While federal lawmakers are busy advancing a nationwide ban on most hemp-derived THC products, New Orleans just did something very New Orleans. It opened a THC cocktail bar on Frenchmen Street.

Tucked above Bamboula’s in the Faubourg Marigny Music District, Mélange by Cali Sober at Bamboula’s is billing itself as the city’s first non-alcoholic, functional and THC beverage bar. It sits right over one of the hottest live music rooms in town, with its own balcony looking out over the Frenchmen Street chaos, and serves zero-proof cocktails made with adaptogens and functional botanicals alongside THC drink options.

The concept comes from local entrepreneur and sober-curiosity advocate Monica Olano, known to many as Cali Sober Mom and founder of Cali Sober Market, a zero-proof and functional beverage shop. After watching the non-alcoholic and hemp drink scene explode in New Orleans, she saw a gap on Frenchmen, a strip famous for brass bands, cramped stages and very strong drinks.

“Mélange is about giving people options that feel good, taste incredible, and match the full experience of a night out in New Orleans,” Olano says in the bar’s launch announcement. “People are ready for zero-proof to be its own category. They want intentional drinks and a place where choosing not to drink alcohol feels completely natural. The response from opening weekend showed us just how much this was needed.”

Inside, Mélange leans into classic cocktail ritual without the alcohol. Drinks are built with layered ingredients, functional botanicals and adaptogens, so guests still get the glassware, the garnish, the ceremony. For visitors who want a different kind of buzz, there are THC beverage options that plug into the same menu, turning the bar into a small, very specific test case for the future of hemp drinks.

That timing is what makes Mélange more than just a cool local opening.

As High Times reported in our earlier deep dive on Trump’s new hemp THC ban, Congress tied the end of the longest shutdown in U.S. history to a sweeping rewrite of the federal hemp definition. The deal President Donald Trump signed caps legal hemp products at 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container, bans synthetic or chemically converted cannabinoids and starts a one-year clock before most hemp drinks, gummies and vapes are treated as Schedule I marijuana.

In other words, the kind of THC beverages that are pouring upstairs at Bamboula’s could soon fall into a legal gray zone that looks a lot more like cannabis than like kombucha.

From her vantage point, running a retail shop, a distribution network and now a bar, Olano sees something deeper happening than a simple crackdown.

“From my perspective in Louisiana, this moment does not feel like a ban so much as a transfer of ownership,” she says. “Small operators, independent retailers, farmers, and consumers built this market. They created the demand and proved the model. We now have a one-year runway where rulemaking will determine whether this remains an open market or becomes a tightly controlled channel dominated by alcohol industry incumbents.

“I am married into an alcohol-hospitality family, so I see how well-positioned the legacy system is to benefit from whatever happens next. Beverages may receive a carve-out under the banner of responsible regulation driven by the alcohol industry, but I am deeply concerned about what this means for edibles, tinctures, and independent retailers who cannot compete with large chains.”

For now, Mélange feels like a glimpse of what cannabis and nightlife can look like when the “sober curious” movement meets functional ingredients and THC on equal footing. The downstairs crowd can keep their beers and frozen drinks. Upstairs, guests are sipping zero-proof martinis and THC spritzes, watching the brass bands from the balcony, and enjoying a night out without the next-day crash.

Whether this kind of bar becomes the model for a new category or a short-lived loophole before the federal hammer comes down will depend on what happens over the next year. For the moment, New Orleans has something rare: a THC cocktail bar that sits a few steps above a classic Frenchmen Street club and a few steps ahead of whatever Washington decides to do with hemp drinks.

<p>The post DC Wants to Kill Hemp Drinks. New Orleans Just Built a THC Nightclub. Welcome to the Rebellion. first appeared on High Times.</p>

The post DC Wants to Kill Hemp Drinks. New Orleans Just Built a THC Nightclub. Welcome to the Rebellion. appeared first on Paradise Found.

Including New Mexico’s biggest medical shop.

The post New weed shops of America: Miami’s first, New Mexico’s biggest, and Puerto Rico’s Cush appeared first on Leafly.

The post New weed shops of America: Miami’s first, New Mexico’s biggest, and Puerto Rico’s Cush appeared first on Paradise Found.

Including the Depp South’s biggest medical shop.

The post America’s cannabis dispensary grand openings for January 2025 appeared first on Leafly.

The post America’s cannabis dispensary grand openings for January 2025 appeared first on Paradise Found.

Since 2015, Louisiana State University (LSU) and Southern University (SU) are the only two public institutions in Louisiana that can legally cultivate medical cannabis. However, if Senate Bill 228 is signed into law, it would allow private contractors to take their place instead.

“They are the only two higher education systems in the country that are in the pot business right now, and it is my belief that it’s time we get them out of that business and let them focus on higher education,” said Sen. Patrick McMath, who is also the sponsor of the bill, told the Louisiana Illuminator.

Apparently, LSU and SU received help from two private growers, Good Day Farm and Ilera Holistic Healthcare, to get their own respective farms operational. If the bill becomes law, LSU and SU would transfer their respective cultivator licenses over to Good Day Farm and Ilera Holistic Healthcare, both of which will be permitted to hold on to their licenses for as long as they choose to renew them. As a result, no other cultivators would be allowed to apply for a license.

According to Louisiana Illuminator, Good Day Farm in particular has a relationship with legislators who may be attempting to control all cultivation within the state. Good Day Farm’s primary shareholder is Donald “Boysie” Bollinger, one of the richest people in the state, and company president John Davis’ wife, Paula Davis, is a House representative.

One of the key people who helped develop legislation for Louisiana’s medical cannabis law, former Rep. Joe Marino, told the news outlet that doing so would create a monopoly on cultivation. 

