https://news.weedmaps.com The Latest Marijuana News Wed, 13 Feb 2019 23:30:00 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.0.3 154652679 https://news.weedmaps.com/2019/02/u-s-marijuana-news-for-feb-13-2019/ Wed, 13 Feb 2019 23:30:00 +0000
https://news.weedmaps.com/?p=3903
Nebraska Weighing Bill to Permit Hemp Cultivation
LINCOLN, Neb. — Two months after President Donald Trump signed a law to legalize hemp, Nebraska lawmakers and state agency officials are working…
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Nebraska Weighing Bill to Permit Hemp Cultivation
LINCOLN, Neb. — Two months after President Donald Trump signed a law to legalize hemp, Nebraska lawmakers and state agency officials are working together to help farmers get a piece of the market.
Lawmakers heard public input Feb. 12, 2019, on a bill that would allow farmers to grow and harvest hemp in Nebraska. Many have eyed it as a way to diversify their crops, but the state hasn’t developed a way to license and regulate it.
Sen. Justin Wayne told the Legislature’s Agriculture Committee he introduced it because he believes farmers and businesses are missing the opportunity.
On his monthly radio call-in show, Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts said his administration is working with Wayne. Ricketts has previously said his hands were tied because hemp had been classified as an illegal and dangerous drug.
The 2018 Farm Bill removed hemp from the Federal Controlled Substances Act, and entitles farmers to cover hemp like any other crop under the Federal Crop Insurance Act. Hemp is defined as cannabis containing less than 0.3 percent THC. Trump signed the Farm Bill Dec. 20, 2018.
Oklahoma’s Medical Marijuana Sales Figure Quadruple in January
OKLAHOMA CITY — Numbers from the Oklahoma Tax Commission show medical marijuana sales topped $4.3 million in January 2019, a fourfold increase from the previous month.
The agency released figures on Feb. 12, 2019, that show the 7 percent tax on medical marijuana sales generated $305,265 in January. That figure doesn’t include the standard sales tax that varies from city to city that is also being assessed on medical cannabis sales.
Oklahoma voters approved State Question 788 to legalize medical marijuana in June 2018, and the industry has taken off quickly. Nearly 44,000 Oklahoma patients, 950 dispensaries and 1,600 growers have been licensed since August 2018.
The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority also has generated more than $13 million in licensing fees.
Kentucky Governor Says He’ll Enact Medical Marijuana Legalization
STANFORD, Ky. — Republican Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin said he would be happy to sign a bill to make marijuana legal for medical purposes.
Bevin told a community forum in Stanford, Kentucky, on Feb. 12, 2019, his teenage nephew died after battling cancer. He said his nephew suffered near the end of his life, suggesting medical marijuana can provide relief to people experiencing similar pain.
Bevin said his support for a bill legalizing medical marijuana would depend on how the bill is written, adding he would be opposed to a bill written solely to raise money for the state’s general fund.
Republican state Sen. Stephen West filed SB 170 on Feb. 12 that would make medical marijuana legal in Kentucky. He said the bill is identical to HB 136, filed by Republican Rep. Jason Nemes.
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3903 https://news.weedmaps.com/2019/02/with-labor-shortage-canadas-cannabis-growers-recruit-foreign-workers/ Wed, 13 Feb 2019 23:00:28 +0000
https://news.weedmaps.com/?p=3899
Canada’s cannabis industry is experiencing a labor shortage. In the five years since there has been a large-scale legal market for medical cannabis, and the October 2018 legalization of adult-use…
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Canada’s cannabis industry is experiencing a labor shortage. In the five years since there has been a large-scale legal market for medical cannabis, and the October 2018 legalization of adult-use sales, companies have had trouble finding candidates who can deal with the sometimes punishing and difficult conditions required in large-scale greenhouse labor.
Some companies are solving this problem by hiring foreign workers. Through Canada‘s Seasonal Agriculture Worker Program (SAWP), a system that allows employers to hire temporary foreign workers when Canadians and permanent residents are not available, licensed producers have been finding relief from a growing shortage of talent and bodies.
One Ontario licensed producer, Aphria, with a large greenhouse facility in Leamington is doing just that. According to a Dec. 2, 2018, report in Bloomberg, the SAWP allowed Aphria to hire about 50 temporary workers from the Caribbean and Guatemala with plans to bring in up to 100 more.
“Those are really hot, humid months and working in a greenhouse, as much cooling and airflow as we can provide, is still pretty darn hot in July and August,” Vic Neufeld, Aphria’s CEO, told Bloomberg.
In 2018, Aphria had to dispose of almost 14,000 cannabis plants during the summer fiscal quarter because they weren’t harvested in time, costing the business nearly $1 million in lost product. Since then, the company has doubled the staff at its Aphria One greenhouse using the SAWP and local hires.
Statistics Canada reported that at the end of 2017, the 55 licensed producers had a total of 2,399 employees. In the year since, the number of licensed producers has more than doubled, driving up demand for workers. As more provincial and privately run stores open, ancillary businesses expand, and market valuations level, these numbers have been estimated to reach into the hundreds of thousands.
Temporary foreign workers can be drawn from select countries that have made agreements with the Canadian government, including: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Mexico, Montserrat, St. Kitts-Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Temporary foreign workers from participating countries can work only for a maximum period of eight months, between January 1 and December 15, provided they are able to offer the workers a minimum of 240 hours of work within a period of six weeks or less.
Cannabis is not listed as one of the SAWP’s currently approved industries, however, there is a broad reference to “greenhouse” workers, which is likely where Canadian cannabis is finding its footing in the program.
Temporary foreign workers are required to be paid the same wages and benefits as those provided to Canadian and permanent resident employees working in the same occupation. Employers are also required to supply housing and cost-free transport to and from work.
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3899 https://news.weedmaps.com/2019/02/7-reasons-why-you-should-care-about-miamis-iii-points-music-festival/ Wed, 13 Feb 2019 14:00:17 +0000
https://news.weedmaps.com/?p=3885
III Points Music Festival is back with a killer lineup. Kicking off this Friday, Feb. 15, in Miami, the festival promises three days of eclectic music from international and local…
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III Points Music Festival is back with a killer lineup. Kicking off this Friday, Feb. 15, in Miami, the festival promises three days of eclectic music from international and local artists alike.
