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Study Analyzes Cannabis Content on TikTok, Including Youth Concerns

by Sonny | May 17, 2022 | High Times

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A research study published in Drug and Alcohol Review found that cannabis consumption is mainly depicted as positive on TikTok. However, lead author on the study, Brienna Rutherford, explained the thought behind the study.

“Social media is a big part of the modern world, with adolescents reporting that they spend an average of eight hours online every day,” said Rutherford, a PhD candidate with University of Queensland in Australia. “Despite this high volume of use, little is known about the potential risks exposure to social media content depicting substance use may have on viewers. However, before you can assess the effects of exposure, we need to know what content is out there and accessible.”

The study, entitled “Getting high for likes: Exploring cannabis-related content on TikTok,” establishes the intent of analyzing cannabis content on TikTok, which has over one billion users, one-third of which are under 14 years of age. An estimated 63% of users between ages 12-17 use TikTok daily.

Seven main categories were defined, including Humor/Entertainment (71.74%), Experiences (42.90%), Lifestyle Acceptability (24.63%), Informative/How-To (7.5%), Creativity (5.4%), and Warning (2.7%).

“‘Humour/Entertainment’ videos often used comedic skits or storytimes to portray cannabis use positively to viewers,” researchers wrote. “Videos frequently featured discussions of users’ personal cannabis ‘Experiences’ through storytimes, re-enactments, and videos taken during active use. ‘Lifestyle Acceptability’ was also promoted using hashtags associated with pro-cannabis use communities (e.g. #cannamom, #stonersoftiktok, #stonertok).”

Researchers estimate that 54.14% of videos (viewed collectively over 417 million times) were portrayed as positive. Also, most of the TikTok users on videos were Caucasian males between 25-50 years of age. Of the videos analyzed for this study, only 50 videos actually depicted consumption, such as smoking, vaping, or eating edibles).

“The main take-home point from this study is that there is a high number of cannabis-related videos on TikTok that are a) publicly accessible via links (even without accounts!), b) have no age restrictions or content warning banners, and c) are promoting use of cannabis to viewers,” Rutherford added. “While many countries are moving towards legalization, that doesn’t mean cannabis use is without risk and none of this content addresses the potential negative health consequences associated with use.”

Rutherford explained the next steps toward identifying the impact of cannabis-related videos on TikTok. “The next step is obviously to assess whether viewing this content has any impact on viewers’ attitudes, behaviors or risk/norms perceptions around substance use,” said Rutherford. “Exposure to text- or image-based substance use content on platforms like Facebook and Instagram have been shown to influence the likelihood of substance use, so it is likely that a more engaging platform and content type (such as TikTok’s short-form videos) may have an even larger influence.”

Researchers also concluded that TikTok takes extra precautions to warn viewers that a specific video contains cannabis. This is similarly done with violent videos, or videos that might portray false information.

“TikTok has taken some additional steps to regulate the availability of substance related content by removing access to hashtags which explicitly reference substance use (e.g., #cannabis). However, the videos themselves remain accessible—they are just no longer stored under these hashtags,” Rutherford said. “Removing the content or hashtags may also not be an effective approach as creators subvert hashtag rules anyway (using numerical values instead of letters ‘#w33d’ to get around the explicit reference rules).”

Social media channels have become home to many unique cannabis creators, although many other services such as Facebook or Instagram have frequently banned users who create cannabis content. High profile content creators such as YouTuber Chrissy Harless, whose account once had 46,000 subscribers, was recently terminated without an explanation.

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Argentina Gets Ready to Legalize Medical Marijuana at the Federal Level

by Sonny | May 17, 2022 | Cannabis Culture

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argentina medical marijuana

Cannabis legalization and reform continue to grow and have become a popular topic of discussion in the parliament as Argentina legislators prioritize medical cannabis reform.

While news of German lawmakers prioritizing cannabis reform has spread, Argentina lawmakers have also embarked on a similar trend. Right now, cannabis reform now tops the political agenda in Argentina for the year 2022. Just recently, an agreement between the opposition and ruling party in Argentina was reached to allow reform of medical-use cannabis.

Meeting only once this year, the Chamber of Deputies has now reached an agreement to meet once against and discuss issues surrounding cannabis reform. The bill to be discussed includes regulations to establish a structure for the development of industrial jeemo and the medical cannabis industry.

