Edibles that wont make you fat

Edibles that won't make you fat

What do you imagine when you think of a marijuana edible? Probably a brownie, cookie, gummy, or chocolate bar. If you’re the type of person that requires a high dose of THC to get high, you might have to put on a few pounds or risk diabetes just to get high with sweet edibles. Some people don’t want to inhale any form of marijuana but may also be on a diet or opposed to sweets. Your dentist will probably be hype you ate a whole bag of extra sweet marijuana lozenges just to get high but you should know there are other options. Fortunately, with the rising popularity of legal marijuana, savory edible options are becoming more abundant. This is good news for those of us with less of a sweet tooth.
Here are some savory instead of sweet edible options.
Potzo Ball Soup by Jeff the 420 Chef
A twist on the traditional Jewish soup dumpling made from a mixture of matzah meal, eggs, water, and a fat, such as oil, margarine, or chicken fat.” By adding canna-olive oil to the mix, you’ll have a savory cannabis-infused matzo ball soup in no time. It takes about 40 minutes to prep the meal and an hour and 30 minutes to cook it.
The sweet cannabis candies are marketed to a younger “stoner” crowd but there are now several options of edibles that appeal to more than just 21 year old men. You can find out the ingredients and cooking instructions for this recipe and others on Jeffthe420chef.com
Get Baked Beans
There are multiple ways to make this dish. You can spend 8 hours rinsing and soaking dry beans or you can just open up a can of premade beans and add cannabutter into the mix. If you’re a food critic you may want to make the beans the long way but if the closest you’ve come to culinary excellence is scrambled eggs you may want to go with option B. The ingredients and instructions for all methods can be found at the link above.
Hot Buttery Cannabiscuits
You should be able to prep and bake some hot buttery cannabiscuits in less than an hours time. If you’ve got access to cannabis oil in it’s solid form, you can have the ultimate breakfast wake and bake. The ingredients and instructions are all in the link above.
Medicated Hot Wings
You can make medicated hot wings in the same way you make regular hot wings. The beauty of cannabutter is any recipe that uses butter can be infused with marijuana. Just use cannabutter in the place of butter when making your hot wings and you’ll have em ready in no time.
If you don’t even want to make your own hot wings you can just order wings from wherever, even a chinese food spot, then add medicated hot sauce to it in the same way you would add tabasco to a dish.
If you like spice and want something savory that can be added to nearly any dish you can use medicated hot sauce. Just pay attention to the dosage, don’t use a 500mg bottle of hot sauce to soak a bowl of wings. A few squirts out of the bottle should do the trick no need to incapacitate yourself for several hours.
image: quicktrading.com

weedreader template

Marijuana and Running

Some inexperienced smokers who get really stoned when they smoke feel as though they can’t accomplish any tasks like running. Most daily smokers who have tried running while high would report that it is still quite possible. Some even believe it enhances the experience. There is also research on cannabis and running revealed anti-inflammatory effects. There were also reports of stress and muscle pain reduction, according to exercise physiologist Dr. Scott Weiss. So basically you’ll be in a better mood to run and the exercise should cause less damage while high.
Meet some stoned-runners 
If you need more evidence that running and marijuana can go hand in hand, there’s a stoned-running club in New Orleans called Vapor Apollo. The founder of the group claims that running while high “encourages attention to detail and makes running less boring.” They’d like to “kill that stereotype of weed and laziness, if possible.”
Jasmine, a 27-year-old smoke shop owner who gets high before every run agreed. She was 60 pounds heavier four years prior and knew she needed to make a change. She hated running and team sports.
“No matter what anyone tells you, running is very uncomfortable,” she says. “It’s a constant battle to keep yourself moving forward. Long story short, I hated running and I happen to know that marijuana is a great way to get myself to do the things that I don’t really want to do.”
One ultra-marathon runner Jeff Sperber has had three surgeries and stage four arthritis in his toe. He has a prescription pain medication but prefers not to use it because he claims, “I can’t do that stuff and function as a normal human being.” However, he says “as a weed smoker, I can function.”
Another ultra-marathon runner, Avery Collins says, “it’s pretty simple. I enjoy going on runs when I’m high. He said that cannabis does not grant him a competitive advantage but it makes practicing for long races more enjoyable and calms his muscles post-run. So athletes aren’t using marijuana as a performance enhancing drug when running. They’re just using it when they’re not competing.
Combination of runners high and marijuana high
According to a study published online, the same neurotransmitter that makes the body relaxed is triggered by both exercise and ingesting marijuana.
“Exercise causes the body to produce a particular neurotransmitter that makes the body relaxed-the same one triggered by smoking marijuana”
“When volunteers exercise for 30 minutes, the level of endocannabinoid anandamide in their bloodstream goes up.”
Dr. Johannes Fuss, researcher at University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, auhored a study that found “emotional benefits after acute exercise, often termed as a runner’s high.” Much like THC exercise causes anandamide to work with the endocannabinoid system affecting emotions. People who experience a runners high report feelings of euphoria much like smokers of sativa cannabis strains.
In conclusion
There are currently no definitive studies on marijuana’s performance enhancing effects. The World Anti-Doping Agency said in 2013, the level of acceptable marijuana in an athlete’s system was increased so that out of competition use would not disqualify anyone. So far any use before a sporting event is still forbidden. However, marijuana can aid runners outside of competition with motivation and pain relief.

