AGLC reports its first cannabis profits

AGLC reports its first cannabis profits

Alberta’s cannabis distribution agency posted its first year of profits for fiscal year 2022-2023, bringing in over $18 million from over $600 million in sales after its operating expenses and costs. 

The cost for the AGLC to bring in $618.9 million in sales from April 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023, was $558.5 million, leaving the agency with $60.4 million in net revenue. Operating expenses for AGLC’s cannabis operations took away another $49.3 million of that, leaving it with a net income of a little over $18 million. 

This is nearly three times as much as the $7 million forecasted in the province’s 2022-2023 budget. The province also brought in $164 million in cannabis tax. 

As a comparison, in the same time period, gaming brought in nearly $1.6 billion for AGLC, while liquor brought in $825.1 million. The AGLC’s operating expenses for its cannabis operations were higher than for alcohol ($37.8 million), despite sales for alcohol being 14 times higher than cannabis. In 2023, AGLC contributed $2.4 billion from gaming, liquor and cannabis operations to the General Revenue Fund, with cannabis accounting for less than 1%.

In the 2021-2022 fiscal year, the agency had a loss of almost $4.4 million for its cannabis operations. In 2021, the agency posted a $12 million loss.

Market insight

Unsurprisingly, dried flower sales still dominate the Alberta market, accounting for 33.4% of all sales. When combined with pre-rolls and milled flower, which AGLC lists separately, this is nearly 59% of all sales from dried flower products.  

Vapes represent just over 20% of total sales in dollars, while extracts are almost 12%.

Dried flower sales declining

Despite still controlling the bulk of sales, dried flower (excluding pre-rolls and milled flower) showed its third year of declines, from $237.9 million in fiscal year 2021, $226.5 million in fiscal year 2022, and $206.9 million for the 2023 fiscal year, as of March 31, 2023.

Milled cannabis flower, however, did increase from $15.7 million in 2022 to $23.9 million in 2023. Just $2.6 million was sold in the fiscal year covering 2020-2021. Pre-roll sales increased from $120.8 million in 2022 to $131.8 million in 2023.

Sales in dollars from vapes, extracts, edibles, oil, beverages, capsules and soft gels all increased, while topicals and seeds decreased (as well as non-liquid beverages).

Most cannabis stores per capita

Alberta has the highest number of retail stores per person in Canada, and 27% of licensed cannabis producers are based in Alberta. The number of cannabis stores as of March 31, 2023, was the same as the previous year at 756. The agency currently lists 752 as of March 5, 2024.

Cannabis sales in Alberta were about $130 per capita, compared to about $95 in Ontario in the same time frame. 

Cannabis licensees are the least satisfied with the AGLC out of all its licence types, with approval of 92% for liquor licensees and agencies, 96% of charitable gaming licensees, 95% of gaming retailers and operators, and 84% of cannabis licensees. 

There were 2,085 cannabis products available and 143 contracts with licensed producers of cannabis, including 38 contracts with Alberta-based licensed producers. About 89% of Albertans who purchase cannabis say they are satisfied with the product variety, and 86% of Albertans say they are satisfied with the accessibility to purchase cannabis.

From 2022-2023, the AGLC conducted 4,944 inspections of cannabis licensees, with a 98% compliance rate. This compares to 4,662 inspections of gaming licensees and 20,643 inspections of liquor licensees, both of which had a 99% compliance rate.


Hyperdimensional Manipulation and Anchoring a Higher Frequency

Hyperdimensional Manipulation and Anchoring a Higher Frequency

Hyperdimensional Manipulation

and Anchoring a Higher Frequency

By Bernhard Guenther,  (Excerpt from Individuality, Embodiment, and the Anchoring of a Higher Frequency)

There is more to our reality than our five senses can perceive. We are not “God’s ultimate creation”, nor are we at the peak on the evolutionary ladder. Our reality is embedded in a complex system of unseen worlds and controlled by denizens of a higher reality. The forces at work are not all good, and we’re not on top of the food chain. “Food” doesn’t have to be physical, and certain beings feed off of our emotions and energy; predominantly, chaos, wars, distorted sexual energy, emotional turmoil and fear, which they initiate and create, by working through us.

Various ancient esoteric teachings talk about a “Hyperdimensional Matrix Control System” (HMCS), each in their own way, that has influenced and controlled humanity for millennia.

