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Couple Loses Child Custody Over Medical Marijuana

Terry Hacienda
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Couple Loses Child Custody Over Medical Marijuana

You know marijuana laws are unjust when parents are jailed for six days and lose custody of a teenage son suffering from seizures. But that is exactly what happened to Matthew and Suzeanna Brill, a Georgia couple who gave their son cannabis to hele reduce his seizures. The medicine clearly worked. The law, in this case, clearly failed.

Before cannabis treatment, David, 15, was experiencing about 10 seizures a day. Frustrated by the red tape involved with Georgia’s medical marijuana program, the Brills were stuck between a rock and a hard place. They bought their cannabis illegally, but the smoked marijuana eliminated his seizures entirely. In fact, he went 71 days without suffering a debilitating seizure.

“I’m a father that did what it took to make sure my son was OK,” Matthew told CBS News. “For our son, it was a miracle for him,” he added.

But since the treatment did not conform to the state’s laws, David’s parents were charged with reckless conduct. Georgia’s medical marijuana program, like many in the South, are quite onerous for patients and their families. And there currently is a six-year waiting list to get a medical marijuana card, according to Suzeanna.

Related: NCAA Denies Football Player CBD Oil For Epilepsy 

Instead of waiting for their underage son to turn 21, the Brills took the proactive step of saving their son’s life. Six more years of 10 seizures a day would be nearly 22,oo0 more episodes and that was just not a solution for the family.

According to the CBS report:

[S]omeone alerted the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services. The couple said they spent six days in jail. On April 20, David was removed from the Brills’ custody. That day, he had a seizure and had to be rushed to a hospital.

“When I talked to him tonight… the 10-minute phone call I was allowed to have with him, he is on the verge of going into a seizure,” Suzeanna said.

David is currently living in a group home about 60 miles from his parents.

The Georgia Division of Family and Children services said in a statement, “Case managers continue to work with the parents…so the family can be restored as quickly as possible.”

The Georgia Division of Family and Children Services is with the Brills “so the family can be restored as quickly as possible.”

Red Wine Is The Best Alcohol For Great Sex And Here’s Why

Amy Hansen
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Red Wine Is The Best Alcohol For Great Sex And Here’s Why

Everyone knows booze is called “social lubricant” for good reason. It helps us loosen up and relax and go with innocent urges we might otherwise deem too risky when we’re totally sober.

Now that the cooler months are rolling in, it’s plausible more people will be hunkering down with a bottle of cozy red wine over its chillier counterparts. And that is actually a really good thing because red wine, it turns out, is excellent for the sex drive.

That’s got to be at least one reason why most babies are born in late summer, right?

Everyone knows booze is called “social lubricant” for good reason. It helps us loosen up and relax and go with innocent urges we might otherwise deem too risky when we’re totally sober. A glass or two is the perfect push we give ourselves when we want to impress, have fun and/or feel Olivia Pope level confident.

https://giphy.com/gifs/drinking-scandal-sd6NCj9QyJbk4

It also helps us have really great sex (well, as much as it can).

Italian researchers learned awhile ago that red wine has compounds that increase a person’s sex drive.

According to VinePair:

What the researchers uncovered was that the red wine specifically increased blood flow to women’s erogenous areas, which in turn led to increased levels of desire. The researchers were quick to point out, however, that after more than a drink or two the other effects of alcohol began to take hold, which led to a less pleasurable experience. Moderation, it seems, is key.

https://giphy.com/gifs/biglittlelies-hbo-shailene-woodley-3og0IU2ayAqGgJ2VfW

Red wine has also been found to boost testosterone levels in men. According to researchers from London’s Kingston University:

…a compound in red wine, known as quercetin, partially blocked the action of an enzyme called UGT2B17, which looks for testosterone and then sends a message to the kidneys to excrete it.

The team of researchers also found the results were the same for red wine extract in supplement and food forms. Many plant-based foods such as apples, peppers, leafy greens and citrus fruits contain the same active compounds in red wine, such as quercetin.

