WeedLife News Network

Hot off the press cannabis, marijuana, cbd and hemp news from around the world on the WeedLife Social Network.

Chicago Votes in Favour of Recreational Marijuana Stores Expansion

 

The move will allow recreational marijuana stores to expand further than the current seven marijuana zones in the municipality. The largest in the state of Illinois, Chicago has allowed 18 adult-use cannabis retailers so far, among the 110 statewide.

While marijuana retailers are now able to open without special approval from Chicago regulators, the approved proposal is also set to banish retailers in the downtown zone where they aren’t meant to be operating.

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Why Are Sundial Growers and Aurora Cannabis Still the Most Popular Pot Stocks on Robinhood?

Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD) investors like cannabis stocks. That seems clear considering that there are seven cannabis stocks on the trading platform's 100 most popular list.

Two of those stocks made the top 20 on the list. Sundial Growers (NASDAQ:SNDL) currently ranks No. 4, while Aurora Cannabis (NASDAQ:ACB) holds the No. 16 spot. But Sundial and Aurora have been big losers in recent months. Sundial's shares have plunged 75% below the highs from early this year. Aurora stock has fallen 65% from its February peak.

Why are Aurora and Sundial still the most popular pot stocks on Robinhood? Here are a few likely explanations.

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Learning Risk Management and Compliance From the Cannabis Industry

If you work with products that are not criminalized by the federal government, you may not think you have anything to learn from companies in the cannabis and hemp industry.

But, as these entrepreneurs navigate unique security problems and a patchwork of intense state-by-state regulations, they are participating in a grand business experiment that illustrates the value of innovation and discipline when it comes to risk management and compliance.

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Federal Grant Approved to Study Medical Marijuana Impact in Arkansas

A federal grant will help fund a study on the medical cannabis program in Arkansas. 

Thanks to $1.3 million courtesy of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, researchers affiliated with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) and Arkansas Center for Health Improvement will conduct what is being described as “a first-of-its-kind population health analysis of the medical marijuana program, combining eligible consumers’ cannabis purchase information with insurance claims records and other data sources to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the effects of cannabis on consumers’ medical care.”

The study, titled “Population-Based Analyses of Healthcare Utilization and Outcomes in Users of Medical Marijuana,” will “also examine the impact of COVID-19 on the Arkansas medical marijuana program, including changes in cardholder requests, product purchases, healthcare utilization and adverse events,” according to a press release from the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement, which is “a nonpartisan, independent health policy center that serves as a catalyst for improving the health of all Arkansans through evidence-based research, public issue advocacy and collaborative program development.”

“This is an exciting and unique opportunity for not only our state, but also the country, to investigate the effectiveness of cannabis for therapeutic use,” said Dr. Joe Thompson, co-principal investigator on this study, and the president and CEO of the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement. “While researchers have gathered scientific evidence on the use of cannabis for the alleviation of symptoms such as pain and anxiety, there is little evidence on how the amount, strain, potency and method of use affect a person’s health experience.”

Additionally, the study will also “incorporate six Arkansas-based data sources, including the Arkansas Healthcare Transparency Initiative’s Arkansas All-Payer Claims Database (APCD), Arkansas Department of Health medical marijuana patient registry data, medical marijuana dispensary purchase data, vital records, emergency department records and Arkansas State Police motor vehicle crash data,” with all the data being “de-identified with linkages utilizing the unique capabilities of the Transparency Initiative.”

The Arkansas Center for Health Improvement said that by “examining data for Arkansans who have qualified for medicinal use, this research will help inform the potential role of cannabis in medical therapy.”

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Fed Up With Pot Smoking, Burger Spot Bans All Unsupervised Patrons Under 18

The crew behind Garden Valley, California-based burger spot, Red Rooster Burgers & Brew, had enough with teens smoking pot in the bathroom, among other things, leading to a ban of all unsupervised customers under the age of 18. “It is with GREAT sadness that we have made the decision to not permit underage kiddos in the restaurant without a parent or legal guardian for the following reasons…” Red Rooster Burgers & Brew posted on September 24. Red Rooster Burgers & Brew sells burgers, fries, shakes and ice cream sundaes, as well as alcoholic drinks such as beer or wine. The post continued, adding a list of dozens of complaints—the first one on the list being “marijuana being smoked in the bathroom.” The list included littered condoms, skateboarding, the use and sale of e-cigarettes, as well as coins, fries and candy being thrown at employees.

With a brief review of California law, there is no possible way for people under the age of 18 to legally consume cannabis, unless it is for medical use and approved by a physician, under the supervision of a legal guardian.

