Monday, May 11, 2026
Home Blog Page 1034

Conservative DC Paper: Marijuana Legalization Is Working So Support It

When Vermont’s legislation voted to legalize recreational marijuana this month, it signaled a rebuke from state politicians. They were not dissuaded by Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the Trump administration’s rolling back federal protections surrounding state’s marijuana laws.

Vermont’s passage also demonstrated a shift in thinking surrounding marijuana polices in the political sphere. As much as federal agencies might try to interfere, states maintain assertive control when it comes to marijuana legalization and regulations.

Now The Hill, the political newspaper based in Washington DC, has published an emphatic op-ed in favor of more states following the Vermont’s legislation lead. As the op-ed states, “With marijuana legalization success and overwhelming public support, the question is no longer whether to legalize marijuana, but how.”

The article touches upon notes familiar to cannabis activists. The majority of Americans—including Republicans—are in favor of legalization, the War on Drugs is a waste of money, while Black and Latinx Americans are disproportionately targeted in cannabis-related arrests.  In addition, states with some form of legalized marijuana enjoy a new tax revenue boom and job market, which has saved some local economies that were on the edge of extinction.

We’re not finished. Via The Hill:

[Because of cannabis legalization] marijuana-related arrests have plummeted, saving states millions of dollars and preventing the criminalization of several thousands of people. Youth marijuana use has not increased. There have been reductions in opioid overdose deaths and untreated opioid use disorders. And, DUI arrests for driving under the influence (of alcohol and other drugs) have declined.

Though the recognition regarding the positive effects of cannabis legalization by a media publication like The Hill would be enough to excite some, the op-ed closes with a strong call to action. It states, “But we should not stop at legalization alone. The time is now to support efforts by Congress and numerous states to not only legalize marijuana, but to advance policies that further repair the racially discriminatory harms of marijuana criminalization.”

Enough said.

Marijuana Edibles: The Next Major Food Trend Of 2018?

You might be seeing marijuana edibles at big-time gourmet food shows in the not so distant future. As more states legalize recreational weed, companies are getting competitive, creating all sorts of infused food and drink. 

This past November, the Specialty Food Association (SPA) ranked cannabis number eight in their list of the top 10 food trends of 2018. If that’s not a gold star, nothing is. 

The SPA’s Trendspotter Panel wrote: “Look out for continued interest and acceptance in a host of snacks, treats and beverages with a little something extra.”

As The Fresh Toast reported earlier this month, consumers are starting to make the switch from smoking to eating marijuana. And that for some, edibles are “simply less of a hassle and a more discreet option.” There’s also a growing number of cannabis enthusiasts who prefer edibles because it’s perceived to be healthier.

GreenState spoke to Kara Nielsen, vice president of trends and marketing at CCD Innovation, a food and beverage development agency out of California. She says they’re continuing to see the surge of cannabis support from the food industry. In fact, she predicts the edibles market will see the same kind of rise as natural products did back in the day. 

“We’re continuing to see the surge,” said Kara Nielsen, vice president of trends and marketing at CCD Innovation, an Emeryville food and beverage development agency.

She calls these artisan products “very hipster: posh, beautifully designed, all targeting a certain user.”

“It’s the same trend I’ve been talking about since 2014: more artisanship, attention to packaging and graphics, branding, flavor profiles, craftsmanship, quality ingredients and buzzy products like cold-brewed coffee, hand-made chocolates and marshmallows,” she told GreenState.

She says low-dose edibles are a great opportunity for the cannabis industry because they can be marketed to different users ranging from the canna-curious to young people who will grow up without the stigma-surrounded marijuana. As a hedonist of food and wine, Nielsen considers herself to be on the curious side, and a potential customer. 

“I’m over 50,” she said. “If you can put something that seems like medicine or is going to make me happy in a really nice piece of chocolate, I get double benefits: a lovely piece of chocolate and a lingering high. It’s just a safer route.”

