Herbal Knowledge
Just slightly better than a coin toss! Yikes. That’s how well Leafly News predicted the future, as written in 2020. For obvious reasons, everyone’s best-laid plans got swept into history’s junk drawer—next to lawn darts, and those Easter Island statues. Our most accurate 2020 predictions were both pessimistic and optimistic. The sclerotic US Senate stymying […]
The post 28 cannabis predictions for 2021 appeared first on Leafly.
Source: lfy
As the days grow shorter and colder, the season for warm and cozy drinks has arrived. Many people already have a ritual built around their morning coffee or night time tea — making it an ideal vessel for a daily dose of cannabis. With health and immunity at the top of everyone’s mind, infusing cannabis for an extra boost of wellness, physical and mental, is just as easy with warm beverages as it is with traditional iced cocktails.
One of the most useful technologies in creating cannabis drink products, from ground coffee to powder mixers, is nano-emulsion technology. Essentially, this process breaks down the cannabis elements into particles tiny enough to get mixed into other ingredients while retaining potency. Cannabis products that are nano emulsified are particularly efficient for drinks because they are relatively flavorless, allow for quick onset of cannabis effects, and stay suspended in liquid without separating.
With seasonal flavors, we use a variety of cannabis products to create warming drinks as tasty as they are potent. Many of the cannabis drink enhancers are interchangeable and come in a wide variety of flavors, including non-flavored, to allow maximum versatility and creativity when it comes to taking your drinks to the next level.
Before you start mixing, there’s a few tried-and-true tips you should have at your disposal for the best canna-cocktail experience:
Add your own flare: play around with garnishes to put a personalized stamp on homemade drinks. Try anything from cinnamon sticks to infused honey.
Gina Coleman/WeedmapsMatcha is an excellent coffee alternative for those with caffeine sensitivities, while being an all-around healthy green tea. Its flavor is earthy and delicate, so opting for a flavorless cannabis enhancer is ideal.
Tip: using hemp milk, which can usually be found with other plant-based boxed milks, adds another layer of cannabis to this delicious drink, but any milk will work well.
Tip: you can use an electric foamer for an extra-foamy touch.
Unflavored, so you can just enjoy the taste of your matcha, Chil‘s Bud Naked enhancer offers fast-acting THC in 10 milligram packets.
Available: California
Photos by Gina Coleman/Weedmaps
The post How to make a cannabis-infused Extra Green Matcha Latte appeared first on Weedmaps News.
Source: wm
The governor of Michigan has granted clemency to four currently incarcerated people who are serving time for non-violent drug offenses, including one 69-year-old man whose lengthy sentence for marijuana has been widely criticized by advocates and the state’s attorney general.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s (D) office announced the commutations on Tuesday, and the men could see a release as early as January.
Three of the four people who are receiving clemency are incarcerated over cocaine-related convictions, with decades-long sentences. Michael Thompson, meanwhile, faced a 42-60 year sentence for selling three pounds of cannabis to an undercover police officer and for firearms charges.
“These commutations offer a second chance to four individuals who have accepted responsibility and paid their debts to society and whose sentences span decades for non-violent offenses,” Whitmer said in a press release. “We still have a lot of work to do, but today is a step in the right direction, and I’m confident that Michigan can continue to be a national leader in smart justice.”
After Thompson contracted coronavirus in prison earlier this year, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) strongly recommended that the governor use her authority to facilitate a commutation.
The fact that Michigan legalized marijuana for adult use in 2018 underscores the need for restorative justice, she wrote to the governor.
“A decades-long sentence like that imposed on Mr. Thompson is usually reserved for second-degree murder convictions or for particularly heinous rape cases involving multiple aggravated factors,” Nessel said. “Sentences of this length for selling marijuana are simply unheard of, even when accompanied by firearms offenses.”
The attorney general also noted that under today’s criminal statutes, Thompson’s offense would be punishable by a maximum of four years in prison, or eight if he was convicted of a second drug crime.
Whitmer signed legislation in October providing opportunities for those with low-level cannabis convictions to have their records expunged.
The marijuana community has been a strong advocate for Thompson’s release, with multiple high-profile voices calling for his release.
@GovWhitmer has GRANTED #MichaelThompson’s application for clemency, which will eventually result in his release.
