Business

From the Archives: Hash in the U.S.S.R. (1974)

Published

4 years ago

September 4, 2022

“Like Stalin, the hashish came from the Caucasus Mountains in Georgia—and it was just as powerful.”

It was the C.I.A. that sent me to Russia. Not that I’d planned it that way. But after studying Russian language and culture for three years at the University of Miami, my yearning to visit the great Slavic motherland was impractical for one idiotic reason: no money. So I took a job in the school library’s Slavic Collection.

The only irony was that this magnanimously endowed library of rare Russian books and obscene journals, which would have been priceless to me during my studies, was something I never knew existed. The only people who seemed to know it was there were these very straight and hard-boiled guys, no flies on them, who’d come in on quiet days (while I’d be smoking grass among the stacks and reading Crocodil, the Russian humor magazine) and request the latest issue of, say Soviet Navy Monthly, or a Kremlin report on Chilean youth groups. A few weeks later I’d read in the newspapers about the sudden unrest among Chilean youth. My boss, a jovial Pole, confirmed that many of our visitors were indeed C.I.A., and he implied that the Slavic collection was C.I.A. property. Anyway, I worked there until I saved enough money to go to Russia.

Soon I was airborne with the other members of the commercial charter tour that would take us to Moscow for three weeks and Leningrad same. The entire prospect loomed before me seductive, enigmatic, enticing, but I hated the thought of going six weeks without getting high, and said as much to “Texas Jeannie,” a buxom Southern belle who’d taken the tour a year before.

“Don’t worry,” she drawled. “Them Ruskies got some of the best danged shit east of the Pecos, or west of it, depending how y’all see it.” Although I was slightly puzzled by her avowal of Russian high times, my fears were further allayed by an incident in Poland, where we stopped over to change planes and visit beloved Chopin’s birthplace. “Y’all oughta see what’s growing in the back yard,” said Jeannie. At first I took this to be an invitation of a perversely lubricious nature, but I caught on when we went in back of the great composer’s birthplace and found a patch of marijuana growing up stout and firm. From this moment forth my understanding of detente went through cartwheels or reconsideration.

On our second night in Moscow, I wandered the streets, and returned from sightseeing to find a note from Jeannie on my hotel door. When I got to her room, I found her and five other tourists sitting around on the floor, their heads obscured by a cloud of familiar-smelling smoke. At Jeannie’s welcome bidding, I fell to my knees and was handed a pipeful of dark green flakes of kaif, which smells like hashish but tasted like grass. It had come from the Caucasus Mountains in Georgia—just like Stalin—and it was just as powerful.

Jeannie had traded one of her many pair of blue jeans to a Russian head for the kaif we were smoking. She explained that the hunger of Russian youth for things American, like jeans, rock and jazz albums, psychedelic posters, and what have you, is so great that they’ll barter samovars, balalaikas, perhaps military secrets, and of course kaif in the most promiscuous fashion to get their hands on the trappings of decadent Amerikan youth culture. The realization that my old Moby Grape albums were the equivalent of cigarettes and stockings in a Saigon black market brought home to me the ineffable karmic value of never throwing away anything, no matter how faddy or ephemeral it may seem to jaded American hippies.

During my last week in Moscow, I was with some of my new Russian friends looking for a place to party. This is a great problem in Russia because of the acute housing shortage, which forces the Russians to live in rather close quarters. I was reminded of the familiar high school scene back home, where large parts of our youth are spent scouting locations to make out in.

Russians find it odd that Americans all have their own apartments, cars, food, cigarettes, orgasms: in the Soviet Union, these things are collectivized. Old and young must share their living rooms, their likes and dislikes, their cutlery and crockery, their vodka and ideologies, which are “monolithic” only in their mutual antagonism.

In short, the chances of our finding an orgy site seemed slim, when my friend Volodya struck up a conversation with a little man sporting a black goatee and heavy horn-rim glasses thick as stove lids. He turned out to be a sort of Russian bohemian, and in minutes had invited us to his apartment in a tottering old housing project. He told us we could use his little two-room “flet”, even his bed, while he socialized with us and shared our wine and kaif.

