Welcome to Senior Cannabis Digest. This week we look at getting paid to smoke marijuana, why Martha’s Vineyard is running out of cannabis, the best seed websites for those who want to grow their own and much more. Enjoy.
Cannabis Corner
If you once thought your dream job would be to get paid to smoke marijuana, you just might find that dreams can come true.
That’s because a company that makes marijuana rolling papers is looking for 200 volunteers to participate in a study where they’ll be paid $4.20 to smoke two free pre-rolls and provide feedback on the smokability of the pre-rolls.
According to Kyle Jaeger, reporting for Marijuana Moment, a company called DaySavers has announced it’s partnering with the Cannabis Research Coalition and the Network of Applied Pharmacognosy (NAP) for its “Science of Smokeability” study, which will investigate how different cultivation and processing practices affect consumers’ smoking experience.
As the company noted in a press release, “This research not only has the potential to improve product quality and consistency, but also promote sustainability, profitability, and a deeper scientific understanding of cannabis as a medicinal and recreational product.”
In his article, Jaeger writes that adults 21 and older are being invited to participate in the experiment. DaySavers said it will randomly select 200 volunteers, who will be paid the symbolic $4.20 stipend to test two cannabis joints that will be shipped to them.
While the study may sound humorous, it has several serious objectives. For example, it will explore how variables such as mineral, nutritional and moisture content affect smoke composition and smoke quality.
Said Harrison Bard, CEO of DaySavers and its parent company Custom Cones USA, “This type of research exists and has been proven to be extremely important in the tobacco industry, so we are excited to pave the way for a safer and more enjoyable future for the cannabis industry where quality and standards are at the forefront of cannabis cultivation and pre-roll product development.”
Jaeger also makes the point that the results of the study will be shared with the cannabis team at the standards organization ASTM International, which last year helped to add a pair of new marijuana items to a federal handbook that are meant to provide model standards for cannabis definitions, packaging and labeling requirements and best storage practices to control for moisture loss in marijuana flower.
To learn more, we suggest you read Kyle Jaeger’s article in the June 10, 2024 issue of Marijuana Moment.net. As always, his reporting is clear, concise and on point.
Cannabis New and Notes: Summertime Blues
The dwindling supply of cannabis on the vacation island of Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts demonstrates the kinds of problems the uncoordinated patchwork of state and federal cannabis laws can create for both consumers and businesses—even in states where cannabis is legal.
Nick Perry, reporting for Associated Press, recently told the story of 81-year-old Sally Rizzo who drove up to the Island Time dispensary on Martha’s Vineyard to purchase her usual order of marijuana. Unfortunately, owner Geoff Rose had to tell her he’d been forced to close after selling, in Rose’s words, “every last bud and gummy.”
Rizzo, a medical marijuana user, finds the drug helps relieve her back problems and insomnia. Plus, as Rizzo told Perry, “The nice thing about getting it at a dispensary is that you can tell them specifically what you’re looking for, and know the milligrams, and know the potency, and what’s in it.”
Perry noted that unless something changes, Rizzo and other consumers on the island may soon run out of options as the island’s only other cannabis dispensary will sell all its remaining supplies by September at the latest, and Martha’s Vineyard will run out of cannabis products entirely, affecting more than 230 registered medical users and thousands more recreational ones.
Part of the problem, observed Perry, is the fact that the community of Martha’s Vineyard is located on an island that is only accessible by ferry. In his article he notes that although Massachusetts voters opted to legalize marijuana more than seven years ago, the state’s Cannabis Control Commission has taken the position that transporting cannabis across the ocean — whether by boat or plane — risks running afoul of federal laws.
That means transporting cannabis either for personal or commercial use while traveling to the island by ferry would constitute a violation of those laws.
As a result, the Commission has banned Rose from shipping cannabis to the island to restock his dispensary.
The problem created by this ban has led Rose to file a lawsuit against the Commission, which now says that finding a solution to the island’s pot problem has become a top priority. Three of the five commissioners recently visited Martha’s Vineyard to hear directly from affected residents.
The good news is that after the Commission said it would enter into settlement discussions, the law firm representing Rose in his lawsuit agreed to delay its request for an emergency injunction against the Commission.
More news as more news develops.
Nick Perry does an exceptional job of reporting on a very complex story. To learn more, we urge you to read his article in the June 10, 2024 issue of APNews.com.
apnews.com/article/marijuana-pot-marthas-vineyard-island-time-f59e9907f9d523c7eb60bd6c109cd12c?
