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Cannascore: Where Do the Candidates Stand on Cannabis

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Cannascore: Where Do the Candidates Stand on Cannabis Fall Edibles Now that fall is approaching, new edibles ideas are aplenty with the arrival of flavors like pumpkin, apple and fall spices. Read on for some treats to make for a fall hike, a long drive leaf peeping or an afternoon of apple picking. Did you know? The terpene caryophyllene that is found in high amounts in cloves, as well as cannabis, is an anti-inflammatory and gastroprotective. Pumpkin Streusel Bread Bread: 3½ cups flour 2 tsp. baking soda 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. nutmeg 1 tsp. cinnamon ½ tsp. ginger ½ tsp. ground cloves ½ cup vegetable oil (slightly warmed) Cannabis concentrate (coconut oil, hash oil, kief) ½ cup applesauce 1½ cups sugar ½ cup brown sugar, packed 4 eggs 1 15-ounce can pumpkin puree ⅔ cup water Streusel: ½ cup brown sugar ½ cup flour 2 tsp. cinnamon ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted ½ cup walnuts (optional) 1. Preheat oven to 275°F. Spray 3 7x3in. loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray; set aside. 2. In a large bowl, mix flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves; set aside. 3. In a large bowl, combine oil and cannabis concentrate. Add applesauce. 4. Stir in sugars until combined; add eggs one at a time. 5. Stir in pumpkin until combined. Add water. 6. Sprinkle half of your flour mixture over the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. 7. Add the remaining flour mixture, and mix until just combined. 8. Pour batter evenly between the prepared pans and set aside. 9. In a bowl, whisk the sugar, flour and cinnamon until combined. Stir in the nuts. 10. Drizzle melted butter over the mix and stir with a spoon until your mixture is combined but still lumpy. 11. Sprinkle streusel over the top of each pan and cover completely. 12. Bake 35-40 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Roasted Butternut Squash with Cranberries and Cinnamon Ginger Glaze Ingredients: 1 medium butternut squash 3 tablespoons olive oil 1/4 cup honey 1/2 teaspoon curry powder 1-1/2 cups fresh cranberries Salt and pepper to taste Glaze: ¼ honey ½ tsp ginger powder ½ tsp cinnamon powder 2 Tbs butter, melted Cannabis concentrate (coconut oil, hash oil, kief) 1. Peel and seed your squash, and cut into 1 ½ in. cubes 2. In a large bowl, toss squash with olive oil, honey, curry and cranberries until evenly coated. Spread in a single layer on a greased baking sheet. 3. Roast butternut squash at 400°F 15-20 minutes or until squash is tender and cranberries have softened and burst. Remove from oven and season with salt and pepper to taste. 4. Combine cannabis concentrate with melted butter until incorporated. Add honey, ginger and cinnamon and simmer on stovetop for 10 minutes. 5. Drizzle on cooked squash and serve! Hot Buttered Cider Ingredients: ½ cup unsalted cannabutter ¼ cup light brown sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp nutmeg ½ tsp allspice 8 cups apple cider (plain, not spiced) 1. In a mixer, beat butter and sugar until combined. Add spices and mix. 2. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for 48 hours to allow the flavors to develop. 3. Heat cider, and divide between 8 cups. 4. Add 1 tablespoon spiced cannabutter to each cup, stir and enjoy. CannaScore: Where Do the Candidates Stand on Cannabis? Motif’s team took to the emails, the phones and even tracked down those candidates and office holders we could find in person to try to find out where they stand on the issue of legalizing cannabis so we could share that with you. Three things surprised us: 1.There was a lot more agreement than we expected that cannabis should be legalized. Although there are certainly some who disagree, the primary contention causing slow action seems to revolve around how to execute that legalization. Of course, it could also be true that the nay-sayers are not answering surveys like this. 2. It was extremely labor-intensive, involving a team of 10 callers from four different organizations working over a span of several weeks (not full time, naturally, but still a LOT of person-hours) to get the responses we got. Why were so many unwilling or unable to respond? It seems unlikely they were on summer vacation for several weeks. We got two interesting off-the-record responses to this specific question. One senator told us, “We get one or two surveys a day at this time of year. The overload just makes it hard to pay attention.” A rep told us (on condition of anonymity), “It just doesn’t really make any difference. The people we represent don’t pay that kind of attention to where their reps stand on specific issues – it’s not how we get elected, so we don’t really pay attention to communicating with the public about where we stand on most issues.” Motif will explore this issue further in our upcoming politics issue. 