MJ News for 08/26/2014

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http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2014/08/26/2014-emmys-marijuana-takes-center-stage/




2014 Emmys: Marijuana takes center stage



LOS ANGELES – The 66th Annual Primetime Emmys might have lacked in laughs, but it still managed to hit plenty of “high” notes.

Monday night’s telecast was peppered in jabs and jokes centered on pot – which is legal for medical purposes in the state of California – and perhaps signifies how vast the movement is gaining acceptance across the country.

“Cable is looking at Netflix the way Justin Bieber looks at One Direction, through a cloud of marijuana smoke,” host Seth Meyers said in his opening monologue, mocking the pop prince’s various alleged encounters with marijuana-centric controversies.

Haley Delany later praiseD her “Louie” TV father Louis C.K in a pre-taped video for educating her on “how to properly hold a joint,” while Jimmy Kimmel took aim at actor Matthew McConaughey for selling his television “for a conch shell full of weed.” Amy Poehler took the marijuana antics one step further by declaring that McConaughey and his “True Detective” co-star Woody Harrelson are “menu items at most marijuana dispensaries.”

Singer Adam Levine also gave us a small fist pump in support of the legalization of marijuana in the United States. But it was Sarah Silverman’s weed-promoting antics throughout the evening that garnered the most attention.

“This is my pot, my liquid pot,” she enthused on the red carpet, pulling out her vaporizer pen and later insisting that her purse must-haves are a “phone and pot… and gum.”

The comedienne went on to win the award for Outstanding Writing in a Variety Special for her HBO Comedy Special “Sarah Silverman: We Are Miracles,” kicking off her shoes and running fiercely to the stage where she declared that “we’re all just made of molecules and we’re all hurling through space right now.”

But the oddities didn’t end there. A distracted Silverman attributed her questionable actions to “feeling weird” having just watched the Robin Williams tribute, and insisted that she wasn’t stoned.

“I don’t drink. I like to have a puff as a treat at appropriate times,” she continued, also noting that she brought some pot-based goods for later in the evening.

However, the nonsensical rhetoric was particularly evident after she was asked what her Jewish mother would think of her accepting such an award sans footwear.

“Well my Jewish mom wears overalls with two different color socks so I think she’d go, think it was cool. But don’t tell anyone I’m doing this. They just hurt, the shoes just hurt,” Silverman rambled. “They’re very nice. They’re by Geppetto. I remember that because he made Pinocchio and also clearly designed shoes for the Nazi war effort. Don’t be mad at me.”

Even when the cameras weren’t rolling, Silverman’s potentially pot-peppered ways went on. As she left the Nokia Theater and made her way down the street to the Governor’s Ball, her heels still in her hand, Silverman seemed strung out about missing her purse – abruptly stopping in her tracks to try and sort the matter out.

The pot-themed awards show wasn’t lost on audiences either.

“Was this the first Emmys since pot was legalized or something?” one viewer tweeted, others called it something of a “stony night” while another quipped: “let’s give it up for the real winner tonight – I’m talking of course, about pot.”

As it stands, 23 states and DC have legislation allowing medical marijuana usage; with the issue of decriminalizing pot use altogether a growing topic of debate ahead of the 2016 Presidential election.

But the promotion of pot at the Emmy Awards is likely just the beginning. According to multiple reports, the hand-held Haze Vaporizer by Haze Technologies will be featured in the official Oscars 2015 gift bag. While e-cigarettes have previously been nestled in the goodie bag, this will mark the first time a marijuana-focused vaporizer will be rolled – pun intended – inside.
 
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/08/25/marijuana-study_n_5711217.html




Marijuana Use Lowers Risk Of Domestic Violence In Married Couples, Study Finds



Past research has indicated that couples who abuse substances are at a greater risk for divorce, in part because substance abuse often leads to an increase in domestic violence.

However, new research has found that when it comes to marijuana use, the opposite effect occurs: couples who frequently use marijuana are actually at a lower risk of partner violence.

Researchers from Yale University, University of Buffalo and Rutgers recruited 634 couples from 1996 to 1999 while they were applying for a marriage license in New York State. After an initial interview, the researchers followed the couples over the course of nine years using mail-in surveys to measure the effects of marijuana use on intimate partner violence (IPV).

The study defines IPV as acts of physical aggression, such as slapping, hitting, beating and choking, and it was measured by asking couples to report violence committed by them or toward them in the last year.

At the end of the first year, 37.1 percent of husbands had committed acts of domestic violence.

Marijuana use was measured by asking participants how often they used marijuana or hashish (defined as pot, weed, reefer, hash, hash oil or grass) in the last year. Participants were also asked about other drug use including alcohol, because, as the researchers explain the study, marijuana and alcohol are often used in conjunction.

What the researchers found surprised them: due to the fact that alcohol and other substances are known to increase domestic violence, they hypothesized that marijuana use would have the same effect. But that was not the case.

