Steven

Steve est journaliste et musicien. Il vit en ce moment en Amérique du Sud, entre Argentine et Uruguay. Cet amoureux des chats, nominé pour son travail d'investigation aux Emmy Awards, collabore aussi régulièrement avec High Times, Green Rush, Zamnesia  Royal Queen Seeds et bien d'autres.

A Quick Guide To The World’s Different Types Of Hash

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Hash has long been considered a delicacy by cannabis lovers all across the globe. But there’s a lot of differences between the Black Afghan you’ll find in a Dutch coffeeshop and the BHO you’ll get at a North American dispensary. In this article, we’ll walk you through different kinds of hash from all across the world.

Trichomes – The Key To Making Any Kind Of Hash

Weed, Trichomes, Ganja, Cannabis, Pot

First thing’s first; to better understand hash, you need to understand the cannabis plant. Female cannabis plants produce flowers which, when left unpollinated for long periods of time, produce a thick, sticky resin. This resin is made up of trichomes; tiny hair-like structures that look like crystals to the naked eye and tiny glass mushrooms under a microscope.

Trichomes are the powerhouses that create the cannabinoids, terpenes, and flavonoids that give cannabis its unique effects, aromas, and flavors. Hash is made by separating these trichomes from cannabis buds and trim and concentrating them into a potent extract.

Hand-Rolled Live Resin Hash – Indian Charas and Nepalese Temple Balls

haschich, Charras, fait main, Inde,

The Indian Subcontinent is home to Cannabis Indica and one of the oldest forms of hash manufacturing. In India and Nepal, hash (or Charas, as the locals call it) is made by rubbing live cannabis buds between the hands for hours. Eventually, the trichomes from the plant form a thick, dark resin that is scraped together into balls or sticks with a creamy texture similar to chocolate truffles.

Dry Sift Hash – Black Afghan, Red Lebanese, Pakistani, Turkish Brick, and Moroccan Pollen

Dry sift hash is made by gently sieving dried cannabis buds and trim through fine-mesh screens. This gentle friction helps separate the trichomes into a fine powder known as kief. This kief is then pressed into blocks using different techniques depending on the area of production.

In Afghanistan, for example, hash (locally known as Chars) is made by mixing kief with small amounts of tea to form a kind of dough that’s kneaded over low heat until it takes on a deep black color and a thick, smooth consistency similar to soft toffee.

Moroccan hash, on the other hand, is made by repeatedly pressing kief using only pressure and heat. Pakistani hash is made using a similar technique, although some Pakistani locals will cure their hash in a dried sheep or goat’s skin to enhance its flavor.

Rosin

Making rosin is simple. It just entails pressing dried cannabis buds with a lot of pressure and heat. The result is a clear, golden extract free of contaminants and big on flavor and potency.

Ice Water or Bubble Hash

Bubble Hash (sometimes called Ice Water or Ice-O-Lator hash) is very different from the hash types we mentioned so far. It’s made by mixing frozen cannabis buds with water and ice, agitating that mixture to help separate the trichomes from the plant material, and finally running the water through different size mesh sieves. The result is a crumbly hash with a consistency similar to crystallized honey.

 

Bubble Hash can be very aromatic and flavorful, as the cold temperatures used during extraction help preserve some fragile terpenes and flavonoids which can be lost in the presence of heat.

The Butane, Propane, And CO2 Revolution – Shatter, Wax, Crumble, and Budder

Hash hasn’t quite been the same since people learned they could use solvents like butane, propane, and CO2 to extract huge amounts of cannabinoids and terpenes from weed. Today, these kinds of extracts, often sold under names like Shatter, Wax, and Budder, are completely dominating the cannabis market, especially in North America.

Hash made using butane, propane, or CO2 needs to be purged extremely carefully, as the chemicals used in the extraction process can be toxic and extremely volatile. However, these new extraction methods are capable of producing some of the most potent hash available. Some of the BHO sold at US dispensaries, for example, contains well over 50% THC.

 

On a retrouvé la Matanuska Thunderfuck!

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Matanuska Thunderfuck, c’est une légendaire variété de cannabis made in Alaska dans les années 70. En voie de disparition, elle doit sa survie et son retour à Jim Ross, un cultivateur qui pendant 30 ans en a assuré la descendance… dans son garage. Interview d’un hibernatus de la weed.

J’étais dans ma cuisine en train de me préparer mon expresso matinal lorsque le téléphone sonna. Je me précipite vers mon bureau pour y prendre mon casque et l’appel.
Hello, c’est Ron Bass de l’Alaska“, me lance le breeder d’une voix enjouée et amicale.
Ça faisait plus d’une semaine que j’attendais son coup de téléphone.
Ron et moi nous étions déjà croisés il y a trois ans, en 2017 après que je sois tombé sur un article dans le Anchorage Daily, la gazette de l’État le plus froid et le plus à l’ouest des States.

Ron Bass

Sur les traces de la Thunderfuck.

À l’époque, Ron et ses potes breeders pensaient avoir mis la main sur la  vraie MTF.
Jusqu’à ce qu’il s’avère, quelques semaines plus tard, que la joyeuse équipe avait fait fausse route. “Ça collait pas. Sur le papier, ça semblait bon, mais une fois analysé et convenablement testé, les indicateurs d’une vraie MTF n’étaient pas tous au vert“, m’explique Ron.
(Le mythe veut que la Matanuska Thunderfuck soit un croisement entre une variété afghane et une Pakistanaise… mais lesquelles ?) « Le plus important,  c’est que la MTF soit issue de boutures spécialement greffées, alors que les souches de weed sont généralement le produit de pollinisation croisée. La MTF, elle, a été créé en combinant les racines d’un plant ( une méthode appelée porte-greffe) avec les têtes d’un autre plante (connue sous le nom de scion), m’explique Ron.

