All Medical Marijuana News Archives · Page 7 of 12

Obama’s Supreme Court Pick: The One Thing We Know About Merrick Garland and Cannabis

President Barack Obama might have a strain named after him, but that’s about as close to the cannabis community as he’s come lately. So when the president announced his U.S. Supreme Court nominee Wednesday morning, pot pundits were sent scrambling.

What, everyone wanted to know, might Merrick Garland think of cannabis?

Longtime reformer Tom Angell came up with the first morsel, tweeting a Garland quote from a 2012 LA. Times story. Garland at the time was on a federal three-judge panel hearing an appeal by Americans for Safe Access over whether the DEA should reschedule cannabis.

Obama’s SCOTUS pick actually said this about the DEA when ruling against marijuana rescheduling. pic.twitter.com/fijMGZWugO

— Tom Angell (@tomangell) March 16, 2016

With that one tweet, Angell pretty much exhausted what we know about Garland’s stance on cannabis. Some news outlets built entire stories off that lone, out-of-context quote. But how much does it actually tell us? It’s not so clear.

First of all, the quote requires a bit of interpretation. It’s not clear whether Garland was actually pushing for the court to side with the DEA or simply asking the lawyers, as judges sometimes do, to provide legal justification for a possible action (in this case, questioning the DEA’s scheduling discretion). Sure, the quote is couched in a way that suggests the court should indeed defer to the DEA, but it’s tough to know for sure that’s what he meant.

Second, it’s not as though the court’s ruling — the panel ultimately sided with the DEA — was all that unusual. Every rescheduling effort since the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) became law in 1970 has fallen short. Jacob Sullum of Reason magazine writes that much of that failure is because the CSA gives the DEA broad leeway about what it means for a substance to have a “high potential for abuse,” “no currently accepted medical benefit,” and “a lack of accepted safety.” It might be laughable that the agency thinks cannabis deserves those descriptors, but Sullum’s point is that the CSA leaves it to the DEA, not judges, to make that determination.

Federal law is so stacked against cannabis that Garland might not have had much wiggle room anyway, Sullum concludes. “I therefore would not read too much into Garland’s position in this case,” he writes, adding cheekily that “it is notable that the man who nominated him likes to pretend this whole body of law does not exist.” Zing.

Finally, even if the quote is as damning as Angell seems to suggest, it’s still not much to go on. And while there are other indicators, they’re based mostly on generalizations. For example, many legal observers describe former prosecutors as generally deferential to the government; Garland, who spent time in the Justice Department, certainly seems to have been that in the DEA case. But when it comes to how he’ll deal with a specific matter in the future, it’s anyone’s guess. (Frustrated? Don’t worry. Folks at Broadly can’t figure out what Garland would mean for women, either.) But as Angell points out, we have to write something.

Perhaps the most helpful thing we know for the time being is that a Garland is moderate Democrat — an otherwise “safe pick,” by most accounts. As Hillary Clinton shows, that doesn’t bode particularly well for cannabis — but it sure looks better than Scalia.

Ultimately, though, it might not make much difference. Republicans have insisted that Obama’s nomination is a nonstarter, and many have pledged to drag their heels until the next president takes office. So all this armchair analysis by the marijuana media might be moot.

Or, as Angell put it:

It’s amazing how so many journalism man-hours are wasted on things that aren’t actually going to make news. http://t.co/iw2Li6VZJu

— Tom Angell (@tomangell) March 17, 2016

Image source: Diego M. Radzinschi / The National Law Journal

The Shake: The Shire’s Pipe Weed Shortage, a Safer St. Paddy’s, and Whitewashing the Green Rush

It’s St. Paddy’s Day. Once you’re done making ‘green’ jokes, go read Jane West’s piece on celebrating a safer St. Patrick’s Day. On average, West writes, 276 people die in drunk driving accidents every time the holiday rolls around — more than double the normal casualty rate. A billboard in Boston, where Mayor Martin J. Walsh and others have come out staunchly against legalization, echoes West’s point: Cannabis is a much safer alternative to alcohol. Whether you’re celebrating St. Paddy’s or not, drop in to #saferstpats on Twitter tonight and join the party by proxy. Cheers!

Don’t just think of the children. Study them. You worry relaxing cannabis laws will inspire a whole bunch of minors to spark up? It’s a righteous concern, but it’s misplaced. A new study out of Canada shows cannabis use among school-aged children at its lowest level since the 1980s, having fallen steadily for 12 straight years. That adds to a body of existing evidence that legalization doesn’t lead to higher teen use. (Students in Oregon are actually more concerned about the risks of cannabis than they were before legalization there.) Are there studies to the contrary? Sure, but at least one turned out to be bogus. Crazy idea: Thoughtful regulation of and education about cannabis might actually do more to prevent underage use than keeping the failed drug war running on autopilot.

The Shire is running low on pipe weed! Which is a fancy way of saying: There’s a cannabis shortage in New Zealand! Don Rowe, a writer at The Spinoff, reports that bud is “almost unobtainable in any meaningful amount right now” — a situation he calls “catastrophic.” How does something like this happen? “Blame it on the police, the gangs, the weather or just the grow cycle of your average cannabis harvest,” Rowe writes. “No matter which way you slice it, it’s dry out there.” If you need cannabis for medical reasons, at least you’ve got options. Er, one option. Sativex, an infused mouth spray and the only legal form of medical cannabis in the country, is available for an entirely reasonable NZ$1,000 (about $685) a month.

Is the green rush being whitewashed? In a long, important article about racial equity and the fast-growing cannabis industry, BuzzFeed News reporter Amanda Chicago Lewis says yes. Steep regulatory costs and legal barriers to entry are making it difficult for black Americans and other people of color to capture a piece of the growing cannabusiness pie, she explains. Have some time to kill? Read the whole story. Busy at work? Bookmark it. Thousands upon thousands of people support legalization because they’ve been told it will help address some of the most profound racial disparities in the United States. That can’t be an empty promise.

Arizona is in court over all of the things. There are a lot of big questions that come up once a state gets medical cannabis laws on the books, and Arizona is dealing with a few at once. The state Supreme Court agreed this week to hear a pair of appeals centering on whether the smell of cannabis is enough to justify a search by police. Appeals courts in the state have issued contradictory rulings on the issue, the Associated Press reports: A three-judge panel of the state’s Phoenix division ruled that the plain smell of cannabis is sufficient to establish probable cause, but a divided panel out of the Tuscon division ruled that further evidence is needed. (If you’re outside Arizona, the court’s conclusion won’t apply to you. This kind of thing varies from state to state. Ask a lawyer, because I’m not one.) In a separate matter that could make waves nationally, Arizona’s Maricopa County is trying to prevent a dispensary from opening on the grounds it’s illegal under federal law. The dance around federal preemption is a common one, but an unfavorable opinion could bleed into other states. We’ll keep you posted.

The Pennsylvania Capitol goes green. Literally. But more important, figuratively. The state House of Representatives passed a medical cannabis bill on Wednesday, putting Pennsylvania on track to become the 24th state to legalize medical use. The bill now heads to the Senate and, if it passes there, to the governor’s office. But things look promising: The Senate approved a similar measure last year, and Gov. Tom Wolf has said he’ll support the change.

QUICK HITS: Business Insider says a new cannabis-based epilepsy drug “could drastically change our perception of pot.” In large part because a pharmaceutical bottle is, for some reason, less controversial than dried flowers. “It will have the hallmarks of a true pharmaceutical medicine,” says the company’s VP of investor relations. Except the high overdose rate, presumably. New York’s medical cannabis program is off to a slow start. A new crop of bills could speed things along and open the program to more patients, but the proposals’ prospects aren’t yet clear. Oregon’s cannabis officials field questions — lots of questions — from industry. You can read the whole Q&A over at Oregon Live, but extracts artists might want to start here. Want to own a piece of the cannabis industry? U.S. News & World Report has a how-to guide to investing in the fledgling market. Or you can help crowdfund Med-X. The cannabis pest-management company is seeking $15 million. (They actually told you about it on Leafly awhile ago.) Interested? Be sure to read our piece on cannabis crowdfunding first. And finally, Colorado police are learning about cannabis! Which is great, but, like, shouldn’t it have happened a while ago?

Medical Marijuana Bill Heads to Pennsylvania Senate

Pennsylvania could soon pass a bill allowing the use of marijuana for medical purposes, the Cannabist reports. The bill passed the state House on Wednesday, and is now headed to the senate for approval.

As quoted in the publication:

The House voted 149-43 for legislation that would set standards for growers, dispensaries and physicians. Patients could take the drug in pill, oil or liquid form, but would not be able to obtain marijuana they could smoke.

Supporters said it would help relieve the suffering of sick people.

“Today we have the opportunity of offering hope to the parents of these children, to the patients, offering the hope of letting them, along with their doctors, decide how to best treat the conditions they’re dealing with on a daily basis,” said Rep. Jim Cox, R-Berks.

Opponents argued the Legislature should not be approving a drug that is illegal under federal law.

Click here for the full press release.

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US CO: Column: Council Wants Cannabis Clubs Out; Clubs Dig in

Colorado Springs Independent, 16 Mar 2016 – On Tuesday, March 8, after a marathon public comment period, Colorado Springs City Council voted to ban cannabis clubs in the city by 2024. The 6-3 vote comes after years of deliberation over how to handle the clubs, which provide a social setting to consume legal cannabis. Though many in attendance testified that the clubs are a place of community, refuge and healing, detractors see the clubs’ mere existence as flagrantly defying the previous Council’s decision to opt out of recreational sales following statewide legalization. This ordinance, which will get its final reading on March 22, sets up the framework for the ban. It prohibits the opening of any new Marijuana Consumption Club (MCC) – defined as “an establishment, organization, association, club, teapad, or other similar entity or place where a purpose is to allow the consumption of marijuana, medical marijuana or marijuana product on the premises” – but lets certain clubs stay open, for now.

Pennsylvania House Votes to Legalize Medical Cannabis

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A bill to let Pennsylvania patients who suffer from a list of ailments obtain marijuana for therapeutic purposes easily passed the state House on Wednesday, leaving only approval by the Senate, which overwhelmingly passed a similar bill last year.

Supporters said it would help relieve the suffering of sick people.

Opponents argued the Legislature should not be approving a drug that is illegal under federal law.

“We’re setting the path to bypass the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) product approval process, whether the drugs are good or bad. We’re saying we’re willing to circumvent that process, a process that’s been in place for over 100 years, because it’s what’s needed now,” said Majority Whip Bryan Cutler, R-Lancaster.

The bill would allow people to purchase marijuana from a dispensary after they have been certified by a medical practitioner to have one of the enumerated conditions, including cancer, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, AIDS, glaucoma and chronic or intractable pain. Under the proposal, the state would license up to 25 growers and processors, and as many as 50 dispensaries, which could each operate three locations.

Rep. Jeff Pyle, R-Armstrong, drew a standing ovation after speaking of his own battle with cancer and the chance that his daughters may inherit the disease.

“I live with cancer every day. I’m told there’s a very high likelihood I’ll have it again,” Pyle said, adding: “Please let my kids have access to this.”

Advocates, including the parents of children with epilepsy, celebrated in the Capitol after several years of going from door to door, seeking support among lawmakers.

One parent, Dana Ulrich, said she is convinced that legal access to the drug would help her 8-year-old daughter Lorelei, who has numerous seizures every day.

“I absolutely believe that it will help her and so does her doctor,” she said.

Noting that medical groups have come out against the bill, saying it needs more research, Rep. Matt Baker, R-Tioga, called the vote unprecedented.

“I cannot remember when was the last time this august body voted on a bill that was in direct violation of federal law,” Baker said.

Marijuana is widely available on the black market, noted Rep. Marty Flynn, D-Lackawanna.

“All we’re doing is allowing the people of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania who need this to access it legally,” Flynn said.

Sen. Mike Folmer, R-Lebanon, a key sponsor, said the Senate would take it up and get it to the governor as soon as possible.

Senate Republican spokeswoman Jennifer Kocher said the House changes were being reviewed.

“We understand the urgency behind continuing the progress,” Kocher said.

Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, who has urged passage of legalized medical marijuana, released a statement that applauded the House vote and predicted the bill would provide “essential help” to patients.

The National Conference of State Legislatures says 23 states, Guam and Washington, D.C., have enacted comprehensive public medical marijuana and cannabis programs since California was first in 1996.

The State of the Leaf: Pennsylvania Takes a Step Closer to Legalizing Medical Marijuana

What’s new in the world of cannabis legislation? The battle for cannabis progress is meeting many opponents, but advocates and activists are fighting strong. Florida is expanding, Louisiana and North Dakota are looking to legalize, and Pennsylvania could pass its long-debated medical cannabis bill any minute now. Georgia and Utah both took a step back, but the fight’s not over, not by a long shot. Australia may have legalized cannabis cultivation, but they’d like to remind you that cannabis is not decriminalized…yet. Are you in the know?

U.S. Cannabis News

FLORIDA

A bill to expand Florida’s medical marijuana program is headed to the desk of Governor Rick Scott. House Bill 307 aims to improve the long-delayed medical cannabis program, which was supposed to be operational more than a year ago. The bill would dramatically increase the number of potential patients in the program and allow for three more cultivation licenses in addition to the five nurseries already licensed. However, the additional licenses would only be allowed once there are 250,000 patients. By comparison, Colorado, which boasts the highest number of medical marijuana patients in the country, only has 107,798 patients.

Florida’s restrictive program only allows patients with seizure disorders and cancer to access a non-psychoactive form of cannabis, and it’s very unlikely that the number of patients will ever reach 250,000. However, any progress is a step in the right direction.

GEORGIA

Georgia’s best chance to expand its limited medical marijuana program has stalled in the Senate. House Bill 722, authored and cosponsored by Representative Allen Peake (R-Macon), stalled in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, after Chairwoman Renee Unterman (R-Buford) refused to schedule a hearing for the legislation before the Legislature ends its session on March 24th.

Leafly reached out to Rep. Peake, who assured us that the fight for medical cannabis is far from over. If you’re a cannabis supporter who wants to see medical marijuana expanded in Georgia, please contact Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle and urge him to allow a Senate vote on HB 722 to ensure that no more Georgians must suffer needlessly.

LOUISIANA

A new group has emerged from the Bayou State with a new petition in support of legalization, both medically and recreationally. Legalize It Louisiana’s petition indicates its support for the current marijuana law, Act No. 261 (Senate Bill 143), which was passed last year and allows limited access of medical marijuana to qualified patients, but also takes note of the shortcomings of the legislation and where it could be improved. That’s where Legalize It Louisiana comes in. Its using Washington and Colorado as inspiration, using their revenue and success as examples to be emulated.

If you want to support cannabis in Louisiana, please sign this petition to further the campaign.

MONTANA

Montana’s cannabis community can’t seem to catch a break. Since the Montana Supreme Court upheld a 2011 ruling severely limiting the number of patients a dispensary can service, the medical marijuana program is in turmoil. Dispensary owners requested a delay until the 2017 legislative session before the changes go into effect and were backed by state health officials. Unfortunately, the Department of Justice opposed both the request for a delay and a reconsideration of the ruling. Instead, the law is scheduled to go into effect within 49 days of the ruling, on April 14th, although officials agree that it will take at least four months for the Department of Public Health and Human Services to implement the changes.

In a move that seems designed to kick ‘em while they’re down, a new ballot initiative from Safe Montana is seeking to repeal the medical marijuana program. Initiative 176 would align the state with federal law and render cannabis illegal. A competing ballot initiative, I-178, would legalize cannabis for recreational use. It’s a battle to the finish line, and November is likely to bring huge changes to Big Sky Country.

NORTH DAKOTA

Secretary of State Al Jaeger approved the wording on a petition that would legalize the use, possession, growth, and distribution of cannabis to anyone 21 years of age and older. The measure would prohibit the states, cities and counties from taxing cannabis or paraphernalia at a rate higher than 20 percent. Sponsors of the measure will need to gather 13,452 signatures from eligible voters by July 11th in order to qualify for the ballot this November, but Eric Olson, the campaign director of the 27-member sponsoring committee, said that they are hoping to gather at least 20,000 signatures “for a safe margin.”

PENNSYLVANIA

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives spent Monday debating 220 proposed amendments to Senate Bill 3, which would legalize medical marijuana. Unsurprisingly, longtime opponent Rep. Matt Baker (R-Tioga County) spoke against the medical marijuana measure for more than an hour, but the majority of the amendments passed with overwhelming support. The amendments that were adopted are as follows:

Conditions include post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic pain, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, cancer, glaucoma and HIV/AIDS
A previous cap of 10 percent tetrahydrocannabinol was removed, meaning there will be no limit to the amount of THC allowed in medical cannabis
Up to 150 dispensaries will be allowed and regulated by the Department of Health

TEXAS

The cannabis oil bill signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott last June is making progress. One of two cannabis oil dispensaries is on track to open in Gunter, a small town in North Texas. The dispensary will be owned and operated by Acquiflow, the first open, transparent and legal Texas-based cannabis company, which is based out of McKinney. Texas has yet to approve Acquiflow’s application, but Patrick Moran, Acquiflow’s CEO, held a town hall meeting last week, which was attended by more than 100 local Texans.

UTAH

Utah’s attempts at an expansive medical marijuana program are falling flat once again. After Senator Mark Madsen’s Senate Bill 73 died in committee last week, the less comprehensive piece of legislation, Senate Bill 89, looked like it might have a fighting chance. Alas, it was not meant to be. SB 89 died due to budgetary restrictions, although Representative Brad Daw (R-Orem) has said that he will introduce the bill again next session.

In the meantime, the Legislature did pass Senate Concurrent Resolution 11, an official statement from the Legislature of Utah asking for the federal rescheduling of cannabis in order to perform more in-depth scientific research on cannabis’s medical benefits.

International Cannabis News

AUSTRALIA

The Australian government passed the Narcotic Drugs Amendment Bill 2016 in February to legalize the cultivation of medicinal cannabis within the borders, but unfortunately, Queensland’s Health Minister Cameron Dick has said that the state has no plans to decriminalize cannabis. The Queensland Government will be holding a month-long consultation before introducing any related legislation before the parliament. Queensland’s Shadow Minister of Health Mark McArdle, on the other hand, embraced the federal government’s legislation to cultivate medical cannabis and called for immediate action to make medical cannabis accessible to patients.

The Shake: Push Grows for NFL to Tackle Cannabis Research, Naughty Police Face Charges, and Researchers Plumb Cannabis and Pregnancy

NFL player calls for medical cannabis research blitz. Baltimore Ravens offensive tackle Eugene Monroe took to Twitter yesterday with a flurry of tweets in support of cannabis research. In 38 tweets and 6 retweets, Monroe went off on NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and championed the expansion of research cannabis as it pertains to traumatic brain injury. Recent evidence suggests CBD is an effective treatment for chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a condition the NFL only recently acknowledged is tied directly to football-related head trauma. Monroe went further, putting his money where his mouth is by donating $10,000 to cannabis research through the Realm of Caring Foundation. Kudos to Monroe for continuing a very important conversation!

Let’s research how cannabinoids may help curb traumatic brain injury

— Eugene Monroe (@TheSeventyFifth) March 15, 2016

The saga of a raid gone wrong continues. Three California police officers are being charged with petty theft and vandalism after an embarrassing dispensary raid in Santa Ana last year. Officers Jorge Arroyo, Nicole Lynn Quijas, and Brandon Sontag all face charges for their alleged wrongdoing. The raid went public after surveillance videos showed officers consuming cannabis-infused edibles during the raid, kicking a disabled dispensary owner, playing darts, and destroying multiple other surveillance cameras. Unfortunately for Santa Ana’s finest, there were several hidden cameras that weren’t destroyed and caught the entire episode on film. When the video came to light, the officers apologized. Just kidding! They actually sued their own department to prevent the use of the footage as evidence, an effort later denied by the judge.

The University of Colorado will study effects of cannabis use by pregnant women. Dr. Torri Metz, a high-risk obstetrician, will conduct the study through a questionnaire about cannabis use for new mothers. Metz hopes the study will provide clarity and hard data on any associations between cannabis use and fetal growth restrictions, hypertension in pregnant mothers, stillbirth, spontaneous pre-term birth, or other conditions. Although most physicians advise expectant mothers not to use cannabis, there is little to no hard data to support the recommendation, and what little information is available on the correlation between cannabis and pregnancy is generally inconsistent.

Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana initiative is holding strong. Despite years of failed attempts to legalize, the support from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives has been steady. The current proposal, Senate Bill 3, could receive a vote from the House as early as today. If it passes, SB 3 will return to the Senate for a final vote. Rep. Matt Baker (R-Tioga County) argued vehemently against the measure, having repeatedly blocked past attempts to legalize medical cannabis by not allowing the measure to be heard by the House Health Committee, which he chairs. If the measure wins approval from both houses, Gov. Tom Wolf has pledged to sign it into law.

QUICK HITS: Arizona courts are expecting a ruling that could have implications nationwide. White Mountain Health Center is locked in a legal battle with Maricopa County over whether the county has the right to ban the dispensary on the basis that the business is illegal under federal law. Questions of federal pre-emption have swirled around the industry for years. If the court rules in the county’s favor of the county, dispensaries in every state could be at risk. Denver police and DEA agents raided illegal grows. Multiple grow sites were raided as part of a two-year investigation, but the police haven’t yet reported any arrests. Basketball players are also joining the cannabis conversation. Former Chicago Bulls player Jay Williams estimated that 75 to 80 percent of NBA players use cannabis, and he says it’s time to become more open to cannabis in NBA. And finally, is cannabis the cure to your slow sex life? Maxim seems to think so (and we’re inclined to agree).

Jane's Domain: The Consuming o’ the Green on St. Patrick’s Day

St. Patrick’s Day is a big deal in my town. Denver hosts the biggest Irish pride parade west of the Mississippi, with horses, stagecoaches, and 10,000 marchers entertaining 200,000 spectators along Blake Street. This year the Riverdance World Tour is playing sold-out shows at the Buell Theatre. Forget about finding a table at Scruffy Murphy’s, the Irish pub on Larimer; you’ll be lucky to make it through the front door.

Alcohol is part of that tradition. A big part. In my younger days, friends and I would grab a spot at a rooftop bar on the parade route. We’d drink all day and into the night: pitchers of green beer, shots of Irish whiskey, nonstop pints of Guinness and Harp. Guinness usually sells 5.5 million pints of beer around the world every day. On St. Paddy’s, they sell 13 million.

By the end of the day, the scene is not pretty. Thousands of people are overserved. Fights break out. Ugly things happen. On average, 276 people will die nationwide in drunk driving accidents on St. Patrick’s Day, more than twice the normal casualty rate. And 75 percent of those fatal crashes will involve a driver with an alcohol intoxication level at least twice the legal limit.

This year let’s try something different.

Let’s go greener.

I’m choosing cannabis this year instead of alcohol. And I’m encouraging others to do the same. We’ll be tweeting about the experience on March 17 under the hashtag #saferstpats. Join us and let us know what you’re consuming and how it’s affecting your celebration.

Of course, even here in Colorado, the most 420-free state in America, it’ll be challenging to find a place to consume. In Denver there are hundreds of places to legally enjoy a pint of Guinness. On St. Patrick’s Day, empty plastic beer cups will litter the streets of the LoDo district. But good luck finding a legal and appropriate place to enjoy a half-gram of Durban Poison. As the folks at the Colorado Department of Public Health’s “Good To Know” campaign tweeted last weekend: “Shamrock your Irish heart out at the St. Patrick’s Day parade…just remember public space is not the place.”

More than two years into full legalization in Colorado, it’s still illegal for adults to responsibly enjoy cannabis in a public, adults-only environment. That’s a wrong that needs to be righted.

The facts are clear: Cannabis is far safer than alcohol. And yet we continue to celebrate alcohol in nearly all of our public social spaces. It’s welcomed at weddings, birthdays, and baseball games. You can buy beer and wine at Chuck E. Cheese’s, for goodness sake. Two years ago the Denver International Airport put up an art exhibit extolling the proud history of craft brewing in Colorado.

Cannabis, by contrast, remains legally relegated to the role of social outcast. We’re perfectly fine with children watching adults drain a case of Coors Light, but we cling to a strange fear of them glimpsing an adult sipping on a Pax lightly packed with a few leaves of homegrown Harlequin. Or, worse, we won’t even allow the social enjoyment of legal cannabis in a setting where the eyes of children are absent by law.

Lets be clear, I’m not against alcohol. I just want to be treated fairly when I choose to consume a safer alternative.

We simply need more common sense when it comes to cannabis and how we incorporate the inevitable social use of it into our communities as the end of prohibition occurs nationwide. In the next few weeks, Denver NORML is expected to file a city initiative that, if passed, would allow businesses in Denver to handle cannabis use more like alcohol and tobacco. Taverns and clubs wouldn’t sell it, but they would be able to allow their patrons to enjoy it in appropriate areas on site, much as they handle cigarettes. I dream of special events hosting cannabis gardens just as they have beer gardens.

Personally, I don’t think a permit should be necessary at all. I think adults should be able to enjoy cannabis exactly as they enjoy tobacco cigarettes. But I’ll be supporting the public-use initiative campaign, because it’s a step in the right direction.

In the meantime, I’ll be documenting my own private effort to have a #saferstpats. Let’s celebrate the green and make progress while doing it.

Learn More About Investing In Marijuana For Free Via The ‘Cannabis Investing Virtual Event’

I have been following a guy named Alan Brochstein lately on Twitter. He has been tweeting absolute gold lately in regards to the marijuana industry. He is not one to hold punches, and since he is an industry expert and appears to be a wiz at all things financial, he knows all the hard questions

How GW Pharma Could Use U.S. Patents to Shape the Future of Medical Cannabis

When Britain’s GW Pharmaceuticals announced Tuesday that its cannabis-derived drug Epidiolex had successfully reduced seizures in children with a rare form of epilepsy, the news made headlines around the world. Investors snapped up shares of the little-known firm, effectively doubling the company’s market value overnight.

GW Pharma may be a new play for investors, but the Salisbury, England-based company is widely known in the cannabis world, where it enjoys the respect if not the love of many in the legalization movement.

That wariness has its roots in the 1990s (more on that below), but it continues to this day. And for good reason. GW Pharma is quickly becoming the world leader in FDA-approved cannabis medicine while American companies are effectively shut out of the game by their own government. Here’s the kicker: While two federal agencies (the Justice Department and the Department of Health and Human Services) actively prevent Americans from developing cannabis medicine, another agency (the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office) is helping GW Pharma lock up the intellectual property rights to a broad swath of cannabis-derived medicines and techniques.

In other words: Epidiolex, the company’s epilepsy drug now moving through the FDA approval process, is only the beginning.

On its web page, GW Pharma lists a number of other pharmaceuticals in the development pipeline. Those drugs treat everything from glioma (a form of brain cancer) to diabetes and schizophrenia.

But the company is also, unbeknownst to many, applying for and receiving patents that cover substances and techniques already widely used in the cannabis world.

The company’s latest patent (No. 9,205,063), granted last December, covers the prevention and treatment of neural degeneration with a pharmaceutical formulation of cannabis obtained by running the plant through a common carbon dioxide (CO2) extraction method. The patent lists all the usual active components of cannabis: THC, CBD, terpenes, sterols, triglycerides, alkanes, flavonoids, etc.

The potential value of patent No. 9,205,063 is clear. GW Pharma is trying to claim ownership of cannabis as a drug in the prevention and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and multiple sclerosis.

That’s one patent. There are many.

No. 9,168,278, issued last October, is for the use of the cannabinoid THCV as an appetite suppressant in a weight loss medication. No. 9,017,737, issued last April, is for the use of CBD and other cannabinoids to prevent or treat psychotic disorders. No. 8,771,760 deals with the use of cannabinoids for constipation.

No. 8,790,719 is a big one. It makes an intellectual property claim for the use of plant-derived cannabinoids in the treatment of prostate cancer, breast cancer, and colon cancer.

Some of these patents are pending. Others have already been issued.

The tension between GW Pharma and American cannabis culture goes back to the 1990s, when the U.S. and British governments both commissioned studies into the effectiveness of cannabis as medicine. The U.K. study was spurred by multiple sclerosis patients using cannabis to calm their spasticity. The U.S. study came in response to California’s passage of the first statewide medical marijuana law in 1996. Both studies reached a similar conclusion: Cannabis actually seemed to have a medical effect. Research by the Institute of Medicine, an arm of the U.S. government, showed that the plant held therapeutic potential for specific conditions, including epilepsy, chronic pain, and glaucoma.

The British responded by issuing a license to GW Pharma, a startup lab in Salisbury. GW was allowed to grow its own strains of cannabis and develop cannabinoid drugs. The license allowed the company to custom-breed its own strains, with higher or lower levels of various cannabinoids like THC and CBD. The result: a $1.9 billion company with drugs in the FDA pipeline and patents certified by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The Americans, meanwhile, responded by doubling down on the War on Drugs.

The Clinton administration dismissed marijuana’s potential as medicine and threatened to arrest any doctor who recommended it. To this day it remains federally illegal for any American company to grow its own strain of cannabis, even for research purposes.

Hence the tension. American cannabis growers, medical patients, and dispensary owners continue to risk arrest and imprisonment for conducting the same kind of work that investors are rewarding GW Pharma for today. The British company has yet to enforce any of its patents against American purveyors of botanical medicine. But it is now armed with patents backed by the full faith, credit, and power of the U.S. government. And if cannabis turns federally legal, the day of patent enforcement may arrive.

Cannabis Craftsmanship: How to Make Topicals with Cannabis Basics

Have you ever wondered how cannabis topicals and body care products are made? Interested in learning how to make them for yourself? We visited Cannabis Basics in Seattle, Washington to find out how.

Ah Warner, founder of Cannabis Basics, has been making body care products infused with hemp seed oil rich in Omegas 3 and 6 since 1995. Until recently her products were completely cannabinoid-free, but with the passing of recreational cannabis laws she has begun infusing the therapeutic and aromatic compounds from psychoactive cannabis into her award-winning products.

Recently she invited us to her laboratory to show us how she makes her most popular product, The Remedy Pain Stick. It was the first product from Cannabis Basics to utilize CBD, THC, and THC-A along with the natural fragrances found in the cannabis flower in an effort to combat stress, pain, and inflammation.

Have you ever tried to make cannabis topicals or found them beneficial to your health? Check out the video for Ah’s step-by-step guide and share your experience in the comments section below. And don’t forget to subscribe to Leafly’s video channel for the next episode of the Cannabis Craftsmanship series and more!

The Shake: Rihanna Rents the Entire Floor, Justices Consider Colorado Complaint, Cannabis Outsells Girl Scout Cookies

Rihanna gives new meaning to “compassionate use.” According to an anonymous source over at Daily Star Online, the 28-year-old singer-songwriter rented out an entire hotel floor in London (in addition to her regular VIP suite) so she can “smoke without complaints.” Best one-liner from a Leafly staffer: She Found Bud in a Hotel Place.

Legal cannabis outsold Girl Scout cookies last year. That’s one way of putting it. You can also say, according to Forbes contributor Debra Borchardt, that the U.S. cannabis market is bigger than craft beer, wine, and organic food — not exactly cottage industries. The best available estimates peg the nationwide market at $40 billion to $45 billion, which includes illegal sales. As far as the legal market goes, Marijuana Business Daily says the industry could pump up to $44 billion yearly into the economy by 2020. That’s a whole lot of money, sure, but also: Is anyone else in the mood for Girl Scout Cookies?

On Friday (maybe), the U.S. Supreme Court will weigh a challenge to Colorado cannabis. Don’t hold your breath, though. The high court has already punted a few times, postponing its consideration of the suit from Jan. 22 to Feb. 19 to March 4 to, now, March 18. Justices are trying to decide — er, will eventually try to decide — whether to hear a case brought by Nebraska and Oklahoma, whose attorneys general claim that legal cannabis in Colorado is being diverted into their states. The Obama administration has thrown its weight behind Colorado, and the death of Justice Antonin Scalia has made things even more complicated. We’ll let you know what happens, when it happens, if it ever happens. Stay tuned.

The founder of NORML calls Maine “a missed opportunity.” Polls suggested a clear majority — 65 percent — of Maine voters would’ve supported full legalization in November, but stuff hit the fan after officials tossed thousands of signatures and disqualified an initiative by the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol in Maine. Keith Stroup, the D.C. attorney who founded NORML in 1970, has a bunch of takeaways about what can be learned from the snafu. For more about what’s happening in Maine, check out our recent piece.

There’s “no toxic basis to criminalize marijuana.” At least not according to Lester Grinspoon. Grinspoon wrote a letter to the Boston Globe condemning the stance of top Massachusetts officials — Gov. Charlie Baker, state Attorney General Maura Healy, and Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh — who recently came out strongly against legalization. Grinspoon, 87, may be an old man with time to write letters to newspapers, but he’s no gadfly — he’s a professor emeritus of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. So when he writes that cannabis “is far safer than any pharmaceutical or recreational drug,” maybe it’s worth paying attention. It might not be en vogue for politicians to make decisions based on science, but you, Gov. Baker & Co., have a chance to buck that trend. (Maybe in time for New England’s largest cannabis convention next month?)

A moment of silence for Cyndimae Meehan. Meehan, the 13-year-old medical patient who moved from Connecticut to Maine to gain access to cannabis oil, died on Sunday. Meehan suffered from Dravet syndrome, a rare and severe form of epilepsy. Cannabis has shown to be a promising treatment for the syndrome, inspiring the development of strains like Charlotte’s Web, famously used to treat Charlotte Figi, who also has Dravet. Just yesterday, GW Pharma announced that its cannabis-derived drug, Epidiolex, had been proven effective for children with the syndrome. Meehan and her family became advocates for medical cannabis, often testifying before lawmakers mulling medical marijuana bills. A family friend tells the Associated Press that the girl regained her strength and stopped using a wheelchair once she began taking cannabis oil. Our deepest condolences to her family.

QUICK HITS: Cannabis is the only drug Americans want to legalize. By a long shot, too, according to this Vox poll. Second in line? Psychedelic mushrooms. Meet the scientist who’s mapping the cannabis genome. It sounds very complicated, but it’s not all hard work; Mowgli Holmes had to smoke “a massive joint” with an Ohio lawyer just to get the ball rolling. A DC-based magazine weighs in on “pot’s image problem.” The magazine looks at how companies are trying to make cannabis “seem as all-American as an ice-cold beer,” and provides its readers with a solidly reported piece about how things stood back in 2014, when “a Seattle start-up” (ahem) took out a full-page ad in the New York Times. Do you like infographics? Of course you do. Real estate site Estately just released its “U.S. Marijuana Enthusiasm Index” as a state-by-state map. In case you forgot, 1 in 5 incarcerated people are locked up for a drug offense. The Prison Policy Initiative takes an in-depth look at the numbers. One of those people is Bernard Noble. Currently serving 13 years in jail for two measly joints, Noble is featured in a Vice “War on Weed” episode that airs tonight at 11 p.m. Email Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards and tell him it’s time to grant Noble clemency. Oregon laws are changing. Lawyers are here to explain what’s new. In celebrity news, Wiz Khalifa talks about starting a cannabusiness. Even if you’re already aware of his namesake strain, can we all take a second to appreciate that shirt? Orange County announces its first unionized dispensary. Some think unionization could do even more than legalization to bring cannabis into the mainstream. Wanna get away? A Denver company is hard at work trying to open a cannabis-themed resort. I humbly offer to review the 414-acre Camp Bud+Breakfast ranch. And finally, how’s this for a happy ending? Bustle has a bunch of facts about cannabis and sex.

