79 Reasons Trump Should Support Legalization

Bone up on your actual cannabis facts while listening to the President's address to Congress tonight.

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by Bruce Barcott at Leafly

STRAIN OF THE DAY 03/01/2017: MASTER BUBBA (INDICA)

CANNABIS STRAIN OF THE DAY 03/01/2017: MASTER BUBBA (INDICA)

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Avoid These 5 Common Cannabis Growing Mistakes

Growing great cannabis is no easy feat, and many mistakes are possible. Learn about five of the most common mistakes to avoid for your cannabis garden.

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by Trevor Hennings at Leafly

Raspberry Cough Bar Cookie Recipe

Sativa-dominant Raspberry Cough lends a deliciously fruity and floral element to this strain-specific dessert recipe for gluten-free raspberry bars.

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by Jessica Catalano at Leafly

States Plot Marijuana Defense As Sessions Goes Off Again

John Hickenlooper has never been a huge fan of marijuana legalization. When Colorado voted to legalized marijuana in 2012, Hickenlooper, a former mayor of Denver who’s served as the state’s Democratic governor since 2010, was in the minority who voted against legal cannabis. Now, the country’s marijuana movement is hoping Hickenlooper is serious when he suggests that he likes Donald Trump messing with him and his state even less than the reefer.

On Sunday, Hickenlooper appeared on NBC’s Meet the Press to utter the great conservative mantra—states’ rights—and declared, if in the most passive-aggressive (read: mainstream Democratic) way possible, his intent to abide by his oath of office and defend Colorado from all threats, foreign and domestic, even if that threat is the federal government and Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

“Our voters passed [marijuana legalization] 55-45. It’s in our constitution,” Hickenlooper told moderator Chuck Todd. “It’s in our constitution, and I took a solemn oath to support our constitution.”

Not that Hickenlooper, whom Todd fingered as a possible presidential candidate in 2020, is planning to be the first man on the barricades if Sessions and the DEA come knocking. After all, it’s “unclear” if Sessions could follow through on a series of increasingly menacing statements about enforcing federal marijuana law—and, for that matter, Hickenlooper isn’t quite yet in support of recreational marijuana personally yet.

The cannabis world has been on high alert since Trump selected Sessions, a controversial former Alabama senator who favors mandatory minimum sentences and other failed hard-line drug war tactics, to lead the U.S. Justice Department. Tensions were heightened even further with Trump press secretary Sean Spicer’s offhand remark last week that adult-use marijuana states could “see greater enforcement,” and Sessions upped the ante even further on Monday and Tuesday.

The attorney general declared America would not be a better place if “marijuana is sold at every corner grocery store”—where, for the record, it is not currently sold, except illegally—and dismissed the growing body of scientific evidence that cannabis, a great tonic for chronic pain, could be a bulwark against the country’s raging epidemic of opiate abuse, which has its roots in prescription pain pills.

“My best view,” Session said, “is that we don’t need to be legalizing marijuana.”

Marijuana is clearly in need of a hero and champion in its hour of need, an hour that could well last until Trump is out of office, or until the strings of law enforcement are out of the hands of avowed drug warriors like the antebellum good ole boy currently running things.

If Hickenlooper won’t rally the troops and reassure his state that the industry that just supported $1.3 billion in legal sales is safe, officials in California—the place in the lower 48 states furthest away from Donald Trump in both mind and location—may take the lead, with help from the same lawyers who just beat Team Trump on the president’s much-ballyhooed travel ban.

Last week, officials reacted to Spicer’s comments by declaring that California’s marijuana industry would behave as if Donald Trump didn’t exist… at least for the moment. State officials would continue laying the framework for full regulation and oversight of commercial sales of both medical and recreational marijuana—and are still planning to allow dispensaries to sell to anyone 21 years or older on Jan. 1, 2018.

“Until we see any sort of formal plan from the federal government, it’s full speed ahead for us,” Alex Traverso, a spokesman for the California Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation, told the Los Angeles Times.

One of the strongest reactions has come from Xavier Becerra, California’s new attorney general. Like Hickenlooper, Becerra invoked the oath to defend the state.

“If there is action from the federal government on this subject, I will respond in an appropriate way to protect the interest of California,” he said in a statement.

Becerra may likely huddle with Washington attorney general Bob Ferguson, one of the lawyers responsible for beating Trump adviser Steve Bannon’s travel ban in federal court earlier this month, and plot a similar strategy to enjoin the feds from cracking down on weed.

Ferguson and Washington Governor Jay Inslee have requested a meeting with Sessions to explain how recreational weed works, according to the Times, though the attorney general is under no obligation to host the people who just kicked his boss’s ass, let alone listen to them.

Perhaps the greatest hope for weed is the Guantanamo-loving, former Ted Cruz supporter who uses medical marijuana to soothe an old surfing injury. U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher is the co-author of a congressional budget amendment that prohibits the spending of federal dollars on enforcing federal marijuana laws on operators that follow state medical marijuana law.

Rohrabacher plans to expand that protection to law-abiding recreational marijuana as well, a spokesman told the Times.

But maybe marijuana will be OK with statements even as lukewarm as Hickenlooper’s. Trump may need help more than cannabis.

As drug policy expert Mark Kleinman observed recently, there are but 4,000 DEA agents around the world and a similarly limited number of Justice Department lawyers. DOJ officials would need to be pulled away from cracking down on immigrants to start busting weed.

As long as cannabis isn’t betrayed by quisling collaborators, everything could be OK—but unfortunately, there are plenty of local and state cops who might welcome a Sessions-led invasion with open arms.

RELATED: Jeff Sessions Breaks Silence on Pot Policy 

You can keep up with all of HIGH TIMES’ marijuana news right here.

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by Chris Roberts at High Times

California Bill Would Bar Officials From Aiding Federal Crackdown

Lawmakers will weigh legislation to stifle cooperation between US law enforcement and local officials, a key ingredient of past federal enforcement actions.

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by Ben Adlin at Leafly

Get the Right Strain of Weed to Lose Weight

Munchies are one of the major results of getting really high, so one must be mindful not to over-munch.

However, there is a certain part of the cannabis plant that acts as an appetite suppressant.

This chemical element is called tetrahydrocannabivarin (THCV), and in its pure form, it appears to have the capacity to subdue the irrational urge to overeat and even to stave off hunger.

THCV has gotten popular lately because of its high potency (and resulting fabulous high), as well as its promising quality of taming rather than provoking one’s appetite.

As the name suggests, THCV is similar to its cannabinoid cousin, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC); their chemical structures are nearly identical, but the processes involved in their creation are slightly different.

THCV, say researchers, could be a new weapon against obesity and can help treat type 2 diabetes, while also lowering cholesterol levels in the blood stream and fat in key organs such as the liver.

The problem is that THCV is only produced in tiny quantities in the pot plant, but it’s there.

Normally expensive and difficult to extract, one scientist referred to THCV as the needle-in-a-haystack cannabinoid, but advises not to lose hope.

Biotech firm Teewinot Life Sciences claims to be the first company that can replicate and produce this precious compound in commercial quantities.

Tweewinot’s use of a process called biocatalysis, which is the use of natural substances to speed up chemical reactions, allows it to manufacture cannabinoid molecules in a lab environment.

“Our technology removes the negative factors from the plant,” Jeff Korentur, Teewinot’s CEO, told Forbes. “We produce the same cannabinoid, just replicated outside the plant. It is identical in every way.”

But how does it work?

According to Medical Jane, “THCV is psychoactive, but causes more of a psychedelic, clear-headed effect. It causes the effects of THC to hit you much faster, and some think it could be the reason for those ‘1 hitter quitter’ strains. With that said, the THC effects also die off a bit more quickly with the presence of THCV.”

Korentur said researchers are anxious to get a hold of such compounds for research and that they need large amounts of consistent product.

And they’re not the only ones.

While waiting for Teewinot to develop their appetite suppressant formula, we’re guessing lots of people would also like to find “large amounts” of product to conduct their own testing?

Popular strains like Tangie and Girl Scout Cookies, among others, are said to contain THCV. Some of the most beloved, popular sativas in the world are high in THCV.

But keep in mind that weed strains containing THCV energize the cannabinoid cocktail, are quick-acting though not long-lasting and are even considered to be euphoric.

They’re out there, so go get ‘em while you can.

You can keep up with all of HIGH TIMES’ marijuana news right here.

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by Maureen Meehan at High Times

Las Vegas Cannabis Cup May Go On Without Cannabis

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Top 10 Obstacles to Establishing Legal Weed in California

Recreational cannabis was finally, officially legalized in California on November 9, 2016—the day after the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA) passed at the ballot with 57 percent of the statewide vote. The new law immediately allows for personal possession and cultivation of pot, but retail stores will not be licensed until 2018, and large-scale commercial cultivation is delayed until 2023. This provides an opportunity for the “little guys” in the form of small business to get their feet in the dank door of for-profit pot sales.

