WeedWorthy News Network
(image: credit GKUA Ultra Premium)
If you’ve listened to the music of groundbreaking rapper and entrepreneur Lil Wayne, his love of cannabis shouldn’t be much of a surprise.
Now, Wayne is making a lasting impact in the cannabis space with his cannabis brand GKUA Ultra Premium.
“I used to just want to get high, now I smoke to get inspired…with GKUA, I’m sharing a feeling that I love,” explained Lil Wayne in an interview with NME Magazine.
(image: Police grew suspicious when they noticed a marijuana smell emanating from his car. / PHOTO BY VMARGINEANU / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS)
50-year-old Irish resident caught with €20k worth of weed.
An Irish resident is definitely in the soup after claiming that the €20,000 ($31,000) worth of weed he had in his vehicle was merely meant as an ingredient for the soup he planned to make.
In fact, after being caught with the substantial stash, Eddy Osagie, 50, initially claimed the weed wasn’t really weed at all, according to EchoLive. Osagie said the paste-like substance found inside a couple of cereal boxes was a completely different material than cannabis.
The explanation failed to convince Irish gardai, who had stopped the man and grew suspicious when they noticed a marijuana smell emanating from his car.
(image: Shutterstock)
The Detroit City Council approved an ordinance on Tuesday that will permit recreational marijuana retailers and other adult-use cannabis businesses to operate in the city. The ordinance, which includes provisions to ensure that at least half of recreational pot businesses are owned by city residents, was introduced last month by Councilmember James Tate.
On Tuesday, Tate said that the ordinance is the product of two years of work “to identify ways to make sure there’s success” for residents of the city. Currently, only four of Detroit’s 46 medical marijuana retailers are owned by people who live in the city.
“We’ve seen around the country where individuals who live in the municipality where the industry is located are frozen out and not having an opportunity to participate,” Tate said.
Legacy Applicants To Get Priority
Although regulated sales of marijuana to adults began in some Michigan municipalities last year, city leaders in Detroit were determined to craft legislation that supports ownership of cannabis businesses by longtime city residents. Under the approved measure, at least 50% of licenses will be awarded to applicants with “Detroit legacy” status. Detroit legacy applicants are those who have lived in the city at least 15 of the past 30 years, or 13 years if the applicant is low-income. Those with a marijuana conviction who have lived in Detroit for 10 of the last 30 years also qualify.
Cocktails don’t have to have alcohol these days.
With the holiday season already upon us, savvy hosts are busy preparing to celebrate with friends and family, whether the event is a planned family gathering or an impromptu party with friends. And while the challenges 2020 has thrown at us will mean things aren’t the way they usually are, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Consider beverages, for example. For millennia, the go-to thirst quencher for festivities in many cultures has been alcohol. And while a good cocktail can be an effective social lubricant and leave you feeling no pain, it can also fuel bitter arguments and tons of bullshit that nobody wants to deal with.
A Trendy Alternative To Alcohol
For many people who’d rather not drink or serve alcohol for these and myriad other reasons, cannabis-infused beverages are filling the void, whether for entertaining or regular day-to-day imbibing. Although they’re not exactly new, cannabis drinks are seeing growing popularity thanks to progress with infusion processes. While early iterations of many commercially produced infused beverages had unappetizing globs of cannabis oil that left a film on the container, most of today’s drinkable cannabis options are made with nanoemulsions that give them a light and refreshing mouth feel.
Jamie Evans, founder of The Herb Somm and author of The Ultimate Guide to CBD and the upcoming Cannabis Drinks: Secrets to Crafting CBD and THC Beverages at Home, explained in a virtual interview that beverages are a familiar way for people to consume that can easily be incorporated into a social setting or one’s daily routine.
The common wisdom about cannabis enthusiasts is that they don’t have any common wisdom. The stereotype of the drooling guy “on” cannabis sitting in his parent’s basement playing video games for hours or Instagrammig nonstop is what many of the “straights” still imagine to be true.
Hardly.
In fact, smoking or vaping or eating cannabis—especially certain sativa strains—has quickly become the best way to energize getting chores done. Every busy chore hustler knows that choosing the right CBD/THC sativa combination, with the right terpene profile, can do the trick.
The cannabis connoisseur knows to go for certain strains that fire up their chores jets, such as Strawberry Diesel, Lemon Meringue, AK47, Panama Punch, Mountain Thunder, and Silver Haze, just to name a few.
