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Introducing The 10 Best BBQ Restaurants In Texas

Amy Hansen
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Introducing The 10 Best BBQ Restaurants In Texas

Rounding up the best barbecue restaurants in Texas seems like an overwhelming feat, even for the most insatiable carnivore, but Texas Monthly has done just that. They’ve ranked the expansive state’s best bbq spots. And for a little added drama this year, the magazine knocked beloved Franklin Barbecue down a notch to number two. (Remember that time President Obama cut in line it was so good? Then picked up the tab for everyone behind him?)

In the number one spot is newcomer Snow’s BBQ in the small town of Lexington, where the pit master is an 82-year-old badass named Tootsie Tomanetz.

Fun fact about Snow’s: It’s open only on Saturdays, starting bright and early at 8 a.m. (yes, they serve breakfast).

Here’s the entire Top 10 list:

1. Snow’s BBQ 

Lexington, TX

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

2. Franklin Barbecue 

Austin, TX

https://www.instagram.com/p/BO7rAlig0g4/

3. Cattleack Barbeque 

Dallas, TX

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

4. Bodacious Bar-B-Q 

Longview, TX

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSy6HcoB-HZ

5. Louie Mueller Barbecue 

Taylor, TX

https://www.instagram.com/p/BS314uGBgRK

6. Tejas Chocolate Craftory

Tomball, TX

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUUcKMRg_6e

7. CorkScrew BBQ 

Spring, TX

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUUKGUmgV8W/

8. Micklethwait Craft Meats 

Austin, TX

https://www.instagram.com/p/BREbAjUA2-D

9. Evie Mae’s Pit Barbecue 

Wolfforth, TX

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUSYn2ujaeq

10. Truth Barbeque 

Brenham, TX

https://www.instagram.com/p/BUcC38WgYOq

 

How You Can Legally Grow Marijuana At Home In Washington State

Daniel Shortt
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How You Can Legally Grow Marijuana At Home In Washington State

A new Washington state law will soon expand the state’s home grown cannabis market for medical users.

Starting on June 23, 2017, under a bill (SB 5131) just signed into law by Governor Jay Inslee, medical marijuana patients in Washington will be able to purchase marijuana seeds, clones, and immature plants from licensed marijuana producers.

SB 5131 fixes a flaw with Washington’s home grown medical market. In Washington, you cannot cultivate marijuana for recreational use without a producer’s license. However, state law permits medical marijuana patients to grow a limited amount of marijuana for the patient’s personal use. But until SB 5131 goes into effect, there has been no legal way for medical patients to obtain marijuana plants or seeds.

Washington law permits any adult over the age of 21 to purchase marijuana from a retail store, but these stores only sell useable marijuana and marijuana products, not living plants or seeds. In turn, licensed producers can only sell their products to other producers, licensed processors, and retailers. Until SB 5131 goes into effect, medical patients cannot buy living cannabis plants or seeds from any of these licensed entities.

In Washington, doctors can authorize the use of medical marijuana to patients who suffer from a qualifying condition. These qualified patients may enter an optional authorization database run by the state. This database allows the state to collect information on Washington’s medical marijuana patients and requires patients to disclose personal information. Patients that do enter the database receive a recognition card.

All Washington marijuana patients can grow marijuana for their personal use, unlike recreational users, but cardholders can grow more. Cardholders may cultivate 6 plants at home (up to 15 if their physician recommends it) which can yield a maximum of 8 ounces. Cardholders can also join state-registered medical marijuana cooperatives to cultivate marijuana with four other patients. Patients who are not cardholders may grow up to 4 plants and possess up to 6 ounces of useable marijuana produced from those plants but cannot join a cooperative.

Under SB 5131 cardholders will be able to purchase immature plants, clones, and seeds from licensed marijuana producers. Patients without cards can only purchase seeds from a producer.