For many cannabis activists, AUMA’s passage was long overdue—as California was forced to watch on the sidelines in 2012 as Colorado and Washington made history by legalizing recreational weed, an honor that really should have been reserved for the Golden Ganja state, the cannabis capital of the world for decades. 

Though California is now ready to join the pot party, for many interests, both collective and individual, Prop. 64 is not entirely welcome, with opponents ranging from cultivators to cops, from patients to politicians, and even external opposition in the guise of shady corporations. 

All of these factions could well create barriers to the successful implementation of Prop. 64, frustrating consumers and companies alike. Oh, and we mustn’t forget the federal government—that tiny little institution that just happens to regard all cannabis as illegal, regardless of individual state designation.  

1. Local Government Greed

One of the provisions of Prop. 64 permits local cities and counties to set their own regulations, taxes and fees. And while such revenue was a major selling point to help get AUMA passed, it’s also resulted in a “greed factor” as delineated by hall-of-fame cannabis activist, author and consultant Chris Conrad.

Conrad warned of local governments seeking to cash in via licensing for legal weed businesses, based on the perceived “green rush” that Conrad flat-out terms “an illusion.” It’s the notion that everyone is getting rich overnight from legal weed, which motivates greedy politicos to jack up the price of licensing and make excessive demands bordering on legal bribery from those interests competing for canna-biz licenses. This then becomes a huge financial burden for those trying to establish a business.

As reported by East Bay Express, Oakland mandates the city be a 25-percent owner of certain new cannabis businesses and receives a seat on the company board. And while such money can be used to improve inner cities damaged by the War on Drugs, it also maintains the status quo of favoring those with more money. And does Oakland demand part-ownership of fast-food restaurants and other businesses? No way—it’s always pot that has to pay the extra price, even when legal.  

Conrad suggested acquisition of pot-biz licenses be made cheaper, “so those living in drug-ravaged communities can create their own businesses and bring money and employment to them, instead of the high-fee licensing system that results in the ‘rich white guys’ taking over.”

2. Transition from Medical Marijuana

Though California wasn’t first when it came to recreational weed, it was the groundbreaking state for legalizing medicinal marijuana when voters passed Prop. 215 in 1996. That’s a 21-year head start MMJ has on “party pot,” and there are some issues to be settled.

Josh Drayton of the California Cannabis Industry Association (CCIA) considers this potentially the biggest threat to AUMA’s success.

“I see the big fight being at the state level, and the reconciliation between MCRSA (Medical Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act, passed by state legislators in 2015) and Prop. 64.,” Drayton said.

AB 64 was introduced to reconcile MCRSA and Prop. 64, but as Drayton noted, “I think there will be many (related) bills introduced this year, but I think the thing to watch is to see how closely the legislature is willing to support Prop. 64’s rules and regulations, which were approved by the voters, in comparison to what they wrote in the MCRSA regulations. Because there are big gaps in cultivation and distribution levels, and those are some real hot topics.”

Prop. 64 represents an increased financial burden for pot patients, as they will have to pay the 15 percent excise tax to be added to all pot sales, recreational or medicinal.

Though there is the option to avoid state sales tax with a state medical marijuana card—if you’re going to spend enough money on those taxes in a calendar year to justify purchasing a card for $66 for non-MediCal patients. Taxation is one of the most unpleasant aspects of Prop. 64, but then, it was what helped get AUMA passed in the first place.

Additionally, not every medical marijuana patient is all in on Prop. 64.  As noted by the OC Register, patients like Alexandra Rice of Grand Terrace in Southern California worry that MMJ users will be “misplaced and thrown to the side,” as the priority shifts to recreational cannabis. Rice is also concerned about medicine no longer being available at a “reasonable price.”

However, what Rice and others, especially younger pot patients, may fail to realize is that the use and social acceptance of modern medical marijuana began in the gay community of San Francisco—where it was initially used solely for recreational purposes, and then eventually discovered to be efficacious towards those suffering from HIV and AIDS.

Still, medical cannabis use in California must be respected by the incoming recreational industry.

3. Local Government and Community Acceptance 

AUMA permits local governments to flat out ban outdoor grows, but also allows the administration of “reasonable regulation” of indoor ganja gardens, which is cause for some controversy. 

Elk Grove—in Sacramento County—could become the first municipality sued over its own “unreasonable” ordinances that circumvent Prop. 64, as reported by Elk Grove News. The city has not let anyone grow any pot at all for three months and counting. 

In January, the Elk Grove City Council voted unanimously to extend by 45 days a previously passed moratorium on establishing guidelines for personal use and cultivation, further delaying residents’ rights to use and grow recreational cannabis.

Cannabis licensing consultant Jackie McGowan criticized the Elk Grove moratorium on any indoor cultivation, noting that it is actually in violation of the AUMA law as it now stands.

There’s also the NIMBY—”Not In My Backyard”—factor to consider, the resistance of otherwise pro-weed supporters, as well as the haters, to having cannabis storefronts located in their particular neighborhoods. This attitude ranges from suburbanites who don’t want their pristine locales tainted by pot shops as well as inner cities damaged by drugs that don’t want another substance for sale in the hood.

And of course, there’s the holy rollers who seek to stand on a higher moral ground than the rest of us—by opposing legal pot stores as an affront to their faith. Yet somehow life-destroying gambling, alcohol and tobacco are perfectly permissible by their particular God.

4. The Advances of “Big Weed” 

This category obviously directly relates to number one on this list regarding the greed of local governments looking to cash in on the perceived huge profits of legal weed, which creates a system of big-money players who buy their way into the industry. The purported goal of AUMA is to avoid a system of pot “have’s and have-not’s” that would render the legal industry as just another reflection of soulless capitalism, but will it work out that way?

Even Prop. 64 supporter California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom expressed concerns about keeping the “big money interests at bay” in an interview with Billboard. Newsom envisions a “highly regulated market” that both protects public safety and benefits “the small farmer,” those who’ve cultivated cannabis in the state for years.

As Chris Conrad noted on the Leaf, Prop. 64 attempts to restrain corporate control of cannabis by withholding large scale (half an acre or larger) cultivation licenses for five years—until 2023—to see if they are needed or will be issued. If enough small growers can establish viable companies, it may well preclude the issuance of such licenses to “Big Weed.”

5. Federal Interference 

With notorious anti-pot-hawk Jeff Sessions newly minted as U.S. Attorney General, California’ legal industry—as well as the existing medical infrastructure—is now on high-risk-alert, at least until Sessions and the Dept of Justice unveil their full strategy. There is obviously cause for concern given Sessions’ recent comments (AKA alternative facts) that “there’s more violence around marijuana than one would think.”

Josh Drayton of CCIA is “cautiously optimistic; we want to have faith this administration does believe in states’ rights and they’re going to stick to that. From what we’re seeing, cannabis is low on (Trump’s) priority list, because they’re got their hands full (with other issues).”

Chris Conrad speculated the Trump administration can ultimately take one of three possible roads: “The first is a massive federal crackdown. That would result in a lot of negativity, but they could do that because they’re so openly fascist. The second would be to let the states do their own thing, follow Obama’s model, and that would be nice. But the third alternative, which I think is the most likely scenario, is they’ll create a federal marijuana law where certain corporations—run by Trump’s cronies—make the bulk of the profits, with everyone else having to buy it from them. Trump will try to figure out, ‘How do we make the money off of (legal weed)?'” 

6. External Interference 

Legal pot is a perceived threat to the bottom-lines of existing industries such as Big Pharma and Big Alcohol, and there is a report of some alleged interference into Prop. 64’s implementation in the Bay Area from at least one of those industries. 

As reported by Chris Conrad, coming second-hand from Sean Donahoe, formerly of CCIA and now with the Medical Jane website, there is some sort of “neighborhood group” consisting of the same exact people popping up at numerous Bay Area city council meetings on Prop. 64, such as in El Cerrito in the East Bay. This group voices their collective opposition to a cannabis retail outlet operating in “their neighborhood”—even though they don’t appear to belong to the particular neighborhood they’re “defending” at a given municipal meeting.  

Even more alarming, allegedly this group of people report to a woman connected to a pharmaceutical drug distribution company. Big Pharma has good reason to fear legal weed, especially with the growing publicity that cannabis can replace deadly opioids as a safer form of pain relief, as noted by the Washington Post. 

7. Opposition from the Old-Guard Growers 

The cultivation of cannabis in Northern California, particularly in the ideal mountainous forests of the Emerald Triangle—comprised of Humboldt, Mendocino and Trinity counties—is a multi-generational phenomenon with families firmly entrenched in the pot biz, legal or otherwise, and not necessarily ready to get all warm and fuzzy with every facet of Prop. 64. 

