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irongardenexpert · 3 years ago

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London Extra Pound Cake Cannabis Stress Details

The bud will certainly be thick, with deeper green as the primary color and lighter environment-friendly as a secondary color. It is possible that the strain may be tough to produce, therefore it is recommended that you look for the aid of a commercial cultivator. Indoors, you might expect 1 to 2 ounces per square foot of surface. Relying on the climate in which they are grown, the plants can grow to a height of 7 to 7.5 feet. Even binge-watching something on Netflix can be valuable because your mindset will certainly be tranquil as well as clear. This increases its vulnerability to mold and mildew and also mildew, which is exacerbated by the reality that it does not deal well with humidity, potentially enhancing the risk of infection.

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London Extra pound Cake pressure is a 70/30 crossbreed of Sundown Sherbet and an unidentified Indica-dominant strain.

Apart from that, dehydration may be one of the side-effects of smoking the pressure.

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Blue Desire Stress

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Get Gusher Strain Online

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Clinical Conditions London Pound Cake Can Help

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googleweeddelivery · 3 years ago

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Same-day delivery of weed in Toronto and its surroundings!

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OUR SUPERB PRODUCTS

Whether you’re just getting started, or already in the cannabis industry, Google Weed stocks a broad range of cannabis plants for sale, as well as related products to suite all your needs. For the aspiring cannabis farmer, our hand selected young AAAA weed plants or cannabis seeds, are strong and ready to grow. Quite frankly, we have the best quality buds available. If you’re looking for medicinal marijuana or simply want products for recreational purposes, then we have a diverse range of product to choose from, including hi-CBD, hi-THC, balanced strains, vape pens and much more. Our AAAA cheap weed is the best affordable marijuana available, with great color and odor, providing a potential high when consumed. If you’re the hungry type, we also provide the tastiest organic cannabis edibles, made from fresh marijuana.

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OUR AFFORDABLE PRICING

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ALSO READ: SAME-DAY EDIBLES DELIVERY IN NORTH YORK

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karltomb · 2 years ago

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A strain that helps one feel more alert and motivated to exercise is also available at the After Dark Cannabis Shop on Jane Street.

#dispensary on jane street #weed maps delivery north york #weed store north york

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blockheadbrands · 5 years ago

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Cannabis and coronavirus: Here’s what you need to know

Leafly Staff Reports:

This story was updated at 9am on April 3, 2020.

The global concern over the novel coronavirus known as COVID-19 has many people taking precautions against contracting the virus. It’s also raising a lot of questions about weed, smoking, edibles, THC, CBD, and your health during this difficult time.

We’ll continue to update this page as we learn more information. Here’s what we know about cannabis and COVID-19.

This story was updated at 9am on April 3, 2020.

We’ll continue to update this page as we learn more information. Here’s what we know about cannabis and COVID-19.

How are we doing?

Not good. As of April 3, America has recorded more than 248,000 infections, and more than 6,000 deaths. Right now we’re averaging 30,000 newly recorded infections per day. Those infection numbers are dramatically underreported, due to the continuing difficulty of obtaining a COVID-19 test if you are not wealthy, connected, or an NBA player. More infections and deaths are expected. The first wave is expected to peak between mid-April and early May, depending on local conditions.

The National Governors Association has a roundup of actions taken in each state, updated daily. The most reliable information sources right now are state health agencies in Washington, New York, and California, which are on the leading edge of the outbreak and mitigation strategies.

COVID-19 health and safety orders

Stock up for at least a 30-day interruption in cannabis supplies, and also to limit trips to stores.

Why all the hand washing? You’re not just washing COVID-19 down the drain. Soap actually kills the virus. How? It’s all about soap’s molecular structure. See this explainer from Vox: How soap absolutely annihilates the coronavirus.

Stop sharing joints, blunts, and bongs. The puff-and-pass customs surrounding cannabis are among the greatest pleasures of the plant. But passing around a joint is is a good way to spread any virus, including COVID-19. For now, stick to your own supply.

Practice social distancing and stay at home. Everyone in North America should now be fully into a social distancing regimen. Many cities and states now operate under stay-at-home advisories or orders. Work from home if you can. Reduce, limit, or eliminate trips outside the house. Strategize to make one one trip to the grocery store per week. Keep 6 feet of distance between yourself and others. Cancel and reschedule all events. Weddings, birthday parties, card nights: Nope. Done. Help people in high-risk categories. A weekly trip to the grocery store could be a life-or-death decision for them. If you’re in a low-risk demographic, offer to pick up their items the next time you make a run.

Worried you’re showing symptoms? Use this Coronavirus Assessment Tool developed by Providence Health and Microsoft.

Can cannabis or CBD prevent or cure COVID-19?

No. Just flat-out no.

Given the general hype around CBD, we’re already hearing outlandish claims about its effect on coronavirus, most likely spread via social media. These claims are not true. There is no solid research on CBD and coronavirus. Or cannabis and coronavirus.

Self-isolating? Order cannabis online with Leafly Pickup or Delivery

 Dispensary news amid COVID-19

Are stores and dispensaries open during COVID-19?

Most states have designated medical marijuana dispensaries as essential parts of the health care system, and so have remained open. Some states have shut down adult-use sales while allowing medical sales. Others allow only delivery or curbside pickup.

Openings, Closings, and Re-openings

What’s open today: Leafly’s guide to dispensary openings and closings in the COVID-19 era is updated twice daily. Check it to see what’s up in your state.

How to use curbside pickup: We also have a guide to curbside pickup, where it’s happening, and how it works.

And here’s how to use legal cannabis delivery services.

Buying, using, and selling cannabis amid COVID-19

Buying cannabis – best practices right now

Place your order online. Leafly Pickup is available at hundreds of stores nationwide. Limit time spent around strangers to as little as possible.

Use curbside pickup or delivery. Leafly’s guide to curbside pickup just went live. As of March 25, curbside pickup is mandatory in Colorado; delivery is mandatory in Nevada. Expect that to spread to other states soon.

