WeedLife News Network

NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ – The city has endorsed eight applications to open recreational marijuana businesses here.

The next step is for the applicants to obtain approval from the state.

The applicants approved for licenses are Earth & Ivy, Puffin Store, Maryjayne's Touch, NB Green Delivery, LBOZ, NBFC, DC Vitality, and Fathom Cannabis, according to a public notice.

The city is permitting cannabis retailers in CAN-RD zones. The city is supporting Earth & Ivy, 355 George St.; Puffin Store, 382 George St. and Maryjayne's Touch, 70 Easton St. for retail licenses. 

The fact that Biden’s Commerce Sec. is not focused on marijuana legalization has provoked cannabis advocates to question the President’s willingness to keep his promise.

President Joe Biden’s Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo revealed in a recent interview with Politico that she has no updates on cannabis decriminalization that was promised during the presidential campaign, reported Marijuana Moment.

When a reporter asked if cannabis should be descheduled, pointing out that some businesses don’t want to see this as it would likely increase competition creating across state markets, Raimondo replied that the matter is “so far afield from anything that I’m working on.” As Raimondo’s focus continues to be trade and supply chain management, marijuana is apparently not yet on her agenda.

Just recently, a new poll conducted by YouGov and The Economist, revealed that more than half of the U.S. adult population concurs that President Biden has made little to no progress on his crucial campaign promise to decriminalize cannabis during his first year in office.

The survey revealed that the majority of U.S. residents also don’t hold out much hope that the president will make progress on this important reform in 2022, which is in line with Raimondo’s response.

Interestingly, Raimondo, who was a governor of Rhode Island before joining the Biden administration, skillfully dealt with marijuana policies, backing a plan in her budget proposal to legalize recreational cannabis via a state-run model. Her successor, Gov. Dan McKee just recently proposed a measure in his budget that would support a more conventional recreational cannabis market.

It’s been a long time coming, and finally, Minnesota will have smokable cannabis available for medical patients.

Medical cannabis patients in Minnesota will see smokable cannabis flower in licensed retailers beginning next month, according to an announcement from state regulators. The Minnesota Department of Health said in a statement on Tuesday that the state’s medical cannabis dispensaries will be able to offer dried cannabis flower on March 1.

Dispensaries will offer pre-packaged dried cannabis flower and pre-rolled joints in a variety of strains and cannabinoid potency levels. Registered patients will be able to purchase up to a 90-day supply of cannabis at one time. Previously, state regulations only permitted patients to use processed cannabis products such as extracts, distillates, capsules and topicals.

It won’t be as easy as visiting a dispensary and picking out a favorite strain of bud, however. Under Minnesota’s medical cannabis regulations, patients must first complete a consultation with a medical cannabis dispensary pharmacist to change the type of medical marijuana they receive. 

“In preparation for the change, registered patients interested in smokable cannabis can make an appointment for a consultation with a medical cannabis dispensary pharmacist beginning Feb. 1 so they will be pre-approved to buy pre-packaged dried flower and pre-rolls once available,” the health department wrote in its statement. Patients have the option of either in-person or virtual consultations to satisfy the requirement.

Smokable cannabis flower will only be available to patients and caregivers ages 21 and older who are registered with the state’s medical cannabis program. Minnesota Commissioner of Health Jan Malcolm urged patients who are considering switching to cannabis flower to seek the advice of a health care professional before making the change.

A claim that cannabis with Fentanyl in it was causing overdoses in Connecticut just got disproved, according to local media.

Another alleged case of fentanyl-laced cannabis in Connecticut has gone up in smoke. 

In this case, the false alarm came out of Connecticut, where an investigation has revealed that “nearly 40 Connecticut overdoses [that] were possibly linked to fentanyl-laced marijuana—sparking widespread attention and concern—turned out to be one confirmed case and was probably caused by accidental contamination,” according to a story by CT Insider.

That marks a major walk back from a bulletin in November issued by the Connecticut Department of Public Health, which said that it had “recently received reports of overdose patients who have exhibited opioid overdose symptoms and required naloxone for revival,” and that the “patients denied any opioid use and claimed to have only smoked marijuana.”

That press release detailed a total of 39 overdoses in the state between July and November of last year. In one such incident that took place in October, police in Plymouth, Connecticut were said to have responded to one overdose scene where they secured a sample of cannabis that later tested positive for fentanyl.

“This is the first lab-confirmed case of marijuana with fentanyl in Connecticut and possibly the first confirmed case in the United States,” said Department of Public Health Commissioner Manisha Juthani.

