“The secret of reaping the greatest fruitfulness and the greatest enjoyment from life is to live dangerously.” ~ Friedrich Nietzsche
First, why even live dangerously? Because then you have your courage in front of you where it can be a spearhead piercing through the universe. You’re able to double down on living a courage-based lifestyle rather than flounder in the fear-based lifestyle of the masses.
When you’re living dangerously, you’re ahead of the curve. You’re a force of nature first, a person second. You’re able to climb the mountain of darkness and pain and angst and punch Fear square in the face. You’re able to take risks, turn tables, flip scripts, push envelopes, and challenge the gods. You’re a force to be reckoned with rather than a thing to be forced.
Here are five ways to live dangerously and grab life by the throat…
1.) Gamble on the edge with an edge:
“What one needs in this universe is not certainty but the courage and nerve of the gambler; not fixed conviction but adaptability; not firm ground whereupon to stand but skill in swimming.” ~Alan Watts
Go for broke. Go over the top. Live on the edge. Just do it with an edge. Do it with strategy and discipline. Do it with pluck and aplomb. Do it like it will save you from living a boring life. Because it will.
Life is too fleeting and short to leave it up to cultural conditioning and the whims of fate. Sometimes you must recondition your conditioning. Sometimes you must make your own fate. You do this by adopting the nerve of the gambler. By realizing that nothing is fixed. Everything is changing, moving, and flowing. Everything is transitory. No exceptions.
You do yourself a disservice by trying to remain fixed. Firm ground is a temporary illusion. As Paul Bowles said, “Security is a false God. Begin to make sacrifices to it and you are lost.” Find yourself by learning how to swim through the waters of change. Or, even better, learn how to surf the waters of vicissitude. Rip Curl into a new way of being human in the world.
2.) Overreach and overcome:
“There is no smooth road into the future: but we go round, or scramble over the obstacles. We’ve got to live, no matter how many skies have fallen.” ~D.H. Lawrence
Shoot for the stars. Your reach should always exceed your grasp. “Ready” is a trap. Don’t wait until you’re ready or you will always be stumbling over the procrastination of yourself. Your passion, whatever it may be, is in “the stars.” It’s beyond the horizon. It transcends you, therefore you must transcend.
Don’t balk. Don’t second guess it. Take the courage of the gambler and jump! Soft waters be damned! The obstacle is the path because the obstacle is always yourself. Be the path.
The best way to overcome is to overreach. Pull Heaven down into Hell. Go all in on what makes you come alive. Outwit the devil. Bluff God. Overcome your outdated self—that part of you still hung-up on cultural conditioning, indoctrination, and brainwashing. Then adapt to being an adaptable being with the power to astonish the world.
3.) Say c’est la vie to safety nets:
“I choose love over fear, always. I’d rather burn in the fire after touching something true than not feel anything.” ~Victoria Erickson
Allow passion to be your providence. Your passion is that thing that makes you come alive. Let it be quintessential. Let it be sacred. Let it breathe. The worst thing you can do is ignore it. And the easiest way to ignore it is to cower at the center of your comfort zone or cling to your safety net.
Challenge yourself to be uncomfortable. Cut the strings. Stretch your soul.
Take the lasso of your comfort zone and toss it around the horizon of your fear. Pull it toward you. Get your fear behind you, where it can push you further, rather than ahead of you where it will hold you back. Nobody else can do this for you. This is your responsibility alone. Don’t wait. No risk, no adventure.
Give thanks to the comfort and the safety. Be filled to overflowing with gratitude for having been provided a space for licking your wounds. But then say c’est la vie to the safety net, lest it become a trap.
4.) Be bloody-minded:
“I dream of a language whose words, like fists, would fracture jaws.” ~Emil Cioran
Be determined. Be dauntless. Be heroic. In a world hung up on being passive be explosive. Test all boundaries. Trigger the easily triggered. Beleaguer the bystanders. Disturb the comfortable. Ruffle all overly serious feathers. Paint loud and bright colors over black and white thinking. Grab the world by the throat. Shake it out of its commonplace inertia.