Don Juan, in Carlos Castaneda’s “The Active Side of Infinity”, called it “the topic of all topics“, speaking of a cosmic predator that uses man as food. Gurdjeff refers to the “predator” in the tale of “The Evil Magician” and the concept of “Food for the Moon”. The Gnostics maintained that the earth and material creation in general were the product of an evil demiurge, chief of the “archons of darkness“. The Shaitans of the Sufis and the Jinn in Arabian mythology are supernatural creatures who inhabit an unseen world in dimensions beyond the visible universe and interfere with humanity. Boris Mouravieff writes about the “General Law” in his trilogy “Gnosis” which influences humanity and keeps it in its place. It takes tremendous effort, awareness, and sincere self-work to “escape” the General Law and influences of the HMCS.

The UFO phenomenon relates to it in more ways than usually acknowledged by many contemporary UFO researchers who have a very “nuts and bolts” approach to the idea of UFOs, aliens, and extraterrestrials. There is a paranormal characteristic that accompanies UFO sightings, alien abductions, and other high strangeness occurrences, that should encourage us to look at this phenomena in a different way instead of the popular assumptions that UFOs are physical alien space ships coming from other planets.

When researching the topic of hyperdimensional realities, it also puts into question the various Disclosure and Exopolitics proposals promoted by some UFO researchers. There is a lot of disinformation surrounding that topic and it is interesting to note that attempts to reveal the hyperdimensional aspect of our reality are often ignored, attacked, and ridiculed, even more so than the “nuts and bolts” scenario.

This video explores the secrecy surrounding UFO phenomenon, aliens, abductions, disclosure, and hyperdimensional realities (produced by Bernhard Guenther & Humberto Braga):

[embedded content]

However, in light of the ancient esoteric teachings, it all makes sense, since the HMCS is trying to conceal exactly that: the existence of Hyperdimensional realities and the beings inhabiting them, who have influenced and controlled humanity for eons.

The HMCS affects us in more ways than we are aware of, especially people who are actively engaged in consciousness-raising activities, seeking truth, and speaking out about it. There are many traps, distractions, and temptations in the process of awakening for the truth seeker, be it through our own minds, like psychic attacks or entity attachments, or forces working through others who are being used as “portals” to vector us off our path. Think of Agent Smith being able to inject himself into any character in the film “The Matrix” trying to stop Neo from awakening. Hence, blind people, people who are asleep, plugged into the Matrix – the grand illusion – can become unconscious “tools” and puppets of the Matrix to make sure no one jumps out of line.

It’s easy to fall into paranoia, especially in light of comprehending the scale of hyperdimensional manipulation. These archonic critters hook into our blind spots, triggers, traumas and wounds, thereby feeding off our ‘lower’ emotions (and creating them through us).

Lower vibrational or negative emotions are not bad, nor is there judgment involved in identifying them. We all experience at least some of them to varying degrees, and fall into them at times in our own unconscious ways. It’s part of the human experience. In fact, given the times we’re in right now, all of these emotions are coming up to the surface of the psyche for many of us. It’s part of the necessary purging phase, like a spiritual detox. When we detox our physical bodies through a healthy diet and associated protocols, we also tend to feel lousy and sick at first as the body is releasing those long-held toxins. It’s part of the process, and nothing to be ashamed of.

However, what is important to understand is that, through the act of becoming lost in these lower vibrational states, hyperdimensional entities can attack, influence and manipulate us, making things worse than they actually are, as they feed off of these energies by “directing” thoughts and emotions. That doesn’t mean we should fall into paranoia or blame the “aliens”, but rather, we should take responsibility for our own actions and behaviors. It is through mistakes and attacks that we learn and grow – at the end of the day, even these forces are our “teachers”, making us aware of where our work is required within our innerverse.

“While we may not always be the source of injustices against us, we are the cause of its entrance into our lives. The Matrix, even with all its imbalances and corruption by those freewill entities who have overstepped their place in nature, is nevertheless still a learning program entirely responsive to our own ignorance and weaknesses. It may be a predator’s choice to attack, but it is our choice to accept the attack and succumb to it.

“The Matrix Control System can only trip us via the elements within us that correspond to its low vibratory nature. If we ignore our intuition, have blind spots in our awareness, or engage in ignoble feelings and behaviors, then these are the avenues through which we are had. Attacks serve to identify our own weaknesses, thus providing focus for where to take the next step on one’s path of spiritual awakening.

– Tom Montalk

Instead of succumbing to the paralysis of paranoia, we can also look at all of this from the view point of ‘pronoia’: the idea that the universe “conspires” for our own good and spiritual evolution, even if “bad” things happen to us. In the end, these are just lessons to help us become more aware and conscious. The trap lies in the possibility that we might get stuck within a lower vibration or 3D “thinking” prison, and get bogged down in negative emotional “loops”, projecting them onto others and the world-at-large.

