”Ownership is the fact or state of being an owner of something, or the right or control of something. Learn how to use ownership in different contexts, such as business, property, or social issues, with examples and translations.”
Cancelling Death’s Contract. We all know what a contract is…an agreement between parties for an exchange of goods or services for some sort of balance in currency, or other goods or services exchanged for something of equal or agreed upon value.
In other words, what one says one side is worth and the other says the other side is worth is up to the individuals involved in the contract agreement. Of key here, then, is to be fully cognizant, that is aware, of what the value of the goods are.
Do we make a contract, an agreement, before we are born? Hard to know the truth of this one. Almost impossible to prove to anyone. We must each, though, look into our own hearts to see the veracity of this potentially life-altering decision. With that, this needs to be left with each of us to see for themselves. You can decide for yourself as I have for myself.
What can be looked at though, something that happens for all of us throughout our lives, are the fine details, the addendums shall we say of this potentially powerful understanding. Imagine with me, then, considering our relationships with time, death, choice, belief, duty, imagination and all related aspects of said points.
How long will you live? What is healthy? How possible are your dreams for becoming real? What are those dreams and where do they come from? What is time and how can you influence yours?
From that first breath, initially through our parents’ vision of life, influenced from their parents, religion, society, ‘told history’, childhood experiences passed along as wrote, and such, all children become inculcated at the earliest of ages, for what may be possible for them, and not.
Life is this! Life is not that! We must do these things! We must never do those things! And the like. Young minds are generally open to their parents. And then we allow those ‘beliefs’ to interfere with our imagination and thus dreams and life potential.
What if life is endless? What if death is optional? What if other means of dreaming into our existence the basic necessities of life, and more besides, are not created through some sort of artificial currency, but the true currency, which is our life force.
Time is money! Live for the afterlife! Be good to get your ‘heavenly rewards’, and such. All these seem to me, certainly deathly illusions meant to steal your true wealth which is the time we are gifted with in this life. Perhaps even deeper, it is the delusions passed along to all of us of the limited scope of a life, of a perspective, built generally on fragile personalities, altered by the media of the day.
And so, by cancelling all contracts, especially those you’ve been tricked into, you can allow the possibilities of new energy to grow for you and from which you can then use to allow new potential for life to become yours.
When you stop paying into a ‘mortgage’ for example, you have more funds for other ventures. Same to paying into a belief system of death, destruction, toil, pain, taxes, duty to anyone or anything and such. Tricked to listen. Tricked to trade our priceless time for shiny baubles. Even, perhaps, tricked into this life, your physical body, which can horribly age into sickness, death and perhaps even worse. As if from the very moment we are born, we are dealt a hand of sickness and decay.
I would say, there may be another way. In fact, for me, there is nothing but other ways to grow, be alive, see and imagine more and with these higher visions put into limitless action, we can live to victory by cancelling death’s contract.
As is known, if you are lied to, deluded, purposely fooled into ‘signing on that dotted line’, well then it is called fraud, and becomes, through your choice, null and void. So, let’s see how we’ve all been defrauded, or say, allowed ourselves through our own choices to be deceived into whatever current life circumstances we may be in.
And then, well, choose again, picking up your power along the way and allow infinity to guide you to ‘freedom’s gate’ and beyond.
I came across that quote from Benjamin Franklin earlier today and it’s resonated with me all day.
Time. What is time? And why can we never gain it back?
Time. It’s a simple four-letter word, yet it holds within it a universe of complexities. It’s a concept we often take for granted, casually tossing it around, but when we delve deeper, we find that time is not just a measure of moments passing by: it’s a multifaceted entity brimming with features, values, and energies.
time is not just a measure of moments passing by: it’s a multifaceted entity brimming with features, values, and energies.
Time is not merely the ticking of a clock or the turning of a calendar page. It’s the attention we invest in each moment, the energy we pour into every task. It’s the environment that surrounds us, the ambiance that envelops us, and the events that transpire around us. All these elements are intricately woven into the fabric of time.
All these elements are intricately woven into the fabric of time.
If you lose five minutes now, even if you gain five minutes later, it’s not the same. The environment has changed, the energy has shifted, and the attention has moved on. The unique combination of elements that existed in those lost five minutes can never be replicated.
The unique combination of elements that existed in those lost five minutes can never be replicated.
