Marijuana News

We’ve compiled a list of the next 10 biggest cannabis-related events to keep an eye out for the rest of the year.

1. Michigan Cup

• HIGH TIMES is hosting Michigan’s first HIGH TIMES Medical Cannabis Cup & Country Fair!
• Located within the Auto city Speedway of Clio, Michigan, the event will be held on three days from August 26^th – 28^th.
• The event is only open to medical patients, but doctors will be available on site. In addition, medical marijuana qualification of any state is also acceptable for admission.
• This three day cannabis country fair will feature live concerts, a Sunday POTathlon, Midway Games and a Heady Village.
• Website: http://www.cannabiscup.com/clio-michigan/#latest-news-

2. Seattle Hempfest Protestival

• Entering its 25^th anniversary, the Seattle Hempfest protestival has been known as the word’s first and largest cannabis policy reform event. It is held from August 19^th-21^st at Myrtle Edwards and Centennial Parks on the Seattle waterfront.
• The event prides itself as the most socially responsible, educational, and largest free speech rally in the nation. Seattle’s hempfest events have influenced regional and public policy, and helped to pave the way for legalization in Washington State.
• Because this event is a free speech event aimed to educate the public on cannabis, admission is completely free.
• At the event you will find 6 stages of non-stop speakers and music & 400 arts, crafts, food, and informational vendors.
• Although this festival seeks to educate and push for cannabis policy reform, this doesn’t mean that attendees can publicly smoke, ingest or sell pot. Doing so is illegal because the festival is held in a public drug free zone.
• Website: https://www.hempfest.org/festival/attendees/

3. Oregon State Fair

• From August 26^th to September 5^th, the Oregon State Fair will be displaying marijuana plants for the first time to be judged. The fair normally holds competitions for animals, agriculture and horticulture, but this year the decision to allow marijuana plants was due to the plant’s growing social acceptance. Judges will not be smoking the plants, instead they will only be judging the plants on its looks. Anyone 21 and up may enter the marijuana exhibit at the Oregon State Fair to see the award winning cannabis crops.

4. Dabathon Cup Part 2

• Held on August 27^th and 28^th in Los Angeles, the Dabathon Cup is a cannabis competition festival for all valid medical marijuana patients, featuring award winning companies and products. You will also find art, games, live glass blowing, live music and special appearances. The exact location and venue has yet to be announced.
• All attendees will be able to sample and vote for their favorite cannabis and concentrates varieties from competitors.
• Website: http://www.dabathoncup.com/

5. Cannabis World Congress and Business Exposition

• The Cannabis World Congress and Business Exposition is a business, educational, and networking event for those interested or already working within the cannabis industry. This event will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center from September 7^th to September 9^th.
• This event will feature exhibits, services, seminars, and speakers. Those looking to invest in the industry and those already in it can find the latest technology, products, resources and solutions provided by exhibitors.
• Register on their website to attend: http://www.cwcbexpo.com/overview-los-angeles/

6. Boston Freedom Rally

• The 27^th annual Boston Freedom Rally will be held on September 17^th and 18^th, located within Boston Common. This is a peaceful protest with a mission to educate voters and legislators to end prohibition and collecting signatures for petitions.
• The Boston Freedom Rally will feature music, inspirational speakers, and vendors. This event is open to the public, and though many attendees do light up in support of cannabis and the name of civil disobedience, it should be noted that possession and smoking in public is still illegal. Smokers partaking in direct resistance do so at their own choice and risk.
• Stay updated via their facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/bostonfreedomrally/home
• http://masscann.org/uncategorized/boston-freedom-rally-september-17-18/

7. The Secret Cup

• Located in Lake Michigan, the Secret Cup is a vacation style event where visitors with medical marijuana cards can stay at the resort from September 29^th to October 2^nd. Guests can enjoy a relaxing networking experience, while comfortably sampling products and competition entries. Hash makers from around the world will be showcasing their concentrates in competing for the golden torch. The Secret Cup also prides itself in being the first and only competition to offer a “soil to oil” award, meaning that the award goes to the best flower that also yields the best concentrate. In addition to competitions, guests can enjoy live glass blowing demonstrations, entertainments, food, and shopping at vendor booths.
• Get your tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-secret-cup-lake-michigan-mi-2016-tickets-21540054884
• Get more information from event website: http://www.thesecretcup.com/upcoming-events/2016/2/12/lake-michigan

8. CannaGrow Expo

• From October 29^th – 30^th, the CannaGrow Expo in Denver, Colorado will be open to guests 18 and older who are interested in entering the marijuana cultivation industry. The event will showcase the latest technology, techniques, and resources in cultivation. Guests can attend from selection of 25 educational seminars presented by world class growers, as well as networking with cultivators from all over the country. The CannaGrow Expo will be located at the Crowne Plaza Denver Airport Hotel & Convention Center, where guests can also choose to stay.
• Tickets and information can be found on the event’s website: https://cannagrowexpo.com/