Soon, Michael will get to hug his grandkids for the first time as a free man.
Thank you to @lastprisonerprj for taking on this important work. https://t.co/DrEgaLmrGy
— Montel Williams (@Montel_Williams) December 22, 2020
Whitmer’s latest action, though it only applies to a handful of cases, is part of a trend among Democratic governors who are increasingly taking steps to resolve criminal justice disparities causes by cannabis prohibition.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) pardoned thousands of people who had previously been convicted of cannabis possession in December 2019 prior to the first legal marijuana sales in the state. He said in October that more cannabis clemency was coming.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) used a recently enacted law to grant nearly 3,000 pardons for people convicted of possession one ounce of less of marijuana.
In June, more than 15,000 people who were convicted for low-level marijuana possession in Nevada were automatically pardoned under a resolution from the governor and Board of Pardons Commissioners.
Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee (D) has also issued pardons for cannabis offenses.
Meanwhile, a coalition of civil rights and drug policy reform groups recently called on the governor of New Jersey to systematically issue pardons for people with marijuana convictions to supplement the state’s voter-approved move to legalize cannabis.
This article has been republished from Marijuana Moment under a content-sharing agreement. Read the original article here.
Featured image by Gina Coleman/Weedmaps
The post Decades-long prison sentence for marijuana cut short by Michigan governor's commutation appeared first on Weedmaps News.
Source: wm
A major congressional caucus is rolling out a new agenda that includes legalizing marijuana within the first six months of 2021.
On Monday, the Congressional Progressive Caucus unveiled the platform, which covers seven main planks such as COVID-19 relief, health care and racial justice. That last platform addresses cannabis legalization as well as broader criminal justice reforms like expunging prior records.
In order to dismantle racism and racial inequality, Congress must “reduce criminalization and incarceration through sentencing reform, legalizing cannabis, expunging records, and providing restorative justice,” the new People’s Agenda states.
“The People’s Agenda is the culmination of months of works to identify our shared progressive priorities for the start of the new Congress,” the caucus co-chair, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), said in a press release. “Congress must govern with the urgency that this moment requires and restore power to the hands of the people.”
When it comes to cannabis reform, the House did advance a comprehensive bill to federally legalize the plant earlier this month. But it’s very unlikely that the GOP-controlled Senate will take it up before the end of the session.
While legalization is being prioritized by the Progressive Caucus, the prospects of enacting that policy change within the next two years will likely be decided by the results of two Senate runoffs in Georgia next month. If Democrats win both, they will regain majority control of the chamber and potentially have enough votes to push the Marijuana Opportunity, Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act through, with the bill’s current Senate sponsor, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris (D-CA), as a tie-breaker.
“Look, if you’re in Georgia right now, you will control whether weed get legalized or not based upon whether you go out and vote,” Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) said in an interview last week.
“The criminalization of poverty and the failed ‘War on Drugs’ have been key drivers of mass incarceration and racial injustice,” a supporting factsheet for the new caucus agenda prepared by the Institute for Policy Studies,Kairos, Repairers of the Breach, and Poor People’s Campaign states.
The document cites reports from the Drug Policy Alliance and ACLU showing that Black people are more likely to be arrested for drug offenses including marijuana despite comparable usage rates across races.
“The CPC gets it,” Justin Strekal, political director for NORML, told Marijuana Moment of the nearly 100-member caucus. “We appreciate them putting legalization front and center on the priority agenda for the new Congress.”
One outstanding question is whether President-elect Joe Biden would ultimately sign a legalization bill if it was approved by Congress. He’s remained opposed to broad reform despite supermajority support within his party and currently backs only modest changes like decriminalizing possession, expunging records, legalizing medical cannabis, federal rescheduling and letting states set their own marijuana laws.
But in any case, the People’s Agenda is at least symbolically significant, demonstrating again that there will be pressure on the administration to adopt progressive policies—and that includes legalizing cannabis.
This article has been republished from Marijuana Moment under a content-sharing agreement. Read the original article here.
Featured image by Gina Coleman/Weedmaps
The post Congressional Progressive Caucus calls for marijuana legalization in first six months of 2021 appeared first on Weedmaps News.
Source: wm