Grow Life 420

There are currently 33 states that have legal programs for medical cannabis, but fewer than half of those are traditionally red, southern states. Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Florida are southern states that have some kind of medical cannabis program, but South Carolina does not. Groups like SC Compassionate Care Alliance would like to change that and provide patient access to the plant medicine. 

The South Carolina Compassionate Care Act was scheduled to be voted on by state lawmakers in April of 2019, but the vote was tabled because some amendments to the bill are still being decided on. Since then, the issue of medical cannabis in South Carolina has been stalled, and the vote was pushed to 2020.

In January 2020, a subcommittee meeting was scheduled to discuss a medical cannabis program allowing doctors to prescribe the drug. Supporters and activists of medical cannabis turned up to the State House to call on legislators to pass the bill. However, it appears that the testimonies of those supporters will have to wait until April 2020, and could likely spill over into 2021.

One Republican in favor of the medical cannabis program in SC is Senator Tom Davis. He said that the amendments are because of Senators having concerns about the proposed bill. “We’re in the first year of a two-year process. We have a comprehensive amendment that addresses a lot of concerns that people have expressed,” said Davis.

It is still being debated as to whether flower should be legal for medical purposes, which is one of the amendments to the program – as well as the legality of derivatives, edibles, how much can be legally possessed by medical patients, and so on. 

But it would appear that any opposition that lawmakers have to a medical cannabis program goes against the will of the voting public in the state. In a June 2018 poll, 85 percent of voters in at least three counties said they approved of legalizing medical cannabis in South Carolina, according to a report from The State. 

In 2014, the South Carolina General Assembly passed Senate Bill 1035, which legalized the consumption, sale, and purchasing of CBD hemp oil, according to SC Compassion. However, it is unlawful if the oil contains more than 0.3% THC.

Some activists in the state think that “money is the driving force” behind South Carolina law enforcement’s opposition to a comprehensive medical marijuana program. Civil asset forfeiture has led to SC law enforcement seizing about 17 million every three years, according to Taken, which is a journalistic effort to shine a light on what they perceive as one of the main reasons that cannabis is still illegal there. In fact, at a hearing of the Medical Affairs Committee in the South Carolina Legislature, Chief Mark Keel of the SC Law Enforcement Division (SLED) said: “It’s all about the money.”

If you are a resident of South Carolina in favor of a medical cannabis program, the Marijuana Policy Project urges you to tell your state legislators how you feel.

In only two short years since adult-use cannabis was legalized in the state, taxes from sales in California have officially reached $1 billion, according to a report from the Orange County Register. According to the report, the tax funds have been allocated to help fund regulatory expenses, clean up public lands that were harmed due to illegal grows, and help pay for childcare for low-income families. 

Despite the fact that the tax revenues are sky-high, the nation’s largest legal cannabis market has had slower growth than expected, according to figures from the Department of Tax and Fee Administration. The first three months that adult-use cannabis was legal, California brought in $72.6 million in taxes. Prior to that, $172.7 million were brought in within the previous three months, dating back to December 2019. However, the $1 billion in two years is lower than what was expected, as California officials were expecting to bring in a billion each and every year since cannabis was legalized. 

“Somewhere along the supply chain, we need to lower the cost of doing business,” said Jerred Kiloh, board president for the United Cannabis Business Association trade group.

One of the biggest reasons why tax revenues are lower than expected is because there is still a thriving illicit market for cannabis in California. The Orange County Register reports that around 75 percent of all cannabis transactions are still being done illegally. Depending on the area, dispensaries and retail locations will charge between 30 to 80 percent more for legal cannabis compared to the illicit market. 

Legal cannabis costs more because of the large tax burden in California, which is among the highest in the U.S. While this brings in tax revenue, it also can discourage customers from patronizing local businesses. In California, there is a 15 percent excise tax, in addition to the normal state sales taxes. There’s also a cultivation tax by weight, as well as municipal taxes, which can be as high as 20 percent. On top of all of this, wholesale taxes were raised recently as well. Taxes on flower were raised from $9.25 to $9.65, leaf taxes per dry-weight ounce went from $2.75 to $2.87, and plant rates increased from $1.29 to $1.35.

With some of the highest taxes on cannabis in the nation, it’s no surprise that California is both raking in tax revenue and that cannabis businesses are losing sales to the illicit market. Something will have to give if changes are to be made, and only time will tell what those changes might be.

Lamb’s Bread (aka Jamaican Lamb’s Bread) is a sativa dominant strain with its origins in Jamaica. This strain clocks in at right around 19-25 percent THC and 0.03-0.2 percent CBD, making it a high-quality, versatile medicine that both connoisseurs and newbies enjoy. Even Bob Marley himself is rumored to have favored this Jamaican landrace strain.