The next time you want to enhance date night without completely ruining it, split a bottle of wine with your lover and retreat to bed. Calling it a night after a couple of glasses each will help ensure you don’t wake up the next morning feeling completely destroyed. Nice and slow is the name of the game.

https://giphy.com/gifs/campoviejouk-red-wine-3ohzdZOJ0CNxrY1PS8

Baller: 6 Of Our Favorite Joints and Blunts on Instagram

Sam Jones
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Baller: 6 Of Our Favorite Joints and Blunts on Instagram

Instagram is one of, if not the only, tolerable social media platform. There’s no constant bombardment of news and bad jokes like on Twitter, no obnoxious political arguments and baby pics like on Facebook, and no weird emojis that only teens understand like on Snapchat. So it makes sense that people would feel comfortable posting photos of themselves smoking variously sized joints and blunts. Below you’ll find our favorites:

Cross-Joint

A cross-jont is famously difficult to make (for us, at least), which is why spotting one in the wild (on Instagram) is notable. Behold below a flawless cross-joint made by a gentleman named Sir Stoned. Well done, Sir Stoned.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BP-dJs9DDq1/

Big-Ass Joint In Front Of A Big-Ass Pizza

Nothing goes together like weed and pizza, so this photo is a no brainer to include. It is, as the title above implies, a picture of an absolutely gigantic joint in front of a huge cheese pizza. We’re writing this near lunch time, so we’re extremely jealous of whoever took this photo.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BP_ZrRCByiQ/

Donut Blunt

While we doubt the blunt below is actually functional, we admire its craftsmanship. Also, once this guy does smoke, he’ll have the perfect munchies cure right there.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BP885bBgwGd/

Tattooed Model Rolling A Joint

Few things could improve the natural beauty of a well-rolled joint, but having a beautiful model pose with one certainly works.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BP_X3JmhktW/

Cake Joint

The downside, if there is one, to most joints is their plain white color. So why not give them so color? Below view a photo of a joint decorated to look like a cake.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BQAxLSVloaK/

Mural of Drake Rapping Into A Mic Made Of Weed

An important piece of art for the turbulent times we live in.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BQBA-w7BdPA/

More stories

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Jeff Sessions Called Out By ‘The Onion’ In The Best Way Possible

Terry Hacienda
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Jeff Sessions Called Out By ‘The Onion’ In The Best Way Possible

Need a chuckle for the weekend? The Onion delivers the laughs this week with a hilarious “news in brief” spoof of embattled Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his dicey standing with his boss, President Donald Trump.

Ever since Sessions recused himself from the Russia investigation early in Trump’s presidency, the two have been having trouble getting along. The Onion combined this controversy with Sessions’ long record of reefer madness propaganda to deliver a hilarious takedown of the attorney general. All with tongue planted firmly in cheek.

Under the dire headline “Inconsolable Jeff Sessions Tries To Commit Suicide By Smoking Joint,” The Onion its best shot at the nation’s top cop. The short brief begins:

Following months of bruising criticism from Democrats and President Trump alike, an inconsolable Jeff Sessions was reportedly trying to commit suicide Thursday by smoking a joint. “I swore I’d never take the coward’s way out, but what choice do I have?” said a teary-eyed Sessions, carefully laying a sealed envelope containing his farewell note on a tool bench in his garage as he raised a lighter to the marijuana cigarette with trembling hands.

Accompanying the story is a doctored photo of a disconcerted Sessions about to spark up a joint in an undisclosed garage. This is not the first time the satirical “news” site has poked fun at Sessions’ antiquated position on cannabis.

Last year, in its regular man-on-the-street interview series called “American Voices,” it parodied Sessions’ suggestion to revive the D.A.R.E. program, a money-losing failure. The question and answer from a “random respondent”:

Q: Attorney General Jeff Sessions reportedly wants to revive the 1983 Drug Abuse Resistance Education program, although many studies have questioned its effectiveness. What do you think?

A: “A hip, charismatic rockstar like Jeff Sessions could be just the thing to get teens interested in anti-drug education again.”

Oregon To ‘Pause’ Acceptance of Marijuana Applications

Vince Sliwoski
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Oregon To ‘Pause’ Acceptance of Marijuana Applications

Earlier this week, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (“OLCC”) published a news release titled “OLCC Will Pause Acceptance of Marijuana License Applications.” This “pause” takes effect Friday, June 15th. The agency’s sudden announcement was a big surprise to almost everyone, and we received a flood of emails and phone calls throughout the afternoon.

Personally, I cannot remember receiving so many urgent calls and emails related to an administrative or political development at any point in the past seven years of working with cannabis businesses. That includes industry shakeout after recent seismic events like the election of Donald Trump, the appointment of Jeff Sessions as U.S. Attorney General, and Mr. Sessions’ rescission of the Cole Memo. In all, the OLCC announcement caused a major stir.

This post will address questions along the lines of those we received yesterday afternoon, in an attempt to give some consolidated thoughts as to what is going on with Oregon marijuana licensing.

The OLCC announcement says it will “temporarily shift licensing staff to exclusively process recreational marijuana license renewals and applications…”. Does the word “applications” refer to new applications, as well as change in ownership applications? What about “applications” for changes in financial interest?

