Monthly Archives: January 2020

Hillary Clinton: Mark Zuckerberg Has Authoritarian Views on Misinformation – The Atlantic

Posted: January 26, 2020 at 11:48 pm

Listening to Clinton, I was struck by how remarkably similar her account was to something Zuckerberg had once told me. Facts, Zuckerberg had suggested, are best derived from foraging many opinions, ideally from the billions of humans who use his publishing platform, so that each individual might cherry-pick what to believe. (Cherry-pick is my word, not his.) If journalisms mantra is Seek truth and report it, Facebooks might be Seek opinions and react to them. Its not about saying, Heres one view; heres the other side, Zuckerberg had said when Id asked him to reconcile the apparent contradiction between fact and opinion. You should decide where you want to be.

Hillary Clinton: American democracy is in crisis

I wrote at the time that Zuckerbergs interpretation was unsatisfying for one thing, and Trumpian for another. When I asked Clinton today whether she too sees a Trumpian quality in Zuckerbergs reasoning, she nodded. Its Trumpian, she said. Its authoritarian. (Facebook did not immediately provide a response to my request for comment from Zuckerberg.)

Clintons allusions to Zuckerberg as a world leader are fitting. I feel like youre negotiating with a foreign power sometimes, she said, referencing conversations shes had at the highest levels with Facebook. Hes immensely powerful, she told me. This is a global company that has huge influence in ways that were only beginning to understand.

Facebook is, in a sense, the worlds first technocratic nation-statea real-time experiment in connecting humans at massive and unprecedented scale, with a population of users that eclipses any actual nation, nearly as big as China and India combined. Its also an institution with gigantic levers at its disposal to affect the lives of its user-citizens. Facebook knows this. It has played with manipulating peoples emotions. It has trumpeted its ability to affect the outcome of an election. Theres good reason to believe, Clinton said, that Facebook is not just going to reelect Trump, but intend[s] to reelect Trump. We know for sure, at least, that Zuckerberg doesnt want Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts to be the president. In leaked audio of an internal Facebook meeting that emerged last fall, he referenced Warrens interest in regulating Facebook and said he would go to the mat and fight her.

Clinton seems to find the whole thing deeply unnerving. Zuckerberg has been somehow persuaded, she said, that its to his and Facebooks advantage not to cross Trump. Thats what I believe. And it just gives me a pit in my stomach.

Facebook often defends its equivocations about the truth by claiming that it must protect the free speech of its users. They have, in my view, contorted themselves into making arguments about freedom of speech and censorship, Clinton said, which they are hanging on to because its in their commercial interests. Of course, the right to free speech is about protecting citizens from government overreachand does not concern a persons use of corporate publishing platforms. Incidentally, Trump has similarly co-opted the meaning of free speech and truth for his own political and personal gain. If it makes Trump look good, its true; if it does not, then its fake news. Perhaps the logical extension of all this is as follows: Whats good for Trump is good for Facebook, and vice versa.

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Photo Flash: First Look At BE HERE NOW At Everyman Theatre – Broadway World

Posted: at 11:46 pm

Everyman Theatre continues its 2019/2020 season with Deborah Zoe Laufer's intricately calibrated production Be Here Now. Laufer also directs the production, which runs January 21 through February 16, 2020.

Bari (Beth Hylton*) has always been a bit of an angry, depressed misanthrope. Losing her job teaching nihilism in New York City to work at the local fulfillment center in her rural hometown upstate sends her into despair. But lately, her recurring headaches manifest bizarre, ecstatic, nearly religious experiences. They're changing her entire view on life. She's in love! She's almost...happy?!

When she finds out these headaches are also killing her, she must decide whether it's better to live a short, joyful life, or risk a lifetime of despair and misery. Through extremes of laughter, sorrow, pain, and love, Bari must ask herself what she's willing to do for love, and in the end... is it even worth it?

Rounding out the cast for the Everyman production are Katy Carkuff* as Patty Cooper, Shubhangi Kuchibhotla as Luanne Cooper, and Kyle Prue* as Mike Cooper.

Deborah Zoe Laufer's plays have been produced at Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Cleveland Playhouse, Geva Theatre Center, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Portland Stage, and The Humana Festival. Informed Consent, an Alfred P. Sloan/EST commission appeared at The Duke Theatre in NYC in 2015, a co-production of Primary Stages and EST. It was a NY Times Critics Pick. Her play End Days won The ATCA Steinberg citation and has received over 70 productions around the country as well as in Germany, Russia, and Australia. Other plays include Leveling Up, Out of Sterno, The Last Schwartz, Sirens, Meta, The Gulf of Westchester, Miniatures, and Fortune.

According to Everyman Theatre Artistic Director, Vincent M. Lancisi, "Be Here Now is a beautiful, funny play that recognizes the importance of laughing at ourselves and seizing the moment to find the joy in life. Playwright and director Deborah Zoe Laufer and this talented cast will make you laugh out loud and reminds us how precious life is. In my mind, it's the most profound romantic comedy in the theatre today."

Be Here Now had its world premiere at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park in February 2018, and has since played in Boca Raton, FL at Theatre Lab, Aurora Theatre in Atlanta, and Shattered Globe in Chicago. Everyman Theatre marks the production's East Coast premiere.

