Leading up to the election, recreational marijuana was legal in only four states, namely: Alaska, Georgia, Oregon and Washington, including Washington D.C.

With the addition of these three states, the percentage of Americans living in states where marijuana use is legal for adults rose abouve 20 percent, from a measely 5 percent.

The victories could spark similar efforts in other states and put pressure on federal authorities to remove marijuana from Schedule II which labels it as a “dangerously addictive drug with no medical benefits.”

Overall, the legalization in the US has drastically improved with Florida, North Dakota and Arkansas approving medical marijuana measures. Montana voted on whether to ease restrictions on its existing medical marijuana law.

In general, the proposals for recreational cannabis would treat it similar to alcohol. Consumption would be limited to people aged 21 or older and forbidden in most public spaces. Pot would be highly regulated and heavily taxed, with some states allowing people to grow their own.

Support is rising even though some public health experts warn that studies on the drug is insufficient and that law enforcement lack reliable tests and protocols to determine whether a driver is impaired by marijuana.

Overall, the results of the marijuana referendums were hailed as historic by legalization activists, given that California is the most populous state. Massachusetts became the first state east of the Rockies to join the movement.

Collectively, it was the closest the U.S. has ever come to a national referendum on marijuana, which remains prohibited under federal law.

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Lynch made the statement during a town hall meeting in Richmond, Ky., where she discussed the dangers of opioid abuse with a group of high-school teens. In the course of that discussion, talk soon turned to the question of cannabis. Tyler Crafton, a student at Madison Central high School, asked Lynch whether she thought that recreational use of cannabis among high school kids would lead to opioid abuse.

“There are a lot of discussion about marijuana these days,” Lynch responded. “Some states are making it legal, people are looking into medical uses for it, and I understand that it sill is as common as almost anything. When we talk about heroin addiction, we usually, as we have mentioned, are talking about individuals that started out with a prescription drug problem, and then because they need more and more, they turn to heroin.It isn’t so much that marijuana is the step right before using prescription drugs or opioids.”

“If you tend to experiment with a lot of things in life,” Lynch added, “you may be more inclined to experiment drugs.”

If that additional statement strikes you as backtracking – well, it does seems like it. But then Lynch followed up with what could be one of the most important quotes about cannabis this election season.

“It’s not as though we are seeing that marijuana is a specific gateway.” she said.

That comment is consistent with the National institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), which notes that the majority of people who use cannabis do not go on to use other, harder substances. When Lynch talked about opiates with the high school students, she said that opioid painkillers could actually be the gateway drug.

The mythical “gateway theory” was originally fabricated by federal Bureau of Narcotics Commissioner Harry Anslinger. in the 1930s, Anslinger specifically rejected the notion that cannabis led consumers to stronger drugs. “The marijuana addict does not go in that direction,” he told Congress. A decade later, Anslinger reversed himself and established the gateway theory as a way to prop up the marijuana threat. Most young heroin addicts, he testified, “took to the needle when the thrill of marijuana was gone.”

The gateway theory has been debunked by countless government studies. Here are two examples: 1944 LaGuardia Commission report; and the 1999 Institute of Medicine report. As researchers with the federal Institute of Medicine reported: “There is no conclusive evidence that the drug effects of marijuana are causally linked to the subsequent abuse of other illicit drugs.”

Lynch’s statement itself didn’t exactly come as a blow. Americans have known since the 1940s that the gateway theory is nothing but a hoax. The surprise is that a U.S. attorney general took so long to acknowledge that very basic and proven fact.

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Native Americans are a sovereign nation, meaning their tribes have the power to govern themselves like states do. That is why they can have marijuana resorts in states where it is illegal to cultivate and sell marijuana.

The Santee Sioux Tribe

The Santee Sioux tribe was the first to begin growing marijuana in an integrated operation for selling. The tribe of 400 planned to marijuana profits for housing, a clinic, and addiction treatments.

The tribe is located in South Dakota, where cannabis is illegal. After the tribes first weed crops began to grow they voted to suspend their marijuana operation.

The tribe was turning a former bowling alley into a marijuana dispensary and lounge but had to halt their plans after receiving heat from state officials.

Attorney General Marty Jackley said that any changes to the tribal law would only affect tribal members, meaning any tourists or non-tribal members smoking pot on tribal land still risked prosecution. The same goes for anyone returning to state land with marijuana in their system.

“After government-to-government consultation with the United States, the Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe is temporarily suspending its cannabis cultivation and distribution facilities.

This suspension is pivotal to the continued success of the marijuana venture, and Tribal leadership is confident that after seeking clarification from the United States Department of Justice, it will be better suited to succeed.