The executive director of the Sacramento-based California Grower’s Association, Hezekiah Allen, told Fortune.com, “I don’t want to replace a criminal injustice with an economic injustice”—an allusion to big-money marijuana interests that could wipe out the old school farmers.  

Chris Conrad expressed the complexity of the issue; there is a long-standing tradition of growers in the Triangle who paved the way for the marijuana industry we have now, yet that doesn’t mean that their way is the only proper method of running a pot industry. The older generation tends to be attached to an “outlaw culture” that wants exclusive control of the market, while the younger generation of ganjapreneurs have grown up in a climate of legalization. 

Conrad detailed one of the darker stories: “In Trinity County, it seems like the old guard of growers have worked really hard to get anyone new trying to grow arrested. There were a bunch of Hmong (Southeast Asian) people that tried to start growing in Trinity, and they ended up getting busted left and right.” 

Conrad added the racism of law enforcement in the Triangle may have also played a role in selectively eliminating the Hmong attempts at getting in on the marijuana market.

Humboldt Growers Collective CEO Steve Dodge told  Fortune he opposes Prop. 64 due to regulatory inspections that a certain percentage of cultivators view as the equivalent of a warrant-less search by officials.

8. Law Enforcement Resistance

Prop. 64 is a “sticky bud” for cops; legalization takes away the easy quota-fills of busting pot users, yet once retail sales kick in during 2018, THC tax revenue will be directed to law enforcement. One issue for police is that public pot use remains criminalized, but of course, peeps are still gonna get high in the California sunshine! Especially when it’s smoked at a protest or festival with hundreds—if not thousands—of people consuming cannabis openly.

Josh Drayton opined that educating cops is key, “giving law enforcement the right tools to understand (Prop. 64) and to learn what (actions) are appropriate. They need to learn the law as well, (for example) how much (weed) can people transport, what do people (legally) require in order to transport large amounts?”

There’s also the issue of local and state law enforcement being used in conjunction with federal raids, if the newly elected Trump administration decides to go that route (see number five).

It remains to be seen if law enforcement will “go down easy” when it comes to handling Prop. 64.  As noted by Brown-White Law.com, despite having some of the most lenient pot laws in the nation, there were nearly half-a-million weed busts statewide from 2006-2015, so cops in California are conditioned to make pot busts. Besides, there are ways in which the cops can still gladly arrest people for cannabis offenses in California (see #10).

9. Controversy Over Dank DUIs

It’s as inevitable as the rising sun or having to refill the bong—a state legalizes weed, and there’s instant concern about a sudden surge in vehicular accidents on its highways and byways. But is the worry warranted?

As reported by the Washington Post, a 2015 study from the federal government’s own National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found motorists using marijuana are at a markedly lower risk to get into an accident than drivers who drank alcohol. One issue is that cannabis metabolites can remain in the system long after consumption, meaning even if a driver tests positive for weed, he or she might have been as a sober as a DUI judge during the crash. 

10. Individuals Respecting the Law 

Surprise! Despite the many wonderful things about Prop. 64 liberating the weed, you can still be arrested and convicted for marijuana offenses in California—a whole bunch of ‘em, as it turns out. This applies to both the consumer and retailer. 

For example, as noted by the San Diego Union Tribune, businesses have to check IDs when selling retail reefer to ensure that the buyer is at least 21 years old, and they cannot utilize any advertising that appears to be directed at minors.

One of the many great attributes about AUMA is that even should someone grow more than the legal limit of six plants, that offense is now a misdemeanor—provided it’s not a “third strike” conviction or an aggravated offense, like a grow involving a minor or weapons. Any kind of sales are required to have a license, but the penalty for illegal sales has been reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor. You can give up to an ounce away for free, if you’re so deep in dank you can afford to do that sort of thing.

Yet, you can still be fired from your job—or forced into rehab by your employer—for pot use, as reported by the Mercury News, depending on a company’s particular drug policy. Yet should that fate befall you, there’s an easy solution—get a job in the recreational cannabis industry! 

We hear they’re hiring…

RELATED: The Ultimate Prop 64 California Marijuana Legalization FAQ

You can keep up with all of HIGH TIMES’ marijuana news right here.

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by Mark Miller at High Times

What’s the Buzz? Cannabis Grow Lights Vex Ham Radio Operators

Radio operators mostly say they don't have a problem with cannabis but worry growers may not know cheap ballasts can have phony FCC-compliance stickers.

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Nicaragua Nabs Cocaine Lord off Miskito Coast

A Colombian cartel operative—who established Central America’s remote and lawless Miskito Coast as a major cocaine transfer point, building a mini-empire in the region of jungle, savanna and offshore cays—has been cooling his heels in Managua’s notorious El Chipote prison since Feb. 7, according to a new report in the Nicaraguan daily La Prensa.

Although his capture was confirmed by his attorney, Nicaraguan authorities failed to announce the arrest of the country’s most-wanted crime lord, Amauri Carmona Morelos AKA Alberto Ruiz Cano.

The account speculates this may be because he was actually captured by Honduran authorities, and quietly extradited. The Miskito Coast straddles the border of the two countries, and Carmona Morelos had operations on both sides.

According to a profile on InSight Crime, Carmona Morelos was first dispatched to Central America by the old Cali Cartel, and continued to work on behalf of its successor network, the Norte del Valle Cartel. In addition to his jungle operations, he also allegedly owned a nightclub in Managua, which he used as a strategic spot to negotiate prices and set up cocaine shipments.

His main base of operations was the coastal village of Walpa Siksa in Nicaragua’s North Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAN), which he protected with deadly force.

The most notorious incident was in December 2009, when a Nicaraguan naval patrol was sent to the area to look for a downed narco-plane. Carmona Morelos’s gunmen repulsed the patrol’s speed-boats in an ambush, leaving three troops dead.

It remains to be seen if the fall of Carmona Morelos will break the Colombian cartels’ Miskito Coast connection or if an heir will inherit his operations.

You can keep up with all of HIGH TIMES’ news right here.

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by Bill Weinberg at High Times

Leafly Staff Picks: The Best Tasting Cannabis Strains

Explore this list of strains with exceptional aroma, flavor and terpene profiles, and share your favorite tasting and smelling cannabis as well.

The post Leafly Staff Picks: The Best Tasting Cannabis Strains appeared first on Leafly.

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by Bailey Rahn at Leafly

Civil Cold War: The Oncoming State-Federal Marijuana Battle

The Trump administration’s spokesperson Sean Spicer has recently signaled that it will abide by the Congressional spending rider that prevents federal interference in the states that have legalized the medical use of marijuana. However, it has also made clear that recreational marijuana is very different than medical marijuana and that we could see more federal enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act in that regard.

Funny how the Trump administration can suggest that whether transgender kids can use the school restroom matching their gender identity is an issue North Carolina ought to decide, but eight states whose populations have voted to legalize the adult use of marijuana need the federal government’s corrective meddling, ain’t it?

Or like how the Obama administration overruled Arizona’s attempts to crack down on illegal immigration in favor of enforcing federal law, but then, four states whose populations had voted to legalize the adult use of marijuana should be left free from the federal government’s corrective meddling, huh?

States’ rights… so long as the White House agrees with your state, I suppose.

States’ rights used to be a battle cry from the right as it sought to maintain state policies out of step with federal laws on reproductive rights, segregation and taxation, to name a few.

Now, states’ rights may become a battle cry from the left seeking to maintain state policies on marijuana legalization, immigration and LGBT rights against a hostile administration in Washington.

California is leading the way in this new Civil Cold War. While much of the state is covered by cities and counties known as “sanctuary cities” for their ban on local law enforcement assisting federal immigration authorities, there is a bill pending now to extend that protection of immigrants to the entire state, banning state authorities’ cooperation with immigration forces as well.

Now, California is proposing a similar bill creating a de facto marijuana sanctuary state.

“This bill would prohibit a state or local agency, as defined, from taking certain actions without a court order signed by a judge,” according to the Assembly’s Legislative Counsel, “including using agency money, facilities, property, equipment, or personnel to assist a federal agency to investigate, detain, detect, report, or arrest a person for commercial or noncommercial marijuana or medical cannabis activity that is authorized by law in the State of California and transferring an individual to federal law enforcement authorities for purposes of marijuana enforcement.”

The penultimate authority in California, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, was a leading proponent of marijuana legalization in the Golden State. He has penned a letter to President Trump and Attorney General Sessions, expressing his objections to threats of federal interference in the state’s adult-use marijuana program.

The other legal states are gearing up for the Civil Cold War as well.