Is Cannabis-Infused Alcohol Worth Considering?

Cannabis aficionados shouldn’t be surprised to hear that a micro-distillery in Humboldt County, in the heart of northern California’s Emerald Triangle, is brewing batches of vodka infused with Cannabis sativa. Humboldt Distillery, which makes organic vodka and spiced rum in addition to pear and apple brandies, recently introduced “Humboldt’s Finest,” a limited release premium small batch vodka that’s been infused with legal U.S.-grown hemp.

At Leafly, we have two questions. How’s it taste? And will it make you intoxicated in more ways than one?

Humboldt Distillery claims the finished product has “an aroma reminiscent of fresh cannabis” and serves as a fine substitute for gin in cocktails. That makes sense, as the hemp would contribute an herbaceous quality similar to gin’s shrubby juniper flavor.

The answer to the second question is a definite “no.” Hemp refers to the non-psychoactive varieties of Cannabis sativa L, meaning the plant contains less than 1% THC. So why would alcohol manufacturers bother to infuse their booze with hemp?

The most obvious reason is marketing. Cannabis is, to quote Mugatu, “So hot right now.” With legalization in the headlines, it makes sense for alcohol manufacturers to slap a weed pun on their labels to attract a double-take from shoppers.

Of course, anyone familiar with the cannabis industry knows that a legal cannabis-infused spirit that produces psychoactive effects is about as likely as D.A.R.E. adopting the slogan “Drugs Are Really Entertaining.” Given cannabis’s federal illegality, alcohol manufacturers would be prohibited from transporting a truly infused product across state lines.

Plus, I’m betting that most brands would think twice before taking on the legal risk of selling a beverage that’s doubly able to impair your state of mind. Studies have found that when consumed together, alcohol may increase THC concentrations, making that joint or bowl feel stronger than usual. (Anecdotally, I call this sensation “sweasy,” or a mix of “sweaty” and “queasy,” which I learned the hard way after a night of vaping coupled with a few too many vodka gimlets.)

On the other hand, we are talking about the alcohol industry, the same folks who brought you Four Loko and Scorpion Vodka, so you never know.

“Humboldt’s Finest” isn’t the first brand of cannabis-infused liquor to hit the shelves. Here’s a roundup of other special spirits you may have noticed:

Liquor

Victoria Spirits out of British Columbia has a “Left Coast Hemp Vodka” that’s distilled with organic Canada-grown hemp seeds. Its tasting notes describe the flavor as “hazelnut and a hint of spice,” with a “long, clean and refreshing” finish.

Also hailing from Canada, Mary Jane’s “Primo Hemp” vodka and gin are available for purchase at select Alberta liquor stores, or you can special order them if you live in another province or territory. (Sorry, Americans, no True North hemp booze for you.)

For something distilled stateside, Earth Mama vodka is hemp-infused and available in Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. High Times described the flavor as “leafy, stemmy,” and “not bad.”

Beer

Surprise surprise, another Humboldt-area brewer has hopped on the hemp bandwagon. Humboldt Brewing Company has a hemp ale that’s brewed with toasted hemp seeds to “add a unique, herb-accented flavor.”

Red Hook Brewery tipped its cap to Washington’s legalization milestone by brewing a limited edition “Joint Effort” amber/red ale in 2013. The brewery even made pull handles that looked like bongs. One reviewer described the flavor as “Lightly caramelly with some resiny hops and a light funky je ne sais quoi that might indeed be the hemp seeds.”

Germany makes a hemp brew called “Cannabia” that’s been around since 1996. It’s a typical German Pilsener with a flavor that beer aficionados have described as “piney” with “herbal crispness.”

Wine

Melissa Etheridge is making a line of psychoactive cannabis-infused wine, although for legal purposes she has to refer to them as “wine tinctures.” She told CBS News in December 2014 that the wine provides the standard alcohol buzz while the cannabis contributes a “delicious full body buzz.”

Mary Jane’s has also made hemp wines, currently offering a “BC Buddy” hemp-infused red wine that it recommends “[serving] cool.”

The “Green Dragon”

If you’re looking for the real deal and seek a true cannabis-infused liquor that will deliver the effects you’d expect then you, my friend, are chasing the Green Dragon, a slang term for alcohol that’s legit-infused with cannabis, not hemp. Both Vice and the Stoner’s Cookbook have recipes you can try at home, but follow Vice’s suggestion to “please enjoy responsibly!”, as you don’t want to end up like this sweasy author after too many grams and gimlets.

Image Sources: Victoria Spirts and Humboldt Brewing Company via Facebook

Would you try cannabis (not hemp) infused alcohol?

Shares of GW Pharmaceuticals Skyrocket on Successful Cannabis Drug Trial

Reuters reported on Monday that shares of GW Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:GWPH) more than doubled in value on Monday after the company released promising test results for an experimental marijuana drug.

As quoted in the publication:

Following positive results in the first Phase 3 study of its investigational medicine Epidiolex, GW Pharma’s stock popped by 139 percent intraday. While GW Pharma grows marijuana, it only extracts a non psychoactive component of the plant called CBD.

The experimental cannabis-based drug has successfully treated children with a rare form of severe epilepsy in a keenly anticipated clinical trial. Analysts, on average, believe the drug could generate annual sales of $1.1 billion by 2021, according to consensus forecasts compiled by Thomson Reuters Cortellis.

Click here for the full Reuters article.

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Court Ruling Could Doom L.A. Cannabis Deliveries

A California appeals court ruling could mean the end for Los Angles cannabis deliveries — legal ones, at least.

A three-judge appellate panel on Monday upheld a lower court’s decision to temporarily shut down Nestdrop, an app that allowed people in Los Angeles to have flower, edibles, and concentrates delivered to their doorsteps.

The opinion is likely to deal a blow not only to Nestdrop, but also to the numerous other delivery services operating within Los Angeles city limits. Justices wrote that under their interpretation, city zoning law Proposition D bars all delivery services from operating in L.A.

“Proposition D is properly understood to prohibit virtually all vehicular delivery of medical marijuana,” Justice Lamar W. Baker wrote for the panel. The conclusion is now binding precedent in Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, and San Luis Obispo counties.

If you haven’t been following the L.A. dispensary saga, here it is in a nutshell: In 2013, the city adopted Prop. D, a local zoning law aimed at reducing the number of dispensaries from more than 700 to just 135. Hundreds of shops closed their doors in response, but they didn’t always stay closed. Some quietly opened elsewhere, while others reinvented themselves as delivery services.

For a while the shift to delivery seemed to work. Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer concentrated enforcement actions on illegal storefront dispensaries, and delivery services flourished.

But a year after Prop. D, things changed. The city attorney’s office sued Nestdrop in 2014 and won a court injunction preventing the business from operating in the city. “This app is a flagrant attempt to circumvent the will of the voters who passed Prop D,” Feuer said at the time. Nestdrop appealed. Monday’s ruling upholds the injunction and sends the case back to the trial court.

“The case on the merits,” said attorney Michael Grahn, who began representing Nestdrop after the initial injunction, “is still validly before the trial court.” In the meantime, he said, the company is complying with the injunction.

While Nestdrop can still look forward to its day in court, however, Monday’s appellate ruling limits the business’s ability to defend itself. Delivery services had previously argued that Prop. D didn’t apply to them because the ordinance was a zoning rule that only affected storefront dispensaries. Monday’s opinion, however, expressly says otherwise: “We do not think the ballot pamphlet materials mean what defendants think they mean,” wrote the court, paraphrasing The Princess Bride‘s Inigo Montoya.

“Is there precedential value here that’s of concern for anybody? Yeah,” Grahn acknowledged.

The city has at least one other pending suit against a major delivery service. Feuer’s office last month sued Speed Weed, which boasts 25,000 customers across Los Angeles and Orange counties. The company has since ceased operations, according to a prerecorded message at the company’s phone number.

“We’ve made the tough decision to suspend our operations within L.A. city limits until we’ve had our day in court,” Jennifer Gentile, a co-owner and the company’s chief marketing officer, says in the message. “We need to focus our time, our energy, and our resources on protecting not only our right to deliver but the right for all delivery services to continue to operate. Delivery outside the city limits will resume shortly.”

If the city wins out, Gentile warns, “You’ll be forced to use an illegal, black-market dealer” or travel to a storefront dispensary licensed under Prop. D.

Grahn, who also represents Speed Weed in its suit, said he was disappointed the court sided with the city’s interpretation of the zoning ordinance. But he suggested that recent changes to state law could offer a path forward.

“The universe has changed,” he said, referring to a package of state laws known as the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act, or MMRSA, which takes effect in 2018. The new laws could provide grounds to challenge Prop. D.

The Los Angeles city attorney’s office didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Regardless of the legal reasoning behind Monday’s ruling, Grahn said, shutting down delivery services is bad public policy. Under Prop. D, only 135 dispensaries are allowed in the city. “The idea that that’s going to satisfy the demand for medical marijuana in Los Angeles city is,” he said, “easily refuted.”

And although his own clients have put deliveries on pause, Grahn doubted the city’s ability to enforce its courtroom win against cannabis deliveries citywide. Hundreds of unlicensed dispensaries, he noted, are still operating in Los Angeles despite the city’s best efforts to close them.

“The idea of banning this at the same time that they can’t even control the number of storefronts, it’s nonsense,” he said.

The Best Cannabis Strains to Pair with Beer (As Told by Leafly Reviewers)

Last week, we took a deep dive into the enjoyable and thoroughly rewarding practice of pairing your favorite cannabis strains with your favorite beer varieties. In our updated guide, you’ll find guidance on how to pair by flavors, by effects, and by both factors at once, plus an infographic pairing table, expert advice and a few recommended pairings to get you started.

Inspired by the idea of indicas and IPAs? You’re not alone. Hundreds of Leafly reviewers have shared their experiences with pairing strains and suds, and we’ve curated a few suggestions from among their reviews. Whether you’re planning to host a gathering or simply kicking back after a long day at work, let them inspire you to create your own perfect matches. Happy pairing!

Critical Plus

“Wonderful hybrid, has the taste of citrus and pine with a hint of sandalwood. Has a few sativa qualities (uplifted and alert) but doesn’t hamper a good relax on the porch with a beer and a bowl.” –DavidAquarius

Maui Waui

“Fruity tasting, sweet aroma that reminds me of sipping a sour ale.” –GypRosetti

Chemdawg

“Chemdawg for me is like smoking a beer…I even tried drinking a couple of beers while smoking it and they complement each other. This is definitely a sit back and enjoy what you’re doing strain.” –blue.dream

Sour Diesel

“Sour Diesel is the IPA of cannabis. The smell is like hops, slight citrus, lemongrass, and really reminds me of my favorite IPA style beers. The taste is a cool, smooth, herbal flavor that makes my mouth water uncontrollably the instant I inhale or even smell it.” –TheBasicPagan

LA Confidential

“Settles in and you feel faaaantastic. Felt great about life, and the surroundings just seem to blur into one mass while I focused on my beer.” –nunuflies

Black Haze

“Dark & Dank Sativa Dominant Strain with Scents of Savory Stouts in aged bourbon barrels…Tones of anise, fennel and black licorice that uplift and enlighten the spirit.” –olearyair

Super Silver Haze

“had an interesting, neutral and earthy taste…definitely would recommend for a nice summer day whilst enjoying a bbq, a cold beer and friends.” –jewishkush

Blue Dream

“It’s always been a favorite. The sweet/citrusy flavor…and the real pleasant fuzziness of the high is just so refreshing. It’s like finding a great pale ale or pilsener beer in the middle of an aisle of depressing and humongously-high-alcohol porters or stouts.” –mcwriter

Maui Bubble Gift

“A Nitrogen IPA like smoke with a confident energetic high.” –JuDoMo

Fucking Incredible

“Usage: Perfect for a bowl in the evening hours. Sit back, have a beer, teach your cats new tricks, and enjoy the night.” –PizzaChamp420

Blueberry Kush

“[Balanced] and robust flavors and vibrant aroma the buzz was a nice even flow and paired really well with my bottle of Olde Pagan Ale that I brought back from Norway, which I really like because a lot of really top strains do not flavor well within my beer palate of strong herbal ales.” –LuciFer1271

Blue Power

“Think Portlandia reruns and Shiner Bock.” –MedicalIncredible

Dutch Treat

“EVERYTHING IS AWESOME! I had so much fun sitting on the couch with a beer, bumpin’ some tunes and hangin’ with my bros…My life was a movie for over an hour.” –yokken

Alaskan Thunder Fuck

“Fantastic high…pretty trippy and lots of laughs. Worked great during a nice evening pool side with friends and craft beers.” –jlsscbs

Nebula

“Alternating sips of my fav lager beer and pipe hits as I type this. The flavors complement each other and the buzz can’t be beat.” –Anonymous

MK Ultra

“3 bowls had me in another world like high. Great for relaxing, having a beer and de-stressing from all the shit in the world. Inspires you. Now what are you waiting for? Spark it up!” –MK_Ultra

Reviews edited for length and clarity.

The Shake: Cannabis Pharmaceutical Works for Kids, Graham Signs on to CARERS Act, and a Prison May Become a Cannabis Farm

GW Pharma: Epidiolex works for kids with rare form of epilepsy. The British pharmaceutical maker, which has been growing its own cannabis strains and developing new medicines through the FDA pipeline, reported that its cannabinoid drug Epidiolex succeeded in reducing seizures in children suffering from Dravet syndrome, a rare form of epilepsy. Shares of GW Pharma soared 130 percent on the news early Monday. Cannabis industry insiders have been watching the Epidiolex trials for many months now; early reports were favorable, but Monday’s news was the first public announcement from GW confirming the inside word. GW Pharma is based in the U.K., where it has government license to grow its own strains of cannabis and develop cannabinoid medicines. No such company exists in the United States, because it remains federally illegal for a private company to grow its own strains.

Lindsey Graham breathes new life into the CARERS Act. After quietly exiting last year’s congressional session with no movement, the CARERS Act got a bump recently when Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) joined on as a co-sponsor. The Compassionate Access, Research Expansion, and Respect States (CARERS) Act would allow state medical marijuana programs to continue without federal interference, de-schedule cannabidiol (CBD), allow banks to serve cannabis-related businesses, and open up new avenues of research. (Like, say, the kind of work that allowed GW Pharma to develop Epidiolex.) “This development should finally compel fellow Republican and Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley to allow the bill a vote,” said Steph Sherer, executive director of Americans for Safe Access. We’re not holding our breath on Grassley, but Graham’s shift is definitely a sign of hope.

California prohibitionist loses his mind. Or rather, he airs a bizarre theory about cannabis causing mass murder. Roger Morgan, who is bravely and misguidedly leading the charge against legalization in California, recently told Reason TV that in “almost all of the mass murders that we’ve had in recent years,” the perpetrator “has been a heavy marijuana user, because it changes the brain.” We joke about the Reefer Madness mindset, but frankly we’re amazed when we see this sort of nonsense resurrected from the 1930s and peddled anew. (No joke: Morgan’s website has even has a “Modern Reefer Madness” page full of spurious claims.) Reason’s Jacob Sullum, bless him, has the patience to take apart Morgan’s claptrap and show that, in fact, cannabis does not cause people to obtain automatic weapons and start killing people. Shocker, right?

Swords into plowshares, cannabis style. The city of Coalinga, Calif., is considering a proposal to convert a vacant state prison into a cannabis oil manufacturing facility. The Fresno Bee reports that Ocean Grown Extracts wants to turn the 77,000-square-foot Claremont Custody Center into a growing and processing operation. The plan is expected to face skepticism from the small, conservative San Jouaquin Valley community, but the mayor is at least open to the idea: “People are hurting – the oil industry is losing jobs,” said Mayor Pro Tem Patrick Keough. “We’re talking about 100 full-time jobs, and no dope in the streets.” The city could realize $1.9 million in taxes every year if the Ocean Grown deal goes through, and that’s no small thing in a town currently running a $3.3 million budget deficit.

Metrc becomes Alaska’s seed-to-sale tracker. Metrc, the data tracking system owned by Florida-based logistics company Franwell, continues to quietly expand its footprint in the cannabis industry. Late last week Alaska’s Alcohol & Marijuana Control Office announced that it had contracted with Franwell to use the Metrc tracking system for every single cannabis plant in the state’s emerging industry, through the year 2021. Metrc has been used by Colorado’s Marijuana Enforcement Division since December 2013.

New legalization groups in Louisiana and Nebraska. Louisiana, home to America’s most draconian cannabis laws, has a new legalization advocate. Legalize It Louisiana launched its website late last week with messaging that emphasizes jobs, opportunity, education funding, and a healthier alternative to opiates. The group’s motto: “The Freedom to Prosper.” It’s a fresh new approach to legalization in one of America’s toughest prohibitionist states. Meanwhile, in Nebraska, cannabis activists have formed their own political party around the issue. Legal Marijuana Now Nebraska says it’s “another option to the two-party system.” Their Facebook page features a picture of cannabis plants and the motto “Go Green, Smoke Weed.” Sounds like somebody needs to hire a media director. Advantage: Louisiana.

QUICK HITS: The number of Canadian veterans using medical marijuana has increased tenfold in two years, prompting the nation’s Minister of Veterans Affairs to launch an inquiry into the situation. New statewide poll shows 61 percent of Florida voters supporting medical marijuana. The MMJ initiative on the ballot this fall needs at least 60 percent support to pass. And finally, context is everything: Police in the U.K. describe house painter Jeff Lloyd’s 14-plant basement cannabis operation as “a fairly professional set up,” because he had lights and a fan. Not quite. Here in legal Washington State we call that “Jeff’s lame homegrow.”

Image Source (Graphic Overlay): Gage Skidmore via Flickr Creative Commons

A Top Cannabis Recruiter on Hiring and Getting Hired in the Cannabis Industry

Shaleen Title is the co-founder of THC Staffing Group, where she and co-founder Danielle Schumacher connect cannabis companies with high-quality job candidates who represent a diverse cross section of America. Four years ago, she helped legalize cannabis in Colorado as an organizer for Amendment 64. Now based in Boston, Title works with legalization campaigns in other states to include language that creates opportunities for diverse communities and people of color. Leafly spoke with her recently about the challenges of those initiatives and the opportunities for cannabis companies to expand diversity within their own ranks.

Leafly: What specific steps are you taking to address diversity issues in the next round of state legalization measures?

Shaleen Title: The drafting committee here in Massachusetts, which wrote the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol’s initiative, was deeply committed to an inclusive industry. We specifically stated that no one could be disqualified from employment in the marijuana industry, or from applying for a business license, because of a past marijuana offense unless it involved distribution to a minor. We also set the application and license fees at a far more accessible level. The application fee for Massachusetts’ existing medical marijuana program is $31,500. The fee for an adult use marijuana license would be $3,000.

We also wrote in support for communities disproportionately harmed by the drug war, namely black communities. Under the new law, the regulating agency that runs the retail marijuana program in Massachusetts will be required to adopt policies to encourage people from those communities to participate in the industry, and positively impact those communities.

I’ve been working with organizers of an initiative in another state on similar language, but we’re not ready to make that public yet.

What do you think those policies will look like?

Personally, I want to see business education programs, skills-based training and job-placement programs. But the most important input will come from the people in the affected communities. I’m currently working on a forum to raise awareness about these provisions. We want to collect feedback on what helpful programs might look like.

New policies are a good start, but they’re just the beginning. We need a community-wide effort to hold regulatory agencies accountable for implementing these policies as they’re designed, a culture change in the marijuana policy reform movement, and participation by businesses as well.

Turning to the industry side of the equation: How do you talk with company officials about the value diversity brings to their operation?

My thinking on this has evolved. Previously, I used to talk about the benefits of diversity that apply to all industries. It’s well-documented that a diverse workforce drives economic growth. And as you would expect, hiring people with different backgrounds can help a company effectively market to broader groups of people and increase market share. This is all true for the marijuana industry as well.

But more recently I’ve focused on the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity we have to build an industry from the ground up that focuses on equality and accessibility.

The hiring choices we make now will determine which people are gaining experience in the fastest-growing industry in the country.

Think about what this industry could look like ten years from now. Think about who the most experienced and top-level people in the cannabis industry will be. We have the opportunity right now to make that an inclusive group. And that will have a major impact, not just on this industry but on American society.

How do hiring managers expand their pool of candidates beyond their own professional and social networks?

I wish I had a shortcut. I don’t. It takes years of outreach and relationship-building to create your network, and it can be difficult to reach people beyond that network.

But there are places to start. In addition to our company, THC Staffing Group, there are some new organizations to help companies connect with that deeper pool of candidates, including the Minority Cannabis Business Association, the Students for Sensible Drug Policy’s DARE (Diversity Awareness Reflection and Education) program, the National Cannabis Industry Association Minority Council, and Supernova Women.

For job candidates, are there nontraditional skills that have proven to be valuable in the cannabis industry?

One of the unique demands of our industry is the need to adapt quickly to unpredictable change. Particularly for organizations that “touch the plant,” it’s crucial that members of their team are able to keep it together when big changes hit.

We see this all the time in Washington, Colorado, and Oregon. New regulations or zoning rules force companies to adapt, sometimes radically, on the fly. Some edibles companies have had entire product lines banned by a tiny regulatory tweak. Packaging rules and potency limits can change without warning. Look at California; it’s now adapting to the state’s new medical marijuana regulations.

Anyone can say they’re flexible. The time to demonstrate that skill is during an interview, when you can tell stories that illustrate how well you handled a big unexpected change. That might be the tiebreaker that gives you a leg up on other qualified candidates.

If you’re looking to break into the industry, what’s the best way to meet prospective employers and make yourself known?

I tell people to take advantage of the inherent human need for validation and appreciation. If you admire someone in a company you want to work for, tell them so. It’s got to be done in complete sincerity, of course. You need to research people and companies; you can’t just use it as a line on everyone you meet. And when you do meet that person, ask for their advice about what path and preparation they’d recommend for someone seeking a similar position.

Before you have that conversation, think about the specific role you’re seeking and what makes you a good candidate for it.

Saying “I’ll do anything to get a foot in the door” is neither memorable nor helpful.

Saying “I have an accounting background and want to develop expertise to advise cannabis businesses,” or “I’m a retail manager and want to work my way up to managing a dispensary” — those are conversation starters.

The best times to approach people are usually at conferences, networking events, or on Twitter if they’re active. Don’t expect quick results. The person is likely being approached by dozens of other people with the same request. But if you ask for advice from multiple people, follow up to let them know you acted on their advice, and are appreciative of their time, eventually someone is going to think of you when it comes time to hire.

Digipath Labs Reports on Two Cannabis Strains With Cannabinoid Levels Over 30 Percent

DigiPath (OTCQB:DIGP) reported that two cannabis strains tested in its Las Vegas lab had returned cannibinoid levels of over 30 percent. The two strains, Headcheese and True OG, were cultivated by Nevada’s Polaris MMJ.

As quoted in the press release:

After analyzing over six hundred cannabis flower samples, two separate cured cannabis flower samples were certified at 35.1% and 37.5% total cannabinoid content. The two strains in question, Headcheese and True OG, are new arrivals to the Las Vegas medical marijuana community through the cultivating efforts of Polaris MMJ. Cannabinoid levels coming in over 30% are unique, not just in Vegas but across the country.

A closer look at the breakdown of cannabinoids in these two strains reveals two unique profiles. The hybrid Headcheese strain produced not only a remarkable 31.35% THCA but an even lesser seen level of 2.46% CBGA, the chemical precursor molecule of both THCA and CBDA; while True OG came in with a whopping 35.9% THCA. From the terpenoid profiles, we observed high levels of myrcene (think mango, lemongrass, relaxed, happy) and isopulegol (the precursor to menthol) in the Headcheese strain while the True OG strain also had notable myrcene, limonene (love lemon) and linalool (anti-epileptic, lavender).

Digipath Labs Chief Science Officer, Cindy Orser, said:

Headcheese, a sativa-indica hybrid strain has attracted followings across the country due to its impressive THCA levels attributed to its astonishing analgesic benefits to alleviate migraines, inflammation, spasms and insomnia. The cured yellow-green brain-shaped flower buds have a lemon, pine, and cheese aroma leaving an earthy not fruity taste. The cheese-head effects are reportedly a total mind body experience, both relaxing and euphoric.

Click here for the full press release.

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New England’s Largest Cannabis Convention Coming To The Hynes Convention Center In April

The New England Cannabis Network will be hosting the 2016 New England Cannabis Convention at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston April 23 and 24. With over 120 industry vendors, and more than 60 local and national cannabis experts and health care speakers, this will be the N.E. Region’s largest cannabis industry event in 2016.

How Scientists Debunked a Study About Medical Marijuana Laws and Underage Use

It’s one of the main questions voters ask when they consider a cannabis measure: Will legalization — whether medical or adult use — encourage more kids to get high?

With some form of legalization expected on at least a half-dozen state ballots this November, data showing increased or decreased use by minors will likely be a powerful weapon in the battle for votes.

That’s why a study published by the International Journal of Drug Policy earlier this week is worth noting. In it, researchers at Columbia University debunked a 2015 report that indicated medical marijuana laws could cause an increase in underage cannabis use. Using the same data analyzed in the earlier report, the Columbia team found “no evidence of a differential increase in past-month marijuana use in youth” that could be attributed to state medical marijuana legalization.

What’s going on here? Is this a he-said, she-said situation, or is there something more to the story?

Here’s what a hard look at the data and analysis reveals.

Last year’s study, conducted by Lisa Stolzenberg of Florida International University and also published in the International Journal of Drug Policy, found that “medical cannabis laws amplify recreational juvenile cannabis use.” The study found traction mostly among prohibitionist groups like Project SAM, which featured Stolzenberg’s conclusion on its website.

The Stolzenberg study was curious, though, because it ran contrary to previous research looking at similar data. Those studies found no difference in the prevalence of adolescent cannabis use before or after the passage of medical marijuana laws.

Puzzled by the contradiction, the Columbia University team, led by Melanie Wall at the Mailman School of Public Health, took the same data set analyzed by Stolzenberg and tried to replicate her results. They couldn’t.

“Careful assessment of the analytical strategy” employed by Stolzenberg, Wall reported, indicated that the earlier conclusions were “the result of a biased comparison and thus, the conclusions of Stolzenberg et al. are not supported by the data.”

Here’s what happened. It’s pretty simple, actually.

In the 2015 study, Stolzenberg compared underage cannabis use in medical marijuana states to states where medical use remained illegal. What went unmentioned in her study was the fact that MMJ states already had higher rates of underage cannabis use prior to the passage of MMJ laws. In other words, more adolescents were using cannabis in Michigan than in, say, Iowa, even prior to the passage of Michigan’s MMJ law. By comparing the adolescent use rate in Michigan after the passage of MMJ to the use rate in a non-MMJ state like Iowa, Stolzenberg concluded that MMJ laws “amplified” recreational juvenile cannabis use.

The Columbia University team characterized that, tactfully, as a “biased comparison.” An appropriate analysis, they wrote, would compare adolescent use within the same state prior to passage of MMJ laws, and after passage. “Stolzenberg,” they wrote, “did not make this comparison.”

In fact, the Columbia team found “there is no evidence of a significant difference in youth marijuana use” after a state passes medical marijuana laws. Between 2002 and 2011 — the time period that Stolzenberg studied — some underage use increased, some decreased, and some remained the same. In Arizona, underage use increased 0.9 percent after MMJ laws went into effect. In Michigan, underage use remained the same. In Montana, underage use declined 2.5 percent. Overall, underage use declined 0.1 percent after the adoption of medical marijuana laws in the eight states that legalized medical use between 2002 and 2011.

The Florida International University study, the Columbia team reported, “is simply not substantiated by appropriate analysis of the data.”

Weekend Weirdness: Driver Insists on Finishing Joint Before Being Pulled Over

Ever find yourself in the middle of something so engrossing, you just have to finish it before acknowledging anything or anyone in your immediate surroundings? That’s what happened to a 36-year old man driving down a highway in Macomb County, Michigan, only his “I simply can’t tear myself away from this” distraction was a joint that was apparently too delectable to waste.

Unfortunately for the driver, Stravansky Nycassio Hinds, state troopers had been trying to pull him over for several miles due to improper license plates. Hinds saw the troopers but gave them the “Gimme a minute” hand gesture so he could, according to police, ” finish his marijuana joint and call his family before he headed to jail.”

Once he was finally successfully pulled over, Hinds was arrested without incident. He acknowledged that he had a warrant out for his arrest in Florida, said he had cannabis in his vehicle, and “knew he was going to jail.” Police obliged and arrested him on suspicion of operating under the influence. Hinds, meanwhile, is really pushing the limits on the expression, “Going out in a blaze of glory.”

How Scientists Debunked a Study About Medical Marijuana Laws and Underage Use

It’s one of the main questions voters ask when they consider a cannabis measure: Will legalization — whether medical or adult use — encourage more kids to get high?

What’s going on here? Is this a he-said, she-said situation, or is there something more to the story?

Here’s what a hard look at the data and analysis reveals.

Here’s what happened. It’s pretty simple, actually.

The Florida International University study, the Columbia team reported, “is simply not substantiated by appropriate analysis of the data.”

Study: Marijuana’s Influence On Driving Performance Differs Significantly From That Of Alcohol

By Paul Armentano, NORML Deputy Director Cannabis-influenced driving performance is significantly different from alcohol-induced driving behavior, according to driving simulator data published in the Journal of Applied Toxicology. Investigators with the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the University of Iowa evaluated simulated driving performance in subjects following their consumption of vaporized cannabis, alcohol, or

Watch This: Ali G Interviews a DEA Agent

The R-rated comedy The Brothers Grimsby debuts in theaters this weekend. Starring chameleonic character actor Sacha Baron Cohen, the movie follows a top spy who’s forced to team up with his soccer hooligan brother (played by Cohen) for a high-stakes assignment.

If you’re familiar with Cohen, you know this isn’t the first time he’s fully committed himself to play an outrageous character. His track record includes a Kazakh reporter named Borat, a flamboyant Austrian TV personality named Brüno, and, of course, British wannabe rapper Ali G.

Cohen’s TV show Da Ali G Show, which ran on Channel 4 in the UK and later on HBO from 2003-04, featured all three of his iconic characters. In one gut-busting segment, he poses as Ali G to interview DEA agent Will Glaspy to better understand why “drugs is ruinin’ people lives.” Among the gems: when hearing from the agent that cannabis “slows down your reaction” and “your ability to learn as well,” Ali G responds cheekily,” And is there any negative effects?”

Enjoy your Friday funny — Booyakasha!

Mend Your Heart: 6 Tips for Surviving a Breakup

British musician Sam Palladio once said, “If you break up with a [partner], you’re in this vulnerable state where you’re still kind of half in the relationship with them, but you’re single, and it takes a while to feel solid in yourself again.”

People choose to end relationships for a multitude of reasons. Regardless of the rationale, there is pain. You’ve experienced a loss, and you have to re-create your place in a world that puts a great deal of emphasis on relationships. It doesn’t matter if you were the initiator, the receiver, or the decision was mutual–it’s difficult. Here are my top tips for surviving a breakup, so grab a pint of Ben & Jerry’s and pack a bowl as you learn these six ways to cope and bounce back stronger than before.

Allow Yourself to Grieve

Dr. Emily Nagoski, a sex educator and author, explains why breakups hurt so much from a science perspective. “Grief is proof that we love, and love is both the most abundant and the rarest of elements in the universe. Grief is the effect of broken attachment. And attachment is the biological foundation of love and thus, as literally as can be, the blood and guts of human relationships. So if it feels like you’re bleeding…that’s why.”

Acknowledge your grief, allow yourself to feel it fully, and honor it. Dismissing your emotions, pushing through your feelings, or denying them entirely only serves to delay the pain. It cannot prevent it. Sometimes you need to wallow, and that’s okay. Don’t listen to people who tell you to “get over it.” We all know it’s not that easy.

Reach Out for Support

Talk to someone. It could be one close friend or relative, members of your community, or a mental health professional. Processing difficult emotions helps us integrate them into our narrative. At the same time, be aware of over-processing to the point where all you talk about is your breakup, which can lead to feeling “stuck” in your emotions. It’s a balancing act.

Consider Cannabis for Some Emotional First Aid

Sometimes in the midst of sadness, we can forget what it feels like to feel good. I’ve had breakups where I cannot remember the last time I laughed or smiled. Imbibing a sativa or hybrid can help remind you that you can feel happiness again. When I go through a breakup, I utilize some of my favorite euphoric strains, including Laughing Buddha and The Sauce.

For those who lay awake at night painfully recounting memories of happier times, I suggest a heavy indica to help you sleep. LA Confidential, one of my all-time favorite indica strains, has been instrumental in allowing me to turn off my brain and get some sleep. For daytime stress, try a CBD-rich strain like Harlequin. I’ve been keeping my W Vapes pen in my purse so I can take a quick pull if I feel anxiety creeping in.

Detox from Social Media

In the age of Facebook and Twitter, reminders of your ex can litter the ground like cigarette butts on the sidewalk. At the end of 2015, Facebook announced that they were rolling out breakup-friendly tools: “When people change their relationship status to indicate they are no longer in a relationship, they will be prompted to try these tools.” Some options include seeing less of a partner’s name or image on your news feed without having to unfriend or block them, as well as removing your tags from any posts or photos that you and your ex are tagged in together.

If your go-to social media platform doesn’t have any of those tools built-in, try taking a break from them altogether, at least for a while. You may not be in the best shape to be glimpsing at all your friends’ highlight reels while you’re feeling down, so take a step back and devote some time to yourself.

Get Your Body Involved

Go outside in the sunshine and feel the rays warming your skin. Hang out in a place where there are trees and flowers. Go to a body of water. Dance it out. Sing loudly to your favorite songs. Take a yoga class. Do something to embody the emotions you’re feeling, and express them. Paint a picture, create a sculpture, build a model airplane. Go to the spa and treatchoself. Whatever you decide, get your body moving and check in with nature to jump-start some positivity in your life.

Rest and Hydrate

Get plenty of sleep and drink lots of water. Stress is incredibly hard on the body, and prolonged stress can have all sorts of physical side effects. Gastrointestinal distress, headaches, fatigue, and anxiety are only a few. You can find more information about the way stress impacts the body on the American Psychological Association’s website. Your job is to take care of yourself. People will understand.

What are your best practices for surviving a breakup? Share your favorite strains to improve mood or functioning!

Did One Guy's Hand Cramp Sink Maine's Legalization Chances?

The chance for Maine voters to decide in November whether to legalize marijuana comes down to the disputed signature of one person — notary and former lawmaker Stavros J. Mendros.

Mendros, who has a 2007 conviction related to his notary practice and who has been fined twice by the state ethics commission, helped organize the petition drive to get the marijuana question on the ballot.

About 17,000 signatures on petitions he notarized were thrown out by state election officials who said the notary’s signature at the bottom didn’t match the signature they had on file. The signatures would have helped bring the numbers to the required total to get on the ballot.

David Boyer, manager of the pro-marijuana campaign, said he and a lawyer examined the disputed signatures and compared them to the signature on records at the secretary of state’s office.

