The New Year comes with a lot of resolutions and excitement over new beginnings. Here are some tips to start 2021 off right.
There’s not much credibility for New Year’s resolutions, with most of them falling off a cliff into a raging sea of forgottenness a few days after they’re made. But if we’ve learned something from 2020 it’s that it pays to be prepared.
2021 promises a new president and a COVID-19 vaccine, leaving us with some measure of hope and plenty of opportunities for progression. Still, significant change will happen slowly and it will help us stay patient if we remember some of the struggles we’ve been through, especially those that happened in 2020.
Here are 5 mental health tips that will help you start the year off right:
Manage your expectations
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While you may want to ring in the New Year with guns blazing, it’s safe to keep your standards in check and face the reality that for some part of 2021, things will stay relatively the same. Lots of COVID-19 cases and lots of social distancing. Managing your expectations will help you deal with these problems more effectively, kind of setting a low bar at the time when you need it most.
Equip yourself with basic skills
As we begin the new year, we should all hope to have better coping mechanisms, learning healthier ways to manage stress, anxiety, depression and more. While you’d expect us to be better at managing these issues the more we’re exposed to them, this often isn’t the case. In order to learn coping mechanisms, we should actively monitor ourselves when experiencing these feelings.
Coping mechanisms, such as keeping your mind busy and not engaging with triggers, are very effective, but you should also make time for sitting with your feelings and processing them. Giving this attention and space to your emotions allows them to not pile up and attack you at random times, triggering bad bouts of feelings that can leave you feeling bad for days or weeks at a time. Whenever you get the chance, make the time to check in with yourself.
Always find stuff to look forward to
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It’s very difficult to find stuff to look forward to when the main sources of entertainment, like concerts, movie theaters and all sorts of events, have been put on hold. Still, try your best to make Zoom appointments with friends, to schedule movie nights, walks around the neighborhood, road trips and more. These activities give some meaning to your life and give you tangible things to look forward to.
When feeling depressed and overwhelmed, sticking to a self-care routine can be challenging. Still, it can help us feel better about ourselves. Figure out some basic self-care ritual — whether that’s making your bed, moisturizing or applying some kind of hair treatment — that you can commit to on a regular basis. It’s okay if you skip it sometimes, but consistency is helpful for everyone, especially those who are struggling.
It’s okay to feel bad and weird too
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The arrival of the new year tends to be shrouded in excitement and possibility. This is a good thing. But it’s also okay to feel weird given the emotional toll that this year has dealt us. As always, try your best to feel good and to create the time and space for yourself and your feelings. And remember, this pandemic is effecting the entire world in one way or another, so know that you’re not alone.
This year was a rollercoaster ride for the cannabis industry, which had its fair share of highs and lows. There were legalization breakthroughs, while various cannabis companies enforced massive layoffs.
However, there were also those that did quite a bit of hiring.
What’s interesting is that many companies at both ends cited the COVID-19 pandemic as one of the reasons for their actions. For some companies, the firing trend started back in 2019, before word of the coronavirus spread. On the other hand, many companies were negatively affected by the restrictions imposed due to the pandemic.
To better understand what happened and what we can expect regarding employment in the marijuana space in 2021, I spoke with Kelsea Appelbaum, the senior talent manager at Vangst, the Denver-based leading recruitment platform for the cannabis industry.
She explained that the industry was forced to be innovative.
“COVID happened and the world reacted,” Appelbaum says. “Like players in most other industries, cannabis companies were faced with a major challenge at the beginning of the pandemic — namely, how to survive. Off the bat, most line items considered ‘optional’ in cannabis were paused, hiring included. Initially, this shift in priorities seemed precarious for our business and for industry job seekers, but another change took place when almost every regulated cannabis market deemed our industry ‘essential.'”
Ultimately, the industry saw an uptick in roles throughout the fourth quarter, I’m told.
“What we have found is that instead of companies mass-hiring with loose scaling visions in mind, they now are focused on truly critical hires,” Appelbaum says. “Salaries are more competitive, roles/expectations are more ironed out, and companies are in a position where the hires they’re making are integral parts of their organizations.”
But was this a good or bad year for cannabis employment?