weedr r

A Legal Retail Cannabis Market in California Could Offer Many Benefits

When it comes to cannabis legalization in the U.S., California is where it all began back in 1995 when they became the first state to legalize cannabis for medicinal uses. The retail/recreational legalization of cannabis has been a hot topic in the state of California ever since. While there have been many initiatives over the years calling for the legalization of adult recreational cannabis, this November the citizens of the state will finally have the chance to make it happen.
If voters in the state pass Proposition 64 to legalize an adult retail market, it is estimated that the sales in the first year will exceed 1.6 billion dollars. According to research by The Arc View Group and New Frontier, the combination of retail and medical sales in the state would most likely exceed 6.5 billion dollars by 2020. In 2015 the state’s medical market brought in 2.8 billion dollars in revenue.
According to the Executive Vice President of Industry Analytics for New Frontier, “the adult use market in California will undoubtedly make California the new epicenter in cannabis.” While the legalization of cannabis for adult use in the state would benefit many individuals in California, as well as the state’s economy, it has other benefits to offer as well. California has a significant influence on drug laws in Mexico. It is thought by many, that if California legalizes a retail market, it will also encourage their neighbors to the South to do the same.
While this market could offer many benefits, it will not be implemented without having to overcome several hurdles many of which will have to do with cultivation and regulations. When medical marijuana was legalized in 1995 there was very little government oversight of the program. This lack of oversight and the lack of stringent regulations is said to have led to a significant amount of the legally cultivated product being diverted to the black market and sold illegally. This has led to the “gray cultivation market” making in excess of 9 billion dollars annually.
According to John Kagia, the Executive VP of New Frontier, the state will not only become an epicenter in terms of revenue, it will also become a leader in the innovation throughout the industry. Kagia, as well as other co-authors of the report, believe that Silicon Valley should play an essential role in providing intellectual and technical expertise as well as capital to help progress the industry further than ever before. Many people also feel that if a legal retail cannabis market is introduced in the state, that California will become an epicenter for cannabis research as well as a pioneer in developing organic cultivation standards.

Get Your Oregon Cannabis Charges Expunged for Free

Get Your Oregon Cannabis Charges Expunged for Free

From tearing apart families to impeding the ability for many individuals to further their education or even obtain a good job, the prohibition of cannabis has caused detrimental harm in communities across the United States. For many individuals who have been arrested for cannabis, it is hard for them to obtain a job or further their education even after they serve their time, whether it be in jail or on probation. This is due to the fact that these drug charges still carry with them on their records for the remainder of their lives.
In the state of Oregon, where cannabis has been legal for adult recreational use since 2014, individuals that have a criminal record in the state for offenses that are now legal, have the opportunity to have the charges expunged from their records. Unfortunately for many individuals they are unable to pay the fees and lawyer costs associated with the process, so they continue to feel the negative effects of prohibition still today.
Knowing that the fees are impossible to pay for many people, Marley’s Naturals has teamed up with the Minority Cannabis Business Association to help individuals have their records cleared with absolutely no out of pocket costs. On August 27th, from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m., individuals with previous cannabis charges that are eligible for expungement can come to the Village Ballroom in Portland Oregon, located at 704 Northeast Dekum to fill out the necessary paperwork and file for their charges to be expunged from the records without paying a penny.
The process is expected to take less than 2 hours and all fees will be paid for by Marley Natural™ and the Minority Cannabis Business Association. This event is being called Rise Up™ Oregon Expungement Day and is just one way that the MCBA is taking action to stand by its mission statement. The MCBA knows all too well the consequences that the war on drugs has had and continues to have on the minority communities. That is why they have made it part of their mission to combat these consequences and help individuals overcome them. Through this event, many individuals will have a second chance at a normal life that they may not have had otherwise. If you have cannabis charges in the state of Oregon and are eligible to have them expunged from your record, but have been unable to pay the fees associated with doing so, be sure to RSVP to this event today.

