WeedLife News Network

New York is off to a strong start with their recreational market, as certain hemp growers got the green light to start their outdoor growing.

New York is finally kicking off their recreational cannabis sales, after years of back-and-forth and push back against antiquated and racist drug laws. Now, the industry is up and running with some of the first 203 hemp growers given recreational licenses starting up their grows. And plot twist: the first of these are outdoors. 

Not exactly what you’d expect for New York, but weather-wise, it’s prime season. The indoor growers are expected to join in soon, but for now growers like Frank Popolizio of Homestead Farms and Ranch are getting started with their outdoor crops. 

Estimated 45,000-plus illegal pot plants and eight metric tonnes of processed weed confiscated.

The Provincial Joint Forces Cannabis Enforcement Team (PJFCET), led by the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), seized $61 million in cannabis, equipment and property during searches of two greenhouse sites and two residences.

All totalled, the ongoing investigation revealed an estimated 45,000-plus illegal marijuana plants and eight metric tonnes of processed weed, CTV News Windsor reports.

Members of PJFCET, a team created to enforce cannabis laws by dismantling organized crime and illegal cannabis trafficking, also confiscated equipment and property linked to the illegal operation believed to be worth more than $300,000.

A short video of images posted by the OPP on both Facebook and Twitter shows the outside of the greenhouses, what looks to be hundreds or thousands of plants flanking a concrete walkway on the inside of a greenhouse, an open tabletop of thousands of cannabis buds surrounded by plastic bags of suspected weed, open, wooden shelving units that look to be housing seedlings or saplings, row upon row of garbage bags and bags and a bin on the floor surrounded by stray cannabis.

Charges have not yet been laid and the OPP’s investigation is continuing.

OpTic HECZ takes us into the heart of esports, and challenges corporations such as Facebook, Google, and TikTok to end the digital war on cannabis.

My name is OpTic HECZ and I had the honor of joining the cannabis industry by way of professional esports and building brands on the internet. Big shout out to my boy Jon Cappetta for inviting me to be a contributor to WEIRDOS and to share reflections from my journey. I know you all will be absolutely shocked to learn that there has always been a vibrant cannabis culture behind the scenes of gaming and esports, so my goal when joining the cannabis industry was to take the lessons I learned building OpTic Gaming and introduce them to a plant I love and traditional cannabis culture I feel naturally connect to.

Esports and cannabis cultures were both born on the edges of society and we’re still battling stigmas despite growing into multi-billion dollar global industries. While gamers never had to face the War on Drugs, many of us took huge personal risks and made extreme sacrifices to help build esports into what it is today. My wife and family were dangerously supportive when I left my corporate job in early 2009 to focus on becoming a full-time YouTube content creator, and after a year of telling them that “this is going to work out,” my first check was a hilarious 16 cents from monetizing Call of Duty montage videos. I may not have lived in tent on a hill in Humboldt County, but you better believe that back in June 2013 when we launched the first OpTic House, my wife and I were called crazy when we told our family that we would be moving to her parents’ basement to allow the players to move in to our current home and make one of the first YouTube content houses a reality.

Despite the risks and labels, cannabis OGs know the important lesson that the diehard esports community learned through our commitment: it’s what we did and stood for when everyone thought we were weirdos, before all the corporate investors rushed in, that will forever resonate in our respective cultures.

For esports, 6050 Russell Drive showed the world that OpTic Gaming, operating out of a cul-de-sac in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, could have a larger social media presence then all of Chicago’s historic sports franchises aside from the great Chicago Bulls (and that’s only because they had GOD in uniform during the 90s). That revelation drove many billionaire owners from traditional sports to quickly buy esports teams—we were one of the lucky teams that were paired up with incredible investors, but many other investors came into our industry with as much respect for the culture that made OpTic and esports popular as Chad has for growing and selling good weed.

So I came to cannabis knowing what it’s like to create something from a place of passion and I have seen firsthand the interests of big money trying to get their piece of something new. In 2017, an ownership group made me an offer I couldn’t refuse and I was happy to sell OpTic in hopes of expediting our growth as an elite professional esports franchise. But then things happened, people happened and business happened and I ultimately decided to buy back OpTic in 2020. The journey that led me to buying back OpTic taught me a very important lesson relevant to the cannabis industry today: when you put your heart and soul into something, the authentic relationship that you develop with supporters building that brand can never truly be bought or sold.

