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Angela Merkel's party mulls legalizing cannabis in Germany
Prominent members of the ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU) have begun to openly discuss legalizing marijuana in Germany. The move would be a historic policy turn for the
conservative party.
Germany's center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is openly considering a momentous u-turn in the party's attitude to the legalization of cannabis.
"Cannabis could be freed for personal use, of course with controlled production and distribution," CDU interior policy spokesman Marian Wendt told the RND network on Friday. "The resources freed in the police and judiciary should be used to fight the illegal trade."
Wendt's statement came after the German government's drug commissioner, Daniela Ludwig, also signaled a more liberal new drug policy in the conservative party.
Ludwig, of the CDU's Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung newspaper earlier this week, "We need to stop with the ideologically charged black-or-white debates, because we won't get any further."
Instead, the new drug commissioner said the focus of drug policy should be on practicality. "At the end of the day, what is the best way to protect the health of people, especially young people, and which path makes the most sense for the situation in this country?"
Germany's new drug czar Daniela Ludwig has a more liberal take
Ludwig also said that the party had been "thinking about" legalization "for years." "Of course you don't get addicted from trying it once," she added. "That's exactly why we looked at different projects for controlled distribution."
Change of tack
This struck a markedly different tone to that of her predecessor, Marlene Mortler, also of the CSU, who last year said in a statement, "The constant debate about legalization is heading the wrong way. It suggests to young people especially that cannabis is not a dangerous substance — that is simply not true!"
At the moment, cannabis in Germany is only legal for strict medicinal use. The plant may only be grown, sold, owned, imported or exported with the permission of the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices. Seriously ill people can be prescribed cannabis-based drugs.
In practice, however, the state usually does not prosecute the possession of 6 grams or less, a limit agreed by state interior ministers last year.
Angela Merkel's party is the last of the major political parties in Germany that maintains a strictly prohibitive drug policy, against legalization policies laid out by the Social Democrats, the Greens, the Free Democrats, and the Left party.
Last year, official government figures said that some 4 million Germans use cannabis, with 17% of 18-25-year-olds saying they had used it in the past 12 months.
Baron23
Germany Rejected Its Recreational Cannabis Bill
The people of New Zealand just voted down a measure to legalize cannabis through a referendum. New Jersey just legalized it recreationally also through its own referendum. Germany didn't put the question to its people, but last month the government of Germany rejected its recreational cannabis bill.
A little about Germany and cannabis
As per the title, recreational marijuana is not legal in Germany. In fact, possessing it at all can garner a person up to five years in prison according to the German Federal Narcotics Act, though conversely, it's not technically illegal to use it, since there is no stated law against it. If caught with small amounts, offenders are usually put in a program over anything more serious, at least for first-time offenders. The term 'small amount' is not very well defined, though, and can mean anywhere from about 6-15 grams depending on where in Germany the possession takes place. Plus, the amount is judged by quantity and potency over actual weight, meaning the THC content helps define the amount in the end.
Sale and supply crimes are predictably illegal, and offenders can receive up to about five years in prison. This sentence goes up from 1-15 years depending on the circumstances of the case. Cultivation on a personal level is also illegal and garners the same punishment as sale and supply crimes.
In terms of CBD, while Germany already had been permitting it, the recent decision of the CJEU (Court of Justice of the European Union) in the case of France vs the EU, makes it that much more clear. EU standard has now been found to trump local member state laws when it comes to the import and export of CBD between member states. As per EU standards, Germany does not allow more than .2% THC in CBD oil preparations.
Technically, the medical use of a cannabis drug has been legal since 1998 in Germany when dronabinol was rescheduled. It wasn't until 2017, however, that Germany further legalized medicinal cannabis. As of 2017, new legislation opened the door for more disorders and sicknesses to be relevant for treatment.
What about Germany's market?
The thing about Germany is that it already has one of the biggest cannabis markets in the EU, and even in the world, though right now it's all a medicinal market. In 2019, for example, Germany was the biggest importer and exporter of cannabis oil in the EU. Though the country can't compete just yet with the US in terms of imports – the US for 2019 imported approximately $893 million worth of cannabis oil making it the clear leader, Germany did get the #2 spot with $240 million worth of oil imported that year. When it comes to exports, Germany led the EU with about $230 million worth of cannabis oil exports, but that was only 4th place in the world. Topping the export list was China, sitting pretty with just under $1 billion worth of cannabis oil exports that year.
Cannabis oil is only part of it. Most of the legal cannabis world still revolves around dry flowers, and Germany just happens to have a massive cannabis flower market as well. And one that is only looking to grow and expand out more. In July, Germany released data on its medical cannabis imports for the first two quarters of the year. While Q1 showed an increase of 16%, Q2 showed a massive 32% increase, and this at the height of the Coronavirus pandemic measures being taken all over the world. To give an idea of what this means via comparison, in 2018, Germany imported about 3.1 tons of cannabis flowers, this was increased to 6.7 tons in 2019, and it looks like it will go much higher than that by the end of 2020. During this time, Germany had such an issue with supply problems that it requested extra cannabis flowers from the Netherlands to help close the gap. Part of the reason for the need for more medical cannabis is simply the increasing number of Germans receiving it as treatment. As of June 2019, about 60,000 Germans were registered with the medical marijuana program in the country, and that number is sure to be way higher by now.
Up until recently, Canada and the Netherlands were Germany's two biggest and main suppliers of cannabis flowers. However, more recently, it looks like Germany has received flowers from Uruguay (through a secretive back-door move using Portugal to import), and Spain via Linneo, a Spanish cannabis producer. Canada, however, is still the main importer to Germany, with several new companies opening shop in Germany, or planning new exports to the country. To give an idea of how out-of-whack prices have gotten in Germany, consider that the current retail price of a gram of cannabis is about €20. Then consider that this is a medical price, not even a recreational price.
What's the deal with recreational?
Everything so far should give some idea of how big Germany's cannabis market is, and how quickly it's growing. As the biggest market in the EU, it's not that surprising that the question of a recreational legalization would come up, since, obviously, Germany is pretty okay with use of the plant. However, this sentiment did not come through as a recreational legalization as last month Germany rejected its recreational cannabis bill.
Germany has six main political parties. The Left (holds 69 seats and is in favor of legalizing), the Social Democratic Party of Germany (about 152 seats, technically in favor of legalization, but voted with coalition partner instead – the Union, which includes the Christian Democrats led by Angela Merkel), the Union (two parties making up 264 seats, against legalization), the Greens (67 seats, and in support of legalization), the Free Democratic Party (holds 80 seats, but did not vote on the measure), and Alternative for Germany (somewhere in the neighborhood of 89-94 seats, and against legalization).
On October 29th, the proposed bill for an adult-use recreational cannabis market in Germany was firmly rejected in parliament, despite having plenty of support from different factions of Germany's parliament. One of the big reasons for this is the coalition between the Union and the Social Democratic Party of Germany. The Union is itself is a coalition between the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (led by Angela Merkel) and the Christian Social Union in Bavaria. The Social Democratic Party of Germany, which though technically is in favor of cannabis reform, tends to vote with its coalition partner, the Union. Together they hold enough seats that any initiative will fail without at least some of their support. In this way, by having the two parties paired together, Germany rejected its recreational cannabis bill squarely.
In a way, the coalition is a strange one. The Union, is known as a center-right party associated with Christian movements. The Social Democratic party is center-left. Technically, the two groups have very different stances, and while they might overlap on some issues, they actually seem quite at odds when it comes to cannabis, making their vote together a bit of a headscratcher. Nevertheless, by being joined together, the Social Democrats voted with the Union making for an unbeatable force.
What's next for Germany?
In the wake of the fact that Germany rejected its recreational cannabis bill, it's hard to imagine what the next step will be. Unlike with a country like New Zealand, it was not the people of the country who voted the measure down, but rather, parliament on its own. This means the people of Germany are not necessarily on board with this decision, and that could mean new measures arising in the near future. It is, after all, already one of the biggest cannabis markets in the world. The step to legalization gets smaller and smaller as Germany gets more and more saturated with cannabis. Personally, I expect something will happen very soon that will tip the balance in the other direction.
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im not a robot
chances are not bad the next german elections could have a positive impact on legalisation efforts in germany. if you can vote in germany this coming weekend, you really should: if the centre-right CDU (main opponent of legalisation) is voted out of government this time, it looks la lot more likely some kind of progress can happen - all other parties likely to form a new government have at least some variation on legalisation efforts / or support of trial projects in their current program.
and if you should feel extra-motivated: der deutsche hanfverband has started a call to write to your local candidates for the bundestag to push interest in this matter across partisan lines - they have pre-formulated letters and a handy search engine to get the contact details of your local representatives. just copy / paste & send. https://hanfverband.de/zeit-fuer-legalisierung
Is cannabis legalization on horizon in Germany? Not so fast, experts say
Canadian cannabis industry executives are paying close attention to Germany's upcoming election, where pro-cannabis parties are in a good position to unseat the political union that has long opposed any form of recreational legalization.
However, experts are pouring cold water on any expectations of meaningful cannabis reform in the near future, as questions remain over the makeup of the next coalition government and where cannabis law reform would sit on the list of priorities.
The election is Sept. 26.
"If there would be a coalition of pro-cannabis parties, it is unlikely that a recreational cannabis law would be the highest priority," Nikolaas Faes, Paris-based senior analyst for Bryan, Garnier & Co., wrote in a research note.
"More likely it could well be 2024 before a recreational cannabis law is passed – and coming in effect in 2025 – but in the meantime all the parties concerned, seem to be willing to allow cities to establish model projects."
Some cannabis industry executives, such as Canada-based Tilray CEO Irwin Simon, have claimed to have "intel" suggesting cannabis could be legalized this year, but experts say there is no chance of that happening.
In the meantime, Germany's medical market continues to grow.
Faes pegs the medical market there at about 300 million euros ($354 million), making it the second-biggest federally regulated medical market in the world, behind Canada.
Germany is on pace to become the biggest fully legal medical market in the world by next year.
Oliver Zugel, founder and CEO of Bogota, Colombia-based FoliuMed Holdings, told MJBizDaily that most of the political parties in Germany are considering adult-use trials or legalization "in some shape or form."
But Zugel, who does business in Germany, said the likeliest timeline is for recreational cannabis trials to be launched in major cities by 2026, the end of the next legislative period.
'Big differences'
Even if Germans elect a majority of Bundestag representatives this month who favor of legalization, that doesn't mean legalization is guaranteed in the next legislative period, Alfredo Pascual, vice president of investment analysis at Seed Innovations, told MJBizDaily.
Last year, for instance, the German federal parliament rejected a bill to legalize a "strictly controlled" adult-use cannabis market, even though a majority of the Bundestag members belonged to a political party favoring some type of reform.
The latest polls indicate the next Bundestag will likely have about two-thirds of members of parliament representing parties in favor of some type of legalization while the rest will represent parties favoring the status quo.
"The parties that support legalization have big differences among each other," said Pascual, a former MJBizDaily journalist.
"On some (non-cannabis) topics, they are diametrically opposed. And even when it comes to (cannabis) legalization, it could mean different things to different parties which are in favor of it."
The key, experts say, is the composition of the coalition government that will be formed after the election results are known.
And that is where most of the uncertainty lies.
"As of now, there are several possible and realistic combinations of parties that could form the next government coalition representing at least 50% of the votes. The majority of these possible combinations would include CDU/CSU, a political force which largely opposes legalization," Pascual said.
"If the future government coalition includes CDU/CSU, the chances of legalization will largely depend on whether CDU/CSU will have a leading role in that coalition and if and how strong the other coalition parties will negotiate with CDU/CSU on this issue.
"It could be that cannabis isn't a priority for anyone, as other topics such as climate change have much more importance in the public debate."
If Germany does pursue legalization, the smart money is on a limited "trial" being rolled out, rather than a Canadian-style system of legalizing marijuana in one shot.
But that could push a fully regulated marijuana market 5-10 years out – or more.
Pascual said a trial is more likely because:
There's much less political risk in doing a limited trial and calling it a scientific experiment than doing full legalization all at once.
Similar pilot experiments have already been approved and are starting in neighboring Netherlands and Switzerland, which makes it more palatable for Germans.
The parties that support legalization in Germany disagree on how to do it.
The party currently leading in the polls, SPD, favors municipal adult-use cannabis experiments but hasn't shown much support for a fully legalized market right away.
"In the meantime, all the parties concerned seem to be willing to allow cities to establish model projects," said Faes of Bryan, Garnier & Co.