Technology is Cultivating Strong Roots in the Cannabis Industry

Technology is Cultivating Strong Roots in the Cannabis Industry

Most individuals do not think about technology when they think about the budding cannabis industry, however, several different aspects of the industry rely heavily upon technology. Just recently the tech giant Microsoft made an announcement that they will be providing Azure cloud services for compliance based software that will serve the cannabis industry. To many people, this not only shows that technology has a big part to play in the success of the industry, but also shows that the times are truly changing surrounding how the industry is viewed by existing companies as well as the general public.
Since the uptick in technology has been occurring over the past few decades, technology has played a very small role in the cannabis culture and industry as it has been highly illegal. That was until legalization started to sweep across the country. With the legal cannabis market being predicted to be worth more than 21 billion dollars by 2020, everyone including small tech startups and well-known tech brands are wanting to get their piece of the pie.
Let’s take a look at a few of the companies that are utilizing technology to help fuel the cannabis industry to success from web design and graphics all the way to software that helps businesses remain compliant with state laws.
Flowhub has to be one of the most well-known tech companies within the cannabis sector. They currently provide services to cultivators and retail owners in Colorado, Oregon, and Alaska. Flowhub offers several different services and platforms that are helping businesses in the cannabis industry succeed.  Flowhub is most well-known and utilized for their seed to sale tracking and point of sale services. They also offer a cloud-based software-as-a-service platform that can be utilized via iOS devices as well as the web.
DankCreative is a graphic design company that helps to produce state of the art graphic designs for businesses in the cannabis community including logos and headers for websites and more.
GreenRush is an e-commerce platform utilized for linking medical marijuana patients with providers in their area. The founder and CEO pf GreenRush, Paul Warshaw, compared GreenRush to being the GrubHub of the medical MJ industry. Medical marijuana patients looking to locate products at local dispensaries or for delivery can simply log in and browse the available selection, making purchasing medical marijuana easier than ever before.
As you can see there are quite a few ways in which technology is really helping the industry excel and we are just getting started. It would be no surprise to see a major increase in tech companies entering into the industry over the coming months and years.
image: shutterstock

California Resident Made it Through Customs with Cannabis

California Resident Made it Through Customs with Cannabis

Traveling with cannabis is one issue that all medical marijuana patients will face if they ever go on vacation or have to travel for business. Just because you leave your home state or home country doesn’t mean that whatever symptoms or ailments that you utilize medical marijuana for stays back home. Medical marijuana patients deserve the right to be able to travel with their medication just as people are able to openly travel with their deadly, addictive, and harmful pharmaceuticals.
Thanks to what is being called a loophole in New Zealand law, visitors to the country as well as residents are able to travel freely into the country with any medication that they are prescribed. This also includes cannabis for those with documented recommendations.
Just recently a California resident by the name of Rebecca Reider was able to travel through customs in New Zealand with her medical marijuana, after previously being charged with illegal importation of marijuana into the country. The law only allows for visitors to have a one-month supply of medication with them so Rebecca was able to clear customs with one ounce of cannabis total.
Rebecca had previously been charged with trying to enter the country with cannabis but won the case in a Nelson District Court after Judge Peter Hobbs ruled that the consequences of the conviction were not in line with the severity of the crime according to the Sentencing Act.  Sue Grey was the representing attorney for Rebecca and stated;

“There was no good reason to criminal sanction a person who was using prescribed pain relief for good reason.”

As you can imagine after all of this, Rebecca was very excited when she was able to successfully travel and enter into the country recently.  Rebecca is not the only one celebrating either. Recent polls show that 82% of the citizens in New Zealand feel that cannabis should be legal for combatting terminal pain and 64% believe that possession and consumption of small amounts should be legalized or at least decriminalized. Looks like New Zealand feels the same way as the rest of the world when it comes to the draconian laws surrounding cannabis. Recent polls since 2014 show that over 50% of Americans also support marijuana legalization.
Whether or not a patient can travel with their medicine should not even be a question or concern. If someone utilizes a medicine whether it is chemical or plant based there should be no laws that prevent them from accessing said medicine. Plain and simple.
image credit: Druglawed/Facebook

