5 Things We Usually Get Wrong About Sex

Maria Loreto

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November 16, 2019

There are tons of myths and generalizations surrounding sex, perpetuating beliefs both outdated and not based on science. How could this not be the case? Our culture is one that mystifies the act and immortalizing it in books, movies, porn, while stifling it and preventing us from speaking openly about it.

Luckily, we’re entering an era where there’s more information, body positivity and less shame about sex. Anyone of any age should feel comfortable enough to ask questions about sex, or to at least Google them.

Here are five of the most common myths about sex.

It’s impossible to get pregnant while you’re on your period

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This is a common misconception that makes couples feel like having unprotected sex during a period will prevent pregnancies. OB-GYN Christine Grieves spoke with The Huffington Post and explained that getting pregnant while you’re on your period is rare but possible. “The problem with saying that you ‘cannot get pregnant on your period’ as a general statement? Sometimes women have bleeding not associated with a true period, and they may think they are getting a period, but that’s not actually the cause of bleeding,” she says.

So no planning to have sex during your period is not an effective birth control method.

Men are the only ones who want sex

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If someone says something like this around you, feel free to run away. This damaging and pervasive stereotype is one that hinders sexual performance and makes people feel a lot of shame.

According to a survey from 2016, men underestimate their wives desire to have sex, with 71 percent of the women reporting they’d like to have more sex than what they’re currently having.

Orgasm is the point of sex

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While orgasms are great, they’re not the point of a healthy sex life. Focusing too much on orgasms can make you distracted and frustrated when you don’t achieve it. Other aspects of sexual satisfaction like kissing and touching feature benefits of their own, improving your mood and making you feel close to your partner.

Condoms protect you from all STIs

https://giphy.com/gifs/meryl-streep-its-complicated-jane-adler-nPcjSTVJ7LgI0

While latex condoms are very effective in protecting against sexually transmitted diseases like HIV and gonorrhea, other infections like HPV and herpes — both transmitted through skin-to-skin contact —are harder to protect yourself from. The only way to truly prevent an illness is to talk with your partner about STIs (sexually transmitted infections) before you have sex and always be careful.

You’ll know when you orgasm

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Female orgasms can be confusing, with a high amount of women claiming they don’t know if they’ve even experiencing orgasmic satisfaction during sex. There are vaginal orgasms, clitoral and sometimes hybrid orgasms, making it difficult for women to understand what exactly is going on down there.

Meme Of The Week: ‘Ok Boomer’ Is The Internet’s New Way Of Dragging Older People

Maria Loreto

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November 15, 2019

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Meme Of The Week: ‘Ok Boomer’ Is The Internet’s New Way Of Dragging Older People

‘Ok Boomer’ has become this week’s most popular phrase and meme.

Older generations often mention how much better everything was back in their time, when people weren’t distracted by phones and political correctness. While not all baby boomers act this way, we’ve all encountered our fair share of whiny older adults. There’s nothing wrong with them, they just make a great source for jokes and memes.

The origin of this meme comes from a TikTok video, where a man passionately disses younger generations, claiming that the ideals they’re searching for aren’t sustainable and they need to grow up. Your typical old guy spiel. A parallel video simply shows someone carefully writing the phrase “Ok Boomer” on a piece of paper and throwing out the peace sign, because that’s what you do when there’s nothing else to say.

Now, the phrase can mean anything, encompassing older people’s approach to political correctness, their disregard for environmental concerns, the fact that they can’t use an iPad, or gen z and millennials’ current economic struggles. It’s also a good way of shutting down an argument that you know you’re not gonna win. “Ok Boomer.” End of discussion.

Check out some of the funniest versions of the boomer meme on social media:

ok boomer pic.twitter.com/RYZzbkRIyA

— and introducing…??✨ (@vernelldaye) November 3, 2019

Spongebob really was ahead of its time #okboomer pic.twitter.com/ZQF6bKgOQD

— Melissa Badamo (@missydot7) November 11, 2019

Ok boomer pic.twitter.com/l9idpnNbQU

— official upset skeleton meme (@UpsetMeme) November 10, 2019

when everybody saying “ok boomer” but nobody asking “are u ok boomer?” pic.twitter.com/WrCtS3v4yf

— ث (@thoughtsofSakib) November 12, 2019

edward: bella—

jacob: ok, boomer

— ceo of andreil (@seijohsmanager) November 9, 2019

My favorite yet #okboomer pic.twitter.com/zbQmXTls9b

— Amanda S (@mandy999s) November 7, 2019

5 Apps Every Happy Person Needs

Maria Loreto

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November 15, 2019

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We generally don’t associate technology with good health, but there’s a lot of apps out there designed to help you stay healthy and think more positively.

