Marijuana legalization is popular, more popular than Trump.

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Re: Marijuana legalization is popular, more popular than Tru

Postby stillrobertpaulsen » Thu Jan 04, 2018 3:03 pm

Elvis » Thu Jan 04, 2018 10:59 am wrote:The "gateway" myth is completely contradicted by the data. As if that matters to those people.


Better than most pundits, Bill Hicks showed the hypocrisy between marijuana and the biggest gateway drug alcohol:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyQdZ0cKKg8
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Re: Marijuana legalization is popular, more popular than Tru

Postby PufPuf93 » Thu Jan 04, 2018 6:46 pm

What a bungled mess some but not all Feds have made of marijuana.

What an asshole and asshat is Sessions.

“Conservatives' self-professed belief in federalism was always a huge fraud.”

Marijuana points this stance out as a lie. Pot is used to target liberals and minorities.

The mixed stances regards pot complicates the medical field and reduce professionalism and science and, in some cases, directly discriminates against providers or patients that are or would be users.

Hicks had it right. Hat tip to Bill Hicks.
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Re: Marijuana legalization is popular, more popular than Tru

Postby minime » Thu Jan 04, 2018 7:10 pm

Today, a young man on acid realized that all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration—that we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively. There is no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we're the imagination of ourselves. Here's Tom with the weather.[
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Re: Marijuana legalization is popular, more popular than Tru

Postby seemslikeadream » Thu Jan 04, 2018 9:59 pm

ok I know why Sessions announced this today....he thought all of us stoners would be fixated on loosing our pot that we would not noticed he is going to be indicted for obstruction of justice



Seth Abramson

The fact that Sessions' team secretly queried GOP members of Congress for damaging info on Comey—to use as cover for firing him over Russia—confirms, yet again, that Sessions was/is one of Mueller's primary targets for indictment alongside Manafort, Flynn, Kushner, and Don Jr.

This NYT story makes clear that Sessions, with the assistance of at least one aide—and was it Gordon or Dearborn, both implicated in the Russia probe?—was trying to cover up what he knew as an attorney (much like Corallo knew) was a course of conduct constituting Obstruction.

I did a long thread on "consciousness of guilt" recently, and Jeff Sessions ordering aides to find pretextual reasons to fire Comey, so that it wouldn't be obvious the firing was over the Flynn case—which Trump knew from McGahn was *valid*—is definitely consciousness of guilt.

https://twitter.com/SethAbramson?ref_sr ... r%5Eauthor


Obstruction Inquiry Shows Trump’s Struggle to Keep Grip on Russia Investigation
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/04/us/p ... .html?_r=0




Colorado Senate Dems‏
@COSenDem

We'll give Jeff Sessions our legal pot when he pries it from our warm, extremely interesting to look at hands.
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Re: Marijuana legalization is popular, more popular than Tru

Postby seemslikeadream » Fri Jan 05, 2018 3:34 pm

The price is $4.20 — April 20, or 4/20, is "Weed Day" — plus tax. :P


Jack in the Box tests 'Munchie Meals' for pot smokers
Zlati Meyer, USA TODAY Published 6:29 a.m. PT Jan. 3, 2018

California begins legal recreational marijuana sales in 2018 and along with that, there are a host of questions about exactly how the system will work and the rules people need to follow.


Knowing that marijuana smokers can get serious hunger pangs, one fast-food chain is looking to take advantage of the start of California's legalization of pot for recreational use.


San Diego-based Jack in the Box plans will sell a weed-themed Merry Munchie Meal at three southern California locations in mid-January.

In November 2016, Californians approved Proposition 64, which legalized sales of recreational marijuana for adults starting Monday, the beginning of the new year.

The limited-time offer is in partnership with cannabis lifestyle website Merry Jane — itself an allusion to marijuana's "mary jane" nickname — backed by rapper and TV game-show host Snoop Dogg.

The meal will be tested Jan. 18-25 at select Jack in the Box locations in Long Beach, Snoop's hometown.

The meal box, part of Jack in the Box's late-night menu, has half-servings of curly fries and onion rings, two tacos, five mini churros, three crispy chicken strips and a small drink. The price is $4.20 — April 20, or 4/20, is "Weed Day" — plus tax.