“They looked similar enough to us,” he said. “They were only thrown out because of a hand cramp. This guy (Mendros) did a lot. The signatures are his. We are going to prove that. We are convinced.”

Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap said last week in rejecting the petitions that the notary’s signature is “significantly different” than what his office has on file.

“The differences were notable and dramatic enough, so even town clerks were raising it to our attention,” Dunlap said.

Each petition — a single sheet of paper containing 50 or 60 signatures — includes a mandatory circulator affidavit. Maine law requires people who circulate the petition to sign the affidavit before a public notary. Circulators must swear to and sign a statement that they witnessed every act of signing the petition.

Petition organizers filed an appeal on Thursday, and are expecting a decision within 30 days.

“We think we have a strong case,” Boyer said. “They threw out 17,000 voter signatures due to the signature of a single notary, because the signature on the petition doesn’t quite match the file of the signature they have on file from five years ago. We’ve seen the signatures, they’re similar. I’ve seen him notarize them – he signed them, so given that they said not one signature matched is pretty crazy.”

“We counted about 76,000 before we turned them in,” Boyer added. “The signatures are otherwise valid, but they’re throwing them out over a handwriting technicality.”

What’s odd, Boyer noted, was that the secretary of state’s office contacted the campaign about some petition circulators and notaries, but not Mendros. “We’re confused as to why they contacted us over a notary that collected a handful of signatures, but didn’t contact us about a notary who notarized over 17,000 signatures valid signatures.”

Associated Press reporter Tom Bell contributed to this report.

The Shake: Blaming Cannabis for Car Crashes, Testing Fails Consumers, and Arizona Landlords Stink. Happy Friday!

Are we scapegoating cannabis in car crashes? Researchers in Norway say past studies about THC-positive drivers involved in motor vehicle accidents have failed to adequately control for other variables. In other words, authors have been quick to jump on cannabis as the cause — even when it may not have been. The researchers, who are set to publish their findings in the journal Addiction, reviewed more than 20 driving culpability studies and two meta-analyses published between 1982 and 2015. They adjusted the numbers and found “acute cannabis intoxication” increased crash risk only moderately — by about 20 to 40 percent, or an “odds ratio” of between 1.2 and 1.4. By comparison, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that driving with legal amounts of alcohol in one’s system increases crash risk almost fourfold (an odds ratio of 3.93). Fun fact: Even the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a federal agency, acknowledges it’s “difficult to establish a relationship between a person’s THC blood or plasma concentration and performance impairing effects.”

Yes, cannabis testing is boring. But it matters. Terms like “proficiency testing” aren’t exactly clickbait, but more and more evidence suggests contaminated cannabis is slipping through the cracks. The latest? Pesticide-laden cannabis on retail store shelves. As Tobias Coughlin-Bogue reports, one Seattle retailer tested a selection of products on his shelves and found pesticides in nearly every single one —sometimes at alarmingly high levels. Coughlin-Bogue has a related piece for Leafly about how Washington testing labs have launched a self-policing organization to hold the industry to a higher standard, but critics are skeptical and wonder why state regulators haven’t been more involved. Can’t get enough of cannabis testing? Give a listen to Ganjapreneur’s in-depth conversation with Mark Hubbard, co-founder of Washington-based Integrity Labs.

A friendly reminder: You can still get in trouble for legal cannabis. This might be old news to many, but it’s important to know if you’re, say, an Arizona medical patient at risk of losing your home because your landlord doesn’t allow cannabis use (and most don’t). Vincent Borinsky, who has cancer and hepatitis C, was evicted from an apartment in Mesa, Ariz., for using and growing cannabis. “It’s nowhere near fair,” he told local TV news station KTVK. But it is legal. One important takeaway from the sad situation: The work isn’t over after legalization, especially when the federal government still views all cannabis use as criminal.

What’s up with Massachusetts officials hating on cannabis? Gov. Charlie Baker, Attorney General Maura Healy, and Boston Mayor Martin Walsh have already come out strongly against legalization in the state (as though there aren’t bigger fish to fry). Now a federal judge has rejected a plea agreement for an 80-year-old man accused of running a multistate cannabis ring. Prosecutors and defense attorneys struck a deal that called for a 5- to 7-year prison sentence for Marshall Dion. But U.S. District Judge Denise Casper rejected the plea agreement, asking why the proposed sentence was so much lower than the 30-year sentence called for under federal sentencing guidelines. As a former legal reporter, I can tell you judges don’t get nearly as much discretion in sentencing as they should. But in this case, Casper had a choice — and botched it. Justice isn’t served by putting Dion in jail until he’s 110.

QUICK HITS: The best thing at CannaCon was a bunch of old photos, at least according to cannabis journo Tobias Coughlin-Bogue, whose links keep sneaking into The Shake. But read the story. He might just be right about the photos. Yolo County, Calif., legalizes outdoor grows. Because YOLO! Data-driven dabs? Not exactly, but a few fledgling firms are slicing and dicing cannabis metrics to help make sense of the newly legal industry. Numbers wonks, eat your hearts out. Don Shearer spent the last 30 years shutting down cannabis operations in Hawaii. Now he wants to open his own dispensary. Naturally. It’s not just the NFL that needs to reassess cannabis. Hockey players take hard hits, too. Are you the kind of person itching to know more about cannabis industry labor laws? Daniel Shortt over at Canna Law Blog has your fix. Or would you rather read about cannabis in Spain? Canna Law Blog has that, too (en español, también). And finally, a “weed blog” is hiring. They seem groovy enough, but we’d rather you write for us.

NFL And NHL Sports Panel To Occur At New York Cannabis Business Conference

Cannabis and sports is a very popular topic these days. Check out the press release below for an event that is occurring in New York in June: A groundbreaking panel will take place at the Cannabis World Congress & Business Exposition (CWCBExpo), June 16, 2016 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center that will provide

Montana Dispensaries Face Shutdown Today, Patients Unsure Where to Turn

Will Montana’s medical marijuana system crash today?

That’s the question on the minds of the 13,640 patients registered under the Montana Marijuana Program. The Montana Supreme Court last month upheld a 2011 law specifying that medical marijuana dispensaries may serve no more than three patients, and enforcement of that ruling is slated to start today. There are currently 476 registered providers (dispensaries) for those patients, which means more than 12,000 patients could find themselves without access points.

The state Supreme Court ruling has left many patients frantically trying to figure out where to safely access medical marijuana, and it’s left frustrated dispensary owners wondering it this is the end for their businesses.

Lacee Putra, manager of Montana Buds in Butte, said she won’t surrender without a fight.

“We have a lawyer that’s actually filed a reconsideration,” said Putra. “I’m not going anywhere.” She said her dispensary would remain open and continue to serve patients.

“This is unconstitutional,” Putra told Leafly. “I’ve had patients with me for five years and now all of a sudden, they’re telling me I have to kick some people out of the door.”

“I have people coming to me begging me to pick them. I’m not God, I can’t do that.”

Later today the Montana Cannabis Information Association is expected to file a petition asking the Montana Supreme Court to delay implementing the ruling. The petition asks the court to consider lifting the three-patient limit, and also requests a transition period through the end of the next legislative session, which would be April 2017.

While some dispensary operators are using legal avenues to find a solution, others are hoping to find a loophole in the law.

One owner who asked to remain anonymous told Leafly he may start working with just two other patients and “tread water for the next seven or eight months and see if we can’t get a favorable ruling in November.”

The personal conflict that goes along with choosing just three patients is painfully clear. “Us choosing three patients out of hundreds?” the owner said. “We view that as pretty unethical. Everybody’s pretty saddened by this and the impact here will be felt by a wide gamut of businesses.”

Putra said her concern for her patients outweighs her concern for her business.

“How are these people supposed to be their own provider? Make their own tinctures, make their own edibles — everything that helps people that don’t want to smoke? It’s unfathomable. Ours is dosed correctly, we’ve got it all lab-tested. Now they expect people to just go and start all over.”

Aside from dispensaries taking legal action on their own, a group called Montana Families United started a petition urging elected officials to support medical marijuana reform in the state. There is also Citizens’ Initiative 115, an amendment to legalize cannabis for recreational use in Montana. It needs 48,349 signatures to make it onto the ballot.

The other good news?

As Lacee Putra put it: “I’m not giving up. We’re not giving up. I just don’t see myself not serving my patients.”

To Combat Inconsistency, Washington Testing Labs Turn to Self-Policing

Washington state’s cannabis testing laboratories are expected this week to announce the formation of the Washington Cannabis Laboratory Association, one of the industry’s first self-policing lab groups, in an effort to help standardize cannabis testing in the state.

The industry has come under fire recently after allegations of business-friendly results and limited oversight by regulators. The new group, which came out of a recent meeting between the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) and the state’s 11 licensed cannabis testing labs, hopes to address that.

According to an advance copy of a press release about the new association, the bulk of state-certified testing labs have already signed on. But opinions are mixed as to whether the self-policing plan will work.

Serious questions about cannabis testing in Washington arose in the wake of a recent review of state testing data by Jim McRae, founder of data analysis firm Straight Line Analytics. The data showed “some very odd things,” McRae said, “things that are statistically unlikely to be occurring in the universe as we know it.” One such thing: Over the course of a three-month period, some labs hadn’t failed a single sample for microbial contamination.

Bobby Hines, co-owner of Confidence Analytics, a state-licensed testing laboratory, further analyzed the data MacRae used and found even odder things. Breaking down the failures by cannabis producer, he noticed three that, after switching from his lab to others regarded as being more lax about enforcement, saw their microbial failure rates drop to zero — and stay there.

One of the labs that issued zero failures has since closed, and Hines said customers returning to his lab have been shocked by the high failure rates they’re now seeing.

Hines called the new, self-policing Washington Cannabis Laboratory Association a “response to an apparent inadequacy of current regulation.” Washington, while it publishes detailed requirements for lab accreditization, has not yet required proficiency testing, a quality-control method that tests laboratories by giving them samples with known properties and then checking their results against a third-party lab.

More trustworthy testing would not only protect consumers, said Gordon Fagras of testing lab Trace Analytics, but also encourage them to move away from the black market. Microbial contamination “does kill people” he said. “The whole legal weed economy depends on the laboratories. People need to wake up.”

Consistency among the state’s labs would also remove financial incentives for testers to turn a blind eye to contamination. Labs with higher failure rates complain less-stringent labs are costing them business. “I lost about $1.5 million in sales last year,” Fagras said.

The newly announced Washington Cannabis Laboratory Association would be unique among states that have legalized recreational use — in part because other states have taken tougher stances on testing.

Colorado lawmakers passed a bill in 2015 that tasked the state health department with developing lab standards and implementing proficiency testing. Cannabis-testing lab CMT Laboratories helped push for the bill after working with three other labs to establish a set of standards for cannabis. Colorado law now requires each lab to participate in an approved proficiency testing program.

In Oregon, where they’ve dealt with similar lab standardization troubles, proficiency testing is also required. Cannabis testing labs must attain accreditation through the Oregon Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (ORELAP), which requires twice-yearly proficiency testing.

Fagras, at Trace Analytics, said regulators in Washington seem stretched too thin to help. Labs launching a self-policing scheme seemed like the only solution.

“They’re trying, but they don’t have a lot of science staff,” he said. “I don’t think they have any science staff. They rely on us, and that’s why we have to be better.”

But not everyone’s so sure about the new organization. MacRae, who cast doubts on state testing with his data analysis, was skeptical. He compared the setup to the fox guarding the henhouse.

“Is that a situation in which you would want those entities to be policing themselves?” he asked, wondering why the state hasn’t jumped in instead. “If I can do this, I suspect they can. I have shared my results with both RJ Lee [which currently oversees state accreditation for labs] and the LCB. I have heard nothing from the LCB, and heard nothing but a ‘Thank you very much, we appreciate input from the public’ kind of note from RJ Lee.”

Hines noted that, while it is technically a self-policing group, the “self” part might be a little misleading, as the individual labs won’t be checking their own results.

“We are currently scheduled to undertake an inter-laboratory comparison of results, also known as a ‘demonstration of proficiency,'” he explained, adding that the process will be administered and validated by a third-party laboratory. “The labs return their results to the third-party lab, who posts the results of all labs so we each may see how close we are to the precise known quantitation.”

Hines also said both the LCB and RJ Lee were at least marginally involved with the group. RJ Lee will act as something of a referee for the group’s proficiency testing efforts, he said, while the LCB will handle enforcement when problems arise. Both the LCB and the lab group, he added, would be conducting secret shopper stings on labs.

Fagras at Trace Analytics praised the hybrid model, saying he welcomed secret shopping and transparency between labs.

“I want people to drop standards in my lab, not knowing who they are, and those samples going back to the state to reproduce,” he said. “I welcome criticism.”

The Leafly Guide to South by Southwest

South by Southwest may be the most ambitious festival in the United States. Over 10 full days, thousands of bands, hundreds of films, countless free events, and innumerable ideas will come together in a convergence of some of the most noteworthy tastemakers, luminaries and influencers from across the nation and around the world. Collaborations will be fomented, minds will be changed, and parties will rage from sunrise to sunrise.

“It changes every year,” says Lawrence Boone of Do512, an online compendium of Austin events, “but over the past few years they’ve tried to whittle it down and get back to what it was originally, which is about discovering new bands,” films, and perspectives. To help you make the very most of 2016’s festival, we chatted with the team at Do512, then curated the following festival recommendations for the best food, shows, parties, premieres and more. Here’s our guide to SXSW Interactive (March 11-15), Film (March 11–19), Music (March 14–20), and everything in between.

Before You Go

Listen Up: Use the time leading up to the festival to rock out to some of the bands you’re not yet familiar with yet – shows are always more fun if you can sing along. Do512’s Spotify and YouTube playlists are a great place to start. Don’t feel like you need to listen to everything, though; there’s also something to be said for letting the festival current sweep you into unexpected shows, where you’ll inevitably find new favorites.

Peel Your Eyes: Push play on the official SXSW trailer playlist and jot down notes of any titles that pique your interest, then check your schedule and pick out screenings that don’t conflict with one another; most films are shown more than once over the course of SXSW Film.

Download the App: The sheer volume of events offered over the week and a half of the festival is enough to stop even seasoned attendees in their tracks. Download SXSW GO, create an account and use it to log all your must-see events. Don’t forget to keep Twitter close at hand, too: when impromptu secret shows are announced, Twitter is the first place word will get out.

Noteworthy Events and Sessions

Hail to the Chief: President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will be keynote speakers for SXSW Interactive (March 11) and SXSW Music (March 16), respectively. This will be the first time in the 30-year history of SXSW that a sitting U.S. president and first lady have participated in the festivities.

Spark Your Imagination: Fuel your mind with panels and sessions of experts discussing topics that will shape our future (and have already begun shaping our present). Just a few captivating topics include the science of color in film (March 13), 3-D printed food (March 14), and the art of starting from nothing (March 15).

Learn About Cannabis: Cannabis-related content has soared at South By. This year, choose from panels on the maturation of the cannabis industry, ending cannabis prohibition, and enabling cannabis innovation, and stick around toward the end of some sessions to network and spitball with industry influencers.

Bands to Watch

Hometown Heroes: Some of the most balls-to-the-wall shows feature local bands, whose shows have a home field advantage in that they are already beloved by local attendees. A few recommendations include Magna Carda, Tele Novella and Wild Child; check out the full list of picks here.

Showcases: Showcases at SXSW run from morning to night, and tend to feature up-and-comers or bands floating just below the surface of a big break. Check out names like Allan Rayman, Phases and Ume, and rest assured that venues choose their showcases carefully, so even if you’ve never heard of the band in the spotlight, go ahead and listen in.

Big Names for Free: Why pay for a fancy badge? With all the bands in town for a long stretch (officially invited SXSW musical acts number close to 2,500, with many more in attendance besides), there’s always a constant barrage of free shows around town if you’re willing to wait in a few lines. See MSTRKRFT at The Gatsby, BØRNS at Clive Bar, AlunaGeorge at the Hype Hotel, Talib Kweli at the Empire Control Room, Nas at Austin Music Hall, Chvurches at Stubb’s, and oh so many more.

Parties Not to Miss

Epic! Interactive: The rowdy, gold-wallpapered Hotel Vegas has two open-air patios and two indoor stages that will showcase upbeat bands like The Octopus Project, Rubblebucket, The Riverboat Gamblers and more. This free-with-RSVP party on March 11 promises to live up to its name. Sign up here.

Strange Brew: The huge (and hugely popular) annual party is back on March 14 for its fifth iteration, featuring artists from Yuck to Tacocat to Car Seat Headrest to Sweet Spirit (an Austin band to watch). It’s free with an RSVP, which you can do here – get there early in the day though (doors open at 1pm), because RSVPs already number into the thousands.

Films to Catch

World Premieres: Two categories, Narrative Feature Competition and Documentary Feature Competition, will each premiere 10 unique films at the festival (selected from among thousands of submissions). Guaranteed to provoke and please, it’s definitely worth your time to see as many as you can fit into your schedule.

“Raw Innovation”: As SXSW’s website puts it, “Visions filmmakers are audacious, risk-taking artists in the new cinema landscape who demonstrate raw innovation and creativity.” This selection of films might not be what you’re used to, but if you were looking for something predictable, you would have stayed home.

Quick Hits: Full-length features can tie up a lot of your time, but shorts are easy to catch whenever you have a half hour to spare. Narrative, documentary, and animated shorts for 2016 include Alive & Kicking (“the soccer grannies of South Africa”), Glove (“the true story of a glove…floating in space since 1968”), Greener Grass (“a dark comedy of manners set in a surreal world”), and Trash Cat (“a cat that likes to knock over trash cans”).

What to Eat and Drink

Get Some Brunch: Austin loves itself some Bloody Marys, chicken and waffles, and decadent takes on breakfast classics. Hit up the likes of Yellow Jacket Social Club (where the date bread pudding French toast comes with cognac custard and bacon on Saturdays and Sundays), Frank (where Sunday brunch’s Texas benedict includes a cheddar biscuit, pulled pork and jalapeño hollandaise), and South Congress Café (where brunch is served daily until 4pm!).

Gnaw on Barbecue: Texas is legendary for barbecue, so dip into some of the best in the country. Local picks almost invariably include Franklin, la Barbecue and John Mueller Meat Co, but insider tip: most any big-name barbecue joint will be packed for the festival (think hours-long lines). Instead, consider taking a day trip to nearby Lockhart, a barbecue mecca, to visit the likes of Kreuz Market, Smitty’s Market and Black’s BBQ.

Freeload: Though we don’t necessarily encourage it, it’s very possible to do SXSW for 10 straight days without buying any food or drink whatsoever. Sponsored tents, artist showcases, parties and meet-ups rely on free food and drink to lure attendees, and there’s no shame in wine tasting, snacking, or sipping cocktails for free when the opportunity presents itself.

Do More for Free

Work It Off: Work some of those free snacks and sips off with the likes of rooftop morning yoga (with live music, of course) presented by Wanderlust, or jog from the statue of Willie Nelson to a free brunch presented by Outdoor Voices.

Nurse Your Hangover: Numerous outlets serve up explanatorily-named hangover brunches: Spider House Café & Ballroom, for instance, will create “Tacoland” on the final Sunday of South By, featuring free breakfast tacos and plenty of live music to wind down the weekend. And on Saturday, you can take a nap in one of the nap pods presented by Casper. Seriously, is SXSW the best or what?

Go Bat-Watching: The Congress Avenue Bridge is a short walk from Sixth Street (the bar-logged beating heart of South by Southwest), and plays home base to a huge group (the world’s largest colony, in fact) of Mexican free-tailed bats who come out to wing their way through the evening skies around dusk. The bats are one of Austin’s most unique, iconic attractions.

The Shake: 4/20 Cannabis Cup Bolts to California, Public Use in Toronto Ends, and Bernie Inhaled but Didn’t Enjoy

4/20 Cannabis Cup now in San Berdoo! OK. For reals. We think the 4/20 Cannabis Cup has actually found a home. After getting kicked out of the Denver Mart and then failing to secure the permits to hold the annual bacchanal in Pueblo, Colo., it looks like the good folks at High Times have moved the event to San Bernardino, Calif. Michael Roberts, reporting for Westword, follows the thread to the NOS Center in San Berdoo, which has hosted previous (medical) California Cannabis Cups. The U.S. Cannabis Cup, with its competitions and cannabis carnival booths, will take place there April 15–17. High Times will also hold a Colorado-only competition, with the winners announced at the Cypress Hill concert in Broomfield, Colo., on April 19. Remember: California is a medical state, so if you want to consume you’ll need to present your Cali MMJ card.

Medical use is about to get more difficult in Toronto. The Ontario government plans to ban the smoking and vaping of medical cannabis in all enclosed public places, workplaces, and many outdoor areas, reports the Toronto Star. Associate Health Minister Dipika Damerla is expected to outline the policy change later today. An official said the move was made to protect non-consumers from secondhand smoke and vapor. Under a previous rule, MMJ patients were allowed to smoke or vape in any public place where smoking is otherwise prohibited.

Sanders recalls a different kind of burn he felt, years ago. Bernie Sanders opened up about his past experience with cannabis while on the stump in Michigan earlier this week. “I’ve done marijuana twice in my life, when I was very young,” Sanders said. “And what it did for me, is it made me cough a lot — that was my response, but I gather other people have had different experiences.” Well, Bernie, it’s made us cough plenty too. But that’s not been its only effect. Sanders went on to say, “We also know, and people can argue this till the cows come home and scientists dispute it: Marijuana is not heroin. I’m not here advocating for marijuana. Marijuana is listed as a Schedule I drug alongside of heroin.” (The audience booed.) “I agree, and that is why I believe we should take marijuana out of the federal Controlled Substances Act.” Worth noting: 24 hours after uttering those remarks, Sanders thumped Hillary Clinton in Michigan.

Football and cannabis move up the media food chain. We’re more than a month past the Super Bowl, but the subject of cannabis and the NFL refuses to die. After extensive coverage a couple months ago from Leafly, Dope, the Cannabist, and other outlets, the mainstream media is picking up the thread. “Is it time for football to reconsider marijuana?” CNN reporter Nadia Kounang asked yesterday. Kounang’s story ran concurrently with an AP story about NFL players turning to hemp, “rather than marijuana,” to help with brain injuries. Well, look, it’s not hemp, it’s the cannabidiol (CBD) extracted from hemp. But whatever. Kudos to Nate Jackson, Ricky Williams, Kyle Turley, Jake Plummer, and other courageous members of the Gridiron Cannabis Coalition, without whom this discussion wouldn’t be happening.

Stop wasting $2.5 million a year on cannabis arrests in Pennsylvania. That was the advice from Eugene DePasquale, Pennsylvania’s auditor general, who urged the Legislature last week to pass a bill that would legalize medical marijuana. “I think it’s the right thing to do for people,” DePasquale said. “Whether it’s $2 or $2.5 million, it is a waste of money, in my opinion, to arrest people for this.” According to his research, the state currently spends that much to house 97 people imprisoned for nonviolent cannabis offenses.

QUICK HITS: Las Vegas’s newest dispensary, Essence, opened on Tuesday. It’s the first cannabis outlet on The Strip. Maine advocates filed a lawsuit challenging the secretary of state’s decision to disqualify their legalization measure from the November ballot. And finally, longtime cannabis activist and entrepreneur Steve Kubby pledged $1 million in Kush Research stock to a California initiative competing with the Sean Parker-backed Adult Use of Marijuana Act. Marijuana Business Daily reports that “it’s not clear whether the stock donation from Kush Research is worth anything.” Ouch.

Image Source (Graphic Overlay): Phil Roeder via Flickr Creative Commons

SXSW: Welcome to Austin, 1999's Version of Pot Paradise. Here's How to Get By in 2016.

Editor’s Note: Neal Pollack is a novelist, satirist, yoga instructor, Jeopardy! Champion, proud stoner, and longtime resident of Austin, Texas. When he’s not grooving and consuming, Pollack remains one of America’s most prolific authors. His books include Downward Facing Death, Alternadad, Jewball, Never Mind the Pollacks, and The Neal Pollack Anthology of American Literature. This is his first piece for Leafly.

If you’re coming to Austin for South By Southwest — and, judging from the texts I’ve been getting asking me for a place to crash, you probably are — don’t worry, we’ve got you covered on the weed front. As a trusted source said to me last week, “I know guys who are running three, four trucks up to the Colorado border and to California every day. They can’t get the marijuana here fast enough.” Though I won’t confirm it, I’m sure plenty of SUV’s are cruising up from Mexico as well. There will be pot at South By.

The chiba appears at SXSW if you say its name three times when you’re in a band, or are a comedian, or work for a record label. Your odds aren’t bad if you’re a civilian, either. Last year I had a guy in full biker regalia pass me a blunt the size of a hot dog during a concert in a hotel parking lot, and I smoked a backstage joint rolled in gold leaf after a midnight comedy show. It was a long and hazy week. Welcome to Austin. Allow me to offer a word of warning and a reality check.

Twenty years ago Austin was the best place in the world, outside of Amsterdam, to get high. We had Willie and lakes and 200,000 hippies. Weed has always grown easily in Texas soil. Texans love their pot. I moved to Austin partially because a bunch of bookstore employees smoked me up in a parking structure after I gave a reading. Compared to the rest of the world, pot was easy to find here, and it was always good.

Increasingly, though, as marijuana continues its remarkable cultural journey from demon gange to tolerated and regulated multibillion-dollar industry, Austin is looking and feeling stuck in the past. I travel a lot, and I often get high when I travel, because I can, legally or semi-legally. Compared with Denver, or Seattle, or Portland, or New York City, or Las Vegas, or anywhere in California, or Washington, D.C., for god’s sake, Austin seems almost like a dry county. Phoenix, Arizona, the very conservative city where I grew up, has medical marijuana billboards. You don’t see that here. True, if you buy tickets to Willie Nelson’s annual SXSW family gathering in Luck, Texas, the wispy gray sky overhead will probably not be cloud cover. But that doesn’t guarantee you’ll be able to get marijuana, even at Willie’s Place.

“Twenty years ago Austin was the best place in the world, outside of Amsterdam, to get high.”

How should you plan to get by? You can always bring your own, at your own risk. If you spark up your porta-vape at SXSW, as long as it’s not in the cafeteria at the convention center, you should be OK. The police have bigger things to worry about than Silicon Valley digi-tourists and their smuggled sativa oils. Also, as Coloradoans well know, no one can deny you your God-given right to pop a Cheeba Chew before heading to the movies. Still, be mindful.

The possession limit for a non-arrest misdemeanor rap in Austin is four ounces, which makes the city 1999’s version of pot paradise. But despite relative tolerance in the capital, marijuana, in case you didn’t know, is illegal in the state of Texas. And not just illegal. Very illegal. Possession can still get you locked up in many counties. Though there’s plenty of activism and agitation, the state legislature has still legalized only non-THC medical marijuana, to be dispensed by licensed medical personnel, and only to children with incurable epilepsy. Even that doesn’t take effect until 2017.

So during Austin festivals, marijuana is readily available, almost omnipresent, as it has been for decades. But after the music stops, suddenly it gets a little harder. We still live in a world where “Todd’s guy had to stop selling because the feds were hassling him,” where the cops seize hundreds of pounds of marijuana a year. It’s not out in the open. Three times a month, someone asks me, “Do you know where I can get some weed?” I would never hear that question if I lived in Boulder.

If you’re looking to actually buy weed, as opposed to just getting it passed to you at Stubbs’, you can find it, but you’re suddenly dealing in the black market. And if you’re black in that black market, you’d better watch out; this is Texas, after all. As it happens, I do know where you can get some weed, at least usually, though that “where” is subject to change. But I also know that not everyone enjoys regularly taking an hour out of his or her day for what amounts to a grim drug errand, so I don’t share that information. Here, you have to know somebody who knows somebody, and those people are often people who you don’t really want to know. South By Southwest is their busiest season.

“We have deep stoner roots and we love to share.”

It would a lot easier to just stop by the weed store on your way home from work, but you can’t do that in Austin. Don’t even think about buying edibles or oils or sodas or mints or whatever other delights are readily available in Oregon dispensaries. They are hard to find here, often homemade, and always hideously overpriced.

Austin would be the greatest city if you could just legally buy weed here (and if it had better public transportation, but that’s another issue). But when it comes to marijuana, only Willie’s Finest saves it from being a backwater. It’s a shame, too. We have deep stoner roots and we love to share. For now, though, because of our antediluvian state government, we’re politically lagging behind the rest of the country when it comes to marijuana laws. Shop and consume accordingly. But don’t worry about the booze.

Of that, you can have as much as you want.

PGT Episode #290- Legend- Dr. Lester Grinspoon

Contributions from Rick Thompson from @The Compassion Chronicles -also providing the news, and show producer Jamie Lowell from the Third Coast Coast in Ypsilanti

Tonight- The Planet Tree Green Trees show will broadcast for the first time, from its new studio!

Joining us tonight: Writer/Health advocate- Mark Mathew Braunstein. Mark has thrived on a vegan diet enriched with homegrown microgreens and sprouts since 1977. He is the author of Sprout Garden: Indoor Grower’s Guide to Gourmet Sprout which has sold over 27,000 copies. He is also the author of Radical Vegetarianism. His articles about growing microgreens and sprouts have appeared in Natural Health, Vegetarian Times, Healing Our World, and elsewhere. His article ‘First Aid for Cannabis Smokers-10 ways to reduce the health risks of smoking marijuana’ recently appeared in the New England publication ‘Spirit of Change’

Also: Dr. Lester Grinspoon, M.D. associate professor emeritus of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and the author of Marihuana Reconsidered, and Marijuana: The Forbidden Medicine. He is considered to be the most eminent scientist in the field of medical marijuana. As a doctor, Grinspoon was the first American physician to prescribe lithium carbonate for bipolar disorders. He also founded the Harvard Mental Health Letter, and was its editor fifteen years.

Update on the MILegalize from the incomparable Josey Scoggin

Weekly appellate and trial court updates with attorney Allen Peisner

Regular guests and friends of the show: Jim Powers- Michigan Parents for Compassion co- founder and board member of MILegalize. Also- attorney Jeff Frazier, attorney David Rudoi of Rudoi Law, Eric Gunnels Thetford Twp Trustee and T-Minus

Seed to Sale: How Legal Cannabis is Grown

Starting your first cannabis garden can be overwhelming — there are endless opinions on what equipment to use and which techniques yield the best results. Fortunately, there are a lot of ways to grow great cannabis. With a little homework, a spirit for problem solving, and some memory of your high school science classes (don’t worry, just some), you’ll find that growing cannabis is one of the quickest and most impactful ways to deepen your understanding of this unique plant.

Leafly visited five different gardens to get a behind-the-scenes look at how the professionals are growing cannabis. We’ll bring you to indoor facilities in California, Colorado, Oregon, and Washington to study the steps successful growers use to produce some of the finest flowers in the country.

Cannabis Genetics

A great garden starts with great genetics. So to kick things off, we stopped by Exotic Genetix in Tacoma, Wash., to learn about selecting the best genetics to start your garden. Mike, Exotic’s founder and breeder, gives us the lowdown on how he likes to get his plants started, as well as some of the differences between starting from a clone or a seed.

Stay tuned! Subscribe to Leafly’s YouTube channel for the next episode of Seed to Sale. Next week we’ll be visiting Coast to Coast Collective in Canoga Park, Calif., to learn how to keep plants happy and healthy during the vegetative growth process.

5 Tips to Safely Dose and Enjoy Cannabis Edibles

This article is sponsored by EdiPure. EdiPure is a provider of high-quality cannabis infused product brands for the licensed recreational and medical markets, each manufactured with specific cannabinoid profiles.

Have you ever made (or tried) a batch of cannabis-infused edibles and had no idea what their potency was or how much you should consume? Thankfully, with legalization comes standardization, and as more states legalize cannabis for either medicinal or recreational purposes, the edibles industry is facing regulatory requirements that should lead to a safer, more pleasant edibles experience. In fact, brands such as EdiPure are popping up in legal markets like Colorado and California, with the goal of making dosing a lot easier and more intuitive. Thanks to properly labeled edibles packaging, it should only take a little self-discipline to ensure that you don’t accidently launch yourself into the cosmos.

Perhaps you’ve purchased a bottle of EdiPure’s cannabis-infused pineapple bites or some raspberry jellies and are wondering how much to eat or what the general dosing guidelines are. Don’t worry, every newcomer to edibles goes through this thought process of uncertainty and trepidation, which is why we’ve whipped up this handy five-step guide to make sure you have a good understanding of edibles dosage. After all, we wouldn’t want you to end up like that cop who called 911 after he ate one (or several) too many edibles!

1. Read the Package Dosing Guidelines Carefully

We’re past the days of playing Russian roulette to determine edible doses. Edibles on the legal market typically label their THC contents in milligrams for easy dosing. The standard dose according to Colorado’s edibles dosing guidelines is 10 milligrams, but a cannabis newbie or low-tolerance consumer should start with half of that.

Example: EdiPure’s recreational product line is dosed at 10 milligrams per piece, so if you’ve cracked into a bottle of watermelon tarts, eat just one to start as each tart will be infused with 10 milligrams of activated THC.

If you’re worried that 10 milligrams is too strong of a dose, you can cut a piece in half or, better yet, try a product line that offers five milligram options (EdiPure’s Organix line is dosed at five milligrams of activated THC per piece for newcomers and low-tolerance consumers).

2. Consider Your Tolerance

Starting with a small dose is always a good idea, especially if it’s been a while since you’ve used cannabis. Experienced consumers might venture into larger doses and eat one or two more 10 mg gummies or cookies.

While it may be difficult to find the perfect amount when splitting up a large multi-dose dessert, reliable dosing delivered in small increments allows you to be more precise in your amounts, whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned veteran.

3. Be Patient and Exercise Restraint

We know, it’s hard to wait for the effects to kick in when you have an entire bottle of delicious infused Peach Tarts staring you in the face. You need to keep in mind, however, that with cannabis-infused edibles you can’t mindlessly snack on handfuls like you can with your favorite snack or treat – if you lose track of what you’re eating, you could be in for a bumpy ride.

Instead, take a dose and wait it out – that way, you’re much more likely to have a positive and in-control experience. Because body fat and metabolism vary so much from individual to individual, it’s hard to say when that edible is going to kick in. It could be 30 minutes later, or it could take an hour and a half. Resist snacking on the rest of your edibles until you’ve felt the effects the first dose, then, once you’ve waited long enough (it could be two hours or longer), you can decide whether you want to pop another peanut butter bite into your mouth.

4. Be Mindful of Your Stomach’s Contents

Before you dose, consider how much you’ve eaten and what you’ve had to drink. An empty stomach means your sweet ‘n’ sour is going to kick in faster, and if this is the case, maybe think about starting with half a dose.

Another thing to keep in mind is how much alcohol you’ve had to drink. Fun fact: alcohol can increase THC blood concentration significantly, so dose modestly if you’re mixing the two.

5. Find a Comfortable Place

Edibles are delightfully portable, but keep in mind the importance of consuming in a comfortable setting. Larger doses are best tackled at home, or with people you’re close to. It can be good to have your best friend or partner there with you if it’s your first time – they can help you keep track of how many sour gummi bears you’ve eaten and help if you’re experiencing any discomfort.

