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HQ TRADE MAGAZINE APRIL 2016 100 Speaking of breaks. . . Even Snoop Dogg needs a break. The rapper and weed ambassador revealed recently that there was a time when he stopped smoking weed for six months straight. “I went to (youth football league practice) high one day and one of the kids said, ‘Coach, you smell like my mama’s boyfriend,’” Snoop Dogg said during an appearance on Khloe Kardashian’s new television show. “I had to check myself. I stopped smoking from that day for 180 days straight. And it made me a better coach, a better person, and I stopped smoking when I was coaching football. So every year when I coach football around the kids, I don’t smoke, so that’s three months out of the year that I do that.” Eat and be merry According to reports from Marijuana Business Daily, alternative consumption methods are becoming preferable among medical marijuana patients who don't want to smoke the old-fashioned way. According to Associated Press reports, since the first dispensaries in Illinois opened last November, infused products and concentrates accounted for 11 percent – or roughly $132,000 – of the $1.2 million in sales at state-regulated dispensaries in January. Pot posts could bring penalties Smoking is a social experience, but you may not want to get too social with your smoking when it comes to social media. Despite the reported rise in images of recreational marijuana use on social media, a retired drug enforcement administration agent is warning Instagrammers not to follow the trend. The legal consequences from a post that depicts a person smoking pot– in particular, in states that have anti-marijuana laws – could result in a fine of up to $150,000 and an 18-month jail sentence, according to social media strategist Shannon Self in an interview with Digital Trends. Although Instagram has done little to remove weed-related posts, they are very clear about “unlawful” content on its site, which falls under its restrictions, alongside “violent, nude, partially nude, discriminatory…infringing, hateful, pornographic or sexually suggestive photos.” Pot sales soar Legal U.S. pot sales soared to $5.4 billion for 2015, up 17.4 percent from $4.6 billion in 2014, according to data released by the ArcView Group, which tracks the cannabis markets. 2016 is also shaping up to be an equally robust year with strong demand. ArcView estimates the legal market could grow to $6.7 billion in sales. Growth among market players is expanding as well, with a handful of marijuana companies pocketing anywhere from $30 million or $40 million in annual revenue, "You won't find another industry growing at that kind of clip," said Troy Dayton, chief executive of the ArcView Group, in an interview with CNBC. HQBUSINESSNEWS The traditional smoke break is getting another dimension in Colorado where companies are experimenting with allowing employees to toke on the job. CBS News reports that Denver-based MassRoots, a tech startup that likes to refer to itself as the Facebook for pot users, allows its employees to use cannabis as a way to stimulate creativity and boost productivity. Smoking isn't allowed inside the building that houses the company's downtown headquarters, but they get around that by holding weekly rooftop smoke sessions where employees bond and strategize. FlowHub, a Denver startup that makes software to help cannabis growers manage plant inventories is another weed-friendly workplace. Co-founders Kyle Sherman and Chase Wiseman both consume marijuana at work, either in weekly brainstorming meetings or toward the end of the day. Sherman says consuming pot helps to bring about new perspectives and ideas, and so far there haven't been any negative consequences. Sherman explained to CNN: “If it helps our employees get work done, then we don’t care if they consume at work. . . It definitely surfaces new ideas and a fresh take on things.” continued on page 102