Friday, 30 September 2016

Psychedelicatessen: Easy Pot Pudding

Enjoy a dankly decadent delight with this easy no-cook cannabis chocolate pudding from the new book The Medical Marijuana Dispensary: Understanding, Medicating and Cooking with Cannabis by veteran Oregon cannabis chef Laurie Wolf of Laurie & Mary Jane, who writes:

“With a velvety texture and a deep, rich taste, this recipe is almost too easy to be true! Keep in mind that this no-cook method calls for eggs. Although the hot coffee will slightly cook the eggs, you may not want to consume undercooked eggs if you have a weakened immune system. This recipe is gluten-free, soy-free, nut-free and vegetarian.”

You’ll love this easy recipe from chef Laurie Wolf.

Dark Chocolate Blender Pudding

Makes 4 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes, plus 3 hours chill time

Required Equipment: Blender

Ingredients:

12 ounces dark chocolate chips
4 eggs, at room temperature
4 teaspoons cannabutter, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
Pinch salt
1 cup very hot coffee
2 ounces chopped dark chocolate (optional)

In a blender, combine the chocolate chips, eggs, cannabutter, vanilla, almond extract (if using) and salt. Pulse a few times to break the chocolate chips into pieces.

Remove the lid of the blender, and pour in the hot coffee, continuing to blend at a low speed.

Replace the lid and blend for 2 minutes, until the pudding is silky smooth.

Pour the mixture into individual pudding bowls. Allow to set for at least 3 hours in the refrigerator.

Before serving, top with chopped dark chocolate, if using.

Cover the remaining servings with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Dosage Test

Start with half of a serving and wait 4 hours to fully assess your reaction to its strength and effects.

Perfect for those designing a cannabis therapy program, this book teaches novice users all about the plant.

The Medical Marijuana Dispensary: Understanding, Medicating and Cooking with Cannabis

From veteran edibles chef Laurie Wolf and her mother Mary Wolf comes this valuable guide to all aspects of using cannabis as a medicine.

Forty-five recipes are accompanied by strain profiles, patient testimonials and tips for cultivating cannabis at home. This is a wonderful reference for those who need a crash course in cannabis, intended to help patients design their own medical marijuana treatment programs.

from
http://hightimes.com/edibles/psychedelicatessen-easy-pot-pudding/

Congress Screws Over Vets—Again

Some unknown Congressional anti-pot crusaders have managed once again to make it difficult for the country’s vets even to talk about medical marijuana with their doctors.

There was hope this year that Congress would effectively remove a ban that prevents Veteran Administration docs from talking to their patients—no matter what their ailments— about medical marijuana. But some backroom maneuvering removed reform from a bill Congress eventually passed.

On Wednesday, the US House of Representatives and the Senate approved a spending package intended to keep the federal government operational until the beginning of December. However, this move did not include the highly sought-after Veterans Equal Access Amendment. The budget was signed on Thursday by President Obama.

But there is some confusion as to why the Equal Access Amendment wasn’t there. After all, it was approved in the House earlier this year in a vote of 233 to 189, and a Senate committee picked it up with a vote of 20 to 10. Both houses are controlled by Republicans. By all accounts the amendment should have gone the distance, but a conference committee ultimately prevented the measure from seeing the light of day.

“It’s incredibly frustrating and disappointing that despite broad bipartisan, bicameral support, a handful of out-of-touch lawmakers put politics over the well-being of America’s wounded warriors. Our veterans deserve better,” Oregon Rep. Earl Blumenauer said in a statement. “We will continue to seek every opportunity to make sure they have fair and equal treatment and the ability to consult with, and seek a recommendation from, their personal VA physician about medical marijuana.”

As it stands, medical marijuana is legal in over half the nation, with several more states promising to legalize in the November election. Still, the federal government refuses to allow veterans living in medical marijuana states to participate in those programs, which has prompted many of these men and women to lean on dangerous prescription drugs and alcohol as a means to contend with debilitating conditions ranging from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to chronic pain.

