The Cannabis Awards are for us, and by us. The Mike Wise Show brings us this annual community awards, without any corporate financing or donors. The Cannabis Awards gives the people a voice, to not only nominate those deserving of recognition for their contributions within the community, and beyond, but to select the winners in a totally transparent poll. By us, for us. Congratulations to everyone who was nominated, and to all of our winners. Thank you for all you do!
There are many categories for awards in this Inaugural Edition of The Cannabis Awards. The Cannabis Community voted for the nominees, and winners, of Best Event, Activist of the Year, Advocate of the Year, Outstanding Patient , and Community Superstar.
The nominees for Activist of the Year:
Simpa Carter
Phil Monk
Rick Simpson
Madeline Martinez
Callie Blackwell
Corrie Yelland
JJ Clements
Congratulations to our 2 winners for Activist of the Year!
Callie Blackwell:
Callie Blackwell
After illegally curing her son Deryn’s 2 different types of cancer with Cannabis, Callie Blackwell has dedicated her life to helping others to do the same. She continues to make a huge impact and difference in our world, working closely with many organizations, to ensure the terminally ill have access to Cannabis to greatly improve or prolong their lives.
Corrie Yelland:
Corrie Yelland
After saving her own life with the help of Cannabis Oil, and curing her cancer, Corrie Yelland has been on a mission to help many others do the same. She has helped thousands of people, and changed many lives in all she does. Corrie dedicates 12-14 hours per day to helping cancer patients survive with the help of the plant, and co-hosts a radio show, Cannabis Health Radio, interviewing patients from around the world who have had success with using Cannabis medicinally.
The nominees for Advocate of the Year:
Vera Twomey
Rev Brandon Baker
April Weaver
Gino Kenny
Louis “Bubba” Zerobnick
Sean Kiernan
Kamani D Jefferson
Shona Banda
Chay Godfrey
Trev Coleman
Lisa Quarrell
Tanine Montgomery
Linda Sinclair
Deb Brown
Lee Harris
Karen Gray
Hannah Deacon
Congratulations to our 4 winners for Advocate of the Year!
April Weaver:
April Weaver
After having her family directly affected by Cannabis prohibition, April Weaver became a grassroots Activist in Indiana. She is passionate about Cannabis reform, and safer options than pharmaceuticals.
Tannine Montgomery:
Tannine Montgomery
Tannine Montgomery dedicates her life to campaigning for fair access of medical Cannabis for not only her daughter Indie-Rose (who lives with Dravet Syndrome), but for all children who would benefit from medicinal use of Cannabis. Tannine has gone to great lengths to give her daughter the best quality of life, while helping many other families to do the same.
Lisa Quarrell:
Lisa Quarrell
Former Police officer, Lisa Quarrell, admits to illegally smuggling Cannabis into Scotland, to save her son’s life who suffered from epilepsy. This brave mum chose to risk her freedom, to save her son from partial brain removal, and have a better quality of life with the help of Cannabis. Lisa fights daily so others can access the plant without fear of conviction.
Hannah Deacon:
Hannah Deacon
Working alongside End Our Pain, on her quest to provide a safer alternative treatment for her son Alfie (who lives with PCDH19), Hannah Deacon helped change medical Cannabis laws in The UK. Hannah continues to advocate for fair access of medical Cannabis for all patients in The UK.
The nominees for Outstanding Patient:
Deryn Blackwell
Tonya Sanders
Jenni Christmas
Shane Cognevich
Huanito Luksetic
Alicia Maher
Phillip Anthony Bebington
George Gannon
Congratulations to our 2 winners!
Alicia Maher:
Alicia Maher
Alicia Maher replaced opioids with Cannabis. She is undertaking a PhD in the regulation of Cannabis for medical purposes, and organized a conference at the University of Limerick to highlight limited access to Cannabis in Ireland. She continues to advocate for wider access for all.
Tonya Sanders:
Tonya Sanders
After the US healthcare system failed Tonya Sanders, she gave Cannabis a try for the first time in her life. Her life was transformed. Tonya is dedicated to sharing her story and helping others to not suffer the way she did. Cannabis has helped her be the RN she set out to be.
The nominees for Community Superstar
Kerry Cannon
Gary Weevil Youds
Sister Sophia Costaras
Angie Valdez
Deanna Jean (DJ)
Melanie Rodgers
Stephanie Landa
Kayla Farris
Drew & Christina Hausfeld
Congratulations to our winner Gary Weevil Youds!
Gary Weevil Youds
Gary Weevil Youds has been standing against tyranny in the plant war for many years. In the Chillin’ Rooms, he continues to provide a space of music, and great weed, that brings people from all walks of life together in a safe, peaceful space. Despite the many attempts by the botanical terrorists to stop him, up to and including incarceration, Gary persists. He and the Chillin’ Rooms are here to stay.
The nominees for Event of the Year
DCCC Autumn Expo
Seattle Hempfest
Know Your Roots
Durham 420
Colorado Invitational-Bong-A-Thon
No Co Hemp Expo
710 Art Fair (Amsterdam)
Cannafest (Prague)
Dab-A-Doo
Marihuana Mars (Ljubljana)
Marsz Wyzwolenia- Konopie (Warsaw)
Congratulations to our two winners!
