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3 ETFs Offering Exposure To The Canadian Green Rush

Jacob Ellman
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3 ETFs Offering Exposure To The Canadian Green Rush

Adult-use cannabis sales kick off in Canada on Wednesday, October 17, and many investors already feel like they’re late to the party. That’s ok, because the green rush is just getting started.

Canada is only the second nation to legalize marijuana, and has a population of less than California. That being said, Canadian licensed producers like Flowr Corp. (TSXV:FLWR) and Canopy Growth Corp. (NYSE:CGC) (TSX:WEED) are positioning themselves to be global leaders in the cannabis space given their partnerships with global industry leaders like The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company (NYSE:SMG) and Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ), respectively.

They are not just building infrastructure in Canada, but rather they are building a platform that can allow them to cash in on the cannabis boom worldwide.

Still More Opportunity to Come

Even though the licensed producers above already have noteworthy partnerships with existing global titans, there will be more to follow.

Despite rumors such as the one regarding a deal between Marlboro cigarette-producing Altria Group (NYSE:MO) and Canadian licensed producer Aphria Inc. (TSX:APH) (OTC:APHQF), it it actually impossible to know which cannabis companies will be strategic investment/acquisition targets for Fortune 500s.

Because of the guessing game that most marijuana investors are faced with, it can be easier to invest in an exchange traded fund (ETF) that offers exposure to a wide variety of cannabis companies.

If you are not tracking the markets on a daily or intraday basis, then buying a diversified basket of cannabis stocks via an ETF is going to be far more fruitful than trying to pick winners out of a hat.

What is an ETF?

An ETF, short for Exchange Traded Fund, is a free-trading security that tracks an underlying benchmark. Benchmarks can be an index like the S&P 500, the price of oil, or anything in between. In the case of cannabis ETFs, they track baskets of marijuana stocks rather than the price of marijuana itself.

3 ETFs Offering Investors Exposure to the Canadian Green Rush

Conclusion

With Canadian legalization kicking off on Wednesday, there’s still time to get into the green rush early. We’re still only in the third inning.

This article does not provide nor claim to provide individual investment advice or recommendations to readers. Before making specific investment decisions, readers should seek their own professional advice and that of their own professional financial adviser

Will Canada Change Drug Policies At Federal Workplaces?

Mary Schumacher
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Will Canada Change Drug Policies At Federal Workplaces?

Adult use cannabis is literally one day away in Canada, and with the world not stopping for a collective inhale, federal employers are left with some big questions. Namely, should they continue to screen their employees for drugs or phase out taking urine samples all together.

The government itself didn’t set forth any rules per se, though they did drop a set of general guidelines to follow. The results are that there’s a range of rules surrounding cannabis use in federally-regulated workplaces, which employ 8 percent of Canadian workers. Other places of business will need to look into provincial guidelines.

In a briefing that was given over to the National Post with the stipulation that no names be used, for federal jobs at least, some of the rules aren’t changing at all. For example, for the majority of jobs issued by Transport Canada, you must be “fit for duty” or in other words, able to fly a plane, drive transport trucks, navigate boats and perform other transportation related jobs as they apply.

Federal prison guards and border guards surprisingly only have to wait 24 hours after imbibing before going on duty. Even military employees are able to spark up, just with stipulations as well. It seems that outside of transport, police have it the “roughest,” with a 28 day wait period between them getting lifted and going to work.

It’s not as if working while impaired hasn’t been an issue for decades – and certainly not just for just cannabis, even if the tests seem built to only “catch” pot smokers. For around 260,000 federal public servants, officials said there is no set of rules across government departments, each being responsible for updating its own drug testing policy, even if that means no update at all. “There are a lot of codes of conduct, for example, that already cover impairment that would include cannabis,” one official explained.

Speaking last Wednesday, a government official said that employers should consider their own real needs around the workplace before implementing a drug-test program. The official pointed out that there are alternatives, like close supervision and frequent face-to-face interactions with employees, both of which help to identify problem areas around impairment.

