Welcome to Senior Cannabis Digest. This week we look at a farmers market for cannabis, edible products that are an alternative to gummies and brownies, a way to prove you have received a Presidential cannabis pardon and more. Enjoy.
The Shape of Things to Come
A different type of farmers market is operating in San Francisco. However, shoppers who frequent it won’t find zucchini or tomatoes. What they will find is cannabis and lots of it.
That’s the word from Lester Black, writing for the online publication SFGate. According to Black the market is a monthly event that takes place at one of two downtown San Francisco dispensaries: Moe Greens on Market Street and Barbary Coast on Mission Street.
Black says that the “farmers market” model allows customers to learn about dozens of different cannabis strains directly from the farmers who grow them. Consumers can smoke what they purchase at these markets because the events take place in a consumption lounge.
He writes that the farmers market is the brainchild of Susan Tibbon, who owns a cannabis topical brand called Lovingly & Legally with her partner Paul Hasbury. Originally, Ribbon teamed up with the owners of Barbary Coast and Moe Greens to create a series of “meet the farmers”events. According to Tibbon, while her business has been thriving in California’s medical market, the regulations that oversee the state’s recreational cannabis market make it “almost impossible to support small-scale pot farming.”
That’s because, notes Black, small farms, such as those who sell their wares at the farmers market, have to compete with companies worth as much as $100 million when trying to get shelf space for their products at legal dispensaries.
Said Black, “Imagine if Budweiser could block your local craft brewery from being able to sell its beer to you — that’s what’s happening with legal weed in California.”
Tibbon told Black that market-goers appreciate the opportunity to support small-scale farmers who are growing environmentally friendly cannabis and that several told her they, “want to buy weed from these people who are farming sustainably.”
Not afraid to get personally involved in his story, Black describes finding cannabis, during one of his visits to the market, that smelled “so sweet and citrusy” that he thought he was smelling fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice. He’s convinced that he wouldn’t have been exposed to the strain without visiting the farmers market. Black compared it to trying to find locally grown radicchio at a corner store.
You can learn much more by reading the article by Lester Black that appeared in the March 7, 2023 issue of SFGate.com. He does excellent work.
www.sfgate.com/cannabis/article/san-francisco-cannabis-farmers-market-17823124.php
Cannabis News and Notes
Gone are the days when consuming cannabis almost always meant smoking a joint or making a brownie crammed with cannabis.
The rise of both medical marijuana and recreational cannabis at the state level has spurred the creation of a wide variety of commercially available products, such as gummies, that make it easier for mature consumers to find the results they’re seeking, whether for recreation or for personal care.
Rosalind Early, writing for the publication Riverfront Times, has found eight different products—other than gummies— designed to offer consumers the cannabis experience they desire. Here are three of her finds. Just remember, not all of the products mentioned are available everywhere cannabis is legal so you may have to check with your local dispensary.
• For those who are new to cannabis she suggests a product called 1906 Drops. These are pills that contain THC, CBD and other medicinal herbs and are said to be calorie free. The pills come in different formulations. For example, there is one called the Go pill, which includes 5 mg THC and 5 mg CBD as well as caffeine and L-theanine, an amino acid found in green tea. Early says the pill is supposed to give the consumer focus and avoid caffeine crashes. Another, called the Genius pill, is said to help with brain power by not only including a 2.5 mg THC:CBD blend but also rhodiola, bacopa and galangal for brain function, memory and alertness, respectively. According to Early, the “drops” cost about $5 for two pills.
• Early writes that those who are in search of “fresh breath and good times,” may want to explore a line of THC-infused breath mints from a company called Ratio. Designed for those who enjoy microdosing—taking a lower dose of cannabinoids designed to produce a lighter high—the mints generally contain 2.5 mg THC per mint and are a hybrid with varying amounts of CBD. For example, the company’s Active mints are meant to get a person “off the couch,” while its Relax mints are heavy with CBD, 2.5 mg per mint, and lighter on the THC, and are said to provide a relaxing afternoon. They’re sold in vials that contain 40 mints and cost about $25.
• Another option is a line of snack foods infused with THC from a company called Missouri’s Own. Each package of the company’s Red Hot Riplets—think crunchy chips— contains about 20 milligrams of THC and costs $14 before taxes. They’re said to offer a “spicy kick and just enough sweetness to light up the taste buds.”
To learn more about these and other edible alternatives to gummies, we encourage you to read the article by Rosalind Early that appeared in the March 2, 2023 issue of the RiverFrontTimes.com.
www.riverfronttimes.com/weed/8-ways-to-eat-your-weed-without-resorting-to-gummies-39579137
Stats of the Week
This week’s magic number is 59 percent. According to a Pew Research survey conducted in October of 2022, that’s the percentage of Americans who believe marijuana should be legal for both medical and recreational use.
Daniel De Vise, writing for The Hill, reported that the survey also found another 30 percent of respondents said cannabis should be legal for medical use alone. Only ten percent of respondents said cannabis should not be legal at all.
What makes this particularly noteworthy is that according to a research brief recently cited by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 57 percent of American adults would support “a policy prohibiting the sale of all tobacco products.”
