Year in weed: The five most important medical marijuana research studies of 2016
Science is starting to prove how cannabis helps with epilepsy, migraines and more. Here are some of 2016’s most important marijuana research studies.
Ricardo Baca
Ricardo Baca is a contributing editor for The Cannabist. He was appointed The Denver Post's first marijuana editor in November 2013 and spearheaded the formation of The Cannabist, a division of the Post. Fortune magazine ranked Baca as one of the seven most powerful people in American cannabis while the Brookings Institution said he's one of 12 key people to watch in marijuana policy. Considered by Vice as 'the nation's most prestigious weed editor,' Baca is also the subject of the feature-length documentary 'Rolling Papers.' Baca also founded music blog Reverb and co-founded music festival The UMS.
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Recent posts by Ricardo Baca
Colorado marijuana sales: $1 billion in first 10 months of 2016
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In the first 10 months of 2016, Colorado marijuana shops reached a significant milestone they had barely missed in all of 2015: $1 billion in legal, regulated cannabis sales.
ATF doubles down on marijuana gun ban, adds more explicit warning to firearm purchase form
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The federal government just doubled down on its efforts to keep guns away from cannabis patients and enthusiasts.
Cannabis philanthropy helps heal Drug War wounds
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As marijuana businesses continue to assimilate into America’s traditional corporate world, philanthropy and responsibility have become key initiatives for some ganjapreneurs.
Marijuana legalization steams ahead in America
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Before we gaze too far into the unknown future, let’s address just how significant this historic present truly is for the full-steam-ahead marijuana legalization movement.
This emboldened Colorado city says it will now build the National Marijuana Museum
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The city’s cannabis industry and their partners say they will build the National Marijuana Museum in the southern Colorado city.
Initiative 300: Denver’s social marijuana use measure too close to call in early returns
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Denver’s vote on Initiative 300, the measure meant to permit limited cannabis consumption inside certain businesses, was too close to call in early returns Tuesday evening.
Why Questlove, Seth Rogen and other celebs are talking about weed’s biggest election ever
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Election 2016 is marijuana legalization’s biggest vote. Just ask Questlove, Nancy Pelosi and Seth Rogen –aww, heck– we’ll just let them tell you.
Initiative 300 in Denver: Everything you need to know about the social pot use measure
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As Denver voters prepare to vote on Initiative 300, we break down the social pot use measure. What’s it do? Arguments for and against. Who supports, who doesn’t?
Prop 64: Why so much of California’s cannabis industry isn’t ready for legalization
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In California, where voters will soon decide the fate of the pot-legalizing Proposition 64, much of the existing cannabis industry is not prepared.
Willie Nelson: The Outlaw Country legend reflects on his personal cannabis history
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Willie Nelson talks in detail with The Cannabist on his lifelong relationship with weed — his first time getting high (he didn’t), his willingness to sesh with Donald Trump and the actual intent behind ‘Roll Me Up and Smoke Me When I Die’
Meet Jim McAlpine, one of the most exciting entrepreneurs in the marijuana industry
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Catching up with Jim McAlpine and his collection of entrepreneurial ventures: the 420 Games, Power Plant Fitness and the New West Summit.
Bob Marley’s youngest son opens Stony Hill, his own Jamaica-inspired marijuana shop
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Wiz Khalifa has his own marijuana strain. Snoop Dogg has an entire line of edibles, concentrates and flower. Willie Nelson’s company is actually growing its own cannabis plants. And now Bob Marley’s youngest son has a pot shop branded with his name and aesthetics.
Do Coloradans regret legalizing marijuana? New poll says voters see pot as boon to state
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How do Colorado voters really feel about the still-developing consequences of saying yes to Amendment 64 in November 2012? A new poll suggests Colorado voters do not have buyer’s remorse, The Cannabist has learned exclusively.
Watch Jay Z’s powerful New York Times visual op-ed: ‘The war on drugs is an epic fail’
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The question: ‘Why were white men poised to get rich doing the very same thing that African-American boys and men had long been going to prison for?’
