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cannabisbusinessexecutive · 2 years

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Save the Cannabis Industry: Topple The Pyramids!

By Steve DeAngelo In early October of 2006, I founded Harborside Health Center in Oakland CA; which had just received one of the first six licenses granted anywhere in the United States for commercial cannabis activity. Like every other new licensee; I had gained my cannabis experience and knowledge in the underground, legacy market. There was no alternative in those days. Cannabis corporations…

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#California Legacy Cannabis Growers #consumer demand #Scale #Steve DeAngelo

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antoniorichardsonblog · 1 year

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California's small cannabis growers face extinction as taxes, bills and snow pile up

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itsnotadrugitsaleaf · 1 year

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Zoma Cannabis Grows Santa Cruz's Finest EnvirOganic-Certified Legacy Cannabis

Located in the heart of Santa Cruz, California, Zoma Cannabis is a premier producer of high-quality, environmentally-conscious cannabis. Zoma is dedicated to growing the finest EnvirOganic-certified legacy cannabis, using sustainable and organic growing practices to ensure that their products are of the highest quality.

Zoma's commitment to sustainability extends beyond just their growing practices. They also prioritize the use of renewable energy sources and prioritize waste reduction in their operations. This dedication to sustainability is reflected in their EnvirOganic certification, which is awarded to cannabis growers who meet the highest standards for environmental sustainability and organic practices.

In addition to their commitment to sustainability, Zoma is also dedicated to producing the highest quality cannabis. They use a variety of unique and traditional strains, including Indica, Sativa, and Hybrid strains, to meet the needs and preferences of their customers. Zoma's expert cultivators carefully tend to each plant, ensuring that they receive the optimal amount of light, water, and nutrients to produce the best possible yield.

In addition to their high-quality cannabis, Zoma also offers a wide range of products, including flowers, pre-rolls, edibles, and concentrates. They also have knowledgeable staff who are happy to assist customers with product recommendations and information.

Overall, Zoma Cannabis is a top choice for anyone looking for the finest EnvirOganic-certified legacy cannabis in Santa Cruz. Their commitment to sustainability and high-quality products make them a standout choice for environmentally-conscious consumers.

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drganja-news · 5 years

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In California’s Cannabis War, Civil Is the New Criminal. A new crackdown has begun in California’s cannabis growing heartland of Humboldt County. For unlicensed farmers, a summer of reckoning has arrived.

Now that local and state authorities have provisionally licensed about 1,500 legal cannabis farms statewide, they’re stepping up enforcement actions against farmers growing without a permit. County officials are doing it not with SWAT team raids, but by enforcing a laundry list of civil codes. And it’s having an effect. Civil code enforcement is decimating California’s legacy cannabis growers like criminal prohibition never could.

Fines of $10,000 per day, per violation—maxing out at $900,000, followed by property liens and forfeiture—have replaced traditional fears of a sheriff’s raid in Humboldt this summer.

Related News: California Officials Launch Campaign to Combat Cannabis Black Market

Officials tell Leafly the Humboldt County Planning and Building Department has sent out 148 cannabis-related “Notices to Abate” to property owners so far in 2019. The county sent 597 abatement notices in 2018.

Recipients have ten days to remove their plants or they face record fines—far higher than monetary penalties enacted against any other business type. If you chop down your plants the same day you get the notice, you face a minimum $10,000 fine on your property. If you don’t, fines can run up to 90 days, totaling $900,000, followed by a county collection action, and potential loss of the property.

The results speak for themselves. Humboldt County has assessed $3.28 million in cannabis abatement fines for the years 2018 and 2019. So far, 376 cannabis-related code violations have been abated or are in the process of being abated. The county has filed liens on five properties.

Longtime criminal defense attorney Omar Figueroa says civil code enforcers armed with satellite imagery have changed the decades-old game of cannabis farmer whack-a-mole. County officials spot tiny grow structures from space using satellite images, and then send abatement notices to any property without a cultivation license.

“It’s having a pretty strong deterrent effect because people don’t want to lose everything they’ve worked for—mainly their property,” Figueroa says. “Humboldt used to be a place you could hide under the trees, but with satellite mapping it’s much more challenging to have an unpermitted cannabis grow.”

#california #cannabis #california cannabis #cannabis farmer #cannabis growing #DrGanja #DrGanja News

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hemplife420 · 3 years

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Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter’s high-end cannabis brand, Monogram, launches its first products in California on This week with a four-strain line of craft, indoor-grown cannabis flower and joints. The company’s flagship product is the “OG Handroll,” a 1.5-gram joint rolled by “highly trained artisans,” the company says, that use a technique Monogram developed over a year. The joint is made with small-batch flower and is supposed to burn like a premium cigar. And it retails for nearly twice as much at $50. Monogram’s cannabis strains—named No. 88, No. 96, No. 70 and No. 01 and developed by veteran grower DeAndre “De” Watson —come in three strengths: “light,” “medium” and “heavy.” “Cannabis has been around for thousands of years, yet it is still an industry whose legacy of skilled craftmanship is often overlooked,” said Jay. “I created Monogram to give cannabis the respect it deserves by showcasing the tremendous hard work, time and care that go into crafting a superior smoke. . . . We’re just getting started.” #jayz #shawncarter #monogram #premiumcannabis #cannabisculture #cannabis #marijuana #cannabiscommunity #hemplife420magazine #thc #hemplife420 #hemplife420news #mmjlife #cannabisculture #medicalcannabis #marijuanamovement #cbd #legalcannabis #terps #legalizeit #marijuananews #medicalmarijuana #mmj #cannabiscures #hemplifeisthebestlife #weedstagram #cannabisgram #explorepage (at Los Angeles, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CIqXWHap4bD/?igshid=osd3q4ax5uw4

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shopwyllow · 3 years

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~ is it time for a new strain yet? ~ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ MIMOSA is a crisp, bubbly, citrus-tasting sativa dominant that is perfect for an uplifting active lifestyle. Delicately harvested from the Santa Cruz Mountains. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ MAC1 is a perfect blend of smooth and heavy, making it a true hybrid. This strain is excellent for pairing with something that fills your cup, basically an anytime high. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ AFGHAN WHITE GOLD is an herbal, peppery, indica dominant hybrid that is great for a day without a schedule. This particular strain is extremely special, cultivated by a legacy grower of California. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ GELATO (@stiiizy exclusive) is a creamy smooth hybrid that leaves you feeling relaxed and euphoric. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Our newest strain is launching this week. It's refreshing, zesty, and our highest THC content yet. We’re looking forward to the #WorldOfWYLLOW trying it out! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Photo: @voyagedistribution feat. Wedding Cake **CA Compliant & Legal License in Bio** ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ #inspo #shopwyllow #cannabisculture #losangeles #cannabiscommunity #cannabis #style #marijuana #thc #afghanwhitegold #california #hightimes #cannabissociety #indica #sativa #mimosa #fashion #highsociety #gelato #kush #life #entrepreneur #ouid #wellness #vibewithWYLLOW #femaleowned #green #grow #elevate (at Los Angeles, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CIMQscYhelp/?igshid=1d7icsfdd72yx

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cannabisbusinessexecutive · 2 years

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The casualties of California legalizing pot: Growers who went legal

A blue state’s taxes and regulation have boosted corporate producers, leading to the near-death of the small cannabis farmer PETROLIA, Calif. — The Wild Cat Road skips along a ridge line, a narrow half-paved, half washed-out track that once carried much of the world’s finest marijuana to market. Even in mists that obscured its treacherous course as it bows toward the Pacific, the road hummed in…

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#California #cannabis #Humboldt County #Legacy Growers #taxes

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steezyd324 · 6 years

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highstakesend

High Stakes, Joint Ventures

13 applicants want to be Davis’ next commercial cannabis retailer. Who will stake their claim?

Drew Jensen

Sitting cozy at a coffee shop, drinking their beer, someone ponders the possibility of smoking a joint the following year, instead of sipping the drink they currently hold in their hand. Marijuana is taking over both our train of thought in California, and soon our local shops. Research about quality control is being done on campuses throughout the state, and more people charged with DUIs are now serving sentences because of marijuana than liquor, with a stint in jail lasting between 4 and 180 days in California. On a positive note though, home growers and connoisseurs are now turning hobbies into businesses. In some cases, all of these aspects are working together to create something far more complex than the initial venture.

In the case of Delta of Venus, a café on B Street just a few blocks from campus, some of its previous employees have split off from their jobs to create an establishment in Davis and outward in Yolo County known as The People’s Kush. They are currently working on teaming up with their old employer, Delta of Venus, to use the back of its property as a tangible dispensary outlet. No longer will booze be sold at this spot. Instead, a space will be allotted for cannabis sales and consumption would be allowed on the patio of the café.