Washington is the only state that has legalized the recreational use of marijuana without permitting recreational users to cultivate their own cannabis and SB 5131 does not allow recreational users to grow their own marijuana. However, SB 5131 requires the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) study the viability of allowing marijuana cultivation by recreational users. The study must consider public safety, public health, law enforcement concerns, and compliance with the Cole Memo. The LCB must report its findings to Washington’s legislature by December 1, 2017.

Daniel Shortt is an attorney at Harris Bricken, a law firm with lawyers in Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Barcelona, and Beijing. This story was originally published on the Canna Law Blog.

Medical Marijuana Could Cost Big Pharma $4 Billion A Year

Mike Adams
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Medical Marijuana Could Cost Big Pharma $4 Billion A Year

Once the federal government finally allows medical marijuana to become a legitimate part of the healthcare industry, Big Pharma could suffer the loss of billions of dollars, a new report finds.

It seems the pharmaceutical trade has more than enough reasons to fear the legalization of marijuana, as an analysis conducted by the folks at New Frontier Data predicts the legal use of cannabis products for ailments ranging from chronic pain to seizures could cost marketers of modern medicine somewhere around $4 billion per year.

The report was compiled using a study released last year from the University of Georgia showing a decrease in Medicare prescriptions in states where medical marijuana is legal. The study, which was first outlined by the Washington Post, was largely responsible for stirring up the debate over how a legitimate cannabis market might be able to reduce the national opioid problem. It found that medical marijuana, at least with respect to those drugs for which it is considered an alternative treatment, was already costing pill manufactures nearly $166 million annually.

Researchers at New Frontier identified nine key areas where medical marijuana will do the most damage to the pharmaceutical market – castrating drug sales for medicines designed to treat anxiety, chronic pain, epilepsy, post-traumatic stress disorder, sleep disorders, nerve pain, chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, Tourette syndrome and glaucoma.

By digging deep into each condition, researchers found that if cannabis was used an alternative treatment in only a small percentage of cases, it could strip in upwards of $5 billion from pharmaceutical industry’s $425 billion market.

Although that may not sound like much of a dent, John Kagia, executive vice president of industry analytics for New Frontier, said, “The impact of medical cannabis legalization is not going to be enormously disruptive to the pharmaceutical industry.”

The report specifically calls out drug giant Pfizer Inc, suggesting that medical marijuana could suck a half billion dollars from its $53 billion in annual sales revenue.

It is distinctly possible that the latest report paints an accurate portrait of the impact medical marijuana could have on the pharmaceutical trade – that is, unless the drug manufactures decide to get in on the cannabis business.

GW Pharmaceuticals and Insys Therapeutics are already developing cannabis-based medications that are set to come to market in the near future. Depending how medicinal cannabis regulations eventually shake out with the federal government, it is conceivable that the medical marijuana programs that we have come to know would disappear, with the pharmaceutical companies being the only ones profiting from this alternative medicine.

Some experts say federal legalization would change the cannabis industry in ways that would be unsatisfactory to most in the business.

Be careful what you ask for.

Gossip: ‘GoT’ Creators Gave Jon Snow A Small Penis; BuzzFeed Facing Lawsuit Over Report On Trump’s Alleged Golden Shower Party

Naughty Gossip
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Gossip: ‘GoT’ Creators Gave Jon Snow A Small Penis; BuzzFeed Facing Lawsuit Over Report On Trump’s Alleged Golden Shower Party

“There has to be some downside to being Kit,” David Benioff and D.B. Weiss told Esquire. “It seems only fair. He’s handsome, talented, smart and so decent to the core that it’s impossible not to like him. Maddening. The one thing we can do is saddle his character with a tiny pecker.”

They wrote him the line: “I’m no God,” to which he gets the reply, “I’ve seen your pecker. What God would have a pecker that small?”

BuzzFeed Facing Lawsuit Over Report On Trump’s Alleged Golden Shower Party

Lawyers for a Russian tech mogul suing online news site BuzzFeed for defamation will seek within the next two weeks to take sworn testimony from its editor and several reporters.

