Cannabis News

[Tranquility]

Let's please keep the posts in this thread about Cannabis News and not venture into political discussions.

I realize that there is overlap, but for the sake of the well-being of the thread let's try to focus only on issues directly related to Cannabis.

Thank you.

Did either party in the State of the Union or Democratic response or any other "counter speech" even mention or allude to cannabis/marijuana? (I've read the president's get tough on drugs portion.)

I didn't watch any of them. But, on a quick search, all I get is articles about Kennedy being against legalization. The meanest said:

In her press release announcing Kennedy's selection, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi called the congressman a spokesman for working-class Americans.

"While President Trump has consistently broken his promises to the middle class, Congressman Kennedy profoundly understands the challenges facing hard-working men and women across the country," Pelosi wrote.

But critics, from the left and right, say Kennedy — the grandson of Robert F. Kennedy and grand-nephew of President John F. Kennedy and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, who has inherited millions from his family — is instead representative of a Democratic Party of the past and is a member of the country's most elite.

"What's going to change the downward spiral of the Democratic Party is a rich nepotistic prince with inherited wealth of $15 million who is vehemently against marijuana legalization & pro-surveillance. Just what they need," liberal journalist Glenn Greenwald tweeted.
​

It seems to me the SOTU didn't give much to discuss for the cannabis movement, nor the Democrat response. Were there any factions that gave a response that DID mention it?

 

[Silver420Surfer]

 

[howie105]

From an individual point of view, the war on pot was over years ago when supply and law enforcement stopped being a significant concern. Now (just for myself) the problem is more out of concerns for the overall pot community and a general dislike of the issue being used for political manipulation.

 

[macbill]

Lies, damned lies, and statistics about marijuana legalization
“The true impact of marijuana on our communities is just starting to be learned.” Five years after marijuana legalization passed in Colorado and four years after the first retail stores opened, there is still robust debate around how successful legalization has been in the Centennial State.

 

[Silver420Surfer]

2 soldiers dead, 60 hospitalized in past month after vaping synthetic cannabinoids
Army regulations ban the use of any products derived from marijuana, so some soldiers are using synthetic oil

By The Associated Press

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. — The U.S. Army is warning about the dangers of vaping synthetic cannabinoid oil after about 60 soldiers and Marines in North Carolina and 33 troops in Utah experienced serious medical problems in January.

In a Monday public health alert, the U.S. Army Public Health Center said military personnel have suffered headaches, nausea, vomiting, palpitations, dilated pupils, dizziness, agitation and seizures. All these symptoms are associated with synthetic cannabinoids. Two Marines have died in accidents blamed on synthetic cannabinoid-induced seizures.

Army regulations ban the use of CBD oil or any products derived from marijuana, so some soldiers are using synthetic replacement oil.

Public Health Center spokeswoman Chanel S. Weaver tells The Fayetteville Observer that stopping this trend is a “top priority.”

When will we realize we have the best med in the actual damn plant, not synthesized crap.

 

[C No Ego]

they make those synthetic cannabinoid versions that act like super charged cannabinoids that would never act that way nor grown in those amounts on a real life plant... nature ( billions of years) knows best... man knows how to sit and look at nature and poke at it with sticks and instruments

 

[macbill]

The cycle of life: Getting stoned again for health reasons

...[T]he simple things in life came into new focus. As a stoned teen, I'd been blown away by the engineering of my hands; now I look at the same hands with fondness and gratitude, touched by all they have done for me. My fingers will never again be strong or straight, but even with swollen knuckles, they are marvels.

Tending the garden, buzzed, takes on a new poignancy; I am sometimes brought nearly to tears by the cycle of life. The sun feels wonderful on my stiff shoulders.

 

[Silver420Surfer]

Big Sur’s legendary weed growers being left behind in legal era

By Lisa M. Krieger, Bay Area News Group


BIG SUR — For decades, hidden in creases of the wild and rugged Santa Lucia Mountains, farmers have eked out a living growing some of the nation’s most esteemed cannabis, hanging onto the hope that someday they wouldn’t fear arrest.


Marijuana in California is now legal. Yet the fate of farmers in Big Sur — the birthplace of legendary “Big Sur Holy Weed” in the Golden State’s storied cannabis culture — remains more precarious than ever.


As springtime approaches, county officials are issuing licenses to high-tech greenhouse growers, mostly owned by well-funded outsiders, on the edge of urban Salinas — but are rebuffing small traditional farmers on parcels in the more remote reaches of Monterey County such as Big Sur.


It’s a pattern seen throughout the 13 counties that make up the state’s prime cannabis real estate, according to the California Growers Association.