There are a lot of tools out there designed to help you stay mentally and physically healthy, one of them being your phone. Although there are way too many crappy apps out there cluttering the market, there are a few helpful ones that can help you keep track of positive behaviors. Here are 5 apps every happy person needs.

Below, we’ve compiled five of the best of them, all having great ratings and functions that can help you achieve your fitness goals, create healthy lifestyle habits, and stay positivie in your day to day. Here are 5 apps that’ll help you stay healthy and be happier:

MyFitnessPal

MyFitnessPal is pretty helpful for keeping a food journal that tracks your diet, so you can better learn about calories and all that complex stuff. The app has a pretty full database of all kinds of food information, informing you on calories, meal planning, healthy recipes, and more. It even lets you know about the contents of restaurant meals.

Headspace

Headspace is a great app if you’re looking to get involved with guided meditation and don’t know where to start. Although you’ll need to pay if you’re planning on developing a meditation habit, the app includes a few meditation sessions for free, tailored to whatever it is you’re trying to achieve, like relieving stress, managing anxiety, and more.

Sleepcycle

Sleep plays a big role on your happiness and health, and Sleepcycle is one of the few tracking apps that accurately monitors your sleeping habits. The app tracks your quality of sleep cycle and your heart rate, indicating if you’re sleeping peacefully or not. It also has the feature of waking you up when you’re sleeping your lightest in the morning, ensuring that you’ll start the day off feeling well rested and awake.

Live Happy

For more psychologically-oriented apps you have the following two. Live Happy prompts you to do different activities that can elevate your mood, like goal-setting, staying present, creating positive thoughts, and more. While it might take you a little while to develop a habit, once you do you’ll quickly see the benefits.

Thought Diary

Thought Diary is an app that allows you to keep track of your negative thoughts, generating different alternatives that are healthier and giving you the chance to spot these unhealthy patterns.

Will My Home Be Seized If My Child Gets Busted For Marijuana?

Mike Adams

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November 15, 2019

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Will My Home Be Seized If My Child Gets Busted For Marijuana?

Be sure to contact an attorney if this happens, because civil asset forfeiture laws are no laughing matter.

Let’s say a working mother is kicking back in her home one evening, reading the news on the internet when she spots an article that reads, “Marijuana Legalization Is Now More Popular Than Jesus Christ.” Upon clicking the link to the story, she sees that not only have 11 states legalized the leaf in a manner similar to alcohol, but that this forward momentum is applying pressure on Capitol Hill lawmakers to end pot prohibition once and for all. “Hmm, times sure are changing,” she says, pondering a day not so long ago when the police would nail a person to the cross for a joint.

It’s just about the time she is finished reading the piece that there is a knock at the door. She gets up to see who it is, only to find officers with the local police department standing there. And they have a search warrant for the residence because someone at that address is suspected of selling marijuana to the neighborhood kids. Well, it’s not mom, so who’s the big dumb dope dealer in the house?

It turns out that Little Jimmy, a high school sophomore, has been moonlighting as a small-time pot dealer. He’s been slinging nickel bags out of his backpack for a few months so that he could afford the new Assassin’s Creed. All was moving along swimmingly, too, until Little Ricky, one of Jim’s ride-or-die buddies, narc’d him out after his mother found some weed in his sock drawer. Now the police are involved, and Little Jimmy might get arrested for marijuana offenses.

In his room, the cops find around two ounces of raw marijuana, various vape pens and edibles and maybe even some paraphernalia. He’s obviously not the next Pablo Escobar, but selling illegal drugs, no matter what, is considered a serious offense here in the great United States of America.

Yep, Jimmy’s going down. The kid might not spend years in prison, but he definitely has some legal problems ahead.

