What Is Your Practice Doing To Eliminate Shame And Stigma Around THC And CBD?

The subject of marijuana is still causing extreme concerns in the medical community.

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The first two dispensaries opened in the St. Louis area. Kansas City’s first should open within days.

The post Missouri medical marijuana dispensaries open to long lines, happy patients appeared first on Leafly.

Can Social Isolation From COVID-19 Cause Pornography Compulsion?

We know that sex can be a great stress reliever in many people. That can also be said for viewing pornography.

The post Can Social Isolation From COVID-19 Cause Pornography Compulsion? appeared first on The Fresh Toast.

Minimalism Is Growing Increasingly Popular — Here’s Why

Minimalism has grown more popular in our cultures, helping people declutter and focus on the stuff that really matters in their lives.

The post Minimalism Is Growing Increasingly Popular — Here’s Why appeared first on The Fresh Toast.

Diversify Portland founder Mss Oregon, has a simple but effective solution to ensure we see more faces of color in the cannabis industry. “I’m going to make sure everybody feels welcome in the spaces I create.”

The spaces she speaks of are the diversity and inclusion events she hosts in and around Portland — a town known for, among other things, an overwhelmingly homogeneous cannabis industry. For Mss Oregon, creating spaces for people of color to explore the possibilities of community building via cannabis, is fundamental to creating an equitable cannabis industry, and it’s an endeavor she encourages casual users to pursue as well. 

Pre-COVID, her outreach events spanned industry mixers, mansion parties, cannabis panels, and family barbeques, all in the name of both diversifying her local cannabis industry and normalizing use for parents and professionals. Post-COVID, she hosts hybrid online/in-person meetups where people of color can network, commiserate, and consume in a protected space.

Diversify Portland was founded under a very familiar set of circumstances. Well, familiar to marginalized community members, that is; Mss Oregon was unceremoniously ousted from the cannabis company she worked for after speaking up about workplace discrimination. Her experience is so familiar, that while planning a commiseration party with friends over the termination on social media, the hashtag she’d assigned to her posts and invites, #diversifyportland, began to take on a life of its own. A life she’s been able to capitalize on in myriad ways.

Mss Oregon talked to Weedmaps about finding triumph over tragedy, squashing — and sometimes leaning into — stereotypes, and building a roadmap on how to turn a trending topic into a successful family business.

Weedmaps: What led you to found Diversify Portland?

Mss Oregon: I was fired from a popular dispensary when a new manager started putting me “in the back.” I was the main budtender, so the GM had me working the busiest nights. The GM wanted me at the front selling, but the new manager kept putting me in the back to make pre-rolls. 

On the third week that this happened, I let the general manager know, “if you see my sales are low it’s because I’m not being allowed to sell.” And he was like, “What do you mean? Get out there and go sell or I’ll write you up for insubordination.”

I told one of my co-workers what was going on, “if I stick up for myself, they’re going to say that I’m being rebellious or, you know, looking unruly.” I said, “honestly, black people don’t get to stick up for themselves the same way white people do.” 

The new manager walked in as I said that, and two weeks later I was fired

They told me they were firing me because I gave myself an employee discount on some weed I wasn’t supposed to [buy], but I said, “no, we know that’s not true. What’s the real reason I’m being fired?” And the new manager said, “It’s because you made that Black comment.” 

It was the most hurtful situation I’d ever been in. I really wanted to make a speech about how we hurt each other with coded language and by speaking segregation into our world. We make connections with people, and then just segregate and separate them. We manifest our lives, we manifest all this. 

So I threw a party. And at first it was just for my friends, but I was like, man, fuck it, I’m about to have a big party. And I just put the flyer everywhere. All the diverse groups I could think of online, I just put it everywhere. And it went crazy. Hundreds of people showed up in my backyard. I saw wheelchairs in my backyard. We had some 70-year-olds show up. My grandpa even showed up! When it was time for me to do my speech, I finally got to say what I wanted to say. 

And people were like, “When’s the next party?”  

WM: Once you had all this community attention, how did you capitalize on it?

