Hemp News, Laws & Product Updates

A curated news hub focused on hemp regulation and policy changes, cannabinoids (CBD/Delta-8/Delta-9/hemp-derived THC), lab testing and COAs, product safety, brands, and industry trends.

Federal & State Hemp Laws
THC Policy
CBD / Delta-8
Compliance
Lab Testing (COA)
Product Safety
Industry & Brands

Back to Chow420

https://hightimes.com/

New Washington Law Protects Job Applicants Who Use Weed

Applicants for employment in Washington gained new protections on Monday as a new law barring discrimination based on a worker’s off-duty cannabis use went into effect throughout the state. The legislation, Senate Bill 5123, was signed into law by Democratic Governor Jay Inslee in May 2023 after being passed by state lawmakers three weeks earlier. Under the new law, employers in Washington are barred from taking action against newly hired workers for using cannabis off the job and away from the workplace. The prohibition also applies to new employees who have failed an employer-required drug screening for non-psychoactive cannabis metabolites in their hair, blood, urine or other bodily fluids. Pre-employment drug screenings for cannabis will still be allowed for workers applying for certain safety-sensitive positions. The legislation also includes exceptions for law enforcement officers, firefighters and other first responders, as well as candidates for positions in certain industries such as airlines and aerospace. Jobs that require a federal background check or security clearance are also exempt from the law. The new law also does not affect workplace policies that require current workers to undergo drug tests for cannabis use while off the job. As the bill was being considered by the Washington state legislature last year, Democratic Senator Karen Keiser, the bill’s sponsor, noted that the legislation does not apply to employees after the hiring process is completed. “If your employer wants to test you every week after you’re hired, they’re still able to do that,” Keiser said in a statement quoted by the Seattle Times. “This is simply opening the front door of getting into a job. Because too many people who see that they have to take a drug test to even apply, don’t even apply.” Supporters of the legislation note that most currently available drug screenings for cannabis do not detect or measure impairment from marijuana use. Instead, they rely on detecting metabolites present in the system after a person uses weed. Burl Bryson, the executive director of The Cannabis Alliance, told lawmakers at a public hearing in January that potential job candidates can consume cannabis legally “and still test positive for weeks later.” “If the same approach were applied to alcohol, employers would refuse employment to anyone who enjoyed a beer or glass of wine on the weekend,” Bryson said. “It simply doesn’t make sense to base an employment decision on that kind of unreliable outcome and test,” Keiser told her colleagues on the Senate floor before they voted in favor of the legislation. Paul Armentano, the deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), said that laws for workplace drug screenings must evolve as cannabis is legalized in states across the nation. “Urine screening for off-the-job cannabis consumption has never been an evidence-based policy,” he said in a statement from the cannabis policy reform advocacy group in May. “Rather, this discriminatory practice is a holdover from the zeitgeist of the 1980s’ war on drugs. But times have changed; attitudes have changed, and in many places, the marijuana laws have changed. It is time for workplace policies to adapt to this new reality and to cease punishing employees for activities they engage in during their off-hours that pose no workplace safety threat.” “Those who consume alcohol legally and responsibly while away from their jobs do not suffer sanctions from their employers unless their work performance is adversely impacted,” Armentano added. “Those who legally consume cannabis should be held to a similar standard.” NORML noted that numerous studies have shown that workers who use cannabis while off the job do not pose an increased safety risk compared with employees who do not consume marijuana. In a detailed review of the relevant data, the US National Academy of Sciences found that “There is no evidence to support a statistical association between cannabis use and occupational accidents or injuries.” Washington is not the only state where laws protecting workers who use cannabis while off the job are going into effect with the dawn of the new year. In California, a new law to prohibit employers from taking action against employees who test positive for cannabis in a hair or urine test also went into effect on Monday. Nevada and Michigan have also recently adopted legislation to protect new hires from pre-employment discrimination based on their use of cannabis. Other jurisdictions including Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Montana, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island have expanded policies to limit cannabis testing for both new hires and existing employees.

https://hightimes.com/

DEA Notice Shows Increase in Research Amounts for THC, Psilocybin, DMT, and More

The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) posted a notice on the Federal Register on Jan. 3, which includes the most recent breakdown of Schedule I Substances in its 2024 aggregate production quotas (APQ), as well as a wide variety of public comments and DEA responses. According to a Federal Register article published in November 2023, delta-9 THC (referred to as “d-9-THC” on the list) included a proposed amount of 900,610 grams for 2024. Now, the 2024 APQ includes a delta-9 THC of 1,523,040 grams. In comparison to last year, the established quota for delta-9 THC in 2023 was listed at 384,460 grams, while the revised quota amount was increased to 628,460. According to the same November 2023 Federal Register article, the proposed amount of “all other tetrahydrocannabinol” was listed at 790,010 grams. Now, the 2024 APQ lists the THC quota at 1,166,130 grams. In an October 2023 APQ adjustments report, the DEA listed general THC at 15,000 for 2023 established quotas, and 350,000 for proposed revised 2023 quotas. The DEA also included a request for 20,000 grams of psilocybin (which was established in October at 8,000 grams but increased to 15,000 grams). DMT (5-Methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine) was also listed at 3,000 grams in October and November 2023, but was updated to reflect an increase to 11,000 grams in the most recent January 2024 report. Production goals for other substances such as marijuana (6,675,000 grams), marijuana extract (1,000,000 grams), psilocin (24,000 grams), ibogaine (150 grams), MDMA (12,000 grams), and mescaline (1,200 grams) saw no changes between November 2023 and now. Over time, the DEA has gradually increased the quota for many of these substances due to increased interest. In the November report, the DEA explained its expectation for this trend. “There has been a significant increase in the use of schedule I hallucinogenic controlled substances for research and clinical trial purposes,” the DEA wrote. “DEA has received and subsequently approved new registration applications for Schedule I researchers and new applications for registration from manufacturers to grow, synthesize, extract, and prepare dosage forms containing specific Schedule I hallucinogenic substances for research and clinical trial purposes.” The public comment portion of the report was compiled of 4,699 public comments “from DEA registrants, people with chronic pain, patients with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), pain advocacy associations, U.S. professional associations, U.S. nurses, the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, the Australian ADHD Professionals Association, the ADHD Foundation Australia, and others.” Those comments varied in topic, from opioid drug shortages, stimulant drug use in both the U.S. and Australia, and more. In one of the comments, three manufacturers requested that the proposed APQ for “dexmethylphenidate (for conversion), lisdexamfetamine, and psilocybin be established at sufficient levels for manufacturers to meet medical and scientific needs.” Additionally, the DEA also received quota applications “for 4-Anilino-N-phenethyl-4piperidine (4-ANPP), all other tetrahydrocannabinol, delta-9- tetrahydrocannabinol, dimethyltryptamine, fentanyl and pentobarbital.” Another public comment referred to the religious use of Schedule I substances (specifically “psilocin, psilocybin, mescaline, ibogaine, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), 2-(4-Iodo-2,5-dimethoxyphenyl) ethanamine (2CI), dimethyltryptamine (DMT), 5-methoxy-NN dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT)”). In one case, the Native American Church requested that the APQ for mescaline (aka peyote) be increased for their use, and allow its planting in the wild due to shortages. The commenter claimed that the DEA “has disregarded their legal religious use of psychedelics as a factor when setting the production quotas of these substances,” and requested a hearing if the agency does not grant their requests. The DEA’s response didn’t address the statement, and only wrote that the DEA has worked with indigenous communities in the past. Another request included listing the fruiting bodies that contain psilocybin and psilocin, as well as “peyote buttons containing mescaline,” in the quotas, rather than just the pure chemicals. However, the DEA responded by stating that the APQ listings are based on the Controlled Substances Act and it will continue to label them in accordance with the act. Also technically, peyote is categorized separately from mescaline. The DEA recently issued a warning to the state of Georgia for independent pharmacies selling low-THC cannabis oil products. “All DEA registrants, including DEA-registered pharmacies, are required to abide by all relevant federal laws and regulations,” a letter sent to pharmacies in December 2023 stated. “A DEA-registered pharmacy may only dispense controlled substances in Schedules II-V of the Controlled Substances Act. Neither marijuana nor THC can lawfully be possessed, handled, or dispensed by any DEA-registered pharmacy.” Georgia pharmacies officially began selling low-THC cannabis oil in October 2023. At the time, only three pharmacies received a license to sell cannabis with less than 5% THC, although there are more than 400 independent pharmacies that could be a part of the program throughout the state. With substances like fentanyl rising as one of the most common sources of overdose death last year, it’s imperative that research on the benefits of cannabis, psilocybin, DMT, continue to progress.

https://hightimes.com/

Sam Jay: Comedian or Therapist?

