Next-level highs

What are the medicinal benefits of smoking sativa? Indica?

—Rue D’Ralice

Hmmm. Most folks say that sativas will give you a buzzy, energetic high, while indicas are the ones that give you the couch-lock. But those are just general effects. If you want to get into super-specifics, you gotta look at the terpenes, because while THC is THC, terpenes are a whole ’nother ball of wax. Each terpene tends to have different effects. Linalool is good for pain relief and insomnia, myrcene is known to enhance the effects of THC and is a good anti-inflammatory, and so on. The folks at Leafly have a pretty good chart (http://bit.ly/1LpFM7X). Cannabis isn’t really an exact science (yet), but it’s getting there. If you are looking for something in particular, ask your budtender, and they should be able to point you in a good direction.

Did I hear something about Mexico legalizing weed?

—Ivan Tugethai

Close. Mexico has legalized medical marijuana. President Enrique Peña Nieto published the bill this week. Now the Ministry of Health will create some rules and regulations, and before you know it Americans will be going to Mexico for more than just dental work and Codeine. Seriously, though, this is awesome. The United States is gonna have to make some changes, what with Canadian legalization ramping up (reports say that the Canadian government plans to legalize in July) and nationwide medicinal cannabis just south of us. Now would be the perfect time for the United States to stop with this state-by-state approach and get rid of cannabis prohibition on a nationwide scale.

Legal cannabis is going to be an international commodity, and it would behoove the States to get in on the game before it’s too late. Canada and Germany are already talking about cannabis trade agreements. Israel is leading the league in medical cannabis research. The United States, which grows the best weed in the world, needs to be involved in the legal global market. Hell, we could replace all the coal jobs. No one has ever died from Green Lung.

I have to say, though, if President Donald Trump ends up legalizing marijuana—and the chances are slim to none as long as Jeff Beauregard Sessions is the attorney general—I will be conflicted for the rest of my life.

Dude. It’s hella hot outside. What should I smoke?

—Wilt Ng

Maybe you shouldn’t smoke at all, unless you have access to air-conditioning and lots of water. Cotton mouth and heat stroke are not a good team, although they would be good supervillains. You can combat these evildoers with a nice cannabis-infused lemonade. The easiest way is to make some lemonade and then add some cannabis-infused tincture. The glycerine tinctures are probably better for this than the alcohol based ones.

So: Make lemonade. Add tincture. Shake well. Enjoy. Even better: Make frozen treats. Massroots has a good recipe (www.massroots.com/learn/whole-fruit-cannabis-ice-pop-recipe). Stay frosty.