A mixture of today’s biggest pop stars and the most beloved talent straight from South Florida‘s thriving music scene should make this one of the most important music weekends of 2019.
To prepare festival attendees to navigate everything going during the festival, Weedmaps News spoke with Veronica Gessa, known as Mokibaby, a Miami-based artist who helped produce the festival and create the Miami identity associated with the event.
“We have always been a forward-thinking festival in having the foresight to book talent that will blow up in the upcoming years,” Gessa explained. “David Sinopoli has done an incredible job with the line up this year and honestly, I’ve been told it’s the best one out there.”
We asked Gessa to be our tour guide and breakdown what makes III Points the must-see festival of the year.
1). Some Seriously Legendary Acts
“Herbie Hancock is honestly the fucking man,” Gessa gushed. “He is 78 and still playing shows like he’s 23 in Miles Davis’ band.” While she confessed that Hancock is the legend she’s most excited to see, other illustrious artists lined up include Erykah Badu, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon, and Egyptian Lover.
2). Local Talent is Full of Must-Sees
Not to be outdone by the legends, the local talent is filled with new blood in the music scene. When asked which Miami artists we’ll fall in love with, Gessa warned to prepare your heart for Poorgrrrl, Basside, Austin Paul, Dracula, Otto Von Schirach, and Lilith.
“Locally, we have so much talent, it’s honestly ridiculous,” Gessa confidently boasted. “There’s a lot of new blood, which I am thrilled about.”
3). Artists Making III Point Debuts Are Killer
“I love it when we get artists for the first time,” Gessa explained. “Because more often than not, they come back and want to play with us again.” Among the first timers popping their III Points cherry are Beach House, SZA, David August, Pussy Riot, Tyler, the Creator, Peggy Gou and DJ Seinfeld.
4). Dance Yrself Clean With These DJ Sets
There are a lot of DJs in the lineup, which means there should be something for every mood of the night.
There will be three days of Boiler Room sets with proper sets from Marvin and Guy, Moscoman, DJ Stingray, Egyptian Lover and locals gems like Sister System and Johnny from Space. LCD Soundsystem frontman and DJ-god James Murphy will be closing the Main Frame Saturday night, making his return to III Points.
“[James] actually played for us our first year and is a huge fan of the festival,” Gessa said.
5). Get Experiential
The music may be the main attraction, but make no mistake — III Points belongs to the artists as much as the musicians. One of the best parts of going to the festival is exploring the experiential moments, art installations and activations.
“I have three different installations on the festival grounds and am programming a hidden bar that’s a Gravitron spaceship with only Miami Bass Booty shake and freestyle music,” Gessa said.
Other artists include Haiiileen, NONOTAK, Max Cooper & Architecture Social Club, Brian Butler, and Jason Boogie.
6). Miami Vibe
One of the most unique aspects to III Points is the diverse audience it attracts and Miami’s cosmic goodness is on full display. “Miami vibes are flowing through III Points constantly,” Gessa said. “Everyone interacts with one another as well, especially because this festival is all about discovery.”
And while there is a large audience will many eclectic tastes and preferences, there is a beautiful weirdness that permeates throughout the city and festival. “We are also a point on the Bermuda Triangle,” Gessa said. “So much strange stuff happens, so much magic. We welcome it.”
“If people have time to explore there is so much to enjoy here,” Gessa said. “I am the queen of suggesting places to go in Miami. In fact watch this video.”
7). Weed-Friendly Crowd
Last, and certainly not least, the festival and audience is welcoming to weed. This may not be a must for some festival goers, but to those who are comfortable smoking a check joint or pipe, it’s nice to know you won’t get shade from this weed-loving crowd.
“The festival feels cosmically good, and it could have to do with the crystal gridding that’s done days before, and, of course, all the weed smoking,” Gessa explained. “We are very 420-friendly.”
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3885 https://news.weedmaps.com/2019/02/how-to-make-a-diy-spa-day-no-stoner-could-forget/ Wed, 13 Feb 2019 01:23:56 +0000
https://news.weedmaps.com/?p=3878
Nothing says “I love you,” or “I’m sorry,” like a romantic, weed-filled spa day for two. When it comes to an affordable but memorable DIY at home spa — a…
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Nothing says “I love you,” or “I’m sorry,” like a romantic, weed-filled spa day for two. When it comes to an affordable but memorable DIY at home spa — a cannabis flower rose bouquet, luscious infused bath bomb, and infused strawberry sparkling wine is both easy and quick to make.
This classic treat with the aphrodisiac properties of cannabis — heightened body senses, jubilation, relaxation, and balanced mood — should get lovers’ engines revving.
How to Make a Weed Bouquet
Roses and cannabis are very delicate yet all-encompassing to the senses. They both have the power to arouse an individual while evoking both romantic and nostalgic feelings. While dotting the bouquet with baby’s breath adds a unique and charming smell that rounds out the notes of rose and cannabis.
Ingredients
Materials
- 1 ribbon of your color choice
- Scissors
- 1 small vase with fresh cold water
Directions
- When buying your eighth, ask for the biggest buds possible.
- Lay down the baby’s breath on a table.
- Next, add the rose to the center. Look to see where you want to cut or trim the flowers to get the bouquet to the size you want.
- Cut the flowers under running water.
- Pat dry then lay the baby’s breath back down on the table. Add the rose to the center again.
- Loosely tie a ribbon around the bottom of the bouquet.
- Slide the eighth into the center of the bow and tie firmly.
- Place the bouquet into a glass vase with water until you are ready to gift.
How to Make a Homemade Infused Bath Bomb
The lavish effervescence will tickle your body as the olive oil wraps around your skin to moisturize and make your skin silky smooth and irresistibly kissable. Let all the chatter of the world slip away as the healing and liberating waters wash over your body.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (1 kilogram) baking soda
- ½ cup (81 grams) cream of tartar
- 4 tablespoons (48 grams) carob powder
- 1 tablespoon cannabis-infused olive oil
- 15-25 drops of essential oil of your choice (vanilla and chocolate are recommended)
- Brown food coloring if desired
Materials
- Baking sheet
- Parchment paper or aluminum foil
- Small shallow bowl of water (8 fluid ounces or 240 milliliters)
- Cookie cutter molds in your favorite shapes
- Large mixing bowl
- Whisk
- Paper towels
Directions
- Mix the baking soda, cream of tartar, and carob powder in a large mixing bowl.