There is another, obviously similar sativa strain from Jamaica by the name of Lamb’s Breath, which is an even more disturbing strain name. Different phenotypes of cannabis strains enable the uniqueness of strains and help provide consumers with variety.

Appearance/ Aroma/ Taste

The buds of the Lamb’s Bread strain are short, fat and fairly dense. The flowers are crystalized with short trichomes. The buds from this strain don’t have a ton of red hairs, but the ones that are present are very pronounced. The intact Lamb’s Bread flowers smell earthy with a hint of woodiness and a dash of sweet. When broken up or put through a grinder, the woody scents become stronger, with hint aromas of cracked pepper.

This strain has been reported to taste slightly harsh at first, followed by some sweet smoothness and a hint of pepper. Newer consumers would be well advised to use a vaporizer for this strain, as it could be harsh on the throat.

Medicating Effects

Patients and legal recreational users have reported that Lamb’s Bread is a strain that takes effect almost instantly. The effect seems to be one of heady euphoria, inspiring user creativity and conversation. While consumers of the Lamb’s Bread strain agree that it is initially energizing, the comedown may be a bit sleepy for users operating on little sleep or who have been out in the sun. While patients report that paranoia is kept to a minimum with this strain, many have indicated feelings of intense dry mouth or dry, red eyes. It’s important to always stay hydrated when consuming, but it is especially crucial with a strain like this one.

Because of its heady, euphoric sativa effects, Lamb’s Bread is useful for treating patients with anxiety and depression. It can also benefit patients with eating disorders and minor aches and pains. As previously mentioned, some users might feel tired after a few hours of consuming Lamb’s Bread, which could help with insomnia or other sleep issues.

Have you tried Lamb’s Bread? Is it your favorite strain? If not, what is? Let us know in the comments section and maybe we’ll do a review on it!

Major League Baseball (MLB) made further clarifications to their policy concerning players consuming cannabis, according to a report from ESPN regarding the announcement. 

Players can consume cannabis during the off-season or downtime, but are not permitted to be sponsored by any cannabis companies. MLB officials clarified that cannabis sponsorships, for now, are not permitted. This issue will be addressed by the league in the future, but “until such guidance is issued, any such investments or commercial arrangements are still considered to be prohibited in accordance with current practices”, according to ESPN.

If MLB players are thought to be under the influence at the time of practice, games, or other team activities, they are subject to fines and other repercussions. 

“Any player who appears under the influence of marijuana or any other cannabinoid during any of the Club’s games, practices, workouts, meetings or otherwise during the course and within the scope of their employment” will undergo a “mandatory evaluation” for a potential treatment program, according to the report from ESPN.

As it currently stands, there are 12 MLB teams – the A’s, Angels, Blue Jays, Cubs, Dodgers, Giants, Mariners, Padres, Red Sox, Rockies, Tigers, and White Sox – who all play ball in cities where cannabis is legalized for adult consumption. Medical cannabis is legal in every state that has an MLB team, except for Georgia, Texas, and Wisconsin at this time.

The MLB isn’t the only major sports league to consider modifying their cannabis policy, but the baseball league is currently more accepting of players doing so than pro football. The NFL player’s association recently brought up the topic of players consuming cannabis in conjunction with their negotiations for their upcoming collective bargaining agreement.

Detractors of sports leagues modifying their cannabis policies have made the claim that players will lose discipline if they consume during their playing careers. However, surveys show that more career-oriented professionals ages 35 and younger responsibly consume cannabis than ever before – and they are getting sick of the antiquated stoner stereotypes. And players have been allowed to consume alcohol and tobacco for almost 100 years. 

Anyone who is a fan of professional baseball will likely know the legends of Babe Ruth drinking copious amounts of booze and smoking cigars daily. There are no discussions about alcohol and tobacco being banned from sports leagues, so why should cannabis be any different? You decide.

By now, we are all aware of the myriad of ingestion methods for cannabis – smoking, vaping, consuming edibles, etc. But there are some cannabis enthusiasts that are raving about the benefits of eating raw cannabis, or even making smoothies with it. Raw cannabis is not psychoactive and is rich in nutrients, including amino acids. Why might raw cannabis be a good addition to any healthy diet? 

The cannabis plant contains 421 distinct known chemical compounds. Over 100 of those are molecules called cannabinoids. There also may be some benefit in saving cannabis leaves and throwing them in a smoothie or on a salad. Leafy greens, like the leaves of the cannabis plant, tend to be high in fiber. Consuming the right amount of fiber is essential for immune function and some even believe it can help your mental health. 

Raw cannabis leaves and stems also tend to be high in nutrients like folate, iron, calcium, and vitamins C and K. Introducing cannabis leaves into your diet may also help protect against various cancers. Perhaps even more nutrient dense than raw cannabis leaves and buds, raw hemp seeds and hemp oil are high in omega-3 and other essential fatty acids.

