​We use our weekly discussions as a means to understand our community which we call Bento Family and answers questions they may have. In a previous post, we mentioned experimenting with cannabis to understand what works best for you. We know that’s easier said than done. The lack of knowledge of this industry doesn’t help. That’s where we come in, trying our best to provide the most relevant information to you. A common question we hear is “what’s the difference between smoking flower and eating an edible?” There are many horror stories of someone eating an edible, having a bad experience, and never trying cannabis again. We don’t want that to happen to you, so this week’s discussion will clarify the differences between edibles and smoking. 

Effects can be felt faster from smoking than edibles. This is because smoking allows Delta-9-THC to travel through our bloodstream, thanks to the alveoli in our lungs, and binds to endocannabinoid receptors throughout our body, including our brain. Effects can be felt instantly or in a few minutes. When consuming edibles, it typically kicks in around 30-60 minutes. The edible needs time to metabolized through the stomach then liver.
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Although, edibles provide more potent effects. When consumed, Delta-9-THC converts to 11-hydroxy-THC or 11-OH-THC. A 1973 study showed 11-OH-THC may be more potent than Delta-9-THC. 11-OH-THC is water soluble, while Delta-9-THC is oil soluble. This means edibles are more effective in crossing the blood-brain barrier. As a result, the effects from smoking moderately can last anywhere from 30 minutes to four hours while edibles can last four to 6 hours.   

​Smoking is good for those who want to feel the effects immediately. Despite the fact smoking could irritate and inflame the respiratory tract. Edibles are great for those who don’t want to smoke, smell like cannabis, want a longer/stronger high, or prefer inconspicuous consumption methods. It is important to note some edibles have a stronger cannabis taste than others. If not careful, edibles come with the highest chance of over doing it. Understanding the perfect number of milligrams for you is important. So is taking into consideration your metabolism, how sensitive you are to THC, and what you ate that day. Start with 2.5mg or 5mg and if nothing is felt within an hour take another. Impatience leads to undesired results. 

Experimenting to understand what works best for you is encouraged. Additionally, we want to make sure you experiment in a safe manner. If you like the information we discussed and want us to compare other methods, please email us at peter@bentodelivery.com or comment below. Likewise, if there is something you want to learn more about, or if you have any feedback feel free to comment or email us along with any other questions you may have. After all, our discussions are focused on helping you. 

​Items on our menu have been showing up with the word smalls in the headline. But what exactly does that mean? Many from the Bento Family have raised this question along with, “is there’s anything wrong with them?” This week’s discussion will answer those questions and quite possibly leave you with a different perspective on cannabis bud structure.  

​If you’ve ever seen a picture of a cannabis plant its either short and bushy or tall and narrow. Just like any other plant, cannabis plants require sunlight to grow. The plant grows towards the direction of the sun, leaving colas (tight group of buds) near the top of the plant to absorb the most sunlight possible. Colas near the bottom of the plant don’t receive as much sunlight. As a result, they don’t turn into large, Christmas tree type nugs. You may not want to post a picture of it, but you will definitely feel the effects. 

​Smalls provide nearly the same level of cannabinoids (THC, CBD, etc.) and terpenes (taste, smell) as the Instagram worthy nugs. Farms and growers alike typically sell them for lower prices because of the lack of bag appeal with roughly the same aroma and trichrome production. In a previous discussion, we described trichomes as white crystals where cannabinoids and terpenes are produced/stored. Cannabis plants from a high-quality farm usually produce high quality effects. Smalls could give you the ability to buy high quality flower for lower prices. Additionally, there may be less stem weight associated with small nugs. Theoretically, smalls provide more flower so long as its properly trimmed.   

​Did our discussion change your perspective on packages labeled smalls? Is what we discussed aligned with your experience? Let us know by emailing us at peter@bentodelivery.com or by commenting below along with any other thoughts you may have including feedback on our delivery service and future topics. The conversations we have with you make our weekly discussions worth it!

​State legalization has brought up debates as to whether cannabis use is healthy. We started Bento Delivery during the prop 215 days. Helping medical patients live a better life was and still is a core value of ours. I say was because we’ve expanded to include the recreational market. This allows us to positively impact more peoples’ lives and create a meaningful community within the Bay Area. Since the legal cannabis industry is relatively new, education is more important than ever to understand what works best for you. Our Bento Family is diverse and spans across many communities. To address issues most relevant to you, emailing us at peter@bentodelivery.com is extremely helpful for us to know what type of information is best to discuss. Many Bento Family members raised concerns about psychosis. This week’s discussion will focus on what psychosis is, how cannabis use is linked to psychotic episodes, and how to reduce your chances of experiencing psychosis. 

