Minister opposes plan to ban vaping, suggests ban on smoking instead

A federal minister today threw his weight behind the nascent vaping industry, claiming it should not be banned as it is less harmful compared to smoking, as Putrajaya mulls the possibility of banning the electronic smoking alternative.

Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said a British study found that e-cigarettes carry just 5 per cent of the risk of tobacco and should be widely adopted by smokers, citing a news report by The Telegraph.

“God willing, I will provide my opinion so that the suggestion will be studied in detail so that vaping will not be banned because news from Britain, where vaping is not banned and smokers are encouraged to switch to vaping,” he said in a post on his Facebook page.

“If smoking is more dangerous than vaping, why not ban smoking?“God willing I will listen to the Health Minister's explanation and give my opinion as well,” Ismail added.

Yesterday, Health Minister Datuk Seri S Subramaniam said the ministry is studying existing laws to possibly impose a ban on vaping in Malaysia.

He said a ban would be the best solution as he believes the rising trend of vaping would be difficult to control if left unchecked.

“If it were up to me, I would want to implement the ban as soon as possible because I feel we need to stop this before it becomes a big issue,” he told reporters when met at the Parliament lobby.

The National Fatwa Council has prohibited Muslims from vaping amid the rapid growth of the multi-million ringgit industry in Malaysia that is purportedly the second biggest in the world.

In a report by local daily The Star last June, Vaporizer Convention Kuala Lumpur 2015 co-organiser Ibrahim Mohamed was quoted as saying that Malaysia’s vape industry is worth half a billion ringgit and is the second biggest globally after the United States and is the largest in Asia.

Ibrahim reportedly said there are an estimated one million vapers in Malaysia.

Resource : http://www.themalaymailonline.com

American Teens Use Drugs, Smoke Less, But Vape E-Cigarettes More

It’s — like — so unfair! A new report on drug use among American teens shows a continuing decline in marijuana and cigarette smoking, binge drinking, hard drug use and abuse of prescription drugs — and U.S. health officials are getting all uptight about a little data point that suggests more teens are “vaping” electronic cigarettes.

According to data released Tuesday by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, alcohol and cigarette use among teenagers have been falling for decades and are now at their lowest points since the study of about 50,000 students in 400 schools began in 1975. Synthetic marijuana, also called K-2 or spice, sold over the counter in many states and known to cause heart attacks, showed the sharpest decline from last year, by nearly half. And after increasing for five years, marijuana use fell slightly over the year, from 26 percent to 24 percent use for 8th, 10th and 12th graders combined.

At the same time, nearly 9 percent of eighth-graders, 16 percent of 10th-graders and 17 percent of high school seniors said they had inhaled an e-cigarette or “vaped” in the past month, while 4 percent of eighth-graders, 7 percent of 10th-graders and 14 percent of high school seniors said they had smoked a traditional cigarette.

But while e-cigarette proponents emphasize the decline of traditional cigarettes, health experts warn that e-cigarettes, though less harmful than tobacco products in the short-term, have significant detrimental health effects and can lure users into a nicotine addiction.

“That disturbs me,” said Paul Doering, professor emeritus at the University of Florida College of Pharmacy. “It still argues strongly that young people feel the need to do something that involves nicotine.”

About 90 percent of cigarette smokers develop a nicotine addiction before age 19, according to federal statistics.

“It's really worrisome when I hear that teens are using e-cigs because this could be another road to nicotine addiction and using regular cigarettes,” said Sophie Balk, a pediatrician at the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in New York City.

“Some studies show that there are cancer-causing and other chemicals in the vapor, and there may be adverse effects on lung functioning.”

The survey comes as the FDA weighs public comment ahead of an April 2015 deadline to finalize rules that would ban e-cigarette sales to minors. But the proposed rules wouldn’t ban Internet sales. In addition, there are about 250 types of e-cigarettes, some of which are likely to escape the ban.