This development has witnessed quite a delay as it was put on hold since July 2021 after it was initially recommended by the federal government. The bill at that time was thwarted by the opposition citing reasons such as no agreement on the facts. While this may seem unusual it isn’t considering the situation of federal cannabis reform in the United States since the same is happening.

The Political Cannabis Game of the Post-COVID Era

As it stands, Argentina is joining both Germany and the United States in prioritizing cannabis reform at the federal level in 2022. Lawmakers in each of the countries are now focused on getting cannabis reform enacted regardless of stutters or delays. In the case of Germany, the press has begun to report that government authorities such as the Health Minister were reversing their stance. Reports have it that many German leaders no longer see the need to postpone recreational cannabis reform.

As regards Argentina, cannabis reform has been cooking since 2009 when private personal use of cannabis was decriminalized by the Supreme Court. In 2017, around the same period Germany authorized compulsory medical cannabis insurance coverage, Argentine authorities also approved cannabis oil for medical use. By 2020, the home cultivation of cannabis was also legalized.

On November 12, 2020, the Argentine government published Decree 883/2020 in the Official Gazette stating that patients with medical cannabis prescriptions can register at Reprocann. The Decree also states that individuals can either cultivate their cannabis, or acquire it from “solidary growers”, pharmacies, or other approved entities.

That’s not all, the decree also states that public, semi-private, and private health caregivers need to guarantee and when required curb patient access to medical cannabis. The regulation argued that the present framework renders access to medical cannabis very difficult and exclusive to those who can’t afford it.

Presently, counties are monitoring one another closely on the progress of the overall cannabis reform situation. This is regardless of where the countries stand in the public acceptance of cannabis. To this end, the immediate proclamations in federal legislatures springing from various angles now seem to be a global movement.

Legislation of cannabis reform now looks to become more of a trending topic in other countries as political leaders are expected to establish development projects. With many countries just leaving the pandemic behind, cannabis legislation seems like an ideal development project with its incredible prospects of tax revenue and job creation. And above all, its impact on the environment has been very positive.

Now that cannabis reform has become popular across the globe, showing support for this reform gives political credibility to the reform itself. If not, the politics become deadlocked in a biased fight in several countries. Considering cannabis reform including the pathway for legalization does not only give these political leaders credibility. It exemplifies a feat that they can be able to accomplish.

The End to Drug War in Latin America

According to the latest reports, recent proofs show that several countries across South and Central America will begin cultivating cannabis. While many of these countries are still considering it, this is a massive change that can’t be undervalued.

The United States was known to target counties in South America from the 70s even until this present century. Whilst the conflict and battle were never labeled, they claimed lots of lives and properties.

Truly, Uruguay, which was the first nation on the planet to consider recreational cannabis reform of cannabis, was bullied by the US. The American government blackmailed Uruguay using its banking system for years to impede the development of the cannabis industry in Uruguay. Today, the conversation is no longer held in Uruguay, although federal cannabis reform (both medical and adult-use) still seems to be stalled in the US congress.

Cannabis-Based Medical Products Regulations in Argentina

The Argentine government is moving at great speed to develop a regulated cannabis market. Just last month, the Argentine government authorized the establishment of a non-profit client collective and has also created a distinct classification for cannabis plants. The regulation for cannabis-based products states that products above 0.3% THC content need to be prescribed by a physician for any health condition.

This latest regulation is a reflection of the pact made by the Health Ministry to “promote, enhance, and protect public health. This is the result of the law enacted in 2020 which allows personal cultivation of cannabis for medical use. The regulation also allows for the circulation of cannabis-based products for medical use.

With cannabis legislation growing in Argentina, its effect on the cannabis market in South America will be massive. The effect is predicted to have a ripple effect on the ever-present concerns in Spain which has resisted all kinds of federal reforms. At the moment, a total of four official EU GMP licenses are available in Spain while the cannabis club conversation has still not been formalized.

Right now, there are 4 official EU GMP licenses given in Spain (all for export functions), and the marijuana club conversation is still not formalized.

Conclusion

As cannabis reform and development unfolds in both Germany and the U.S, Argentina continues to strategically position itself on the issue. Frankly, that makes a whole lot of sense. Both counties are recognized by Argentina as an export market for a product it can easily grow and supply. From Argentina’s perspective, both countries serve as a hemisphere for high-value export plants.