“It’s heartbreaking,” said association director Hezekiah Allen, who warns that the trend could confound [URL='https://www.thecannabist.co/2017/09/26/california-marijuana-pesticides-rules/88680/']efforts to bring once-outlawed businesses into compliance with state law following the November 2016 passage of Proposition 64.


“The state passed legalization,” Allen said. “But most small and mid-sized growers are still living in the shadow of prohibition.”


Regulators say monitoring far-flung fields is just too hard. Of the 55 permits issued in Monterey County, all have gone to greenhouse growers. Sonoma County has banned all commercial cultivation at rural residences, a move that outlaws about 3,500 small growers. Calaveras County initially allowed outdoor growers, but just reversed course.


“They promised us Proposition 64 could rejuvenate the farming industry and upgrade agriculture and bring this great thing,” said Big Sur grower Oliver Bates, who’s seeking approval for 50 plants at his mountain home, six miles up a road almost as treacherous as the frigid sea.


“We feel shut out, betrayed. They are only listening to the interests of commercial agriculture,” said Bates, president of the newly formed Big Sur Farmers Association. “Meanwhile, the sheriff’s department is dying to get in here. It’s not better. It is worse.”


Until now, they could grow cannabis under the “collective” model of medical marijuana, on parcels that are zoned for farming, said Big Sur attorney Michael Linder. But the county’s new marijuana ordinance doesn’t allow rural cannabis growing. So the farmers have suddenly lost their livelihoods.


It’s difficult to pinpoint the moment of conception for “Big Sur Holy Weed,” but local lore credits a reclusive monk named Perry, who in 1965 planted some seeds from a rare Mexican strain. In the early 1970s, on isolated tracts of land with no electricity, plumbing or roads, growers perfected a new horticultural technique that produced seedless marijuana, called sinsemilla.


Resinous and sticky, the region’s cannabis gained a reputation as powerful as its potency. Old-timers recall raucous “harvest parties” on bluffs overlooking the Pacific, hosted by the outlaw grower and artist Patrick Cassidy. The largest plant was sacrificed — thrown into a bonfire — in a bacchanalia that didn’t end until daybreak.


“Holy Weed was a magical strain, brought here to the coast and it thrived beautifully in the mountains,” said Chris Buonocore, who frequented the parties. “It was healing for the body and soul.”


Cannabis wasn’t worth much in those days, but it helped sustain a region that had yet to become a pricey global tourism destination, he said.


“We could trade it for food, trade it for materials, trade it for logging supplies, like chainsaws,” Buonocore said.


The war on drugs brought fear to Big Sur, but also higher prices. “It was crazy,” said one 76-year-old grower, whose home was the site of a raid. “They came with helicopters and nets. You’d hear them coming — the chop chop chop, chop. Then they’d land with chainsaws.”


More recently, the devastating Basin Complex and Soberanes wildfires claimed dozens of homes, farms and cannabis fields. Last winter’s rains, delivering almost 10 feet of water in some spots, sent muck down mountains and blew out roads.


Passage of Proposition 64 had promised legal and economic relief after so many woes.


The growers live a world apart far from the elegant $1,700 rooms at the Post Ranch Inn, the spa at Ventana and the grilled scallops of Nepenthe. They cultivate a land of rattlesnakes and mountain lions, on private parcels scattered among the fir, redwoods and chaparral of the Santa Lucia Range. Some are multi-generation growers; others are members of the local Fire Brigade.


But such small distant fields pose big challenges for regulators, said Simón Salinas, a Monterey County supervisor and former state assemblyman. They’re on land that is inappropriate for commercial agriculture — steep and forested with poor access and little infrastructure. In the towns of Lockwood and Jolon, neighbors complained.

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“How do you monitor it — to make sure we can provide the services that are needed?” Salinas said. “We need the personnel. We don’t have enough sheriff’s department or code enforcement teams to get people up there.”


It will take time to see how the current license approvals shake out, but the restrictive ordinance probably will be revisited in the future, said Supervisor Mary Adams, who represents Big Sur.


So far, permits are only being issued to the “ganja-preneurs” in Salinas, where an acre that sold for $55,000 to $60,000 in 2014 is now fetching between $200,000 and $300,000. Once the heart of the nation’s flower-growing business, [URL='https://www.thecannabist.co/2017/09/18/california-cannabis-cultivation-greenhouses/88237/']collapsing greenhouses are being replaced by tall and gleaming high-tech European structures guarded by gates, barbed wire and cameras.


“We will become one of the most sophisticated greenhouse operations anywhere in California, harvesting every week, like an assembly line,” vowed Oakland-based Steve DeAngelo, CEO of Harborside Farms.


