8 Celebrities Cashing In On Cannabis

Cannabis is now more mainstream than ever, making endorsing the product a no-brainer for these celebs.

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The holidays offer us time to decompress from a hectic year, reconnect with loved ones, reflect on what we’ve lost, celebrate wins, and — perhaps this year more than ever — appreciate what we have. For weed lovers in legal states, it’s both a gift and a privilege to have access to the plant and the right to use it safely. And as most of us know, tens of thousands of Americans still languish in prison for cannabis crimes while the industry thrives. 

Luckily, there are several ways you can give back and support those who have been unfairly disenfranchised by cannabis prohibition. The Last Prisoner Project (LPP), a non-profit Weedmaps has partnered with since its inception in 2019, is dedicated to bringing restorative justice to the cannabis industry. Founded on the idea that those who profit from cannabis have a responsibility to repair the damage that criminalization caused, LPP works tirelessly to free every last cannabis prisoner. 

Here’s what you can do to support their efforts and give back this holiday season. 

Donate

The easiest and most obvious action you can take may also be one of the most effective. In the past year, the Last Prisoner Project protected hundreds of at-risk individuals from Covid-19, secured hygienic gear for those incarcerated, matched dozens of cannabis prisoners with pro bono attorneys, dispersed $70,000 to the families and children of those incarcerated, and spearheaded policy reform both on the state and national level — all thanks to the generous support of donors. 

For more details about how donated funds are allocated, you can check out the annual report summarizing LPP’s accomplishments. 

Donate to the LPP

Call your local officials 

The combined horrors of mass incarceration and COVID-19 have created life-threatening conditions for incarcerated individuals. “Mass incarceration has left prisons and jails highly susceptible to an outbreak given overcrowding, lack of resources, and little access to medical care,” according to LPP. 

Public officials can address this crisis in a number of ways by releasing people who are nearing the end of their sentences, waiving medical visit copays for incarcerated people, and, of course, releasing non-violent cannabis prisoners. 

Contacting your governor or state’s Department of Corrections can go a long way in helping the underserved and wrongly incarcerated. For example, Michael Thompson was imprisoned in 1994 for selling weed to an undercover informant in Michigan. Despite weed now being legal in the state of Michigan, Thompson will have to serve another 35 years if he is not granted clemency. At 68 years old, he is facing a life sentence — just for selling weed.

As a result of the outpouring of support and outrage for Michael Thompson, his case had been scheduled for a public hearing with the Michigan Parole Board on November 17th, which was the last step required for his case to move up and get signed byGovernor Whitmer. According to LPP, “This could not have happened without all of the support for Michael and the hundreds of thousands of calls, emails, and letters to the Michigan Parole Board.”

Contact your state Governor

Contact your state Department of Corrections

Be a partner 

If you own or work for a dispensary or cannabis brand that would be interested in freeing cannabis prisoners, LPP has several partnership opportunities. 

Their Partners for Freedom Program connects brands nationwide to promote restorative justice in the cannabis industry, while the Roll It Up For Justice Program helps cannabis customers donate to the Last Prisoner Project at check out. They also have resources for budtenders looking to be reparative justice advocates. 

Learn more about LPP partnerships

Join the Holiday Letter Drive 

Help LPP reach their goal of sending 1,000 letters to cannabis prisoners this year by participating in their Holiday Letter Drive. Due to Covid-19, prisoners won’t be allowed to see their loved ones in person this year. Heartfelt, encouraging letters let them know they are not forgotten. 

Expand your reach by getting friends, family members, or coworkers to write letters with you.

Learn more about the Holiday Letter Drive

Support incarcerated individuals

Even after cannabis prisoners are released and their rights are restored, the nightmare doesn’t always end there, they often need help securing work, housing, and other necessities: 

After serving 20 years for a joint’s worth of cannabis, Thomas Swinner was finally released from prison in Louisiana this past July. Despite initially receiving a life sentence, the Innocence Project of New Orleans helped with his resentencing and release, and now LPP is helping him get back on his feet. 

Support Thomas Swinner

America’s longest-serving non-violent cannabis prisoner, Richard DeLisi, has been incarcerated for 31 years and will finally be released this December. LPP is fundraising to help him get back on his feet. 

Support Richard DeLisi

Raise awareness 

Sharing stories about the injustice of cannabis criminalization is an essential part of restoring justice for cannabis prisoners. Whether you’re looking to spread the word or have a story of your own to share, the Last Prisoner Project has resources and opportunities for everyone at every level of engagement. 

Get involved 

Featured image by Gina Coleman/Weedmaps

The post 6 ways you can support cannabis prisoners this holiday season appeared first on Weedmaps News.

What Americans Can Learn From A British Study On Hashish Potency

Researchers of a new study note that CBD plays an important role in risk reduction for users of high THC cannabis.