"More frequent marijuana use generally predicted less frequent IPV for both men and women over the first 9 years of marriage," the researchers wrote. Not only that, couples who both used marijuana frequently -- compared to one spouse using it more than the other -- had the lowest risk for partner violence.

Why would marijuana be different than other substances? Researchers hypothesize that the positive side effects of using marijuana may actually reduce conflict and aggression. They note that previous research has found chronic marijuana use to blunt emotional reactions, which could in turn decrease violent or aggressive behavior between spouses.
 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...ts-huge-marijuana-field-then-makes-it-vanish/




China spots huge marijuana field — then makes it vanish



Now you see it, now you don't.

China's National Space Administration proudly announced this week that a high-definition satellite had spotted a huge marijuana field straddling two provinces in the north of the country. The news, however, seemed to embarrass the country's anti-narcotics police.

The Ministry of Public Security's drug-enforcement division swiftly denied that such a field existed, Chinese media reported. The announcement on the space agency's Web site was also soon deleted, leaving citizens wondering if they hadn't imagined the whole episode.

On social media, Netizens mocked the authorities, especially because of the emphasis under President Xi Jinping of the government speaking with "one voice."

"Um, next time, remember to speak beforehand," suggested one microblogger.

"Denied it only after everyone on earth knew about it." wrote another.

A third jokingly suggested a more sinister reason for the confusion. "Reserved marijuana fields for internal special supply," the microblogger wrote.

The field was apparently seen in Jilin Province and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. Calls to the National Space Administration went unanswered Tuesday
 
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/aug/26/medical-marijuana-coalition-mp-pushes-cannabis-trials




(Australia) Medical marijuana: Coalition MP to push for cannabis trials



Medical marijuana will be used to treat cancer patients if an Abbott government backbencher gets his way.

Queensland MP Warren Entsch is drafting a bill, which he hopes to introduce to parliament in the coming fortnight, to allow for legal trials of cannabis to treat people with cancer, epilepsy and multiple sclerosis.

If the trials are successful, Entsch says he will introduce further legislation to fully legalise the drug for medical purposes and make it available “like any other life-saving or life-enhancing drugs”, he told ABC radio on Tuesday.

But his Coalition colleague Kevin Andrews is circumspect.

“We would need to be very careful, very assured, that we’re not going to see any more widespread use of marijuana and cannabis than there is at the present time,” the social services minister said.
 
http://www.coindesk.com/black-market-cannabis-road-hacked-loses-100000-bitcoin/




Black Market Cannabis Road Hacked, $100,000 in Bitcoin Lost




Cannabis Road is now offline after suffering from an attack that saw hackers abscond with 200 BTC or roughly $100,355 at press time.

Users who attempt to access the online marketplace dedicated to cannabis products are now presented with a message from lead developer ‘Crypto’ detailing the attack and the potential paths forward for the development team.

Crypto writes that he discovered the theft at roughly 10:15 AM UTC, after logging into Cannabis Road’s bitcoin wallet and noticing the balance was near zero.

He recalls:

“At first I thought it was a mistake, until I double checked, and triple checked, only to find out, we had in fact been robbed not 15 minutes earlier!”

The developer goes on to reveal the bitcoin address allegedly holding the stolen funds, before asserting that he does not yet know how the money was stolen.

Crypto concludes his message by issuing an apology to site users while expressing his current uncertainty over whether the project will be able to continue, adding:

“I am deeply sorry that I have failed you as a developer and a leader, and if I can figure out how this happened, maybe you will find it in your hearts to move past this and help us bring Cannabis Road back to life once again.”

Multisig employed

The success of the attack is particularly notable given that Cannabis Road had moved to integrate safeguards aimed at better protecting user funds through multi-signature technology, an evolution of the traditional wallet offering that introduces an arbitrator to the transaction process.

In a May interview with DeepDotWeb, Crypto indicated that Cannabis Road was using a hybrid version of multisig, however, in part to make the technology easier for its customers to use.

At the time, he indicated that Cannabis Road had added three levels of multisig in response to a rise in attacks against illicit websites, explaining:

“All three levels start off the same, asking for public keys of the buyer, vendor and market to create the shared (multisignature) address. The buyer sends funds to the shared address. Once the buyer is happy, the buyer agrees to finalize the order, this is where the three levels are offered.”

Two more advanced levels were added on top of this service, both of which put restrictions on the situations in which users would be asked to send their private keys.

Transparency promised

Crypto also promises Cannabis Road users that he will share information on the attack as it was discovered in order to provide more information to the broader deep web community.

Further, he estimates the damage of the attack to be significant for the online marketplace’s brand, suggesting that whether it continues to exist will be up to the site’s community.

Crypto wrote:

“I don’t know if Cannabis Road will continue to exist or not at this point, because there may be no reasonable way for us to recover from this.”