Travel guru Arthur Frommer: ‘Get ready for the era of marijuana, and marijuana tourism’
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Arthur Frommer, one of the world’s foremost travel authorities, is preparing for a Green Rush of marijuana tourism.
‘Weed tornado’: Watch this pot plant get sucked from the soil, thrown into the air
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Watch: A miniature tornado uproots a mature, six-foot cannabis plant and throws it 50 feet away into a different garden entirely.
It begins: With MTV’s ‘Mary + Jane,’ the rush of crappy weed sitcoms has started
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With the Green Rush now infiltrating scripted television comedies on American networks, should we prepare for the worst?
Struggling Canadian province anticipates ‘thousands of jobs’ created by marijuana
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New Brunswick economic policy adviser is looking forward to the jobs created by Canada marijuana in the province by pot businesses in the years to come.
Jack Splitt, the teen who helped change Colorado medical pot law, has died
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Jack Splitt, whose fight with cerebral palsy opened Colorado school doors to medical marijuana treatments, died Wednesday. He was 15.
A new breed of cannabis competition: The Grow-Off uses science to crown champs
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The Grow-Off is a new marijuana competition that will rely on science, not taste-testing judges or money-grabbing events, to determine its winners.
Man accidentally eats four pot brownies, crawls on floor and calls cat mean names
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A 53-year-old man unknowingly ate pot brownies and later crawled “around on the floor, randomly using profanities and calling the family cat ‘a bitch’ “
Will DEA’s new policy tweak foster more cannabis research? Sanjay Gupta doesn’t think so
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The Drug Enforcement Administration says its recent marijuana policy change will “foster research,” but CNN medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta isn’t buying it.
Colorado marijuana shops sell nearly $600 million of weed in first half of 2016
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Colorado marijuana shops sold nearly $600 million of cannabis in the first half of 2016, and analysts predict $1.35 billion in pot sales by year’s end.
What NFL alum Ricky Williams does when he gets too stoned (it’s kinda disgusting)
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We all have our little tricks we employ when we get too stoned. Former NFL player Ricky Williams has his. And it’s pretty disgusting.
Government officials (Team Hillary, too) respond to DEA’s pot rescheduling denial
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Here’s how officials at every level of U.S. government (Team Hillary Clinton, too) reacted to the DEA’s recent decision to not reschedule marijuana.
Exclusive: Finally, Willie Nelson and his family, team are growing legal marijuana
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Willie Nelson and his family and team are legally growing marijuana for the first time in the country singer and legalization activist’s lifetime.
State releases hundreds of recalled pot batches after they tested pesticide-free
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Hundreds of batches of Colorado marijuana that months ago tested positive for banned pesticides have been re-tested by the state and released to return to the marketplace.
This Weed on Wheels marijuana delivery service says it’s legal — but actually it’s not
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I couldn’t resist calling the number on the marijuana delivery service’s website. “I’m just wondering how you guys legally deliver weed?” The voice on the other end of the phone answered: “We’re doing it on a donation basis — for gas, time and delivery. Kinda like they do it on Craigslist.”
Work with weed: Advice on what not to do at a job fair
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The top five positions companies are hiring for at the pot job fair: Budtenders, managers, sales representatives, growers and bookkeepers.
Donald Trump says U.S. needs a border wall to keep drugs out. Is he right?
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The Donald Trump border wall plan is now being touted by the Republican presidential nominee as a way to stop illicit drugs from coming into America. But there’s already a downward trend in drug trafficking from Mexico.
Terrapin Care Station buys Denver Relief’s marijuana shop in central Denver
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Boulder’s Terrapin Care Station has landed in Denver proper by acquiring Denver Relief, one of the longest operating dispensaries in Colorado.
Exclusive: Willie Nelson dishes on selling Willie’s Reserve cannabis in Free America
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Willie Nelson’s much-hyped marijuana brand Willie’s Reserve will debut in Washington state pot shops this month and in Colorado marijuana stores in August, Nelson’s team told The Cannabist exclusively.
