#Medical Marijuana Stores Sonoma County

[mercywellness]

Now that cannabis has been legalized in California. Here you will find information on legal cannabis possession, purchasing Recreational, “adult-use” buying, selling, and giving cannabis in California. If you are 21 or older you can possess up to 1 once (28 grams) of cannabis.

[fatleafnews]

// The Black Market For Weed Is Still Thriving In California (HBO) ... Recreational marijuana became legal in California in January. But for small-scale veteran growers like Jason Fleming, licensing backlog may shut his business down before he sells a single nug on California’s new legal market. The state already had a 22 year old medical marijuana industry that outlined a legal route for patients to purchase pot from licensed dispensaries, but left the path for the weed to the shops in what can only be described as a very, very, gray area. The Medical and Adult Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act changed all of that — now all growers have to be licensed, and their wares need to be tested in a lab. “We want to make sure that people are getting safe cannabis, that when they come to a licensed retail store. they know it’s safe to consume,” says Lori Ajax, Chief of the Bureau of Cannabis Control, which regulates distributors. Growers and consumers also pay new state and local taxes that can get as high as 45%. Despite the significantly higher overhead, Fleming is determined to make it in the new, legal marketplace. He’s complied with licensing law by purchasing a growhouse for $25,000 a month, and filled out all of his paperwork. But Sonoma County has kept him waiting for local approval for six months. Without that, he cannot begin growing, so there’s no money to be made. “If this keeps continuing then we're going to have to operate this place as a black market grow to continue to pay for the legal grow,” Fleming told VICE News. Richard Parrott is the Chief of CalCannabis, the state agency that licenses medical and recreational cultivators, is familiar with stories like Jason’s. He told VICE News that he had heard of backlogs of applications with local authorities, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. “The state doesn't have any purview over the locals,” he said. To stay afloat, Jason can use his growhouses that are already up and running to sell to medical dispensaries. He can also sell some of his product at seshes, a type of underground marketplace that operates in the last remaining gray areas of the state’s medical marijuana laws. But the costs of getting his business off the ground demand more than a flimsy financial life vest. As time passes, an emerging black market fueled by consumers who can’t bear the brunt of the new taxes has come knocking. Watch Next: This Law Could Make California The Largest Legal Weed Marketplace - https://youtu.be/g_1GrvpmbhE Subscribe to VICE News here: http://bit.ly/Subscribe-to-VICE-News Check out VICE News for more: http://vicenews.com Follow VICE News here: Facebook: https://ift.tt/1dg3mpt Twitter: https://twitter.com/vicenews Tumblr: https://ift.tt/1dg3pl5 Instagram: https://ift.tt/1koeNxu More videos from the VICE network: https://ift.tt/25ks6Xk

[steezyd324]

highstakesend

High Stakes, Joint Ventures

13 applicants want to be Davis’ next commercial cannabis retailer. Who will stake their claim?

Drew Jensen

Sitting cozy at a coffee shop, drinking their beer, someone ponders the possibility of smoking a joint the following year, instead of sipping the drink they currently hold in their hand. Marijuana is taking over both our train of thought in California, and soon our local shops. Research about quality control is being done on campuses throughout the state, and more people charged with DUIs are now serving sentences because of marijuana than liquor, with a stint in jail lasting between 4 and 180 days in California. On a positive note though, home growers and connoisseurs are now turning hobbies into businesses. In some cases, all of these aspects are working together to create something far more complex than the initial venture.

In the case of Delta of Venus, a café on B Street just a few blocks from campus, some of its previous employees have split off from their jobs to create an establishment in Davis and outward in Yolo County known as The People’s Kush. They are currently working on teaming up with their old employer, Delta of Venus, to use the back of its property as a tangible dispensary outlet. No longer will booze be sold at this spot. Instead, a space will be allotted for cannabis sales and consumption would be allowed on the patio of the café.

The People’s Kush has promoted through business cards and labeled lighters at Delta of Venus for some time, and this would be a big step forward in their plans for the future. They pride themselves in quality control, stating “we believe in clear, consistent labeling so that consumers can understand the anticipated strength and effects of a dosage.” Lori Ajax, the head of the state’s Cannabis Control Bureau, says “California’s 2018 testing requirements are some of the strictest in the U.S. At the minimum, marijuana businesses will have mandatory microbiological screenings, foreign matter inspections, residual solvent tests, and pesticide, chemical, and metal screenings.”

According to a resident, Conner Berken, who lives on B Street directly adjacent to Delta of Venus, cannabis is “easier [to buy since legalization] in the sense that I can now go whenever the store is open and am no longer reliant on someone’s else’s schedule to deliver it to me or when I can pick it up. It has got more expensive but also cheaper as well because there are more options [despite the] taxes.” In regards to the taxes, Berken relays his forgiving opinion that the “government needs a profit so taxes are okay. It’s a sin’ tax like cigarettes and gas.”

When asked about whether he would choose a store, such as the possibility of a dispensary next door at Delta of Venus, or a car delivery service, Berken states, “If I lived in a town where stores were an option I would choose a store because I can visually see and smell the product before I buy it where a delivery I’m limited to and relying on pictures and text descriptions.” The People’s Kush currently nets $20,000 in sales every month. Conner, however, does a light amount of growing on his own, as do many people in California. He explains, “I grow my own but am limited on the number of total plants as well as plants that are in flowering. [I prefer] clones sold in stores.”

As a viticulture major, he sees the potential for the two (wine and cannabis) to intersect, similarly to how Delta of Venus and The People’s Kush desire to open what is defined as a ‘mixed use’ store selling both coffee and cannabis, both stimulants and depressants, while still remaining a common ground for exhibiting art and nightly entertainment. Berken elaborates that, “Weed will now be competing agriculturally as far as land used with vineyards. But I think there are weird laws and regulations banning the two to be sold together? Or maybe,” Berken continues, “it’s just consumed together at the same event. Regardless once the laws relax a bit more I’d love to see weed food pairings with even normal wine as well. But infusing weed into wine is the dream and combining the right strain with variety and style of wine is crucial.”

When looking more into whether Delta of Venus plans to actually infuse weed into its coffee or food servings, they have not made a decision yet, but for now cannabis sales will replace alcohol sales at their store, in a restricted section in the back. And to answer Berken’s speculation that weed and wine laws must relax a bit, the wait is almost over.

According to Madison Margolin’s article Legal Weed Wine Is Finally Coming to California in 2018 in Vine Pair magazine, she discusses how people have started speculating about  and looking deeper into the concept of weed wine, seeing that in places like Sonoma and the rest of the coastline and farmlands are home to much of wine country and cannabis farms people occupy. For example, Rebel Coast Winery has widened its outlook for 2018 and plans to release a weed-infused wine. Surprisingly though, so far it seems, that where this is one there is not the other, so the psychoactive THC component will be recognizable in their Sauvignon Blanc, but no alcohol will be present. Cross -fading, as some people say they’re doing when drinking kava or feeling multiple sensations at once, will not occur, yet.

The wine will be released not in vineyards but in cannabis dispensaries like the ones opening up in Davis. The wine Rebel Coast offers will feature 4 mgs of THC per glass, enough for a microdose and mild psychoactive effect. For those who are over 21, a bottle can be ordered online for $59.99 and delivered directly to you — one more way cannabis is now being shipped and delivered, in addition to the home locations and dispensaries.

Each of these dispensaries, including places like Rebel Coast, get their marijuana from cultivators who live on farms everywhere from California to Colorado. For example, as Washington Post pointed to in their article I Grow Pot in California for a living. I’m worried about legalization, many marijuana farmers with and without permits in California and elsewhere see the pros and cons of legalization in 2018. Of course, delivery — medical and recreational — has become automated and more seem less. But many sides to the story exists behind the farmers themselves, whether a person sits by themselves at home growing the legal ounce of weed permitted per person or whether a team of individuals collaborate together to run a farm.

According to Chiah Rodriguez, owner of a collective of small farms in Mendocino County called Mendocino Generations, he has upheld a legacy of marijuana cultivation, growing since 1976. Of course back then everything was sold via the black market. His relatives “learned never to speak of what [their] father did. We lived a simple life in times when only growing a few plants could sustain us”, said the daughter.

In the past, before legalization in January of 2018, oftentimes low flying helicopters searched for patches of marijuana fields, which led families of cannabis farmers to find solace in shade away from the eyes of drug prosecutors. The chance of going to jail from growing remained incredibly high, yet the reward and profit outweighed the risk for Rodriguez.

Rodriguez hid his crops around blackberry bushes and platforms within the trees. However, now he looks forward to hiding no longer in the shadows of California with the passing of the Adult Use of Marijuana Act on January 1st. In spite of this progress and optimism, he still holds back hope with fear big businesses seeking only to capitalize on the trade will “wipe out small farmers like me.”

Like the alcohol prohibition did not keep citizens from providing and drinking, neither did the era of marijuana prohibition stop people from growing and consuming cannabis. Only now, one needs a permit and the government taxes small farmers like Rodriguez more heavily. Although California will likely yield “$1 billion in tax revenue,” according to the Washington Post and tech billionaires who invest in the industry stands to profit highly, small farmers will lose some of their demand and importance. But as consumers, people should not overlook the legacy of those who paved the way before legalization and continued forward thinking protest against prohibition.

Before all of the venture capitalists and everyday growers of 2018, there were the freethinking baby boomer and ‘60s children who rebelled against control and invested in plots of land with which to grow the crop that will soon yield more cash than any other. Growers like Rodriguez are one of the many reasons we see cannabis in our dispensaries today, and the four dispensaries picked to open and be apart of Davis’ community will choose strains from different farms or their own farms with which to provide the plants that people will buy.

In addition to Delta of Venus Café, some of the other applicants for Davis’ prime spot in a college town include River City Phoenix, who plans to plant down on 1100 West Chile’s Road, which proposes to “service both walk-in customers and express order customers.” Timothy Schindler or Kind Farma put in an application for a spot in 1111 Richards Blvd, a convenient location next to Olive Dr. market, the gas station, RedRum Burger, Dutch Bros, Rocknasium, In n Out, as well as the I-80 freeway, but hopefully people will refrain from smoking outside the shop and getting behind the wheel.

Supposing the site is established, Richards Blvd might be a hub and microcosm of all the activity, restaurants, and ongoing of Davis, but for now remains just a pit stop for freeway travelers before venturing into Downtown Davis. The construction and installment of the necessary amenities, including installation of foolproof safes and glass displays, will not likely bother neighbors as fewer people live around Richards then Downtown.

Unlike some, Schindler is more in the business side of cannabis, as a business class member of the California Cannabis Industry Association (CCIA). Fluent in multiple languages, he can “communicate and develop relationships with the diverse community of Yolo County.” He also promises or at least will try to save 5% of Kind Farma’s “gross medical sales and donate it to the City of Davis,” not including the taxes already taken out.

Manna Roots’ Tracy Dewit applies as well for a mixed-use permit. Interestingly, Dewit states that, “the smell of cannabis may be in the air, but professional grade carbon filters, odor neutralizes, and air purifiers shall be used to neutralize that air.”

In an architectural drawing of Manna Roots, as proposed, the building looks like a humble house, suitable for the farmer Dewit who has been cultivating plants legal or otherwise for the past ten years with her high school sweetheart and has lived in Davis for upwards of 20 years. Another valuable asset of Manna Roots is that Dewit and her crew plan to mutually work on B2B (business to business) sales and development with other cannabis merchant partners.

In a note from her friend, Joe Krovoza praises her efforts and work and importantly noted she will be “open and receptive to local sensitivities that must be considered as cannabis moves from its medical status in California to recreational use,” and he writes that “Tracy’s work with the local community to secure acceptance of her proposed location on D-streets demonstrates her consideration of local concerns.”

As a mom of a child on her way to University of Colorado in Boulder, “a perfect fit for my daughter’s outdoor life style and business interest,” Dewitt is obviously worried about how the legalization of marijuana might effect her daughter, in ways such as the “unwanted high.” Instead of avoiding the issue, she has taken the approach of informing herself on the trade, cultivation, and consumption of marijuana and started a business platform of her own to safely distribute, but not necessarily promote marijuana for all.

Funny enough, the mom and mind behind Manna Roots was distinctly aware of being in a small town and raising two other little boys in middle school, in addition to her daughter. People talk, and she recognized other moms might “defriend” her or not allow their sons over because she’s a “drug dealer.” Dewit comically just smiles at these comments and has made the best of making friends and not enemies in a community pushing towards cannabis reform, progression, research, and acceptance. She even hinted at a heavy topic, “I have come full circle on this arc [that] cannabis is a fantastic alternative to some pharmaceuticals and may assist the U.S with recovering from the opioid epidemic that plagues so many, including a loved one of mine.” With regards to Lori Ajax, as before mentioned, Dewit replies, “I am very pleased with the job that [she] has done on MAURCS, but the hand of the written law can only reach far, [instead requiring] things to evolve around and involve social change.”

With Manna Roots, Dewit mainly wants to “bring cannabis use out of the dark and into the light as a safe and effective remedy for pain, as a social alternative to wine or beer, to be used responsibly and respectfully in moderation without fear of ridicule or stereotypes.” In the end we have to see that everyone in society, from growers and dispensers to consumers, all have their own individual stories which makes the town come together and profit indefinitely.

Nowadays stopping by one of these dispensaries will be just as simple as going to the pharmacy, a walk in, evaluation of product, and quick transaction and walk away. The decision however for many lies in whether to go to the pharmacy or dispensary. Everyone has a certain vice or remedy and must learn what works for them. As Anna Fells of the New York Times put in her article “Can Nicotine Be Good for You”, she talks of a doctor who sees a patient who refrains from any psychoactive drugs but chews 40 pieces of nicotine’s gum per day, excessive for some, but “although doctors are trained to focus on prescription medications, there are and have always been nonprescription ‘remedies’ for psychiatric conditions. And,” Fells continues, “people’s preference for one type of substance over another can give a glimpse into their systems and even their brain chemistry.”

For example, Fells states, “if a patient tells me he falls asleep on cocaine, I wonder if he might have attention deficit disorder. A patient who smokes marijuana to calm down before important business meetings leads me in the direction of social phobia or other anxiety disorders [and people who take the anesthetic ketamine] might be depressed [since it works as an antidepressant]” and the list of both medicating and self medicating goes back and forth.

As far as granting medical marijuana cards and prescribing pharmaceuticals in recent years goes, the abuse of the prescription pill portion has skyrocketed with approximately 443,900 people dying this past year because of overdose of simple anxiety medication and sleep aids. “275,000 were due to some error […] 130,000 were caused by unintentional misuse, such as taking the drug more frequently than prescribed. Nearly 40,000 deaths were attributed to an adverse reaction to a drug that was properly prescribed and taken,” according to Bryan Hubbard.

However, with legalization of marijuana and more research going into the subject across UC campuses and other universities, and news from Dr. Frank D’Ambrosia, a spokesman for cannabis policy reform, people have revealed positive evidence that smoking should not only be legalized, but promoted in order to stop the pharmaceutical abuse problem in America. According to said studies by D’Ambrosia, with a daily dose of a gram of marijuana, 73.7% of people reduce the intake of possibly lethal pharmaceuticals.

More research will look into all of these substances, especially aiming at the schedule I drug of cannabis in 2018. As addressed by Campus Counsel of UC Davis, “Prop 64 did not contain provisions allocating funding for research regarding [its] implantation and effects [as] most possession, distribution, and cultivation […still remains or is done] illegally under federal law.”

