The Company Foria Relief  released 2 and 4 packs ($44) of suppositories designed to be inserted into the vaginal canal via a coconut oil based capsule. Take that cramps!

They sum it up pretty well themselves  “Foria Relief contains both THC and CBD, the two key active cannabinoid compounds found in cannabis.  Together they activate certain cannabinoid receptors in the pelvic region when introduced into the body via these specially formulated suppositories.  Users have reported a significant decrease in the pain and discomfort often associated with menstruation. The cannabinoids directly impact the immune system and the nerve endings of the uterus, cervix, ovaries and surrounding smooth muscle tissues THC positively affects the nerves and assists in blocking out pain while also allowing for more pleasant signals to be received by the brain.

CBD works in the immune system by suppressing the mechanisms responsible for inflammation. CBD also slows down electrical signaling to muscles and allows them to relax, thereby reducing cramping. Foria Relief harnesses the power of these two cannabinoids to provide women with a safe and natural alternative to manage the cramps and pain they often experience while menstruating.”

Foria Relief while might be a little on the expensive side at the moment, but the notion that you are putting the medicine where it is needed, as opposed to affecting the whole body, seems like an interesting idea.

Foria seems to be focused on the ladies, offering a sensual lubrication oil as well…

While I lack the organs to feel this pain I can certainly sympathize with many female friends that struggle with horrible cramps.

Keith King suffers from a condition called medically intractable epilepsy

Through my research, both for personal and for this blog I have talked to many people about medical marijuana. It is easy to forget how many people still don’t have legal access in other states. It’s really unfortunate, especially when there are disabled people who could really benefit from the use of medical cannabis and are being prevented from using it legally. Especially with CBD-therapy that has been found to be both helpful and safe for many medical conditions and is now being studied by mainstream pharmaceuticals and medical professionals.

A photo of King in military uniform. Photo courtesy of King.

On the Faces of Cannabis website I came across Francis Keith King, disabled US Marine veteran, father of 4 boys, and husband to Callie, his best friend and caregiver.  King suffers from a condition called medically intractable epilepsy, which manifests as “persistent seizure activity, which, despite maximal medical treatment, remains sufficiently debilitating…”, according to The University of Pittsburgh. While most sufferers are born with this disability, this can also be onset in adults, often by trauma to the brain, a stroke, or tumors. In Francis’ case, he asserts that it was the anthrax vaccine, something other vets have reported.

Here is his story, in his own words…

“While in Japan,  during 9/11 we were vaccinated with the anthrax vaccine. There is belief that that is what caused the lesion in my brain. I was a proud Marine after my 4 years, I reenlisted for another 4 years, that next 4 years would fall short as I would start having neurological issues. At first glance, they diagnosed me with PTSD, and assumed that what was occurring were panic attacks.  My girlfriend (now wife) was the first to think they might be seizures.”

“Years of medication trial, after trial, hospital stays, and studies. With as many as 120 seizures a month of varying kinds and even surgery to implant the vagus nerve stimulator. Nothing has been able to help me find full relief, as of now we just tried one of the last pharmaceutical combinations, to no avail. Relief comes in the form of CBD, It’s not legal where we live to posses CBD or medical cannabis of any kind, so I cannot use it. However, when in Oregon I tried it and found relief.”

The discovery of CBD-disrupting seizures is nothing new.  This was first discovered in the 80′s in Israel by Raphael Mechoulam. There is documentary worth watching about his studies called “The scientist.”

More from King: “As a veteran, as a father, a U.S. citizen who just wants to participate in this life, without falling down every day… I ask you to seek to understand our faces and our needs. Present day, less pain, less seizures not all the way better yet. I have found that some THC can help me and when in Oregon I was able to try the strain Harlequin, which is high in CBD. The Harlequin flower, plus the oil would be the ultimate relief for me. It’s a struggle knowing a state away I may find that relief, but my family has settled here in Idaho. We love Idaho, we just wish they would find compassion for the hurting that could benefit from medical marijuana.”

With more and more states approving medical marijuana usage, or going fully legal for all uses, it might not be long before sufferers like King can have access without having to uproot their whole lives and lose the imperative family support in their hometowns.