As F. Paul Pacult said, “Life is at its best when it is shaken and stirred.”
Choose improvisation over tradition. Zig while everyone is zagging. Be anomalous. Be unconventional. Put the “center” into eccentric. In a world pretending to be asleep, be a blaring alarm clock. Count coup on the gods.
As Shakespeare said, “You are an alchemist; make gold of that.” Make pearls out of your grit. Transform demons into diamonds. Forge sharpness out of your dullness. Grow sacred wounds out of your pain.
Stay curious and impervious. Always sacrifice rigid ideals to flexible ideas. Crucify certainty. Entertain a thought without accepting it. Always keep the Truth Quest ahead of the “truth.”
As Dr. Richard Bartlett said, “You are a swirling vortex of limitless potential who is here to shake things up and create something new that the universe has never seen.”
5.) Laugh and be laughable:
“Be equally laughable and able to laugh.” ~ Michel de Montaigne
Above all, cultivate a supreme sense of humor. In the face of overt seriousness have the audacity to laugh. Laugh at religion. Laugh at politics. Laugh at wokeness. Laugh at all the overly sensitive snowflakes walking on eggshells. Their pettiness is your fodder.
Self-deprecate. Have the courage to shoot yourself in the foot. The will to humor is the only thing more powerful than the will to power. Use it to get power over power. Use it to transcend. Use it as a tool for nonattachment. Use it to catapult you into the Overview Effect, where you will see the big picture despite all the small picture perspectives mucking it all up.
Use your powerful sense of humor to keep you ahead of the curve. Use it to shed the skin of cultural conditioning. Use it to empower you past all the status quo junkies addicted to societal norms.
As R.A. Lafferty said, “The law of levity is allowed to supersede the law of gravity.”
So don’t be afraid to be laughable as well. Become a magnetic force of levity that sucks up all seriousness like a blackhole sucks up light. Mock the gods. Challenge authority. Leverage holy shrines into monkeyshines.
Let your laughter be a mighty howl in an otherwise dwarfing cosmos. Your defeats won’t last, but neither will your victories. Celebrate your successes. Learn from your failures. But then let it all go with a laughter of the most high. Remember: the journey is the thing.
As the immortal Alan Watts suggested, “Life is a matter of oscillation. Life is vibration. The question is: how are you going to interpret that? Is it tremble, tremble, tremble; or is it laugh, laugh, laugh?”
About the Author:
Gary Z McGee, a former Navy Intelligence Specialist turned philosopher, is the author of Birthday Suit of God and The Looking Glass Man. His works are inspired by the great philosophers of the ages and his wide-awake view of the modern world.
This article (5 Empowering Ways to Live More Dangerously) was originally created and published by Self-inflicted Philosophy and is printed here under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Gary Z McGee and self-inflictedphilosophy.com. It may be re-posted freely with proper attribution, author bio, and this statement of copyright.
While I have a hard time believing it’s ever been hard to get your hands on some cannabis in Whistler, BC, you’ll soon be able to do so completely legally: the ski town has finally approved applications for four stores, five years after legalization. (There are still some council members unhappy about it: “Deep in my heart, I could care less if there’s a weed store in Whistler,” said lead curmudgeon Councillor Ralph Forsyth.)
MJBiz reports that a group of Fire & Flower shareholders is opposing a proposed agreement between the cannabis retailer and its largest shareholder, an affiliate of convenience store operator Alimentation Couche-Tard.
Organigram is consolidating its shares in an effort to stay listed on the Nasdaq. The New Brunswick producer’s share price has fallen below the minimum $1 price required to be on the Nasdaq, leading to its announcement of a 4-to-1 consolidation. They’re not the only big company to do this—both Aurora and Hexo recently did the same.
