WeedLife News Network

Congratulations to the winners of the Cannabis Cup Massachusetts: People’s Choice Edition 2021! Here’s what’s hot in Massachusetts!

The cannabis cup is virtual this year—virtually awesome, that is, with our People’s Choice Edition making it possible to judge safely from the comfort of your home. Here are the well-deserved winners of the Cannabis Cup Massachusetts: People’s Choice Edition 2021.

Thank you to all the judges who put their hearts and souls into judging the competition entries to help crown the best of Massachusetts! This is the first-ever High Times Cannabis Cup to be held in “The Bay State” of Massachusetts. We can’t wait to return next year!

For more info on how to become a judge and to sign up for updates, please visit CannabisCup.com/preregister.

Courtesy of Bountiful Farms

First Place: Bountiful Farms – Secret Formula

DENVER — Several nights a week during the fall, walking tours hit the flagstone sidewalks of Denver’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, stopping in front of old mansions to be told the tales of ghosts and hauntings. But one of those stops, one of those mansions, has an added ‘history’ that is being celebrated along with its spirited past.

“The house was built back in the 1800s for the Creswell family,” April Reed explained, showing off the scenic lobby of the Creswell Mansion on Grant Street.

Fake spider webs cover the banister, and a variety of Halloween decor fills each room of the mansion.

“We’ve basically turned the Mansion into somewhat of a haunted house in a way,” Reed, the event director of the space, told Denver7.

The decline in related stocks comes following a wave of posivity for the sector. So, has the industry already burnt out or will it find a new spark?

Cannabis investing was the best new thing five years ago. While the sector has gained a lot of ground, investors are still awaiting the next big step that turns the most famous leaf into green gold.

Both medicinal and recreational use has become more accepted by society, with several US states having legalised its use, as well as Canada, Mexico, South Africa, Uruguay and Georgia. In the Netherlands, possession in small quantities is tolerated and personal consumption is permitted at licensed coffee shops.

Researchers may be one step closer to developing the equivalent of a Breathalyzer for detecting marijuana use.

In an early study, scientists found that their rapid test was able to reliably detect THC in people's saliva in under 5 minutes. THC, short for tetrahydrocannabinol, is the active ingredient in marijuana.

Those facts have made it hard to develop a roadside test for marijuana use, akin to the Breathalyzer used to measure drivers' alcohol levels.

There are some existing saliva tests for THC, but they are hampered by issues like slow processing time or giving "binary" results -- similar to a yes/no on a pregnancy test.

Lee said his team was able to develop a test that not only quickly detects THC in saliva, but quantifies the amount.

It took about 3 minutes from "sample in, result out," according to Lee, who is based at Massachusetts General Hospital's Center for Systems Biology in Boston.

Olivia Newton-John has provided a health update as she battles cancer.

livia Newton-John has opened up on USA TODAY overnight about her ongoing health battle with cancer revealing cannabis use has been a huge part of her healing.  (Image Source: Getty Images.)

The $2.1 billion acquisition of Harvest Health & Recreation by Florida cannabis behemoth Trulieve Cannabis Corp. has finally been consummated, creating the largest marijuana company in the U.S., with a combined 149 dispensaries and operations in 11 states.

Harvest has 39 operating shops in five states, including one in Tucson at 2734 E. Grant Road, and was the first operator to sell adult-use marijuana in the state after the Arizona Department of Health Services gave the green light to legal sales in Arizona on Jan. 22.

A Chicago-based medical marijuana company is spending $170 million to expand in Pennsylvania through a pair of acquisitions which include a Lancaster dispensary and a Mount Joy growing-and-processing operation.

Cresco Labs recently agreed to buy three Cure Penn dispensaries, including one here on Fruitville Pike in the former Kmart Plaza, plus dispensaries in Philadelphia and Phoenixville (near King of Prussia) for $90 million.

The Fruitville Pike store is the county’s oldest dispensary, opening in March 2018 and operating seven days a week. It has nearly 20 employees.

“We’re continuously focused on normalizing the cannabis-buying experience,” said William Butler, Cresco Labs’ senior vice president for retail, in a prepared statement. “Our goal is for patients who prioritize their health and wellness to feel as comfortable buying cannabis products as they do visiting a supermarket or fitness center.”

The acquisition is expected to be completed by year-end. When that happens, the three Cure Penn dispensaries will become Sunnyside locations. However, they already carry some Cresco Labs products, including the Cresco, Remedi and Good News brands, as Cresco Labs is the largest wholesaler of brand cannabis products in the U.S.