It’s time to get a lawyer, and a good one. Because not only will Jimmy need a reliable defense attorney to see that he doesn’t get into serious trouble, mom may need one, as well, to keep law enforcement from seizing her home. It’s sad to say, but if the prosecutor suspects that the parent knew about Jimmy’s illegal drug operation and did nothing to prevent it from happening, it is conceivable that the state might try to seize her property. Believe it or not, there are federal and state laws that allow the police to take ownership of personal property if it was used (or even thought to have been used) in a crime. So if the prosecution really wants to press the matter, it is certainly possible for someone to lose their home because of a child’s marijuana offense.

The 5 States With The Highest Marijuana Arrest Rates — Photo by FatCamera/Getty Images

What’s really messed up is they don’t have to convict Little Jimmy (or even charge him for the crime) for this injustice to happen. Civil asset forfeiture laws basically allow police to steal other people’s property just because they suspect that something fishy is going down. It is then up to the owner of the property to prove (usually before a judge) that there was absolutely no criminal activity connected to their stuff. Welcome to America, indeed! It may sound crazy to think that the cops can just swoop in and take whatever they want from us because they believe we may be using or selling marijuana, but make no mistake about it, these laws are very real.

Fortunately, if Little Jimmy happened to get busted in a legal state, the cops are probably not going to seize mom’s home. While it is still illegal for minors to possess marijuana (and it’s illegal for anyone to sell it on the black market), the civil asset forfeiture laws are not so militant in places where weed is legal. Seizures for breaking the rules associated with marijuana can happen in legal states, but it’s just not as likely as it is in other areas. At least not for small offenses. But it is worth mentioning that even where marijuana is legal, federal civil asset forfeiture laws still apply. If the DEA or FBI comes-a-knocking, it could mean that you’re about to be homeless.

Fortunately, thanks to a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, it is harder these days for law enforcement to make elaborate seizures. The Court found that the Constitution’s ban on excessive fines applies at the state level, placing restrictions on seizures during criminal investigations. So if the prosecutor notices that some teenage kid was selling nickel bags out of his bedroom, they probably aren’t going to try and take possession of their parent’s house. In some states, the primary residence cannot be seized anyway under a homestead exemption clause.

Just remember, the prosecution must have strong evidence that the homeowner had knowledge of Little Jimmy’s criminal activity before they can seize your home and other personal property. But if they try, it is absolutely crucial to contact an attorney with experience in these matters right away. Failing to go to court without proper legal support will only ensure the property is going to be lost forever.

Instagram Hiding ‘Like’ Counts For Certain Users From All Over The World

Maria Loreto

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November 15, 2019

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Instagram Hiding ‘Like’ Counts For Certain Users From All Over The World

In hopes of reducing social media stress, Instagram will start to hide “likes” on post, a feature on the app since day one.

After some rumors, it’s finally happening: Instagram is hiding their like counts. This new measure is the biggest change in some time on the social media site, one that could potentially influence how a lot of people make their income.

This process began a few months ago in April, when Instagram rolled out the feature to a sample of select users in Canada and later expanding into other parts of the world. As of this week, small subsets of Instagram users in the U.S. and in every country can no longer see their like counts, with the app tweeting that they’ve adapted correctly to the changes.

Starting today, we’re expanding our test of private like counts globally. If you’re in the test, you’ll no longer see the total number of likes and views on photos and videos posted to Feed unless they’re your own. pic.twitter.com/DztSH0xiq2

— Instagram (@instagram) November 14, 2019

This is a big change that will have clear implications for lots of users. While those who have large follower counts and enjoy looking at those hundreds of likes will be annoyed, people who do business on Instagram could be seriously affected. “Likes” have been a part of the app since the beginning, affecting the mystical Instagram post algorithm and the order in which you see posts from users you follow and from the discover page. There’s also the fact that a lot of endorsements and partnerships rely on like counts. This has been the basis of social media influencers since the term was first conceived.

how to spot fake instagram followers — Photo by Prateek Katyal via Unsplash

“Starting today, we’re expanding our test of private like counts to the rest of the world beyond Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Italy, and New Zealand. If you’re in the test, you’ll no longer see the total number of likes and views on photos and videos posted to Feed unless they’re your own. While the feedback from early testing has been positive, this is a fundamental change to Instagram, and so we’re continuing our test to learn more from our global community,” said an Instagram spokesperson to TechCrunch.

A change as radical as this is something that I find very exciting, one that goes further than changing a logo or adding new filters. People have long criticized the negative impact social media has on mental health and no app is more responsible for this than Instagram. Will this change solve our crippling addiction to social media? Probably not. But maybe it’ll push people to post pictures that are more fun and out of the norm, without having to worry about the fact that they’ll attract no likes. That counts for something.

