Is Smoking Marijuana Bad For Your Lungs?

Moderate marijuana users shouldn’t overly worry themselves, though heavy consumption could lead to adverse effects.

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A panel of health care professionals in New Mexico are recommending certain adjustments to the state’s medical cannabis program.

How To Communicate Clearly While Wearing A Mask

Masks cover a lot of your facial expressions and visual cues, making it more difficult to communicate effectively. Here’s what you can do to be as clear as possible.

The post How To Communicate Clearly While Wearing A Mask appeared first on The Fresh Toast.

Virginia’s Governor Northam announced his support—and plans—for marijuana legalization.

As someone who watches a ton of cannabis documentaries for a living, I came into “Smoke: Marijuana + Black America,” a new BET documentary focusing on the cultural, social, economic, and legal impact of cannabis in Black communities around America, with a certain degree of apprehension — was this going to be just another hollow documentary banking on the plight of Black people at the hands of cannabis? 

While I was working, I got a Slack message from Weedmaps contributor Dante Jordan: “Hey, man. Watch the BET doc. I think you’ll appreciate it.” I found the link a publicist had sent me, started it, and my attention was immediately grabbed by the collar. 

Narrated and executive produced by Nasir “Nas” Jones, “Smoke” premieres Wednesday, November 18, 2020, 8 p.m. PST on BET. The two-hour original documentary provides an intimate portrait of weed’s place in Black culture and its influence on some of the greatest artists, activists, athletes, and politicians in American history. 

“Weed was in my music because it was in my world,” says Nas Jones early in the documentary. Former NFL star Ricky Williams says “One of the things that cannabis did is help me come to a kind of resolution to this inner conflict.” 

It also explains how “America’s unjust War on Drugs systematically targeted marijuana use in the Black community, resulting in racially disproportionate numbers of arrests and convictions,” according to a press release. 

While the cannabis industry is expected to grow exponentially as more states legalize adult-use and medical use, and federal cannabis legalization becomes an inevitably, projections expect the industry to generate $30 billion in sales by 2025. Much of cannabis’ popularity and acceptance comes from the art made by Black hip hop artists, comedians, and filmmakers, breaking down the stigmas of the counterculture movement of the 1960s and priming American consumers to flock to legal weed in the 90s and 2000s.  

And yet, only 4.3% of dispensaries are currently Black-owned. Legal cannabis states have largely failed to address the repercussions from the War on Drugs or craft policies that provide equity to Black cannabis entrepreneurs, effectively cutting them out of the market they helped build. 

At the same time, to this day, Black Americans are disproportionately targeted by law enforcement for the possession of cannabis, despite the fact that white Americans have equal consumption rates. As my colleague Summer Fox wrote in an explainer earlier this year:

Black people are 3.64 times more likely to be arrested for cannabis than white people, despite both groups consuming at similar rates. These disparities exist in every state across the country. Black people are also more likely to receive longer and more punitive sentences than white people for similar offenses. 

Graphic: Jaclyn Spears/Weedmaps

“Smoke” tells this story of injustice through numerous high profile interviews with Senator Kamala Harris, Senator Cory Booker, rapper B-Real, hip hop artist Ty Dolla $ign, WNBA star Cheyenne Parker, former NFL star Ricky Williams, former NBA player and cannabis entrepreneur Al Harrington, C.J. Wallace, the son of Notorious B.I.G., rapper and weed mogul Berner, and many more. 

What “Smoke” manages to express better than most documentaries is just how complicated and compromising life as a Black or brown person is in America when it comes to cannabis. We’re constantly seeing how weed is a part of the culture and a source for expression and creativity, yet it’s stigmatized and criminalized. How cannabis is a relatively safe, inexpensive medicine to help manage the fears and stressors of oppression in America, yet it leads to harsher, more severe oppression from U.S. law enforcement. How cannabis helps create and is the subject of some of the most significant works of art, and yet Black people are the last in line to profit. And, most devastatingly, how paths to changing systemic racism and inequality often lead Black people to harm the very people they intend to help in the name of cannabis. 

BET

“Most of the people I prosecuted were young Black teenagers. Mostly boys,” says Kim Fox, state’s attorney for Cook County, Illinois. “I felt like a hypocrite. I felt like I was put into this role as an assistant state’s attorney to bring safety and fairness to our communities. And in the exercise of doing prosecution of these low-level marijuana offenses, I felt like I was doing harm.”  