Sam Jay might be from Beantown but she’s been in New York long enough to master its rhythm. When Sam is not in production on various film and TV projects or touring, you can catch her stoned pretending to be a therapist to her talented comedian friends on stage during her live comedy “On Site” show. I met this Bostonian-New York transplant several months ago where all the cool and hip creative types meet in NYC—Soho House. With an invite from a friend and killer stand-up comedian Petey Deabreu, who was previously one of Sam’s “patients,” I pulled up. It was probably one the most enjoyable NYC nights I had in a while. Petey was joined by comedian and SNL writer Rosebud Baker and her husband, comedian Andy Haynes, along with one of my favorite rappers, Smoke Dza. Jokes were cracked effortlessly left and right, countless laughs were shared, and lots of weed was passed around. Fairly recently was another quintessential NYC evening featuring Sam Jay. One of the more exciting new events in NYC featuring live comedy is a new partnership between my home team collective, The Good Life!, and NYC hip hop and comedy impresario, Cipha Sounds. “Underbelly Comedy” is a new monthly show at the Wythe Hotel’s intimate theater space, of which Sam Jay was the headliner of the second show, and she murdered it—with some real notable comics, like Shane Torres and Daniel Simonson. I was truly in awe of Sam’s set, as she says everything about pop culture that we are all thinking, but would never say out loud. The event clears out into a little speakeasy bar where Cipha Sounds holds court and tonight the beautiful and talented DJs and twin sisters Angel & Dren take us home! Hysterical jokes were made, uncontrollable laughs were had, and copious amounts of cannabis was consumed, as per usual. But the night was far from over. Eventually, Sam and the gang migrated to an undisclosed location with The Lost Canna Club. After some vibes out there, we bounced to the freshly reopened Fat Buddha/Hidden Tiger bar for this year’s live recording of Bun B and Statik Selektah’s TrillStatik 3. As it turns out, Sam and Statik are really good friends with a lot in common. In fact, Statik produced music used for Sam’s latest special. And now Sam is here to lay down a very based outro for his album. Upon arrival, we were overwhelmed with legendary presence from the likes of Method Man, Talib Kweli, Rome Streetz, Smif N Wesson, Benny The Butcher, and star of the show, Bun B. If you read my article on Trillstatik 2, just know I was on my best behavior this time and didn’t bother Bun until most of his writing was done. The event was sponsored by Archive, who produces some of my favorite flower called Moonbow 99. The Astor Club family was on hand to roll that with some of their Blue Dream Cookies x Chemchi hash to create one hell of a donut for yours truly. So this time, delicious Trill Burgers were consumed, raps were recorded, and an amazing hash-hole was smoked. Moreover, I still had yet to interview Sam Jay, which was on the agenda. I figured, let’s go and do this where consumption is not only allowed, but encouraged—the place where everyone knows my name, the Astor Club. This was a great place for me to wait for Sam who was running behind. I was privileged enough to try amazing cannabis as well as pick out some edibles for Sam who still gets really high a lot, just not from actually smoking the flower anymore. With Astor Club being the cultural hub that it is, it was almost no surprise that our familiar friend Statik Selektah happened to stop by, which made for even better vibes than expected. Upon Sam’s arrival, I gifted her a collection of edibles I curated from the menu, including one of my favorites called Astronaut Food, as well as some more edibles from Archive which were vegan, gluten free, 100 mg per package and made from actual fruit purées. I ate a couple myself. Then I let the Bostonians catch up about the Celtics game, waited a bit for those gummies to kick in, and then proceeded to alley-oop my questions. How did it all start with you and your relationship with cannabis? You know what’s crazy? I didn’t even smoke weed till like 25. I was like a D.A.R.E-ass kid, bro. I was scared as fuck of drugs. I was really brought up to believe that weed was a gateway drug, like I would be smoking crack. I literally believed all of the rhetoric—I was scared, and my mom was really anti-drug. It was not something that was acceptable in my house. Nobody talked about that kinda shit in my family. It wasn’t till I started smoking weed that I found out everyone was doing some shit, but when I was in Atlanta, my cousins was always rolling up and smoking. I don’t know what made me start, but I know I was a little drunk one night, and I just looked at my cousins who [were] constantly smoking, like fuck it, they ain’t dead and have been smoking for years, and I just went for it. So at first, it was just something I would do with them. I couldn’t roll or anything. But, I kept saying to myself, smoking weed is straight. I just love how expansive it made my mind. Honestly, I was like, “I kinda like how my brain feels on this.” One day, I was with my cousin, and I asked him to roll me a blunt, and he was like, “Nah you smoking too much, you do it!” Once I rolled my own blunt, I started buying my own weed. And just like that, I was a weed smoker. What would you have to do in order to cop weed when you were 25 years old in Atlanta? I was living on the south side, at that same complex that Trinidad James shot the “All Gold Everything” video. There would be all these kids outside selling, like 2-for-$10, 3-for-$15, type-shit. So, you can buy weed, but there was no education. They would just say they had “gas.” You really did not know what you were smoking, but if it looked green enough, you’d buy it. Okay, so what was it like hitting Los Angeles and going to the dispensaries for the first time? That was crazy! But when I was going, you still needed that medical shit first. That was nothing for real, you was just paying for it, really. They ain’t give a fuck about what was wrong with you! So, I went to the weed store and I bought weed like a regular person and I loved it. I never wanna go back to having to find a dealer. Motherfuckers would sell you weed, but they acted like they were selling bricks of cocaine! The whole way they used to treat it was so fuckin’ crazy! I remember, my man made me pull over, he walked by a trash can, then he got back in and said, “Now you go by the trash can.” I’m like, “Are we really doing all of this for some fucking bud? When I started going to the store, they had drinks and mad other shit I had never seen before, and once you smoke that California weed, you don’t ever go back to smoking mid. It actually made me realize how much mid I would actually have to smoke in order to get high. Now you are a stoner and a touring comedian, any issues getting to the weed while you are on the road? No, once you are a known comic, everyone offers you drugs. It actually becomes very easy to buy drugs. It’s like, once you get into the town, n****s are like, “Hey! Let me know if you need drugs!” And that’s as soon as you get there. So, you don’t have to do much to find it. I mean, I could go to the club owner, and be like, “I need weed,” and he’ll be like, “Okay, we’ll figure it out!” But, when I wasn’t so prominent, I did a lot of hoping I wouldn’t get robbed and praying for an upstanding drug dealer with a good moral compass. Or, another thing I used to do was become cool with the weed man. When I lived in Atlanta, there was this young n**** named Piff. He was selling drugs, but had nowhere to go to do what he needed to do. So, he would use my crib just to bag up and burn with me. People got 5 different hustles in Atlanta, and I wasn’t really working, so he would show up at 8am and that was the morning blunt. I had a feeling you had a deep appreciation for the plant. I really respect the level of honesty you have been able to reveal about yourself, especially on your show, Pause. What were the difficulties, if any? It was easy and it was hard. It was hard because the format didn’t exist at all. In my head, I was like, “I think I can do this.” But, I wasn’t sure about the execution at all. I really wanted that shit to feel like a party, you feel me? I wanted to get people to talk the way they actually talk, and that’s hard to get on TV because people are too conscious of themselves when they know they are on TV. I had to tell HBO, “I don’t want any standing cameras and I don’t want my friends staged. Like, I don’t want you to tell my friend to go stand here…” So, we ended up putting 3 people on body cam. They had roaming cameras that moved around the room. I wouldn’t allow boom mics. Everyone was mic’d, so there was like 14 different channels of sound. The sound man hated me. We needed everyone to be chill, so we would have a party before, to get everyone comfortable using the mic, and hope they would forget they had it on. Then, we transferred them to the Pause party. Nobody knew the topics but me. So, I would start conversations and steer them where I want them to go. Also, I was high! You were high the entire time? For most of it. Something that I wanted to highlight from Pause is that you are a self-proclaimed “Suck my dick!” kid. My punk rock spirit relates to this so heavily, please elaborate! I was just a very, “Don’t tell me what to do” type of kid. Don’t try to control me. Any sign of control, I was going the other way. Even like, being black and living in the hood, people were like, “You gotta be like this,” I was like, “No, I’m going to go listen to alternative, and be the opposite.” I’ve always been like that. Even in a dumb way, sometimes, because I have to ask myself, “Are you making this decision because this is what you want to do, or just doing this because you don’t want to do what everyone else is doing?” Well, I think it’s pretty punk rock that on Pause you just kinda decided to be a journalist, and now your live show “On Site” you’re basically a whole entire therapist. How does that even happen? “On Site” really came from the desire to do a live show that wasn’t pure stand-up. Then my homie Keith Johnson, who I do the show with, was like, “You are always yelling at us, bullying us, and telling us how to run our lives. Maybe it’s a show where you fuck with comics the way you fuck with us!” And yeah, I thought it could be kinda fun to put comics in a different space and just fuck with them in a different way. It’s a really fun time, and it’s always fun to do that kinda thing with comics because they can throw it back at you. And I am also a mess, so I think that’s the underlying theme in all my work. With Pause as well, it’s like, “Well, I don’t know…” We are exploring these ideas—I’m not necessarily correct. We used to go into Pause and think it was okay for me to be wrong at the end of the journey or have my mind changed. I try to undercut that seriousness about it because [we’re all] humans that be fucking up. I find that most stand-up specials on streaming platforms are trash. What do you think? I think they are putting out a lot of the same voices. And, you can’t really see the diversity until you’re out in the clubs and really see what’s happening in the streets. How did you and Statik link? Statik Selektah: “We’re the same age and came to New York the same year.” Hip-hop is something you obviously love and keep up with. Where does that come from? My brothers are older than me. So by the time I was kid, my brothers were way into hip hop. One brother was very into De La Soul and Native Tongues, and my other brother was very into Big Daddy Kane and Run DMC—that type shit. I would listen to whatever they would listen to, until I got outside and started hearing what other kids was listening to. But, all of my hip-hop knowledge came from inside the house. What do you like or dislike about current hip-hop/rap music? I like a lot of new hip-hop. I don’t dislike anything, I just think there are things I don’t understand anymore. Like, I don’t get Playboi Carti. I don’t think it’s good, or bad, it’s just not for my ears. My little cousins, they are totally tapped in. They seem to understand it. It’s giving them something they need, so I don’t judge it. Gimme the beats, gimme the booms and baps, and gimme the lyrics—I’m an East Coast kid. How did you get Statik to give you an original beat for your HBO special? I just asked him. I just told him that’s what I wanted to do. A lot of times, when you do specials, they are open to creative shit—you just have to come with creative shit. I think it adds a real dope-ass element to the special, even when I watch it, it just sets the tone. It’s dope to have an original Statik beat. I’m such a hip-hop head—it feels cool to say that I have one now. TrillStatik 3 is out everywhere you can stream music, and Sam Jay’s new HBO special “Salute Me Or Shoot Me” is a must-watch. Please go see her live when she hits your city! For all things Sam Jay click here!

https://hightimes.com/

Johns Hopkins University To Spend $10 Million Studying Medical Cannabis

A new multi-million dollar study at Johns Hopkins University aims to analyze how patients nationwide respond to medical cannabis treatments. Johns Hopkins University, which championed one of the largest and most widely referenced studies on medical applications of psilocybin mushrooms, announced the launch of a medical cannabis study in the winter edition of their Brainwise newsletter. According to the newsletter, the study will take a nationally representative sample of about 10,000 medical cannabis patients in an attempt to “fill [the] information gap” that exists when comparing medical cannabis knowledge to other elements of modern medicine. In other words, they are attempting to learn just as much about cannabis and how it can be used to treat medical maladies as other potential treatments which have all typically undergone extensive peer-reviewed scrutiny before ever being used in a medical setting. Cannabis is already used nationwide to treat a range of ailments like pain management, anxiety and ADHD but little is certain about long-term practical efficacy of such treatments other than anecdotal information from people who say it helps them. “We have the availability of cannabis as a therapeutic, but we’re lacking the quality of data that we have with other medicines,” said a written statement by Ryan Vandrey, one of the initiative’s creators and a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. “Our mission with this research is to understand the health impacts of therapeutic cannabis use,”Vandrey said. “We hope to provide some starting points for understanding what types of products may or may not be helpful and what types of products may be more risky for use in certain populations or for certain therapeutic purposes.” The initiative is supported by a five-year, $10 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and plans to collect data from patients such as methods of ingestion (smoking, edibles, vaping etc.), dosage, interactions with other medications and the chemical composition of different products. “We’re tracking them with multiple assessments over the course of their first year with more tightly spaced assessments toward the beginning because our assumption is that as people are starting their medical cannabis journey, they’re likely going to try different products until they find the products that best help them with their symptoms,” said Johannes Thrul, associate professor of mental health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health who is collaborating on this project with Vandrey. One of the issues with quantifying, analyzing or studying cannabis in general is that it’s such a versatile plant that can be ingested and used in so many different fashions that it has somewhat puzzled medical and pharmaceutical professionals in the past who tend to rely on cut-and-dry medications which can be easily patented. This is not the case with cannabis products or cannabis users which tend to vary greatly. How does one compare the experience of dabbing to combustion of flower or distillate gummies to hash gummies without extensive study that, up until recently, was ineligible for any form of federal funding. The new Johns Hopkins study aims to put a dent in that research deficit. “Under the umbrella term of cannabis exist hundreds of products that are all different in very important and significant ways,” Vandrey said. “We’re trying to narrow the scope a little bit, find areas of real promise and focus the science on those.” Vandrey said that the data from this study could have practical applications across the board from guiding decisions made in clinical settings, to legislative policy decisions, to providing regulations for additional clinical trials. This is even more evident based on the policy and clinical decisions which have already been made from the aforementioned psilocybin study which paved the way for decriminalization in several cities across the country as well as additional clinical trials and direct legalization for medical use in states like Oregon. The researchers at Johns Hopkins will be working closely with the National Institute on Drug Abuse as well as Realm of Caring, a Colorado-based nonprofit that provides information about cannabinoid therapies. The researchers will analyze and track data from patients over a year or more of their own respective cannabis-based treatments.

