#and to the intentions and general oversights that can occur during production

[the-lightning-strikes-again]

Hey Lightning, I was wondering if I could get your thoughts on something. One take that seems to keep returning every once in a while is the "Allura fell for Lotor only after he revealed his Altean heritage," but I know u and others have disproven this many times, which does reassure me. While I love Allura, I definitely think one of her weaknesses was her devotion to Altea and singing Alfor's praises, which sometimes became too much. At the same time, it bothers me when I see some ppl (1/?)

Continuing anon message: “ say that she thought Alteans were superior to all other races, and that when the colony plot twist happened, she became repulsed by Lotor's Galra side, which is why she rejected him. For them, that's why she forced violent memories onto an uncorrupted Zarkon, but somehow "saw the good/redeemed" Honerva, the Altean. I can kind of understand where they're coming from, but for me, it just didn't make sense that Allura suddenly had a change of heart considering for most of s8, she was angry and dead set on going after Honerva. Even with that, I think to a lot of her fans, s8 made Allura so ooc that she became unrecognizable, which hurt to watch. I guess for me it's hard seeing antis and people who don't like her claim that that's just how she is and has always been. Haha sorry for rambling, but I'd love to hear your thoughts on this, since your arguments ease my mind on a lot of things when it comes to Allura :)”

Hi, anon. Wow, thanks for your extended note! I don’t know anywhere in canon that Allura champions Alteans as a superior race. The definition of racial supremacy is a belief that inherent genetic differences between races determine cultural or individual achievement, with social/governmental policies championing intolerance of other races. To get Allura to fit into such a label:

1.      A viewer has to ignore or undermine all the evidence available about who the main-universe Alteans really were before main-universe Zarkon’s massacre of them.

2.      A viewer has to ignore or undermine how Allura actually responds to a variety of different races in the show, including her own.  

So let’s start with issue one. To support an “Allura was a racial supremacist” opinion, a lot of antis (and even non-militant, average viewers) are favorable to the opinion that Alteans as a group, including Alfor, were actually evil and violent colonizer elitists before Galrans killed them off. In other words, they question Altean victimhood, and this allows the militant antis to poison and undermine scenes of a woman mourning her home and her beloved family. And it just gets to be a really unsettling conversation, to listen to someone actually try to justify genocide. They’ll also have suspicions that all of our foundational backstory in the s3 finale was just “cleansed” propaganda from Coran. So if antis can undermine Allura’s entire race and family as corrupt, then they can intentionally undermine any of her canonical statements about or efforts toward peace. Which is hilarious, because this racist tactic applied to Allura is actually what a lot of antis accuse Allura of doing with Lotor.

For the record, I don’t think the show production team actually intended the subliminal messaging/cognitive dissonance that I’m about to discuss. The people who designed and developed this show are fans of robot kitties and aren’t PhDs in social issues. But I think there is a very serious issue about the portrayal of genocide victims that feeds into some very real problems in our world, especially regarding the concept of racial supremacy and conspiracy theories about genocide victims.

VLD tried to play with both genocide politics for edge™ points while ALSO playing with shatterglass theory (shatterglass meaning an AU where the heroes are villains and villains are heroes). Combining these two concepts into the same universe creates some incredibly disturbing subliminal messaging about Alteans that very closely mimics ongoing neo-Nazi propaganda against Jews. Nazis and other anti-Semitists justify their hatred of Jews by equating them as terrible villains out for world domination via some underhanded shadow control of the mass populace. It’s an incredibly malicious form of propaganda, because it works so terribly well. And what do you know, VLD plays right into this kind of propaganda. In the season 3 episode, Hole in the Sky, we’re faced with team Voltron confronting an Altean Empire that was actually evil and out for multiverse domination. And oh by the way, they’re using malicious shadow tech to control a mass populace.

It’s like someone on the production team read the Protocols of the Elders of Zion and then just copied/pasted that incredibly damaging and widely accepted conspiracy theory right onto Alteans for s3 funsies because edge content.

This is incredibly punishing, for the narrative to wave the carrot stick in front of genocide survivors that maybe some others survived—and then to suggest that Alteans were the evil ones all along. A shatterglass twist worked very well in Captain Marvel (2019) for a lot of reasons, for example, but it just doesn’t work well in the VLD universe given that the show explicitly portrays the genocide victims as evil and validates this concept. And this episode unfortunately feeds ongoing cognitive dissonance in antis that if AU Alteans could be so evil…how certain are you that they aren’t in the main universe too? On the reverse side, the main-universe goes out of its way to portray that not all Galrans are evil, and even that Galrans were the primary resistance (BOM). But in this singular episode, we see a united Altean empire. And the only Altean who moves to stand against it once the shine wears off…is Allura. There is no AU Altean actually shown in the Guns of Gamara. So Allura stands alone as an Altean against her own people.

For this reason, this episode doesn’t function very well as a shatterglass AU either, because the moral “flip” isn’t a mirror balance to main universe. The Alteans of the AU world appear as fully united in their evil plans. And then, no doubt, anti-alluras point out other quirky things about main-universe Alteans throughout the show—the violent language-learning system that scares Pidge, and the ancient Altean terraforming technology that Haggar activates, and the fact that Oriande is a hidden place that keeps out the less magical with a violent guardian. These details, when removed from main-universe world building, create a cognitive dissonance about whether main-universe Allura and Alteans were actually genuine in how they depicted respectful “peace and diplomacy.” So anti alluras who believe Allura was a racial supremacist really rely on this s3 episode and these details to uphold their conspiracy theory.

So let’s focus on Allura in this episode, because it says a lot about who she ultimately is as a person, and people have forgotten how she actually responded in this episode. Allura is unquestionably hopeful at the thought that her and Coran might not be the last Alteans alive. Pretty understandable. If I were the last human, I’d be darn excited to find out there’s more of me left, lol. So her experience as a genocide victim initially blinds her to the evilness of these Alteans. You can even see the ache on her face, of how badly she wants to believe their narrative of peace.

So Allura is initially star-struck that she and Coran are not the last Alteans, yes, and that somehow they’ve achieved a “peace.” She is also not afraid to admit that they would be valuable allies in the war:

And she’s not wrong there, considering that they have what appears to be extensive military resources and a robot force of their own. But she makes a critical mistake in assuming that “these are my people” means that they share main-universe cultural sentiments. The instant Allura hears Slav (so not someone of her own race) call these Alteans out as actually evil colonizers turning people into slaves, she begins to question the narrative she’s received.

In this instance, she actually affords the Alteans the same courtesy she afforded Lotor—the opportunity to deny the accusations.

But in the AU Altean’s case, they try to turn blame back on other parties. Allura listens to Keith when he grows increasingly fearful of what the Alteans might do to the others, and she tries to plead for actual peace:

And actually, this is a pretty interesting moment for Allura. She tries to salvage an alliance…until she realizes that their differences are irreconcilable, and that their definition of peace is inherently different from her own. This probably sets the stage for why Allura was so triggered by Lotor talking about peace while also killing people—because she’s seen people misappropriate that term before. And also probably informs why she trusts the information of both Keith and Krolia (both of whom have Galran blood, btw).

Ultimately, Allura turns against her own people. Violently:

When they get angry about her wanting actual peace, Allura draws a weapon against them and rejects them from her people. This mimics how she spends several seasons fighting an Altean Haggar/Honerva for her crimes, and how she turns against Lotor too.

So case in point here, Allura loves her people, obviously—but she also is holding them to moral standards regarding their behavior, which is something that a genuine racist doesn’t do. As a matter of fact, Lotor is the only person of Altean blood that Allura genuinely bonds with ever again in the series. She’s distant with Romelle, she’s distant with the s8 Alteans… In s8, Allura even says this about Luca, which refers back to her own mistakes she made with initially being star-struck by the s3 AU Alteans who came in “peace”:

Allura herself had been manipulated in s3, wanting so desperately to not be the last Altean alive that it initially blinded her to how Commander Hira was manipulating her. The plight of the s8 Alteans who are deceived by Honerva is inherently frustrating to her, because she can see herself in them.

Absolutely none of this correlates with Allura seeing or perpetuating Alteans as a superior race. At every turn, her own people continue to disappoint her, and she increasingly and progressively separates herself from them in hopelessness, because they’re so brainwashed that they can’t see they’re just cannon fodder for someone else’s military agendas. Not exactly a ringing endorsement for a superior race, lol.

So let’s think about anti accusations here. Allura is a racial supremacist…but she’s arguing against her people who believe unquestionably in Honerva, another full Altean like herself? Nothing about that accusation makes sense with her actions.

The fact is, consistently from season 3 and onward, Allura is faced with her own people morally disappointing her.

The good news for the s8 Alteans like Tavo is that Allura is able to remove the dark entity Honerva is using to control him. Which allows other Alteans to “wake up” from being manipulated and try to make amends.

Regardless, Allura makes a very clear line that simply being Altean doesn’t make someone “right.” She sees herself fully at odds with her own people who are drawn in by Honerva’s lies. And she experienced well back in s2 (revealing Haggar as Honerva) and s3 (evil AU Alteans) that any given race, including her own, can house people who do bad things.

The fact is, she’s consistently and willingly drawn weapons against even her own people when they didn’t meet her moral expectations. So her response to Lotor isn’t particularly out of line there. She’s repulsed by a moral flaw.

And actually, Lotor himself wouldn’t have known this, but he very oddly echoed the AU Alteans by getting angry that Allura was angry over the means through which he was trying to get peace:

So Lotor actually reverts to the same logic of the AU Alteans—peace at any cost, just look at the results—

And keep in mind that the AU Alteans also manipulated Allura’s excitement about them, to get her to make the transreality comet usable so they could go into other realities. So Allura has felt betrayed and used before, by her own people.

So when she says this:

Yes, it’s a reference back to how Zarkon manipulated his friends in order to get access to the quintessence field, at the explicit cost of potentially killing his own people. But it’s not without understanding that yes, Alteans can be just as manipulative and betraying as Zarkon. Because she’s experienced it, again and again.  

As a matter of fact, six out of the eight seasons of Voltron: Legendary Defender feature villainous Alteans/Alteans on the wrong side of the war, and we continuously see Allura punished again and again for wishing that Alteans still lived.

No wonder she wanted to die.

This is something that I find uncomfortable about the narrative of the show. Previous iterations of Voltron did in fact have a “blood on everyone’s hands” perspective, such as within the ages 16+ Dynamic Comics. However, Arusians/Alteans in those old Voltron narratives were not victims of genocide. VLD turns Alteans into victims of the worst racial crime possible and then also consistently portrays them as inherently antagonistic to genuine peace efforts in some way, instead of focusing on the evil of the oppressors.

And this is such a double whammy for Lotor’s characters as well, given that he was abused by his parents and threatened with slavery via his Galran culture, and that he was half-Altean too trying to connect to his lost culture.

As a matter of fact, the larger show’s narrative interest in “victims as antagonists” makes it such that when we see victims try to enact actual justice, it feels almost jarring. Let’s look at that s8 Zarkon moment you brought up as an example, where Allura destroys his innocent perspective by showing him his evil deeds.

The s8 Zarkon is a weird topic because 1) This Zarkon actually doesn’t exist outside of Honerva’s mind, so how he has any kind of actual free-will is beyond me, unless someone wants to argue that Honerva actually cursed his true soul just as she cursed the other paladins. It’s hilarious too, because Honerva-mind-Zarkon also calls Honerva a psychopath, so I guess now Honerva is psychoanalyzing herself using her dead husband as the vehicle, while also discreetly helping the paladins to stop herself—

ANYWAY, using this Zarkon as a “proof” of Allura’s “racism” is also cherry picking in the weirdest of ways. Is she angry about his horrific and incalculable crimes, including even how he betrayed the OG paladins and ruined his own planet? Absolutely. Does she want him to be aware of his crimes instead of having to pretend like nothing’s wrong? Yes.

But notice here, this Zarkon actually shows remorse. He is actually crying over those memories and recognizing that he had done something wrong. And Allura can work with that. In fact, out of everyone standing around and doing nothing, it’s Allura who gives him a second chance and offers an alliance with Zarkon in order to stop a crazy Altean: 

Keep in mind too, Honerva didn’t have memory loss at the end of s8. She knew exactly what she’d done and had given up and had to actually be convinced to do anything halfway constructive. That’s a very different circumstance than mind-Zarkon had, who jumped at the chance to do something to fix what all had happened, and gets even morally righteous about it, calling his own wife a psychopath, lol.

So generally, antis who believe Allura was a racial supremacist haven’t watched the show holistically. We see her hold the same standards to her own people as she expects out of others. This show would look incredibly different if Allura were a true racial supremacist.

Ah, you ask. Okay, so we’ve refuted the big pieces of “evidence” used to incriminate Allura. But what about all of those weird details about ancient Altean history? The violent language-learning program that scared Pidge? The violent terraforming tech that almost kills Voltron? The concept that Alfor tried to play “police” over the Galra and actually blew up their planet? The Alteans’ ongoing discussions of “peace and diplomacy” and spreading it throughout the universe while they happen to sit on a massive load of ancient power?

The s3 finale and other facts throughout the series very heavily smash the claim that our canon, in-universe Alteans were evil colonizers like the AU Alteans. The biggest piece of evidence to the contrary is that the Altea we know was one (1) planet. You counted right. One planet. Not an empire, but a singular planet. The s3 finale corroborates this, showing Altea as being largely isolationist from a military perspective while Daibazaal and Nalquod warred "for generations," right in front of their salad.

So some viewers would have you believe that Alteans were these big bad, intergalactic police state colonizers. But for all of its great power and knowledge, the singular planet of Altea didn't even canonically interfere in the wars of its own galaxy for actual millennia? And looking at the screenshots upon the stabilization of the alliance, Alfor is revealed to not have had experience with a neighboring culture. His face while exploring Gyrgan’s homeworld is an indication that it’s all rather new for him too. So again, we have evidence showing that Alteans were not colonizing or even functioning as a police state.

Note here that in the s3 flashbacks, the show confirms that it actually wasn’t just Alfor who suggested an alliance. All five leaders had common interests in protecting their galaxy from even worse threats, so all five came together at the same time. This is actually the first piece of evidence we have of Altea entering into some kind of intergalactic military agreement to stave off said worse threats.

And all of this is on top of a history where in s6, the Galran Archivist confirms that the Galran Empire had existed before Zarkon for 3,000 years, with times of “expansion.” It’s very easy to see that Blaytz’s people were actively fighting off Galran occupation of their homeworld within this past.

And that’s actually what I think makes Alfor and the OG paladins some pretty interesting characters. Here, we had colonizing Galran empire setting down its sword and accepting the value and space of its neighbors. Here, we had master alchemist Alfor giving up military power within their group by acknowledging Zarkon as the superior strategist. Here, we had Blaytz who had previously been battling Galran occupation…fully accepting the Galra?   

So the OG Paladin backstory represents a pretty incredible alliance that removed a lot of intergalactic toxicity and helped heal broken bonds. But it required all five leaders to agree to that. Alfor did not throw his weight or power around within this. There were several checks and balances here.

But this backstory also helps to explain some of the quirky details about Alteans. Their planet existed within an active war zone, and it’s very likely that they’d had to fight off Galran occupation just as Blaytz’s people did. So the violent robot trainers and fear-based language learning systems start to make sense. Alteans weren’t just simpering people playing harps all day and eating grapes. They were actively prepared to defend their planet and their culture.

So when Allura says in season 1 that Alteans were “spreading diplomacy” across the universe, the only pieces of evidence we have of that is the OG paladins themselves, in which Alfor was a big part in creating that alliance—and then possibly the Alteans with the Balmerans, given their deep collective rituals with that planet while the Galra literally just came in and ripped the planet nearly to death. Allura tries to mimic what it means to accept and interact with a culture without changing it well in season 1, when she stumbles through trying to respect Arusian culture and its demands on its people. Also, there is a big fact that antis like to overlook:

The fact is, despite the untold numbers of civilizations we interact with across 76 episodes, no outside race remembers Alteans as evil colonizers. If they were really so big and bad, we would have heard it, like, “Man, yeah the Galrans are bad. Just as bad as those Alteans, back in the day.” Or something. But nope, nothing.

So I heavily question the history of Altea as an ancient colonizing race. If they were, then Altea wouldn't have just been a single planet with limited resources to fight wars in even its own galaxy. All of this supports the idea of Altean children being raised to fight--because they were preparing to defend themselves when/if diplomacy fails.... But the fact that the Balmerans see Alteans fondly and that literally every other race we run into is explicitly suspicious of Galrans and not at all of Alteans says something.

I think the only piece of evidence there might be for a genuinely colonizing ancient Altea is the use of terraforming technology, as mentioned in s4. Haggar discovers it and activates it to try and kill Voltron--and she nearly succeeds, because said tech destroys the entire crust of the planet to reform it. But you have to step back for a second and wonder--if ancient Alteans were so powerful, why was Alfor struggling so hard to even hold his own planet together in the midst of all these other cultures warring and larger threats? If they had this technology--and they did know about it because Allura recognized it right away as ancient technology--why the heck wouldn't they use it? Or were they using it, and it was to reform uninhabited planets to help sustain displaced peoples? Why is it, if Alteans were so terribly bad, we have no record across ANY of the many alien races being cautious of them? Even Galran Lieutenant Lahn snapped at Allura only because he was jealous of the general security she had back on, you guessed it, explicitly Altea. There's a lot of potential explanations for a positive use of terraforming technology, and the evidence against colonization and Altea committing omnicide against other races is incredibly more aligned with the other details in the canon.

And even Alfor’s creation of Voltron and the blowing up of Daibazaal—that’s something that antis like to position as evidence of his police-state ways to underhandedly control other cultures.

So let’s tackle those too while we’re at it.

Honestly, I know people like to hate on Alfor, and I do think his character picks up some misogynism just from the writers....But I don't think he was as much of a controller as people think he was. He was already in an alliance with four other leaders to try and stop bad things from happening in their galaxy. That meant they were expending incredible amounts of time and resources to accomplish that end—resources that were not renewable and may have been straining various planets. We know that he started building Voltron with Zarkon and everyone else's blessing because he called them "clean ships," but it's only after the rift creatures attack that suddenly Alfor's perception of Voltron moves from "clean energy" to "omg we need a more powerful weapon against this unknown enemy.”

So these are his intentions BEFORE he discovers rift creatures are a threat to the universe. While Zarkon states that these new ships are to be endlessly powerful for the Galra Empire, Alfor shames him by offering what his desire is for them:

  After the rift creatures nearly destroy Daibazaal, intentions change.

So here, we see the game change in a BIG way. Voltron is not just about offering a more renewable way of sustaining peace-keeping efforts. Alfor is now adjusting and finishing these ships with the explicit knowledge that if they are not powerful enough, then Daibazaal and the Galran people will die. Alfor’s got a LOT of pressure on him now to deliver a mighty and powerful weapon to stop this new threat. So even his creation of Voltron as a superweapon involved using it to protect people from imminent death—not to police them.

And about Alfor blowing up Daibazaal—once again, it’s Alfor trying to clean up Honerva and Zarkon’s mess. Honerva had convinced Zarkon that the rift needed to be wider, and so Zarkon deceived the paladins into widening it.

So keep in mind here, at this point in time—the rift was destabilizing and eating an entire planet. The entire universe was now at stake. Alfor had to choose between a bad fix and an even worse option of allowing everyone to die, but he very clearly evacuated people before destroying Daibazaal, as part of his promise to keep Galrans safe. So that no one would have to die.

And as a matter of fact—about that terraforming technology. How sure are you that Alfor didn’t intend to use it to build Galrans a new home? It’s entirely within the realm of acceptable conjecture that he allowed for the existence of that technology because it could restore what had been lost.

And here’s where the story gets really screwy and feeds into some anti hate. Because when Zarkon wakes up as a zombie, he desires more quintessence as zombies do.

So he’s pissed that Alfor just cut off his gateway, and he manipulates his people:

And it’s here where we get the idea that Alfor was an evil controller. The idea came from Zarkon, who—we can look around pretty easily and see that he was not a man of honor, ultimately. Even if you chose to not believe the s3 finale flashbacks as being objective, there’s something wrong with Zarkon. (It’s clear that the show thought using Coran was a smart way to shell off massive amounts of info, because clearly if this were truly in Coran’s perspective, we would NOT have had intimate looks into Zarkon and Honerva’s bedroom as Zarkon is tending to her, like omg.) Numerous sources, histories, and cultures outside of Coran confirm that Zarkon hit a point of no return on the evil scale, and that he projected his own blame for Daibazaal’s destabilization onto Alfor in order to raise up his new regime in the name of Quintessence™.

So at the end of the day, even Alfor was a victim. But yet somehow, various antis choose to believe Zarkon’s victim-punishing narrative because said antis can’t or else refuse to connect one scene to another since it undermines their justifications for why they can hate on Allura. And that’s not so much an issue with the story itself as it is just poor critical analysis or malicious weaponization of content against other fans.

Now, at this point, we’ve talked about Allura and we’ve talked about Altean history. I have numerous other posts about Allura’s interactions with other races and Galrans and overcoming trauma to give the entire universe a second chance. So if there is anything in this show that suggests Alteans were in any way a superior race, then it’s probably within the show’s own worldbuilding. The show contradicts its own definitions of what quintessence even is by suggesting Alteans have “bluer/purer quintessence” in order to justify why Lotor would even be trying to sacrifice them for anything. The show-championed concept that Alteans have a bluer, purer life force above all other people, and that only Altean energy could interface with the fabric of space-time. Now, this is a problem in the later seasons’ world building itself. And you know who wrote that in? The production team. So once again, we do have racial issues in this show, in ways that shows like Star Wars desperately try avoid by showing racial diversity in who has Midi-chlorians.

That said, I’m not a perfectly woke storyteller either. I think every story and show is going to have something problematic™, but with VLD it’s very clear that its disrespectful handling of genocide politics and shatterglass conspiracy theories, on top of its weird master race angle created the perfect storm. These mishandled and quirky details have created a cognitive dissonance with the provided narrative, resulting in some people in the anti fandoms to champion what aligns very closely to actual neo-Nazi propaganda against Jews, who according to them are not victims but instead the true perpetrators of all bad things. For the sake of the antis, I’m pretty sure they’re not intentionally looking at VLD this way and are probably just looking for any easily graspable reason to hate on Allura for interfering with their ship or something.

But this kind of subliminal propaganda that undermines victims, and the effect it has had on fandom morality politics, is deeply concerning to me. I really wish that we’d had an opportunity to respectfully and critically discuss this with the production team of the show, because a Y7-FV show about “strength in unity” should NOT result in us needing to have a conversation about people walking away with neo-Nazi-ish propaganda sentiments against genocide survivors. Like. Clearly, VLD is fictional, but it’s feeding into a real-life beast that it does NOT need to feed. And it’s keeping alive ongoing conspiracy narratives against some of our most vulnerable populations on the planet.

So, we need better stories. We need a production team that, if they’re going to get paid to do something involving portrayals of genocide and politics, that they need to do their research on those topics. Nobody is going to be perfect with a creation, but VLD validated some very damaging things—and it ALL is something that could have been fixable. I think it would have been incredibly validating to hear the production talk about and accept that these were issues that cropped up unintentionally, and to hear them confirm that these issues are not the sorts of things that VLD was supposed to champion.

The greatest tragedy of all of this is the potential that this show had to really champion some great and validating messages, and the potential that we as a fandom had to come together and do something that fandom was meant to do—which was celebrate the things we love. Because that’s why we’re all here. That’s why this crazy tumblr of mine even exists. It was supposed to celebrate things.

For that reason, I’m going to end this here. I’ve written several responses now as to my thoughts on the inappropriate narrative lens of the show, its contradictory and damaging worldbuilding about the purest race, and how it champions demonizing or punishing genocide survivors again and again. Within all of that, I’ve talked at length about Allura’s character and behavior over 8 seasons and how she built even empathetic connections with militant Galrans like Commander Lahn. In fact even her own homesickness is how she emotionally connects with Lahn, because she understands that desire to call something one’s own. To have a home. A family.

I now really would like to get back to writing stories that I find meaningful to me using these characters and these worlds—and trying to find the hope in all of this darkness, haha. And maybe with any luck, I can hope to do VLD some justice, knowing that I am still on a learning journey as well.

But I appreciate your note, and I hope this very extensive response helps to settle your questions and concerns once and for all regarding VLD Allura. If you should have any remaining questions, please feel free to reach out via a private message to discuss. Thank you!

#Volron #VLD #Allura #VLD Critical #Alfor #Zarkon #Honerva #Lotor #I hope this helps explain my perspective #I think this might have to be my last refutation to the Allura as racist/racist supremacist conspiracy theory #at a certain point #people either watch the show holistically or they don't #you can't convince an anti #so this meta will probably not help an anti #but if you're sitting on the fence and felt drawn in by anti propaganda #then I hope that maybe this post provides an alternate perspective #and one that tries to be more holistically fair to all 8 seasons of the show #and to the intentions and general oversights that can occur during production #Ultimately it doesn't matter if someone likes or dislikes Allura as a fictional character #we need better entertainment that can handle these hard topics and handle them well #And we also need a fandom who's willing to look at all of the information and not weaponize it to specifically demonize and silence others #Maybe a family TV show shouldn't be appropriating conspiracy theories from the Protocols of the Elders of Zion #real-world fans are incredibly vulnerable to such conspiracy theories #and it creates a lot of real-world strife as a result

[whitepaperresearch]

Present status Of Alcohol Addiction In India

Introduction

These days routinely we can hear the typical term; 'Alcohol Addiction'. An enormous number of us use the term without having any coherent data on it. In the current Indian circumstance, it's fundamental to have an away from of alcohol and alcohol impulse as bit by bit alcohol use is growing in our country. There are various effects that alcohol can have on the body and the presence of a person. Alcohol reliance even can do enduring wickedness to our physical and passionate prosperity. Thusly, what about we start to find some alcoholic data.

Section by part control

What is Alcohol and Alcohol Addiction?

Alchol

Alcohol is a liquid outlined by yeast or various microorganisms when ages (isolates artificially without oxygen) the sugars present in different food. E.g., wine is created utilizing the sugar of grapes, ale from the sugar of malted grain, juice from the sugar of apples, vodka from the sugar of beets, potatoes or various plants [1]. More info here White Paper Research

Table 1: such blended reward and its alcohol content

Snappy Effects of Alcohol:

The effects of alcohol on the tangible framework occur inside five minutes of alcohol being flushed. In any case, the effects may be the comparable for all who drink alcohol. It varies from individual to singular dependent upon body weight, age, prosperity, sexual direction and even the environment. Scarcely any second effects are communicated underneath:

several drinks: One feel free, obsession level decreases, Reflex round portion ends up being all the more lethargic.

a few additional refreshments: Slurred talk, coordination diminishes among body part, perspective changes a large part of the time.

• More refreshments: Vision get darkened, allows totally go on body to part advancement, disorder.

• Still more refreshments: Vomiting, feeling napping and disorder.

• Even more refreshments: Coma or passing can happen

Alcohol Addiction:

Alcohol propensity or alcohol dependence is an illustration of alcohol use that incorporates issues controlling the drinking of alcohol, being charmed with alcohol, continuing to use alcohol regardless, when it causes issues, drinking more to get a comparable effect, or having withdrawal appearances when one rapidly lessening or quit drinking of alcohol .

Symptoms of Alcoholism:

Having blended beverage will not by and large be treated as alcohol reliance. Eventually alcohol impulse can be difficult to find as alcohol is for the most part available and recognized in various social orders. In fact, even in scarcely any cold climatic locale it is critical to get by there. Some wide results look like:

• Being not ready to stop or confine the proportion of alcohol usage.

• Spending a huge load of time to drink alcohol.

• Putting alcohol above other individual commitments.

• Feeling want to drink more alcohol.

• Avoiding the contact of close people.

• Wasting a huge load of time or money just to drink alcohol.

• Being strong without drinking it.

• Increased slowness, distress, or other extraordinary topics

Certain Background of Alcohol Use in India:

The Ancient and Medieval Period:

In Indian old composing returning to the Vedic time span around 2000 BC, it is referred to that various beverages contain ethanol. Two sorts of drink were referred to; Soma and Sura. In reality, even the outcomes and harms of extreme use of beverages are referred to. Soma is the refreshment of the social top notch and it is credited with positive attributes. On the other hand, Sura is a developed reward created utilizing rice or sugarcane. It was eaten up by saints to fabricate their intensity and guts. In the post-Vedic period, there might have been no further notification of Soma. In the standard Ayurvedic structure alcohol is furthermore used as a fixing.

In the obsolete age, there was data and availability of blended beverages anyway the reward was never a piece of the eating routine in India. Demanding principles were there to portray who could drink and under what conditions.

The Colonial Period

Preceding securing opportunity in 1947 India remained under British standard for pretty much 200 years. In this outskirts period, alcohol usage step by step extended and the social aura towards blended rewards changed in that period so to speak. Bit by bit refined beverages of significantly higher alcohol content replaced standard blended rewards. After that better maturing cycle, packaging and new development were prepared and come about the blended reward transforming into a disaster area conveyed business thing.

As the British were more normal and adjust to alcohol, they progressed alcohol use. Offering grant to enormous processing plants the common government allowed to neighborhood production of blended rewards. Bit by bit it got maybe the fundamental associations of the British government and Indian normal residents get accustomed toward the western lifestyle.

Purposes for Alcohol Addiction:

As of now, we comprehend what alcohol misuse is. We should discuss the reasons what license a person to move from having an accidental drink to full alcohol obsession. There are such innumerable major and minor factors. Relatively few of them are:

• Stressful Environment: If an individual have a disturbing work, he may likely drink more alcohol to find support from the pressing factor. Stress may not be reliably from work or work, it may create from family issue, ailment or association issue, etc

• Drinking just to have the taste: Few youngsters and adults essentially drink blended reward just to know the inclination surprisingly. Eventually such an interest makes the affinity and after that obsession.

• Drinking at an early age: Research says that the people who drink at an early age will undoubtedly have alcohol reliance because of the past inclination just as the obstruction power of body increases.

• Mental clinical issues: such a psychological issue like distress, disquiet, bipolar disarray, etc increase the inclination of alcohol misuse. Drinking alcohol is the second and short lived game plan of discarding mental issue in this way, most of people endeavor right now technique.

• Taking Alcohol with Medication: Many people ingest meds with alcohol. It's a regular practice. Some medicine can construct the destructiveness of alcohol. Surely, even sooner or later it might be dangerous.

• Genetic issue: Family history accepts a critical part to infer that one individual will be alcohol reliant or not. This is a clear natural collaboration as we in general understand that the characteristics can be imparted from parental age to the bleeding edge through DNA.

