Grow Life 420

Former Vice President Joe Biden (D) won't be following fellow 2020 presidential hopefuls like Cory Booker in calling for the full legalization of cannabis on the federal level. But he has at least acknowledged that people should not be locked up for consuming marijuana.

"Nobody should be in jail for smoking marijuana," Biden told voters in New Hampshire on Tuesday.

The statement is a significant policy shift for Biden, who was one of the central figures behind the War on Drugs in the 80s and 90s, when he wrote legislation that has led to overcrowded prisons, where many inmates are serving extremely harsh sentences for nonviolent drug offenses. Now Biden is changing his stance to reflect the public's appetite for drug reform. And he's not the only 2020 hopeful that's taking a progressive stance on cannabis: nearly every other candidate for the Democratic Party's 2020 presidential nomination has made marijuana reform part of their platform to some degree.

But Biden spokesperson Andrew Bates clarified that the candidate's commitment to reform won't go as far as supporting cannabis legalization at the federal level. Instead, Bates said Biden, if elected, would focus on reducing criminal penalties for smoking cannabis.

"As he said, Vice President Biden does not believe anyone should be in jail simply for smoking or possessing marijuana. He supports decriminalizing marijuana and automatically expunging prior criminal records for marijuana possession, so those affected don't have to figure out how to petition for it or pay for a lawyer," Bates told CNN.

"He would allow states to continue to make their own choices regarding legalization and would seek to make it easier to conduct research on marijuana's positive and negative health impacts by rescheduling it as a Schedule II drug," he added.

So, under a Biden presidency individual states could rest easy knowing that they won't be prosecuted for legalizing marijuana, researching the substance could become a bit easier and people could see minor cannabis convictions wiped from their records. That approach is much similar to the cautious approach to marijuana reform that Hillary Clinton touted on the campaign trail in 2016. Dropping cannabis from a Schedule I to a Schedule II drug would open the door to recognizing marijuana as medicine, but it wouldn't end marijuana prohibition across America. Schedule II drugs include cocaine and fentanyl, so the reclassification means that cannabis would still be treated as a dangerous substance by the feds. 

While cannabis advocates might find Biden's stance underwhelming, his position is nevertheless an important step forward for marijuana reform, even if it is just a baby-step on the path to progress.

On Thursday Washington DC mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) unveiled a bill that would finally establish a regulated market for recreational cannabis in the district, which legalized adult use back in 2014.

DC residents have been able to possess, grow and consume cannabis since 2014, but Congress has blocked efforts to set up a regulated market for recreational cannabis. Congress has unprecedented control over how money is spent in the nation's capital, and federal lawmakers have used that leverage over the budget to prevent the district from spending money on licensing and regulating recreational cannabis businesses.

But that could changed with the upcoming 2020 budget, which contains a loophole that would allow DC to finally establish a regulated market for recreational marijuana.

In preparation for that potential change, Mayor Bowser has unveiled a new bill that would allow for the legal sale of cannabis in the city.

"We want to be able to regulate, we want to be able to make sure we are collecting our fair share in taxes, we want to invest those taxes in ways that affect communities that have been disproportionately affected, and we want to train and hire DC residents," Bowser told The Washington Post.

If passed, Bowser's bill would place the minimum age for cannabis purchases at 21 and place a sales tax of 17 percent on all marijuana products. Consumption would be banned from public spaces but may be permitted at dispensaries. Bowser said provisions will also be put in place to prevent DC from becoming a "marijuana destination" and to crack down on the districts current gray market.

Still, there has been concern from some that even drafting the new bill is in violation of current federal law.

"Mayor Bowser should respect the Constitution, which gives Congress absolute authority over the District of Columbia, and discontinue her efforts to legalize marijuana in violation of the law," Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) said in a statement.

Despite this, Bowser seems determined to press on with legalization in DC. It is likely to take some time before her bill makes its way to its final vote, but this is an indication at least that things are finally starting to move forward again in DC.

Right now, 10 states allow recreational cannabis use and another 23 have legalized medical marijuana, but the federal government still upholds cannabis prohibition. That means you can't take cannabis across state borders, even if you're going from one legal state to another - like from Vermont to Massachusetts. But what happens when you forget that you have a joint in your knapsack or other carry-on luggage when you board a plane? Is one measly joint really enough to book you a one-way ticket to federal prison?

