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Teen Marijuana Use Not Independently Linked With IQ Decline

MJ News Network
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Teen Marijuana Use Not Independently Linked With IQ Decline

Teen marijuana use is not independently linked with adverse changes in intelligence quotient or executive functioning, according to longitudinal data published online ahead of print in the journal Addiction.

A team of investigators from the United States and the United Kingdom evaluated whether marijuana use is directly associated with changes over time in neuropsychological performance in a nationally representative cohort of adolescent twins. Authors reported that “family background factors,” but not the use of cannabis negatively impacted adolescents’ cognitive performance.

They wrote: “[W]e found that youth who used cannabis … had lower IQ at age 18, but there was little evidence that cannabis use was associated with IQ decline from age 12 to 18. Moreover, although cannabis use was associated with lower IQ and poorer executive functions at age 18, these associations were generally not apparent within pairs of twins from the same family, suggesting that family background factors explain why adolescents who use cannabis perform worse on IQ and executive function tests.”

Investigators concluded, “Short-term cannabis use in adolescence does not appear to cause IQ decline or impair executive functions, even when cannabis use reaches the level of dependence.”

Their findings are consistent with those of several other studies — including those here, here, here, and here — finding that cannabis use alone during adolescence does not appear to have a significant, direct adverse effect on intelligence quotient.

A widely publicized New Zealand study published in 2012 in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reported that the persistent use of cannabis from adolescence to adulthood was associated with slightly lower IQ by age 38. However, a follow up review of the data published later in the same journal suggested that the observed changes were likely due to socioeconomic differences, not the subjects’ use of cannabis.

How Marijuana Weddings Will Be Evolving In 2018

Brendan Bures
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How Marijuana Weddings Will Be Evolving In 2018

Marijuana weddings have been around for a while, and watching the evolution has been fascinating in many forms and fashion. And we do quite literally mean fashion.

With the growing spread of legalized recreational marijuana, event organizers have begun infusing cannabis into many more activities or getaways. From bud and breakfasts to the 420 Games and dinner parties, weed has become the newest companion to a good time. It hasn’t out and out replaced alcohol in this manner. Think of it instead as an addition or substitution to a grown-up good time.

One of the largest and priciest good times an adult can have is at a wedding. So it’s little surprise to watch shrewd planners enter the marketplace as cannabis wedding planners. Take for example Irie Wedding & Events in Colorado. As the company writes on their website, they are “dedicated to giving couples the beautiful wedding day they have always dreamed of and incorporating cannabis in classy and tasteful ways. We work with a wide range of local cannabis-friendly wedding vendors who are sure to delight and impress your guests!”

The company includes packages like The OG Kush Package and Sweet Leaf Package, which helps couples connect with vendors and organize big day planning. If you’d rather plan your own wedding, the company also offers hosted bud bar. Just in the way you might pay a bartender to run an alcohol bar, recommending drinks to patrons and ensuring no one goes overboard, Irie Wedding & Events will hire a budtender to pass out the weed. More lowkey couples can choose to feature bud in their bouquets or floral arrangements.

If you want weed at your wedding, the company has you covered. Bec Koop, the founder of Irie, has seen more couples embrace the growing cannabis trend.

Via Bloomberg:

Koop did five weddings in her first full year in business, then about twice as many in her second year. Now she expects she will have booked nearly two dozen by the end of 2017. “We have people who are already outreaching to us for 2020,” she says. “A lot of foresight coming from these so-called lazy stoners.”

Irie isn’t the only business in town either. Other companies like Top Shelf Budtending and Canndescent will host bud bars, too. Want transportation to and from the wedding and still toke? Hire High End Transportation, a limo service for cannabis consumers. Just because you want weed at your wedding doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice luxury or style.

The biggest weed fans, however, don’t just stop there. They’ll enjoy a “first toke” from a pipe with two openings or wear hemp suits or wedding dresses to show off their love. From minimal to maximum inclusion, weed at weddings is the new rising trend.

As Koop told The Atlantic, “This movement is simply making it more acceptable to enjoy cannabis as part of a group in a social setting at a wedding.”

A Woman Ordered A Vegan Meal In Spain, Immediately Regretted It

Jillian Peterson
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A Woman Ordered A Vegan Meal In Spain, Immediately Regretted It

Ordering a vegan meal in restaurants can be tricky enough, but traveling abroad? Who even knows how the words “vegan meal” will translate?

Fashion blogger Gabbie Jarvis discovered that sometimes when you say “vegan,” people will automatically hear the words “vegetables only.” And while vegan is the absence of any animal products (meat, cheese, dairy, eggs, fish) there are a a lot of options other than what her poor sister was served at a restaurant in Spain: tomatoes and raw onions. This is so not okay.

