cannabis

Cannabis 101: A Beginner’s Guide To The Mighty Bud

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Closeup of Silvertip cannabis strain by Bull Run

We’ve seen a lot of smiling faces come and go, and while everyone comes into our Portland dispensary excited to dive right in, some faces are more hesitant than others.

These are the folks that—thanks to years of negative stigma associated with marijuana use—may know very little about cannabis and it’s effects. They might feel overwhelmed with just how much they don’t know, or are too embarrassed to even ask. But the world of cannabis is not a scary one and becoming well-informed will not only make your shopping experience easier, you can learn how to choose the perfect type of consumption or strain of weed for your needs.

To help combat a lack of access to information, we decided to create a convenient guide to Cannabis 101. We hope that by arming consumers with knowledge we can help you learn how to make better, more informed purchasing decisions, aka the kind of changes that make your day just a little bit brighter.

The Endocannabinoid System

Our body is regulated by a complex series of chemical networks and pathways. One of these is the ECS, or endocannabinoid system. The ECS is in charge of maintaining homeostasis, aka making sure everything in our body from our internal temperature to our blood sugar levels are “just right”.

The ECS system is essential for regulating our moods and everyday well-being. It does so through a system of endocannabinoid receptors, CB1 and CB2, found on the surface of cells. While our body naturally produces its own endocannabinoids, Anandamide and 2-AG, that can activate these “feel good” receptors, THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) is a plant-based cannabinoid that can also bind to these receptors. The end result is that blissful high we all know and love.

It might surprise you to learn that THC isn’t the only superhero in this film, either. There are over 100 different kinds of cannabinoids produced by plants, many of which are still being studied in more depth today.

THC

THC is a pretty marvelous molecule in its own right. It’s been used to treat a wide variety of medical conditions for thousands of years now including seizures and epilepsy, glaucoma, arthritis, Multiple Sclerosis and even neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s disease.

THC is an analgesic compound, meaning that THC helps you manage pain by blocking pain signals from being sent to the brain. It’s a neuroprotectant that promotes neurogenesis, helping stimulate brain growth by creating new nerve cells. It’s also been known to help kill cancerous cells by inducing cell death in tumors, and can be an especially potent anti-anxiety and antidepressant for some.

Since everyone’s body chemistry is so different, THC affects everyone differently so it’s best to experiment with your dosage until you find that sweet spot. Start slow and take your time.

It’s also worth keeping in mind that each method of THC consumption will affect you differently. For instance, some people find that strains with over 20% THC might be OK to smoke, but might produce a much more powerful effect if consumed in an edible. Some edibles offer different levels of THC and CBD which can effect how you feel after dosing, from a clear headed, creative high to one that’s more relaxing. Edibles also have different lengths at how long THC can take an effect in your body. A baked good edible for instance could take anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes to feel it’s effects, whereas a newer nitro brew edible drink can give you the feeling of being high within 10 minutes of consumption.

CBD

You can think of CBD as THC’s best friend. CBD (cannabidiol) is another cannabinoid found in the cannabis plant.

While THC produces that great high CBD is non-toxic, meaning it won’t get you “high” in a conventional sense. It’s an incredibly powerful cannabinoid in terms of the health benefits it offers, which include:

  • Analgesic (pain management)
  • Anxiolytic (anxiety reducing)
  • Anti-inflammatory: CBD lessens the amount of inflammation occurring in the body, providing extreme relief for conditions like arthritis
  • Anti-psychotic: for those with mental illnesses, CBD reduces psychosis to better cognitive functioning. It also helps reduce the discomfort that comes with being too high – yay!
  • Anti-oxidant
  • Anti-fungal

Depending on your needs, you can access CBD in a variety of forms from smoking it to ingesting it in a tincture or applying it topically with a salve. We even have an entire page devoted exclusively to CBD products on our menu, so feel free to take a look and approach any of our budtenders with questions you may have.

The game isn’t over quite yet, though…

Terpenes

Perhaps the most glorious of all the cannabis compounds are terpenes, a group of over 200 organic compounds that give each strain its unique aroma and effects. While research is only beginning to scratch the surface on these compounds a few are especially well-known including:

  • Limonene (focus, mood elevating, sexuality)
  • Pinene (memory, awareness, bronchodilator inducing a quicker high)
  • Myrcene (sedating, anti-fungal, anti-bacterial)
  • Linalool (calming, anxi-anxiety, anti-depressant)
  • Caryophyllene (anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory)

Leafly has a really great graphic that breaks down terpenes by group and effect:

The best way to get an indication if a particular strain is right for you is by finding out what terpenes you enjoy and finding strains that fit that terpene profile. This will be a far better indicator of whether or not you enjoy a strain that relying on the THC percentage alone. After all, you wouldn’t go up to a bar and order a cocktail made with pure ethanol, would you?

