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Potiquette: The Back To School Edition

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Dear Ms. Pot,

I’m a philosophy professor at a school in the middle of cow country. There are two bars dominated by underage students, one Chinese restaurant, and a nice little inn where you can get a decent glass of wine with colleagues. That’s the extent of the social life around here, so we make our own. Once a week, a couple local musicians and I set up mics and rock out to the Rolling Stones in my living room, do tequila shots, and smoke pot. It’s very 1970s. Two or three of my students usually show up, too. So, Monday night I’m passing a joint to a student, then Tuesday morning I’m lecturing her on Kierkegaard. Kosher?

Puff Prof

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Dear Puff Prof,

It all sounds very… Animal House. ‘Member that scene in the 1978 cult classic, where a shaggy Donald Sutherland creepily locks the door, lights candles, and shows his students how to properly smoke a joint while lazing around discussing the solar system. ‘Try not to drool so much on the end of it,” he wisely instructs.

Your scene sounds a little livelier. And harmless enough. Honestly, I’d be more worried about the tequila than the THC. Just be smart about it—which should come easy enough, since you are a PhD. You might recall that idiot high school teacher in Virginia who, earlier this year, let his student smoke up in class. This is off campus, after-hours. And as John Belushi’s sweatshirt reminds us: COLLEGE. If you taught, say, economics or law, I’d probably say un-invite your students to your soiree. But, philosophy? It’s all about expanding hearts and minds. Right?

With love and homework,

Ms. Pot

 

Here’s What You Need To Rock Malia Obama’s “Smoking Kills” Look

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Malia Obama just earned herself the title of First Daughter of Shade, showing up to Labor Day weekend’s Made in America Festival in a DIY t-shirt that reads “Smoking Kills.”

She’s doing her summer of 2016 gap year right, hitting the festie circuit hard before heading to college next year. Some headlines ponder if this is punishment from her parents after her Lollapalooza puff-pass incident, while others proclaim her a hypocrite. Did the Obamas make her wear this? They don’t seem like the public-shaming-as-discipline type. Is she making it her personal mission to save the youth from the perils of smoking? Eh. As the coolest teen heading for Harvard, not the next Nancy Reagan, we’re guessing she’s simply being ironic af.

We have two more important items to discuss than her genius choice of normcore.

#1: What is the Secret Service directive on festival outfits? Plaid and dad-vests, from the look of this photo. Guys, just because the event is sponsored by Bud, doesn’t mean you have to dress like Seth Rogan.

#2: That lettering is tight. None of that “started the word too big, ended up with an ‘-ing’ scrunched at the end” business. Did she trace it out in pencil, first? Or is her freehand lettering just that good? Either way, standing ovation for flawless kerning.

If you’re as ready to rock this look as we are, here’s a handy starter kit:

Augusta Sportswear 710 Adult’s Ringer T-Shirt White/Black XL

Sharpie Permanent Markers, Fine Point, Black, 2-Pack (30162PP)

Harvard Crimson – Letter – Fitted Hat

Save

U.S. Cannabis Consumption Is On The Rise: Report

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For years, anti-cannabis advocates have warned that legalization and regulation of the herb would lead to a dramatic increase among teens. But a massive report released earlier this week by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests that is simply not the case.

The CDC study is chockfull of fascinating data, but the key takeaway shows that more Americans are consuming marijuana and that fewer are abusing the substance, still considered a Schedule I drug by the federal government.

Almost 900,000 respondents  to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an annual federal survey of substance use.

A closer look at the CDC data shows:

  • Marijuana use (described as consumption in the past month)  is up 35 percent since 2002.
  • Americans 12 and older reporting cannabis abuse is 1.6 percent, down from 1.8 percent in 2002.
  • For teens, the percentage of abuse is down 37 percent.
  • For young adults, the percentage of abuse is down 18 percent.
  • Teen report that “easy access” to marijuana is down 13 percent.
  • Consumption among 12-to-17 year olds fell from 2.4 percent in 2002 to 1.6 percent in 2014.
  • Americans seeing “no risk” of using marijuana monthly doubled, from 10 percent in 2002 to 19.9 percent in 2014 .
  • Since 2002, marijuana use among Americans age 45 to 54 has jumped by nearly 50 percent.
  • Among those ages 55 to 64, it’s jumped by a whopping 455 percent.

