World News - April 2022

 

Russia Detains U.S. Athlete Over THC Vape

Reported in early March, Brittney Griner, WNBA star, was detained and charged in Russia for possessing
marijuana vape cartridges that were found in her luggage by officials at the Sheremetyevo airport which is near Moscow. The New York Times were the first to break the news. 

Griner is a WNBA star who plays basketball in Russia in the winter for the team UMMC Ekaterinburg. Her last game with UMMC was on January 29. She plays center for the Phoenix Mercury’s in  the WNBA league, and is a two-time gold Olympian for the U.S. Olympic basketball team. She is a graduate of Baylor University in Texas. 

Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner, posted on her Instagram page, “There are no words to express this pain. I’m hurting, we’re hurting.” 

#BrittneyGriner is quickly becoming a Twitter topic trend.  The Phoenix Mercury posted on Twitter on March 5th, “We love and support Brittney and at this time our main concern is her safety, physical and mental health, and her safe return home.” 

Marijuana and medical marijuana, and growing and purchasing marijuana are illegal in Russia. The punishment that Griner is being held and charged for can be up to 10 years in prison. 

Eco-Friendly Cannabis Package

With the rise of majiauna legalization, marijuana distributors are continuing to pursue ways to make sure their products are in child-safe wrappings, as well as considering climate change and working with products that are packaged in eco-friendly materials. 

According to The World Bank, “The world generates 2.01 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste annually, with at least 33 percent of that—extremely conservatively—not managed in an environmentally safe manner. Worldwide, waste generated per person per day averages 0.74 kilogram but ranges widely, from 0.11 to 4.54 kilograms. Though they only account for 16 percent of the world’s population, high-income countries generate about 34 percent, or 683 million tonnes, of the world’s waste.” https://datatopics.worldbank.org/what-a-waste/trends_in_solid_waste_management.html

Ways to begin considering reducing waste in packaging start with recycling and having packing that recycles, and having recycling bins accessible to customers. Also, work solely with packaging that biodegrades. Consider using packaging that can be multi-used or repurposed. Source products that are made locally. Buying locally saves the environment with less resources being used to ship and overall helps support your location’s needs. 

Cannabis Friendly Countries in Europe

According to EuroNews.Tavel “...when it comes to mind-altering substances, weed is one of the softer drugs. It’s believed to be on a par with alcohol (which is completely legal across the continent for those with legitimate ID). So rather than wrack up the bills and time associated with criminal offences, in some countries there’s more of a ‘we’d rather you didn’t, but if you must’ mentality.” https://www.euronews.com/travel/2021/04/20/cannabis-capitals-of-europe-where-has-weed-been-decriminalised-on-the-continent

Cities and countries listed in the 2021 article that were listed as “if you must” were the Netherlands, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Denmark, Barcelona, Spain, and 

Prague, Czech Republic, all countries where marijuana is illegal. 

The Beginnings of Cannabis

Where was weed first grown? Who first started smoking pot? According to recent studies Central Asia, or present day China, could be the beginnings of pot smoking. Archaeologists have revealed that residues left on archaeological objects that show pot was smoked on wooden objects as a part of ceremonies. “This phytochemical analysis indicates that cannabis plants were burned in wooden braziers during mortuary ceremonies at the Jirzankal Cemetery (ca. 500 BCE) in the eastern Pamirs region. This suggests cannabis was smoked as part of ritual and/or religious activities in western China by at least 2500 years ago and that the cannabis plants produced high levels of psychoactive compounds.” 

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.aaw1391

The results from the find showed cannabis on objects dating back to 790 to 520 BCE. “It is possible that high-elevation populations of a naturally higher THC–producing variety were recognized and targeted by people in the Pamir region, possibly even explaining the prominence of ritual sites in the high mountains.” 

Though hemp is grown and widely exported in China as a material agent for industrial purposes, and in fact they are the largest producers of hemp in the world, recreational marijuana is illegal.