Susan Duggan

The candy bowl is filled, the party invites are out, and the spooky decorations are making the pad look deliciously goth. Hell, you even carved a pumpkin this year. You’re ready for the stoner Halloween night of your nightmares, except … you’ve still got to stock up on strains! Nothing gets people in the mood for scary movies and candy corn like sparking up a joint or passing around a bowl. So, if you still need to run out and pick up, here are a few of Marijuana.com’s favorite Halloween-themed marijuana strains to a wonderfully dark and lit All Hallow’s Eve. Your 2018 Halloweed Strain List Frankenstein Frankenstein re-animates the soul and invigorates the mind. According to Seattle’s Private Reserve , this Indica-like strain was created from a mysterious pool of intoxicating genetics, and is is known for its intriguing appearance and powerful cerebral effects. Great for relaxing on any normal evening, this strain would make the perfect companion for watching your favorite horr...

You’ve probably heard that marijuana legalization is on the ballot in several states in November. But if you haven’t heard—and you live in one of those states—you might soon be receiving a call from a volunteer with Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP). The national advocacy group recently launched a “legalization phone bank” to help get out the vote ahead of the midterm elections. Volunteers can use a tool on the group’s website to register to call voters in Michigan, Missouri, North Dakota and Utah and make sure they know that cannabis reform is on the ballot. To help callers get started, SSDP provided scripts and links to other reference material for each of the four states. A call to North Dakota, which has a full cannabis legalization initiative on the ballot, might sound like this, for example: 1. Hi, is this (voter)? My name is (caller), and I’m a volunteer with Students for Sensible Drug Policy. In this election, you’ll have the chance to vote on Measure 3, which ...

Another day, another round of studies suggesting that legalizing marijuana can help mitigate the harms of the opioid epidemic. This time, one study published Oct. 25, 2018, in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence looked at how adult-use legalization impacted opioid prescriptions. And a separate research paper published Oct. 20, 2018, explored how medical cannabis dispensaries affect opioid overdoses. Both studies bode well for reform advocates who’ve argued that legal marijuana can serve as a safer alternative to prescription painkillers. Here’s what you need to know about each new paper. 1. Adult-use legalization is associated with a decrease in the number of prescriptions, total doses and spending on opioids among Medicaid enrollees. Researchers examined prescription data for Medicaid enrollees from 2010 to 2017. The team found “ no evidence to support the concern that recreational marijuana legalization increased opioid prescriptions received by Medicaid enrollees.” ...

The top Republican in the U.S. House has issued a surprise endorsement of a key marijuana ingredient’s medical benefits, as well as the uses of industrial hemp. “It has proven to work,” Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan said of cannabidiol (CBD) on Oct. 30, 2018, specifying that it “helps reduce seizures.” “We do this in Wisconsin,” he said, referring to his home state’s limited CBD law. “That that oil, I think works well.” The speaker, who is not running for re-election and is retiring from Congress early next year, shared that his own mother-in-law used a synthetic form of cannabinoids, presumably the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) pill Marinol, while dying from melanoma and ovarian cancer. “That’s off the record,” he said jokingly, referencing TV cameras at the well-attended Kentucky rally where he was appearing in support of Republican Rep. Andy Barr, who is locked in a tight re-election race. Ryan, responding to a medical marijuana question from a woman whose husband died...

As the old saying goes, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar—but apparently you catch even more with marijuana. At least, that seems to be the case with blood-sucking phlebotomine sand flies, according to a new study published this week by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Because this type of fly is known to serve as a vector for a tropical disease called leishamiasis—which can cause skins sores and affect internal organs —researchers wanted to learn about its feeding preferences. The idea was that discovering those preferences can help prevent disease transmission by essentially luring the flies away from vulnerable populations, using their favorite meal as bait. While female sand flies suck blood for protein, males and females both consume “plant-based sugar meals” for energy. And after rounding up some sand fly samples from five sites in Africa, South America and Asia, the researchers used a sequencing tool to figure out what kind of plants the flies...

By, Melinda Deslatte BATON ROUGE, La. ( AP ) — More than three years have passed since Louisiana lawmakers established a framework for dispensing medical marijuana in the state, and the timeline for patients to gain legal access to the drug keeps getting pushed back. The new estimate for when therapeutic cannabis will be available is late January 2019, though the only state-sanctioned grower currently operating says that product release may be stalled until May 2019 instead, amid a disagreement with the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry. State regulators took years to set the rules, license the doctors, and choose the pharmacies. And now that the crop has been planted, new issues seem to continue emerging as the conservative Southern state grapples with how to restrict, yet offer medical marijuana. Friction in particular seems to have emerged between GB Sciences, the grower chosen by the agricultural center at Louisiana State University (LSU), and the agricul...

