Conservation tillage (CT) is a non-plough-based crop establishment technique that, combined with other measures, can improve soil quality and properties over time and reduce tillage costs. Despite its benefits, it has not been widely adopted across Ireland. This is because CT practices can enable the rapid spread of grass weeds, which in turn reduce crop yields and can lead to total crop failures. Teagasc’s Enable Conservation Tillage (ECT) project has spent the last few years investigating and offering sustainable, cultural and chemical control solutions and support tools to stop the prevalence of grass weeds on farms. As part of this, members of the project team have created ECT Weed Watch – a unique mobile field app that enables the accurate recording of data at precise locations. Crazy orgies, conversations with Satan, permanent insanity, and murder: These were the calamities that could befall marijuana users of the early 20th century — according to anti-marijuana propaganda.

Réamonn: It was a fantastic example of the potential collaboration that GIS technology can facilitate. We were able to produce an app that met the ECT project team’s needs, all without meeting in person! Another leaf motif is, front and center, the main shape on the dial, which is a complex creation of colors, skeletonization, and actual green crumbled cannabis leaf sprinkled into a semi-transparent layer. The compulsion to include cannabis (either actually or symbolically) is very strong. Indeed, a lot of the cannabis-themed watches that will be made will focus on the hemp/marijuana leaf since it is among the more recognizable allusions to cannabinoid pursuits, hence why it is predictable that a designer would also want to further connect the watch with its sometimes-illict cannabis-consumption theme. Jimmy Staples: Through holding events and workshops, we’ve helped to raise awareness and inform the industry of how to identify grass weeds in field, control an infestation and eradicate the problem. The level of interaction and interest displayed by attendees was emphatic. While U.S. producers have benefited from ongoing state-by-state cannabis legalization, there has been little meaningful progress on national cannabis reform.

The State of the U.S. Cannabis Market in 2023

David: I was surprised by how easy it was to customise and design our own unique app. It really was a treat to be able to leave the pen and paper at home. With alcohol off the table, the department's business was limited to narcotics like cocaine and heroin — drugs used by a very small percentage of the population. Chasing them down wasn't going to result in fame or glory any time soon. The federal government’s Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act (MORE) proposes decriminalizing the drug by removing it from the Controlled Substances Act. However, the bill has not been passed by the Senate to date.

Kristine Schaefer is an extension program specialist with the Pest Management and the Environment Program. David: As I mentioned previously, we conducted a survey across the tillage regions of Ireland. The aim of this was to establish how on-farm management factors drive grass weed populations, to identify and assess grass weed levels on farms and to test grass weeds for herbicide resistance. From my vantage point in Los Angeles, California, hemp and marijuana (both cannabis plants) are about as controversial as Swiss cheese, at this point. Recreational marijuana is legal here, as is the case in at least a dozen other U.S. states. That does not, however, represent the larger worldview about cannabis, where the plant is both still illegal and stigmatized in various parts of the world. The international nature of wristwatch sales means that brands that sell their products around the world need to contend with often polarizing opinions about products. I can easily see how a watch brand that produces a marijuana-enthusiast watch can garner as much hate as it does love, given how perceptions about the plant vary from place to place. The risk here is obvious, but Glass House Brands has been on a steep trajectory and remains an intriguing play for those who have greater risk tolerance. Financial constraints. Given federal prohibition, there are severe restrictions on banks that deal with cannabis-related businesses. This makes it difficult for some U.S. marijuana businesses to access key financial services.Réamonn Fealy: There are two particular benefits to the approach we took in designing the app. First, as David already outlined, is the capacity for repeat visits to a single point with high accuracy. Second is that standardised data can be viewed in real time if required. Anyway, I would personally find this very useful. If I get 6 likes / agrees / informative / comments or more then I'll run it. This growth could be impossible to sustain. GLASF’s price-to-sales ratio is higher than peer companies with similar market caps, but when revenue grows this fast, that can happen. John Mahon: There are 10 ‘focus farms’ involved directly with the project, each with its own crop establishment technique. Our project team advises farms using CT on different methods to help overcome grass weed issues, and then monitors the CT practices and their impact on grass weeds. Curaleaf is the largest publicly traded cannabis company. And because of this, it often acts as a bellwether for the entire industry.