Thornton Has Had a Change of Mind in Regards to Retail Cannabis

Thornton Has Had a Change of Mind in Regards to Retail Cannabis

When marijuana was legalized for retail/recreational purposes in the state of Colorado in 2012, cities and counties had the ability to restrict the retail market from existing within their borders. Many cities decided to do just that. Thornton, the state’s 6th largest city right out said no to all retail cannabis related businesses. 4 years later, though, they are starting to see what they are missing out on. A recent 5-4 vote by the Thornton City Council will change that moving forward. Starting Sept. 1st the city will start accepting applications from individuals who wish to open a dispensary in the city.
The change will allow for 4 retail marijuana dispensaries to open within the city limits, which is one in each quadrant. During the city council meeting where the vote took place, there were many opponents who did not like the idea of retail marijuana stores opening up shop in their cities. Many of these prohibitionists stated things such as it would “increase youth consumption.” I’m not sure where they are getting their information but since cannabis was legalized in the state, consumption by young adults and youth has decreased.
There are strict regulations surrounding where the dispensaries will be able to open specifically including but not limited to the following;
-At least 1,000 feet away from schools
-No less than 500 feet away from day care centers
-No less than 500 feet away from drug treatment centers
Applicants wishing to open a dispensary in the city will be graded on a point system much like potential applicants are vetted in Aurora.
The changes voted on by the council also pave the way to allow for marijuana testing facilities down the road. They will not, however, be allowing for cultivation facilities or infused-product makers.
Once sales begin the city stands to make some big bucks that will go to benefit the city as well as the communities of residents that live there. Estimates show that the city could stand to make anywhere between $1.5 million and $2.5 million annually from the taxes they will collect on retail marijuana sales. Can you imagine what $1.5 million could do for a city? This is the exact question that got the gears in the minds of many of the city council members turning in the direction of supporting retail sales in the city. While it may sound sad that money was the driving factor, just think about how much the city will gain from this decision!
image: Ed Andrieski, The Associated Press

Introducing the ACMPR Canada New Cannabis Regulations

Introducing the ACMPR – Canada's New Cannabis Regulations

The ACMPR officially goes into effect today in Canada which makes changes to the old MMPR. What does this mean for the citizens of Canada? Canadian citizens with a medical card now have access to growing their own cannabis. Per every gram prescribed to be used by a medical card holder each day, they are allowed to grow up to five indoor plants or two outdoor plants. This means if the doctor recommended the patient 3 grams per day, they could cultivate 15 plants indoors or 6 outdoors. Plants are not allowed to be grown near child care facilities, schools, playgrounds, or public areas that are frequented by children. It is recommended that all grows be locked and secured as well. Cannabis products that are being cured are to be locked in child-proof containers according to recommendations from Health Canada.

Patients are also able to take on another unique aspect and choose a designated cannabis grower to cultivate their medication. This law is making many people happy because on average, 5 indoor growing hydroponic plants can produce over 50 ounces of herb. This gives medical marijuana patients in Canada a new outlook on growing medicine. They’re also able to augment their supply of cannabis by supplementing orders from online dispensaries throughout Canada such as Weedism or Bud Xpress.

One of the conditions, in order to become a designated grower for someone, is to not have any felony drug convictions on your record in the past 10 years. The list of qualifying conditions to receive cannabis patient status in Canada ranges from PTSD and nausea to vomiting and cancer-related pain.

One of the major problems facing Canadians who are looking to utilize cannabis as an alternative treatment to dangerous and deadly pharmaceutical prescription drugs, is a shortage of medicinal supplies from state licensed vendors. There are said to be 34 licensed cannabis dispensaries across Canada. According to the ACMPR, all starting product must be purchased from one of these licensed facilities in the form of seeds or clones. The problem many patients face is simply running out of medicine which could be detrimental to their regimen.

Patients who suffer from cancer, leukemia, epilepsy, and other dangerous life-threatening illnesses cannot afford to go days or weeks without their medicine. Cannabis truly does work. It’s not like being without pharmaceuticals from the doctor for a week. Medical marijuana patients in Canada are having to turn to the dispensaries, which the government says are operating illegally, in order to receive the medications they so desperately need. The problem is Canada already has countless marijuana dispensaries that are set up and serving the people successfully.

The people have even spoken and it’s very clear that they want dispensaries. The Canadian government, however, has a different plan that includes strict regulations and iPad-like stores. This also brings up the issue of cost eEffectiveness. The low-income population of Canadians across the country falls short of being able to afford access to medical cannabis. This is a group that is making sure this problem gets the necessary attention that it needs to become solved.