The People’s Kush has promoted through business cards and labeled lighters at Delta of Venus for some time, and this would be a big step forward in their plans for the future. They pride themselves in quality control, stating “we believe in clear, consistent labeling so that consumers can understand the anticipated strength and effects of a dosage.” Lori Ajax, the head of the state’s Cannabis Control Bureau, says “California’s 2018 testing requirements are some of the strictest in the U.S. At the minimum, marijuana businesses will have mandatory microbiological screenings, foreign matter inspections, residual solvent tests, and pesticide, chemical, and metal screenings.”

According to a resident, Conner Berken, who lives on B Street directly adjacent to Delta of Venus, cannabis is “easier [to buy since legalization] in the sense that I can now go whenever the store is open and am no longer reliant on someone’s else’s schedule to deliver it to me or when I can pick it up. It has got more expensive but also cheaper as well because there are more options [despite the] taxes.” In regards to the taxes, Berken relays his forgiving opinion that the “government needs a profit so taxes are okay. It’s a sin’ tax like cigarettes and gas.”

When asked about whether he would choose a store, such as the possibility of a dispensary next door at Delta of Venus, or a car delivery service, Berken states, “If I lived in a town where stores were an option I would choose a store because I can visually see and smell the product before I buy it where a delivery I’m limited to and relying on pictures and text descriptions.” The People’s Kush currently nets $20,000 in sales every month. Conner, however, does a light amount of growing on his own, as do many people in California. He explains, “I grow my own but am limited on the number of total plants as well as plants that are in flowering. [I prefer] clones sold in stores.”

As a viticulture major, he sees the potential for the two (wine and cannabis) to intersect, similarly to how Delta of Venus and The People’s Kush desire to open what is defined as a ‘mixed use’ store selling both coffee and cannabis, both stimulants and depressants, while still remaining a common ground for exhibiting art and nightly entertainment. Berken elaborates that, “Weed will now be competing agriculturally as far as land used with vineyards. But I think there are weird laws and regulations banning the two to be sold together? Or maybe,” Berken continues, “it’s just consumed together at the same event. Regardless once the laws relax a bit more I’d love to see weed food pairings with even normal wine as well. But infusing weed into wine is the dream and combining the right strain with variety and style of wine is crucial.”

When looking more into whether Delta of Venus plans to actually infuse weed into its coffee or food servings, they have not made a decision yet, but for now cannabis sales will replace alcohol sales at their store, in a restricted section in the back. And to answer Berken’s speculation that weed and wine laws must relax a bit, the wait is almost over.

According to Madison Margolin’s article Legal Weed Wine Is Finally Coming to California in 2018 in Vine Pair magazine, she discusses how people have started speculating about and looking deeper into the concept of weed wine, seeing that in places like Sonoma and the rest of the coastline and farmlands are home to much of wine country and cannabis farms people occupy. For example, Rebel Coast Winery has widened its outlook for 2018 and plans to release a weed-infused wine. Surprisingly though, so far it seems, that where this is one there is not the other, so the psychoactive THC component will be recognizable in their Sauvignon Blanc, but no alcohol will be present. Cross -fading, as some people say they’re doing when drinking kava or feeling multiple sensations at once, will not occur, yet.

The wine will be released not in vineyards but in cannabis dispensaries like the ones opening up in Davis. The wine Rebel Coast offers will feature 4 mgs of THC per glass, enough for a microdose and mild psychoactive effect. For those who are over 21, a bottle can be ordered online for $59.99 and delivered directly to you — one more way cannabis is now being shipped and delivered, in addition to the home locations and dispensaries.

Each of these dispensaries, including places like Rebel Coast, get their marijuana from cultivators who live on farms everywhere from California to Colorado. For example, as Washington Post pointed to in their article I Grow Pot in California for a living. I’m worried about legalization, many marijuana farmers with and without permits in California and elsewhere see the pros and cons of legalization in 2018. Of course, delivery — medical and recreational — has become automated and more seem less. But many sides to the story exists behind the farmers themselves, whether a person sits by themselves at home growing the legal ounce of weed permitted per person or whether a team of individuals collaborate together to run a farm.

According to Chiah Rodriguez, owner of a collective of small farms in Mendocino County called Mendocino Generations, he has upheld a legacy of marijuana cultivation, growing since 1976. Of course back then everything was sold via the black market. His relatives “learned never to speak of what [their] father did. We lived a simple life in times when only growing a few plants could sustain us”, said the daughter.

In the past, before legalization in January of 2018, oftentimes low flying helicopters searched for patches of marijuana fields, which led families of cannabis farmers to find solace in shade away from the eyes of drug prosecutors. The chance of going to jail from growing remained incredibly high, yet the reward and profit outweighed the risk for Rodriguez.

Rodriguez hid his crops around blackberry bushes and platforms within the trees. However, now he looks forward to hiding no longer in the shadows of California with the passing of the Adult Use of Marijuana Act on January 1st. In spite of this progress and optimism, he still holds back hope with fear big businesses seeking only to capitalize on the trade will “wipe out small farmers like me.”

Like the alcohol prohibition did not keep citizens from providing and drinking, neither did the era of marijuana prohibition stop people from growing and consuming cannabis. Only now, one needs a permit and the government taxes small farmers like Rodriguez more heavily. Although California will likely yield “$1 billion in tax revenue,” according to the Washington Post and tech billionaires who invest in the industry stands to profit highly, small farmers will lose some of their demand and importance. But as consumers, people should not overlook the legacy of those who paved the way before legalization and continued forward thinking protest against prohibition.

Before all of the venture capitalists and everyday growers of 2018, there were the freethinking baby boomer and ‘60s children who rebelled against control and invested in plots of land with which to grow the crop that will soon yield more cash than any other. Growers like Rodriguez are one of the many reasons we see cannabis in our dispensaries today, and the four dispensaries picked to open and be apart of Davis’ community will choose strains from different farms or their own farms with which to provide the plants that people will buy.

In addition to Delta of Venus Café, some of the other applicants for Davis’ prime spot in a college town include River City Phoenix, who plans to plant down on 1100 West Chile’s Road, which proposes to “service both walk-in customers and express order customers.” Timothy Schindler or Kind Farma put in an application for a spot in 1111 Richards Blvd, a convenient location next to Olive Dr. market, the gas station, RedRum Burger, Dutch Bros, Rocknasium, In n Out, as well as the I-80 freeway, but hopefully people will refrain from smoking outside the shop and getting behind the wheel.

Supposing the site is established, Richards Blvd might be a hub and microcosm of all the activity, restaurants, and ongoing of Davis, but for now remains just a pit stop for freeway travelers before venturing into Downtown Davis. The construction and installment of the necessary amenities, including installation of foolproof safes and glass displays, will not likely bother neighbors as fewer people live around Richards then Downtown.

Unlike some, Schindler is more in the business side of cannabis, as a business class member of the California Cannabis Industry Association (CCIA). Fluent in multiple languages, he can “communicate and develop relationships with the diverse community of Yolo County.” He also promises or at least will try to save 5% of Kind Farma’s “gross medical sales and donate it to the City of Davis,” not including the taxes already taken out.

Manna Roots’ Tracy Dewit applies as well for a mixed-use permit. Interestingly, Dewit states that, “the smell of cannabis may be in the air, but professional grade carbon filters, odor neutralizes, and air purifiers shall be used to neutralize that air.”

In an architectural drawing of Manna Roots, as proposed, the building looks like a humble house, suitable for the farmer Dewit who has been cultivating plants legal or otherwise for the past ten years with her high school sweetheart and has lived in Davis for upwards of 20 years. Another valuable asset of Manna Roots is that Dewit and her crew plan to mutually work on B2B (business to business) sales and development with other cannabis merchant partners.

In a note from her friend, Joe Krovoza praises her efforts and work and importantly noted she will be “open and receptive to local sensitivities that must be considered as cannabis moves from its medical status in California to recreational use,” and he writes that “Tracy’s work with the local community to secure acceptance of her proposed location on D-streets demonstrates her consideration of local concerns.”

As a mom of a child on her way to University of Colorado in Boulder, “a perfect fit for my daughter’s outdoor life style and business interest,” Dewitt is obviously worried about how the legalization of marijuana might effect her daughter, in ways such as the “unwanted high.” Instead of avoiding the issue, she has taken the approach of informing herself on the trade, cultivation, and consumption of marijuana and started a business platform of her own to safely distribute, but not necessarily promote marijuana for all.

Funny enough, the mom and mind behind Manna Roots was distinctly aware of being in a small town and raising two other little boys in middle school, in addition to her daughter. People talk, and she recognized other moms might “defriend” her or not allow their sons over because she’s a “drug dealer.” Dewit comically just smiles at these comments and has made the best of making friends and not enemies in a community pushing towards cannabis reform, progression, research, and acceptance. She even hinted at a heavy topic, “I have come full circle on this arc [that] cannabis is a fantastic alternative to some pharmaceuticals and may assist the U.S with recovering from the opioid epidemic that plagues so many, including a loved one of mine.” With regards to Lori Ajax, as before mentioned, Dewit replies, “I am very pleased with the job that [she] has done on MAURCS, but the hand of the written law can only reach far, [instead requiring] things to evolve around and involve social change.”