Cannabis consumers who had used the drug 11 to 100 times or more were four to five years younger “when they developed cataracts than subjects who never used cannabis.”

Researchers were not surprised by their recent findings, but argue added study is needed to determine if cannabis smoking, like cigarette smoking, is a risk factor for developing cataracts.

“Like tobacco smoke, cannabis smoke contains thousands of organic and inorganic chemical compounds,” U.S. investigators write in the study, published on Jan. 31 in the Journal Français d’Ophtalmologie.

In the new study, the authors point out that cannabis tar is chemically similar to tobacco smoke tar. That, coupled with the fact that more than 50 known carcinogens have been identified in cannabis tar, means “the association of cannabis with cataracts that we report here is not entirely surprising.”

To get a firmer grasp of the association, if any, researchers at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and at Severn Health Solutions analyzed data from the U.K. Biobank, a large-scale biomedical database and research resource, containing genetic and health information from half a million U.K. participants.

All subjects had cataracts and their tobacco/cannabis habits were known. Those who had ever smoked cannabis were included as part of the study group.

Woman also ran her vehicle into a snowbank, with police reporting there was a clear cannabis smell coming from the car.

It took only less than two hours for an Iowa jury to find a 23-year-old woman guilty of possessing firearms while being a cannabis user.

The physical evidence may have accounted for the rapid decision-making, including pictures the woman had posted on social media showing her holding a weed blunt and speaking about cannabis use during a recorded telephone call.

“She continued to possess the firearms until law enforcement officers seized them on July 22, 2021,” notes a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa.

The woman faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a $317,500 fine and three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

Beyond the social media posts and being found with guns, the statement reports law enforcement officials also encountered the woman in February 2021, after she drove her car into a snowbank.

Even though melatonin is an over-the-counter medicine, not enough is known about it for people to be consuming it so comfortably.

Sleep disorders are incredibly common, affecting about 70 million Americans a year. Medications and other substances that treat sleep are increasingly common, although with some concerning side effects that might impact sleep in the long term.

One of the most harmless solutions to this is melatonin, a compound that’s been growing in popularity over the years. Still, when used at high levels, it has a certain amount of risks.

According to a new study, melatonin use has increased over the past few years, increasing by more than twice the amount consumed a decade ago.

According to the NIH, melatonin has been linked with headaches, dizziness, nausea, irritability, anxiety and depression, and is capable of interacting with other medications. “We cannot be certain of the purity of melatonin that is available over the counter,” sleep specialist Rebecca Robbins told CNN.

While it appears that in the short term melatonin provides useful benefits, its long-term use is much more complex than a harmless pill that can put you to bed.

As of 2021, the legal marijuana industry already employs around 321,000 people part time.

The data, taken from the 2021 Leafly Jobs Report produced together with Whitney Economics, gives hope to the thousands who have suffered from job loss and lay offs as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The report states that job growth doubled in 2020, and only continues to grow.

There is no doubt that the cannabis industry is one of the fastest-growing in the country: it now employs more people than electrical engineers, paramedics, and dentists.

“There has been a seismic shift of workers from retail and restaurants to cannabis,” says Viridian Staffing chief executive of cannabis recruiting, Kara Bradford, to the Washington Post.

“There is a sense that this is a booming industry that’s fun and interesting, with a lot of opportunities to move up quickly.”

Cannabis has been used by humans for thousands of years as a treatment for many medical conditions and is now the subject of much research because it contains chemicals which show medical promise.

Medical Cannabis

Medical cannabis can help with nausea, loss of appetite, pain, insomnia, arthritis, and even depression. It can also help to reduce tremors and spasms caused by conditions like multiple sclerosis.

Medical cannabis can be taken in many forms, including smoking, vaporizing and ingesting through food, e.g. oil or butter in baking or tea. It can be used to make homemade edibles (cannabis-infused foods).

Although medical cannabis is legal in some states in America, its use remains controversial. Opponents say that it is addictive and can impair memory, judgment, coordination and reaction time. Supporters point out that there are no recorded cases of fatal cannabis overdose.

Cannabis for Business

It can be used in the construction industry to build insulation panels, which are fire resistant and also soundproofing materials! It’s naturally pest resistant, so it can be used in the agricultural industry to make textiles or clothing.

Mississippi is legalizing medical marijuana for people with debilitating conditions such as cancer, AIDS and sickle cell disease.

Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed the legislation Wednesday and it became law immediately. It could be months before the first marijuana dispensaries open.

"There is no doubt that there are individuals in our state who could do significantly better if they had access to medically prescribed doses of cannabis," Reeves wrote in a statement posted to Twitter.