Obviously, it’s not about denying these lower emotions; attempting to do so oftentimes results in an “isolated-head” situation, with us repressing these feelings in response, thereby disconnecting/disassociating from our emotions and bodies, and eventually (and inevitably) shadow-projecting these repressed feelings onto others – or even worse, beating ourselves up and judging ourselves for having negative emotions, resulting in shame, which is like a buffet table for the critters.

On the other hand, some people may not experience “negative” emotions in their experience at all, but this is not due to them having worked through their “process”, but rather, they have become so disconnected from their bodies and desensitized (having built layers of armor that keeps them in their heads) that they have become aloof to their own bodily sensations and ‘early warning systems’, existing instead on a superficial and illusory level of “positive” emotions.

Many intellectually strong people are cut off from their emotional Selves and have a hard time tuning into their bodies. They are not embodied in any real sense of the term, and tend to rationalize away anything that may come up within their psyche and/or shadow-project it outwardly onto others and the world at large. Alternatively, they may understand (on an intellectual level) what the issue is, but they can’t allow themselves to feel through it and let arise what needs to come upon a deeper emotional level, due to their being so out of touch with their vulnerability.

This situation happens unconsciously for the most part. If they are engaged in self-work, they also tend to overly psycho-analyze and fall into a state of ‘reflection inertia’, unable to move forward with their healing and forgiveness processes.

It’s more about letting whatever wants to arise from within to consciously surface, without resistance – thereby enabling you to feel your way through it without judgment. Oftentimes, the simple act of just experiencing these emotions helps to fully release them. That, of course, is easier said than done on occasion, and it is a process that is different for each of us.

For example, one day I felt very vulnerable due to an emotional wound being triggered. Instead of resisting or escaping it by distracting myself, I sat with it in meditation, focusing on this unpleasant feeling. After only a couple of minutes, I felt intense sadness coming up. My face contracted instantly, and I felt the need to cry, but I couldn’t get the tears to flow. Then I suddenly felt this block in my throat, like an energetic barrier, and I started to cough out of nowhere. As I was coughing, I started to gag, and the coughing intensified. It felt like I was throwing up.

It reminded me of some of the ayahuasca ceremonies I had done in the past: the purging of trauma. It felt familiar, and I peacefully let it happen. Just like with my ayahuasca experiences, the purging was only energetic in expression. As I was gagging and coughing, the block in my throat dissolved, and I was able to cry. I moaned and sighed a lot. After that purge, which lasted for about five minutes, I felt relieved, and went back into a meditative state.

Then I got up, thinking that was the end of it, and I did feel better. However, shortly after I finished with the meditation, I started to feel uneasy again, as if something else had opened up. I felt the need to move my body, so I put on some music. Instinctively, I chose some heavy Rock music, turned it up very loud, and started to dance in my living room. The song I chose resonated strongly with my whole body. I got goose bumps and just cut loose – dancing hard, stomping my feet and moving my limbs in rhythm to the music. The heavy guitar riffs triggered deep-rooted anger in my heart. I expressed and released it by dancing with fierce, fiery energy. It really felt as if primal rage was coming out of me. I even started to punch the couch while dancing, getting fully into my anger, completely letting go of its hold on me.

After dancing to three songs, I collapsed in my sweat, breathing heavily but also feeling a deep release, a sensation of being centered and calm. All of sudden, I realized that this was not just a trauma or childhood wound I was processing, nor was it related to anything “psychological” at all. In this moment, I knew that I was under some sort of psychic attack, or an entity had attempted to attach itself (or an implant) to my energy field.

Without thinking about it, I started to speak loud and clearly: “Back off! You are not allowed to enter my space! This is my space and my boundary! You have no permission to enter! Get off of me and stay away! This is my body and you are not welcomed!….” This kept going for several minutes. I had no fear whatsoever. I also wasn’t screaming but stating these words loudly and clearly, with focused will. I felt very grounded and embodied. After I spoke these words, claiming my space, I literally felt a presence leaving my energy field. I felt lighter, and any residual anger and sadness had dissipated. That night I slept like a baby!

Some clearing/protection techniques may work better for some people than other modalities. For example, Holographic Kinetics is a powerful healing practice that can help with these kind of interferences. But there are basic things we can do for ourselves as well so as to keep our aura and energy clean on a daily basis. The key is to get into the body.

It also depends on the degree of the attack. In the extreme case, this can take the form of total possession. On the other side of the scale, it could be just a feeling that something is off, and that some ‘thing’ is intruding.