Time, once lost, is lost forever. It’s an irreplaceable resource, a treasure that we must cherish. This realization underscores the importance of using our time wisely and planning our actions accordingly.
the importance of using our time wisely and planning our actions accordingly.
Time is our greatest resource. It’s the canvas on which we paint the story of our lives, the stage where we perform our roles, and the currency with which we pay for our experiences.
the currency with which we pay for our experiences.
If we don’t use our time wisely, we best believe someone else will.
the powers that be would gladly take your time
If this article resonated with you, if it made you see time in a new light, then you’re just on the brink of a transformative journey. My book dives deeper into this spiritual perspective, offering insights that will change the way you perceive not just time, but life itself.
Don’t let this moment slip away. Harness the power of now and take the first step towards a more mindful, enlightened existence. Order your copy today and embark on a journey that promises to be as enriching as it is enlightening.
Time is ticking, make it count!
How To Order Book (Two Options)
You can order directly from me if you’re in the United States and want a signed copy.
With a focus on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, healthy fats, and the inclusion of seafood and some meat, it’s no wonder people choose to eat the Mediterranean way! In its annual survey, U.S. News has awarded the Mediterranean diet the top spot for 2024. Eating delicious Mediterranean-style food is my jam, and since the number one gardening rule is to grow what you love to eat, I always fill my garden with Mediterranean-style crops. It’s easy!
Live Longer
The survey evaluates 30 diets and interviews 40 nutrition experts specializing in diabetes, heart health, and weight loss. The research found that the food on a typical Mediterranean plate is mainly plant-based and nutrient-dense, so people who regularly eat this way have a better quality of life and live longer. They’re less likely to suffer from chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease.
There’s plenty of research showing the benefits of following the Mediterranean diet. It’s also one of the diets featured in Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones, a positive and fun documentary streaming on Netflix.
Mediterranean Eats
The experts warn that the Americanized Mediterranean diet isn’t the real deal; take it easy on the refined pasta, red meat, and cheese. Whole grains and veggies should always be the shining star in a meal; anything else is a side and should be eaten in moderation.
Deciding to eat differently can feel overwhelming; luckily, there are plenty of cookbooks and blogs on eating the Mediterranean way. My current favorite is The Mediterranean Dish by Suzy Karadsheh. Suzy’s got a great blog, and her cookbook features 120 delicious recipes the entire family will love, tested in my kitchen and at my dinner table repeatedly!
Growing Mediterranean Foods
Cooking Mediterranean-style food is one thing, but what about growing it? Because this diet is mostly plant-based, it’s easy to incorporate Mediterranean crops into your garden. Consider the following options:
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Zucchini
Herbs like rosemary, thyme, oregano, parsley, basil, and mint
Beans
Peas
Onions and shallots
Garlic
Bell peppers
Eggplant
Artichokes
Potatoes
Leafy greens like arugula, romaine, oak leaf lettuce, and baby spinach
Citrus fruit
Olives
You can plant Mediterranean-style crops directly in the ground or raised beds, buckets, or grow bags if you don’t have a lot of space. In his book Grow Bag Gardening, Kevin Espiritu designs a Kitchen Garden combo bag with leaf lettuce, chard, and mint at the top and fresh herbs in the pockets on the sides. He recommends multi-pocket grow bags because you plant six or more veggies in the same bag. Have fun with this, and develop your unique crop combinations (keeping proper spacing in mind)!
Grow What You Love
One of the things I love most about the Mediterranean diet is that it’s simple yet delicious. Growing a garden to accommodate how my family eats is fun, cuts down grocery bills, and builds a deeper appreciation for our food and where it comes from. What’s not to love about making a Mediterranean plate with food picked from the garden?
Quebec’s portion of federal excise taxes, plus local taxes brought in an additional $76.5 million to provincial coffers, for a total of $109.5 million in sales and tax revenue.
The SQDC’s total sales between September 10 and December 30, 2023 reached $201.6 million, compared to $187.3 million in the same quarter of the last financial year, an increase of 7.6% year-over-year.
Quebec sold 37,215 kg of cannabis in Q3 2023, compared to 33,242 kg in the same quarter for 2022 and 27,498 kg in the previous quarter for 2023.