With Manna Roots, Dewit mainly wants to “bring cannabis use out of the dark and into the light as a safe and effective remedy for pain, as a social alternative to wine or beer, to be used responsibly and respectfully in moderation without fear of ridicule or stereotypes.” In the end we have to see that everyone in society, from growers and dispensers to consumers, all have their own individual stories which makes the town come together and profit indefinitely.

Nowadays stopping by one of these dispensaries will be just as simple as going to the pharmacy, a walk in, evaluation of product, and quick transaction and walk away. The decision however for many lies in whether to go to the pharmacy or dispensary. Everyone has a certain vice or remedy and must learn what works for them. As Anna Fells of the New York Times put in her article “Can Nicotine Be Good for You”, she talks of a doctor who sees a patient who refrains from any psychoactive drugs but chews 40 pieces of nicotine’s gum per day, excessive for some, but “although doctors are trained to focus on prescription medications, there are and have always been nonprescription ‘remedies’ for psychiatric conditions. And,” Fells continues, “people’s preference for one type of substance over another can give a glimpse into their systems and even their brain chemistry.”

For example, Fells states, “if a patient tells me he falls asleep on cocaine, I wonder if he might have attention deficit disorder. A patient who smokes marijuana to calm down before important business meetings leads me in the direction of social phobia or other anxiety disorders [and people who take the anesthetic ketamine] might be depressed [since it works as an antidepressant]” and the list of both medicating and self medicating goes back and forth.

As far as granting medical marijuana cards and prescribing pharmaceuticals in recent years goes, the abuse of the prescription pill portion has skyrocketed with approximately 443,900 people dying this past year because of overdose of simple anxiety medication and sleep aids. “275,000 were due to some error […] 130,000 were caused by unintentional misuse, such as taking the drug more frequently than prescribed. Nearly 40,000 deaths were attributed to an adverse reaction to a drug that was properly prescribed and taken,” according to Bryan Hubbard.

However, with legalization of marijuana and more research going into the subject across UC campuses and other universities, and news from Dr. Frank D’Ambrosia, a spokesman for cannabis policy reform, people have revealed positive evidence that smoking should not only be legalized, but promoted in order to stop the pharmaceutical abuse problem in America. According to said studies by D’Ambrosia, with a daily dose of a gram of marijuana, 73.7% of people reduce the intake of possibly lethal pharmaceuticals.

More research will look into all of these substances, especially aiming at the schedule I drug of cannabis in 2018. As addressed by Campus Counsel of UC Davis, “Prop 64 did not contain provisions allocating funding for research regarding [its] implantation and effects [as] most possession, distribution, and cultivation […still remains or is done] illegally under federal law.”

On the flip side, with a DEA Schedule I license and proper “packaging and disposal” as well, research at UC Davis can and will be conducted. Research on animal test cases can be conducted to, supposing the researcher contacts either the Institutional Review Board or Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. The research must then be submitted to and approved by the Research Advisory Panel of California. In spite of the roadblocks, research remains important and will lead to insightful discoveries. Some research that can more easily be done, says Campus Counsel, are “human observational studies in which the research subjects use marijuana, but the researchers do not procure the marijuana,” as well “environmental impact studies, policy or legal studies looking at economic, social, political or other issues, and research involving parts of the plant excluded from the definition of marijuana by the CSA.”

However, this incoming and pending research begets another piece of inquiry. While pieces on how cannabis leads people away from abusing opioids informs some, it misleads others, as research tends to do. Some people are inclined towards prescription pills in such a way that a daily micro-dose of marijuana, and the right strain for them, might lead them away from the pills they exploited to self-medicate for entirely different problems, including cancer, depression, anxiety, and the sort. All of these, a pill cannot help in the long run, but instead the pill itself acts as a gateway to escape the present moment. In much the same way, a fallacy presents itself when your Uber driver turns to you in the car and says, “Oh, you have bipolar disorder. You should smoke some weed. It always helps me.”

Part of the brain wants to agree with this statement, based off of D’Ambrosia’s evidence of this curing so much else, or at least preventing people from escaping life’s pain with dangerous pills instead. But, for individuals with certain inclinations, this is the case of knowing the lesser of two evils. For people with bipolar disorder I (a diagnosis of bipolar disorder I requires a previous bout of psychosis), taking prescription pills often alleviates mood instability and irrational thought patterns, or what others term psychotic thinking leading to a break of psychosis. And while prescriptions alleviate pain in their case, they are also more susceptible to forego their prescriptions in order to ‘mentally’ disconnect in other ways, some of the ways including smoking tobacco and the more psychoactive cannabis. In this case, marijuana actually acts in much the same way overdosing on pharmaceutical pills do for ordinary people, a drug that can exacerbate effects and lead to dangerous driving, risk taking behavior, and the full spectrum of euphoria to dysphoria and suicide.

The following is a collective cautionary story to depict the dangers of both benzodiazepines (more particularly Xanax) and psychoactive drugs (in this instance, cannabis). For some people, who neither mix pills with alcohol or who have brain chemistry which reacts well to marijuana, read no further. But some are better off with exercise and good nutrition, avoiding both all together unless they desire to go down a rabbit hole.

For Trevor Gerard, the journey through the tragic, often little discussed side of Xanax and marijuana all started in sophomore year at Davis High School, when he was diagnosed with severe participation and social anxiety, and prescribed Xanax in a minute dosage. All addictions start small, the first little hit, bump, pop. At this time, the rapper Lil Xan did not exist, social media did not promote ‘benzos’ as popular. But soon, like cigarettes in the 1960s, people would send out videos of themselves taking bars of Xanax as routinely as a hobbie on Instagram with a simple click and record.

Gerard became absorbed in the culture before it surfaced major news coverage when influential rapper Lil Peep died of overdose (with traces of fentanyl) in late 2017. In junior year, he played up his anxiety and increased his dosage, showing up to class one day on “6 mg of Xanax and I was all messed up. But I faked being sick at the nurses office to go home.” When Gerard returned home, he “took more xanax, drank,” and continued in a form of perpetual self medication and self destruction. He took 2 mg more, which accumulated 10 mg in his system. His “tolerance had been high” and he had yet to black out from all of it, but in a short time he made a decision, like so many other teens coping with substances across the world, which would delete all modes of rational thought and send him over the edge.

He drank “three shots of Jamison whiskey which is what messed it all up for me. Next thing I know I had not even stepped out on the street in front of my house, when the police arrested me.” From feint memory, it turns out he jumped into his neighbor’s yard before going out on the street and attempted to “break into his house, either due to paranoia of being at home or to rob something.” The neighbor had pulled a gun on him and called the cops, who proceeded to throw him most literally and forcefully into the cop car, lights fading and blurring as the car crept to the station, two strangers in the front. In what seemed like a moment’s time, he found himself in a detox cell “and I fell into a Xanax coma type thing.”

Waking up the next day in the cell, Gerard “was convinced I was in jail for just a few hours.” But a few hours for him was one of the biggest scares for his friends and family, as “everybody told me I was in detox for a whole day and never moved. I didn’t believe them till they served us breakfast in jail, then I realized I’ve been in jail for a day and nobody knew where I was.” Sadly, for many who black out only to find themselves in a jail cell or 51/50 hold at a mental hospital, the police department and faculty have trouble reaching immediate family for some time.

Gerard “was finally able to call my mom and get a lawyer on the second day of being locked up.” But his stay in the uncomfortable, jarring darkness of mere toilet and bed without any sheets to keep him warm had just begun, lasting another 3 days and nights. Although this might be a captivating story to tell close friends around a campfire and was able to get his “charges dropped from burglary to criminal trespassing and criminal mischief”, he warns others not to allow Xanax to “mess you over hard.”

Later that year, Gerard visited both his psychiatrist and went in for therapy, something he hesitantly agreed to on the recommendation of family members. After disclosing his entire story, the therapist and psychiatrist both agreed Xanax would obviously not be the best road to go down in the future.

With research coming from the Minnesota Department of Health and other sources about how marijuana intake can decrease people’s addictive tendencies to lean on and abuse opioids, the psychiatrist prescribed Gerard CBD oil, which he drank in tea. It soothed his nerves and helped with his depression. He began regarding marijuana as a cure all and stopped taking Xanax altogether. He smoked with his friends on the weekends and by himself in his room on weekdays, steadily increasing the amount.

Gerard and his girlfriend at the time were now eighteen and hanging out together at her place in Woodland. He smoked cigarettes with her mostly, but today she decided to purchase a new pipe from the local smoke shop for him.

They met up in the park nearby and smoked some marijuana his friend had given him, not knowing the vendor. In fact, his friend had picked it up off the street and the marijuana was most likely not completely pure, containing traces of anything as lethal as PCP in small amounts. Gerard and his girlfriend sat in his car when, before smoking, she said, “I met someone while you were away on your trip with your family. I’m breaking up with you, I’m sorry.” A silence followed when she said, “You should smoke, it will help you.”

