People on social media have discovered that doing this might increase the accuracy of at-home COVID-19 tests.
COVID-19 cases are on the rise, with the Omicron variant having most of the country under its grip. While states are clocking in wild numbers of COVID-19 cases, a trend on social media shows that, when it comes to the Omicron variant, a throat swab might provide more accurate evidence than a traditional nose swab.
While this unofficial way of testing for COVID-19 is not approved by health experts, infectious disease experts don’t find these results surprising, especially if the person who’s getting the test has a sore throat.
When speaking to Insider, disease experts suggest swabbing the throat first and then the nose when doing at home COVID-19 tests. “If you were my friend, I would say to you, ‘Yeah, I would suggest that you swab your throat first and then your nose,'” said epidemiologist Irene Peterson. If the test comes back positive she suggests getting a PCR test just to confirm.
Nose swabs have been the traditional way to test when discussing respiratory viruses, but the Omicron variant might be different, changing the way in which the virus replicates in the body. A December study from South Africa showed that saliva tests were able to pick up on 100% of Omicron cases; nasal swabs were able to detect 86% of them.
Omicron cases are a bit different than previous COVID-19 infections, with one of the most prominent and earliest symptoms being a sore throat. This suggests that people’s throats might be the place where there’s a higher viral load. Then there’s also the fact that a lot of people are vaccinated now, taking longer to develop nasal symptoms and resulting in false-negative nose swabs.
If you want to be as sure as you possibly can of your COVID-19 status, a throat swab won’t hurt. Allergist Purvi Parikh told the Huffington Post that she suggests avoiding eating, drinking, or brushing your teeth for 30 to 60 minutes before your throat swab.
It’s important to remember that at-home test kits were designed for the nose canal, and to be careful when swiping your throat. Open your mouth wide and gently swipe across the back of your throat, from tonsil to tonsil for several seconds. Try to avoid touching your mouth, teeth, and tongue. You can then proceed with your traditional nose swab.
Kansas Democratic leaders announced on Thursday that they will be introducing proposals to let voters decide on legalizing medical and adult-use marijuana in the state, reported Marijuana Moment. House Minority Leader Tom Sawyer (D) and Assistant Minority Leader Jason Probst (D) held a briefing on the plans.
“It’s time to give voters their opportunity to have their say and let the legislature know how they feel,” said Sawyer, noting that Republicans have had “very little interest in passing any sort of marijuana reform.”
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Probst added that he was eager for people in Kansas to enjoy the same benefits as residents in other states.
“We are an island. We are surrounded by states who provide for their residents the things that they want,” Probst said. “And Kansas, leadership in this building, has decided they know better than Kansans what they should have.”
If approved in the legislature and then by voters in November, the laws would take effect in July 2023.
In May 2021, after many meetings to review a plethora of amendments to a medical cannabis legalization bill, a Kansas House Committee passed an overall measure, in a 13 to 8 vote. Sawyer said he was “hopeful” that the bill will be taken up and advanced through the Senate in 2022.
There’s a lot of misconceptions regarding CBD. Here are some things CBD won’t help you achieve in the new year.
CBD is a great cannabinoid, capable of treating the symptoms of a variety of conditions. There’s scientific evidence that shows that CBD can have a positive impact on complex conditions like fibromyalgia, sleep disorders, muscle spasticity, and more.
Over the past couple of years, CBD has become so prominent that it’s now being added into all sorts of things, from supplements to pet products. While the benefits of CBD are there, some companies are stretching them in far-fetched directions. It’s not a miracle cannabinoid, and it helps to have this mentality when first seeking it out. Here are 4 things CBD won’t help you achieve in 2022.
It won’t replace medicine
Photo by Erin Hinterland via Pixababy
While CBD might help treat symptoms of a condition, it’s not medicine and it likely won’t resolve a medical condition on its own. Claims that CBD helps reduce anxiety and improve sleep might have some merit, but claims that CBD cures cancer do not.
There’s moderate evidence that indicates CBD is helpful for treating anxiety, inflammation, and some forms of pain. Depending on the method of consumption, it can be ingested orally or applied topically, targeting different areas of your body. Do some research before you purchase, knowing why you’re buying the product and whether it will be effective or not. You should be extra careful considering how crowded and confusing the CBD market is. This guide can help.