During his time in office, Marino introduced legislation to expand the number of cultivation licenses available for application, although it didn’t pass. In 2022, he also worked to expand the number of cannabis pharmacies, from 10 to 25, which was signed by former Gov. John Bel Edwards.

In March, McMath attended a committee hearing for SB-228, and claimed that the Louisiana medical cannabis industry was always meant to be private. He explained that including both LSU and SU was a late-hour floor amendment. “It was never really their intention to be put into this bill,” McMath said.

An earlier draft of SB-228 would have still provided a percentage of gross sales from Good Day Farms and Ilera Holistic Healthcare to the universities, but that has since been removed.

SB-228 was sent to Gov. Jeff Landry on May 16 for a signature or veto.

There has been plenty of other cannabis legislation introduced in the most recent legislative session. The Louisiana legislature initially legalized hemp-based edibles containing delta-9-THC back in 2022, with the knowledge presented by former House Speaker Clay Schexnayder who said it would require a person to consume “tractor-trailer loads” for a person to get high from it. Senate Bill 237 attempts to limit the law, and would make it illegal to sell or manufacture any cannabis products containing THC unless it’s included in a license medical cannabis product. During a committee hearing on May 14, many business owners claimed that such a bill would eliminate the consumable hemp industry that has been built so far, as well as any jobs that have developed from its success.

Louisiana Hemp Extractors owner Paige Melancon expressed his frustration about spending the last two years building up his business. “I feel like I’m being fired right now and I want you guys to come with me and fire my employees when we leave here, if you choose to do that,” Melancon said.

Supporters of SB-237 such as lobbyist Gene Mills, president Louisiana Family Forum, also spoke about putting an end to consumable hemp products. “Our vision is to build a Louisiana where God is honored, life is respected, families flourish and liberties reign,” Mills said at the hearing.

Most recently, SB-237 was heard on the House floor for debate on May 22.

Conversely, House Bill 707 seeks to establish a regulatory framework for adult-use cannabis legalization, although it doesn’t outright legalize recreational cannabis. “This is a very simple bill,” said bill sponsor Rep. Edmond Jordan. “What it does…it is for the adult use of cannabis. It sets up the retail side with dispensaries and how we would do that.” If passed, it would permit adults over 21 to purchase one ounce of cannabis per day and pay $75 per year to cultivate up to six plants per adult, or 12 plants per household.

House Bill 978 also would not legalize adult-use cannabis but sought to establish a foundation for legalization in the event that the federal government chose to legalize cannabis. “The bill does not legalize recreational marijuana,” said bill sponsor Rep. Candace Newell. “This is a regulation structure that I would like to see Louisiana put in place in preparation for having recreational marijuana legalized on the federal level or on the state level.” However, as of May 20 the bill was rejected in the House.

The post New Bill Would Remove Louisiana Universities’ Cannabis Cultivation Licenses first appeared on High Times.

The post New Bill Would Remove Louisiana Universities’ Cannabis Cultivation Licenses appeared first on Paradise Found.

The Louisiana House Health and Welfare Committee recently passed House Bill 707 in a unanimous vote to propose a regulatory framework for the state’s cannabis legalization.

The measure, which prefiled in March, doesn’t directly legalize adult-use cannabis but it does start the process of building a foundation for reform. The goal, according to Rep. Edmond Jordan who introduced the bill, is to attempt to get HB-707 passed in the legislature in 2024, followed by introducing two other bills in 2025 which would address adult-use possession and cannabis taxes.

Toward the end of a meeting on April 24, Jordan spoke about HB-707 to the House Health and Welfare Committee. “This is a very simple bill,” said Jordan. “What it does…it is for the adult use of cannabis. It sets up the retail side with dispensaries and how we would do that.”

The bill would allow adults over 21 to purchase one ounce of cannabis every day, and would also allow residents to pay $75 per year to obtain a permit to grow up to six plants at home (with a maximum of 12 plants).

Jordan projected that if adult-use cannabis sales were legal, it could potentially provide more than $1 billion in tax revenue over the next 10 years, which includes an estimated $100 million annually going into the state general fund.

Marijuana Policy Project southeast legislative manager, Kevin Caldwell, was also present to discuss the prospect of adult-use cannabis in Louisiana. According to a report created by Vicente law firm’s economic forecaster model created for Louisiana, there are currently 430,000 adult-use cannabis consumers in the state, and by 2033 the industry could be valued at $900 million. “The total regulated market between 2024-2033 would be $5.8 billion,” Caldwell stated, adding that the report believes Louisiana adult-use cannabis could be put in place by 2027, and between 2027-2023, the industry could be valued at $1.17 billion. This was based on Rep. Barbara Freiberg’s adult-use tax bill which was introduced in 2023, and included a proposal of current local and state taxes, with the addition of a 15% excise tax.

The adult-use cannabis industry fiscal impact, according to the report, would also generate $13.4 billion between 2027-2033.

The report utilized data from all 24 states with legalized adult-use cannabis. Caldwell answered numerous questions from Rep. Rhonda Butler about how the report developed the projected numbers, and the effects of crime increasing in legal states (research shows that it hasn’t led to an increase in crime), and the regulation of potency.

A total of 17 amendments for HB-707 were also adopted during the meeting, including transferring management of a cannabis program from the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Fisheries to the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH), the removal of a cap on licenses that the LDF can issue to cultivators, processors, and manufacturers, changes a license requirement regarding stakeholder disqualification if they were guilty of or plead guilty to a cannabis-related conviction, and removing a penalty for civil violations.

