WeedLife News Network

Brittney Griner was arrested in Russia for possession of marijuana. She’s not the only athlete to use the drug for medical purposes.

Last week, Brittney Griner testified in front of a Russian court after being arrested for possession of marijuana. She claimed she used marijuana to treat her sports injuries. And she isn’t the only one.

“Because of my injuries that I’ve had over the long career of basketball. From my spine, no cartilage in my knee. I was in a wheelchair for four months. I broke my ankle and I also sprained my knee really bad. So I was wheelchair-bound,” she explained.

While banned by all sports, athletes are amongst the most consistent cannabis users in the world. In an interview with GQ, retired NBA pro Al Harrington said that he thought about 85% of NBA players used “some type of cannabis.” Martellus Bennett, a retired NFL player, said he believed “about 89 percent” used cannabis.

It’s usually when players retire that they come clean about their drug use, claiming that marijuana helped them calm down and manage the pain that comes from submitting their bodies to long hours of stress and exercise. “When we looked at the positive effects of cannabis for this population, sleep, pain levels, and the ability to calm down were the most common areas where athletes saw improvement,” said Joanna Zeiger, who conducted a study on the matter.

Despite the large numbers of cannabis users involved in sports, there’s not a lot of research on the matter. Kevin Boehnke, a researcher at the University of Michigan’s Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center, spoke with the New York Times and explained that while cannabis tended to be safer than anti-inflammatories and opiates, “that doesn’t mean it’s without risk.” Still, he believes the drug should be studied.

Places in Central Texas like Austin and Cedar Park have lifted penalties for low-level marijuana possessions. But, no city in Hays County has done that yet. The City of San Marcos could be the first.

Local advocacy group, Mano Amiga, collected enough petition signatures to get the issue in front of the city council and potentially the November ballot.

“Council cannot reject it and they cannot change any of the language in the policy. All they can do is pass it outright or send it to the ballot,” Communications Director for Mano Amiga Sam Benavides said.

The measure would decriminalize possession of up to 4 ounces of marijuana in San Marcos.

However, that only applies to the city’s police officers. In a statement sent to KXAN, Hays County District Attorney Wes Mau said this wouldn’t apply to other city or county law enforcement agencies.

“Officers, deputies and troopers who encounter persons in possession of marijuana in the city limits may still enforce the state law.” Hays county district attorney Wes Mau.

An IT programmer was allegedly forced to store £225,000 worth of herbal cannabis at his home in Belfast to pay off a personal drug debt, a court has heard.

Peter Renshaw claimed he had acted under duress after police seized the haul - some of which was in packaging with images of Winnie the Pooh.

The 36-year-old civil servant, of Willowbank Park in the city, is charged with possessing Class B drugs with intent to supply.

He was arrested following searches carried out at his home on Tuesday.

Belfast Magistrates' Court heard officers discovered 15kg of herbal cannabis with a potential street value of £225,000 in an upstairs bedroom.

"This was found in a variety of packages such as cardboard boxes, suitcases or holdalls, giving the impression that it had not all arrived at the location at the same time," an investigating detective said.

CBD gummies are now a mainstream phenomenon, and there are tons of different kinds of CBD gummy products available online. Why have CBD gummies become so popular, though, and what benefits can they offer if you suffer from chronic pain or inflammation? Discover the benefits of CBD gummies, and find out why you should try CBD gummies for pain and other purposes.

What are CBD gummies?

CBD gummies are delicious, chewable CBD-infused treats that are often fruit-flavored. There are lots of different ingredients you can use to make gummies, but the best CBD gummies only contain simple, natural ingredients with no artificial sweeteners, flavorings, or coloring agents.

What do CBD gummies do?

Designed to make it easy and tasty to take CBD anytime and anywhere, CBD gummies deliver this cannabinoid into your system efficiently and without any unpleasant hemp taste. While you’ll still taste the CBD oil in your gummy to some degree, the flavor will be masked under fruity sweetness.