Durham 420:
Durham 420
Durham 420 is a unique celebration of 420 culture, that takes place across 5 acres of picturesque gardens in Durham. The event is limited capacity, giving attendees the opportunity to relax while learning about Industrial Hemp, Cannabinoids, and the medical benefits of Cannabis, in a county that is infamous for it’s unique approach to judicial leniency toward consumers of Cannabis.
Know Your Roots:
Know Your Roots
Know Your Roots eco fest tribal gathering, is a true rebel festival. With over 100 workshops, talks, guest movers within the Cannabis Community, and shamanic drums playing, friendships were strengthened, and/or formed. It’s all about the togetherness in the aid of the now rising new Earth, where together we will achieve freedom, love and equity for us all.
Wendy Love Edge is a mother, wife, artist, author, TV show host, journalist, activist and a survivor. Against the odds of modern medicine, Wendy took back her health, and life, while helping others to do the same.
Pictured: Wendy on the left, Topher Kogen on the right
In 2013, Wendy Love Edge was totally disabled. She was diagnosed with several autoimmune diseases. At that point, Wendy was unable to drive, suffered from double vision, and wasn’t able to take care of herself. Wendy faced sickness after sickness, with a destroyed immune system, and experiencing adverse effects from the massive amount of pharmaceutical drugs her MD had prescribed. Modern medicine couldn’t save Wendy. She was told by her Doctor that early death was certain, by either the autoimmune diseases, or caused by the pharmaceuticals prescribed to treat her conditions. At that time, Wendy believed her Doctor, and accepted that her fate was sealed.
That same year, Wendy’s wife decided a separation was necessary. Before she left, she told Wendy that she knew if she left, she’d find her strength. Not too long after, Wendy’s inner voice told her that her body knows how to heal itself. She began to research ways to do just that. Still unable to do many things for herself, Wendy reached out to a friend to do a grocery run for her. The friend was unable to help, but did recruit the help of a mutual acquaintance.
Wendy was in the process of weaning herself off of the prescribed pharmaceuticals, and experiencing opioid withdrawal. When the acquaintance arrived at Wendy’s home with groceries, she asked Wendy if she had considered using Cannabis as a treatment. Wendy was hesitant, concerned about adding a new drug into her life, while she was in the difficult process of weaning off of morphine, but decided to give it a try right then and there. Much to her surprise, Wendy experienced immediate relief from body pain and withdrawal symptoms.
It had been quite some time since she had consumed Cannabis. Wendy had toked with friends in high school, and a couple more times in college. She had a career in healthcare, where consuming Cannabis came with the risk of job loss, so she had abstained for years. In hindsight Wendy knows that her high school Cannabis use, helped her then deal with PTSD, anxiety, and depression that was a result of childhood sexual abuse. While in bed, convinced she was dying, Wendy had written a book about her childhood experiences, under a penname.
With her eyes being reopened to the miraculous plant, Wendy began using Cannabis on her journey back to health. Following her intuition, and trusting her research, Wendy also started eating right, stretching, meditating, exercising, and using herbs. Within 2 weeks of consuming Cannabis, her double vision was gone. Wendy found that by making these changes in her life, the autoimmune diseases became manageable. Her wife was right, Wendy did find her strength.
Wendy before on pharmaceuticals and after using cannabis
The couple remained separated during a time of healing and personal growth for them both. The wives allowed each other the time, and space, to work on themselves, while still having occasional contact. Life had not been easy for them together, during Wendy’s total disability. With the outrageous cost of healthcare in The United States, the couple had often visited food banks, and sold belongings, in order to eat.
Wendy was nearly bankrupted while just trying to survive the multiple medical conditions, and also had a desire to help others with similar struggles. She started making plans to start a nonprofit organization. After 6 weeks of no contact, Wendy’s wife sent her some music she had been working on. An original song titled: ‘Bulldozer’. During meditation, Wendy would often visualize a yellow bulldozer pushing a pile of prescription bottles away from her. This synchronicity, made it official, the name of her non profit would be: Bulldozer Health.
Bulldozer Health became a non profit organization in 2014 to help low income patients have access to medical Cannabis. This was done so on a free basis, by donations from medical providers to patients. No money was exchanged. Bulldozer Health used a grassroots fundraising approach, holding concerts to raise funds. The non-profit helped income challenged patients obtain medical Cannabis recommendations from a doctor, as well as helping with other alternative health visits, such as chiropractic, and acupuncture.
For 6 years, Bulldozer Health helped many patients with financial difficulties take back their health, while reminding them that they have the power to do so. Unfortunately 2020 has brought new changes to our world due to Covid-19. Fundraising events are no longer possible. After a great 6 year run helping so many, Bulldozer Health will sadly be no more. All remaining funds from Bulldozer Health will be donated to the Matt Adams Foundation, a non profit that aids others on the road to opiate recovery. It’s a bittersweet ending of a great thing for Wendy. She’s looking forward to what will come, as well as putting some focus onto the lack of patient homegrow rights in Arkansas, as well as a government imposed medical Cannabis shortage across the state, with only 5 cultivators to supply patients.
