There are over 50,000 ways to use hemp but chances are incredibly slim that it will get you high.
To the untrained eye hemp closely resembles marijuana. From its outward, fuzzy appearance to its smell, it could be easy to make this mistake but smoking hemp will more than likely not get you high, seeing as the plant contains less than .03% or less of THC.
According to Medium, there are over 50,000 ways to use including food, textiles, paper and even buidling materials. Some believe that hemp may also have been one of the first crops.
“Weed” Thieves
While there may be thousands of uses for hemp, the one thing it won’t do is give you a psychotropic experience if you smoke it. Something that a few “weed” thieves in Philly found out after stealing some from a local grower, The Inquirer reports.
“I thought I was in pot heaven,” said one young man who was caught stealing hemp from a crop owned by Ashleigh Baldwin on Halloween. This wasn’t the first time that somene has “lifted” hemp from Baldwin’s dairy farm.
“There’s a lot of these dumb 18-year-olds out there doing this,” Baldwin said. The farmer uses the hemp oil from her 50-acre crop to make CBD-infused soda call CBDelight.
In 2018, the Trump adminsitration legalized the growing of hemp with the passage of The Farm Bill late last December. According to Fortune, marijuana supporters viewed the bill’s passage as a “an important first step in legalizing marijuana at a federal level.”
But even though it’s federally legal, many don’t know the difference between the plants including the police.
Police Continue To Seize Legal Hemp Plants
Since hemp has been legalized there have been a growing number of seizures of the plant by police who are mistaking it for marijuana and the field tests they use don’t seem to know the difference. New York police received flack for seizing a 106lb hemp crop (which they thought was weed) and celebrating it on Facebook.
The movement was a pro-pot culture crusade—a coming out for stoners in the entertainment industry that had everything to do with harm reduction principles.
The first time I grasped harm reduction for drug addicts (the idea that abstinence isn’t feasible for everyone so we’d better find a way to reduce mortality and damage), I was 35 and sharing a joint with two other writers—a decades-clean speed freak and a 12-stepping alcoholic. As for me? Everything, but heroin and pharmaceutical amphetamines have caught me the hardest (knock on wood that they’re never dethroned). Mid-joint, one of them asked me if I thought other people smoked as much as us.
Not unless they’re avoiding something else, I said. Puff puff pass.
The first time I experienced harm reduction, though, I was 19 and playing fly-on-the-wall in a rock star’s dining room. It was 1994 on the Irish south side of Chicago. I’d moved into a teenage crash pad where rumor was Enuff Z’nuff—a late eighties Chicago scene staple gone national; a band whose glam exterior lumped them in with acts like Poison and Skid Row while their vibe and melodies telegraphed Cheap Trick and Beatles—lived on the corner. After several weeks of reconnaissance to ferret out exactly where they lived, I was sent to ask them—the rock star strangers—for beer.
They turned out to be Chip Z’nuff, singer, bassist, and original founding member of the band. He answered through an open screen door in his signature rasp: Well I don’t really like alcohol. It’s not good for you, but do you want to get stoned?
Today, when I remind him of the exchange, he laughs a little.
“Good,” he says, “I must have been in a good place then.”
It’s been 25 years since I saw Chip Z’nuff and I’m a card-carrying medical cannabis patient now, a chronically sad trauma survivor with years of hard drug abuse and sobriety behind me. Spurts of hyper-sexual behavior and paranoia keep my psychiatrist and I discussing a secondary bipolar diagnosis, but we’re also not convinced I’m not just an analytical exhibitionist. All I had before was the trauma.
I’ve come to talk with Chip about weed and advocacy, his stance on medicinal usage of marijuana.
Illinois’ medical cannabis pilot program is in a growth phase. On his way out, Governor Bruce Rauner opened up access to include those Illinois residents who have been prescribed opioid medications, and new Governor J.B. Pritzker campaigned in no small way on the promise of bringing recreational marijuana to the Land of Lincoln.
It’s a sunny Friday afternoon in Blue Island, still on Chicago’s south side but with a Hispanic flavor. Hilly in places, it sits on a channel of the Calumet River. Appropriately, a calumet is a North American peace pipe.
“I’m a Cannabis Cup judge for High Times Magazine,” Chip says. We’re talking at his kitchen table about his longstanding, loud but peaceful weed advocacy. “They would always pick celebrities—musicians, rockstars, whatever you want to call it—and we’d fly over to Amsterdam and judge the marijuana in the different coffee shops. Whoever had the best shops and best pot would win. So I would go out there, and I did it with a bunch of different guys—Anthrax, Sebastian Bach, Patti Smith, a lot of cool artists—wanting to be a part of the movement because it was so powerful.”
The movement was a pro-pot culture crusade—a coming out for stoners in the entertainment industry that had everything to do with harm reduction principles.
“I got signed when I was about 25. My manager at the time was a guy named Herbie Herbert. He used to manage Journey, Roxette, Mr. Big, Steve Miller—bands that were all successful and sold millions of records. He used to tell me about growing up around the marijuana industry. He came from San Francisco and said that a lot of the artists were switching from alcohol and cocaine to pot, because it was easier on you. [The artists] seemed to feel better, were giving better shows and it wasn’t taking a toll on their bodies. Then I started reading up on pot and [Herbie] started teaching me about the medicinal stuff, the difference between CBD and THC. The guy was a genius. A six-trick pony. So I started studying up on it. [Medical cannabis] was a wave of the future that my manager knew about 20 years before it happened.”
The current zeitgeist and loosening laws have everything to do with those years. The nineties, in turn, had been a response to the previous decade. Reagan’s drug war propaganda failed to differentiate between cocaine and cannabis—it was all the same enemy in the ads—but the crack epidemic made it clear that some drugs take a heavier toll on users than others. The public rejected the false equivalence. While celebrities rated weed in Amsterdam, Dazed and Confused announced Hollywood’s new stance on pot, hip hop culture flowed into the mainstream, and the leader of the free world quipped that he “didn’t inhale” live on television.