MO: That specific incident led me to found my business. I teach people new skills to diversify their communication. I create events, curate panels, do training. It’s all about teaching diversity and inclusion to businesses — and not just cannabis businesses. The cannabis industry just swept me in because that communication barrier is why I got fired in the first place. You know, they felt like me talking at all was drama because they don’t understand how Black people deal with their feelings or how they talk. Maybe I can help teach people how to communicate with people outside of their normal cultural boxes by first getting them comfortable around people outside of their normal boxes. That’s where the events came into play. Diversify Portland was just a hashtag for a party. It became a business when I realized how much it was needed. 

WM: How do you help a business diversify their communication? Could those tactics be used by consumers?

MO: My main tactic is to encourage inclusion and friendship. I encourage people to engage with people they wouldn’t normally engage with for the purpose of business or social growth. I always step into things with a positive attitude. Let’s make friends. Encouragement is the number one thing that’s brought to the table every time. Accountability comes after encouragement.

I love doing parties, I love being social and watching people make friends with people they never thought they’d make friends with. It’s one of my favorite things to do in life and I think other people enjoy it too. So I create those spaces. 

And if you look up our articles of incorporation, my kids own this with me. Me and my kids have come together to put on events where kids can ask their parents questions about cannabis in a safe space. Hanging out with like-minded parents can help your kids hear the questions other kids are asking, as well as give them a space to meet other kids whose parents consume.

At a Diversify Portland party, you talk to a black person and have a conversation for the first time. Y’all roast marshmallows together and smoke weed together. And maybe you don’t really have Black friends in your circle and you see why; you need to talk to people outside your box. I want to inspire people to take this energy into their work life.

WM: The best example of that ethos in action is your flagship event, The National Cannabis Diversity Awareness Convention, which you bootstrapped yourself. How did you leap from inclusion events for small businesses to an event of that scale?

MO: It’s a lot of negotiating and a lot of trades. People think when trying to do things like this [that] it’s got to take a lot of money, but this was built off sponsorship trades. And people were scared, too. Some were like, “What’s a sponsor?” Some of them had never been offered the opportunity to be a community event sponsor. I got to introduce them to the reasons that building your business portfolio is healthy. You can do things for cheap. You don’t have to have a lot of money.

And it’s so funny, because when I had this event, diversity was not trending in Portland, now it’s a trend everywhere. And it’s lovely. I feel like, for the last two years, I was probably the most annoying mother out here. I just talk to everyone like, “You hear about Diversify Portland? Can I get you to help me educate people? Do you care about diversity?” Like, I’m just cold calling people, going into their stores, just trying to start little fires everywhere, starting conversations, getting people talking about it, and everybody gets sucked into this energy because it’s nothing but love. 

WM: What advice do you have for BIPOC who feel trapped by the same industry struggles you faced and want to feel empowered enough to engage with industry leaders on those same topics?

MO: One of the most important things you need in order to create change is to just ask. If you don’t have what you need, ask for what you need. Believe in yourself, then make other people believe in you. Tell them what you need so you can go out there and make that change. 

WM: Final question: are there any strains you’re obsessed with right now?

MO: Yes, actually I’m obsessed with Romulan. And my other favorite is Blue Cheese. I love blue cheese. It stinks. I love it. 

Featured image by Gina Coleman/Weedmaps

The post Diversifying cannabis with Mss Oregon appeared first on Weedmaps News.

The Mexican Senate will likely vote on a bill to legalize marijuana within the next two weeks, the chamber’s majority leader recently said.

Activists have been eagerly awaiting action on the reform legislation since the Supreme Court deemed personal possession and cultivation of cannabis unconstitutional in 2018—though some are pushing for a greater emphasis on social equity before lawmakers pass the pending bill in its current form.

The high court in April granted a second deadline extension to give legislators additional time to enact the policy change amid the coronavirus pandemic, pushing it to December 15. That said, Ricardo Monreal, the ruling MORENA party’s leader in the Senate, said the chamber will advance the bill before the end of October.

It’s not clear if the legislation will go through the committee process or straight to the floor given that tight timeline. Zara Snapp, a legalization activist with the Instituto RIA and the coalition #RegulacionPorLaPaz, told Marijuana Moment that advocates have similarly heard from senators that the plan is to quickly pass the proposal and they’re “hopeful” that’s the case.