Perks Of Adopting A Part-Time Vegetarian Diet

Maria Loreto

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November 15, 2019

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Perks Of Adopting A Part-Time Vegetarian Diet

Eating a vegetarian diet, even just some of the time, can reduce our environmental impact and improve our health in different ways.

People debate about the pros and cons of a vegetarian diet all the time. There’s the tired trope that vegetarians have to work extra hard to consume the proteins their body needs, while the rest of America tends to eat way too much meat. Fortunately, by eating vegetarian part-time, you can incorporate the best of both worlds. Here are some perks of adopting a part-time vegetarian diet.

Cutting out meat forces a lot of people to go outside of their comfort zone and find other ways to get the nutrients their body needs (and, yes, all of the nutrients you need can be found in plant-based foods).

Quitting chicken and replacing it with pasta won’t solve any of your problems. You might save a few chickens and reduce the damage you do to the environment (that’s actually nice), but your health may not exactly skyrocket. Instead of sticking to simple carbs five times a week, learn about protein substitutes and start eating lentils and beans, which are the simplest (and cheapest) options for beginners. Start off slow and ease your body into the transition.

Here are just some of the benefits of a vegetarian diet.

Less chance of obesity

When done correctly, a vegetarian diet can decrease the chance of obesity. A Portuguese study found that people who consumed a mostly vegetarian diet were 43% less likely to become obese. “Our recommendation is to eat less meat. Don’t increase the consumption of animal foods. Prefer plant-based foods to animal foods,” said one of the authors of the study.

Better heart health

In 2015, the American Heart Association said that consuming less meat could cut your risk of having a stroke or some form of heart disease by 20%. This could be due to the fact that vegetarians aren’t consuming red meat, which has been associated with high cholesterol and heart disease.

More consumption of fiber

By eating less meat, you’ll naturally consume more veggies, fruits, seeds, whole grains, and other plant-based foods. All of these foods provide fiber, something that plays an important role in everyone’s diet. “These plant foods are very high in antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and fiber, which are all key components for reducing the risk for chronic disease,” says Stephanie Papadakis, founder of Gut of Integrity.

A change in your gut microbiome

Your gut microbiome is the amount of bacteria that lives in your stomach. There’s thousands of little guys there, affecting our health, immune systems, the amount of vitamins in our bodies, and more.

Hopefully this guide of perks of adopting a part-time vegetarian diet was helpful.

Are Magic Mushrooms The Next Frontier For The Cannabis Industry

Rudy Sanchez

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November 15, 2019

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Are Magic Mushrooms The Next Frontier For The Cannabis Industry

Given its hallucinogenic effect, lawmakers may be reticent to allow distribution of the psychedelic drug without more restrictions.

Magic mushrooms, a group of fungi containing the psychedelic substance psilocybin, have long been used as a way to trip out by those adventurous enough to eat something that might have grown out of a cow patty for the mind-altering experience. The latest research into the effect of the compound has shown promise in treating depression, addiction, and other mental ailments.

There are no immediate signs that magic mushrooms will be decriminalized widely anytime soon — although Denver has decriminalized shrooms citywide — and there’s a voter initiative in California underway for the 2020 ballot. And if cannabis is to serve a role in shrooms, there are some wrinkles that need to be ironed out in the weed industry before we use it as a template.

Like cannabis, psilocybin has a long track record of relative safety among recreational users, and it is not toxic. Unlike some drugs that treat anxiety and other mental conditions, psilocybin is not prone to dependence. But given its hallucinogenic effect, lawmakers may be reticent to allow distribution of the psychedelic drug without more restrictions.

One leading researcher in the field of therapeutic psychedelics is Willam Richards, a psychologist who began research into psilocybin in 1963 and has studied it and other psychedelics as part of treatment and within the psychology of religion. With attitudes towards some drugs softening, Richards and his colleagues’ work with psychedelics are finally gaining traction.

