A 2015 study suggests that cannabis might help offset stress-induced depression. Cannabis could potentially help stabilize mood.
Pressure, it pushes down on me, pushes down on you. Stress works its mischief by stimulating an array of receptors in the brain. Eventually, chronic stress will cause some of these receptors to become less sensitive. It’s analogous to the way that, say, long-term cannabis use causes the body’s cannabinoid receptors to become less responsive, which creates tolerance to the drug. Can marijuana help stress-induced depression?
Unfortunately, chronic stress does not create tolerance. Instead, it interferes even more with the body’s normal functioning and can make us sick in a number of ways. A 2015 study by the University of Buffalo suggests that cannabis might help offset one of the major stress-induced ailments, depression.
Studies on rats showed that chronic stress suppressed the production of endocannabinoids, naturally occurring chemicals that affect our memory, moods, and motor control and which are similar in structure to the active ingredients in marijuana. It’s this similarity that gives cannabis its many celebrated powers, including a temporary feeling of well being. Researchers found that cannabis could supplement the rats’ missing endocannabinoids, which might offset the effects of stress.
Will this work in humans? Lead researcher Dr. Samir Haj-Dahmane hedges his optimism with a triple barrier of qualifiers: Cannabis “could potentially help” stabilize mood and treat stress-induced depression.
Typical hedging of bets. But there’s no room for cravenness around here. My Ph.D. in intuition sciences says, sure, why not? Score one for team cannabis!
Due to its sheer size, the Airedale terrier is considered the “King of Terriers”. Standing at around 23 inches at the shoulder, it is the largest of the terrier breeds. The Airedale is an incredibly athletic dog known for its agility and hunting ability, but also as being a great family companion. The Airedale is truly a versatile breed.
Here we recognize five of the keenest Airedales of Instagram.
This Week’s Music is a weekly column that discusses the weeks’ best, worst, and most interesting songs. We try to select songs of different artists and genres to keep things interesting and to please a variety of music fans.
This week was a packed one for pop music, with the comeback of the Jonas Brothers (please stop screaming) and two new songs from Carly Rae Jepsen. On the other end of the spectrum, Solange makes her return, releasing a new album that pushes the limits of music genres and makes us marvel at the overflowing talent of the Knowles sisters.
Pop
Jonas Brothers – Sucker
Released along with an impressive and extravagant music video, “Sucker” does not deviate an inch from the Jonas Bother’s winning formula. It’s a fun and simple song, an earworm that digs deeper upon each listen, and that’s endearing and nostalgic for fans who’ve followed the trajectory of the band’s careers. It’s reassuring that the Jonas Brothers’ pop sound hasn’t aged a bit, but also disappointing. While it’s delightful to watch Sansa Stark and Priyanka Chopra wreak mayhem within an idyllic castle, I wish there was more depth and bite to the song.
More playful than the available songs of her upcoming record, “Now That I Found You” is a vibrant ode to the 80’s. It’s typical Carly Rae Jepsen dance song, with lovely and heartsick lyrics that make you want to jump around in your room, down the street, wherever you’re listening to it. The singer’s new album remains untitled and is expected to come out within the coming months.
Hip Hop
Solange – Way to the Show
Solange is one of the best combinations of weird and mainstream. Under the shadow of Beyonce, Solange has to be revolutionary in order to stand out, which is exactly what she’s done with her last two albums. Both “A Seat at the Table” and “When I Get Home” push the boundaries of music, delivering contemplative and fun songs that are almost shapeless. Anything can happen in a Solange record, and it’s an amazingly rare feeling. “Way to the Show,” evokes playfulness in its lyrics and beats, and it makes you want to dive deep into her sound.
TikTok, the explosively popular app that allows kids and teens to create and share short videos, just got fined $5.7 million for illegally collecting data from children under the age of 13. That includes private information such as their names, email addresses and more, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
“The operators of Musical.ly, now known as TikTok, knew children were using the app but they still failed to seek parental consent before collecting names, email addresses, and other personal information from users under the age of 13,” says the FTC’s statement.