On the flip side, with a DEA Schedule I license and proper “packaging and disposal” as well, research at UC Davis can and will be conducted. Research on animal test cases can be conducted to, supposing the researcher contacts either the Institutional Review Board or Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. The research must then be submitted to and approved by the Research Advisory Panel of California. In spite of the roadblocks, research remains important and will lead to insightful discoveries. Some research that can more easily be done, says Campus Counsel, are “human observational studies in which the research subjects use marijuana, but the researchers do not procure the marijuana,” as well “environmental impact studies, policy or legal studies looking at economic, social, political or other issues, and research involving parts of the plant excluded from the definition of marijuana by the CSA.”

However, this incoming and pending research begets another piece of inquiry. While pieces on how cannabis leads people away from abusing opioids informs some, it misleads others, as research tends to do. Some people are inclined towards prescription pills in such a way that a daily micro-dose of marijuana, and the right strain for them, might lead them away from the pills they exploited to self-medicate for entirely different problems, including cancer, depression, anxiety, and the sort. All of these, a pill cannot help in the long run, but instead the pill itself acts as a gateway to escape the present moment. In much the same way, a fallacy presents itself when your Uber driver turns to you in the car and says, “Oh, you have bipolar disorder. You should smoke some weed. It always helps me.”

Part of the brain wants to agree with this statement, based off of D’Ambrosia’s evidence of this curing so much else, or at least preventing people from escaping life’s pain with dangerous pills instead. But, for individuals with certain inclinations, this is the case of knowing the lesser of two evils. For people with bipolar disorder I (a diagnosis of bipolar disorder I requires a previous bout of psychosis), taking prescription pills often alleviates mood instability and irrational thought patterns, or what others term psychotic thinking leading to a break of psychosis. And while prescriptions alleviate pain in their case, they are also more susceptible to forego their prescriptions in order to ‘mentally’ disconnect in other ways, some of the ways including smoking tobacco and the more psychoactive cannabis. In this case, marijuana actually acts in much the same way overdosing on pharmaceutical pills do for ordinary people, a drug that can exacerbate effects and lead to dangerous driving, risk taking behavior, and the full spectrum of euphoria to dysphoria and suicide.

The following is a collective cautionary story to depict the dangers of both benzodiazepines (more particularly Xanax) and psychoactive drugs (in this instance, cannabis). For some people, who neither mix pills with alcohol or who have brain chemistry which reacts well to marijuana, read no further. But some are better off with exercise and good nutrition, avoiding both all together unless they desire to go down a rabbit hole.

For Trevor Gerard, the journey through the tragic, often little discussed side of Xanax and marijuana all started in sophomore year at Davis High School, when he was diagnosed with severe participation and social anxiety, and prescribed Xanax in a minute dosage. All addictions start small, the first little hit, bump, pop. At this time, the rapper Lil Xan did not exist, social media did not promote ‘benzos’ as popular. But soon, like cigarettes in the 1960s, people would send out videos of themselves taking bars of Xanax as routinely as a hobbie on Instagram with a simple click and record.

Gerard became absorbed in the culture before it surfaced major news coverage when influential rapper Lil Peep died of overdose (with traces of fentanyl) in late 2017. In junior year, he played up his anxiety and increased his dosage, showing up to class one day on “6 mg of Xanax and I was all messed up. But I faked being sick at the nurses office to go home.” When Gerard returned home, he “took more xanax, drank,” and continued in a form of perpetual self medication and self destruction. He took 2 mg more, which accumulated 10 mg in his system. His “tolerance had been high” and he had yet to black out from all of it, but in a short time he made a decision, like so many other teens coping with substances across the world, which would delete all modes of rational thought and send him over the edge.

He drank “three shots of Jamison whiskey which is what messed it all up for me. Next thing I know I had not even stepped out on the street in front of my house, when the police arrested me.” From feint memory, it turns out he jumped into his neighbor’s yard before going out on the street and attempted to “break into his house, either due to paranoia of being at home or to rob something.” The neighbor had pulled a gun on him and called the cops, who proceeded to throw him most literally and forcefully into the cop car, lights fading and blurring as the car crept to the station, two strangers in the front. In what seemed like a moment’s time, he found himself in a detox cell “and I fell into a Xanax coma type thing.”

Waking up the next day in the cell, Gerard “was convinced I was in jail for just a few hours.” But a few hours for him was one of the biggest scares for his friends and family, as “everybody told me I was in detox for a whole day and never moved. I didn’t believe them till they served us breakfast in jail, then I realized I’ve been in jail for a day and nobody knew where I was.” Sadly, for many who black out only to find themselves in a jail cell or 51/50 hold at a mental hospital, the police department and faculty have trouble reaching immediate family for some time.

Gerard “was finally able to call my mom and get a lawyer on the second day of being locked up.” But his stay in the uncomfortable, jarring darkness of mere toilet and bed without any sheets to keep him warm had just begun, lasting another 3 days and nights. Although this might be a captivating story to tell close friends around a campfire and was able to get his “charges dropped from burglary to criminal trespassing and criminal mischief”, he warns others not to allow Xanax to “mess you over hard.”

Later that year, Gerard visited both his psychiatrist and went in for therapy, something he hesitantly agreed to on the recommendation of family members. After disclosing his entire story, the therapist and psychiatrist both agreed Xanax would obviously not be the best road to go down in the future.

With research coming from the Minnesota Department of Health and other sources about how marijuana intake can decrease people’s addictive tendencies to lean on and abuse opioids, the psychiatrist prescribed Gerard CBD oil, which he drank in tea. It soothed his nerves and helped with his depression. He began regarding marijuana as a cure all and stopped taking Xanax altogether. He smoked with his friends on the weekends and by himself in his room on weekdays, steadily increasing the amount.

Gerard and his girlfriend at the time were now eighteen and hanging out together at her place in Woodland. He smoked cigarettes with her mostly, but today she decided to purchase a new pipe from the local smoke shop for him.

They met up in the park nearby and smoked some marijuana his friend had given him, not knowing the vendor. In fact, his friend had picked it up off the street and the marijuana was most likely not completely pure, containing traces of anything as lethal as PCP in small amounts. Gerard and his girlfriend sat in his car when, before smoking, she said, “I met someone while you were away on your trip with your family. I’m breaking up with you, I’m sorry.” A silence followed when she said, “You should smoke, it will help you.”

They smoked and soon he opened up to her about how hard the last few years have been with his parents splitting up, his time in jail from the Xanax incident and coma, and about all the memories he had of her. Gerard, driving her back home, despite the fact that marijuana was currently illegal and proposition 64 has not yet been passed, dropped her off at her place and arrived safely back home, “driving better than I do when I’m sober.” Instead of absorbing the information about the break up, he ignored the negative feelings and emotions and smoked 2 bottles, or approximately 12 g of marijuana all in the night.

Having previously been diagnosed with rapid cycling bipolar disorder in addition to anxiety, he often used marijuana to cope with the effects of the medication he took for it, which included a mood stabilizer lithium and antipsychotic risperidol which he hasn’t been taking. Every time he smoked before all it would do is further stabilize his mood. This time however, whether due to the cannabis coming from a source that could not promise quality control or something else, he began having slight schizophrenic thoughts and both auditory and visual hallucinations.

Locked in his room, subconsciously sulking over the break up, he idly pulled up YouTube and distracted himself with cat videos, Planet Earth clips, music videos, and the sort. Nothing particularly unusual to note, until he pulled up another music video, with lyrics. “Subliminal messages seemed to override my mind, saying I was the devil, and then I pulled up other music videos I had watched before, where images showed up which had not been there before.”

For example, “I thought in a blink 182 music video, I was being subliminally proposed to and marrying the love of my life,” Gerard explained. He spent the entire night listening to music his ex-girlfriend and him used to listen to, and was fully enraptured by everything in his little room. Gerard woke up in a sort of half sleep trance in the morning, not feeling like he fully went to sleep at all.

He planned to go over to Kira’s house and explain to her that they should stay together, but instead ended up “waking up” mid-drive from his “trancelike, half psychotic, cannabis and stress-induced” state to find himself driving his car. Terrified, irritable, and paranoid of all the drivers around him, he veered over to the right, presses hard on the gas pedal, and totaled his car at a road block. “Something switched,” he described “in his brain and I went into an overwhelming sober yet psychotic state and jumped into the back of my car.”

The police were on their way and soon he was handcuffed and place in a holding cell before being shuffled into jail for four days, for the second time. Yelling the whole time he was in there, not eating, and barely sleeping, he was offered medication and a phone call, but refused both incoherently. Declared innocent with a plead of insanity, the judge and his parents were finally able to locate and put him in a mental hospital, where he remained for thirty days.

The cannabis cleared from his system and medication for Bipolar I brought him back to stability and he was released, having gained forty pounds in the mental hospital and a new perspective on drugs in general, both recreational and pharmaceutical.

Gerard was able to finish out high school and now goes to college at UC Davis in his freshman year. He stays away from most vices now besides the occasional cigarette, as even alcohol reminds him of the time he mixed it with Xanax and it sent him into a coma. In the end, he realized that a person must be careful when mixing two dangerous substances, and that any substance for a given person can be dangerous in time.

The price some can pay for marijuana is incredible, and not the 50% taxes, in this case. According to a study by Julio Arboleda-Florez, “29% [of criminals and mental patients] had a diagnosis of ‘psychosis’ and 35% had a diagnosis of substance abuse [of which includes cannabis].” In summation, people are more likely to go to a prison and/or a mental hospital under psychosis. And of these people, 27% smoke marijuana, according to a report on cannabis-induced psychosis gathered by MDs Ruby S. Grewal and Tony P. George. In 2017 alone, upwards of 455,000 emergency room visits involved marijuana related incidents. Whether or not a person remains mentally susceptible to this tendency towards psychosis from smoking depends on their genetic make-up.

Like anything else in the market, it comes down to the individual, what works for every person’s specific brain. Everyone these days has a cocktail of drugs and it depends on their internal chemistry, not whichever chemical is currently being promoted. Also, the legalization of marijuana might eventually actually keep people out of jail and mental hospitals because of stricter enforcement of quality control. On the streets, an estimated 24% of marijuana samples contained PCP, according to Melanie Barker, a licensed clinical social worker with a Master’s in Public Health. Referred to as angel dust, PCP is responsible for producing an extra hallucinogenic kick in an already psychoactive drug, cannabis, that drives some into behavior which would otherwise be classified as rapid cycling bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. Dealers lace cannabis with PCP to unsuspecting clientele, which usually leads to a euphoric experience and heightened perception. The crash, however, oftentimes leads to drastic psychotic events.

The crash sometimes can be literal. As Mike Spies of Newsweek comments, some people have cases of such severe anxiety and paranoia after smoking particularly potent cannabis that they experience everything from as minor as fearing driving alone to delusionally thinking “colleagues are cannibals who plan” to eat them, in certain cases. Whether the original paranoia stems from past post traumatic stress or elsewhere remains to be seen, but for each individual who experiences the disphoric side to marijuana, they might eventually be scared off from the drug for good. No matter how many people it has and will help, certain individuals do not have the chemistry suited to, or are not inclined towards, this particular strain of drug.

After all, marijuana, with all of its pain numbing and psychoactive remedies, also remains a depressant. For those who are clinically depressed, their parents might steer their children away from marijuana, as Mike Spies alludes to in his article Inside the Tortured Mind of Eddie Ray Routh, that Routh’s Parent’s already feared “he was going to kill him. Because that’s what he wanted.” In the war, he attested to being in charge of clearing “the land of corpses,” a horrifying and trauma inducing task. Marijuana can sometimes swing life upwards, but can also increase feelings of isolation, which further attributes to delusion, paranoia, and depression. Not all cases turn out as badly as the American Sniper Routh’s, but marijuana — while recreational and fun for most — is a schedule I drug for, in the cases of the few, good reason, according to Davis police as set by the Drug Enforcement Administration.

As it turns out, Routh had suffered from “a series of psychotic breaks” two years before he committed a crime, but was misdiagnosed. With better psychiatrists, therapists, and self awareness, people will further understand if this particular weed sits well with us and prevent devastating outcomes.

Ideas/Introduction Questions:

-people who are opposed and for medical marijuana

-difference in quality control vs recreational and medical city officials

-how often you have to renew license is it same as alcohol

-is there going to be a limit to how many in Davis, if so how many and based on what criteria out of the 13 applicants

-medical ($100 per card) vs recreational (heavily taxed)

-micro-dosing

-weed maps

-how much will these shops be selling it for

-People’s Kush

-Anxiety and depression worse, counter effect of anti-depressant

-What is cup

oConditional Use Permit

-Applicants and how they intend to use it/how many allowed in Davis

o5 Point Management

oDelta of Venus Dispensary

Collaboration with People’s Kush

“We will be using the granny flat at 120 B St., as a dispensary showroom floor, delivery, dispatch, and administrative office. To facilitate this, we propose constructing a fence, gate, repaving portions of the parking lot adding two additional spaces, restoring the rear unit, installing security systems. We are applying for a license to sell Recreational and medical cannabis at a storefront, and to use the property to facilitate the delivery of medical cananbis.”

Over half of current People's Kush employees which are currently or were formerly employed at Delta of Venus and are thus already cafe-cross-trained..

Will smoking on the patio be permitted?

People’s Kush number  (530) 302-5661

•The People’s Kush delivers medical cannabis to authorized patients in Davis and Yolo County.

•A collective non-profit organization run by and for the benefit of workers and patients; believe that marijuana, as a psychoactive substance, is sensitive to things like the love given to the soil it grows in; “call us superstitious, but we also think that when happy hands touch to grow it, trim it, and deliver it, it somehow makes our weed danker. That’s why we focus not just on a great delivery, but also making sure every stage of production – from soil to smoke – is done with ‘happy hands’ that is ethically, for the benefit of all involved, and with respect to the environment.”

•Interested in setting an example for the broader cannabis service industry, both as a business and as long-time residents of Davis; want a $22 an hour living wage for every cannabis worker in our County, because nobody should have to work and live in poverty

•Believe in regulations that require lab testing, so that potency and properties are known.

•“We believe in clear, consistent labeling so that consumers can understand the anticipated strength and effects of a dosage.”

oQuality control

•Think that the time of marijuana as a grey industry has passed. For the sake of the workers whose employers do not feel compelled to follow state labor or safety laws, for the sake of the environment under such stewardship, for the sake of the powerless among us upon whom the weight of our laws unevenly and harshly falls, and, for the sake of patients who deserve consistent access to medicine without fear or stigma: it’s time to embrace in the open what has always been a part of our community.

•“We, the workers who have provided you with dank bud and excellent service in this industry for many decades are ready to step forward into the light and share our craft… Welcome, friends, to our new project, The People’s Kush.”

oQuestions?

I heard about you through seeing some of your labeled lighters and business cards at Delta of Venus, and am excited to hear about your possible collaboration with Delta of Venus, pending application approval

How will this joint venture improve sales and business long term

Where does People’s Kush (and all dispensaries) get weed from (homegrown or bought), is it grown locally by the company? If so, how many different strains do you grow and how much can you grow? How difficult was it to get it off the ground running?

Do you deliver by car and will this be your first tangible dispensary (the collaboration with Delta of Venus) where a person can see what they are buying first hand?

I understand each strain of weed had drastically different potency levels. Also, even within the same batch of edibles, gummies, etc. each one has varying strength. How do you all at People’s Kush manage this and make sure each one is quality controlled/regulated. Does it have to be approved by some outlet, similar to how food retailers have to be approved by the FDA.