With experience come the comforts of familiarity, and with time, it becomes easier to feel at peace with your surroundings when consuming edibles. Until then, gather the people and things you love most and enjoy all the bliss, relaxation, relief, and laughter edibles have to offer in a secure, cozy place.

What’s the perfect dose for you? Share your stories and advice in the comments section!

US CO: Column: Ex-Cop Speaks Out on Behalf of Cannabis Clubs

Colorado Springs Independent, 09 Mar 2016 – As Colorado Springs city officials ponder the future of cannabis clubs, an argument that’s often floated for doing away with them is that they make bad neighbors: Marijuana lures an undesirable crowd that causes a ruckus and disturbs the peace. Not so, says Phil McDonald, owner of the Springs Bikini Bar, which shares a wall with the Speakeasy Vape Lounge. Another club, The Lazy Lion, which was raided by federal agents late last month, is on the same block.

Is ‘Cannabis Crowdfunding’ for You? A New SEC Rule Could Open Startup Investment to Everyone

Investing in startup cannabis companies is about to get easier for the little guy. And for the little company.

New federal rules to take effect May 16 allow a wider spectrum of investors to put money into startups and early-stage companies. The rules affect all companies across all industries, but experts in the cannabis space are especially keen on the rule change, as it’s expected to offer investors and companies a new way to connect.

Industry insiders at last week’s Marijuana Investor Summit in San Francisco were buzzing about “regulation crowdfunding,” one of the new types of transactions that will become legal in mid-May.

“What you’re going to see is the collision of crowdfunding and cannabis,” said Randy Shipley, chief revenue officer at MJIC, the cannabis business and investment advisory company.

It’s not as simple as putting up Kickstarter page, though.

“One of the misconceptions new owners have is they think they can just go out and sell some interest in their companies,” said Gina Austin, a San Diego attorney who specializes in funding and SEC compliance.

“There are only three ways to raise capital” for a startup, Austin said. “You can register the offering with the SEC, or you can follow a very strict exemption” known as Regulation D. Regulation D limits investment to so-called accredited investors, individuals with a net worth of at least $1 million or steady income of more than $200,000. “Anything other than that,” said Austin, “is just illegal.”

But with the change coming in mid-May, non-accredited investors will for the first time have a chance to buy a piece of very early-stage companies.

The change has been a long time coming. Back in 2012, Congress passed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act, a bipartisan measure meant to streamline the initial public offering process and make it easier for startup companies to raise private capital.

For nearly four years, investors have waited for the SEC to finalize the rules around one provision of the JOBS Act, the so-called crowdfunding exemption. Those rules were finally released last year.

Under the crowdfunding rule, known as Regulation 4(a)(6), small, private companies are allowed to sell up to $1 million in shares within a 12-month period. And anybody can purchase those shares, not just accredited investors. The Angel Capital Association has a fuller overview of the regulation.

“There are caps on how much those non-accredited investors can invest, though,” Austin said. Each investor can spend up to $100,000 on shares in a one-year period. “So if I want to invest $10,000 in your company,” Austin explained, “I have $90,000 left that I can invest in other companies through this route for that year.”

For companies, that investment capital comes with its own hidden costs. “One reason to consider not going this route are the costs and responsibilities that come with it,” said MJIC’s Randy Shipley. A company can’t offer the “regulation crowdfunding” investment directly; it must go through an intermediary, like a broker-dealer registered with FINRA, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. Companies must then file with the SEC every year, depending on how much capital they raise. A company raising $100,000 may have to file only its most recent tax returns. Up to $500,000, a company must provide financial statements reviewed by an independent CPA. Up to $1 million, a company must provide audited financials.

“So you’ve got to weigh the pluses and minuses,” said Austin. A company might be able to raise $1 million, but that will be undercut by the cost of the broker-dealer as well as the time and energy (and money, if a review or audit is needed) spent filing financials with the SEC.

Issuing stock in early-stage companies “is incredibly complex,” said Shipley. There are a number of options besides the new crowdfunding route, he said, and he advised both companies and investors to work with an attorney and a financial advisor before stepping onto the playing field.

“There are a lot of tools out there” for companies to secure financing, Austin agreed. “But it’s very, very easy to run afoul of the rules.”

State of the Leaf: Montana Dispensaries Going Dark, Alaska Considers Punishing Villages, and Jamaica Readies for License Applicants

Major changes are afoot! Alaska wants to regulate retail cannabis shops by jurisdiction, and Idaho and Utah have hit speedbumps in their fight to legalize medical cannabis. Montana’s medical program could be in serious jeopardy, and West Virginia has found an unlikely new advocate for cannabis. On the international scene, Jamaica is accepting applications for cultivators, and the U.K.’s Liberal Democrats are calling for nationwide legalization.

Here’s the news you need to know:

U.S. News Updates

Alaska

Alaska’s retail cannabis market is slowly coming into focus. The Alaska Marijuana Commission is now accepting applications to enter the retail market, and jurisdictions, which in Alaska have the power to set local rules, are enacting business regulations. Many small communities, which are plentiful in the rugged Alaskan landscape, are waiting to see how bigger cities, like Anchorage and Fairbanks, regulate the burgeoning industry. Recently introduced legislation, House Bill 75, would ban cannabis businesses in small communities and allow them only in larger cities.

Idaho

A misinterpreted statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics is to blame for the latest snafu in Idaho. New Approach Idaho made the decision to pull its medical cannabis petition after scrutiny from the AAP and Idaho Office of Drug Policy Administrator Elisha Figueroa. A statement from the group clarified the oversight as a misunderstanding, not the deliberate manipulation that Figueroa suggested.

Montana

A Montana Supreme Court ruling could spell disaster for dispensaries. The court upheld a 2011 law that limits dispensaries to just three patients each. The same law limits individual doctors to providing medical cannabis recommendations to no more than 25 patients — going over triggers a state review. All Montana dispensaries will be affected by the ruling, and the majority of access points are likely to close. There currently are more than 13,000 patients and more than 30 dispensaries that will be affected. Enforcement of the ruling will begin March 11, and patients still have the right to possess up to an ounce of cannabis and to grow up to four plants.

Massachusetts

The Campaign to Regulate Like Alcohol in Massachusetts held a public hearing this week for H.3932, or the Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act. The measure faces major opposition, most notably from Gov. Charlie Baker and House Speaker Robert DeLeo. The initiative could still move forward despite their opposition, however, as the campaign needs only 10,792 signatures by early July to qualify for the November ballot. In the meantime, the state Senate seems to have accepted legalization as inevitable, having released a comprehensive report studying the effects of legalization in Colorado and Washington and comparing those state’s laws to Massachusetts’ proposed initiative.

Utah

Bad news for Utah. The state’s most comprehensive effort to legalize medical cannabis has all but died in the legislature. Senate Bill 73, sponsored by Senator Mark Madsen (R-Saratoga Springs), did not gain enough support to move forward. Madsen was upset, as this isn’t the first time he’s introduced MMJ legislation in the state. He accused House leaders of deliberately sending his bill to a committee full of opponents, which spelled the legislation’s demise. Following the defeat, Madsen announced that this will be his last attempt to legalize marijuana in Utah. He told his colleagues that he will not seek re-election and instead he will be moving, along with his family, to South America due to a desire for “more freedom.”

Washington

The window to apply for a retail cannabis permit in the state of Washington is closing. The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board announced that they will be ending the application period on March 31 at 5 p.m. So far the board has processed 162 so-called Priority 1 applications, 63 Priority 2 applications, and 879 Priority 3 applications. Twenty-nine communities in the state have already closed their application periods after licensing the maximum allotted number of stores. There are 222 new retail licenses available in addition to the 334 licenses already issued. If you haven’t already submitted an application for consideration, apply now before it’s too late.

West Virginia

West Virginia gained an unusual new cannabis supporter in the House of Delegates. Delegate Bill Flanigan (R-Monangalia) went before his colleagues this week to speak out against House Bill 4576, which would increase the penalties for bringing drugs into the state. Flanigan, visibly nervous, told the story of his recent cancer diagnosis: the pain and nausea, the medications that he’d been prescribed, and the struggle he underwent. During his treatment, a “very dear loved one” brought him chocolate chip cookies infused with cannabis, presumably illegally transported to the state. The cookies changed his entire experience, the lawmaker said, helping him manage his pain and nausea without relying on the heavy narcotics he’d been prescribed. Flanigan’s speech was unplanned and emotional, and it had an immediate effect on colleagues. Delegate Mike Caputo (D-Marion) moved to table the bill, and 59 delegates agreed to set the bill aside.

International News Updates

Jamaica

The Cannabis Licensing Authority of Jamaica will be ready to accept applications for “ganja licences” starting April 4. The approved regulations specify 11 different types of licenses available under five main categories: cultivation, transportation, processing, retailing, and research and development. The regulations were revised as an amendment to the Dangerous Drugs Act (DDA) and make special provisions to accommodate small famers and cooperatives. The licensing fees have also been waived for small growers to encourage participation. The next step will be a series of town hall meetings to hear publiic comments building infrastructure for the newly legal industry.

United Kingdom

The Liberal Democrats are calling for the legalization cannabis. The party has endorsed a new study that calls for the sales of cannabis to anyone 18 or over through licensed specialty stores and social clubs. The study also calls for home cultivation rights and a new regulatory agency to oversee the licensing and implementation process. The report, authored by former Chief Drugs Advisor Sir David Nutt and Mike Barton, estimates that the industry could produce between £500 million and £1 billion annually through taxes and licensing fees. Cannabis is currently scheduled as a Class B drug in the U.K., with penalties of up to five years in prison and an unlimited fine for possession.

Cannabis and Sleep: 10 Things to Know About Your Herbal Nightcap

Cannabis can be a splendid sleep aid, which is why many consumers keep a go-to favorite by their bedside. Even people with the most stubborn insomnia can find their escape to the dream world with a nice sedating indica. While most consumers are aware that cannabis can help you get a good night’s sleep, there’s a lot more to that relationship than you might think. For example, did you know older dried cannabis makes you sleepier than fresh bud? And did you know that marijuana inhibits dreams?

Get ready to learn a thing or two about the ways cannabis can help or hinder your nightly hibernation.

1. CBD and THC Affect Sleep Differently

By now you probably know that there are different types of strains: some get you high (high-THC, low-CBD), some don’t (high-CBD, low-THC), and others keep your buzz at a minimum (equal or near-equal parts THC and CBD). It’s worth first noting that most sleep studies – as well as the facts to follow –pertain to high-THC strains, as CBD strains are significantly harder (if not impossible) to find in some areas of the U.S.

So what effect do high-CBD strains have on sleep? A 2006 study tested the effects of CBD on animal models in both lights-on and lights-off environments and found that this non-psychoactive cannabis compound increased alertness with the lights on and had no discernable effects on lights-off sleep. The study’s authors concluded that CBD might actually hold therapeutic promise for those with somnolence, or excessive daytime sleepiness from a not-so-good night’s rest.

2. Indica Strains Tend to Be Better Sleep Aids

Popular opinion maintains that indica strains tend to induce heavier, sleepy effects while sativas are known to be uplifting, even energizing. Take a look at our top-rated sleepy strains and you’ll see a wall of indica purple patched with a little hybrid green. Although chemical and DNA testing have yet to show exactly why indicas typically make better sleep aids, some theorize that it has to do with the terpene content – that is, the aromatic compounds that contribute to each strain’s special effect fingerprint. In other words, indicas may contain more of the relaxing, sedating terpenes than its sativa relatives.

3. Aged Cannabis Makes You Sleepier

No, really. When THC degrades over time, it converts to a sedating chemical known as cannabinol, or CBN. This cannabis compound is five times more sedating than THC, though it’s fairly slow to form. Chief Research Officer Rev. Dr. Kymron deCesare of Steep Hill Labs elaborates on this process.

“As d9-THC degrades through both isomerization and/or oxidatively, only a small portion of it turns into CBN. As a result, CBN is a bit difficult to collect in large quantities for usage. My experience is that if I take cannabis that is about 20% THCA, and I wrap in in plastic and let it sit in the garage for 3 years (in summer heat and dry), it results in a 3-5% production of CBN. Yes, I use ‘old weed’ to make sedative medicinals.”

4. Natural Remedies Help Maximize Cannabis’ Sleepy Effects

Cannabis is a great way to ready yourself for sleep, but pairing it with other natural sleep aids can make for an even more restful night. “Other terpenoids are extremely synergistic with CBN, some in the cannabis plant, some I add from other herbals,” Rev. Dr. deCesare told us. “Hops, chamomile, and lavender contain important terpenes also found in cannabis, but found in much higher concentration. These inclusions in the medical remedy will make for a greatly enhance sedation efficacy.”

So next time you bust out your favorite sleepy strain, think about pairing it with a cup of chamomile tea or a lavender bubble bath. Melatonin, 5-HTP, and valerian root supplements may also help improve your sleep quality.

5. Cannabis Can Help you Fall Asleep Faster

Given its ability to quell stress and relax physically, it should come as no surprise that cannabis can help you fall asleep faster. This can be especially true for those treating pain, insomnia, PTSD, multiple sclerosis, or other conditions that interfere with the ability to fall asleep as cannabis relieves many bothersome symptoms.

6. Nighttime Cannabis Use May Cause a “Hangover”

Ever notice that your head might feel a little groggy in the morning after your nightcap? Cannabis can cause mild “hangovers” – no, you won’t be hunched over a toilet while daggers stab at your head, but you might feel a little foggy, dehydrated, lethargic, dry-eyed, or congested. This phenomenon may have never happened to you (high-five). Others have experienced bad hangovers from smoking low-grade or pesticide-riddled cannabis. The best way to avoid a bad morning is to buy clean/tested cannabis, drink lots of water, eat healthy foods, and refrain from overindulging. Nurse a hangover much like you would an alcohol hangover – water, exercise, vitamins, etc.

7. Cannabis Inhibits REM Sleep and Dreaming

One thing you may find yourself missing while regularly consuming cannabis is dreams. Dreams occur during the final stage of your sleep cycle called REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. Cannabis use before bedtime is shown to reduce the time spent in REM, which means you won’t have as many dreams or as vivid dreams. However, if you halt long-term cannabis use, you’re likely to experience “REM rebound” in which you tend to have more dreams that are more lucid in nature.

8. Cannabis May Promote Better Breathing

Sleep apnea is a sleep condition characterized by frequent obstructions of breath, with lapses that can last anywhere from a few seconds to several minutes. As you can imagine, sleep apnea causes the individual to wake up many times over the course of the night, and leads to a myriad of unpleasant ripple effects like daytime sleepiness, fatigue, headaches, mood disturbances, inattention, increased susceptibility to accident, and other health problems.

Preclinical studies show that cannabis may improve this condition. A 2013 study measured the efficacy of an exogenous cannabinoid known as dronabinol (a THC “mimic”) and noted improvements in 15 out of 17 study participants following 21 days of treatment. Another 2002 study observed THC’s ability to restore respiratory stability by modulating serotonin signaling. We’ll need more confidence from clinical studies to be certain of cannabis’ efficacy, but researchers appear to be off to a good start.

9. Discontinuing Long-Term Use May Worsen Sleep

If you’ve ever quit or taken a tolerance break after long-term cannabis use, you’re probably familiar with this phenomenon. You might find yourself tossing and turning, waking up frequently, or feeling groggy the next day. A 2008 sleep study found that discontinuing long-term use led to shorter sleep time, less slow wave sleep, worse sleep efficiency, longer sleep onset, shorter REM cycles, and more sleep disruption in abstaining subjects than the drug-free control group. However, researchers acknowledge these findings are limited by a small sample size and the inability to determine causation. In other words, it’s possible the study subjects had used cannabis to treat pre-existing insomnia and ceasing use caused a resurgence of sleepless symptoms.

10. Using Cannabis at a Young Age May Cause Sleep Problems

Using cannabis – particularly before the age of 15 – may cause sleeping problems throughout adulthood, according to a 2014 study that took survey information from 1,811 participants with a history of use. The key word there is “may” – the study was unable to determine whether cannabis caused worsened sleep or if insomniacs are more likely to use cannabis for its sedative effects. More studies are needed to confirm a causal relationship.

The Shake: Hillary the 'Drug Warrior,' a Utah Senator's Escape Plan, and a Football Coach Fired for Growing the Wrong Crop

A Utah Republican says he’s moving to South America. Why? Because his effort to legalize medical cannabis fell short. State Sen. Mark Madsen (R-Saratoga Springs) said he expects South America to offer more personal freedom. “I’ve long since concluded that I desire more freedom in my individual life than I’m allowed to have in this state,” he told the Salt Lake Tribune. Madsen’s bill, SB 73, essentially died on Monday after a more conservative measure, SB 89, won the support of a House committee. “It is fundamentally, functionally constructed to fail,” Madsen said of the current proposal, which he worries won’t adequately meet patient needs. “It’s entirely possible they wanted it to fail all along.” South America might be a nice change of scenery, Sen. Madsen, but Colorado, Oregon, and Washington are a lot closer.

Still need evidence medical cannabis isn’t “a joke”? Mic has a persusasive piece spotlighting a 15-year-old epilepsy patient. Toni Richard, the boy’s mother, says he was experiencing 3,000 seizures a day before trying medical cannabis — at which point he promptly went 375 days with a single one. It’s anecdotal evidence, sure, but it squares with a growing body of scientific research (going back to the 1980s) that suggests cannabis has the potential to drastically reduce epileptic seizures in children, even among patients who don’t see relief from traditional pharmaceuticals. How many other Schedule I substances can you say that about? (Related: Looks like Virginia, which legalized industrial hemp this week, is also on track to legalize cannabis cultivation for epilepsy treatment.)

How bad would Hillary be for cannabis? We’ve quipped that Clinton would provide “tepid” leadership on cannabis by essentially allowing states to do their own thing. Romain Bonilla at Marijuana Politics goes further, saying that from her time as first lady to secretary of state, Clinton “has proven herself to be one of the greatest drug warriors of our generation.” It’s a bit of a hit piece, yes, but it’s worth a read if you’re looking for a president who cares about cannabis. It’s not clear Clinton does.

The Seattle Times sides with Bernie, misses chance to mention cannabis. You’d think the largest newspaper in one of the country’s first legal states would say something Sanders’ forward-thinking view on cannabis. But nope! Washington’s Democratic caucus — yes, it’s a caucus — will be held on March 26. (ICYMI, Sanders won Colorado. Probably. And Oregon’s primary isn’t until May.) On the Republican side, the Times endorsed John Kasich, but don’t try asking him about cannabis.

Washington’s cannabis-testing scene gets even more bizarre. There’s been quite the kerfuffle over the state Liquor Control Board’s reportedly lax enforcement of pesticide rules. But now a state-certified testing lab has accused its science director of falsifying results. Poulsbo-based Testing Technologies fired Dustin Newman on Feb. 10, CEO Larry Ward tells the Seattle Times. But Newman, the former science director, says the dispute is over company ownership: “Mr. Ward’s efforts to blame it on audits or questionable results is merely a cover-up and disingenuous,” he said. It’s a developing story, so expect more to come.

Cannabis regulations confuse you? One California county decided to simplify things by releasing an animated video. It’s not half bad. Take a look:

QUICK HITS: Do Canada’s mandatory minimum sentences for cannabis qualify as cruel and unusual? One B.C. Supreme Court judge thinks so. Growing more than six plants could land you upward of half a year in jail, even if you’re just giving away some extra bud. A U.S. senator says legalization is a “disturbance.” But Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Alabama) was also the first sitting senator to endorse Donald Trump for president. Draw your own conclusions. How does cannabis affect pregnant women? The truth is, we don’t really know. A new University of Colorado study hopes to change that. Industrial hemp could be even bigger in Massachusetts than cannabis. We’re still a little skeptical, but that’s what the headline says. Colorado recalls more cannabis. The latest recall affects five strains grown and sold by Bailey dispensary Sunrise Solutions. A high-school football coach might’ve lost his job over legal cannabis. Hillary Butler, who played for the Seattle Seahawks, won’t be coaching the Lakes High School team next year, and he thinks it’s due to his new cultivation business. The district won’t say. Rhode Island, as we all know, is tiny. But according to Marijuana Business Daily, its recreational cannabis market could be huge. And finally, your headline of the day: “Shiva Is A God Who Likes Marijuana — And So Do Many Of His Followers.”

Southern Oregon Marijuana Growers Upset Over Restrictions – Protest Planned For Tomorrow

By Keith Mansur Oregon Cannabis Connection Medical marijuana growers in Southern Oregon have been doing a lot of organizing in recent months to curb the tide of new restrictions being imposed in the region on their gardens. Recently, the Jackson County Planning Commission made proposals that go too far, according to most growers. They make

US FL: Gov. Scott Gets Medical-Pot Bill

Orlando Sentinel, 08 Mar 2016 – TALLAHASSEE (AP) – Florida’s latest medical-marijuana legislation is headed to Gov. Rick Scott. The Senate on Monday approved a House version of a bill (HB 307) that expands the use of the Right to Try Act, allowing the use of medical marijuana of all strengths for patients with terminal conditions. The bill, which passed 28-11, also adds regulations to the framework of the state’s nascent cannabis industry covered by the 2014 Compassionate Medical Cannabis Act. Most of the debate on the Senate floor dealt with concerns about the regulatory and economic structures. – — MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom

9 Influential Women Who are Shaping the Cannabis Industry

In honor of International Women’s Day, we wanted to shine a spotlight on some of the most influential women of weed. There are some amazing ladies in the cannabis industry who are working tirelessly to end prohibition, create top-tier products, advocate for change, spearhead groundbreaking research, and shape the sector for the better. Here are nine fierce females paving the way to greatness.

Alison Holcomb

Alison Holcomb knows a thing or two about cannabis – after all, she was instrumental in bringing legalization to Washington. Holcomb served as the Drug Policy Director, Criminal Justice Director for Washington state, and she drafted the original legislation for Initiative 502. She currently serves as the Director of the Campaign for Smart Justice for the ACLU, where she makes the entire cannabis community proud.

Ah Warner

Ah Warner is the owner, operator and founder of Cannabis Basics, a topicals manufacturing company based out of Washington state. Her business is entirely led by a female staff and made history last year when Cannabis Basics was awarded one of the first trademark logos ever issued to a company that not only works with cannabis-infused products, but has the word “cannabis” in the name. We hope to soon see her products dot the shelves beyond dispensaries.

Jane West

This list would not be complete without the founder of Women Grow, the largest professional network in the cannabis industry – an anomaly in the usually male-dominated sphere. West showed her strength, resilience and grace under fire when she vaporized cannabis on CNBC – and was promptly fired from her job. Rather than wallow in an understandably frustrating situation, she changed her name (from Amy Dannemiller to the eponymous Jane West), dusted herself off and embraced the industry that brought her infamy (and she started a column on Leafly!).

Ophelia Chong

Ophelia Chong saw the need for a change in the perception of the cannabis industry and took it upon herself to make it happen. She launched StockPotImages.com, the first stock photo agency to specialize in cannabis-related photos, and anyone who has perused the photos available can recognize that it is an invaluable resource. Chong’s photos are compelling and, most importantly, she’s helping break down the stereotypes that hold this industry back.

Betty Aldworth

Betty Aldworth served as the Advocacy Director for the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol in Colorado in 2012 and it was her efforts and advising that helped bring legal retail marijuana to the Centennial State. She didn’t stop there – she joined the National Cannabis Industry Association as Deputy Director, where she developed crucial educational programs. Aldworth is now the Executive Director for Students for Sensible Drug Policy, where she contains to shape the national conversation on drug policy.

Sue Sisley

Suzanne Sisley is a psychiatrist and former clinical professor at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, but she’s known for her extensive research on the potential medicinal uses for cannabis. In 2014, she received an $8 million grant funded from marijuana taxes in Colorado to perform investigative research on cannabis as a treatment for PTSD. The study was approved by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, will be ongoing for the next three years, and could provide much-needed insight into the effects of cannabis on PTSD.

Toni Savage Fox

Toni Savage Fox is one busy woman. She founded 3D Cannabis Center with the desire to ensure safe, reliable access points to quality cannabis. 3D Cannabis Center made history when it became the first retail shop to make a legal sale of recreational cannabis during Colorado’s recreational opening. Fox was also a founding member of the National Cannabis Industry Association, a founding member of the Women’s Marijuana Movement, and continues to crusade for the legalization of cannabis.

Jodie Emery

Jodie Emery has officially moved beyond the reign of Vancouver – recently she went before a Liberal Senate forum panel to call for a moratorium on arrests related to cannabis until the full, promised legalization goes into effect, and her efforts are spurring the Canadian government into action. Trudeau is getting the ball rolling to legalize cannabis in Canada; in the meantime, Jodie is organizing the upcoming 4/20 event in Vancouver, B.C., which will be held at Sunset Beach this year, with the reigning Prince and Princess of Pot leading the charge.

Amanda Reiman

Amanda Reiman is the Manager of Marijuana Law and Policy for the Drug Policy Alliance, and her work has influenced major policy changes across the nation. She began her journey into cannabis working as the Director of Research and Patient Services for the Berkeley Patient Group, one of the first dispensaries to open, which has now become a model for safe access points for cannabis. Reiman has conducted numerous studies on cannabis, including the use of cannabis as a treatment for addiction.

Which other women in the cannabis industry do you admire?

Image Sources: ACLU WA via Flickr Creative Commons, Sara Dilley, Jane West, Ophelia Chong, Students for Sensible Drug Policy, medicalcannabis.com, 3D Cannabis Centers, Jodie Emery, Women Grow.

5 Major Takeaways From Massachusetts' Report on Legalizing Cannabis

The Massachusetts State Senate just released a comprehensive report on the possibility of cannabis legalization and the recommendations for a smooth transition for the process. Although the report does not condone legalization, it does recognize the likelihood that voters could approve recreational cannabis on the November ballot through the proposed Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act. The report makes an excellent comparison between the laws already in effect in Colorado and Washington alongside the Massachusetts ballot proposal.

Here are the major takeaways from the report:

1. Minimize the impact on youth

Public health education campaigns should be launched as soon as possible
Raise the minimum legal age for tobacco to 21 for a consistent legal age between alcohol, tobacco and cannabis

2. Maximum possession limit should be set at 1 ounce of dried cannabis flower

All other appropriate possession limits for edibles, concentrates and other products will be established at a later date

3. Tight restrictions on advertising and marketing

Prohibit packaging, marketing or promotions that appeal to youth
Packaging should be child-resistant, plain and opaque with clearly labeled potency and a standard warning from the Department of Health

4. An established Cannabis Control Commission would be charged with licensing cultivators and drafting full regulations

The market structure would set up on an alcohol-style commercial model
There should be separate licenses for growers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers and testing facilities

5. Home cultivation is unlikely to be permitted, at least initially

If home growing is eventually permitted, it will require a registration system

MassLive has the full report uploaded on Scribd, available here.

Check Out One Of NCIA’s Quarterly Cannabis Caucuses In April

I have attended a handful of National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA) events, and literally every single one of them have been educational, empowering, and were fantasticfor networking opportunities. NCIA does an outstanding job of advocating for its members and the cannabis industry as a whole, which is why I have always supported them. They also

Cannabis Compares Favorably To Conventional PTSD Treatments

I was sent the following information. All veteransand others that suffer from PTSD should be able to use medical cannabis if they choose to do so: Care By Design, a California-based medical marijuana company, recently completed a survey of three hundred patients with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). The survey asked what medications patients had used

What is Shake?

Shake. Like a lot of cannabis terms, it means different things to different people. And how people define shake does a lot to determine whether they love it or hate it.

“Leftovers” might be the simplest description. Shake consists of small pieces of cannabis flower that break off of larger buds, generally as the result of regular handling. But just like leftovers, shake can be delicious or disgusting. Knowing what to look for in shake can mean the difference between a cool, clean smoke and a coughing fit.

Rather than fall back on old stereotypes, we talked to budtenders, dispensary managers, and cannabis connoisseurs to determine what exactly shake is and when (or whether) it’s worth buying.

Where to Find It

You’re most likely to encounter shake at a medical dispensary, especially one that keeps its flower in large jars. As budtenders shift the nugs, bits break off and collect at the bottom of each jar. The shake is collected and then either sold on its own or used to make pre-rolled joints.

If you buy shake separately, it’s almost always cheaper than flower that’s still in bud form. So the question becomes whether the discount is worth it. The answer depends largely on what you’re looking for in cannabis — and how you plan to consume it.

If you’re someone who regularly grinds your flower before using it, shake might be worth considering. Joint, blunt, and spliff rollers are an obvious audience, but even fans of glass might be interested if the quality is good and the discount is deep enough. Bakers and other edible makers should also take a look: If you’re making cannabutter, it doesn’t matter much if there are even a few small stems and leaves mixed in — just be sure to strain the butter well before using.

A Key Pre-Roll Ingredient

Another place you might find shake is in a pre-rolled joint. Using shake in pre-rolls allows dispensaries to use every last bit of cannabis, but it can also raise doubts about quality.

Why? Think in terms of leftovers. Say you have a steak dinner and you’re planning to roll the remnants into a burrito later on. If you save the best pieces of meat and make the burrito the next day, you’re in for a solid meal. But if you save just bits of gristle and forget about them at the back of the fridge for a week, you might be in for a nasty surprise. It’s less about the fact you’re using leftovers than it is about the quality of those leftovers.

Because pre-rolls come wrapped in paper, the meat (as it were) is already in the burrito — it’s hard to know what’s inside.

Sometimes businesses will fill pre-rolls with sub-par cannabis simply because they think they can get away with it. “A lot of the pre-rolls that are out there are made with a combination of plant material, and sometimes that includes smaller stems,” said Lauren, who spent three years working in a Seattle medical dispensary. That can make for harsher, less potent, and less flavorful smoke — and sometimes a headache, to boot.

Pre-roll experts say the surest way to know what’s in your pre-roll is to cut it open and examine its contents. “If you were to take a nice bud and put it through a grinder, dump it out, and then open up a pre-roll and dump it out, it should be the same,” said Patrick Rooney of Vashon Velvet, a Washington grower that makes premium pre-rolls.

Good? Bad? Both?

Does shake deserve its often poor reputation? As it turns out, yes and no.

By definition, shake is just smaller pieces of flower. If the nugs are of good quality, it’s reasonable to expect the shake that falls off to be good, too. But that’s not always the case. There are a few common reasons why shake gets a bad rap.

First, shake can be dry. Usually this is the result of jars being left out too long, but sometimes it’s simply because the shake itself is old. With more surface area than tightly packed buds, shake oxidizes much faster. (So if you do pick some up, be sure to store it properly.)

Another problem with shake is that it can contain stems and other bits of unwanted plant matter — the result of picking apart bigger nugs. Sometimes dispensaries or pre-roll producers will spread shake over screens and remove all that junk, but other times they don’t.

Worse still is when growers try to pass off trim as shake. People sometimes use the words interchangably, but trim is not shake, and shake isn’t trim. Trim is the unwanted plant matter that’s cut away from cannabis buds before curing. It’s not a pleasant smoke — it can smell like a campfire and taste “planty” — and it’s far less potent than actual shake.

Another consideration for medical patients: Sometimes shake is combined from various strains, so it’s important to be clear on what you’re getting. Ask questions and explain your needs to dispensary staff. If strain-specific effects are important for your treatment, you may want to avoid so-called mystery or rainbow rolls, pre-rolled joints made from a mix of different strains.

Ultimately, however, shake shouldn’t suggest low-quality cannabis any more than leftovers should suggest low-quality food. In certain circumstances, such as rolling joints or making edibles, shake can be a perfect choice, increasing convenience and cutting cost.

Extra Credit: The Doritos Principle

Going in to this article, I wanted to uncover a phenomenon I hoped to dub the Doritos Principle. It would go like this: Just as the bottom of a bag of Doritos contains smaller, uglier, but incredibly flavorful chip-bits, shake should be smaller, uglier, more powerful pieces of cannabis. Right? You’re familiar with how Doritos flavor dust works. Isn’t shake just little bits of flower rolling around in bottom-of-the-bag kief, the potent gold dust that coats cannabis buds?

Not everyone I talked to saw it that way. But some did.

“I wouldn’t go so far as to call it more potent,” said Corey Schwartz, manager of Los Angeles dispensary Coast to Coast Collective. “I would call them the same.” I explained the Doritos Principle, but he pushed back: “It’s still the same Doritos.”

Rooney at Vashon Velvet, on the other hand, thought there might be something to the idea.

“Oh totally,” he said. “That could definitely happen. I’ve had some bags that are just kief at the bottom. It might be nice to smoke.” He even went so far as to say the remnants might have an “excellent cannabinoid profile,” but then added, “I just don’t think it’s consistent enough to market as a product.”

Besides, Rooney said, that much kief would take time to accumulate, and time dries out cannabis. “The stuff on the bottom might be potent,” he said, “but it’s going to really burn your throat.”

Image Source: Sara Dilley

5 Sativa Cannabis Strains for Indica Lovers

There are a number of reasons to align yourself with Team Indica: the tranquil mindsets, relaxed muscles, dreamy highs, sharpened appetites, and restful nights keep us coming back to pacifying varieties like Granddaddy Purple, Northern Lights, and Bubba Kush. Sativa strains, with their racing cerebral energy, can cause more anxiety and paranoia in some individuals, which may be why you exclusively look for that indica purple while browsing Leafly. But not all sativa-dominant strains act as you might think.

Just as there are indicas that behave more like sativa strains, some sativa strains elicit more relaxed effects that can even help you transition into sleep. We chose these five based on user-submitted strain reviews, but mind you, every strain may affect you differently based on the following factors:

Your personal physiology and brain chemistry
Your mood and energy level
How the strain was grown and which genetic traits that particular plant expressed (cannabis nerds, see this primer on genotypes and phenotypes)
Delivery method and dose
Expectation of effects
Accuracy of strain labeling

That being said, the below strains are good starting points for indica-lovers looking for a daytime sativa experience that doesn’t stray too far from those lovably relaxing indica effects.

1. Jack Herer

Jack Herer is one of those brilliantly versatile strains that can bring you energy or relaxation depending on when you use it. Though its sharp, fresh pine aroma and invigorating effects make a great morning pick-me-up, Jack’s uplifting buzz tends to fade into mellow relaxation perfect for chilling out with a movie or book, snuggling up with your partner, or even a good night’s sleep.

“Made me quite sleepy after an hour. Slept like a baby. Not a good strain for public use.”

2. Great White Shark

One minute you may feel revitalized and wakeful, and then out of the blue, Great White Shark gets you. Perhaps it’s the indica influence of its parent Super Skunk, but Great White Shark can surprise you with its hefty “creeper” effects – meaning it can take some time for you to feel this strain’s strength. It may not knock you into sleep, but if you’re looking for a sativa with that relaxing counterweight, the Shark may just be what you’ve been looking for.

“Rolled up a joint and stubbed it out half way…45 minutes later I woke up in a puddle of drool. Knocked out.”

3. Strawberry

This Dutch-bred sativa is perfect for the consumer looking for a relaxing experience without the high-speed cerebral effects that so often give rise to anxiety and paranoia. With the added benefit of smelling just like the berry it was named after, Strawberry is prized by patients for its ability to treat physical ailments like pain and nausea while also easing stress and other psychological distress.

“A few bong hits do the job just fine, one too many and it brings on the drowsy euphoric state where you just want to chill out, listen to some oldies, and take a nap. Also, bring on the munchies!”

