Uncategorized

Dame Dash has strongly hinted that his shares in Roc-A-Fella Records will be sold to Cam’ron and Ma$e to pay off his extensive debts.

Read more

Kanye West’s eldest daughter North has announced her debut album with its title inspired by her father’s own debut from 20 years ago.

Read more

Amsterdam, a city long associated with relaxed weed rules, has been left out of a pilot experiment with legal cannabis sales now underway in the Netherlands. In a vote last week in the Netherlands’ lower house of Parliament known as the Tweede Kamer, lawmakers excluded Amsterdam from a list of cities to be added to the European country’s experiment with regulated cannabis cultivation and distribution. The Tweede Kamer also voted against an attempt by conservative lawmakers to halt the experiment, which will be expanded this summer to 10 cities across the Netherlands.

The experiment launched late last year in the Dutch cities of Breda and Tilburg. Under the pilot program, which will soon be launched in eight more cities, the government is regulating the cultivation and sale of recreational cannabis. 

Although the Netherlands in general and Amsterdam in particular are known for a pragmatically tolerant outlook on weed, cannabis is still illegal nationwide. Despite the prohibition, cannabis is easily available at so-called coffeeshops, which offer a range of weed products including flowers, joints and hash to adult customers. The coffee shops, which number approximately 565 nationwide, are supplied by underground growers who are generally allowed to operate without government interference.

Many government officials are concerned, however, that organized crime groups have taken over cultivation of much of the weed that ends up in coffeeshops in the Netherlands. This concern led to the country’s first experiment with regulated adult-use cannabis cultivation and distribution. 

The experiment began in December and is being rolled out in select municipalities under what the government calls a “closed coffeeshop chain experiment.” The initial phase of the experiment is expected to extend for six months in as many as 11 cities.

“During the startup phase, growers, coffeeshop owners, transporters and supervisors will gain experience with the supply and sale of regulated cannabis and its supervision, secure transport and the use of the track and trace system,” the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport said in a statement, according to a report from the Associated Press.

Later this year, the Netherlands’ experiment with regulated cannabis will be expanded to the cities of Almere, Arnhem, Groningen, Heerlen, Voorne aan Zee (formerly named Hellevoetsluis), Maastricht, Nijmegen and Zaanstad. City leaders in Amsterdam hoped to join the experiment, despite some claims that doing so would make it easier for underage youth to get weed.

“The experiment will not make access to drugs easier for young people. It just means that the production and distribution will be removed from criminals” Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema told the publication NL Times, according to a report from MJBizDaily.

“This actually protects public health and facilitates enforcement policy. If you want to control cannabis use better, you must also check the ‘back door.’”

Amsterdam’s bid to be included in the experiment was denied by a March 5 vote by the Tweede Kamer. While the proposal had the support of the Netherlands left-wing and centrist parties, conservatives in the far-right Christian SGP and the far-right nationalist PVV political parties defeated the bid by a vote of 78-72, according to a report from Forbes.

Shutterstock

Amsterdam Exclusion ‘No Surprise’

The exclusion of Amsterdam from the cannabis legalization experiment was not unexpected, says Jason Adelstone, a senior associate attorney at the cannabis law firm Vicente LLP, where he focuses on federal and international policy.

“I am not surprised that members of the Netherlands Parliament opposed the proposal for allowing Amsterdam to join the Dutch marijuana experiment,” Adelstone writes in an email to High Times. “With the far-right nationalist PVV party being the largest party in the Tweede Kamer, expanding the marijuana pilot program to include Amsterdam was a difficult proposition. Thankfully, those opposed to the marijuana pilot program didn’t have enough support to pause or completely stop the program altogether.”

Michael Sassano, founder, chairman and CEO of Somai Pharmaceuticals, a Lisbon-based manufacturer of therapeutic cannabis products, agrees that there “is no surprise that Amsterdam was ‘excluded’ from the program.” 

“The reality is that the Amsterdam coffee shop owners are very happy with their supply agreements both in quality and pricing,” Sassano said in a statement to High Times. “Most coffee shop owners understand that it will take some time for the legal Grow’s to get up to the current quality standards, and also the price will be higher. As the Netherlands progresses, going to a legal market for the entire country will be inevitable but it takes time and infrastructure to achieve this goal.”

The post Amsterdam Left Out of Netherlands Legal Weed Experiment appeared first on High Times.

Read more

President Joe Biden issued his State of the Union address on Thursday, March 7, and among many topics, he said he’ll direct his Cabinet to consider reclassifying cannabis at the federal level. It’s the first time that a president of the United States addressed cannabis reform as part of his State of the Union address.