Some of the latest research shows that the use of opioids is down in states that have legalized the leaf for medicinal purposes, suggesting that Congress could save the lives of thousands of veterans by simply supporting a reasonable proposal that allows some access.

The American Legion, the largest veterans service organization in the nation, recently published a resolution calling for the United States government to remove the cannabis plant from the confines of the Controlled Substances Act so researchers could finally begin to study the herb’s true therapeutic benefit. The organization wants to find out if science agrees with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration that cannabis has “no medicinal benefit.”

Unfortunately, the latest dismissal of the Veterans Equal Access Amendment likely means the proposal will not be considered in the federal government’s Fiscal Year 2017 spending bill—leaving veterans prone to overdose deaths from prescription painkillers for at least another year.

For all of HIGH TIMES’ marijuana news, click here.

from
http://hightimes.com/news/congress-screws-over-vets-again/

The History of Hydroponics

THC Warnings Appear on Colorado Cannabis Edibles

You’ll notice something different about cannabis edibles in Colorado starting October 1st, namely a prominent THC warning printed on all the goodies, due to the implementation of House Bill 1366, which was approved by State Attorney General Cynthia Coffman back in August 2014.

These “emergency rules,” intended to address the issue of people accidentally ingesting pot food, have been slow to roll out due to numerous complications including designing a universal THC warning symbol and deciding how to apply it to a diverse selection of cannabis-infused foodstuffs.

Last November, the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division revealed the universal symbol: a diamond shape containing the letters THC along with an exclamation point.

Cannabis Queen seared the THC warning onto their cannabis-infused beef jerky.

Applied to cannabis-infused foods by using expensive custom molds, stencils, airbrushing or frosting, the universal symbol is impracticable to imprint on bulk products like granola or liquid drinks, so those items are now limited to individually-packaged, single serving sizes of only 10 milligrams.

The new rules effectively ban recreational sales of any drinks containing over 10 mg. of THC, while medical patients can still access products with higher doses.

All edibles manufacturers must comply with this new rule by October 1st, while recreational stores and dispensaries can sell inventory without the universal symbol until December 1st. (Look for big sales on Black Friday!)

Other new rules include mandated servings sizes of ONLY 10 mg of THC each that must be scored, marked or cut; a ban on using the word “candy” on packaging or labeling; and a limit on how many edibles can be purchased at one time, so you can only walk out of a legal pot store with 80 10-mg servings of pot food, intended to be equivalent to one ounce of flower.

Colorado edibles producers have been preparing for the new rules for over a year, with many manufacturers researching innovative ways to mark their products with the THC warning. Designing new molds for cannabis-infused chocolates was a straightforward solution, but retooling production processes was costly and time-consuming.

Each segment of Blue Kudu cannabis chocolate clearly states a THC dose of 10 milligrams.

Denver-based cannabis chocolate company Blue Kudu took the opportunity to envision a complete re-design of their product line, requiring 2,000 new chocolate molds that cost upwards of $30,000. Still, the company embraced the change, confirming their commitment to public safety by going above and beyond the new requirements to also include a 10 mg dosage stamp on each chocolate segment.

“We needed to increase our chocolate bar size by 33 percent to legibly fit the THC warnings,” company spokesperson Gina Cannon explains, “This, in turn, required changing our packaging as the new bar would not fit, which then necessitated an entirely new packaging solution. Using the most advanced child-resistant packaging available from Ecobliss, we created a new box-shaped packaging that fit the bar and met the state regulations.”

: These “True Confection” peanut butter chocolate pretzel sweets get a THC warning printed on the back. (Photo courtesy of Sweet Mary Jane)

Baked goods aren’t as easy to stamp or mark compared to chocolate, so Karin Lazarus at Sweet Mary Jane had to get more creative, printing the symbol on tiny candies which were then added to her signature truffles.

“These alone are fairly expensive, however, the major cost is putting them onto the products. Along with the new packaging rules, this has added quite a bit to our costs,” Lazarus writes. “We tried about 10 different methods of getting the symbol onto our edibles and for the most part they looked so unappealing that we chose not to use them. I don’t see another way to get the symbol on the truffles or chocolates and still have them look beautiful.”