“For the last two years we have spoken to kiddos and voiced our concerns numerous times!” the post continued. “Then, we implemented rules so they could still feel like they had a place to go, feel safe, and hang with their friends. It’s very clear to us that the bad behavior is not going to end. If you have a kiddo that needs a safe place to be after school please reach out to us. It is not our intent to exile the youth in our community but to protect our property. Some of their actions are unlawful and we won’t allow it.”

In California, only adults ages 21 and older can legally purchase pot for recreational purposes. There is no age limit on medical cannabis use, however minors under age 18 need permission from their legal guardians to use medical cannabis. So that means that young adults ages 18-20 are allowed to visit state-licensed medical dispensaries, but not adult-use dispensaries.

Unfortunately, pot smoking wasn’t the only problem at the burger restaurant, Red Rooster Burgers & Brew. “We also have issues with youth roaming the streets at night vandalizing the neighborhood,” the post continues. “Recently a neighbor’s Kalloween display was vandalized. We found pieces of it in our parking lot. It’s unfortunate but we will have to install security cameras to catch these vandals. We live in such a quaint beautiful town. I wish it didn’t have to be this way.”

 

Beyond the Burger: Teens and Pot

Sandwich chain Cheba Hut, makers of “Toasted” subs, took the exact opposite approach, marketing to young adults through sandwiches like “Thai Sticks” or “Kali Mist.” 

But most business owners don’t want a mess to clean up when teens take over. In August, Oregon-based Burgerville took an even more extreme measure and closed a franchise in Portland permanently, due to underage criminal activity.

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Medical cannabis trials in France show promise

The first results of a trial into using medical cannabis for pain relief that began in a hospital in central France in March are looking promising. 

Psychiatrist Dr Nicolas Authier, Chair of the Scientific Committee on Medical Cannabis, is in charge of the experiment being conducted at the University Hospital of Clermont-Ferrand. He had identified 20 patients as being suitable for participation.

One patient Mounir, 47, who suffered a stroke aged 21 and consequently struggled with painkiller addiction in trying to manage his neuropathic pain, told France 3: “I'm not yet completely relieved of the pain. There is some still, but it is nothing like what I felt before.”

The trial is part of a two-year nationwide experiment primarily designed to evaluate the best conditions of access to medical cannabis.

Dr Authier hopes that medical cannabis will then be legalised for patients whose suffering is poorly relieved by conventional treatments. 

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Lawmakers Request Special Session to Address Medical Marijuana Access

Legislative leaders in Mississippi have requested that Republican Governor Tate Reeves convene a special legislative session in the coming days to address medical marijuana access.

The request comes after lawmakers last week revealed that they have reached an agreement on a draft legislation to regulate medical marijuana access in the state. If the Governor agrees to convene a special session, it would likely begin on Friday October 1. 

On Election Day 2020, 73 percent of Mississippi voters decided in favor of Initiative 65, which established a system of state-licensed dispensaries to engage in the retail dispensing of cannabis and cannabis products to patients who possess a doctor’s authorization. However, just prior to the vote, officials representing the city of Madison – including the town’s Republican Mayor – filed suit arguing that the legislature’s failure to update guidelines for petitioners should invalidate the initiative vote. The state Supreme Court eventually decided 6 to 3 to nullify the vote in favor of Initiative 65.

The new legislative proposal being advanced by lawmakers permits qualified patients, including those with chronic pain, to obtain herbal cannabis and other formulations of marijuana from licensed facilities.

Localities would be permitted to opt out of allowing marijuana businesses to operate in their jurisdiction, a provision that differs from that of the voter-approved measure. 

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Why Medicinal Cannabis Could Signal the End of the Opioid Crisis

It may not come as a surprise to hear there is a global opioid crisis happening right now. Outside the UK and US, countries like Norway, Portugal, Sweden and Estonia are also experiencing opioid overuse and addiction. Carl Esprey look’s at why the humble marijuana plant used to create medicinal cannabis could signal the end of the opioid crisis.

In clinical trials, over 85% of UK patients reported that they found medicinal cannabis to be more effective in treating pain than opioids and other pain medicine, suggesting that prescribing cannabis for medical use could help resolve the global opioid crisis.

The Fight Against Chronic Pain

Millions of people across the world suffer from chronic pain in one form or another every day. Chronic pain lasts three months or longer and has a significant negative impact on a person quality of life. The Covid-19 pandemic has left many more people suffering from musculoskeletal pain after coming down with the virus and has reportedly caused those already experiencing chronic pain to suffer from more significant pain with what is now known as long-Covid.