Naissance d’une légende

En 1975, à la suite de la décision de la Cour suprême dans l’affaire Ravin vs. State, l’Alaska devient le premier état US à déclarer constitutionnel d’avoir de petites quantités de marijuana et d’en cultiver dans de raisonnables proportions.
La même année, un rédacteur de High Times, Blair Sachs-Benedict se rendra en Alaska pour couvrir la décision historique et rencontrer Nordhoff, un mystérieux personnage qui cultivait la MTF.

Récit : «Nordhoff nettoie soigneusement le bol d’un tuyau de défense de morse fossilisé et le remplit. Les têtes sont énormes, de la taille d’une patte de Malemute » (un gros chien de traineau NDLR) «Matanuska Thunderfuck», déclare-t-il après avoir tiré sur la défense de morse “c’est la meilleur ganja des 50 États.” “Cette weed est si forte, puissante et déterminée qu’elle pousse à travers la neige pour trouver le soleil“, développa Nordhoff. «Les agriculteurs de la vallée de Matanuska la plantent à côté de parcelles de chou qui sont si gros qu’il faut deux hommes pour les transporter, de tomates si colossales qu’il faut les couper avec une tronçonneuse.» Sacré terreau !

Le même plant mère depuis 30 ans

Comme avec nombre de variétés de cannabis légendaires datant un peu, les origines exactes du MTF sont des plus mystérieuses.
La rumeur veut que le breeder qui a créé cette variété emblématique ait sombré dans la drogue dure à la fin des années 1980 et qu’une poignée de producteurs ait maintenu la variété en vie pendant des années.
Après l’article paru dans le Anchorage Daily en 2017,  Ron Bass a reçu un appel de Jim Ross, un cultivateur plutôt discret à la limite de l’autisme social.
J’ai obtenu la souche en 1997 ou 1998, via un ami“,  élabore Jim dans un rare documentaire de 2018. «J’en ai eu juste suffisamment fait pousser pour pouvoir perpétuer la lignée
Depuis 20 ans, Jim cultivait la MTF… dans son garage !

Il prenait une flopée de clones, conserverait le plus fort comme plante mère et éliminait le reste. Il répétera ce schéma tous les 2 ans, pendant deux décennies.
« C’est ce processus qui a aidé à transformer le MTF en la souche centrale qu’elle est » estime Ron. «La MTF est vraiment bizarre. Elle peut devenir très grande ou très courte et touffue. Il vaut mieux s’y connaître et savoir ce qu’on fait. Elle développe des feuilles immenses qui font jusqu’à 25 cm de large. Parfois, il poussera 2 ou 3 feuilles les unes sur les autres. La floraison se fait en environ 7 à 8 semaines . Niveau olfactif…ça sent la pisse de chat humide et le fromage” poursuit-il.

Copyrights et droits de breeder

Jim Ross a transmis sa variété MTF à Ron Bass et Cameron Van Ryn de Van Geer Enterprises, une autre cannabis farm à Wasilla, Alaska.
Ensemble, ils ont soumis leurs échantillons à des des tests génétiques poussés chez  Phylos Bioscience dans l’Oregon (Phylos Bioscience abrite la plus grande base de données numériques 3D de génétique du cannabis).
Il s’est avéré que la génétique de Jim était la seule souche de  MTF enregistrée à ce jour. Afin de conserver cet avantage concurrentiel, Ron a déposé MTF. Dans la lancée, pour assoir sa marque, il a proposé à Afroman d’en faire la promo avec un génial morceau rap intitulé …”Thunderfuck”.

Commercialement, Ron a une méthode bien à lui lorsqu’il s’agit de prouver que sa Ganja est legit’ : «Les gens qui doutent et me prennent pour un blaireau, je les accueille toujours de la même façon : je leur dis de m’amener leur vétéran de la weed, leur top connaisseur qui encaisse tout. Et systématiquement lorsque le testeur repart de mon dispensaire, c’est avec un visage à moitié liquide ». Assurément le plus solide des arguments.

Comment le CBD a sauvé mon chat

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Un nombre croissant de propriétaires d’animaux donnent du CBD à leurs compagnons poilus, tant le cannabinoïde est un excellent allié pour combattre la douleur, l’anxiété ou encore l’épilepsie. Témoignage.

“Je n’avais pas beaucoup d’amis quand j’avais 8 ans. Ma famille et moi venions de quitter la Suisse pour l’Australie et, avant de nous installer à Melbourne, nous avons passé 6 mois à traverser le désert australien dans un 4×4 camping-car.
Nous ne parlions pas anglais, ne comprenions pas la culture ou n’avions pas une vie suffisamment stable pour que je puisse me faire de vrais amis.

Des souvenirs en noir et blanc qui sont passés en Technicolor le jour où ma sœur est venue nous rendre visite en octobre 2000 pour mon anniversaire, elle m’a offert un petit chat… noir et blanc. Mon père a jeté un coup d’œil à l’animal bichrome, l’a regardé dans ses grands yeux jaune-vert et a décidé qu’il s’appellerait «Moïse». Si lors du baptême félin, il s’était déclaré parrain, j’en étais le père et gardien légal . Avec cette grande responsabilité venaient de probables grands ennuis, puisque j’étais désormais responsable de tous les accidents et bris que Moïse pourrait causer.
Cette soudaine responsabilisation me rapprocha tout de suite de Moïse, qui allait devenir mon compagnon et le témoin de ma vie jusqu’à ce jour. 19 ans plus tard, me voilà à la rédaction de cet article, que j’écris non sans émotion depuis mon appartement de Buenos Aires.