Deborah Zoe Laufer's Be Here Now runs January 21 - February 16, 2020. Tickets ($10-69) are on sale now, online (everymantheatre.org), by phone (410.752.2208), or at the Everyman Theatre Box Office (315 W. Fayette Street, Baltimore, MD).

Photo Credit: Teresa Castracane

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Young Arabs Must Know the Truth About the HolocaustFor Their Own Good – The National Interest Online

Posted: at 11:46 pm

Monday is International Holocaust Remembrance Day. World dignitaries will gather together in Israel to mark the coinciding seventy-fifth anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp. As personal tragedy often brings people together, driving out the petty with the profound, so the memory of historic tragedy can do the same if we are determined to use it for good.

We must, therefore, renew our determination to educate all young people about the Nazi genocide of six million Jews, and of the murder of so many others amid a human catastrophe that took more than fifteen million lives in Europe alone between 1939 and 1945. We must do this because the memories and the lessons attached to those memories are fading.

Alas, the intricate texture of historical memory inevitably decays with the passage of time. What people see with their own eyes, and process with their own hearts, cannot possibly be as emotionally resonant to those who must learn about such events from after-the-fact testimonials. This is why we make extra efforts to preserve the memory of those events, like the Holocaust, that bear critical lessonsfor memory is the only tool we have to capture time.

It is not enough, however, to remember the Holocaust. We must remember it with special nuance because its lessons are not all obvious.

The Holocaust was something genuinely new in the annals of human evil. It represented the pairing of the methodology of the industrial revolution to the dark tradition of mass murder. It showed how technologized propaganda methods dehumanized other people so as to make actual acts of industrialized mass murder possible.

Remembering the Holocaust teaches us not only about evil but about the conditions that enable evil motives to seed evil deeds. At a time when the world is rushing madly ahead on a new wave of unprecedented technological change, we dare not lose the lessons that show us how to connect means and ends, motives and deeds.

The passage of time is not the only obstacle to memory. All historical memory is embedded in specific social contexts. Sometimes, too, historical memory is instrumentalized to serve the interests of the present. Jews do not remember the Holocaust the same way Germans do, or Poles or Russians or French. And what of the Arabs?

The Arabs are a special case. How can Arabs remember usefully an event that many were never taught the truth about to begin with?

For decades, millions of Arabs have lived under autocracies that have manipulated history to serve their appetites for power, and to hide the fact that their anti-colonialist nationalisms had once made many of them the fans of German war efforts. Many Arab historians have colluded in the falsification of Holocaust historyminimizing or outright denying itout of fear of social ostracism or punishment at the hands of authorities. The result is that entire chapters of history are missing from the programs that Arab governments teach their students.

Into the vacuum have poured the diatribes of religious extremists, spread in recent years through certain satellite television channels that are often protected if not supported by governments, that distort history as they spread hatred. In these diatribes, Palestinians and other Arabs are the only victims of history, as Jews and Israelis are predictably turned into Nazis. Young Arabs are told that the Nakba of 194748 was a wholly one-sided crime, while twisted lessons on the Holocaust depict the Jews as having been responsible for their own much-exaggerated difficulties.

In most of the world the Holocaust is fading from memory with the passage of time; but, in much of the Arab world, falsified memories of the Holocaust are, if anything, spreading. This is disastrous. Distortion of Holocaust history is being pressed into the service of a destructive and counterproductive political nihilism. It is nurturing a grievance culture that yields only self-loathing and paralysis. And it is separating the image of Arabs from that of all other civilized peoples, making them into an international embarrassment.

Arab youth must be taught the truth about the Holocaust, for its lessons are universal. Some of those lessons apply acutely to Arabs and Muslims right now because many Muslims are no safer today from bigotry and violence than were European Jews in 1939. Not to teach them about human-rights violations during World War II undermines their capacity to fully grasp the Rohingya tragedy, the building of concentration camps for Uighurs in Xinjiang, and the meaning of new anti-Muslim immigration restrictions in India.

The Holocaust can also teach todays Arab youth how to deal with fanaticism, through the stories of brave individuals in Nazi-occupied Europe who resisted the power of the crowd and risked their lives to save their Jewish neighbors. There is much to learn from examining the motivations and behavior of the perpetrators and collaborators, as well as passers-by, protesters, and heroes.

Learning real history, even of great tragedies, also shows that reconciliation, justice, and peace really are possible. No people have atoned more sincerely than the German people, who have sought persistently and sincerely to reconcile with their European neighbors and who acknowledge a special bond withand responsibility towardIsrael. Knowing this bears a truly precious lesson: Peace is achievable between Israel and the Arabs.

I am fortunate to be a Moroccan. Distortions of history thrive when counterevidence is unavailable, but the well-known history of Jewish-Muslim relations in Morocco over many centuries immunizes nearly all Moroccans against the sirens of calumny, hatred, and fanaticism. All of us know how King Mohammed V worked to protect Moroccan Jews during the war, and how he resisted de facto calls for the boycott and isolation of Israel after 1948. We know that King Mohammed VI recently visited the newly opened house of Moroccan-Jewish heritage Essaouira, and years ago resolved to raise awareness of the Holocaust in Morocco, both through his own historic statement and through a range of cultural and educational interventions.