According to the British Medical Journal (BMJ), “chronic pain affects between one-third and one-half of the population of the UK, corresponding to just under 28 million adults, based on data from the best available published studies. This figure is likely to increase further in line with an ageing population.” Science Daily says, “Researchers report that 50.2 million (20.5 per cent) U.S. adults experience chronic pain based on analysis of the new NHIS data. They estimated the total value of lost productivity due to chronic pain to be nearly $300 billion annually.”

Traditionally, certainly since the 90s, opioids have been the go-to for physicians to prescribe for pain symptoms. The unfortunate reality is that opioids are highly addictive, which has led to people taking more than the recommended dose, taking them too frequently and in some cases overdose, leading to death! For this reason, even the UN is looking into the global opioid crisis and considering how it is best managed.

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L.A. County D.A. to dismiss 60,000 past marijuana convictions

The nation’s largest prosecutor’s office is moving to dismiss roughly 60,000 marijuana convictions, the latest step to undo what some reform advocates consider the damage caused by narcotics enforcement carried out before Californians voted to legalize marijuana, Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón announced Monday.

Under previous Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey, the office moved last year to dump 66,000 marijuana convictions that took place before voters passed Proposition 64, the state law legalizing recreational marijuana use. But that list was compiled using information collected by the California Department of Justice, and Gascón said his office was able to identify tens of thousands more eligible cases by combing L.A. County court records.

“Dismissing these convictions means the possibility of a better future to thousands of disenfranchised people who are receiving this long-needed relief,” Gascón said in a statement. “It clears the path for them to find jobs, housing and other services that previously were denied to them because of unjust cannabis laws.”

Gascón has long championed efforts to reverse what he sees as the racially disparate and overly punitive effects of the nation’s war on drugs. While serving as San Francisco’s top prosecutor, he sought the dismissal of nearly 9,000 felony and misdemeanor marijuana convictions that were processed before the passage of Proposition 64. As part of that effort, Gascón partnered with nonprofit tech organization Code for America, which developed an algorithm to analyze county data and identify cases eligible to be cleared under Proposition 64.

 
About 20,000 of the convictions expected to be expunged under Gascón’s Monday order were for felony possession or cultivation of marijuana, said Jean Guccione, a spokeswoman for the L.A. County district attorney’s office. The remainder were misdemeanors filed in jurisdictions that do not have their own city attorney’s offices, she said. It was unclear how far back the case review went, but while in San Francisco, Gascón had sought to overturn cases dating to the mid-1970s.
 

Felicia Carbajal, executive director of the Social Impact Center, a Los Angeles-based community center, said her organization first helped identify the discrepancy in Los Angeles County’s handling of case expungements, noting the potential problem with relying solely on California Department of Justice records to identify cases that would qualify for relief.

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CBD usage in the animal sector continues to grow. Here's why.

In the United States, CBD usage is increasing, both among pet owners and manufacturers of CBD products. In fact, according to market research by Packaged Facts carried out in August 2018, among those who said they had bought CBD products, the proportion of dog owners who said they had done so increased by 36 percent compared to 24 percent for cat owners.
 
The increased usage is mainly due to the widespread availability of CBD-based products marketed for animals now more than ever before, including treats and supplements that feature patented product technology.
 
Many pet owners seek CBD products for their beloved pets because of perceived benefits, even though there is still a lack of hard scientific evidence that CBD-based effects are beneficial to animals.
 

The Blossoming Hemp Trend

One trend gaining traction in the U.S. is hemp production, which has become legal at the federal level, but with complicated state-by-state regulations that vary depending on whether or not the plant being produced is marijuana or hemp. CBD products are typically derived from hemp, but it is important to note that under current federal laws, CBD can only come from hemp acquired through legal means.
 
In addition to being marketed for their natural calming qualities, CBD pet treats have been promoted as helping with muscle and joint pain. They provide relief from arthritis and other ailments common among older pets or those who put on more pounds than they can easily manage. A growing number of CBD products are also marketed to relieve anxiety, especially around events like fireworks.
 
The 2016 National Pet Owners Survey by the American Pet Products Association (APPA) found that one in five U.S. pet owners used either a dog or cat supplement that featured CBD oil and other cannabinoids and terpenes, up from just one in ten in 2015.
 
Nearly half of all CBD-related products were marketed as solutions to ease anxiety.
 
The Packaged Facts report also found that CBD-containing pet supplements were the most popular (salves, treats, and oils) and, with nearly 60 percent of those surveyed who bought these products saying they'd used them on their dogs. Only 12 percent had used them on cats, but because there are so many more cats than dogs in the country, that amounted to a significant number.
 

