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University of Denver Offers The First ‘Business of Marijuana’ Course In The Country

Taylor Berman
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University of Denver Offers The First ‘Business of Marijuana’ Course In The Country

As marijuana becomes legal in more and more places, it’s becoming bigger and bigger business. As something that generates tens of millions in tax revenue, it makes sense that a university would eventually offer a course on the weed business, and that’s just what Professor Paul Seaborn at the University of Denver has done: Last week, he launched what KGUN is reporting is the first ever college course on the economics of marijuana.

Related Story: Medical Marijuana Is Almost Legal In West Virginia

Appropriately called “The Business of Marijuana,” the class makes the University of Denver the first AACB accredited business school in the country to offer an marijuana course. Seaborn first pitched the idea to the university last year.

“There were some doubts,” he told KDUN. “I think you know there are some skeptics within the school, skeptics in the community, people wondering what’s going on why are we having a course on marijuana.”

Students feel like it’s an important addition, especially in a state like Colorado where recreational marijuana is legal. “For me taking this class, it’s kind of like finally,” Matthew Comfort said. “I want to be the CEO of the Marlboro of marijuana, and so that’s my goal. I want equity.”

Seaborn believes more and more courses about marijuana will soon be offered at the school. “I’m sure at some point there will be a Biology course, and there will be a Public Policy course over at Korbel, our Public Policy School, and perhaps our school of Education and other places too,” he said.

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TFT How To: Taste Wine Like A Professional In 10 Easy Steps

Erin James
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TFT How To: Taste Wine Like A Professional In 10 Easy Steps

News flash: A younger generation has moved into and transformed the oft-priggish world of wine. Goodbye Boomers, you have been officially (and statistically) replaced on the financial radar of wine, with vibrant, adventurous and eager Millennials doing the majority of the wine buying in this country.

But not every new wine lover knows how to take that affinity next level and on the road wine tasting (with a designated driver, of course). Interested in day drinking at one of your new favorite winery tasting rooms? Here are 10 steps on how to taste wine like a pro:

1. Map Out Your Trip

Where ya going, bud? Hit up the interwebs prior to hitting those backcountry wine roads and decide on a general region you want to taste in. Most wine regions (known as American Viticulture Areas or AVAs) have maps and listings available online, use these free resources to narrow down the wineries that are the most interesting to you. You can usually find out addresses, tasting fees and other details here. Warning: Not all wine regions are the same size. You might be able to visit four wineries in four hours if you’re in an urban setting, but deep agricultural wine country could have you traveling 15 minutes between stops, so plan accordingly. If tasting with a group larger than six, call ahead of time to let them know you’re about to blow their mind with your wine presence.

2. Coordinate A Designated Driver

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This sounds like a no-brainer, but it never hurts to say it again. Many major wine regions are trolled by cops and for good reason, avoid being a statistic by booking a chauffeuring tour guide, a limo driver or Lyfting to each location if they are not within walking distance.

3. Lose The Perfume And Cologne

Did you know that 90 percent of taste is smell? Don’t ruin this tasting experience for the person standing next to you by wearing that audacious bro cologne your girlfriend just got you, it will be all they can taste and they will hate you for it.

4. What Is Terroir? Why Do Oak Barrels Change Flavor? Ask Questions

Don’t pretend to know something you don’t — no one is expecting you to be an expert so feel free to probe your tasting room attendee with questions about the wine, the winery or the color of the sky when the grapes were harvested. It is literally their job to answer these questions and they truly appreciate getting to do that.

5. Remember To Pace Yourself

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Sometimes tasting room countertops have a number of jug-like containers resting on them. Be sure to ID which is a water pitcher and which is a spittoon, also known as the dump bucket. If you are really digging something, don’t be ashamed to take it down the hatch. If you are pacing yourself or don’t like a wine you’re tasting, spitting it into this bucket is completely acceptable, as is dumping the rest of the glass. And don’t forget the golden rule for day drinking: guzzle down any and all water when you can.

