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Musicians have been oscillating between keeping busy and feeling a bit isolated since coronavirus stay-at-home orders came down in the month of March, 2020. It’s a real dichotomy between staying at home and being creative for most artists and musicians , finding that part of yourself, trying to improve, while staying relevant with fans. Whatever the chosen system is to get through this pandemic most performers are finding creative ways to stay on top of there game and in front of the paying audience. We have come to accept as a way of life, be it permanent or temporary, that music is and will be the last part of the recovery from a pandemic that is now being questioned as weather we should have, and still continue to shut down a once thriving economy. In the early days of March, when COVID-19 was just beginning to spread in the U.S. I watched the music scene transform in front of my eyes. From Instagram to TikTok, our new pop culture demands that stars be both accessible and vulnerable online amid the pandemic. In the weeks since social distancing began in earnest, there have been numerous articles written about how celebrities and musicians are basically losing it. The live music culture is in a weird place. All these livestreams  and all these posts are giving us a concentrated, heightened look at the new normal for the music culture.

We are firmly and deeply submerged in the age of livestreem performances as social media “influence.” on how we view and support live concerts and local acts. As more people are finding fame, notoriety and lucrative careers through “content” creation on platforms like Instagram and YouTube, the idea of what fame is — and who gets to be famous — has drastically shifted. Now, people are as inclined to be obsessed over there favorite local acts as they are over national acts. The contrast of our current music landscape with that of even 20 years ago is profound. It used to be that part of the luster for stars to resided in their carefully manufactured distance, now it’s practiced as the normal by the industry as a whole. t’s about staying relevant, by any means necessary. The internet has proven to be a powerful tool in harnessing the ability to keep people engaged. But we’ve entered a new reality, in which a harsh light shines on all this placating distraction and has further revealed the serious cracks in the foundation of American life.” Most of us are plugged in to the social media matrix and trying to figure it out. Our pop cultural landscape is just changing in fascinating, entertaining and often cringe-worthy ways.

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Governor Gavin Newsom of California on Thursday sent shockwaves through the West Coast when he officially ordered all 40 million of the state’s residents essentially shelter in place (meaning stay home unless buying basic necessities or seeking medical care). Perhaps surprisingly, among the “essential services” that he deemed will remain open — on top of pharmacies and food stores — was, marijuana dispensaries. Popular dispensary MedMen, which operates 33 stores in nine states including 12 in California, says it is operating with modified hours, but all stores remain open (except for one in Monterey Bay, Calif. which is closed due to local jurisdiction). “We are closely following recent guidelines released by each state and local jurisdiction, plus that of the CDC and the WHO in the best interest of our customers and employees and have adopted the recommended safety protocol.” “As of now, we have been deemed an essential business in the markets that have established protocol,” Christian Langbein, the company’s spokesperson says. In the two months since the first case of COVID-19 landed in the U.S., the nation’s private sector is a changed place. As a company seemingly unscathed by the coronavirus outbreak thus far, MedMen is in the minority.  Over half of America has closed all non-essential businesses, — from festivals, to theme parks, to cruise ships, all motor sports and professional sports teams  have hit pause on their seasons and the financial market may be on the verge of a crash.

But amid the colossal shifts, the cannabis industry seems poised to stay afloat.Denver-based Medicine Man, tells Yahoo Lifestyle that in the weeks since the coronavirus began spreading rapidly, its sales have actually escalated. Sally Van der Veer, the dispensary’s CEO says, “Our numbers are significantly higher than they would normally be this time of year,” “For the most part, we’re seeing customers who are grateful that we are open because they wouldn’t be able to get their medicine elsewhere..” They can be in and out in 30 seconds,” says Van der Veer. “On the floor of our dispensaries, we have tape to ensure that we’re maintaining six feet of distance between every customer. All our budtenders are wearing gloves and using hand sanitizer or washing their hands in between each transaction. ” Van der Veer says the distinction of “essential services” in the time of the coronavirus makes sense both for citizens and the state of the cannabis industry as a whole.

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Illinois is the 11th state to legalize cannabis for adult use. Vendors started the new year by bringing in nearly $3.2 million on the state’s first day of legal recreational cannabis sales. There were long lines and more than 77,000 transactions on Wednesday, according to former state Sen. Toi Hutchinson, who oversees the state’s new equity-focused recreational cannabis program for Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Alex Hanns @alexhanns NEWS: @ToiHutchinson announces first day adult-use cannabis sales figures in Illinois — $3,176,256.71 in sales  — 77,128 transactions
“Sales are great, but let’s never lose sight of the impact we’re having on families around the state. Pritzker’s office did not immediately provide the amount of tax revenue the state received from the sales. Illinois state taxes on cannabis products range from 10% to 25%, depending on the product’s concentration of THC. A first day of $3,176,256.71 in sales would bring in an estimated $317,000 for the state at a minimum, and about $794,000 at most, not including sales tax.

