The Good, The Bad, And The Drugly: Tech's Green Scene, 4/20/16

If you happen to partake in a certain combustible, leafy green type of relaxing refreshment, today is known as the default holiday in which it is particularly celebrated (as opposed to how some use it during all the other major holidays...or days...)  Here's a look at some of the better e-ideas surrounding cannabis culture, and one that's only half-baked...

A very different type of "green" technology will be discussed today.
(Image courtesy gizmodo.co.uk.)

We'll start with the good stuff.  The technology surrounding cannabis consumption has come a long way from manual joint-rolling machines.  One of the standout products currently on the market for marijuana enthusiasts is the Pax 2 vaporizer.  These vaporizers are a type of smoking device that use medical-grade heating compartments ("the oven") to heat the plant matter just enough to release the precious THC compounds into your lungs (but not cause an excess of combustion - meaning no lighters are required, and no smoke is emitted.)

And it's good for more hits than Muhammad Ali.
(Image courtesy youtube.com.)

The Pax 2 is the sports car of smoking (well, technically, vaping.)  Four heat settings allow for precise control of the "oven-loads", meaning you can choose how heavy your hit is before your lips even hit the mouthpiece.  When your lungs have had their fill, sensors use motion-control technology to deduce when you've set the piece down to go get pizza or listen to "Dark Side Of The Moon" or whatever, and will conserve battery life.  The lithium-ion batteries can be charged via a magnetic USB port, and one-touch operation enables effortless ecstasy.  The Pax 2's sleek design is embedded with an LED that indicates readiness - purple for pre-heatings, green for get hiiiiiiiigh.

The Pax 2 (left) and its high-tech guts (right.)
Don't worry, you don't need to eviscerate it to load a bowl.
(Image courtesy techinsider.io.)

But where are you going to keep you stash in between your futuristic festivities?  There's a discreet way to keep your trees close at hand...literally.  This real, working optical computer mouse features a secret stash compartment, and even a miniature digital scale!  Hey, at least it's the last place your scavenger roommate (or the cops) will search...AND you'll never have to worry about forgetting where you hid things when you were high.

This is some new-wave ninja shit right here.
(Image courtesy weedgadgets.com.)

However, not every high idea (highdea?) is a good one, as evidenced by today's fray from Snapchat.  The photo-sharing app made another of its signature filters available today, however things took an unfortunate dark turn.  The filter, which made users appear to look like the reggae music legend Bob Marley, was quickly decried for its apparent usage of the "blackface" stereotype.

There is such a thing as "too high", and this is what it creates.
(Image courtesy twitter.com.)

Snapchat had made the following statement in an attempt to reconcile things:  

“The lens we launched today was created in partnership with the Bob Marley Estate, and gives people a new way to share their appreciation for Bob Marley and his music. Millions of Snapchatters have enjoyed Bob Marley’s music, and we respect his life and achievements.”

Let's hope their users can forget this unfortunate effort, and let's get together and feel alright.  In the meantime, perhaps Snapchat will somehow think of a way to ask for what Marley valued so dearly...redemption.

One last thing before we sneak out to the fire escape for a fattie...the cannabis industry will be ferociously fired up if fully legalized in America, so for you tech-heads who also may happen to be hop-heads, here is Forbes' list of canna-centric tech jobs that will make your future a little bit brighter, for those with a certain kind of higher aspiration.

We hope all of our readers had a safe and significant day!

Always remember that it is you, dear reader, who is the true bomb-bomb diggy.