Smoking Marijuana In France Just Got A Whole Lot Easier

In America, we call it a conundrum or a head-scratcher or a brain-twister. In France, they just call it an énigme or a mystère. The French government has the most draconian cannabis laws in Europe and yet the French people consume more marijuana than any other nation on the continent. Clearly, the law is failing.

More than 17 million French citizens have tried cannabis and nearly 1.5 million are regular consumers. The latest data shows that nearly a quarter-million people in France use it daily. These consumers simply disobey the law despite risking up to a year in prison and a fine of 3,750 euros (nearly $5,000 in US dollars).

A new report released earlier this week recommends introducing a fine of 150 to 200 euros ($186 to $248) instead. The report reveals the obvious to anybody with a brain: The current legislation is not working. France’s new centrist government is moving toward softening the cannabis laws.

President Emmanuel Macron made cannabis law reform a campaign promise last year, saying easing the punishment would reduce the time spent by the law enforcement and the courts on criminal cases involving cannabis enthusiasts.

“At the moment we have procedures that complicate the lives of our police and court officials for not much in terms of results,” Christophe Castaner, the head of Macron’s Republic On The Move (LREM), told The Local, a French news site.

Enforcement of the current stringent policy has been ignored and scoffed at by the French for years. Police have stopped arresting most cannabis users and have focused on more dangerous crimes. “A young person who gets caught smoking a joint knows that he or she risks nothing,” Castaner said this week in a radio interview on France Bleu.

One lawmaker who helped prepare the parliamentary report, Eric Poulliat from Macron’s LREM, said the fine “is not normalizing cannabis or a step towards decriminalization.” But pro-legalization organization Echo believes Macron is missing a golden opportunity for major change.

“The regular cash flow for a dealer who sells several products comes from cannabis,” Benjamin Jeanroy from Echo said. “If you take that away from them, then you’re hitting them financially.”

A 2014 study estimated that France could reap 2 billion euros (nearly $2.5 billion) a year in tax revenue from legalization.

6 Fantastic TV Shows That Are Even Better With Marijuana

Few things are better than getting pleasantly high, lying down on your couch, and watching a few hours of TV. But with so many options between cable and network channels, older shows and new series on Netflix and Amazon Prime, you might be overwhelmed, especially if you’re already kind of high. Worry not, reader: The editors of The Fresh Toast are here to help you with six recommendations.

High Maintenance

The beloved web series debuts this Friday on HBO. Beyond it’s weed-centric premise—the show’s only major recurring character is a dealer known as The Guy—the show provides a fascinating glimpse into the lives of a diverse group of New Yorkers who rely on the Guy for his services. It’s a funny, odd, and entirely original show that’s perfect to watch late on a Friday night after a nice edible/vape hit.

Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job!

When I recently asked them for their favorite show to watch while baked, High Maintenance creators Ben Sinclair and Katja Blichfeld both immediately named the Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job! as their favorite. Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim’s surreal Adult Swim hit really is the perfect show to watch while high (or sober); it has celebrities who transform into tiny cats, inept health experts with wine problems, dancing men who worry about old meat, songs about petite feet, and a recurring segment about a child clown outlet (video above). I feel kind of high just writing about it.

The Great British Baking Show

The Great British Baking Show is a charming production in which ten or so Brits compete with each other to make the best baked goods. “Compete” might not be the best word for what they do, though; while it’s certainly a competition—each week a “Star Baker” is chosen, and the contestant with the worst bakes is sent home—but the genuine goodwill and support between the bakers combined with helpful, encouraging hosts makes the show feel more like a gathering of friends whose numbers unfortunately dwindle each week. The show’s setting adds an idyllic quality that matches the pleasantness of everyone involved; the baking all takes place in a big white tent in the middle of a huge green field that often has sheep and other farm animals roaming around, like some sort of English paradise. If you’re looking to get blazed and watch a happy little show that lacks drama and plot but is still eminently binge-able, this is the show for you. The (usually) delicious looking desserts and breads don’t hurt, either.