One individual spoke in opposition about the bill in regard to claims about the impact of cannabis use among youth. “We don’t need to bring this scourge into our state. We just don’t,” they said.

Jordan returned to the podium to speak about the reality of cannabis in Louisiana. “Look, we’re not bringing this into the state, it’s already here. So let’s not ignore what we already have here,” Jordan explained. “The real issue is: do we want to regulate it, do we want to make it safer for our kids, do we want to make sure that we don’t have this laced with fentanyl in some grey or illegal market. I think if we bring it above ground, we regulate it, we’re able to test it, we’re able to do all these other things to make sure that it’s safe, it’s gonna make it better for our kids.”

Jordan asked that the bill be sent to the floor for further discussion, where he can present evidence that contradicts what the opposition discussed. Ultimately the committee voted 10-0 to approve HB-707.

Successful cannabis legislation has been hit or miss over the past few years in Louisiana. In April 2023, a bill to decriminalize cannabis was killed in committee before it was able to reach the House floor. In June 2023, House Bill 286 was signed by Gov. Jeff Landry, which implemented expungements for those who have previously been convicted of cannabis possession. In March 2024, the state’s 10th medical cannabis dispensary opened.

Also recently in March 2024, Louisiana police reported that rats had infiltrated confiscated cannabis and were eating all of the flower. AP News spoke with a police superintendent who said that the “uncleanliness is off the charts,” at that particular building, and it’s not the janitorial staff’s fault.

The post Louisiana Legislative Committee Unanimously Passes Adult-Use Cannabis Framework Bill appeared first on High Times.

The post Louisiana Legislative Committee Unanimously Passes Adult-Use Cannabis Framework Bill appeared first on Paradise Found.

Police officials in New Orleans this week told a city council committee that rats have taken over the department’s downtown headquarters, saying that the rodents have been eating marijuana stored in an evidence room. Anne Kirkpatrick, the superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department, told the city leaders at a meeting on Monday that the rats are apparently enjoying the food source sitting in an evidence room at police headquarters.

“The rats are eating our marijuana,” Kirkpatrick said, according to a report from online news source NOLA.com. “They’re all high.”

The superintendent was reporting to the council committee on the condition of aging police facilities around New Orleans. In addition to eating drugs in the evidence room, rats are reportedly found throughout the building, spreading feces across the desks of police officers and other department workers. The building is also infested with cockroaches, Kirkpatrick reported.

The department’s problems at police headquarters are not limited to pests. The building also has mold and elevators, HVAC equipment and plumbing that are old and deteriorating. 

An NOPD veteran speaking to a reporter anonymously said that the downtown police headquarters has been infested with rats throughout his almost two decades with the department. He also noted that some officers report coughing or sneezing after visiting the moldy building, which has served the police department since 1968.

“It’s horrible. I don’t think it ever recovered from Katrina, to be honest,” the officer said, referring to the 2005 hurricane that devastated New Orleans. “The basement was full (of flood water). You get a lot of rodents that climb through the walls. Some things you just can’t get to, so there has always been some type of rodent, bugs, rats, mice, whatever.”

New Orleans Police Department’s Five-Year Quest For New Digs

The police department has been asking for a new headquarters since before the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019, the department asked for $39 million to build a new base of operations, but the project was not funded by the city council. 

Kirkpatrick, who took over as superintendent in October after moving to New Orleans from the West Coast, renewed the push for a new department headquarters, a source told NOLA.com. Kirkpatrick was “adamant” about a new facility for the department’s officers and staff of 400 who work at the aging building. 

At Monday’s meeting, Kirkpatrick described the building as a “turn-off” to prospective employee transfers from other areas as well as the personnel that already work there.

“It’s not OK, and it’s not OK for people to be treated that way and be called valued,” she said.

The superintendent also noted that the poor condition of police facilities goes beyond the department’s downtown home.

“It is not just at police headquarters. It is all the districts. The uncleanliness is off the charts,” Kirkpatrick told the council members on the committee. “The janitorial cleaning [team] deserves an award, trying to clean what is uncleanable.”

Kirkpatrick was at the meeting to ask for the committee’s approval of a proposal to house the department on two floors of a new high-rise in downtown New Orleans for 10 years while a plan for a permanent facility is developed. The committee approved a motion to authorize the move, sending the plan to the full council for a vote.

Gilbert Montaño, the city’s chief administrative officer, described the headquarters move as a “Herculean lift.” Once the headquarters has been temporarily relocated, additional buildings in the downtown justice complex will also be vacated.

“I foresee most of the criminal justice agencies will have to be temporarily housed as we address these old decrepit buildings,” said Montaño, according to a report from The Guardian.

“Right now, we are addressing police headquarters because it is in dire straits.”

Not The First Time

The problem with rodents eating weed being stored as police evidence is not new. In addition to the report from New Orleans, police departments in South America and Asia have reported similar stories of hungry rodents fiending on pot, The Guardian noted.

In 2018, the outlet reported that eight police officers in Argentina were fired after they reported that mice had eaten nearly 1,000 pounds of pot that had disappeared from a police warehouse about 35 miles away from Buenos Aires. 

“Buenos Aires University experts have explained that mice wouldn’t mistake the drug for food, and that if a large group of mice had eaten it, a lot of corpses would have been found in the warehouse,” a spokesperson for a judge who was reviewing the case said at the time.

Four years later, CNN reported a story from northern India, where rats had allegedly eaten more than 1,100 pounds of weed that had been seized from pot dealers and stored in a police warehouse.

“Rats are small animals, and they aren’t scared of the police,” an official told a court in Uttar Pradesh.

The post New Orleans Police Say Rats Are Eating Weed Stored in Evidence Room appeared first on High Times.