Notably, the site had suffered an early hack under the care of a previous developer in February. Though no funds were stolen in this attack, the incident did result in a leadership change, with Crypto taking the role of lead developer for the site.

cannabis road

Illicit markets targeted

The setback is the latest for the deep web’s illicit online marketplaces, which have been the target of a number of attacks so far this year.

Silk Road 2.0 suffered a significant hack in February during which it lost more than $2.6m in bitcoin in what was perhaps the community’s most high-profile attack.

In his remarks, Crypto moved to separate his actions from those that were taken by Silk Road 2.0 at the time, noting that he would not blame “transaction malleability” for the issue and that he now sympathizes with the situation that the site’s lead developer Defcon faced at the time.

Silk Road 2.0, however, has since been able to rebound from the event, revealing in late May that more than 80% of the customer funds stolen in the attack had been repaid.
 
http://business.financialpost.com/2...s-and-organigram-shares-soar-in-market-debut/




Canadian medical marijuana firms Bedrocan Cannabis and OrganiGram shares soar in market debut



TORONTO — Shares of Canadian medical marijuana producers Bedrocan Cannabis Corp and OrganiGram Holdings Inc jumped as they began trading on the TSX Venture exchange on Monday with investors expecting fast-growing demand in the fledgling industry.

The companies are the first major alternatives to Tweed Marijuana Inc, which was listed in April. The offerings mean three of the 13 medical marijuana producers licensed by regulator Health Canada are now public.

Investors piled into the two stocks, pushing them well above their issued prices of 85 Canadian cents per share.

Both retail and institutional investors are showing strong interest in the Canadian medical marijuana industry, which the government projects will reach $1.3 billion in a decade.

Bedrocan shares advanced to $1.20, while OrganiGram gained to $1.94. More than 4 million Bedrocan shares had changed hands by early afternoon, making it the second most heavily traded stock on the venture exchange.

“It speaks to the appetite out there for marijuana names with licenses,” Jacob Securities analyst Khurram Malik said.

“There are (now) more ways to play companies with licenses,” he added. “It’s a sign that things are maturing, at least in the public markets context.”

Malik expects both companies to be valued at close to $100 million based on Monday’s trading.

Moncton, New Brunswick-based OrganiGram is looking to capture the Eastern Canadian and French-speaking markets.

Toronto-based Bedrocan has a licensing partnership with Dutch medical marijuana producer Bedrocan BV, which currently supplies the Canadian company’s product.

Both companies went public through reverse takeovers, which are carried out using a shell company already listed on an exchange. They are typically faster and cheaper than traditional initial public offerings.

PharmaCan Capital, a holding company involved with three licensed producers, and Mettrum Ltd are two other marijuana firms that are expected to go public in the coming weeks.
 
http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/...astern-institute-of-cannabis-marijuana-class/




(Massachusetts) The Northeastern Institute of Cannabis Is Helping Students Get Into the Marijuana Industry



Earlier this summer, nine of the 20 Massachusetts groups *approved to open medical marijuana dispensaries had their privileges revoked following further application review. Among the reasons listed, as reported by the Boston Globe, were misleading profit models and a lack of support from the neighborhoods in which they were slated to run. This probably came as no surprise to Mickey Martin.

A longtime marijuana advocate and the author of Medical Marijuana 101, Martin has spent more than a decade helping others navigate often confusing and contradictory legislation to write business models for their cannabis operations. For someone who’s watched friends sit in prison for growing plants in their backyard, legalization is “a *refreshing change,” says Martin, who ran his own successful marijuana edibles company in California until he was shut down in 2007; he later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture a mixture containing marijuana. He learned, he says, and yet few people have the education to become industry professionals. All of that’s about to change.

This month, Martin will open the Northeastern Institute of Cannabis (NIC), a new school in Natick offering a 12-course basic-training program to help students get into the burgeoning marijuana industry. With classes in everything from cannabis laws and safety to patient services and the history and science of the plant, NIC will give people the information they need to “get their foot in the door at these places, and it’s probably going to be a leg up,” Martin says.

There’s certainly demand: “You’ve got 11 dispensaries, and they’re hoping to get it up to 20 or 30 over the next year,” Martin says. But Massachusetts’ laws require that dispensaries sell only what they themselves grow—as Martin puts it, that’s the equivalent of asking restaurateurs to run the kitchen, the dining room, and the entire food-supply chain. “People need to understand it is an industry. [Marijuana] is a relatively safe, effective, and helpful substance…. We hope providing education will help compel the movement forward,” Martin says. To that end, he’s enlisted a team of experts throughout the medical cannabis community to share their expertise.

NIC’s founder is optimistic that the legalization movement will continue to grow, citing the fact that the New York Times editorial board recently came out in favor of legalizing marijuana. “It’s a big relief that we’re able to do this and make it a serious business model,” Martin says. “Cannabis enthusiasts can finally start to come out of the closet.”

NIC classes, $199 each, or $1,500 for the complete program and certificate.
 

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