The Tribe will continue to consult with the federal and state governments, and hopes to be granted parity with states that have legalized pot. The Tribe intends to successfully participate in the marijuana industry, and Tribal leadership in undaunted by this brief sidestep.”

The tribe then burned their first marijuana crops to remain on good terms with the federal government. Apparently, sources shared with the tribal officials that Feds were going to raid their operation in exactly two week.

A tribe in California was raided and had 12,000 cannabis plants seized, crumbling their entire operation. The Santee Sioux tribe is likely attempting to avoid a similar fate.

Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs

The members of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, approved a plant to build a facility on their reservation in central Oregon late last year.

“Our main purpose is to create jobs on the reservation and produce revenue for the tribes,” said Don Sampson of the tribes’ economic development corporation. “We think we will have a model other tribes will look to as they investigate this business and industry.”

Legal pot sales in Oregon have only begun this year so we’ll have to wait and see if the tribes makes the $26 million in revenue estimated by the end of this year.

The Final Hit

Since the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs is operating in a legal state they might not get raided. However, dispensaries and grow operations in legal states have been raided in the past. With marijuana remaining federally illegal, it’ll never be completely safe for anyone to cultivate and sell marijuana without repercussions.

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Research Methods

A group of rats was divided into groups, and all of their femurs were surgically fractured. Each group received different treatment.

One group received THC, the psychoactive compound in cannabis. Another group received CBD or cannabidiol; while not psychoactive, CBD is another cannabinoid.

The third and final group received just a saline solution. The progress of their bones’ healing processes was then recorded.

Results

The researchers explain that fractures of the type made in rats heal through the formation of a callus that provides the first bridge over the fracture gap.

This callus acts as a scaffolding upon which the bone can begin to form. As the bone begins the grow over the gap, the callus becomes unnecessary and begins to shrink to make way for the incoming bone.
Four weeks after the fracture, the size of the callus was recorded in the three groups of mice. In those groups treated with THC or CBD, the callus was 26% smaller than the group treated with the saline solution.

In other words, the THC and CBD groups were healing faster than the saline group. Further. the CBD group had a roughly 50% stronger femur than the other groups at eight weeks after the fracture.

Implications

The researchers note that fractures of this type are extremely common, affecting people of all ages around the world. As such, the impact of the study are far-reaching and of potential benefit to virtually every person.

The study suggest that CBD, in particular is an extremely effective treatment for bone fractures, as evidenced by both their ability to begin healing the bone more quickly, and increasing its strength later in the healing process.

In healing the bone more quickly, CBD acts not only as a treatment for the break itself, but also for the stiffness, pain, and discomfort associated with breaks of this type.

Importantly, the study ends with authors stating that CBD is a safe compound in humans, and is very well tolerated; in short, there are virtually no risks in administering it as a treatment for fractures.

The Last Hit

Research into cannabis as a treatment for bone fractures is extremely new. The authors made it clear that trials ought to be conducted on humans to test the efficacy of cannabis, and specifically CBD, on helping to heal breaks. If clinical trials of this type prove to be as successful on people as it was on rats, then we may soon see CBD become a staple in treating bone fractures in the future.

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What is Anorexia?

Anorexia is among the most well-known of eating disorders, globally. Due to the sufferers’ fear of being overweight, they are often dangerously underweight.

Despite being incredibly thin – even to an unhealthy extreme – patients view themselves as either overweight or barely maintaining a healthy weight.

As a result, they go to great lengths to lose weighs or keep weight off. These include excessive dieting, exercise, inducing vomit, or abusing laxatives.

Symptoms of the disorder vary widely, and most of them are serious. Along with being incredibly thin, these include:

• Cessation of menses in females.
• Intolerance to cold.
• Low blood pressure
• Depression
• Chronic fatigue
• Mood swings

Startlingly, Anorexia has the highest mortality rate of all psychological disorders. This makes it among the most high-priority targets of treatment.

Traditional Treatment

Treatment for Anorexia, like any metal health disorder, is more challenging than most purely physical disorder. According to the National Mental Health Institute, treatment is focused on accomplishing 3 goals;

1. Bringing the patient back to a healthy weight
2. Utilizing psychotherapy to treat the disorder/s that brought on the Anorexia.
3. Altering or eliminating behavior that brought on the disorder.

Notably, a study in 2009 found that one of the most important predictors of effective treatment is early intervention. The sooner an Anorexia suffer receives treatment, the more likely that person can return to a healthy lifestyle.