- Add the cannabis-infused olive oil, essential oils, and food coloring to the mixing bowl.
- Quickly spritz a small amount of water into the large mixing bowl with one hand while quickly mixing with the other. Do not add too much water, just enough to get the mixture to crumble. Be sure not to let the baking soda fizz. Using a whisk really helps this process.
- Press the mixture firmly into the desired molds on a lined baking sheet. Bigger molds may create instability within the product such as cracking, so use caution.
- Gently tap the back of the mold to release the bath bomb after it has been packed.
- Lay a few paper towels on the counter or waxed paper and gently place the bath bombs to air dry overnight until set.
- Decorate the bath bomb if desired. You can drizzle semisweet chocolate over it.
- Wrap with tissue paper and store in a safe place until use.
How to Make an Infused Strawberry Sparkling Wine
Who doesn’t enjoy a crisp class of chilled sparkling wine during a spa day? And there is no other way to serve it to your cannabis loving sweetheart, except infused! This bubbly drink will tickle your taste buds with the sweet flavor profiles of strawberries. This drink is the perfect way to medicate with elegance and is sure to be a hit!
Ingredients
- 1 bottle of glycerin tincture
- 1 bottle (750 milliliters) of sparkling wine
- 4 strawberries
Materials
- 2 sparkling wine glasses
- Paring knife
- Small cutting board
Directions
- Wash the strawberries, cut off the tops, and halve each strawberry.
- Take the sparkling wine glasses then add 1 dropperful of glycerin tincture into the bottom of each glass.
- Now add four strawberry halves into each glass.
- Pour the sparkling wine into the glass and gently stir with a spoon. It is recommended that your tincture also has strawberry terpenes as well to enhance the flavor profiles of the drink.
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3878 https://news.weedmaps.com/2019/02/how-to-date-in-the-modern-age-of-weed/ Tue, 12 Feb 2019 23:00:15 +0000
https://news.weedmaps.com/?p=3875
When Dave* stopped returning Ashley’s* calls and texts, she had a feeling the fact that she smoked weed would be one of the reasons why. She was right.
Dave, finally,…
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When Dave* stopped returning Ashley’s* calls and texts, she had a feeling the fact that she smoked weed would be one of the reasons why. She was right.
Dave, finally, explained that when he thought about the long term, Ashley’s weed smoking wasn’t going to work for him.
“That’s fine, but [he] should have just said something, not ghosted me,” said Ashley, 27, a Los Angeles-based musician who smokes every day and also delivers weed. Dave was also a musician, but sober and in AA. The pair met on Raya, an exclusive dating app (“It’s the Soho House of dating apps,” said one user to the New York Times), and went on several dates before he called it quits.
Natalie*, a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and photographer with brown hair and tattoos, found herself in a similar situation with a man she met on Tinder. The two dated for five months before he admitted he had a problem. “I state on my [Tinder] bio, ‘Must be 420-friendly,’ ” said Natalie, 40, who smokes cannabis nightly to help her get to sleep. “Why the resistance now?” While there were other reasons the two weren’t a good match, Natalie says the fact that she enjoyed smoking weed was a big factor.
“When we were hanging out I would sneak into his bathroom, open the window, and hit a vape,” she recounted.
Stories like these — where a person faces rejection or judgment for openly smoking weed in the dating scene — have become common in the age of cannabis legalization. While more people than ever support the idea of legalization, for plenty of singles looking for love, weed is a deal breaker.
“I don’t know, I just don’t like it,” Allison, 29, said with a laugh. No matter how attractive a person is, if weed ends up in their dating profile, it’s an immediate swipe left for Allison. To Allison, an intelligent and opinionated psychologist, and her friends, people who smoked weed fit the stoner stereotype, a “lowlife” with no moral compass who is definitely not dating material.
And she’s not alone — many in the dating landscape have similar sentiments about weed and dating. What is the modern stoner looking for love to do?
You Could Always Use a Weed Matchmaker
“When people put ‘420-Friendly’ on their dating profiles, they find that a lot of times people will automatically label them a lazy stoner or a drug addict,” explained Molly Peckler, a cannabis-focused matchmaker and dating coach. Of her clients, she said “That’s not at all who they are. They use [cannabis] mindfully and can still be successful and lead fulfilling lives.”
This disparity in the dating world is what led Molly Peckler to launch Highly Devoted, a matchmaking, dating, and coaching firm for sophisticated cannabis consumers. “The clientele I work with are smart, successful, and well-respected in their communities,” Peckler said. “For these people specifically it’s incredibly challenging to find someone who shares your passion for cannabis. You’re more likely to hide that part of yourself because you’ve faced stigma in the past.”
Before founding Highly Devoted in 2015, Peckler worked stints for a high-end personal matchmaking firm and a cannabis consulting firm. Numerous clients, friends and family members expressed their desire for cannabis to be a part of their search for love. “I realized that no one was going out there and servicing [the cannabis] community,” Peckler explained.
“People come to us because they’re looking for something that’s more discreet and confidential,” Peckler said about her service. “There’s no swiping, no messaging, or anything like that. We use it internally to work on the client’s behalf,” Molly explains.
You Could Try 420-Friendly Dating Apps
Weed-friendly dating apps like High There! and 420 Singles provide the comforting assurance that you won’t be judged for your cannabis use. These sites offer a similar experience to apps like Tinder and Bumble, but pull from a network of people who smoke weed.
In addition to your basic information and interests, High There! asks what you’re looking for — a smoking bud, a relationship, a friend, or simply to “see what happens” — and how you like to consume weed to provide you with potential matches to browse through and send a direct message to, while 420 Singles offers the familiar swiping and messaging action of Tinder but asks surprisingly little about your cannabis preferences.
While apps like High There! are more affordable than hiring a matchmaker and eliminate the question of whether your date will be into smoking a bowl before catching a movie, there’s still a chance you won’t be compatible. Like all dating apps, these cannabis-focused apps are designed to match you with tons of people, and there is little guarantee of finding whatever it is that you may be seeking.
