Who Won That Messy Presidential Debate? Certainly Not Americans
What the presidential debate last night showed most Americans is that such a setting will not be a resource to help answer their questions.
The post Who Won That Messy Presidential Debate? Certainly Not Americans appeared first on The Fresh Toast.
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After two months of delay, Hawaii Governor David Ige has finally legalized the sale of medical marijuana edibles.
This July, Aloha State lawmakers passed House Bill 2097, a bill to expand the state’s medical marijuana program. This bill allows licensed dispensaries to create and sell their own edibles, a process that will be regulated by the state Department of Health (DOH). In addition to legalizing edibles, the bill also allows dispensaries to sponsor events and publish educational materials concerning the benefits of medical pot.
“Passage of HB 2097 is a victory for the state’s 30,798 registered medical cannabis patients,” Randy Gonce, program director of the Hawaii Cannabis Industry Association, said in July, according to Big Island Now. “Coronavirus has prompted more patients to seek ingestible forms of cannabis to replace inhalation due to concerns about lung health, so the approval of edibles is welcome news. Hawaii will now join 34 of 35 legal cannabis states that allow for remediation of cannabis plant material for biotic reasons, under specific conditions, as allowed by the DOH.”
Governor Ige has been somewhat resistant to cannabis reform, but eventually decided to sign the bill into law this month. The law will take effect on January 1 of 2021, but edibles may not be ready by that date. Final regulations concerning the production, packaging, and sale of edibles must first be drafted by the state DOH, and these products can not legally be produced or sold until these regulations are complete.
“The timeline for edible products to roll out under this new legislation is still undetermined,” Diana Hahn, communications director for the Hawaiian Ethos dispensary, said to High Times in July. Hahn added that until the DOH releases its final regulations, “dispensaries will not be allowed to sell edibles.”
Although the exact timeline is still uncertain, Hawaiian dispensaries are excited to begin selling these popular products. “So many of our patients have requested edibles,” said Hahn. “It’s great that the Legislature heard this request from constituents and delivered. On the mainland, edibles represent a significant and growing amount of revenue for dispensaries, and we believe this will be true in Hawaii as well.”
Hawaii created a limited medical marijuana program in 2000, and established a sales model for dispensaries in 2015, but actual sales did not begin until 2018. Since then, the program has been expanding gradually, and state dispensaries sold an estimated $17 to 19 million worth of medical pot last year, according to the Marijuana Business Factbook. This year, sales are expected to reach up to $20 million, but the addition of edibles to the menu will likely boost sales even higher in 2021.
The city council has declared psychedelics a “lowest enforcement priority.”
The post City of Ann Arbor decriminalizes psychedelic plants and fungi appeared first on Leafly.
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In the best possible sense, Michigan is going the way of the mushroom. Following a recent vote by the Ann Arbor City Council to decriminalize magic mushrooms and psychedelic plants, Washtenaw County’s soon-to-be inaugurated prosecutor said he will join in the spirit of that progressive move and not pursue possession cases involving such substances.
Civil rights lawyer Eli Savit, who won the Democratic primary this month and is now running unopposed in November, told activist group Decriminalize Nature Ann Arbor (DNA2) how he intends to expand the Ann Arbor approach to his prosecutorial district, and why it’s important.
In his official statement posted on DNA2’s website, Savit proclaims, “I support the decriminalization of entheogenic plants. I believe the War on Drugs has been an abject failure, and I see no reason to criminalize – or prosecute – people for their use of such plants. That was my position before the Ann Arbor City Council resolution, and it’s true with even greater force afterwards.”
“The vast majority of people who engage in substance use are able to do so without criminal consequences,” Savit continues. “But for an unlucky few, their decision to use substances results in harsh, life-changing penalties. The War on Drugs has thus created a cruel roulette wheel of sorts. And it’s a weighted wheel, as the data clearly shows that Black people and people of color are far more likely to face criminal consequences related to drug use than white people.”
Acknowledging the limits of his office, Savit states, “The Ann Arbor City Council resolution of course applies only in Ann Arbor. But, consistent with the resolution, I do not plan to prosecute the use or possession of entheogenic plants in any other part of the county.”
