As Westchester embraces legal cannabis, we provide a simple guide for everyone from those looking to dip their toes in the water to seasoned veterans.
Welcome to what might be looked back on as ‘The Busiest Wendy’s Drive-thru Day in History.’ April 20, universally recognized in modern American culture as the “stoner holiday,” has for years been a time for cannabis lovers to chill out and partake. For the first time ever this year, recreational cannabis will be legal for 4/20 in Westchester.
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From CBD and hemp to the more psychoactive varieties, cannabis has been steadily growing in popularity in Westchester for years. Today, Westchester is home to a growing number of medical marijuana patients and wellness shops offering CBD-infused products. There have even been underground cannabis dinners! Heck, our district attorney stopped prosecuting most low-level possession cases over two years ago.
In celebration of 420, we thought now would be a good time to round up some of the most popular cannabis products and accessories you can snag in Westchester. Whether you’re brand-new to the world or a cannabis connoisseur, we’ve got you covered.
Where to Buy
Many Westchester smoke shops have jumped on the vaping bandwagon, and that means “digital” smoking products with readily swappable cartridges have become far more commonplace. At the same time, as the public perception of medical and recreational marijuana changes, so too does the availability of higher-end smoking paraphernalia like portable vaporizers, pre-rolled single-serve items, and assorted paraphernalia. Cortlandt Vape & Smoke, DT Vapor and Cigar and King Kong Vape CBD are three local shops in the former category, dealing chiefly in personal vaporizers and their liquid cartridges. All have friendly and courteous staff who are willing to take the time to chat and educate, whether you’re an abject newbie or a seasoned vet.
On the other end of the (full) spectrum, CBD products — those derived from hemp, entirely non-psychoactive, and already previously legal — are popping up more and more in local wellness boutiques. JO’s Body Shop, a Peekskill-based massage and therapy center, began offering such supplies several years ago to help ease symptoms of inflammation and ache in addition to making the most of their calming effects. Come Back Daily opened its first location outside of NYC last year, when the former White Plains Vapors made the decision to completely eschew tobacco products in favor of cannabis.
Read More: Get High-Quality Healing From This Holistic CBD Shop in White Plains
The Pharm Stand is also a relatively new addition to the area, offering a wide range of CBD products (plus some non-CBD ones) specifically designed for humans, yes, but also cats, dogs, and even horses! Though the Armonk location sadly closed during the pandemic, the remain a nearby fixture thanks to a location in nearby Ridgefield. Owned in part by Jayni Chase (you might have bumped into her husband, Chevy), the shop already has the Martha Stewart seal of approval.
Speaking of, the Queen of All That Is Home and longtime Snoop Dogg protégé herself launched her own line of CBD gummies last year, through a partnership with her and Snoop’s CBD company, Canopy Growth.
Read More: Martha Stewart’s CBD Is the Next Item in Your Online Shopping Cart
Even in the digital age, you can still shop local. Hudson Valley CBD is a relatively new but popular company based right here in Westchester that offers CBD-infused tinctures, lotions and salves, lip balm, and more, depending on your needs.
Our 4/20 Wish List
Westchester Magazine is well-known for roundups of luxurious homes, decadent foods, and high-end product guides. When it comes to cannabis consumption, we see no reason why our readers would be any less discerning in their tastes. To that end — and in the spirit of the holiday — here are the goodies topping our 420 wish list.
For Rest and Recovery
After a stressful week and a long bout at the gym, your body and mind need some time to recuperate. Hudson Valley CBD’s line of tinctures and creams is a double-whammy to that end. Its Triple Relief Pain Salve ($44.99) packs 250mg of pure CBD into a 2oz jar. Use it for bone, joint, or muscle pain, whether it be injury, chronic wear, or just daily aches and pains, since it is a great way to stimulate muscles post-workout to get the most out of your recovery period.
HVCBD’s tinctures are also an easy and delicious way to get your daily CBD dose, taken orally on its own or mixed into your diet in flavors such as citrus, melon, or spearmint. There are even simple vitamin-like capsules if you’re iffy on the various flavor options.
Speaking of ways to unwind, we also got to try out some CBD bath bombs courtesy of Life Elements. Yes, bath bombs. With CBD. If you’ve ever thought a night in the bath with a glass of wine couldn’t get better, we’re here to (gently) tell you that you were wrong. These bath bombs dissolve quickly and smell fantastic, and they just also happen to contain between 50 and 300mg of CBD, depending on which strength you prefer. Bath bombs range from $14 to $28, but frequent bombers will enjoy the company’s subscribe and save option with a 10% discount.