TikTok’s growth has been well documented and reported. If you’ve never used the app, you’ve still likely heard of it. With over a billion downloads in a short period of time, it inspired Facebook to release Lasso, their own version of the looping video format. The app has been unsuccessful, like most of Facebook’s endeavors that appeal to a young demographic.
Mashable explains that when TikTok was Musica.ly, its settings were set to public by default. Afterwards, if users chose to set their profiles to private, strangers could still contact them via DM. This history has understandably caused some problems for an app that’s mainly used by kids.
On February 27, TikTok announced a separate app experience that has extra privacy protections for underage users. “This additional app experience now allows us to split users into age-appropriate TikTok environments, in line with FTC guidance for mixed audience apps,” says the company’s press release.
Although the measures show that TikTok is trying to fix their problems, they’re still a little clunky, in some instances requesting users to upload images of their government issued ID as a way of proving their age.
As we anxiously await the birth of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s baby (they have apparently told friends it’s a boy, but video evidence suggests otherwise), some royal watchers are already wondering what’s going to replace Bump Watch 2019 after the Duchess gives birth in April.
Not to worry. If you like to read into innocent comments (like, really read into them), your baby fever may be able to make a lateral move to another royal: Kate Middleton.
According toPeople, the 37-year-old mother of three was engrossed in royal obligations in Northern Ireland on Thursday when she chatted it up with a 5-month-old little boy and his father, Alan Barr.
“He’s gorgeous. It makes me feel broody,” Duchess Kate said of the tot. For those of you who don’t speak British slang, “broody” basically means “nesting.” Like, Kate was saying she felt like she wanted another baby. Or was she just making small talk?
https://www.instagram.com/p/BubkkpvlCdO/
Barr straight up asked Kate, “Baby number four?” in which Middleton replied with a laugh and a “I think William would be a little worried.” I think we’d all be worried.
Kate and Prince William already have their hands full with Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, who were all birthed within 5 years. That’s a lot for any woman.
Maybe having her impending little nephew to snuggle with will ease her baby cravings?
Bloody Marys are one of those ubiquitous beverages that we can really take for granted. When you see a good one, the calling to order your own is a rising tide, a siren call. Good Bloodys are actually hard to find; a well executed one is basically like stumbling upon a unicorn.
No matter how you prefer them, grabbing a CBD or THC infused Mary sounds like the ultimate upgrade. After spotting cannabis industry maven Zoe Wilder’s Pickle Mary with New Highs CBD on Instagram, the fever to create our very own took hold and the spirit of Bloody Mary herself led to this version.
CBD Infused “Dive Bar” Bloody Maria
As taught to the writer by Lower East Side bartender Frankie Schnozz, 2009, New York City
Note: To craft a great Bloody Mary, you need to get the juice and seasoning balance just right. This is, of course, a matter of extreme subjectivity, so please tweak any recipe to your liking.
Photos by Danielle Guercio
My Bloodys come with a copious amount of horseradish and salty brine from pickles, so the bite is quite real. Using a terpene rich full spectrum like Onda in the mix adds some herbal deliciousness, but also helps curb any ill effects of the alcohol, provided you keep it moderate.
Building this drink is very simple, grab a tin cocktail shaker and a pint glass, and begin to make it happen. Add all of the seasonings and juices, but not the alcohol or tincture, into the pint glass, stir, and allow to settle for 2-3 minutes.
Add ice to the metal tin, pour the liquor over the top, followed by the tomato mixture, then seal and shake vigorously. Strain with a large hole strainer to allow the horseradish to flow through, into a serving glass over fresh ice. Drop 1ml of tincture into the glass and give it a final stir.
Garnish with the kitchen sink, you can even add cheeses and snacks like some bars do. I like a few capers stuck on the top, which you can add to the drink for extra salinity without having to ask for a shaker.
To those adding CBD instead of alcohol to assuage the night before, we salute you. To the THC infusers, you’re off to a trippy start. Make sure if you’re mixing alcohol and THC you take it easy on both, as they can greatly magnify each other. And, it bears repeating, don’t operate heavy machinery while consuming these! Always drink and partake safely, and when in doubt, order up a rideshare!