CBD is a natural way to treat a range of health issues and can have a positive impact on our overall health and wellbeing. It can help with illness and injuries that cause pain and discomfort. It can also help with skin conditions like acne and eczema and can alleviate symptoms we may suffer caused by low mood and bad mental health. There is a product to suit everyone, from CBD softgels to oils, capsules, and gummies. Below, we’ll look at how adding CBD to your daily routine can help you overcome common health issues.

What is CBD?

CBD is extracted from the cannabis plant to make an all-natural substance, that is often used to boost health and well-being. Although it is produced within the cannabis plant, you won’t experience the common ‘high’ feeling associated with the drug, as this is produced by a separate chemical called THC – there should be no THC present in your CBD products. CBD can be mixed with other natural substances to make an oil to be taken orally, or you may also find it in the form of infused creams and lotions, capsules, gummies and even bath bombs – there is something to suit everyone!

How does it work?

CBD interacts with the endocannabinoid systems within our body. These symptoms are made up of receptors – CBD works with them and changes the way that they react to pain, and in turn, creates an anti-inflammatory effect, which is why CBD is commonly used to treat pain caused by chronic illness and injuries. It can also interact with the production of serotonin in our brain, which is the chemical that causes us to feel happy and can balance production to reduce feelings of stress, anxiety, and low mood.

Generally, CBD is used to balance various systems in the body, whether you’re experiencing pain, feeling down, or stressed, or something within your body is causing you to feel unlike yourself – taking CBD in one of its many forms can help.

What are the health benefits?

As previously mentioned, CBD products come with a variety of benefits, from relieving pain and discomfort to alleviating physical and mental symptoms of stress and anxiety. Below, we’ll look at these benefits in more detail and how CBD can promote good health.

Fluence CEO and a leading lobbyist call for Congress to finally pass federal SAFE legislation that would put financial institutions more at ease with lending in the cannabis sector.

Cannabis lighting firms take note: As rapidly as the legal marijuana industry is growing, it is held back in the U.S. by a lack of federal action that would allow tens of thousands of firms to access banking services.

That view came across loud and clear in a recent installment of Fluence Unfiltered, an online video series in which David Cohen, CEO of cannabis lighting vendor Fluence, interviews a leading industry figure.

Anything other than guns.

In the ongoing effort to talk about anything except controlling guns in response to our country’s ongoing massacre problem, the public intellectuals of the American Right have descended to watch-out-for-the-hopheads levels that are beneath even those plumbed by Joe and Frank on the old Dragnet show, and those guys had a case where a hophead literally buried his head in the ground.

As usual, the primary sewage treatment plant for this stuff is the Fox News prime time lineup. Laura Ingraham blames legalized Mary Jane for seducing god-fearing young men into opening fire on schools and parades. From Vanity Fair:

“Why aren’t people in general not talking more about the pot-psychosis–violent-behavior connection?” Ingraham asked.

“What we find in studies [is that] it’s very clear that the use of the high-potency marijuana is strongly associated with the development of psychosis,” Kamer claimed. He added that his “colleagues in Colorado, where they’re sounding the alarm because that was one of the first states to legalize—it’s practically a daily occurrence that kids come into the emergency rooms in florid, cannabis-induced psychosis.”

Tucker Carlson is on the Killer Weed program, too, but also has joined Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene (R-Crazyville) in pinning the blame on SSRIs and similar drugs. Carlson also would like you to know that your mother and the other women in your life are probably to blame for why you’re standing on a rooftop with your AR-15, sizing up your targets. From Newsweek: "They are numbed by the endless psychotropic drugs that are handed out in every school in the country by crackpots posing as counselors," he went on "And of course, they are angry, they know that their lives will not be better than their parents', they will be worse. That is all but guaranteed, they know that. They are not that stupid," Carlson said.

The letter asks the Biden Administration to use its authority for two purposes: to deschedule cannabis and to clear the names of all individuals convicted of non-violent cannabis offenses.

As marijuana faces federal legalization, Democrats are asking President Biden to step up and deschedule the drug.

The Hill reports that a group of senators sent the Biden Administration a letter this past Wednesday. It was signed by Senators Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Cory Booker, and more.

The letter asks the Biden Administration to use its authority for two purposes: to deschedule cannabis and to clear the names of all individuals convicted of non-violent cannabis offenses. The letter highlights the medical benefits of the drug and features a recommendation by the World Health Organization to reclassify the drug and remove it from the more “restrictive classification under international drug treaties.” It also puts an emphasis on the effect that cannabis criminalization has had on communities of color.

“We ask that the Biden Administration act quickly to rectify this decade long injustice harming individuals, especially Black and Brown communities,” the letter reads.