“Short answer: it was surprisingly good,” Appelbaum says. “Employment in cannabis pre-2020 could be seen as more of a job, whereas now, people see the industry as a true career investment. Most industries were faced with the truth that they were not “essential” when the world shifted, and leaders within our industry finally had the ability to show the candidate market that a role in cannabis is well-worth the leap.”
She added that the industry has seen “much higher-caliber candidates looking for employment opportunities, and we’ve seen the industry embrace top tier talent.“
2020 Layoffs Overview
Aurora Cannabis: In 2020, Aurora Cannabis let go more than 1200 of its employees. It began this year with layoffs and ended it with another wave. In February, the company cut around 340 jobs; in June it laid off 700 employees; and in December some 230 more. Aurora noted that most of the layoffs were in an effort to improve the balance sheet.
Canopy Growth:Smith Falls, Canada-based Canopy Growth let go around 500 people in March when it closed its facilities in Aldergrove and Delta, British Columbia, and around 85 full-time employees in April, trying to advance its production and balance supply and demand. In July, it laid off around 30 employees, and in September “a number” of workers at its operation in Niagara. In December, Canopy halted operations at five facilities across the country. More than 200 employees were let go, totaling more than 830 workers this year.
Organigram:In July, Moncton-based cannabis producer Organigram Inc.reduced its total workforce by 25%, or 220 employees, as part of an effort to deal with industry challenges imposed by the pandemic. Prior to this reduction, the cannabis company temporarily laid off almost half of its staff — around 400 workers — in April.
Acreage Holdings:The New York-based cannabis company Acreage Holdings Inc. laid off 122 employees from field operations teams. It also halted business activities at its dispensaries in Maryland and North Dakota and Form Factory operations in Oregon, California, and Washington. At the time, the company cited the COVID-19 pandemic as a reason behind these moves.
4Front Ventures: In March, 4Front Ventures (OTCQX: FFNTF) made many management and corporate changes, that also include layoffs, in an effort to reach positive cash flow in the second half of the year. At that time it reduced its corporate staff by 40% and headcount connected to overhead at its Mission stores by 45%.
Zenabis Global: Zenabis Global Inc. first laid off about 40 people in January. It then cut its overall workforce by 25% and reduced the workforce at its Vancouver headquarters by 33%, in March. At that time, it also placed its Delta, British Columbia facility — where growing operations were paused in May 2019 — up for sale. The cannabis company explained these moves as part of its strategy to advance efficiencies, reduce quarterly expenses and cash outlays by about $2 million.
The Flowr Corporation:Late in March, Toronto-based The Flowr Corporation (PINK: FLWPF) restructured around 25% of its workforce globally, expecting to attain a yearly reduction of headcount expenses of more than $6 million. This business move was a part of its strategy to minimize the negative consequences of the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Leafly: The cannabis information companylet go 54 employees at the end of January, and then in March some 91 more.
Marijuana Business Daily: In April, the industry news information resource announced it was temporarily laying off about 30% of its staff due to financial issues caused by the COVID-19 crisis.
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The Other Side Of The Spectrum
There were also those cannabis companies that hired, expanded, scaled operations and/or raised funds amid the crisis.
TerrAscend: At the end of March, the Mississauga, Canada-based cannabis company, TerrAscend Corp. (OTCQX: TRSSF) released its operational update. Unlike many other companies, at that time, TerrAscend was hiring additional staff at its cultivation, retail and processing facilities. It noted an increase in demand with cannabis operations being deemed essential in places where the company runs its business. This year, TerrAscend also opened several new Apothecarium dispensaries, expanded its U.S. footprint via the purchase of a Maryland-based grower, and according to more recent news, it has secured $120 million in financing through a Senior Secured Term Loan with a syndicate of lenders.
Grassroots Cannabis: Back in April, Chicago-based cannabis company, Grassroots Cannabis, completed the expansion of its Maryland-based cultivation center, advancing its production capabilities. By growing its footprint to 55,000 square feet from 20,200, the company projected to yield more than two times as many cannabis product. More importantly, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Grassroots said it is planning to hire across all sectors, such as cultivation, harvest, trim, processing, packaging, sales, and security. In July, the company was recognized as an attractive investment and was acquired by Curaleaf Holdings Inc. (OTCQX: CURLF).
Clever Leaves: While some companies were optimizing their business activities, citing the global pandemic as the reason, others were successfully scaling their operations and raising money. One such company, hemp extract producer Clever Leaves International Inc.finalized the first closing of its Series E financing in April. With this round, it has raised $14 million, and $120 million in total.