"We are about welcoming all of our guests, no matter what they’re craving or why they’re craving it," Chief Marketing Officer Iwona Alter said in a statement.


More pregnant women are using pot to ease nausea of morning sickness or heightened anxiety. Elizabeth Keatinge (@elizkeatinge) has more. Buzz60

Jack in the Box is hoping to create a buzz that will elevate the brand.

"They're going to leap upon anything they can. It’s an occasion. Why not?" said Robert Passikoff, founder of Brand Keys, a New York-based brand research consultancy. "The brand generates the kind of audience that won’t be offended by it."

Sixty-four percent of Americans support legalizing marijuana, according to a Harris Poll conducted in October.

While General Mill's frozen pizza brand Totino's has occasionally posted billboardssuggesting people who are stoned should eat pizza rolls, don't expect pot-related fast-food meals to become a trend.

"McDonald's won't do it. Burger King won't do it," Passikoff said. "Jack in the Box has nothing to lose by doing this. But a major brand would never do it, because they would be afraid of backlash from people who don’t have open minds about marijuana and drug culture."

Founded in 1951, Jack in the Box is a regional brand with more than 2,200 restaurants.

The chain announced Dec. 19 that it was selling its beleaguered Mexican fast-casual brand Qdoba to publicly-traded investment group Apollo Global Management for approximately $305 million.
http://www.rgj.com/story/news/marijuana ... 999198001/
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Re: Marijuana legalization is popular, more popular than Tru

Postby seemslikeadream » Sat Jan 06, 2018 9:39 am

Sessions knew and again he was just trying to deflect from the FACT that he tried to obtain DIRT on Comey .....he will be forced to resign and that is WHY he was not invited to the love fest at Camp David this weekend where everybody and their brothers were invited EXCEPT for Sessions....he will be thrown under the bus

Mifsud➡️Papadopoulos➡️Steven Miller➡️Jeff Sessions


Jeff Sessions’ Thursday attack on legal marijuana just went up in smoke
BY COLIN TAYLOR
PUBLISHED ON JANUARY 4, 2018


This morning, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Justice Department would be rolling back the Obama administration’s policy of tolerating legalized marijuana in the states which have chosen to do so.

The move is a shameless violation of the Republican Party’s ostensible support for “state’s rights” and is an obvious effort to not only punish left-leaning states like California and Oregon, the latter of which legalized recreational marijuana on New Year’s Day, but also a clear effort to expand the carceral state and target minorities for exploitation by private prisons.

However, the move backfired almost immediately.



Republican Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado, one of the first states to legalize recreational marijuana, has declared that he will hold up the confirmation process for White House nominees to the Department of Justice unless Sessions reverses his course.

Cory Gardner

@SenCoryGardner
.@realDonaldTrump had it right. This must be left up to the states. https://twitter.com/BrandonRittiman/sta ... 6152044549

Cory Gardner

@SenCoryGardner
This reported action directly contradicts what Attorney General Sessions told me prior to his confirmation. With no prior notice to Congress, the Justice Department has trampled on the will of the voters in CO and other states.
9:10 AM - Jan 4, 2018
1,209 1,209 Replies 3,511 3,511 Retweets 8,615 8,615 likes



Cory Gardner

@SenCoryGardner
Replying to @SenCoryGardner
This reported action directly contradicts what Attorney General Sessions told me prior to his confirmation. With no prior notice to Congress, the Justice Department has trampled on the will of the voters in CO and other states.

Cory Gardner

@SenCoryGardner
I am prepared to take all steps necessary, including holding DOJ nominees, until the Attorney General lives up to the commitment he made to me prior to his confirmation.
9:10 AM - Jan 4, 2018
2,211 2,211 Replies 3,749 3,749 Retweets 12,421 12,421 likes

The state of Colorado has received half a billion dollars in tax revenue since the state legalized the popular drug in 2014, which has been spent on funding public schools and drug rehabilitation programs.