The letter is a follow-up to the previous correspondence that occurred between Democratic senators and the Biden Administration, an exchange that was called “extraordinarily disappointing” and that was only “half a page.” Apparently, the administration is concerned over cannabis’ safety and the fact that it hasn’t been studies that deem it a safe and effective treatment for any condition.

A study funded by Quantified Citizen, co-authored by Paul Stamets, proves that psilocybin treatment can help boost mood and mental health.

A study published in Scientific Reports on June 30 has presented evidence that psilocybin mushrooms have a noticeable effect on the mood and mental health of participants.

The study, called “Psilocybin microdosers demonstrate greater observed improvements in mood and mental health at one month relative to non-microdosing controls,” analyzed 1,133 subjects between November 2019 to May 2021. Baseline assessment was conducted at the beginning of the study, and then again between 22-35 days later.

Researchers analyzed the results of psilocybin microdosing combined with either lion’s mane mushrooms (Hericium erinaceus, or abbreviated as HE) or niacin (vitamin-B3) to identify “small- to medium-sized improvements in mood and mental health that were generally consistent across gender, age and presence of mental health concerns … improvements in psychomotor performance that were specific to older adults.” The study refers to these combinations as “stacking.”

The study abstract notes that combining psilocybin with HE or B3 “did not impact changes in mood and mental health,” however, older participants did experience psychomotor improvements through either just psilocybin, or psilocybin and HE.

The research was written by numerous authors including Paul Stamets, as well as Joseph M. Rootman of University of British Columbia’s Department of Psychology. According to an interview with Forbes, Rootman is certain that the work being conducted now will help lead to more revelations in the future. “This study is an extension of our earlier manuscript published in the same journal, and we have further publications in preparation that are based on this same study,” said Rootman. “Our team has also been working hard to develop the next version of the study which will be used to generate findings related to psychedelic microdosing for years to come.”

Former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold will make his octagon return at UFC 278 on August 20 against former title challenger Paulo Costa.

The 37-year old hasn't fought since July 2019, but plans to jump right back in the mix with a win over the No. 5 ranked Costa. His preparation for the upcoming bout is interesting. Rockhold uses marijuana and mushrooms to get 'hyper focused.'

"I use marijuana to kind of isolate. I don't get any need or want to go do other things. It just kind of isolates me and hyper focuses me on my goal and just being on a one-track mind," Rockhold told Submission Radio.

"Then I tried mushrooms and it enhances my focus within that space."

Rockhold revealed that he uses mushrooms several times a week. He did the interview while smoking a joint.

"Four days a week. I don't know. Everyday. I don't know. I take them when I run. I used them post-training. I use them for cardiovascular. Kind of focus train," Rockhold said.

Leading CPG packaging company expands cannabis division to scale support in MA, NJ, PA, NY, RI, ME and CT

Nationally Esteemed Law Firm Burns & Levinson to Provide Simplifya’s Market Guide with Comprehensive, Up-to-Date Finance and Lending Regulatory Expertise for All 50 States

 Simplifya (“Simplifya” or “the Company”), the leading regulatory and operational compliance software platform serving the cannabis industry, formed a relationship with Burns & Levinson, an award-winning national law firm with nearly a decade of experience in the cannabis industry. Burns & Levinson will provide real-time finance and lending regulatory guidance to Simplifya Market Guide, a new RegTech platform that arms cannabis and cannabis-related businesses with comprehensive, user-friendly regulatory summaries for all 50 states.

“We created Simplifya Market Guide to provide easy-to-read state-by-state summaries that are regularly updated, and include information about every vital topic related to regulation,” said Simplifya CEO and Co-Founder Marion Mariathasan.

“As one of cannabis’ legal trailblazers, Burns & Levinson’s expertise in cannabis lending and financial regulations is unrivaled. By bringing the best finance and lending guidance to cannabis license holders and marijuana-related businesses (“MRBs”), our real-time RegTech platform simplifies the complex.”

"By bringing our finance and lending guidance to Simplifya Market Guide, we are delivering key due diligence content that is critical to understanding state-specific regulations for lending in the cannabis space, and will inform lenders as to how to compliantly work with licensed businesses in each state,” said Scott Moskol, co-chair of Burns & Levinson’s Cannabis Business & Law Advisory Group.

"Through our relationship, we will also continue to evolve and add essential data for jurisdictions, including those in California.”