"There are also those who really want a recreational marijuana program that could lead to more people smoking and less people working, with all the societal and family ills that that brings."

The National Conference of State Legislatures says 36 states and four territories already allowed the medical use of cannabis. Mississippi becomes the 37th state.

The City Council, however, could eventually vote on its own ordinance before voters weigh in.

Redondo Beach voters will decide next year whether to legalize commercial cannabis in the city.

The City Council this week chose to place an initiative on the March 7, 2023, general election ballot that, if approved, would allow a few marijuana dispensaries in the seaside town, repealing the existing ban on cannabis.

This all came about because of an initiative petition.

A petitioner, resident Sam Nicosia — who was solicited by growing dispensary chain Catalyst Cannabis Co., headquartered in Long Beach — served Redondo with an initiative petition last year that sought to get the city to repeal its ban on cannabis and allow up to three dispensaries around town.

The Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder verified more than 6,600 signatures last month; the petition needed signatures from 10% of the city’s nearly 48,000 registered voters — or about 4,800 — for the issue to go before the council.

We have made it through January which means we're already one month into legal recreational marijuana sales. The Montana Department of Revenue released its sales numbers this morning. Montana brought in $12.8 million in marijuana sales for its first month.

Adam Ryder, owner of Juniper Cannabis in Bozeman and Belgrade says recreational marijuana sales were pretty much what they expected.

 “Largely speaking it was about what we expected, certainly the first week was pretty intense,” says Ryder.

The first weekend alone sales topped $1.5 million. In the first full week, recreational sales were just $2.9 million. For Ryder’s downtown store location, tourism in the valley has been a driver of sales.

State Rep. Jason Powell filed legislation on Monday to propose an amendment to the Tennessee Constitution to allow medical cannabis, according to a news release.

Powell, D-Nashville, said if the constitutional amendment is passed it would allow Tennesseans to use medical cannabis legally for approved medical conditions including cancer, epilepsy and multiple sclerosis.

The state will give oversight of the medical cannabis program that will include the in -state cultivation, processing and sale of cannabis. The House Joint Resolution filed Monday conswill establish a 4% tax on the retail sale of medical cannabis with a portion specifically directed to assist military veterans’ health care.

“Tennesseans should have access to a comprehensive medical cannabis program in our state. No Tennessean suffering from an approved medical condition should have to drive hours out of state to purchase medical cannabis,” Powell said in a news release.

“Furthermore, Tennesseans should be able to legally grow and sale medical cannabis here in Tennessee. I firmly believe an amendment to the Tennessee Constitution is the best path for legalizing medical cannabis in Tennessee. Voters should have the opportunity to decide this issue and I simply ask my legislative colleagues to give Tennesseans the choice to vote on a medical cannabis program.”

San Marcans could see a measure on the November ballot aiming to change marijuana enforcement in the city. 

Mano Amiga, a grassroots immigration and legal reform organization, has begun gathering signatures to place an initiative on the ballot that would establish an ordinance eliminating low-level marijuana enforcement in San Marcos. 

“Having a charge for possession of marijuana on your record has the potential to negatively impact a person's life in so many ways,” Mano Amiga Communications Director Sam Benavides said.

“It can be found by employers, landlords, social services, and for students, it can even impact your financial aid. Our neighbors and our peers should not have their lives so needlessly disrupted over something that over half the states in our country have already decriminalized.”

According to the ordinance language, citations and arrests for misdemeanor possession of marijuana would end if the voters approved the proposition. San Marcos police, however, could cite an individual or make an arrest for Class A or Class B misdemeanor possession of marijuana if it’s a part of an investigation involving a felony-level narcotics case or the investigation of a violent felony. 

The first Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce breakfast event of the year focused on a taboo subject that is said to have numerous business opportunities.

At the Jan. 4 breakfast at The Breakers, nearly 400 residents and business owners gathered to learn about Florida's cannabis industry. 

Laurel Baker, the chamber's chief executive officer, said she thought the presentation would provoke an important discussion not commonly heard. 

"One of the directions that I have in finding programs is to bring to light topics that you normally wouldn't think to go to a chamber breakfast to hear," she said. 

Baker said the idea of a cannabis business goes beyond the walls of a dispensary. 

Pet Age recently spoke with Dave Merrell, founder of Healthy Hemp, to learn more about his brand and how its products play a role in the health and well-being of companion animals. 

How has the pet hemp market changed over the years since you founded Healthy Hemp Pet in 2014? 

When we first came out with our products, a lot of people thought we were getting animals “high.” Our biggest challenge was educating wholesalers of the benefits and effects of hemp so they could educate their customers.  