Michigan, which implemented recreational marijuana in December, saw about $221,000 in sales on its first day, according to the Detroit Free Press. Colorado, one of the first states to legalize recreational marijuana, saw a little more than $1 million in sales on its first day of legalization in 2014. The whopping $3.2 million spent in Illinois on Wednesday greatly surpasses first-day sales in other states where recreational cannabis is legal. Hutchinson said on Wednesday. “Today is a historic new day, and as we move forward with growing this industry, I thank all those who worked hard to make the launch a success and will continue to dedicate themselves to expanding opportunities and righting the wrongs of the past.” “As we start a new decade, Illinois has achieved a monumental milestone ― launching the legalization of cannabis in a way that includes communities left behind for far too long, creates good jobs and expunges thousands of records for those who have lost out on opportunities and ends prohibition.” Under the state’s law, Illinois residents who are 21 and older are allowed to possess up to 30 grams of cannabis, and nonresidents can possess up to 15 grams.

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Over the past several months, seven people have died and nearly 400 others have gotten sick after using vape pens containing either nicotine or THC, the chemical in cannabis that makes you high. It’s causing a nationwide moral panic: Michigan’s governor enacted regulations that could result in 17-year-olds being hit with six-month jail sentences for every Juul pod in their possession. President Donald Trump has called for a similar nationwide ban on all flavored e-cigarettes. The demand for cannabis vapes has exploded over the past few years, and the illicit market has kept up with the trend. Consumers like vaping because it is more discreet and convenient than rolling a joint or carrying around a bong. Sellers like vapes too because the profit margins tend to be higher — especially on the illicit market, where sellers can save on costs by heavily diluting the THC oil. This haphazard “do something” approach ignores the fact that several of the people who got sick from vaping used pens filled with THC oil, which is already illegal in most states and under federal law. “Banning things — have we not learned that doesn’t curb use?” asked Jeffrey Raber, a chemist who founded a cannabis lab-testing facility in Los Angeles. Public health officials have not yet specified how many deaths and illnesses are linked to cannabis vape products — but there is only one known case involving a person who purchased a THC vape pen from a legal cannabis dispensary. Several of the other cases appear to involve people who bought illicit vapes, which are not subject to any regulations or testing.

California now has the most rigorous testing requirements: Every cannabis product sold in a licensed dispensary is tested for 66 types of pesticides, heavy metals, microbial pathogens and potency. A more effective way to prevent people from using marijuana vape pens that could kill them or make them sick would be to legalize weed so that consumers could have the option to buy regulated, lab-tested products. The public health benefit of legalizing and regulating marijuana is not hypothetical — it’s already happened in states that have done it. Back in 2017, before California’s testing requirements went into effect, around 70% of clients that submitted their product to cannabis-testing lab Cannasafe failed to meet standards the lab was using at the time, according to Antonio Frazier, the lab’s vice president of operations. These days, only 3-6% of Cannasafe’s clients fail to meet the state’s testing regulations. that’s because failing these testing requirements is a huge pain for cannabis companies. Products have to be quarantined. The manufacturer can either destroy the entire batch or submit a “corrective action plan” to the California Department of Public Health, which decides whether or not to approve the plan. “Our fail rate was much higher when no one was required to do it the right way,” Frazier said. “Without regulation, people aren’t going to do what’s right. This has been true in almost all industries.” Legalization and regulation isn’t a perfect solution. There is still a thriving illicit market in California for consumers who don’t want to pay dispensary prices or who live far away from licensed stores.