“What I’m a little frustrated with is the lack of urgency around these issues. Every day we wait to change these laws, more and more people’s lives are being upended and impacted in such a savagely unjust way” says Senator Cory Booker. “I get very emotional about this because this is not an academic subject for me. I live in Newark, New Jersey. These are my friends.” 

“What I like about it is that it’s not just another showcasing of like … a couple of Cheech and Chong clips, some talk about Snoop, and then Willie Nelson,” Dante slacked me. “It covers all the bases from rappers to civilians and politicians. I’m impressed more than anything, to be honest. This is really good work.” 

“Smoke” is directed by Erik Parker and executive produced by Nasir “Nas” Jones, Jason Samuels from BET, and Eric Tomosunas from Swirl Films. Swirl Films’ Tony L. Strickland serves as co-executive producer. It premieres Wednesday, November 18, 2020, 8 p.m. PST on BET.

Images courtesy of BET. 

The post The empathy at the heart of “SMOKE: Marijuana + Black America” makes it a must-watch documentary appeared first on Weedmaps News.

Legalizing marijuana doesn’t just create new jobs. It saves existing ones, too—ask 350 municipal workers in Chicago.

The post Cannabis taxes save 350 jobs in Chicago appeared first on Leafly.

An illicit cannabis industry has been working underground for decades, but the emergence of legal states and subsequent markets has created demand for hundreds of thousands of jobs. According to one estimate from financial firm Barclay’s, if cannabis were legalized nationwide today and taxed at the same rate as tobacco it would have a market worth of $28 billion, reaching $41 billion by 2028. 

Cannabis industry and accounting firm Adnant Consulting estimates that the industry has created 50,000—100,000 jobs per legal state on the retail side alone. But there’s a lot more to legal weed than budtending; think farming, accounting, logistics, customer service and managing. 

To help meet the demand for workers in an industry requiring a broad range of skills, colleges like Northern Michigan University and Minot State University, as well as cannabis-only programs like Oaksterdam University are working to educate people wanting to make a career of cannabis.  

Cannabis and university programs

For students looking to work in the cultivation, research and extraction side of the industry, the aforementioned Northern Michigan University and Minot State University offer “medicinal plant chemistry” undergraduate degrees. 

Other schools, such as Colorado State University Pueblo, SUNY Morrisville, and Stockton University offer cannabis-centered minors. One college, The University of Maryland School of Pharmacy offers a postgraduate degree, the Medical Cannabis Science and Therapeutics Programs masters. 

Cannabis training universities

There are several schools operating in this space, with a mix of in-person and online course offerings. While these programs offer course certificates, these are not degrees or credits that could be applied to training at other educational establishments. 

The most well-known cannabis university is Oakland, California-based Oaksterdam University, which opened in 2007. Though Oaksterdam has the highest tuition price tag, it appears to be the only university with an actual campus and in-person learning options (that for the time-being have moved to remote learning formats due to COVID-19). 

Here are some other training programs with varying course offerings and price points to consider: 

• THC University
• Trichome Institute
• Clover Leaf University
• Cannabis Training University

Whether or not a marijuana-centric degree or certification is needed to get a good job in the industry is up for debate. Some prognosticators say that the industry’s outsized growth simply needs workers to fill a lot of open positions. Others believe that a certification or degree may offer an advantage over candidates who don’t have them. 

Before signing up for any program, one thing to keep in mind with any online training generally is that they are for-profit ventures. So be sure to do your research on the programs before investing any of your hard-earned cash. 

Featured image by Gina Coleman/Weedmaps

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Spending The Holidays Alone? Here’s How To Make The Most Of It

We’re entering a strange holiday season. Here’s how to make the most of it if you’re planning to spend it solo.

The post Spending The Holidays Alone? Here’s How To Make The Most Of It appeared first on The Fresh Toast.

Election Results Getting You Stoked About Cannabis Stocks? Here’s How To Invest

The passing of cannabis laws in five American states should lead to further “Green Waves” in the coming years and increased investor interest.

The post Election Results Getting You Stoked About Cannabis Stocks? Here’s How To Invest appeared first on The Fresh Toast.