How Cannabis Can Help

In a study done on Alzheimer’s sufferers who were exhibiting anorexic symptoms, researchers found Dronabinol, a cannabis-based medication, to be more effective at treating patients than placebo. Of the patients who received cannabis-based medication, their body weight increased substantially. Tangentially, the researchers also noted that Dronabinol shows promise for treating not only Anorexia, but “disturbed behavior” in Alzheimer’s patients.

Another study examined the symptoms of abstinence from marijuana in otherwise daily users. They found that among various other symptoms, subjects suffered from Anorexia when they stopped smoking marijuana. This doesn’t seem strange: cannabis is renowned for increasing appetite in users. For treating a disorder in which users refuse to eat, cannabis seems to be the perfect fit.

Perhaps most convincingly, a 2014 study was conducted on subjects with “severe” Anorexia Nervosa. Researchers administered Dronabinol to some subjects versus placebo to others, and found that those who received the cannabis-based treatment showed a significant weight gain compared to those who received the placebo. The study notes that the medication was well tolerated and showed no serious adverse side effects.

Moving Forward

Given the current consensus that medication alone is not very beneficial for Anorexia, the hunt is still on for medications that will offer more relief for anorexic patients around the world. Cannabis is clinically proven to be of benefit. With more research it may become a widely used treatment option for anorexic patients, and coupled with the current mood of mental health treatment, may be the most effective treatment to date.

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According to the advocacy group, law enforcement in the state made nearly half a million cannabis related arrests over the last decade. Although arrests fell last year, some patterns still exist.

Perhaps most worrying is the significant racial disparity in arrest rates. Despite similar use rates across groups, authorities disproportionately arrested black and Latino people. The DPA report found that black people are twice as likely than whits to be arrested for cannabis misdemeanors and barely five times more likely to be arrested on felony charges.

“While many people believe that marijuana is essentially legal in California, data show us that thousands continue to be arrested annually for marijuana activities,” said DPA staff attorney Jolene Forman. “These arrests fall disproportionately on black and Latino Californians. The only way to begin to repair these parities is to move marijuana into a fully regulated market and to reduce or eliminate criminal prohibitions for minor marijuana activities.”

The statistics might come as a surprise given California’s global reputation for cannabis tolerance. In 1996 the state become the first in the U.S. to legalize cannabis for medical use. Lawmakers further criminal penalties for cannabis in 2011, making possession of up to an ounce of cannabis for personal use a civil infraction rather than misdemeanor.

The change led to an 86& decrease in misdemeanors, but felony arrests remained relatively stable at roughly 14,000 per year. In 2015 that number fell by a third. The report, however, doesn’t attempt to explain why.

Unfortunately, youth under 18 now account for the majority of cannabis misdemeanor arrests. Prior to 2011, when possession was decriminalized, minors accounted for only a quarter of misdemeanor cannabis arrests. As of 2015, youth account for two-thirds of misdemeanor cannabis arrests.

California will have an opportunity to legalize cannabis for recreational use this fall. Proposition 64, the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, contains sentencing reforms that would reduce or eliminate most criminal penalties around cannabis, Another load of good news is that these reductions would apply retroactively to past offenses.

The post California’s Law on Marijuana appeared first on Pot My.

Caprice Sweatt, founder and CEO of Medical Cannabis Outreach, said the facility will open in early December, most likely inc Carbondale, although the location is still to be determined.

Before the opening, the group plans to hold two educational seminars in the area to explain the application process and to educate the public on the drug’s medical uses.

On June 30, Gov. Bruce Rauner signed a bill extending Illinois’ medical marijuana pilot program by 2½ years. The bill also added post-traumatic stress disorder and terminal illness to the list of qualifying medical conditions, which now total 41.

Under the new law, doctors are no longer required to state in recommendations that it is their “professional opinion” that a patient will receive a “therapeutic or palliative benefit” from medical marijuana. They simply have to verify that the patient has a state-recognized qualifying condition.

However, Southern Illinois’ major health care providers – including Southern Illinois Healthcare, Heartland Regional Medical Center and Southern Illinois University School of Medicine – have been hesitant ti back the program. Major health systems and smaller providers have directed physicians not to certify patients for medical marijuana, citing legal concerns.

“This is why we are moving into the area, because there are so many patients in dire need and physicians that are associated with the medical groups in that area that are refusing to sign off,” Sweatt said. “This is a legal medical program, and it’s really disappointing that so many physicians literally refuse to take a look at it,”

In addition to obtaining a physician’s recommendation, patients must undergo a fingerprint-based background check, obtain proof of residency and pay a $300 application fee.

Medical Cannabis Outreach, which travels all over the state to conduct educational seminars, will help patients through each step of the application process and refer them to cannabis-friendly physicians for certification.

