Elon Musk Had To Apologize For Smoking Weed With Joe Rogan

Brendan Bures

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November 21, 2019

Elon Musk Had To Apologize For Smoking Weed With Joe Rogan

Though California legalized recreational marijuana, Elon Musk instructed SpaceX employees not to smoke joints.

Consider it the marijuana cloud of smoke that refuses to disappear. Around this time last year, tech entrepreneur Elon Musk went on the Joe Rogan podcast and agreed to smoke a joint during the livestream video. Musk thought fans and followers of the internet would think this moment funny and enjoyable—they did not.

Ever since then, Musk has walked back the controversial moment. A former Tesla employee told Bloomberg she’d been fired for using marijuana outside the job. Watching Musk proudly puff a joint on a podcast, “it was just like a slap in the face to me and my son,” she said.

Then it came out Musk’s company SpaceX was under a NASA safety probe, which would evaluate the “culture” at his company. According to the Washington Post, “some at NASA’s highest levels” were “rankled” by Musk’s smoke circle with Rogan. About a year later, we’re starting to see the results of NASA’s safety probe.

spacex wants to send average people to the moon — Photo by Flickr user Bruno Sanchez-Andrade Nuño

The Washington Post is now reporting that Musk sent the SpaceX staff a mass apology following the incident. He admitted to smoking marijuana in the message, though he added that he did so “with no skill, obviously.” Despite California legalizing adult-use marijuana, Musk added, SpaceX employees could not consume cannabis as he did.

“SpaceX maintains a drug free workplace,” Musk wrote in his email. “SpaceX personnel may not use or possess any controlled substance while in the workplace, and also may not be under the influence of legal or illegal drugs while at work. Anyone who appears to be inebriated or under the influence while at work is subject to drug testing and potentially other employment actions.”

The safety probe ended up costing SpaceX $5 million, though NASA found no marijuana-related foul play at the company. Musk, for the record, sent his apology email after the internal investigation had already begun.

“Results came back very positive,” Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX’s president and chief operating officer, told the Washington Post. “I can tell you, it has gone very well. Not that we haven’t learned things, but it’s gone very well.”

4 Things You Should Wait To Buy On Black Friday

Maria Loreto

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November 20, 2019

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4 Things You Should Wait To Buy On Black Friday

Although there are plenty of good deals that are not limited to Black Friday, there are still some crazy deals to be had, especially when it comes to items like home appliances and electronics.

Black Friday is a staple of American culture. Completely crazy and sometimes worth it, this date is one that many people treasure but that has kind of gone out of style.

The rise of online retail and a habit of getting everything you want from the comfort of your home have made people less tolerant long lines or of getting up at the crack of dawn to go to a store.

Although times have changed and there are plenty of good deals that are not limited to Black Friday, there are still some crazy deals to be had, especially when it comes to items like home appliances and electronics.

Here are some items that should get the best Black Friday deals:

Video games & consoles

Video game gear is expensive, with consoles almost never having meaningful offers. While you might get to see discounts on video games, especially if they’re not new releases, Black Friday provides plenty of opportunities for bundles on games, consoles, gaming gear, and more. It’s also important to mention that new generations of the PlayStation and the Xbox are on their way, meaning that you’ll probably find some sweet deals on older models.

Smart home devices

Amazon’s devices get tons of discounts for Black Friday. In fact, this date is only surpassed in terms of shopping by Prime Day, the holiday invented by Amazon where everything is super cheap, especially their own products.

If You Want To Buy Electronics, You Should Wait Until Black Friday — Photo by Jonah Pettrich via Unsplash

TVs

TVs are on high demand on Black Friday, meaning that there will be tons of amazing offers and tons of demand. If you’re planning to purchase a set during this date, be prepared to wake up early, stay in line, have a shopping buddy and leave with the TV set of your dreams.