Attacks can also happen through dreams when we sleep. For example, when friends/partners/relatives appear in the dreamscape reality, it could be an entity cloaking itself in order to generate a response from you because the fear/grief/regret/sexual longing you feel in the dream is generating the same endocrine system response in your body, and those bio-chemical stimuli are then releasing/emitting the same low-density frequencies that the critters feast upon.

If these hyperdimensional interference-runners cannot generate the reactionary emotional/sexual/physical response they seek from their target in the 3D world, then they will try the back door route. These kinds of dreams are common, especially after we make clear boundaries and have removed ourselves from people that are not good for us. Since the attack cannot happen anymore “through” these people in a physical presence scenario, we can be tempted via dreams to re-connect. I have experienced these kind of dreams myself.

There are many different techniques and modalities that help with these kind of attacks. Most of the time we can do the work on our own, but there may be other times where we need the help of a skilled healer who is experienced in this kind of work.
Limitations of Psychological Self-Work and Analysis

When considering the reality of etheric implants, spirit attachments, and hyperdimensional/psychic attacks, one is also shown the limits of psychological analysis as a healing model. The more I delve into research on this topic – while simultaneously reflecting on my own experiences, life, and self-work (as well as talking to other people about their experiences and struggles) – I come into a greater realization regarding how relying on psychological self-work alone can create a kind of tunnel vision, which focuses on symptoms that are attached with all kinds of labels.

Such a ‘process’ can even potentially make things worse via overly-intellectual, detached psychoanalyzing, while the root cause of our (or others) “issues” may actually be related to entity attachments, hyperdimensional interferences and etheric implants which need to be addressed directly in the body. However, this is a huge topic for most people to come to terms with, since the ignorance and denial of this “topic of all topics” is widespread, and presents an immense challenge to people’s view of reality.

Even shadow work can become an endless loop of rabbit hole-ing, because there is always more to dig into – especially in light of hyperdimensional attack possibilities, when thoughts/emotions are injected into us or triggered by events. Oftentimes, what people go through is merely a spiritual crisis (rather than a psychological pathology), which distracts us with “psychological issues” we actually do not even have or ‘own’. Even worse, being stuck in these tunnel visions of psychology (especially when it comes to “treating” them with psychiatric medications and their myriad side effects), can make things worse in the long run – killing our “soul”, so to speak, and cutting us off from our inner purpose, when the reality is that any crisis is simply part of the healing process, and there is nothing “wrong” with it.

“Those who develop so-called mental disorders are those who are sensitive, which is viewed in Western culture as oversensitivity. Indigenous cultures don’t see it that way and, as a result, sensitive people don’t experience themselves as overly sensitive. In the West, “it is the overload of the culture they’re in that is just wrecking them,” observes Dr. Somé. The frenetic pace, the bombardment of the senses, and the violent energy that characterize Western culture can overwhelm sensitive people.”

– What a Shaman Sees in A Mental Hospital

As I have mentioned in previous writings, I definitely feel that psychological work has its place, and we need to work on our “stuff” so that we don’t become suggestive, vulnerable, and open to these kinds of attacks. Psychological work does serve as a protection of sorts, and can even stop attacks, but there are limitations to psychological work as a solitary mode of healing. Psychologists who are not aware of the invisible reality of higher realms can’t help a person in getting rid of attached entities (for example, war veterans who may have taken on spirit attachments from people who died in battle).

On the contrary, it can be an incredibly counter-productive treatment, especially when one considers that the brain and endocrine system cannot cognitively-differentiate between a vividly-experienced memory and what is actually occurring in the here and now. The usual clinical method of asking a patient to repeatedly re-live past events (many of them traumatic in nature) – and then working through a psychological mind-frame alone in response to this “recall” modality – reinforces or merely “manages” the trauma, instead of getting rid of the root cause. It’s not a black and white issue – it’s about expanding our view of reality. In the end, this subject involves an understanding of holistic self-work, and that includes comprehending the hyperdimensional control mechanisms of humanity.

There comes a time when we need to go beyond “self-work”. This may be a radical view, since we’re always “a work in progress” (and I don’t mean this in the absolute sense). There are constant lessons to absorb, but ultimately it is about anchoring our Selves to a higher vibration/frequency, and learning how to consistently stay there without having to endlessly “work on ourselves” in order to do so. It is also about understanding that there is perfection in imperfection.