Sweet Mary Jane is still experimenting with how to apply the universal symbol to their coveted brownies and cookies while still making them fresh and visually stunning.

: Using printed candies to apply the universal symbol to her truffles was a creative solution from Colorado baker Karin Lazarus at Sweet Mary Jane.

The onerous restrictions have inspired new business models as entrepreneurs attempt to help the cannabis-infused foods industry comply. Cannamark USA, a new company out of Connecticut, devised a direct-on-edible printing process that uses all natural, FDA-approved inks.

“The entire industry is responsible to help ensure that cannabis infused food products are not accidentally or over-ingested,” states Joy Macko, the Chief Operations Officer. “CannaMark USA and its partner Code Tech provide the infused edibles market with a safer product, allowing other states considering legalization a proven way to differentiate ‘like-looking’ products.”

: CannaMark USA developed a technique to print directly onto foodstuffs.

As stated previously, these new regulations will do little or nothing to decrease accidental ingestions by toddlers, the age group most susceptible to these mishaps, because little kids don’t read or care about symbols printed on food. They’ll eat batteries, makeup or detergent pods, let alone pot brownies. Parental education campaigns and increased public awareness are the only real tools available to battle the pesky problem of kids visiting the ER due to eating cannabis-infused edibles.

Also, the new rules only effect license-holding manufacturers, not people making edibles at home, where no metered dosing, child-resistant packaging or printed THC warnings are mandated. Higher prices for professional edibles will continue to drive customers to purchase black market products which are difficult to dose correctly without the benefit of lab testing.

See also: Are Weed Gummy Bears Worth Fighting For?

from
http://hightimes.com/edibles/thc-warnings-appear-on-colorado-cannabis-edibles/

Cannabis R&D in Italy Is Building Momentum

Industry Cannabis industry information for businesses including tips, news, and advice for dispensaries.

Industry

Cannabis R&D in Italy Is Building Momentum

Enrico Fletzer

ROVIGO, Italy — For centuries Italy was one of Europe’s main hemp producers, but development stalled in the second half of the 20th century after cannabis was declared flora non grata in the country. Now, with the plant returning to the mainstream, Italians are stepping up research and development of new strains, in large part to serve the country’s fledgling medical cannabis program.

How Bologna Became the Hemp Capital of Europe

Much of the research takes place at CREA Cin, the national center for research on agricultural innovation. With its headquarters in Bologna and local branches in the municipalities of Rovigo and Osimo, the center specializes in breeding and studying various types of plants, then releasing new varieties and breeding lines.

The branch in Rovigo focuses heavily on cannabis, cultivating plants to be grown both indoors and out. Its mission is to grow a wide variety of strains, develop rapid screening tests for cannabinoids, and breed specific cannabis phenotypes for medical use. The Rovigo branch is collaborating with the Pharmaceutical Military Institute of Florence, which has begun production of medical cannabis.

During a tour of the Rovigo research center, Dr. Gianpaolo Grassi explained the center’s history and mission.

“Since 1995 our center has been supported by the Ministry of Agriculture to renew the Italian varieties to follow the EU regulation that imposes the THC limit of 0.2 percent,” he told Leafly. The first cannabis plants were so-called dioecious varieties, used for fiber production. “In the following years we have bred the first Italian monoecious varieties, suitable to produce seed and fiber,” Grassi said. “The market needs hemp food more than hemp fiber.”

The aim is to expand the catalogue of seed varieties, he explained. “In the last 12 years, we have crossed cannabis varieties to obtain cannabis lines with single cannabinoids in its chemo-type. We have THC, CBD, CBG, CBDV, THCV varieties.” Some strains contain more than 20 percent THC, others exceed 15 percent CBD, and yet others have more than 5 percent of CBG, CBDV, and THCV.

Cannabinoids 101: What Makes Cannabis Medicine?

The Rovigo branch has already doubled the number of chromosomes in the plant, and they are looking to develop sterile triploid varieties, Grassi added.