THC, CBD, Terpenes, Other Cannabinoids & Why This All Matters

We’ve already covered a lot of ground on THC and CBD, but that isn’t to say we’ve done it justice: after all, there are so many more cannabinoids in play in your marijuana. A few of these include CBG (cannabigerol), a cannabinoid with potent anti-inflammatory effects that can help patients manage inflammatory bowel disease; CBN (Cannabinol), another minor cannabinoid known to treat insomnia and CBC (Cannabichromene), a powerful anti-depressant that promotes bone and brain cell growth.

When all of these fantastic compounds come together they produce an effect greater than the sum of the individual parts alone. This is called the “entourage effect”, and it’s the reason why smoking flower on its own is such a different experience than smoking a cartridge. It’s also the reason why CBD works a lot better with a little THC thrown into the mix, helping extend the effects of THC by preventing it from being broken down in our livers.

We hope we’ve been able to shed some light on this magical herb and the science behind how it all works, but if you have any lingering questions feel free to leave them in the comments below. We’re all ears 🙂

Love,

The Jayne Team

Silver Tip by Bull Run Craft Cannabis | Strain Review

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Photography of Silvertip cannabis strain

This Oregon Cannabis Farm Struck Gold with the Silver Tip

We are incredibly excited to be reviewing one of our favorite new cultivars today, the “Silver Tip” from Bull Run Craft Cannabis Farms. We enjoy this cultivar so much that we decided to make it our Cause of the Month for May, with $1 from each gram sold going directly towards the Cascadia AIDS project.

At a first glance all the hallmarks of exceptionally grown strains are there: nugs are tight but break apart well; flower is dark purple at first glance with some green, good trichomes peek out from underneath every leaf.

Strain Genetics

Thanks to its deep purple color many may initially suspect it to be an indica, which is, in part, correct genetically speaking. That’s right: one of the parents here is a Grandaddy Purple, the famously dark-hued indica known for its sedating effects.

The key to understanding this unique cultivar, however, isn’t hidden in the deep purple hues that immediately catch your eye.

Light, lime green leaves weave throughout the flower in abundance, alternating with the dark purple in perfect harmony.

This is the presence of the Super Silver Haze (SSH) parentage at work, a sign that there’s more to the cannabis flower than its stony purple would suggest.

Many of you will likely recognize that name owing to the fact that SSH (Northern Lights #1 x Skunk x Haze) is one of the most widely enjoyed sativas in the world. Bred by legendary grower Neville Schoenmaker, it’s won the High Times Cannabis Cup for three years in a row.

So what’s the Silver Tip got in store for us?

The cultivar farmer at Bull Run, Big Steve, had this to say for users:

“Be prepared to lock it down on the couch after an engagement unless you’re a seasoned pro like me.”

Bring it on, Steve.

Silver Tip Specs

Visually the flower is arresting: it’s so completely satiated in trichomes and kief that it nearly sparkles, with the rich color gradation to match.

THC percentage comes in at 22.94% with a terpene count of 2.31%.

A glance at the terpene-rich profile reveals beta-Myrcene as the most prominent terpene (53.8% of overall terpenes), with alpha-Pinene coming in at 12.6% of the terpene content overall.

It’s nearly picture perfect, the end result of a long labor of love. Grown indoors using only natural growing materials approved by Certified Kind, the Silver Tip is hand-picked before being aged in glass jars at Bull Run in Boring, Oregon.

Flavors & Aromas

An initial whiff reveals a slight earthy muskiness followed by a light finish—citrus and berries. Notes of grape and lime perfume each frosty nugget perfectly, an incredibly inviting aroma that becomes even more powerful when ground up.

Lighting up surprises me: the taste is unpredictably spicy on the initial note! The next flavor is piney, floral, almost lavender-like, cascading into a berry flavor on my tongue. The ease with which it smoked was as smooth as butter on warm pancakes.

Silver Tip Effects

The first feeling to come is a hint of stoniness in the eyes, the first sign the indica is creeping up…but lo and behold! The haze makes its way onto the scene in full force soon enough.