The suit stems from BuzzFeed’s decision to become the first news operation to post online a former British spy’s dossier about Russia’s alleged scheme to help Donald Trump win the presidency last fall.

A federal judge in Miami on Monday rejected BuzzFeed’s bid to move the case to New York. In a phone interview Tuesday, attorney Val Gurvits, representing a Russian web hosting company and its owner who were named in the dossier, said he would take steps to obtain depositions from BuzzFeed employees.

The 35-page compilation of reports from ex-British spy Christopher Steele contained some explosive allegations. It began as political opposition research against Trump by a Washington-based consulting firm working on behalf of an unnamed Republican client. McClatchy and several other news organizations obtained copies and were attempting to corroborate the allegations when BuzzFeed posted the document on Jan. 10.

BuzzFeed redacted only one name from the dossier that night, on page 34. By doing so it effectively edited the document, suggested Gurvits, raising the question of why “others don’t deserve that same protection.”

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Willie Nelson’s Advice To Jeff Sessions: Enjoy Some Weed

Brendan Bures
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Willie Nelson’s Advice To Jeff Sessions: Enjoy Some Weed

Willie Nelson is a name ubiquitous with cannabis. Think of him as America’s marijuana-smoking uncle, if you don’t already. He has his own cannabis line Willie’s Reserve and his wife Annie recently started her own edible line. Now let’s talk about his thoughts on Jeff Sessions.

So you wouldn’t be surprised to learn Nelson has some thoughts regarding cannabis and our culture’s current relationship, including the man who serves as Attorney General. An important reminder: Sessions has previously said marijuana is only “slightly less awful than heroin” and could be escalating a new war on drugs in Washington.

Nelson had some ideas regarding Sessions’ notorious anti-cannabis stance, especially that part about heroin. As he told the Rolling Stone, maybe Sessions just needs to try it.

Nelson’s comments via Rolling Stone:

I wonder if he’s tried both of them [marijuana and heroin]. I don’t think you can really make a statement like that unless you tried it all. So I’d like to suggest to Jeff to try it and then let me know later if he thinks he’s still telling the truth!

Of course, as media publications ask all public celebrities these days, the conversation veered into Trump’s presidency and whether Nelson would consider running for President himself (remember: Nelson is 84 years old). Though he flirted with the idea of a Nelson Presidency, he said eventually he “sobered up.”

“I think you can do more with music than you can with arguments and politics. I think a song will reach more people than any other thing,” Nelson also told Rolling Stone. “There’s a reason that it’s called “harmony”: When you play a show, there’s an energy exchange with the people that is unimaginable. It’s the reason I go out there. I get something out of it too.”

Read the rest of Nelson’s Rolling Stone interview here.

Study: Tourette’s Patients Can See Miracles With Marijuana

Al Olson
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Study: Tourette’s Patients Can See Miracles With Marijuana

Patients suffering from Tourette’s Syndrome receive relief from inhaling marijuana, according to a team of researchers at the University of Toronto.

The study, published online ahead of print in the Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience, showed that cannabis was specifically effective in minimizing the frequency of tics in Tourette’s patients.

The study concluded that:

The authors retrospectively evaluated effectiveness and tolerability of cannabis in 19 adults with Tourette syndrome. Tics scores decreased by 60 percent, and 18 of the 19 participants were at least “much improved.” Cannabis was generally well tolerated, although most participants reported side effects.

 According to National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, “Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neurological disorder characterized by repetitive, stereotyped, involuntary movements and vocalizations called tics.”

About 200,000 Americans suffer from the most severe form of TS, and as many as one in 100 exhibit milder and less complex symptoms such as chronic motor or vocal tics.

The University of Toronto researchers retrospectively assessed the safety and efficacy of inhaled cannabis in 19 TS patients.