There’s no way this week’s meme wouldn’t have gone viral. In it, a mother and her two sons are seen dancing to One Direction’s “Act My Way” in perfect coordination. The song, known as the “pirate song” for those who aren’t One Direction fans, was added on an old Vine, and has recently reemerged as a viral meme. Why? Nobody really knows.
Buzzfeed News reports that the original clip featured the song “Drop” by Freco and Merlo and was recently Tweeted out in 2017 as an homage to One Direction. Aspect Za’Vier, one of the boys from the clip, now has over half a million followers on Instagram, crediting his internet fame to the initial Vine. “I think it’s super cool because it’s something I just did for fun and everyone’s using it as a meme, and that’s crazy to me because it was years ago,” he explains to Buzzfeed.
Users are now using the clip for extremely different, yet somehow fitting, scenarios. The witches from Macbeth make an appearance, as do dinosaurs, zodiac signs and characters from this year’s Oscar nominated films. In short, if you try hard enough, anyone can embody the spirit of this dancing trio. Check out some of our favorites:
The three witches after giving Macbeth the prophecy that will fuck up his entire life pic.twitter.com/fTiXlTzOaZ
This week, Martha Stewart agree to work with Canopy Growth Corporation (CGC) to create a CBD line of products for animals.
On the acquisition front, Curaleaf (CURA) bought Eureka Investment Partners in a deal valued at $30.5 million. Eureka operates a cultivation facility in the Salinas Valley and is developing three dispensaries across the state. The deal will be $10 million in cash, $20.5 million in Curaleaf stock, with a potential added bonus to be paid if certain goals are met. The deal is expected to close in March 2019.
SOL Global formed a new hemp subsidiary called Heavenly RX and its first investment was for $30 million into a Tennessee-based company called Bluhen Botanicals.
Choom acquired Clarity Cannabis MD Holdings in a cash and stock deal valued at roughly $5.5 million. Clarity has 30 retail locations in Canada.
Cannex bought Pure Ratios Holdings as a way into the CBD market in a deal valued at $8 million.
It is certainly earnings season. We can’t cover them all here, but these are the major ones:
GW Pharmaceuticals(GWPH) released its first earnings to include sales of its drug Epidiolex. Revenue for the quarter was $6.7 million, which beat analyst estimates and sales from Epidiolex whose sales began on November 1 were $4.7 million.
MedMen Enterprises (MMNFF) reported revenue of $29 million for its fiscal second quarter but net losses remained high at $64 million. Most of the company’s revenue came from its Southern California stores.
In other news
Zynerba (ZYNE) received a patent for its CBD gel which covers the company’s ZYN002 drug.
CannTrust began trading on the NYSE using the symbol CTST. It will continue to trade on the Toronto Exchange using the symbol TRST.
Colorado was the first state to open the weed gates, and though there’s not too much difference from state-to-state at first glance, there are some excellent consumables coming out of this wide western state. It’s important to note that Colorado uses a smarter approach to recreational edible cannabis; no single dose or piece of edible cannabis can be stronger than 10 milligrams of THC, and each piece has to have a clear indicator, oftentimes a laser engraving.
Medical consumers in Colorado have access to stronger items, but the typical package is about 100mg, spread amongst 10 pieces. There’s everything from tasty hard candy to luscious peanut butter cups, and purveyors take their craft seriously. With such an established market, many of the offerings are consistent and growing brands, so you don’t have to be too concerned with the details once you have your favorite brands.
From GO coffee beans to Bliss peanut butter cups, this firm knows what they are doing with both cannabis and confections. While on a recent tour of their facility with Hi Curious, it was clear that cannabis edibles are reaching heights of professionalism that Brownie Mary could be proud of.
1906’s Chill relaxation chocolates | Photos by Danielle Guercio
With so many people depending on their products, owner Peter Barsoom knows that it’s quite serious business, and for that reason they emulsify concentrates into an oil base which is used to create chocolate from scratch. This allows a more doseable format that ensures if you break a piece of 10mg chocolate in half, it’s truly a 5mg dose. Non emulsified edibles have an issue that prevents this type of half-nibble.