Kitchen appliances

Even well known brands are likely to come up with several Black Friday deals, especially for small appliances like coffee makers, toasters, and more. Other items, like vacuum cleaners and larger kitchen appliances should also have good deals, especially from brands that normally don’t provide them. “This is because retailers make more mass orders than they usually stock, and prices drop 40 to 50 percent lower than normal retail,” explains Josh Elledge, founder of SavingsAngel.com.

House Judiciary Committee Just Approved Historic Bill To Legalize Marijuana

Brendan Bures

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November 20, 2019

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House Judiciary Committee Just Approved Historic Bill To Legalize Marijuana

The MORE Act would remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act, and provide funding for individuals harmed by the war on drugs.

In a historic vote, the House Judiciary Committee approved a bill that would effectively legalize cannabis at the federal level. The legislation, the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act, would deschedule marijuana in the United States, in addition to aiding communities disenfranchised by the war on drugs. The bill passed in a 24-to-10 vote.

“With today’s mark-up of the MORE Act, the United States is coming one step closer to ending the devastating harms of marijuana prohibition, which have fallen so heavily on Black and Brown people,” Drug Policy Alliance Executive Director Maria McFarland Sánchez-Moreno said in a statement.

The MORE Act would remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, which would legalize marijuana nationwide. The bill would also require courts to expunge prior marijuana convictions and provide re-sentencing. States would be allowed to create their own policies and regulations around marijuana as well.

former congressman believes us will legalize marijuana by 2022 — Photo by Omar Chatriwala/Getty Images

During the markup, legislators pointed to the unnecessary cost of marijuana prohibition. Marijuana-related arrests make up more than half of all drug arrests in the country, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

“The criminalization of marijuana has been a mistake,” said committee chairman Rep. Jerry Nadler, who first introduced the bill. “The racial disparity in marijuana enforcement laws only compounded this mistake with serious consequences, particularly for minority communities.”

The legislation would create the Cannabis Justice Office. The organization would be responsible for applying grants and loans to marijuana-related businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. In addition, the office would provide job training and legal assistance to those impacted by the war on drugs. To supply these operations, the MORE Act would apply a 5% sales tax to all cannabis products.

Under the MORE Act, physicians from the Department of Veteran Affairs would be allowed to recommend medical marijuana to veterans.

“There is still much work to be done, including the establishment of sound federal regulations for cannabis products,” Aaron Smith, executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA), said in a statement. “This vote brings us one step closer to ending the disaster that is prohibition and repairing the harms it has caused while we continue the discussion in Congress about how to best regulate cannabis at the federal level.”

5 Things To Help You Relax This Black Friday

Maria Loreto

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November 20, 2019

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5 Things To Help You Relax This Black Friday

Black Friday shopping is crazy and stressful. Here are some tips that can make the whole experience a little smoother.

Despite online shopping and Cyber Monday, Black Friday remains as strong as ever, with people camping out at stores and spending their entire day fighting strangers over a discount. It’s probably a really good discount, but still.

Black Friday is strategically positioned after Thanksgiving and right before holiday mayhem, ensuring that if you manage to make it into a store, you’ll find the best deals and get rid of all your holiday shopping in one swoop.

Here are 5 tips that can help you have the most relaxed Black Friday ever.

Make a shopping list

Right now is the best time to look through different websites and stores, learning about the upcoming Black Friday deals and writing them all down just so you don’t forget about them. Before you start browsing though, make sure to know at least the kind of items you’re looking for, reducing your options and ensuring that your list stays as efficient and lean as possible.

Be aware of online deals

If you’re not a fan of traveling and spending a lot of time at the mall, have an eye on your favorite store’s website. More and more stores are factoring in online shopping, with many sales kicking off at midnight the day of. If your store doesn’t offer this option, you can also check if they provide a purchase and pick up option, that way ensuring that you’re trip to the store won’t be in vain since the thing you want is sold out.

Take a shopping buddy

It’s a bad idea to shop on Black Friday alone, but it’s also important to take someone who’s at your level. Don’t take someone who can’t shop at all, or someone who could shop for days unless you fall into one of those categories. A shopping buddy will make your trip less miserable, providing someone to complain with and also standing in line while you browse. It’s a win-win.