Effects of CBD on Pets: Unravelling Facts from Fiction

But what do we know about how and whether CBD affects the health and behavior of our pets?
According to some veterinarians, positive anecdotes are not enough. They urge pet owners to seek out veterinary guidance if they are considering using CBD on their animals. Veterinarians say that there is not enough research to show how CBD might affect animals — and they warn that sometimes the products might be harmful.
 
The FDA has not approved any product containing CBD for use in pets, and it cautions pet owners to make sure their veterinarians agree of any such products before trying them out on an animal in their care.
"Veterinarians must be cognizant that there are potential risks associated with the use of CBD in dogs, especially if these products have other active ingredients or additives that can cause side effects," said Dr. Jerry Klein, a veterinarian with the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA).
"While it is true that pets experience many of the same medical conditions as people, they may also have other underlying diseases that alter the way their bodies respond to treatment," Klein said. "We recommend pet owners work closely with their veterinarians when considering CBD for their pets."
Many vets don't know enough about CBD yet, and some are still uncomfortable with its use in pets. Others say they don't want to put their patients on a new medication without first understanding how it might interact with other drugs the animal is taking.
 

Moving Forward

Still, some veterinarians are turning to CBD products, including Colorado-based veterinarian Dr. Debbie Benson, who has switched her dog over to a daily CBD regimen. Benson said that she had seen positive results in several of her veterinary clients' pets since they began giving their animals CBD oil on top of other conventional treatments; they've been able to lower their pets' dose of pain medications or anti-anxiety meds.
In addition, some pet owners have reported CBD helped ease the side effects of chemotherapy in animals with cancer.
Some pet owners also use a hemp extract called Real Scientific Hemp Oil (RSHO), rich in CBD but much lower in THC. This extract has a known safety profile and is available by prescription from veterinarians.
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Cannabis use in colorectal cancer survivors

Currently, 18 states have legalized the recreational use of marijuana and 36 states have legalized the medicinal use of marijuana. Many cancer patients (16-24%) use cannabis to curtail symptoms related to cancer or cancer treatment. Dr. Newcomb, the first author of the publication, stated that “marijuana has some important properties that motivate cancer patients to use it for nausea and vomiting, appetite, pain, fatigue.”  Previous studies indicate that cannabis is widely used among cancer patients with late-stage disease or with other poor mental or physical health states.  Due to improvements in early detection and cancer treatments, the number of cancer survivors will expand by one million per year, which includes at least 150,000 colorectal cancer (CRC) patients.  Therefore, about 2.7 to 4 million survivors may intentionally use cannabis for symptom management or other reasons. Presently, cannabis use and its side effects are not monitored among cancer patients and survivors. The Newcomb Group, from the Division of Public Health Sciences, evaluated the demographic, behavioral, and clinical characteristics of cannabis use among colorectal cancer patients from Washington State. CRC has a high prevalence and several treatments with side effects thus, CRC provides a good model for understanding cannabis use among men and women with cancer. This study is published in Cancer Causes & Control.  

The participant data was collected from a population-based cancer registry, the Puget Sound Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results registry (SEER).  The registry consists of data from cancer cases in the 13-county Puget Sound SEER region. Patients were contacted by mail at least 3 months post-diagnosis. If interested, participants provided informed consent.  The participants completed surveys via telephone interview, online portal, or a paper questionnaire.  All cannabis use questions were obtained by close-ended questions. Patients also reported quality of life measures through the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Colon (FACT-C); which asked questions pertaining to physical, functional, social, and emotional wellbeing as well as concerns around colorectal cancer.  Tumor location and stage were collected for participants.  Logistic regression was utilized to calculate odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals to compare the odds of “current cannabis use” in relation to demographics, health behaviors, quality of life assessments, and tumor characteristics. 

The analytical study population included 1,433 participants. Current smokers (95% CI=1.21-2.98) were two times as likely to use cannabis than former smokers (95% CI=1.38-2.45).  Light-to-moderate and heavy drinkers were more likely to use cannabis compared to non-drinkers and occasional drinkers.  Poor quality of life scores was more likely to be associated with current cannabis use (OR=1.52, 95% CI=1.14-2.04).  Participants with distant stage CRC had 3-fold greater odds of using cannabis than those with localized CRC (95% CI=2.03-4.17). 

In conclusion, comprehensive research is needed to identify various types of cannabis use, their patterns, and reasons for use among cancer survivors. Most CRC patients consumed cannabis by smoking.  This act could increase the risk of negative pulmonary outcomes; however, the current research is limited.  Dr. Newcomb concluded: “Although this area of research is underfunded, we used this data to motivate the submission of a CCSG pilot study and now I’ve joined with 11 other cancer centers across the US to form a consortium measuring cannabis use in cancer patients.” The results from the present study suggest that cannabis use is used to manage a variety of cancer-related symptoms and treatments.  The Newcomb Group concluded that “there is a strong and timely need for additional research to understand the benefits and harms of cancer patients’ cannabis use in order for patients and doctors to make informed, evidence-based decisions about the use of cannabis for symptom management.”

