Why the celebrity licensing model is not just the gold standard for a cannabis brand, it's a necessity Cedella Marley's voice has a comforting, familiar lilt, the sound of the Jamaican heritage she shares with her late father. Some 35 years after Bob Marley's death, the Marley family has moved into the cannabis business with Seattle-based Privateer Holdings to launch Marley Natural, a line of hemp body products, elegant black walnut accessories and smartly packaged smokeables. Their biggest target market? Canada - once the recreational market opens up. [continues 2529 words]
CONFERENCE: Event runs Thursday and Friday At Vancouver's next big weed get-together, you can expect less tie-dye and more suit-and-tie. Organizers of the International Cannabis Business Conference this week at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Vancouver expect a crowd of 650 or more to attend Thursday and Friday. And with tickets to attend the conference running upwards of $600 each, the event might have more of a corporate feel than the average 4/20 rally. [continues 466 words]
Vintage Vinyl and Hemp Emporium is known for a lot of things, notably its history with marijuana. Dylan and Janelle Baumet's father Pat opened Vintage Vinyl and Hemp Emporium 25 years ago in downtown Regina. The store has remained a family business over the years and sells everything from records to marijuana smoking accessories. The store has continued to sell accessories for smoking marijuana and has seen society's thoughts toward marijuana change. "Every year there's just more and more smokers and people are starting to realize that marijuana's good and not bad," Dylan said. [continues 437 words]
If college athletes want to smoke marijuana, the NCAA probably won't catch them. Treyous Jarrells is proof. The running back signed with CSU because of Colorado's legalization of marijuana for recreational and medicinal purposes, and he was high in all but one game he played in across two seasons. Jarrells, 23, left the Colorado State University football team early in the 2015 season due to concerns he'd fail a drug test and risk losing his financial aid. Medical marijuana is legal in 25 states, and Jarrells has one of 102,620 medical licenses to legally grow the drug in Colorado. [continues 2623 words]
SUPPORTERS of the Nimbin Lane Boys gathered outside Lismore courthouse to protest for "long overdue" cannabis law reform yesterday. Twenty nine men were arrested earlier this year as part of Strike Force Cuppa, an investigation into the ongoing supply of cannabis in Nimbin. The men, nicknamed Nimbin Lane Boys, appeared before court yesterday and will continue appearances today, surrounded by their angry friends and family who wish to "bring the boys back home". President of the Nimbin HEMP Embassy, Michael Balderstone, said in an email that most of the men were not allowed to enter Nimbin. [continues 245 words]
Santa Rosa has rolled out the welcome mat to the marijuana industry, and the first firm through the door is affiliated with none other than the godfather of ganja - Bob Marley. Privateer Holdings, a Seattle investment firm aiming to build a global marijuana brand based on the image of the famed Jamaican reggae singer, has picked Santa Rosa to be the headquarters for its expansion into the lucrative California cannabis market. City officials Tuesday approved a request by the company to set up a medical cannabis-processing, manufacturing and distribution center in a nondescript business park in southwest Santa Rosa. [continues 1021 words]
You would be forgiven for not recognizing the nondescript brick warehouse in Phoenix's Grand Avenue industrial district as the site of a high-tech agricultural facility. But as soon as you step inside, the smell of hundreds of marijuana plants is overwhelming. As you make your way through the small rooms that line the main hallway, you can hear the whoosh of ventilation fans and the gentle hum of huge artificial lights suspended above a lush green canopy of leaves. Reggae, old-school hip-hop, and pop-punk blare from a portable speaker as a crew of 30 or so workers trim, water, and inspect the all-female crop of cannabis plants casually known as "the ladies." [continues 3709 words]
Just as cotton is grown for fabric and twine, so is industrial hemp; just as nut trees yield seeds for food and oils, so does hemp; just as hay is grown for animal feed, so is hemp; just as agricultural products are used for building materials, so is hemp (Oakland Museum of California hemp exhibit). Opposition to industrial hemp stems from the misconception that hemp is psychotropic. It is not. Hemp is a variety of cannabis (sativa) containing less than 1 percent Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the principal compound effecting euphoria. [continues 106 words]
What to Read Before-and After-You Get High HELLO THERE! Do you enjoy reading? How about reading about cannabis? I ask because if you're reading this column (or if it's being read to you by a service monkey using typing-to-speech-recognition software), it seems like you might enjoy some books on cannabis. I certainly hope so, because this week's column is about four of them. You could get them all through Powell's or many local, independent booksellers. [continues 605 words]
Businessman Has N. Texas Town in Sights for Facility to Produce Oil to Treat Epilepsy GUNTER - A cotton gin that sat empty for decades in this small North Texas town could be filled next year with the first cannabis plants legally grown in the state. Jae S. Lee/Staff Photographer Patrick Moran, president and co-founder of the Texas Cannabis Industry Association, aims to plant Texas' first legal cannabis plants in Gunter. A statute enacted last year paves the way for cultivation of non-psychoactive cannabis to produce CBD oil for treating people with severe epilepsy. [continues 1340 words]