Have some CBD

While you could also smoke some weed, CBD provides a more controllable and relaxing experience. You really don’t want to have a marijuana freak out mid-Walmart at 5 in the morning.

Plan ahead and have the CBD of your choice before you start shopping, that way you’ll be relaxed the minute things start getting stressful. Do your research and use the CBD oil or edible that works best for you and for what you’re looking for.

Skip it

Black Friday shopping is a big commitment, one that should only be approached with the right mindset or the right drive. If you’re not a person who loves to shop and thrives in these kinds of situations, why are you even putting yourself through this?

New York Cops Still Target People Of Color For Marijuana Busts

Brendan Bures

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November 20, 2019

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New York Cops Still Target People Of Color For Marijuana Busts

NYPD arrest data points to continuing patterns consistent with the war on drugs, which disproportionately targets people of color.

Following a nine-year decline, marijuana-related arrests are on the rise. Widespread legalization across the country, including 11 adult-use states and 33 medical marijuana states, has only seemed to embolden practitioners of the war on drugs, which disproportionately targets communities of color. Just look at the data.

While New York City lessened the penalties of marijuana possession, cops still focus their efforts on arresting people of color. According to data released by the New York Police Department, 291 people were arrested for criminal possession of marijuana in the third quarter of 2019. Of those 291 individuals, 167 were black, 97 Hispanic, 18 white, and 11 Asian. That means black and Hispanic people amounted to just over 90% of recent New York marijuana arrests.

Despite marijuana’s acceptance into mainstream America, these numbers reflect little to no change from last year’s data. NYPD data also includes low-level drug charges for the third quarter in 2018. During that time span, 1,117 New Yorkers were arrested—600 were black, 414 Hispanic, and just 64 white. Those figures mean black and Hispanic New Yorker made up almost 82% of arrests in that time frame.

FBI Data Shows Marijuana Arrests Increases For Third Straight Year — Photo by jirkaejc/Getty Images

“While this data demonstrates that these arrests are down significantly compared to years ago, black and Latino New Yorkers are still disproportionally targeted by the police for low-level marijuana possession,” Anthony Posada, supervising attorney at the Community Justice Unit at the Legal Aid Society, told AMNY.

Earlier this year New York legislators passed a decriminalization bill that reduced penalty of marijuana possession up to two ounces. Though the previous penalty was a misdemeanor that could result in jail time, cannabis violations now just result in a fine.

“Decriminalizing was a step in the right direction, but to fully right the wrongs of the war on drugs, Albany lawmakers cannot let another session pass without taking action,” Posada added. “The human cost is too high.”

Marijuana & Pregnancy: What We Know

Kate-Madonna Hindes

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November 20, 2019

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Limited research is creating real problems in understanding the impact of cannabis not only on an expectant mother, but her child as well.

Could what we know about marijuana and pregnancy be factually incorrect? Studies dating back to the 1970s have shown marijuana has had effects on birth weight, length of gestation, and more. One recent study aimed to prove whether or not past research was sound in its findings.

Point: Marijuana appears to hurt the fetus

Recently Georgetown University Medical Center shared their study with the journal bioMed Central (BMC) Pharmacology and Toxicology. The study’s senior investigator, G. Ian Gallicano, Ph.D., explained that while old research shows that marijuana seems to have the same effects on the fetus as tobacco, limited research is creating real problems in understanding the side effects of cannabis not only on an expectant mother, but her child as well.

Scrutinizing the literature on marijuana and fetal development compiled between 1975 and 2015, the study found warning flags for pregnant women using marijuana. Studies suggested that the elevation of cannabinoids can interfere with both the transportation of a fertilized egg out of the fallopian tube and its implantation in the uterus, increasing the risk of ectopic pregnancy and spontaneous abortion.