We have confirmed with OLCC that the announcement refers only to new applications. We also have confirmed that the agency will continue to accept new applications after June 15th cut-off. However, OLCC will not move those applications forward in the queue or begin to process them. The focus will shift entirely on applications submitted prior to June 15th, changes within existing licenses, and renewals.

How long is the pause?

We don’t know. And OLCC probably doesn’t even know at this point. Conceivably, it could last through the next legislative session, beginning in early 2019, when the OLCC may look to the legislature to set some parameters on new license issuances. At a minimum, it seems likely that the pause will extend into the fall, given the application backlog and given the fact that the announcement states OLCC’s intent to put “additional resources into the field for compliance activity, with a focus on targeting Oregon’s 2018 fall outdoor harvest.”

Can the pause go on indefinitely?

Probably not, unless the legislature changes something. In our discussions with OLCC over the past few years, the agency has always acknowledged that the current statutory structure prevents it from capping the number of licenses it awards. Thus, under current law, the only way OLCC can limit the amount of marijuana being produced in Oregon is through controlling canopy sizes (which it has not sought to do).

Is OLCC going to ask the legislature for further statutory controls for licensing in 2019?

It seems likely, yes.

I am closing a large real estate transaction next week! There is no way I can get a LUCS and everything else I need to apply by June 15th. Am I screwed?

You might be. If you aren’t willing to forfeit your earnest money and walk away, the best you can do is close the deal and apply for a license, and wait and hope for OLCC to re-start its conveyor belt.

Is there any chance OLCC will extend this abrupt deadline?

Anything is possible but that seems unlikely. It’s also possible that we could see a carve-out for prospective applicants who can somehow prove compelling circumstances or financial hardship due to the abrupt deadline. But that also seems unlikely, and it’s hard to know how those parameters would even be set.

Why are they really doing this?

The reasons stated in the news release are compelling. Given all of the mergers and acquisitions going on in the Oregon industry, our Portland office processes a large amount of change-in-ownership, loan clearance, and other types of transactions with OLCC. We can confirm that the process has become painstakingly slow for businesses and investors, despite OLCC’s best efforts. Applications for new businesses are also very slow. In addition, the announcement references the need to “put additional resources into compliance activity” as stated above. That’s a good idea generally, but there is doubtless some political pressure behind this objective, too.

What do we do next?

More information will be available in the coming days and weeks. So sit tight and stay tuned. Alternatively, you can always head to California. They have the opposite problem.

Vince Sliwoski is an attorney at Harris Bricken, a law firm with lawyers in Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Barcelona, and Beijing. This story was originally published on the Canna Law Blog. 

What Happens To Your Penis When You Take Viagra?

Maria Loreto
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What Happens To Your Penis When You Take Viagra?

Erectile disfunction is something that concerns a lot of Americans, it’s rarely discussed openly, and that causes a lot of strain on relationships, and that costs a lot of money. Even though it may not be discussed in our day-to-day conversations, it’s a surprisingly common condition. More than half of men between the ages of 40 and 70 have experienced some form of erectile disfunction, and have turned to Viagra as a result.

We’ve all heard of the pill, but we don’t really know how it works.  did a study to appease our curiosity, giving the people a play by play of what happens to the body of a man after taking the pill. The results are very interesting and demonstrate that Viagra is a very powerful drug.

First 12 minutes 

The pill is super fast acting, producing erections in some men as soon as 12 minutes after taking it, although this result doesn’t translate to all men.

27 Minutes In

The average erection from users start happening around this time, half an hour after the pill is consumed. Doctors generally suggest to plan ahead and to take the pill around an hour before you’re planning on having sex but, for most cases, erections happen faster.

57 Minutes In

About an hour in is when erections hit their peak moment and are at their best, giving the pill the necessary amount of time to enter the circulatory system.

4 Hours In

It’s almost over now! This doesn’t mean that you’ll have a continuous erection for four hours, it just means that your body will still be able to have erections during this period of time.

10 Hours In

In some cases men were still feeling the effects of Viagra 10 hours after it was originally consumed. Some men were able to have erections that rivaled the ones they had two hours after consumption.

24 Hours In

It takes about a day for all remnants of the pill to disappear from your bloodstream. After this time period there are no reported boosts of sexual performance.

