Cannabis Around the World: 8 Countries That Embrace Marijuana (List)

Cannabis Around the World: 8 Countries That Embrace Marijuana (List) | Third Monk image 10

Unlike the United States’ arcane Cannabis policies, these 8 countries actually take facts into account when classifying and regulating Marijuana.

8 Countries That Embrace Marijuana

8 countries that embrace marijuana

 Spain

Travel around Spain - 0 - Cotillo

In Spain personal marijuana has been legal for decades. Today Barcelona is en route to challenge Amsterdam as the world center of pot tourism. In Spain, anyone is allowed to grow the herb for personal use, and – echoing California’s rules for medical marijuana use – growers can form collective, nonprofit, members-only cannabis clubs.

Barcelona officials have given their blessing to this new phenomenon.  … The number of cannabis clubs that have opened in Barcelona recently has some experts saying this city will soon challenge Amsterdam as the go-to destination for vacationers who want to get high in peace. – Suzanne Daley New York Times

Daley reported that the pot clubs provide an economic boost.

Though they are nonprofits, advocates say the clubs are generating thousands of jobs and tax revenues for the state. In addition to selling a wide array of cannabis products and hashish, many of the clubs also sell food and drinks and offer extras to their members, like live music nights and Pilates classes.

Portugal

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Portugal has enjoyed the benefits of all-out drug decriminalization for over a decade. Portugal became the first nation in Europe to decriminalize personal possession of drugs – including marijuana, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine – in 2001.

Decriminalization means those drugs remain illegal, but instead of throwing people in jail for their use, the country imposes a fine similar to a traffic ticket and provides addiction treatment options. By removing criminal penalties for drug use, the nation was able to fund the resources necessary to treat drug addiction as the health crisis that it is.

Today in Portugal if you’re convicted of possessing small amounts of drugs,  you visit a psychologist, social worker and legal advisor who determine what kind of treatment you need. Prior to decriminalization, Portugal had a serious drug problem, but over the last decade the nation has seen a decline in drug use.

While critics of the law warned that drug use would swell, it has not risen. We have seen significant reductions in H.I.V. infections and in overdoses, as well as a substantial increase in new patients seeking drug treatment. – João Castel-Branco Goulão,  Portugal’s national Drug Coordinator & Chairman of the European Monitoring Center on Drugs and Drug Addiction

Canada

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While the Great White North does not allow marijuana for recreational purposes anywhere, it has a nationwide government-sanctioned medical marijuana program. About 20 companies are licenced to mass-produce cannabis in Canada for medical purposes.

In addition to the substantial economic boost that comes from the new market, the Canadian government probably took the stacks of convincing research on cannabis’s potential health benefits into account in its decision to allow large scale medical marijuana production and distribution.

Israel

Labor Welfare and Health Committee

In Israel a $40-million-per-year medical-marijuana industry is thriving.

The Israeli government is funding and supporting breakthrough research on the many healing potentials of the cannabis plant – from cancer, to addiction, to psychological traumas. Israel’s federal government sanctions their national medical marijuana program.

Iceland

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According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Iceland smokes the most weed in the world, on average. The report, which included a breakdown of illegal drug use per country, found that 18.3% of the Icelandic population smokes weed. The United States ranked fourth in the report, with 14.8 percent of the population using pot.

Whatever the reason for their infatuation with cannabis, Icelanders were also found to be one of the happiest populations on the planet.

 Netherlands

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Surprisingly, cannabis remains illegal in the Netherlands.

The Dutch government and law enforcement are extremely tolerant of the herb and possession of small amounts is decriminalized nationwide. Two million tourists per year visit the city of Amsterdam for its legendary “coffee shops,” which are licensed to sell weed. You’re not allowed, however, to buy your bud on the streets, and coffee shops do card.

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Uruguay

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In response to increasing drug trafficking activity and violence, Uruguay became the first nation to legalize marijuana across the board, in December 2013. It did so in an effort to undermine the powerful cartels that have ravished much of the rest of Latin America. The plan in Uruguay is to set  government weed prices extremely low so that  cartels will be forced out of business.

While many had hoped to see Uruguay’s pot sales start already, President Jose Mujica announced that complications have delayed sales until 2015.

North Korea

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While not officially confirmed, according to Open Radio North Korea, as well as other news outlets and visitor reports, marijuana has never been controlled in the country and is not considered to be a drug. While the North Korean penalty for hard drugs like meth is severe, people are allowed to smoke pot without regulation – it even grows freely on the side of the street.

