Culture

The Harm Reduction Coalition invites organizations to fill out theUNGASS 2016 (UN General Assembly Special Session on Drugs) Global Civil Society Survey, designed to provide an initial assessment on community work in the field of drugs, as well as to measure the awareness and level of knowledge and interest in participating actively in the UNGASS 2016 initiative at the regional and global levels. The results will provide an overview of the work of community-based organizations active in the drug field, areas of expertise, key priorities and concerns to be addressed, as well as best practices.

It’s important to get a good set of responses from organizations in the US, especially harm reduction and reform groups, as we too infrequently are involved in UN matters. Harm Reduction Coalition has been heavily involved in the formation of the Civil Society Task Force (CSTF) and the New York NGO Committee on Drugs (NYNGOC).

Click here to complete the survey. It should take no longer than 30 minutes. Please submit only one response per organization, and please note that the survey is only for organizations. Completion of the survey will provide the CSTF with invaluable information to that is essential for UNGASS preparation and beyond, so please forward widely.

Survey responses are due by July 31st. Input is confidential and any identifying information is solely for the CSTF’s record keeping. (HRC notes that if you get stuck on question 6, check NYNGOC.)

Source:http://www.theweedblog.com/organizational-participation-sought-for-the-ungass-2016-global-civil-society-survey/

Email drugtest@theweedblog.com For Expert Advice

In case you missed it, adult marijuana use is now legal in four states and the District of Columbia…but that doesn’t mean that your employer will tolerate it.

Say what you will about the pros and cons of each initiative, but one of the glaring omissions in each of those laws is the lack of any sort of workplace protection for adults who are legally consuming cannabis on their own time. Needless to say, there are few people in this country who can be 100% open about their marijuana consumption, especially around their employer.

At The Weed Blog one of the most common emails we get from readers come from frantic cannabis consumers who have suddenly been confronted with the need to participate in a mandatory drug screening. These emails come from people who are seeking new employment as well as from people who have been at a job for a while. No matter what the situation, for otherwise law-abiding and hard working people, having to submit to a drug test can be humiliating and nerve wracking. So many questions abound from this dilemma. How long does THC stay in my system? Is there a detox I can use? How do saliva tests work? Will I pass?For years we’ve been inundated with emails on this topic, and haven’t been able to respond to every email we’ve received. Now we are excited to announce that we are partnering up with Pass Your Test to answer all of your drug test related questions. We have set up a new email for those of you who need help with this complicated topic.

All of our drug testing articles can now be found at drugtest.theweedblog.com, and you can send all of your marijuana drug testing questions todrugtest@theweedblog.com. We are also working on a live chat option, where you can get help regarding your impending drug test in real-time.

Until we as a movement are able to get some workplace protection in place as legalization matures, this will be an issue that continues to affect working Americans. Here at TWB, we want to help you find some answers you can trust.

Source:http://www.theweedblog.com/marijuana-drug-testing-question/

Marijuana is not just for getting baked anymore. As it becomes legal in more states, the wacky tobacky also is leaving its leafy green mark on American marketing.

From backpacks and bed sheets to toilet seats and thong underwear, cannabis culture is inspiring pot-themed products faster than Wiz Khalifa can burn through a dime bag.

And in advance of 420 — a kind of Stoner’s New Year celebrated on April 20 — plenty of people have been shopping for legal ganja goods, even where the drug is still vilified and against the law.

On a recent day, Kerry Baker (yes, that’s her real name) browsed the marijuana-themed products at Spencer’s Gifts in Oak Park Mall.

“420’s (here) and I have to represent,” said the 25-year-old Leawood woman, who sports a small marijuana-leaf tattoo on her neck. “For so long, weed was just underground. Now it’s starting to come into the light. And even though it’s not legal here yet, just look at all these weed products you can buy at the mall. There’s a growing market for this stuff. And that probably means more changes are on the way.”

Of course, critics are holding their noses at this trend. Some decry the products’ influence on children. Others worry about the message they send about a drug that’s still federally illegal.

“I think this is just awful,” said Janice Rogers, a mother of three from Olathe who tries to keep her children away from such things. “This drug is against the law. And I don’t think they should be allowed to sell all these products with pictures of that leaf on them. What message is that sending?”

While you could buy marijuana T-shirts and posters from head shops in the ’60s, you likely couldn’t buy a marijuana leaf dog toy, “Chronic Candy” lollipops made with hemp oil, or gold-tone, crystal-embellished marijuana-leaf dangle earrings — especially not from one of the country’s largest retailers.

