Revenue from Montana’s first year of collecting taxes clocked in at nearly double the initial predictions. When Senate Bill 333 was approved last year, Montana’s medical cannabis program was severely reformed. One such reform was to charge a 4 percent tax on all cannabis, whether sold, bartered, exchanged or gifted, at retail value for the first year.
That first year ended on July 1, 2018 and the tax has been reduced to 2 percent for the foreseeable future. However, if patients continue to sign up for the program at the current rate, the revenue isn’t bound to go down in the next four quarters.
During 2017, approximately 1,000 new patients signed up per month. That kind of growth is the reason why seemingly all projections fell short. The people of Montana are able to obtain a card for any of the following conditions: wasting syndrome, cancer, chronic pain, Crohn’s disease, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, nausea, seizures and severe or persistent muscle spasms.
Though there are longer (and shorter) lists of maladies from state to state, Montana covers a wide range of illnesses that are relieved or treated by cannabis. The fact that more patients are willing to add cannabis to their wellness regimes than predicted speaks to the bravery and convictions of Montanans and to the messaging of their pot proponents.
When the tax revenue is calculated for the year when the 4 percent was implemented, it adds up to cannabis having brought in around $45 million in sales. That means a job creating, economy bolstering, tax revenue generating machine that is growing by the minute.
So where do the taxes go? Brilliantly, so far they’re being used to better the cannabis marketplace ecosystem. From seed to sale tracking to inspection facilities, the money goes back into the movement to bring the safest, cleanest, healthiest medicine to those who need it.
It’s worth mentioning that as of July, there are 420 medical marijuana providers in Montana. Though we’re rooting for them to add more, of course, it’s cool that they’ve landed on the community’s lucky number as the state seems to be raking in some luck itself.
State revenue director Gene Walborn stated, “We were pleasantly surprised on how well it went. It being a new tax, we were concerned what challenges you receive with a new tax.” He was also surprised and pleased by how many people filed electronically, implying also that pot providers as a whole had been the definition of cooperative.
As microdosing psychedelics becomes a more popular choice for boosting creativity and focus, especially in Silicon Valley circles, the question remains why and how effective the practice can be. Psychedelics like psilocybin mushrooms and LSD are illegal, so the number of users is completely unknown. Scientists say most reports on psychedelics tend to be anecdotal and patient-forward—mirroring comments often made in medical communities regarding cannabis—but a new study will aim to answer the persistent question lingering around microdosing.
This week the Beckley Foundation launched a first-of-its-kind placebo-controlled trial on microdosing at the Imperial College London, as the Guardian first reported. Researchers will aim to discern if microdosing has impact on “cognitive function” or “psychological well-being” beyond a placebo effect.
To conduct the research, scientists have gathered those who already engage in microdosing to partake in a “self-blinding” study. Participants will create capsules of their normal microdosing amount of LSD and also capsules with nothing inside. Then these capsules will be placed in individual envelopes, which will be shuffled around and re-organized, so participants no longer know which envelope contains the actual drug or a placebo.
Throughout the process, they will play cognitive games and complete questionnaires online. By the end, they should know if they were more content and focused because they were on LSD, or because they just thought they were.
“The people who microdose right now are not an average random set of people from the street,” Balázs Szigeti, the study leader, told the Guardian. “They are very likely to have used psychedelics before and have preconceptions about them.”
“You are doing something novel and exciting and that you believe in—and you know you are doing it,” he added. “It is absolutely no surprise that you are getting a positive effect.”
Those who agree to sign up for the study, which you do so here, will be sent a manual with instructions of how to set up the capsules and envelopes. Each envelope will have a QR code you can scan with your smartphone, so at the end of the study you’ll know which you took: a placebo or LSD. Forewarning: Researchers will not be supplying psychedelics, so don’t try signing up if you aren’t serious about the study and can provide your own.
“It has become popular in Silicon Valley as a way to increase creativity and productivity,” said Szigeti. “I was interested in this and looked at the scientific literature. To my great surprise I found there were zero studies on microdosing. If you go online there are hundreds and hundreds of people expressing very positive outcomes but this is completely novel terrain in scientific literature”
Added Amanda Feilding, director of the Beckley Foundation: “I think it could give a boost to vitality, an improvement in mood possibly. […] One can’t and doesn’t want to encourage people to microdose, but it is interesting to try to gather data in a slightly more scientific way from people who are doing it.”
