WeedLife News Network

Serve, protect and deliver?

A homeowner in Tea, South Dakota was more than a little surprised after opening her door for an anticipated food delivery and finding a police officer instead.

“But your driver got arrested for stuff he didn’t take care of, so I figured I’d complete the Door Dash for you,” he continues, handing off the food to the woman, whose surprise has by now turned to outright laughter.

“Thank you so much,” responds the still-laughing woman.

A Facebook post by Tea Storm Chasers notes the driver was arrested. According to New York Post, the non-profit group that describes itself as a media outlet monitoring police scanner calls and chases storms uploaded the video.

At the current growth rates, the cannabis industry will support over 400,000 jobs this year, so it is best to fill these positions with competent individuals who have been appropriately trained.

Thousands of students across the United States of America are looking to study cannabis-related programs in top universities across the country. To some, graduating with a degree in cannabis may seem strange, but the truth is that cannabis job openings are opening up faster than ever. Recently, it was reported that cannabis jobs would increase by 161% in the U.S. by 2029.

With everything going on in the world, this development is not a surprise. The cannabis industry is one of the mature industries growing quickly. From 2019 till this moment, the sector has increased by 47%. It is also looking to be an economic driver in many emerging markets around the world today. In 2020, the total annual sales were about $18 billion. The U.S. cannabis industry is worth over $60 billion now and is projected to be worth at least $100 billion by 2030.

The Legality of Cannabis Degrees

The absence of federal legislation for cannabis substances has cast doubt on the legitimacy of these programs. Not to mention the lack of federal accreditation agencies for cannabis degrees. The ANSI National Accreditation Board’s Cannabis Testing Lab Accreditation Program has accredited laboratories across the country to investigate important cannabinoid and terpene properties. Relevant tests on pesticides, microbial contaminants, heavy metals, and residual solvents can also be performed by these labs.

Cannabis degrees are not limited to only research; the space has prepared students for opportunities in engineering, math, technology, chemistry, and engineering. The industry still has a lot of expansion to do. Students passionate about the plants need to be equipped with knowledge of lucrative business opportunities in the industry, as well as how they can focus on medical cannabis innovations.

This means that colleges have rules and regulations guiding the degrees. As soon as federal legislation is quickly passed, proper accreditation agencies will be established and funded.

Driver travelling 55 km/h over the posted limit initially denied having cannabis in the vehicle before fessing up.

A Minnesota man apparently decided it was best to fess up to the illegal cannabis inside his vehicle after getting pulled over for driving 160 kilometres per hour in a 105 km/h zone.

Although the police do not specify the amount, some cannabis was discovered after the man admitted he had some on-board and, in fact, showed the deputy where it was.

While medicinal marijuana is legal in Minnesota, recreational cannabis is not. According to Minnesota Lawyer Referral, possessing or selling 42.5 grams or less of cannabis in the state is a misdemeanour carrying a maximum fine of US$200 ($252). Above that amount, however, and a person will face a felony charge punishable by as long as five years in prison and a fine of up to US$10,000 ($12,600).

The driver has been cited on charges of first-offence possession of a controlled substance and speeding.

The need for speed has been an issue for many a driver subsequently found with illegal cannabis.

Thailand on Tuesday became the first country in Asia to approve the de facto decriminalization of marijuana, though authorities have left a grey area around its recreational use.

Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul announced that the Narcotics Control Board had approved the dropping cannabis from the ministry’s list of controlled drugs. The delisting by the ministry’s Food and Drug Administration will now need to be formally signed by the health minister and enters into effect 120 days after its publication in the government gazette. It follows the removal of cannabis — a plant species to which both marijuana and hemp belong — last month from the list of illegal drugs under Thailand’s Narcotics Law.

Police and lawyers contacted by The Associated Press said it was unclear if possession of marijuana would no longer be an offense subject to arrest. A tangle of related laws means that production and possession of marijuana remains regulated for the time being, leaving the legal status of recreational marijuana use in a grey area.

The Health Ministry measure retains on its list of controlled drugs parts from the cannabis plant that contain more than 0.2% by weight of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the psychoactive ingredient that gives users a high.

Thailand in 2020 became the first Asian nation to decriminalize the production and use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.

Ten years ago, Washington voters created the first legal adult-use cannabis industry in the country.

That industry drives billions in revenue to the state and provides 18,360 jobs statewide. But as we look at the last decade in preparation for the next, we are concerned Washington is losing its head-start advantage. It’s time to course correct, and we count on all industry stakeholders to work toward a common goal: a safe, equitable, quality-controlled and fully regulated market for cannabis.

Too many license-holders have been cut off early — some well before they even got started — and the agency holding the axe is the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB). In 2012, the world changed almost overnight for the LCB.