Richards’ research has shown a single dose of psilocybin alleviates depression in cancer patients for up to six months. Richards is one of several scientists studying psychedelics as part of a team at Johns Hopkins University, who recently opened the first US psychedelic research center and one of the largest in the world, thanks to $17 million in private donations. Research will initially focus on psilocybin and its potential to treat disorders such as addiction, PTSD, depression, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Should shrooms live up to their promise, the impact on the treatment of depression and anxiety could be profound, eliminating the need for expensive pharmaceuticals with severe side effects. A system where a mental health professional can recommend or administer shrooms could potentially save millions from crippling and potentially lethal depression and substance addiction, especially since patients see long-term benefits in as little as a single lifetime dose. In a country like the U.S., where access to mental health treatment is woefully inadequate, these edible mushrooms can prove to be magically therapeutic as well.

Psilocybin mushrooms can prove to be a growth opportunity for Big Marijuana as well. As legislators consider the decriminalization of the substance for medicinal use, they’ll look to industries that already have a similar market with regulations that will likely mirror those for shrooms.

The patchwork nature of the legal and medical cannabis market in the U.S., along with the continued federal prohibition makes the marijuana industry incredibly inefficient, with shortages occurring in some states, and a surplus in at least one other. Local ordinances and taxes have made cannabis access more difficult for some patients as well. A streamlined marketplace on a federal level should be achieved before passing along the same issues to a new therapeutic compound. One of the worst things that could happen to legal shrooms would be inheriting the current defects in the marijuana marketplace.

Marijuana And Exercise: A Great Combo For Mindful Athletes

Trey Reckling

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November 15, 2019

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Marijuana And Exercise: A Great Combo For Mindful Athletes

For some pro athletes, marijuana is a better choice for the pain, inflammation and other conditions that they typically deal with.

Years ago, I was in a judo class and had a classmate who was fierce. He was a short, humble guy built like a fridge and would take down people with scary precision. Flip, smack. It was a thing of beauty. One day outside of class I asked him how he got so focused. He paused for a second and smiled, “Weed!”

I thought he was joking. He was not. He was just way ahead of me when it came to marijuana and exercise.

It was not until the 1990s that scientists discovered that humans and all vertebrate animals have a naturally occurring system of receptors built to receive the active compounds in cannabis as well as similar compounds our bodies produce naturally. That is why we get “high” and why medical marijuana is effective for so many conditions.

Professional athletes from all corners of the sports world have come out in favor of allowing players to use marijuana. For some, it is a better choice for the pain, inflammation and other conditions that athletes typically deal with.

Cannabis Users Exercise Much More Than You Think — Photo by rawpixel

It’s not just intoxication-seeking marijuana consumers heralding the potential for the drug when it comes to exercise. For those looking for benefit without the high, CBD, or cannabidiol, is a non-psychotropic option.

Yale research scientist, professor and engineering director, Alyssa L. Siefert, has written extensively on the subject and shared her enthusiasm with us:

The broad anti-inflammatory effects of cannabis, particularly CBD, are exciting for athletes looking to quickly relax and recover, and I hope that researchers are able to focus on beneficial strains and dosages.

Let’s look at some of what we know from research that should be of interest to exercise enthusiasts looking to include marijuana in their workout regimen:

Acts as a bronchodilator, allowing air passages in the lungs to open more for up to two hours.
Helps blood flow.
Reduces inflammation.
Makes pain more bearable and is safer than aspirin and Tylenol.
Helps with sleeplessness.
Improves recovery from traumatic brain injury.
Helps users stay leaner with trimmer waistlines.

Before we pump you up with all of the good news, a word of caution for the uninitiated: Cannabis use can lead to tachycardia, or increased heart rate. This is a notable concern for cardio enthusiasts, people with heart health issues or for those who already exercise at a very elevated heart rate. Cannabis can also slow reaction times, so experimenting while participating in a contact sport is not recommended.

Protect yourself. While some competitive sports do not screen for marijuana use, it is certainly forbidden by the NCAA, the United States Anti-Doping Agency and the World Anti-Doping Agency.

Also keep in mind that smoking weed is just one way to ingest. In legal states, there are a variety of edibles, melt-away strips, tinctures, you name it. As noted before, CBD may give you some of the benefits of cannabis, but it will never make you stoned.

Maybe you want to simply do some research of your own. If so, we recommend you try it out at home first, where you can control your environment and feel most safe. Consume a moderate amount of cannabis, do some exercise and take notes on your dose, activation time and experience. That way you can find your sweet spot before you take to the gym in your newly lifted state.

Does Marijuana Legalization Lead To More Problematic Weed Use?