The market has matured a lot since back then. Now it’s flooded with hemp (or CBD) pet products that greatly differ in quality. This has a lot to do with the extraction process and the quality of the key ingredient, the hemp oil from the plant – more on that later.  

Why was it important for you to partner with Purdue University for a pharmacokinetic study in 2020? 

Aside from the incredible pet recovery stories from our customers, there is still little published research on CBD and animal health. CBD pet products have been in the market for almost a decade; it’s time for further research to investigate how full spectrum hemp can improve the lives of our pets, especially the ones who are navigating complicated conditions such as cancer. 

Purdue’s study investigated the pharmacokinetics (the movement of a substance through the body) of our coconut CannaDrops full spectrum hemp oil in dogs so they could pinpoint the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) before adverse effects occurred. Next, that MTD will be helpful with our prospective dog oncology trial with Purdue. We soon hope to understand whether CBD in dogs enhances or interferes with the activity of important anti-cancer therapies, and if CBD has anti-cancer activity.  

What made you choose the extraction process that you currently use for your products? 

The two main types of extraction processes are CO2 and ethanol. We use a third type, evaporative extraction.  We are always looking for ways to improve our products. When I learned about the extraction process that Vapor Distilled uses, evaporative extraction, which is basically hot air, I visited their facilities. I was drawn to this new extraction process because it is chemical free and solvent free. After we had a sample tested and found that the extract retained much more of the natural terpenes, it was an easy decision to switch from the CO2 extraction method we had been using.   

58 per cent of respondents would support a politician “who occasionally smokes marijuana in their free time.”

People in the U.S. were recently asked if they would vote for a politician who smokes weed? According to a new poll, more than half of respondents report they would be comfortable dong so.

A deeper look into the statistics shows that Democrats were most likely to vote for a politician who smoked weed when compared to Republicans. Still, a significant percentage of Republicans said they would vote for a politician who smoked cannabis if they agreed on most issues.

Despite the somewhat surprising findings, it makes sense that large percentages of people in the U.S. would approve of a politician who consumes cannabis. As time passes, the plant continues to gain ground on the legalization front and, in turn, seems to be gaining approval across all demographics.

Chambers has caused a lot of commotion from his ad, earning his first large endorsement from Rep. Ted James.

Delta-8 THC is a hemp-derived compound that’s closely related to delta-9 THC, commonly called THC.

Over the past year, you may have seen something called  delta-8 THC  or “delta 8” appear in convenience stores and pharmacies alongside CBD gummies, oils and lotions.

Delta-8 THC is a hemp-derived compound that’s closely related to  delta-9 THC  – what’s commonly called THC and is the psychoactive component of cannabis that’s responsible for the high that users feel.

Yet there’s been a dearth of research on this compound. As public health scholars, we decided to conduct  the first survey of delta-8 THC users  to find out who was using it, why they were using it and what sort of effects it had.

The latest cannabinoid to storm the market

The 2018 Agriculture Improvement Act – also known as the farm bill –  legalized the sale of hemp-derived compounds . The  widely available CBD  is a hemp-derived compound.

Delta-8 THC is another. It’s an isomer, or chemical analog, of THC. The difference is in the position of a double bond in the carbon ring, which makes delta-8 THC  have a lower affinity  for the CB1 receptor of the endocannabinoid system in our brains. For this reason, it may be less potent than THC and cause a less-intense high.

The benefits of CBD as well as adaptogens clearly fill a massive void in western medicine so it’s not surprising to see patients fall for their charms.

Cannabidiol (CBD) may seem like it’s been a hot topic on the wellness front for quite some time now. After all, the non-psychoactive compound of marijuana has touted for its stress and anxiety-relieving properties without getting you high. It has a cult following, and for good reason — there’s a lot of data and evidence that CBD does work. It’s everywhere these days, from CBD capsules to oils, beverages and edibles, getting rid of stress has never been easier.

But sharing the limelight with CBD these days are adaptogens.

Adaptogens have been known for hundreds of years, especially in Asia and India, and among those who follow Ayurvedic lifestyle principles. They refer to types of plants that possess special properties to help the body cope with stress, regulate healthy functioning and hormonal balance. Aside from that, they have numerous other health benefits such as help fighting off fatigue, reduce inflammation, improve sleep, and improve cognitive function even when we are under periods of stress among others.

Benefits of Combining CBD and Adaptogens

Popular and common adaptogens that you’ll easily encounter in the market are the following:

Ashwagandha: Widely used for centuries to treat stress and anxiety, and its use in ayurvedic potions. Ashwagandha is a root that is also used in some eastern delicacies.