Johnny Green

(image via Twitter)

I was a Public Policy and Administration major (Legal Studies minor) in college, and I always loved when class discussions turned to cannabis policy. Every paper that I was able to choose the topic of had a cannabis angle on it in college. Those were very fun times for me, and it’s something that I wish every cannabis policy wonk could experience. Studying cannabis from an academic perspective is something that has been popping up on college campuses across America, usually legal or business related.
As far as I know, there has never been a major accredited public university that has taught a course on marijuana from a purely history perspective. That is until now. I received an e-mail today from Boston University which stated that BU will be offering a ’Marijuana In American History’ course taught by lecturer Seth Blumenthal. Below is an excerpt from an article that was posted about the class in BU Today, Boston University’s news and information website:
 
Full Article:
http://www.theweedblog.com/boston-university-to-offer-a-marijuana-in-american-history-course/

Lesley Balla

 
There’s no chocolate river running through the new Altai Brands facility in Salinas. It’s missing a hoard of diminutive green-haired employees, there are no booby-trapped candies that expose children’s flaws, and as far as we know the company has yet to develop a snozzberry flavor. But still, Altai is the closest thing in existence to a Wonka-esque cannabis-infused chocolate factory—and co-founder Rob Weakley is its Willy (sans purple velvet suit).
Named for a Siberian princess, who, when unearthed from the permafrost, was discovered to have died of cancer and buried with cannabis, making it perhaps the first discovery of medicinal marijuana ever, Altai Brands specializes in super high-end, low-dose, artisanal edible cannabis products. These are not the homespun, hand-wrapped and overtly wacky candies and edibles you might see in local dispensaries. Don’t think KeefKats or 4.20 Bars. Instead, they’re rather refined chocolate bon bons, bars and coins, bergamot-tea hard candy soothers, and crunchy little pips, all enclosed in attractive (child-proof) packaging. They’re so chic, you have to look closely to even know they’re weed, which is both clever and maybe a little crazy. But that’s the direction Weakley sees all of this going.

The former co-founder of the Coastal Luxury Management Group, which is behind Faith & Flower, Los Angeles Food & Wine, and Cannery Row Brewing Company in Monterey, moved on from building a restaurant empire to jump head first into the weed game. “There are a lot of parallels between the culinary world and the cannabis world,” he says. “Having been in the hospitality industry for more than 20 years, I already know what needed to be done. In the cannabis industry, the rules are still being written. It’s exciting being a part of that conversation.”
 
Full Article:
http://www.lamag.com/digestblog/meet-the-willy-wonka-of-weed/
 

SAMANTHA SPOONER

 
THE buzzword in relation to Africa is that the continent is rising and one of the key pillars championed to keep it rising is agriculture.
Take the 2003 Maputo Declaration target for example, African governments pledged to allocate 10% of their national budgets to the sector, but the continent could be missing out on a potential cash crop that could transform the lives of smallholder farmers and economies dramatically: marijuana.
 
Full Article:
http://mgafrica.com/article/2015-08-03-legalise-it

Full Article:
http://www.villagevoice.com/news/here-are-the-new-york-companies-that-received-the-coveted-five-medical-marijuana-licenses-7440858

Spencer Peterson

Courtesy of Medicine Man
 

Recommendations for the classiest of cannabis connoisseurs

Four states and the District of Columbia have legalized marijuana for recreational use, but only Colorado and Washington have licensed dispensaries that can legally sell recreational cannabis. Since legalization and sale came to those communities, the budding pot industry in these two states has tried to shape a future of vineyard-esque tours of marijuana farms, and fatty-friendly salons reminiscent of Amsterdam’s cafes. (The phrase “Napa Valley of weed” gets tossed around a fair bit.)
In the meantime, Colorado and Washington still have a ways to go before pot tourism can flourish. Jeremy Bamford, who started the Colorado Pot Guide website in 2013, directs thousands of daily readers to 420 tours and “Bud & Breakfasts,” but official barriers remain. City and state tourism boards still shy away from promoting weed as an attraction, marijuana lounges are still against the law, and hotels tend to give a pretty firm reiteration of their no-smoking policies when you ask about, say, using a marijuana vaporizer in your room, or smoking a joint on your balcony. (Though a few have vague advertisements on Bamford’s site that provide neither their names nor their addresses.)
One of the problems when it comes to official support is the lack of hard numbers. Over the 4/20 holiday, says Bamford, Visit Denver took stock of hotel occupancy rates, and found they were no greater than on an average weekend. Which makes sense, he points out, because Denver’s weed pilgrims are booking cannabis-friendly accommodations instead. The ongoing stigma of marijuana usage among big-name hospitality brands “reflects a bit of a perception problem, because Colorado’s cannabis tourists actually tend to skew older,” says Bamford. This reefer madness mindset is causing hotels to turn away Terry Gross listeners, not Miley Cirus fans.
Still, marijuana-themed tours of Denver and Seattle continue to fill up, and the boom in recreational dispensaries in Colorado and Washington has produced a range of offerings, with highlights and must-sees for newbies and discerning connoisseurs alike.
 
Full Article:
http://time.com/3980182/marijuana-tourism-guide/