Unlike Monterey County, Humboldt County has created a “Retirement, Remediation, and Relocation” program, which encourages those growing on land not zoned for cultivation to move their operations elsewhere. Mendocino County has gone still further, choosing to support the small, organic grows that are the backbone of its cannabis culture.


“We know it’s not your typical farming,” said Ondine Gorton, 44, of the Big Sur Farmers Association. “It’s goat country. But with time, all of these properties will be very accessible. We have things to work on. We know there are challenges. But the county has to meet us halfway.”


Meanwhile, new state regulations have spurred fears of a corporate takeover of the market by large growers. The reason is that the rules don’t limit the total acreage of a cannabis farm, so a well-funded grower can obtain many cultivation licenses, giving them a competitive advantage. Last month, the Growers Association filed suit against the state.


The rural Monterey County growers say the Salinas Valley is a poor place for top-shelf cannabis.


“It’s the ‘salad bowl’ and grows amazing produce. But it’s a cool and humid climate, with coastal fog” and a history of pesticide and herbicide use, said one Carmel Valley grower. In the Santa Lucia Mountains, “you’re closer to the sun.”


Rural growers say they’re losing a livelihood in a place with few other options, on land too steep to support greenhouses. They say they’re proud they contribute to the local economy.


But they face a stark choice: Move, or stay in the illicit market.


The small growers are proposing a “pilot project,” working with local regulators, to allow fields of only 25 or 50 plants, along with food crops. The combined yield of every grower in the Big Sur Farming Association would fit in a single one-acre Salinas greenhouse, they say.


As the days lengthen and the soil warms, farmers’ frustrations grow. In a few weeks, the season will start.


They wonder: Should they plant, or not? Stay in Big Sur, or leave to find work in a distant greenhouse?


“All we have ever been told by the county is: ‘We’ll get to you,’ Bates said. “But they never get to us. We’re in limbo.


“We’re just asking to preserve what we have.”


This story originally appeared at MercuryNews.com


Popular In the Community
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[howie105]

Legalization for commercialization. Wait till legalization goes national the little growers will be going away along with most of the mom and pop retailers. However Walmart dope will be readily available. For good or bad you can't argue with the economy of scale and connections in a controlled market.

 

[Baron23]

Legalization for commercialization. Wait till legalization goes national the little growers will be going away along with most of the mom and pop retailers. However Walmart dope will be readily available. For good or bad you can't argue with the economy of scale and connections in a controlled market.

There is room for Gallo and Sonoma Cutrer. If our jerk off politicians don't fuck it (and yes, I mean from BOTH parties), there will be room for large corporate brands and boutique growers.

In my state of MD, with a medical program only, they have restricted cultivation to 15 licensees all of which are well funded, corporate type entities. No room now for anything else but the program has only been open for about 7 weeks. I expect it to open up further with time.

 

[MyCollie]

There is room for Gallo and Sonoma Cutrer. If our jerk off politicians don't fuck it (and yes, I mean from BOTH parties), there will be room for large corporate brands and boutique growers.

In my state of MD, with a medical program only, they have restricted cultivation to 15 licensees all of which are well funded, corporate type entities. No room now for anything else but the program has only been open for about 7 weeks. I expect it to open up further with time.

Don't forget room for home growers... although that might be a long shot.

 

[psychonaut]

Sen. Cory Gardner’s siege of Justice Department over marijuana enters second month

https://www.thecannabist.co/2018/02/07/cory-gardner-justice-department-block-marijuana/98382/

WASHINGTON — It’s been a month since the pot blockade began, and U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner is standing firm in his vow to jam all appointments to the Department of Justice until Attorney General Jeff Sessions softens his stance on marijuana.

So far, his siege to protect both Colorado’s cannabis industry and the state’s sovereignty has prevented as many as 11 nominees from getting a Senate floor vote — the last major step before they can start work — and there is little indication that Gardner, R-Colo., and Sessions are any closer to finding common ground.

“It may never resolve itself,” said U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who chairs the committee in charge of getting these nominees to the floor.

 

[macbill]

Military veterans defy Jeff Sessions, fight for medical marijuana to kick opioid addiction
A 2011 Veterans Affairs study found that veterans were twice as likely to die from an opioid overdose compared to the rest of the population. A 2014 study examined 2,500 soldiers after a deployment and found that 15 percent regularly used opioids. Many veterans also take benzodiazepines (antianxiety medication) for post-traumatic stress disorder. Benzodiazepines and opioids are both sedatives, and the combination is especially deadly.

 

[nosmoking]

Go VA!