After 3 years of separation, Wendy and her wife got back together. They found themselves and what they wanted. Their love continues to endure, and shows the world what true love is all about. Wendy continues to educate and entertain others through The Wendy Love Edge Show With Topher Kogen, The CBD Gameshow, and articles she writes for Cannabis Chronicles of Oklahoma. Her wife recently launched a radio station, WJAE420, focused on music and Cannabis. Keep an eye on Wendy’s current and future projects. She is a light of hope for self empowerment, showing others it’s possible to take control of your life and health.
Originally written by: Kerry Cannon for cannabisactivismnow.com
While there are resources to make cannabis companies more sustainable, there’s little incentive to utilize them. So how can we motivate the legal industry to embrace eco-friendly practices?
The cannabis industry has a major plastic problem.
According to the non-profit Plastic Oceans International, the world produces 300 million tons of plastic every year. Half of that — 150 million tons — is for single-use purposes. While these issues clearly extend far beyond the reaches of the cannabis industry, state packaging regulations have forced many business owners to seek out the cheapest options in order to keep the lights on.
Take, for instance, a standard disposable vaporizer pen. Beyond the materials of the pen itself, California state law requires that the product arrive to the dispensary in child-proof packaging. At that point, it is then purchased, where it is placed into another child-proof bag. That’s a whole lot of plastic for 200 puffs. According to the firm BDS Analytics, sales in California for disposable vape pens nearly doubled from $3.4 million to $6.42 million between January and March of 2018.
That’s a huge amount of plastic being discarded every day in the weed world — and it’s only getting worse.
“It’s disturbing,” says Steve D’Angelo, founder of the famed dispensary Harborside and a major figure in the industry. “It’s repugnant to the values that cannabis teaches us.”
The crux of the issue lies with the law.
California’s regulations regarding packaging stipulate that “all cannabis and cannabis products be sold in child-resistant packaging.” That means plastic tubes for pre-rolls and additional protective packaging for items like edibles, vape cartridges, and flower.
Anyone who has visited a dispensary in a legal market has likely engaged in the depressing process of digging their way through multiple levels of petroleum-based, non-recyclable plastic to get to the cannabis product within. These rules requiring child-resistant packaging are not endemic to the country’s largest cannabis market, either — nearly every state with a regulated marijuana industry has adopted similar laws. The result is lots and lots of single-use plastic being thrown away every time a customer arrives home from a dispensary.
For D’Angelo, the current situation is the antithesis of what cannabis is supposed to be about.
“One of the things that cannabis teaches us is to respect Mother Nature and to treasure her gifts,” he noted in a phone interview with MERRY JANE. “These regulations don’t do that. Frankly, it’s disgusting to see the amount of waste that goes on. I get disgusted every time I buy a cannabis product and, in order to get to the cannabis, I have to work my way through three or four levels of completely unnecessary packaging.”
While the sustainable options available to cannabis manufacturers — who represent the stage in the process where packaging first comes into play —may be limited, there are a few companies that have made it their mission to offer environmentally-friendly alternatives to the glut of plastic pre-roll tubes and flower jars that are pervasive throughout the market. But these companies are few and far between. At present, while there are resources to make cannabis companies more sustainable, it’s ultimately the lack of incentive to utilize them that prevents any change. So then, how can we motivate the legal industry to embrace eco-friendly practices?
As writer Whitney Mallett noted in a 2017 feature for MERRY JANE, there are many packaging companies that define their products as sustainable without actually making good on the promise. One especially egregious example is ABC Packaging Direct, which bafflingly suggests that its line of disposable plastic bags offer “a positive impact on the environment.” Mallett also points out that terms like “green” and “eco” are often employed as eye-catching buzz words — a tactic commonly known as “greenwashing.”
Fortunately, not every company has let its moral compass go up in smoke.
Take Denver’s Sana Packaging, for example. The business was created after Ron Basak-Smith and James Eichne, two University of Colorado Boulder graduate students, realized that few (if any) packaging companies targeting the cannabis industry had embraced sustainability as their guiding principle. Launched in 2016, Sana Packaging makes its packaging from biodegradable materials like hemp biocomposite and recycled ocean plastics.
“Our basic thing is that we no longer want to create single-use petroleum plastic packaging for the cannabis industry,” said Basak-Smith, Sana’s co-founder. “When we looked at the regulations in place, we saw that it was very difficult for anything to be made out of sustainable materials with the child-resistance [packaging requirements]. That really took out all of the current options.”
In order to offer a sustainable alternative, Basak-Smith and Eichner had to develop their own material sources. While Basak-Smith is fiercely proud of the work he and his partner have done, he conceded that in order for Sana Packaging to stay afloat, their prices are two to three times what other, non-environmentally focused packaging companies charge.
“That’s really what we’re trying to work through right now,” Basak-Smith said. “What is the willingness to pay for sustainable materials? I think we’ve got into a situation where [people] value the price — whatever that means — over the environment.”
With sustainable packaging coming in at a substantially higher price point, Basak-Smith acknowledged that many cannabis manufacturers simply employ a cost-benefit analysis and decide that saving money is their top priority.
“Companies have to make a profit,” he said. “We’re trying to get people to pay more for packaging, which is obviously not the easiest sell. At the same time, the industry does want to do what’s right with packaging. People don’t want to be wasteful.”
One such person is Kial Long, Vice President of Marketing for CannaCraft in Northern California.