Self-Love and Anchoring a Higher Frequency

Deep down inside, we are perfect, and nothing can touch or change that. We just tend to forget that truth as we engage in the 3D play of finding ourselves and accessing our divine nature. When we have cleared enough of the material-emotional debris from our consciousness, we need to begin focusing on “refilling” the vessel. That’s where healthy self-love and compassion come into the picture, which permits us to surrender and let emerge what was always within us: love.

In other words, instead of constantly pulling out weeds (or worse, unconsciously replanting even more weeds) whilst always looking for something that’s ‘wrong’ with us, we should be drawing our attention to the task of watering the flowers and planting the seeds for more flowers to bloom. ‘Flowers’, in this analogy, are positive re-enforcements, co-creative love, compassion, and forgiveness for self and others.

Some people may think that this is an avoidance strategy, and can be used to fuel narcissistic tendencies. However, I’m talking about a specific state of consciousness that can rise above it all. It’s the emergence into the light after spending time exploring the underworld. Many of us tend to forget that this ‘mission’ is what it is all about when we find ourselves stuck in “making the darkness conscious” mode – constantly pointing out what is “wrong” with the world, with others and ourselves (or when we keep blaming the world and others from a victim state mentality, projecting our own shadow).

It is possible to consistently experience positive emotions, but not from a forceful place of escapism, which would be spiritual bypassing and avoidance. We need to do the groundwork of clearing before we can truly anchor a higher frequency and consistently stay there. Some of us may still be in need of a lot of clearing/working though our shadow, which is fundamental to creating the vessel for higher frequencies to anchor.

Narcissism is an inflated egoic shadow-state, and has nothing to do with the self-love I speak of – this affirming harmonic doesn’t need praise, validation or attention from outside ourselves. It is not concerned with the opinions which others have of us. It doesn’t listen to the “negative introvert”, our self-diminishing thoughts of guilt, shame, and insecurity, nor will it get inflated by flattery and compliments. It is also not an aloof/intellectual state of being, detached from our body and emotions. It is connected to the divine within us – something that is untouchable and cannot be defined nor described by the limitations of language. Of course, there is an irony in that I am attempting to write about it as well!

By consistently experiencing positive emotions in a fully embodied and integrated way – as opposed to chasing a philosophical/spiritual ideal in a contrived way (of being positive/loving and ignoring the negative, one of the fallacies of New Age Thought), we also turn off the food source for negative hyperdimensional entities. In other words, we can starve them to the point that they lose interest and move on, and we don’t become subjected to their constant attacks and manipulations.

Don Juan, in Carlos Castaneda’s books, talks about humanity being held within a lower frequency/level of consciousness – a prison of sorts – which generates negative emotional vibrations that the predator feeds off of (and re-enforces), while also explaining that there is a state of existing where it can’t touch us:

“Man has a glowing coat of awareness which the predator eats, leaving just the bare minimum of “consciousness stuff” for man to remain physically alive. The predator “milks” man through arranging for constant trouble and crisis and senseless preoccupation, so as to generate flashes of awareness that it then proceeds to eat. […]

“By playing on our self-reflection, which is the only point of awareness left to us, the predators create flares of awareness that they proceed to consume in a ruthless, predatory fashion. They give us inane problems that force those flares of awareness to rise, and in this manner they keep us alive in order for them to be fed with the energetic flare of our pseudo-concerns. […]

“Sorcerers say that discipline makes the glowing coat of awareness unpalatable to the flyer, “don Juan said, scrutinizing my face as if to discover any signs of disbelief. “The result is that the predators become bewildered. An inedible glowing coat of awareness is not part of their cognition, I suppose. After being bewildered, they don’t have any recourse other than refraining from continuing their nefarious task. If the predators don’t eat our glowing coat of awareness for a while,” he went on, “it’ll keep on growing. Simplifying this matter to the extreme, I can say that sorcerers, by means of their discipline, push the predators away long enough to allow their glowing coat of awareness to grow beyond the level of the toes. Once it goes beyond the level of the toes, it grows back to its natural size.”

– Carlos Castaneda, The Active Side of Infinity

By raising our frequency/vibration, the predator (hyperdimensional negative entities) cannot touch us, since there is no frequency ‘match’ – no food on their plate – when one emits this higher vibration of positive emotion and love (in the true sense of the word ‘love’ – a holistic higher state of consciousness, not merely an emotional state, even though positive emotions are a result of that). The “discipline” Don Juan talked about is not some rigid routine – as he said, it is “the art of facing infinity without flinching, not because they [Sorcerers/Warriors] are strong and tough but because they are filled with awe.”