On this anniversary, more Arabs must join in the cause of sharing the hard-won lessons of the Holocaust. These lessons belong to the world, and one of those lessons, stated as a question, stands out above all others: If we cannot empathize with the pain of other human beings, how much less human and less deserving of human kindness does that make us?

Ahmed Charai is a Moroccan publisher. He is on the board of directors for the Atlantic Council, an international counselor of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and a member of the Advisory Board of The Center for the National Interest in Washington and the Advisory Board of Gatestone Institute in New York.

Image: Reuters

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Ray Bradbury on War, Recycling, and Artificial Intelligence – JSTOR Daily

Posted: at 11:45 pm

One of the roles of science fiction is to provide readers with a glimpse of how the future could be. Ray Bradbury didnt get everything about the future right. We havent yet seen books and reading made illegal (as in his 1953 Fahrenheit 451), just as we havent yet discovered another planet ready for American colonizers (as in his 1950 The Martian Chronicles). And yet, the themes he explored in those booksmass media and censorship, colonization and environmental changeare more relevant than ever. Even in his lesser-known workssuch as the 1951 sci-fi collection, The Illustrated Man, Bradbury tackles a surprising array of issues that feel as if they were ripped from todays headlines.

Readers today will find in The Illustrated Man a fresh perspective that illuminates global issues like artificial intelligence and climate change. Bradbury also engages with the political and cultural challenges of migration: specifically, the crossing of the U.S.Mexico border, which has since received much attention with the dawn of the so-called Trump Era.

* * *

Theres a story in The Illustrated Man called The Highway, where Bradbury tells a tale about the beginning of an atomic war in the US. The war, however, is experienced through the eyes of a Mexican peasant, Hernando, who lives next to a highway in northern Mexico.

One day, Hernando glimpses a procession of hundreds of American tourists driving north to return to the US. They are heading home, that is, to join the fight in an upcoming atomic war. When the last car stops by Hernando, he sees a group of young Americans crying for help: their car needs water to continue their way back home. Right before they leave, the driver tells Hernandowho doesnt know why all the cars are driving so fast or why these young Americans are so desperatethat the end of the world has finally arrived. Hernando doesnt react to the young mans confession. The car leaves. Hernando goes back to his rural routine, but suddenly stops to wonder: What do they mean the World?

Here, Bradbury highlights the generational and cultural gap between the young Americans and the aging Hernando, who lives with his wife and works their land, recycling the automobile waste that travelers from north of the border leave behind. Its a harrowing scene, but also terrifically realistic: it illustrates not only the clashing of multiple incompatible worldviews, but shows how all such worldseven those seemingly distant from the centers of powerare threatened by contemporary global dangers. Its moments like these that ensure Bradburys relevance, even one hundred years after his birth.

* * *

Bradburys eye for contemporary troubles extends beyond the dangers of global disaster. In the prologue to The Illustrated Man, Bradbury introduces a character who has an existential problem: his torso is covered in living tattoos. Having the tattoos becomes a curse because the illustrations on his body acquire life of their own. The living illustrations unveil an ominous, even prophetic future for the person that looks at them. The Illustrated Man describes his curse:

So people fire me when my pictures move. They dont like it when violent things happen in my illustrations. Each illustration is a little story. If you watch them, in a few minutes they tell you a tale. In three hours of looking you could see eighteen or twenty stories acted right on my body, you could hear voices and think thoughts. Its all here, just waiting for you to look.

Unexpectedly, through this illustrated character, Bradbury highlights the possible dangers of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Today, there are fears that AI will permeate and disrupt the political organization of postmodern societies. For instance, AI can predict the affinities and choices of an individual based on the application of algorithms. What The Illustrated Man shows is the consequence of those predictions once revealed to ordinary people. The Illustrated Man, not without melancholy, says:

If Im with a woman, her picture comes there on my back, in an hour, and shows her whole lifehow shell live, how shell die, what shell look like when shes sixty. And if its a man, an hour later his pictures here on my back. It shows him falling off a cliff, or dying under a train. So Im fired again.

In his article If Planet Death Doesnt Get Us, an AI Superintelligence Most Certainly Will, Bryan Walsh suggests that if a super artificial intelligence becomes able to disregard human valueswhile also increasing its intelligencethen humanity might end up controlled by a nonhuman entity with a vision of the future that does not adhere to the crucial ethical issues that societies are facing today.

The Illustrated Man, as Bradbury formulated him, can be read as a metaphor for the intersection between human values (the jobless fate of the Illustrated Man) and a superintelligence that determines human life through visual representations of the future (the living, prophetic tattoos). Most importantly, Bradburys story doesnt prophesize the invention of this particular machine so much as it examines the ways in which humans would react to such an invention.

The fear that individuals will surrender their ethical compasses to technology is a constant specter in Bradburys stories. In The Illustrated Man, this fear is represented by the refusal of the characters to accept the futures that the illustrations predict for them. Bradburys Illustrated Man, and those around him, represent the ways that humans will struggle againstand violently rejectthe enigmatic directives of any intelligence beyond our own, even if (as Bradbury notes) the intelligence is speaking truthfully.

