*By Carlo Versano*
Hurricane Lane, a major Category 4 storm, lashed the Big Island of Hawaii Thursday as it churned through the Pacific. The hurricane could be the strongest to hit the island chain in 25 years and, according to Andrew Freedman at Axios, is "doing pretty much the worst thing it could possibly do."
Though Lane is weakening and slowing, according to the latest from the [National Weather Service](https://twitter.com/NWSHonolulu), the potential for torrential rain, storm surge, and landslide conditions will loom over the next two days.
Hawaii is not used to hurricane prep. The islands benefit from a combination of cooler waters during prime season and a ridge of high pressure that typically protects it from tropical systems. The last major hurricane to hit [famously](http://articles.latimes.com/1992-09-13/news/mn-1196_1_hurricane-iniki) made landfall during the filming of "Jurassic Park" in 1992.
"Whenever storms try and come up, they fizzle out when they get there," Freedman, Axios's science editor, said Thursday in an interview on Cheddar.
But this year, an El Niño effect is keeping the Pacific water warmer, making Hawaiians more vulnerable to hurricanes. And with more climate change, Hawaii will experience severe tropical weather, Freedman said.
"This is a sign of things to come," he forecast.
The pristine shores of Maui and Oahu are likely to experience waves as high as 20 feet, with the potential for beach erosion, coastal and flash flooding, and sustained hurricane-force winds in the capital of Honolulu through Saturday. Because Lane is moving so slowly and will touch each island ー and given the terrain ー Hawaiians should be prepared for a "potential flooding disaster," hurricane expert Dr. Rick Knabb [tweeted] (https://twitter.com/DrRickKnabb/status/1032635284125622272) on Thursday.
Further complicating the situation, Hawaii has no easy procedure for mass evacuations. Its shelter system isn't designed for major hurricanes, Freedman said.
"They're not accustomed to this."
For full interview [click here] (https://cheddar.com/videos/hurricane-lane-could-be-most-destructive-hurricane-to-hit-hawaii-in-almost-three-decades).
It's a big week in cannabis earnings ー Aurora Cannabis reported Monday and Canopy Growth will report Thursday ー but Paul Rosen, CEO of cannabis private equity firm Tidal Royalty, said he's noticing a concerning trend."All the companies are facing gross margin compression because there are excise taxes, there's a massive marketing spend as we go to recreational cannabis, and there's also increased packaging costs. So I think you're going to see a trend line here, which is revenue and capacity going up, but gross margin is going down," Rosen told Cheddar Wednesday.
Opiant Pharmaceuticals, the developer of opioid antidote NARCAN, is in the process of developing a version of its lifesaving drug for cannabanoid overdoses, the company's CEO told Cheddar in an interview on Wednesday.
The theme of Bill and Melinda Gates' annual letter for 2019 is "surprise." The letter, released Tuesday, acts as a roadmap for how the Gates Foundation plans to invest in technology that will help make the world a better place in the years to come. And, as Melinda Gates told Cheddar in an interview, it starts with poop.
There's a dearth of research to back up the abundance of miraculous health claims tied to CBD ー but that won't stop celebrities from endorsing it. CBD, or cannabidiol, is a component of cannabis or hemp with little to no psychotropic effects. It is purported to have an array of applications to treat everything from epilepsy to anxiety, pain, depression, and sleeplessness. When Congress and President Trump signed the latest version of the Farm Bill into effect, they also legalized hemp, and thereby CBD derived from hemp.
More than 50 years after the psychedelic Summer of Love, psilocybin, the psychoactive component in magic mushrooms, is having a moment. Researchers at leading universities have been conducting research on the purported medical benefits of mushrooms for years, but as studies yield promising results, the opioid epidemic persists and sentiment warms toward cannabis, mushrooms are earning a lot more attention. Lawmakers and psychotropic advocates have concurrently advanced separate measures in Oregon, Colorado, and, most recently, Iowa, that attempt to loosen restrictions on these hallucinogenic fungi.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Wednesday, Feb, 6, 2019.
Millions of people around the world are getting ready for the Super Bowl on Sunday. And while the day is all fun and games, there's still a serious discussion happening about player safety. Now, two leading sports brands have teamed up to design new, state-of-the-art equipment using 3D printing. Joe DeSimone, co-founder and CEO of Carbon, stopped by Cheddar with more on how technology is making football more safe, head to toe.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Friday, Feb. 1, 2019.
These are the headlines you Need 2 Know for Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019.
