Friday, April 24, 2026
Home Blog Page 1351

Advocates Use Super Bowl To Push Medical Marijuana For NFL

Mike Adams
-
0
Advocates Use Super Bowl To Push Medical Marijuana For NFL

Medical marijuana advocates are taking full advantage of the upcoming Super Bowl LI in hopes of persuading the National Football League (NFL) to loosen its anti-drug policy as it pertains to cannabis medicine.

Earlier this week, a group of physicians known as “Doctors For Cannabis Regulation” gathered at the Revention Music Center in Houston, Texas to present evidence on how marijuana can be used as an effective pain management tool. The event also featured keynote speeches from NFL stars, including former Chicago Bears quarterback Jim McMahon and former New Orleans Saints offensive tackle Kyle Turley, who credit medical marijuana for helping kick opioid addiction and treat chronic pain.

“Cannabis is not a cure-all for severe pain and all these real bad, horrific injuries, but you can deal with it better and you don’t get addicted, and you can walk away from this, like walking away from drinking coffee or Coke, or even pizza,” Turley explained. “It just takes some willpower. I know what it’s like to come off heavy prescription medication. That was not fun.”

As it stands, any NFL player who tests positive for marijuana is subject to stiff penalties, which can include a fine, multiple game suspensions and even termination from the league.

In 2014, the NFL agreed to a minor change to its marijuana policy. The THC threshold for players was raised from 15 nanograms per milliliter of blood to 35 nanograms.

Last week, the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) announced that it was on the verge of submitting a proposal aimed at taking a “less punitive” approach to dealing with players who use marijuana. Although the details of the proposal have not yet been revealed, the union board’s executive director, DeMaurice Smith, said he is “convinced that we should be looking at it a little bit more of the way that we looked at it in 2014.”

In the past, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has been apprehensive to make significant changes to the league’s anti-marijuana rule, but he recently signaled that additional amendments to the league’s drug policy might be on the horizon.

“We certainly haven’t seen [the NFLPA’s proposal] or read it. I’ve spoken to (Smith) about it,” he said. “But I think what it’s signaling from our standpoint is that the labor agreement we have has worked incredibly well for the players, for our clubs and for I think the game, in general. It’s encouraged investment. We see the salary cap, which may be projected to increase by $15 million a club. In the last four years alone, the salary cap has jumped almost $1.7 billion including benefits. That’s extraordinary and historically has never come close to being achieved before.

“So what we have is a labor agreement that’s working well for all parties, but we sent the union last spring a list of issues that we wanted to address as the league and as ownership. I expect, and we put on that list, the drug policy as one of those issues,” he added.

But while it is possible the NFL could see a reduction in pot penalties and perhaps even another increase in its THC threshold, it is highly doubtful the league will allow players to use medical marijuana anytime soon – at least not until the federal government decides to downgrade the herb’s Schedule I classification or end prohibition altogether.

Incidentally, a recent ESPN poll that 71 percent of the players in the NFL believe marijuana should be made legal all across the nation.

Craft Brewer Hopes Hops and Hemp Will Head To High Sales

Al Olson
-
0
Craft Brewer Hopes Hops and Hemp Will Head To High Sales

Sipp Industries has entered into a distribution agreement with Colorado Craft Distributors for the release of a hemp-infused beer throughout the Denver area.

Major Hemp, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sipps, in partnership with Denver’s Sleeping Giant Brewing, completed production of the initial 50 barrels, which yielded nearly 100 kegs of premium brown ale formulated with quality hemp-seed powder.

The initial strategy is to supply Denver’s more highly populated and affluent establishments with inventory to gauge consumer response before determining a strategy for wider distribution.

“Our approach involves delivery into primarily the local target market, with a focus on thriving areas, where there is a high concentration of bars and pubs that have a relatively progressive crowd, patrons interested in innovative and emerging trends,” stated Ted Jorgensen, President of Major Hemp. “Then, based on the level of success determined, we can move forward with a much larger brew in preparation for expanded distribution and the possibility of bottling and canning.”

