Griner, who plays for the Phoenix Mercury, was arrested at a Russian airport on February 17 and later pleaded guilty to charges of possession of cannabis cartridges in her luggage, one week before Russia invaded Ukraine. 

She ultimately faced nine years in prison for 0.7 grams of weed: “[Ms. Griner] bought two cartridges for personal use, which contained 0.252 grams and 0.45 grams of hash oil, totaling 0.702 grams,” Russian news agency TASS stated. Griner was transferred to a Russian penal colony last month.

Griner’s case is a flashpoint for debate—given the thousands of other Americans in prison in the U.S. and beyond on cannabis-related charges. Five months of diplomacy and deceitful messages from Russian officials finally came to an end.

“She’s safe, she’s on a plane, she’s on her way home,” Biden said at the White House, alongside Griner’s wife, Cherelle, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement released by Russian news agencies that the swap took place in Abu-Dhabi and that Bout has been flown home. Last week a top Russian official said that a deal was underway, as did Biden.

Sergei Ryabkov, Russia’s deputy foreign minister, said on November 18 that there was new activity surrounding a potential prisoner swap, but people remained generally skeptical. Amid the unprovoked invasion in the Ukraine, tensions remain high.

The outcome, however, feels bittersweet for people with family members locked up on cannabis related charges.

Griner Release Comes at a Price

Griner’s release comes at a price: In order to secure Griner’s release, Biden ordered Bout, known as the “Merchant of Death,” to be freed and returned to Russia as a stipulation. Biden signed a commutation order freeing Bout from his 25-year federal prison sentence.

Bout is a former Soviet Army lieutenant colonel who was described by the U.S. Department of Justice as one of the world’s most prolific arms dealers. Bout’s fingerprint can be seen in the supply of missiles and arms in violent wars in Afghanistan, Colombia, the Congo, and the overthrow of the Gaddafi government in Libya in 2011.

Frankly, the fact that 0.7 grams of weed is considered equivalent is outrageous.

CBS News reports that according to the former Moscow Ambassador John Sullivan, Russian officials fixated on freeing Bout, or no deal was in order.

Bout was arrested by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) in Thailand following a sting operation carried out by American agents in 2008. He was eventually convicted of conspiring to kill Americans and was sentenced to 25 years in prison about 10 years ago. 

Bout was most recently incarcerated at a federal prison in Marion, Illinois before the release.

Free Other Prisoners

As thousands of other cannabis prisoners in the U.S. and beyond await their own releases, some celebrities pointed out the hypocrisy. 

U.S. officials attempted for several months to bring home both Griner and Paul Whelan, a Michigan man also locked up in Russia since December 2018 on “espionage charges” that his family and the U.S. government both deny.

“We’ve not forgotten about Paul Whelan,” Biden said. “We will keep negotiating in good faith for Paul’s release.”

But it’s important to keep in mind that Whelan’s own family supports the release, despite still waiting for Paul’s release. “The Biden Administration made the right decision to bring Ms. Griner home, and to make the deal that was possible, rather than waiting for one that wasn’t going to happen,” Paul’s brother David said in a statement.

Last April, the U.S. traded Russian cocaine smuggler Konstantin Yaroshenko for American former prisoner Trevor Reed. 

The post Brittney Griner Released from Russian Prison in Exchange for Arms Dealer appeared first on High Times.

Ten years later, he fled his hometown of Las Vegas to settle in the arguable industry mecca of skateboarding, Los Angeles. By a stroke of fate, he ran into Chad Muska, one of skateboarding’s biggest talents and personalities, in front of Brooklyn Projects skate shop on Melrose Avenue. Having mutual friends from Sin City, the pair struck up a conversation, which led to watching a footage tape that Szafranski had with him. Blown away after seeing the first trick, Muska sponsored him on the spot. From that point on, Szafranski’s career took off, eventually earning himself coveted spots on the Baker skateboards and Emerica footwear teams before turning professional in 2006.

As much as skateboarding is integral to Szafranski’s existence, so is the same with marijuana. Since the early days of his career, he has been a steadfast proponent of the plant, as is most evident in the introduction of his Baker 3 video part. In our interview, we discuss how legalization has changed Nevada, the secret to achieving Zen-like clarity while trying a trick, and why the skateboarding culture has always been so closely associated with weed.

Do you remember the first time you smoked weed?

In school I remember that the D.A.R.E program affected people differently. There was a cop there explaining marijuana, that it’s the “gateway drug” that “changes you and makes your personality crazy.” I remember my neighbor—my best friend since age three—and I looked at each other and we were like, Oh my god, we need to try this!

My neighbor’s older sister, who was in high school, was having a party. She came over, grabbed me, and said, “Hey, I want you to come to the side of the house with me.” Of course it was two high school dudes who were smoking her out and asked if we wanted to hit it. We both smoked and realized, Wait a minute, this isn’t anything like what the cop said—this is very mellow and casual and we don’t feel like psychos! We’ve literally been smoking ever since.

