• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
synaptic dopamine activity plasticity.” In other words, Cannabis use increases thought flow. It has the ability to induce divergent thinking through mediating the dopamine levels a brain needs to not only experience the “pleasure” effects, but the creative effects that accompany it.
creating new products ranging from the Apple 1 to the iPad. Facing a continuously growing and diverse market, they’ve been able to stay ahead of the game by using their creative edge in developing technology that nearly every family in America keeps in their households.
In a study led by Rebecca Kuepper, who works for the Department of Psychiatry and Psychology at the Maastricht University Medical Centre in the Netherlands, her findings indicated that “THC has been shown to affect endocannabinoid neurotransmission and much evidence indicates that eCBs are key components in the regulation of dopamine neurotransmission.” So, Cannabis affects endocannabinoids that affect dopamine — a domino effect of biological and chemical functions once THC is introduced to the brain that has the possibility to lead to that creative kick many individuals need to jumpstart a great idea.
Products such as Kit Kat or Reese’s candy bars have changed little since the 1920s, yet they are still being gobbled up by the millions each year in America. Do they need innovation for something that has already been perfected? Absolutely! Their employees come up with new and exciting ways to advertise their product each year, giving it the spark that continues to create revenue.
For each of you ganjapreneurs out there risking your life’s savings, credit score, and reputation as you venture into the world of economic discovery, remember that the key to success lies in the innovative efforts put into your product, service, and advertising. Linkedln defines innovation concisely as “the development of new customer value through solutions that meet new needs, unarticulated, or old customer and market needs in new ways.” Take Apple, for example. The company has been in the computer market since the 1970s and is still one of the top leaders in technology sales today. Consistently they have found the right innovation to succeed through the years by
sativamagazine.com
As far as the Cannabis industry goes, the possibilities are endless. Not only can one use Cannabis to induce creative thinking, but as we explored in the June issue of Sativa Magazine, the uses for hemp are endless. Already it is used to make fabrics, food, body-care products, paper, textiles, rope, fuel, building materials and plastic alternatives. But as we shall explore further at a later point in time, the hemp industry today is just a small fraction of what it could be. Opportunity is knocking, but whether we answer or allow them to wither away in our thick web of bureaucracy remains to be seen. The educated ganjapreneur whose honed their business skills and can tap into their creative side to develop innovative offerings will fuel the green rush. The industry awaits innovators to bring hemp products into the mainstream consciousness, to transform the industry from a small side show to a major driver of the American economy. S
JULY 2013 41