That all depends on where you're flying from and how strict airport security is when it comes to cannabis. If you're only carrying a small amount that won't draw attention with the signature smell of marijuana, then you'll probably be okay. According to a recent Instagram post, the TSA "DO NOT search for marijuana or other illegal drugs" when screening passengers. So if nothing draws their attention to your stash, then you'll be able to laugh off your forgetfulness later on.

But while the TSA isn't looking for cannabis, they might still take action if they happen to find some in your luggage. The TSA says they will alert local authorities if they come across cannabis in your baggage while checking for other things. And that's where this sort of situation gets tricky.

If you're flying out of an airport in a state where cannabis is still illegal and a TSA agent finds weed in your luggage, you're probably going to be arrested. But a number of other situations can happen if you're caught in a legal state. For instance, if you're flying out of an airport like LAX or Seattle-Tacoma—both of which are located in states where recreational cannabis is legal—local police won't stop you from taking small amounts of cannabis on your flight. Oregon's Portland International will allow passengers to carry cannabis with them so long as they are flying within the state.

However, states like Nevada take a stricter approach. If you get caught with cannabis while boarding a plane at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas, your cannabis will be confiscated and you could receive a fine. To avoid that unpleasant situation, McCarran has set up "amnesty boxes" where passengers can drop their cannabis without threat of punishment. 

But those sorts of rules and regulations can change quickly, and even the TSA could shift gears and start cracking down on illicit substances passing through airports. So while federal prohibition is still in effect, your best bet is to leave your stash at home. 

h/t: Forbes

When it comes to treating chronic pain, cancer patients are now more than twice as likely to use medical marijuana than prescription opioids, according to a new survey.

Researchers from the University of California, San Diego recently analyzed data collected from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2005 and 2014. The sample compared the use of medical marijuana and prescription opioids among 826 cancer patients and 1,652 people without cancer. After crunching those numbers, researchers found that less than 14 percent of cancer patients reported using prescription opioids for pain in the past year. Meanwhile, over 40 percent said they used medical marijuana.

The benefits of medical cannabis don't stop at helping patients cope with chronic pain. On average, cancer patients that use prescription opioids take those pain pills at more than twice the rate that non-patients do. That puts them at far greater risk of developing opioid use disorder or experiencing overdoses. In contrast, cannabis is not addictive in the same way as opioids, and nobody has ever died from a cannabis overdose. 

Those upsides can make life easier at hospitals by reducing the number of patients who walk through the door suffering from opioid addiction and overdoses. 

"Medical marijuana legalization has previously been associated with a reduction in hospitalizations related to opioid dependence or abuse, suggesting that if patients are in fact substituting marijuana for opioids, this may introduce an opportunity for reducing opioid-related morbidity and mortality," one of the study's lead authors—Dr. Jona Hattangadi-Gluth—said in a press release.

A number of states have begun to introduce programs to help patients switch to taking cannabis instead of opioids. As these programs become adopted by more states, it seems likely that we'll see more patients forgo traditional pain medications in favor of cannabis. 

Despite growing approval for cannabis legalization among the public as well as lawmakers in America, the video game industry remains leery of cannabis culture. That cautious stance can be summed up in the treatment of 'Weedcraft, Inc.' - a new tycoon game that puts players at the head of a burgeoning marijuana business.

The reviews for 'Weedcraft' have been tepid at best. But don't blame the game, blame the reviewers, says Mike Wilson of Devolver Digital, which published the game. Wilson argues that the lukewarm reception of 'Weedcraft' says more about the industry as a whole rather than the game in particular.

"This is definitely the hardest game I've had to market, and that's saying something," Wilson told Tech Crunch. "It has been a fucking nightmare. The fact that we're still so afraid of a topic like weed instead of the murder simulators you can market any time, anywhere, it's shocking."

Since it's release, 'Weedcraft, Inc.' has been shunned by the gaming industry and marketing platforms. It was blocked from debuting on all of the major home consoles, including Microsoft's Xbox One, Sony's Playstation 4 and Nintendo's Switch. Facebook refused to allow Devolver to run ads for the game on their platforms. And gamers who attempted to stream 'Weedcraft' on YouTube have seen their videos get hit with demonetization. 

Wilson believes that gaming execs and marketers are prejudiced against 'Weedcraft' because they think it glorifies drug use, but he says that's simply not true.

"This isn't a pro-legalization game. This is a tycoon game. You don't do drugs in the game," said Wilson. "You can play as a totally legal, scrupulous businessperson."