A separate survey released last month by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention found that the percentage of high school students who inhaled e-cigarettes more than doubled from 4.7 percent in 2011 to 10 percent in 2012. Middle school students’ e-cigarette use rose from 1.4 percent to 2.7 percent. More than three-quarters of the students who said they used e-cigarettes also said they smoked a traditional cigarette in the past month.

Most e-cigarettes use batteries to heat liquid mixtures containing about the same amount of nicotine in traditional cigarettes into a mist that’s inhaled, though e-cigarettes' cartridges can be filled with ranges of nicotine or no nicotine at all. But when ingested, the liquid mixtures can be poisonous. Through Nov. 30 this year, poison control centers in the U.S. have logged more than 3,600 calls involving exposures to e-cigarette devices and liquids, more than double the calls in 2013 and more than 13 times the number of calls in 2011, according to the American Association of Poison Control Centers.

The warning on MarkTen e-cigarette packs even warns users that the nicotine they contain is “addictive and habit forming” and “very toxic by inhalation, in contact with the skin, or if swallowed.” Children, pregnant or breast-feeding women, anyone with high blood pressure or heart disease, those taking medicine for depression or asthma and others shouldn’t inhale the product, the label reads. But in most states and without federal regulation, this warning is voluntary.

Tobacco companies say they want to remain transparent with customers about the health effects of their products, but after buying e-cigarette companies, they are marketing e-cigarettes to teens with the same methods used to market menthol cigarettes, flavored to feel cool on the lips without a drop in temperature, to kids. Celebrity endorsements, TV and magazine ads, sponsorships of race cars and concerts have put e-cigarettes in flavors like cotton candy, fruit loops, sweet tarts, Hawaiian punch and Kool-Aid in front of teens.

Tobacco opponents like the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids praised the survey’s finding that cigarette smoking is declining among teens, citing policy changes like higher tobacco taxes, stronger smoke-free laws, FDA regulation of tobacco products and tobacco-prevention programs.

“The long-term decline is an indication that the latest decline is not related to the increase in use of e-cigarettes,” said Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, in a statement. He also said e-cigarettes threaten to undermine these gains by luring kids into an addiction to nicotine.

“They’re missing the point that these teens would be smoking regular cigarettes,” said Eric Weingartner, a member of the New Jersey Retailer’s Coalition and an e-cigarette seller. “We know cigarettes kill. We don’t know that e-cigarettes kill. Nobody wants to say [vaping e-cigarettes is] safe, but it’s a healthier alternative to smoking.”

Doering agrees that vaping e-cigarettes is much safer than smoking regular cigarettes, but they're harmful if they cause non-smokers to vape. He says after smoking Winston cigarettes for just one year in high school decades ago -- "it had to do with a girl who smoked like fire" -- he still has urges to light up a cigarette.

"Smoking cessation is probably one of the most difficult things to ask the human organs to do," he said.
Source:  http://www.ibtimes.com

UPDATE: Was Exploding E-Cigarette a 'Mod'?

NICEVILLE, Fla. -- An electronic cigarette or electronic cigar that reportedly exploded in a Florida man's mouth was likely one he built himself or modified using parts he purchased online, according to reports.

Last week, the e-cigarette's battery exploded while being used by Tom Holloway, 57, of Niceville, Fla. He was treated for shattered teeth, burns and a chunk taken out of his tongue, according to various reports. Holloway has since been released from the hospital and is recovering from his injuries, reports said.

Given the lack of concrete information available about the nature of the device, CSP Daily News has not reported on the incident as news (See Related Content below to view an editorial concerning coverage of the incident). But the fledgling industry is now offering some theories as to what may have happened.

