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5 Tips For Talking To Your Doctor About Marijuana

Terry Hacienda
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5 Tips For Talking To Your Doctor About Marijuana

Are you one of nearly 200 million Americans living in one of the 29 states (plus the District of Columbia) that have a medical marijuana program? As more states climb aboard the cannabis treatment train, more Americans are starting to have the conversation with their doctors about marijuana and whether it is right for them. Here are five tips for talking to your doctor about marijuana.

1. Honesty Is The Best Policy

Don’t be coy. Don’t underestimate your use. Just shoot straight and provide the most accurate information you can. Remember, 29 state governments say cannabis is LEGAL. You are certainly allowed to have a frank chat with your doctor about your body and what you want to put in it. The conversation may become uncomfortable, but be clear and direct.

A good doctor is an advocate for the patient. Share your consumption habits and history with your doctor. Let him or her know the effects cannabis has on your mental and physical health.

Related: Not Telling Your Doctor About Marijuana Use Can Hurt You

Dr. Sarah T. Melton, an associate professor of pharmacy practice at the Gatton College of Pharmacy at East Tennessee State University, underscores this:

“It is important for patients to share details of marijuana use, including the type of marijuana used, route of administration, and frequency of use. Marijuana has potentially serious drug interactions with prescription and over-the-counter medications. By sharing details of marijuana use, the prescriber can best make decisions about medication choices and educate the patient about any potential contraindications or need for monitoring.”

Make a list of the medications you’re currently taking and how they made you feel. How severe are the side effects? Does your cannabis consumption interfere or alleviate these side effects?

Be prepared to ask questions and take notes.

2. Will It Help My Specific Condition?

Let your physician know what ailment or condition you are attempting to medicate with marijuana.

Different states have wildly different qualifying conditions for medical marijuana use. For example, some states allow cannabis as a treatment for PTSD, while other states deny patients for the same ailment. Once again, your doctor may be able to guide you if you have multiple conditions which may require cannabis treatment.

Do a little homework before going to doctor. Do an Internet search and find out which

3. Will There Be Any Side Effects?

Depending on what other medications you may be taking, cannabis will have some side effects. Once again, do a little homework before your doctor visit. Since endocannabinoid science is not taught in medical school, your doctor may not be up to speed on the latest research. Sometimes, it helps having a few talking points or research data with you when having the chat.

Also, let your doctor know what your tolerance level is. For some patients, microdosing is sufficient. For other patients suffering more severe pain, a higher dose may be best. But once again, you need to share this with your doctor.

4. What Consumption Method Is For Me?

Many doctors will steer patients away from smoking and suggest a healthier method of ingesting cannabis. Vaporization has become more popular among medical marijuana patients. Eating edibles or drinking infused beverages are also a preferred method.

Transdermal patches, tinctures, cannabis pills, lotions and other more medically standard methods are also available for those who prefer not to smoke.

For some patients, the quick-acting attributes of smoking cannabis brings relief when the pain is unbearable.

5. What Time Of Day Fits Best Into My Schedule?

Make sure you and your doctor discuss when you typically medicate. For some, cannabis is not an optimal day-time treatment because it may make the patient drowsy. For other patients, cannabis may bring on feelings of anxiety or paranoia.

Once again, sharing honestly with your doctor will help zero in on the correct treatment.

Bottom Line

Depending on your relationship with your doctor, and your willingness to have an honest conversation, this could be a difficult task. But, remember: It is legal in more states than not. Your doctor is your advocate. And it is your body.

Does CBD Really Warrant All The Fanfare?

Mary Schumacher
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Does CBD Really Warrant All The Fanfare?

Even though CBD’s legal status is yet unclear, it’s been launched into the mainstream in recent years. CBD vape pens and gummies can be found at almost any smoke shop worth its incense and big corporations, like Coca Cola, are even thinking of getting in the game. So should we all be downing and applying CBD with abandon?

Many people use CBD as an alternative to THC laden cannabis because it lacks a psychoactive effect and will supposedly not show up on a drug screen. There are companies out there that isolate CBD so that there is 0 percent THC to be screened, but most CBD is made from the hemp plant and is required to have less than 0.3 percent THC. That’s not much THC at all, but it could still potentially have you out of a job if tested.

Recently, a woman in Georgia who was using CBD for pain and anxiety for just two weeks before she was drug tested, failed. While most CBD labels claim to have no THC whatsoever, some have a disclaimer that trace amounts of THC may be found. The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, also wished that she’d known the risk. She did not get the job.