J’ai déménagé avec Moïse dans la capitale argentine il y a 5 ans, après que mon pauvre chat ait enduré un vol de 10 heures dans la soute d’un Boeing 747. Alors que je tape ses mots, il commence sa sieste à côté de moi sur le canapé, juste après avoir dévoré une demi-boîte de thon .. À l’huile de CBD.
J’ai commencé à donner à Moses du CBD il y a un peu plus d’un an. Il était devenu apathique, se cachait, ne bougeait plus en gardant les yeux ouverts, comme paniqué. Il mangeait très peu, avait le plus grand mal à sauter sur le canapé, et le lit et semblait avoir mal aux hanches et au dos.

Plus inquiétant : Moïse manifestait des signes de démence ( il poussait des hurlements déchirants la nuit, il retournait régulièrement dans son bol après avoir mangé, le regard vide, puis repartait . Un peu comme s’il avait Alzheimer… ). Pour couronner le tout, il était tombé du balcon de mon appartement : je vis au 4e d’un immeuble aux vastes espaces entre les étages. Mon vétérinaire n’en revenait pas que Moïse ait non seulement survécu à la chute, mais qu’il s’en soit sorti avec une mâchoire fracturée. Je n’irais pas jusqu’à affirmer que le CBD est la seule raison du salut de mon chat adoré. Mais que la molécule a considérablement amélioré la qualité de vie de Moïse depuis qu’il a commencé à prendre l’alcaloïde en question, oui.

Le système endocannabinoïdien, point commun aux mammifères

La raison ? Tout comme les hommes ; les chats, les chiens et autres mammifères ont un système endocannabinoïdien qui aide à réguler une pléthore de fonctions corporelles. Ce système comprend 3 composants principaux (endocannabinoïdes, cellules réceptrices et enzymes qui synthétisent, transportent et métabolisent les cannabinoïdes). Et il a en l’occurrence été démontré que le système endocanabinoïdien régule chez les mammifères : -La douleur, -Le stress, -Le système nerveux , (anticonvulsif, myorelaxant) -Le circuit lymphatique (antiinflammatoire) -Le sommeil.

Et bien qu’il y ait un manque donné sur la façon dont le CBD affecte les animaux de compagnie, la plupart des recherches sur le cannabis menées sur des rats de laboratoire suggèrent l’idée d’une interaction positive du CBD. De façon empirique, les essais menés par les maîtres et vétérinaires appuient cette idée.

En fait, toute l’industrie du cannabiniol pour animaux de compagnie (un marché estimé à près de 2 milliards de dollars d’ici 2023) est basée sur la théorie selon laquelle, en stimulant leur système endocannabinoïde, le CBD peut aider les animaux de compagnie en: soulageant la douleur et l’inflammation, réduisant l’anxiété, stimulant l’appétit, améliorant le sommeil et les problèmes digestifs.

Toutes les huiles de CBD ne se valent pas

Hélas, trouver de l’huile de CBD fiable et de bonne qualité en Argentine (ou dans tout autre pays où le cannabis reste illégal et non réglementé) est assez difficile. Personnellement, j’ai pu trouver un vendeur sur Mercado Libre (une version sud-américaine d’eBay) avec un stock limité de teinture de CBD pour animaux de compagnie à 125 mg. (Hemp Bomb)

Et même si je savais que la marque avait ses limites, je lui faisais beaucoup plus confiance que les teintures maison non marquées que je trouvais parfois des gens qui vendent sur Facebook.
Malheureusement, si, comme moi, vous vivez dans un pays où la weed est toujours illégal, vous rencontrerez sans doute des problèmes similaires en essayant de trouver un supplément de CBD pour votre animal de compagnie.

Mais, selon moi et mon expérience, ça vaut le coup de se démener un peu pour trouver une bonne huile au CBD, tant les résultats sont probant, et le bonheur de voir sa petite boule d’amour poilue heureuse est un plaisir qui vous procurera plus d’émotions que la meilleure Ganja.”

Avertissement: Steven n’est ni médecin ni vétérinaire. Aucune des informations contenues dans cet article ne doit être considérée comme un avis médical ou vétérinaire.

Traduction : Zeweed

Online Shopping Review: Zamnesia

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In this article I am going to review Zamnesia, an online retailer that, based on my experience, delivers on all of these fronts and many more. Read on to learn more about Zamnesia, what it does best, and what to keep in mind when shopping at one of Zamnesia’s online stores.

Today, there’s no shortage of online retailers selling cannabis seeds, smoke accessories, or vapes. Great prices, reliable and discreet shipping, and a sense of trust, however, are what make me (and probably you too) choose one site over another when you’re buying seeds, vaporizers, or other smoking accessories online.

The Zamnesia Seed Shop

The Zamnesia brand basically comprises 6 different online stores that cover all things cannabis and legal psychedelics. The Zamnesia Seedshop, as the name implies, is devoted to selling cannabis seeds from 100+ seed banks from across the globe.
Shopping at the Zamnesia Seedshop is super easy. The entire store is organized in a way that’s very user-friendly and makes finding the right strain for your garden or grow room really simple. You can browse seeds based on whether they are regular, feminized, or autoflowering; by seed bank; THC or CBD concentration, and much more.
Zamnesia also regularly publishes hand-curated lists highlighting their favorite strains across different categories (feminized, auto, high THC, high CBD, etc) which can be a great source of inspiration when you’re stuck on what to grow next. The site’s search function also works great if you’re looking for something specific.