If you go the mainstream dating app route, Peckler emphasizes the importance of being honest about your cannabis consumption up front. “The most important thing is that you can be open and honest because if you’re not able to be yourself you’re not going to form a lasting bond where you can truly be fulfilled and happy.”
You Could Try Meeting Someone at a Weed Event
Luckily, there are plenty of ways to meet other cannabis consumers face to face. In February 2019, there are two Cannabis Conscious Speed Dating events in Oakland and San Francisco, a WEED Be Sweet Together mixer in Seattle, and a 420 Valentine’s Sesh in Los Angeles.
Eventhi.io keeps an updated and robust calendar of weed-centric events in states that have legalized medical and recreational marijuana.
*Names have been changed to protect privacy.
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3875 https://news.weedmaps.com/2019/02/sexual-health-experts-find-cannabis-boosts-libido-increases-pleasure/ Tue, 12 Feb 2019 19:18:13 +0000
https://news.weedmaps.com/?p=3869
Does a toke before bed deliver you deeper into the throes of passion, or leave you feeling disconnected from your lover? As recreational cannabis legalization spreads, clinical experts are venturing…
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Does a toke before bed deliver you deeper into the throes of passion, or leave you feeling disconnected from your lover? As recreational cannabis legalization spreads, clinical experts are venturing into uncharted territory to explore how sex and cannabis interact.
The findings reported thus far make for evocative reading, and hint that for some, marijuana could be a powerful, natural sexual aid.
Cannabis and Libido in Women
Gynecologist-obstetrician Dr. Becky Kaufman Lynn’s research interest in cannabis and libido was first piqued by her patients.
”My interest in this realm came from the many patients that I see in my clinic who have confided in me that using marijuana treats their sexual problems,” Lynn said. “I have seen it used in women with chronic pain disorders that lead to painful sex, women who experience difficulty with orgasm or an inability to orgasm, and women who use it to improve their libido, which may not match their partner’s libido.”
Lynn co-authored several papers investigating women, cannabis use, libido, and perception of sexual experience. In her survey of 133 adult women during an annual checkup, 29 percent revealed that they had used marijuana before sex, and 68 percent of users said that it made their sexual experience more pleasurable. Seventy-two percent reported that cannabis always increased erotic pleasure, while 24 percent felt that it sometimes did. Sixty-two percent divulged that cannabis increased their libidos and intensified their orgasm.
Sixteen percent of respondents revealed that they used cannabis prior to sex specifically to alleviate pain resulting from intercourse, and 83 percent stated that cannabis relieved their pain “moderately to a lot.” Despite the prevalence of positive experiences,16 percent of women declared that cannabis ruined their sexual experience. A second study with a larger sample, 289 women, reported similar findings.
More Weed Equals More Sex
A 2017 study by Stanford University School of Medicine and published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine revealed that regular cannabis users enjoy more sex — 20 percent more, to be exact — than those who do not use. Women come out on top with 34 percent more sex, and men enjoy 22 percent more encounters between the sheets.
According to one of the study’s co-authors, Dr. Michael Eisenberg, frequent marijuana use doesn’t appear to impair sexual motivation or performance, but in fact, leads to increased sexual frequency.
Cannabis and Sex: Context Matters
One of the most intriguing issues raised by the emerging research into sex and cannabis is that it can evoke such radically distinctive experiences among users.
According to psychologist and author of GreatSexGuidance.com Michael Castleman, context and dose has a great deal to do with users’ experiences. For Castleman, part of the key to understanding the effect of cannabis on sex and libido is that it results in a spectrum of outcomes.
”It depends,” he explains. “On the strain. The mood. The lover. The experience of sex on weed changes with the dose. Like so much about cannabis, it’s individual.” In one informal survey Castleman ran, participants offered up the following frank insights:
“If I’m in a bad mood and smoke, sex is completely out of the question because I withdraw into myself and just can’t connect with anyone else. On the other hand, if my beau and I have had a great night out and top it off with a bowl, it’s definitely got its merits,” one participant reported.
“Not all buds are alike. Some weed makes you want to be very sexual. I’ve had some of the best orgasms of my life after using marijuana. Some of it makes you feel more introverted and thoughtful,” another participant said.
Ultimately, determining the right dosage for optimal sexual experience can be akin to Goldilocks trying to find the perfect bed, requiring the user to tinker with the dose until they achieve an outcome that is just right.
“People I know who combine the two say sometimes they take too little, sometimes the right amount, and sometimes too much to the point where they’re so zonked they can’t really focus on the sex,” Castleman said.
Reported Benefits of Sex While High
So what are the potential benefits of consuming cannabis before bed?
“People who find it enhancing say it relaxes them, tunes them into the moment, and enhances kissing, touching and being touched, that it boosts sensuality,” Castleman said. “People who find it off-putting say it makes them withdraw into themselves and breaks the erotic connection to their partners.”
For Lynn, the key to cannabis’s sexual benefits may lie in the perceptual changes it provokes in the user.
“It may slow the temporal perception of time and prolong the feelings of pleasurable sensations,” she said. “Marijuana is also known to heighten sensations like touch, smell, sight, taste, and hearing. Lowering the impact of stress, anxiety and improving sexual confidence also likely contribute.”
Lynn also emphasizes that if the sexual experience feels better, the individual’s desire to have sex will likely be increased. ”Cannabis may also lower sexual inhibitions and increase confidence and a willingness to experiment,” she adds.
However, the reverse can also be true. Castleman notes that those who find cannabis detrimental to sex report that it inhibits their connection to their partner, suppresses their libido, or causes them to withdraw into themselves.
Tips From The Experts
Lynn advises any woman considering exploring sex under the influence to weigh the risks and benefits of doing so. She also urges consumers to pay close attention to the labels and exercise extra care when purchasing cannabis products in the unlicensed marketplace, where potency may not be clear.
Lovers interested in combining sex and cannabis should experiment with strains and dosages to see what works for them.
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Castleman advises lovers interested in combining sex and cannabis to experiment with strains and dosages to see what works for them.
“With today’s high-potency cannabis, and especially with super-high-potency vapes, one decent hit is almost always enough for several hours of play,” he cautioned.
