New Jersey is definitely the shining star when it comes the legal weed market.
New York City is the supposed to be the crossroads of the world…but it seems things are more headed to the Jersey shore. With their neighbor’s chaotic rollout of legal cannabis, it seems New Jersey is taking a huge bite of the Big Apple’s weed – at least the legal part of it! New Jersey’s cannabis market earned $800+ million in medicinal and recreational cannabis sales in 2023. That is compared to New York’s $174 million.
New Jeresy’s rollout of legal cannabis has been smooth and well received by the population and consumers. Their program was up and running in April of 2022 and the industry brought in a healthy $555+ million in 9 months. The tax revenue has been a boon for the state and there hasn’t been in major hiccups. This is great compared to their next door neighbor which seems to lurch from issue to issue.
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Leading analyst firm BDSA which also including cannabis predicts if New York State is able to correct the mess left in the rollout – they can be the #1 market and possibly be the first state to hit $2 billion. It is estimated the licensed businesses lost $1.2+ billion in revenue to the illegal stores just in 2023. And the state lost tax revenue on the amount.
New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (NJ-CRC) Executive Director Jeff Brown predicts they state will be the premier region for cannabis sales. Ultimately it will be good for state coffers. The negative is the only big money difference from the Big Apple is in legal and tax revenue. New York still has over 1,500 illicit dispensaries in New York City alone. The business is there, they just are contributing to the black market which goes unregulated, unrecorded and undisciplined.
Currently, in their mid-range predictions, BDSA has faith New York will course correct and be the top state with New Jersey second.
In a bit of surprise, a study found habitual marijuana consumers have THC in this
Too much of a good thing is never good, moderation in alcohol, Krispy Kremes, shopping, video games is recommended. Now, data has found habitual marijuana user can have THC in this…and they are not sure what it means. Research from Harvard Medical School reported that THC can be detected in semen.
Published in the journal Reproductive Physiology and Disease, the study focused on 12 men between the ages 18 and 45 who identified as chronic marijuana smokers. That meant using weed at least 25 days per month. After collecting urine, blood, and semen samples, researchers found detectable THC levels in two of the men, although they weren’t sure why THC was not found in the other subjects.
Overall, the researchers’ goal was to determine whether THC can cross “the blood-testis barrier” in healthy adults, referencing a 2018 study that reported 16.5% percent of men and 11.5% of women consumed marijuana while trying to conceive.
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The Harvard researchers wrote, “In the setting of a growing repository of data surrounding the effects of the endocannabinoid system in the regulation and maintenance of fertility and early pregnancy, ours is the first report that the exogenous cannabinoid THC can be detected in any human reproductive matrix.”
Still, the THC levels found in sperm was significantly low and just crossed the detectable threshold. Researchers still aren’t sure how THC-laden sperm would affect pregnancy or child development, stating that, “Evidence linking marijuana to reproductive outcomes is scarce and to date, often conflicting.”
Last year, Duke University researchers found cannabis consumption lowered the quality and count of sperm in men. According to a different Duke study, serious marijuana consumption could mutate a gene strongly related to autism, PTSD, and schizophrenia. But researchers cautioned they weren’t sure what the findings of their study revealed, and needed to be replicated before wider health discussions occurred.
Alcohol, weed, tobacco – the “vices” appeals to most – but who uses more?
Weed, alcohol, tobacco, all the vices in indulged in by people. Tall, short, black, white, left or right handed – it has a mass appeal. But sometimes certain groups are attracted to a vice more. Generally, men (16.7%) tend to use all tobacco products at higher rates than women (13.6%). We know men are more likely to use weed over women. But who consumes more weed, LGBTQ or straights?
While most cannabis studies that look into the consumption habits of people rely on self-reporting and aren’t held within a controlled setting, different studies suggest that LGBTQ people have a more positive attitude towards the drug. A study, published in the journal Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, found that gay men smoked approximately four times more than straight men. Lesbian women smoked six times more than heterosexual women.
These findings are also replicated in younger demographics, with teens that belong to the LGBTQ community being more likely to consume cannabis, while also being more inclined to consume other substances, such as alcohol and nicotine. Young LGBTQ members face more stressors than their straight counterparts, resulting in higher rates of suicide, bullying, and more.