Psychosis is a mental health issue that affects the mind. A psychotic episode can alter one’s reality by perceiving things that aren’t there. The best way to describe it is the feeling of paranoia after smoking a strong sativa. Although a psychotic episode would last longer and be accompanied by other symptoms. Symptoms can include jumbled or nonsensical speech, depression, anxiety, sleep problems, social withdrawal, lack of motivation, and an overall difficulty to function normally. 

​According to a study conducted by The British Journal of Psychiatry, psychosis could be brought on by daily, habitual use of high delta-9 THC products. Delta-9 THC is the main active cannabinoid in cannabis, which produces the psychoactive effects. Consuming large levels of highly potent cannabis over a sustained period of time may increase your chances of experiencing a psychotic episode. Chances could be higher if there is a family history of psychosis. Likewise if one consumed before their prefrontal cortex was fully developed. 

Simply put, the opposite of what the journal wrote. Using lower delta-9 THC products in an infrequent manner. For many suffering from one or several illnesses that cannabis use helps, a tolerance break isn’t possible, research shows CBD has antipsychotic properties.

Most studies presented during this article point to high THC products. Based on my anecdotal research, sativa strains bring out/heighten expressions of paranoia or other symptoms one may be experiencing; especially the high THC strains. I personally enjoy indica dominate hybrids because they bring me long-lasting effects without paranoia entering the fold. Although, I understand everyone and their endocannabinoid system is different. That is why we favor experimentation to understand what works best for you.  
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Our menu offers several CBD only, moderate delta-9 THC, and ratio’d CBD to THC products. We take the health of our community seriously and strive to provide a quality experience each and every time. Please let us know if this information was helpful by emailing us at peter@bentodelivery.com or by commenting below. If you have any other thoughts, such as what works best for you, we’d love to hear from you and further the conversation.  

​In a previous post we talked about terpenes in protabs and how they work with cannabinoids to enhance the strain’s/cultivar’s effects. Many are unfamiliar with terpenes, although they are all around us. There are more than 30,000 terpenes found in plants all over the world. In cannabis, there are over 200 terpenes. Rather than discuss terpenes as a whole, we’ll take a look at individual terpenes so that our community can understand which cultivars are right for them. The terpene we’ll focus on today is beta-caryophyllene (BCP).   

BCP’s medical benefits have been know for some time now. A 2008 study found a positive correlation between BCP and therapeutic treatments. Many spices and ingredients such as basil, oregano, lavender, rosemary, cinnamon, black pepper, and cloves contain the essential oil. This led the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve BCP as a food additive because of its ability to activate the endocannabinoid system (ECS).

The ECS is found throughout our body. There are two cannabinoid receptors appropriately named cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) and cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB2). BCP binds to the CB2, which are located on white blood cells. CB2 differs than that of CB1 as no psychoactive effects are produced. Beta-caryophyllene can help regulate the immune and nervous system by providing aid/relief from pain, inflammation, digestion, depression, anxiety, insomnia, cancer development, weight loss, and many more.

​Many well know strains contain high levels of BCP such as Bubba Kush, Girl Scout Cookies, OG Kush, Pineapple Express, Super Sour Diesel, Trainwreck, Candyland, Cookies and Cream, Gorilla Glue #4, Super Silver Haze, Wedding Cake, and so much more. At the moment, our high BCP strains include Mimosa, Orange Cream Cake. We used to carry Pre-98 Bubba Kush. Many from the Bento Family purchased that strain because the effects were exactly what they were looking far. As time goes on, our menu changes so be sure to keep a look out for any of these strains and many others high in beta-caryophyllene!

​We hope this discussion was informative. If you learned something new, let us know! Are there any cultivars you want us to carry, any terpenes you want us to cover, questions you have, suggestions for topics or improvement for Bento in general let us know by emailing us at peter@bentodelivery.com or by commenting below. We’d love to hear your thoughts and further the conversation. 

​With more and more people trying cannabis each day, we thought it’d be a great idea to discuss the differences between being recreational vs a medical patient in California. 

To start, we’ll briefly mention the laws that allowed each in California. Proposition 215, the Compassionate Use Act of 1996, allowed physicians to recommend cannabis for severely ill Californians to provide relief and treatment. Fast forward to 2016, Proposition 64, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, passed which allowed the sale and consumption of recreational cannabis for adults 21 and older.