The Wayne County Drug Task Force caught a Richmond man again. Kenton Ray Bennett Jr., 33, was arrested Tuesday during a traffic stop made by first-shift Richmond Police Department patrol officers, according to a Drug Task Force news release. Bennett was convicted and sentenced in March 2016 after a previous arrest by the Drug Task Force.

On Tuesday, Bennett was arrested on a warrant that resulted from a lengthy Drug Task Force investigation into the sale of illegal narcotics, the release said. The warrant charged Bennett with two Level 4 felony counts of dealing heroin and fentanyl.

Bennett was lodged in the Wayne County Jail with bonds totaling $38,000. A bond of $17,500 was set when the arrest warrant was issued; the new charges carry bonds of $20,000 and $500.

The 2016 convictions for Level 5 felony dealing heroin and Level 5 felony dealing cocaine qualify Bennett as a serious violent felon. He was sentenced to two years of incarceration and one year of probation for those convictions, which resulted after he sold cocaine and heroin to a confidential informant.

Bennett also has a previous misdemeanor conviction for possession of marijuana.

Spread the love and support local hemp farmers with The Sisters of the Valley’s new CBD-rich strain.

Republicans in the Wisconsin Senate stopped an effort by Sen. Melissa Agard (D-Madison) to force a vote on legalizing the recreational use of cannabis. The Senate took up a bill Tuesday that would increase penalties for a person who uses a butane torch to extract resin from a cannabis plant. Agard introduced an amendment to the bill that, instead of making penalties harsher, would have completely legalized all uses of cannabis. 

Agard said she was introducing the amendment because if the goal of the bill is to increase public safety, then increased criminalization is not the direction to go — especially since most of Wisconsin’s neighboring states have legalized either medicinal or recreational use. Republicans in the Senate killed Agard’s effort by voting that the amendment was out of order and not “germane” to the initial bill.  The original bill, without Agard’s amendment, passed on a 20-12 party line vote.

Products ranging from tinctures to gummy bears containing a hemp byproduct with euphoric THC effects are legal and for sale all around Indiana, where the purchase and use of traditional marijuana violates the law.

Delta 8 THC products abound, available at CBD stores, smoking supply shops and even gas stations. While some states regulate or ban the sale of delta 8 tetrahydrocannabinol, Indiana is one of 30, from Maine to Wyoming, that has no limitations on the hemp-derived compound.

A federal law that prohibits what's called delta 9 THC leaves the less-potent delta 8 unregulated. The 2018 American Farm Bill that legalized hemp defines it as a cannabis plant that contains 0.3% or less delta-9 THC. It doesn't mention delta 8, which is less potent.

A man was arrested after police allegedly busted a marijuana growing operation and found weapons of mass destruction. George Costas Skouras, 44, allegedly grew and sold marijuana at his Springettsbury Township home. Springettsbury Township Police served a search warrant Thursday and discovered "a large marijuana growing operation," according to court documents. Police also found mushrooms and powder that was being compressed into pill form, according to a criminal complaint.

Skouras is facing a felony charge of possessing weapons of mass destruction after officers found several firearms in his residence, police said. It's unclear what those weapons were. He's also charged with three counts of felony manufacture, delivery or possession of drugs. He was arraigned Thursday before District Judge Thomas J. Reilly and released on $25,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled Feb. 3 before District Judge Barry L. Bloss Jr.

A candid conversation with a local cannabis consultant about what's going on in New York.

The race for New York has begun. All types of entrepreneurs looking to enter the state's cannabis marketplace are busy preparing for the soon-to-be-released application process. Hemp farmers are poised to switch to marijuana crops, legacy entrepreneurs are operating in the open, regulators are shaping the laws, and no one is excited about opening the borders.

I spoke to Kalean Castetter, a long-time upstate resident, son of a legacy grower, owner of a hemp-infused wine company, and now cannabis consultant, to get his insights into how things are shaping up in New York.

A candid conversation with a local cannabis consultant about what's going on in New York.

The race for New York has begun. All types of entrepreneurs looking to enter the state's cannabis marketplace are busy preparing for the soon-to-be-released application process. Hemp farmers are poised to switch to marijuana crops, legacy entrepreneurs are operating in the open, regulators are shaping the laws, and no one is excited about opening the borders.

I spoke to Kalean Castetter, a long-time upstate resident, son of a legacy grower, owner of a hemp-infused wine company, and now cannabis consultant, to get his insights into how things are shaping up in New York.

Please share your background.