Planet 13: Another example of clever thinking has given us cannabis company Planet 13, which acted quickly when adult-use and medical marijuana dispensaries had to close their storefronts in Nevada in March. The company then started to add more delivery vehicles to its service.
Aphria and Tilray: The two major cannabis players merged. Aphria Inc. (NASDAQ: APHA) and Tilray (NASDAQ: TLRY) plan to create the world’s biggest global cannabis company based on pro forma revenue. Aphria CEO and chairman Irwin D. Simon told Benzinga that this deal wouldn’t result in many firings, like some cannabis experts predicted. “We have very few layoffs during COVID,” Simon clarified. “The great thing about this is, the big layoffs come in regards to closing facilities. There is not a big overlap here; if anything complimentary. And with moving a lot of the growth opportunities of Tilray into Aphria facilities, there will be hiring. I don’t see massive layoffs there for the organization.”
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2021 Employment Expectations
According to Appelbaum, the outlook for employment across the cannabis sector in 2021 is “Strong!”
“Companies are gearing up for 2021 and are looking for passionate leaders and change-makers to join their team,” she says. “More than ever, companies in cannabis have built out their hiring plans strategically which is great for individuals who are interested in breaking into the industry. New legalization legislature paired with cannabis’ overwhelming ‘essential’ designation has been a huge shot in the arm (to be topical!)”
It remains to be seen whether we’ll see new employment opportunities in the five states that just legalized cannabis on Election Day, Nov. 3. Recall how voters in New Jersey, Arizona, South Dakota and Montana approved recreational measures while voters in Mississippi approved a medical program.
New job opportunities in these five states will require time, Appelbaum says.
“Once each state announces who their license holders are, the fun really begins,” she adds. “Our team will be working with companies in each of these markets to help them with their hiring plans and, in turn, find them great talent.”
Those who are looking to get a job in the industry in one of the emerging markets should commence their research on compliance, she advised. Furthermore, Vangst will be hosting new-market career fairs focused on early-stage networking and learning in the first quarter of 2021 to assist new industry entrants.
We spend the majority of our days sitting down, especially in a pandemic. Here’s how to improve your posture and reduce back and neck pain.
No matter how invested you are in staying active, odds are you’ve likely spent more time sitting down this year than in previous ones. The pandemic and the winter months are contributing to a more sedentary life; even if you’re working out regularly, the fact that you’re not commuting to work or hanging out with friends likely means that you’re walking less than you normally do.
Sitting down over long periods of time is one of the biggest challenges created by the modern world, affecting our posture and the functioning of our bodies. The damage done by long work hours and office chairs has led to the creation of standing desks and in people sitting on medicine balls in order to keep their core muscles engaged. In conclusion: it’s not good for you to spend all of your time sitting down.
Here are some measures you can take to counteract all of that time spent sitting down:
Poor posture is very common and one of the most noticeable consequences of spending long hours sitting down. Poor posture results in pain and in a limited range of motion for our back, shoulders and neck. Fortunately, it can be resolved by stretching periodically, especially if you commit to stretches that strengthen muscles.
Many exercises can improve your posture and strengthen your muscles, from classic Yoga positions like Child’s Pose and Cat Cow, to traditional planks, which focus on strengthening your core muscles.
It’s difficult to interrupt the workflow of your day in order to stretch, but the more you train yourself to do it, the easier it becomes and the more results you’ll see. CNN Health reports that the most effective way to stretch is to do so once per every hour of work. The more elaborate stretches and exercises that strengthen muscles, like the Cat Cow pose and planks, should be done twice a day. Long term results include better posture, less muscle pain, more strength and even better breathing patterns.
Let’s ring in the New Year with some optimism, okay? Here are some easy tips to get you started.
New Year’s resolutions are tough to maintain because most of the time we set some pretty lofty goals under the influence of large amounts of alcohol and an insatiable appetite to make 2021 better than 2020.
Instead of approaching changes and improvements in your life with drunken abandon, try to set a couple of simple-yet-general goals that’ll improve your life greatly and that can make you happier, no matter when you pick them up.
Here are 5 good habits you might want to consider adopting in 2021.
