WeedLife News Network

Concerns over a potentially dangerous blend of marijuana laced with the powerful narcotic fentanyl has prompted Glynn County Police to urge local pot smokers to destroy their stash.

County police narcotics officers report operations this week “have resulted in seizures of cannabis/marijuana laced with the highly addictive opioid Fentanyl,” the department said in a public health advisory issued Thursday afternoon. Fentanyl often contributes to drug overdoses when dealers lace it into other street drugs, typically heroin.

County police urge those who have recently bought marijuana on the streets to destroy it. Because Fentanyl can lead to “acute respiratory distress and even death,” police warned that marijuana laced with the narcotic carries “the potential for a fatal dosage.”

Police reminded residents that a person cannot be charges for possession of any illegal drugs discovered as a result of the person seeking medical care for an overdose.

Hopewell Township is prohibiting all six cannabis business class licenses – for now.

Members of the Township Committee adopted an ordinance prohibiting any cannabis class business from operating in the township during a virtual meeting held Aug. 16. The ordinance’s adoption is before the state deadline for municipalities to opt in or opt out of recreational cannabis.

“This is the only way we can control our own destiny, which is to opt out. If we do not opt out we have no control,” Mayor Julie Blake said.

The decision to prohibit all classes is temporary and makes certain that the township meets the state deadline of Aug. 21.

“To make sure that we meet our state deadline, this ordinance would opt the township out of all cannabis activities for now. The main objective of that is to meet the state deadline,” said Scott Miccio, township attorney from law firm Parker McCay. “If we do not meet the state deadline it will be forced upon the Township of Hopewell and the township would not have a choice of rolling the aspects it wants to opt into.”

Over drinks with his alleged accomplice Saturday night, an off-duty Portland firefighter decided to “teach a lesson’' to a man who he had learned reportedly burglarized the marijuana dispensary he owned, according to police, prosecutors and state records.

Meanwhile, an Uber driver had called police at 10:39 p.m. Saturday and reported seeing a man forced at gunpoint into a black Range Rover near Southwest Taylor Street and Broadway. The man being forced into the SUV unsuccessfully tried to brace himself against the door frame to avoid being pushed inside the vehicle, the Uber driver told police, according to the affidavit.

The Uber driver and the victim’s friends confirmed that the occupants of the stopped Range Rover were involved in the abduction, Molina wrote in the affidavit.

Police searched inside Oregon Hemp House for the man abducted but didn’t find him there either, according to the affidavit.

Lee, when interviewed by two Portland police detectives, said that Bourland had learned that a man had recently burglarized his business and had stolen marijuana, according to the affidavit.

DETROIT, Aug. 16, 2021 /CNW/ - Gage Growth Corp. ("Gage" or the "Company") (CSE: GAGE) a leading high-quality cannabis brand and operator in Michigan, today announced their third social equity grant recipient, Margaeux Bruner, Founder of Holi Smokeables, who will be awarded the grant for her product The Holi Flower, an exclusive hemp wrap cone.

"Michigan is a state that has been deeply impacted by the tragic effects of the War on Drugs. Social equity initiatives like Gage's generous grant program provide Black-owned businesses with a more level playing field to compete with deep-pocketed operators in their community," said Bruner. "We are grateful to receive this grant from Gage in order to bring unparalleled and innovative quality hemp products and accessories to the Michigan market."

Bruner founded Holi Smokeables in December 2020 and will launch the Holi hemp wrap cone in August. The company specializes in sustainable hemp paper products and accessories that honor the ethos of the flower. Prior to founding Holi Smokeables, Michigan's Attorney General, Dana Nessel, selected Bruner to serve on the state's Marijuana Legal Workgroup, which worked to ensure that the state's marijuana proposals and regulations are fairly, equally and appropriately implemented. Bruner also previously served as the Commissioner of the Impaired Driving Safety Committee, representing qualified and registered patients. During the 2018 Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol campaign, Bruner served as a Designated Speaker and Strategist on behalf of the Marijuana Policy Project. She will be speaking at the National Cannabis Festival on August 28, 2021, as well as the NECANN Boston event on September 12, 2021.

"Our social equity program is committed to not only making Michigan's cannabis industry more accessible to entrepreneurs but also amplifying the exceptional talents that make up our business community," said Fabian Monaco, CEO of Gage. "Margaeux is a tremendous business leader, and we are confident in her ability to leverage this grant to build Holi Smokeables into an impactful brand."

"We are thrilled to name Margaeux Bruner as our third social equity recipient," said Sydney Bowden, Community Coordinator at Gage. "In addition to her company being an asset to the retail sector, Bruner has been a tireless advocate for social equity in cannabis and in Michigan. We look forward to watching her grow this new venture and supporting other businesses like hers through our grant efforts."