These strains are generally carefully cultivated for their energizing effects.
Official regulation, which can come when the federal government finally legalizes cannabis, will likely put into place some of the smaller standards, but the fundamental standards will likely stay the same.
TIP: Any cannabis business interested in pursuing organic methods should get started now so they’ll be ready when the organic designation becomes available.
One way to do that is to investigate similar plant products, such as lettuce, spinach, and kale.
Find out what the organic standards are for those consumables, and then take steps to implement them in your grow operation.
These companies may not be able to obtain the official “organic” designation, but they can still use the steps they have taken — such as non-GMO, zero pesticides, all-natural fertilizer, etc. — to promote their products.
Since the first medical marijuana dispensary opened in Arkansas in May 2019, overall sales have surpassed 28,000 pounds.
In total, Arkansans have spent $187 million to obtain 28,674 pounds of medical marijuana.
Scott Hardin with the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Commission anticipates sales will reach 30,000 pounds by late December.
There are currently 31 dispensaries in operation with six remaining that are working toward opening.
The six include a new dispensary in Little Rock, Fayetteville, Osceola and Hardy along with two dispensaries in Pine Bluff.
Already, cannabis enthusiasts have had the chance to rejoice over studies showing that drug abuse and teen use numbers are down in legal states, making the industry overall look good. Now, there is also evidence to suggest that fewer teens are seeking treatment for abusing cannabis in states where cannabis is recreationally legal.
The number specifically broke down how many teens were admitted to treatment programs for cannabis-related issues. Overall, the findings showed that in states where cannabis is legal, the number was lower, and fewer teens were seeking treatment for misuse.
Trends in Adolescent Treatment Admissions for Marijuana in the United States, 2008-2017, the report that shared this data with the world, hailed from the United States and was published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. According to the report, “adolescent treatment admissions for marijuana declined in most states. The mean annual admissions rate for all states declined over the study period by nearly half, from 60 (admissions per 10,000 adolescents) in 2008 to 31 in 2017.”
In other words, the states where the sharpest drop-offs were detected had not just medical, but also recreationally legal industries—the opposite of what many detractors thought would happen.
This is definitely significant information, both for cannabis advocates and those who may be on the fence. However, it is possible that the data also has something to do with the fact that cannabis laws are changing. Teens who may have been a part of the criminal justice system are now avoiding institutionalization.
This winter, expect to spend more time than usual indoors. Here are 5 weed hacks that can help you make the most of this time.
Winter is fast approaching and it’s gonna be one to remember, for better or worse. With less incentive and options to go out and have fun, it looks like the majority of our time will be spent indoors. Smoking weed probably.
While you’ll hopefully spend your time doing a healthy mix of different activities, don’t beat yourself up if you end up smoking more weed than usual. It’s the holidays and it’s been a wild year. Here are 5 weed hacks you should use this winter:
Buy enough to keep you stocked up
While we should never hoard anything, having a sufficient stock of weed during the holiday season s a good investment. Buying anything during this time of the year is a pain and a hassle, made worse by the pandemic. Next time you visit your dispensary, buy enough to keep you stocked for a couple of weeks, that way you limit your level of exposure and can focus on other aspects of the holidays that are fun and also stressful.
Store it correctly
Photo by Zummolo/Getty Images
The rapper and entrepreneur has partnered with newly-formed cannabis giant TPCO that hopes to reach 90% of California consumers by 2022.
Subversive Capital Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) with a growing footprint in the cannabis industry, has acquired two California-based cannabis brands and named Jay-Z as the resulting holding company’s chief visionary officer, it was announced Tuesday (Nov. 24). The transaction is expected to close in January.
Subversive Capital is acquiring the direct-to-consumer cannabis platform and brand Caliva as well as Left Coast Ventures, a cannabis and hemp producer. The brands will combine under a new vertically-integrated cannabis company to be named TPCO Holding Corp. The deal includes $36.5 million in equity commitments from new and existing shareholders, including Fireman Capital Partners, Tuatara Capital, Subversive Capital and Roc Nation artists including Rihanna, Yo Gotti, and Meek Mill.
The stated goal of the new venture is “to redefine the industry with a mission to both consolidate the California cannabis market and create an impactful global company.” Subversive Capital anticipates combined revenues of the two brands to reach $185 million this year and $334 million in 2021.