(UPDATE: it appears Gabbie has since deleted her Twitter account).

Screenshot via @gabbiejarvis/Twitter

https://twitter.com/gabbiejarvis/status/893904238581096448

Vegans aren’t on a perpetual diet —  they want to feel satiated after a meal just like anyone else, without the use of animal products.

Several commenters didn’t understand the issue, since, you know, she ordered a vegan meal. What did she expect? For those who don’t understand what vegans eat, here are several examples (out of literally hundreds) of filling foods that trump raw vegetables any day.

Potatoes

https://www.instagram.com/p/BT6mOLGBJ0I/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BDl9TyZthfr

Burritos & Burrito Bowls

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXdkZrcAjHn

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXYtN42geDM

Pasta

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWf43mtj_y_

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXfTOnogki3

Rice & Quinoa 

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXPSL-1nyJS

https://www.instagram.com/p/BOCxyP1AH7d

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNZIHNagZLL

Toast

https://www.instagram.com/p/BVKITsQgCcG

Curry

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXK_eE9Hve1

https://www.instagram.com/p/BC0zjgiNhZQ

Mac & Cheese

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXZfYKBFySh

Legumes

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXdjBEyAAps/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXAEKk2nlMW

https://www.instagram.com/p/BTWjWf2DAjm

Tofu

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXVvgm-DFYT

https://www.instagram.com/p/BU0q2T7AtE6

Spring Rolls

https://www.instagram.com/p/BW7979CDRdx/

Pizza

https://www.instagram.com/p/BV1L6EKFQL0

https://www.instagram.com/p/BLOzR1RjjoD/

Sandwiches & Wraps

https://www.instagram.com/p/BW1KzV0FB_2

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSJpifXBDdL

Ramen & Pho

https://www.instagram.com/p/BW6frT9BEQd/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXV5O3Lh-p8

Tacos

https://www.instagram.com/p/BVC2djkFvxI/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWnLSkDDKgz/

Bagels

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSeuOLuAu0j

Burgers

https://www.instagram.com/p/BWyMLTHFILy/

Sushi

https://www.instagram.com/p/9GBFpeMUlX/?taken-by=freeleethebananagirl

https://www.instagram.com/p/BKLx0zBDZ60

Hearty Salads

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXfXYOcnkTy

 

 

Watch Steve-O Eat Super-Hot Wings Against Doctor’s Orders

Amy Hansen
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Watch Steve-O Eat Super-Hot Wings Against Doctor’s Orders

It’s a wonder this man is still alive, let alone participating in a hot wings challenge. Jackass star and real life Wile E Coyote Steve-O took a turn on “Hot Ones” and devoured a dozen vegan hot wings (he’s an outspoken animal activist) without so much as flinching (the guy probably ruined his taste buds in some sort of flaming sword swallowing challenge or equally stupid stunt).

Eating the hottest pepper on earth will never trump the time Steve-O flung himself off a college balcony, breaking his cement landing with just his skull…and possibly the bag of weed in his pocket.

That’s just one of the insane stories Steve-O told while saucing himself . Other highlights include:

  • The time he climbed a 150-foot crane carrying an inflatable Orca to protest Sea World.
  • The first time he got arrested for a stunt was when he stapled his nutsack to his leg.
  • The time he jumped off a 35-foot overpass into the water from the bed of a moving truck.
  • The time he filmed himself jacking off onto a TV producer’s keyboard.
  • The time he recorded a rap song called Down with STDs when he was super high on PCP.

You’ll have to watch the entire video to hear the rest (yes, there’s lots more). Let’s all say a prayer tonight for Steve-O, asking that hot sauce not be the thing that finally kills him.

 

This Start Up Winery Has A Unique Take

Jillian Peterson
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This Start Up Winery Has A Unique Take

This is a new one. Three chemists are trying to make wine without grapes.

Instead of crushing fruit, they’re creating their juice in a lab, much like companies that grow cell-cultured synthetic meat without harming animals or the environment.

Related : Introducing Grape Leather And Why It Matters

Ava Winery‘s founders tell Mercury News that people who taste their wines in a blind taste test can’t tell the difference between theirs and the real stuff.

“The product we end up with is chemically identical to wine,” says co-founder Alec Lee. “It’s indistinguishable at a molecular level.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BXT4SDxBr3O

Co-founder Mardonn Chua says he got the idea when he spotted a cellar bottle of 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay, worth around $10,000, and decided to make it more accessible by recreating it in a lab.