Individual consumers in Arizona seem to be safe in possessing it. The Smart and Safe Act that voters approved last year allows people 21 and older to legally have five grams or less of any marijuana concentrate. That includes a Delta 8 gummy or vape cartridge.

The first thing to know about the increasingly popular cannabinoid called Delta 8 THC is that, unlike CBD, it will get you high.

How high? The internet is replete with articles and videos that attempt to detail and describe the difference between a Delta 8 buzz and that of normal marijuana, which contains Delta 9 THC. The overall verdict is that Delta 8 won't get you as intensely high as normal Delta 9 weed. Some estimates declare it 55 to 75 percent as potent as Delta 9. This has led people to call it "marijuana lite" or market it as a type of pot that provides a more clear-headed, less-impairing buzz.

The second thing to know about Delta 8 is that its legality is complicated, much like the cannabis plant from which it's extracted.

But business operators selling Delta 8 could be taking a risk. Due to its unforeseen rise in popularity over the last year, state and federal laws are ill-equipped to deal with this new chemical compound.

Written by: Javier Hasse

The long-standing, negative stereotypes about cannabis consumers have contributed to a decades-long stigma that lingers to this date, even as legalization spreads across the world while birthing one of the fastest-growing industries of our time.

But new data out today, shared exclusively with Forbes ahead of its official release, aims to erase these harmful stereotypes forever. 

Clearing The Air

Cannabis tech company dutchie recently conducted a study of 5,000 adult cannabis consumers from the U.S. and Canada, seeking to provide a more accurate understanding of the modern cannabis user. The data revealed that, contrary to the outdated “Dazed and Confused” depiction, today’s cannabis consumers are successful, motivated and health-conscious people. 

“I smoke cannabis, advocate for it on a personal level, but I'm also an investor and entrepreneur. The opportunity in cannabis is clear, and this data highlights that consumers are highly educated, with more buying power than these stereotypes would have you believe,” Snoop Dogg, co-founder of Casa Verde Capital, an investor in dutchie, commented when prompted about the results.

Edible candies last longer than chocolate, so it’s important to store each in the right place.

Edibles are fun and can be delicious, producing strong highs that usually last for long periods of time. When used correctly, edibles can produce highs that are manageable and perfect for daytime use.

Still, since edibles are food, it’s important to know how to preserve them for best flavour and effect. Here’s how to store edibles and keep them as fresh and delicious as possible.

Store in an airtight container and in a cool space

Edibles vary greatly in flavour and type. Edible candies last longer than chocolate, so it’s important to store each in the right place.

Candies and gummies may have a coating of sugar, which helps to extend their shelf life. As long as exposure to air and temperature is controlled, these edibles should last for a good amount of time, perhaps six to nine months, with the harder the candy, the longer the shelf life.

FORT MYERS, Fla. — A local cafe and shop is jumping into a growing trend by incorporating hemp and CBD into its dishes.

“You can really make pretty much anything and you can infuse the CBD or the hemp hearts,” said Head Chef and Kitchen Manager of Seed & Bean Market, Tika Saunders.

Saunders explained that one obstacle while working with hemp and CBD is making sure the temperatures of each dish remain within a certain range.

“You don’t want to go above…well between 320 and 356. I for one, I prefer to go low and slow,” Saunders said.

If you overheat your food, she said there’s a chance some of the chemicals from the hemp or CBD could be released.

We all scream for cannabis ice cream?

In the latest twist on the sweet treat, Boston-based ice cream brand Emack & Bolio’s partnered with cannabis operator MariMed to create cannabis-infused ice cream. And yes, it will give you the munchies.

The duo will “create a line-up of cannabis-infused vegan and dairy ice cream in outrageous flavors.” The ice cream will contain the same whole-plant cannabinoid and terpene formulations found in MariMed’s products like K Fusion and Betty’s Eddies.

“This partnership is gonna ROCK,” said Bob Rook, CEO and creator of Emack & Bolio’s in a press release. “The combination of our unique flavors with MariMed’s cannabis expertise is a natural.”

The products are expected to debut in Massachusetts this year followed by more launches in other legal cannabis markets.

’m sitting in my kitchen, about to try my first sip of a milk that is vegan, sequesters carbon and increases biodiversity. Dairy milk has a high carbon footprint. Soy is linked to deforestation, almond to high water use. But how does the new kid on the scene – hemp seed milk – measure up for taste?

An Innovative Farmers project coordinated by the Soil Association is investigating how industrial hemp production could aid the transition to a low-carbon economy. In collaboration with scientists at Cranfield University and the British Hemp Alliance, research will quantify the environmental benefits of growing hemp. In farm trials that launched last month, five farmers are helping to investigate this plant’s ability to sequester or store carbon, improve soil health and increase biodiversity.