Thank you for answering my questions, I look forward to all the future has in store for your company, and let me know if there are any other people I can contact about cannabis research and cultivation in Davis and Yolo County.

oAll Good Wellness, Benefit Corporation

oCalifornia Grown, Inc.

oDavis Cannabis Company

oDavis Cannabis Collective

oF Street Dispensary

oThe Good People Farms, B Street and 3rd Street

oGreenbar

oKind Farma

oRiver City Phoenix

oManna Roots

Negatives of Marijuana

Marijuana laced with PCP is making a dangerous comeback in the US and the psychosis it generates in users is causing an increase in admissions to emergency rooms and psychiatric facilities.

PCP (Phencyclidine) was developed in the 1950’s as a surgical anesthetic. Its official use in humans was discontinued in 1965 as patients frequently became agitated, delusional and irrational following its use as an anesthetic. Known as angel dust, KJ (Kristal Joint), illy, wet and many other slang drug terms, it became a recreational drug with a bad reputation.

Because regular unlaced marijuana has been actively cultivated over the years to contain more and more of its active ingredient, THC, today’s weed is much more potent than the varieties available in the 1960s.

The result is a sharp rise in the number of teenagers and preteens being treated at emergency rooms or entering drug treatment as a result of using a highly potent type of marijuana. In 2009 it was 376,467 emergency room visits due to marijuana and in 2011 it was 455,668.

“The stereotypes of marijuana smoking are way out of date,” said Michael Dennis, a research psychologist in Bloomington, Ill. “The kids we see are not only smoking stronger stuff at a younger age but their pattern of use might be three to six blunts — the equivalent of three or four joints each — just for themselves, in a day. That’s got nothing to do with what Mom or Dad did in high school. It might as well be a different drug.”

Add PCP to this stronger marijuana and it truly creates psychosis in smokers and they frequently end up in a psychiatric facility – especially in a state like Florida where the Baker Act demands that people who are mentally out of control be confined.

What are the effects of smoking “wet weed”?

PCP laced marijuana can create combinations of these destructive conditions:

•          severe hallucinations

•          impaired motor coordination

•          extreme anxiety

•          depression

•          disorientation

•          paranoia

•          aggressive behavior and violence

•          seizures

•          memory loss

•          respiratory arrest

•          comas and/or death

Not exactly what the user was expecting from a “recreational drug.”

In 2003 the story of a young man was reported who committed murder after smoking wet marijuana and was unable to recall the events of that night. He experienced drug induced amnesia – one of the factors that caused medical use of  PCP as an anesthetic to be banned.

He received 25 years in prison for something he could not recall doing. He didn’t know that the joint he was smoking was “wet” and capable of creating auditory hallucinations demanding that he do an act he would never consider when not influenced by the drug.

In another tale of smoking laced marijuana the result was a severe panic attack  This person could not feel any  part of his body, he had auditory and visual hallucinations, he felt he could not breathe and he had a powerful sense of overwhelming doom and death. He still had negative effects months after the incident.

What do psychiatric receiving units do with people who come in out of control on marijuana?

UF Health Shands Psychiatric Hospital (Formerly known as Shands Vista ) is a Baker Act receiving facility in Gainesville, FL. Their website states that side effects of regular, unlaced marijuana include panic, paranoia or acute psychosis. They go on to state that marijuana is often cut with hallucinogens and smoking this type can lead to extreme hyperactivity, physical violence, heart attack, seizures, stroke or cardiac arrest.

Their treatment includes giving the patient benzodiazepines, psychoactive drugs like Xanax, Valium, and Ativan, which themselves can cause brain damage.

Since no psychiatric drug as been shown to be effective with marijuana addiction or laced marijuana , doctors in psychiatric facilities more or less experiment with various sedatives, antidepressants and prescription drugs in trying to calm down a violent patient who is high on PCP.

Jeff Deeney, a social worker and freelance writer from Philadelphia, wrote about the rising use of PCP wet weed in his city in 2011.

He described dealers on the street calling out “wet, wet, wet” looking for customers who wanted a high that included hallucinations and who, not infrequently, got a psychotic episode as well.

Deeney wrote, “By morning light, some of them will be strapped to gurneys in inpatient psych units, wards of the city’s Crisis Response Centers—psychiatric emergency rooms acting as triage units for the homicidal and suicidal.”

Users are mostly in their teens and twenties. One named Nelly said “I got tired of weed and for a minute wet was cool, it was something new, it was a good way to escape.”

He wasn’t counting on the dissociative effects of wet weed which far exceeded those of high-grade designer marijuana. He’d have long conversations with inanimate objects that had come to life. Even when not high on the drug he’d have hallucinations with voices talking to him. “I heard voices, they would tell me to do things I didn’t want to do, commit crimes, hurt people, stuff like that.”

According to wet users an overdose makes body temperature go very high with a sensation of burning up. Many strip off clothing. The stories of naked PCP fueled users fighting off the police with the strength of 10 men are not overly exaggerated. A Philly policeman said “That stuff about Superman strength is for real, believe me,” he says. “I’ve seen people jump out of two story windows…people really do crazy stuff on PCP when we encounter them.”

Dr. John McCafferty was the Inpatient Director at Einstein Hospital’s psychiatric unit that serves the neighborhoods in Philadelphia where wet use is soaring. He got an involuntary commitment, at least once a week.

He said other types of addicts get stabilized quickly but wet users can be catatonic for days.

“PCP users can be so psychotic when they’re brought in that they can’t provide any history. . . Some PCP users are transferred to the psych unit from the trauma unit, where they had pins put in their legs because they jumped out a window. Some complain of chest pains days after arriving, and when we do an X-ray we find broken ribs. PCP is also an anesthetic, so other injuries often aren’t discovered until after it wears off.”

Nelly eventually stopped using wet weed. But then, instead of smoking marijuana with PCP, he took psychiatric medication “in order to stabilize his mood.” He may be quieter but he’s still taking dangerous drugs – probably for the rest of his life unless he encounters a real drug rehab program to help him quit his medications.

Having to choose between addiction to PCP marijuana or addiction to psychiatric drugs is a choice young people should not have to make.

http://voices.yahoo.com/wet-weed-dangers-marijuana-laced-pcp-338844.html

http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=139184

http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/drug-related-hospital-emergency-room-visits

http://www.samhsa.gov/data/2k13/DAWN127/sr127-DAWN-highlights.htm

http://www.drugfree.org/join-together/addiction/report-high-potency-marijuana

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21524266  2011

https://ufhealth.org/marijuana-intoxication

http://www.medicinenet.com/marijuana/page6.htm#what_are_the_treatments_for_marijuana_abuse_and_addiction

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/04/22/pcp-the-new-rise-of-a-drug-that-turns-teens-crazy.html

Cannabis: scientists call for action amid mental health concerns

Warning reflects growing consensus that frequent use of the drug raises the risk of psychotic disorders in vulnerable people

Ian Sample Science editor

@iansample

Fri 15 Apr 2016 09.35 EDT

Last modified on Tue 28 Nov 2017 18.05 EST


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A woman blows rings with marijuana smoke during an event in in Denver, Colorado. Photograph: Mark Leffingwell/Reuters

The risks of heavy cannabis for mental health are serious enough to warrant global public health campaigns, according to international drugs experts who said young people were particularly vulnerable.

What are the true risks of taking cannabis?

Read more

The warning from scientists in the UK, US, Europe and Australia reflects a growing consensus that frequent use of the drug can increase the risk of psychosis in vulnerable people, and comes as the UN prepares to convene a special session on the global drugs problem for the first time since 1998. The meeting in New York next week aims to unify countries in their efforts to tackle issues around illicit drug use.

How harmful is cannabis? – podcast

While the vast majority of people who smoke cannabis will not develop psychotic disorders, those who do can have their lives ruined. Psychosis is defined by hallucinations, delusions and irrational behaviour, and while most patients recover from the episodes, some go on to develop schizophrenia. The risk is higher among patients who continue with heavy cannabis use.

Public health warnings over cannabis have been extremely limited because the drug is illegal in most countries, and there are uncertainties over whether it really contributes to mental illness. But many researchers now believe the evidence for harm is strong enough to issue clear warnings.

“It’s not sensible to wait for absolute proof that cannabis is a component cause of psychosis,” said Sir Robin Murray, professor of psychiatric research at King’s College London. “There’s already ample evidence to warrant public education around the risks of heavy use of cannabis, particularly the high-potency varieties. For many reasons, we should have public warnings.”

More young people are in treatment for cannabis use than any other drug

Primary drug of use, thousands, 2014-15

Cannabis

Alcohol

Amphetamines

Cocaine

Ecstasy

NPS

Solvents

Heroin

Crack

Other opiates

Methadone

Other

02

4

6

8

10

12

Guardian graphic | Source: Public Health England. Young people: aged 9-17. NPS: New psychoactive substances

The researchers are keen not to exaggerate the risks. In the language of the business, cannabis alone is neither necessary nor sufficient to cause psychosis. But the drug inflicts a clear burden on the vulnerable. Estimates suggest that deterring heavy use of cannabis could prevent 8-24% of psychosis cases handled by treatment centres, depending on the area. In London alone, where the most common form of cannabis is high-potency skunk, avoiding heavy use could avert many hundreds of cases of psychosis every year.

What are the true risks of taking cannabis?

Read more

In the US, cannabis is becoming stronger and more popular. Over the past 20 years, the strength of cannabis seized by the Drug Enforcement Administration has increased from 4%-12% THC. Meanwhile, the number of users rose from 14.5 million to 22.2 million in the seven years to 2014.

Coinciding with the upwards trend, young people’s perceptions of the risks of cannabis have fallen, a consequence perhaps of the public discussion over legalisation and fewer restrictions for medicinal uses, according to the US government’s National Institute on Drug Abuse (Nida).

“It is important to educate the public about this now,” said Nora Volkow, director of Nida. “Kids who start using drugs in their teen years may never know their full potential. This is also true in relation to the risk for psychosis. The risk is significantly higher for people who begin using marijuana during adolescence. And unfortunately at this point, most people don’t know their genetic risk for psychosis or addiction.”

Rise in Skunk among cannabis seizures

Skunk as a percentage of cannabis seizures

Year

1999/00

2004/05

2007/08

020

40

60

80

Guardian graphic | Source: Public Health England. Home Office stopped collecting data after 2008

In the UK, cannabis is the most popular illegal drug, and according to Public Health England data, more young people enter treatment centres for help with cannabis than any other drug, alcohol included. The number of under-18s in treatment for cannabis rose from 9,000 in 2006 to 13,400 in 2015. The drug now accounts for three-quarters of young people receiving help in specialist drugs centres. The most common age group is 15- to 16-year-olds.

The Guardian view on UK drug laws: high time to challenge a failing prohibition

Read more

The reasons for the upward trend are unclear. As hard drugs fall in popularity, clinical services may simply pull in more cannabis users. But the rise in young people in treatment may be linked to skunk, a potent form of cannabis that has taken over the market and edged out the traditional, weaker resins.

Skunk and other strong forms of cannabis now dominate the illicit drugs markets in many countries. From 1999-2008, the cannabis market in England transformed from 15%-81% skunk. In 2008, skunk confiscated from the street contained on average 15% of the high-inducing substance THC (delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol), three times the level found in resin seized that year. The Home Office has not recorded cannabis potency since.

“There is no doubt that high-potency cannabis, such as skunk, causes more problems than traditional cannabis, or hash,” Murray told the Guardian. “This is the case for dependence, but especially for psychosis.”

Ian Hamilton, a mental health lecturer at the University of York, said more detailed monitoring of cannabis use is crucial to ensure that information given out is credible and useful. Most research on cannabis, particularly the major studies that have informed policy, are based on older low-potency cannabis resin, he points out. “In effect, we have a mass population experiment going on where people are exposed to higher potency forms of cannabis, but we don’t fully understand what the short- or long-term risks are,” he said.

Young people seeking treatment for cannabis use peaks at age 15 to 16

Thousands, 2014-15

Under 13

13 to 14

14 to 15

15 to 16

16 to 17

17 to 18

01

2

3

Guardian graphic | Source: Public Health England. Young people: aged 9-17

In Australia, a 2013 study found nearly half of the cannabis confiscated on the streets contained more than 15% THC. Prof Wayne Hall, director of the Centre for Youth Substance Abuse Research at the University of Queensland, said that while most people can use cannabis without putting themselves at risk of psychosis, there is still a need for public education.

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“We want public health messages because, for those who develop the illness, it can be devastating. It can transform people’s lives for the worse,” he said. “People are not going to develop psychosis from having a couple of joints at a party. It’s getting involved in daily use that seems to be the riskiest pattern of behaviour: we’re talking about people who smoke every day and throughout the day.”

The evidence that cannabis can cause psychosis is not 100% conclusive. It is still possible that people who are prone to psychosis are simply more likely to use the drug. The catch is that absolute proof of causality cannot be obtained. The harm caused by cigarettes was easy to confirm: paint tobacco tar on mice and watch the tumours form. You can give cannabis to animals and watch what happens, but you cannot recognise a psychotic mouse. Nor can scientists order thousands of teenagers to smoke pot every day and compare them to a control group that abstained 10 years later.

“When you’re faced with a situation where you cannot determine causality, my personal opinion is why not take the safer route rather than the riskier one, and then figure out ways to minimise harm?” said Amir Englund, a cannabis researcher at King’s College London.

4,000 more young people are seeking treatment for cannabis use than in 2005

Thousands

2005/06

2006/07

2007/08

2008/09

2009/10

2010/11

2011/12

2012/13

2013/14

2014/15

02

4

6

8

10

12

Guardian graphic | Source: Public Health England. Young people: aged 9-17

In the 1960s, cannabis in the Netherlands had less than 3% THC, but today high potency strains average 20%. Jim van Os, professor of psychiatry at Maastricht University medical centre, said public health messages are now justified. He believes people should be deterred from using cannabis before the age of 18, warned off the stronger forms, and urged not to use cannabis alone or to cope with life’s problems.

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Public health campaigns can easily fail though. To prevent a single case of schizophrenia, several thousand heavy cannabis smokers would probably have to quit. That could change with better understanding of who is most at risk. “Once we really understand what it is about cannabis that increases some people’s risk, and in what context, we can maybe start to identify people more highly at risk, and targeted campaigns are likely to be much more effective,” said Suzi Gage, senior research associate at Bristol University.

As with any campaign, credibility is everything. “There is an issue of getting a message through to those who are vulnerable without causing alarm, being overly sensationalist and thus being ignored,” said Dr Wendy Swift, of the National Drug and Alcohol Research Center at the University of New South Wales. “There is good evidence that cannabis use, particularly early onset and frequent use when young, can cause problems on a number of fronts into young adulthood. This to me is the group we need to get our messages through to the most, along with those who have a family history of mental illness or have mental health problems themselves.”

A government spokesperson said its position on cannabis was clear. “We must prevent drug use in our communities and help people who are dependent to recover, while ensuring our drugs laws are enforced. There is clear scientific and medical evidence that cannabis is a harmful drug which can damage people’s mental and physical health, and harms communities.”

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COVID-19: How cannabis companies are helping in the crisis

David Downs of Leafly Reports:

During World War II, America crushed fascism by repurposing automobile factories into making fighters and bombers.