If you want to get high, look elsewhere. While CBD can make you feel relaxed and loose, which is very pleasant, it’s not a psychoactive compound, meaning that your head will stay in its place. Still, a variety of CBD products contain small amounts of THC in order to boost their effects; if you consume a lot of these, you might feel a little high.
CBD functions differently than THC; it needs to build up in your body before you experience its full range of effects. The first time you use it, you might not experience an effect at all. Play around with it, keeping track of how you feel and giving it a few days of usage and playing around with the dosage.
Want more information on what CBD can and can’t do? Here are some recommended stories:
Lemonati Family Farms, a Michigan cannabis company, is releasing a new line of strains to help raise money and awareness about people behind bars for nonviolent cannabis offenses. The “Defiance!” series will use $1 from the sale of each item to support Freedom Grow, a nonprofit 501c3 that helps free cannabis prisoners, reported metrotimes.com
The strains are named after positions within the cannabis industry — “The Caregiver,” “The Grower,” “The Patient” and “The Plug.”
These are sold in cardboard milk cartons with a QR code on them that can be scanned to pull up the stories of each cannabis prisoner.
“Freedom Grow is thrilled to announce our relationship with Lemonati Family Farms,” Freedom Grow vice president Randy Lanier said in a statement. “We are grateful for their compassion, kindness, generosity, and willingness to pay it forward. It is a blessing to the many families still suffering from this failed War on Drugs.”
The Lemonati Family Farms’ website further explained:
“As states continue to legalize cannabis, there are still thousands of people in prison for nonviolent cannabis offenses. With your purchase, you are supporting a cannabis prisoner potentially facing a de facto life in prison.”
The Caregiver is a cross of strains strawberry shortcake and sunset sherbet, delivering three main terpenes that give cannabis its unique fragrance and flavor and different potential therapeutic benefits. Myrcene (found in hops, responsible for the peppery, spicy, fragrance in beer), Limonene (commonly associated citrus aromas), and Caryophyllene (with a spicy aroma, similar to cinnamon and cloves). ‘The Grower‘ strain comes from a cross between Zkittlez and Wedding Cake, two famous strains, delivering terpenes such as Myrcene, Caryophyllene, and Alpha-Pinene (delivering piney, floral, turpentine fragrances).
Perhaps you need to do some research about the brands you’re consuming and find out if the parent companies are allies of cannabis or simply allies of profits.
Someone once told me that the only true power the people ever had was where they spend their money. In other words, the consumer’s true power lies in their choice of supplier. In more simple terms, if there’s no one buying your stuff, you’re not making any money.
This is a consumer super power and while individually it might seem that one person’s action could not possibly make any significant impact on a business. The truth of the matter is that even if one person “finds a reason not to buy” from a particular brand, it could mean that “other people” could also find other reasons. When enough reasons to avoid a particular brand is adopted in the marketplace, a business essentially dies due to a lack of revenue.
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This is something that we as cannabis consumers should keep in mind as we enter into a new era of cannabis. While the victory for legal cannabis is still being fought on a federal level, big corporations are swooping in on the local legalized landscapes trying to gobble up the market before anyone else can get a chance to participate.
Companies like Acreage Holdings, where a Mr. John Boehner — former Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives and a staunch opponent of cannabis who flip flopped for a board position in the company — are suing local governments in order to keep them from creating “local residency clauses” within cannabis legalization. Essentially, these clauses would mean that a license holder would have to “have lived within the area” for a set period of time to quality.
This would immediately make it impossible for big conglomerates such as Acreage Holdings to operate within these areas. This is why last year they sued the district of Maine over these clauses as reported in Forbes:
A federal judge in the District of Maine ruled that residency requirements violate the U.S. Constitution’s dormant commerce clause, which reserves the power to regulate interstate commerce—which, even though interstate cannabis is illegal, extends to marijuana—to the federal government.
While Constitutionally speaking, Acreage Holdings does have a legal case and would probably win in the court of appeals, too. The point is that big faceless corporations tend to try to circumvent or bend the rules to suit their favor, and to think that within the realm of cannabis it would be any different would be naïve to say the least.
This brings us to the initial point: the super power of the consumer!
Ethical Cannabis Buying
You can’t blame a shark for mistaking a human for food when the human is swimming where the shark eats. Nor can you expect Wall Street millionaires to do ethical business practices when they can strong arm the law to their favor. Therefore, the responsibility of consumption lies squarely on the shoulders of the consumer — you should not be comfortable with buying weed from companies that places profits above people.