Read More
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Every person that’s cool seems to be associated with a book club. Okay, not really, but they should. It may sound like a cliché, but reading really does make you smarter, more interesting, and literate. It’s never too late to form a habit, and there’s no better habit than this. Instead of worrying over the amount of books you’re reading, try setting aside a few minutes or half hour every day for reading; anytime works, before bedtime, while commuting, or in a coffee shop somewhere.
Be Punctual
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Punctuality is something that’ll improve many aspects of your life, both personal and work related. Being punctual will also help you organize your outings, your work life, and it’ll also make life easier for everyone that surrounds you.
Do What You Love
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You should never feel bad about enjoying yourself, so find time to do the things you’re passionate about and that make you happy. This will also help you find balance in your life, making your work much more bearable. Yes, you have to work, but if you’re organized enough you can also do whatever it is that you’re itching to do.
This isn’t really the best time to be spending in-person time with friends, but a virtual hang can often make up for it. Try giving them a call (or even texting), sharing life updates, coping mechanisms and general musings about life.
Self-care has a broad definition, but it definitely includes nurturing your mental health. So, make sure to stay connected as best you can to friends and family, work out more (Here’s How You Can Protect Your Body From Hours Of Sitting), go to the doctor for your annual checkups, and drink more water. These goals will result in you leading a happier and more fulfilling life. And it’s never too late or early to start doing that.
Numerous states appear ripe for investment opportunities. According to data analysts, all eyes will be on the Northeast, namely Massachusetts and New Jersey as potential catalysts for the region.
No longer reeling from a bear market, the American cannabis industry appears poised to continue its growth throughout 2021.
Some states stand out to investors more than others due to strong performances and first-year potential.
According to Headset Data Analyst Cooper Ashley, sales from January to November of this year saw Massachusetts post the highest year-over-year gains. The state earned $621 million in sales during the period, which was considered a shortfall due to the two months of closures.
California saw strong growth in 2020, increasing revenue 50% on the way to earning $3.78 billion in sales.
Oregon ranked third with a 41% increase, totaling over $1 billion in 2020 sales.
Others topping the list included Washington (29%, $1.3 billion), Colorado (25%, $1.6 billion) and Nevada (11%, $649 million).
Ashley noted that Michigan did not receive a year-over-year value since its sales began on Dec. 1, 2019. However, the Wolverine State is considered another top performer, with sales topping $400 million in 2020.
“After a slow start, due to individual municipalities and regulations, Michigan’s adult use market has taken off, and their medical use market grew much faster this year than we’d anticipated,” Alyssa Jank, the U.S. cannabis manager for Brightfield Group says.
Jank highlighted Illinois for having a strong year as well, with sales 20% higher than forecasted.
Various Methods To Determine 2020’s Top Performing States
420 Investor Alan Brochstein touched on several states, including Florida for its growing patient count, profitable sales due to adding flower and the possibility of adult use on the horizon.
Brochstein also highlighted medical markets in Oklahoma and Pennsylvania. He credits Oklahoma’s low barrier of entry, making a “de facto legal market.”
“[Oklahoma] is by far the most successful implementation ever in terms of quickly ramping up,” he adds.
Pennsylvania’s robust program stood out to Brochstein. He commended the state for having an adequate number of operators despite limited licensing and its decision to include flower.
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Promising Investments Across The Country, Particularly In The Northeast
Numerous other states appear ripe for investment opportunities.
Headset V.P. of Strategic Development Aaron Trahan says all eyes will be on the Northeast, namely Massachusetts and New Jersey as potential catalysts for the region.
“If those neighboring markets such as New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and others fast track expansion, this could be the next big emerging region for the cannabis industry,” Trahan says.
Satya Capital CEO Nishant Reddy has his eye on New Jersey, as well as Arizona, Florida and Michigan, citing the size of each state and the growth potential each has.
He hopes to bring his California-based cannabis brand, A Golden State, to each market.
Brightfield’s Jank also touched on Arizona’s promise in 2021, noting a strong medical market in place and adult use looking to begin next year.
She also highlighted the Midwest’s potential, extending beyond the major players in Michigan and Illinois.
Missouri stands out thanks to its recently launched medical market, which includes the sale of edibles, Jank says. “That market is likely to take off in the next few months.”