“We advocate for the patient, we hold their hand through the whole process, and we make sure they actually get their card in their hand,” Sweatt said.

Medical Cannabis Outreach has also partnered with local marijuana dispensaries Thrive Harrisburg and Thrive Anna to help educate patients.

“I think there’s a lot of people who are curious about the program, especially the new changes that went into effect recently. it’s about education and awareness,” said Thrive co-owner Rosie Naumovski.

A longtime supporter of medical cannabis, Sweatt has used marijuana to treat her Crohn’s disease for the pas 25 years.

“I was on 22 medications a day. I went off all my medications at the age of 25, and I’ve been prescription drug-free since then,” she said.

“I’ve just made it my life’s mission, honestly, to inform people of what happened to me, and we encourage people to be truthful about their own story, because people hide what’s happened to them, too.”

The group’s first educational seminar will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 10, in Carbondale Public Library. The second seminar will take place at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 14, in Mount Vernon Public Library. Both events are free and open to the public.

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Researchers from Quinnipiac University just published the results of a brand new survey.

The number from this study show just how many Americans think it’s time to legalize cannabis.

The survey took place from May 24 to May 30, with 1,561 respondents that were all registered U.S. voters.

The most important number to come out of this survey, would have the be the percentage of people who agree with legalizing cannabis for medical use.

Eighty nine percent of the respondents said they support the legal use of medical cannabis. Only 9% said they did not support this notion.

When it comes to recreational use, 54% said they support the full marijuana legalization. 41% were against it.

People aged between 18 and 34 voiced the most support for cannabis.

69% of people within this group support fully legalizing cannabis,while 91% said they support medical cannabis.

The survey also contained data on people’s political affiliations.

Among the Democrats, 65% support full legalization while 30% don’t. As for the Republicans, only 36% said they support full legalization while 62% said they’re against it.

However, when it comes to medical cannabis, Republicans voiced much more support. 81% of them said they support legalizing the drug for medical uses, while only 17% said they were against it.

Democrats were also in favor of legalizing medical cannabis with 94% for it with only 5% against it.

Despite the popular support for cannabis legalization, the plant is still illegal at the federal level.

Cannabis is still classified as a Schedule I drug by the DEA.

Drugs is this category are viewed as the most dangerous of all drugs, and the most heavily criminalized.

At the beginning of the year, President Obama said he wouldn’t use his last year in office to focus on changing cannabis laws. However, the DEA issued a memo in April, saying it might consider changing the status of cannabis.

So far, no changes have been made.

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There are five major cannainoids with some variants in medical marijuana that are particularly effective for relieving symptoms of illness, and each one produces different physiological and psychological effects. This is one of the main reasons why certain strains of medical marijuana are bred to have different amounts of each cannabinoid and are recommended for different conditions.

Major cannabinoids in medical marijuana

What is THC and its effects?

THC stands for delta-9-teetrahydrocannabinol. It is probably the best known cannabinoid present in medical and recreational marijuana. Physically it acts as a muscle relaxant and anti-inflammatory and psychologically it acts as a stimulant. This makes medical marijuana strains high in THC a good choice for patients who need relief while also to remain alert and active.

THC in medical marijuana acts in the following ways:

• anti-epileptic
• anti-inflammatory
• anti-depressant
• stimulates appetite
• lowers blood pressure
• apoptosis (self induced cell death)

What is CBD and its effects?

CBD stands for cannabidiol and it actually reduces the psycholigal effects of medical marijuana. For most patients, a strain that has high THC and high cannabidiol will not have a great psychological impact but the physical ones are more. Medical marijuana strains high in cannabidiol, like Blueberry and Harlequin, are especially effective for illnesses with strong physical symptoms.

Cannabidiol’s effects include:

• reduced pain
• reduced anxiety
• reduced nausea
• sedative effects
• anti-convulsive
• anti-schizophrenic
• slows the spread of cancer

What CBN is and its effects?

CBN stands for cannabinol, not to be confused with Cannabidiol. Cannabinol is very similar to THC, but it has less psychological effects. It is produces as THC breaks down within the medical marijuana plant. High THC will make cannabinol’s effects stronger, and very high cannabinol concentrations can produce undesirable strong head highs.

Strains like Strawberry Haze and Blue Rhino, which can be particularly helpful for:

• lowering pressure in the eye (such as with glaucoma)
• analgesic
• anti-seizure

What is CBD and its effects?

Cannabichromene enhances the effects of THC. High cannabichromene levels will make a high-THC medical marijuana strain more potent.