Most women experience at least some mild aches and discomfort before and during menstruation. For an unfortunate minority, period cramps go beyond an annoyance to a severity that can be debilitating, disrupting the lives of these women and leaving them sidelined from regular activities for a few days each month. Is it possible that cannabis can kick those cramps to the curb? To answer this question, Marijuana.com spoke to gynecologist Dr. Melanie Bone  Board-certified for almost 30 years in West Palm Beach, Florida, Bone became a certified medical marijuana practitioner in 2016.  She says she is passionate about “the intersection of cannabis and women’s health,” and has come to believe in the importance of the endocannabinoid system and the role all types of phytotherapies play in women’s well being. Q: Let’s cut to the chase. Can cannabis relieve menstrual cramps? A: If you look at the data available on using cannabis for things like menstrual cramps, there are no ...

Marijuana and tobacco were featured in nearly half of the most popular hip-hop and R&B music videos from 2013 to 2017, new research finds. The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association Internal Medicine on Monday, takes a critical look at the prevalence of regulated products appearing in hit music videos. The team of researchers found that 40 to 50 percent of the videos reviewed depicted smoking or vaping tobacco or cannabis. “While there is no doubt that hip-hop artists have made many positive contributions to social change—speaking out on issues like police violence against minorities—there’s also a history of showing regulated substances in hip-hop and other popular music,” Kristin Knutzen, lead author of the study, said in a press release. “These depictions may affect fans’ attitudes toward smoking and increase the likelihood of smoking—particularly among young people.” For the analysis , researchers examined the Billboard Top 50 charts for R...

The California Department of Food and Agriculture has issued its first full annual cannabis business permits, doling out two recreational cultivation licenses to Forbidden Fruit Farms in Humboldt County. The licenses were issued over the weekend, marking the first wave of annual permits for the vast majority of California’s marijuana companies – although a handful of annual MJ event permits had already been issued. Until now, cannabis businesses have been operating with temporary licenses as the state prepared to implement a full annual licensing system. Many of those temporary permits are set to expire in the coming weeks. A spokeswoman for the Department of Food and Agriculture said the two new permits are the first of many to be issued on a rolling basis. The department is reviewing a total of 2,547 annual permit applications it had received as of Oct. 29. The California Bureau of Cannabis Control (BCC) – which oversees permitting for retailers, distributors, testing labs an...

Major late contributions are flowing into the coffers of Michigan and Missouri political action committees that have been set up to support or oppose marijuana ballot initiatives in those states, Marijuana Moment’s latest analysis of campaign finance data shows. In Missouri, physician Bradley Bradshaw continues to pour money into the Find the Cures committee in support of Amendment 3. For October, since filing quarter three reports , the group reports $343,000 in contributions from Bradshaw in the form of loans. He had contributed $7,500 in cash in quarter three, and also provided $186,121 in loans. Find the Cures is also getting late support from legal firms, with five outfits contributing $45,000. New Approach Missouri, which supports Amendment 2, reported that it had received $125,000 from Washington, D.C.-based New Approach PAC. A committee set up to combat Bradshaw’s Measure 3, Patients Against Bradshaw Amendment Formally Known As Find The Cures Political A...

A former executive of marijuana tech startup Eaze has raised $5 million for a new B2B logistics and e-commerce platform, Wayv. Based in Los Angeles, Wayv allows marijuana retailers to buy from a network of licensed cannabis companies and receive next-day deliveries. The platform integrates real-time tracking, regulatory and compliance features. Keith McCarty, a co-founder and former CEO of cannabis delivery firm Eaze and a former executive at social networking start-up Yammer, heads the new company. The $5 million raise was led by Craft Ventures, a tech-focused fund co-founded by former PayPal executive David Sacks. “As California moves to a regulated and licensed system, there is a long tail of retailers and brands in the industry that need to be connected,” Sacks said in a news release. Distribution is an ongoing challenge across California , which requires a separate license to transport cannabis. Original Article Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/eaze-co-founder-inks-5-mill...

Though France legalized medical cannabis in 2013 , no cannabis-based products are for sale in the country yet. By the end of 2018, however, France will have made several significant moves to ease the introduction of medical marijuana within its borders and beyond. Currently, a special committee is studying the necessity and feasibility of the sale of medical cannabis and should get its first public hearing before the end of 2018. Shortly thereafter, France will host its first professional meeting on cannabis, Cannabis Europa at the Maison de la Chimie ( House of Chemistry) in Paris. By the time that Cannabis Europa is scheduled to begin on Feb. 8, 2019, the results of the special committee are expected to be released. As a result, attendees of the conference may be going into their discussions and lectures with a very new legal environment to consider. The inaugural Cannabis Europa conference took place in May 2018 in London. The event gathered more than 500 speakers and ...

