When Are You Too High To Drive?

Cannabis legalization is spreading across the United States, both recreationally and medically. This raises thorny legal questions, but let’s just focus on one. When are you too high to drive?

That’s a tougher question than it seems, especially for people who use medicinal cannabis. When both states and the federal government made cannabis illegal, any suggestion of cannabis was a slam-dunk for DUI. Now, it’s much murkier, especially with medical cannabis. The Arizona Court of Appeals ruled late last year that users of medical cannabis can contest their DUIs. Now officers must prove that the driver was too high to drive, rather than just assuming that any amount of cannabis means the driver is too high.

Randall B. Isenberg, a DUI lawyer in Dallas, said, “Finding someone legally DUI on medical marijuana is hard. There is no nationwide standard for marijuana intoxication like there is for alcohol. Also, marijuana can have different effects at the same dosage in different people. That’s why some states have to provide additional proof that medical marijuana drivers were actually intoxicated at the time of an arrest.”

The Troubles with THC Measurement

Let’s break this statement down. First, what are the limits? All states with legalized cannabis in any form state that if an officer determines that your driving was bad enough, that could be evidence of intoxication. But using a measurement of THC in the body, like we do with blood-alcohol content measurements for drunk driving, has scientific problems.

THC byproducts last much longer in the body than alcohol does because THC is fat-soluble. These byproducts are measured with chemical tests. Since they aren’t flushed out through urine, these byproducts can persist long after any intoxication is gone. Therefore, medical cannabis users are in a precarious situation. If you need cannabis to deal with an illness, does that mean you can’t drive for the rest of your life? That’s what the Arizona case was about.

No Hard Limit for Intoxication

Prosecutors would love to have a hard line for intoxication like the 0.08 limit used in most states for alcohol intoxication. Several states have ruled that 5ng/ml of THC metabolites in the body is an adequate limit. However, in chronic users, these metabolites can build up over time and create an impression that someone is very intoxicated when they are perfectly safe to drive.

There is a rush right now to create the equivalent of a THC breathalyzer that directly measures the core psychoactive compound rather than measuring metabolites. There are devices in Europe that can detect active THC with a swab test, but it doesn’t say how much THC may be active. Hound Labs and several other companies are working hard to get a THC breathalyzer to market. Once someone figures out how to measure active THC in the body, rather than metabolites, prosecutors can start getting the data they need to pursue cases with confidence.

Yet even if we had accurate measurements, there is still the question of what the actual limit is before you’re too high to drive. The research isn’t there. Thanks to the decades of prohibition of the drug, including for research, there’s no hard data on how much THC is needed to make someone unsafe to drive. This is the fundamental question that must be answered before we can really write laws that match the realities of the effects of THC on the body.

Until this question is answered and there is an accurate way to measure active THC in the body, consumers of medical cannabis will need to carefully watch their driving or forego it altogether. The risks of getting hit with a DUI are too great.

Will Amazon’s Acquisition of Whole Foods Disrupt the Grocery Market

With the news that Amazon plans to buy the grocery store chain, Whole Foods, who has more than 460 stores, there is all sorts of speculation going on, such as, whether Amazon will dethrone Wal-mart in the grocery kingdom. Wal-mart has nearly 10x the footprint, not even counting Sam’s Clubs, so this doesn’t seem likely, especially given the fact that Wal-mart has expanded their “Wal-mart Grocery” order and pick up service. However, more and more consumers prefer the convenience of store-to-door services and are willing to pay an annual fee to get free or cheap shipping on items. This acquisition could be just the beginning of a new era for Amazon, who seems to be lapping up opportunities like a giant, power-hungry, Pac-man, that Trump will never be able to stop, in spite of his anti-trust concerns about Jeff Bezos and Amazon.

With this move Amazon could revolutionize Grocery delivery, but it is unclear if consumers really want that or not. There will always be a segment of the market that prefers the tactile experience of handling fruits and vegetables, setting eyes on breads and meats, smelling the various aromas and going to Costco to try all the samples! Delivery for groceries is definitely not as much of a no-brainer as electronics or other non-perishable items. In other industries such as logistics, there are companies like Freight-Tec (freight brokers), who have a unique approach to logistics, but there is also a unique need and demand for their services. Amazon, while revolutionaries in other ways, may not completely disrupt the grocery market, because there just may not be enough demand to accomplish that, although they will certainly introduce a service wanted by a good handful of consumers.

It may be that more and more of the rising generations, who have been raised in a digital world, are more open to a non-tactile grocery buying experience. If this turns out to be the case it is possible that Amazon could disrupt the industry more even than most analysts are currently speculating they will. As these generations become parents, they may also be looking for more and more ways to carve out family time in the midst of their busy lives by cutting out those exasperating trips to the store. These younger generations also tend to favor the types of groceries Whole Foods offer.

Until now Amazon’s attempts at fresh food delivery have included false starts and more like a testing ground, without huge successes or effectiveness, but this deal promises to change all that. With Amazon’s history of successes, there is no doubt that they will make the acquisition of Whole Foods, there biggest yet by a huge margin, ($13.7 billion in cash) a huge success. Only the Twitch acquisition even approached $1 billion. The questions that remain are how successful will it be and will it lead to other acquisitions in the grocery area. Will it eventually fundamentally change how most of us buy groceries or will it remain a minority (Wal-mart owns roughly 18% of the grocery market share) in the overall share of voice in the grocery market.