I've always had a passion for policy and helping entrepreneurs understand the regulatory frameworks of legislation. Towards the end of last year, I decided to completely step away from the hemp wine business and focus on my consulting practice, The Castetter Cannabis Group. We're a boutique firm. We do government relations lobbying advocacy. We help entrepreneurs understand the legislation, forecast regulations, and develop a business plan around it. 

Who are the entrepreneurs you work with who are looking to enter the New York marketplace? 

I've developed a reputation for working with small players like social equity applicants, people of color, and legacy operators—New Yorkers who are hungry for an opportunity and have unique and innovative ideas. I have clients in Niagara Falls, and I have clients in Harlem. We hold a summit in December, where our clients come together to meet and share their expertise and experience. Because of prohibition at the federal level, we're going to develop supply chains and relationships from upstate and downstate where people have not been connected for a long time. I think that's going to be a huge cultural change in bringing communities together.

But many private equity-backed entrepreneurs, MSOs, and ROs are all looking at this opportunity from a dollars and cents perspective. And a lot of the money they make will leave the state, and we won't create wealth in this community. So, I think they should move to the back of the line.

This expands the eligibility criteria for patients who can benefit from medical cannabis and makes it easier for them to be certified by a medical practitioner.

If you think you can’t do without your regular dose of edibles, then you might be interested in the following information on how to work around your cannabis drug tests.

Many people prefer edibles to other forms of cannabis. Some people like it because of its regular appearance, while others don’t because they can’t stand the harshness of smoking flowers.

Edibles are one of the top five preferred methods of consuming cannabis. It is safer and tastier than most methods. Additionally, cannabis edibles are legal to consume in most public spaces, but this does not remove their negatives.

Cannabis Edibles are regular food products that have been prepared with cannabis. These foods contain a significant amount of cannabis, enough to induce an intense “high” effect on the consumer. Some edibles have less THC than cannabis flowers, while others have equal levels or more THC than smokable cannabis. Edibles can be in the form of cookies, gummies, candies, capsules, or beverages. Medical marijuana edibles may be more restrictive on selection due to the high dosages needed for things like chemotherapy.

The body doesn’t process edibles the same way it processes inhaled cannabinoids. Once a person eats an edible, it goes through the digestive tract and is broken down by the body organs involved in the normal digestion process. The liver also processes these digested materials.

The THC components in the digested materials are converted to 11-Hydroxy THC. This conversion is responsible for the highly intense psychoactivity the consumer feels a few minutes after consumption.

Responsible parties should inform consumers, especially teens, about the harms of cannabis and the serious conditions that may arise from abusing the substance.

One of marijuana’s most concerning connections is the one it has with psychosis. While not wholly understood, this link has been reported to be significant, with several studies indicating that people who smoke large amounts of weed on a daily basis are five times more likely to develop psychosis than others. This depends on the age at which marijuana is first consumed and the individual’s genetic vulnerabilities.

A mom and a daughter were reportedly seen selling cookies outside a Tempe dispensary on Thursday, Girl Scout Arizona Cactus-Pine said that's not allowed

There are a number of variables that have an impact on the vaping experience, none more vital than the substance being vaped and the device itself that’s being used.

Given how popular vaping has become in the cannabis community, it’s easy to assume that vaping is a one size fits all proposition, and that the end result is the same regardless of how you go about it. The reality is that while this may be a common thought process, it couldn’t be further from the truth.

There are a number of variables that have an impact on the vaping experience, none more vital than the substance being vaped and the device itself that’s being used. Having an understanding of how vaping cannabis cartridges is different from vaping dry herb can save you money and provide the framework for knowing how to achieve the exact sensation that you desire.

Cartridges Are Cut With Chemicals Which Alter Effects

Since cannabis cartridges are made with flavoring additives, along with a myriad of other chemicals naturally, it provides different effects from vaping dry herb cannabis.

Dry herb cannabis vaporizers allow users to only load finely grounded cannabis buds into devices. This means cannabis consumers who use them are likely going to consume more THC than they would with cartridges. That caveat could explain why dry herb vaporizing provides such a different sensation from consuming cartridges.

Cartridges Reduce Amount Of Cannabinoids And Terpenes Consumed

Another factor that explains the difference between vaping cartridges and dry herbs is the lack of cannabinoids and terpenes that are consumed when people choose to vape cannabis cartridges.

Whether it’s a new market, or an old one continuing to push its limits with recreational marijuana, weed tourism does not plan to slow down any time soon.

As leisure travel continues to recover and countries lift their travel bans and COVID-19 restrictions one by one, many tourist destinations are eagerly awaiting new visitors. No matter how luxurious or sought after the destination, it seems every locale is eager to find new ways to attract business. 

In 2022, however, there is something new in the air that has begun to inspire a new wave of tourism. One of the latest trending motivators in destination travel is, putting it bluntly, weed.