* * *

Where did Bradburys inspiration for these particular stories in The Illustrated Man come from? The clashes he foresaw in the futurequestions of AI and global catastrophe, atomic war and border crossingcame from his own forays into Mexico in 1945.

In fact, Bradbury himself experienced the traumatic effects of crossing the USMexico border. Between October and November of 1945, Bradbury and his friend Grant Beach traveled from Los Angelesacross southern Arizona, New Mexico, and Texasto Mexico City. On their way, they found swarms of locusts and other hardships familiar from news stories today. But what was most shocking and traumatic for Bradbury was that this trip into Mexico surprisingly challenged his own deeply-held, exotic ideas about Mexican people, which he had acquired while growing up in East Los Angeles.

While in Mexico City, Bradbury spent most of his time seeking the murals of Jos Clemente Orozco, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Diego Rivera. It is possible to suggest that Bradbury found inspiration for The Illustrated Man in these murals. The muralsperhaps what Bradbury saw as informative, or even prophetic, illustrationsrepresent past, present, and future Mexican society from a Marxist perspective, featuring people in motion with plenty of stories, colors, and historical clues (thus bringing to the audience a multilayered experience).

One of the most famous paintings by David Alfaro Siqueiros, Our Present Time, depicts a faceless man reaching with arms wide open to a space ahead of him, embracing an uncertain future. This is the very same fate of the Illustrated Man. Furthermore, many of the catastrophic themes that Bradbury engages with in The Illustrated Man are also present in these Mexican murals.

* * *

What future did Bradbury see for us? And did he embrace it? In The Fox and the Forest, included in The Illustrated Man, Bradbury sets his story explicitly in Mexico. The plot of the story is not complicated: William and Susan Travis are a married couple living in the year 2155.

That year is not a good time to be alive, since there is war, slavery, and a generalized social unhappiness. In order to escape from the apocalyptic 2155, the couple travel in time back to 1938 rural Mexico, where they believe that peace, simplicity, and happiness can be found. When it seems that they have been able to escape from their time, the 2155 police show up to take them back to the future, thus frustrating the couples escapade.

This narrative has a very pessimistic tone, evoking the nostalgia of older and happier times. Those from the future view our present as superior to their own time. Bradburys dark future, it seems, is unavoidableeven in our own present day.

* * *

More than 60 years ago, The Martian Chronicles (1950), Fahrenheit 451 (1953), and The Illustrated Man (1951) fascinated the young members of the generation growing up after the darkness of the Second World War, but before the new kinds of wars known to our own era. Now, as the 21st century unravelswith all of its challenges, technological dilemmas, and even proliferation of tattoosBradbury remains a fundamental figure of the sci-fi genre.

Bradbury had certainly not anticipated that by 2020 (like what Hernando does in The Highway) recycling was going to become a mainstream human endeavor, or that the USMexico border was going to catalyze many of the 21stcentury anxieties about global migration and demographic explosion. And yet, his stories seem to rhyme with our own era. Readers will keep finding in Bradburys tales about the future a contemporary interpretation of our everlasting fears about the end of the world, as well as a whisper of hope.

In the epilogue of The Illustrated Man, the narrator sees his own death in one of the living tattoos: it is the Illustrated Man that chokes him to death. The narrator decides to run away from this terrible fate. In this age of global catastrophe, who doesnt recognize the desire to run from such incontrovertible proofs of the worlds doom?

And yet, just like the world today, Bradbury too oscillated between utopia and dystopia. For as many people shown running from their prophesied demises, Bradbury shows young peoplelike those who Hernando couldnt understandcharging home to meet a near-certain death. Bradburys work, ultimately, is for them: those readers who believe that science fiction is an effective tool to illustrate how the worst consequences of todays global political decisions will be faced by future generations.

Young people are approaching an uncertain globalized future with plenty of possible outcomes, both dystopian and utopian. Nothing is simple: the technology that Walsh decries, the kind that the Illustrated Man fears, is even today becoming an effective tool for social mobilizations (lets think about the protests, from Hong Kong to Chile, organized through social media). Meanwhile, today, we know more than ever that any fight for the future will require the work and sacrifice of the whole world: not just car-driving Americans, but people like Hernando, too. Clearly, even Bradbury cant get everything right.

Perhaps, if Bradbury was alive today, he would ask young people: what role will you play, when my future comes crashing into your present?

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CBD vs. THC: The Differences – Observer

Posted: at 11:44 pm

Two of the most common words in any discussion, in whichanxiety and depression or any condition managed using medical marijuana is concerned, are THC and CBD. Many potential marijuana users are always looking for the best CBD oil or THC concentrate, among others.

THC stands for tetrahydrocannabinol, while CBD stands for cannabidiol. These two are the best-known cannabinoids found in marijuana. In this article, we shall look at the two cannabinoids in detail so that you will understand them the next time you see them.

Both CBD and THC have the same basic chemical structure. They are both comprised of 21 atoms of carbon, 30 atoms of hydrogen and two atoms of oxygen. The difference between CBD and THC is how the atoms are arranged.

This difference in the arrangement of the atoms is minimal, but it informs how CBD and THC connect with the endocannabinoid system and, thus, how they affect your body. Below is a diagram of the arrangement of CBD and THC atoms.