President Trump said on the campaign trail that he believed the issue should be left up to the states, but it appears notorious white supremacist Jeff Sessions is loath to lose law enforcement’s primary justification for the mass incarceration and exploitation of minorities.

It is a rare sight indeed to see a Republican Senator standing up for the interests of their constituents, which makes it all the more commendable that Gardner is willing to not only stand up to the Trump administration but to threaten to take action.



The war on drugs has accomplished nothing but waste billions upon billions of tax dollars, devastate communities both in the United States and in South America, and lead to the deaths of countless people. It is beyond time that our legislators accept that harsh policing and prohibition doesn’t work.
http://washingtonpress.com/2018/01/04/j ... ent-smoke/



California’s Marijuana Legalization Aims To Repair Damage From The War On Drugs

It didn’t just legalize weed, the state also enacted one of the most progressive criminal justice reforms in the country.

Matt Ferner
LOS ANGELES ― California is now the largest state in the nation to have legal and regulated recreational marijuana. And while that alone is a blow to the prohibitionist policies of the failed war on drugs, a lesser-known provision in the state’s new law, along with efforts in a few local jurisdictions, aims to repair some of the damage that the criminalization of marijuana has done to so many communities.

“California’s Proposition 64 ballot measure was not only about marijuana legalization, it was one of the most progressive sentencing and criminal justice reforms in the entire country,” said Eunisses Hernandez, a policy coordinator at Drug Policy Alliance, a leading drug policy reform group.

A year ago, voters approved Proposition 64 to legalize marijuana for recreational purposes and reduce criminal penalties for various marijuana-related offenses for adults and juveniles. It also authorized a new process for individuals in the state to get previous marijuana-related convictions retroactively reduced, reclassified as lesser offenses or dismissed altogether.

The process could end up helping hundreds of thousands of people whose lives have been disrupted or derailed over activities that became legal as of Jan. 1. Criminal convictions can have devastating consequences long after the offense was committed, making it difficult to obtain employment, bank loans and housing.

“In many ways, Proposition 64 has already been a success because we’ve ended the unnecessary and arbitrary criminalization of Californians around this issue, and helped tens of thousands of people who were unjustly unable to seek career and education opportunities due to prior non-violent marijuana offenses,” Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom told HuffPost.

But relief is not automatic under the new law. Individuals who want their marijuana convictions reclassified or cleared must submit an application to a court. They may also need to hire an attorney to help them through the process. About 5,000 people have so far applied to have marijuana sentences reviewed for possible relief, according to data compiled by the Judicial Council of California. And while it’s encouraging that some are taking advantage of the new process, it’s an extremely small fraction of the number of people who have been arrested for marijuana offenses in the state.

California produces vast amounts of marijuana and has done so for years. In 1996, it became the first state to legalize medical marijuana. And despite the passage of more permissive laws, there were still thousands of marijuana-related arrests annually. From 2006 to 2015, there were nearly 500,000 people arrested for marijuana offenses, a recent DPA report found. And Rodney Holcombe, a legal fellow at DPA, said that there may be close to 1 million people in the state who have convictions that could now be eligible for relief.

“Creating a safe, legal and tightly regulated system for adult-use marijuana is, at its core, about criminal justice reform and fixing a broken system that has disproportionately harmed low-income Californians and communities of color,” said Newsom, a proponent of Prop. 64.

Beyond sentencing, some local governments are making efforts to further repair damage from criminalization by enacting “equity programs” that allow for victims of the war on drugs to have application priority during the marijuana business licensing process.

“As we know, communities of color have been most negatively impacted by marijuana prohibition throughout the years ― folks have been incarcerated for activity that is now completely legal ― and you have a new demographic now coming in taking over these spaces making millions of dollars through this industry,” Holcombe said. “These programs can provide a tremendous opportunity for low-income folks, folks of color, folks who have lived in neighborhoods that have been over-policed, especially during the height of the war on drugs.”

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To that end, Oakland launched the nation’s first equity permit program earlier this year. It sets aside half of all medical and recreational marijuana business licenses for applications by individuals hit hardest by marijuana criminalization. In their research during the development of the program, Oakland City Council found that over the past two decades, the black community has been extraordinarily over-represented in marijuana-related arrests in the region. In 1998, up to 90 percent of marijuana arrests involved a black suspect. By comparison, just 3.9 percent of those arrested were white.