The study also found that marijuana can alter the placenta and even pass easily through it to act directly on the developing fetus. To use a medical term, this can potentially “screw up” every aspect of development: the growth of brain and nerve cells, laying down of blood vessels, cellular development, tissue differentiation, and cognitive development.

Cannabis While Pregnant — Photo by Janko Ferlic via Pexels

This fear is purely hypothetical. Still, it does certainly point to the study’s overall conclusion — one which is echoed in nearly every medical marijuana report — that “far too little research has been conducted on the effects of cannabis.”

CounterPoint: The evidence on Marijuana during pregnancy is flawed

Vox.com put out an interesting report against old research on marijuana and pregnancy in May 2019 when it spoke to Marie Clare McCormick, a Harvard professor and chair of the National Academy of Sciences.

McCormick explains that the belief that children born of women who smoked marijuana during pregnancy are consistent with women smoking any substance during pregnancy, as smoking increased carbon monoxide in the blood, delivering less oxygen to the fetus. McCormick also summarized a report that looked into other health issues during pregnancy (SIDS, academic achievement challenges,) and found little evidence to support the claims.

Those on the counterpoint side of the argument speak to the fact that expectant mothers who suffer anxiety and other diseases often are asked to stop those medications as well, as many pose mild-to-moderate risks.

One truth is evident. In order for researchers to have more information to draw from, marijuana’s status as a Schedule 1 substance won’t allow for it to be tested — at least inside the United States and that could be problematic as women are smoking pot more than ever before while pregnant.

TikTok Owner Is Expanding Into Music Subscriptions

Maria Loreto

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November 19, 2019

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TikTok Owner Is Expanding Into Music Subscriptions

TikTok’s parent company has approached different music labels to acquire different licensing deals.

ByteDance, the gigantic Chinese technology company that owns TikTok, is planning on joining the music subscription business.

According to the Financial Times, ByteDance has recently approached Warner Music, Universal and Sony for different licensing deals. Although no one knows what ByteDance plans to do with these, it’s safe to assume that TikTok is not going anywhere anytime soon, and that deals such as these can only improve people’s intense commitment to the site.

TikTok, like Musica.ly before it, is an app that’s known for utilizing songs on users’ short clips. If their parent company were to own a larger pool of music, this could prompt more people to download the app and create more content. Although these licenses don’t really provide much money for artists, (Pitchfork reports that artists are paid an initial cut that didn’t account for the virality of the video), at least they’d earn some notoriety, which, in these times, counts for something.

The bulk of these clips use songs from artists that are relatively unknown, the more obscure the better. There’s no way of predicting which clip and which song will go viral, so having your song on the app is like tossing a coin.

heres how you can fall asleep while listening to music without draining your iphones battery — Photo via freestocks.org

Despite ByteDance’s plans for expansion, TikTok continues to be plagued by controversies, at least within the U.S.

Reuters reported last week that the U.S. government launched a national security review of ByteDance’s purchase of Musica.ly. Although the purchase was completed two years ago, the U.S. is concerned with the app’s possible censorship of political content and has questions about how it stores users’ personal data. So, kind of like every other giant tech company scandal, only with a dash of communism because the app is Chinese.

“While we cannot comment on ongoing regulatory processes, TikTok has made clear that we have no higher priority than earning the trust of users and regulators in the U.S. Part of that effort includes working with Congress and we are committed to doing so,” said a TikTok spokesperson. They also explained that while their parent company is Chinese, TikTok doesn’t store their data in China, and that their content is not influenced by any foreign government.

Anyway, who cares about politics? People are in it for the memes.

Vaping Could Be Worse For Your Heart Than Smoking Cigarettes

Brendan Bures

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November 19, 2019

0

Vaping Could Be Worse For Your Heart Than Smoking Cigarettes

A new Cedars-Sinai study found that e-cigarettes placed a greater strain on the heart than traditional tobacco products.

In case there wasn’t enough of a public health worry over vaping and e-cigarettes, new research adds to the concerns. A new study from the Smidt Heart Institute at Cidars-Senai shows that using vaping products could place a greater harm on the heart than smoking cigarettes or traditional tobacco delivery devices.