4. Silver Haze

Parented by the sativa Haze and the indica Northern Lights, Silver Haze was bred to lean toward the Haze side of the family in its effects. However, its indica qualities persist, and that becomes apparent when scrolling through its user reviews. While it certainly provides the focus and creativity you might want during the day, Silver Haze is counterbalanced by a breezy, composed mindset that keeps you relaxed in both mind and body.

“I liked this strain because it made me VERY sleepy when the high starts wearing off. Really good for insomnia. Have a drink handy…causes extreme dry mouth.”

5. Amnesia

Amnesia is a common wake-and-bake sativa – it tends to pique interest and engagement with an almost psychedelic quality – but its high-energy effects come with a ceiling. That is to say that in larger doses, Amnesia can really zonk you out in a manner that is in no way active or functional, much like an indica. Save this one for a day where you want to be physically relaxed, but mentally present. You know, those days where all you want to do is curl up with your video game or kick back with your next artistic endeavor.

“It makes me pretty chilled. I don’t feel like doing much, I just really enjoy the comfort of the couch and tea…You still can do things, just not that energetic and driven. Nice one to lie in bed with and watch South Park.”

The Shake: Nancy Reagan RIP, Colorado Cannabis Cup Canceled, Salty Prohibitionist Fails Debate

Just say no more. Nancy Reagan passed away on Sunday at the age of 94. We could write thousands of words about her impact on the cannabis world. Instead, we’ll just note the event and move on. For those of you needing more, here’s a clear, concise piece by Aviva Shen at ThinkProgress about the disastrous legacy of Reagan’s Just Say No campaign.

Colorado Cannabis Cup canceled. We think. Also on Sunday, High Times asked the Pueblo Board of County Commissioners to stop processing their special events request for the 2016 Colorado Cannabis Cup. It’s the second and possibly final blow for organizers of the annual 4/20 Cup, one of the world’s largest cannabis festivals. Last month Adams County officials rejected the permit application for the event, citing concerns about thousands of Cup-goers openly sampling at dab booths. That sent organizers south to Pueblo, where they partnered with a local event producer to hold the show at a space on the outskirts of town. Alas, it looks like the time crunch may have caught up to them. High Times officials had scrambled to adjust their dates to meet Pueblo County guidelines for a special event permit, but it sounds like things just didn’t come together. Too bad for Cup-goers — and for Pueblo County. High Times officials estimate that Cup attendees spend around $10 million on lodging, food, and other necessities during their stay.

Jury acquits San Diego MMJ patient in ten minutes flat. A San Diego jury took all of ten minutes to find medical marijuana patient John Mazula “not guilty” of manufacturing cannabis concentrates, Indybay.org reports. Mazula was the latest victim of an ongoing campaign against MMJ patients by San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis’s Narcotic Task Force. Americans for Safe Access has been covering the problems in San Diego, including Mazula’s case; check out the group’s coverage here.

Ethan Nadelmann takes down a tomato can. Drug Policy Alliance Director Ethan Nadelmann went head-to-head with David Evans, executive director of the Drug Free Schools Coalition, in a tussle billed as The Great Marijuana Debate last week, part of the California Cannabis Business Expo in San Francisco. MJINews scored the fight a “Total Knockout” for Nadelmann, but even Nadelmann would be hard pressed to call it a significant win. I caught a bit of the debate on Thursday afternoon and thought one onlooker summed it up nicely. “It’s like they blew the dust off some relic from the 1980s and propped him up on stage,” she said. Not much of a fight, but it was instructive to hear what prohibition advocates consider their strongest talking point: Fear of cannabis companies marketing to children. “Just like the tobacco industry, you’re going to market to young people,” said Evans. “You’re already doing it.” Take note, everybody.

Cannabis seizures at the border continue to decline. NORML Deputy Director Paul Armentano reports that the cannabis flow from Mexico to the United States continues to decline, according to seizure data recently released by the U.S. Border Patrol. Law enforcement seized 1.5 million pounds at the U.S.–Mexico border in 2015. “That total is the lowest amount reported in a decade and continues a steady year-by-year decline in seizure volume that began in 2009, when nearly 4 million tons of cannabis were confiscated,” writes Armentano.

QUICK HITS: No decision yet from the U.S. Supreme Court about taking on Nebraska and Oklahoma’s lawsuit challenging Colorado’s legalization laws. South Dakota MMJ advocates get a second chance, as Secretary of State Shantel Krebs agrees to re-sample signatures turned in by New Approach South Dakota. Krebs had earlier rejected the state initiative because of too many invalid signatures. Massachusetts bigwigs come out against adult use legalization: Gov. Charlie Baker, Attorney General Maura Healey, and Boston Mayor Martin Walsh penned a Boston Globe op-ed that cites “easier access” for minors as their major point of contention. New Approach Idaho withdraws its MMJ petition after using misleading language regarding the American Academy of Pediatrics’ position on cannabis. A Republican lawmaker in West Virginia spoke out about his own experience with medical marijuana on the floor of the House of Delegates last week. Result: His colleagues tabled a bill to triple the prison time for cannabis transport. And finally, hungry for a super-secret cannabis dinner? We thought so.

US CA: Tuesday Butte County Supervisors Meeting to Focus on

Chico Enterprise-Record, 07 Mar 2016 – Oroville – Butte County supervisors have few items on their Tuesday agenda, leaving ample consideration for two challenges to recent marijuana rule changes. The board will reconsider recent changes to the county’s medical marijuana cultivation rules and right-to-farm ordinance. Two petitions filed by the Inland Cannabis Farmers Association prevented January changes from going into effect, although the previous ordinances remain active.

Dr. Dustin Sulak Discusses Cannabis Dosing Strategies

I have had a lot of talks lately with people about cannabis dosing strategies. It’s a concept that wasn’t really around in decades past for the most part, at least not in any widespread way. However, cannabis consumption is getting more and more sophisticated, and people in regulated states can (and often do) measure and

Cannapics: 7 Stunning Images of Cannabis Joints

This week we’ve examined pre-rolls and investigated the chemistry of joints, now we bring you some of the most jaw-dropping images of cannabis joints the Internet has to offer.

As the cannabis industry itself grows, so does the need for skilled cannabis photographers. Fortunately, there are many talented creators entering the space, many of whom share their work online via social media. To accompany our week-long tribute to joints, we wanted to highlight some of the best and most beautiful images of joints yet created.

After reviewing thousands of cannabis images, we’re pleased to present you with some of our very favorites. We hope you’ll enjoy them as much as we enjoyed finding them!

Image Source: @SheSmokesJoints / Tumblr

In the words of the photographer: “Snailed it.”

Image Source: @northwestgreens / Instagram

Sculpting cannabis oil isn’t the only way to make it look great. The photographer’s expert use of light and color make the image pop, bringing out the golden hues of the extract and deep greens of the dried flower within.

Image Source: Mr. Smoke and Toke / Flickr

Whether you love them, hate them, profess their brilliance, or deny their functionality, you can’t deny the cross joint has an iconic place in cannabis pop culture.

Image Source: Seagrass Photography / @Instagram

It’s hard to go wrong with sunset light and a good joint.

Image Source: @Resinated_Lens / Instagram

We love seeing cannabis photographed in unique ways. This fun use of colored studio lights and background lights that created the “bokeh” effect is simply beautiful.

Image Source: @Natural_Ganja / Instagram

Colorful strains are great for photography, so is an innovative mind. Artfully arranging the dried flower around the outside of this joint may not be conventional, but it creates a stunning visual effect.

Image Source: Will Jones / Instagram

Sometimes some of the most beautiful moments are the little ones. Sharing a joint with friends is a time-honored tradition, and we love this image that captures that moment so exquisitely.

A Profile In Courage: Illinois Cannabis Pioneer Is Left Out In The Cold

aBy Helen Holzer, MMAA Editor “I’ve had more doors slammed in my face by legislators. It’s been an absolute nightmare,” stated Mike Graham, an early proponent of medical marijuana, who’s been fighting the fight for legalization in Illinois for nearly 15 years. A resident of Kankakee County, south of Chicago, Graham has degenerative disc disease

The World’s 10 Most Beautiful Places with Strains Named After Them

Strain names are inspired by all sorts of things (like celebrities and movie stars, for instance), but one of the most common tropes is locations. Everything from tiny towns (Aberdeen, Mendocino) to landmarks (Space Needle, Krakatoa) to countries (Malawi, Nepal) to whole continents (South America, Asia) are given nods in the names of strains that were bred or inspired there.

The following 10 strains stand out in the beauty of the locations they’re named for. Have you visited these places, or tried these strains?

Paris

Strains: Paris XXX & Paris OG

The romantic city has captured the hearts and minds of visitors and locals alike for centuries. Between its dreamy alleyways, iconic architecture, sidewalk café scene and effortlessly beautiful inhabitants, Paris is a no-brainer namesake for strains Paris OG and Paris XXX.

The Alps

Strains: Alpine Blue & Alpine Star

Alpine Blue and Alpine Star shout out to the soaring, snowcapped peaks and sweeping green valleys nestled within this grande dame of mountain ranges. It’s no wonder that visitors from around the world seek out its world-class snow and scenery for whole seasons at a time.

Myanmar (Burma)

Strain: Burmese Kush

Now that the country’s long stretch of military rule has come to an end, the golden temple turrets rising over the lush landscapes (often with colorful hot air balloons floating amongst them) are drawing visitors to the country once again. Burmese Kush denotes the country.

Balmoral

Strain: Balmoral

The stately British castle is as regal inside as it is out, and attracts visitors from all over the world to marvel at its turrets and towers. It’s immortalized by Balmoral, a relaxing, happy hybrid strain which was in fact bred in Canada.

Madagascar

Strain: Madagascar

Madagascar’s rich, one-of-a-kind array of striking flora and fauna make it a visitor favorite, and inspire beautiful photographs, especially from beneath the canopies of its trippy, towering baobab trees. Madagascar, a floral indica with full-body effects, name-drops the island nation.

Venice

Strain: Venice OG

Sparkling canals weaving between buildings, gondolas ferrying visitors and locals alike through the perma-flooded city, buildings and city squares that ooze Old World charm all make Venice one of the most uniquely beautiful cities on Earth. Venice OG is a shout-out to the city.

Jamaica

Strains: Jamaican Dream, Jamaican Lion & more.

Tropical, serene, and green, green, green, it’s no wonder that cannabis has long played a role in Jamaica’s social and cultural landscape. Numerous strains denote the famously cannabis-friendly Caribbean nation.

Kilimanjaro

Strain: Kilimanjaro

Looking out across the wild plains of Tanzania, this breathtaking mountain rises high above the surrounding landscapes like the throne of a king. The Kilimanjaro strain, a landrace sativa that originated in the same country, will take you to new heights of its own.

Thailand

Strains: Blue Thai, Thai Haze & more.

A coastal Southeast Asian location, surreal rock formations rising out of the crystal-blue waters, and white sandy beaches that stretch for miles upon miles characterize Thailand, and strains like Thai-Tanic, Thai Haze and Blue Thai all name-drop the nation.

Sonoma

Strain: Sonoma Coma

There’s no getting around the beauty of wine country, and Northern California sure knows how to do it right. With its rolling hills and rows of grapevines bathed in golden sunlight all year round, Sonoma is worthy of a mention from the similarly lovely sativa that is Sonoma Coma.

‘Uncle Spliffy’ Seeks To Change Negative Perceptions About Cannabis And Sports

Late last year I bumped into former NBA player Cliff Robinson at the airport in Portland, Oregon. Jay and I were on our way to Vegas to attend the Marijuana Business Conferencethere, and Cliff Robinson was on our flight. Jay actually talked to Cliff for a little bit prior to boarding. While we were taking

Cannabis use in psychotic patients linked to 50 percent higher hospital admission risk

Cannabis use among people experiencing a first episode of psychotic illness is linked to a 50 per cent heightened risk of hospital admission — including compulsory detention (sectioning) — as well as longer inpatient stay, reveals the largest study of its kind.

March Netflix and Chill: Spring Break, Baby

Hey there hard worker, it’s about time you took a break! You’ve been going hard ever since the New Year, doing your best to make 2016 a banner year. You’ve rededicated yourself at work, you’re going to the gym three times a week, and you’ve even got an herb garden (…and possibly an “herb” garden).

Sounds to me like it’s time you gave yourself some R&R so you can recharge those batteries–a spring break, if you will. Take some time to yourself this month and do some of the things that truly feed your soul. You know, like watching Netflix. Here’s how to give yourself some much-deserved TLC.

Reconnect with Old Friends

Watch: Good Burger

We all love that Keenan Thompson made it onto SNL and is able to remind us that our childhood stars are alive and well today each week. But, Keenan without Kel sometimes just doesn’t feel right. Good Burger takes us back to a time when two very stupid boys could save a fast food chain simply with the power of their friendship. It’s a reminder that we should reconnect with the people in our lives with whom we have so many memories, and sure, maybe this is also a subtle plug for Keenan and Kel to finally reunite. So call up a buddy and kick it. Surely you both still love a quality Nickelodeon film. See, you do still have things in common!

Available: March 1st

Strain:

Munchies: It’s too bad that Good Burger isn’t a real chain, but some greasy fast food hamburgers will do.

Spend a Night (Or an Eternity!) at an Airbnb

Watch: Groundhog Day

Staycations are a fun way to step away from your life and responsibilities without the logistics of travel. And with the rise of Airbnb, it’s even easier to book a room in your own city on the cheap. Sure, in Groundhog Day Phil (Bill Murray) might be traveling for work, and he might hate the fact that he’s staying at a bed and breakfast instead of an upscale hotel, but he’s also a horrible person for most of the movie, a misanthrope who only cares about himself. Phil is a warning sign of who we could become if we get too burnt out. Will he learn to be kind to others and treat each day as a gift? Book that room, bring your laptop along and find out. And if you’re really itching to take a trip, get yourself to “Punxsutawney.”

Available: March 1st

Strain:

Munchies: Cook yourself up an elaborate breakfast, regardless of the time of day. I’m talking pancakes, bacon, OJ and eggs.

Help Out a Friend or a Stranger

Watch: Louie: Season 5

Louie spends a lot of his time trying to be a good person, though it usually backfires. In season five of his TV comedy Louie, Louis CK (the director and star) again places himself in some cringe-worthy scenarios in which Louie just isn’t sure how to be a good person. Whether he’s trying to be a father, friend or boyfriend, things seem to rarely work out for the main character, who is based on Louis CK’s real experience as a famous but listless New York comic with bad self esteem and two adorable daughters. And while watching Louie’s failed attempts to help those around him and improve his own self-worth might backfire, don’t take his word for it. Go read to a kid or serve meals at a soup kitchen. Odds are, you won’t feel worse if you do.

Available: March 4th

Strain:

Munchies: Something Louie would regret, like Ben and Jerry’s straight out of the container.

Head to the Night Clubs of Miami

Watch: Scarface

Okay, so some of Scarface definitely takes place in a club. But it absolutely involves cocaine and hitmen, which is perhaps a more adrenaline-fueled spring break than you would typically go for. This 1983 classic is chock-full of the stuff you’re not getting in your boring regular life: crime, drama, guns, Michelle Pfeiffer. It’s been called the best mob film ever made and stars Al Pacino as Tony Montana, an escaped Cuban refugee who is looking for a green card and a way out at the start of the film. Even if you can’t get away this month because you’re not a carefree college student, this movie will help transport you to balmier weather and maybe remind you that the ol’ grind ain’t so bad compared to being in a drug cartel. Bonus: you’ll finally understand the psyche of every 19-year-old boy who has the poster for this movie plastered on his dorm room wall.

Available: March 1st

Strain:

Munchies: A Cuban sandwich, of course.

Play Pretend for a While

Watch: Netflix Presents: The Characters: Season 1

Netflix asked eight rising comedians to write and star in a 30-minute sketch show for its first season of The Characters. With comedians like Lauren Lapkus (Orange Is The New Black) and Paul Downs (Broad City) and the blank slate that Netflix gave them, this is sure to be weird and hilarious. Netflix has even called it “Outlaw Comedy,” meaning anything goes. It’s rare and exciting to see a major streaming network take a big step in the direction of the strange and away from typical network fare, and this is not one to miss. See some new faces who will soon be old favorites take on silly personas, and maybe get inspired to turn on the imagination for yourself.

Available: March 11th

Strain:

Munchies: Something to get those day-dreaming muscles going, like a bowl of Lucky Charms.

Image Sources: IMDb, Netflix

US OR: No More Stoner Bingo: Portland's Cannabis Cafe Closing

The Herald, 03 Mar 2016 – PORTLAND, Ore. – The owner of the World Famous Cannabis Cafe announced she will close her doors next week after another warning by public health officials that the establishment violates indoor air rules. The cafe will host its final Stoner Bingo session Sunday, said Madeline Martinez, a longtime marijuana legalization advocate and owner of the business, which offers people 21 and older a place to socialize and use cannabis.

Cannabis Science 101: The Physics and Chemistry of the Joint

When a joint gets passed around, it tends to bring out the armchair scientists.

Everyone has a theory. And most theories sound like they come straight from the mind of Ron Slater, Dazed and Confused’s stoner historian. There’s the temperature theorist, who’s convinced you’ve got to keep the joint hot. And the long-toke artist. And the many-short-hits believer.

Who’s right? Let’s look into the actual science of the joint, or as the peer-reviewed journals refer to it, the marijuana cigarette.

First, a primer about why cannabis is burned and smoked in the first place. Eating a gram of cured flower straight out of the bag is a bad idea. It’ll taste like eating Kentucky bluegrass, and you won’t get the desired effect. The THC in the plant needs to undergo a process known as decarboxylation to become psychoactively available. Ed Rosenthal, one of the world’s leading experts on cannabis biology, explains the rest in this excerpt from one of his columns:

Marijuana produces THCA, an acid with the carboxylic group (COOH) attached. In its acid form, THC is not very active. It is only when the carboxyl group is removed that THC becomes psychoactive. When marijuana is smoked, the THC behind the hot spot is vaporized as the hot air from the burn is drawn through the joint or pipe bowl to the unburned material.

How Much THC Moves From Leaf to Bloodstream?

One of the earliest NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse) studies on cannabis cigarettes, conducted in 1982 by NIDA researcher Richard L. Hawks, estimated that 20 percent of the THC in a cannabis cigarette was delivered to the body when the smoker took a 5-second puff each minute. All the rest was lost to pyrolysis (burning) and sidestream smoke (the rising stuff from the smoldering end).

A later 1990 study by Mario Perez-Reyes, a psychiatric researcher at the University of North Carolina, put more specific figures to the path taken by THC. He estimated that 20 to 37 percent of the THC in a joint hits the consumer in mainstream smoke. Twenty-three to 30 percent is lost to pyrolytic destruction, and 40 to 50 percent goes up in sidestream smoke.

In these early studies, the scientific concern was all about THC. Other cannabinoids, like cannabidiol (CBD), and terpenes weren’t yet widely known. Also worth noting: All of these American studies were conducted using low-quality, low-potency (1.5 to 3 percent THC) cannabis supplied by NIDA.

Those estimates allow us to run some interesting numbers. If the average joint contains about 700 milligrams of cannabis flower — that’s the “scientific test joint” configuration — and today’s average THC level runs around 20 percent, that means 140 mg of THC are available in each joint. If 20 to 37 percent of that carries to the lungs, that’s a THC dose of 28 to 52 mg. Before you start comparing that to THC milligrams in edibles, though, consider that the body metabolizes and reacts to edibles differently than it does to inhaled smoke.

More Short Puffs, or Fewer Long Draws?

A 2008 study conducted by researchers at Leiden University, in the Netherlands, using much better cannabis (17.4 percent THC) supplied by Bedrocan, the company that grows pharmacy-grade cannabis for the Dutch Ministry of Health, specifically tested the toke question. Using joints with 700 mg of flower, volunteers tried a puff every which way. They took a two-second pull every 15 seconds, then every 30 seconds, then every 60. They tried a two-second pull, a three-second pull, and a four. Then the researchers drew blood from the subjects and measured their plasma THC levels. THC levels in the blood stair-stepped, as expected, in nearly every case. In other words, a longer toke drew more THC into the blood. A greater volume of inhaled smoke did the same.

But here’s the interesting thing. The short, two-second puff every 30 seconds and every 60 seconds yielded about the same amount of THC, around 22 nanograms per milliliter. But the same puff every 15 seconds doubled the THC intake, to 44 ng/ml.

The conclusion: The average overall temperature of the joint remained higher when a toke was taken every 15 seconds. That kept the whole THC decarboxylation and delivery system up and running. When the joint was allowed to rest for 30 or 60 seconds, it cooled. It’s the difference between keeping a machine running and or shutting it down and starting it back up again. Plus, as a number of these study authors noted, cannabis cigarettes don’t burn nearly as evenly or well as tobacco cigarettes. If you leave them untended for too long, they have a tendency to extinguish themselves.

Perez-Reyes observed a similar dynamic during his 1990 study. He asked study subjects to smoke joints extremely fast — a hit every six seconds — and then more slowly, taking a drag every 17 seconds. Which is still pretty fast. And his subjects got really high. The six-second-interval smokers registered peak THC blood plasma levels of 210 to 230 ng/ml. The 17-second-interval smokers hit 100 to 160 ng/ml. The legal limit for impaired driving in both Washington and Colorado is 5 ng/ml.

Delivery Efficiency: Joint vs. Vape vs. Bong

Nobody’s actually done an apples-to-apples-to-apples study on the question, or at least not one that’s been published in a peer-reviewed journal. But there is some information to be gleaned.

In 2007, Donald Abrams, a pioneering AIDS and medical cannabis researcher at the University of California at San Francisco, published a study of THC intake via the Volcano vaporizer. Abrams tested the vaporizer as a safer alternative to cannabis cigarettes. He was responding to a 1999 Institute of Medicine Report that found medical value in cannabis but hedged against recommending medical marijuana “because of the health risks associated with smoking.”

Abrams did find vaporization to be healthier. Compared to a smoked joint, the Volcano produced far less tar, carbon monoxide, and other combustion byproducts while delivering almost identical blood-THC levels. The vaporizer captured 54 percent of the THC in the leaf, as compared to the 20 to 37 percent available from a joint.

Bongs, by comparison, may deliver less THC per gram of flower. Perez-Reyes found that peak blood THC levels among his subjects using a water pipe were about 50 percent lower than the blood THC levels among the same subjects smoking the same amount of cannabis in a joint. That finding may lend credence to those who wonder if bong water is filtering out some of the cannabinoids that consumers desire.

Self-Titration is a Real Thing

For UCSF’s Donald Abrams, the most surprising data from his 2007 study may have come in the area of titration — a factor involving concentrations of THC in the blood (more later). He asked his subject to consume three different potencies: 1.7 percent THC, 3.4 percent, and 6.8 percent. Under perfect conditions, the blood-THC levels of the subjects should have stair-stepped along with the increased potencies.

Surprise! They didn’t.

Smoking the 1.7 percent THC cannabis, his volunteers peaked at blood THC levels of 80 ng/ml. At double the leaf potency (3.4 percent THC), they peaked at 110 ng/ml. And at four times the potency (6.8 percent), they peaked at 120 ng/ml.

Even though the Volcano captured a higher percentage of THC compared to a joint, blood plasma THC levels in the subjects using those devices were comparable.

Here’s the really interesting part: Subjects in Abrams’ study didn’t know the THC content when they were consuming.

That suggests that the study subjects carried out some sort of self-titration, whether they were aware of it or not. Titration is a fancy word for dosing. Self-titration means smokers adapt their smoking behavior to obtain desired levels of THC from the particular delivery system, taking more puffs and/or inhaling more efficiently at lower, compared to higher, THC strengths. “The phenomenon of self-titration of psychoactive drug intake from an inhaled delivery system is well documented for nicotine from cigarette smoking,” Abrams wrote, “but to our knowledge has not been previously reported for marijuana.”

Abrams’ study has interesting policy implications as well. One of the arguments used against recreational legalization is the fear that today’s higher-THC cannabis “is not the pot you knew in the 1970s.” That’s true. But it may also be true that consumers are simply inhaling less smoke or vapor than they did in the ’70s to achieve similar results.

The Shake: Cannahoney, Grenade Grinders and Morgan Freeman Talking Legalization

One French beekeeper has managed to combine his love of cannabis with his love of honeybees. Nicolas Trainerbees is a beekeeper with a knack for bee whispering and cannabis growing. His bees dance across the flowering cannabis buds, gathering resin to be used in their beehive. The result is quite possibly the first naturally sourced cannahoney, directly from the honeycombs. It took more than two years to complete the project, during which Trainerbees encountered anti-cannabis rhetoric, specifically that the cannabis could have a negative effect on the bees. After two years, he was able to prove that the plants had no negative impact. “The bees that produce cannahoney are not affected by cannabinoids because they do not have an endocannabinoid system,” he explained. His most recent batch of cannahoney was derived from the strain California Orange, but the bees are not partial to any particular strain. Could this be(e) the first naturally derived cannabis edible? What a world we live in!

A new bill from Alaska seeks to ban cannabis businesses from operating in rural Alaska. House Bill 75 was originally intended to help clarify the murky rules of recreational legalization, and created a guideline for the maximum number of plants allowed per household, as well as defining key terms for the retail system. However, Senator Lyman Hoffman (D-Bethel) introduced an amendment that would permanently ban marijuana businesses in rural, unincorporated areas of the state, which, let’s face it, is most of Alaska. Tim Hinterberger, who served as chair for the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, raised strong objections, noting that such an amendment would go against the will of Alaskans and urged legislators to oppose the proposal.

A new study finds that the lack of sleep can produce munchies similar to those produced by cannabis. Researchers at the University of Chicago found that sleep deprivation can enhance the rhythm of levels of the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoylglycerol, which is closely related to appetite and is also stimulated by the consumption of cannabis. When healthy adults were studied comparing a normal sleep cycle (8.5 hours) to a restricted sleep cycle (4.5 hours per night), it was found that the sleep-deprived participants had a harder time resisting junk snack foods than those who were well-rested. If you’re hoping to stick to your diet, it may take more than cutting back on the cannabis – make sure you’re getting enough shuteye, too.

Grenade-shaped cannabis grinder confiscated by TSA in Sacramento. Okay, folks. We know that cannabis legalization has made it significantly more acceptable to carry cannabis openly. However, there are very clear exceptions to this rule. First of all, don’t try to fly with cannabis. Second, don’t keep your cannabis in something resembling a very serious weapon. The TSA posted a photo of the grenade grinder on their Instagram this week with a reminder that “anything resembling a grenade is prohibited in both carry-on and checked luggage. Especially if it’s a grenade-shaped grinder with marijuana inside.” Seems like a no-brainer, right? Admittedly, it could have been a simple oversight on the part of the traveler, but let’s all take this as a reminder: leave your cannabis at home when traveling. Check your carry-on for anything you might have forgotten. Please, no grenades – grinders or otherwise. Happy travels!

A photo posted by TSA (@tsa) on Mar 3, 2016 at 6:36pm PST

Morgan Freeman reiterates that cannabis ought to be legal “everywhere.” Everyone’s favorite deep-voiced poignant narrator discussed marijuana legalization during his appearance on Larry King Now this week. Freeman has been open in the past about his unabashed use of cannabis, appearing in a documentary about the War on Drugs entitled “Breaking the Taboo,” and openly talked about using cannabis to relieve symptoms related to fibromyalgia pain. During his interview with Larry King, he admitted that he doesn’t distinguish between strains, but recognizes “good smoke” when it’s offered. King asked him if he thinks it will be legal everywhere, to which Freeman replies, “It has to be. They can’t continue to say that it’s a dangerous drug when it’s safer than alcohol.” I don’t know about you, but I could listen to Morgan Freeman talk about cannabis legalization all day long.

QUICK HITS: One Washington employee got quite the surprise after exchanging desserts with his coworker. The recipient ate a brownie which turned out to have 100mg of THC in it with no knowledge of the extra ingredient. If you’re feeling generous with your cannabis, here’s a reminder to TELL THEM THAT THEY’RE EATING CANNABIS, or else they’re gonna have a bad time, mmkay? A Japanese steakhouse in North Carolina has a sign on the front door that’s raised a few eyebrows around town. The sign reminds patrons to pull their pants up, put their hoodie down, and, oh yeah, “Marijuana smell not allowed.” Detroit is taking major steps to restrict medical marijuana dispensaries in the city. The city council approved measures last year for licensing and zoning dispensaries that restrict them to one dispensary per square mile, which could have a big impact on local businesses. What’s better than Girl Scout Cookies? Girl Scout Cookies infused with cannabis, that’s what! Here’s the recipe for cannabis-infused Samoas, which look as delicious as they sound.

New Strains Alert: Purple Widow, Medicine Woman, Shark Attack, Purple Headband, and More

We just added these seven strains to the strain Explorer, and this week’s additions feature some potent indicas and newer spins on older genetics. Find out where they’re available by clicking the links below, and don’t forget to leave a review once you’ve had a chance to try them!

1. Purple Widow

Purple Widow from De Sjamaan Seeds crosses White Widow with the renowned Dutch outdoor strain Purple Power, resulting in a large, sturdy plant that produces fat, resin-covered purple flowers. The aroma ranges from incense to fruit with floral overtones, and the taste from light berry to citrusy. Effects are generally described as combining a strong indica body high with a racy, cerebral sativa feel. Originally bred in the Netherlands in 2007, Purple Widow is not recommended for indoor growing and can reach over 10 feet in height outdoors.

2. Shark Attack

A 70/30 indica-dominant hybrid from Dinafem Seeds, Shark Attack is a cross of Super Skunk and White Widow. Though it produces relatively modest levels of THC (12-16%) and significant amounts of CBD, the high is powerfully relaxing and long lasting, and can offer relief from aches and pain. Shark Attack produces a very strong odor of earthy hash with floral and lemon undertones, and tastes much like it smells. Because it is compact, easy to grow, and high yielding, as well as being suitable for indoor, outdoor, or greenhouse cultivation, Shark Attack is fast becoming one of the more popular hybrids available in feminized seed form.

3. Purple Headband

Purple Headband is a 50/50 hybrid strain that combines the famous Headband with an unknown “purple” hybrid, resulting in dense pink and purple flowers covered in greenish trichomes. It often produces a strong fruity aroma with just a hint of gasoline, and a similar flavor with undertones of pine. The high has been likened to that of Headband: uplifting yet relaxing with a warm, fuzzy pressure that gradually creeps from your temples across your forehead.

4. Salmon River OG

Salmon River OG is an indica-dominant strain from Oregon breeders Dynasty Genetics, who combined a Pre-98 Bubba Kush clone with a carefully selected Blue Heron male, creating a potent and easy-to-grow plant that finishes flowering in 7-8 weeks. The Salmon River OG may provide excellent pain relief and a heavy indica buzz; it is recommended that novice users take care not to overindulge. Dynasty has noted three main phenotypes in this cross, all with a similar terpene profile: a strong berry scent, underlined with hints of chocolate, coffee, lemon, and gasoline, and a similar taste when vaporized or smoked.

5. Medicine Woman

Medicine Woman is a 60/40 sativa-dominant hybrid strain from renowned Oregon medical cannabis grower David Verstoppen. Aiming to help treat the symptoms of his wife’s fibromyalgia, Dave crossed Purple Urkle Dynamite, and Medicine Man to create this potent hybrid. Measured at over 23% THC, it relaxes muscles and provides powerful pain relief along with an energetic, clear-headed high. The aroma of Medicine Woman is sweet and skunky, and it tastes of sour citrus and diesel fuel.

6. Snow Ryder

Snow Ryder is an indica-dominant auto-flowering strain available only in feminized seed form from Sensi Seeds. Unlike many auto-flowering strains, Snow Ryder is not a dwarf, so these sturdy plants can grow as tall as four feet while still featuring short internodal spacing. It produces tight, resinous buds covered in sparkly trichomes that have a sweet-spicy, earthy, citrus flavor. The effect of these flowers is described as a deep body stone accompanied by a breezy head high.

7. Dutchberry

Dutchberry is a 60/40 sativa-dominant hybrid strain from Artizen Cannabis in Lacey, WA. Combining Dutch Treat and DJ Short’s Blueberry, this hybrid is loaded with citrus and berry flavors that taste as good as it smells. With a chemical profile that falls around 27% THC and 8% CBD, Dutchberry has one of the highest cannabinoid contents available in the marketplace today. The high CBD content helps modify the extreme THC content to produce a happy, giggly high perfect for unwinding after a long day at work./p>

Browse through other new strains that were added recently to the Leafly Explorer or check out last week’s newest additions!

US CO: Column: Dear Stoner: Where Can I Hold a Smoke-Friendly

Westword, 03 Mar 2016 – Dear Stoner: Where can I find cannabis-friendly events around Denver? I have a business in cannabis and would like to host a smoke-friendly event, but I’m not sure where to look. Tarik Dear Tarik: Hosting a cannabis-friendly event in Colorado is pretty easy, but hosting a pot-smoking-friendly event? Not so much. For starters, any event at which you hope to allow pot smoking would have to take place at a private venue that is either outside or doesn’t have to comply with the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act (a law that bans smoking at indoor venues unless otherwise permitted) – and there are very few of those. Even after finding a venue that fits your criteria, however, you’d have to apply to the local governing body for an event permit. That’s not always easy; High Times was just denied such a permit by Adams County for its Cannabis Cup because of law enforcement concerns over attendance and public pot consumption.

US OR: Column: Juicing With Cannabis

Portland Mercury, 03 Mar 2016 – Canna Juice Cures What Ails Ya There are many ways to consume cannabis for recreational purposes. There’s smoking, vaping, dabs, topicals, suppositories, edibles, and sex lube, to name a few. (Actually, that might just about cover it. If you know some other way, I’d love to hear about it.)

Leafly's State-by-State Guide to Medical Cannabis Testing Regulations

We’ve brought you state-by-state regulations for packaging and labeling laws, and we’ve brought you the regulations for advertising. But to keep your cannabis business in compliance, we’ve gathered information on one of the most important requirements for medical cannabis: testing.

Leafly was contacted by Dr. Jake Rosenberg of Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, who is compiling resources for the medical cannabis community to be published in an upcoming medical journal. It could prove to be a crucial resource, particularly for physicians in newly legal states who are attempting to navigate complex regulations in an industry that’s still emerging from the shadows.

For all states that require medical marijuana testing, here are the most important factors to keep in mind:

Alaska
Arizona
California
Colorado
Connecticut

Delaware
District of Columbia
Hawaii
Illinois
Maine

Maryland
Massachusetts
Michigan
Minnesota
Montana

Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York

Oregon
Rhode Island
Vermont
Washington

Alaska

See section 3 AAC 306.455, required laboratory testing:

(a) Except as provided in (d) of this section, a marijuana cultivation facility shall provide a sample of each harvest batch of marijuana produced at the facility to a marijuana testing facility, and may not sell or transport any marijuana until all laboratory testing required by 3 AAC 306.645 has been completed.

(b) To comply with (a) of this section, a marijuana cultivation facility shall

(1) collect a random, homogenous sample for testing by segregating harvested marijuana into batches of individual strains of bud and flower, then selecting a random sample from each batch in an amount required by the marijuana testing facility;

(2) designate an individual responsible for collecting each sample; that individual shall

(A) prepare a signed statement showing that each sample has been randomly selected for testing;

(B) provide the signed statement to the marijuana testing facility; and

(3) transport the sample to the marijuana testing facility’s licensed premises in compliance with 3 AAC 306.750.