In 1994, I was an undiagnosed ball of anxiety. I was a Lollapalooza Kid—a subset of Generation X that raved, rocked, and Rainbow Gathered in tandem while digging on Wu-Tang Clan and dancing to Front 242. I lived in a two-bedroom apartment where four, sometimes five of us slept on Tetris-ed floor mattresses in one room. Occasionally a ska band slept over. I was sexually assaulted in that place twice—once by a visitor, once by a roommate—and my only suicide attempt happened there as well.
This is why I remember so many details of my quick stint (just a few months) as Chip’s neighbor. Because the kind of damage that writes books and overdoses was going down. But sitting at his table at age 43, interviewing my old friend for an article on reducing harm, these aren’t the things I remember.
I’m recalling peace signs everywhere—it’s a part of their logo—and a Jane’s Addiction poster on one of the walls. Soft light. Warm skunk smoke hanging above everyone’s heads and a white cat with a full tail I used to pet while I watched the stream of strippers, strummers, and random hangers-on getting high. There were no hard drugs there. Just weed. And music.
Chip’s voice is still raspy, and he’s talking about the medicine in marijuana.
“Is it for everybody? I’m not so sure it is. I know from personal use and watching people around me, though, that alcoholics who start using it have gotten off of alcohol. That’s a great thing right there. Some people just can’t be on anything because it triggers other stuff. But anybody who’s sick, who has a debilitating illness, I think deserves to have the right to take cannabis.
“I’ve got a friend of mine and she had MS,” he says. “She’d go through these tremors. She had problems speaking too. One minute she would be talking, then you couldn’t understand anything she was saying, but if she took a couple hits of pot she could speak so eloquently and perfect—it really helped her in a lot of ways. You can get on the internet and take a look at these success stories of people who have gone through terrible, terrible moments medicinally and have found a different way than what the doctors were prescribing to them. They turn their lives around and they owe it to marijuana in some capacity. I see that and go, ‘There’s a reason that God provides this plant for us on the earth. It wasn’t just to look at a beautiful plant.’ Is it for everybody? No. But for most? I say, could be.”
What’s your stance on medical (or recreational) marijuana? Let us know in the comments!
ARTICLE OVERVIEW: Marijuana is legal for medical use in Rhode Island. It is still illegal for recreational use but there are efforts being taken towards new legalization.
Since 2006, marijuana has been medically legal in the state of Rhode Island under the law called, “Approved Qualifying Debilitating Medical Conditions”[1]. Though there are proposals in the works, Rhode Island continues to view marijuana as illegal for recreational use. In other words, without a proper medical card, being in possession of marijuana is against the law and will result in penalties.
Cannabinoid Oil
The Ocean State legalized cannabinoid oil, known as CBD, back in 2015. Because of its relation to marijuana, there are rules and regulations to be followed when it comes to purchasing and producing cannabinoid products. For example, cannabinoid products are not allowed to have THC content of more than 0.3%.
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CBD was made legal to purchase across the nation for two purposes:
It doesn’t get you high.
It has many medical benefits.
CBD is the chemical within cannabis plants used to treatmedical conditions such as [2]:
Anxiety
Inflammation
Intractable epilepsy
Pain
Psychosis
Seizures
Marijuana Laws in Rhode Island
As mentioned, marijuana is medically legal and recreationally illegal in Rhode Island. Without a proper medical card, you will face penalties for being in possession of marijuana. However, even with a medical card, there are still rules that you need to follow. [3] These include guidelines such as:
You’re allowed to possess no more around 70 grams at a time.
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You may be in possession of up to 12 plants and up to 12 seedlings.
Two or more people with medical cards are allowed to harvest marijuana under the following regulations. Non-residential spaces cannot grow more than 10 ounces of usable marijuana, 48 plants, and 48 seedlings. Residential spaces cannot grow more than 10 ounces of usable marijuana, 24 plants, and 24 seedlings.
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The laws for medical marijuana patients work in the same way as recreational alcohol. You are NOT allowed to drive while intoxicated nor consume marijuana in a public place.
Furthermore, people with medical cards are only allowed to legally purchase marijuana through a qualified dispensary. A fellow card holder is allowed to share his or her marijuana with you. S/He is not allowed to sell to you. These rules are an attempt to stop the distribution of illicit substances within the state.
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Penalties
Penalties for the possession, sale, or trafficking of marijuana in Rhode Island vary based on your circumstance. For example, if you have over 1 kg of cannabis, you’re automatically considered to have the intent to sell. However, if you have less than 1 kg BUT also have an assortment of selling material like baggies or a scale, you can also be charged with intent to sell. The following table gives you a basic idea of marijuana possession laws and penalties within the state of Rhode Island.
Again, these laws vary depending on your situation. For example, if you’re caught selling within 300 yards of a school, all penalties automatically double. If you’re caught selling to a minor, you receive a minimum fine of $10,000 along with a minimum sentence of 2 to 5 years.
Marijuana DUI
DUI laws for marijuana in Rhode Island work like the laws set up for drunk driving. The only huge difference is you can be charged more for possession of marijuana on top of your DUI. [4] Furthermore, the charges you receive will depend on your circumstance. For example, if you have a child in the car while driving under the influence of marijuana, you can expect to be face more penalties.
The following are offenses with the general penalties involved with them. Understand, you can receive more or less of a consequence, depending on your situation.
First Offense
○ Up to one year in jail.
○ Suspended license for 3 to 12 months.
○ Fines of up to $800.
○ 10 to 60 hours of community services.
○ Driving school.
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Second Offense
○ Minimum 10 day jail sentence, maximum 1 year.
○ Suspended license for 1 to 2 years.
○ Mandatory drug treatment.
○ Fines of up to $1,500.
Third Offense
○ Minimum 3 year jail sentence, maximum 5 years.
○ 3 years of license suspension.
○ Mandatory drug treatment.
○ Fines of up to $5,000.
If somebody was INJURED or KILLED due to your DUI, the penalties will be much greater. It’s common for these situations to bring upon felony charges, especially if your DUI causes a fatality. You’ll automatically be charged with vehicular manslaughter and can face upwards of life in prison.