https://hightimes.com/

Remembering Tusko the Elephant, Given Largest-Ever Dose of LSD

Guinness World Records—the definitive list of world records of both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world—recently posted a eulogy to Tusko the elephant, who was tragically given an extreme dose of LSD, for science. LSD research was conducted on animals such as dolphins or cats, starting in the ‘50s and ‘60s, with goals ranging from mind control to animal communication. A team of researchers in the early ‘60s came up with the brilliant idea of dosing a hormonal bull elephant with a massive dose of LSD, and lo and behold—the outcome was tragic. Tusko was a male Indian elephant located at the Oklahoma City Zoo in Oklahoma. Tusko was a victim of the poor treatment of animals, and he did not survive the experiment. But before his tragic end, Tusko earned a spot in the Guinness World Records. Other notable instances of massive LSD doses include a case study of an accidental dose during September 2015, when a woman took 55 mg of LSD—550 times the normal dose. But this animal was given 3,000 times the normal dose of LSD. Within an hour and a half, and after several doses of barbiturates to kill the trip, the elephant was dead. Beginning on Aug. 3, 1962, (1963 by some accounts) the researchers dosed an elephant. Researchers injected nearly 300 mg of LSD into Tusko. Doctors West and Pierce attempted to induce Tusko into a state known as “musth”, an aggressive, hormonal surge that bull elephants get, causing them to secrete a sticky fluid between the ears. It’s critical for the reproduction of elephants as their testosterone levels rise to 60 times the normal amount. “By way of a dart gun shot into his right buttock,” Guinness World Records writer Sanj Atwal wrote, “Tusko was injected with 297 milligrams of the hallucinogenic drug LSD. Almost 3,000 times greater than the normal human recreational dose, this remains the largest single dose of LSD administered ever.” This ingenious plot was whipped up by two ambitious psychiatrists, Dr. Louis Jolyon West and Dr. Chester M. Pierce, along with the Oklahoma City Zoo’s director at the time, Warren Thomas. The experiment took place amid a surge in mind control experiments conducted by government agencies. That’s when things went terribly wrong. Five minutes after the injection, Tusko trumpeted once, fell over, and defecated. He then suffered a serious seizure; his eyes rolled back and closed, his legs became stiff, he bit his tongue, and he struggled to breathe. It didn’t take long until the elephant was dead. “Given that a human dose is around 25 milligrams, it comes as no surprise to hear that Tusko trumpeted once, ran around his enclosure then suffered a crippling seizure,’ Atwal continues. “He was administered a large dose of the antipsychotic drug promazine hydrchlroride, then the barbiturate pentobarbitol sodium, but died after 80 minutes, the victim of the largest single dose of LSD ever administered.” Also during the ‘60s, NASA-funded experiments by John C. Lilly, for instance, injected dolphins with LSD. Then in 1977, researchers dosed cats with LSD. “Dr. West was, put simply, an evil scientist,” Atwal writes. “He was a documented experimenter in Project MKUltra, an illegal human experimentation programme designed by the CIA to identify methods of brainwashing, psychologically torturing, and forcing confessions from people during interrogations.” Beginning in 1953, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) launched Project MKUltra, a human drug experimentation involving hallucinogens, intended to develop procedures and identify drugs that could be used during interrogations to force confessions. The CIA attempted to develop more effective truth serums. “These methods included sensory deprivation, hypnosis, isolation, sexual abuse, the covert administration of psychoactive drugs, and various other forms of torture,” Atwal writes. “One of the most famous experiments overseen by Dr West occurred in 1959, when Peter Tripp, a radio DJ, attempted to break the record for the longest time to stay awake. Tripp went without sleep for eight days and nine hours, causing his mental state to temporarily deteriorate into what doctors labeled ‘nocturnal psychosis’.” Shortly after, drug experimentations would involve animals as well. After the experiment on Tusko, West continued his work for the CIA, Guinness World Records reprots. Also in 1963, he was appointed as the psychiatrist to Jack Ruby, who murdered Lee Harvey Oswald two days after Oswald allegedly assassinated President John F. Kennedy. West suggested that Ruby be interrogated under the influence of sodium thiopental and hypnosis in order to get the real story. Pierce on the other hand went on to become the founding president of the Black Psychiatrists of America and spoke frequently about racism in the U.S., and he even coined the term “microaggression.” A fitting end for a disturbing experiment at the expense of a rare Indian elephant.

https://hightimes.com/

Can Psilocybin Treat Eating Disorders? A New Study Aims To Find Out

Body image can severely affect a person’s wellbeing, both physically and mentally, and researchers are close to understanding how psilocybin can help. Psilocybin’s effects on eating disorders (ED) have been explored since the 1950s, and studies are zeroing in its ability to help us overcome treatment-resistant conditions like body dysmorphia, anorexia, or bulimia. Most currently, researchers Elena Koning and Elisa Brietzke are exploring the ways psilocybin can treat ED by its therapeutic benefits in combating rigid thought patterns. Koning, who is a doctoral student, recently wrote about her discoveries for PsyPost, explaining the reasoning behind her research. Koning mentioned that in the age of social media, EDs are becoming increasingly troublesome, and that new approaches to those types of disorders are needed. A new study, “Psilocybin-Assisted Psychotherapy as a Potential Treatment for Eating Disorders: a Narrative Review of Preliminary Evidence,” was published online ahead of print for Trends Psychiatry. “Eating disorders (ED) are a group of potentially severe mental disorders characterized by abnormal energy balance, cognitive dysfunction and emotional distress,” researchers wrote. “Cognitive inflexibility is a major challenge to successful ED treatment and dysregulated serotonergic function has been implicated in this symptomatic dimension. Moreover, there are few effective treatment options and long-term remission of ED symptoms is difficult to achieve. There is emerging evidence for the use of psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy for a range of mental disorders. Psilocybin is a serotonergic psychedelic which has demonstrated therapeutic benefit to a variety of psychiatric illnesses characterized by rigid thought patterns and treatment resistance. “ EDs have the highest mortality rate among psychiatric disorders and their prevalence is on the rise. Moreover, conventional therapy often falls short. Researchers think psilocybin might be the key to overcoming treatment-resistant EDs. “The current paper presents a narrative review of the hypothesis that psilocybin may be an effective adjunctive treatment for individuals with EDs, based on biological plausibility, transdiagnostic evidence and preliminary results. Limitations of the psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy model and proposed future directions for the application to eating behavior are also discussed,” the study abstract reads. “Although the literature to date is not sufficient to propose the incorporation of psilocybin in the treatment of disordered eating behaviors, preliminary evidence supports the need for more rigorous clinical trials as an important avenue for future investigation.” Koning believes that psilocybin treats the underlying mechanisms behind EDs instead of looking for benefits elsewhere. She thinks this could lead to substantial breakthroughs in the treatment of EDs that can lead to death if they are left untreated. Conventional treatment does not address the underlying mechanisms behind EDs. Instead, psilocybin therapy uses the psychedelic experience to improve cognitive flexibility. A case study described a woman in 1959 with treatment-resistant anorexia nervosa. After two doses of psilocybin, the woman experienced immediate mood enhancement, increased insight into the root of her symptoms, and long-term weight resolution. Konin explained that It increases serotonin signaling, all while reducing the activity of brain networks linked to rigid thinking patterns. She believes these changes can enhance body image, reward processing and relax beliefs, ultimately catalyzing the therapeutic process. A small study published last July in the peer-reviewed journal Nature Medicine arrived at similar results. In the study, researchers with the University of California, San Diego determined that therapy combined with a single dose of psilocybin was a safe and effective treatment for women with the eating disorder. Anorexia nervosa is a serious mental health disorder characterized by a severe fear of being overweight and a distorted body image. Symptoms of the disorder include an obsession with attempting to maintain below-average body weight through starvation or compulsive excessive exercise. In that trial, 10 women with anorexia nervosa were given a single dose of psilocybin combined with support from a therapist. Most patients tolerated the short-term effects of psilocybin well and experienced no side effects. Participants were then assessed for a period of three months after the psilocybin session. Following treatment, most patients reported a positive experience with the drug, with 90% of participants saying that they had a more positive outlook on life and 70% saying that their general quality of life had improved. Additionally, 80% rated the experience as one of their “top five most meaningful of life.” After three months, four participants had entered remission of their symptoms. “Psilocybin therapy, which includes psychological support by trained therapists, was found to be safe and well tolerated for the 10 participants who received treatment in this study,” the authors of the study wrote in a discussion of the research. “Most participants endorsed the treatment as highly meaningful and the experience as a positive life impact.”

https://hightimes.com/

Tennessee Hemp Businesses Say New Rules Threaten Industry

Hemp growers and retailers in Tennessee say that newly proposed regulations threaten the viability of businesses in the industry and vow to challenge the rules before they go into effect, according to media reports. In April, the Tennessee General Assembly passed legislation to regulate and tax hemp products grown, manufactured and sold in the state. Under the bill, the Tennessee Department of Agriculture is tasked with drafting rules to govern the industry, including regulations for product testing, compliance and enforcement. Earlier this month, the Agriculture Department released a draft of proposed new regulations for the hemp industry, which are slated to go into effect next year. Five years ago, the U.S. Congress legalized hemp agriculture with the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill. The legislation defines hemp as cannabis plants with less than 0.3% delta-9 THC. Tennessee’s hemp laws follow the Farm Bill’s definition, but the proposed rules from the Department of Agriculture would require products to have less than 0.3% THC in all its forms, including THCA and delta-8 THC. The proposed regulations would make many of the hemp products currently available in Tennessee illegal. Representatives of hemp businesses say the new rules go too far and threaten the viability of the industry. “Unfortunately, they are regulating it out of business,” Kelley Hess, executive director of the Tennessee Growers Coalition, told the Chattanooga Times Free Press. “They are creating law in the rules and are exceeding their authority in creating a new definition of hemp in the rules outside of the law.” Chris Sumrell, a hemp grower and the owner of Chattanooga’s FarmtoMed, said that he worked with lawmakers to help draft the bill to protect the reputation of the Tennessee hemp industry, fearing that untested and unreliable products would tarnish its image. “We all got together and put our two cents in to try to create a program along the lines of some programs running in other states that were successful,” Sumrell said, “and it really was going to get a lot of these products off gas station shelves.” However, after the department released the proposed rules for enforcing the law, Sumrell pulled all dry flower products from his stores, a move that affected his sales during the holiday season. If the rules went into effect as currently written, he said, about 90% of his sales would be threatened. The Department of Agriculture’s proposed rules would also allow it to conduct random inspections and test products being sold by retailers. Hemp advocates argue that by the time the products have been manufactured and received by retailers, some THCA may have decarboxylated, making them contain more than 0.3% delta-9. Hess says that the rule would “wipe out” the industry for THCA and CBD flower in Tennessee. “There is practically no way that a farmer or grower could meet all the rigorous standards on the growing side in addition to all of the standards they have put on for their products to be put on the shelf,” Hess said. Kim Doddridge, a spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture, said in a statement that the new rules are scheduled to go into effect in July. However, it could be later if the regulations are not finalized by that date. A hearing on the proposal will be held on February 6, and the department is currently accepting public comments on the proposed rules. “I think the public comment period is going to see thousands and thousands and thousands of comments, not only from the industry, but from consumers of this industry who rely on these products as a matter of their personal wellness,” said John Kerns, the head of the Chattanooga-based testing facility New Bloom Labs. The Department of Agriculture reports that 319 growers have been licensed to grow hemp in the state. The Tennessee Growers Association estimates that the state’s hemp industry now generates about $200 million per year in sales. But businesses in the industry say the proposed regulations put all of that in jeopardy. “The way that the department is defining quote-unquote ‘compliance’ is so restrictive and such a gross misinterpretation that these products are never going to make it,” Kerns said. “They won’t be manufactured. They won’t be tested, and they won’t be sold.” Tennessee’s hemp businesses have an ally in the state legislature who is monitoring the situation with the proposed regulations. State Representative Chris Hurt, a member of the Agriculture Committee who grew hemp for two years, said he has concerns about the new rules as they are written. “It’s kind of changing the rules in the middle of the game, ” Hurt told local media. Hurt has agreed to sponsor new legislation in 2024 to clarify the intent of the law passed earlier this year. Hess said that if the proposed rules go into effect as currently written, the Tennessee Growers Association will consider litigation to challenge the regulations.