“Keep building public trust, as I’ve been doing by taking executive action on police reform, and calling for it to be the law of the land, directing my Cabinet to review the federal classification of marijuana, and expunging thousands of convictions  for mere possession, because no one should be jailed for using or possessing marijuana!” Biden said.

Biden also posted on X that “no one should be jailed for using or possessing marijuana,” which prompted responses from people who pushed for real expungements—not the mostly meaningless wave of pardons to people with minor cannabis convictions issued by Biden in 2022.

Biden issued two executive orders in October 2022, pardoning some people with nonviolent federal cannabis records, and he asked the Department of Health and Human Services to evaluate if cannabis should be rescheduled under the Controlled Substances Act.

The US Cannabis Council (USCC) launched in 2021 with a goal to build better access to an equitable and values-driven industry. The USCC has been working hard to advance federal cannabis legalization and promote restorative justice to the people harmed the most by the War on Drugs.

“The US Cannabis Council applauds President Biden for highlighting cannabis reform as an issue of national concern during his State of the Union address,” David Culver, SVP of Public Affairs at the USCC said in a statement obtained by High Times. “The President has issued historic pardons for nonviolent cannabis offenses and initiated a groundbreaking review of the status of cannabis under federal law. Tonight’s remarks before a national audience signal the President’s ongoing commitment to advancing cannabis reform. We are encouraged by what we heard this evening and optimistic that the Biden Administration will move cannabis down to Schedule III this year.” 

“President Biden made history tonight by addressing cannabis reform during the State of the Union,” said Adam Goers, co-chair, Coalition for Cannabis Scheduling Reform. The President is committed to modernizing the federal government’s approach to cannabis, and he reinforced that commitment tonight in front of the American people. Moving cannabis down to Schedule III would represent an historic shift in our nation’s drug laws. We thank the President for his remarks and urge his Administration to push ahead with rescheduling.” 

Cannabis Pardons and President Biden

Thousands of people received one of Biden’s pardons for federal cannabis possession convictions under two announcements issued in 2022 and in February. The Justice Department issued certificates to eligible people who applied for the pardons, but the certificates actually read “the pardon means that you’re forgiven, but you still have a criminal record.”

Former prisoner Weldon Angelos corrected Biden’s comment, adding that possession generally never leads to jail time alone. “Nobody goes to jail for use or simple possession,” Angelos posted on X. “But those imprisoned federally for marijuana felonies shouldn’t be forced to serve out the remainder of their decades long sentences either so please commute their sentences as you promised when you were running for president. 

Before Thursday’s State of the Union address, The Sentencing Project urged President Biden to remember his 2020 campaign promises to oppose mandatory minimum sentences and significantly reduce the prison population.

“America surpassed the grim milestone of 50 years of mass incarceration, with the prison population growing nearly 500% since 1973,” said Kara Gotsch, executive director for The Sentencing Project. “Today, almost 2 million individuals, and disproportionately Black Americans, are incarcerated in our nation’s prisons and jails. The U.S. incarcerates more of its citizens—for longer periods of time—than any other major democratic country in the world.” 

“President Biden promised four years ago to reduce federal incarceration levels by 50% and to oppose mandatory minimum sentences. We urge the president to keep those promises, and to scale up solutions that actually make communities safer, such as good schools, affordable childcare, broadly accessible mental health services, more effective and widely available substance use treatment programs, and more support for vulnerable children and youth. 

“Americans deserve safety, security, and community-based solutions that will build up our communities and actually stop the cycle of crime. We can get there if we put evidence-based solutions over politics, thriving communities over extreme sentences, and rehabilitation over punishment.”

In addition, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand told High Times last that rescheduling cannabis under schedule III would do little by simply moving it to a less restrictive category. A recent survey found broad support across demographics and suggested Biden could see an 11% favorability boost if it occurs.

The post In State of the Union Address, Biden Vows to Review Federal Reclassification of Pot appeared first on High Times.

Read more

Encouraging outcomes from a clinical study on the LSD-analog substance MM120, or lysergide d-tartrate, have led the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to designate it as a “breakthrough therapy” for treating generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). The designation of “breakthrough therapy” is awarded to expedite the development and review of drugs that show considerable promise in providing treatment for conditions with significant unmet medical needs. Similar to MM120, other substances like MDMA, Esketamine (the ketamine nasal spray) and psilocybin have also received this status, which highlights their potential in transforming therapeutic practices.