THC gets you high. As earlier observed, the two cannabinoids have different effects on the body. THC is the one with mind-altering effects on the user. The effects of CBD are different. It doesnt cause euphoria, but it may cause the users body to relax.

Some people refer to the relaxation caused by CBD as a body high as opposed to the mind high caused by THC. So between the two cannabinoids, it is THC that can make you high in the conventional sense of the word. But how much THC can get you high? The answer to this question depends on the individual.

Currently, CBD is categorized as a nutritional supplement because its not approved as a drug by the FDA.

The FDA has, however, approved a CBD-based drug, Epidiolex, for the treatment of seizures in children with drug-resistant strains of epilepsy, such as Dravet syndrome.

At the moment, many research projects are going on to establish the extent of CBD and THCs medical benefits to users.

As a supplement, people use CBD for numerous reasons, such as reduction of anxiety and management of depression, insomnia, Crohns disease, arthritis, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, chronic pain andautism, among others.

THC, on the other hand, is often used as an antiemetic, which reduces nausea and vomiting.

It is also used as a bronchodilator to help dilate the airways of people with asthma and helps with tremors, like those caused by Parkinsons disease, along with the management of chronic pain.

Most people have a high tolerance for CBD. Instances of intolerance are usually few and far between, and they are typically caused by its interaction with certain drugs.

It is, therefore, vital for you to consult with your doctor to see how CBD would interact with your prescription medicine.

THC, side effects are the ones that are most commonly associated with marijuana. The side effects include bloodshot eyes, memory loss, poor coordination, nausea and many others.

The above mentioned side effects are short term in adults. When used by teenagers, however, THC may cause long term damage to the brain. It is for this reason that teenagers shouldnt use marijuana.

Both THC and CBD are legal in some places because different jurisdictions have different laws.

At the federal level, it is legal to grow industrial hemp if it has less than 0.3% THC. This means that even products extracted from such hemp are legal.

High THC strains of hemp, on the other hand, are not yet legal at the federal level. In some states, recreational marijuana, which usually refers to marijuana with high THC content, is permitted. Where medical marijuana is legal, high THC products may be part of what is allowed.

Notwithstanding all the other details, CBD, for being non-psychoactive, is more widely accepted in more jurisdictions than THC.

CBD oil usually contains a certain measure of THC. Most CBD oils are typically full-spectrum hemp extracts, and even the industrial hemp that is legal in the United States is allowed to contain up to 0.3% THC. The oil that comes from such a plant will have a certain amount of THC.

If the CBD oil is extracted from marijuana, the level of THC will be much higher, probably up to 12%.

With this information, you should be aware that even if you are using CBD oil that has been extracted from low-THC industrial hemp, your product will have trace amounts of THC.

If you, therefore, take large amounts of CBD within a short time, you could return a false positive if you undergo a drug test soon after.

Both CBD and THC have health benefits for users, but they can only be used as supplements. You should be careful to find out how the cannabinoid you seek interacts with any of the drugs you may be using. This is why the decision to use medical marijuana should be made alongside your doctor.

The doctor should also monitor your progress until you have found which dosage works for you.

The other important takeaway is that teenagers should avoid the use of THC, and children should not use it. This is because THC appears to have permanent adverse effects on growing brains.

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CBD, hemp and similar legal products are confusing the police and putting users at risk – NBC News

Posted: at 11:44 pm

When Anuedy Gonzalez was pulled over outside of Amarillo, Texas, on Dec. 6, he was prepared. He handed the highway trooper a lab report showing that the 3,350 pounds of hemp he was transporting from California to New York was perfectly legal under both Texas state law and federal law. But that didnt keep him from spending Christmas in jail and facing federal drug trafficking charges that carried a potential life sentence.

The lab analysis detailed how the hemp marijuanas non-intoxicating but lookalike plant cousin contained less than 0.3 percent THC (the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana), meaning its a legal substance. But the report wasnt enough to keep the law enforcement officer from arresting him.

Its not just government officials who are confused and doling out consequences for using a substance they (wrongly) think is verboten.

Though the charges were eventually dismissed, Gonzalezs experience shows how confusing and risky it is to work in the industries using marijuana-adjacent products such as hemp and CBD as laws and regulations rapidly evolve or dont exist at all. The Food and Drug Administration needs to get to work and law enforcement officers need to get trained so those who use these products arent wrongly punished.

And an even larger group of people is currently in jeopardy than those working in the field: people seeking alternative approaches to chronic health conditions by using hemp, CBD and other low-concentration THC products. (Unlike THC, which produces a high, CBD (cannabidiol) is a non-intoxicating chemical compound called a cannabinoid that offers a host of potential health benefits.)

Its not just government officials who are confused and doling out consequences for using a substance they (wrongly) think is verboten. Take the experience of a school bus driver in Utah who used CBD oil to manage her stress and was fired after a drug screen came back positive for THC. She insists that she only used the non-intoxicating CBD product but tested as though she were using cannabis, which is illegal in Utah and definitely not permitted for school bus drivers. Because theres little regulatory oversight of these items, its possible that her CBD product still contained enough THC to trigger a positive result.

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In another case, a California couple trying to treat their daughters epilepsy with CBD oil was charged with severe medical neglect by the states Child Protective Services and temporarily lost custody of her. Thankfully, after the courts reviewed research showing the substance they were using can treat severe forms of the disorder (its the first FDA-approved medication with CBD), the case was dismissed.

