Summer solstice is the official start of summer: June 21 marks the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, with the sun shining the longest and highest than it will again until Earth rolls back around in 364 days.
Historically, ancient cultures celebrated the solstice as a hard-partying day, with fertility ceremonies, parades, feasts and merriment. These days, the marking of the first day of summer is more of a watercolor factoid than a cause for wild debauchery. But that doesn’t mean we can’t take advantage of the extra sunlight with a few merry-making marijuana strains.
A citrusy sativa that’s perfect for getting active and making the most of all this glorious sun. Some compare it to a green tea vibe, in both flavor and subtly: Take it slow and you’re good to socialize, but too big of a hit and you’re chilling on a lounge chair for the rest of the afternoon.
Sunshine Daydream
An indica that’s used for pain and inflammation, it boasts a blueberry muffin taste and relaxation that won’t make you crash.
Like getting a little too sun-kissed, this sativa-dominant bud sounds unpleasant, but settles into a nice warm glow. It’s a cross between Island Sweet Skunk and Rug Burn OG, and is said to help with depression and anxiety.
Sunset Sherbet
This hybrid is in the family of Girl Scout Cookies, crossed with the Pink Panties indica. You’ll get a flirtatious yet relaxing full-body high from this one, just in time to watch the sun sink into night. It’s a strong high without making you too lazy.
Sunshine
Another sativa with uplifting, blissful effects. It’s said to increase appetite, so position yourself as near the barbecue grills as possible. Some report that it shines a mood-enhancing light onto depression.
In the New York Times, Kim Kardashian explained her rationale for the image and her plan going forward:
I used an amazing photographer and a team of people. I was really tan when we shot the images, and it might be that the contrast was off. But I showed the image to many people, to many in the business. No one brought that to our attention. No one mentioned it.
Of course, I have the utmost respect for why people might feel the way they did. But we made the necessary changes to that photo and the rest of the photos. We saw the problem, and we adapted and changed right away.
Just days after welcoming newborn twins with Beyoncé, the rapper announced he will be dropping a new album under the name JAY-Z. (Please note the hyphen and caps.) Titled 4:44, Hova’s new record will be released June 30 as a Tidal exclusive.
Though his name was formatted as “JAY:Z” in a teaser for the album, a rep for Roc Nation since confirmed the return of the hyphen as well as the new capitalization of Jay Z JAY-Z’s name.
Love the fresh dirt we bring over daily from Naughty Gossip? Let us know in the comments!
His greatest rival yet! The most decorated Olympian of all time, Michael Phelps, will be racing a great white shark for Discovery Channel’s Shark Week.
The Discovery Channel announced in a press release on Thursday, June 15, that the 31-year-old swimmer, who holds 39 world records, will race the predator in a race titled “Phelps vs. Shark: Great Gold vs Great White.” According to Discovery, the event “is so monumental that no one has attempted it before.”
Last week sexual misconduct allegations surfaced regarding the ABC spinoff franchise “Bachelor in Paradise.” The show was filming its fourth season in Mexico this month, but has since suspended production indefinitely. Later, reports surfaced that Warner Bros. had launched an internal investigation into “allegations of misconduct” on set.
A producer witnessed cast members Corinne Olympios and DeMario Jackson getting “extremely sexual in a swimming pool.” Questions arose whether Olympios was too drunk to give consent to the sexual encounter. The producer who reported the incident wasn’t present during filming and had seen everything only secondhand. Both parties have released strongly-worded statements regarding the incident. Jackson asserted these were “false claims” and character assassination while Olympios told People: “I am a victim.”
The story is ongoing and both Rolling Stone and Vulture have informative timelines about the events.
However, the incident does allow for an opportunity to learn of how sexual encounters are constructed on reality TV. James Callenberger is a producer who has worked on shows for MTV, VH1, National Geographic, and Fox. Callenberger, though, is a pseudonym who recently shared on Vulture how sex can be orchestrated on shows like Bachelor in Paradise. It all is eerily familiar to the manipulations depicted on Lifetime’s unREAL, a behind-the-scene fictional drama at a Bachelor-like show.
As Callenberger wrote, “Producing reality TV isn’t for the faint of heart.” Here’s what else he had to say.