“What makes e-cigarettes so harmful to the heart and lungs is not just nicotine,” said senior author Florian Rader said in a statement. “It’s the completely unknown bucket of manufactured products used to form vapors that is likely causing the most harm. This is what we believe is underlying the current public health problem.”

The Cidars-Senai researchers collected measurements of 30 healthy young adults ages 18 to 38, 10 of whom were tobacco smokers, 10 e-cigarette users, and 10 non-smokers. The researchers compared participants’ blood flow to the heart muscle in two different exercises: before and after using nicotine, as well as before and after conducting a handgrip exercises physiologic stress.

Washington State Bans Flavored Vapor Products — Photo by Tom Eversley/EyeEm/Getty Images

For traditional cigarette users, blood flow increased slightly after smoking while at rest, but decreased following subsequent stress. E-cigarette users, however, saw decreases in blood flow after inhalation, regardless if they were at rest or placed under stress.

“This suggests e-cigarettes cause an abnormality that impedes blood flow regulation in the heart,” Rader told Time.

Rader added that the study was too small in scope to provide any definitive answers about the vaping crisis and what long-term health problems e-cigarettes pose. The researchers also did not control for the use of cannabinoids like THC or CBD. A significant amount of vape use includes these elements and stands at the center of our current vaping crisis.

Still, the study comes at a crucial time for American e-cigarette use. A recent Food and Drug Administration study, cited by the Cidars-Senai researchers, found that e-cigarette use is rising for adolescents. In 2018, 20.8% of high schoolers used e-cigarettes, a figure that has since risen to 27.5% in 2019. Furthermore, the FDA estimated that last year 3.62 million middle and high school students consumed e-cigarettes.

How CBD Provides A Brighter Future For Children With Epilepsy

Kate-Madonna Hindes

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November 19, 2019

0

How CBD Provides A Brighter Future For Children With Epilepsy

While families struggle to understand the risks and benefits of THC, some are moving to try CBD or cannabidiol.

Epilepsy affects 3.4 million Americans, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Even more heartbreaking, just over 470,000 children have the disorder of the central nervous system, creating a future of uncertainty for many parents. Often accompanied by seizures and a loss of awareness, children with epilepsy struggle to remain in school and to fit in with their peers.

Amy Brooks-Kayal, MD, chief of pediatric neurology at Children’s Hospital Colorado and professor of pediatrics, neurology, and pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, recently shared what her hospital tells parents of children with epilepsy. She recommends baseline testing to aid in understanding marijuana’s effects on seizures. While the hospital does not currently recommend medical marijuana, she explains:

“The stories of families eager to try medical marijuana are incredibly moving and completely understandable—because any parent of a child with such a life-altering condition would do everything in their power to make their child better.”

The Epilepsy Foundation makes a case for CBD

While families struggle to understand the risks and benefits of THC, some are moving to try CBD or cannabidiol. The Epilepsy Foundation explained that evidence in laboratory studies and small clinical trials offered CBD as a potential tool to help control epileptic seizures.

The Foundation elaborates, “In recent years, several studies have shown the benefit of specific plant-based CBD products, such as CBD oil, in treating specific groups of people with epilepsy who have not responded to traditional therapies.”

A child with epilepsy during a seizure. www.shutterstock.com

The Foundation also shared a study from the New England Journal of Medicine which found, “the addition of CBD to a traditional seizure medication decreased the frequency of drop seizures significantly in children and adults with LGS.”

While more research will help illuminate if CBD or cannabis can help children with epilepsy, a compelling story in TIME magazine spoke to the power of parents on a mission to help their children heal. One quote from Dr. Orrin Devinsky, head of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center at New York University, speaks the loudest, “We’ve introduced a dozen new drugs in the past 20 years, but it’s not clear we’ve made a significant advance in the treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy. We have failed as a scientific and medical community.”

Perhaps failure will be an action of the past as new studies emerge to help parents find ways to combat their feelings of hopelessness and offer their children better treatments that help eradicate the complications of epilepsy.