• Lack of family oversight: A nonattendance of help from family or watchmen can lead an adolescent to be alcohol subordinate. Financial condition of the family furthermore can affect on it

Creation and openness of Alcohol:

India is the third-greatest market for blended rewards on the planet. Alcohol creation, solicitation and use all the three limits are extending bit by bit. Underneath annexed table and graph show the associated information.

Table 2: Selected State-wise Production of Alcohol in India (2009-2010 to 2012-2013) (In Million Liter)

In Table 3, the growing up alcohol formation of our country is showed up. Alcohol creation has a remarkable business regard as the interest for alcohol is growing rapidly and reliably the Indian government acquire a respectable proportion of advantage through this business.

Table 3: Annual dirtied spirits creation in India by year. (April – March)

There are government selected alcohol shop or bistro for all intents and purposes in every city and town of India. Thusly, one can without a doubt get it in his grip. Basically in each state following 21 years old people are allowed to buy blended beverages.

Appreciating Pattern India:

In 2016 alcohol usage in India was about 5.4 billion liters and around then it was evaluated that in 2020 alcohol use would reach about 6.5 billion liters.

The ordinary alcohol confirmation per experienced childhood in our country is generally not actually some other made nation like the United States, yet there are various profound customers among young Indians. Men will undoubtedly drink alcohol than women in our country. It is represented that in 2020, male shoppers consumed around 18.3 liters of blended beverage per capita. Isn't it a matter of pressure?

As demonstrated by an examination, more than 88% of young Indian people developed under 25 purchase alcohol. Undoubtedly, even it is unlawful several states. This was a clarification for the hindrances or forbiddances on alcohol in specific states of our country [9].

Among the Indian metropolitan networks, Mumbai is on the top similar to alcohol use. 39% of complete wine usage is done here. After Mumbai Delhi eats up 23% and Bengaluru 20%. Under referred to figure 1 shows its nuances.

Figure 1: Major Wine Consuming Cities in India,

Examines were done in the last piece of the 1970s and mid-1980s discovered that12.7% of assistant school understudies, 32.6% of school understudies, and 31.6% of youthful non-understudies gobbled up liquor. During a similar period, clinical understudies unequivocal essentially higher ordinariness of liquor utilization of 40%–60%. Studies during the 1990s proposed forbearance rates of 83%–97% in 15–19-year-olds .

Tendency for an Alcoholic Beverage:

As demonstrated by the assessment it is dispersed that Indian purchasers favor whisky than some other blended beverage or it will in general be said that whisky is the most sold alcohol in India. Related data is showed up underneath in figure 2. In India, the tendency of wine is less as its creation isn't actually some other blended beverage.

Figure 2: Alcohol Preference in India,

Alcoholic Epidemiology:

You will be puzzled to end up being more acquainted with that around 140.6 thousand individuals passed on taking into account liver cirrhosis accomplished by liquor use across India in 2016. Street traffic wounds and risky improvement were also essential among clients of the prize during the cognizant time-frame .

Not simply liver cirrhosis or road setback, there are moreover different occasions of afflictions achieved by drinking over the top alcohol as it can hurt both our mental or genuine prosperity. Under in table, a part of the models are noted for better understanding.

Table 4: Major disorder and injury conditions (%) inferable from alcohol around the globe

Very few dangerous prosperity diseases can be achieved by over the top alcohol drinking:

• Breast infection: Alcohol use increase the risk of chest dangerous development. Researches have exhibited a straight developments in the peril of chest danger with growing ordinary volumes of use of alcohol.

• coronary sickness: Compared with now done eating up, low-to-slight affirmation of alcohol is related to decrease CHD (Congenital coronary disease) occasion and mortality. For more ordinary volumes of alcohol affirmation, the danger rearranges.

• Intentional injury (severity): Alcohol has been ceaselessly related to awful bad behavior, notwithstanding the way that the affiliation may not consistently be causal.

• Liver disease: Worldwide alcohol is conceivably the primary clarifications behind an end-stage liver issue. Up to 90% of hefty consumers have oily liver, an infection this is just to a great extent dangerous and normally settle inside around fourteen days if alcohol confirmation is stopped. In any case, 5% – 15% of casualties with alcoholic oily liver develop cirrhosis

• Alcoholic cirrhosis: Patients who have alcoholic cirrhosis have comparable clinical features of various causes as cirrhosis.

• Morbidity: Though all liver cirrhosis in India presumably will not be alcohol related, an evaluation of Indian assessment of biopsy-attempted events of liver cirrhosis from 1933 to 1975 found a total recommend of 16% of casualties with alcohol dependence. Nevertheless, in current years, the power of alcohol related cirrhosis is extending. In a current analyze in Kerala, in 60% of casualties with cirrhosis in a colossal tertiary center, alcohol utilization changed into the explanation. Practically 80% of the alcoholics had been moreover smokers. Essentially all alcoholics make oily liver, which's reversible after restriction from alcohol.

Mind science and Alcohol Addiction:

Alcohol subordinate people have a substitute kind of mind science or because of different kind of cerebrum science, they become alcohol subordinate. Both the announcement can be legitimate. Permit us to discuss that.

• Every individual endeavors to do whatever he feels right, so the alcohol subordinate people also envision that they are in like manner settling on the best choice.

• Even ensuing to understanding that they are inaccurate, they can't leave the reliance and reliably endeavors to devise the very justification that this is the last time and starting there forward, they won't contact alcohol.

• Disease speculation says that alcohol issues achieve individuals with regular issues which makes it incredible for the addicts to control their alcohol propensity.

• According to Biological theories that acquired and genetic added substances in alcohol dependence issues while diffused points of interest aren't by the by seen.

• According to Psychosocial hypothesis that private mental issues, social, and normal segments lead youth to alcohol dependence. Evidence displays that a dangerous combo of innate, social, and mental segments underlies dependence issues .

Family Issues Due to Alcoholism:

• Damaged Family Relationships: One way wherein alcohol habit impacts families are in broken associations. Gatherings of individuals stricken by alcohol abuse consistently battle to make intense eager bonds, even inside their own circle of relatives unit. This generally starts with the watchmen.

• Developmental Problems in Neglected Children: Children of mother and father who fight with alcohol misuse are at better peril for scholarly, lead, and enthusiastic issues. Since a typical 6.6 million youngsters stay in families in which alcohol enslavement is accessible, that is an immense concern.

• Domestic Abuse: One of the best quieting aftereffects of alcohol fixation is an improved danger for home abuse in the family. Abuse joined to alcohol misuse may be both eager and physical in nature.

• Drained Family Finances: The dependence of drinking alcohol reliably is expensive. While the whole sum spent on alcohol will run contingent upon the repeat and kind picked, the costs move up.

• Physical And Mental Health Problems: Finally, battling with alcohol misuse impacts the physical and mental wellbeing of most prominent individuals from the family. The man or woman thwarting dependence will adjust to real health burdens due to the effect of unequal alcohol use .

Alcohol and Sexual Risk:

In our overall population men generally have more social opportunities than women seeing alcohol utilize similarly as sexual activities. Secondary school pregnancies moreover are on the rising. Sexual experimentation outside marriage is growing. Dangerous sexual practices continue to pay little regard to an avowed STI/HIV status, as referred to in India, Zambia, Belarus, etc

Liquor use has besides been related with early sexual encounters. Liquor use and sexual danger practices are especially common in settings, for example, dance clubs, bars, dull houses, expressway eating joints and lodgings, and back rub parlors. Liquor use and sexual danger practices increment during express great occasions and good times across nations .

Govt. Rules and Alcohol Addiction:

Reliably 3 million people give because of the destructive effects of alcohol. So The World Health Organization (WHO) has communicated ten key zones of system options and interventions at the public level to decrease the grimness and mortality in view of harmful usage of alcohol and their after social outcomes.

• Leadership, care and commitment.

• Health associations' reaction.

• Community activity.

• Drink-driving techniques and countermeasures.

• Availability of liquor.

• Marketing of mixed prizes.

• Pricing strategies.

• Reducing the negative delayed consequences of drinking and liquor inebriation.

• Reducing the general flourishing effect of unlawful liquor and casually passed on liquor.

• Monitoring and observation.

End

Ensuing to looking at all the subjects now we have an away from of alcohol and its risky effects. We moreover know the better option for our physical or mental prosperity. As of now our decisions ought to be adequately ready to obtain a strong and well off life. There will be a couple of choices to disturb our mental or genuine sickness, anyway the essential concern is that we can pick them for our better life. Thusly, it's about our understanding, our thinking, our care and a strong 'NO' for alcohol. Get in touch with us for alcohol propensity treatment nuances

[wonderer-ru]

my soul remembers us

☾ Taehyung|reader story

↳ genre: fluff and soft angst ↳ word count: 14.004 ↳ warnings: none ↳ a/n: fun fact. i wanted to finish writing this by Taehyung’s birthday… last year. so this has been a long time coming. i love this story very much, this is my favorite concept and i hope you enjoy. please, let me know what you think. oh, and there’s a little easter egg for those who read “under the spell”. happy new year!

⍣…your generation cracked a shell of something that was beyond one’s comprehension for thousands of years. What was made to be a matter of belief, religion and mysticism, took a form of the undeniable truth. Reincarnation. Yes, in your time, reincarnation was a scientifically proven fact…⍣

moodboard

☾ reincarnation au; soulmate au

Each generation had something that they thought was impossible at the beginning of their reign, yet later it sneaked into reality with such smoothness, the discovery was welcomed almost too nonchalantly to be fair. Some thought video phones were out of a fairytale, but decades later they found themselves using those daily, without a second thought or the initial feeling of novelty. That’s how progress worked, you thought. The most farsighted people would just stop wondering and fantasizing, deciding to bring unimaginable things to their tangibility instead. Sometimes, it was scary how quickly those miracles became nothing more than mundane accessories in people’s routine lives.

You hoped it wouldn’t happen to this particular notion, because your generation cracked a shell of something that was beyond one’s comprehension for thousands of years. What was made to be a matter of belief, religion and mysticism, took a form of the undeniable truth. Reincarnation. Yes, in your time, reincarnation was a scientifically proven fact, that also helped in explaining several psychological phenomena; many of which were previously considered to be purely trauma-based. How could this become ordinary? Admittedly, the break through was still fresh in society’s minds, so you didn’t worry about its oblivion. Not yet.

Nowadays, the theurgic discovery nested right in the sweet spot: the government just started to provide financials for research, while keeping the scientific details away from the general public, therefore the concept was still too vague for the scammers to get their hands on it. Sure, mediums offered a look into previous lives long before that, but now they strived to cash on the boost that would inevitably occur, forging some science degrees along the way. The good old psychic shtick was in the past. Claiming you can talk to the dead in a dimly lit room wouldn’t roll anymore. No, people would ask you for your diploma now.

And while grifters tried to figure it out, clinics were built, special nursing courses  and programs were organized, and you were fortunate enough to get into one. Studying felt like constant research, as if you were a part of developing this new knowledge, and it felt invigorating. You were learning aspects of reincarnation right as they were uncovered, and isn’t it the best way to become a specialist on the subject? Every piece of information was cherished by everyone around you, so you couldn’t help but stock those close to your heart as well. It all became even more surreal, when you found out that your first internship would be spent under the mentoring hand of none other than the man himself. Dr. Kim Namjoon. A young genius, only a couple of years older than you, that shook the world with his findings and now, naturally, was leading as many research teams as he could handle. The rest still worked with his careful oversight. 

The growing amount of brand new possibilities and fields of research seemed overwhelming at times, yet there was one phenomenon that attracted the most attention. Confabulation. A disturbance of memory that used to be defined as the production of fabricated, distorted, or misinterpreted memories about oneself or the world, without the conscious intention to deceive. Now - dictionaries with this definition in them could be thrown away, because confabulation was currently known as “the glimpse into one’s past life”. Not really scientific yet, but, yes, those “fabricated” memories were proven to be very real memories that the soul experienced in one of its past incarnations. 

People’s confabulations ranged from subtle alterations to bizarre fabrications, and - what’s even more fascinating - those people were generally very confident about their recollections, despite contradictory evidence. That’s why the subjects didn’t bat an eye at the contact with something much more modern than their previous self would be used to. The lucky peculiarity made Dr. Kim’s research much easier and a lot less expensive. After all, it would be highly inconvenient, if the doctors had to build entire eras around their patients - probably separate hospitals for people from certain decades - just for the results to be somewhat valid. It was crucial to keep people of interest calm and undisturbed, so, fortunately, they didn’t freak out when their soul from the 1920’s suddenly woke up hundreds of years later. 

Surely, at some point, maybe half a century into the future, fruits of this work will become widely accessible - to wealthy people first, then to common folk - providing everyone with a peep into their distant adventures. Today, however, the thoughts of building any sort of business based on reincarnation were strictly put on hold, at least until Dr. Kim and his team figure out the safest way of putting a person into the state of paramnesia and, most importantly, bringing them out of it. The latter posed as a tougher task, because, at this stage of research, all existing records showed that patients could be stuck in ‘confabulation’ for, apparently, only God knows how long. From days to months, to even years. No trace of noticeable patterns or correlations. 

“We have a new patient today,” Dr. Kim stopped in front of another hospital room, and you almost bumped into him, a little too intently scrabbling away in your writing pad. Namjoon (not that you could call him by his name) always had five to seven interns following him during rounds, because “I don’t know if you’ve gathered enough information about me, but I only have two eyes and one brain. I’d rather have all that, but times five. Gross, I agree. Plus, the surgery would cost a fortune. So I dutifully ask of you, interns, the fresh blood of this place, to be my extra eyes, brains, hands. The hospital will provide you with pens and paper. Quantity of your notes could result in quality of our overall data”. Dr. Kim was well aware that he couldn’t catch every single detail by himself - especially since he was the one asking questions - so he took all the help possible, which spoke to his humble nature. The man just really wanted to move forward with his discovery. 

But, despite leading the most advanced scientific program in the world, he was quite old fashioned when it came to interacting with patients. Dr. Kim refused to install any hidden cameras in their rooms, because having interns by his side gave him several unique points of view on what his patients said and how they acted; which was priceless, unlike the equipment that would only lower his eyes sight in the end. Have you seen the quality of those videos? One-way mirrors were also unacceptable, as they would turn any conversation into interrogation, and the sheer vibe of the room could make patients feel uneasy. Not to mention the expenses that this kind of purchase would cause. Government could only help to a certain extent, and independent sponsors still found the research too risky and unreliable to invest into. 

“I was informed that this case is somewhat special. The patient correctly recalled his name, which could mean one of two things: he just, for some unknown reason, remembered his current name, or, he had the same exact name in his past life. That we won’t be able to determine with certainty until he snaps out of it, I guess.”

“Is it possible that he has kept more memories of his present life? Of course, but we’ll have to wait and see. So,” Dr. Kim took the chart from a wall pocket and looked over it. “Kim Taehyung. Twenty three years old. Male. Car accident. Has a couple of bruised ribs and, of course, a head injury. The decade his soul is currently in: 1960s,” as you might have noticed, Dr. Kim favored answering questions before they were asked, which honestly made things easier, since your preference consisted of staying quiet, observing and writing things down. “You will all be given additional files with more information about him, what his family and friends could provide. Take your notes carefully, so later you can potentially point out similarities between his past and current lifetimes.”

You nodded, along with four other interns, and followed Dr. Kim into the room, laying out some preparatory work on the blank piece of paper: his name, today’s date and the date his soul thinks it is. As you walked in and proceeded to take your usual spot in the corner of the room, your gaze brushed the patient’s figure on the bed, noticing a book in his hand. A book that, according to his perspective of time, would be written half a century later, so, basically, the man was reading a story form the future and didn’t even know it. You made a note of it, even though it wasn’t your main task. 

This late into the internship, you and your group-mates have made up a system where each intern had only a couple of aspects of the conversation to document. No one had to split their focus, and, at the end, you’d exchange notes to create the complete picture. Some had to pay close attention to patients’ nonverbal behavior, some listened to their voice and intonations. Your job was to write down the exact words that were said. That’s why you didn’t bother with getting a better place to stand, to look at the young man. Your ears would work perfectly fine from the corner. You were used to carrying this role by now, since it was pretty much the same group of interns every time, and everyone has settled into their groove. Although, maybe, you should’ve switched more often, because catching the words and writing them down became a chain of mindless, automatic operations. It didn’t matter what the conversation was about. You’d analyze everything later, when the puzzle is assembled. 

Dr. Kim went through his usual set of questions - nothing specific, yet; minimal usage of modern terminology; just general check up - but, a couple of minutes in, his voice acquired lightness that was slightly out of character, and you even heard Namjoon laugh. Huh. This guy must be very amusing. The thought left your mind as soon as it entered, and you continued to be oblivious to the patient’s velvety voice, or the way a wide boxy grin made his eyes disappear. Words, words, words. You were only concerned with words, not noticing that the room was already charmed and completely in love with Kim Taehyung. Maybe, you’ll feel the same, once you read back everything that’s been written in the past ten minutes.

However, your fluent handwriting suddenly falters when Dr. Kim is interrupted mid sentence. 

“Y/N?”

Your own name was left unfinished under the pen as your eyes widened in realization. The patient just called you, and, judging by the tone of his voice, he was pleasantly surprised. You looked up to find every gaze in the room turned in your direction. Taehyung was smiling, and, suddenly, you were very aware of him. Shouldn’t have ignored his presence before, because now it was a bit overwhelming. And there’s that flitting feeling... You’d call it a déjà vu, but it would contradict Dr. Kim’s newest theory. He thought that the concept of “déjà vu” was about alternative universes, not about past lives. According to him, déjà vu appears when you experience something that your alternative self lived through a bit earlier. As if they went through life a little faster, but in a moment of deja vu you catch up to them, hit the same point in time and space, then go your barely separate ways. Anyway...

You turned to Namjoon - who looked surprised, but also intrigued - hoping that your eyes screamed for help obviously enough. 

“I didn’t realize that they’ve brought me to your hospital,” the man seemed very excited by the encounter, so, at least, he liked you. But how the hell did he know you at all? You opened your mouth (that appeared to be rid of any moisture) to say something, but Namjoon stepped in; probably to prevent you from answering with anything that could confuse or disturb the patient. 

“Excuse me, Taehyung. Can I steal your...?” Dr. Kim paused, expecting for Taehyung to finish the sentence, and - oh boy - he did. 

“Fiancée,” the man replied happily, a somewhat prideful look adoring his features. Meanwhile, your ability to breathe was packing its bags, ready to travel. A soft gasp - that sounded a lot like ‘fiancée’ - escaped your lips, and you felt someone’s hand on your back, pushing you off the wall. When did you lean against it? Now that you decided to concentrate on it - your legs were obviously shaking. 

“Fiancée,” Dr. Kim repeated, physically pushing you out of the room, because your body didn’t seem to cooperate under the severe shock. You could vaguely - very, very... very vaguely - understand what all of it meant, but the right pieces just bounced off each other, not clicking yet. “Fascinating. We’ll be right back,” Namjoon ushered you out, hoping that Taehyung didn’t find your terrified state too suspicious. He couldn’t let this chance go to waste, because for Dr. Kim everything clicked the moment his patient called your name.

“Y/N, do you know him?” he had to make sure that in this life you were absolute strangers. Your lungs came from their brief vacation and worked with full force, as you frantically tried to remember seeing Kim Taehyung’s face before. No memory came up, and, sure, you could forget a face, but certainly not the fact that you were engaged to said face. So you shook your head, confidently enough for Dr. Kim to light up with delight and anticipation. A new discovery was on the way. 

“No, I’ve never seen him, and I am not his fiancée,” you denied the fact as if it was an outrageous accusation, when, in reality, everyone knew that the whole thing was just a trick, played on Taehyung by his own fogged mind. 

“That’s excellent!” Namjoon was practically jumping on the spot, while your confusion slowly wore off. Very slowly. 

“Excellent? Wha- why, why? Why would you-? I wouldn’t use that wo- ...Oh,” and then it hit you. “OH! It means that he knew me in his past life! Holy sh-“

“Yes, precisely! And it also means that you had the same name in your past life, which means that he probably did too!” Dr. Kim was hitting you with conclusions and calculations - rapid fire style - so your inner scientist was simply ecstatic, yet overwhelmed and a bit dizzy. “And it also means that you physically look the same as your previous self! This is unprecedented! You have to play along!” you were nodding along to everything Namjoon was saying. He was so enthusiastic and fired up, it was infectious. But wait-

“Wha- What?!” did you hear him right? “Play along as in... I have to pretend to be his fiancée?” Namjoon exhaled to calm himself down from excitement, before attempting to calm you down from panicking. His hands squeezed your shoulders, but Dr. Kim soon found that it wasn’t enough to ground you. “I have to do everything that it implies? I have to pretend... to be in love?” you whispered the word ‘love’ like it was something forbidden; like faking love is the most sinful and horrible crime to commit. 

“Y/N, my dear Y/N, please, hear me out,” Namjoon’s hands altered to cradle your face, and he looked into your eyes as if you were the only one who could help him, save him; like you were the only person that mattered right now, and if the context of his pleas was any less professional, you’d feel weak in the knees. It made sense, though. Dr. Kim was in love with scientific progress, and you were the embodiment of it in that fateful moment. “We can’t destroy his world right now, because we don’t know- ...we can’t predict what it could possibly do to his mind. It could result in a catastrophe. But, more than that, just- ...just imagine how much we can uncover. You already gave me a lot just by standing in the corner of that room. Do this too, please. It could change everything.”

“I... I am not a good actress. And I don’t know anything about him... about us in his... damn it! Our past life. What if he figures it out?” to be completely honest, you were convinced the moment Namjoon started speaking. You’ve never seen anyone so determined and committed. It truly was the work of his life. Right now, your frightened mind just scrambled for more reassurance that, you knew, he could give you. 

“It won’t matter to him. You know as well as I do that these patients don’t get suspicious about things ‘not adding up’. You just have to act like you know him and that, yes, you are a woman in love, about to marry the man of her dreams,” Dr. Kim was still pretty close, so you pealed his hands off your face, in case Taehyung came out of his room. He shouldn’t see you in a position that looks far from innocent. Was he a jealous type? Well, you were already in that mindset, might as well... Your head hit the wall with a quiet knock, and you closed your eyes, thinking things over one last time. 

“You don’t seem like the kind of student that would have a crush on their professor, so I won’t ask you to do this for me... unless,” he stretched out the sentence, narrowing eyes at you. Suspicion was real. “...you do have a... crush on me?” you snorted at that. His cluelessness was truly adorable. He obviously didn’t know or care about the proper navigation of someone’s romantic advances. And your reaction to it - as if it was such a ridiculous implication (after all, it wasn’t far fetched at all, because a lot of students did have a crush on him) - didn’t hurt the man, even though he said “ouch”. “Okay, then do it for science, Y/N, because I know you care.”

Dr. Kim lifted his hand, and you were split between rolling your eyes and squealing with joy. Here goes nothing.

“For science,” your fist bumped into his, and that sealed it. You were officially science bros with Kim Namjoon. 

...

“Were you really ready to use poor girl’s affection towards you? For your own benefit? Shame on you, Dr. Kim.”

“Uhh, not for my benefit? For science?”

...And you were officially engaged to Kim Taehyung. 

The hospital staff was immediately informed of your unusual situation, and not being the only one who had to “play along” felt somewhat relaxing. Moving forward, for Taehyung and everyone else (in Taehyung’s presence) you were just a nurse that worked exhausting shifts daily and fulfilled her duties by caring for all sorts of patients. Now you practically lived at the hospital, not only because nurses in the 60s did that, but because Dr. Kim advised you to spend as much time with your new-old fiancé as you could. 

You felt like a government spy, and Taehyung was your mission. In some ways, it was true. You were his lovely bride’s evil tween, and your task was to get close to him, because he held some important secrets. Dramatic, yet strangely accurate. His personal file - that also comprised everyone’s notes on the man - served as your desk book, and his parents’ narrative was your bedtime story. You were relieved to find that Taehyung was single, even though his current life didn’t mean a great deal at the moment. The fact that there wasn’t a romantic partner in sight eased your mind considerably. Directing “heart eyes” (even fake ones) at someone else’s lover would be guilt-inducing, surely. You just hoped that his family and friends were informed of his personal life as well as they thought. 

This noble scientific swindle was destined to start awkwardly, so you were having an out-of-body experience during every conversation with Taehyung. Lookers-on see most of the game, and you could imagine how easy it was to point out the stiffness of your posture or the rehearsed nature of your sentences. Your own tongue felt heavy and foreign as it moved in your mouth, and, at one point, Namjoon seriously considered paying for acting classes. He couldn’t have you compromising the “mission” by planting seeds of suspicion into Taehyung’s mind. Admittedly, it would be really hard - or even impossible - to do, but your behavior around the patient was just that unnatural and forced. 

By good fortune, Taehyung was completely oblivious to your struggles with communication, and, as irony would have it, played a crucial part in making the whole situation less tense. Of course, he did it without even realizing his own contributions to the success of Dr. Kim’s research. With time, you stopped dreading the interaction and your own heavy-handedness, because, when it came down to it, Taehyung was really easy and fun to be around. He had a gift of making people feel joyous, always ready to spark or endure some benignant foolishness. His ardour was infectious, and the man rarely failed in making you laugh. 

One month into the “relationship”, you could unhesitatingly confirm that Taehyung was a sweet and caring boyfriend. More than that, you were convinced that the mastermind behind the term “puppy love” was inspired by the look on Taehyung’s face whenever he zoned out, staring at his fiancée - in this case, you - and it had nothing to do with teenagers being in love. The man was quite affectionate (note: understatement of the millennium), and if, at first, his urge to be close to you was restrained by the injuries and prescribed bed rest, now - you could barely find an empty corner and write your daily report for Namjoon. You had to do it while Taehyung was asleep, which wasn’t particularly problematic, since the boy always nudged you to take a nap on his lap the next day, while he read on a bench in the garden. Taehyung tied your tiredness to night shifts, you imagined. 

Nonetheless, being his significant other was challenging in unexpected ways, so you still used Taehyung’s injuries as a protective barrier. The bruise on his bottom lip was pretty severe, so kisses were off the table, which saddened the man greatly. Plus, the complete healing was constantly postponed, because Taehyung would always cut the wound open by smiling widely at something cute you did. When an older nurse scolded the boy for making her tend to his poor lip again and again ( ...and again), Taehyung only shrugged and said that his fiancée was simply too adorable and he couldn’t help it. So. No kisses. Less smiling. Once, though, he turned his head at the right time - just as you leaned in to leave a peck on his cheek - resulting in your lips brushing the corner of Taehyung’s mouth, and it was the closest he got to lip locking with you. That little “accident” got the man so excited, he didn’t beg for kisses that week at all. 

It was much harder to deprive him of cuddles, though. Not because there were no excuses to avoid them. He had a couple of broken ribs, and it would be painful to even hug tightly. Pushing the man away, keeping him at the arm’s length turned out to be emotionally exhausting and heartbreaking, because Taehyung didn’t hesitate to regularly remind you of how much he loved all the snuggles and cuddles, and how desperately he missed feeling that sort of closeness with you. Every time you left his side, so he could rest, Taehyung pouted playfully, not willing to let go and fall asleep just yet. On more occasions than your heart would like to admit, you gave in - just a little, but it was a big victory for him - and kissed Taehyung’s forehead, not missing the way he sighed deeply and contentedly as your lips pressed to his skin. The boy’s eyes always appeared a little more dreary when you pulled away, and he never omitted a chance to hold onto your hand for a second longer, before giving you a tight smile and a quiet “goodnight, beautiful”. The image never failed to create a lump in your throat. He deserved much more affection in return, but the “you” that could give it to him was long gone. 

Your debt to him was becoming unmeasurable by the day, because, through Taehyung, you could also get a glimpse into your past life, without having to injure your head. It was a truly priceless gift, but its destiny was unknown and impossible to predict. Will Taehyung remember any of your time together after he “wakes up”? Will he remember all the love he spent? All the memories of you he shared? There was no way to tell with certainty. Most patients didn’t recall their “confabulation period” at all. They were left with completely blank pages, and no stories to fill those with. Being in a coma would probably be more entertaining and colorful. Yet, some lucky people remembered parts of different lengths. An even smaller percentage of patients - remembered everything.

You didn’t know for which outcome to hope, but you’d be okay with anything as long as Taehyung didn’t feel sad or hurt, or the wrong kind of foolish for giving away so much of himself; all to someone who failed to appreciate that fraction of time with him for what it was: a beautiful and unselfish gift of love. Sometimes you thought that it was your only chance to be loved like that... in this life.

“The 60s you” was obviously a nurse, but you kept discovering new details about her with every visit to Taehyung’s memory bank. He loved reminiscing about the most trivial things, and even the first time he saw you brush your teeth in the morning was special. That’s when Taehyung knew that you felt like home to him. Well, good for you and your notes to Dr. Kim, who was quite pleased with how detailed your reports were. He did point out that the way you wrote about Taehyung felt more... inspired - less formal and more poetic - though, it didn’t come as a surprise to you, because, with time, you became significantly more fascinated with your-past-self’s future husband... if that makes sense. 

Kim Taehyung was a pilot, which slightly correlated with his current occupation: aeronautical engineer; although, it didn’t cover solely planes in your time. He seemed to really love the sky, and it reflected in his poetry preferences. Taehyung read and recited poems about the skies the most, be it the blue and fresh early morning or the mysterious starry night that rhymed within their lines. The “hopeless romantic” side of him was utterly endearing, which is why you struggled to hide your shock when his other passion was revealed. Your-60s-self was probably aware of it, so you couldn’t really react when Taehyung confessed that he missed street fighting almost as much as flying. It was hard to imagine Taehyung expressing any sort of aggression, but that particular hobby of his just proved that everyone needed an outlet. The darkness had to go somewhere, and the man not only let it out away from you or the job, but also got some trophies (or prize money) for it. 

Later you found out that Taehyung was into a more... civil form of competing. Yes, it was still violent, but somewhat organized and restricted by a set of rules, which made the whole thing less gruesome in your mind. Taehyung was also strangely amazed at how ironic the cause of his injuries was: with duties and interests as dangerous as flying a plane and street fighting, he managed to be knocked out by a plain car crash. He talked about all of it with such ease that the very thing that should’ve pushed you away, made you distant, brought you a new appreciation for the love you once had for each other. Taehyung trusted you enough to let in on that secret, and you loved him enough to except that dangerous hobby of his. You must’ve been sure that he was worth it. 