The ruling CDU/CSU union platform says it "rejects the legalization of illegal drugs."
However, some senior party members like Erwin Rüddel are among those who have softened their stance, leaving the door open to a potential compromise over a pilot program for regulated marijuana sales.
Switzerland example
If Germany does pursue a pilot recreational cannabis program, it need look no further than Switzerland, where adult-use cannabis experiments are set to get underway next year in some cities, including Zurich.
Switzerland is embarking on a experiment allowing for a fully regulated adult-use cannabis supply chain.
Gavin George, director of research and intellectual property at Switzerland-based genetics breeding company Puregene AG, said Switzerland's trial system could be a useful model to follow for other European nations considering cannabis law reform.
"We think that Switzerland has taken a very pragmatic approach. The problem with the cannabis industry is there is so much information out there, and very little of it is produced scientifically," he said in a phone interview.
"The Swiss government is taking a good approach in trying to involve companies that are here locally, will be supplying the market and generating data."
"We're running at a million miles an hour to make sure that we're there and the market is rolled out correctly. We want it to be sustainable, but we also want it to be safe."
Last edited by a moderator: Sep 20, 2021
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i have not yet found an english site covering this, i think this literally just made the news in the last hour, but it looks like we are indeed going to legalise!
Cannabis: SPD, FDP und Grüne einigen sich auf Legalisierung
Der Konsum von Marihuana ist in Deutschland erlaubt. Besitz und Verkauf gelten jedoch bislang als Straftaten. Das soll sich mit einer Ampelregierung ändern – doch nicht jeder wird den Stoff verkaufen dürfen.
www.spiegel.de
yay may be a little premature as legislation will still have to pass both houses of parliament, and the conservatives, while no longer in government, still hold a majority in the bundesrat. timing and public opinion (hovering around 50/50 atm i think) will be critical
here is an english sum up from marijuanamoment.net (?)
Party leaders in Germany's incoming government coalition have reached an agreement to legalize marijuana nationwide.
The legalization legislation is expected to be introduced during the upcoming legislative session. It will also provide broader drug harm reduction services and restrict advertising of tobacco and alcohol, along with cannabis.
As it stands, personal possession of marijuana is decriminalized in Germany, and there is a medical cannabis program in place. But this forthcoming proposal would seek to establish a regulated market for adult-use marijuana.
The governing coalition—comprised of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and the Greens—said that it will be "introducing the controlled distribution of cannabis to adults for recreational purposes in licensed shops," according to a translation of a multi-party working group report first noted by Funke Media and circulated by Der Spiegel.
The so-called "traffic light coalition" is making the case that regulating marijuana sales will help drive out the illicit market. That will be revisited four years post-implementation, when a review of the social impact of the reform will be required.
And while the lawmakers emphasized that the objective of the reform is not to boost tax revenue for the country, FDP said in its election manifesto that taxing cannabis like cigarettes could generate €1 billion annually.
The new report, which was agreed to by the coalition's working group on health and care, also discusses how the legislation would promote harm reduction, in part by allowing drug-checking services where people could have illicit substances tested for contaminants and other harmful products.
There will also be provisions related to advertising, with the intent being to restrict the promotion of marijuana, tobacco and alcohol to deter youth use, Der Spiegel reported.
"We measure regulations again and again against new scientific findings and align measures for health protection," the report states.
Bloomberg noted earlier this month that the parties were nearing a deal on the issue.
This reform has been a long time coming in Germany. It was 2017 when members of the Christian Democratic Union and its ally the Christian Social Union entered into talks with Free Democrats and Greens about advancing legalization.
Police unions in Germany have come out against plans to legalize marijuana.
In neighboring Luxembourg, the ministers of justice and homeland security last month unveiled a legalization proposal, which will still require a vote in the Parliament but is expected to pass. For now, the country is focusing on legalization within a home setting. Parliament is expected to vote on the proposal in early 2022, and the ruling parties are friendly to the reform.
If either Germany or Luxembourg moves ahead and enacts the reform, they would be the first in Europe to do so. Canada and Uruguay have already legalized recreational cannabis.
In North America, meanwhile, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee approved a bill in September to legalize marijuana and promote social equity. Senate leadership is also finalizing a comprehensive reform proposal. Several Republican members of Congress introduced a bill on Monday to federally legalize and tax marijuana.
In Mexico, the legislature expected to vote on a bill to regulate cannabis within weeks, a top senator recently said. That comes after the Supreme Court invalidated prohibition on constitutional grounds.
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im not a robot said:
Here you go! Congratulations!
Germany Set To Legalize Marijuana Nationwide After Major Parties Reach Agreement
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i should add that this news is now regarded as a leak, & not official yet. the coalition contract is due to be published sometime next week, and hopefully it will contain what is outlined above. nothing has yet been said regarding the cultivation of plants for personal use - and i really hope this will be included.
but once all this would be made into legislation and passed in the bundestag (our first house of parliament), it will likely still need approval of the bundesrat (second house of parliament, representatives of the federal states), which could be difficult with the current distribution of power there. timing will be important, as we have a lot of elections for the federal states coming up, and if, hopefully, the conservatives loose enough representation in the bundesrat, this could and should all work out. fingers crossed. for the next couple years i guess.
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bulllee
Germany to legalize recreational cannabis sales, incoming coalition pledges
By Matt Lamers, International Editor
The three parties expected to form the next government in Germany have agreed to regulate the distribution and sale of recreational cannabis, according to a coalition agreement released Wednesday.
Europe's largest economy taking a step toward marijuana legalization and regulation is being viewed as a significant achievement by social groups that have long advocated for an end to cannabis prohibition.
Businesses also are hoping to profit from sales of the drug under the watchful eye of government regulators.
However, the document contained little in the way of detail.
"We are introducing the controlled distribution of cannabis to adults for consumption purposes in licensed shops. This controls the quality, prevents the transfer of contaminated substances and guarantees the protection of minors," according to a small section on "Drug Policy" that is part of the 177-page agreement.
It's unclear where cannabis reform ranks among the coalition's long list of promises.
The parties also have said they plan to review the law after four years to weigh its social impact.
The three-party coalition is poised to take power from the current conservative government as early as December, also pending ratification of the agreement.
'Almost no details'
Alfredo Pascual, vice president of investment analysis at Seed Innovations, told MJBizDaily that the agreement is confirmation the incoming government intends to legalize adult-use cannabis.
"But the timeline until a recreational market will be established is largely unpredictable at the moment," Pascual said.
"With almost no details provided in the coalition agreement document, 'legalization' could end up meaning many different things."
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Pascual noted that an actual legalization bill still needs to be drafted and approved.
Any law and regulations, yet to be drafted, would carve out an addressable adult-use marijuana market for businesses.
Final approval could face resistance by the Bundesrat, which represents the nation's 16 federated states at the federal level.
The Bundesrat, the second legislative chamber that acts as counterweight to the Bundestag federal parliament, will continue to be controlled by the conservative party of outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel for at least the next year or two, "maybe longer depending on future local elections results," said Pascual, a former MJBizDaily journalist.
"There are also international implications, possibly challenges, at the EU and U.N. level that incoming policymakers will have to consider when they go through the actual legalization process."
The European Union reference is to the Council Framework Decision 2004/757/JHA, and the United Nations reference is to the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.
The agreement between the three parties is available here (in German).
Luxembourg update
Also Wednesday, neighboring Luxembourg released more details about its upcoming cannabis legalization and decriminalization.
Luxembourg has backpaddled on its earlier pledge to establish a regulated market for the sale of adult-use cannabis.
The latest plan will permit the cultivation of up to four plants per household, but sales will not be allowed.
The small country also plans to give a mandate to the Ministry of Justice to prepare a draft bill, in cooperation with five other ministries and judicial authorities.
Possession in public will be allowed so long as it doesn't exceed 3 grams, per the proposed rules, but consumption in public will not be permitted.
That might portend a heavily bureaucratic system that leaves almost no room for profit by private enterprise.
Luxembourg's latest announcement is available here.
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It's Official: New Ruling German Coalition to Legalize Recreational Cannabis Use
The news has been rumbling for a week after a German language magazine first reported the news. Now it is official. Germany will be legalizing recreational use cannabis as early as 2022.
Even the most die-hard "medical only" German voices within the cannabis industry have been posting the news all over their social media including LinkedIn for the past week, even before the news was official. But as of Wednesday, that has changed, officially. The new so-called "Traffic Light Coalition" will indeed be legalizing recreational use cannabis with a bill to do so introduced in the German Bundestag next year.
For those who have fought for the same, in the trenches, for years if not decades, it is an exciting moment. It is also electrifying the industry, which now has over 100 medical cannabis specialty distribution licenses, a growing patient base (estimated 100,000 at this point), and a topic that just will not quit. Particularly as the Swiss (in part, a German language country) are doing the same thing. This is particularly momentous given the timing. Germany might even beat Luxembourg into the recreational discussion within the European Union.
That said, no matter how exciting, the devil, as always, is in the details. How much, what exactly, and how it will be implemented is all still up in the air. Cannabis is still not actually decriminalized, and there are all sorts of strange pieces of case law and to be changed statutes still very much in the room.
What Is Known So Far
The reason this is such a big deal is that the announcement comes as the three parties who won the most votes in the federal election in September have sealed the deal to work together with a common plank that includes cannabis reform (along with phasing out coal by 2030 while also having at least 15 million electric cars on the road). After that, it is just a matter of crafting the legislation and introducing it into the German parliament. Unlike the U.S., where there have been multiple, unsuccessful attempts to pass a federal legalization bill, this one is almost guaranteed to pass. The Germans are funny like that.
Here is what is actually official. In a statement released by the SDP, Greens and FDP, this is what the coalition plans to do. "We are introducing the controlled supply of cannabis to adults for consumption in licensed stores. This controls the quality [of marijuana], prevents the transfer of contaminated substances and guarantees the protection of minors."
The government will review the experiment in four years to determine the impact (including economically and socially). That said, there is little chance such a forward step would be rolled back.
Issues And Problems Along the Way
It is not like this is going to be smooth sailing. There are a few major issues to address. Chief among those is how to amend the country's federal narcotics law. Cannabis, including CBD, is considered a narcotic. This is already out of step with EU policy on the same (with a pending lawsuit to change that). Regardless, add THC to the mix, and there is going to be some fancy footwork and legal eagling to make the change happen not only in the new legislation, but that which governs and regulates the medical variety.
German Impact
There is little doubt that Germany's move to recreational cannabis will forward the debate across Europe—and potentially in the same timeframe as it has impacted the medical conversation. Just four years ago, the concept of using medical cannabis even for pain relief was a very strange, often socially unacceptable topic. Today, there are about 100,000 German patients.
The Germans may not have arrived yet, but they are certainly on the way.
This is absolutely a Colorado if not Canadian tipping point. However, it may also be one that is not just about Germany, or even Europe, but an international and global one.
Coming as it is on the international news of Mexico implementing recreational reform by year's end and Italians potentially having the ability to vote on legalizing personal possession and home grow as of next spring, not to mention both Luxembourg and Switzerland definitely moving ahead with their own recreational markets, it is clear that full and final cannabis reform is now a mainstream topic and goal on a federal level of many countries.
This will also, undoubtedly spur on the debate in the U.S. If Germany can do this, less than four years after federal legalization of its medical market, what is the U.S. waiting for? Or for that matter China? In the latter case, with a corporate real estate market melting down, perhaps finally, and on a global scale, cannabis will be considered a great if not green and global investment.
In the meantime, the last days of Prohibition have clearly arrived and on a global level.
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Berlin Public Transit Is Selling Edible, Hemp-Infused Tickets To Help Riders To Relax This Holiday
Berlin's public transit authority is hoping to take the stress out of holiday travel with promotional hemp-infused tickets that riders can eat.
The cannabis publicity stunt doesn't have anything to do with the fact that the newly sworn-in German coalition government has separately committed to legalizing marijuana nationwide. And the tickets are infused with hemp oil from seeds, so they don't actually contain intoxicating cannabinoids like THC.
But it's nonetheless a playful example of the continued normalization of cannabis internationally as attitudes shift and policies change.
An ad for the promotion features a bus driver walking through a field of hemp and then hanging the harvested crops to dry in the BVG "Cannabus."