https://hightimes.com/

Product Review: THC High Energy Gummies by Simply Crafted

I’ve reluctantly become a cannabis fan because I love natural health. I had brief encounters with joints during my teenage years at parties but I’ve always been too concerned about the negative effects of smoking. As an adult, I found a partner who is passionate about cannabis. Slowly but surely, this partner introduced me to a lifestyle of getting recreationally high, which has significantly reduced my alcohol consumption while offering me medicinal benefits. Sure, I enjoy a good toking session. But I’ve settled on mainly using edibles since it spared my lungs from coughing. That’s not to say that I don’t realize there is room for improvement in the world of edibles. Whenever I try a new edible, I always have to eat it in increments. On one too many occasions, I’ve eaten a whole gummy only to find myself unable to form a coherent sentence and knocked out on the couch for the next 12 hours. So here’s my approach: sometimes I’ll eat half of a gummy and other times, when I’m feeling a little more reserved, I’ll even start with half of a half. It’s a finicky technique that has led me to unfairly develop a love-hate relationship with edibles. Most edibles, in my opinion, are made with formulas that focus on way too much THC potency, which makes it impossible to discern any unique qualities about the product or even the high. When you’re stoned you simply can’t discern those details. Yet edible products are such an amazing opportunity to experiment with flavors, sensations, and effects. It’s frustrating to me that not enough brands are exploring that. So having recently tried THC High Energy Gummies by Simply Crafted, I was pleasantly surprised to encounter a brand that created an edible that goes against the norm of just focusing on providing a THC high. I absolutely loved how it was created to harness the benefits of cannabis as a health supplement while combining other medicinal ingredients. Their marketing promises to deliver a “balanced and stimulating experience” that can be used to “transform your daily routine”. After trying the gummies myself, it definitely lives up to what it was designed to be. To test out the product, I wanted to see if it actually could energize me. I decided to dive right in and eat a whole gummy on a Tuesday morning at home. Over the next few hours, I functioned very well and I got a lot of work done. I’m a writer by trade and I could still type and take notes for work without being slowed down. I did sense a sativa vibe that provided a good day high and put me in an uplifting mood, which is the opposite of the normal sleepy state I go into after eating an edible. It was almost like the post-workout buzz and mental clarity that you experience after going to the gym or on a long run. (I also tested them out a second time in the same week and I am happy to report the same results). I’m a big health and wellness type of person, and it seems that the brains at Simply Crafted were thinking of people like me when they were concocting this product. It’s a neat edible because it’s infused with only 5mg hemp-derived THC, and then 100mg lion’s mane mushroom and ginseng, so it’s far less of a cannabis product and more of a nootropic supplement (nootropics are a category of medicinal substances that enhance cognitive ability). Another thing I love about the company is that they provide the full lab report of the product on their website so you understand its cannabinoid properties, which can be easily accessed via a QR code on their packaging. It’s a transparent and clean product that is organic, has no toxins, and is fully vegan. However, it’s worth noting that the THC effects in this edible are so mild that I didn’t feel any traditional high sensation at all. So if you’re looking for a strong buzz or looking for a gummy to get you to chill out and relax, this edible isn’t the one for the task. And it would be a waste to use this edible for just doing nothing. These gummies are for individuals who want to use cannabis to increase their productivity and regulate their emotions. It could easily be taken daily as a supplement. Or, you could save these gummies to use only on days when you simply need to get your head in the zone. It’s an easy, relatively inexpensive, and low-risk addition to any medicine cabinet. The product is sold in packages containing ten gummies, with one-half or an entire gummy being suggested per serving. The gummies come in large square shapes in a flavor called “Strawnana” which tastes like a pleasant, mildly sweet, and familiar taste that’s unique compared to other edibles I’ve tried. Since there’s a low amount of Delta-9 THC in relation to the other main active ingredients, I tasted hardly any trace of the THC flavor that I am so accustomed to with other edibles. There’s a good level of restraint in how much THC was used in the recipe because the formula focuses on creating an energizing experience for the user. And I just love that because it’s products like this that are approachable for consumers who aren’t experienced with using cannabis edibles. It doesn’t look, taste, or feel particularly like a cannabis edible. The profound thing about these gummies is that it’s a product that bridges the gap between cannabis aficionados and those who haven’t touched weed before. I would confidently suggest this edible to anyone in my family without feeling like I have to explain or warn of the THC effects in the formula. Sure, a cannabis aficionado could detect the presence of THC in the gummy. But getting high is not the point of this edible and you can feel that. THC High Energy Gummies combine some of the most regarded nootropics on earth into an edible. The hemp-derived THC is a supporting ingredient and while it plays an important role in creating an energizing gummy that promotes mental clarity, it’s used for working harmony with other power-house nootropics. The inclusion of lion’s mane mushroom is a real selling point of the formula. There’s a myriad of lion’s mane mushroom health products on the market because it’s proven to support cognitive functions like nerve repair and dementia prevention. Ginseng is in the mix too, which is a famous root that is traditionally used for enhancing energy and overall well-being. If you enjoy using THC for its health benefits but also want to supplement your diet with wellness ingredients like lion’s mane mushroom and ginseng, THC High Energy Gummies take care of that for you. And there really isn’t another product currently that combines these three ingredients into a single product – it’s basically a unicorn. Not only is this brand obviously focused on health and quality, they’re downright innovative. I personally have not come across another product that combined delta-9 THC with nootropics and I’m so glad that Simply Crafted has recognized this need for consumers. After sampling these edibles and sharing them with my partner, we’re already planning to order more. With 5mg of THC per gummy, you can eat them whole without fear of taking too much. They won’t get you stoned and they don’t promise to. These edibles are on the light side but a solid choice for a beginner or for someone who doesn’t prefer to consume a lot of THC. They’re also fantastic for anyone who is looking to incorporate more medicinal substances into their routine without having to juggle multiple health products. Definitely reach out for some THC High Energy Gummies by Simply Crafted if you want a nice, uplifting high that makes you feel good and more focused throughout the day. Your body will thank you.

https://hightimes.com/

Nevada Doubles Weed Possession Limit

A new law went into effect in Nevada on January 1 making several changes to the state’s cannabis laws, including a provision that doubles the state’s limit on weed possession. The measure, Senate Bill 277, was passed by Nevada lawmakers this spring before being signed into law by Republican Governor Joe Lombardo on June 14. Senate Bill 277 makes several significant changes to Nevada’s cannabis regulations. In 2001, the state legalized medical marijuana, followed by the legalization of adult-use cannabis with the passage of Question 2, a 2016 ballot measure that legalized recreational marijuana in the state for adults 21 and older. The legislation more than doubles the possession and purchase limits for recreational marijuana in Nevada, raising the cap from one ounce of cannabis to 2.5 ounces. The measure also doubles the limits for cannabis concentrates from one-eighth of an ounce to a quarter ounce. The legislation also permits all adult-use cannabis dispensaries in Nevada to sell cannabis products to medical marijuana patients. Beginning next year, state cannabis regulators will no longer be able to issue new licenses for medical marijuana businesses, except in areas of the state that have prohibited the operation of recreational cannabis dispensaries. Democratic state Senator Dallas Harris, the sponsor of the bill, said that allowing medical dispensaries to serve recreational cannabis customers is one of the most significant provisions of Senate Bill 277 for Nevada’s regulated cannabis industry. “That’s one of the big changes, (but) I think there are a bunch of things in the bill that are really designed to be business-friendly and moving our cannabis industry into the next phase,” said Harris told the Las Vegas Sun after the bill was approved. Harris added that separating medical and recreational cannabis licenses was needed when adult-use cannabis legalization went into effect. But as the market matures, he said that it makes sense to eliminate some of the red tape in Nevada’s cannabis regulations. “It’s going to cut down on some of that administrative burden for a lot of our operators, which are generally dual licensees to begin with,” Harris said. “It made sense when we originally set up our structure so that we had separate licenses because we had medical first, then we had adult use. But now given the industry is up on its feet, I think it just makes sense to streamline that process.” Senate Bill 277 also eases a ban on individuals with felony convictions from operating or working at cannabis businesses in Nevada. Under the approved legislation, the Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board has been given the authority to issue licenses to businesses with stakeholders that have prior felony convictions if the agency “determines that doing so would not pose a threat to the public health or safety or negatively impact the cannabis industry in this State,” according to the text of the legislation. To comply with the change, the board will be required to “impose any conditions and limitations on the granting of an exemption that the Board determines necessary to preserve the public health and safety or mitigate the impact of granting the exemption on the cannabis industry in this State.” The legislation also amends a ban on those with certain prior felony convictions from being employed in Nevada’s regulated cannabis industry. Under the bill, individuals with such convictions will be permitted to petition the Nevada Cannabis Control Board (CCB) to obtain an agent card that allows them to work at a licensed cannabis business without first having their records expunged. “So right now, the CCB is able to receive petitions from folks with felonies and they are given essentially a court-like process that they have to go through,” said Bri Padilla, executive director of the Las Vegas Chamber of Cannabis. “And they are also going to be given a hearing. They’re given a decision by the CCB after a background check and a criminal record pull, then the CCB will advise on whether they’re rehabilitated or not and provide or deny them an agent card for X, Y or Z reason.” Nevada’s new cannabis reform law also tasks the state Cannabis Advisory Commission with conducting a study to determine the potential effects that ending the federal prohibition of cannabis and removing marijuana from the state’s Uniform Controlled Substances Act would have on the regulated cannabis industry. The legislation also requires state regulators to consider if a proposed change to Nevada’s cannabis regulations “is likely to have an adverse effect on the environment and, if so, whether there are any methods to reduce or eliminate that adverse effect which would not impose an economic burden on holders of an adult-use cannabis establishment license or medical cannabis establishment license.” Portions of Senate Bill 277 went into effect as soon as the legislation was passed in June. The remainder of the new law, including the increase in the limit on cannabis possession, became effective on January 1.

