On September 25, 2000, Paul Pierce was stabbed 11 times in the face, neck, and back at a Boston nightclub. The NBA star was rushed to a nearby hospital where he underwent emergency lung surgery. Two men were later sentenced for the attack.

Miraculously, Pierce returned to the court just a few months later to finish off the season. But his internal wounds lasted much longer. Pierce suffered from intense anxiety, depression, and PTSD. He hired a 24-hour security to guard his home and couldn’t be around large crowds. The harrowing experience led him on a journey to find relief for his symptoms beyond the addictive meds his doctors prescribed.

Eventually, Pierce discovered cannabis, and specifically CBD, which offered a natural path to healing. After playing 19 years in the league, Pierce has begun a new career as co-founder (with Elliot Mermel) and CEO of The Truth CBD Remedies and the Vesper One vape (available through Eaze Wellness).

On the podcast, Pierce talks about how he went from being a CBD advocate to a CBD entrepreneur. He’s joined by business partner, Elliot Mermel.

JON: So Paul, let’s start with you. First of all, congratulations on the product. It’s very cool, and I’m happy that you are a part of the cannabis world.

PAUL: Oh man, thank you. I’m excited that I can be a part of this and just bring a stability to the marketplace, somebody who’s somewhat trustworthy and already has a name out there and a voice and a platform that people can trust.

To continue go to GreenEntrepreneur.com

Chronic pain patients consuming hemp-derived cannabidiol, or CBD, on a daily basis for eight weeks reported a decrease in the opioid medications they needed, a new study reports.

“This is a prospective, single-arm cohort study for the potential role of cannabinoids as an alternative for opioids,” the paper states. “The results indicate that using the CBD-rich extract enabled our patients to reduce or eliminate opioids with significant improvement in their quality of life indices.”

The study, published this month in Postgraduate Medicine, sheds new light on the potential benefits of CBD extracted from hemp, a crop that became federally legal under the 2018 Farm Bill, although the Food and Drug Administration has yet to issue finalized guidelines that would allow CBD to be sold in dietary supplements and food products.

Researchers recruited 131 patients who obtain their care from the same pain clinic; 97 completed the eight-week follow-up period. All had been diagnosed with chronic pain and were taking opioid medications for relief.

For the study, participants were given a 60-count bottle of hemp-derived, CBD-rich soft gels. Each gel, according to the study, contained 15.7 mg CBD, 0.5 mg THC, 0.3 mg cannabidivarin, 0.9 mg cannabidiolic acid, 0.8 mg cannabichrome, and less than 1 percent of a botanical terpene blend. Nearly all (91) took two gel caps a day, totaling 30 mg of CBD; three participants opted not to use the hemp extract at all.

For more visit marijuanamoment.net

As California’s attorney general from 1999 to 2007, Bill Lockyer was on the inside as the state wrestled with a developing marijuana industry. But these days he’s watching the transformation from the outside, as co-founder of a licensed pot distributor in Lynwood.

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf says he is in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana in the commonwealth. He’s now asking lawmakers to consider legislation.

Wolf says he supports legalizing recreational marijuana, but he’s hoping lawmakers on both sides of the aisle will too.

“We are calling for the general assembly to seriously debate marijuana legalization,” Wolf said Wednesday.

After months of research, Wolf announced the results are in — Pennsylvania residents support legalizing recreational use of marijuana.

“I’m not opposed to it. I’m not an active user of marijuana, but I have no problem with legalization of recreational use in small quantities,” Bucks County resident Mark Gregotski said. “I think it’s also good not to tie up court systems for very minor possessions of marijuana.”

Read More at Philadelphia.cbslocal.com

On August 19, 2019, the National Credit Union Association (NCUA), a federal agency that regulates, charters, and supervises federal credit unions, released updated guidance on federally-backed credit unions working with hemp-based businesses. The guidelines clarify that credit unions are permitted to offer financial services, including loans, to businesses dealing in the realm of hemp or hemp-based products such as manufacturers, distributors, shippers and retailers, among others. This announcement comes shortly after reports of hemp-based businesses losing access to financial services and credit card processing in recent months.