​It wasn’t until January 1, 2018 when recreational use was legalized. That’s when the Medicinal and Adult Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA) went into law. The MAUCRSA established the regulatory and commercial framework for California’s medical and adult-use cannabis market. 

Besides the heavy taxes, the law outlines what recreational users and medical patients can buy and possess. Medical patients can be 18 and older. They can buy and possess up to 8 ounces of dried cannabis or concentrates. Recreational users are 21 years or older and are limited to 1 ounce of dried flower and eight grams of concentrates. Although, there’s no limit on the amount of CBD products anyone can buy.
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Understanding the legal, California cannabis rules can help in making purchasing decisions as well as deciding whether to seek a doctor’s recommendation for medical use. We hope you learned something new and if there’s something unclear or you want to know more about please feel free to email us at peter@bentodelivery.com or by commenting below. We enjoy hearing your thoughts! 

As our first discussion mentioned, we are at the early beginnings of the legal cannabis industry locally and globally. That leaves opportunities for creative solutions to enter the market. In this discussion, I want to focus on a relatively new product category for the cannabis industry created by the San Francisco company Level; protabs. New items like these may leave many hesitant to give them a try. Many have praised protabs and added them to their go to list. To see if protabs are right for you we’ll break down what protabs are, how they are made, and who might enjoy them.  

​Protabs are cannabinoid specific tablets infused with steam distilled cannabis terpenoids. Breaking that down, Level blends a specific chemical compounds of the plant with fragrant oils. For example, the sativa, indica, and hybrid protabs contain Delta-9-THC; the central psychoactive compound in cannabis. Other protabs contain CBD, Delta-8 THC, THCA, and CBG.
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Protabs are not considered edibles. They are small, circular, mint-sized tablets categorized as capsules or orally consumable concentrates. That sets them out of the 100 mg limit placed on edibles. That’s why they come in 250 mg packages; ten capsules dosed at 25 mg each. Protabs are cannabinoid specific and scored down the middle, allowing for smaller doses. Protabs are swallowed with water followed by a 30-to-60-minute activation delay 

Steam distillation allows Level to isolate terpenes. The process starts by converting solid, cannabis material into vapor and then turning the terpene profile into a liquid oil. The steam distilled terpenoids are infused with the cannabinoid to create the entourage effect. The taste and smell of terpenes like myrcene and pinene interact with cannabinoids such as THC or CBD to enhance the intended results; a stronger high or medicated effect.
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Chris Emerson, PH.D., Cofounder, and Chief Scientist at Level understands everyone has a unique endocannabinoid system. Because of this, he encourages people to experiment with cannabis as they build confidence with what works for them. A single cannabinoid can be an effective treatment; however, combining cannabinoids can provide the most therapeutic benefits through the entourage effect. 

​Protabs can be attractive for multiple reasons. The higher mg count can appeal to those with higher tolerances. Bentonians who want to understand how specific cannabinoids affect them in isolation. Level appeals to the growing trend of microdosing by providing a discreet way to relive stress, enter the flow state, or maintain the high while being able to control the dosage. Someone who doesn’t smoke and/or is tired of eating candy or chocolate covered edibles can rejoice with the small, potent protabs. As you can tell, there are many reasons why someone may be attracted to protabs. 

​What do you think about protabs after reading this post? Have you tried any of the protabs? If so, which is your favorite? What made you want to try it? We’d love to hear what you have to say by emailing us at peter@bentodelivery.com or by commenting below.  We enjoy furthering the conversation with our community. 

Our second ever weekly discussion brings us to the topic of cartridge storage. If you haven’t already read the first installment of our three-part mini-series on cannabis flower, cartridge, and concentrate storage, click here to learn about the ideal environment for cannabis flower and the four factors to consider. This week’s discussion follows the same format in which we start off with the best storage environment followed by factors to consider. This may be a post you return to in the future as your taste and preferences change, you experiment with different products, or whatever may be the case.

The ideal environment
Cartridges are best stored in cool, dry places. They differ from flower since cartridge oil is affected by half the factors: temperature and light.

Temperature control
The optimal temperature for storage is 70 F, or room temperature. A hot environment can cause a reduction of flavor, aroma, and potency. At the same time, increase the chances of leakage. Too cold of a temperature can lead to moisture issues. Being in California, leaving items in a car’s center console creates a sauna like environment in warmer weather. Heat exposure could also alter the flavor and smoothness of a hit.