The spot also shows riders nibbling on the cannabis ticket, which are being sold for €8.80 and are valid for 24 hours.
(Note: a spokesperson for the transit told Reuters that passengers are advised to "only nibble on it or eat it after your journey, as if it has a bite out of it, it is no longer valid).
The ad goes on to depict a person levitating in meditative bliss in the middle of a subway car, even as a disclaimer notes on the screen that the tickets don't even contain CBD, much less THC.
BVG also talks about the stress of the holidays and jokes that they've "found a good remedy," according to a translation.
"The hemp oil obtained from the seeds of the cannabis plant is said to have a relaxing effect," it says. "And in contrast to the intoxicating active ingredient THC, it is completely harmless. And the stuff—this is not just really good, but also completely legal."
"That's why there is now a ticket made of edible paper amid all the Christmas stress that you can swallow all your anger with," it says. "The hemp ticket: the ticket which not only brings you home, but maybe also brings you down a bit."
The transit authority has developed a reputation for cheeky promotions like this, but this latest bit comes in the shadow of real marijuana reform that's set to advance in Germany.
The leaders of Germany's incoming governing parties announced last month, prior to being sworn in, that they have a formal agreement to legalize marijuana and promote broader drug policy harm reduction measures.
As it stands, personal possession of marijuana is decriminalized in Germany, and there is a medical cannabis program in place. But the coalition's proposal seeks to establish a regulated market for adult-use marijuana.
In neighboring Luxembourg, the ministers of justice and homeland security unveiled a legalization proposal in October. It will still require a vote in the Parliament, but it's expected to pass. For now, the country is focusing on legalization within a home setting. Parliament is expected to vote on the proposal in early 2022, and the ruling parties are friendly to the reform.
Meanwhile, Malta's Parliament voted this week to legalize marijuana, setting up the country as the first in Europe to enact the reform. The president is expected to sign the legislation within days.
BVG made clear that it's not endorsing the German government's legalization proposal, despite leaning into cannabis culture.
"We are against any kind of drug use—whether illegal or legal," the company said. "We are for a more open approach to completely harmless substances. Hemp oil is in principle just as harmless as sunflower, pumpkin seed or olive oil."
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In Germany, big questions on recreational cannabis legalization still unanswered
A cannabis dispensary in Bad Reichenhall, Germany.
Germany is forging ahead with plans to establish Europe's first national recreational cannabis market, but details about the rules that will govern the industry remain scarce.
That has made it more difficult for cannabis industry executives to gauge the potential sales opportunities in Germany.
Once it does launch, will Germany's billion-euro recreational cannabis market be in the low single digits, the double digits or somewhere in between?
That depends, in part, on answers to these and other questions:
When will edibles and vapes be allowed? Years down the road, right off the bat or never?
Where will cannabis be sold, how will it be taxed and how many sales outlets will open in the early years?
How much will regulatory restrictions, such as capping THC, impair the legal market?
If sales start only in pharmacies, how will that retail experience for consumers impact sales?
Will marijuana be produced in Germany? So far, no country allows the import/export of recreational cannabis. Will Germany be the first?
Germany's Ministry of Health is conducting hearings to address some of those issues.
A draft law is expected to be published this year.
Beyond that, much is unknown.
Constantin von der Groeben, managing director of Berlin-based cannabis company Demecan, said the size of any legal marijuana market in Europe's largest economy will be difficult to assess until regulatory details are ironed out.
"What is clear. however, is there is a market that already exists and has a meaningful size, which we know from the anti-drug reports," he said of Germany's medical cannabis market.
Some CEOs are taking a prudent approach before incorporating potential sales into revenue projections.
"My hope is that the government will take the time needed to get this right, as pushing out a botched regulation is a massive risk to public health and Germany's reputation as a front-runner on adult-use in Europe," Oliver Zugel, founder and CEO of Bogota, Colombia-based FoliuMed Holdings, told MJBizDaily.
"Truth is that apart from electoral considerations and misguided industry pressure, there isn't a real reason to rush this. And it's better to take small steps which can be corrected later than trying to solve the whole puzzle in one go."
With so much still up in the air, MJBizDaily asked executives about the pending German marijuana market.
Many countries have talked about legalizing cannabis in some form, but it almost never happens "on schedule" or on time. What are your expectations for Germany?
• Demecan's von der Groeben: "Originally, we anticipated a draft bill only in 2023. But in the last few weeks it seems that the government wants to use the summer break and the second half of 2022 to actually get at least a first draft done. Ideally, we would then see an approval of the new law in 2023."
• Niklas Kouparanis, CEO and co-founder, Frankfurt-based Bloomwell Group: "German minister of health, Karl Lauterbach, announced that the draft of the country's legal adult-use cannabis laws will be completed this year, and drug commissioner, Burkhard Blienert, plans to consult with industry experts to help draft the law.
"This is a clear signal to the market and investors that the government is very serious about legalizing adult-use cannabis in Germany. However, in terms of the timeline, I assume that we will have the legal adult-use market not before Q4 2023 or the beginning of 2024. But what is most important during this process is attention to detail.
"Precision, rather than speed, will help ensure a successful and sustainable market that also includes quality-control measures and regulations to ensure the protection of minors."
When Germany legalizes cannabis, how do you think it will navigate the United Nations' Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (1961) and other international treaty obligations?
Demecan's von der Groeben: "This is one of the bigger questions to answer. Currently, I think Germany will have to breach the convention at least for some time. This will probably mean that all recreational cannabis must come from within Germany as imports will be restricted."
Bloomwell's Kouparanis: "Germany is known for its commitment to regulations and bureaucratic processes, so we may leave and then reenter the U.N. single convention during our process to legalize adult-use cannabis.
"As an alternative, I could also imagine that we follow the 'Canadian-way' – ignoring the Single Convention's prohibition of cannabis."
How would you like to see Germany regulate sales – at privately owned stores, government-owned stores and wholesalers or in pharmacies?
David Henn, CEO, Cologne-based Cannamedical: "We believe that the most efficient path for a successful legalization is a 'pharmacy-plus' model, which has a track record and experience in handling, storing and distributing the products."
Bloomwell's Kouparanis: "The overall aim of the government is to guarantee protection of minors, product safety and education by pushing back the illicit market. Therefore, we need a nationwide sales infrastructure. This will not be achieved if we only choose already existing pharmacies; we will definitely need privately owned dispensaries.
"Beyond that, we should also allow e-commerce and online distribution, as all relevant processes to protect minors and educate consumers can be run online. If we don't allow online sales, we will just push the illicit market to the periphery. Another important lesson learned from Canada: We should not limit the number of dispensaries.
"Also, we should standardize regulations across the country and not have different rules throughout Germany's 16 states (as is the case in Canada's 13 jurisdictions)."
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How to incorporate e-commerce and home delivery.
Most cannabis businesses, and even analysts, use the wrong definition for "addressable market." How do you define addressable market?
Demecan's von der Groeben: "Until we know the details of the regulation of the recreational cannabis market, it is difficult to assess its size. What is clear, however, is that it is a market that already exists and that has a meaningful size, which we know from the anti-drug reports.
"We could therefore start with an estimated number of consumers in the current illicit market and then estimate how many of these consumers would transfer to the legitimate market."
Germany won't be able to import recreational cannabis because of international treaty obligations, correct?
FoliuMed's Zugel: "I think that's a big assumption you are making here (on imports not being allowed), and I don't think it will play out this way.
"Even if this was economically viable and technically feasible – which we think it isn't – how would a government justify to Green Party voters that electricity consumption will increase by 1%-3% as a result of hundreds of indoor cultivators in the middle of the country's most pronounced energy crisis?"
Bloomwell's Kouparanis: "A stable supply is crucial to push back the illicit market. Our economic scientist, Justus Haucap, has estimated a demand of 400 tonnes (annually) once the adult-use market comes online.
"I don't think that this demand will completely be covered by domestic cultivation. And, who knows, maybe our drug commissioner, Burkhard Blienert, finds a way to make imports possible even within the single convention.
How do you see the future of Germany's medical cannabis industry? Germany is currently the second-biggest federally regulated medical market, after Canada.
Demecan's von der Groeben: "I have no doubt that it will become No. 1. We see a constant rise, and more and more health care practitioners are convinced by the positive effects of cannabis. We are now curious to see if, and to what extent, the market will move away from cannabis flower to cannabis extracts or even further licensed cannabis drugs."
Bloomwell's Kouparanis: "To make use of the full potential of medical cannabis (in Germany), two things need to change: First, public insurers should no longer have the final word regarding whether they will reimburse medical cannabis for a patient. This decision should only be made by doctors. Secondly, we need more doctors with expertise about our endocannabinoid system."
The hype in this industry rarely matches what actually happens. In your view, what is a reasonable time frame for other large European countries to fully legalize and regulate the production and sale of recreational cannabis?
Demecan's von der Groeben: "My guess is that other large EU countries, such as France, Italy or Spain, will follow in Germany's footsteps.
"Therefore, I expect Germany to legalize recreational cannabis by 2023, and then, a few years later, we will see other countries follow.
"And smaller EU countries might even be faster, such as Poland or Czech Republic."
These interviews were edited for length and clarity.
Matt Lamers can be reached at matt.lamers@mjbizdaily.com.
German Government's Marijuana Legalization Plan Leaked, Drawing Criticism From Both Sides Of The Debate
A draft version of the German government's marijuana legalization proposal was leaked on Wednesday, and it's drawn early criticism from reform supporters and opponents alike.
The plan from federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach calls for legalizing sales of up to 20 grams of cannabis for adults 18 and older, with a ban on advertising that promotes consumption.
People could also grow up to two plants for personal use. And there would be a 15 percent THC cap on marijuana products for adults over 21, with THC being restricted to 10 percent for those between 18 and 21.
The draft proposal, first reported by RND, is the product of months of review and negotiations within the administration and so-called "traffic light coalition" government. German officials took a first step toward legalization in June, kicking off a series of hearings meant to help inform legislation to end prohibition in the country.
Despite efforts to strike a balance between consumer freedoms and public health, reform advocates say the plan is excessively restrictive. For example, Kristine Lütke of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) said the THC cap and possession limits will only continue to serve the illicit market.
Kirsten Kappert-Gonther of the Green party argued that the requirement that marijuana must be domestically produced, rather than imported, will mean that the market won't be able to meet consumer demand.
The administration's legalization paper says that marijuana would be subject to the country's sales tax, and it proposes an additional excise tax based on THC concentration. However, it doesn't specify that number, instead arguing that it should be set at a rate that's competitive with the illicit market.
This plan is tentative, with the Health Ministry telling Politico EU that the coalition government hadn't formally reached an agreement at this stage. The administration previously said that it would be releasing a key issues outline on the reform this fall, with the intent of submitting draft legislation by the end of the year.
Conservative lawmakers have also balked at the draft details.
"It seems that the federal government wants to legalize cannabis as soon as possible and completely forgets about the protection of children and young people," Simone Borchardt of the center-right Christian Democratic Union party told RND.
"Instead of relying on effective education and prevention, Lauterbach gets lost in a tangle of distance rules and upper and lower limits of THC levels for certain age groups," Borchardt said.
Both liberal and conservative lawmakers have expressed concern that the administration's draft proposal would not effectively mitigate the illicit market.
"If cannabis with a limited THC content has to be produced in Germany, then the price will be well above the black market price given the difficult climatic conditions in Germany for cultivation, the high energy prices, our comparatively high tax rates and the expected profit margins of pharmacies," Stephan Pilsinger of the Christian Social Union said.
Of course, it will be up to the Parliament to pass the reform legislation, so it will likely be subject to changes as it moves through that process based on the initial feedback.
A group of German lawmakers, as well as Narcotics Drugs Commissioner Burkhard Blienert, recently visited California and toured cannabis businesses to inform their country's approach to legalization.
The visit came about two months after top officials from Germany, Luxembourg, Malta and the Netherlands held a first-of-its-kind meeting to discuss plans and challenges associated with recreational marijuana legalization.
Leaders of the coalition government said last year that they had reached an agreement to end cannabis prohibition and enact regulations for a legal industry, and they previewed certain details of that plan earlier this year.
A novel international survey that was released in April found majority support for legalization in several key European countries, including Germany.
Reactions: im not a robot and Kellya86
with THC being restricted to 10 percent for those between 18 and 21.
Well thats a new way of doing it...
2 problems is see...
First, we all know its not just about thc content.. best weed i got in colorado was only like 17 or something.. better than the 28%..
Second problem.. ok im 18.. i go buy my allowed 20 grams.. i can put this all in cake and get smashed still.. or i can squish it to make concentrated... its no longer 10%..
It just doesnt work does it..