Many patients have anecdotally reported positive pain-relieving results when consuming raw cannabis, which is likely due to cannabinoid acids in the plant. The lack of psychoactive properties found in raw cannabis is also attractive to older patients who are seeking pain relief without the high. 

If you’re looking to add hemp seeds to your diet, you can find them at health food stores and online. There has been some speculation that hemp oil could be beneficial for patients who are suffering from arthritis. This research has also shown that consuming hemp oil could treat symptoms of inflammatory skin conditions, such as eczema, dermatitis, and psoriasis.

Like so many other things regarding medical marijuana, the truth of this is still unclear, as there have been little to no studies, trials or conclusive research conducted on raw cannabis consumption due to the plant’s federal illegality. As we continue to peel back the layers of prohibition, we could see more and more people adding leafy cannabis greens and hemp seeds and oils to their daily diets.

Disclaimer: This article is intended for information and entertainment purposes only and is not intended to provide medical advice.

Lawmakers in Arizona have co-sponsored a bill that would essentially render the state’s medical cannabis program obsolete if passed. Fifteen lawmakers have proposed the bill, which would cap the potency of medical cannabis in the state at just 2%, reports AZ Marijuana.

If the bill passes, about 200,000 patients in Arizona would basically be reduced to purchasing cannabis that is close to the potency of hemp. This would likely cause the medical cannabis market in the state to dissolve, putting dispensaries out of business and forcing patients to obtain the plant medicine through an unregulated marketplace out-of-state.  

“A registered nonprofit medical marijuana dispensary may not dispense to a qualifying patient or a designated caregiver medical marijuana with a tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of more than two percent,” HCR 2045 reads.

The language contained in the bill is highly unclear, and doesn’t specify whether the 2% limit would apply to dried, cured flower, concentrates, or both. The way the bill reads, it indicates that it is likely written by prohibitionists who don’t understand the intricacies of the legal cannabis market. The good news for patients in the Grand Canyon state is that laws pertaining to voter-approved medical cannabis programs aren’t easy to change.

Despite the fact that the legislation is unlikely to pass due to its potentially unconstitutional nature, it once again displays the tone-deaf nature of prohibitionists. Some cannabis advocates in the state are saying that Arizona lawmakers are telling patients to go smoke hemp.

It is also curious that state lawmakers would want to cut off a market that drives some significant tax revenue, as well as providing much-needed jobs. The Arizona Dispensaries Association estimates that medical cannabis sales in 2019 year brought in $46 million in state and local tax dollars. Those funds are supposed to be put to use by local governments to “fix roads, support education and preserve public safety.”

This isn’t the first time that Arizona has faced some issues with their medical cannabis program. A year ago, a state House panel approved a bill that legalized extracts under the laws of the medical cannabis program. Last summer, state auditors had alleged that regulators failed to properly inspect dispensaries and other facilities. The auditors also alleged that funds were misappropriated and that registration cards weren’t revoked from patients who engaged in illegal activity.

There is clearly some work that needs to be done for the medical cannabis program in Arizona, including educating lawmakers on the benefits of cannabis and why 2% THC wouldn’t provide much medical value to patients.

The NFL’s policy towards players’ consumption of cannabis is an issue that has been discussed quite extensively, with many former players both expressing their support of the plant medicine for pain management as well as starting their own cannabis businesses themselves. A significant update to the cannabis policy is now a part of the upcoming negotiations of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the league and the NFL Players’ Association (NFLPA). 

Under the proposed CBA, a player would be suspended by the league for cannabis consumption “only in the event of extreme and repeated disregard of the policy or significant violations of applicable law regarding the possession and use of marijuana,” according to a report from NBC Sports Pro Football Talk.

In addition, the new cannabis policy under the proposed CBA would reduce the league’s testing window from four months down to two weeks. As it stands now, players can be tested from April 20th (not joking) until preseason games start in August. If accepted, the league’s cannabis policy would essentially decriminalize it within the NFL, catching it up to other leagues. 

Currently, the NFL has some of the harshest drug policies of any major sports league. The recently launched XFL, a spring pro football league owned by WWE CEO Vince McMahon, isn’t testing its players for cannabis at all. Major League Baseball players who are active on 40-man rosters aren’t tested for cannabis, and NHL players aren’t penalized for testing positive for cannabis. NBA players are suspended and possibly fined for testing positive for cannabis, but they aren’t tested for cannabis in the off-season.

Team owners seem to be on board with the policy changes. Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys – the NFL’s most profitable team – hinted towards the league modifying its cannabis policies along with the upcoming CBA last year.

“I think the world is sensitive to the issue regarding marijuana. It’s also an issue contemporarily we’re excited about being in step with the social and legal scene as it goes forward,” Jones told CBS Sports. “And, so, we not only have the interest of competitiveness in mind when it comes to any type of substance, we have the issue of the law and we have the issue of the society focus on it. All of that does receive attention when you’re discussing this area with players.”