This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute.
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How Michigan hopes to make small marijuana business ownership more accessible

Sun Provisions in Decatur is a little, family-owned marijuana shop with an extraction lab in the back.

The display cases feature six brands of flower, a couple rows of vaping cartridges and few flavors of gummies. There’s a 150-plant grow and trimming area in the basement.
Everything is done in-house. It’s one of only a few marijuana microbusinesses that exist in Michigan.
 

“It’s been a struggle,” said Helen Sun, 33, Sun Provisions operations manager and daughter of the owner. “We came really close to having to restructure, but we were able to squeeze by and make it from one harvest to another.

“I think we’ll be OK, but the difference between feast and famine is going to be allowing us to grow and do more.”

Michigan marijuana regulators say they want the industry to be inclusive -- a place where an average entrepreneur can thrive -- not just a playground for corporate money and deep-pocketed financiers.
This is why the so-called microbusiness license was created, but nearly two-years after its inception, only a few exist. With some tweaks, the Marijuana Regulatory Agency in its most-recent proposed set of rules hopes to change that. The agency has created what is called the “class A microbusiness” license.
 
The license type would create what many believe is a more economically feasible business model by doubling the allowable plant count to 300. It also permits microbusinesses to purchase or acquire mature plants from licensed growers, registered caregivers or patients, and purchase ready-to-sell edibles, concentrates, vaping cartridges and other non-flower products from licensed processors, all of which is forbidden under the initial microbusiness rules.
One tradeoff: businesses like Sun Provisions would no longer be allowed to do their own in-house processing, unless they also acquire an additional processing license.
So far, seven of the original microbusiness licenses have been issued, but only about three have actually opened their doors to customers.
 
With the current unique, self-contained, seed-to-sale microbusiness setup, some communities have been reluctant to allow licensing opportunities, and there are claims within the industry that the business model is difficult to make profitable.Sun said her family’s seven-person operation, due to the grow limitations, has come dangerously close to entirely running out of THC products on multiple occasions since opening in March.“The challenges we’ve heard about the existing microbusiness are twofold,” said Marijuana Regulatory Agency Director Andrew Brisbo, who discussed the proposed new microbusiness license during a panel at the National Cannabis Industry Association Midwest Business Conference this week at the TCF Center in Detroit Thursday.
“The first is that there was not enough biomass to be sustainable, not enough plant material or plant count. And the second was that it’s incredibly expensive to set up the processing part of it, which you have to have a variety of products to be successful ...
“And by eliminating the processing piece altogether, it eases the regulatory burden as well as helps us keep the costs a little lower.”
Sun said her mother invested heavily to build their processing capabilities and she hopes that the business can be grandfathered under the new licenses type, if approved, to continue in-house processing with the elevated plant count.
 
“We bought everything, we built this out, we built to the (Marijuana Regulatory Agency) specifications and it sucks to learn ... that this is not enough, and to have to struggle,” Sun said. Chris Jackson, the government and legislative affairs and social equity lead with Sticky cannabis company, participated in the panel discussion with Brisbo on Thursday.
“Assuming that the rules stand, they haven’t created a pathway yet for current microbusiness owners to be able to transition into the new license type,” he said.
Jackson talked about a microbusiness concept that is currently forming called the “micro-mall.”
It’s “where you have multiple microbusinesses in one space and they have shared costs, versus everyone has to do it themselves, pay their rent or franchise fees,” Jackson said. It would be like a marketplace with a separate licensed social consumption lounge on site for customers to smoke or ingest their purchases, he said. The first such operation is expected to open in Muskegon within the coming year, Jackson said.
 
The proposed rules that would create the new class A microbusiness are available for review and the Marijuana Regulatory Agency is accepting public input through Sept. 27.
 
Once a set of rules is finalized and approved by Marijuana Regulatory Agency director, they will require approval by the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) before becoming law.
 
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Is Sundial Growers Too Cheap to Pass Up?

Cannabis stocks, growth stocks, and all kinds of investments have been volatile this month. The S&P 500 is down nearly 2% since the start of September and the Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences ETF has dropped by 9%. Although some investors may feel the urge to scramble for the exits, the recent sell-off could present some attractive buying opportunities.

One stock investors may be considering is pot producer Sundial Growers (NASDAQ:SNDL). Earlier this year, Reddit investors turned it into a meme stock, creating a buying wave that sent it to a high of nearly $4 a share. This week, its stock fell as low as $0.68 -- its lowest level since May 13, when it touched $0.65.