Colorado’s Governor Hickenlooper has indicated that he’s ready to defend his state’s constitutional marijuana rights. Washington’s Governor Inslee and Attorney General Ferguson also wrote a letter condemning the Trump administration’s saber-rattling on marijuana enforcement. Oregon’s Attorney General Rosenblum vowed to protect her state’s legalization programs. Nevada’s Senate Majority Leader Ford has urged his state’s attorney general to defend legalization. Maine’s Attorney General Mills has called potential federal interference with their legalization “unwise.” Massachusetts’ governor’s office has indicated it will “move forward” with their new legalization law. A spokeswoman for Alaska’s Department of Law has said that her state’s marijuana laws “wouldn’t be overturned.”

At the federal level, the newly-formed Congressional Cannabis Caucus has condemned the threat to their states’ marijuana laws.

Oregon’s Senators Merkley and Wyden and Congressman Blumenauer have all objected to Spicer’s comments. California’s Rep. Barbara Lee has vowed to fight “loudly” against federal marijuana interference in Congress. Vermont’s Senator Bernie Sanders tweeted that, “We should be moving toward decriminalization of marijuana, not reverting progress that states have made.”

The local papers in the legal states are rejecting Spicer’s rhetoric as well.

Maine’s Portland Press-Herald wrote that, “States like Maine that have legalized marijuana should fight this kind of federal overreach.” The Seattle Times wrote that, “Trump should read the will of the people and let the states continue to be the laboratories of democracy.” The Denver Post opined, “An abrupt change from the status quo would do far more harm than good.”

As NORML has threatened, if it’s a fight they want, it’s a fight they’ll get.

Except now, our side has the support of the media, 60 percent of the American people, attorneys general in eight states and maybe the funding from a nascent marijuana industry awakened to the reality that they need to invest in non-profit marijuana reform activism if they hope to expand their business.

Previously in Radical Rant: I Told You So
Click here for all of Russ Belville’s columns

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by Russ Belville at High Times

North Africa Hashish Trade Booms—Despite Vigorous Crackdown

Countries both sides of the Mediterranean are stepping up joint operations against hashish flowing into Europe from North Africa.

On February 17, Spanish authorities boasted the dismantling of two smuggling networks that were bringing Moroccan hashish into the port of Málaga. In a two-day operation, Spain’s Civil Guard arrested 50 people and confiscated a helicopter, cars, boats, cash and weapons, as well as 3.7 metric tons of hashish. Moroccan authorities cooperated in the investigation, according to a report on Morocco World News.

But the more victories claimed, the more the hash seems to keep on coming.

Back in December, Moroccan and Italian authorities announced the bust in Casablanca of Ben Ziane Berhili, considered to be the world’s most-wanted hashish smuggler, following a three-year investigation. His successful sweets company was a front for a far more lucrative operation that smuggled 400 tons of hashish to Europe every year, according to investigators.

Ominously, however, the New York Times story on the bust noted how the international crackdown is just squeezing the trade into alternative routes: “For years, smugglers had sent small shipments of Moroccan hashish to Spain via speedboats or Jet Skis that crossed the Strait of Gibraltar. Then in 2007, Spain began installing cameras along its southern coastline, and the smuggling route changed. Under the new route, the hashish passed from Libya through Egypt, before eventually reaching the Balkans, where European gangs distributed it across the continent, according to investigators.”

A September account in the NY Times noted that smugglers are abandoning the piecemeal approach of speedboats and Jet Skis for merchant ships with holds full of hashish.

Over the past three years, some 20 ships were intercepted in the Mediterranean with a collective cargo of more than 280 tons of hashish valued at 2.8 billion euros, or about $3.2 billion, according to the European Union’s Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction.

And interrogations and investigations from these busts have determined that Libya has emerged as a new staging ground for the hashish trade, as a profusion of militia and rebel groups turn to the old dope-for-arms commerce to fund their insurgencies—often in cooperation with Syrian armed factions.

You can keep up with all of HIGH TIMES’ news right here.

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by Bill Weinberg at High Times

VA Pledges More Inspections, Drug Tests to Stem Opioid Theft

BY HOPE YEN
ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Veterans Affairs said Monday it would boost employee drug testing and inspections amid rising cases of opioid theft and missing prescriptions, acknowledging gaps that had allowed thousands of doctors, nurses and other staff to go unchecked for signs of illicit drug use.

Testifying at a House hearing, Carolyn Clancy, a deputy VA undersecretary for health, said the department was moving aggressively to stem VA drug crimes. She said the VA was adding some inspectors to help check drug inventories across a network of 160 medical centers and 1,000 clinics. Computer systems also were being fine-tuned to ensure that all employees subject to drug testing were flagged for monitoring.

In the last week, she said, the VA held a conference call with hundreds of health clinics to develop action plans of improvement. The department was also considering more internal audits to make sure hospitals are complying with VA policy.

“The use of illegal drugs by VA employees is inconsistent with the special trust placed in such employees who care for veterans,” Clancy told the House Veterans Affairs subcommittee on oversight. “We actually need to up our game.”

The panel held a hearing Monday aimed at the VA’s efforts to deter drug theft.

The Associated Press reported last week on government data showing a sharp increase since 2009 in opioid theft and drugs that had simply disappeared at the VA, amid rising opioid abuse in the U.S.

Reported incidents of drug losses or theft at federal hospitals jumped from 272 in 2009 to 2,926 in 2015, before dipping to 2,457 last year, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. “Federal hospitals” include the VA’s facilities as well as seven correctional hospitals and roughly 20 hospitals serving Indian tribes.

Out of those cases, only a small fraction of VA doctors, nurses or pharmacy employees were disciplined.

About 372 VA employees were dismissed, suspended or reprimanded for a drug or alcohol-related issue since 2010, according to VA data obtained by AP. Roughly translated, VA employees were disciplined in 3 percent of cases.

Adding to the problem is that some VA hospitals have been lax in tracking drug supplies. Congressional auditors said spot checks found four VA hospitals skipped monthly inspections of drug stocks or missed other requirements.

Pressed to estimate what percentage of VA’s total facilities likely had notable problems with inspections, Randall Williamson, health care director at the Government Accountability Office, cited between 85 percent and 90 percent. He referred to “not a great track record” of accountability at the VA.

Rep. Jack Bergman, R-Mich., who chairs the House panel, said he was troubled by the reports, coming after repeated audit warnings dating back to at least 2009 of gaps in VA’s monitoring programs.

“Unfortunately, the news has recently been filled with story after story of drug diversion within VA,” Bergman said. “In case after case, what we see are examples of drugs being diverted for personal use or personal gain, yet there does not seem to be much progress being made by VA.”

“We are in the midst of an opioid epidemic, and it is time for VA to start making effective changes to avoid putting veterans and the employees who serve them at risk.”

Rep. Ann Kuster of New Hampshire, the panel’s top Democrat, said she worried that the VA may not be receiving adequate resources to stem drug theft. She pointed to President Donald Trump’s federal hiring freeze.

“Without adequate support staff in place, VA medical facilities will struggle to comply with the procedures and programs they must follow to ensure our veterans receive safe, high quality care,” she said.

VA acknowledged it has had spotty compliance with drug inspections and employee drug testing and said most reform efforts were already underway. Among other problems, the VA inspector general’s office found the department had failed to test 70 percent – or 15,800 – prospective employees over a 12-month period who would serve in sensitive VA positions such as doctor, nurse or police officer.

At the Atlanta medical center, mandatory drug testing for new hires did not occur at all for a period of at least 6 months between 2014 and 2015.

Clancy said the VA was now committed to “100 percent testing” of new hires in sensitive VA positions and would fix gaps that had allowed nearly 1 in 10 employees subject to random drug testing to avoid being monitored at all. She also cited strong policies, such as 72-hour inventory checks and “double lock and key access” to drugs, to keep VA drug crime in check.

Keith Berge, a Mayo Clinic anesthesiologist who chairs its Medication Diversion Prevention group, said drug theft was serious and patients could be seriously harmed if deprived of medication. Conducting drug tests before hiring at the VA was critical, he said.

“It is not good enough to merely have effective policies and procedures on the books; they must actually be rigorously followed.”

RELATED: VA Employees Stealing Prescription Painkillers

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by Associated Press at High Times

New Mexico Tribe Puts Up Land for $160M Medicinal Greenhouse

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — On a patch of tribal land in western New Mexico, a company plans to build a $160 million state-of-the-art greenhouse for researching and growing medicinal plants, including marijuana.

Bright Green Group of Companies is partnering with Acoma Pueblo on what would be the nation’s largest commercial growing operation, by far dwarfing medical marijuana greenhouses already planned in Massachusetts, Illinois and California.

Plans call for Bright Green’s greenhouse and its associated research facility to eventually cover nearly 6 million square feet, or about 100 football fields. Officials at the Delaware-based company say they would have room for as many as 40 million medicinal plants, from marijuana to pennywort and Indian ginseng.

While marijuana is expected to make up a significant portion of the operation, supporters of the project say the business plan was originally designed to sustain itself by producing oils used for various remedies already popular in the homeopathic world.