The post New Orleans Police Say Rats Are Eating Weed Stored in Evidence Room appeared first on Paradise Found.

A lot has changed in the world since Steve Diamond first reported on the New Orleans Jazz Festival for the January 1st, 1979 issue of High Times Magazine.

Back then, current Jazz Fest juggernaut Tipitina’s was in its infancy—the historic music venue having only operated for a year at the time of Diamond’s piece—and the New Orleans music scene as a whole played host to a variety of different sights, sounds, and flavors that, for certain folks today, remain a distant memory—and for others—something they’ll have to read or hear stories about to experience.

“Jazz Fest is an annual celebration of the people of New Orleans, like Mardi Gras,” Quint Davis, longtime producer/director of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, said. “It’s one of the most powerful economic drivers for the city—like the New Orleans Saints and tourism itself—generating over $300m in economic impact. For hotels, restaurants, music clubs, and musicians it’s an essential part of their annual income.”

While a lot has changed, many aspects of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival remain the same—including some of its most heralded performers gracing both Festival and local stages around the city throughout the decades.

Two such musicians to hail from the Crescent City, George Porter Jr. and Ivan Neville, both of whose prominence spans multiple decades—Porter Jr. with The Meters in the 60s and 70s and Neville with his father Aaron Neville and Uncle Art “Poppa Funk” Neville’s group the Neville Brothers in the 80s and 90s—remain as relevant then as they are today, continuing to serve as pioneers of funk and melodic freedom with the distinct funkiness of New Orleans.

The recent announcement of The Rolling Stones toplining the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival 2024 is of particular relevance to Neville—a member of Keith Richards’ band the X-Pensive Winos, keyboard player on The Stones’ albums Dirty Work and Voodoo Lounge and whose band Dumpstaphunk could be a contender to be occupy the stage time prior to The Stones’ performance.

To better understand how Neville and Porter Jr. made their mark on the New Orleans music scene, I embarked on a journey to the May 2023 New Orleans Jazz Fest to witness their individual and collective musical output firsthand. Sometimes the best way to understand the legacy of storied performers is to engage with them at the source—and there’s no better way to tap into New Orleans’ legacy of food, music, culture and cannabis than at the Festival itself.

In order to accomplish my mission, I enlisted the help of longtime friend and music manager—founder  of Silverback Music, Jon Phillips—whose work with Porter Jr., Dumpstaphunk, Slightly Stoopid and a host of other talent through the years—notably the OG incarnation of Sublime—has made him a fixture in the California reggae and New Orleans funk and dub scene.

If there’s anyone who could help provide a behind-the-scenes look at the Festival, it was Jon—and given his pedigree and affinity for cannabis, he’d also be able to provide a window into the local nightlife following the Festival sets—those historic late night performances you hear about fading only when the sun rises.

What follows is a detailed account of our 2023 adventures around the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival’s second weekend, and the unique experience of the Festival as seen through a Silverback lens—an experience providing a recap of this year’s fest and a look at what can be expected in 2024.

Wednesday, May 4th: Crawfish Fest: Technically, the Jazz & Heritage Festival doesn’t pick back up for its second weekend until the next day, but you wouldn’t know it from the summer concert crowd at NOLA Crawfish Festival—an unofficial prelude to Jazz Fest that has all the hallmarks of a mini festival—art, culture, cuisine, cannabis—and of course—music.

When I meet up with Jon, he’s already vibing to the sounds of Anders Osborne ripping the guitar alongside George Porter Jr. and Ivan Neville on the one stage. It’s as if someone threw a banger in their backyard, bought food and drinks, and allowed their extremely talented friends to populate the lineup.

As we catch up over beers, Jon introduces me to Crawfish Fest’s pioneer, Chris “Shaggy” Davis, who provided insights on this local offshoot event’s origins.

“I’ve been boiling crawfish for 25 years, dabbled in the music scene and I’m friends with all of these people,” Davis said. “I started doing this as a backyard-boil kind of thing—having Anders and Ivan play my backyard—and it just grew.”

Besides the handwritten signs with the name of the band onstage that’s swapped out each act (an ode to the Jazz Fest tradition that continues to this day)—and the long table beset with boiled crawfish, corn, and pasta sides—Crawfish Fest could definitely be mistaken for your uncle’s backyard barbeque that happened to include the entire neighborhood. According to Davis, that level of intimacy is kind of the point.

“That’s the whole plan,” Davis said. “You can go to any other gig around this town, but this is the one you’re going to feel like you’re in the backyard. You’re not seeing some bullshit band from out of town—you’re in New Orleans right here.”

Thursday, May 5th: Locals Night: During the first official day of Jazz Fest’s inaugural second week kick-off, we swung by Santana’s set, having just interviewed Carlos Santana for the August 2023 issue of High Times Magazine. Privy to a fantastic backstage viewing of his performance, he and his band rocked hits from decades past to the present in front of a massive crowd.

After taking a puff of Select Cannabis Sativa Lemon Haze vape, we snagged a Jazz Fest culinary staple—The Crawfish Sack, Oyster Patties, and Crawfish Beignet Trio—which, according to locals, is a dish out-of-towners specifically visit the Fest for. It packs a serious flavor profile and is quite rich, so we were satisfied on the food front for the duration of the day.

Later that evening, we caught up with Silverback Music at Toulouse Theater and witnessed the impressive harmonies once again on display by Ivan Neville and his bandmates in Dumpstaphunk, this time playing songs from Ivan’s new ‘Touch My Soul’ album. The intimate crowd loved the energy of the new tracks  and flocked to the band following their set—the scent of weed smoke lingering in the air.