TerrAscend, a Canadian LP with operations in several US states, announced it has received conditional approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange to list its common shares.
Cannabis retail sales in Canada in April increased by just over one percent from the previous month to $411.7 million. Sales spiked to their highest level yet in December to $425.9 million, before an expected post-holiday decline in January and February, before climbing again in March and April.
A Statistics Canada survey suggests that the risks of cannabis addiction may be higher for young men and people with anxiety. The report found that overall, around 5 percent of people are at risk for cannabis “addiction,” and the risk is elevated for particular groups (though it’s also worth noting here that many people have issues with the application of the term addiction to cannabis dependency).
There’s been some industry reaction to a story we flagged last week where Ottawa Public Health recommended graphic warning labels on cannabis. CTV spoke to Spiritleaf Crossroads franchisee Richard Dufour, who was critical of the idea, pointing out that in most circumstances, the sale is already done by the time the customer would see the warnings anyways.
More losses at Canopy Growth. The company reported a $648-million Q4 loss this week. On its earnings call the company also said that it is continuing to make management and staffing changes related to its troubled BioSteel sports drink business.
April’s growth in sales was driven mostly by increased sales in Ontario and British Columbia and to a lesser degree, Saskatchewan and Alberta. Other provinces and territories saw either a decline in sales or the same as sales in March.
Nathan Mison continues his mission to push for cannabis tourism in Edmonton, calling for Alberta festivals to officially designate cannabis consumption areas.
International
Internationally, one Canadian cannabis beverage company has its eyes on the Mexican CBD market. Hopes of legalization in Mexico have mostly faded, but Xebra Brands’ exec Rodrigo Gallardo spoke with Bloomberg this week about the long-term potential he sees in Mexico. “Everyone talks about Colombia or Costa Rica—but Mexico is the crown jewel,” he said. “We have more land than any of those countries and, more importantly, we share a border with the world’s largest consumer.”
In law enforcement news
Montrealpolice have arrested a suspect they allege is the head of a network that distributes cannabis vaping products outside Montreal, largely to teenaged customers. Police say the products were sold on social media. Police also seized 17,000 vapes, wax, and dried cannabis, along with cash and other goods.
TMZ reported that Afroman was stopped at the US Border with a small amount of cannabis oil after returning from Canada. He was issued a $500 fine.
“You have to start with the truth. The truth is the only way that we can get anywhere. Because any decision-making that is based upon lies or ignorance can’t lead to a good conclusion.”
~ Julian Assange
‘The truth will set you free’ is an aphorism we’ve all heard so many times it’s lost a lot of its meaning and doesn’t sound especially profound when we hear it again, but it really does contain the answer to humanity’s most difficult problems. A truth-based relationship with reality is the only way to move into peace and harmony, whether you’re talking about the inner peace and harmoniousness of an individual or the peace and harmony of our entire species.
For the individual, you can’t generally come to inner peace and a harmonious way of moving in the world until you’ve done a lot of inner work and gotten extremely real with yourself about your experiences, your relationships, your ways of thinking about things, your behavior patterns, and your motivations. The deepest levels of peace and freedom open up when we have transformative insights into the truth of our very nature: the nature of consciousness, mind, and self.
It doesn’t come from trying to be a nicer person, from praying to the right god or espousing the right belief system. True and lasting peace and freedom comes from a penetrating realization of what is already the case. It comes from knowing what’s true.
This is a bit counter-intuitive, because our minds and our culture tell us that we get peace and happiness from getting what we want — the right accomplishments, the right job, the right belongings, the right romantic partner, the right circumstances. But none of those things will ever take us where we’re really trying to get to. Only the truth will.
And it’s exactly the same for a group of people, and for humanity as a whole.