In today’s war on COVID-19, America’s $10.73 billion legal marijuana sector is rapidly redeploying assets to help fight SARS-CoV-2, with the goal of saving as many lives as possible. Legal cannabis makers have begun repurposing hash supply chains for hand sanitizer. Marijuana farmers are donating pest control gowns to desperate hospitals. And once-derided ‘pot shops’ are running food drives to keep America’s most vulnerable fed.

From hash to hand sanitizer

Healthcare workers nationwide have spent a month begging the public for more personal protective equipment—latex gloves, respirators, goggles, face shields, gowns, and disinfectants. Hundreds of thousands of lives are on the line if healthcare collapses under a wave of COVID cases.

Cannabis employs 243,700 Americans, many of them deemed “essential” and exempt from stay-at-home orders. They’re handling double the usual retail orders, and maintaining the weed supply chain, while also pitching into their communities.

In Santa Rosa, CA, about 5,000, 1-ounce tubes of hand sanitizer went out to Bay Area hospitals and police departments March 28, with another 20,000 on the way, courtesy of leading extract maker Care By Design.

Known statewide for the THC gel caps, tinctures, and vape pens, Care By Design converted a portion of their manufacturing space and production capacity to formulate and package up some COVID-killing gel. Hand sanitizer is back-ordered for weeks on Amazon.

Jim Hourigan, CEO of Care By Design’s parent company CannaCraft, said “when we started hearing reports of a shortage in hand sanitizer, we knew that we could be of assistance without negatively impacting our employees or our operations.”

CannaCraft founder Dennis Hunter told Leafly that ingredients and packaging once used to make cannabis extracts and skin creams are now keeping cops and nurses safe at work.

Earlier this month CannaCraft called upon three staff chemists to compound ethanol and other medical-grade alcohol with 55-gallon drums of aloe vera—both of which CannaCraft had at the plant. Their on-site lab verified the compound’s strength against SARS-CoV-2, according to FDA guidance documents. CannaCraft then repurposed unused topicals packaging, industrial bottle-filling machines, and label makers to mass-produce the needed supplies.

CannaCraft had planned to release the initial 40-gallon, 5,000-tube run of hand sanitizer to cannabis stores and delivery services. But a local newspaper story drew the attention of nearby nurses and cops. On March 26, CannaCraft loaded cases of Care By Design hand sanitizer into a Santa Rosa Police Department patrol vehicle.

That’s a far cry from four years ago, when public safety officials urged voters to reject Proposition 64.

“It’s just really amazing to be able to be in that position to help people and the community, and be part of the solution to the things we’re dealing with,” Hunter said.

Stepping up around the nation

CannaCraft isn’t the only company stepping up. Others around the industry are doing their part, including:

Bay Area retailer/grower SPARC also began producing hand sanitizer in-house and donated ten gallons of it to San Francisco and Sonoma hospitals.

California cannabis grower, packager, distributor and manufacturer Jahlibyrd (pronounced ‘jah lee bird’) has partnered with South Fork Vodka to make hand sanitizer.

In Las Vegas, cannabis megastore Planet 13 is partnering with Clark County Social Services to donate 100 meals per day, Monday through Friday to vulnerable stay-at-home seniors and disabled residents.

Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, CA, has 1,000 extra gowns this week thanks to Glass House Farms, a large-scale cultivator in Carpinteria. Industrial cannabis farming requires loads of disinfectant and protective gear for pest control. Glass House Farms president Graham Farrar knew he wanted to give back, and the plastic gowns were the first place to start.

In Massachusetts, a large number of dispensaries—working through the Commonwealth Dispensary Association—are making their own hand sanitizer. They include: Revolutionary Clinics, INSA, Central Ave. Compassionate Care, Inc., Sira Naturals, NETA, Theory Wellness, Garden Remedies, Triple M, Alternative Therapy Group Inc., Berkshire Roots, Cultivate, Northeast Alternatives, Patriot Care, and Mass Wellspring.

And CBD American Shaman is also making hand sanitizer in Kansas City.

“The industry is rallying,” said Hunter. “Not just to help each other, but others.”

Jahlibyrd: masks, hospital and food bank space

On March 30, Jahlibyrd, based in Nevada County, CA, near Lake Tahoe, received a huge order of masks destined for the entire front line—cops, nurses, and cannabis workers included. The company had anticipated the community need for masks weeks ago, and put in an order.

“We’ve been tracking this virus for a while and believe it’s a much bigger deal than most people do,” said Sky Rutherford, Jahlibyrd’s head of construction. “We are donating to multiple different first responders. We’re in touch with three different firehouses, the sheriffs department and two to three different medical clinics, as well the CEO of Dignity Health.”

Jahlibyrd has also donated the use of a 7,000 square-foot building to their local hospital for surge capacity, and 5,000 square-feet of space to the Nevada County food bank.

“We just want to show everyone that if everyone does a little we can accomplish a lot,” said Rutherford. “Just because we sell cannabis doesn’t mean we’re just in it for the money. It’s all about the community during these times.”

Food bank programs ramps up

Cannabis culture is rooted in compassion, from Brownie Mary Rathbun forward.

As sales surge at stores, cannabis retailers’ COVID-19 philanthropy efforts are just starting to ramp up. Many retail canna-businesses have existing food bank programs that they’re supporting as millions of Americans file for unemployment and face food scarcity.

For example, the Glass House group donates 5% of product sales from its Santa Barbara adult-use store to the Santa Barbara Foodbank. Farmacy employees also get paid sick leave and team lunches each day from local restaurants.

Santa Barbara’s local cannabis farming industry group has started the 93013 Fund (for the local ZIP code), and is donating $20,000 to local causes. Their fundraising target is $200,000.

Similarly:

Leading Bay Area, CA delivery service Sava donates 10% of sales to charity partners providing protective equipment for California medical workers.

ZoneIn CBD—a national brand from former NFL all-pro linebacker Lofa Tatupu—reports they will donate $5 of all purchases to Food Lifeline.

DefyCBD, co-founded by former NFL running back Terrell Davis, donated $400,000 in CBD drinks to Feeding America.

Compassion programs expand

Compassion programs earmark free or reduced-price cannabis for low-income medical cannabis patients and others. These programs have never been more important as folks on fixed incomes get squeezed hard.

Barbary Coast has two stores in San Francisco, and sold compassion eighth-ounces from Sherbinskis for $1, instead of the regular $75, to anyone in need on March 30. Dubbed Sherbinskis in Place, the eights sold out in a single morning. Similar sales will likely follow.

More marijuana business COVID-19 relief efforts

San Jose store and delivery service Caliva drops a truck’s-worth of shoe coverings, coverall suits, and sleeve covers at Valley Medical Center—donations from Caliva’s grow center in San Jose, CA. Caliva matches up to $10,000 in donations to Silicon Valley Strong.

Friends in Weed has donated over $35,000 in local restaurant gift cards, signed on more than 20 restaurant partners across Colorado and has welcomed 13 partners. In honor of 4/20, FIW is launching a four-day blitz called 420Help—a one-weekend giving push to galvanize the Colorado cannabis community to help fellow Coloradans in need during the COVID crisis. Every dollar raised during 4/20 weekend will go to the Governor’s Colorado COVID Relief Fund, which is providing millions of dollars in immediate aid to first responders, healthcare professionals, educators and other crucial community services throughout Colorado. 420Help challenges every cannabis consumer and fan to make a donation of $4.20 this 4/20 weekend and challenges cannabis businesses and coalitions to donate at least $420 or 4.2% of sales.

Multi-state operator 4Front Ventures in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19 and protect vulnerable populations, will shift some of its manufacturing capabilities at its Washington production facility to begin producing liquid disinfectant. In partnership with the Last Prisoner Project, starting on April 20, the organizations will donate a portion of the subsequent hand sanitizer bottles to select prison populations in need of supplies.

The Galley of Santa Rosa, CA, repurposes their state-of-the-art manufacturing and production facility for a first run of “Stop & Sanitize” hand sanitizer bottles—25,000 units for distribution to hospitals, retail shops, grocery, and drug stores.

San Diego business owners of Torrey Holistics have been combatting the shortage of medical safety supplies by donating thousands of masks and hand sanitizers to local hospitals and senior centers across San Diego. Alongside these efforts, Torrey Holistics is donating a portion of its April sales to senior centers who are the most vulnerable.

Oregon’s Chalice Farms implements a customer contribution program at its dispensaries, located throughout the Portland metropolitan area. Chalice Farms matches total customer contributions up to $5,000 weekly. Each of the seven dispensary locations will select a local restaurant in its community to purchase at least $5,000 worth of meals from, to be donated to local hospitals, fire departments, paramedics and police departments.

Connecticut spirits distiller SoNo 1420, known for their hemp-infused spirits, is using its alcohol base to produce complimentary hand sanitizers for the community. The company’s hemp-infused gins and vodkas are distilled from 100% gluten-free corn to create a 95% pure ethanol base. That base is now being used to make hand sanitizer using a formulation recommended by the WHO. With a final concentration of 80% ethanol, it is more than 99.99% effective in killing illness-causing microbes. Complimentary bottles of the hand sanitizer are available at the distillery located at 19 Day Street, Norwalk, CT 06854.

See more cannabis industry efforts to fight COVID-19? Share them in the comments below.

We updated this March 31 story on April 17.

TO READ MORE OF THIS ARTICLE ON LEAFLY, CLICK HERE. 

https://www.leafly.com/news/lifestyle/cannabis-and-coconut-oil-uses-benefits-and-a-recipe-to-make-your

[marcos008-blog]

ELECTRIC MARIJUANA

(Color pencils on paper, enhanced with ArcSoft PhotoImpressions software)

(During the course of my career in non-profit quality control, I smoked marijuana every day for 29 of the past 42 years. Marijuana can be a good medicine, and I found that it often inspired me.

My favorite imported kinds of marijuana were Punta Roja Colombian, "Thai sticks", and Mexican from Oaxaca.

I also enjoyed some of the hashish that came from Lebanon, Afghanistan, and Nepal. The hashoil I smoked that came from Morocco greatly lifted my spirits and provided unique insight. "Bubble Hash" made in Berkeley gave me colorful visions.

I even quaffed Hi-Brew Beer [early 1980s marijuana/alcohol beverage].

[In the 1970s I trimmed MANY pounds of marijuana. One of my associates, a taxi driver who claimed that he had “rolled so many joints I don’t have any fingerprints left” was so impressed that he borrowed my scissors and had them plated with gold.]

Surfing on a toke–and when the bowl of the pipe looks like the Grand Canyon, I know I’ve almost had enough…

[Willie Nelson won 10 Grammy awards, and has appeared in 37 movies and TV shows. More than 40 million copies of his more than 100 albums have been sold. He has smoked marijuana for MANY years. Nelson is an outspoken advocate for the drug and has been arrested several times for possession of marijuana. He was arrested in 2006 for possessing marijuana and hallucinogenic mushrooms. His latest song is titled "Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die".

—from an Associated Press news report, 4.21. 2012.]

["I smoke two joints in the morning I smoke two joints at night I smoke two joints in the afternoon It makes me feel all right"

"I smoke two joints in time of peace And two in time of war I smoke two joints before I smoke two joints And then I smoke two more"

—Chris Kay and Michael Kay, in their 1983 song "Smoke Two Joints", which was recorded by The Toyes.]

["One toke over the line sweet Jesus One toke over the line"

"Waitin’ for the train that goes home sweet Mary Hopin’ that the train is on time Sittin’ downtown in a railway station One toke over the line"

—Mike Brewer and Tom Shipley, in their 1970 song "One Toke Over The Line". Vice President Spiro Agnew did not like the song and called it "subversive". After being investigated on suspicion of conspiracy, bribery, extortion, and tax fraud, Agnew was convicted of felony tax evasion and forced to resign.]

["He said ‘drugs make you too pleased with everything.’"

—Sarah Seiter, associate curator of Natural Sciences at the Oakland Museum of California, quoting David Hockney on the connection between drugs and creativity. Seiter was quoted by Paul Kilduff in an interview about a current show, "Altered State: Marijuana in California". The East Bay Monthly, July 2016 issue.

I think I somewhat understand what Hockney said, and I think there is truth in his statement. I also think that I often find great value and much joy in seeing beauty in both the wheat AND the chaff!]

Here is a list of some of the kinds of cannabis I have smoked that were obtained from "medical marijuana" stores in the San Francisco bay area. [From labels I saved.]

Blueberry Tsunami Outdoor Rom Trainwreck Orange Hill Special Red Widow Smoothelove Dutch Passionkush Northern Green Spice Nor Kali Black Spice Sensi Star Organic Main Wreck Sour Diesel Ice Ice Fruity Bliss Organic Remedy NYC Diesel S1-5 Organic Super Silver Haze Morning Star Snow Cap Sun Grown Purple OG Jedi Sweet Nightmare Kosher Strawberries Dirty Little Pig Durbin Poison Oracle Space Cowboy Bubble Haze White Widow Mountain Kick Snow White Sun Grown Diesel Yumbolt Co-op Organic Flo Candyland Silvercratic Sun Grown Chocolope Pineapple Kush Organic Purple Haze Goo-5 Nor Kali Kaui Kola Dynomite Nor Kali Buddha’s Haze Old Grand Huck Grape Ape Sour Diesel Lemon Buddha’s Sister Super Jack Organic Rom Thai Third Eye Pink Champagne World Wide Widow Afgootiva Greased Lightning Outdoor Organic Humboldt Balance Cherry Pie Herijuana Peak 19 Organic Mazar Outdoor Train Crossing Organic Shaman Super Star Rhino Burmese Double Dream Jelly Caramel Kahuna Shiva’s Tears Organic A-10 Purple Burmese Lemon Skunk x Royal Orange Mendo Blendo The Sativa Organic Hawaiian Snow Purple Kush Domina Organic Ultra Skunk Sage ‘n’ Sour Outdoor Organic Kam Tree-W Da Kind Jack Frost Pot O’ Gold Shiva Afghani Gorilla’s Mist Strawberry Cough Sativa 2 Organic Jane Organic Purple Way Outdoor Organic Bonkers Organic Purps Outdoor Organic Goo Juicy Fruit Blue Dream Mind Eraser Pearly Baker Animal Cookies Lavender Goo Titan OG White Russian Sonoma Coma Organic Sticky Nurple MK Ultra Outdoor Organic Trainwreck x White Widow Organic Sweetleaf Organic Purple Ice Jack Herer God’s Gift Outdoor Organic Purple Mendo Organic Ogre Organic Trance William’s Wonder x Northern Lights Blue Ogre Organic Lamb’s Bread Champagne Black Bunanna Super Chunk Organic Rom Cross Sun Grown Goji Jack Rom Hottie Organic Slider Sunshine Grown Green Dragon El Bueno Jakki Organic Time Warp Durban Dream Organic Mist Cookie Pie Mantanuska TF Pineapple Trainwreck Organic Mantanuska Mist Organic Mothership Traincrash Swazi Haze Golden Goo Organic Trance Jack’l Berry Outdoor Mysty Purple Peak 19 AK-47 Sage Motor City Purple Erkel Crazy Hazy Bright Star Green Crack Power Plant Organic Cindy 99 Skunk #2 Organic Bonana Outdoor Organic Hash Plant Baby Blues Cat Piss Mr. Nice (G 13 x Hash Plant) Girl Scout Cookies African Sativa Romadelic Outdoor Organic Madness Outdoor Organic Blue Dot Sour Daze Thin Mint Grand Daddy Purple Spicy Jack Outdoor Organic Pure Rezin Old Mother Sativa Master Yoda Kush Mountain Girl Green Ribbon Super Wreck Sapphire Star Bombshell Also Known As Pea Soup Pirate’s Kush Leda Una Northern Lights x Big Bud All Star Organic Oaktown Wreck Raspberry Diesel ["18.2% THC", grown by "Fleur d’elite"] San Fernando Valley OG ["The Weed Brand Preroll. 1 gram"] Key Lime Pie ["Humboldt Farms" "Premium Flower-Hybrid" "15.2% THC, 0.00% CBD" "Harvested on July 2018, Packaged on July 2018" "One-Eighth Ounce" in a clear glass jar with a stopper made of wood. The label has a 1" x 2" colorful detailed image of tall trees and small flowers and a small white Volkswagen van. Printed with metallic ink. After smoking some Key Lime Pie I decided that, in my opinion, this extremely appealing image is the best illustration I have seen on a cannabis label.] Taffie (This medical cannabis strain is sold in cork-lined light-proof well-labeled tins, each containing 5 joints. The tins come sealed in a bag that contains a Boveda 2-way humidity control packet. This product is distributed by Humboldt Legends, and is labeled Steelhead Sativa. Organically grown in sunlight and harvested by hand. The label has the name [and a copy of the handwritten signature] of the person who grew the marijuana [Scott Davies]. Also the batch number and the percentages of THC [19.5%] and CBD [0.0%]. The label on the back of the tin states that the group of cultivators who call themselves "Humboldt Legends" have been growing marijuana for "forty years". A warning note states that marijuana is a “Schedule 1 controlled substance”. And that “Smoking this product will expose you and those in your immediate vicinity to marijuana smoke…known to the State of California to cause cancer.” “Keep out of reach of children and animals.” "This product may impair the ability to drive or operate machinery." Obtained in the San Francisco bay area, 2017. [After I smoked some of this marijuana in a dark room, I closed my eyes and saw beautiful hallucinations that were extremely complex, with uniquely vivid colors. When I opened my eyes I had a VERY strong urge to write poetry.]) "Top Shelf Rainbow Diesel Minis [Sativa]" [small joints] "Top Shelf Hell OG Minis [Indica]" [small joints] "Mericanna" hybrid [small joint] "16.79% THC" [2018] "Pacific Remedy Shatter joint, hand rolled in California" "Blue Russian flower, Kosher Kush, BHO Snake" "Indica-dominant" [2017] "Sublime King Fuzzies", pre-rolled joint, terpene-enhanced "top shelf bud, CO2 wax/kief", "Indica OG Kush" "THC 253 mg". [2017] Trix Bubble [concentrate] "Shiva Crystals" [hashish] "Select" brand "Mimosa" "cannabis oil vape cartridge" [125 doses per cartridge] 3.5 mg THC per dose. [from the "Select" brand label: "Curating the Science of Feeling" [2018] Cali Gold H20 [extracted cannabis resin] "Emerald Dream" ["Single Origin"] [Trinity County, CA] [58% THC] cannabis oil extracted with CO2 [cartridge for use with "Highlighter" vapor pen]