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3869 https://news.weedmaps.com/2019/02/california-bill-may-exempt-compassionate-care-marijuana-from-excise-tax/ Tue, 12 Feb 2019 00:20:41 +0000
https://news.weedmaps.com/?p=3863
A new emergency bill introduced in the California Senate intends to rectify a provision in the state’s legal cannabis landscape that has cut off access for many low-income, terminally ill,…
The post California Bill May Exempt Compassionate-Care Marijuana from Excise Tax appeared first on Weedmaps News.
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A new emergency bill introduced in the California Senate intends to rectify a provision in the state’s legal cannabis landscape that has cut off access for many low-income, terminally ill, and chronically ill patients who rely on it medically.
When Proposition 64, also called the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, passed in November 2016 and made adult-use cannabis legal on Jan. 1, 2018, it also grouped all providers, commercial or non-profit, into one category and levied heavy taxes on each pound of marijuana distributed.
The tax structure of Proposition 64 proved fatal to some collectives, including the nation’s oldest continuously operating compassionate care collective, the Wo/Men’s Alliance for Medical Marijuana (WAMM) of Santa Cruz. In Jan. 2018, just as adult-use cannabis became legal, WAMM officially closed its doors, in part because of the new tax burden.
“In 2017 we gave away thousands of dollars worth of cannabis, serving over 2,000 people. But since we had to close there are many people suffering,” said Valerie Corral, director of WAMM, which has provided donation-based medical marijuana to low-income patients since 1993. “There were people in need but WAMM was not able to do anything,” Corral said.
Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener has twice introduced legislation aimed to help revise the tax and legal structure of Proposition 64 so that new and existing compassionate-care providers can donate medical marijuana. In late 2018, Wiener introduced his latest measure, SB 34, which aims to eliminate the excise tax on donated medical cannabis and allow it to be distributed for no cost to patients. The new bill is built on the foundation of SB 829, which was introduced in early 2018, but was vetoed later that year by then-Governor Jerry Brown.
“I don’t think Jerry Brown thought when he signed that veto, that he was signing peoples’ death sentences,” said Joe Airone, founder of the Sweet Leaf Collective in San Francisco. “Some of our patients now have to make a horrible decision: Do I buy cannabis or do I buy food?”
Some of our patients now have to make a horrible decision: Do I buy cannabis or do I buy food?
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Started by a group of bicycle messengers who organized to deliver free medical marijuana to terminally ill HIV/AIDS patients in 1996, the Sweet Leaf Collective announced its closure in December 2018. At the time, the group passed out a six-month supply of cannabis to dozens of patients from the home of the late Dennis Peron, the activist dubbed the “father of medical marijuana” who co-authored California’s groundbreaking Proposition 215, also known as the Compassionate Use Act of 1996.
“Compassion is the foundation of the cannabis movement in California,” Airone said. According to Airone, compassionate-care providers now face taxes of up to $1,000 per pound for the cannabis they distribute free of charge even though they are nonprofits, have no operating budget, and are volunteer-run.
The SB 34 emergency bill cites the intent of Proposition 215 and would clarify that cannabis donated to compassionate-care patients is medicinal in nature and will be exempt from commercial taxation if certain requirements are met.
“Poverty should not be a barrier to getting your medicine. We don’t tax prescription drugs. Why should we tax medical cannabis?” Wiener said in an interview for Bay Area public broadcaster KQED on Nov. 29, 2018. After introducing SB 34, the senator added that he expected the new emergency bill to be on Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom‘s desk by mid-2019. SB 34 is co-sponsored by Democratic state Sen. Nancy Skinner and has bipartisan support.
Advocates are hopeful about the chances for SB 34 to pass since Newsom has supported the marijuana movement and also actively ran on a platform pushing for a universal health-care system that would cover the poor and uninsured.
“I am confident that we will be able to create a mechanism that works with this new legislation, with our new governor, and that he will sign it,“ Corral said. “Sen. Wiener has had his finger on the pulse and his ear on the heartbeat of compassion since the beginning.”
Airone of Sweet Leaf added, “It sounds like if we get this bill passed, we could be up and running as soon as June. It’s an emergency bill and it’s looking like it has lots of support. But it has to go through all these committees before it’s finalized and approved.”
Corral, who has been finding ways to get cannabis to her patients outside of the temporarily closed WAMM, vows to continue to do so regardless of whether SB 34 passes. Operating as “an outlaw” is nothing new for her as the collective’s cannabis garden was the target of raids by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in the 2000s. With the help of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the city of Santa Cruz, they led to her successfully suing the DEA and the U.S. Attorney General for the right to grow and distribute cannabis to cancer, HIV/AIDS, and other patients who cannot afford market-price marijuana. According to the alliance’s attorney, Ben Rice, WAMM was subsequently described as the “gold standard” of medical marijuana collective by federal Judge Jeremy Fogel, who granted WAMM an injunction against further raids or harassment.
“I am not going to let somebody die because the government tells me I can’t help them,” she said. “When we forget that in this world we do better when everyone does better, we really lose the heart of this movement.”
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3863 https://news.weedmaps.com/2019/02/oregon-senator-proposes-to-let-states-handle-marijuana-regulation/ Mon, 11 Feb 2019 21:04:47 +0000
https://news.weedmaps.com/?p=3859
Democratic Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden proposed legislation Feb. 8, 2019, that would give states a free hand to allow legal cannabis markets without the threat of federal criminal intervention, the…
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Democratic Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden proposed legislation Feb. 8, 2019, that would give states a free hand to allow legal cannabis markets without the threat of federal criminal intervention, the latest push in Congress to bolster the United States’ burgeoning marijuana industry.
The proposal, identical to a bill in the House, aims to ease the longstanding conflict between states where cannabis is legal in some form and the U.S. government, which categorizes marijuana as a dangerous illegal drug, similar to LSD or heroin.
“The federal prohibition of marijuana is wrong, plain and simple,” Wyden said in a statement. “Too many lives have been wasted, and too many economic opportunities have been missed.”
It remains unclear whether Wyden’s bill would have a chance of clearing the Republican-controlled Senate.
The Democratic majority in the House appears more open to considering proposals to ease federal restrictions on marijuana. The chamber has set a hearing in mid-February 2019 on a bill intended to make banking services more widely available for cannabis companies.