To qualify as an equity applicant, individuals must be an Oakland resident whose annual income is less than 80 percent of the average in the region and either have a previous marijuana conviction or have lived in over-policed areas of the city for 10 of the last 20 years. For those who qualify, the application fee is also waived.

City councils in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento are also considering equity programs.

Holcombe hopes that local jurisdictions ― and other states that may legalize one day ― give a leg up in the industry to even more people, especially those who don’t have the funds to start a business and who may have a marijuana conviction that makes getting a bank loan difficult. Holcombe said cities could address this through allocating a portion of marijuana sales tax to fund these equity applicants’ start-up businesses while also prioritizing women and minority business applicants.

The state’s marijuana industry already has a projected value of $7 billion, and, as more marijuana retailers obtain permits, state and local governments are expected to collect $1 billion annually in tax revenue. With such an enormous marketplace, California should prioritize access for those who had been targeted by anti-marijuana laws, Erik Altieri, executive director of marijuana policy reform group NORML, told HuffPost.

“As states start dialing back their war on marijuana consumers,” Altieri said, “it is important that those who were most negatively impacted by our oppressive prohibition are able to see previous harms remedied as best as possible and be given the opportunity to participate in the benefits that come along with legalization and regulation.”
Mazars and Deutsche Bank could have ended this nightmare before it started.
They could still get him out of office.
But instead, they want mass death.
Don’t forget that.
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Re: Marijuana legalization is popular, more popular than Tru

Postby seemslikeadream » Wed Apr 18, 2018 9:33 am

Green Bits, the "Square for cannabis," raises $17 million

Image
Photo by Carlos Osorio/Toronto Star via Getty Images
Green Bits, a maker of point-of-sale software for cannabis retailers, has raised $17 million in Series A funding led by Tiger Global, with Snoop Dogg's Casa Verde Capital also participating.

Why it matters: Deep-pocketed investors like Tiger Global are being drawn into what would have once been unthinkable investments, as a growing number of U.S. states legalize both medical and recreational marijuana.


Show less
How it works: Green Bits' software combines tracking sales with tracking inventory, a regulatory requirement for retailers. The four year-old company currently processes more than $2.2 billion in annual cannabis sales.

It hopes to soon add payment options beyond cash, like debit, credit, and gift cards, although much of this will depend on processor and bank willingness to remove current prohibitions.
https://www.axios.com/tiger-global-lead ... ce=sidebar
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They could still get him out of office.
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Don’t forget that.
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Re: Marijuana legalization is popular, more popular than Tru

Postby seemslikeadream » Fri Apr 20, 2018 11:32 am

Happy 4/20 :bong:


Schumer introduces measure to decriminalize marijuana
By David Weigel and John Wagner April 20 at 10:28 AM

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), center, said states should decide whether to make marijuana available commercially. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), left, and Sen. Michael F. Bennet (D-Colo.) both represent states that have legalized marijuana. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The Senate’s top Democrat announced Friday that he is introducing legislation to decriminalize marijuana, the first time that a leader of either party in Congress has endorsed a rollback of one of the country’s oldest drug laws.

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) in a statement called the move “simply the right thing to do.”

“The time has come to decriminalize marijuana,” Schumer said. “My thinking — as well as the general population’s views — on the issue has evolved, and so I believe there’s no better time than the present to get this done. It’s simply the right thing to do.”

Schumer first shared his intentions Thursday in an interview with Vice News Tonight on HBO, in which he decried the negative effects of current marijuana laws, under which the drug has the same legal classification as heroin. He said too many people caught with small amounts of marijuana had spent too much time in jail and that current laws have had a disproportionate effect on minority communities.

[Happy 4/20? How marijuana legalization is ruining the unofficial stoner holiday.]

Marijuana legalization, which spent years as a fringe political cause, has become increasingly popular with all voters and increasingly embraced by Democrats. In January, the Pew Research Center found 61 percent of Americans supportive of legalization, with support reaching 70 percent among millennials.