Is it safe to consume cannabis right now?

In general, yes.

During this period of social isolation and stay-at-home orders, it’s critically important to keep yourself physically and mentally healthy. If your wellness regimen includes cannabis, and you show no COVID-19 symptoms, keep on keeping on.

Here are some answers to questions we’re hearing a lot right now:

My anxiety is off the hook. Help me out? Check out Bailey Rahn’s complete guide, How to use cannabis for anxiety. It’s a great resource page that includes info on dosing, strains, research, and drug interactions.

Advice for insomnia? Got you covered here: Best cannabis products for alleviating insomnia.

I’ve got the regular flu, or a cold. Will cannabis help? Take it from everyone who’s ever tried it: Do not smoke weed with a cold or the flu. It. Is. Awful. Edibles? THC and CBD might help alleviate the aches and pains, but the overall effect is unclear. A deeper dive: Cannabis for colds and flu? Here’s what the experts say.

In general, many consumers are moving toward non-inhaled modalities for the time being.

Are bong condoms really a thing?

Absolutely! Get yourself one of these fun devices. One of our in-house experts suggests this $9.99 silicone MouthPeace from Mooselabs, which uses activated carbon filters.

Another suggestion: Pax Era mouthpiece covers can be had for $4.30 a pop from Delta 3D Studios. Use an X-Acto knife to cut a hole in the closed end and you’ve got yourself a personal lip caddy.

Note: Most viral transmission happens via the hands, so while you’re being so clever with your lips you should watch your fingers, which are holding a bong or vape that many others have just recently held as well. Just saying.

Be aware of COVID-19 symptoms

What to do if you suspect you have COVID-19: Consult this Washington State DOH advisory, which contains action items.

Don’t jam up the emergency room if it’s just a common cold, but get yourself tested if you fit the criteria for COVID-19 symptoms. Those include:

Fever over 101

Dry cough

Shortness of breath

Have been in contact with a COVID-19 patient, or traveled recently to an area with ongoing spread.

Note: The definition of “area with ongoing spread” changes practically by the hour, and this item on the symptom list is becoming less important as the virus is recognized as extant in local communities.

Check yourself with this flow chart

Illustrator Wendy MacNaughton teamed up with UCSD infectious disease expert Eliah Aranoff-Spencer to create this updated guide, published on Medium.

Have a self-quarantine plan

At this point we’re talking about a spectrum, from choosing a work-at-home option (if you’re fortunate enough to have that choice) to a full-on home quarantine. The CDC has a page of recommendations for those who stay home with a suspected case of COVID-19.

What if you’ve been in close contact with someone with COVID-19? Stay inside and closely monitor yourself for 14 days.

“Someone in my house has it. What now?” Viral load matters. That means the fewer viral droplets that enter your system, the milder the severity of your case may be. So if a member of your household contracts the virus, it’s imperative that they separate from others in a quarantine room.

Is it safe to sell cannabis  amid COVID-19?

Cannabis business operators must consult their county public health guidance, as well as state, federal and World Health Organization guidance, to ensure sanitary operations.

Sanitation measures include paid sick leave for ill workers, staying home with a fever, use of gloves, hand-washing, covering coughs and sneezes, physical distancing of staff and patrons, heightened cleaning and disinfecting, separate money handlers, and much more.

Why are we doing this? Isn’t everyone eventually going to get it?

The point isn’t to seal up the virus in a jar, or halt it at our borders. That moment has passed. What we’re all working to do now is make sure the infections don’t all hit at once and overwhelm our limited medical supplies and hospital capacity.

If 100 people require a hospital’s Intensive Care Unit, and the ICU can only handle 15 at a time, 85 people may die needlessly. If the infections in those 100 people are spread out over many weeks and months, though, we can get most of them through this alive.

The Washington Post has one of the best visual explanations of why we’re all working to flatten the curve. And it seems to be working in places where it’s been in effect for a while, like Washington state.

COVID-19’s effect on cannabis product supplies

Because all legal cannabis products are produced within the state in which they’re sold, industry experts aren’t expecting a shortage of actual cannabis due to import slowdowns.

That’s not to say there won’t be shortages or supply interruptions in certain products. Most vape batteries and wholesale vape cartridges are manufactured in China. Those supply chains have already seen slowdowns and interruptions due to quarantines impacting the Chinese manufacturing sector.

The US imports about 30 million Chinese vape pens and cartridges every month. Most shipments stopped due to the annual Chinese New Year shutdown in mid-January and haven’t fully resumed due to the coronavirus.

Will COVID-19 impact 4/20 events?

The answer is yes. Organizers of 4/20 celebrations, which are now less than five weeks away, are already considering how a wider outbreak of COVID-19 could impact their events. Some have begun postponements or cancellations. We’re tracking major events and cancellations at The best 4/20 events of North America 2020.

One cannabis store manager told Leafly he was putting a food truck ordered for 4/20 on hold because of health concerns. 4/20 festivals were already changing and evolving due to the expansion of legalization. The coronavirus outbreak may further accelerate that change in ways that are hard to predict right now.

Self-isolating? Order cannabis online with Leafly Pickup or Delivery

What about legalization campaigns?

Depending on how long the COVID-19 social distancing era lasts, we may see more cancellations of larger events, gatherings, and festivals moving into summer. Larger-scale shopping malls and commercial districts may see a downturn in pedestrian traffic. That may affect the ability of signature gatherers to bank enough names to qualify legalization initiatives by a given deadline.

Leafly’s Election 2020 page has a full rundown of all the state legalization campaigns currently aiming at the November 2020 ballot.

Cannabis and self-isolation

Start do-it-yourself projects, as well as enjoy some stoner entertainment to improve your mood.

 DIY cannabis

Here are 5 reasons why it’s the perfect time to start growing cannabis. Here’s how to germinate seeds and start an indoor garden.

Also, whip up some cannabutter to turn smokeables into edibles.