CannaCraft is one of the more popular cannabis manufacturers in the state, having partnered with absoluteXtracts, Care By Design, and Satori. The company is eager to embrace sustainability when it comes to packaging. The issue, according to Long, partially stems from concerns that cannabis regulations may change yet again — a worry that leaves her uneasy about ordering packaging in the quantities required for the choice to make fiscal sense.
“Last year, we didn’t really have any insight into what [California’s] permanent regulations would be in six months,” Long explained by phone. “To make the investment at that point, we would’ve needed to buy packaging in really small increments, which would not have been a good business decision. We are a little bit more comfortable buying our packaging in bulk these days, but there’s still some hesitation about how things might pan out.”
Long estimates that child-resistant packaging adds about 10 percent to CannaCraft’s total packaging expenses each month, equating to roughly $20,000. California law currently offers no incentives or subsidies to companies for embracing sustainable packaging. In a statement provided to MERRY JANE, a representative for the California Department of Public Health confirmed the state’s current regulations do not explicitly address this subject:
“The Medicinal and Adult-Use Cannabis Regulation and Safety Act (MAUCRSA) mandates that all cannabis and cannabis products be sold in child-resistant packaging,” a California Department of Health official stated by email. “Many packaging options exist that are compliant with this standard, including environmentally-friendly ones.”
Despite being one of the most progressive states when it comes to combating climate change, California apparently isn’t concerned with translating its green-friendly attitude to its cannabis industry. At least not yet.
One company that has reportedly taken initiative to become more sustainable is Dosist, makers of disposable vaporizer pens tailored to trigger specific effects. Dosist’s recycling program involves collection bins at various dispensaries where their products are sold. Customers who return a used pen receive a $5 discount on their next Dosist purchase. Working in partnership with the waste hauler company GAIACA, recycled pens are then sorted at a facility in Del Rey Oaks, CA. While Dosist was unable to provide any data on the number of pens recycled to date, the program serves as evidence that such efforts are possible if the necessary interest and resources are available.
For Nick Kovacevich — CEO of KushCo Holdings, one of the industry’s premier vendors for cannabis packaging — biding his time in hopes that the industry eventually mandates sustainable practices simply wasn’t an option.
“While a state government subsidy would be incredible and the industry would embrace that,” Kovacevich explained, “we think if history is any bearer of the future, we cannot rely on the state for guidance. We need to take the proactive step, and that is what we feel we are doing.”
To that end, KushCo Holdings has joined with the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, a “membership-based collaborative that believes in the power of industry to make packaging more sustainable,” whose members include corporate heavyweights like Verizon Wireless, McDonald’s, and Procter & Gamble. Despite Kovacevich’s enthusiasm for adopting the eco-friendly practices encouraged by the SPC — the organization’s stated goal is to ensure all packaging across industries is sourced responsibly, optimized for efficiency, effectively recovered, non-toxic, and low impact — he suggested that a big picture outlook, one that prioritizes sustainability for the cannabis industry, is also warranted.
“If we step back, we see the quantity of plastics our industry produces and wastes,” he said. “We also think it’s important to keep context, meaning, Amazon, Walmart and other major global realtors send thousands of boxes every day. Pinpointing the cannabis industry, as some outlets have, is a small waste target when compared to the larger retailers. Sustainability is a priority for us because it’s the right thing to do. We see our ourselves as industry change agents, and we want others to follow our lead in this effort.”
While CannaCraft’s Long said she’d be in favor of the state taking a more active interest in encouraging environmental practices, she’s also not planning to wait around.
Instead, CannaCraft developed a native 510 thread cartridge — the units that are filled with cannabis oil for vape pens — which were recently certified as child-resident under the requirements of the Poison Prevention Packaging Act.
“Prior to getting certified,” Long said, “we were adding over 100,000 plastic tubes into the market each month to make sure our vape cartridges were child-resistant. Now, with this new manufacturing process — and with the way that we’re able to seal the cartridges — we have received certification which means they are child-resistant on their own now.”
In essence, CannaCraft has removed one level of plastic from the equation by making the cartridges themselves child-resistant and thus eliminating the need to encase them in an additional layer of child-resistant packaging.
Unfortunately, many companies are unable to invest the resources necessary to develop similar, sustainable packaging. Instead, they’re hoping that the industry will pool its resources and share its innovations to ensure environmentally-sound packaging is available to all. Long said that CannaCraft is all in favor of this approach.
“I think this is bigger than our margins,” she explained. “I think the fight against the overuse of plastic is something that our company holds in higher regard than the small savings on our packaging. We’d be very interested in helping other companies get there.”
For Steve D’Angelo of Harborside, the concept of the government subsidizing sustainable packaging appeals to his nature as an environmentalist. But it doesn’t address what he believes is the root of the problem.
“I think it would be counterproductive unless the state coupled it with rather dramatic tax decreases and made the packaging regulations more reasonable,” he said. “With the imposition of taxes and the added cost of compliance — and given how easy it is to obtain cannabis in California in an unregulated way — something like 50 percent of the people in the regulated market outflow to the unregulated market. Doing anything that increases the price of cannabis in regulated dispensaries right now will threaten the very existence of a legal market.”