Making sure where you source your weed from should be a concern to you these days. While I’m not saying that corporate weed is a bad thing, I think that there could be plenty of benefits from a corporate cannabis company that spends money on R&D to create products catered to a wide demographic. However, these companies need to adhere to an ethical standard.
Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko from Pexels
We are currently in a major transition within society and within this transitory moment we have the opportunity to rewire the system entirely. This includes how we interact with businesses as consumers. If you find out that a particular company is mistreating their employees or another cannabis company is cutting corners, then it should be your duty as an ethical consumer to cease to consume their products.
As mentioned, this might not be enough to do any significant damage on an individual scale. However, you would be surprised to see how many people follow suit when they learn about the reasons of your personal boycott.
“Hey man, we should totally buy these!”
“Nah man, f’ that brand!”
“Huh why?”
“Well, they Xed, some Ys, in the Zs…”
And just like that, you begin a domino effect and create revenue disruption against the offending brand. It truly is the most effective way of taking action against corporations that violate social trust or try to game the system.
This is why it is important to be informed about the products you purchase. To blindly trust the corporations on any of the products they sell you is an ignorant approach to being an ethical consumer. The fact of the matter is that many of us still buy shit when we know it’s tainted with human suffering — as long as it’s fast and cheap, a little bit of suffering goes a long way!
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However, when it comes to your weed – there is a sense of purity you’ll want to keep within the marketplace. If we leave cannibalistic corporations to dominate the cannabis marketplace, we’ll eventually end up with a handful of Monster Corporations with hardly any local competition. When that happens, these big corporations will try to buy up intellectual property and make it virtually impossible to make your own strains or competing products.
They will do this by lobbying to change laws and to make the legal point of entry into the marketplace unsustainably high so that the average Jane and Joe could not possible consider investing into the market.
Therefore, if you don’t like Big Corporations coming in and date raping the cannabis industry, perhaps you need to do some research about the brands that you are consuming and find out if the parent companies are allies of cannabis or simply allies of profits.
I’m not saying you should boycott or not — that is entirely your decision. However, you should be making those decisions as informed as possible.
Flurona is the rare co-infection of the flu and the coronavirus. Here’s what you should know about it — and how you can (try to) avoid it.
In these trying times, the last thing we need is another supercouple, but here we are. Despite the alarmist headlines and the appearance of yet another illness, there’s no need to panic.
Flurona is simply a co-infection of the flu and coronavirus. It’s also nothing new; it’s been around since the beginning of the pandemic. As the name suggests, Flurona occurs when a person is infected with both the flu and the coronavirus, or when they experience both infections back-to-back.
Due to Omicron’s fast spread and our current penchant to track every upwards tick of the pandemic, it’s logical that the term Flurona is getting a lot of coverage. Here’s what you should know about it.
Two infections are definitely worse than one. Flurona is unlikely, but if it occurs, people would experience symptoms of both, with the co-infection putting more strain on your immune system. According to a metanalysis, people who tested positive for another infection while they were coping with COVID-19 faced worse outcomes. Unsurprisingly, needing treatment for symptoms aside from the ones prompted by COVID-19 is not ideal.
Flurona is not a new disease to look out for; it’s simply the dubbing of that co-infection. Because both infections come from different families, it’s unlikely for them to morph and create a whole new illness. While possible — especially this time of year when flu season is in full swing — it’s very unlikely to catch both infections at the same time, especially if you’re being relatively careful, wearing face masks and washing your hands often. Cold, COVID, Or Flu? Here Are Some Key Differences You Should Know
On a conservative side, the U.S. federal government has left over $500,000,000 in tax revenue on the table by not legalizing marijuana at the federal level.
How much tax revenue has been collected from legal marijuana sales in the U.S. since Colorado started selling cannabis in 2014? The answer is a whopping $10,400,000,000, according to a new report from the Marijuana Policy Project (MPP).
The $10.4 billion in state tax revenue is stunning when considering only a handful of states were collecting tax revenue from 2014 to almost 2019. Add in the slow rollouts in many states like Massachusetts, and the lack of sales in highly populated states like Florida and New York, and you realize that number could be double if things had moved faster on the policy side.
In 2021 alone, $3.7 billion was collected, or almost one-third of the total! That is with some populous states only having one to three months of reporting in the calendar year last year.
