The issue: Do you appreciate the value of discretion as it relates to new and improving ways to consume cannabis and marijuana-infused products? And how important is it to know and trust the companies that provide local dispensaries with product for consumption?
Discretion is a noun meaning the freedom to decide what should be done in a particular situation. And with regard to this week’s column, discretion is advised.
Rarely do I tell people I get paid to write about the legalization of cannabis in Colorado or that I write a weekly weed-related column in Durango, because I don’t write about marijuana; I write about freedom and the American dream … with a little help from my friends, of course.
And this week, an anonymous friend of mine supplied a Sweet CO2 Oil Vape Pen and a couple disposable cartridges for me to try out, a new sort of grist for the writing mill.
A vape pen is a device that loosely resembles a ballpoint pen and houses a battery-powered heating element (atomizer) that vaporizes cannabis concentrates without producing smoke. When these products first hit the market, they were promoted as a discreet way to avoid the stigma associated with hippies and joints, stoners and bong rips. You know, a classier and less offensive alternative to smoking pot.
Portability, convenience, and discretion are probably the top three reasons to use a vape pen. And supporting a local business that offers quality product at a fair price is probably the main reason for the good and decent adults of Durango to purchase a Sweet CO2 Vape.
Sweet (South West Expert Extraction Technology) CO2 Oil is a rapidly-expanding company based right here in Durango. They do not sell anything directly to the public, but they do provide inventory and product to nearly all the dispensaries in town (Durango Organics, Telluride Bud Co., Sante, MHS Durango, Colorado Grow Co., ACME Healing Center, Animas Herbal, and the Greenery, to be exact). And the stuff they provide to dispensary owners for resale is tested by Aurum Labs, another hardworking Durango-based company.
While using the vape pen as any sort of permanent replacement to joints, bowls, dabs and bong rips is not likely my next move, vape pens make a fantastic addition to my ever-growing kit of modern-day weed paraphernalia that will no doubt prove itself quite handy in certain situations where discretion is paramount.
Anti-social use is not really my thing, never has been. This is not to say I’m somehow above sparking a joint or bowl and then smoking it entirely by myself – for research of course – but I’m a lot more likely to share a joint with friends, good music and intelligent conversation. The vape pen, I think, is an excellent tool for ingesting concentrates when it’s nobody else’s business what you’re doing.
Jennifer Knight is a freelance writer, thanks in no small part to her day job at Durango Solar Works. ([email protected])Roldo is an Underground cartoonist, recently unretired.