Mr. Robot

The surprise hit about a paranoid, depressed hacker who stumbles into starting a revolution of sorts is the perfect type of show to watch while high. It’s heavy-handed symbolism (and Fight Club references) will seem less on the nose while baked, and it’s genuinely surprising plot twists will seem that much more surprising when you’ve forgotten the obvious clues that preceded them because you’re so high. As another Fresh Toast writer put it, watching Mr. Robot while blazed is “an experience.”

BoJack Horseman

While I personally have not watched it, I’ve heard from trustworthy sources that BoJack Horseman is great, especially if you’re buzzed. Take it from Fresh Toast contributing editor Brendan Bures: “The animal puns are funnier and you stop questioning why a dog and a woman are married. It just seems normal.” Plus, it’s on Netflix, which means minimum effort to binge the entire series.

The National Parks: America’s Best Idea

Just because you’re high as hell doesn’t mean you can’t learn something.

From The WTF Files: Barney The Dinosaur Is Now A Tantric Sex Healer

Passions and interests change: If you don’t believe this then look no further than David Joyner, the retired actor who was known for portraying Barney The Dinosaur. He played the iconic character for a decade, appearing in different shows and videos such as “Barney & Friends,” “Barney and the Backyard Gang,” and “Hip Hop Harry.”

Nowadays, Joyner is a tantric massage therapist. His specialty is women, in fact, he only accepts female customers, whom he refers to as “Goddesses” (gag). Each session costs 350 dollars, and can last from three to four hours. They include a ritual bath, and chakra balancing massages that sometimes result in mind blowing orgasms.

Vice interviewed Joyner due to this curious transition in professions. Joyner claims that he’s always been involved with tantric energy, and that it was thanks to his practices that he was able to wear the 70 pound Barney suit for such long periods of time.

After the article was published, Joyner took to social media to critique the angle of the piece, claiming that the focus of the story wasn’t on his spiritual practices. I’m sorry, David. You were Barney, so the focus will always be on that.

“I truly wish more people would try to see the spiritual [side] of Tantra & not think it’s all about sex. Sometimes people here in the west can be so sad.”

Joyner was born in Illinois.

Editor’s Choice, Democrats, Starbucks And More

0
Marijuana Reform
Photo by Flickr user Théo

Why Democrats Are Squeamish About Federal Marijuana Reform


Starbucks No Cash
Photo by Flickr user David Davies

Starbucks Is Testing A ‘No Cash’ Concept In Seattle


Life Partner
Photo by Flickr user Didriks

Drinker Or Toker: Which One Makes A Better Life Partner?


Why Does Kate Middleton Get To Wear A Tiara But Not Meghan Markle?
Photo by Sean Gallup/Staff/Getty Images

Why Does Kate Middleton Get To Wear A Tiara But Not Meghan Markle?


Cured Cannabis
Photo by Flickr user Cannabis Pictures

Health Benefits of Smoking Properly Dried and Cured Cannabis


Texans Battling Ice
Screenshot via Callan Cloonan/@Get_a_Cloo on Twitter

The 9 Ridiculous Ways Texans Are Battling Ice This Winter


ABCs Of CBD
Photo by nir_design via Pixabay

The ABCs Of CBD: What Parents Should Tell Their Kids


[gravityform id=”13″ title=”false” description=”true”]

Find Out Why Canada Is Supplying Italy With High-Grade Marijuana

Italy’s medical marijuana program is becoming so popular that the nation is experiencing a shortage. But help is on the way. Two Canadian companies have won a contract to supply the Italian government with enough herbal medicine to keep up with demand.

For years, the Italian military was the sole producer of cannabis for the nation’s medical marijuana program. A bump in demand has forced the Italian government to seek new producers. Enter Canada.

According to Marijuana Business Daily:

Toronto-based Nuuvera said last week it is acquiring one of only seven companies in Italy with a license to import medical cannabis.

Hours later, Pedanios, the German subsidiary of Alberta-based Aurora Cannabis won an exclusive tender to supply 100 kilograms of medical marijuana to the Italian government through the country’s Ministry of Defense, which oversees MMJ production and distribution — at least for now.