Real widespread change can only come from knowledge of the truth — that’s why those who don’t want widespread change pour so much energy into keeping people from knowing what’s true. That’s why there’s such a frenzied push for more internet censorship and for the government to get more involved in regulating speech. That’s why our civilization is saturated with propaganda. And that’s why Julian Assange is in prison.
Real change will only occur when a sufficient number of people realize that we live in a profoundly unjust society held together by violence and lies, where our very existence is being imperiled by nuclear brinkmanship and environmental destruction. Because only then will enough people begin mobilizing to use the power of our numbers to force the changes we need.
Again, this is somewhat counter-intuitive, because we’ve been told all our lives by our schools and our media that we get change by voting for political candidates we like. But our electoral systems are stacked against change, and the candidates are controlled by interests who seek to keep things more or less the way they are. This means change can only be arrived at by widespread forceful rejection of the entire system, and widespread forceful rejection of the entire system can only come through truth.
So the truth will set us free, but those who don’t want our freedom are doing everything they can to obstruct, obfuscate and distort the truth. The good news is that there are a whole lot of us, and (for now at least) we do have the ability to share the truth about what’s going on with each other. And the more people understand what’s going on, the more people there are to help share the truth with others.
The first step is spreading awareness of the fact that our civilization is saturated in propaganda, because propaganda only works if you don’t know it’s happening. Helping people to understand that they’ve been lied to their whole lives about their nation, their government, their society and their world will help shake them free from their propaganda blinders, so that they can begin to figure out what’s true.
By working toward a collective understanding of what’s real in this way, humanity can come into a truth-based relationship with reality, one freshly opened pair of eyelids at a time. And, just as a truth-based relationship with reality inevitably brings peace and harmony to the life of the individual, a truth-based relationship with reality will bring peace and harmony to the life of our entire species.
Truth is its own reward. It’s not always pleasant when you get it, and it might not be obvious at first that it’s helping to move things in a positive direction, but every step toward health and harmony begins with truth. The more opportunities we have to experience this fact in our own lives, the more obvious it becomes.
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Last week, the governor of Louisiana enacted into law a measure that made it easier for individuals with first-time convictions on cannabis possession to apply for record expungement. This comes after the governor signed a resolution in 2021 that decriminalized the possession of no more than 14 grams of marijuana.
The initiative in question, which was introduced by Rep. Delisha Boyd, was advanced through the legislature about two weeks ago. This measure makes it so that individuals convicted of possessing no more than 14 grams of marijuana as a first offense can get their record expunged 90 days after they were convicted.
This approval by Gov. John Bel Edwards will reduce the relief timeline, especially since the current legislation allows people to clear their records after a five-year period.
Prior to its approval, the resolution was amended in a House committee to stipulate that cannabis possession cases that involved more than 14 grams weren’t eligible for expungement. The amendments also eliminated a provision that waived court processing fees for first-time marijuana expungements.
The measure, which will go into effect on Aug. 1, 2023, set $300 as fees for record expungement. The bill stipulates that the processing fees collected will be allocated in equal proportions to the sheriff’s general fund and the district attorney’s office. It also includes a template for a motion to clear records that individuals can fill and submit to the court in their jurisdiction.
Currently, 70% of people in the state of Louisiana support the legalization of recreational cannabis possession for adults. Results from the same survey also found that 90% in Louisiana support the legalization of medical marijuana.
Despite these favorable attitudes, cannabis legalization by the legislature has stalled. However, legislators have taken steps to reform marijuana laws and improve the state’s medical cannabis program. For instance, a measure that would ensure individuals remained eligible for unemployment benefits if they were registered medical marijuana patients was recently cleared by a House committee.
Additionally, regulators gave physicians a temporary go-ahead to continue issuing medical cannabis recommendations through telemedicine in 2022. Furthermore, a legislative task force passed rules in 2022 that provided worker protections for medical marijuana patients.
During the previous session, Gov. Edwards signed various cannabis reform measures, including one that would prevent law enforcement officers from conducting searches in individuals’ homes over the smell of marijuana. Another reform measure that was signed would increase the number of medical dispensaries that could operate in the state of Louisiana.