7 Musicians And Their Bizarre Backstage Food Demands

Amy Hansen
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7 Musicians And Their Bizarre Backstage Food Demands

Brown M&Ms caused quite a stir back in 1982 when it was revealed that Van Halen wanted them banished from their dressing room candy bowl, as evidenced in their hand-written, 53-page rider. Little did we know, that was just the beginning of bizarre backstage food behavior. With even more types of food to chose from than ever before, today’s backstage food demands are even more specific and elaborate. Here are 7 examples: 

Pharrell Williams

The musician’s 2015 tour rider calls for Nilla Wafers, a bag of Goldfish (crackers, we assume), salted Kettle chips and grape jelly.  And a framed photo of Carl Sagan, for good measure. The rider also notes that Williams has “changed his diet” with a list of dinner ideas that includes “fish cooked well, preferably in a pan,” beef stew (grass-fed beef only) with carrots, sweet potatoes and yams. There’s also a long list of possible vegetarian items and a note that “most of the touring party is on the Atkins Diet.” Sounds fun.

Tenacious D

Mustard is the food focus of the band’s 2010 tour rider. The duo requires “1 Bottle of Brown Mustard (must be VERY tasty and delicious)” in their main dressing room and mustard that is “equally as tasty as the one in Band room” for the family room. Also on the list: a “large bar of dark chocolate (with highest percentage of chocolate possible),” and a large deli platter with “turkey based meats” and a cheese platter with “assorted cheddars.”

Adele

Adele’s 2011 rider not only asked for Marlboro Lights and a disposable lighter, but also an assortment of chewing gum, and a small plate of “freshly made, individually wrapped sandwiches” that “must NOT contain tomatoes, vinegar, chili or citrus fruit.” Adele also required her tour bus to be stocked with a selection of bite-size chocolate bars, including Twix, Aero, Milky Way, and Mars. And for boozing, to bottles of  the “very best quality red wine” and 12 bottles of “best quality European lager beer. “North American beer is NOT acceptable.”

Creed

An undated rider from the band requires “simpler meals or southern cooking” since the band is predominately southern. In fact, “anything prepared with tofu is a bad idea.” The band appeared to have a thing for comfort foods. “A good rule of thumb is that the more common the dish (spaghetti with meatballs, steaks, fried chicken, ) the happier the band and crew will be.” And to wash it all down with? A case of Hi-C assorted fruit juices. Surprise ending!

Brandon Flowers

According to the rider of his 2010 solo tour, The Killers frontman only allowed certain fruit preserves backstage, depending on the day of the week. Sundays and Tuesdays are reserved for strawberry, Mondays and Thursdays for apricot, and red raspberry jam on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.

T.I.

In 2009, before he realized he’d soon be sustaining on prison food, the rapper demanded “steak filet mignon butterflied well.” Nine of them. Oh, and they each had to be at least nine ounces.

Foo Fighters

One-upping their 2008 rider, which earned a place is the Rider Hall of Fame for requiring a selection of unopened cereals that are not recycled “from last night’s Dio show” and vegetarian soups, since “meaty soups make roadies fart,” the band’s 2011 rider is even more absurd, if not hilarious. Depicted to look like a coloring book titled, “Foo Fighters Field Guide To Food,” the rider disses croissants, contains a catering “dont’s” word hunt, and sketches out what a proper entree (and ice cubes) should look like — all in cartoon form.

 

People Can’t Spell These Words, Says Google

Amy Hansen
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People Can’t Spell These Words, Says Google

Some people just aren’t cut out for the sappy greeting card business. If you can’t nail a simple word like “beautiful,” it’s probably time to hang up your romantic life all together. And also, no scribing patriotic songs.

According to a newly released list by Google Trends, “beautiful” was the word 11 sates struggled to spell the most over the past year, including Washington, California, and Massachusetts. Apparently, not a lot of Jim Carrey fans live there.

“Beautiful” has nearly twice the amount of “how to spell” Google inquiries than silver medalist (*stretches fingers*) “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious”, the evil spawn from Mary Poppins. Why would you even begin to type that into a search engine? Make Alexa do it.

Other misspelled words, according to Newsweek, include: “resume”, “canceled”, “schedule” and “sincerely”. Sounds like a lot of people might be interviewing for jobs?

It’s no coincidence that this list comes just in time for…wait for it… the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which ends May 31.

Here’s the entire list by state. You can bet every one of those more than 500 young spelling bee competitors can rattle off these words in their sleep. And how is it “supercalifragwhatever” made the list but not Hors d’oeuvre? You’d think that’d be a more used word, no?