For more on this week’s data, read these two stories from Christopher Ingraham of The Washington Post:

Marijuana Sales To Top $41 Million Over 3-Day Holiday Weekend

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Like the cannabis holiday on April 20th (420) and the Fourth of JulyLabor Day marks one of the highest grossing sales days in the cannabis industry. Once again, MJ Freeway takes a look at holiday trends in the cannabis market and gives some advice for what retailers can do to prepare for higher foot traffic in the coming weekend.

MJ Freeway’s retail data set, which accounts for 40% of the legal cannabis market and includes nearly $5 billion in retail sales transactions, helps businesses across the industry understand everything from sales cycles to inventory management and more.

“Cannabis is a young industry and it’s important to track trends early and often, which is why we’ve made it a priority to provide businesses with a full picture of high-volume sales days,” said Amy Poinsett, CEO of MJ Freeway. “The more we understand about the industry as a whole, the better we are able to provide our clients with solutions that they need for smooth and efficient business practices.”

Labor Day by the Numbers

  • In 2015, total cannabis retail sales exceeded $32M on Labor Day weekend (Sept 3-6, 2015), which represents a 43% daily increase from an average sales day.
  • In 2016, we expect Labor Day weekend retail sales (Sept 1-4) to reach $41M
  • Sales spikes begin the Thursday before Labor Day with Friday being the highest grossing sales day.
  • In 2015, individual cannabis licensed retail locations* – dispensaries and delivery services – sold on average $5,694 in retail sales on September 3$7,266 on September 4$5,985 on September 5, and$5,100 on September 6 in 2015, the four days of Labor Day weekend.
    *Note: One physical cannabis retail location may operate with two individual licenses – medical and recreational.
  • Customer traffic increased on average by 20% during Sept 3-6, 2015 as compared to a non-holiday sales day.
  • Individual customers spent on average $69.14 per trip Labor Day weekend 2015, a rise of 3% compared to customers visiting retail locations on an average day.

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

Green Party Presidential Candidate Jill Stein Flies To Wrong City For Ohio Rally

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Green Party presidential hopeful Jill Stein was scheduled to give a speech at Capital University in Bexley at noon today, but she wasn’t on time. Her convoy made a wrong turn. Like an airplane flying to a different city wrong turn. To be fair, who hasn’t been there before?

Instead of landing in Columbus, Ohio, Stein’s airplane ended up in Cincinnati due to a currently unknown error. Because you know what this election needed? More wacky antics. You would be correct in assuming the 2016 presidential race has become the world’s most popular reality TV programming of all-time. (Okay, Jersey Shore was probably still bigger.)

Apparently 100 people were waiting for Stein’s speech and will now have to wait two hours as Stein makes the drive to Cincinnati. This next part is totally serious: For those attendees willing to wait for Stein’s arrival, the campaign has ordered them pizzas.

That might be the saddest pizza party that’s ever happened. And that’s includes my night last Friday: a pizza party of one :(.

Americans Anxious For #TacoTrucksOnEveryCorner

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It’s not even Tuesday and tacos are trending on Twitter.

Moments after the founder of Latinos For Trump, Marco Gutierrez, threatened “taco trucks on every corner” while defending Donald Trump’s tight immigration policies on MSNBC Thursday, his ridiculous quote became a hashtag.


Gutierrez’s statement comes on the heels of Trump’s high-profile meeting with Mexico’s President Enrique Peña Nieto.

#TacoTrucksOnEveryCorner became an easy target for social media:

Now, who wants to grab some lunch?

 

 

That Time Larry Wilmore Tried To Steal Stephen Colbert’s ‘Late Show’ Gig

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Poor Larry Wilmore. First, The Nightly Show was cancelled. Then, assuming all former hosts of the show in the 11:30 pm slot on Comedy Central get the gig, he tried to take over The Late Show, which, of course, is currently hosted by Comedy Central alum Stephen Colbert.

Colbert politely reclaimed his show (during a planned bit, obvs), but we gotta say: Wilmore would make a great Late Show guest host.

This Dancing Dog Groomer Will Fix All Your Problems

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The Daily Delight hero of the day is pet groomer Luis Antonio Caballero, whose slick dog-washing dance moves have inspired hundreds of thousands of people over the past two weeks.