In previous interviews you mentioned that you and your dad have weed tattoos. How did those come about?

My dad knew that I smoked since I was younger, but he wouldn’t talk about it or anything because [he] was just smarter than that. When I turned 18, he came over and gave me a 12-pack of beer and an eighth of weed. He said, “If you are old enough to die for this country you are old enough to do either of these in this country—fuck what they say.”

The next thing that came out of his mouth was: “But if it was up to me, I would throw away that 12-pack and smoke this the rest of your life. I’ve never heard of anyone smoking a joint and doing a mass murder, but I see drunk people doing dumb shit every day,” he said.

He then offered to buy me a tattoo. He wanted to get some weed leaves with some handcuffs, so we both got that, with “Legalize” underneath. He always made this joke that if it ever became legal that we would add the “D.”

He never registered to vote in his life, but when legalization was on the ballet, we both registered and voted. When it passed and weed became legal, we went to a tattoo parlor the same day and added the “D.” He was jumping up and down, screaming, “It’s fucking legal!”

Nevada is coming up on six years of being marijuana-friendly. How has Las Vegas, as a microcosm of the state, changed since then?

To tell you the truth, it’s something that should have happened a long time ago out here. People come to Vegas to experience all of their desires—everything they can’t do in their normal day-to-day life.

I don’t think that it’s changed; I just think that no one is paranoid anymore. If you have an ounce in the trunk of your car and it doesn’t reek, you can drive to a friend’s house without looking over your shoulder, thinking that it could be the end of everything.

I think the original argument is that people would be going crazy if weed was legalized; but clearly it’s not like that.

If anything, it calmed down the city. I’ve talked about it with people that have law enforcement in their families that have said that since it became legal, the amount of DUIs and DUI deaths have gone down because more people are smoking. Think about all those people that were super shitfaced, wasted, but instead took two hits from a joint and thought, Ah, I’m just gonna sit on the couch tonight. I don’t even care about going out. 

How, if at all, has smoking helped your skating?

It 1000% helps. Anyone that knows skateboarding understands that it’s as much, if not more, of a mental game than it is a physical one. The mental game is the strongest part of skateboarding, the hardest part. 

I think Jon Miner [Emerica footwear videographer] explained it perfectly to me. He said, “Your ADHD would always get a hold of you, where you would get close on the first try, but then get so excited and mentally in your head that you might try the trick for four hours and not make it.”

If I’m in the middle of trying a trick [that is becoming a battle], and I take a hit or two, all of sudden my mind goes from What was I losing? to What can I gain? I instantly focus in: Okay, slow it down. You know what you are doing. You know how to make this happen. You wouldn’t be trying this if it wasn’t for you knowing that you can do this. And within a try or two I usually ride away. It has everything to do with not just taking that approach from the beginning. 

It seems like what you are describing is something involving being present, almost a Zen state. 

I think a lot of people who use it as medicine in the right way can get into a Zen moment and it can honestly change your perspective of what you are doing through skating, and a lot of different things, as a whole.

Why is skateboarding and weed so closely associated with each other?

I think that weed is in every culture. However, skateboarders, before this new era, were bandits. Everything came from an outlaw perspective. Skateboarding, from the beginning, is a crime. It should always be an outlawed thing because, you know, it’s what we do. We do the funnest things in places that you are not supposed to, and that’s what makes it so spectacular.

Despite weed being considered an outlaw thing in the past, most skaters weren’t scared to hide it. Athletes in any category that wanted to be in the Olympics were scared of blowing sponsors if they got caught, even though they smoked weed in their off time! Skateboarding didn’t have drug testing and not being able to be on a team if you smoke. Skateboarding is about being who you are. I think that’s why skaters have shown the world that we smoke weed and can be open about it.

You mentioned the Olympics. What are your thoughts on skateboarding being involved since Tokyo 2020?

I don’t care. Just like Jake Phelps (RIP) said, “One week every four years, and then it’s done and no one seems to give a shit again until the next four years.”

It’s the same fifteen, elite skaters that actually care over the millions of skateboarders that are out there. If you want to be part of that world, that’s awesome. I think that it’s wonderful that it’s going to be in the Olympics if that’s what skateboarding wants to be. I’m still not, to this day, going to say if skateboarding is a sport whether it is or isn’t considered one now. It’s still always what it was to me.

What are you most interested in these days?

Skateboarding. I still try to get out as much as I can. I’ve broken every bone in my body so many times, so it’s whatever. I’m 39 years old, so when I’m not sore from the last session, it’s time to get back out there.