Arrests made at Illegal Marijuana Dispensary

On Wednesday, October 20, 2021, at approximately 10:00 a.m., deputies from the Sheriff's Lakeside Substation Crime Suppression Team and detectives from the Sheriff's Lakeside Substation, with the assistance of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department's Marijuana Enforcement Team (MET), the Sheriff's Special Enforcement Detail, and a representative from San Diego County Code Compliance, served a search warrant at an illegal marijuana dispensary located at 8802 Winter Gardens Blvd in Lakeside.

The warrant was part of ongoing investigations by the Sheriff's Department of illegally operating cannabis facilities in San Diego County. Detectives seized the following during the search: 

There were four subjects arrested for various narcotics and weapons related charges. 

This warrant follows community concerns about illegal marijuana dispensaries operating near schools and residential areas.  We want to assure those we serve the San Diego County Sheriff's Department is listening to the community and recognizes the negative impact illegal marijuana dispensaries have on our neighborhoods. 

A Columbia man was arrested and charged for smuggling weed from a California airport to Columbia.

Kevin Antwan Simmons, 43, is charged with trafficking marijuana after officials found more than 40 pounds of weed and $4,000 in his suitcase at Columbia Metropolitan Airport, according to the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department.

“Law enforcement officers from the Sacramento area notified South Carolina-based Drug Enforcement Administration agents that Simmons was flying into Columbia October 17,” said Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon. “Once Simmons landed and grabbed two suitcases at baggage claim, DEA and Lexington County narcotics agents approached him and he consented to a search of his bags.”

Sacramento officers found the weed in the suitcases when the bags were X-rayed before the flight departed, according to deputies.

Two people were killed on Monday in a fire at an alleged illegal marijuana grow operation in Los Angeles, officials say.

The Los Angeles Fire Department received reports of the warehouse fire from a paramedic crew that passed by it at around 12:18 p.m. Within moments of the report being received, the fire had already seared through the roof of the building, the fire department said in a news release.

The firefighters who arrived at the scene saw with three severely burned people running out of the building while calling out a fourth person’s name, Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Erik Scott told KTLA.

The three burn victims were hospitalized, and one of them, who suffered injuries to 90% of his body, died at the hospital, KTLA reported. The other two are still hospitalized, one in serious condition and the other in critical condition. Fire crews discovered a person’s body inside the building during a search of the premises on Tuesday morning, The Los Angeles Times reported.

The fire spread rapidly throughout the building and triggered multiple explosions. It took 150 firefighters slightly over an hour to extinguish the blaze, and fire crews continued to extinguish hotspots throughout the night, according to the fire department’s release.

Investigators suspect the building may have been home to an illegal marijuana grow operation based on testing of materials from inside the building, which revealed positive results for hemp, the release said.

Using Sustainable Hemp Solutions, One World Pharma Seeks to Become a Major Supplier Within the Federal Government, and Public and Private Sectors, Both Nationally and Internationally.

Canadian cannabis firm The Green Organic Dutchman (TGOD) is celebrating its first medical cannabis shipment to Australia.

In September last year, TGOD inked a distribution agreement with LeafCann for Australian and New Zealand medical cannabis markets, where LeafCann will be the exclusive supplier of the company’s products in both countries.

While the first products were expected to be available to Australian patients by the end of the first quarter of this year, that didn’t eventuate for whatever reasons – and it’s not hard to think of a few.

In addition to challenges posed by the pandemic, anything related to cannabis tends to get bogged down by red tape.

Still, TGOD seems very happy with the way things have turned out.

The Batavia Town Board on Wednesday night voted to schedule a public hearing on a resolution that would enable the municipality to opt out of allowing cannabis retail dispensaries and on-site consumption sites through New York’s Marijuana Regulation & Taxation Act.

“I don’t think there’s enough information from the State of New York to enter into something that we could never get out of,” Town Supervisor Gregory Post said following the monthly board meeting at the Town Hall on West Main Street Road. “The bottom line is that we can always opt in to it when we have more details and it is something that we can administer.”

Post said he was concerned that “a decision made by five people (the Batavia Town Board) probably isn’t a clear and transparent representation of the whole community.”

If a local law to opt out is passed following the public hearing set for 7:10 p.m. on Nov. 17 at the Town Hall, it could lead to a permissive referendum organized by residents who disagree with its decision.

