Analysis/Opinion

In case you haven’t noticed, the U.S. presidential election this year has been pretty heated. Political outsiders, on both the left and the right, have stirred the pot and engaged record numbers of new voters… and that was just the primaries! You can bet that we will be seeing a record turnout in November, as well.
And in November, we’ll be voting for more than just the president.
Several states are working hard to get cannabis legalization bills on the ballot this year. Six of them already have! Nevada, California, Maine and Massachusetts have all approved recreational bills; Florida and Arkansas will be voting on whether or not to legalize medical marijuana.
So, which states are likely to legalize weed in 2016? Let’s take a closer look at the latest developments in the legalization movement, and break it down state by state.

States That Could Legalize Weed in 2016

1. Nevada

The Silver State, which has already legalized medical marijuana, is set to vote on the Initiative to Regulate and Tax Marijuana. The initiative will appear on the November 8th ballot, and if passed, it will end marijuana prohibition in Nevada, create a system of licensed growers and retailers, and establish a 15% tax on marijuana sales.
Polls show that a majority of Nevadans (54% in 2013, and likely even higher now) support marijuana legalization, so it looks very likely the measure will pass.

2. California

Just last month, the state of California approved the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (or AUMA) to appear on the November ballot. If passed, the measure will legalize possession and private use of cannabis for residents 21 and over. It also establishes a system of distribution, and imposes a 15% sales tax, and a weight-based tax on commercial growth and cultivation.
The most recent polls show that 55% of Californians are in favor of legalization, so chances are good. And if you asked me, it’s past time that cannabis was legalized in California — one of the most progressive states in the country.

3. Maine

In November, the people of Maine will vote on the Maine Legalize Marijuana Initiative (aka “Question 1”). The initiative would make it legal for residents 21 and up to grow, possess and consume cannabis. It also establishes a 10% sales tax on marijuana and related products.
Polls show that 55% of residents are in favor of the measure, but there is still some fierce opposition in the state. It will take a strong turnout of progressive voters to ensure this initiative becomes law.

4. Florida

Voters in Florida will vote again in November for a medical marijuana initiative, entitled the Use of Marijuana for Debilitating Medical Conditions. Just like it sounds, the initiative would legalize cannabis as a medicine, but only for those with “debilitating medical conditions,” as determined and prescribed by a physician.
A similar initiative nearly passed in 2014 — 58% of voters said yes, but Florida state law requires a 60% super majority to approve new legislation. But this being a presidential election year, hopes are high that the increased number of young voters will provide the needed push to get it passed.

5. Massachusetts

The Massachusetts Marijuana Legalization Initiative will appear as “Question 4” on the November 8th ballot. If passed, the initiative will legalize possession and home growing for adults 21 and over, as well as imposing a sales tax of only 3.75 percent — though local municipalities will be allowed to collect their own 2% tax as well.
With polls estimating that 57% of residents are in favor of legalization, this initiative has an excellent chance!

6. Arizona

The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol submitted more than 250,000 signatures to the Arizona Secretary of State last month, in support of the Arizona Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act. With only 150,000 legitimate signatures needed to put it on the ballot, it looks pretty certain that voters will have their say in November.
Whether or not it passes is another story: recent polling shows only 43% of people in favor, and 49% percent opposed. Pass or fail, it’s gonna be close — so each and every vote counts!

7. Arkansas

Residents of Arkansas will have the chance to vote on medical marijuana legislation this November. The Arkansas Medical Cannabis Act (or AMCA) has gathered the necessary signatures, and will be on the ballot. Another competing initiative, the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Act (or AMMA), is still in the process of collecting signatures.
Between the 2 initiatives, the already-approved AMCA is the more compassionate and comprehensive. It allows for more dispensaries, more qualifying conditions, and sliding scale fees and other protections for low income patients.
With polls showing 84% of Arkansans in favor of medical marijuana, it’s likely that the Natural State will become the next one to allow cannabis as medicine. However, if both competing initiatives end up on the ballot, it’s possible that neither one will get enough votes to pass.
 
So there you have it; my picks for the 7 states most likely to legalize weed in 2016. Several other states — including Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio and my home state of Missouri — all have active cannabis legalization campaigns underway. Some, like Michigan’s MILegalize, have already collected signatures and submitted their petitions. But all of them have weaker polling, stronger opposition, and other factors preventing their initiatives from moving forward.
If you live in any of these 7 states, make sure you are registered to vote, and show up at the polls in November and let your voice be heard. But no matter where you live, continue to educate yourself about the benefits of cannabis and cannabis legalization. Get active in the legalization movement locally.
Together, we can end marijuana prohibition across the U.S., and around the world!