Player representatives for each of the 32 teams are expected to speak on a conference call today. In addition to the policy changes, the new NFL CBA will remove one preseason game to make it a 17-game regular season. Fourteen teams would make the playoffs, with only the 1st seed getting a bye week. League officials and the NFLPA have until March 18th to negotiate terms of the CBA. The playoff format could be in effect for the start of the season this fall, but the 17-game season wouldn’t be implemented until 2021-2022, if agreed upon.

In a recent budget draft, President Trump proposed ending the policy that protects medical cannabis programs in states where it is legal. These protections prevent the Justice Department from interfering with state’s rights. The President’s proposal also calls for establishing blocks on creating an adult-use cannabis marketplace in Washington, D.C. Currently, possessing and cultivating cannabis in D.C. is legal.

These protections were passed by Congress in 2014 and have been renewed every year since then. This current proposal is the third time the Trump administration has called for the removal of these safeguards for medical cannabis business. However, Congress has ignored these requests and renewed the protections in spending bills. 

The budget proposal also would cut funding for the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) from $425 million to just $29 million, according to a report from Marijuana Moment. Instead, the funding would go to the DEA to, “improve coordination of drug enforcement efforts among Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies in the U.S.”

Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D) called Trump’s proposal “an attack on 8 years of progress at all levels.”

“I will continue to lead the effort to protect state-legal medical cannabis programs and seek to get new protections for adult-use and tribal programs. These are critical as we continue our fight to reform hopelessly outdated federal cannabis policies,” said Blumenauer.

Former President Barack Obama also called for the removal of these protections as well. In 2012, Rolling Stone said that Obama was waging a ‘War on Pot’ and executives at the Marijuana Policy Project called Obama “the worst president on medical marijuana.”

Blumenauer says that he and other lawmakers will likely ignore that particular section of President Trump’s proposal, according to Marijuana Moment.

As a candidate running for president in 2016, Trump claimed he supported medical cannabis and believed that states had the right to decide whether the plant medicine should be permitted.

While it is a good sign that lawmakers have ignored the call to remove these state protections found in every budget proposal, it again outlines how the federal government does not reflect the views that the majority of the American people share about medical marijuana. In 2019, two-thirds of Americans polled said they favored the full legalization of cannabis.

Cannabis dispensaries in Illinois sold more than $1 million in sales per day in January, to a total of almost $40 million in the first month. Adult-use sales of cannabis took effect on New Year’s Day this year after Illinois became the 11th U.S. state to legalize recreational cannabis last June. And the first month of sales totaled $39,247,840.83, with over $8 million of those sales coming from out of state customers, according to the Chicago Tribune.

The near $40 million in sales is despite the fact that Illinois has the second-highest tax rate among the 11 states with legal adult-use cannabis. Additionally, Illinois has been dubbed the least tax-friendly state in the nation. Consumers in Chicago pay a tax of over 40%, which doesn’t even include a 7% state wholesale tax. Even though taxes are sky-high and experts have been predicting that the black market would thrive because of that, Illinois lawmakers think that the cannabis market will only continue to grow. 

“The successful launch of the Illinois legal cannabis industry represents new opportunities for entrepreneurs and the very communities that have historically been harmed by the failed war on drugs,” Toi Hutchinson, Gov. J. B. Pritzker’s senior advisor for cannabis control, said in a press release.

Customers waited in line outside of dispensaries in Chicago for hours at the beginning of the year for their chance to purchase legal cannabis. Cannabis sales for January would have likely surpassed $40 million, had it not been for the fact that retail locations were running out of product after only a week of sales. 

The lull in recreational sales is also due to the fact that dispensaries are required by law to maintain a 30-day supply in order to meet the needs of medical patients. In order to comply with the state law, dispensaries temporarily suspended sales to recreational customers so that patients could have proper access to the medicine they need.

But, even the limits placed on recreational sales were not enough to avoid product shortages. This is because cultivators had to wait until they got the confirmation that the governor would sign the bill to start growing at the level that would satisfy customer demand. Even as 2019 was a significant downturn for many publicly-traded cannabis stocks, this high demand in a market that is taxed at an extremely high rate should serve as proof that the cannabis industry as a whole will only continue to turn profits at record highs.

The Colorado health department and energy office recently launched a new program that will combine the forces of two businesses operating in niche markets otherwise competing with each other – craft brews and legal cannabis. The program aims to help make both industries more eco-friendly while improving energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions. 

State officials are calling the program the Carbon Dioxide Reuse Project, partnering a dispensary called The Clinic Colorado with the Denver Beer Company. This brewery is a perfect companion for a cannabis dispensary, featuring a dog-friendly outdoor beer garden and food trucks. 