As it turned out, he fancied himself a painter and his apartment was crowded with awful day-glo canvasses of dogs pissing into space, lampposts shooting darts at children, and a picture of a man spreading his arsecheeks to reveal a peep at the infinite cosmos through his hole. Our host was one of those genuine Mad Russians you hear about. Twelve of us packed boisterously into the tiny place, puffing pipes of kaif and taking turns balling on the bed; the little man got wilder and wilder, drinking more than half of our wine. We played some of my rock albums—Hendrix and Pink Floyd—on his record player. I asked him if he had any examples of Russian rock music, and he replied, “You want to see example of Russian rock, da?” “Da,” I said. He went to a shelf and took down a paperjacketed album. He placed the record on the turntable, we listened for no more than a few seconds, and then he heaved the record out the window. “That’s Russian music,” he said.

“I knew Nicholas before he was a superstar,” he raved, reminiscing about his family. “My mother-in-law boy, is she fat! I took her to the Mayday parade and a C.I.A. Man offered to buy my missile secrets. . . . No, really, she’s very talented. She’s being sent to America on the cultural exchange program. In exchange, we’re getting Texas, Brooklyn, and Raquel Welch!” He began to roar out his life story, which became more and more horrible. Finally he dropped his trousers to show a long ugly scar left by Stalin’s torturers. At one point, I was bedding a young Muscovite honey when the Mad Russian ran in, brandishing a small scimitar. My friends dragged him away, and soon we left him sleeping on the floor, his snores and nightmarish outcries mingling with the laughter, sobs, arguments, and songs that poured into the common courtyard from every apartment. Somehow, the whole episode seemed to epitomize Moscow.

Leningrad is closer to the West than Moscow in more ways than one. During the centuries of Tsarist rule, the city reflected the Romanovs’ imitation of Western European culture. Even now that tradition persists. Walking down the Nevsky Prospect for the first time, I actually felt at ease among the younger, long-haired, more stylishly attired communists, some of whom were actually promenading in tie-dyed shirts.

The kids are hip and kaif is plentiful. With three young Komsomoltsy (members of the Lenin Youth Organization) I dropped in one evening to a local disco called the “Molotok” to hear the top local rock band. Their music, consisting of loud fancy guitar chords, lots of showy drum licks, and [an] almost funky bass line, was surprisingly together, and reminiscent of the high school bands that played in garages back home. On an impulse, I asked the drummer if I could sit in for one number. “Konyeshno!” he cried, smiling. The leader then announced that an American rock and roller was going to play, and that brought down the house.

I could barely hear myself through their applause and shouts. For the next several days I was followed around by several “groupskies” who believed I was a big rock star, and I did nothing to disillusion them.

Soon I met my first Russian dope dealer. His name was Misha, and he was as freaky as any Russian could hope to be. He was tall, swarthy, and bearded. He lived in his black market Levis and cowboy jacket. A signpainter by profession, he spent his time with foreign tourists and sold them dope, and had, in fact, served five years in a concentration camp for this activity. In a bastardized argot of hip Russian and Leningrad street slang, he invited us to his apartment to smoke some gashgish.

Gashgish is the people’s hash, imported from the Uzbekistan, a central Asian Soviet Republic near Afghanistan. He shared his apartment with a comely Lenin youth named Natasha. Our first time there, Misha emptied a papirosa (cigarette), and mixed the bitter Russian tobacco with some hash from a small leather pouch, then poured the mixture adroitly into the cigarette. I found it a bit harsh, but what the hell.

Later I gave Misha an American pipe and some screens and he was so impressed (and stoned) that he vowed never to smoke hash in cigarettes again, but Natasha swore, in her revisionist way, to go on smoking good Soviet papirosas. She did, however, take to “shotgunning” her reefers quite hungrily.

Misha’s scene was pretty loose, so one day I asked him what the neighbors thought.

“They think I am crazy,” he said. “And do you know, they are right? Every time they see me coming, the old one-leg and the ugly witch, they run into their rooms and slam the doors.” I regaled him with a few Florida redneck tales.

The last time I saw Misha, we got higher than Yuri Gagarin. Dostoeyevsky, that dark Russian, who once said, “consciousness is a disease,” would have been proud of us. Our minds met in cosmic detente, and Misha and I became increasingly mystic. A very Russian thing to be. I told him of my long-time dream of getting stoned with a genuine Russian. He told me about his dream of getting stoned with a real American.

“Est bog!” he cried excitedly, “there is a god!”

Source: https://hightimes.com/culture/from-the-archives-hash-in-the-u-s-s-r-1974/

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Aviation

IndiGo Crisis Exposes Risks of Monopoly: What If Telecom or E-commerce Collapses Next?

