The Marijuana Industry in Arizona: 5 Need-to-Know Facts

Marijuana is a booming business in Arizona and with more companies popping up every day, the industry continues to grow. In 2014, the Arizona Department of Health Services reported that over 10 tons of marijuana was sold through local dispensaries. That grossed an impressive revenue of approximately $ 110 million dollars!

Today, patients who cultivate their own plants are no longer able to do so within 25 miles of a dispensary. And with over 80 dispensaries in Arizona, the pot business is good! Here are just five need-to-know facts about the changing cannabis industry in Arizona:

5 Need-to-Know Facts About Cannabis in Arizona

1. We Are Still Fighting for Legalization. Marijuana has been legal for medicinal use since 2011. The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol is now on the November 2016 ballot as Proposition 205. Under the Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act, anyone over the age of 21 would be able to possess up to one (1) ounce of marijuana and cultivate six (6) plants of their own in a secure area. This initiative would include a 15% retail tax on marijuana sale by licensed businesses that would be allocated directly to the education system. A much needed aid! A recent survey of 500 Arizona voters revealed that 49% of voters would reject legalization for recreational use, 43% would vote “yes,” and around 8% of voters were undecided according to the Arizona Republic.(1)


2. Our Growers Are Educated. The Arizona Department of Health Services allows qualifying patients to grow their own medicine. For this reason, many people have acquired a green thumb but that doesn’t mean that the average Arizona resident can maintain 6 healthy cannabis plants. That’s where professionals come in. Colleges across the state including the University of Arizona now offer classes and degree programs to prepare students for the professional and sustainable cultivation of marijuana. The budding industry has help develop thousands of lucrative jobs in research, biology, chemistry, law, horticulture and medical treatment sectors. Now that’s higher education.


3. There is a Sense of Community. When medical marijuana co-ops first opened in Arizona, everyone had something different to bring to the table. Menus were loaded with distinctive cannabis-infused items to choose from: homemade baklava, cookies, candy… People were making salad dressings, peanut butter – you name it! The same people that were in those collectives are still creating concoctions and sharing them with the rest of us cardholders. Even with dispensaries, the friendship remains and innovators are still happily incorporating cannabis into their healthy lifestyles. And that’s a great thing!


4. Cannabis is an OTC Takeover. You may have already heard that marijuana is safer than pharmaceutical drugs. What you may not know is that many OTC (over the counter drugs) contain acetaminophen. The problem with that is that a staggering amount of people accidentally overdose every year. This added up to over 1,500 deaths in the United States – just between 2001 and 2010! Acetaminophen overdose sends close to 80,000 people to emergency rooms every year and is the leading cause of acute liver failure according to the National Institutes for Health. These shocking statistics pave the way for a not-so-hostile marijuana takeover. If Americans replaced just one NSAID (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug) like Tylenol with marijuana, hundreds of lives could be saved.(2-3)


5. We Aren’t Pot Heads. In Arizona, it’s estimated that between 2013 and 2014 there were approximately 52,374 active cardholders. As a legitimate medical patient, I can tell you that we are NOT just sitting around getting high. Chatting with other patients at clinics, I have become accustom to discussing topics including the laboratory data for CBD (non-psychoactive component) content, THC (psychoactive component) content, flavor profiles and sales! Arizona dispensaries provide high-quality medicine to patients, and as we share in this new experience, collectively we are realizing that marijuana is highly effective for treating many different health problems. There are millions of ways to use marijuana, and many of them don’t include a high at all. Just consider topical products and CBD oil!

What’s Next for Cannabis in Arizona?

As Arizona continues to fight a grassroots battle for legalization, in November 2016 the game may change… in a BIG way. Currently, the average medical marijuana patient in Arizona consumes approximately 166 grams. But cardholders must be approved under these qualifying conditions: cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis C, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s), Crohn’s, Alzheimer’s, cachexia or wasting syndrome, severe and chronic pain, severe nausea, seizures (like epilespy), and severe and persistent spasms (like multiple sclerosis).

If Arizona voters vote “Yes” on Prop 205, marijuana use will be open to all citizens over the age of 21. Stay Tuned!!

References:

1. Wingett Sanchez, Yvonne. Poll: Arizona marijuana-legalization campaign could fail if voted on today? http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/politicalinsider/2016/04/20/poll-marijuana-legalization-campaign/83250834/


2. Mosbergen, Dominique. Tylenol Overdose Risk Is Staggering; Acetaminophen Safeguards Remain Insufficient: Report. The Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/24/tylenol-overdose_n_3976991.html

The Marijuana Industry in Arizona: 5 Need-to-Know Facts

Arizona Cardinals" Larry Fitzgerald Can Catch A Football With His Eyes Closed, Here"s How You Can As well

Arizona Cardinals broad receiver Larry Fitzgerald can catch a football with his eyes closed. In fact, Fitzgerald, arguably the greatest wide receiver in the NFL, occasionally catches passes in video games with his eyes closed like he has a sixth sense. Nevertheless his amazing skill did not manifest from some supernatural occasion, it is the solution of many years of rigorous education that tested the two his bodily and mental capabilities, starting up with a routines developed in his childhood.

As a kid, Fitzgerald suffered from a vision difficulty that produced it hard to spend interest in school. His grandfather Dr. Robert Johnson, an optometrist, worked with Fitzgerald to conquer his disability via vision treatment. Fitzgerald believes that one particular of the keys to his success in the NFL stemmed from this eye strengthening he received as a kid. Inspired by his grandfather’s first visual acuity drills, Fitzgerald quickly came up with his own drills at property. Night soon after night, Fitzgerald would lie awake in his bed and throw a football up in the air, catching it in his dark bedroom. He claims he caught the bulk of the tosses, which produced into his uncanny come to feel for the ball in the air in the course of games.