Careers in Cannabis
There’s good news for mature consumers looking for a new career in the cannabis industry. The Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) is launching an eight-week Cannabis Training Program.
This free 45-hour training program, funded by the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training’s Real Jobs RI initiative, begins Tuesday, July 9 at CCRI’s Liston Campus in Providence.
Students receive an introduction to the entry-level jobs in the industry, the skills they need, and the applicable regulations. Participants can also visit local businesses and receive employment assistance.
The training program reflects the three main divisions of labor within the industry: cultivation, which is growing the plants; processing and production, which includes developing products such as CBD gummies and other consumables; and retail, specifically working with customers to understand their needs and recommend an appropriate product.
Classes are conducted online and in person and the curriculum is taught by industry experts. The pilot cohort program will enroll fifteen students.
CCRI Director of Industry Partnerships Stacy Sullivan. contends that the flexibility of the course scheduling and free tuition ensures the program is “equitable and accessible to those from communities that have been impacted by the criminalization of cannabis.”
Founder and CEO of EZHire Cannabis Jacob Carlson said, “The question of how people are supposed to learn skills about jobs that didn’t exist legally in a highly-regulated industry always puzzled me. How are legal cannabis businesses supposed to find trained employees? That’s why this partnership with CCRI makes sense for us at EzHire Cannabis. We are seeing more need for entry-level workers, which aligns well with community college programs, both from a cost and training level.”
Those interested can sign up for an interview by filling out the program inquiry form at ccri.edu/cannabisindustry.
To learn more, visit CCRI’s news website at www.ccri.edu/news/2024/052924cannabistraining.html
Growing Your Own
If you are a mature consumer who wants to grow your own cannabis but don’t know where to begin, you’re in luck.
The staff at the online publication Leafly has put together a list of what they think are the best places to buy seeds online. To help even more, they’ve gone ahead and classified their selections into several categories, such as best genetics and best for beginners.
Here are two of their selections.
If you are a beginning home cultivator, the folks at Leafly say the place to start is the website ILGM.com and the strain to start with is Do-si-dos.
Founded in 2012 by the master breeder Robert Bergman, ILGM.com is described as the best seed bank to start your growing journey because of its extensive online resources for novices, such as plug-and-play grow kits that are ideal for those just starting out. The site also includes a free download of Robert Bergman’s Grow Bible with every purchase.
Those who visit ILGM.com can purchase seeds for Do-si-dos. Winner of the 2021 Leafly Strain of the Year award, the strain is described as a slightly indica-leaning hybrid that can hold up well in a variety of climates and growing conditions, although it slightly prefers an indoor environment. You can start your cultivation adventure with ten Do-si-dos feminized seeds for just $149.
Feminized cannabis seeds are designed to produce only female plants that can produce the resinous, trichome covered buds coveted by home cultivators.
The site that is said to offer the best value is Seed Supreme (seedsupreme.com). Described as the largest seed bank in the USA, the site is said to have a massive selection of strains both common and rare, expertly collated into an easy-to-use webpage. The site’s online tools are designed to help customers search by a variety of desirable effects and potencies, such a high-CBD or nausea relief, making Seed Supreme one of the best places to find a specific seed for a special purpose.
To learn about other sites that can make home cultivation a more rewarding experience, we suggest reading the article “The Best Cannabis Seed Companies.” It appeared in the April 12, 2024 issue of Leafly.com.
www.leafly.com/news/growing/the-best-cannabis-seed-companies?
Cannabis Quote of the Week
“Patients may not tell their primary care providers about their cannabis use, and their doctors may not ask about it. Not asking patients about their cannabis use results in a missed opportunity for opening up doctor-patient communication regarding use of cannabis generally and for management of their symptoms.” — Dr. Lillian Gelberg
Dr. Gelberg is professor of family medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and lead author of a new study on cannabis use. Her comments are taken from an interview she did with the website UCLA Health about the study.
The key findings of the study include the following:
• 47 percent of those queried used cannabis for medical reasons.
• 76 percent used it to manage symptoms such as mental health symptoms or stress (56 percent), sleep (56 percent), and pain (37 percent).
• Most patients who reported using cannabis only for recreational reasons had also used it at some point to manage a symptom.
• Just over a third of respondents reported using cannabis in a manner that put them at risk for cannabis use disorder.
To learn more, you can visit the website UCLAhealth.org.
www.uclahealth.org/news/release/cannabis-use-common-among-patients-with-most-using-it-manage
Senior Cannabis Digest is compiled and edited by Joe Kohut and John Kohut. You can reach them at joe.kohut@gmail.com and at 347-528-8753.