9. Cannafest

• For those who wish to travel, Cannafest in Prague, Czech Republic is a great cannabis festival to check out. The event will be held from November 11^th to November 13^th at Incheba Praha. The event will feature vendors, exhibitions, Czech and English Seminars, workshops, a reading room, a cinema, a vape lounge, hemp catering, and a smoking “Chillout Zone”. Visiting parents can also take advantage of Cannafest’s “Kids Fun and Relax Zone,” where they can hang out with their kids or ask a professional babysitter to take care of them while the parents can enjoy the festival.
• More information and tickets will be available here: http://www.cannafest.com/en/

10. The Emerald Cup

• From December 10^th to the 11^th in the Sonoma County Fairgrounds in Santa Rosa, California, the Emerald Cup will attract cannabis enthusiasts from around the country ages 18 and up. The Emerald up has a reputation as the “largest, most respected, organic, outdoor, medical cannabis competition in the world.” The Rolling Stone Magazine event called it, “the Academy Awards of the cannabis industry.” This year’s cup will feature an expanded vendor area, a Hall of Flowers, sampling area, and a food court with organic menus.
• Get your tickets here: https://web.archive.org/web/20160806195007/https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-emerald-cup-2016-tickets-25420681944?aff=erelexpmlt

Any other upcoming marijuana events or news can be found here.
image: bigstockphoto

Unless for the past week you have cut yourself off from the rest of the world and have been in your basement getting stoned, drinking soda, eating pizza, and vegging out on Netflix, you have probably heard of Pokémon Go. This augmented reality game was designed to get people up and moving while providing technologically based entertainment but now has people wondering the streets like zombies.
This AR game is accessed utilizing your mobile phone and the main objective is to catch Pokémon strategically placed in places around the world. When looking through your mobile phone thanks to your phone’s camera the AR reality game allows you to see other Pokémon  players in the alternate world. As you can only imagine this has made the news more than once.
A Reddit user went to the internet to share his strange and unusual story associated with Pokémon Go which has gained the attention of the cannabis community. This individual stated that while he was out hunting for Pokémon using this game he came in contact with two other individuals who gave him a tip for finding an Onyx in the game. He ended up chatting with these individuals for a while and being that it was 3 a.m. and they were in a public park it drew the attention of a police officer.
This police officer thought that the individuals were conducting a sale of marijuana but after an extensive explanation of the situation and the game no one was arrested and the cop ended up downloading the game as well. I don’t know what’s worse the fact that three individuals can’t just be hanging out in a park at 3 a.m. talking without being suspected of being drug dealers or the fact that people are out wandering the streets at 3 a.m. looking for virtual characters that do not even really exist and their not high.
image credit: androidcentral

Investing in the cannabis industry can be a tricky area today. This is why it is advisable to have a cannabis consultant on your hands. Even if you know the industry very well the ins-and-outs of running a successful cannabis business and scaling it to its full capacity is an area that not everyone will know. Gateway Incubator is a great example as they have been advising Buddha Bakeries on how to scale their business.
Gateway Incubator has 7 applicants in which they chose from a class of 150 that they will help strengthen their business by engagement through mentors. For several years now Buddha Bakeries has been successfully running and on average generating more than a million dollars yearly in revenue with distribution reaching 75 dispensaries. Be sure to check out episode 38 of a series called Investing in Cannabis to see more about Gateway Incubator and what they do.
Gateway Incubator is based out of Oakland California and invests roughly $30,000 each year in up to 10 cannabis startup companies. The startup companies admitted to the incubator will move to Oakland for 4 months while they receive mentoring and coaching from the team of industry leader experts who work with Gateway Incubator. Startup companies in the incubator will have  a chance to present their companies to a panel of investors that have been carefully selected.
Even after the program is complete, business owners of the startups that went through the incubator program at Gateway will become alumni of the program and have access to a large entrepreneurial network for continued guidance, increased knowledge exchange and ultimately further success.
Gateway Incubator is not the only program that offers services such as this, in fact, there are several more so if you have an idea for a cannabis business and have the dedication and devotion it takes to see it through to success you need to check out Gateway Incubator and other accelerator programs for startups in the cannabis industry.

Marijuana regulation in the Czech Republic is taking shape thanks to efforts of cannabis advocates and other supporters of the marijuana industry. The Czech Patient Association for Cannabis Treatment also referred to as KOPAC, was responsible for the first ever organized educational seminar on cannabis for the general public, medical professionals as well as medical marijuana patients.
Focusing on sharing information, facts, and knowledge pertaining to the potential of medical marijuana to nurses, doctors, and patients was one of the main focal points of this educational seminar.
Prague the capital of the Czech Republic posted these lectures which covered every aspect from patients, government advisers all the way down to pharmacy representatives that are responsible for providing cannabis to the patients in the Czech Republic. Only less than 20 pharmacies throughout the entire Czech Republic are said to even offer medical marijuana. Educating individuals across the country about the benefits that patients may potentially receive from medical marijuana is essential to the health of the people.
Marijuana is starting to make its way around the world with countries considering reform laws and legalization. The health minister of Greece was asked to revise current laws. The health minister of Macedonia recently announced the good news that cannabis extracts can be purchased at pharmacies without a prescription. Rick Simpson Oil has made its way to Serbia. Croatia is breaking ground by importing European and North American cannabis extracts! Even Hungary is catching the munchies when it comes to marijuana legalization hosting a cannabis conference in the capital of Budapest on June 1st.
It is absolutely incredible to see progression such as this occurring throughout Europe. This should be a heads up to the rest of the world that it is time to make changes as well and take steps to end the prohibition of cannabis once and for all.
image credit: Getty Images