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State regulators take a big bite out of the marijuana market

It’s been almost a year since New Jersey voters passed by a 2-1 margin a “Constitutional Amendment to Legalize Marijuana,” as it was misleadingly labeled.

It was misleading because the title would lead you to think that once the amendment passed you might be able to go to the local pot store and buy some “Alice B. Toklas brownies.”
That was the name of the first form of edible marijuana that most Americans ever heard of.
Toklas was the confidante of writer Gertrude Stein on the 1920′s Paris scene. She wrote a book in which she included the recipe for a sort of chocolate fudge laced with cannabis.
 
 

“It might provide an entertaining refreshment for a Ladies’ Bridge Club or a chapter meeting of the DAR,” Toklas wrote. “Euphoria and brilliant storms of laughter; ecstatic reveries and extensions of one’s personality on several simultaneous planes are to be complacently expected.”Not in New Jersey. As we approach the first anniversary of that amendment’s passage, the new bureaucracy called “The Cannabis Regulatory Commission” has not yet accomplished the simple task of legalizing marijuana.But the CRC has one major accomplishment: It has prohibited the sale of any marijuana products “resembling food.” The only acceptable edibles will be lozenges.

The regulations exclude brownies, cookies, and those chocolate bars that are so popular with the customers at NJ Weedman’s restaurant/pot dispensary on State Street in Trenton.

The Weedman, otherwise known as Ed Forchion, runs what you might call a “free-market” dispensary. So far the powers-that-be have let his business operate, possibly because it’s the only thriving business on that stretch of State Street.
Forchion is applying for a license. But if he gets one he’ll have to stop selling some of the most popular products in his store.
“Women buy edibles,” he said. “Women don’t want to be smoking in public, so they have a cookie in their purse and then reach in now and then and eat it.”
As for men, the male marijuana users of my acquaintance like nothing more than to bogart a big bone, if I may lapse into jargon.
 
 

But towns all over the state are strengthening their anti-smoking ordinances to counter the pot smokers. So why ban the sort of marijuana that produces no fumes?

Evan Nison of the New Jersey Chapter of the National Organization to Reform Marijuana Laws (NORML) said that is counter-productive.

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How Hemp Is Helping Fight Climate Change

Hemp is easily one of the most valuable crops in the world today.

Not only does it produce the versatile healing compound cannabidiol (CBD) in larger doses than cannabis, but it also has several eco-friendly uses. Scientists around the world already recognize its potential in helping fight the seemingly uphill battle against climate change. It can be used to make a wide variety of things from construction materials to paper, cotton, food, and more but it has such a high value for both the economy as well as the ecosystem.

Here’s how hemp can help fight climate change.

Hemp absorbs massive amounts of carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted by industrial processes especially fossil fuels and livestock are one of the main culprits behind greenhouse gasses that are causing global warming. While plants are great at absorbing CO2, hemp has been shown to be so much efficient in absorbing carbon dioxide compared to other trees and plants.

A 2010 scientific report revealed that each ton of hemp is able to absorb as much as 1.63 tons of carbon dioxide. In addition, it can trap the gas and will store it for as long as hemp is alive. Isn’t that incredible? It’s also just so much more feasible to use hemp because the plant is capable of growing 13 feet in just 100 days, while it takes other newly planted tree species decades to mature.

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Lawmakers reach long-awaited medical marijuana deal

Legislative negotiators and leaders have agreed on a draft of medical marijuana legislation, and are anticipated to ask Gov. Tate Reeves as early as Friday to call the Legislature into special session, sources close to the negotiations said Thursday.

Legislative leaders on Thursday released some details of the proposal — which had been kept close to the vest for months — such as that cities and counties will be allowed to “opt out” of having medical marijuana cultivation or dispensaries, although local voters can override this. 

Negotiations have dragged on throughout the summer on crafting a medical marijuana program to replace one passed by Mississippi voters in November but shot down in May by the state Supreme Court on a constitutional technicality.

 

House Speaker Philip Gunn in a Thursday interview on a Supertalk radio show said he believed the House and Senate leadership and negotiators are “in agreement” on a draft bill, and he believes both chambers have the votes to pass such a measure. He said he planned to get together with Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, then barring any last minute glitches “inform the governor we are ready.”

Other sources close to the negotiations on Thursday told Mississippi Today they anticipate that request to the governor would happen as soon as Friday. Reeves has sole authority to call lawmakers into special session, and would set the date and parameters of a special session.