What would you do?  It’s quite a predicament.  Would you stay? Would you move? Would you break the law?  Let us know in the comments.

Photo care of jamie zill photography

Think bongs aren’t art? Think again. This weekend, a spectacular “functional glass” pipe allegedly sold for more than $100,000 in a private auction. The bong was a collaboration between artists Scott Depee of Mothership Glass (Bellingham, Wa) and Sagan Glass, and included a marble that was launched into space in 2015. (Here’s the video) Social media exploded at the news of the sale at a West Coast glass event with the hashtag #thousanddollarsmoke, though insiders say this isn’t the first glass pipe sold in the six-figure zone, and several other pieces at the show sold for more than $50,000. Since it was a private auction, details are pretty hazy, and inquiries to the artists went unanswered. However, there are rumors that the piece will land in the Bay Area. The pipe stands around 10 inches tall, adorned with more than 30 “moon” marbles and brilliant blue, green and black colors that swirl and sparkle. Mothership makes the most sought after and expensive  clear glass on the market, commanding upwards of $5,000 for their most basic pieces. Sagan is known for his space scenes and moon sculptures.

artist:sagan

High end pieces have been a growing trend over the past years.  I’ve found that Peacepipe smoke shop is the local honeyhole for art glass, or headies. People like to express themselves through their pieces (bongs), and some people get into it more than others.  A well known artist will usually have a specific and usually unique style, form or shape. Some are clear or colored glass with scientific percolation, but my favorites are shaped like plants,  animals, fumed with precious metals to look like space, or geometric wonders like retticello. At this rate it is hard to say what the ceiling of this art market is, but it will be interesting to watch.

buck x darby colab

The two nuns, Sister Kate and Sister Darcy, create products with CBD oil to aid all type of medical ailments.

“We make CBD oil, which takes away seizures and a million other things,” Sister Kate told ABC 7 News. “It’s very high in demand from cancer patients right now. And we make a salve that’s a multi-purpose salve, but we found out it cures migraines, hangovers, earaches, toothaches and diaper rash.”

Although the group has no official religious affiliation to the church, they feel they are doing divine work.

“It’s frustrating to me because there are all of these people with negative attitudes about something that is truly God’s gift,” Sister Darcey told ABC 7.

The sisters plan on speaking before the city council in order to make a case against the ban.

See the original story at KLTV

KLTV.com-Tyler, Longview, Jacksonville, Texas | ETX News

Sonoma county’s other harvest festival:

Tristan Hodges was there showing off this  borosilicate glass skateboard, and a few others. This one he made with  Mr Gray. There was a lot to see this weekend, you would be hard pressed to see it all.

Out of what I was able to see here were my favorites (in no order)…

Herba Buena Farms:  This is the first certified biodynamic medical marijuana collective. Since you can’t certify weed as organic, and most farmers don’t have the funding for an organic certification.  Biodynamic is actually deeper than organic, it is about creating the farms own ecosystem and not bringing in outside fertilizers, soils, and nutrients.  This is a far more responsible farming practice both for the patient and the earth.

Guild Extracts: The product that surprised and impressed  me most was the 99.996% THC-A and 99% CBD made by Guild extracts from San Rafael.  I didn’t get to sample this but the potential there is impressive. Since THC-A is not oxidized it can’t get you high, once it is oxidized (burned), the amount needed is minuscule compared to flowers. THC-A is what you find in fresh mature pot, over time it oxidses or can be sped up with heat or oxidizers.

Queen bee 95% thca by guild extracts

This is guild extract’s 95%thc-a made from a strain called queen bee.

Care By Design:  One of the busiest booths, with a really neat product, opening up alternative ways to get the desired dose in your system.Their high CBD oral spray has 5 different ratios of  THC to CBD, ranging from 1:1 to 18:1.

Art Everywhere: The abundance of art was surprising, there was music, a dozen or so live painters, photo contest,  artistic functional glass, and plenty of dancing.