“Hemp could be a very valuable tool, but the UK is currently behind the curve internationally and there’s a distinct lack of data,” says Nathaniel Loxley, the Innovative Farmers project coordinator and co-founder of the British Hemp Alliance.

In theory, hemp has many potential benefits as a crop from an environmental perspective. It does not need pesticide chemicals or much water input, and hemp roots grow up to 3 metres deep, so they could help improve soil structure and nutrient levels, potentially leading to greater yields in follow-on crops.

“From a nutritional perspective, hemp seed milk ticks all the boxes. It’s low in saturated fats, there’s no sugar or cholesterol, it’s high in polyunsaturated fatty acids, and provides a really strong source of omega 3,” says Ben Cooper, Good Hemp’s brand manager. Cooper explains that whole hempseed hearts are processed “with some wizardry” to produce a cream, rather than an oil like other plant-based dairy products, to make this milk.

It’s been a long road, but the Olympic torch finally landed in Japan on 23 July. The latest edition of the Games has been so mired in difficulty that many feared it might not go ahead, with COVID-19 causing seemingly insurmountable logistical issues. It’s also seen its fair share of controversies, with the conversation around cannabis chief among them.

The 2020 Games in Tokyo is effectively the first in which professional athletes have been allowed to use cannabis-based products while preparing for the competition. CBD use among professional athletes has been allowed by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) since 2018, and it’s becoming increasingly popular.

In this article, I’ll explore the growing role that cannabis-based substances can play in sports, the main regulatory barriers in the way of development, and the exciting opportunities that may arise as cannabis in sport becomes normalised.

The athletic case for CBD

In the run up to this year’s Games, a growing procession of athletes have endorsed the use of CBD-based products. Although some of these endorsements are facilitated by sponsorship deals between athletes and CBD manufacturers, it’s without a doubt that stars across different disciplines are taking advantage of cannabinoids.

The list of advocates includes a number of top-tier athletes: from world record-holding sprinter Micheale Frater and golf star Catriona Matthew, to the NFL’s Rob Gronkowski and Eugene Monroe, heptathlete Chari Hawkins and former boxer Mike Tyson.

In January 2021, recreational marijuana became legal in Arizona thanks to the passage of Prop 207 in November 2020. In the months since, dispensaries have opened their doors to recreational marijuana sales and proved to be a powerful economic engine.

“It looks like Arizona is set to hit the $1 billion sales mark at the end of the year, which is huge in comparison to other states in their first year of recreational sales,” says Greta Brandt, president of The Flower Shop, mentioning that Colorado took about two years to do the same. Taxes collected from these transactions have added $75 million to the state’s coffers to date.

But besides increasing tax revenues, is Prop 207 on track to achieve its stated goals after six months of legalization?

Unlocking an Industry

Before marijuana was legalized for recreational users ages 21 and older, Arizona voters approved Prop 203 in 2010 which created the state’s medical marijuana (MMJ) program.

“The Arizona Department of Health Services has run a wonderful, tight-knit MMJ program, and they’re doing the same for recreational. They shut down rogue operators and are trying to regulate that side of the industry very seriously,” Brandt contends.

Alberta marks the 4th province, in addition to British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec, where Neptune Sells its Branded Cannabis

LAVAL, QC, Aug. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ - Neptune Wellness Solutions Inc. ("Neptune" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: NEPT) (TSX: NEPT), a diversified and fully integrated health and wellness company focused on plant-based and sustainable lifestyle brands, today announced it launched its  Mood Ring branded cannabis flower in the province of Alberta.

"I am pleased to announce that we have officially launched our Mood Ring Florida Citrus Kush flower in the province of Alberta, which has been very well received by consumers in other provinces," said Michael Cammarata, Chief Executive Officer and President of Neptune. "This is another step in the transformation of our cannabis business from a slow-growth, low margin extraction business to a high growth, higher margin branded CPG business."

The Alberta launch marks the fourth province, in addition to British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec, where Neptune Wellness now sells its cannabis products under its Mood Ring and PanHash brands. These four provinces account for more than 80% of Canadian cannabis retail sales and provide Neptune Wellness access to more than 2,000 retail cannabis stores in the Canadian market.

With every purchase of our Mood Ring flower products, a portion of the proceeds are donated to the planting of a tree through our partnership with One Tree Planted. The Company expects to launch new Mood Ring and PanHash branded products across its licensed Canadian footprint throughout the coming year. For more information, please visit https://moodring.com or https://panhash.com.

Even as Americans fork out more cash for upscale forms of caffeine and alcohol, there’s one thing they increasingly want in bulk, for cheap: marijuana.