They smoked and soon he opened up to her about how hard the last few years have been with his parents splitting up, his time in jail from the Xanax incident and coma, and about all the memories he had of her. Gerard, driving her back home, despite the fact that marijuana was currently illegal and proposition 64 has not yet been passed, dropped her off at her place and arrived safely back home, “driving better than I do when I’m sober.” Instead of absorbing the information about the break up, he ignored the negative feelings and emotions and smoked 2 bottles, or approximately 12 g of marijuana all in the night.

Having previously been diagnosed with rapid cycling bipolar disorder in addition to anxiety, he often used marijuana to cope with the effects of the medication he took for it, which included a mood stabilizer lithium and antipsychotic risperidol which he hasn’t been taking. Every time he smoked before all it would do is further stabilize his mood. This time however, whether due to the cannabis coming from a source that could not promise quality control or something else, he began having slight schizophrenic thoughts and both auditory and visual hallucinations.

Locked in his room, subconsciously sulking over the break up, he idly pulled up YouTube and distracted himself with cat videos, Planet Earth clips, music videos, and the sort. Nothing particularly unusual to note, until he pulled up another music video, with lyrics. “Subliminal messages seemed to override my mind, saying I was the devil, and then I pulled up other music videos I had watched before, where images showed up which had not been there before.”

For example, “I thought in a blink 182 music video, I was being subliminally proposed to and marrying the love of my life,” Gerard explained. He spent the entire night listening to music his ex-girlfriend and him used to listen to, and was fully enraptured by everything in his little room. Gerard woke up in a sort of half sleep trance in the morning, not feeling like he fully went to sleep at all.

He planned to go over to Kira’s house and explain to her that they should stay together, but instead ended up “waking up” mid-drive from his “trancelike, half psychotic, cannabis and stress-induced” state to find himself driving his car. Terrified, irritable, and paranoid of all the drivers around him, he veered over to the right, presses hard on the gas pedal, and totaled his car at a road block. “Something switched,” he described “in his brain and I went into an overwhelming sober yet psychotic state and jumped into the back of my car.”

The police were on their way and soon he was handcuffed and place in a holding cell before being shuffled into jail for four days, for the second time. Yelling the whole time he was in there, not eating, and barely sleeping, he was offered medication and a phone call, but refused both incoherently. Declared innocent with a plead of insanity, the judge and his parents were finally able to locate and put him in a mental hospital, where he remained for thirty days.

The cannabis cleared from his system and medication for Bipolar I brought him back to stability and he was released, having gained forty pounds in the mental hospital and a new perspective on drugs in general, both recreational and pharmaceutical.

Gerard was able to finish out high school and now goes to college at UC Davis in his freshman year. He stays away from most vices now besides the occasional cigarette, as even alcohol reminds him of the time he mixed it with Xanax and it sent him into a coma. In the end, he realized that a person must be careful when mixing two dangerous substances, and that any substance for a given person can be dangerous in time.

The price some can pay for marijuana is incredible, and not the 50% taxes, in this case. According to a study by Julio Arboleda-Florez, “29% [of criminals and mental patients] had a diagnosis of ‘psychosis’ and 35% had a diagnosis of substance abuse [of which includes cannabis].” In summation, people are more likely to go to a prison and/or a mental hospital under psychosis. And of these people, 27% smoke marijuana, according to a report on cannabis-induced psychosis gathered by MDs Ruby S. Grewal and Tony P. George. In 2017 alone, upwards of 455,000 emergency room visits involved marijuana related incidents. Whether or not a person remains mentally susceptible to this tendency towards psychosis from smoking depends on their genetic make-up.

Like anything else in the market, it comes down to the individual, what works for every person’s specific brain. Everyone these days has a cocktail of drugs and it depends on their internal chemistry, not whichever chemical is currently being promoted. Also, the legalization of marijuana might eventually actually keep people out of jail and mental hospitals because of stricter enforcement of quality control. On the streets, an estimated 24% of marijuana samples contained PCP, according to Melanie Barker, a licensed clinical social worker with a Master’s in Public Health. Referred to as angel dust, PCP is responsible for producing an extra hallucinogenic kick in an already psychoactive drug, cannabis, that drives some into behavior which would otherwise be classified as rapid cycling bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. Dealers lace cannabis with PCP to unsuspecting clientele, which usually leads to a euphoric experience and heightened perception. The crash, however, oftentimes leads to drastic psychotic events.

The crash sometimes can be literal. As Mike Spies of Newsweek comments, some people have cases of such severe anxiety and paranoia after smoking particularly potent cannabis that they experience everything from as minor as fearing driving alone to delusionally thinking “colleagues are cannibals who plan” to eat them, in certain cases. Whether the original paranoia stems from past post traumatic stress or elsewhere remains to be seen, but for each individual who experiences the disphoric side to marijuana, they might eventually be scared off from the drug for good. No matter how many people it has and will help, certain individuals do not have the chemistry suited to, or are not inclined towards, this particular strain of drug.

After all, marijuana, with all of its pain numbing and psychoactive remedies, also remains a depressant. For those who are clinically depressed, their parents might steer their children away from marijuana, as Mike Spies alludes to in his article Inside the Tortured Mind of Eddie Ray Routh, that Routh’s Parent’s already feared “he was going to kill him. Because that’s what he wanted.” In the war, he attested to being in charge of clearing “the land of corpses,” a horrifying and trauma inducing task. Marijuana can sometimes swing life upwards, but can also increase feelings of isolation, which further attributes to delusion, paranoia, and depression. Not all cases turn out as badly as the American Sniper Routh’s, but marijuana — while recreational and fun for most — is a schedule I drug for, in the cases of the few, good reason, according to Davis police as set by the Drug Enforcement Administration.

As it turns out, Routh had suffered from “a series of psychotic breaks” two years before he committed a crime, but was misdiagnosed. With better psychiatrists, therapists, and self awareness, people will further understand if this particular weed sits well with us and prevent devastating outcomes.

Ideas/Introduction Questions:

-people who are opposed and for medical marijuana

-difference in quality control vs recreational and medical city officials

-how often you have to renew license is it same as alcohol

-is there going to be a limit to how many in Davis, if so how many and based on what criteria out of the 13 applicants

-medical ($100 per card) vs recreational (heavily taxed)

-micro-dosing

-weed maps

-how much will these shops be selling it for

-People’s Kush

-Anxiety and depression worse, counter effect of anti-depressant

-What is cup

oConditional Use Permit

-Applicants and how they intend to use it/how many allowed in Davis

o5 Point Management

oDelta of Venus Dispensary

Collaboration with People’s Kush

“We will be using the granny flat at 120 B St., as a dispensary showroom floor, delivery, dispatch, and administrative office. To facilitate this, we propose constructing a fence, gate, repaving portions of the parking lot adding two additional spaces, restoring the rear unit, installing security systems. We are applying for a license to sell Recreational and medical cannabis at a storefront, and to use the property to facilitate the delivery of medical cananbis.”

Over half of current People's Kush employees which are currently or were formerly employed at Delta of Venus and are thus already cafe-cross-trained..

Will smoking on the patio be permitted?

People’s Kush number (530) 302-5661

•The People’s Kush delivers medical cannabis to authorized patients in Davis and Yolo County.

•A collective non-profit organization run by and for the benefit of workers and patients; believe that marijuana, as a psychoactive substance, is sensitive to things like the love given to the soil it grows in; “call us superstitious, but we also think that when happy hands touch to grow it, trim it, and deliver it, it somehow makes our weed danker. That’s why we focus not just on a great delivery, but also making sure every stage of production – from soil to smoke – is done with ‘happy hands’ that is ethically, for the benefit of all involved, and with respect to the environment.”

•Interested in setting an example for the broader cannabis service industry, both as a business and as long-time residents of Davis; want a $22 an hour living wage for every cannabis worker in our County, because nobody should have to work and live in poverty

•Believe in regulations that require lab testing, so that potency and properties are known.

•“We believe in clear, consistent labeling so that consumers can understand the anticipated strength and effects of a dosage.”

oQuality control

•Think that the time of marijuana as a grey industry has passed. For the sake of the workers whose employers do not feel compelled to follow state labor or safety laws, for the sake of the environment under such stewardship, for the sake of the powerless among us upon whom the weight of our laws unevenly and harshly falls, and, for the sake of patients who deserve consistent access to medicine without fear or stigma: it’s time to embrace in the open what has always been a part of our community.

•“We, the workers who have provided you with dank bud and excellent service in this industry for many decades are ready to step forward into the light and share our craft… Welcome, friends, to our new project, The People’s Kush.”

oQuestions?

I heard about you through seeing some of your labeled lighters and business cards at Delta of Venus, and am excited to hear about your possible collaboration with Delta of Venus, pending application approval

How will this joint venture improve sales and business long term

Where does People’s Kush (and all dispensaries) get weed from (homegrown or bought), is it grown locally by the company? If so, how many different strains do you grow and how much can you grow? How difficult was it to get it off the ground running?