In other words, if companies that use eco-friendly packaging are not incentivized, they won’t embrace sustainability at a time when the black market is cutting into their profit margins at all ends.
D’Angelo also questions the logic of child-resistant packaging in the first place. He notes that other products — ones that, unlike cannabis, have a proven track record of doing serious harm — are not subject to the same level of regulation.
“I see aspirin and other over-the-counter drugs being sold in containers that are not childproof. I see tobacco being sold in containers that are not childproof. I see alcohol being sold in containers that are not childproof. Then I see cannabis — which is safer than any of those substances — being wrapped in these completely superfluous and unnecessary layers of packaging. It’s appalling.”
With morealarmingnews about the current climate crisis arriving each day, the cannabis industry is uniquely situated to lead the charge on a pivot away from petroleum-based products. And, rather ironically, it was the petroleum and plastics industries that helped make cannabis illegal in the first place. So it would only be fitting if the newly-legal cannabis industry were to push back against the corporations that are creating waste and packing landfills to the brim by making it standard to abandon plastic packaging.
How can cannabis blaze an eco-friendly path? That may mean revisiting current packaging requirements and questioning the validity of their stringency. It may also mean developing a less punitive tax structure that allows smaller businesses to use their subsequent savings or profit from increased sales on sustainable packaging. It’s possible that companies will need to consider making their proprietary environmentally-beneficial packaging designs open source for all to use, too. There will almost certainly need to be a lot more companies like Sana Packaging if the entire industry is to ultimately embrace a sustainable approach. Most likely, a combination of all of the above will be required.
Weaning an industry off non-recyclable single-use plastic is no easy task. It will take participation from every facet of the industry in order to succeed. But if the fight for access to regulated cannabis has proven anything thus far, it’s that precedent is no match for perseverance.
Hungary has taken a bold stand against biotech giant Monsanto and genetic modification by destroying 1000 acres of maize found to have been grown with genetically modified seeds, according to Hungary deputy state secretary of the Ministry of Rural Development Lajos Bognar.
Unlike many European Union countries, Hungary is a nation where genetically modified (GM) seeds are banned. In a similar stance against GM ingredients, Peru has also passed a 10 year ban on GM foods.
Almost 1000 acres of maize found to have been ground with genetically modified seeds have been destroyed throughout Hungary, deputy state secretary of the Ministry of Rural Development Lajos Bognar said. The GMO maize has been ploughed under, said Lajos Bognar, but pollen has not spread from the maize, he added.
Unlike several EU members, GMO seeds are banned in Hungary. The checks will continue despite the fact that seek traders are obliged to make sure that their products are GMO free, Bognar said. During the investigation, controllers have found Pioneer Monsanto products among the seeds planted.
The free movement of goods within the EU means that authorities will not investigate how the seeds arrived in Hungary, but they will check where the goods can be found, Bognar said. Regional public radio reported that the two biggest international seed producing companies are affected in the matter and GMO seeds could have been sown on up to the thousands of hectares in the country. Most of the local farmers have complained since they just discovered they were using GMO seeds.
With season already under way, it is too late to sow new seeds, so this year’s harvest has been lost.
And to make things even worse for the farmers, the company that distributed the seeds in Baranya county is under liquidation. Therefore, if any compensation is paid by the international seed producers, the money will be paid primarily to that company’s creditors, rather than the farmers.
A Greek billionaire and heir to the Coca-Cola fortune was arrested on the Caribbean Island of St. Kitts after a search of his private jet uncovered more than $1.3 million worth of cannabis on board, according to multiple reports.
Alkiviades “Alki” David, 50, was arrested by the Anti-Narcotics Unit at the Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport after customs officials found approximately 5,000 cannabis plants in addition to seeds and a variety of other cannabis products, according to the Vancouver Sun. He was charged with intent to supply, possession of controlled drugs and importation of a controlled drug into the federation, officials from the St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force confirmed to the Daily Express.
David claimed the plants on board were “all hemp” and were related to a new venture to start a legal cannabis business in the region. He and Chase Ergen, the heir to the satellite fortune, announced in April that they formed a consortium aimed at developing the cannabis business in Eastern Caribbean nations such as St. Kitts-Nevis, Dominica and Antigua.
Plans included purchasing agricultural land and partnering with farmers to create a cooperative entity modeled after the ones in Switzerland. David and Ergen will create thousands of jobs and also tap into the rich cultural history and cannabis know-how of the strengthening Rastafarian movement in the region. The consortium has already had its first meetings with business and government leaders across the region and will be expanding its outreach during the month of May.
David is an heir of the Leventis-David Group, which holds the majority share in Coca-Cola Helenic, Europe’s largest bottling company. The Leventis family is worth more than $388 million, according to 2018’s The Sunday Times Rich List. The UK-based publication estimates David is independently worth more than $2.8 billion.
He resides on the Isle of Man and arrived to St. Kitts on a plane with Ergen and Irish actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Mogaznews En reported. David owns SwissX, a medical marijuana company that produces luxury CBD oils that have been endorsed by Snoop Dog.
His hologram company was responsible for digitally recreating Tupac in 2012 for Coachella performances and Michael Jackson for the 2014 Billboard Music Awards. The billionaire ran into legal trouble in April after a former female employee was allegedly fired for refusing to have sex with him, People reported. David paid $11.1 million in a harassment settlement.