Dr. Oz is calling this market explosion the “CBD oil boom.” On a recent show Dr. Oz and Dr. Sanjay Gupta sat down and talked CBD, it’s differences from THC, it’s milligrams and price per dose. They tested 9 products, which came back with results ranging from 2mg doses to 22mg doses.

“If you need hundreds of milligrams for it to do anything, two milligrams isn’t going to do anything and people are paying a lot of money for it,” extrapolated Dr. Gupta.

Unlike the CBD the woman used in Georgia, the doctors found no THC in any of the 9 products. They also encouragingly didn’t find heavy metals. Dr. Oz pontificated that if a product seems confusing, it’s meant to seem that way, while Dr. Gupta pointed out that as regulations are put into place, proper labeling, milligrams and dosages will become par for the course with time.

CBD is used in the treatment of inflammation, pain, seizure disorder and has myriad forms and applications. From topicals that everything from acne to arthritis to infused products that claim to quell anxiety and lower inflammation, until we figure out what a proper dosage is and if full spectrum CBD is the real ticket, it’s all a sort of wellness crapshoot, with CBD manufacturers coming out on top for now.

Will Clooney Be Pouring Shots At This Princess’s Wedding

Patricia Wallace
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Will Clooney Be Pouring Shots At This Princess’s Wedding

When Princess Eugenie gets married to finacé Jack Brooksbank on Friday, there may be a familiar face tending bar. It’s rumored that none other than George Clooney might be the dude getting guests drunk that night. Yep. This is definitely not your typical wedding.

Brooksbank is the Europe brand ambassador for Casamigos tequila, the label co-founded Clooney. If this was a long play to get Clooney to guest bartend at his wedding, well played, Brooksbank. Well played.

https://giphy.com/gifs/Casamigos-party-yay-3s4lT38H7yM4ZBbSm0

“I’ve not been kept out of all the planning. I get to decide some things. I’m in charge of drinks and we’ll be serving Casamigos,” he told the Daily Mail.

Those who attended Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s reception this past October already got to experience the cocktail stylings of Mr. Clooney; the Hollywood actor reportedly served guests shots of Casamigos before heading off into the sunset onto the dance floor.

RELATED: Everyone Has Been Pronouncing Princess Eugenie’s Name Wrong

“I can’t say if George Clooney is coming,” Brooksbank told the Daily Mail, adding that he’s also feeling a bit anxious about the ceremony. “I’ll need to take a few minutes for myself before the speeches because I’m terrified. It’s very exciting but I’m a little bit nervous.”

Nothing like a few shots of hard liquor to calm those nerves!

Those in the U.S. will be able to catch the couple’s nuptials  on TLC’s live feed of the ceremony beginning at 4:25 a.m. ET (a tape delayed , followed by an encore three hours later at 7:25 a.m. ET/PT.)

Green Market Report: Marijuana Money Oct. 5

Debra Borchardt
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Green Market Report: Marijuana Money Oct. 5

MedMen had a busy week. The company acquired a Scottsdale Arizona cannabis company Monarch including the dispensary and cultivation operation. It comes with all the licenses and some exclusive brand agreements. MedMen also acquired Chicago-based dispensary Seven Point this week and announced that it closed on a $73 million loan facility, which immediately got bumped up another five million.

Dixie Brands is the latest to declare a reverse take over to go public in Canada. The cannabis beverage company will take over Academy Explorations. The company also completed $25 million fundraising round.

Innovative Industrial Properties (IIPR) began a public offering of 2.6 million shares. It is priced at $40.00 per share for gross proceeds of $104 million.  intends to use the net proceeds from this offering to invest in specialized industrial real estate assets that support the regulated cannabis cultivation and processing industry.

GW Pharmaceuticals (GWPH) said it planned on selling $300 million of ADS’s with a possible overallotment of $45 million. GW will issue 1,900,000 American Depositary Shares, representing 22,800,000 ordinary shares of GW, at a price to the public of $158.00 per ADS on the Nasdaq Global Market, raising gross proceeds of approximately $300 million (before deducting underwriting discounts, commissions and offering expenses).  GW has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 285,000 ADSs at the public offering price less underwriting discounts and commissions.  It is expected to close on or about October 5, 2018.

Cannex Capital Holdings (CNXXF) reported that its revenues increased 223% to $3.4 million in its fiscal first quarter. Net income was $2.4 million versus a loss last year of $403 thousand for the ame time period. Revenue was generated primarily by way of packaging sales and rental income. Income for the period was $2,428,507 for Q1 2019, $.01 per share, as compared to a loss of $403,027 for the comparative period.

Aleafia Health (ALEAF) applied to list on the NASDAQ. The company currently trades in Canada on the OTC markets.