SOUTH AMERICAN CANNABIS LEGALIZATION, READ MORE..

ECUADOR LEGALIZES MEDICAL MARIJUANA, READ HOW THEY DID IT!

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SAFE Banking has ‘perfect opportunity’ to pass in Congress soon, says legalization leader

by Sonny | May 16, 2022 | Leafly

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Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon), one of Congress’ leading marijuana legalization advocates, said earlier today that cannabis banking reform could pass in a matter of months if not weeks.

The SAFE Banking Act, which would shield banks and credit unions from federal penalties for serving state-legal cannabis companies, has passed the House six times in recent years. But it’s always failed in the Senate.

A version of SAFE Banking is currently embedded within the America COMPETES Act of 2022, a massive bill aimed at revitalizing the economy. The House and the Senate have each passed slightly different versions of the bill. The House version contained SAFE Banking; the Senate version did not.

House and Senate members are now undertaking the long and arduous process of hammering out a compromise bill that both chambers can agree on. SAFE Banking may or may not survive that conference committee process. A similar effort late last year—which embedded SAFE Banking in the National Defense Authorization Act—failed when the conference committee stripped the SAFE Banking language out of the final bill.

In a press conference earlier today, Blumenauer described the COMPETES Act as the best chance yet for advocates to enact cannabis banking reform.

“There is a strong base of support for keeping [cannabis banking reform] in the bill,” Blumenauer said. “This is not a dynamic we’ve had before, in terms of a clear path to enactment. This legislation is a high priority for Senate leadership. We think this is a perfect opportunity to get some movement” on the SAFE Banking Act.

Why is the COMPETES Act different?

After many failed tries in the Senate, Blumenauer explained why he thinks this effort might finally find success. First is the fact that SAFE Banking actually made it as far as the conference committee, in a bill that has bipartisan support and strong momentum.

Unlike last year’s defense authorization act, COMPETES may be seen as a more right and natural vehicle for the SAFE Banking provisions, because the sweeping omnibus bill is aimed at improving business conditions for American companies.

There’s a rising recognition in Congress that “cash only” rules have led to real physical and economic violence—especially against smaller operators and people of color.

More important, though, is the rising realization in Congress that people in the cannabis industry are suffering real trauma, violence, and economic harm due to the lack of access to banking services. Forcing state-legal cannabis companies to operate as cash-only businesses has exposed them to a recent wave of armed robberies. Hundreds of legal tax-paying businesses have been victimized in recent months. Front-line employees have been murdered.

“We’ve seen 200 violent attacks in the last year against state-legal cannabis businesses in Oregon,” said Blumenauer. “That’s a 150% increase. In the state of Washington, there have been 196 incidents since January, including people being killed in the commission of these crimes. This poses a threat especially to the smaller operators, the minority cannabis entrepreneurs, who can only deal in cash. It’s hopelessly unfair.”

In past years, Sen. Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) has vowed to block the passage of SAFE Banking, arguing that it should wait behind a full legalization bill that contains social equity measures. But Booker’s argument has lost steam in recent months as the robbery wave exposed the vulnerability of smaller operators, minority entrepreneurs, and employees of color.

When talking about equity, Blumenauer said, that conversation is about “the people who pay the price [right now] in violence. This is a direct assault against low-income people of color, people in emerging markets—they’re the ones who are at risk for this violence. I want that solved. The folks we’re concerned about [with regard to equity provisions] are smaller operations, people of color—and they are on the front lines of this violence.”

New voices entering the conversation

As evidence, Blumenauer pointed to a recent media event hosted by Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), urging her Senate colleagues to include SAFE Banking in the final COMPETES Act bill.

Murray is best known for her work supporting working families and military veterans, not marijuana legalization. But she made a point of speaking out on 4/20 this year—because her constituents were literally being killed.

“It makes absolutely no sense that legal cannabis businesses are being forced to operate entirely in cash,” Murray said. “It’s dangerous—and sometime even fatal—for the employees behind the register, but this situation is also completely preventable. I am urging every one of my colleagues to come together so that we can finally pass the SAFE Banking Act.”

Murray’s vocal support was especially notable because she serves as a key negotiator on the conference committee reconciling the differences between the House and Senate versions of the America COMPETES Act.