Views on Marijuana
Currently, at the time of writing, marijuana advocates are taking action to legalize marijuana in the state of Rhode Island. With fellow New England states Vermont, Massachusetts, and Maine already allowing recreational cannabis, it wouldn’t be surprising if Rhode Island joined in too. In fact, a recent public opinion poll found that more people in Rhode Island favor legalization than discourage it. [6]
With this in mind, the laws mentioned throughout this article may change in the near future. However, as is currently happening with legal states, rules and regulations surrounding cannabis is constantly changing. Therefore, the future of its legal status within the state and how it’ll be regulated remains a question up for debate.
Is Marijuana Addictive?
There are many out there who will tell you marijuana isn’t addictive. The unfortunate truth is, they’re absolutely wrong! Marijuana contains addictive qualities in a similar way to other drugs. People who smoke cannabis usually are addicted to its psychoactive elements and use the drug for mental and emotional reasons.
You know marijuana causes a dependence because when a chronic user suddenly stops, they experience withdrawals. This is when the body begins to need marijuana in order to function normally. When marijuana is suddenly taken out of the system or when a high begins to wear off, you may feel the following:
Anger
Anxiety
Depression
Difficulty concentrating
Irritability
Mood changes
Trouble sleeping
People also use marijuana for a lot of physical reasons as well. Some smokers will tell you they need marijuana in order to sleep properly. Or they have trouble maintaining an appetite without it. This is due to the fact that the body has adjusted to marijuana. Physical addiction can cause the following in individuals:
If you or anyone you love is currently struggling with a marijuana addiction, we can help. Our American Addiction Center hotline operators can walk you through the treatment process and answer any questions you may have.
You are not alone.
If you want to quit, reach out for help today.
Marijuana Treatment
Since marijuana affects people differently, treatment also needs to be individualize. Marijuana affects a person’s psychology and, therefore, treatment tends to focus on talk therapies. [5] The mental reasons we use marijuana are often very personal and need to be identified on an equally personal level.
Keep in mind that a treatment facility should be customized to your needs rather than vice versa. Depending on where you go, the way in which the facility goes about treatment may differ. However, most reputable facilities will offer similar steps during treatment. These include:
1. Medical Assessment
A reputable rehab follows protocol and first offers patients a complete medical evaluation upon intake. This will involve drug tests, interviews, and a full medical and family history. This data is neededin order to discover the best course of treatment for you.
2. Detox
People go through detox when withdrawal symptoms are very strong and require medical supervision. Since marijuana’s physical withdrawals usually aren’t strong, you might not need to go through this step. Chronic smokers and those who use marijuana with other drugs can benefit from detox to flush out their system.
3. Psychological Treatment
When it comes to treatment, counseling is the most important step. Many people use cannabis as a means of relieving emotional stress or handling day-to-day life. The goal of psychological treatment is to change your thoughts, patterns, and beliefs. As mentioned, talk therapy is often the most common and effective therapy option when it comes to marijuana. This therapy will be a combination of individual and group counseling.
4. Educational Sessions
During treatment, it’s important to be enrolled in educational sessions which teach you about addiction. Learning about how drugs affect the brain can help you stay away from them in the future! The importance of this is to make you aware of the dangers and penalties which can arise through an addiction. It also hopes to prevent you from relapse.
5. Supportive Services
Most treatment facilities off supportive services. These include vocational training, housing assistance, financial assistance, legal assistance, and medical assistance. Not everyone will need this kind of help, but it should be in place.
Your Questions
Still have questions about weed in RI? If you have any further questions pertaining to marijuana laws in the state of Rhode Island or marijuana addiction and treatment, we invite you to ask them below.
If you have any advice or information to share on these topics, we’d also love to hear from you. We try to reply to each comment in a prompt and personal manner.
ARTICLE OVERVIEW: This article outlines current marijuana laws, regulations, and penalties in the state of California. Your questions are welcomed at the end.
Marijuana is legal for medical and recreational use in California. The Adult Use of Marijuana Act,or Proposition 64, legalized recreational use of cannabis in November 2016 to anyone over the age of 21. The Compassionate Use Act of 1996 legalized medical use of marijuana to those over 18 with a proper medical card. Both of these acts continue to be in effect.
However, it’s important to remember lawmakers are still trying to figure out how to make legal cannabis work.
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In fact, legalization a new concept to the country as a whole; many laws are constantly changing.The truth is the state is still figuring out the logistics. For example, it was recently reported that a law is currently in the works to expunge prior convictions or decrease ongoing sentences for prior marijuana charges. [1] The law isn’t yet in effect as the bill still requires a signature from Governor Jerry Brown. You can follow updates concerning this issue here:
In addition, there have been struggles regulating cannabis business. In July 2018, new standards were set for labels, packaging, and distribution. [2] When this law was enacted, legal marijuana stores had to get rid of their entire supply and wait for a new one to come in. This was a big hit to people who were purchasing cannabis regularly and, in turn, caused a flood back into the illicit market.
Marijuana Laws in California
In terms of the laws set under the Adult Use of Marijuana Act, the state allows the following:
For cannabis to be consumed in a private location.
For people to hold a maximum of 28.5 grams, or about an ounce.
For people to hold up to 8 grams of concentrates.
For people to cultivate up to 6 plants per residency.
What the state doesn’t allow is the following:
Consumption of cannabis in public.
Manufacture without licensing.
Operation of a vehicle while under the influence.
Smoking or ingesting cannabis while you’re a passenger in a vehicle.
Possessing, ingesting, or smoking marijuana within 1,000 feet of a daycare, school, or youth center while children are present.
It should be noted, though marijuana is legal in the entire state of California, only 18 of 58 counties in the state allow legal marijuana businesses and cultivations on a business scale. Therefore, those who reside in the other 40 counties run much higher risks as marijuana is only obtainable through illegal means.
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Furthermore, since cannabis remains illegal on a federal level, you aren’t allowed to travel from California with marijuana through state lines. So, marijuana possession can be charged as a crime if you leave the state unless the state you enter directly has legalized cannabis as well, such as Oregon or Nevada.
Penalties
There are regulations that serve as the backbone to marijuana laws and are meant to keep people safe and responsible when consuming. Furthermore, legality doesn’t mean the drug is safe. Just like alcohol, marijuana comes with side effects which are often overlooked. Here you can find a list of possession penalties, but keep in mind the regulations are subject to change.
1. Possession penalties
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1.1. Possession of up to one ounce (28.5 grams) of cannabis or 8 grams of concentrate
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1.2 Possession of more than one ounce (28.5 grams) of cannabis or 8 grams of concentrate.