Cannabichromene working together with THC is known to be a:

• sedative
• analgesic
• anti-inflammatory

What is CBG and its effects?

CBG is an abbreviation for cannabigerol. It has no psychological effects on its own, and is not usually found in high amounts in most medical marijuana. Scientists believe that cannabigerol is actually one of the oldest forms of cannabinoids, meaning it works in conjunction with the rest of the cannabinoids. It also have anti-microbial properties. CBG has physical effects such as:

• lowering pressure in the eye
• anti-inflammatory
• sedative
• sleep assistance

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Mattie, however, maintains a sparkle in his eye and a smile as he shares a plan to revive this town – thanks to the marijuana industry.

“The abandoned Pepsi plant became a marijuana dispensary. People resurrected these buildings that were about to fall and collapse,” he says.

This is in large part thanks to the marijuana tax that brought in $800,000 revenue to be used.

This “green gold” is bringing hope back to this once-booming coal mining town in rural southeast Colorado, 11 miles from the New Mexico border, where generations of Mattie’s family have lived. Residents pride themselves on the town’s pioneer reputation and Wild West spirit.

“This is the place mere Bat Masterson was the marshal. This is where Jesse James’ gang did run. This is the place where Doc Holiday was a dentist and owned a brothel. This is the place, says Cy Michaels, a hotel owner and leader of the town’s tourism board.

The town was also home to one of the first places in the nation that made gender reassignment surgery available, earning it the unofficial title of “sex change capitals of the world” in the early 2000s.

However, the doctor left, mines shut their entrances and business closed down, leaving the town searching for a new identity. It then turned to marijuana, hoping the fill the gap in its economy.

Compared with 30,000 residents in its prime, there are only 8,200 now. Mattie and others hope marijuana dispensaries, grow facilities and a high-scale chocolate edibles company can be a shot in the arm.

“I expect that the sale of medical and recreational marijuana in the city of Trinidad is transitional,” Mattie says. “That it gets us over this abyss of nothingness.”

The town is in many instances an experiment that other cities across the country is watching. They’re only starting to see the pros, cons and questions that comes with a small town giving weed the all-clear.

Stream of revenue

The town slowly moved into the controversial legal marijuana industry, waiting and only allowing medical marijuana businesses at first.

“It’s like tipping your toe in the water, testing the water,” Mattie says. “And we said, ‘Alright, this is not the big problem we maybe thought it could be.'”

In November 2014 the first recreational pot shop opened in Trinidad and the cash flow was beyond expectations.

According to City Manager Gabe England, the $800,000 in tax revenue from marijuana sales makes up just about 10% of the town’s general fund. Mattie says they anticipated only about $200,000.

The transformation of the town finally began. With the marijuana tax, the city spend$70,000 on a new fire engine, a pumper track. Some of the money allowed the city to expedite replacing old water pipes.

“About 60% of our water pipes were installed between 1890 and 1950,” Engeland says. “They’re edging towards catastrophic failure.”

The city bought several rundown buildings in the heart of town with plans to convert them into live-work lofts and galleries, to attract artists and craftspeople to Trinidad.

The money’s making a difference for this struggling town and a trend is becoming visible all across the state.

Nearly $50 million in marijuana taxes will go toward new school and construction projects. Colorado reported nearly $1 billion in legal marijuana sales, a 40% increase from 2014. Sales for the first few months in 2016 are already outpacing last year’s records.

The good and bad

At CannaCo, one of the eight pot dispensaries in Trinidad, a slow stream of customers stops in the parking lot on a monday afternoon, many of whom have out-of-state license plates.

It’s the first pot shop drivers encounter as the head north from New mixico on Interstate 25.

“It’s just kind of an ideal spot to capture tourism coming in to the state,” General Manager Josh Bleem says, “We get a lot of folks from Texas, New Mexico, Oklahome and Arizona. Probably 85% of our business is out-of-state coming in.”

Bleem says his shop sees between 100 and 300 customers a day.

Michaels, owner of the La Quinta Inn and Suites, says she says on any nihhy “5 to 10% of rooms that are marijuana driven”.

She’s seem a jump in people aged 70 and over coming to Trinidad, in part, because of pot. While her rooms are smoke-free, she allows residents to smoke outside. Other hotels have rooms blocked off for cannabus-consuming customers.

While many tourists are embraced in Trinidad, not everyone sees the extra people and pot-cash infusion as a good things.

“I personally can’t fina a positive,” says Carolyn Dillow. She and her husband own a Big-O tires franchise in town.

Dillow points to a man holding a sign near their property and blames pot for an increased number of panhanflers. There is the start of a makeshift campsite near the CannaCo dispensary, she says.