If the Senate passes the legal cannabis bill it will still have to go before the other house of the nation’s Congress, the Chamber of Deputies.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said in August that marijuana reform legislation will advance in the new session. The bill was approved by several committees earlier this year, but the COVID-19 outbreak derailed negotiations.

The civil rights group México Unido outlined its concerns about the current proposal in a Twitter thread on Tuesday, contending that as drafted it would allow select companies to monopolize the industry.

They said that amending the measure should be “a matter of distributing the benefits of the market among those who have been most affected” by cannabis criminalization, according to a translation.

The legalization bill that’s set to advance this coming session was revised during a joint meeting of the Justice, Health, Legislative Studies and Public Safety Committees in March.

The proposal would allow adults 18 and older to possess and cultivate marijuana for personal use. Individuals could grow up to 20 registered plants as long as the total yield doesn’t exceed 480 grams per year. Medical patients could apply to cultivate more than 20 plants, however.

Legal personal possession would be capped at 28 grams, but possession of up to 200 grams would be decriminalized.

The Mexican Institute of Regulation and Control of Cannabis, a decentralized body established under the measure, would be established and responsible for regulating the market and issuing licenses for marijuana businesses.

The bill proposes a 12 percent tax on cannabis sales, with some revenue going toward a substance misuse treatment fund.

Public consumption would be permissible, except in spaces designated as 100 percent smoke-free. Hemp and CBD would be exempt from regulations that apply to THC products.

An earlier version of the legislation was approved by Senate committees last year ahead of the court’s previous October 2019 deadline.

Sen. Julio Ramón Menchaca Salazar, also of the MORENA party, said in April that while legislators must still resolve certain disagreements about the legislation, legalizing cannabis could fill treasury coffers at a time when the economy is recovering from the pandemic.

As lawmakers work to advance the reform legislation, there’s been a more lighthearted push to focus attention on the issue by certain members and activists. That push has mostly involved planting and gifting marijuana.

Last month, a top administration official was gifted a cannabis plant by senator on the Senate floor, and she said she’d be making it a part of her personal garden.

A different lawmaker gave the same official, Interior Ministry Secretary Olga Sánchez Cordero, a marijuana joint on the floor of the Chamber of Deputies last year.

Cannabis made another appearance in the legislature in August, when Sen. Jesusa Rodríguez of the MORENA party decorated her desk with a marijuana plant.

Drug policy reform advocates have also been cultivating hundreds of marijuana plants in front of the Senate, putting pressure on legislators to make good on their pledge to advance legalization.

This article has been republished from Marijuana Moment under a content-sharing agreement. Read the original article here.

Featured image by Gina Coleman/Weedmaps

The post Mexican Senate will vote on marijuana legalization bill by end of October, majority leader says appeared first on Weedmaps News.

What CBD Can Do For Parents During These Unprecedented Times

Between online classrooms, managing hybrid schedules, and giving out endless snacks (all while working from home), 2020 has brought on a whole new level of mayhem. 

The post What CBD Can Do For Parents During These Unprecedented Times appeared first on The Fresh Toast.

Cannabis Withdrawal: How Bad Is It Really?

If you search the internet for “cannabis withdrawal” you’ll find a few helpful articles, but mostly you’ll find drug war propaganda.

The post Cannabis Withdrawal: How Bad Is It Really? appeared first on The Fresh Toast.

The federal Small Business Administration (SBA) is calling on the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to make a series of changes to its proposed hemp rules that in their current form threaten to “stifle” the newly legal industry.

The agency’s independent Office of Advocacy said that while it appreciates that USDA reopened a public comment period on its Interim Final Rule for the crop, small businesses “remain deeply concerned about the impact this rule will have on their ability to legally grow hemp should the rule be finalized without any modifications.”

“The rule has already stifled the industry as many farmers have chosen not to grow hemp this year until they are certain about what the requirements are, and whether they can produce compliant crops without the risk of a total loss of their investment due to mandatory destruction of hot crops,” it said in a comment submitted on Thursday, referring to plants that exceed allowable THC limits. “In some instances, [businesses] have noted that the rules are so stringent that they feel as though they are being set up to fail.”