On establishing boundaries and following those rules:
Television executives are overwhelmingly risk-averse, and the whiff of litigation can ruin a career, so we make sure that when we go into the field, we know the rules: no drunk driving, no drugs in front of kids, no nonconsensual sex. If we see that someone is moving toward nonconsensual sex, we step in, or better yet, encourage another cast member to step in, and capture the fallout on camera.
On producers “setting up” romances before the show:
[O]n a show like Bachelor in Paradise, the drunken hook-up is the coin of the realm. Even on shows less romantic than the Bachelor franchise, producers plan dalliances in preproduction. For example, years ago I was producing a show whose lead was a young man new to the entertainment business, and one of our season-long arcs involved a romantic relationship with a pseudo-celebrity. Producers reached out to a handful of potential cast members and asked if they would be interested in hooking up with our guy on the show. The one who was up for it got the part—she knew what she was getting into and used it to extend her fame into a 16th minute.
In order to deliver the most interesting romantic relationships, story producers in preproduction play matchmaker. In initial interviews, producers ask cast members whom they’re attracted to, then base their soft-scripted story lines on mutual attractions. Once on set, they gently encourage paired cast members to drop their inhibitions and follow their instincts.
On why producers didn’t stop the alleged assault:
You’re much more likely to be dragged across the coals by an executive asking why you called cut than by one asking why you didn’t step in. Mistakes can be edited out, but drama can’t be recreated. That’s likely why, per reports, the producer who complained about Olympios and Jackson’s encounter didn’t step in and stop it while it was happening. During filming, producers are hyperfocused on two questions: Is this good TV, and how can I make it better? Only after the fact do they consider what happened from a moral and legal perspective.
On Bachelor in Paradise’s other mistake:
In my opinion, the Bachelor in Paradise producers didn’t just screw up when they allowed the alleged nonconsensual hook up to happen, they also broke the cardinal rule of reality-TV production afterward: When disaster strikes, you shoot the disaster. If Olympios has a sexual-assault claim against Jackson, or even the producers, it would be much more edifying and entertaining to see that legal case play out live, both in and out of Paradise, than to read about it online. Reality television, whatever its flaws, is capable of contributing to the national debate about consent and sexual assault, and Bachelor in Paradise, by suspending production, has missed out on an opportunity to participate in that discourse.
Our collective nightmares came true in the life of this woman. When Lekshmi L, a patient in India, told her doctor that she had “a headache and a tingling sensation inside her head,” none of them would have guessed it was a live spider that had burrowed into her ear canal.
Who can blame the little guy for finding a warm, cozy spot to sleep?
They coaxed it out, very slowly. The video is not for the squeamish. If you’re feeling brave, here it is:
“It is common to see emergency room visits due to the presence a foreign object in the ear and it takes a simple procedure to remove the object,” Dr. Santosh Shivaswamy, consultant ENT at Columbia Hospital told the Sun. “However, when a living insect makes its way inside a human ear, the patient’s anxiety makes it difficult to continue the procedure. It was a rare to see a live spider moving inside someone’s ear canal.”
The fact that finding spiders in people’s ears is rare wasn’t a comfort to Lekshmi. “I was terrified as I could feel movement of a creature in my ear. The acute earache followed by sharp pains suffocated me. I couldn’t think of anything and was petrified when the doctor confirmed the presence of a spider in my ear.” Yeah, hell no.
These spider-in-ears videos have a history of being hoxes, but even if this is fake, it’s still horrifying to think about.
Blame it on Amazon. Or blame it on Wal-Mart. You can blame it on trade imbalances. But no matter where you point the finger, it is abundantly clear that the Retail Apocalypse has officially descended on America, as Business Insider so succinctly put it. Brick-and-mortar retailers are struggling to stay in business. Nearly 30 percent of shopping malls in America are in jeopardy of shutting down.
But there is some good news, at least in the state of Washington. Taxable sales from retailers in this state increased 6 percent to $63.2 billion in 2016, according to the state Department of Revenue.
Seattle Times’ business reporter Janet L. Tu wrote earlier this month:
And the type of store that grew sales the most last year? Drug and health stores — due, undoubtedly, to the growth in retail pot shops.