The city manager says more people have needed social services, but he can’t say how much is attributed to marijuana business.

“I don’t think families who want to raise children are attracted to the community,” Dillow says. “I have personally seen and experienced a lot of increase in homeless people and also in crime and violence in the community as a result of marijuana coming in, or at least that’s my feelings.”

Trinidad crime statistics from 2014 to 2015 show no significan increase in major crimes. In fact, the number of burglaries decreased. Drug manufacture and possession arrests were slightly up. Pot-related crime reports were down. DUI citations were significantly lower, dropping from 59 in 2015 to 29 in 2015.

Colorado State Patrol shows a decrease in total DUI’s year-to-year statewide. However, the percentage of DUI’s specifically involving pot increased by about 20%. Officials warn it maybe too soon to draw conclusion since they never keep track of marijuana-specific stats before the drug was legalized.

Mattie, who worked as a state patrol officer for 28 years, remains conflicted.

“The idea of marijuana as a benefit, it just flew in the face of everything I was ever about”, he says. “But you can’t learn anything with a closed mind.”

The economic boost from the pot industry has been undeniable, but city leaders wonder about its sustainability as more states are legalizing the plant.

“Trinidad, the sad part of its history is the boom and bust. We create bubbles and when the good times are good, they’re great. But then there’s long periods of — how do we recover?” Engeland says.

So far; twenty-four states have legalized medical marijuana. Four states and the District of Columbia have approved recreational use and sale of marijuana, even though it is still federally illicit. Several more states could make the move toward marijuana legalization during the November ballot.

“As surrounding states now embrace the idea of embracing marijuana, the novelty of Colorado selling legal marijuana is going to dissipate,” Mattie says. “In a short while, there’s not going to be as much money to be made.”

Marijuana Chocoaltes

Mattie’s fear is one company’s biggest hope.

Inside a 30,000 square foot warehouse in Trinidad’s first marijuana edibles manufacturing company. CODA Signature’s commercial kitchen smells like a miniature Willy Wonka-esque factory.

A dozen employees carefully craft tray after tray of eye-catching cannabis-infused chocolate truffles. Co-founder and CEO, Mark Grindeland, hopes to distribute them nationwide someday.

“I think it’s only a matter of time before those states come on,” Grindeland says. “The genie is out of the bottle.”

CODA’s chocolatiers come up with exciting, new and uique flavor combinations, like Juniper Lemon, Passion Fruit Szechuan, Burn Caramel and Tiramisu – in hopes of bringing something gourmet to the marijuana industry.

CODA’s head chocolatier Lauren Gockley moved from New York, where she ran the dessert section at Thomas Keller’s famous restaurant Per Se. Grindeland beams with pride noting Gockley was named one of the top chocolatiers in North America in 2011.

“I saw a an opportunity to do what I love and saw an opening in the industry that really hadn’t seen the type of products that I make,” Gockley explains, her eyes filling with tears.

Gockley and rindeland believe a huge growth opportunity lies ahead.

“People have asked me, if they used a metaphor like a baseball game, ‘What inning are we in?’ And I would say we haven’t even started the game. We’re warming up right now,” says Grindeland.

Decriminalizing marijuana on a federal level would allow this community to take part in interstate commerce.

Grindeland, an experienced entrepreneur who successfully launched three previous startups, hesitates before answering questions about financial projections.
“Within five years we’ll be north of $100 million in revenue,” he says.
If that happens, Trinidad also stands to benefit.

CODA has 13 employees. Grindekabd expects to hire nearly 30 more this year when he adds a grow operation and THC oil extraction component to the business.

The thought of more jobs, more tax revenue and more investment trickling down to the town makes Mattie cautiously optimistic about the town’s future. However, he stops short of suggesting the marijuana industry is some kind of savior to the town.

“Save is a strong word. Help is a better word,” Mattie says. “But whenever I have an opportunity to talk about my hometown, and what I want it to be, and what I remember it to be, and what I’m hoping it will be, I get very energized. I get very enthused.”
“And if marijuana is the tool that helps us do that, so be it. But I don’t see it to be the big monster that first we feared.”

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Epidiolex is a nearly pure extract of cannabidoil (CBD), with little of the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) that gets users high. CBD products are highly sought-after medicinal pot products, and activists fear that if the maker of Epidiolex gets FDA approval, it could undercut the political momentum of the medical marijuana movement.

A pediatric neurologist who oversees Epidiolex’s clinical trials at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, Anup patel, insists the drug contains the optimal known marijuana compound for treating seizures. He cited a study that found using the whole plant can hurt children.