“Major Hemp Brown Ale” was skillfully brewed by contracted Sleeping Giant Brewing, a distinguished beerhouse that brews for over 15 companies inside and outside of Colorado. By aligning with Sleeping Giant, Sipp Industries has control and own all legal rights and intellectual property to the hemp beer recipe. Because Sleeping Giant does not brew its own beer, the potential for any conflicts of interest with ownership and intellectual property does not exist.

As the proprietary ale hits the Denver craft brewery scene, management anticipates a highly favorable outcome. In light of its successful unveiling at previous 4/20 event, having already received such favorable reviews for its appealing color and authentic taste, pre-production interest has remained relatively high.

Working with proprietary water-soluble hemp powder, Jorgensen and Osterman determined that the Brown Ale style of craft beer blends best with hemp powder. This infusion provides a smooth refreshing taste while enhancing the beer with the numerous healthy attributes of hemp.

For more cannabis business coverage, visit the MJ News Network.

More stories

[soliloquy id=”24090″]

Man Who Claims To Have 19-Inch Penis: “I Want to Be a Porn Star”

Anthony Washington
-
0
Man Who Claims To Have 19-Inch Penis: “I Want to Be a Porn Star”

While its tremendous size and odd shape prevents him from having sex or doing really any sort of regular physical activity, the man who says he has the largest dick in the world claims he’s happy with it and someday hopes to become a porn star.

“I am happy with my penis, I know nobody has the size I have,” Roberto Esquivel Cabrera told Bancroft Media earlier this year. “I would like to be in the Guinness Book of Records but they don’t recognise this record.”

Doctors have urged him to have penile-reduction surgery so he could have sex and live a more normal life but he’s so far rejected their advice because, as one doctor put it, “he’d rather have a penis bigger than the rest of the people.”

One doctor even suggested that Cabrera has artificially enhanced his dick’s size. “He began with this enlargement since he was a teenager, wrapping some bands around his penis with some weights and trying to stretch it,” Dr. Jesus David Salazar Gonzalez told the Mirror UK.

The giant penis, the Mirror notes, cause all sorts of health problems including frequent urinary tract infections, chafing, and an inability to sleep unless he has a pillow to rest his penis on.

“I cannot wear a uniform like anybody in the companies and also I cannot get on my knees, he added. “I cannot run fast and so the companies think badly of me. They say that they will call me, but they never do.”

He also can’t have sex because of his penis’s girth.

So why would he want to keep it?

“I am happy with my penis and I wish to go back to the USA and spend the rest of my life over there,” he said. “I would like to be a porn star and I think I would make a lot of money over there.”

He added: “I don’t feel sad because I know in the USA there is a lot of women. One of them will be the right size for me.”

Maybe the American dream isn’t dead after all.

MORE RELATED STORIES 

[soliloquy id=”24172″]

First-Of-Its-Kind Marijuana Vaporizer Uses The Power Of The Sun

Sam Jones
-
0
First-Of-Its-Kind Marijuana Vaporizer Uses The Power Of The Sun

Smoking outdoors gets some serious star power with the Sun Token vaporizer, a novel take on the vape that harnesses the power of the sun.

Made from cherry wood with borosilicate glass and a walnut finish, the Sun Token is a beautiful piece that’s suitable for sitting on display as it is taking to the park on a sunny day.

Related: TFT How-To: Cleaning Your Vape Pen Like A Pro In 3 Minutes

They’re calling it the “world’s first solar dome vaporizer,” and as far as we can tell, they’re right. There are solar-panel vapes and solar-charged USBs for vapes but getting lit with a decidedly analog device, no electronics needed, seems to be completely novel.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BPvfLZBBfk4

As we’ve previously noted in our guide, vaping can give a milder, easier-to-control high than smoking. Since you’re activating raw plant matter without combustion and not lighting anything on fire, you’ll get a cleaner-tasting inhale. With the Sun Token, the sunlight that’s beamed from an included magnifying glass moves around the plant, warming it up and creating smoke that you then inhale like you would a normal bowl or bong.