Now I have days in between skating when I’m sore as shit, so I started thinking about other things that inspired me in my life. I always loved art, drawing, and tattoos. It fell into my lap when a friend who had a shop said, “Why don’t you just start apprenticing under me?” I thought it sounded fun. Now it’s become an addiction, just like skating. It can be nerve-racking to think, If I fuck up, this is something that is there for this person’s life. I get this same feeling of rush when I am tattooing that I do when I’m doing anything else. 

Besides that, my interests include painting, side projects, and woodshop stuff. Anything that can keep me moving and going forward.

Now for the most important question of the interview: Does weed save lives?

Weed does save lives. I’ve been saying this since the beginning of time and now the fucking world is starting to see it.

How many times have you talked about that with skaters?

It doesn’t matter what country, city, restaurant, or whatever. If a skater recognizes me, it’s always, “Weed saves lives! All right, Braydon, woo!”

Follow along with Braydon’s skateboarding and tattooing here.

The post In Conversation with Skateboarder Braydon Szafranski appeared first on High Times.

Sergei Ryabkov, Russia’s deputy foreign minister, said on Friday that there was fresh “activity” surrounding a potential prisoner swap involving Griner, who was transferred to a Russian penal colony earlier this month, and Viktor Bout, the Russian arms dealer currently serving a 25-year prison sentence in the United States.

Ryabkov’s comments were quoted in Russian media.

“We haven’t found common ground yet, but, undoubtedly, Viktor Bout is among those being discussed and obviously we are hoping for a positive result,” Ryabkov said, as reported on by ESPN. “The Americans are showing certain activity and we are working on this through appropriate channels.”

But the State Department splashed cold water on that, saying that Russia has not been a serious party to the negotiations. 

“We are not going to comment on the specifics of any proposals other than to say that we have made a substantial offer that the Russian Federation has consistently failed to negotiate in good faith,” a State Department spokesperson said, as quoted by ESPN. “The U.S. Government has continued to follow up on that offer and propose alternative potential ways forward with the Russian government. The Russian government’s failure to seriously negotiate on these issues in the established channel, or any other channel for that matter runs counter to its public statements.”

The U.S. has proposed a prisoner swap with Russia that would secure the release of both Griner and Paul Whelan, a United States citizen who has been held in Russia since 2018 on espionage charges, in exchange for Bout. But so far, a deal has yet to materialize. 

Griner, a star for the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA, has been detained in Russia since February, when she was arrested in a Moscow airport on drug charges (officials found cannabis oil in her luggage).

Griner pleaded guilty to the charges in July, but said it was a mistake and that she did not intend to break the law. In August, Griner was convicted by a Russian court, which sentenced her to nine years in prison.

Last month, the court denied Griner’s appeal. 

Earlier this month, Griner’s lawyers confirmed that their client had been transferred to a Russian penal colony.

U.S. officials met with Griner earlier this month for the first time since her arrest in February, when she was returning to Russia to play for UMMC Ekaterinburg, a team for which which she has played during the WNBA’s offseason since 2014.

“We are told she is doing as well as can be expected under the circumstances,” the White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre said regarding the meeting. 

“As we have said before, the U.S. government made a significant offer to the Russians to resolve the current unacceptable and wrongful detentions of American citizens Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan,” Jean-Pierre added. “I can also tell you that in the subsequent weeks, despite a lack of good faith negotiation by the Russians, the U.S. government has continued to follow up on that offer and propose alternative potential ways forward with Russians through all available channels.

President Joe Biden, who met with Griner’s family members in September, said in a news conference following the midterm election earlier this month that he is hopeful Russian President Vladimir Putin will be willing to negotiate a release.

“My hope is that now that the election is over, that Mr. Putin will be able to discuss with us and be willing to talk more seriously about a prisoner exchange,” Biden said.

The post Russia Signals That Griner Could Be Released, But U.S. Skeptical appeared first on High Times.

The New York Times reported that Griner’s lawyers “said in a statement [on Wednesday] that her destination was unknown and that they expected to be notified through official mail, along with the U.S. Embassy, once she has arrived, a process that can take up to two weeks.”

Griner, 32, has been detained in Russia since February, when she was arrested at a Moscow airport on drug charges. Security officials found cannabis oil in her luggage, which Griner later said was an accident.

Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison by a Russian court in August, a decision that was upheld last month when she was denied in her appeal. 

Her transfer to a Russian penal colony marks another dark development for Griner, a star for the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA and widely regarded as one of the greatest women’s basketball players ever. 

According to the Times, penal colonies “are notorious for abusive treatment of inmates, overcrowding and harsh conditions.”

“Some prisoners are tortured, or beaten by fellow inmates. Some have to work 16-hour days. A few are forced to watch Russian propaganda on repeat,” the Times reported. “This is the world of the Russian penal colony, into which Brittney Griner is about to be inducted for a nine-year term after her sentencing on drug smuggling charges was upheld last month.”

The transfer also makes the already trying circumstances even more difficult for Griner’s friends and family back home.