Last year, Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), who is seen by many Democrats as a potential presidential candidate in 2020, introduced the Marijuana Justice Act, which would legalize the drug nationwide; it was later endorsed by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), whose state legalized marijuana in 2015, and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), who is also seen as a potential presidential contender. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who endorsed a marijuana-legalization initiative in California during his 2016 presidential campaign, endorsed Booker’s bill Thursday morning.

Schumer is introducing separate legislation on Friday — a date that is an unofficial holiday for marijuana users. His bill would not legalize marijuana outright, but instead allow states to decide whether to make the drug available commercially. It would end the limbo that marijuana sellers find themselves in, months after Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded Obama-era guidance that prevented federal law enforcement officials from interfering with the marijuana business in states where it had legal status.

1:58
How marijuana legalization in Washington, Colorado and Oregon is working out so far

What we can learn about legal marijuana from Washington, Colorado and Oregon. (Daron Taylor, Danielle Kunitz/The Washington Post)
“The bill lets the states decide and be the laboratories that they ought to be,” Schumer said. “It also will ensure that minority- and woman-owned businesses have a dedicated funding stream to help them compete against bigger companies in the marijuana business. Critically, we ensure that advertising can’t be aimed at kids, and put real funds behind research into the health effects of THC,” referring to the primary psychoactive substance in marijuana.


The legislation would also maintain federal authority to regulate marijuana advertising in the same way it does alcohol and tobacco advertising. The aim, Schumer said, is to ensure that marijuana businesses aren’t allowed to target children in their advertisements.

Schumer’s move was quickly celebrated by legalization supporters, who began the week by thanking Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for fast-tracking a bill that would legalize industrial hemp.

“In the past week or so we’ve seen an unprecedented escalation of political support for marijuana law reform,” said Tom Angell, chairman of Marijuana Majority. “It seems as if both parties may have finally realized just how popular marijuana legalization is with voters and are afraid of the other party stealing the issue.”

Democrats see the Schumer bill as part of an ongoing effort to attract young voters, who tend not to participate in midterm elections. Schumer has also gotten behind a campaign to restore “net neutrality,” regulation that would prevent Internet service providers from skewing the prices or download speeds for certain kinds of data.


“The time for decriminalization has come, and I hope we can move the ball forward on this,” Schumer said.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/pow ... f27ea8c963
Mazars and Deutsche Bank could have ended this nightmare before it started.
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Re: Marijuana legalization is popular, more popular than Tru

Postby Laodicean » Fri Apr 20, 2018 6:05 pm

Booker's bill is the one that should be supported, not this one by Schumer.

The Marijuana Justice Act

https://www.change.org/p/congress-pass- ... ustice-act
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Re: Marijuana legalization is popular, more popular than Tru

Postby Elvis » Fri Apr 20, 2018 9:28 pm

4/20 special, 7 grams "Dutch Treat" $25.

Lab tested of course — 21.16% THC, sun-grown, no pesticides.

"Rich savory pine...bold & delicious...uplifting, euphoric and calming." :bigsmile
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Re: Marijuana legalization is popular, more popular than Tru

Postby seemslikeadream » Sun Apr 22, 2018 3:22 pm

Image
Mazars and Deutsche Bank could have ended this nightmare before it started.
They could still get him out of office.
But instead, they want mass death.
Don’t forget that.
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Re: Marijuana legalization is popular, more popular than Tru

Postby seemslikeadream » Wed May 30, 2018 12:32 pm

Marijuana Compound Removes Toxic Alzheimer's Protein From The Brain

An active compound in marijuana called tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) has been found to promote the removal of toxic clumps of amyloid beta protein in the brain, which are thought to kickstart the progression of Alzheimer's disease.

The finding supports the results of previous studies that found evidence of the protective effects of cannabinoids, including THC, on patients with neurodegenerative disease.

"Although other studies have offered evidence that cannabinoids might be neuroprotective against the symptoms of Alzheimer's, we believe our study is the first to demonstrate that cannabinoids affect both inflammation and amyloid beta accumulation in nerve cells," says one of the team, David Schubert from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California.

