Reading While On A Marijuana High

Sarah Johns

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March 6, 2024

Enjoying a good book is a habit that needs to be cultivated in order to be wholly understood. Here are some tips that can help you get started.

Marijuana can enhance a variety of things or bring things down and chill you out. While used for fun or medical reasons, sometimes you just want to cozy yourself up and have a great experience. From Boston to Mountlake Terrace, people consume and immerse themselves in a movie. Others hike, workout, code, and more. And for a some, the lose themselves in a good book. Here are tips on reading while on a marijuana high.

Similar to doing any other activity while high, what you really need to do in order to succeed is practice. Marijuana can add a lot of layers to reading, making the experience more enjoyable or even helping reconnect with it if you’ve been having a hard time focused on full books.

Just like listening to music and reading, getting high and reading can help craft a better mood. Once you hit the right stride you’ll disover you’re more relaxed and engaged with the story.

Choose the right book

If you’re just starting out pairing weed and books, you don’t want to kick it off with dense literary novels. Try something that feels easy to for you, going back to something you used to read when you were young or a genre that’s simple and compulsive, like romance or horror. Good ideas are the Harry Potter books or something by Stephen King. A graphic novel can also make for a really good starting place.

Let go of the “right way to read”

5 Online Bookclubs To Join Now That You're Spending More Time At Home — Photo by Thought Catalog from Pexels

Reading lends itself to very ritualistic behaviors. Some people prefer to read paper books and can only read when they’re surrounded by total silence. While there’s no judgment, you’ll have more success if you’re able to read while in a variety of situations. Train yourself to read in different places, even if it’s only for 5 or 10 minutes at a time. When high, try your best to read and enjoy yourself, avoiding stress if your mind can’t hold on to all of the words that are on the page.

Pay attention to the strain

The strain you’re smoking will have an impact on your reading experience as a whole. Try to avoid sleepy strains, since they’ll make a relaxing activity even more relaxing and you’ll fall asleep, which is great but doesn’t really serve the purpose of this article. Choose a strain that’s cerebral yet contained, something that will help you feel creative but also grounded. Ask your budtender for a light indica or a sativa that doesn’t produce too much anxiety.

Watch your dosage

When starting on your weed reading journey, watch your dosage, taking a couple of puffs to see how your body takes to this new experience. You can always smoke later if you need more, but it helps to start off slow. Happy reading!

Legal Marijuana Says Aloha Hawai’i

Sarah Johns

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March 5, 2024

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The tropical paradise just got a little better, the state’s senate just approved recreational cannabis.

Hawaii one of the smallest states and is the 39th most populous 1.4 million residents. Two thirds live on Oʻahu. Tourism is the life blood of the island with 932,713 visiting in 2023. In the first quarter of that year, visitor spending was $2.11 billion, up from $1.78 billion (+18.5%) the previous year. Now, legal marijuana says Aloha Hawai’i thanks to their state house.

The rise of marijuana was fueled by the burgeoning jazz scene in the 1930s and ’40s which coincided with the growth of surfing in the in the ’50s. Hawaii become a Mecca for wave, music and sun…and maybe a little something else. Now Hawaii is enshrining them all into law. Roughly. 58% of Hawai’i residents are in favor of “legalizing marijuana to allow possession, manufacture, and sale of marijuana by and to adults and elected heard the message!

The Hawai’i State Senate passed a bill that would legalize and regulate cannabis for adults 21 and older, with am additional focus on public safety. The bill now moves to the Hawai’i House of Representatives for consideration.

Before reaching the Senate floor, the bill was approved by four committees. Amendments were approved during the committee process, including to add non-discrimination provisions that would prevent children from being taken away based on cannabis, prevent parole/probation revocation, and prevent state benefits and entitlements from being denied; and to provide for expungement and resentencing.

The Hawai’i alliance for Cannabis reform is very optimistic about it passing the House and being signed by the governor.