“Prisoners are typically not allowed to communicate with the outside world for a week or two while they are moved, and lawyers and family members do not know where the inmates are going — learning which penal colony the sentence will be served in only once the prisoner arrives,” the Times said.

Griner’s ongoing detention, coming at a time of heightened tensions between the United States and Russia, has turned into a diplomatic standoff. 

The U.S. has sought a prisoner swap with Russia, which would secure the release of Griner and Paul Whelan, an American citizen who has been detained in Russia on espionage charges since 2018. 

In exchange, the U.S. would release Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer currently serving a 25-year prison sentence in the United States. 

Russia has, thus far, resisted the offer. 

U.S. embassy officials in Moscow met with Griner last week for the first time since she was detained. 

“We are told she is doing as well as can be expected under the circumstances,” the White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre said last week following the meeting, as quoted by The New York Times.

“As we have said before, the U.S. government made a significant offer to the Russians to resolve the current unacceptable and wrongful detentions of American citizens Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan,” Jean-Pierre added, as quoted by the Times. “I can also tell you that in the subsequent weeks, despite a lack of good faith negotiation by the Russians, the U.S. government has continued to follow up on that offer and propose alternative potential ways forward with Russians through all available channels.

President Joe Biden said in a news conference on Wednesday that, with the midterm elections in the United States now completed, he is hopeful that Russian President Vladmir Putin will return to the negotiating table.

“My hope is that now that the election is over, that Mr. Putin will be able to discuss with us and be willing to talk more seriously about a prisoner exchange,” Biden said, as quoted by ESPN.

The post Brittney Griner Moved To Russian Penal Colony in Unknown Location appeared first on High Times.

“We are very disappointed,” Griner’s lawyers said in a statement, as quoted by The New York Times, after the court upheld the conviction on Tuesday. “The verdict contains numerous defects, and we hoped that the court of appeal would take them into consideration.”

Griner is now set to begin serving her sentence, although it will be slightly reduced. According to the Associated Press, the Moscow region court said in its ruling on Tuesday that “the time Griner will have to serve in prison will be recalculated with her time in pre-trial detention taken into account.” The AP reported that one day “in pre-trial detention will be counted as 1.5 days in prison, so the basketball star will have to serve around eight years in prison.”

Griner, a star for the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA, was arrested in February while traveling to Russia to suit up for UMMC Ekaterinburg, a Russian team for which she had played during the WNBA’s offseason since 2014.

Officials at the airport found cannabis oil in Griner’s luggage.

Her detention has veered into the realm of diplomacy, emerging as another standoff in the strained relations between the United States and Russia.

The two countries have discussed a potential prisoner swap that would secure the release of both Griner and Paul Whelan, a U.S. citizen who has been detained in a Russian prison on espionage charges since 2018.

The U.S. has offered to release Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer who is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence in the United States, in exchange for Griner and Whalen, but a deal has yet to come to fruition.

Earlier this month, Bill Richardson, who previously served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and governor of New Mexico, said he was “cautiously optimistic” that both Griner and Whalen will be released by the end of the year.

Richardson, an experienced negotiator for families of detainees and hostages, traveled to Moscow last month to meet with Russian officials.

“I got the sense that the Russian officials that I met with, that I’ve known over the years, are ready to talk,” Richardson said in an interview on CNN. “I got a good sense from the Russians – the vibrations – but I’m not a government official.”

“I’m not part of the government, the government channel. I’ve always made that clear. I respect that. I think any decision, for instance, a release, a prisoner exchange, has to be made by the President. And I think the administration has done a good job on that,” he added.

President Joe Biden met with the families of Griner and Whalen last month.

In August, following Griner’s conviction, Biden said that his administration “will continue to work tirelessly and pursue every possible avenue to bring Brittney and Paul Whelan home safely as soon as possible.”

“Today, American citizen Brittney Griner received a prison sentence that is one more reminder of what the world already knew: Russia is wrongfully detaining Brittney,” Biden said in a statement. 

The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Griner’s “lawyers said they had not decided whether to take the case any further.”

“We need to discuss this with our client,” the lawyers said in a statement, as quoted by the Times. “We generally think that we must use all the available legal tools, especially given the harsh and unprecedented nature of her verdict.”

The post Griner Denied Appeal, Drug Conviction Upheld by Russian Court appeared first on High Times.

Player Position

Unlike the NBA, NFL, or MLB, the NHL does not take a punitive approach to cannabis. The league is only testing players for cannabis within the context of trying across the board and providing health and wellness services. They aren’t suspending, fining, or mandatorily sending players to treatment for a positive cannabis test—all the other leagues are doing some combination. In 2018 just as Canada legalized cannabis, Edmonton Oilers team captain and star player Connor McDavid, one of the league’s brightest and best, voiced his own support of cannabis. 