The news comes just one month after Jay-Z unveiled MONOGRAM, a new cannabis brand he launched with Caliva, where he has served as chief brand strategist since July 2019.
Licensed cannabis retailers in Maine sold more than $1.4 million worth of marijuana products during the first month of legal recreational pot sales, according to data released by state regulators on Monday. Legal sales of adult-use cannabis began on October 9, nearly four years after voters approved recreational marijuana sales for adults in 2016.
On Monday, the Maine Office of Marijuana Policy (OMP) released sales data collected by Metrc, the state’s cannabis track-and-trace system, for October 9 through November 8. The figures for the first 31 days of legal sales showed that smokable forms of cannabis were the most popular products, making up 76% of revenue. Cannabis concentrates accounted for 14% of sales, while infused foods and drinks made up the remaining 10%. A total of 21,194 transactions were logged by cannabis retailers during the first month in business. Sales figures released by the state are preliminary in nature and have not yet been audited by state regulators.
“In comparison, Maine’s medical marijuana program—which includes eight licensed dispensaries, more than 200 stores run by medical marijuana caregivers and individual caregivers that operate out of their homes or embrace the delivery model—sold on average $9.4 million in medical marijuana on a typical 31-day month in 2019,” reported the Portland Press Herald.
As legal sales of recreational marijuana launched on October 9, eight retailers had been licensed by the state to begin operations, although only six shops were ready to open for business on the first day, in part due to reported product shortages. By the first week in November, a total of nine adult-use cannabis retailers were open for business in the state.
Erik Gundersen, the director of the OMP, congratulated licensed cannabis retailers on the successful launch of licensed sales while facing the ongoing challenges of a global pandemic.
The Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office says misdemeanor marijuana cases don’t need to clog up the courts and is sharing how people charged with possession of less than two ounces can get that charge dismissed.
They need to have three clean drug tests in three months – and then the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office will dismiss the charge.
“One of the goals of the criminal justice system is rehabilitation; sobriety is the beginning of that rehabilitation,” Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney Sharen Wilson said. “When you bring proof of three months of sobriety– 90 days – the charge will be dismissed.”
The most frequently committed offense in Tarrant County is possession of marijuana of less than two ounces.
There were 3,750 cases filed last year.
The cannabis industry is abuzz over terpenes. Everyone in the know is claiming it’s “all about them terps brah,” but do you truly understand these magnificent compounds? Here are 10 things you probably didn’t know about the intoxicating aromas of cannabis.
1. Terpenes are everywhere. These wildly diverse organic compounds are produced by an array of plants and insects, and exist abundantly in nature. From orange peels to pine resin their powerful scents play a major role in our lives that we hardly ever consider. Their distinctive scents shine brightly in cannabis, from fruitiness to skunky, it’s all in the terpenes.
2. Terpenes interact with cannabinoids and are understood to have vital roll in the effects of the plant on the brain. They can increase and decrease dopamine and serotonin production, speed up THC absorption, and alter our moods. Whichever dominant terpenes are produced in a particular plant make a huge difference in the resulting “high” when consumed. The differences between myrcene and limonene are not only the scent, but also in the psychological and physical effects of the plant and the human body.
3. There is in fact a ‘terp wheel.’ Similar to the color wheel, which at its core is composed of sweet, sour, bitter and spicy. Many cannabis strains will exhibit a multitude of these flavors, before and after smoked, or ingested. As you move farther out the wheel flavors get more specific.
Despite the coronavirus pandemic, new legislation and business partnerships have Latin America on the verge of a cannabis boom, according to a new report.
The report from Prohibition Partners, a market research firm studying the cannabis industry, looked at recent investments and laws to keep marijuana more accessible in the region.
Recent steps towards wider decriminalization from Paraguay, Ecuador and Argentina, among others, have opened the doors for further investment in the region pertaining to marijuana.
Earlier this month, Argentina allowed people to grow cannabis at home and for people to take it medicinally if they are uninsured.
About 160 million Americans are overweight, including 30 per cent of children under the age of 20, according to The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. And The Weekreports the average U.S. adult weighs 15 pounds more than two decades ago, and researchers have been studying the obesity epidemic at a rising rate.
How did the U.S. get here?