Alabama: Cousin
Alaska: Veteran
Arizona: Beautiful
Arkansas: Beautiful
California: Beautiful
Colorado: Resume
Connecticut: Sincerely
Delaware: Decision
Washington, D.C.: Permanent
Florida: Hors d’oeuvre
Georgia: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
Hawaii: Grateful
Idaho: Businesses
Illinois: Beautiful
Indiana: Beautiful
Iowa: Vacuum
Kansas: Consequences
Kentucky: Definitely
Louisiana: Favorite
Maine: Connecticut
Maryland: Canceled
Massachusetts: Beautiful
Michigan: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
Minnesota: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
Mississippi: Gray
Missouri: Sincerely
Montana: Tomorrow
Nebraska: Nocturnal
Nevada: Probably
New Hampshire: Subtle
New Jersey: Resume
New Mexico: Permanently
New York: Resume
North Carolina: Beautiful
North Dakota: Yacht
Ohio: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
Oklahoma: Canceled
Oregon: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
Pennsylvania: Schedule
Rhode Island: Dying
South Carolina: Beginning
South Dakota: Chaos
Tennessee: Schedule
Texas: Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
Utah: Beautiful
Vermont: Solution
Virginia: Beautiful
Washington: Beautiful
West Virginia: Apparel
Wisconsin: Beautiful
Wyoming: Fiancé

How Marijuana Consumers Can Save The Bees

Mike Adams
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How Marijuana Consumers Can Save The Bees

Although bees are not essential in the pollination of the cannabis plant, the budding marijuana industry, especially its expanding customer base, is now in a position to help salvage dwindling bee populations.

While there are a few studies over bees’ relationship with cannabis, there is no definitive connection between the two. Bees, which are responsible for pollinating around 85 percent of the Earth’s flowing plants, have little interest in the cannabis plant. This is simply because the odor and appearance of marijuana does not attract them.

Unfortunately, bee populations in the United States are now the lowest they have been in around five decades. This is largely due to colony collapse disorder (CCD), which has been blamed on everything from global warming to loss of habitat, as a result of expanding cities.

RELATED: Little-Known Health Effects Of Medical Marijuana

However, there is solid evidence that CCD is happening due to the use of dangerous insecticides – an issue that the cannabis industry has been struggling to get a grip on for the past few years.

Researchers at Harvard University found that neonicotinoids, which are among the most commonly used insecticides, are directly linked to colony collapse disorder.

New Jersey’s Medical Cannabis Program Expanding
Photo by Michael Fischer via Pexels

A 2014 study found that in hives exposed to these chemicals, bees either stopped reproducing, deserted the hive, or died.

Therefore, you can do your part to save bee populations by simply paying attention to where you buy marijuana.

RELATED: Why Won’t My Doctor Prescribe Medical Marijuana For Me?

“As most cannabis is lab-tested, consumers can research and make bee-friendly purchases from farms that grow pesticide-free cannabis,” writes Dope reporter Blaze Robinson. “Knowing where your weed comes from allows consumers to support companies with sustainable organic growing practices. This is particularly important for those who enjoy smoking concentrates: if pesticides are present, pesticide levels are also concentrated.

“Another way to support bees is to create a habitat,” Robinson adds. “Plant flowers that bloom at different seasons throughout the year. Create a native garden to support different species of native bees that struggle to find food amongst imported plants and turf grass. Make water (and landing areas) available to thirsty bees. Install a bee box for solitary bees. Or become a beekeeper and care for a hive of honeybees.”

Why Is Twitter Locking Users Out Of Their Accounts?

Maria Loreto
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Why Is Twitter Locking Users Out Of Their Accounts?

Have you noticed how lately many websites are asking you to accept their new privacy policies? This is due to Europe’s new GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations), which went into effect on May 25 of this year. In short, GDPR gives European citizens the right to “clearly and explicitly opt into having their data collected and used by a company on the web.”

All of these new policies and agreements have shaken websites, no matter their size and amount of users. Twitter is one of the largest companies that have been effected, and this has resulted in many cancelled accounts. Mashable reports that over the past week, Twitter has been closing the accounts of users who, despite their current age, joined the website before they were 13 years old.

Twitter has never been strict regarding the age of its users, so it’s now facing a problem since a lot of people joined the site and found ways of going around the age restrictions. Twitter’s solution has been to pinpoint the ages of users that were younger than 13 when they first opened their profile and block their access to the site. As you can imagine, this has resulted in many cancelled accounts, even though some of the banned users are now adults. All because of the new laws that require companies to enforce a minimum age requirement of 13.

Users with cancelled accounts are able to complain and contact Twitter, but many of them have been asked to provide their IDs and birth certificates in order to prove their age.

This seemingly extreme measure can be explained by the fact that GDPR violations result in very expensive fines and a lot of problems for the company. Twitter hasn’t been the only website to be wary of these new measures, but it’s one of the companies that has handled this situation in the clunkiest of ways. Even though Twitter had a lot of time to prepare for these new policies, they decided to keep secrets from their users and to shut down accounts without providing other options. For now, the only option left for users whose accounts have been cancelled is to create a new profile and start over.

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