All this confusion stems largely from these products close association with marijuana and the rapidly changing legal landscape surrounding its use. The umbrella species cannabis has a variety of strains, some plants have little THC (most commonly hemp) and others are high in THC (marijuana, or cannabis sativa).

Cannabis sativa is illegal under federal law, though increasingly not under state statutes; byproducts of hemp (such as CBD) are legal to grow, sell and possess nationwide under changes unveiled in the 2018 Farm Bill. That measure removed hemp plants that contain less than 0.3 percent THC from the Controlled Substances Act, and treats hemp like any other agricultural commodity. Some states like South Dakota, however, have opted out of the federal law and prohibit hemp and CBD.

Compounding these complicated distinctions are the scientific and regulatory gaps facing the industry. The chronically underresourced and increasingly toothless FDA has few enforcement mechanisms in place to carry out its mandate: ensuring the products we put into our bodies are correctly labeled and safe for consumption.

In the case of CBD, whether youre purchasing gas station curiosities or an expensive facial moisturizer, you dont really know whats in it. The product can contain more THC than whats federally allowed, and after frequent dosing can potentially trigger a positive drug screen.

The FDAs efforts to enforce its CBD rules mostly aimed at mislabeling and weeding out bogus health claims have been essentially limited to sternly worded letters addressed to businesses running afoul of marketing guidelines. A 2017 study shows thats a lot of companies, leaving the FDA with a full plate. The researchers found that nearly 70 percent of all CBD products sold online are mislabeled, causing potential serious harm to its consumers.

But companies engaging in sloppy manufacturing or false advertising arent the only ones responsible. Theres also a lack of reliable research for businesses and consumers to use. In the case of the bus drivers positive drug screen, for instance, theres conflicting scientific findings as to whether, in certain acidic conditions, CBD can break down and convert to THC in the body. (The World Health Organization, for its part, has concluded that theres no evidence of public health problems stemming from the use of pure CBD.)

Daniel Mehler, a Colorado attorney who defended Gonzalez in Texas and is a student of cannabis pharmacology, contends that research has been stymied because of historic prohibitions on cannabis. As a result, knowledge lags far behind the industrys popularity and health claims made by companies, which research estimates could rake in $20 billion by 2024.

People are jumping into this industry feet first and consuming unknown quantities of CBD, Mehler said. A lot of these products are mislabeled, and theres no understanding of what the potential long-term health consequences are.

While scientists pursue answers, the job of law enforcement has become complicated. From a policing perspective, telling the difference between smokable hemp (legal) and smokable cannabis (illegal in states that include Texas) isnt so simple for the naked eye, likely requiring lab tests to determine the potency.

Companies engaging in sloppy manufacturing or false advertising arent the only ones responsible. Theres also a lack of reliable research for businesses and consumers to use.

Even those most versed in the technicalities can struggle with key distinctions. Mehler told NBC News that the Drug Enforcement Administration agent who took on the case against his client incorrectly testified in courtthat the law defined hemp as containing 0.03 percent THC when its actually 0.3 percent. Mehler said even the 0.3 percent threshold is an infinitesimal amount of THC.

Confusing one decimal point nearly upended Mr. Gonzalezs entire life. And it destroyed his cargo. Mehler said the hemp wasnt properly stored by the authorities and had to be dumped.

Unless these issues are addressed, people will keep losing their jobs for no reason, delivery drivers will continue being jailed and patients seeking alternative treatments will remain in the dark about what theyre actually taking.

ZacharySiegelis a freelance journalist in Chicago. He covers public health and criminal justice.

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Soaps, Tinctures, Topicals: Oh My! Choosing The CBD Delivery Method That Works Best For You – Forbes

Posted: at 11:44 pm

Part 1 of 2

A question I get all the time is, TD, whats the best way to take CBD? The truth of the matter is that there is no one way to take it. Since cannabidiol extract covers such a wide variety of uses, the question you need to ask yourself is, What am I trying to accomplish by using CBD? From dealing with insomnia to assisting with workout recovery - how you consume CBD ultimately depends on what your goals are.

Before diving into the various methods of delivery, its essential to consider your specific goals to develop a solid CBD game plan that maximizes efficacy and impact. Foremost, if you are already taking prescription drugs, its best to consult with a medical professional before adding any supplements to your diet. Once the doctor gives a trusted stamp of approval and youre clear on your CBD goals, its time to start journaling!

Thats right I keep a CBD journal. Keeping a record of CBD usage is the best way to stay on track and discover what individual solutions work best for your specific needs. For me, journaling helps to monitor not only my body (e.g., sore knee, joint pain) but also CBD dosage and how that product/dose ultimately affects me.

The last and most important step is sourcing high-quality CBD. Best practice? Always read the label. Look for domestically sourced hemp in states such as Oregon, Colorado, Washington and California that all have high production standards with decades of experience in hemp cultivation. And of course, make sure its grown organically and has a Certificate of Analysis (COA).

The Certificate of Analysis tells you the quality of the CBD source, listing key information such as potency, microbial analysis, solvents and any testing done for heavy metals and pesticides. For additional tips on this subject, check out my post Buyer Beware: Not All CBD is Created Equal (Read up, it isnt!).