1.3 Possession of up to one ounce (28.5 grams) of cannabis or 8 grams of concentrate upon the grounds of, or within, any school providing instruction in kindergarten or any of grades 1-12, inclusive, during the hours the school is open for classes or school-related programs
1.4 Possessing, smoking, or ingesting cannabis or cannabis products in or upon the grounds of a school, day care center, or youth center while children are present.
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1.5 Possession of cannabis for sale
1.6 Possession of an open container or package of cannabis or cannabis products while driving, operating, or riding as a passenger in a motor vehicle, boat, aircraft or other vehicle used for transportation.
Marijuana DUI
Driving under the influence laws for marijuana work very similar to DUI alcohol laws. The only difference is law enforcement measures alcohol through blood alcohol concentration, or BAC, whereas they have no way of measuring a cannabis high. Therefore, having any amount of cannabis in your system can result in a DUI as the result of marijuana consumption.
NOTE HERE: Sometimes, house arrest or work programs are alternate sentences for jail time. Additionally, you might be a candidate for drug court and seek alternate sentencing in the state.The penalties for DUI of marijuana offenses in the State of California are as follows [3]:
1st-Time Offender
A fine between $390 and $1,000.
Jail time of anywhere between 48 hours and 6 months.
License suspension of up to 6 months.
3 month DUI school or 30 hours of classes.
Up to 3 years of probation.
2nd-Time Offender
A fine between $390 and $1,000.
Jail time of anywhere between 96 hours to 1 year.
License suspension of up to 2 years.
18 to 30 months of DUI school.
Up to 3 years of probation.
3rd-Time Offender
A fine between $390 and $1,000.
Jail time of anywhere between 120 days to 1 year.
License suspension of anywhere between 1 to 3 years.
30 months of DUI school.
3 to 5 years of informal probation.
These penalties become more severe if your DUI results in someone else’s injury. Depending on the situation, you could be charged with a felony which results in a fine upwards of $5,000 and/or risk 16 months to 4 years in prison.If your DUI caused a fatality, you will be prosecuted under vehicular manslaughter or other of the state’s murder laws. Even if the death was a result of an accident. This can lead you into a 15-year to life prison sentence.
Views on Marijuana
As discussed, there are 40 counties within California which consider it illegal to run a marijuana business or cultivation. With this in mind, we begin to see that the whole state doesn’t have the open opinion to cannabis as we might expect.
For example, just because marijuana is legal doesn’t mean employers want to see it show up on adrug test. In fact, depending on the company, your cannabis consumption might cost you a job. This isn’t the case for every job. Some companies will allow you to use weed as long as you don’t get high on the job. But any job that requires operation of machinery can legally require clean drug tests.
Another example, just as with alcohol, parents who consume cannabis are at risk when it comes to child custody laws. It all depends on the situation your case finds itself in. If a judge or jury finds your child or children are at risk due to your marijuana use, police records will be sought out from the following:
Law enforcement agencies
Medical facilities
Social welfare agencies
Third-party eye-witness(es)
The court has a right to do this under California Family Code 3011. Furthermore, they have the right to drug test you if they’re suspicious of your child’s safety. At the end of the day, courts are looking out for your children and their well-being. Their two main concerns when it comes to cannabis consumption are:
The harm caused to parents due to drug exposure.
The harm caused to children due to drug exposure.
With all this in mind, it’s understandable that not everyone has the same views when it comes to cannabis. Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed specific rights. It’s important to look into these matters before deciding to recreationally consume.
Is Marijuana Addictive?
Yes! Contrast to popular belief, marijuana has addictive qualities. Due to the fact that THC – the chemical in cannabis which gets you high – is psychoactive, people will feel physical addiction symptoms and more dominant mental addiction symptoms.
How do you know if you’re addicted, or not?
To begin, you can look at the physical signs. Not everyone who consumes cannabis will have these traits as the drug effects everyone differently. Furthermore, it’s unlikely someone will be addicted to cannabis if they smoke on rare occasions, such as once every few months. Chronic, daily users begin to manifest some of the following signs:
Most of marijuana’s addictive qualities take place within the brain. Its psychoactive factors are very similar to other hallucinogens such as LSD due to the fact that it heavily affects emotions and mentality. The risks include:
Anger
Anxiety
Depression
Difficulty concentrating
Irritability
Mood changes
Though the short-term effects have their consequences, long-term cannabis use brings much greater risks. [5] Especially, when marijuana consumption starts at a younger age.
In a study done in New Zealand, it was found that tenacious marijuana use from adolescence to adulthood showed a loss of 6 to 8 IQ points. The study found that those who smoked during adolescence then quit upon becoming an adult never regained those loss IQ points. However, those who didn’t smoke during adolescence but started a persistent habit during adulthood never lost said IQ points.
Regular marijuana also has a tendency to bring upon withdrawal symptoms that can last for weeks. This is when the body and brain react to a lack of THC and improperly function without the chemical. Though cannabis withdrawal symptoms aren’t as strong as other drug withdrawals, such as heroin, they are real. So, if you are dependent on marijuana, you can experience the following when you try to quit:
If you or anyone you love is currently struggling with a marijuana addiction, there are available resources to help you. Feel free to give us a call. Our hotline operators are ready to talk with you about medical treatment options.
Marijuana Treatment
Luckily, there are options available for marijuana treatment. It works a bit differently compared to other drugs considering the psychological implications of the addiction. Cannabis addiction treatment works in the following 5 steps.
1. Medical Assessment
When you enter a reputable rehabilitation facility, you’ll be given a medical assessment as a means of determining the best course of treatment for you. This usually includes drug tests, interviews, and a full medical and family history.
2. Detox
Not everyone who enters rehabilitation for marijuana treatment will required to go through detox. It can be helpful to certain individuals – especially those who chronically smoke or for those using other drugs in combination with weed – but it isn’t necessary for everyone. During detox, you’ll receive professional assistance in “weening” off the drug through monitoring of your health and aid in relieving certain symptoms.