From The Denver Post: “Brewing a 120-barrel batch of beer produces enough carbon dioxide naturally through fermentation to fill a 500-pound vessel,” said Charlie Berger, co-founder of Denver Beer Co.

The brewery will use a machine that captures the CO2 emitted during the beer-making process, then provide the dispensary with it, which can be used to help ensure the healthy growth of cannabis plants. 

“Carbon dioxide is administered in growing rooms to promote plant health and increase plant yield during cultivation,” said Max Cohen, founder and CEO of the Clinic.

Not only will the recycled carbon dioxide save the Clinic money because they won’t have to purchase manufactured CO2, they won’t have to run their trucks in order to do so. The brewery says they will be able to recycle up to 150,000 pounds of carbon dioxide. 

This innovative Carbon Dioxide Reuse Project should get the ball rolling for this type of initiative, and the hope is that other breweries and retail cannabis locations will follow suit. This is the type of creative collaboration we need to see more of to keep the U.S. legal cannabis industry as green as possible. State lawmakers also created Colorado Cultivators Energy Management pilot, which will allow cannabis facilities and dispensaries to enlist the help of local electric cooperatives and utility companies in order to reduce their carbon footprint.

Regulations in most states have caused dispensaries to package their products for sale in what many consider excess plastic. Last fall, a Seattle dispensary launched a packaging recycling program to reduce waste.

This latest state program coincides with Governor Jared Polis’ goal of cutting greenhouse emissions in half in 10 years or less. In May of 2019, Governor Polis signed seven highly ambitious bills related to renewable energy, and he and his staff say they would like to see Colorado’s electric grid become fossil fuel-free by 2040. 

Hay-Z is a tasty sativa-dominant hybrid that is a real treat for cannabis connoisseurs. Coming from the Ministry of Cannabis Seed Bank, the strain’s genetics are Super Silver Haze and Neville’s Haze. Clocking in at 23% THC, Hay-Z has established itself as one of the more popular sativas. Humorously named after the hip-hop mogul Jay-Z, this strain is not one that will cause couch lock, nor will it disappoint when it comes to flavor.

Appearance/ Aroma/ Taste

Hay-Z buds are usually a pretty light green with bright red hairs and crystals throughout. The intact flowers from the Hay-Z plant have a wide variety of fresh and pleasant aromas, ranging from spicy to floral and fruity. Depending on how the plant was grown, different Hay-Z buds will feature each scent in various ways. The plant needs a lot of space to reach its full growing potential, but seems to do well grown either indoors or outdoors.

When broken up or put through a grinder, the floral or fruity aroma really shines through. Medical patients and recreational users have reported that Hay-Z is one of the tastiest strains they’ve ever experienced, with some describing its sweet and spicy flavor as being a ‘party in your mouth’. 

Medicating Effects

The Hay-Z strain provides strong, long-lasting cerebral medicating effects. Users have reported experiencing intense mental sensations from Hay-Z, while still being able to maintain focus on socializing. With its strong, positive mental effects, this hybrid has the tendency to inspire users to pursue whatever creative outlet they enjoy. 

The slight indica influence is reportedly not very noticeable, as no users experience any kind of couch-lock or laziness on this strain. The Hay-Z strain is not one that you want to enjoy before bedtime. With its intense mental effects, newbies should use caution before trying this one, as Hay-Z can sometimes become too psychoactive for the inexperienced cannabis consumer.

With its uplifting and motivating qualities and tendency to put users in a positive mood, Hay-Z would be a good choice for those looking to treat symptoms of depression or PTSD. Users also report experiencing mild to average munchies with this strain, making it a solid treatment option for some eating disorders. Be sure to have some water handy as well, because you might experience intense dry mouth with this one.

Have you tried Hay-Z? Did you like it or dislike it? Is it your favorite strain? If not, what is? Let us know in the comments and maybe we’ll do a review on it!

On January 15, 2020, Congress held a hearing to discuss how current federal regulations are inhibiting much-needed research on cannabis. The legal status of cannabis medicine is a schedule one drug at the federal level, and regulators admitted how this classification halts research on the plant. The meeting comes after The Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health proposed reforms to these restrictive cannabis laws in the U.S.

During the congressional hearing, members questioned agents and witnesses from federal agencies, including the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). The majority of questions revolved around hurdles to proper cannabis research. 

Congress and committee members expressed the contraction of restrictions these federal agencies place on cannabis, thus halting the research that is needed to pursue nationwide reform of cannabis laws. Members also expressed how federal laws haven’t been keeping up with that of state regulations.

“While state laws and public perception around cannabis and its derivatives have evolved over the years, much of the federal framework that regulates cannabis has stayed the same,” said Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone.

Subcommittee leaders continued to press federal agents and drive home the point that research will continue to stall if progress isn’t made at the national level. 

