Krokodil

Cyriaque Lamar — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 10:30:00 PST

Yesterday we discussed the horrors of the Russian drug krokodil. This flesh-eating heroin-like substance may seem like the most nightmarish of all nightmares, but there are plenty of other toxic (and just plain grody) substances out there, ready to be consumed for no good reason. Here are 10 more intoxicating things that would give McGruff the Crime Dog angina.

Scientists unlock the genetic basis for weed's high

Robert T. Gonzalez — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 16:20:00 PDT

Not all weed is created equal. Some members of the Cannabis genus pump out tetrahydrocannabinol (aka THC, the plant's main psychoactive chemical) like nobody's business, while others produce very little of the mind-altering molecule. But the genetic basis for why some plants excel at getting you high while others are best suited for, say, their use in textiles has long been a mystery. Until now. More »

Marijuana harvesting in Kyrgyzstan sometimes involves naked horseback riding

Cyriaque Lamar — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 09:35:00 PDT

The Chu Valley between Kyrgyzstan and Kazkhstan is the home to an extremely hardy type of marijuana that resisted Soviet-era efforts to stamp it out. Law-breaking marijuana farmers in the region harvest the crop normally, but they also procure their stick-icky using a tried and true method that's been around for centuries: nude equestrianism. More »

Obesity is less common in pot smokers

Robert T. Gonzalez — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 11:00:00 PDT

Here's a scientific finding you probably never saw coming: two studies that examined over 50,000 people between them have revealed that pot smokers — despite being prone to serious cases of the munchies — actually have a lower risk of obesity than people who pass on the grass. More »

At last, we have sequenced the cannabis genome

Robert T. Gonzalez — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 17:20:47 PDT

The Cannabis sativa genome has been sequenced by a team of scientists in Amsterdam (yes, really). The raw genetic sequence was posted yesterday to Amazon's EC2 cloud computing service by a company called Medicinal Genomics — just in time for the weekend. More »

Should we dig up Shakespeare's body to find out if he smoked pot?

Alasdair Wilkins — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 10:41:03 PDT

That's the question currently before the Church of England, as an archaeologist has proposed examining William Shakespeare's remains. If nothing else, this is our chance to find out whether Shakespeare wrote the greatest works in the English language...on weed. More »

What cannabis actually does to your brain

Annalee Newitz — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 19:25:35 PDT

Archaeologists recently found a 2,700-year-old pot stash, so we know humans have been smoking weed for thousands of years. But it was only about 20 years ago that neuroscientists began to understand how it affects our brains. More »

The Most Righteous Science Fiction and Fantasy Bongs

Charlie Jane Anders — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 11:21:04 PDT

Speculative fiction ignites a spark of the imagination and blazes a trail of exploration throughout the cosmos. So it's only natural for us to pay tribute to the greatest science fiction and fantasy-themed bongs. More »

10 science fiction and fantasy characters who were stoners

Cyriaque Lamar — Wed, 20 Apr 2011 10:35:00 PDT

Today is April 20, a day better known as International Planetarium Laser Show and Ding Dong Appreciation Day. In honor of this momentous celebration, we bring you a bevy of fantastical characters from speculative fiction who probably smell like patchouli. More »

Ziggy Marley explains his new superhero, Marijuanaman!

Charlie Jane Anders — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 17:00:00 PDT

At Wondercon, we had glimmers of hope for the Green Lantern movie — but there was another green superhero being unveiled. We were lucky enough to spend some time chatting with Ziggy Marley about his new superhero, Marijuanaman. More »

10 ways to party hard (from beyond the grave)

Cyriaque Lamar — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 18:35:08 PDT

Just because you've got a mouthful of formaldehyde (instead of Jägermeister) doesn't mean you have to give up your party-hearty ~~lifestyle~~ deathstyle! Here are 10 documented ways you can become a weekend warrior for all eternity. More »

When You Need To Get Stoned And Watch Scifi - Try These Shows

Annalee Newitz — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 17:15:14 PDT

Yesterday was 4/20, a day for celebrating the miracle of marijuana across the globe. But when you're watching scifi TV, every day is 4/20. We have the ultimate list of stoner-friendly TV. Pack a bowl and tune in! More »

Fake (But Legal) Marijuana Is Freaking The Kids Out

Cyriaque Lamar — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 06:30:00 PST

What's worse than America's youth getting stoned out of their gourds on illicit reefer? Kids hallucinating on legal but psychotropic fake weed. And you thought watching hours of Adult Swim and eating an entire box of Ho Hos was dangerous. More »

The Mysterious Chemical That Eases Pain, But Also Causes It

Annalee Newitz — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 11:00:00 PDT

Endocannabinoids are the body's natural form of THC, a chemical in marijuana that can ease pain. Now a new study shows this chemical is a double-edged sword, making people more sensitive to pain too. Could endocannabinoids be used for torture? More »

New Studies Link Cancer To Pot And... Nothing, Really To Ecstasy

Graeme McMillan — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 09:30:49 PST

It's good news/bad news when it comes to recreational drug news. New studies show that the long-term effects of Ecstasy aren't as bad as suspected... but smoking pot might lead to testicular cancer. More »

World’s Oldest Pot Stash Offered an Afterlife High

Lauren Davis — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 08:30:00 PST

When archeologists opened the tomb of a Gushi shaman in northwest China, they found his stash. The 2,700 year-old corpse had been buried with just under a kilo of marijuana, the oldest known use of cannabis for purposes other than food or clothing. And researchers believe that he was entombed with the plant so he could enjoy its psychoactive properties in the afterlife. More »

Sinus Infection? Try Marijuana!

Annalee Newitz — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 16:30:00 PDT

Good news and bad news, pot smokers. Marijuana contains highly-effective antibiotics that could be the key to stopping antibiotic-resistant bacteria. But unfortunately if you smoke the stuff, you become more vulnerable to infection — probably due to smoke damage in your lungs. Nevertheless, your prescription for medical marijuana just got a lot more useful. New research confirms that molecules found in pot called cannabanoids are powerful antibiotics. According to Environmental Graffiti:

Scientists studying cannabis related antibiotics were now able to pinpoint the basic backbone structure that is common to all cannabanoids, to be the active component in killing off bacteria. Now that the bio-active section of the cannabanoid molecules has been identified, researchers and drug makers are busy developing and testing antibiotic drugs as well as considering potential uses for cannabanoids in various soaps and cleaning products. At present they are focusing their efforts on the derivatives of the non-psychoactive cannabanoids. This is presumably because the US FDA, and other governing bodies world-wide, might have a hard time with people getting high in order to cure a bacterial infection.

But aren't people with really bad infections the ones who are most in need of a good high? I mean, think about it. When you're sick, you're usually so out of it that all you can do is sit on the couch and watch all the episodes of True Blood stored on your DVR. Wouldn't a nice buzz make that experience better in every possible way? How Cannabis Could Save Your Life [via Environmental Graffiti] More »

4 Out of 5 Doctors Recommend Marijuana for Your ADHD Kid

Annalee Newitz — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 14:00:51 PST

Pot could replace Ritalin as the cure for hyperactivity in children. A group of 124,000 physicians is lobbying the government to make it easier for them to study and prescribe marijuana to their patients. Once they've fully studied the drug — something that hasn't happened before — they're anticipating finding a lot of new, legitimate medical uses for the drug. Like calming hyperactive people down. More »