Prices across the Zamnesia seed store vary depending on the strain and seedbank, and shipping costs vary between €5 and €10 depending on the country you’re in (note that Zamnesia currently only ships to Europe and The UK).
I particularly like that each Zamnesia product listing comes with reviews where you can read about other users’ experiences with a particular strain. Zamnesia also regularly holds promos where you can score free seeds or accessories on your next purchase.
Besides its seed store, the Zamnesia brand also encompasses the following online shops:

  • Zamnesia Headshop, which features a wide variety of smoking accessories, including everything from grinders and rolling papers to bongs and pipes, cannabis-related books, lighters, scales, and much more.
  • Zamnesia Vaporshop, dedicated to vaporizers of all shapes, sizes., and price points. From big, table-top units like the Volcano to small, portable units like the Pax or G-Pen, the Zamnesia Vaporshop has a ton of variety.
  • Zamnesia CBDshop. If you’re looking for legal CBD from reliable manufacturers, I highly recommend checking out Zamnesia’s CBD shop, which carries oil tinctures, capsules, edibles, cosmetics, and many other products from brands like Cibdol, Zamnesia, SupMedi, and more.
  • Zamnesia Smartshop. Inspired by Amsterdam’s infamous smart stores, the Zamnesia Smartshop sells natural aphrodisiacs, herbs, mushroom tinctures, salvia divinorum, and many other natural and legal psychedelics and plant extracts. *

Zamnesia guarantees fast, discreet shipping across all of its stores. The brand also stands out for accepting various payment methods (including credit cards, bank transfers, and cryptocurrencies), and its attentive customer service.
If you’re looking for great cannabis seeds, vaporizers, or other smoke accessories, I highly recommend checking out Zamnesia and signing up to their mailing list for a 10% discount off your first purchase.

 

*Be informed before you purchase. Always check your local laws before ordering such products.

Talking weed with David Bienenstock

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David Bienenstock is a cannabis journalist/author with an almost 20-year long trajectory reporting on all things weed. He’s worked for High Times and VICE Media, written his own book on How To Smoke Pot (Properly), and currently hosts Great Moments in Weed History, a podcast exploring humanity’s 10,000+ year relationship with cannabis.
In this interview, David shares his (almost) lifelong connection with cannabis, fueled by not only a love for the plant but a profound need to push back against the oppressive systems and institutions used to govern society.

I like to say that cannabis is not the cure for being an asshole, but it’s a good place to start”, says David, chuckling a little bit.
His sweet laugh and gentle manner immediately set the tone for our hour-long conversation about his 20-year career in cannabis.
My first above-ground weed job was working at High Times” confesses the ganja-journalist.
I was really lucky. At that time, High Times was an independent publication started by a radical, left-wing, anarchist weed smuggler [Tom Forçade]. And it really retained a feeling of resistance, defiance, and truth-telling at a time when that kind of information was hard to come by.”

“My first above-ground weed job was working at High Times”

David had already worked as a writer and editor prior to joining High Times, and had been smoking cannabis since he was a teenager. But becoming the magazine’s Head of Content really kick-started not only his career, but also he’s profound love for both the cannabis plant and the community surrounding it.
David first tried cannabis, like most of us, when he was a teenager and yet, he felt the plant had a profoundly transformative effect on him.
The first time I really felt the effects of cannabis, I had one of the best, deepest, most cleansing and healing laughs of my life, and I came away with a lasting, different understanding of myself. It helped me open up to people, starting with myself”, he says.

“It helped me open up to people, starting with myself

Over time, David says cannabis also helped him address issues around anger. It helped him automatically gravitate towards like-minded people, and provided hope at a time when he felt disconnected and disaffected from the dominant cultures around him.
Whether it be the criminal justice system, the educational system, or sports culture, I feel like a lot of mainstream institutions are detrimental to us; their power is abused, there is a lack of humanity behind them, and they’re reflective of big problems in our society, such as racism and prejudice” David says.
Capitalism is a really damaging system that we all live under. Being able to look at these institutions, separate yourself from them, question their authority and abuse of power, and realize that you don’t have to be participatory in them was really helpful to me.”

“A big part of my work was writing about people who had their lives destroyed by the war on cannabis”

His role at High Times strengthened his connection with cannabis, that is no surprise. But also opened him up to a global community that shared his love for the plant, similar ideas about society, and an equally profound need to push back against the dominant cultures and institutions governing it.
Moreover, writing for High Times only amplified David’s activism and rebellious spirit, mainly because he spent most of his days writing about people oppressed by the War on Drugs.

Cannabis has long been used as an excuse for social control, for creating a police state and an incarceration state. A big part of my work was writing about people who had their lives destroyed by the war on cannabis and how the criminal justice system was using this plant to fight a proxy war on marginalized communities;  people of color, the poor, young people, anyone who broke the law or simply held political views that the government was afraid of.

In 2012/13, roughly 10 years after joining High Times, David started writing a column for VICE Media. He also produced a mini series, Bong Appetit, which explored cannabis food culture. In 2016, he also published his book, How To Smoke Pot (Properly): A Highbrow Guide to Getting High.

Despite its name, David’s book actually does a lot more than just share tips on how to get high.
Instead, it explores cannabis and its compounds. This ranges from it’s potential benefits and how it delivers them to the plant’s long history alongside mankind.