6. Be Spatially Aware

Do not Beauregard the spittoon or hover around the counter. Get your wine, ask your questions and get out of the way so others can do the same thing. Respect the order of the room and appreciate that there might only be one person behind the counter and a dozen behind you awaiting their pour.

7. Think While You Drink

Once the wine is in your glass, what smells and tastes stand out? If you need help identifying what exactly is happening to your olfactory senses (smell, flavor, etc.), try consulting a flavor wheel. What the eff is that, you ask? A quick online search will show you a variety of flavor wheel options for wine that visualizes the different flavors and aromas found in most red and white wines, regardless of grape variety. It guides you from the outside in on what might be up in your nose right now. Check out trusted source Wine Folly’s version.

8. If You Like It, Buy It

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Most tasting rooms offer a refundable tasting fee with the purchase of wine, so don’t be afraid to pull the trigger on a bottle or two, especially if it’s a winery exclusive, limited release or something you want to sip on your deathbed. On the flip, do not feel pressured to buy as you paid your dues with a tasting fee.

9. Be Open And Listen To Your Heart-Palate

Keep an open mind. Even though you are absolutely positive you do not like Chardonnay, get over yourself and realize you haven’t tried every Chardonnay ever made and your one true love could be out there waiting for you. That said, remember taste is subjective and if you liked what you liked while tasting – be proud of that! If your fave from the tasting flight was the cheapest option, own it and listen to your heart-palate.

10. Don’t Linger: This Is A Tasting Room, Not A Bar

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Once you’ve finished your tasting, pay up if you haven’t already and head out. Thank the tasting room staff for their time and get on your merry way to your next location to do it all over again. Or head to the bar, where lingering and obviously intoxication is more welcome.

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Beyond Banana Bread: 7 Healthy Ways To Utilize Bananas Before They Rot

Amy Hansen
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Beyond Banana Bread: 7 Healthy Ways To Utilize Bananas Before They Rot

Regardless of season, there always seems to be an abundance of bananas. And often times, those same bananas end up turning an off-putting shade of brown in our kitchens, while we sit there and try to figure out how we keep getting ourselves in this position. We buy bananas to be healthy, yet, once they turn, we use them to make a fatty banana bread we can subsequently slather with butter. Where did our lives take a hard left? Here are 7 healthier options that require little more than mixing old bananas with fresh ingredients.

1. Make Banana “Nice cream”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BR9iA2QhddA

Did you know you can make soft-serve vegan ice cream just by blending frozen bananas? The key is using spotty bananas, the ones usually designated for a banana bread grave. The spottier the banana, the sweeter it is, making it ideal for this anytime dessert. You can even throw in some peanut butter and/or cocoa powder, fresh fruit, dried fruit, nuts…just about anything…and top with whipped coconut cream for the healthiest sundae in all the land.

2. Put Them On The Griddle

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSd7jq0jJ9G

They’ll cook right into the pancake. Or just stir them into the batter.

3. Make A “Smoothie” Bowl

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

Take some frozen bananas, add some fresh/frozen fruit, and nut/soy milk . Pour into a bowl and top with fresh fruit, chia seeds, coconut flakes…whatever you’d like! Nobody notices brown, mushy bananas when they’re combined with vibrant colored fruit, like acai, blueberries or raspberries. Even spinach.

4. Use Them Instead Of Eggs When Baking

A post shared by Justyna Niko (@_justynaniko_) on

Make your baked goods healthier by replacing eggs with ripe bananas. To replace whole eggs in baked goods like cakes, muffins and brownies, use one ripe mashed banana for every egg the recipe calls for.

5. Make A Banana And Honey Sandwich

https://www.instagram.com/p/BF4BzZ0u3-z/

Nothing goes together like banana and peanut butter, which also happens to hide the color of an overripe piece of fruit. Spread some mushy bananas onto some good, crusty bread and top with peanut butter and honey. For some extra crunch, grill the sandwich in a skillet or toast the bread before assembling the sammy.