“We’re just in the process of building our facilities so we’ll be customizing our crops to what the market is most receptive to, but it’s definitely an important part of this,” Bright Green chief operating officer Clarity Patton said of marijuana’s role in the venture.

The multibillion-dollar industry is expected to continue its upward trajectory as voters in more states embrace the idea of legalizing marijuana, market researchers say. Eight states and Washington, D.C., have legalized marijuana for recreational use, while New Mexico and more than two dozen states have medical marijuana programs.

Only licensed nonprofit producers are allowed to grow medical marijuana in New Mexico, and the competition is fierce. For example, more than 80 applicants filed paperwork with the state in 2015, and only 12 licenses were granted.

Bright Green officials don’t intend to seek a state license, saying their operation would be on tribal land and subject only to tribal and federal laws.

Under a 25-year agreement with Acoma Pueblo, Bright Green has vowed that whatever plants it grows and the oils it produces would adhere to federal regulations.

“What we plan on doing is working with the FDA to approve our novel prescription drugs. We’re not in the smoke business; we’re in the oil business,” chief executive John Stockwell said. “To spend this much money and to integrate this much technology, we’re looking to abide by the federal rules. We want to be part of the solution, not part of the problem.”

The Trump administration has warned of a crackdown on recreational marijuana use, but White House spokesman Sean Spicer has said the president does not oppose medical marijuana.

Kris Krane, president of Boston-based 4Front Ventures , an investment and consulting firm focused on the medical marijuana industry, said it’s too early to tell how the administration’s comments will affect the marijuana business but that those on the medical side are feeling somewhat reassured.

Krane said the economic effects are hard to ignore. “As this industry grows, job opportunities grow, tax revenue grows and ancillary businesses grow around them. It’s been a real financial boon for the states where it’s been implemented,” he said.

Still, Krane questioned the size of the New Mexico project given the state’s stance on recreational use and the relatively small medicinal market. Such a large greenhouse has the potential to produce four times the annual volume of medical marijuana used in the state, with no opportunity for shipping beyond New Mexico’s borders because of current federal laws.

Bright Green and Acoma Pueblo say the focus is on the future.

Chris Ahmie with Acoma Business Enterprises described the marijuana debate as complex and contentious. He said the goal is to create what he called a gold-standard facility that would be recognized internationally.

“We’re not willing to risk that investment or that goal by skirting or subverting federal laws or anything like that,” he said. “That’s what we’re looking at, the long range. We’re taking our time with it. We’re going to make sure everything is right.”

Company and tribal officials are meeting at the site Tuesday to mark what they hope will soon be the start of construction, which is expected to take about two years. The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs must still sign off on the lease agreement between the company and the pueblo, Ahmie said.

You can keep up with all of HIGH TIMES’ marijuana news right here.

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by Associated Press at High Times

Spicer Sends Cannabis Stocks Into Trump Slump

The repercussions from Trump administration comments continue to echo through the cannabis industry.

The post Spicer Sends Cannabis Stocks Into Trump Slump appeared first on Leafly.

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by Lisa Rough at Leafly

AG Sessions: ‘More Violence Around Marijuana Than One Would Think’

Sessions stopped short of saying what he would do, but said he doesn't think America will be a better place with "more people smoking pot."

The post AG Sessions: ‘More Violence Around Marijuana Than One Would Think’ appeared first on Leafly.

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by The Associated Press at Leafly

Jeff Sessions Breaks Silence on Pot Policy

BY SADIE GURMAN AND ERIC TUCKER
ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department will try to adopt “responsible policies” for enforcement of federal anti-marijuana laws, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Monday, adding that he believes violence surrounds sales and use of the drug in the U.S.

In a meeting with reporters, Sessions said the department was reviewing an Obama administration Justice Department memo that gave states flexibility in passing marijuana laws.

“Experts are telling me there’s more violence around marijuana than one would think,” Sessions said.

The comments were in keeping with remarks last week from White House spokesman Sean Spicer, who said the Justice Department would step up enforcement of federal law against recreational marijuana. Sessions stopped short of saying what he would do, but said he doesn’t think America will be a better place with “more people smoking pot.”

“I am definitely not a fan of expanded use of marijuana,” he said. “But states, they can pass the laws they choose. I would just say, it does remain a violation of federal law to distribute marijuana throughout any place in the United States, whether a state legalizes it or not.”

Eight states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for recreational use. The Justice Department has several options available should it decide to enforce the law, including filing lawsuits on the grounds that state laws regulating pot are unconstitutional because they are pre-empted by federal law.

Studies have found no correlation between legalization of marijuana and violent crime rates. But law enforcement officials in states such as Colorado say drug traffickers have taken advantage of lax marijuana laws to hide in plain sight, illegally growing and shipping the drug across state lines, where it can sell for much higher.

Pot advocates say the officials have exaggerated the problem.

“You can’t sue somebody for a drug debt. The only way to get your money is through strong-arm tactics, and violence tends to follow that,” Sessions said.

Sessions said he met with Nebraska’s attorney general, who sued Colorado for allegedly not keeping marijuana within its borders. That lawsuit was dismissed by the U.S. Supreme Court, but neighboring states continue to gripe that Colorado and other pot-legal states have not done enough to keep the drug from crossing their borders.

RELATED: Who Will Stop Donald Trump’s Marijuana Crackdown?

You can keep up with all of HIGH TIMES’ marijuana news right here.

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by Associated Press at High Times

STRAIN OF THE DAY 02/28/2017: BLACKBERRY RHINO (INDICA)

CANNABIS STRAIN OF THE DAY 02/28/2017: BLACKBERRY RHINO (INDICA)

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by Potbox, Inc.

Pot Plants Stolen from UK Police Station

Generally speaking, police stations are secure places. Access in and out is controlled, and actions within are closely monitored—by the police who work there, for one.

In Great Britain, a surveillance state so out of control with cameras that it’s difficult to breathe without a recording of the act becoming available, one would presume very little goes on inside a police station that would elude the attention of the police. But somehow, a brace of cannabis plants—seized during a raid and held as evidence—is among the items stolen from a police station in Liverpool, one of the country’s major metropolitan areas.

And police say they don’t have the foggiest idea what became of the plants, which were kept “safe” in an evidence locker area—or who might have done it.

The brazen 2015 theft came to light following a public-records request inquiring for a list of goods stolen from police. As the Liverpool Echo reported, police have lost bicycles, Apple electronic devices including iPhones and iPads, and even had a police hat stolen from inside a station to go along with the missing bags of marijuana and cannabis plants.

This doesn’t generally happen, as one salient observer noted.

“It’s usually cops who go round nicking people not being nicked from,” an unnamed individual told the UK Sun. “So exactly how this opportunistic thief managed to walk out of a cop shop carrying several cannabis plants without being spotted is anyone’s guess.”

A spokesman for Liverpool police confirmed to the Echo that visitors to police stations are “generally” accompanied by cops, and that items—like weed—kept as evidence is usually kept in “secure lockable storage facilities.”

This doesn’t reflect well on police, who either let someone waltz in and out carrying a big bag of weed, or are victims of an obvious inside job, which would make them very typical among police forces across the world.

Like everywhere else in the UK, Liverpool isn’t quite sure what to do about marijuana.

Cannabis possession can be punished with nothing more than a judge’s warning, but sales and cultivation are crimes. The underground cannabis trade is worth close to 7 billion pounds—which includes the “Amsterdam-style” underground cannabis cafes set up by risk-averse, self-styled marijuana freedom fighters.

Then again, Liverpool police are so overwhelmed with raiding cannabis farms that they’ve openly appealed to the public to snitch on friends and neighbors to help out. Until Prime Minister Theresa May listens to reason and changes national policy, the evidence locker won’t stay empty for long.

You can keep up with all of HIGH TIMES’ marijuana news right here.

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by Chris Roberts at High Times

Conflict of Interest Much?!? Sean Spicer’s Wife Has Huge Ties to the Beer Industry

Donald Trump’s choice for his mouthpiece as White House press secretary and communications director was the hot-headed Sean Spicer, who ruffled just a few feathers last week when he said Americans will see “greater enforcement” of federal law on recreational marijuana.

Spicer’s choice for marriage in 2004 was the booze-lauding Rebecca Spicer. Rebecca Spicer has been the senior vice president of communications & public affairs for the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) since 2007. The NBWA “represents the interests of America’s 3,300 licensed, independent beer distributors.”

Rebecca Spicer’s job for the NBWA is to “manage the communications strategy for the trade association…and executes key public relations strategies related to the association’s advocacy priorities.” In other words, its Rebecca Spicer’s job to make beer distributing companies look good–and to protect their best interests.