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson has revealed that he would love to take part in the Great British Bake Off. The actor, who is best known for his roles in Fast and Furious and Moana, has opened up about the hit Channel 4 baking show. Chatting to the Daily Star, he said: “Baking is something I am really fascinated by, mainly because I love to eat the finished product. I would do Celebrity Bake Off if I wasn’t shooting a movie – especially if it was for charity.”
He added that he “always tries to make time” to watch the show, and speaking about how he’d fare, he added: “Hopefully, I’d do well – but if not I could just kick somebody’s [expletive].” Dwayne isn’t the American star to have revealed that they love watching Bake Off, as A-listers including Anna Kendrick, Amy Schumer and Snoop Dogg, are self-confessed fans of the show.
“Was there an attempt to bring back The Osbournes the TV show? Because I had heard something about that,” Howard Stern asked Sharon, 65, on Tuesday’s episode of SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Show.
“It keeps going back and forth, different networks will approach us and it never works out. They can’t afford us,” she said. “They can’t afford us. It’s like why would we want to do it for f—— peanuts?”
With dinosaurs in the lobby, hopefully you can still get a roaring good night’s sleep.
While we might still be years and years away from creating a theme park inhabited with living breathing dinosaurs, a hotel in Japan has come up with a more plausible substitution. Henn na Hotel is one of the first hotels to be operated by robots, specifically dinosaurs robots, surely becoming the first hotel in the world to boast this feature.
The hotel located in East Tokyo features dinosaurs that can help guests from all sorts of countries, having the ability to communicate in different languages including English, Japanese, Korean or Chinese.
While these features sounds awesome, The Huffington Post reports that some guests find the dinosaurs unnerving despite the fact that they’re designed to be hospitable, and that management still hasn’t figured out when guests want to interact with robots and when they want to interact with real people.
The robot dinosaurs look very real. They’re all wearing adorable bellboy hats and their small arms are outstretched in a gesture that’s meant to be warm and welcoming. Still, there’s a certain amount of trepidation when approaching a creature with large teeth and claws, no matter if it’s a robot or not, so guests reactions are understandable.
The robots are equipped with a motion sensor that lets them know when guests are approaching them, prompting them to say welcome and to move their arms around as if they’re having an actual conversation. Depending on guests’ responses and language preferences, the dinosaurs will check them into their room and make the process as smooth as possible.
Gratitude may be more beneficial than we commonly suppose. One recent study asked subjects to write a note of thanks to someone and then estimate how surprised and happy the recipient would feel – an impact that they consistently underestimated. Another study assessed the health benefits of writing thank you notes. The researchers found that writing as few as three weekly thank you notes over the course of three weeks improved life satisfaction, increased happy feelings and reduced symptoms of depression.
While this research into gratitude is relatively new, the principles involved are anything but. Students of mine in a political philosophy course at Indiana University are reading Daniel Defoe’s 300-year-old “Robinson Crusoe,” often regarded as the first novel published in English. Marooned alone on an unknown island with no apparent prospect of rescue or escape, Crusoe has much to lament. But instead of giving in to despair, he makes a list of things for which he is grateful, including the fact that he is the shipwreck’s sole survivor and has been able to salvage many useful items from the wreckage.
Defoe’s masterpiece, which is often ranked as one of the world’s greatest novels, provides a portrait of gratitude in action that is as timely and relevant today as it has ever been. It is also one with which contemporary psychology and medicine are just beginning to catch up. Simply put, for most of us, it is far more helpful to focus on the things in life for which we can express gratitude than those that incline us toward resentment and lamentation.
The benefits of gratitude
When we focus on the things we regret, such as failed relationships, family disputes, and setbacks in career and finance, we tend to become more regretful. Conversely, when we focus on the things we are grateful for, a greater sense of happiness tends to pervade our lives. And while no one would argue for cultivating a false sense of blessedness, there is mounting evidence that counting our blessings is one of the best habits we can develop to promote mental and physical health.
Gratitude has long enjoyed a privileged position in many of the world’s faith traditions. For example, the Biblical Book of Psalms counsels gratitude that is both enduring and complete, saying, “I will give thanks to you forever” and “with my whole heart.” Martin Luther writes of gratitude as the heart of the Gospel, portraying it as not merely an attitude but a virtue to be put into practice. The Quran recommends gratitude, saying “Whoever gives thanks benefits his own soul.”
Recent scientific studies support these ancient teachings. Individuals who regularly engage in gratitude exercises, such as counting their blessings or expressing gratitude to others, exhibit increased satisfaction with relationships and fewer symptoms of physical illness. And the benefits are not only psychological and physical. They may also be moral – those who practice gratitude also view their lives less materialistically and suffer from less envy.