Related: 4 Serious Things To Consider When Buying Canned Wine

The lab setting lacks the romance of musty barrels and deep dark cellars, but the three guys use a technique called chromatography, which separates traditional wine into its molecular components. With the help of some ingenious software, the guys are able to come up with their own proprietary recipe to recreate the wine. Basically, flavor and aroma molecules are added to a base of water and high-proof alcohol.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BGprA8EkUvT

Mary Orlin, the food and wine writer for Mercury News, who also happens to be a a sommelier, tasted one of Ava’s wines: Moscato d’Asti, a popular sparkling dessert wine. She was not too impressed, describing the wine as having “very much a synthetic flavor to me. It tasted like banana bubble gum.”

RELATED: Science Explains How Marijuana Inspires Awe 

The founders admit they still have a ways to go to perfect their product (Deborah Parker Wong, global wine editor for SOMM Journal, refuses to call it “wine”), but say they’re excited to be working on two types of dry red wines, and one dry white, in addition to their sparkling. And while they’re not ready to recreate any expensive wines (like the Chateau Montelena Chardonnay), they’re already succeeding at being environmentally friendly. It takes just five to 10 liters of water to make a liter of Ava’s wine compared to the hundreds of liters of water it takes to make a single liter using California grapes.

Watch The Wrestling Rumble That Broke Out On An NYC Subway

TFT Editors
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Watch The Wrestling Rumble That Broke Out On An NYC Subway

You truly don’t know what you’ll see on an NYC subway. Insane, disgusting, and hilarious sights will be seen on the subway. Yet somehow nothing quite compares to the first Subway Royal Rumble.

Yes, a full-out wrestling brawl broke out on the subway and it’s about as real as any other wrestling match ever televised. The video is the concoction of comedian Tim Hann Rivera, who recruited some other entertainers to participate in his subway wrestling parody.

It’s actually clever in hitting all the right notes. You’ll see The Undertaker, The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin and more, the comedians riffing the on the wrestler’s iconic moves. The audio commentary is quite funny as well. How these guys pulled it off for so long without getting kicked off the subway is a miraculous feat as any thing else.

A necessary reminder: Just don’t try this at home.

Why Disney World Uses Lyft And Not Uber For Their ‘Minnie Vans’

Jillian Peterson
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Why Disney World Uses Lyft And Not Uber For Their ‘Minnie Vans’

Disney World has unleashed a fleet of Minnie vans to make the “happiest place on earth” a little less “the most exhausting place on earth.”

And while that brings a smile to many peoples faces, the news is a bit of a scourge to Uber, which had hoped Disney would partner with them, but the theme park has opted to go with competitor Lyft.

For a flat $20, guests can get catch a ride in specially-arted vehicles (they’re supposed to resemble Minnie Mouse with a pink dress and while polka dots). The service is currently being tested at three hotels within Disney World, including Disney’s BoardWalk Resort and Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club Resorts.

Unlike your typical Lyft service, however, these vans are driven by Disney employees, not your average Joe looking for a few extra bucks. Also, they’re only available between 6:30 a.m. and 12:30 a.m..

According to MarketWatch, Disney chose to work with Lyft because of its “popularity and well-established user base.” But it’s hard to ignore Uber’s embattled CEO, who recently resigned on the heels of some serious PR disasters, including being caught on camera being a douche to one of his own drivers.

“As we know, Uber is having some internal problems,” Dennis Speigel, president of International Theme Park Services, told MarketWatch. “And when you think of a wholesome, family-oriented company, you think of Disney.” However, guests can still use Uber at Disney World — it’s just not part of the Minnie van service.

Lyft is having a great summer so far: In July, the ride share company launched a test program with Taco Bell providing passengers with a drive-through option. And more recently, they teamed up with Amtrak “to help close the gap between public transit and your doorstep.”

Did This Insurance Company Say Kanye’s Weed Use Led To Breakdown?

TFT Editors
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Did This Insurance Company Say Kanye’s Weed Use Led To Breakdown?

Kanye West’s Saint Pablo tour ended in troubling fashion. The tour, which was divided into two parts, had its final show in Sacramento, where Kanye ended the performance short after confounding comments regarding Jay-Z, Beyoncé, and Hillary Clinton. Following the incident, the tour was canceled while Kanye underwent hospitalization, reportedly due to exhaustion and other mental illness.

Fortunately his Very Good Touring company had insured the tour through Lloyd’s of London, which specializes in insuring unusual risks. As tours are costly enterprises, many high-profile artists will insure their performances through Lloyd’s should they be canceled.

But now Kanye and his company have filed a $10 million lawsuit against Lloyd’s, stating that the insurers have stalled in paying out claims. Two days following Kanye’s hospitalization his company filed a claim, yet they have not been paid eight months later.

“Nor have they provided anything approaching a coherent explanation about why they have not paid, or any indication if they will ever pay or even make a coverage decision, implying that Kanye’s use of marijuana may provide them with a basis to deny the claim and retain the hundreds of thousands of dollars in insurance premiums paid by Very Good,” the complaint states.