NK NEWS receives regular reports from visitors returning from North Korea, who tell us of marijuana plants growing freely along the roadsides, from the northern port town of Chongjin, right down to the streets of Pyongyang, where it is smoked freely and its sweet scent often catches your nostrils unannounced. Our sources are people we know who work inside North Korea and make regular trips in and out of the country.

There is no taboo around pot smoking in the country—many residents know the drug exists and have smoked it. In North Korea, the drug goes by the name of ip tambae, or ‘leaf tobacco.’ It is reported to be especially popular amongst young soldiers in the North Korean military. Rather than getting hooked on tar and nicotine like servicemen in the West, they are able to unwind by lighting up a king-sized bone during down time on the military beat. – VICE

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  > 9 Marijuana Policies From Around the World That Are Way Ahead of the U.S | Waking Times

Vitamin Weed – The Health Benefits of Daily Cannabis Oil (Video)

Vitamin Weed - The Health Benefits of Daily Cannabis Oil (Video) | Third Monk

In this short clip from the Reset with Amber Lyon podcast, neuroscientist Dr. Michele Ross explains why she believes everyone can benefit from daily use of cannabis oil, or ‘vitamin weed’ as she calls it.

Dr. Ross is a former drug researcher for the National Institute on Drug Abuse, turned medical marijuana advocate.

Cannabis is the key to unlocking preventative medicine. It helps protect your DNA from damage so it can actually slow down the aging process… I think everyone should use cannabis oil, you should learn about it, you shouldn’t be afraid.

-Neuroscientist Dr. Michelle Ross.

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Getting High During Yoga Is An Ancient Practice

Getting High During Yoga Is An Ancient Practice | Third Monk image 1

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As more and more states hop aboard the legalization wagon that will inevitably become federal law, cannabis use will manifest in new demographics and cultural groups. 

One of these groups is an obvious one with room for synergy: yoga. An uplifting Sativa coupled with a smooth stretch can be a perfect combination. And it’s already happening, Stoned Yoga is a rising trend.

The mingling of weed and yoga is an ancient one, this second century text from India suggests that cannabis can be a type of sedative, like yoga.

The subtler attainments come with birth or are attained through herbs, mantra, austerities or concentration.

Cannabis use allows for a quieting of the outside world, and the ability to focus more totally on the interior process of meditation.

– Yogasutras 4.1

Similarly, Kriya Yoga master Swami Satyananda Saraswati discusses the similar effects between cannabis and yoga–and how they reach the same end point:

By infusing ganja or some hallucinogenic drug, the chemical properties of the gross body change. The heart slows down, the breathing rate changes, the brain waves alter and the mind becomes calm and still.

Is it not possible to arrive at the same point through Kriya Yoga?

Cannabis use may allow people who would otherwise be unable to participate in yoga, perhaps due to chronic pain, partake in the practice. The effects aid not only the spiritual existence, but the physical body as well.

STONER-YOGA

Yoga on Weed: How The Ancient Exercise Encourages and Embraces Cannabis Use | Marijuana.com

DEA Blasted for Spending 4 Decades Obstructing Marijuana Science

DEA Blasted for Spending 4 Decades Obstructing Marijuana Science  | Third Monk image 6

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The Drug Enforcement Administration has been impeding and ignoring the science on marijuana and other drugs for more than four decades, according to a report released this week by the Drug Policy Alliance, a drug policy reform group, and the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, a marijuana research organization.

The DEA is a police and propaganda agency, it makes no sense for it to be in charge of federal decisions involving scientific research and medical practice. – Ethan Nadelmann, Executive Director of the Drug Policy Alliance

The report alleges that the DEA has repeatedly failed to act in a timely fashion when faced with petitions to reschedule marijuana. The drug is currently classified as Schedule I, which the DEA reserves for the “most dangerous” drugs with “no currently accepted medical use.” Schedule I drugs, which include substances like heroin and LSD, cannot receive federal funding for research. On three separate occasions — in 1973, 1995 and again in 2002 — the DEA took years to make a final decision about a rescheduling petition, and in two of the cases the DEA was sued multiple times to force a decision.

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The report criticizes the DEA for overruling its own officials charged with determining how illicit substances should be scheduled. It also criticizes the agency for creating a “regulatory Catch-22” by arguing there is not enough scientific evidence to support rescheduling marijuana while simultaneously impeding the research that would produce such evidence.