A proposal similar to Wyden’s previously languished in the Senate and House.
Democratic Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer said voters have ‘elected the most pro-cannabis Congress in American history.’
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However, Democratic Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, carrying the current bill in the House, said voters have “elected the most pro-cannabis Congress in American history.”
“It’s tough to see how things will shake out, but there is a very serious chance cannabis policy reform will move in the Senate,” said Morgan Fox of the National Cannabis Industry Association.
Most Americans live in states where marijuana can be legally purchased for medical or adult use, and the move to loosen federal restrictions on marijuana came as the issue has played into the emerging 2020 presidential campaign.
The proposal would take marijuana off Schedule I of the Federal Controlled Substances Act and remove federal criminal penalties for individuals and businesses acting in compliance with state marijuana laws.
It would also reduce barriers for legal marijuana businesses to get access to banking.
The bill is part of a three-bill package: A second would impose a tax on marijuana products similar to federal excise taxes on alcohol, while a third would allow state-legal marijuana businesses to claim tax deductions and credits.
Justin Strekal, political director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), said in a statement that the proposal is another sign of the “growing public support for ending our failed war on cannabis consumers.”
Former Republican House Speaker John Boehner, who sits on the board of cannabis company Acreage Holdings, also on Feb. 8, 2019, announced the formation of an industry-backed lobbying group that would push for national marijuana reforms.
— Michael R. Blood
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3859 https://news.weedmaps.com/2019/02/the-weed-trimming-robots-are-here/ Mon, 11 Feb 2019 20:00:42 +0000
https://news.weedmaps.com/?p=3827
Imagine making $200 an hour trimming weed. Imagine working only a few months a year and then you were free to travel the world. This is the life of a…
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Imagine making $200 an hour trimming weed. Imagine working only a few months a year and then you were free to travel the world. This is the life of a “trimmigrant” — seasonal workers who descend on Northern California’s Emerald Triangle to spend a season trimming plants.
But with dropping prices for weed, the job of a trimmer is not as lucrative as it once was. And as prices fall, farmers are faced with having to cut costs.
The easiest way? Labor. Cue the robots.
Bloom Automation, launched in 2017, has developed an automated, image-based robotic trimmer able to recognize the different parts of the plants and separate them faster than a human.
“Essentially, you’re loading conveyor belts with the branches which enter a cell where the robot, or robot arm, is contained, along with cameras that image the branches,” Bloom Automation CEO and founder Jon Gowa told Weedmaps News. “The computer then analyzes the data and guides the robot to a specific location; on the next plant it gives a whole different set of actions because it’s looking at a different plant and the sensors are making new decisions.”
Currently, Bloom’s segmentation accuracy rate is at about 95 percent, which means the robot can almost always distinguish the flower from the leaf and the branch. The actual removal of the leaves is at 85 percent. If the idea of a robot knocking into delicate buds seems dreadful, Gowa explained, “The robot is extremely sensitive to the flower location. It kind of comes up and kisses the plant, then pulls the sugar leaves into a vacuum cutter. The idea is that it really won’t bruise the flower at any point, otherwise we call the trim a failure.”
Artificial intelligence (AI) has been transforming the landscape of myriad industries to great and positive effect — think healthcare, aviation, automotive, communications. And as far as robots taking away jobs, the counterargument that automation creates new and better jobs is noteworthy.
According to the World Economic Forum, AI in the workplace is expected to create 58 million new jobs in the next few years and will either lead to “a new age of good work, good jobs and improved quality of life,” or “pose the risk of widening skills gaps, greater inequality and broader polarization.”
The truth is, we don’t know which is going to happen. This is also true of AI in cannabis.
“Whether it’s the automotive industry or the agricultural industry, people will be working side by side with robots as part of a collaborative process,” said Gowa, who faced his own challenges integrating automation into existing human staff. “The benefit is that robots are able to accomplish dirty, dangerous, dull tasks quickly while freeing people up to utilize the skill sets unique to them.”
To Gilbert Lopez, the idea of integrating robots into the trimmer workforce seems like a win-win. Currently, the chief cultivating officer for Vertical‘s grow facility in Needles, California, Gilbert has been in the industry for more than 20 years and has toiled in every part of it humanly possible.
“Some trimmers call it ‘trim jail’ because it takes so long and is sometimes really boring, so if robot trimmers can get the work done faster and do the stuff that’s tedious, that’s really interesting,” he told Weedmaps News. “I could see putting it to work and then having somebody go over the trim a second time for a more premium look. I don’t see it as an us-or-them situation.”
‘It Would be a Bummer if Robots Took Over.’
But for the actual trimmers out there, automation is not only a threat to their livelihoods, but the culture at large.
“The industry is changing so much already it would be a bummer if robots took over,” said trimmer Abby Martin. “That would change the whole culture. I like the outlaw mentality of the job and being able to make a living with a very relaxing day-to-day. Although not as good a living as I used to … .”
The weed trimmer culture is equal parts stigma-filled, illicit, liberating, and mesmerizing. In a Vice essay about her nearly decadelong tenure as a trimmer, Kelly Schirmann wrote, “For all its problems, trimming and working in the marijuana industry has allowed me, and countless other women, the opportunity to enjoy a financial and spiritual independence that working in the world at large has not.”
And for former trimmer and current grower Jessie Jones, the legalization and automation of weed has not only driven down prices, but it is also destroying a once beautifully wild industry.
“Machines can never replace the human hand and it’s sad that the trimmer has become so undervalued,” Jones told Weedmaps News. “Human trimmers have always been the spirit of harvest, but with the competition of big business and a flooded market, growers feel the pressure to pay less money in order to keep their livelihood afloat.”
Automation Seems Inevitable
When it comes to weed-trimming automation, Bloom aren’t the only ones with metal in the game. Capna Systems has patented an extraction machine for concentrates that uses ethanol and ultra-low temperatures and results in crude oil produced from plant material. Toronto-based Braingrid sells a sensor that captures real-time climate information for grows and can also suggest improvements.
But these advancements, like everything in the industry since it emerged from the unlicensed market, are new and as yet unvalidated. It was only a few weeks ago that Bloom sent their first robots into the field for beta testing, and whether AI trimmed cannabis is determined to be on par with human-trimmed weed remains to be seen.
