Hey Stoners Welcome to The Johno Show I’m your weedtuber host Jonathan. Here are your top 5 Cannabis news stories happening now.

Story Number 1:
In “Let’s Correct This Error Now” News…

The Maryland House of Delegates passed legislation on Tuesday to correct a minority injustice that became apparent after selling all their cannabis licenses for the state to let’s call it what it is – white men.

In a vote that passed 90-45 the bill aims at boosting minority-owned business participation in the state’s developing marijuana industry after a disparity study was conducted.
Leaders of the Maryland Black Caucus supported this bill after seeing the list of finalists for the 30 licenses lacked minority ownership. Less than one percent of marijuana grow and distribute licenses in the entire country are held by African Americans and other minorities.

The vote is now sent to the Senate, which is also considering a separate bill.

Story Number 2:
In “Cannabis Charity is the Best Kind of Charity” News…

Back in March of 2015 when his buddy Matthew Lee was completing a year of chemo for brain cancer; Ron Gershoni and Nate Ferguson were looking for a way to give back to the medical marijuana community, due to their help leading the way for California legalization.

Gershoni had already created Oakland-based Jetty Extracts and was one of only five companies in the state with a compassionate cannabis oil donation program.

Matt went on a surfing trip and came out of the water with a revelation to start a nonprofit called the Shelter Project, and provide free cannabis oils to cancer patients and those in remission.

Since its launch two years ago, the Shelter Project has served 400 patients across California.

Workers hand pack small packets with pre-filled vape cartridges and other items, which are then delivered to patients.

The company recently began making suppositories exclusively for its Shelter Project patients because there were so many requests for them. When people use suppositories, 80 percent of the cannabinoids get absorbed into the body, far more than when vaping or ingesting cannabis.

“It goes straight to the affected area and doesn’t get you psychoactively high,” Friedman said. “So a lot of people who never used cannabis and were always against it feel comfortable with the suppositories.”

You can check out my experiment of putting a nug up my butt here to see what the results were!!

Gershoni said he wants to expand the Shelter Project program and will be looking to ask more business donations in the coming future. But for now, Jetty Extracts is covering the costs of a program that many cancer patients have come to rely on.

Story Number 3:
In “Canadian’s Caught Doing The Right Thing” News…

For the first time in North American history, Canadian supermarket chain Loblaw and Shoppers Drug Mart, announced that employee benefit plans would now include coverage for medical marijuana. The company employs nearly 200,000 people and represents the largest corporate acceptance of medical cannabis in North America.

This is a major policy change and the first of many Canadian companies that will most likely follow in their footsteps. Last year, Loblaws president and executive chairman, said he could envision his company’s retail outlets dispensing medical marijuana in the near future.

Canadian Insurance companies already provide some coverage of medical marijuana through Health Care Spending Accounts, which sets an amount of money aside for an employee for coverage of medical and dental expenses not covered by their current plan. But only a small minority of the Canadian population maintains those accounts.

The majority of Canadians can’t get reimbursed for the cost of medical marijuana because insurance companies don’t cover it as standard practice. Yet!!

Story Number 4:
In “ Do I look thinner to you” News…

A new study, published in Archives of Osteoporosis, found regular cannabis consumers who partook more than five times per month had an on average lower body mass index (BMI), a measure of body fat based on height and weight, when compared to non-users.

The researchers surveyed 4,743 participants nationally between the ages of 20 and 59 to investigate the relationship between cannabis use and various health outcomes.

Previous studies have found cannabis use to be linked to a lower BMI, lower body fat percentage, and smaller waist circumference. Preclinical animal trials even suggest that cannabis can serve as protection against obesity. Researchers believe that cannabis protects against excess fat gain through its interaction with the endocannabinoid system, which is responsible for managing metabolic function. A dysfunctional or overactive endocannabinoid system may contribute to fat accumulation and obesity, and cannabinoids may help keep the system operate properly.

And Finally Story Number 5:
In “Yes, I’m Going to Cover This News Again Because It’s Important” News…

On Tuesday of last week the Transportation Security Administration according to their “What Can I Bring?” web page had officially declared that flying with medical marijuana was okay. Then less than 24 hours later the TSA corrected themselves and switched the positive green checkmark to a negative red X.

The incident has only added to the confusion surrounding whether marijuana users have anything to fear in bringing pot onto a plane. And thus have made some weed travelers extremely paranoid. While others including myself admit to nearly always traveling with pot.

Now let’s break that down for a second, in case you’re envisioning me traveling with 20 pounds of cannabis in my carry-on. No, I bring a vape pen or cookies or some other form aside from the flower itself.

And remember here is the statement from the TSA on their website that hasn’t to my knowledge ever changed. Let me read it to you now:

“TSA security officers do not search for marijuana or other drugs. In the event a substance that appears to be marijuana is observed during security screening, TSA will refer the matter to a law enforcement officer. Whether or not marijuana is considered legal under local law is not relevant to TSA screening because TSA is governed by federal law. Federal law provides no basis to treat medical marijuana any differently than non-medical marijuana.”

Now to me, that says a vape pen or cookies that outright doesn’t smell like marijuana isn’t of the TSA’s concern or interest. Just don’t think you’re gonna roll through the checkpoint stinking like pot.

And to further clarify. Let me just add. I don’t travel frequently and when I do it is either to a state that has medical marijuana or to a state so restrictive that I simply don’t bother bringing it with me.

Choose wisely because in this bizarre alternate universe we are living in right now with Trump as President and Sessions as attorney general our freedoms could be taken away at moments notice. So if you don’t feel safe don’t bring it. Instead use a mobile app like “High There” to make connections with other people who smoke at your final destination.

Jonathan is a Marketing Consultant by day and a Weedtuber by night. He holds an MBA in Entrepreneurial Studies from Fairleigh Dickinson University; an MS in Computer Science from the College of New Rochelle and a BFA in Graphic Design and Photography from the Ringling College of Art and Design. Jonathan’s primary consulting focuses on customer journey mapping, competitor and analytic analysis as well as search engine optimization. Jonathan has written numerous articles for the Huffington Post as well as a variety of marketing industry websites and journals. In 2015, Jonathan suffered from a ruptured disk in his back causing terrible pain. Doctors prescribed numerous pain killers that only made Jonathan more sedentary. Looking for an alternative to suggested surgery, Jonathan obtained a New Jersey medical marijuana card. Since then Jonathan has become an advocate for medical use of cannabis. When he’s not consulting or making episodes of The Johno Show he has season tickets to his favorite MLS soccer team the New York Red Bulls Arena.