In some cases, that’s simply philanthropy:

Thanks @NBWABeer colleagues for helping @SalArmyNCA Grate Patrol deliver meals to those in need. @SalvationArmyUs http://pic.twitter.com/AKFAPBS5WS

— Rebecca Spicer (@RebeccaMSpicer) November 9, 2015

However, what if that position means Rebecca Spicer slides behind closed doors in the White House or her bedroom and whispers sweet nothings into her husband’s ear about the “danger of weed”? Perhaps that a stretch, but with this administration and last week’s news on a potential legal weed crackdown coming from Sean Spicer’s mouth, is it wrong to point out a clearcut conflict of interest?

When you consider a three-month-old report that clearly outlines how legal marijuana leads to a decline in alcohol sales, the conflict of interest begins to spike. Consider these numbers:

“Legal recreational cannabis states of Colorado, Oregon and Washington are under-performing the overall U.S. beer market by 2.6 percentage points year-to-date.”

Translation: Where weed is legal, beer sales decline. Think that makes beer distributors in America happy? Probably not. Especially when it happens to this degree:

“Sales volume of ‘below-premium’ beers (think Busch and Natty Light) is down 2.4 percent year-to-date in the three highlighted pot states; ‘premium domestic’ beers (your Bud Lights and Coors Lights) are down 4.4 percent year-to-date. Craft beer sales in Colorado, Oregon and Washington are flat, but under-performing the total U.S. craft sales by 9.5 percentage points, according to the report.” [The Cannabist]

This isn’t some minor dip either: both low-level and craft beers’ sales clearly worsen where weed is legal. Is it a coincidence–or is it enough smoke to lead to some serious fire? Well, Sean Spicer didn’t mention it.

Moreover, here are direct quotes from Sean Spicer’s press briefing last week that beg the question—What the hell is going on?

“Well, I think that’s a question for the Department of Justice. I do believe that you’ll see greater enforcement of it. Because again, there’s a big difference between the medical use”

Greater enforcement is a vague term. Whether this is fear-mongering or fact is unclear. What is clear is that the White House isn’t opening its windows and screaming with joy about weed. While this administration will respect states’ same-sex bathroom laws, they’ve made it clear when it comes to cannabis, respecting states’ rights is no sure thing.

“There is a big difference between that and recreational marijuana. And I think that when you see something like the opioid addiction crisis blossoming in so many states around this country, the last thing that we should be doing is encouraging people. There is still a federal law that we need to abide by in terms of the medical—when it comes to recreational marijuana and other drugs of that nature,” Spicer said.

Spicer actually tried to draw a link between marijuana use and opioid addiction—when in reality, states with medical marijuana see a sharp decrease in opioid abuse/overdoses. Meanwhile, we were left with this cliffhanger:

“I believe that they [the DOJ] are going to continue to enforce the laws on the books with respect to recreational marijuana,” Spicer concluded.

That could mean anything. But given that Attorney General Jeff Sessions almost simultaneously revoked a bill that would halt private prisons (meaning more prisoners and money for these prisons), that probably means more minorities arrested for weed and more jails filled with those minorities.

The connections between marijuana enforcement and a corrupt government become harder and harder to miss.

Whether it’s the liquor industry or the pill industry coming to slash our throats through their lobbyists and coffers, something appears amiss when it comes to this administrations early marijuana policy.

And it’s spicy.

RELATED: Big Beer Going After Bud With Big Bucks
You can keep up with all of HIGH TIMES’ news right here.

Barry Poppins has been covering cannabis for over five years. His work has appeared on TIME.com, Weedmaps, Marijuana.com and NowThis Weed. Follow him on Instagram @weedwriter. 

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by Barry Poppins at High Times

What is a Rosin Press?

Learn about the rosin press, including how it’s used to produce rosin cannabis concentrates and how the technology has advanced over the years.

The post What is a Rosin Press? appeared first on Leafly.

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by Patrick Bennett at Leafly

How Trump’s Draconian Immigration Plan Will Encourage Organized Crime

The New York Times, one of the major news outlets barred from White House press briefings, recently ran an opinion piece entitled “The Immigration Facts Donald Trump Doesn’t Like” which pointed out:

“The moral case against President Trump’s plan to uproot and expel millions of unauthorized immigrants is open-and-shut. But what about the economic cost? This is where deeply shameful collides with truly stupid.”

Just how stupid?

Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich debated former Arizona sheriff Paul Babeu on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360, during which Babeu cited anecdotal stories about how illegal immigrants were responsible for thousands of crimes in the United States and how Trump’s immigration plan would restore law and order.

Reich, a Harvard professor who has served under three U.S. presidents, responded that Trump’s initiative was based on two lies: that crime is on the rise and that illegal immigration is also on the rise.

In fact, both are on the decline.

According to Arizona’s own state data, crime along the southwest border with Mexico has dropped in the last few years.

Reich suggested that Babeu take a look at some data, as in provable facts, in the form of studies, which conclude immigrants are less likely than native U.S. citizens to commit violent crimes.

But there are other issues, cited by InSight Crime, that could also undermine efforts to control crime on both sides of the border if Trump’s ill-conceived plans go into effect.

Loss of Intelligence
As much as we rely on the benefits of technology—cameras, drones, forensic evidence—to help solve crimes, there is nothing like human witnesses and sources. Enlisting local police in the immigration crackdown, as Trump has proposed, will distance law enforcement and prosecutors from these potential witnesses and sources, which could affect police work in areas where immigrants live.

Increased Demand for Criminal Services, Especially Drug Cartels
The more complicated the border crossing, the more migrants rely on professional smugglers, known as coyotes, who have close connections with Mexican drug cartels. As Trump sets the stage for mass deportations, coyotes will be doing bigger business than ever. Mexican drug cartels control an extensive network of human traffickers and informants who extort, kidnap and kill migrants at will, according to an Al Jazeera report.

Trump supporters also cite the availability of heroin and fentanyl as reasons to support his policies. Although a good deal of heroin is produced in Mexico and fentanyl is made in China and shipped through Mexico, unfortunately a border wall will do little to stop that traffic.

More Targets for Corruption
The Trump administration has indicated it intends to hire at least 5,000 new agents for Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and 10,000 more Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. Experts say the rush to bring in so many people at once could compromise the existing security protocols and that corrupt agents are slipping through the already weak vetting process.

James Tomsheck, former head of internal affairs for the CBP, told National Public Radio about massive corruption among CBP agents. In 2008, more than half of the job applicants failed polygraph tests.

“They included serious felony crimes, active involvement in smuggling activities and several confirmed infiltrators who actually were employed by drug trafficking organizations who had been directed to seek out positions within Customs and Border Protection to advance ongoing criminal conspiracies—essentially be spies in our midst,” Tomsheck said.

Since October 2004, 197 CBP employees, including border patrol agents, have been arrested, charged with or convicted of corruption, Tomsheck told the Guardian.

Less Remittances
Migrants in the U.S. send billions of dollars back to their countries in remittances, which help sustain those economies. According to the Wall Street Journal, remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean reached $68.3 billion in 2015. Even a partial loss of this money could lead to economic hardship, instability and poverty, which could ultimately result in more migration.

Less International Cooperation
Trump’s nationalistic U.S.-first attitude has become increasingly and embarrassingly clear. Many of his xenophobic and often blatantly racist supporters seem oblivious to the political costs of this short-sighted position.

Meanwhile, Trump’s propensity to insult, discriminate against and demean huge swaths of the world’s citizens and their leaders—including here in the U.S.—is ongoing.

RELATED: Trump’s War on Weed Will Boost Big Pharma, Private Prisons and Mexican Drug Cartels

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by Maureen Meehan at High Times

Opioid Addicts Still Using Painkillers After Rehab

Somewhere close to half of the people who undergo treatment for opioid addiction in the United States continue to use prescription painkillers—both during and after treatment is complete, according to a new study from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

It is not uncommon these days for doctors to prescribe a low-dose opioid called buprenorphine (similar to methadone) to those suffering from a savage junk addiction. The drug is typically used as a method for reducing the severity of withdrawal symptoms, to get those on the mend through treatment, especially the first 72 hours.

However, in this particular study, which can be read in its entirety in the current issue of the journal Addiction, researchers found a significant amount of those people (43 percent) who exit treatment centers for opioid addiction immediately move on to pick up a prescription for the very painkilling substances that unapologetically tossed them into a rock bottom pit of despair.

In fact, the study found that the majority (67 percent) of those treated for opioid addiction eventually return to dope.

Researchers say, similar to the situation with those struggling with alcoholism, lawmakers need to understand that treatment, in most cases, is not indicative of a cure.

“Policymakers may believe that people treated for opioid addiction are cured, but people with substance use disorders have a lifelong vulnerability,” Dr. G. Caleb Alexander, lead study author and associate professor of epidemiology at Hopkins, said in a statement. “Our findings highlight the importance of stable, ongoing care for these patients.”