“I say this more talking about the CBD side of it, obviously: You’d be stupid not to at least look into it,” the Oilers captain said. “When your body’s sore like it is sometimes, you don’t want to take pain stuff and Advil all the time. There are better ways to do it. … You’re seeing many smart guys look into it. You’re seeing a lot of really smart doctors look into it. If all the boxes are checked there, and it’s safe and everything like that, then I think you may hear them out.”

McDavid’s comments, even five years down the line, still track. Hockey is a rough sport, and it’s no secret that players are putting themselves at serious risk every time they lace up their skates. An anecdotal insider’s report for SportsNet.ca estimated that 60-70% of players are likely consuming cannabis in some form—and who can blame them? Brett Hull certainly wouldn’t. Along with fellow former St. Louis Blues players Barrett Jackman and Kelly Chase, Hull recently opened a medical marijuana dispensary in Missouri and his strain, “Brett Hull #16.” 

With Hull bringing an authentic passion to cannabis, the NHL is not short of cannabis connectors. “Everybody else, from (Chase) with his lesion on his brain, and Todd Ewen, and people getting their hips and knee replaced and having chronic problems, guys who can’t even play golf because their backs are so screwed up. You look at that and the facts that have come out that CBD, along with THC, in cannabis can alleviate pain. If you can have something like that that alleviates the pain without taking opioids, it is worthwhile to keep studying it and moving forward,” Hull said.

And like Ewen, Ex-Detroit Red Wings captain Bob Probert died at age 45—a brain scan revealed his CTE. Players dying from CTE-related complications is not a strict hockey problem, but it’s bad for business. Cannabis might not be a cure for CTE, but at least there’s reason to think about it.

Simply put, hockey takes a toll on a player’s body, and the NHL could be doing more to ensure players know the correct information about cannabis. Players are often wholly worn out physically by the time their playing careers end. In addition, ex-NHLers are not uncommon to develop various other health issues, including chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Though CTE continues to be a contentious and uncomfortable topic for athletes and sports administrators, it must be dealt with. It’s hard to argue how cannabis wouldn’t have helped these ex-players in their physical recoveries and, by extension, the quality of their lives. “For each year a person played hockey, there was an associated 15% increased chance for progressing one CTE stage.” The NHL has a beautiful sport they steward. They can do the right thing by modeling cannabis responsibly.

Stanley Cup champion Darren McCarty spoke to High Times in 2019, citing his public battle with pills and alcoholism as the catalyst for his cannabis connection.  

“After winning a couple [Stanley] Cups, I had hernia surgery. The Vicodin and the Percocet and all the stuff they fill you with… You know, I tell everybody that addiction is like the walking dead. You feel a lot like you’re there in your body, but you can’t get out, and it’s the worst thing. As an exit strategy, going back to this plant, has enabled me to be free of the addiction…. that’s why I’m such a proponent. Not only did it save my life, but I treated it like one of my hockey teammates, and I stuck up for it.”

Both Hull’s and McCarty’s stories are unique in their details but universal in how relatable they are. Cannabis is the medical remedy the NHL needs to embrace should they be serious about protecting their players’ health—especially in light of the newly added yet undefined variable of sports betting—but again, maybe they just need the right partners.

Power Play Partners

The NHL’s new ESPN+ package is the NHL Power Play. It’s a snazzier attempt to sell the sport, one year after the league re-joined the fold at ESPN and TNT to record success. The NHL clearly has a fantastic product that, when packaged correctly, does numbers. In a seven-figure deal, NHL premier insider Elliotte Friedman detailed, “Ottawa became the first team to put a gambling company (Bet99) on their helmet ads. The Senators won’t be the last after the NHL opened this door. It’s not surprising Ottawa would be unafraid to take this leap. Several years ago, at a league business meeting, owner Eugene Melnyk passionately argued he was allowed to sell marijuana/CBD oil advertising after it was legalized. The NHL wasn’t ready for that.” 

The NHL has a distinct advantage: over 90% of the league’s 32 clubs are in places with legal or medicinal marijuana policies. Moreover, given their position on sports betting, they can’t reasonably disallow cannabis on any moral grounds. One looks at the mediascape of any chosen sport today, and it’s impossible to avoid an advertisement for sports betting. The gambling and sports betting industry was exiled, having been cleaned back into society through the guise of daily fantasy sports, games of skill, and even the gambling tied in with sports video games.

The NHL can’t say at this point that cannabis is more of a threat to society than gambling. Eugene Melynk knew it, and others have to know it now too. Sports fans are no longer conditioned to just root for their favorite local clubs. Still, they are cultivated and groomed into a culture of addiction with ongoing parlay promotions and sign-ups for daily fantasy sports wagering.

In a recent Q&A with The Athletic‘s Michael Russo and Sean Gentile, NHL Deputy Commissioner explained their reasoning for the new gambling-friendly sweater policy:

“We think it’s a very valuable opportunity. It’s obviously one that we had been resistant to taking this step for a long time. I think the pandemic, and ways of driving revenue and retaining revenue, became paramount when we didn’t have fans in the building and weren’t generating any revenues. So it became a much more viable option at that point in time, and something our owners embraced when we opened that door. And I think it’s obviously going to be a significant driver of revenue.”