Low temp and high temperature dabs come with their own set of pros and cons. There’s been arguing over which is better but it really comes down to the experience you want from your concentrate. Are you looking for a quick rush? A day-time high? Trying to sleep? The best temperature to dab at depends on the high you’re looking for.
Low-temperature Dabs
A low temp is generally between done 470 and 600 degrees Fahrenheit. The trick to getting the perfect low temp depends on the nail you’re using. Ceramic nails take the longest to heat up but they hold heat for the longest. Titanium is usually the quickest to heat up but quartz heat up time depends on the thickness of the glass. Glass is ideal for flavor and has become the favorite of cannabis concentrate connoisseurs. If you’re using a 4mm thick quartz banger you’ll need to heat it until the base is red hot then allow it to cool for 45-55 seconds before dropping your dab in. Then you’ll need to put a carb cap over the quartz banger to allow the concentrate to become hot enough for vaporization. The reason people go through all these extra steps is to preserve terpenes. Terpenes are what provide cannabis with flavor and they have a fairly low boiling point. Low-temperature dabs are intended to be a low enough temperature so that the flavor from an extracts terpenes is maximized. At high temperatures some THC can also be burned away decreasing the potency of the dab. Another benefit to low temperature dabbing is that it’s easier on the throat and lungs. Dabs have been associated with coughing fits but these are mostly from users doing dabs at temperatures that are too hot for comfort.
High-temperature Dabs
High temp dabs are usually taken at 700 or more degrees Fahrenheit. Although they aren’t as flavorful high-temperature dabs come with their own array of benefits. The experience is comparable to taking a shot, 2 seconds and it’s all over, except for the fact that you might end up in a coughing fit for the next 30 seconds. Another benefit is the fact that high-temp dabs don’t leave behind a puddle of concentrate that needs to be Q-tipped like low-temp dabs do. You also won’t need to worry about struggling to reach for a carb cap with your lips to your bong. Some users even prefer the high associated with high temp dabs. Customgrow420, a popular weedtuber who says he prefers high-temperature dabs, claims that the high is more intense and he enjoys coughing his lungs out because it apparently gives him more of a head rush. To each his own, try out both techniques to see which one best suits your needs. If you’re getting top shelf concentrates you may want to low temp dab and taste your quality concentrates but if you’re just trying to get high and fast, high temperature dabs are the way to go.
 

If you had ever wondered how much weed goes into joints, chances are if you turn to the internet you had a hard time coming to a conclusion. If you were to look things up on YouTube, for example, you will find an abundance videos that contain people rolling or smoking extremely large joints that are not typical.
If you turn to sources such as Weedmaps to see the size of pre-rolled joints being sold at dispensaries, chances are you would have come to the same conclusion as many and would believe that the typical American joint is on average a half gram of cannabis.
This half gram has also been utilized as a baseline by the United States office of National Drug control policy. But thanks to Greg Ridgeway from the University of Pennsylvania and his colleagues Beau Kilmer from the Rand Corporation we now have a more decisive answer.
Based on the analysis of more than 10,000 marijuana sales in 40 different communities over an 11-year period shows that the average sized joint contains .32 grams of cannabis. So you were probably wondering why someone would have spent money to perform a study to come up with this statistic but it’ll actually make complete sense once I explain.
Knowing how much cannabis is typically consumed within one joint allows organizations such as the United States office of National Drug control policy a better ability to determine the amount of marijuana that is trafficked from out of the country as well as to positively affect the conversation surrounding legalization of cannabis on the federal level within the US.
Having this data could drastically benefit the reform of cannabis at both a state and federal level. How much marijuana do you think is in a typical joint? We would love to hear how much you roll in a standard joint, so let us know in the comments below.
image credit: Big stock

When it comes to the best containers to store your weed in there are many options available to you today. Storing your weed is not like it was in the past. You don’t just keep it in a sandwich baggie.
Today marijuana is much stronger than it was in the past and has a higher quality for flavor along with increased potency. When you leave your marijuana in a sandwich bag, air will get to it and typically within a day or two it will dry up. This causes you to lose potency and flavor.
A great alternative to the sandwich baggie is the Mason jar. The Mason jar is what you will commonly see dispensaries use to store their marijuana on the shelves. Mason jars are relatively inexpensive ranging from free to about a dollar each. Another great item is a smell proof bag. These can be purchased from anywhere between $0.50 and $4. If you go to a dispensary in a legal state you will get one of these when you purchase marijuana.
It is referred to as an exit bag and can be used at home to store your herb. Alternately you might receive your herb in a jar similar to what you would receive pills in from the pharmacy.
Having a place to put your herb is a little bit different than it was in the past. There are endless options for marijuana storage containers. You can find them online at places like Amazon and eBay or you can go to specialty stores that sell marijuana merchandise and find some really wild storage containers. The CVault can hold anywhere between an eight of ganja (3.5 grams) all the way up to 10 ounces depending on which size you buy and resembles a pressure cooker. One of these bad boys will set you back 20 to 40 bucks but it’s a great way to revitalize your old dried-out nugs.
These are just a few great options for containers to store your weed in!
image credit: Bigstock