There are hundreds of thousands of different resolutions floating around the ether this time of year and it’s likely that cannabis could enhance many of their fulfillments.
A new year, a new start. People around the globe celebrate new beginnings at the stroke of midnight on January 1 and make promises to themselves with the best of intentions. Whether it’s losing weight, exercising more, getting some travel on or simply being kinder to oneself and others, they’re all noble endeavors — just not easy for everyone to keep for long periods of time. Enter cannabis.
Unlike the stoner stereotype of being lazy and couch-locked for a good portion of the day, cannabis helps many people to simply get out of bed in the morning, especially if they suffer from arthritis or another type of ailment. But if you’re looking for motivation outside of feeling better, pot can work wonders.
For the purposes of energizing oneself to keep a resolution, a sativa dominant hybrid is likely your best bet. The sativa elevates your mood while the touch of indica keeps your mind from spinning out. Everyone is different though, and terpenes play a big role as well, so listen to your body and use strains that you already know are motivational to you.
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Microdosing marijuana before a workout is the perfect way to get in the zone. You become more aware of your body and self-pep-talks come naturally. Yoga is a great way to ring in the new year and bring in good habits. Start slow and don’t burn yourself out in a week. You’ll be sore if you’re doing it right, but you don’t want to injure yourself. That’s no way to kick off 2019.
Being kind is most obviously enhanced by marijuana. Being kind is a state of mind, but pot does seem to help us take a deep breath and think more deeply before speaking.
There are hundreds of thousands of different resolutions floating around the ether this time of year and it’s likely that cannabis could enhance many of their fulfillments. Cannabis is the ultimate enhancement drug and that goes for our minds as well as our bodies and senses. Keep the New Year happy and go get those goals!
Dry January is a popular undertaking during the start of the new year. But should you do it?
Dry January is the much touted moment when people choose to abstain from alcohol for the duration of the first month of the year. It’s an understandable impulse; after all the stuff you drank and ate over the holidays, there’s nothing more cleansing that announcing to the world (and convincing yourself) that you’ll steer clear of all alcoholic beverages for a period of 31 days.
People have a lot of opinions on Dry January, from its benefits to its limitations and possible repercussions. Here’s what you should know if you’d like to give it a shot:
There are plenty of emotional and physical benefits
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The benefits of quitting alcohol for a significant amount of time are significant, from the emotional ones you get by sticking to your decision, to the physical ones like better sleep, more energy and even a better sex life.
“You can achieve an additional five to six [rapid eye movement] REM cycles a night by giving up alcohol,” Dr. Soma Mandal told Bustle. “This leads to better decision making and improved learning and problem solving.” Better sleep produces a ripple effect of positive benefits for your every day life, increasing your levels of energy, productivity and mood.
Dry January is a term that envelops all types of alcohol, something that may prove to be complicated for habitual or social drinkers. For these people, reducing the amounts of days when they drink might be more realistic and tangible, producing significant mental and physical benefits without feeling like they’re taking on an insurmountable task.
It may also encourage extreme behaviors
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If you complete Dry January and then choose to unwind in February, you’ll likely drink a lot more and lose most of the progress you made.
While experts say that the short term benefits of the practice are great, there’s mixed evidence on the long term effects of it. “It’s worth bearing in mind that, to have a real benefit on health, people should be drinking within recommended low risk guidelines across the whole year. Dry January might be a helpful way to re-establish control over your drinking, and could have some short-term benefits (a lot of people report sleeping better, for example), but it’s unlikely to have major long-term health benefits in itself,” Professor Marcus Munafo told the BBC.
Dry January is an interesting experiment, one that’s bound to make the drinker think twice about their drinking behaviors, resetting their relationship to alcohol. While some people might take the opening as a way of regaining control over the amount of alcohol they consume, others might use the month to sleep better, shed some weight and get back to their usual patterns once it’s through. It’s all up to the person.
The music icon thinks marijuana is starting to find its way into “straight culture” through topicals and ingestible and older people with arthritis and other ailments are learning the medicinal qualities that cannabis offers.
Carlos Santana has openly shared his respect towards the plant throughout the years.
A magician on the guitar, the music legend and entrepreneur has often touted the healing properties of marijuana ever since he was a little kid. Santana credits his mother for shaping his outlook, as well the appreciation of his native Mexican culture, which cherishes earth given medicines.