On Oct. 29, Rovigo will host an upcoming conference on cannabis, dedicated to both medical and industrial applications of the plant. It will feature Italian and foreign experts such Stefan Meyer of Phytoplant Spain and Col. Antonio Medica of the Pharmaceutical Military Institute of Florence. Experts on phytochemistry and breeding, as well as use of cannabis in clinical trials, are slated to participate at the conference. The event will also host lectures on matters relating to industrial hemp, such as new machinery suitable to harvest the top of the plant and methods to extract cannabinoids on an industrial scale.

But the use of cannabis for medical purposes in Italy is the most pressing element of the conference. According to Grassic, participants at the conference, some of whom are closely involved with Italian research efforts, will discuss bills being considered by the country’s Parliament that would legalize cannabis and increase industrial hemp production at the national level.

Italian Law Enforcement Join Push for Cannabis Legalization

Legal issues had long stymied interest in hemp and deprived farmers of what initially were high EU subsidies on hemp and flax production—subsidies that have since been largely abolished. At the end of the 1990s, Italian authorities finally decided to change course, ushering in a wave of new research.

But progress has been sporadic, frustrated by heavy regulation. Even the planting of industrial hemp is regulated by individual decrees. And Italian lawmakers haven’t succeeded in integrating relevant EU rules into national legislation. Despite the slow start, however, projects like the one at CREA Cin in Rovigo demonstrate that Italy is becoming an increasingly important player in cannabis R&D—a growing area of interest globally as more countries eye legalization.

cannabinoids Europe Hemp Industry Italy Medical research strains

Enrico Fletzer

Enrico is Leafly’s Italy correspondent.

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Politics Is Europe Finally Ready to Embrace Hemp Again?

The post Cannabis R&D in Italy Is Building Momentum appeared first on Leafly.

from
https://www.leafly.com/news/industry/cannabis-rd-italy-building-momentum/

Thursday, 29 September 2016

Candidates & Cannabis: Would Embracing Legalization Help Hillary?

Politics The latest in cannabis legalization including laws and policies, legislators’ views, election coverage, and more.

Politics

Candidates & Cannabis: Would Embracing Legalization Help Hillary?

Lisa Rough

After the first presidential debate, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are both desperately seeking ways to connect with voters. One idea that’s been floated: Why not embrace cannabis legalization? The thinking here is simple. Millennials love cannabis. Support their love, gain their vote.

A few weeks ago the Harmonious Code Council, A Washington, D.C.-based advocacy group, sent a letter to Trump’s campaign making the argument that a move to support the removal of medical cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act would be “a win-win situation for conservative states-rights supporters, and liberals who want medical marijuana.”

Earlier today, New York magazine offered similar advice to the Clinton campaign. The headline: “Marijuana Can Fix Hillary’s Biggest Problem.”

Is Hillary Clinton Evolving on Cannabis? Maybe. Slowly. A Little.

With the two campaigns neck-and-neck in the running, could the promise of support for cannabis be the solution for either camp?

Endorsing cannabis legalization might not be a slam-dunk for either candidate, but it could sway millennial voters in their favor. Because when it comes to cannabis, no demographic group supports the issue like millennials.

Could the promise of support for cannabis be the solution for either camp?

A Pew poll released in February 2015 found that 77 percent of Democratic millennials support cannabis legalization. Even Republican millennials embrace legalization, with 63 percent of Republicans born between 1981 and 1996 in support.

In fact, one study suggests that 23 percent of young Americans (aged 18-29) would be more likely to participate in an election if cannabis legalization were an issue on the ballot, as it is in nine states this November.

Four years ago, the conventional wisdom was that cannabis ballot measures had to wait for the presidential election cycle, because the presidential vote always brings out younger voters. But more recent surveys are finding the dynamic reversed: Cannabis measures themselves are increasingly the main draw for younger voters.

Is there a risk? Possibly.