What Californians Can Teach Canadians About Legal Marijuana

Mike Adams
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What Californians Can Teach Canadians About Legal Marijuana

Canada is on the verge of becoming the second country in the world to legalize marijuana. On Wednesday, the northern nation’s full legal recreational pot market will open up, allowing people to purchase weed like alcohol. Although the move is expected to generate billions of dollars in economic activity, as well as create new tax revenue for the government, the goal of this reform, according to Prime Ministers Justin Trudeau, has nothing to do with its economic impact. It’s more about chipping away at organized crime and keeping cannabis out of the hands of children.

“Right now, young people have far too easy access in Canada to marijuana. Criminal organizations make billions of dollars a year in profits on the sale of marijuana,” Trudeau told the Canadian Press earlier this year. “We need to move forward on a system that controls and regulates while In protecting our kids and our communities.”

While this is a noble reason to end marijuana prohibition, it is not a perfect plan, according to a recent piece published in the New York Times, which points out a few things that Canada can learn from California’s 10-month-old pot trade.

Sources close to the situation, including Hezekiah Allen, the executive director of the California Growers Association, told the Times that “the black market is still dominant.” This, he says, is because “It’s hard to persuade pot farmers who have been producing in the shadows for decades to fill out voluminous paperwork, pay taxes and comply with reams of environmental regulations.”

What Canada is destined to learn during its first year of legal sales is cannabis users may not come running to legal marijuana dispensaries. California launched its recreational market in January, and it’s still not generating much more cash than when it was running one of the loosest medical marijuana programs in the country. But then again, the conditions are slightly different.

Anyone who has wanted marijuana over the past two decades in the Golden State has been able to finagle their way into the medical system. So, the recreational scene is not much a of a stretch beyond. Still, some customers have continued to purchase weed from the black market because the legal stuff, which must be tested and taxed, is far more expensive – about 77 percent more than what is sold in the streets.

“As long as there is onerous regulation and taxation imposed on the legal market, you can forget about getting rid of the illicit market,” said Tom Adams of BDS Analytics.

But, just like Canada, wiping out the black market was one of the primary selling points for ending marijuana prohibition in California. This ethos was devised using a chapter from the book of alcohol prohibition. Sure, there are still a handful of people running moonshine in parts of the country, but, for the most part, illegal alcohol operations ended after the prohibition laws were repealed. But it’s not working out the same way for cannabis, mostly because the U.S. government has refused to get onboard. There are just too many conflicting laws for marijuana to get a proper showing in the states.

It is conceivable that Canada will experience similar growing pains. But the country is in a better position to pull off legalization once they work out the kinks. Unlike California, Canada is coming out of the gate with more common sense. Instead of serving adults 21 and older, the nation has given provinces the right to sell weed to those who are at least 18 years of age. There are also stricter penalties for those who break the rules of its taxed and regulated system. California eliminated most of its harsh penalties for pot offenders, making it harder to go to jail for breaking the law.

Although there is plenty Canada can learn from California right now concerning marijuana legalization, there will likely come a time in the foreseeable future when California, as well as the rest of the United States, has something to learn from Canada. But it could take a year or more before they realize it.

Make Your Pancakes Sweeter With This Cannabis Maple Syrup

Danielle Guercio
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Make Your Pancakes Sweeter With This Cannabis Maple Syrup

The sap of the maple tree is just one of the ways that humans would get their sweet on before cane sugar was readily available. This amber sap is rich in vitamins and flavor and has a complex taste that lends itself to a long list of delicious food applications. Canadian food is influenced by many things both French and English in origin, but this is an indigenous originated product that has never died in popularity.

Since you probably can’t harvest from your own tree for this, procuring some good stuff is usually best done on the internets unless you are passing through a prolific maple region. Another of Canada’s favorite harvests is cannabis, which very soon will be legal the entire country over.

As for which strain to use to get the unique cannabis flavors incorporated into your syrup, we asked My Bud Vase’s Doreen Sullivan for her Canadian reccos, as her smokeware was just nominated for a Canadian Cannabis Award:

“You can’t think about Canada without thinking of maple syrup, they have some of the best strains, so I’d go for a syrup infused with a strain with a berry terpene profile, like Canada’s Dragon Fruit by Hexo!”