https://hightimes.com/

Study: 3D Video Games Help Improve Major Depressive Disorder Symptoms

There are plenty of studies exploring how substances like cannabis and psilocybin can help treat depression, but far fewer research exploring how video games can positively treat that kind of condition. Recently in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry, researchers from the University of Bonn in Germany found that people suffering from Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) saw a reduction in symptoms after a 3D video game (in this case, participants playing Super Mario Odyssey a game that release on Nintendo Switch in 2017). It’s the first randomized controlled study of its kind to examine the effects of a six-week video game intervention on those with depression. Researchers explained that people with MDD often experience “reduced affect, mood, and cognitive impairments such as memory problems,” but most treatments do not target the cognitive deficits, which is why they believed that video games could help. “Playing 3D video games has been found to improve cognitive functioning in healthy people, but it is not clear how they may affect depressed mood and motivation in people with MDD,” researchers wrote. “The aim of this study was to investigate whether a six-week video game intervention leads to improvements in depressed mood, training motivation, and visuo-spatial (working) memory functions in patients with MDD.” Forty-six clinically depressed people were split into three groups: 1.) the experimental “3D video gaming” group, an active control group who trained with a computer program called COGPACK (which is a cognitive remediation program), and 3.) a group that received typical treatment methods such as psychotherapy or pharmacotherapy. All participants were asked to perform a neuropsychological assessment, such as self-reporting questions. The reason Super Mario Odyssey was chosen was in part because of a previous study from 2015 identified benefits of 3D-based games (the study used “Super Mario World” as an example) “can promote hippocampal plasticity, which consequently led to an enhancement in hippocampus associated cognitive functions, such as visuo-spatial memory” in comparison to a 2D game (the example was Angry Birds). The results of the most recent study showed that there was a significant decrease in depressive symptoms. “Results indicate that after six weeks of training the 3D video gaming group showed a significant decrease in the proportion of participants with clinically significant levels of depressive symptoms by self-report and a higher mean training motivation when compared with the active control group,” researchers wrote in their conclusion. “Furthermore, results suggest significant improvements in tasks of visuo-spatial (working) memory performance during post-testing in both training groups, however, the 3D video gaming group demonstrates more selective improvements and does not perform significantly better than the other two groups.” As of September 2023, Super Mario Odyssey is one of the highest selling Nintendo Switch games of all time, placed in fifth place on a list of games in units. In first place is Mario Kart 8 (57.01 million units), second is Animal Crossing: New Horizons (43.38 million units), third is Super Smash Brothers Ultimate (32.44 million units), The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (31.15 million units), and finally Super Mario Odyssey (26.95 million units). We’ve also seen a steady increase in studies relating to treating various depression conditions with psychedelic substances. Medical cannabis studies continue to showcase the benefits on a variety of conditions. In November an Australian study reported the benefits of medical cannabis that improved patients’ quality of life, as well as reduced pain, anxiety, and depression. Psilocybin was found to be a promising treatment for people with depression in a September study conducted by the American Medical Association. Earlier in December, another study found that patients with bipolar II depression benefited from using psilocybin as a treatment. Other studies have evaluated the effects of DMT for depression too, such as one that was conducted by a United Kingdom pharmaceutical company in January 2023. Researchers said that DMT offered “a significant antidepressant effect that was rapid and durable.” Ketamine is also being studied as a possibility for treating severe depression, as seen in a June 2023 research initiative. ECT has been the gold standard for treating severe depression for over 80 years,” researchers explained. “But it is also a controversial treatment because it can cause memory loss, requires anesthesia, and is associated with social stigma. This is the largest study comparing ketamine and ECT treatments for depression that has ever been done, and the only one that also measured impacts to memory.” There’s a lot of potential to be studied between these substances and depression, as well as many other conditions. And with the newest research putting the spotlight on 3D video games as a method of treating depression as well, it will be very interesting to see how these two separate methods of treatment continue to evolve, or even possibly overlap. Super Mario titles have always represented the more wholesome side of video games. Maybe all Mario games have the potential to treat depression because of this, or maybe some Super Mario games are more likely than others to offer cognitive benefits to players. While we eagerly await more studies on these topics, check out our review of Super Mario Bros. Wonder which offers a delightful journey into the strange and hilarious unknown.

https://hightimes.com/

Top Brands of 2023

By Jimi Devine, Ellen Holland, and Matt Jackson It’s tough to make it in weed these days, but these brands show us that they can survive and thrive. Here are the cannabis companies that came out on top for us in 2023. These solventless rosin edibles break the mold of traditional gummy flavors through the incorporation of tropical fruits. Created by Natura and available in California, Dee Thai is the brainchild of Josh Schmidt, Natura’s vice president of business development. Schmidt grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and loved eating Asian candy and collecting baseball cards as a child. Two of Natura’s brands, Dee Thai and Sluggers (pre-rolls designed to look like the flashy Upper Deck baseball card packs), invoke a nostalgia factor in respect to Schmidt’s youth. Originally envisioned as a CBD edible, after saying “CBD” so many times it clicked for Schmidt that “dee” in Thai means “good.” Dee Thai incorporates his longtime connections with Thailand, and started with six flavors: mangosteen, guava, lychee, pineapple, mango, and jackfruit. “Exotic is everything in cannabis and marketing and these were like the most exotic fruits,” Schmidt says. A few of the gummy flavors represent partnerships with other brands such as Your Highness and West Coast Alchemy. The papaya gummy crafted with Kalya Extracts rosin that we taste tested was true to the musky taste of papaya and resulted in a potent stone. Dee Thai has also expanded to offer hash-infused joints and blunts as well as vape pens. This year the brand was on hand at the Outside Lands and BottleRock music festivals. In terms of brand recognition Dee Thai also capitalizes on the weed world’s expanding interest in Thailand, which sprouted an overnight industry after the government removed cannabis flowers from its list of prohibited narcotics in June 2022. -EH Fig Farms continues winning over the hearts and lungs of the cannabis-smoking public with their award-winning flowers. In 2023 the family-owned cannabis company took first place in indoor flower at The Emerald Cup—a competition that up until a few years ago only judged cannabis grown outdoors. That same night, they changed the face of The Emerald Cup all together when Blue Face went on to win Best in Show. That accomplishment came courtesy of serious professional pot-smoking judges—including our own Jon Cappetta—but Fig Farms also celebrated a whole different kind of competition success this year with a first place for indica flower for Blue Face at the High Times Cannabis Cup SoCal: People’s Choice competition. The People’s Choice is judged by, well, the people. Fig Farms is constantly popping off single-plant testers of new strain possibilities. Included in an assortment of Z crosses they’ve recently been experimenting with is a Figment x Z. Its aroma expresses the dank gas from the Figment (Purple Fig x Animal Mints 199 #4) with a bit of bergamot citrus essence from the Z. This strain is incredibly frosty. I broke it up and really shouldn’t even be typing right now, there are trichomes in my keyboard and my fingers risk sticking to the keys. Fig Farms expanded to Illinois in 2022 and plans to soon offer seeds of their award-winning genetics. -EH A legendary New York name that’s begun to ring out again in the streets. This year GOAT Global in Los Angeles helped launch the California dispensary line for Gotti, the cannabis brand built by the family of iconic mob figure John Gotti. This team came onto the scene last year and, since then, has created lasting relationships with West Coast figures like Deep East, Greendawg, and Blueprint. They’ve built a lot of traction through releases of their Blue Sapphire, Zattie, and Seabiscuit. This last example is one that helped them win a coveted spot in the Transbay Challenge qualifying event in Los Angeles. The story of this strain is pretty incredible. Originally this Zkittlez x Zoap was bred by Deep East for Greendawg. They ended up keeping two phenotypes from that batch but the rest were going to get chucked out the window. The team at Gotti were on the hunt for new cuts when they heard about this #25 pheno that was up for grabs if they wanted to save it. This special strain which also took honors as a part of the recent Zalympics box, was the jump off point for the relationship between Deep East and Gotti. -MJ Over this last year, Have Hash has been dominating the game and adding to the overwhelming legacy of Humboldt County hashmakers. With trophies from Cannafest, Transbay Challenge, King of Z Hill, Northern California Rosin Championship, Ego Clash, Pure Melt’s Melt Down, and Europe’s Masters of Rosin, it’s getting hard to keep up with the ways they’re breaking hearts and taking names. Despite only having an 800-square-foot facility, the partnerships Have Hash formed with a select number of NorCal farms like Mendoja Farms, Booney Acres, and Pop Stops Growing have given the brand a strong product that’s managed to get them singled out by hash judges worldwide. Right now, Have Hash’s owner Jacob said he’s concentrating on creating exciting seasonal drops instead of offering smokers a never-ending faucet of rosin flavors (something he sees as a big flaw in the hash market). For this recent release they’ve dropped new jars like Mochi, Uvas y Crema, and Pleazure, which they made happen through fostering a collaboration between Mendo Mikey and Mendoja Farms. Since starting in 2015, the goal for Have Hash has been to bring the kind of quality we see on the trap market over to the recreational side, something that seems to be an award-winning concept for them (literally). -MJ In the oncoming storm of psilocybin companies, Mycology Oakland has proven on a wildly different level than its peers. In its hometown of Oakland, California there are probably about 30 to 40 mushroom chocolate entities now in operation. I’ve tried most of them—The Clout Boy stuff, Deadhead bars, Save the Planet bars, the whole nine yards. Nothing comes remotely close to the impact of a Myco bar. The brand is also building recognition with cool merchandise, including a peyote-covered bag. In the age of fentanyl, mushrooms have turned into more of a party drug over the last few years. People dose enough to stay up all night laughing and partying but not enough to talk to God unless they accidentally take enough. This actually happened to me with a Myco Oakland 4 gram cookies and cream bar. I had previously been splitting a chocolate bar over the course of the night at festivals. After nine or so of these adventures across different chocolate bars I thought I was dialed in. Then I ran into half of a Myco bar. I ended up somewhere between Jupiter and Saturn and went back to the tent to chill for an hour. After I came down a pinch I went exploring until 4 a.m. It was awesome. -JD There is a legitimate argument to be made that Preferred Gardens is the best indoor cultivator on both coasts. Oh wait, we didn’t even mention they probably have the best mixed-light product in California. These realities have led to a lot of respect across the board for the company. The dedication to excellence in flowers has turned Preferred into one of the most mom-and-pop multistate operators out there. Much of the workload on the cultivation side is handled by the founder David Polley, while his wife Nicki oversees the books and takes care of the actual business side of things. The last few years of growth at Preferred were backboned by mixed-light cannabis, which means it was grown light-deprivation style, during which the cultivator uses tarps and supplemental lighting to maintain a steady light cycle. Those $35 eighths that Preferred is pumping to the stores that are lucky enough to be on their list are gold, but now their indoor is in the mix. Florida won the race to Preferred’s indoor, but it has finally dropped in California and we’re thrilled with the results as they included one of the best renditions of Zoap yet seen by the marketplace. Preferred also just built out a massive new mixed-light facility. Expect to see even more of their flowers available across America as time rolls on. -JD Based in Detroit, Michigan, Pressure Pack caught our eye for both their flowers and their concentrates. Their collaboration with North Coast brought wins in our Cannabis Cup Michigan: People’s Choice Edition 2023 competition for a Blue Zorbet hash rosin, a Lemon Rain infused donut pre-roll and another pre-roll filled with one of our 2022 strains of the year, Permanent Marker. Pressure Pack has a few growing facilities and works hard to ensure its flowers are top notch. Its Orange Bomb, exploding with bright tangerine citrus aromas, was awarded second place for sativa flower. “We work really hard to try and get the best product because we only want to enjoy the best products,” cultivator Ian says. “I come from a medical background and so, for me, I use cannabis in a medical sense. I use the entourage effect to its full nature. I try to maximize the output that the plants will allow us.” Look out for Pressure Pack newest offering which jumps in on a certified weed smoking trend, hand-rolled hash holes. -EH Every year Puffco hits us with new devices, firmware tweaks, and general improvements to their products from generation to generation. The most famous being back in 2020 when they totally rebuilt the atomizer on their flagship Peak device. It’s been eight years since Puffco dropped the Plus. A lot of people would still put the Plus right at or near the top of the list for the dab pen format. There was a period of time before the Peak dropped when the best extractors in the world all used the Plus, but then we saw the Peak drop in 2018 and it changed the game. The Pro model dropped in 2020, and then this year we saw the launch of the upgraded Pro Model, Puffco’s best hardware yet for its famed electronic dab rig. While the new Peak Pro model was nice, it’s hard to argue that the new XL 3D chamber won’t be the biggest release of the year for them. The new giant atomizer is the company’s hardest hitting yet. It starts with the 3D chamber tech that was first designed for the Proxy and eventually made its way to the Peak. They essentially upgraded the size one more time and produced an absolute ripper in the process. Ripping a fat glob of hash in the XL chamber on max vapor mode will do wonders for your sinuses and soul. -JD By now, everyone has heard about the legendary Blue Zushi rosin that shocked the whole community by going for an unheard of price of $500 a gram. These buckets, which reached a new high water mark for the cannabis industry, were an amazing lightning in a bottle situation for The Ten Co. but there’s so much more to this brand than the hype of the hash. Coming to Los Angeles by way of London, creator Staks and his partner Gerry have brought consumers to their knees with the Blue, Yellow, and Pink versions of Zushi (all combos of Zkittlez and Kush Mints), along with Wazabi, Zoyi, Wagyu, and Tenbanger. These bright bags with their playful, manga-style characters have inspired more than a few other designs and drawn crowds who claim The Ten Co.’s flower to be some of the best they’ve ever smoked. Back in 2019 people were going crazy for Zushi and the past few years have done nothing to slake that thirst with prices going buck wild on both coasts. -MJ It’s hard to say if anyone else in the game right now has a higher output or longer reach than West Coast Alchemy. Even message boards out in Europe are filled with people trying to figure out what jars to try and cop. These guys push an impressive amount of jars out a day and never seem to have any problems dropping new flavors and cutting edge single-origin cultivars. Though finding them online might take wading through a pool of fakes, these jars never fail to deliver on flavor since they partner with some of the best names in the scene right now. The recent drops with Pure Melt have been incredible and worth the hunt for scooping a couple jars. -MJ This story was originally published in the December 2023 issue of High Times Magazine.