3. Those who did respond almost all used our free-response section of the survey to elaborate on their answers, so those who did engage mostly did so with intelligence and gusto! Whether you should vote based on a single issue is another question to consider. Usually, the answer is no – but we know from reader surveys that there are some who would be single issue voters around this topic, and since Motif, which generally tries to avoid taking political stances (except for anti- corruption), has shown a definitive preference for cannabis legalization, we thought some readers would find these results interesting. If you are opposed to legalization, you can simply reverse the grades – an A would become an F, a B becomes a D, C stays the same, and so forth. Here are the legislators who responded, plus a few who answered a similar inquiry made by the ProJo a few months ago. Legislators who responded to the ProJo but not this survey are listed with asterices. That full story can be found at… Legislators who didn’t respond yet have a standing invite to do so – results will be posted online through election day. For full details on points and how grading was done mathematically, visit Motifri.com, where there will be links to a full website coming soon. Questions Asked: 1. Do you support regulating and taxing marijuana similarly to alcohol? How soon? 2. Do you support allowing towns and municipalities to authorize social marijuana use at certain marijuana retail outlets (cannabis cafes), provided that they are limited to adults who are 21 or older? 3. Do you support allowing the use of marijuana for medical purposes if authorized by a patient’s doctor? 4. If marijuana is regulated and taxed similarly to alcohol, would you favor allowing edible marijuana products to be sold in retail outlets if they are packaged and labeled appropriately? 5. Do you favor expanding the number of licensed medical marijuana compassion centers in Rhode Island? 6. Do you favor the idea of prohibiting employers from testing job applicants for marijuana as a condition for employment, unless the drug tests are required under federal law? 7. Do you favor the idea of allowing individuals who are 21 or older to cultivate a limited number marijuana plants in their home? 8. Do you support the Rhode Island marijuana decriminalization law, which replaced criminal penalties for possession of small amounts of marijuana with a civil fine similar to a traffic ticket? Information Collected: Name, Office, Incumbent or Candidate, and which district? Party and Grade Joe Almeida Representative Incumbent 12 Democrat A+ Antonio F. Avila Representative Not Incumbent 69 Republican A+ Joseph Cardillo Representative Not Incumbent 40 Democrat A+ Nicholas Delmenico Representative Not Incumbent 27 Democrat A+ William Deware Representative Not Incumbent 54 Democrat A+ Matthew James Fecteau Senator Not Incumbent 8 Democrat A+ Michael Gazdacko Representative Not Incumbent 9 Democrat A+ Jonathan Hernandez Senator Not Incumbent 6 Democrat A+ Stacia Huyler Representative Not Incumbent 24 Republican A+ John Lombardi Representative Incumbent 8 Democrat A+ Andrew E. Maguire Representative Not Incumbent 59 Independent A+ Joshua Miller Senator Incumbent 28 Democrat A+ Lisa Scorpio Representative Not Incumbent 13 Democrat A+ Jennifer Siciliano Representative Not Incumbent 22 Democrat A+ Scott Slater Representative Incumbent 10 Democrat A+ Joseph J. Solomon Jr. Representative Incumbent 22 Democrat A+ Moira Walsh Representative Not Incumbent 3 Democrat A+ Edith Ajello Representative Incumbent 1 Democrat A+* (didn’t answer survey but was primary sponsor of prior legalization) Brent Barrows Senator Not Incumbent 22 Republican A Ryan Hall Representative Not Incumbent 28 Democrat A William Hunt Representative Not Incumbent 68 Libertarian A David Norton Representative Not Incumbent 60 Democrat A Thomas Palangio Representative Incumbent 3 Democrat A Victor Regino Representative Not Incumbent 11 Independent A Jonathan Vallecilla Representative Not Incumbent 58 Independent A Luis A. Vargas Representative Not Incumbent 12 Independent A David Bennett Representative Incumbent 20 Democrat A* Chris Blazejewski Representative Incumbent 2 Democrat A* Brian Newberry Representative Incumbent 48 Republican A* (consistent co-sponsor and legislative supporter) Dominick Ruggerio Senator Incumbent 4 Democrat A* (co-sponsor of legislation last year and spoke publically in support) Bradley Collins Representative Not Incumbent 46 Independent A- Dennis Lavallee Senator Not Incumbent 17 Democrat A- Aaron Regunberg Representative Incumbent 4 Democrat A- Gregg Amore Representative Incumbent 65 Democrat B+ Andrew C. Knutton Representative Not Incumbent 21 Independent B+ David Kruzona Representative Not Incumbent 21 Democrat B+ Vincent Marzullo Representative Not Incumbent 26 Independent B+ Lori Barden Representative Not Incumbent 59 Independent B Lauren Carson Representative Incumbent 75 Democrat B Frank Ciccone Senator Incumbent 7 Democrat B Grace Diaz Representative Incumbent 11 Democrat B Ewa Dzwierzynski Representative Not Incumbent 34 Democrat B Rob Goldman Representative Not Incumbent 11 Democrat B Laura Perez Representative Not Incumbent 11 Democrat B Mark Zaccaria Representative Not Incumbent 32 Republican B Michael McCaffrey Senator Incumbent 29 Democrat B* (co-sponsor of legislation, but no public statements) Cale Keable Representative Incumbent 47 Democrat B* (in ProJo survey, says he “leans” towards legalization) Harold M.
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