Do you deliver by car and will this be your first tangible dispensary (the collaboration with Delta of Venus) where a person can see what they are buying first hand?

I understand each strain of weed had drastically different potency levels. Also, even within the same batch of edibles, gummies, etc. each one has varying strength. How do you all at People’s Kush manage this and make sure each one is quality controlled/regulated. Does it have to be approved by some outlet, similar to how food retailers have to be approved by the FDA.

Thank you for answering my questions, I look forward to all the future has in store for your company, and let me know if there are any other people I can contact about cannabis research and cultivation in Davis and Yolo County.

oAll Good Wellness, Benefit Corporation

oCalifornia Grown, Inc.

oDavis Cannabis Company

oDavis Cannabis Collective

oF Street Dispensary

oThe Good People Farms, B Street and 3rd Street

oGreenbar

oKind Farma

oRiver City Phoenix

oManna Roots

Negatives of Marijuana

Marijuana laced with PCP is making a dangerous comeback in the US and the psychosis it generates in users is causing an increase in admissions to emergency rooms and psychiatric facilities.

PCP (Phencyclidine) was developed in the 1950’s as a surgical anesthetic. Its official use in humans was discontinued in 1965 as patients frequently became agitated, delusional and irrational following its use as an anesthetic. Known as angel dust, KJ (Kristal Joint), illy, wet and many other slang drug terms, it became a recreational drug with a bad reputation.

Because regular unlaced marijuana has been actively cultivated over the years to contain more and more of its active ingredient, THC, today’s weed is much more potent than the varieties available in the 1960s.

The result is a sharp rise in the number of teenagers and preteens being treated at emergency rooms or entering drug treatment as a result of using a highly potent type of marijuana. In 2009 it was 376,467 emergency room visits due to marijuana and in 2011 it was 455,668.

“The stereotypes of marijuana smoking are way out of date,” said Michael Dennis, a research psychologist in Bloomington, Ill. “The kids we see are not only smoking stronger stuff at a younger age but their pattern of use might be three to six blunts — the equivalent of three or four joints each — just for themselves, in a day. That’s got nothing to do with what Mom or Dad did in high school. It might as well be a different drug.”

Add PCP to this stronger marijuana and it truly creates psychosis in smokers and they frequently end up in a psychiatric facility – especially in a state like Florida where the Baker Act demands that people who are mentally out of control be confined.

What are the effects of smoking “wet weed”?

PCP laced marijuana can create combinations of these destructive conditions:

• severe hallucinations

• impaired motor coordination

• extreme anxiety

• depression

• disorientation

• paranoia

• aggressive behavior and violence

• seizures

• memory loss

• respiratory arrest

• comas and/or death

Not exactly what the user was expecting from a “recreational drug.”

In 2003 the story of a young man was reported who committed murder after smoking wet marijuana and was unable to recall the events of that night. He experienced drug induced amnesia – one of the factors that caused medical use of PCP as an anesthetic to be banned.

He received 25 years in prison for something he could not recall doing. He didn’t know that the joint he was smoking was “wet” and capable of creating auditory hallucinations demanding that he do an act he would never consider when not influenced by the drug.

In another tale of smoking laced marijuana the result was a severe panic attack This person could not feel any part of his body, he had auditory and visual hallucinations, he felt he could not breathe and he had a powerful sense of overwhelming doom and death. He still had negative effects months after the incident.

What do psychiatric receiving units do with people who come in out of control on marijuana?

UF Health Shands Psychiatric Hospital (Formerly known as Shands Vista ) is a Baker Act receiving facility in Gainesville, FL. Their website states that side effects of regular, unlaced marijuana include panic, paranoia or acute psychosis. They go on to state that marijuana is often cut with hallucinogens and smoking this type can lead to extreme hyperactivity, physical violence, heart attack, seizures, stroke or cardiac arrest.

Their treatment includes giving the patient benzodiazepines, psychoactive drugs like Xanax, Valium, and Ativan, which themselves can cause brain damage.

Since no psychiatric drug as been shown to be effective with marijuana addiction or laced marijuana , doctors in psychiatric facilities more or less experiment with various sedatives, antidepressants and prescription drugs in trying to calm down a violent patient who is high on PCP.

Jeff Deeney, a social worker and freelance writer from Philadelphia, wrote about the rising use of PCP wet weed in his city in 2011.

He described dealers on the street calling out “wet, wet, wet” looking for customers who wanted a high that included hallucinations and who, not infrequently, got a psychotic episode as well.

Deeney wrote, “By morning light, some of them will be strapped to gurneys in inpatient psych units, wards of the city’s Crisis Response Centers—psychiatric emergency rooms acting as triage units for the homicidal and suicidal.”

Users are mostly in their teens and twenties. One named Nelly said “I got tired of weed and for a minute wet was cool, it was something new, it was a good way to escape.”

He wasn’t counting on the dissociative effects of wet weed which far exceeded those of high-grade designer marijuana. He’d have long conversations with inanimate objects that had come to life. Even when not high on the drug he’d have hallucinations with voices talking to him. “I heard voices, they would tell me to do things I didn’t want to do, commit crimes, hurt people, stuff like that.”

According to wet users an overdose makes body temperature go very high with a sensation of burning up. Many strip off clothing. The stories of naked PCP fueled users fighting off the police with the strength of 10 men are not overly exaggerated. A Philly policeman said “That stuff about Superman strength is for real, believe me,” he says. “I’ve seen people jump out of two story windows…people really do crazy stuff on PCP when we encounter them.”

Dr. John McCafferty was the Inpatient Director at Einstein Hospital’s psychiatric unit that serves the neighborhoods in Philadelphia where wet use is soaring. He got an involuntary commitment, at least once a week.

He said other types of addicts get stabilized quickly but wet users can be catatonic for days.

“PCP users can be so psychotic when they’re brought in that they can’t provide any history. . . Some PCP users are transferred to the psych unit from the trauma unit, where they had pins put in their legs because they jumped out a window. Some complain of chest pains days after arriving, and when we do an X-ray we find broken ribs. PCP is also an anesthetic, so other injuries often aren’t discovered until after it wears off.”

Nelly eventually stopped using wet weed. But then, instead of smoking marijuana with PCP, he took psychiatric medication “in order to stabilize his mood.” He may be quieter but he’s still taking dangerous drugs – probably for the rest of his life unless he encounters a real drug rehab program to help him quit his medications.

Having to choose between addiction to PCP marijuana or addiction to psychiatric drugs is a choice young people should not have to make.

http://voices.yahoo.com/wet-weed-dangers-marijuana-laced-pcp-338844.html

http://www.drugs-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=139184

http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/drug-related-hospital-emergency-room-visits

http://www.samhsa.gov/data/2k13/DAWN127/sr127-DAWN-highlights.htm

http://www.drugfree.org/join-together/addiction/report-high-potency-marijuana

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21524266 2011

https://ufhealth.org/marijuana-intoxication

http://www.medicinenet.com/marijuana/page6.htm#what_are_the_treatments_for_marijuana_abuse_and_addiction

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/04/22/pcp-the-new-rise-of-a-drug-that-turns-teens-crazy.html

Cannabis: scientists call for action amid mental health concerns

Warning reflects growing consensus that frequent use of the drug raises the risk of psychotic disorders in vulnerable people

Ian Sample Science editor

@iansample

Fri 15 Apr 2016 09.35 EDT

Last modified on Tue 28 Nov 2017 18.05 EST

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A woman blows rings with marijuana smoke during an event in in Denver, Colorado. Photograph: Mark Leffingwell/Reuters

The risks of heavy cannabis for mental health are serious enough to warrant global public health campaigns, according to international drugs experts who said young people were particularly vulnerable.

What are the true risks of taking cannabis?

The warning from scientists in the UK, US, Europe and Australia reflects a growing consensus that frequent use of the drug can increase the risk of psychosis in vulnerable people, and comes as the UN prepares to convene a special session on the global drugs problem for the first time since 1998. The meeting in New York next week aims to unify countries in their efforts to tackle issues around illicit drug use.

How harmful is cannabis? – podcast

While the vast majority of people who smoke cannabis will not develop psychotic disorders, those who do can have their lives ruined. Psychosis is defined by hallucinations, delusions and irrational behaviour, and while most patients recover from the episodes, some go on to develop schizophrenia. The risk is higher among patients who continue with heavy cannabis use.

Public health warnings over cannabis have been extremely limited because the drug is illegal in most countries, and there are uncertainties over whether it really contributes to mental illness. But many researchers now believe the evidence for harm is strong enough to issue clear warnings.

“It’s not sensible to wait for absolute proof that cannabis is a component cause of psychosis,” said Sir Robin Murray, professor of psychiatric research at King’s College London. “There’s already ample evidence to warrant public education around the risks of heavy use of cannabis, particularly the high-potency varieties. For many reasons, we should have public warnings.”