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The buzz over 420 isn’t just media hype, April 20 ― aka “420” ― is considered pot’s biggest day, according to cannabis industry insiders like Robert Arabian, founder of Pop-Up Potcorn, a line of cannabis-infused microwave popcorn, and it should only get more popular now that 33 states have legalized marijuana for medical or recreational purposes. “These days, 4/20 has turned into the biggest Holiday in the cannabis industry and serves as a day of celebration for the advancements the industry has made in the legal space,” Arabian told HuffPost. How is the marijuana industry changing you ask? Here are some significant changes for 2019: Everything CBD — or cannabidiol, the nonpsychoactive ingredient in the marijuana plant — is popping up in all sorts of products, including face masks, jelly beans and even burgers, despite the lack of evidence of its effectiveness for easing pain, insomnia, anxiety and depression. CBD will be sticking around for quite a while, though maybe not in its current form according to Michael Christopher, the CEO of Mood33, a California-based cannabis-infused beverage brand. “We are seeing some proliferation of CBD-infused products that are starting to overwhelm consumers,” Christopher told huffpost.com . “From $9 CBD-infused donuts to $14 CBD-infused brownie mix.

More Women Are Using Marijuana: Sheena Shirvai, director of consumer communications for Eaze, a cannabis-delivery company in California, says women are now behind 75 percent of orders. Last year, baby boomers were seen as the future of sales, but industry experts now see women as the next budding market. Dr. John Oram, the Founder/CEO of NUG, a cannabis company specializing in concentrates, said “soccer moms” are coming into the business in droves ― and it shouldn’t be a surprise. Oram told HuffPost. “Moms generally make the health and wellness decisions in the household. It is natural to expect women to play a greater role in choosing quality cannabis products.” Ray Landgraf of Island Cannabis, which deals with cannabis production technology, says there’s a thirst for pot-infused drinks. “We’re really early on beverages where people are just figuring out the science that will make cannabis beverages a really unique experience. Marijuana Delivery Is The Future: The idea of brick-and-mortar bud shops popping up like Starbucks is one that should be nipped in the bud, according to Brad McLaughlin of BudTrader.com, which bills itself as “the largest cannabis social media platform.” “Dispensaries will go the way of Blockbuster Video. You heard it here first,” McLaughlin said. “People don’t want to leave the pad, especially in major metropolitan cities with heavy traffic congestion like New York, LA and places where it’s cold.” However, many industry insiders such as Bryson Bulda, brand manager of LBS Distribution, a California cannabis company, believe dispensaries are crucial to building burgeoning bud businesses. “Going to a dispensary and talking to budtenders is the only way to actively learn from products and what you are consuming.”

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The whale, believed to be a calf, was found on Friday on the Brazilian island of Marajo. It was about 50 feet from the ocean, according to Newsweek. Researchers are having a whale of a time trying to figure out how the humpback whale wound up in the Amazon rain forest. Darlene Silva, a spokeswoman for Brazil’s Department of Health, Sanitation and Environment, told reporters the animal was found in a mangrove swamp only after researchers noticed vultures circling in the sky, according to the Express. A team from the Municipal Secretariat of Health, Sanitation and Environment found the carcass had no visible injuries and theorized that the whale died at sea. Biologists from the Bicho D’água Institute said the animal was about 26 feet long, though local officials said it was closer to 36 feet long, according to Storyful.

HuffPost reached out to the Bicho D’água Institute, which did not immediately respond but said in a Facebook post that the animal was “not as big as it looks in the images.” Renata Emin, the institute’s project leader, told reporters that researchers don’t know how the animal washed up so far from the beach, but they guessed that the creature was floating close to the shore and was carried inland by a storm, according to the Independent Researchers are collecting carcass samples, but Silva said there will be no attempts to remove it from its final resting spot.
“It’s very difficult to get there and there’s no way we can send a bulldozer because it would not get through,” she said, according to the Independent. “There is no way to remove it. To get there, we need to cross the swamp.”

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Former baseball superstar Jose Canseco made his name hitting home runs, but his latest project is a pitch to go Bigfoot hunting. The baseball MVP is pitching a trip to what he claims are the sites of “ authentic alien sightings and proven Bigfoot habitats.”Canseco posted two tweets on Tuesday night offering to take a few lucky people on an expedition tracking the mythical beast and “a real alien.” @josecanseco (Go on a Bigfoot and alien Excursion with Jose Canseco contact Morgan Management at 702-374-3735). and, @josecanseco (Come spend the day with me and my alien Buddies I’ll show you Bigfoot and a real alien call Morgan at 702-374-3735). When HuffPost called the listed phone number and received this text message:
“Spend the weekend with Jose for $5000 cash. Only 5 lucky individuals will get a golden ticket. Oompa loompas ain’t got nothing on Bigfoot. Travel in his custom RV to authentic alien sightings and proven Bigfoot habitats. Camp out in the wild. Tell stories and maybe meet a real Bigfoot. You never know what’s gonna happen with Mr. Canseco. (Food included) Only serious inquiries please. I will help you book your flights to Vegas and set itineraries. Thank you. Morgan” The response said the first excursion was almost full.

