WeedLife News Network

The vacation rental market is getting a 420-friendly renovation as some industry business owners are starting to offer cannabis at select rental locations.

With cannabis growing beyond the traditional confines of dispensaries and cultivation sites, the hospitality space appears to be the next big industry endeavor despite current regulations lagging behind the mainstream interest.

Sites like BudandBreakfast.com and Vibesbnb.com are two options that connect guests with hosts who allow marijuana use on their properties. Some properties provide more than just a space to use cannabis – specific rentals can offer a variety of cannabis experiences and activities like yoga, massages, and sometimes even cannabis education classes. Comparable to navigating VRBO or Airbnb’s site, BudandBreakfast and Vibesbnb allow potential visitors to search by location, price, amenities, and available facilities.

Upon the property’s booking, the rental owner designates specific smoking areas for guests. Rental owners also have the option to provide cannabis for guests or specify if guests need to bring their own. This novel business model is proving to be immensely popular – some rental spaces are currently booked six months in advance.

As of now, BudandBreakfast hosts 2,000 listings – a much smaller market than VRBO and Airbnb’s listing reach. Despite the limited cannabis rental properties now available, analysts expect huge returns for cannabis tourism. Forbes predicts that tourism for cannabis is a $17 billion industry.1 Combined with cannabis sales estimates projected to climb from $25 billion in 2021 to $42 billion in 2026,2 it is clear that the industry has the capital to develop into tourism and hospitality fields.

Beyond the aforementioned rental websites, many individuals are actively seeking to break new ground with cannabis-friendly spaces across the country. In Washington D.C., Nicole Butler manages a bed-and-breakfast where she greets guests with cannabis products.3 To amplify the ‘bed-and-breakfast’ aspect of the rental, she provides guests with a variety of cannabis-infused snacks and food.

On Oct. 6, President Joe Biden announced new efforts his administration is taking to reform the drug policy.

This includes taking steps to decriminalize marijuana, beginning with pardoning all people who have been convicted of marijuana possession under federal law. This does not include people who have been convicted of selling or distributing marijuana illegally. 

Biden also asked for the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Xavier Baccara, and Attorney General Merrick Garland to review the federal status of marijuana, according to Politico. Marijuana is currently classified as a Schedule I Drug under the Controlled Substances Act, meaning that it has no acceptable medical purposes and is highly addictive.

This categorizes marijuana with drugs such as heroin, LSD and ecstasy, and it prohibits all marijuana use according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. Lowering marijuana’s classification to a Schedule II Drug would put it in the same category as most opioids, and it would allow marijuana to be prescribed by doctors, according to Reuters. 

Criticisms of the efforts have come from both sides of the aisle. Some Democrats and progressives see the efforts as a step forward, but not eliminating major problems, considering the pardons impact relatively few people. According to Reuters, there are not many federal convictions for simple marijuana possession, and the administration says the pardons will affect 6,500 people. As a result, many activists say that this does not address the heart of the problem.

Although this will not result in people leaving prison, it will clear the records of those affected, allowing them to gain employment opportunities, apply to colleges and obtain other opportunities to help them move forward with their lives. Biden also acknowledged that many people are convicted under state or local laws, according to Reuters. He encouraged governors to pardon people convicted of simple marijuana possession under state laws.

Philippe Reich, partner, and Tiziana Hongler, associate, supported by Tanya Adams and Anna Bachmann at Baker McKenzie in Zurich, investigate a significant development in modernising Switzerland’s legislation on cannabis

On August 1, 2022, Swiss National Day, Switzerland’s revised Narcotics Act (NarcA) entered into force. The revision aims at facilitating medical treatments and improving research and development of cannabis.

Prior to the revised law, patients and physicians had to apply for special authorisation from the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) if they wanted to access cannabis for medical purposes. The amendment will allow numerous patients safe and timely access to cannabis medicines as part of their treatment regime.