The vast majority of sales continue to be through brick and mortar SQDC stores, while just 2,357 kg of cannabis were sold through SQDC’s online store, for a total amount of $12.3 million. A police captain in northern Quebec recently said that the provincial government’s limits on payment options for online cannabis orders are pushing people to the illicit market.
Of the $201.6 million in cannabis sales, flower sales accounted for $167.7 million (83%) while other cannabis producers were $34 million.
The SQDC now has 98 branches, compared to 92 at the end of the third quarter of the previous fiscal year. It recently announced it was closing one store in Montreal.
The SQDC also says it has improved its product categories, particularly in extracts, edible products and formats adding to increased sales and better meeting consumer demand. The SQDC recently put out a call for “off-cycle products” like 7 gram flower SKUs, pre-roll multi packs, resin, and rosin, among others.
Independent cannabis retailers in Ontario are fighting back against LPs selling products at what they say are predatory prices in discount chain stores.
A core group of 14 owners, representing 23 top-performing stores, will be monitoring large LPs who feature and promote products at razor-thin margins, and who they say are suspected of financing these low prices via data deals.
This independent retail group, which operates in separate markets in Ontario and freely shares information, will then advise the larger community of independent stores.
“We decided to either minimize or eliminate the position of LPs engaging in data deals that fund predatory pricing structures,” says Jennawae Cavion, founder of Calyx + Trichomes in Kingston. “We’re doing this while amplifying the LPs who don’t engage in data deals, who support independent retailers, and who engage in healthy business practices that stimulate longevity.”
The group is developing a three-tier list for categorizing LPs: those suspected of engaging in predatory data deals; those working with collectives; and those LPs that are data-free and don’t pay listing fees.
Of these, the companies suspected of doing data deals will face the most scrutiny, and possibly be boycotted.
“We talk about what we see in each of our markets, and we share information about which products are selling at such low prices that it doesn’t make sense,” says Owen Allerton, the owner of Highland Cannabis in Kitchener. “We can shine a light on bad behaviour by LPs, avoid those companies, and work with producers who play fair. We have a huge amount of buying power, and won’t be tricked into subsidizing our competitors.”
This informal group is different from organizations like the Independent Retail Cannabis Collective (IRCC) in that it doesn’t function as a buying organization that seeks group benefits or discounts. There is, in effect, no business model.
The group does, however, act with solidarity when it comes to member interests, and will even be adding maps to store websites highlighting other members in case customers are travelling to other cities.
It is also more than willing to school the market.
“I think the LPs currently look at making deals with retailers with predatory pricing as a net positive,” says Sam Gerges, the owner of MaryJane’s in Toronto. “Once they understand and see that it’s actually a net negative because we will offload them, they will start making decisions differently.”
A Wider View
Member retailers contacted by StratCann noted that this independent retailer group, while informal and without a written mandate, can provide support in other areas where there might be common ground.
“Other issues of concern are getting rid of the excise tax, increasing the limits on edibles, and allowing for parcel shipping of recreational cannabis in Ontario,” says Nick Baksh, founder of Montrose Cannabis, in Pickering.
The independent retailers are working together to share good business practices, and to offer expertise wherever possible.
“We’ll share anything from product recommendations to brands we like, HR best practices, creative ideas that work,” says Cavion. “We also support any projects the others are working on.”
However, while these and other issues are a meaningful part of discussions within the group, the concerted action will be to provide a collective response to predatory pricing.
“If you’re a brand and are into predatory pricing with certain box retail chains,” says Baksh, “slowly but surely, we’ll find out and make new room.”
The concern isn’t only that these practices unfairly discriminate against smaller players but that with the status quo, independent retailers are, in effect, subsidizing practices that threaten their businesses.
“LPs pay a handful of retailers money they generate from the sales in our stores to help them fund predatory pricing structures,” says Cavion. “Independents are then forced to sell at a loss, while the LPs erode their own brand value. It’s lose, lose, for both LPs and independents.”
“Small, independent growers making quality craft cannabis are unable to compete and pay retailers these crazy listing fees that have become so common,” says Cavion. “They don’t have the millions of dollars needed to engage with a handful of large groups that have many stores. And why should they? Quality cannabis should sell itself!”
An overarching theme of the initiative is that those LPs suspected of working with discount retailers on predatory pricing will have their products boycotted.
“We won’t support people who are funding our demise,” says Gerges from MaryJane’s, which has been Toronto’s number one ranked cannabis store by sales since Q1 2021.
