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Hot off the press cannabis, marijuana, cbd and hemp news from around the world on the WeedLife Social Network.

2 Cannabis Stocks That Could Double in the Next 5 Years

Here’s why Canadian cannabis stocks such as Canopy Growth and Auxly can help you beat the market in the future.

Investors who buy individual stocks aim to outpace the broader markets over a period of time. But doing so requires a ton of expertise, patience, and foresight to understand long-term trends. Canadian cannabis stocks touched record highs soon after marijuana was legalized in Canada at the federal level. But these companies have grossly underperformed the broader markets in the last three years.

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Sturdy Hemp Structures Could be the Future Eco-Building

As environmental disasters are increasing, we need to look to sustainable building, and hemp could be the answer.

Hemp could be the building material that accelerates the sustainable industry.

The year 2020 marked a devastating time period for myriad reasons. Among the pantheon of pain was the immense damage brought on by natural disasters. In early 2021, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released its billion-dollar disaster report, calling 2021 a “historic year of extremes.” 

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Police in India believe drug ring used Amazon to sell 1,000 kilograms of illegal cannabis

The Confederation of All India Traders is urging national drug authorities to launch a probe after the company’s packaging material was found with suspects.

Madhya Pradesh Police has reportedly arrested two men in India who are alleged to have sold 390 packets of cannabis weighing 1,000 kilograms.

The discovery was made after police busted the drug smuggling ring and found Amazon packaging material with the dealers, according to Business Today India.

The scheme started to unravel after the two men were recently arrested with 20 kilograms of cannabis. Police are continuing their efforts to locate or identify others involved in the operation.

A police spokesperson noted during a recent press conference that the e-commerce company has been served notice of the discovery, notes Business Today India . Police believe those involved in the criminal operation were receiving cannabis leaves manifested as stevia leaves.

Praveen Khandelwal, general secretary of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), told Business Today that the group has asked that the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) carry out a probe into the matter.

A CAIT statement to the publication notes that Amazon India would have received a commission if the website was used and that would represent a contravention of India’s Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985.

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5 Things You Should Know When Mixing Cannabis And Caffeine

Cannabis and caffeine are two very popular substances, the go-to of a lot of people for productivity. Here are 5 things you should know.

Marijuana and caffeine are substances that people are very attached to. They facilitate the productivity for many of us, making our lives easier and more manageable. Nowadays, there’s a lot of companies trying to combine the two.

Even before marijuana was embraced by the mainstream, enthusiasts of the drug were finding creative ways of mixing these two elements, adding cannabis to oil or butter and mixing it in with their coffee, perfecting recipes that resulted in a completely different high.

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez via Unsplash

More research needs to be conducted in order to understand how these two elements work together, but there’s a variety of anecdotal evidence that says that the pairing of these two results in a special high, one that adds deeper layers to the effect of marijuana. Here’s what we know about caffeine and marijuana, and the joint effect that they produce on the body.

Caffeine might increase the duration of your high

Photo by Julian Hochgesang via Unsplash

You Should Wait This Long Before Drinking Your Morning Coffee

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Inside an alleged marijuana conspiracy aided by law enforcement for cash and cars

On the morning of July 21, 2020, more than a dozen police vehicles converged on Narrow Gauge Distributors, a medical marijuana cultivation business housed in a former shoe factory on High Street in Farmington.

By noon, investigators were tossing large marijuana plants pulled from the building into the back of a shipping container and hoisting boxes of evidence into a U-Haul truck. State and federal agents also were busy searching for and seizing marijuana, cash and firearms from other marijuana facilities and homes in western Maine.

For more than a year, federal authorities remained tight-lipped about why they had raided the buildings and what exactly they were investigating.

But recently unsealed court documents outline what they describe as a far-reaching and elaborate conspiracy aided by law enforcement to grow and distribute marijuana in violation of Maine's medical marijuana laws.

The documents paint a detailed picture of a complex criminal operation allegedly led by a man named Lucas Sirois of Farmington that, according to federal investigators, benefited from the help and protection of four law enforcement officers, a Rangeley selectman and an assistant district attorney, among others. A dozen people, including Sirois' father and estranged wife, are accused of having a hand in marijuana distribution and money laundering.

Two of the officers were promised partial ownership of Sirois' business and given company cars for helping with its operation, running license plates and picking up marijuana from another location, according to court documents. A witness told investigators that the men would sometimes show up at the cultivation site in uniform and hide when other officers pulled into the shoe factory's parking lot.

