Thailand has recently legalized marijuana, so Michelle Lhooq, the drug & parties expert had to go visit, with her parents! Small weeds shops have opened all over the place in recent months, but they just might soon get endangered. Hugely popular US weed brand Cookies opened its first dispensary in Bangkok in January, and there are fears the market will soon be dominated by foreign companies that will put small mom-and-pops out of business. Lhooq points out that the current legal uncertainty around Thai cannabis has prevented international interests from entering the scene, however, companies like Cookies are paving the way for a franchise model where US brands team up with local partners to sell name-brand weed.

“We were the ones most negatively affected by the war on drugs, and America has turned around and created a business from it that’s worth billions” - Jay-Z said explaining his decision to launch Social Equity Ventures Fund worth $10 million, to support minority-owned cannabis start-ups. America’s legal marijuana market is estimated to be worth $61 billion at the moment and heading all the way up. Rapper-turned-cannabis mogul B-Real of Cypress Hill explains - “everybody and their mama is gonna come and stake a claim. The only thing you can do is to stay ahead”. "I’ve got a built-in marketing mechanism" - late Nipsey Hussle said of his cannabis business, now being overseen by his brother. XXL Magazine insists that hip-hop artists getting paid from the cannabis boom is more than just a side hustle - it's a matter of social justice.

Rolling Stone brings an overview of marijuana's legal status in the US. The minority of 13 states have not legalized THC for either medicinal or recreational purposes by now. 17 of the federal states have given their residents a green light to smoke up at their leisure. The rest of the 20 states have it legalized for medical use only.

"Cannabis is a very different social lubricant from alcohol. It heightens sensitivity to the emotional states of both yourself and those around you, rather than numbing everything into a blur. The intimacy and introspection that weed brings to a party is a different kind of energy that makes is well-suited to the need for post-pandemic healing in spaces of social reunification" - Rave New World newsletter writes ahead on 4/20 weed parties about to happen next week.

Recreational marijuana will be legalised in New York state, after officials finalised a deal to permit casual usage and possession of the drug, the New York Times reports. The deal will “allow delivery of the drug and permit club-like lounges or ‘consumption sites’ where marijuana, but not alcohol, could be consumed”. Individuals will also be permitted to legally grow up to six marijuana plants at home for personal use.

United Nations' Commission for Narcotic Drugs made the decision to remove marijuana from the Schedule IV classification of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, which deemed it a dangerous drug, next to heroin. The suggestion to remove marijuana came from the World Health Organization, the New York Times reports. The motion passed with a vote of 27 to 25. The removal does not equate to worldwide legalization or decriminalization, but it will allow for more scientific research to be conducted on the plant.

Subversive Capital Acquisition company has acquired two California-based cannabis brands and named Jay-Z as the resulting holding company’s chief visionary officer, Marijuana Business Daily reports. Subversive Capital is acquiring the direct-to-consumer cannabis platform and brand Caliva as well as Left Coast Ventures, a cannabis and hemp producer, with investment from Roc Nation artists Rihanna, Yo Gotti, and Meek Mill. The deal makes Jay-Z the biggest music player in the California cannabis industry, worth $3 billion a year.

Consequence of Sound, with a little help from Seth Rogen, has found a great and hilarious story, about a guy hired by Snoop Dogg - to roll him joints. Snoop said, in Howard Stern interview, that he calls the gentleman a “P. B. R.: Professional Blunt Roller”, pays him “$40 to $50,000 a year", is […]

San Francisco music festival Outside Lands will allow cannabis sales and a designated smoking area on site for the first time ever. This weekend, festival-goers will be able to buy up to seven grams of non-concentrated cannabis and two grams of cannabis concentrates across all vendors at Outside, Consequence of Sound reports. Music to get […]

Billionaire rapper Jay-Z joined California company Caliva as a "chief brand strategist" in which he will focus on outreach and the creative direction of the company. “We want to create something amazing, have fun in the process, do good and bring people along the way,” the rapper said in a statement, CNN reports.

The Who’s Roger Daltrey is very allergic to pot smoke and the mere presence of it causes his voice to shut down, and exactly that almost happened at show in New York on Monday. Some fans didn't realize it, or maybe just did as they pleased, and smoked pot at the tour kick-off in New […]

Actor C.J. Wallace, the son of rap legend Notorious B.I.G. and singer Faith Evans, is launching a marijuana brand Think BIG with bosses at Lowell Herb Co., with whom he will produce a variety of cannabis products, including pre-rolled joints, vapes, and gummies, as well as branded apparel and stationery. Wallace, 22, explains he was […]

Rapper Tyler, The Creator refuses to allow marijuana or booze in the recording studio when he's working on new music because he demands everyone has a "clear mind," a lesson learned by one of A$AP Rocky's entourage members over the summer, when the two rappers got together to create their song 'Potato Salad'. After noticing the […]