Yet, while you cherished the love itself, your young heart still couldn’t grasp what your old soul already knew, already lived. Multiple times, it could be. What could create a bond so strong, so powerful that it surfaced through Taehyung several lifetimes later? You couldn’t find the answer with the way you’ve been approaching the mystery so far. Your mind was so completely focused on the words that came out of Taehyung’s mouth, you failed to look past them. Subliminal messages got lost between the lines, because the information for research was your priority. And, even though Dr. Kim praised your reports, there were things about Taehyung that skipped your attention. Some of them were gearing up to hit you in the face pretty soon.

It was a very busy day at the hospital. Several new patients arrived, all with signs of confabulation, but their physical injuries had to be treated first, which made all the real nurses occupied and unavailable to do Taehyung’s scheduled re-bandaging. You’ve seen it done enough times on different patients to know the drill, so you didn’t think twice before agreeing to perform the procedure on your fiancé. Come to think of it, you were never present when his bandages were changed. Every time you went to remind him or ask, he’d already done it. 

“Y/N?! What- What are you doing here?” Taehyung stuttered, wide-eyed, as you burst into his room with fresh bandages and other necessary supplies in hands. The man looked panicked, but you decided to write it off as the initial surprise. 

“I will be changing your bandages today,” you practically sang and turned to the table for preparations, missing the way your uncharacteristically cheerful mood went completely unnoticed by Taehyung... ironically. On any other day he would eagerly channel, harbor and try his gosh-darn best to increase that rare excited lilt in your voice. He’d strive to make it last as long as possible... Not today, though. 

“Are- Are you sure no one else can do it?” the man kept stumbling over his words, voice sounding painfully small, but it still wasn’t enough for you to get suspicious. 

“Why? Don’t you trust me? I’m hurt,” you feigned offense, playful to a fault, but the tease went right over Taehyung’s head, who appeared oblivious and rushed to assure you that-

“No, no. Of course, I trust you...,” the sentence faded away as if he mumbled it under his breath, to himself, and the words felt so heavy with worry and nervousness that your movements faded as well, brows furrowing in confusion. You slowly turned to look at him - really look at him - for the first time since stepping into the room. The man before you clearly couldn’t decide what to do with his body, constantly shifting on the bed, not knowing where to place his hands or how to successfully escape your gaze... or his own skin, it seemed. Eventually, Taehyung crossed his arms, protectively hugging himself. You’ve never seen him so tense. 

“Tae? Are you sure you’re alright? I’ve seen you shirtless... right?” you chuckled humorlessly, not even buying that that could be the reason for his behavior. Or could it? Why was he acting like this? Was your marriage arranged? Did you agree not to have sex before the wedding? It seemed- felt unlikely, but, before you could spiral into a full on panic mode, he answered...

“Yeah! ... Yeah, let’s just- let’s just do it,” he swallowed, reaching for the hem of his shirt with trembling fingers. You didn’t realize you held your breath until it whooshed out, all at once, at the sight of his bare torso. 

In that moment, certain, relatively ordinary for a hospital patient phrases came rushing back to you. “I miss fighting, but with the way my body aches, it feels like I still do it every day”, Taehyung would joke, and your psychoanalytic brain would only highlight the ‘i miss fighting’ part of it, because that gave you new (and quite shocking) information. Now, though, you cursed at your own ability to pay attention to all the wrong details, because it should’ve been obvious. He was in pain. 

You stepped closer, taking in all the bruises that covered his upper body. If they were fading now, what was it like before? The mere thought of it and the flashing images made you lightheaded, though they weren’t the main reason why your knees hit the floor in front of him.

“Taehyung-,“ you gasped, reaching out to touch his stomach gently. The man hissed at the sting, but you didn’t move your hand away, only willed it to be even gentler. His presence was a miracle in more ways than one now, because he shouldn’t have survived a crash that left him in so many shades of purple. Not only his soul was a traveler, but his body seemed to have gone through so much as well. 

“I didn’t want you to see this,” the man sighed and shook his head in defeat, not looking up to meet your eyes that, he imagined, were wide with horror. They were. 

You blinked away the tears, stood up and quickly moved to get the bandages. Suddenly, you wished they were made from the softest material imaginable. They weren’t, but it just meant that you and your hands had to be as careful as ever. Butterfly wings had to have nothing on your fingers. Without realizing it, you promised yourself that he wouldn’t feel a thing as you worked. 

Unfortunately, like most things, it was easier said than done, and, even though, you stepped in Taehyung’s direction with determination to soothe his aching body, your lack of experience with “real” nursing tasks was bound to ruin the plan. You weren’t sure what kind of pressure to apply or what was the best way to wrap bandages around his torso, which, combined with the overall painful nature of the procedure, only interrupted the quietness of the room with Taehyung’s grunts and hisses, always followed by his strained “it’s okay, keep going”. Your hands froze every time he made a distressed sound, but, when a number of them crossed what seemed like a hundred, you only wished to finish faster. 

The less bandages there were left - the more concentrated you became, finally finding your groove. Later, it would feel like an out of body experience. Like you’ve done this before, or, rather, your soul did, and it took the reigns in that moment, not asking for permission. You moved around Taehyung with much more swiftness, getting lost in your own repetitive movements. One roll of stretchy fabric later, you were ready to tie the final knot over his right shoulder. Taehyung moaned in pain, again, when you applied more pressure to make the knot tighter, and the next words escaped your mouth before you could think about it.

“I’m sorry, baby. It’s almost done,” your soul seemed to take over you completely. The phrase slipped out so naturally, you appeared right where he was - in your shared past life. Taehyung turned to look at you; so fast, you thought you heard his neck crack. And you realized why the man was stunned, yet, strangely, you didn’t feel the urge to be surprised about it as well. This moment felt too right to ruin it with stuttering excuses. 

“What?” you asked innocently, referring to his wide eyes and the fact that his mouth was hanging open. The boy blinked a couple of times, still unmoving, but when you shrugged and moved again to check if the bandages were wrapped around him comfortably, Taehyung snapped out of it. 

“You didn’t call me that- baby in awhile,” he paused, looking down at his lap. “I missed it,” Taehyung wished you didn’t say it now; not when he felt so undeserving of it. From where you were standing, though, he deserved to be called the sweetest of names all year long.

You circled the bed to stand in front of him. When Taehyung didn’t look up, guilt radiating off of him, your fingers reached for his chin to gently brush and tilt it up. Your eyes locked with his, and you felt your soul flutter... No. You felt your soul shudder as it desperately gulped for air after being suffocated under miles and miles of water for the longest time. You guessed, it was because you looked at him with a clear, unselfish purpose for the very first time. 

“Don’t hide things like that from me again,” you said - quietly, yet firmly - right before your throat started to tighten with emotions under the intensity of his gaze. He looked back earnestly, like he couldn’t believe the sight. He couldn’t believe that he got to see you like that: brave and terrified, determined and vulnerable. So beautiful. Still, he didn’t deserve it. But he would take in every detail, until his own eyes would start to water, matching yours. After all, he was just as terrified and just as brave as you were. Just as beautiful. 

The air was charged with rawest intimacy, yet, it felt empty. Not void of emotion or meaning, no. Quite the opposite. It simply felt freeing. Like you could spread your arms and spin, and you wouldn’t bump into a bed, a table, chairs. Your wild limbs wouldn’t touch a thing. You didn’t dare move and explore this vacuum, though, because, when it came down to it, you’d much rather spend every moment of that freedom next to him. You were zoned in on each other. Cocooned in this blissful nothingness that was supposed to make you shiver, make your skin crawl, and still, you felt warm... like your souls were hugging. 

Suddenly, it wasn’t enough, and soon Taehyung’s hands were on your waist, guiding you closer. Your shaky knees nearly buckled, when the man buried his face in your stomach, wrapping the whole length of his arms around you and holding you tightly. A bated gasp escaped your lungs, but even your heartbeat slowed down and got quiet as soon as you realized that Taehyung was mumbling something into the material of your white coat. You could tell by the waves of warm air spreading against your belly and his lips moving to let it out. It tickled a little, but you managed to make out a couple of phrases. “I’m sorry” and “I won’t”. 

In that moment, you felt beyond any time any place. It was scary and felt so immeasurably bigger than both of you. Did Taehyung sense it as well? Did his soul? Your fingers reached for his hair, running through it, and you felt an exhale against your core - trembling with relief - like he was going crazy without your touch, and now was on the verge of insanity, because he finally felt it. You smiled, letting the tears fall freely on top of his head. Your mind wasn’t quite set on why you felt like crying for hours. Were you just deprived of such pure human contact for so long, or was your soul crying in a mix of pain and happiness at having him so close again?

“You worry about me so much as it is. I didn’t want to add to it,” Taehyung pulled away a little, his chin still attached to you, and looked up. He seemed miserable and exhausted, making you wonder if he felt this way too often lately and was just really good at hiding it. But then, from a different perspective, he looked at ease and, somehow, younger. His eyes appeared less clouded, almost crystalline, and, for what it’s worth, you were happy that Taehyung didn’t have to mask his feelings anymore. Not from you. For as long as this incarnation of him would stay here. 

“You are a miracle,” you whispered as your fingers left his hair, sliding down to cradle his face instead. This phrase belonged to multiple versions of you - to “the scientists” you, to “the 60s nurse” you, to “the fiancée” you - but, ultimately, it belonged to your soul. Taehyung’s eyes widened for a split second, giving away his surprise at your words, but then a brilliant smile spread across the man’s features. He smiled like he realized something you didn’t, you couldn’t, because he was in this relationship with you for much longer, so he studied you that much closer. Now, it seemed ridiculous that you ever felt more aware of things than him, when you only knew one thing - his condition - and Taehyung has lived years by your side.

“I missed you calling me that too,” he said teasingly and placed a quick kiss to the inner side of your wrist. You said that to him before? Wow, you really did, didn’t you? Of course. “Although, it would usually be ‘you are my miracle’, but we’ll get there again.”

Again. So he noticed the change, the setback. He felt the distance you’ve put between them. Taehyung might have been oblivious to the fact that the books he read were from another century, but he was attuned to you and your moods this whole time. Did your behavior confuse him? How did he explain it to himself? Did he suspect that something wasn’t right? Just like that, the research was on your mind again... 

And, just like that, you also realized that that research wouldn’t be your priority anymore when it came to Taehyung. Taehyung himself would become your main focus. Not only his words would concern you, not only the information he gives you to fill out reports, but his feelings, his well-being, his heart. 

You promised yourself to keep Taehyung’s heart safe, dreading the fact that he was probably right. You will get there. One day, you will want to call him yours, and that will become your downfall. 

After what could only be described as a life changing experience you felt the shift. You felt your soul move for Taehyung whenever he was near. It arched stubbornly towards his soul, kicking and screaming, like it wanted to hug its newfound lover again. You felt your heart beat faster every time he smiled at you. This relationship danced on the verge of being too real for comfort and was destined to end in a catastrophe, given the speed at which your affection for Taehyung was growing. Hell, sometimes you had to physically pinch yourself to keep from daydreaming about your shared past life. You found yourself wondering, quite frequently, if those versions of the two of you really loved each other till their dying days. Or did they divorce years later? No, that didn’t feel right. Could you Google that?

It didn’t help that Taehyung felt the shift as well. He started to initiate more physical contact without fearing your rejection, and you didn’t have it in you to push him away anymore. So you just held you breath every time his hand casually slid down your back and stayed on the small of it, all while he quietly watched you fill out fake reports at the nursing station. Eventually, seeing your frustration with the task, he’d start to rub your lower back in soothing circles, which made you relax almost instantly. It’s like he knew exactly what you needed... He knew you.

Sometimes (and it started to happen more often as the time went on), you forgot to separate your past and present lives from each other, eagerly listening to Taehyung’s stories like they were all a part your grand character ark. You saw yourself as the manifestation of all the previous incarnations, finding that you always agreed with your own views on life and love, and the world... however different those worlds may have been. 

You grew more curious with each passing day, gradually becoming fascinated not only with Taehyung, but with his version of you. You liked her. She seemed wiser then than you were now, and you wondered which path she took to become that at this age. She was impressive. A lifetime ago “you” had enough courage to change your career’s direction halfway through college, from journalism to medicine, realizing you wanted to take care of people the way you helped Taehyung through some rough fighting aftermaths. You still loved to do research and write, and the boy confessed that watching you mull over the right order of words was very calming.

At least, “the current you” was wise enough to bite her tongue and not ask Taehyung and excessive amount of questions... most of the time. Yes, he wouldn’t bet an eye and just rationalize your curiosity, coming up with an explanation on his own (you had a feeling that he often settled on “a semi-subtle check-up of his memory for a medical record”), but Namjoon gave you specific instructions that you had to follow... or try to follow. It was hard when Taehyung lit up like a Christmas tree every time you answered “fine” to his question of “how are you today, beautiful?” That’s an odd reaction, right? So you had to ask. As it turned out, a couple of years ago you and Taehyung came to a conclusion that being “fine” is way better than being “great! excellent! happy!” Why? Because every time you feel happy, inevitably, you also feel that ounce of fear that that feeling will soon end. 

“I am always a little scared when I’m with you, though,” he confessed, and you felt your heart skip a bit. That goddamn charmer! What was even more infuriating is his complete obliviousness to the fact that one of the most romantic and smooth lines just came out of his mouth. Taehyung simply kept watching you with a gentle smile on his lips, absolutely loving the way you didn’t seem to know what to do with yourself. You kept avoiding his gaze, looking everywhere, but mostly at your lap. You were blushing furiously, all the way to the tips of your ears. And you were smiling so wide, you had to bite down on your lip to suppress it. Your painfully endearing shyness seemed to have awakened a strange sense of déjà vu within him, and you heard Taehyung hum softly beside you.

“What?” you asked, finally being able to look at him directly. 

“I don’t know,” the man shrugged, reaching out to play with your hair. “Somehow, it just felt like when we first started dating.” 

A sudden gust of nostalgia for something you’ve never known, never experienced hit you in the chest, quickly spreading to engulf your whole body and making you gasp in surprise. Anemoia’s the word, right? Dr. Kim was writing a paper on it at the moment. You could definitely help him with some interesting insight now, because your entire being was lovingly placed into another time and space. Almost the way a song that played at your prom takes you back to the night, so your body is momentarily tricked into believing that you are actually there. 

Only it wasn’t a song this time, it was a person. It was Taehyung that lead you to that feeling and made it last for more than a split second. You could taste the difference on the tip of your tongue as if the air around you really shifted into something tangible and full of memories. And you remembered how it felt to simply exist back then. How it felt to be you, living in your skin in another time... And it was your second or third date, yet you could still feel the butterflies just looking at him. Faint jazz music suddenly reached your ears, and you wanted to hum a tune that you’ve never heard before. 

Was it where Taehyung’s mind went? Did you feel the right things? You couldn’t possibly be sure, but nostalgia was never this striking or lasted that long. 

“You fully intend to keep making me fall for you, don’t you?” Taehyung whispered mindlessly, as if to himself, but the implication left you more breathless then seemed possible. There was a negative amount of air in your lungs now. “Over and over again,” he was closer somehow, fingers brushing your neck without a specific intention. He was just submitting to the pull he always felt near you. The one that makes you move and touch, and watch intently. It’s when you register every drop of her eyelashes, yet you don’t seem to notice yourself leaning in. The movement is barely there, but oh wow, it’s impactful. “I have to say, I don’t mind one bit.” 

You feel his words on your lips now. They are full of breath that you lack, and it would be almost too delicious to make him share it. You had the chance to be selfish in the most acceptable and pleasant way. But... You simply wouldn’t come back from it. You would be going for seconds every chance you got. But... 

You make him fall deeper in love? This you? This present-time-you? The thought was dangerous with how flattering it was, making your heart stutter. Taehyung’s eyes were already closed and he was angling his head slightly, looking like the angel he is. Gentle, even if a little impatient. Meanwhile, you felt like a mess. Overwhelmed and very conflicted. You swallowed and shut your eyes tightly, already scowling at what you were about to do. And when did your breath come back, making your chest heave this heavily? 

“Tae?” 

“Yes?” he sounded so shaken by mere anticipation, you had to keep yourself from whining and giving in. It was just cruel how undeniable his need for you was. 

“I need to go back to work,” the broken exhale that he let out was bound to haunt your dreams. You didn’t look back as you walked away.

You couldn’t figure him out. You couldn’t “predict” him. It seemed like he instinctively dodged every romantic comedy cliche. There were countless melodramatic tropes paved for him, but he always chose to swerve and draw his own patterns. You imagined, he was always the kid that, on his way home from school, would be tempted to mark the perfect white canvas of fresh snow with his footprints - and would do it too, eventually, dragging his feet through the deep drifts - while everyone else just followed the padded path. 

Taehyung didn’t seem upset or hurt. He didn’t question your escape nor did he try to make you feel guilty about it. As if the boy refused to see that hurried exit of yours as the door being shut in his face, and, instead, saw it as your trauma of almost loosing him melting away a little more. To Taehyung, your soul needed just a little more convincing before letting him in again and trusting that nothing will happen that could put his life at risk. Not if he could help it. 

Apparently, the key point of his strategy was to remind you of how good and fun you were together, often acting like teenagers in love with total disregard for whether the time and place were appropriate. Yet, your displays of affection never crossed the line into something provocative or deprecated. True to his pure and innocent nature, Taehyung’s “moves” always looked playful and, dare you say, cute in everyone’s eyes, with your overflowing fondness towards each other making people around you go “aww”. 

And the boy would definitely be lying if he said that your flustered appearance and blushing cheeks didn’t make it that much more fun for him. 

“You should be more careful next time, Mrs. Lee,” since you were helping with Taehyung’s bandages more often and leveled up your nursing skills training on him, it wasn’t a rare occurrence for you to look after other patients as well. 

“I know, dear. I guess the kettle was just too heavy for me,” the old woman sighed as you wrapped her burnt wrist carefully. Mrs. Lee was a sweet lady - always put together and endlessly welcoming - but a bit too clumsy for her own good. It was her third minor injury this week. Previously, she managed to hit her toe against the bed frame and get a pretty nasty paper cut on her thumb. Ouch. Her soul thought it was 1920s, so maybe people were more careless about their health back then. 

“There you are!” Taehyung’s booming voice entered the room before the man himself burst inside, and you didn’t miss the way Mrs. Lee’s eyes lit up. She adored him. Everyone did. “Good morning, Mrs. Lee! New day - new adventure, I see. I’m glad you keep my fiancée on her toes,” Tae winked, and you heard the woman actually giggle. The power he possessed was truly boundless.

“I do what I can,” Mrs. Lee was full on beaming now - bright and happy - the pain in her wrist seemingly forgotten. You smiled to yourself too, finishing up the procedure. 

“Mornin’, beautiful,” Taehyung lowered his voice, and it took less than a second for you to start blushing. Blood rushed to your face somewhere between his breath hitting your ear and his lips briefly pressing to your temple. You were used to a lot of “Taehyung things” by this point (barely): holding Taehyung’s hand, brushing Taehyung’s hair while he slept, Taehyung’s fingers dancing across your back while you worked. Always teasing. Sometimes tickling. Like right now. Up and down. Up and down. Down. Down, down. Wait, what?

“Taehyung!” you gasped. He pinched you! He pinched your butt! 

Your hand flew to cup the “violated area” (on pure reflex) as you turned, wide-eyed, to Taehyung, who was clearly trying his best to stifle the fit of giggles. He had the audacity to look surprised by your animated reaction, like it wasn’t his intention all along. Oh, he was so amused! The boy quickly hid his hands behind his back as if trying to dispose of the evidence, but you were already on a mission to give him a piece of your mind. 

“Out!” you grabbed Taehyung’s arm and proceeded to drag him out of the room, unwilling to scold the men in front of another patient. 

“Mrs. Lee, save me!” he pleaded, not really trying to put up a fight, even though he definitely could. 

“You are on your own, young man,” the older lady just laughed and, rather entertained, waved the two of you a goodbye.

“What the hell, Taehyung?” you whisper-screamed as soon as the door closed behind him. Your “disapproving wife” mode was all the way on, and you didn’t even know it was a part of your settings in the first place. Taehyung took in your crossed arms and furrowed eyebrows, feeling strangely endeared. Let’s keep it going for a bit, he thought. “That was really inappropriate!” 

“Well, if you didn’t scream like that, she wouldn’t even notice. So, objectively, this is your fault,” he argued, mimicking your irritated posture.

“Objective- !? Don’t do this around other patients!” you hissed back, now vaguely aware of the fact that Taehyung was probably messing with you. 

“Does it mean I can do it when we are alone?” the boy not-at-all-subtly wiggled  his (gorgeous) eyebrows and stepped closer, placing his hands on your waist. 

“Well, not anytime soon. You’ve ruined it for yourself,” you were still frowning - in a desperate attempt to appear mad - but your lips were starting to angle up in a smile, treacherously so. 

“You are mean,” he pouted. Well, that’s not fair. 

“And you are childish.”

“You like it though,” somewhere, in the back of your mind, you were painfully aware of how it all looked. Your palms rested peacefully on his chest, and you smiled at each other without saying a word, yet understanding everything. ‘I do like it. I can’t help it.’ You were in love. Really, really, really in love. “And you are right. It was inappropriate. I’m sorry. I just wanted to tease you and took it too far. It won’t happen again.”

“Thank you,” you sighed and leaned forward, so his lips effortlessly pressed to your forehead. You were so screwed. 

After escaping Taehyung’s warm embrace (quite reluctantly), you snuck back into the room. The door clicked upon closing, and you were met Mrs. Lee’s knowing smile. 

“Is Taehyung in trouble?” she asked, but, if your own tender smile was any indication, he very obviously wasn’t. You still shook your head ‘no’ and averted your eyes, suddenly shy. The woman laughed quietly at your timidity, while you busied yourself with her wrist. Taehyung’s little “tease” interrupted your work in quite a dramatic way, so you weren’t even sure if the task was completed properly. “Be glad he’s still playful. That boy has eyes only for you. I can tell.”

If you were blushing before, now your face caught on fire. It was one thing to experience Taehyung’s absolute devotion yourself, but to have it pointed out by someone else was another feeling entirely. Once again, you couldn’t help but think that your past-life-self got really lucky with him. Oh.

“How did he propose?” the question halted your movements for a split second. Oh. How did he propose? That’s right. You didn’t know. Because it wasn’t to you. The blush on your cheeks fainted, and you suddenly felt cold. It was so easy to smile just a second ago, but now you had to put in a tremendous effort in order to appear unaffected. Though, if you listened closely, you could still feel your soul sighing in content from having Taehyung so near and so warm, and not so long ago. A bittersweet feeling, but it helped. 

“It’s almost time for your check up with Dr. Kim. How about we save that story for later?”

Mrs. Lee nodded, a little upset, and you couldn’t blame her. You’d love to hear all about it yourself. It would hurt even more, sure, but if you were to bet your life on anything, you’d bet it on Taehyung organizing the most wonderful and romantic proposal in the history of mankind. You didn’t dare coming up with something of your own right now, because it simply wouldn’t compare. 

Millions of thoughts and questions flooded your mind even before you left Mrs. Lee’s room. It wasn’t really you Taehyung was in love with. Of course, it wasn’t. It was another girl that shared your soul and looked like you. But then... Were you essentially your soul? Did it matter what life made of the rest of you? Was Taehyung in love with your soul exclusively? He said it himself. He was falling deeper in love with you. 

Taehyung’s beloved soul was your soul. It was just a lifetime older than he thought. 

“Y/N?” Namjoon’s voice pulled you out of your thoughts, and, after looking around for a second, you numbly discovered that your feet didn’t carry the rest of your body too far away from the door. “You okay?” 

You nodded, but he didn’t seem convinced. The man was probably on his way to Mrs. Lee, so you had to pull yourself together as to not hold him up. 

“Could you, please, stop by my office later? I’d like to talk to you.”

“Sure,” you managed a verbal response this time. Short and sweet. Nice job all around, but it still earned you a concerned look from Namjoon. He regarded you for another moment, then nodded, disappearing behind the door a second later. 

You probably should’ve blinked at least once.

It turned out that Dr. Kim unintentionally witnessed the quiet and sweet moment you shared with Taehyung outside Mrs. Lee’s room. The hospital hall could be considered a public place, so the display of affection wasn’t meant to be hidden, yet, Namjoon felt as if he was prying on an intimate exchange. That foreign feeling made him stop and pay attention to something besides science (though, implicitly, the issue at hand was related to it), which said a lot. He was notoriously unaware of... He was notoriously unaware. Period. 

That, combined with faint mental notes he made while reading your reports, pushed Dr. Kim to invite you to his office for a private conversation. The way your descriptions of Taehyung’s past and present increased in poetic value as the time went on never really bothered Namjoon, because he could always work around that and still get a lot of valuable information. Plus, your expressiveness made it into a good read. 

Your every word became more vibrant and meaningful after he saw the way you looked at your fiancé. You were a terrible actress, and no one knew it better than Kim Namjoon. The man wasn’t being overly dramatic when he confessed to having nightmares in which your acting was so bad that it made Taehyung “snap out of it” and leave. Namjoon bet a lot on you. 

It was supposed to be a game of pretend, and he had to make sure it was still the case for you. Was Dr. Kim doing it for science? The man wasn’t sure himself. His research could still become groundbreaking, whether your heart ended up broken or not, but Namjoon just couldn’t stay unaware this time around. So now you were passing from wall to wall in his office, trying not to panic. Trying and failing. 

"How much longer will I have to play along? He wants... to do stuff, you know? I am his fiancée,” Namjoon glanced up from his papers, slight alarm in his gaze, so you hurried to clarify. “No, he doesn’t say or do anything. I just feel it.”

"Just tell him he's too weak for that," Dr. Kim shrugged, but then paused for a moment. It’s been a little less than three months. Taehyung was almost completely healthy. “Wait, actually, just tell him that it's against hospital policy. Or both.”

"That's what I tell him, but he's just so damn eager and responsive to everything I do! Not in a gross way, but still! What if he never comes back from it? What if I-,” fall in love before he wakes up? You didn’t finish the thought out loud, but your breathing was rushed and uneven, so he knew. He’s observant at the very least, but it’s more than that. You both knew. Namjoon was surprised at himself, and you were surprised to see his eyes so full of untapped emotion. He looked a little sad, but mostly worried. Maybe a tad bit apologetic. You hoped you imagined a drop of regret in the mix, because that’s what you didn’t feel, despite hurting. 

"Do you like him?" 

I’m in love with him.

"I do,” you said, defeated, yet, somehow, relieved by acceptance and the openness. For a split second you got scared that Namjoon would pull the plug on the research. “But let me do this. I will never hold it against you.”

The man appeared conflicted, but not nearly enough to drop all the progress you’ve made. To put the work of his life on hold. And you wouldn’t let Namjoon do it, even if he was ready to quit for your sake. You were his partner in crime, just as involved, and your “timeless lover” didn’t make you forget that. At least your heart would be broken for science.

"His feelings for you are not real. Not in this life. Please, remember that and be careful, Y/N".

Yeah. It was a little too late for that.

Maybe you overestimated your own determination to finish the research, or maybe it was harder not to pretend and be in love, with clear mind and a heavy heart. Maybe it was harder to accelerate, knowing that you were gonna crash. That, eventually, Taehyung would come to his senses and leave to live his life. 

Truth be told, you hoped it would happen sooner than later. Preferably before you married him, had kids and grew old together. Imagine trying to explain to someone where their whole life went and why another version of them got to live two.

To say that you were torn would be an understatement. Oh, how you wanted to just give in and love him, and be loved! It was agonizing, ironically so, because you couldn’t help but see it as the foreshadowing of the day that his love would be taken away from you, whether you decided to let yourself have it or not.

Your scale was looking more and more like the game of seesaw, refusing to balance, constantly tipping one way or the other. You went from being playful and engaged (no pun intended) to appearing cold and distant to everyone around you, not only Tae. The uncertainty was exhausting, to the point where you missed the days of just being awkward and nervous around “Taehyung the Patient”. Back when your love for him was only a memory that your mind would never be able recall, because, up until this point, it only echoed in the depths of your old soul.

There was no end to this back and forth, it seemed. But when, one day, you saw the way your internal turmoil affected the one you cherished the most, it became exceptionally easy to make a choice.

“Tae, I am leaving for the day,” you cracked open the door to his room and quickly scanned the space to make sure he was there. The lights were off, but as soon as your eyes got used to it, you found Taehyung standing by the window. It wasn’t an unusual sight, since he loved to admire the night sky every chance he got. The moon was full and visible for the first time in weeks, so, of course, the man was there to appreciate it in all its glory.

“See you tomorrow?”

On nights like this you always tried to say goodbye and make your exit swiftly, leaving Taehyung to have his moment of peace, but this time the boy’s profile didn’t seem serene to you. There was no dreamy smile playing on his lips. His eyes weren’t traveling from star to star, looking for constellations. Instead, his lips were stretched thin and pale, and probably bitten in worry. You could see that he was frowning, but the blank look in his eyes was the most concerning.

“Tae?” when he didn’t answer again, you stepped further into the room. The door creaked unpleasantly, pulling Taehyung from his thoughts. At the sight of you something in him moved, but stayed still. It felt like his soul immediately reached out for yours, and, for the first time, he didn’t let its urges guide him. The realization terrified you. He was uncertain. You hated it.

“Hey. Sorry, I didn’t hear you. Are you leaving?” Taehyung asked. He understood that you had to go home sometime, yet, it didn’t make him miss your presence less. The boy never wanted you to leave, and it was always obvious. Except now. Taehyung wasn’t sure if he wanted you to stay, because he wasn’t sure if you’d rather go. He hated it.

“Um, yeah. I was about to head out,” your thumb pointed towards the exit, but you proceeded to move forward and soon stopped, facing Taehyung by the window. “Is everything okay?”

“Of course. Why wouldn’t-“

“Tae,” you cut in, suddenly desperate to resolve whatever was troubling him. “You can tell me,” when your fingers moved across the windowsill to touch his, Taehyung held his breath, because you never really initiated physical contact before. Not like this. Your touch was always meant to comfort or calm him. You never did it, because you yourself craved the closeness. “Please, tell me.”

“It’s you,” Taehyung breathed, and your fingers froze millimeters away from his. It broke the boy’s heart a little, but he couldn’t keep his own muddle to himself anymore. Because you did initiate touches before. You were utterly selfish and demanding when it came to keeping him close, and it was so very charming, he couldn’t stand being away. Taehyung felt needed. Sadly, that car crash seemed to have broken something between you. And it split his life in two.

“I don’t recognize you,” for a moment you thought that his old memories were leaving him, confabulation gradually wearing off, but no. The memories of two lives weighed him down, conflicting and contradicting each other. It pained you to see him so lost.

