In April 2017, Keischa N. Quiles Mercado of Arecibo, Puerto Rico, was 27 and had just started her master’s program in psychotherapy, when one morning she was awoken by a series of grand mal seizures. Her mother and sister rushed her to the emergency room. At the hospital, imaging revealed a large mass lodged in […]
Author Archive | Sarah Ratliff
Bipartisan Coalition Pushing For Federal Cannabis Reform
What has been speculated on for weeks in the nation’s capital has now become a reality. On April 4, a bipartisan coalition of 13 Democrats and 13 Republicans reintroduced bill HR 6043 in the US House of Representatives. Known as the Strengthening the Tenth Amendment Through Entrusting States (STATES) Act, this bill would alter the […]
A Greener Green: Solar Power The Best Option For Cannabis Sustainability
Most cannabis producers would consider themselves ecologically responsible. They strive for sustainability by embracing organic grow practices whenever they can. They take pride in supplying a natural product that comes directly from the earth. Even those who aren’t thinking about sustainability will at least pay it lip service. They know that the environmentally aware crowd […]
Legalize It Already: What It’s Like Living With Prohibition In The Age Of Legalization
The United States is unique. It’s difficult to think of another country where its states, cantons or provinces have their own sets of civil and criminal laws. There are some countries — Canada and Switzerland, for example — where cantons or provinces can create laws around issues such as education or whether to allow a […]
Northern Mariana Islands Moving Forward With Full Cannabis Legalization
On Sept. 21, 2018, Governor Ralph DLG Torres of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) signed House Bill 20-178 into law. This legislation, also known as the Taulamwarr Sensible CNMI Cannabis Act of 2018, lifts all prohibition on cannabis and related products. The Marijuana Policy Project offers a summary of the bill. In […]
Hemp Hemp Hooray: Legalization Of Super Plant To Revitalize Puerto Rican Agriculture
Puerto Rico might have one of the most underdeveloped agricultural sectors on the planet. According to statistics provided by the US Department of Agriculture, Puerto Rico farming income has decreased by two-thirds since 1964, a result traceable to the implosion of the sugar cane industry that once formed the backbone of the island’s economy. Sugar […]
Medicinal Cannabis: Side Effects May Include Relief From Additional Ailments
Within months of my 18th birthday, two things happened that continue to impact my life 34 years later. While taking a shower in the Manhattan apartment I shared with a roommate, I slipped and landed on my lower back and tailbone. To put the impact I experienced into context, the bathtubs back then were made […]
Progress Made, Progress Still To Come: Uruguay’s Historic Cannabis Legalization, Five Years Later
Uruguay became the first country in the world to legalize recreational cannabis in 2013. But it wasn’t until July 2017 that cannabis products officially went on sale to the public. In the US, when state voter referendums first began legalizing cannabis, most territories moved quickly to create legal and regulatory structures to get their cannabis […]