Schubert and his colleagues tested the effects of THC on human neurons grown in the lab that mimic the effects of Alzheimer's disease.

If you're not familiar with this special little compound, it's not only responsible for the majority of marijuana's psychological effects - including the high - thanks to its natural pain-relieving properties, it's also been touted as an effective treatment for the symptoms of everything from HIV and chemotherapy to chronic pain, post traumatic stress disorder, and stroke.

In fact, THC appears to be such an amazing medical agent, researchers are working on breeding genetically modified yeast that can produce it way more efficiently than it would be to make synthetic versions.

The compound works by passing from the lungs to the bloodstream, where it attaches to two types of receptors, cannabinoid receptor (CB) 1 and 2, which are found on cell surfaces all over the body.

In the brain, these receptors are most concentrated in neurons associated with pleasure, memory, thinking, coordination and time perception, and usually bind with a class of lipid molecules called endocannabinoids that are produced by the body during physical activity to promote cell-to-cell signalling in the brain.

But THC can also bind to them in much the same way, and when they do, they start messing with your brain's ability to communicate with itself.

They can be a good and a bad thing, because while you might forget something important or suddenly be incapable of swinging a baseball bat, you'll probably feel amazing, and want to eat all the snacks:




Over the years, research has suggested that by binding to these receptors, THC could be having another effect on ageing brains, because it appears to helps the body clear out the toxic accumulations - or 'plaques' - of amyloid beta.

No one's entirely sure what causes Alzheimer's disease, but it's thought to result from a build-up of two types of lesions: amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles.

Amyloid plaques sit between the neurons as dense clusters of beta-amyloid molecules - a sticky type of protein that easily clumps together - and neurofibrillary tangles are caused by defective tau proteins that clump up into a thick, insoluble mass in the neurons.

It's not clear why these lesions begin to appear in the brain, but studies have linked inflammation in the brain tissue to the proliferation of plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. So if we can find something that eases brain inflammation while at the same time encourages the body to clear out these lesions, we could be on the way to finding the first effective treatment for Alzheimer's ever.

Back in 2006, researchers at the Scripps Research Institute found that THC inhibits the formation of amyloid plaques by blocking the enzyme in the brain that produces them, and now Schubert and his team have demonstrated that it can also eliminate a dangerous inflammatory response from the nerve cells, ensuring their survival.

"Inflammation within the brain is a major component of the damage associated with Alzheimer's disease, but it has always been assumed that this response was coming from immune-like cells in the brain, not the nerve cells themselves," says one of the team, Antonio Currais.

"When we were able to identify the molecular basis of the inflammatory response to amyloid beta, it became clear that THC-like compounds that the nerve cells make themselves may be involved in protecting the cells from dying."

It's exciting stuff, but it's so far only been demonstrated in neurons in the lab, so the next step will be for Schubert and his team to observe the link between THC and reduced inflammation and plaque build-up in a clinical trial.

They've reportedly already found a drug candidate called J147 that appears to have the same effects as THC, so this might be the way they can test the effects of THC without the government getting in the way.

Though it's worth adding that more recent legal changes since the time of this research around marijuana use in the USA may be making further research in this area a lot easier.

The results have been published in Aging and Mechanisms of Disease.
https://www.sciencealert.com/marijuana- ... from-brain



Amyloid proteotoxicity initiates an inflammatory response blocked by cannabinoids
https://www.nature.com/articles/npjamd201612
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Re: Marijuana legalization is popular, more popular than Tru

Postby seemslikeadream » Thu Jun 07, 2018 10:46 am

Holy Mother Lode! Florida Medical Marijuana Operation Fetches $53 Million

By Dara Kam News Service of Florida
A California-based company has bought a Florida medical marijuana operation for $53 million in the latest transaction in what investors hope will be among the nation’s most-lucrative medical pot markets.

Under the agreement, the company MedMen will acquire Treadwell Nursery’s five-acre cultivation facility, located in Eustis, and the right to operate 25 dispensaries throughout the state, the maximum currently allowed under Florida law.

Treadwell, which operates as “Remeny Wellness” and is one of the state’s 13 licensed medical-marijuana firms, hasn’t begun selling products but has been authorized by the state to begin cultivation.