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Giuliani Associates Offered Donation to Cuomo to Launch Pot Business

Politicians and associates in New York on both sides of the aisle are implicated in alleged involvement of misappropriated money to benefit the launch of a pot business. Two Rudy Giuliani associates—Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman—told a Russian millionaire in 2018 they offered a $125,000 straw donation to then-Governor Andrew Cuomo to curry favor in launching a pot business in New York, court filings say.

First reported by New York Daily News, the ongoing scandal continues to reveal a web of corruption in marijuana markets in multiple states.

Cuomo signed legislation on March 31 to legalize adult-use cannabis in New York, but was criticized for dragging his feet in getting the market up and running. New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who replaced Cuomo, promised to pick up where Cuomo failed, and get the state’s adult-use cannabis market off the ground. 

Political infighting stalled progress in The New York State Legislature—forcing it to end its 2021 session in July without taking action on a core piece of the state’s adult-use cannabis law. New York residents and legal advisors were frustrated about the delays on a control board, among other things.

New York’s Marijuana Regulation and Taxation Act provides advanced social equity provisions. Like any other state with a legal market, competition is high to obtain licenses and establish dominance in the market. 

But allegations of corruption in the approval process could include both the former governor and the former attorney of Donald Trump.

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Projects Aim to Manage Weeds in Organic Fruit, Hemp Farming

Weed control is a problem as old as agriculture itself, but two projects from a Cornell AgriTech researcher aim to cultivate new methods for zapping the pesky plants, benefiting organic apple and grape growers and hemp producers in New York state and around the country.

Lynn Sosnoskie, assistant professor in the School of Integrative Plant Science, is collaborating on a $2 million project to study electric weed control in perennial fruit crops. She is also leading a $325,000 weed management study for hemp. Both studies are multi-institution, multistate undertakings that aim to provide growers with evidence-based, location-specific recommendations to suppress weeds and maximize yields.

Both projects began in September, will run for three years and are funded by the USDA’s National Institute for Food and Agriculture.

“We’re going to be in different regions, different production environments, different soil types, different rain patterns,” Sosnoskie said. “By banding together to do this work, we’ll be able to understand the similarities in our systems and highlight the differences. This will be really useful for developing our extension outreach publications for growers.”

For the apple and grape study, Sosnoskie and collaborators at Oregon State University and the University of California-Davis, will test the performance, safety and economic and environmental sustainability of electric weed control in organic production. The organic product market topped $60 billion in 2020, and the largest market segment is fresh fruit.

Due to the nature of apple, grape and other perennial fruit plantings, crop rotation and intensive soil disturbance are not viable strategies for weed control. Organic herbicides and mulches can be expensive. Those factors led Sosnoskie and her colleagues to consider a novel weed control tool: electricity. The devices they will be testing essentially electrocute weeds by sending a jolt of electricity through the plant, damaging the plant’s cells and chlorophyll.

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Should Public Cannabis Consumption Be Allowed?

In New York City, when they allowed public smoking of marijuana, arrests declined significantly. Sounds like a no brainer — if it’s legal to smoke weed in public, cops can’t arrest you. Except, in some places there are grey areas and cops like to exploit these grey areas to increase arrest records and feel like they are “enforcing the LAW!”

It turns out that all you have to do for cops not to do something is to make it legal. The police is blind to the moral consequences of law — they simply enforce it. You know, like Superior Orders!

However, the issue of public cannabis consumption isn’t limited to New York City; it’s a topic that will most definitely come up in every future legalization debate from now until cannabis is completely integrated into society.

Here, we’ll be addressing this question, the potential fears people expect would happen, and whether this would also apply to tobacco smoke.

 

The Fears of Public Smoking

The picture that opponents of public smoking would want you to believe is that once you allow public consumption, people would be walking around smoking joints everywhere, all the time.

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Prospect of federal marijuana legalization doesn’t have everyone in Michigan industry jumping for joy

One thing most people agree on: Federal marijuana legalization is coming.

It’s just a matter of when -- and how it will impact existing state markets, such as the one currently growing in Michigan.
With the inconsistent patchwork of state laws across the nation regarding medical and recreational marijuana, the implications of federal legalization, accompanied by new taxes, is creating some anxiety.
“Opening up interstate commerce would destroy Michigan’s cannabis industry and leave us with nothing but multi-state operators to purchase from,” said Rick Thompson, a Michigan cannabis pioneer and director of the Michigan chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).
Thompson said everyone he knows “stands in opposition to at least some of the” current version of the proposed federal legalization plan.
 