Why do people use CBD gummies?

“There are a bunch of us in Hollywood that smoke weed and get shit done.”

Kevin Smith. Such an ordinary name for such an extraordinary man. For almost 30 years we’ve looked to him for comedy, podcasts, and comic books, while also admiring his acting and filmmaking in movies like Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and the movie that started it all, Clerks.

Kevin may have become a stoner later in life, but the wisdom he carries regarding it reads like a positive affirmation we should all ingest. Turned on to using cannabis for a higher good by his pal Seth Rogan, Kevin’s take on living a stoner lifestyle gives us one more reason to admire this multi-talented, ordinary name having man.

Coming off the heels of Comic-Con, and before Clerks 3 makes it’s anticipated debut on September 13th, we attempted to get some spoilers (Spoiler: we didn’t), discussed the sweetest currency, his strains with Caviar Gold, and cannabis being a running theme in his life, even when it was just for show. 

Do you ever sit there at Comic-Con and revel in your head like, oh my god I did this?

Kevin Smith: Like, literally. Revel is the right fucking word. I’ve been going to Comic-Con since 95’ and when I first got there the dream was like, this is where I wanna be accepted. I wanna be as integral to this institution as Stan. This is worth all the effort. Some people got lucky early, like I did with my career, and all they wanted to do was party, do drugs, and get fucked. All I wanted to do was become the King of Comic-Con. It took decades, and I don’t know if I’m the king, but I’m definitely Comic-Con royalty. So, I do revel in it because I think back to the conscious effort I put into getting here. The kids today would call it, “thirsty.” I’m sure the kids would also say that was cringe, but whatever. I do revel in it. It’s so gross to admit!

A good rule of thumb is that if your state bans cannabis use in public places, it is safe to say you cannot use it in a state park.

Camping is a wildly popular fair weather activity throughout the country. It is a perfect excuse to get your family and friends together for some time with nature. When you’re in the woods, or camped on the beach, it is easy to let all your anxieties and professional stresses evaporate into the clean air. 

While releasing stress is one of the many great benefits of camping, it is important to remember there are still rules and laws you must follow while camping. This is particularly true if you bring some marijuana along with you on your camping trip.

Camping can be the perfect setting to enjoy some great bud, but it is important you go into your trip prepared with tools and knowledge to ensure a smooth and elevated excursion. Here are some basic facts and tips to live by when camping with marijuana this year.

Know the laws for national parks vs. state parks vs. private camps

It might seem like anything goes when you are in the vast nothingness of a place like Glacier or Badlands National Park, but in fact, alcohol is strictly forbidden. Because national parks are federal land, federal laws apply. That means marijuana is still a schedule 1 substance. The exact verbiage, according to the National Park Service is, “Possession or use of marijuana inside a National Park Service unit (parks, preserves, rivers and monuments) is prohibited.”

When it comes to state parks, things can be more complicated. A reporter with SF Gate struggled for days to find any official who could offer any sort of “policy” for California State Parks, stating that, “The legalization of recreational marijuana in many states is still so new, and regulations surrounding it can still be complex and unclear.” In other words, if your state recently legalized marijuana, then state parks may not even have up-to-date policy on cannabis usage.

Dispensaries have many challenges in managing inventory for amnesia autoflower and other cannabis products.Hence, the current technology is not designed for the scale and complexity of this industry.

A restaurant may have 30 menu items to manage; a dispensary may have hundreds or even thousands. The amount of data to track requires extensive attribution and data capture. Blockchain technology offers a solution. The cannabis industry is ripe for this kind of technology. Flowhub, Outlaw Technology, and Releaf app are all examples of these solutions. 

Flowhub is a technology that can be used to streamline cannabis business transactions. Flowhub’s POS system can automatically report information to state compliance tracking systems, replacing a laborious manual process. In addition, the system can be customized to fit the needs of specific cannabis businesses. Flowhub has partnered with other technology companies, including Aeropay, to provide its services to the cannabis business industry.