Caballero runs PetShop Perrito Feliz with his wife, Gabriela, in Buenos Aires. Late last month, the store posted a Facebook video of the 58-year-old dancing to The B-52s “Love Shack” with while washing a confused little doggie. It’s since been viewed over 1.7 million times

“I stepped away to make some tea and returned to find Luis dancing,” Gabriela told The Dodo. “He didn’t realize I was there, so I took out my phone and started recording. This is just a normal day here.”

“We are a family dedicated to the dogs,” she added. “He loves them, and they love him.”

Michael Phelps Meets His Meme And It’s Amazing

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A glitch in the Matrix appeared Thursday night: U.S. swimming god Michael Phelps came face-to-face with his Internet self. Phelps isn’t just an all-time gold-winning Olympian; he’s also an all-time meme. Prior to the 200m butterfly race in Rio and some pre-race antics from South African rival Chad Le Clois, Phelps revealed his alter ego: angry-face Phelps. Better known as #PhelpsFace.

Surely you remember the face. It remains a stalwart of Internet meme culture.

But when Phelps appeared on “The Tonight Show” Thursday, he started into the eyes of his angry soul—a cardboard cut-out of the Angry Phelps meme.

“I always know there’s two cameras in the upper right hand corner before we walk out,” Phelps said. “And I’m sitting there spitting water, like ‘Man, what is going on?’ And as I’m making a face I was like, ‘Yep, that’s on camera.'”

Phelps also went on to explain how he retired to run his baby Boomer’s Instagram account, which has developed quite a following of its own.

Phelps and Fallon also played a classic “Tonight Show” game, Egg Russian Roulette. Let’s just say his performance wasn’t that of the most-decorated Olympian in history. In other words, dude got yoked.

Finally, a bonus: here’s a couple of our old favorites of the angry-face Phelps memes from the Olympics. Try not to be intimidated.

https://twitter.com/hehateme2012/status/762839609373958145?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

https://twitter.com/xmasape/status/762837646385160192

https://twitter.com/ChiBDM/status/762836153032581121

Confusion in Arkansas: Two Marijuana Initiatives On Ballot

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Arkansans will have two chances to vote for medical marijuana legalization this November, a head-scratching development that many cannabis advocates feel will hamper efforts to help patients.

The Secretary of State’s office reported on Wednesday that supporters of a proposed constitutional amendment turned in 97,284 valid signatures from registered voters, easily surpassing the 84,859 required to qualify for the ballot. In July, the state  approved a competing medical marijuana ballot measure.

There is a ray of hope for Arkansans in favor of medical marijuana: A poll conducted in June revealed that 58 percent of potential voters support the sale of cannabis to patients; 34 percent oppose the idea. Breaking down the poll data shows that Democrats (74 percent), African-Americans (73 percent) and those aged 30 to 44 (73 percent) are all supportive. State Republicans are split at 45 percent in favor and 45 percent against.

While the polling data suggests a victory for medical marijuana, the challenge of two competing ballot measures makes it difficult to parse. Studies suggest that when there is ballot confusion, voters tend to cast a “no” vote.

In 2012, Arkansas narrowly voted against medical marijuana. Could the dueling initiatives doom both to fail?

David Couch, the sponsor of the second measure approved Wednesday, rejected the notion. “I don’t think there will be any problem differentiating between the two,” Couch told the Associated Press.

But Melissa Fults, campaign manager for Arkansans for Compassionate Care, the group behind the first measure disagrees. She has urged Couch to drop his ballot measure. If both are on the ballot, she fears both are doomed to go down.

“It’s going to be confusing. We’ll be right next to each other on the ballot.” The Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment (AMMA) will be Issue 6. The Arkansas Medical Cannabis Act (AMCA) will be Issue 7.

Both would allow the state to set up a medical marijuana program and both contain similar provisions. But the devil is in the details and the two measures propose different regulatory plans to oversee growing and distribution cannabis.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a prominent Republican and former head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, opposes both measures. He has repeatedly stated that legalizing marijuana would drain the state’s resources. Arkansas Democrats recently approved a platform that supports medical marijuana, but it does not mention either ballot measure.

Arkansas Business, a statewide publication, describes how the AMCA snd the AMMA differ.

Here are the details of both measures:

  • Read the full AMCA here.
  • Read the full AMMA here.

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