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Quiz: The Ultimate Weezer Quiz: HowStuffWorks
The Ultimate Weezer Quiz
When and where was Weezer founded?
1988, Columbus, Ohio
1992, Los Angeles
1993, Portland, Ore.
1989, Chicago
Weezer came into being on January 14, 1992, in Los Angeles.
Who were the founding members of the band?
Rivers Cuomo, Owen Charles, Mike Larson and Justin Nicholas
Rivers Cuomo, Jason Cropper, Matt Sharp and Patrick Wilson
Rivers Cuomo, Phil Wilcox, Nick Garcia and Josh Stewart
Cuomo (vocals), Cropper (guitar), Sharp (bass) and Wilson (drums)
Which original band member left the group during the recording of the group's first album?
Jason Cropper
Matt Sharp
Pat Wilson
Jason Cropper left the band while the group was recording its first album. He was replaced by Brain Bell of "Carnival Art."
Who are the two remaining founding members?
Rivers Cuomo and Patrick Wilson
Rivers Cuomo and Matt Sharp
Rivers Cuomo and Jason Cropper
After quite a few lineup changes, Cuomo and Wilson are the last ones standing.
How did Weezer get its name?
That was the name of Rivers Cuomo's beloved dog, who had died just as the band got started.
It's Rivers Cuomo's childhood nickname.
The band loved to watch
Cuomo was called "Weezer" as a kid -- although apparently not because he suffered from asthma, as legend has it.
Weezer's first gig was opening for Dogstar, this movie star's band.
Just five weeks after the band formed, Weezer opened for Keanu Reeves and Dogstar at Raji's Bar and Ribshack in Los Angeles.
Weezer has released three self-titled albums that are nicknamed by the color of the album cover. In order of release, what are they?
blue, green, yellow
yellow, black, red
green, orange, blue
blue, green, red
Weezer's debut (1994) is known as "The Blue Album." Their third album (2001) is "The Green Album," and 2008's release is "The Red Album."
Which frontman of a major '80s band has produced two Weezer albums?
Joe Elliott
Simon LeBon
Ric Ocasek of the Cars was the producer of the Blue Album and the Green Album.
What was Weezer's first single?
Undone -- The Sweater Song
Say it Ain't So
"If you want to destroy my sweater..." was the first single released from Weezer's debut album, followed by "Buddy Holly" and "Say it Ain't So."
What's Weezer's best-selling album?
the Blue Album
the Green Album
Maladroit
the Red Album
Raditude
The first is still the best. Weezer's debut Blue Album is their top seller to date.
Finish this lyric: "Woo-ee-oo, I look just like Buddy Holly. Oh oh, and you're _________."
Samantha Stevens
Weezie Jefferson
"Oh oh, and you're Mary Tyler Moore. I don't care what they say about us anyway. I don't care about that."
The director of the "Buddy Holly" video went on to direct what feature film in 2009?
Early Weezer collaborator Spike Jonze (who also directed the video for "Undone -- The Sweater Song) gained movie fame with "Being John Malkovich" and "Adaptation" before directing "Where the Wild Things Are."
The "Buddy Holly" video had Weezer "performing" on the set of what beloved TV show?
Jonze used clips from "Happy Days" to make it look like Weezer was playing at Arnold's Drive-in Diner.
Has Weezer ever had a No. 1 hit?
Yes, Weezer has had one No. 1 song. And that song was ...
What was that No. 1 song?
Weezer scored their first and only No. 1 hit with "Beverly Hills" in 2005.
Rivers Cuomo grew up on an ashram in Connecticut that had this nickname.
Yogatown
Omm-town
Cuomo and his family lived in "Yogaville," an ashram run by Sri Swami Satchidananda in Pomfret, Conn.
When did Rivers Cuomo finally graduate from Harvard?
Cuomo enrolled in Harvard in 1995. He was 35 when he graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 2006.
If you were at a Weezer show in 2005 and got pulled onstage to play "Undone -- the Sweater Song," you might have left with this souvenir.
a T-shirt
a sweater
a guitar
On the Foozer tour in 2005, the band would invite a fan onstage to play "Undone" and then give him or her the acoustic guitar.
The video for which Weezer song features reenactments of notorious YouTube videos?
Everybody Get Dangerous
Pork and Beans
The "Pork and Beans" video -- featuring the "Numa Numa" guy, the "Leave Britney Alone" guy and the "Chocolate Rain" guy, among others -- won the Grammy for Best Short Form Music Video in 2008.
Why did Weezer have to postpone their tour in 2009?
Rivers Cuomo's father died.
The tour bus crashed.
All four band members got swine flu.
Patrick Wilson broke his leg.
They ran out of money.
Weezer's tour bus crashed in upstate New York in December 2009, and Cuomo was injured.
Can You Name These Tom Hanks Movies From a Screenshot?
Which Steak Are You?
Can You Name All of These Apple Products?
The Snake Quiz
Do You Know Where This River Is Located?
Where Will You Find Love?
If You Were a Car, What Kind Would You Be?
Our Best Trucks Quiz Yet
Can You Name All These Items You'd Find in Gordon Ramsay's Kitchen?
You don't have to be a geek to love Weezer, but that does seem to be a big chunk of the band's fan base. It doesn't hurt that enigmatic frontman Rivers Cuomo looks (and acts, and sings, and writes) the part so perfectly, right down to his hard-won Harvard degree. From "The Sweater Song" to "Pork and Beans," how much do you know about Weezer?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Ancasta have been announced as the Prestige Luxury Motor Yachts Dealer of the Year 2018. The award ceremony was followed by the announcement of the world launch of the Prestige 590, which will take place at the Cannes Yachting Festival in September.
The Prestige brand has experienced exponential growth in the past few years, and the company is now the world's biggest manufacturer of motor yachts in the 40ft to 60ft range based on volume produced. This was the third time Ancasta have received this award.
For more information on Ancasta and Prestige visit www.ancasta.co.