Vice & Bong Appetit

Today, David no longer has any association with the publications he worked for previously.
Instead, his main focus has been Great Moments in Weed History, the podcast he hosts together with Abdullah Saeed (ex-VICE journalist and host of Bong Appetit.
On one hand, Great Moments in Weed History stays true to its name. It highlights important moments from mankind’s 10,000 year-long history with cannabis. One of the podcast’s latest episodes, for example, told the story of Brownie Mary, a hospital volunteer who distributed weed brownies to AIDS patients in San Francisco in the 1980s.
On the other hand, however, the podcast does something much more important: it helps reconstruct the way we see cannabis and its role in society. And this at a time when we might be closer than ever before to seeing an end to prohibition.

We hear from people all the time. My favorite messages are those that come from people who use cannabis but have absorbed a lot of the stigma around it. Our own community often forgets its history. We think these stories are emblematic of what makes cannabis such an interesting, vibrant, and important community. And we also know that if we don’t tell them, they’ll be erased.”
This month, Great Moments in Weed History celebrates its 50th episode. If you haven’t done so already, subscribe to the podcast here, burn one down and rekindle your love and appreciation for this special plant.

 

The Green Revolution: Weed Is Now Legal In Connecticut, Virginia, and New Mexico 

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3 US states have changed the way they legislate cannabis. Read on to learn more about new cannabis laws in New Mexico, Virginia, and Connecticut.

It’s been a busy week in the world of weed; the end of June 2021 saw 3 different US states legalize cannabis to varying degrees. Below we’ll walk you through legal weed in New Mexico, Virginia, and Connecticut.

Legal Cannabis in New Mexico

New Mexico’s revised cannabis law came into effect on Tuesday, June 29th. Adults aged 21 or older can now legally possess up to 2 ounces of cannabis flower and 16 grams of concentrates, as well as grow up to 6 mature plants.
The state’s Cannabis Control Division (part of New Mexico’s Department of Regulation and Licensing) has also set out a clear timeline with key dates to help facilitate the rollout of legal cannabis across the state.

According to the Division’s timeline, the state of New Mexico will:

  • Create a Cannabis Regulatory Advisory Committee and begin accepting cannabis business licenses no later than September 1st, 2021,
  • Start issuing cannabis business licences as well as cannabis training and education programs by January 1st, 2022, and
  • Start legal retail sales of cannabis by April 1st, 2022.

Legal Cannabis in Virginia

On Thursday, July 1st, Virginia became the first Southern US state to legalize the recreational use of cannabis.
Virginia’s laws, however, aren’t as liberal as those of other states; adults aged 21 or older can possess up to 1 ounce of cannabis, share or gift cannabis to other adults, and grow up to 4 plants per household.

The sale or distribution of cannabis for recreational use will remains illegal across the entire state. Individuals also have the right to restrict the use of cannabis on their property, and employers can adopt their own cannabis policies. Finally, state colleges or universities that receive federal funding also will not allow cannabis on their premises.
Virginia’s new cannabis bill also includes a reenactment clause, meaning state lawmakers will have to vote on the topic again next year. State officials have made it clear that legalizing the sale of recreational cannabis won’t be on the agenda until 2024.

Legal Weed In Connecticut

July 1st also marked the legalization of recreational cannabis in Connecticut.
Under the state’s new laws, adults aged 21 and over can now possess or consume up to 1.5 ounces of “dried cannabis plant material” as well as have an extra 5 ounces in a locked container in their house or in the trunk or locked glove compartment of their car. As of July 23rd, adults will also be able to legally grow up to 6 plants per person or 12 per household.

Under the new laws, police officers have also lost the right to stop or search any person or their vehicle for “probable cause” if they detect the smell of cannabis. They may, however, test the driver or passenger of a car for cannabis if they believe either to be high.

Retail cannabis sales aren’t expected to be legalized in Connecticut until 2022. When it does, however, the state has set aside 50% of its licenses for equity applicants (which the state defines as residents of communities “disproportionately impacted” by the War on Drugs), and 75% of the revenue from cannabis sales will be dedicated toward equity efforts and community reinvestment, according to Marijuana Policy Project. 

 

Le cannabis efficace contre certaines tumeurs? Une étude le démontre.

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C’est peut-être le début d’un révolution dans la lutte contre le cancer. Une étudiante en biologie israélienne vient d’isoler la concentration de cannabinoides nécessaire à la destruction de tumeurs malignes. Publiés par le Volcani Institute, centre à la pointe de la recherche appliquée sur le cannabis, les travaux préliminaires de la jeune Hadar Perisi font déjà beaucoup parler d’eux. Zeweed l’a contacté pour en savoir un peu plus.

Hadar Perisi suit un master de biologie environnementale à l’université de Bar-Ilan et au sein de l’Organisme de Recherche Agricole du Volcani Institute, en Israël. Alors que, face à sa webcam, elle me parle ses travaux (qui sont aussi sortis dans la revue d’oncologie Cancers de mai 2021) elle ne peut s’empêcher d’esquisser un sourire aux lèvres. « C’est un réel honneur. C’est très enthousiasmant d’imaginer vers quoi cela peut nous mener » me dit-elle.

Cannabis VS gliome

C’est en étudiant les effets de certains cannabinoïdes sur le glioblastome multiforme (GBM), que Hadar en a isolé la quantité et répartition nécessaire pour le GBM, tumeur aussi agressive et létale.
« Un gliome est une tumeur qui se développe dans les cellules gliales, qui sont les cellules non-neuronales de notre cerveau, les glioblastomes sont les tumeurs les plus agressives , les plus envahissantes et fatales » précise Hadar, sans le sourire.

Le traitement des tumeurs GBM consiste généralement en une intervention chirurgicale, visant à extraire la tumeur là où cela est possible, combinée à une chimiothérapie agressive et/ou à de la radiothérapie. « Même avec ces traitements, le pronostic pour les patients ayant un glioblastome ne s’est pas amélioré depuis trente ans », poursuit Hadar. “Ce pronostic correspond à un temps médian de survie estimé entre 12 et 15 mois. Les glioblastomes sont particulièrement difficiles à traiter car leur développement ne ressemble à celui d’aucun autre type de tumeur“.