(c) A marijuana cultivation facility shall segregate the entire batch from which the testing sample was selected until the marijuana testing facility reports the results from its tests. During this period of segregation, the marijuana cultivation facility that provided the sample shall maintain the batch in a secure, cool, and dry location to prevent the marijuana from becoming contaminated or losing its efficacy. The facility that provided the sample may not sell or transport any marijuana from the segregated batch until the marijuana testing facility has completed its testing and provided those results, in writing, to the marijuana cultivation facility that provided the sample. The marijuana cultivation facility shall maintain the testing results as part of its business books and records.

(d) When geographic location and transportation limitations make it unfeasible for a manufacturing facility to transport testing samples to a lab, an applicant for licensure may propose alternative means of testing to meet the requirements of this code.

For more information, please refer to the Final Regulation of the Marijuana Industry.

Arizona

Arizona does not require state-mandated testing for cannabis products.

For more information, please refer to the Statutes Governing the Arizona Medical Marijuana Program.

California

See section 19344:

(a) A licensed testing laboratory shall issue a certificate of analysis for each lot, with supporting data, to report both of the following:

(1) Whether the chemical profile of the lot conforms to the specifications of the lot for compounds, including, but not limited to, all of the following:

(A) Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

(B) Tetrahydrocannabinolic Acid (THCA).

(D) Cannabidiolic Acid (CBDA).

(E) The terpenes described in the most current version of the cannabis inflorescence monograph published by the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia.

(F) Cannabigerol (CBG).

(G) Cannabinol (CBN).

(H) Any other compounds required by the State Department of Public Health.

(2) That the presence of contaminants does not exceed the levels that are the lesser of either the most current version of the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia monograph or the State Department of Public Health. For purposes of this paragraph, contaminants includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:

(A) Residual solvent or processing chemicals.

(B) Foreign material, including, but not limited to, hair, insects, or similar or related adulterant.

(C) Microbiological impurity, including total aerobic microbial count, total yeast mold count, P. aeruginosa, aspergillus spp., s. aureus, aflatoxin B1, B2, G1, or G2, or ochratoxin A.

(D) Whether the batch is within specification for odor and appearance.

(b) Residual levels of volatile organic compounds shall be below the lesser of either the specifications set by the United States Pharmacopeia (U.S.P. Chapter 467) or those set by the State Department of Public Health.

For more information, please refer to California Assembly Bill 266.

Colorado

See M 712 – Medical Marijuana Testing Facilities: Sampling and Testing Program.

This rule shall be effective on July 1, 2016.

A. Division Authority

The Division may elect to require that a Test Batch be submitted to a specific Medical Marijuana Testing Facility for testing to verify compliance, perform investigations, compile data or address a public health and safety concern.

B. Test Batches

1. Medical Marijuana and Medical Marijuana Concentrate. A Medical Marijuana Testing Facility must establish a standard minimum weight of Medical Marijuana and Medical Marijuana Concentrate that must be included in a Test Batch for every type of test that it conducts.

2. Medical Marijuana Infused-Product. A Medical Marijuana Testing Facility must establish a standard number of finished product(s) it requires to be included in each Test Batch of Medical Marijuana Infused-Product for every type of test that it conducts.

C. Rejection of Test Batches and Samples

1. A Medical Marijuana Testing Facility may not accept a Test Batch that is smaller than its standard minimum amount.

2. A Medical Marijuana Testing Facility may not accept a Test Batch or Sample that it knows was not taken in accordance with these rules or any additional Division sampling procedures or was not collected by Division personnel.

D. Notification of Medical Marijuana Business

If Medical Marijuana, Medical Marijuana Concentrate or Medical Marijuana Infused-Product failed a contaminant test, then the Medical Marijuana Testing Facility must immediately notify the Medical Marijuana Business that submitted the sample for testing and report the failure in accordance with all Inventory Tracking System procedures.

E. Permissible Levels of Contaminants

If Medical Marijuana, Medical Marijuana Concentrate or Medical Marijuana Infused-Product is found to have a contaminant in levels exceeding those established as permissible under this rule, then it shall be considered to have failed contaminant testing. Notwithstanding the permissible levels established in this rule, the Division reserves the right to determine, upon good cause and reasonable grounds, that a particular Test Batch presents a risk to the public health or safety and therefore shall be considered to have failed a contaminant test.

E1. Microbials Substance

Substance
Acceptable Limits Per Gram
Product to be Tested

Shiga-toxin producing
Escherichia coli (STEC)*-Bacteria

MassRoots Provides Online Social Networking for Cannabis-Related Businesses

The legal cannabis market has been booming lately. According to an article on Fortune, cannabis culture is anticipated to generate $6.7 billion in legal US sales this year. If that appears large, it has nothing on future projects for the industry. It is expected that the legal cannabis culture market could reach $21.8 billion by 2020.

However, despite the influx of spending and revenue in this area, traditional social media sites have been slower to embrace cannabis culture. For instance, Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) has community guidelines that prohibit content promoting the sale of marijuana. These guidelines are in accordance with US federal law which deems the sale of marijuana as illegal. However, specific states in the US have legalized cannabis in specific circumstances. This has created tension between Facebook’s nation-wide standards and state-specific views on cannabis.

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Online social networking challenges for cannabis companies

Small, legal cannabis companies have been hit the hardest by Facebook’s strict community guidelines. For example, Joe Hodas told Fortune about his experience having the Facebook page Dixie Elixirs removed under the guidelines. The Denver-based company had 11,000 followers when its page disappeared off of Facebook. According to a notification, it was removed in accordance with the social network’s community standards: “we remove any promotion or encouragement of drug use,” it said.

However, Hodas assures the publication that in fact none of the content on the page was promoting or encouraging drug use. He had been careful to remain well within the community guidelines outlined by Facebook. The seeming unfairness of this action has prompted ire in the legal cannabis business community, as many other companies have seen similar things happen to their social media sites.

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MassRoots offers social media solution

Enter MassRoots. MassRoots (OTCMKTS:MSRT) is like a cannabis-centric Facebook, which allows users and companies to network online. With a current user-base of 725,000, and the expectation to achieve one million users by the end of the year, enthusiasts in this space are clearly taking note. MassRoots has a market cap of $44.6 million and plans to list on NASDAQ later this year, suggesting that investors should also be paying attention.

This online social networking site presents an opportunity for companies in the sector to get their message across to potential customers. While it doesn’t yet have the wide breadth of Facebook, advertisers are speaking directly to an audience of committed and interested potential consumers. Thus, MassRoots is a compelling product on two fronts: it provides an outlet for cannabis-enthusiasts to share their thoughts, in a manner that’s not currently acceptable Facebook, and it also offers a renewed advertising opportunity for companies that feel marginalized by Facebook’s current community guidelines. For investors keen on both social media and cannabis, MassRoots may be just the place to look.

Also, don’t forget to follow us @INN_Technology for real-time news updates on other social media news.

Securities Disclosure: I, Morag McGreevey, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

The post MassRoots Provides Online Social Networking for Cannabis-Related Businesses appeared first on Investing News Network.

Oregon Cannabis Companies Donate Portion Of Sales Revenue To Bernie Sanders Campaign

I was passed along a info about a couple of Oregon cannabis companies teaming up to donate a portion of sales revenue to the Bernie Sanders campaign. See the story below via a press release I received: As the 2016 presidential election draws closer new light is being shed on many political issues. One issue

Oaksterdam University Returns To Las Vegas March 11-14 With Horticulture Seminar

Oaksterdam University, the first cannabis college in the United States, will be in Las Vegas March 11 to 14, 2016, to host its renown Cannabis Horticulture Seminar. The entire seminar will be held at The Plaza Hotel and is the most comprehensive and advanced learning opportunity in the country for prospective and existing cannabis growers.

The Shake: Falsified Drug Tests, The Trump vs. The Bern, and Flint's Water Crisis

The Republican frontrunner has cannabis supporters on edge. Donald Drumpf (or Drumpf, for you John Oliver fans) recently swept Super Tuesday, taking seven states and essentially staking his claim on the Republican nomination. The opinions on what this could mean for cannabis vary widely, and with good reason. Donald Drumpf’s opinions on cannabis (along with pretty much everything else) has varied widely over the years, and there’s no telling how much they could change in the future. Another uncomfortable possibility is that a Drumpf administration could appoint a anti-cannabis politician (Chris Christie, we’ve got our eye on you) into a powerful position. An anti-cannabis attorney general, for example, could shut down cannabis programs in legal states and push the cannabis movement back to the Dark Ages. So keep an eye on the short-fingered vulgarian.

An Oregon dispensary owner wants you to Bern one down. Foster Buds, which operates two dispensaries in Portland, Ore., has promised to donate 10 percent of sales from every $10 Farmer 12-brand joint to the Bernie Sanders campaign, as well as handing out t-shirts for the “Burn One for Bernie” campaign. Sanders has promised to make federal legalization a priority under his administration and has backed up his words with action. At least as far as the cannabis movement goes, Portland is feeling the Bern.

Oakland will be hosting the first-ever art cannabis art exhibition. The Oakland Museum of California is hosting an exhibit entitled “Altered State: Marijuana in California,” which will be opening on April 16, just in time for the unofficial cannabis holiday, 4/20. The exhibit aims to inspire conversation, featuring an installation titled “Cannabis Confessional” that warps the audience’s perception of time and space. There will be ten different areas of focus — Cannabis Science, Medical Marijuana, Profitable Pot, Sacred Ganja, Criminal Dope, Creative Grass, Evil Weed, Politically Loaded, Youth & Weed, and Recreational Reefer — all of which are sure to shine a spotlight on the plant and its role in society. Consider an edible first.

Flint’s polluted water is wreaking havoc on the Michigan cannabis industry. Lead and other heavy metals in Flint’s water supply could have dangerous implications for cannabis. Most states require testing medical marijuana for potency, pesticides, and heavy metals. Michigan, however, is one of the rare states that requires no testing, which means patients could be at risk. For patients in Flint, please be careful where you source your cannabis, and keep in mind that the pollutants in the water are easily transferred to the plants. (As we mentioned yesterday, industrial hemp was planted around Chernobyl for the express purpose of absorbing toxins from the soil.) For dispensaries and growers, it may be worth the extra cost to test cannabis for heavy metals — it might be good for business, too.

Nearly 8,000 criminal drug cases are being called into question after a lab technician was found to have forged positive test results. Kamalkant Shah worked as a lab technician for the New Jersey State Police Department, but was found to have “dry-labbed” samples containing suspected traces of marijuana. As officials put it, “Basically, he was observed writing ‘test results’ for suspected marijuana that was never tested.” Shah was a police technician from 2005 until 2015, which means the 7,827 cases he worked on are now under scrutiny. Many specimens will need to be retested, but many have already been destroyed. It remains to be seen how this could impact cases that were resolved based on evidence handled by Shah.

A Portland cannabis café is closing shop thanks to Oregon’s clean air laws. A warning from public health officials will force owners to close the World Famous Cannabis Café, which allowed the consumption of cannabis on the premises. Erik Vidstrand, a specialist for the Multnomah County branch of Smoke-Free Oregon, advised the café during an unannounced visit that smoking is not allowed under Oregon’s Indoor Clean Air Act, which last year was extended to include cannabis smoke. The law does allows for two exceptions when it comes to tobacco consumption — cigar bars and smoke shops — but makes no such exception for cannabis.

QUICK HITS: A Denver security company has launched a new program for the cannabis industry. The Total Accountability Program offers specially tailored services for businesses in the cannabis sphere. A little girl whose life has been improved by cannabis oil felt the love at last week’s Oscars show. Four year-old Kyla Williams suffers from intractable epilepsy, but received a wave of support from celebrities at the Oscars, who raised money and signed their well-wishes to little Kyla. Justin Trudeau seemed like the ideal candidate for cannabis, but he’s been disappointing in office. The Canadian prime minister ran on a pro-legalization platform, but he now warns that marijuana arrests will continue in Canada and that decriminalization is a no-go. And finally, if you haven’t seen it yet, the Ghostbusters are back. Who ya gonna call??

What's in a Pre-Roll?

More than pipes, bongs, edibles, oils, dab rigs, or any other means of consumption, the joint remains an icon. It may be the only method that, when pantomimed, says to the rest of the world “cannabis!”

A joint is cheap, discreet, disposable, and easily shared among friends. It requires neither the financial investment of a bong nor the time commitment of an edible. But unless you’ve got nimble fingers or hours to spend practicing, it can be tough to learn how to twist one up.

Enter the pre-roll.

Before legal, regulated markets, consumers themselves were the ones rolling joints. But as medical dispensaries and recreational shops emerged, demand grew for ready-made smokeables. By now, pre-rolls are almost everywhere, serving as go-to gifts and common suggestions to cannabis newcomers.

There’s just one thing: A lot of people think they’re junk.

“Out of maybe the 50 pre-rolls that I’ve got from dispensaries, two of them have been smokeable,” laments one cannabis-focused YouTuber.“The rest have just been disgusting. They’ve gone in the trash, they’ve gotten broken up, they’ve just not been smoked. It’s pretty gross.”

He’s not alone. Many in the cannabis community steer clear of pre-rolled joints because of the perception that they contain low-quality cannabis. But where did that reputation come from? Is it deserved? And does it really mean pre-rolls aren’t worth it? We spoke to budtenders, producers, dispensary owners, and cannabis enthusiasts to find out.

The biggest takeaway? When it comes to pre-rolls, it’s hard to generalize. But at least in some markets, they don’t always deserve the bad rap.

“The quality really varies a lot,” said Lauren, who spent three years working in a Seattle medical dispensary and who requested anonymity in order to preserve her industry ties. While some producers use higher-quality flower, she said, others add what’s called trim — the leaves and stems that are cut away from the bud before curing.

“A lot of the pre-rolls that are out there are made with a combination of plant material, and sometimes that includes smaller stems,” she said.

The biggest problem with a pre-roll is the paper, because it hides what’s inside. That makes it easier for producers to get away with using sub-par cannabis or trim. Even when a store includes high-quality cannabis, consumers still can’t judge what’s inside — so the store may see little advantage in stocking high-quality pre-rolls.

How Pre-Rolled Joints are Made

Here’s how most pre-rolls are made: As budtenders in dispensaries shift nugs of cannabis in their jars, smaller bits of flower, known as shake, fall off. “The jars get shifted all the time,” explained Corey Schwartz, who manages Coast to Coast Collective in Los Angeles. “As you’re dispensing to patients, they want certain buds. After a day or a half a day, that strain gets broken down.” The shake gets collected for use in pre-rolls, which in Coast to Coast’s case are rolled on-site.

Coast to Coast and some other producers also add nugs themselves to their pre-roll mixture. “When it comes to the nugs, we break them down and we actually grind them down in a grinder,” Schwartz said. From there the mix is loaded into pre-rolled paper cones. A machine shakes the joints to help settle the mixture and remove air pockets. Once the joints are filled, an employee gently tamps down the contents of each one to make sure it’s not too tight or too loose, which could cause it to burn poorly. With a twist of the tip, the pre-roll’s ready to go.

Shake: The Secret Ingredient in Pre-Rolls

The use of shake is a widespread practice, and it ensures that all of a dispensary’s flower is put to use. But it can also ruffle feathers. Some consumers think shake is low-quality cannabis, which isn’t necessarily the case. In essence, shake is just smaller pieces of the same quality stuff.

But there are caveats. Shake can be of low quality if it’s dry — usually the result of jars sitting out too long — or if it contains stems and bits of leaves. And sometimes shake from various strains can be combined when making pre-rolls (sometimes called mystery or rainbow rolls). There’s also a bigger problem: Trim masquerading as shake. Before buying a bunch of pre-rolls, it’s not a bad idea to sacrifice one and cut it open. The contents should look about the same as if you’d ground up a new nug.

It’s also OK to just ask your dispensary, and you should.

“Our joints are always smaller nugs and shake that is broken down from the full pound,” said Schwartz of Coast to Coast. “There’s no less of a grade of a joint for us.”

In Washington, the recreational market has a different obstacle: There’s not much shake at all. State laws force producers to pre-package nugs for consumers, so instead of collecting at the bottoms of jars like at medical dispensaries, anything that breaks off the bud stays sealed in the same bag the grower put it in. As such, recreational shops don’t make their own pre-rolls, producers do.

Where to Find Good Pre-Rolls

I turned to Leafly employees to steer me toward good pre-rolls and bad ones in the Seattle area. The good producers came quickly: Solstice and Vashon Velvet. The bad ones were harder to nail down. Someone remembered a bad joint but couldn’t say where it was sold or who made it. Out of curiosity I once cut open a pre-roll I got as a gift, and while it looked a little dusty, it was free of stems or other unwanted plant matter. Most people admitted they don’t usually smoke pre-rolls anyway, in part because of their bad reputation. It’s easy to find anecdotal evidence of bad pre-rolls, but frankly it was hard to find one on the spot.

Without access to dispensary shake, Vashon Velvet makes pre-rolls from the same nugs it packages and sells…for the most part. The Vashon Island-based farm packages the prettiest ones — the tops of the plants — and then harvests lower buds to grind and roll into joints. “They’re still good-quality cannabis, but they’re not quite what we’d want to put in a bag to represent our stuff,” said Vashon Velvet’s Patrick Rooney.

The nugs are ground to a fine consistency and then screened to remove twigs and stems, he explained. “We select pretty carefully. I only put stuff into the joints that I would roll myself, you know?” The joints are individually inspected and packaged in boxes, then heat-sealed to help keep the cannabis fresh — an important step, said Rooney.

“I would totally compare it to coffee,” he explained. “In the bean form, it’s going to last longer than if you grind it. It’s going to be a completely different coffee when it’s ground.” With more surface area in the ground-up cannabis, it will dry out and oxidize faster, leaving you with a harsher, less-potent smoke.

“There’s a reason people are smoking joints from buds,” he added. “It’s a perfect vehicle for the flavor of the cannabis to come through.”

If someone new to pre-rolls can’t tell if the one is their hand is any good, Rooney said there are a few ways to check. “If you were to take a nice bud and put it through a grinder and dump it out, and then open up a pre-roll and dump it out, it should be the same,” he advised.

If you don’t want to actually destroy your pre-roll, just pay attention when you smoke. If producers are adding trim to the mix, it’s going to smell like campfire and taste “very planty,” Rooney said. “It would definitely compromise quality immensely.”

Tell us your recent experiences with pre-rolls. Have legal markets ushered in a new era of quality, or are they as bad as some say? Have you found any particularly good or bad pre-rolls in your area? And what’s your method to tell the difference?

Image Source: Sara Dilley

The State of the Leaf: Maine Falls Short and Washington Sets Hemp Free

Here’s the news that’s fit to print: Hawaii is stepping up its legislation game with the introduction of four new bills aimed at regulating the new medical marijuana dispensary program, Maine’s legalization bid failed to make the ballot, Maryland can’t decide how it feels about cannabis, Ohio and Pennsylvania push for medical marijuana, and Michigan and Rhode Island take a stab at recreational legalization. Internationally, New Zealand is reviewing its medical cannabis guidelines and Puerto Rico’s governor calls for legalization on his way out the door.

U.S. Cannabis News

MAINE

Maine’s efforts to legalize cannabis for recreational purposes will have to wait until next year. The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol submitted 99,229 signatures but the Maine Secretary of State only accepted 51,543 signatures. That means the initiative falls short of the 61,123 signatures needed to earn a spot on the ballot. The Secretary of State’s Office disqualified more than 31,000 signatures based on a single notary whose signature did not match the state’s file on record. There were originally two initiatives for legalization in Maine, but Legalize Maine joined the Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol last November to double up their efforts.

HAWAII

Several bills are up for consideration to supplement Hawaii’s medical marijuana program. Senator Russell Ruderman (D-Puna) introduced Senate Bill 2523, which would allow open-air growing operations to harness the state’s naturally sunny resources so long as the operations are not visible from the outside.

House Bill 1829 from Representative Joseph Souki (D-Maui) would make cannabis penalties similar to restrictions on alcohol. Senate Bill 2176 from Senator Will Espero (D-Oahu) would establish a commission to oversee the medical marijuana program. The commission would be a branch of the Department of Health, and would maintain regulations and handle enforcement. Senate Bill 2384 from Senator Rosalyn Baker (D-Maui) would require the Department of Health to conduct regular, unannounced inspections of medical cannabis facilities and dispensaries.

All four bills were advanced to a second reading by the Legislature.

MARYLAND

Maryland lawmakers are flip-flopping on marijuana. Governor Larry Hogan vetoed a bill making possession of cannabis paraphernalia and smoking cannabis in public a civil offense (both are currently criminal offenses). The General Assembly then overturned Hogan’s veto, so no more jail time for holding a bong.

On the other hand, the House of Delegates narrowly voted down a measure that would increase the penalties for public consumption. The delegates passed a proposal making it illegal for a driver or passenger to use cannabis in a vehicle, so no more hotboxing the Kia in Hagerstown.

MICHIGAN

The Michigan Legislature is now looking at a bill that could legalize the growth, manufacturing, distribution and sales of cannabis for recreational purposes. Senator Coleman Young II introduced Senate Bill 813, otherwise known as the “nonmedical marihuana code,” which would allow adults 21 and older to possess up to one ounce of cannabis and up to five plants.

This bill would also impose a tax of $50 per ounce on growers. The tax revenue would be divided between the Department of Education (30 percent), the Department of Health and Human Services (10 percent), the Department of Community Health (10 percent) and the state’s general fund (50 percent).

NEBRASKA

Nebraska’s Attorney General has officially joined opponents of a bill to legalize medical marijuana. Attorney General Doug Peterson, who has already sued the State of Colorado over cannabis legalization, said that a letter from the American Epilepsy Society urged him to reconsider supporting Legislative Bill 643 before more research can be done. LB643 would legalize cannabis for medicinal use by sufferers of cachexia, pain, nausea, and seizures related to epilepsy and multiple sclerosis.

OHIO

Legalization advocates in Ohio just released their new medical marijuana initiative, and campaign leaders are pulling out all the stops to please the various groups backing the measure. The bill would create two tiers of production licensing; there would be 15 licenses available for large-scale production with a $500,000 application, as well as an unlimited number of small-scale licenses with a (much more reasonable) application fee of $5,000. It appears that the initiative has gained the support of all of the major Ohio cannabis legalization groups, who are currently gathering signatures to secure a spot on the November ballot.

PENNSYLVANIA

Pennsylvania’s fight for medical marijuana is nearing a vote in the House of Representatives, but the legislature is preparing more than 200 amendments to consider adding to Senate Bill 3, which passed the Senate last May. The amendments are all over the map, ranging from full recreational legalization to major restrictions. With so many changes, the bill will likely need to go before the full Senate once again for a vote.

A 2015 poll found that 88 percent of Pennsylvanians support medical marijuana, but the Pennsylvania House has repeatedly blocked attempts to legalize medicinal marijuana in any form.

RHODE ISLAND

A top lawmaker has thrown his support behind a bid to legalize cannabis in the Ocean State. Senate Majority Leader Dominick Ruggerio (D-North Providence) signed on as a cosponsor for Senate 2420, the “Marijuana Regulation, Control and Taxation Act,” which would legalize and regulate the sales of cannabis to adults 21 years of age and older. A companion bill is being introduced in the Rhode Island House by Representative Scott Slater (D-Providence).

WASHINGTON

The Washington State Legislature passed a bill allowing licensed growers to produce industrial hemp. Senate Bill 6206 passed the House with a unanimous vote and is now headed to Governor Jay Inslee, who is expected to sign it into law. The measure also allows Washington State University to research hemp production to determine if there is a market for industrial hemp products. WSU’s findings are expected to be released in January 2017.

International Cannabis News

NEW ZEALAND

New Zealand will be reviewing the guidelines for the use of medicinal cannabis, with the goal of tweaking them to make them more robust and comprehensive. Associate Health Minister Peter Dunne plans to discuss it further with Australian lawmakers at the Australian Drug Foundation’s National Drug Summit, which will take place in Canberra. The guidelines were initiated after an appeal from the family of an epileptic teenager who died last year. Recently the issue came to light again after Helen Kelly, the former head of the New Zealand Council of Trade Unions, applied to use medical cannabis in her fight against lung cancer.

PUERTO RICO

Puerto Rico’s governor used his last public address to the U.S. territory to call for the legalization of cannabis. Alejandro Garcia Padilla signed an executive order last May to legalize the use of cannabis as treatment for certain qualifying medical conditions, and although he will not be seeking re-election, his vocal support may set a precedent for his successor to follow. Garcia-Padilla called for the approval of a 2013 bill to decriminalize cannabis and emphasized the importance of addressing the economic crisis that has plagued the island in recent months.

US CO: Column: Springs' Cannabis Clubs in Jeopardy, Pueblo

Colorado Springs Independent, 02 Mar 2016 – Clubs in jeopardy About 20 people marched from Studio A64 on Colorado Avenue to City Hall on the evening of Feb. 23 to protest City Council’s proposed ban on cannabis clubs. Far more – about 150 – packed the chamber for an extended public comment hearing.

Jane’s Domain: I’m Just Not Sorry

“This looks like one of my concerts!”

That was Melissa Etheridge’s reaction to the crowd of 1,400 women (and men) rocking the Ellie Caulkins Opera House in Denver last month. Etheridge was the keynote speaker at our second annual Women Grow Leadership Summit, and she killed it with a performance that combined personal stories — like how David Crosby reintroduced her to cannabis after her breast cancer diagnosis — with a stirring call to action. “It’s now time for us to run the business,” she said. “We can create our own corporations.” A lot of the women in the audience already had — and many more will.

I had the pleasure and the pain of following Melissa. Pleasure because I love her, and pain because, well, woe to the speaker who has to follow Melissa Etheridge.

I had a different reaction to the crowd.

Hundreds of women watch and cheer for the keynote speaker at the 2015 Women Grow Leadership Summit

Eighteen months before I stepped on that stage, I started Women Grow in Denver, Colorado. I saw the need for women in this industry to connect, create, and raise our collective profile. I sat through too many conference panels with one lone woman on stage, and stopped listening to too many others that contained none. Women Grow started small, but by the end of 2015 we had expanded to more than 44 cities across the United States and Canada: New York, Toronto, Portland, L.A., and even cities in non-legal states, like my hometown of Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Walking out on that stage was a powerful moment. What was most thrilling wasn’t the applause, but the knowledge that I could walk away and feel confident that the whole thing would continue growing without me. We have a nation of leaders who can get this shit done.

That didn’t happen by accident. At our 2015 Leadership Summit, Women Grow’s first, 125 women attended. This year we expanded tenfold. So we asked our presenters to step up and prepare. Bring it strong. Our first-time speakers worked side by side with mentors as they prepped their bios, stepped up their social media game, and invested in professional headshots. That’s not a natural part of this industry culture yet, but it has to be. Polished performance is an essential ingredient for commercial success.

We’re working to use intentional language. Corporate culture tends to train women to adopt a diminished or passive voice, to spread the credit, to say “we” developed this product, to soften an opinion by saying “I think maybe…” Our Women Grow mentors told our speakers: We put you on stage because you did these things. Own that success and your hard-won expertise.

There’s a great Google Chrome app called Just Not Sorry. I love it. You plug it into your Gmail account and it picks out hedging words and phrases like “I don’t know,” and “actually,” and highlights them like spelling errors. A lot of women in our network are using it. It’s really amazing how often those words and phrases pop up—and how quickly you can train your mind to drop them.

Women of all ages showed up at this year’s Leadership Summit, but over the course of three days, two interesting demographics emerged.

I met a lot of young women in their 20s, some just out of college, who see the cannabis industry as an opportunity on par with the tech boom of the late ‘90s. These young women weren’t born when Microsoft exploded; they were in middle school when Google went public. They’re not constrained by the Drug War stigma; medical marijuana has been legal for most of their lives. They can sense the opportunities in cannabis but, as Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg has said, you can’t be what you can’t see. So we showed them Genifer Murray, who founded CannLabs and took it public. We introduced them to A.C. Braddock, extractions expert and CEO of Eden Labs. They connected with women who’ve been through two, three, four startups. These young women saw what a panel of experienced, accomplished cannabis industry women looks and sounds like.

Jane West and Melissa Etheridge talking backstage at the 2015 Women Grow Leadership Summit.

The loudest, most vibrant bunch were the mid-career women, ages 40 to 55, who just exited a stage in their life. These women are choosing to start a new chapter in midlife on their own terms. If they’re shifting careers, they are done with whatever they did for the past 15 years. Or maybe they built a career in their 20s, took time off for family, and now are returning to business. These women, accomplished and experienced, want something new and exciting, and they are determined to succeed while having fun. They are collaborating, flipping their experience in other fields into success in cannabis.

I met a woman from Pueblo, Colorado, with a background in construction and development. Now she’s killing it as the go-to contractor for her city’s booming population of growers and processors. Another woman, Lisa LeFevre, is a business education expert who previously worked in the medical field. After learning about the medical applications of cannabis, she saw the opportunity to apply her 20 years of experience to the cannabis industry. Our industry needs the vision and experience these women bring to the table.

Melissa saw it, too, when she asked, “Can you believe you’re in a room this big, with this many other women doing what you’re doing?” Even though I’d lived through the exponential expansion of Women Grow, I still had to see it to believe it. The Women Grow Leadership Summit was the largest single gathering of women in the cannabis industry ever. As I walked out onto the stage I didn’t see just a cheering audience. I saw 1,400 women facing the future together.

Image Sources: Women Grow

The Shake: Scientists Study the Munchies, New York Fears Vermont, and Portland Bans the Cannabis Drive-Thru

Hungry? It’s not necessarily the cannabis. Lack of sleep can produce the same chemicals in the brain as those associated with cannabis munchies, according to a new report. University of Chicago researchers found study participants who got less sleep ate roughly 300 more calories per day than when they were well rested. The sleepy ones also were more likely to eat unhealthier high-calorie foods with more fat. So if you’re staying up late and consuming, consider yourself doubly warned. But don’t forget to indulge sometimes. You deserve it.

Vermont has New York worried. Empire State authorities are watching closely as Vermont’s recreational legalization bill marches toward passage. “I don’t think anybody in law enforcement at this point knows how they’re going to deal with it if it does go in Vermont like this,” Cambridge-Greenwich Police Chief George Bell tells CBS affiliate WRGB. Bell, whose jurisdiction is just minutes from the Vermont border, says he’ll continue to treat possession there as criminal unless the cannabis was prescribed in New York. “I think it’s going to be a nightmare,” he predicted.

Growing your own in less-than-fertile soil? You’re probably OK. Even though it’s technically possible for cannabis to absorb heavy metals like lead and arsenic, consuming it isn’t much of a concern. “An 8-ounce tomato is a light snack. Eight ounces of weed is 200 pretty fat joints,” writes Marty Smith in Oregon’s Willamette Week. His conclusion? Consuming contaminated cannabis isn’t ideal, obviously, but it’s much less worrisome than veggies from the same backyard plot. Smith also gives us this fun fact: Because cannabis soaks up contaminants, industrial hemp has been planted near Chernobyl with the express purpose of reducing soil toxicity. Far out.

Cannabis drive-thrus are about to be outlawed before they even exist. Today the Portland City Council will consider a rule to ban medical dispensaries from offering drive-thru or walk-up window sales in the city, Beth Slovic reports. Apparently they’re perfectly legal at the moment, though there aren’t any in the city. “In our minds, it’s shoring up the language to make sure there’s no confusion,” Theresa Marchetti, who oversees Portland’s marijuana regulations, tells Willamette Week about the likely change. If you like the drive-thru idea, you’ll have to head to the coastal town of Gold Beach, which is set to open its first drive-thru shop in April. Road trip, Portland pals?

Delivery in Seattle? Don’t hold your breath. A state bill that would’ve launched a delivery pilot program in the city looks dead in the water after missing a Feb. 26 deadline, writes Tobias Coughlin-Bogue, who had a piece on Leafly yesterday about how cannabis businesses are expanding across state lines. That means that consumers might soon be stuck — under City Attorney Pete Holmes’ new crackdown, Seattle could eventually eradicate existing delivery services only to find itself without a legal way to replace them. Whoops.

QUICK HITS: Jackie Chan supports the death penalty for drug offenses. So says the Daily Mail, which also reports the martial arts star’s own son was once jailed on cannabis charges. Rush Hour 2 will never feel the same. Cannabis in Queensland? It’ll stay illegal, the Australian state’s health minister says. Legal cannabis sales in Illinois topped $1.5 million in February. All told, the state’s dispensaries, now numbering 29, have sold $4.4 million in medical marijuana since the program began Nov. 9. Local news outlets are still spreading panic about shatter. The latest is an ABC report out of Houston that warns of high-potency cannabis “shattering lives.” Don’t buy it — read Leafly’s response. “Of course Vice would have a show about weed,” writes NJ.com in a preview of this week’s premiere. Here’s what $1 million in cannabis looks like. NYPD is so proud of the haul they posted a picture on Twitter. Prepare for Portland’s first cannabrunch. As if life couldn’t get any better for those lucky PDX hipsters. And finally, famous athletes are advocating for cannabis as a workout tool. We’ve seen this kind of thing before, but those articles didn’t include this killer drawing:

Cannabis Edibles Under Fire For Attracting Kids While Alcoholic Soda Ads Air on TV

“Not Your Father’s Root Beer, please!”

The bartender slid a glass of hard soda to the guy next to me. He turned to his friend and explained that it tasted nothing like alcohol, and being the nosy eavesdropper I am, I asked if that was true. He pushed the cup toward me and told me to see for myself.

“Yep, that might as well be soda,” I agreed, while his friend nodded, joking about how dangerous that could be. An interesting choice of name, too, when you give thought to the fact that any kid could guzzle that root beer down as if it were just a tastier version of A&W or Barq’s.

Hard sodas like this are hitting the shelves with such impressive demand, distributors of other beer alternatives are shaking in their boots and stores even began limiting purchases to one 6-pack per customer. Pabst, Budweiser, Heineken, and many smaller craft brewers have boarded the hard soda train, and based on the momentum they’ve already gained, you can expect to see even more brands flocking stores soon.

While drinks like Heineken’s hard sodas are getting air time on networks like ABC, FOX, and Comedy Central – encouraging viewers to “Drink Hard-ish” – lawmakers gather to discuss the problem associated with cannabis edibles: too many of them attract kids.

National commercial for Henry’s Hard Orange soda

It’s hard to ignore the intriguing overlaps and contrasts between these two industries. Infused edibles are some of the hottest products in both medical and recreational cannabis markets. Alcohol-infused soda is gaining popularity at a break-neck speed. But while cannabis-infused snacks are continuously under scrutiny for their underage appeal, no one raised an eyebrow when alcoholic soda-lookalikes launched their national ad campaign despite the fact that exposure to these ads increases the likelihood of underage consumption.

States with legal cannabis have taken serious steps to ensure that all products are sealed in childproof, opaque packaging and are not marketed in any way to children (no cartoon characters, animal shapes, etc.). I’ve even seen a local edibles producer coat their hard candies with a nasty, oily brown layer just to deter kids. Yet, hard sodas remain indiscernible from their alcohol-free counterpart, save their outside label.