Canada’s big day for legalization is October 17, and it’s rapidly approaching. Try celebrating with a spiked syrup is a fabulous way to get lifted on both Canadian classics.

Cannabis Infused Maple Syrup

Danielle Guercio, 2018

100mg THC per 10 oz bottle, 10mg per 1 oz serving estimated

Supplies

12 oz maple syrup

½ cup sugar

1oz cannabis glycerin tincture*

Instructions

Gently heat half of the maple syrup until it reaches a light simmer, add the sugar and cook until it reduces by ½.

Remove from heat, stir in glycerin tincture until mixed, turn off the heat and allow to cool slightly.

Stir in unheated maple syrup and dispense into a clean bottle.

*Cannabis Glycerin Tincture

Decarboxylate 2g of finely ground cannabis at 225 degrees for 20 minutes in a tightly sealed, oven safe container. Put cannabis in lidded mason jar or vacuum sealed bag with cannabis and 1/4 cup vegetable glycerin. Heat in water bath just under boiling for at least 1 hour. Strain and chill to use in recipes.

Photos by Maria Penaloza

Use this golden beauty to dress up pancakes, infuse cocktails with both sweetness, complexity and cannabis, or even for baking if you feel so inclined. Maple has a unique flavor and a sweetness that’s not as intense as sugar or honey, but still potent and smile-inducing.

Photos: Maria Penaloza

Justin Bieber Marriage Played Huge Part In Selena’s Breakdown; More Details On The Ariana And Pete Split

Naughty Gossip
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Justin Bieber Marriage Played Huge Part In Selena’s Breakdown; More Details On The Ariana And Pete Split

THE JUSTIN BIEBER MARRIAGE PLAYED A HUGE PART IN SELENA GOMEZ’S MENTAL BREAKDOWN

“Selena can be a delicate flower, especially because she has had constant medical struggles, but Justin’s engagement and quick marriage threw her off guard and hit her hard,” a music source tells PEOPLE.

“She and Justin have been on and off for years, although they were so young when it all began,” adds the insider. “Justin was her first big love, and she isn’t over him.”

What about Justin? A source told E! News that Bieber feels “conflicted and confused” about it. “They have both had emotional struggles and bonded over that in the past,” the insider shared.

MORE DETAILS ON THE ARIANA AND PETE SPLIT

“Ariana made the final decision,” a source said.

“It was time to realize this wasn’t the right time for them and Pete is incredibly heartbroken. Pete is still so in love with her. He wanted his whole world to revolve around her but she was emotionally unavailable.”

TMZ reports that Ariana has returned her engagement ring to Pete. Sources close to Ariana tell us she’s already returned the nearly $100k engagement ring Davidson gave her back in June.

The ring — a 3.03 carat diamond set in platinum — was a one of a kind, made specifically for Grande, and took weeks to complete. We’re told there was no struggle over who’d keep the ring.

He bought it in contemplation of marriage, and she was quick to fork it over.

WHY GWYNETH PALTROW’S EX CHRIS MARTIN WAS A NO SHOW AT HER RECENT WEDDING

Are they fighting? NO! A source says, “She and Chris still get along great. But it seems that their friendship doesn’t extend beyond co-parenting their kids.”

A source added that Chris “wasn’t fazed” about not being invited.

Australian US Embassy Apologizes After Accidentally Sending Out Cat Picture

Maria Loreto
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Australian US Embassy Apologizes After Accidentally Sending Out Cat Picture

The U.S. Embassy in Canberra, Australia recently apologized after sending out a test email featuring a picture of a cat in a cookie monster costume. The email was titled “meeting” and the photo was called “cat-pijama-jam.”

The Australian Associated Press reports that the embassy sent out an apology email explaining that a new staff member committed a “training error” when they were testing out a newsletter software. “Sorry to disappoint those of you who were hoping to attend this ‘cat pajama-jam’ party, but such an event falls well outside our area of expertise,” said public affairs counselor Gavin Sundwall.