https://hightimes.com/

Best Strains of the Year

As the year comes to an end, we’re looking back at the strains we believe made the biggest mark on cannabis in 2023. Every year the battle to make this list gets more cutthroat. Why? It’s simply a numbers game. From closet pollen chuckers to the most advanced breeding rooms, more people than ever are producing new cannabis cultivars. Most of them trace back to the same lineages. But from within that common grouping that we’ve come to describe as commercially viable, there are twists and turns yet to be taken. Magically, the best breeders on the planet are able to find those hidden corners and the new flavors and experiences within them. At its core we hope this is what the list represents, but sometimes things are undeniable. How do you trade off uniqueness for impact on the market? If something has a lot of notes we’ve heard before but takes them to a new level and consumers can’t get enough of it, should that factor into our decision? Absolutely. Just look at how many dessert strains have made it to the top of the list over the years. And they deserved it. Lemon Cherry Gelato, one of our top strains choices for 2022, has had a massive impact again this year and Gelonade is still one of the best sativas out there. Sure, a lot of the notes combined into those flavors were ones we were already familiar with, but the magic occurred when the ingredients were mixed. This year we’re celebrating a few new varieties that made a splash in 2023. Blue Face was the first-ever indoor cultivar to win Best in Show in California’s legendary competition, The Emerald Cup. Fig Farms got to put that feather in their cap in 2023 when Blue Face delivered the goods. This was one year after its sister pheno, Animal Face—the seeds of which came out of the same pack—took home the top prize in the indoor category but couldn’t capture Best in Show in the third year of the famous outdoor competition’s indoor category. The pack the duo came from was Face Off OG x Animal Mints from Seed Junky. Blue Face went on to win a bunch of other stuff, but according to the team at Fig Farms, the third-place finish at California Ego Clash invitational in December 2022 was really special for them after winning so many awards over the years. Fig Farms COO Mike Doten explained what made it special to High Times. “It was a pretty special moment for us because we’re in a room full of other competitive brands in the marketplace as well as even home growers,” Doten said. “We all judge the flower together so there’s no opportunity for anybody to have any judgment of the flower based on what they think of other people or anything like that if it’s all blind or right in front of each other and then the other competitions that happened are mostly blind also, but on this particular one it hits home because we sit there and touch flowers with them. And so it’s really special to have Blue Face when amongst all the other competitors also all sitting there in the same room.” The biggest problem with Blue Face? Availability. It only yields about two-thirds of what its sister Animal Face puts out. Fig Farms is already dedicating as much space as they can to it at the moment. “It’s low yield so the facility can only generate so much of that and also make other flowers too,” Doten said. “So there is like a finite amount we can put out of that. We already do a whole bench of it in almost every single room. It already is making up a gigantic amount of our production as far as production space, as far as production output and doesn’t make up as much of it but that’s okay because we do it for the consumer, for the culture, for ourselves.” The first time I saw French Laundry at the California cannabis trade show Hall of Flowers a couple of years back, I knew we were dealing with a heater that would eventually be recognized at The Emerald Cup, High Times Cannabis Cup, Zalympix, and The Transbay Challenge for its quality. The strain is a pairing of L.A. Rouge and The Soap from Maven Genetics. 2023 would see French Laundry carry Maven Genetics on its back in its transition from OGs to award winners. The pot was already solid, but it just takes a little bit of magic to raise the bar for a whole company that was already in 400 shops before the French Laundry rocket took off. We talked with Maven’s co-founder and president Mike Corvington to get his take on the huge year that French Laundry had. “That one, I think kind of solidified itself,” Corvington said. “We’ve been working the line a little deeper. Now we’re doing some S1s and F2 crosses on it and playing with it a little deeper. But yeah, man, it’s been a good run this last year. When you find a superstar, it’s nice that everyone kind of gives that similar feedback and you kind of just build on it.” Even with their 15-year pedigree of success and survival in transitioning from the medical to recreational markets, we asked if 2023 was at least a little bit beyond expectations. “Yeah, absolutely man. I mean, you know, like, I look at it kind of like, you know, the analogy of like, what we do is similar to like a record label,” Corvington said. “You know, when your label’s only as strong as the artist you’re signing to it and always looking for the next superstar. So you always feel good about what you put out or that’s the goal at least. But you know, I kind of felt when we found this one that I knew it was a little special.” Corvington assures that Maven will continue to hunt down unique heat as opposed to jumping on the next trend. In a world of Papaya and GMO everything, Whitethorn Rose has carved itself a spot among the elite strains that carry big flavors and produce enough hash to be commercially viable. Adding to that, with this strain you’re also dealing with a decades-old family genetics line from Humboldt County providing even more reason to love it. John Casali bred the strain at Huckleberry Hill Farms when he crossed his mother’s strain, Paradise Punch, with Lemon OG in 2016. “I really hope that really my mother’s legacy would be one of the cultivars that maybe we all grew together over 40 years ago and experimenting around with some breeding projects, really discovered a cultivar that really resonated with the consumer,” Casali said. “It has a sister plant known as Mom’s Weed but Whitethorn Rose really has taken the stage and done really well in The Emerald Cup of the last couple of years with back-to-back bubble hash wins.” It was also placed on numerous other podiums. Casali said the Whitethorn Rose has really opened his eyes to the power of legacy strains to preserve what is left of the farmers on the hill as they’ve watched so many peers fall in recent years to the brutal marketplace. “People are maybe a little bit over the commercialized cultivars that have been shared with them for over five years now,” Casali said. “They’re really starting to resonate with the terpene profiles and the cannabinoid profiles that these legacy genetics in the Emerald Triangle have. It’s fortunate that Whitethorn Rose is one of those.” Even with the success of Whitethorn Rose and some of his peers doing well, Casali emphasized it is never going to feel great to be some sole survivor or do well unless the rest of our community of farmers, those people who were always with them during the legacy days, support one another. “Our biggest challenge is really trying to figure out a way to uplift them to continue the journey with us,” Casali said. One of the biggest up-and-coming strains in the game, Sherbanger continued the legacy of Massachusetts putting out absolute hitters like Chemdawg and Mass Super Skunk. Sherbanger is a pairing of the Sunset Sherbert that traces back to Sherbinski and Cookies’ co-founder Jigga in San Francisco and Headbanger from Karma Genetics. After being bred in Boston, the packs eventually made it to California. Some of the most choice phenos selected are producing some of the best flower in the state. The rosin version is also starting to take off with some of the people running it having won a handful of awards in 2023. We talked with John, breeder and owner of Boston Roots Seed Co. to get his take on the big year. “Honestly brotha I’m just happy to be here and do what I love and I’m happy people are enjoying the gear,” John said. “I’ve probably had the roughest few years of my life so it’s all kinda bittersweet.” John emphasized it wasn’t some high-tech breeding process, just faith in good flavors. “As far as the breeding of it, you gotta start with what you like and I’m a smoker so Headbanger by Karma was perfect as it was/is one of my favorite smokes,” John said. “The rest? Well, I just stay working, have help from a few good people around me and a whole lotta luck.” Expect to see Sherbanger in every major U.S. cannabis market within the next year. There is no strain carrying the Z flag higher than Blue Zushi these days apart from the Original Z from deep in the heart of Mendocino County where they don’t let lawsuits from candy companies stop the hype. The Blue Zushi wave has been led by one of the better marketing minds in cannabis, Staks of The Ten Co., who doubles as arguably the most prominent Englishman in international cannabis at the moment. Hype is a finicky thing though. Blue Zushi has always done well since it first hit the scene and has always had its haters. When it won its first Zalympix it was still in the packaging. The haters argued people were voting for the hype. When it won its second Zalympix award, it beat out 120 plus other strains that entered the contest that year, roughly four or six times a larger field than the first win and it was blind. Still the haters came out. In the end, as it has on many other occasions, the Blue Zushi conquered all. Be sure to go read Jon Cappetta’s full sit-down with Staks. This story was originally published in the December 2023 issue of High Times Magazine.