“I did a lot of smoking back in the day—as it was everywhere—and I guess it still is since you can’t help but smell it any given night inside and outside the venues we play,” laughed Ivan Neville. “And most of my band enjoys the benefits of cannabis.”

One member who’s all about the benefits is Ian Neville, Ivan’s cousin and rhythm guitarist.

“For me, the pre-show pow wow smoke hangs bring a kind of cohesive energy to the overall night,” he said. “It just adds another layer of interconnected energy on top of how music already does that—and after all the music is done—edibles to help me sleep like a human.”

Friday, May 6th: Orpheum and The Civic: With the first day of the second weekend officially in the books, we took Friday to explore the sights and sounds of venues beyond the Fair Grounds.

Our first stop was the Orpheum Theater to witness George Porter Jr.—as a guest artist with Warren Haynes and Gov’t Mule—drop a trippy vibe of tunes to a packed house. The psychedelic-inclined audience was punctuated by a woman “shimmying” to the beat of Porter Jr.’s basslines and Warren’s phenomenal lead guitar, teleporting her and other members of the crowd to another dimension.

It was a long way for a man who—in the ‘70s while playing bass in The Meters, also worked Jazz Fest as a stage manager before rocking crowds on those same stages.

“When I was first working as a stage manager, I was also working as a full-time musician,” Porter Jr. said. “A lot of times I’d be running from my stage to play bass on another stage because someone was late.”

“I remember one year, Quint Davis said, ‘Whatever stage I go to, Porter is on that stage. Why am I paying him to be at his stage?’”, Porter Jr. said with a laugh.

As Porter Jr.’s music career evolved and blossomed from stage manager and musician to full-time artist, so did his appetite and intrigue for cannabis.

“Cannabis was my drug of choice ‘til I met cocaine in 1975, and I wish I would have stayed smoking pot,” he said. “While today in my 35th year of sobriety, I fully support the legalization of cannabis.”

Porter Jr.’s drummer—Terrence Houston—is much more immersed in the 2023 cannabis scene and enjoys a puff or two before hitting the stage.

“I’m naturally hype so I like strong Indicas to calm down before a show,” Houston said. “I usually smoke about a KD (Kevin Durant) 3.5 of OG Kush in a Natural Camo Wrap to get me in the zone.”

We then followed Jon as he packed up Porter Jr. and brought us to The Civic Theatre, where Porter Jr. reunited with Ivan Neville and Dumpstaphunk to perform “Poppa Funk & The Night Tripper”, a groovy tribute to legendary New Orleans musicians Art Neville and Dr. John, both of whom passed away in 2019. Much to the delight of the tie-dyed crowd, Grammy Award-winning musician Jon Cleary also joined the ensemble to help jam out a mix of Art Neville and Dr. John covers.

“The music scene in New Orleans is on fire, and is somewhat contagious, seeing that all of our musical friends from around the world can’t get enough of New Orleans especially around Jazz Fest time,” said Ivan Neville. “Everyone’s trying to get a taste because there’s nowhere else like it.”

And that’s what makes Jazz Fest such a unique experience—almost everything at the festival is homegrown in New Orleans.

“Mostly everything is New Orleans and Louisiana based,” Quint Davis said. “The food, traditional Jazz, 2^nd line marching brass bands, Mardi Gras Indians on parade, Cajun and Zydeco music—all traditions unique to New Orleans and Louisiana, where Jazz was born. But mostly unique is the overall grooving vibe of the gathering.”

Saturday, May 7th: Jazz Fest: Tradition is that at least one day of Jazz Fest will provide rain, and that day was Saturday. The drops came early and often as we followed the Silverback Music crew to shelter backstage and witnessed George Porter Jr. playing to a sea of raincoat-covered fans.

While the rain did not let up, Porter Jr.—as well as following act Anders Osborne—kept the music flowing. Osborne left absolutely nothing in the tank, letting his guitar shred with the same intensity as the monsooning pellets.

The watering continued through the evening but fortunately let up briefly following Osborne’s set and we were able to snag gumbo and a shrimp quesadilla before shuffling beneath a food tent.

It was impossible to move without becoming completely soaked, so we stayed beneath the trent and watched Dead & Company play one of its final shows (ever) to the resilient fans—who despite the rain—still managed to puff deliciously-scented gray clouds into the air.

Day 5: Sunday, May 8th: Jazz Fest: Sunday we were on our own, experiencing the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival as locals.

We began our journey wandering through the Heritage section, admiring the local craftsmanship of brass instrument light fixtures and wooden guitars.

Swinging by the refreshment booth, we decided to invite some adult beverages into our adventure in the form of white wine.

Our refreshing whites led us to the main stage, where Mumford and Son was wrapping its set. As we made our way through the crowd, the band brought out Jon Batiste and Trombone Shorty, both of whom accompanied the UK band on a closing cover of “House Of The Rising Sun.” You could feel the goosebumps throughout the crowd as they yelled “Down in New Orleans.”

We then made our way to Tom Jones, who rocked some new music in addition to his innuendo-laden classics.

After Tom, we made a quick stop at the Blues Tent to witness Melissa Etheridge earning the crowd with a riveting performance of “Come To My Window,” and then swung by the sounds of Herbie Hancock in the Jazz Tent—the only “seats” available being the standing room several yards outside.

Closing out the festival, the pride of New Orleans was on full display, with Trombone Shorty rocking the Main Stage and bringing out Batiste for a vocal and instrumental duet as the closing number. As the sun began to lower, the weed smoke began to rise and the crowd was in full appreciation of the local icons giving back to their city.