CSP Daily News reader "phorton" was the first to comment on the editorial: "CSP is exactly on target by withholding this story and the associated sensationalism until all of the facts are in. Based on the evidence I've been able to uncover, it doesn't appear this incident involves an off-the-shelf e-cigarette product but rather what's known in 'vaping' circles as a 'mod.' These are basically homemade devices that are constructed from parts available on the Internet. They are put together by the consumer and usually are modified to produce a 'heavy-duty' nicotine burst typically achieved by using lithium batteries larger than those found in off-the-shelf products. The 'stacking' of batteries is also a common practice and is discouraged even by the 'mod' parts manufacturers."

He added, "We shouldn't condemn an entire emerging industry even if it is determined the consumer played no role in the incident. When and only when the facts have been fully disclosed should judgments be rendered."

Thomas Kiklas, co-founder of the Tobacco Vapor Electronic Cigarette Association, told the Associated Press that the industry knows of no problems with the cigarettes or batteries exploding.

Kiklas said the cigarettes include a small battery and cartridge. The battery is designed to generate an electric charge when the device is inhaled. The charge sets off the vapor in the cigarette tube.

He cited a federal report that found 2.5 million Americans used electronic cigarettes last year. "There have been billions and billions of puffs on the cigarettes, and we have not heard of this happening before," he said.

"What happened is a tragedy, and we hope this is a wakeup call to the industry to institute higher standards," Dan Recio, co-founder of e-cigarette manufacturer V2 Cigs, said in a statement. "We took action against the possibility of electronic issues from the very beginning, with safeguards integrated into our batteries like automatic shutoff and smart chargers that prevent overcharging. We properly age all batteries before shipment and retest mAh to ensure the highest standards."

Chief Butch Parker of the North Bay Fire District responded to the call. "I have never heard of or seen anything like this before," Parker told ABC News. Although the battery was unrecognizable after the incident, Parker reported finding several 3.0 volt CR123A type batteries charging in the room along with a scorched battery case that appeared to be one for a cigar-sized device.

Although the investigation is still not concluded, the battery type and "cigar" appearance of the device indicate Holloway may have been using a custom made "mod" or modified e-cigarette using stacked batteries similar to a flashlight, said Recio. These devices are unlike more popular e-cigs, which have built in digital monitoring and protections, he said.

Modified e-cig devices have a history of explosions and fires dating back several years due to cheap, unprotected lithium ion batteries and the possibility of overcharging the devices, he added. This can result in an electrical fire inside the device which produces a buildup of hydrogen gas resulting in an explosion.

"Consumers need to be careful to choose quality products and follow manufacturer specifications. We have strict quality control standards in place to ensure consumer safety," said Recio.

"People are already aware of the risk that they're taking when they start messing around with electrical components of anything they purchase, whether it's a cell phone, e cigarette, or a microwave," said the operators of E Cigarettes Junction.com, am e-cigarette review website, in a separate statement. "E-cigarettes were engineered by professionals to be used by consumers, not to be dangerously modified by amateurs in a mix 'n' match fashion."

Many electronic items on the market today are modified by their end users who want the product to provide more battery life, faster speed or otherwise higher performance capabilities that it was not designed to endure, it said. E-cigarette companies who have SGS certifications on their products have all met or surpassed the necessary stress tests on their batteries to ensure that they are safe to use for their intended purpose.

Source: http://www.cspnet.com

Can E-Cigarettes Save Lives?

Two weeks ago, I received an email from NJOY, a company that sells electronic cigarettes. Its purpose was to introduce the Daily, a new product that NJOY described as “a superior e-cigarette scientifically developed to deliver quick-and-strong nicotine satisfaction at levels close to an actual cigarette.”

One reason many adult smokers haven’t switched to e-cigarettes is that most e-cigarettes don’t provide the same nicotine kick as a real cigarette. With some 42 million American adults still smoking, and 480,000 of them dying each year as a result, this is tragic. Though nicotine is addictive, it is the tobacco that kills.

