Urban Hippie

Throughout the 2010s, marijuana was on a roll. Dozens of states and a couple of countries legalized it for recreational use; dozens more belatedly allowed medicinal use. VCs circled a fledgling industry that found novel ways to reach for ever more respectability. Estimated sales worldwide looked set to reach $17 billion in 2019, a jump of 38 percent, even as a crisis sparked by knock-off vape pens hobbled one of its main categories.  Then came the 2020 coronavirus pandemic...and in some ways, marijuana was on more of a roll than ever. In states like California, which designated its dispensaries an essential service, a growing mountain of evidence suggests sales have shot up since March 1. No wonder: Much of the cannabis customer base is stuck at home, anxious and bored at the same time. Th

In the midst of a global pandemic, this year's 420 is gonna be a weird one. And not in the usual way, either.  Stoners are being faced with a uniquely difficult conundrum on this holiest of holidaze due to new health concerns over consuming cannabis in light of the novel coronavirus. The uncertainty in the air is palpable.  But lots of cannabis connoisseurs are making the switch to ingesting rather than inhaling their drug of choice, with some trying edibles for the first time ever. That's because medical professionals are recommending people stay away from smoking or vaping anything, including cannabis, as it might cause lung and airway damage that puts people at a higher risk for serious harm from the coronavirus. Read more...More about Cannabis, 420, Edibles, Coronavirus, and Culture�

Cooked with Cannabis isn't the first of its kind, but it is the latest to miss the mark. On Monday (yes, April 20), Netflix dropped all six episodes of its new weed-infused cooking competition hosted by "Milkshake" singer-turned-chef Kelis and cannabis cuisine expert Leather Storrs. Each episode, three guest chefs are challenged to produce a three-course meal of CBD and THC-imbued dishes fitting a pre-set theme — backyard BBQ, wedding, comfort food, holidays, etc. — to be served to the show's hosts and a hungry table of celebrity "buds." The chef behind the most impressive dining experience walks away with a $10,000 prize.  Read more...More about Netflix, Weed, Tv Review, Cooked With Cannabis, and Entertainment Source: Marshable

How do you celebrate 420 during the coronavirus pandemic?  Virtually, of course.  Most of us are at least a month into self-quarantine, and it's obvious that social distancing is the most effective way to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.  Perhaps you've been celebrating the stoner holiday since your state's shelter-in-place mandate started — after all, this entire month is technically 420. Or  perhaps, like me, you've lost all sense of time and forgot about it completely. If you're inside with nothing better to do (and if you're in a state where this is legal) then why not celebrate marijuana legalization quarantine-style?  Read more...More about Weed, 420, Pandemic, Culture, and Web Culture Source: Marshable

Do you know what your fur child is doing on April 20? Pup parents everywhere should worry about a dangerous new trend sweeping the canine world. Read on to learn the shocking tr uth about canine-abis and how to protect your innocent four-legged offspring from falling victim to the horrors of marijuana-themed chew toys. "im baby" Image: jess Joho /  MASHABLE This is Dax Joho. He was a Good Boy all his life, boasting perfect puppy school attendance with a 4.0 GPA (Good Pup Average). Then, one day in April, some friends invited him to a "420 celebration." And everything changed. "bro you gotta try this grass — it's way better than the stuff in your backyard" Image: jess joho /  MASHABLE Read more...More about Animals, Culture, Weed, 420, and Barkbox Source: Marshable

This post is part of our High-tech High series, which explores weed innovations, and our cultural relationship with cannabis, as legalization in several U.S. states, Canada, and Uruguay moves the market further out of the shadows. There may, somewhere in world history, be a more ironic moment to launch a product named "Roam" than during a pandemic that has most of your customer base confined to their homes. But I'm struggling to think of one. (Maybe during the fall of ancient Rome?)  And while marijuana products in legal states and countries are moving faster than ever in this anxious age, with good reason, much of that growth is going into edibles. (Just ask my local socially-distancing  dispensary, where any item you eat or drink is frequently sold out.) To continue to smoke or vape,

Colorado drivers are currently commuting down what must be some of the most lit and spotless highways in the country. And it's all thanks to some clever cannabis companies. The cannabis industry has been in a perpetual arms race against the strict and ever-evolving regulations that govern their substance, which is still illegal in the United States at the federal level. But the 51 Colorado weed businesses reportedly using the Adopt-a-Highway program to circumvent the state's strict advertising rules surely take the cake (or flowers). On Friday, Feb. 14, the Denver Post reported that the cannabis industry had become an unexpected top patron of the state highway infrastructure, "accounting for cleanup on two-thirds of the roads maintained by Clean Colorado," an official program from the Dep...

Some students in Colorado will soon be able to major in weed instead of just smoking it in their dorm rooms.  Colorado State University-Pueblo just received approval for the state's first degree program focused on cannabis, the Denver Post reports. The program is called "Cannabis, Biology and Chemistry" and will be similar to a double major in biology and chemistry, dean of the university's College of Science and Mathematics David Lehmpuhl told the Post. The focus will be on learning the science necessary to succeed in the field.  Lehmpuhl said the degree will be rigorous. He also stated that the university is not pro or anti cannabis, but rather they know that the industry will continue to grow and they want students to be prepared.  Read more...More about Cannabis, Weed, Culture, and Dru

President Donald Trump is obsessed with IQ — has been for years — and he’s convinced smoking weed knocks you down few points.  Vice published leaked audio from a private donor dinner hosted by Trump in 2018, and a portion of that conversation revealed the commander-in-chief is pretty hesitant about the surging normalcy of legal cannabis.  “It does cause an IQ problem. You lose IQ points,” Trump says in the video. SEE ALSO: Here's how to introduce the boomer in your life to weed The audio was secretly recorded by Lev Parnas, the associate of Rudy Giuliani who has found himself at the center of Trump’s ongoing impeachment saga. Parnas, founder of the hilariously named firm Fraud Guarantee, sparked the marijuana conversation, asking the president if he’d thought about “allowing banking in so

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