The embassy said that strong new management control measures would be taken in order to prevent another event like this from occurring.

The image of the cat in question belongs to Jennifer Stewart. She has an Instagram with over 67 thousand followers where she takes pictures of her cats wearing different outfits and doing different things.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BgvKuIFnTYu/?taken-by=my_furry_babies

A couple of hours ago, Stewart uploaded an image of her cat wearing the Cookie Monster onesie and holding up an iPad where you can see the headline of the US embassy story.

The real question is, what are employees doing in the U.S. Embassy of Canberra?

You can follow Stewart on Instagram at @my_furry_babies. You’re welcome.

Study: Cannabis Use Affects Young Drivers Up To 5 Hours Afterwards

Mary Schumacher
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Study: Cannabis Use Affects Young Drivers Up To 5 Hours Afterwards

A recent clinical trial conducted by Montreal’s McGill University and funded by the Canadian Automobile Association found that younger drivers were riskier to be on the road up to 5 hours after having smoked or vaped cannabis.

In this randomized study, participants completed tests in a sober state and then at 1, 3 and 5 hour increments after inhalation of a 100-mg dose of cannabis. They then measured performance in driving-simulation type tests and obtained self-reported perceptions as well.

There were 45 participants who completed all 180 tests. The results were interesting to say the least. Cannabis had absolutely no effect on “simple driving related tasks,” but, before hopping behind the wheel, read on. The effect on complex tasks was significant, as was the participants’ own perceptions that they weren’t able to drive as safely. Both of these effects lasted for around five hours.

During the driving simulation, “On no occasion did the no-cannabis state result in a greater risk of crash than the cannabis state, except on the task measuring vigilance, for which participants were twice as likely to be classified as highly vigilant at 1 hour after cannabis use.”

Before you go for a lifted cruise around the block though, keep the authors’ cautionary conclusion in mind:

“We found that among young recreational cannabis users, a regular dose of cannabis had no effect on simple and learned tasks, but its use led to significant impairments on complex and novel driving-related tasks, as well as perceived driving ability and safety, for up to 5 hours after use. The present finding that the first 5 hours after cannabis use affected driving-related performance substantiates the recommendations of Canada’s Lower-Risk Cannabis Use Guidelines, which recommend waiting 6 hours after cannabis use before driving.”

How To Track And Manage Your Digital Subscriptions

Maria Loreto
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How To Track And Manage Your Digital Subscriptions

Monthly subscription services are awesome, giving you access to a variety of things at a low price and making you forget all about payments since they’re charged once a month to your card. When you have too many of these subscriptions they’re also an easy way to lose money without knowing where it went.

New services are following the subscription plan model, making it easy to lose track of all the money you spend on these monthly costs. You might spend hundreds of dollars on music streaming services, podcasts, and other subscriptions that provide new TV shows and movies.

There are several websites that help you stay organized. If you have Google apps or services, this website keeps track of all of your Google-based accounts, such as YouTube and Google Drive. For Microsoft-related subscriptions, such as Microsoft Office and Skype, you can head over to this website.

Other apps, such as Trip, Bobby and TrueBill, will help you see the expenses from independent accounts like Netflix, Adobe Suite, Hulu, and more.

When it comes to hand held devices, Android and iPhone have simple ways of figuring out how to keep track and monitor your subscriptions.

Apple

https://giphy.com/gifs/transparent-days-xI3EcnDscZvos

If you want to see all of your subscriptions services on your iPhone, Popular Science explains that you can locate all of this in your Settings. Tap in your name and tap on iTunes & App Store. After this, tap on Your Apple ID and then on Subscriptions. On this screen you’ll be able to view and cancel out the subscriptions you’re no longer using.

Android

https://giphy.com/gifs/much-money-shopping-xUPGcdZzgvEnrruWRy

Head over to the Play Store and tap on the hamburger button on the left. Here you’ll see a subscription tab where you’ll see all of the recurring purchases on your device.