An e-cigarette that could truly replicate the experience of smoking would dramatically reduce — not eliminate, but reduce — the dangers of smoking. NJOY claims that the Daily comes closer to that experience than anything on the market. When I spoke to Paul Sturman, NJOY’s chief executive, he emphasized not only the nicotine aspect, but also the Daily’s “feel,” and “the intensity of the hit to the back of the throat.” Sturman added that the company’s target market is adult smokers who have tried, but rejected, e-cigarettes. He thinks it’s a huge market.


As Sturman was describing the Daily, I thought to myself, “The tobacco-control community is going to hate this thing.” Most anti-tobacco advocates view replicating the feel and satisfaction of a cigarette as an effort to “renormalize smoking.” And though some believe that smokers should be encouraged to move to e-cigarettes, most refuse even to acknowledge the health benefits of “vaping” over smoking.

Indeed, thanks to this vociferous opposition, an increasing number of Americans view vaping as no safer than smoking, which is absurd. And e-cigarette manufacturers like NJOY can’t set them straight: The law giving the Food and Drug Administration regulatory authority over tobacco products, which passed in 2009, prohibits e-cigarette companies from making reduced-harm claims unless they jump through some near-impossible hoops. Thus, NJOY has no way to convey to adult smokers the critical message that e-cigarettes could save their lives.

The undisputed leader of the tobacco-control community is Matt Myers, who helped found and is the president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Unlike many of his anti-tobacco peers, Myers is on the record as saying that if “responsibly marketed and properly regulated, e-cigarettes could benefit the public health.” But, like many others, he also fears that e-cigarettes may hook a new generation of children on nicotine, and could lead them to start smoking. And in truth, those fears get far more prominence in the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids’ various statements about e-cigarettes than its cautious support for them under the right circumstances.

One thing that particularly bothers Myers about e-cigarette companies is their advertising, which he believes employs the same tactics Big Tobacco once used to hook youths on cigarettes. But when I noted that NJOY can’t market the Daily as a reduced-risk product, thanks to the 2009 law — and thus had to find less straightforward ways to induce smokers to try the product — Myers told me that I should blame the F.D.A., which, six years in, has yet to impose a single regulation on e-cigarettes. “I think the F.D.A. deserves to be pilloried,” he said.

He may be right about that. On the other hand, it’s hardly news that government agencies take forever to get things done — and meanwhile, nearly half a million smokers continue to die each year. It seems to me that if the tobacco-control community wants to start saving lives by employing the reduced-harm strategy that e-cigarettes offer, it needs to forget about the F.D.A. and take matters into its own hands.

That means engaging with companies like NJOY that profess to be trying to do the right thing. Instead of demonizing them, the tobacco control community needs to find common ground, and come up with a set of standards — for marketing, manufacturing, and keeping e-cigarettes away from kids — that both sides can agree to. If such a deal were put in place, perhaps with state attorneys general to oversee it, anti-tobacco advocates could talk about the reduced harm potential of e-cigarettes with a clear conscience, without the involvement of the federal government. They then could describe the benefits of e-cigarettes for smokers that the companies themselves can’t.

It’s happened before. Two decades ago, seeing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to impose real restrictions on Big Tobacco, Myers engaged in negotiations that included the states’ attorneys general — and Steve Parrish, then a Philip Morris executive. It was an act of tremendous courage — Myers was pilloried when his involvement was revealed — but without his willingness to look the enemy straight in the eye, Big Tobacco would never have been brought to heel.

I believe the time has come for Myers to screw up his courage again. It could be the beginning of the end for one of the greatest scourges on earth.

 Source:  http://www.nytimes.com

Heroin overdose leads to drug arrests

UNION GROVE — A heroin overdose on July 30 at a Union Grove residence has led to drug charges for three Union Grove men.

According to court records, rescue workers and Sheriff’s Office deputies were dispatched at 5:37 p.m. on July 30 to a residence in the 1000 block of 13th Avenue for a report of a 35-year-old man who was passed out and unresponsive in a shower at the residence.