This isn’t completely out of left field for the 54-year-old outfielder. A few weeks ago, Canseco posted a series of tweets claiming aliens had given him the secrets to time travel. Canseco has gotten kicks from making outrageous statements in the past, such as in July 2017, when he responded to the Me Too movement by bragging about being molested by lots of women. In July 2015, he said he planned to live as a woman for a week to better understand Caitlyn Jenner’s situation. In November 2014, he falsely claimed that his middle finger had come off during a poker game. Naturally, many people on Twitter had strong responses to the pitch: Adam Biehler @CenTexAg Replying to @JoseCanseco People used to make fun of me because my favorite player took steroids and took a homer off his dome but look at me now! MY favorite Bash Bro hangs with aliens. chareth cutestory @steven53844468 Replying to @JoseCanseco Will they be different aliens from last time? I don’t want to spend time with the same aliens.

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LOS ANGELES (AP) – The Democrat’s proposed spending plan, released Thursday, projects the state will bank $355 million in marijuana excise taxes by the end of June. Deep in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s new budget is a figure that says a lot about California’s shaky legal marijuana market: The state is expecting a lot less cash from cannabis taxes. That’s roughly half of what was once expected after broad legal sales kicked off last year.
Most consumers are continuing to purchase pot in the illegal marketplace, where they avoid taxes that can near 50 percent in some communities. Tax collections are expected to gradually increase over time, but predicting what that amount will be remains something of a guess. Industry experts say the diminished tax income reflects a somber reality. Tax collections for “a newly created market are subject to significant uncertainty,” the budget said. Josh Drayton of the California Cannabis Industry Association credited Newsom with taking “a realistic look at the challenges” after a bumpy first year of broad legal sales. Newsom also recommended a sharp increase in spending for regulatory programs, although it’s an open question whether it will be enough to help steady the state pot economy.

Initially “the state was too optimistic about how the implementation of legalization was going to work. This governor has paid attention to that,” Drayton said. The budget recommends just over $200 million for marijuana-related activities in the fiscal year that starts July 1, which would be over a 50 percent boost from the current year. That said, Drayton added that legal businesses need a break from hefty tax rates that are driving consumers to the illicit economy. Local governments are free to slap taxes on sales and on growers too, which has created a confusing patchwork of tax rates around the state. Various proposals have been made to cut state pot taxes.
The state’s top marijuana regulator, Lori Ajax, has said the state intends to get more businesses licensed and operating in 2019, while cracking down on rogue operators who continue to proliferate across the state.
By some estimates, up to 80 percent of sales in the state remain under the table, snatching profits from legal storefronts. At year’s end, California’s effort to transform its longstanding illegal and medicinal marijuana markets into a unified, multibillion-dollar industry remained a work in progress. Meanwhile, the courts budget includes nearly $14 million for resentencing of thousands of drug offenders whose offenses are no longer crimes since California legalized recreational pot.

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If you have money to burn you could spend it on a joint worth $24,000. A 3-foot-long joint that was auctioned off Thursday night for charity by Stone Road Farms, a Los Angeles-based cannabis company  with the estimated worth of $24.000 is the literal definition of a financial hit. According to Stone Road founder Lex Corwin, who also commissioned the cigarette said the mega-sized marijuana joint contained more than a pound of weed, as well as 6 ounces of concentrate and 2 ounces of bubble hash. Did we forget to mention that it’s wrapped in rolling papers made of 24-karat gold leaf worth $5,000 alone? “Smoking this would definitely be a multiday endeavor,” Corwin told HuffPost. “After three or four hits, you’d be couch-locked.” As for actually inhaling, Corwin suggests a little pothead prudence.

Although he said the tusk-shaped joint is worth 24 grand, the joint only earned $4,000 for charity Thursday night. The event was held at Fig Earth Supply, an organic nursery in Los Angeles. The giant joint is shaped like an elephant tusk, a nod to the charity it was auctioned off for: the African Wildlife Foundation.“They’re training German shepherds to chase after poachers, and that’s definitely something we want to be a part of,” Corwin said. “Everything was donated, and the person who bought it is my biggest investor, so it’s staying in the family,” Corwin said. Still, he doesn’t think he took a financial hit off the joint. He said he will announce plans for smoking the super-sized spliff in six weeks and promises, “We’ll definitely do it on video.”