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Police in Peabody, Massachusetts are thanking residents for assisting in the seizure of what investigators say is hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of pot-infused candy. Peabody police have arrested Gary Cioffi, who they allege was in possession of several varieties of cannabis edibles branded as THC-infused Wonka bars, Nerds Ropes, Rice Krispies treats and more. Officials are citing the drug seizure as a sign that Massachusetts’ illicit cannabis market is still operating across the state. They’re also calling on parents to be extra vigilant about the Halloween candy their children come home with this year.

Counterfeit Cannabis Candy Seized in Small-Town Drug Bust

Peabody, Massachusetts is a small town of about 55,000 people, a solid half-hour drive northeast from Boston. But the counterfeit cannabis candy the town’s police department seized bears the mark of illicit products that have been circulating around the region for months. Back in June, for example, members of an Appalachia High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) task force intercepted packages containing several pounds of marijuana edibles. Like the candy seized in Peabody, the packages intercepted in Kentucky contained edibles with branding that closely resembled Nerds Rope candy.

Those products still contained clear warnings that they

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CHICAGO (AP) — Jess Przybylski had never really dealt with loss. Then the father of her children was killed in a car crash. In 2011, her friends offered her methamphetamine to distract from the grief.

Soon after, Przybylski lost her job. Her two children were taken from her once, then once more when she was caught faking a drug test. A growing rap sheet eclipsed her college degree as she lost cars, relationships — and nearly her life.

“It was a one-time thing, and that was it,” Przybylski, who lives in Chippewa Falls in northwest Wisconsin, says of her meth addiction. “It started out slow, but it was a pretty hard downward spiral for about five years . It gets to be where it just takes over your life and it’s not fun anymore. It’s all you think about.”

Like other amphetamines, meth elevates dopamine levels in the brain, creating a rush. But it is significantly more powerful than stimulants like cocaine, says Timothy Easker, director of Chippewa County Department of Human Services.

Meth can keep individuals awake for days on end, causing psychosis and even organ failure.

While the widely known opioid epidemic killed 3,800 people in Wisconsin between

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Attorneys for two Ohio counties revealed on Monday that a $260 million settlement had been reached in a lawsuit against four pharmaceutical firms over the drug companies’ role in the ongoing opioid crisis. The settlement came just hours before the case was to go to trial in federal court on Monday morning.

Under the terms of the agreement, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal and confirmed by attorneys for the plaintiffs, Cuyahoga and Summit Counties will receive a total of $260 million from pharmaceutical distributors McKesson Corp., Cardinal Health Inc., and AmerisourceBergen Corp., and drug manufacturer Teva Pharmaceutical Industries. The two counties had asked for almost $8 billion.

The three distributors will pay a combined total of $215 million to the two counties immediately while Teva will pay $20 million in cash between the end of the year and 2021 and provide $25 million worth of the emergency overdose reversal drug Suboxone.

“The proposed settlement will make significant progress to abate the epidemic by providing resources for and applying funds directly to necessary opioid-recovery programs,” the plaintiffs’ attorneys said in a statement Monday.

More than 2,500 state, local, and tribal governments have filed suit against drug manufacturers

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Celebrate Halloween with MagicalButter’s Cannabis Bloody Mary. I’m a massive fan of the Bloody Mary cocktail. After all, I have a brilliant version of the classic in my book, Cannabis Cocktails, Mocktails and Tonics. My Bloody is made with a national brand of tomato juice that happens to have clam broth added to the mix. I think that nautical element is essential to a well treated Bloody. Up in Canada, they call this version, a…

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The Chinese government has issued a warning to its citizens living in Canada after the country moved into the second phase of cannabis legalization last Thursday. A statement released by the Chinese consulate in Calgary stopped short of barring Chinese citizens from buying or consuming the drug, but did counsel them to “fully understand the harmfulness of cannabis products.”

China has seen a wave of Reefer Madness-like anti-cannabis hysteria arise, heightened by fears over the spillover effects of marijuana regulation in parts of the US and Canada. The country has not limited its outrage to foreign nations. A Communist Party-led campaign against the mafia has resulted in the shuttering of Shanghai nightlife venues. In Beijing, foreign bar and restaurant owners report having been surprised with urine tests to prove that they are free of cannabis and other drugs.

The Chinese rejection of marijuana has even reached the ears of the White House. In June, an official from the China National Narcotics Control Commission told reporters that cannabis legalization in the US and Canada has led to a 25 percent spike in marijuana use in China. In that instance, President Donald Trump countered by saying China is responsible for “flooding” the

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Labor unions see an opportunity to organize one of the fastest-growing industries. Weed workers across the country are unionizing, and California just made it easier for them. On Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a requirement that all cannabis stores enter into so-called “labor peace agreements” as soon as they have 20 or more employees. California is now one of two states — New York is the other — that requires licensed weed shops…

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CARLSBAD, Calif. (AP) — Some of the people rushing to emergency rooms thought the CBD vape they inhaled would help like a gentle medicine. Others puffed it for fun.

What the vapors delivered instead was a jolt of synthetic marijuana, and with it an intense high of hallucinations and even seizures.

More than 50 people around Salt Lake City had been poisoned by the time the outbreak ended early last year, most by a vape called Yolo! — the acronym for “you only live once.”

In recent months, hundreds of vape users have developed mysterious lung illnesses, and more than 30 have died. Yolo was different. Users knew immediately something was wrong.

Who was responsible for Yolo? Public health officials and criminal investigators couldn’t figure that out. Just as it seemed to appear from nowhere, Yolo faded away with little trace.

As part of an investigation into the illegal spiking of CBD vapes that are not supposed to have any psychoactive effect at all, The Associated Press sought to understand the story behind Yolo.

The trail led to a Southern California beach town and an entrepreneur whose vaping habit prompted a career change that took her from Hollywood parties to

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‘I think the market asked for it, basically,’ said business co-owner.

A Saint John restaurant is adding a unique ingredient to its menu.

The Coop is adding cannabis oil, minus the THC, to the sauce on some of its wings. THC is the psychoactive compound found in cannabis.

“I think the market asked for it, basically,” said co-owner Renee Theriault.

– Read the entire article at CBC News.

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