Stoner entertainment for self-isolation

You’re inside, you’re bored, we get it. Try these on for size:

6 stoney-yet-productive self-isolation activities

75 stoner movies to beat the self-isolation blues

50 stoner books to beat the self-isolation blues

Cannabis and meditation: Best practices for an elevated mind

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

https://www.leafly.com/news/health/cannabis-coronavirus-covid-19-facts

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thisdaynews · 5 years ago

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Trump doesn't inhale, but cannabis is betting his supporters do

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/trump-doesnt-inhale-but-cannabis-is-betting-his-supporters-do/

Trump doesn't inhale, but cannabis is betting his supporters do

Despite efforts since by counties and towns to push the industry onto back streets and out of the public eye, pot has become mainstream. | Bryan Steffy/Getty Images

TALLAHASSEE — In Florida, the cannabis industry is betting on a surprising voter demographic to turn out for an effort to legalize pot next year — aging conservatives.

A poll commissioned by a cannabis industry group shows significant backing for legalization from supporters of President Donald Trump, who is ramping up his 2020 campaign in the battleground state where elections are won on razor-thin margins and turnout is everything.

Story Continued Below

If the numbers bear out, Trump voters could help set a record for popular support of recreational marijuana use. The poll, conducted by Fabrizio, Lee & Associates on behalf of the Make It Legal Florida Committee, found that 67 percent of likely Florida voters support legalizing recreational pot use. More than half of them — 57 percent — are Trump fans.

“You need support across the board to make it,” said Ben Pollara, a Democratic political consultant who ran a medical cannabis campaign that won support from 71 percent of Florida voters in 2016. “One group or one party isn’t going to get you to that high a number.”

Cannabis companies have had explosive growth in recent years as states have moved to decriminalize pot. Now they see the 2020 election as an opportunity to expand their markets even more. After legalization bills hit a wall this year in several state capitals, including New York and New Jersey, the industry is taking the question to voters themselves, with ballot initiatives in a half-dozen states.

Petitions have been filed in Arkansas, Missouri, North Dakota and South Dakota, but efforts are gaining traction mainly Arizona and Florida, where industry players are organizing. The ultra-hip MedMen Enterprises is one of at least three companies behind the Smart & Safe Arizona initiative, and it’s partnered with Surterra Wellness, purveyor of Jimmy Buffett’s Coral Reefer brand, in Florida too.

Floridians have settled into an easy relationship with pot since voters approved the drug for medical use in 2016. Despite efforts since by counties and towns to push the industry onto back streets and out of the public eye, pot has become mainstream.

Buffett — 72 and synonymous with Key West — markets Coral Reefer in the state, where almost 269,000 patients, many of them from Buffett’s generation, are registered to use medicinal pot. Legal users have more than doubled over the past year, and the state medical marijuana registry added 54,000 patients between just May and October.

Tallahassee, the capital, is home to three dispensaries along a mile stretch of a busy downtown thoroughfare. Fluent, a division of Cansortium Inc., occupies a former oil-change garage near a barre studio. Curaleaf Holdings, which contributed $300,000 to the Arizona amendment, is on a congested intersection not far from the police department. MedMen is transforming a vacant building steps from the city’s hippest nightspots, painting the once-drab facade the company’s signature red.

Despite conventional political wisdom that pot appeals largely to the young and liberal, Florida’s old and conservative are hip to the drug, too. The Villages, a central Florida retirement community and bastion of Trump support, has added more than 10,000 residents and three medical marijuana dispensaries since September 2015.

Most of The Villages sits in Sumter County, where 70 percent of voters backed Trump in 2016 — and 62 percent voted to legalize medicinal weed.

Support for medical pot was even higher in 18 other Florida counties. And in half of those, Republicans control at least 50 percent of the vote.

Fabrizio’s survey of 800 likely Florida voters, taken July 16-18, found a substantial majority in favor of legalizing adult pot use and concluded that anti-drug messages did only so much to sway opinion.

“Messages supporting an amendment legalizing marijuana for adult use resonate with the electorate much more than messages opposing it,” Fabrizio found. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.46 percent.

Trump’s brother died of complications related to alcoholism, and the teetotaler in chief makes no secret of his aversion to alcohol, drugs and cigarettes — in September, he announced a ban on flavored vape pens. The White House has no plans to endorse marijuana legalization, according to two people close to Trump’s reelection campaign.

If Trump did endorse legalization, he could boost his appeal with younger, more liberal voters without agitating his solid base of seniors in communities like The Villages, said John Hudak, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based think tank.

Republican Party of Florida Chairman Joe Gruters said the president doesn’t need to support legalization to win Florida.

“It’s the other way around,” Gruters said. “If the amendment were to pass, you can say the president helped.”

Make It Legal Florida Chairman Nick Hansen said his campaign has no plans to ride Trump’s coattails to victory. The Fabrizio poll presented a wide spectrum of political affiliations and age groups his team will need for a win on Election Day, he said.

“It’s more complicated than just drilling down on one group or one number,” said Hansen, who also lobbies for Los Angeles-based MedMen, which markets itself as a high-end brand associated with celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow. “It’s the broader picture here, and the support coming from across the board.”

Make It Legal has raised more than $2 million so far. MedMen and Surterra each gave $545,000 in August.

If successful, Hansen’s campaign could set a nationwide record for voter support of legalization. California legalized adult marijuana use with 57 percent of the vote in 2016, the current record, according to Josh Altic of the Ballotpedia Project, a nonprofit political encyclopedia.

Even with a diverse base of voter support or a powerful lawmaker backing a plan, there’s no guarantee of a successful outcome, said Karmen Hanson, a program director for the Denver-based National Conference of State Legislatures who counts 15 states with legislative or voter efforts in play to legalize pot.

“You never know the political climate,” Hanson said.

A New Jersey bill was backed by Gov. Phil Murphy this year, but died when lawmakers failed to agree on a tax provision. In New York, legislators couldn’t agree on expunging nonviolent marijuana convictions. There’s talk of reconsidering legalization in both states, Hanson said.