“This industry started with people who were against capitalism, people who wanted to come out to the rugged, rough wilderness and make money their own way without being told what to do,” said Jones resolutely. “The idea of robot trimmers is totally destructive; the whole nature of the industry was people coming together to celebrate the abundance of harvest. It was rich and beautiful. It was an industry of sharing.”
Whether this once wild and rough industry will have to share the harvest with their automated counterparts remains to be seen.
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3827 https://news.weedmaps.com/2019/02/setting-dui-standards-for-high-driving-still-baffles-policymakers/ Sun, 10 Feb 2019 18:00:27 +0000
https://news.weedmaps.com/?p=3833
Within the chasm dividing supporters of marijuana legalization from prohibitionists, lies an issue that most people seem to agree upon: detecting cannabis-induced impairment in drivers is complicated.
While techniques exist…
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Within the chasm dividing supporters of marijuana legalization from prohibitionists, lies an issue that most people seem to agree upon: detecting cannabis-induced impairment in drivers is complicated.
While techniques exist to measure cannabis levels in a person’s system exist, translating those numbers into an estimation of their relative effect on motor skills is still a challenge.
In the case of booze, if drivers’ blood alcohol content (BAC) is 0.08 percent or higher, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) deems that they’re too intoxicated to drive. The standard was adopted by Congress in 2000 and is generally accepted among law enforcement personnel, although on several occasions the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has floated a request to lower the BAC even more, ruffling feathers in the alcohol industry.
In a report to Congress in July 2017, the NHTSA acknowledged gray areas when it comes to testing and interpreting THC levels and whether a driver is too stoned to be behind the wheel. Further complicating the matter is that cannabis can stay in a person’s system for days or weeks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Meanwhile, scientists, pharmacologists, and inventors are racing to develop devices to measure if — and to what extent — cannabis impairment can be determined.
In January 2019, the Reason Foundation, a libertarian think tank founded in 1978, published a study intended to guide policymakers to protect public safety without penalizing legal cannabis users who are not high when they drive a vehicle.
Because cannabis-related body fluid levels do not parallel impairment, the authors maintain that it is “not fair or accurate to gauge impairment like alcohol.”
The study, titled “It’s High Time: A Common Sense Approach To Marijuana-Impaired Driving,” is co-authored by Teri Moore and Adrian Moore, Ph.D.
“In terms of measuring being stoned, police officers don’t really care if you’re high. What they care about is whether you’re impaired,” said Adrian Moore, vice president of policy at the Reason Foundation. Moore is also a national transportation expert and consultant.
“We can measure whether there is THC in your system, but that’s not well correlated at all with being impaired,” said Moore.
Moore said examining THC levels in nanograms per milliliter is not a scientifically acceptable option. A novice could be impaired by THC with three nanograms per milliliter in their system, while a seasoned consumer could have up to 15 nanograms and still be fine. A nanogram is one-billionth of a gram.
Addressing Impaired Driving
The authors of the Reason Foundation’s 45-page report offered five recommendations to address the issue of measuring cannabis impairment:
- Avoid per se standards and conduct THC detection screenings rather than assessing blood plasma levels, which don’t correlate to impairment.
- Mandate evidence of impairment as the main criterion for arrest.
- Train law enforcement members to become Drug Recognition Experts (DRE) and to utilize dashboard cameras and body cameras for more accurate assessment of drivers.
- Alleviate the backlogs in toxicology laboratories
- Deschedule cannabis federally to encourage research.
“Drug recognition expert officers are in the best position to decide whether or not the driver is actively impaired by THC,” wrote co-author Teri Moore in a 2018 policy brief. “Studies find that DRE evaluations can most accurately determine whether marijuana is psychoactive in impaired drivers.” Moore, a policy analyst at the Reason Foundation, is a former narcotics officer and DRE instructor.
On several of these points, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) agrees.
“Federal restriction of cannabis is limiting the ability to look at the problem and fully understand how to deal with it as a public health issue,” said J.T. Griffin, MADD’s chief government affairs officer. “Congress needs to look at ways to undertake relevant research and form good sound public policy.”
The American Automobile Association (AAA), which opposes the legalization of recreational cannabis due to traffic safety concerns, recently launched a DRE courtroom training program intended to help sharpen the presentation skills of experts and prosecutors and strengthen their courtroom arguments related to impaired-driving cases. Another new AAA program focuses on educating teenage drivers.
“More citations are given to teen drivers for drugs than alcohol,” Diana Imondi, traffic safety programs manager for AAA Northeast, wrote in the organization’s website.
Medical Marijuana is Not Exempt
Erin Bonar, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist and the lead author of a study undertaken by the University of Michigan Addiction Center and published in the journal Drug & Alcohol Dependence titled “Driving under the influence of cannabis among medical cannabis patients with chronic pain.”
The study surveyed 790 Michigan adults who used medical cannabis for chronic pain in 2014 and 2015. More than half of the participants said they had driven under the influence of cannabis within two hours of using it; 51 percent said they drove while a “little high” and 21 percent reported driving while “very high.”
“The safest plan is not to drive on the day you use medical marijuana. Your reaction time and coordination is most likely slowed down,” said Bonar. “There is clearly a need for more research in the field to better prepare individuals who use cannabis to make safe decisions about driving and to better inform law enforcement and policy initiatives.”
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3833 https://news.weedmaps.com/2019/02/maury-povich-says-he-smoked-connie-chung-a-weed-strain-not-his-actual-wife/ Sun, 10 Feb 2019 14:00:49 +0000
https://news.weedmaps.com/?p=3817
Maury Povich, host of one of America’s most popular and longest-running daytime TV talk shows, said on Thursday that he doesn’t regularly roll blunts at home, but he has smoked…
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Maury Povich, host of one of America’s most popular and longest-running daytime TV talk shows, said on Thursday that he doesn’t regularly roll blunts at home, but he has smoked a marijuana strain named after his wife, the journalist Connie Chung.
Povich, in an appearance on the radio program “Sway’s Universe,” said that his spouse first heard about the Chung-branded cannabis variety from comedian Lewis Black, who was “doing a story on various marijuana as they became legal, I think, in the state of Washington.”