Nikos Leverenz, of the Drug Policy Forum of Hawai’i and the Hawai’i Health and Harm Reduction Center shared “Although this is an imperfect bill that still contains far too many elements of criminalization, it’s welcome news to have a viable adult-use legalization bill that can be improved upon when it reaches the House. Drug Policy Forum of Hawaii and other members of the Hawaii Alliance for Cannabis Reform are hopeful that our proposed amendments will be considered by the House Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs Committee. It will also be important for reform advocates to engage skeptical members of the House, including many freshman lawmakers, who have placed far too much currency in the monotonous, less than fact-based rhetoric from the criminal legal lobby.”

Things move slower in Hawai’i as the population tends to be stable with few people either moving to or away from the island. They are very relationship based and having something like this takes time and great effort.

Yuck, This Weed Dispensary Did What

Anthony Washington

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March 5, 2024

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We have all seen stuff which has made us hesitate – but this is truly yuck

Since going legal, cannabis has been booming across the country and more people have been embracing consuming. And not just the younger generations, boomers have found all sort of medical and other benefits. Dispensaries have done well and, Missouri, has done very well coming in at a billion in sales in 2023. But with the former administration and the slow moving Biden team, it does leave room for a few bad apples in the barrel. And yuck, this weed dispensary did what – something you will not believe!

In November 2022, 67.2% of Maryland voters approved recreational marijuana on on July 1, 2023, it went into effect. The state currently has over 100 marijuana dispensaries licensed by the Maryland Medical Cannabis Administration (MCA) to sell cannabis to qualifying patients and eligible adult consumers. Most dispensaries are Mom and Pop retailers who put their best foot forward and in do what is best for the customer. Except one.

marijuana dispensary — Photo by smodj/Getty Images

Curio’s Far & Dotter dispensary in Timonium decided not to embrace the cool, chill, do good vibe of the traditional cannabis culture. They focused on making a profit, and went a little overboard. It seems the team at the dispensary tossed 224 grams of cannabis into a dumpster outside the dispensary, where it sat for 41 hours and nine minutes unguarded.

What happened next was caught on a surveillance camera. Three dispensary employees retrieved four boxes containing the pre-packaged product from the dumpster. Then another employee repackage the marijuana, removing it from the original boxes, and placing them into plastic bags, before storing them inside a vault.

An employee informed an investigator from the MCA the cannabis needed to be placed in the plastic bags because the original packages were covered in a liquid substance acquired from the dumpster

Management did not want to lose the profit and sold the product for a total of $3,174.50 in sales. This was against the advice the product be destroyed as it violates several compliance requirements.

The company received $26,000 fine, ordered to submit its green waste logs for monthly reviews by the MCA, submit its scale calibration and cleaning logs for monthly review, and retrain staff on green waste procedures. The manager we fired.

In an emailed statement to the Baltimore Banner, a spokesperson for Curio said the company prides itself on relationships with its customers and employees.

“The aforementioned product was inside sealed jars, within sealed boxes, and it is undisputed that no outside material ever breached the jars or touched the product,” the statement said.

Curio also said they’ve conducted an internal investigation and that nonadherence to safety and compliance requirements “is not taken lightly nor tolerated.”

Why Some Don’t Have A High The First Time They Consume Weed

Terry Hacienda

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March 5, 2024

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Why Some Don’t Have A High The First Time They Consume Weed

As more people have access to legal marijuana – more first timers are getting a little confused – especially about the high.

More people are trying marijuana. Canada is fully legal and over 50% of the US population have recreational weed access. The social stigma is almost gone also as over 85% of the population believe it should be legal in some form. There are decisions on how (old school by smoking, current with gummies or vapes), where and alone or with others. After prepping it though, occasionally there is another question – why some don’t have a high the first time consume weed.

Despite what we know of marijuana tolerance, the more you’re exposed to cannabis the less it affects your, the phenomenon of not feeling anything the first few times you consume affects a number of first timers. Experts have different theories as to why this happens.

One of the most prominent theories states that in order for people to experience weed properly, they must first learn how to do it correctly. People need to be exposed to the drug repeatedly until their body understands what it’s supposed to feel. Experts call this a “sensitization period,” when THC interacts with the cannabinoids in your system a few times in order to activate them and to produce that high feeling. It may take a couple of sessions before you smoke and know that you are actually high versus feeling what you think you should be experiencing.