“This isn’t the first time for a lot of them, and it wasn’t the first time for the ones that passed,” she said.

In Florida, the 2016 medical cannabis amendment had to overcome considerable opposition from the Drug Free Florida Committee, which included Republican casino magnate Sheldon Adelson, who donated $1.5 million to kill the effort; real estate developer Mel Sembler, who gave $1 million; and Carol Jenkins Barnett, heir to the Publix Super Markets fortune, who gave $800,000.

Even with a flush war chest, Make It Legal still must negotiate the hurdle of collecting and verifying more than 766,000 voter signatures by Florida’s Feb. 1 deadline. Voters began to receive petitions in the mail Sept. 23 and have returned more than 100,000 signatures as of Oct. 3, according to Hansen, the group’s chairman.

“We will win,” Hansen said.

#betting #Foreign #Politics #Supporters

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biofunmy · 5 years ago

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YouTube Is Hosting Dozens Of Videos Showing People How To Make THC Vape Oil

As health agencies scramble to control a rash of mysterious vaping-related lung injuries, YouTube is playing host to dozens of videos that offer step-by-step instructions on how to make black-market THC vape oil. Some of these videos, which are rife with safety hazards, including the use of potentially harmful chemicals, have been viewed millions of times.

The proliferation of the videos underscores the challenge of pinning down the cause, or causes, of the outbreak. Nearly 1,300 lung injuries, including 26 deaths, have been confirmed in every state but Alaska, the CDC said Thursday, and in 76% of cases, patients have reported vaping THC products. Contaminants in the vaping liquids, such as vitamin E acetate used as a “thickener,” have come under suspicion as culprits.

“I cannot overstate the seriousness of these lung injuries,” Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the CDC, said in a news conference on Friday. In response to the outbreak, the CDC and the FDA have urged people to stop vaping THC. “Some new, risky practices in preparation of these materials” may be causing the illnesses, Schuchat added.

In 10 videos reviewed by BuzzFeed News, hosts transform cannabis flowers into oils with the help of casserole dishes, spatulas, mason jars, ovens, hair straighteners, and equipment and chemicals bought online. Their how-to guides have drawn audiences in the hundreds of thousands, and as high as 1 or 2 million in some cases. (BuzzFeed News is not linking to these videos in this story.)

“We’re going to show you today how to make a marijuana-infused e-liquid, so you can vape it as you would in a normal cigarette,” said a man in a video titled “How To Make Marijuana E-Cig Liquid / E-liquid” (which has received 1.4 million views) on the channel Lets Vape, which has north of 24,000 subscribers and appears to be based in Europe. “Now it’s very simple. We have a kit ready that will make this really, really easy for you.”

But the process is in fact complex and can also be unsafe, according to experts who reviewed the videos. Much can go wrong along the way, from pesticides in cannabis to heavy metals in cartridges — all of which could go undetected by the average person. Some of the solvents used in the instructional YouTube videos could also be toxic if overheated, experts said.

“There is nothing safe about video demonstrations on how to create vaping liquids, whether they are nicotine or THC as both have been proven to be harmful — in kitchens or other environments,” Lawrence Weinstein, chief medical officer of the American Addiction Centers, told BuzzFeed News by email. “The sheer number of these videos are troubling.”

Immediately after being contacted by BuzzFeed News, YouTube took down some of the flagged videos, but did not respond to questions about why those videos violated its rules and others did not. One of the videos belonged to Lets Vape, which could not be reached for comment because it does not provide any contact information.

“YouTube is a community site with clear policies that prohibit inappropriate content, including material that depicts minors smoking or misusing any type of illegal or regulated substances,” YouTube spokesperson Farshad Shadloo said by email. “From a content policy perspective, we generally do not restrict/prohibit content that depicts vaping on our platform — unless it is in the form of a challenge or it is a depiction of minor vaping.”

Dan Vergano / BuzzFeed News

Many of the THC products implicated in the recent outbreak were bought on the black market from brands of ambiguous origin, like Dank Vapes, and through hard-to-trace sources like friends, dealers, and street vendors, according to state health agencies in New York, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Around 13% of patients claim they had only vaped nicotine products, though some may be reluctant to admit to using THC.

Social media is also playing a role in the crisis, health professionals acknowledge. On Tuesday, the head of the American Medical Association asked five e-commerce companies — Amazon, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Microsoft — to work harder to halt sales of illicit vaping materials, including the cartridges that some users refill with liquid they learned how to make on YouTube.

Refillable vaping may be growing in popularity among young e-cigarette users. Some marketing data suggests that refillable vape cartridges have greatly increased in popularity since 2017, health policy expert Jidong Huang of Georgia State University told BuzzFeed News, driven by price: For example, a single-use Juul nicotine pod might cost $4 against a typical $20 bottle of refillable nicotine vaping liquid, which can have 20 to 30 uses. “It’s so much cheaper,” Huang said.

It’s not clear how many home cooks have been inspired to brew their own THC vaping liquid by YouTube videos, many of which come with warnings that they should only be imitated in places where cannabis is legal. And the methods on display largely seem to be for making small batches of oils, so it is unlikely they could also be used for large-scale productions.

Still, the home-cooking videos offer essentially no safety testing of the products they create, and present multiple ways that dangerous contaminants might get into the vaping liquids, experts say.

First, the cannabis used by people following their recipe might be contaminated with pesticides.

“Most [cannabis] flower that’s not on the regulated market is likely going to have some type of pesticide or fungicide in there,” said Myron Ronay, CEO of BelCosta Labs, which provides cannabis-testing services for regulated manufacturers in California. Pesticides can be present even at very low levels that would go undetected by home equipment, he said.

The results can be dangerous. The fungicide myclobutanil, for example, can transform into hydrogen cyanide when heated. Another pesticide commonly found on unregulated cannabis is chlorpyrifos, which has been linked to brain damage in children and was recently banned in California.