Meowijuana: The Kind Catnip Craze for Cats

Mary Schumacher
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Meowijuana: The Kind Catnip Craze for Cats

It’s here. 100 percent organic, hand-trimmed catnip buds for our kitty cat friends. Maybe your cat gets curious when you toke up, maybe they run away from the billows of smoke or perhaps they like to steal your joints, but you have sadly never light one up with your kitty companion.

Whether it’s been your dream to get elevated with your cats or you’ve  had the thought pass through your mind, now is the time to get active and get activated mano a pata. Enter Meowijuana. What is Meowijuana? Well, it isn’t actual cannabis for cats, but it’s about as close as felinely possible.

Meowijuana is “For Cats Who Need the Weed,” according to their website. It’s high-grade catnip with flowers intact and with big buds for your cat to munch on. They are a “purrrrveyor” of “legendary” catnip sourced from across the U.S.

The savvy catnip company put their paws together with RAW to create kitty-cat-centric pre-rolled “King Meowy J’s” that can be batted around the house, chewed on, drooled on, smelled and otherwise mauled by our four-legged friends.

You can also get a sealed jar of catnip buds or a concentrated catnip spray that will bring extra joy to their toys, cat trees and other kitty-only items. Catnip is known to get cats pretty lifted and the higher quality the catnip, the higher they get. Expect extra playfulness, a big Cheshire smile and pure cat entertainment that beats out the TV and lasts about 15 minutes.

A trial conducted by The Daily Dot found that:

In short, [the cat] lost her goddamn mind. She couldn’t get enough of this stuff. She rolled and pawed around, licking a bag filled with a couple of catnip buds (it didn’t take much!), chewing on it so aggressively that she released the buds in order to get them directly into her mouth. She was consumed by a desire that held her and forced her body to and fro—she needed that ’nip any way she could get it.

Sounds like Meowijuana is the kind bud of catnip. Though you may not want to give your cats the ‘nip every time you take a toke, it does sound like the occasional kitty sized dose will lend entertainment to both you and your cat counterpart for at least the length of a good sesh.

Elizabeth II Is The New Queen Of Cannabis, Thanks To Canada

Hyacinth Forbes-Hamilton
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0
Elizabeth II Is The New Queen Of Cannabis, Thanks To Canada

On Wednesday, Elizabeth II, the beloved leader of the British Empire, officially becomes the titular head of a country to fully implement a legal marijuana policy. This, obviously, means Elizabeth II is the new queen of cannabis. Though the queen is known to enjoy a drink or two, it’s believed she has not consumed in the plant.

In 1982, a series of constitutional conferences resulted in the Canada Act, the partition of Canada from the United Kingdom. They established complete sovereignty as an independent country, although the Queen retained her role as monarch. Canada, with a population of 36 million, is one of the 53 countries part of the British Commonwealth. During WWII, the Queen’s uncle Henry, Duke of Gloucester, served as Governor General.

Three of the Queen’s famous relatives have been linked to marijuana. Queen Victoria, known for the prudish Victorian era, may have been given cannabis as a method of relieving her menstrual cramps. Sir. J. Russell Reynolds, her private physician, wrote in 1890 that “when pure and administered carefully, [cannabis] is one of the most valuable medicines we possess.”

Her Majesty’s late sister, Princess Margaret, was the royal wild child. Along with the imagine of her partying lifestyle, there are several references of her smoking weed.

In 2002, it was revealed Prince Harry used marijuana while underage (which, like alcohol, is not recommended as it can have negative effects on a still developing body and brain). While the popular prince has since been around cannabis (the most notorious is the Vegas incident where he showed the royal bum), it is unclear if he has consumed as an adult.

But his wife, Megan, Duchess of Sussex, has the dubious honor of having a cannabis strain named after her. An Oregon weed farmer, Tyler Dooley, announced he created a new strain called “Markle’s Sparkle” as a wedding present for the Duchess. It is assumed the Queen was not amused and, since weed is illegal in England, doubtful the Duchess has partaken.

The guess is despite the newly Canadian legal status and its emerging economic boom, the royal family will shy away from any whiff of consumption.

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