#cannabis-therapy

#cannabis-therapy

Cocaine use in the US has left a trail of destruction, largely due to the illegal nature of the trade and the US government's war on drugs.

In 2021, New York state finally voted to legalize recreational marijuana. Under the law, the first 150 licenses granted by the state would be issued to 'justice-involved' people who had previously been convicted for marijuana offenses.

"I know there will be some regulars who will be like, 'what the fuck, you can't smoke out there anymore?' But I don't think it'll make the craziest difference."

"You don't have to be dreadlocked to be Rasta. We live in Rasta Cruz and my other world is stewarding ganja. Ganja is how I've supported myself. I'm a friend of cannabis personally and as a band."

"The PTSD, the depression, the hyper vigilance no longer affected me to the same degree... I thought psychedelics could help prevent more deaths."

In 2019, the Original Cannabis Cafe, formerly Lowell Cafe, burst onto the scene. It was the nation's first legally permitted cannabis restaurant, with long lines snaking out of the venue and down La Brea Avenue.

Proposition 36, a state ballot measure, enacted harsher penalties for minor theft and drug offenses, with proponents pledging the crackdown would lead to mass treatment to keep people alive, out of jail, and off our streets. Case records, however, suggest the state is largely failing to meet the central goal of getting people help and instead conducting mass arrests and incarcerating more people with addiction.

Jason Ambrosino, the CEO and Founder of Veterans Choice Creations, shared his experience of being prescribed numerous medications for severe pain, stating, 'They had me on a lot of different medications, a lot of gabapentin and the typical combination that the military sees. It turned me into a zombie, I couldn't handle it.' His struggle with medication led him to seek alternatives.

I used to have about 20 pot plants growing on one side, just to experiment. But we're too close to the ocean and they got mold, so we harvested them. Every chance I get. I've been a sun-tanner all my life. The sun is why we moved from Canada to California.

Food and stoner culture have always gone together, but these days chefs and cannabis professionals are working together to find thoughtful, new ways to incorporate weed into meals. For National Hot Pastrami Day on 14 January, a celebrated Jewish deli in Chicago teamed up with a local Illinois dispensary to give customers free pastrami sandwiches garnished with cannabis-infused mustard. The High on Rye event was held in the parking lot of Ivy Hall dispensary's Logan Square location.

In early February, Canadian researchers reported that rates of severe mental illness among young people have risen alongside increased access to high-potency cannabis (Callaghan, et al., 2022). Around the same time, a new book, A Killing in Cannabis (Kohn, 2024), revisited a 2019 California murder and highlighted how violence tied to the marijuana trade has persisted even after legalization. On February 9, 2024, an opinion piece from the New York Times editorial board

"We hold that at a minimum, to constitute a violation of (the open container law), marijuana in a vehicle must be of a usable quantity, in imminently usable condition, and readily accessible to an occupant," wrote Associate Justice Goodwin Liu in a unanimous opinion. Loose marijuana found on a car's floorboards is like spilled beer, the court ruled.

We found no evidence any form of cannabis is effective in treating anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder, which are three of the leading reasons for which cannabis is prescribed. The cannabis medications being administered in these studies were largely oral formulations, such as capsules, sprays or oils. In real life, people typically use smoked cannabis, and there is even less evidence of its effectiveness for mental health.

Some experts have mischaracterized smoking fentanyl as "safer" than injecting, seeking to reduce risks among users. Narrowly considered, the statement is accurate, as inhalation avoids needle-sharing, reducing risks for HIV, hepatitis C, bacteremia, abscess formation, and infective endocarditis among users. However, there's no clinical-trial-level evidence (randomized trials with real patients) showing smoking illicit fentanyl is safer than injecting it. It isn't, and that conclusion is unsupported by toxicology, environmental exposure science, or emerging data.

This is part of Wet February, a series about America's increasingly muddled relationship with drinking-and how to sip your way through it wisely and well. Alcohol is my only vice, and boy, it does not feel good to have my vice validated by the new food pyramid, which also suggests that steak is the foundation of a healthy diet. But I can't deny that a happy hour martini makes me feel as if I sparkle,

Zach is the CMO and VP of digital marketing at CannaPlanners, where he leads a team powering SEO and digital growth for more than 150 dispensaries and 30 cannabis retailers nationwide. Zach honed his skills in the plumbing, HVAC and automotive industries, fields where success depends on mastering local search. We spent two minutes with Zach to learn more about his background, his creative inspirations and recent work he's admired.