Why gratitude is good for you
There are multiple explanations for such benefits of gratefulness. One is the fact that expressing gratitude encourages others to continue being generous, thus promoting a virtuous cycle of goodness in relationships. Similarly, grateful people may be more likely to reciprocate with acts of kindness of their own. Broadly speaking, a community in which people feel grateful to one another is likely to be a more pleasant place to live than one characterized by mutual suspicion and resentment.
The beneficial effects of gratitude may extend even further. For example, when many people feel good about what someone else has done for them, they experience a sense of being lifted up, with a corresponding enhancement of their regard for humanity. Some are inspired to attempt to become better people themselves, doing more to help bring out the best in others and bringing more goodness into the world around them.
Gratitude also tends to strengthen a sense of connection with others. When people want to do good things that inspire gratitude, the level of dedication in relationships tends to grow and relationships seem to last longer. And when people feel more connected, they are more likely to choose to spend their time with one another and demonstrate their feelings of affection in daily acts.
Of course, acts of kindness can also foster discomfort. For example, if people feel they are not worthy of kindness or suspect that some ulterior motive lies behind it, the benefits of gratitude will not be realized. Likewise, receiving a kindness can give rise to a sense of indebtedness, leaving beneficiaries feeling that they must now pay back whatever good they have received. Gratitude can flourish only if people are secure enough in themselves and sufficiently trusting to allow it to do so.
Another obstacle to gratitude is often called a sense of entitlement. Instead of experiencing a benefaction as a good turn, people sometimes regard it as a mere payment of what they are owed, for which no one deserves any moral credit. While seeing that justice is done is important, supplanting all opportunities for genuine feelings and expressions of generosity can also produce a more impersonal and fragmented community.
Practicing gratitude
There are a number of practical steps anyone can take to promote a sense of gratitude. One is simply spending time on a regular basis thinking about someone who has made a difference, or perhaps writing a thank you note or expressing such gratitude in person. Others are found in ancient religious disciplines, such as meditating on benefactions received from another person or actually praying for the health and happiness of a benefactor.
In addition to benefactions received, it is also possible to focus on opportunities to do good oneself, whether those acted on in the past or hoped for in the future. Some people are most grateful not for what others have done for them but for chances they enjoyed to help others. To envision gratitude at its best, imagine a person hoping and perhaps even praying for an opportunity to make a difference in someone else’s life.
An island that may resemble the one on which Robinson Crusoe was marooned. Nikos38/Shutterstock.com
In regularly reflecting on the things in his life he is grateful for, Defoe’s Crusoe believes that he becomes a far better person than he would have been had he remained in the society from which he originally set out on his voyage:
“I gave humble and hearty thanks that God had been pleased to discover to me, even that it was possible I might be more happy in this solitary condition, than I should have been a liberty of society, and all the pleasures of the world… It was now that I began sensibly to feel how much more happy this life I now led was, with all its miserable circumstances, than the wicked, cursed, abominable life I led all the past part of my days.”
Reflecting on generosity and gratitude, the great basketball coach John Wooden once offered two counsels to his players and students. First, he said, “It is impossible to have a perfect day unless you have done something for someone who will never be able to repay you.” In saying this, Wooden sought to promote purely generous acts, as opposed to those performed with an expectation of recompense. Second, he said, “Give thanks for your blessings every day.”
Some faith traditions incorporate such practices into the rhythm of daily life. For example, adherents of some religions offer prayers of thanksgiving every morning before rising and every night before lying down to sleep. Others offer thanks throughout the day, such as before meals. Other less frequent special events, such as births, deaths and marriages, may also be heralded by such prayers.
When Defoe depicted Robinson Crusoe making thanksgiving a daily part of his island life, he was anticipating findings in social science and medicine that would not appear for hundreds of years. Yet he was also reflecting the wisdom of religious and philosophical traditions that extend back thousands of years. Gratitude is one of the healthiest and most nourishing of all states of mind, and those who adopt it as a habit are enriching not only their own lives but also the lives of those around them.
While many onlookers will be curious watching Canada establish itself as a preeminent player in the cannabis industry, one country that’s just as large and already a global cannabis leader is China. For anyone familiar with international drug laws this might be confusing. Why? Because cannabis is illegal in China.
A large reason for China’s global cannabis dominance is industrial hemp cultivation, as the South China Morning Post laid out.
Thanks to government support and a long tradition, China has quietly become a superpower in the plant’s production and research.
