Know Your Herbs

Month: December 2019

How CBD entered the World of Mixed Martial Arts

Herbs

Roman Mironenko’s story as a professional mixed martial artist is a familiar one. After some career-high points, including a stint on the Russian reality show Mixfighter, he retired to train and teach Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) in Marseille, France. But due to the intense pain from a disc herniation from his competing days, his training was sidelined for months. He eventually found relief in a CBD oil he took sublingually twice a day. In time, he was able to return to BJJ training.

Mironenko’s story is just one of many where professional and amaeteur fighters use CBD to help recover and protect their bodies from the physical and psychological toll of mixed martial arts (MMA).

It’s a trend that MMA fighters find themselves ahead on compared to the rest of the sports world. Writing for the Telegraph, longtime fight sports journalist Gareth Davies argued that MMA athletes looking for pain management and “neuro-protective plusses” to protect against traumatic brain injuries had anticipated the CBD trend ahead of most other athletes and sports organizations. 

The trend became all the more evident when major MMA organizations began endorsing CBD wholeheartedly. In June of 2019, Bellator MMA, one of the largest MMA promotion companies, announced it had partnered with cbdMD, a CBD products brand that also sponsors professional fighters Chael Sonnen, Jorge Masvidal, and Daniel Cormier. 

A month later, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), the largest and most successful MMA promotion company in the world, got into the mix when the UFC Performance Institute and publicly traded Canadian giant Aurora Cannabis announced they would be partnering up to clinically study whether CBD can treat the aches and pains of UFC fighters. The findings will be used to develop a line of hemp-derived CBD topicals. 

Leslie Smith, a veteran MMA fighter and one of the first female fighters in the UFC, told Weedmaps News she can’t quite remember when she first encountered CBD.

“Cannabis has always been such a big part of my life and my training,” Smith said. “I don’t know if it’s a shared love and appreciation for cannabis and healthy living that brought me to San Francisco and [Cesar Gracie] team, or if it just happened to work out that way.”

CBD enters the UFC with the “Nate Diaz rule.” 

While Smith doesn’t recall when she first encountered CBD, she does remember when CBD broke to the larger UFC public. The conversation around CBD began with a fighter who, like Smith, was part of the team at Cesar Gracie Academy: Nate Diaz. 

“I think it was when Nate Diaz vaporized CBD right after his fight at the press conference,” Smith said. “I feel like that was the time that it really meshed the use of CBD in the fighting community … and the general public.”

In August of 2016, following his rematch with Conor McGregor at UFC 202, Diaz was seen using a vape cartridge at the post-fight Press Conference. Dosing with CBD after a fight or sparring session is something that Smith practiced as well, using a 5,000-milligram full-spectrum tincture from Alpha Cannax.

“I definitely take it after any sparring session. Any time that I’m sparring and my head is getting hit,” she said. “I take it immediately after the practice, and then I take it again at night time. Basically, for as long as I’m feeling fuzzy.”

At the time, however, all cannabinoids, including CBD, were banned during competition and the incident was flagged by the media as a potential doping violation. Debate about whether Diaz had violated a rule ensued. This resulted in the creation of the so-called “Nate Diaz Rule” in 2018, under which CBD is allowed during competition even if other cannabinoids are not.  

At open workouts before his match up with Anthony Pettis at UFC 241, Diaz found himself the subject of media scrutiny once again when he lit a joint and passed it to fans in the crowd. Diaz claimed it was CBD flower, but either way, the use of cannabinoids was well outside the bounds of the in-competition period.

MMA fighters are still cautious about using CBD

While CBD is gaining in popularity among fighter athletes, they are still cautious about how and when they use it when training and recovering. CBD’s emergence has come at a time when concern over tainted supplements, false positives, retroactive sanctions, and potentially canceled events is at an all-time high.

The Diaz brothers’ regular conflict with, and sanctions from, officials have been noted by their fellow athletes. In the run-up to a recent bout in Oklahoma, Smith switched her CBD supplement as a precaution. 

“The commission there in Thackerville does not allow you to have any metabolites in your system at all,” she said. “Even the small amount that would show up inside of the [Alpha Cannax] full-spectrum CBD would have cost me some money and gotten me some bad publicity. So I was taking Game Up Nutrition as I was getting ready for that fight.”

The fear of testing positive for THC from taking a CBD product is a sentiment echoed to Weedmaps News by John Kelly, the head coach and owner of Live Free Crossfit, and the fighter he trains, UFC heavyweight Jairzinho Rozenstruik. 