Good health starts from inside the body, so what you put in it matters. The various methods listed below is a good starter guide to a personalized CBD wellness plan that can begin as early as today.

Tinctures/Oil Drops

A dose of CBD (Cannabidiol) oil measured out of blue bottle with dropper on wooden background

My first CBD experience was a tincture. It was an eye-opening moment that changed my life. I immediately felt the potential CBD could have for so many people, not just football pros like yours truly. Taken sublingually (apply a few drops under the tongue) the oil is absorbed fast by the mucous membrane under the tongue. Important note: be sure to hold it under your tongue for at least a minute to aid in proper absorption into your blood stream. This one is good for insomniacs out there, as tinctures can be felt for up to 8 hours and work well as a nighttime therapy.

The downside here, at least for me, is that the oil gets a little messy. If you travel a lot, CBD oil is not a great on-the-go product (over time, the bottle can get everything it touches greasy). Nonetheless, tinctures are highly effective and are a staple in my medicine cabinet.

Capsules

CBD Gel Capsules

If you are used to taking OTC drugs or nutritional supplements, then capsules might be right for you. I like the soft gel capsules easy to swallow and tend to work faster because they are in oil form. Be patient, capsules work much like edibles - it can take 1-3 hours for capsules to take effect.

This is because absorption happens first in the digestive tract before entering the bloodstream where it makes its way to the liver. The enzymes in the liver break down the active ingredients and get released back into the bloodstream where they will travel to the brain. Capsules can be tremendously beneficial for chronic pain because relief is extended up to 8 hours and provides for an all-around body effect.

Topicals

CBD lotion getting ready to be applied

Lotions, creams, balms, salves and other topicals work best on the localized pain level. They work remarkably fast in minutes. The application is simple just rub the topical in, keep the area uncovered and allow it to absorb. Topicals work on Endocannabinoid System (ECS) receptors in the skin and provide relief at the site of application for about two to four hours.

Since only a little CBD enters the bloodstream this method is least effective for whole-body relief. Consider topicals for sore knees, arthritis, joint/lower back pain and plantar fasciitis. Just be mindful of CBD dosage in topicals. In most cases a little dab will do the trick. Personally, I like to put muscle balm on my knees after a tough workout. You gotta get in front of that pain!

Now that we have covered CBD best use practices and the more common forms of delivery, we are going to take a short pause. I will be back for round 2 next week where we will check out some of the lesser-known forms of CBD-infused therapies and ways to work them into your regimen. Until then, I give you all the mile-high salute and God bless!

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St Neots mum continues fight to give daugher CBD Oil in school | Huntingdon and St Neots News | The Hunts Post – Hunts Post

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A mother from St Neots is continuing to fight for a change in the law to help her severely epileptic daughter, who for the first time in 15 years was able to enjoy a "normal Christmas" thanks to a controversial drug.

Lucy Conrad, 15, from Little Paxton, previously had up to one hundred seizures a day, some of which could last for up to five hours, but since taking canabid oil (CBD), she hardly has any seizures.

For the first time since Lucy was born, her mum Debbie, has said that Lucy and the family were able to enjoy a "normal" Christmas, which was not disrupted by seizures.

Lucy, who currently attends Samuel Pepys special school in St Neots, has tried a number of different treatments over the years to help reduce the number of seizures that she suffers, without much success.

However, she started taking legal CBD oil in March 2017 and her mother says that the treatment helps to control her seizures and has changed her life.

Cannabinoid, which is also known as CBD, is legal in the UK as long as its tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THC) content is less than 0.2 per cent, but it cannot be prescribed by doctors due to the fact that is currently unlicensed.

For that reason, Lucy currently has to be taken out of school because local authority policy states that she is not allowed to receive the oil treatment on site as it is unlicensed.

For that reason, Lucy currently has to be taken out of school because council rules mean she isn't allowed to receive the oil treatment on site.

Debbie and Lucy's dad Chris currently have to administer the drops every two hours, and are calling for the drug to be given medical licence so that Lucy can be given them at school.

Debbie said: "I have spent the last year having to take Lucy out of school every two hours, so I can give her the medicine that she needs. We have tried so many drugs in the past and none have worked as well as this. But I am worried as it's not fair to Lucy having to come out of school every two hours, and it really doesn't allow me to carry on with my life."

Debbie has also said that she has considered taking Lucy out of school full time due to the disruption that administrating the drug has had on her family's life.

"I have actually had a hard think about whether she would be better at home, but anyone who knows Lucy will know that she is so sociable so it just wouldn't be fair.

"The whole situation isn't fair at all. Lucy loves the school so much and it isn't up to them as their hands are also tied too," Debbie said.

CBD is not classed as a medical grade, meaning it hasn't had the stringent testing that the pharmaceutical CBD has to go through to satisfy medical authorities. As such, it is classed as a food supplement. However, it still is not allowed to be prescribed by a doctor meaning that schools aren't able to administer it.

However since taking the drug, Lucy has been able to start to have a normal life again, which has meant her taking up hobbies such as horse riding and dancing.