The 10-time Grammy-award winning musician is also known to the public for his charity work. Back in 1998, Santana founded The Milagro Foundation (The Miracle Foundation) with his family. The group helps underserved and vulnerable children around the globe, and supports organizations that work with children in the areas of health, education, and the arts.
Since its inception, the foundation managed to raise and grant more than $8 million, thus helping 396 organizations across 18 countries and 36 U.S. states.
Santana seems to be passionate about helping others in any way possible — getting involved and sharing, not only his art, but his knowledge and beliefs. That’s why Santana decided to join the cannabis sphere.
In January, he partnered with Leaf Coast Ventures to help create high-quality cannabis and CBD brands. The first line of cannabis products yielded from this partnership debuted in October. Santana named it Mirayo, which means “My Ray” in Spanish.
Mirayo was created to honor his Latin roots and spiritual approach towards the plant. When it comes to cannabis, Santana sees it as an ancient remedy, something that can help us alleviate pain and, what’s more, awaken out consciousness and creativity and find our “inner light.” I reached out to Santana and asked him to elaborate:
You were familiar with the plant’s healing properties since you were a child. Nevertheless, throughout your entire life, stigma around it was present. How did that make you feel? Did that ever shake you up and make you question the things you knew about the healing and spiritual benefits cannabis brings?
From when I was very young, I understood the healing benefits from marijuana plants from my mother, Josefina. She would infuse it into alcohol then use it for different ailments. Growing up, I was very aware of medicinal uses of various herbs as it is part of the Native Mexican culture. When I was a kid on the street and working in bars in Tijuana, there were people who smoked marijuana, so I never really bought into the stigma. In the 60s, it was a consciousness revolution and the counterculture where we rejected what Uncle Sam was selling us and opened up our hearts and minds to all sorts of possibilities. I made a conscious choice to take my own path.
What’s your advice to older folks who are hesitant to try Mirayo because of the stigma around marijuana when they grew up?
Medicine is made by a beam of sunlight into plants, so it is natural. Drugs are man made in a laboratory. American Indians from Canada to Brazil knew about healing, by changing the molecular structure through the earth and we are finally catching on to what they always knew. I think it is starting to find its way into the “straight culture” through topicals and ingestible and older people with arthritis and other ailments are learning of the medicinal qualities that cannabis offers.
Ask most cancer patients if they find cannabis to help. Now they have a legal way to find relief. People are starting to understand that so much good can come from these plants and we are just beginning to understand the healing properties it offers. We have come a long way. It is interesting that people will blindly take pills that have side effects because the FDA says it ok, but have not opened up to cannabis. Perhaps now, with it being legalized in California, Nevada and so many other states, you can go to licensed dispensaries where you can access safe, tested products, people will feel more comfortable.
The cannabis industry won many battles in regards to legalization in the U.S. throughout 2020. The stigma seems to be slowly fading. Was this perfect timing to join the industry, or was it something else that moved you in this direction now?
It’s an exciting time in the cannabis industry and in the world. So many walls are coming down. In the 60’s it was the Black Panthers, marching against Vietnam, Woodstock, the Women’s Movement. In the 70’s and 80’s it was the Berlin Wall coming down and Nelson Mandela being freed. Then Barack Obama as President and now Kamala Harris breaking the glass ceiling. We are evolving and people’s view on cannabis is too.
To see society transition from where it was back in the 60s and 70s when you bought your herb in a matchbox, or you needed to hide it from the cops to being able to buy it in a store is inspiring. What’s most exciting to me is now cannabis is more widely available, so that more can access this healing medicine.
You mentioned many times how cannabis helps people accept the light inside their hearts and how your mission with Mirayo is to “help people use cannabis as a door to a more benevolent behavior like kindness and compassion.” Imagine a scenario — a utopian one I guess — where most of the negative associations with cannabis have been removed and the use has been legalized globally. Do you think with more people accepting and consuming it there would be more compassion around the world, and also less illness?
Absolutely! Cannabis opens a door to divine wisdom and the everlasting gift of our uniqueness. It can lift the veils of illusion of mental slavery from feeling programmed to be a wretched sinner unworthy of your own light. That is an illusion. Cannabis can help you go within your center, relieve your daily stress and find your light. We need to open our minds beyond the Bible or the constitution and listen to our hearts’ light. That in itself will create more compassion and less mental and physical illness. When you are centered and at peace, you have more compassion, and your body can thrive. As Bob Marley said “Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds.”