The operation's primary financier, 69-year-old Randal Cousineau of Farmington, was charged separately and pleaded guilty in federal court on Oct. 27 to conspiring to possess and distribute more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana and 1,000 marijuana plants. Cousineau made hundreds of thousands of dollars in profit through the illegal sale of marijuana in Maine and elsewhere, according to court documents. As part of a plea deal, he agreed to serve a maximum of just over five years in prison and forfeit nearly $650,000 in illegal drug proceeds. His sentencing hearing has not been scheduled.

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Protecting Your Cannabis Company: Why Artificial Intelligence is a Must

Revolutionary developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology are finally making it feasible for businesses in the cannabis sector to more efficiently monitor their assets—for a mere fraction of the prevailing cost. With Cloudastructure, you get the best AI-based surveillance system available on the market today.

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California Celebrates 25 Years Of Medical Cannabis

Time flies – it was 25 years ago on Friday voters in the US state of California gave the green light for medical cannabis.

California’s Compassionate Use Act of 1996, Prop. 215, was the  first law to legalize the personal use and cultivation of marijuana for medical purposes since prohibition took effect in the United States. The state’s voters approved Prop. 215 with 5,382,915 (55.6%) votes in favor and 4,301,960 (44.4%) against.

The Act protected patients and defined caregivers possessing or cultivating marijuana recommended by a physician from laws that would otherwise see them prosecuted. It also forbid the punishing of physicians recommending the use of medical marijuana.

This occurred in the face of federal prohibition still applying – and while raids and prosecutions from the feds continued for some years, in March 2009 federal officials announced that they would no longer attempt to interfere with medical marijuana distribution/use in the state.

Where California went, other states followed – albeit very slowly for the next two decades. But today the majority of states have programs in place, albeit with varying levels of restrictions.

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Inside the Rise — and Surprising Crackdown — of the Country's Hottest Weed Market

In a deep-red state that became the nation’s hottest marijuana market, keeping regulations to a minimum didn’t keep the bad guys out.

LOVE COUNTY, Okla. — Shortly after sunrise on July 22, a dozen or so police officers from across Oklahoma descended on a property about 15 miles north of the Texas border. They moved past the fence with the “No Trespassing” signs and the pink building with the aluminum roof toward a collection of hoop houses. They didn’t know much about the occupants, although the cops strongly suspected they were of Chinese descent.

“We pulled in like gangbusters,” recalled Love County Sheriff Marty Grisham, on a recent weekday afternoon. “The guy who spoke Mandarin got on the loudspeaker, and I don’t know what he was saying, but I'm sure: ‘Come out with your hands up,’ or that sort of thing.”

Ultimately, officers confiscated more than 2,300 marijuana plants with an estimated street value of $3.5 million, and about $65,000 in cash. Two men — Zhimou Chen and Chong Chen — were taken into custody and officials charged Zhimou with cultivation of an illegal controlled substance. Officials said the farm didn’t have a valid license, rendering otherwise legal marijuana into illicit goods.
 
Scenes like the one in Marietta have become routine in south central Oklahoma and other rural parts of the state in recent months. There have been similar raids in the nearby farming towns of Tishomingo, Gene Autry and Pauls Valley. In fact, the July raid on the Love County property was among the smaller enforcement operations in the area. The June raid in Gene Autry, for example, netted approximately 27,000 plants with a street value of $50 million. They also discovered about 45 workers living on the property, in what Carter County Sheriff Chris Bryant described as “horrible conditions.” Altogether, the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics estimates that there have been at least five dozen raids of illegal marijuana cultivation operations since the crackdown began in April, a phenomenon that was largely nonexistent up until that point.

Love County Sheriff Marty Grisham’s department conducted a July raid on an illegal cultivation site in the county that netted 2,300 cannabis plants with a street value of roughly $3.5 million.

“We all know that things are going on,” Grisham said of other potential operations in Love County. “There’s probably some human trafficking going on. There’s probably some money laundering going on. There’s a lot of things going on behind the fences of those places.”

Oklahoma’s medical marijuana program has seen such staggering growth since it launched three years ago after voters overwhelmingly backed a ballot referendum that it has earned the wry nickname “Tokelahoma.” More than 380,000 Oklahomans — or nearly 10 percent of the state’s population — have enrolled in the program, making it by far the largest in the country on a per capita basis. Thanks to Oklahoma’s free market approach to legalization — there are no limits on marijuana business licenses and the cost of a license is just $2,500 — there are more than 9,000 grow operations in Oklahoma. To put that figure in perspective, Pennsylvania — which has more than three times the population of Oklahoma — has just 13 licensed grow operations to supply its medical program. Even California, the world’s biggest legal cannabis market, has about 3,000 fewer grow operations than the staunchly conservative Sooner State.
 

