The Soma-Haoma Question
CANNABIS CULTURE – The Sacred soma/haoma were plant based ritual drinks of the ancient Vedic and Avestan religions, thought to have originated from a common earlier past. Soma and haoma were said to have inspired the poets who recorded these traditions as well. Through ancient prohibitions and the passage of time, the identity of soma and haoma was lost, leaving only the religious texts that described their entheogenic qualities behind them. As a result this has left modern religious scholars a riddle in discovering this ancient mystery plants long lost identity. In this series we will examine some of the most popular candidates that have been put forth as answers to The Soma Question, Cannabis, Psychedelic Mushrooms and Syrian Rue. “The History of the search for Soma is, properly, the history of Vedic studies in general, as the Soma sacrifice was the focal point of the Vedic religion… everything of a mystical nature within that religion is pertinent to the identity of the plant” (Doniger O’Flaherty, 1968).
Rig Veda Tenth Mandala [excerpts]
Sanctify Soma our mind, our heart, our intellect; and may thy worshippers delight in thy friendship, like cattle in fresh pasture, in thine exhilaration (produced) by the
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What’s in Your Stash? Julia Jacobson, Aster Farms, California
Julia Jacobson has suffered migraines for years, with one lasting as long as eight days. In 2016, she had a migraine to top all migraines—it lasted six months and came with vomiting and dehydration that landed her in the hospital on three separate occasions.
“I’ll never forget the day it began—September 22,” she shared. “It messed with my vision; I saw spots and auras. At times I couldn’t see at all,” she shared. “I was prescribed antidepressants and high blood pressure medications. Some of the meds they gave me had me dropping things, bumping into furniture.”
She was prescribed myriad medications, including Lidocaine shots and steroids. Jacobson said one of the meds, Imitrex, was so intense and had such severe side effects that the prescription was limited to two pills in a 24 hour period, with two doses in a two week period. She tried migraine glasses and had visits to an acupuncturist and chiropractor to no avail.
“I just had a big mess of side effects and nothing worked,” she added. “My husband and I were thinking of having kids, and you can’t be on some of these medications while pregnant.”
Jacobson began using Prana transdermal roll-on 3-1 and
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Despite City Council Vote, Austin Cops Will Still Ticket, Arrest Pot Users
The city council in Austin, Texas approved a resolution last week to end enforcement of low-level marijuana offenses, but the city’s police chief says that the department will continue to issue tickets and make arrests for possession of small amounts of pot.
On Thursday, the city council passed a resolution directing the police department not to spend public resources on expensive lab tests that are now necessary to prosecute marijuana crimes. Since the legalization of hemp under federal and Texas state law, many prosecutors in the state are no longer filing charges in marijuana cases without lab test results that show a THC concentration higher than 0.3%. The Austin measure prevents such testing except in cases carrying felony charges.
Councilmember Greg Casar said before the vote that the resolution would help end the collateral damage caused by convictions for minor marijuana crimes.
“We know that too many Austinites have had their lives derailed by a low-level marijuana offense,” Casar said during a press conference on Tuesday. “People have lost their jobs, they could lose their student financial aid, families could even be separated by deportation when we overly enforce low-level offenses that could result in arrests or warrants.”
Casar also
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Tennessee Senator Files Bill to Allow Sale and Taxation of Marijuana
Legal pot in the land of Rocky Top?
That’s what one Tennessee lawmaker is aiming to achieve in this year’s legislative session. State Sen. Raumesh Akbari filed legislation on Friday to permit the sale of marijuana. The bill calls for the new law to effect on July 1, which would bring Tennessee in line with 11 other states that have legalized recreational marijuana.
Akbari, a Memphis Democrat, said the new law would be both an economic boon and a victory for justice in the state.
“This legislation makes criminal justice more fair, creates thousands of Tennessee jobs, and invests real money in our students and teachers,” Akbari said, as quoted by the Memphis Flyer. “With marijuana now available closer and closer to our state, it’s time for Tennesseans to have a real discussion about repealing outdated penalties for low-level possession and investing in our economic future and public schools through legalization.”
Akbari’s bill would permit adults aged 21 and older to purchase marijuana, which would only be allowed to be sold from a licensed retail store. The law would include a 12 percent sales tax on marijuana products sold in the state, with the revenue generated from such sales going
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Mexico City Cannabis Activists Plant Buds at Capital’s Best Known Monument
Mexico City cannabis activist Jade Luna Villavicencio is sure that the end of cannabis prohibition can’t be far away. “There’s a saying that goes, ‘No hay mal que dure cien años’ [nothing bad lasts for a hundred years]’,” said the activist at yesterday’s cannabis plant-in.
If that’s the case, then we’re in the final countdown. Mexico first banned cannabis on March 15, 1920, the result of classist fear-mongering that would later spread to the United States. A century later, the Mexican Supreme Court has declared prohibition of consumption and personal cultivation unconstitutional. But legislators have dragged on passing the laws that would make it official. Their new deadline (they blew the first one) is April 30.
On Thursday, cannabis activists showed once again that they’re tired of waiting in the shadows for regulation. At 4:20 p.m., at the base of the Ángel de Independencia, Mexico City’s most recognizable monument, activists planted 16 marijuana seedlings into the city’s manicured garden beds.
Cannabis activists relax on the steps of the Ángel de Independencia monument after their contingent marched to the plant-in from Mexico City’s Zócalo/ Photo credit: Caitlin Donohue
It was highly unlikely the little guys would make it to maturity before
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All About Wiz Khalifa’s Many, Many Cannabis Ventures
Wiz Khalifa definitely does not need an introduction. Absolutely everyone knows his music career and along with that, his close link with the world of cannabis.
As a good businessman, wiz did not miss the opportunity to enter the recent and booming cannabis market, raiding several ventures related to cannabis.
The various raids that the rapper had in the world of cannabis caused his name to reach the market and immortalized its presence on it; Being already immortalized in the music market, always with a narrow connection between his music and marijuana.
– Read the entire article at Benzinga.
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The 10 Top-Selling Cannabis States in 2020
Each of these states should easily top $500 million in marijuana sales this year.
To say that 2019 was not a banner year for the cannabis industry and marijuana stocks may be understating just how poor things actually went.Despite Canada becoming the first industrialized country to legalize and commence the sale of recreational pot, and momentum for legalization remaining strong in the U.S., the black market has been virtually unstoppable throughout much of North America.
On the bright side, if there is a gleam of light to be found in these struggles, organic growth and ongoing legalizations in the U.S. should lead to significant growth in total cannabis sales in 2020.
– Read the entire article at The Motley Fool.
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Affordable Legal Cannabis Should Be Priority as Illegal Pot Prices Drop, Experts Say
Gap between what Canadians pay for legal and illicit cannabis is widening: Statistics Canada.
The gap between what Canadians pay for legal and illicit cannabis is widening — a sign experts say points to the need for the marijuana industry to make prices a priority this year.
Statistics Canada said Thursday that the average price of legal cannabis increased to $10.30 per gram in the period between October and December 2019 from $9.69 per gram the year before.
The change came as the average price of illegal cannabis fell to $5.73 per gram in that fourth quarter from $6.44 per gram a year earlier and as the overall average price of cannabis rose to $7.50 per gram, an increase from $7.46 per gram a year earlier.
– Read the entire article at CBC News.
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