The feds have long been accused of only funding marijuana research that focuses on the potential negative effects of the substance, but that trend appears to be changing.

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The National Institute on Drug Abuse has conducted about 30 studies to date on the potential benefits of marijuana. NIDA oversees the cultivation, production and distribution of marijuana grown for research purposes at the University of Mississippi in the only federally legal marijuana garden in the U.S. — a process through which the only federally sanctioned marijuana studies are approved.

Nobody should be afraid of the truth. There’s a lot of other drugs that have harmful side effects. Is the downside of marijuana a harmful side effect? Or is there a positive side that actually does help? That needs to be proven. – Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.).

The federal government’s interest in marijuana certainly appears to be growing. Since 2003, it has approved more than 500 grants for marijuana-related studies, with a marked upswing in recent years, according to McClatchy. In 2003, 22 grants totaling $6 million were approved for cannabis research. In 2012, that number had risen to 69 approved grants totaling more than $30 million.

The DEA has obstructed research into the medical use of marijuana for over 40 years and in the process has caused immeasurable suffering that would otherwise have been treated by low-cost, low-risk generic marijuana. The DEA’s obstruction of the FDA approval process for marijuana has — to the DEA’s dismay — unintentionally catalyzed state-level medical marijuana reforms. – Rick Doblin, executive director of the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies

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Currently, 22 states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for medical use. Eight other states — Alabama, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah and Wisconsin — have legalized CBD oils, made from a non-psychoactive ingredient in marijuana frequently used to treat epilepsy, for limited medical use or for research purposes.

A number of recent studies have shown the medical potential of cannabis. Purified forms may attack some forms of aggressive cancer. Marijuana use also has been tied to better blood sugar control and may help slow the spread of HIV. One study found that legalization of the plant for medical purposes may even lead to lower suicide rates.

Nadelmann said the DEA has “demonstrated a regular pattern of abusing its discretionary powers.”

We believe this authority would be better handled by another government agency in the health realm, or even better still, by an organization that is truly independent, perhaps something that involves the National Academy of Sciences. We will be working to encourage greater congressional oversight and also to call for reforms of federal law. – Ethan Nadelmann, Executive Director of the Drug Policy Alliance

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> New Report Blasts DEA | Huffington Post

The Dopest NBA Stoners in Basketball History

The Dopest NBA Stoners in Basketball History | Third Monk image 5

The NBA doesn’t test for cannabis in the offseason for a good reason, approximately 90% of the NBA’s players smoke cannabis on a regular basis.

Joe Dumars described the NBA stoners’ love for cannabis best in a 1997 NY Times interview:

If they tested for pot, there would be no league.

Steve Nash, LA Lakers

While Steve Nash and his Canadian heritage made for the obvious choice, there’s also some truth to the “Nash smokes weed cause he’s Canadian” myth. A Weedmaps source was at a club celebrating Jason Richardson’s birthday when Nash (playing in Phoenix with J-Rich and Amare at the time) suddenly turned to him. The club smelled like bud, so Nash asked him if he had a bowl. In astonishment, the source asked if he smoked.

Nash’s response: “I’m from Vancouver, bro.”

If that’s not enough, he rocks Bob Marley shirts after games and once made this stoner video with Hall of Fame Stoner Baron Davis. And there isn’t a nicer dude in the league.

Joakim Noah, Chicago Bulls

This is Joakim Noah’s refrigerator:

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Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors

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Klay made it rain in Pullman throughout his college career, setting the single-season scoring record. When he wasn’t lighting it up from way downtown, he used his calm, smooth stroke to roll the smoothest joints in Washington.

True to subsequent from, Klay was caught with a dub bag of less than 2 grams and continues to bring a Kush attitude to the court next to Steph Curry in Nor Cal.

JR Smith, New York Knicks

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When he’s not throwing up ill-advised shots as the clock winds down, JR Smith lays the pipe. Smith is the only NBA stoner that started this year suspended the first five games for violating the league’s substance abuse program–which is pretty hard to do when all sources report it’s only for weed.

Ty Lawson, Denver Nuggets

Ty Lawson plays for one of only two states that allow recreational marijuana and owns a Hookah that he touted on Instagram as a “New addition to the family.”

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Ty later clarified: “for y’all dummies it’s hookah not weed.” We used to tell our mom that too.