Patel laments that children with epilepsy are being using to push for medical marijuana legalization, including during an unsuccessful Ohio ballot campaign last year.

“People are mixing terms, mixing ideas,” he said. “I’m not sure if that’s just because of confusion, lack of knowledge or on purpose.”

Karmen Hanson, expert on marijuana policy for the nonpartisan National Conference of State Legislatures, said the two sides are at odds.

“The argument for traditional (whole-plant) medical marijuana is that people know what works for them — whether they’re going to make their own concentrates or vape or combust, use flowered products, oils, you name it — so they want to protect their ability to do that,” she said. “The other camp wants to see the head-to-head science, to give it more scientific validity, to elevate the products that are produced in terms of reliability and consistency.”

Patel is in Camp 2. He personally lobbied to get U.S. patients access to Epidiolex, which he said is effective, consistent and doesn’t get users high.

Roughly two years ago, Patel persuaded GW Pharmaceuticals, a London-based company, to give him enough of the medicine for a single patient, and his hospital’s study was born. Last month, the company release positive results of late-stage testing. It plans to take Epidiolex to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration later this year.

THE FDA has not yet found any botanical form of marijuana to be safe or effective to treat any disease or condition, according to spokesman Michael Felberbaum. If Epidiolex is approved it would be the first, however, there are two synthetic cannabinoids – Marinol and Cesamet – available.

An FDA approval would allow any doctor to prescribe Epidiolex to any patient, and it would be covered by insurane. No law or ballot issue would be required.

Many medical marijuana activists fear the approval of Epidiolex will mark the beginning of Big Pharma’s takeover of the marijuana plant, undercutting patients’ ability to treat themselves as they see fit.

“We are not concerned with the pill (actually oil) form of a natural plant,” said Wendy Johnson, who represents the Cannabis Safety Association in Ohio. “In fact, it is looked upon very unfavorably and as a stumbling block on our way to whole plant.”

Twenty-three states now have medical marijuana and cannabis programs – but 17 others have chosen to permit use of “low THC, high cannabidiol” products, mostly cannabis oils or hemp extracts.

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Duke University is responsible for this game-changer. Researchers headed the best possible scenario in this study: analyzing the cognitive ability, habits, successes and failures of identical twins. Twins give this study its advantage because they come from the same background, upbringing and their body chemistry is the same. The factors weed out much of the uncertainty in comparison to tests done on people with very different genetic make-ups and backgrounds.

According to the study, “The data collected from the identical twins fails to support the implication that marijuana exposure in adolescence causes neurocognitive decline.”

The data gathered from the twin study suggests that teenagers who experience “intellectual stagnation” are the ones who are most likely to develop heavy cannabis use habits later in life. This is mainly due to the boredom factor, where students with high IQ scores end up doing worse because they lack interest in school studies that are geared to their peers with lower Iqs, depriving them of essential intellectual challenge and cognitive stimulation. According to the study, these types of teens are “predisposed to intellectual stagnation in middle school and are on a trajectory for future marijuana use.”

Put differently, teenagers on the lowest and highest ends of the IQ spectrum are almost equally as likely to develop habitual cannabis use in their younger years. The teenagers on the low end of the IQ spectrum develop marijuana dependence due to a lack in brain development, while high IQ spectrum teens get there typically through boredom.

Naturally, the scientific conclusion of this study does not mean that anyone can consume as much cannabis as they want with zero side effects. Despite its various medicinal uses, treatment and applications – cannabis is still a drug on he federal level.

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According to new date from the state Department of Revenue; licensed and regulated marijuana stores in Colorado sold $996,184,788 worth of recreational and medical marijuana in 2015.

Cannabis industry attorney Christian Sederberg said Tuesday upon hearing the 2015 totals “I think it’s ethical to round that up to a billion”.

The recreational marijuana sales in Colorado first started on Jan, 1, 2014.

The state also collected more than $135 million in marijuana taxes and fees in 2015; over $35 million of which is marked for school construction projects.

One of the principal drafters of Colorado’s pot-legalizing Amendment 64, attorney Steve Fox claims; “These are amazing numbers, especially on the tax revenue side.”

Colorado released December 2015 marijuana tax data, showing a major uptick in month-over-month sales. Recreational pot sales increased more than 21% from November to December, lading at $62.6 million – a monthly record in the state’s legal era. Medical sales also increased more than 32% in the same period, totaling $39.1 million.

The data on Colorado marijuana sales and taxes ended months of speculation surrounding the 2015 totals, which some believed would exceed $1 billion. Even though the sales amount didn’t reach that lofty mark, legalization advocates are still content with the 2015 totals.