Published

3 months ago

December 7, 2025

Jon Tru

Airports across India witnessed scenes of distress and confusion as thousands of passengers were stranded due to IndiGo’s massive flight disruptions. Families with medical emergencies, funerals, and personal crises were left helpless as the airline cancelled hundreds of flights without adequate communication or support.

Passengers described desperate situations — a mother pleading for sanitary pads for her daughter, a woman unable to transport her husband’s coffin, and others stranded while trying to reach family funerals or hospitals. “It was like a lockdown at the airport,” one passenger said, describing the panic that unfolded as IndiGo’s mismanagement crippled operations nationwide.

Root Cause: IndiGo’s Market Monopoly

The turmoil, industry experts argue, stems from IndiGo’s monopolistic control over India’s domestic aviation market. The airline operates nearly 2,100 flights daily and holds around 60% market share — meaning every second plane flying within India belongs to IndiGo.

This dominance has given the company unparalleled influence. When IndiGo falters, the entire aviation system suffers. Passengers are left with few alternatives, as other airlines lack capacity to absorb stranded travellers. The result: skyrocketing ticket prices, chaos at terminals, and total dependence on a single private operator.

Aviation pioneer Captain G.R. Gopinath, founder of Air Deccan, criticised the government’s inaction, noting that on some routes, IndiGo’s economy fares surged to ₹1 lakh. He compared the situation to a hostage crisis, writing that the airline “held the system ransom” and forced regulators to defer new safety rules meant to protect pilots and passengers.

Government Intervention and Regulatory Weakness

The crisis erupted after IndiGo failed to comply with the Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) — rules introduced by the DGCA in January 2024 requiring adequate rest for pilots. Despite having nearly two years to adapt, IndiGo blamed the rule for operational disruptions, citing a shortage of pilots.

Under mounting public pressure, the government stepped in, temporarily relaxing FDTL norms and capping airfare hikes. Officials claimed the move was to protect passengers, but analysts say it exposed the state’s vulnerability to corporate monopolies. “The government had no option but to yield,” said one aviation policy expert, pointing out that ignoring safety regulations for short-term relief could have long-term consequences.

The crisis also rekindled memories of the June 2025 Air India crash near London, which claimed over 240 lives. Experts warn that compromising pilot rest and safety standards to maintain flight schedules could risk another tragedy.

If Telecom Giants Fail: A National Paralysis

The article raises a troubling question — what if a similar crisis struck the telecom sector, where Jio and Airtel together control nearly 80% of subscribers and serve over 780 million users?

If both networks failed simultaneously, the repercussions would be catastrophic. Internet shutdowns would halt UPI transactions, online banking, OTP verifications, video calls, OTT streaming, and emergency communications. Critical services such as airports, hospitals, stock exchanges, and small businesses — many of which rely on WhatsApp and digital payments — would come to a standstill.

In essence, a telecom breakdown could paralyse India’s digital economy, exposing the nation’s dependence on a duopoly.

E-commerce Monopoly: Another Fragile Ecosystem

The same risk looms over the e-commerce sector, where Amazon and Flipkart dominate nearly 80% of the market. A disruption similar to IndiGo’s could cripple daily life — halting delivery of groceries, medicines, and essential goods, freezing refunds and customer support, and leaving small sellers without platforms to trade.

Local retailers, freed from competition, might exploit shortages by inflating prices. Such a scenario underscores the perils of market centralisation in sectors critical to everyday living.

A Wake-Up Call for Regulators

The IndiGo crisis, analysts say, is a warning shot for policymakers and regulators. A single company’s operational failure exposed systemic weaknesses in India’s infrastructure and consumer protection mechanisms.

As the aviation regulator DGCA investigates and IndiGo works to restore normalcy, the broader lesson remains clear: unchecked monopoly power in any essential service — whether air travel, telecom, or e-commerce — poses a direct threat to economic stability and citizen welfare.

Without stronger competition laws, redundancy frameworks, and regulatory oversight, India risks repeating this crisis across multiple sectors — each time with millions of citizens paying the price.

Agriculture & Life Sciences

Canada’s Cannabis Industry Urges Government to Support Growing Export Market

Published

3 months ago

November 24, 2025

Jon Tru

BuzzBuzz Cannabis Business News — 24 November 2025

Canada’s cannabis sector is calling on federal and provincial governments to recognize its fast-growing export potential and extend the same support other regulated industries receive. Industry leaders warn that Canada is losing its early global advantage due to slow regulatory processes, lack of trade promotion, and limited access to government-backed financing.