“[Cannabis researchers] can’t conduct research until they show cannabis has a medical use, but they can’t demonstrate cannabis has medical use until they can conduct research,” said Subcommittee Chairwoman, Congresswoman Anna Eshoo of California, representative of California’s 18th congressional district. 

As the hearing continued, representatives admitted how cannabis prohibition has been a mistake at the federal level. Many advocates of the plant might think this is a vast understatement, but at least some federal representatives are conceding these things – including how many U.S. taxpayers have been wrongfully convicted and jailed for possession of cannabis.

“The United States Congress made a mistake. Dialogue has not truly allowed the research that needs to be done for us to properly categorize cannabis in this country. As a result, millions of [Amercians] have been subjected to incarceration and a criminal record that otherwise, they would have a much more productive and better life and that as a society,” Representative Tony Cardenas said.

Only time will tell if any progress will be made regarding the federal classification of cannabis and its regulations nationwide. Until then, 33 U.S. states have currently legalized cannabis for medical purposes, with more likely coming until something finally happens at the federal level.

Another shining example of modern day cannabis breeding, indica-dominant hybrid The Brotherhood has some of the highest THC content of any strain on the market today. Not to be confused with its relative Brotherhood OG, the exact lineage of this strain seems to be in a bit of contention and is breeder-specific. Some cannabis experts think that The Brotherhood is a blend of Slick Willie and Icarus, while others are saying it’s a cross between Willie’s Wonder x Grape Krush and Bubba ’91 x The White. That aside, one thing is certain about this strain. Clocking in at a whopping 28 percent THC, High Times named The Brotherhood as one of the most powerful strains on earth in 2016. 

Appearance/ Aroma/ Taste

The buds from The Brotherhood strain are some of the frostiest you will ever see. Caked in crystals and red hairs, these flowers are truly a sight to see. Due to the rarity of this strain, there are not a lot of legal smoke reviews available on The Brotherhood itself. Its more widely available relative, Brotherhood OG, has been reported to taste and smell sweet and fruity with a hint of tangy.

Medicating Effects

Medical cannabis patients and recreational users alike seem to think that this indica-dominant hybrid can provide the best of both cannabis worlds. Despite its indica dominance, many users report being alert, stimulated and energized after consumption. This would make The Brotherhood ideal for medicating before physical activity, inspiring creativity or promoting conversation. 

On the flip side, users report feeling very relaxed after consuming this strain, making it a great choice for treating muscle aches and pains. Its effects reportedly hit the head heavily from the onset, making its relaxing presence felt on the body as the feelings take hold. This is a strain for which you’ll want to have some water handy while using, as it can cause some serious dry mouth.

Its calming properties make The Brotherhood ideal for stress relief as well. Most users of this strain report a strong feeling of upbeat alertness while medicated. For this reason, it is recommended that you do not consume this strain near bedtime. The Brotherhood probably isn’t going to be your best bet for treating insomnia or other sleep disorders.

Have you tried The Brotherhood? Did you like it or dislike it? Is it your favorite strain? If not, what is? Let us know in the comments and maybe we’ll do a review on it! 

After only one week of legalizing cannabis for adult use, many dispensaries in the Chicago area have already run out of product. The problem likely isn’t going away any time soon either, as it is believed that dispensaries could face shortages for months, according to a story from CBS Chicago.

Dispensary owners aren’t surprised by the shortages, according to Jeremy Unruh of PharmaCann, an Illinois business that grows and sells cannabis.

“It’s not a surprise. We knew that demand would probably exceed our capacity to comfortably serve that demand,” Unruh said.

The recreational cannabis law was signed in June of 2019, but it took about 6 months for the state to approve grow houses and other processing facilities. 

“Then it takes six months for the build out to occur. And once the build out occurs, it takes about three months to grow and harvest and process those plants,” Unruh said.

Cannabis business owners in the state of Illinois, like Unruh, are confident that this issue will get corrected moving forward, and that this is just a minor hiccup getting started.

“It’s not what happens on day one, or day two or day three. It’s what happens at month six. It’s what happens at month 12, at month 18, at month 24. That’s the roll out of this program. It’s intended to be rolled out over years, not days,” said Unruh.

Illinois is certainly not the first state to have a lack of cannabis products for sale at the start of their legalization program. When medical cannabis was made legal in Pennsylvania in early 2018, there was a massive shortage of product for sale before the program finally got rolling. Dispensaries obviously have an incentive to provide their customers with product, so this issue will likely be corrected swiftly. In addition to making recreational cannabis legal, the state of Illinois also pardoned thousands of people who had cannabis convictions on their records. Arrests made for cannabis possession can linger for a lifetime, so it’s great to see that these records are being expunged. Hopefully, more states do the same thing as Illinois as they usher in their own legalization programs.