For more visit Cannabis Business Executive

Grassroots Cannabis is set to be acquired for $875 million, becoming the latest Chicago-based marijuana company to draw a blockbuster price tag from an out-of-state operator.

Curaleaf Holdings, based in Massachusetts, announced Wednesday morning its plan to acquire Grassroots.

The acquisition will allow Curaleaf to expand its presence into states where it does not already operate, including Illinois. Grassroots operates a cultivation facility in Litchfield and has affiliations with eight dispensaries around the state.

For Grassroots, the deal means a farther reach into states on the East Coast, such as New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Florida, where Curaleaf has focused growth, said Grassroots co-founder and CEO Mitch Kahn. Grassroots operates in 11 states, and Curaleaf in 12. Combined, they will be in 19 states.

“The places we overlap are very minimal, so this really is kind of a perfect match from an asset perspective,” Kahn said

The deal is expected to take six to 12 months to close, Kahn said. It comes as Illinois prepares for recreational marijuana sales, set to begin Jan. 1.

The Illinois marijuana market is expected to reach $1.3 billion by 2023, rivaling Colorado’s, according to data from Chicago-based cannabis research firm Brightfield Group. Overall, U.S. cannabis sales are expected to reach $22.7 billion by 2023, including $16.8 billion in recreational sales. For more visit Chicago Tribune

The legal status of marijuana in a growing number of states poses new challenges for meeting planners.

When Illinois became the 11th state to legalize the recreational use and sale of cannabis this past June, the move was seen by many as a tipping point.

“It’s a major milestone,” said one supporter, predicting that, with the Prairie State on board, this once taboo activity could go mainstream. By January 2020, when the Illinois law goes into effect, 30 percent of the U.S. population will live in a place where it’s legal for adults to possess and consume marijuana for recreational use. It’s also legal in the District of Columbia, and another 22 states permit it for medical purposes only.

Meeting planners were also watching closely. In July, just weeks after Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the Illinois law, 400 attendees flocked to the Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park for the Arcview Investor Forum, a conference designed to bring together aspiring cannabis entrepreneurs and potential investors. Exhibitors displayed everything from CBD “topicals” to cannabis-infused drinks, but no one was there to get high — unless you count the high that comes with nailing a million-dollar deal.

“It’s definitely getting legitimized,” said one attendee from the National Cannabis Industry Association. And when that happens, capital flows in: This nascent industry is already said to be worth more than $10 billion.

Read More at Northstar Meetings Group

Growing industry shows no signs of slowing

The marijuana industry could soon be worth more than the GDP of 9 U.S. states

Cannabis employs five times as many Americans as coal

The median marijuana salary is 10% higher than the U.S. median salary

Investors poured $10 billion into the North American marijuana industry in 2018

A Colorado county made $35 million off the marijuana industry in 2016

Marijuana policing cost Americans $3.6 billion in the first decade of the 2000s

The U.S.marijuana market is worth $52 billion — but 87% of sales were on the black market

But legal-marijuana sales alone topped sales of Oreos and organic produce

If you tuned into this year’s second-round Masters telecast, you may have seen something curious: Phil Mickelson pulling a small vial from his golf bag, using a pipette to squirt liquid into his mouth, then tucking the vial back into his bag. Or you might have seen the viral YouTube video, which sparked speculation that Mickelson had become the latest Tour pro to try a hemp extract known as cannabidiol, or CBD.

Several pros, including Bubba Watson, Scott McCarron, Brandt Jobe, Charley Hoffman and Morgan Hoffmann, have endorsement deals with CBD manufacturers. Watson may be flighty, but it’s not the CBD, a fast-growing category distinct from medical marijuana; CBD products, whether oils, capsules or topical creams, don’t contain THC, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis.

CBD proponents attach an array of benefits — better sleep, reduced inflammation and less anxiety, for starters — to this natural supplement. Manufacturers, however, can’t advertise specific claims because they haven’t been verified by the U.S. FDA. This hasn’t deterred dozens of Tour players looking for an edge from giving CBD a try.

Read More at Golf