Mason Tvert, the Marijuana Policy Project’s communications director said; “It’s remarkable than less than seven years ago, all of that money was being spent in the underground market”. “Clearly there’s a large demand for marijuana, and we’re now seeing that demand being met by legitimate businesses that are answering to authorities instead of criminals who answer to nobody.”

Colorado’s 2015 marijuana tax and sales totals tell a story of implementation and growth. While the state’s pot shops sold more than $699 million of cannabis in 2014, they sold more then $966 million in 2015 – a year when more pot shops opened, more municipalities started started allowing these businesses and customers to find their way into the regulated market. The totals for taxes and licenses grew from $76 million in 2014 to $135 million in 2015.

The school-funding 15% excise tax on wholesale marijuana transfers jumped from $13.3 million in 2014 to more then $35 million in 2015, according to the state.

“I’m really proud of our state and proud of our legislators and local officials, who have helped us transition away from an underground market so quickly,” said Sederberg, “so that our state can see the benefits of tax revenues, regulated sales, jobs and economic development.”

There are currently three types of state taxes on recreational marijuana; the standard 2.9% sales tax, a 10% special marijuana sales tax, and a 15% excise tax on wholesale marijuana transfers. For December, Colorado collected $11.3 million is recreational taxes and fees and almost $2 million in medical taxes and fees.

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Law enforcement officers in Washington do not have a device to detect pot or any other drugs. They rely on their skills and standard field sobriety test. Across the country and around the world, a wide-range of machines are being developed and tested similar to Washington State University’s marijuana breathalyzer.

“Whether it’s measuring THC on the breath or in the saliva, some are looking at transdermal applications, so just measuring off of sweat from the body,” said Lt. Rob Sharpe with the Washington State Patrol.

Sharpe is the impaired driving section commander with WSP. He says, predominantly, saliva detection is being tested in different jurisdictions outside of Washington state. More than 125 troopers in Colorado are working with the new technology. WSP says there’s simply not enough science for state officials Washington to feel confident yet.

“If we’re going to adopt something in Washington, we want to make sure it’s very reliable accurate and doesn’t suffer from false positives or false negatives that could occur,” said Sharpe.

Under the current procedures, a warrant must be requested before a blood draw following a DUI arrest. WSP say that will continue to happen even if the new technology is adopted by the state.

WSP has a full-time librarian collecting studies from around the world on new testing mechanisms that could work well for troopers in the Evergreen State.

“Right now we’re just waiting on validation of these test devices and then we’ll make a determination after that for their accuracy, precision and reliability,” said Sharpe.

WSP says it doesn’t see a front-runner among new technology, yet, and there is no timeline on when troopers could be carrying new testing machines.

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The initiative would ask Arizona voters to legalize marijuana for recreational use and establish a network of licensed cannabis shops where sales of the drug would be taxed.

The “Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol” is only a few thousand signatures away of gathering the 150,642 signatures it needs to qualify for the ballot, according to spokesman Barrett Marson on Wednesday. He also said that some signatures are likely invalid as it could be collected from people who cannot vote and the group aims to collect about 225,000 signatures.

Marson added: “Arizonans are clearly excited about this initiative.”

Many other individuals and groups are not so pleased about the initiative, including a group that has been educating the public about the negative effects of pot on children and society. The Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy has pointed to news articles and statistics and a new U.S. Department of Health and Human Services survey that shows Colorado as a leading state of the nation regarding past-month cannabis use following its successful legalization in 2012.

Under the proposed Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act, adults of 21 years and older could possess up to 1 ounce of pot and grow up to six plants in their homes without obtaining licenses, as long as the plants are in a secure area.

It would also create a legal distribution system that is similar to Colorado’s, where licenses businesses produce and sell marijuana.

The initiative would create a Department of marijuana Licenses and Control to regulate the “cultivation, manufacturing, testing, transportation, and sale of marijuana”. Local governments would be given the authority to regulate and ban cannabis stores. It would also establish a 15% tax on retail sales,with proceeds being used to fund education, including full-day kindergarten and public health.

Under the 2016 Arizona initiative language, driving while impaired would still be illegal, as would consuming marijuana in public and selling or giving the drug to anyone under the age of 21.

Taxation of the program would pay the state’s cost of implementing and enforcing the initiative. 40% of taxes on marijuana would be directed to the Department of Education for construction, maintenance and operation costs, including the salaries of K-12 teachers. Another 40% would be set aside for full-day kindergarten programs and the final 20% would go to the state Department of Health Services for unspecified uses.

Revenue from these taxes could not flow into the state’s general fun, allowing it to be utilized for other purposes.

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