https://hightimes.com/

It’s Time for a Rebrand: I’m Not a Stoner; I’m an Herbalist

It’s a rainy gray day in the San Francisco Bay Area in that strange, un-motivational work space-time continuum between Christmas and New Year’s. This is the last WIERDOS of 2023, and as we all look ahead towards 2024, I’m also looking back a decade when this whole commercial weed legalization experiment in America began in Colorado in 2014. Legalized by voters in 2012, when Colorado kicked off the sales of cannabis on Jan. 1, 2014, the talking points for legalized weed transformed into the benefits of cannabis commerce and strayed away from the previous push for legalization, its use as a medicine. As we enter into a decade of legal cannabis sales in America, I believe we should change the narrative again, this time without the negative connotations: I’m not a stoner; I’m an herbalist. People have used plants, including cannabis, for medicinal purposes for thousands of years. Herbalists are people who use plants for healing. My healing journey with cannabis began with unpacking studies related to cannabinoid science, followed by an examination of how weed works with our biochemistry. Learning about the endocannabinoid system (ECS), which regulates balance through an interplay with many other systems in our bodies, helped me understand how special it is to have a plant built to bind to our cell receptors. Cannabis most often helps me regulate my moods, but it’s also been beneficial in healing my gut from the adverse effects of inflammatory bowel syndrome (IBS). Scientific research shows that the ecosystem within our intestines, composed of things like bacteria and viruses, the gut microbiome, plays a massive role in our health, ranging from regulating depression and anxiety to boosting our immune system. While gut health science is a growing field of study, the role of the ECS is often overlooked. “Current thinking suggests that the ECS serves as a sort of bridge between bacteria and the body itself, including the brain, relaying signals back and forth in a symbiotic, mutually beneficial relationship,” Project CBD, a California-based nonprofit dedicated to promoting and publicizing research into the medical uses of CBD and cannabis, reports. “At least that’s how it should be—but chronic imbalance or impairment of the gut microbiome, also called dysbiosis, can harm physical and mental health.” While it’s still unclear exactly how the interplay works, the connection between the gut and brain shows that not only does a healthy microbiome establish gastrointestinal homeostasis or balance, but it’s also “likely to have multiple effects on affect, motivation, and higher cognitive functions.” Combined with a healthy diet and exercise, consuming cannabis helps to regulate my gut microbiome and, thus, my emotions. My relationship with this plant makes me happier and healthier. In 2023, we lost the world’s most prominent cannabis researcher, Raphael Mecholuam. While Mechoulam made significant contributions to our understanding of how cannabis works, he also believed that many more discoveries would be made. As 2024 approaches, my hope is that we talk less about the capital cannabis can generate and more about the conditions it can improve.

https://hightimes.com/

New 3D Printed Device May Remove Need for Animal Drug Testing

A 3D printed chip which mimics human organ systems may allow for drugs to one day be tested without harming animals. Pharmaceuticals are often if not always tested on animals before ever being administered to humans, though many drugs never make it that far in the process. In fact, when I interviewed Willy Myco the notorious YouTube educator on all things shroom-growing, he told me that he left a high-ranking position with a top pharmaceutical company to pursue YouTube content creation because he saw a room full of animals in cages who were slated to be incinerated after the tests were complete. This practice may eventually be a thing of the past thanks to a particular new invention created by in vitro pharmacology p.H.D. student Liam Carr and his fellow researchers at the University of Edinburgh. The 3D-printed device, which loosely resembles a translucent Connect-4 set, is referred to as a “body-on chip” and reportedly is able to replicate the way different medicines move through the human body by utilizing a process known as positron emission tomography or “PET scanning.” This essentially means that small radioactive chemicals are sent into the device which transmit images to small cameras. “This device is the first to be designed specifically for measuring drug distribution, with an even flow paired with organ compartments that are large enough to sample drug uptake for mathematical modeling, Carr said to the Guardian. “Essentially, allowing us to see where a new drug goes in the body and how long it stays there, without having to use a human or animal to test it.” Now while this all may be too fancy of medical language for this humble journalist to fully grasp, Carr said the way the device works almost perfectly matches the rates at which drugs are taken in by different organ systems, allowing for accurate mathematical data to be gathered without the need for humans or animals to actually take the drug. “Using mathematic modeling, we have found that the rate of transfer into the organ compartments and the uptake of nutrients in vitro mimics in vivo organ results,” Carr said in a University of Edinburgh press release. “It’s been really exciting to be able to use PET imaging to modify the device and produce even flow through all organ compartments.” According to PETA, over 110 million animals including “mice, rats, frogs, dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, monkeys, fish, and birds” are killed every year in pharmaceutical testing. Many of these animals are subjected to barbaric forms of what most humans would consider torture as well including having holes drilled in their skulls, being forced to inhale toxic fumes, being immobilized in restraints for several hours at a time to name a few. Carr’s supervisor said in a press release that this new device could drastically reduce that number of animals over time, especially considering that a very low percentage of drugs actually progress past animal trials. “This device shows really strong potential to reduce the large number of animals that are used worldwide for testing drugs and other compounds, particularly in the early stages, where only 2% of compounds progress through the discovery pipeline,” said Carr’s supervisor Dr Adriana Tavares of the University’s Centre for Cardiovascular Science. Carr and his fellow researchers have received funding in the form of £260,000 (which equates to a little over $287,000 USD) from the Medical Research Council to continue testing the device using sterile materials. The device can also reportedly be used to test other substances beyond pharmaceuticals such as aerosols, food and household products. “We’re delighted to be supporting Liam and the CVS team in the development of this ‘body-on-chip’, and we look forward to seeing the impact this novel device has on testing and progression of new compounds and drugs in the future,” said Dr Susan Bodie, Head of Business Development for the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine at Edinburgh Innovations. It was not immediately clear based on the press release when/if the device may be distributed or when, if ever, the number of animals used in experiments may begin to dwindle but as with all things medicine it is safe to assume it will be a little while before use of this device becomes widespread. But for the sake of the animals, consider my fingers crossed.

https://hightimes.com/

Hemp-Based Battery Maker Aims to Hire Laid Off Energizer Employees

A hemp-based battery manufacturing company is coming to a town in Wisconsin with a goal to hire former employees of Energizer. Portage, Wisconsin-based Wisconsin Battery Co. (WinBat) makes batteries out of hemp instead of graphene, for use in devices like hearing aids. Earlier this month, WinBat announced that it has acquired 17 acres of land in the Portage Industrial Park to develop its battery plant. According to a Dec. 21 press release, development will focus on: WinBat CEO Jeff Greene said Portage will serve as an ideal place to build a new renewable energy battery power plant, given the skill set that former Energizer employees already possess. “Obviously having 400 to 500 trained employees that are knowledgeable in the battery makes that area seemed right for a new battery company,” Greene told WMTV. “Most of the folks we’ve talked to, cautious optimism is kind of where we’ve gotten them to. They had fear and I think we’ve turned that fear into cautious optimism.” The Wisconsin Battery Co. is a research, development and manufacturing company owned by the Sustainable Communities Corp., which is dedicated to advancing energy storage solutions that contribute to a more sustainable and clean future. Greene said he got the idea when he was lobbying for a Florida-based hemp company that asked him to find the top five ways in which hemp fiber could be best used. “The people (in Portage) have been fantastic,” he said. “We have asked and received tremendous support from the people helping us. I am very blessed that the response has been so exciting.” The company gained local support. The City of Portage supports the goal to move forward with the plan. At a Dec. 7 Common Council meeting, city officials gave Greene 90 days to come up with a building plan. Portage Mayor Mitchel Craig is cautiously optimistic, after Energizer decided to leave Wisc “This is going to be huge for the city of Portage,” Craig said of the new plant that’s planned to open in the city. “The Energizer plant employed 225 people, and it is projected that within six years they will have 600 people working at this new facility.” Wisconsin Battery Co. will focus development on the production of hemp carbon batteries as a sustainable alternative to lithium-ion batteries as well as the production of industrial batteries, which make energy storage solutions for solar and wind power systems more efficient and reliable. The company plans to grow and hire 600 employees within the first six years of operation. Their goal is to start where Energizer left off, creating batteries to be used in hearing aids. The long-term goal is to produce two innovative batteries that will offer improved energy density, longer lifespans, and reduced carbon footprint. More information will become available in the upcoming months. Greene and Mayor Craig will hold a press conference at 2 p.m. on Jan. 9, 2024, in Portage, where they plan to share more information about the project. The company is focusing operations in Portage now, but will consider building another plant in Fennimore, where Energizer is also closing down another manufacturing plant. “Nothing outlasts the Energizer,” but hemp may do exactly that: Hemp advocates say that hemp batteries last eight times longer than lithium batteries, outperforming graphene for a fraction of the cost. Battery makers process hemp’s woody pulp, formint it into carbon nanosheets, which they used to build supercapacitors that behave better than graphene, the industry gold standard Much of the energy used to extract and process battery components like lithium comes from CO2-emitting fossil fuels. The “Hemperor” has been telling us about these benefits all along, which also apply to the manufacturing of batteries. “Government and oil and coal companies, etc., will insist that burning biomass fuel is no better than using up our fossil fuel reserves, as far as pollution goes; but this is patently untrue,” Jack Herer wrote in The Emperor Wears No Clothes, citing several sources. “Why? Because, unlike fossil fuel, biomass comes from living (not extinct) plants that continue to remove carbon dioxide pollution from our atmosphere as they grow, through photosynthesis. Furthermore, biomass fuels do not contain sulfur. This can be accomplished if hemp is grown for biomass and then converted through pyrolysis (charcoalizing) or biochemical composting into fuels to replace fossil fuel energy products.” Replacing graphene for use in batteries is just another way hemp can be used for more sustainable energy.

https://hightimes.com/

NY Gov. Vetoes Bill Letting Growers Sell Surplus Cannabis to Tribal Retailers

As the New York cannabis market continues to steadily find its footing among a number of delays, the state’s governor has vetoed a measure that would have provided solutions for growers with a surplus of product without means to sell it. The legislation, sponsored by Sen. Michelle Hinchey (D) and Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo (D), would have allowed licensed growers to sell their products to tribal retailers. The sponsors, who respectively chair the state Senate and Assembly agriculture committees, shared that the veto by Gov. Kathy Hochul wasn’t a shocking move, despite the fact that the legislation was first approved back in June. “We offered a way for some of the oversupply of cannabis grown by NY’s farmers to be sold to NY’s Tribal Nations,” Hinchey and Lupardo said in a statement. “Given the fact that this temporary measure would have expired on December 31st anyway, the veto is hardly a surprise.” In September, lawmakers appealed to Hochul to emphasize the hundreds of farmers struggling to sell their crops because of the limited number of open dispensaries in the state. Sixty-six members of the legislature, about a third of New York’s state lawmakers, had sent a letter urging Hochul to sign the measure. “Right now, there are over 200 cannabis farmers trying to sell their crops but only 23 dispensaries open statewide,” the bipartisan Senate and Assembly members wrote in September. “This has resulted in more than 250,000 pounds of unsold cannabis. Farmers who took out loans and leveraged all their assets to cultivate these crops are demoralized and facing financial disaster unless we act quickly to provide them with an alternate market.” The legislation was formally transmitted to Gov. Hochul earlier in December, and she vetoed them on Friday, Marijuana Moment reports. In their statement reacting to the veto, the sponsors also emphasized the pressing nature of this issue, saying that New York’s farmers “remain financially ruined by circumstances beyond their control,” adding that they will remain committed to helping these farmers and processors “that NY’s legal cannabis industry depends on in any way possible.” It’s just one of many setbacks surrounding New York’s long standing effort to get the state’s recreational cannabis market up and moving. The Empire State first legalized adult-use cannabis in March 2021, but in the months since, the market’s full launch has been delayed by a slew of regulatory delays, legal issues and a hefty illicit market looking to fill the gap. “Regulatory delays, lawsuits, and logistical and financing challenges have caused the state to miss its timelines and targets,” the September letter said. “However, cultivators are the group paying the steepest price.” The market officially opened last December, and by the end of this year, New York is expected to have at least 37 adult-use dispensaries open for business. While 2023 showed more progress than the years preceding it, lawmakers emphasized that growers are still suffering due to a surplus of products with nowhere to legally sell them. “New York’s cannabis farmers, who went out on a limb to help get the state’s legal market off the ground, should not be facing financial ruin because of regulatory delays,” the lawmakers said. “We should be giving them every possible opportunity to stay afloat while they await the development of the market they were promised.” Largely, this year saw a number of lawsuits reach settlement, paving the way for more shops to open and for the trend to continue through 2024. Still, lawmakers in favor of the legislation argued that the continued delays are hurting the state’s farmers, who continue to wait for solutions as the market slowly inches forward. “Crops were grown last year with the understanding that there would be a legal market for them to sell it… We are urging the governor to quickly sign this short-term solution, one that will help provide some measure of relief to what is quickly becoming an agricultural emergency,” the letter states. A sponsor memo attached to the bill references that growers were informed they would not be permitted to sell cannabis outside of state lines, though it also points out that they were expecting that New York’s “robust state market would exist during the conditional license time frame.” Crops are now losing their potency, color and terpene profile in storage, ultimately reducing their value if and when producers can finally sell it, the memo notes. A New York grower’s showcase provided some relief for farmers with surplus products throughout 2023, leading to a total of 48 events with most open one or more days weekly. The current permit ends on Dec. 31, 2023, and while a possible extension was in play until recently, the future status of these markets remains undetermined. While New York’s market continues to lag, tribal governments have stayed ahead of the curb, as the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe accepted the first adult-use license applications just months after the state first legalized recreational cannabis in 2021.