Since the 2000s, the government has been interested in hemp for military and herbal remedies usage.
At the same time, China owns more than half of the 600 global patents on cannabis, according to the World Intellectual Property Organisation. In addition, China produces around half of the “world’s legal commercial cropland” for hemp cannabis cultivation, according the National Bureau of Statistics. While you could easily tune this information out as neat trivia, industry leaders in the West don’t look at it this way.
“Because cannabis in Western medicine is becoming accepted, the predominance of Chinese patents suggests that pharmaceutical sciences are evolving quickly in China, outpacing Western capabilities,” said Dr. Luc Duchesne, an Ottawa-based businessman and biochemist.
“[Chinese traditional medicine] is poised to take advantage of a growing trend. The writing is on the wall: westernised Chinese traditional medicine is coming to a dispensary near you.”
Earlier this year, Canada solidified itself as the largest medical cannabis producer in the world. Countries like Austria and Germany receive medical cannabis from Canada. In fact, Canada produces so much cannabis that China has complained that Canadian product has found its way onto the black market in China.
All this sets up a potential trade war between Canada and China down the road as international cannabis exporters. For now, both countries seem content with their corner of the market, though.
The sale and commercialization of CBD products has become an important topic within the U.S., one that’s left an economical and cultural footprint that will only grow in the coming years.
This CBD trend has led to the appearance of all sorts of products and activities that users are enthralled with; the cannabis compound has a place in dinner parties, body care products, and dog treats. It was only a matter of time before the hotel business joined in and provided some options of their own. Standard Hotels are offering CBD treats in their mini bars. And now, theNYC Jame Hotel offers gourmet multi-course CBD experience for guests.
“We’re always researching new ways to offer a relaxing experience,” says James LaRusso, PR Director of the hotel. “CBD extract is proven to have calming effects, easing anxiety and stress in most who consume it. We knew the medicinal properties of this culinary offering would allow us to extend a special calming experience to our guests.”
Despite the fact that restaurants and bars in different areas of California and Seattle have been banned from including CBD in their menus, The James NoMad hasn’t encountered any problems in that regard — not yet at least. The hotel’s CBD menus are included in all of their rooms and guests can order whatever they want from them, just like regular room service. They also offer CBD infused beauty products in the shape of lotions and bath salts that guests can request on any given day.
Celebrity cannabis chef Andrea Drummer, who’s written a cookbook and was voted as one of the top 10 cannabis chefs in the U.S., was in charge of designing a menu that could satisfy all sorts of customers. She worked closely with the hotel and decided to incorporate a variety of items, including high end dishes, granola bars, tater tots, and even dog treats. “Our hotel is pet friendly,” says LaRusso. “We’ve had many guests say this is such a great way to calm their dog at night when in a new setting.”
Photos courtesy of James Hotel NY.
When asked about Drummer and why the hotel decided to get involved with her, LaRusso said that she had a lot of experience and expertise with cannabis and that her vision aligned with the hotel’s. “Andrea designed the menu in two parts: the multi-course tasting menu and an offering of snacks and amenities. Dishes on the tasting menu include everything from savory meatballs to a decadent ice cream sundae, while our snack menu offers a range of tasty portable treats to eat in room or take on the go.”
By steering clear of brownies and stereotypical cannabis treats, the James Hotel has managed to differentiate themselves from competitors, providing an experience that’s unlike any other and that has been very positively received by hotel guests and cannabis experts. “Other hotels or dining establishments almost poke fun of CBD,” says LaRusso. “Our experience is very different and very gourmet.”
With legalization passed and ready to open its doors to the public in Canada, many big time acquisitions and investments have either happened or are happening. Huge amounts of money are exchanging hands and the beauty of it all is that, with cannabis legalized, banks, accountants, money managers and stock mavens are digging their hands in and saying, “Let’s go!”
Constellation Brands, which brings us the likes of Corona, Modelo and Pacifico beers, has invested heavily in the Canadian mega-cultivation operation, Canopy Growth. They got started with a 9.9 percent stake last October, then a third of the brand was bought up by them in June. Many on Wall Street are predicting a full acquisition at some point.
But what about cannabis based growth in the U.S.? We know that it’s a burgeoning market set up to make billions in the coming years, but with marijuana remaining federally illegal, truly enormous acquisitions like the ones being made in Canada are still off on the horizon.
Sure, the U.S.’s MedMen just bought up Treadwell Nursery in Florida for over $50 million, but that’s about the size of it. Other U.S. companies are also making acquisitions in the cannabis sector, but the theme seems to be more along the lines of, “Let’s try to be ready to compete when the big dogs come in,” rather than “The big dogs are here.”