Even right after restructuring his contract with the Cardinals to free of charge up a lot more cap area, Fitzgerald’s catching expertise will earn him above $ 50 million by way of 2018.  For athletes looking for performances and paychecks like Fitzgerald, incorporating perceptual-cognitive processing drills into workouts could very effectively be the response. In 2012, Dr. Jocelyn Faubert of the University of Montreal carried out a research that found that the capability to enhance perceptual-cognitive processing “may be one particular of the principal determining aspects as to no matter whether athletes will… perform nicely at superior levels.” Dr. Faubert also found that the ability to process movement faster is a trainable skill. In fact, Faubert discovered that cognitive processing training is not only attainable but there is also higher ceiling for improvement for professional athletes.

Willie Williams, a retired NFL cornerback with a job spanning the Steelers, Seahawks, and two Super Bowl appearances, concurs with the findings of Faubert’s research that cognitive processing workouts boost athletic potential. Williams thinks that these drills enhance on traditional athletic exercises by rising hand eye coordination, motor skills, and focus. Utilized in conjunction with other coaching, Williams contends that these routines can give athletes an edge above their opponents on the football discipline.

The Batak

A lot of professional sports activities teams have previously begun in search of that edge more than the competitors by implementing physical exercise gear developed to improve their player’s cognitive talents. The Batak, a machine especially made to increase reaction, hand eye coordination and stamina, is utilised by Manchester United, Formula 1 driver Heikki Kovalainen, and the NBA’s Toronto Raptors. The D2™ is a light board that improves response occasions, visual-motor coordination, and peripheral visual awareness. By bettering these skills, the user tends to make much better, quicker, smarter choices. For instance, D2™ coaching can help a quarterback see the total field, even though focused on downfield receivers. Baseball batters approach the pitched ball’s motion a lot more speedily, resulting in more hits. The device has been utilized by the Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III, the Pittsburgh Steelers (they have two of them) and NASCAR driver Kasey Kahne.  The Makoto Arena works on quickness, response time, and mental acuity, and can give a thorough report on one’s response time and deficiencies.  The Pittsburgh Steelers, St. Louis Cardinals, and Denver Nuggets have all used the machine, as effectively as Specific Forces Instruction, the Air Force Academy and the Naval Warfare Center.  As opposed to a basic bench press machine, much of the products utilised in perceptual-cognitive training functions engineering that can exactly track one’s performance.    By investing in these methods and obtaining time to include them into their regular education schedules, sports activities teams hope their gamers will have a psychological edge in excess of their opponents that will translate into greater team performances.

The Makoto Arena

Some athletic trainers and sports activities amenities have also adopted the equipment for customized cognitive processing workout routines, but the machines are not low cost.  A Makoto Arena can value above $ 8,000 and a D2™ will set you back practically $ 16,000.  Positioned in Rockville, Maryland, Fitness for Well being specializes in therapeutic physical exercise for young children with particular demands.  Due to their focus on building mental processing and motor capabilities, Fitness for Wellness has several of the exact same machines that teams are employing. Like Fitzgerald, Fitness for Overall health founder Marc Sickel struggled developmentally as a child. Increasing up, Sickel’s understanding and motor processing troubles motivated him to figure out techniques to modify and compensate. Once he graduated from university Sickel began generating workout applications that incorporated cognitive-processing training, developed to help people dealing with the very same disabilities Sickel faced as a kid. “The programs are based on the problems I had expanding up, I wanted to engage children,” he said in a telephone call.

The D2

Sickel has adapted his program initially made for youngsters with concerns this kind of as autism to suit the requirements of skilled athletes by intensifying the speed and trouble of the workout routines.  Zack Kerr, a rookie defensive tackle with the Indianapolis Colts, identified the drills he did at Fitness for Health to be useful. “I loved my expertise there, it brought a various element to education, not only physically, but it worked my brain as well,” Kerr explained.  Myron Flowers, proprietor of 360 Match Efficiency primarily based in Silver Spring, Maryland, at present trains 23 NFL players and above 50 Division one scholarship athletes. Flowers not too long ago put some of his athletes through a test-run of cognitive coaching drills at Fitness for Well being. “They loved it, they appreciated the challenge, that is what athletes thrive on,” Flowers explained, “It was exciting and that is what it’s about very first and foremost.”  Flowers mentioned that the capacity for athletes to document their progress for the duration of the workout was not only motivating, but facilitated competition in between the participants. “Knowing you can come back and increase on it makes you much more enthusiastic to do it as nicely,” he mentioned.

Even though catching a football with one’s eyes closed could seem like just a amazing trick, it represents an intense cognitive-physical connection that translates into the sharp psychological awareness Fitzgerald displays on the discipline. Several athletes are beginning to worth the seemingly sixth sense awareness and acute hand-eye coordination that Fitzgerald credits as one particular of the foundations for his good results.  Sickel confirmed this, noting that Fitness for Well being has begun seeing a surge in interest from athletes.  Many of the athletes interviewed for this article are hoping programs such as these can turn out to be their secret coaching weapon as a cardio-coordination crossover workout.  In spite of their already packed schedules, athletes are willing to block off time to create these capabilities.  “Anything that’s going to make them greater, they’re inclined to do,” Flowers mentioned.

Andrew Goodman is the Chief Investment Officer at CIC Wealth. Circle him on Google+

Arizona Cardinals" Larry Fitzgerald Can Catch A Football With His Eyes Closed, Here"s How You Can As well