[A few times I have gone for months without smoking marijuana, and then smoked a potent joint. On more than one such occasion I have experienced intense fearful disorientation, acute paranoia, and horrible physical distress including nausea and a sudden loss of consciousness. CAUTION IS ESSENTIAL!]

I have eaten a variety of cannabis preparations sold at "medical marijuana" stores in Berkeley, including:

"Butter Brothers" brand Brownies, Phat Mints, Blackberry Streusel, Ginger Snaps, Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Peanut Butter Cookies. "Pura Vida" brand Ocean Spray, Happy Trails, Chocolate Jubilee, and Chocolate Chip Protein Bar. "Ganja Candy" brand Caramel, Blackberry, and Dr. Pepper. "Tainted" brand Thin Mints "Dank" candy "420 Grand" candy HealTHCare "Private Reserve OG" [cannabis tincture in vegetable glycerin base] "Double-Strength Medi Pills" [cannabis oil capsules] "Shiva Candy" [hashish candy] "Auntie Dolore’s Medical Cannabis Glazed Pecans" "Hashey’s 200mg Indica Bar" [made with dark chocolate In Santa Cruz] "Rhino Pellet" [tiny cookie] "Potlava" [vegan cannabis baklava] "Orange Zest Awakening Mints" [sublingual 10 milligram THC tablets] "Breez" brand mints [sublingual 5 milligram THC tablets] "Kiva" brand Blackberry Dark Chocolate [cannabis oil candy] "Black Cherry Gummi" [cannabis oil candy] "Original PLUS Super Potent Hybrid Cannabis-Infused Gummies" ["20 milligrams THC"] "PureCure Sativa Strips" [preparation for oral use] [from the label: "EXTREMELY STRONG!"] "Dr. Norm’s Extra Strength medical cannabis cookie" "Chocolate Chip Therapy" 25 milligrams THC, "hybrid". "Full Extract Cannabis Oil" [Indica-dominant strain, for oral use. Full-plant extracted with ethyl alcohol. Dated 12.1. 2015 and provided in a 3 milliliter oral syringe marked for 0.1 milliliter doses. "THC 37.05%"] Stokes brand "Mint Micros" [Sativa-strain] [small tablets, each containing 5mg of cannabis extract] [I have used 2 different flavors: Mint and Watermelon] OMedibles brand "Tree Hugger Medical Cannabis Cinnamon Maple" [high CBD extract mixed with nuts and spices] Utopia Farms brand "Medical Cannabis Raspberry Macaroons" "Cafe Attitude THCoffee" 40 mg THC per 8 oz. bottle ["70% Sativa, 30% Indica"] "Evil Aunt Emily’s Seriously Psychotic Suckers" [cannabis oil candy]) "Sprig" brand citrus soda containing 45 milligrams THC per can. Made in California. [2017] "Petra" brand "Moroccan mint"-flavored medical cannabis tablets, each containing 2.5 milligrams THC plus matcha tea. Produced in 2017 by Kiva, a not-for-profit collective. Lab tested by CW Analytical. "A micro-dosed blend." Packaged in tins containing 42 tablets.

[It is not uncommon for people to have EXTREMELY negative experiences after they have eaten too much of a product containing cannabis. CAUTION IS ESSENTIAL!]

IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT SALES OF SO-CALLED "MEDICAL MARIJUANA" AT STORES IN BERKELEY:

I have seen marijuana contaminated by toxic insecticides that was purchased from (city-approved) so-called "medical marijuana" stores in Berkeley. I have seen marijuana contaminated with other toxic chemicals that was purchased from so-called "medical marijuana" stores in Berkeley. I have seen marijuana contaminated with toxic mold that was purchased at so-called "medical marijuana" stores in Berkeley. As of this writing, there are no enforced standards that designate who may or may not be so-called "medical marijuana" grower-sellers in the city of Berkeley. These for-profit privately-owned stores charge an obscenely high price for their questionable products. THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT MARIJUANA CAN BE ONE OF THE VERY BEST MEDICINES IN THE WORLD!!!!!!!! (Depending upon the type and dose of marijuana, the route of administration, and the set and setting in which it is used.) BUT BEWARE: Greedy and/or stupid capitalists selling untested products grown by greedy and/or stupid amateurs ARE NOT BEHAVING IN A RESPONSIBLE MANNER!

("…marijuana is not legal."

—Ed Rosenthal, interviewed by Paul Kilduff, The Monthly, December 2014.)

("Indeed, positive hits for pathogenic mold are already changing grower operations. ‘You smoke ten random samples of cannabis and you’ve most likely smoked aspergillus [mold],’ said Dave, one of the lab’s two founders. ‘It’s in there, often at unacceptable levels. Now it’s up to the industry to respond. We also are not in a position where we want to make enemies and piss people off. We want to see it happen in the best way for the movement and the industry to kind of just naturally evolve.’ While the distributed nature of California’s cannabis supply network obviously benefits mom-and-pop growers, it doesn’t encourage quality assurance. Consequently, Dave and his peers believe that some pot consumers are in danger. ‘It’s expensive to test every single thing that comes through the door — that’s the price you pay with a decentralized supply system,’ Dave said. ‘But that’s what you’ve got. You’ve got five pounds coming from here and two from there and one individual. I mean, a dog walks in the grow room, and wags its tail — anything can be coming off that dog’s tail. It’s gross. Fertilizers with E. coli. Compost teas that they don’t make right, anaerobic tea that has elevated levels of E. coli and salmonella…There’s no way that this is sustainable. All it takes is one story of immune-compromised people dying from aspergillus infection. The myth that cannabis hasn’t killed a single person in 3,000 years is allowed to go on. Well, it’s not cannabis that kills people, it’s all the shit that’s in it.’

[From "The Manhattan Project of Marijuana", David Downs, the East Bay Express, 3.4. 2009.])

(Steep Hill Lab says eighty-five percent of the medical marijuana samples it tests "show traces of mold".

—Peter Hecht, "Pot Lab Fills Need for Oversight", the Sacramento Bee, 4.6. 2010. The owners of Steep Hill Lab in Oakland California [which is NOT a federally-certified laboratory] are extremely in favor of medical marijuana…)

("We find e.coli in hash. We’re seeing pseudomonas aeruginosa, a bacteria that’s found in filth."

—Robert Martin, of the Association of California Cannabis Labs. Martin was quoted by David Downs in the East Bay Express, 4.11. 2012.)

("It’s a nasty little secret in the medical marijuana world that many growers spray their plants liberally with pesticides…"

—Robert Gammon, the East Bay Express, 7.28. 2010.)

(In places like Berkeley in 2018, where cannabis production is encouraged, much cannabis waste is generated. Some of the waste is toxic if consumed. Moldy marijuana, marijuana contaminated with chemicals, contaminated hashish, and contaminated cannabis concentrates do not seem to be rare. Some homeless people, alcohol addicts, and methamphetamine addicts find these sometimes poisonous contaminated cannabis products in garbage containers and sell them on the streets…)

("A 2015 study published in The Journal of Toxicological Sciences found that more than 80 percent of the concentrate samples were contaminated by residual solvents."

"In the same 2015 study, pesticides were detected in one-third of the concentrate samples."

—Kathleen Richards, The East Bay Express, 3.21. 2018, in an article about vaping cannabis.)

("…the true danger in untested cannabis comes from the potential pathogens–pseudomonas, aspergillis, and E. coli are routinely found by our laboratory [CW Analytical]."

—David Egerton, in a letter to the editor of the East Bay Express, 7.18. 2012.)

("…Anresco Laboratories conducted tests on all of the cannabis featured at the HempCon Festival held in San Francisco in August 2017. The San Francisco-based laboratory discovered that 80 percent of the cannabis at the festival was contaminated with unhealthy levels of solvents, pesticides, molds, fungus, or various bacteria."

—John Geluardi, East Bay Express, 9.20. 2017.)

(Over the decades, I have seen MANY careless and ignorant people with hands contaminated by perfume, cologne, cosmetics, grease, oils [and a number of other toxic substances] use their fingers to prepare marijuana for smoking. I am dismayed by the amount of marijuana I have had to throw away because of toxic substances that stupid and/or careless people have allowed marijuana to come into contact with!)

("Mycobutanil…was found in a product recently recalled by Mettrum Ltd., a Toronto-based medical marijuana company."

Mycobutanil, used to control mildew, is said to emit hydrogen cyanide gas when heated.

"The Mettrum discovery was made recently, when a random screening of the company’s products by Health Canada turned up the unauthorized use of pyrethrin, a pesticide…that is also not approved for medical cannabis…"

—Grant Robertson, The Globe and Mail, 3.10. 2017.)

("While I am grateful for access to the pot clubs…I am at a bit of a loss to understand why, given the virtual absence of risk in producing and distributing pot, it is still so expensive."

"What we have…are facilities charging the high end of street prices to people who are already ostensibly facing hardship."

["An ounce for $300 to $400…"]

"…besides basic capitalist greed, why does it still cost so much? Most of the truly disabled and terminally ill are on a fixed income, rendering the cost of pot not at all that compassionate."

— Quotes from a letter written by Steve Stevens to the editor of the San Francisco Weekly, 1.20. 2010.)

("According to Rand Corporation estimates…legalized…high-grade pot would cost just $20 per pound to produce. And low-grade weed would cost only $5 per pound."

—David Downs, East Bay Express, 10.9. 2013.)

(Since May 2011, four marijuana stores in Richmond, California [near Berkeley and Oakland] "…have paid $486,390 in police fees."

"To some, the situation evokes…the protection racket."

—David Downs, East Bay Express, 8.28. 2013)

(Daniel Rush, the former chair of Berkeley’s Medical Cannabis Commission, was charged with 15 criminal counts, including extortion, fraud, and money-laundering. He later pleaded guilty to three felony counts.

["…federal authorities charged him for offering special treatment to one of the applicants for Berkeley’s fourth dispensary spot."

—Frances Dinkelspiel, Berkeleyside.com, 6.23. 2017.])

("I’ve never met so many greedy slugs in my whole life."

—Michelle LaMay, chairwoman of the Teapot Party in Colorado, describing having to deal with the more than 3,000 people who have contacted her because they want to start their own cannabis business. [Willie Nelson was arrested in Texas for possessing marijuana on November 26, 2010. Following his arrest, Nelson founded the Teapot Party.] The quote is from an article by Eric Spitznagel, Bloomberg Businessweek, that was published in the San Francisco Chronicle, 11.20. 2011)

("We did $20 million in sales last year."

—Steve DeAngelo, executive director of Harborside Health Collective, a marijuana store in Oakland. DeAngelo was quoted by Kathleen Pender in an article, "Push to Protect Banks on Legal Pot Business". The San Francisco Chronicle, 5.25. 2010.)

("California’s medical marijuana dispensaries now generate as much as $1.3 billion in sales and $105 million in state sales taxes each year, according to new—and dramatically increased—state sales estimates by California’s Board of Equalization."

"The Board of Equalization earlier this year estimated medical marijuana sales at only $98 million annually…"

— the Sacramento Bee, 5.8. 2010.)

(The Berkeley Patients Group is "a dispensary with about 10,000 patients in the Bay Area". In 2007 the DEA "pounced on a Southern California offshoot of the Berkeley nonprofit for distributing a federally controlled substance. Agents seized nearly everything on-site as well as $100,000 in funds in a bank account."

"The Berkeley dispensary actually got the money back after the City of Berkeley stood up for it. The city stated in a 2008 resolution ‘seizures of assets of medical marijuana dispensaries and collectives have blocked payments of taxes to the state of California and the City of Berkeley.’ The city asked federal authorities to back off and they did."

"Berkeley Patients Group, along with two other Berkeley clubs, net about $18.5 million per year."

—David Downs, the East Bay Express, 9.15. 2010.)

("The city of Berkeley filed a legal claim Wednesday in a federal asset forfeiture case against the landlord of a medical marijuana dispensary here, saying it would lose tax money from pot sales if the dispensary is forced to close."

—Doug Oakley, West County Times, 7.4. 2013.)

("Oakland’s lawsuit said the closure would damage the city, which expects to collect more than $1.4 million this year in business taxes from Harborside and three other city-licensed dispensaries."

—Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle, 10.14. 2012. Seeking to prevent the forced closure of Harborside Health Center, a "medical marijuana" dispensary, the City of Oakland filed a lawsuit against the federal government.)

Years ago there was a legitimate drug testing laboratory in California where a user could anonymously have a sample of their "dope" tested. Unfortunately, at one point such drug-testing laboratories were declared illegal by federal law enforcement officials and were forced to cease operation. As far as I can tell, the public does not have legal access to any federally-certified illegal-drug testing laboratory.