A spokesperson for MindMed described MM120 as “a tartrate salt form of lysergide, a synthetic drug commonly known as LSD.” The challenge of producing LSD with high purity was highlighted by the company’s chief medical officer in an interview with CNN, stating, “LSD is difficult to manufacture with high purity and tends to degrade quickly in the presence of light and water.” They added, “We’re manufacturing it to pharmaceutical industry standards, a highly pure version that is also shelf stable. So that’s a critical difference.”

Mind Medicine Inc., which is the pharmaceutical company producing MM120, announced in a Thursday press release its intention to convene an end-of-Phase 2 discussion with the FDA during the first half of 2024. Following this, they aim to initiate a Phase 3 clinical trial in the latter half of the year. Additionally, MindMed disclosed that its Phase 2b study of MM-120 for treating GAD achieved its crucial secondary endpoint, with the topline data from a 12-week period demonstrating statistically significant sustained effectiveness up to week 12. 

Symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) can manifest in various ways, including persistent worrying or anxiety about numerous aspects of life that are disproportionate to the actual events’ impact. Individuals may find themselves overthinking, catastrophizing, and experiencing difficulty handling uncertainty. This can lead to indecisiveness and fear of making the wrong decision, alongside an inability to set aside or let go of worries. People with GAD often find it challenging to relax, feeling constantly restless, and being on edge. Additionally, they may encounter difficulty concentrating, have moments where their mind “goes blank,” or even disassociate. The condition can lead to trouble sleeping, irritability, muscle aches, and more uncomfortable side effects. 

“The FDA’s decision to designate MM120 as a breakthrough therapy for GAD and the durability data from our Phase 2b study provide further validation of the important potential role this treatment can play in addressing the huge unmet need among individuals living with GAD,” Robert Barrow, MindMed’s director and CEO, said in a statement. “We are committed to bringing MM120 to people living with GAD and delivering on the potential of our pipeline to treat serious brain health disorders.”

The most recent study findings on MM120 (lysergide d-tartrate) revealed that a one-time oral administration of the LSD-derived medication resulted in “clinically and statistically significant” decreases in anxiety levels 12 weeks post-treatment. The study was a parallel, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled dose-optimization trial, included 198 participants, the Psychiatric Times reports. These folks were randomly allocated to receive one of four doses of MM120: 25, 50, 100, or 200 µg—or a placebo. The participants had to have what counts as severe symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), with an average baseline Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) score around 30. The research primarily wanted to assess the dose-response relationship across the four MM-120 doses compared to the placebo, specifically looking at the changes in HAM-A scores from the start of the study to week 4.

A whopping 65% of the participants demonstrated a clinical response. 48% achieved clinical remission from their anxiety disorder after undergoing the treatment.

“That MM120 exhibited rapid and robust efficacy, solidly sustained for 12 weeks after a single dose, is truly remarkable,” David Feifel, who is a researcher in the latest MindMed study and a professor emeritus of psychiatry at the University of California San Diego, said. “These results suggest the potential MM120 has in the treatment of anxiety, and those of us who struggle every day to alleviate anxiety in our patients look forward to seeing results from future Phase 3 trials.”

But there was no “integration” involved in this study, just medicine. While other psychedelic-assisted therapies, the research on MM120 did not come with talk therapy. “MM120 was administered as a single dose in a monitored clinical setting with no therapeutic intervention,” MindMed stated. 

As more traditional anxiety medications, such as benzodiazepines, can lead to a physical dependence that comes with a very nasty withdrawal process, psychedelic therapies, whether it’s MM120, regular ole’ LSD, cannabis, or psilocybin, are desperately welcome. 

The post FDA Recognizes LSD-Equivalent Drug with ‘Breakthrough Therapy’ Label for Anxiety Relief appeared first on High Times.

Read more

The Virginia Department of Forensic Science (VDFS) recently released a report regarding its federal funded study to research reliable testing methods for detecting THC in blood.

DFS was originally granted $290,353 in 2020 by the Department of Justice’s National Institute of Justice. “The goal of this research project is to develop and validate an automated sample preparation technique for the quantitative evaluation of an expanded cannabinoid panel (CBD, CBN, THC, THC-A, CBC) in biological matrices…” stated the award description.

More than $1,188,390 million was available in total, and the sum was divided between a total of five projects. “The ever-changing climate of cannabis decriminalization and/or legalization has significantly impacted forensic laboratories and is anticipated to increase the caseload in forensic toxicology,” the description added. “In addition, products claiming to contain other cannabinoids, including cannabidiol and tetrahydrocannabinolic acid, have become widely available.”