Both Trump and Clinton need to appeal to older, educated women. Some would say Clinton has that vote in the bag, but would a step towards legalization alienate that demographic? And would a step away from cannabis earn Trump more educated, female supporters?

Men are more likely to support cannabis legalization than women, but that divide is quickly narrowing. A Gallup poll from 2010 found that 51 percent of men supported legalization, but only 41 percent of women felt the same. A similar poll from April of this year found that 59 percent of men support making cannabis legal, trailed by 54 percent of women.

In the battleground state of Florida, the gender divide is more pronounced. In Florida, 57 percent of men and 49 percent of women support legalizing cannabis for personal adult use.

There’s a similar male-female discrepancy in Ohio. In Ohio, 59 percent of men and 47 percent of women support legalizing cannabis. In Pennsylvania, though, the gender gap nearly disappears: 52 percent of men and 53 percent of women support legalization.

Winning some of those swing states is a critical part of each candidate’s road to victory. Right now, Ohio is leaning Trump with 42.7 percent, but Florida and Pennsylvania both lean Clinton, with 43.8 percent and 43.6 percent, respectively.

Swing State Voters Support Cannabis Legalization More Than Any 2016 Presidential Candidates

Moving Away From Cannabis

As it stands right now, both candidates seem to be actually moving in the opposite direction of legalization.

Trump continues to trot out New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as one of his main champions. Christie, a famously passionate prohibitionist, worked the room as a spin doctor for Trump immediately following Monday night’s debate. There is widespread speculation that Christie could be a prime candidate for attorney general in a Trump administration, which would put him in charge of the nation’s cannabis enforcement policy.

Chris Christie Wants to Shut Down the Cannabis Industry

As for Clinton, lately her allies have had more to say about cannabis than the candidate herself.

Earlier this week Chelsea Clinton came under fire for her remarks during a town hall meeting at Youngstown State University in Ohio. When asked to clarify her mother’s position on medical cannabis, Chelsea offered this:

“Anecdotally, we have lots of evidence in the area you talked about, in epilepsy, but also in autism, in stimulating appetite for people who are on an intensive chemotherapy regimen, for people who have non-epilepsy seizure disorders and challenges.

“But,” she continued, “We also have anecdotal evidence now from Colorado where some of the people who were taking marijuana for those [medical] purposes, the coroner believed after they died, that there was drug interactions with other things they were taking.”

Nobody inside or outside Colorado has any idea what she’s talking about.

It’s unclear which coroner evidence Chelsea Clinton was referring to, and two days after the Youngstown speech, a spokeswoman for the younger Clinton backtracked on her behalf, saying that Chelsea Clinton misspoke.

Would a Cannabis Embrace Just Backfire?

Both candidates have struggled to gain traction with millennial voters. Many millennials are disenchanted with the current political atmosphere, which partially explained the popularity of Bernie Sanders.

A significant portion of the millennial vote may be lost to third-party candidates Jill Stein and Gary Johnson. Both strongly support cannabis legalization. Stein is polling just above 2 percent, while Gary Johnson currently holds around 7 percent of the votes.

In the grand scheme of things, cannabis legalization isn’t the most important issue on any voting bloc’s mind this election. Not even among young, hip millennials. When asked to rank their concerns, millennial voters were much more concerned with issues related to the economy, jobs, and the minimum wage. Millennial voters are also concerned with college affordability, which would explain some of the popularity of Bernie Sanders and his plan to offer free college tuition. Global warming is another issue that ranks highly in millennial concerns, although neither candidate has made much of an attempt to address these concerns.

Majority of American Voters Supports Cannabis Legalization, Survey Says

A play for cannabis legalization could be construed as a last-ditch effort to gain more support among the young, disenfranchised Bernie-or-Bust crowd, the millennial voters who plan to use their vote as a form of protest against mainstream candidates they feel don’t adequately represent their concerns.

Still, in a race as close as this one, those millennial voter numbers could make a difference in the final days of the election. If either candidate chose to take a bold stance on cannabis, it could push one candidate over the edge on Nov. 8.

adult-use donald trump Election 2016 hillary clinton legalization politics research usa