In his article, DeVise makes the argument that these findings reflect a growing public consensus that cannabis is safer than tobacco, which the CDC considers the leading cause of preventable death. He goes on to make the point that every state but Wyoming restricts smoking in some or all public places and workplaces. All states impose excise taxes on cigarettes, and federal law prohibits their sale to people under 21.
Yet, he notes, tobacco remains legal in every state while cannabis, by contrast, remains illegal under federal law.
He also writes that studies—which he does not identify—have found marijuana less addictive than cigarettes and marijuana smoke less harmful to the lungs, although doctors caution that cannabis still poses many potential health hazards.
The decline of tobacco in American society, says DeVise, mirrors the rise of cannabis, but in reverse. More than 40 percent of American adults smoked until the early 1970s, Gallup polling shows. By 2022, the population of smokers had dwindled to 11 percent. At the same time, public support for legal cannabis has increased.
All of which, says DeVise, makes the case that Americans now favor legal cannabis over legal tobacco. While that may be a stretch—voters in Oklahoma recently voted against legalizing recreational cannabis —he does make a compelling argument that opinions on tobacco and cannabis are indeed changing.
To learn more, we suggest reading the article by Daniel DeVise that appeared in the March 8, 2023 issue of The Hill.com.
Thanks to the one and only M Ceallaigh MacBhloscaidh for sending the story our way.
thehill.com/policy/healthcare/3888640-americans-now-favor-legal-cannabis-over-legal-tobacco/
Cannabis and the Law
For many mature consumers, receiving a Presidential pardon for a cannabis possession offense under federal law or in Washington, D.C. is a good thing. Being able to prove that you have been pardoned is even better, particularly if that conviction has prevented you from obtaining jobs or housing.
Now, proving that you have received such a pardon may be getting easier.
According to Tom Angell, reporting for Marijuana Moment, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has launched an application form that people who were covered under President Joe Biden’s mass marijuana pardon can fill out to demonstrate that they were granted clemency.
As part of the launch, the DOJ said, “Those who were pardoned on Oct. 6, 2022, are eligible for a certificate of pardon. Consistent with the proclamation, to be eligible for a certificate, an applicant must have been charged or convicted of simple possession of marijuana in either a federal court or D.C. Superior Court, and the applicant must have been lawfully within the United States at the time of the offense. Similarly, an individual must have been a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident on Oct. 6, 2022.”
As part of the announcement, the DOJ made it clear that “those who were convicted of state marijuana offenses do not qualify for the pardon.”
The online application will be available on the Office of the Pardon Attorney’s website: Application for Certificate of Pardon. The form allows eligible persons to submit documentation to the Office of the Pardon Attorney and receive a certificate indicating the person was pardoned on Oct. 6, 2022, for simple possession of marijuana.
The form itself can be filled out and mailed in or completed online. It asks for basic information about a person’s qualifying federal cannabis offense, as well as demographic data.
Said Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), who co-chairs the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, “This is another small, but critical step with the Biden Administration coming to terms with the new cannabis realities, and taking another step in the right direction.”
To learn much more we urge you to read Tom Angell’s article in the March 3, 2023 issue of Marijuana Moment.net. Mr. Angell is the editor of the publication and his work is consistently on point.
www.marijuanamoment.net/justice-department-launches-marijuana-pardon-certificate-application/
Celebrity Cannabis Spotlight
This week the spotlight is on a woman who is both a multi-platinum recording artist and a trained doula—that’s a person who provides advice, emotional support, and physical comfort to a mother before, during, and just after childbirth—who has decided to add the title of cannabis entrepreneur to her resume.
According to Jimi Devine, writing for LA Weekly, Erykah Badu has announced she has partnered with the cannabis retailer Cookies and is launching a line of cannabis products called That Badu. The line dropped on International Women’s Day.
Described as a cross between the Lemonchello and Jet Fuel Gelato strains, That Badu will be available in eighths and pre-rolls. It’s expected there will be more offerings from the line in time for Mother’s Day.
When asked why she decided to enter the cannabis sector, Badu told Devine, “I’ve always been an advocate and interested in cannabinoids. My first band is called The Cannabinoids. We are all on the electronic drum machines, nine of us, and we just improv.”
Badu added that cannabis is part of her early morning ritual as she works to find alignment for the day. Said Badu,“It brings clarity, and the aroma is also part of the ritual. The smoking is also a part of the ritual, the breathing, inhaling and blowing and exhaling. All these things have been very instrumental in my creativity as an artist, as a very busy entrepreneur, and as a mother who has to work in a very masculine world. It helps me not forget who I am and that I am also important.”
At present, That Badu will be available to both recreational and medicinal consumers in California at both Cookies and Lemonade stores. Additional products–including Badu x Cookies SF apparel, topical creams, edibles and a non-psychoactive mushroom tea–are planned to arrive on the Cookies CBD and Badu World Market websites for purchase on May 14.
To learn more, we suggest reading the story by Jimi Devine that appeared in the March 1, 2023 issue of LAWeekly.com.
You can also visit the Cookies brand website.
Senior Cannabis Digest is compiled and edited by Joe Kohut and John Kohut. You can reach them ar joe.kohut@gmail.com and at 347-528-8753.