text:
Palmarès

Club

Competizioni nazionali

Dinamo Tirana: 2007-2008, 2009-2010

Dinamo Tirana: 2008

Collegamenti esterni

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


jermaine dupri | ACME Content Co.
Loving hip hop, in the past, meant following the newest trends, as well as to perform acapella renditions of classic hip hop songs with my friends. It meant observing and sometimes following urban fashion trends. It meant religiously listening to Hot 97 to be up on the newest songs, and avidly watching Free and AJ host BET's 106th and Park to learn the latest dances. It meant disobeying my mother's wishes to switch to a musical genre that didn't frequently use offensive language. I loved hip-hop so much I fantasized of acquiring an internship and eventually landing a job at a major record label such as Def Jam or Atlantic Records. The internship I got instead exceeded any daydream I had, let alone any expectations I had for the internship. So like Common, I took loving hip-hop to the next level the summer of '08; I committed to her.
My desire to be closer to hip-hop led me to Acme Content Co, a branding company. The opportunity wasn't necessarily what I had in mind, but I was willing to give it a shot. I was told that corporate giant P&G, was looking to successfully market their body spray, TAG, by differentiating the product from the competing body spray. P&G and its companies observed that there were no body sprays that targeted young, urban males. P&G and Acme agreed that the best way to successfully market to urban, young males was through hip-hop. In order to believably market to this demographic, they decided to team up with the living hip-hop legend, and coincidentally, the president of Island Def Jam, Jermaine Dupri to start a record label from the ground up. These perceptive observations led to TAG Records' birth, a little before I signed on to work for the internship. I started working just as they were deciding between two acts. They finally agreed on the lyricist Q da Kid. I must admit, I was fairly impressed with the decision to sign Q, because the other act would've been a much safer choice because of the whole N.E.R.D./ Lupe Fiasco/Kanye West vibe the group had going for it. But instead Q was chosen, despite his rawness. They saw potential in this dude from Brooklyn, who was also committed to hip-hop and decided to take a chance on him. I respected that. I also respected their decision to give him creative freedom with very reasonable limits. So learning this, I felt pretty confident that I would soon feel comfortable joining the team that would help to make both P&G's and Q's dream come true.
I courted hip-hop mainly through TAG's Myspace page. I communicated with other music lovers, and fans of both TAG and Q. I also helped to build our network through Core Djs' networking site. I officially became the intern/community manager. Every day I listened to our friends' music and help to decide which artists would make "Spotlight." I also made sure I was up to date with the ever-evolving music industry by reading blogs. I also loved the perks, such as free music, attending commercial shoots and other major events as well as meeting hip hop celebrities. Like all relationships, it wasn't always easy, but if you love what you do, then all the work is worth it.
All in all, the summer internship at Acme was a very unexpected, but thoroughly, enjoyable one. Through the internship, I am still fervently committed to hip-hop and in this relationship for the long haul.
I love the current trend of artist talking to fans via YouTube – gritty, iMovie produced YouTube videos. Jermaine Dupri was certainly an early adopter of this new practice and has developed a steady fanbase of regular viewers. His YouTube channel certainly garners enough attention on its own, but throw in a Jay-Z or Mariah or Janet and of course the views grow exponentially. He has even used fans response via YouTube to help steer decisions around new artists, and as expected, to show off some gear.


