From ‘Lazy Stoner’ to Casual ConsumerThe Dude is not a product of marijuana usage, but a prime example of what can be birthed out of the product. The stoner trope—ironically, a lazy one in the 2010s—is fading fast in 2018. As more production companies attempt to exploit and/or profit off of America’s love for legal cannabis, television and film is being flooded with on-screen smoking, for better or for worse.

One recent swing and a miss was Netflix’s Disjointed, a show starring Kathy Bates as Ruth Whitefeather Feldman, a woman who runs a cannabis dispensary in Los Angeles. Created by Chuck Lorre (The Big Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men) and David Javerbaum (The Daily Show with Jon Stewart), Disjointed seemed like an obvious cash grab birthed out of the cannabis boom, and yet, aside from its setting and props, the show had little to do with cannabis.

In Disjointed, laugh tracks were cued alongside jokes while cannabis acted as a catalyst for characters stuck in laughing fits, and trippy animations unexpectedly appeared on screen to serve as expired propaganda that marijuana induces hallucinations akin to ayahuasca. Marijuana was simply a background prop that served no substance to Disjointed’s core. The show was canceled at the top of the year after its debut season.
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While it’s admirable that Netflix isn’t afraid to take creative risks with its original programming and strives to bring cannabis culture to the forefront,Disjointed was an unfortunate missed opportunity to educate the masses using humor as a conduit. Hopefully the streaming service’s initial foray into cannabis storytelling gleaned some takeaways that will lead to a small screen win in the near future.

Read more here: https://bit.ly/2McrHXw​

In the cannabis industry, being a multistate operator can mean big profits and broad brand awareness, but brings unique challenges due to the complex regulatory framework that surrounds the burgeoning legal marijuana markets across the U.S.

At Wednesday's Cannabis Capital Conference, three executives from some of the biggest companies in the space offered their perspectives on the ever-changing landscape and what’s ahead in 2019 for this booming business.

Moderator Alan Brochstein, founder of the 420 Investor, focused the majority of the panel on the burning questions so many single-state operators have, asking how to decide which markets to enter and what it takes to stay compliant across borders.

“If you ignore California, you’re ignoring huge opportunity,” said panelist Steve White, CEO of Harvest Health & Rec, a company with medical cannabis licenses in nine states including California.

“If you can create a following in California, you have a real strong probability of being successful elsewhere,” said George Allen, CEO of Acreage Holdings (OTC: ACRGF), which boasts investments in multiple portfolios representing cultivators, processors and dispensaries. "Nationwide awareness doesn’t mean anything if you can't deliver," Allen said. 

Kim Rivers, CEO of Trulieve (OTC: TCNNF) — which holds licenses in Florida and Nevada — implored the audience to focus on smart and strategic growth while making sure to examine any and all challenges posed by each market.
 
“Our responsibility is to provide high-quality products to the consumers,” Rivers said. “Having an eye on national policy, state laws and local regulations is tough. There are a lot of unknowns and lots of balls in the air to juggle at any given time.”

Read more here: https://yhoo.it/2FJ4nMe​
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Tougher requirements for marijuana purity that kicked in this year in California aren’t triggering the high failure rates that emptied shelves at cannabis shops last summer, when the state began phasing in mandated testing.

The better results signal that the cannabis industry is stabilizing in its second year of regulated sales, despite a roller coaster first year that included one testing lab caught falsifying marijuana test results, industry officials and others said.

There’s still concern about what will happen once marijuana shops sell off products grandfathered in before the latest testing rules took effect. But with tests showing that California cannabis is now cleaner than most fruits and vegetables, experts are encouraged.

“The consumer is getting a better product,” said Matt Haskins, chief of Certus Analytics, a licensed testing lab in Murrieta.

Though California launched legal recreational marijuana sales on Jan. 1, 2018, retailers were allowed to sell untested product through mid-year, giving the industry time to ramp up for testing and sell out old inventories.

In July, when the first tests were required, just 80 percent of the cannabis was approved for sale. But as of Jan 11 — with new, tougher rules in place — the pass rate was up to 86.8 percent, according to the latest report from the Bureau of Cannabis Control.

“I think people are just more ready,” said Chris Hoo, an attorney with Emerald Law in Los Angeles, which specializes in testing compliance.
“If you didn’t survive the first round,” Hoo added, “you’re not here to complain about it now.”
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In the first round of testing, more than two thirds of the cannabis that failed did so because the product didn’t match up with claims made on the label. Typically, suppliers were overstating the level of THC, the compound that makes users feel high. Other problems included pesticides, microbial impurities and residual solvents.  