 Aunt Zelda’s:  Topical salve made in Bodega Bay offering a topical that won’t really get you stoned, offers on site localized relief with other herbs to aid in penitrating the skin.
There were also a number of area farms including Cannacraft, Grave Extracts, and Absolute extracts –all either in organic fashion or biodynamic, which is a growing trend in the industry.

$300 for 10 seeds!  The busiest seed booth this weekend was Dying Breed Seed Company.  They were selling seeds for some of the hardest strains to get a hold of, zkittles.  This strain has a super fruity flavor, similar to shoving all five flavors of skittles in your mouth at once, hence the name.

 c02 Cannabis oil extraction

Whether you wanted to walk away from this event with some knowledge, art, supplies, or pot, you would have had to try to walk away empty handed.

The Emerald Cup takes place this weekend at the Sonoma County Fairgrounds. Photo: Kent Porter.

For the third year in a row the Emerald cup will return to the Santa Rosa Fairgrounds (Dec. 12-13, 2015).  The Emerald Cup has been running for 12 years, sussing out the best outdoor organic marijuana Northern California has to offer. There is a judged competition as well as more than 150 cannabis-related vendors for visitors.

This isn’t your typical Cannabis Cup or Hempcon. While pot is the main focus, and there will be great live music, that’s about all they have in common.

I have gone to the cup the previous years it has been at the fairgrounds and had a great time.

Who can go: Anyone over the age of 18 can attend. While it is focused around medical marijuana, there are quite a few areas where you don’t need a medical marijuana prescription to visit. Only patients with a 215 may enjoy the outdoor medicating section, as well as some areas of the event. There is a charge of $55 per day, or $100 for the weekend. Doors open at 11a.m.

What’s New: The Emerald Cup is setting a precedent by requiring the edible companies to limit the amount of pot in their samples, the same goes for smokeables in the 215 area.   The goal here is to sample not to overdo it, and I commend them on this.

Tim Blake is the founder of the cup, and has watched it grow into one of the top competitions for outdoor organic medical marijuana in the country.     

I had a chance to chat with Tim and Taylor Blake about the Cup.  This year was the first time they had to charge for each entry to cover testing and other costs of judging. This didn’t discourage many people entering, only about 200 fewer submissions.

What else to check out: The amount of speakers scheduled to speak is quite robust as well, including Ed Rosenthal, Permaculture Teacher dan Mar. Dr. Bonni Goldstein will be speaking on the endocannabinoid system and many more.

The speakers and panel discussions during the day are great, and I always walk away with some great knowledge.

Pace, Pace, Pace:  In the 215 area, there are a lot of things to sample (150 vendors).  Even with the restrictions they have put in place, I strongly encourage you to pace yourself.  Don’t try everything — I personally don’t eat edibles at events.  There are a few reasons for this.  Edibles take a while for any effects to be felt, which makes it easy to lose track of the potency and amount you have ingested from what vendor, and I’m fairly sensitive to edibles as well.

If you smoke at the event, once again I strongly advise you to pace yourself.  The THC and CBD ratios can vary greatly, so ask the vendors questions.  You are definitely going to want to save some energy for the music performances on Saturday evening if you like reggae.

The Emerald Cup includes many Sonoma County local people and businesses that are part of our community, like Care By Design and Absolute Extracts, who come together to showcase Northern California’s bounty.

Just like pot, this event isn’t for everyone.  But if you have a 215 it is a great chance to see (and sample) the local bounty.

Charlotte Figi from Face of Cannabis, a website devoted to children who have found relief from serious medical problems with CBD-rich cannabis Face of Cannabis

It’s hard to imagine giving a five-year-old cannabis.

But it’s also hard not to, when you see the faces and hear the stories of children who are fighting to have access to cannabinoids–called CBD, or cannabidiol’–that have helped them overcome severe handicaps.

One of those stories is from Charlotte Figi, who suffers from a rare form of epilepsy called Dravet Syndrome. The syndrome can cause hundreds of seizures a day, sometimes as often as ever 30 minutes, and cannot be well-controlled by conventional pharmaceuticals. The seizures rendered Charlotte unable to walk, talk or eat and frequently in need of life-supporting measures. 