Brendan Bures

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November 14, 2019

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Does Marijuana Legalization Lead To More Problematic Weed Use?

Marijuana legalization increased marijuana use and cannabis use disorder among older adults, a new study finds.

While the benefits of marijuana legalization are aplenty, it’s also important to consider the possible consequences as well. According to a new study, not only does legalization lead to increased cannabis use, it increases the rate of cannabis users who develop addictive behaviors. The study highlights the possible public health consequences to legalization, so that regulators and lawmakers can create proper policies to prevent them.

“Although occasional marijuana use is not associated with substantial problems, long-term, heavy use is linked to psychological and physical health concerns, lower educational attainment, decline in social class, unemployment, and motor vehicle crashes,” researchers wrote in the study published in JAMA Psychiatry.

For the study, lead author Magdalena Cerdá, a drug policy expert at New York University, and her team analyzed data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2008-2016). The survey divided age groups between those between 12 to 17 (teenagers), 18 to 25 (young adults), and 26 years or older (older adults). The researchers then looked at how marijuana legalization affected whether participants used cannabis in the past month, and if they met the NSDUH’s definition for cannabis use disorder (their criteria include problematic use to addiction).

Where the sharpest rises in marijuana use occurred was for older adults, when comparing those in legal states vs. those in non-legal states. Among the age group, cannabis use in the past month jumped from 5.65% to 7.1%, frequent use rose from 2.13% to 2.62%, and cannabis use disorder recorded in the past year changed from 0.9% to 1.23%. However, the young adult group had no significant changes in marijuana consumption behaviors. While researchers found an increased risk of cannabis use disorder among teenagers, it was a relatively minor adjustment.

“For adolescents, I think we need to take the findings with a grain of salt,” Cerdá told Vox. “We need to really track changes among adolescents over a longer period of time and across other states that are legalizing to see if that’s really a robust finding or it’s actually due to some other third factor.”

As Vox adds, the researchers took special care in checking their findings against possible limitations. That included analyzing whether marijuana use was already increasing prior to legalization, if demographic or socioeconomic changes had any effect, or if other variables could be influencing their results.

Heavy Marijuana Use Could Double Stroke Risk for Young People — Photo by gradyreese/Getty Images

The researchers took several steps to validate their results. They looked at both demographic and socioeconomic changes to see if they had any effect; they checked to see if marijuana use had already been on the rise in states that eventually legalized cannabis; and they conducted statistical sensitivity analyses to try to account for other variables that they may have missed. But ultimately, because the data used comes from self-reporting participants, it’s always difficult to draw definitive conclusion from the research.

What Cerdá emphasized, though, is that she and her team don’t believe their study should stop any possible marijuana legalization. Instead they want their research to influence how states develop regulations and frameworks around legalization. As she told Vox, legal drugs remain available despite their negative effects. Tobacco results in 480,000 to 540,000 deaths each year while drinking in excess is connected to 88,000 annual deaths.

For marijuana, we should “start to think about ways to legalize that prevent those unintended consequences, just like we would regulate tobacco and alcohol,” Cerdá said.

“[Because legalization] has a lot of important benefits from a criminal justice standpoint, and I think it could, if done well, have benefits from a public health standpoint,” she added. “If it’s well-regulated, we could regulate the quality of the product, we could regulate the potency of the product — in a way we couldn’t if it were illegal.”

How Legal Weed Will Be Problematic For Police In Pot-Free Indiana

Mike Adams

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November 14, 2019

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How Legal Weed Will Be Problematic For Police In Pot-Free Indiana

There is about to be an uprising of interstate drug trafficking that will only serve to tax law enforcement resources and make their jobs harder overall.

It has been said that Indiana will be one of the last states to legalize marijuana. But lawmakers may have no choice but to give the issue some serious consideration in 2020 now that two of the state’s neighbors are set to launch recreational sales starting next month.

While the Hoosier government is busy trying to uphold some unrealistic sense of morality for those who occupy the state, it’s the police forces that will suffer. There is about to be an uprising of interstate drug trafficking that will only serve to tax law enforcement resources and make their jobs harder overall.

Michigan recently announced that its recreational marijuana market was set to launch at the beginning of December. The state’s Marijuana Regulatory Agency informed the medical marijuana sector this week that the transfer of half their inventory would be permitted on Dec. 1, as long as they have a license from the state to engage in recreational sales.

