WeedLife News Network

The Arizona Department of Health Services wants to know who has the desire and credentials to do human studies on whether marijuana can treat health conditions such as autism. The agency is also asking researchers to estimate their yearly cost to do clinical trials.

The callout is a step toward issuing competitive grants — potentially worth $25 million over five years — to pay for marijuana clinical trials.

Priority review will eventually go to human studies that would focus on conditions such as epilepsy, post-traumatic stress disorder and pain.

Dr. Tally Largent-Milnes, assistant professor of pharmacology at the University of Arizona, wants to someday learn if cannabis can treat migraines.   

“But until we are able to run these clinical trials in a well-thought out manner, we’re never going to know the answer,” she said.

On the day Joseph R. Biden Jr. was sworn in as president in 2021, an eclectic mix of demonstrators convened at the Colorado state capitol building in Denver.

Among them that January day was DonQuenick Beasley, who had a message different from others in the crowd.

The Bible-quoting black cannabis-rights activist held a sign saying “Give Us Our harvest” and at one point shouted down other demonstrators so she could talk about the injustice she sees in an industry dominated by white men while black men languish in prison for non-violent marijuana convictions.

“Give us our harvest” was her call for those prisoners to be released, trained and allowed to enter the legal cannabis industry, growing marijuana in fields where slaves once picked cotton.

Colorado’s current struggle with fentanyl isn’t unique among U.S. states, but it has been uniquely bad in its severity.

Colorado elected officials have quickly ignited a conversation about fentanyl following the drug overdose deaths of five people in Commerce City. The synthetic opioid is commonly used to lace other drugs such as cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana.

Colorado had the eighth-highest national increase in fentanyl deaths from 2015 to 2021.

Colorado has experienced 1,578 fentanyl-related deaths since 2015, a 1008% increase in a six-year time span.

Colorado’s fentanyl rates rose even faster in the most recent two-year span. Fentanyl fatalities in
Alaska, Colorado, Louisiana, Mississippi, California and Texas increased by almost five times between 2019 and 2021.

The application window opened Thursday for Connecticut retailers who want to participate in the recreational and medical cannabis markets. The state plans to license two general applicants and two social equity applicants as hybrid retailers.

Advocates suffering from chronic pain have launched the ‘What About Us’ campaign outside Leinster House, the seat of the Irish parliament in Dublin.

In Ireland, people with chronic pain are seeking legal access to medical cannabis, arguing that the current scheme is too restrictive.

Ireland’s medical marijuana program has only three qualifying conditions: plasticity associated with MS, nausea associated with chemotherapy and treatment-resistant epilepsy.

What About Us? Campaign

Advocates suffering from chronic pain have launched the ‘What About Us’ campaign outside Leinster House, the seat of the Irish parliament in Dublin.

Supported by People Before Profit parliament member, Gino Kenny, the group is calling on the Department of Health to expand the use of medical cannabis to include those with chronic pain.

 “The program is too restrictive; it’s only benefiting a handful of people. We think it’s not fit for purpose, so it has to expand,” Kenny said.

Nearly $2.5 billion has poured into Illinois since recreational marijuana became legal in 2020, and with every sale, part of the tax goes to help fund community organizations.

As CBS 2’s Marie Saavedra reported Thursday night, you can play a role in deciding which groups get the money.

One community group that has benefited from marijuana proceeds is the Chicago Youth Boxing Club in Little Village, where the consistent percussion of gloves hitting bags, and gloves hitting each other, is a symphony to Gabriel Navarro.

“To me, it’s exciting,” he said.

“It means there’s kids in the ring, sparring; there’s kids in the bags hitting the bags.”

Those who want to legalize it say high taxes would encourage illegal markets

Those who ditch their habits before the age of 30 “do not have lower economic and relationship success, and life quality.”

A new study out of Australia suggests that the future life success of adolescent cannabis and amphetamine consumers is not affected if they break the habit before the age of 30.

“In a community sample, cannabis as well as cannabis and amphetamine use and/or use disorder in the adolescent period does not appear to predict life success in adulthood for those whose use has ceased prior to 30 years of age,” authors explain in the study, published this week in the peer-reviewed journal, Addiction Research & Theory.

A University of Queensland study from 2015 found lower quality of life (QoL) in the early teenage years predicted subsequent onset of cannabis use in young adulthood.

“Frequent use of cannabis does not appear to enhance the user’s QOL and appears to be associated with a reduced QOL into young adulthood.”

With the latest study, investigators wanted to shed light on the extent that cannabis and amphetamines use up to age 21 predicts life success at age 30. Onset use among study participants ranged from 15 to 19 years.

Crypto Cannabis Club is taking weed-themed NFTs to the next level, and it all started with bonding over weed and currency.