In other words, it is about having faith and embracing the unknown. It also means to embrace our vulnerability, which creates a deeper strength, as opposed to building a tough shell via avoidance of our vulnerability. Anchoring these higher frequencies through ourselves doesn’t mean we won’t be subjected to negative emotions anymore, or that we’ll just walk around in bliss. It’s a process, and stuff still may come up. The key is to not resist it, but to get into it, and fully feel what is arising within that part of your Being.

Resisting pain and negative emotions actually creates more pain. We live in a world where most people run away from their internal pain, and project it outwardly onto the world (and other people) in unconscious ways. In short, it’s the avoidance of unconscious, repressed pain that creates conflict between people, which can even be ‘scaled-up’ into inter-tribal, “us versus them” warfare.

Unacknowledged and unprocessed negative emotions are exactly what the archonic overlords feed upon, which is why they try their best to keep us in that lower frequency through the mechanism of our own minds, which most often results in us fighting each other.

This is the ultimate form of self-love: being good to ourselves and our inner child. The more we do that, the less we will experience negative emotions, and the easier it can be to consistently stay on a higher frequency of love. We don’t need psychological labels or analysis for this process. It’s not about simply reading books on psychology or spirituality in order to figure out what is wrong with us, or to put a judgmental label on us or others. I’m not saying that basic psychological knowledge is not needed, as it can help us in our processes, and I feel that basic psychological education has its place and is definitely needed in our society, especially with regards to understanding shadow projection, childhood wounding, etc.

However, western psychology in itself can become a head-trip when we try to analyze ourselves (and others) with our minds instead of just getting into our body and feelings – without thinking – and just letting it all arise in love. Love simply involves being compassionate towards all experiences and accepting ourselves without judgment.

That’s what I meant when I mentioned that “self work” and psychological analysis can become a trap and never-ending loop of self-inquiry when oftentimes the solution and healing is simpler than we make it out to be; it’s just that our intellectual ego likes to complicate things at times.

So this is the ironic paradox in the anchoring equation: in order to access a higher vibration and feel more positive emotions on a consistent basis, we need to “love” any negative emotions that come up, without judgment, and without attempting to fight them, resist them, or over-analyze how pathological we or others are as a result of them arising in us. It’s not about avoiding these feelings in an attempt to access love – the only way out is through.

We all can get triggered at times and act from our neurotic ego; seek validation/attention/co-dependent love; feel the need to constantly correct others; shame others; punish them and put them down. We make mistakes, poor choices, and have our down days, but all of this is part of this human experience, especially during these crazy energies engulfing the planet at the present time. However, before we can truly be loving and compassionate with others, we need to give that frequency to ourselves first – to gift ourselves with our own medicine of healthy self-love and self-acceptance, but not in a narcissistic, shadow-egoic kind of way (where we are attempting to feel “better” than others).

Don’t beat yourself up with this process; there is no need to get frustrated with others, either. Some people may lash out at you, attack you and attempt to shame you, but as I said, in the end, it is their own unacknowledged pain which they are projecting onto you; even people who constantly “scream” at the world about how everything is fucked up tend to project their own pain and frustration onto the world and others. When we start to hate others, and project our disgust onto them – or think that others deserve to be punished and shamed, or even killed (no matter what they have done) – then we play the game on the level of the “predator”, the negative 4D entities who are keeping humanity in a frequency asylum. In short, we become that what many of us are fighting against, and thus feed into their agenda (no pun intended).

The most important thing you can do to raise your frequency/vibration is to love yourself, whatever happens to you, whatever shortcomings and issues you may have, whatever mistake and poor choices you have done; love yourself and be good to yourselves and others, and forgive yourself and others. This doesn’t mean to justify your shortcomings or put up with abuse; nor does it mean to cover anything up or ‘put lipstick on a pig’. It simply means not getting stuck in the blame, shame, and guilt programs, and seeing life through more compassionate and forgiving eyes in light of universal pain and suffering.

This article was abridged from Bernhard’s essay: Individuality, Embodiment, and the Anchoring of a Higher Frequency.

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420 with CNW — Company Makes First Export of DEA-Approved Marijuana from Jamaica to US

420 with CNW — Company Makes First Export of DEA-Approved Marijuana from Jamaica to US

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A Jamaican-Canadian company based in Toronto and formed by Canopy Growth Corp. and Steep Hill Labs’ former employees, has completed what it asserts to be the inaugural DEA-approved export of marijuana products from Jamaica to the United States. The company, Pure Jamaican, alongside Seven-10 Pharmaceuticals, its manufacturing and cultivation division located in Montego Bay, Jamaica, dispatched a range of eight distinct tincture products and three diverse distillate products containing varying ratios of CBD and THC, according to Scott Cathcart, who heads both entities.