“And I don’t feel like you recognize me, either. Most of the time you look at me like I am a stranger,” Taehyung’s voice started wavering, confused and sorrowful, as if the boy never imagined that he would be saying this to you. Your fingers moved again, completely on their own, to touch him. To comfort him. “At first I thought that, maybe, you were just in shock after the accident. Maybe, you thought you were going to lose me. And I get it, I do. I can see that you still love me,” oh, thank God, he saw it. You wouldn’t be able to live with yourself, if he lost his faith in your love - the only thing he wholeheartedly connected to in this world, in this time. “But it’s been months of up and downs, and I don’t understand, and- it’s just starting to hurt.“

Taehyung gasped a couple of seconds before your lips met his, because it was only the third of the things you did. First, you intertwined your fingers and tugged him closer. Second, your right hand flew up to rest on the back of his neck, pulling him down. Third. The moment fell into complete stillness as you stayed there, unmoving, with your lips pressed together way too tightly. If he was going to feel your kiss for the first time in months, you were going to make it count. You wanted it to leave a mark on his heart, deep enough to reach his soul.

And maybe that kiss felt like trying too hard at first - because, admittedly, you were a little desperate to heal his doubtful mind - but it all clicked into place, when his fingertips reached to touch the side of your face. Still unsure and nervous, but slowly starting to believe that it was really happening. In that moment, you heard your soul whisper something not so secret: it, and you, already knew how to kiss him right. You knew how to kiss Taehyung to make him smile. You knew how to kiss him to drive him crazy with want. You knew. So you pulled back to lessen the pressure, letting your lips move smoothly and tenderly against his. You knew how to kiss Taehyung to make him feel loved.

"Do I kiss the same?” you asked, breathless, hoping against all hope that you really did kiss his lips right now just as you kissed him a lifetime ago. The man swallowed shakily, nodding his head. Taehyung didn’t move away, not even a little, as if he simply missed the feeling of your breath on his skin. To him, there was something so singular and intimate about the face-to-face, skin-to-skin closeness and sharing the same air, that you never even had the “big spoon/little spoon discussion”. The pair of you always fell asleep and woke up facing each other, morning breath be damned.

“Yes. Yes, you do,” his hands cupped your face - understandably urgent, but still so very gentle - and he dove right back into the kiss. You had no choice but to keep up, because Taehyung seemed determined to have all the wasted time made up for. It wasn’t long before he lost himself in you: hands in your hair, fingers and thumbs; deep little sighs and sweet noises against your lips. The way Taehyung moved became almost chaotic as he tried to find some balance between holding you close and not breaking his ribs all over again.

While Taehyung was quick to melt into the kiss, you took your time, letting the inevitable impact build and build under your skin - with every slide of his lips, with every touch of his fingers - to, eventually, hit you all at once like a tidal wave. Taehyung wasn’t exploring you like this for the first time, (even though, judging by how eager he was, you wouldn’t be able to tell), but to you, in this body at least, it was the first. And, oh, what an absolutely maddening ride. To top it all off, you forgot to take into consideration that, as well as you knew how to make his body tick, Taehyung was just as knowledgeable about your weaknesses. Within minutes, naturally, he managed to make you mewl and pant, and tremble against him.

“Tae,” your attempt to pull away failed, so his name got muffled by his own mouth. You smiled at his unwillingness to stop kissing, but tried again, pushing lightly at his chest. Nightshift nurses took their duty seriously. “Tae, we should stop.”

The man made a faint noise of disapproval at the loss of contact, but nodded and gave you some space. It felt as if your lips would never stop buzzing.

“Sorry, it’s just,” he paused, catching his breath, and no one could understand him better than you. That was intense. “It’s been so long.”

Taehyung’s hold on your waist tightened, and you could feel those words coming. The anticipation in your chest was tangible, yet you’ve never felt more content.

“I love you.”

…

“I love you, too.”

Looking back, yes, it should have been an awkward interaction for you. By all accounts. Faking affection towards someone you barely knew, just to get data. Ridiculous. But… If someone asked you about it right now, you’d say that pretending to be in love with him was the easiest thing you ever had to do.

So you let yourself love Taehyung for another day. For another week. Trusted him with your heart completely, without caution or doubt. Became adorably clingy, just the way he remembered you. Whatever common sense that was left in your system was used to dodge the wedding plans discussions, and it was easier, too, because you could just kiss the boy into silence, and he would never complain about that or suspect anything. Taehyung just figured, you missed him just as much as he missed you. But, oh, how you wanted to indulge in those discussions sometimes. 

Namjoon still tried his best to forewarn and protect you, but, at the same time, he understood that it wasn’t his choice to make anymore or his place to judge your decision. All he could do was go through your daily reports and gather all information possible. No one could halt the research, simply because it became more than just a research to you. Namjoon did hope, though, that it would come to an end before the point where your heartbreak overshadowed the triumph of science.

And it did. 

“I will love you forever,” he said the night before, as a goodbye you both thought would only last till morning. You smiled, letting him kiss your forehead, and replied: “You better.”

Your coat wasn’t even off yet, when you spotted Namjoon coming out of Taehyung’s room. He was smiling to himself as he closed the door, and then his eyes found yours. Slowly, you moved towards him, even though Namjoon didn’t call. Not with words or gestures at least. The man’s smile turned into something undefinable, an anxious mix of dread and hopefulness. You finally stopped in front of him, eyes pleading. 

“He’s back,” Namjoon said, clearly, but why did it also sound like “He’s gone” to you? That must have been the somber undertones in his voice. 

“Oh,” you exhaled, fumbling with buttons on your jacket. Okay. It’s alright. You knew this was coming.

“He wants to talk to you,” the man continued, and, before you could panic, his hand landed on your shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze. “You are going to be fine.”

Namjoon looked deep into your wide, petrified eyes and smiled again, a lot warmer this time. His other hand lifted fluidly, and you followed its direction to breathe in... and breathe out. 

“Y/N,” Namjoon called, finally getting your gaze to focus on him. “Thank you. For everything.”

Your eyes suddenly watered, and you couldn’t help but smile at the man. He was your clarity and reason in all this madness. 

“No problem, Dr. Kim,” you raised your fist for him to bump, making the lovely dimples appear on his cheeks. “For science,” Namjoon laughed at that, and quickly bumped your awaiting fist, before wrapping you in a tight hug.

“For science.”

-

“Hey,” the door creaked right as you said that, making your whole body wince. Great start. It’s wasn’t a loud hey in the first place, so you prepared to say it again, oblivious to the fact that Taehyung’s attention was already on you. 

“Hey,” he echoed, straightening up a little. No longer oblivious, you let yourself look at him. He was sitting on the bed with a book in his hands, and you noted that it was opened on one of the later pages. He didn’t start from the beginning, but continued reading it. “Please, come in.”

The boy crossed his legs, making more room for you on the bed, but you moved to stand at the foot of it. He didn’t question your choice of position, wisely deciding to give you some much needed space. In that moment, it suddenly hit you that only yesterday you could come in and practically jump into his arms, starting Taehyung’s morning with a kiss. It wasn’t the case anymore. 

A moment of awkward silence stretched through the air, but, eventually, you gathered enough courage to speak first. 

“Do you remember-"

"I remember everything," Taehyung deadpanned, and you nodded, swallowing some of the nerves. Namjoon suspected he would. This was no ordinary case. “And I am glad I do.”

The addition made you look up from the floor. Taking a chance to study Taehyung closer, you didn’t expect to find the look in his eyes so... sympathetic. And curious. And anticipating. 

“Oh, God, Tae,” sudden embarrassment washed over you, and your hands came up to cover your flushed face. “I am so sorry. I feel so terrible-“

“What? Why are you apologizing?” Taehyung was taken aback, seemingly surprised by the outburst of guilt. Trying to explain your embarrassment was, somehow, even more embarrassing. 

“You weren’t in your right mind, and I sort of took advantage of that,” truth be told, you never saw it that way before. Not until you met the real Taehyung. “With all the kisses and touches. I should’ve stopped it. It’s your body, and I had no right-“ 

“No, no, no. I get it,” as if pulled by some force, the boy shuffled across the bed on his knees, eventually stopping in front of you. His fingers wrapped around your wrists, gently moving your hands away from your face. “You had to keep the story going for me. Dr. Kim explained everything.”

‘Right. Keeping the story going. That’s all it was,’ you thought ruefully, but said:

“Thank you for understanding,” it was easy to smile at Taehyung, even now, so you did. The boy smiled back, releasing your wrists, and, strangely, you didn’t feel like keeping distance between you anymore. “I feel a little less perverted.”

“Good. You should,” Taehyung nodded, looking proud of the fact that he didn’t let you think badly of yourself. “So,” the man shrugged innocently, letting his hands fall to rest of his thighs. “You said you sort of took advantage...,” Taehyung’s eyes glimmered mischievously, and you noticed his fingers tapping a playful rhythm on his lap. Wait... “Does it mean that you liked it? If it was to your advantage...”

Was he teasing you right now?

“Oh, wow. That was so bad,” you burst out laughing, which felt kind of anticlimactic, but so so needed. That’s Taehyung for you. The boy laughed along, showing off that infectious boxy smile of his. “How about I leave now, for awhile, and you come up with something better, okay?”

“Wait, wait,” Tae reached for your hand again, when you made a move towards the door. Both of you knew that you weren’t really leaving. “Do you want to get a cup of coffee? With me? Or tea? You like tea, right?” it’s like the boy wanted to prove that he remembered these things about you. It was sweet. 

“Tae, are you sure? I mean, it wasn’t really you who liked me-“

“I said I remember everything, and I really like what I remember. About you. About us. I mean, if anything, the question is did you like the-past-life me, because, let me tell you, he’s not that different from the guy standing right here.”

“Well, obviously. The soul is the same.”

“See? Something tells me you weren’t faking it, not all the time. Not when it mattered,” his words carried certain weight, like he not only remembered, but, miraculously, experienced everything that happened. “So, did you like him?” Yes. Easy. “Do you like me?” Ooh, a little tougher. He did look exactly the same. (Duh.) Yet, there was something that made him feel more aware, more awake. More... here.

“If you remember everything, like you said, then you should know the answer to the first question.” I loved him.

“I do,” Taehyung said, turning completely serious for a moment, and you were thankful that he didn’t take your feelings lightly. “That’s why I-,” the boy cut himself short and bashfully shook his head. Cute. “Sorry, nevermind. It’s cheesy and a little too far.”

“No, tell me,” you tugged at his hand, consequently realizing that it was still holding yours. The comfortable nature of it didn’t surprise you. “I’ll be the judge.”

"I think he left something with me, and,” Taehyung’s free hand landed on his chest, near his heart, emphasizing where the change happened. “Who knows, maybe we will prove that eternal soulmates exist too," the boy was beaming, so proud of his charming line, and you didn’t make him wait too long for a reaction. Your cheeks got much warmer, and you lowered your gaze, trying to hide a shy smile that threatened to hurt your jaw with how wide it was. 

“You were right. It is cheesy. But, maybe, not too far fetched.”

You cried yourself to sleep that night, realizing that, in some strange and gut wrenching way, you lost someone you loved. Forever. That bright and ridiculously romantic Taehyung from 1960s was gone. But you smiled before finally dozing off, thinking that you gained someone who could make you heart flutter just the same. Perhaps, equally bright and romantic. You just needed to give it a little time. 

You fell in love with Taehyung once. You could do it again. Namjoon still had to prove it, but his soul belonged with yours, and...

He promised to love you forever, after all. 

["thank you for stopping me, when i- uh, when i wanted to take things a little too far."

"um, yeah, no problem. though, i must admit, it wasn't too easy." 

"how so? was i- was i pushing you too much?"

"no! no. it's just that- sometimes, you and... what you did... made me forget about, well, everything."

"oh? ... OH! i see..."]

a/n: thanks for reading! i really hope you enjoyed! for more of my stories go for masterlist here and here. feedback, as always, is needed and will be very much appreciated.

if you like my stories, you can support me here: buy me a coffee ✨☕️

Copyright © 2019 by wonderer-ru. All rights reserved. 

#bts #bangtan #kim taehyung #reincarnation au #soulmate au #fluff #angst #fanfic #scenario #scenarios #story #oneshot #long #sfw #soft #my post #armyart #bts v fluff #bts v angst #writing

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Cannabis Dependency - Leading Three Reasons To Quit Smoking Cigarettes Weed

"I couldn't survive a good attorney unless I prefaced this informative article with a few disclaimers:

1) Marijuana remains to be a controlled schedule I substance and is also illegal inside eyes with the Federal Government of the United States;

2) This article is not to be construed as legal advice, nor is to take the place with the advice of your attorney, and you should talk to an attorney when considering actions in furtherance with the subject material of this short article. Ok, let's begin.

In the month of November, the State of Arizona passed Proposition 203, which may exempt certain people from controlled substances laws inside State of Arizona. However, it will still take a moment before medical cannabis is implemented as policy in Arizona. The Arizona Department of Health Services has released a proposed timeline for the drafting from the rules surrounding the implementation of Proposition 203. So far, necessities such as important periods of time that should be paid close awareness of:

December 17, 2010: The first draft of the medicinal marijuana rules ought to be released making it available for discuss this date.

January 7, 2011: This will be the deadline for public touch upon the 1st draft of rules stated earlier.

January 31, 2011: The second draft with the rules will likely be released on this date. Once again, it'll be readily available for informal comment as inside draft referred to above.

February 21 to March 18, 2011: More formal public hearings will be held in regards to the proposed rules at the moment, after which the ultimate rules is going to be submitted to the Secretary of State making public about the Office of Administrative Rules website.

April 2011: The medical cannabis rules should go into effect and become published within the Arizona Administrative Register.

It is very important that all the time throughout the consultation process, interested parties submit briefs and/or make oral presentations when permitted. Groups with interests despite those of medical cannabis advocates can be making presentations, and may convince the State to unnecessarily restrict the substance or those who may qualify to get into it if you find no voice to advocate in support of patients' rights.

Some outline about Proposition 203's effects

-Physicians may prescribe medical marijuana for their patients under certain conditions. ""Physician"" isn't defined you might say limited by normal medical professionals. Osteopaths licensed under Title 32, Chapter 17; naturopaths licensed under Title 32, Chapter 14; and homeopaths licensed under Title 32, Chapter 29 may all be qualified for recommend marijuana for patients.

-In order to get prescribed medical cannabis, an individual has to be a ""qualifying patient."" A qualifying patient is understood to be someone who has been diagnosed with a ""physician"" (as defined above) as using a ""debilitating medical problem.""

-Debilitating medical ailments include:

* Cancer, glaucoma, HIV positive status, AIDS, hepatitis C, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Crohn's disease, or agitation of Alzheimer's disease or even the treating these conditions.

* A chronic or debilitating disease or medical condition or its treatment that produces several in the following: Cachexia or wasting syndrome; severe and chronic pain; severe nausea; seizures, including those sign of epilepsy; or severe and persistent muscle spasms, including those sign of multiple sclerosis.

* Any other problem or its treatment added from the Department of Health Services pursuant to Section 36-2801.01.

This last qualifying condition is underlined which is quite crucial through the rulemaking process. Although Proposition 203 allows for that public to petition the Department of Health Services to exercise its discretion to add conditions under this, bureaucracy is notoriously difficult to get to change any law. The initial discretionary rules for further treatments might be exercised in the public consultations that occur between December and March, though this is just not certain.

It is therefore critical that, in the event that incorporating health conditions is regarded as in the consultations, any stakeholder who wants for the medical problem unpublished inside first two bulleted items above to lobby throughout the public consultation periods to the Department to incorporate the additional medical problem for the list of debilitating medical conditions. In order to raise the prestige associated with a presentations built to justify adding health conditions under Section 36-2801.01, it may be necessary to solicit the testimony of sympathetic Arizona-licensed medical professionals who is able to testify in some recoverable format and at the public hearings about why the proposed condition should be added. Documents showing that other jurisdictions, both inside the United States and elsewhere, currently use marijuana like a treatment for the proposed condition may be helpful, as would medical journals about the subject.

It needs to be remembered that despite his cheery YouTube videos regarding the medicinal marijuana rule drafting process, Director of Health Services Will Humble wrote a submission in opposition cbd products newtown for the passing of Proposition 203. He managed it around the grounds that the FDA won't test the drug, although the federal government's anti-marijuana policy is well-known it should stop relied on just as one authority for unbiased medical cannabis research. There is no reason to imagine that Director Humble will likely be any less inclined to obstruct using medical cannabis during the rulemaking stage, and all proponents of medicinal marijuana should be sure to make their voices heard with the consultations to avoid the obstruction of the intent of Proposition 203.

Extent of Rulemaking during Consultations

There is also another provisions in Proposition 203 which will be discussed through the initial rulemaking process, and they're going to apt to be the main focus in the consultations. The consultations can provide rules:

* Governing the way when the Department of Health Services need the petitions from the general public earlier mentioned, regarding incorporating medical conditions for the list from the already enshrined debilitating health conditions.

* Establishing the form and content of registration and renewal applications submitted underneath the medical cannabis law.

* Governing the manner in which the Department will consider applications for and renewals of medical marijuana ID cards.

* Governing the many aspects throughout the newly legalized nonprofit medicinal marijuana dispensaries, including recordkeeping, security, oversight, and also other requirements.

* Establishing the fees for patient applications and medical cannabis dispensary applications.

The most important part from the consultation period will likely be concerning the rules governing the establishment and oversight of medical cannabis dispensaries. If interest groups lobby the Department to make the recordkeeping, security, oversight, and other requirements around dispensaries too restrictive, it'll have the effect of reducing the use of medicinal marijuana to patients and driving in the cost of medical marijuana due to the deficiency of supply. It could simply become very costly to adhere to all of the regulations.

During this stage, it is vital that stakeholders-particularly medical cannabis dispensaries from out-of-state, as well as perhaps pharmacists which has a amount of economic knowledge-submit briefs explaining why certain proposed rules may have a negative effect for the patients this Proposition should certainly help. The proposed rules haven't come out yet, however, if they actually do, they must be closely scrutinized to the possible negative impact that unnecessarily tough security and recordkeeping on nonprofit dispensaries might have on patients.

The other major factor within the rulemaking must do with the fees. The Department will likely be setting fees for medical cannabis dispensaries in the consultation period. Proposition 203 provides that the fees might not exceed $5,000 per initial application, and $1,000 per renewal. However, with a few lobbying during the public consultation, it is possible how the actual fees will likely be much less since these are only the most that the Department may charge.

Discrimination against Medical Marijuana Users

Under Proposition 203, discrimination against medical cannabis users will likely be prohibited in certain situations. Based on our analysis, someone may not:

* As a school or landlord, won't enroll someone or else penalize them solely for his or her status like a medical marijuana cardholder, unless not doing so would result inside the lack of a monetary or licensing related benefit under federal law or regulations.

* As an employer, discriminate against hiring someone, or terminate them or impose any conditions in it since they're a medical marijuana cardholder, unless not the process would result inside the loss in a monetary or licensing related benefit under federal law or regulations. Employers can still terminate employees in the event the employee is in having or impaired by marijuana about the premises with the where you work or through the hours of employment.

* As a medical treatment provider, discriminate against a cardholder, including in matters of organ transplants. Medical marijuana have to be treated because other medication prescribed with a physician.

* Be prevented, as a cardholder, from having visitation custody or visitation or parenting time which has a minor, unless the cardholder's behavior ""creates an unreasonable danger towards the safety of the minor as established by clear and convincing evidence.""

Although there are certain prohibitions on discrimination, additionally, there are provisions which allow discrimination against medicinal marijuana cardholders:

* Government medical help programs and private health insurers aren't needed to reimburse a person for their medicinal marijuana use.

* Nobody who possesses property, including businesses, is forced to allow medical marijuana on his or her premises (this seemingly includes landlords who, even though they cannot refuse tenants based on their own being a cardholder, are permitted to prevent cardholders from bringing marijuana on the landlord's property).

* Employers usually are not required to allow cardholders to be under the influence of or ingest marijuana while working, although presence of marijuana inside body which is just not of the sufficient concentration to cause impairment doesn't establish being beneath the influence of it.

Rules Related on the Establishment of Dispensaries

Although the last rules around security, recordkeeping, and also other requirements for medical marijuana dispensaries won't be established until April 2011, there are specific requirements that happen to be enshrined in Proposition 203 itself and can be known ahead in the time that the final rules emerge. These minimal requirements may well not be as restrictive as the ultimate requirements that are published in April 2011.

* Medical marijuana dispensaries have to be nonprofit. They will need to have bylaws which preserve their nonprofit nature, though they desire 't be considered tax-exempt by the IRS, nor must they be incorporated.

* The operating documents from the dispensaries must include provisions to the oversight of the dispensary as well as accurate recordkeeping.

* The dispensary have to have an individual secure entrance and must implement appropriate security measures to deter which will help prevent the theft of marijuana and unauthorized usage of areas containing marijuana.

* A dispensary should never acquire, possess, cultivate, manufacture, deliver, transfer, transport, supply, or dispense marijuana for virtually any purpose aside from providing it straight to a cardholder as well as to a registered caregiver for the cardholder.

* All cultivation of marijuana will need to take place only in a locked, enclosed facility at the street address provided for the Department of Health Services in the application process, and accessible only by dispensary agents registered with all the Department.

* A dispensary can acquire marijuana from the patient of their caregiver, but only if your patient or caregiver receives no compensation for this.

* No consumption of marijuana is permitted about the property in the dispensary.

* A dispensary is subject to reasonable inspection with the Department of Health Services. The Department must first give reasonable notice in the inspection towards the dispensary.

Comparison to California's Medical Marijuana Law

The Arizona law is as simple as no means the same because law in California. There are certainly some differences relating to the two, though in most respects these are comparable. This is a comparative analysis of the two laws.

Similarities:

* Both laws, being a practical matter, permit broad discretion about the part of the physician to prescribe marijuana to patients who are suffering from pain. In the Arizona law, ""severe and chronic pain"" is the legislated standard. In the California law, any ""chronic or persistent medical symptom"" that substantially limits lifespan from the patient to conduct a number of major life activities as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, or if not alleviated, will cause serious harm for the patient's physical or mental safety, qualifies.

* Both laws have many illnesses which can be automatically considered qualifying illnesses for your prescription of medical marijuana. These include, but aren't tied to, AIDS, cachexia, cancer, glaucoma, persistent muscle spasms, seizures, and severe nausea.

* Both laws need the use of your identification card by people who have been prescribed medical marijuana, as soon as the cardholders have undergone a basic application process the location where the use of the drug may be recommended by a physician.

* Both states don't factor within the unusable portion in the marijuana plant in determining the absolute maximum weight of marijuana that is certainly permissible for possession with a cardholder.

Differences:

* Though the rules have never been finalized, the Arizona law appears as though it will be regulated for the state level and therefore uniform across Arizona. The California law, however, is regulated significantly on the municipal level, and therefore the rules around dispensaries may vary greatly from municipality on the next.

* The Arizona law provides a broader spectrum of people that are believed a ""physician"" to the purpose of prescribing medical cannabis. In California, only health professionals and osteopaths are believed to be physicians. In Arizona, together with medical professionals and osteopaths, naturopaths and homeopaths will also be able to prescribe medical cannabis.

* In California, patients or their caregivers may grow marijuana plants instead of employing a medical marijuana dispensary. In Arizona, patients might grow marijuana or designate somebody else to do so instead of going to a dispensary on the condition there's no dispensary operating within 25 miles from the patient's home.

* The maximum possession limit for marijuana in California is eight ounces per patient, whereas the limit is only 2.5 ounces per patient in Arizona.

"

#CBD #cannabis #cannabidiol

[ricardoiazu757-blog]

Use Medical Marijuana

"I couldn't survive a great attorney unless I prefaced this information by disclaimers:

1) Marijuana remains a controlled schedule I substance and is illegal in the eyes in the Federal Government in the United States;

2) This article is to not be construed as legal services, nor is supposed to take the place of the advice associated with an attorney, and you ought to consult with a lawyer when considering any actions in furtherance of the subject theme of this article. Ok, let's begin.

In the month of November, the State of Arizona passed Proposition 203, which would exempt certain people from controlled substances laws inside the State of Arizona. However, it is going to still take the time before medical cannabis is implemented as policy in Arizona. The Arizona Department of Health Services has released a proposed timeline to the drafting of the rules all around the implementation of Proposition 203. So far, fundamental essentials important cycles that ought to be paid close awareness of:

December 17, 2010: The first draft of the medical marijuana rules should be released and made intended for reply to this date.

January 7, 2011: This is going to be the deadline for public touch upon the first draft of rules mentioned above.

January 31, 2011: The second draft with the rules will likely be released with this date. Once again, it's going to be designed for informal comment as within the draft referred to above.

February 21 to March 18, 2011: More formal public hearings will probably be held in regards to the proposed rules currently, after which it the final rules will probably be published to the Secretary of State making it public on the Office of Administrative Rules website.

April 2011: The medical cannabis rules goes into effect and turn into published within the Arizona Administrative Register.

It is very important that at all times throughout the consultation process, your customers submit briefs and/or make oral presentations when permitted. Groups with interests contrary to that relating to medicinal marijuana advocates are often making presentations, and could convince the State to unnecessarily restrict the substance or people that may qualify to get into it when there is no voice to advocate for patients' rights.

Some outline about Proposition 203's effects

-Physicians may prescribe medical cannabis for their patients under certain conditions. ""Physician"" is not defined in a way restricted to normal medical professionals. Osteopaths licensed under Title 32, Chapter 17; naturopaths licensed under Title 32, Chapter 14; and homeopaths licensed under Title 32, Chapter 29 may all be permitted to recommend marijuana for patients.

-In order being prescribed medical marijuana, a person must be a ""qualifying patient."" A qualifying patient is described as someone who has been diagnosed with a ""physician"" (as defined above) as developing a ""debilitating problem.""

-Debilitating medical conditions include:

* Cancer, glaucoma, HIV positive status, AIDS, hepatitis C, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Crohn's disease, or agitation of Alzheimer's disease or perhaps the treatments for these conditions.

* A chronic or debilitating disease or condition or its treatment that creates more than one in the following: Cachexia or wasting syndrome; severe and chronic pain; severe nausea; seizures, including those sign of epilepsy; or severe and persistent muscle spasms, including those characteristic of multiple sclerosis.

* Any other medical condition or its treatment added through the Department of Health Services pursuant to Section 36-2801.01.

This last qualifying condition is underlined since it is important in the rulemaking process. Although Proposition 203 allows for the public to petition the Department of Health Services to exercise its discretion to add conditions under it, bureaucracy is notoriously difficult to acquire to improve any law. The initial discretionary rules for additional treatments may be exercised in the public consultations that occur between December and March, though this isn't certain.

It is therefore crucial that, inside event that adding medical conditions is recognized as in the consultations, any stakeholder who wants for a medical problem unlisted inside initial two bulleted items above to lobby in the public consultation periods for the Department to include the additional condition towards the listing of debilitating medical conditions. In order to raise the prestige from a presentations designed to justify adding health concerns under Section 36-2801.01, it may be helpful to solicit the testimony of sympathetic Arizona-licensed medical doctors that can testify on paper at the population hearings about why the proposed condition should be added. Documents showing that other jurisdictions, both in the United States and elsewhere, currently use marijuana as a treatment to the proposed condition could possibly be helpful, as would medical journals on the subject.

It needs to be remembered that despite his cheery YouTube videos in regards to the medical cannabis rule drafting process, Director of Health Services Will Humble wrote a submission in opposition towards the passing of Proposition 203. He managed it for the grounds how the FDA won't test the drug, although the federal government's anti-marijuana policy is well-known it should 't be used being an authority for unbiased medical cannabis research. There is no reason to believe that Director Humble will probably be any less inclined to obstruct using medical cannabis in the rulemaking stage, and proponents of medical marijuana needs to be likely to make their voices heard in the consultations in order to avoid the obstruction in the intent of Proposition 203.

Extent of Rulemaking during Consultations

There is also another provisions in Proposition 203 which will likely be discussed in the initial rulemaking process, and they're going to apt to be the target from the consultations. The consultations can provide rules:

* Governing the manner the location where the Department of Health Services encourage the petitions from people mentioned earlier on, regarding incorporating medical conditions for the list in the already enshrined debilitating health concerns.

* Establishing the design and content of registration and renewal applications submitted under the medicinal marijuana law.

* Governing the way where the Department will consider applications for and renewals of medical marijuana ID cards.

* Governing the many aspects round the newly legalized nonprofit medical marijuana dispensaries, including recordkeeping, security, oversight, and also other requirements.

* Establishing the fees for patient applications and medicinal marijuana dispensary applications.

The most important part in the consultation period will be in connection with rules governing the establishment and oversight of medicinal marijuana dispensaries. If interest groups lobby the Department to generate the recordkeeping, security, oversight, and other requirements around dispensaries too restrictive, it is going to have the effect of decreasing the option of medicinal marijuana to patients and driving inside the tariff of medical marijuana due on the not enough supply. It could simply become expensive to adhere to all in the regulations.

During this stage, it is very important that stakeholders-particularly medical cannabis dispensaries from out-of-state, as well as perhaps pharmacists having a amount of economic knowledge-submit briefs explaining why certain proposed rules could have a negative effect about the patients this Proposition should really help. The proposed rules never have come out yet, but when they actually do, they ought to be closely scrutinized for the possible negative impact that unnecessarily tough security and recordkeeping on nonprofit dispensaries could have on patients.

The other major factor in the rulemaking must do while using fees. The Department will probably be setting fees for medical cannabis dispensaries in the consultation period. Proposition 203 provides how the fees may well not exceed $5,000 per initial application, and $1,000 per renewal. However, with many lobbying during the public consultation, it will be possible how the actual fees will probably be much less since these are only the utmost that this Department may charge.

Discrimination against Medical Marijuana Users

Under Proposition 203, discrimination against medical cannabis users will likely be prohibited in certain situations. Based on cbd products newtown our analysis, somebody might not exactly:

* As a school or landlord, don't enroll someone you aren't penalize them solely for his or her status as being a medical marijuana cardholder, unless not doing so would result inside loss of a monetary or licensing related benefit under federal law or regulations.

* As an employer, discriminate against hiring someone, or terminate them or impose any conditions on them as they are a medical marijuana cardholder, unless not doing this would result within the decrease of a monetary or licensing related benefit under federal law or regulations. Employers can always terminate employees in the event the employee is in possessing or impaired by marijuana around the premises of the job or during the hours of employment.

* As a health care bills provider, discriminate against a cardholder, including in matters of organ transplants. Medical marijuana have to be treated every other medication prescribed by way of a physician.

* Be prevented, as a cardholder, from having visitation custody or visitation or parenting time using a minor, unless the cardholder's behavior ""creates an unreasonable danger for the safety from the minor as established by clear and convincing evidence.""