Flowhub is a software provider for the cannabis industry, which can help dispensaries manage their point-of-sale, inventory tracking, and more. It connects cannabis retailers with leading data analytics, helping dispensaries make better business decisions. Flowhub is a founding member of the U.S. Cannabis Council, and has given away more than $3 million in free software through its social equity program. The company is privately held and focuses on remote operations and is committed to helping cannabis businesses thrive.

Outlaw Technology

As the cannabis business industry continues to expand, the need for advanced technology is becoming even more important. Blockchain, access control, AI, and IoT have all found application in the cannabis business. These new innovations help businesses streamline their operations while keeping costs low and the end product quality high. The industry has seen many technological advancements over the last decade, including better harvests and increased production efficiency. These new technologies help businesses associate with their customers and guarantee quality safety standards. They also give consumers a variety of cannabis products to choose from.

One of the latest developments in the cannabis industry uses artificial intelligence (AI). This technology can help growers and processors automate data entry, reducing inventory and harvest time. AI is also being used to track consumer data. Startups like Eaze, which developed an app for marijuana delivery, are leveraging AI to predict demand and supply. They then adjust inventory accordingly. Outlaw Technology can help the cannabis business industry.

Mids can be regarded as the mid-point between low-quality and high-quality cannabis. This classification has brought on different names for this class of marijuana flowers over the years.

For many that are new to the cannabis industry, you might have heard the word “mid” being used repeatedly while trying to buy weed. Now I know that we all want to act like we are in tune with every lingua in the cannabis industry, but it’s okay if you’re not. All you need is the right info and you’re good to go.

Before we delve into what mids are, you must understand what is known as the cannabis quality spectrum. This is simply the classification of cannabis based on its quality and many cannaseurs are known to use the classification that recognizes mids. There are four categories, listed in order of low quality to high quality: regs, mids, beasters, and headies. This means that regs are the least in terms of quality and headies are the best.

Another explanation of the cannabis quality spectrum has the marijuana flowers divided into three categories: low quality, medium quality, and high quality. The high-quality cannabis can further be divided into the low-high quality and high-high quality.

What are mids?

Mids can be regarded as the mid-point between low-quality and high-quality cannabis. This classification has brought on different names for this class of marijuana flowers over the years, including: middle, middle shelf, the thirties, middies, and B+. All these names point to the same thing, but what identifies mids are the flower variables. This includes appearance, flavor, cannabinoid content, effects, and price.

Appearance

You can easily identify mids from its appearance as many U.S. cannabis readily falls into this category. The buds are usually separated and contain few seeds and stems. It is also possible for the buds not to contain seeds at all. Mids have very few trichomes and are very bright with colored pistils and orange hairs.

When a pink glow lit up the evening sky above an Australian town on Wednesday, local woman Tammy Szumowski wondered if the apocalypse had arrived.

Summer heat is finally here, and whether you love the hot weather or are already counting down the days until fall, we all have to navigate it together. Here are three tips for cannabis users trying to make it through and stay cool.

Only you, says Smokey

Where there's smoke, there's fire, and where there's fire there can be wildfire. According to the National Interagency Fire Center and AccuWeather, smoking is the fifth-leading cause of wildfire on Forest Service lands since 2006. The last thing this region needs is to see any more of our beautiful forest burned to a crisp, and the last thing you should want is to be responsible for it the next time that inevitably happens.

If you're thinking our exceptionally wet spring will dampen the fire season this year, think again. On April 8, back when it was still cold and rainy, a brush fire on the West Plains forced evacuations. The spark? A man smoking THC oil. If you're going to be stoned in nature this summer, smoke before you go.