Only a small batch of the products was sent for DEA-sanctioned research purposes. The products were shipped to ACS Laboratory, a Sun City Center, Florida-based establishment licensed by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Florida officials and the testing facility have a tense past. Notably, since 2022, ACS has been fined by Florida regulators about three times. The tens of thousands of dollars in fines were a result of several violations, including providing misleading information on certificates of analysis and not adhering to state standards on testing procedures.

Researchers with DEA licenses have been able to obtain cannabis from a select few authorized growers since 2021. Previously, the University of Mississippi was the only place where cannabis could be obtained for research purposes, or one needed to obtain DEA approval to import from other countries.

Cathcart expressed optimism regarding the potential rescheduling of cannabis from Schedule I to III under the Biden administration, foreseeing opportunities for commercialization in the U.S. market. However, he acknowledged the necessity of undergoing the lengthy FDA approval process before the products could be made commercially available.

Despite this, he is still optimistic that the products may be deemed “nutraceuticals,” which would free them from the need for federal approval before being sold.

Anticipating regulatory shifts, Cathcart is optimistic about the prospects of Pure Jamaican products in the U.S. market, citing the company’s pharmaceutical manufacturing license from the Pharmacy Council of Jamaica and relevant certifications from Jamaica’s Ministry of Health & Wellness. However, it remains uncertain whether the Jamaican pharmaceutical license carries the same weight as a U.S. pharmaceutical license.

Presently, the company is already distributing tincture products directly to Brazilian patients, according to a recent press release from Pure Jamaican. Before establishing Seven-10 and Pure Jamaican in 2018 with Martin Shefsky, another former Steep Hill executive, Cathcart spent about five years as the chief global expansion officer at Steep Hill Labs.

As the regulatory climate in the United States evolves over time, it will no longer be newsworthy when Pure Jamaican, Cronos Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CRON) (TSX: CRON) or any other company or its subsidiary exports, imports or otherwise engages in any interjurisdiction trade in marijuana products.

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Cannabis sales continued to increase in 2022-2023, with extracts leading the charge

Cannabis sales continued to increase in 2022-2023, with extracts leading the charge

Cannabis sales and other activities related to managing cannabis brought in $1.9 billion for the provincial and federal governments in the year ending March 31, 2023, according to new data from Stats Canada

This represents a 24.4% increase from the previous year and includes net income from provincial cannabis authorities, excise taxes, retail sales taxes, other specific taxes, as well as licenses and permits.

People in Canada purchased $4.7 billion worth of cannabis from provincial cannabis authorities and other retail outlets, a 15.8% increase ($600 million) from the previous year.

Cannabis sales increased the most in Manitoba (+23.7%), while New Brunswick (-0.4%) reported the most significant decline. 

On average, Canadians spent $150 per person of legal age on cannabis in the most recent fiscal year ending March 31, 2023, an increase from $132 per person in the previous year. On average, people in Yukon spent the most at $314 per person, while people in Quebec spent the least at $88 per person. 

The amount of dried cannabis the average Canadian purchased in the most recent fiscal year increased slightly from the previous year, from $94 per person to $97, and inhalable extracts increased from $24 to $37 per person.

Chart via Statistics Canada

While dried cannabis was still the most popular product category, its market share continued to decline as concentrates, especially vapes, gained more shelf space. Sales of dried cannabis declined from 71% market share in 2021-2022 to 64.9% in 2022-2023.

The largest contributor to the increase in overall cannabis sales across Canada was inhaled extracts, which rose by 59% in the 2022 to 2023 fiscal year. This category accounted for 67.6% of the $600 million increase in sales from the previous year, or more than $405 million. 

Newfoundland and Labrador, which only began allowing sales of cannabis vape pens in 2022, saw the biggest increase in inhaled extract sales, at 307% increase. PEI saw a 144.7% increase in vape sales. Sales of inhaled extracts in Alberta were 32.5% of total sales, the highest portion in Canada, followed by New Brunswick at almost 31%. 

The overall market share of cannabis extracts increased from 18.1% to 24.9% in the 2022-2023 fiscal year compared to the year prior. 

Sales in dollars of all cannabis products increased from the previous year except for topicals, seeds, and other cannabis products, which, combined, saw a decline from $52.7 million in 2021-2022 to $21.1 million in 2022-2023.

Sales by all cannabis authorities in Canada were $3.6 billion, with the cost of sales being $2.8 billion for a total of $796.6 million in gross profit. 