Although there are certain prohibitions on discrimination, there are also provisions which permit discrimination against medical cannabis cardholders:

* Government medical help programs and health insurers aren't required to reimburse an individual for his or her medical cannabis use.

* Nobody who possesses property, including business owners, is necessary to allow medical cannabis on their own premises (this seemingly includes landlords who, but they cannot refuse tenants based on his or her being a cardholder, are permitted in order to avoid cardholders from bringing marijuana to the landlord's property).

* Employers are certainly not required to allow cardholders to be within the influence of or ingest marijuana while working, although presence of marijuana inside body which is just not of your sufficient concentration to cause impairment doesn't establish being beneath the influence of it.

Rules Related to the Establishment of Dispensaries

Although the ultimate rules around security, recordkeeping, along with other requirements for medicinal marijuana dispensaries are not established until April 2011, there are certain requirements which are enshrined in Proposition 203 itself and will be known ahead in the time that a final rules come out. These minimal requirements might not exactly be as restrictive as the ultimate requirements which are published in April 2011.

* Medical marijuana dispensaries must be nonprofit. They must have bylaws which preserve their nonprofit nature, though they want not be considered tax-exempt through the IRS, nor must they be incorporated.

* The operating documents from the dispensaries must include provisions to the oversight in the dispensary as well as accurate recordkeeping.

* The dispensary should have an individual secure entrance and must implement appropriate security measures to deter and prevent the theft of marijuana and unauthorized entry to areas containing marijuana.

* A dispensary mustn't acquire, possess, cultivate, manufacture, deliver, transfer, transport, supply, or dispense marijuana for just about any purpose other than providing it right to a cardholder as well as to a registered caregiver for your cardholder.

* All cultivation of marijuana have to take place only in a locked, enclosed facility with a street address provided on the Department of Health Services in the application process, and accessible only by dispensary agents registered using the Department.

* A dispensary can buy marijuana from a patient of their caregiver, but only if the patient or caregiver receives no compensation for this.

* No utilization of marijuana is permitted about the property of the dispensary.

* A dispensary is at the mercy of reasonable inspection through the Department of Health Services. The Department must first give reasonable notice of the inspection on the dispensary.

Comparison to California's Medical Marijuana Law

The Arizona law is as simple as no means the same as the law in California. There are certainly some differences relating to the two, though in some respects they're comparable. This is a comparative analysis of the two laws.

Similarities:

* Both laws, as a practical matter, accommodate broad discretion around the part of an physician to prescribe marijuana to patients who are suffering from pain. In the Arizona law, ""severe and chronic pain"" could be the legislated standard. In the California law, any ""chronic or persistent medical symptom"" that substantially limits the life from the patient to conduct a number of major life activities as defined from the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, or if not alleviated, may cause serious harm towards the patient's physical or mental safety, qualifies.

* Both laws have numerous illnesses that are automatically considered qualifying illnesses to the prescription of medical cannabis. These include, but usually are not tied to, AIDS, cachexia, cancer, glaucoma, persistent muscle spasms, seizures, and severe nausea.

* Both laws need the use associated with an identification card by those that have been prescribed medical marijuana, as soon as the cardholders have undergone a basic application process in which the use in the drug may be recommended by way of a physician.

* Both states do not factor in the unusable portion of the marijuana plant in determining the most weight of marijuana that is certainly permissible for possession by a cardholder.

Differences:

* Though the rules have not been finalized, the Arizona law appears as though it is going to be regulated for the state level and for that reason uniform across Arizona. The California law, however, is regulated significantly for the municipal level, and therefore the rules around dispensaries may differ greatly from one municipality towards the next.

* The Arizona law provides a broader spectrum of people which are considered a ""physician"" for that purpose of prescribing medicinal marijuana. In California, only physicians and osteopaths are considered to become physicians. In Arizona, together with medical doctors and osteopaths, naturopaths and homeopaths may also be able to prescribe medicinal marijuana.

* In California, patients or their caregivers may grow marijuana plants in lieu of utilizing a medical cannabis dispensary. In Arizona, patients may grow marijuana or designate somebody else for this instead of going to a dispensary around the condition there's no dispensary operating within 25 miles of the patient's home.

* The maximum possession limit for marijuana in California is eight ounces per patient, whereas the limit is just 2.5 ounces per patient in Arizona.

"

#CBD #cannabis #cannabidiol

[raymondyhla922]

Win Versus Chemical Abuse With Dependency Therapy

"I would not be a good attorney unless I prefaced this short article by incorporating disclaimers:

1) Marijuana remains to be a controlled schedule I substance which is illegal inside the eyes in the Federal Government in the United States;

2) This article is not to be construed as legal advice, nor is intended to take the place from the advice of the attorney, and you ought to talk to a legal professional when considering any actions in furtherance with the subject theme of this informative article. Ok, let's begin.

In the month of November, the State of Arizona passed Proposition 203, which will exempt certain people from controlled substances laws inside State of Arizona. However, it will still take time before medical cannabis is implemented as policy in Arizona. The Arizona Department of Health Services has released a proposed timeline to the drafting from the rules all around the implementation of Proposition 203. So far, fundamental essentials important periods of time that needs to be paid close awareness of:

December 17, 2010: The first draft from the medical marijuana rules must be released making readily available for touch upon this date.

January 7, 2011: This is going to be cbd products newtown the deadline for public reply to the 1st draft of rules stated earlier.

January 31, 2011: The second draft in the rules is going to be released about this date. Once again, it's going to be readily available for informal comment as inside draft known above.

February 21 to March 18, 2011: More formal public hearings will be held concerning the proposed rules at the moment, then a final rules will be submitted to the Secretary of State and made public for the Office of Administrative Rules website.

April 2011: The medical cannabis rules go into effect and become published within the Arizona Administrative Register.

It is essential that all the time through the entire consultation process, your customers submit briefs and/or make oral presentations when permitted. Groups with interests as opposed to those of medicinal marijuana advocates may also be making presentations, and may even convince the State to unnecessarily restrict the substance or people that may qualify to access it if you find no voice to advocate and only patients' rights.

Some outline about Proposition 203's effects

-Physicians may prescribe medical cannabis for patients under certain conditions. ""Physician"" just isn't defined in ways limited by normal physicians. Osteopaths licensed under Title 32, Chapter 17; naturopaths licensed under Title 32, Chapter 14; and homeopaths licensed under Title 32, Chapter 29 may all be eligible to recommend marijuana for their patients.

-In order to become prescribed medical marijuana, someone has to be a ""qualifying patient."" A qualifying patient is defined as anyone who has been diagnosed by a ""physician"" (as defined above) as creating a ""debilitating condition.""

-Debilitating health conditions include:

* Cancer, glaucoma, HIV positive status, AIDS, hepatitis C, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Crohn's disease, or agitation of Alzheimer's disease or perhaps the treating these conditions.

* A chronic or debilitating disease or medical condition or its treatment that creates several with the following: Cachexia or wasting syndrome; severe and chronic pain; severe nausea; seizures, including those manifestation of epilepsy; or severe and persistent muscle spasms, including those characteristic of multiple sclerosis.

* Any other medical problem or its treatment added through the Department of Health Services pursuant to Section 36-2801.01.

This last qualifying condition is underlined because it's quite crucial during the rulemaking process. Although Proposition 203 allows for the public to petition the Department of Health Services to exercise its discretion to add conditions under this section, bureaucracy is notoriously difficult to get to improve any law. The initial discretionary rules for additional treatments could possibly be exercised throughout the public consultations that occur between December and March, though this is just not certain.

It is therefore important that, in the event that the addition of medical ailments is regarded as throughout the consultations, any stakeholder who wishes for the problem unpublished within the initial two bulleted items above to lobby throughout the public consultation periods for the Department to incorporate the excess problem on the set of debilitating health conditions. In order to increase the prestige from a presentations built to justify adding health concerns under Section 36-2801.01, it can be beneficial to solicit the testimony of sympathetic Arizona-licensed physicians that can testify in writing at the general public hearings about why the proposed condition should be added. Documents showing that other jurisdictions, both in the United States and elsewhere, currently use marijuana being a treatment for your proposed condition may be helpful, as would medical journals on the subject.

It should be remembered that despite his cheery YouTube videos in regards to the medical marijuana rule drafting process, Director of Health Services Will Humble wrote a submission in opposition to the passing of Proposition 203. He accomplished it around the grounds how the FDA doesn't test the drug, although the federal government's anti-marijuana policy is well-known it should not relied on being an authority for unbiased medicinal marijuana research. There is no reason to imagine that Director Humble is going to be any less inclined to obstruct the use of medical marijuana in the rulemaking stage, and all proponents of medicinal marijuana ought to be likely to make their voices heard in the consultations to prevent the obstruction of the intent of Proposition 203.

Extent of Rulemaking during Consultations

There are also provisions in Proposition 203 which is going to be discussed through the initial rulemaking process, and they will likely to end up the attention with the consultations. The consultations can provide rules:

* Governing the way the location where the Department of Health Services will accept the petitions from the general public previously mentioned, regarding incorporating health conditions on the list with the already enshrined debilitating medical conditions.

* Establishing the design and content of registration and renewal applications submitted underneath the medicinal marijuana law.

* Governing the way in which when the Department will consider applications for and renewals of medical marijuana ID cards.

* Governing various aspects around the newly legalized nonprofit medicinal marijuana dispensaries, including recordkeeping, security, oversight, along with other requirements.

* Establishing the fees for patient applications and medicinal marijuana dispensary applications.

The main part of the consultation period is going to be regarding the rules governing the establishment and oversight of medical marijuana dispensaries. If interest groups lobby the Department to make the recordkeeping, security, oversight, and other requirements around dispensaries too restrictive, it will have the effects of reducing the use of medicinal marijuana to patients and driving the price of medical marijuana due to the not enough supply. It could simply become expensive to adhere to all with the regulations.

During this stage, it is vital that stakeholders-particularly medical cannabis dispensaries from out-of-state, as well as perhaps pharmacists using a little economic knowledge-submit briefs explaining why certain proposed rules could have a negative effect around the patients this Proposition really should help. The proposed rules never have emerge yet, however, if they do, they should be closely scrutinized for that possible negative impact that unnecessarily tough security and recordkeeping on nonprofit dispensaries may have on patients.

The other major factor inside the rulemaking should do with the fees. The Department will likely be setting fees for medicinal marijuana dispensaries throughout the consultation period. Proposition 203 provides that this fees may well not exceed $5,000 per initial application, and $1,000 per renewal. However, with some lobbying during the public consultation, you'll be able that this actual fees will likely be a lot less website traffic are merely the maximum that the Department may charge.

Discrimination against Medical Marijuana Users

Under Proposition 203, discrimination against medical cannabis users will probably be prohibited in certain circumstances. Based on our analysis, an individual might not exactly:

* As a school or landlord, will not enroll someone or otherwise not penalize them solely for status like a medicinal marijuana cardholder, unless not this would result inside the loss in a monetary or licensing related benefit under federal law or regulations.

* As an employer, discriminate against hiring someone, or terminate them or impose any conditions on them since they're a medical cannabis cardholder, unless not doing this would result in the loss in a monetary or licensing related benefit under federal law or regulations. Employers might still terminate employees if your employee is in possession of or impaired by marijuana on the premises with the job or in the hours of employment.

* As a medical treatment provider, discriminate against a cardholder, including in matters of organ transplants. Medical marijuana has to be treated as any other medication prescribed by way of a physician.

* Be prevented, as being a cardholder, from having visitation custody or visitation or parenting time having a minor, unless the cardholder's behavior ""creates an unreasonable danger to the safety with the minor as established by clear and convincing evidence.""

Although a number of prohibitions on discrimination, there's also provisions that allow discrimination against medical marijuana cardholders:

* Government medical attention programs and private health insurers are certainly not required to reimburse a person because of their medicinal marijuana use.

* Nobody who possesses property, including business people, is needed to allow medicinal marijuana on their premises (this seemingly includes landlords who, even though they cannot refuse tenants based on their own like a cardholder, are permitted to avoid cardholders from bringing marijuana to the landlord's property).

* Employers aren't needed to allow cardholders to be beneath the influence of or ingest marijuana while working, although the presence of marijuana inside the body which is not of an sufficient concentration to cause impairment does not establish being under the influence of it.

Rules Related on the Establishment of Dispensaries

Although the final rules around security, recordkeeping, as well as other requirements for medicinal marijuana dispensaries will never be established until April 2011, there are specific requirements that happen to be enshrined in Proposition 203 itself and can be known ahead in the time that the last rules appear. These minimal requirements may not be as restrictive as a final requirements that are published in April 2011.

* Medical marijuana dispensaries must be nonprofit. They must have bylaws which preserve their nonprofit nature, though they need not be considered tax-exempt from the IRS, nor must they be incorporated.

* The operating documents in the dispensaries must include provisions to the oversight of the dispensary and for accurate recordkeeping.

* The dispensary will need to have a single secure entrance and must implement appropriate security measures to deter and stop the theft of marijuana and unauthorized use of areas containing marijuana.

* A dispensary should not acquire, possess, cultivate, manufacture, deliver, transfer, transport, supply, or dispense marijuana for almost any purpose aside from providing it directly to a cardholder as well as to a registered caregiver to the cardholder.

* All cultivation of marijuana must take place only at a locked, enclosed facility in a street address provided to the Department of Health Services in the application process, and accessible only by dispensary agents registered with all the Department.

* A dispensary can buy marijuana from your patient with their caregiver, but only in the event the patient or caregiver receives no compensation for this.

* No use of marijuana is permitted about the property with the dispensary.

* A dispensary is at the mercy of reasonable inspection through the Department of Health Services. The Department must first give reasonable notice with the inspection on the dispensary.

Comparison to California's Medical Marijuana Law

The Arizona law is as simple as no means the same because the law in California. There are certainly some differences between the two, though in a few respects they are comparable. This is a comparative analysis in the two laws.

Similarities:

* Both laws, being a practical matter, permit broad discretion on the part of a physician to prescribe marijuana to patients who are suffering from pain. In the Arizona law, ""severe and chronic pain"" could be the legislated standard. In the California law, any ""chronic or persistent medical symptom"" that substantially limits living of the patient to conduct one or more major life activities as defined from the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, or that if not alleviated, can cause serious harm to the patient's physical or mental safety, qualifies.

* Both laws have a number of illnesses that are automatically considered qualifying illnesses to the prescription of medical marijuana. These include, but aren't restricted to, AIDS, cachexia, cancer, glaucoma, persistent muscle spasms, seizures, and severe nausea.

* Both laws require use of the identification card by those that have been prescribed medicinal marijuana, following your cardholders have gone through a preliminary application process where the use of the drug continues to be recommended by way of a physician.

* Both states do not factor within the unusable portion from the marijuana plant in determining the absolute maximum weight of marijuana that's permissible for possession by way of a cardholder.

Differences:

* Though the rules never have been finalized, the Arizona law appears as though it'll be regulated on the state level and thus uniform across Arizona. The California law, however, is regulated significantly on the municipal level, and for that reason the rules around dispensaries can differ greatly from one municipality towards the next.

* The Arizona law provides a broader spectrum of people who are thought a ""physician"" for your purpose of prescribing medicinal marijuana. In California, only medical doctors and osteopaths are viewed to become physicians. In Arizona, as well as medical professionals and osteopaths, naturopaths and homeopaths will also be permitted prescribe medicinal marijuana.

* In California, patients or their caregivers may grow marijuana plants in place of using a medicinal marijuana dispensary. In Arizona, patients may grow marijuana or designate somebody else to take action instead of traversing to a dispensary on the condition that there is no dispensary operating within 25 miles with the patient's home.

* The maximum possession limit for marijuana in California is eight ounces per patient, whereas the limit is 2.5 ounces per patient in Arizona.

"

#CBD #cannabis #cannabidiol

[manuelnzkz792]

Exactly how to Get a Cannabis Card: Simplest Steps Exposed

"I wouldn't be a great attorney unless I prefaced this short article by disclaimers:

1) Marijuana is still a controlled schedule I substance and it is illegal inside the eyes with the Federal Government in the United States;

2) This article is never to be construed as legal advice, nor should take the place with the advice associated with an attorney, and you will talk to an attorney when considering any actions in furtherance of the subject theme of this article. Ok, let's begin.

In the month of November, the State of Arizona passed Proposition 203, which would exempt certain people from controlled substances laws in the State of Arizona. However, it's going to still take time before medical marijuana is implemented as policy in Arizona. The Arizona Department of Health Services has released a proposed timeline to the drafting in the rules surrounding the implementation of Proposition 203. So far, necessities such as important cycles that you should paid close attention to:

December 17, 2010: The first draft from the medicinal marijuana rules needs to be released and made intended for touch upon this date.

January 7, 2011: This will probably be the deadline for public comment on the very first draft of rules stated previously.

January 31, 2011: The second draft with the rules will be released with this date. Once again, it'll be readily available for informal comment as inside draft known above.

February 21 to March 18, 2011: More formal public hearings will be held about the proposed rules at this time, then the last rules will be submitted to the Secretary of State generating public for the Office of Administrative Rules website.

April 2011: The medical marijuana rules goes into effect and turn into published within the Arizona Administrative Register.

It is essential that all the time through the consultation process, your customers submit briefs and/or make oral presentations when permitted. Groups with interests unlike the ones from medical cannabis advocates can also be making presentations, and may convince the State to unnecessarily restrict the substance or people that may qualify to get into it if you have no voice to advocate and only patients' rights.

Some key points about Proposition 203's effects

-Physicians may prescribe medicinal marijuana for patients under certain conditions. ""Physician"" isn't defined in such a way limited by normal health professionals. Osteopaths licensed under Title 32, Chapter 17; naturopaths licensed under Title 32, Chapter 14; and homeopaths licensed under Title 32, Chapter 29 may all be qualified for recommend marijuana for his or her patients.

-In order to be prescribed medical cannabis, a person have to be a ""qualifying patient."" A qualifying patient is understood to be somebody who has been diagnosed by way of a ""physician"" (as defined above) as having a ""debilitating condition.""

-Debilitating medical conditions include:

* Cancer, glaucoma, HIV positive status, AIDS, hepatitis C, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Crohn's disease, or agitation of Alzheimer's disease or even the treatment of these conditions.

* A chronic or debilitating disease or condition or its treatment that creates more than one of the following: Cachexia or wasting syndrome; severe and chronic pain; severe nausea; seizures, including those manifestation of epilepsy; or severe and persistent muscle spasms, including those characteristic of multiple sclerosis.

* Any other medical condition or its treatment added by the Department of Health Services pursuant to Section 36-2801.01.

This last qualifying condition is underlined which is vitally important throughout the rulemaking process. Although Proposition 203 allows for the public to petition the Department of Health Services to exercise its discretion to provide conditions under it, bureaucracy is notoriously difficult to acquire to change any law. The initial discretionary rules for more treatments could be exercised in the public consultations that occur between December and March, though this is just not certain.

It is therefore essential that, inside event that the addition of medical ailments is recognized as through the consultations, any stakeholder who wants for any condition not listed within the first couple of bulleted items above to lobby throughout the public consultation periods for your Department to incorporate any additional problem to the report on debilitating health conditions. In order to improve the prestige from a presentations designed to justify adding health concerns under Section 36-2801.01, it might be necessary to solicit the testimony of sympathetic Arizona-licensed health professionals who is able to testify in writing and also at people hearings about why the proposed condition needs to be added. Documents showing that other jurisdictions, both in the United States and elsewhere, currently use marijuana being a treatment for your proposed condition could be helpful, as would medical journals on the subject.

It should be remembered that despite his cheery YouTube videos in regards to the medicinal marijuana rule drafting process, Director of Health Services Will Humble wrote a submission in opposition to the passing of Proposition 203. He accomplished it around the grounds that this FDA won't test the drug, and even though the federal government's anti-marijuana policy is well-known it should stop relied on being an authority for unbiased medical cannabis research. There is no reason to believe that Director Humble is going to be any less inclined to obstruct the use of medicinal marijuana in the rulemaking stage, and many types of proponents of medicinal marijuana ought to be certain to make their voices heard on the consultations to stop the obstruction of the intent of Proposition 203.

Extent of Rulemaking during Consultations

There is also another provisions in Proposition 203 which will be discussed throughout the initial rulemaking process, and they're going to apt to be the attention of the consultations. The consultations can establish rules:

* Governing the way in which the location where the Department of Health Services need the petitions from people previously mentioned, regarding adding medical ailments towards the list of the already enshrined debilitating health conditions.

* Establishing the form and content of registration and renewal applications submitted beneath the medical marijuana law.

* Governing the way where the Department will consider applications for and renewals of medical marijuana ID cards.

* Governing the different aspects throughout the newly legalized nonprofit medicinal marijuana dispensaries, including recordkeeping, security, oversight, and other requirements.

* Establishing the fees for patient applications and medical marijuana dispensary applications.

The main part with the consultation period will be in connection with rules governing the establishment and oversight of medical cannabis dispensaries. If interest groups lobby the Department to produce the recordkeeping, security, oversight, and other requirements around dispensaries too restrictive, it'll have the effect of decreasing the availability of medical marijuana to patients and driving in the price of medicinal marijuana due on the not enough supply. It could simply become too costly to abide by all in the regulations.

During this stage, it is important that stakeholders-particularly medical marijuana dispensaries from out-of-state, and perhaps pharmacists having a amount of economic knowledge-submit briefs explaining why certain proposed rules may have a negative effect around the patients this Proposition should certainly help. The proposed rules have not emerge yet, however, if they are doing, they must be closely scrutinized to the possible negative impact that unnecessarily tough security and recordkeeping on nonprofit dispensaries probably have on patients.

The other major factor in the rulemaking will need to do while using fees. The Department is going to be setting fees for medicinal marijuana dispensaries throughout the consultation period. Proposition 203 provides that this fees might not exactly exceed $5,000 per initial application, and $1,000 per renewal. However, by incorporating lobbying during the public consultation, it will be possible that this actual fees is going to be significantly less as these are simply just the most that this Department may charge.

Discrimination against Medical Marijuana Users

Under Proposition 203, discrimination against medical marijuana users will likely be prohibited in certain situations. Based on our analysis, someone may well not:

* As a school or landlord, don't enroll someone you aren't penalize them solely for their status as a medical marijuana cardholder, unless not this would result in the loss in a monetary or licensing related benefit under federal law or regulations.

* As an employer, discriminate against hiring someone, or terminate them or impose any conditions on them because they're a medical marijuana cardholder, unless not doing so would result within the decrease of a monetary or licensing related benefit under federal law or regulations. Employers might still terminate employees if the employee is at possession of or impaired by marijuana around the premises with the job or throughout the hours of employment.

* As a medical care provider, discriminate against a cardholder, including in matters of organ transplants. Medical marijuana must be treated because other medication prescribed by the physician.

* Be prevented, as being a cardholder, from having visitation custody or visitation or parenting time which has a minor, unless the cardholder's behavior ""creates an unreasonable danger towards the safety in the cbd products newtown minor as established by clear and convincing evidence.""

Although a number of prohibitions on discrimination, there's also provisions that allow discrimination against medical cannabis cardholders:

* Government medical help programs and private health insurers aren't required to reimburse someone for their medical marijuana use.

* Nobody who possesses property, including business people, is necessary to allow medical marijuana on their premises (this seemingly includes landlords who, whilst they cannot refuse tenants based on his or her as a cardholder, are permitted to stop cardholders from bringing marijuana on the landlord's property).

* Employers aren't needed to allow cardholders to be within the influence of or ingest marijuana while working, although the presence of marijuana within the body which is just not of a sufficient concentration to cause impairment does not establish being underneath the influence of it.

Rules Related for the Establishment of Dispensaries

Although the final rules around security, recordkeeping, along with other requirements for medicinal marijuana dispensaries will never be established until April 2011, a number of requirements which can be enshrined in Proposition 203 itself and will be known ahead in the time that the last rules turn out. These minimal requirements might not be as restrictive as the last requirements which are published in April 2011.

* Medical marijuana dispensaries should be nonprofit. They must have bylaws which preserve their nonprofit nature, though they need stop considered tax-exempt with the IRS, nor must they be incorporated.

* The operating documents from the dispensaries must include provisions to the oversight of the dispensary as well as for accurate recordkeeping.

* The dispensary will need to have just one secure entrance and must implement appropriate security measures to deter and prevent the theft of marijuana and unauthorized access to areas containing marijuana.

* A dispensary should never acquire, possess, cultivate, manufacture, deliver, transfer, transport, supply, or dispense marijuana for just about any purpose apart from providing it straight to a cardholder or to a registered caregiver to the cardholder.

* All cultivation of marijuana must take place only in a locked, enclosed facility at a physical address provided on the Department of Health Services throughout the application process, and accessible only by dispensary agents registered with the Department.

* A dispensary can acquire marijuana from a patient of these caregiver, but only if your patient or caregiver receives no compensation for it.

* No consumption of marijuana is permitted on the property of the dispensary.

* A dispensary is at the mercy of reasonable inspection through the Department of Health Services. The Department must first give reasonable notice from the inspection on the dispensary.

Comparison to California's Medical Marijuana Law

The Arizona law is as simple as no means the same because law in California. There are certainly some differences involving the two, though in a few respects these are comparable. This is a comparative analysis with the two laws.

Similarities:

* Both laws, as being a practical matter, enable broad discretion for the part of a physician to prescribe marijuana to patients who are suffering from pain. In the Arizona law, ""severe and chronic pain"" will be the legislated standard. In the California law, any ""chronic or persistent medical symptom"" that substantially limits the life from the patient to conduct a number of major life activities as defined through the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, or if not alleviated, will cause serious harm to the patient's physical or mental safety, qualifies.

* Both laws have a number of illnesses which can be automatically considered qualifying illnesses for your prescription of medical marijuana. These include, but usually are not limited by, AIDS, cachexia, cancer, glaucoma, persistent muscle spasms, seizures, and severe nausea.

* Both laws require use of your identification card by people who have been prescribed medical cannabis, as soon as the cardholders already went through a a basic application process in which the use with the drug has become recommended by the physician.

* Both states usually do not factor inside unusable portion from the marijuana plant in determining the utmost weight of marijuana that is permissible for possession by the cardholder.

Differences:

* Though the rules have not been finalized, the Arizona law appears as though it will be regulated for the state level and therefore uniform across Arizona. The California law, however, is regulated significantly about the municipal level, and so the rules around dispensaries may differ greatly from municipality towards the next.

* The Arizona law offers a broader spectrum of people that are thought a ""physician"" for that purpose of prescribing medicinal marijuana. In California, only health professionals and osteopaths are considered to get physicians. In Arizona, along with health professionals and osteopaths, naturopaths and homeopaths can also be allowed to prescribe medical cannabis.

* In California, patients or their caregivers may grow marijuana plants in lieu of utilizing a medicinal marijuana dispensary. In Arizona, patients may possibly grow marijuana or designate somebody else to take action in place of traversing to a dispensary for the condition that there are no dispensary operating within 25 miles of the patient's home.

* The maximum possession limit for marijuana in California is eight ounces per patient, whereas the limit is merely 2.5 ounces per patient in Arizona.

"

#CBD #cannabis #cannabidiol

[alex51324]

Trump’s Russia Problem, Explained

So, if you’re exposed in any way to US news media, you’ve heard that Trump has a problem with Russia.  You may have heard that his National Security Adviser, Michael Flynn, resigned/was fired due to this scandal.  But if you haven’t been following this story all along, you may be unsure exactly what the scandal is.  

What do we know?

This scandal involves a handful of solid facts, and oceans of speculation about what those facts mean.  Here are some of the key facts:

Russia interfered in the US elections by hacking the Democratic National Committee and releasing materials damaging to the Clinton campaign, 

and by releasing completely baseless rumors (”fake news”).  One example of the latter is the rumor that Clinton was tied to a child sex trafficking ring that operated out of a pizza joint.  The pizza joint exists, but sex trafficking ring does not. 

These efforts were intended to help Trump win the presidency, according to 17 US Intelligence agencies.  

After the election but before Trump’s inauguration, President Obama imposed sanctions against Russia in response to these actions.  He threw 35 Russian “diplomats” (aka intelligence operatives) out of the US and imposed economic sanctions barring US entities from selling certain products and services to the Russian intelligence agencies.  

Russia did not respond with counter-sanctions, which is unusual.  

Michael Flynn, who was at that time a private citizen, spoke with a Russian ambassador about the sanctions. 

What questions still exist? 

Beyond these facts, there’s a lot of speculation.  Here are some of the main questions and theories:

Why did Russia want Trump to be president?  One possibility is that they simply thought he’d be more friendly to Russia and/or easier to manipulate than Clinton.  If this is the explanation, the Trump campaign may not have known anything more about Russia’s interference than the American public did.  This explanation would be embarrassing to Trump--but not incriminating.

Did Trump and/or his campaign know more about Russia’s interference than the public did?  We now know, thanks to leaks from US and other intelligence agencies, that Trump campaign officials were in what CNN calls “constant contact” with Russian intelligence during the campaign.  We don’t know what they talked about or how much Trump, personally, knew about this contact.

Does Russia have incriminating information about Trump, which can be used to blackmail him?  This is another possible explanation of why Russia wanted Trump to be president, and it’s where the infamous “dossier” comes in.  The dossier includes the infamous pee-pee story, along with many other less eye-catching allegations about shady business deals and suspicious contacts with Russian intelligence officials.  Some aspects of the dossier have recently been corroborated by US intelligence, but all they will say about which ones is that it isn’t the pee thing.  If this explanation is the correct one, it would be both embarrassing and incriminating for Trump, but would not necessarily implicate him in treason, depending on exactly what the blackmail material was and what concessions he made to Russia as a result.

Did the Trump campaign actually collaborate with Russia to interfere in the election, either by assisting with the interference or by promising favorable treatment in exchange for their help?  This is the most explosive of the possible explanations for why Russia favored Trump: if true, it would be highly incriminating and treasonous; removal from office would be pretty much the only appropriate remedy.  Right now, there is no hard evidence that any collusion occurred, just speculation and the suggestion that it accounts for many things about Trump’s stance toward Russia that are otherwise hard to explain.  The new information about “constant contact” bolsters this theory, but that contact could also be explained by other theories, including blackmail or even run-of-the-mill economic corruption (many members of Team Trump have business ties with state-run corporations in Russia, so they could have been talking about that).  

Whatever was happening between Russian intelligence and Trump campaign staff, did Trump, personally, know about it, or even order it? This is a very important question, and right now, we have no idea.   The intelligence officials who confirmed contact between Russian intelligence and the campaign have said that he was not personally on the phone during any of the calls they’re speaking about, and declined to say whether or not his name was even mentioned.  

What’s the deal with Michael Flynn?