Four years later, VDFS has released a 107-page report in February about its findings. The report shows the detailed process of separating THC metabolites, experimenting using different types of blood (bank blood, antemortem blood, postmortem blood, and also urine).

Ultimately, researchers developed a process to identify different cannabinoids. “Within the research project, a method was developed for the quantitative and qualitative evaluation of cannabinoids in biological matrices using supported liquid extraction,” the report stated. “The methodology employed LCMSMS [liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry] with two analytical columns of different stationary phases to enhance the confirmation of cannabinoids.”

LCMSMS was used to help determine the slight differences between cannabinoids. “To enhance the selectivity of LCMSMS, a two-column chromatographic method was developed to enable additional confirmation regarding the identity of a compound,” researchers wrote. “Within the validations, the evaluation of interferences from other cannabinoids was critical in the assessment of the method and its validity.” 

VDFS was also awarded grant funds of $441,886 in 2023 with the intention of developing methods and tools to study other psychedelic compounds. “The detection of psychedelic compounds including psilocybin and N,N-dimethyltryptamine (DMT) poses an analytical challenge in biological specimens due to their rapid metabolism and known structural instability,” the award description stated. “An analytical workflow for the identification and quantitation of these compounds and their main metabolites needs to consider appropriate long term storage conditions and sample preparation parameters to minimize the implications associated with their inherent instability.”

This research effort was also one of five studies chosen to receive a portion $1,928,846, all with the intent of “identification of the most efficient, accurate, reliable, and cost-effective methods for the identification, analysis, and interpretation of physical evidence for criminal justice purposes.”

The discussions surrounding cannabis testing and how to accurately measure impairment have long been contested. One published in 2022 in Scientific Reports found evidence that neither THC detected in breath or in blood is a reliable way to indicate impairment. “Our findings are consistent with others who have shown that delta-9-THC can be detected in breath up to several days since last use,” researchers wrote. “Because the leading technologies for breath-based testing for recent cannabis use rely solely on the detection of delta-9-THC, this could potentially result in false positive test outcomes due to the presence of delta-9-THC in breath outside of the impairment window.”

President Joe Biden signed an infrastructure bill in November 2021, which included a provision that required the Department of Transportation to complete a report that includes recommendations on providing researchers with cannabis in order to study drivers under the influence of cannabis. That report was supposed to be completed by November 2023, but has not yet been delivered. 

Sen. John Hickenlooper reached out to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in November 2022 to receive an update on the report. “Preventing distracted or impaired driving is a key step towards the goal of reducing traffic fatalities and improving roadway safety. In 2021, nearly 43,000 fatalities occurred from motor vehicle crashes, which is among the highest annual totals in decade[s],” Hickenlooper wrote. “While the IIJA includes many laudable provisions to establish performance standards for crash avoidance technologies, evaluate monitoring systems to reduce distracted driving, and issue rules to detect a driver’s impaired status, many ambiguities around defining marijuana-impaired driving underscore the importance of clarifying this policy uncertainty.”

In October 2023, a study conducted by the University of Colorado Anshutz Medical Campus analyzed how to more accurately detect cannabis. “Since THC accumulates and lingers in fat tissue, daily cannabis users may maintain constant elevations of THC in the blood even long after the psychoactive effects abate,” said Michael Kosnett, MD, MPH. “There has been a lot of concern about whether the use of cannabis has been associated with an increased risk of motor vehicle crashes or accidents in the workplace.”

The research team measured whole blood THC and its metabolites, and calculated two blood cannabinoid molar metabolite ratios. Researchers determined a 98% specificity rate when examining if a person had consumed cannabis within 30 minutes.

The post Virginia Department of Forensic Science Releases Report on THC Blood Detection appeared first on High Times.

Read more

Using cannabis for pain relief is nothing new. Across the U.S., most states include chronic pain as a qualifying condition for medical cannabis.

Looking broader, individuals around the globe are already embracing cannabis for these pain-relieving qualities alongside the additional benefits it may offer. While we’re still learning exactly how cannabis can work to treat symptoms and provide relief for specific conditions, many are taking matters into their own hands with promising results — and these trends could very well help to shape further research and policy.

A recent survey published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology took a closer look at symptom management pertaining to cannabis and endometriosis, finding that patients often turn to cannabis to alleviate their symptoms despite ongoing barriers to access.

Cannabis Use Among Endometriosis Patients

Endometriosis is a condition where tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside of the uterus, generally resulting in severe pelvic pain and inflammation. The tissue acts in the same way as the lining inside the uterus, thickening, breaking down and bleeding with each menstrual cycle. Endometriosis involving the ovaries can also result in cysts, causing surrounding tissue irritation and formation of scar tissue.