Related: Is Apple Going To Make An iVape?

The makers write on their website:

“Snap on the magnetic dome, and align the sun rays over the bowl using a magnifying lens (included). Smoke will stream upwards and dance around the dome. This method burns 3,000 degrees fahrenheit less than a conventional lighter. It is healthier, better tasting, more efficient, wind proof, fun, ecological, and beautiful to watch. Sunlight travels 150 million kilometers and 500 seconds all to reach your solar dome.”

Hand-crafted in Fredericksburg, Virginia by Hector Campos, the full Sun Token kit is $145. If you have your own bowl already, you can purchase individual pieces or replacement parts.

 

When Does Modern Coffee Stop Being Coffee And Start Being Ridiculous?

Noah Sanders
-
0
When Does Modern Coffee Stop Being Coffee And Start Being Ridiculous?

Progress, innovation, and (re)invention have been the driving factors of the modern coffee boom. Experts and super-fans alike spend countless hours tinkering with coffee to continue to provide the very best product, and we’re lucky for it. We are in a better place in terms of the availability of fantastic coffee, because of it. In these terms, “what’s next for coffee?” is a beneficial way of thinking as it continues to provide better and and better takes on the core product.

Yet, as we reach a point of comfortable saturation for excellent coffee, our modern need for constant innovation has lead us down a path into a murky middle ground between striving for a better cup of coffee and creating coffee-related products to appease a market that’s always seeking something new, something different.

We are in a heyday in terms of coffee. Our storefronts are packed with more and more speciality coffee cafes serving the caffeinated beverage in what many believe to be it’s purest form. The simple coffee bean, and its preparation, has made leaps and bounds from the acrid sting of pre-ground, canned Folgers, and watery “convenience” of instant coffee. The world of coffee is now a diverse and obsessive one, preparation styles rising and falling with new research and quickly changing trends, all aimed at perfecting the way we ingest the simple coffee bean. Coffee drinkers of every ilk, in most major cities, can now find a perfect cafe or roaster that prepares/roasts their beans in a manner that suits their specific tastes to a tee. Be it the subtle nuances of a lighter roast prepared via pour-over or a Carcasa Frappuccino from Starbucks, the options feel unlimited.

Photo by Nick Karvounis via Unsplash

A few weeks ago, I was sent an article about a company called Four Sigmatic. Their product: mushroom coffee, a package of instant coffee that combines liquified and then freeze-dried mushrooms with coffee and “all-natural ingredients.” By way of a YouTube video, Four Sigmatic founder Tero Isokauppila claims that mushroom coffee, consumed for centuries by the “indigenous people” of Finland (his birthplace), will provide the awakening aspects of coffee without its negative side-effects. And as lovely as this sounds, when we start doctoring our coffee with substances outside of, say, milk, sugar, and even the occasional squirt of syrup, the question becomes: has innovation overstepped its bounds? And in our efforts to create a cup of “coffee” divorced from its negative side-effects, are we even asking “what’s next” for coffee? Or are we just asking “what’s next?”

There’s nothing wrong with Isokauppila wanting to dip back into traditional Finnish coffee preparation to try and find something beneficially different in terms of the way we drink coffee. Drinking ten cups of coffee at ten in the morning and not having caffeine seizures until ten at night sounds fairly wonderful. But are we still talking about coffee or are we talking about a product riding the coattails of coffee because there’s no other marketable category it can be squeezed into? At this point with the massive amount of coffee-related options on the market – bulletproof coffee, cheese lattes, cascara syrup, etc. — it no longer feels like we’re trying to better coffee, we’re just trying to find a larger customer base. We’re just trying to find a product that resembles coffee enough that it’s sellable to anyone.