Launched just after graduation in the summer of 2015, Hemper, the brainchild of three college friends, Bryan Gerber, Ravjot Bhasin and Henry Kochhar, now seeks to be the one stop shop for weed smokers and their smoking accessories. 

While in college, now CEO Bryan Gerber noticed a lack of supply for the demand of smoking goods like rolling papers and filter tips. He would often stock up and become the default go-to guy for such items. With stocks in limited and irregular supply from local shops and online outlets like Amazon, Gerber saw an opportunity in delivery. Combined with inspiration from his men’s Birchbox subscription, which delivers samples of cosmetics every month, the company Hemper was born. 

Today, Hemper is one of the largest companies in the game and looking to grow, as Gerber described, “We are one of the main go-to places for anything paraphernalia … we are the largest subscription service in the USA … with an eye to drop ship.” 

Here, we take a look at Hemper’s subscription box, what’s inside, and why they have grown to have one the nation’s largest subscriber bases. 

How it works

There are four total options for subscription boxes, ranging from $10—$60. While a myriad of items can be purchased through the website as single items, most boxes are not available a la carte and require signing up for an automatically renewed subscription. Old edition boxes can be purchased as single items when stock allows and are offered at a higher price than if you have a subscription. 

A nice feature for some of the boxes is that customers can choose their own shipping frequency to customize how often they receive the items. Customers can opt out of the subscription at any time by cancelling through the website. Admittedly, with so many products and tabs, the corporate design of the website can be tricky to navigate, especially when trying to cancel or order a single item. Packaging is discreet for all boxes, allowing for privacy when it arrives at your doorstep. 

• Hemper Core Box — $9.99 per month: Described as the “bare essentials,” this pack includes six everyday items like rolling papers, lighters, filter tips, and hemp wick. It  also includes a mystery item, keeping it fun even if it’s just the basics. 

• Hemper Tech Cleaning Box — $19.99 per month: This box is geared toward those who regularly — or need to — deep clean their glass, with items like pipe cleaners, alcohol swabs and wipes, and some hemp wick for good measure. This box is available as a one time purchase or subscription. 

• Hemper Pack — $21.99 per month: This bundle includes items from other and past boxes like fresh wipes and accessories, as well as essentials like rolling papers and filter tips. It’s always an assortment of seven items, valued at $35 or more. 

• Hemper Box — $39.99 per month: The flagship box contains 10+ items with a total value of $100 or more. This box always includes a surprise glass piece, often seasonally themed, as well as the essentials from the core box, plus stickers, and extras like small glass pieces. 

Behind the boxes

With a mainly millennial customer base, “nostalgia plays a big role” said Gerber, noting things like “an old video game styled box, or UFO bong.” These nods to old school icons, as well as contemporary celebrity collaborations, keep the boxes fresh and fun for the majority of subscribers. Some of the most notable collaborations have been with Cypress Hill and Lil Debbie, which include limited run products. 

While mostly a product driven brand, there are occasional Los Angeles-based IRL events including release parties and burlesque shows hosted by Hemper. These days, the community events have been transplanted online, featuring live streams on their social media channels and scavenger hunts on the website, where customers can try to track down an image to win a free item or subscription. 

Beyond the boxes

In addition to a diverse team of internal leaders, Hemper is committed to larger issues of social equity and justice. They have partnered with The Last Prisoner Project on product development and have a profit sharing model in place to help benefit those adversely affected by outdated laws. Each year, they look for a new organization to work with, expanding their reach beyond the cannabis space, including past work benefiting organizations working to support those affected by domestic violence. 

What’s the appeal? 

As a large and growing one-stop shop, a la Amazon or Walmart, for smokers, Hemper is pretty straightforward, offering competitive prices for on trend products. Ideally suited for those who want to set it and forget it in terms of daily smoking accessories, the majority of the boxes will keep regular smokers fully stocked. The flagship Hemper box offers a dose of seasonal fun and a regular influx of cute glass pieces. Meanwhile, those looking for a sense of community can connect online to mingle with other like minded people — and the occasional giveaway. 

All in all, it comes down to convenience and keeping a steady supply of your basics on hand. 

Photos from Hemper’s website. 

The post Everything you need to know about getting a Hemper subscription box appeared first on Weedmaps News.