Author: News Room

Comedian Jim Jefferies is beaming. Not only for being sober over 700 days but for settling down, having a wonderful wife, amazing kids, and a fantastic career. Oh, and for finally trying cannabis in his 40s and absolutely loving it. No stranger to the hard partying life of drugs and alcohol, Jefferies had previously abstained from weed but finally started exploring the plant during the pandemic and hasn’t looked back. “During COVID, I was sitting around drinking too much, blacking out, and forgetting the whole night,” Jefferies said. “Whatever happened, I was forgetting things. So I started taking edibles and…

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is sharing the success story of an Indiana-based hemp farm, touting how the agency offered financial and technical assistance to help the business to maximize its output of high-quality CBD oil. While hemp was treated the same as marijuana under federal law for decades, the crop was federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill, inspiring farmers across the country to begin cultivating it amid growing demand for derivatives like CBD. USDA has worked to support the industry, promoting various resources that are available to hemp farmers as they navigate rapidly developing rules and policies.…

By Peter Kaidheim “First, close your eyes. Now, with your index fingers at the inner edge of your eyeballs, press in and toward the temples. Press until it’s slightly painful and keep at it for about ten seconds.” “Like this?” “That’s right. Now what do you see?” “The darkness is disappearing. There’s a very bright light swelling up in the center of my eyes. It’s getting even brighter. And now there’s a kind of crisscross pattern coming up from inside the light, like a checkerboard with luminous squares.” “Good. Release the pressure for a few seconds, but keep your eyes…

Microsoft founder Bill Gates says it’s “amazing” how marijuana policy and culture have evolved since his high school days smoking cannabis to fit in with his peers—and he thinks the ongoing federal-state marijuana law conflict has “got to be resolved.” In an episode of his new podcast ‘Unconfuse Me” that was released last week, Gates spoke with actor Seth Rogen and his wife Lauren Miller about a wide range of cannabis issues, touching on research barriers under federal prohibition, marijuana potency, his own experience using cannabis in his youth and more. The multibillionaire said that things have changed quite a…

“In this particular case, it was a pretty blatant disrespect for the law.” By Max Nesterak, Minnesota Reformer Law enforcement raided a tobacco store on the White Earth reservation on Wednesday evening for suspicion of selling marijuana without a license, in violation of state and tribal law. The store, Asema Tobacco and Pipe, is owned by a White Earth band member and advertised on Facebook that it had cannabis beginning August 1, when it became legal to possess across the state. The White Earth Nation’s tribal council voted to legalize recreational marijuana last Friday. The raid was conducted by White…

The governor of Maine has signed a bill to allow licensed marijuana businesses to take state tax deductions as a partial workaround to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) code known as 280E that prohibits such deductions at the federal level. Gov. Janet Mills (D) gave final approval to the legislation from Sen. Teresa Pierce (D) last week. It expands on an existing policy that already provided tax relief for operators in the state’s medical cannabis industry. Under the newly enacted law, the state will use part of the tax revenue it receives from marijuana sales to make up for lost…

Illinois retailers sold $140 million worth of recreational marijuana products in July—the strongest sales of the year and second highest monthly total for the state since the adult-use market launched in 2020. The state Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (DFPR) released the sales figures on Thursday, showing that people purchased 3,580,946 adult-use cannabis products last month for a total of $140,048,722. The bulk of the sales came from in-state residents ($104,256,118), with out-of-state visitors accounting for $35,792,604 in recreational marijuana purchases. Medical cannabis sales are reported separately by a different Illinois state agency. According to a recent fiscal analysis,…

Workers who use marijuana off the clock are no more likely to experience workplace injuries compared to those who don’t consume cannabis at all, according to a new study that challenges “overly broad” zero-tolerance employment policies. However, people who indulge doing work hours are nearly twice as likely to be involved in a workplace incident than non-users and off-duty users, researchers at the University of Toronto, University at Buffalo and Toronto Rehabilitation Institute found. The study, published in the Canadian Journal of Public Health on Monday, followed 2,745 Canadian workers in safety-sensitive and non-safety-sensitive positions over two years, analyzing the…

A Jersey City, New Jersey police officer was unlawfully fired over marijuana and must be reinstated with backpay, state officials said on Wednesday, adopting an administrative law judge’s earlier findings. About two months after Gov. Phil Murphy (D) signed the state’s cannabis legalization bill into law in 2021, the Jersey City Police Department announced a policy barring officers from using marijuana on or off duty. Norhan Mansour was among four officers who were later fired for testing positive for THC and proceeded to file suit challenging the termination. Mansour’s case has now been settled by the state’s Civil Service Commission…

From an early age, cannabis chef Wendy Zeng saw the inherent connections between food, community, and wellness. When it comes to cannabis, Zeng looks at the plant as not only medicine, but an herb and flavor that can be part of cooking and overall holistic health. Following her win on Discovery+ cannabis cooking show Chopped 420 in 2021, Zeng is embarking on her next big project: launching her farm-to-table cannabis concept in Northeast Los Angeles. “I really want to make this a staple in L.A.,” Zeng said. “I really want it to be more community driven, not just a brand…