Photo by Nolan Issac via Unsplash

And again, this isn’t a bad thing, just an ill-defined one. Look at the recent explosion of cold brew products in coffee shops and grocery stores alike. Ten years ago, the preparation of a cold coffee beverage was relegated to dumping ice into a steaming hot cup of joe or a dumping a whip-creamed covered Frappuccino down your throat. Yet, coffee experts saw a need, and after extensive tinkering, cold brew has become an excellent product endorsed and encouraged by speciality coffee pioneers like Stumptown and Blue Bottle, amongst others. But, don’t fool yourself; cold brew was the solution to a business problem —  how do we get people to keep buying a hot beverage when it’s 80 degrees outside? — a delicious one, but a business-driven solution, nonetheless.

So, yes, striving to change the way we drink coffee can lead us down interesting, and occasionally financially appealing side paths, cold brew being a solid example. Yet, when we start tinkering with the basic concept of coffee – liquid meets roasted, ground beans — we aren’t talking about innovation anymore, we’re talking about invention. We’re working towards a new product, coffee-related or otherwise, aimed at addressing a consumer want (“coffee without the jitters” in the case of mushroom coffee).

Photo by Ali Inay via Unsplash

Speciality coffee isn’t perfect, it never will be, but through innovation of the existing product — coffee beans — the industry continues to expand its reach and its ability to sate a wide spectrum of coffee drinker’s needs. Mushroom coffee, and those beverages like it, are aimed at a customer base, those who want a coffee-like product without the negative side-effects, but let’s not go as far as deem this a step forward in terms of discovering what’s next in the world of coffee. It’s a product that may incorporate coffee, but beyond that, it’s something entirely new and different. It may have the benefits of coffee, but it’s more akin to tea or matte, then a black cup of drip coffee.

Products like mushroom coffee fail to address the question of “what’s next in coffee” because they aren’t seeking to answer it. Instead, they seek to create a beverage that expands the overall world of caffeinated beverages, the term “coffee” becoming more an easy descriptor than an accurate one.

More Related Stories

[soliloquy id=”27414″]

The Cannabis Industry Is Using Too Much Energy And It’s A Problem

MJ News Network
-
0
The Cannabis Industry Is Using Too Much Energy And It’s A Problem

A study by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory revealed that indoor growing operations are energy intensive, and responsible for an alarming percentage of the nation’s energy use. What will the marijuana industry do?

In California, the top-producing state, indoor cultivation uses about 3 percent of all electricity use. A single cannabis cigarette represents 1.5 kg (3 pounds) of CO2 emissions, an amount equal to driving a fuel efficient hybrid car 22 miles, or keeping a 100-watt light bulb on 24-hours a day.

 This energy use can account for as much as 50 percent of a grower’s total overhead, and is detrimental to the environment – taking the “green” out of the growing marijuana industry.

In order to reduce this energy drain, the team at Scale Energy Solutions devised a new type of “Micro-Grid” that integrates clean technology solutions into indoor cannabis grow facilities, to significantly lower energy use and reduce environmental impact.

“The cannabis industry is now using six times more energy than the pharmaceutical industry, and this paradigm is not sustainable,” says Timothy Hade, co-founder of Scale Energy Solutions. “Our new approach to energy reduction not only slashes costs for growers, but also improves the industry’s total environmental footprint, which in the long run will increase its chance of acceptance at a national level.”

Some companies are touting energy-saving LED lighting as a means to lower energy costs, but this addresses only a small part of the overall problem, Hade said. Additionally, many growers say that LEDs do not perform as well as the high-pressure sodium or metal halide lamps, especially when the plants began producing flowers – the valued part of the yield, according to the New York Times.

 Scale Energy Solutions is one of the only company’s the provides a comprehensive solution, by essentially re-engineering a grower’s energy grid.

“We provide a way for cultivators to reduce operating costs and improve profit margins in an increasingly commoditized market,” Hade said. “By applying new technologies to cannabis growing, we create a truly greener industry.”

For more cannabis business coverage, visit the MJ News Network. 

More stories

[soliloquy id=”24090″]

New Meme Alert: Roll Safe Is February’s Official Petty Meme

Brendan Bures
-
0
New Meme Alert: Roll Safe Is February’s Official Petty Meme

Late in 2015, comedian Kayode Ewumi and best friend Tyrell Williams uploaded the first episode of this web series they created. It was called “Hood Documentary.” In it Ewumi plays Roll Safe, an aspiring grime rapper.