“We all know that things are going on.”

Love County Sheriff Marty Grisham stands outside his office in Marietta, Oklahoma. [Photographs for Politico Magazine by Misty Keasler/Redux Pictures]

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Hemp oil is packed with healthy fatty acids - here's why that's great news for your skin and heart

Hemp oil comes from the same species of Cannabis sativa plants that yield marijuana and CBD oil, but it's a decidedly different product.

Hemp oil, aka hemp seed oil, is produced by cold-pressing the seeds from hemp plants, similar to how olive oil is made by pressing olives.

However, hemp seeds have little to no THC or CBD, says Jeffrey Chen, MD, co-founder and CEO of Radicle Science, a health-tech company that offers research and validation services for CBD products.

Note: Hemp oil is not the same as CBD oil - sometimes referred to as hemp CBD oil - which is a thick, oily resin extracted from the flowers, leaves, and stems of cannabis plants. Moreover, hemp seed oil won't get you high, like marijuana, says Chen.

Instead, many of hemp oil's purported health benefits come down to its nutrients: Hemp oil is a rich source of minerals and healthy omega fatty acids, which may help with skin, hair, and nail health among other things. However, research is still in the early stages.

Hemp nutrition

One tablespoon of hemp oil contains roughly 125 calories and 14 grams of fat (18% DV). In addition, hemp seeds are a rich source of other nutrients, including:

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The Cannabis-COVID Connection: What We Know And What We Don’t Know

Though little to no medical research links cannabis use with COVID-19 relief, that is definitely not the case in business where the pandemic proved to be a boon for the industry.

As the world continues to contend with COVID-19, much about the virus remains uncertain, including its interactions with cannabis. (original article appeared on Benzinga)

In the early months of the pandemic, various studies linked pot to both adverse and beneficial results. The trend continues today, with little conclusively known about the cannabis-COVID medical connection if indeed there is one.

That said, it is much clearer to see that the pandemic created a significant beneficial impact on the marketplace.

Almost All Conclusions Require Additional Data

Several physicians and researchers tell Benzinga that little has been concluded regarding any cannabis-COVID connections, beneficial or adverse.

Dr. Samoon Ahmad is a professor of psychiatry at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, where he serves as the unit chief of the inpatient unit at Bellevue Hospital. He said that "Unfortunately, not a lot" is certain at this time.

Dr. Robert Milanes, a California-based cannabis physician of telehealth platform Heally, stated, "One thing we know conclusively is that cannabis cannot cure COVID-19."

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Australia's number 1 hemp skincare brand's CBD cleanser and serum has a waitlist of over 27,000

The cult hero products sold out within five days

CBD skincare is making waves in the beauty industry and has been endorsed by celebrity fans Gwyneth Paltrow and Kristen Bell, who have raved about the benefits of cannabidiol. Growing in popularity, hemp skincare can drastically improve various skin conditions, thanks to its ability to reduce sebum production and act as an anti-inflammatory.

Recently, Hey Bud Skincare – Australia’s number one-selling hemp skincare range – launched two new CBD skincare products which sold out within just five days. But now, they’re back in stock – and we have a 15% discount code…

The two CBD products on offer? Hey Bud’s Daily Hemp Gel Cleanser, and Hyaluronic Acid + Hemp Serum, which garnered a waiting list of 27,000 people.

This gentle foam cleanser will leave skin cleansed, brighter, moisturised, and balanced. Enhanced with Hemp Seed Oil, this cleanser clears pores while regulating oil balance, making it ideal for those with spot-prone skin. Meanwhile, the Sodium PCA ingredient will provide advanced hydration, and hyaluronic acid will help to combat dry or flaky skin.

 

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Armed robber makes off with $1.3 million worth of hemp in Oceanside

Police said 4,000 pounds of hemp flowers were taken from the business on Seagate Way just before 6:40 p.m.

An armed robber broke into a hemp flower wholesaler in Oceanside Wednesday night, confronted an employee, and made off with $1.3 million worth of product, Oceanside police said.

Someone called police just before 6:40 p.m. to report spotting at least one person outside the Cultivaris Hemp business on Seagate Way, said police spokesperson Jennifer Atenza.

The caller, who was monitoring security footage, also said they couldn’t reach an employee who was at the business.

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Cannabis job fair to help Stockton students, general public get into new industry

GALLOWAY TWP. - Stockton University next week will host the Cannabis Career Fair and Business Expo, bringing a slew of industry leaders to the campus to provide insight and talk about open positions at their respective companies.