Some of the worry centers on marijuana surpluses in Canada and other states, like Oregon, where producers would benefit greatly from the ability to dump cheap product into the Michigan market, undercutting existing businesses along the way.
The topic of federal legalization was the focus of a panel discussion at the National Cannabis Industry Association Midwest conference at the TCF Center in Detroit on Wednesday. The National Cannabis Industry Association is a trade organization and lobbying group that is weighing in on efforts to end federal prohibition of marijuana.
In a draft of federal legalization legislation released in July by Democratic U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer of New York; Corey Booker of New Jersey; and Ron Wyden of Oregon, entitled the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, there is a proposed 25% federal excise tax for marijuana in the fourth year after legalization. That’s on top of existing state taxes, currently at 16% for recreational marijuana in Michigan.
National Cannabis Industry Association Midwest deputy director of government relations Michelle Rutter Friberg, said that’s too much.
 
“This is on top of really onerous state and local taxes,” she said, adding that it’s unlikely those will be reduced in the wake of a new federal tax.
“The conversations that we’re having about that are: What are they trying to get out of this tax provision?,” Friberg said. “Are we just a cash cow? Are we to make up for a budget shortfall, or what are the goals that they have? Because we keep going back them and saying, ‘You cannot tax this high’; this is not going to have the intended outcome that you were trying to achieve.”
While Friberg said some businesses might view federal legalization as “the boogeyman that’s out there,” she’s never had an NCIA member company tell her they’re entirely against federal legalization.
One stated goal of federal legalization is to combat the black market, but new taxes could encourage the illicit market.
If significant new federal taxes are imposed, “the black market will have a party like you have never seen before,” Thompson said. “It was nearly impossible to eliminate illegal cannabis sales when there was no tax; it is impossible to eliminate unlicensed sales with a 10% tax rate; and if the tax climbs to 35% or higher, the regulated market will shrink rapidly as people return to their unlicensed cannabis sources forever.”
 
Schumer, the Senate majority leader, said another intent of the legislation he helped draft is to ensure big tobacco and liquor companies don’t “swoop in and take over,” but some feel that’s going to be difficult to avoid once federal legalization arrives.
“Definitely the bigger conglomerates do have the upper hand with legalization,” said Jack Owens, operations manager for Thumb Genetics, a 2,000-plant aquaponics grow facility in Lansing.
His family-owned company, which he runs with the help of his mother and father, is already competing with a growing number deep-pocketed, in-state corporate rivals able to harvest tens of thousands of plants at a time.
“You’ve got to hit a medium ground where the big conglomerates and the smaller companies work together; otherwise, it’s just going to be monopolized,” Owens said. “Once it happens, certain dispensaries and everybody can go over state lines -- and they still have a lot of gray areas to figure out -- but how quickly is that going to happen and what big companies are going to pretty much take over?
“Once that happens, you better be ready to partner up, or hopefully have enough quality product and enough clients that will support you to make it through.”
 
Michigan’s medical marijuana caregivers, who are allowed to grow up to 72 plants for five registered patients and themselves, are currently in the crosshairs of large businesses and lobbyists who want to see their ability to grow severely limited and increasingly regulated.
Michael Toles of Intentional Enterprises, a fledgling marijuana grow company that plans to open in Detroit where recreational marijuana licenses are currently on hold, supports nationwide legalization, but believes it will eventually lead to the end of loosely regulated, untested home recreational and caregiver grows.
 
“You think that’s going to last?” he asked? “It’s not tested and it’s not taxed.”
Thompson, of NORML, a supporter of Michigan’s current laws that allow caregiver and personal home grows, didn’t weigh in on whether he thinks they’ll go away, but anticipated what will happen if they do.
“Caregivers will fail to renew their registration, if federal laws are adopted, but they will not fail to continue to grow,” he said. “Eventually, government will have to realize that cannabis users will merely ignore laws that make no sense, disadvantage them or are created for the advantage of corporations, not citizens.”
 
The current draft of the federal legalization bill, which calls for an excise tax that increases to 25% after four years, not including state taxes, is unlikely to pass in it’s current form, according to Friberg.
“Do I think that this bill will come up this session? Honestly, yes, because it’s the leader’s bill,” she said. “Do I think this bill is going to pass this session? ... No, not right now -- but, you know, anything can change.”
A bright spot for marijuana at the federal level is related to cannabis banking reform, which is included with the likely-to-pass National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2022. The addendum would protect banks from federal penalties if they work with cannabis companies. Currently, because marijuana is illegal federally, many large financial institutions are not offering services to the industry.
 
Toles believes the positive tradeoffs for businesses in a federally legalized environment outweighs any negative aspects.
“Because (of federal legalization), we’ll be able to expand to other markets,” Toles said. “We learn how to do it well so we can duplicate processes everywhere within the country.
“Obviously from a financial perspective, the larger, bigger Phillip Morris of the world ... is going to be part of it, but we’ll see.”
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