Anebulo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: ANEB), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel solutions for people suffering from acute cannabinoid intoxication (ACI) and substance abuse disorders (the “Company” or “Anebulo”), today announced positive topline data from Part A of an ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating the potential of ANEB-001 to treat ACI. Part A was a 60 subject randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial designed to evaluate the effectiveness of a single dose of ANEB-001 in treating healthy subjects challenged with delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, better known as THC, the primary psychoactive constituent of cannabis. These data demonstrated a highly statistically significant reduction in key symptoms of ACI, with only 10% of subjects in the 50 mg ANEB-001 group and 30% in the 100 mg group reporting feeling high compared to 75% of subjects in the placebo group (p 0.001). ANEB-001 was well tolerated in these healthy volunteers. Preliminary safety information showed all adverse events were mild and transient, except in the case of one subject in the 50 mg ANEB-001 group who experienced moderate nausea and vomiting.

“We believe this proof-of-concept trial demonstrates ANEB-001’s potential to reverse the symptoms of ACI for many of the five thousand cannabinoid intoxicated individuals visiting our emergency departments in the United States on a daily basis,” said Simon Allen, Chief Executive Officer of Anebulo. “We believe marijuana legalization and greater consumer access to cheaper and higher potency THC products will continue to increase the incidence and severity of emergency department visits related to cannabinoid intoxication. With no FDA approved therapy, individuals intoxicated with cannabinoids have few treatment options and may require expensive follow-on interventions for neuropsychiatric complications such as anxiety and acute psychosis. ANEB-001 has the potential to mitigate these unfortunate circumstances and reduce their burden on individuals, society, and our healthcare system.”

The study was conducted at the Centre for Human Drug Research (CHDR) in the Netherlands and enrolled 60 healthy adult occasional cannabis users randomized to three treatment arms of 20 subjects per arm. All subjects were challenged with a single oral dose of 10.5 mg THC and then treated with single oral doses of 50 mg ANEB-001, 100 mg ANEB-001, or placebo. Subjects were monitored for 24 hours to assess safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics, and repeatedly tested to determine potential effects on endpoints related to ACI symptoms. The tests also included a series of validated measures of subjective CNS symptoms using visual analog scale (VAS) assessments, as well as objective measures of intoxication. Subjects challenged with THC and treated with placebo showed substantial CNS effects including feeling high, decreased alertness, increased body sway, and increased heart rate. Compared to placebo, treatment of subjects with ANEB-001 led to a significant, robust, and sustained reduction in the VAS feeling high score (p 0.0001 at both dose levels) and improvement in the VAS alertness scale (p 0.01). In addition, the proportion of subjects reporting feeling high on the VAS was significantly reduced by ANEB-001 (p 0.001). Although THC-induced effects on body sway and heart rate in this study were small, there was also a trend towards statistical improvement of these parameters with ANEB-001 treatment compared to placebo. The 50 mg and 100 mg doses had similar results, suggesting that lower doses should be explored. Pharmacokinetic data are pending and additional analyses of Part A data, including pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) correlations, are planned.

“The number of individuals with cannabinoid related intoxication visiting our emergency departments is clearly on the rise,” said Dr. Andrew Monte M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Emergency Medicine & Medical Toxicology, University of Colorado Denver-Anschutz Medical Center. “Patients are coming from multiple settings including first-time users taking small doses of THC, adults and children inadvertently ingesting powerful THC gummies, and regular users unintentionally overdosing on new and more powerful THC products. Introducing an effective cannabinoid antidote into our treatment options would represent a significant improvement in how we can manage these patients”

About Acute Cannabinoid Intoxication (ACI)

Symptoms of ACI can include increased somnolence, impaired cognition and perception, disorientation, anxiety, and acute psychosis. According to DSM-5, a diagnosis of cannabinoid intoxication should include recent history of cannabinoid use, clinically considerable behavioral or psychological changes, such as euphoria, impaired judgment and motor skills, which have taken place since cannabinoid exposure.

New suits expected to help snipers “remain undetected within close proximity of the enemy forces.”

Members of the U.S. armed forces can’t use hemp, even in products as innocuous as shampoo, but army snipers could someday be covered in the wonder fibre if a request for information (RFI) exploring its suitability for uniforms pans out.

Released in late June, the RFI notes the army if offering a contract opportunity for fiber, yarn and thread mills to submit information on fabrics that could potentially be used for sniper uniforms.

Specifically, the request relates to 22-kilogram count, three-ply jute or hemp yarn or twine in a natural colour, with the current demand being 365,760 metres.