Study Explains Why So Many Guys Send Unsolicited Dick Pics

Maria Loreto

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November 19, 2019

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Study Explains Why So Many Guys Send Unsolicited Dick Pics

Most men said that they sent these images in hopes of having sex, finding a romantic or sexual partner or for personal gratification, in that order.

Dick pics are a pretty common sight for women with smartphones. And thanks to social media, it’s not uncommon to get an unsolicited pic from total strangers. Despite the fact that dick pics have become a sort of joke shared among women and an unfortunate staple of this day and age, having someone harass your phone with them sucks, marking a clear divide between genders.

Some researchers wanted to know why unsolicited dick pics were so popular, publishing their findings in the Journal of Sex Research. Over 1,000 men were surveyed for the study, with all of them filling out a questionnaire anonymously. The men were straight and ranged between the ages of 16 and 72. Nearly half, 48% had sent unsolicited genital images and 52% of them had not, which is how researchers were able to track differences among groups.

The study predictably found that most men send unsolicited pics of their genitalia in hopes of having sex or that they’ll get some nudes in exchange. Men are also more likely to send these images if they’re young and single, with their reasons for sharing the images varying from person to person.

threesome apps are real but do they work — Photo by rawpixel.com

Narcissistic Tendencies

Men who sent these images tended to score higher on the narcissistic scale and also scored higher on “benevolent” and “hostile” sexism (the former is the kind of sexism that puts women on a pedestal and the latter is the one that is based on negative views of women). Most men said that they sent these images in hopes of having sex, finding a romantic or sexual partner or for personal gratification, in that order.

The category of personal gratification was an interesting one for researchers since they thought that the modern day dick pick fulfilled the same kind of role as flashers and exhibitionist, who find sexual pleasure in these behaviors. The study’s results show that this isn’t the case, and that a high percentage of men think that sending these images is expected and part of the norm.

There’s nothing wrong with sharing some nudes. Things get murky when people get sketchy about it, sending images to strangers or to people they know without their consent. Even if your intentions are the most honorable, ask first. Don’t be a creep.

The Fresh ToastThe most trusted name in cannabis

Elon Musk Had To Apologize For Smoking Weed With Joe Rogan

Though California legalized recreational marijuana, Elon Musk instructed SpaceX employees not to smoke joints.

4 Things You Should Wait To Buy On Black Friday

Although there are plenty of good deals that are not limited to Black Friday, there are still some crazy deals to be had, especially when it comes to items like home appliances and electronics.

Video games & consoles

Smart home devices

TVs

Kitchen appliances

House Judiciary Committee Just Approved Historic Bill To Legalize Marijuana

The MORE Act would remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act, and provide funding for individuals harmed by the war on drugs.

5 Things To Help You Relax This Black Friday

Black Friday shopping is crazy and stressful. Here are some tips that can make the whole experience a little smoother.

Make a shopping list

Be aware of online deals

Take a shopping buddy

Have some CBD

Skip it

New York Cops Still Target People Of Color For Marijuana Busts

NYPD arrest data points to continuing patterns consistent with the war on drugs, which disproportionately targets people of color.

Marijuana & Pregnancy: What We Know

Limited research is creating real problems in understanding the impact of cannabis not only on an expectant mother, but her child as well.

Point: Marijuana appears to hurt the fetus

CounterPoint: The evidence on Marijuana during pregnancy is flawed

TikTok Owner Is Expanding Into Music Subscriptions

TikTok’s parent company has approached different music labels to acquire different licensing deals.

Vaping Could Be Worse For Your Heart Than Smoking Cigarettes

A new Cedars-Sinai study found that e-cigarettes placed a greater strain on the heart than traditional tobacco products.

How CBD Provides A Brighter Future For Children With Epilepsy

While families struggle to understand the risks and benefits of THC, some are moving to try CBD or cannabidiol.

The Epilepsy Foundation makes a case for CBD

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