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) was correlating restriction with obesity over a decade ago and found: “(Animals) given intermittent access to sugary food ate less of their normal food when the sweet food wasn’t available, and they overate the sweet food when it was available again. The scientists hypothesized that the brain’s stress system might be behind the behaviour.”
A Boston University team tested drugs that block signaling for stress, showcasing the power of food addiction. A partner of the study, Dr. Eric Zorrilla at the Scripps Research Institute, explained that stress often leads to overeating. “Our findings suggest that intermittently eating sweet food changes the brain’s stress system so that you might feel stressed… In other words, you might be self-medicating stress-like symptoms of abstinence with that piece of pie.”
And are Americans stressed? Absolutely. The American Psychological Association found that stress levels were rising due to political and economical tensions. It reports that almost half of Americans, 45 per cent, have lied awake at night in the past month due to stressful thoughts. And perhaps more surprising, the survey found stress was growing among individuals of almost every class.
On Nov. 3, New Jersey legalized the use of recreational marijuana after a majority of citizens voted in favor of the legislation.
The legislation allows people over 21 to smoke and purchase marijuana without medical reasoning. Additionally, the legislation also voted in favor of a 6.625% tax on marijuana, which is expected to significantly help the economy of New Jersey.
Sarah White believes the legalization of marijuana is a good thing, if the state can regulate who has access to it.
There are more than 1,200 nicknames for cannabis, some more familiar than others. Ganga, weed, reefer and bud are some of the most-used and familiar, while alfalfa, Green Goddess and muggle —a 1920's term for a pot smoker and not a non-magical person — are less well-known.
According to slang scholar Jonathon Green, drugs like cannabis are slang's “best sellers” because slang consists of words and phrases, think codewords or inside jokes, intended to stand in for an actual thing or topic considered too taboo for conversations in polite society.
Of course, one of cannabis' best-known nicknames is pot, but of all of the dozens and dozens of nicknames, the word “pot” standing in for cannabis seems a bit odd. Marijuana doesn't remotely resemble the shape of a cooking pot, nor is it the color of one. So where did this odd-ish term come from?
Truss Beverage reports that almost nine in 10 people are now aware of cannabis beverages
In all, 36 per cent of respondents say they are open to trying new cannabis formats.
New survey numbers from Truss Beverage Co. shows awareness of cannabis-related drinks has ballooned, with 87 per cent of legal-age Canadians reporting they know the products exist.
Two men have allegedly been caught carrying 85 kilograms of cannabis in the back of a truck on the NSW north coast.
Police stopped the 23-year-old driver and his 24-year-old passenger around 11.25pm on the Pacific Highway in Ewingsdale, for a traffic offence.
After speaking with the two men, police became suspicious and searched the back of the truck.
Officers allegedly found 186 packages of cannabis with a total weight of 85 kilograms.
The men were arrested charged with supply prohibited drug greater than commercial quantity, and drug possession.
Both men were refused bail and will appear before the court toady.
The latest $50 buzz word reverberating throughout the cannabis community these days is wellness. Cannabis users are no longer just smoking for the sake of sinking into a head change that makes them giggle non-stop, they are medicating on a plant put here by God or aliens as part of a healthy lifestyle that is free of the dangerous grips of alcohol, fast food and other worldly pollutants.
And those days of catching a fiendish case of the munchies and then diving into all things burritos, pizza or any number of bizarre, mad science kitchen concoctions that the stoned brain can conjure up when that ravenous hunger sets in, well, that has changed too. We’ve since replaced that tasty, high-fat cuisine for fruits and veggies and, we’ve got to tell you, life is good. NO, no it’s not — we’re actually miserable, high and while we would like to believe that wellness is our focus these days, all bets are off the second we get stoned.
The reality is, while the cannabis landscape is changing, some aspects of this broadening monster, no matter how much we try to convince ourselves otherwise, are destined to stay the same. We can put on a new uniform and change the way we comb our hair — present ourselves in a way that goes against the grain of those nasty stoner stereotypes — but we cannot run, nor can we hide from the fact that smoking weed really does turn the average user into a junk food junkie.
This point was made recently during a marijuana legalization event in upstate New York. This is where a team of researchers from the University of Buffalo surveyed hundreds of people in an attempt to gauge which way they were most likely to go when the munchies kicked in: Health food or junk food.