After the subject was transported to Wheaton Franciscan-All Saints hospital in Racine, deputies obtained consent to search the rented residence, criminal complaints indicate. In the shower area where the victim was found, investigators found a piece of tin foil, a syringe, a lighter, a cooker and alcohol pads — materials that investigators said are commonly known to be used in the injection of heroin, the complaints indicate.

At the hospital, the victim, identified as Nicholas R. Conant, 35, allegedly admitted to using heroin, his criminal complaint indicates. He also allegedly admitted that paraphernalia — including a clip, and a pipe cleaner with marijuana residue and a jar containing hash oil that were found in his room— were his.

According to the criminal complaints, deputies allegedly located other drug materials in other rooms of the residence.

In the room belonging to Michel D. Binet Sr., 55, deputies reported finding a digital scale, a syringe, a glass bong and two glass smoking pipes. In a room belong to Michael D. Binet, 20, investigators reported finding 4 grams of marijuana inside a glass jar, a metal cooking tin with rolling papers, a marijuana grinder and a glass smoking pipe with burnt marijuana residue.

According to the criminal complaint, “it became apparent that all living areas of the house contained drug paraphernalia and drug use.”

Conant is facing felony charges of possession of narcotic drugs and maintaining a drug trafficking place, both as a second or subsequent offense, and a misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia. Michel Binet is facing felony charges of possession of marijuana as a second or subsequent offense and maintaining a drug trafficking place and a misdemeanor count of possession of paraphernalia. Both men have a preliminary hearings scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Aug. 12 in Racine County Circuit Court.

Michael Binet is facing a misdemeanor charge of possession of paraphernalia. He has been assigned a status conference in court on Sept. 21. All three men were in the custody at the Racine County Jail as of Monday night.

Source:  http://journaltimes.com

Editorial: Face e-cigarette dangers

THE ISSUE:

E-cigarettes and the liquid nicotine used with them are dangerous to health.

THE STAKES:

Both federal and state governments should take steps to regulate the devices.

When electronic cigarettes debuted in the U.S. market in 2006, the battery-powered nicotine vaporizers were touted as a less dangerous option for smokers.

Proponents of vapor-infused nicotine delivery systems argued that by omitting the chemicals and tar added to traditional tobacco products, e-cigarettes were safe.

Mounting evidence is showing the opposite. E-cigarettes, and the largely unregulated industry that produces them, pose significant health risks to users, and they present the danger of luring young people to a life of addiction to poisonous nicotine. For many, they could be a gateway to full-fledged cigarette smoking.
In an extensive review of the e-cigarette manufacturing industry in Shenzhen, China, where 90 percent of the world's supply of the devices are made, The New York Times found serious laxity in quality control, sometimes resulting in the inhaled vapors carrying heavy metals and carcinogens along with the nicotine. One study found e-cigarette vapor that contained hazardous nickel and chromium at four times the level they yield in traditional cigarette smoke.

In the United States, there are reports of e-cigarettes exploding after their lithium ion batteries overheated. Another study found that half the e-cigarettes sampled malfunctioned, tainting vapor with silicon fibers.

Perhaps because we know so little about their dangers, e-cigarette use by teens is on the rise. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has estimated that the percentage of high school students who had tried e-cigarettes during the prior month tripled between 2011 and 2013. Some companies clearly target the youth market by adding such flavors as bubble gum, cherry and cotton candy — a practice banned in conventional cigarettes.

Researchers and policymakers alike now worry that inroads made into teen smoking over the past two decades could be reversed, especially if teens are led to believe smoking an e-cigarette is without risk.

The recent death of a Montgomery County toddler who drank undiluted liquid nicotine his parents had in the home to refill e-cigarettes tragically underscores how toxic nicotine can be. A teaspoon of the liquid could be lethal to a child, and smaller amounts can cause severe illness.