David was released after paying $30,000 cash bail. He is scheduled to appear at Basseterre Magistrate Court on May 14. He’s required to surrender all travel documents and report to the Frigate Bay Police Station for daily check-ins.
With buzz building across the globe, the momentum is sure to continue into 2019, when the combined North American market is expected to exceed $16 billion.
A depiction of a cannabis bud drops from the ceiling at Leafly’s in Toronto, as midnight passes and marks the first day of the legalization of cannabis across Canada on Oct. 17, 2018.Chris Young / AP
PORTLAND, Ore. — The last year was a 12-month champagne toast for the legal marijuana industry as the global market exploded and cannabis pushed its way further into the financial and cultural mainstream.
Liberal California became the largest legal U.S. marketplace, while conservative Utah and Oklahoma embraced medical marijuana. Canada ushered in broad legalization, and Mexico’s Supreme Court set the stage for that country to follow.
U.S. drug regulators approved the first marijuana-based pharmaceutical to treat kids with a form of epilepsy, and billions of investment dollars poured into cannabis companies. Even main street brands like Coca-Cola said they are considering joining the party.
“I have been working on this for decades, and this was the year that the movement crested,” said U.S. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, an Oregon Democrat working to overturn the federal ban on pot. “It’s clear that this is all coming to a head.”
With buzz building across the globe, the momentum will continue into 2019.
Luxembourg is poised to become the first European country to legalize recreational marijuana, and South Africa is moving in that direction. Thailand legalized medicinal use of marijuana on Tuesday, and other Southeastern Asian countries may follow South Korea’s lead in legalizing cannabidiol, or CBD. It’s a non-psychoactive compound found in marijuana and hemp plants and used for treatment of certain medical problems.
“It’s not just the U.S. now. It’s spreading,” said Ben Curren, CEO of Green Bits, a San Jose, California, company that develops software for marijuana retailers and businesses.
Curren’s firm is one of many that blossomed as the industry grew. He started the company in 2014 with two friends. Now, he has 85 employees, and the company’s software processes $2.5 billion in sales transactions a year for more than 1,000 U.S. retail stores and dispensaries.
Green Bits raised $17 million in April, pulling in money from investment firms including Snoop Dogg’s Casa Verde Capital. Curren hopes to expand internationally by 2020.
“A lot of the problem is keeping up with growth,” he said.
Legal marijuana was a $10.4 billion industry in the U.S. in 2018 with a quarter-million jobs devoted just to the handling of marijuana plants, said Beau Whitney, vice president and senior economist at New Frontier Data, a leading cannabis market research and data analysis firm. There are many other jobs that don’t involve direct work with the plants but they are harder to quantify, Whitney said.
Investors poured $10 billion into cannabis in North America in 2018, twice what was invested in the last three years combined, he said, and the combined North American market is expected to reach more than $16 billion in 2019.
“Investors are getting much savvier when it comes to this space because even just a couple of years ago, you’d throw money at it and hope that something would stick,” he said. “But now investors are much more discerning.”
Increasingly, U.S. lawmakers see that success and want it for their states.
Nearly two-thirds of U.S. states now have legalized some form of medical marijuana.
Voters in November made Michigan the 10th state — and first in the Midwest — to legalize recreational marijuana. Governors in New Yorkand New Jersey are pushing for a similar law in their states next year, and momentum for broad legalization is building in Pennsylvania and Illinois.
“Let’s legalize the adult use of recreational marijuana once and for all,” New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said last week.
Marijuana clone plants are displayed for sale by Interstate 5 Farms at the cannabis-themed Kushstock Festival at Adelanto, Calif., on Oct. 20, 2018.Richard Vogel / AP
State lawmakers in Nebraska just formed a campaign committee to put a medical cannabis initiative to voters in 2020. Nebraska shares a border with Colorado, one of the first two states to legalize recreational marijuana, and Iowa, which recently started a limited medical marijuana program.
“Attitudes have been rapidly evolving and changing. I know that my attitude toward it has also changed,” said Nebraska state Sen. Adam Morfeld, a Democrat. “Seeing the medical benefits and seeing other states implement it … has convinced me that it’s not the dangerous drug it’s made out to be.”
With all its success, the U.S. marijuana industry continues to be undercut by a robust black market and federal law that treats marijuana as a controlled substance like heroin. Financial institutions are skittish about cannabis businesses, even in U.S. states where they are legal, and investors until recently have been reluctant to put their money behind pot.
Marijuana businesses can’t deduct their business expenses on their federal taxes and face huge challenges getting insurance and finding real estate for their brick-and-mortar operations.
“Until you have complete federal legalization, you’re going to be living with that structure,” said Marc Press, a New Jersey attorney who advises cannabis businesses.
Brokaw’s legendary probity makes his public admission a landmark in erasing marijuana’s fading stigma.
Add Tom Brokaw to the growing number of public celebrities embracing medical marijuana. Long an American symbol of stalwart and at times fussy newsmen, Brokaw is in remission from multiple myeloma (a cancer that grows in bone marrow). However, the pain sustained in his bones from the cancer has turned Brokaw to medical marijuana.
“I’m now on medical marijuana for my back, for the first time,” Brokaw told SurvivorNet, a cancer information site. “I’ve not done that before.”