Scanner cérébral montrant un gliome papillon (GPM). Image reproduite avec l’aimable autorisation d’Eurorad.

Au lieu de croître comme une boule de neige, en devenant progressivement de plus en plus gros, les glioblastomes croissent à travers le cerveau. Certains d’eux peuvent attaquer les deux hémisphères, tandis que d’autres sont multi-focaux : ils se développent dans plusieurs parties du cerveau simultanément. Les glioblastomes sont particulièrement difficiles à extraire du fait de leur expansion rapide à travers la substance blanche du cerveau. Ils peuvent également adopter des formes complexes tridimensionnelles qui endommagent des zones essentielles du cerveau, affectant ainsi la capacité à se mouvoir, à parler et à penser.

Cellules GBM humaines A172 au microscope inversé. Image reproduite avec l’aimable autorisation du laboratoire de recherche Koltai.

Effet entourage VS cannabinoïdes isolés.

Je suis rejoint dans ma conversation sur Zoom par Hinanit, la professeur de Hadar et chef de département au Volcano Institute. Hinanit m’explique que les recherches d’Hadar sont une avancée majeure car jusque là, les études étaient menées sur des composants uniques. Une des principales limites rencontrées jusqu’alors par la recherche sur le cannabis est qu’elle s’est faite sur les effets spécifiques de composants isolés. « Quand vous prenez de l’huile de CBD, elle contient bien sûr du CBD. Mais cette huile contient aussi de nombreux autres éléments, dont la composition est si importante que si vous ne la comprenez pas exactement, vous ne pourrez pas savoir ce qui est vraiment efficace pour vous ».

L’azote liquide permet d’isoler et extraire précisément chaque cannabinoïde . Image reproduite avec l’aimable autorisation du laboratoire de recherche Koltai.

Selon la professeure, cette mauvaise compréhension des différents composants du cannabis est une des principales raisons du manque d’essais cliniques réalisés sur chacun de ces composants en tant que traitements contre le cancer. L’étude menée par Hadar est la première a rétablir notre compréhension du potentiel médicinal du cannabis. Ses recherches, qui portent sur des extractions de cinq différentes variétés de cannabis, ont identifié la variété Dairy Queen (une riche en THC, et une sans THC mais riche en CBG) comme particulièrement efficace pour détruire les cellules GBM et les empêcher de se multiplier.

Hinanit rappelle que les résultats de cette étude sont, comme toujours, limités. Notamment parce qu’ils n’ont pas été testés sur des patients dans un contexte clinique.

US Cannabis Workers Are Unionizing

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As legalization continues to spread across the US, cannabis workers are coming together to protect their rights within this new, budding industry.

Workers at Cresco Labs in Massachusetts are celebrating, and with good reason; they’ve just signed off on their latest union contract.
“I am so proud of our hardworking team at Cresco for sticking together and securing this victory,” cheers Molly Balbuena, a 3-year employee at Cresco Labs, Fall River, and one of the negotiators of the new contract.

The agreement secures steady annual pay rises over the next 3 years and outlines fair scheduling policies to protect the workers’ hours. It also ensures Cresco’s cultivation workers get important workplace protection and retirement benefits.
“We are so excited to have secured the better future and collective voice we were looking for” explains Balbuena in a statement following the victory. “We urge all cannabis workers to come together and say Union Yes!”

Pay rises secured over the next 3 years

And Cresco’s workers aren’t alone; as more and more US states are changing their stance on cannabis and the national industry for legal weed grows, the worker’s making it all happen are mobilizing to protect their rights and have a voice within this new industry.

On Wednesday, June 23rd, enough employees signed authorization cards at a March and Ash dispensary in Mission Valley, San Diego, for the entire store to go union. Like other March and Ash employees, those of the Mission Valley store are now protected by the United Food and Commercial Workers union.

Only a few weeks earlier, March and Ash employees from other branches joined the same union. Together with its representatives, they were able to negotiate a contract that ensures childcare and education reimbursements, cash bonuses and retirement benefits, wage increases, paid time-off, and even bereavement leave.
The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) union is also behind what they claim to be the “first-ever national agreement” that unionizes cannabis workers across different US states.

CBD production unionized

UFCW announced the agreement, which unionized the entire workforce of joint cannabis venture Union Harvest and Nature’s Root Lab, on May 25th. It covers workers from both Colorado and Florida in production, packaging, purchasing, sales and worker/customer education.

“We are committed to running a pro-union company that will produce and sell high quality CBD products to consumers across the nation and honor the hard work of our employees with a union contract” commented Justin Eisenach, Managing Director and Founder of Union Harvest.

“That means higher wages and better benefits as well as giving workers a voice, which can be critical in any business, but particularly important in an emerging industry such as cannabis. Having a good relationship with our employees is important and a signed union contract is part of that. Now consumers will have a choice when they purchase CBD and can buy USA union-made, union-packed, union-sold products. ”

Linking up with UFCW is definitely no small feat for cannabis workers; the union represents an estimated 1.3 million workers across the US and Canada. Now, it’s also the largest representative of cannabis employees and counts with a dedicated Cannabis Division.
Unfortunately, however, the plan to go union doesn’t always bear fruit.

Last week, employees at Greenleaf Compassion Center (a licensed dispensary in Rhode Island) held a 1-day strike: The workers claim that their CEO, Seth Bock, unrightfully fired Ben Telford, a member of the company’s union negotiating committee.