The owner and six employees of an unlicensed cannabis store in Los Angeles were arrested and charged with misdemeanors, according to the California Bureau of Cannabis Control (BCC). The shop, One Stop Healers, was the subject of a search warrant served by the BCC and the Department of Consumer Affairs’ Division of Investigation-Cannabis Enforcement Unit. The L.A. Police Department also took part in the bust, helping seize more than $2 million in illegal cannabis goods, including nearly 500 pounds of MJ flower, more than 430 pounds of concentrates and 200-plus pounds of edibles, according to a news release. The owner of One Stop Healers, Sevada Khanlari, and six employees were arrested and charged with operating an unlicensed commercial cannabis business. It’s not clear what penalties the seven may face, but further charges could be filed once the investigation is completed, according to the release. The bust began with a complaint filed with the BCC, but enforcement against un...

Colorado can do a lot more to make its legal marijuana market more open, transparent and equitable, a coalition of criminal justice reform advocacy groups said in an Oct. 25, 2018, letter outlining regulatory recommendations. The coalition, led by the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA), put forward 12 recommendations — ranging from the revocation of an industry-specific vertical integration requirement to the establishment of a micro-licensing program. The proposals were submitted to the state’s Department of Regulatory Affairs. “Since Colorado became the first state to legally regulate marijuana, the national conversation has shifted from whether we’ll legalize to how we should do it,” Art Way, DPA Colorado state director, wrote in a press release . “Colorado can do much more to address the lasting impacts of decades of mass criminalization. Given the current lack of diversity in Colorado’s legal marijuana market, we urgently need to follow the lead of other states and cities that ...

Reports from Friday’s filing deadline for Michigan campaign committees show that, of the five committees formed to support or oppose the state’s  marijuana legalization ballot measure , three of the groups are still actively receiving and spending money. The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol, a pro-reform group, reported a total of $529,277 in contributions in the last three months. More than $460,000 of that (87 percent) came from three sources. New Approach PAC, a national group that has supported cannabis ballot measures in other states in past election cycles, contributed $351,000 from August through mid-October. That’s in addition to a late contribution report filed on Friday 6 to the tune of $67,500. The PAC had also contributed $165,000 from May through July, 2018. The national pro-legalization organization Marijuana Policy Project provided $110,000 this quarter, building on previous donations this year of $444,205. The only donation of over $5,000 from...

Two-thirds of Americans now support legalizing marijuana, the highest percentage ever in Gallup’s ongoing decades-long series of national polls on the topic. The new survey released Oct. 25, 2018, shows that U.S. adults back ending cannabis prohibition by a supermajority margin of 66 percent to 32 percent. That’s more than a two-to-one ratio. It is the third year in a row that the firm, which has been polling about marijuana for 49 years, has found a record-breaking increase in support. When Gallup first polled Americans on legal marijuana in 1969, just 12 percent said they were in favor. As recently as 2005, barely a third of Americans were on board. In 2017, the survey pegged legalization’s favorability at 64 percent. In addition to the two-point bump in support since then, opposition also decreased two percentage points from 2017’s level of 34 percent. Support for legalization has spiked considerably in several key demographics over the past year. For example, there has be...

By, Kathleen Foody DENVER ( AP ) — A federal trial in Colorado could have far-reaching effects on the United States’ budding cannabis industry if a jury sides with a couple who say having a marijuana business as a neighbor hurts their property values. The trial set to begin Oct. 29, 2018, in Denver is the first time a jury will consider a lawsuit using federal anti-racketeering law to target cannabis companies. But the marijuana industry has closely watched the case since 2015, when attorneys with a Washington, D.C.-based firm first filed their sweeping complaint on behalf of Hope and Michael Reilly. One of the couple’s lawyers, Brian Barnes, said they bought the southern Colorado land for its views of Pikes Peak and have since built a house on the rural property. They also hike and ride horses there. But they claim “pungent, foul odors” from a neighboring indoor cannabis grow have hurt the property’s value and their ability to use and enjoy it. “That’s just not right,” Barne...

Underlining the black-market and oversupply issues currently facing licensed cannabis businesses in Oregon, law enforcement authorities in the central region of the state say they confiscated 800 pounds of cannabis flower and 50 pounds of concentrate, which led to the discovery of illegal MJ-producing sites in the region. Police found illicit grows in Sisters, Redmond and La Pine in multiple-site raids that  targeted unlicensed farms in Deschutes County, The Bulletin of Bend reported. The operation was conducted by local law enforcement as well as the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Oregon law enforcement offices have requested additional funds to help go after illegal cannabis operations, and the state is under pressure from the state’s U.S. attorney, Billy Williams, to combat cannabis diversion into other states. Oregon has far more cannabis production – both licensed and illegal – than its legal market can consume. Court documents obtained by The Bulletin ...