As more reforms are enacted in Louisiana and elsewhere around the country, business could improve for various enterprises, such as Advanced Container Technologies Inc. (OTC: ACTX), since the improved operating environment would support more growers that would in turn need more cultivation equipment.
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No matter where you live, there is a good chance that you’ve experienced the effects of wildfire smoke. As the frequency and intensity of wildfires increase, so does the amount of smoke they generate. Carried by air currents, communities thousands of miles from the fire’s epicenter experience grey skies and ash falling like snow, coating everything with a fine powder, including the garden.
The study looks at various plants and crops living under smoke-filled skies. The amount of sunlight available was lessened by only 4%.
The smoke has a scattering effect, allowing the sun’s energy and light to diffuse and penetrate more deeply into the plant canopies. As a result, the light reaches the entire plant, not just the topmost leaves, and helps plants photosynthesize better.
What About The Falling Ash?
Falling ash covers the plant, smothering its ability to absorb light and grow. Wildfire ash results from burnt trees, which creates wood ash that many gardeners are already using to create nutrient-rich soil.
As long as the blanket of ash is not thick, it will help plants by providing nutrients such as potassium, phosphorous, calcium, and trace minerals.
Everything In Moderation
Researchers at the University of California’s Berkeley Botanical Garden discovered that too much smoke and ash does indeed smother the garden, obstructing the movement of carbon dioxide that the plant leaves need to “inhale” as part of photosynthesis.
A lack of CO2 for plants leads to water loss, creating the same impact as a severe drought. Thick smoke will also destroy chlorophyll, the pigment that makes plants green and enables nutrient absorption. When dense smoke blankets swaths of agricultural fields for weeks, crops grow smaller and ripen later.
However, even in this scenario, there is a silver lining. Plants will survive, albeit their natural cycles will become disrupted.
Perennials may be tricked into dormancy, thinking that winter has come. Others will stop growing to wait it out, and when the smoke clears, they will resume their natural cycles, blooming later and producing smaller yields.
Positive Action
If ash from forest fires becomes a problem in your region, wear your N95 pandemic mask in the garden to protect yourself from breathing in the smoke. Water and mist your plants to ensure the foliage isn’t caked with falling ash.
When it comes time to harvest the vegetables and fruit from the garden, clean them thoroughly with vinegar and water to wash away any residual ash. If your fruit and vegetables still smell like smoke even after multiple washes, it is advisable to discard them to the compost.
If the smoke is extremely thick, add some mulch to cover the roots of the plants. Burlap and canvas coverings can shield plants and shrubs from the ash. Moving pots indoors to a greenhouse or lighted shed will also provide peace of mind.
There is nothing good about a wildfire and its effects on those directly in its path or thousands of kilometers away. But knowing that there are things that we can do to mitigate the impact of the smoke and ash is at least a small positive ray of light.
The film revolves around Oaksterdam University (OU), the world’s first cannabis college, and tells the unknown origin story of the people who took monumental risks to make cannabis legalization possible. It celebrates the courageous heritage of the legacy industry and the movement that started at OU and would go on to impact the world.
The award-winning documentary, by critically-acclaimed filmmakers Dan Katzir and Ravit Markus, sheds light on the cannabis legalization movement through the lens of Oaksterdam University leaders. Katzir and Markus spent 10 years shadowing OU Founder Richard Lee and Executive Chancellor Dale Sky Jones as they fought to get the Prop 19 legalization measure on the ballot in California, then as they weathered a federal raid that threatened to shut them down. The film captures their struggles and triumphs as they fought to bring this topic to the mainstream.