Smoking verus other methods my also be a reason. Smoking can be a bit tricky. You my be inhaling cannabis but keeping the smoke in the mouth, which prevents the THC from making its way to your bloodstream.

There’s not one definitive answer when it comes to cannabis and its effect on our bodies, but it’s always hard to do something for the first time, whether that’s smoking weed or getting a tattoo. Your expectations, the people you’re with, and your biology will have a hand in your first couple of experiences with weed, which is why it’s important to be patient and open minded.

When first using marijuana, start off slow surrounded by people you trust. Put your phone on silent to minimize extra sources of stress. Once you start, pause for a bit (15-30 minutes for smoking/vape and 45 minutes for edibles) so you can monitor your feelings closely, that way you can make sure you get high but not too high.

Study Finds Key Surprise About Medical Marijuana Patients

Terry Hacienda

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March 5, 2024

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Study Finds Key Surprise About Medical Marijuana Patients

Have a long term illness is tough, but data has shown a way to make it less worse

Having to deal with a medical issue for a longer time can be depressing and debilitating. over 40 million in the US and Canada are limited in their usual activities due to one or more chronic health conditions. Several studies have demonstrated that MC helps reduce the opioid dosage for patients undergoing treatment for non-cancer pain. It can also be substituted in place of opioids to achieve therapeutic benefits. Dealing with pain can be helped…but now a study finds a key surprised about medical marijuana patients which is more holistic.

Johns Hopkins researchers partnered with Realm of Caring, a nonprofit dedicated to therapeutic marijuana research, and collected data from 1,276 patients associated with the organization. Among the participants, 808 patients consumed medical marijuana products, and 468 patients who served as a control group.

Patients were asked about their quality of life, sleep habits, pain symptoms, mental health status, ongoing use of non-marijuana medications, and baseline health. Those who use medical marijuana recorded significant improvements in quality of life and health satisfaction than the control group. They also expressed less pain, depression, and anxiety symptoms than non-users. Lastly, they used less prescription medications and visited the hospital less than their counterparts.

“This study shows clearly that cannabinoids have a very positive effect on health outcomes across the board among all age groups and demographics. This publication will be the first of many based on the detailed findings of this extensive data set,” Realm of Caring CEO Jonathan Hoggard. “Perhaps the most dramatic finding in this study was that medicinal cannabis use was associated with 39% fewer ER visits and 46% fewer hospital admissions.”

Among the control group were patients interested in exploring potential therapeutic benefits of medical marijuana. Researchers noted that some of them began using medical marijuana during the study and subsequently reported higher health and well-being levels after the fact.

“People felt better when they started. That is a powerful signal,” study author Ryan Vandrey said.

The paper notes that biases and pre-existing beliefs about marijuana should be considered for both patients and researchers. While this is the first step in research, it is an indication of additional benefits of medical marijuana.

Beer Sales Flatten Thanks To Marijuana

Sarah Johns

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March 4, 2024

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The number three drink in the world is struggling a bit in the land of the maple leaf

Observations gave an indication in California, but now Canada has the data. Legal marijuana is taking some of the foam and market share from beer. But beer lovers, don’t panic yet, it is still the #3 most popular drink in the world behind water and tea. IT has been the king of hot days, after work hangouts and college campuses. But a new era has emerged.

This research, published last week in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence, not only marks a significant shift in the alcohol market but also raises questions about the broader implications of cannabis legalization on alcohol consumption habits.

Already, Gen Z has changed their drinking habits. Data shows alcohol has a smaller appeal to a strong percentage of Gen Z drinking-age adults (aged 21-24). A total of 27% say they never drink alcoholic beverages. Gen Z adults who drink do so more frequently than older adults – 47% of all Gen Z adults (21+) drink alcohol daily to weekly. Baby Boomer drinkers drink the least frequently, with 35% of all Boomers drinking alcohol at least weekly.

Beer also has a few disadvantages as opposed to marijuana. Beer has higher calories, filling and, comparatively, a bit more expensive. A quick gummy on a Monday night can take the edge off the day with less weight gain and a more filling wallet.