After subtracting additional expenses and adding other income, the net income of cannabis authorities in Canada was $428.4 million.

Total taxes and other revenue collected on the sale of all recreational cannabis sold in Canada was $1.5 billion. Federal excise and customs duties were $227 million, while provincial and territorial excise tax brought in another $711 million.

The net income of all cannabis authorities, total taxes, and other revenue was $1.9 billion, an increase from $1.5 billion in the previous year. 

In comparison, in the most recent fiscal year, the control and sale of alcohol brought in $13.6 billion for the provincial and federal governments. While significantly more than cannabis, this represented just a 0.1% increase from the previous year. 

Chart via Statistics Canada

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Four States Want Female Orgasmic Disorder Added to Medical Cannabis Qualifying Conditions List

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A number of states in the United States are on course to adding female orgasmic disorder to a list of conditions that qualify for medical cannabis. Supporters have cited various studies that have demonstrated how marijuana can significantly improve orgasmic ease, satisfaction and frequency in individuals with female orgasmic disorder.

Female orgasmic disorder is characterized by a delay in or lack of sexual climax despite sexual arousal and sufficient sexual stimulation.

Among the states working on this initiative is Ohio, whose medical board announced that female orgasmic disorder and autism spectrum disorder would be forwarded for review and public commentary after petitions were submitted online. The state of Connecticut is also looking into adding the disorder to its list of qualifying conditions.

In Illinois, regulators have set a meeting for later this month where discussions on whether to add female orgasmic disorder to their qualifying conditions will take place. The Female Orgasm Research Institute also believes that New Mexico will be meeting in May to discuss the same.

The executive director and founder of the Female Orgasm Research Institute, Suzanne Mulvehill, is one of the leaders pushing for states to formally acknowledge the benefits marijuana can offer people with this disorder. Mulvehill, a clinical sexologist, stated that female orgasmic disorder affects more than 40% of women globally. She cited studies dating back decades but supported by recent research, which showed that cannabis consumption before sex could increase the likelihood of orgasm, boost satisfaction and ease difficulty in orgasming, among other benefits.

Mulvehill’s dissertation in clinical sexology also centered on the use of marijuana in managing female orgasmic disorder, with her findings showing that more than 50% of female subjects involved in the study suffered from the condition. In a recent interview, Mulvehill explained that women with the condition were also on more pharmaceutical drugs and had more mental health issues, including depression and anxiety. She noted that the inclusion wasn’t solely based on pleasure but the fact that it was a medical disorder that deserved treatment.

Awareness that marijuana may help women achieve orgasms isn’t new among marijuana users. Current studies show that almost one-third of women who use marijuana do so to improve sexual satisfaction.

There’s also increasing evidence that cannabis can improve sexual function, regardless of gender or sex. One 2023 study discovered that more than 70% of adults who used marijuana before sex noticed improved orgasms and increased desire. Additionally, at least 62% of participants felt marijuana enhanced pleasure during masturbation.

Marijuana companies such as TerrAscend Corp. (TSX: TSND) (OTCQX: TSNDF) may keep a close eye on the trend of adding FOD to qualifying conditions’ lists because it could open opportunities for developing customized products targeting females with this condition.

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Budtender Burnout is Real: Tips to Prevent It

Budtender Burnout is Real: Tips to Prevent It

An essential skill for anyone in customer service to master is dealing with feelings of emotional burnout. Customer service can be draining, particularly for a budtender. It is exhausting to go from trying to help a rude or irate customer to one with a serious illness who wants medical advice and guidance the budtender cannot provide. Both situations are frustrating and can be aggravated or alleviated depending on how the budtender handles their emotions. 

Burnout is real and damaging to customers, the business, and the budtender themselves. It is easy to take on a bad mood after a negative interaction and more difficult to quickly mitigate the emotions and start fresh with the next. Budtenders should develop strategies to cope with the heavy emotions customers may bring into the store. 

Preventing Emotional Burnout

Some good options to prevent budtender burnout include:

  • Take Breaks: Recognize when it is important to take a break between customers to get composed and ready for the next one. A good manager will account for these necessary breaks from customer interaction and offer tasks such as restocking products to provide the opportunity.
  • Incorporate Mindfulness Practices: Stretching, meditation, yoga, exercise, and short walks can mitigate emotional burnout.

For more tips on being the best dispensary budtender or your own best budtender, check out Oaksterdam Publishing’s The Budtender’s Guide: A Reference Manual for Cannabis Consumers and Dispensary Professionals.