According to a study by the Institute for Addiction and Health Research carried out on behalf of the FOPH, 96% of participants reported that the consumption of medicinal cannabis led to an improvement of their symptoms. In light of cannabis’s potential as a medical treatment and the surge in applications and high approval rates of the FOPH in the last few years, the costly and time-consuming procedure physicians and patients had to undergo to obtain authorisation for treatment with medicinal products containing cannabis was no longer justified. This led to the latest revision of the NarcA, which focuses on the legalisation of medicinal cannabis, making cultivation, processing, production and trade thereof subject to the authorisation procedure of Swissmedic in the same way as other narcotics that are used in a medical context.

Key takeaways

The main features of the amendment include the following:

Background

Prior to the enactment of the revised law, cannabis with tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) levels of 1% and above were classified as prohibited narcotics in Switzerland. As a result, cannabis with THC levels of 1% and above could not be cultivated, produced, imported or placed on the market. This limited the medicinal use of cannabis, which was subject to a case-by-case authorisation requirement from the FOPH.

The State of Alabama gave its OK to medical cannabis more than two years ago, and the process of making that a reality — from growing it to getting it to patients in need — will begin in coming months as the application process for the limited number of business licenses begins.

For cites and counties to have a shot at landing one of those businesses, their governing bodies must approve an ordinance saying they are open to cannabis-related industries.

The Gadsden City Council approved that ordinance last week, seeking to be added the state's list of approving cities or counties by Oct. 17 — the deadline set by the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission for requests for licenses for businesses related to medical cannabis.

Gadsden joins Glencoe — the only other Etowah County site listed — Tuscaloosa, Montgomery and 15 other municipalities or counties.

There are a limited number of licenses to be granted, City Attorney Lee Roberts told Gadsden council members. "It's going to be very competitive," he said, when it comes to landing these industries.

Council member Jason Wilson said it's estimated that one of these licensed dispensaries could generate $20 million in sales, which would be subject to sales tax.

Whether these companies are using RegA+, RegCF or RegD, they are now able to accept investments via credit cards from investors using KoreConX All-In-One Platform, without the abusive high fees normally charged from companies in this sector

In a recent announcement, Major League Baseball announced a sponsorship deal with cannabidiol (CBD) company Charlotte’s Web.

The collaboration would be the first of its kind in the history of the world.

BREMERTON - Pelican Delivers is thrilled to announce it is currently in talks with Tesla to create and produce vans specifically for delivering cannabis.

Pelican Delivers is the first and only, on-demand patented cannabis delivery service in the United States and Canada. The company collaborates with state/province-licensed cannabis stores to purchase products and then deliver them directly to the consumer, utilizing innovative technology to facilitate dynamic workflow of orders, real time lead generation for drivers, escrow, release and transfer of funds and authentication of customer identity prior to delivery. Pelican Delivers strives to always comply with both state/provincial laws and interstate commerce.

In the company’s most exciting news to date, Pelican Delivers is collaborating with renowned electric automotive company, Tesla, to design and manufacture delivery vans specifically created for delivering cannabis. The historical announcement comes at a time when electric vehicles are wildly sought-after for both individual and commercial use, and when cannabis use is at an all-time high.

“We couldn’t be more pumped about our concept of electric cannabis delivery vans,”
says founder and CEO of Pelican Delivers, Dave Comeau. “This is an idea we’ve had for some time, so to be in current talks with Tesla about our vision is such a humbling experience. We can’t wait to see what the final product will look (and drive) like.”

About Pelican Delivers

Founded by husband-and-wife team Dave & Tina Comeau in 2017, Pelican Delivers is an on-demand nationwide patented cannabis delivery service, which officially started in 2018. Prior to Pelican Delivers, Dave was the IT Supervisor at one of Washington State’s largest Tribal Casinos. Having gained this casino experience, Dave and his family opened the Ponderay Café & Casino in Bremerton WA, where he was the general manager. In 2010, Dave was a Medical Marijuana Grower and processor where he grew the business from one small tent in his garage to an 8,000 sqft warehouse. In 2016, Dave opened a chain of retail cannabis stores (Better Buds) in Washington State with annual revenue over 16 million.

Cannabis became legal in Canada four years ago, and while Quebec was slow to introduce edibles, a new selection of ready-to-eat pot-infused foods are now available.

The SQDC’s edible cannabis catalogue includes items like dried beets, cauliflower and figs – a notable departure from what consumers might expect to see at their local dispensary.