Although some recovering addicts are simply taking opioid medications again by mistake—consuming pills for injuries without knowing to inform their doctor of their substance abuse disorder—others are undoubtedly on a mission to swim in the feel good oasis again.

Even with Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs in place to help prevent these types of situations from happening, the system only works when health care staff takes the time to use it. The inconvenience of utilizing this system as a normal part of patient care is the primary reason it is not often accessed in the manner for which it was designed.

Alexander believes that this is something that needs to change.

“We need to get to a point where checking a Prescription Drug Monitoring Program is just as routine as checking a patient’s kidney function before starting a high blood pressure medication,” he said.

The latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that the rate of overdose deaths in the United States has grown 2.5 times more than it was in 1999.

Sadly, researchers say the problem is likely far worse than what is shown in their latest data. That’s because their analysis only included prescription painkillers, not street drugs, like heroin.

You can keep up with all of HIGH TIMES’ news right here.

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by Mike Adams at High Times

What Will Australian Import Changes Mean for Local Cannabis Growers?

Patients welcome the changes, but experts are now calling for a more comprehensive approach to meeting Australian demand.

The post What Will Australian Import Changes Mean for Local Cannabis Growers? appeared first on Leafly.

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by Joe Wilson at Leafly

Poll: Can You Lucid Dream?

It’s a psychological phenomenon that dates back to ancient Greek writings, although it wasn’t until 1913 that Dutch psychiatrist Frederik van Eeden coined the term—”lucid dream.”

A lucid dream is when the dreamer is aware of dreaming and can exert some type of control over the dream. While there is some scientific skepticism over the “wakefulness” of people experiencing dream lucidity, studies have shown that lucid dreams begin during the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) stage of sleep, and many believe that you can teach yourself how to lucid dream.

Which leads us to the question—Can you lucid dream? Let us know in the poll below! Can’t do it but want to learn? Find out how in the upcoming June 2017 issue of High Times.

For all of HIGH TIMES’ culture coverage, click here.

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by Sativa Von Teese at High Times

Who Will Stop Donald Trump’s Marijuana Crackdown?

On Feb. 16, a small crowd gathered in front of the Capitol to announce marijuana’s arrival on Capitol Hill as a special interest. The “Cannabis Caucus,” a cadre of cannabis-friendly lawmakers from legal states Alaska, Oregon, California and Colorado, would push for pro-pot policy in Washington. They might have wanted to work on banking, taxation or something boring, but now they have the challenge of convincing Donald Trump that the federal crackdown on recreational marijuana hinted at on Thursday is a bad idea.

Fears of a Donald Trump-led war on weed have never been greater.

Every signal from the White House is a bad one. The Justice Department is run by a Deep South good ole boy with values lifted from Uncle Tom’s Cabin, who likes long prison terms and once joked about the Ku Klux Klan at marijuana’s expense. Trump’s chief advisor is the intellectual muse of the alt-right, and his health secretary was one of the Cannabis Caucus’s  most reliable foes in Congress.

Finally, on Feb. 23, press secretary Sean Spicer offered, without elaboration, that the Trump administration would probably apply “greater enforcement” of federal marijuana law.

Rep. Don Young, an Alaska Republican is one of the two conservatives on the Cannabis Caucus. The caucus responded to Spicer’s vague hints with predictable alarm and Young vowing to “educate” the president on the issue. This may be beyond his scope, as education generally involves facts—and Young’s fellow weed-friendly Republican, Southern California’s Dana Rohrabacher, was an early supporter of Ted Cruz, whom grudge-holding Trump appears to still consider a target.

The best hope to convince Trump to call off the dogs may be to appeal to the president’s appreciation for specie—and there’s a lot of money in weed, which may have singlehandedly revived Colorado’s economy.

That was the argument presented by Roger Stone, Jr., a former Trump advisor, in a post on Twitter, the president’s preferred news source (along with cable news and conspiracy theory-slinging web sites).

A crackdown on legal marijuana in the states will cost thousands of jobs & bankrupt local govt- huge mistake #StatesRights @realDonaldTrump

— Roger Stone (@RogerJStoneJr) February 24, 2017

But will Trump listen? Will he heed Stone before taking counsel from Steve Bannon—or, for that matter, Jeff Sessions, the early Trump backer with the keys to the DEA?

Sessions’ cronies are credited with making America, the president and much of the Cabinet in particular, greatly closer to Russia. Sessions thoroughly and famously hates marijuana, and Sessions appears to be leading the president on readopting old drug war familiars like asset forfeiture and all-out wars on drugs as policy.

Stone has feuded often with Trump, who called the consultant “a stone cold loser” in 2008. Stone left the Trump campaign in August, months before the poll-defying victory in November. Whether he resigned or was fired depends on who you ask, but Stone says he was sick of Trump’s sycophantic crew of enabling “yes men”—the team of winners now writing executive orders in the White House, which includes Sessions. Stone might as well try to use Milo Yiannopoulos and Richard Spencer to send messages to CPAC.

There are a few bodies in Trump’s orbit who are marijuana-friendly, chief of whom is billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel.

The president’s biggest fan in Silicon Valley, Thiel contributed $1.25 million to Trump’s campaign. He also donated a couple hundred thousand dollars to California’s marijuana legalization bid last year. Thiel appears to have the president’s ear, somewhat: he is reportedly advising Trump on who to choose for head of the Federal Trade Commission as well as a leader for the Department of Justice’s antitrust efforts.

But Peter Thiel doesn’t seem likely to be a marijuana-saving signal boost for Stone and the tiny cadre of marijuana lawmakers. Thiel has yet to publicly challenge the president. He stayed silent as Silicon Valley howled when Steve Bannon rolled out Trump’s since-abandoned executive order on immigration, and with his security company, Palantir, seeking more contracts to participate in government spy programs, it’s questionable if Thiel will want to spend political capital on saving weed—or bother to change Sessions’ mind, which has long been made up.

RELATED: Trump’s War on Weed Will Boost Big Pharma, Private Prisons and Mexican Drug Cartels

You can keep up with all of HIGH TIMES’ marijuana news right here.

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by Chris Roberts at High Times

Ohio Proposal Would Limit Patient Supply by THC Amount, a First Among Legal States

Proposal would make Ohio the first of the 28 medical marijuana states to limit patient supply by the amount of THC in products.

The post Ohio Proposal Would Limit Patient Supply by THC Amount, a First Among Legal States appeared first on Leafly.

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by The Associated Press at Leafly

Stoner Sex: Oral Sex, Selfish Lovers, Boob Jobs & MMJ

Trump’s First Great Marijuana Lie: Dangerous Alternative Fact About Opiate Epidemic

Until now, hair-triggered alternative fact-machine Donald Trump deserved an honesty award: Unlike with every president to come before him since Richard Nixon, his month-old administration had yet to tell a lie about marijuana.

In team Trump’s defense, the obvious lies launched over the last four weeks—nonexistent “massacres,” bogus crowd sizes, vaporous perpetrators of voter fraud—were far more fantastic than tired old drug war hysteria. But during his daily briefing with reporters last Thursday—the last briefing open to now-banned press outlets including the New York Times, CNN, BBC and Buzzfeed—Sean Spicer made up for lost time with the baseless and memorable suggestion of a link between marijuana and opiate abuse.

Clarifying marijuana-hating Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ plans for the states enjoying the bounty of legalization in violation of federal law, Spicer said medical marijuana was probably safe. Legal weed, not so much. For legalization, the Justice Department will likely opt for “greater enforcement” than Barack Obama’s mostly hands-off approach.

Bereft of other normal feelings, Donald Trump feels for sick people using medical weed, Spicer allowed. That said, “[t]here is a big difference between that and recreational marijuana.”

“And I think that when you see something like the opioid addiction crisis blossoming in so many states around this country, the last thing that we should be doing is encouraging people,” Spicer said.

The notion that recreational cannabis encouraged the country’s ongoing prescription opiate and heroin problem, which began several years before the first state legalized marijuana, is unknown to science. It is in fact in direct contradiction with science, as outraged drug reform organizations and fact-based news outlets like Snopes and many of the banned organizations mentioned above were quick to point out.

America’s prescription pill problem began around the turn of the millennium, when doctors began writing millions and millions of prescriptions for opiate-based painkillers. By 2015, a long, long time after everybody had seen Requiem for a Dream, doctors were writing 300 million prescriptions for habit-forming opiates a year, a fourfold increase.

For context, about 22 million Americans used marijuana last month, with 2.5 million addicted to some form of opiate-based drug, according to the federal government, for which Sean Spicer works.

People in America, which Donald Trump wants to make great, gobble 80 percent of the world’s opiates, a pile of pills worth $24 billion. Last year, Americans and Canadians bought about $6.7 billion worth of legal marijuana, according to the predictably cheerfully robust estimates of the national cannabis market. America is awash in pills, not weed.