Zach Randolph, Memphis Grizzlies (ex-Blazer)

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In 2010, Randolph was busted for selling pounds of weed across Indianapolis. Then, just two years later in 2012, Z-Bo had his entourage throw a weed dealer (who Randolph had invited over) out of his party because he was charging too much for weed.

Honorable Mentions:

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LeBron James, Miami Heat

Initially, LeBron was honest about his flirtation with bud, admitting he “experimented” in high school. During the 2012 playoff run, LeBron was caught on camera hitting a vaporizer. He later claimed that it was an “E-Cigarette”.

Michael Beasley, Miami Heat

Beasley was caught getting high with Mario Chalmers his first week in the NBA and hasn’t stopped since.  The record-setter for busts while in the league and managing to stay in the league, but not the best poster boy for medical marijuana. He probably smokes more than other nba stoners but he sucks.

Marcus Camby, Retired

Camby was a defensive expert for years in the NBA, thanks to his healthy Kush diet

Cliff Robinson, Retired

A USC stoner graduate who liked smoking weed so much that he was suspended from the NBA playoffs for getting too damn high.

Rasheeeeed Wallace & Damon Stoudamire, Retired

In 2002, Stoudamire “hesitantly” admitted they had been getting high in a car. They stated that “we smoked it all up.” The cops reply: “unfortunately they obviously hadn’t.”

Charles Oakley, Retired

Constantly jokes about the NBA’s stoners and also owns a bunch of car washes.

The NBA’s All Star Stoner Team or The Most Athletic Weed Smokers in the World | Marijuana

Chrome Sparks “Marijuana” – Trippy Music Video and B-Sides (KJ Song Rec)

Chrome Sparks "Marijuana" - Trippy Music Video and B-Sides (KJ Song Rec) | Third Monk


Chrome Sparks is the project of Jeremy Malvin, a musician and producer living in Brooklyn. With a background in classical percussion, Jeremy combines his love for synthesizers, beat music, and dance music into a unique blend. 

Chrome Sparks – Marijuana (Live)

 

Marijuana sampled a 1977 track from Idris Muhammad:

Idris Muhammad – Could Heaven Ever Be Like This

Tous – The Chillwave Cat

An industrious dude was asked to babysit his girlfriend’s cat, and made the above video in the process. Shared to Reddit the clip presents a day in the life of a very alcoholic orange tabby, set to the soothing/trippy sounds of Chrome Sparks’ “Marijuana.”

The production — a mix of Washed Out-style chillwave and Flying Lotus-owing electronica — is truly the perfect fit to this visual. – SPIN Magazine

Chrome Sparks – Marijuana (Extended Mix)

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Growing 3,000 Pounds of Medical Cannabis, Step by Step Photo Gallery

Growing 3,000 Pounds of Medical Cannabis, Step by Step Photo Gallery | Third Monk image 6

Ottawa Citizen provides a glimpse at how medical cannabis is mass produced at Tweed’s 400,000 square foot factory in Smith Falls, Ontario.

Step 1: Cuttings are taken from the mother plant.

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Step 2: Cuttings are fertilized until roots take form.

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Step 3: Clones are replanted individually and moved to the flowering room.

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Step 4: Plants are cultivated in the flowering room for 8-10 weeks.

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Step 5: Plants are cropped at the base and harvested.

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Step 6: Plants are moved to the drying room and left for a week.

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Step 7: Buds are removed from the plants and trimmed.

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Step 8: Buds are cured in a temperature-controlled vault.

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Step 9: Buds are weighed, packaged and stored for shipping.

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With their current set-up, Tweed says it can grow about 3,000 pounds of cannabis annually. But the company has plans to expand and is expecting to double its production by the end of summer 2014.

Mass Producing Medical Marijuana: A Step-By-Step Guide [Photos] | Leaf Science

Pot Smoking Grandparents Don’t Give A Fuck (Video)

Pot Smoking Grandparents Don't Give A Fuck (Video) | Third Monk image 1

​It was inevitable, we should have seen it coming! When the Baby Boomers hit middle age, the smoke hit the fan. Americans over age 50 are using marijuana in record numbers, according to statistics from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

The NSDUH Report, from 2011, indicated that 6.3 percent of adults between the ages of 50 and 59 use cannabis; that number has risen from 2.7 percent in 2002.

Marijuana use was more common than the “non-medical” use of prescription-type drugs both for adults 50-54 (6.1 vs. 3.4 percent) and those aged 55-59 (4.1 vs. 3.2 percent).