Re: "DEA rules that marijuana has no medical value" [News, Aug. 12]: The Drug Enforcement Administration will not change the Schedule 1 designation for marijuana because of the strength of new pot strains compared to 1968. Perhaps one should remind the government that the strength of the THC content in marijuana was never considered or even measured before making it Schedule 1. The schedule change was done purely in the spirit of retribution. Rescheduling stems from Leary v. United States, which found the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 unconstitutional. Congress responded by placing marijuana on the Schedule 1 list the next year. [continues 180 words]
Federal Government at Odds With 25 States That Allow Therapeutic Use. The Obama administration has decided marijuana will remain on the list of most dangerous drugs, fully rebuffing growing support across the country for broad legalization, but said it will allow more research into its medical uses. In an announcement in the Federal Register and a letter to petitioners, the Drug Enforcement Administration turned down requests to remove marijuana from "Schedule I," which classifies it as a drug with "no currently accepted medical use" in the United States and precludes doctors from prescribing it. [continues 969 words]
WASHINGTON - The government refused again Thursday to allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes, reaffirming its conclusion the drug's therapeutic value has not been proved scientifically and defying a growing clamor to legalize it for the treatment of a variety of conditions. In an announcement in the Federal Register and a letter to petitioners, the Drug Enforcement Administration turned down requests to remove marijuana from "Schedule I," which classifies it as a drug with "no currently accepted medical use" in the United States and precludes doctors from prescribing it. [continues 1190 words]
The government on Thursday will refuse again to allow the use of marijuana for medical purposes, reaffirming its conclusion that the drug's therapeutic value has not been proved scientifically, according to government officials, and defying a growing clamor to legalize it for the treatment of a variety of conditions. In an announcement scheduled to be in the Federal Register, the Drug Enforcement Administration will turn down requests to remove marijuana from "Schedule I," which classifies it as a drug with "no currently accepted medical use" in the United States and bars doctors from prescribing it. [continues 759 words]
Oakland Museum's marijuana exhibit is worth visiting. In the center section, a large glass case encloses mature marijuana plants. On the side of the case, different strains are mounted beneath magnifying glasses. Materials made of hemp are displayed: rope, cloth, edible, cooking oil, etc. An illustration depicts the mechanism by which cannabinoids affect the body. Cubicles surround the centerpiece. In one there is video of politicians condemning marijuana. Opposite the video are posted photographs and quotations from famous personalities praising or denouncing marijuana. Visitors' opinions are posted as well. [continues 120 words]
The Libertarian Party's N.A. Poe Was Keeping a Sense of Humor Amid Challenges From Both Major Parties. The State Requires the Attorney General to Hold a License to Practice Law. Poe Doesn't. For N.A. Poe, a marijuana-legalization activist from Philadelphia, running for state attorney general was a lark to draw attention to the issue. The state Republican and Democratic Parties didn't find it funny. Both parties filed legal challenges Monday seeking to remove Poe - a stage name for the activism work and comedian act of Richard Tamaccio - - from the Nov. 8 general election ballot as the Libertarian Party candidate. [continues 367 words]
Legalizing Recreational Cannabis May Have Varying Implications for Health of Kids and Teens Come November, California could join Alaska, Colorado, Oregon and Washington by becoming a state where adults can legally buy, possess and use cannabis recreationally as well as medically. What would this mean for kids and teens? We now may have an idea. Colorado was the first of these states (plus the District of Columbia) to enact laws calling for such blanket legalization, passing Amendment 64 in 2012. Two recent reports focused on Colorado-one on teenage use, one on kids' accidental ingestion-offer a mixed picture. [continues 852 words]
Editor, Fred Gardner's piece, "Honest Abe Didn't Smoke Hemp," was persuasive (AVA 7/6/16). Fred critiqued the Cannabis Card, featuring Fred Sternkopf's graphic of Lincoln toking on a corned cob pipe, along with an unsourced Abe Lincoln quote: "Two of my favorite things are sitting on my front porch smoking a pipe of sweet hemp and playing my Hohner harmonica." The Cannabis Card summarizes Lincoln's hemp connections. He stepped into the Illinois Legislature wearing hemp pants, woven & grown on his family farm. He is reputed to have used hemp oil for light to read by, including his law books. [continues 398 words]
Philadelphia - This isn't your teenage son's marijuana industry anymore; it's your button-down dad's business - at least at the Democratic National Convention. Even as pro-marijuana activists marched this week in Philadelphia with a fake 51-foot joint, teams of industry leaders and lobbyists were busy doing the kind of work one would expect from the beer or pharmaceutical industry: holding receptions, talking to politicians and discussing regulations. In other words, the boring stuff. "We're dealing with an industry that's a lot more suit and tie," said Michael Bronstein, co-founder of the [continues 413 words]
Yep, They Are. What's the deal with cannabidiol (CBD) pet treats? Are they really a thing? YES, CBD-INFUSED pet treats are definitely a thing. They are often marketed to "all pets, large and small," and you can order them online from any number of manufacturers. As with any product, some of the websites look better than others. Some even contain product testimonials from pet owners, which can make for delightful reading. Pet treats are pricey little morsels designed to relieve ill and aging animals. Sellers also promote them for anxiety and "bonding" issues. These treats are infused with non-psychoactive CBD and they are marketed to the humane souls among us concerned with arthritic rabbits, not the guy who blows smoke in his cat's face. [continues 372 words]