Canada’s medical-cannabis exporters now generate more than half a billion dollars annually and ship products to major markets including Germany, the UK, Australia, and Poland. Despite this, cannabis remains largely absent from Canada’s official trade and export strategies.

Industry Calls for Streamlined Export System

Paul McCarthy, President of the Cannabis Council of Canada, says the country has everything required to dominate the global medical cannabis trade—except government alignment.

“Our requests are simple,” McCarthy said. “Expedite Health Canada’s export-permit process, integrate cannabis into federal export programs like Global Affairs Canada trade missions and CanExport, and ensure provinces include cannabis in their export strategies.”

He stressed the need for mutual recognition agreements with importing countries to eliminate redundant testing and documentation. Access to Export Development Canada (EDC) and Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) services also remains off-limits to cannabis exporters, placing them at a steep disadvantage.

“This industry does not just need permission to operate,” McCarthy added. “It needs to be treated like every other legitimate contributor to Canada’s trade objectives.”

Competitors Are Moving Faster

McCarthy warns that while Canada pioneered medical cannabis standards, other countries are rapidly advancing with more flexible and export-friendly systems.

“Faster approvals, lower compliance costs, and active government-backed strategies are helping other nations catch up,” he said. “Canada’s regulatory friction is already costing us global market share.”

Export permits currently must be issued for each shipment—a process that can take weeks—and Canadian testing standards often differ from international requirements, forcing companies to repeat expensive compliance checks.

High Tide CEO: Canada Needs a National Export Strategy

Raj Grover, CEO of High Tide Inc., says Canada risks surrendering its leadership if policymakers remain inactive.

“Canada developed the world’s most advanced cannabis regulatory system and contributed $76.5 billion to GDP since legalization,” Grover said. “But without a National Cannabis Export Strategy, we will lose ground to Australia, Israel, Portugal, and other emerging competitors.”

He noted that Canada’s industry table created by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED) has not met in more than a year—an opportunity wasted.

Grover urged the federal government to introduce domestic GMP certification and potency standards to streamline international market access. “Canadian producers must currently get GMP approval country by country. It’s duplicative and costly. Canada should be setting global benchmarks, not chasing them.”

Germany: A Key Market for Canadian Firms

High Tide recently expanded into Europe with its majority acquisition of Germany’s Remexian Pharma GmbH, giving the company a direct import and distribution channel in Europe’s largest medical-cannabis market.

“Our German strategy is already structured for success,” Grover said. “Through Remexian, we can supply premium medical cannabis at the lowest possible price, helping meet Germany’s quality and cost demands.”

Grover also warned that U.S. companies are already purchasing Canadian firms to stage their own international expansion—another sign that Canada’s leadership position is slipping.

Government Response Remains Limited

In response to industry concerns, a Global Affairs Canada spokesperson said the Trade Commissioner Service “continues to support exporters of cannabis for medical and scientific purposes that have obtained Health Canada permits.”

However, industry leaders argue that this support is minimal and does not include key tools such as trade missions, export credits, or bilateral agreements that other sectors routinely receive.

A Closing Window of Opportunity

With medical-cannabis exports already exceeding $500 million annually, industry executives say Canada must act quickly to preserve its competitive edge.

As McCarthy warns, without coordinated government support, Canada risks losing high-value pharmaceutical manufacturing, research investments, and thousands of skilled jobs.

And as Grover’s expansion into Germany demonstrates, the industry is moving forward—but whether Canada moves with it may determine if the country remains a global leader or becomes a pioneer that let others capitalize on its breakthroughs.

Business

A Tipping Point for Cannabis: President Trump Champions CBD & Cannabis Science on Truth Social

Published

4 months ago

November 16, 2025

Jon Tru

When the President of the United States shares a video about the life changing potential of hemp derived CBD on his personal social media platform, it is more than news, it is a cultural shift.

For decades our government lied to us about cannabis. It demonized the plant, waged war on its users, and filled prisons while allowing pharmaceutical companies to flood the nation with addictive and deadly drugs. For over a century we have been fighting uphill, not just for legalization, but for truth, for science, and for the right to heal ourselves naturally.

Now in 2025, the most powerful political figure on Earth is using his own voice and platform to talk about the endocannabinoid system and the science backed benefits of CBD. That is monumental. It is validation for everyone who has fought, been arrested, been silenced, and been dismissed for telling this truth. The President’s video post is already being described as a pivotal moment in cannabis history, and President Trump CBD Cannabis Science Truth Social is trending across platforms as advocates celebrate the breakthrough.