USDA announced it was reopening the comment period last month, citing intense demand from stakeholders who have expressed concern about a number of specific regulations. The department outlined 12 areas where it was seeking additional feedback, including several that industry representatives have identified as very consequential.

SBA subsequently sent a letter to the agency asking it to lengthen a public comment period from 30 to 60 days, but that wasn’t heeded and the feedback period closed again last week.

In its latest comment, SBA focused on five proposed rules that it hopes USDA will revise. That includes regulations concerning prescribed hemp sample collection methods, disposal requirements for so-called “hot hemp,” the 15-day harvest window and the requirement that crops be tested only by labs registered with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

“Advocacy appreciates [Agricultural Marketing Service] reopening the comment period to consider additional comments and recommendations in advance of issuing a final rule,” SBA wrote. “Advocacy is concerned that if finalized without modification the rule will inhibit small business growth. Advocacy urges AMS to give full and thorough consideration to the above issues and proposed regulatory alternatives.”

SBA’s nine-page letter suggests that USDA’s restrictive rules will benefit large businesses while forcing smaller operators out of the market.

“Because hemp is a nascent industry, it has the potential to attract new farmers provided the regulations are not so restrictive as to inhibit industry growth,” it says. “Only those businesses with adequate capital and capacity for large-scale operations would be able to survive and comply with the requirements of the rule.”

The office also released a one-page fact sheet outlining its concerns about the proposed hemp rules.

While SBA has been an advocate for hemp farmers, the same can’t be said for its position on the broader marijuana industry. For example, the agency in March that cannabis businesses are not eligible for disaster relief loans meant to lessen the blow of the coronavirus pandemic.

All told, it appears that USDA is taking seriously the feedback it’s received and may be willing to make certain accommodations on these particular policies. The department’s rule for hemp, when finalized, is set to take effect on October 31, 2021.

In July, two senators representing Oregon sent a letter to Perdue, expressing concern that hemp testing requirements that were temporarily lifted will be reinstated in the agency’s final rule. They made a series of requests for policy changes.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) wrote to Perdue in August, asking that USDA delay issuing final regulations for the crop until 2022 and allow states to continue operating under the 2014 Farm Bill hemp pilot program in the meantime.

Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) also called on USDA to delay the implementation of proposed hemp rules, citing concerns about certain restrictive policies the federal agency has put forward in the interim proposal.

The earlier pilot program was initially set to expire on October 31, but it was extended to September 2021 through a congressional continuing resolution that the president signed late last month.

The senators weren’t alone in requesting an extension, as state agriculture departments and a major hemp industry group made a similar request to both Congress and USDA in August.

Perdue has said on several occasions that DEA influenced certain rules, adding that the narcotics agency wasn’t pleased with the overall legalization of hemp.

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, hemp industry associations pushed for farmers to be able to access to certain COVID-19 relief loans—a request that Congress granted in the most recent round of coronavirus legislation.

While USDA previously said that hemp farmers are specifically ineligible for its Coronavirus Food Assistance Program, that decision was reversed last month. While the department initially said it would not even reevaluate the crop’s eligibility based on new evidence, it removed that language shortly after Marijuana Moment reported on the exclusion.

Two members of Congress representing New York also wrote a letter to Perdue in June, asking that the agency extend access to that program to hemp farmers.

Hemp farmers approved to produce the crop do stand to benefit from other federal loan programs, however. The department released guidelines for processing loans for the industry in May.

Read SBA’s comment to USDA on its proposed hemp rules below: 

Advocacy Hemp Comment Lette… by Marijuana Moment

This article has been republished from Marijuana Moment under a content-sharing agreement. Read the original article here.

Featured image by Gina Coleman/Weedmaps

The post Federal agency says USDA's hemp rules “stifle” industry growth and hurt small businesses appeared first on Weedmaps News.

Using CBD Oils To Battle Anxiety & Depression During COVID-19

Suffering from anxiety is natural, especially in times like these where a global pandemic has taken the world by storm

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