“These guys work really hard,” Kelly said. “If for some reason they get popped for THC when they were trying to take a supplement, then it’s going to destroy everything that they worked towards.” 

Finding trust in a CBD product that will both work and not cause a fighter to run afoul of the rules is paramount to fighters interested in using CBD. After some research, Kelly opted for Cannafornia CBD for Rozenstruik’s training. “I looked into the company pretty deeply and I saw all the third party testing, and I saw that there were very low levels of THC,” Kelly said. “So that was one of the deciding factors that made us go with [Cannafornia], was how clean the product was.”

Rozenstruik is also one of the top tier UFC athletes sponsored by Cannafornia CBD. Others have included Derrick Lewis and — until a falling out in December — Colby Covington, who Cannafornia CEO Paul King told Weedmaps News was the first fighter he decided to work with after the pair met in Miami. King said that Kelly works as the strength and conditioning coach for three of six fighters sponsored by the company.

Rozenstruik uses CBD as a topical rub before and after training, and orally before bed. His dosage is approximately 33 milligrams, which is doubled after intense training sessions.

“It helps, especially when you do strength training and your body gets sore,” Rozenstruik said. “I use the cream on my body and it really helps me recover really fast.”

One of the most productive ways to use CBD is as a way to find balance in a fighter’s training, according to Kelly. Using CBD to find the range between not being overtrained or undertrained is what allows athletes to optimally perform on fight night.  

“It’s all about homeostasis,” Kelly said. 

Featured image from Shutterstock

The post How CBD entered the World of Mixed Martial Arts appeared first on Weedmaps News.

Source: wm

Legalizing Marijuana Has Majority Support In New Mexico, Poll Finds

Herbs

An overwhelming majority of New Mexico voters — 75% — support legalizing marijuana, according to a new poll released on Dec. 19, 2019.

“In this day and age, getting 75-percent of people to agree on the day of the week is hard if we make it political,” said Pat Davis, an Albuquerque City Councilor who serves as chairman of the Governor’s Legalization Working Group, which commissioned the new survey. “For this many New Mexicans to say it’s time to do this is remarkable.”

“Support for legalization is stronger in New Mexico than any state polled this year.”

The polling found 73% support for legalization before voters were given any information about the topic at the start of the survey. But after they were read messaging arguments about the policy change, support ticked up to 75%.

The poll, which surveyed 1,055 likely 2020 New Mexico voters between November 26 and December 2, 2019, revealed some interesting facts about marijuana politics in the state:

  • Support varies by partisan affiliation: Close to all Democrats — 90%— support legalization. Independents aren’t far behind, with 81% support. Nearly half of Republicans—49% on board.
  • Different arguments persuade legalization supporters and opponents: Pro-legalization voters are best persuaded by arguments that legal marijuana will create jobs and fund important services through taxes. Meanwhile, anti-legalization voters are best persuaded by arguments that cannabis has medical uses.
  • Supporters and opponents want to spend tax money differently: Pro-legalization voters want cannabis tax revenue to go towards public education and mental health services. Anti-legalization voters also prefer funding mental health, but additionally want some to go to law enforcement.
  • The messenger makes the message: Legalization supporters are more likely to be persuaded by doctors and medical patients. But opponents are more likely to be persuaded by law enforcement and religious leaders.
  • Cannabis jobs are tempting: Almost half of voters know someone who wants to work in the legal cannabis industry. That interest increases for younger people — 70% of voters under 35 want a cannabis job or know someone who does.

The polling, conducted by Change Research, was commissioned by the cannabis legalization working group assembled earlier this year by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (D), who campaigned on her support for ending prohibition in 2018.

After holding public hearings throughout the summer and fall, the working group released a series of recommendations for how New Mexico should legalize marijuana. They include provisions for automatic expungement of cannabis convictions, tax exemptions for medical patients and social equity in business licensing.

New Mexico lawmakers will begin a short, thirty-day legislative session next month, and Grisham has called on the House and Senate to consider cannabis legalization. If the effort succeeds, New Mexico will be the 12th U.S. state to end marijuana prohibition.

Interestingly, though 73% of survey respondents supported allowing marijuana sales in their own cities or towns, only 39% claimed they would be “very or somewhat likely” to purchase it themselves.

“This is not a stoner-led movement,” said Davis, the working group chair. “This is real people who see an opportunity that we’re not taking advantage of.”