6. Make Banana Chips

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSdkQw0lkPa

All you need is an oven (and some bananas, of course). Your oatmeal (and smoothie bowls!) will thank you.

7. Make Banana S’mores

https://www.instagram.com/p/BJtn4QQBn_m

Spread your already gooey banana on a graham cracker and top with chocolate and melted marshmallow. Better than you imagined.

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Starbucks Japan Just Dropped A Cherry Pie Frappuccino With A Crust Lid

Amy Hansen
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Starbucks Japan Just Dropped A Cherry Pie Frappuccino With A Crust Lid

If you love Frappuccinos, you need to book a plane ticket to Japan, ASAP.

The nation of novelty food items is where Starbucks has wisely decided to launch an American Cherry Pie flavored Frapp, complete with a pie crust dome. PIE CRUST DOME!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSjRWvflkG0

So many follow-up questions here, like: Why is this not standard practice? When do the cake cups debut? Is Willy Wonka replacing the mermaid?

Just like digging into a real piece of pie a la mode, customers will need to pierce the crust with a straw, letting it coast down a highway of fresh whipped cream, vanilla-flavored Frappuccino base, BITE SIZED PIE PIECES and a bottom layer of cherry compote.

According to RocketNews24, Starbucks Japan is also releasing a Classic Tea Cream Frappuccino this summer that contains a blend of Earl Grey, Ceylon and crimson-hued Malawi teas, honey sugar pieces, whipped cream and honey sauce.

The American Cherry Pie is available for a very limited time: April 13 to May 16. Just not in America.

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7 Of The Frenchiest Bulldog Puppies In Existence

TFT Editors
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7 Of The Frenchiest Bulldog Puppies In Existence

What’s cuter than babies? Baby French bulldogs. Here are some of the cutest pup pics from Instagram’s @daily_frenchie.

This Boy Will ‘Leave’ You Speechless. Meet Leavis

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSCV_kGgq_d/?taken-by=daily_frenchie

Luna Moon Shine

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSGy56qAHrr/?taken-by=daily_frenchie

All Hail Queen Bee

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSMUwwcApVn/?taken-by=daily_frenchie

OMG, It’s Walter

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSRNSeXgUgl/?taken-by=daily_frenchie

This Tyson Is Cuter Than Tyson Beckford

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSUE85SAuOP/?taken-by=daily_frenchie

Benji The Mensch-ie

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSYm3LpgC1Q/?taken-by=daily_frenchie

Lovely Little Chloe

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSeEj9yAiAv/?tagged=frenchbulldog

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Gossip: Blac Chyna Has Returned Her Engagement Ring to Rob Kardashian; Israel Reschedules Election For Britney Spears

Naughty Gossip
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Gossip: Blac Chyna Has Returned Her Engagement Ring to Rob Kardashian; Israel Reschedules Election For Britney Spears

A year after Rob Kardashian proposed to Blac Chyna, the two are no longer together and she has returned his engagement ring.

The 28-year-old was spotted Tuesday night leaving TAO Hollywood without the seven-carat rock on her left hand.

It’s not the first time she’s been seen without the ring. According to a source, she gave it back to Rob.

“Chyna and Rob are certainly not together or engaged,” the insider told E! News. “In fact, Chyna gave the engagement ring back to Rob when they broke up last month. Something caused them to have a blowout fight, and Chyna gave the ring back and it was done. They officially are not engaged. There is no wedding.”

Now, though their nuptials are off the table, they remain united in regard to their only daughter, 4-month-old Dream Kardashian.

“They are amicable and get along when it comes to Dream,” the insider shared. “There’s no set day or times that Rob will take [care of] Dream. They haven’t fully figured it out yet, but they are working on it.”

