Have weed, will travel

Can cannabis give you pneumonia?

—Lungs McGee

Only if you smoke outside without a coat. Winter is coming. But for serious, cannabis won’t make you sick, but you do have to careful about molds and fungi and stuff, because fungi love warm, wet, dark places, and your lungs are definitely warm, wet and dark. However, all of the weed you buy at the dispensary has been tested for molds and stuff, so you should be OK. If you are still buying your cannabis in the “traditional” marketplace, be careful. Lung infections are not fun. Enjoy weed. Wear a sweater.

What do you think of liverwort as a cannabis substitute?

—KLJ

Why would anyone use a deli meat as a cannabis substitute? Oh. Wait. Liver-WORT. My bad. Are you asking because of the recent study that claims that perrottetinene (A THC-like chemical found in liverwort plants) has good anti-inflammatory properties but doesn’t get you high like weed? Yeah. I’m good. Besides the fact that liverwort has been a folk remedy for more than a long time, I bet smoking liverwort tastes worse than smoking liverwurst. Also: We already know where to get THC. There is no reason for science to find a new source for THC, unless they are trying to find a way for big pharma to keep all the good medicine for themselves.

So I was wondering, what can people take on airplanes? Does it depend upon the destination? What do people who have chronic pain do when they travel, if they cannot bring weed?

—Glo B. Trotter

Excellent question. People used to get busted at the airport for possession. Maybe not all the time, but enough for some folks to be worried. These days? Not so much. I fly with weed all the time. Only been caught once, and the TSA agent told me that since my weed wasn’t a threat to the safety of the plane, I could enjoy my flight. The TSA doesn’t mind small amounts of cannabis, especially if you are traveling from a legal state to a legal state. I mean, don’t bring a pound and a half, but a few grams isn’t really a problem. Put your vape pens in your carry-on luggage (they worry about the batteries in vape pens exploding in checked luggage), throw your flowers in your checked luggage and have a safe trip. If you find yourself somewhere without dispensaries, I suppose you will have to do what people have done for years: Either bring enough with you so you don’t run out, or find the black, er, I mean traditional market. Also, just because the TSA is cool, doesn’t mean the local law enforcement agencies are. Stay cool and be discreet.