But those arguments are falling on deaf ears. The only stores that did actually pick up the game were Steam and GOG, which are known for their open stance on video game content.

Wilson is especially disappointed by the industry's treatment of 'Weedcraft' because a lot of work went into making sure the game accurately depicts not only the business of cannabis but the social justice issues surrounding it.

"We did all this research with like, dispensaries, geneticists, lawyers, we were worried about cultural sensitivity with the subject matter, things like how much more black people get jailed for it. We wanted it to be representative of all the social issues involved."

Maybe 'Weedcraft' will somehow overcome these obstacles and become a turning point for the depiction of drugs in video games. But right now, it looks like the video game industry isn't ready for a nuanced depiction of cannabis. And that's likely to infuriate cannabis advocates. After all, we're talking about an industry that doesn't seem to have any qualms with profiting from violent games, yet a positive depiction of a life-saving plant is somehow too controversial.

Last week, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) revealed plans for a contract job position designed to help the federal agency produce "cannabis cigarettes" for research purposes. Basically, NIDA is looking for someone to roll joints for science. However, the position will come with many additional responsibilities.

The successful applicant must be able to reliably manufacture joints "of varying strengths and specifications." This includes making sure that the research joints have the specified concentrations of THC, CBD and other chemicals found in cannabis that researchers want to study.

Interested contractors will also have to be able to handle a number of logistical tasks. They must have a storage facility that's been approved by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and they must be able to safely transport cannabis to researchers. In other words, being able to roll awesome spliffs isn't enough to get this job.

The new contract appears to be an extension of a similar posting that NIDA made in October of last year. NIDA will begin accepting applications for the new position on April 16. And they should expect to get flooded with enthusiastic applicants that might be short on qualifications for the position. When the DEA recently posted a position for a contractor that would be tasked with destroying tons of cannabis, the administration was bombarded with so many under-qualified applicants that the federal agency eventually took to social media to ask private citizens to stop calling them about it.

So if you're just looking for a way to break into the marijuana industry, getting a job at your local grow facility or dispensary is probably the best place to start.

h/t: Marijuana Moment

Legal cannabis sales have been lagging in Canada's most populous province, but with brick-and-mortar pot shops slated to begin opening in Ontario on April 1st, many industry insiders are hopeful that will give the legal weed business a much needed boost.

"I think having brick-and-mortar stores, it's proven to actually inflate the market quite a bit," Nick Pateras of Lift & Co. - the Toronto company contracted to train Ontario's retail cannabis workers - told CBC News. "I think you'll see a pretty sharp spike; three to four times the monthly average pretty quickly."

That spike is desperately needed for the province's marijuana market. Since recreational cannabis was legalized last October, Ontario has seen it's month-to-month sales drop twice. Meanwhile, provinces with much smaller populations (like Alberta) and much stricter marijuana regulations (like Quebec) continue to surpass Ontario's cannabis sales.

A number of factors have caused Ontario's struggles. First and foremost is the province's decision to delay the opening of brick-and-mortar stores until this spring. While every other Canadian province had at a handful of licensed retails ready to open their doors on Day One of cannabis legalization, Ontario could only offer online sales through the Ontario Cannabis Store - a provincial website that has been dogged with problems since it launched.

Limiting the market to online sales has made buying cannabis less accessible for many Ontario residents. It's also much riskier. Right now, American customs agents can search the credit-card records of any Canadian traveling to the United States. And since cannabis remains federally prohibited in the US, border officials can slap Canadians with a lifetime ban from entering America if they find evidence that a credit card was used to purchase marijuana. That's why Canada's Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien has urged shoppers to only use cash when buying legal marijuana.

"A lot of people don't want to hand over their credit card and have the purchase traced back to them," explained Pateras, "so they're looking to go into a store and using cash." And they'll be able to do that as early as tomorrow.

Of course, opening brick-and-mortar stores won't solve all of Ontario's problems. The province's licensed retailers will still have to compete with illicit cannabis dispensaries, which have remained popular throughout the province in the wake of legalization. The illicit dispensaries have also had much more time to create a customer base, establish supply chains and figure out what products consumers want to buy, so pulling customers away from them could prove challenging for licensed cannabis retailers.

On top of that, we still don't know how many stores will be ready to open their doors on April 1. While the  government of Ontario has officially licensed 25 shops, not all of them will be ready to begin selling cannabis on Day One, and nobody knows how long it will take for all 25 to get up and running. So Ontario's marijuana market will likely continue to struggle for the foreseeable future.