The post What Americans Can Learn From A British Study On Hashish Potency appeared first on The Fresh Toast.

Want To Stay COVID Free This Holiday Season? Don’t Smoke Weed With Others

Smoking weed with the masses is a sure-fire way to get sick

The post Want To Stay COVID Free This Holiday Season? Don’t Smoke Weed With Others appeared first on The Fresh Toast.

What To Expect When You’re Expecting Legal Marijuana

It’s time to give an overview, from a lawyer’s perspective, of what the first few years of legal marijuana generally look like in newly-legalized states.

The post What To Expect When You’re Expecting Legal Marijuana appeared first on The Fresh Toast.

5 Ways To Have A More Positive Social Media Experience

Social media is addictive and overwhelming, but it’s also a helpful tool in connecting you with friends and family.  

The post 5 Ways To Have A More Positive Social Media Experience appeared first on The Fresh Toast.

Cannabis consumers partake in weed for a myriad of reasons, including medicinal, to ease the body’s aches, pains, and anxiety, or  recreational, to spark creativity. The research is out on how cannabis specifically impacts our creative thoughts and work, but pretty much all consumers recognize that a good high can produce a flood of new ideas, thoughts, and — most of all — questions. All kinds of questions. 

Some of those questions may be existential in the vein of “what is the meaning of life?” Others may wander to the bizarre, “If a tomato is a fruit, then isn’t ketchup a smoothie?” There are whole communities on Reddit dedicated to chatting with people who contemplate both the smell of their feet and the origins of the Big Bang in the same sesh. Over on Twitter, both hashtags #HighQuestions and #StonerThoughts show the same kinds of musings. 

These questions are as sundry as you might think — maybe you’re thinking of one right now — though they do tend to fall into three basic categories. Here are some of the most compelling, funny, and groan-inducing high questions floating around on the internet. 

Compelling questions

You’ll want to spark up a fresh bowl of cerebral cannabis, like White Widow or LSD, before diving deep into these 13 compelling and thoughtful questions: 

• Can you daydream at night?
• If you’re in a competition by yourself, do you come in first or last?
• If life is unfair to everyone, does that mean life is actually fair?
• Which came first, the plant or the seed?
• If actions speak louder than words, is speaking also an action?
• Does being “up” for something mean the same thing as being “down” for something?
• What time is it not?
• If you try to fail, but end up succeeding, which did you actually do?
• Who created God?
• What’s the highest thing you’ve ever done?
• Is getting high and remembering something from your past simply time travel?
• What if scientists, philosophers, and researchers were high when they made their most important and noteworthy discoveries?
• Who was the first person that saw cannabis and decided to smoke it?

Funny questions

Reach for some giggle-inducing Durban Poison or Mango Kush before laughing til your cheeks hurt with these 14 amusing questions:

• If you smoke weed on a boat, does that make it seaweed? 
• If you drop soap on the floor, is the floor clean or is the soap dirty?
• If you get scared half to death twice, do you die?
• Is the “s” or the “c” silent in “scent”?
• If money is the root of all evil, why do they ask for it in church?
• If you clean a vacuum, do you become a vacuum cleaner?
• Who closes the bus door after the bus driver gets off?
• If they use crash test dummies to test things, how do they test crash test dummies?
• If oranges are orange, why are limes not called “greens”? 
• What does water taste like?
• Can dogs get a song stuck in their head?
• Have you ever calmed someone down by saying “calm down?”
• If you’re waiting for the waiter, aren’t you the waiter?
• Who taught the first teacher?

Groaner questions

Load up your favorite bong with a bit of Gelato before pulling out your best dad jokes with these 14 groan-inducing questions:

• Why don’t ribbed condoms taste like ribs?
• What if every time we eat an apple, we’re eating a tree baby?
• Is a gingerbread man made of house, or is his house made of flesh?
• If an ice cube melts, is it floating in a pool of its own blood?
• What do teeth taste like? Do everyone’s teeth taste differently?
• If someone dies in a living room, is it still a living room?
• If two vegans are arguing, is it still considered a beef?
• If a bunch of cats jump on top of each other, is it still a dog pile?
• Why is it called a building when it’s already built?
• How many people have stepped on the sidewalk I walk on every day?
• If I hit myself and it hurts, am I weak or strong?
• Who put the alphabet in alphabetical order?
• Is there a synonym for “synonym”?
• Can vegetarians eat animal crackers?

We do know from research that cannabis can distort our sense of time, making it seem like it moves more slowly. Cannabis can also disrupt short-term memory and alter our sense of perception. So a question that seems very urgent and worthy of contemplation during one sesh might not even enter your mind the next time around. 

