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Marijuana 101: Why You Shouldn’t Hold Your Hits For More Than 3 Seconds

Maria Loreto
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Marijuana 101: Why You Shouldn’t Hold Your Hits For More Than 3 Seconds

Welcome to Marijuana 101: There’s a popular misconception that makes us believe that the longer we hold a hit in, the higher we’ll get, or that if we smoke marijuana and cough a lot it means that the weed is really powerful and that you’re getting really really high. These are all urban myths. Let’s get to the science behind all of this and explain how your body works when smoking cannabis:

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How Your Lungs Work

Whether you’re inhaling smoke from a joint, a pipe, or a bong, your lungs react in the same way as when you’re taking a breath of fresh air. They expand and pick up oxygen and THC that make their way to your alveoli (the little sacs of air in your lungs) and then to your bloodstream, passing on both of these components to different areas of your body and getting you high in the meantime.

It doesn’t matter how long you hold in the smoke, the effect remains the same because it takes approximately 3 seconds for the THC to make its way through your body.

Why You Feel Lightheaded

This has a pretty simple explanation, which is that the longer you hold in a hit, the longer you deprive your brain of oxygen, which in turn makes you feel lightheaded. That airy feeling, coupled with the smoke in your system, will make you feel like you’re super high when in fact your brain is just begging for some air.

If you want to find an efficient way to get more high per hit, you can try adding some kief to your joints or bowl, or you can try smoking from a concentrate, which are getting stronger by the day.

Marijuana 101: How To Mix Essential Oils With Cannabis

Danielle Guercio
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Marijuana 101: How To Mix Essential Oils With Cannabis

What we know of as wax or isolate is really just the whole plant essential oil of cannabis. It’s made up of multiple terpenes, cannabinoids and other phytochemicals to not only get us high, but to do everything else the plant is capable of.

Other plant derived essential oils can provide therapeutic benefits, and when mixed with cannabis you can finally get relief, relaxation, or whatever it is you’re looking for.

Photos by Danielle Guercio

It should go without saying to keep quality at heart, but I love both high end and more affordable essential oils. Where possible, Young Living is my go-to, but Aura Cacia or Now will do in a pinch—or in bulk when affordability is key. Essential oil safety is also paramount. I love that Young Living provides an easy guide to which oils are phototoxic, which are not to be ingested, and any other need-to-know information.

Photos by Danielle Guercio

Lemongrass contains high levels of myrcene, which is the terpene in mango and cannabis that can increase the efficacy of THC. Dispense no more that two drops into bathwater the next time you have a smokey bath sesh or a THC bath bomb to use, you’ll get an extra boost to your high and be ready to take on the day.

On the opposite end of things, lavender when diffused with an adjacent consumable or even applied topically with THC infused coconut oil can knock you out faster than a nature documentary. This also goes lovely in the bath, though better in the evening time.

Photos by Danielle Guercio

When things hurt, either from your own doing (read: hangover) or a medical issue, peppermint can come through in a serious pinch to smooth things over. Peppermint and cannabis together can end up in mints, chocolates, rubs, or anywhere you need a minty kick.

There’s nothing worse than an angry tummy. Ginger is one of the single most effective things I’ve used for a whole list of complaints, it’s like a tiny bottle of Pepto Bismol, minus the chalky pink stuff. Throw a drop into tea or an empty V-cap with some cannabis tincture and you’ll overcome things with much more grace.

Don’t apply lemon topically, but it’s essential oil is a really great way to take down a high that has gone off the rails. Using a toothpick, add the tiniest trace to a beverage, or add a drop to a cloth to gently inhale. The limonene will perk you up, and hopefully you will remember this trick the next time you need it or it happens to a newbie you know.

Photos by Danielle Guercio

Got the basics? Great! Essential oils are fun and interesting, but they also really help people get by when they can’t seek a doctor immediately. They won’t ‘cure’ your illnesses, but for some side effects and nasty day-to-day drama, they make a great addition to your remedy arsenal, where cannabis already is for many of us.