“People opposing that law could get together and find their way to the ballot and ask the community whether they want this or not,” Post said. “In my opinion, this is too early in the game … and jump into this thing not know what the down-the-road consequences and financial implications are.”

The company's merger with Aphria closed in May, but investors shouldn't rule out another one in the near future.

Cannabis company Tilray (NASDAQ:TLRY) is hoping to reach $4 billion in annual revenue by 2024. For a company that is currently at a run rate of less than $700 million -- it has a long way to go in reaching that target.

Agents of the Paraguayan SENAD incinerated 36 tons of marijuana on September 17, 2021, in Concepción department. (Photo: Paraguayan National Anti-Drug Secretariat)

On September 17, 2021, agents of the Paraguayan National Anti-Drug Secretariat (SENAD, in Spanish) incinerated 36 tons of marijuana in Concepción department.

“It was the largest drug incineration ever carried out in our country,” SENAD said in a statement. The previous record was in 2014, after the seizure of 26 tons of drugs in Capitán Bado, Amambay department.

The incineration of the 36 tons was done at the Internal Defense Operations Command base in Concepción. Units of the Paraguayan Armed Forces’ Joint Task Force found the drug on July 23, during a routine flyover in Paso Barreto district.

From a helicopter, service members witnessed “the activities of a group of people loading bags onto large trucks in a rural estate, in a partly wooded area,” the Paraguayan news portal ADN Digital reported. Service members arrested four people who were storing the shipment, bound for Brazil.

Scam artists are giving a whole new meaning to trick or treat. With Halloween around the corner, police want you to take extra precautions to keep children safe.

Law enforcement agencies are asking parents to check every piece of candy their child receives. Be on the lookout for tampered treats or marijuana edibles inside packing that appeals to kids.

Marijuana edibles can easily be mistaken for regular candy. The bright & color packaging appeals to kids.

Roseville police busted a gas station for selling edibles that are lookalikes for Warheads and Gushers.

The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority issued a patient advisory recently after confirming the presence of THC analogs, including THC-O-acetate, in a rising number of medical marijuana products.  

According to the OMMA, the manufactured THC compound is not a medical marijuana product and has been shown to be harmful when added to products already containing THC. Side effects can include seizures, difficulty speaking and vomiting.  

Metis, the OMMA’s quality assurance lab, is monitoring for the presence of this chemical compound in a concentrate known as Platinum OG Sugar in surveillance samples.

Kelsey Pagonis, OMMA communications manager, said that THC-O-acetate can be one to three times as potent as naturally occurring THC. 

“It’s very intentional. It’s a dangerous process to make THC-O-acetate. This isn’t something that happens by accident,” she said.  

BOULDER, Colo. — Introducing jeng an alcohol-free, hemp-infused, ready-to-drink cocktail to excite the palate, inspire conversation, and elevate social experiences.

jeng is the brainchild of Christopher Lackner and John Enghauser, old friends who reconnected with an idea right before the pandemic hit. Using a recipe from John’s favorite “home cocktail,” jeng hit the shelves in New York in early 2021. The company is currently expanding into Chicago, with plans for national expansion in 2022.

“John and I are fans of bold flavored cocktails and craft beers. Rather than create another boring CBD seltzer, we set out to make a drink that we would enjoy, one that replicated the cocktail experience but without the alcohol,” said Lackner. “A cocktail is more than a delivery device for alcohol, it’s an experience to be shared. With jeng, you get that cocktail flavor, feeling, and connection. What you don’t get is the hangover.”

Bringing a refreshing, alcohol-free alternative to cocktail culture, jeng replicates classics like the Moscow mule, the paloma, and the gin & tonic. Eleven milligrams of CBD make the drink easily enjoyable and approachable for the sober-curious as well as the CBD-curious.

“We intentionally formulated jeng to have a “sessionable” amount of CBD to make it enticing, not intimidating,” said Enghauser. “It’s the perfect amount for someone who may never have heard of CBD but is eager to try it.”

Costs such as labor, electricity, and tariffs may have already doomed the US cannabis industry.

Costs of labor, water, electricity, and tariffs may all signal an unfair market for US marijuana growers.

The US cannabis industry’s final chapter has already been written before it even began!  While the US cannabis industry anxiously waits for Federal legalization, presumably the beginning of a new age of marijuana, the final chapter has already been written, taken from a book we have read many time before.

Wait, what?  I thought the US marijuana industry was just starting, how can it be over? So soon?