WORCESTER - Thousands of people gathered at a convention hall Saturday for the first-ever Harvest Cup, a friendly if spirited competition among home-growers of marijuana that doubled as a convention for the burgeoning cannabis industry and its consumers. The event, taking place this weekend at the DCU Center, came the same week that marijuana regulators began drafting rules for the scheduled July start of recreational sales in Massachusetts. Many participants Saturday were overheard debating various policies and what they will mean for the small-scale cultivators at the heart of the Harvest Cup once millions of dollars of investment funds pour into the state. [continues 683 words]
"You've come a long way, baby." This is the famous slogan of the Virginia Slims brand - a long, slim cigarette marketed to women as a sign of the progress of feminism and freedom for their gender. Society has also come a long way in its thinking around the marketing of products like tobacco, and campaigns that make it seem glamorous. We have learned that slick marketing images that ran through previous decades did not just influence adults. The Marlboro Man and images like it captured the imagination of kids, romanticizing smoking for another generation. [continues 351 words]
Lessons are still being digested after a lethal batch of opioids in October put emergency workers to the test The first warning came mid-afternoon on a Thursday in late October, from a client at a downtown Victoria HIV/AIDS and harm-reduction facility. It was the day after "cheque day," when social-assistance payments are issued in B.C. - a period linked to an increase in overdoses and other related harms. But even with that factored in, front-line workers were getting the sense that things were worse than usual. [continues 1201 words]
For 17 years, Chalfonte LeNee Queen suffered periodic episodes of violent retching and abdominal pain that would knock her off her feet for days, sometimes leaving her writhing on the floor in pain. "I've screamed out for death," said Queen, 48, who lives in San Diego. "I've cried out for my mom who's been dead for 20 years, mentally not realizing she can't come to me." Queen lost a modeling job after being mistaken for an alcoholic. She racked up tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills, and her nausea interrupted her sex life. Towards the end of her illness, Queen, who stands 5-foot-9, weighed in at a frail 109 pounds. [continues 985 words]
When it comes time for your monthly uterine massacre, you bet Mary Jane has your back-and anywhere else that aches whilst surfing the crimson wave. Here are the cannabis products that my co-workers and partner can thank for not being murdered by me once every three weeks. 1 Arthritis balm from Cannalife Botanicals Ever heard of our bodies' endocannabinoid system? It regulates mood, memory, appetite, pain and inflammation, while co-piloting the immune, reproductive, cardiovascular and gastrointestinal systems. The 100-plus chemical compounds cannabis is made up of (like psychoactive THC, and CBD which helps with pain) fit into different endocannabinoid system cell receptors like brokenhearted BFF lockets. [continues 517 words]
With legalization on the horizon in Canada, dispensaries are marketing marijuana as a cure for what ails you - including cancer. Do the claims hold up? Adriana Barton takes a closer look at the science behind cancer and cannabis In a lab at the University of Nottingham in England, brain-cancer specialist Richard Grundy is growing cells from children's brain tumours to see if cannabidiol - a compound in marijuana - can kill them. Brain-tumour cells rarely thrive outside the body, though, so he'll be lucky if half a dozen cell clusters survive long enough to study the hunch. Even if the compound snuffs out cancer cells in the lab, there's no guarantee it would do the same in humans. "But," he said, "one has to start somewhere." [continues 1562 words]
Hair testing by Motherisk was presented as evidence in a murder case. It was deemed not up to forensic standards, tossed out and even mocked by the judge. That was in Colorado - 22 years before the Motherisk scandal blew up Twenty-two years before controversy shuttered the Motherisk lab, before its hair-strand drug tests were deemed unreliable, before the outcomes of thousands of child protection cases were called into question, a Colorado court threw out Motherisk's evidence in a hearing that foretold the crisis that is now playing out across Canada. [continues 2352 words]
In 1805, German apothecary Friedrich Serturner revolutionized the practice of pharmacy by isolating morphine from opium. Opium, the latex exuded by the bulb of the poppy plant on scoring with a sharp instrument, has a long history of use dating back to about 3400 BC. The Sumerians, living in the region that is modern day Iraq, are known to have cultivated the poppy and were aware of the effects of consuming its juice, referring to it as the "joy plant." Judging by artwork depicting Sumerian medicine men carrying poppies, they were also aware of opium's painkilling abilities. [continues 744 words]
The Taliban in Afghanistan is now running significant heroin production lines in the war-torn country to provide jihadists and insurgents with billions of dollars, western law enforcement officials And much of that heroin is flowing into Canada. "More than 90 per cent of all heroin consumed in the US is of Mexican origin. But in Canada more than 90 per cent of the heroin consumed is of Afghan origin," said William Brownfield, US Assistant Secretary for Drugs and Law Enforcement when addressing reporters in the Afghan capital Kabul recently. [continues 842 words]
In less than a year, the government will legalize recreational marijuana. But, as Grant Robertson reports, growers may already be pushing for profits at the expense of customers' health Scott Wood had been losing weight for weeks, and it was starting to scare him. His skin developed strange blistering rashes, his muscles ached constantly, and his lungs burned. He couldn't stop coughing, and he was spitting up gobs of thick, clear mucous that looked like Vaseline. But the worst day came in October when Mr. Wood, 53, a family man and military veteran, collapsed at the grocery store. "I walked about five feet, and I couldn't get a breath," he said. "I was down on my hands and knees in the parking lot." [continues 5402 words]