Longtime Marijuana Industry Group chief Mike Elliott no longer with organization
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One of Colorado’s most prominent advocates for marijuana businesses is no longer with the industry trade organization he helped build. Mike Elliott is now out as the longtime executive director of the Denver-rooted Marijuana Industry Group, sources confirmed.
Poll: 51 percent of Massachusetts voters oppose recreational marijuana initiative
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A little more than half of registered voters oppose the ballot initiative that would legalize Massachusetts marijuana for recreational use, according to a new poll.
City escapes debt after selling its prison to a marijuana grower, OK’ing cultivation
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Ocean Grown Extracts is set to operate out of the empty prison, the Claremont Custody Center, and estimates they’ll create 100 jobs in the process.
Whoopi Goldberg talks dysmenorrhea and how little men know about menstrual pain
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Whoopi Goldberg is now peddling THC- and CBD-infused products meant to help with dysmenorrhea and she’s noticing how men are downplaying the condition.
Denver’s unique Marijuana Management Symposium will return in October 2016
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The city of Denver will again host its Marijuana Management Symposium for other governments charged with “implementing marijuana policies and regulations.”
After Dems back marijuana rescheduling, GOP votes against endorsing medical pot
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Just days after the Democratic Party endorsed the rescheduling of cannabis and a “reasoned pathway to future legalization” of marijuana, delegates with the Republican Party voted against a more conservative platform that would have endorsed medical marijuana.
Watch Snoop Dogg flub a marijuana question or two on ‘Celebrity Family Feud’
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When Snoop Dogg brought his family on “Celebrity Family Feud,” of course some marijuana questions were thrown into the mix. See what Snoop dog wrong.
The ‘Orange is the New Black’ pro-prison drug-war joke that hits too close to reality
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Did you catch the stinging Drug War joke in the new “Orange is the New Black” season? Here’s what they said — and here’s why it resonates in 2016 America.
Activists behind THC-limiting initiative to withdraw controversial Amendment 139
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The activists aiming to implement strict THC limits on Colorado’s marijuana industry will withdraw the controversial Amendment 139 next week, their attorney told The Cannabist.
The new trend in U.S. marijuana stores? A focus on thoughtful, high-end shop design
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Pot shops across America are getting some work done – and sometimes an entire facelift, with a focus on customer education and sleek design.
This major publisher of travel guides now includes sections on marijuana tourism
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Is this guidebook the first general-interest travel guide to be published with marijuana tourism included in its listings? Sure looks like it.
Amid effort to limit pot potency, industry strikes back with well-funded campaign
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A new coalition funded by the cannabis industry has formed in Colorado to fight a ballot measure that some say would crush the state’s billion-dollar marijuana industry.
‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ director’s smart rant: Keep dogs away from edibles
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“Guardians of the Galaxy” director James Gunn didn’t know he had a stoned dog on his hands when the pooch started seizing, prompting an emergency vet visit.
Congressman: Vote against pot banking? Get a tattoo of slain security guard’s name
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Rep. Denny Heck of Washington says House colleagues who voted down the marijuana banking amendment should get tattoos of a slain dispensary guard’s name to remember that cash-rich dispensaries can be targets.
Rescheduling marijuana: The good, the bad and the ugly unknowns of Schedule II
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Yes, the Drug Enforcement Administration is thinking about rescheduling marijuana. Here are the good, the bad and the ugly unknowns of rescheduling weed.
A first look at the new ‘High Maintenance,’ which debuts on HBO this fall
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This is exciting: The above video is the first we’ve seen of a newly expanded “High Maintenance,” the Internet sensation that will debut in a longer, bigger-budgeted format on HBO this fall.
Is this pro-pot Ohio senator ignoring the Cole Memo and other states’ weed laws?
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Medical marijuana patients in Ohio say they need access to their medicine. But should they follow Ohio state senator Kenny Yuko’s advice?