The study’s authors concluded that the legalization of non-medical cannabis was linked to an immediate downturn in beer sales, a trend which persisted into the post-legalization period. This indicates a potential shift in consumer behavior, with individuals increasingly turning to legal cannabis as an alternative to beer.

This is a positive societal sign as marijuana legalization spread. While not health food, cannabis has fewer harmful side effects and has proven medical benefits.

How About Marijuana Peeps For Your Basket

Anthony Washington

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March 4, 2024

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How About Marijuana Peeps For Your Basket

Why not take a holiday classic candy and make it even more fun!

Love them or hate them, Peeps have become a staple for Easter and other holidays. Each year across the US and Canada, retailers are filled with things for holiday from chocolates, to new clothes to the infamous little bunnies. Newspapers have contests asking people to do a scene with the squishy characters and conversations are heard in store aisles and across cocktails about the peep. But what if you made them even better…how about marijuana peeps for your basket?

Last year, Easter candy accounted for $3.4+ billion in the US and Canada dollars in sales. Confectionary sales have steady grown over the last 10 years for this holiday. Edibles are a huge cannabis market. According to BDSA, a leading analyst firm which also covers cannabis, says edibles are the number one way people consume marijuana. Roughly 90% of it is via gummies, followed by chocolate.

In 1953, Just Born acquired the Rodda Candy Company and it jelly bean and marshmallow chick line. Smartly, they replaced the time-consuming process of hand-forming the chicks with mass production. When founder Sam Born displayed a sign for his freshly made candy, he titled it “Just Born”, playing off of his last name and the fact that he made his candy fresh daily. The newly purchased company, Just Born, was soon the “largest marshmallow candy manufacturer in the world.”

In the 1960s, following the company began following seasonal themes. Twenty years later, the Marshmallow Peeps Bunny was released as a popular year-round shape of the candy. The yellow chicks were the original form of the candy — hence their name — but then the company introduced other colors and, eventually, the myriad of shapes now produced.

How to make Marijuana Peeps:

1) Buy some bunny Peeps.

2) Melt either white chocolate or vanilla candy wafers or bark in a microwave safe mug (deep enough to cover the Peeps) until it’s nice and fluid.

3) Add cannabutter or a small amount of marijuana oil and stir well until fully blended.

4) Insert a lollipop stick into the bottom of each Peep (use some melted candy to make it adhere better).

5) Dip each Peep into the candy to coat. Allow candy to harden.

6) Enjoy!

You want to be careful in dosage and perhaps taste them before sharing them with friends or at a holiday gathering.

Marijuana Makes 70 The New 50

Amy Hansen

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March 4, 2024

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While cannabis isn’t the face of the fountain of youth, your body may feel younger thanks to consuming

The buzz is Gen Z is turning away from alcohol to marijuana and California sober is the new thing for the other 35 set. But look around the corner and you see seniors are also using marijuana more. Part of the reason is helps the body feel and act younger. Marijuana makes 70 the new 50. Even Fox News viewers are pro-marijuana legalization.

The Drug and Alcohol Dependence journal published “marijuana use is becoming more prevalent in senior population.” There is sound reason for it, cannabis can reduce anxiety, body aches, inflammation and enhance a relaxed mood which can lead to other things. Alcohol tends to have more damaging affects to the body, especially over longer periods of time.

Science has proven cannabis can have many benefits for seniors. The 65+ set may benefit from cannabis for chronic pain, sleep difficulties, tremor, spasticity, agitation, nausea, vomiting, and reduced appetite. All key things, but what are the lifestyle benefits of marijuana use.

Help with inflammation which can lead to more movement including walking, dancing, and more. Several studies showed that cannabinoids downregulate cytokine and chemokine production and, in some models, upregulate T-regulatory cells (Tregs) as a mechanism to suppress inflammatory responses. Joint pain can be reduced giving more body mobility.

It can also reduce anxiety. THC can reduce stress at lower doses, higher doses can induce panic, paranoia and anxiety. A small amount, say half a gummy, can help with anxiety and allow you to feel more optimistic about life. A potential benefit is being a bit more chill in the approach to new things. Despite the changes in cognition that may come with age, older adults can still learn new things and adjust as they age.