Light protection
Light exposure can cause oxidation. This means electrons or compounds within the oil are lost and changed. For cartridge oil, this means a darker color and potentially lost potency. The change in potency may be small and the darker oil remains safe to consume. The same altered flavor and smoothness risk exists from light exposure.

At a glance
Storage can be as simple as placing the upright cartridge in a drawer, bag, or even a refrigerator; however, never in a freezer or in direct sunlight. There may be some internal combustion issues when storing disposable pens or batteries in the fridge.

What do you think of our short and sweet discussion on cartridge storage? Do you think we left anything out, is there anything you do differently, do you have any thoughts on future discussion topics or how we can improve Bento Delivery? Please email us your thoughts to peter@bentodelivery.com or comment below to further the discussion. We enjoy listening and replying to what you have to say as it helps us better serve our growing community of Bentonians. If you'd like to tell us in person stop by our Hempcon booth at the Cow Palace in Daly City from September 13-15, 2019.  There will be interactive challenges and low priced items on some of your favorites!

One of the things we, at Bento, strive to provide our community is a quality experience with our products and services. We believe information can change lives for the better. In a new industry like cannabis, people will try to make a quick buck anyway they can. That sort of thinking can hurt a lot of people. We hope our weekly discussions can empower Bentonians to identify the right products and companies for them. Taking a look at Bento and the California market as a whole, the majority of sales come from flower, cartridges, and concentrates.

What better way to kick off our blog then to discuss storage options for maximum effect in a three-part mini-series. Weekly discussion will be posted every Monday. We’ll first start off with flower, then cartridges, and end with concentrates. Each discussion will start off with the best storage conditions followed by factors to consider. This may be a post you return to in the future as your taste and preferences change, you experiment with different products, or whatever may be the case. 

                                                                                                           Flower Conditions
Flower is best kept in cold, dark places. There are 4 factors that affect the quality of cannabis bud: temperature, light, humidity, and air. If you’re storing multiple strains, keep each strain in their own container.

                                                                                                                Temperature
Room temperature (72 to 76 degrees Fahrenheit) or below is ideal. Storing flower between 77 to 86 degrees can cause mildew and/or other mold production. Likewise, hot temperatures can dry out the essential oils of the plant leaving less potent and aromatic nugs. This can cause a harsh hit and irritate your throat. A low temperature can cause the cannabinoid producer and container, trichomes, to break apart easily. Although, a study found cannabinoids (chemical compounds of the plant) can remain stable up to 2 years if cured and stored properly. A freezer can do the trick while using vacuum sealed or air tight glass jars hidden from any light source. Opaque glass jars are recommended because light doesn’t penetrate when the freezer door opens. When it’s time for use, let the nugs slowly return to room temperature before handling as they may be fragile and break apart easily. If you don’t want to store it for that long, a cold, dark place is ideal. 

                                                                                                                         Light
Light is the most influential factor when it comes to preserving cannabinoids. Keeping bud out of the light slows its decarboxylation process. If left in direct sunlight, the THC converts into cannabinol (CBN) which is equivalent to stale THC. Effects could range from grogginess to confusion. While CBN has benefits such as a sleep aid, leaving flower in sunlight to create CBN isn’t a recommended process.

                                                                                                                   Humidity
When it comes to humidity, keeping flower in a cold, dark place creates a relative humidity level between 59% to 63%. Too high of a humidity can cause mildew or other fungi to form. Too low of a humidity level can dry out the essential oils and cause the white, crystal trichomes to break apart easily. If you’re like me and don’t understand humidity levels, companies like Boveda and Integra sell two-way humidity packs to control the relative humidity in your containers. With that said, storing in a cold, dark place shouldn’t cause humidity problems. 

                                                                                                                         Air
The last factor for proper flower storage is air control. The perfect air level keeps the bud fresh and maintains its form. There should be a small gap between the nugs and the lid. Containers shouldn’t be filled to the top nor should they be half way filled. Not enough air can affect the relative humidity, while too much air speeds up the decarboxylation process. Vacuum sealing jars can help with air control and glass jars make great storage containers since they have a neutral charge.

We hope our first blog post was helpful to you. Did we miss anything, do you have a different storage method, is there any other product you’d like us to cover? We’d love to hear your thoughts and further the conversation. If you have any questions or suggestions for future posts feel free to email us at peter@bentodelivery.com so we can provide the most relevant and highest quality content for our growing community. Alternatively, we'll be at Hempcon Cup at the Cow Palace in Daly City September 13-15, 2019. If you'll be in the area come say high, pick up some goodies, and have a great time!