2023 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival: Postmortem

Ultimately, the 2023 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival was both a local and commercial success, one which proved that New Orleans natives care more about local artists than anything else. It’s why Dumpstaphunk is such a New Orleans establishment and why guys like Ivan Neville and George Porter Jr.—OGs of the New Orleans music scene—play deep into the night and have an air of accessibility to them: Because they care about the fan experience.

“New Orleans music is a cultural family,” Quint Davis said. “We celebrate our founders, such as Irma Thomas, Deacon John, and Cyril Neville, and keep the new generations coming—one connected to the other. Jazz Fest is a meeting ground for the entire New Orleans music community—traditional and modern Jazz, Gospel, Zydeco, Blues, R&B, Latin, Brass Bands, Cajun, Mardi Gras Indians—each celebrating their cultures and their family ties.”

In terms of celebrating the fans, the team behind the Jazz & Heritage Festival itself also does a fantastic job of making the environment immersive, engaging, and fun. There’s something for everyone. Whether you come for the music, the art, the pulled-pork po’ boys or the frozen daiquiris, experiencing all that Jazz Fest has to offer is to treat all of your senses. Add a little weed to the mix and you’re suddenly witnessing life in 4D: A tantalizing mixture of sounds, tastes, and smells that will leave you coming back for more year after year—with May 2024 now on the horizon.

The post Blazing Through the 2023 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival appeared first on High Times.

The post Blazing Through the 2023 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival appeared first on Paradise Found.

Governors across America are tired of waiting for President Joe Biden to fulfill his goal to swiftly determine if the country should reschedule cannabis at the federal level—leading six of them to urge the president in a letter to do something after months of inaction.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy urged the president to take action in a letter dated Dec. 5, given that it’s been 10 years since the first states legalized adult-use pot (starting with Colorado and Washington).

Polis led the effort to send the Biden administration the letter. The Governors applauded the president for reconsidering the classification of cannabis and encouraged the federal government to reschedule cannabis. Polis expressed the Governors’ hope that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) will reschedule cannabis from Schedule I to Schedule III this year. 

This is What Americans Want

Americans overwhelmingly support legal cannabis, Pew Research found. Nearly 88% of Americans said they are in favor of legalization for medical and adult-use cannabis. Doing so, they said, would rectify cannabis’s outdated classification, which is long overdue and puts small businesses and public safety at risk. 

“This decision by a leading federal health agency comes on the heels of 38 states creating their own state markets and complementary regulatory systems. In some cases, these state regimes have thrived for more than a decade, and this recommendation by FDA is a real testament to their success. It’s a signal that FDA and the Department of Health and Human Services [HHS] have faith in state regulators and the regulations that they have promulgated to keep citizens safe,” the Governors wrote.

The DEA only adheres to its own analysis, however, and is not necessarily bound by the HHS’s recommendation, Reuters reported, though many other experts predicted the DEA would act on their recommendation. Only a major administrative action or an act of Congress could create major change towards ending the prohibition of cannabis.

They acknowledged the enormous impact federal law has upon cannabis businesses, forcing them to do business in cash, and also putting them at risk for violent crime, which High Times has documented again and again.

“Economically, rescheduling to Schedule III will alleviate restrictions of Section 280E of the

Internal Revenue Code, allowing cannabis-related businesses to take ordinary business

deductions—just like every other American business,” the letter reads. “Economists estimate that this will save$1.8 billion per year by shifting cannabis companies to a standard federal corporate rate of 21% versus the up to 80% effective tax rate they face now.”

A Cash-Only Business

Rescheduling pot would allow cannabis-related businesses to take ordinary tax deductions, like any other business, and it would not only alleviate financial and safety concerns for businesses but allow the cannabis industry to play a full role in the American business landscape. 

Regulated cannabis that undergoes lab-testing, etc. is safer than alternatives and has been linked to reduced rates of opioid abuse, opioid-related hospitalizations, traffic fatalities, drug treatment admissions, and overdose deaths. 

“There is, and will continue to be, a significant consumer demand for cannabis. That fact will not change regardless of the public policy choices that we make.” The Governors wrote So, it seems obvious and sensible to us to make cannabis as safe as it can be for adult consumers while simultaneously protecting our children. The state-regulated marketplace does just that. If the state-legal marketplace doesn’t survive, then we will see unsafe products on every street corner,” the Governors continued.

Stocks soared as Biden released an announcement on Oct. 6, 2022, urging the of Health and Human Services and the Attorney General to consider reclassifying pot, which was the first indicator that it could actually happen.

“I am asking the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Attorney General to initiate the administrative process to review expeditiously how marijuana is scheduled under federal law.  Federal law currently classifies marijuana in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, the classification meant for the most dangerous substances.  This is the same schedule as for heroin and LSD, and even higher than the classification of fentanyl and methamphetamine – the drugs that are driving our overdose epidemic. 

Several months ago, Polis sent a letter to Biden on Sept. 5 regarding the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) recommendation for the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to reschedule cannabis from a Schedule I substance to a Schedule III substance.

“We are pleased to hear that you have recently received Health and Human Services’s (HHS) recommendation to move cannabis to Schedule III,” Polis wrote in his letter. “It’s about time.”

The post Six Governors Push Biden To Reschedule Pot in Open Letter appeared first on High Times.

The post Six Governors Push Biden To Reschedule Pot in Open Letter appeared first on Paradise Found.

As American hemp farmers struggle to accurately sex plants and prevent their crops from going hot—going over the potency definition of what makes the plants hemp or 0.3% THC on a dry-weight basis—technology is improving to make these tasks a little easier. With the help of some of the top minds at Texas A&M University, Louisiana-based Mariposa Technology has created a digital farming tool for hemp and marijuana farmers using a database and software that allows them to test their crops at any stage of the growing season without having to cut any samples. Using a small laser-operated spectroscopy tool, THC content and plant gender can be determined without waiting for a lab to process the data.