This year, people were social distancing, and quarantining. How did you keep busy in 2020? And what’s your advice to people feeling COVID fatigue?
We are inspired by the incredible work the Milagro Foundation does, in making a difference in the lives of children around the world. We continue to put our energy towards helping children and their families adversely affected by COVID. In addition to the launch of Mirayo, we started working on a new album in October and that has been a beautiful process, discovering new melodies and ideas. Stay in your heart and wake up each day to make a positive difference on the planet. Thank you for helping transmit the frequency of benevolence. Peace.
With ever-climbing HPV-positive cancer rates, research on the effect CBD and THC has on the human papillomavirus can’t come soon enough.
Often called the common cold of the sexual world, the Centers for Disease Control states that HPV has infected over 79 million individuals worldwide. Both prevalent and highly contagious, HPV tends to thrive on porous skin located in the throat, anal cavity, cervix and tongue, making it extremely difficult to test and eradicate around the world.
Risk factors of HPV are a compromised immune system, smoking and poor diet and sleep. Thought to cause over 70% of cervical cancers, the World Health Organization states that HPV has more than 100 types and has one of the best known defenses: vaccination.
For decades, researchers believed that marijuana played a role in HPV-related cervical cancer. However, a 2010 study, published in the U.S. National Library of Medicine, found that marijuana did not cause cervical cancer.
Understanding HPV’s infectivity
While once thought to only be contracted through sexual conduct, studies in the last two decades have showcased that HPV can live on surfaces. A 2002 study, published in the British Medical Journal found HPV DNA could live in a clinical environment, without skin-to-skin contact. A more recent and in-depth study, featured in Taylor & Francis Online, found that when comparing the bovine papillomavirus with the human papillomavirus, both showed a remarkable ability to retain a 50% infectivity at room temperature after 3 days.
Additionally, in 2014, Penn State further researched earlier findings, discovering that unless a special method of cleaning instruments (autoclaving) or bleach was present, HPV was persistent on surfaces and was able to be transmitted. While still cited as a “sexually-transmitted infection,” HPV appears to be anything but.
Craig Meyers, a professor of microbiology and immunology at Penn State College of Medicine explained, “Chemical disinfectants used in the hospitals and other healthcare settings have absolutely no effect on killing human papillomavirus…unless bleach or autoclaving is used in the hospital setting, human papillomavirus is not being killed and there is a potential spread of HPV through hospital acquired or instrument or tool infection.”
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THC’s Role with HPV
A recent study published by Joseph A. Califano III, MD, found an interesting juxtaposition between HPV and THC. He shared in a report to UC San Diego Health that he felt since HPV-related head and neck cancers along with marijuana use were both on the rise, there might be a correlation between the two. His father, Joseph A. Califano Jr., is the former Secretary of State and well-known founder and chairman to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University, who heads an organization speaking out against marijuana.
In the study, Califano III cited that THC turned on the p38 MAPK, (protein that respond to stress or other stimuli) and while the protein was signaled on, HPV-positive head and neck cancer lost apoptosis (a form of cell death.) Meaning, THC seemed to ignite the protein that allowed HPV to continue growing at an alarming rate. Citing the study as a, “cautionary tale,” Califano III is now heading a study to see if CBD has the same effect.
Interestingly, a 2016 study published by North-West University in Potchefstroom, South Africa, was found to be in direct opposition of Caifano’s findings.
Citing the same method of apoptosis, researchers found that CBD could be considered anticarcinogenic for cervical cancer. The data further illustrated that, “cannabidiol rather than cannabis sativa crude extracts prevent cell growth and induced cell death in cervical cancer cell lines.” Could cannabis hurt head and neck cancers while CBD kills cancer cells in the cervix?
Kellie Lease Stecher, MD, a gynecologist in Edina, a suburb of Minneapolis, Minn. believes both studies highlight the importance of ongoing research. “While marijuana use is climbing due to legality, more studies must be done to look at the HPV’s DNA and how each strand is effected by CBD or marijuana,” Stecher explained. “Further studies should examine how HPV expression is altered by marijuana or its components in different tissues; as we don’t have enough data to determine if CBD or THC is helpful or harmful due to conflicting data.”