“I am very proud of Aurora and the Pedanios team for the quality of their execution in becoming the exclusive winner of this important tender,” Neil Belot, Aurora’s chief global business development officer, said in a press release. The move signals a major development in the global marijuana industry.

 According to Marijuana Business Daily, the Italian military grows roughly 250 kilograms (551 pounds) per year. The government estimates that the demand for medical marijuana will soon be 2,000 kilograms (4,409 pounds). Clearly, the supply is nowhere near the demand.“We want to work with Italian authorities to address the shortage of supply that is causing problems to Italian patients,” said CEO Lorne Abony. “We have 77,000 kilograms of offtake in Canada, so we can address the shortage.”

Italy’s Department of Health started allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients in 2007, but the country’s Parliament has failed to adopt comprehensive national regulations since then. Last year, the Italian parliament voted to ease regulations on medical marijuana. The changes opened the door for many patients to access the program.

Currently in Italy, doctors are allowed to prescribe cannabis if other treatments are not effective. Among the qualifying conditions are chronic pain, cancer, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, glaucoma and anorexia.

Regulatory challenges notwithstanding, the market’s potential has caught the eye of Canada’s largest medical marijuana companies.

As Canada companies gain entry into the vast European market, US companies remain on the sidelines.

NJ Symposium Readies Attendees For Legal New Jersey Cannabis

New Jersey residents are ready, willing and waiting for Governor Phil Murphy to legalize recreational marijuana. Though he hasn’t had hearings on either cannabis legalization bill as of yet, Murphy has already signed an executive order to improve and expand the medical marijuana program and while still on the campaign trail, Murphy was very vocal about his support for adult use.

Ahead of the Garden State going legal, the New Jersey Cannabis Symposium was held in Newark, NJ. Unlike previous years when a couple hundred people sat comfortably in a small space within the New Jersey Performing Arts Center, this year over 800 people packed into the NJPAC theater and the mood was through the roof high.

Hearings or no, an adult use, recreational Bill is expected to pass and be signed into law by June of this year. Though the landscape for cannabis use has been bleak the last eight years with Chris Christie in office doing his best to quell even medicinal use, things are looking up indeed and activists, experts and advocates are jumping on Murphy’s train of promises. It’s refreshing to see New Jersey residents so positive about the future of a social program and economy booster.

If there’s anything the symposium teaches us, it is that if you’re hoping to turn a profit in the soon to be legalized landscape and you haven’t started yet, you may be running a little late. According to app.com, Clifton resident and symposium attendee Scott Landsperger is already a year into planning for coming legalization. As a swimming pool company owner, he has already committed by doing due diligence. He has built a team and is at the ready to apply for a retail license on day one, the same day anyone hoping to prosper should be ready.

“It’s an industry that it doesn’t matter what your store looks like, people are going to find you and come to you. It’s an opportunity that doesn’t come along very often,” said Landsperger. And he’s absolutely correct. With both bills proposing one retail license per county, at least to begin with, it’s best to be prepared to hit the ground running.

And Landsperger is also right about having built a great team around him. With cannabis still a Schedule I drug, making it illegal at the federal level, working with people who have had background checks and who’ve you’ve done some serious research on is going to be beyond important. Build a team you can trust, no matter what part of the industry you’re hoping to enter, then ready yourselves for day one applications with i’s dotted and t’s crossed and keep that enthusiasm high. It may not be legal yet, but with Murphy in office, the future looks bright.

Jeff Sessions Using Psychological Warfare To Scare Banks Away From Marijuana

Ever since US Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced weeks ago that he was rescinding the temporary protections that allowed legal marijuana states to operate without federal interference, members of the cannabis industry have been waiting for a crackdown.

But the crackdown has not happened in the way that many envisioned. There has been no legion of DEA agents coming into legal states and bringing down the hammer on cultivation centers and dispensaries. The Justice Department’s approach, if it can be labeled as such, is much more subtle.

Some might say that Sessions doesn’t have a leg to stand on when it comes to trying to enforce federal marijuana laws. It could also be said that the recindment of the Cole Memo (Obama’s hand’s off approach to legal marijuana) was nothing more than the Trump administration’s way of engaging in psychological warfare with the cannabis trade.

