The first time I smoked weed was probably in the 8th grade. After persistent begging, my older sister and her friend caved in and gave me my first few puffs. High School is when I became a regular toker, and I became used to being one of the very few chicks in the circle. Sure, I knew a handful of other girls who smoked, but we all ran in different crowds mostly smoked with groups of guys.
It wasn’t until my mid-20’s that I finally met more women like me: women who loved weed and used it for more than just the obvious recreational and psychoactive benefits. But again it was just a small group of us who met regularly to partake in the sacrament. It was nice not having to smoke alone or strictly with dudes. I don’t speak to those ladies anymore, but we had some good times and it was nice to have that bond.
Weed has always had a negative social stigma, and people who smoked or associated with smokers were always perceived as lazy burnouts. Women are always judged more harshly than men, ..
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Many pot firms strapped with cash
LOS ANGELES — Slip a fresh $20 bill under the bulletproof teller window of Donnie Anderson’s Medex marijuana dispensary — perhaps for a gram of cannabis or some THC-infused toffees — and the legal tender is transformed into something else: drug money.
Though the transaction is legal in California, under federal law that bill is not much different from the contents of a drug cartel’s safe — cash that most banks won’t touch.
So how is Anderson supposed to pay his employees, suppliers or business taxes? He deposits cash, in drips and drabs, into an account held by a limited liability company that his bank thinks is a property management firm.
“The bank doesn’t know what we do,” he said.
If this sounds like money laundering, you’re not far off.
Yet consider this: That same $20 exchanged at Canndescent, another cannabis company, takes a direct and transparent route into the financial system.
When the marijuana cultivator sells its product to a dispensary, one armored car drops off the..
Report: Wages growing in state’s marijuana industry
Wages and jobs in the legal marijuana industry may be on the rise in Clark County and across the state.
A new, 28-page report from the Washington State Institute for Public Policy examined employment and wage data for businesses with marijuana licenses in the state of Washington and found growth in wages and number of workers.
From 2014 to 2016, licensed marijuana businesses reported employing an equivalent of 6,049 full-time employees statewide and paying $286.1 million in wages, adjusted for inflation.
For Clark County, the study reported that an equivalent of 222 full-time workers were paid $1.9 million at the end of 2016, earning an average hourly wage of $16.58 and a median hourly wage of $13.01.
Statewide, the average hourly wage was $16.42 and the median hourly wage was $13.42.
One big caveat of the study, said co-author Bethanne Barnes, was that it did not look at the marijuana industry in a vacuum. Researchers cross-referenced marijuana licenses from the state Liquor and ..
Launch of Nevada’s recreational pot sales may hinge on court
CARSON CITY, Nev. — Nevada’s marijuana regulators are working furiously to launch recreational sales on July 1, a fast-approaching deadline that could hinge on a court deciding whether the powerful liquor industry should be guaranteed a piece of the pot pie before tourists and residents can light up.
Lawyers for the liquor industry, marijuana retailers and the state are facing a judge Monday to argue whether Nevada has the authority to issue marijuana distribution licenses to anyone besides alcohol distributors.
The state says it has the power to temporarily license some existing medical marijuana cultivators and retailers to serve as their own middlemen. It wants to get a head-start on collecting millions of dollars in tax revenue devoted to education before permanent rules are required by Jan. 1, 2018.
The liquor lobby sued, saying the state didn’t give it the first shot at distribution licenses as called for in the ballot measure approved by voters in November, the only legal pot..
Clark County cannabis market booming
It’s been three years since Clark County’s first cannabis businesses appeared, and this corner of Southwest Washington has grown into the fifth largest cannabis market in the state, according to sales and excise taxes collected. What started out as a chaotic industry with major supply-side issues has dramatically changed and matured into a both a revenue generator and a job creator for the region.
“Locally Clark County stacks up quite well (in the Washington cannabis market),” said Gareth Kautz, co-owner of the High End Market Place dispensary in Uptown Village. “We have some of the best weed in the state, some of the best low-cost product in the state and one of the best medical processors (Fairwinds Manufacturing) — if not the only one — in the state.”
Clark County today has 23 growers and processors and 13 stores clustered in Vancouver and Battle Ground, the only two jurisdictions that allow cannabis businesses. Those operations employ 250 or more, although there is no formal tall..
