Dear Stoner: What's Denver Doing for 4/20?

Dear Stoner: I’m sick with a sore throat and can’t smoke, but I have a hard time eating without cannabis. I also don’t like most of the sweet edibles out there. Anything I can do?
Hazel

Dear Hazel: At least you have the no-smoking part down: Too many people are either careless or blind to what smoking can do to their throat and immune system when they have a cold or the flu. But not being able to eat can make you feel just as dreadful, and you can’t beat an illness on an empty stomach. If brownies won’t do it for you in the morning, look for pot-infused granola, muffins and other breakfast foods — they’re definitely out there. Another option could be tinctures, which come in liquid form and are dropped under your tongue. Although tinctures don’t last as long, they kick in quickly and will jump-start your appetite.

Next time you’re in a dispensary, keep your eyes open for infused teas and hot-drink mixes. Although not as common as Cheeba Chews or Incredibles candies, some companies make hash-infused herbal teas — and one in particular, CWD, sells a cold/flu relief tea that’s infused with fifty milligrams of THC (it comes with a ten-milligram serving spoon if fifty is too much for you). CWD says its products are available throughout Denver, though I have yet to come across them. I sure wish I’d done this research when I was sick two weeks ago: Just writing this makes me want some right now!

Dear Stoner: It sucks that the Cannabis Cup is canceled this year. What else is there for a stoner to do in Denver for 4/20?
Jay Papes

Dear Jay: As sad as it was to see the Cannabis Cup move to Southern California this year, the stoner shit show can be as frustrating as it is liberating, and there are more important things going on here, anyway. Despite the 240-plus citations handed out by the Denver Police Department last year for public pot consumption, most of the thousands of attendees at the annual Denver 420 Rally were able to smoke freely at Civic Center Park if they weren’t assholes to cops about it. The City of Denver forced this year’s rally to be held on Saturday, April 16, but it’s headlined by Lil Wayne and Wiz Khalifa and, as always, is free — so why not go blaze one for the nation?

If you truly care about the future of pot politics, though, go to the Capitol Hill Cannabis Activists Assembly at 10 a.m. on 4/20 at the State Capitol Building. Keep a doob behind your ear as you voice your opinion on plant counts, public consumption and driving laws, and make the people who fought for legalization proud. ¡Viva la mota!

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