Cannabis and the UFC are in the news again. This time, they are not suspending athletes for cannabis consumption. Instead, it is former UFC contender Jake Shields and World Champion Brazilian Jiu Jitsu athlete Denny Prokopos. The UFC is not involved in this one as these two are operating privately on their own. They are hosting the first-ever Cannathlete Seminar in San Jose California. This event will be open to the public. During the course of this event, you can learn about cannabis and how it is utilized by athletes in day-to-day life.
Increasing their physical performance and mental performance through consuming cannabis is fascinating to many individuals. Typically cannabis is associated with making one feel lazy and sitting on the couch watching movies eating pizza. This, however, is a stereotype that is being destroyed, obliterated if you will even. For $125 you can purchase a ticket to this first of its kind event and a doctor’s recommendation is included with the cost of the ticket!  If you are already a holder of an in state doctor’s recommendation your ticket price drops by $25!
It is estimated that more than half of MMA fighters consume cannabis secretly so banning athletes and suspending them for cannabis consumption, is a touchy subject. The support of these two legendary individuals will hopefully lead to shaping reform amongst the athletic community when it comes to cannabis consumption. Cannabis is a medicine and the truth is out there. The lies cannot be supported any longer. Cannabis is a harmless plant that has 0 deaths associated with it ever and has dozens of benefits to offer athletes not just in the MMA but in every other sports imaginable. The fact these athletes train and condition their bodies and understand the importance of cannabinoids and the body’s natural endocannabinoid system shows they are more than just jocks.
Photo courtesy of VapeXhale

More people around the world are being arrested for cannabis every day. While places such as the United States, Canada, Uruguay, and others have legal access to marijuana there are still places where people are being arrested and serving considerable amounts of their life behind bars because of cannabis. Even in the United States of America where over half the country has legal access to medical marijuana individuals are still arrested on a daily basis for simple possession. Some people are arrested for growing these plants and end up serving lengthy sentences behind bars.
The United States is not the only place that feels the wrath of prohibition. A waiter from Poland was arrested for growing an estimated 120 marijuana plants using a sophisticated setup that would allow for multiple commercial grows. Police arrested 30-year-old Robert Knopek. He will be serving the next two-and-a-half years of his life behind bars for having a hundred and twelve female plants and 9 seedlings in his possession. The estimated street value of these plants was between £44,500 and £96,000.
Robert will now serve time in prison with a multitude of violent criminals. Until this arrest Robert had had no criminal background. He had never been in any kind of trouble but now he’ll face the next 30 months of his life in a prison cell all because he grew a harmless plant. Marijuana has 0 deaths link to it directly ever in recorded history and harms no one. In fact, it saves lives.
This arrest is just one of many that happen every day that result in someone’s life being ruined over a plant. It is the time that marijuana was decriminalized around the globe so that people have safe, legal access to a natural medication that they can grow in their own homes.
image credit: royalqueenseeds

4.3 million euros of cannabis was discovered inside of a container of frozen meat from France. Authorities uncovered an estimated 215 kilograms of cured ready to sale cannabis. There are many different ways that individuals will smuggle cannabis into countries. The best way to eliminate drug trafficking and smuggling of marijuana altogether is to legalize marijuana. There have been zero deaths ever recorded in history directly linked to marijuana. It is, in fact, a valuable medication for a multitude of conditions.
Currently, countries around the world are re-evaluating their marijuana laws realizing that the war on drugs or the attempted eradication of marijuana was a feeble mistake started by the United States federal government. Many of these countries are no longer supporting these lies as it makes them look extremely foolish. United States politicians do not care who suffers as long as they are making money. Other countries are starting to realize that marijuana prohibition was a campaign built on lies.
However, it makes me wonder how authorities put a price on cannabis like this. On average anyone buying marijuana in any kind of bulk rate can get a pound of top-quality cannabis for $2,200. This is actually a very high price if you are buying say 215 kilograms or 473 pounds of pot at one time. At $2,200 a pound, 215 kilograms of marijuana would only come up to 1.27 million euros, not 4 million euros like what was reported. Apparently, a pound of marijuana in France goes for $6,000 roughly according to reports issued by media outlets such as the Irish Times.
It is crazy the things that people do to smuggle cannabis into a country but this is nothing new. People have had to come up with some pretty crazy ways to conceal cannabis due to the draconian prohibition that has plagued many parts of the world for almost a century now.
Image Source: Revenue