After all, it has been weeks since the memo was tossed and there are still no signs that Sessions is rallying the troops to go after weed. Even Sessions admitted last year that the Justice Department doesn’t have the resources to go launch a full-scale attack on cannabis.

As of right now, aside from the death of the Cole Memo, nothing has changed. Marijuana is still grown and sold for medical and recreational use all over the nation.

Some reports have suggested that in addition to the withdrawal of the Cole Memo, Sessions was also on the verge of eliminating a document from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which was designed to help guide financial institutions on how to work with the marijuana businesses.

Marijuana banking is tricky. While none of the larger banks have wanted anything to do with the cannabis industry – since fraternizing with this businesses sector could lead to prosecution – the FinCEN guide has given local banks and credit unions enough of an illusionary safety net to work with pot sellers without concerns of federal hassles.

Although FinCEN has not been snuffed out, there has been enough negative noise reverberating throughout the cannabis scene that even some of the more liberal banks aren’t taking any risks.

“Some have stopped taking on new accounts. We do know of one institution that was getting ready to launch cannabis banking program that has decided to suspend their launch indefinitely,” CanPay CEO and founder Dustin Eide told CNBC.

But nothing about the industry has changed. The wheels on the legal weed machine continue to turn. It’s almost funny how Sessions, without doing more than getting rid of a memo that was never binding in the first place, has scared the financial community.

“People that are heavily invested in the industry are continuing to move forward,” Eide said. “I think the bigger issue is bringing new institutions into new markets. It is concerning to the point that creates additional uncertainty, but this industry has thrived despite uncertainty.”

Just last week, a group of attorney generals from legal marijuana states across the country sent a letter to Congress asking for legal banking solutions for the cannabis industry. These officials are trying to convince federal lawmakers that “The grey market makes it more difficult to track revenues for taxation purposes, contributes to a public safety threat as cash-intensive businesses are often targets for criminal activity, and prevents proper tracking of large swaths of finances across the nation,” according to the letter.

It could be awhile before Congress is ready to step in to lend assistance to the banking issue. Several attempts have been made and failed miserably over the past few years.

Although a handful of lawmakers are working on temporary budget amendments and other clever ways to beat the cannabis banking snafu, there is really only one way to remedy the problem forever: Legalize marijuana nationwide.

Consuming Medical Marijuana Is Proven To Help Migraine Sufferers

What do you do when prescription medication is not giving you the quick and effective migraine relief you desperately need? According to a new study, you may want to try smoking cannabis.

A study from Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Science at the University of Colorado examined the effects of inhaled and ingested cannabis on 121 adults suffering from migraines. The purpose of the study was to observe and describe the effects of medical cannabis on the monthly frequency of migraines.

The participants were studied from January 2010 and September 2014 and 103 of the 121 patients said they had fewer migraines after they began using cannabis; that’s about 85 percent of the participants. Those who said they experienced an improvement, noted their migraines decreased from 10.4 headaches per month to 4.6, on average.

About 19.8 percent of the participants reported that the cannabis was able to help prevent migraine headaches and another 11.6 percent reported that the cannabis stopped the headaches altogether.

According to the study, inhalation methods provided faster relief and were more probable to stop the onset of migraine symptoms. Unfortunately, edible cannabis wasn’t the ideal remedy because it took longer for the effects to kick in and provide relief. Plus, patients reported that the side effects included sleepiness and an intense psychoactive response.

From intense throbbing to nausea, to light and sound sensitivity, the symptoms of migraines, for lack of a better word, suck. They can last anywhere from four and 72 hours and the symptoms seem to worsen with any physical or mental effort. While pain-relieving medications have been readily available for quite some time, they don’t always work for the three million people who suffer from migraines.

So the next time you experience pounding, pulsing, pain, smoking cannabis might provide the immediate relief you need.

Don't Miss Your Weekly Dose of The Fresh Toast.

Stay informed with exclusive news briefs delivered directly to your inbox every Friday.

We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe anytime.