DENVER - Many college students will tell you that making pot brownies is easy - just sprinkle a little marijuana into a pan of melting butter, then follow the instructions on the back of the Duncan Hines box. But marijuana entrepreneurs in this center of cannabis innovation face a much higher bar. They have no trouble dreaming up creative treats and concoctions infused with psychoactive THC, but meeting hundreds of pages of health and safety regulations means their imagination is handcuffed. And for good reason: the rules demand precise dosing, uniform potency, and warning symbols imprinted on the food itself. [continues 1148 words]
As deadly fentanyl fuels a public health crisis, Free Press reporter Jennifer Bieman reveals what you should know about common London street drugs Forget the old adage that what you don't know, can't hurt you. When it comes to street drugs, what you don't know can kill you. That was the thrust of a rare public health warning - three health agencies and London police joined in its release - last week in London, when authorities stressed that the latest villain in Canada's opioid drug crisis, deadly fentanyl, is turning up in other illegal street drugs. [continues 1350 words]
Shortly after becoming licensed as a family therapist, I was hired to facilitate group therapy on a chemical dependency unit. I did this every day for about 10 years. I also coordinated family group for the spouses and relatives of those who were recovering from alcohol and drug abuse. There were a lot of "take aways" from this experience. Despite my education, I held many prejudices and myths toward those who abused alcohol and drugs. These men and women taught me a great deal. [continues 459 words]
Riverside has long prohibited medical marijuana dispensaries. Now officials may add recreational pot businesses to the ban -- at least temporarily. Since November, when California voters legalized adult use of marijuana, the Riverside City Council has not decided whether to allow, tax and regulate pot cultivation, manufacturing and sales. On Tuesday, July 25, council members will consider saying no to pot businesses until they have more information on how state regulations will look and what other Inland and Southern California communities are doing. [continues 469 words]
So-called bath salts, other street drugs are not a safe way to seek pleasure When someone offers a tiny packet of "bath salts" for sale with a price tag somewhere between $30 and $50, you know that it is not meant to be sprinkled into a bathtub. These "bath salts," commonly available in head shops, online and even in some convenience stores, may sport a label declaring "not for human consumption," but they are clearly designed to cater to the insides of the body rather than the outside. [continues 908 words]
It's less than a year before this great but apparently idiotic country plans to legalize marijuana, and some doubts emerged this week over whether that deadline is achievable. Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister - attending the Council of the Federation meetings in Edmonton with the other premiers and territorial leaders - is lobbying his counterparts to push back by a year the federal government's July 2018 date to legalize pot. Pallister says more time is need for provinces to educate the public about the dangers of drugged driving and also for police and the Crown to sort out how to enforce the law around impaired driving related to cannabis. Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall also supports an extension and Alberta Premier Rachel Notley says that while her province will shoot for the deadline, she may seek an extension. [continues 583 words]
It's less than a year before this great but apparently idiotic country plans to legalize marijuana, and some doubts emerged this week over whether that deadline is achievable. Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister - attending the Council of the Federation meetings in Edmonton with the other premiers and territorial leaders - is lobbying his counterparts to push back by a year the federal government's July 2018 date to legalize pot. Pallister says more time is need for provinces to educate the public about the dangers of drugged driving and also for police and the Crown to sort out how to enforce the law around impaired driving related to cannabis. [continues 619 words]
LOS RIOS, Colombia - Every three months or so, Javier Tupaz, a father of six, heads downhill from his clapboard home to work in his cocaine laboratory. Under a black tent in the jungle, he shovels coca leaves into a giant vat with gasoline, then adds cement powder - the first steps in his cocaine recipe. Like everyone in his village, Mr. Tupaz depends on coca for cash and has survived decades of war here in Colombia. He churned out his product during the seemingly endless conflict between the rebels and the government, which tried many times to destroy his coca plants. He simply replanted. [continues 1457 words]
The compact mass spectrometer shows precisely what's in marijuana. The compact, high-tech chemical sensors made by the Boston startup 908 Devices are used by emergency responders to scan for toxins after industrial accidents, and by researchers in the pharmaceutical and energy industries to profile the composition of drugs and petroleum products. Now, the firm has unveiled a new sensor intended to give it a foothold in a less conventional but fast-growing industry: commercial marijuana. The sensor, dubbed the G908, is a countertop "push-button" mass spectrometer designed to identify cannabis compounds. Its designers say the device approaches the accuracy of traditional "gold standard" lab equipment but is far smaller, faster, cheaper, and easier to use. [continues 635 words]
Junk science endangers lives. Forensic junk science in the hands of overzealous prosecutors, ignorant police detectives and reckless experts threatens liberty. There is a crisis in America's government-run crime labs - and it's not just the result of a few rogue operators. The problem is long-festering and systemic. In April, Massachusetts state crime lab chemist Annie Dookhan made national headlines after investigations and lawsuits over her misconduct prompted the state's Supreme Judicial Court to order the largest dismissal of criminal convictions in U.S. history. [continues 670 words]