Screening Events
CURRENT EVENT
Dances with Films Festival
JUNE 29, 2023 | Red Carpet – 6:40 | Film & Q&A – 7pm
DANCES WITH FILMS (DWF:LA & DWF:NYC), now in its 25th year, champions the unflinching spirit at the very core of the independent film scene. While the vast majority of film fests rely heavily on celebrity, we have relied on the innovation, talent, creativity and sweat equity that revolutionized the entertainment industry. And that reliance continues to prove successful with alumni moving on to write, direct and produce celebrity-studded vehicles, star in blockbuster movies and television series, produce multi-million dollar films and create hit TV shows. Oh…. and we even have several OSCAR® nominees… In a world of homogenized, formulaic film festivals, DWF:LA continues to defy the rules.
TCL Chinese Theatres, Hollywood
6801 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028
EVENT DETAILS
Don’t Miss Out!
After Party
Hosted at Teddy’s Lounge at the Hollywood Roosevelt hotel, hosted by Incognito Cannabis Beverages and Oaksterdam Nonprofit for Education. A ticket for the film gets you into the party
Past Screenings
Lighthouse International Film Festival
JUNE 10, 2023 | 3:45 PM ET
The Lighthouse International Film Festival is a celebration of cinema, creativity, and community on Long Beach Island, N.J. This year’s festival, taking place from June 7-11, promises to be a spectacular showcase of films handpicked from top film festivals worldwide, including Sundance, SXSW, TIFF, and more.
LONG BEACH ISLAND FOUNDATION
120 Long Beach Blvd, Long Beach, NJ 08008
Post-Screening Q&A
In person with Film Director Ravit Markus, along with film participant Evan Nison.
After Party
Afterward, join the Oaksterdam Nonprofit for Education (The ONE), a 501(c)(3) for an after-party hosted by The Arcview Group at the Firefly Gallery.
SPONSORS
Special Thanks to Our Sponsors
RECAP
Event Gallery
Slamdance Film Festival 2023
JANUARY 20, 2023 | 10:15 AM MST
TREASURE MOUNTAIN INN
255 Main St, Park City, UT 84060
Post-Screening Q&A
Followed by a Q&A with New Love filmmakers Ravit Markus and Dan Katzir
RECAP
Event Gallery
How Advocacy Shapes Policy
FILM PANEL PRESENTED BY TRUCE JANUARY 24, 2023 | 3PM MST
From California to Utah, access to medical cannabis has been created by dedicated individuals who saw the need across their communities and stayed focused on bringing patients together to use their voices to advocate for progress. During our time together, we will have an intimate discussion about the landscape of cannabis advocacy, the work that leads to progress, and the passion behind the movement that continues in Utah and across our country.
Student Union, University of Utah
200 S, Central Campus Dr, Salt Lake City, UT 84112
Panelists
Christine Stenquist, TRUCE
Diane Goldstein, LEAP
Dale Sky Jones, Oaksterdam University
Jeff Jones, Oaksterdam University
Weldon Angelos, The Weldon Project
SPONSORS
Special Thanks to Our Sponsors
RECAP
Event Gallery
The Team Behind the Documentary
New Love Films is a Los Angeles based creative company that produces award-winning critically-acclaimed content for film, television, and digital platforms. Our films aired on HBO, Channel 4 UK, and France 2, to name a few; played in movie theaters across the US garnering stellar reviews in the LA TIMES, NY TIMES, and the Hollywood Reporter, as well as many other publications; and have been screened in hundreds of film festivals, Ivy League universities, museums and other educational institutions around the world. We collaborate with networks, non-profit and corporate clients in the US, Europe and Israel, providing production services from inception, through research, all the way to post-production. Past clients include Mentorn/Channel 4 UK, Channels 8, 10 and 1 Israel.
Retail cannabis sales increased again in April for the second month in a row, following a post-holiday lull in January and February.
Ontario and British Columbia, as well as Alberta and Saskatchewan, helped drive retail cannabis sales up by just over one percent in April compared to March.