Unlike other provinces, which sell candy-like edibles, the sale of cannabis chocolates and gummies are off-limits in Quebec, because they could appeal to children.

But some fear that Quebec’s hesitancy to embrace candy and sweets-based edibles could backfire as weak competition to the black market.

“If we want to kill the black market, we do have to offer the consumer what they want,” said Pierre Leclerc, CEO of the Quebec Cannabis Industry Association.

He says that the SQDC’s collection simply can’t stand up to what might be offered on the street, or in other provinces.

Uber Eats customers in Toronto will be able to order cannabis starting Monday, thanks to a new partnership with Leafly.

Why it matters: It's the first time that marijuana delivery will be available through a major third party delivery platform, such as Uber, according to Leafly.

How it works: Those in Toronto aged 19 years old and over will be able to order in the app as they would from a restaurant, although when searching for cannabis users will be warned they must be of legal age.

Between the lines: Uber had previously partnered with a retailer in Ontario, Canada to allow customers to order cannabis, but under that deal they had to pick up their order themselves.

What they're saying:

PATY DO ALFERES - Medical marijuana is gaining steam in Brazil thanks to lower-court rulings giving the go-ahead for large-scale cannabis plantations.

One of the largest of these plantations – a 600,000-square-meter (148-acre) area in Paty do Alferes, a municipality located two hours from Rio de Janeiro – produces cannabis-derived oils for more than 3,000 patients with illnesses that include epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and autism.

That estate, which produces some 2,000 bottles of cannabis oil per month, is the fruit of a long, complicated effort undertaken by the Medical Cannabis Research and Patient Support Association (Apepi), an NGO that in February won a court judgment allowing it to grow cannabis.

“Our work is ‘sub judice’ (pending final judicial resolution). We’ll only have definitive legal protection once the case has been decided by the Supreme Court, and that will take time,” attorney Margarete Brito, Apepi’s co-founder, told Efe.

Brito and her husband, designer Marcos Langenbach, founded Apepi after discovering that medical marijuana was helping to control their daughter Sofia’s epileptic seizures.

“She had as many as 60 seizures in a month. With cannabis, we were able to reduce them to 15,” she said.

A cannabis cultivation project encompassing more than 60 acres southeast of Santa Maria was approved Wednesday by the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission after removing one landscaping requirement.

Commissioners voted 4-1, with Chairman and 1st District Commissioner C. Michael Cooney dissenting, to approve a conditional use permit for Gary Teixeira’s application to grow 60.4 acres of cannabis inside hoop structures along with a 2-acre nursery.

The project represents an expansion of a previously approved 37 acres of cannabis and an expansion and relocation of an existing 1-acre nursery at 4301 Dominion Road, according to a County Planning and Development Department staff report.

The condition was added to Teixeira’s landscaping plan in order to meet the Land Use Development Code requirement that all cannabis cultivation be screened from public view, the staff report said.

“I don’t think it’s our job to change the ordinance,” Cooney said, although he agreed to eliminate screening where it wasn’t needed and to not specify the type of vegetation. “To me, the farmer is the best one to pick the screening solution.”

He was also concerned that dropping the screening requirement would prompt other growers to object to similar landscaping conditions.

Last week, President Joe Biden pardoned thousands of people with Federal offenses for marijuana possession, reigniting the conversation around marijuana legalization.

ST. LOUIS - A mother in Missouri says she found cannabis-derived gummy worms in her 5-year-old’s Halloween candy after a trunk-or-treat event Saturday.

Tiffany Burroughs took her three young boys to the event held at JJ’s Restaurant, which hosts monthly car shows.

Restaurant co-owner Stephen Bell said the Halloween-themed event held in October, in conjunction with trunk-or-treat, always has a big turnout.

“They loved going, dressing up in their costumes,” Burroughs said.

Burroughs said she noticed an unusual package of gummy worms in a candy bowl but didn’t think much about it until she inspected the children’s candy at home.

The package was labeled as “Delta 8,” which is a cannabinoid found in the Sativa plant.

LAS VEGAS - On October 6, 2022, President Biden announced that he will pardon all prior federal offenses of simple possession of marijuana and will call on federal regulators to review how the drug is classified.