“Interest is specifically in a yarn/twine/thread used to break up the sniper’s outline made from jute, hemp or similar natural fiber,” reads the RFI, which has been issued “solely for information-gathering and planning purposes” and “does not constitute a formal solicitation for proposals and will not directly lead to any contract awards.”

The idea behind the fibre hunt is to support the operational clothing for the Improved Ghillie System, suits that are lighter and more breathable than currently issued, but reportedly not always used, Flame Resistant Ghillie System.

“I realize you are dealing with so much, but please don’t forget about me and the other American Detainees. Please do all you can to bring us home.”

Brittney Griner hand wrote a letter to President Biden, which was delivered to the White House on the 4th of July. The WNBA superstar told the president that she fears she’ll be detained in Russia indefinitely and pleaded for him not to forget about her and other Americans detained in Russian. (Benzinga)

Griner faces a 10-year sentence in a Russian penal colony if convicted of the alleged crime of having cannabis oil in her suitcase when she was detained in Moscow on February 17, a week before Russia invaded Ukraine.

Three excerpts of Griner’s letter to Biden were made public, while the rest is being kept private, according to a statement released by a communications company representing the Griner family and reported by CNN.

“(As) I sit here in a Russian prison, alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, family, friends, Olympic jersey, or any accomplishments, I’m terrified I might be here forever,” wrote Griner.

“On the 4th of July, our family normally honors the service of those who fought for our freedom, including my father who is a Vietnam War Veteran. It hurts thinking about how I usually celebrate this day because freedom means something completely different to me this year.

Adolescents are over three times more vulnerable to developing a cannabis addiction than adults, but may not be at increased risk of other mental health problems related to the drug, finds a new study led by UCL and King’s College London researchers.

The study, published today in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, found that adolescents who used cannabis were no more likely to have higher levels of subclinical depression or anxiety than adults who use cannabis, nor were they more vulnerable than adult users to the associations with psychotic-like symptoms.

These findings build on a separate study by the same team, published recently in Psychopharmacology that found adolescents were not more vulnerable to associations between chronic cannabis use and cognitive impairment.

Lead author Dr Will Lawn (UCL Clinical Psychopharmacology Unit and Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience at King’s College London) said:

“There is a lot of concern about how the developing teenage brain might be more vulnerable to the long-term effects of cannabis, but we did not find evidence to support this general claim.

“Cannabis addiction is a real issue that teenagers should be aware of, as they appear to be much more vulnerable to it than adults.

The Albanian government has put a draft law on legalising medical cannabis up for public consultation, sparking an angry reaction from opposition politicians. 

The news was announced shortly after the latest World Drug Report 2022 from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) revealed that Albania is one of the top countries worldwide for cannabis cultivation and distribution. 

This is despite well publicised efforts by the Albanian government to eradicate its cultivation, notably with the large-scale operation at Lazarat – dubbed Europe’s ‘marijuana mountain’ back in 2014, shortly before Albania secured EU candidate status. However, reports since then indicate that drug cultivation has been rising. The country also lies on the Balkan route for transportation of heroin to Europe. 

According to the draft law, licences will be issued to cultivate a maximum of 150 hectares. Further conditions are also planned, including that the licence holder have a background in cultivating medicinal plants, and 51% of assets in a company that grows products or byproducts of cannabis in an OECD country. Companies must also have capital of ALL100mn (aound €840,000). 

Applicants will be scrutinised by the National Agency for Control and Monitoring of Cannabis Plant Cultivation and Processing.

However, Democratic Party leader Sali Berisha slammed the poposal, saying it would be an “immense support” for crime around the world and a “black dot” on Albania, reported Euronews Albania. 

Geographically, the APAC industrial hemp market is predicted to witness the fastest growth during 2021–2030

The value of the industrial hemp market in 2021 was $,4452.0 million, and with a CAGR of 33.7% from 2021 to 2030, it is expected to reach $60,682.8 million. Hemp belongs to the same flora species as cannabis. The only distinguishing feature is that it contains low levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). According to the U.S. 2018 farm law, hemp is not considered cannabis if it contains 0.3% or less THC.

Hemp cultivation is permitted in 36 countries globally, and the crop is expected to cater to the increasing bast fiber demand for high-quality textiles. Selling hemp and hemp products is legal in the U.S., as numerous states have legalized its farming. Moreover, Canada has focused on hemp cultivation for seed production, as it is widely used in the food and cosmetics industries. Recently, it also started to utilize this crop for building materials, insulation, and composites. China exports hemp fibers to Europe and Northern America.