“We can’t have a cannabis market where shelf space and the supply chain ecosystem are controlled by larger corporations which will only stock what they get paid to stock. The Canadian consumer deserves the best product, not the product willing to pay the most. These smaller LPs don’t have money to get on the shelves of these predatory pricing retailers; we independents will be their safe haven.”
Onside with the OCS
The Ontario Cannabis Store (OCS), the provincial Crown corporation with the legal monopoly for wholesale distribution of recreational cannabis, has ameliorated the situation somewhat by increasing the number of SKUs available through its Flow-Through program.
This move has provided more opportunities to create distinct value propositions.
“Generally, we are feeling pretty good about the OCS,” says Allerton. “With an abundance of SKUs, we can carry products that others don’t and avoid going head-to-head with the discount chains.”
In a tough market, where many retailers are struggling to stay above water, having the provincial wholesaler adjust policiesand reduce margins is providing some relief.
“OCS does a lot of the heavy lifting for us,” says Baksh, from Montrose. “At the same time, via Flow-Through I can access a lot of stuff that isn’t otherwise getting to market, and isn’t stocked at the warehouse in Guelph.”
Independent retailers have informed the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO)—the Crown agency that regulates cannabis in the province—that deals based on revenue or units sold contravene the inducement regulations. To date, nothing has been done, either for lack of evidence, or will, or perhaps a sense that the jurisdictional responsibility lies with Health Canada.
At this stage, it doesn’t matter: independent retailers are stepping up and taking the fight to the big guys. The small group of top-performing retailers represents over $60 million in sales and is attached to another larger group, representing another 100 stores, accounting for $200 million in sales.
“Given that there are over 1,700 cannabis outlets in Ontario, of which approximately 300 are low-volume chain stores, is it really worth it to pay these data deals to get shelf space?” says Allerton. “Maybe it’s time to start operating with integrity, which gets you love not only from our group, but from all the independent retailers in Ontario.”
A recent study has revealed that cannabis use alone is not associated with an increased risk of traffic accidents. Researchers looked at data collected from emergency departments in Portland, Oregon; Sacramento, California; and Denver, Colorado; they found that self-reported rates of acute marijuana use were linked with lower car-accident odds. Furthermore, the researchers found that alcohol has a clear connection with an increased risk of car accidents when taken by itself or alongside cannabis.
The team behind the study comprised researchers from the University of California Davis, the Oregon Health and Science University, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, Portland State University, the University of Colorado School of Medicine, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and other institutions.
According to the researchers, marijuana use alone had no association with higher motor vehicle collisions (MVCs). Interestingly, the researchers found that people who used cannabis more often were actually less likely to be involved in motor vehicle collisions. However, cannabis was only associated with traffic crashes if it was taken alongside alcohol.
The research team notes that relying on THC levels to determine driver intoxication levels isn’t an accurate measure of driving risk. Consequently, the nine-author research team called for the development of better tests that can measure actual driver impairment accurately.
With dozens of states legalizing both medical and recreational cannabis in recent years, many marijuana-reform opponents argue that legalizing cannabis increases the risk of traffic accidents. Current cannabis intoxication testing tools are mostly inaccurate as the connection between intoxication and THC levels can depend on regular marijuana use patterns, usual use, and the time and means of measurement.
The researchers say these factors make it difficult to gauge how cannabis affects driving based on “strict cut-offs of drug levels.” Even so, the research suggests that nationwide cannabis reform efforts haven’t led to an increase in motor-vehicle collisions. The controversial drug was only associated with traffic accidents when taken alongside alcohol but was linked to reduced accident risk when taken by itself.
Although the paper indicates cannabis use isn’t associated with increased accident risk, researchers say results were limited by the fact that research only included drivers who agreed to take part in the study. Consequently, the researchers note that these participating drivers likely had “less-concerning” drug-use behaviors, especially those associated with issues such as motor vehicle collisions where the participant was at fault.
Self-reported drug use may also be biased in favor of a weaker relationship between car crashes and marijuana, the researchers said. The study results were published in the journal “Accident Analysis and Prevention.”
As additional studies clarify the effects and benefits of marijuana, more people could have their concerns addressed, and industry actors such as Verano Holdings Corp. (CSE: VRNO) (OTCQX: VRNOF) will likely see their products enjoying growing demand.
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