Drug and health stores overall had $2.63 billion in taxable sales last year, up 17 percent from a year ago. Marijuana sales made up about 27 percent of that. At $697 million, that was up 83 percent since 2015, according to the Revenue Department.
Since recreational cannabis was legalized in Washington, the tax revenue on retail sales has seen dramatic increases:
2014: $31 million
2015: $323 million
2016: $697 million
3-year total: 1,050 million
These figures do not include the tax revenue on the producer/grower or processor.
In the state, taxable e-commerce and mail order sales increased 11.9 percent to $2.8 billion.
It is not news Miley Cyrus quit smoking marijuana. It wasn’t news when it actually happened and it’s not news now. Once the enfant terrible of popular culture, she has since receded to playing the mainstream media game: smiling pretty to the camera, supporting culturally conservative values, and acting proper and polite.
I continue seeing headlines about Miley quitting voluntary lifestyles that brought her nothing but fame and success. The first is with regards to marijuana. She told Billboard last month she hasn’t smoked weed “in three weeks.” This is totally fine. No one needs to smoke cannabis or participate in any lifestyle that isn’t for them. Miley could’ve finished her point there.
A few years ago Miley told Rolling Stone marijuana is “the best drug on Earth.” Now she seems to demean anything related to cannabis every chance she can, often without anyone asking her to do so. Here’s what else she told Billboard about why quit smoking weed: “I like to surround myself with people that make me want to get better, more evolved, open. And I was noticing, it’s not the people that are stoned. I want to be super clear and sharp, because I know exactly where I want to be.”
Last week on Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show she veered into hyperbole. “I had this dream that I would die during my monologue on SNL for some reason. That I would just get so stoned that I just died,” she told Fallon. “Which I googled, and that’s never happened.”
When prompted by Fallon, Miley asserted she was smoking “a lot of weed,” she said. “It’s like, No one’s ever died from weed but no one’s ever smoked as much as I did.”
Which…sure. That statement rings of exaggeration, but so does most of Miley’s speech surrounding that claim. The only reason she wore bunny rabbit costumes and nipple pasties, she told Fallon, was because she was “stoned.” Saying people that are stoned aren’t trying to “get better, more evolved, open” is an unfair blanket statement we know not to be true. Plenty of examples throughout cannabis culture tell the exact opposite. Cannabis users “make more money, spend more time outdoors, volunteer more, and more happy about life,” according to one study. Weed and fitness is a booming wellness trend in California and across the country. Marijuana can helpaddictsget clean and improve mental health.
The health benefits of marijuana are numerous. New cannabis consumers are trying to evolve and grow as human beings. They aren’t just sitting around stoned on the couch, pounding Doritos and binging Netflix. (Though that’s fine every once in a while, too!) Miley’s statements reek of bullshit. Once a positive symbol supported by the community, cannabis users can’t help feeling used by the pop star. Insinuating you can’t consume various forms of marijuana and still be smart and clear in your reasoning is downright insulting.
It parallels with Miley’s comments regarding hip hop as well. She came out in the same Billboard interview saying similarly disparaging mentions of rap music, labeling it too vulgar and misogynistic for Miley to participate. “It was too much ‘Lamborghini, got my Rolex, got a girl on my cock’—I am so not into that.”
While, yes, let’s move rap away from its roots of misogyny, why must Miley Cyrus belittle an entire lifestyle by repeating negative, derivative blanket statements perpetuated by ignorant outsiders? An expected backlash prompted Miley to post a half-hearted Instagram apology, stating she was “gravitating more towards uplifting, conscious rap.” (Supporting only “conscious rap” is a giant problem itself, but that would require another article. Read this DJBooth feature which captures the frustrating double standard.)
https://www.instagram.com/p/BTvUhAYBU2n/?hl=en
Miley boosted and supported hip hop and cannabis when it benefited her during her outspoken, rebellious youth phase. She twerked on Robin Thicke, rocked gold teeth in the “We Can’t Stop” music video, and wore dreads as host of the 2015 MTV Music Awards. Within that latter show, Nicki Minaj challenged Miley in a since-legendary clapback while accepting her Best Hip-Hop Video VMA.