MedMen will pay Treadwell half of the $53 million in cash and the remainder in stock traded on the Canadian Securities Exchange, a go-to site for cannabis companies, according to a news release announcing the deal.

“For nearly a decade we have been positioning ourselves to capitalize on enormous market opportunities like this. This acquisition is right in line with our strategy of establishing a presence early on in high potential markets with limited licenses and large populations,” MedMen co-founder and CEO Adam Bierman said in a prepared statement. “Florida is the third most populous state in the country with a medical marijuana market estimated to reach $1 billion in annual sales by 2020. MedMen has built the best-in-class brand, and we continue to invest in premium assets that solidify our dominant position in the most important cannabis markets in the world.”

The deal “reflects the belief nationally and internationally that Florida is a very strong medical cannabis market, even though it is in its infant stages,” Jeff Sharkey, founder of the Medical Marijuana Business Association of Florida, told The News Service of Florida.

“Acquisition by these types of companies will bring a high level of professional expertise into the development of products and the ability to deliver high-quality medicine to patients,” he said.

The Treadwell deal is the latest multimillion-dollar transaction in Florida’s highly regulated medical-marijuana industry. Lawmakers have restricted the number of licensed operators in the state, which has intensified competition for the licenses and boosted their value.

A year ago, a Canadian-backed firm took over management of Chestnut Hill Tree Farm in a $40 million deal involving Ontario marijuana grower and processor Aphria Inc. The Florida medical-marijuana treatment center is now known as “Liberty Health Sciences.”

Investors from around the world have wooed the state’s licensed marijuana operators since Florida lawmakers first legalized non-euphoric cannabis for a limited number of patients in 2014.

The courtship has exploded since Florida voters approved a constitutional amendment in 2016 that broadly legalized medical marijuana. More than 100,000 patients have registered for the treatment, and state health officials have estimated that at least 500,000 Floridians could be eligible for medical marijuana use.

But some industry analysts predict twice as many patients could be eligible because, in part, the Sunshine State is home to so many veterans. Under the constitutional amendment, post-traumatic stress disorder, which afflicts many veterans, is one of the debilitating medical conditions that allows patients to sign up for marijuana treatment.

“The purchase of the Treadwell MMTC (medical marijuana treatment center) license by MedMen Enterprises, particularly at the $53 million price tag, shows the strong interest in Florida’s burgeoning medical marijuana industry. If the number of patients continues to expand at the rate of 10,000 per month, there’s no telling where the market could go from here,” Dan Russell, a partner at Jones Walker LLP who represents clients in and around the medical marijuana industry, told the News Service.

MedMen operates 18 facilities in California, Nevada and New York, markets that account for nearly half of the legal marijuana operations in the country, according to the news release. The company “is the single largest financial supporter of progressive marijuana laws” on the local, state and federal levels, contributing to “pro-legalization groups, industry organizations and political candidates,” the release said.

The MedMen-Treadwell acquisition is an indicator of what might be to come in Florida, according to Larry Schnurmacher, a venture capitalist who invests in companies that provide services to cannabis operators in Florida and elsewhere.

“The fact that deals are being done is amazing. Capital is definitely coming to the industry, which is a huge acknowledgment of this industry’s value or future,” Schnurmacher, managing partner of Boca Raton-based Phyto Partners, said in a telephone interview.

Investors are looking forward to industry growth, rather than focusing on the current return on investment, Schnurmacher said.

“It’s that, ‘I want to have a play in this industry,’ and that’s important. So it’s kind of a third-party endorsement of the future of the industry. It’s really good,” he said.

Marijuana operators who have state-issued licenses “can jump and down and run around and circles and say, ‘I have a medical marijuana license,’ ” but the license “is not worth anything” if they don’t have the capital to expand, Schnurmacher said.

“Somebody has to come in and say, ‘We’re going to put the money in place to start this business,’ and continue to fuel the industry,” he said.