One of the touchiest talking points in the legalization discussion is its impact on underage consumption. While many legalization opponents are afraid of what consequences even talking about marijuana might have on America’s youth, most don’t blink an eye when alcohol makes an alluring appearance between TV shows.

Given the uphill battle lawmakers and producers have climbed to even get edibles on the shelves, doesn’t it seem strange that cleverly disguised “alco-pop” isn’t treated the same?

Everyone Should Own Copies Of The ‘Cannabis Health Summit’

The Virtual Cannabis Health Summit occurred recently, and it was fantastic. Everyone I’ve talked to has said so. The speakers at the virtual summit were second to none, and the amount of information provided was substantial. The summit was completely free to watch live too, which was why I told so many people to check

Group Files Referendum Petitions To Halt Detroit Medical Marijuana Dispensary Ordinances

The City Clerk today accepted two sets of petitions intended to revoke Detroit’s new medical marijuana dispensary licensing and zoning programs. Citizens for Sensible Cannabis Reform (CSCR) member Greg Pawlowski submitted the petitions before 9AM this morning, March 1. The Clerk’s office has stamped and counted the petitions, determining that each separate set contains more

Georgia’s 4th Annual Cannabis Awareness Day Is Today

If you are in the area, Georgia’s fourth annual ‘Cannabis Awareness Day’ is today at the Georgia Capital. Below are details via the event’s Facebook page: Georgia C.A.R.E. Project is pleased to announce the 4th Annual Georgia Cannabis Awareness Day at the Georgia State Capitol. This event has provided the citizens of Georgia an opportunity

What's Up With Ohio's $500,000 Application Fee? More Than You Think.

Out of the ashes of Issue 3, the legalization measure rejected by Ohio voters last year, a new medical marijuana initiative is rising in the Buckeye State. Earlier this year the state’s cannabis advocates, divided by the debacle of Issue 3, came together and joined with Marijuana Policy Project to create a more comprehensive and practical approach to legalization. The full text of that proposed MMJ initiative was released earlier today—and it’s already setting off alarm bells.

First off: What’s up with that application fee?

The proposed initiative contains a $500,000 application fee for organizations interested in one of 15 large-scale marijuana cultivation licenses. That sounds prohibitively high (and the $500k is only the application fee, there’s no guarantee of a license). For many who had reservations about ResponsibleOhio’s cannabis monopoly clauses, the application fee raises a number of questions. Why is the fee so high? Why are the number of licenses so limited?

Leafly caught up with Mason Tvert, Communications Director for Marijuana Policy Project, one of the authors of the new Ohio amendment, to find some answers.

“There are two types of cultivation licenses,” Tvert told us. “One of them is more expensive and limited and the other one is less expensive and unlimited, in terms of the number [of licenses] being issued, and there’s a very good reason for it.”

He’s referring to the licensing fee for a “type 2 medical marijuana cultivation facility” which is $5,000 and of which there are an unlimited supply.

“There’s two different types because there needs to be an injection of money into the system to ensure that it can get off the ground and operate,” he said. “One of the things we constantly see with marijuana laws is that there are too many things required up front, from the state government, and no revenue to fund what needs to get done.”

In the case of Ohio, the amendment would create a new branch of the state government known as the Medical Marijuana Control Division, as well as Medical Marijuana Advisory Board. These groups would be charged with implementing rules, enforcement, licensing and regulation. Without additional revenue, the state government would be forced to use funds already spoken for.

At first glance, a $500,000 fee just to apply for a cultivation license sounds incredibly steep. However, in speaking with Tvert, it became clear that the application fee was the result of a compromise designed to keep all parties satisfied.

“People don’t want a situation in which nobody can afford licenses and there are massive barriers to entry,” Tvert said. But the cannabis advocates behind the initiative “also want to ensure there’s enough [cannabis] supply, and to ensure that the cost to patients is not too high.”

When asked about the dreaded “monopoly” question, which created such a divide during last year’s election, Tvert was quick to quash any fears.

“We very intentionally drafted it to avoid type of oligopoly or monopoly,” he said. The 15 large-scale producer licenses are limited, Tvert explained, because unlimited production would result in an oversupply of cannabis. That could lead to unsustainable price levels or out-of-state diversion—problems that “would raise significant questions with regard to whether the law is compliant with the policy laid out by the Justice Department.”

Tvert’s group was brimming with enthusiasm for the initiative this morning, noting that the proposal did what ResponsibleOhio could not: unite cannabis supporters in a common goal. “We are trying to work with everyone, and get everyone together,” said Tvert. “We’ve got LegalizeOhio on board and now we’re all just trying to pass the best possible law.”

‘Just Add Weed’: How Brand Licensing Allows Cannabis Companies to Expand Across State Lines

Federal cannabis prohibition is a buzzkill on many levels, but for cannabusinesses in legal states, it’s an especially frustrating hurdle to expansion. When a brand outgrows its home turf, it can’t just start shipping packages of product to the next state over.

Despite the difficulty, a number of companies have managed to cross state lines. Colorado’s Dixie Elixirs has products in Washington, California, and Oregon. They recently launched in Nevada, and Chief Marketing Officer Joe Hodas says the brand is close to inking a deal in Arizona.

“It is super-challenging,” Hodas told Leafly. “It is super inefficient, and it is the single biggest focus-yet-challenge that we have at Dixie.” Despite the challenges, Hodas said it’s worth it to take “that path toward national recognition and being a leader in multiple markets and not just one.”

Mary’s Medicinals, another Colorado brand, is already in Washington, California, Oregon, Arizona, and Vermont. DB3, one of Washington’s largest edible makers, just announced Colorado expansion plans and is looking to cross international borders with a venture in Vancouver, B.C., according to Patrick Devlin, the company’s vice president of marketing.

How are they doing it? By using a clever workaround: brand licensing.

An alternative to direct investment, brand licensing offers original owners access to new revenue without having to hold a piece of the out-of-state business or handle cannabis products.

“Since no cannabis ever crosses state lines, all production and distribution has to be set up in each state,” explained Mary’s Medicinals CEO Nicole Smith. “Everything is arranged through a [Mary’s-owned] management company that licenses intellectual property and trademarks to legally licensed manufacturers in other states.

“The management company sets up the team with equipment, [non-cannabis] supplies, training, and support so that they can manufacture and distribute within their state,” she explained. “Then they simply pay a small royalty on each product back to the management company.”

The process is often more involved than simply charging a fee to use an existing brand. Washington state’s DB3, for example, didn’t just license their well-known Zoots mark in Colorado. They also acted as a paid consultant, showing their Denver-based partner how to use the company’s proprietary “Cypress Extraction Method.”

Alison Malsbury, a Seattle intellectual property lawyer who specializes in cannabis, cautioned that a strong, clearly worded legal agreement is crucial to any successful licensing deal.

“It’s not something you can just pull from the internet,” she said. “There are different concerns when you’re dealing with something that’s federally illegal. You really have a lot to lose.”

Ensuring that revenue is handled properly is also an important consideration, Malsbury added. In Washington, an out-of-state brand owner entering into a typical royalty fee structure with a Washington-based partner would be seen as having a direct financial interest in the partner’s company, making the brand owner a true party of interest and subjecting that owner to the state’s current residency requirements.

In states where source of revenue is an issue, Malsbury said, brands have to make sure their licensing agreement is careful not to tie the two companies too closely.

“Rather than having a traditional, royalty-based payment structure, they just set up a flat-fee structure,” she said. “That’s tough because it forces you to guess at what sales or profits might be.” Another route, she noted, is to generate revenue by selling branded packaging and pre-made ingredients to the manufacturing partner.

But even that can be tricky compared to a flat-fee arrangement. Allowing a partner to return excess packaging or ingredients could be construed as an improper link, Malsbury said, and setting a price point for packaging can be a complicated decision.

“Pricing should be commercially reasonable,” she said. A company can’t artificially inflate the price of branded packaging. On the other hand, they might not need to. “That’s really the value of building a brand and protecting your IP for any company. If you build that brand up to be something that’s worth a lot of money, in theory at least, you should be able to charge people more to use that brand.”

The legal pitfalls are daunting, but perhaps the biggest risk a cannabusiness faces with licensing is to its reputation. The potential lack of oversight involved with licensing might not be a deal breaker for celebrities, whose attachment is more to their personal brand than to product quality, but for most producers and processors, quality control is key.

“We see our product as the product itself, not the brand,” said Devlin at DB3. In the absence of direct control, he said, vetting your partners and being overinvolved in the production process is the next best thing.

“We’ve been fortunate enough to create a brand that speaks to people,” he said. “They’ll seek us out, and then it’s a matter of finding the right partners that you think are going to maintain the quality standards that you’ve established.”

Brad Gengler, sales manager for Washington-based Mirth Provisions, whose popular Legal brand of cannabis sodas is also available in Oregon, agreed. Selecting trustworthy partners, he said, is Mirth’s foremost concern in out-of-state ventures.

“We wanted to expand and maintain the aspect of quality that really sets us apart,” Gengler explained. “The most difficult thing is finding people that are going to represent your brand well. It’s tough to weed out the bad characters.”

Mary’s CEO Smith said that, though the regulatory environment and legal climate of a new state were important, finding a solid partner was one of the most important factors in choosing which states to expand to.

“We choose new markets based on several factors,” she said, including “current size, regulatory environment, growth potential, as well as availability of the right partners. It is very important to us to work with partners that can not only uphold all of our quality standards, but also bring additional skills, expertise, and/or experience.”

Processors looking to partner with well-established brands have to be amenable to a little micromanagement. DB3’s Washington-based executives can’t handle Colorado cannabis directly, but they can and do keep a sharp eye on everything else.

“We don’t just license,” said Devlin. “We have quality standards related to the brand.” DB3 handles all the large-scale logistics and non-cannabis ingredient purchasing for its partner in Colorado.

The only ingredients DB3 doesn’t provide are H₂0 and THC. “Just add weed,” he said.

The same is true for Mirth. The only ingredient required of its Oregon partner is cannabis oil, and even with that Mirth has a say in what gets used, according to Gengler.

“We looked at the Coca-Cola model,” he said. “Basically it’s franchising.”

“With Oregon, for instance, we’re just shipping them the juice that we supply in the area, from Yakima Valley. We’re shipping them ready-to-go product, it just doesn’t have any [cannabis] extract in it.”

Hodas said Dixie builds quality control oversight directly into its licensing agreement.

“The agreements are structured such that we have certain processes and procedures that they are required to follow,” he said. “For example, with our mints we have a specific formulation that’s pre-packaged with the non-THC ingredients.”

The legal agreements might be unusual, but the end goal is the same as that of global brands like Starbucks or McDonalds: Customers, no matter where they buy, should get the same quality product they’ve come to expect.

“Someone could buy a Legal in the state of Washington,” Gengler said, “and it would have the same effects as one they drank last week in Arizona.”

The 420 Games To Invade Los Angeles

Created to destigmatize cannabis and the people who use it,The 420 Gamesathletic event has experienced great success in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park for the past two years. This March, The 420 Games will debut in Los Angeles, the first leg of a four-state, six-city tour. Participants are “Going the Extra Mile for Cannabis” in

US NJ: Column: The Cannabis-Consuming Community Celebrates

The Trentonian, 29 Feb 2016 – As we all know, Gov. Christie is back. No more gallivanting around the country with delusions of the presidency. He’s back in time for Bridget Anne Kelly’s Bridgegate trial (this April); he’s back to get an ear full from the teachers’ union, to deal with the pension system, and every Thursday he will once again be confronted by medical marijuana activists who for two years have staged a weekly vigil in front of the State House in support of medical marijuana. Jennie Storms, Jim Miller, Lefty Grimes, Ken Wolski, and dozens of others, myself included, made marijuana a constant issue for Christie. His arrogant responses led to him being nationally known as the anti-weed guy, the prohibitionist. He seemed to never get it – that he was “The Naked Emperor” of weed. It appears he’s oblivious that his “Politics of Pot” is 30 years out of step, more in line with Nancy Reagan’s “Just Say No” campaign — thus, the online pothead “Just Say No To Christie” campaign.

The Shake: D.A.R.E. Cries Foul, Denver Moves on Cannabis Clubs, and Wyoming Fails to Ban Edibles

D.A.R.E. shakes fist at whippersnappers on the lawn. Somebody at D.A.R.E woke up from their nap to read the meme that’s been tearing up the internet all week. Leafly’s own “Does D.A.R.E. Still Think Cannabis is a Gateway Drug? Nobody Knows,” pretty much summed up the story: A Reddit user thought D.A.R.E. stopped listing cannabis as a gateway drug on its website, and some news outlets ran with it. But it ain’t so! says D.A.R.E. in a caps-lock-titled post, “INCORRECT POSTING ON PRO-DRUG WEBSITES RE: D.A.R.E.’S POSITION ON MARIJUANA.” The group complained it wasn’t even contacted about the story, “a basic element of the journalistic process.” Which is not true. Leafly staff writer Lisa Rough interviewed Ron Brogan, a D.A.R.E. America regional director, and quoted him in our story last week. (Did D.A.R.E. remove cannabis from its list of gateway drugs? “To be quite honest, I really don’t have an answer,” Brogan told us, adding that the group is “unalterably” against cannabis.) The outraged response reiterates D.A.R.E.’s position that “marijuana is both an illegal and harmful drug to the youth of this nation.” Which misses the point. The story was about listing marijuana as a gateway drug, not about its risk to youth. And for the record: Leafly is pro-legalization, pro-regulation, pro-reform, pro-science, and pro-responsible consumption. We’re not pro-drug.

Uncle Ron is gouging you on that business loan. Kudos to Becky Olson and the folks at Marijuana Business Daily for this chart that plots the average interest rate cannabis entrepreneurs paid to friends and family for small business loans. Seventy-eight percent of the executives surveyed paid 15 percent or less, while 4 percent paid 30 percent interest or more. Thirty percent! C’mon, Dad. That’s loan shark territory. The survey sheds light on the industry’s continuing banking woes. Although some small banks and credit unions have opened deposit accounts for cannabis-related businesses, loans continue to be almost nonexistent. Most entrepreneurs must rely on in-state investors, family and friends, and their own savings to finance company growth. Meanwhile, in the Pacific Northwest…

Oregon tries to make it easier to get a decent loan. The Oregon legislature passed a bill on cannabis banking that now goes to Gov. Kate Brown, who is expected to sign it. The soon-to-become law removes all state criminal penalties for banks and credit unions that work with legal and state-licensed cannabis companies. Plenty of hurdles still exist at the federal level, but Oregon’s work represents the most progress made on this issue in a long time.

Ohio released details on its MMJ initiative, and they’re expansive (but expensive). Severe pain, muscle spasms, PTSD, and more than ten other medical conditions would qualify patients to purchase legal medical cannabis under the proposed initiative released by the Marijuana Policy Project earlier this morning. Under the plan, 15 licenses would be available for large-scale growers (up to 25,000 square feet), but the buy-in would be substantial. Proposed license application fee: $500,000. An uncapped number of licenses would be available to smaller growers (up to 5,000 square feet), with an application fee of $5,000. MPP director Rob Kampia said the tiered licensing system is designed to ensure that licensees will have the resources to get the program up and running. More on this later today from Leafly News.

Effort to ban edibles dies in Wyoming. Those following the action in Cheyenne, where edibles have been all the talk, may be surprised to hear that the Wyoming Legislature’s attempt to outlaw cannabis-infused food products died quietly last night. Monday was final day for bills to be heard on the House floor, and at the 8 p.m. adjournment the edibles bill had not been read. That leaves the legal status of pot brownies in limbo, as a district judge last year ruled that state law bans marijuana leaf, not infused edibles. We’d still not recommend flaunting any infused gummy bears within the cannabis-unfriendly confines of the Cowboy State. Keep driving until you hit Colorado, brother.

“Social use” initiative filed in Denver. After waiting for the state Legislature to tackle the issue of social cannabis use and private clubs — and seeing nothing happen — the Denver chapter of NORML filed a citywide initiative to legalize private bring-your-own cannabis clubs. The proposal would also allow special event organizers to obtain city permits allowing on-site cannabis consumption. The proposal must undergo review by the city attorney before organizers can start gathering the 5,000 signatures needed to put it on the November ballot.

QUICK HITS: Puerto Rico’s lame-duck governor supports cannabis legalization in the commonwealth, but shows little inclination to work for it. New report estimates Michigan could reap $44 million to $63 million in taxes from regulated medical cannabis sales. MMJ is currently legal but unregulated in the state. A federal court in Colorado finds that an insurance company must pay a claim for lost cannabis inventory. Cannabis can save your sex life, says the latest issue of Men’s Journal. Grows in Pueblo, Colorado, are boosting real estate values and the city’s construction industry. And finally, for readers needing a little inspiration on a Tuesday, here’s some Grindcore Grandma to get you through the day.

At the First Cannabis Convention in Texas, the Police Were Quiet and the Women Kicked Ass

Optimism ran high at the first-ever cannabis convention in the Lone Star state last weekend. On the floor of the Fort Worth Convention Center, purple-suit-clad hemp-butter salesmen roller skated through the crowd, retreating and venturing out from their home base, a (magic?) school bus. Families rocked sleeping infants while browsing glassware. Couples, just there to “check it out,” strolled hand-in-hand past advocacy booths—for Texas NORML, Republicans Against Marijuana Prohibition, and the Marijuana Policy Project —offering fact sheets and selling Texas-themed tees. Job seekers in shined shoes talked shop with startup reps, one of whom assured me that only 30 percent of jobs created around cannabis are “touching the flowers”.

This may be familiar terrain for cannabis industry veterans in Colorado, Washington, and California. But we don’t see this kind of thing every day in Texas.

This is a state infamous for its hard line against all things cannabis. As recently as 2011, Texas was ranked as one of the five worst states in which to get busted. Two years ago a teenager from Round Rock faced a potential life sentence for being caught with about a pound and a half of pot brownies. In Texas, mandatory minimum sentences are still in effect for cannabis-related offenses. Those sentences carry no chance of parole and offer judges no leeway to lessen the penalty.

There have been small signs of change. Last year Texas adopted the Compassionate Use Act, which allows patients with intractable epilepsy to use low-THC cannabis. While it’s a step in the right direction, existing laws still bar nearly all Texans from accessing the bulk of the money-, health-, and happiness-making possibilities of the plant.

So one of the big questions of the weekend was how local police officers would receive this quasi-outlaw industry.

I tried to talk to a cop – who said he works often at the Fort Worth Convention Center — about the awkwardness of policing against something today that would likely be legal tomorrow. But said he couldn’t comment on that—or anything else, for that matter. But, stationed not far from a hemp-brownie stand, he didn’t seem to be having a bad time. By the time we spoke, the morning’s rocky start seemed like just a bad dream. An hour earlier Glenn Reynolds, CEO of Honey B Healthy Living products, had been detained because of confusion about his company’s non-THC-oil containing products.

“It’s an education issue,” Reynolds told me. “The [police] were super nice. We had a normal conversation.” Reynolds said he’d improved his situation by having a photo on his phone of a hemp hair product available in the drug store down the street—whose ingredients matched the ones in his products.

I asked the seven-strong “Power Women of Cannabis” panel for tips on talking pot with the police. With a preacher’s conviction and fire, the “Martha Stewart of weed,” Cheryl Shuman, responded: “There’s one sentence to remember: ‘I do not. Consent. To a search!”

“We try not to have a problem with law enforcement,” added Heather Manus, a registered nurse who spearheaded efforts to get PTSD recognized as a debilitating condition under Arizona’s medical marijuana act.

Jeanette Ward, founder of Minority Cannabis Business Association, directed me to Law Enforcement Against Prohibition’s Larry Talley, a Dallas-based disabled and retired veteran, and advocate on the police force.

Legal problems still loom, Ward added, even where marijuana is lawful. In 23 states, she said, prior offenders are not allowed to enter the industry. Those regulations exclude people of color disproportionately, since minorities are arrested far more often for marijuana use even though people of all ethnicities have similar consumption rates. In Chicago, for instance, recently released figures showed that arrests of Black people for marijuana possession outpaced white arrests 15 to 1.

It was this issue that had drawn Bettina and Laurie to the show. They were Fort Worth locals who were the first convention-goers I met. They were happy to talk, though only on a first-name basis.

“People of color are disproportionately excluded from the conversation on cannabis because of criminal backgrounds,” Bettina told me. “We are here to make sure that doesn’t happen” in Texas.

On the brighter side, the booths and panels I saw suggest the cannabis industry’s growth in Texas may greatly benefit women, who in the U.S. still earn less than men in every industry where comparative data exists. “Being a woman in this industry is like being a female plant: that’s where the value lies,” Heather Manus said. “We can be who we are, and be successful by being that.”

Nonprofits that help folks learn about cannabis health benefits, business opportunities, and social justice issues are sprouting before the industry itself in Texas. And women helm the majority of those organizations.

Furthermore, in an industry where word of mouth is everything, women—who are the backbone of many communities in Texas—are ideally positioned to thrive, and are vital conduits of accurate information.

Drayah Sallis, founder of the Dallas chapter of Women Grow, talked about the way people come to women for information through a variety of networks. “You can talk about the plant all day,” she said. “It’s not against the law to say ‘marijuana.’ I am a Christian… and I have had more Christians say to me, ‘I’ve been wanting to ask you about the green stuff.'”

Moving cannabis toward legalization won’t be an easy fight in Texas. This is a heavily Republican state, and this can be a tough issue among red voters. Republicans Against Marijuana Prohibition (RAMP) may have “Republican” in its name, but the group was still denied a booth at the upcoming state Republican convention. Gov. Greg Abbott recently vetoed a cannabis-related mental health bill while advocating for looser open carry gun laws. But the cannabis conversation is clearly not going away.

“This is going to change the world!” Cheryl Shuman shouted to 250 cannabis-curious Texans in Fort Worth. “It already is. Texas, especially!”

The Shake: Ohio's Second-Try Initiative Drops Tuesday, Texas Likes MMJ Despite Media Scare Story

The full details of Ohio’s medical marijuana initiative will be released tomorrow. The state’s cannabis supporters dropped plans for adult-use legalization in favor of a medical-only initiative after last year’s failed legalization attempt. The medical marijuana initiative has the backing of Marijuana Policy Project, the group behind legalization measures in Colorado, Alaska, and now Maine and Massachusetts. MPP helped draft the initiative to create a comprehensive medical marijuana program in the state, and will be holding a press conference on Tuesday to discuss details. The full initiative text will be available here after 9am EST tomorrow.

Another misleading article about shatter makes headlines in Houston. ABC-13 Eyewitness News declared that “High Potency Marijuana Product Shattering Lives” over the weekend, a story that ran (coincidentally?) at the same time as Texas’ first-ever cannabis conference. ABC-13 reporter Pooja Lodhia interviewed a DEA special agent and two former cannabis users who attested to the strength and potency of cannabis concentrates. This isn’t the first time we’ve seen this kind of misinformation from the media. When shatter is extracted in a qualified laboratory with closed-loop botanical equipment and proper ventilation, as it is in a regulated environment, cannabis concentrate extraction will not cause explosions. Unfortunately, due to the illegal nature of most cannabis products in Texas, most extractions are done at home, increasing the risk of explosion and injury. And their last nod to the “devastating” effects on the lives of cannabis consumers? “I wound up facing prison time because of what I’ve done.” Criminalizing cannabis doesn’t work, Texas. Legal regulation makes everyone safer in the long run.

Those $237,000 Oscars goodie bags contained vaporizers. This is the second year in a row that nominees and attendees received the $249.99 Haze Vaporizer in the Oscars gift bag. The vaporizer can be used for tobacco or cannabis, or even for aromatherapy, as their website suggests. Either way, the vaporizer actually sounds like one of the less outlandish products included in the bag: a “Vampire Breast Lift” (not entirely sure what that means), Fiera Arouser for Her (which appears to be a suction cup for one’s crotch) and $5,530 in plastic surgery.

Montana’s medical marijuana industry teetering after a state Supreme Court ruling. The court upheld provisions of a 2011 bill, which limits dispensaries to three patients each and initiates a state review for doctors that recommend medical cannabis to more than 25 people. Many businesses were hoping to see a boom in doctors that can recommend cannabis for patients in order to remain in business, but a limit on the number of patients could be the kiss of death for dispensaries. Patients are still allows to grow and possess up to one ounce of dried cannabis or four immature plants.

QUICK HITS: Houston may be anti-shatter, but the percentage of Texans who support medical marijuana is on the rise. The Texas Tegna Poll found that 71 percent of respondents would support expanding medical marijuana. Hawaii faces a number of challenges in bringing medical marijuana dispensaries to the islands. Geography related to the transporting of cannabis between islands will present a legal challenge, as well as the general remoteness and likelihood of supply shortages. Australia’s most progressive medical cannabis legislation will be receiving a debate in April in Queensland. The Public Health (Medical Cannabis) Bill 2016 would create a formal process for physicians to prescribe medicinal cannabis and has been released for comments from the public.

The Cannabis Taxonomy Debate: Where Do Indica and Sativa Classifications Come From?

Cannabis sativa, C. indica, C. ruderalis — it’s possible that you’ve already heard these terms used to describe different species of cannabis. Sativa plants are known for their skinny leaflets, tall stature, long flowering times, and a stimulating, cerebral high. Indicas are thought to be short, bushy plants with wide leaflets, used for hashish production and possessing a powerful, sedating body high. Ruderalis is the feral, ancestral relative with its low THC content and auto-flowering characteristics. Recently, though, new research and technological advances have led to a greater understanding of the cannabis plant, which in turn has led to a new approach to the taxonomic classification of the cannabis family.

First, let’s look at the etymology of the currently accepted taxonomy. Cannabis is an adaptation of an ancient word for the hemp plant and is the longstanding name of the genus that includes all hemp and drug varieties of the plant. Sativa is a Latin adjective meaning “cultivated,” indica is Latin for “of India,” and ruderalis is based on the Latin rūdera, the plural of a word meaning “rubble, lump, or rough piece of bronze.” Ruderal plant varieties are those that pop up first in an area that has been cleared of other vegetation or barriers to propagation (growing “out of the rubble,” if you will).

At first glance, these seem like fairly accurate descriptions for three distinct species. What we consider to be sativa has long been cultivated by humans for its seed, fiber, and flowers. Cannabis indica may well have developed on the Indian subcontinent, and ruderalis is a feral, weedy plant that thrives in harsh conditions. However, new discoveries and DNA analyses have provided a much more likely picture of how these species developed and how they are related.

To date, the history of the cannabis plant is still a bit of a mystery. The evidence suggests that it originated in Central Asia. Sometime near the end of the Pleistocene epoch, it migrated to small geographic pockets in Western and Southern Asia, as well as what is now the Balkans and Caucasus Mountains. This represents the first major geographical split in the cannabis population, and is thought to be the main factor in producing two distinctly different species: plants bred and grown for oil seed and hemp fiber (Eastern Europe/Western Asia), and those selected for their psychoactive properties (South and East Asia). Geographical barriers like the Himalayan Mountains kept these two populations ostensibly separate for centuries, thus allowing natural and artificial selection to create two very different types of cannabis.

It’s important to note that human selection is the most influential factor in the rise of these two different species. Ancient cultures in Eastern and Southern Asia had many available plants that provided fiber and food, so they selected cannabis plants for their psychoactive properties, probably as a spiritual aid. Conversely, Western/Northern cultures had fewer available sources of sustenance and cordage, so they selected cannabis plants for those properties.

Cannabis researchers are now starting to coalesce around a system of taxonomy proposed by Robert C. Clarke and Mark D. Merlin in their exhaustively researched book Cannabis: Evolution and Ethnobotany. Using historical and recent publications as a launch pad, Clarke and Merlin produced the most thorough examination of the cannabis plant to date, using archaeological findings, historical accounts, and DNA sequencing along with their own personal findings and observations to present a very compelling explanation for their proposed taxonomy.

The previously mentioned split between western hemp fiber cannabis and eastern drug cannabis proves to be the linchpin of this “rope vs. dope” system. Cannabis ruderalis is considered to be either the ancestor of both of these types, or, more likely, a hybrid of this ancestor and some newer, “escaped” cultivars. In their system, Cannabis sativa encompasses all narrow-leafleted, low THC plants cultivated for hemp fiber and seeds, grown all across Europe and in North America and parts of South America as well. Cannabis indica refers to all varieties cultivated for their drug content, whether it’s the broad-leafleted plants we associate with Afghanistan and the Hindu Kush Mountains or the narrow-leafleted varieties cultivated in India, Southeast Asia, South America, Mexico, and Jamaica.

Decades of research by dedicated ethnobotanists and various methods of DNA analyses have helped to create what is probably the most accurate taxonomic structure to date. It may lead to a future change in vernacular used in the cannabis industry, but, for now, we’ll continue to refer to our bushy, broad-leafleted, sedating varieties as indicas, and our tall, narrow-leafleted, stimulating varieties as sativas. Using the new taxonomical nomenclature would surely present much confusion for retailers and consumers, so it’s unlikely that the current meanings will be abandoned any time soon.

Cannabis in the Kitchen: How to Get Flirty with Your Partner Using Food as Foreplay

Sex and cannabis help infuse joy into even the most mundane household activities. This week, we’re focusing on sexy time in the kitchen. Few things bring me as much joy as cooking or baking while baked, and having a partner next to me at the counter makes it even more fun. For making a meal, whipping up a sensual snack, or other food-centric activities, I’d suggest trying creative strains like Jack Herer or Blue Dream, both of which I’ve used successfully for sexy time. You can also check out some active sativas and hybrids or some motivating strains to get the ball rolling.

Food play doesn’t have to be a fetish–it could just be a fun way to interact. Imagine one partner is making dinner, let’s say spaghetti, and is stirring the pot of sauce on the stove. Partner A can stir the sauce and pull out the wooden spoon to taste it and make sure the flavor is just right. Perhaps partner B is standing nearby and asks for a taste. Voila! Instant opportunity! A quick kiss, licking sauce off the corner of the mouth, or possibly a playful food fight, and you’ve just had a nice sexy moment.

You can also use food as a road map for intimacy. Dessert is always a sensual option — try planning a fun night where you and your partner turn each other into “human sundaes.” Gather your favorite sundae ingredients such as chocolate sauce, whipped cream, honey, peanut butter, caramel, etc., and drizzle it wherever you want your partner to lick, kiss, or nibble. (Pro tip: Ladies, keep anything containing sugar away from your vagina. It’s a recipe for an infection, which is anything but sexy.) If you’re baking something tasty, have your partner lick the icing/batter off your finger. The fingertips have tons of nerve endings, and it can be incredibly arousing.

Sexy time doesn’t have to be long, drawn out, or planned. Frequent touching, kissing, or caressing throughout the day can do wonders to remind your partner just how much they love sexy time with you. Whatever your approach, the most important thing to keep in mind is get creative and have fun! If sexy time isn’t playful, what’s the point? A sense of humor is vital to a healthy sexual experience. Real people don’t go at it like porn stars—there are no flawless bodies or perfect sexual interactions. Some of the best advice I ever received was “enjoy the sex you’re having.” Don’t try to have the kind of sexual experience you think you’re “supposed” to have.

Keep in mind that I’ve used the phrase “sexy time” instead of “sex” throughout this article. I think people naturally think of sex as intercourse, and I don’t want to limit the experience. Sexy time could include intercourse, but it can also encompass oral stimulation, touching, rubbing, licking, caressing, kissing, cuddling, and all manner of other activities in which you and a partner choose to engage. The only limit is your imagination. Remember: your partner’s body is a treasure map, and there are lots of X’s! Bon appetit!

Cannabis and Cancer

This is part one of a two-part series. Part two will examine the evidence that cannabis can cure cancer.

Cancer has touched the lives of nearly every American, either directly or through a loved one. Although the US Food & Drug Administration hasn’t approved marijuana as a cancer treatment, America’s shifting legal landscape has encouraged many patients to consult their physicians about the effects it can have on cancer and cancer-related symptoms.

The medical benefits of cannabis are no secret. In October 2003, the government patented medical marijuana under US Patent # 6630507, which mentions the antioxidant properties of cannabinoids. The patent also identifies the active chemicals in cannabis that cause drug-like effects on the body, and cites their benefits for patients going through chemo, radiation, or other sources of oxidative stress.

What is Cancer?

Cancer is not one disease, but the name given to a collection of related diseases characterized by an abnormal growth of cells. There are more than 100 different types of cancer that are caused by both external factors (such as smoking, viruses, or carcinogens) and genetic factors (such as genetic mutation inherited from one’s parents). Trillions of cells compose the human body, meaning cancer could start anywhere.

Like humans, cells grow old or become damaged and eventually die. Other cells grow and divide to form new ones to replace these old and damaged cells, but when cancer develops, abnormal cells including the old and damaged ones survive even though they should die. Some of the body’s cells will start to divide interminably and spread into surrounding tissues, creating new cancerous cells that aren’t needed. And since these new cells won’t stop growing and dividing, they are likely to hide in the immune system and form abnormal growths like masses of tissue known as tumors.

Cancerous tumors can spread into and invade nearby tissues because they’re malignant. Although they can be removed, these tumors are likely to grow back. As tumors grow, cancer cells can break off and travel through the blood or the lymph system to any other part of the body to form new tumors — often far away from the original one. This process is known as metastasis.

Benign tumors, on the other hand, don’t spread to or invade nearby tissue and won’t grow back after being removed. Unfortunately, benign tumors in the brain can be life-threatening.

What are the Symptoms of Cancer?

Cancer (and its treatments) leave its host feeling weak and dizzy. Symptoms may differ depending on where in the body the cancer is located, but may include:

Blood in pee or stools
Bruising
Changes in genitalia
Coughs lasting more than a month or accompanied by blood
Depression
Difficulty breathing
Difficult bowel movements
Discomfort after eating
Fever
Fatigue
Heartburn
Lumps or swelling
Persistent indigestion
Night sweats
Spots and growths on the skin or changes in size, shape, and color of an already-existing mole like yellowing, darkening, or redness
Sores that won’t heal
Weight loss
Weight gain
Unexplained bleeding
Unexplained joint pain

What are Current Cancer Treatments?

Cancer treatment can be costly and time-consuming, often requiring repeat visits to administer treatments in cycles. Doctors will likely begin by performing a biopsy to determine which treatment will be most effective.

Surgery: Surgeries can be performed to remove or debulk tumors and ease the pains and pressure they’re causing. Tumors can sometimes be removed using minimally invasive surgery. Surgeons will often remove some healthy tissue and lymph nodes as well.

Radiation: High doses of radiation can kill cancer cells after weeks of treatment or slow their growth, as well as shrink tumors. Sadly, it can take months for the cancerous cells to die and radiation can leave patients feeling exhausted by killing or damaging healthy cells.

Chemotherapy: Chemo, which is the use of drugs to directly kill cancer cells, became one of the most common ways to treat cancer in the 1940s. It is often administered in cycles. Today, more than 100 drugs are used to treat cancer, while more are being investigated and developed.

Immunotherapy: Immunotherapy is the administration of living organisms to stimulate the immune response, which often leaves the patient with flu-like symptoms.

Hormones: Administered orally, via injection, or during surgery, hormone therapy can be used to stop or slow the growth of cancer cells and reduce or prevent cancer symptoms from arising. It can be used with other treatments to lessen the chance of the cancer returning. Along with nausea, diarrhea, and fatigue, hormone therapy may weaken bones and cause menstrual changes in women.