“Miley, what’s good,” Minaj said. This was fallout dating back to the VMA nominations. Minaj felt snubbed her “Anaconda” video wasn’t nominated for Video of the Year, claiming black female artists like herself were often relegated to “urban” categories. In a New York Times feature, Miley criticized Nicki Minaj, saying, “If you want to make it about race, there’s a way you could do that. But don’t make it just about yourself.”
That criticism, then and now, doesn’t seem to grasp the magnitude of such comments. Nicki Minaj came out strongly against Miley in a 2015 New York Times profile, stating:
Come on, you can’t want the good without the bad. If you want to enjoy our culture and our lifestyle, bond with us, dance with us, have fun with us, twerk with us, rap with us, then you should also want to know what affects us, what is bothering us, what we feel is unfair to us. You shouldn’t not want to know that.
The cycle, sadly, seems to be repeating itself. Miley labeling every cannabis user as a lazy, unintelligent stoner is dangerously misrepresentative. Treating marijuana as something you’re allowed to try in your youth then quit when it’s time to grow up is a treacherous belief too often believed and repeated. It denies all the positive and health impacts cannabis has made in so many lives. Don’t use it as an excuse for why you wanted to twerk and dress in unicorn costumes, Miley.
This demonization of rap and weed come exactly when it’s most beneficial for Miley Cyrus to do so. Then was her rebel phase and now Miley has “cleaned up her act” for the public eye—and her new album. We all go through phases, experimenting with lifestyle, but just because something doesn’t fit you, does not give you the right to cast shame and judgment on everyone else. Sadly, Miley still hasn’t grasped that lesson. Guess she has more growing up to do after all.
According to the Associated Press, the full autopsy report claims traces of morphine, codeine, and oxycodone were also found in the Star Wars legend’s body. A urine analysis indicates Fisher had a little amount of MDMA and heroin in her system, though the dose and time the drugs were taken could not be determined.
Though the actress’ death certificate lists cardiac arrest as the cause of death, the coroner’s new report states the 60-year-old had passed away from sleep apnea and a combination of other factors.
As previously reported, Fisher stopped breathing aboard a transatlantic flight from London to Los Angeles on Dec. 23, 2016. She died four days later and was buried alongside her mother Debbie Reynolds, who passed away the day following Fisher’s death, in a pill-shaped urn at Forest Lawn Memorial Park on Jan. 6, 2017.
George & Amal Clooney Do Have A Night Nurse
They spent three days at the hospital: The family of four spent “a little over three days” at the hospital before heading to their home in England, where they have been joined by their nearest and dearest, such as Amal’s sister Tala Alamuddin. “It was a longer birth than expected but the babies are healthy and beautiful,” the source said. “They were able to keep a low profile at the hospital and even have family and friends visit. They’re elated. I don’t think you’ve ever seen a happier pair. There’s a positive energy in the house and everyone around them, including all staff, who are in great spirits too.”
George and Amal are already naturals: “You’d think that twins would be overwhelming for anyone but they seem to have taken to this like ducks to water, all in their stride,” the source continued. “They’re both attentive, warm, loving parents. You could see that even in the run up to having the kids…even months ago, in the way George would fuss and fret over making sure security at the house was safe and the nursery was perfect.”
The night nurse: The source said the couple has hired for eight weeks a night nurse who is helping to set a sleeping schedule for the twins. George’s dad had said the actor will be hands on when it comes to diaper duty, saying on Good Morning Britain, “And he will do it with humor and with joy.” [From E! News]
Love the fresh dirt we bring over daily from Naughty Gossip? Let us know in the comments!
Every 22 minutes New Jersey police make a marijuana possession arrest. If you lined up every person arrested on marijuana-related charges in New Jersey, they would stretch the entirety of the New Jersey Turnpike and even spill into Maryland.
This information comes courtesy of a recent American Civil Liberties Union report. The advocacy organization determined that New Jersey police agencies spend about $143 million a year to enforce the state’s harsh marijuana policies. Furthermore nine out of 10 arrests targeted users instead of dealers.