The Mariposa Technology team developed Predictive Analytical Modeling Application for Plants (PAMAP), a protocol for rapid, in-field testing of live plants. It gives farmers the power to self-test, saving them weeks of valuable time that would normally be taken up by mailing cut samples for lab testing.

“The only plants that we have in our database, as of today, are cannabis plants, primarily hemp; however, the technology can be used for other plants in the future,” says Mariposa Technology Chief Operating Officer Michael Dalle Molle. “We are focusing on hemp primarily because we see major pain points in the industry that our technology can solve for farmers.”

The process of scanning the plants involves a handheld device that utilizes Raman spectroscopy. Raman spectroscopy is an analytical lab technique where scattered light from a laser is used to measure the vibrational modes of molecules—thereby detecting the chemical composition of materials. The laser light interacts with molecular vibrations and provides a chemical fingerprint.

“So essentially, you have a handheld device that is paired with our database, that’s comprised of millions of different data points, and you fire off a laser through the scanner, it scans live complex living tissues, so this is a non-destructive, non-invasive test,” says Molle. “And that scan produces a spectrum, and the spectrum is then sent through our application, it’s read by our algorithms, and you’re produced a result.”

Hot Hemp Horrors 

Just how bad is the hot hemp problem? According to New Frontier Data, over 4,000 acres of roughly 243,00 hemp plants in the U.S. were destroyed for going hot in 2019. In 2020, this only increased to 6,234 acres—despite there being fewer acres planted. According to data from recent years, this number could go up beyond 10,000 acres destroyed, given the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) 2021 definition change of THC limits—now not only limited to 0.3% delta-9 THC, but total THC.

“We’ve talked to farmers who have had to destroy their entire crops before; this is happening less and less because people are becoming more aware of the problems and more aware of how they can mitigate these problems,” Molle says. “But it’s only happening less for the farmers that are aware of it.”

Hemp farmers can usually effectively single out hot hemp, though by the time they’re aware of it, often thousands of dollars have already been wasted. Still, in many states, a lot of hot hemp biomass makes its way into regulated cannabis markets and is sold in vape pens or other products.

“Our tool allows you to become aware of this before you get a COA [certificate of analysis]. Before you send any tests into your local governing bodies, you’re able to use PAMAP to basically predetermine when you will go hot,” Molle says. “So it’s an optimization tool, as well as a testing tool. And it allows farmers to really understand, you know, the levels of THC and understand when they might need to harvest or if they’re too late to harvest, unfortunately, and then they need to kind of come up with a plan B. Our test is able to provide them with all of that information.”

Sexing Plants

In Volume 27, Issue 15 of the peer-reviewed journal Molecules, released in August 2022, Mariposa Technology co-founder and President John K. Roberts III and Molle joined five other co-authors—Nicolas K. Goff, James F. Guenther, Mickal Adler, Greg Mathews, and Dmitry Kurouski—to publish their study of using Raman spectroscopy to sex plants. The journal article demonstrated how they can determine hermaphrodite, male, and female hemp plants based on the detection of different amounts of carotenoids. Carotenoids, or tetraterpenoids, are yellow, orange, and red fat-soluble pigments found in certain plant varieties including cannabis.

The concentration of carotenoids is the greatest in female cannabis, and hermaphrodites demonstrate the lowest carotenoid content, with males in the middle. Specifically, the intensities of carotenoid vibrations detected via spectroscopy were much more intense in female plants than male plants and less intense in hermaphrodites.

“We believe that it’s the carotenoids in the plant,” Roberts says, explaining how they can tell the difference between males, females, and hermaphrodites. “But we haven’t determined it. We have proven that we can successfully do it 100% of the time from male and female plants and 98.7% of the time for monecious [hermaphrodite] plants. But the actual reason that we’re able to determine it is still somewhat of an open scientific question.”

Gender is controversial in the hemp plant world, leading to efforts to ban male hemp plants. In Oregon, Corvallis-based Oregon CBD has fought the state legislature to ban male hemp plants since 2014. The company said wind-blown pollen from a neighboring farm ruined its crops, amounting to an estimated $2.5 million in damages.

Cross-pollination from rogue males creates problems. It’s bad for hemp producers and processors focused on CBD and other non-psychoactive cannabinoids because a pollinated hemp crop loses up to half of its biomass and around 30% of its total cannabinoid content. For farmers focused only on fiber, it’s not as much of a big deal. If plant gender could be determined earlier, some of the damage might be mitigated.

What is Raman Spectroscopy?

Dmitry Kurouski, professor of biochemistry and biophysics at Texas A&M, specializes in Raman spectroscopy technology, using it for everything from identifying components of cannabis to crime scene analysis. For example, Kurouski demonstrated in a study that Raman spectroscopy could determine if a crime scene hair was dyed or natural hair color, something that’s always been a bit of a challenge for law enforcement.

Like with human hairs, Raman spectroscopy can also be used to determine components of cannabis. The laser excites molecules, causing them to vibrate differently from one another and produce different spectra in the readouts.

“A laser is fired, and it only has a millimeter-wide focal point,” Molle says. “So you’re firing a laser into a very concentrated area, and it creates excitation within the photons and the electrons. You then get a vibration that is picked up by the device and reader within the device. So the laser creates excitation, the device picks up that excitation and creates a spectrum based on the vibrations of those molecules. And that’s the reason why it’s such a precise instrument.” 