We reported in the summer of 2018 that regulators in Michigan were considering allowing businesses to deliver cannabis to the homes of state medical patients. Since then, adult-use cannabis sales have been legalized in the state, and the recreational program took effect on December 1st. According to a report from the Associated Press, lawmakers in Michigan have recently approved three businesses for home delivery.

The report from the AP says that the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs approved Lit Provisionary in Evart, Battle Creek Provisioning in Battle Creek, and Nature’s Releaf in Burton. Currently, customers are allowed to purchase up to 2.5 ounces of flower and 15 grams of concentrate when buying cannabis in person, and these will be the same limits when ordering home delivery. Even though the businesses have been approved for delivery, the regulatory body did not provide a specific date for when businesses would be allowed to start making deliveries.

Just like purchasing cannabis at retail locations, customers must be 21 years old. Orders for delivery must be made online, and most payments will be made when the customer orders – although cash payments are also acceptable. 

Delivery drivers will also have to be 21 years of age, and the maximum amount a delivery driver can possess is 15 ounces. When deliveries are allowed, their vehicles are required to be equipped with GPS. Additionally, businesses will be required to keep a record of all deliveries and keep up-to-date records in a state monitoring system. 

The reason for the low number of businesses that are approved to deliver is due to the fact that currently, only 22 percent of municipalities in the state are allowing recreational facilities to operate. This number could soon change, as local governments may look to benefit from the 10 percent excise tax imposed on cannabis sales.

The Michigan Senate Fiscal Agency expects recreational cannabis sales to generate $180.5 million in taxes in 2020 alone. By 2023, the agency expects those figures to reach $287.9 million or more. Illinois and Michigan are two midwest states that are ushering in 2020 with legal adult-use cannabis sales. If all goes well with delivery services in Michigan, cannabis customers in Illinois might be able to get the plant delivered to their homes in the near future as well.

The state of Oregon is widely known for two specific things – craft breweries and potent cannabis. The two won’t be legally permitted to coincide, thanks to a recent ruling from the Oregon Liquor Control Commission. The Control board regulates both alcoholic beverages and legal cannabis. As of January 1st, any beverage containing alcohol may not also contain THC or CBD. 

The Oregon Liquor Control Commission stated that the reason behind the ruling is due to concerns that have been raised by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“We’ve wanted to address the issue of CBD getting into alcohol and because there are a lot of unknown unknowns about the effect of taking CBDs,” Pettinger said Friday. “There’s very little scientific evidence. People are using them for wellness, but how they interact with other substances, not a lot is known,” said Mark Pettinger, spokesman for the agency.

The fact that Pettinger used the phrase “taking CBDs” might raise the eyebrows of a few cannabis advocates. The East Burn, a popular pub in Portland, is reportedly the first to serve CBD-infused beer, called Two Flowers IPA. Owner Michael Fritz said that after drinking the CBD-infused craft beer, you wouldn’t notice any effects other than the alcohol. 

“If you have three beers, you’re going to feel like you had three beers,” Fritz said. “You’re going to feel relaxed.”

Pettinger said that he wasn’t aware of any other bar or pub that served CBD-infused beer, and that this location sold out of the last of Two Flowers IPA a few weeks ago. Pettinger added that federal agencies should first establish regulations for CBD before the state of Oregon would sell alcoholic beverages containing the cannabinoid. However, any American following the federal government’s treatment of legal cannabis would probably recommend against holding your breath for that happening any time soon. 

Pettinger added that the FDA would like to remind breweries, bars and pubs that the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau has not approved the use of CBD in any drinks.

Despite the ban on cannabis-infused alcoholic beverages, Oregon has been very progressive when it comes to legal cannabis. The state decriminalized possession of the plant all the way back in 1973, with legal patient access to medical cannabis coming after that in 1998. Back in 2014, adult-use cannabis was made legal in the Beaver State. 

Legalizing adult-use cannabis has been linked to fewer sales of over-the-counter sleep aids, according to data that was published in the journal Complementary Therapies in Medicine. This confirms what many advocates have already known for years, which is that cannabis is great for treating sleep ailments like insomnia. 

The study included investigators from the University of New Mexico and California Polytechnic State University. The researchers conducted studies based on the trends of purchases of over-the-counter sleep aids before and after cannabis was made legal for adult-use. 

“For the first time, we show a statistically significant negative association between recreational access to cannabis and OTC sleep aid sales, suggesting that at least some recreational purchasers are using cannabis for therapeutic rather than recreational purposes … [O]ur results indicate that enough individuals are switching from OTC sleep aids to recreational cannabis that we can identify a statistically significant reduction in the market share growth of OTC sleep aids in conjunction with access to recreational cannabis use,” the researchers reported.