R.S., as Roll Safe goes by for short, looks like Eddie Murphy from his Delirious tour and is so certain about his abilities. Quickly, we learn that R.S. is a little delusional and not that good. Yet he’s captivating his earnest foolishness nonetheless.

As Ewumi told Vice UK: “”Everyone knows someone like RS, no matter what context [it’s in]. He’s that guy in the hood convinced that he knows everyone and everything.”

BBC Three eventually picked up the web series and Ewumi has retired the character. But one indelible moment from the show has resurfaced online recently and inspired our culture’s highest honor: becoming a meme.

https://twitter.com/Kingwole/status/826485113731047426

Yes, Roll Safe has become the internet’s newest calling card in the land of petty memes. It’s about using circular logic to prove that it’s not your fault of why someone’s mad at you. Truth be told, most of these are pretty clever. Here are some of our favorites.

https://twitter.com/JamilahLemieux/status/826422695059406848

https://twitter.com/girlposts/status/825495363700277248

https://twitter.com/Trillxdadian/status/826194498740969472

https://twitter.com/RyanWindoww/status/823579333969252352

To cement its legitimacy, Roll Safe is joining Salt Bae in 2017’s official memes of the month. Roll Safe is part of our lives now.

https://twitter.com/LiliestBaby/status/826492476030599168

Robert Galinsky Presents V-Day Performance of ‘The Bench,’ A Homeless Love Story

TFT Editors
-
0
Robert Galinsky Presents V-Day Performance of ‘The Bench,’ A Homeless Love Story

Robert Galinsky is a contributing editor to The Fresh Toast, writing various colorful articles involving vintage shopping tips and interviewing The Village People’s Randy Jones on gay marriage. But he’s also a thriving New York City artist activist and this Valentine’s Day, he’s starring in a special presentation of The Bench in New York, an event you should check out if you’re in the area. Here’s what you need to know.

RELATED STORY: TFT Pro-Tips: 7 Savvy Vintage Shopping Hints From East Village Collective

RELATED STORY: The Village People’s Randy Jones Speaks Out On Gay Marriage

What’s It About

The Bench, set in urban decay and rubble, explores the emotional heartbreak of five homeless characters and the catastrophic hysteria surrounding AIDs in the 1980’s. The sparse set is spectacularly integrated with beautiful hand-drawn art projections, from Daphne Arthur’s graphic novel adaptation of the play, and is scored by world re-known composer and multi-instrumentalist Deep Singh. It’s a unique and fresh blending of visual and audio arts, written by and starring Robert Galinsky.

What Are People Saying About It

Previous performances of The Bench have been called “Galinsky is effortless—really quite extraordinary.” —Backstage Magazine; “The Bench features ensemble work, being done by one human being, with sustainable characters that have incredible nuances. It is palpably and real.” —Anney Bonney, Curator at The Kitchen; ‘Galinsky’s street dwellers speak in their own voices, and their voices ring true.” —The New Haven Independent; “Not your normal kind of theatre… it keeps your head moving.” —The NY Amsterdam News; “Galinsky herds multiple personalities into an evening of furious poetic justice.” —New York Press

I’m Interested, How Do I Go?

The special Valentine’s Day presentation at Dixon Place (161a Christie Street) on Tuesday February 14, 2017 at 7:30pm. The show runs 55 minutes, no intermission, and tickets are $18 ($15 in advance) and can be purchased by visiting their website or calling 866-811-4111. Audiences will also be treated to delicious Valentine’s Day sweets, before and after the show, provided by Chef Danielle of Annie Mae’s Bakery.

For more info on Robert Galinsky please visit his website.

Here’s Why Distilling Whiskey At Home Is Still Illegal

Margarett Waterbury
-
0
Here’s Why Distilling Whiskey At Home Is Still Illegal

This article originally appeared on The Whiskey Wash.