States move aggressively to protect pot industry
WASHINGTON — If a whiff of uneasiness hung over the trade show that drew thousands of marijuana entrepreneurs here this month, it wasn’t because they were just around the corner from a White House that has threatened to shut them down.
They had bigger worries, like sorting out the legitimate business ventures from the hype among row upon row of exhibitors showcasing cannabis growing, smoking, eating and even banking products. The Trump administration’s menacing signals seemed a mere sideshow to those who make their living off reefer, or aspire to.
After an initial period of postelection anxiety, pot businesses are increasingly confident that states where they are setting up shop have their backs, despite Justice Department warnings meant to rattle marijuana enthusiasts.
State leaders are proving themselves nimble at responding to the threat, moving to inoculate local marijuana industries that are fast becoming too important to state economies to leave vulnerable to the whims of Wash..
‘Wine and weed’ farming creates buzz
JACKSONVILLE, Ore. — Bill and Barbara Steele moved to this sleepy corner of Oregon to start their own winery after successful, high-powered business careers.
Now, more than a decade later and with award-winning wine to show for their hard work, they are adding a new crop: marijuana.
Oregon’s legalization of recreational pot two years ago created room for entrepreneurial cross-pollination in this fertile region abutting California’s so-called Emerald Triangle, a well-known nirvana for outdoor weed cultivation.
Recreational marijuana cannot be sold legally in California until next year. But a few miles north of the border in Oregon, a handful of winemakers are experimenting with pot in hopes of increasing their appeal among young consumers and in niche markets.
“Baby boomers are drinking less. Millennials are coming into their time, economically, where in 2016 they were the fastest-growing consumers of wine, both in dollars and volume,” said Barbara Steele, who runs Cowhorn Vineyard ..
As more states legalize pot, more employees failing drug tests
Workers at McLane drive forklifts and load hefty boxes into trucks. The grocery supplier, which runs a warehouse in Colorado, needs people who will stay alert — but prospective hires keep failing drug screens.
“Some weeks this year, 90 percent of applicants would test positive for something,” ruling them out for the job, said Laura Stephens, a human resources manager for the company in Denver.
The state’s unemployment rate is already low — 3 percent, compared to 4.7 percent for the entire nation. Failed drug tests, which are rising locally and nationally, further drain the pool of eligible job candidates.
“Finding people to fill jobs,” Stephens said, “is really challenging.”
Job applicants are testing positive for marijuana, cocaine, amphetamine and heroin at the highest rate in 12 years, according to a new report from Quest Diagnostics, a clinical lab that follows national employment trends. An analysis of about 10 million workplace drug screens from across the country in 2016 fou..
Owners treat ailing animals with cannabis
SAN FRANCISCO — Michael Fasman’s 12-year-old dog, Hudson, limps from pain caused by arthritis and an amputated toe, but Fasman doesn’t want to give her painkillers because “they just knock her out.”
So the San Francisco resident has turned to an alternative medicine that many humans use to treat their own pain and illness: marijuana.
On a recent morning, Fasman squeezed several drops of a cannabis extract onto a plate of yogurt, which the Portuguese water dog lapped up in seconds. It’s become part of Hudson’s daily routine.
“We think it’s really lifted her spirits and made her a happier dog,” Fasman said. “It’s not that she’s changed. She’s just back to her good old self.”
As more states legalize marijuana for humans, more pet owners are giving their furry companions cannabis-based extracts, ointments and edibles marketed to treat everything from arthritis and anxiety to seizures and cancer.
Most of these pet products, which aren’t regulated, contain cannabidiol or CBD, a chemical..
Canada’s likely pot legalization may create border issues
WASHINGTON — Canada’s likely move to completely legalize marijuana next year promises to produce immediate spillover effects in the United States, starting with increased confusion at the U.S.-Canadian border.
“I’m expecting my business to boom,” said Len Saunders, an immigration attorney from Blaine.
With recreational marijuana legal up and down the West Coast, from Alaska to California, he said, more Canadians may let down their guard and admit to U.S. authorities that they’ve used marijuana, reason enough to get foreigners barred from entering the country.
Beyond that, pot retailers and legalization backers say it’s difficult to predict exactly what might happen if Canada, as expected, becomes only the second nation in the world to fully legalize pot for anyone over 18 on July 1, 2018.