Hollyweed North Cannabis acquired Women Grow for an undisclosed amount.

This article was originally posted on Green Market Report.

Is Carting The Latest Cannabis Concentrate Craze?

Mary Schumacher
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Is Carting The Latest Cannabis Concentrate Craze?

In an era when we want the most value with the least amount of effort, we proudly welcome “carting.” It’s a new concept cooked up by Ab Hanna and others at Green Rush Daily. It’s a way to get more out of a vape pen that’s just not getting you where you want to be in a timely manner.

The idea is pretty simple, pull the vape until vapor builds up inside a water pipe apparatus and then pull it through water to cool the diffusion further and snap up a good sized hit. The execution is a little more complicated, but put on your MacGyver gloves and get ready to get carting.

The easiest way to cart is to use a blunt or joint bubbler. Simply fit the rounded tip of the vape cartridge pen into “The Martian,” which was found to be the best brand for the job. It should make itself a perfect seal and you just release the vapor via the carb when it’s nice and thick. Other advantages to the joint bubbler include stealth and portability, but the disadvantage is that the pen is upside down so you’ll have to let the oil drip back down to the base between uses.

If the mouthpiece isn’t rounded or doesn’t quite fit for any of these methods, you can use tape, non-toxic putty or poster tack to fill in the gaps. A tight seal ensures that you’re getting a good pull and that you’re not losing any vapor.

Carting through a whip and adapter is probably the best way of doing things, though it takes a little ingenuity. The advantage here is that the pen is upright and thus easier to manipulate. If you choose your whip and adapter wisely, you’ll have the perfect fit and an upright pen every time, and smoking through a bong is the best way to get lifted while carting.

You’ll need plastic tubing that fits into your vape pen’s mouthpiece and a glass adapter that fits your bong and is 10mm on the other side. Fit the tubing into the 10mm opening and then put the whip into the mouthpiece. Proceed to carting.

Carting straight out of a bong is the simplest, though you’re back to upside down hits. Simply fit the mouthpiece into the bong bowl and if it doesn’t fit quite right use one of the above methods to seal it up tight. Cart away and snap the hit through when you’ve filled the chamber with the delicious and heady vapors. You’re apparently guaranteed a better high than using a cartridge on its own. What’s your take?

Macallan Whisky Just Auctioned At Over $1 Million

Nino Marchetti
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Macallan Whisky Just Auctioned At Over $1 Million

In a year that has already been super hot for rare bottles of The Macallan Scotch whisky at auction, another bottle just sold to a collector at an Edinburgh, Scotland whisky sale for a record breaking price. The expression in question is The Macallan Valerio Adami 1926 and the final bid when the gavel fell was £848,750.  A grand price for a Macallan Whisky just auctioned at over over $1 million.

The auction, which was held on October 3rd, had as its central focus an expression that is part of a rare series of The Macallan whiskies dating back to the 1920s. Bottled in 1986, the distillery is said by auction house Bonhams to have

commissioned two world-famous Pop Artists – Valerio Adami and Peter Blake – to design labels for a very limited edition of 24 bottles –12 of the Adami and 12 of the Blake labels. The bottle is elegantly presented in a specially commissioned cabinet or Tantalus, based on the traditional ‘Brass and Glass’ distillery spirit safe. It was bought by the vendor direct from the Macallan distillery for an undisclosed sum in 1994 and was part of a wider collection from the same owner offered in the sale.

Although 12 bottles of The Macallan Valerio Adami 1926 were produced, it is not known how many of them still exist. One is said to have been destroyed in an earthquake in Japan in 2011, and it is believed that at least one of them has been opened and drunk.

“I am delighted at this exceptional result,” said Bonhams Whisky specialist in Edinburgh Martin Green in a prepared statement. “It is a great honor to have established a new world record, and particularly exciting to have done so here in Scotland, the home of whisky. Bonhams now holds the record for the three most valuable bottles of whisky ever sold at auction.”

It had originally been projected The Macallan Valerio Adami 1926 would sell in the £700,000-900,000 range. The record it broke was set by one of its siblings just earlier this year in Hong Kong, where it was auctioned off for a cool $1.014 million USD.

For the curious, Valerio Adami (born 1935) is an Italian artist famous for painting bold, flat forms outlined in thick, black lines, in a style reminiscent of comic art. He is among the most acclaimed of 20th Century Pop Artists.

This article was originally published on Whiskey Wash.