3. Psychological Treatments
Talk therapy is the most important aspect of marijuana treatment. During rehab, you’ll learn how to get through day-to-day life without the use of cannabis. This is done through a change in thoughts, patterns, and beliefs. Once you identify your unique thought processes, counselors can help provide you with alternative ways of thinking and behaving without marijuana.
4. Educational Sessions
After or during psychological treatment, you’ll be enrolled in educational sessions which teach you about addiction. This is vital as those who are addicted tend to not be aware as to how addiction affects them.
5. Supportive Services
Within reputable treatment facilities, supportive services are offered. These include vocational training, housing assistance, financial assistance, legal assistance, and medical assistance. Just as with detox, not everyone will need this part of treatment. However, it’s there for those who can benefit from it.
Your Questions
Still have questions?
Wondering if you need to quit?
If you have further questions about marijuana laws or marijuana addiction treatment, we invite you to ask them below. If you have any further insight or advice for people, we’d also love to hear from you. We try to reply to each comment in a prompt and personal manner.
The UN authority is joining those who are demanding we take another look at marijuana’s classification.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says that marijuana has been considered a Schedule IV drug, the Single Convention’s most restrictive category, for far too long. They believe marijuana’s current scheduling goes against science, but are making it clear they are stopping short of allowing legalization.
The international scheduling of drugs was outlined in the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs in 1961, which categorized drugs as most harmful and restricted for medical use in Schedule I to the more relaxed Schedule III.
Their pattern is consistent with the United States’ scheduling order, up until Schedule IV. Breaking the pattern, the Single Convention defines Schedule IV drugs as an especially dangerous subset of Schedule I drugs requiring special attention and restrictions.
Currently, marijuana is dual-categorized as Schedule I federally and a Schedule IV drug internationally, which places it on the same level as synthetic opioids.
The WHO suggests that the marijuana plant and cannabis resins be taken off of Schedule IV, downgrading it to Schedule I internationally. They also want to explicitly state that CBD preparations with a THC content of lower than 0.2% will be considered as “not under international control” in any way.
They also suggest that cannabis extracts, tinctures, and pharmaceutical THC compounds be taken from Schedule I down to Schedule III.
Despite all the rescheduling, the WHO is not recommending that any country legalize marijuana, and in fact would consider such a move a violation of some stricter international treaties. However, the move is an admission that most governments have gotten marijuana wrong.
“The placement of cannabis in the 1961 treaty, in the absence of scientific evidence, was a terrible injustice,” said legalization advocate Michael Krawitz. “Today the World Health Organization has gone a long way towards setting the record straight. It is time for us all to support the World Health Organization’s recommendations and ensure politics don’t trump science.”
Despite not explicitly advocating for legalization, this may tip the scales in favor of countries that no longer want to enforce marijuana prohibition. Canada and Uruguay, which have decided to legalize marijuana even before the WHO’s announcement, are expected to support the move. More restrictive countries like China and Russia are expected to disapprove.
The United States’ federal stance remains to be seen. Despite marijuana being legal in some form in more than half of the U.S., some say President Trump’s Attorney General nominee might go either way.
As High Times noted, the Supreme Court’s ruling will prevent future rulings against motorists for similar reasons, though Vermont drivers can still face search and seizure if a smell of fresh marijuana is detected.
Zullo was pulled over while driving in 2014 by state trooper Lewish Hatch, who claimed that snow was covering Zullo’s vehicle registration sticker. The trooper stated that a smell of “burnt cannabis” prompted him to request a search of Zullo’s car; though Zullo refused, police towed and searched the car and found a glass pipe with cannabis residue.
Though Vermont law does not deem the paraphernalia a criminal or civil offense, Zullo’s car was impounded.
The Vermont chapter of the ACLU union took up Zullo’s case and filed suit against the state of Vermont for violation of his rights against unlawful search and seizure.
The ACLU also alleged that Zullo, an African-American, had been stopped due to racial profiling – an issue that had been alleged in regard to Hatch, who lost his job in 2016, on several prior occasions.
After hearing both the ACLU and state attorneys’ arguments, the Vermont Supreme Court ruled in Zullo’s favor. Associate Justice Harold E. Eaton Jr. wrote in a 50-page ruling that an “odor of marijuana is a factor, but not necessarily a determinative factor, as to whether probable cause exists.” Justice Eaton Jr. also noted that a smell of burnt cannabis would be “far less” indicative of the presence of marijuana than the potent smell of fresh marijuana.
The Supreme Court also ruled that the incident allowed for Zullo to pursue damages based on violation of his civil rights. Zullo has not indicated whether he intends to pursue civil action against the state of Vermont, but as High Times noted, the most positive aspect of the ruling is that it makes a clear case for preventing the scent of burnt marijuana as probable cause for a search.
However, the scent of fresh cannabis and driving under the influence of cannabis, in the state of Vermont, remain cause for search, seizure and possible arrest.
ARTICLE OVERVIEW:Nevada is one of the ten states in America where marijuana is legalized, both medically and recreationally. Yet, with legalization comes a set of laws and regulations many aren’t aware of. This article outlines these laws and the penalties the state levies if you break them.
However, legality doesn’t mean complete freedom on the use, possession, sale, or trafficking of weed. Just like alcohol, there are regulations surrounding the newly legalized drug in order to make sure people are safe and responsible with their consumption.
It should be noted, just because cannabis is legal doesn’t mean it’s safe. Just as with alcohol, there are side effects to marijuana that people tend to overlook.
Furthermore, laws aren’t completely set in stone yet. Since the state of Nevada is responsible for all regulations surrounding cannabis – and not the federal government – there are changes being made to the rules consistently. For example, in California, it recently became a law for people with prior marijuana convictions are eligible to have charges expunged from their records. Though a law as such hasn’t been set forth in Nevada, it’s very possible we’ll witness some changes in the near future.
The importance of mentioning this is to be informed that lawmakers are still trying to figure out how to make legal cannabis work.
It’s illegal to consume marijuana in a vehicle, even if you are a passenger.
It’s illegal to use marijuana under the age of 21.
It’s illegal to pose as someone else as a means of obtaining marijuana.
It’s illegal to give marijuana to a minor (charges will be higher if the minor is under 18).
It’s illegal to operate a motor vehicle while under the influence of marijuana.
It’s illegal to purchase marijuana from anywhere other than a state-licensed store.
