Cannabis in Malta Part I: Market & History
Written By Nigel Despinasse
While governments worldwide are engaging in debates and decisions regarding their stance on cannabis, the future of cannabis innovation looks bright in Malta.
Malta is a pioneering country that legalized medical cannabis in 2018 and became the first in the EU to legalize recreational cannabis in 2021.
With strategic geographical positioning in the Mediterranean and the potential for growth in the European market, Malta's cannabis industry presents numerous investment opportunities and prospects for economic growth.
Read on for an enticing overview of Malta's cannabis industry, including its historical background, legal framework, and the landscape of medical cannabis.
Why the Midwest is the Perfect Destination for Your Next Cannabis-infused Adventure
Written By Bri Smith
Pack your bags and bug spray; Minnesota’s 10,000 lakes (and nearly as many opportunities to try cannabinoid-infused beverages) are calling! This year, instead of planning the typical coastal vacation, might I suggest visiting the Twin Cities in the heart of the Midwest?
With a diverse and progressive population, a lively art and music scene, and hundreds of breweries dabbling in THC-infusion, the Twin Cities has become the poster child for successfully integrating edibles and drinkables into mainstream retail stores.
Now, you can buy (and, in many cases, enjoy on-site) canna beverages in restaurants, bars, hotels, grocery co-ops, theaters, art festivals, concert venues, and more.
You might be thinking, “There’s no way you can get a THC-bev or edible in all of those places… right?” But I’m here to confirm the rumors are true. I’ve visited these spots and can confirm the experience is euphoric, exciting, and incredibly… normal.
Read on for 10 locations where you can (and should) experience cannabinoid-infused beverages in the Minnesota Wild.
ETHEREAL ADVENTURES OF DR. MERL THE ASTONISHING METAPHYSICIAN: Map Points
Written By Grant Mitchell
After traveling down a kaleidoscopic wormhole, for what seemed like an eternity, Dr. Merl wakes up on the beach of what he can only guess is a distant alien planet. Merl notices a small tower in the cove across the coastline.
Merl meets a wizard who calls himself Citizen Patient. Discussions about isolation, what planet they are on, and the year transpires briefly.
Dr. Merl explained his home is called “Planet Earth.”
“Never heard of it.” C.P. replies.
It’s so dark in the dank smelling castle that Dr. Merl can’t see, and so asks C.P. if he can open a shade to let in some light. Just as he is about to ask him what type of cannabis strain he favors…
“Sure.” says C.P. as he floats, not even walking, towards the window. Mysteriously, C.P. then vanishes into the curtain and the map spontaneously combusts again like the first piece of parchment from Dr. Merl’s laboratory.
Dr. Merl jumps back in order to save his nose and eyebrows from getting seared off. Another practical joke or a tricky magical prankster, eh?
Everywhere I’ve Smoked Part I: WEST vs EAST
Written By Emily Harris
It’s safe to say that many of us have grown up alongside weed’s legitimization, and I’m here to take a deeper look into how we all fit in where the West meets the East, and all the cultures in between.
Throughout my lengthy and wavering relationship with weed I’ve had the opportunity to smoke in a total of eleven states. It’s been a long, wild ride as I’ve taken weed across the country, border to border, and coast to coast, all the while wondering how the hell I got to where I am today, and everywhere I’ve been along the way.
Through the ebbs and flows of cannabis’ presence in my personal life, I’m at a point of reflection on its role in America’s history, the influence it’s had on me coming into my personhood, and the current cultural implications based on its legislation from the West to the East.
Hasta Luego: From Barcelona With Love -Snowbirdstoner in España for Spannabis 2023
Written By Grant Mitchell
Barcelona as a city, functions as Europe’s beacon for trade shows. Despite weed being completely illegal in Spain, Spannabis shines as the largest European cannabis fair - now running 20 years strong.
Conglomerating 4 events, The International Cannabis Business Conference (ICBC), Spannabis Fair, a symposium titled The World Cannabis Conference: International Cannabis Forum, and The Professional Growers Cup aka “Spannabis Champions Cup” all make up the juggernaut known collectively as SPANNABIS. Events are held in Fira de Cornellà from March 9-12th, with a plethora of afterparties, mixers, and networking gatherings usually in El Centro.
If you are thinking of visiting next year, it is definitely worth the trip. An article such as this, can never fully capture the magnitude of the breadth of the experience. Still, Spain should be on everyone's bucket list! Beyond just the convention, the culture in this part of the old world is magnificent.
NECANN Boston: The Best of Cannabis in the Northeast
Written By Jessica Reilly-Chevalier
For years, the west coast has been the domestic mecca of cannabis, a shining paradise of legalization in a sea of prohibition. But it’s not 2012 anymore – over half of Americans now live where cannabis is legal, and the biggest wave of legalization reform has been on the East coast in recent years.
So, when NECANN descended on Boston for 3 days, it was the kind of good time you can only expect in the cannabis industry. This was the first time in 9 years that a majority of states in the NE were legal, and people were ready to celebrate.