Finally some progression in one of the most backwards states.

http://www.newsleader.com/story/new...nate-40-0-legal-let-doctors-decide/308363002/

 

[macbill]

Marijuana Can Save Lives

If cannabis were actually a dangerous gateway drug, as the attorney general suggested, it would be very easy to see in the data. We would find that medical-marijuana laws increased opiate drug use and overdose deaths, when in fact just the opposite has happened.

 

[Tranquility]

Marijuana Can Save Lives

If cannabis were actually a dangerous gateway drug, as the attorney general suggested, it would be very easy to see in the data. We would find that medical-marijuana laws increased opiate drug use and overdose deaths, when in fact just the opposite has happened.

This is the argument. And, it will show up in the data. If true in general, and I suspect it is, medical marijuana will be a mitigation to the very real carnage of opiates we're going through right now. Not all people are much liking the "solution" the government is attempting to limit the supply because many of us fear the day when we, or a loved one, has pain that can't be controlled and some regulation or inchoate fear of investigation slows the availability of relief.

It's a way to bring both sides of the aisle together.

 

[Tranquility]

Let's not forget the REAL victims...

https://www.summitdaily.com/news/as...in-2017-topping-liquor-stores-for-first-time/

Legal-pot purveyors hauled in $11.3 million in revenue last year compared with $10.5 million for liquor stores, marking the first time marijuana sales outpaced booze for the year in Aspen.​

 

[macbill]

Report: Israel froze marijuana exports at Trump's request
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/241746
"I spoke with Trump and he told me about his general opposition to the legalization of cannabis, and I'm not sure Israel should be the export pioneer," Netanyahu was quoted as saying.

 

[Tranquility]

Report: Israel froze marijuana exports at Trump's request
"I spoke with Trump and he told me about his general opposition to the legalization of cannabis, and I'm not sure Israel should be the export pioneer," Netanyahu was quoted as saying.

I have no idea over the story other than to point out what Netanyahu said is a matter of some variation.

Others write:
http://www.breitbart.com/jerusalem/2018/02/08/report-israel-nixes-plan-for-medical-marijuana-export/

Netanyahu said Trump had called him and made clear his general attitude against marijuana exports, the report said.
​

https://www.jta.org/2018/02/08/news...israel-exporting-medical-marijuana-so-it-wont

Netanyahu told the heads of the ministries he ordered the freeze after receiving a call about the issue of exporting marijuana from Trump, who is against its legalization. The prime minister made it clear that he did not want Israel to be a pioneer in the export of medical marijuana in order not to anger the U.S. president, according to the report.
​

https://mjbizdaily.com/israel-hits-pause-medical-marijuana-exports-cronos-exec-not-concerned/

But Netanyahu hit the pause button after being presented with data from Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan regarding the “spillover of medical cannabis into the recreational market,” Haaretz Newspaper reported.
​

http://www.newsweek.com/trump-stops...-marijuana-putting-future-1bn-industry-801902

The Times of Israel reported that Netanyahu told his cabinet ministers he had ordered the pause specifically to mollify Trump, who has opposed cannabis legalization measures in the U.S.
​

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israe...nnabis-exports-plan-to-avoid-upsetting-trump/

Netanyahu told the heads of the ministries he ordered the freeze after receiving a call about the issue of exporting marijuana from Trump, who is against its legalization. The prime minister made it clear that he did not want Israel to be a pioneer in the export of medical marijuana in order not to anger the US president, according to the report. Canada is the only country that has approved the export of medical marijuana.
​

https://www.leafly.com/news/politic...-to-stop-israeli-cannabis-exports-reports-say

Netanyahu’s decision came on Sunday night in a cabinet meeting with the nation’s ministers of agriculture, health, and finance. According to reports in the Jerusalem Post and on Channel 2 News, Netanyahu said US President Donald Trump had called him and made clear his “general attitude” against cannabis exports.
​

http://www.xn--4dbcyzi5a.com/en/2018/02/האם-התנגדות-טראמפ-עצרה-את-רפורמת-הקנאב/

Along with a host of theories that have been heard in recent days among the media regarding the decision Benjamin Netanyahu To freeze the export of Cannabis from Israel to abroad, one rumor is particularly interesting - but rather faint.

According to rumor, Which arrived tonight (Nasdaq: 2), the opposition of the US president Donald Trump It was she who caused Netanyahu to stop the approval process at its peak.

"Israel wants to avoid a confrontation with Trump, which is opposed to legalization," reported news anchor Dana Weiss. "At the beginning of the discussion with the four ministers, even before the representatives raised the arguments for and against, Netanyahu noted that Trump had talked to him on the subject and mentioned his general approach against the Galicia of Cannabis."