"We feel like she has got a life now, and is doing what normal teenagers would do. It's still so frustrating that she can't have the drug at school, and it's getting to the point where we don't know where to turn. I feel like we are being passed from pillar to post,"

Last year, Lucy went 80 days seizure free before suffering a few mini-seizures. Debbie has said that her seizures have become progressively shorter and less frequent, giving Lucy a better quality of life.

"We are desperate for help. We have exhausted every option. It's not the schools fault, but the regulation around it. But I would like authorities to look at our case again, because it is obvious that it is not working.

"All we are asking for is for her to be able to live life. It isn't fair that we have to sit outside in the car with her during school. She even eats her lunch in the car, and Lucy is so friendly, it isn't nice for her."

A spokesman for Cambridgeshire County Council said: "Under current Government guidelines, schools are not able to administer any unlicensed medicines or substances to pupils.

"We are aware that there have been a number of clinical trials which demonstrate that CBD oil can have a therapeutic effect for children with epilepsy.

"The school, the local authority education team and partners from health and social care continue to work closely with the family to explore options and provide support within the current legislation and guidelines."

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Plus CBD Oil Becomes First-Ever CBD Sponsor of the Farmers Insurance Open Golf Tournament – TimesOfCBD

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As a distinguished manufacturer and one of the countrys leading distributors of hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) CV Sciences, Inc., and producers of a top-quality +PlusCBD Oil, is the latest and 1st ever CBD sponsor for the Farmers Insurance Open. The PGA-endorsed golf tournament will be held at the San Diegos most famous golf course, Torrey Pines on Thursday, January 23 to Sunday January 26.

Apart from being the main sponsor this year, CV Sciences is also the official CBD Partner of the prestigious Farmers Insurance Open. CV Sciences will have a display near The Grove, located close to the 18t green of Torrey Pines South Course. Attendees of the tournament will have the opportunity to try out +PlusCBD Oil products and be educated about the potential therapeutic benefits of hemp-derived CBD. Also, tournament attendees will have the chance to bring home free +PlusCBD Oil products along with premier gear from CV Sciences.

The latest scientific evidence reveals that CBD from hemp may aid in relaxation and prompt faster muscle recovery. Professional golf athletes may utilize CBD products to safely manage body soreness and pain as well as alleviate first tee jitters- conditions that affect their performance on the putting green.

After a long day of golf, CBD is also beneficial as it speeds up the recovery of muscles through effective regulation of the bodys inflammatory response. Since the World Anti-Doping Agency has finally lifted the ban on CBD, the PGA Tour Anti-Doping Agency has taken out CBD from its list of banned substances.

CV Sciences Chief Executive Officer, Joseph Dowling expressed his enthusiasm over the tie-up with Farmers Insurance Open, as he said,

We are proud to the official CBD partner of the Farmers Insurance Open as this serves as another proof of point of our commitment to safe, high-quality products.

We believe both professional and amateur golfers can benefit from PlusCBD Oil Products and we look forward to increasing our visibility among the golf community through sponsorship.

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The CBD Skincare Market Could be Worth $959 Million by 2024, According to New Report – PRNewswire

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LONDON, Jan. 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The CBD skincare market is projected to bring in US$959 million in sales by 2024,leading cannabis market intelligence and strategic consultancy firm Prohibition Partners has found in its latest report, The Impact Series: Disrupting Beauty, released today.

The report explains that cannabis, with its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects, is disrupting the traditional beauty market and supply chain as consumer demand skyrockets for innovative natural cosmetics products.

Key findings include:

Prohibition Partners' Managing Director Stephen Murphy, said:

"Cannabis and CBD are rapidly being integrated into a wide spectrum of mainstream consumer products, being used in everything from pet food to skincare. As the market for cannabis consumer goods gets ready to take off in 2020, The Impact Series helps to cut through the noise and the hype to identify real value, long-term trends and commercial opportunity for key stakeholders of the consumer goods market."

"Thus far, the disruption we've seen in the beauty industry is nothing short of remarkable, attracting attention from high-street retailers, global brands and indie entrepreneurs. Consumers are looking for new and exciting products derived from natural and sustainable sources and cannabis continues to fit this mould, driving product demand through the roof."

"There are constant questions on the longevity of this trend but with the ability to act as a natural anti-inflammatory agent and an antioxidant, cannabis is becoming one of the most disruptive forces in the beauty and personal care industry in the last two decades."

"In this new report, we offer a comprehensive look at the state of the cannabis beauty market, explore potential future trends and commercial opportunities, and analyse some of the most pressing issues that are facing the sector today."

Disrupting Beauty is the first edition of a new set of reports, entitled 'The Impact Series', documenting the rise of cannabis consumer goods and the disruption of mainstream markets. Disrupting Beauty launches on23rd January 2020 and can be downloaded via the Prohibition Partners reports homepage, here, alongside a full suite of other industry reports.

About Prohibition Partners

Prohibition Partners is widely recognised as the world's leading provider of market intelligence, data-driven solutions and corporate strategy for the emerging cannabis industry. Our knowledge, insight and network is unrivalled at the forefront of regulatory change and investor engagement across multiple global markets.

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/717815/Prohibition_Partners_Logo.jpg

Contact:Head of ContentEoin Keenaneoin.keenan@prohibitionpartners.com+44 203 928 2814

SOURCE Prohibition Partners

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