And because of the process required to extract THC into an oil, people who vape are exposed to much higher concentrations of pesticides than people who smoke, vaping safety researcher Jenny Wiley of RTI International told BuzzFeed News.

Other potential dangers lurk in the ingredients added to the THC for the extractions. Several of the videos reviewed by BuzzFeed News recommend using propylene glycol as a cutting agent to make the oils smoother, for example. But if heated beyond 450 degrees, propylene glycol turns into formaldehyde.

The cartridges — the overwhelming majority of which are cheaply sourced from China — might also contain heavy metals, like lead and cadmium, that can leach into people’s lungs once heated.

The overarching challenge is that home cooks have almost no way of ensuring that what they’re using is safe and toxin-free, Ronay said. In contrast, legitimate suppliers in states where marijuana is legalized are required to test ingredients at every step of the way before a product is sold.

“Even if these people can get clean flower, can get clean vape pens, how do they know all the individual components they’re sourcing with and making the THC liquid, how do they know all the components are good and clean?” Ronay said. “They have no idea. They’re just making assumptions.”

But Ronay argued that the videos shouldn’t necessarily be taken down, either, since cannabis is legal in some places.

Peter Aldhous / BuzzFeed News / Via cdc.gov

Vaping-related injuries have now been confirmed in every state but Alaska.

Reached for comment, the video creators defended their channels.

Jordan Carrasquillo of New York, who runs a channel called New Amsterdam Vape with more than 69,000 subscribers, racked up more than 1.6 million views on a 2016 tutorial for beginners on making e-liquid. YouTube removed it Thursday after an inquiry from BuzzFeed News, saying that “content intending to sell certain illegal or regulated goods and services, such as drugs or pharmaceuticals without a prescription, is not allowed on YouTube.”

Carrasquillo said by email that he believes that vaping can be useful and safe, at least compared to smoking. “I spent a lot of time researching for my tutorial videos so they would be as in-depth as possible, covering all the known techniques for making e-liquid and operating vape devices in a safe manner,” he wrote.

Matt Lamb is the owner of RuffHouse Studios, a cannabis product review site in Los Angeles, which has published hundreds of videos on YouTube in the last eight years. In the beginning, YouTube encouraged them to build up the channel, Lamb said, and even trained his staff on how to use camera equipment.

After BuzzFeed News inquired about two 2017 videos titled “How To Make Weed e Cig Juice,” Lamb unlisted them, making them unsearchable but still online. He said that he is keeping up those videos to be transparent, in case they are useful to law enforcement or health officials, and he hopes that authorities find out what is causing the illnesses. He added that he does not make money off any of his videos, as YouTube has in recent years taken away paid ads from his channel. (A YouTube spokesperson said, “Under our longstanding advertising policy against recreational drugs and drug-related content, videos that promote or feature recreational drugs are not permitted to show ads.”)

Still, Lamb believes that his videos can’t be blamed for this year’s outbreak. “The illnesses have happened in the matter of the last couple of months, and from the reports that I’ve read, have happened suddenly,” he said. “If these videos were causing the problem, the problem would have risen back when the videos were being viewed.”

He also believes that home-brewing can be safer than some alternatives. “If you’re showing people how to make it at home … it’s helping people to avoid being taken advantage of by some off-market brand and some convenience store in downtown with no real address or anything to go back to,” he said.

A representative for 760 Glass, whose DIY videos includes one with more than 1.5 million views, said that none of the products used in their clips contain harmful chemicals like vitamin E acetate. “We believe that using the technique in the video to make your own solventless extract, and then adding only natural terpenes, is the only way the user can be absolutely sure that their product is free from any harmful adulterants,” they said via email.

Other channels did not return requests for comment or did not have available contact information.

A representative of the Drug Enforcement Administration, which regulates marijuana as a Schedule I drug, said the content of these videos is the FDA’s problem under a 2018 law that moved products with low concentrations of THC, below 0.3%, out of its purview. Asked about vaping oils with high concentrations of THC (some videos claim concentrations above 50% THC), DEA spokesperson Mary Brandenberger told BuzzFeed News, “I think you still have to check with CDC or FDA on that.” An FDA spokesperson, in response, said he needed to look into what regulatory authority his agency possessed over the videos.

“Anybody can post to YouTube,” said Wiley of RTI International. “Without being preachy or alarmist, it really matters that people take some care what they are putting in their lungs.”

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gossipnetwork-blog · 7 years ago

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Pot in 2018: What to Expect

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Pot in 2018: What to Expect

When it comes to cannabis, 2017 was a much better year than anyone was expecting. Back in January, stoners and pot moguls alike were super paranoid about incoming Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his plans to shut down legal weed businesses from coast to coast. After a decade of steady progress on marijuana legalization – with about 90 percent of the country now supporting medical use and eight states having legalized recreational use – was the entire movement going to come crashing down?

A year later, almost no one believes there will be a federal crackdown on the entire cannabis industry. State-legal pot markets seem poised to match or exceed the value of black market pot by 2020. Sessions has admitted that marijuana is not as dangerous as heroin, and his tension with Trump is common knowledge. With the biggest state in the country about to begin recreational sales, and more and more politicians enviously eyeing the tax revenue coming out of places like Colorado and Oregon, legal pot is clearly here to stay. So what kinds of developments can we expect in the weed world for 2018?

The first legal marijuana lounges Let’s start with some great news: there are totally going to be legal marijuana lounges in the United States before the end of 2018! The biggest question is which city will get one open first: Las Vegas, West Hollywood, Boston or Denver. Considering nothing in Massachusetts is quite final yet, the smart money is on Denver, which actually passed a ballot initiative allowing licensed consumption spaces for marijuana back in 2016 but has had a fair amount of trouble implementing the law. You won’t be allowed to smoke, you have to bring your own cannabis, and you have to sign a document saying you won’t drive yourself home, but there’s a good chance the country’s first legal weed lounge will be in the capital of Colorado. Right now the front-runners for who might open first are a café called The Coffee Joint and a vape bar with an arcade called… wait for it… Vape and Play.