Mr Telford told the Cannabis Business Times he was shocked to show up at work on June 23rd only to be told that he’d been terminated because his “services were no longer required.”
“When I asked for further explanation, I was told that there was none needed to be given at the time, so I gathered my belongings and left for the afternoon and said goodbye to everybody”. Harsh times in a booming industry.

Counter action against wrongful lay offs

Employees at Greenleaf voted 21:1 in favor of joining UFCW in April. According to the union, Mr Telford’s termination isn’t an isolated incident; in a press release, UFCW claims Mr Bock has “exhibited a history of retaliation against employees.”

According to the same release, Mr Bock has fired at least 4 other Greenleaf employees in the last 6 months; has been sued by a former employee for age and disability discrimination, and is currently being investigated by the US National Labor Relations Board for retaliation.

Up until now, the cannabis sector has seen very little union participation, which isn’t surprising seeing that weed remains a Schedule 1 drug under US federal law, and the entire industry hangs in a state of legal limbo.

As more and more states embrace legalization and the legal weed industry continues to grow, however, workers nonetheless seem determined to ensure that their jobs in the cannabis sector are just as secure and promising as a career in any other industry.

 

California approves $100 million stimulus package for legal cannabis industry

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California’s State Legislature approved a $100 million stimulus package to save its struggling weed industry on Monday. The money will go to a total of 17 Californian cities and counties to support local cannabis companies, most of which continue to operate on provisional cannabis licenses or illegally.

The stimulus package forms part of the California Comeback Plan, a larger budget initiative proposed by Governor Gavin Newsom in May. Newsom marketed his $100 billion plan as the “biggest economic recovery package in California history” and promised comprehensive measures to help the state bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Part of Newsom’s plan is to inject $100 million dollars into California’s cannabis industry, which continues to struggle against a major licensing logjam. Despite approving Proposition 64 (Cali’s Adult Use of Marijuana Act) 5 years ago, over 80% of the state’s weed companies continue to operate on temporary licenses.

To date, California has only approved 1,086 permanent cannabis licenses, and industry reports suggest that there are almost 3-times as many unlicensed weed companies operating across the state.
Meanwhile, companies operating on provisional licenses can legally engage in commercial cannabis activity for just 120 days and may apply for 90-day extensions if their application is for an annual license. According to the United Cannabis Business Association, however, Cali’s weed companies can wait anywhere from 2 to 4 years to get fully licensed, and many have to face the prospect of closing their doors, at least temporarily, in that time.

So, what’s the hold up when it comes to licensing California’s weed companies?
Answering that question is complex.

Some sources point to an environmental review; in order to get a permanent license, cannabis companies need to go through an extensive review of the negative environmental impact of their operations and present a plan for reducing those harms. This review process is known to be complicated, expensive, and time-consuming.

But it doesn’t stop there; California’s weed industry is notoriously hard to break into. A license alone can cost anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000, and navigating the legal framework to apply for one is arguably impossible without the help of an attorney.
More specifically, California has made it particularly difficult for low-income or minority communities (those most affected by the War on Drugs) to get into the cannabis industry. While Prop 64 approved equity programs to prioritize licensing for members of these communities, the efficacy of these programs has seen plenty of scrutiny.

And while Governor Newsom’s cannabis stimulus package has certainly turned heads, industry professionals doubt whether it’s enough to address California’s licensing issues.
It is a significant amount of money, but I don’t know that it actually answers the problem of provisional licenses making it through CEQA analysis in a timely manner to get an annual license,” says Jerred Kiloh, president of the United Cannabis Business Association.

Kiloh also criticizes the scope of the plan; the $100 million grant will be split between a total of 17 cities and counties, all of which already allow legal cannabis sales, such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, Long Beach, Desert Hot Springs, and more.
It’s not incentivizing localities who have cannabis bans to get their ordinances up and running,” he says. “The real problem is that CEQA analysis is a very arduous process,” he added. “I think it would be good to have more reform of the licensing system instead of just putting money to it.”

 

How to properly manage the temperature and humidity in your grow room

Temperature and relative humidity are easily 2 of the most important factors impacting your grow room and the health of your plants. Unfortunately, they are also often overlooked, especially by beginner growers.
In this article, we’ll teach you everything you need to know about the ideal temperature and humidity levels for each stage of a cannabis plant’s life, and help you spot and control temperature/humidity issues before they get out of hand .

Wait, What’s Relative Humidity?

Before we continue, you need to understand relative humidity, a concept that’s crucial to growing great weed but often misunderstood.
Relative humidity is a measurement (displayed as a percentage) of the amount of water vapour present in the air relevant to the temperature. Warm air can hold more moisture than cold air, which is exactly why using relative humidity is so important to growing cannabis; it gives us a more accurate measure of the amount of air present in our grow room.

Image courtesy of Gasparetto Engineering. 

One cubic meter of air at 30°C, for example, can hold roughly 30g of water, while the same amount of air at 10°C can only hold roughly 10g of water. The maximum amount of water air can hold is known as its Dew Point; once we exceed this Dew Point, excess moisture in the air will form as condensation like dew, fog, or rain. The graph above shows the different Dew Points of air at different temperatures.

To measure the humidity in your grow room, invest in a digital thermometer/hygrometer. These inexpensive devices make it easy to track the humidity and temperature inside your grow room and create the perfect environment for your plants.

What’s The Perfect Temperature And Relative Humidity For Growing Cannabis?

Cannabis is a hardy plant that can grow and adapt to various conditions. As we saw in our earlier chapter on the cannabis life cycle, cannabis plants germinate in spring and begin to flower after the summer solstice in response to changes in their photoperiod (except autoflowering strains, which flower based on age).