The pardons will affect approximately 6,500 people convicted of federal offenses for simple possession from 1992 through 2021, as well as thousands of people in Washington D.C., according to senior administration officials. President Biden is also calling on governors to take similar actions.

“Sending people to prison for possessing marijuana has upended too many lives and incarcerated people for conduct that many states no longer prohibit,” Mr. Biden said. “Criminal records for marijuana possession have also imposed needless barriers to employment, housing and educational opportunities.”

The president wants to end what he calls a failed approach to marijuana that disproportionately affects people of color with simple possession convictions, officials said.

Among additional steps, the president will also direct the attorney general to issue certificates of pardons that individuals can show to law enforcement and employers, two administration officials said.

Mr. Biden also plans to direct the Department of Health and Human Services and attorney general to review the status of marijuana as a schedule 1 controlled substance, a category that also includes heroin and LSD, the officials said.

With the decriminalization of cannabis comes a list of questions and concerns over its medical and recreational use – including figuring out how long the drug's effects actually last for.

While society has had decades to question the relationship between alcohol consumption and intoxication, the duration of impairment from inhaling or ingesting weed has been more anecdotal than scientific.

A meta-analysis of 80 papers published last year narrowed down this timeframe. Depending on factors such as how the cannabis is consumed and how strong it is, the user can remain impaired for between three and 10 hours.

This information can help inform advisory information given to patients, help recreational users make better decisions about performing tasks such as driving after consuming cannabis, and help update the laws to better reflect the reality of cannabis impairment.

"THC can be detected in the body weeks after cannabis consumption, while it is clear that impairment lasts for a much shorter period of time," psychopharmacologist Iain McGregor from the University of Sydney (USYD) in Australia explained in 2021.

"Our legal frameworks probably need to catch up with that and, as with alcohol, focus on the interval when users are more of a risk to themselves and others. Prosecution solely on the basis of the presence of THC in blood or saliva is manifestly unjust."

Biden’s cannabis pardon will affect the lives of thousands of people. Does this mean governors will have to follow the president’s lead?

President Biden’s pardon of non-violent marijuana offenses feels like a prelude to a new cannabis era. Through a hopeful lens, the move represents a time when more and more states are legalizing cannabis and the drug has almost bipartisan approval. Realistically, it’s a little more complicated than that.

Biden’s pardon served as a guidance, one that governors are free to disregard. POLITICO interviewed several experts and politicians who believe Biden’s decision won’t influence Republican governors, especially since elections are within weeks. In the case of Democrats, these governors likely already have pardons in place for these types of offenses.

“I don’t think that it’s going to rise to a high enough level of concern in the short term, and probably not even in the longer term,” said Gregg Peppin, a Republican political strategist, when discussing the Republican party and their plans for the November elections.

“The battle lines have been hardened as it relates to the issues of this election. Republicans are campaigning on economic issues and public safety,” he said.

In theory, Biden’s pardon should affect around 6,500 people with federal possession convictions. It’s unclear how this will occur though since the Justice Department will have to figure out who fits the administration’s criteria and it’s very likely that some people deserving of a pardon will miss out due to bureaucracy.

Dozens of licensed cultivators have about 80,000 marijuana plants growing.

Around 1,100 patients have signed up for medical marijuana, and 96 doctors or nurse practitioners are working to certify them. Small growers are complaining a large one has been allowed to skirt the rules.

But the Mississippi State Department of Health has zero investigators — and only three staffers — overseeing Mississippi’s new medical marijuana program.

So far only one testing facility has been licensed and is only partially ready to test products. Plus, the health department’s program director still has another job — running the department’s Office Against Interpersonal Violence.

Health Department officials told the Board of Health on Wednesday that the agency is in a four-month “provisional” period with licensed marijuana businesses. As it finds problems or violations, it’s typically just issuing “corrective actions,” giving marijuana businesses a chance to straighten up without hitting them with fines or sanctions or calling in law enforcement.

The Health Department in a meeting with its board Wednesday pledged transparency in its oversight of medical marijuana, shortly before going into a closed door session to brief the board on specific active marijuana program investigations. During its public meeting, some board members’ questions were deferred to the upcoming executive session.