Good afternoon!
We’re less than two weeks away from the beginning of Spring and our calendar is beginning to fill up. There’s the spring planting season to get started, spring break to figure out and summer camping trips to finalize. Looming just over the horizon is April 20th, which falls on a Friday this year and promises to hit a new high note with commercial legalization in California.
Of course, we’ve got you covered at GreenState. Our March 18 print edition in the Sunday San Francisco Chronicle includes a Spring Gardening guide. We’re crafting an epic 4/20 Guide for the website, and our follow-up summer print edition in June will be loaded with travel ideas. We’re also getting ready to launch curated Event Listings on GreenState as well as our first set of City Guides to visiting San Francisco, Oakland and San Diego.
Keep an eye on GreenState and we’ll keep you equipped for these fast-changing times. — David Downs
WE’RE EXCITED ABOUT
The number of California cannabis retailers broke the 300 mark this week, led by new stores in Sacramento. Deals abound in the North Bay town of Vallejo. We mapped all of them (use the zoom function to take a closer look).
MONEY | POWER | FAME
Goodie bags at the Oscars this year included 50 boxes of artisanal cannabis from the California company Flow Kana.
Legalization is leaving a bitter taste in the mouths of employees subject to random urine screening. Our advice and etiquette columnist explains why lawful cannabis users still face employment discrimination. . . . But with unemployment at a record low 4 percent, more and more companies are dropping drug testing.
FASHION | ART | DESIGN
The “Flower” exhibit by photographer Alex Maeland opened in Hong Kong this week with a high-end minimalist take on cannabis photography.
An infamous house featured in the 1973 landmark Jamaican film “The Harder They Come” will be repurposed into a multi-purpose attraction space that also includes a medical marijuana dispensary. Via Billboard.
VIRAL
A pro-legalization group is selling out of novelty joint rolling papers featuring a cartoon depiction of anti-cannabis Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Proceeds from General Jeff’s “Old Rebel” Session Papers will support the Drug Policy Alliance. Via Newsweek. The papers are $5 on Etsy.
WELLNESS | HEALTH
A collection of new medical studies have found several relationships between marijuana and opioids. Legal access to cannabis is associated with reductions in rates of opioid use and abuse, opioid-related hospitalizations, traffic fatalities, drug treatment admissions, and overdose deaths. Via NORML.
Step aside, Seth Rogen — 30 women explain their intimate relationship to cannabis in this new video for the website Miss Grass.
PICKS OF THE WEEK
STRAIN: You might just find yourself in another dimension and galaxy with a taste of the heavy Indica Phone Home, available at San Diego’s Golden State Greens dispensary for $60 per eighth-ounce. … EDIBLE: Absolute Extracts’ $3 Honey Straws will help add a small dash of sweetness and medication to your favorite dishes and drinks … HARDWARE: Storz & Bickel’s MIGHTY vaporizer has added 20 percent more battery power — further entrenching it as one of the world’s leading portable flower vapes. Cost: $349.
REVIEW
The latest crop of medical cannabis books come from a medical doctor, a cannabis consultant, a psychologist, and a marketing consultant. See which one is right for you. Via GreenState.
FOOD | TRAVEL
Trending san Francisco chef Dennis Lee of the restaurant Namu Gaji becomes the latest celeb to jump to cannabis with a line of low-dose edibles released by Sublime Concentrates.
Celebrity chef David Chang delves into the history and culture behind our favorite food dishes in the Netflix series Ugly Delicious.
Now’s a great time to get some redwood forest therapy in Russian Gulch State Park on the Mendocino Coast. Think: primal evergreen forests, spectacular waterfalls, and in Mendocino — the cannabis retailer Love In It.
NEWS
A Texas college coach lost his job of 16 years after discriminating against a recruit based on their home state — Colorado, where cannabis is legal. “It was a dumb email” the coach admits. Via AOL.
HIGHLY DUBIOUS
A Mississippi police chief was suspended with pay after a video surfaced of him smoking marijuana and gloating about it. “I’m only chief of police in Lumberton that likes to smoke weed,” says Police Chief Shane Flynt in the video. Via WDAM.
Rules set by Moscow’s Eurasian Economic Union will allow soccer fans to enter 2018 World Cup matches with cannabis, cocaine, and even heroin provided they carry proper medical paperwork. Via Newsweek
WATCH | PLAY | LISTEN
Watch: New in theaters, the dark, comedic mess Gringo features Charlize Theron reveling in being mean. . . . Listen: Meanwhile, we interviewed Gringo’s director Nash Edgerton, a former stuntman who’s never tried cannabis. “I don’t even drink coffee”. . . . Play: Critics are crushing hard on the “interactive drama” Life is Strange: Before the Storm — a hand-drawn, episodic video game about female high school friendships and the power to rewind time.
FOLLOW
@canyoncreekcannabis — top-shelf boutique flowers grown in California’s Emerald Triangle.
@highgirlsclub — celebrating cannabis fashion and design from a female perspective.
@humbleflowerco — All-natural, pain-relieving skin care products rich with CBD and THC.
Best wishes for a relaxing, rewarding weekend, david downs + oscar pascual