What would be the federal taxation number if we had legal federal marijuana laws? The first Democratic bill suggested a 25% federal tax, while other bills followed with numbers from 1% to 3%. Not that it’s comparing apples to apples, but on a conservative side, the U.S. federal government has left over $500,000,000 in tax revenue on the table by not legalizing marijuana at the federal level. Cannabis taxes will boost the U.S. economy, but may not solve the trillion dollar debt crisis coming in the future.
The MPP report points out the following highlights:
Alaska: Half of all adult-use cannabis tax revenue is invested in the Recidivism Reduction Fund and supports reentry programs for currently and formerly incarcerated individuals.
California: More than $100 million has been distributed to community groups and local nonprofit programs that benefit people adversely impacted by punitive drug laws.
Colorado: $471.9 million of the total revenue generated from cannabis taxes has been dedicated to improving Colorado’s public school system.
Illinois: In addition to investing 20% of adult-use cannabis tax revenue into mental health services, the state directs 25% of the funds to the Recover, Reinvest, and Renew Program, which supports local organizations in developing programs that benefit disadvantaged communities.
Michigan: For adult-use cannabis taxes collected in Fiscal Year 2020, the Michigan Department of Treasury reported in March 2021 that around $11.6 million will be sent to the School Aid Fund for K-12 education.
Washington: For every $1 billion in revenue collected from the cannabis sales tax, nearly $600 million is funneled into public health initiatives, including a fund that provides health insurance for low-income families.
For more information or to read the complete breakdown, check out the MPP report here.
“Outside of the 1950s B horror movies, it has never been the job of the government to protect you from a plant,” Rep. Max Abramson (R) said ahead of Thursday’s vote.
On Thursday, the GOP-controlled New Hampshire House of Representatives approved a bill to legalize marijuana possession and personal cultivation for adults. Members passed the legislation, sponsored by Rep. Carol McGuire (R), in a 241-113 vote.
This comes one day after the chamber narrowly rejected a separate, broader legalization proposal that would have regulated commercial production and sales, reported Marijuana Moment.
Photo by Seth Dewey via Unsplash
“It is not—and never has been—the job of the government to try to protect you from hurting yourself,” Rep. Max Abramson (R) said ahead of Thursday’s vote. “And outside of the 1950s B horror movies, it has never been the job of the government to protect you from a plant.”
“This is truly a bipartisan issue with strong and wide support from Granite Staters,” Rep. Mark Warden (R) said. “The war on cannabis is a war on people. Those people are our neighbors and our constituents.”
Meanwhile, New Hampshire’s Governor Christopher T. Sununu (R), has taken a strong stand against legalizing marijuana for recreational use and has given mixed support for the expansion of therapeutic cannabis in recent years.
The governor approved a major extension of the program in 2017 by allowing chronic pain patients to qualify. In May 2021, Sununu signed House Bill 89, which made autism spectrum disorder a qualifying condition for therapeutic cannabis, and also made moderate to severe insomnia a qualifying symptom when paired with an underlying condition, reported newhampshirebulletin.com
The rush of sports gambling has led to fans across the U.S. wondering when they’ll be able to place bets on their favorite teams.
When Las Vegas welcomed the NHL’s Golden Knights as its first home team in the four major professional sports leagues, it became clear that the acceptance and legalization of sports betting was inevitable. Wherever you consume sports content nowadays, it’s becoming increasingly harder to avoid insights about wagers related to games.
From daily fantasy sports to betting futures at sportsbooks, the rush of sports gambling has led to fans across the nation wondering when they’ll be able to place bets on their favorite teams. Here are five states that are well positioned to legalize sports betting in 2022.
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Alabama
Crimson Tide fans in Alabama who are hoping for the opportunity to eventually place wagers on their favorite teams have good reason to hope that 2022 is the year sports betting gets legalized. The state has motivation to legalize sports betting due to the fact that it’s bordered by multiple states that have already legalized it including Mississippi and Tennessee.
Lawmakers in Alabama understand the urgency of the matter, too, considering that multiple attempts to introduce legal sports betting in the state have been made. The latest attempt at legalizing sports betting came as recently as 2021. State lawmakers will have another chance to agree on a path for legalization of sports betting when the Regular Session reconvenes later in January.
California
Californians are currently restricted to making the journey to Nevada in order to legally place wagers on ball games. Even though sports betting is still currently illegal in California, sports fans in the Golden State have good reasons to remain optimistic that they’ll soon be able to place bets from the comfort of their home soon.