Retail cannabis sales in Canada increased by just over $5 million in April compared to the previous month, despite month-over-month declines in sales in the six other provinces. Sales in Yukon were flat, and sales figures from the Northwest Territories and Nunavut were unavailable.
Sales in Canada hit their highest level last December, at $425.9 million, before declining in the post-holiday downturn in January and February. Sales increased again in March to $406.4 million and $411.7 million in April.
Sales across Canada continue to increase year-over-year, although increases in 2023 have been less significant than in previous years. This data correlates with a decrease in new retail stores nationwide and, potentially, consumer saturation among those currently using the legal market.
Retail cannabis sales in Canada since legalization
Atlantic Canada saw the most significant decline in April compared to March, with retail cannabis sales in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia declining by nearly four percent, PEI declining by more than two percent, and New Brunswick declining by less than two percent.
Every province and Yukon (NWT and Nunavut figures are not available) showed a year-over-year increase in sales compared to April 2022, except for Quebec, which saw a slight decline.
Retail cannabis sales across Canada April 2022-April 2023
While cannabis retail sales continue to increase on a year-over-year basis, looking at the trend of sales figures from January 2019, the rate at which sales are increasing is declining, if not levelling off at around $420 million a month.
Sales tripled year-over-year from January 2019-January 2020 and nearly doubled the following year. From January 2021-January 2022, sales increased by about 25 percent. In the most recent year, from January 2022-January 2023, sales only increased by about 14 percent.
Ontario saw a significant spike in retailers from 2020-2022 but has been slowing in the last year. The province has been hovering around 1,700 producers for much of the past year. Alberta has also seen significant retail growth in the first few years of legalization and has settled out around 750. While these provinces still see new retail licences issued, these are often accompanied by other retail closures.
BC is the only province to have seen significant retail expansion over the past year, with around 100 public and private stores added from June 2022-June 2023. Saskatchewan added about 40 stores but has not listed its annual sales report for the past fiscal year.
Despite this slowing in sales, the legal cannabis market does continue to capture more of the overall market share from the illicit market. A survey from late 2022 showed that 67 percent of those who consumed cannabis in the previous year “never” obtained their products from illegal sources. This was an increase from 63 percent in 2021 and 55 percent in 2020.
Operating within one of the most fragmented regulatory landscapes in the world, businesses involved in the cannabis industry face unique challenges. With the expansion of the U.S. markets, the complexity of cannabis compliance requirements is on the rise.
The significance of adhering to marijuana regulatory compliance cannot be emphasized enough. Implementing a robust compliance program is crucial for safeguarding businesses, reputations, licenses and pipelines. Compliance also plays a key role in fostering a culture of accountability, where employees are encouraged to adhere to frequently changing rules.
Here are the top five mistakes to avoid when it comes to cannabis compliance:
Insufficient understanding of regulating agencies
A common error made by cannabis entrepreneurs is neglecting to comprehend the governing agencies overseeing their operations. At the local level, businesses may face regulation by boards of supervisors and city councils as well as departments such as fire, planning, police, public health and tax.
Establishing a strong compliance program begins with creating a comprehensive list of all relevant local and state regulatory agencies and ensuring easy access to their contact information.
Ignoring ongoing compliance efforts
Regulations applicable to the cannabis industry are subject to change. Companies need to stay informed by actively monitoring local and state agencies as well as legislative developments in key markets. These entities usually provide advance notice when discussing cannabis-related matters.
Subscribing to email notifications from relevant authorities and implementing a system to track important meetings, monitor agency websites, and stay updated on the latest proposed and final regulations is essential.
Neglecting standard operating procedures, checklists and monitoring logs
This is one of the most significant oversights. Without a solid understanding of day-to-day business processes, maintaining compliance becomes nearly impossible.
Taking the time to identify potential compliance risks and implementing SOPs can help mitigate such risks. For example, checklists may be necessary for packaging and labeling, while visitor logs can ensure facility security. It is also crucial to train staff on the implementation of these tools.