6 Ways to Impress During an Interview

By Adam Torkildson

When you are going for an interview, you’re probably aware of all the cliché advice: come prepared, dress well, research well by reading books among others. Marc Anidjar, attorney and co-founder of Anidjar & Levine, P. A. says it’s important to remember that it’s your skills that matter, more than your knowledge. “It is the skills you get from the books that will earn you a job and not the number of books you’ve read.”

But beyond these obvious tips, there is one crucial way which you can impress the interviewer and get an increased chance of landing the job: just show how good of a cultural fit you’re for that particular company.

What does this mean exactly? Well, in an interview, ensure that you create an image of yourself that proves that you’ll adapt to this culture.

“People aren’t just hiring you for that particular position, but they are also hiring somebody who’s going to comply with their culture,” says Samantha Ettus, who is highly experienced, after working with various companies including Target, Google, Yahoo, and more.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Work on your handshake: Do not offer up a sweaty or flimsy hand. Instead, when you meet prospective employers, offer a firm handshake—with 1-2 pumps from the elbow to the hand. It is a good way to express your confidence and commence the interview on the right note.
2. Be serious: If you take your casual approach to the initial interview, you may be sealing your fate. Therefore job seekers should handle every interview as if it is their one and only opportunity to sell themselves to the recruiter.
3.  Show enthusiasm: go to an interview with a positive attitude. Most interviewers won‘t even think twice about somebody who has a negative presence. “You are selling yourself, by expressing the positivity that you‘ll bring to the office each morning,” explains Alison Richardson, who is a recruiter for various New York financial organizations. “That friendly demeanor and smile go a long way.”
4. Be inquisitive: When interviewing for a new vacancy, it‘s important to have some questions to ask the potential employer. The questions could include: What are some of the possible challenges?  What do you consider to be the ideal requirement for the position? Do you’ve any concerns which I need to clear up so as to be the top candidate? What is the most significant thing I can do to assist within the first 90-days of my employment?
5. Show restraint: in an interview, what you avoid saying may be as important as what you say. As a rule, do not talk about benefits or money, especially during the first interview. Instead, you should go to an interview already informed if you fit the parameters. Do not badmouth your past employers. Companies don‘t hire complainers. More importantly, don‘t mention outside part-time jobs or career aspirations. Employers are looking for guys who will be part of their organizations for the next decade and beyond, and not the “trial-and-error” characters.
6. Tell a story: the interviewer not only want to know exactly about your experiences and skills but also he or she wants to know more about you. However, don‘t shift from routine answers to stories; instead, work your answers into anecdotes or stories about yourself. People recall the individuals who are interesting, therefore, prove your value by sharing stories which address the primary concern an interviewer may have—what can you do for us?

Having observed the above tips among other relevant requirements, you will be well on your way to landing the job you truly want.

Maximize your current digital presence – Leave everyone behind in the digital era

If you’ve clicked on this post, it can be well assumed that you’re looking for some help with the best ways in which you can get the most out of your digital assets. Competing for attention is pretty difficult in this digital era as everyone has their best strategy through which they’re competing with each other. The million-dollar question is how your company can cut through the clutter the reach its target audience at the perfect time by offering them their required information. It takes some patience, testing and optimizing and if you’re searching for the ways in which you can maximize your digital presence, you have to be valuable. So, how are you going to augment your online presence and visibility? Here are few strategies that you can adopt.

• Make sure you optimize your website

Only creating a website will not do as you also have to maintain the website as this is one of the most vital branding tools for any business organization. The foremost thing which a company can do to drive traffic to a specific website and enhance the visibility of the brand is website optimization. So, if you’ve still not optimized your website, it’s high time you do so.

• Embrace the social media for maximized visibility

If you still haven’t invested in social media marketing, you’re lagging behind as this is one of the most cost-effective ways of promoting both large corporations and small businesses. Without embracing the social media, you can never gain maximum exposure as the entire world is online on the social networking sites. With social media marketing, businesses can easily compete against each other with an advantage and they can even reach out to worldwide audiences.

• Produce timeless, relevant and good quality content

If you didn’t know that creating good quality content and distributing it is the best way to attract highest audience, you’re probably ignoring the most important part of online marketing. Unless you’re able to produce high quality content and promote it in the best possible manner, you can’t create brand recognition online. This is indeed essential for any successful content marketing strategy. Hire a good content writer who has enough experience in writing high quality content.

• Press release marketing can be used

Press release distribution is an indeed inexpensive and effective way of improving brand visibility and online recognition. If the press release is chosen by Google News, your company will thereby receive added coverage for your brand.

• Make use of video marketing

Regardless of the size and scale of a business, it can always benefit from video marketing like Vimeo, YouTube and many more. Make sure you post branded videos which are relevant to your niche and explainer and demo videos of the product as this is a lucrative way of promoting business, driving traffic to website and getting your brand recognized.

Therefore, if you’ve been worried about obtaining the best marketing results, make sure you adopt the above mentioned digital marketing strategies to make the most out of it.

Author Bio:

Cameron Francis is CEO & Co-founder of ETRAFFIC, Melbourne’s #1 Creative Agency & Digital Marketing Company. For over 10 years he has helped thousands of businesses improve their Digital Presence and Online Visibility.