Fully loaded chocolate at the 1906 facility tour with Hi Curious / Photos by Danielle Guercio
In addition to high tech chocolate Barsoom says, “We want people to get the optimal benefit from each of the plant medicines we use. Each of our products is formulated to include the exact terpenes, CBD, THC and additional plants to create the feeling the product intends.For example, our Chill chocolate gems have 25mg of CBD and 5mg of THC along with magnolia and L-theanine to help decrease anxiety and increase chill.”
These herbs and ingredients purport an additional wellness boost, and considering many of us are visiting the weed fairy for relief anyway, it’s pretty brilliant.
This product by Stillwater Brands is so superior, that I had been waiting ages to try it. From 50/50 CBD/THC to a perfect 10 mg sprinkle, you can use Ripple on everything, and I mean everything. While in the Rocky Mountains, I sprinkled a packet of CBD Ripple in water twice a day, used a 50/50 for brunch eggs, and a 10mg in tea to kick things into a more relaxing gear.
Ripple on Chef Bobby’s truffle avocado eggs from the Hi Curious experience / Photos by Danielle Guercio
Ripple is user friendly, tasteless, and extremely innovative. Confections are amazing, but these are the class of products that people also want access to— no food needed, with total freedom to infuse anything you want.
These little hard candy gems from Canyon TCH have excellent weed-free taste and a hit of sour that makes you want to munch the whole package, even though its not advisable. The Fruit Punch sweets carry a fruity finish, with a lemony exterior and sparkly effect that makes eating even just one a totally pleasant experience. Hard candies like this are excellent for sublingual dosing, when you just want to take a break from whatever is ailing you and need fast results.
Sweet / Photos by Danielle Guercio
All in all, Colorado has great edible cannabis options, and it’s on you to get there to try them. With everything the state has to offer, it’s worth the trip.
Miami Beach Representative Michael Grieco, believes it is time to turn things up a notch by pushing the issue of full-blown legalization.
Although the Florida legislature is just now getting to the point of allowing patients to smoke medical marijuana – they may have felt some pressure to do this by newly elected Governor Ron DeSantis — one of the more ambitious suits in the State House, Miami Beach Representative Michael Grieco, believes it is time to turn things up a notch by pushing the issue of full-blown legalization. If he has any luck at all, the state could be one of the next to legalize the leaf for recreational use.
Earlier this week, Grieco along with Orlando Democratic Representative Carlos Guillermo Smith introduced a piece of legislation (HB 1117) designed to establish a taxed and regulated pot market.
It’s pretty much the same deal that has been put into place in other legal states. It would give adults 21 and over the freedom to purchase and possess up to 2.5 ounces of weed at a time. Public consumption would remain illegal, and anyone who violates this part of the law would be slapped with a $100 fine.
The bill, along with a separate measure (HB 1119) also deals with the subjects of taxes, the vertical integration model and application fees.
But it seems unlikely that the proposal will receive any consideration at all, especially since legislative forces have so adamantly opposed marijuana reform in the past. House Speaker José Oliva, the gatekeeper to whether the bills get a vote, is still complaining that medical marijuana is just a front for advocates to usher in total legalization. So, needless to say, lawmakers are not expecting his support.
But this is what the majority of Floridians want, Grieco says, and the bill was written to reflect that.
Furthermore, if the proposals do not pass, some group is going to swoop in a get a ballot initiative passed, just like they did with medical marijuana. There is no stopping the issue from moving forward, Grieco says.
“We’re going to see next year a majority of Floridians voting on this,” he told the Tampa Bay Times. “Even if we get pushback, it continues the conversation. It’s a conversation that’s being had nationally. I expect some movement to be had federally, prior to the presidential election next year.”
It just doesn’t make sense to continue perpetuating a prohibition standard, said Rep. Smith, who has also been instrumental in fighting the cause for smokable medical marijuana.
“There’s no reason cannabis can’t be regulated in ways similar to alcohol,” he said. “No one is dying from cannabis overdoses but they are getting arrested and being given criminal records for no good reason … We expect that it’s always going to be a tough legislative route, but that’s not a reason to stop advocating for it.”
As it stands, ten states have legalized marijuana for recreational use. New Jersey, New York and Illinois are all expected to join in the fun later this year. Florida’s time seems to be on the horizon whether the state’s lawmakers get behind it or not.