Can the frequency and intensity of headaches be reduced by daily marijuana usage?
The use of cannabis as a treatment for a headache is nothing new. In fact, about a century ago, western doctors were prescribing cannabis to their patients suffering from various ailments including migraine headaches. The results of a new study may give reason for the return of these prescriptions in the 21st century.
History of marijuana as treatment for migraine headaches
Prior to marijuana’s widespread prohibition in the early 1900’s, British and American doctors were prescribing the plant to treat a variety of medical conditions including headaches. Dr. J.R. Reynolds, the court physician to Queen Victoria in 1890 wrote about using cannabis to treat migraine and other ailments. One year later, American doctor J.B. Mattison’s research concluded that marijuana was capable of both preventing pain from headaches along with their frequency. Several years later a Canadian physician by the name of William Osler published a book and agreed with J.B. Mattison claiming that for migraines, “cannabis indica is probably the most satisfactory remedy.”
This may soon become the discussion among physicians again since the first clinical trials of medical marijuana’s effect on migraine headaches, published earlier this year, illustrated medical benefits for patients suffering from migraine headaches.
Can cannabis use reduce the amount of headaches one suffers from?
According to the study published by Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Colorado Anshutz Medical Campus, the use of medical cannabis can indeed reduce the frequency of migraines headaches for some chronic sufferers.
The study reveals that 39.7% of the migraine sufferers given medical marijuana reported positive effects, the main one being a reduction in the frequency of migraine headaches. About a fifth of the patients reported a reduction in migraine frequency and more than a tenth of them reported the complete stop of their migraine headache. The only negative effects reported were experienced by users who ingested edible marijuana as opposed to other forms. It was found that inhalation provided the most immediate relief to an ongoing migraine. This may be due to something called the entourage effect: the combination of multiple cannabinoids such as cannabidiol (CBD) or THC for added medical benefits. Despite the evidence of better treatment from smoking over other methods, many states that allow medical marijuana still prohibit the selling and use of the raw plant for smoking.
“One of the superiorities of smoking or vaporizing cannabis is quick onset of relief. Because smoked or vaped marijuana is immediately absorbed into the blood stream by the lungs, where it enters the heart and is transported directly to the brain, cannabis can begin to help patients within a little as two-and-a-half minutes of consumption.” – Gooey Rabinski, Advocate for Cannabis Patients.
The inhalation of cannabis provides sufferers of migraines with faster relief and less negative side effects when compared to edibles and other methods of pain relief.
Alternative to painkillers
Other forms of medication for headache relief such as aspirins come with a multitude of harmful side effects. “Common side effects of Bayer Aspirin include rash, gastrointestinal ulcerations, abdominal pain, upset stomach, heartburn, drowsiness, headache, cramping, nausea, gastritis, and bleeding.” These side effects are much more harmful to patients than the ones associated with marijuana usage. With the first clinical trials of medical marijuana on migraine patients revealing positive results, we’re hopeful that patients will be able to access a safer alternative to painkillers sooner than later.

If you have ever had sex while high on the ganja you know it can be quite the experience! Cannabis has shown to be a sexual enhancer for many consumers and many attest that the pleasure is much more significant when they have taken a few tokes before engaging in sexual activities. But have you ever stopped to think about cannabis consumption within the legal adult porn industry? I hadn’t either until an article I ran across in my research sparked my curiosity so I looked into the subject further and was surprised with my findings.
I found that many movies and TV shows portrayed the adult film star industry as one big drug and sex-filled orgy party but what the stars are saying I found to be much different. In fact, the use of any substances that are not prescribed is actually highly frowned up by the suits of the industry. Before many filming sessions, stars must submit a video or written documentation attesting that they are in no way, shape, or form under the influence of non-prescribed drugs or substances. Unfortunately, this includes cannabis as well since it is still considered illegal at the federal level even in states with legal retail and medicinal marijuana markets.
This does not mean that no one goes on camera elevated from the herb, however. In my research I found that there is a small percentage of “cam stars” that will consume on camera, however, these are typically live performers over an internet web cam stream rather than film stars who perform for productions that will be sold on a commercial level.
So next time you’re tokin and pokin remember all those who do it for a living that can’t enjoy the two together and enjoy a toke for them too!

Marijuana legalization is taking place across the United States of America on both a medicinal as well as a recreational level. There are 25 states with legal medical marijuana access and four states with legal retail or recreational marijuana access according to a recent article in the Seattle Times. Congress has a moral and legal obligation to the safety of the people to ease regulations on banking for marijuana businesses.
Banks are losing out on incredible amounts of money because of federal marijuana prohibition. While states choose to adopt medical marijuana and or retail marijuana laws this means that people are caught in the crosshairs. While the state tells you-you can pay taxes and successfully and legally run a marijuana business the federal government tells you any of the money that you made from that is not allowed to be put into a bank account.
This means that cannabis business owners end up having large amounts of cash either on them or stashed at various locations. This makes them a prime target for criminal gangs such as the police department or other hoodlums criminals. For this very reason, Congress must do something to ease Federal Banking regulations on the Cannabis industry for the safety of the people or they are not doing their job and must step down from office and be replaced by individuals who will follow the constitutional law in the United States of America.
In the past two weeks, we have seen two different events occur that most likely would have never happened if dispensaries didn’t have to hold large sums of cash on hand. One of these events in Aurora Colorado resulted in a veteran Marine, father of 3 and security guard being fatally shot. We must make changes so that these legal businesses can operate without this unnecessary security concern.
image credit: The New York Times