https://hightimes.com/

Death of ‘Parasite’ Actor Linked to South Korean Anti-Drug Crackdown

South Korean actor Lee Sun-kyun, known for playing the wealthy father in Bong Joon-ho’s 2019 film Parasite, was found dead in his car on Wednesday morning. Inside the car, parked near Waryong Park in central Seoul, investigators found a charcoal briquette. The briquette, a compressed block of coal that can cause carbon monoxide poisoning, suggests he died by suicide. He was 48 years old. Lee passed away at the pinnacle of his career. In addition to starring in the Oscar-winning thriller, which earned him a Screen Actors Guild Award alongside his fellow cast members, he also played a leading role in the internationally acclaimed sci-fi film Dr. Brain. His last two films, Sleep and Project Silence – horror and disaster films, respectively – both made it into the 76th Cannes Film Festival. News outlets speculate Lee’s suicide may be related to his criminal charges. In October, the actor was arrested by the Incheon Metropolitan Police for allegedly using marijuana and other illegal drugs at the home of a hostess in Seoul’s Gangnam district earlier in the year. Lee’s most recent police interrogation, which took place last Saturday, went on for a shocking total of 19 hours. According to an article from Korea Times, Lee said that he was “tricked by the hostess into taking the drugs and that he did not know what he was taking.” He had tested negative for a reagent test and a lab-based drug test from Korea’s National Forensic Service, and submitted a polygraph lie detector test at the insistence of his lawyer. The Korea Times article also states that, before his death, Lee filed a complaint against the hostess and one other, seemingly unknown person, “accusing them of blackmail and swindling him out of money.” When the actor was first taken in for questioning on October 28, he said he was “sorry for my family, who are enduring extreme pain at this moment.” In an apparent suicide note addressed to his wife Jeon Hye Jin, which was published by the Korean channel TV Chosun the following day, Lee wrote he “cannot do anything else, there is no other way but this.” Relaying a message to his agents, he added that “the financial penalties for breaching advertising and movie contracts are overwhelming. I am sorry.” Although the motivations for Lee’s suicide remain the subject of debate, journalists link the event to the Korean government’s ongoing crackdown on recreational drug use. This crackdown began in April, when conservative president Yoon Suk Yeol announced a “war on drugs” and created an 840 person-strong department to help him wage it. New laws subjecting producers, distributors, and users to prison sentences of up to 10 years in prison have since led to the arrest of over 17,000 people – a number that not only includes other South Korean celebrities like actor Yoo Ah-in and K-pop singer Kwon Ji-yong, but also a group of American army officers accused of shipping in synthesized marijuana through the US postal service. The scale and scope of the crackdown is questionable. Included in the government’s list of illegal drugs are not just cocaine, opiates, and methamphetamines, but also soft drugs like marijuana. If South Korea once appeared willing to adopt more liberal drug policies, President Yoon is stirring the country in the direction of zero-tolerance regimes like Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.

https://hightimes.com/

Missouri Regulators Introduce New Bill To Regulate Delta-8 THC Products

Missouri Sen. Nick Schroer recently introduced Senate Bill 984, also called the “Intoxicating Cannabinoid Control Act,” which if passed would make all “intoxicating cannabinoid products” labeled as cannabis. The bill’s function is to regulate hemp products made with Delta-8 THC, which is currently regulated as hemp and not cannabis. Current problems with this include lack of regulation for how old an individual must be to purchase Delta-8 hemp products, and lack of requirements for accurate testing to be presented on product packaging. According to the Missouri Independent, Schroer’s concern is that Delta-8 THC products are too easy for minors to get a hold of. “I’ve had constituents reaching out to me saying that their kids had been hospitalized,” Schroer said. If SB-984 became law, it would require the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) to establish regulations that are similar to that of current cannabis law. Rep. Chad Perkins also filed a companion bill, House Bill 1781, in the house. The Missouri Independent reached out to DHSS regarding a comment on the bills. DHSS spokesperson Lisa Cox said that they have no comments to provide for currently proposed bills, but that “we do acknowledge the potential and ongoing public health impact of unregulated THC products,” Cox said. Cox explained that DHSS wants to see regulations that protect the public, especially children. “The department has increased its emphasis on regulatory mechanisms that protect health and children in order to minimize any contribution of the regulated cannabis market to such incidents,” Cox continued. “As of right now, there is no such protective framework for unregulated THC products.” Missouri Hemp Trade Association (MHTA) President Sean Hackman told the Missouri Independent that that’s exactly what his organization seeks to do. “While any overdose report, especially those involving minors, is deeply concerning, this does not constitute a public health emergency but rather an opportunity for improved regulation,” Hackman said in a statement. However, he added that MHTA does not support Delta-8 product regulation through the DHSS or requiring such products to only be sold in licensed dispensaries. This isn’t the first attempt that legislators have made to tackle the topic of Delta-8 product regulation. Rep. Kurtis Gregory filed House Bill 1328 in February 2023, in an attempt to re-label Delta-8 products as cannabis instead of hemp. “The reason I’m doing this right now is there’s currently no age limits on it,” said Gregory. “I feel like this is operating under a loophole right now.” The bill unfortunately did not proceed past a public hearing in April 2023 due to strong opposition. Some legislators claimed that regulating Delta-8 products would further create a monopoly, mainly due to inconsistencies in how the DHSS was approving cannabis licenses. Many applicants seeking a license were denied but are still legally allowed to sell Delta-8 THC products. Currently, a lawsuit has been filed by a Missouri cannabis manufacturer called Delta Extraction. In August, the Missouri Division of Cannabis Regulation (DCR) was given an anonymous tip that Delta Extraction was allegedly conducting illegal activities. Soon after, the DCR issued an Order of Immediate Suspension that told the company to immediately halt operation, and told all stores to pull 60,000 items from shelves, which included anything made by Delta Extraction. The company’s license was revoked by November 2023. Delta Extraction attorney representative, Chuck Hatfield, alleges that the DCR doesn’t have the authority to regulate hemp products. “The Division of Cannabis Regulation’s authority to regulate is limited to non-hemp marijuana and does not depend on whether it is used to make THC,” said Hatfield, according to the Missouri Independent. The case is awaiting discussion through an Administrative Hearing Commission, which will determine if regulators have the right to prevent licensed companies like Delta Extraction from infusing hemp-derived THC products into cannabis products produced in the state. While the case is ongoing, Schroer said that they will continue to monitor the progress. “We’re still going to use this judicial guidance to craft a type of law compliant with that case law, that is going to protect the youth of our state and any type of consumer of these types of products,” Schroer said. Missouri medical cannabis sales have been running since October 2020, but recreational cannabis was much more recently implemented by way of voters at the November 2022 ballot. Possession regulations were loosened as of December 2022, and the first sales began in February 2023. During the first month, adult-use sales reached $100 million, and by May the state had already surpassed $1 billion in legal cannabis sales. The passage of Missouri’s recreational cannabis law also states that nonviolent cannabis cases should be expunged from criminal records. The law stated that misdemeanor expungements must be completed by June 8, and felony expungements by Dec. 8. Although these deadlines were missed, the state has expunged almost 100,000 records. One author of Amendment 3, Dan Viets, told KMBC News that skipping the deadline wasn’t a concern as long as progress was being made. “We have always said that as long as the courts, the circuit clerks in particular, are making a good faith effort to comply with the law, to get those cases expunged, that we’ll be satisfied,” Viets said. “They have not technically met the deadline. But on the other hand, we’re dealing with a century of marijuana prohibition in Missouri. So, there are hundreds of thousands of cases.”

FAQ: How to use this hemp news hub

What topics does Chow420’s hemp news cover?

We aggregate and surface reputable coverage on hemp laws and enforcement, THC thresholds and policy proposals, cannabinoid products (CBD/Delta-8/hemp-derived THC), compliance, lab testing, recalls, and broader industry news.

Is this legal advice?

No. This page is for news and education. Hemp rules can change quickly and vary by state—always verify against the latest official guidance and consult qualified counsel for compliance decisions.

How do I evaluate hemp product safety claims?

Look for current third‑party COAs (Certificates of Analysis), clear ingredient labeling, and transparent sourcing. Be cautious with vague potency claims or missing lab reports.

Why do some articles mention Delta‑8 or “hemp-derived THC”?

These products often sit at the center of policy and enforcement changes. We track major updates so shoppers and brands can understand evolving requirements and market impacts.

How often is the news updated?

The crawler is scheduled to run daily. New items appear as sources publish updates.

CBD Forum by Chow420

Hemp News, Laws & Product Updates

New Washington Law Protects Job Applicants Who Use Weed

DEA Notice Shows Increase in Research Amounts for THC, Psilocybin, DMT, and More

Sam Jay: Comedian or Therapist?

Johns Hopkins University To Spend $10 Million Studying Medical Cannabis

Remembering Tusko the Elephant, Given Largest-Ever Dose of LSD

Can Psilocybin Treat Eating Disorders? A New Study Aims To Find Out

Tennessee Hemp Businesses Say New Rules Threaten Industry

Product Review: THC High Energy Gummies by Simply Crafted

Nevada Doubles Weed Possession Limit

Study: 3D Video Games Help Improve Major Depressive Disorder Symptoms

Top Brands of 2023

Best Strains of the Year

It’s Time for a Rebrand: I’m Not a Stoner; I’m an Herbalist

New 3D Printed Device May Remove Need for Animal Drug Testing

Hemp-Based Battery Maker Aims to Hire Laid Off Energizer Employees

NY Gov. Vetoes Bill Letting Growers Sell Surplus Cannabis to Tribal Retailers

Death of ‘Parasite’ Actor Linked to South Korean Anti-Drug Crackdown

Missouri Regulators Introduce New Bill To Regulate Delta-8 THC Products

FAQ: How to use this hemp news hub

Forgot your password?