Even with such a big move, Jacob Lamont figures the Canadian customers will keep coming to Evergreen Cannabis, his pot shop in Blaine, just a few blocks from the U.S.-Canadian border.
“I enjoy my..
Oregon has yet to distribute tax revenue from pot sales
PORTLAND– Tax money collected from Oregon’s legal marijuana sales has been a rare bright spot as lawmakers fight over how to fill a $1.6 billion budget deficit.
KGW-TV reports that the state has brought in almost $75 million in tax revenue since 2016. It’s not enough to close the budget gap, but it’s a start.
But none of that tax revenue has been distributed to its intended recipients, like schools and police agencies.
That’s because of a quirk in the state law that governs legal marijuana.
It says before anyone else gets paid, the Oregon Liquor Control Commission must be reimbursed for administrative costs associated with setting up the marijuana program.
That hasn’t happened. Until it does, the tens of millions of dollars in marijuana tax revenue will just sit in a state account.
Tribes burning to join pot industry but leery of Trump
WASHINGTON — When the Yakama Nation announced in 2013 that it had no interest in selling pot, its chairman said the tribe had “a long and unpleasant history with marijuana, just as we have had with alcohol.”
But other tribes are raring to gain a foothold in the multibillion-dollar marijuana industry — and they say it would be a mistake for President Donald Trump’s administration to try to stop them.
After Washington became the first state to legalize recreational pot in 2012, its tribes are leading the way in the business: Four of them have signed compacts with the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board, including the Squaxin Island Tribe, which made history by opening Elevation, the first retail pot shop on tribal land. Another six are involved in negotiations.
California is poised to emerge as a major player, with many of its 109 federally recognized tribes eager to enter after state voters legalized recreational marijuana in November, said Jeff Doctor, executive director of t..
Met Gala 2017: Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons – Fav Looks
So, I’m not really a fashionista.
But I do enjoy beautiful and unique styles especially when they’re donned by some of the worlds most beautiful people.
Last night was the 2017 Met Gala and the theme was Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons. This event is held each year and each year Twitter is abuzz so much so that it’s hard to escape. We want to know who is wearing what or who and if they stay on theme. Most attendees don’t and some miss the point of the theme entirely. I typically ignore what the men are wearing because they never look as extravagant as the women, so here are my fav looks of the night.
The post Met Gala 2017: Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons – Fav Looks appeared first on Mrs. Nice Guy.
Consomme Marijuana Recipe by Chef Jeremiah Tower
The Last Magnificent charts the life of Jeremiah Tower, one of the most controversial, outrageous, and influential figures in the history of American gastronomy. Yet his name has largely been obliterated from history. Featuring interviews by Mario Batali, Anthony Bourdain, and Ruth Reichl, this delicious documentary for the culinary set tells the story of the rise and fall of America’s first celebrity chef.
I wanted to share this recipe with you guys, if you’re interested in learning more about Jeremiah Tower and his story check out the trailer for his upcoming documentary.
Consommé Marijuana 6 cups rich chicken stock
1 packed cup marijuana stems and seeds
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
1 loose cup freshly picked nasturtium flowers (mixed bright colors)
sea salt
pepper mill
Preheat the oven to 275 degrees.
Bring the chicken stock to a boil in a 4-quart saucepan.
Meanwhile, spread the marijuana out on a metal cookie sheet or tray and put in the oven for 10 minutes. After the stems and ..
Music To Smoke To: Always High – Juicy J + Wiz Khalifa
Picture me rolling around Portland chiefin with the sunroof open blasting this song with a huge grin on my face. I am super slow and just barely hearing this chronically enhanced track from Juicy J and Wiz Khalifa.
“Always High” premiered on 420 and it’s produced by Crazy Mike and Juicy J. I heard this song twice over the weekend during DJ Whoo Kid’s Whoolywood Shuffle show on Shade 45 and haven’t stopped thinking about it since.
I am digging the mellow vibe, the back and forth between both MC’s and the catchy chorus. The stoner rap genre is growing and we can thank both gentleman for partially assisting in its growth.
The post Music To Smoke To: Always High – Juicy J + Wiz Khalifa appeared first on Mrs. Nice Guy.