Beginning at 8:30 a.m. Nov. 17, the expo will feature keynote speakers and former NFL players Dominique Easley and Jordan Reed, who now own cannabis apothecary Legacy Partners. Those in attendance will also have the opportunity to have professional headshots taken as they talk with potential employers.

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3 of the Dirtiest Words to Watch for in Cannabis Earnings Reports

Cannabis earnings season is here, and there are some terms you should watch out for as they could signal trouble.

Many cannabis companies are reporting their quarterly results in November. And for investors, it can sometimes be difficult to interpret the numbers as cannabis earnings reports are often littered with adjustments and gains or losses, making it challenging to determine whether the company really had a good quarter.

But there are some ways you can quickly scan beyond just how the company did on its top and bottom lines to see whether there are any problems you need to be paying close attention to. Here are three words you don't want to see come up on an earnings report or call.

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Pennsylvania Hemp Summit Offers Hemp Growers Food for Thought

Hemp farmers, processors, policy experts and advocates convened again in hopes of sharing knowledge, resources, and camaraderie at this year’s Pennsylvania Hemp Summit, held virtually Nov. 2-4.

There were five virtual sessions spread over three days, starting with a basic overview of resources available for farmers, especially those who are new to the world of agriculture, of which there are more than you’d think. Hemp is proving to be a gateway crop for many young, entrepreneurial farmers.

Alyssa Collins, director of Penn State’s research farm in Lancaster County, opened with the magnitude of resources made available to farmers from land-grant universities and state Extension programs.

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Why Your Marijuana Tolerance Break Isn’t Working

The amount of time you allow for your T-break is important, but how you spend that time away from THC can also affect the effectiveness of your respite.

Tolerance breaks, often referred to as T-breaks, are a great way to reset your body and reawaken the long-forgotten feeling you had when you first started using cannabis. If you use marijuana regularly, its effects can alter and weaken over time. When you need more and more weed to feel the same effects, you might be one of many cannabis users who could benefit from a T-break.

The saying “absence makes the heart grow fonder” can certainly be applied to a tolerance break, which gives you a chance to regroup and start enjoying marijuana like you did when you first started consuming. But what if your T-break does not bring back that old feeling and you still need the same amount of product to feel its effects?

When you take a break from THC and it does not seem to affect your tolerance, you may need to rethink the way you take your T-breaks.

One of the most important components of a quality tolerance break is time. Marijuana may leave your blood in less than a day, but it takes much longer to reset receptors in the body that react to THC. “Research states that brain receptors called cannabinoid 1 receptors start to return to normal after 2 days without marijuana, and they regain normal functioning within 4 weeks,” wrote Medical News Today.

If your break did not lower your tolerance, or did not restore the feeling you once had when you enjoyed it for the first time, try taking a longer one. According to WebMD, cannabis breaks should be at least 21 days long. Try to last for three weeks without THC in order to effectively reset your tolerance, especially if your previous T-breaks were brief.

A three-week break is often easier said than done. According to U.S. News, 49% of American adults have tried marijuana. Although some of these users fall under the experimental or occasional smoker category, many marijuana users partake regularly. For some, marijuana is prescribed medication. For others it is supplemental or unprescribed medication.
 

Photo by Ivan-balvan/Getty Images

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24 Governors Call On Congress to Pass Cannabis Banking Bill

Governors across U.S. states and territories have penned a letter to congressional leaders, urging for cannabis banking access.

The governors of 24 states and U.S. territories sent a letter to congressional leaders on Thursday calling on lawmakers to pass legislation that would permit financial institutions to provide banking services to the regulated cannabis industry. The letter from the bipartisan group of two dozen governors seeks passage of the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, which was approved by the House of Representatives in September as part of a comprehensive defense spending authorization bill.

In the letter, which was sent to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress, the governors of 21 states, Washington, D.C., the U.S. Virgin Islands and Guam, call for provisions of the SAFE Banking Act to be included in the final version of the National Defense Authorization Act for the 2022 fiscal year.

Relief for a Cash-Heavy Industry

If passed by the Senate and signed into law, federal banking regulators would be prohibited from penalizing banks that choose to serve cannabis firms doing business in accordance with state law. Under current regulations, banks are subject to penalties under federal money laundering and other laws for servicing such companies, leaving the cannabis industry to operate in a risky environment heavy in cash. The legislation was initially introduced in the House in 2013 by Democratic Rep. Ed Perlmutter of Colorado, who has reintroduced the bill each subsequent congressional cycle.

The letter sent on Thursday, which was led by Democratic Governor Jared Polis of Colorado, notes that 37 states, four U.S. territories and the District of Columbia have passed recreational or medical cannabis legalization measures. But businesses in the regulated cannabis industry are still largely unable to access traditional banking services including deposits, payroll and checking accounts.