Photos: Danielle Guercio

 

Amal Clooney Is Giving Meghan Markle Advice On How To Live In London

Maria Loreto
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Amal Clooney Is Giving Meghan Markle Advice On How To Live In London

Amal Clooney and Meghan Markle have known each other for a while, but they’re now basically BFFs.  According to People, the two met through a mutual friend and became closer when Markle moved to London to be with Harry. Mrs. Clooney, who lives nearby with her famous husband Geroge, was conveniently available to show Markle around the city. Fast forward, they bonded.

Sources believe that their friendship occurred organically, thanks to the fact that both women have many things in common. Clooney is a very accomplished attorney with a keen interest in human rights, women’s issues and the United Nations. All of these traits bring her together with Markle, who’s also worked with the U,N. and is a known advocate of human rights and women’s issues. “Amal has been helping Meghan settle into London life,” says a source. “It was a very natural friendship from day one.”

Clooney is a British-Lebanese citizen who was raised in the U.K. and who currently spends a lot of her time in Europe with her husband and their two kids.

Via People:

They are flying back and forth between the U.S. and Europe, but everything is set up at the Lake Como house. They will spend as much time by the lake as they can. They always seem to love coming to the lake.

The Clooneys plan to spend the majority of their summer in Europe.

MedMen Just Got Closer To Becoming ‘The Apple Store Of Weed’

Amy Hansen
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MedMen Just Got Closer To Becoming ‘The Apple Store Of Weed’

As the first $1 billion cannabis company in the U.S., California-based MedMen, which bills itself as the “Apple Store of weed,” has big plans for expansion. They not only want to expand the number of stores in the U.S., they want to launch weed delivery and in-store pickup this year.

MedMen went public on the Canada Securities Exchange on Tuesday. (U.S.-based weed companies aren’t allowed on either the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq, since marijuana is still federally illegal.)

In a regulatory filing in Canada on May 28, MedMen stated it “plans to engage in delivery operations either through the development of its own delivery infrastructure and network or through the use of third-party services focused on the delivery and e-commerce market.”

The company also added: “An in-store pickup option is currently being developed in-house and will be accessible from MedMen’s website.”

According to Investor’s Business Daily:

The company has stated its plans to offer delivery in other recent filings as well. Daniel Yi, a spokesman for the company, said MedMen has applied for delivery and other new licenses in areas across California. Other details, like where a delivery operation might debut or how it would work, were not available.

The company’s regulatory disclosures in Canada offer a deeper look into its strategy and finances. Medical marijuana is legal in Canada, and recreational legalization is set to take hold this year. The U.S. federal government still prohibits marijuana, even as more states vote to make it legal.

MedMen has already made a name for themselves in the U.S.. Just this year, they’ve been featured on Jimmy Kimmel Live and created a viral ad campaign.

With 12 stores across New York, California and Nevada, the company says they’re now actively looking to rollout new stores in key markets such as Illinois, Florida, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Ohio.

According to the Financial Post, “Like many companies in the cannabis space, MedMen’s growth has been extraordinarily rapid. Two years ago the company had only one dispensary, in West Hollywood, and one growing facility, in nearby Sun Valley.”

President Trump Did Not Legalize Medical Marijuana In All 50 States

Mike Adams
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President Trump Did Not Legalize Medical Marijuana In All 50 States

Somewhere in between his meeting with Kim Kardashian to discuss prison reform and his Tweets about Roseanne Barr, President Trump signed a bill earlier this week giving terminally ill patients the freedom to use experimental medications that have not been met with FDA approval. It is called the “Right to Try,” a measure that the President himself claims will save “hundreds of thousands” of lives.

But news has spread in recent weeks suggesting that the new law would effectively legalize medical marijuana in all 50 states for people on their deathbeds. It turns out that this concept, which seems to have originated from a handful of story-starved cannabis journalists, is more speculative than anything. Sadly, the fact-checking website Snopes found there is nothing written in the language of the Right to Try legislation that even comes close to legalizing medical marijuana for terminally ill patients. The new law only makes it possible for qualified patients to get permission to use the herb.