Crypto Cannabis Club is a home for fans of cannabis and NFTs from all over the globe. In a short span of six months, the club has already amassed over 10,000 members, spending their days swapping stories, selling cannabis plant NFTs on secondary markets, and even entering crypto cannabis cup competitions. It’s a new force to recognize in the metaverse. 

The club began as a family business. It was co-founded by two brothers, Jimmy and Kevin Fitzpatrick. As crowded as the cannabis marketplace is, the duo saw an empty space waiting for NFTs (translation: non-fungible tokens available to sell and trade). 

A new bill in California hopes to end discrimination against those who use cannabis outside of the workplace.

California employers would be barred from discriminating against employees for cannabis use while off the job under legislation introduced last week. The measure, AB 2188, was introduced in the California Assembly by Democratic Assembly Member Bill Quirk on February 15.

If passed, AB 2188 would end discrimination based on drug testing for cannabis metabolites, which are non-psychoactive substances that can be detected in a person’s bodily fluids for up to several weeks after they have consumed cannabis. 

A new bill in California hopes to end discrimination against those who use cannabis outside of the workplace.

California employers would be barred from discriminating against employees for cannabis use while off the job under legislation introduced last week. The measure, AB 2188, was introduced in the California Assembly by Democratic Assembly Member Bill Quirk on February 15.

If passed, AB 2188 would end discrimination based on drug testing for cannabis metabolites, which are non-psychoactive substances that can be detected in a person’s bodily fluids for up to several weeks after they have consumed cannabis. 

“The bill would make it unlawful for California employers to penalize or discriminate against a person when making decisions about hiring, termination, or other aspect of employment if the discrimination is based on the person’s off-duty cannabis use or the presence of non-psychoactive cannabis metabolites revealed in an employer-mandated drug screening,” Lauren Mendelsohn, an attorney with the Law Offices of Omar Figueroa in Sebastopol, California, explained in an email to High Times.

The legislation, however, has several limitations. Employers who are required to follow federal drug-testing mandates are exempt. AB 2188 does not require employers to permit employees to be high while working.

“The bill does not authorize employees to use or be impaired by cannabis while on the job, nor does it prohibit employers from administering impairment or chemical tests to determine whether an employee is impaired or has an active presence of THC in their system,” Mendelsohn noted. “Employers who are required to conduct screening tests for non-psychoactive cannabis metabolites, or who would lose federal benefits if they did not, may do so.”

Because we can buy cannabis paraphernalia from the internet very quickly, people are wondering if smoking subscription boxes are a worthwhile investment.

Smoking cannabis has recently become one of the most popular hobbies in many states. Like any hobby, equipment and accessories are necessary to enjoy cannabis use thoroughly.

This is particularly true if one wants to smoke cannabis outdoors, at a friend’s house, or even on the go. Unfortunately, as the industry is still growing, obtaining cannabis paraphernalia can be a hassle, and that’s precisely why there’s such a thing called smoking subscription boxes.

What Are Smoking Subscription Boxes? 

Smoking subscription boxes, or stoner boxes for short, are packages that consist of various smoking supplies. These may range from disposable rolling papers and snacks, to expensive, high-quality equipment like bongs and grinders. As you might imagine, the idea of receiving everything you need in one delivery seems very convenient and hassle-free, and indeed it is.

However, convenience is not the only advantage of smoking subscription boxes. The following are some other benefits of opting for stoner boxes over buying smoking supplies individually:

The US cannabis industry added more than 100,000 jobs last year, and the economic lift will only continue if states like New York get recreational programs off the ground, experts say.

Americans spent nearly $25 billion on cannabis products in 2021, as the budding industry expanded by about 33 percent, adding more than 107,000 new jobs, according to a Wednesday jobs report from cannabis new site Leafly, and Whitney Economics.

Democrats in the House of Delegates defeated Republican attempts to amend two marijuana legalization measures on Wednesday, setting the stage for final action by the chamber later this week.

House Bill 1 would establish a referendum on a proposed constitutional amendment that would — if approved — make Maryland the 19th state to allow possession and use of small amounts of marijuana.

HB 837 is “contingent” legislation that would lay out a framework for how legalization would work if the referendum passes in November.

Lawmakers gave preliminary approval to both measures, after debating the issue for nearly 90 minutes with remarkably few fireworks.

In its current form, HB 837, sponsored by House Judiciary Committee chair Luke H. Clippinger (D-Baltimore) would set up a two-stage legalization timeline:

Rural Nevada is eyeing a new cash crop.

They’ll just need to get past the state’s cannabis regulators first.

White Pine County on Tuesday petitioned the Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board to change the state’s marijuana regulations to let individual counties request a limited licensing window for businesses looking to obtain a marijuana business license within the county.

For White Pine, the petition signals a changing of the tune for the once cannabis-hesitant county. Years after imposing a moratorium on marijuana businesses, the county is now looking to capitalize on the state’s thriving marijuana industry and says that not having any licensed cannabis businesses is hurting the the county’s ability diversify its economy as it tries to expand beyond the traditional rural revenue streams of farming, ranching and mining.