“Medical and recreational cannabis sales in the U.S. were estimated to total $17.5 billion last year, but because of antiquated federal banking regulations, almost all cannabis transactions are cash-based,” the governors wrote in their letter. “Not only are cash-only businesses targets for crime, cannabis businesses are further disadvantaged compared to other legal businesses by being unable to open bank accounts or obtain loans at reasonable rates.” 

The SAFE Banking Act was passed by the House of Representatives in 2019 and again last year as part of a COVID-19 pandemic relief bill. The House passed the bill again in April as standalone legislation and has included the measure in the defense authorization bill currently under consideration, but the bill has so far failed to be passed by both houses of Congress and signed into law by the president.

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Michigan dispensary seeks Veterans for new weed delivery, pays up to $50K

The Greenhouse of Walled Lake is launching a home delivery service and is now hiring 12 delivery drivers but is only seeking veterans of the military.

Oakland County's first fully licensed medical and recreational marijuana dispensary is launching the new home delivery service on Tuesday, just two days before Veterans Day, and is seeking "12 good men and women" for the jobs that can pay up to $50,000 per year.

Not only that, The Greenhouse will provide cars and gas to the delivery drivers.

No knowledge of the cannabis industry is necessary to apply but a valid Michigan driver's license and good driving record are both required.

And the Greenhouse has already started hiring. Todd Hopper is a disabled veteran who served nine years in the U.S. Army had a tough time finding work. Until the Greenhouse's job opened up.

Owner Jerry Millen said they launched the service on Tuesday, just two days before Veterans Day.

"So I'm looking to hire up to 12 veterans. We started delivery today at the Greenhouse of Walled Lake because there's such a demand for deliveries.  It's called greenhouse to go," he said

But that's not all. Jerry wants to help veterans by giving them $10,000 from the sales of the Veterans Day infused-chocolate canna-bar

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House Approves Bill Authorizing Cannabis Research for Veterans

A key congressional committee has approved legislation that would direct the VA to conduct studies into the use of cannabis as a therapeutic treatment for PTSD and chronic pain.

A key congressional committee last week approved a bill that would authorize federal research into the therapeutic applications of cannabis for military veterans. Under the VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) would be required to conduct clinical trials into the potential of cannabis as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and chronic pain among the nation’s veterans.

The bill was approved by the House Veterans Affairs Committee on Nov. 4 by vote of 18 to 11, receiving support from all the panel’s Democratic members as well as one Republican. The committee approved previous versions of the bill last year and in 2018, but the legislation has yet to be passed by the full Congress and signed into law.

“Our veterans are no strangers to confronting challenges, and that’s why Congress needs to explore alternative treatment options,” Rep. Lou Correa, a California Democrat and sponsor of the bill, told Marijuana Moment. “The VA Medicinal Cannabis Research Act of 2021 meets veterans where they already are and opens a new door for federal policy that supports treatment options preferred by veterans.”

“How can we not try to gather the vast resources of Congress and the federal government to explore alternative treatment options like cannabis when veterans themselves are telling us that’s what they need,” Correa added. “To not support this legislation would be to defer once again of our obligation to care for those who have sacrificed so much to help protect our nation.”

The VA has acknowledged that PTSD and trauma experienced on the battlefield can contribute to a higher rate of suicidal ideation. Anecdotal evidence shows that cannabis can help ease the symptoms of PTSD, but clinical evidence has so far been inconclusive. In addition, the National Institute on Drug Abuse has advised Congress that there is “substantial evidence” that cannabis has medicinal value as a treatment for chronic pain and urged lawmakers to fund research into the potential risks and benefits of medical marijuana.

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Leon commissioners schedule marijuana workshop, pause on homeless shelter and CRTPA proposals

Leon County Commissioners scheduled a workshop for this spring that looks to explore alternatives to arrest for people caught with small amounts of marijuana. 

The issue has been on the wish list for several years and has had some success already after a 2018 program launched by State Attorney Jack Campbell aimed at issuing civil citations for such offenses. 

Still, on March 22, Campbell is likely to join Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil and county commissioners to address continued efforts to reduce penalties for possession of marijuana. 

McNeil will also join a workshop the same day where issues with bail, reentry initiatives and a review of the County’s electronic monitoring program will be addressed.

For years, a committee formed by McNeil has looked to examine monetary bail and Leon County’s pretrial release program.

Commissioners can make recommendations to law enforcement officials about what alternatives they would like to see in marijuana laws, but often the issue is left to prosecutorial and officer discretion.

 

City Walk Urban Mission shelter on Mahan Drive Thursday, July 29, 2021.

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