“The claim as presented is false; the act itself was unrelated to medical marijuana, and solely pertained to those diagnosed with terminal illnesses,” reads a clarification. “Even under the most flexible interpretations, there was no truth to the statement that President Donald Trump was signing a law legalizing medical marijuana at a federal level.”

It is still possible that terminally ill patients could gain access to medical marijuana under Right to Try. But even though the herb technically qualifies as an “experimental medication” under the new law, this does not mean it will be any easier for patients to secure. The law gives terminally ill patients the right to seek drug treatments that are in clinical trials and “have passed Phase 1 of the Food and Drug Administration’s approval process,” according to CNN. Although medical marijuana technically falls into this category, the vagueness of Right to Try’s qualified conditions provides no clue as to what the federal government considers a terminal illness.

What is clear is that the new national law, which, according to the New York Times, has be oversold by President Trump, gives patients and doctors the right to petition drug companies for the use of experimental medications. But it remains to be seen whether medical marijuana businesses will be considered “drug companies.” Considering that growing and selling weed in the United States is still illegal in the eyes of the federal government, these types of operations might not fit in with the Right to Try.

At best, the new law will have very little impact, especially where medical marijuana is concerned. Nearly 40 states already have Right to Try laws on the books. What’s more is the FDA has had a “compassionate use, or expanded access” program in place for decades designed to provide terminally ill patients with experimental medications. The agency says it approves more that 80 percent of these applications.

Half Of Americans Believe That Sex With Robots Will Be a Thing By 2067

Maria Loreto
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Half Of Americans Believe That Sex With Robots Will Be a Thing By 2067

Ian Pearson, a well regarded futurologist known for his spot on predictions, believes that in 50 years having sex with robots will be even more common than having sex with humans. While this seems extreme and bizarre, recent results from a poll demonstrate that a large percentage of Americans agree with him, even though they would think twice about having sex with a robot. 

The YouGov poll analyzed different results from men and women and compared them to each other. These results demonstrate that men have an easier time wrapping their heads around this new change. 24 percent of them admitted that they’d consider having sex with a robot while only nine percent of women agreed with them. 

The results from the poll get more complicated on further inspection. Around 14 percent of adults believe that engaging in sexual acts with robots is considered “real sex,” while 33 percent of them believe that it’s not and that it’s more similar to masturbation. These results show that it’s still hard to define what sex is, especially if you throw a robot into the mix. 

When it comes to being in a relationship with a human and cheating on them with a robot, the answers are complicated too. 32 percent of adults believe that engaging in sexual activities with a robot while in a monogamous relationship counts as cheating, while 33 percent of them believe that it’s not. When you analyze the results according to gender, the results vary, with 37 percent of men thinking that having sex with a robot isn’t cheating, while 27 percent of them believe that it is. For women, the results are reversed, with 37 percent of them believing that having sex with a robot while in a monogamous relationship is cheating, while 27 percent of them thinking that it isn’t. 

While this poll is merely speculative, we have to admit that the possibility of advanced robots with AI, realistic looking sex bots, and emerging technologies have us all wondering about the future of the world in which we’ll live. Thankfully, history shows that humans can adapt well to change, no matter how scary or weird it is.

Underage Kids Have A Harder Time Buying Weed Than Booze Or Cigs In Colorado

Terry Hacienda
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Underage Kids Have A Harder Time Buying Weed Than Booze Or Cigs In Colorado

Memo to underage Colorado cannabis consumers: Don’t even try buying your weed a regulated marijuana retailer. You’re going to walk out of the establishment red-faced and empty-handed.

The state’s Marijuana Enforcement Division issued the results of its 2017 underage compliance testing and reported that 95 percent of the retailers passed. The agency’s operation sent underage operatives into 264 marijuana stores across the state attempting to buy cannabis products. Of those interactions, only 13 resulted in a purchase. In Colorado, and other legal marijuana states, only adults 21 years and older with a valid ID can buy cannabis in regulated stores. 

“While we’re pleased that the percentage of licensees passing underage compliance checks increased from 2016, that number still isn’t good enough,” said Jim Burack, MED Director. But Burack insists that 95% “still isn’t good enough.”