The Science Behind the Endocannabinoid System

The video begins by introducing something most people, including many doctors, still know little about, the endocannabinoid system. Discovered in the 1990s, the ECS is a network of receptors and signaling molecules that works as the body’s master regulator, coordinating communication between major systems like the nervous, immune, cardiovascular, and digestive systems.

The roots of this discovery go back much further. CBD was first isolated in 1940 by American chemist Roger Adams, but it was Dr. Raphael Mechoulam, an Israeli organic chemist, who fully elucidated the chemical structure of CBD and identified its stereochemistry in the 1960s. His pioneering work not only opened the door to modern cannabinoid science but also earned him the title “Godfather of Cannabis Research.” It was this foundation that led to the identification of the endocannabinoid system itself decades later, revealing how cannabinoids interact with our physiology on a fundamental level.

The ECS is now widely recognized as a vital part of human biology, with extensive research supported by the National Institutes of Health. When functioning properly, the ECS acts like the conductor of an orchestra, ensuring every section plays in harmony. As we age, the system weakens. That imbalance is linked to inflammation, chronic pain, cognitive decline, sleep problems, and many other conditions associated with aging.

Mainstream medicine often addresses these issues with pharmaceutical band aids, dangerous and addictive drugs that treat symptoms rather than root causes. Lifestyle changes such as diet and exercise help, but they only partially support the ECS and do so slowly over time.

Hemp Derived CBD: A Game Changer for Aging

Here is where the science gets exciting. As the video explains, the ECS can be restored much more quickly with hemp derived CBD. Strengthening this system naturally helps the body regain balance, reducing pain, improving sleep, lowering stress, slowing disease progression, and even extending healthy lifespan.

It is not theoretical. One in five seniors is already using CBD to manage pain, arthritis, cancer symptoms, sleep disorders, Alzheimer’s, and more. Despite decades of research and acknowledgment from institutions like the National Institutes of Health, most physicians receive no training on the ECS. There are still no FDA standards for CBD products on the market. If that were the case for any other class of medicine, it would be considered malpractice.

The World Health Organization has confirmed CBD’s excellent safety profile and non addictive nature in its critical review report. The result is that millions of older Americans are suffering unnecessarily when a safe and natural solution exists.

Hemp derived CBD is a powerful first step in restoring balance to the endocannabinoid system, but it is only part of the picture. Research shows that full spectrum cannabis extracts, which include a broader range of cannabinoids and terpenes, can work even more effectively. Complete concentrated cannabis oil, containing the full spectrum of natural endocannabinoids, may deliver the most profound results for certain patients. Expanding access to these therapies will be essential if we want to unlock the full healing potential of this plant.

The Economic and Social Impact

The video cites a powerful figure. A PricewaterhouseCoopers analysis estimates that fully integrating cannabis into the healthcare system could save the United States nearly 64 billion dollars annually. These savings reflect reduced pharmaceutical dependency, fewer hospitalizations, improved chronic disease outcomes, and enhanced quality of life for aging Americans. You can read more about PwC’s research on healthcare innovation here.

It is a financial argument, but it is also a moral one. Why should our elders endure pain, anxiety, and cognitive decline when nature has given us tools to help them live longer, happier, and healthier lives?

A Call to Action: Finish What the Farm Bill Started

The message concludes by crediting the 2018 Farm Bill, championed by President Trump, for legalizing hemp and laying the groundwork for today’s CBD market. The Farm Bill was just the first step.

Now the call is for bold next moves.

Educate doctors about the endocannabinoid system
Include CBD under Medicare coverage
Provide clear federal standards for CBD quality and dosing

These steps would constitute the most significant senior health reform in modern history, one that would transform aging and cement a powerful legacy for any administration that makes it happen.

What This Means for Future Cannabis Medicine

For those of us who have been in the cannabis community for decades, this is not just another news story. It is a signal that our movement is winning. A conversation that was once criminalized and censored is now being amplified by the President of the United States on his own platform.

It means the science is undeniable. It means the truth can no longer be buried. It means the wall of prohibition is cracking, not just legally, but culturally, scientifically, and politically.

It also means that everything we have been fighting for at 420 Magazine since 1993, education, access, healing, and justice, is finally moving full steam ahead. The President Trump CBD Cannabis Science Truth Social moment is proof that science and policy are finally converging.