The longer nights, the wind, the chill – all great for Halloween.

Halloween is big in the US with 96.95% of 25 to 34 planning to celebrate in some form – this is more than the 18-24 crowd (93.18%). The holiday come to the US in the 19th century was with my traditional coming  from the Irish and Scots, and ^{Cajuns. It is now a huge season and worth a record $12.2 billion in spending. This is a significant increase the $8 billion spent in 2020. It is also one of the top 5 drinking and top 10 marijuana holidays in North America.}

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The word “Halloween” is derived from “All Hallows’ Eve,” which refers to the evening before All Saints’ Day. As Irish immigrants brought their traditions to America in the 19th century, Halloween evolved into a community-centered holiday characterized by activities like trick-or-treating, costume parties, and pumpkin carving. Interestingly, the first jack-o’-lanterns were made from turnips, not pumpkins, as they are today. The traditional colors of black and orange with black symbolizing death while orange represents the fall harvest.

Halloween costumes were originally vampires, ghosts, skeletons, scary looking witches, and devils. ^{Over time, the costume selection extended to include popular characters from fiction, celebrities, popular memes, ninjas and princesses. In the 1940s, Halloween retailers Ben Cooper, H. Halpern Company (Halco), and Collegeville started licensing costumes for existing characters like Superman and Donald Duck. These store bought outfits were more appealing and easier for kids and adults. You didn’t have to think, everything was all put together. The Ben Cooper company were the first to premier the very popular Richard Nixon mask in the late 1960s, which sold as equally well as its Ronald Reagan mask even in the late 1980s.  The women’s lib and gay revolution introduced the sexy costume in the 70s. These cultural events made way for the normalization of sexy costumes today.}

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On average, children eat around 7,000 calories and three cups of sugar on Halloween, which is equivalent to almost 169 sugar cubes.  Adults eats about 3.4 pounds during the time around the holiday – about 222 sugar cubes.

The most popular candy for Halloween is:

• M&M’s.
• Reese’s Cups.
• Sour Patch Kids.
• Skittles.
• Starburst

At your next event, you can share these fun facts about Halloween.

He is honored for helping open the new world…and a certain plant had helped a quite a bit.

There are so many myths and stories around Columbus. Did he discover North America (spoiler -looked like the Vikings beat him to the continent)? He wasn’t about gold and glory, he was about bringing religion to the world in honor of Catholic Spain. The other big myth is he was Italian, but now it is believed he was Spanish and Jewish, and hid it to avoid being prosecuted. But what about Christopher Columbus and cannabis.

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Cannabis played a significant role in 16th century society, particularly in England and Europe. It was considered the “golden age of hemp”, especially under the reign of King Henry VIII. In 1533, the king introduced a hemp cultivation law requiring landowners to dedicate 1/4 acre for every 60 acres to growing hemp, or face fines. European herbals and pharmacopoeias of the time listed various medical applications for cannabis. The number of reported medicinal uses for cannabis doubled during this period as travelers brought back information from the East. And, it helped make Columbus’s journey possible.

Hemp fiber was in high demand for producing durable sails, ropes, and nets for the expanding English navy…and the Spanish noticed. The sails and ropes of his three ships the La Santa Clara (Niña), La Pinta, and La Santa Gallega (Santa Maria), were made of hemp. The cracks between the planks were filled with hemp to make the ships watertight. No other natural fibre can withstand the forces of the open ocean and the stresses of salt water.

The hold of the Santa Maria, his flagship, was filled with hemp seeds. The ship had a supply of food provisions including salted meats, dried fish, hardtack biscuits, beans, lentils, and cheese, meant to last the duration of the voyage.  And hemp served as a protein-rich source nutritious snack for the crew, aldditionally the hemp seeds could be planted in any newly discovered regions.

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The ships’ lamps were fuelled using hemp oil and these lamps lighting the way and most clothes had hemp fiber. But it is doubtful they used the cannabis hemp for fun. The ships were roughly 60 feet long and 20 feet wide. And they had carried around 88 men. So their was a ton of focus in the open ocean…and very little privacy.

Hemp’s contribution is displayed in Barcelona at the base of the statue honoring the explore. It has cannabis leaves.  So this Columbus Day, now the humble cannabis plant helped out quite a bit.

There is lots of talk about indica, sativa, and hybrids – but does it really matter?

All of Canadian and over 50% of the US population have access to legal cannabis, and use is increasing and people are being more open. Sales are rocketing, but like spririts and wine, do people really focus type of strain?  Do marijuana strains really matter and what should you know? A YouGov survey asked how people purchased wine, which sells more than the cannabis industry. The top three factors in choosing a wine is price (by far), brand and ratings. With marijuana, it is markets by strain and price.

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Marijuana, derived from the cannabis plant, is commonly categorized into three main types: indica, sativa, and hybrid. While these classifications have been widely used, recent research suggests that the distinctions may not be as clear-cut as once believed.

Indica

Cannabis indica plants are typically short and bushy with wide leaves. Originating from the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan, India, Pakistan, and Turkey, these plants adapted to harsh, dry climates. Indica strains are often associated with relaxing and calming effects, making them popular for nighttime use. They are commonly believed to have higher levels of CBD compared to THC, although this is not always the case.

Sativa

Cannabis sativa plants are generally tall and thin with narrow leaves. They are native to hot, dry climates with long sunny days, such as Africa, Central America, and Southeast Asia. In North America, they are grown in the American South (illegally) or in grow houses. Sativa strains are typically associated with energizing and uplifting effects, often described as producing a “mind high”. They are frequently used during the day and are thought to have higher THC content compared to CBD.

Hybrid

Hybrid strains are the result of crossbreeding indica and sativa plants. Due to extensive breeding over the years, most strains available today are hybrids. Hybrids can be indica-dominant, sativa-dominant, or balanced, offering a wide range of effects depending on their specific genetic makeup.  Breeders create hybrids to combine desirable traits from different strains, such as flavor, aroma, potency, and specific effects

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While the indica-sativa-hybrid classification system remains popular, it’s important to note that these categories are not scientifically accurate predictors of a strain’s effects. The cannabis plant has evolved significantly due to selective breeding, and pure indica or sativa landraces are now extremely rare. Modern cannabis research focuses on the plant’s chemical composition rather than its physical characteristics or supposed lineage. The effects of a particular strain are determined by its unique profile of cannabinoids (such as THC and CBD) and terpenes, rather than its classification as indica, sativa, or hybrid.