Spending plan includes reassurance for legal marijuana
WASHINGTON – Businesses selling marijuana in states where it is legal just got some reassurance from Congress that they don’t have to worry about a federal crackdown anytime soon.
The spending bill that will keep the government open until September includes the extension of a policy that prohibits the Department of Justice from using federal money to interfere with states’ medical marijuana laws.
That prohibition has been in place since 2014, through an amendment to an appropriations bill that has to be re-approved every fiscal year.
“Medical marijuana patients and the businesses that support them now have a measure of certainty,” said Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore, a longtime champion of marijuana legalization and a co-sponsor of the amendment. “But this annual challenge must end. We need permanent protections for state-legal medical marijuana programs, as well as adult-use.”
The future of the multi-billion legal marijuana industry was thrown into question with the appointment of At..
Munchies: Gummy Bears From Albanese Candy
I couldn’t think of how to start this post, and while I sit here on a cloud of smoke I am thinking of this moment where Homer Simpson who is stuck at sea (Boy Scoutz ‘n the Hood) is dreaming about dancing with two lollipops and an ice cream cone to the tune of “Sugar, Sugar”.
Picture me as Homer, but dancing with Gummy Bears instead.
While I typically like to have healthy snack items around when the munchies kick in, I almost never want that apple and peanut butter. Instead I find myself reaching for these Albanese Gummy Bears.
I found these gummy bears at Fred Meyer after someone recommended them to me. I’m so glad I listened because they are so damn good! They can be found in the granola and nut area near the bakery, packaged in clear plastic containers at 1lb for $3.99. Each container contains 12 flavors: Cherry, Pink Grapefruit, Watermelon, Strawberry, Orange, Blue Raspberry, Lime, Grape, Green Apple, Mango, Pineapple and lemon.
The gummy bears are slightly larger than Haribo G..
Lucas Brothers: On Drugs
How did you celebrate 420?
Most of the Pacific Northwest hit up events and parties, but I did what I normally do and took the day off to Netflix & Chill. This 420 I was mad excited because the Lucas Brothers new comedy special Lucas Bros: On Drugs premiered on Netflix. Before settling in to watch the new special I had a special sesh with a strain called “Fucking Incredible” and hit play when I felt I was ready to have my mind blown.
Like many, I was first introduced to the twin brothers after their role in 22 Jump Street, where the brothers basically played themselves. After their roles in 22 Jump Street they had an animated series, Lucas Bros Moving Company that appeared on Fox and FXX’s Animation Domination lineup, it ran for two seasons. Kenny and Keith attended law school for 3 years before deciding to pursue comedy.
On Drugs is definitely for the stoners! You don’t necessarily have to be high to enjoy it, but being high gives you more patience and you’ll need it given their ran..
Black Mamba Slam Poetry
Though I reside in the Pacific Northwest (Portland/Vancouver to be exact), I have always been a Lakers fan. It’s a tough thing to be up here, but being from LA is something I hold dear to my heart because that’s where my family got their start after my grandparents migrated from Yucatan. Growing up I was always surrounded by sports, if it wasn’t the Dodgers it was always the Lakers.
One of the greatest to play wearing Purple and Gold is none other than Kobe Bryant. His last couple years weren’t his best, but through numerous injuries Kobe fought through it all and still played hard. Since retiring he hasn’t been in the spotlight as much, taking some much needed time off, but this year he’s been popping up more and more and I ain’t mad about that.
We don’t get to see the looser side of the Black Mamba, so lets all enjoy this clip from the Tonight Show where Kobe gives us some Urkel inspired slam poetry. (via)
The post Black Mamba Slam Poetry appeared first on Mrs. Nice Guy.
Sales blaze on marijuana holiday in Clark County
Jim Mullin, owner of a trio of marijuana dispensaries in Clark County, said his staff and customers compare April 20 to Christmas.
“Everybody comes in. Some of the people maybe just consume (marijuana) once a year, and this is the day they come out,” he said. “It’s a globally recognized day for cannabis consumption. I think it celebrates our new industry.”
Every year, April 20 is a marijuana blowout, but its origins differ based on whom you ask. Apocryphal histories range from “420” being a police code for marijuana smoking in public or the time school closed for a group of high school stoners.