So that brings us to the matter of Michael Flynn.  It was known during the transition that Flynn spoke to the Russian ambassador around the time the sanctions were imposed, and when Russia didn’t respond, it was widely speculated that he’d told the Russian ambassador not to worry about them.  He denied this, right up until the day the Washington Post broke the story that he had, in fact, talked about the sanctions during those calls.  Afterwards, his claim was that he didn’t remember, and that if he did mention the sanctions, whatever he said must have been so brief and noncommittal that he forgot the topic even came up.  Several other people in the transition team/administration, including the Vice-President, repeated his claim that he hadn’t talked about the sanctions, and the official story is that they had no idea it was a lie.  

However, about three weeks ago--shortly after the inauguration--Acting Attorney General Sally Yates told the Trump administration’s lawyer that Flynn was lying, and that, since the Russians presumably knew he was lying, this left him open to blackmail.  The Trump administration took no observable action based on this information until it hit the papers, two and a half weeks later. After the information hit the papers, three more days passed before Flynn resigned.  

Now that Flynn’s out, there are two ways of looking at the situation.  One is that Trump’s Russia Problem has “taken care of itself”:  it began and ends with Flynn, and now that he’s gone, there’s nothing more to see.  This is the position taken by the (Republican) chair of the House Oversight Committee, among others.   

The other position is, “are you fucking kidding me?”  Unanswered questions, which are not resolved by Flynn’s resignation, include:

What else did Flynn talk to the Russians about, during the campaign and the transition?

Who in the administration knew he was lying about not discussing the sanctions, and when did they know it?  Did anyone repeat this lie after knowing it was a lie?

Why did the administration wait so long to do anything about it?

Did Flynn also lie to the FBI about this, when he was questioned last week?  If he did, that would be a felony.

Literally every question from the second bulleted list above.  

Who is investigating this whole mess, and what’s so important about a Special Prosecutor or Independent Commission?

This matter is being investigated, by a lot of different entities.  None of the investigations are free from concerns about accountability/transparency, political bias, and/or interference with other ongoing investigations.  

Various US Intelligence Agencies, including the FBI, are carrying out their own investigations.  Most of what we know about the scandal comes from people in these agencies leaking information to the media.  These agencies typically carry out much of their activities in secret, so we, the public, only know what they want us to know.  The Trump administration considers many of the intelligence agencies to be hostile to them; by contrast, FBI director Comey is believed to be squarely in Trump’s pocket.  

Congressional Committees, including the House Oversight Committee and the Intelligence Committees in both the House and the Senate, have authority to investigate.  All committees include both Republican and Democratic members; however, since Congress is controlled by the Republicans, every committee is chaired by a Republican.  Members and leaders of these committees are doing a lot of talking about investigations, but it’s not completely clear what’s actually happening. Some committee proceedings are televised and/or transcribed for the public, but others are not; so far, the action has been confined to closed-door sessions.

 Intelligence committees in particular operate mostly out of public view.  Republicans (with very few exceptions) maintain that these committees should be responsible for investigating.  Many Democrats have suggested that this preference belies an intention to limit the scope of the investigations and to shield Trump from blame.  

The Justice Department is another possible investigator.  In the Clinton era, the Whitewater investigation, which culminated in the Starr report, began under the auspices of the Justice Department.  Starr was an Independent Counsel appointed by a panel of federal judges; he replaced a Special Prosecutor appointed by the Attorney General.  The Justice Department is part of the Executive Branch; its head, the Attorney General, is appointed by the President, as are many other high-level posts in the department.  It’s likely that Clinton instructed his AG to appoint a Special Prosecutor in the first place because he knew he hadn’t done what he was accused of doing and believed an independent investigation would clear him--which it did, of the original charges, but then took an unexpected detour into his sex life and revealed his affair with Monica Lewinsky.  You’ll have to draw your own conclusions about the likelihood of Trump authorizing AG Jeff Sessions to appoint someone to paw through everything he’s ever done.  

Democrats, and many commentators in the media, have called for an independent commission (also called a select commission, special commission, or “9/11 style commission”) to investigate.  What makes an independent commission “independent” is that the members are not current officeholders or employees of any government agency (though they may be former ones--see, for instance, the members of the 9/11 commission).  Therefore, they are less likely to be swayed by concerns about electability, the reputation of their agencies, or maintaining cordial relations with other officials or agencies in order to carry out other priorities.  The investigation is their whole job.  

Such a commission would be set up by Congress, and the members would be chosen by Congress, but once they got started, Congress would not have control over the direction of the investigation.  The example of the Whitewater investigation is useful again here:  the Special Prosecutor-or-Independent-Counsel setup is the executive branch equivalent, and even though Bill Clinton authorized the investigation in the fist place, he was not able to stop it from going in a direction he (presumably) did not want it to go.  

An independent commission can also be set up with an expectation of transparency.  Since it would be created specifically for this investigation, it wouldn’t have a history of secrecy, like the Intelligence Committees do.  The 9/11 commission’s final report was available to the public, and much of the testimony before the commission was transcribed for eventual release (although certain officials, such as then-President Bush, were allowed to testify privately).  The Starr Report, from the Whitewater investigation, was likewise  available to the public, and most of the hearings upon which it was based were televised and/or transcribed for the public.  

Finally, an independent commission would serve as a central hub for all information that emerges about connections between Russia and the Trump campaign.  Intelligence agencies do not typically share everything they know with each other.  An independent commission operates outside of the rivalries that exist between agencies, and can call on them to testify.  This is a puzzle with a lot of pieces, and the full picture won’t emerge until those pieces are all collected in one place.  

So, that’s what’s going on with Russia.  

#donald trump #us politics #russian hacking #michael flynn

[safarigirlsp]

I feel like this just ties into the main problem with fan fiction and racism in general. It is a white dominated space and you will never experience the exclusion it entails. It is technically true that you don't have to make fics for me. Hell you could probably write white!reader fanfics and they won't be much different a lot of the others. I don't think anyone's trying to cancel you or getting you to take it down but it is a good example of the exclusion. Cuz along with the hair and the eye color and the blushing and weight, we are not seen as the main character. That's not your fault or anything and you can do whatever you want but idk. It's kind of annoying to see a great fic made by a great writer and then discover this was not invisible with me in mind.

Good evening.

I appreciate you sending me a civil message to address your concerns, which are totally valid. I don’t pretend to understand the experience of others in this fandom or anywhere else. Which is why I have been pretty blatant about not touching politics around this issue. I have nothing to offer on that front and I wouldn’t presume to do so.

I assume that you have seen screenshots of the conversation between JynZ and myself. I will not modify anything I said in that exchange but I will elaborate.

As I stated in that conversation, it was literally not a deeper decision for me than that I wanted a setting that worked for Clyde’s accent and involved horses, war injuries like the character has, an old timey setting, and that wasn’t duplicative of my other stories or of someone else’s. To be perfectly honest, I didn’t think that merely using a historical setting could be perceived in this way and that was of course never my intention. I am absolutely guilty of being naive/stupid/clueless/insensitive/you name it and that’s something I should work on. I am sorry that my lack of awareness is something that offended or hurt people. But that is what occurred- there was no malice. I had no intention of offending or hurting anyone.

Honestly, if JynZ or anyone would have approached me differently, it would have gone very differently. I’m still not prone to delete my writing bc I worked hard on it and I enjoyed it, so honestly that probably wouldn’t have happened either way. But if the approach was more along the lines of, ‘Can you try to be more conscious or aware in the future? This setting should be avoided because of XYZ’ I would have said absolutely. However, trying to bully me into making some public statement, delete my writing, etc or else is a bit much. That is not an approach to which I shall respond well.

I also think it’s wrong for anyone to expect that a writer shall produce content that everyone has to enjoy. I’ve stood up for many people on this issue before. You should absolutely expect not to be excluded from a fic and I am truly sorry that happened with my fic. But I don’t agree that because my story was written with some admitted oversights that renders it ‘inappropriate.’ It was also properly tagged so that potential readers could avoid it. Nothing was sprang on anyone who gets 1k words in only to realize that, fuck, this is set during the civil war. Ideally, of course, everyone will enjoy everything, but that’s just never going to happen. I do try my best to create a good product but at the end of the day, I’m just over here writing in my free time to enjoy myself. If other people like it, that’s the greatest compliment to me, but if they don’t, all I can say is that I’m sorry and I tried.

It was a conscious choice made by JynZ for this to blow up and at this point, I’m fine playing the game for the sake of the game. So that you’re aware, I am posting a smutty follow up to my fic in response to her publicity stunt. It shall be tagged appropriately. Reader shall be vague but I understand now that the setting itself is not something that everyone can stomach. I am sorry for any hurt or offense caused to you or to any other reader and I am sorry for stress caused to any bystanders of this cluster fuck. There has been a lot of fallout and emotional upheaval from a situation that could have been rectified privately, served as a learning experience for me, and any similar recurrence prevented in the future.

I do try very hard in my writing to make readers inclusive regarding physical traits, and if anyone catches exclusive language regarding physicality, please point that out to me civilly and I’ll edit it out. It is unintentional and I think that I’m pretty solid on that front. The only exception to this which I’ve said before is that I do and shall continue to write my male characters as BIG, which means they can pick you up etc. And I maintain that any of these guys can pick you up like nothing, regardless of your size!

I am not sure if you’ve read any of my other stories or if you’ve found me today after all the drama, but I am truly sorry if this has affected you emotionally or caused you hurt or distress. You should never be in a position of feeling excluded. This is supposed to be a fun place for everyone to come together and bond by thirsting over characters! If I have impacted that experience for you, I am deeply sorry. Please don’t let me, my bullshit stories, anything else on my blog, or anyone else here for that matter get to you or lessen your experience here. Don’t let me or anyone else bring you down. I’m just a weirdo on the internet anyway trying to write weird ass stories.

#SafariGate

[manuelvmiv713]

Clinical Marijuana Dispensaries - Couple Of Things To Know

I wouldn't be a good attorney unless I prefaced this write-up with a couple of disclaimers:

1) Cannabis is still a regulated routine I compound and is illegal in the eyes of the Federal Federal Government of the United States;

2) This article is not to be understood as lawful recommendations, nor is it intended to fill in the guidance of a lawyer, as well as you ought to seek advice from an attorney before taking any type of activities in furtherance of the subject of this short article. Ok, allowed's start.

In the month of November, the State of Arizona passed Proposition 203, which would excuse particular people from dangerous drugs laws in the State of Arizona. However, it will certainly still spend some time prior to clinical cannabis is applied as a plan in Arizona. The Arizona Department of Wellness Solutions has launched a suggested timeline for the composing of the guidelines bordering the execution of Recommendation 203. Thus far, these are the crucial period that need to be paid very close attention to:

December 17, 2010: The initial draft of the medical marijuana rules need to be released and made available for discuss this day.

January 7, 2011: This will certainly be the target date for public comment on the initial draft of the guidelines discussed above.

January 31, 2011: The second draft of the guidelines will certainly be released on this day. Once again, it will be available for casual remark as in the draft referred to above.

February 21 to March 18, 2011: Even more official public hearings will certainly be held regarding the recommended guidelines right now, after which the last guidelines will certainly be submitted to the Secretary of State and also made public on the Workplace of Administrative Rules internet site.

April 2011: The clinical cannabis rules will go into impact and be published in the Arizona Administrative Register.

It is essential that at all times throughout the assessment process, interested parties submit briefs and/or make public speakings when allowed. Groups with rate of interests contrary to those of medical cannabis advocates may also be making discussions and might convince the State to needlessly restrict the substance or those that might certify to gain access to it if there is no voice to support in favor of people' legal rights.

Some bottom lines regarding Recommendation 203's effects

- Physicians may recommend medical cannabis for their clients under specific conditions. "Medical professional" is not specified in such a way restricted to normal medical doctors. Osteopaths licensed under Title 32, Chapter 17; naturopaths accredited under Title 32, Phase 14; and homeopaths certified under Title 32, Phase 29 may all be eligible to suggest marijuana for their people.

- In order to be prescribed clinical marijuana, a person should be a "qualifying person." A qualifying person is specified as a person who has been identified by a "doctor" (as specified over) as having a "debilitating clinical problem."

- Debilitating medical conditions consist of:

• Cancer, glaucoma, HIV positive condition, AIDS, hepatitis C, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Crohn's disease, or agitation of Alzheimer's condition or the therapy of these conditions.

• A chronic or incapacitating illness or clinical condition or its therapy that creates one or more of the following: Cachexia or losing disorder; serious and also chronic pain; severe queasiness; seizures, consisting of that characteristic of epilepsy; or serious as well as relentless muscle spasms, consisting of that attribute of several sclerosis.

• Any other clinical condition or its therapy included by the Division of Health and wellness Solutions according to Area 36-2801.01.

This last qualifying condition is underlined because it is critically important throughout the rulemaking procedure. Although Proposition 203 permits the general public to request the Department of Wellness Providers to exercise its discernment to add problems under this area, administration is notoriously challenging to reach alter any kind of regulation. The initial optional guidelines for extra treatments could be exercised during the general public consultations that occur between December and also March, though this is not certain.

It is as a result important that, in case the addition of medical conditions is considered during the appointments, any type of stakeholder that yearns for a clinical problem not provided in the very first two bulleted products over to lobby during the public appointment periods for the Division to include the extra clinical condition to the checklist of disabling clinical problems. In order to increase the reputation of any discussions made to warrant adding medical problems under Area 36-2801.01, it might be useful to solicit the statement of thoughtful Arizona-licensed medical doctors that can indicate theoretically as well as at the general public hearings concerning why the proposed problem should be included. Papers revealing that territories, both in the USA and in other places, currently utilize marijuana as a therapy for the recommended problem may be helpful, as would medical journals on the topic.

It must be born in mind that despite his cheerful YouTube videos about the clinical cannabis regulation drafting process, Director of Health And Wellness Solutions Will certainly Humble composed an entry in opposition to the passing of Recommendation 203. He did so on the grounds that the FDA does not evaluate the medication, and even though the federal government's anti-marijuana plan is popular it ought to not be relied upon as an authority for objective medical marijuana research study. There is no factor to believe that Supervisor Humble will certainly be any type of less likely to obstruct using clinical marijuana during the rulemaking phase, and all proponents of medical marijuana ought to be sure to make their voices heard at the assessments to stop the blockage of the intent of Proposal 203.

The level of Rulemaking throughout Consultations

There are other stipulations in Proposal 203 which will certainly be talked about throughout the initial rulemaking procedure, as well as they will probably be the primary emphasis of the consultations. The examinations will develop regulations:

• Regulating the manner in which the Division of Health Solutions will certainly approve the petitions from the public previously mentioned, pertaining to the addition of clinical problems to the checklist of the currently preserved crippling clinical conditions.

• Establishing the type where to buy cbd near me and content of enrollment and also revival applications sent under the clinical marijuana law.

• Governing the fashion in which the Division will certainly take into consideration applications for and also revivals of medical cannabis ID cards.

• Controling the various aspects around the freshly legislated nonprofit clinical cannabis dispensaries, including recordkeeping, safety, oversight, and also other requirements.

• Establishing the charges for individual applications and also clinical marijuana dispensary applications.

One of the most crucial part of the appointment period will be regarding the policies regulating the establishment and also oversight of medical marijuana dispensaries. If single-interest group lobby the Department to make the recordkeeping, safety and security, oversight, and also various other requirements around dispensaries as well restrictive, it will have the effect of decreasing the schedule of medical marijuana to individuals and also increasing the cost of medical cannabis as a result of the lack of supply. It might merely end up being also expensive to follow every one of the regulations.

Throughout this phase, it is very important that stakeholders-particularly clinical marijuana dispensaries from out-of-state, as well as probably pharmacists with a couple of economic knowledge-submit briefs explaining why specific suggested regulations may have a negative effect on the patients this Proposal is expected to aid. The recommended guidelines have not come out yet, but when they do, they ought to be carefully inspected for the possible adverse effect that unnecessarily difficult security and recordkeeping on not-for-profit dispensaries may carry patients.

The other significant consider the rulemaking will certainly relate to the charges. The Department will certainly be establishing costs for clinical cannabis dispensaries during the examination duration. Proposal 203 gives that the fees may not surpass $5,000 per first application and also $1,000 per renewal. Nonetheless, with some lobbying throughout the general public appointment, it is possible that the actual charges will be a lot less considering that these are simply the maximum that the Department may charge.

Discrimination against Medical Cannabis Users

Under Suggestion 203, discrimination versus clinical cannabis customers will be prohibited in particular scenarios. Based upon our analysis, an individual may not:

• As a school or property owner, refuse to enlist a person or otherwise punish them only for their standing as a medical marijuana cardholder, unless not doing so would cause the loss of a financial or licensing-related benefit under federal law or regulations.

• As a company, victimize hiring a person, or end them or impose any type of conditions on them since they are a medical cannabis cardholder unless refraining from doing so would certainly result in the loss of a financial or licensing-related benefit under federal legislation or regulations. Companies may still terminate workers if the employee is in property of or damaged by marijuana on the properties of the place of work or throughout the hours of work.

• As a treatment supplier, discriminate against a cardholder, including in issues of organ transplants. Medical marijuana should be treated like any other drug suggested by a physician.

• Be prevented, as a cardholder, from having visitation custodianship or visitation or parenting time with a small, unless the cardholder's habits "develops an unreasonable danger to the security of the small as established by clear as well as persuading evidence."

Although there are particular prohibitions on discrimination, there are additionally arrangements which permit discrimination versus medical cannabis cardholders:

• Government medical assistance programs and private wellness insurance firms are not needed to compensate a person for their medical marijuana usage.

• No one that has property, consisting of business owners, is needed to permit clinical marijuana on their premises (this seemingly includes property managers that, although they can not refuse lessees based upon their being a cardholder, are allowed to stop cardholders from bringing cannabis onto the landlord's residential property).

• Companies are not needed to enable cardholders to be drunk of or ingest marijuana while functioning, though the presence of cannabis in the body which is not of an adequate focus to trigger problems does not establish being intoxicated of it.

Guidelines Associated With the Establishment of Dispensaries

Although the last rules around safety, recordkeeping, and various other needs for medical marijuana dispensaries will not be established until April 2011, there are certain requirements that are preserved in Recommendation 203 itself as well as can be recognized ahead of the time that the final guidelines come out. These minimal demands might not be as restrictive as the final demands which are published in April 2011.

• Medical marijuana dispensaries have to be nonprofit. They should have bylaws that preserve their nonprofit nature, though they require not be thought about tax-exempt by the Internal Revenue Service, neither have to they be integrated.

• The operating files of the dispensaries must consist of provisions for the oversight of the dispensary as well as for accurate recordkeeping.

• The dispensary must have a single safe and secure entry and must execute proper safety procedures to hinder as well as prevent the burglary of marijuana and unauthorized accessibility to locations containing cannabis.

• A dispensary have to not get, possess, grow, produce, supply, move, transportation, supply, or give cannabis for any kind of purpose besides providing it directly to a cardholder or to a signed up caregiver for the cardholder.

• All cultivation of marijuana have to take place only at a secured, confined facility at a physical address supplied to the Division of Health And Wellness Services throughout the application process, as well as available just by dispensary agents registered with the Division.

• A dispensary can obtain cannabis from a patient of their caretaker, yet only if the individual or caregiver gets no payment for it.

• No usage of cannabis is permitted on the building of the dispensary.

• A dispensary goes through sensible evaluation by the Department of Wellness Providers. The Division needs to initially give sensible notification of the assessment to the dispensary.

Contrast to California's Medical Cannabis Regulation

The Arizona law is by no means the same as the regulation in The golden state. There are certainly some differences between the two, though in some aspects they are similar. This is a comparative analysis of the two regulations.

Similarities:

• Both regulations, as a practical issue, enable broad discretion for a medical professional to suggest cannabis to clients who experience discomfort. In the Arizona legislation, "extreme and also chronic discomfort" is the legislated criterion. In the California law, any kind of "chronic or persistent clinical signs and symptom" that significantly limits the life of the patient to carry out several significant life tasks as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, or that otherwise reduced, will certainly trigger significant injury to the individual's physical or psychological security, qualifies.

• Both regulations have a number of diseases that are immediately considered certifying diseases for the prescription of clinical cannabis. These consist of, yet are not restricted to, AIDS, cachexia, cancer cells, glaucoma, relentless muscle spasms, seizures, as well as serious queasiness.

• Both regulations call for the use of an identification card by those who have been prescribed clinical marijuana after the cardholders have actually gone through a preliminary application process in which the use of the drug has been recommended by a doctor.

• Both states do not consider the unusable portion of the marijuana plant in identifying the maximum weight of cannabis that is acceptable for property by a cardholder.

Distinctions:

• Though the regulations have not been finalized, the Arizona regulation looks like though it will be managed on the state level as well as therefore consistent throughout Arizona. The California legislation, nonetheless, is managed significantly on the local level, as well as as a result the regulations around dispensaries can differ significantly from one municipality to the following.

• The Arizona legislation supplies a wider spectrum of people that are thought about a "doctor" for the objective of suggesting clinical marijuana. In The golden state, just medical doctors and also osteopaths are taken into consideration to be medical professionals. In Arizona, along with medical physicians and osteopaths, naturopaths as well as homeopaths will also be allowed to prescribe clinical marijuana.

• In California, individuals or their caretakers might expand marijuana plants instead of using a clinical cannabis dispensary. In Arizona, individuals might just expand cannabis or assign somebody else to do so instead of visiting a dispensary on the problem that there is no dispensary operating within 25 miles of the person's residence.

• The maximum belongings restriction for cannabis in California is eight ounces per person, whereas the limit is just 2.5 ounces per patient in Arizona.

-This is not meant to be legal recommendations as well as is offered totally as an analysis of the current legislation. You ought to talk to an attorney to talk about these matters. We are available for assessments for this matter by consultation just as well as through prepayment of the assessment fee.

#CBD #cannabis #cannabidiol

[terabitweb]

Original Post from SC Magazine Author: Victor M. Thomas

At the risk of potentially alienating a high-demand workforce that potentially can jump to a new company for seemingly minor perks such as company-paid cafeterias or flex time with little oversight, CISOs today find themselves with a challenge. In order to protect their corporations against data breach from internal and external sources, CISOs have a tool that is effective at identifying breaches but some employees might find a bit too intrusive: analytics. The move to analytics-based security —  be it behavioral, threat intelligence, big data, or one of a myriad of other analytics technologies — could be interpreted as Big Brother watching over the employees.

The potential damage that an insider attack can inflict on a business is massive, a reality that prompted some enterprises to use analytics, keystroke capture, and digital video to track insiders. But are the risks of a company alienating its employees and contractors worth it? Are analytics even an effective means of neutralizing insider threats?

When exploring insider threats, it is critical to focus on the distinctions between a potential and an actual threat. The potential threat is significant with insider attacks, given that these are people who already have legitimate credentials to a company’s systems and who, one way or another, exceed their authority on the system and do something unauthorized such as sabotage servers or steal company data and sell it to a competitor.

But the true threat from insiders is a matter of debate with some experts saying the actual insider threats seen are small compared with today’s external attacks. Then there is the question of how one defines an insider threat in the first place. Forrester Research, for example, defines an insider threat as any breach that is caused or facilitated by an insider, whether it is an “accidental insider or malicious insider,” says Forrester Principal Analyst Joseph Blankenship. Forrester considers accidental insider attacks as ones where the insider had no malicious intent — perhaps an employee accidentally left a port open and an attacker leveraged that to gain access or saved a file to an insecure thumb drive so they could work at home rather than remain in the office.

Using Forrester’s all-encompassing definition, Blankenship reports that insiders were responsible for 24 percent of all data breaches last year. But when limiting the definition to just malicious insiders — the definition commonly assumed in IT and security circles — that percentage drops to closer to 11 percent, he says. That suggests that 89 percent of all attackers were external.

“Some of the vendor marketing may be overblowing the insider threat,” Blankenship says.

IDC uses a similar insider threat definition as does Forrester, also including unintentional insider acts that facilitate external attacks. “The number goes down pretty dramatically if you start to remove things that are unintentional,” says Sean Pike, program vice president for security products at IDC. “Malicious is always a pretty small number, but they are very impactful because they have so much access.”

Another important component of an insider threat analytics strategy is whether to try and keep it secret or not. The “keep it secret” argument focuses on preventing any employee or contractor backlash from them being monitored so precisely. The “disclose it” argument speaks to deterrence, suggesting that the main reason for launching such analytics is less to catch insider evildoers than to discourage anyone from trying.

Indeed, the deterrence argument is made quite handedly by some companies that say that they are monitoring employees, when they really are not. Danny Rogers, the CEO of a Dark Web intelligence company called Terbium Labs, used to work with a casino that populated its money-counting rooms with fake cameras with little red lights on them. He calls it “security theater.” That way, the casino got almost all of the deterrence of true monitoring without almost any of the cost.

That works until an incident occurs and the company has to fess up publicly that it has no footage. But even then, would employees assume that all cameras are still fake? The cat-and-mouse game of loss prevention psychology will get a full workout.

Setting aside the psychodrama of “Are they or are they not tracking us,” the better question to ask is “Should they or shouldn’t they be tracking us?” Rogers positions himself in the “they shouldn’t” camp and he says it is for several reasons.

“When it comes to limits of mining employee data for signs of insider threats, I worry these efforts have already moved too quickly into the realm of ‘pre-crime,’ in which false positives result in employees’ benign activities being interpreted as threatening with employees being wrongfully terminated as a result,” Rogers says.

Danny Rogers, CEO, Terbium Labs

“The truth is that it’s very difficult to define ‘normal’ behavior for an employee,” he continues. “Often, one’s most productive and creative employees regularly engage in seemingly abnormal behavior as part of their work. In fact, onerous employee surveillance can have a chilling effect on innovation within a company. Generally, I think too much reliance on limited or biased AI (artificial intelligence), whether in looking for anomalous behavior of employees, software, or networks, is resulting in everything from alert fatigue to the increased risk of wrongful termination litigation. You have to have trust in the people in your organization.”

Rogers’ concerns here break down into two basic points. First, it is a bad idea to surveil because of where it might lead. Secondly, it most likely will not work anyway.

As for why it likely would not work, Rogers’ argument is that deviation analytics, which is typically what machine learning does, needs to know what to look for. “You can’t really define abnormal until you define normal. Can you actually define a narrow ring of normal for any given user?” Rogers asks. “It may sound nice in a marketing sense, but I don’t think you can define a narrow enough definition of normal for this to work.”

Rogers’s argument is that for the analytics to work well, it needs to be given a large number of samples of what network activity looks like when there are no insider attacks and it ideally also needs to be shown what it looks like when there are such insider attacks. But that is a challenge in logic, as a company would presumably never have complete confidence that there were no insider attacks happening during any sample period.

David Pearson, principal threat researcher at Awake Security, a former adjunct professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology and a member of the technical staff at Sandia National Laboratories, agrees with Rogers’ concern about the quality of the initial dataset. “How great would it be to be the attacker who got in before your fancy baseline was established as the norm?” Pearson asks rhetorically.

IDC’s Pike vehemently disagrees with both Pearson and Rogers. “It’s a little silly as an argument” that a company would never have a perfect snapshot in time of noncriminal activity, Pike says.

Sean Pike, security products program vice president, IDC

“You’ve got to start somewhere and you may very well need to start at a place where there is rampant fraud happening. As the system goes on, those behavioral patterns will change,” Pike says. “You might spot a pattern (of fraud) and go back and say ‘Now I see it.’”

Pike’s position is that companies must start by looking for the easy things, “the low-hanging fruit” such as employees logging in at odd times, starting to come in early or leaving late when that was never their pattern, their browsing activity, where they are logging in from, and which files are they trying to access. “It’s not so incredibly intrusive,” Pike says. “It’s sort of nonthreatening to employees.”

But is aggressive tracking an overall effective tactic to thwart insider attacks? Pike maintains that it generally is. First, there is a lot of monitoring that is required. “There are regulatory obligations to do some sorts of surveillance,” such as recording phone calls with customers, Pike says. Indeed, some surveillance “has been lifesaving,” such as when the system detects that an employee is acting suicidal.

As for employee pushback and potential resentment to extensive surveillance, Pike does not think that should be a significant concern. First, he does not believe that the surveillance should be announced. “I like my surveillance with a side of secrecy,” Pike says. “It really all depends on what you do with that information. The bad actors will probe ‘What can I get away with here?’ It’s only when you act on anything, that’s where you start alienating folk.”

For example, Pike says, if a manager cracked down on an employee for coming in late based on network analytics and cited the network analytics as the reason that could cause problems. It is better, Pike says, to file away such information and wait to observe corroborating evidence personally. “Even though you have the information, you don’t have to act on every single piece,” Pike says.

Anton Chuvakin, research vice president, distinguished analyst, Gartner

Forrester’s Blankenship agrees. “How much are you advertising that you’re doing this monitoring? For example, has anyone been fired as a result? The employees may not even know that they are being monitored.”

Blankenship also points to the level of monitoring and how far it goes beyond what employees expect and assume companies are doing. And that perception changes sharply from one another with defense contractors and banking employees assuming far more surveillance than might be the case with agriculture and hotel industry employees.

“In the U.S., most employees would say that if they are working on a company device, that they would expect (monitoring) to happen,” Blankenship says.

Anton Chuvakin, a Gartner research vice president and distinguished analyst for security and risk management, says the attitudes about surveillance and analytics, especially as it comes to insider attack threats, sharply changes as the geographies and verticals change. “The European Union and Europe in general tend to be on the ‘do not do it’ side,” Chuvakin says. “The U.S. government does it a lot. And U.S. corporate is somewhere in the middle.”

Although Chuvakin offers questions about keystroke logging — “Is it creepy?” he quips — he stresses that the question is truly perceptional. “It is very heavily in the eye of the beholder.”

There is also a strategic question of how much time and effort should be focused on security dealing with the insider threat. For many in security, it is just not much of a priority. “People are too busy fighting malware to even think about insiders,” Chuvakin says.

When it comes to security and privacy, Europeans often look at the topic differently than their counterparts in North America. Catherine Flick is a member of the Association for Computing Machinery’s Committee on Professional Ethics as well as being a reader (the British rough equivalent of a tenured professor) in Computing and Social Responsibility in the Centre for Computing and Social Responsibility at De Montfort University, a public university in Leicester, England. She has strong feelings about privacy.

One of the never-ending problems associated with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and copycat laws cropping up in North America, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 on the ballot in November 2018, is that these regulations impose restrictions on what data can be retained and how it can be used. With analytics and employee monitoring, that simply increases how much sensitive data needs to be processed.