Read more here: https://bit.ly/2TX6jot​

To kick off the 2019 state legislative season, NORML is pleased to release our 2019 Gubernatorial Scorecard. This extensive database assigns a letter grade ‘A’ through ‘F’ to states’ governors based upon their comments and voting records specific to matters of marijuana policy.

“Following the publication of our 2018 Scorecard, there has been a dramatic shift in opinion among elected officials in favor of marijuana policy reform,” NORML’s Political Director Justin Strekal said. “Never before have we seen so many governors go on record and pledge their support for legalizing the responsible use of cannabis by adults. As a result, we expect there to be unprecedented levels of legislative activity at the state level surrounding the need to regulate the commercial cannabis market in 2019 and in 2020.”

Key Findings
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Twenty-seven US governors received a passing grade of ‘C’ or higher (22 Democrats, 5 Republicans)

Of these, nine US governors – all Democrats – received an ‘A’ grade; this marks a significant increase since 2018, when only two governors received ‘A’ grades.

They are:

Gavin Newsom: California
Jared Polis: Colorado
Ned Lamont: Connecticut
JB. Pritzker: Illinois
Gretchen Whitmer: Michigan
Tim Walz: Minnesota
Phil Murphy: New Jersey
Kate Brown: Oregon
Jay Inslee: Washington

The Takeaway

There exists now, for the first time, significant political support among US governors for marijuana policy reform. However, this support is more partisan than ever before. While almost half of all Democratic governors are now on record in support of adult use regulation, no Republican governors publicly advocate for this policy. This partisan divide is not similarly reflected among the general public. According to national polling data compiled by Gallup in October 2018, 66 percent of the public – including majorities of self-identified Democrats, Republicans, and Independents – favor legalization.

The results of the 2018 midterm elections also show that advocating for marijuana legalization is a successful campaign issue. Several newly elected governors – such as Ned Lamont of Connecticut, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, and Tim Walz of Minnesota – actively campaigned on a pledge to legalize the commercial cannabis market, while two additional governors – Gavin Newsom of California and Jared Polis of Colorado – have prominent histories as marijuana law reform advocates. One governor, New York’s Andrew Cuomo, moved decidedly in favor of legalization during his re-election campaign.

This shift in political support among governors bodes well for the prospects of the passage of successful legislative reforms in various states in 2019 and beyond. While to date only one state – Vermont – has moved to legalize adult marijuana use via legislation (as opposed to the passage of voter initiatives), NORML anticipates that as many as four to five additional states (e.g., Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Illinois, and Rhode Island) may similarly do so in the near future.

Read more here: https://bit.ly/2VYla3J

Streaming music has become the main way people listen to music nowadays, growing to nearly 65 percent of the market in 2017. But as other means of listening to music become passé — digital downloads, CDs, etc. — one familiar format has seen a remarkable comeback and even growth: vinyl records

Though initially dismissed as a fad powered by nostalgia, the revived interest in records has led to a decade of continued growth. After buying fewer than one million LPs in 2007, American consumers purchased more than 14 million records in 2017.

With the rise of CDs in the early 1990s, record sales cratered and the medium seemed to be in its death throes. But today, the vinyl record business is worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Record stores are cropping up again. Vinyl pressing plants are so slammed with demand for new records that new production facilities are being opened throughout the country. Fans will spend extravagant amounts of money for limited edition pressings.

Records are certainly still a niche market, but their warm sound and collectible nature have been effectively leveraged to keep the market growing.
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So what’s going on? Why is an outmoded music delivery system enjoying such significant growth even as the industry, and the rest of the world, churns in a digital direction?

Cynics will spout the nostalgia angle. This is nothing more than kids pining for an era they never lived in.

But the demand for vinyl is no different than the demand for artisanal food, craft beer or print books (all of which have enjoyed increased sales figures in recent years). Sometimes it can be nice to slow down and take the time to relish something that you can look at, hold in your hand and enjoy at your own pace. Perhaps everyone could afford to take a few notes from the predispositions and desires that have fueled the vinyl revival.

So pull the turntable out of the attic and blow the dust off those 45s. Vinyl is back and it doesn’t seem like its resurgance is temporary or exhausted.

Read more here: https://bit.ly/2Fwezso

Forget stars' homes. The newest tours visit pot growers and bong makers

By Hugo Martin
The Los Angeles Times

In Napa and Sonoma, tour bus operators ferry wine lovers between tasting rooms and vineyards. In Hollywood and environs, they shepherd the starstruck past the homes of the rich and famous.