There are many reasons why these results could be occurring, but experts believe it has something to do with the fact that people belonging to the queer community are more likely to suffer from anxiety and other mental health disorders.
Maybe members of the queer community find refuge in cannabis, using it as a source of relief. It’s more likely for them to encounter the drug earlier on, and to be less prejudiced than others. There’s also the fact that gay people have kids later in life compared to their straight counterparts, giving them more time to explore and use the drug.
More research is necessary to draw significant conclusions, but it’s interesting to wonder why the LGBTQ community seems to have such an affinity for the herb.
Apartments and short term rentals rules can be a strict – so here is how to chill without getting in trouble
Survey data shows in 2022, 24.7% of millennials said they plan to “always rent” rather than buy a house. Add in AirBnB, VRBO and more and we put our head down in places where other people have a say in what’s goes on in the unit. Apartments became big starting in the beginning of the last century. Mid-price and luxury apartments became popular in London, New York and other major cities and it spread to the other cities.
Living in a condensed area where a resident is immediately surrounded by dozens of neighbors has been known to cause its fair share of trouble over the years. It’s the reason apartment dwellers often receive complaints about noise, pets, and, increasingly, the odor of marijuana. Here are the best ways to consume weed in a rental.
Even in states where cannabis is legal, consuming weed in an rental situation is just more problematic than in a private residence. In fact, even before you move into most places, being a marijuana user is already stacked against you.
Most leases and short term rentals have policies against the use of illegal drugs, smoking and disturbing other tenants. Most of the time, these leases do not account for legal weed at the state level. So first, read the rules. It may be necessary to be creative or somewhat clandestine in their cannabis use to keep the peace and reduce the chances of an eviction.
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The best way to avoid trouble is to not smoke in the unit. In legal states, a park or somewhere outdoors if the easiest way to avoid leaving the smell in a closed space. Tobacco smokers are very clear of heading outside to enjoy a quick puff.
If you are traveling, you can pop into the neighborhood dispensary and perhaps pick up a vape, gummies or an oil Edibles are always a smart way to go, as they are completely smoke-free. But for those people who prefer to smoke weed rather than eat it, there are more discreet products available leave a lasting smell. Vaporizers offer the smoking experience without the intrusive aroma that sometimes causes neighbors to complain. Even using dabs, which are concentrates, is a better option than burning raw flower. Your neighbors will never even know you smoke weed.
But if you must smoke marijuana the old fashioned way, you’re going to need to employ a little stoner ingenuity to keep things on the down-low. Remember, unless your lease clearly states marijuana smoking is allowed on the premises, it’s probably not. And the last thing a renter wants is to start getting complaints about the pungent odor of marijuana keeps wafting into the common areas. These grievances might not get you into trouble with the law — at least not in a legal state — but they could get you kicked out.
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So, make use of bathroom and kitchen fans, which will suck up the smoke and reduce the smell of marijuana. If in the bathroom, it also doesn’t hurt to turn on a hot shower, since the steam works to diminish odors. This is not full-proof, however, so you might also want to block the bottom of your doors with a towel to keep as much of the smoke as possible from escaping. If an exhaust fan is not available, try keeping your smoke session as far away from the front of the apartment as possible. It also doesn’t hurt to burn candles to mask the odor. Some longtime marijuana users even swear by a product called Ozium, which is a spray known to effectively eliminate the skunk.
Fortunately, marijuana smoke is not the same as tobacco smoke. So while consuming weed in this fashion goes against the grain of most leases, the odor of marijuana is not going to linger in the apartment long. Not like it would in a room inhabited by a person who uses cigarettes regularly. This is good news, since breaking the rules of a lease, even if the violation does not lead to eviction, can cause a renter to lose his or her security deposit when the time comes to move someplace new.
Be careful, be thoughtful and enjoy yourself when you chill out.
Hundreds of millions of people suffer from some form of anxiety, what is the best – least disruptive way to manage it?
It manifests in multiple ways, but if you suffer from some form of anxiety, it can be miserable. It is believed over 4% of the global population deal with it on a regular basis. Some people experience side effects with traditional medications including fatigue, tiredness, agitation, difficulty sleeping, and weight issues. Research has shown cannabis can help, but should you use CBD or marijuana for anxiety?