The report also details the damage and disruption these policies reap on citizens. As the ACLU wrote:
Lee, a Newarker in his late 40s, was home with his wife one evening and saw officers on their porch, looking for a suspect. He asked if they needed help, and the officers barged in, forcing Lee and his wife on the floor. Lee told officers that they had a small amount of marijuana — less than an ounce. They arrested him for marijuana possession, traumatizing him and his wife in the process.
The report lso found black residents were three times more likely to be arrested on marijuana possession charges than their white counterparts. It’s also important to note there was no difference of usage between the two groups, despite the difference in arrests. That racial disparity is probably even higher as state and federal reporting on crime statistics group white and Hispanic suspects together.
“Well over half of all Americans support legalization, but more people are arrested for marijuana possession in our state than ever before,” Dianna Houenou, the group’s police counsel, told NJ.com. “The racial disparity in these arrests has only grown.”
Houenou called the issue a “civil rights crisis.” New Jersey is arresting more residents for marijuana possession than ever before. Law enforcement made 24,067 marijuana possession arrests in 2013. That’s 26 percent more than in 2000, when police made 19,607 arrests. Overall, New Jersey police made nearly 280,000 total marijuana possession arrests between 2000 and 2013.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie has been a staunch opponent of marijuana legalization. Since he took office in 2009, the ACLU reports shows that marijuana possessions arrest rose sharply in his first term.
As the ACLU report concluded, “Reform of our marijuana laws is a civil rights priority and a key component of reforming our broken criminal justice system.”
A bipartisan group of senators and congressmen renewed the fight for national reform last week, setting up a battle with Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Meanwhile, a Massachusetts tax plan stalled and California passed some new regulations. Find out about that more in our weekly marijuana legislative roundup.
National:
Last Thursday, a bipartisan group of representatives and senators reintroduced legislation to protect state medical marijuana laws and expand veteran access to medical cannabis. The CARERS Act would allow states to set their own regulations on medical marijuana and prohibit the federal government from prosecuting patients in states where medical cannabis is legal. The bill would also permit Veterans’ Affairs doctors to recommend medical marijuana for their patients.
While state-level medical marijuana systems are currently protected under a provision in the stopgap federal spending bill signed into law earlier this year, this provision is set to expire in September.
On Monday, a letter written by Attorney General Jeff Sessions was made public in which he asked lawmakers to repeal this measure, commonly known as the Rohrabacher-Farr Amendment.
Massachusetts:
On Wednesday, lawmakers in the Massachusetts House of Representatives announced that they were postponing a bill to change certain provisions of the recreational marijuana law approved by voters in November. The ballot initiative imposed a 3.75 percent excise tax on cannabis sales on top of the state’s 6.25 percent sales tax. Municipalities are also given the option of imposing up to an additional 2 percent in local sales taxes.
Under the proposed legislation, the state excise tax would be increased to 16.75 percent and the municipal sales tax cap would be raised to 5 percent, in addition to the state’s regular sales tax.
This would effectively increase the maximum tax on recreational marijuana sales from the voter-approved 12 percent to 28 percent. The bill would also give municipal governing bodies the authority to sharply restrict or even ban outright the opening of recreational cannabis businesses.
Currently, that power rests with voters. Lawmakers say they hope to resolve major areas of contention and present a bill to Governor Charlie Baker by July 1 to prevent further delays in the beginning of recreational marijuana sales.
California:
On Thursday, the California Senate passed a set of regulations for the state’s coming recreational marijuana system. The bill directs the state to produce a set of guidelines for growers to be able to call their product “organic” without running afoul of federal law, as well as an official system for categorizing cannabis by strain and growing region.
Growers would also be free to form cooperatives without fear of antitrust actions being taken against them, but testing organizations would have to remain independent of any industry ties. The legislation would permit businesses to sell marijuana products and provide samples at county fairs and festivals. Like alcohol, driving with open containers of marijuana in the vehicle would be illegal.
Meanwhile, cannabis producers without storefront locations could apply for delivery licenses. The goal of the bill is to bring California’s extensive system of medical and illicit cannabis businesses under the authority of state marijuana regulations. $118 million is also included for startup regulatory costs. A complete set of recreational marijuana regulations must be finalized by 2018, with recreational sales to adults set to begin later the same year.