Now they’re giving customers a mind-expanding look at one of Los Angeles’ burgeoning industries: pot.

Since recreational use of marijuana became legal a year ago, a pot tourism business has emerged, taking visitors behind the scenes of California’s estimated $7 billion cannabis industry.

“Every other day it seems another tour company is popping up,” said Lauren Jones, who owns Weedology, a cannabis tour company based in Los Angeles. “It’s like a gold rush.”

Each pot tour company has its own points of interest, generally including a grow facility, a bong maker or accessory retailers and a marijuana dispensary, where visitors can get joint-rolling lessons. Expect product discounts, but not freebies.

And some tours allow smoking on board, for those so inclined.
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Tours are priced between $40 and $200 a person, depending on the length of the trip, the stops and other features.

Starting this month, L.A.-based Green Tours is adding an itinerary that includes a pot-smoking session with weed-loving ‘70s movie legend, Tommy Chong. That tour is priced at $149 a person, owner Gene Grozovskiy said.

Grozovskiy’s father thought his son was nuts when he announced plans to quit his full-time job as a patient placement coordinator at a large Los Angeles hospital to start a marijuana tour company.

“At first pops was like, ‘You want to do what kind of tours?”’ Grozovskiy, 35, recalled. “He thought I was just being silly.”

Other tour company owners also come with respectable pedigrees and want to hop on what they see as a profitable future in recreational cannabis.

Jones, who works as a resources specialist at Los Angeles Unified School District, launched Weedology tours in February as a part-time gig that she hopes can eventually grow to a full-time job.
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Ed Legarda is a tech-industry consultant who started Green Line Trips in January. It primarily offers tours on the weekends but he also hopes it will expand to daily operation.
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Cannabis tourism also has caught on in other places where weed is legal, such as Colorado and Nevada. It’s part of a myriad ancillary businesses that make up the marijuana industry, including compliance consultants, cannabis testing labs, ultraviolet lighting installers, security and transportation services.

The National Cannabis Industry Assn., a trade group based in Colorado, has nearly 2,000 business as members, with about 60 percent to 70 percent of those companies providing services that don’t involve selling marijuana, spokesman Morgan Fox said.

“We have seen an explosion of businesses related to cannabis,” he said.

Nationwide, the sale of cannabis directly or indirectly employed an estimated 170,000 full-time workers in 2017, according to a study by the Arcview Group, an Oakland-based firm for investors in the marijuana industry. That number is expected to grow to more than 467,000 full-time workers in 2022, the firm estimates.

A tour with Green Tours on a Saturday afternoon in December started at a parking lot next to the Universal City metro station. The guests, mostly journalists wanting to know more about the tour, loaded into a black Mercedes-Benz van.

The tour was led by a young, gregarious guide, Ryan Lance, who stood in the front of the van, explaining the schedule and recounting the legal history of cannabis in the U.S. Reggae music videos blasted from an overhead television screen.

Read the rest here: https://bit.ly/2QSYNsW

House of Marley, the sustainability-focused audio brand owned by descendants of reggae legend Bob Marley, has announced a very cool update to its fantastic Stir It Up turntable at this year’s CES conference in Las Vegas.

House of Marley has added a Bluetooth 5.0 chip to the already awesome device, allowing buyers yet another great way to listen to their favorite analog audio. That’s on top of all of the connectivity options already offered by the original Stir It Up, which had a built-in phono preamp with RCA outputs, a forward-facing 3.5 mm headphone jack, and even a USB output for those looking to digitize their precious vinyl collection.

As with the original Stir It Up model, House of Marley has designed the Stir It Up Wireless to feature as many sustainable elements as possible. The turntable is built with fast-growing bamboo wood on its top, and the platter is crafted from recycled aluminum. It even uses upcycled plastic and aluminum, making it probably the most sustainable choice you can make in analog audio equipment if you’re looking for a brand-new device.

The Stir It Up Wireless is operated using very simple controls on the top right of its classy wooden top, with a knob that allows you to select between 33 RPM and 45 RPM playing speeds and a simple button for Bluetooth pairing. It’s even got an auto-return feature, which means that the needle of the turntable will return to its resting position next to the knob when it detects that you have finished listening to a single side of your record — saving wear and tear on both your favorite records and the needle itself.