Protect your meltable edibles

If you ever left a candy bar in a car as a kid, you know exactly what this section is about. Chocolate and gummy edibles will start to melt around 90 degrees, a temperature the Spokane region will continue hitting all summer. Which means it's not just the hot car to be vigilant about. Anywhere outside, even in the shade, your edibles could melt, as could indoor spaces without air conditioning. Fortunately, melted edibles will remain edible after a few hours in the heat, and it won't do anything to their potency. However, longer term exposure to heat or higher temperatures, like being left in a hot car all day long, can affect the flavor and, over time, the edible's edibility itself.

Cold smoke

There's iced coffee and iced tea, so why not iced smoke? On sweltering days like those we've been having, there's no good reason to subject yourself to the pain of a big, hot bong rip. Head shops, dispensaries and even some convenience stores around the region sell ice catcher bongs, which allow users to drop a few ice cubes down the neck to cool the smoke as it is being inhaled.

A new study finds a link between states with legal cannabis and more car crashes.

While data regarding marijuana’s effect on driving has been analyzed, results haven’t been conclusive. But now a new study claims to have found a link between legal marijuana and car crashes.

Published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, researchers saw an uptick of 6% in states with legal marijuana. States that hadn’t legalized marijuana didn’t see an uptick in car accidents.

The study’s data shows that fatal car crashes experienced an increase of 2%, making researchers believe that marijuana may cause more accidents but doesn’t make for a deadlier driving environment. They theorize that this is due to marijuana’s effect of slowing down people’s reaction time, something that may cause them to drive more slowly and thus be involved in accidents that are less deadly.

In a press release, lead researcher Charles Farmer argued that while legalizing marijuana provided some benefits, it also came with a cost.

“Legalization removes the stigma of marijuana use, while the onset of retail sales merely increases access,” he said.

In 2019, the environmental company Re Waste estimated that between 12.7 and 14.1 million pounds of plastic from cannabis packaging ended up in landfills between October 2018 and August 2019.

Since cannabis became legal in Canada, sustainability still leaves room for improvement, mitigating the millions of pounds of plastic packaging that legal marijuana produces every year. (Benzinga)

According to reporting by Leafly, in 2018—the first year of cannabis legalization in Canada—solid black plastic containers were the most visible containers on the market. Additionally, several brands have opted to package their cannabis products in fancy-looking but non-recyclable packaging.

Also, jars, which are common for selling flowers, take decades to decompose, which pump toxins into the soil and eventually make their way into the nearest ocean. It is difficult to quantify the market plastic waste problem, but the overall impact has been negative.

In 2019, the environmental company Re Waste estimated that “between 5.8 and 6.4 million kilograms (or between 12.7 and 14.1 million pounds) of plastic from cannabis packaging ended up in landfills between October 2018 and August 2019.”

“Plastic waste and the cannabis industry tend to go hand in hand, but our specialized process works to mitigate the impact of this plastic waste on the environment,” Re Waste said on its website.

Many of the main differences between amateur brewers and growers come down to the laws surrounding the product.

In recent history there has been a growing interest in both home brewing beer and home growing marijuana. Home brewing kits have become a commonplace gift to give a male partner who enjoys craft beer. Meanwhile, year after year more states re legalize marijuana, and allow citizens to legally grow marijuana on their own property. 

The art of homebrewing and that of marijuana home cultivation might have two very different end products, but a lot of the motivating factors are the same. The end goal for both groups is to create a superb product that is unique and can be enjoyed by themselves or shared with others. But apart from the fact that both of these groups are creating products that create a state of euphoria and relaxation, what else do they have in common? There are, in fact, several similarities and also a few key differences between these two groups.

The first similarity within these two groups is that both home brewers and home growers are in the vast minority of consumers. Approximately 6% of cannabis users grow their own marijuana, while there are an estimated 1.1 million homebrewers in the US, according to the Home Brewers Association, which is less than half of 1% of the population. It is important to note, however, that this sliver of a percentage of the population, according to the same Home Brewers Association statistics, creates 1% of the total US beer production.