Many patients that are working with licensed government facilities have run into the issue of them not having a consistent supply. This has not been an issue with dispensaries. In fact, many times if a patient cannot find their medicine through a licensed entity, they will find it at a dispensary. It is also not uncommon for dispensaries to provide free medical cannabis to patients who can not afford it. This cannot be said about governments anywhere. The new ACMPR is definitely an improvement and a step in the right direction but Canada still has a long ways to go before they truly implement a program that will work well for the people.

Oregon on Track to Make a Lot of Money from Retail Cannabis Taxes

Oregon on Track to Make a Lot of Money from Retail Cannabis Taxes

The Oregon retail cannabis market has traveled a rough road since being legalized back in 2014. When the citizens of the state voted to legalize retail cannabis for adults over the age of 21, there was already an existing medical marijuana program in the state. In 2015, on October 1st, medical marijuana dispensaries in the state were able to start selling a limited selection and quantity of cannabis to retail consumers over the age of 21.
The Money is Rolling In Already
When sales began in October there were no immediate taxes applied to the sale of retail cannabis. This changed on the 1st of January when the state implemented a 25% sales tax on all recreational cannabis sales in the state. So far since January when they started collecting taxes, the state has collected almost 25.5 million dollars in taxes from retail or recreational marijuana sales. This figure was released on October 22nd by the Oregon Department of Revenue and includes the sale of all marijuana-based products, including marijuana-infused edibles which went on sale in June on the retail Market.
The 25% tax that is currently being charged on retail recreational sales in the state is expected to decrease to just 17% on October 1st. This is when the Oregon Liquor Control Commission takes over the regulation and oversight of the recreational market. The state is estimating that by the end of the year they will have collected roughly 44.4 million dollars in marijuana taxes. Not too shabby for the first year of taxed sales in the state!
According to estimates, it is going to cost the state almost 29 million dollars to regulate marijuana of which 12 million will be covered by retail cannabis taxes. The remaining balance will be covered utilizing the money that comes from licensing marijuana businesses in the state. Whatever is left from the marijuana taxes at that time will be distributed according to the original laid out formula in the law.
Where All the Money  Is Going to Go
The law states that 40% of the taxes will go to the state’s common school fund and 20% of the taxes collected by the state will be used for mental health, drug, and alcoholism services. 15% of the left over taxes will go to the Oregon State Police, 10% will be going to city law enforcement and 10% will go to county level law enforcement officers. The remaining 5% will go to the Oregon Health Authority for early intervention, prevention, and treatment services for alcohol and drug abuse.
image credit: merryjane.com

Illegal Grow Ops in Humboldt Being Targeted for Environmental Harm

Illegal Grow Ops in Humboldt Being Targeted for Environmental Harm

We recently released an article about how marijuana arrests are still a significant thing in the state of California. Despite medical marijuana being legal since 1996 and a very lenient regulation system surrounding it, it is not stopping the state or the national forest service from spending money to crack down on marijuana grows. Humboldt County has long been known for the delectable cannabis grown on its land and still to this day it is estimated that over 25% of the local economy stems from marijuana.
USA Today recently rode along with a team hired to go air bound and locate illegal cannabis grows in the area, many of which are located deep inside unpopulated parts of national forests. Many of the illegal grows that they are targeting are causing detrimental harm to the environment through deforestation and dumping fertilizer rich waste into rivers. Unfortunately, the large amounts of unpopulated areas in Humboldt county is a mecca for cultivators.
Due to the very lax and highly unregulated “legal” market in the state, it is hard for law enforcement to truly be able to target illegal grows thus they are starting to utilize environmental laws rather than criminal laws surrounding cannabis to come down on these harmful operations. A lot of the operations that are found in violation of environmental laws are illegal operations with plans to distribute cannabis illegally out of state rather than legally to the California medical marijuana industry.
This is a downside to the fact that prohibition is still highly in effect across the nation. If the prohibition of cannabis were to be eradicated like it should be, people could simply grow at home and essentially over a short period of time it would force out the mass majority of the black market. If people did not have to grow in fear, chances are their methods of cultivation would leave little to no harmful footprint on the environment.
The majority of the grows being targeted in California currently are all about money and they have had a significant negative impact on small family farms that have been thriving in the area for decades which are passionate about the land as well as the art of cultivating high-quality medicine. The Humboldt County government would like to see any illegal growers currently in the area transition into the legal market, however, they know that not all of the cultivators on their land want to thus the continued efforts to flush them out before they do more damage to the environment.
images: usatoday