Frustrated and out of options for their small daughter, Figi’s parents turned to a marijuana product called Charlotte’s Web, which is a special cannabis hybrid developed in Colorado that contains almost no THC (the chemical that makes you feel high) and high amounts of CBD (the chemicals thought to have medicinal affects).

The results were amazing, as reported by CNN and other news outlets. Charlotte has suffered brain damage from the seizures, but now is a healthy and active child.

Results have also been amazing for many other children and adults who have looked to CBD’s, often as a last resort, for severe medical conditions that existing pharmaceuticals haven’t been able to control.

What’s a CBD?
CBD, known as cannabidiol is just one of the many compounds found in marijuana. Unlike THC, cannabidiol (CBD) doesn’t have psychoactive properties, though CBD and THC naturally occur together.

Without laboratory equipment, it’s almost impossible to separate the two.  However, the recent crossbreeding of certain strains have yielded promising results with much higher CBD ratios.

In most dispensaries, you’ll find a much higher preponderance of THC: CBD ratio products, from 20:1 for flowers up to 80:1 for concentrates. CBD-rich strains can flip that THC:CBD ratio to .5:24. That’s a huge difference. Studies have shown that cbds are of therapeutic value to people suffering from seizures, tumors and nausea, along with children who have severe physical handicaps.

Is this a magic pill? There’s still a lot of research to be done, but studies are underway. CBD’s aren’t new, however, and were scientifically experimented with in the 1980’s  by Raphael Mechoulam. He isolated and named some of the compounds found in pot.
Here is the documentary about the discoveries he and his team accomplished.

MORE INFO
-How CBDS  are offering life changing options for young patients

When most people think of using cannabis, sadly this is what comes to mind…
https://youtu.be/Q2eXs4pCs3k
https://youtu.be/IRBAZJ4lF0U

- If this is too much for you to take in, here is a documentary about pot and cbds by national geographic.

Wanna know more? Stay tuned as this will be an ongoing topic with more in depth information to come.

The job would entail everything from writing legislation for permits for growers, sellers, and buyers, to disciplinary actions for those that don’t abide by the rules.  They would also be the face of the bureau to media and consumers.

Why? Amendments to Bill SB1262-18102 add a position of “chief” or commissioner of pot to regulate the largely unregulated industry of medical marijuana.

With a $100k-plus salary someone might take the job, but it doesn’t say anywhere that they are looking for someone with any knowledge of the industry. Instead, they’re looking more for a bureaucrat to write a bunch of legislation.  Without knowledge of the industry it will be difficult to construct a system that will work around the already existing infrastructure.

Want to apply? Here’s the job posting.

Who do you think could fill the job?

Women Grow Sonoma County Chapter founder Ilana Sochaczewski posts a flier for an upcoming event, on the message board in Coffee Catz, in Sebastopol, on Thursday, July 2, 2015. The organization works to support and educate women to become entrepreneurs and leaders in the cannabis industry.

While most billion-dollar enterprises – from Silicon Valley to Wall Street – are dominated by men, there’s one growing field where more women hold higher positions than women in other industries: legal marijuana.

Women hold 36 percent of leadership positions in the industry, according to a report by Marijuana Business Daily published last week. In some sectors, such as processing and infused product manufacturing, nearly half of executive positions are held by women, while sectors such as wholesale growing and investment have fewer women than in any part of the industry, but are still above the average for U.S. businesses.

The difference in the number of male executives and female executives is staggering. Though half of the workforce is comprised of women, only a fifth of the seats in Congress belong to women, only 5 percent of the Fortune 500 CEOs are women, according to a study by the Pew Research Center.

Legal marijuana still doesn’t show equality, since a majority of the executive positions in the industry are held by men, and only certain sectors such as testing have more women than men in decision-making positions. However, the industry shows more equity for women.

(RELATED: In July, Julie Johnson wrote about the establishment of a Santa Rosa chapter of Women Grow. The group’s first meeting drew about 50 women, mostly from Sonoma County.)