In Tilray’s fourth-quarter call last week, Chief Executive Officer Irwin Simon said that Covid-19 prompted more people to shop for marijuana online, and that worked against premium brands. That contrasts with the “premiumization” trend of consumers trading up to higher-priced products that companies including Molson Coors and Starbucks talked about in earnings calls last week.

“Yes, there will be some room for brands that differentiate themselves on quality, but this is a price-sensitive category,” Stifel analyst Andrew Carter told me in a phone interview about the study, which was published last week.

Stifel’s survey found that price, potency and quantity were the top factors that influenced cannabis shoppers. Carter also observed that there was a high level of turnover in terms of which brands were most popular during Covid-19, as shown through data from cannabis data tracker Headset. This shows that consumers are still largely searching for brands and products to latch onto.

Headset analyst Cooper Ashley said there was also a trend toward buying cannabis flower in larger package sizes during the pandemic. “This indicates increased consumer price sensitivity, because the average price per gram of larger package sizes was (and still is) much lower,” Cooper said in an email. “Customers were finding value by purchasing in bulk.”

Major beer companies are investing in THC-infused drinks, but the sector represents less than 2 percent of the overall $20 billion marijuana market.

Planet 13, a tourist hotspot, is among a number of Las Vegas marijuana dispensaries crafting plans for consumption lounges, which the state Legislature approved earlier this year.

At Planet 13’s superstore on West Desert Inn Road, a 20,000-square-foot storage warehouse will likely be converted into a lounge, Farris said.

“We want to make something that people can travel to, something like a club concept,” Farris said. “We know the pressure is on us to build something special.”

"Excited to have a positive impact, providing a solution for our Black community, stay in line with marijuana laws, avoid unnecessary interactions with police."

“[Drivers who possess cannabis] can violate the law, maybe not even knowing they’re violating if it’s not in a sealed container,” Sarah noted. PHOTO BY LOCKGREEN PRODUCTS INSTAGRAM

Sarah and Ronald Morton are locking down their place as cannabis entrepreneurs.

By Nina Zdinjak

Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s cannabis and lifestyle brand Houseplant and cannabis giant Canopy Growth Corp. (NYSE: CGC) will terminate their partnership.

The two companies that created a joint venture three years ago and launched in Canada have mutually agreed to end their collaboration. Since the brand’s launch, the Canadian cannabis market has significantly expanded, thus the parties decided it was time for Houseplant to further evolve on its own while Canopy will continue working on its wholly-owned brands.

During their years of working closely together, Houseplant grew to become a popular consumer brand in Canada and is now among the top 10 in the premium cannabis market in Ontario.

Among the most successful products are beverages with Houseplant Grapefruit becoming the top-selling cannabis drink in Canada in its first year. In 2020, more than one million cans of Houseplant beverages were sold in Canada.

One local hospital says they're now treating at least a couple of young children every month for toxic exposure to edibles — and they're warning parents to lock up their pot treats

A skyrocketing number of children in the tri-state are inadvertently ingesting marijuana edibles, and legislators say there's a void in New York's emerging pot regulations that isn't helping the situation.

The scary trend began before New York State legalized recreational marijuana back in March, going from six children in the NYC metropolitan area poisoned by edibles in 2018, to 32 in 2019 and 127 in 2020, according to regional poison control officials.

"Sometimes that's in the form of candies and gummies, cookies and brownies. There are lots of forms that are out there," said Dr. Ethan Wiener, director of pediatric emergency medicine at Hassenfeld Children's Hospital at NYU Langone.

Two-thirds of those children are under the age of 5 — and the numbers are on track to be just as high this year.

It’s possible for a weed-consuming population to use marijuana without needing emergency medical assistance. Here’s how.

It seems that every time a state officially launches its legal cannabis market, reports showing that emergency rooms are filling up with people who can’t handle their weed start to bombard the internet. This took place earlier this year throughout Illinois, which rolled out its taxed and regulated pot trade in January. In Chicago, doctors claimed an increase in ER visits due to people overdosing on weed.

Listen, this madness might be happening, or it might not. The purpose of this article is not to debate whether legal marijuana brings about an uprising in freakouts that send people on a mad dash for the hospital. It is to serve as a guide, of sorts, intended to prevent these horrific events from happening in the first place. Because, get this, it is possible for a weed-consuming population to use marijuana without needing emergency medical assistance. It’s a novel concept, we know. But we swear that people can use cannabis products safely and responsibly.

Here’s how.

Photo by Nicole De Khors via Burst

The first thing to consider is this: Any report that comes out in the media suggesting that people are running to the ER because the weed got on top of them can almost always be attributed to edibles. We’re not going to lie, these popular pot products sold in dispensaries in states where marijuana is legal can be tricky and the source of great misery if they are not consumed correctly.