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This shouldn’t come as a great surprise; after all, it stands to reason that folks this age, with a wealth of life experiences on which to base decisions, would make safer choices.

​Marijuana use, in fact, was more common than non-medical use of prescription drugs among all males over 50 (4.2 percent vs. 2.3 percent). Among females, the rates of marijuana use and non-medical use of prescription drugs were very similar (1.7 and 1.9 percent).

Pot smoking grandparents don’t give a fuck, and why should they? They’ve raised their families and retired, it’s their time to do what they enjoy.

Pot Smoking Grandparents

Mason Tvert, communications director for the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP), said he started consuming marijuana about two years ago with his grandparents, Helen and Leo Shuller, who are 82 and 88, reports Alyson Krueger of The New York Times. They “have a little bit off the vaporizer,” Tvert said, either before of after dinner.

Those who have moved on from corporate work might now feel more comfortable revealing and sharing their marijuana use, according to Cher Neufer, 65, a retired teacher who said socializing with her friends means using cannabis.

Most of us are either retiring or retired, you don’t have to worry about your job knowing, so it’s a little easier for us. I don’t care if you use my name; I don’t care if they know! – Cher Neufer

Another factor is that most seniors are empty nesters, no longer worried about setting an example for their children.

They’ve raised their families, they’ve done their careers, and at this point I think they are saying, ‘OK, I’m not jeopardizing my family. – Diane-Marie Williams, executive director of administration at Moms For Marijuana International, a grandmother herself.

Pot Smoking Grandma

All of my friends are as educated on the subject as I am, and if they aren’t, I keep trying to make them. I can do more things. We play croquet. We do things out in the yard, and if I don’t have it I can barely walk across the floor. It’s a big pick-me-up. – Vickie Hoffman, 46, grandmother and organizer of the Missouri chapter of Moms For Marijuana International

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While the federal government refuses to acknowledge that marijuana has a legitimate role as a medicine, in particular one that can offset many of the symptoms and conditions associated with aging, it is nevertheless apparent that a growing percentage of the public — and older Americans, especially — are becoming increasingly aware of this plant’s safety and efficacy. – Paul Armentano, deputy directory of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)

The numbers come from survey data compiled by the United States Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Association (SAMHSA) in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (the NSDUH Report).

Pot Smoking Grandparents Ballin'

> Baby Boomer Bong Rips | Toke Signals

Greatest Stoners in Movie History (Video)

Greatest Stoners in Movie History (Video) | Third Monk image 1

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When the “War on Drugs” was spreading paranoia in the 80s, stoner characters were typically written as brainless surfers. These stoner roles represent the best part of getting baked: having fun with your friends.

Alex & Dante (Grandma’s Boy)

The monkey is in charge after Alex and Dante combine different strains of powerful weed.

Sometimes a dealer can have too many customers.

Thurgood Jenkins (Half Baked)

Recruited by a scientist to fulfill a prescription, Thurgood (Dave Chappelle) picks up a pound of medical grade cannabis.

Slater (Dazed & Confused)

Slater’s stoned monologue voices his opinions on music, American history and aliens.

Floyd (True Romance)


Floyd (Brad Pitt) gets a visit from the mob while getting baked.

Floyd wants to be treated with respect….maaaaaan.

Smokey (Friday)

Stoners love to share, Smokey (Chris Tucker) can’t wait to get his friend stoned on his day off.

Dale & Saul (Pineapple Express)

There’s a thin line between dealer and friendship.

The Dude (The Big Lebowski)

German Nihilists interrupt The Dude’s relaxing toke bath in his private residence.

Harold & Kumar (H&K Trilogy)

Harold & Kumar spend a day in Amsterdam with their stoner girls.

Cheech & Chong (C&C Films)

Pranking your best friend with acid is encouraged by Cheech and Chong in this scene from Up in Smoke.

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Exploring Cannabis With a Microscope (Photo Gallery)

Exploring Cannabis With a Microscope (Photo Gallery) | Third Monk image 5

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Here are some of the interesting images from the book Cannabis Under The Microscope: A Visual Exploration of Medicinal Sativa and C. Indica by Ford McCann.

You’ve seen plenty pictures of buds, plants, and crops online. Ford McCann wanted a closer look, down to the microscopic level.

Images at this level are amazingly otherworldly, definitely artistic, and well worth sharing. The 170 images in the book were taken over the course of a year with both optical microscopes and electron scanning microscopes.

Cannabis Under the Microscope

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> Cannabis Under the Microscope | Neatorama