Geeks Business Articles, Posts, Reviews

Wednesday, March 8, 2023

The Rise of Legal Cannabis: Americans Now Favor Legal Cannabis Over Legal Tobacco

In recent years, attitudes towards cannabis have shifted dramatically in the United States, with more and more Americans expressing support for legalizing the drug. In fact, a 2021 survey conducted by Gallup found that a majority of Americans, 68%, now support the legalization of cannabis. What's more, a growing number of Americans are now favoring legal cannabis over legal tobacco.

This shift in public opinion can be attributed to a number of factors. One of the primary reasons is the growing recognition of the medicinal benefits of cannabis. Studies have shown that the drug can be used to alleviate a range of medical conditions, including chronic pain, anxiety, and seizures. In addition, cannabis has been shown to be an effective alternative to opioids for managing pain, which has become a major concern in the United States due to the opioid epidemic.

Legal cannabis dispensaries have become increasingly common in states where cannabis has been legalized for either medicinal or recreational use. These dispensaries provide a safe and regulated environment for people to purchase cannabis products, ensuring that the products are of a consistent quality and free from contaminants. In addition, dispensaries offer a range of products, including edibles, tinctures, and concentrates, which allow people to consume cannabis in a variety of ways. Furthermore, many dispensaries offer educational resources and expert advice to help customers make informed decisions about their cannabis use. Overall, legal cannabis dispensaries have played an important role in promoting responsible cannabis use and reducing the harms associated with illegal drug markets.

Another factor contributing to the shift in attitudes towards cannabis is the growing recognition of the relative safety of the drug compared to tobacco. While tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, cannabis has never been shown to cause a fatal overdose. Moreover, unlike tobacco, cannabis does not cause cancer, lung disease, or other serious health problems associated with smoking.

Furthermore, the legalization of cannabis in several states has helped to dispel the myths and misinformation surrounding the drug. In states where cannabis is legal, people are able to see firsthand that the drug is not the dangerous substance that it has been made out to be. In fact, studies have shown that legalization has led to a decrease in crime rates, increased tax revenues, and improved public health outcomes.

As attitudes towards cannabis continue to shift, the tobacco industry is facing a growing threat. For decades, tobacco companies have relied on their addictive products to generate billions of dollars in profits. However, with more and more Americans favoring legal cannabis over legal tobacco, the industry is now being forced to adapt or risk becoming obsolete.

In response to this threat, tobacco companies have begun to invest heavily in the cannabis industry. For example, in 2018, Altria, the parent company of Philip Morris USA, invested $1.8 billion in Canadian cannabis producer Cronos Group. Other tobacco companies, such as British American Tobacco, have also made significant investments in the cannabis industry.

While these investments may help tobacco companies to diversify their revenue streams, they also raise concerns about the potential for these companies to use their financial power to influence the cannabis industry. In particular, there is a concern that tobacco companies may seek to exploit the cannabis market in the same way that they have exploited the tobacco market, by creating highly addictive products that are marketed towards young people.

To prevent this from happening, it will be important for policymakers to regulate the cannabis industry in a responsible and effective manner. This will require a comprehensive approach that takes into account the potential risks and benefits of legalizing cannabis, as well as the need to protect public health and safety.

Overall, the shift in attitudes towards cannabis is a sign of the changing times in the United States. As more and more Americans come to recognize the benefits of legalizing cannabis, the tobacco industry will face a growing threat. While this shift may be challenging for tobacco companies, it is ultimately a positive development for public health and safety.

Friday, January 22, 2021

What Kind of Effects Do Cannabis Edibles Have On Your Body?

As recreational marijuana continues to become lawful in more states, individuals are raising more concerns regarding the effects of the medication on overall wellbeing. Smoking marijuana is 1 thing, but what about edibles--or even swallowing the medication in foods like brownies, gummies, muffins, doughnuts and even peanut butter? Here's what you need to know about how cannabis impacts your body when you consume it in food.

That can be a big problem, says Stolbach, since people might not realize how much they have consumed until they begin to feel sick.

"Something that is important to remember about edibles is that absorption is unpredictable," states Stolbach. "People do not experience peak impact for some time after ingestion, [which could be] minutes --but usually hours."

The same as food or medications, THC consumed through edibles is absorbed through the walls of your intestines. The more food that is in your system--say, you ate a marijuana brownie as dessert after a major dinner out--the longer it will take for the THC to get absorbed. This is where edibles are majorly different from a joint: When you smoke THC, it instantly goes into your bloodstream, whereas you may not feel the full impact of THC you've consumed until hours later, says Stolbach.

While a desirable effect of THC would be to feel more relaxed,'' says Stolbach, things can quickly have a turn for the worse if you inadvertently overindulge. "Frequent Illness symptoms might be feelings of anxiety, a quick pulse and stress," he says. "These responses may get really intense."

The type of edible you eat can affect how your body responds to it. THC is fat, meaning it dissolves in fats to be consumed in your intestines. That is the reason why lots of edibles are vegetarian foods, such as brownies or cookies, because they're made with THC-infused fats. "The thing that makes me worried about [THC] dissolved in butter is that when the solution is unequally [blended ], a few parts of your brownie or cookie cutter will have much more THC than other components," says Stolbach.

Some countries require weed edibles to be labeled with the amount of THC per serving--for example individually wrapped packs of gummies. But lots of bakeries and facilities producing cannabis edibles may not be tightly regulated in regards to how much THC is in each serving of the item. And even if they are labeled, just as with nutritional supplements, you can't always expect the amounts in the absence of strict regulation. Consumers should do their homework to ensure the source of any edible they're consuming is credible, in addition to be mindful of where it's coming from. It is technically illegal to sell any meals with THC across country lines, in most cases, based on the FDA.

Thus, providing you do not overindulge and stick to the legislation, can edibles ever be considered healthy? "My recommendation is to steer clear of inflammatory ingredients, such as artificial flavors, colors and sweeteners, gluten and sugar free when picking edibles," she says. "Cannabis is a potent anti-inflammatory, so it doesn't make sense to combine [it] with inflammatory ingredients."

Manufacturers are now producing everything from protein powders to chocolate bars into granola snacks laced together with THC, which makes it feasible to consume edibles while adhering to a nutritious diet. If you do want to give edibles a try, begin small with low doses, so be sure they're coming from a bundle that clearly labels the THC concentration, and eat them at a time when you won't need to be working a car for a few hours, says Stolbach. "Give it a while to see the way your body handles it," he says. "Attempt to minimize your stimulus and unwind."

That said, Stolbach doesn't advocate edibles as a health food. He says that he hasn't seen evidence that they make you fitter or treat a disorder better than other medications out there--and he has great anxiety over edibles getting in the wrong hands. Often, edibles can be packed to look like regular candies or treats, enticing children. If you're maintaining edibles into your home and have kids, make sure they're contained in child-resistant packaging and retained somewhere out of reach.