In terms of growing plants, the following regulations are set in place:
You must grow plants within an enclosed area such as a closet or greenhouse with a locked door to limit access to them.
You cannot plant marijuana in a place that’s visible from a public place.
You must grow plants on your own property and, if you live on a property you don’t own, you must get permission to grow from the owner of the property.
You may not grow cannabis within 25 miles of a state-licensed store, in a place which is visible to the public, or on a property you don’t own/don’t have permission to plant on.
Penalties
Penalties will be charged to people who don’t follow the above rules. The general penalties are.
Furthermore, it remains highly illegal across the country to traffic marijuana. You’re only allowed possession of a large amount if you have a state license to either sell through a store or cultivate cannabis. If you’re caught transporting or importing without a license, you will be charged with a felony, even if you’re unaware of the drug’s presence.
These laws and penalties are structured under NRS 453.3385. Each penalty depends on how much marijuana you’re in possession of when you’re caught:
Low-Level Trafficking If you’re in possession of 50 pounds, but less than 1,000 pounds, you’ll be charged with a Category C Felony.
Mid-Level Trafficking If you’re in possession of 1,000 pounds, but less than 5,000 pounds, you’ll be charged with a Category B Felony.
Large-Level Trafficking If you’re in possession of 5,000 pounds or more, you’ll be charged with a Category A Felony.
In order to get a sense of the consequences, the following list explains the typical penalties attached to each category of a felony within Nevada:
Marijuana DUI
Do not get high and drive!
Marijuana DUIs work similarly to alcohol-related DUIs. If you’re under the age of 21, penalties may vary. However, most penalties are strict.
When you receive your first DUI, you’ll be charged with a misdemeanor which will result in the following consequences:
Between 2 days to 6 months in a state jail and/or up to 96 hours of community service.
A fine which will range between $400 and $1,000.
A Nevada driving under the influence school.
The Nevada Victim Panel (also known as a MADD lecture).
90-day driver’s suspension.
When you receive a second DUI, you can expect:
Up to 6 months in a state jail and/or residential confinement.
A fine which will be no more than $1,000.
A drug and alcohol treatment program.
The Nevada Victim Impact Panel.
1-year driver’s license suspension.
When you receive a third DUI, you can expect:
Between 1 to 6 years in prison.
A fine which will be no more than $5,000.
Alcohol and drug evaluations and/or alcohol and drug treatment.
The Nevada Victim Impact Panel.
3-year driver’s license suspension.
It should be noted that if a DUI inflicts either pain or death, you will be prosecuted under harsher penalties. In many cases, just hurting someone results in a Category B Felony which results in 20 years imprisonment and a fine of up to $5,000.
Also, if you have previous DUI charges against you and get another which results in the death of another person, you’ll automatically be charged with a Category A felony. This will get you betweeen 25 years to life imprisonment without possibility of parole until after 10 years.
If you are under the influence of marijuana and need a ride, it’s important to remember you have options other than driving yourself. These include:
Calling a sober friend to pick you up.
Calling a ride-sharing service, such as Uber or Lyft.
Using public transportation, such as a taxi, bus, or train.
Views on Marijuana
Recreational cannabis was barely won in the state of Nevada – the final vote resulted in a 54 to 46 split. In fact, if you were to look at a map of the vote, you’ll notice the majority of regions in Nevada were against marijuana legalization. Therefore, we can’t define the entire state’s views on marijuana through the fact that it’s legalized.
Just as with California, each county has its own rules and regulations when it comes to cannabis consumption. Though the law has been embraced within the areas surrounding Las Vegas and Reno, most of the state hasn’t set up marijuana dispensaries. And they may not feel any need to in the near future.
This is important to note because though it’s legal to consume cannabis throughout the entire state, it’s illegal to purchase marijuana from sources besides state-licensed dispensaries. Therefore, those in the regions without dispensaries are at risk of breaking the law in order to gain a legal supply.
Furthermore, if marijuana shows up on a drug test, you may be denied certain benefits, such as work or welfare.
Is Marijuana Addictive?
Marijuana can absolutely be addictive – both physically and mentally. It’s estimated that 30% of people who smoke cannabis have some level of a marijuana use disorder. This is more likely the case if people consume marijuana prior to the age of 18.
The physical aspects of addiction will not appear with everyone who smokes. For the most part, chronic smokers (people who smoke daily) are the ones most effected. Physical addiction qualities will reveal the following signs:
The mental aspects of marijuana addiction are more prominent. Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main active ingredient in cannabis, causes the drug to be psychoactive. Meaning people will experience a more mental high rather than a physical. Therefore, the addiction is likewise more mental. The psychological symptoms of addiction to weed often include:
Anger
Anxiety
Depression
Difficulty concentrating
Irritability
Mood changes
People who are physically dependent on marijuana can expect to feel withdrawal symptoms when they quit using. Withdrawal occurs when the brain and body return to a natural, THC-freestate. Not everyone will experience the same withdrawal symptoms, however, the following is a list of the most common symptoms reported by people:
If you or anyone you love is currently struggling with marijuana addiction, there are available resources to help you. Feel free to give us a call for advice.
Marijuana Treatment
If you or anyone you love is struggling with marijuana addiction, there are marijuana addiction treatment options available. Since addiction is very personal and differs from person to person, treatment will likewise differ. Typically, you can expect to take the following five steps:
Medical Assessment
Through drug tests, interviews, and a full medical/family history, your addiction will be evaluated for the sake of discovering the best treatment course for you.
Detox
Since marijuana dependence isn’t as brutal as other drugs, not everyone will need to enter detox. However, those who do will want to make sure they find themselves a reputable detox center. Not only for the sake of having professional assistance for weaning off the drug, but also to relieve specific withdrawal symptoms.
Psychological Treatments
The purpose of psychological treatment and talk therapy is to teach you how to go back to your day-to-day life without using marijuana to handle emotional and life stressors. It begins with taking personal responsibility and build from here.
Some people will find individual therapy most beneficial. This allows for a one-on-one interaction with a professional who seeks to discover the root of your marijuana addiction and help you change your throught and beliefs. Others find group therapy more beneficial as it allows you to relate with those going through similar problems.