And this may be a very good thing for diversity of market down the line.
Strategic partnerships are happening, from product companies merging with their distribution systems, grow operations and packaging gurus to large dispensaries absorbing smaller, potentially struggling mom and pot shops. It seems that when larger scale cannabis deals are made in this tender moment in U.S. history, there is a much better chance of traditions being upheld and of people’s original ideas living on throughout the changes that will come with bigger business.
When the U.S. does legalize it federally and ends the vestiges its of a deadly and sadly petty Drug War, not only will venture capitalists and idea persons be investing and inventing, it will be a whole new world, packed with mega-conglomerates with their major investments; large mergers and acquisitions will change the landscape of cannabis business in the blink of an eye.
It’s up to everyone already embedded in the marijuana movement, the people who got us here and the listeners who have learned from them to keep cannabis honest, no matter how big it gets. We’ll always want access to compassionate care, plant flowers, full plant extracts and the myriad of goodies from salves to edibles that come with a legalized landscape and big money inevitably coming in should facilitate that, not phase it out.
The latest tech business that’s trying to reap the benefits of cryptocurrency is Line, a Japanese messaging app that allows users to text and call each other internationally.
TechCrunch reports that the app will launch a cryptocurrency token called Link, that’ll allow users to purchase stickers, webtoons, and other services within the app. Instead of having users purchase cryptocoins, Line will award Link coins to users when they complete certain activities.
“Over the last seven years, Line was able to grow into a global service because of our users, and now with Link, we wanted to build a user-friendly reward system that gives back to our users. With Link, we would like to continue developing as a user participation-based platform, one that rewards and shares added value through the introduction of easy-to-use apps for people’s daily lives,” says Line CEO Takeshi Idezawa.
Line will release 800 million Link tokens to users all over the world, and will retain 200 million for themselves. This reserve of tokens will be used later on or will be expanded upon depending on the growth and success of the cryptocoin. Line has encountered some trouble when competing with WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Signal, and dozens of other messaging apps that provide similar features and benefits, so with the creation of this coin the company hopes to give their users some exclusive privileges that will encourage them to use the app more frequently.
While it’s a cool idea to try something new that differentiates your product from all the other ones on the market, it’s been a notoriously poor year for cryptocurrencies of all sorts. While Line’s motivations are placed in the right place, all of this work and faith in a developing technology may result in nothing.
If Drake’s beef with Meek Mill was a long-dormant, friendly volcano that erupted and calcified in quick passing, the feud Aubrey Graham has maintained with Pusha T, Kanye West, and the Kardashians is like an oscillating forest fire, attaching itself to whatever possible kindling to continue its flame. Even Kim, who is obsessed with controlling her narrative at all costs, has even been pulled into addressing all the rumors swirling around.
The beef memorably peaked with Pusha T’s “The Story of Adidon,” which included cover art of Drake in blackface and the iconic line, “You are hiding a child, let that boy come home.” At that point it seem the beef was poised to consume hip-hop’s every-available timber, but legendary Houston hip-hop mogul J. Prince “pulled” Drake from any further escalation. Kanye added on Twitter that he was calling the beef “dead” too.
But I don’t know about that! Small snipes from Drake aside, the beef’s ugly zombie corpse has reanimated thanks to…Nick Cannon? Yes, Mr. Wild ’N Out went on Complex’s “Everyday Struggle” show and speculated with DJ Akademiks that Drake had particularly damning news about Kanye and company—a romantic relationship between Drake and Kim that happened in the past.
“I think Drake smashed Kim K,” Akademiks bluntly said. Cannon added that it’s not “that far off of a concept.”
It explains why Kanye was eager to end the beef, in both Akademik’s and Cannon’s opinions. It also explains J. Prince’s cryptic comments when he called off Drake, as he mentioned that Drizzy had recorded a “diss track,” but J. Prince refused its release because it would’ve gone scorched earth on everyone.
A pertinent reminder: Cannon actually dated Kim as far back as 2006. So he does have some possible insight into the matter. “There’s something real personal Drake holds over that whole family, that he’s like, ‘y’all don’t want me to let this out,’” he said.
Though the theory has circulated, Kim shot down the rumors as quickly as possible in a comment on the Shade Room’s Instagram. Sources close to Kim also strongly denied the rumors to TMZ. Where this is all going, who knows, but Drake just followed Kim on Instagram to stir the pot some more. Surely this isn’t the last we’ll hear about it.