The American Association of Poison Control Centers used the incident to urge federal mandates for childproof packaging on liquefied nicotine. A similar bill requiring child-resistant packaging on liquid nicotine in New York passed the state Legislature in June. It would also correct a flaw in the law that currently allows sale to minors of cartridges and bottles of liquid nicotine needed to refill e-cigarettes. We urge Gov. Cuomo to sign it into law.

More studies will likely reveal new problems with electronic cigarettes. The best approach is to treat them like the tobacco products they purport to replace. That means, for starters, don't use them.

Source:  http://www.timesunion.com

What are Glass Pipes..?

Glass Pipes is allowing the user to inhale copied from the burning of some stuff. Tobacco pipe is the most common which designed for use with tobacco. The pipes are counting with a variety of material , commonly used  are: Briar,  Heather,  corn, clay, meerschaum,   glass, porcelain,  cherry, acrylic, ebonite, etc. 

Glass Pipes, often called bowls, can be made of blown glass, wood, ceramic, stone, or metal because of ignoring inhalation of unwanted vapors, certain reactive metals like aluminum.  When speaking about a specific pipe, the term "bowl," "cone piece" often refers to the indentation where cannabis is to be combusted.

Blown Glass Pipes are usually complex and colorfully designed, and contain material that becomes brighter with repeated use. These types of pipe generally have a hole which is enclosed with a finger during inhalation, and then uncovered to clear the pipe of smoke and cool the burning cannabis.

"Please visit our website 44glasspipes.comfor varieties of Wholesale Glass Pipes for Buy at very nominal rate"

Most or people, are getting indulge to tobacco pipes not just only for their taste or smoking purpose but they also for the countless of different kinds of pipes for enjoy its different activities. These pipes can be made up of glass which can be in varied designs and colors.

You can find thousands of different varieties of Wholesale Glass Pipes. 44glasspipes, which provides all types of smoking pipes at wholesale prices. The delivery service reaches at your door step soon.  Along with that, you can also find some accessories of smoking like oil rings, glass bongs and water pipes on their portals. The price range is totally in your budget and you can contact regarding the products features, shipping enquiry and price details.

E-hookahs versus the real thing

If you haven't heard of e-hookahs or shisha pens, you're reading the right article.These products, called electronic vaping devices, have become a craze in the US according to US Health Works, and a lot of people in India have already tried it. According to Pranav Gupta and Bhavik Chinai, Co-founders, Vama Vapor , "The awareness of e-hookahs is spreading and we're witnessing wide acceptance among new consumers in India."

The e-hookah follows the same general concept as a traditional hookah but these pen-like vaping devices give you the benefit of smoking vapour instead of smoke.

Whether it's an e-hookah, an e-cigarette, a shisha pen or a hookah pen, all of these products fall under the category of Electronic Vaping Devices. Vaping devices are of two types, rechargeable and disposable. While most rechargeable e-hookahs require charging of battery, cleaning of the device and filling of liquid, the disposable e-hookahs let users vape anytime without any such challenge.

Traditional versus e-hookahs  

While most traditional hookahs require a change of lit coal for optimum flavours, electronic shisha pens give you the same experience as a traditional hookah without emitting the nasty smoke. They are also portable, and because there is no need to light any coal there is no need for cleaning.

If you're looking to buy one, make sure you pick one that does not contain tar, tobacco or nicotine.

The downside

According to Tapas Mudgal, an e-hookah user, "The main con with e-hookahs is that they either run on batteries or are disposable so it's hard to share it with friends because the number of smokes are limited."

Also, many feel it doesn't offer the same experience as smoking a real hookah. Kaustubh De, a traditional hookah lover says, "Obviously, it's not the same. Smoking an e-hookah is nothing like smoking a traditional hookah that you can set up at your place and enjoy a good smoke session with friends."

Moreover, e-hookahs are limited to single flavours whereas a traditional hookah gives people the liberty to choose a flavour of their choice and mix it up with another flavour.  