Brokaw admits that he’s no less ambitious a journalist and currently working on a book about Richard Nixon. “Politics keep me distracted from cancer,” he says. But when he’s not working on that, trying to acquire medical marijuana in Florida, where he resides, is “complicated” and almost a full-time job in itself.
In coming out as a marijuana advocate, Brokaw engenders himself to a growing number of cancer patients using medical marijuana in treatment. According to SurvivorNet’s CEO Steve Alperin, more people are trying to learn more about medical marijuana and having someone like Brokaw open up about his experience will “help people understand there are alternative approaches to pain management.”
That said, Brokaw says he’s “keenly aware” how fortunate his cancer battle has been. When he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma back in August 2013, he was immediately medevacked to the Mayo Clinic with a room already available for him. He went through years of treatment — including chemotherapy and spinal operations — but all that cost tons of money.
“An extraordinary amount of progress has been made with drugs and treatment. We haven’t gotten the cost thing worked out yet,” he told SurvivorNetOpens a New Window.. “At one point, I counted up the price and it was something like $10,000 a day, you know, that I was spending on drugs. I have the blessing of having a great program through first RCA, then GE, and now Comcast. So the checks that I write for pharmacy are very, very small. And it makes — every time I do that, it makes me aware of the people who are not in the same position that I am, and how I think about them.”
High THC Cannabis Oil has been used by numerous people for centuries, but it was banned in the second half of the 20th century, as a result of the rise of the billion-dollar pharmaceutical industry.
Mike Wise is a retired professional skateboarder and national champion athlete with The University of Texas where he graduated with a degree in Radio-Television-Film in 2009. He has never been a fan of doctors, so when he got diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in 2014 he decided to take his health into his own hands.
Nowadays, he is one of the most well known activists in the world fighting for the legalization of cannabis oil. Using this treatment, he has cured over 2,000 people from a variety of diseases including terminal ones such as Cancer and Glioblastoma (brain tumors).
Since moving to Europe in 2017, he has spoken at over 30 different countries all over the world on this topic. He is also currently filming a documentary with Rick Simpson to tell his story and help to get this information out to the public.
He states that cannabis oil can cure a vast variety of serious health issues, like diabetes, arteriosclerosis, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, asthma, psoriasis, as well as some of the deadliest forms of cancer.
Mike recently recounted his story to a magazine in the Czech Republic: “I always tell people – Cannabis will cure you, and you will see that at present, it is the best cure there is in the world!”
He began his story: “It was 2014. I had been dealing with symptoms related to Crohn’s disease since 2000. As an athlete, I was always busy traveling and competing. Doing so caused much damage to build up in my body after years of this abuse. The symptoms got worse and worse until I began vomiting blood every morning at 4am when I would wake up, and several times throughout the day; every day.
I had been studying plants as a hobby for years, and had been growing cannabis illegally since 2005 to smoke and occasionally make into edibles. After moving to Colorado in 2014, I began to learn a lot more about growing from other local growers and about cannabis as a medication from other local activists, caregivers, and enlightened doctors. I was filming a movie about families who had to move and relocate from another state to access medical cannabis in Colorado for their children entitled: ‘Illegally Alive’, which you can watch for free with this link. www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOn142GAjsU
During the production of the film, I got in touch with Rick Simpson and flew out to Zagreb, Croatia to interview with him in person. While I was out there, we attended a conference in Ljubljana, Slovenia where Rick was speaking. I had to run outside in the middle of the conference to vomit. Rick saw me and said: ‘Mike, you really need to get on this oil brother’.
After getting the kick in the butt I needed from the godfather of cannabis oil himself, I ingested 90 grams in 120 days of high THC oil and cured all my symptoms relating to Crohn’s disease. This first 45 grams I ingested orally, the second 45 grams I took via suppository. Now I only take 1 gram per month as a maintenance dose.
It’s important to note that I never elected to undergo any surgeries. I did not let the doctors mutilate me and remove any organs or other body parts. I also completely changed my diet eliminating all processed foods, sugars, and carbohydrates. If I ingest any of these substances, I will need to take oil to prevent any new symptoms from showing up. I also eliminated as many sources of stress from my life I possibly could.
After curing myself, I decided to share my story publicly on social media. I immediately began to receive hundreds of messages a week from friends and acquaintances of friends. Everybody needed cannabis oil for their brother, mother, sister, daughter, father, grandmother, grandfather, etc…
I decided to get my Caregiver License in Colorado and immediately planted 500 seeds in my basement and began to supply the oil to anyone who asked. I have never turned anyone away since I started making the oil for myself and others started asking for it. I even used to make it for free. I would tell patients if they could bring me the materials and solvent needed to make the oil, then I would make it for them for free and would not charge them for my time or labor.
To take my activism a step further, I created an activist run and oriented company called: ‘OG Labs’. On my website (www.oglabsgenetics.com/oil.html) anybody in the world can now reach me and have the oil made and sent discreetly to their doorstep to any state or country in the world. I believe, as the great Thomas Jefferson did, that ‘if a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so.’ I am hoping that by openly offering the oil for sale publicly, that other activists around the world will see what I am doing and feel empowered to stand up and make the oil for patients in need as well.”