The MedMen deal is expected to close within 90 days, “subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of state regulatory approvals,” according to the news release. The companies are expected to seek approval from Florida health officials soon.
http://sunshinestatenews.com/story/holy ... on-already
Mazars and Deutsche Bank could have ended this nightmare before it started.
They could still get him out of office.
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Don’t forget that.
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Re: Marijuana legalization is popular, more popular than Tru

Postby seemslikeadream » Thu Jun 07, 2018 5:57 pm

Senators Gardner and Warren release bipartisan marijuana bill that prioritizes states' rights
Senators Cory Gardner of Colorado and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts released a long-awaited bipartisan marijuana bill on Thursday.
The bill ensures that each state has the right to determine the best approach to marijuana within its borders.
Chloe Aiello | @chlobo_ilo
Published 4 Hours Ago Updated 13 Mins Ago
CNBC.com
Senators Gardner and Warren release bipartisan marijuana bill that prioritizes states' rights Senators Gardner and Warren release bipartisan marijuana bill that prioritizes states' rights
1 Hour Ago | 00:37
Senators Cory Gardner of Colorado and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts released a long-awaited bipartisan marijuana legislation reform bill on Thursday that would give states the right to determine the best approach to marijuana within their borders.

It does not seek to legalize marijuana, but instead proposes an amendment to the Controlled Substances Act, protecting people who choose to use marijuana, so long as they comply with local state or tribal laws. The bill also states that compliant marijuana transactions are not considered trafficking, and, finally, removes industrial hemp from the list of substances prohibited under the CSA.

"The federal government is closing its eyes and plugging its ears while 46 states have acted," Gardner said in a statement. "The bipartisan, commonsense bill ensures the federal government will respect the will of the voters - whether that is legalization or prohibition - and not interfere in any states' legal marijuana industry."

As it stands, marijuana is federally illegal, but due to the Rohrabacher-Blumenauer amendment, the Justice Department has virtually no budget to enforce laws that say so. The proposed bill would go a step further by making it illegal, rather than unworkable, for the federal government to interfere in state marijuana industries.

The language in the bill is not radically different from the legislation Warren and Gardner had envisioned when they discussed it back in April.It upholds a number of federal criminal provisions under the Controlled Substances Act, and recommends a few new ones, such as prohibiting sales at transportation facilities and distribution to those under 21, except for medical purposes.

"This is not a bill that forces legalization on any state that doesn't want it," Warren said during a press conference with Gardner. "We are trying to take care of business in Massachusetts, in Colorado. We are trying to respect the voters of our states that said this is how we want to do business around marijuana...and we just want the federal government to get out of the way and let them do it."

Colorado and Massachusetts have both legalized recreational use of marijuana.

Warren, a Democrat from Massachusetts, and Gardner, a Republican from Colorado, formed an unlikely alliance in January through a shared distaste of Attorney General Jeff Sessions approach to marijuana policy. In promoting the bill, the two emphasized the bill had wide-ranging bipartisan support, due to its federalist approach to marijuana legalization.

"The bill specifically reinforces the 10th amendment — it is a states' rights strengthening act. Republicans historically are a states' rights party, so I think they can really get on board," said Tim McCulloch, chair for the cannabis practice group at Dickinson Wright.

“You do not want to give Jeff Bezos a seven-year head start.”
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"There has been a general softening, at least on medical marijuana, and I think Republicans don't want to end up on the wrong side of the issue," McCulloch added.

Both Senators have made headlines for their vocal support of cannabis legalization.

Gardner's interests mostly concern his support of Colorado's marijuana industry. After Sessions' move to revoke Obama-era legislation that eased federal regulation of marijuana,Gardner promised to block all Department of Justice nominations, pending a resolution.

His move prompted Trump to agree earlier this month to support efforts to protect states that have legalized marijuana, ending Gardner's standoff on DOJ nominations.

For her part, Warren has been at the forefront of marijuana politics in her home state of Massachusetts. She has expressed a desire toimprove marijuana businesses' access to banking, and reform the criminal justice system as it relates to marijuana law.
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/07/senator ... -bill.html
Mazars and Deutsche Bank could have ended this nightmare before it started.
They could still get him out of office.
But instead, they want mass death.
Don’t forget that.
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