Another similarity between the two groups is that the majority of both are men. While New Frontier reported that 6 in 10 marijuana cultivators are men, the numbers are far higher for home brewers. According to a 2021 Brulosophy homebrewers survey, 98.4% of homebrewers identified as male. This number makes it clear that home brewing is currently viewed more as a boys club, while home growing is a hobby or art form that both male and females feel comfortable and inclined to pursue.

Both of these hobbies are also popular in the youthful to middle-aged tier of individuals. As far as marijuana home growers are concerned, according to the New Frontier data, “nearly 1/3 (31%) of them being among ages 18-34, and nearly half (49%) being among ages 35-54.” Similarly, according to the Brulosophy survey, 39.5% of home brewers are between 30-39, with another 26.6% between 40-49. It appears this 25-50 age range is a popular sweet spot for both of these home crafting hobbies. 

Several ancient societies burned hemp during funeral ceremonies. What better way to part with the dead than by getting hella faded?

Nowadays people tend to associate the cannabis plant with Mexico, and for good reason. For decades, narcos smuggled their harvests into the United States and Europe. Along with California, Mexico is known to produce some of the finest cannabis in the world. The states of Sinaloa, Nayarit, Jalisco, Michoacán, Guerrero, Oaxaca, Chihuahua, Sonora, and Durango—where the largest farms are located—all have climates that are perfect for cultivating cannabis: year-round temperature ranging between 70 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit, with cool, long nights and low humidity.

But long before cannabis was introduced to—and became synonymous with—the New World, it was being cultivated in the lands of Central Asia. Initially, though, the cannabis or hemp plant was grown not for its leaves but for its stems, which could be processed into a strong and durable rope.

Excavations reveal that humans have been using hemp rope since the Neolithic age. The earliest evidence for burning cannabis, meanwhile, dates back to 3,500 BC, and is attributed to the Kurgans of modern-day Romania. This Proto-Indo-European tribe probably burned the plant as part of their rituals and ceremonies, a practice that spread eastward as its practitioners migrated. Why the Kurgans burned cannabis is difficult to say. They may well have discovered the plant’s psychoactive properties by accident, only to find that the smoke heightened their connection with all things spiritual.

The earliest evidence for smoking cannabis comes from the Pamir Mountains in western China. There, in 2500-year-old tombs, researchers discovered THC residue inside the burners of charred pipes that were probably used for funerary rites. (Similar pipes, dated to the 12th century BC, were later found in Ethiopia, left there by a separate culture). These devices, compared to pyres, would have yielded a much stronger high. Given their placement inside a crypt, however, it’s safe to say they were used only ceremonially, not recreationally. 

Some scholars have argued that cannabis was an important ingredient of soma, a ritual drink concocted by the Vedic Indo-Aryans of northern India. Described in the Rigveda, a collection of ancient Sanskrit hymns, soma was made by extracting juice from an unknown plant. When taken in small doses, soma was reported to induce a feeling of euphoria. In higher doses, it caused people to see hallucinations and lose their sense of time. All three of these effects have been ascribed to cannabis, but even if cannabis was not the main ingredient of soma, it may have been combined with psychedelics such as psilocybin, a.k.a. magic mushrooms.

The general consensus about the compound is that it is a powerful cannabinoid and very safe for consumption, giving off an indica-type, couch lock kind of high.

With more states joining the bandwagon of adult-use cannabis legalization, the recreational cannabis market has grown significantly. Now, a lot of manufacturers are in a connection to synthesize and isolate the safest and most powerful compounds from the marijuana plant.

Considering that the most popular and classic cannabinoid, Delta 9 THC, is still prohibited at the federal level, manufacturers have gone into the lab to find alternative THCs that get the job done. With how far the industry has come, a lot of people are familiar with Delta 8 THC or THCV and Delta 10. However, a lot more cannabinoids exist and more are still on the horizon. The latest cannabinoid making new waves in the industry is THCjd.