More surprising, a majority of voters — 56% — do not want cities to be able to entirely opt out of selling cannabis. Even 12% of legalization opponents support this position, though 30% of supporters feel cities should be able to opt out of sales.

Earlier this year, the House of Representatives approved a marijuana legalization bill. But even with Grisham’s support, the legislation failed to receive a vote on the Senate floor after advancing at the committee level. Lawmakers were divided over last-minute changes added by Republican lawmakers that would have created a restricted system of state-run retail stores, among other provisions. The working group recommended that sales should be conducted by private, state-licensed retails outlets instead.

Although full legalization fell short in 2019, Grisham did sign into law a narrower marijuana decriminalization bill in April.

Grisham acknowledged that even with such strong popular support, getting marijuana legalization done in January will not be easy. “I think cannabis is going to be really hard—it should be,” she told The Albuquerque Journal. “That is not something to run into without being really clear… If I have it on the call, I’m serious about getting it passed.”

Featured image from Shutterstock

This article has been republished from Marijuana Moment under a content-sharing agreement. Read the original article here. 

The post Legalizing Marijuana Has Majority Support In New Mexico, Poll Finds appeared first on Weedmaps News.

Source: wm

Starting Jan. 1, You Can Legally Buy Weed in Illinois. Here's What You Should Know.

Herbs

New Year’s Day will ring in a new era of cannabis in Illinois, making it the eleventh state to allow adult-use cannabis sales. Starting January 1, 2020, adult-use marijuana products will be legal to purchase. 

Here’s your consumer guide to the when, where, and how much for cannabis in Illinois.

Know the limits

Starting New Year’s Day, Illinois residents over 21 with a valid ID are allowed to purchase and possess up to 30 grams (a little more than an ounce) of cannabis flower, 5 grams of cannabis concentrate and 500 milligrams of THC contained in cannabis-infused products. Those possession limits are cumulative.

Visitors from out of state are limited to half those amounts as long as they still show ID.

Patients using medical cannabis in Illinois can store even more cannabis at home (2.5 ounces, or 70.9 grams), including up to five cannabis plants for cultivation, as long as it is secured under certain conditions. The rules for qualifying for medical cannabis in Illinois remain unchanged.

Adult-use sales will also begin first thing in the near year. As of the publishing of this article, of the 55 medical cannabis dispensaries in the state, 35 got the OK to sell recreationally. Starting Jan. 1, these 10 are in Chicago:

Dispensaries can be open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., but most of the Chicago dispensaries will run their normal business hours on January 1.

Supplies will be limited at most dispensaries due to a huge anticipated demand. Some will cap sales at amounts under the legal limit, or offer only vape cartridges and edibles — at least at the outset — to reserve enough marijuana flower products for medical patients.

“Importantly, we will work to make sure that the experience for our registered medical patients does not change drastically, specifically when it comes to wait time and product selection,” said Jo Belluardo, a spokesperson for Columbia Care in northwest Chicago.

Prices will vary for flowers and edibles depending on THC content, but at most locations, a one-eighth ounce of marijuana starts at around $55. Edibles between 50 and 100 milligrams of THC will typically cost between $20 and $30.

Remember to bring cash. Due to federal banking regulations, most dispensaries operate as cash-only businesses, though on-site ATMs are common.

Where to smoke

Smoking cannabis won’t be permitted everywhere under the new law. All home use is permitted, as long as no one under 21 is exposed to cannabis, but it is still illegal in a “public place,” or anywhere you can be observed by others in public, like a sidewalk or public park.

According to Herald & Review reporting, Chicago has determined that backyards and balconies won’t be considered public places under this law. Cannabis consumption in those outside spaces will be permitted.

The law prohibits cannabis use in any motor vehicle, but cannabis can be transported in a car as long as it’s in a reasonably secured, sealed container. It will also be illegal to use or possess cannabis in certain off-limits spaces, like schools, daycares, and correctional facilities.

Chicago has eased penalties, though, for illegal possession. Currently, illegal marijuana possession carries a fine of $500, and the vehicle where it’s found can be impounded. Starting in 2020, it’s a $50 fine for possessing or using a legal amount of cannabis in these off-limit spaces or public places, and $100 if it’s the second violation within 30 days.

A growth industry

Adult use sales will be limited to start, with just 10 dispensaries serving Chicago’s more than 2 million residents over the age of 21. But the state could open as many as 75 new dispensaries by May, as well as 40 licenses for infusers and another 40 licenses for craft growers by July. A second wave will follow, with up to 110 new dispensaries opening statewide by the end of 2021.