Heat: Local hyperthermia can destroy small areas of cells (like a tumor), while regional hyperthermia, or whole-body hyperthermia, can be used in conjunction with other treatments to help them work better. Hyperthermia may be created externally, using a machine’s high energy waves aimed at the tumor, or internally, when a thin needle is put right into the tumor to release heat energy.

How Can Cannabis Help Cancer?

Cannabis contains at least 85 different types of cannabinoids, the active chemicals that create drug-like effects throughout the body. The impact of these cannabinoids in treating cancer symptoms as well as the side effects of cancer therapies is so favorable, cannabinoids are synthesized for legal, prescription use. Dronabinol and Nabilone/Cesamet, two synthetic pill forms of THC, are FDA-approved and currently being used to treat nausea and vomiting associated with chemo.

Cannabinoids that are known to benefit people living with cancer include CBC, CBD, CBDa, CBG, THC, and THCa. Cannabidiol (CBD) is known to relieve pain, lower inflammation, and decrease anxiety without the “high” of THC, the primary psychoactive ingredient in cannabis. In Canada, a cannabis extract containing THC and CBD called Nabiximols/Sativex is approved for pain relief in patients with advanced cancer and multiple sclerosis.

According to the U.S. government’s National Cancer Institute, other effects of cannabinoids include anti-inflammatory activity, blocking cell growth, preventing the growth of blood vessels that supply tumors, fighting viruses, and relieving muscle spasms.

NCI also acknowledges that inhaled cannabis is attributed to improved mood and sense of well-being. Studies suggest cannabis can be used for symptom management in cancer patients by preventing vomiting, stimulating appetite, providing pain relief, and improving sleep as well as inhibiting the growth of certain types of tumors.

Other studies leading scientists down promising avenues of cancer treatment include:

A 1979 study showed THC damaged and killed liver cancer cells and, when the study was repeated in mouse models, showed it had anti-tumor effects that could aid in the fight against lung and breast cancer.
A 1996 study discovered the protective effects of cannabinoids on the development of certain types of tumors. Cannabinoids were observed causing cell death, blocking cell growth, and preventing the development of the blood vessels tumors needed to grow — suggesting cannabinoids may be able to kill cancer cells while protecting normal cells.
A series of studies on brain tumors conducted in 2003 proved CBD may make chemo more effective and increase the deaths of cancer cells without harming normal cells.
A 2004 study on mice which showed cannabinoids protect against inflammation of the colon, thus reducing the risk of colon cancer and possibly aiding in its treatment.
In 2011, the American Association for Cancer Research revealed CBD kills cells associated with breast cancer while having little to no effect on normal breast cells. When studied in mice, CBD reduced the growth, number, and spread of tumors.
A study published in February 2015 found rates of bladder cancer are 45% lower in cannabis users, compared to those who do not use it.

Cannabinoid receptors have been discovered in the brain, spinal cord, and nerve endings throughout the body, suggesting cannabis may play a larger role in immunity as well.

Several studies are in progress on the effects of cannabis on cancer in adults, including:

Treating solid tumors with oral CBD
Treating recurrent glioblastoma multiform with a THC/CBD oral spray
Treating graft-versus-host disease with CBD in patients who’ve undergone stem cell transplants

Stay tuned for part two of our Cannabis and Cancer series, where we look at whether cannabis can cure cancer.

Oaksterdam University Offers New Half Day Business Course At CA Cannabis Business Expo

Oaksterdam University is pleased to offer a very unique program in response to demand, and geared for current business owners and managers of dispensaries, and cultivation and manufacturing companies, as well as investors providing private equity and resources, and professional and business service providers. This program, which is part of the California Cannabis Business Expo

The Shake: Colorado Preps for Super Tuesday, Canada Turns Back Charlo Greene, Face-Blotting Rolling Papers

Colorado prepares to host first cannabis-legal presidential caucus. “Weed May Make Colorado Caucuses Actually Bearable,” says Bustle.com writer Emily Shire in a story about the pros and cons of preboarding prior to Colorado’s upcoming March 1 Super Tuesday caucuses. Speaking as a veteran of the 2008 Colorado Democratic caucus, I can confirm that Ms. Shire is on to something, especially if you’re voting blue. Organization ain’t the Democratic Party’s strong suit, and those caucuses can run lo-o-o-o-o-o-o-ng. If you choose to use, we suggest two things: discretion, as public consumption is illegal, and an energy-lifting sativa, so you aren’t snoozing when it finally comes time to raise your hand.

Cannabis Cup to Pueblo? Not necessarily, say county officials. Local bureaucrats seemed to be caught by surprise by the 4/20 Cannabis Cup’s move to Pueblo this year. They say the permits haven’t been issued yet, and Pueblo County Sheriff Kirk Taylor vowed to appeal the permits if approved. Meanwhile, property owner Tommy Giodone told the Pueblo Chieftain that he sent out a letter to neighbors alerting them that he’d booked a “Spring Festival.” Which seems a little… vague. Smells like a whole lot of drama is on its way.

Holder’s comments steam the clams of the NYT. The great Francis X. Clines, legendary New York Times reporter and rewrite man, takes note of the teeth-gnashing gall of former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, whose comments we reported here yesterday. ICYMI, the now-retired Holder told the PBS show Frontline that he was in favor of rescheduling cannabis. Fat lot of good that does us now, Eric. In the more tactful words of Mr. Clines: “This was hailed as encouraging news by marijuana enthusiasts who immediately asked why Mr. Holder didn’t push for this change when he was running the Justice Department.”

Alaska’s Charlo Greene arrested, turned back at Canadian border. The former Anchorage TV broadcaster, who blessed us with one of the world’s greatest “Fuck it, I quit” mic drops, was arrested and refused entry to Justin Trudeau’s homeland. Greene, on her way from Anchorage to Vancouver, B.C., to visit with folks at Phant Extracts, was stopped at customs at the Vancouver airport. “Laptops, cell phones, luggage, purses, even Charlo’s dog was searched,” Greene’s Facebook page reported. Border agents at YVR scraped enough “marijuana residue” from the bottom of her purse to charge her with suspicion of smuggling and deny her entry into the Great White North. After an unpleasant nine-hour visit in the customs office, Greene was sent back to the United States. Lesson: Cannabis is legal in Alaska, legal (medically) in Canada, but international borders exist in their own twilight zone. Travel clean, everybody. Like, scrub-your-purse clean.

It’s a facial blotter, it’s a rolling paper… it’s both! Not since the heyday of Shimmer — SNL’s floor wax and dessert topping — have we been so entranced by the discovery of a two-in-one product. It’s Milk Makeup’s Roll + Blot, the facial blotter that doubles as rolling papers! “Portable blotting sheets are made from unbleached hemp fibers to absorb excess oil and reduce shine,” say the folks at Milk. “Can also be used as rolling papers.” Bonus: All Milk Makeup products are cruelty-free. Watch that flame near your face, though.

QUICK HITS: Vermont Senate approves the nation’s first full legalization-by-legislation package. The bill now moves to the House. Wyoming still hates edibles, but maybe not as much as last week. State legislators moved to make possession of brownies ‘n’ stuff a misdemeanor instead of a felony. Texas(!) hosts its first cannabis convention this weekend, in Fort Worth. I’m sure all will be treated to a warm, respectful welcome by the local gendarmes. More media love for Foria Relief, as Business Insider says it “could be the future of period relief,” and accompanies the article with a photo of a non-medicated “typical tampon.” Friendly reminder: It’s not a damn tampon! Three words: cannabis crème gelato. It’s a thing at Perlecò, a local gelato shop in Alassio, Italy. And finally, your weekend starts here. Because owl rotation is amazing.

Image Source: Milk Makeup via Vimeo

Planet Green Trees Radio Show #288 ‘Working Man’

Each week I perform “The Cannabis News” on The Planet Green Trees Radio Show. In honor of a visit to Michigan by Marijuana Business Daily reporter John Schroyer this week, I decided the broadcast on PGT #288 would be made up exclusively of news stories originating from the MJBD newsletters over the last seven days.

US CA: Column: Medicinal Taxation

Sacramento News & Review, 25 Feb 2016 – Last week, you mentioned a new tax on medical marijuana. Can you give me some more details? – -John Q. Publique I can indeed. Senate Bill 987, introduced by Sen. Mike McGuire, D-Healdsburg, imposes a 15 percent excise tax on marijuana which will be imposed on the purchaser at the retail level. This is in addition to the taxes that many cities and counties already place on the purchase of medicinal marijuana, making the effective rate 25 percent in some jurisdictions. Cannabis advocacy groups Americans for Safe Access and California NORML oppose this bill.

US CA: Local Group Challenges Recent Butte County Decisions on

Chico Enterprise-Record, 25 Feb 2016 – Oroville – A local group is seeking a vote on recent changes to Butte County’s medical marijuana cultivation rules and right to farm ordinance. The Inland Cannabis Farmers Association submitted about twice as many signatures as needed to challenge the Board of Supervisors’ Jan. 26 votes on the ordinances.

Does D.A.R.E. Still Think Cannabis is a Gateway Drug? Nobody Knows

On Wednesday night, a Redditor made a discovery: D.A.R.E., the program that teaches school kids to stay far away from substances, seemed to have removed cannabis from its page about gateway drugs.

It’s a good find, but we wanted to double-check things first. Did the change happen recently? What was D.A.R.E.’s reasoning? Is the program’s stance on cannabis evolving? Could it really be that the only two substances deemed “gateway drugs” are ones that are federally legal: alcohol and tobacco?

So we gave D.A.R.E. a call. Which confused us even more.

Ron Brogan, a D.A.R.E. America regional director, explained that D.A.R.E. relies heavily on an outside contractor to handle its website. That makes it difficult to know when the change happened — or whether it happened at all. “I suppose it could have come out as part of our new curriculum, ‘Keepin’ It Real,’ and that may be the thought of the scientist that developed that,” he said.

“To be quite honest, I really don’t have an answer.”

Strange changes to D.A.R.E.’s website have happened before. The group raised eyebrows last year when it published a pro-cannabis opinion piece that claimed “children only are being put in more danger when marijuana is kept illegal.” The post stayed up for three days. A few months earlier, D.A.R.E. shared an article with an outlandish claim: “For every one joint of marijuana, four teenagers become burdened with pregnancy.” It turned out the original post was satire, and D.A.R.E. took it down.

Eventually we gave up on trying to get a clear answer from D.A.R.E. and did some sleuthing ourselves (others didn’t). We looked at cached versions of the gateway drug page going back to 2013. And guess what? Cannabis isn’t on the list anywhere.

D.A.R.E. mentions marijuana only once on the page, in a paragraph about tobacco use: “Tobacco use is associated with alcohol and illicit drug use and is generally the first drug used by young people who enter a sequence of drug use that can include tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, and harder drugs.” D.A.R.E. says it’s a quote from the Department of Education. We found it on a CDC page from 1994, but oh well.

So does D.A.R.E. consider cannabis a gateway drug or not? The sad truth is that it doesn’t matter.

Brogan, a 26-year veteran of the DEA, didn’t mince words: “We are unalterably opposed to marijuana,” he said, “whether for recreational use or medical use. That pretty much sums it up.” He went further, predicting that states that have legalized cannabis “will at some point rethink it.”

Not that D.A.R.E. knows much about rethinking. The program is still up and running — spending hours indoctrinating children across the country — more than a decade after research showed it didn’t actually work.

Lisa Rough contributed reporting to this story.

Culinary Cannabis: Chris Sayegh’s Michelin-Starred Background Inspires Gourmet Cannabis-Infused Cuisine

This article is sponsored by Herbalizer, one of the leading suppliers of table-top vaporizers. Herbalizer provides you with the ultimate vaporizing experience as you honor your flower with our power.Check out Herbalizer’s exclusive Leafly discount offer here.

Chris Sayegh didn’t always know he wanted to be a chef – though he had cooked his entire life, he was already on a pre-med track in college before an epiphany led him to pull a 180. “Everyone in my family cooked, and anytime we would gather for any event, we gathered around food,” says Chris Sayegh, better known in the cannabis community as The Herbal Chef. “I learned to associate food with community…and having an amazing time.”

Sayegh left school to pursue his passion. He landed a job in a two-Michelin-starred restaurant, and then a three-starred one. After plenty of time spent cutting his teeth in high-pressure kitchens, Sayegh began to open his own businesses. And approximately six years ago, he got hooked on the idea of gourmet cannabis-infused cuisine.

Creating a Gourmet Experience with Cannabis

“I didn’t smoke until college,” says Sayegh of his relationship to cannabis, “but when I was there I smoked every day, so I needed to know exactly what I was putting into my body.” He began researching the endocannabinoid system, and became fascinated by the topic. “I developed a deep love and admiration for [cannabis],” recalls Sayegh. “When consumed properly and with respect, it will enhance your life in many ways.” As The Herbal Chef, he embraces his involvement in the cannabis industry.

Sayegh’s business is multi-tiered; he offers gourmet edibles, frozen CBD-infused meals for medical patients, ticketed public events, and private fine dining experiences – “ridiculously intricate meals,” as Sayegh describes them. He’s gone so far as to rent out one of the largest art galleries in the world for a dinner, and bring the LA Philharmonic String Quartet in for a special performance. “I’m a huge fan of art and music and I want to incorporate that into the experience. Since cannabis is psychoactive it can enhance all of those things.”

Sayegh’s process for developing the events he hosts is as elaborate as the food he serves. When he receives an inquiry, he asks dozens of questions – about the number of courses, drink pairing requests, the kitchen and dining spaces, and more. He’ll also send out a detailed questionnaire to each individual attendee, asking about dietary restrictions and tolerance level, as every diner will be individually dosed. He then begins exploring the area surrounding the location of the event a month in advance, calling farmers and fishermen to see what’s available, and sometimes hunting and fishing for ingredients himself. “I go foraging around the area. I use the land. It’s about showing people what’s around them,” he explains.

Sayegh also frequently cooks for cannabis industry events, which is how a partnership with Herbalizer came about. Sayegh and the Herbalizer team connected through the Direct Cannabis Network’s Seed Series, and began talking about the possibility of using the Herbalizer to enhance Sayegh’s events. “When we were designing [the Herbalizer] we didn’t think of infusing food,” says Herbalizer’s CTO Bob Pratt. But Sayegh’s experience with cutting-edge molecular gastronomy techniques provided the perfect jumping-off point for experimentation. Soon, Sayegh had developed a unique cannabis vapor infusion technique utilizing Herbalizer’s table-top vaporizer, and he began to work on recipes that incorporated cannabis through vapor infusion.

The Art of Cannabis Vapor Infusion

“It is a sensory experience,” says Sayegh of cannabis. “You start to lighten up and really pay attention to certain flavors…if you sit there and eat a pecan and really taste it, it is a different experience than eating it sober. It’s an overall enhancement, just like how a glass of wine enhances a dinner.”

The vapor infusion process doesn’t actually provide the high; that comes from cannabis-infused elements incorporated into the meals, or from cannabis consumed concurrently with the meal. In fact, the psychotropic effects of vapor infusion itself are virtually nonexistent; instead, it enhances the aromatic elements of the cuisine and accentuates certain flavor profiles without compromising the integrity of the food. “I’ve been using extracted terpenes and putting them with CO2 and having that aroma as the centerpiece of the table,” explains Sayegh. His favorite strains to work with? “Right now I really love the Presidential OG I’m using,” he says. “Super piney, very sweet on the end – it’s very pungent. I also love Jack Herer. And Amnesia Haze is my all-time favorite.”

Sayegh’s prowess in cannabis gastronomy is evidenced again and again by rave reviews from diners, and there is no denying that enjoying his cooking is a once-in-a-lifetime experience. “My whole mission as The Herbal Chef is to leave a positive impact on people,” says Sayegh. “And it’s so fun! It’s about elegance, it’s about finesse. Anybody can get you super-stoned. What’s really fun is getting someone perfectly stoned so they can see the beauty in what you’re doing.”

Chris Sayegh’s Recipe for Cannabis Vapor-Infused Beef Tartar with Mushroom Tuile

Special equipment: Herbalizer table-top vaporizer.

Ingredients for Tuile

5 Tbs Butter

3 Large Garlic Cloves

¼ C Button Mushrooms

1 Tbs Chives

½ Tsp Pepper

¼ Tsp Cayenne

⅓ Tsp Salt

¼ C All-Purpose Flour

2 Egg Whites

⅕ C Powdered Sugar

½ C Dehydrated Shitake Mushroom Powder

Ingredients for Beef Tartar

10 Oz Beef

2 Tsp Capers

1½ Tsp Dijon

2 Egg Yolks

2 Tbs Red Onion

2 Tbs Parsley

4 Tsp Olive Oil

½ Tbs Horseradish

½ Tsp Lemon Juice

1 Tsp Lemon Zest

Salt To Taste

½ Tbs Worcestershire Sauce

2 Tbs Chives

½ Gram Favorite Cannabis to Use with Herbalizer

Method For Tuile

Preheat oven to 320˚F. Sautee the butter, garlic and mushroom together until mushrooms are starting to crisp, turn off the heat and let steep for 30 minutes. Add the pepper, cayenne and salt to the mixture. Blend thoroughly and pass through a fine sieve. Put into a large bowl and gently fold in the cut chives. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites until frothy and then slowly add the powdered sugar until it starts to hold its shape. Mix the flour and the dehydrated mushroom powder together and set aside. Gently fold the egg white with the blended mushroom mixture until just combined. Slowly add the flour mixture and fold in until completely combined. You will need to make a rectangular cut out of a thin plastic and then spread the mixture on either parchment or a silpat using an offset spatula. Bake for 10-12 minutes in the middle of the oven rack. You will need a cone shape to roll the tuile around to hold its shape. (You can use any shape if you don’t want a cone but let it rest in that shape until it cools and hardens.) Set aside for filling later.

Method for Beef Tartar

You will need a paddle attachment for your stand mixer for this recipe. Cut the beef into small cubes, crush the capers, brunoise the red onion, chop the parsley and add everything besides the chives into the bowl at once. Start mixing on a slow setting and gradually speed it up until everything is incorporated and the color is a little lighter. Make sure to scrape down the sides. Add the chives and fold in. Now put this tartar into a flat pan (I used a 9-inch baking pan with deep sides) and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Puncture the plastic wrap with a small knife, just big enough for the mouthpiece end of the Herbalizer hose to fit. Fill the bowl and set the Herbalizer to 375˚F on the vaporizer function. When the vapor starts to come out, put it inside the slit you made and cover completely with another piece of plastic wrap. When the pan is cloudy, take the hose out and keep covered in the fridge. Keep doing this every hour for 5 hours. Then leave in your fridge for at least 5 more hours and up to 2 days. Make sure you don’t burn the cannabis or use the already vaped cannabis, it will impart a flavor and aroma that you don’t want into the meat. Put the tartar into a piping bag and use it to fill the tuiles. Serve and enjoy!

For more information on Chris Sayegh, the Herbalizer and vapor infusion, visit Herbalizer’s website.

Image Sources: Herbalizer and Sara Dilley

The Shake: An Eric Holder Facepalm, Vermont's Speedy Progress, and Cannabis Ceviche

Eric Holder says the federal justice system, which he used to run, has cannabis all wrong. “I certainly think it ought to be rescheduled,” the former U.S. attorney general told PBS in a Frontline documentary that aired Wednesday. “We treat marijuana in the same way that we treat heroin,” he said, “and that clearly is not appropriate.” Holder also seemed open to seeing how recreational legalization goes, saying that beyond just rescheduling cannabis, “we need to look at what happens in Colorado and what happens in Washington.” (No pressure, people, but the whole world is watching.) Holder’s statements are laudable, but come on: This is the guy who signed off on the largest federal cannabis crackdown of Obama’s presidency, even as the country’s heroin epidemic exploded. And he did nothing to move the needle on rescheduling when he actually had the power to do so. Funny how things change when politicians retire.

No matter where you live, pay attention to Vermont. Sure, it’s a small state better known for its ice cream than its Blue Dream, but Vermont has quickly become the hot topic in cannabis legalization. The state Senate on Thursday gave its final approval to a plan to legalize cannabis, putting the Green Mountain State on track to be the first state to establish an adult-use program through the legislative process rather than a citizen initiative. Why does that matter? Because it’s easier to dream big when you have lawmakers on board: Artisanal, socialist cannabis, anyone? Stay tuned — Vermont is fast on its way to becoming the next state to go legal.

Montana’s micro dispensaries will stay that way. The state Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a number of medical marijuana restrictions from 2011 that lawmakers passed in response to the skyrocketing number of patients in the state. Notably, the court left in place a provision that limits medical cannabis providers to only three clients. The ruling also upheld a ban on advertising, though it struck down a law that prevented businesses from charging for cannabis. Between 2008 and 2010, the number of patients in Montana climbed from about 1,000 to more than 25,000. Thanks to the ruling, it’s a safe guess that a lot of those new patients will simply return to the black market.

Canadian patients have a right to grow cannabis. That’s according to a ruling from a federal judge in Vancouver who on Wednesday struck down the country’s ban on home grows. Don’t go grab your shovel just yet, though — the judge suspended the decision for six months “to permit Canada to enact a new or parallel medical marihuana regime.” (Yes, Americans, that’s how it’s spelled in Canada.)

New laws are closing dispensaries across the country. Even though the cannabis sector is booming, individual businesses spend a lot of time in existential fear. Why? Because rules change quickly as state and local governments adjust their positions on cannabis. In a piece out of Detroit, the BBC’s Zoe Thomas looks at how changing regulations across are putting businesses across the country at risk just as the legal industry is getting off the ground.

QUICK HITS: Connecticut is worried it’s late to the party. With Vermont, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island making strides toward legalization, experts in Connecticut are expressing concerns the state could miss out on revenue. A former Googler thinks cannabis is the “next internet.” He explains in The Globe and Mail why he quit the tech giant to launch coffee/cannabis/lifestyle brand Tokyo Smoke. Legal cannabis isn’t just about profit. The Drug Policy Alliance’s California policy manager Amanda Reiman highlights the positive social change that legalization can bring. What’s up with the FDA and CBD? Marijuana Business Daily has a Q&A with an attorney to help make sense of warnings sent to CBD companies by the Food and Drug Administration. And finally, BloombergBusiness makes our mouths water with cannabis ceviche and other gourmet edibles. Yes, please.

Top 10 Cannabis Strains in Washington

Washington is a special place (as a born-and-bred state native, I of course say this with total, unabashed bias). Two enormous mountain ranges cut through the evergreen terrain, creating a snowcapped fence that keeps the climate wet and temperate year-round. This presents a unique set of challenges for the outdoor grower. Because of those struggles and Washington’s legal market regulations, almost all harvests come from indoor grows. So what are some of the top strains to come out of those greenhouses and grow rooms?

We took a look at menu items from our Washington vendors to determine the top ten most commonly listed strains in the state. Unsurprisingly, this list is similar to the most frequently searched strains in Washington. Budtenders and inventory overseers, take note of what supply and demand is trying to tell you!

1. Blue Dream

I don’t know what induced a national craze over Blue Dream, but it’s dominating menus in Washington, California, Colorado, and most other major markets in the U.S. If you’re one of a bajillion people to say your favorite strain is Blue Dream, you’re in luck because it’s practically everywhere.

2. Dutch Treat

As prolific as it is pungent, you can basically walk out your back door and smell the sweet aromas of Dutch Treat. This hybrid beckons you with the strong scent of candied citrus and evergreen trees, a reflection of the strain’s colorful terpene palette.

3. Green Crack

We’ve got a Green Crack problem here in Washington. This sativa, named for its racy cerebral effects, puts your mind on the fast-track, a rollercoaster ride some enjoy more than others. Creatives and social butterflies flock to this tropical-flavored strain for its ability to spark ideas and conversation, and it’s sure to help Washingtonians through those long, dark winters.

4. OG Kush

It wouldn’t be the West Coast if menus weren’t packed full of OG Kush and OG hybrids. Carrying a piney aroma familiar to any Pacific Northwest woods-wanderer, OG Kush is a commonplace strain in any Washington stash box.

5. Super Lemon Haze

Though originally from gardens of Dutch breeders Green House Seeds, this sativa-dominant strain is no stranger to Washington cannabis shops. Rich citrus flavors hit with profoundly uplifting effects, making Super Lemon Haze a pleasure for all the senses.

6. Cinex

We Washington residents love our sativas as much as we love our coffee, apparently. The love child of Cinderella 99 and Vortex, Cinex provides all the energy and focus you need to hammer out all those projects that have been cursing your to-do list.

7. Grape Ape

The number one indica choice among Washington customers, Grape Ape is lovingly cherished for its district grape flavor and stunningly potent effects. Sedating in all the right ways, this indica powerhouse is often chosen by those with stubborn aches and pains, as well as anyone who could use some help getting to sleep.

8. Blueberry

A pedigree in the cannabis world, the Blueberry indica has been around a long time, which means it’s a classic strain that has perfected the art of flavor. Bursting with the aroma of ripe blueberries, this indica’s taste is as much a delight as its dreamy, relaxing effects.

9. Sour Diesel

Few strains make better outdoor companions than the enlivening Sour Diesel. This sativa-dominant strain offers a burst of energy and sensory stimulation, so hikers and backpackers keep this one in mind for your next sunny stroll through the Cascades or Olympics.

10. Girl Scout Cookies

Washington couldn’t escape the Cookie craze, and Girl Scout Cookies still clings to its position on this list. Veteran and heavyweight consumers demand potency, and this hybrid rarely disappoints. Get ready for a psychoactive blast that will leave you feeling weightless and worry-free on euphoria’s Cloud 9.

Who Got Medical Licenses in Seattle? You Might Be Surprised

Cannabis is famously legal in Washington, but the state has allowed a confusing two-track system for the past two years. Washington’s Liquor and Cannabis Board issued licenses for adult-use recreational stores in 2014, but hundreds of unlicensed medical marijuana dispensaries continued to operate across the state until recently.

In Seattle alone, more than 200 unlicensed MMJ dispensaries existed alongside the city’s 21 licensed recreational stores. The rec shops were open to anyone 21 or older. Entering an MMJ dispensary required a medical marijuana card. The dispensaries continued to thrive because of a loyal customer base, a wider range of products, lower prices, and budtenders who were free to discuss medical issues with patients. (In Washington, it’s illegal for budtenders in licensed retail shops to discuss medical use of their products.)

That bifurcated system is scheduled to end on July 1, when unlicensed dispensaries become illegal across the state. At that point cannabis can be sold legally only in state-licensed stores. Some of those stores will receive medical endorsements that allow them to serve state-registered medical patients with higher purchase limits, stronger potency, and untaxed medicine.

In Seattle, the shift led to a sense of impending doom in the medical marijuana community. Under the coming change, most medical-only dispensaries will disappear.

Last week it became clear just how few will survive into the licensed era. In a city that once supported more than 200 MMJ outlets, there will soon be only 28. And many of those will be run by, or hosted within, existing recreational stores.

This map shows the cannabis stores that received medical endorsements within the city limits.

Some things won’t change. Many medical dispensaries will remain clumped in green-cross districts such as Lake City Way, Aurora Avenue North, and SoDo. A few that were formerly pure medical shops, like Fweedom Cannabis, Trees Collective, and The Source, may either go on as fully licensed and medically endorsed operations or open up to patients and consumers alike. Some of Seattle’s best-known dual outlets (which operate medical and recreational shops at separate locations) will continue to serve patients. The local Have A Heart chain won licenses for two medical shops. Dockside Cannabis, which now operates two recreational stores and one unlicensed medical dispensary, won a medical endorsement for its SoDo recreational store.

Dockside co-owner Maria Moses told Leafly her medical dispensary in Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood will remain open until the end of June. “We’re getting more patients than ever” at that location as Seattle’s other dispensaries close down, she said. Come July 1, the company’s medical operation will leave Fremont and move to Dockside’s SoDo location to operate under the new license.

Find it confusing? You’re not alone. Most people in the industry in Washington are struggling to figure it out. “We still don’t know what the rules are and how the system will work,” Moses said. “Whatever they turn out to be, we’re committed to making them work, because we feel strongly that we want to continue to serve patients.”

A surprising number of existing recreational stores won medical endorsements. Uncle Ike’s, Seattle’s most famous rec shop, won a medical endorsement for its flagship store. “We are waiting to see what the final rules look like,” owner Ian Eisenberg told Leafly, which means it may be a while before Uncle Ike’s opens a medical counter.

It’s unclear what the future holds even for existing medical dispensaries that won medical licenses. The Source, a now-defunct dispensary in Seattle’s Pioneer Square neighborhood, appears to have won two medical licenses — but not for its former location on Washington Street. According to Liquor and Cannabis Board records, both The Source and an entity known as Washington OG were granted medical endorsements for a single address in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood. Both licenses link to The Source’s old phone number, which went unanswered last week. The new address, though, could prove to be brilliantly chosen. It’s directly across the street from Swedish Medical Center Ballard. As medical cannabis finds more acceptance among physicians, such a dispensary could capitalize on the old pharmacy model: Go where the patients are.

Though the city’s unlicensed dispensaries are supposed to be shut down by July 1, it’s unclear how many of the 28 stores with medical endorsements will actually have their medical side up and running by then.

It’s not as simple as setting up an extra product case. Under the new law, stores offering a medical side must have at least one medically certified consultant on staff during business hours. Certification isn’t easy or cheap. It requires 20 hours of initial training followed by ten hours of annual continuing medical education. And as of this writing, four months prior to the deadline, there are no programs set up specifically to meet the state’s certification requirements — which themselves have yet to be finalized.

That’s the risk: a high initial investment in certified medical marijuana consultant training. The reward could be great, though. Patients who supported more than 200 dispensaries will now be filing into 28, or fewer, licensed outlets. The demand and volume could be enormous. We’ll see how it plays out come July 1.

Inside Report: Ohio Campaign Goes Medical-Only, Vermont Makes Strides Toward Adult Use, and Switzerland Eyes Cannabis Clubs

Ohio’s initiative efforts are heating up, but organizers are shifting from their goal of full legalization to a purely medical program. Iowa and Utah are looking to seize a rare chance to allow limited medicinal use in their deep-red states. Switzerland hopes to start a pilot program for cannabis social clubs in four lucky Swiss cities. And cannabis cultivation is going Down Under.

Leafly’s got the scoop to keep you informed. Here’s the latest:

U.S. News

Arkansas

Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge has a history of rejecting cannabis initiatives, but for the first time since she came into her position, Rudtledge has approved the language for a proposed constitutional amendment that would legalize cannabis in the conservative Midwestern state. Not to be confused with the Arkansas Medical Cannabis Act, another medicinal cannabis initiative that’s been gathering signatures since 2014, the latest proposal comes from Little Rock attorney David Couch and is dubbed The Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment of 2016. Couch had submitted ballot language for the measure three times before it won approval. The Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment will need to gather 67,887 signatures in order to qualify for the November ballot. The Arkansas Medical Cannabis Act already has a head start.

Ohio

Ohio’s legalization efforts are moving forward, but forward in a slightly different direction. Legalize Ohio 2016 announced this week that the campaign will join forces with a medical marijuana initiative movement spearheaded by the Marijuana Policy Project. “We must put aside our differences and do our best to live up to the expectations of the sick and dying citizens of Ohio,” Legalize Ohio said in a statement to supporters. “There is no more time to waste.” A recent Public Policy Polling survey found that 74 percent of Ohioans support medical legalization, a good sign for the upcoming ballot measure.

Oregon

There are three major bills on the docket to improve Oregon’s legal cannabis market. House Bill 4904 provides legal protection to banks and credit unions that offer financial services to cannabis-related companies. Senate Bill 1511 would combine medical and recreational shops into one entity and allow recreational outlets to offer untaxed cannabis for medical patients, similar to the system Washington state is implementing. And HB 4014 would eliminate the in-state two-year residency requirement, which was initially intended to protect small marijuana businesses, but has prevented the influx of much-needed equity investment from sources outside the state.

Iowa

Iowa passed legislation last year to allow patients with epilepsy to use and possess cannabidiol oil (CBD) with the recommendation of a doctor. But like so many CBD-only states, Iowa failed to include a provision to allow the legal production or distribution of CBD oil to qualified patients. A new bill in the House could change that. House Study Bill 607 would allow production and distribution in the state itself, but would only cover three qualifying conditions: epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, and terminal cancer. The bill passed through committee and is now headed to a full House vote.

Utah

Utah’s Senate passed SB 73 by a nose, on a 15–13 vote. The measure would allow qualifying patients to use cannabis edibles, extracts, and oils. A narrower competing bill, SB 89, passed on an 18–8 vote. Sen. Mark Madsen (R-Saratoga Springs), the author and sponsor of SB 73, already had to reword the language of his bill to remove access to whole plant cannabis, which essentially earned a pass from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, albeit not an actual endorsement.

Vermont

Vermont may legalize recreational cannabis sooner rather than later, becoming the first state to legalize through the legislative process rather than a voter initiative. With the newfound support of the state attorney general, S.241 sailed through the Senate Judiciary and Finance Committee. It won initial approval from the full Senate on Wednesday, and a second vote is expected later this week. If the Senate passes the bill, it will head to the House for scrutiny by a number of committees. Gov. Peter Shumlin has promised his signature.

Wyoming

The state Senate is wrestling with how to regulate marijuana edibles. And by “regulate,” it means outlaw. The Senate voted to advance Senate File 96, which would make possession of more than three ounces of cannabis-infused edibles a felony. Lawmakers can’t decide potency details or how to measure the concentration of the cannabis in the edibles, however. Sen. Cale Case (R-Lander) proposed an amendment that would allow defendants to argue that their stash of edibles actually contained less than three ounces of raw cannabis material. The amendment failed.

International News

Australia

The Australian Parliament just took a monumental step forward in cannabis policy reform. Amendments to the Narcotics Drug Act will now allow the growth and manufacture of products for medicinal use within the country, actions that previously were forbidden. The New South Wales government is in the process of setting up clinical trials on the medicinal benefits of cannabis, but ran into a problem when it came to sourcing cannabis. Due to restrictions in the Narcotics Drug Act, cannabis products would have to be imported from outside the country, likely from Europe, which would limit the supply and could compromise the trials.

Switzerland

Cannabis clubs could be coming soon to four Swiss cities. A pilot program is seeking to open social clubs for members to consume cannabis freely in Zurich, Basel, Bern, and Geneva. If enacted, the program would allow an estimated 2,000 citizens to use cannabis legally. That might not meet demand: Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen recently reported that more than 500,000 Swiss residents regularly consume cannabis. Cannabis is decriminalized in Switzerland, and possession of up to 10 grams is punishable by a civil fine of 100 Swiss francs ($99). The four-year project still needs approval from local governments before it can take effect.

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Allow Yourself to Grieve

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1. CBD and THC Affect Sleep Differently

2. Indica Strains Tend to Be Better Sleep Aids

3. Aged Cannabis Makes You Sleepier

4. Natural Remedies Help Maximize Cannabis’ Sleepy Effects

5. Cannabis Can Help you Fall Asleep Faster

6. Nighttime Cannabis Use May Cause a “Hangover”

7. Cannabis Inhibits REM Sleep and Dreaming

8. Cannabis May Promote Better Breathing

9. Discontinuing Long-Term Use May Worsen Sleep

10. Using Cannabis at a Young Age May Cause Sleep Problems

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1. Jack Herer