Cannabis can affect someone’s sex life is wide, from simply helping people feel more turned on, to opening the mind to deeper intimacy and promoting mindfulness. When applied to seniors, cannabis can provide an even larger influence, offering relaxation and increased libido, while also treating symptoms that naturally appear as people grow older and their bodies start to change.

Aside from body aches and pains, cannabis also has a variety of lubricants and intimacy oils that can help boost sex, especially post-menopausal women who sometimes experience decreased libidos. These oils can heighten arousal and provide different opportunities for bonding, whether that means an intimate massage or simply something new that couples can try out together.

Studies show that cannabis use among seniors steadily increases year after year, with a majority of people growing more educated on the subject and learning to use the plant to their advantage. Dosage is key, so start with low potency dosage to find the right comfort level. Talk with an expert either in your doctor’s office or at dispensary about how you find the right level for you.

Summery Exotic Cocktails For The Last Of Winter

Sarah Johns

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March 1, 2024

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Summery Exotic Cocktails For The Last Of Winter

Spring is in sight, but winter still has a hold on the weather – here are some tropical cocktails to give you the summertime feel

Winter is done in three weeks, but it isn’t done with us yet. Coats, sleet, and long days are still here. But hope is around the corner, March and April are often the busiest months of the year, surprisingly for gyms. People begin to feel summer approaching and want to start getting their bodies swimsuit-ready. The dreams of tropical (or at least sunny) destinations are in people’s mind as they look out the window. To help, here are some summery exotic cocktail for the last of winter.

Daiquiri

Made famous by Hemingway, the Daiquiri is frozen fun choice of summer time drinks! It was either invented in 1902 by an American mining engineer named Jennings Cox William A. Chanler in Cuba or a US congressman who purchased the Cuban iron mines and introduced it to New York.

4 ounces white rum
2 ounces lime juice, freshly squeezed
2 ounces simple syrup
Garnish: 2 lime wheels

Create

Add all ingredients into a blender with a cup and a half of ice.
Pulse until mixed.
Divide between two glasses and garnish each with a lime wheel.

Tequila Sunrise

Created by Bobby Lozoff and Billy Rice in the early 1970s while working as young bartenders in Sausalito. They served the drink to The Rolling Stones’s Mick Jagger at the start of their 1972 American. Jagger had one, loved, and he and the band order them throughout the tour. He even dubbing the tour the “cocaine and tequila sunrise tour”.

2 ounces blanco tequila
4 ounces orange juice, freshly squeezed
1/4 ounce grenadine
Garnish: orange slice
Garnish: cherry

Create

Add the tequila and then the orange juice to a chilled tall highball glass filled with ice.
Top with the grenadine, which will sink to the bottom of the glass, creating a layered effect.
Garnish with an orange slice and a cherry.

Barracuda

Developed in the late 50s by the bartender Benito Cuppari while he was working SS Michelangelo cruise ship, it is named after the Barracuda Beach Club in Portico. It was initially served in a pineapple shell.

Ingredients

⅔ Part Galliano
⅓ Part Grenadine
⅔ Part Light Rum
⅓ Part Lime Juice
⅔ Part Pineapple Juice
Champagne

Create

Fill a chilled highball glass with ice cubes.
Add galliano, grenadine, light rum, lime juice and pineapple juice.
Top up with champagne.

OR

Shake Galliano, grenadine, light rum, lime juice and pineapple juice well.
Pour in a champagne coupe.
Top with champagne

While the temperatures may be low outside, warm your insides with these summery exotic cocktails for the winter.

What Is Taking The DEA So Long To Rescheduling Marijuana

Terry Hacienda

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March 1, 2024

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What Is Taking The DEA So Long To Rescheduling Marijuana

The Biden administration has been slow in fullfilling the last campaign promise of helping the cannabis industry….is the DEA waiting

In 2012 Colorado and Washington legalized recreational cannabis. Science, public opinion, how we consume, and support from groups as varied as HHS to Fox News watchers have already moved to supporting federal legalization. In the last election, the Biden administration committed to helping the industry. A key factor is his support of veterans. Veterans, along with federal and medical research, has shown cannabis is a solid help to PTSD. Also, as the country struggles with an opioid crisis, expert believe medical marijuana can be part of the solution. But the administration and dragged it’s feet and now it seems another agency is lingering on change. What is taking the DEA so long to reschedule marijuana. Experts weight in.