Is this not a double standard? Understandably, the NHL may want to avoid having specific brand names on their sweaters, but the world of cannabis is global and diverse; the NHL could use more of that.

Smoke & Mirrors

So, is the NHL putting out some smoke and mirrors to the cannabis world? Probably not, but it’s worth keeping in mind this is the same league that, in one year after introducing a no-gambling on helmet advertising policy, has completely shifted the opposite way. Perhaps then, at least on a superficial level, the NHL’s new policy and decision to have its partnership czar be a spokesman via the league’s primary media partner, ESPN, feels pointed. Is cannabis coming? Not this season, at least. Keith Wachtel, NHL’s chief business officer and executive vice president of global partnerships, told ESPN’s Greg Wyshinski:

“The NHL prohibits any jersey patches that advertise alcohol — spirits and beer — tobacco and marijuana products, or anything that’s of a sexual nature. The league also won’t allow consumer product licensing ads that might conflict with a partner like Fanatics.”

The good thing for cannabis companies is that even with Wachtel’s statements, hockey is clearly moving forward with marijuana so long as they find the right partners. For example, the PHPA became the first-ever athlete union with a cannabis partner. Although they are not the NHLPA, the PHPA represents the NHL’s minor league players and indicates a sport that recognizes the benefits cannabis can offer. So perhaps a Los Angeles Kings and LA Kush collab isn’t as far off as we think. Maybe before cannabis ends up on an official team uniform, it’ll be on the league’s new digital “dasherboards.”

The NHL can no longer morally grandstand about cannabis when actively promoting and profiting from sports betting. Indeed, active players and franchises can legally consume cannabis and happily accept the permissible checks generated by their name, image, and likeness—be it hockey, sports betting, and, one day soon, hopefully, join the fight for equitable, legal cannabis too. 

Crash The Net

At this point, sports leagues can no longer ignore the gambling revenue—and they don’t. In June 2021, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said no uniform advertising in 2022. What happened? Exactly the opposite. In September of 2021, the Washington Capitals announced a multi-year agreement with Caesar’s Entertainment for a patch of advertising on their home sweaters set to start in the fall of 2022. That’s a literal three-month turnaround, and now, the Vegas Golden Knights dealt with Circa Sports, and the Arizona Coyotes did the same with Gila River Casino. Players are signing deals with gambling companies, too—McDavid signed with BetMGM, just as Auston Matthews did with Bet99.  

If in the year 2022, a time in which multi-state operating, international sportsbooks, casinos, and gambling corporations are permitted to buy significant league sports uniform advertising, there is no reason to believe cannabis won’t soon follow suit. MLB just did a deal with Charlotte’s Web too. For now, cannabis might still be a bit stuck in the penalty box, but a power play has to be coming.

The post NHL and Cannabis: A Power Play Goal appeared first on High Times.

America’s pastime is getting in on with one of the country’s hottest trends, with Major League Baseball announcing on Wednesday that it is teaming up with Charlotte’s Web in what is being billed as the first sponsorship deal between a major professional sports league and a CBD brand.

The multi-year deal between the league and Charlotte’s Web, a CBD company based in Colorado, includes a line of MLB-branded products and will result in “increased CBD visibility to their professional athletes, millions of fans and communities,” Wednesday’s announcement said.

MLB said that it “officially opened the category for the league and its Clubs allowing sponsorships with CBD companies that are NSF Certified for Sport,” a program that assesses whether supplements contain any ingredients that are banned by professional sports leagues.

“As a leader in the CBD category, with products that provide health and wellness benefits, Charlotte’s Web is a welcome addition to the MLB family, representing a landmark partnership in baseball and sports,” Noah Garden, Major League Baseball’s chief revenue officer, said in a statement.  “Charlotte’s Web products which receive the NSF Certified for Sport® designation have met the highest safety standards and can be promoted across MLB events and media platforms. We are excited about the possibilities this partnership offers as CBD becomes a more widely adopted part of the health and wellness regimen of our players and fans.”

Jacques Tortoroli, the chief executive officer of Charlotte’s Web, echoed those sentiments, saying the company applauds “MLB for being the first-mover in professional sports CBD and are thrilled to welcome their league as a respected strategic partner.”

“Bridging our industry-leading brands with science, innovation, and education, this pioneering partnership validates Charlotte’s Web’s core business principle and founding mission to open access to safe, quality and consistent CBD through our proprietary hemp genetics and industry-forging vision,” said Tortoroli.

John Travis, the principal technical manager of NSF, said the organization “is proud to play a role in this historic next chapter of America’s favorite pastime.”