Cannabis oil therapy is equally effective in all cases, for it knows no age limit. It can even be given to babies. People who publicly claim to cure cancer are threatened with 5 – 40 years imprisonment, according to laws in North America. Mike says the preparation of this miraculous oil is extremely easy. The standard protocol starts with several drops of cannabis oil three times a day.
“The usual dose I start cancer patients on is 60 grams within 90 days. If the patient has undergone any chemotherapy or radiation they will need much more than 60 grams”, he explains.
“Cannabis is not a miracle drug in the sense that most people think. The cannabis itself doesn’t necessarily cure you; your body heals and cures itself. Cannabis simply triggers this reaction to occur. You see, cannabis works like a key inserted into a lock. Your bodies contain what is known scientifically as CB1 and CB2 receptors spread throughout it’s entire system and on every organ. When cannabis gets into the body and into these CB1 and CB2 receptors it works like a key opening a lock, the receptors then began firing correctly and any imperfections or illnesses which are contained within your body will immediately begin to get healed because these receptors are literally located everywhere within your body.”
“This is significant for 2
reasons,” he continues “cannabis can help to heal or cure nearly any illness or
disease because these receptors send signs to your body and organs to begin functioning
correctly and to stop misfiring. In the case of cancer, these receptors will
tell the body how to identify cancer cells and can help to specifically target
and kill them without the use of any harmful or invasive treatments.
The second reason this is important is regarding chemotherapy and radiation specifically. I personally believe that these treatments do more harm than good. There are numerous studies out there stating that more people die from cancer treatments than from the cancer itself. To put it plainly, chemotherapy kills more people than it heals. After treating so many patients with cannabis oil, I began to notice a pattern. Patients who have taken chemotherapy or radiation always require more oil than the standard 60 grams in 90 days.
I know some patients who have taken dozens of chemo sessions, and have now consumed over 350+ grams of oil. They have consumed a lot of oil, and continue to take it today; but they are still alive. They often come to me after the doctors have given up on them, with only weeks to live. Their bodies are extremely frail and damaged. I believe that this is from the chemotherapy.
It is not a targeted treatment. It kills all cells in your body, unlike THC cannabis oil which helps to identify and kill only the cancer cells. This is why patients who are diagnosed with cancer and have not done any chemotherapy or radiation typically need 60 grams in 90 days before switching to a maintenance dose, as opposed to those who have done chemotherapy or radiation. They need more oil because their bodies are far more damaged from both the cancer, and the chemotherapy; as opposed to being damaged by just the cancer itself. Your body needs more oil, and more time to rest and heal from all the damage incurred.”
And, it is never too late for the patient to start cannabis oil therapy. He believes that every country in the world should allow their citizens to cultivate and use cannabis for medical purposes. He also points out that pharmacies should be opened for those who can’t cultivate it if they can supply it at fair rate for all people, not just the rich.
“Little is known that cannabis has been used as one of the most
healing remedies for hundreds of years before Christ.
In the ancient Persian religious scripts, which among other
things describe the most healing herbs, cannabis takes the first place,”
concludes Mike.
His biggest wish and goal is to live in a world without cancer
where every person can legally cultivate as many cannabis plants as they would
like on their property or in their home, and where every person in the world
can legally and openly consume cannabis (like smoking it) in every place where
you can legally smoke tobacco or cigarettes. Until that day comes he tells us
that he will continue fighting for our rights to do so.
If you have access to materials and would like to watch his detailed video on how to make it yourself, you can do so here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKT9tRcA-RU
He also hosts a page completely dedicated to cannabis patients on YouTube which can be found here: www.youtube.com/TheMikeWiseShow
A double-blind placebo-controlled study with 24 patients suffering from Tourette syndrome was conducted at the Medical School of Hannover, Germany. The 6-week trial confirmed results of two earlier short-term studies by Dr. Kirsten Mueller-Vahl and colleagues that THC is effective in the reduction of tics.
The Tourette syndrome is a complex neurological-psychiatric disorder characterized by motor tics (sudden spasms especially in the face, the neck and the shoulders) and one or more vocal tics. In many cases, it is associated with behavioural problems or psychopathologies (autoaggression, disturbed attention, etc.). Presently, neuroleptics are the most effective drugs. However, neuroleptics are not effective in all patients and in many cases, are not well tolerated.
Patients were treated over a period of 6 weeks. The dosage was titrated to the target dosage of 10 mg THC. Starting at 2.5 mg/day, the dose was increased by increments of 2.5 mg/day every 4 days. Tic severity was rated using several established scales.
Seven patients dropped out of the study or had to be excluded, but only one due to side effects. Application of THC resulted in a significant improvement of tic severity. No serious adverse effects occurred. Authors concluded that the “results provide more evidence that THC is effective and safe in the treatment of tics.”
HM. Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is effective in the treatment of tics in Tourette syndrome: a 6-week randomized trial. J Clin Psychiatry 2003;64(4):459-465)
Originally published May 2003 at: http://www.cannabis-med.org/english/bulletin/ww_en_db_cannabis_artikel.php?id=146&fbclid=IwAR1uE-15QDzTcbn_QKrkTlSOv_SfsN3VJ5Tf_9Sjqr8r2TMWdDl0kbH24U0#1
.jpg?w=525&ssl=1)