("This product was produced without regulatory oversight for health, safety or efficacy."

—quote from a blister-pack containing sixteen 10 milligram THC "Orange Zest"-flavored sublingual tablets that were made August 10, 2016 in Salinas, California for a company in Denver, Colorado. [The main isomer of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the principal psychoactive constituent of marijuana.])

("This product has not been tested as required by the Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act."

—quote from a childproof bottle containing one gram of "King Louis OG" cannabis flowers that was sold for $15 in February 2018 by KindPeoples Collective in Soquel, California.)

Many of the anti-drug police say they believe that "harm reduction" strategies increase drug use and are thus unacceptable. Some anti-drug police believe that the world would be a better place if users of illegal drugs died…

("Casual drug users should be taken out and shot. Smoke a joint, lose your life."

—Darryl Gates, Head of Los Angeles Police Department, speaking to a United States Senate Judiciary Committee on September 5, 1990. [Gates said the above because he felt casual drug users were guilty of "treason", according to author Martin Torgoff, writing in his book CAN’T FIND MY WAY HOME–America in the Great Stoned Age, 1945-2000.] )

("In 1996, Newt Gingrich introduced a bill mandating the death penalty for bringing two ounces of marijuana into the country!"

[quote from a document published by Unitarian Universalists for Drug Policy Reform].)

("William Bennett, federal drug policy coordinator, said Thursday night he had no moral qualms about beheading convicted drug dealers.

‘Morally, I don’t have any problem with that at all,’ Bennett said when asked on the CNN program ‘Larry King Live’ call-in television show…"

—Los Angeles Times, 6.16. 1989.)

("Quinlivan told the judges that nobody has the right to use marijuana…"

"Judge Harry Pregerson asked Quinlivan whether it was OK for Raich to die or succumb to ‘unbearable suffering.’ ‘So go ahead and die. That would be all right?’ he asked. ‘Congress has made that value judgement,’ Quinlivan replied."

—David Kravets, the Oakland Tribune, 3.28. 2006, in an article about a hearing before a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Angel McClary Raich is a very seriously ill patient that multiple doctors say must use marijuana as a medicine or she will likely die. Mark T. Quinlivan is an Assistant U. S. Attorney.)

("One child said ‘I love you, Mom’– for the first time in his life."

—Debra Kamin, Newsweek, 2.23. 2018, describing what happened when a severely autistic child was given marijuana oil. The quote is printed large, with the words "I love you, Mom" in bright red. The front cover of this issue features an image of neon marijuana leaves and the words "The Blunt Truth About Weed and Autism". The back cover is a full-page full-color advertisement for Kavalan whisky. [The article is about a study of 60 severely autistic children who were given an oil containing a 20-to-1 ratio of CBD to THC. The study was conducted by Dr. Adi Aran, a pediatric neurologist and director of the pediatric unit of Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedeck Hospital. "Most parents said their children improved. Nearly half saw a notable reduction in the core symptoms of autism."])

("You’re real! You’re really real!"

—Floyd, age ten, who had never spoken before, after being given a series of large doses of LSD at Fairview Developmental Center in California in the early 1960s. The quote was reported by Connell Cowan, at the time a psych tech, who was one of the people who were giving large doses of LSD to children. Cowan was working with Gary Fisher, a psychologist who had first taken LSD in 1959. [From "The Elementary Kool-Aid Acid Test", a podcast by Amy Standen and Judy Campbell, The Leap, KQED, 4.11. 2017.])

("…good people don’t smoke marijuana."

—Jeff Sessions, in a Senate hearing in April 2016. Sessions is now Attorney General of the United States. He is the chief law enforcement officer and the chief lawyer of the U.S. government. It is obvious that Sessions is very mentally ill, as is Donald Trump, who chose Sessions to be Attorney General.)

("I’m a firm believer that drugs are the root of all evil."

—Contra Costa County [California] deputy sheriff Andy VanZelf, quoted 10.4. 2009 in the Conta Costa Times by columnist Tom Barnidge. "VanZelf [a police officer for 23 years] …was born to the job–his mother, father, and brother were cops–but that’s not why he stuck with it. ‘Putting bad guys in jail is very satisfying,’ he said.")

(“You can grow enough marihuana in a window-box to drive the whole population of the United States stark, staring, raving mad.”

—Winifred Black, an early Hearst anti-cannabis propagandist, in her 1929 book DOPE–THE STORY OF THE LIVING DEAD.)

("According to the FBI’s annual Uniform Crime Report, in 2007 there were 872,721 arrests in the U.S. for marijuana violations."

—Adam Tschorn, the Los Angeles Times, 9.3. 2009.)

("It was downtown San Jose and another police officer had made a stop on three kids who were touring San Jose on a Saturday night. You know, driving around in circles like American Graffiti. And the officer pulled three kids out of the car and he didn’t know but one kid panicked and tried to swallow a small bag of marijuana—and I pulled up just to watch and assist if needed and didn’t realize what was going on either. And this kid died in front of us choking on a bag of marijuana. He didn’t die because of marijuana, he died because he panicked over these stupid laws we have."

—former San Jose, California undercover narcotics detective Russ Jones, quoted by David Downs, the East Bay Express, 5.12. 2010. Russ Jones is a spokesman for the "Law Enforcement Against Prohibition" organization.)

("The general commanding Mexico’s drug enforcement unit–hailed by U.S. drugs czar McCaffrey as ‘an honest man and no-nonsense field commander’–was detained in 1997 for corruptly collaborating with Amado Carillo Fuentes."

—Kevin Williamson, in DRUGS AND THE PARTY LINE.)

(Because I am a disabled homeless senior citizen who has VERY little money, I cannot afford the fee that doctors charge to issue a recommendation that I be allowed to use "medical marijuana". I cannot afford the administrative fee charged for the issuance of a "medical marijuana" card. Even if I had the proper paperwork, I am too poor to be able to pay the high prices the local "medical marijuana" stores charge. I have never grown marijuana. Because I am homeless I have no place where I can grow marijuana.)

A randomly-edited selection of approximately 700 of my pictures may be viewed by clicking on the link below: www.flickr.com/groups/psychedelicart/pool/43237970@N00/

Please click here to read my "autobiography": thewordsofjdyf333.blogspot.com/

And my "profile" page may be viewed by clicking on this link: www.flickr.com/people/jdyf333/

My telephone number is: 510-260-9695

Please note: DEPICTION IS NOT ADVOCACY!!!

Posted by jdyf333 on 2007-08-03 05:53:01

Tagged: , jdyf333 , outsider , psychedelic , trippy , hallucinations , visions , dreams , lightshow , doodles , art , psychedelic art , outsider art , trance , weed , tripping , tripper , trip , reefermadness , purplebarrel , psychedelicyberepidemic , pot , marijuana , lysergic , lightshows , jazz , highart , herb , enchanted , dream , doodle , coloursplosion , cannabis , caffeine , bliss , artoutsider , arte , artcafe , acid , abstracto , abigfave , 420 , Berkeley California , entheogasm , Davivid Rose , Cannabis Indica , Cannabis Sativa , LSD , d-lysergic acid diethylamide , Clearlight LSD , Orange Sunshine LSD , Blue Sunshine LSD , Xmas Sunshine LSD

The post ELECTRIC MARIJUANA appeared first on Good Info.

[rolandfontana]

California Pot Surplus Means Fewer Legal Sales

A billion dollars of tax revenue, reductions in the black market, and the convenience of retail cannabis stores were some of the promises made by proponents of marijuana legalization in California. A year after the start of recreational sales, they are still just promises, the New York Times reports. California’s legalization is mired by debates over regulation and hamstrung by cities and towns that do not want cannabis businesses. California was the sixth state to introduce the sale of recreational marijuana after Alaska, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. The enormous size of the market led to predictions of soaring legal cannabis sales, but sales fell. Around $2.5 billion of legal cannabis was sold in California in 2018, half a billion dollars less than in 2017 when only medical marijuana was legal, says GreenEdge, a sales tracking company.

“There are definitely days that I think that legalization has been a failure,” said Lynda Hopkins of the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, which took a lead in licensing marijuana businesses and became embroiled in disputes over regulations and taxes, plus angry residents who did not want cannabis grown in their neighborhoods. The easy part of legalization was persuading people to vote for it. The hard part is persuading people to stop buying from the black market. In Colorado and Washington, licensed sales soared after legalization. California produces far more pot than it can consume. “The bottom line is that there’s always been a robust illicit market in California — and it’s still there,” said Tom Adams of BDS Analytics. Regulators thought they could go straight into an incredibly strict and high-tax environment.” The most estimate of California’s cannabis production showed the state producing as much as 15.5 million pounds of cannabis and consuming 2.5 million pounds.

California Pot Surplus Means Fewer Legal Sales syndicated from https://immigrationattorneyto.wordpress.com/

[chorusfm]

Vacationer Release Signature ‘Mindset’ Cannabis Strain

The initial release of Vacationer’s Mindset cannabis strain is now available exclusively at Zen Healing in West Hollywood and will be hitting additional stores in California later this month. The full press release can be found below. The initial release of Vacationer’s Mindset Cannabis strain is now available exclusively at Zen Healing in West Hollywood and will be hitting additional stores in California later this month. The Philadelphia-based band teamed up with Cherry Kola Farms to release their signature “Mindset” strain of Cannabis. The cannabis strain is the first of many artist licensing deals for Cherry Kola Farms, under the supervision of Zach Falkow, Director of Artist Relations. “We could not be more excited to have Vacationer as our premiere artist,” Falkow says. “Kenny’s creativity, enthusiasm for cannabis and his approach to the product is a perfect match for Cherry Kola Farms. We’re all big fans of the music, and we have no doubt that the “Mindset” strain will be a perfect compliment to its namesake album.” Cherry Kola Farms was founded in 2010 in Sonoma County, CA by brothers Asa and Sean Schaeffer. Known for cultivating small batch craft cannabis, Cherry Kola has established itself as an authority in the cannabis industry. Their namesake strain has won countless awards including the High Times Medical Cannabis Cup, The Breeders Cup, and the LA Cannabis Cup. In partnership with Xtractology, Cherry Kola offers a wide variety of different products from flower to waxes and distillate, each in a myriad of different flavors and strains. Beyond their strains, the Cherry Kola empire includes multiple production facilities, a flagship dispensary in West Hollywood and a newly formed artist partnership department. Cherry Kola Farms’ extensive experience and knack for innovation has positioned the brand to lead the cannabis industry and lifestyle into the mainstream. The release of the “Mindset” strain is a pivotal moment for frontman Ken Vasoli. “My collaboration with Cherry Kola Farms is a complete dream turned reality.” He adds, “I’ve been a cannabis advocate for all of my adult life. Now I’ve been given this chance to tailor a strain of marijuana with experts of the craft. The combination of strains that we landed on (Headband x Pineapple OG x Banana Kush) were selected specifically for the benefits it would have on Mindset. Those strains are all carry euphoric, happy and creative effects. Those are the positive aspects of marijuana that I want to emphasize. I want the people who try this strain to have a positive mental experience and to feel comfortable in the creative side of their brain.” --- Please consider supporting us so we can keep bringing you stories like this one. ◎ https://chorus.fm/news/vacationer-release-signature-mindset-cannabis-strain/

[centuryassociates]

California Cannabis Countdown: City of Antioch (Hearing Today!)

California has 58 counties and 482 incorporated cities across the state, each with the option to create its own rules or ban marijuana altogether. In this California Cannabis Countdown series, we cover who is banning cannabis, who is embracing cannabis (and how), and everyone in between.  For each city and county, we’ll discuss its location, history with cannabis, current law, and proposed law to give you a clearer picture of where to locate your California cannabis business, how to keep it legal, and what you will and won’t be allowed to do.

Our last California Cannabis Countdown post was on the City of San Jose, and before that the City of Cotati, the City of San Luis Obispo, the City of Redding, the City of San Rafael, the City of Hayward, Alameda County, Oakland, San Francisco, Sonoma County, the City of Davis, the City of Santa Rosa, County and City of San Bernardino, Marin County, Nevada County, the City of Lynwood, the City of Coachella, Los Angeles County, the City of Los Angeles, the City of Desert Hot Springs, Sonoma County, the City of Sacramento, the City of Berkeley, Calaveras County, Monterey County and the City of Emeryville.

Today’s post is on the City of Antioch.

Welcome to the California Cannabis Countdown.

Location. Antioch is the second largest city in Contra Costa County and its location on the banks of the San Joaquin River links it with the San Francisco/East Bay region, Sacramento, and the Central Valley. Although Antioch is not home to any of the major tech companies found throughout the Bay Area (Kaiser Permanente is the City’s largest employer), its low cost of living (for Northern California) and new public transportation options will likely attract new residents and businesses.

History with Cannabis: When it comes to cannabis, Antioch lags far behind some of its progressive Bay Area neighbors. While Oakland, San Francisco, Richmond, and Berkeley (just to name a few) are continuously working on their cannabis ordinances and licensing procedures, Antioch’s been busy extending moratoriums. The City Council passed its first moratorium on medical marijuana facilities back on April 26, 2011. The City then extended the moratorium on May 24, 2011, and passed an ordinance permanently barring medical marijuana facilities on October 22, 2013. Antioch did have an exception allowing for limited medical cultivation but when the City amended their cannabis ordinance on January 20, 2016, they added cultivation to the prohibited list of cannabis activities. When the Adult-Use of Marijuana Act (“AUMA”) made it onto the California ballot in 2016, Antioch followed its normal course of action: It passed multiple moratoriums prohibiting adult-use cannabis activities. However, there’s proof out there that Antioch is starting to come around on its view of cannabis. Much like the progress we’re beginning to see on the federal level with pro-cannabis measures, California jurisdictions that used to have bans in place are now deciding to regulate (and tax) commercial cannabis activities. You can now add Antioch to that list (hopefully).

Proposed Cannabis Laws: On May 2, 2018, Antioch’s Planning Commission held a public hearing and recommended that the City Council amend the City’s Municipal Code to establish a cannabis business zoning overlay district for commercial cannabis activities. The amended ordinance passed its first City Council reading on May 22, 2018, and will hopefully be adopted later this evening. Here are some of the ordinance’s highlights:

Would allow commercial cannabis activities in the eastern waterfront industrial area between the San Joaquin River and east 18th street, as well as along the business park area around Verne Roberts Circle;

Establishes and defines a cannabis business as “a person, partnership, corporation, company, association, collective, or cooperative which engages in commercial cannabis use(s)”;

Establishes and defines cannabis retail as “a cannabis business that distributes, dispenses, stores, exchanges, packages, re-packages, labels, sells, makes available, transmits, or gives away cannabis or cannabis products for either medical or recreational use and is operated in accordance with state and local law and regulations”;

Prohibits cannabis businesses with 600 feet of a school, residential area, or public park; and

Allows cannabis uses upon approval of a Use Permit from the City Council and the recommendation of the Planning Commission.

It’s also important to note that as of right now Antioch is considering licensing all seed to sale license types, so interested cannabis entrepreneurs need to keep communicating with the City Council to keep all those cannabis activities available. The proposed ordinance does not specify the general requirements and operating procedures for obtaining a cannabis use permit. That issue will be addressed by local regulators in the future but in order to get to that point, the City Council needs to adopt the amended ordinance today! Let’s hope that Antioch takes a step in the right direction.

California Cannabis Countdown: City of Antioch (Hearing Today!) posted first on https://centuryassociates.blogspot.com/

[jodieshazel]

California Cannabis Countdown: City of Antioch (Hearing Today!)