With an eye to the future and ever-climbing HPV-positive cancer rates, research can’t come soon enough.
We imagine that the same reasons he has for refusing the American people money they need to stay alive is part of his motivation for wanting to stop legal marijuana from taking hold.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is perhaps the most despised person in the United States. The top Senate Republican recently sidelined an effort to provide the American people with checks for $2000 instead of the $600 stimulus approved under the latest coronavirus relief bill.
The entire nation has been screaming at McConnell for days from their computers, televisions and smartphones because the lawmaker fails to see the necessity of providing folks with enough cash to actually aid them in catching their fiscal breath. Meanwhile, the cannabis advocacy troop is presumably happy that the rest of the country is finally seeing what they’ve known for years: McConnell is anti-progress.
When the U.S. House of Representatives passed the MORE Act (Marijuana Opportunity and Expungement Act), they knew the bill didn’t have a fighting chance at being taken seriously with this Congress. As Senate Majority Leader, McConnell determines which legislation sees the light of day and which doesn’t. Marijuana-related legislation is always something he has ignored to the bitter end.
Although McConnell was instrumental in reviving industrial hemp cultivation in 2018, the self-proclaimed grim reaper of Capitol Hill wants nothing to do with making its stoner cousin an American staple. Some think he is apprehensive because he wants to give hemp farmers a chance to thrive first, while others believe that he’s just too old school for pot’s progressive ways. Regardless of which is true, McConnell is one of the main reasons that cannabis prohibition is alive and well. So how much longer is this lawmaker going to be a problem for pot?
Senator McConnell seems to be against all Americans, but his Kentucky peeps keep reelecting him for the job. He’s spent three decades in Congress, working his way up to majority leader, and now he’s essentially become the most powerful man in Washington D.C. He has more corporate sponsors than professional sports, which has a lot of people questioning exactly who he works for. And while antics like blocking additional corona relief cash for the American people are top of mind right now, the voters always seem to forget about these snubs at the polls.
Photo by Stefani Reynolds/Getty Images
But McConnell’s reign of terror might be at the end of its rope. Although he won the 2020 election, he could still get knocked off his high horse in the new year.
Next week is Georgia’s runoff election. Since none of the Senate candidates received enough votes to be declared a winner in November, the voters will hit the polls again in a bid to flush out a victor. As we’ve pointed out in previous columns, if the Democrats take over the two seats, the party will have the majority in both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate — giving them the most power in D.C. However, if the Republicans maintain those seats, well, it will be business as usual for a divided Congress.
One scenario specifically spells doom for Senator McConnell. Since Biden won the presidential election, a Democratic victory in Georgia means that he would no longer control the Senate majority. This demotion would strip most of the bill-blocking power away from the Kentucky Republican, and the Democrats would gain that clout and use it to pass just about any measure they want, including those pertaining to marijuana.
The only recourse Republicans would have to block cannabis-related bills (or any other issue they wholeheartedly disagree with) is a legislative filibuster. Republicans could try to delay votes by extending debates and using other means of obstruction. But the Democrats, if they win, are talking about taking this option off the table for good.
Photo by Caroline Brehman-Pool/Getty Images
But McConnell could still be a threat.
Even if the Senator gets dethroned as Majority Leader, he will still have a great deal of political influence. As Eastern Kentucky University professor Anne Cizmar pointed out recently, McConnell is a “skilled politician” who, even outside the scope of majority leader, would be useful in furthering the Republican agenda while also snuffing out anything the Democrats try to achieve.
And that might include marijuana legalization. But that’s a big maybe. Even in the event of a Senate deadlock, the vice-president-elect, Kamala Harris, could still swoop in and save the day. And since she is on the right side of marijuana reform, it’s not likely that too much backdoor politics would hold back any pot-related measures. Still, we haven’t seen the influence McConnell has outside his role of majority leader.
We imagine that the same reasons he has for refusing the American people money they need to stay alive is part of his motivation for wanting to stop legal marijuana from taking hold. After all, the country stands to benefit from job growth and billions in economic benefit in a taxed and regulated market. Why McConnell thinks that is wrong for the country should be questioned extensively.
Perhaps the Republican should talk to former Speaker of the House John Boehner and former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle. Both of these former political figures have since forged careers in the cannabis industry.