“The lack of cannabis licenses is creating direct and tangible harm in White Pine County,” White Pine County Manager Mark Wheable wrote in the petition to the board dated Feb. 7.

As cannabis and hemp legislation expands and the “green wave” momentum continues throughout the U.S., investors are beginning to set their sights on cannabis-related assets. Real estate in particular is becoming a popular asset class for investors as states begin seeking ways to increase tax income through lifting restrictions on cannabis and hemp for medical or recreational purposes.

Police aren’t the enemy, but after prolonged mental health stress, they could conclude that you are.

Recently, there have been two stories that came to my attention involving the police and drugs. The first is about a MET police commander, who wrote drug enforcement strategy, who took cannabis, LSD, and magic mushrooms. He is now facing “dismissal” due to his misconduct. The second story is about a Texas State trooper that was caught vaping a confiscated marijuana pen in his vehicle. All caught on dash cam.

Both of the individuals in question will either be disciplined or discharged completely.

While some were quick to chastise the officers in question, I thought to myself, “They totally should be taking psychedelics and cannabis!” In fact, I believe if this was adopted to a higher degree, we would probably have much better “police-citizen” relations.

This article will walk through my argument for why the police SHOULD be allowed to consume cannabis and even psychedelics, and why it would provide a net benefit to society.

The Job Is Dangerous

When you could be gunned down for simply putting on your uniform, life can be stressful. In fact, the position of “police officer” is often in the top 10 of most stressful jobs. Unfortunately, cops aren’t known for their “destressing” tactics and if we were to look at how the movies portray them, they are typically disgruntled alcoholics trying to drown out all the negative thoughts. Of course, this is not true for all the police, but it’s fairly safe to say that most cops don’t take too much care of their own mental health unless it’s required from them.

In just a few months, Clark County will begin accepting business applications for cannabis lounges. Now a first-of-its-kind program aims to propel people of color into positions of power in the marijuana industry.

It's called the Pathway to Ownership program, and the 17-week course aims to address the gap between the growth of the cannabis industry over the last few years and growing social inequities within the industry.

"Now that these white guys are making a fortune, let's pass some of that success on to other people," said Commissioner Tick Segerblom.

Last week, the Clark County Commission approved $270,000 of the county's marijuana fees to fund the business, networking and mentoring program, which offers a certificate to those who complete it successfully.

New Capabilities Allow 22nd Century to Accelerate Revenue Streams and Create Higher Value Commercial Lines

22nd Century Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: XXII), a leading agricultural biotechnology company focused on tobacco harm reduction, reduced nicotine tobacco, and improving health and wellness through modern plant science, announced today, together with its global plant research partner KeyGene, a breakthrough in its hemp/cannabis plant research leading to the successful transformation of the hemp/cannabis plant genome using a proprietary plant transformation and regeneration technology and clear protein expression by the introduced genes.

“I cannot emphasize enough what an enormous achievement it is for our company to have cracked the code to show proof of genome transformation in the hemp/cannabis plant. This is the holy grail in plant science and places us in a commanding leadership position in the race to secure patents and other valuable intellectual property in the emerging hemp/cannabis genetics field,” said James A. Mish, chief executive officer of 22nd Century Group.

“These newest plant transformation discoveries unlock additional revenue opportunities for the Company and accelerate our efforts to create new hemp/cannabis plant lines with much higher commercial value at accelerated rates, lower cost and lower risk to our customers.”

Said JP Tamburrino, Vice President or Research and Development at 22nd Century Group, “This new transformation methodology leading to functional protein expression in hemp/cannabis is a key enabling technology that greatly enhances our ability to directly and quickly modify specific target genes. This unique know-how adds another important tool to our established modern plant science capabilities that also includes an extensive library of hemp and cannabis germplasm, a genome database, marker-assisted, rapid-cycle molecular breeding and mutagenesis, all supported by KeyGene’s world-class bioinformatics and genome sequencing capabilities utilizing machine learning and AI. Together, these tools, which are typically only used by the largest plant science companies such as Bayer/Monsanto, Corteva and Syngenta, are being used by 22nd Century to create new, proprietary hemp/cannabis plants tailored to differentiate the content of specific major and minor cannabinoids, terpenoids or eliminate unwanted metabolites to create new commercial lines tailored to the preferences and needs of end users, often at a fraction of the time and cost of traditional breeding methods.”

22nd Century has previously demonstrated its ability to generate new, tailored hemp/cannabis lines through broad-based techniques such as molecular breeding and mutagenesis, which necessitate the creation of hundreds or thousands of plants that are then genetically sequenced to identify those with the desired genetic traits. The plant transformation breakthrough unlocked by 22nd Century and KeyGene enables the desired DNA sequences to be inserted directly into or created from a plant’s existing genetic material, creating a more expedient and focused methodology to achieve the desired outcome.