More young people are in treatment for cannabis use than any other drug

Primary drug of use, thousands, 2014-15

Cannabis

Alcohol

Amphetamines

Cocaine

Ecstasy

NPS

Solvents

Heroin

Crack

Other opiates

Methadone

Other

Guardian graphic | Source: Public Health England. Young people: aged 9-17. NPS: New psychoactive substances

The researchers are keen not to exaggerate the risks. In the language of the business, cannabis alone is neither necessary nor sufficient to cause psychosis. But the drug inflicts a clear burden on the vulnerable. Estimates suggest that deterring heavy use of cannabis could prevent 8-24% of psychosis cases handled by treatment centres, depending on the area. In London alone, where the most common form of cannabis is high-potency skunk, avoiding heavy use could avert many hundreds of cases of psychosis every year.

What are the true risks of taking cannabis?

In the US, cannabis is becoming stronger and more popular. Over the past 20 years, the strength of cannabis seized by the Drug Enforcement Administration has increased from 4%-12% THC. Meanwhile, the number of users rose from 14.5 million to 22.2 million in the seven years to 2014.

Coinciding with the upwards trend, young people’s perceptions of the risks of cannabis have fallen, a consequence perhaps of the public discussion over legalisation and fewer restrictions for medicinal uses, according to the US government’s National Institute on Drug Abuse (Nida).

“It is important to educate the public about this now,” said Nora Volkow, director of Nida. “Kids who start using drugs in their teen years may never know their full potential. This is also true in relation to the risk for psychosis. The risk is significantly higher for people who begin using marijuana during adolescence. And unfortunately at this point, most people don’t know their genetic risk for psychosis or addiction.”

Rise in Skunk among cannabis seizures

Skunk as a percentage of cannabis seizures

Year

1999/00

2004/05

2007/08

020

Guardian graphic | Source: Public Health England. Home Office stopped collecting data after 2008

In the UK, cannabis is the most popular illegal drug, and according to Public Health England data, more young people enter treatment centres for help with cannabis than any other drug, alcohol included. The number of under-18s in treatment for cannabis rose from 9,000 in 2006 to 13,400 in 2015. The drug now accounts for three-quarters of young people receiving help in specialist drugs centres. The most common age group is 15- to 16-year-olds.

The Guardian view on UK drug laws: high time to challenge a failing prohibition

The reasons for the upward trend are unclear. As hard drugs fall in popularity, clinical services may simply pull in more cannabis users. But the rise in young people in treatment may be linked to skunk, a potent form of cannabis that has taken over the market and edged out the traditional, weaker resins.

Skunk and other strong forms of cannabis now dominate the illicit drugs markets in many countries. From 1999-2008, the cannabis market in England transformed from 15%-81% skunk. In 2008, skunk confiscated from the street contained on average 15% of the high-inducing substance THC (delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol), three times the level found in resin seized that year. The Home Office has not recorded cannabis potency since.

“There is no doubt that high-potency cannabis, such as skunk, causes more problems than traditional cannabis, or hash,” Murray told the Guardian. “This is the case for dependence, but especially for psychosis.”

Ian Hamilton, a mental health lecturer at the University of York, said more detailed monitoring of cannabis use is crucial to ensure that information given out is credible and useful. Most research on cannabis, particularly the major studies that have informed policy, are based on older low-potency cannabis resin, he points out. “In effect, we have a mass population experiment going on where people are exposed to higher potency forms of cannabis, but we don’t fully understand what the short- or long-term risks are,” he said.

Young people seeking treatment for cannabis use peaks at age 15 to 16

Thousands, 2014-15

Under 13

13 to 14

14 to 15

15 to 16

16 to 17

17 to 18

Guardian graphic | Source: Public Health England. Young people: aged 9-17

In Australia, a 2013 study found nearly half of the cannabis confiscated on the streets contained more than 15% THC. Prof Wayne Hall, director of the Centre for Youth Substance Abuse Research at the University of Queensland, said that while most people can use cannabis without putting themselves at risk of psychosis, there is still a need for public education.

LEARN MORE

“We want public health messages because, for those who develop the illness, it can be devastating. It can transform people’s lives for the worse,” he said. “People are not going to develop psychosis from having a couple of joints at a party. It’s getting involved in daily use that seems to be the riskiest pattern of behaviour: we’re talking about people who smoke every day and throughout the day.”

The evidence that cannabis can cause psychosis is not 100% conclusive. It is still possible that people who are prone to psychosis are simply more likely to use the drug. The catch is that absolute proof of causality cannot be obtained. The harm caused by cigarettes was easy to confirm: paint tobacco tar on mice and watch the tumours form. You can give cannabis to animals and watch what happens, but you cannot recognise a psychotic mouse. Nor can scientists order thousands of teenagers to smoke pot every day and compare them to a control group that abstained 10 years later.

“When you’re faced with a situation where you cannot determine causality, my personal opinion is why not take the safer route rather than the riskier one, and then figure out ways to minimise harm?” said Amir Englund, a cannabis researcher at King’s College London.

4,000 more young people are seeking treatment for cannabis use than in 2005

Thousands

2005/06

2006/07

2007/08

2008/09

2009/10

2010/11

2011/12

2012/13

2013/14

2014/15

Guardian graphic | Source: Public Health England. Young people: aged 9-17

In the 1960s, cannabis in the Netherlands had less than 3% THC, but today high potency strains average 20%. Jim van Os, professor of psychiatry at Maastricht University medical centre, said public health messages are now justified. He believes people should be deterred from using cannabis before the age of 18, warned off the stronger forms, and urged not to use cannabis alone or to cope with life’s problems.

Public health campaigns can easily fail though. To prevent a single case of schizophrenia, several thousand heavy cannabis smokers would probably have to quit. That could change with better understanding of who is most at risk. “Once we really understand what it is about cannabis that increases some people’s risk, and in what context, we can maybe start to identify people more highly at risk, and targeted campaigns are likely to be much more effective,” said Suzi Gage, senior research associate at Bristol University.

As with any campaign, credibility is everything. “There is an issue of getting a message through to those who are vulnerable without causing alarm, being overly sensationalist and thus being ignored,” said Dr Wendy Swift, of the National Drug and Alcohol Research Center at the University of New South Wales. “There is good evidence that cannabis use, particularly early onset and frequent use when young, can cause problems on a number of fronts into young adulthood. This to me is the group we need to get our messages through to the most, along with those who have a family history of mental illness or have mental health problems themselves.”

A government spokesperson said its position on cannabis was clear. “We must prevent drug use in our communities and help people who are dependent to recover, while ensuring our drugs laws are enforced. There is clear scientific and medical evidence that cannabis is a harmful drug which can damage people’s mental and physical health, and harms communities.”

Since you’re here …

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I appreciate there not being a paywall: it is more democratic for the media to be available for all and not a commodity to be purchased by a few. I’m happy to make a contribution so others with less means still have access to information.

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If everyone who reads our reporting, who likes it, helps fund it, our future would be much more secure. For as little as $1, you can support the Guardian – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.

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savvyherb · 5 years

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How Reliable Are Cannabis Strain Names?

Finding consistent, repeatable experiences with cannabis is a challenge that every consumer faces. Even the most experienced cannabis connoisseurs can struggle to find the right dose of the right strain with the right chemical composition.

Once you’ve found a strain you enjoy, the challenge continues when you return to the dispensary looking to recapture that experience. Two strains bearing the same name can vary from grower to grower, and any difference in the chemical makeup can sway the experience in any number of directions.

Which is why finding reliable strains that are accurately labeled is paramount to replicating the enjoyment and benefits cannabis provides. When shopping for a specific strain, the strain name is one of the few pieces of information that consumers have to depend on.

What’s in a Strain Name? A Lot, Actually—but Only If It’s Accurate

But exactly how reliable are strain names? If you pick up two distinct products that share the same strain name, how similar will they be? Let’s find out.

What Does ‘Reliability’ Mean in a Cannabis Strain Name?

Strain name reliability—that is, confidence that a specific strain name leads to predictable effects—comes down to the level of consistency in chemical expression (i.e., cannabinoid and terpene levels).

A reliable strain name is going to be consistent from grower to grower and batch to batch, expressing a similar chemical profile. Unreliable strain names will show a wider spectrum of variety in the expression of their chemical profile—that means your experience may differ from product to product, even if each of those products carries the same strain name.

Strain names can be unreliable for a number of reasons. The practice of counterfeiting or renaming a strain for marketing purposes can complicate things by presenting different chemical profiles under the same strain name.

Unstable genetics are another culprit of unreliability. When growers work with strains that have not been carefully bred to produce consistent characteristics, phenotypic differences—the disparate characteristics between sibling plants with the same genetic lineage—can also lead to more variability in the chemical expression of strains with the same name.

Cannabis Genotypes and Phenotypes: What Makes a Strain Unique?