According to the study, “all study participants experienced clinically significant symptom relief,” including including reductions in obsessive-compulsive symptoms, impulsivity, anxiety, irritability, and rage outbursts.

The results surprised the researchers. “Overall, these study participants experienced substantial improvements in their symptoms. This is particularly striking given that almost all participants had failed at least one anti-tic medication trial. … In conclusion, cannabis seems to be a promising treatment option for tics and associated symptoms.”

This is not the first study to suggest that cannabis might be an effective remedy for eliminating tics. In 1988, researchers studied three patients whose tics would subside after a smoking marijuana.

And a 2015 review of data concluded:

As in any condition influenced by anxiety, a nonspecific beneficial effect of cannabis might be expected, but given the presence of endocannibinoid receptors in the striatum, it is possible that a direct effect of cannabis is reducing the number of tics.

Trouble: Trump Spares Drug Czar From Massive Budget Cuts

Al Olson
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Trouble: Trump Spares Drug Czar From Massive Budget Cuts

Less than three weeks after proposing a controversial gutting of the drug czar’s office, the White House reversed course on Tuesday and released budget that essentially protects the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

On May 5, the Donald Trump administration revealed a budget plan eviscerating the drug czar’s office — slashing it nearly 95 percent, from the current $388 million to $24 million. According to a memo from the White House Office of Management and Budget, up to 33 employees would have been axed — nearly half the staff.

But after a national outcry from all sides of the drug issue, the administration backed down from the original plan and released a proposal restoring nearly all of the funding. Tuesday’s plan includes $369 million for the ONDCP in 2018, which amounts to a 5 percent cut — a far cry from the 95 percent proposal.

Both Democrats and Republicans fought hard against the original budget cuts, especially lawmakers in areas where the opioid epidemic is particularly problematic.

Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, one of the loudest critics of the first budget plan, applauded the new proposal. “We must continue to support these and other programs … which are aimed at prevention, treatment and recovery services that so many Americans desperately need,” he said in a statement.

Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) also battled to keep the office intact. In a letter, the two senators urged Trump “to protect ONDCP and maintain the long-standing and effective programs that prevent and fight against the scourge of drug abuse.”

Since 1999, the rate of overdoses from opiates has quadrupled, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Even Rich Baum, Trump’s acting drug czar, was fought his boss’ massive cuts. In an email to his staff earlier this month, Baum wrote:

“These drastic proposed cuts are frankly heartbreaking and, if carried out, would cause us to lose many good people who contribute greatly to O.N.D.C.P.’s mission and core activities. I don’t want to see this happen.”

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) expressed relief following Tuesday’s reversal. West Virginia has been one of the states ravaged by the opioid crisis.

“I’m happy to see [the Office of Management and Budget] reversed course and included funding for the office in its budget,” she said said in a statement. “We still have a long way to go when it comes to the drug epidemic, and it is essential that we remain fully committed to fighting it. We need to be doing more — not less,” she added.

 

An 11-Foot Alligator Was Just Waiting For This Guy To Show Up To Work

Sam Jones
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An 11-Foot Alligator Was Just Waiting For This Guy To Show Up To Work

Alligators. They’re hanging out on golf courses, chillin’ in your homes, and now they’re waiting for you to get your ass to work on time.

That’s what happened in Leland, North Carolina, when the owner of a sign and graphics business showed up on a Friday. A rustling in the bushes turned out to be an 11-foot alligator. Hmm, that’s a problem.

Local news outlet WECT reports:

George Murray, owner of Murray Signs and Graphics in the Brunswick Forest shopping center, and colleagues Edward Jones and Brent Bunn heard rustling in some shrubs behind the store upon getting to the store Friday morning.

Murray called 911 and Brunswick County Animal Control who came out to the business and tried to round up the gator. Murray said animal control had to call for additional help due to the size of the animal and after a bit of a struggle, they got the alligator out.