Educational Sessions
One of the most important things you can do for yourself is to learn about addiction and how weed works on the brain. The goal is to make you aware of the psychoactive effects of THC to help prevent relapse and consider alternative ways to feel good.
Supportive Services
Some individuals will benefit from supportive services. These include:
Financial assistance
Housing assistance
Legal assistance
Medical assistance
Vocational training
Your Questions
Marijuana can be useful. But it can also get in the way of your best self. If you’re ready for help, please reach out and ask. Learn more about how marijuana addiction is diagnosed and treated by professionals. You don’t need to do it alone.
If you have any further questions pertaining to marijuana laws in Nevada or cannabis addiction, we invite you to ask them in the comments below. We try to reply to each comment in a prompt and personal manner. If you have any advice to give when it comes to these topics, we would also love to hear from you.
Some of the show’s target audience of young people have questioned whether Weeded Out presents all sides of the argument for or against marijuana use.
The city of Denver, Colorado has launched a new marijuana education initiative aimed at providing teenagers with facts about cannabis use, as well as related health and policy issues.
The campaign takes a decidedly different approach than previous programs: it’s a game show called Weeded Out, which quizzes teen contestants on marijuana fact and fallacy.
As both High Times and CBS This Morning noted, the game show—which is reportedly funded by tax revenue from cannabis sales in Denver—underscores the city’s hopes that marijuana education programs can contribute to a decline in cannabis use among teenagers. But the show’s target audience of young people has questioned whether Weeded Out presents all sides of the argument for or against marijuana use.
Weeded Out—which airs on social media—follows a traditional quiz show structure, with a panel of teenage contestants answering questions about marijuana. Those that answer incorrectly are “weeded out” until a final group of nine players is left. As High Times noted, the show adopts a Jeopardy-style format, with contestants fielding questions until a final winner is declared.
Education programs like these make a difference, according to Ashley Kilroy, executive director of marijuana policy for the city. According to her, recent statistics show that the number of young people who report using marijuana over a 30-day period has dropped from 26% to less than 21% over the last two years—a trend also echoed in other states where marijuana is legal. “The numbers are showing that use has dropped significantly,” she said.
But CBS This Morning found that the focus and tone of the questions asked on the show skew towards the risks involved in cannabis use, and do not always address possible medical benefits. Both the homepage and the Facebook page for the initiative, called High Costs, appear to lean towards a fairly gloomy view of marijuana use; videos on the latter address the connection between cannabis and bronchitis, performance and reaction time, depression and other issues.
Students have picked up on the tone as well. “There’s obviously medical benefits to it, otherwise it wouldn’t be legal,” said high school junior Isaiah Diaz. “It’s not properly balanced.” Senior Hana Elghoul echoed his sentiment: “I think they are afraid to tell us the good side, just because they think it might influence the way with think,” she said. “They might encourage us to use it.”
Some teachers who have observed the program and students’ reactions to it also feel that a more balanced approach could have greater impact on its audience. “I think at the end of the day, they want the whole truth,” said North High School teacher Vince Trujillo. “If you were able to bring both sides, I think more students would be in tune with that.”
“It’s hard to study marijuana, and there’s money to be made in the business. That’s an unfortunate combination that makes it exceedingly hard to separate the truth from the hype.”
Cannabidiol (CBD) can alleviate your PTSD and anxiety symptoms, while THC can reduce your nausea and inflammation—or, at least, that is what the medical marijuana industry wants you to believe.
As using cannabis has become more socially acceptable, industry insiders are making big claims about their products’ health benefits, despite the fact that there is limited scientific research on cannabis due to the federal government’s tight control on the Schedule I substance.
“Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence, but if something is being marketed as having health benefits, it needs to be proven to have health benefits,” Salomeh Keyhani, a professor of internal medicine at UC San Francisco told The Verge. “I think it’s very dangerous to be asserting that things are very beneficial without thinking about risks.”
Keyhani authored a study published in September in the Annals of Internal Medicine examining how Americans perceive cannabis. He found that 81% of Americans believe that marijuana has at least some health benefit, and 66% believe it can help relieve pain. Nearly 30% of people surveyed believe that using marijuana can prevent health issues.
The research on the medical benefits of cannabis shows that Americans may be vastly overestimating its effectiveness. “Americans’ view of marijuana use is more favorable than existing evidence supports,” authors concluded.
“Limited evidence suggests that cannabis may alleviate neuropathic pain in some patients, but insufficient evidence exists for other types of chronic pain,” authors of another study in the Annals of Internal Medicine wrote, noting that research also shows that cannabis can increase the risk for mental health consequences.
Despite the Drug Enforcement Administration’s promise to grant more licenses to study cannabis, this has not happened, meaning that research has lagged behind the growing social acceptance of marijuana. This has allowed an industry to be created around cannabis as a health product, without research on the benefits or dangers.
“The irony is that by trying to keep us ‘safe’ and refusing to reschedule, the DEA is making us less safe by letting us be drowned by hype without quality evidence either way,” writes Angela Chen of The Verge.
Last Tuesday, voters in Michigan approved legalizing recreational marijuana, meaning that a quarter of Americans can now use the drug for non-medical use, and many more can opt into a medical marijuana program.
“All the while, the research lags behind,” Chen writes. “It’s hard to study marijuana, and there’s money to be made in the business. That’s an unfortunate combination that makes it exceedingly hard to separate the truth from the hype.”
ARTICLE OVERVIEW: Many people seem to think marijuana is different from other drugs. This is not the case: you can get addicted to marijuana and may need to go through detox. This article describes what this process can be like and how cases of withdrawal are treated. Then, we invite your questions at the end.
As a rule of thumb, acute detox from marijuana can take from a few days to a few weeks, with some symptoms lasting longer.
Chemistry
Marijuana, or cannabis, is the most commonly used illegal drug in the United States of America. It is a psychotropic substance with widespread recreational use worldwide, surpassed only by nicotine and alcohol. It is made from the dried flowers and leaves of a plant called Cannabis Sativa. It is usually smoked in hand-rolled cigarettes called joints or in water pipes called bongs. Sometimes, it is mixed with food, such as cakes and cookies, and eaten.