Australian Church Introduces First Electronic Collection Plates

Maria Loreto
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Australian Church Introduces First Electronic Collection Plates

The latest institution to reap the benefits of technology is one that’s quite surprising. A catholic church in Australia is at the center of some controversy for introducing some electronic collection plates, which allows people to use their credit cards to make donations.

The new collection plates at St. Mary’s Cathedral look pretty futuristic and they stick out a little, but they accept chip card payments which is a pretty neat feature that’s sure to come in handy. The catch is that the card minimum is $10. The controversy started in September when the Roman Catholic cathedral in Sydney made a post on Facebook showing off the collection plates and discussed how the system worked.

The church explained that they were the first church to incorporate the technology, and that multiple $10 payments could be made with different taps of your credit card. The issue that most people had with the technology was the payment minimum, which some claimed to be too high.

The Huffington Post reports that people left a lot of angry comments, prompting the church to delete the post. Users criticized the amount of money that the collection plate charged, claiming that they wouldn’t have a problem is the payment minimum was lower or if they could choose the amount of money they wanted to donate. Other Facebook commenters said they were happy with the addition of the technology, especially in those instances when they had no cash on hand.

One Year In: How Long Can Fortnite Last?

Steven Conway
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One Year In: How Long Can Fortnite Last?

The online video game Fortnite Battle Royale was launched just a year ago in September 2017. Since then the game had amassed 125 million active players by June and made $1.2 billion for the developer, Epic Games.

It has also been linked to 200 divorces and a case of aggravated harassment where a 45-year-old man threatened to kill an 11-year-old boy after losing to him in the game.

Love it or hate it, the question begs: How has Epic Games created a game with such enormous social, economic and psychological impact?

according to free unblocked games, Fusing elements from recent hits such as Minecraft, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and Overwatch, the game is deceptively simple: up to 100 players are placed in a constantly shrinking environment, and the objective is to be the last person (or team) standing.

Think Hunger Games and you’re not too far off.

Fortnite’s success rests on three principles: accessibility, sociality and spectacle.

Accessibility

The game is completely free to play and, as of August 2018, it’s available on all major platforms, from consoles to phones to PCs and Macs.

It’s very simple to play: stay alive, and if something moves, shoot it. It can also be played in very short bursts. The average match goes for 20 minutes or so.

Just shoot! Flickr/Whelsko, CC BY

The free-to-play business model emerged in the late 1990s as the internet drove a social and cultural shift in how we view and use entertainment. People were now less inclined to pay for a one-off, single piece of static content, and more inclined to invest in an evolving library of content accessible at any time.

This shift is often described as a move from offering a “product” to offering a “service”. Game makers were, as ever, early adopters, providing downloadable content to users for a fee.

Downloadable content became commonplace as broadband availability and smartphone adoption grew. Soon developers were releasing “freemium” games with “in-app purchases”: you can play the game for free, but gain a bunch of advantages by paying.

But converting players to purchasers is a tough business: a 2% conversion rate is not uncommon.

  • Related: Weedcraft Inc. Is A Tycoon Simulator For Future Ganjapreneurs

Fortnite has managed an astonishing 68.8% conversion rate, with the regular spend being US$85 (A$117). More pointedly, the average spend is 850 “V-bucks”, Fortnite’s in-game currency.

This is a classic trick of psychology known by theme parks and banks: exchange real money for something more abstract (like Disney dollars or payment by card tap), and the pain of parting with your hard-earned cash lessens.

Epic is also very active here, listening to the player base and constantly updating content to tease more V-bucks from players’ wallets.

Sociality

This leads into the second principle: Fortnite is built to be social.

When you pay, you’re mostly buying cosmetic items, such as a new outfits, dances or taunts. These items are not about providing gameplay advantages, but about players wanting to express themselves.

Accessibility once more helps. Since the game is free and on every major platform, users can play with friends whether on their phone, console or computer.

Enough play time and customisation generates a sense of psychological investment, as a person’s sense of identity becomes linked to the game.

At this point Fortnite can activate psychological triggers, often based on negative emotions such as “FOMO” (“Fear Of Missing Out”), by sending notifications on your platform of choice whenever a friend starts or joins a game. This pushes players to engage with the game once again.

Of course, the downside to this is feeling compelled to play even at inopportune moments. Thus a US survey reports that 35% of students have skipped study to play, and 20.5% of workers have missed work for Fortnite shenanigans. And, as I said earlier, an addiction to Fortnite and other online games has been mentioned in 200 divorces in the UK.

Spectacle

It’s well known by game developers that, for a player, losing a match is a horrible moment. So if you’re going to make your player fail, make failure fun.

Building on sociality, Fortnite makes failure a spectator sport. When you’re eliminated, you get to watch your team mates, or the player who eliminated you.