“There’s more than just the legal aspects of data analytics. Much of the law is still catching up. GDPR only just came into effect, and we’re still waiting to see what the real-world impact of much of that will be beyond annoying consent agreements on websites,” Flick says. “The [ACM’s] code [of ethics] has always had things to say about data privacy, security, and other ethical issues to do with analytics. Merging of datasets needs to be done with care to ensure privacy is protected; de-anonymization is bad [while] informed consent and user control over personal data is good.”

Flick says she is inclined to think that aggressive employee monitoring for the purpose of thwarting insider security threats is “not an appropriate use of that technology” in general, although she adds that for some high-security businesses such as banks, “it might be appropriate.” She argues it is better to focus on all security matters and “to trust (employees) and assume that they’ll be professional. It’s taking a sledgehammer to an ant situation.”

Flick notes that in the U.K., email and messaging communications cannot be examined by a company if it is explicitly labeled “union business.” She adds: “It can have an overall negative impact (on business operations) if employees feel that they’re not being trusted to do their job.”

Pearson says the kind of analysis and monitoring that is typically dealing with insider threats can deliver far more headaches than it is worth.

Catherine Flick, member, Association for Computing Machinery’s Committee on Professional Ethics; reader, De Montfort University (United Kingdom)

“Decrypting and analyzing traffic makes it much easier to spot mal intent, but is also a great way to sow distrust with employees. When traffic is decrypted, it’s an area that’s ripe for abuse,” Pearson says. “Obviously, knowing that somebody is searching Google is one thing, but knowing that and why they’re searching for specific medical problems is something much different. Additionally, decryption offers another employee-focused crown jewel to any organization that does it. What if an attacker can access it?” he notes.

Pearson also argues that those kinds of employee-tracking techniques could undermine security if it drives employees to avoid such systems deliberately. “If knowing that the people controlling the analytics are seeing your private information causes you to actually engage in more risky practices, such as aiming to bypass a system by installing less trustworthy apps or using out-of-band devices, then the value of those analytics are significantly degraded,” he says. “Instead, efforts should be made to find a more amenable approach, which may be analytics of intent associated with encrypted traffic without having to peek into the payload.”

Doug Barbin, principal and cybersecurity practice leader at Schellman & Company, Inc., an independent security and privacy compliance assessor, talks about monitoring software that his company uses and how it works well, but mostly because his managers put limitations on it.

“Web monitoring software has been dancing this line for some time. Our firm, with almost entirely field-based professionals, uses a security proxy that protects our professionals from harmful networks and themselves. By default, it can see everything, even perform TLS (transport layer security) inspection of encrypted traffic,” Barbin says. “Could we see employee connections to banking institutions or healthcare? Absolutely. Correspondence with potential employers? Certainly. But we don’t and that is because we made a decision not to.”

Barbin points out that some verticals have non-security reasons for monitoring and it generates quite a few inappropriate incentives.

“In professional services, excess monitoring in such can cause you to miss context and flaws in the workflow. A manager could be penalized for projects going over budget, only to find out there was a project coding problem or the associate was incorrectly billing. Worse, firms have plenty of history of gaming chargeability and other metrics and/or asking associates not to bill all of their time to make project margins look better.

“Move out of consulting and look no further than healthcare where one treatment decision is made over another for the purpose of a better performance metric which drives funding and resources,” Barbin continues. “There is no easy answer other than good managers overseeing the analysts and asking why.  Ethics professionals can also play a role going beyond their current mandate of privacy and protecting personal data to use of that data.”

Barbin also argues that metrics that some believe raise questions of improper conduct might signal nothing at all. “From an insider threat perspective policy scenarios, what are you monitoring for?” he asks. Do you disable USB thumb drives or transfers to certain web sites? For example, if an employee was sending files to Dropbox, would that not be a more worrisome situation? Perhaps or perhaps not, Barbin says. He notes that some of his clients post sensitive files on Dropbox if the file exceeds the size limitation of email, which makes lots of large files transfers to and from Dropbox non-suspicious.

Vast amounts of data moving today is not necessarily a bad sign at all. What if employees are just downloading a movie to watch at home that night? “I struggle where all of this wouldn’t be yet another instance of chasing your tail,” Barbin says.

The post Inside-out analytics: Solving the enigmatic insider threat appeared first on SC Media.

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Go to Source Author: Victor M. Thomas Inside-out analytics: Solving the enigmatic insider threat Original Post from SC Magazine Author: Victor M. Thomas At the risk of potentially alienating a high-demand…

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[growlegalweed-blog]

Legal Weed Resources

Check out... https://legalweed.gq/420/or-olcc-2019-recreational-marijuana-supply-and-demand-legislative-report-statement/

OR: OLCC “2019 Recreational Marijuana Supply and Demand Legislative Report” & Statement

Takeaways

Oversupply is seen as a positive as it indicated incorporation of grey & black markets

$198 million in state and local sales tax revenue generated since legalization

State has 2,100 licensees

Latest study designed to encourage sensible policy development

Here’s the statement in full

January 31, 2019

OLCC Provides Oregon Legislature with Recreational Marijuana Supply and Demand Study

  Portland, OR — Today the Oregon Liquor Control Commission provided the Oregon Legislative Assembly with the 2019 Recreational Marijuana Supply and Demand Legislative Report required by ORS 475B.548.

2019 Recreational Marijuana Supply and Demand Legislative Report

A Letter from OLCC Director Steve Marks

Oregon’s Public Policy Approach to Support Legal Marijuana Production and the State’s Abundant Supply: The Course for Seeking the Right Balance

The Oregon Liquor Control Commission is grateful for the opportunity to produce for the Oregon Legislature a comprehensive examination of the amount of marijuana accounted for and contained within Oregon’s regulated recreational marijuana market.

Let me first acknowledge that we have a considerable supply of marijuana in our state’s recreational marijuana system.  That licensed Oregon cannabis growers have become successful in producing this volume of marijuana is due in no short order to the intentional choices made by Oregon voters and policy makers.  Now we find ourselves at a crossroads where our state’s history with marijuana and the future of cannabis commercialization meet.

Oregon’s unique geography and climate are qualities that have enabled generations of Oregon farmers to produce copious amounts of cannabis. The illegal export of Oregon cannabis has been taking place for decades. For Oregon, producing a lot of marijuana is not new news; producing a lot of marijuana that is tracked in the legal system is.

Recognition that cannabis is woven into the state’s cultural fabric initially emerged as institutional tolerance when Oregon became the first state in the country to decriminalize marijuana possession in 1973. Greater acceptance of cannabis occurred in 1998 when Oregon, following California’s lead two years earlier, established a medical marijuana program. A broader embrace of cannabis took place when Oregon voters approved Measure 91 in November 2014, and became the 3rd state to legalize recreational marijuana.

With the debate around legalization largely settled, Oregon’s elected officials began making annual adjustments during legislative sessions beginning in 2015.  Each legislative modification to Oregon’s regulated cannabis system has attempted to improve the industry’s economic stability by removing barriers to entering the market while at the same time enhancing regulatory compliance to address public safety concerns while withstanding federal scrutiny.

Oregon is not creating a new industry, it is converting an illegal cannabis production economy, and a loosely-regulated medical program, into a well-regulated legal market

Oregon oversupply is a sign that policy choices made to attract illegal and grey market producers into the new commercial system have been successful; this was a start-up challenge Colorado and Washington didn’t have to face. Oregon medical marijuana growers had long been suspected of diverting into the illegal market so it was important to attract these well-established producers into the OLCC’s new regulated recreational marijuana program.

To entice medical as well as formerly illegal growers into Oregon’s legal market the state lowered the barriers to entry with low license fees and taxes and chose not to limit the number of licenses. This approach fulfilled the immediate objective to absorb medical marijuana providers into the OLCC market, but it has led to industry churn as businesses face mounting cost pressures and attempt to position themselves for the long term.

The ongoing objective is to account for and contain legally produced cannabis within Oregon, create consumer confidence in the legal market, and establish compliance performance boundaries for marijuana licensees.

By requiring the tracking of marijuana flower and marijuana products, CTS has provided the most reliable accounting for legally produced cannabis in Oregon. For the first time, the state’s production of marijuana is accounted for and there are consequences – criminal and administrative – for licensees that divert product from the regulated system.

Oregon’s legal market has created a new growth industry with quality product, a diversity of choices, and transparent information for consumers

Oregon’s successful transition to a regulated adult-use market has provided customers an unprecedented degree of consumer safety confidence. Oregon’s testing program and packaging and labeling requirements are considered best-in-class and are being replicated by other states that have legalized adult use cannabis. This confidence has contributed to consistent growth in retail activity as evidenced by the $198 million in state and local sales tax revenue generated since legalization.

On the demand side the establishment of a legitimate market has resulted in consumers shifting their purchase activity away from the illegal market to licensed retailers. The conversion of most OMMP dispensaries to OLCC retailers, coupled with the OLCC’s deliberate effort to allow medical grade products for sale at retail, has established a statewide retail network, in which medical marijuana patients are also able to obtain tax-free products.

Industry innovation has continued since the OLCC’s establishment of and oversight over the marijuana supply chain in January 2017; today consumers are able to find a selection of products reflecting a marketplace with 2,100 licensees. As more consumer choices have been introduced and prices have decreased, sales have seen a corresponding increase.

A context for change

Oregon’s current supply in the legal market is a reflection of successful policies to move production into the legal system. The adoption of the legal system by recreational consumers and medical patients for the purchase of branded and tested cannabis products is a strong indication that the legal system is winning the battle against the illegal market.

At the same time, Oregon regulators and law enforcement, with support of the licensed industry, are developing and utilizing new resources and tools to confront illegal market activity. Now that the legal system has successfully taken hold, policy makers can make adjustments combined with market forces to work towards a sustainable economic balance between supply and demand.

The economic condition of the market that the OLCC will be regulating in the next two years remains uncertain. Just as it took time to establish legal alcohol markets after the repeal of alcohol prohibition, the development of the legal marijuana industry will require patience. In less than three years Oregon has made substantial progress toward creating a controlled, economically viable and well-regulated cannabis industry. While regulations to control and manage this new industry will continue to change, no matter the future course, the ability to support existing and aspiring licensees and take enforcement against those that don’t follow the rules will be a crucial function for the state and the private sector businesses that have entered this industry.

A primary objective of establishing Oregon’s regulated market was to contain cannabis legally produced in Oregon from diversion into the illegal market.  Oregon’s legal cannabis market and its framework for accountability and containment indicates the system is performing as it was designed.

At this point we have another opportunity to make intentional choices.  With market mechanisms and thoughtful public policy, the state of Oregon and the OLCC can continue to control what we’ve created – to reinforce and strengthen the regulatory system we’ve built in just three short years.  One corrective policy tool proposed by the Governor would allow the OLCC to place a moratorium on licenses.  As the 2019 legislative session progresses other ideas may emerge.

We expect any guidance that the Governor and Legislature may develop during the 2019 legislative session will strengthen the continued implementation of a regulated marijuana system that balances public safety concerns with the vision of Oregon voters.

The 2019 Recreational Marijuana Supply and Demand Legislative Report is more than just about numbers. Its substance and specific methodology reflect a state-of-the-art approach for evaluating use and demand and normalizing values and equivalencies of differing cannabis products as produced and sold in the Oregon marketplace. While not infallible, this study provides a sound base for the discussion and debate of policy development. The OLCC appreciates the work and time its talented staff and outside peer reviewers have spent to bring forward this public data on legal marijuana production in Oregon.

A copy of the 2019 Recreational Marijuana Supply and Demand Legislative Report .  Can be found on the OLCC on the Recreational Marijuana main page under the Government Resources column.

Or Read It Here

2019 Supply and Demand Legislative Report FINAL for Publication(PDFA)

#&amp #2019 #demand #Legislative #Marijuana #OLCC #Recreational #Report #Statement #supply

[queenfreakblog-blog]

International Gatherings, Conferences As Well As Sporting Events-Security Threats As Well As Issues

International occasions such as significant item launches, business conferences, yearly or normal showing off occasions continuously fall outside the basic method and methods of threat as well as people risk management. Lots of companies and individuals, also cannot expect or include this in traveling danger monitoring techniques for recreation or non-corporate traveling.

 The larger the event; typically the higher lack of oversight. Many organizations and coordinators have actually obtained themselves right into what they think about' a well rehearsed process'. Nevertheless, offered the continuous development in this field, one event could be just among lots or perhaps hundreds on their yearly schedule. As a result, some planning teams do not even begin their preparation for these occasions up until mere weeks before the beginning of the event. They have actually ended up being so accustomed to the process (in their minds) that they merely theme their planning preparation and even the risk accounts.

 Issue motivated groups, lawbreakers or even terrorists all have wants and requires. Along with these desires and also requires, there a number of capacities, intent as well as historical success that are required prior to they can also be taken into consideration to be truly a danger. Usually, bad guys as well as terrorists choose individuals over locations. Definition; they will certainly most likely to where individuals are, certain if they gather in lots. It frequently has much less to do regarding place compared to the ease of access and possibility for targets or focus. Increasingly, terrorist and problem inspired groups, are about striking at social tasks instead of renowned spots areas. This indicates that several are at strolling into the exact places or circumstances liked by both bad guys and terrorists alike. In recent times showing off occasions have actually even been high up on the listing of preferred places. Also athletes have ended up being preferred targets.

 On the internet bookings, more affordable planes tickets, product launches, the excitement of seeing your celebrity professional athletes perform live are all increasingly motivating a growing number of people to take a trip to these significant occasions and incredibly events. This could then result in small or modest sized cities and also locations increasing well beyond their framework ability or overburdening whatever from services to emergency situation solutions. The planning and preparation differ from city-to-city, location-to-location and even encompass cultural restrictions. One need to never ever presume that specific event held in various locations is even from another location near to the same criterion of preparation, prep work or sources met with at the last.

 During the next few months, whatever from the football World Mug to the Shanghai Exposition will see thousands of thousands or millions of visitors descend on private or collections of location. These occasions to, have relentless as well as particular threats that will impact all visitors and participants. They will vary from the minor and routine, the serious or catastrophic.

 Part of the hazard are tourists or participants themselves. In basic terms you should understand before you go. Comprehending, adapting as well as planning for the neighborhood scenarios, rather than simply transit or your area of beginning, is much more vital if not crucial to establish the success of an overall trip. Sometimes; Google simply does not suffice! One ought to have precise as well as specific guidance that assists form your choice intending an even logistics. Increasingly companies are supplying this on behalf of their staff members.

 Local standards differ. The nature as well as the extent of services supplied at most of these occasions are most likely to be various to just what you may be accustomed at home. You might assume it remote, and even not likely to require such services yet you need to a minimum of focus in order to comprehend how they will certainly operate in the event of an event, mishap and even an emergency situation.

 Strategy. Establish time aside, to research study as well as comprehend the location and even the event in which you are travelling to take pleasure in. If you have resources to bring into play, use them. Otherwise, seek them out, share and team up; yet do not omit. It's not a lot the strategy that is very important, it's the preparation.

 Take care of. All journeys (despite planning) present choices at different stages of the occasion. Notified and smart choices are based on the level as well as understanding related to those particular options. Ad hoc, ill notified, or simply not so serious options frequently cause unsafe end results. Ensure you continue to be upgraded to altering situations. Keep recognition of your tasks as well as the environments in which you're travelling. This should be related to every stage from arrivals, transportation to hotels, traveling between events and areas; as much as and also including your return to the airport and subsequent separation.

 Activities. Think through probable circumstances ahead of time. Consider what resources might be required. Enhance those resources with your applied knowledge and access to sustain services. Needs to anything happen, that needs even one of the most regular of feedbacks up to an inclusive life safety and security and safety and security events, your understanding beforehand will identify or control a successful end result. This need to by no means be a private undertaking, and all travellers or guests should think about leveraging from various other support networks.

 Poor things occur to excellent individuals constantly. It's simply a fraction of the general time needed to be spent on planning, handling and also figuring out actions, that will establish the success of any event, large or small.

 For More Information Check This

[gigglesndimples]

Top 4 Food Safety Hazards for the Cannabis Industry

As many US States and Canadian provinces approach legalization of cannabis, the question of regulatory oversight has become a pressing issue. While public awareness is mainly focused on issues like age restrictions and impaired driving, there is another practical question to consider: should cannabis be treated as a drug or a food product when it comes to safety? In the US, FDA governs both food and drugs, but in Canada, drugs are regulated by Health Canada while food products are regulated under the CFIA.There are many food safety hazards associated with cannabis production and distribution that could put the public at risk, but are not yet adequately controlled

Of course, there are common issues like dosage and potency that pharmaceutical companies typically worry about as the industry is moving to classifying its products in terms of percentage of chemical composition (THC, CBD, etc. in a strain), much as we categorize alcohol products by the percentage of alcohol. However, with the exception of topical creams and ointments, many cannabis products are actually food products. Even the herb itself can be brewed into teas, added to baked goods or made into cannabis-infused butters, oils, capsules and tinctures.

As more people gain access to and ingest cannabis products, it’s only a matter of time before food safety becomes a primary concern for producers and regulators. So when it comes to food safety, what do growers, manufacturers and distributors need to consider? The fact is, it’s not that different from other food products. There are many food safety hazards associated with cannabis production and distribution that could put the public at risk, but are not yet adequately controlled. Continue reading below for the top four safety hazards for the cannabis industry and learn how to receive free HACCP plans to help control these hazards.

Aflatoxins on Cannabis Bud

Just like any other agricultural product, improper growing conditions, handling and storage can result in mold growth, which produce aflatoxins that can cause liver cancer and other serious health problems. During storage, the danger is humidity; humidity must be monitored in storage rooms twice a day and the meter must be calibrated every month. During transportation, it is important to monitor and record temperatures in trucks. Trucks should also be cleaned weekly or as required. Products received at a cannabis facilities should be tested upon receiving and contaminated products must always be rejected, segregated and disposed of safely.

Petri dish containing the fungus Aspergillus flavus. It produces carcinogenic aflatoxins, which can contaminate certain foods and cause aspergillosis, an invasive fungal disease. Photo courtesy of USDA ARS & Peggy Greb.

Chemical Residues on Cannabis Plants

Chemical residues can be introduced at several points during the production and storage process. During growing, every facility should follow instructions for applying fertilizers and pesticides to crops. This includes waiting for a sufficient amount of time before harvesting. When fertilizer is being applied, signs must be posted. After cannabis products have been harvested, chemical controls must be in place. All chemicals should be labelled and kept in contained chemical storage when not in use to prevent contamination. Only food-grade chemicals (e.g. cleaners, sanitizers) should be used during curing, drying, trimming and storage.

Without a comprehensive food safety program, problems will inevitably arise.There is also a risk of excessive concentration of chemicals in the washing tank. As such, chemical concentrations must be monitored for. In general, water (obviously essential for the growing process) also carries risks of pathogenic bacteria like staphylococcus aureus or salmonella. For this reason, city water (which is closely controlled in most municipalities) should be used with an annual report and review. Facilities that use well water must test frequently and water samples must be tested every three months regardless.

Pathogenic Contamination from Pest Infestations

Insects, rodents and other pests spread disease. In order to prevent infestations, a pest control program must be implemented, with traps checked monthly by a qualified contractor and verified by a designated employee. It is also necessary to have a building procedure (particularly during drying), which includes a monthly inspection, with no holes or gaps allowed. No product should leave the facility uncovered to prevent fecal matter and other hazards from coming into contact with the product. Contamination can also occur during storage on pallets, so pallets must be inspected for punctures in packaging material.

Furthermore, even the best controlled facility can fall victim to the shortcomings of their suppliers. Procedures must be in place to ensure that suppliers are complying with pest and building control procedures, among others. Certifications should be acquired and tracked upon renewal.

Pathogenic Contamination Due to Improper Employee Handling

Employee training is key for any food facility. When employees are handling products, the risk of cross-contamination is highest. Facilities must have GMP and personnel hygiene policies in place, with training conducted upon hiring and refreshed monthly. Employees must be encouraged to stay home when sick and instructed to wear proper attire (gloves, hair nets, etc.), while glass, jewelry and outside food must not be allowed inside the facility. Tools used during harvesting and other stages may also carry microorganisms if standard cleaning procedures are not in place and implemented correctly by employees.

As the cannabis industry grows, and regulatory bodies like the FDA and CFIA look to protect public safety, we expect that more attention will be paid to other food safety issues like packaging safety (of inks and labels), allergen control and others. In the production of extracts, for example, non-food safe solvents could be used or extracts can be mixed with ingredients that have expiration dates, like coconut oil. There is one area in which the cannabis industry may lead the way, however. More and more often, risks of food terrorism, fraud and intentional adulteration are gripping the food industry as the global food chain becomes increasingly complex. It’s safe to say that security at cannabis facilities is probably unparalleled.

All of this shows that cannabis products, especially edibles (and that includes capsules and tinctures), should be treated the same as other food products simply because they have the same kinds of hazards. Without a comprehensive food safety program (that includes a plan, procedures, training, monitoring and verification), problems will inevitably arise.

The post Top 4 Food Safety Hazards for the Cannabis Industry appeared first on Cannabis Industry Journal.

Source: https://www.cannabisindustryjournal.com/feature_article/top-4-food-safety-hazards-for-the-cannabis-industry/

The following article Top 4 Food Safety Hazards for the Cannabis Industry was originally published to The Giggles N Dimples Blog

from Giggles N Dimples - Feed https://gigglesndimples.com/2018/02/05/top-4-food-safety-hazards-for-the-cannabis-industry/

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Prison Food Gets Inmates Sick More Often Than Other Americans

This won’t surprise anyone: The food served in correctional institutions is generally not very good. Even though most Americans have never tasted a meal dished up in a correctional kitchen, occasional secondhand glimpses tend to reinforce a common belief that “prison food” is scant, joyless, and unsavory—if not even worse. In August, the Detroit Free Press reported that a prison kitchen worker was fired for refusing to serve rotten potatoes. You can find nightmarish stories about maggots in national outlets like U.S.A. Today. Meanwhile, The Marshall Project’s more thorough, pictorial anatomy of daily correctional fare across the country found that most offerings barely fill a cafeteria tray—let alone a hungry belly. Reports like these reinforce the sense that criminal justice has a gastronomic dimension, that unrelentingly horrid food is a standard feature of the punishment prisoners receive behind bars.

But new evidence suggests that the situation is worse than previously thought, and not just because prison food isn’t winning any James Beard awards. It’s also making inmates sick.

According to a recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), correctional inmates are 6.4 times more likely to suffer from a food-related illness than the general population. The report—which looked at confirmed outbreaks across the country between 1998 and 2014, and is the first update to the data in 20 years—underscores the fact that prison food is more than just a punch line, a flash point, or a gross-out gag on Orange Is the New Black. It’s a hidden public-health crisis.

The study, published in the American Journal of Public Health, found that inmates suffer from foodborne illness at a rate of 45 per 100,000 people annually, compared to only 7 per 100,000 in the general population. And 6 percent of all confirmed outbreak-related cases of foodborne illness in the United States took place in correctional institutions—significant, considering that less than 1 percent of the country’s population is incarcerated. At the same time, “desmoteric” outbreaks—the kind that occur in correctional institutions—were the country’s largest outbreaks in four of the 17 years studied. (In six other years, correctional outbreaks ranked within the top five.) Thirty-seven states reported at least one desmoteric outbreak during the same span.

What’s to blame for the dramatic rates of foodborne illness in jails and prisons? That’s harder to say. In some ways, the CDC study is highly specific about what’s making people sick: The agency determined that Clostridium perfringens and Salmonella were the most common disease-causing agents, for instance, and that tainted poultry products were the most common single culprit. But the data leave us with more questions than answers, since these raw numbers remain mostly uninterpreted. The study doesn’t cover the more systemic factors causing outbreaks in the first place.

Mariel A. Marlow, one of the study’s coauthors, was reluctant to speculate about the underlying cultural, operational, and institutional conditions leading to high rates of illness. “Oversight and regulation of correctional institutions can vary by state and institution, so just to pull out certain factors is a little difficult,” she said. The correctional system is vast and highly variable: When it comes to food, a jail in Reno may be nothing like a federal prison outside New Orleans, and a private prison in Texas may look nothing like its counterpart one county over.

But an issue this widespread still signals the existence of underlying, systemic reasons inmates are six times more likely to be sickened by their food. As it turns out, the problems that arise in correctional food service tend to have mundane roots, even if the consequences can be dramatic. Institutions struggle to enforce basic food-safety standards: Though there are reports of corruption and negligence, the primary factor appears to be that many correctional facilities aren’t equipped to execute the food-handling protocols observed in restaurants and corporate cafeterias. And when mistakes are made, there are inconsistent processes in place to ensure improvement.

* * *

Judging from news reports, you might think the main factor causing correctional outbreaks is the poor quality of the food itself. And certainly, a slew of well-publicized lawsuits have accused correctional facilities of buying and serving dodgy ingredients. In May, for instance, a class-action suit was filed against the Oregon Department of Corrections on behalf of current and former inmates, alleging that the state-run food service is so subpar it amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. In recent years, there have been news reports of inmates served rotten chicken tacos, rancid beef, and cake that had been nibbled on by rodents. Meanwhile, earlier this year, a Michigan judge dismissed a suit brought by an inmate who said he’d been repeatedly served moldy bread and spoiled hamburger meat. (According to U.S. District Judge Gordon Quist, the complaint was without merit: In his view, the Eighth Amendment does not entitle prisoners to “tasty or aesthetically pleasing” food, only to a diet that allows them to “maintain normal health.”)

Examples like these are unfortunately common, said Sara Totonchi of the Southern Center for Human Rights, a nonprofit that advocates on behalf of prisoners. Her organization commonly receives letters from inmates complaining about food quality, she explained by email, including being served rotten food.

But food-service providers don’t necessarily skimp on ingredients out of a malicious intention to punish prisoners. Instead, there are often systems of perverse incentives in play: The more cheaply prisoners can be fed, the more money can often be made by the people charged with their care.

Many state correctional systems outsource their kitchen operations to private food-service companies, which are usually paid a flat rate per meal to provide a full range of services—from raw ingredients to kitchen equipment and staff. (Two of the biggest players are Trinity and Aramark, which, together, serve hundreds of millions of correctional meals per year.) This arrangement can greatly simplify things for correctional operators without the bandwidth to handle meal service—but it can result in a raw deal for inmates, since companies paid by the meal can keep more money when they skimp on food.

To get a sense of why these arrangements can be problematic, look to an ongoing fracas in Michigan. After the Detroit Free Press reported in 2015 on a range of issues, from maggot-ridden potatoes to employee drug smuggling, the state prematurely terminated its $145 million contract with Aramark. The arrangement had been a “nightmare,” according to Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, a “completely irresponsible use of taxpayer dollars ... [that] jeopardized the health and safety of inmates and prison employees alike."

For its part, Aramark denies any wrongdoing. In an emailed statement, Karen Cutler, Aramark’s vice president of communications, wrote that Aramark hires registered dietitians to design meals that provide 2,500 to 3,000 calories a day, and suggested the company had been the target of a negative PR campaign by “opponents of outsourcing and special-interest groups.”

After Michigan hired Aramark’s main competitor, Trinity, as a replacement in 2015, the problems seem to have continued. Early this year, the state imposed a $2 million fine on Trinity, including $905,750 for “unauthorized meal substitutions,” $357,000 for delays serving meals, and $294,500 for sanitation violations. According to the Free Press, the poor quality and quantity of food served by Trinity was one factor that led to a riot that caused $900,000 in damage at a prison in Kinross, Michigan. Trinity did not respond to a request for comment.

In this case, the solution is simple: Eliminate arrangements that motivate people to underspend on food, and meals are likely to improve. But though stories about rotten potatoes can excite one’s darker curiosities, the conclusions of the CDC report point to a far more mundane culprit: Inside a correctional facility’s walls, even basic food-safety standards can fall by the wayside.

* * *

During the 23 years he oversaw food operations at the Graham Correctional Facility in Hillsboro, Illinois, Joseph Montgomery says he never saw a major outbreak of foodborne illness from food served out of the prison kitchen. When inmates did get sick, he says, they were kitchen workers who’d smuggled inventory back to their cells.

“We have a population who will steal food from the general kitchen in various ways you probably wouldn’t want to try printing,” he says. “They will steal that product from the kitchen and take it back to their cell house. Their only way to have a refrigerator is if they put it in a container with a little bit of ice, but nine times out of 10 they don’t have ice. In the summertime, it’s going to sit on a windowsill or in a drawer so nobody sees it for two, four, six, eight hours.”

The temptation for correctional kitchen staff to take food back to their cells can be profound, especially in situations where they’re being routinely underfed. But since harmful bacteria multiply rapidly at room temperature, the resultant standing time can be enough make people sick. Montgomery says he’s seen anywhere from two to 15 people sickened in a single incident from contraband food. And, according to the CDC report, this really does pose a significant safety issue. Of the 200 outbreaks reported since 1998, the food in question was only identified 41 percent of the time. But of those 82 outbreaks, 16 incidents—almost 20 percent—involved “illicitly obtained or prepared food.”

The most dangerous culprit is one you’ve probably heard about: pruno. A prison wine that can be made by fermenting stolen cafeteria supplies—cut fruit, sugar cubes, and ketchup—pruno is the rare correctional food-safety hazard that’s cracked the popular consciousness. Tongue-in-cheek pruno recipes have been featured in Food & Wine and the Los Angeles Times, a faux ad for “Pruno Creek Gourmet Prison Wine” ran on Conan O’Brien’s show, and fans suggest it’s what Poussey was swilling on Orange Is the New Black. According to the CDC, pruno was implicated in four out of 16—25 percent—of outbreaks known to result from contraband food (that’s about 2 percent of the total outbreaks studied).

It’s easy to see why pruno poisonings have made headlines in the likes of CNN, NPR, and The Atlantic, in recent years. It’s dangerous stuff, made under abysmal food-safety conditions—illicit, ad-hoc distilleries run in secret without proper supplies or oversight, by inmates willing to take risks for a brief reprieve from the monotony of prison life—conditions that can breed botulism, a virulent bacteria capable of causing paralysis and death. Montgomery says he’s known inmates to drink a version so strong that it ate through the sole of the rubber boot it was brewed in.

But while it’s true that underground food preparation tends to be lacking from a food-safety perspective, and makes for more sensational news reports, the food preparation happening under direct supervision can be just as inadequate—and appears to be a much more significant problem.

* * *

Correctional facilities aren’t just giant housing complexes: They tend to be understaffed, oversubscribed cafeterias, ones that can be responsible for feeding thousands of people three meals a day. Food service on that scale can be a challenge even for experienced teams of culinary professionals, but sources say correctional kitchens are often forced to get by with undertrained staff, shoddy equipment, and poor oversight.