I spent two days on the show floor, attending sessions, and afterparties, and talking to people. You don’t need to have visited the city to get the highlights - here’s the best of the best.
My First Harvest Ball
Written by Isabella DeChard
The Emerald Cup hosts the Harvest Ball in Santa Rosa, California each year. Farmers and cannabis brands from all over the Golden State join to celebrate the bountiful crops and cultivars meticulously cultivated this season.
However, among the handful of other cannabis events I’ve gotten to recently experience, this two-day event felt significant among the others. Throughout the entire Harvest Ball weekend, the collective empathy and perseverance I always recognized about this cannabis community was stronger than ever.
Even though this was my first time at the Harvest Ball and an Emerald Cup occasion in general, I had never felt more welcome or comfortable at a major cannabis event.
Last tolerance break in Paris
Written by Matthew Dean
Ahhhhh…. The T-Break, AKA the tolerance break. No matter what your thoughts - whether you are a cheerleader or chastiser, a willing participant, or in my case, had the T-break foisted upon you, this is not a diatribe on the pros and cons of taking a tolerance break. It is a journey into the unwanted absence of my love, cannabis, in the city of love itself.
I figured, once free of the family, the wedding, and France, I would treat myself to a week in Amsterdam while the family flew to Rome to see the Pope or something. The major issue was making sure Nina had weed: Period, point blank. And she PROMISED that she would. A rare thing for my lovable but sometimes not all that dependable cousin.
To be clear, traveling with my family wasn't going to be a nightmare, it just wasn't the ideal option to be traveling with Mom and Nana. Despite this, I knew that some weed would be just what I needed to ease into the trip, and Nina had a friend in Amsterdam supplying decent weed and hashish.
Ethereal Adventures of Dr. Merl The Astonishing Metaphysician: Metascapades - Diving for Quantum Arcadia
Written By Grant Mitchell
Hear Ye, Hear Ye! You Are Hereby Cordially Invited to Join Us on Our Metascapades in Ethereal Realms: Diving, Hunting, Searching, and Exploring the Mythical Quantum Arcadia.
As the legend goes, in the year 2070, Professor Saxemillian Merlinius von Vaporblaster: Doctor of Science in Dematerialization, or “Dr. Merl,” for simplicity’s sake… is alleged to have achieved the unimaginable.
At 11:11 AM, in the flash of a moment altering the very fabric of the spacetime continuum itself: Dr. Merl exhaled a spark and was granted temporary powers, although unaware of them at first. Gifts like ultra-intelligence, clairvoyance, telepathy, psychokinesis, supernatural deduction, hyperluminal dematerialization, metaphysical chakra harmonization, lucid dreaming, and transmutation were harnessed through the Fluxflower.
Combined these fantastical concepts are dwarfed in comparison to the underlying mystery: Where is the Protostone Flowerflux phenomena drawing its magical energy from?
My Journey Into Cannabis - Part 2 : Road Trippin’
Written By Jason Bird
It’s a glorious thing when the lights go down and everyone lights up. There’s nothing like the smell and taste of fresh lit fully cured herb. It was around this time that 4:20 became more widely popularized and was adopted as the unofficial stoner holiday.
There were so many good vibes surrounding that Cali adventure in the Bay Area, sitting in Golden Gate Park. On a friend's farm in Santa Cruz. Secret spots in Big Sur and Ben Lohman. All throughout the hills of Humboldt, Mendocino, and Trinity Counties… The Kind Bud revolution was underway.
It still seems surreal to me now, years later, but you have those moments in your life where you transcend everything you know, or thought you knew, about something, and I was certainly having mine with The Kind at that time.
48 Hours in Utah: I Want to Be Sedated Part I - Cannabis at the Crossroads
Written By Grant Mitchell
‘Twas a solid 12 years since meeting up with my ol’ buddy, M.W. After a few formalities were exchanged on LinkedIn, we decided that a rendezvous in late July around the proverbial “Crossroads of the West'' was long overdue. Whilst getting my regular items in order, you know, I began to ponder over the new Medical Marijuana laws in Utah. On November 6, 2018, Utah legalized medical marijuana and, nowadays, for holders of a license from some states, reciprocity would honor my Nevada card.
Due to the top-secret nature of M.W. 's history, I can’t go into the details too much about how I know this person - even writing what I did might be too much. But let’s just say, they are the agent with all the information. So, M.W. constructed a grand plan to reconnect the day after I landed, which was perfect for an outing to report on the current state of affairs in at least two cities. It seemed I was set to spend about 48 hours in Utah, licensed by the state to get sedated.
Has your Linkedin engagement gone up in smoke?
Written By Melanie Rizzo
After years of slowly cultivating a presence on the platform, I discovered that my engagement suddenly and significantly dropped. My profile views were down nearly 60 percent and my posts went from averaging thousands of impressions to the single digits. I tried writing posts using popular hashtags at peak hours but despite my best efforts, engagement still lagged. I froze.
Am I being shadowbanned?
If you are seeing rapid reductions in engagement, or you believe that your profile has been pushed into the LinkedIn netherworld, don’t panic! There are steps you can take to regain your footing.