This is of course a prime opportunity for your antagonist to unleash their latest and greatest dance moves and taunts, but it also makes for great streaming material.

One YouTube and Twitch streamer, Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, has made up to US$500,000 a month streaming Fortnite sessions from his bedroom (even playing with hip-hop royalty Drake, setting a new Twitch viewer record). He’s so popular that he is due to appear on the front cover of the October issue of the ESPN sports magazine.

The game’s cartoonish style drives a lot of this spectacle, allowing a broad spectrum of fashion choices: from tooled-up cyberpunk ninjas firing lasers, to tomato-headed grenadiers shooting “boogie bombs” which make enemies dance upon contact.

This again reinforces accessibility and sociality, as everyone feels welcome, and everyone finds something expressive of themselves.

How long can a Fortnite last?

The question now, as with any gaming trend, is how long this can last. While games such as Pokémon Go often have blockbuster openings, revenue quickly declines.

One year on from launch, Fortnite is still going strong – at the moment –and releasing on Android in August opened up a whole new market.

Whether Epic Games can keep up the pace, offering fresh new content appealing to its player base, is an open question.The Conversation

How long will people keep shooting things on Fortnite? Flickr/Whelsko, CC BY

Steven Conway, Senior Lecturer – Games and Interactivity, Swinburne University of Technology

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Former Dolphin Ricky Williams Squashes Marijuana Stigmas That Once Haunted Him

Mary Schumacher
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Former Dolphin Ricky Williams Squashes Marijuana Stigmas That Once Haunted Him

Even as cannabis was becoming normalized in more parts of the country, there was still a deep, lingering stigma that affected the biggest and best of us during the years that Ricky Williams played football (1999-2011). The former Dolphins running back felt overwhelmed by that stigma at times during his career, but he didn’t let it stop him.

On “The Roll Up Podcast,” Williams described how, “My past kept haunting me. People didn’t want to associate with me because of my past with cannabis.” Well he took all the naysaying and criticism and turned it on its head. Now Williams has started his own cannabis brand, “Real Wellness,” which launched in March, and is available at select dispensaries in San Diego and Orange County.

“I am known as a professional football player,” Williams told the Sun Sentinel back in March. “In the last 14 years, I have been educating myself and training as a health care practitioner.” “I realized I was a healer,” he told CNBC Make It back in March, adding that his experience with pain, anxiety put him a unique position where he has “an expertise to offer the world.”

Williams said of the many positive side effects he experienced with cannabis that, “it brought me to the realization that, you know, I’m really good at football, but this really isn’t my path, this isn’t my destiny. There’s something more I’m supposed to do here.”

Cannabis had certainly done plenty for the famous football player. “[It had] turned into something that I would do after workout and after practice to relax. One of the positive side-effects is I started to be more self-reflective and really started to understand myself more.” Which is where his idea to start a cannabis brand was likely born.

In his time with both the Saints and the Dolphins, he admitted to using cannabis throughout for the social anxiety and pains that came with playing. He’d also experimented with marijuana during high school and college, during both youthful times, he said the cannabis also helped him recover from football related injuries.

Aside from the stigma that came with using cannabis, Williams also estimates that he lost out on around $10 million in salary and endorsements for his known use. He hopes that now “Real Wellness” can make back some of that money and that he can bring healing and wellness to the people of Southern California for now. This is definitely a brand to keep an eye on as it potentially expands farther out into the rushing green.

Money Baby: Toddler Shreds Over $1,000 In Cash

Maria Loreto
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Money Baby: Toddler Shreds Over $1,000 In Cash

Paper shredders and toddlers don’t mix. One of these things will destroy everything in its path. The other is a paper shredder (ba-dum ching). But seriously, try telling a small child not to play with something that looks like it came out of a sci-fi movie.

Leo Belnap, a 2-year-old from Salt Lake City, found an envelope full of money in his house and decided to shred it all for fun, since we all know how irresistible paper shredders are. Aside from the awfulness of the fact that these parents lost a thousand bucks in one quick swoop, it’s very impressive that a 2-year-old managed to work a paper shredder so effectively.

According to The Washington Post, Ben and Jackee Belnap had been saving money over the past year in order to pay back their parents for football season tickets. “I’m digging through the trash and Jackee hollers and says, ‘I found it,’” Ben told KSL. “She’s holding the shredder and she says, ‘I think the money is in here.’”

Jackee Belnap said that she instantly knew that Leo was the culprit because he’d been helping his parents shred junk mail and other documents. The baby thought that he was helping his parents on this occasion, too, which is cute but also enraging.

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