The cannabis plant contains > 420 chemical compounds, of which 61 are cannabinoids themselves that bind to cannabinoid 1 and 2 (CB1, CB2) receptors in the central nervous system. The neural communication network that uses these cannabinoid neurotransmitters, known as the endocannabinoid system, plays a critical role in the nervous system’s normal functioning, so interfering with it can have profound effects.
While experts are still investigating how marijuana works, it is assumed that THC (tetra hydrocannabinol) is the chemical in cannabis, which makes you feel high. This means you experience a change in mood and may see or feel things in a different way. Some parts of the plant contain a higher level of THC. For example, the flowers or buds have more THC than the stems or leaves.
Brain and Body Effects
When you smoke marijuana, THC goes quickly into the blood through the lungs. It then goes to the brain and this is when the high is felt. This can happen within a few minutes and can last up to five hours from each time the smoke is inhaled. However, THC is absorbed quickly into body fat. It is then released very slowly back into the blood. It can take up to one month for a single dose of THC to fully leave the body.
When cannabis is eaten, THC is absorbed more slowly into the blood, as it has to pass through the stomach and intestine. Not only does it take longer to experience the high when the drug is used in this way, the effects can also last for much longer, particularly those that are regarded as unpleasant by the user, such as hallucinogenic effects.
It’s also important to know that regular cannabis use is associated with abnormalities within brain regions with a high density of CB1 receptors, particularly the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex; this is why many people experience a pleasant euphoria and sense of relaxation. Other common effects, which may vary dramatically among different people, include:
altered perception of time
heightened sensory perception
increased appetite
laughter
Pleasant experiences with marijuana are by no means universal. Instead of relaxation and euphoria, some people experience anxiety, fear, distrust, or panic. These effects are more common when a person takes too much, the marijuana has an unexpectedly high potency, or the person is inexperienced.
People who have taken large doses of marijuana may experience an acute psychosis, which includes hallucinations, delusions, and a loss of the sense of personal identity.
These unpleasant but temporary reactions are distinct from longer-lasting psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia, that may be associated with the use of marijuana in predisposed people to generate this kind of mental disorders.
Long-Term Effects
Imaging studies of marijuana’s impact on brain structure in humans have shown conflicting results. Some studies suggest regular marijuana use in adolescence is associated with altered connectivity and reduced volume of specific brain regions involved in a broad range of executive functions such as memory, learning, and impulse control compared to people who do not use. Other studies have not found significant structural differences between the brains of people who do and do not use the drug.
What Detox Is Really Like
If you have been taking cannabis for a long period of time, you may find it difficult to stop. Some people can stop using cannabis in one day while others prefer to stop slowly by taking less each time. The way you choose to stop is a personal one but there is assistance available.
People that have gone through withdrawal have reported some of the following signs and symptoms:
Cannabis craving
Decreased appetite sweating
Depressed mood
Headaches
Increased aggression
Increased anger
Irritability
Nausea
Nervousness/anxiety
Restlessness
Shakiness/tremulousness
Sleep difficulty
Stomach pains
Strange/wild dreams
Headaches and Depression
Headaches are reported by 16 to 32 % of people who go through detox from weed. While no specific medication is mentioned to treat it, you might consider taking paracetamol or another non-steroidal anti-inflammatory after checking with a prescribing physician.
This evidence suggests that new medicines can begin to make cannabis withdrawal less uncomfortable.
No medications are currently approved to treat cannabis dependence during detox.
Medications
Because symptoms of cannabis withdrawal may lead to relapse, pharmacological treatment aimed making symptoms more manageable can help. However, no medication has regulatory approval for the treatment of cannabis withdrawal.
Several studies have tested the effects of medications on cannabis withdrawal. These medications are either:
1. cannabinoid binding receptor agonists that directly suppress the withdrawal syndrome (analogous to using an opiate to suppress heroin withdrawal), or are
2. designed to indirectly alleviate symptoms of cannabis withdrawal (dysphoric mood, irritability) by influencing the brain circuits that mediate these symptoms.
For example, controlled clinical trials of oral THC are currently underway. So far, the only medication successful in suppression of withdrawal symptoms in the laboratory was a single dose of 10mg/day oral synthetic THC (dronabinol). While this medicine showed potential benefit, questions arise from the use of this medication in cannabis-abusing populations: is it really helpful, or not?
There are some medications NOT IN USE that should be AVOIDED. Experimental findings are not completely consistent, but suggests that clinically used doses of naltrexone are not effective as treatment for cannabis dependence, and might actually increase the abuse liability of cannabis. A recent placebo-controlled study in 29 heavy cannabis smokers found that opioid-receptor blockade by naltrexone (12, 25, 50, or 100 mg daily) enhanced the subjective and cardiovascular effects of cannabis.
Duration
In many cases, the detoxification period for marijuana extends for 30 days, or longer, which corresponds to the amount of time required for marijuana metabolites to be eliminated from the system. However, duration is different for everyone. The amount of time you spend in detox is related to:
The amount, strength, and frequency of weed you used.
How long you’ve been using.
Individual metabolism.
Your age, gender, weight, and general health.
Duration is also related to the severity of a possible “Cannabis Use Disorder”, or addiction. As a rule of thumb, an “acute” inpatient detoxification treatment lasts between a few days and up to 3 weeks.
Can Detox at Home?
Yes, you can possibly detox from marijuana on your own.
However, you might be sabotaged by cravings, depression, or insomnia. This is why it’s important to seek medical help anytime you want to quit. In fact, cannabis detoxification treatment is usually performed in outpatient settings. However, in these cases, inpatient treatment may be required:
moderate or severe dependence syndrome
self-isolation
moderate or severe psychiatric comorbidity
Inpatient Detox?
So, do you need an inpatient detox clinic to quit?
It really depends on your situation.
In comparison with outpatient programs or trying to quit using weed on your own, inpatient detox can provide you with supportive conditions to quit. You’re monitored medically and have 24-7 support. Plus, experts can evaluate you thoroughly for underlying issues like depression and anxiety. Finally, you can find emotional and psychological support through an inpatient detox.
Your Questions
Do you have any more questions about the process of withdrawal?
You are not alone. Ask us anything else you´ll like to know about this topic. We try to respond to all real-life questions with a personal and prompt reply.