Newer industries, such as technology and social media, show that women are better represented, in executive or leadership positions, according to a University of Denver study. For example, Google is leading efforts in their industry to attract and retain more women in the company by training employees in diversity, “nudging” women to nominate themselves for promotions (at Google, software engineers nominate themselves for promotions), and by extending maternity and family leave.

Legal marijuana shows a growing trend of attracting more and more women to the industry. Several business collaborative exclusive to women have grown exponentially in the past years. Women Grow started in the summer of 2014 with just 70 people – now the networking group hosts over 1,000 women in its meetings nationwide.

These few examples of women’s industry leadership are scarce, however, legal marijuana shows promise to be the first multi-billion dollar industry dominated by women.

A new law outlining strict medical marijuana regulation may be the biggest step toward legalizing recreational pot in California in 2016. 

Governor Jerry Brown recently signed into law the Medical Marijuana Regulation and Safety Act (SB643) sponsored by Senator Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg) as part of a  trio of bills imposing new rules on the growth, transport and sale for the medical pot industry.

Rather than the laissez-faire permissiveness of the current industry, stricter regulation for marijuana growers, distributors and medical marijuana prescribers is hoped to ease federal concerns if  California voters pass initiatives legalizing recreational marijuana use in 2016.

“This new structure will make sure patients have access to medical marijuana, while ensuring a robust tracking system,” Brown wrote in his signing message. “This sends a clear and certain signal to our federal counterparts that California is implementing robust controls not only on paper, but in practice.”

The regulatory framework allows lawmakers to have more oversight on the state’s estimated $2 billion marijuana industry, which has gone largely unregulated for more than 20 years. Paired with AB 266 and AB 243, the three bills will give new structure and oversight through licensing and government oversight. It will also have strict regulation surrounding the prescription process for medical marijuana usage, including fingerprinting of applicants and criminal background checks.

These regulations are long overdue and I’m thrilled that we were able to work together to find common ground on these historic medical marijuana regulations for our state,” McGuire said. “The time is now.”

The state will start issuing licenses in 2018, but Brown said state agencies will begin work immediately to establish guidelines for businesses, stakeholders and companies, local governments and law enforcers to prepare for the new laws and regulation.

“From seed to sale, for the first time in our state’s history, medical marijuana will now be regulated across the state of California,” said McGuire. “Voters passed Proposition 215 nearly twenty years ago and the promised rules and regulations from the legislature were never advanced and our communities and environment have been paying the price ever since.”

 Here’s how it breaks down…

-  A new government agency: The Bureau of Medical Marijuana Regulation within the Department of Consumer Affairs will have the power to give and revoke any of 17 licenses, which individuals or companies in any part of the industry must have. The number of license any one company has is also restricted. Separate licenses for indoor and outdoor growing are required, while transportation, product testing, distribution and dispensaries of various sizes will need different licenses.

- Stricter Medical Oversight: The bill will “set forth standards for a physician and surgeon prescribing medical cannabis and require the Medical Board of California to prioritize its investigative and prosecutorial resources to identify and discipline physicians and surgeons that have repeatedly recommended excessive cannabis to patients for medical purposes or repeatedly recommended cannabis to patients for medical purposes without a good faith examination, as specified.” Physician recommendations will be more closely scrutinized, and applicants will be asked for a full set of fingerprints and a criminal background check.

- Medical marijuana be recognized as an agricultural product. This allows the state to oversee growth standards and regulate insecticide and water use. Lack of regulation has allowed the industry to cause significant damage to the environment. Gov. Brown said, “The damage to our ecosystem is occurring today.” He also said that he has directed the Natural Resources Agency to create projects rehabilitating land damaged by marijuana growing.

- Quality testing: The Department of Public Health to regulate the testing and quality of cannabis plants. They also ensure tracking of transportation to ensure no product leaves the state for illegal sales.

- Counties may impose taxes on marijuana

- Close Tracking: The Department of Food and Agriculture, in consultation with the bureau, shall establish a track and trace program for reporting the movement of medical marijuana items throughout the distribution chain that utilizes a unique identifier

- The University of California will study marijuana’s effect on drivers and to recommend standards to enforce impaired-driver violations.

This article goes even deeper in explaining the various points of the three bills.