If you’re looking a pot hotspot where you can actually, you know, smoke pot, you might want to hold out for Vegas. “I think we’ll have an ordinance voted on and approved by late March or early April,” says former Nevada legalization campaign manager and current weed lobbyist Scot Rutledge. “I don’t know that they’ll be open by 4/20, but they should be open by the one year anniversary of recreational sales” – meaning by July. Sadly, the first Vegas pot lounges won’t be on the Strip, which is technically not in the city of Las Vegas, but they’ll be a short Lyft ride away and you’ll be able to smoke. Huzzah!

A few hours to the west, several cities in California have expressed interest in allowing cannabis social spaces, including West Hollywood, Palm Springs, San Francisco and Oakland. Advocate and aspiring lounge owner Jackie Subeck says the first ones will likely open their doors in West Hollywood this fall – including some spots where you will be allowed to buy pot on site and then smoke or vape it, just like a bar. “There’s also going to be standalone lounges where you can’t smoke or vape but you can buy infused products, like a bakery, or a spa with cannabis treatments,” Subeck says.

Confusion and a “bloodbath” in California Even though California will finally begin allowing the sale of recreational marijuana on January 1st, 2018, a lot of people are very nervous about how that is going to go. The state has had a largely unsupervised medical cannabis program in place since 1996 and now is trying to impose a strict regulatory regime on an enormous population of entrepreneurs and criminals, many of whom have never followed rules before.

Dispensaries have cropped up across California, but new regulations could mean the end for many of them. Jim Wilson/The new York Times/Redux

“Look at what happened here for the last 20 years. It was anarchy,” says Lord Jones founder and CEO Rob Rosenheck, whose posh weed-infused chocolates and lotions have become a celebrity favorite. “I think it will be a sloppy, chaotic, rough-and-tumble transition that will take 12 to 24 months to work itself out.”

Multiple people who I spoke with used the term “bloodbath” to describe the number of weed businesses they believe will fail.

“You can’t afford to suck,” says Jeremy Plumb, director of production science at the marijuana growing company Prūf Cultivar and the co-founder of Farma, one of Portland, Oregon’s most successful dispensaries. “There will be a massive oversupply in California, and the only people that will survive are either the ones that are super affluent and able to take every blow, or the ones that are really doing something with care and an unbelievable depth of skill.”

Of course, there is another option for California weed businesses that can’t cut it in the legal market: stay underground and ship their products out of state.

“The key word in 2018 is enforcement,” says Jason Pinsky, the cannabis producer on Viceland’s Bong Appetit and the chief cannabis advisor at marijuana delivery app Eaze. “In California, 90 percent of the brands that are out there are either going to disappear, or they’re going to operate illegally. It’s almost like the California weed industry is like an avalanche: to some degree, it’s unstoppable. You’re going to need to hire a lot more people in the policing business if you want to make it so all of these companies are going to stop doing business.”

The end of “indica” and “sativa” Pot snobs have been complaining about how meaningless the terms “indica” and “sativa” are for years, but I’m starting to think that 2018 will finally be the year when this concept hits the public. According to stoner lore, indica weed produces a sedating “body” high and comes from a plant with shorter, fatter leaves, while sativa weed creates a more uplifting “mind” high and comes from a plant with longer, thinner leaves.

But Plumb, the Portland dispensary co-founder, has been growing cannabis for decades, and finds these terms “absolutely offensive to any intelligent soul. There is no scientific basis where we can parse indica and sativa. You cannot connect morphology, a broad or narrow leaf, to the experience of a chemical phenotype. That’s just a fucking massive disconnect.”

So what, pray tell, will replace this false classification? How will we describe marijuana strains in the future? Most likely we will begin focusing more on the entire chemical mix of what’s in our weed – what’s known as the cannabinoid and terpene profile. THC is the most famous cannabinoid, as it’s the one that gets you high, but there are several other relevant compounds that can affect how a pot product makes you feel, including the physically relaxing CBD, the sleep-inducing myrcene and the lavender-smelling linalool.

“If you think about weed as a vehicle, THC would be the gas pedal, and the terpenes are your steering wheel,” says Pinsky, who has overseen quite a bit of public education regarding the variety of compounds found in cannabis on Bong Appetit.

Instead of indica and sativa, we’ll have a wealth of terms to describe marijuana. Ethan Miller/Getty Images

A few of the people I spoke with suggested that in 2018, more weed businesses will talk about the effects of various compound formulations in tinctures and vape pens, even if the indica/sativa distinction remains part of how dispensaries sell actual pot for another couple of years. Already, well-informed budtenders at high-end pot shops are helping customers make smarter choices that have nothing to do with the false dichotomy of body high versus mind high.

“The tiniest bit of education results in consumers being able to access these distinctive chemotypes, which open the door to novel effects,” Plumb says.

Canada takes over the world In these times of tumult and prohibition, our kindly neighbors to the north are looking more and more savvy. While the federal government in the United States continues to insist that marijuana has absolutely no medical benefit, making commerce exceedingly difficult for anyone working with state-legal weed, Canada began the process of making pot available to all adults as soon as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took office in 2015. Now, with millions of marijuana dollars flowing through Canadian stock exchanges and recreational sales set to begin in 2018, the Canadian cannabis industry seems poised to dominate the globe.

“These Canadian companies have access to money that no one in the U.S. has, and they’re going to kill us,” says Kris Krane, the president and co-founder of cannabis operations and consulting firm 4Front Ventures. “We’re ceding the future of the industry to Canada. They’re going to buy everybody.”

Canada will begin recreational sale of cannabis in 2018. Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press/AP

There is a truly mind-boggling amount of weed money flying around up there. The Wall Street Journal reported in September that about half of the trading activity on the Canadian Securities Exchange involved marijuana businesses. That’s right: half of all of the trading on the entire exchange was related to pot. Meanwhile, down in the U.S., there’s pretty much no chance in hell that a dispensary or grow operation could even get listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

At the same time, Canadian pot companies are starting to acquire pieces of pot companies in other countries, as well as export their product to places like Germany, Brazil and Australia. Then again, not every investor is afraid of Canada.