“Lewis called up my wife and said, ‘Connie, do you know that there is a strain of grass called the Connie Chung?’” Povich recounted. “You know we had to try that.”
So the couple traveled to Washington and indulged for themselves.
“It’s so legal, it’s like nothing.”
Also in the radio interview, Povich implied that smoking cannabis as a substitute makes it easier to smoke fewer cigarettes, which he eventually quit. And he talked about how he knew “a lot of athletes over the years” who used cannabis medicinally, and questioned why sports leagues don’t allow players to consume marijuana.
I’m very easy to grow, I require less attention and care, and I give good yield.
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Chung herself got a kick out of her namesake strain and even gifted a sample of it to Andy Cohen on an episode of his “Watch What Happens Live” show in 2018.
“I’m very easy to grow, I require less attention and care, and I give good yield,” Chung said. “I’m perfect for daytime use when facing deadlines, need to be alert and imaginative.”
This article has been republished from Marijuana Moment under a content syndication agreement. Read the original article here.
Featured Image: When he is not settling disputed paternities on his daytime TV talk show, Maury Povich says he smokes weed on occasion. (Illustration by Allena Braithwaite, adapted from photo by kelliwritershouse via Flickr; photo is used under terms of Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license)
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3817 https://news.weedmaps.com/2019/02/study-non-heterosexual-women-more-likely-to-exhibit-ptsd-use-cannabis/ Sun, 10 Feb 2019 03:22:11 +0000
https://news.weedmaps.com/?p=3846
Gretchen Moore joined the U.S. Air Force in 2005, eager to serve her country. With multiple deployments to the Middle East, she also experienced the trauma typically associated with war.…
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Gretchen Moore joined the U.S. Air Force in 2005, eager to serve her country. With multiple deployments to the Middle East, she also experienced the trauma typically associated with war.
“I have [post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms] when I drive. For whatever reason, the tar on the side of the road looks like blood to me. Like it turns into blood. I see blood all the time on the road. I get very nervous with things on the sides of the road,” she said.
Then, a moment many women fear: Moore, a self-identified lesbian, was raped by a man she worked with while serving in the Air Force’s Security Forces in 2008. As she struggled to make sense of and deal with the assault, her superiors at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City took her weapon and relieved her of her policing duties.
“I felt like I was hidden. I quite literally was removed from the roster,” she said. “I went from working flight, to relieved of duty, to quality control, to mobility, to cleaning the dorms where I was raped,” Moore said in a recent interview with Weedmaps News.
A fellow veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) suggested she try cannabis. The results, she says, were instant.
“I immediately felt better — 100 percent,” Moore said. “It keeps me calm because I’m a very uptight individual when I’m sober. I like the me that’s not uptight.”
Because of the Department of Defense regulations banning the use of marijuana, Moore eventually tested positive for THC through a urinalysis and was discharged from the Air Force. Moore says the symptoms of PTSD can be overwhelming, especially when she sees someone who resembles her attacker.
“It’s not fun to be like that. It’s dangerous, in my situation, to be that uptight. I just react, and that’s not a good thing.” To keep control, Moore says she typically goes somewhere she can smoke marijuana.
Study: Non-heterosexual women have greater PTSD symptoms
Sexual minority women (SMW) with PTSD have more intense symptoms and use cannabis at a greater rate than heterosexual women to manage PTSD symptoms. That’s the working theory of a December 2018 study produced by Louisiana State University’s psychology department.
SMW are those who are on the LGBTQIA spectrum. The acronym stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, and asexual. The study found that SMW reported more frequent cannabis use and greater PTSD symptom severity than heterosexual women.
“In addition to high rates of cannabis use, SMW also report higher rates of certain types of trauma exposure than heterosexual women, including childhood maltreatment and sexual assault, and interpersonal violence. Further, rates of sexual assault among SMW are as high as 85 percent,” the study concluded.
The study found that lesbian women are six times and bisexual women more than 11 times more likely to use cannabis.
Physician Says Medical Cannabis Helps
Dr. Jeremy Boucher is an anesthesiologist in Oklahoma City who pursued additional training in PTSD therapy from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) National Center for PTSD. He also evaluates patients in search of an Oklahoma Medical Marijuana card.
“While the military certainly is a huge focus for novel PTSD treatments, the groups we forget regularity are children, victims of domestic abuse, first responders, and especially rape victims. It is frequently said that ‘rape victims are the only victims that never leave the scene of the crime,’ and in this case it is both figurative and literal,” he wrote in an email for Weedmaps News.
Boucher explained current thinking that PTSD is “a psychological state resulting from neuroplasticity, which is experienced recurrently as a result of a hyperactive sympathetic nervous system.” He’s talking about the “fight or flight” instinct. He explained that once the trauma is over, people who develop PTSD don’t return to a normal state. Boucher became interested in cannabis as a medication while in medical school.
“When I finally got to a point in my career where I could obtain additional education in various areas that I wanted to learn, I took a four-day course on Medical Cannabis for Physicians in 2011 and I have been voraciously reading all I can find on the topic ever since.”
Because of the limitations on cannabis research by the federal government, very little research to help understand just how cannabis works with the human body, is approved. The hurdles researchers must overcome to study the medicinal effects of cannabis, are myriad.
“Medical cannabis works because it has diverse actions at innumerable sites to help restore the homeostasis that has been disrupted by the traumatic event, which is propagated by the characteristics of the illness,” he wrote “Right now, we cannot say it cures PTSD. On the other hand, we can say that it alleviates, to some degree, virtually all of the pathognomonic characteristics.
“There is no definite answer to why medical cannabis helps PTSD, especially since we are not even sure exactly how PTSD develops. The question we have to answer is: how do we convince these patients or treat them with a methodology such that it helps them to begin to live again; not just survive?”
Recovering from Trauma
In the two years following her discharge from the Air Force, Moore chased failed relationships, was unemployed, and not sure what she might do for work. As she learned more about when and how to use cannabis, she said, her life improved. Now, she’s employed full-time, and is able to support herself and her partner. They’ve even made steps towards starting a family.
“I never even left my apartment before,” Moore said. “I feel like I can go out and enjoy myself, instead of being paralyzed by fear, and refusing to do anything other than leave my bedroom and go to the living room. I’m worthy of having a long life. I don’t feel unworthy anymore.”
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