First, an initiative to legalize sports betting in California received more than one million signatures, meaning citizens will have the opportunity to vote on the issue in early 2022. Additionally, major sportsbooks will be eager to do whatever possible to get the ball across the line. Doing so will ensure that they can reap the financial benefits that will come with entering the sports betting market in a state with millions of residents and multiple professional and college level sports teams.
Photo by Tima Miroshnichenko from Pexels
Georgia
Sports fans in Georgia were likely thrilled upon discovering that professional sports teams throughout the Peach State have voiced their support for the legalization of sports betting. Unfortunately there are political obstacles that make doing so easier said than done.
The state senate approved sports gambling legislation, but it soon became a casualty of ongoing debate in the Georgia House of Representatives over expanding voting rights. If the legislation is revived during the legislative session that begins this month, Georgia citizens could vote it into law this coming November. If the constitutional amendment receives enough votes, sports gambling in Georgia could conceivably begin as soon as Jan. 1, 2023.
Kansas
Lawmakers in Kansas spent much of 2020 and 2021 working to bring legalized sports gambling to residents, even though the clock ran out on 2021 before they were able to provide the governor with a bill to sign.
Since much of the framework around operators and taxes has already been agreed upon, there is significant hope that 2022 is the year legislators can finally legalize sports gambling in Kansas. Depending on how fast legislators can iron out the details, Kansas residents could potentially have access to legalized sports gambling in time for college basketball season!
Photo by anton5146 / Getty Images
Minnesota
The process of legalizing sports betting in Minnesota is slightly more complicated than in other states, but there’s still good reason to remain optimistic for legalization.
The approval of sports betting in Minnesota hinges not on the political will of those in the statehouse, but on the willingness of Native American tribes in the state who control gaming operations.
Tribes in Minnesota have turned down attempts to introduce sports gambling into casinos in the past, but executives within the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association have been researching the issue and are ready to come to the table to discuss their findings with lawmakers. This is welcome news for Minnesotans eager to participate in sports gambling since Tribes serve as the biggest obstacle to legalized gambling in the state to date.
The fund will provide direct capital and startup financing to social equity applicants as the state takes meaningful steps to ensure that New York’s cannabis industry is the most diverse and inclusive in the nation.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) is set to pledge $200 million to support social equity applicants within the state’s burgeoning marijuana market.
On Wednesday, Hochul revealed an extensive State of the State book, laying out the plan for 2022, including policies she will pursue as well as her intentions to promote equity and economic justice in the cannabis industry.
Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
“Together these actions will help ensure that as New York’s cannabis industry thrives in the year ahead, more New Yorkers can reap the rewards,” the book says.
Hochul emphasized that creating “opportunities for all New Yorkers, particularly those from historically marginalized communities,” is important now that the market stands to generate billions of dollars.
Though marijuana legalization was signed into law last year by her predecessor Andrew Cuomo, marijuana business licenses have yet to be approved.
“In support of that goal, Governor Hochul will create a $200 million public-private fund to support social equity applicants as they plan for and build out their businesses,” the document says. “The fund will provide direct capital and startup financing to social equity applicants as the state takes meaningful steps to ensure that New York’s cannabis industry is the most diverse and inclusive in the nation.”
It continues, “Licensing fees and tax revenue will seed the fund and leverage significant private investment.”
In addition, 50% of all licenses will be awarded to equity applicants, including individuals from impacted communities, as well as minority- and women-owned businesses (MWBEs), distressed farmers, justice-involved individuals and service-disabled veterans.
“Together, these actions will help ensure that as New York’s cannabis industry thrives in the year ahead, more New Yorkers can reap the rewards,” the book reads.
Moreover, New York will also set up a new Division of Harm Reduction within the Office of Addiction Services and Supports to address harm reduction principles and strategies, including expanding access to naloxone and buprenorphine, and investing in fentanyl test strips, to name a few.
Harm Reduction Campaigns
In December, New York City became thefirst in the nation to open two overdose prevention centers (OPC) where people can use illicit drugs and receive medical care and services in an attempt to curb the drug overdose crisis plaguing not just NYC but the entire country.
To tackle the growing issue, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) filed a pair of requests for applications (RFAs) last week to provide funding to research the efficacy of a variety of harm reduction policies, including decriminalization and safe consumption sites.
A total of nine selected applicants will run studies as part of the five-year program that will approve up to $6.75 million for the projects within the fiscal year.