“Once the U.S. opens up, well, Canadians are nice people, but the U.S. will still dominate,” says Evan Eneman, the managing director of Snoop Dogg’s weed-focused venture capital fund, Casa Verde Capital. “The top line revenue of a licensed producer in Canada is probably still smaller than a single retail location in Los Angeles.”

Economic concerns replace philanthropy For a long time, marijuana legalization has been funded by progressive billionaires hoping to improve our criminal justice system – people like tech mogul Sean Parker, investor George Soros and the late Peter Lewis, who started Progressive Insurance. But heading into the elections 2018, fundraisers and political operatives say that the way we’ve been legalizing is changing. Not only are we running out of states that allow the billionaire-funded ballot initiatives that have been the primary driver of legalization, but the billionaires themselves are starting to move on.

“There’s definitely a shift. The social justice folks who had funded legalization up to now seem to have moved on to other issues,” says David Kaufman, a cannabis consultant who served as director of outreach and statewide partnerships for Proposition 64, the 2016 ballot initiative that legalized recreational use of marijuana in California. “The funders behind Proposition 64 are not necessarily going to be the folks that legalize in any other states.”

In the past few years, the political motivations behind marijuana legalization have become increasingly economic, whether it’s politicians hoping to rake in the tax revenue or businessmen paying to lobby for an industry worth over $40 billion. In 2015, a group of investors – including former 98 Degrees lead singer Nick Lachey – attempted to legalize marijuana in Ohio such that all legal cannabis would need to be grown on property owned by the people who paid for the ballot initiative.

While that initiative failed, it may have signaled the beginning of the end of legalizing weed with the goal of keeping people out of prison. In the past year, several prominent cannabis activists either retired or left the movement. Now, many are saying that legislative change will need to rely more on money from the pot industry itself, which could tip the nature of legalization toward helping the rich get richer, rather than accounting for the injustices of prohibition.

Possible legalization in New Jersey will mean mounting pressure on New York New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is not about that weed life. He somehow still thinks that pot is a gateway drug, and wouldn’t even allow the state’s medical marijuana program to include actual bud. But by the end of 2018, he may be rethinking his position.

Phil Murphy will be the next governor of New Jersey – which will almost certainly mean cannabis legalization in the state. Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images

With recreational marijuana sales set to begin in Massachusetts over the summer and incoming New Jersey governor Phil Murphy poised to legalize pot as quickly as possible, there’s a good chance that hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers will soon be doing a sort of reverse commute – driving or hopping a train out to the suburbs to pick up legal weed. Even Connecticut seems close to legalizing, with some predicting the state will turn in the next two years.

“If Jersey and Connecticut both do it through the legislature, New York is surrounded. New York City is surrounded. You could take a PATH train from Manhattan and be in New Jersey in 15 minutes,” says Krane, the president of 4Front Ventures. “When sales figures start rolling out from dispensaries in Hoboken and Jersey City, elected officials in New York City are going to throw a fit.”

Of course, most insiders say that there is no way New Jersey will begin recreational sales in 2018. The state could expand their existing medical program significantly, but it will likely take another year or two to write and implement a full legalization bill.

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medicalmarijuana-news · 8 years ago

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The HIGH TIMES Guide to Flying with Marijuana

Like most Americans, I dread and detest the act of traveling at Thanksgiving time; like most Americans, I subject myself to this ordeal every year just the same. In 2015, at least the routine was more merciful than usual: Get north from San Francisco to Portland. Easy—a short domestic flight, no customs; a quick trip of a few days over a long weekend, no need for a checked bag. No problem.

Since life is short and our precious time on the mortal coil is best spent anywhere else than in virtual captivity at an airport, I arrived at SFO with the usual efficiency, allotting just enough time to sprint through security and make it to the gate for the final boarding call. I was on schedule to do just this, when, shoeless, belt-less, my pockets empty and my arms over my head in surrender, I glimpsed my carry-on bag slide off of the security conveyor belt and into the hands of a TSA officer.

“Is this yours?” the officer asked me.

Let’s take a step back. The year before, Oregon voters legalized recreational cannabis. Portland’s retail dispensaries had just opened for business. The plan for the trip included the requisite pilgrimage to Stumptown coffee as well as a tour of the city’s cannabis offerings. I’d heard the weed was just fine, and I was eager to try some.

But I live in California. The outdoor harvest was in. So of course I packed a few glass jars filled with the finest Humboldt and Mendocino have to offer. Arriving empty-handed, with nothing to share after the Thanksgiving feast, would be rude. But since I pack as efficiently as I travel, these jars weren’t stashed anywhere discrete—they were right on top. This saved the TSA officer the trouble of digging through my collection of t-shirts and hoodies to find them.

Thus, the dance began.

“What’s this?” she asked.

“That… is medical cannabis,” I said, a shot of adrenaline-fueled anxiety putting just the slightest hairline crack into my confidence.

I was prepared for this. You see, for the better part of a decade, I’ve flown with marijuana nearly everywhere I go. I do this for a variety of reasons, chief of which is that I can. (Second and third-place reasons are, I’d rather not patronize a black-market dealer where I’m going if it’s an illegal state, and I’d rather bring the weed I have than spend money on more otherwise.) And not once have I ever had any trouble—even when TSA looked through my belongings and found some weed.

If you’re reading this, you can, too.

Many, many people do it, whether they’re growers flying to international Cannabis Cups or normal civilians.

It’s remarkably easy, and requires little more than common sense and abiding by a few rules. Here’s how.

REMEMBER WHAT TSA DOES.

The youngest of the cabinet-level federal departments, Homeland Security’s Transit Security Administration is in the job of looking for things that might lead to a reprise of 9/11, fear of which is what’s led us to take off our shoes, empty our pockets and be subjected to Donald Trump-level sexual assault all for the thin veneer of safety.