Used effectively, marijuana can certainly benefit anxiety patients. A study in the Journal of Affective Disorders reported that about 90% of participants experienced reduction in symptoms of anxiety, stress, and depression in the short term. Repeated use, however, did not cause any long-term decrease in baseline symptoms and could increase depression over time.
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At high doses, however, some studies show that marijuana can worsen anxiety. This is due to tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the cannabinoid that causes marijuana’s psychoactive effect. THC makes your heart beat faster and leads to racing thoughts, both of which can exacerbate anxiety. Sometimes, you hear someone with anxiety smoking a joint at a party, thinking it will relieve symptoms. Instead it causes them to feel worse and reject cannabis as therapeutic.
A 2015 review concluded that “current evidence indicates CBD has considerable potential as a treatment for multiple anxiety disorders.” This, in part, explain why new emphasis exists on CBD for anxiety patients in recent years. Higher doses of CBD work effectively in reducing anxiety symptoms, the review found, without any of the negative side effects associated with THC.
CBD works for different types of anxiety as well. A Japanese study followed older Japanese teenagers diagnosed with social anxiety disorder. Using the Fear of Negative Evaluation Questionnaire and the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale, researchers found CBD significantly decreased anxiety in both measurements.
Current recommendations for anxiety patients is to utilize a mixture of high-CBD, low-THC marijuana strains for the best results. Remember: using a little goes a long way. If you consume too much, you might regret it.
Food has a huge impact – hungry, hangery, full, and satisfied – but did you know it can also put you in a bad mood?
Our relationships with food is complicated. Sometimes after consuming a delicious meal that we know is bad for us, our body feels sluggish. Or sometimes you have a craving and go in search for a particular flavor profile. Some people love sweets and others love savory. Food is an important part of our daily life and drives some decisions. But did you know certain foods and drinks can trigger a bad mood?
A lot of our favorite comfort foods and beverages, like fries, mac and cheese, cookies, sodas and coffee drinks tend to provide side effects with no nutritional value. The quick burst of energy and dopamine they provide is fleeting, leaving you feeling cranky and hungry soon after.
“Emotional eating is a cyclical process where low mood leads to eating foods likely to spike your blood sugar, giving us a dose of dopamine, but then it drops at the same time as we start to feel guilty,” psychologist Lee Chambers. “This combination often makes us feel a lack of satisfaction, with feelings of guilt, shame and regret.”
Here are some foods and beverages which could be guilty of making you grumpy.
While coffee generally makes us feel great first thing in the morning, too much of it can make us feel jittery and irritable. If you’re particularly sensitive to caffeine, you might even have trouble sleeping at night. In order to prevent this, it’s helpful to limit your coffee and caffeine intake, including teas, sodas, and the like. If you need a pick me up during the day and have already had some coffee, consider eating something filling, with protein. If you’re in a time crunch, stock up on energy bars and have them around your car and house.
Junk foods
Fries, pizza bites, chips and other kinds of comforting junk foods contain high amounts of saturated fats, refined sugars and more. These can cause energy crashes and can make you feel tired for long periods of time. While it’s unrealistic to never eat these kinds of foods, we should all aim for consuming relatively healthy foods throughout our days, keeping you energized, that way we can enjoy the times we consume those kinds of meals. Here’s why fast food makes us cranky.
Having a cocktail or a glass of wine is fun, until it isn’t. The substance is a depressant, slowing parts of the brain and creating a delay to how we react to outside events. It’s why drunk people are uncoordinated and can fall easily. It’s also why they should never drive. Alcohol also causes a loss of inhibition, which is why there’s angry or very emotional drunks who say things they’ll later regret. But the bad mood often kicks in the next morning, when you wake up with a crippling hangover that equally cripples your otherwise productive day.
It’s painful, embarrassing and hard to be rid of – but can CBD help with eczema?
Eczema is a chronic skin condition that affects one in 10. It’s most common in children, although one in four people with the condition don’t have symptoms until they’re adults.
