High Tech: The Wired World of Cannabis
From science to business, a look back at some of our best 4/20-adjacent coverage.
Photo: ANDREW HARRER/BLOOMBERG/GETTY IMAGES01Jeff Sessions' War on Medical Marijuana Gets Public Health All Wrong
The current attorney general has a well-documented distaste for weed—but his personal feelings disregard a huge amount of scientific and observational data.
Photo: CODY RASMUSSEN/GETTY IMAGES02Scientists Map the Receptor That Makes Weed Work
After discovering exactly how humans’ CB1 receptors operate, a team of chemists hope to bypass THC entirely, creating finely-tuned molecules that will trigger the receptors to send pain-relief signals to the body—without things like irritability, anxiety, or federal prosecution.
Photo: GARY MORRISON/GETTY IMAGES03The Future of Weed Science Is a Van in Colorado
There’s no shortage of reasons to study cannabis—but federal law prohibits using anything but specially grown strains meant for research. There’s just one problem: lab weed is weak. The solution? A mobile lab that can accommodate real-life users and their real-life stash.
Photo: GETTY IMAGES04Why No Gadget Can Prove How Stoned You Are
A cannabis high can be rather unpredictable, depending on strain, THC levels, and the interaction between hundreds of other these compounds. But as medical and recreational marijuana use spreads across the United States, how can law enforcement tell if someone they’ve pulled over is too high to be driving?
Photo: DOSIST05Why It's So Hard to Dose Weed
Your reaction to cannabis depends as much on your physiology and state of mind as it does on the plant. But science is always learning about how marijuana works on the human body—companies are figuring out ways to help you dose more consistently.
Photo: BEATE SONNENBERG06The Plan to Save California's Legendary Weed From 'Big Cannabis'
The recent legalization of recreational use in California may seem like a bonanza for marijuana farmers—but the situation is less peachy for small operators, who have to cope with a sprawling new bureaucracy governing the cultivation and distribution of marijuana. One company thinks it has an answer.