Since it was natives of trusted U.S. ally Saudi Arabia armed with box-cutters that got us into this mess, not Lebanese blond hash, TSA has acted (for once) appropriately. In other words: They are not there to look for drugs.

“Our officers are focused on security and are not searching specifically for substances that aren’t a threat to the aircraft,” TSA spokesman Bruce Anderson confirmed to HIGH TIMES in an email.

Now. If you’re trafficking in pounds, or more likely, if your rolling bag is full of $50,000 in cash on either end of such a trafficking jaunt, you may find yourself greeted at the gate by law enforcement, who TSA can (and does) call if they do discover drugs during a screening.

But who does the TSA call? If you’re packing weed, they won’t call the FBI or the DEA. They call the law enforcement agency responsible for patrolling the airport. They call the local cops—who enforce local law, not federal law.

It’s a common misconception that airports are beholden to federal law. But it’s also a common mistake to believe that just because marijuana is legal in the state where you’re boarding, the same holds true at the airport.

KNOW THE LAY OF THE LAND

Perhaps the single most important rule of all is to know the rules. This means knowing more than simply if cannabis is legal or not in your state of origin and destination. You need to know the rules of the airport.

In Denver, for example, the airport has declared all possession of marijuana to be illegal. If you’re caught with cannabis, they won’t jail you or fine you, but they will make you throw your weed out.

In Portland, police will check your boarding pass before letting you go. If you’re flying to somewhere else within state lines—which evidently is a thing—you’re free to board, weed in hand. If you’re flying somewhere else, even to a state where cannabis is also legal, you’ll be asked to go back through security and dispense with the weed somehow.

In San Francisco, you’re allowed to board with an ounce—but if you have your medical cannabis recommendation, you’re allowed to board with eight ounces.

In other words, airports are for the most part just as permissive as the states in which they’re located. This has led to a general air of “who gives a fuck” at security, at least in legal states.

Case in point: In the month of January 2017, Portland police were called to security at PDX after TSA discovered drugs three times. The year before, they were called twice. Nobody will come out and say it, but drugs just aren’t a priority.

“Their primary mission is to look for things prohibited on board an aircraft that can compromise the safety of the flight,” Portland airport spokeswoman Kama Simonds told HIGH TIMES.

In Denver, drugs going through security are such a big deal that after 2015, when 29 people were stopped at security, out of 54 million passengers, they stopped keeping statistics, airport spokesman Heath Montgomery told HIGH TIMES.

Once past security and aboard your flight, you’re in the clear until you get to your destination. Once there, your risk factors are the same they’d be anywhere else: A ticket for blatantly boneheaded public smoking in a legal state; a citation or misdemeanor arrest from an asshole cop in New York City; or something far worse, depending on the amount, the color of your skin and the demeanor of the cop somewhere else.

WHAT ABOUT INTERNATIONALLY?

This, for obvious reasons, is the biggest risk. But, for all the reasons mentioned before, the risk won’t be in the United States. You’ll be dealing with the same TSA and be able to get on board your flight with the same ease. What happens when you land in your foreign destination is up to you—but also up to the attitude of the local gendarmes.

Last year, a close friend spent more than a month in Eastern Europe. Since that’s a long sojourn, he packed several vape pen cartridges and a few ounces, and nothing happened (aside from getting stoned in his father-in-law’s backyard on the regular).

This wasn’t just a leap of faith: cannabis cultivation is so rampant in the Balkans that simple possession would likely not have been a big deal. Conversely, when I was stuffing my bag for a jaunt to Thailand, a few stories about bribing Thai police and the conditions in Thai jails was enough to convince me to leave the weed at home—though, later during this trip, while in Hong Kong, the availability and price of weed smuggled in from Namibia, of all places, made me wish I’d taken the risk and snuck something into my carry-on.

Which brings us to the last cardinal rule of cannabis travel.

CARRY-ON. CARRY-ON. CARRY-ON.

You know what? I take back the above maxim about knowing the rules. Of equal importance is where you pack your stash—and you must pack your stash in your carry-on. Repeat: Do not put it in your checked luggage!

The reason for this is simple: The likelihood of your carry-on being searched, as long as you’re not trying to pack something blatantly banned like a can of spray paint, a lighter or a half-full bottle of wine, is slim.

But as Lifehacker recently explained, the roll call of red flags for TSA that can trigger a search of your checked bag is a veritable shopping list of harmless everyday items that includes phone chargers, food, toiletries and clothes—in short, anything that anyone going anywhere flies with, always.

Since marijuana is illegal to transport across state lines, it’s contraband and can be yanked from your bag without redress.

“But I’ve flown with XXX amount stuffed in my disgusting checkered Vans many a time,” you may say.

Since we’re already in the business of taking risks, what’s one more? Let’s ponder that question when you arrive at your destination, pop open your bag and find the “YOU’VE BEEN SEARCHED!” ticket and no weed.

But this means you should police your carry-on for the things that do trigger a search, particularly if you’re in a place where cannabis is not legal. Such basic preparation is why I’ve never been stopped going through security in New Orleans, New York or St. Louis—and is the reason why a forgotten bike tool, hidden at the very bottom of a hastily-packed, holiday-time carry-on was why my bag was diverted and subsequently dismantled by a TSA agent in San Francisco on Thanksgiving Eve.

Even then, it was clear she’d been through this before.

“Do you have your paperwork?” she asked.

But of course. I presented my medical marijuana recommendation, and she and I made small talk while a San Francisco police officer could be summoned to check everything. A few minutes later, a cop appeared, riding a Segway. He barely took the time to step off before nodding at the TSA agents and rolling away.

“You’re all set. Have a nice flight,” the agent told me.

By that time, my flight had long since departed, leaving me plenty of time to sit at the airport bar and ponder over an Irish coffee the necessity of taking more care when packing. Next time, I’d leave the bike tool at home—and bring some pressed hash instead.

RELATED: How To Avoid Getting Searched at the Airport

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