 Source: http://indiatoday.intoday.in

Weed Businesses Can’t Put Their Money In Banks, So They Put It In Bongs

The proud owner, 21-year-old Kenny Kemp, is sole heir to hundreds of millions of dollars and a passionate stoner whose support of the functional glass art industry provides a needed infusion of legally acquired money. On a warm evening in the middle of January, Kemp handed out bottles of water and offered his guests the opportunity of a lifetime: to take hit after hit of hash oil off of one-of-a-kind glass pipes worth tens of thousands of dollars each.

The skyrocketing value of glass pipes isn’t simply a result of smokers and dealers’ red-eyed awe at their growing complexity and beauty. Selling marijuana is easier than it used to be, but it’s still pretty hard. Even if you manage to coax the dankest resin out of your female plants, grease the palms of whoever is controlling your state’s cannabis licenses, and build up a loyal customer base, you can’t legally do much with your rapidly accumulating stacks of cash. Not in Colorado, not in Washington, not anywhere. As long as the federal government considers the drug illegal, most banks don’t want to go anywhere near legal pot profits, because even state and community banks in places where the drug is recreationally or medically legal are licensed and overseen by federal institutions.

More than simply works of art, status-affirming trophies, or ways to get high, custom glass pipes have become ways for marijuana entrepreneurs shut out of legitimate financial institutions to invest their otherwise untouchable cash.

Most transactions involving bongs and rigs, which look like bongs but are used for vaporizing concentrates, happen off the books, among friends, at trade shows, or between connoisseurs who meet online. Then, anyone who paid five figures for a pipe using drug money, including dealers in states where weed is very illegal and businessmen in states with medical or recreational cannabis laws, can resell the same pipe with all of the appropriate receipts, paperwork, and taxes. Presto, change-o: Now the money is clean.

“You can use [glass] to launder money,” said one California businessman who deals in marijuana concentrates, showing BuzzFeed News his collection. “You go to a gallery, see something for thirty thousand bucks, make a deal, and then sell it off and just make a stipulation that whoever pays you pays with a check. I could trade half of these pipes within a day or two, if I wanted to.”

(Due to the quasi-legal nature of their businesses and financial practices, almost all of the marijuana merchants interviewed for this story asked to be anonymous.)

Unlike flashy cars or mansions, pipes are subtle, keeping nosy neighbors unaware of your growing wealth. Plus, the value of glass can fluctuate dramatically, making it easier to conceal what’s really happening. Some pieces worth $2,000 just a few years ago are now worth $10,000.

“A lot of people like to buy up glass companies because it’s really hard for the government to see, to understand it,” said Phil Martin, one of the partners who runs Moxie 710, an L.A.-based seeds and extracts company. “They don’t understand that you can buy glass really cheap and then sell it for a high price — they just don’t understand it — so it’s a lot easier for people to put their money in there, launder it, and get it legally back out of the glass company. And that happens a lot.”

Kemp has an extensive, legally paid for collection of pipes, pendants, marbles, and tubes featuring psychedelic swirls, fantastical creatures, skulls, and nostalgic references to Nintendo characters. When you’re hanging out in his mother’s basement, you can smoke out of a black Glock, a bear shaped like a honey container, or a monkey in a suit smoking a cigarette and holding a banana like a gun.
But Kemp acknowledges that he’s not the typical customer when it comes to five-figure pipes, in that he doesn’t work in the weed industry.

“The demographic that does buy [glass] usually has money that’s not the cleanest,” he said. “How are you not gonna spend a lot of money on [glass], when you have so much [cash]? Like how are you going to wash it out?”

Just as in cannabis itself, the market for pipes has changed considerably in the past few years alone. Back in 2011, a top glassblower named Scott Deppe told the makers of the pipe-art documentary Degenerate Art that the most expensive piece he’d ever sold had been $18,000. A few months ago, Deppe posted on his Instagram feed a green skull pipe covered in gold-encrusted pot leaves priced at $100,000.