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text:
John McGowan's Blog: Reflections on Literature, Politics, and Culture
McGowanBlog
Home: About
The Class/Race/Generation/Political Divide
Back with a little tidbit from Bertrand Russell's Human Society in Ethics and Politics: "Traditionalists hold their opinions more fanatically than their liberal-minded opponents and therefore have power out of proportion to their numbers. A man who publicly advocates any relaxation of the traditional code can be made to suffer obloquy, but nothing of the sort can be inflicted upon benighted bigots" (125).
Lots can be said about this—and count on me to say lots. For starters, we have here the usual contrast between mild-mannered liberals, lacking fire-in-the-blood passion, and visceral conservatives. The politics of reason versus the politics of passion. "The best lack all conviction, the worst are full of passionate intensity" (Yeats). I am not very convinced. More plausible, I think, are explanations that look to "loss aversion" and to the superiority in "reality" of what is over what could be. In my experience, those proposing reforms always meet with fierce resistance; stepping into the unknown always is based on uncertain gains balanced against very obvious losses. What will be destroyed by the change is concretely There. Those who are just fine with current arrangements will have a direct, straight-forward case for outrage. "Jeopardy" in Albert Hirschman's anatomy of the "rhetoric of reaction." Your changes will jeopardize the good things we enjoy now with no guarantee that what you put in the present's place will be better. You, the reformer, are inflicting an easy to identify harm.
Russell believes that "most of the disagreements that occur in practice are, not as to what things have intrinsic value, but as to who shall enjoy them. The holders of power naturally demand for themselves the lion's share" (110). Is this true? That is, are there actually very few deep moral disagreements; rather, the real source of disagreement is about the distribution of the goods that everyone agrees are actually good. That shifts the moral terrain significantly; the focus becomes who legitimately is entitled to a share and who legitimately can be denied a full share. I am inclined to think conservatism is always, au fond, about legitimating unequal distribution. The grounds for cutting some people out—race, meritocracy, education, expertise, various social and moral stigmas, citizenship—vary widely, but the basic goal is the same: to justify inequality. We fight over the goods–not over what should be designated good. At least in most instances. Sounds plausible.
One maddening thing is that unequal distribution could (possibly) be justified by scarcity. If there was not enough to go around, then some might have to do without. But there is ample evidence to show that removing the condition of scarcity does little to quell the urge toward unequal distribution. The drive for status, for hierarchy, for distinction, leads to inequalities as steep and as cruel (i.e. tending to total deprivation) as scarcity. Russell does not pay much attention to the deep desire for status. He is no sociologist. But he believes that the "desire for power" is basically universal, as is the abuse of that power by any who possess it (118). His only solution to this snake in the garden is sublimation: "to educate in such a manner that acquired skills will lead the love of power into useful rather than harmful channels" (118). Like Freud and William James, he seeks for a "moral equivalent" of war, competition, status seeking, and the desire to dominate over others.
Not much cause for optimism there. I do think "loss aversion" can help a bit here, as can a ground-level sense of fairness, of justice. Russell is not keen on appeals to justice. "I think that, while the arguments for approximately equal distribution are very strong wherever an ancient tradition is not dominant, they are nevertheless arguments as to means, and I do not think that justice can be admitted as something having intrinsic value on its own account" (117). The idea is that justice is a means to peace—where peace produces a stable society in which everyone can enjoy the goods they have without fearing the violence of either the strong seekers of power/privilege/wealth/status or the aggrieved violence of the deprived. Self-interest in such peace and the stability/security it provides is the foundational rock, not some commitment to justice per se.
I think Russell is wrong about that. I think a disinterested (for lack of a better term) outrage about perceived violations of justice is a much stronger—and independent—motive than he allows. It is, of course, true that many disputes that claim to be about justice are masking self-interest. But I do not think that is always to case. The same psychologists who uncovered "loss aversion" with their ingenious experiments have also noticed that people will be satisfied with less for themselves when a distribution procedure is seen as "fair." A real life example is elections. People accept being on the losing side of a vote if they think the vote was fairly conducted. One sign of deep trouble in our democracy is the growing refusal to accept the outcome of elections. When results trump procedures, democracy is in trouble. Even then, radicals on both sides—left and right—will shout that the vote was not "fair," that is was fraudulent in one way or another. A pretty infallible sign of the far-out radical left is the deep conviction that the "real majority" in the US favors the radical's own program, refusing to countenance all the evidence that the American public is just not that leftist.
I am inclined to believe that those who are driven by an inordinate desire/need for power are a small minority, akin to the small set of adepts that Randall Collins claims can actually commit sustained violence. (In his book Violence.) That small number prey on the rest of us. Our part in life is to try to ward them off, to resist them, and to get on with the business of living. The powers of resistance are pretty strong; not always sufficient of course but able in many instances to frustrate the seekers of power. It is not the insecurity of the tyrant that makes him miserable (in my view and pace Plato). The control of the means of violence is pretty thorough, plus the tyrant's delusions of grandeur include a sense of immunity to the normal vulnerabilities of the flesh (think of all those 80 year old Senators). No, what makes the tyrant's life miserable is the limitations on his power. Finally, it's just damned hard to get other people to do what you want them to do. They resist—passively more often than actively, by not paying attention or doing things half-assedly, or just melting away. The art of not being governed, as James Scott calls it. It's the path that Fred Moten and David Graeber recommend. Just ignore the tyrant, as far as that is possible.
Or scream bloody murder—like the traditionalists do. Take the moral high ground whenever any kind of change is proposed. There were all those artists—Yeats, Proust, Galsworthy, Nietzsche—documenting (often lamenting) the death of the aristocracy as the 19th century became the 20th century. A privileged class was losing some of its privileges, but more crucially was losing its relevance. Its material well-being wasn't threatened, but its right to lead, to set the tone culturally and to direct the nation politically, was slipping away. Today, it's white America that is slipping away. In the popular arts, black America has set the tone for quite some time. Look at our music and our sports (the NFL and the NBA). The change has been less swift in film and TV, and even less swift in the non-popular arts like classical music and museum culture. The difference this time (as contrasted to the period of 1880 to 1920) is that neither the declining class (whites) nor the ascendant one (non-whites) is gaining economically. Instead, both groups are getting played by the 1% that is hoovering up all the wealth to itself. But the decliners, the traditionalists, are certainly screaming bloody murder. To a lesser extent, so are the exploited. (Or maybe they are screaming just as loud, but lack access to the channels–literally Fox and Limbaugh–that would allow their screams to be heard. The corporate consolidation of American media condemns them to an outer darkness.)
Hence the generalized rage. The whites has "loss aversion" to the max; they are increasingly irrelevant, feel disrespected, and increasingly insecure financially. The non-whites, while accorded a certain kind of cultural power and respect (but only within elite circles in New York and Hollywood and, even there, inconsistently), are resolutely kept from getting a decent slice of the pie. And everyone looks for someone to blame, with the sad, boring, classic American story of getting the poor whites to obsess about their non-white rivals to the advantage of the rich whites. I wish I had a different story to tell. Sometimes the truth is astoundingly uninteresting, completely predictable, and apparently immune to any kind of creative rewriting. It just sits there, an indigestible lump.
No surprise, then, that we turn to the young for an imagined way out of this impasse. Their much-vaunted sympathy for socialism coupled with their skepticism toward a capitalism that has not served them at all (no less "well") is seen as the road toward radical transformation. The radical always relies on a sense that "things can't continue this way," that the current arrangements are unsustainable. But they are unsustainable only if people refuse to countenance, to suffer, them. And things from my perspective have been intolerable for fifty years now. And, somehow, little in terms of the basic structures of distribution have changed in the US—except for the worse.
I can't help but think that American politics are still transfixed by the political, economic, and cultural upheavals of 1965 to 1975. Just like mainstream economists are still fighting the battle against inflation of the 1970s (unable, apparently, to process that inflation has been a non-issue for Western economies since 2000), so our political fault lines divide along the axis of those who want to return to a mythical 1950s (its prosperity, its blue collar jobs, its women contentedly at home, its blacks out of sight and out of mind, its gays utterly invisible) and those who affirm the various upheavals that brought women, blacks, gays into the public view, with their noisy demands for attention, respect, and their due. Astounding, really, how traumatic the 1960s were—and how long-lasting (as is the case with traumas) its after-shocks. The problem is that it is the cultural upheavals (experienced as traumatic by some and liberating by others) that gets all the attention, that generates 90% of the heat. The economic coup d'etat, every bit as traumatic as the cultural changes, mostly flies under the radar. The consolidation of economic power never becomes the explicit topic of political inquiry or rhetoric.
Those fiery youth of the 60s did not effect some radical transformation. The few radicals, like some SDSers and Martin Luther King at the end of his life, who tried to "pivot" away from anti-war and pro-civil rights activism toward economic issues (the poor people's campaign) didn't get much traction. (Although we should not forget that something akin to a basic guaranteed income for all was actually debated in Congress in 1971. How far we have fallen from that high moment.) Rather, as my daughter likes to remind me, the baby boomers have left the US—and the world—much worse off than they found it. So I am not likely to place too much faith in the transformative power of today's youth, even if the generational divide is once again as intense as it was in the "generation gap" years. Sixties youth, after all, had the insouciance of those who felt immune to economic worry. No such luck for today's millennials as they step into the world of contract labor. Welcome to the precariat.
The lines of this analysis are familiar enough, which (as I say) doesn't mean they are not (roughly) true. But David Graeber offers a different way to think of all this—and I will go in that direction in my next post.
Economics and Inequality
Two Kinds of Reason?
Moral Envy and Opportunity Hoarding
Recent Posts: McGowanBlog
Fact/Value Divide
Neoliberal Baseball
Non-Cognitive Theories of Art (2): Sensibility Formation
Non-Cognitive Theories of Art (1)
Vulnerable Democracy
More Post-Election Musings
A Short, and Mostly Gloomy, Post-Election Post
Recent Essays and Talks
Public Essays
TEDxUNC 2012- John McGowan - Creativity
Hood Lecture
Podcast: "From Comedy to Comity"