Bruce Barcott

Leafly Senior Editor Bruce Barcott oversees news, investigations, and feature projects. He is a Guggenheim Fellow and author of Weed the People: The Future of Legal Marijuana in America.

View Bruce Barcott’s articles

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California Gov. Gavin Newsom Adds Tax Cuts in Revised Budget Proposal

by Sonny | May 16, 2022 | High Times

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Newsom announced the revision proposal on May 13, which aims to set aside $150 million in order to “temporarily reduce taxes” and simplify the tax structure, while $21 million will go toward local governments to help expand cannabis’s retail footprint.

Newsom said in response to a question from a Bloomberg reporter that he is “…addressing the persistent issue that is exactly what we anticipated would be a persistent issue—and that’s dealing with the black market, going after the illegal growers and the illegal operators,” Newsom explained. “Trying to level-set, trying to be flexible in terms of the cost pressures related to the current tax structure, and the lack thereof, in the black market.”

“This is [the] beginning of a process from my humble perspective, in terms of my thinking,” Newsom continued. “This will be a multi-year process to get that black market, get it on the retreat—not the ascendancy—and to get the retail and responsible adult-use market on steady ground.”

In conjunction with Newsom’s statement, the Department of Cannabis Control also released a statement from Director Nicole Elliot. “We have heard from many of you who have said that the current cannabis tax framework is overly complex,” Elliot wrote. “We know that current tax policies disproportionately burden cannabis farmers and small businesses and create instability throughout the supply chain, ultimately undermining the societal benefits of a taxed and regulated market.”

She summarized some of the changes in the proposal, which includes setting the cultivation tax to zero starting on July 1, strengthening tax enforcement policies, altering the deadline for collecting excise tax, and more. “I share this information because I wanted you all to know about the work the Governor’s Office is doing to support our collective efforts,” Elliot concluded. “Creating a sustainable, safe, equitable, and legal cannabis market in our state is no small feat—it is a labor of love, and it takes all of us working together to help make this a reality.”

The Reason Foundation, which promotes libertarian values, recently analyzed the possible results of altering the current cannabis tax. Ultimately, the organization recommended to repeal or suspend the current cultivation tax, reduce retail excise taxes, or pursue other methods to garner interest from local governments. “Tax costs are a significant component of retail prices and this analysis shows that a reduction in taxes can make legal products more price-competitive with illegal products and lure more consumers into the regulated market. This overall market growth will quickly displace the lost revenue resulting from a reduction in tax rates,” the Reason Foundation concluded.

Newsom initially unveiled his budget proposal for the 2022-2023 fiscal year in January, stating that he strives to make positive changes. “It is my goal to look at tax policy to stabilize markets; at the same time, it’s also my goal to get these municipalities to wake up to the opportunities to get rid of the illegal market and the illicit market and provide support and a regulatory framework for the legal market,” Newsom said. He shared that $595 million of cannabis tax revenue became available to fund substance abuse treatment efforts, environmental remediation illegal cultivation sites, and public safety activities.

In June 2021, Newsom proposed a $100 million package “to be provided as grants to cities and counties to help cannabis businesses transition from provisional to regular licenses.” Seventeen cities and counties were chosen to receive this grant.

Meanwhile, in late April, Assembly Bill 2691 was approved to allow small cannabis business owners to take their products directly to consumers at cannabis farmers markets and other special events. According to Assemblymember Jim Wood, who introduced the measure, this will help small cannabis businesses navigate through the various challenges of high taxes and competition with larger businesses, and will help increase visibility among local consumers.

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Uber Eats, Shopify, What Should Buying Cannabis Look Like on Your Phone?

by Sonny | May 16, 2022 | Cannabis Culture

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buying cannabis through an app design

There’s an ongoing refinement of user experiences on all online shopping platforms. The continuous improvement of UX design has boosted online shopping experiences. Consumers can more or less experience shopping in the real world without leaving the comfort of their homes. It’s all thanks to the talented UX designers working day and night to improve the user experience across all platforms.

Cannabis companies are in on the scoop. The majority have hired UX designers to work their magic on the shopping platforms to increase sales. Businesses across all industries now work to make sure the sales and purchase process is seamless for employees and customers. Many companies now hire based on the applicant’s chances of fitting into the company’s innovative culture of design crafting.