“MLB showed great trust in the NSF mark earlier this year when it named NSF Certified for Sport® as the standard CBD brands must meet in order to sponsor MLB and its teams. The Charlotte’s Web and MLB partnership promotes clean sport and closely aligns with NSF’s mission to improve human health worldwide,” Travis said in a statement.

Under the terms of the agreement, “Major League Baseball now becomes the first major professional sports league to form a sponsorship agreement with a CBD company,” while Charlotte’s Web is now the first “Official CBD of Major League Baseball,” according to the announcement.

The press release provided more background on the partnership: “This historic multi-year agreement is the first league-wide partnership for Charlotte’s Web. The partnership makes MLB a strategic partner in Charlotte’s Web’s NSF-Certified for Sport® line and underscores the long-term value opportunity of entering the U.S. CBD market, which topped $4.7 billion in total sales in 2021. *The inaugural Daily Edge tincture will launch via Charlotte’s Web’s eCommerce platform on Oct. 12, 2022 during the Division Series with an exclusive run for the MLB Postseason, and in 2023, the expanded product line will debut in retail sports and health and wellness channels. Through the partnership, Charlotte’s Web will have a premiere brand presence at MLB’s Jewel Events, including All-Star Week, Postseason, and the World Series presented by Capital One through marketing, media, and ballpark activations that connect to the league’s fan base of over 180 million Americans.”

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According to the Associated Press, the “Moscow region court said it will hear her appeal.”

Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison by a Russian court in August after being found guilty on drug possession charges. She was arrested in a Moscow airport back in February after officials found cannabis oil in her luggage.

Griner, widely regarded as one of the greatest women’s basketball players ever, pleaded guilty to the charges in July, but told the court that “there was no intent” and that she “didn’t want to break the law.”

Her arrest, conviction, and ongoing detention have been sharply condemned by the Biden administration, and the situation has emerged as a diplomatic standoff between officials in the United States and Russia.

In May, the U.S. reclassified Griner as “wrongfully detained.”

The United States has discussed a potential prisoner swap with Russia, offering the release of Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence in the U.S., in exchange for Griner and Paul Whelan, a U.S. citizen who has been held in Russia since 2018 on espionage charges.

According to various media reports, Russia rejected that offer.

President Joe Biden has faced mounting pressure at home to secure Griner’s release. Griner, a star for the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA and who has played for UMMC Ekaterinburg during the WNBA’s offseason since 2014, sent Biden a handwritten letter in July.

“As I sit here in a Russian prison, alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, family, friends, Olympic jersey, or any accomplishments, I’m terrified I might be here forever,” Griner said in the letter.

“I realize you are dealing with so much, but please don’t forget about me and the other American Detainees,” she continued. “Please do all you can to bring us home. I voted for the first time in 2020 and I voted for you. I believe in you. I still have so much good to do with my freedom that you can help restore. I miss my wife! I miss my family! I miss my teammates! It kills me to know they are suffering so much right now. I am grateful for whatever you can do at this moment to get me home.”

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris spoke to Griner’s wife, Cherelle, shortly after receiving the letter.

Last month, Biden met face-to-face with the families of both Griner and Whelan.

“He wanted to let them know that they remain front of mind and that his team is working on this every day, on making sure that Brittney and Paul return home safely,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said of the meetings.

Following Griner’s sentencing in August, Biden called the court’s decision “unacceptable” and called on Russia “to release her immediately so she can be with her wife, loved ones, friends, and teammates.”

“Today, American citizen Brittney Griner received a prison sentence that is one more reminder of what the world already knew: Russia is wrongfully detaining Brittney,” Biden said in a statement at the time.

“My administration will continue to work tirelessly and pursue every possible avenue to bring Brittney and Paul Whelan home safely as soon as possible,” the president continued.

Before she was sentenced, Griner offered an emotional apology to the court.

“I want to apologize to my teammates, my club, my fans and the city of (Yekaterinburg) for my mistake that I made and the embarrassment that I brought on them,” Griner said at the time. “I want to also apologize to my parents, my siblings, the Phoenix Mercury organization back at home, the amazing women of the WNBA, and my amazing spouse back at home.”

The post Russian Court Sets Griner’s Appeal Hearing for October 25 appeared first on High Times.

Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, and Canada was an early supporter of Ukraine since the war began. The Canadian government has given $626 million in military aid, and $320 in humanitarian relief. “Our government has been very clear. Canadians should avoid all travel to Russia and Belarus,” Global Affairs Canada said in a statement to The Canadian Press. “If they are in Russia or in Belarus, they should leave now. Our ability to provide consular services may become extremely limited.”

There could be a possibility that a situation similar to the imprisonment of U.S. WNBA athlete Brittney Griner could occur due to the ongoing conflict. According to Maria Popova, Associate Professor of Political Science at McGill University in Quebec, there is a real threat to players. “Anybody who is in Russia is always in danger of being framed, incarcerated, used as a pawn in whatever the local government, central government et cetera decides to do,” Popova said. “I think something like what happened to Brittney Griner is possible. The same playbook can be repeated in a case against a Canadian player for sure.”