Endometriosis can start at the time of a person’s first menstrual period and last until menopause. We still don’t know what causes endometriosis, there is no way to prevent it and there is no cure. However, there are a number of treatments to help ease the related symptoms. Some opt for surgery to remove lesions, while many embrace hormonal intrauterine devices, birth control methods, opioid-based pain medications and more for ongoing relief.

That said, we can safely add cannabis to the list of modern-day treatments given its prevalence of use.

In the survey, Australian researchers examined the perspectives of 192 people with a history of cannabis use and endometriosis. Noting it as a “very expensive disease, with substantive out of pocket costs for pain and symptom management,” researchers reference cost and accessibility to cannabis-based medicinal products (CMBPs) as a primary focus of the survey. They also cite the lack of information surrounding ideal products, modes of administration and efficacy in current research.

Researchers gathered data through an online survey of Australian and New Zealand residents, via social media and community-based advocacy platform Cannareviews.co. Respondents included those using either illicit cannabis or legal CMBPs prescribed by a doctor to manage endometriosis and chronic pelvic pain-related symptoms. However, the published report only includes data from Australian respondents. 

Endometriosis, Cannabis Use Trends and Symptom Relief

The survey found that THC-dominant CBMPs are most commonly prescribed to Australians with endometriosis, noting multi-product use as a common trend with most people reporting the use of at least two products. For those with only one prescription (23%), it was almost always a THC-dominant product. 

Most respondents (59.4%) said they used cannabis recreationally and for endometriosis symptom management, though many exclusively used cannabis to manage symptoms (40.1%).

Patients reported improvements in common endometriosis symptoms through the use of legal CBMPs, specifically sleep (68.9%), chronic pelvic pain (44.5%), nausea (47.9%), anxiety/depression (45.4%) and menstrual pain (38.7%). 

They also reported a reduction in the use of opioids, hormonal treatments, non-steroidal inflammatory drugs, neuroleptics and illicit cannabis. 

Oils and flower were the most common product types, illicit or legal.

Examining Cost and Access to Cannabis Medicines

The results also pointed to legal, THC-dominant cannabis medications being more expensive than illicit “equivalents” and that the extra cost for legal access often led to people underdosing (76.1%) or resorting to illicit cannabis to “bridge the gap” and easen cost burdens (42.9%).

Researchers note that relying upon illicit cannabis products can lead to inadequate symptom management, using products that have not been tested for safety and quality and of course associated legal ramifications.

Nearly all (96.3%) respondents said that their cost burden would be substantially reduced if CBMPs were a Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) listed and subsidized product. 

The bulk of respondents said they would consider moving insurers if they found out their private health insurance would not reimburse the cost of cannabis medicine as well — 60.9% said maybe, depending on other factors; 20.3% said yes, so long as the premium was the same price or less; 11.7% said yes, even if the premium was higher; only 7% said no.

Researchers said that patients’ willingness to switch insurers based on this variable “speaks to the pivotal nature of cost concerns (and perceived effectiveness) relating to affordable access to cannabinoids.” Additionally, they state that the results suggest a need for a greater response from insurers in the country.

“Given the lack of well-tolerated alternatives for medical management of endometriosis, this is an equity issue that urgently needs addressing,” they add.

Limitations and Looking Ahead

Researchers note that self-reported nature of cost, diagnosis and product consumption as a limitation. They also cited the potential for their recruitment methods — through social media and Cannareviews’ patient base — to produce recall and selection bias, as participants may have either had more severe impacts to quality of life or a more positive experience with illicit or medicinal cannabis than the broader population.

Still, the data affirms that many are already finding relief and relying on cannabis treatments for endometriosis, highlighting the need for better access.

“Given major issues with symptom management and the self-reported reductions in pain and other symptoms, improving access to medicinal cannabis for this population is important and timely,” authors conclude. “Reductions in cost of both product and consultations, as well as coverage by insurance are areas which need addressing.”

The post Australian Endometriosis Patients Find Relief Through MMJ Despite Cost Barriers appeared first on High Times.

Read more

Coi Leray and Metro Boomin have teamed up for a new collaborative single titled ‘Enjoy Yourself,’ which appeared in a rather surprising place.

Read more

DJ Paul, the Three 6 Mafia producer, offered his take on the ‘hardest’ era in rap music, agreeing with Nelly’s assertion that the 2000s were the toughest.

Read more

SZA was thanked by none other than Cookie Monster for stopping by ‘Sesame Street,’ with the fuzzy blue dessert fanatic commenting, ‘Me loved having you!’

Read more