​

I'm going to assume the "Galicia of Cannabis" is a phonetic of "legalization of cannabis". But, even then, there are some issues to the story. The main one being; is the claim Trump is against legalization or against export by Israel?

If the quote against legalization is accurate, this may be a change from his position taken during the campaign. (In support of *medical* marijuana. The purported topic of the export.) If against exports, there is not much to see here. At least not much to see as compared to anywhere else in the world. (Except, Canada. Should we blame them?)

 

[grampa_herb]

Marijuana Tops Liquor Sales For First Time In Aspen

 

[florduh]

Trump is against legalization or against export by Israel?

A friend of Cannabis wouldn't nominate Jeff Sessions. Removing the cancerous Breitbart from your mix of sources, I tend to believe this shows Trump is against Legalization. I do doubt he will encourage any crackdowns though. He doesn't have the political capital to pull it off and survive.

If the quote against legalization is accurate, this may be a change from his position taken during the campaign.

He says a lot of things. I've learned not to take it all too seriously.

 

[Tranquility]

A friend of Cannabis wouldn't nominate Jeff Sessions. Removing the cancerous Breitbart from your mix of sources, I tend to believe this shows Trump is against Legalization.

Any other sources I should eliminate? At least I read all sides and can formulate their argument before I formulate my own.

I do doubt he will encourage any crackdowns though. He doesn't have the political capital to pull it off and survive.

I think you have no conception over politics right now. Trump could turn to a complete law and order president and the percentage that support him would not change for the worse. There would be some shift at the edges--the true Libertarians would come off where the traditional law and order (many never-Trumpers) Republicans would come back on.

From a purely political calculation, depending on the exact size of the constituencies that would be won/lost, I suspect a crackdown would be a pretty good move. The issue might be looking to the election and how important Colorado will be in that as the issue is of higher priority there. (California is irrelevant as they are not voting for Trump if he farted unicorns. It's just that Colorado is more "purple".) But, his overall percentage of people who agree with him or like the path of the country or whatever poll question is asked, would probably improve. There are a core of people in the country who like a person who swore to enforce the law and then does it.

He says a lot of things. I've learned not to take it all too seriously.

[As an aside and not related to you I just think it's funny, the courts seem to. For the first time I've recalled ever, courts have used things he said as a candidate to find bias rather than just looking at the act he takes himself. I don't know of a precedent. If it holds up, campaigns will have to change.]

I think Trump has been more successful in taking acts that comply with campaign promises more than any president in recent memory. I also think, intentional misinterpretations of things should never be taken too seriously.

 

[seaofgreens]

While I have long given up hope that our country will be anything but some has-been backwater in a hundred years.... Trump does indeed try and do what he said he wanted to do. And some of the stuff he has done has worked out alright. The progress with ISIS this past year has been phenomenal for one thing. Gotta give credit where credit is due! I just wish the things he wanted in general were things I wanted done. This is mostly the opposite.... That's all. I don't like him/what he wants, but he has certainly been effective for his base. At this point... I would be happy if he just wiped the sarcastic smirk off his face when engaging with opposition at least? Disagreement is no reason to be a smarmy asshat.

 

[Baron23]

Any other sources I should eliminate? At least I read all sides and can formulate their argument before I formulate my own.

And I, for one, appreciate your thoughtful approach.

From a purely political calculation, depending on the exact size of the constituencies that would be won/lost, I suspect a crackdown would be a pretty good move.

I don't see that in any of the poll data on MJ attitudes. Can you explain the basis for this view to me?

 

[florduh]

Any other sources I should eliminate? At least I read all sides and can formulate their argument before I formulate my own.

No, just Breitbart. Like I said, it's cancer. Peruse their comment section for 30 seconds if you disagree. They aren't a legitimate news source as they shill for the President. Meanwhile the source @macbill posted is perfectly legitimate with a Right of Center bias https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/arutz-sheva-israel-national-news.

I think you have no conception over politics right now. Trump could turn to a complete law and order president and the percentage that support him would not change for the worse. There would be some shift at the edges--the true Libertarians would come off where the traditional law and order (many never-Trumpers) Republicans would come back on.

Nonsense. Based on every poll on legalization, it's fair to assume a certain percentage of Trump supporters are cannabis fans. Trump can't afford to lose any of his hardcore base right now.

Additionally, a crackdown would further energize the Dem base. The Midterms already look bad for the President's party.

Maybe you're right and Trump is stupider than he seems though.

I also think, intentional misinterpretations of things should never be taken too seriously.

I just think this is a humorous statement in reference to the President.

And I, for one, appreciate your thoughtful approach.

Again, using Breitbart quotes to defend Trump is hardly being "objective".