“Guru of Ganja” Ed Rosenthal once famously proclaimed that he didn’t get addicted to marijuana, only to growing it. Growing your own weed is indeed exciting, and consuming the fruits of your labors is gratifying. Doing so while you ponder the money you saved by growing your own is even more gratifying. If you’re a marijuana aficionado, it’s time to …
The Real History Behind 4/20
April 20th is unofficially known as National Pot Smoking Day or National Weed Day, and while most stoners have zero issue with having another reason to wake and bake, they stumble a little when the question is put to them about the origins of 420. Some marijuana smokers claim the name is in reference …
Should Your Insurance Company Pay for Medical Marijuana? Judges Are Starting to Rule That Way
Recent court rulings in Canada and the U.S. could set a new precedent for insurance companies to pay for doctor-prescribed medical marijuana. In the last few months, in consideration of the addictive potential of opiates and relatively few safety concerns over marijuana, judges in both the U.S. and Canada have ruled in favor of insurance companies covering medical marijuana for …
Three New Scientific Studies That Debunk Conventional Marijuana Myths
Fear-mongering headlines claiming that marijuana use causes birth defects, heart-attacks, and psychosis are common in the mainstream media. But newly published scientific evidence makes it clear that what is often portrayed as ‘conventional wisdom’ is really nothing more than ‘reefer madness.’ These peer-reviewed studies lay waste to years of pot propaganda. For example smoking pot likely isn’t going to trigger …
Vermont Governor Vetoes Marijuana Legalization Bill
Vermont Gov. Phil Scott (R) vetoed a bill Wednesday that would have legalized marijuana for adults in the state, but offered a path forward for the legislation if state lawmakers make a handful of changes to the bill. “I think we need to move a little bit slower,” Scott said Wednesday, adding that he’s not opposed to the idea of …
How Smoking Weed Can Help Ease the Crack Epidemic
North America is in the midst of a drug overdose disaster. In British Columbia, Canada, where nearly 1,000 people died of overdose in 2016, officials have declared a public health emergency. While over-prescription of painkillers and contamination of the illegal opioid supply by fentanyl, a potent synthetic analgesic, are at the heart of the problem, opioid users are not the …
6 Ways People Are Consuming Marjiuana Without Smoking It
Smoking it is traditionally the way we’ve consumed marijuana, but lighting a plant on fire and inhaling the results isn’t everybody’s favorite activity. In fact, smokers of anything are increasingly shunned because of the noxious fumes and odors. And we won’t even get into those burn holes in your clothes. While firing up a joint or a bong is unlikely …
How Prozac Cleared a Path for Medical Marijuana
Everybody who knows the history of the medical marijuana movement knows that Dennis Peron started the San Francisco Cannabis Buyers Club in response to the AIDS epidemic circa 1990. Less well known is that it was also the beginning of the Prozac epidemic. Eli Lilly’s brilliant, pervasive marketing scheme would change how US Americans thought about “Depression,” and what constitutes a “serious illness,” …
Debunking the Latest Viral Pot Paranoid Theory
“Legalized pot sends more teens to the ER in Colorado, study finds.” So claimed CBS News and numerous other mainstream media outlets this month in response to a May 4 American Academy of Pediatrics press release. But in actuality, no published study exists. And the data highlighted in the AAP presser provides little evidence to substantiate these alarmist headlines. In fact, …
The Evidence Is Overwhelming: Cannabis Is an Exit Drug for Major Addictions, Not a Gateway to New Ones
It is time for politicians to put to rest the myth that cannabis is a gateway to the use of other controlled substances — a theory that is neither supported by modern science or empirical data. Over 60 percent of American adults acknowledge having tried cannabis, but the overwhelming majority of these individuals never go on to try another illicit …