According to reports, Kanye’s mental illness causing the tour’s cancellation should be covered under their agreement with Lloyd’s. His breakdown was predicated by the wake from his wife Kim Kardashian’s Paris robbery. Following the incident, Kanye had altered his prescriptions in some way. It is unclear whether he went off his prescriptions or began taking more.

But Lloyd’s, as the lawsuit alleges, is blaming cannabis usage as the culprit in Kanye’s mental breakdown. The insurance company is suggesting “that they may deny coverage of the claim on the unsupportable contention that use of marijuana by Kanye caused the medical condition” which eventually led to tour’s cancellation.

The lawsuit also alleges that the company planted stories in the media that involved Kanye’s “personal and private information” to deter Very Good from filing its rightful claims.

Only 1 in 20,000 marijuana users are at risk of experiencing psychosis from consuming cannabis, as a recent UK report revealed. That figure is substantially lower than once presumed to be.

According to the lawsuit, Kanye submitted to medical examination and multiple investigative demands from Lloyd’s.

Gossip: Usher Accuser Quantasia Sharpton Might Just Be a Scammer; These ‘Game Of Thrones’ Costumes Are Actually Made From IKEA Rugs

Naughty Gossip
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Gossip: Usher Accuser Quantasia Sharpton Might Just Be a Scammer; These ‘Game Of Thrones’ Costumes Are Actually Made From IKEA Rugs

One of Usher’s accusers, Quantasia Sharpton, shared on Facebook that she needed money just a week before filing her STD lawsuit.

She also goes by the name Angel Valentino on social media.

Could she be a scammer? The internet has done some digging and the evidence points to ‘yes.’

Shortly after her press conference, Quantasia joined friends for a video chat and among the topics discussed was how she has a history of finessing celebrities. Her friends brought up August Alsina, Kirko Bangz, fake children, and even a fake cancer diagnosis.

There are rumors that she also goes by the name Quantaise Owens and that she publicly accused August Alsina of fathering her child.

These ‘Game Of Thrones’ Costumes Are Actually Made From IKEA Rugs

BuzzFeed reports that in a talk given by “Game of Thrones” costumer Michele Clapton last year at The Getty Museum in Los Angeles, she completely told everyone how the sausage gets made.

It took a whole year for anyone to notice, because it’s buried in about an hour and a half of Middle Ages costume-wear chat, but at about minute 27, Clapton explains that the men of the night’s watch are all wearing Ikea rugs.

Love the fresh dirt we bring over daily from Naughty Gossip? Let us know in the comments!

Jeff Sessions Likely To Ignore His Own Task Force Regarding Marijuana

Mary Schumacher
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Jeff Sessions Likely To Ignore His Own Task Force Regarding Marijuana

Back in February, when Jeff Sessions first assembled his hand-picked Task Force on Crime Reduction and Public Safety, it seemed definite that he was readying himself for a state level crackdown of epic proportions.

Then the results came in.

Sessions’ own team of experts recommended staying the course (for now) with states’ rights and pot laws. Sadly, Sessions just doesn’t want to hear that message. Admittedly, it was a surprising message, for Sessions and thrilled marijuana lobbyists. However, that thrill may be gone before long. Though Sessions’ initial idea for a launch party may have gone awry, the rockets still fueled up and ready to go.

The task force gave Sessions results as they came in, so he’s known about their tame nature for weeks or longer. Yet still he’s been devising plans to crack down on states that have voted in full legalization.

In 2013, under the Obama administration, the “Cole memo” was released. Author Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole at that time directed federal agencies not to crack down on cannabis growers, purveyors or edibles makers if they were in full compliance with the law. The DOJ mostly kept to said memo and more states legalized, most people stayed within regulations to stay in business and cannabis flourished.

Now, in a Q&A with reporters on Wednesday, though he admitted not sentences before that much of the Cole memo is valid, Sessions said regarding his belief about cannabis, “I realize this may be an unfashionable belief in a time of growing tolerance of drug use.  But too many lives are at stake to worry about being fashionable. I reject the idea that America will be a better place if marijuana is sold in every corner store. And I am astonished to hear people suggest that we can solve our heroin crisis by legalizing marijuana – so people can trade one life-wrecking dependency for another that’s only slightly less awful. Our nation needs to say clearly once again that using drugs will destroy your life.”

All in all, it sounds like “compliance” is about to be the hot word in every legal state. Though during the same Q&A Sessions stated that he would only make slight modifications to the Cole memo, he did say he would modify it according to his own ideas, and his ideas belong in the early to mid-twentieth century. Unfortunately, his beliefs are steadfast. If his own task force couldn’t convince him to leave cannabis alone, his ears and heart are likely closed to the idea and legal states might have more to worry about than previously hoped.

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