Today, it’s closer to Black Friday for the legal marijuana industry. Prices of marijuana flower, edibles and extracts are slashed. Before opening Thursday morning, lines stretched around all three locations of Main Street Marijuana.
Owner Ramsey Hamide said Thursday the shop, already the top-selling store in the state, expected to triple or quadruple its business. He said most users take adv..
Portugal, The Man Partners With Hifi Farms
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
APRIL 19, 2017
PORTUGAL. THE MAN PARTNERS WITH WIEDEN + KENNEDY AND PORTLAND’S HIFI FARMS TO RELEASE CUSTOM CANNABIS BLEND NAMED AFTER THE BAND’S NEW SINGLE “FEEL IT STILL”
PRE-ROLLED BLEND AVAILABLE APRIL 20TH
WATCH “FEEL IT STILL” VIDEO HERE
Portland-based Portugal. The Man has teamed up with international advertising agency Wieden + Kennedy and Oregon Cannabis grower Hifi Farms (Called “The coolest cannabis company in Oregon,” by Esquire Magazine) to release Feel it Still, a custom, packaged, pre-rolled blend designed to pair with the band’s new single. The cannabis blend will be available starting on April 20th (the unofficial cannabis holiday) at all Serra Cannabis and Electric Lettuce recreational dispensaries.
“We partnered with Hifi Farms because they’re one of the best growers in Oregon and it’s especially important right now to raise awareness for reasonable drug laws. Also, smoking weed while listening to music is awesome.” – Zach Carothers, Bassi..
Strain Review: Fucking Incredible (Pre-Roll) From Going Green
According to Leafly, the strain Fucking Incredible is:
A pure indica strain and was created by combining the genetics of two magnificent indicas back in 1990. Seven generations of stabilization breeding gave us the present day version.
A friend and I smoked a 1 gram preroll of Fucking Incredible, purchased on 420 from the Herbery in Vancouver, Washington. The preroll was $3, one of their “420 Specials” and it was my friends first legal weed purchase ever (they’re visiting from SLC aka Mormonville aka No Funsville).
I let my friend light up the joint and about 3 minutes in we both started to feel pretty stoned and my eyelids felt so heavy and dry. We both fell silent for a few moments, enthralled by a pivotal moment in the Fast and the Furious where it’s revealed to Dom that Brian the Buster O’Connor is in fact an undercover police officer and tensions were high. We were so stoned and distracted by this amazing movie that I forgot we were smoking for a minute.
As mentioned above, F..
The origins of 4/20, marijuana’s high holiday
SEATTLE — Thursday marks marijuana culture’s high holiday, 4/20, when college students gather — at 4:20 p.m. — in clouds of smoke on campus quads and when pot shops in legal weed states thank their customers with discounts.
This year’s edition provides an occasion for pot activists to reflect on how far their movement has come, with recreational pot now allowed in eight states and the nation’s capital, as well as a changed national political climate that could threaten to slow or undermine their cause.
Here’s a look at the holiday’s history.
• WHY 4/20?
The origins of the date, and the term “420” generally, were long murky. Some claimed it referred to a police code for marijuana possession or that it arose from Bob Dylan’s “Rainy Day Women No. 12 & 35,” with its refrain of “Everybody must get stoned” — 420 being the product of 12 times 35.
But in recent years, a consensus has emerged around the most credible explanation: that it started with a group of bell-bottomed buddies from S..
Washington state’s cannabis tracking contract up for bid
DENVER — Washington state regulators have begun accepting bids for a new seed-to-sale tracking system to keep tabs on marijuana commerce, a deal with an initial value of about $3 million.
The competition likely will be fierce, given that the contract involves one of the nation’s largest cannabis markets.
But businesses won’t be squaring off against the provider of the state’s current seed-to-sale system, BioTrackTHC. The company said it has no plans to bid for the new contract, saying it is uncomfortable with some specifics of the state’s proposal.
BioTrackTHC’s contract expires in October.
Bids for the new contract are due by April 26, and the state hopes to have the new system in place by Oct. 31, Brian Smith, communications director for Washington’s Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB), told Marijuana Business Daily.
The contract length will be negotiated.
BioTrack bowing out State government contracts have become a lucrative – and prestigious – source of income for software compan..