Addiction researchers believe that about 10 percent of marijuana users may eventually become addicted… to weed, not heroin, as the “vast majority” of marijuana users never turn on to anything harder. When the pills go away, many opiate addicts turn to heroin. Not to weed. If they did, the opiate crisis would likely get better.

Most Americans who seek opiate-based drugs do so for pain. The doctors and scientists who still resist embracing medical marijuana blame a lack of science. Success stories about medical marijuana solving cancer, epilepsy and autism need more proof—but there’s ample proof weed helps sufferers of chronic pain, the National Academy of Science’s recent landmark review on medical marijuana found.

Most people who use opiates obtained their supply from someone else’s supply, swollen by overprescribing. Not by recreational weed.

“It is widely understood that overuse of prescription opioids, not marijuana use, is what’s driving the opiate crisis in the U.S.,” California NORML director Dale Gieringer said in a statement Friday.

Trump’s people prefer convenient understandings to honest ones.

Spicer may have just delivered an offhand remark sloppily attributable to the gateway theory, one of the junk sciences on which drug-warrior 101-level nonsense is based. We still don’t know what Sessions’s Justice Department thinks—or what Sessions or fellow drug warrior Tom Price, now our health secretary, plan to do.

We do know that Trump’s people are as careless with the truth on weed as they are everything else—which for once, is not so unprecedented.

You can keep up with all of HIGH TIMES’ marijuana news right here.

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by Chris Roberts at High Times

Celebrities Launch Pot Brands As California Legalizes Drug

BY PAUL ELIAS
ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Country singer Willie Nelson, the children of the late reggae icon Bob Marley and comedian Whoopi Goldberg are just a few of the growing number of celebrities publicly jumping into the marijuana industry and eyeing the California pot market, which is expected to explode after voters legalized the recreational use of weed.

Regulators are still scrambling to get California’s recreational pot market launched and are racing to issue licenses to growers and sellers by early 2018. Still to be decided is who will receive the first licenses to grow, distribute and sell recreational marijuana.

Growers already cleared to sell medical marijuana in California could be the first in line.

Analysts say brands already established in legal medical marijuana dispensaries – including celebrities who partner with approved California growers – will have a leg up when the first licenses are issued. Several pot-loving celebrities are in prime positions because of their fame and backstory with the drug, including Marley’s children.

The late Jamaican singer was at the vanguard of the global legalization movement.

Backed by a Seattle venture capital firm, Marley’s oldest daughter launched Marley Natural in 2014. Cedella Marley says California is now the world’s largest legal cannabis market since voters approved Proposition 64 in November. Marley Natural products already are available in California medical dispensaries.

There is enormous opportunity for growth in the state, Cedella Marley said in an email interview.

“It also carries enormous cultural significance and influence, so it will be an important place to help people understand the herb the way my dad enjoyed it,” she said.

Bob Marley’s youngest son, Damian Marley, runs a competing operation, Stony Hill, and recently joined with another weed company to buy a vacant 77,000-square-foot prison for $4.1 million in Coalinga, in California’s Central Valley. They turned it into a marijuana factory.

All uses of pot remain illegal under federal law, keeping most banks and Wall Street companies out of an industry that could grow from $6 billion to $50 billion in the next decade, according to the financial services firm Cowen & Co.

Nonetheless, Wall Street has taken notice.

Beer and spirit companies have warned investors that legal weed could threaten profits. Boston Beer Co., brewer of Samuel Adams, and Brown-Forman Corp., distiller of Jack Daniels, say they fear consumers will cut down on drinking and start using marijuana more as it becomes legal in more locales.

In California, the new marijuana law calls for nearly 20 types of licenses, including permits for farmers; delivery services that will take pot to a buyer’s front door; testing labs; distributors; and dispensary operators at the retail level.

But because the drug is still illegal under federal law, the U.S. Patent and Trademark office won’t issue trademarks to protect marijuana brands. So marijuana companies and their advocates have turned to state lawmakers for help.

Rob Bonta, a Democratic assemblyman from Alameda, has introduced a bill that would grant cannabis companies state trademarks.

It also would ban marijuana billboards near freeways and provide money to develop standards for testing impaired drivers. Law enforcement officials have taken no position on it even though they opposed the legalization of recreational pot.

Hezekiah Allen, head of the California Growers Association, a marijuana farmers’ trade group, said California has a mature marijuana marketplace in which consumers expect high-quality pot and have more than price and quality in mind when shopping.

“California consumers are interested in how their products were grown, how workers were treated,” Allen said.

Celebrities who have associated themselves with social causes that also sell weed will stand out in California, he said.

Few stars have invested so publicly – and heavily – in the marijuana industry as Calvin Broadus, better known as rapper Snoop Dogg. He has branded his own line of bud called Leafs by Snoop, created a marijuana news website and launched a $25 million venture capital fund for pot investing called Casa Verde, Spanish for “greenhouse.”

In turn, Casa Verde has invested $10 million into Eaze, a marijuana delivery service.

Snoop Dogg and other deep-pocketed celebrities investing in the industry are paving the way for broader acceptance, advocates argue.

“They’re helping to legitimize marijuana,” said Cheryl Shuman, founder of the Beverly Hills Cannabis Club. “Marijuana is fast becoming cool and glamorous.”

Some 26 states and Washington, D.C., have legalized the medical use of marijuana, and polls show a majority of Americans support repealing the federal ban on marijuana.

You can keep up with all of HIGH TIMES’ marijuana news right here.

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by Associated Press at High Times

Grow Q&A: Should I Keep My Weed In the Freezer?

Dear Dan,
What effect does placing marijuana in a freezer have on it? Does it keep it fresh? — Genie

Dear Genie,

I don’t ever recommend placing marijuana in a freezer or refrigerator. Freezing temperatures degrade THC and other cannabiniods.

The best place for storing pot is in a cool, dark place in a dark colored sealed glass jar. Also, marijuana should really be consumed within a year or so of when it’s grown. Some connoisseurs have longer cured stuff that’s several years old, and it does take on interesting qualities as it ages, but ultimately, it eventually degrades. For every expertly long-cured, three-year-old bud I’ve smoked that burned perfectly and preserved the terpene profile, I’ve smoked far more old pot that’s simply past it’s prime. Besides, you can always grow more!

Don’t miss our previous Grow Q&A: When Should I Pollinate My Female Pot Plant?

For all of HIGH TIMES’ grow coverage, click here.

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by Danny Danko at High Times

Colombia: Peasant Strike Against Coca Eradication

For 48 hours on Feb. 21-22, hundreds of peasant coca growers shut down the main highway between the southern Colombian cities of Tumaco and Pasto. The feared anti-riot force, the Mobile Anti-Disturbance Squadron (ESMAD), was finally called in to clear the roadway, using tear gas and rubber bullets to break up the estimated 1,200 cocaleros.

But the highway was repeatedly re-taken by the protesters.

The action was called by the newly-formed National Coordinator of Coca, Opium and Marijuana Producers (COCCAM) to oppose the government’s renewed “forced eradication” of coca crops in the Tumaco municipality. COCCAM called the resumption of forced eradication in the area a betrayal of government commitments under the recent peace accords with the FARC guerrilla movement, according to a report on Contagio Radio.

Ironically, Tumaco was chosen by the government and the FARC as a showcase for the new model of “voluntary eradication” under the peace accords’ National Substitution Plan, noted the newsweekly Semana.

Under proposals pushed by the FARC, illicit crops such as coca and cannabis would not only be “substituted” with other crops, but the “illicit uses” of such crops would also be substituted with licit ones—such as coca-based products and medical marijuana.

In the days leading up to the road blockade, COCCAM protested in statement after statement that the new eradication in Tumaco violated Point 4 of the Havana Accords with the FARC on “Integral Rural Development.”

COCCAM held its founding conference Jan. 27-28 in the southern colonial city of Popayán to press for the “use substitution” rather than “crop substitution” model in the new deal for Colombia’s war-torn countryside.

In a communique, the gathered cocaleros from throughout the country reminded President Juan Manuel Santos of his own words in describing the decades-long eradication effort as a “stationary bicycle,” on which you work hard but don’t get anywhere. 

When the government and FARC signed the Havana Accords at a meeting in Bogotá in November, President Santos announced: “We have, for the first time, the opportunity to instate a structural solution to the problem of illicit crops.” 

Self-organized cocaleros are now putting this promise to the test.

COCCAM leader César Jerez, speaking to Bogotá daily El Tiempo, took issue with the government estimate of 70,000 families across Colombia dependent on cultivation of illicit crops, putting the figure at a minimum of 250,000. 

“Somos campesinos, no guerrilleros ni narcotraficantes,” he said. (“We are peasants, not guerrillas or narco-traffickers.”)

You can keep up with all of HIGH TIMES’ news right here.

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by Bill Weinberg at High Times