Different types of THC

Except you’re a newbie, you should be relatively used to Delta 9 THC, how it affects the mind and its reaction to the level. At a fundamental level, a lot of consumers are aware that THC is the dominant psychoactive compound present in cannabis.

THC is the reason why consumers get high on weed. But what many are not aware of is the number of THC variants that exist, how they differ from one another, and which has more potency. Not quite long, the cannabis industry came off all bent on synthesizing and accessing hundreds of cannabis. This applied to both variants that have been synthesized in the marijuana plant and several isomers and analogs.

As it stands THC, and the idea of synthesizing different variants of THC has pushed the discussion door open in some circles. Discussions about various chain lengths of THCV, THC-O, THC-H, THCB, THCP, and many more are now being conversed. This variation in chain length is also said to apply to other cannabinoids such as HHC.

Even though pot shops are seemingly on every corner of the city and despite the opening of a nice space to light one up at Exhibition Place, cannabis tourism is not yet much of a thing in Toronto.

Though Toronto has gone from just 12 legal cannabis shops at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to close to 500 now, according to a recent New York Times story, and though it’s true that there are things like personalized tours and cooking classes themed around marijuana for eager tourists who favour bud, these aren’t exactly high times, according to those in the know.

Destination Toronto told the Sun that they’ve only received a couple of inquires in the past four years about cannabis tourism in Toronto.

Cannabis Carnival recently opened and will continue for the rest of the summer at Exhibition Place. It’s a 600,000-square-foot outdoor smoking area for cannabis at Grand Bizarre Supper Club.

George Smitherman, president and CEO of the Cannabis Council of Canada, recently told reporters that the Cannabis Carnival space will start the “normalization of cannabis culture.

“There will be more opportunities. There will be more of these opportunities with edibles, drinks and the food evolution of the cannabis consumption culture,” Smitherman said.

As more states and cities decriminalize and legalize marijuana, the number of kids accidentally ingesting cannabis products has doubled, and in some areas quadrupled -- That’s according to a recent study in the U.S. and Canada.

7News’ Adrianna Hopkins talked to a pediatrician about what parents should know.

The American Association of Poison Control Centers says each year they get around 3000 calls for help over this issue, and they believe a lot of cases aren’t reported.

First things first, Dr. Caleb Ward with Children’s National Hospital says every family should have the Poison Control number posted in plain sight for themselves, caregivers, grandparents, and babysitters. That’s your first call if you think your child has eaten an edible.

Other advice:

Here’s what happens to a kid who’s eaten a cannabis product:

A new study by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare reports on perceptions and attitudes toward drug usage in the Land Down Under.

We’re all well aware that attitudes around cannabis are shifting around the world. Now, a new Australian Institute of Health and Welfare study analyzing 2019 data from Australia’s 2019 National Drug Strategy Household Survey (NDSHS) sheds new light on just how much progress the Land Down Under has made surrounding cannabis perception, as well as beliefs around other substances.

The NDSHS focuses on the attitudes and perceptions of people across Australia on a variety of drug-related issues. In addition to gauging public perception on a variety of substances, it asks people about the measures the country takes to reduce drug use and drug-related harm, including government laws, taxes, and government funding of rehabilitation and withdrawal management treatment programs.

The 2019 data asked around 20,000 people aged 14 and up about their attitudes toward drugs, finding that for the first time, 20% of respondents supported regular cannabis use, more than the 15% who support tobacco use.

Piggy-backing off this belief, as cannabis use becomes more widely acceptable, according to the study, more Australians were in favor of greater penalties against tobacco use. Another finding notes that 72% of people in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) supported restricting the use of electronic cigarettes in public places, compared with 61% in the Northern Territory (NT).

As a whole, 85% of respondents supported stricter enforcement of laws against supplying minors with tobacco and stricter penalties for the sale or supply of tobacco to minors. Though, respondents were largely opposed to increasing tobacco taxes to discourage smoking or increase tobacco taxes to pay for health education, with 18% and 17% showing support for these policies, respectively.