“We’ll continue to increase the frequency of our enforcement efforts and further educate marijuana licensees on their operational requirements vital to protecting public health and safety,” Burack said.  “Importantly, business licenses are subject to discipline, including revocation, if management is not diligent about underage enforcement and associated employee training.”

Other legal states have experienced similar results. After a subpar initial test in Oregon, officials say they have made improvements in compliance. The punishment — fines and store closures — are simply not worth the risk for retailers who spent large sums of money for the business.

“The risks for non-compliance are significant,” said Kristi Kelly of the Marijuana Industry Group.  “It’s no surprise that the legal licensees and employees in this state place a priority on making sure that legal cannabis stays in the hands of legal buyers,” Kelly told Denver’s CBS4.

For context, 89 percent of liquor stores passed underage compliance tests for alcohol and 94 percent of stores passed underage compliance tests for tobacco, according to CBS4.

Florida ‘Playing With Political Wildfire’ On Smokable Medical Marijuana Ban

Brendan Bures
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Florida ‘Playing With Political Wildfire’ On Smokable Medical Marijuana Ban

Florida medical patients are one step closer to accessing smokable medical marijuana, after a Leon County circuit judge ruled last week that the state’s ban on smokable cannabis was unconstitutional. In a 22-page order, Judge Karen Gievers said that Florida patients have the right to access “all types of medical marijuana,” including its smokable form. The state’s health department has already appealed the decision, effectively staying the ban on medical marijuana until a later date.

Back in 2016, Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment that would broadly legalize medical marijuana. It was implied that would include the right to smoking marijuana in private spaces, as the amendment recognized there wouldn’t be a right to smoke in public spaces. But the state’s health department narrowed the scope of the amendment to exclude smokable marijuana from legislation, citing public safety and health concerns from ingesting smoke into the lungs.

“Just as no person is above the law, the legislature must heed the constitutional rights Floridians placed in the Constitution in 2016,” Judge Gievers wrote in her decision. “The conflicting, overreaching 2017 statute, while presumably adopted in good faith and with good intentions, cannot be allowed to overrule the authority of the people to protect rights in the Constitution.”

With the appeal process already under way, Orlando lawyer and strident medical marijuana activist John Morgan has urged Florida Governor Rick Scott to rethink pursuing defense of the ban. Morgan said in a press conference with reporters this week that the governor is ultimately responsible in choosing whether the state chases the appeal or not.

“What everyone needs to understand is that Gov. Scott could remove that appeal today if he wants,” Morgan said, according to the Tampa Bay Times. “Gov. Scott should say enough is enough: ‘I am going to allow the people’s will to be done’…The most direct method to get relief is smokable marijuana. This is not a political issue.”

Ben Pollara runs Florida for Care, a marijuana advocacy group, and says the ban on smokable marijuana has discouraged many patients from applying for a card and accessing legal channels.

“Florida for Care recently surveyed our members on this subject,” Pollara told Marijuana Business Daily. “Of those who considered themselves patients, the single biggest reason people cited for the fact they hadn’t yet gotten a medical marijuana card was that smokable marijuana wasn’t allowed.”

However, Morgan also framed the appeal as a political liability to Scott, who is currently running a US Senate campaign against Sen. Bill Nelson. He added that Scott was placating to the pharmaceutical companies that were threatened by a more compassionate and effective medicine in medical marijuana.

“[If he drops the appeal,] I think he gains 5 points overnight,” Morgan said. “Gov. Scott is playing with political wildfire for something he doesn’t have to do.”

“Gov. Scott is going to have to make a decision whether he is going to put politics over people or he’s going to put campaign contributions from the pharmaceutical industry over compassion,” Morgan added.

Florida remains one of the fastest growing marijuana markets in the country. As of April the state has surpassed 100,000 registered patients. Analysts project sales could range from $175 million-$235 million this year, and potentially more, if sale of flowers become legally available.