No matter what you may have seen on the Discovery Channel, home distilling in the United States remains very much illegal. But why is that? Making beer and wine at home for personal consumption is perfectly within the bounds of the law — why not booze?

First, here’s what the law says now. It’s perfectly legal to own a still, and you can even use it, as long as you’re not making alcohol — so, you can make essential oils without a permit, or perfume, or distilled water.

How home distilling is often seen today (image via Dave/Flickr)

Making ethanol for fuel use at home is also legal, provided you obtain a permit from the TTB. Home fuel permits are reportedly not difficult to get, but TTB agents are allowed to visit your production area to make sure you’re not drinking the stuff.

Making alcohol for drinking, however, is a whole different beast. According to federal law, making beverage alcohol at home is illegal, plain and simple. Why is that?

The government cites several reasons for keeping distilling illegal. First, it can be dangerous. Distilleries bring two materials into close proximity — alcohol vapor and heat sources — that can cause disastrous explosions when not managed correctly.

In most states (including Oregon, where I live) getting a distilled spirits plant permit (often called a DSP) is challenging, and requires significant investment in infrastructure like sprinklers, ventilation, and other systems to keep production staff and visitors safe.

Also, some home distillers are tempted to make their own equipment, and that can be a misstep. Not all metals are rated for food-grade alcohol contact, and some can leach heavy metals and lead into the resulting spirit — not the kind of buzz most people are looking for.

Cynically, there’s another reason: Federal excise taxes. Distilled spirits like whiskey are taxed at the highest rate of any alcohol, far more than either beer or wine. (Actually, a tax on spirits as the very first tax ever levied in the United States.) Let people make whiskey at home, and the government might end up with a serious financial hangover.

More Related Stories

[soliloquy id=”25718″]

Beyoncé Is Joining These Celebrity Parents And Having Twins

Brendan Bures
-
0
Beyoncé Is Joining These Celebrity Parents And Having Twins

The following sentence will be written like a normally punctuated and formatted sentence but should be read as an all-caps gleeful scream with multiple exclamation points.

Beyoncé is pregnant and having twins.

See how normal that sentence looks? Yet it is anything but normal as Beyoncé and husband Jay Z—the antecedent of the ether we call Lemonade—will be introducing two new lives into the world. Beyoncé made the announcement with the following Instagram post.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BP-rXUGBPJa/

This announcement will be an ongoing storyline, surely. (For instance, did you know the substantial conspiracy theory that Beyoncé didn’t actually birth Blue Ivy Carter? This IG post almost seems a direct way of curtailing any of that this time around.)

For now, let’s see all the other celebrity parents Jay and Bey will join in introducing twins into the world.

Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony

https://www.instagram.com/p/BPjGNStgvTZ/?taken-by=jlo&hl=en

Julia Roberts and Daniel Moder

Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick

https://www.instagram.com/p/BG9PBoEiYPO/

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt

https://twitter.com/jolieppersonal/status/825594630641242112

Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O’Connell

https://www.instagram.com/p/BOpvwwGhVNQ/?taken-by=rebeccaromijn&hl=en

Mia Hamm and Nomar Garciaparra

https://www.instagram.com/p/gRSuFSRPyG/?taken-by=miahammofficial&hl=en

Zoe Saldana and Marco Perego

https://www.instagram.com/p/BL_a2r3h50P/?taken-by=zoesaldana

Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon

https://www.instagram.com/p/BO6oPetD3E0/?taken-by=mariahcarey

Celine Dion and Rene Angelil

https://www.instagram.com/p/BPLb7ZDgi3O/?taken-by=celinedion

Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka

https://www.instagram.com/p/BOtBJMiDBL6/?taken-by=nph

1...1,3501,3511,352...1,471Page 1,351 of 1,471

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

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

We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe anytime.

The Fresh Toast is an award-winning lifestyle & health platform with a side of cannabis. We work hard each day to bring uplifting and informative information about culture, weed, celebrity, tech and medical marijuana.

© Copyright @2020