Terran Cooper, a leading cannabis expert at Falcon Rappaport & Berkman Law shares his thoughts. “While we have comparable examples of controlled substance rescheduling, the ramifications of cannabis rescheduling are beyond anything we’ve ever seen. There are a number of policy issues to be navigated by the DEA, including the existence international drug treaties, which may have delayed the DEA’s review (though Congresswoman Kamlager-Dove and others have argued that applicable treaties shouldn’t prevent rescheduling). The widespread consequences of potential cannabis rescheduling may have also muddied the water, as numerous parties have sought to influence the DEA’s review in various ways. “

“While it is possible that the DEA is attempting to navigate denying the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) recommendation for cannabis to rescheduled, many are skeptical of this likelihood. The HHS recommendation is binding on the DEA (21 USC 811(b)) as to scientific and medical matters, meaning in order to deny cannabis rescheduling the DEA would have to rely on other relevant data to outweigh HHS’ recommendation. This is a tall order, even for the historically cannabis-averse DEA.”

Jesse Redmond, Managing Director at Water Tower Research and a keen analyst for the industry has this take. ““It’s critical to realize the rescheduling process is occurring during an election year and it is possible democrats are coordinating efforts for maximum political impact. Many are pointing to the week of 4/20, which falls on a Saturday this year, for the DEA’s response to the HHS’ recommendation. This would give time for the public comment period and final rule before the elections in November.”

John Hudak, Director, Maine office of Cannabis Policy has this take. “Cannabis policy is a burning question with a small minority of the public but data show that in congressional campaigns, the vast majority (nearly 90% of candidates) never mention cannabis policy in public. That suggests that most voters are focused on different issues. Despite that, the current cannabis rescheduling petition before the federal government, and initiated by President Biden, is moving at lightning speed compared to every other prior cannabis rescheduling petition.”

“There is no easy explanation of the delay. Some factors are the fact that the DEA and the FDA have different interests in cannabis regulation, the lack of clarity regarding how the DEA would regulate the rescheduled drug, how rescheduling and varied state cannabis laws would intersect, the loss of federal tax dollars when cannabis business expenses become deductible, and political considerations in a presidential election year.” said Lonnie Rosenwald from Zuber Lawler.

The industry is in need of support as consumer demand increase, but the cost of doing business is becoming prohibitive. President Biden and Vice President Harris have been traditionally anti-marijuana, so you wonder if their lack of urgency or support is weighing in on the DEA’s slow walk of a decision.

The Fresh ToastThe most trusted name in cannabis

Reading While On A Marijuana High

Enjoying a good book is a habit that needs to be cultivated in order to be wholly understood. Here are some tips that can help you get started.

Choose the right book

Let go of the “right way to read”

Pay attention to the strain

Watch your dosage

Legal Marijuana Says Aloha Hawai’i

The tropical paradise just got a little better, the state’s senate just approved recreational cannabis.

Yuck, This Weed Dispensary Did What

We have all seen stuff which has made us hesitate – but this is truly yuck

Why Some Don’t Have A High The First Time They Consume Weed

As more people have access to legal marijuana – more first timers are getting a little confused – especially about the high.

Study Finds Key Surprise About Medical Marijuana Patients

Have a long term illness is tough, but data has shown a way to make it less worse

Beer Sales Flatten Thanks To Marijuana

The number three drink in the world is struggling a bit in the land of the maple leaf

How About Marijuana Peeps For Your Basket

Why not take a holiday classic candy and make it even more fun!

Marijuana Makes 70 The New 50

While cannabis isn’t the face of the fountain of youth, your body may feel younger thanks to consuming

Summery Exotic Cocktails For The Last Of Winter

Spring is in sight, but winter still has a hold on the weather – here are some tropical cocktails to give you the summertime feel

Daiquiri

Tequila Sunrise

Barracuda

What Is Taking The DEA So Long To Rescheduling Marijuana

The Biden administration has been slow in fullfilling the last campaign promise of helping the cannabis industry….is the DEA waiting

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