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Officers encourage motorist safety as the '100 Deadly Days of Summer' wind down
Chris Lavender
With schools set to start the new year over the next several weeks, families are getting in their last bit of vacation time. That means packing up the car and hitting the road for many, and authorities are reminding people to be careful on the roads.
Traveling on the roads beginning on Memorial Day and running through Labor Day is called the "100 Deadly Days of Summer." More crashes and fatalities occur during this time because there are more people out on the roads.
And this year hasn't been any different. The Highway Patrol reports there have been 222 people killed and 7,926 people injured in vehicle crashes so far this year starting from Memorial Day on May 25 through Aug. 2.
"The volume of traffic on the highways is high during the "100 Deadly Days of Summer," Trooper Joel Hovis said.
Hovis also said 50 percent of all traffic deaths in the state are usually alcohol-related and this year 60 percent of motorists killed in traffic crashes weren't wearing seat belts.
Spartanburg County has had eight people killed during the "100 Deadly Days of Summer" and 432 people injured in vehicle crashes through Aug. 2.
Hovis said speeding, distracted driving, driving under the influence and not wearing a seat belt are contributing factors in fatal crashes.
Drivers can be distracted in several ways. Hovis said these can include visual, physical, and mental distractions while driving. Distracted drivers are encouraged to pull off the road and go to a safe place.
"Don't drink and drive," Hovis said. "A crash involving someone getting hurt can include charges of felony DUI with great bodily injury or felony DUI with death."
Spartanburg County Coroner Rusty Clevenger said if it wasn't for the increased patrols during this time of the year, there would be more crashes and more fatalities.
"The (law) enforcement is enhanced because motorists are typically traveling more for vacations, outings," Clevenger said. "The death toll would be higher if they didn't have the enforcement."
South Carolina statistics
From 2016 to 2019, there have been 1,088 people killed in vehicle crashes statewide during the "100 Deadly Days of Summer," according to the Highway Patrol. During the same period, there were 64,707 people injured in vehicle crashes across the state.
In Spartanburg County from 2016-2019 during the same time period, 65 people were killed and 4,070 people were injured in vehicle crashes.
Areas in Spartanburg County that have experienced the most fatal crashes annually in recent years include Asheville Highway, Highway 9 (Boiling Springs Highway), Highway 221 (Chesnee Highway), Interstate 26, and Pine Street.
Clevenger said each of these roads had four fatal crashes each in 2019. Clevenger attributed the high number of fatal crashes on these roads to high traffic volume.
"The roads listed are major thoroughfares," Clevenger said.
Spartanburg city limits
In the city of Spartanburg, officers respond to a number of vehicle crashes on North Pine Street.
Spartanburg Police Maj. Art Littlejohn said vehicle crashes often occur along North Pine Street where it intersects with several streets including Main Street, St. John Street, Garner Road, and Isom Street.
"People speeding and not paying attention are contributing factors," Littlejohn said.
Citizens for Safe Streets is a group that was formed in May 2019 to draw more attention to the crashes along Pine Street.
Jody Traywick, the group's coordinator, said efforts are being made to have more law enforcement on Pine Street to help reduce the number of vehicle crashes.
"Pine Street is built like a freeway and that just encourages people to go faster than they should," Traywick said. "There is a lot of speeding and potential for people to get hurt and killed."


The return of Journey Into Passion with Anika S. on Everyday Folks Radio begins on September 15, 2018 at 11AM EST! Show Host, Anika S., will begin a new series of discussions on Transition. She will begin with her recent life change and the transition that she is currently experiencing after the loss of her father. While continuing her journey, she will discuss the importance of using your gifts, connections, self -care and more. Anika S. hopes anyone going through this experience while continuing on his or her journey will get the help needed to persevere.
347-539-5372, then press the number 1 on your keypad when you are ready to join in on the conversation.


Baked Camembert turns date night into an affair to remember.
Comté is cave-aged, which explains why it's so easily enjoyed by candle light.
Melt some butter with Mimolette for a grilled cheese you'll never forget.
Looking for the ultimate melty cheese? You can't spell Emmental without M-E-L-T.
Bleu d'Auvergne is mild to the tongue, but wild on flavor.
Its mild, nutty flavor is divine. Literally. The original Époisses was handmade by monks.
Pont is French for bridge. Let Pont-l'Évêque be your connection to rich, creamy flavor.
Rich on more than just flavor, Fourme D'Ambert was used as currency in 18th century France.
Triple crème leads to quadruple the flavor. It's true. We did the math.


text: Q: "This email address is already linked to a provider. To continue, enter a different email address." I tried adding new user in iTunes but it displays the error message as "This email address is already linked to a provider. To continue, enter a different email address." But this is happening for the particular ID. I have tried adding another ID and it's working fine. Can anyone help me with finding the solution?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Zsa Zsa Gabor passed away at the age of 99 on Sunday. She and her sisters, Eva Gabor and Magda Gabor, were famous socialites known for their glamorous and lavish lifestyle.
Actress and socialite Zsa Zsa Gabor passed away at the age of 99 in her home. Her husband, Frédéric Prinz Von Anhalt confirmed that she suffered from a heart attack. Zsa Zsa Gabor was the middle Gabor sister. The three were socialites known for their many marriages, jewelry, rich Hungarian accents, and lavish lifestyles. The Gabor Sisters were famous in the 1950s the way the Kardashian sisters are today. These sisters, with a larger-than-life persona, were so interesting that we searched and found out more about them. Here's everything you need to know about Zsa Zsa Gabor and her sisters.
During WWII, Magda Gabor was involved with Carlos Sampaio Garrido, the Portuguese ambassador to Hungary. The exact nature of their relationship was not known, as some reports claim they were engaged, some said they had an affair, and others said that she was merely the ambassador's aide. With Garrido's help, she escaped to Portugal during the Nazi occupation of Budapest. Magda Gabor was romantically involved with a Spanish nobleman and built her extensive connections. It was with the help of her connections that her mother was able to escape Hungary. Magda Gabor arrived to the U.S. in 1946 from Brazil and within a year, married an American and acquired citizenship.
Magda Gabor had built her connections with influential people well. Though she had helped her mother and middle sister out of Hungary, it took her a long time to make it to America. Eva Gabor was the first Gabor to reach the United States. The exact date isn't known, but she likely emigrated shortly after her marriage to Swedish osteopath, Eric Drimmer in 1939, when she 20 years old.
Magda, Zsa Zsa, and Eva Gabor were more famous for their multiple marriages than their work. Magda Gabor was married six times, Eva Gabor five times, and Zsa Zsa Gabor nine times (or eight if you exclude her day-long marriage that was annulled). British actor, George Sanders, was Zsa Zsa Gabor's third husband, and after their divorce, he later married Magda Gabor.
Though a successful actress, Zsa Zsa was mostly famous because of her nine husbands: Burhan Asaf Belge, Conrad Hilton, George Sanders, Herbert Hutner, Joshua S. Cosden, Jr., Jack Ryan, Michael O'Hara, Felipe de Alba, and Frédéric Prinz von Anhalt. Her marriage with Anhalt was the longest, and he was there with her during her final moments.
Zsa Zsa Gabor's marriage to Conrad Hilton, the founder of the Hilton hotel chain and Paris Hilton's grandfather, was wrought with controversies. They had a daughter, Constance Francesca Hilton, who died of a stroke in 2015. Zsa Zsa was the only Gabor sister to have a child. After Zsa Zsa Gabor's death, there is no successor to the Gabor line.
Eva Gabor divorced her first husband, Eric Drimmer, claiming that he didn't want to have children. Her subsequent husbands were wealthy men. Charles Isaacs was an investment broker, John Elbert Williams a plastic surgeon, Richard Brown was a textile manufacturer turned writer and director, and Frank Gard Jameson Sr. was an aerospace executive and former vice president of Rockwell International. Eva Gabor was stepmother to Jameson's four children.
Magda Gabor was married to a Polish count. She was also married to the screenwriter of The Harvey Girls, William Rankin. Her third husband, Sidney Warren, was an attorney, and husband number four was Arthur Gallucci, the president of Samuel Gallucci and Sons. Her fifth husband was Zsa Zsa Gabor's ex-husband, George Sanders. Her sixth husband was the real estate broker, Tibor L. Heltai.
Though Magda Gabor appeared in a few films, it was her two sisters who were bitten by the acting bug. Eva Gabor's first movie in the U.S. was Paramount Pictures' Forced Landing in 1941. She also had small roles in movies like The Last Time I Saw Paris, starring Elizabeth Taylor, and Artists and Models, which featured Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.
In 1953, Eva Gabor got her own talk show called The Eva Gabor Show which only ran for one season. Over the years, she did many film and television appearances, including My Man Godfrey, Gigi, and It Started with a Kiss. However, she made her mark as an actress with the sitcom Green Acres on CBS. Gabor's character as Lisa Douglas was immortalized. She also had a stint on Broadway, and as a voice actor for a few Disney movies. She also launched her own clothing line.


Key Stage 1 visited Tattershall Castle this week.
On Wednesday, the Meerkats and the Tigers went to Tattershall Castle.
My favourite part of the day was when we made crowns. We stuck gems on our crowns and decorated them with felt tips pens.
The battlements at the top of the castle are where the archers shoot from. There are 149 steps in the castle.
You don't drink from the moat because when you go to the toilet it goes into the moat!