No one was hurt, including the beastie, which was relocated to a nearby river.

Calling 911 for an alligator spotting seems like a bit of an overreaction, but who wouldn’t do the same? Seeing those two eyeballs peering out from within 11 feet of lizard that’s remained untouched by evolution for the last eight million years would make you reach for the nearest line to emergency services, too. Death by gator is surprisingly rare, but that doesn’t mean you want one waiting for you to punch the clock on a Friday morning.

Gossip: Tom Cruise Confirms ‘Top Gun’ Sequel Is Happening; Justin Bieber Fans Urge Manager To Cancel UK Shows

Naughty Gossip
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Gossip: Tom Cruise Confirms ‘Top Gun’ Sequel Is Happening; Justin Bieber Fans Urge Manager To Cancel UK Shows

Dust off your aviators because Tom Cruise just went public with the news that a Top Gun sequel is definitely in the works.

Cruise’s segment on Sunrise, Australia’s “most popular brekky show,” was just about to end when the hosts asked him if it’s true that a Top Gun sequel is currently being produced.

“It’s true,” Cruise confirmed. “I’m going to start probably in the next year. I know, it’s happening. It’s definitely happening. You’re the first people I’ve said it to, you asked me and so I’m telling you.”

Justin Bieber Fans Urge Manager To Cancel UK Shows

Justin Bieber fans are urging the singer’s manager to scrap his upcoming British tour dates out of fear of being targeted in another terrorist attack, similar to the one at the Ariana Grande concert on Monday night.

“For security reasons, cancel Justin’s show in the UK, I beg you, with all my heart, please,” tweeted one worried Belieber.

“We know Justin wants to give his best to fans, but now the best is he stay safe,” another said.

Bieber, 23, is scheduled to play an open air concert at London’s Hyde Park on July 2 and at Principality Stadium in Cardiff on June 30. He’s also supposed to perform in Dublin, Ireland, next month.

“Cancel Justin’s concert in the UK, please! We want him to be safe, please,” wrote one fan on Braun’s Instagram page.

“Please cancel the Justin Bieber show in Dublin,” tweeted one person. “We are all scared.”

“I just don’t want what I would hope to be a great night to end in something like last night,” she said. “It’s frightening to think that it could have been any of us and it really shows that you never know what’s around the corner.”

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Shocker: Vermont Governor Rejects Bill To Legalize Marijuana

Al Olson
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Shocker: Vermont Governor Rejects Bill To Legalize Marijuana

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott rejected legislation that would have legalized the adult recreational use of cannabis. The Republican governor, who has long opposed to cannabis regulation, said he is open to working with lawmakers over the summer on a compromise bill. But for now, legalization in the state is dead.

Senate Bill 22 would have amended state law so that the possession of up to one ounce of cannabis would have no longer been subject to penalty. It also would have established a state commission to make recommendations to the legislature regarding how best to regulate the adult use marijuana market.

If Scott signed the bill, Vermont would have become the eighth state (plus the District of Columbia) to legalize recreational marijuana. It would have been the first state to legalize cannabis by vote of a state legislative body, instead of by voter referendum.

“We must get this right,” Scott said. “I think we need to move a little bit slower.”

Vermont’s legislature passed the measure after residents in nearby Massachusetts and Maine voted to legalize last November.

“It is disappointing that Gov. Scott would not only defy the will of of state legislators, but also the will of the majority of Vermont voters who support ending criminal penalties for those adults who consume cannabis responsibly,” said NORML Political Director Justin Strekal. “Minor marijuana possession offenders should not be saddled with a criminal record and the lifelong penalties and stigma associated with it. Rather than looking to the future, Gov. Scott seems intent on repeating the failures of the past.”

This is the second year in a row an attempt to legalize recreational marijuana in Vermont has failed. In 2016, the Senate and House of Representatives offered separate bills, but were unsuccessful in reaching compromise legislation.

 
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