It might be slow-going, at first, considering there may only be “a dozen or so” pot sellers ready to go by then, according to agency director Andrew Brisbo. It could, however, be enough of a start to make sure Indiana’s finest are on their toes.

All one has to do is look to other states that have legalized marijuana to see neighboring jurisdictions struggling to maintain a prohibition standard. It happened after Colorado became the first state in the nation to legalize weed for adults 21 and over, causing Oklahoma and Nebraska to file federal lawsuits against state officials for running their police departments ragged trying to bust people smuggling weed across states lines. That case was eventually burned to the ground by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Is Legal Cannabis Really To Blame For Increase In Pedestrian Deaths? — Photo by diegoparra via Pixabay

Now, prohibition states must grin and bear it when it comes to dealing with the reverberations of legal weed. One thing is certain: Indiana is about to get a taste of what this is like in a matter of weeks.

Just as Michigan is working to get its adult pot market off the ground, Illinois is coming up behind them with recreational sales in January 2020. Pot sales in the Land of Lincoln will also get off to a modest start. Only around 14 recreational licenses have been issued to medical marijuana operations to sell their surplus to adults 21 and older at the turn of the new year. But, much like Michigan, once the cultivators have a chance to catch up and as more dispensaries climb aboard, more people from Indiana will have the opportunity to cross over, buy weed, and bring it home.

This means the legal market in Illinois and Michigan will slowly but inevitably become more problematic for police forces in Indiana trying to uphold a pot-free system. The state has already run into problems distinguishing marijuana from its non-intoxicating cousin hemp. So much, in fact, that the prosecutor in the state’s capital is now dismissing all pot charges for anyone caught with under an ounce of weed.

The question is whether the interstate drug trafficking issue will prompt lawmakers to take some kind of action next year to legalize marijuana.

Nine cannabis-related bills proposed in the Indiana Legislature were snuffed out last year in committee. Pro-pot lawmakers say there are a couple of obstacles. “It’s really the leadership in the House and governor’s office who are the roadblocks to get medical marijuana in Indiana,” said Representative Sue Errington, D-Muncie. “I think if it got out on the floor of the House, it would pass.”

But could 2020 be the year when this happens?

It is difficult to say whether the urgency surrounding the interstate drug trafficking problem will be prominent enough at the start of the next legislative session to usher in change. The most likely scenario is the state will see more support for legal weed while continuing to be a slave to the opinions of the upper brass.

But as I pointed out in a recent column for Forbes, “Whether the Indiana General Assembly and Governor Eric Holcomb like it or not, marijuana is slowly prevailing in spite of their efforts to keep it in the underground. Eventually, the fight to keep weed out of Indiana just isn’t going to be worth it anymore.”

The Fresh ToastThe most trusted name in cannabis

5 Things We Usually Get Wrong About Sex

It’s impossible to get pregnant while you’re on your period

Men are the only ones who want sex

Orgasm is the point of sex

Condoms protect you from all STIs

You’ll know when you orgasm

5 Apps Every Happy Person Needs

We generally don’t associate technology with good health, but there’s a lot of apps out there designed to help you stay healthy and think more positively.

MyFitnessPal

Headspace

Sleepcycle

Live Happy

Thought Diary

Will My Home Be Seized If My Child Gets Busted For Marijuana?

Be sure to contact an attorney if this happens, because civil asset forfeiture laws are no laughing matter.

Perks Of Adopting A Part-Time Vegetarian Diet

Eating a vegetarian diet, even just some of the time, can reduce our environmental impact and improve our health in different ways.

Less chance of obesity

Better heart health

More consumption of fiber

A change in your gut microbiome

Are Magic Mushrooms The Next Frontier For The Cannabis Industry

Given its hallucinogenic effect, lawmakers may be reticent to allow distribution of the psychedelic drug without more restrictions.

Marijuana And Exercise: A Great Combo For Mindful Athletes

For some pro athletes, marijuana is a better choice for the pain, inflammation and other conditions that they typically deal with.

Does Marijuana Legalization Lead To More Problematic Weed Use?

Marijuana legalization increased marijuana use and cannabis use disorder among older adults, a new study finds.

How Legal Weed Will Be Problematic For Police In Pot-Free Indiana

There is about to be an uprising of interstate drug trafficking that will only serve to tax law enforcement resources and make their jobs harder overall.

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