Pubdate: Thu, 10 Jul 2014
Source: Reno News & Review (NV)
Copyright: 2014, Chico Community Publishing, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.newsreview.com/issues/reno/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2524
Author: Bruce Van Dyke
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v14/n489/a04.html

LOST DOWD IN HIGH WEEDS

On June 3, New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd blew a lot of minds 
when she wrote about her experience in Colorado with one of the newly 
legal pot-laced candy bars now available there.

What made it memorable was that Maureen got rocked hard by her stony 
treat. "I felt a scary shudder go through my body and brain. ... I 
lay curled up in a hallucinatory state for the next eight hours. ... 
I was thirsty but couldn't move to get water. ... I became convinced 
that I had died and no one was telling me" and so on and so forth.

Damn, Mo, sounds like you got hold of some real good shit! (There is 
controversy surrounding Dowd's column, with Colorado folks reporting 
they gave her specific instructions in advance on proper dosage.)

Whether or not Dowd was legitimately roasted by a really good Mr. 
Goodbar is not topic.

What I do want to address are the very legitimate issues surrounding 
edible pot products.

The main issue is simple-yes, pot candy bars and pastries can be 
terrific pain relievers, appetite stimulators and bell ringers, but 
woe to those who gobble up too much of a dose. When eaten to excess, 
marijuana can lay you out and make you grovel and retch for hours.

My point, ultimately, is the same as Dowd's-watch out. Proceed with 
caution. Gradually work your way up to the proper dose for your 
metabolism and your body weight.

These edible goodies deserve mucho respecto, amigo.

I've been sampling some bars from California, called Kiva bars. They 
are really good. Very pleasant.

Yummy tasty.

Lovely buzz. And the potential for bummers, disasters and fuckups is, 
unfortunately, very real.

The basic Kiva bar comes in four rectangles, with each one packing 45 
milligrams of THC. There are no recommended dosages on the label, and 
that needs to be corrected immediately. Because if you just assumed, 
"Well, OK, I guess I'll go ahead and just eat one of these 
rectangles, which is not all that much chocolate," it's safe to say 
you're gonna end up in La-La land, right there on the floor with Mo 
worrying if you need a diaper.

Forty-five milligrams is a monster dose that will positively kick 
your ass for a long, long time. The label needs to say, very clearly, 
Do not eat entire rectancle or you are going to be a fucking zombie 
who can't remember his own phone number. Something along those lines.

For me, the right dose of a Kiva bar is one quarter of one rectangle. 
That's it. But to get that quarter, I've got to cut it up myself.

If Nevada is going to sell these Too High Chocolate bars, the candy 
should be segmented by the manufacturer in doses of 5 mg apiece.

Are you a big guy? Take 3. Little old lady? Start with 1. Loads of 
guidance and info should be on every product, whether chocolate bar 
or magic muffin.

These goodies can be effective.

They can also be bogglingly powerful.

And the potential for bad boo-boos involving children are scary obvious.

As it prepares for this eventual rollout, the state needs to do its 
utmost to prevent Nevadans from taking a one-way trip into The Mo Zone.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom