February 2021 Welcome

It’s February! Normally, that would mean a surge in flower sales and dinner reservations at the Cheesecake Factory, but in a world still wracked by a pandemic, how we’ll choose to observe the Hallmark Holiday this year is really anyone’s guess.  Likely, it’s going to be a lot of “Netflix and chill,” but we’re kind of hoping everyone starts walking around in personal plastic bubbles. Then, we can just pretend it’s a giant Flaming Lips concert and life won’t seem so glum. 

Whatever happens, we’re just going to continue doing our best over here to help keep your spirits up and your mind sharp through the turmoil. This month be sure and check out our rant on why the Republican opposition to the MORE Act was some of the dumbest rhetoric witnessed in the dumbest year on record. Also, don’t forget to check out our Shop of the Month column, where we explain why Gatlinburg’s Tennessee Hemp Care is more than just the O’Doul’s brewery of dispensaries. 

We’ve got all sorts of fun stuff packed in this issue, so strap in, roll a fatty, and enjoy yet another installment of the publication that brings you the information you need to thrive, exactly when you need it. We’ll catch you on the flipside! 

Recent Articles

Dr. Macias first fell in love with science while studying at Howard University, where she completed her undergraduate studies and later earned her PhD in cellular and molecular biology. While at Howard, she became especially interested in cancer research due to personal ties. Growing up in a Creole family and predominantly Black community in Louisiana, Dr. Macias watched many women around her battle breast cancer, so at Howard, she decided to focus her research on the BRCA1 gene.
It’s almost amazing that the same institutions that brought us the 2008 financial crisis have a problem with selling glass pipes. Almost. The truth is that an industry's past sins are only held against it when the money isn’t right. Big banks were willing to risk cratering the U.S. housing market because the profits were too good to ignore. But the cannabis industry rolls a different kind of paper, so instead of a slap on the wrist, it gets a surcharge.
Smokeshop and counterculture enthusiasts enjoy discovery as part of the experience. Customers enjoy browsing. When they walk into a shop, they don't simply grab a product and leave. They look for something new. This is the main reason flyers and posters still work. Smokeshops and dispensaries are highly visual environments. You want to see bold artwork, psychedelic graphics, and street-style posters that naturally capture attention.
The use of cannabis in professional sports has always been a controversial subject. While some are firm believers that all substances should be banned from professional sports altogether, most people aren’t thinking about cannabis when they’re discussing performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs). In fact, there have been countless cannabis users in the world of professional sports throughout the years; some of whom are more open about their love for the plant than others.
North Carolina might save us all. A new state bill may be the industry’s best option to save itself from demise when new federal cannabinoid bans take effect in November. And it could use your support.
Hemp is often considered for the things that it is not. It is not intoxicating, it is not illegal, and it is not marijuana. However, now we are seeing a focus back to what it can be. The plant is moving into the level of wine and chocolate and becoming a movement and a culture.
It’s been several months since President Donald Trump signed an executive order to reschedule cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III within the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). On paper, the recent executive order, entitled “Increasing Medical Marijuana and Cannabidiol Research,” is a huge step in the right direction for cannabis smokers across the country.
For years, we’ve been told that this industry is the Wild West: a place where the only law amounts to whatever the guy with the gun says. But over the last 12 months, state governments have passed a spate of new regulations that promise to swap the relative lawlessness of poor enforcement of vague rules with real law and order.