In the meantime, the two keep fans guessing. While they may no longer be engaged, the parents recently reunited and chronicled the moment on social media for all to see—including a kiss on the cheek from Rob.

Israel Reschedules Election To Avoid Conflict With Britney Spears Concert

Israel says it will reschedule one of its upcoming party elections to avoid coinciding with a Britney Spears concert.

The reigning princess of pop is set to perform for the first time at Tel Aviv’s Hayarkon Park on July 3.

To avoid conflicts with the highly anticipated concert, Israel’s Labor Party said it plans to reschedule it’s election for a future date.

Originally, the Labor Party had planned to hold their election on July 3, in a neighboring venue, at Tel Aviv’s Exhibition Grounds conference and concert space.

When the party attempted to make arrangements for election security, they were told that the majority of local security officials had already been booked for the Britney Spears concert.

A party spokesperson told the Times of Israel, that there had been, “a difficulty in recruiting security guards” for the election.

He added that rescheduling the primary election would, “make it easier for people to reach polling stations,” because of the heavy traffic expected in the city.

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

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Watch: You’ll Be Mesmerized By Candy Melting To The Beat Of Classical Music

Amy Hansen
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Watch: You’ll Be Mesmerized By Candy Melting To The Beat Of Classical Music

Few things make you happy about being in the middle of the work week, but this video of candy melting to a score of classical music is satisfying in such a way that it might just jump start your productivity. At the very least it will elevate you from your laptop haze and, well, into another haze. But one that’s sweeter!

Everything from gummies to chocolate…to more gummies and chocolate gets the heat treatment in this video, all set to a buzzing violin that is obviously experiencing a sugar high. Better than coffee? Probably not, but it’s a great way to start the day.

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Marijuana Green Lit On TSA Website, Still Not Allowed On Airplanes

Mike Adams
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Marijuana Green Lit On TSA Website, Still Not Allowed On Airplanes

Despite what you may have heard, President Donald Trump’s Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is not allowing people to bring medical marijuana on airplanes.

There has been a great deal of confusion on this subject coursing through the veins of social media as of late, so we here at The Fresh Toast felt compelled to provide our readers with some clarity.

Because marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, it should be well within the scope of common sense that the government, specifically the Department of Homeland Security, would never intentionally green light the herb for travel across the great American airspace.

However, at some point, TSA officials (or at least one of their interns) did post on the agency’s “What Can I Bring” page that medical marijuana was now permitted for both carry on and checked baggage. This discovery was by none other than pro-pot advocate Tom Angell, who teased on his Twitter account yesterday morning that he had a “really exciting story coming today about how a certain federal agency is becoming more friendly to marijuana.”

However, in Angell’s attempt to be the first to report on this development, it seems he failed to confirm the nature of this quiet, little policy change before informing the cannabis community that “it’s official… the federal government doesn’t care if you bring medical marijuana on airplanes.”

Shortly after the story published, however, TSA realized that its staff had made a huge mistake, wasting no time in updating its website to reflect its anti-medical marijuana stance.

“We’re sorry for any confusion,” TSA replied to a Twitter post made by Canna Advisors. “A mistake was made in the database of our new “What can I bring?” tool.”

What made us super suspicious of this supposed policy change, is that while the TSA website did, in fact, show that medical marijuana was now allowed on flights, a familiar statement following the claim gave us here at The Fresh Toast every indication that the agency was not handling medical marijuana any differently than it has been for the past several years.

“TSA security officers do not search for marijuana or other drugs,” the website reads. “In the event a substance that appears to be marijuana is observed during security screening, TSA will refer the matter to a law enforcement office.”

It stands to reason that if medical marijuana were allowed on airplanes, there would never be any reason for TSA agents to refer those people found in possession of the herb to local law enforcement. The very suggestion that the police will be called as soon as marijuana is discovered during a security screening is all the information a person should need to understand that the United States government has not in any way changed its position on traveling with weed.