Inaccessibility of documents
Countless businesses have faced repercussions due to their lack of understanding regarding reporting requirements. Operators often fail to keep records easily accessible for document requests from state or local agencies. Creating a master list of records and organizing them for quick access when needed is a recommended approach.
Integrating reporting requirements into SOPs and ensuring employees understand the situations that trigger reporting is crucial.
Clearly identifying whether a situation requires prior approval or can be reported afterward is also beneficial. A comprehensive and easily accessible list of reporting requirements significantly aids compliance efforts.
Underutilizing available tools
Many companies neglect to leverage technology and tools that can identify compliance issues proactively. Industries such as banking, finance and insurance have widely adopted software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions for regulatory compliance and business operations. Similarly, SaaS solutions are now available for the cannabis industry, allowing business owners to electronically store and organize documents.
These tools enable easy searching, downloading and printing of records, as well as tracking processes and identifying potential problems. By utilizing these tools, businesses not only protect public safety but also safeguard their reputation, saving valuable time and money.
For companies such as IGC Pharma Inc. (NYSE American: IGC) that seek to commercialize FDA-approved cannabis-based treatments, the compliance requirements are clear, and they don’t have to navigate a labyrinth of differing state laws in each jurisdiction in which they wish to operate. This is different from what marijuana companies face in their bid to grow their footprint in different markets around the country.
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Recent advancements in psychedelic research have placed hallucinogenic drugs at the forefront of mental health treatment research. After researchers spent decades trying to find safer and more effective treatments for mental disorders, psychedelics emerged as a safe and viable treatment for mental ailments.
Studies have found that hallucinogens, including psilocybin, MDMA, and ketamine, can treat conditions such as depression and PTSD with minimal side effects. This influx of psychedelic research has brought psychedelics to the forefront of mainstream media and driven a flurry of legislative action in several regions in the country.
The upcoming Psychedelic Science conference in Denver will be the culmination of years of intense interest in psychedelics and the promise they hold as groundbreaking psychiatric treatments. The event will be held at the Colorado Convention Center and is expected to attract 10,000 attendees from a wide range of professions. It will also feature exhibitions from around 300 exhibitors and guests such as National Institute of Mental Health director Joshua Gordon and former Texas Governor Rick Perry.
Attendees will interact with dozens of panels on everything psychedelic throughout the five-day event, with ketamine, psilocybin (magic mushrooms), DMT, ayahuasca, LSD and MDMA being the main focus of discussion.
As with the previous three iterations of the event, the 2023 Psychedelic Science Conference will be hosted by the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). MAPS is one of the largest psychedelic organizations in the country and is behind several studies analyzing the effectiveness of psychedelics against various mental disorders. The organization recently partnered with the state of Colorado to study the efficacy of cannabis in treating PTSD in veterans. MAPS is also working with police in Denver to come up with strategies for responding to people on psychedelics.
Colorado has been a pioneer in psychedelic reform, decriminalizing magic mushrooms in 2022 and creating a regulated market for natural psychedelics via a ballot vote. The measure legalized the cultivation, possession and sharing of psilocin and psilocybin; it also decriminalized the possession of dimethyltryptamine, ibogaine and peyote for people aged 21 years of age and older.
However, the legislation limited the sale of psychedelics to licensed centers and gave municipalities and counties leeway to ban psychedelic healing centers if they pleased.
Industry leaders such as Cybin CEO Doug Drysdale and SVP of Clinical Operations Allison House-Gecewicz will speak at the upcoming event. Drysdale said that he is looking forward to interacting with policymakers, scientists, clinicians and other psychedelic industry stakeholders to discuss the future of the nascent psychedelic industry.
Such conferences do a great job of bringing awareness to the numerous strides that industry players such as Seelos Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ: SEEL) have made in their quest to develop safe therapeutics from psychedelics.
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