While individual cultivars might prefer slightly different conditions, most cannabis varieties like warm summers and plenty of sunlight. As they pass through the different stages of their lives, however, cannabis plants favour slightly different conditions; seedlings, for example, love warm, humid conditions, whereas flowering females like things a little drier).

If you’re growing outdoors, you obviously don’t have a lot of control over the temperature and RH in your garden. Indoor growers, on the other hand, can closely monitor and tweak the temperature and RH in their rooms/tents to create the perfect environment for their plants at all stages of their lifecycle.

The table below highlights the perfect growing conditions for cannabis plants in the seedling, vegetative, and flowering phases:

Ideal Temperature Ideal RH Description
Seedling phase Lights on: 20-25°C

Lights off: 20°C

65 -70% Young cannabis seedlings or clones like warm, humid conditions that allow them to take up water via their leaves while they develop their roots.
Veg. phase Lights on: 22-28°C

Lights off: 18-20°C

40-60% Once your plants have developed a solid root system, you can start gradually lowering the humidity and increasing the temperature in your grow room/tent until you reach the ideal conditions described here.

Note: Never change the temperature or humidity in your room/tent drastically as this can shock your plants and stunt their growth, cause pest/pathogen problems, and greatly impact both the size and quality of your yields.

Early and mid-flowering phase (weeks 1-6 approx) Lights on: 20-26 C°

Lights off: 18-20°C

40-50% Flowering cannabis plants like slightly cooler and drier conditions. Female cannabis flowers can trap a lot of moisture, which can lead to bud rot and attract other pests or pathogens into your grow room. This is especially true if you’re growing indica-dominant strains with a dense bud structure. Sativa strains tend to have whispier buds that are better suited to more humid conditions (see our chapter on cannabis genetics for more info).

Again, remember to gradually adjust the conditions in your grow room to avoid stressing your plants.

Late flowering phase (final 3-4 weeks before harvest) Lights on: 20-24°C

Lights off: 15-20°C

30-40% As your plants enter the final stages of their flowering cycle, we recommend further lowering the humidity and temperature in your grow room/tent to avoid bud rot and other humidity issues. Increasing the thermic amplitude (the difference between nighttime and daytime temperatures) can also help promote more trichome production and bring out some vibrant colours in your plants buds, especially in purple strains or Indica-dominant varieties.

 

How To Create The Perfect Conditions In Your Indoor Grow Room/Tent

  • Know what a particular cultivar likes! Different cannabis strains prefer different conditions. Whenever you’re growing a new variety, try to gather as much information about it as possible (preferably from someone who has grown the same strain or the seedbank that bred it), and also pay close attention to how the plant reacts to different climatic conditions.
  • Buy a thermometer/hygrometer. Don’t even try to play around with the temperature/RH in your tent/room until you’ve bought a thermometer/hygrometer.
  • Know what to look for. While plant’s obviously can’t talk, they are very good at communicating when something isn’t right. Study the list of warning signs of temperature/humidity issues below in order to catch these problems early and adapt accordingly.
  • Use a humidifier/dehumidifier to adapt the relative humidity in your grow room/tent.
  • Use intake, outtake, and oscillating fans (and heating/cooling, if necessary) to keep temperatures optimal.

Signs of Plants Stressed By Temperature/Humidity Issues

Signs of heat stress

  • Rapidly drying soil.
  • Leaves cupping and pointing upwards.
  • Visibly burnt or dried out leaves or buds.
  • Flowering plants exposed to hot conditions grow airy, thin buds and sometimes start developing new, whispy flowers on top of older ones.

How to drive down the temperature in your grow room/tent:

  • Increase air circulation and use intake and outtake fans to keep hot air flowing out of your tent/room and fresh, cool air flowing in.
  • Switch to LED lights that produce less heat.
  • Move your grow lights further away from the top of your plants.

Signs of cold stress

  • Stunted growth. Cold weather affects many of cannabis’ metabolic processes, making it harder for the plant to take up nutrients and water to fuel its growth.
  • Nutrient deficiencies. As temperatures drop below optimum levels, cannabis plants struggle to take up certain nutrients and may develop signs of a nutrient deficiency.
  • Soil that stays moist for extended periods of time.
  • Wilting.

How to increase the temperature in your grow room/tent:

  • Move your plants into a warmer area of the house.
  • Switch from LED lights to a grow light that emits more heat.
  • Turn off or slow down your intake and outtake fans.

Signs of high humidity

  • Soil that never completely dries out.
  • Limp, weak plants.
  • Stunted growth. Just like with low temperatures and low humidity, high humidity also affects the metabolism of plants and their ability to take up water and nutrients.
  • Bud rot, botrytis, or other fungal pathogens thrive in humid conditions, attacking your plants’ buds, foliage, and roots and causing them to rot.

How to decrease humidity in your grow room/tent:

  • Increase air circulation using outtake, intake, and oscillating fans.
  • Water your plants less frequently.
  • Use a dehumidifier.

Signs of low humidity

  • Soil that dries up extremely fast. Plants exposed to dry conditions drink a lot more water.
  • As a side effect of drinking more water, plants might also take up more nutrients from their soil and fertilizer and develop nutrient burn.
  • Stunted growth and weak, feeble plants.

How to increase humidity in the grow room

  • Use a humidifier.
  • Mist the air in your grow space (do not do this during the flowering phase).

While many people think cannabis grows like a weed, there are many ways we can help our plants grow even faster and produce bigger, better harvests. And maintaining the right temperature and relative humidity is one of the first and most important ways of doing exactly that.

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