California has 58 counties and 482 incorporated cities across the state, each with the option to create its own rules or ban marijuana altogether. In this California Cannabis Countdown series, we cover who is banning cannabis, who is embracing cannabis (and how), and everyone in between.  For each city and county, we’ll discuss its location, history with cannabis, current law, and proposed law to give you a clearer picture of where to locate your California cannabis business, how to keep it legal, and what you will and won’t be allowed to do.

Our last California Cannabis Countdown post was on the City of San Jose, and before that the City of Cotati, the City of San Luis Obispo, the City of Redding, the City of San Rafael, the City of Hayward, Alameda County, Oakland, San Francisco, Sonoma County, the City of Davis, the City of Santa Rosa, County and City of San Bernardino, Marin County, Nevada County, the City of Lynwood, the City of Coachella, Los Angeles County, the City of Los Angeles, the City of Desert Hot Springs, Sonoma County, the City of Sacramento, the City of Berkeley, Calaveras County, Monterey County and the City of Emeryville.

Today’s post is on the City of Antioch.

Welcome to the California Cannabis Countdown.

Location. Antioch is the second largest city in Contra Costa County and its location on the banks of the San Joaquin River links it with the San Francisco/East Bay region, Sacramento, and the Central Valley. Although Antioch is not home to any of the major tech companies found throughout the Bay Area (Kaiser Permanente is the City’s largest employer), its low cost of living (for Northern California) and new public transportation options will likely attract new residents and businesses.

History with Cannabis: When it comes to cannabis, Antioch lags far behind some of its progressive Bay Area neighbors. While Oakland, San Francisco, Richmond, and Berkeley (just to name a few) are continuously working on their cannabis ordinances and licensing procedures, Antioch’s been busy extending moratoriums. The City Council passed its first moratorium on medical marijuana facilities back on April 26, 2011. The City then extended the moratorium on May 24, 2011, and passed an ordinance permanently barring medical marijuana facilities on October 22, 2013. Antioch did have an exception allowing for limited medical cultivation but when the City amended their cannabis ordinance on January 20, 2016, they added cultivation to the prohibited list of cannabis activities. When the Adult-Use of Marijuana Act (“AUMA”) made it onto the California ballot in 2016, Antioch followed its normal course of action: It passed multiple moratoriums prohibiting adult-use cannabis activities. However, there’s proof out there that Antioch is starting to come around on its view of cannabis. Much like the progress we’re beginning to see on the federal level with pro-cannabis measures, California jurisdictions that used to have bans in place are now deciding to regulate (and tax) commercial cannabis activities. You can now add Antioch to that list (hopefully).

Proposed Cannabis Laws: On May 2, 2018, Antioch’s Planning Commission held a public hearing and recommended that the City Council amend the City’s Municipal Code to establish a cannabis business zoning overlay district for commercial cannabis activities. The amended ordinance passed its first City Council reading on May 22, 2018, and will hopefully be adopted later this evening. Here are some of the ordinance’s highlights:

Would allow commercial cannabis activities in the eastern waterfront industrial area between the San Joaquin River and east 18th street, as well as along the business park area around Verne Roberts Circle;

Establishes and defines a cannabis business as “a person, partnership, corporation, company, association, collective, or cooperative which engages in commercial cannabis use(s)”;

Establishes and defines cannabis retail as “a cannabis business that distributes, dispenses, stores, exchanges, packages, re-packages, labels, sells, makes available, transmits, or gives away cannabis or cannabis products for either medical or recreational use and is operated in accordance with state and local law and regulations”;

Prohibits cannabis businesses with 600 feet of a school, residential area, or public park; and

Allows cannabis uses upon approval of a Use Permit from the City Council and the recommendation of the Planning Commission.

It’s also important to note that as of right now Antioch is considering licensing all seed to sale license types, so interested cannabis entrepreneurs need to keep communicating with the City Council to keep all those cannabis activities available. The proposed ordinance does not specify the general requirements and operating procedures for obtaining a cannabis use permit. That issue will be addressed by local regulators in the future but in order to get to that point, the City Council needs to adopt the amended ordinance today! Let’s hope that Antioch takes a step in the right direction.

from Canna Law Blog™ https://www.cannalawblog.com/california-cannabis-countdown-city-of-antioch-hearing-today/

[annyleonca]

16 Dispensaries That Deliver Marijuana in California

In late 2017, California voted to pass a law that legalized the recreational use of Marijuana. That law is now in effect, and a number of dispensaries in the state are open to business for all people above the age of 21.

These are sixteen of the best dispensaries that deliver marijuana in California.

The Herb Collective, Orange County

The Herb Collectiveis a premium online medical marijuana dispensary and delivery service in Orange County, California. We strive to provide premier care, service, and top-quality, premium-grade medical marijuana products directly to our members. Our mission is to provide our members with a safe and reliable resource for fulfilling their medical marijuana needs. We deliver to the Orange County, CA area.

The Herb Collective is a network of patients, caregivers, growers, advocates and enthusiasts with the exceeding passion for high-quality connoisseur medical marijuana. We would like to share that passion with you and make fulfilling your medical marijuana needs easy.

Harborside, Oakland

In 2006, entrepreneur Steve DeAngelo founded the Harborside dispensary in Oakland, California. Since that time, it's grown to become one of the largest dispensaries in the entire country. Harborside's mission has always been to build a world by the values that cannabis teaches, and offers their customers a huge range of options to fit each person's specific needs.

Harborside offers a huge range of both indica and sativa strains, although it's their edibles that helped them gain such a high reputation. They offer chocolates, pills, almonds, and so much more in a wide range of different strengths. Prices here are sometimes higher than other nearby dispensaries, yet it's the massive list of products that make it truly one of a kind. Deliveries must be over $50 within Oakland, $75 in nearby neighboring cities, or $100 in the larger East Bay.

Grass Roots Dispensary, San Francisco

The Grass Roots Dispensary in San Francisco is one of the most popular in the entire state of California. They offer one of the largest selection of marijuana products, and will deliver throughout San Francisco at highly reasonable prices.

As you might expect from a top California dispensary, Grass Roots offers a huge range of both flowers and edibles. Prices range around $21 for an 1/8th, and $3.50 for a high-dose cookie. This dispensary is perfect for those in the SF area, and it may not be long before they begin expanding south.

Goddess Delivers, Statewide

Goddess Delivers began in the LA region, yet they now deliver products across the entire state at great prices. Unlike some other California marijuana dispensaries, this company does not operate a brick-and-mortar shop. Instead, they provide their customers with a range of products through delivery incredibly fast.

Here, customers can choose from flowers, edibles, concentrates, and much more. Unfortunately, these products are only available to those with a valid medical license. In late 2018 the legal sales of cannabis will likely become legalized, in which case they will offer their services to anyone over the age of 21.

Coachella Church of Cannabis, San Jose

The Coachella Church of Cannabis is one of the few recognized Rastafarian churches in the United States, and now operates one of the most popular cannabis dispensaries that deliver in California. Fortunately, they also have great customer service that will explain exactly what's available.

This dispensary will deliver to the San Jose area at great prices. There's a reason why they've accumulated five-stars on Google reviews and may begin expanding their delivery service farther north in the coming months.

Harvest Bloom, Statewide

Harvest Bloom is another dispensary that only caters to those with a medical license. That may change in the coming months, which would open up all those over the age of 21 to their incredible products. At the moment, they deliver to the San Mateo and Santa Clara region at great prices.

Greenly, Los Angeles

The Greenly dispensary located in Los Angeles is thought to be one of the most sophisticated and technological marijuana delivery services in California. They offer free delivery services to most residents of LA, and allow you to track your driver to monitor exactly when they will arrive to your door.

Greenly offers a huge number of different marijuana products. Their vape products are highly popular, costing around $40 for a .5 gram vape cartridge.

Natural Green ReLeaf, Bay Area

The Bay Area is filled with great marijuana delivery services, and the Natural Green ReLeaf is one of the best. They serve only those with valid medical cards, though that will likely change in the future.

They serve all the Bay Area cities that have passed the sale of marijuana, and offer $10 off all new patient's first orders. Furthermore, they are giving all customers that refer a friend one free pre-rolled joint.

Yerba, Bay Area

Another popular marijuana delivery service in the Bay Area is Yerba. Leafly has praised this company for its great customer service and wide range of different products.

For the time being, Yerba will only offer their services to those with a medical license. They also offer a great loyalty program for customers.

Tops Cannabis Delivery, Chino

Those in Southern California that want their marijuana delivered in a timely and cost-effective manner might want to consider using Tops Cannabis Delivery. This company is based in Chino, and have become one of the most popular dispensaries in just over four years of business.

Tops offers a huge range of flowers and edibles. They will deliver only to those with a medical license at the moment, although their website states their intention to change this as soon as new laws regarding recreational marijuana sales are passed.

CannaHealth, Pleasant Hill

CannaHealth opened in 2011, and now boats a huge customer base in the Bay Area. They offer a massive list of different marijuana strains and products, and regularly update their deals to keep both new and existing customers happy.

This is one of the few dispensaries that deliver in California that will actually provide people with their own medical license. Simply send in your ID and a doctor's form they provide. CannaHealth is one of the best marijuana delivery companies operating right now in Northern California.

Vallejo Hollistic Health Center, Vallejo

In recent years, the Vallejo Hollistic Health Center has become a great choice for Northern California locals. They operate a brick-and-mortar store, yet it's their delivery service that's earned them such a good reputation.

They offer their delivery products only to those with a medical card. Every day of the week, the Vallejo Hollistic Health Center offers fantastic deals of 10% off different products.

A Green Alternative, San Diego

Deep in Southern California sits a fantastic marijuana delivery service with a massive list of different products. As is the case with most dispensaries, this company will deliver only to medical patients with a valid card.

The range of flower strains here is great, and their edibles make them truly stand out. They offer bars, beef jerky, chocolates, and so much more. A Green Alternative is one of the few dispensaries in California that deliver so far south, and is a great option for locals and tourists in the area.

Kushfly Medical Marijuana Delivery, Los Angeles

As the name suggests, Kushfly Medical Marijuana Delivery caters only to those with a medical marijuana license. Since their opening, they've grown to become one of the top LA dispensaries with one of the largest selection of products in California.

The delivery service is limited only to the LA area. They've formed partnerships with some of the top edible brands including Venice Cookie Company and G Farma Labs, ensuring their products are of the best quality. Prices here are fantastic and their customer service is one of the best in the business.

2ONE2 California Street Medical Cannabis, San Francisco

2ONE2 California Street Medical Cannabis is another tremendous SF dispensary providing locals with incredible products. Their delivery service is cost-efficient and quick, with many customers praising their great selection of different oils and concentrates.

Mercy Wellness of Cotati, Cotati

This dispensary opened up just seven years ago to become the first marijuana dispensary in Sonoma County to offer their products to anyone over the age of 21. That includes their delivery service, which is now one of their primary focuses as a company.

Mercy Wellness offers a huge list of products to their customers. Prices are generally around $45 for an 1/8th of top-quality flowers and $6 for a standard edible. Those in the Sonoma County region will be pleased to find this company has amazing customer service and safe, secure delivery options.

There are now many dispensaries that deliver in California, and many more likely to open up as new laws are passed in the coming months. Check out the ones available in your area today!

from News About Marijuana https://www.theherbcollectiveoc.com/single-post/2018/06/01/16-Dispensaries-That-Deliver-Marijuana-in-California

[mercywellness]

Looking for a legal and licensed, “recreational cannabis or marijuana dispensary store near me?” Mercy Wellness of Cotati is a reliable store that provides safe access to recreational and medicinal cannabis in Northern California. For more information, contact us at (707) 795-1600.

[johnlalford11]

16 Dispensaries That Deliver Marijuana in California

In late 2017, California voted to pass a law that legalized the recreational use of Marijuana. That law is now in effect, and a number of dispensaries in the state are open to business for all people above the age of 21.

These are sixteen of the best dispensaries that deliver marijuana in California.

The Herb Collective, Orange County

The Herb Collectiveis a premium online medical marijuana dispensary and delivery service in Orange County, California. We strive to provide premier care, service, and top-quality, premium-grade medical marijuana products directly to our members. Our mission is to provide our members with a safe and reliable resource for fulfilling their medical marijuana needs. We deliver to the Orange County, CA area.

The Herb Collective is a network of patients, caregivers, growers, advocates and enthusiasts with the exceeding passion for high-quality connoisseur medical marijuana. We would like to share that passion with you and make fulfilling your medical marijuana needs easy.

Harborside, Oakland

In 2006, entrepreneur Steve DeAngelo founded the Harborside dispensary in Oakland, California. Since that time, it's grown to become one of the largest dispensaries in the entire country. Harborside's mission has always been to build a world by the values that cannabis teaches, and offers their customers a huge range of options to fit each person's specific needs.

Harborside offers a huge range of both indica and sativa strains, although it's their edibles that helped them gain such a high reputation. They offer chocolates, pills, almonds, and so much more in a wide range of different strengths. Prices here are sometimes higher than other nearby dispensaries, yet it's the massive list of products that make it truly one of a kind. Deliveries must be over $50 within Oakland, $75 in nearby neighboring cities, or $100 in the larger East Bay.

Grass Roots Dispensary, San Francisco

The Grass Roots Dispensary in San Francisco is one of the most popular in the entire state of California. They offer one of the largest selection of marijuana products, and will deliver throughout San Francisco at highly reasonable prices.

As you might expect from a top California dispensary, Grass Roots offers a huge range of both flowers and edibles. Prices range around $21 for an 1/8th, and $3.50 for a high-dose cookie. This dispensary is perfect for those in the SF area, and it may not be long before they begin expanding south.

Goddess Delivers, Statewide

Goddess Delivers began in the LA region, yet they now deliver products across the entire state at great prices. Unlike some other California marijuana dispensaries, this company does not operate a brick-and-mortar shop. Instead, they provide their customers with a range of products through delivery incredibly fast.

Here, customers can choose from flowers, edibles, concentrates, and much more. Unfortunately, these products are only available to those with a valid medical license. In late 2018 the legal sales of cannabis will likely become legalized, in which case they will offer their services to anyone over the age of 21.

Coachella Church of Cannabis, San Jose

The Coachella Church of Cannabis is one of the few recognized Rastafarian churches in the United States, and now operates one of the most popular cannabis dispensaries that deliver in California. Fortunately, they also have great customer service that will explain exactly what's available.

This dispensary will deliver to the San Jose area at great prices. There's a reason why they've accumulated five-stars on Google reviews and may begin expanding their delivery service farther north in the coming months.

Harvest Bloom, Statewide

Harvest Bloom is another dispensary that only caters to those with a medical license. That may change in the coming months, which would open up all those over the age of 21 to their incredible products. At the moment, they deliver to the San Mateo and Santa Clara region at great prices.

Greenly, Los Angeles

The Greenly dispensary located in Los Angeles is thought to be one of the most sophisticated and technological marijuana delivery services in California. They offer free delivery services to most residents of LA, and allow you to track your driver to monitor exactly when they will arrive to your door.

Greenly offers a huge number of different marijuana products. Their vape products are highly popular, costing around $40 for a .5 gram vape cartridge.

Natural Green ReLeaf, Bay Area

The Bay Area is filled with great marijuana delivery services, and the Natural Green ReLeaf is one of the best. They serve only those with valid medical cards, though that will likely change in the future.