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DiagnosisMedicationLiving WithTreatment
https://www.healthcentral.com/category/hiv-aids
Get the facts and patient stories on living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficency syndrome (AIDS).
Guy Anthony's Story: Life After HIV Diagnosis and Sexual Abuse
One man tells the story of how he turned a difficult past of sexual abuse and an HIV diagnosis into a life of advocacy.
By Alisha Bridges
HIV/AIDS Topics
Should You Take PrEP to Prevent HIV? Here's What You Should Know
The drug is more than 90% effective at preventing the spread of HIV through sex. So why aren't more docs prescribing it?
By Lara DeSanto
Should I Get HIV Tested?
The CDC recommends getting tested for HIV at least once in your life. Find out when and why!
By Eileen Bailey
Progress in the Quest for a Vaccine for HIV/AIDS
HIV continues to spread across the United States and across the world. As of 2011, it was estimated that 34 million people around the world were living with HIV/AIDS. Over 1.2 million of those in the United States. [Avert.org] Each year, in the US, a...
Living with RA & HIV: An Interview with Mary Turner
Being HIV-positive is not an easy life. What happens if you add RA to the mix? How does your HIV status impact your RA treatment? I recently interviewed my friend Mary Turner from Charleston, S.C., who's lived with HIV since the late 1980s. Mary is o...
By Lene Andersen, MSW
STDs and HIV Testing: Frequently Asked Questions
Find out about HIV and STDs, through frequently asked questions.
How Does HIV/AIDS Dementia Differ from Alzheimer's?
Infection used to be the main cause of dementia. Treatment for infections and inflammation of the central nervous system (CNS) has dramatically decreased the incidence of infection-related dementia. But there has been one infectious disease that has ...
By Christine Kennard
Gene Increases HIV Risk
(Ivanhoe Newswire) Your genetics may increase your chances of having human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1). New research shows a variant of a gene found only in people of African ancestry increases the odds of becoming infected with HIV. However, the ...
Few diseases generate so many myths and misunderstandings as HIV. Nearly twenty years into the global pandemic, some people are still confused about how HIV is transmitted. Read on to learn what you need to know to protect yourself. Who Has HIV Alrea...
Testing, Testing, One, Two, Three: How HIV Tests Work
HIV hasn't disappeared. The numbers are still haunting. Half of all new HIV infections occur in people under the age of 25. This equates with 2 new infections every hour of every day in this population. The good news is that early detection of the di...
The Herpes - HIV connection and Conundrum
Did you know that having herpes can put you at a higher risk of catching HIV if exposed? Well, it's true so researchers though that the opposite might hold true as well. Researchers decided to test the theory that maybe by treating herpes - they coul...
By Amy Hendel, P.A.
Genital HerpesGonorrheaSexually Transmitted InfectionsHuman Papillomavirus (HPV)


Prashanth, JP and Sivapullaiah, PV and Sridharan, A (2001) Pozzolanic fly ash as a hydraulic barrier in land fills. In: Engineering Geology, 60 (1-4). pp. 245-252.
The liner plays an important role in controlling migration of contaminants present in the leachate in waste containment systems such as land fills and impoundments. Although questions have been raised about the performance of clay liners, they are increasingly used singly or as double liners in disposal sites. Though the clay liners possess many advantages such as low permeability and large attenuative capacity, they also possess high shrinkage potential and hence can crack under unsaturated conditions causing instability and increase in leakage rates. Further, the permeability of the clay linear can increase due to clay–pollutant interaction. This study examines the potential of pozzolanic fly ash as a hydraulic barrier in land fill. The behaviour of three different types of fly ashes, showing a range of physical properties and chemical composition from three different sources are reported in the study. Geotechnical properties, needed to evaluate the use of fly ashes as barriers, such as shrinkage, compaction, permeability, consolidation and strength characteristics are reported. The results show that fly ashes possess low shrinkage and hence do not crack. Compacted fly ashes undergo very little volume changes. They also show that pozzolanic fly ashes develop good strength properties with time. Pozzolanic fly ashes containing sufficient lime develop strength even without addition of lime. Non-pozzolanic fly ashes do not develop strength even on addition of lime. Fly ashes generally consist of silt size particles and consequently possess high permeability. However, pozzolanic fly ashes with lime exhibit low permeability on curing because of the formation of gelatinous compounds which block the pores. Thus, pozzolanic fly ashes appear to be promising for construction of liners to contain alkaline leachate.


Online Dispute Resolution Mechanism is a laudable initiative and saves time and cost : M.
The Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that Online Dispute Resolution Mechanism is a laudable initiative to fast-track dispute resolution and it shall go a long way in resolving disputes, attracting more foreign investment by projecting India as an investor-friendly country and strengthen economy. He was addressing the National Conference on 'Online Dispute Resolution Mechanism', organized by the Construction Industry Arbitration Council (CIAC), here today. The retired Secretary, Ministry of Law & Justice, Shri P.K. Malhotra and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.The Vice President complimented the Ministry of Law & Justice for taking the initiative in evolving this system and said this will help courts to concentrate on access to justice to people in better manner. He further said that the rapid development of the Internet and electronic commerce, Online Disputes Resolution has been labeled "a logical and natural step" as it facilitates expeditious resolution of disputes.The Vice President said that the CIAC has been closely associated with UN Commission on international trade and law.He further said that domestic and international trade and commerce has spurred competition provide more opportunities and imputed risks. The commercial arbitration in India is witnessing a steady transition and it should become more simpler, he added.The Vice President said that country like India having a sound legal framework and ease of doing business can become a natural choice for investors. He further said that flagship programs like establishment of Smart Cities in India would require a techno-legal smart dispute resolution mechanism. People should also be made aware of the avenues available, he added.The Vice President said that Online Dispute Resolution mechanism is the need of the hour keeping the increase of e-commerce and e-businesses in view. He welcomed the measures taken by Ministry of Law and Justice to introduce Online Dispute Resolution through mediation, arbitration and conciliation. This results in saving a lot of time and cost, he added.


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Paxton names La Marque Child Support Employee Assistant Attorney General of the Year
Bay Area Citizen // Bay Area News
LA MARQUE - Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton recognized Dianna Norton, an assistant attorney general in the Child Support Division's La Marque office, for her commitment to Texas children. Norton was named Assistant Attorney General of the Year for the Child Support Division's Houston region, which covers nine counties. Attorney General Ken Paxton presented the award to Norton on Wednesday at the Statewide Assistant Attorneys General Conference in Dallas.
"I commend Dianna Norton for her hard work and dedication to improving the lives of Texas children and families," Attorney General Paxton said. "Dianna represents the best, and it is attorneys like her that make this agency great. I am thankful to her for answering the call to serve the people of Texas."
Acting Deputy Attorney General for Child Support Mara Friesen selected one assistant attorney general from each of the state's nine child support regions, along with an assistant attorney general from the main office in Austin. Honorees are chosen based on recommendations from their peers and supervisors, with a particular focus on employees who are willing to go beyond their normal duties to serve Texas children. Each recipient demonstrates a desire to serve Texas families, help their colleagues and enhance the Attorney General's Child Support Division.
Norton, who joined the Office of the Attorney General in 2006, represents the State of Texas in legal actions to establish paternity between children of unmarried parents and their biological fathers. She also works to establish, enforce and modify court orders that require parents to provide child support and medical support.
Norton, a graduate of Southern Methodist Law School, was chosen to be the region's Assistant Attorney General of the Year because she is an experienced litigator who passionately represents the State of Texas. She is always the first to volunteer for complex assignments and completes them with enthusiasm. In addition, Norton is well respected by the private bar, judiciary and mediators with whom she regularly interacts.
"Dianna is a courtroom-tested litigator," said Senior Regional Attorney Al Ochoa. "During her years with the Child Support Division, she has enhanced her natural trial abilities and is now recognized in her assigned counties as an accomplished advocate of the State. Because of Dianna's trial skills and diligence, she is the first choice for complex and high-stake litigation in the office."
The Attorney General's Child Support Division offers an array of services to help families, including locating absent parents; establishing paternity for children born to unmarried parents; establishing, enforcing and modifying child and medical support orders; and collecting and distributing child support payments.
For more information about the Office of the Attorney General and the child support services it offers, call (800) 252-8014 or visit the agency's website at www.texasattorneygeneral.gov.
The Attorney General's Child Support Division is the most successful and cost-effective program in the nation. The division currently administers 1.5 million child support cases, serving 1.7 million children. The division collects $11.34 for every $1 spent to operate the program and collected $3.7 billion in child support in Federal FY 2014.


Add length to your Champion Sports Pro Style Umpire Chest Protector with this easy-to-use extension. It is made of low rebound foam padding and features a breathable, washable mesh cover. The extension instantly adds 4 extra inches to the bottom of your chest protector!


text:
Q: What is the browser support for neat? Specifically, does Neat version 2 support IE?
Is it tested in IE/Edge etc?
What other browsers are supported or not supported.

A: You should be absolutely fine - the only major feature Neat uses where there may be some support issues is calc. See this post in the issues:
https://github.com/thoughtbot/neat/issues/631
And information about browser support for calc here:
https://caniuse.com/#search=calc
I have tested in IE11 and Edge with no issues


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Hey Belle Boutique, Established in 2015, is dedicated to bringing fashion online to each of you sharing their love of "Southern Charm" and hospitality.
Laurie Riley and her daughter, Olivia Haines own and operate this unique women's clothing boutique nestled in the heart of their hometown, Springfield, Tennessee. You can find them in the 638 Building on the corner 125 6th Avenue West and Locust Street. With farming being a great part of their heritage, they were blessed with the perfect name "Hey Belle" to bring meaning to their customers as they provide a unique service of fashion consulting and etiquette.
We pride ourselves first and foremost on providing affordable, quality fashions and complementing each with the perfect accessory, including jewelry, scarves, shoes and more. Our inventory includes on trend fashions, denim lab, formal and evening wear. Something for tweens, teens, college and career women.
Hey Belle Boutique ensures you are always ready with the perfect transitional fashion for "Tennessee Weather". You can always find just what you need when getting ready for that special date or gearing up for a family vacation.
Introducing the Loft at Hey Belle where you will find designs by Chantilly Belle designer from the Philippines. Here in The Loft we can fit you for wedding, prom and other social events. We are a vendor for Jim's Formal Wear providing you with the latest tuxedo and suit rental or purchase.