Altered States

Close-up of a cannabis flower with pale curling pistils and resin-coated, serrated green leaves.

Weed is Stronger

October 27, 2026

Weed has gotten stronger, but Richard Stockton questions whether it has gotten better. A researcher and Santa Cruz cannabis experts look beyond THC percentages to aroma, freshness and what’s missing from the label.

Smoke Circles

Why two puffs, and why pass to the left? Richard Stockton explores the unwritten rules of sharing cannabis and the bonds formed around a smoking circle.

Dosing Duos

I wake at four, twitching in the dark with pathological remorse over how I threw away my college education: in 1969 I dropped out...

Cannabis for Sleep?

Richard Stockton gives up cannabis for a week and asks sleep researchers whether weed really helps people sleep—or simply changes how they experience it.

Weed Heaven

Cannabis judge Christopher Carr explores aroma, terroir, legacy genetics and why Santa Cruz home growers may produce some of the world’s finest weed.

He Said, She Said

Richard Stockton talks with Washington State University psychologist Carrie Cuttler about research into how cannabis may affect men and women differently—from appetite and memory to pain tolerance.

Smoke or Vape?

Smoking remains the classic cannabis ritual, but dry-herb vaporizers may reduce exposure to tar, carbon monoxide and other combustion byproducts. Richard Stockton weighs the pleasures, health concerns and practical tradeoffs.

Psychedelics Grow Up

The Santa Cruz Psychedelic Society relaunches with author Abbie Rosner and a discussion of how psychedelics may help older adults reconsider aging, purpose and mortality.