The motivations behind technology in the world of cannabis go beyond just saving time and money. Hot hemp—especially in states with high altitudes susceptible to higher UV light, which is a trigger for THC production—is an ongoing problem.

Roberts explained that the piece of hardware that does the scanning has existed for about 10 years and is manufactured by Agilent Technologies, though until now, it hasn’t been used for cannabis. Agilent Technologies focuses primarily on ways to improve the overall laboratory workflow. The company was formed as a spin-off of Hewlett-Packard in 1999.

The same tools used previously for crime scene analysis turned out to be ideal for determining characteristics in cannabis as well.

“What happened was Professor Kurouski at Texas A&M, our collaborator and partner in this, discovered that this particular device, which is used for chemical identifications in a wide range of scenarios, had just the right laser, nanometer, and the power of the handheld device that eliminated background scattering from the spectra on live agricultural products,” Roberts explains.

The handheld scanning device is one thing, but it’s essentially worthless if you don’t have the correct data to compare readouts. Mariposa Technology plans to soon offer the handheld detection device via a subscription service following a software update.

“The hardware itself produces a numerical representation of what it’s scanning organic compounds and spectra that you can look at, but it tells you nothing unless you have a data set and a library available to refer and compare that,” Roberts says.

Beyond expediting the cannabis testing process, this technology can further revolutionize the cannabis testing industry by reducing its impact on the environment, given the new shortcuts around materials such as chemicals and solvents used by labs. It’s also a fix that can reduce transportation and other costs.

“What we’re doing is trying very hard to also reduce the carbon footprint of the cannabis testing industry at large,” Molle says. “Our device is very easy to use. And one of the main reasons for that is that you don’t need to have any chemicals or solvents. You don’t need gloves. There’s much less waste involved. There’s no transportation of samples, you know, with a licensed handler, none of that exists with us. So on top of all of the other things that we’re doing, we’re also hoping that we can make the cannabis industry just greener and more eco-friendly at large.”

This article was originally published in the February 2023 issue of High Times Magazine.

The post Predictive Plant Analysis appeared first on High Times.

The post Predictive Plant Analysis appeared first on Paradise Found.

The Louisiana House of Representatives recently passed a bill to improve the state’s expungement program for cannabis possession convictions. Rep. Delisha Boyd sponsored the bill, which passed with a 69-30 vote. “House Bill 286 is a request for a reduction in expungement fees in first offense marijuana. I’ve worked closely with the DA association, sheriffs, and the clerks, to put this bill in its proper posture,” Boyd said at the hearing on May 23.

The Louisiana House Democratic Caucus recently posted on social media about the bill’s passing as well. “This bill passed the House today and will make it easier for people to get the post-conviction relief and justice they need and deserve. #LaLege #LaGov.”

The bill was amended by House representatives, including the adoption of the proposed law that would only apply to 14 grams or less, and also stating that the fee would be set at a maximum of $300 for those convicted of misdemeanor offenses for cannabis possession.

According to the bill, these fees will be distributed immediately to the proper channels. “The clerk shall immediately direct the collected processing fees provided…to the sheriff and the district attorney, and the processing fee amount shall be remitted immediately upon receipt in equal proportions to the office of the district attorney and the sheriff’s general fund,” the bill states.

HB-286 is currently moving forward in the Senate. On May 24, it was read by title and placed on the calendar for a second reading, followed by a second reading on May 25 and a referral to the Committee on Judiciary C.

Another Louisiana bill was passed in a committee on May 23. According to Rep. Mandie Landry, House Bill 351 made it through the Labor and Industrial Relations Committee, which is notorious for its reputation of making it difficult to pass bills through. “Nothing makes it out of the Labor Committee here,” said Landry, according to Fox8. “Not minimum wage, not employment protections…It’s really hard.” The bill strives to protect employees with medical cannabis cards by providing them with unemployment benefits if they were fired due testing positive for cannabis. 

HB-351 passed with a 6-5 vote, but the opposition voiced concern regarding the liability for employers if an employee is under the influence of cannabis while on the clock. One member said that the bill isn’t the right solution, arguing that it needs to be “very strongly vetted over a good period of time.”

Landry responded, arguing that a solution is needed now. “Medical marijuana is legal,” Landry said. “Every person has every right to question their employers or the state and say, ‘Why am I losing my job for using something that’s legal?’ This is a problem the state created.”

In April, two Sen. Stewart Cathey and Sen. Jay Morris claimed that they were misled when they voted to approve Senate Bill 219. “Last session we unknowingly created a recreational THC market in Louisiana,” Cathey said. “It was not the intent of the Legislature to authorize a statewide flood of unregulated THC psychoactive drug marketplace.”

“If we’re going to legalize [recreational THC], it needs to be done openly and honestly, which wasn’t done,” Morris explained. “It was sold to the Legislature as if we weren’t allowing psychoactive materials.” HB-351 hasn’t moved forward since Cathey and Morris made these statements.

Louisiana cannabis decriminalization went into effect along with 250 other laws in August 2021. Policy & advocacy director at Louisiana Progress, Peter Robins-Brown explained his hope for the future. “Marijuana decriminalization will truly make a difference in the lives of the people of our state,” said Robins-Brown. “It’s an important first step in modernizing marijuana policy in Louisiana, and it’s another milestone in the ongoing effort to address our incarceration crisis, which has trapped so many people in a cycle of poverty and prison. Now it’s time to make sure that everyone knows their rights under this new law, and that law enforcement officers understand how to properly implement it.”

The post Louisiana House of Representatives Passes Cannabis Expungement Bill appeared first on High Times.

The post Louisiana House of Representatives Passes Cannabis Expungement Bill appeared first on Paradise Found.