Read more here: https://bit.ly/2ST575b​

JAMAICA has to find a way to involve the small farmer in the burgeoning formal ganja industry. That is the view of reggae artiste Damian “Junior Gong” Marley.
Marley, youngest son of reggae king Bob Marley, is a passionate campaigner for a global ganja industry. In 2016, he became principal in a company which converted a former 77,000-square-foot prison in California into a farm that will cultivate medical ganja for state dispensaries.

Speaking with the Jamaica Observer, Marley said despite progress in the local industry, Jamaica is playing catch-up up to the rest of the world.

“I am happy with the way in which we are moving. We have had to endure a lot over the years to get where we are, but that is the past. However, right now, the truth is we are way behind the rest of the world. In the past, Jamaica was considered to be the place for the best-quality herb. Sadly, that is not the case any more. A number of countries have gone ahead of Jamaica and have legalised their industry and introduced greater strains of herb. It is a shame for us here in Jamaica, but places like California, Colorado, and Canada are way ahead of us,” he stated.

“The challenge for us here in Jamaica is how we can get in the poor people... that original small ganja farmer to have a stake in the ganja industry. It is important that these people are recognised and given a place in this legal industry. These original ganja man risked their freedom and their lives in the early days and it would be a shame if they can't get a slice of the industry now that it is legal. A lot of this has to do with the regulations for legal farmers, and types of facilities, and the start-up capital that is required. But something has to be done — that is the challenge to the authorities,” Marley continued.

Marley's involvement in the ganja industry also extends to High Times Magazine. In 2017 he became one of 20 investors who acquired a 60 per cent stake in the monthly publication, its digital media platforms and the popular Cannabis Cup trade shows.

High Times was established over 40 years ago and is a leading advocate for the legalisation of ganja.

Marley charged that a lot of current players in the industry are major Jamaican figures, and this sidelines the small ganja man.

“What you notice is that a lot of the big players in the industry, 10 years ago would not be caught anywhere near a spliff, and now they are the ones who are owning companies,” he said.

Read more here: https://bit.ly/2FDy55g

Damian Marley

For award-winning recording artiste Damian “Junior Gong” Marley 2019 is poised to be a great year for reggae music.

Personally, the youngest son of reggae King Bob Marley is heading to the studio to do some work both in front and behind the microphone. In an interview with the Jamaica Observer, he shared that he will be doing some producing with a number of artistes, including an album for veteran reggae band Third World.


“The members of Third World are very close to my family, so I will be working with them on an album and that's a joy for me. There are also a number of artistes that I will be doing work with as a producer this year, so big things are in story. Plus I will also be in studio working on my next album and the plan is to have some of the singles ready for the end of this year.”


But his excitement about the music coming out in 2019 is not just confined to his work. Marley noted that there is a buzz in the local music industry as a number of the popular artistes are preparing to release albums and new music in short order and that makes the prospects bright for the rest of the year.


“When you look at some of the other artistes who are currently in studio and the amount of new music on the horizon... people like Jah Cure and Tarrus Riley, it will be an exciting year. I am a fan of music from all sides. From hardcore dancehall to roots reggae and the music of the veterans, so I am definitely looking forward to what is coming out.”


“Artistes like Koffee, She is an exciting young deejay and I am drawn to her music and just love her lyrics and her style. Then there are the other artistes who are already out there a Chronixx, Mr Vegas, who was a great performer on the ship (Welcome To Jamrock Reggae Cruise) Jah 9 as well as veterans like (Bounty) Killer are coming with new music so we can wait to see how it all comes together this year. Plus Buju deh a road now... it's gonna be good,” he continued.


Speaking of the just-concluded fifth staging of the Welcome To Jamrock cruise which sailed from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to Jamaica in November last year, Marley noted that he was pleased with this year's staging, which has already been sold out for the 2019 voyage from December 9 to 14.


“This year's cruise was good. It gets smoother to plan as the years go by and all you have to do is smooth out the kinks as they pop up. Right now our next step is looking at options for the line-up of artistes. Each year we always try to have a balance of acts from all the import eras, and sub-genres of the music.... from the elders to the youth. Not many people understand that the cruise also gives us as artistes the opportunity to bond with each other. Normally we don't really get time to catch up with what everybody else is doing, but being on the ship together for five night truly gives us a chance to get to know each other a little better and that is always a good thing,” Marley remarked.


With the recent release of deejay Buju Banton from a US prison, Marley had nothing but words of encouragement for this fellow artiste.


“I'm glad for him. Nine years away from your family and friends is a long time for anyone, so as a friend and human being, I'm really happy he has his freedom and can look to doing more music.”

See more here: https://bit.ly/2QRwVFD​