They serve all the Bay Area cities that have passed the sale of marijuana, and offer $10 off all new patient's first orders. Furthermore, they are giving all customers that refer a friend one free pre-rolled joint.

Yerba, Bay Area

Another popular marijuana delivery service in the Bay Area is Yerba. Leafly has praised this company for its great customer service and wide range of different products.

For the time being, Yerba will only offer their services to those with a medical license. They also offer a great loyalty program for customers.

Tops Cannabis Delivery, Chino

Those in Southern California that want their marijuana delivered in a timely and cost-effective manner might want to consider using Tops Cannabis Delivery. This company is based in Chino, and have become one of the most popular dispensaries in just over four years of business.

Tops offers a huge range of flowers and edibles. They will deliver only to those with a medical license at the moment, although their website states their intention to change this as soon as new laws regarding recreational marijuana sales are passed.

CannaHealth, Pleasant Hill

CannaHealth opened in 2011, and now boats a huge customer base in the Bay Area. They offer a massive list of different marijuana strains and products, and regularly update their deals to keep both new and existing customers happy.

This is one of the few dispensaries that deliver in California that will actually provide people with their own medical license. Simply send in your ID and a doctor's form they provide. CannaHealth is one of the best marijuana delivery companies operating right now in Northern California.

Vallejo Hollistic Health Center, Vallejo

In recent years, the Vallejo Hollistic Health Center has become a great choice for Northern California locals. They operate a brick-and-mortar store, yet it's their delivery service that's earned them such a good reputation.

They offer their delivery products only to those with a medical card. Every day of the week, the Vallejo Hollistic Health Center offers fantastic deals of 10% off different products.

A Green Alternative, San Diego

Deep in Southern California sits a fantastic marijuana delivery service with a massive list of different products. As is the case with most dispensaries, this company will deliver only to medical patients with a valid card.

The range of flower strains here is great, and their edibles make them truly stand out. They offer bars, beef jerky, chocolates, and so much more. A Green Alternative is one of the few dispensaries in California that deliver so far south, and is a great option for locals and tourists in the area.

Kushfly Medical Marijuana Delivery, Los Angeles

As the name suggests, Kushfly Medical Marijuana Delivery caters only to those with a medical marijuana license. Since their opening, they've grown to become one of the top LA dispensaries with one of the largest selection of products in California.

The delivery service is limited only to the LA area. They've formed partnerships with some of the top edible brands including Venice Cookie Company and G Farma Labs, ensuring their products are of the best quality. Prices here are fantastic and their customer service is one of the best in the business.

2ONE2 California Street Medical Cannabis, San Francisco

2ONE2 California Street Medical Cannabis is another tremendous SF dispensary providing locals with incredible products. Their delivery service is cost-efficient and quick, with many customers praising their great selection of different oils and concentrates.

Mercy Wellness of Cotati, Cotati

This dispensary opened up just seven years ago to become the first marijuana dispensary in Sonoma County to offer their products to anyone over the age of 21. That includes their delivery service, which is now one of their primary focuses as a company.

Mercy Wellness offers a huge list of products to their customers. Prices are generally around $45 for an 1/8th of top-quality flowers and $6 for a standard edible. Those in the Sonoma County region will be pleased to find this company has amazing customer service and safe, secure delivery options.

There are now many dispensaries that deliver in California, and many more likely to open up as new laws are passed in the coming months. Check out the ones available in your area today!

from News About Marijuana https://www.theherbcollectiveoc.com/single-post/2018/06/01/16-Dispensaries-That-Deliver-Marijuana-in-California

[blockheadbrands]

San Francisco Pot Shops Deemed Essential Businesses, Reopen Amid Outbreak

A.J. Herrington of High Times Reports:

Cannabis dispensaries in San Francisco were allowed to reopen on Tuesday after city officials determined that they are essential businesses that should not be subject to closure during the ongoing shelter-in-place order. The San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) had ordered cannabis retailers to close on Monday along with other businesses deemed non essential as the city struggles to cope with the spreading coronavirus pandemic.

Under the shelter-in-place order, most businesses were ordered closed for three weeks, although essential businesses such as grocery stores and pharmacies were permitted to stay open. The order was adopted regionally and has now been issued in eight Bay Area counties.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed said on Tuesday evening that cannabis retailers would be considered essential and allowed to reopen.

“The Department of Public Health today clarified that since marijuana has medical uses, dispensaries will be allowed to operate as essential businesses just as pharmacies are allowed to do,” Breed said during a press conference at City Hall.

San Francisco Supervisor Matt Haney had called for the change and announced the decision on Twitter. 

“SFDPH has reversed their position,” he wrote. “We know cannabis has medicinal value for so many people and should remain open. They’ll be open for delivery and pick up.”

Customers Stocking Up

North of San Francisco in Sonoma County, which is also under a shelter-in-place order issued on Wednesday, dispensaries were permitted to remain open but were forced to complete transactions outside or via home delivery. At Mercy Wellness, owner Brad Levine said the dispensary had developed a plan to handle pickup orders.

“We’ll have traffic control and we’ll have them come through, and pass by a few tents we normally use for festivals,” said Levine.

“This is new for everyone and it’s a lot to deal with,” he added. “You’re locking yourself up in the house for two weeks and people are going to go a bit crazy stuck in the same space.”

Mercy Wellness customer Teri Schouten said that she had been to the shop two days in a row to stock up on the medicine she uses for pain relief.

“It’s like toilet paper right, everyone just wants to make sure,” she said. “I’ve had four back surgeries, I used to take opiates and I’ve also been a nurse for 30 years and this is definitely my medication.”

Activists Urged Nationwide Action

Cannabis activists have called on state and local officials nationwide to designate dispensaries as essential businesses if emergency closures are ordered. Steph Sherer, the founder and president of Americans for Safe Access (ASA), said that the group would remain vigilant throughout the novel coronavirus crisis.

“In light of the current state of COVID-19 and the CDC’s actions, Americans for Safe Access has been monitoring the situation to make sure that medical cannabis patients are not forgotten,” said Sherer in a press release. “We want to ensure that dispensaries are seen as essential businesses that will remain open for patients. We applaud states that have already put emergency precautions into action.”

The release noted that steps have been taken to ensure dispensaries can remain open in Pennsylvania and Massachusetts. To help keep patients updated, ASA has also created a page for people to share how businesses are responding to COVID-19 across the country.

TO READ MORE OF THIS ARTICLE ON HIGH TIMES, CLICK HERE. 

https://hightimes.com/news/san-francisco-pot-shops-deemed-essential-businesses-reopen/

[medicalmarijuana-news]

Wait Until… When? California Latest to Beg Recreational Marijuana Delay

California cultivates, sells and consumes a titanic amount of cannabis—billions and billions of dollars’ worth. For more than a decade, medical-marijuana cardholders have been able to buy cannabis over the counter in licensed dispensaries, who remit taxes to the state and federal governments.

Nothing about this is new or particularly complicated: Business asks government for license, license is granted, sales begin. 

And yet, figuring out how to do the same with recreational marijuana retail stores—something four other states have managed to accomplish without too much drama—is, somehow, turning out to be too complex for the world’s seventh-biggest economy.

When a sizable majority of California voters approved Prop. 64 in November and legalized recreational marijuana use and cultivation for adults 21 and over, they also set a date for when retail sales would begin—Jan. 1, 2018. Sometime in between that day and Election Day, legislators, who had already kicked the question of whether weed should be legal or not to voters, would have to come up with a set of rules. Fair enough.

That’s the same time-frame lawmakers in Colorado had to set up the nation’s first legal sale. But according to lawmakers in California, including those for whom marijuana is supposed to be a pet issue, it just isn’t enough time.

“Being blunt, there is no way the state of California can meet all of the deadlines before we go live on January 1, 2018,” state Sen. Mike McGuire, a dad-joke caliber pun-slinging Sonoma County Democrat, told the Sacramento Bee. “We are building the regulatory system for a multibillion dollar industry from scratch.”

Let’s forget for a second that none of what McGuire just said is true.

Even if Colorado—and then Washington, then Oregon and then Alaska—hadn’t provided California with a model to follow, the state in 2015 passed regulations for medical marijuana. And Prop. 64 was specifically modeled after the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act, signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown in fall 2015.

Baking brownies from a box of ready mix or microwaving a bowl of Easy Mac may prevent you from starving, but it wouldn’t exactly qualify as crafting a gourmet meal “from scratch.” But then again, the bar is already set awfully low—like frozen-burrito level.

Lawmakers like McGuire—who represents a marijuana-growing region, and yet opposed Prop. 64—were on the hook for finalizing a host of details before licenses to grow, transport, test and sell medical cannabis were issued.

And in a year-plus, they haven’t quite gotten around to that—so judging by that precedent, they can’t possibly be expected to get their act together in under a year.

This heel-dragging is being seen all across the country. Lawmakers in Massachusetts want to delay the start of recreational marijuana sales there by as much as two years. It’s common, but it’s confusing, as legislators really have no incentive to delay.

Putting this off costs the state money, as fewer than 30 percent of marijuana businesses actually pay taxes, McGuire told the Bee. And it’s a potential health hazard, as without promulgated state regs, consumers have no guarantee aside from a dispensary or delivery service’s promise that the product they’re smoking has been properly tested and is mold, pest and pesticide-free.

And meanwhile, marijuana sales are happening every day, in stores behaving like normal retail outlets and on the street. There’s a common refrain among elected officials begging for a delay—we must “get it right,” they say. That’s a dishonest dodge, as any regulatory proposal will be contested by somebody, and inevitably fine-tuned and adjusted for years.

It’s almost as if marijuana is something elected officials would rather not deal with.

You can keep up with all of HIGH TIMES’ marijuana news right here.

from Medical Marijuana News http://ift.tt/2jVwzyU via https://www.potbox.com/

[mercywellness]

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Now for the Hard Part: Getting Californians to Buy Legal Weed

Thomas Fuller of The New York Times Reports:

SAN FRANCISCO — A billion dollars of tax revenue, the taming of the black market, the convenience of retail cannabis stores throughout the state — these were some of the promises made by proponents of marijuana legalization in California.

One year after the start of recreational sales, they are still just promises.

California’s experiment in legalization is mired by debates over regulation and hamstrung by cities and towns that do not want cannabis businesses on their streets.

California was the sixth state to introduce the sale of recreational marijuana — Alaska, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon and Washington paved the way — but the enormous size of the market led to predictions of soaring legal cannabis sales.

Instead, sales fell. Around $2.5 billion of legal cannabis was sold in California in 2018, half a billion dollars less than in 2017 when only medical marijuana was legal, according to GreenEdge, a sales tracking company.

“There are definitely days that I think that legalization has been a failure,” said Lynda Hopkins, who is on the board of supervisors in Sonoma County, which took a lead in licensing marijuana businesses but became embroiled in disputes over regulations and taxes, not to mention angry residents who did not want cannabis grown in their neighborhoods.

The easy part of legalization was persuading people to vote for it, industry analysts say. The hard part, now that it’s legal, is persuading people to stop buying from the black market.

In Colorado and Washington licensed sales soared after legalization. One crucial difference with California is its massive surplus — the state produces far more pot than it can consume.

The tons of extra cannabis continue to leach out across the country illegally.

“The bottom line is that there’s always been a robust illicit market in California — and it’s still there,” said Tom Adams of BDS Analytics, which tracks the cannabis market. “Regulators ignored that and thought they could go straight into an incredibly strict and high-tax environment.”

The most recent official estimates of California’s cannabis production, a report published a year ago by the California Department of Food and Agriculture, showed the state producing as much as 15.5 million pounds of cannabis and consuming just 2.5 million pounds.

California’s surplus — equal to 13 times Colorado’s total annual production — is smuggled eastward, especially across the Rockies and Mississippi where the wholesale price is as much as three times as high.

Cannabis Benchmarks, a company that tracks marijuana prices, reported at the end of December that the average price of regulated cannabis in California was $1,183 a pound, compared with $3,044 in Illinois, $3,072 in Connecticut and $2,846 in Washington, D.C.

Supporters of legalization long ago acknowledged the problems of California’s surplus and said it would take years to address.

In an interview in 2016, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, who takes office as governor next week, estimated that 85 to 90 percent of the cannabis that California produced was exported. “It’s a very serious issue,” he said, “and it’s going to create a dynamic where the black market will likely persist in a very stubborn way.”

The distinction between legal cannabis businesses and scofflaws is about to become much sharper. The loosely regulated system of medical cannabis cooperatives that has existed for two decades will be illegal after Jan. 9. This gives law enforcement more clarity.

Jonathan Rubin, the head of Cannabis Benchmarks, says market forces — low prices and extreme competition — will also force many smaller California marijuana companies out of business.

This is straining another promise made by proponents of legalization: that small producers would be protected.

“The icon for cannabis is going to become the Marlboro Man,” Ms. Hopkins, the Sonoma County supervisor, said referring to the symbol of the tobacco industry, to which critics often compare the cannabis business. “In California we’ve done what we always do — regulate, regulate, regulate, which ultimately gives significant advantage to large companies with significant economies of scale.”

The popular image of California’s marijuana growers may still be hippies hiding out in the forests of Humboldt County but increasingly the reality is more like the operations of NorCal Cannabis Company in Santa Rosa, north of San Francisco.

The company has converted what was a semiconductor factory into a cannabis production operation where employees walking down antiseptic hallways wear latex gloves and supervise an Israeli-style irrigation system and a $1 million air filtration system. Next door is a company that makes coatings for aircraft cockpit gauges.

Legalization has been liberating for big players like NorCal Cannabis.

“This is our coming-out party,” said Jigar Patel, the president of the company, who toured the complex in a white lab coat. “It’s waking up and doing what you love without wondering if the man is behind you.”

But for hundreds of other smaller producers the paperwork alone has been enough to put them out of business. A cannabis producer must submit applications to as many as five state agencies, including obtaining a certificate to ensure they are able to use a scale.

Lori Ajax, the head of California’s Bureau of Cannabis Control who is sometimes called the state’s cannabis czar, described 2018 as “rough” both for the regulators and the industry.

Her office is planning a public information campaign to try to persuade consumers to stop buying illegal pot.

“We have to get more consumers buying from the licensed market,” she said.

Legalization was promoted as helping to end the war on drugs. But Ms. Ajax says California has no choice but to “step up” enforcement of cannabis scofflaws.

“As a state we have to get more aggressive,” she said.

With less than two dozen enforcement officers, she will need help from other government agencies.

Ms. Ajax said she was encouraged by the “surge” of applications by cannabis businesses at the end of 2018. The Bureau of Cannabis Control has issued 2,500 temporary licenses. Yet this is still a fraction of the tens of thousands of cannabis businesses in the state.

Mr. Adams of BDS Analytics says 2018 was a year of “constantly diminishing forecasts” of cannabis sales. But he and others believe the legal market can only grow, especially after the disputed decision by Ms. Ajax’s office to allow cannabis delivery services to operate across the state — even in areas where local municipalities have chosen to ban pot businesses.

Increased sales could push tax revenue closer to the forecasts on the 2016 ballot, which predicted revenue would reach the “high hundreds of millions of dollars to over $1 billion annually.”

Through September, Sacramento has collected only $234 million in cannabis taxes. Colorado, with a population half the size of Los Angeles County, collected around the same amount last year.

Gov. Jerry Brown, who leaves office Jan. 7, described cannabis revenue as unreliable in a recent interview with The New York Times.

TO READ MORE OF THIS ARTICLE ON THE NEW YORK TIMES, CLICK HERE.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/02/us/buying-legal-weed-in-california.html