It’s a high that feels warm, calm and euphoric, almost as though I’m being swaddled tightly in a warm blanket. Ideas are novel and my imagination seems boundless. I’m recklessly giddy, giggling at seemingly nothing around me just because I can.

The folks at Bull Run know how to grow remarkable flower, and the Silver Tip cultivar is proof of that.

This is a beautiful cannabis strain that I’d highly recommend for anyone, particularly those who suffer from depression or anxiety, ADHD or migraines.

It’s a great feel-good smoke through and through that isn’t heavy on the body, a gentle and mellow heady effect that’s deeply calming yet functional.

Happy smoking, everyone!

Love,

The Jayne team

Check our menu for current strain & price info

Welcome to Jayne Cannabis Dispensary in Portland

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Cannabis Dispensary Budtender at Jayne

We’re incredibly honored for you to be joining us* today.

Located on 2145 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Jayne is a medical and recreational cannabis dispensary in NE Portland staffed by some of the friendliest weed lovers, enthusiasts and aficionados you’ll find, the kind of folks you can find carefully cooking cannabutter on Thursdays to bake brownies with on Friday.

We’re all about supporting our local community, and do everything we can to help it grow. From throwing monthly BBQs on the first Friday of every month to giving back a portion of our profits to local charities like Transition Projects or The Bradley Angle House, we’re proud to help change the world one joint at a time.

Over the past few years we’ve learned that while a few things are certainly nice to have (overflowing jars of candy, comfy couches, hot cocoa, magical crystals) there’s really only one thing that matters to us: you.

We are here for you.

We really care.

We are here to listen, here to help connect you to the resources you need to live better lives.

We’re passionate about educating the world about cannabis because we’re constantly in awe of the positive impact it can have. The cannabis industry not only provides countless jobs to the areas it supports, but the goal of many cannabis businesses and products is to help improve lives.

It’s why we work so hard to make sure every last nug is grown with love from vendors we know and trust–vendors like High Valley Organics, Bula Farms and Deschutes Growery that produce some of Oregon’s most radiant flowers.

Oregon has come so very far. We still remember back in the day where the weed industry was the world’s greatest little secret. We took our “nature walks”, broke out our one hitters and came to wonder…why all the secrecy? Why was something so beneficial so taboo?

All that sneaking around started giving way to a crazy dream, a series of what-ifs that just grew bigger and bigger by the day.

What if we could create the kind of space where people would feel comfortable learning about marijuana instead of living in a world where it was kept in the shadows?

Thanks to a lot of fantastic people in November of 2015 our list of what-ifs transformed into the space we know and love as Jayne, proving that with a little faith, trust and resin dust just about anything was possible. Chances are you recognize a few of us out here on the floor—our original team is still here and going strong.

We take pride in the details and work hard to ensure that we’re always learning. From reading through books and research papers to getting CBD certified (thank you, East Fork Cultivars), we’re willing to do whatever it takes to help you stay informed.

It’s the guiding force that motivates us to go in and learn the science behind how cannabis works, and we’re excited to announce that we’ll be sharing all of that information right here with you on this blog.

This blog is our way of breaking down cannabis misconceptions through knowledge, discussion, research and experience. We’ll start by walking you through the basics of cannabis (what is THC? CBD? terpenes?) and will take you all the way through every fascinating detail about it we’ve learned over the past few years.

Muscle pain and aches? We’ve got something for that. Tired from your last workout? Bad day at work? Looking for something to make your hike extra epic? Need something to make you giggle? We not only have the best marijuana product to match with the right activity or mood, we can teach you how picking the right terpenes and method of consumption can change the way you look at cannabis.

No matter what your needs, we’ve got a little something to make everyone’s day brighter with.

Come to us with your questions and believe us when we say that the only stupid question is the one left unasked. We’ll be documenting everything you need to know right here from changes in marijuana policies to common patient questions and answers, the latest in cannabis research, interviews with our favorite farms and industry folks; strain highlights and our favorite product picks, special deals and vendor events. Keep a close eye and we may even throw a few of our favorite cannabis recipes in there, too.

This is your blog, your space to ask the big questions and to learn about cannabis in a safe, friendly way.

We are the Jayne team, and we’re excited to be here with you today and every day. Feel free to come by for some candy and a joint anytime.

Love,

The Jayne family

* Thanks for reading to the end! You’re an awesome human being. Mention this blog post to your budtender for 20% off your next visit, and keep an eye on this blog page for new posts and goodies to come.