Determining Reliability

The chart below helps illustrate the reliability of strain names by comparing samples of well-known strains using data from Leafly’s lab partners.

Each bar represents the average reliability of several popular strain names. Each bar represents data from many growers across the US and Canada.

The top of the graph represents a “perfect” strain. If every grower producing Blue Dream made flower with identical chemical profiles, then the bar would go all the way to the top. That would mean that every cannabinoid and terpene is present in precisely the same ratio across all products with a shared strain name. This is obviously not possible and represents an ideal state of perfect consistency.

Strain names above the dashed line are associated with fairly consistent chemical profiles across growers. Strain names far above the line, such as White Tahoe Cookies and Purple Punch, are quite consistent and reliable in their chemical profiles.

The more reliable strain names you see on the left show a relatively consistent pattern in their chemical makeup. That means if you’re smoking a flower labeled “Blue Dream,” there’s a higher likelihood that you are enjoying the same thing you did last time—the experience, as a result of its chemical profile, will be more repeatable.

What Is THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol)?

The less reliable strain names, like Durban Poison and Pineapple Express on the right, show greater variability in lab analyses of their chemical makeup, and will therefore be less reliable in producing consistent effects if the strain name is all you have to go on.

The dashed line represents how similar two flower products with the same strain name would be to each other if strain names were randomly assigned. Leafly’s data team can model this scenario by measuring the level of consistency between samples sharing the same strain name after randomly shuffling the names attached to each data sample. This tells us what things would be like if growers were randomly picking strain names.

Strain names like Blueberry, which are closer to the dashed line but still above it, are still more consistent across growers and products than if strain names were randomly chosen, but somewhat less consistent than strains like Blue Dream, White Tahoe Cookies, and Purple Punch.

CBD vs. THC: What’s the Difference?

Strain names below the line can be thought of as “consistently inconsistent.” Flower products with these strain names will commonly have more than one very distinct terpene profile. Durban Poison, for example, has returned lab results from multiple growers that test all over the place with various different terpene profiles present.

Which Strain Names Are the Most Reliable?

Given that there are no enforced rules ensuring that growers accurately choose the correct strain name, it’s remarkable that many strain names are actually fairly consistent. Let’s look at an example of one of the most popular and reliable strains according to Leafly data to learn more about why reliable strain names provide a more consistent experience.

Blue Dream is a longstanding fan favorite on Leafly. There are a number of factors we can attribute to Blue Dream’s popularity, but one of the most apparent is its consistency from grower to grower.

(Leafly)

Looking at the lab data for this strain, we see a clear pattern with its terpene profile. This classic hybrid most commonly expresses a myrcene-rich profile supported by pinene and caryophyllene. Terpene profiles differ somewhat grower to grower, but most samples share the same basic profile. In fact, about 80% of Blue Dream flower products express this general terpene profile. This level of consistency is what we see from lab data coming from several hundred growers across multiple geographic regions.

Blue Dream proliferated in the early-2000s, an era that saw a lot of growth and promise for medical cannabis in California and beyond. During this time, genetics were widely shared within the medical cannabis community, and many dispensaries made clones available for patients. Blue Dream was widely available, and the fact that it was mostly available by clone helped ensure that its genetic blueprint was maintained no matter who was growing it.

Opinion: It’s OK That Blue Dream Is Your Favorite Cannabis Strain

Blue Dream also features one of the most common terpene profiles across all varieties of cannabis. Myrcene is the most abundant single terpene in commercial cannabis today, and around 40% of legal flower products today are myrcene-dominant strains.

According to lab data, Blue Dream’s myrcene-dominant terpene profile is found in 54% of growers’ gardens, but 24% of growers have a pinene-dominant version supported by myrcene as the secondary terpene. These profiles share the same general makeup of terpenes but express them in slightly different ratios, likely due to subtle phenotypic differences within the genetic lineage.

Which Strain Names Are Unreliable?

Let’s look at the chemical profile of Durban Poison, a strain with a storied legacy, to better understand why some strains express less consistency when it comes to their expected effects.

(Leafly)

Lab data shows a variety of chemotypes available for products with the strain name Durban Poison. While this strain name is often seen with terpinolene as its dominant terpene, flower products with the name Durban Poison often show completely different terpene profiles. There is too much variability for us to associate a single chemical profile to Durban Poison.

Since this strain is consistently inconsistent in its chemical expression, it will be more difficult for consumers to rely on products with this strain name as an indicator of reliable effects. As more data becomes available the authentic Durban Poison may show itself, but true genetic authentication requires collaboration with breeders who have verified Durban Poison genetics.

Beginner’s Guide to Cannabis Breeding, Genetics, and Strain Variability

There are at least three major factors that explain why the strain name Durban Poison is not reliably associated with a clear chemical profile:

It is a rare landrace strain—a cultivar native to the areas surrounding Durban, South Africa, it wasn’t bred or stabilized with the same attention and methods that breeders today use to create strains.

Landrace varieties in general are rare in legal markets. They’re also highly sought-after and compelling, which makes them susceptible to counterfeiting, especially because their seeds are so hard to come by.

Durban Poison is thought to be a pure sativa. Pure sativa strains are extremely rare in a market flooded by hybrid and indica varieties, so finding one is suspect.

Due to the inconsistent nature of their chemical profiles, there are some strain names we can’t rely on for predictable effects. But there are still many strain names out there you can count on, at least the majority of the time. As the cannabis industry matures, increased accountability that comes with lab testing will hopefully make strain names more reliable.

Ultimately no strain name is perfectly reliable and any seemingly subtle variance in chemical profile could influence the experience a strain provides. This is even more apparent for those using cannabis therapeutically. To make cannabis consumption a more consistent and repeatable experience, consumers must feel empowered to make the right decisions through understanding verified lab data for the products they are purchasing.

Cannabis consumers deserve better! More detailed analysis of the products you are enjoying is just the start. Leafly continues to develop tools and resources to ensure consumers understand their cannabis better through partnerships with data labs and collaboration with industry-leading breeders and growers.

strains

Will Hyde

Will is a cannabis expert and co-host of Leafly’s “What Are you Smoking” podcast. He’s a cultivator and former budtender who loves complex hybrids with piney and gassy terpene profiles. Follow him on Instagram at @the.avid.dabber

The post How Reliable Are Cannabis Strain Names? appeared first on Savvy Herb Mobile Cannabis Platform.

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#cannabis #marijuana #thc #cbd

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holysmokescrafts · 5 years

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In California’s Cannabis War, Civil Is the New Criminal A new crackdown has begun in California’s cannabis growing heartland of Humboldt County. For unlicensed farmers, a summer of reckoning has arrived. Now that local and state authorities have provisionally licensed about 1,500 legal cannabis farms statewide, they’re stepping up enforcement actions against farmers growing without a permit. County officials are doing it not with SWAT team raids, but by enforcing a laundry list of civil codes. And it’s having an effect. Civil code enforcement is decimating California’s legacy cannabis growers like criminal prohibition never could. “It’s having a pretty strong deterrent effect because people don’t want to lose everything they’ve worked for—mainly their property.” Omar Figueroa, attorney, California Fines of $10,000 per day, per violation—maxing out at $900,000, followed by property liens and forfeiture—have replaced traditional fears of a sheriff’s raid in Humboldt this summer. Officials tell Leafly the Humboldt County Planning and Building Department has sent out 148 cannabis-related “Notices to Abate” to property owners so far in 2019. The county sent 597 abatement notices in 2018. Recipients have ten days to remove their plants or they face record fines—far higher than monetary penalties enacted against any other business type. If you chop down your plants the same day you get the notice, you face a minimum $10,000 fine on your property. If you don’t, fines can run up to 90 days, totaling $900,000, followed by a county collection action, and potential loss of the property. #california #ca #crackdown #humboldt #humboltcounty #farmers #staylifted #holysmokes #holysmokescrafts #hightimes #rawlife #rawlife247 #cannabis #oneman #breal #massroots #cannabidiol #cbd #thc #mmj #highlife #highsociety #hemp #ismokecannabis #medicalcannabis #highamerica #medicalmarijuana #cannabislaws #420 #420daily (at Los Angeles, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/B0Ay4FOBRnx/?igshid=ldyy71r01vf1

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licensedproducers · 4 years

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How Outdoor-Grown Cannabis Might Save the Industry

Lower Costs Mean Lower Prices for Consumers – LPC

There is nothing new about Outdoor-grown cannabis. But it’s gotten a bad rap over the years, particularly in the black market. Aficionados swear by indoor-grown cannabis. BC cannabis breeder Ryan Lee said that those in the “legacy” industry have already done the experiments. “The market has decided that it prefers indoor-grown cannabis to outdoor-grown cannabis,” he said. Not all agree. Ontario grower Mark Spear said the guerilla-style growing methods make for bad cannabis. Outdoor-grown cannabis meant planting hundreds of clones on Crown land and harvesting whatever survives. Tending plants can make for a better product, he said. “There are a number of people in California who are producing cannabis outdoors that’s indistinguishable from anything grown indoors.” Cost is one of the greatest advantages of outdoor-grown cannabis. 48North pegged costs at $0.25 per gram to grow outside, one-eighth of the $2 it costs to grow indoors. Its recent harvest at its Good & Green farm near Brantford, Ont. yield high-quality, high-THC cannabis, the company said. That will allow 48North to sell in Quebec for about $7 per gram. Co-CEO Alison Gordon said that’s a huge advantage. “When you factor in the government’s mandate, which is to eradicate the black market, then of course cost plays a huge role in that,” she said. “What is the motivation to go to the legal market if the prices are significantly more?”