NCAA Denies Football Player CBD Oil For Epilepsy 

Brendan Bures
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NCAA Denies Football Player CBD Oil For Epilepsy 

When it comes to sports leagues testing athletes for cannabis, the NCAA is generally regarded as the strictest and harshest. The organization is responsible for regulating various sports — from field hockey to baseball and lacrosse — for more than 1,000 institutions and wields considerable influence on its collegiate institutions. That outbalanced sense of power was on display recently when walk-on Auburn safety C.J. Harris had his spot on the football team rescinded when officials learned he used cannabis oil to treat his epilepsy.

Harris used cannabis oil with extremely low levels of THC (0.3 percent), but the NCAA considers 5 nanograms of extracted THC per milliliter of urine a positive test. For comparison, the NFL has a threshold of 35 ng/mL while World Anti-Doping Agency has a high threshold at 150 ng/mL.

Since being prescribed the cannabis oil by a doctor, Harris hasn’t experienced any seizures. However, WGXA reported that Auburn officials told Harris the NCAA would not allow him to play if he continued taking a drug the organization considered an illicit substance.

“You’re taking something away from a kid who worked so hard his whole life to get there, and you’re just taking it away because he’s taking a medication that’s helping him with a disability,” C.J.’s father Curtis Harris told WGXA.

The news prompted a ruling from the Epilepsy Foundation:

The Epilepsy Foundation is committed to supporting physician-directed care, and to exploring and advocating for all potential treatment options for epilepsy, including cannabidiol (CBD) oil and medical cannabis. We support safe, legal access to medical cannabis and CBD if a patient and their health care team feel that the potential benefits of medical cannabis or CBD for uncontrolled epilepsy outweigh the risks. While we believe further research is needed on the effects of medical cannabis on epilepsy, when recommended by a treating physician, medical cannabis may be the best alternative for some individuals living with drug-resistant epilepsy and uncontrolled seizures.

[…]

We urge the NCAA to review their existing guidelines on THC and explore possible exceptions to allow players under medical treatment, like C.J., the ability to fulfill their dreams of playing college football. We hope the NCAA would reconsider their decision and assess C.J. on his character and talent as a football player.

Now, Curtis Harris has revealed to TMZ Sports that his son would reconsider taking different medication for his seizures, if it meant he could play football. In other words, he’d have to stop taking a medicine that has proven effective just for a chance to play.

“He wants to play,” Curtis Harris said. “He’s gotta find a way and he’s willing to find something that doesn’t have the THC in it. We don’t want to look back and say we didn’t try, but C.J.’s health is most important.”

New York Health Dept. Has Finished Its Study On Marijuana Legalization

Amy Hansen
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New York Health Dept. Has Finished Its Study On Marijuana Legalization

Though it has yet to be released, the New York state health department has wrapped up its much hyped study in regards to legalizing recreational marijuana.

The study, commissioned by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in January (this is the same guy who referred to marijuana as a “gateway drug” as early as last year), “highlights the benefits of legalization on criminal justice reforms and a tax on the drug, but it stops short of fully endorsing the legalization,”  according to Spectrum News NY1.

Not surprisingly, Cuomo recently softened his tone amidst news that the majority of New Yorkers (62%) support legal marijuana. And there’s also the issue of Cynthia Nixon, his challenger in the Democratic primary, who endorsed the legalization.

As The Fresh Toast reported in January:

Legalizing marijuana for adult use in New York holds significant criminal justice reform potential. Under the Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act, which is currently pending in the legislature, people who have been convicted of low-level possession (including possession in public view) and low-level sale can have that offense vacated from their record. Other offenses related to possession or sale that were previously misdemeanors or felonies can be reclassified and sealed. People currently incarcerated for such offenses would either be released or have their sentence appropriately reduced pursuant to the new statute.

This is crucial because marijuana prohibition enforcement has devastated communities across New York State, primarily those of color and low-income communities. More than 800,000 people have been arrested for possession of small amounts of marijuana in New York State over the past 20 years, with over 700,000 arrests by the NYPD alone. As a result, hundreds of thousands of people must contend with criminal records that yield significant collateral consequences for them—and their families, including limited access to housing, employment, and education opportunities.

And just recently, New York Democrats officially endorsed the full legalization of cannabis, explaining that millions of dollars of much-needed tax revenues would be added to state coffers if cannabis were taxed like alcohol.

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