Author: News Room

Minnesota’s governor is looking to hire a director to oversee the state’s new marijuana regulatory agency that’s being established under a legalization law he enacted last month. A job posting went live on Friday for the executive director of the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM)–a position that Gov. Tim Walz (D) will personally appoint. The office itself will officially be created on Saturday under the law—with legal possession and home cultivation for adults set to officially roll out on August 1. “The inaugural Director of the Office of Cannabis Management will have responsibility for building a new state agency from…

A little over a year ago, I reviewed an Oscar-nominated short from Mexican-American screenwriter and director K.D. Dávila titled Please Hold, about an alternative (read: potential) future in which someone gets arrested by a drone for an undisclosed crime and placed in a fully-automated holding cell where a malfunctioning computer screen prevents him from communicating with his lawyer. In my review, I wrote that Please Hold feels a lot like Black Mirror, and for good reason. Its central theme of humanity getting stuck in a trap of its own making has been part of the Netflix hit’s DNA from the…

Developers are in the middle of a race to see how they can apply freeze dryer technology to dry and cure weed faster, taking a process that could have taken weeks into something that is pretty much instantaneous. Drying cannabis after it’s harvested removes the moisture from the flowers so they can be properly smoked or vaporized and typically takes anywhere from 10 to 14 days. After that, the flowers are cured, a week to month-long process which removes additional moisture and helps preserve the buds and retain their flavor and potency. With freeze drying technology, what once could take…

The gifting industry is lacking in imagination these days. Boxes of chocolates, themed gift baskets, and edible arrangements are kind gestures but they’re often overused and lacking in innovation. While the gift of flowers is timeless, brands such as Lovepot are taking things up a few notches by offering luxurious floral arrangements that include high-quality hemp. Lovepot founder Cevon Lee Iny has led a successful career in the fashion and jewelry industries. She’s secured roles managing production at Gucci factories in Italy, spent years as a Playboy wardrobe stylist, and sold jewelry at Jacquie Aiche, a high-end jewelry company based…

Panelists at Cannabis Conference 2022 shared effective merchandising strategies aimed at boosting sales, as well as insights on how retailers can successfully navigate market trends such as price compression that impact the industry. Read the full article here

“We know that many people have been waiting for us to start. And we are looking forward to working.” By Christopher Shea, Rhode Island Current Nearly a year after it was supposed to be formed, Rhode Island’s Cannabis Control Commission is finally getting to work, though it will take at least through the summer until it is truly up and running. The three-member commission met for the first time Thursday at the Department of Administration building to introduce itself to the public, along with listening to a 50-minute presentation from the Rhode Island Ethics Commission — which took up most…

Nimesh Patel doesn’t walk over familiar ground in his latest special. The title alone spells that out loud and clear: Lucky Lefty OR: I Lost My Right Nut And All I Got Was This Stupid Special. The damn good special, which is available to watch on YouTube, is about Patel’s experience being diagnosed with and treated for testicular cancer. Once again, Patel is doing his own thing on stage.  Lucky Lefty is his second self-produced special following Jokes to Get You Through Quarantine and Thank You China. In 2017, Patel was hired as a writer for Saturday Night Live. In…

I am incredibly proud to bring you another former United States Marine 0311 rifleman (like myself) to this month’s Veteran Chronicles: Tom Rand. Rand is a Marine Corps veteran, activist, proud father, and husband who was born and raised in Reading, Massachusetts. At the ripe young age of 17, Rand bravely stepped on the yellow footprints at Parris Island, South Carolina, a tradition that all recruits undergo in their transition from civilian to U.S. Marine. He was immediately deployed to Beirut, Lebanon, in 1983, and when he returned home, he was stationed at Camp Geiger, North Carolina, for the duration…

The ancient use of mushrooms to improve physical and mental well-being is coming back full-swing. On Monday, Lucy Scientific Discovery Inc. unveiled Mindful, a functional Amanita mushroom-based product line that is now available at multiple retailers.  British Columbia, Canada-based Lucy Scientific Discovery is a psychedelics manufacturing company focused primarily on emerging psychotropics-based medicines, the latest being its new microdose product line.  Mindful by Lucy is designed to enhance well-being and promote a mindful approach through the power of microdoses. Each capsule is carefully crafted, incorporating quality natural ingredients. Mindful by Lucy comes in jars of 60 capsules containing a microdose…

A top official with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) says that as more states have moved to legalize marijuana, public opinion has “shifted dramatically” and federal agencies are seeing an “uptick” in positive drug tests for cannabis that’s causing more workers to be fired. In a blog post addressed to federal employees last week, USFS Deputy Chief for Business Operations Tony Dixon said that over the past decade, “our views around the use of marijuana have shifted radically.” Noting that a growing number of states are enacting legalization, he asked, “where does that leave the federal government?” “The Forest Service…