Source: http://www.buzzfeed.com

Tutorial in marijuana consumption, terminology and lingo

Disclaimer: Under Colorado law, the use of marijuana is restricted to those aged 21 and older or those with a valid medical marijuana license. Colorado State University does not allow the possession or consumption of marijuana, recreational or medical, anywhere on campus. The Collegian does not condone underage consumption of marijuana.

When talking about marijuana consumption, the terminology can become a little hazy. Here are a few cannabis terms and some of the marijuana-paraphernalia lingo within the culture.

Piece: This can mean a pipe, chillum, bubbler, bong, vape, etc. Basically, the paraphernalia used to inhale marijuana smoke.

– I. Pipe: A pipe is just the regular bowl with a carburetor, or “carb,” (little hole on the side) and a stem to a mouth piece. The marijuana is placed in the bowl and the smoker places a finger over the carb, lights the marijuana and inhales through the mouth piece. They then take their finger off the carb and forcefully inhale in order to clear the excess smoke from inside the pipe. Depending on how big the hit is, using a pipe can make for harsher hits and leads to violent coughing episodes.

– II. Chillum: Chillums are just small, slender pipes with smaller bowls for less weed, and they generally don’t have carbs. They’re most often used for quick smoke sessions and easy clean-up. They’re relatively inexpensive, intuitive to use and take about 2 minutes to smoke a bowl and get a solid buzz going.

– III. Bubbler: A bubbler is similar to a pipe (depending on which kind of bubbler), but it has water that goes inside it for better filtration and smoother hits when smoking. Some have carbs used with a finger (like the regular pipe) and some have carbs used with the bowl itself.

– IV. Bong: The famous bong — whether it’s glass blown from Fort Collins’ Kind Creations or homemade out of a plastic bottle and tinfoil, is often considered the most popular method for smoking. A bong is basically a long tube with a bowl at the bottom and a mouth piece at the top (there are endless shapes and sizes). The bowl is filled with marijuana, lit while the user inhales and the smoke travels through the down stem into the main chamber and up towards the mouth piece. Some bongs include percolators for added filtration and ice catches for a cooler toke.


– V. Vaporizer or “Vape”: Using a vaporizer is one of the more futuristic ways to smoke weed. Weed is loaded into a tray or compartment within the vaporizing unit and is heated to a specific temperature. The marijuana isn’t necessarily burned, but the THC molecules on and in the marijuana are heated and turn into a vapor that the user inhales. The marijuana smell is basically non-existent and there is virtually no smoke.

Grinder: It’s marketed as a “spice grinder,” but we all know what that means. The name explains it all, but this little gadget allows smokers to grind up weed for better consumption. Smokers can use their fingers to break buds up, but the grinder is meant to do the job better, and it will produce finer, more broken apart marijuana to smoke.

Fire: There is nothing worse than getting ready to smoke and then realizing there’s no lighter to smoke with. Smokers make sure a lighter or at least some matches are within the vicinity.

Concentrates: Given advancements in technology, savvy stoners have created THC extraction methods — using either butane, CO2, water and ice or alcohol as a solvent — to gather large quantities of THC. These concentrates, also known as dab, come in two types: wax or shatter. They hold a THC percentage that is four to five times more potent than the traditional flower, sometimes reaching up to 80-90 percent THC.


-III. Dabber: During this waiting period of 10 seconds, the user utilizes the dabber to scoop some wax or shatter on the end. A dome is then placed on top of the nail and the dabber, with the wax on the end, is set onto the nail. The user then slowly inhales the vapor produced. After the dab leaves the dabber and hits the nail, the user removes the dabber and caps the dome with their thumb or palm to create a vacuum. The user then pulls hard on the piece, and, once the smoke clears the chamber, the user releases their thumb and finishes the hit.