Angell’s initial story, which has since been labeled “Fake News” by those who felt mislead by his jack rabbit reporting, seems to have compelled TSA to post additional details to its website in an effort to further illuminate the medical marijuana ban.

“Whether or not marijuana is considered legal under local law is not relevant to TSA screening because TSA is governed by federal law,” the website reads. “Federal law provides no basis to treat medical marijuana any differently than non-medical marijuana.”

Until the federal government changes its overall stance on marijuana, at least with respect to its medicinal function, none of its agencies are ever going to side with a pro-pot policy. And trust us, when that policy change comes, it will not happen quietly, as it was suggested had happened in the latest TSA debacle.

Angell, who serves as the chairman for the national cannabis advocacy group the Marijuana Majority, would have been the last person we would have ever expected to overlook such an important detail.

But then again, we all make mistakes.

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The Internet Is Freaking Out Over A Burger King Froot Loops Milkshake

Amy Hansen
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The Internet Is Freaking Out Over A Burger King Froot Loops Milkshake

Last week, rumors started to swirl that a Burger King Froot Loops milkshake was imminent.

It appears the rumor started March 30 with GrubGrade, which requested a mock-up of what a Froot Loops shake might look like. And then, well, the internet went nuts, wondering WHEN WILL BURGER KING MAKE THIS FOR REALZZZZ?

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

Fast forward to today and Burger King has officially announced it will, in fact, start selling a crack hybrid of ice cream and sugar cereal with a Froot Loops shake starting April 17.

The limited-time (boo!) milkshakes will be a combination of vanilla soft serve, Froot Loops pieces and a special “sweet sauce,” whatever that is. They’ll sell for $2.99.

Last month, Ben & Jerry’s announced they’d be getting into the cereal ice cream with a line of “Cereal Splashbacks” with names like Fruit Loot, Frozen Flakes and Cocoa Loco.

You know how to tell when a trend is about to die? A fast-food company latches onto it. Your days are numbered, cereal ice creams.

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To The Presidential Commission On The Opioid Crisis: Here Are Some Suggestions From An MD

Donna Smith
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To The Presidential Commission On The Opioid Crisis: Here Are Some Suggestions From An MD

President Trump recently established a commission to address the opioid crisis, considered by many people to be the most pressing public health concern in America.

This issue is urgent, complex and emotional for many people. Members of the presidential panel should dedicate themselves to being informed by and grounded in the evidence about pain and about opioids. They must seek insights from clinicians and other experts who are on the front line of this epidemic. Also, they have to listen closely as patients and their family members share their often-devastating experiences with opioids.

Photo credit: Virginia Mason Medical Center

The commission also must evaluate the potential benefits of alternative options to treat pain and support returning to optimal function. A barrier to wider use of alternative therapies is they are not consistently covered by insurance plans. One of the panel’s goals should be to align incentives that will encourage evidence-based best practices for managing pain.

Chronic and acute pain affects at least 100 million American adults and costs society as much as $635 billion annually, according to the Institute of Medicine report, “Relieving Pain in America: A Blueprint for Transforming Prevention, Care, Education and Research.” The report also states that pain management is “a moral imperative” for our nation and health care professionals.

Opioid pain relievers can be safe when taken for a short time and as prescribed by a doctor. Unfortunately, opioids are frequently overused and misused (taken in a different way or in a greater quantity than prescribed, or taken without a doctor’s prescription). For some people opioids can produce euphoria in addition to pain relief, the National Institute on Drug Abuse explains. Regular use, even as prescribed by a doctor, can result in dependence, and when misused or abused, opioid pain relievers can lead to fatal overdose.

Let’s hope the commission is committed to fact-finding and partnering with stakeholders in developing answers to difficult questions. Quality of life for millions of Americans is at stake.

About the writer: Donna Smith, MD, is executive medical director at Virginia Mason in Seattle.

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