Griner was detained in Russia on Feb. 17, just before Russia invaded Ukraine. Popova did add, however, that while there’s a risk for players playing abroad, she doesn’t see a clear reason why Russia would choose to detain more athletes. “I don’t see why Russia would try to use these people as a pawn because Canada is not Russia’s main problem in this war,” Popova said. “There isn’t really any hope that Russia could change Canadian policy in Ukraine. They know Canada is firmly in NATO, clearly backing Ukraine.”

Adrien Blanchard, press secretary for Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly, told CBC.ca that players should explain why they are choosing to stay in Russia and Belarus. “President [Vladimir] Putin’s war in Ukraine is a war on freedom, on democracy and on the rights of Ukrainians, and all people, to determine their own future,” Blanchard said. “Athletes who decide to play and associate with Russia and Belarus should explain their decisions to the public.”

Player-agent Ritchie Winter, based in Alberta, manages three players currently involved in the Kontinental Hockey League. In his opinion, players have every right to continue making a living.

“We live in a world where individuals are allowed to make those decisions. It’s just an individual decision related to an employment opportunity. Has every player that’s gone, push, tugged and pulled and wrestled with the decision? Yeah, absolutely,” Winter said. “At the end of the day, they’re husbands and fathers who have responsibilities to their families. If you’re a young family with limited resources because you played mostly in the minors, there’s a desire to take care of your family. Sometimes that leads people to the oilfields in Kazakhstan and sometimes it leads them to the KHL.”

An NBC News report from March shared that players often compete in Russia because they can possibly earn four or five times more than their U.S. salaries. Citing Ketra Armstrong, a professor of sport management and the director of the Center for Race & Ethnicity in Sport at the University of Michigan. “It’s a sad situation in many regards, but it’s not totally beyond the realm of understanding,” said Armstrong. “The amount of money that athletes can make throughout other parts of the world is incredible and almost a no-brainer depending on how good you are and your overall market appeal.”

The National Hockey League (NHL) does conduct THC drug tests on players, but CBD is permitted. Rather than being punished for cannabis use, the NHL refers the players to a Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health Program.

The post Canadian Government Tells Hockey Players in Russia, Belarus To Leave appeared first on High Times.

Biden will also meet with the family of Paul Whelan, an American who has been imprisoned in Russia since 2018 on espionage charges.

The Associated Press reported that the “separate meetings are to be the first in-person encounter between Biden and the families and are taking place amid sustained but so far unsuccessful efforts by the administration to secure the Americans’ release.”

“He wanted to let them know that they remain front of mind and that his team is working on this every day, on making sure that Brittney and Paul return home safely,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at a press briefing on Thursday at the White House, as quoted by the Associated Press.

She was found guilty by a Russian court last month and sentenced to nine-and-a-half years in prison.

Her detention has become a symbol in the deteriorating U.S.-Russia relations, and has reached the top levels of diplomacy in both countries.

The United States has sought a prisoner swap that would see the release of both Griner and Whelan in exchange for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer who is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence in the U.S.

“While I would love to say that the purpose of this meeting is to inform the families that the Russians have accepted our offer and we are bringing their loved ones home — that is not what we’re seeing in these negotiations at this time,” Jean-Pierre said on Thursday, as quoted by the Associated Press. “The Russians should accept our offer. The Russians should accept our offer today.”

Griner’s legal team filed an appeal of the conviction last month, a process that will likely take months.

Griner, who plays for the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA, pleaded guilty to the drug charges, but insisted that she did not intend to break the law.

She was traveling back to Russia to play for UMMC Ekaterinburg, the Russian team she plays for during the WNBA’s offseason.

“I want to apologize to my teammates, my club, my fans and the city of (Yekaterinburg) for my mistake that I made and the embarrassment that I brought on them,” Griner said in the Russian courtroom last month as she plead for leniency. “I want to also apologize to my parents, my siblings, the Phoenix Mercury organization back at home, the amazing women of the WNBA, and my amazing spouse back at home.”

Following Griner’s sentencing last month, Biden denounced the ruling.

“Today, American citizen Brittney Griner received a prison sentence that is one more reminder of what the world already knew: Russia is wrongfully detaining Brittney,” Biden said in his statement.

“It’s unacceptable, and I call on Russia to release her immediately so she can be with her wife, loved ones, friends, and teammates,” Biden said.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has also condemned the conviction.

“It puts a spotlight on our very significant turn with Russia’s legal system and the Russian government’s use of wrongful detentions to advance its own agenda using individuals as political pawns,” Blinken said last month.

Blinken has called the United States’ offered prisoner exchange a “substantial proposal.”

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