Since the legalization of industrial hemp cultivation, a surge in the industrial hemp market size is being witnessed. In the U.S., hemp with less than 0.3% THC has been removed from the controlled substances definition. Similarly, the cultivation of cannabis varieties with less than 0.2% THC is legal in the European Union. The Chinese National Anti-Drug Committee also announced in 2019 that CBD is not a controlled drug anymore and removed it from the narcotic drugs list. Further, cannabis with 0.3% or less THC can be grown in certain regions of China.

The food industry dominated the industrial hemp market in 2021, accounting for more than 25% share. Hemp is utilized as a source of fiber and oil seeds in various industrial products. That’s why industrial hemp is grown as an agricultural commodity in more than 25 countries. For more than 5,000 years, hemp seeds and oil have been used in the human diet in APAC and Europe. Butter pastes, non-dairy milk, non-dairy cheeses, non-soy tofu, salad oils, and health bars are the major food products with hemp seeds and hemp oil.

The burgeoning usage of hemp in the pharmaceutical industry is a major industrial hemp market growth driver. There are numerous benefits of hemp, which allows it to be used to treat and mitigate various health conditions. Hemp contains a favorable omega-6-to-omega-3-PUFA ratio, which provides support in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, lessens osteoporosis symptoms, and alleviates eczema symptoms. Moreover, CBD serves as an agent for the treatment of illnesses of the central nervous system, including epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, and neurodegenerative diseases.

Cannabis use does not seem to be associated with more respiratory-related emergency department visits compared non-users of the drug

Cannabis use is not associated with more respiratory-related visits to an emergency department in comparison to those who do not use the drug although it is associated with a greater proportion of overall emergency department visits. This was the main conclusion of a propensity-matched study by a group of researchers from Ontario, Canada.

Cannabis (or marijuana) is the most commonly used addictive drug after tobacco and alcohol. The use of cannabis is associated with respiratory problems such as chronic bronchitis symptoms and large airway inflammation and in fact, heavy use may lead to airflow obstruction. Despite this evidence of adverse respiratory effects, a 2018 systematic review concluded that there was low-strength evidence that smoking cannabis was associated with cough, sputum production, and wheezing and that there was insufficient evidence of an association between use of the drug and obstructive lung disease. Nevertheless, one study has suggested that daily cannabis smoking, even in the absence of tobacco, is associated with an elevated risk of health care use for various health problems.

With some uncertainty over the respiratory effects of cannabis, in the present study, the Canadian team wanted to examine the magnitude of the association between the use of cannabis and adverse respiratory-related emergency department visits. They conducted a retrospective analysis linking health survey and health administrative data for residents of Ontario. Individuals who self-reported any use of cannabis (the exposed group) within the past year were matched 1:3 (to increase the sample size) with control individuals, which were those who self-reported no use of the drug. The primary outcome for the study was a respiratory-related emergency department visit or hospitalisation which included both upper and lower respiratory tract infections, respiratory failure, asthma or COPD as the reason for presentation at the hospital. As a secondary outcome, the team assessed all-cause emergency department visits.

Cannabis use and respiratory-related hospital visits

A total of 35,114 individuals were included in the analysis, of whom, 6,425 with a mean age of 32.2 years (38.8% female) were self-reported cannabis users. Overall, 42.5% of those using the drug did so less than once a month with a much smaller proportion (10.5%) reporting daily use.

A Pennsylvania bill approved last week by a legislative committee would protect registered medical cannabis patients from prosecution under the state’s zero-tolerance policy for THC.

Pennsylvania medical cannabis patients would receive some protection from being convicted for driving under the influence if a bill making its way through the state legislature is passed and signed into law by Governor Tom Wolf. The measure, Senate Bill 167, was approved last week by the Senate Transportation Committee with a vote of 13-0.

If approved, the legislation sponsored by state Senator Camera Bartolotta would eliminate Pennsylvania’s zero-tolerance policy for THC, which has been used without proof of impairment to penalize drivers who are registered medicinal cannabis patients.

“Senate Bill 167 is critically needed to protect the medical cannabis community as the penalties for a controlled substance significantly escalate,” Bartolotta told the Transportation Committee before last week’s vote.

Pennsylvania has more than 700,000 registered patients who have qualified to use medicinal cannabis since the medical marijuana program launched in 2018. However, the state’s zero-tolerance drug law puts patients at risk, whether they are under the influence of cannabis or not.

“Under current law, medical cannabis patients can be arrested, prosecuted, and convicted – even if they’re not impaired,” said Bartolotta.