Drug policy reform figured as a cornerstone of Savit’s campaign, and he has consistently focused on racial inequity in prosecutions and punishments, as well as how to enact restorative justice programs to help correct such long-term atrocities.
Julie Barron, chair of Decriminalize Nature Ann Arbor, spoke to Marijuana Moment about Savit’s statement. “While we were not surprised, we were absolutely thrilled to find out that Eli Savit supports the DNA2 resolution,” she said. “This left us feeling very hopeful for the future of our county. Mr. Savit spoke extensively during his campaign about ending the war on drugs. It is great to know that he will continue this promise to the county with an action plan not to prosecute the possession and use of entheogenic plants/fungi. We have a strong drug reform advocate here, and we cannot wait for him to take his position of Washtenaw County Prosecutor.”
The Michigan mushroom sanity at hand is just the latest momentum in the ongoing movement to allow people access to psychedelic substances without fear of being locked in a cage for it. Check out MERRY JANE’s global guide to where magic mushrooms and psilocybin are legal or decriminalized, and then start planning your trips accordingly.
Why You Might Want To Try Some Transdermal Cannabis After Your Next Workout
Unlike cannabis topicals, transdermals go deeper into the dermis layer of your skin.
The post Why You Might Want To Try Some Transdermal Cannabis After Your Next Workout appeared first on The Fresh Toast.
Got Kids? Here’s How You Can Sneak A Smoke Sesh During COVID
After some months spent coping with the pandemic and our new living situations, parents have found some new ways of recuperating their “me-time.”
The post Got Kids? Here’s How You Can Sneak A Smoke Sesh During COVID appeared first on The Fresh Toast.
Tilray Posts Positive Clinical Trial Results For Cancer Patients
One of the company’s GMP-produced products is showing promise reducing nausea and vomiting for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy in a clinical trial.
The post Tilray Posts Positive Clinical Trial Results For Cancer Patients appeared first on The Fresh Toast.
Are You Allergic To Marijuana?
According to estimates, around 10% of people have an allergic reaction to marijuana.
The post Are You Allergic To Marijuana? appeared first on The Fresh Toast.
Democratic lawmakers are trying to help cannabis businesses access pandemic relief.
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After suffering through multiple terms of Republican Gov. Chris Christie, a lying sack of weed-hate and repulsive Trump suck-up, New Jersey elected pro-pot Governor Phil Murphy in 2018, a Democrat who recently stated that legalizing weed would be “incredibly smart.”
New Jersey residents are set to vote in November on Public Question 1, an initiative that will fully legalize ganja in the Garden State if approved. A poll conducted after the measure was announced found that 68 percent of respondents said they planned to vote in favor of the change.
Now, a new survey conducted by Brach Eichler’s Cannabis Law Practice indicates that overall support for legal weed stands at about 65 percent. But, the results show that the coronavirus pandemic has inspired many participants who initially thought they’d vote against Public Question 1 to change their minds.
When asked about the pandemic, 79 percent of respondents said it had not shifted their position on cannabis, but 21 percent said it had. Of the latter, 13.5 percent said they switched to now support legalization — and most of those identified themselves as Republicans or conservatives.
The poll also found that support for legal weed in New Jersey crossed party lines to create a bipartisan majority. 72 percent of Democrats said they presently support legalization, followed by 65 percent of Independents and 56 percent of Republicans.
“I was somewhat surprised that [the pandemic] did influence that many people,” Charles Gormally, co-chair of the firm’s Cannabis Law Practice, told NJ.com. “I really think the reason it influenced people is a natural derivative of beginning to accept the concept that cannabis isn’t harmful, and may in fact have a positive impact in many circumstances.”
Ignoring their constituents’ loud and clear mandate, the Republican-led New Jersey Senate killed a legalization bill last year, which ultimately led to the question landing on this November’s ballot.
New Jersey’s pro-marijuana momentum has been building into an undeniable force, though. Medical weed is legal, and Gov. Murphy has called for huge expansions to the program. In addition, New Jersey police officers no longer train drug dogs to sniff out pot. All that’s left is to vote “yes” on Public Question 1.