For the Canna-curious Foodie
If your last foray into edibles was a “magic” pre-concert brownie sometime back in college, you’re in for a real treat. The acceptance of cannabis use in the mainstream has led to some pretty amazing advances in the culinary arts. CBD, while not technically water soluble, can, like the gram you bought to make canna-butter back in 2004, be dissolved and incorporated into various oils, fats, and more. (With a little science-y finessing you can even get it to play nice with water now!) One of the easiest and most delicious ways to get your daily dose would be the same way you get your kids to take their vitamins: gummies!
These Lord Jones gumdrops and chews each contain 20mg of CBD and are available at The Pharm Stand with an MSRP between $30 and $60 depending on variety.
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For something a bit more on-the-go and thirst quenching, Come Back Daily offers a selection of Oleo tea and beverage mixes, each at about 25mg per serving. More of a “crack open a cold one after work” kind of person? Pervida offers calming, CBD-infused sparkling zero-calorie beverages, available at your local Whole Foods and other specialty grocers..
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For an even simpler way to incorporate cannabis into your diet, consider cooking with it the way you would any other herb. You might be familiar the arduous process of cooking cannabis to extract its activated oils, then infusing that into butter or other foodstuffs to cook with — all in all a very time-consuming and wasteful process, and certainly not an everyday activity.
A much more efficient option is a kitchen decarboxylator, which is about as futuristic as it sounds. A NOVA Decarboxylator ($260) or NOVA FX ($350) from Ardent is essentially a ‘set it and forget it’ countertop appliance that uses a combination of perfectly balanced heat and time to activate the CBD and THC in cannabis, allowing you to simply sprinkle it on whatever you’re eating. It’s safe, small, easy to use, and almost entirely free of cleanup. The company even sells sleeves and kits to help you create infusions like olive oil, caramels, or all-purpose coconut oil.
For the Tech-Forward Consumer
Old-school meets new-school as longtime smokers increasingly turn towards healthier and more technologically enhanced alternatives and the DaVinci IQ2 personal digital vaporizer ($295) might be the smartest vape on the market. The upgraded device weighs just 5.4oz but packs a bevy of smart controls and features into its tiny frame, like an air flow dial, LED display for mode and temperature settings, and a removable, USB-rechargable Li-ion battery. It can even tell you your exact dosage with built-in or app-based Bluetooth connectivity.
The IQ2 lets users select between preset and manual modes, four variable temperature programs (just like your stationary bike!) and can be used with both raw flour and concentrates/extracts, making it an incredibly versatile piece of technology. Optional water filter attachments and a carrying case for pre-loaded 0.2g dosage pods increase that further, replacing old-school water pipes and making on-the-go consumption as easy as changing a cartridge.
A little less mobile, the Volcano Hybrid ($699) is the Ferrari of tabletop vaporizers. With a digital push-button display, the granddaddy of all vapes is sleek and stylish German craftsmanship at its finest, but with ease of operation. Do you need to spend $700 on a coffee table centerpiece? Of course not. But do you need dry-aged steak? Fine art? Lamborghinis? This is a wish list, after all, and if now isn’t the time to dream of the finer things in #VapeLife we don’t know when is.
For the Absolute Beginner
Ready to dip into the waters of cannabis but not sure where to begin now that New York has legalized adult use but hasn’t approved any licensed non-medical dispensaries? Cannaflower is a great web-based alternative. Buyers can select between uplifting and calming strains of CBD-rich hemp cannabis and have it shipped straight to their door, as both indica and sativa strains contain less than 0.03% THC and have been legal federally and in New York all along.
The Discovery Box ($19.95) is by far the best place to start, containing two 1oz bags of raw cannabis, and one 1g “pre-roll” — plus a $20 gift card for your next order, meaning the box pretty much pays for itself and you just have to shell out for shipping. If you like what you get, you can then go back for pre-roll cones ($6.95 apiece or $22.95 for all four varieties in a “flight”), pre-roll joint five-packs ($24.95 or $89.95 for the flight), CBD-infused oils, or even bagged raw cannabis in five convenient weights from as little as 1g (starting at $8.95) all the way up to 1oz (starting at $99.95).
Read More: Here’s Where to Find CBD Products in Westchester
