Welcome to Senior Cannabis Digest. This week we review an excellent guide to the differences between Indica and Sativa cannabis, offer tips on setting up a home growing operation, take a look at CBD and endorsements by pro athletes and more. Enjoy.
Cannabis Corner
While we tend to focus on current articles that address trends or new research, fortunately, we occasionally come across valuable articles we missed when they were originally released.
Such is the case with an article by Kimberly Holland that first appeared on Healthline.com in April of 2019. The article, “Sativa vs. Indica: What to Expect Across Cannabis Types and Strains,” is an excellent overview of the differences between the two types of cannabis that are often used for medicinal and recreational purposes.
Starting with the primary characteristics of each type—the energizing “head” high associated with Sativa and the deep relaxation associated with Indica— Holland goes on to explore cannabinoids such as THC and CBD as well as lesser know cannabinoids such as CBN, CBG and THCA and the effects associated with each. She then offers some insight into how to choose which type is most likely to meet a consumer’s needs.
Holland goes on to describe the climate conditions favored by each type of plant, the appearance of the plants themselves, the typical CBD to THC ratio found in each type of cannabis as well as the best time to use each type of plant and the most notable strains associated with Sativa and Indica.
The article, which was medically reviewed by Alan Carter, Pharm.D., also includes a review of hybrid versions of the two types of cannabis, a description of a lesser-known type of cannabis called Ruderalis, an analysis of the most significant side effects and risks associated with each type of plant and some tips on how to choose specific strains.
Whether you are a mature consumer who is new to the cannabis experience or you are a long-time user who wants to brush up on your understanding of which type of strain is most likely to meet your needs, this article can provide you with an excellent understanding of the primary characteristics of Sativa and Indica and enable you to become as well-informed consumer.
As you might have guessed by now, we like this article a lot and you can learn much more by reading “Sativa vs. Indica: What to Expect Across Cannabis Types and Strains” by Kimberley Holland. It appeared in the April 8, 2019 issue of Healthline.com.
www.healthline.com/health/sativa-vs-indica
Growing Tips
If the pandemic has you spending more time at home and provided you with an opportunity to examine your life choices, such as what ever happened to Betty Sue and—assuming you live in a state where it is legal—is it too late to start growing your own marijuana?
While we have no idea where Betty Sue is, the good news is that Leafly has a detailed and entertaining article by Liora Ipsum with the provocative title, “How Much Weed Can You Really Grow From 4 Plants?”
The core of Ipsum’s article is a long conversation with home grower Jonathan Hirsh during which Hirsh offers a number of tips on how to grow healthy plants at home and how much of a yield one can expect.
Just for the record, Hirsh claims he harvested 20 pounds of cannabis (wet weight) from his four mature plants. He told Ipsum that while he’s devoting just under 18 pounds to freezing for extraction, he’s drying the rest to smoke. Hirsh also estimates that if he were to dry it all, his crop would yield nearly 8 pounds of dry marijuana, or almost 2 pounds per plant.
For more information on getting the most from your home growing operation, visit Liora Ipsum’s article in the October 22, 2020 issue of Leafly.com.
www.leafly.com/news/canada/how-much-weed-can-you-grow-from-4-plants
Quote of the Week
“In the past, the pro-legalization message was a lot about how an arrest can ruin a life, and you can’t get credit, and you can’t get an apartment, and a young person can make a mistake and be messed up for life. The messages that we’re using [now] in a lot of these places are about how people can access marijuana for health purposes and the revenue that’s available. ”— Martin Hamburger, a Democratic strategist working on legalization campaigns this year in Montana, South Dakota and Mississippi.
Hamburger’s comments appear in Reid Wilson’s article on current legalization efforts that appeared in the October 23, 2020 issue of The Hill.com.
thehill.com/homenews/campaign/522358-legal-marijuana-backers-tout-potential-money-for-states?
Stat of the Week
Our favorite statistics this week comes from a recent poll of cannabis consumers who intend to vote in the 2020 presidential election.
The poll was posted by the folks at New Frontier Data and contains some interesting results. For example, while the Biden/Harris ticket leads the way with support from 53 percent of cannabis users who intend to vote, 32 percent of those polled said they intended to vote for the Trump/Pence ticket. So much for cannabis use being solely a liberal issue.
Other results from the poll that stood out concerned legalization at the federal level. Researchers found nearly 3 among 4 (76 percent) of Democrats, 2 in 3 (68 percent) of independents, and 1 in 2 (51 percent.) of Republicans favored legalization.
You can learn more by visiting the article “Cannabis and the 2020 U.S. Election.” It’s in the October 25, 2020 issue of Cannabyte, a publication of New Frontier Data.
newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/cannabis-and-the-2020-u-s-election/?
CBD and Professional Sports
While a number of professional athletes who play individual sports, such as golfer Bubba Watson and tennis pro John Isner, have endorsed the use of CBD as part of their training regimen, athletes who play professional team sports face a number of obstacles when it comes to using and endorsing CBD.
For example, according to an article in Hemp Industry Daily, the NFL Players Association has updated its policy to discourage athletes from endorsing products that contain CBD or other cannabinoids.
The Association’s policy on endorsements now reads,”NFL players, coaches, and other employees must not endorse or appear in advertisements for alcoholic beverages, tobacco, or cannabinoid products.”
The statement looks like it may complicate life for a few highly-visible players, such as Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes who has entered into what’s described as a “a multi-year brand partnership deal” with a sports beverage company called BioSteel. The Toronto-based company has partnered with Canopy Growth to produce several products that contain CBD.
The Players Association statement came two days after Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield agreed to become a brand ambassador for the CBD brand Beam. Mayfield is said to be one of an increasing number of athletes with CBD endorsement deals after the World Anti-Doping Agency—which oversees the World Anti-Doping Code used by more than 600 sports organizations, including the International Olympic Committee and U.S. Anti-Doping Agency—removed it as a banned substance in 2018.
During his short retirement from pro football, Rob Gronkowski, tight end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was very vocal about the pain relief he found with CBD and went on to become a brand ambassador for the company CBDMedic. Gronkowski has been silent on the subject since his return to the pro game.
Another former player of note, Brett Favre, recently became a brand ambassador for a company called Green Eagle, which offers a CBD product line for pain relief.
It will be interesting to see how long the NFL and the Players Association will keep CBD companies at arms length and let CBD endorsement opportunities remain the realm of retired players and those who play other non-team sports, such as motocross icon Carey Hart.
You can learn more by reading the article, “Report: NFL players’ union warns members not to endorse CBD products” which appeared in the October 19, 2020 issue of Hemp Industry Daily.
hempindustrydaily.com/report-nfl-players-union-warns-members-not-to-endorse-cbd-products/?
Senior Cannabis Digest is compiled and edited by Joe Kohut and John Kohut. You can reach them at joe.kohut@gmail.com or at 347-528-8753.
