Browsing: Culture

Colorado has some music venues that are notorious for ignoring cannabis use, but most of those places aren’t booking classical music. Groupmuse, a network of event organizers and musicians, has been setting up small and large classical music shows in both private homes and public venues across the country for over five years, but now it wants to expand accessibility. So last month, Groupmuse began hosting cannabis-friendly shindigs, or “groupmuses,” in Boulder and Denver, setting up private parties with local musicians so that attendees could enjoy their tunes at a new, higher level.

We caught up with Groupmuse founder Sam Bodkin to learn more about these new, intimate music sessions, and how consuming cannabis can further connect both listeners and performers to the classical canon.

Marijuana cafes, lounges, dispensary tasting rooms and other social-use businesses will soon be legal in Colorado, now that Governor Jared Polis has signed a bill that regulates social pot consumption.

“Colorado has many tourists and residents who choose to participate [in legal cannabis use]. Up until this bill, there’s been no way to have safe public consumption,” Polis said before signing the bill on May 29. “I’ve smelled it walking my dog. For many of us with kids, we want to make sure we don’t have that in our neighborhoods.”

Are stoners lazy? Not according to a recent University of Colorado Boulder study that questions the “lazy stoner” stereotype. Overseen by Angela Bryan, a professor in CU Boulder’s Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, as well as the Institute for Cognitive Science, the study looked at a possible link between cannabis use and exercise behaviors.

“If we think about the typical ways you think of cannabis, it’s making you more relaxed and maybe not as motivated to get out of the house, and as an exercise researcher, that’s concerning,” says Bryan. “On the other hand, there’s some really good longitudinal data that shows that long-term cannabis users have lower weight, lower risk of diabetes, better waist-to-hip ratio, and better insulin function. It’s kind of a scientific quandary, so we thought we should do investigations to see whether there really is a problem that might be happening, or if cannabis could even be a benefit to physical activity.”

Got a full tank of gas and mountains on your mind? As the snow starts melting, driving through Colorado isn’t as daunting as it can be in winter, and there’s heaps of fun to be had even if most ski slopes are closed.

No matter where you go in this state, chances are good that you’ll drive by a dispensary or twenty during the trip. If you’re not from Colorado, there’s no reason not to stop at one (or more): You’re on vacation, and recreational marijuana is totally legal here (as long as you follow these rules, and have a designated driver).

The name is a little much, but SAGE (Sativa Afghani Genetic Equilibrium) has always been underrated in the legalized version of Denver, and can only be found in a few dispensaries…if you’re lucky. A precursor to Girl Scout Cookies, Gorilla Glue and other potent strains with long, even-keeled highs, SAGE peaked in popularity in the mid-2000s, But even if you can’t find the original, any other version will usually do, particularly Sage N Sour.

Also called Sour Sage, Sage N Sour is even harder to locate than SAGE, but a handful of pot shops occasionally carry it. Known for better daytime effects and focus than its parent, Sage N Sour is a cross between SAGE and the energetic and ever-pungent Sour Diesel. The hybrid’s rubbery aroma and coffee-like effects tilt much more on the Diesel spectrum, but assertive spicy and piney notes on the back end and a pacifying head high balance out those gassy characteristics.

Dispensaries tend to sell their cannabis to customers based on indica, sativa and hybird or nighttime/daytime designations, but I’m a flavor guy. Give me something new, juicy or pungent.

I don’t care if it’s gassy, fruity, creamy, earthy, sour or floral — the wide span of cannabis flavors is a delight to research. Almost any strain can bring a lip-smacking smoke if grown correctly, but some are more predisposed to good taste than others. Here are ten strains we’ve seen around Denver that make great appetizers:

Nothing is that legitimate unless there’s a book about it for dummies. My dad learned how to coach Little League basketball and install Windows 97 thanks to the triangle-headed nerd who’s been on the cover of nearly 2,500 different self-help guides, aiding millions of readers. Now, the Dummies franchise has decided that cannabis is too big to avoid, bringing in former Native Roots executive Kim Casey to author a book about the plant.

The onetime communications director for Colorado’s largest dispensary chain has experience in the cannabis industry and with its constantly changing laws that few can rival, and she puts that experience to good use in her newly published Cannabis for Dummies. We caught up with Casey to learn more about the book, including which dummies will find it most helpful.

Not all heroes in the cannabis space are fighting in courtrooms or grinding in the grow lab. Some heroes are making stonerific sandwiches with grape jelly and jalapeños, and the plant would be much further from social acceptance without them. Don’t believe us? Count how many parents you see in a Cheba Hut, one of the self-described original gangsters of pot-themed restaurants. Shit, there’s even a Cheba Hut in Stapleton now.

It’s funny, because mainstream acceptance was the last thing that Cheba Hut founder Scott Jennings was looking for. Although his eateries, with their pun-filled menus of sub sandwiches, have done more to help de-stigmatize cannabis than most “pioneers” who like the smell of their own edible farts, Jennings misses the rebellious side of cannabis. Still, that rebel mentality will forever stay embodied in his food, which we’re starting to see in more towns around the country.

We recently caught up with Jennings to learn more about the beginning of Cheba Hut, his menu favorites and more.

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