The reports were driven by the fact that there was a reduced amount of sales to benadryl, which some people use as a sleep aid. There wasn’t much of a link in the decline of natural sleep aids like melatonin. Different studies have also been conducted that associated cannabis use with reduced usage of opioid medications. 

The authors of the study conclude that the market for over-the-counter sleep aids was reduced when adult-use cannabis sales were made legal. 

“Our results show that the market share growth for sleep aids shrank with the entry of recreational cannabis dispensaries … and the strength of the association increased with each subsequent dispensary. Our results are consistent with evidence that legal access to medical cannabis is associated with reductions in Scheduled II-V prescription medications, many of which may be used in part as sleep aids,” the study reads. 

This study shines a light on what many cannabis advocates already know – that the plant medicine can help you get a good night’s sleep. As we continue to evolve with legalization in many forms, hopefully we will see many more studies like this one being conducted. Those of us who have trouble sleeping will certainly benefit from it.

Federal officials with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently released a report titled “What You Need to Know About CBD”, which contains information about the safety of products containing the cannabinoid. Additionally, the agency issued warnings to 15 companies who they say are marketing CBD products in unlawful ways. Currently, there is only one FDA-approved CBD-based medicine, called Epidiolex. Epidiolex treats rare forms of epilepsy. 

“The FDA is concerned that people may mistakenly believe that trying CBD ‘can’t hurt,’” the update reads. “The agency wants to be clear that we have seen only limited data about CBD’s safety and these data point to real risks that need to be considered.”

The report from the FDA also states that it is currently illegal to label foods containing CBD as dietary supplements. The report also points out studies showing that ingesting CBD could cause liver damage and interactions with medications a person might be taking. The report warns that tests show some CBD products have reduced testosterone in lab mice. 

The FDA also sent out a press release with warnings to 15 companies stating how they are in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act). The press release specifically points to the fact that these companies are labeling products containing CBD as dietary supplements and also claiming that their products can treat and/ or cure disease. Obviously, anyone remotely familiar with cannabis products knows that the actions taken by these companies are currently illegal and should be avoided at all costs. 

“As we work quickly to further clarify our regulatory approach for products containing cannabis and cannabis-derived compounds like CBD, we’ll continue to monitor the marketplace and take action as needed against companies that violate the law in ways that raise a variety of public health concerns. This overarching approach regarding CBD is the same as the FDA would take for any other substance that we regulate,” said FDA principal deputy commissioner Amy Abernethy in the press release. 

While federal officials might have good intentions when it comes to their ‘overarching approach’ to regulating CBD, there will no doubt be advocates of cannabis medicine who believe that Americans should have the right to choose what they ingest into their own bodies – within reason, of course. Only time will tell how much or how little the cannabis industry as a whole will be impacted by this and future reports from the FDA.

The medical cannabis industry in Pennsylvania is currently thriving, recently passing a half a billion dollars in sales since the program began almost 2 years ago. The sales figures were recently announced by John Collins, the director of the state’s Office of Medical Marijuana, at an advisory board meeting. 

As of this writing, there are 72 medical cannabis dispensaries in the Keystone State, and 147,000 patients are certified to purchase the plant medicine. There are approximately 65,000 visits that patients make to the 72 dispensaries weekly, with the average purchase being around $120. More than half – around 60 percent – of medical cannabis purchases made in Pennsylvania have been for pain-related issues, which tends to be typical for most states with medical cannabis programs. 

The state’s medical cannabis program was implemented in 2016, first covering conditions like cancer, chronic pain, and PTSD. Earlier this year, Pennsylvania expanded qualifying conditions under its medical cannabis program, covering patients with both autism and anxiety. As the program expands to cover more patient conditions, sales will only continue to increase.

Demand for medical cannabis was high from the moment the state’s program began in February of 2018, with dispensaries underestimating how much product they would sell and experiencing shortages only a few short weeks after opening. In addition to the expansion of qualifying patient conditions, there have been other advancements in the cannabis market in PA. Earlier this fall, the state’s first cannabis labor union was formed, which includes over 30 employees of production and laboratory facilities. 

As the demand for medical cannabis in Pennsylvania continues to be high, there has been much talk and speculation of legalizing the plant for adult-use as well. In December of 2018, Governor Tom Wolfe said that it was time for a ‘serious look’ at legalizing adult-use cannabis. In March of this year, state senators sought support for a bill that would have legalized cannabis for recreational purposes. Nothing has yet come out of these bills or interests, but it’s clear that many state residents and lawmakers are ready to legalize cannabis for adult use.

Even though complications for dispensaries nationwide will continue, such as restricted access to banking, demand does not seem to be slowing down, at least in Pennsylvania. As the 2020 election season is less than a year away, legalizing cannabis will continue to be a hot button topic. There is a great deal of interest in both potential jobs and tax revenue that come along with legal cannabis.