Outdoor-Grown Cannabis Brings Other Advantages – LPC

Cost is just one of the advantages of outdoor-grown cannabis. For one, it tends to have more turpenes, which again speaks to the quality. “You can actually get higher terpene content outdoors, and that’s what the market is headed toward,” Spear said. It also provides some qualities indoor can’t. “It’s easier to grow a very purple strain,” Spear said. He added that cooler nights in the Ottawa Valley help. “That’s what really brings out those colours.” Outdoor-grown cannabis is also more environmentally friendly. The industry is moving towards greener cannabis cultivation methods. It involves much less energy and usually less water than indoor cultivation. There are also drawbacks to outdoor-grown cannabis including a shorter growing season in most places in Canada. But of course, it doesn’t have to be an either/or situation – there is room in the market for both. “There is an argument to be made for growing outdoors just for taste, flavour, aroma and environmental impact,” Spear said. This editorial content from the LPC News Team provides analysis, insight, and perspective on current news articles. To read the source article this commentary is based upon, please click on the link below. Click here to view full story at globalnews.ca Read the full article

#48North #BC #Good&Green #GreenerCannabisCultivation #growers #Ontario #Outdoor-CannabisCultivation

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michaelbennettcrypto · 6 years

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Get Your Drugs on Time: Budbo Introduces the First Cannabis Blockchain Supply Chain

The cannabis industry has cropped up at a rapid pace in US states that have legalized marijuana for medical and recreational use. Over 2,000 marijuana dispensaries carrying over 300 different strains of cannabis now operate across the United States. Despite over $50 billion in annual sales, the market that functioned as an underground ‘pot’ economy until only recently operates more like a ‘chiefing’ stoner, inhaling all the good stuff and not passing it around. A highly fragmented legalized marijuana market has developed. Although all but a handful of states have legalized marijuana use for medical and recreational use, the patchwork of rules and regulations across states has created an inefficient market. The illegal status of marijuana on the federal level creates more supply chain blockages since the transport, sale, and distribution of marijuana is illegal. Streamlining this fragmented business on the blockchain could be the best market high the marijuana industry has experienced. The blockchain digital ledger system could help the industry transcend borders by conducting the cannabis business on the more accountable, efficient and transparent digital ledger system. From Seed to Sale A more efficient blockchain supply chain would move sales away from the higher risk street market “where product quality and unknown ingredients are a risk,” to the dispensing market. Budbo, a cannabis data analytics provider, estimates over 121,000 dispensaries will be needed to supply the 11 million people making at least one cannabis purchase a month. To accommodate this growth, by developing the cannabis industry’s first blockchain supply chain solution, Budbo plans on streamlining the cannabis supply chain from the grower to the end user.

Budbo has helped streamline the rapidly growing cannabis industry by improving the buyer-seller interface. Its legacy product is a mobile app that allows buyers to identify cannabis products by their preferences, and then locate licensed cannabis suppliers in their area that carry those products. Growers, manufacturers, and dispensaries can leverage this market intelligence through a cloud-based intelligence platform. Benefits include more accurate forecasting, and valuable data to inform which strains to cultivate, and which concentrates and edibles to manufacture. Cannabis consumers who use the app have noted the development of more strain variety and higher quality products nearby. This ecosystem fills the legal and operational gaps across states with different rules and regulations. Cannabis growers also use the Budbo platform to manage logistics and track shipments via a GPS tracking system. Across this ecosystem, data can be readily shared, enabling Budbo to fulfill its vision of building the data backbone of the cannabis industry. This data will be used in forecasting and understanding preferences in cannabis drug research, regulation, quality control, and marketing. Accelerating Cannabis Commerce Across Borders The more efficient supply chain will help close the gap between street prices and dispensary prices. Questionable quality and ingredients pose risks for consumers purchasing marijuana on the black market. Currently, in California—the latest state to legalize weed—where the pricing gap is the largest, dispensary drugs sell for $81 an ounce more on average than street marijuana. As more people use cannabis products to meet non-recreational needs, the data generated in the Budbo ecosystem will become more valuable in the customer-supply interface. Drug developers can fine-tune products to meet very specific health needs. Dispensaries can ensure cannabis products in demand in their region are in stock. Budbo’s GPS tracking system will ensure cannabis products are distributed in a trackable, timely and efficient manner throughout the supply chain. The Budbo Token Sale The Budbo blockchain community is accessible with the Budbo token ($BUBO). The token sale began in January. Purchasing the Budbo token not only gives owners access to the Budbo supply chain but also a vote on the decentralized apps that will be used within the network.

The post Get Your Drugs on Time: Budbo Introduces the First Cannabis Blockchain Supply Chain appeared first on NewsBTC.

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joshuajacksonlyblog · 6 years

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Get Your Drugs on Time: Budbo Introduces the First Cannabis Blockchain Supply Chain

The post Get Your Drugs on Time: Budbo Introduces the First Cannabis Blockchain Supply Chain appeared first on NewsBTC.

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brettzjacksonblog · 6 years

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Get Your Drugs on Time: Budbo Introduces the First Cannabis Blockchain Supply Chain

The post Get Your Drugs on Time: Budbo Introduces the First Cannabis Blockchain Supply Chain appeared first on NewsBTC.

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blockheadbrands · 4 years

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Driven Deliveries Announces Intention To Acquire Pot Distributor Humboldt Heritage

Adam Drury of High Times Reports:

Driven Deliveries, Inc., the first publicly-traded cannabis delivery service operating in the U.S., has announced its intention to acquire Humboldt Heritage, Inc., a Northern California-based cannabis distribution company with deep roots in the Emerald Triangle. The purchase will result in California’s largest farm-to-consumer, vertically-integrated operator and is projected to add an additional $20 million to Driven’s 2020 revenue forecast.

For California’s cannabis consumers, the deal will make it easier than ever to buy products grown and produced by multi-generational heritage farms in the state’s world-renowned growing region.

Acquisition Brings Consumers Closer to World-Renowned Humboldt County Cannabis

Many consider the cannabis grown in the Emerald Triangle, the Northern California region encompassing Humboldt, Mendocino, and Trinity Counties, to be the best weed in the world. And the region’s history of cannabis cultivation spans decades, a heritage attested to by the hundreds of famed Humboldt farms perfecting the art of growing cannabis.

Before concepts like sustainability and clean energy were commonplace, Humboldt growers were devoting themselves to natural growing principles on their quest to produce the highest-quality flower. And it’s exactly that heritage and quality that California cannabis consumers are eager to tap into as they explore what the market has to offer.

Driven Deliveries’ acquisition of Humboldt Heritage, Inc. and its subsidiaries Humboldt Sun Growers Guild LLC and Grateful Eight LLC, will put those products within a 90-minute reach of 92% percent of Californians. “Distribution was the only missing piece to our portfolio puzzle,” said Christian Schenk, CEO of Driven Deliveries. “There is no better cannabis on the market today that can match the quality and consistency produced by the Humboldt Sun Growers Guild,” Schenk added.

Driven Delivers Cannabis Direct to Over 30 Million Californians

The Growers Guild and Grateful 8 subsidiaries service dozens of top-shelf cannabis brands, including its in-house label True Humboldt, family-run Sunrise Mountain Farms and women-owned Juniper. Driven will also gain access to Humboldt Heritage’s 18 unique brands, including Cuba Libre, Rambling Rose, Lost Creek, and Humboldt Edge Farms. All the brands Driven will acquire through Humboldt Heritage will be included in the company’s Ganjarunner delivery service and online purchasing platforms.

“We are excited for the ability to bring the Emerald Triangle’s legendary ‘craft cannabis’ to the entirety of California’s population,” said Brian Hayek, President of Driven. “The rich history of Humboldt and its legacy farmers coincides with the best growing conditions to produce cannabis that is world-renowned.”

By combining Humboldt Heritage’s well-established distribution network with Driven’s delivery network, Driven says it will be able to streamline operations for optimal efficiency. The company says it will be able to improve gross margin over 13 percent for vertically-integrated products and over 6 percent from materials and products purchased in bulk.

TO READ MORE OF THIS ARTICLE ON HIGH TIMES, CLICK HERE.

https://hightimes.com/news/driven-deliveries-announces-intention-to-acquire-pot-distributor-humboldt-heritage/

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