Many state prisons choose to save money by using inmate labor in the kitchen, an arrangement with potential benefits. According to John Cornyn, a food-service consultant who’s spent a portion of his 40-year career working on correctional projects in institutions from California to New York, inmates tend to like the role. “One, you’re filling up your day with work, and two, the likelihood is that you’re going to eat well,” he says. The trouble is that most inmates don’t actually have experience working in kitchens, and some lack even the most basic commercial food-handling and safety-training skills.

Ernest Rich says he served 19 years of a 24-year drug-related sentence in the California state correctional system, and most of the time he worked in food.

“I can tell you one thing ... Nobody has food-safety training,” he says. “You’ve got people coming in there all the time who know nothing about cooking. They’re learning as they go. They don’t know nothing about what you should do, what you should not do.”

In Rich’s experience, that lack of training means mistakes are common. “They don’t label things. They don’t rotate the stock the way it’s supposed to be. Those kitchens aren’t ran like ordinary kitchens should be ran,” he says.

That, according to Rich, means people get sick “a lot.”

“You may hear about people, 15 or 20 people get sick on one yard,” he says. “That’s stuff that you hear about all the time.”

According to the CDC report, outbreaks are most commonly caused by the kinds of unwitting, everyday infractions Rich describes. “Contributing factors”—additional conditions that enabled or amplified a food-safety hazard—were only identified in 38 percent of cases. But in those cases, the ones we know about, two of the most common food-safety-hazard-related outbreaks were easily preventable: 26 percent involved food handled by an infected person, while 24 percent involved “inadequate cleaning of processing or preparation equipment or utensils.”

Mistakes are made even more frequently in the absence of proper oversight, a scenario that seems to be all too common. In Illinois, Montgomery remembers there being 40 inmates on duty during the day shift, with three supervisors, at least one of whom, by law, was required to have professional food-safety training. That’s a ratio of about 13 inmates for every supervisor inside a 1,500-square-foot kitchen—about as good as it gets, he says. But both Montgomery and Cornyn said the ratio is more commonly 15, even 20 inmates per supervisor. That’s not ideal, especially because food safety is not always top of mind for overburdened supervisors.

“Security is your number-one priority, even in the kitchen. Food comes in second,” Montgomery says. “That’s what makes a food supervisor in corrections a really hard job. They have to be security-minded 100 percent of the time and put out a safe, quality product.”

The most dangerous culprit may also be the most mundane. According to the CDC report, 37 percent of outbreaks with a known contributing factor began simply because food was left out at room temperature for longer than is safe—the most common cause identified.

“I’ve seen [inmates] leave food out too long,” Montgomery said. “Kitchens are warm and they leave food on the counter as they’re prepping it.”

To an extent, this issue could be addressed through better training. But more systemic factors contribute, too. Most jails and prisons simply weren’t built to accommodate efficient food service, and Cornyn says that even in newly constructed facilities, the kitchens are designed almost as an afterthought—“the cheapest way possible.” That can be a huge mistake, he says, because prison kitchens typically need to be even larger than their commercial counterparts. In situations where “sharps”—knives attached to wire cables—are in use, inmate workers must be placed many feet apart. And many facilities don’t take advantage of space- and labor-saving machinery that speed up prep times in civilian restaurants—the whole point is to provide opportunities for manual labor. All these make larger kitchens necessary, and in cramped confines the work takes much longer than it should—setting the stage for potential food-safety hazards.

But the trouble continues once the food leaves the kitchen for the mess hall. For security and logistical reasons, many facilities can’t feed their entire populations all at once—they feed prisoners in waves instead, so that the dining hall is never overfull. This takes time, and often means food is left out, shift after shift.

“We don’t have the luxury in corrections to make partial batches a lot of the time. Most of the time you have to make the entire thing all at once,” Montgomery says. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, meat can only sit out for two hours above 40 degrees Fahrenheit before safety becomes an issue.

Rabbi Aryeh Blaut routinely witnessed warm food left out at a federal prison in Massachusetts, where he spent time as an inmate 14 years ago. (Today, Blaut is the executive director of Jewish Prisoner Services, a nonprofit advocating for incarcerated individuals with kosher diet needs.)

“There might be two or three food shifts, but they’re not necessarily bringing in fresh food for each shift,” he said. “Through that time, the hot food isn’t being kept hot, and the cold food isn’t being kept cold.”

In overpopulated prisons, meal service can take so long that facilities are sending out food throughout the day. “I’ve been in situations where the meal finally is served, they clean up, and they start setting up for the next meal. It takes that long to get the food out,” Cornyn says. “That’s not ideal.”

The dire combination of untrained workers and space limitations make the already-daunting task of correctional food service all the more challenging. And though simple improvements could do so much to keep inmates from getting sick, the reality is that—unlike at public eateries—no one is watching to make sure the situation improves.

* * *

A strict, uncompromising inspection system seems like an obvious solution to the prison system’s outbreak woes. Regular inspections work well, for the most part, in restaurants and school cafeterias, after all. Why shouldn’t that translate into the correctional setting?

Turns out, pretty much everything is different in a prison kitchen.

To start, state, local, and federal prisons across the country don’t follow the same rulebook. Federal prisons follow the Bureau of Prisons’ Food Service Manual (FSM), which is similar to the FDA’s Food Code (FFC)—the rule book used in restaurants. But the CDC points out a couple of key differences in its report. For instance, the manual lacks the FFC’s clear language about when a kitchen worker can start working after being sick. It also doesn’t explicitly say that federal food-service employees have to receive food-safety training.

Meanwhile, state and local facilities (which house about 10 times the number of inmates as federal facilities) can create their own guidelines. Sometimes that means adhering to the FDA’s Food Code, and sometimes that means using the Bureau of Prisons’ manual. But there’s no universal rule for food safety in state and local facilities. In Michigan, the problems under Aramark’s tenure prompted the state’s congress to introduce bills that would classify prison cafeterias as “food establishments,” meaning they’d have to act like restaurants and follow the FDA Food Code, requiring a food-safety manager to be present at all times. But those bills never passed the legislature. “Each state is different,” Montgomery explains.

The inspection process is just as uneven. No uniform, nationwide rules govern how and when federal, state, and local prison kitchens are inspected. The process varies based on state and local jurisdiction—Montgomery explains that state facilities get inspected by state inspectors, but county jails get inspected by the county health inspector. These inconsistencies can make it easy for violations to slip through the cracks. In federal facilities, meanwhile, enforcement is left to the discretion of the institution’s Food Safety Administrator, who is given broad latitude. Weekly inspections are required but, according to the FSM, “procedures and reports for formal inspections ... are developed locally.”

Even when an inspector does find fault in the kitchen, penalties can be mild or nonexistent. Think of it this way: A state-run agency isn’t likely to slap a hefty fine on another state-run agency, nor can inmates choose to take their business to an A-graded cafeteria over a B-graded mess hall. Even when private contractors are in charge (and can therefore be fined), penalizing slipshod safety practices is tricky—no matter what happens during an inspection, inmates have to be fed two or three times every day. Inspectors don’t usually have the last-ditch option of shutting down a prison cafeteria altogether.

Contracting with a third-party food-service provider can add another layer of complexity, as it’s not always clear who’s responsible for making sure the rules get followed. In Ohio, for example, Aramark and the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction disagreed over “shared responsibility” for kitchen cleanliness. In a study that interviewed correctional officers about Aramark’s tenure in Michigan, those same shared responsibilities were said to have caused tensions between correctional-facility officers and Aramark employees, who argued about whose job it was to purchase cleaning supplies. Problems can result from this unclear chain of command; according to the study’s author, “there was universal agreement across the focus groups that the kitchen areas became less sanitary with privatization.” As one officer quoted in the study put it: “Cleanliness is horrible. I don’t know how it passes any kind of inspection.” The trouble is that it can be unclear whose job it is to clean up the mess.

* * *

While systemic disadvantages continue to compromise safety, existing regulations have failed to address common problems. Ultimately, then, the solution may fall to inmates themselves. Which is probably why, if the CDC report has one overarching recommendation, it’s that correctional facilities work harder to educate inmates on food safety. Even though high kitchen-staff turnover and low food-service budgets hinder progress, intensive food-safety training is one factor institutions can control.

It’s a rare win-win: Programs that work to provide inmates with food-safety certification can help reduce incidences of foodborne illness and provide formerly incarcerated individuals with a career path once they return to civilian life.

Ernest Rich says when he was incarcerated, he started working for Cal Fire (part of the state’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection) in a program where inmates set up outdoor mobile kitchens to serve firefighters as they battle blazes. Maybe it was because the meals weren’t served inside a prison’s walls, but Rich noticed that food safety was taken much more seriously.

“They have a health inspector come by there and make sure that the food is being served and make sure everybody’s wearing gloves. They’re going to make sure that all this is going on. They don’t do that inside a prison,” he says.

At Cal Fire, Rich picked up the knowledge that would ultimately land him a job in food service when he returned to civilian life. He says he got involved with a reentry organization called HealthRIGHT and eventually started working at L.A. Kitchen, a nonprofit dedicated to job training. “You take the food-handling test and you get your certification. You go from there and they give you a job and et cetera. It’s a great, great program,” he says.

There’s been a small movement to bring these kinds of workforce training programs inside prison walls. Montgomery teaches a class in Illinois prisons where students can earn a State of Illinois food-handler certification, which offers a competitive advantage when they walk into an interview. And there’s plenty of opportunity. Every single restaurant in the state is required to have at least one person on site at all times with the permit his class provides.

Private contractors offer food-safety education opportunities as well. Aramark’s In2Work program, a curriculum based on the National Restaurant Association’s ServSafe program, is a selling point when it bids for new contracts. The program currently operates in more than 75 facilities across the country.

Rich says that these types of initiatives, if implemented nationally, would benefit inmates during their sentences and after release. “If they tried to train you, they trained people properly, they could use these skills. But the way they’re training people now in culinary, it’s not going to do you no good when you get out of here,” he says. “They’re not training you in these prisons how to become a culinary cook. They’re just using a body to serve the food.”

That’s a missed opportunity, according to Cornyn. “I think any prison food-service operator will tell you that they’ve come across some really great inmate workers,” he says. “They just either have prior restaurant experience before they were incarcerated, or they simply found that they like that kind of work, and they do an outstanding job.”

Released in February 2017, Rich now has a full-time job with benefits in a high-rise cafeteria in California, a job he got as the result of the culinary training program at L.A. Kitchen—a program similar to the training the CDC report recommends for all inmates. Unlike so many formerly incarcerated people, who face huge uncertainty upon release, Rich has managed to answer some longer-term questions about his future.

“That’s how I think of it,” he says. “It’s a career for me.”

This post appears courtesy of The New Food Economy.

from Health News And Updates https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2017/12/prison-food-sickness-america/549179/?utm_source=feed

[ionecoffman]

Prison Food Gets Inmates Sick More Often Than Other Americans

This won’t surprise anyone: The food served in correctional institutions is generally not very good. Even though most Americans have never tasted a meal dished up in a correctional kitchen, occasional secondhand glimpses tend to reinforce a common belief that “prison food” is scant, joyless, and unsavory—if not even worse. In August, the Detroit Free Press reported that a prison kitchen worker was fired for refusing to serve rotten potatoes. You can find nightmarish stories about maggots in national outlets like U.S.A. Today. Meanwhile, The Marshall Project’s more thorough, pictorial anatomy of daily correctional fare across the country found that most offerings barely fill a cafeteria tray—let alone a hungry belly. Reports like these reinforce the sense that criminal justice has a gastronomic dimension, that unrelentingly horrid food is a standard feature of the punishment prisoners receive behind bars.

But new evidence suggests that the situation is worse than previously thought, and not just because prison food isn’t winning any James Beard awards. It’s also making inmates sick.

According to a recent study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), correctional inmates are 6.4 times more likely to suffer from a food-related illness than the general population. The report—which looked at confirmed outbreaks across the country between 1998 and 2014, and is the first update to the data in 20 years—underscores the fact that prison food is more than just a punch line, a flash point, or a gross-out gag on Orange Is the New Black. It’s a hidden public-health crisis.

The study, published in the American Journal of Public Health, found that inmates suffer from foodborne illness at a rate of 45 per 100,000 people annually, compared to only 7 per 100,000 in the general population. And 6 percent of all confirmed outbreak-related cases of foodborne illness in the United States took place in correctional institutions—significant, considering that less than 1 percent of the country’s population is incarcerated. At the same time, “desmoteric” outbreaks—the kind that occur in correctional institutions—were the country’s largest outbreaks in four of the 17 years studied. (In six other years, correctional outbreaks ranked within the top five.) Thirty-seven states reported at least one desmoteric outbreak during the same span.

What’s to blame for the dramatic rates of foodborne illness in jails and prisons? That’s harder to say. In some ways, the CDC study is highly specific about what’s making people sick: The agency determined that Clostridium perfringens and Salmonella were the most common disease-causing agents, for instance, and that tainted poultry products were the most common single culprit. But the data leave us with more questions than answers, since these raw numbers remain mostly uninterpreted. The study doesn’t cover the more systemic factors causing outbreaks in the first place.

Mariel A. Marlow, one of the study’s coauthors, was reluctant to speculate about the underlying cultural, operational, and institutional conditions leading to high rates of illness. “Oversight and regulation of correctional institutions can vary by state and institution, so just to pull out certain factors is a little difficult,” she said. The correctional system is vast and highly variable: When it comes to food, a jail in Reno may be nothing like a federal prison outside New Orleans, and a private prison in Texas may look nothing like its counterpart one county over.

But an issue this widespread still signals the existence of underlying, systemic reasons inmates are six times more likely to be sickened by their food. As it turns out, the problems that arise in correctional food service tend to have mundane roots, even if the consequences can be dramatic. Institutions struggle to enforce basic food-safety standards: Though there are reports of corruption and negligence, the primary factor appears to be that many correctional facilities aren’t equipped to execute the food-handling protocols observed in restaurants and corporate cafeterias. And when mistakes are made, there are inconsistent processes in place to ensure improvement.

* * *

Judging from news reports, you might think the main factor causing correctional outbreaks is the poor quality of the food itself. And certainly, a slew of well-publicized lawsuits have accused correctional facilities of buying and serving dodgy ingredients. In May, for instance, a class-action suit was filed against the Oregon Department of Corrections on behalf of current and former inmates, alleging that the state-run food service is so subpar it amounts to cruel and unusual punishment. In recent years, there have been news reports of inmates served rotten chicken tacos, rancid beef, and cake that had been nibbled on by rodents. Meanwhile, earlier this year, a Michigan judge dismissed a suit brought by an inmate who said he’d been repeatedly served moldy bread and spoiled hamburger meat. (According to U.S. District Judge Gordon Quist, the complaint was without merit: In his view, the Eighth Amendment does not entitle prisoners to “tasty or aesthetically pleasing” food, only to a diet that allows them to “maintain normal health.”)

Examples like these are unfortunately common, said Sara Totonchi of the Southern Center for Human Rights, a nonprofit that advocates on behalf of prisoners. Her organization commonly receives letters from inmates complaining about food quality, she explained by email, including being served rotten food.

But food-service providers don’t necessarily skimp on ingredients out of a malicious intention to punish prisoners. Instead, there are often systems of perverse incentives in play: The more cheaply prisoners can be fed, the more money can often be made by the people charged with their care.

Many state correctional systems outsource their kitchen operations to private food-service companies, which are usually paid a flat rate per meal to provide a full range of services—from raw ingredients to kitchen equipment and staff. (Two of the biggest players are Trinity and Aramark, which, together, serve hundreds of millions of correctional meals per year.) This arrangement can greatly simplify things for correctional operators without the bandwidth to handle meal service—but it can result in a raw deal for inmates, since companies paid by the meal can keep more money when they skimp on food.

To get a sense of why these arrangements can be problematic, look to an ongoing fracas in Michigan. After the Detroit Free Press reported in 2015 on a range of issues, from maggot-ridden potatoes to employee drug smuggling, the state prematurely terminated its $145 million contract with Aramark. The arrangement had been a “nightmare,” according to Senate Minority Leader Jim Ananich, a “completely irresponsible use of taxpayer dollars ... [that] jeopardized the health and safety of inmates and prison employees alike."

For its part, Aramark denies any wrongdoing. In an emailed statement, Karen Cutler, Aramark’s vice president of communications, wrote that Aramark hires registered dietitians to design meals that provide 2,500 to 3,000 calories a day, and suggested the company had been the target of a negative PR campaign by “opponents of outsourcing and special-interest groups.”

After Michigan hired Aramark’s main competitor, Trinity, as a replacement in 2015, the problems seem to have continued. Early this year, the state imposed a $2 million fine on Trinity, including $905,750 for “unauthorized meal substitutions,” $357,000 for delays serving meals, and $294,500 for sanitation violations. According to the Free Press, the poor quality and quantity of food served by Trinity was one factor that led to a riot that caused $900,000 in damage at a prison in Kinross, Michigan. Trinity did not respond to a request for comment.

In this case, the solution is simple: Eliminate arrangements that motivate people to underspend on food, and meals are likely to improve. But though stories about rotten potatoes can excite one’s darker curiosities, the conclusions of the CDC report point to a far more mundane culprit: Inside a correctional facility’s walls, even basic food-safety standards can fall by the wayside.

* * *

During the 23 years he oversaw food operations at the Graham Correctional Facility in Hillsboro, Illinois, Joseph Montgomery says he never saw a major outbreak of foodborne illness from food served out of the prison kitchen. When inmates did get sick, he says, they were kitchen workers who’d smuggled inventory back to their cells.

“We have a population who will steal food from the general kitchen in various ways you probably wouldn’t want to try printing,” he says. “They will steal that product from the kitchen and take it back to their cell house. Their only way to have a refrigerator is if they put it in a container with a little bit of ice, but nine times out of 10 they don’t have ice. In the summertime, it’s going to sit on a windowsill or in a drawer so nobody sees it for two, four, six, eight hours.”

The temptation for correctional kitchen staff to take food back to their cells can be profound, especially in situations where they’re being routinely underfed. But since harmful bacteria multiply rapidly at room temperature, the resultant standing time can be enough make people sick. Montgomery says he’s seen anywhere from two to 15 people sickened in a single incident from contraband food. And, according to the CDC report, this really does pose a significant safety issue. Of the 200 outbreaks reported since 1998, the food in question was only identified 41 percent of the time. But of those 82 outbreaks, 16 incidents—almost 20 percent—involved “illicitly obtained or prepared food.”

The most dangerous culprit is one you’ve probably heard about: pruno. A prison wine that can be made by fermenting stolen cafeteria supplies—cut fruit, sugar cubes, and ketchup—pruno is the rare correctional food-safety hazard that’s cracked the popular consciousness. Tongue-in-cheek pruno recipes have been featured in Food & Wine and the Los Angeles Times, a faux ad for “Pruno Creek Gourmet Prison Wine” ran on Conan O’Brien’s show, and fans suggest it’s what Poussey was swilling on Orange Is the New Black. According to the CDC, pruno was implicated in four out of 16—25 percent—of outbreaks known to result from contraband food (that’s about 2 percent of the total outbreaks studied).

It’s easy to see why pruno poisonings have made headlines in the likes of CNN, NPR, and The Atlantic, in recent years. It’s dangerous stuff, made under abysmal food-safety conditions—illicit, ad-hoc distilleries run in secret without proper supplies or oversight, by inmates willing to take risks for a brief reprieve from the monotony of prison life—conditions that can breed botulism, a virulent bacteria capable of causing paralysis and death. Montgomery says he’s known inmates to drink a version so strong that it ate through the sole of the rubber boot it was brewed in.

But while it’s true that underground food preparation tends to be lacking from a food-safety perspective, and makes for more sensational news reports, the food preparation happening under direct supervision can be just as inadequate—and appears to be a much more significant problem.

* * *

Correctional facilities aren’t just giant housing complexes: They tend to be understaffed, oversubscribed cafeterias, ones that can be responsible for feeding thousands of people three meals a day. Food service on that scale can be a challenge even for experienced teams of culinary professionals, but sources say correctional kitchens are often forced to get by with undertrained staff, shoddy equipment, and poor oversight.

Many state prisons choose to save money by using inmate labor in the kitchen, an arrangement with potential benefits. According to John Cornyn, a food-service consultant who’s spent a portion of his 40-year career working on correctional projects in institutions from California to New York, inmates tend to like the role. “One, you’re filling up your day with work, and two, the likelihood is that you’re going to eat well,” he says. The trouble is that most inmates don’t actually have experience working in kitchens, and some lack even the most basic commercial food-handling and safety-training skills.

Ernest Rich says he served 19 years of a 24-year drug-related sentence in the California state correctional system, and most of the time he worked in food.

“I can tell you one thing ... Nobody has food-safety training,” he says. “You’ve got people coming in there all the time who know nothing about cooking. They’re learning as they go. They don’t know nothing about what you should do, what you should not do.”

In Rich’s experience, that lack of training means mistakes are common. “They don’t label things. They don’t rotate the stock the way it’s supposed to be. Those kitchens aren’t ran like ordinary kitchens should be ran,” he says.

That, according to Rich, means people get sick “a lot.”

“You may hear about people, 15 or 20 people get sick on one yard,” he says. “That’s stuff that you hear about all the time.”

According to the CDC report, outbreaks are most commonly caused by the kinds of unwitting, everyday infractions Rich describes. “Contributing factors”—additional conditions that enabled or amplified a food-safety hazard—were only identified in 38 percent of cases. But in those cases, the ones we know about, two of the most common food-safety-hazard-related outbreaks were easily preventable: 26 percent involved food handled by an infected person, while 24 percent involved “inadequate cleaning of processing or preparation equipment or utensils.”

Mistakes are made even more frequently in the absence of proper oversight, a scenario that seems to be all too common. In Illinois, Montgomery remembers there being 40 inmates on duty during the day shift, with three supervisors, at least one of whom, by law, was required to have professional food-safety training. That’s a ratio of about 13 inmates for every supervisor inside a 1,500-square-foot kitchen—about as good as it gets, he says. But both Montgomery and Cornyn said the ratio is more commonly 15, even 20 inmates per supervisor. That’s not ideal, especially because food safety is not always top of mind for overburdened supervisors.

“Security is your number-one priority, even in the kitchen. Food comes in second,” Montgomery says. “That’s what makes a food supervisor in corrections a really hard job. They have to be security-minded 100 percent of the time and put out a safe, quality product.”

The most dangerous culprit may also be the most mundane. According to the CDC report, 37 percent of outbreaks with a known contributing factor began simply because food was left out at room temperature for longer than is safe—the most common cause identified.

“I’ve seen [inmates] leave food out too long,” Montgomery said. “Kitchens are warm and they leave food on the counter as they’re prepping it.”

To an extent, this issue could be addressed through better training. But more systemic factors contribute, too. Most jails and prisons simply weren’t built to accommodate efficient food service, and Cornyn says that even in newly constructed facilities, the kitchens are designed almost as an afterthought—“the cheapest way possible.” That can be a huge mistake, he says, because prison kitchens typically need to be even larger than their commercial counterparts. In situations where “sharps”—knives attached to wire cables—are in use, inmate workers must be placed many feet apart. And many facilities don’t take advantage of space- and labor-saving machinery that speed up prep times in civilian restaurants—the whole point is to provide opportunities for manual labor. All these make larger kitchens necessary, and in cramped confines the work takes much longer than it should—setting the stage for potential food-safety hazards.

But the trouble continues once the food leaves the kitchen for the mess hall. For security and logistical reasons, many facilities can’t feed their entire populations all at once—they feed prisoners in waves instead, so that the dining hall is never overfull. This takes time, and often means food is left out, shift after shift.

“We don’t have the luxury in corrections to make partial batches a lot of the time. Most of the time you have to make the entire thing all at once,” Montgomery says. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, meat can only sit out for two hours above 40 degrees Fahrenheit before safety becomes an issue.

Rabbi Aryeh Blaut routinely witnessed warm food left out at a federal prison in Massachusetts, where he spent time as an inmate 14 years ago. (Today, Blaut is the executive director of Jewish Prisoner Services, a nonprofit advocating for incarcerated individuals with kosher diet needs.)

“There might be two or three food shifts, but they’re not necessarily bringing in fresh food for each shift,” he said. “Through that time, the hot food isn’t being kept hot, and the cold food isn’t being kept cold.”

In overpopulated prisons, meal service can take so long that facilities are sending out food throughout the day. “I’ve been in situations where the meal finally is served, they clean up, and they start setting up for the next meal. It takes that long to get the food out,” Cornyn says. “That’s not ideal.”

The dire combination of untrained workers and space limitations make the already-daunting task of correctional food service all the more challenging. And though simple improvements could do so much to keep inmates from getting sick, the reality is that—unlike at public eateries—no one is watching to make sure the situation improves.

* * *

A strict, uncompromising inspection system seems like an obvious solution to the prison system’s outbreak woes. Regular inspections work well, for the most part, in restaurants and school cafeterias, after all. Why shouldn’t that translate into the correctional setting?

Turns out, pretty much everything is different in a prison kitchen.

To start, state, local, and federal prisons across the country don’t follow the same rulebook. Federal prisons follow the Bureau of Prisons’ Food Service Manual (FSM), which is similar to the FDA’s Food Code (FFC)—the rule book used in restaurants. But the CDC points out a couple of key differences in its report. For instance, the manual lacks the FFC’s clear language about when a kitchen worker can start working after being sick. It also doesn’t explicitly say that federal food-service employees have to receive food-safety training.

Meanwhile, state and local facilities (which house about 10 times the number of inmates as federal facilities) can create their own guidelines. Sometimes that means adhering to the FDA’s Food Code, and sometimes that means using the Bureau of Prisons’ manual. But there’s no universal rule for food safety in state and local facilities. In Michigan, the problems under Aramark’s tenure prompted the state’s congress to introduce bills that would classify prison cafeterias as “food establishments,” meaning they’d have to act like restaurants and follow the FDA Food Code, requiring a food-safety manager to be present at all times. But those bills never passed the legislature. “Each state is different,” Montgomery explains.

The inspection process is just as uneven. No uniform, nationwide rules govern how and when federal, state, and local prison kitchens are inspected. The process varies based on state and local jurisdiction—Montgomery explains that state facilities get inspected by state inspectors, but county jails get inspected by the county health inspector. These inconsistencies can make it easy for violations to slip through the cracks. In federal facilities, meanwhile, enforcement is left to the discretion of the institution’s Food Safety Administrator, who is given broad latitude. Weekly inspections are required but, according to the FSM, “procedures and reports for formal inspections ... are developed locally.”

Even when an inspector does find fault in the kitchen, penalties can be mild or nonexistent. Think of it this way: A state-run agency isn’t likely to slap a hefty fine on another state-run agency, nor can inmates choose to take their business to an A-graded cafeteria over a B-graded mess hall. Even when private contractors are in charge (and can therefore be fined), penalizing slipshod safety practices is tricky—no matter what happens during an inspection, inmates have to be fed two or three times every day. Inspectors don’t usually have the last-ditch option of shutting down a prison cafeteria altogether.

Contracting with a third-party food-service provider can add another layer of complexity, as it’s not always clear who’s responsible for making sure the rules get followed. In Ohio, for example, Aramark and the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction disagreed over “shared responsibility” for kitchen cleanliness. In a study that interviewed correctional officers about Aramark’s tenure in Michigan, those same shared responsibilities were said to have caused tensions between correctional-facility officers and Aramark employees, who argued about whose job it was to purchase cleaning supplies. Problems can result from this unclear chain of command; according to the study’s author, “there was universal agreement across the focus groups that the kitchen areas became less sanitary with privatization.” As one officer quoted in the study put it: “Cleanliness is horrible. I don’t know how it passes any kind of inspection.” The trouble is that it can be unclear whose job it is to clean up the mess.

* * *

While systemic disadvantages continue to compromise safety, existing regulations have failed to address common problems. Ultimately, then, the solution may fall to inmates themselves. Which is probably why, if the CDC report has one overarching recommendation, it’s that correctional facilities work harder to educate inmates on food safety. Even though high kitchen-staff turnover and low food-service budgets hinder progress, intensive food-safety training is one factor institutions can control.

It’s a rare win-win: Programs that work to provide inmates with food-safety certification can help reduce incidences of foodborne illness and provide formerly incarcerated individuals with a career path once they return to civilian life.

Ernest Rich says when he was incarcerated, he started working for Cal Fire (part of the state’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection) in a program where inmates set up outdoor mobile kitchens to serve firefighters as they battle blazes. Maybe it was because the meals weren’t served inside a prison’s walls, but Rich noticed that food safety was taken much more seriously.

“They have a health inspector come by there and make sure that the food is being served and make sure everybody’s wearing gloves. They’re going to make sure that all this is going on. They don’t do that inside a prison,” he says.

At Cal Fire, Rich picked up the knowledge that would ultimately land him a job in food service when he returned to civilian life. He says he got involved with a reentry organization called HealthRIGHT and eventually started working at L.A. Kitchen, a nonprofit dedicated to job training. “You take the food-handling test and you get your certification. You go from there and they give you a job and et cetera. It’s a great, great program,” he says.

There’s been a small movement to bring these kinds of workforce training programs inside prison walls. Montgomery teaches a class in Illinois prisons where students can earn a State of Illinois food-handler certification, which offers a competitive advantage when they walk into an interview. And there’s plenty of opportunity. Every single restaurant in the state is required to have at least one person on site at all times with the permit his class provides.

Private contractors offer food-safety education opportunities as well. Aramark’s In2Work program, a curriculum based on the National Restaurant Association’s ServSafe program, is a selling point when it bids for new contracts. The program currently operates in more than 75 facilities across the country.

Rich says that these types of initiatives, if implemented nationally, would benefit inmates during their sentences and after release. “If they tried to train you, they trained people properly, they could use these skills. But the way they’re training people now in culinary, it’s not going to do you no good when you get out of here,” he says. “They’re not training you in these prisons how to become a culinary cook. They’re just using a body to serve the food.”

That’s a missed opportunity, according to Cornyn. “I think any prison food-service operator will tell you that they’ve come across some really great inmate workers,” he says. “They just either have prior restaurant experience before they were incarcerated, or they simply found that they like that kind of work, and they do an outstanding job.”

Released in February 2017, Rich now has a full-time job with benefits in a high-rise cafeteria in California, a job he got as the result of the culinary training program at L.A. Kitchen—a program similar to the training the CDC report recommends for all inmates. Unlike so many formerly incarcerated people, who face huge uncertainty upon release, Rich has managed to answer some longer-term questions about his future.

“That’s how I think of it,” he says. “It’s a career for me.”

This post appears courtesy of The New Food Economy.

Article source here:The Atlantic