The Ganjier: A New Class of Cannabis Professional
With the dawn of the legal cannabis world several years ago, many of us in the fledgling business realized that education was key to breaking the age-old stigmas around this healing plant. The public needed to learn that we were promoting Reefer Gladness, not Reefer Madness. To accomplish this, we asked ourselves how we could best spread the word about the benefits of cannabis. Green Flower Media in Southern California, under the guidance of CEO and Co-Founder Max Simon, landed on a great solution: They created a strong online presence with a website that featured classes available to everyone, taught…
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‘I just want to grow my weed’: Danbury hemp farmers say equity is key in city’s marijuana discussions – Danbury News Times
DANBURY – The short version of how two labor union activists from Harlem and Queens wound up growing hemp in the semi-rural hills of western Danbury is that they were fed up with New York City. But the longer story is a certain amount of destiny played a role in the couple’s year-old farming venture, as well as their decision to speak up for people of color as city leaders debate the future of legal marijuana in Danbury. “I just want to grow my weed,” says Hector Gerardo with a laugh that belies how seriously he believes in giving people…
Read More »Microdosing Is the Future of Cannabis
As North America has settled comfortably into its recreational era, I’m thinking about the future of cannabis consumption. While aficionados of the plant rightfully have many concerns about the pharmaceutical industry’s evolving relationship with marijuana, I’d argue that the future of cannabis is based on certain pharmacological principles — those of consistency, predictability and repeatability. And a large part of that equation leads us to the importance, and even necessity, of microdosing cannabis. We already know that the future of cannabis revolves around the consumers who have yet to walk into a marijuana shop. The existing ganja markets have progressed…
Read More »Marijuana Law Sparks Questions About Process and Corporate Interests – CT Examiner
Connecticut’s new recreational marijuana law established a social equity council tasked with ironing out the implementation of equity components of the legislation. The council held its inaugural meeting Thursday morning, where they passed a list of geographical areas deemed to be disproportionately affected by the war on drugs — and debated the speed of the process and fears that equity would be quickly co-opted by corporate interests. The state plans to prioritize applicants for marijuana licenses who hail from those communities. Gov. Ned Lamont’s associate policy director, Patrick Hulin, presented a list of disproportionately impacted areas compiled by the governor’s…
Read More »Meet Yale Internal Medicine: Fotios Koumpouras, MD, FACR, Assistant Professor of Medicine (Rheumatology) – Yale School of Medicine
As part of our “Meet Yale Internal Medicine” series, today’s featured physician is Fotios Koumpouras, MD, FACR, assistant professor of medicine (rheumatology). For Fotios Koumpouras, MD, FACR, lupus treatment hinges on solving systemic issues of healthcare access, disease destigmatization and a lack of patient-led care. “When you say lupus, there’s a stigma,” said Koumpouras, assistant professor of medicine (rheumatology); and director, Yale Lupus Program. “Physicians used the word lupus to describe a variety of rashes of the face in the 13th century. And one of the rashes was leprosy. So if you had a red rash, people thought you were…
Read More »“The Whole Shebang”: Petition Calls for Ban of Imported Wildlife and Animal Parts – Field & Stream
On August 3, the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) sent a petition to the Secretary of the Interior and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) that uses the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic to justify a ban on the importation of all wild mammals and almost all birds—including all parts, such as hides and horns—into the United States. The proposed ban would apply to mammals and birds that are properly processed in accordance with established regulations. The petition argues that “pandemics caused by zoonoses—infectious diseases that jump from animals to people—are entirely preventable. However, the…
Read More »Montana Cities Work To Implement Marijuana Legalization – Marijuana Moment
Just weeks after Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont (D) signed a marijuana legalization bill into law, the state’s newly formed Social Equity Council met for the first time on Thursday to discuss its approach to fostering a diverse, equitable cannabis industry that benefits those most harmed by the war on drugs. Among other agenda items, the 15-person group approved a list of geographic areas disproportionately impacted by the drug war, which will be used to determine eligibility for social equity business licenses. Under the state’s new cannabis law, half of all licenses must go to equity applicants, who may also qualify…
Read More »Connecticut prioritizes residents of 35 cities, towns for marijuana licenses – Marijuana Business Daily
As part of an effort to make the cannabis industry more equitable, people living in 35 Connecticut cities and towns will receive priority for recreational marijuana business licenses, state officials announced. The Hartford Courant reported that more than 200 of the state’s 833 census tracts fall under the social equity definition of disproportionately impacted by drug prohibition, based on drug conviction and unemployment rates. In June, Gov. Ned Lamont signed into law the state’s adult-use legalization legislation, Senate Bill 1201. Language in the legislation says residents of those areas will pay less for licenses. Half of all cannabis business licenses…
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