Now Amazon.com has an entire section called “Weed Gifts.”

Jason Spatafora, managing partner of marijuanastocks.com — known as the Wolf of Weed Street — said the trend makes sense.

“As the industry becomes more accepted to a wider populace, these products and novelty items are going to sprout up everywhere because it’s not as taboo,” he said.

Read More:http://www.kansascity.com/living/article18781734.html

To many, April 20 is just another workday. But to marijuana enthusiasts around the globe, 4/20 is a holy day, one to be considered above all others as a time to celebrate -- and consume -- cannabis.

The counterculture holiday doesn’t appear on any official calendar, but it’s pretty popular all the same. The origins of 4/20, aka National Weed Day, can be traced to Northern California where, in the 1970s, pot smokers began using the code “420” – the police code for Marijuana Smoking in Progress – as a reference to toking up.

Planning to observe 4/20? Here are 20 funny quotes to share on every pot smoker’s favorite holiday.

1. “That is not a drug. It’s a leaf.” -- Arnold Schwarzenegger

2. “They’ve outlawed the No. 1 vegetable on the planet.” -- Timothy Leary

3. “The drug is really quite a remarkably safe one for humans, although it is really quite a dangerous one for mice and they should not use it.” -- J.W.D. Henderson

4. “I think people need to be educated to the fact that marijuana is not a drug. Marijuana is a flower. God put it here.” -- Willie Nelson

5. “Forty million Americans smoked marijuana; the only ones who didn’t like it were Judge Ginsberg, Clarence Thomas and Bill Clinton.” -- Jay Leno

6. “When I was a kid, I inhaled frequently. That was the point.” -- Barack Obama

7. “I know you’re supposed to tell kids not to do drugs, but, kids, do it! Do weed! Don’t do the other stuff, but weed is good.” -- Kevin Smith

Read More:http://www.ibtimes.com/420-quotes-2015-20-funny-national-weed-day-sayings-share-reefer-holiday-1887077

Tips for the Prevention and Treatment of Stretching in Cannabis Growth

Growing marijuana plants indoors presents a whole plethora of potential benefits. It gives you the freedom to cultivate strains and plants that would never thrive outdoors. It gives you the chance to learn about the fundamentals of plant growth, and offers you finely tuned control over those same fundamentals. You are the one in charge of the amount of nutrients, water, and light your plants receive. Plus, it gives you a hobby that doesn’t involve sitting in front of a television screen or computer monitor, a rarity in today’s world of intense media addiction.

There are some drawbacks to indoor growing, of course. It requires a lot of electricity. You’ll be producing a lot of extra heat, noise, and some really potent smells. That’s not even taking space into consideration. Do plenty of research before you begin— you want to know what you’re getting into. One of the most common issues with indoor cultivation is watching your plant grow and grow, stretching up and out and eating up all the space in your grow room. For the most part, this is unavoidable, but there are a couple steps you can take to help minimize the stretching.

Grow bushy marijuana plants

To maximize the space you’re using, you’ll want to keep your plants as dense and bushy as possible. This can be accomplished through two different practices. You’ll want to both minimize the distance between nodes and also promote lateral growth. The distance between the nodes essentially just means the distance between the base of the leaf stems on a plant. The greater the distance between the leaves, the more slender and spindly a plant will appear. Make sure to download my free marijuana grow bible at this link and grow like a pro!

Believe it or not, you don’t want spindly plants. If they are tall and thin, its unlikely that they will be able to support the heavy buds that you’re hoping for. You’ll need to expend extra effort to support the plant, and you’ll risk losing your hard-earned buds if any of the stems snap. Not only that, but a stretched plant can easily grow too close to the grow lights. This can cause a whole host of issues: the intense exposure can burn the top of your plants, and lower leaves will receive significantly less light. All of these things will damage the health of your plant, and that means a reduced yield.

As in all things, a preventative approach is best, but if you’re already suffering from stretched plants, there may be able to salvage some of the issues by doing some careful pruning on your plants. Don’t give up! “Careful” is the name of the game when it comes to pruning. In fact, a lot of professional growers will suggest avoiding pruning entirely. Pruning plants before they mature can affect the flow of various hormones within the plant, including auxins. Auxins are part of the group of hormones that coordinate and organize the way a plant grows. If you can learn to manage and redistribute these hormones away from the main trunk and towards the lateral stems, you’ll have a good way of slowing the upward growth of the plant and forcing it to grow outwards.

Read More: http://www.theweedblog.com/how-to-grow-dense-and-bushy-marijuana-plants/