It irritates the skin, leaving it patchy and red for stretches of time. It occurs due to a combination of genetics and environmental situations. Flare ups of the condition can occur from pollen in the air or the types of foods and drinks you ingest. Some experts believe that eczema is more common in developed countries because of clean living conditions, childhood vaccines that lower infection rates, and antibiotic use. These things change your immune response and make you more likely to have atopic diseases, like eczema. But can CBD whelp with eczema.
Eczema, is traditionally treated by managing its most prevalent symptoms in order to prevent flare ups. The condition is not contagious and can be very different from person to person, with the most prevalent symptom manifesting as patches of itchy skin.
There is no cure for eczema, which is why people who suffer from this ailment have to be careful, moisturizing their skin often, while also looking for effective ways of avoiding triggers. The ways in which people treat their eczema are varied and personal, ranging from warm baths and gentle soaps to wearing soft cotton clothes to avoid pain.
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Seen everywhere from Amazon to Instagram, CBD has garnered some acclaim within the beauty and skincare industry. Although there’s a lack of scientific research on CBD due to the compound’s strange legal standing, many experts are hopeful in the effect it could have on eczema.
CBD has anti-inflammatory properties which seems to help reduce irritating eczema symptoms such as itching, pain, and dry skin. Research has shown the endocannabinoid system also plays a role in skin health.
Different studies have shown CBD is effective in providing anti-inflammatory effects and managing skin irritation. There are also studies that have found CBD has antioxidant properties, which could help prevent infections when skin has been damaged by eczema and is at its most vulnerable.
There hasn’t been enough research on the use of topical CBD in people with eczema. A small study published in 2019 in Clinical Therapeutics which found. a CBD ointment helped clear skin and reduced itch and the sleep loss it caused.
Research also suggests CBD is anti-microbial, with some data showing it works about as well as antibiotics to kill Staphylococcus aureus. Staph can infect the skin of people with atopic dermatitis, triggering flares and other complications.
He has been hailed as the new “Rock”…but does John Cena kick back and use weed?
John Cena is having a moment. People are buzzing his star is rising and he could be another Rock. Which is something considering he Rock built an empire worth $800+ million. Like the Rock, Cena is not afraid of hard work, laughing at himself, or comedy. But does John Cena use weed? Would it go with his squeaky clean imagine?
He started out as a wrestler and signed to the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in 2001. In 2018, he went part-time with wrestling to focus on expanding his acting and rapping career. A record 16-time world champion as recognized by WWE, Cena is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional pro wrestlers of all time.
WWE hasn’t enforced marijuana testing in ages, which was lead by the players. Although cannabis in the entertainment industry is not uncommon.
Cena has crafted his image and has popped up on the Today show with goodnatured appearances alongside his string of recent movies. His most recent, Ricky Stanicky, leans into comedy heavily. He was a presenter at this year’s Oscars while also taking a nod at a streaker who appeared 50 years ago.
Cena has long denied taking drugs, including steroids. But the rumor of his steroid use continues to trail him like the whiff of a skunk. He does drink alcohol and has built up a pretty strong reputation for being able to toss quite a large amount back and still function. But it seems he has either not used marijuana or kept it very, very on the down low.
We know in honor of the 4/20 ‘holiday’ he was the now gone Ellen show and played a game called ‘Marijuana Strain Or Show Dog’. The audience lapped it up and he seemed to enjoy the wink wink nod of it.
So while it appears he doesn’t consume, it doesn’t seem like he judges those who do and can appreciate a good chill.
Tipflation has become a thing, but what about your favorite bud tender?
Tipflation is increased rates that people are now expected to tip at restaurants and for other goods and services, especially in areas where historically there wasn’t the expectation to tip. Prior to 2020, people generally tipped food servers 15% to 20% based on the service received. Today with tipflation, it show up on screens almost everyone – with the base starting at 15% and going up. Consumers are annoyed. But what about the marijuana dispensaries and tipping your budtenders?
At legal dispensaries, budtenders are key. They act in several different capacities, assisting customers in finding the best possible strain, showing them new products and answering questions to help them with the best possible experience. It is important work, especially when dealing with a new customer whose only experience with marijuana was one time back in college when they took a hit off a bong. Think of them as a cannabis sommelier.