If you haven’t yet answered the most mysterious questions of the universe while high, no worries. There are always new thoughts to examine.

Featured image by Gina Coleman/Weedmaps

The post The best 'high questions' to contemplate when you're, well, high appeared first on Weedmaps News.

4 Tips To Help You Declutter Your Space

Decluttering is a process that can make you feel better about your space. It can also grant you some mental health benefits.  

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It wouldn’t be unfair to say that 2020 has been one hell of a year, and the need to escape from reality — if even for a few hours — is more tempting than ever. Consuming cannabis can be good for what ails you in so many ways, from its medicinal compounds that could help calm inflammation and contribute to a better night’s sleep, to its ability to bring a feeling of euphoria that could take your mind momentarily off of the world’s troubles. 

For all the myriad benefits of cannabis consumption, there can be a few downsides, especially for novice consumers, including the dreaded “green out.” Defined as an experience caused by consuming too much cannabis, signs of a green out include nausea, sweating, dizziness, vomiting, severe anxiety, increased heart rate, reduced blood pressure, and even mild hallucinations. 

While the research is still out as to what precisely causes a green out, anecdotal accounts from consumers and doctors hold that THC — the psychoactive cannabinoid responsible for the high you feel while consuming — accountable. 

Greening out and the endocannabinoid system

All mammals have an endocannabinoid system (ECS), composed of endogenous (internal) endocannabinoids, enzymes, and receptors. Humans often ingest exogenous (external) cannabinoids through cannabis consumption, most famously the non-intoxicating CBD and the aforementioned THC. But humans also produce two endocannabinoids on their own; anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol. 

Both endogenous and exogenous cannabinoids bind to CB receptors called CB1 and CB2. These receptors are located throughout the body, including skeletal tissues, internal organs, and the skin to help create bodily harmony, or homeostasis. When your body is out of whack in some way, let’s say it needs to respond to a change in outside temperature for example, the ECS rounds up endogenous cannabinoids to help bring your body back to balance. 

Though all of these exogenous and endogenous cannabinoids bind to CB receptors, anandamide binds in a way that more intuitively helps moderate systems like fertility, pain, depression, appetite, and so on. Too much THC, however, can bind excessively to CB receptors, which can make you feel like you’re on the road to a green out. 

How high THC can lead to a green out

In the era of legalization, consumers are clearing dispensary shelves of cannabis strains with THC percentages north of 20%, expecting a kick-ass high. However, a recent study from the University of Colorado Boulder and published in JAMA Psychiatry contradicts that notion. The research found that even though smoking high-potency cannabis will definitely boost the levels of THC in your blood, it won’t get you any higher than if you’d consumed a strain with lower potency. 

Whether or not you green out has a lot to do with how frequently you consume, what type of cannabis you consume, and how much THC you can tolerate. For example, if you go a bit overboard on your first dabbing experience, or you consume that 100 milligram edible all in one sitting, you have a pretty good chance of greening out. 

While there’s never been a case of humans dying from cannabis toxicity, consumers should always be mindful about how much they’re consuming, especially when it comes to high potency strains. One 2019 study found that cannabis use has been associated with acute myocardial infarction (heart attack), thrombus formation, stroke, and death. There are some known symptoms of greening out, like rapid heart rate, that could exacerbate an underlying health condition. 

How to avoid or get out of a green out

If you find yourself in the green out zone, there are a few things you can do to ride the storm. 

If you are with friends or people you trust, ask them to stay with you until you feel well enough to be on your own. Drink plenty of water, have a snack, and get comfy. If you can manage it, try deep breathing exercises, yoga, meditation, or even take a warm bath. 

The trick is to engage your mind with pretty much anything other than how terrible you feel, and to create a calm, reassuring environment for yourself. 

Some studies have shown that counteracting too much THC with CBD may help tame a green out, while terpenes like beta-caryophyllene (found in black pepper) and limonene (found in citrus fruits) have been shown to recalibrate the feelings of anxiety that are part and parcel of a green out. 

However, the best way to avoid a green out is to simply not consume too much cannabis, especially high potency strains. If you are new to cannabis, try strains that aren’t too high in THC, or strains that are at least more balanced by other cannabinoids. As tasty as it might be, don’t eat that whole edible. 

Last but not least, if you are a consumer with a condition that could be exacerbated by any green out symptoms, particularly rapid heart rate, low blood pressure, dizziness, anxiety, or vomiting, remember the cardinal cannabis consumption rule: start low and go slow. Your friends might get baked before you, but who cares? Safety first. 

Featured image by Gina Coleman/Weedmaps

The post What happens when you green out? appeared first on Weedmaps News.

How Marijuana Can Actually Make You An Even Better Parent

Many advocates argue that weed consumption in front of children is no different than kicking back a few cocktails.

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