The new law will allow for cannabis smoke shops — much like cigar bars — but in restaurants and other establishments, cannabis will be prohibited along with cigarettes. That means a public cannabis café, like the Original Cannabis Cafe which opened earlier this year in California, won’t be coming to Chicago anytime soon.

But not every community is welcoming legal cannabis sales.

While cannabis possession and use will be legal statewide for adults over 21, legislatures left it up to towns to determine if they will move ahead with adult-use sales. A number of Chicago suburbs, including those in conservative DuPage County like Downers Grove and Naperville, have banned adult-use sales.

But other towns  are embracing sales as a revenue generator. Crystal Lake, Schaumburg, and others will allow cannabis sales but will impose an additional 3% sales tax.

The move to decriminalize could spread beyond Illinois’ borders. Officials in Lake County, Indiana, just across the state border from Chicago, are considering a measure that will let sheriffs issue a small fine for marijuana possession.

Last year, Michigan voters moved to legalize marijuana, and the first dispensaries there opened in December 2019. With two of Indiana’s four neighbors offering recreational sales, it looks like the state legislature might take up decriminalization as soon as next year.

Where the green is going

Cannabis will be taxed based on THC content — 10% sales tax on marijuana plants with less than 35% THC, 20% on all infused products, and 25% on plant products with over 35% THC. Medical marijuana will still be tax-free.

Illinois officials expect legal marijuana sales could generate up to $57 million in tax revenue by the end of the first year, and more than $375 million by 2024. Much of that money has already been earmarked. 

The largest share will go into the state’s general revenues, but a quarter of the tax revenue will fund the state’s new Restore, Reinvest and Renew grant program, which was set up to address the “economic disinvestment, violence and historical overuse of criminal justice” under cannabis prohibition.

That money will fund grants across the state for economic development, violence prevention services and other causes from applicants in designated “R3 areas” that have been historically marginalized.

Featured image from Shutterstock

The post Starting Jan. 1, You Can Legally Buy Weed in Illinois. Here's What You Should Know. appeared first on Weedmaps News.

Source: wm

Two More Polls Show Americans Support Marijuana Legalization

Herbs

Two more new national polls show that a majority of Americans are in favor of legalizing marijuana.

A Fox News survey, which involved phone interviews with 1,000 adults from December 8-11, 2019, showed that 63% of respondents support legalizing “the recreational use of marijuana on a national level,” while 34% oppose the policy.

A Marist poll, conducted in collaboration with NPR and PBS, surveyed 1,744 Americans from December 9-11, 2019, The results similarly showed 62% of respondents saying it is a “good idea” to legalize cannabis, with 33 stating it would be a “bad idea.”

The last time Fox News posed the question, in January 2018, 59% said the country should legalize. Marist found that 63% supported legalization in July of this year.

“This holiday season, Americans are more likely than ever to agree in favor of legalizing marijuana when the topic comes up at the dinner table,” Justin Strekal, political director of NORML, told Marijuana Moment. “With a public majority mandate, now is our time to demand ending prohibition in advance of the 2020 elections.”

Marist also broke down the poll responses by partisan affiliation. As has been the case for numerous surveys on the issue, those who identify as Democrats or independents who lean Democratic are more supportive of legalization (76%) than those who identify as Republican or lean in that direction (44%).

Voters who supported President Trump in the 2016 election expressed greater opposition to the policy than Republicans and Republican-leaning independents as a whole. Forty percent of Trump supporters said they back legalization, compared to 55% who said it was a bad idea.

Every age group except for the Silent Generation of those 73 and older support ending federal marijuana prohibition, the poll found. It does not appear that Fox News provided demographic details about marijuana legalization supporters and opponents in their survey.

This is the latest in a series of recent polls that have shown growing and enduring support for legalization.

Pew asked almost 10,000 Americans about the issue and released survey results last month showing that 67% of respondents believe the country should legalize cannabis. Gallup similarly found that 66% of U.S. adults are in favor of legalization in a poll released in October.

Given this widespread support, particularly among Democratic voters, it’s clear why the issue has become a major talking point for the majority of the party’s 2020 presidential candidates, almost all of whom back legalization, with the notable exceptions of former Vice President Joe Biden and billionaire Michael Bloomberg.

Featured image from Shutterstock

This article has been republished from Marijuana Moment under a content-sharing agreement. Read the original article here. 

The post Two More Polls Show Americans Support Marijuana Legalization appeared first on Weedmaps News.

Source: wm