One of the things a new customer might notice while browsing the display cases in a dispensary is the presence of tip jars. This trend started to take shape around a decade ago when medical marijuana was first beginning to build momentum across the country. But now they seem to be turning up more in both the medical and recreational sectors. The idea, as with any situation where a tip jar is present, is to give the budtender an opportunity to earn additional income.
It is also an incentivizing measure. If a budtender believes he or she can earn an extra $50 or more each day by simply providing superb customer service, chances are they will come to work ready to make it rain.
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Still, some people take issue with tip jars becoming more commonplace in dispensary life. Some feel that while a budtender might deserve and extra $10 or so for helping them identify a strain most effective in treating their specific health condition, others think it is flat out BS that they must cough up extra cheddar just because one sold them a package of edibles. And while tipping is always optional, many argue that some budtenders act as though they are entitled to a tip for spending a few minutes with a customer.
So what is the right thing to do? Should you tip budtenders, or simply treat them the same as liquor store clerks? After all, the people who sell beer do not get tipped for pointing the Baileys or Lagunitas.
The answer should be simple, but it is actually a bit tricky.
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For starters, what exactly is a budtender’s job? According to the California-based employment agency Vangst, it is to provide “excellent customer service to all patients and customers in medical and recreational dispensaries. Uses point-of-sale system and other technology to ensure all cannabis product sales are properly tracked. Provides information to customers on product choices, consumption methods, compliance, and safety. Remains up to date on all cannabis regulations to ensure compliance within the dispensary.”
No doubt, there is a lot of responsibility involved with being an exceptional budtender, which is the reason they are paid an above-average salary right out of the gate. Budtenders often start out making around $16 per hour. These are not excellent wages, but they are significantly higher than most small retail/fast food places where employees are not compensated with tips.
It is also more money than the average untipped liquor store clerk earns. While there is rarely a qualm about tipping bartenders simply popping the top on a beer and setting in front of them, clerks seem to be something else.
So, do we tip budtenders or not?
Don’t feel obligated to leave a tip just because a dispensary has scattered jars all around. However, if a budtender is friendly, helpful, guides you to exactly what you are looking for and makes your dispensary experience a pleasant one, by all means, don’t be afraid to leave a something extra. Yet, if all a budtender does is ring up a package of edibles or pre-rolls, a tip isn’t exactly necessary. Products are already expensive enough with all of the additional taxes for people to be required to pay more just because an employee punched a few buttons on a cash register.
But, here’s the thing: Good people who do good work and, above all, help you in ways that could not have been achieved without them, are always deserving of more. It is a classy move to offer a gratuity for exceptional service.
The marijuana industry has found the last couple of years very trying…Bloomberg just gave it a sliver of hope.
It is a mixed bag for the cannabis industry. BDSA, a leading analytics firm which covers the cannabis industry, just released numbers and data revealing the cannabis industry earned $29.5 billion dollars in 2023. Missouri generated a whopping $1 Billion, something making everyone take a second look. Use has become mainstream and Gen Z is moving inches away from alcohol to marijuana. But there are underlaying problems. Price compression in flower, the chaos in New York and California, and he federal government restrictions are crushing for the small businesses which make up the majority of the industry. A little hope? Biden buoys Bloomberg’s marijuana prediction in his State of the Union speech.
Bloomberg is a leader in economic news and has been following the cannabis industry. Due to Biden’s slow campaign commitment to help the industry, Bloomberg has been hesitant about the industry’s growth. But with Biden’s head on mentioning cannabis, Bloomberg now predicts an 80% chance of rescheduling in the upcoming months. This will have a dramatic upswing impact on the growing economic business community.
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When the DEA reschedules marijuana, the industry will experience relief from certain tax burdens it currently faces under Section 280E of the Internal Revenue Code, a needed help for the mom and pop businesses representing the majority of owners/operaters. It should make banking easier also by reducing the potential liability with a higher scheduled product.
A longer term benefit of rescheduling is it would bring many products and manufacturers more squarely within FDA’s regulatory authority, which will open up the medical marijuana market significantly and also allow larger mainstream retailers to begin consideration of carrying products.
Rescheduling would not make it federal legal, which is something this administration can do, rather it gives the legal businesses in states more traditional business rights and benefits. In the handful of full holdout states, it would still be crime.