Cannabis Online Shopping

Gone are the days when consumers had to visit stores in real life to purchase an item. Or the days when you couldn’t purchase cannabis without visiting a street corner or alleyway. Now, you can stay in the comfort of your home to purchase your favorite cannabis products. Online cannabis stores are all the rage right now.

Cannabis companies are increasingly relying on user experience (UX) design to guarantee that online clients have a pleasant and effortless time shopping and ordering items through their websites. The CEO of Santa Cruz, Socrates Rosenfeld, said that cannabis shopping should be a fun activity. Santa Cruz is a California-based cannabis technology platform that uses Jane technologies. Rosenfeld added that shopping on their platform isn’t anything close to doing taxes.

Many businesses have attempted to strengthen their internet presence (if they haven’t done so previously).

To circumvent COVID-19, more cannabis customers opted for online buying and delivery, making user experience design an increasingly crucial factor in attracting and retaining clients.

Marijuana users used to shop in brick-and-mortar establishments, but that changed during the coronavirus outbreak.

Meredith Mahoney, Lantern CEO, believes that all e-commerce businesses in a predominantly brick-and-mortar industry must provide an experience that is much better than coming into a store. Lantern is a Boston-based cannabis delivery platform.

UX Designers Hold The Key To Brand Success

A good UX design can personalize the customer’s contact, resulting in a better future experience and, ultimately, more sales for the company.

For years, forward-thinking cannabis business executives have turned to UX design experts to ensure that customers enjoy a frictionless, or effort-free, experience when interacting with their firm and its goods online.

According to Sam Harris, a co-founder and head of product for Springbig, all cannabis clients and consumers are far more tech-savvy than their counterparts in other industries. Springbig is a cannabis marketing and loyalty software company based in Florida. Cannabis online shoppers tend to be more critical of the UX as well as the other features of the platforms. Cannabis clients and users are more likely to tell the difference between a good UX and a bad UX.

Many cannabis companies have no choice but to take the UX designs seriously and make them a big part of what contributes to the business’s growth. Andreas Neumann, who is the current director of the Florida-based multistate operator, Jushi Holdings, said that UX is rising to be the most important brand. Without a good UX, clients and customers will have no experience with or positive review of the store.

Jushi Holdings contracted Neumann based on his rich background in UX design thinking. He is currently on board to improve the store’s user experience (UX).

Neumann’s goal is to make procedures “frictionless” for both consumers and employees. He wants customers to go to Jushi’s website as soon as possible and, for example, find the floral goods. The consumer is uninterested in becoming educated. He says he wants to go to the flower. When the consumer clicks on the product, the user is educated. Neumann underlined the necessity of focusing on UX for both customers and staff.

He talked about how technologies like Slack and Monday.com can help reduce “friction” inside a team by making online collaboration even easier. Jushi enlisted the help of software architects to optimize their retail software and point-of-sale systems. The entire company now operates under that principle, and people are hired based on how well they will fit into the design-thinking company culture.

Neumann and the team of UX designers can watch a user’s activity and IP address after they’ve shopped on Jushi’s site and offer them other things or upsell them. The organization observes, then creates a funnel that is tailored to the needs of the people. You must include user experience (UX) for your employees as well. Please provide them with simple systems and programs to use.

Everyone Wants the Same Experience As Uber Eats

Mahoney mentioned that UX is a crucial part of all consumer-facing cannabis companies. She stated that all businesses should have a huge focus on UX. According to Mahoney, companies need to understand their clients and customers. They need to know what they want, need, and all the challenges they might experience when using the online platforms.

Delivery e-commerce applications like DoorDash are now inline with mainstream culture. Consumers on these apps are used to opening their apps and placing their orders within a minute.

Many of the UX designers employed by cannabis companies were poached from related tech industries. Moloney added that interested UX designers must have consumer-facing experience—at least, that is how Lantern operates.

Bottom Line

When it comes to UX, companies are more interested in delighting users than making money. What matters is creating an experience that feels good for both the users and the brand.

At Jane Technologies, they tried to view it from Square, a renowned e-commerce company that uses complex backend infrastructure. UX designers working on popular cannabis platforms try to take inspiration from other e-commerce platforms like Yelp. With the best UX designs, there would be less need for consumers and clients to consult menus all the time, because they would know what they want and how to get it.